Week in Review: Two Parents Arrested for Leaving Children in Car; Two Markets Reflect San Leandro's Ethnic Shift

Here’s a brief look at the three most-read stories on San Leandro Patch this week:

Children Left Unattended in Hot Car Twice This Week

San Leandro police arrested an Oakland woman Wednesday after they found her shopping at Marina Square while her four-month old daughter waited outside, alone, in a car. "This was particularly alarming because the temperature was approaching 80 degrees outside," police said. Officers responded to a call at 12:25 p.m. and found the infant unattended in good health. Police tracked down the mother who police said "had no logical explanation" for leaving the child alone. She was arrested on suspicion of child neglect and taken to jail.

. Upon arrival, officers found two children, ages 3 and 4 years old, in a car with the windows rolled up. The father of the children exited a nearby store and saw officers surrounding the vehicle. He told officers he had gone shopping and left the children unattended. Police arrested the man for child endangerment.

San Leandro Man Charged With Photographer’s Murder

An East Bay photographer killed last Friday night in Oakland died from a stray bullet fired by a San Leandro man. Anthony Lister, 38, a 10-time felon, was charged with the murder of 54-year-old Lionel Fluker during his arraignment on Tuesday. Fluker was fatally wounded at around 10:15 p.m. while driving home along Seminary Avenue near MacArthur Boulevard as Lister and an another man were engaged in a gunfight at a nearby Valero gas station.

Lister, who was struck multiple times during the shootout, fired the shot that claimed Fluker’s life. The veteran Bay Area photographer was pronounced dead at the scene. Lister managed to flee the scene in a car and was taken to Highland Hospital where he was later arrested.

Two Markets Reflect San Leandro's Ethnic Shift

Two recent changes in the local grocery market lineup speak volumes about the changing demographics of San Leandro. On the sad side, Porter's Market is about to close after decades of serving Washington Manor. The story was much the same when Mon Cafe, another Washington Manor favorite, shut earlier this year. What's going on?

"As an old timer in San Leandro I have noticed changes coming for many years," former Mayor Tony Santos told Patch. Santos sees the signs of renewal in the Marina Faire Shopping Center, near the intersection of Fairway and Doolittle Drives, where New Sang Chong market opened a few months ago. Like Foodnet on western Lewelling Boulevard, New Song Chong has a distinctly Asian character in everything from merchandise to signage to staff. These openings fall in line with the latest census data, which shows that Asian Americans account for one-third of San Leandro's population.

What other shop openings and closings have you noticed that reflect the city's population shifts?