Memorial Planned For Google Job Candidate

A memorial will be held Wednesday night for a Virginia man who was  fatally shot in downtown Oakland last month the day before he was scheduled  to have a job interview at Google.
     In addition to being a memorial for 45-year-old Jinghong Kang, the  event at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center at 388 Ninth St. will be a  fundraiser for his widow, Wendy Wang, and the couple's three sons, ages 10,  12 and 17. Wang will be in attendance.
     Kang came to Oakland on July 18, to have his teeth cleaned by his  friend, a dental hygienist, prior to his job interview.
     But Kang was shot in the 1900 block of Webster Street that night  during an apparent robbery as he walked with his friend to his car. Oakland  police said the two suspects in the killing took $17 from him.
     Police later released video footage of the suspects and tips led  them to arrest 24-year-old George Huggins and 33-year-old Althea Housley,  both of Oakland. Both have been charged with murder.
     Prosecutor Tom Rogers said authorities believe Huggins fired the  shots that killed Kang and Housley, his girlfriend, was his accomplice.
     Huggins and Housley have also been charged for a similar robbery  and shooting that occurred in the 1700 block of Telegraph Avenue on June 21.
     Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce President Carl Chan, who is  helping organize Wednesday's memorial, said today that in the wake of the  slaying of Kang and of Tian Shen Yu, a 59-year-old San Francisco man who was  killed in the 1800 block of Telegraph Avenue on April 16, many people feel  that Chinatown is unsafe, even though neither homicide happened in Chinatown.
     The city's recent decision to lay off 80 Oakland police officers  also makes people feel unsafe, he said.
     Chan said "perceptions are important" and Chinatown merchants,  especially restaurants, have lost business recently.
     He said that to fight that perception, Chinatown leaders are  working with Oakland City Councilwoman Patricia Kernighan to explore the  possibility of forming a business improvement district to hire private,  unarmed security guards.
     In addition, many Chinatown businesses have installed surveillance  cameras and there are plans to install more such cameras in the near future,  Chan said.