Another Fight Near Mingles Club In Jack London Square Leaves Ronald Hall Jr Dead

I saw that information in today's Oakland Tribune...

Basketball star fatally shot near Oakland club

High schooler likely in wrong place at wrong time; police still seeking killer
By Kristin Bender and Harry Harris STAFF WRITERS - OAKLAND TRIBUNE

OAKLAND -- A few years ago, Ronald Hall Jr. was living in a run-down East Oakland apartment without lights or power and without money or hope for the future.

His mother was on the streets -- again --

living on heroin and welfare checks. She would return home from time to time to pull the state checks from the mailbox, but she was strung out and unable to care for her teenage son, a star basketball player, say those who knew him.

Still, he stayed with her, fearful that she would be injured or killed -- by her own hand or by angry drug dealers. He stayed away from drugs himself. And he tried to avoid violence.

But it found him early Monday morning when he was shot dead around the corner from a Jack London Square nightclub.

His death -- the 42nd homicide in Oakland this year -- is somewhat puzzling. By all accounts so far, it appears Hall, an 18-year-old senior at St. Elizabeth High School, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He was a good kid. He had a tough break anda hard life, but he was a fighter. He was going to go to college. He wanted to play basketball and then come back to Oakland and be a firefighter. It's very tragic," said his 50-year-old North Oakland guardian, who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation from his killer, who is still at large.

Hall's mother has been a heroin addict for a decade, and the teen had attended three high schools in Oakland and Richmond, struggling to keep his grades up, said his father, Ronald Hall Sr.

The father lives in American Canyon near Vallejo, but the boy insisted on staying with his mother even when she was missing and high, a family friend said.

Little was constant in the teen's life except basketball.

He was twice named by Nike as one of the top 100 basketball players in Northern California, said those who knew him. He wanted to play pro ball. He wanted to get an education.

That didn't happen.

Hall died at 4:37 a.m. Monday. He was shot in the head, likely a victim of errant gunfire after a brawl outside Mingles Nightclub, police said.

Hall's guardian said she met Hall because her son played Athletic Amateur Union basketball with him a few years ago. She said she was reluctant to let him go out late Sunday. He left with a friend shortly before midnight, claiming he was only going to the friend's house, she said. She did not know what prompted the teen to go to the club instead.

Police are still trying to sort out what happened early Monday.

"Let's Vote On Oak To Ninth Development Project" - Peggy Stinnett -- Not A Bad Idea, Peggy

I think Peggy's idea is the best way. Let the voters of Oakland make the choice!

LET'S VOTE ON HUGE HOUSING PROJECT
PEGGY STINNETT, Oakland Tribune
March 23, 2006


ALTHOUGH the Oak to Ninth waterfront condo project has been around since 2003, when the port gave Signature Properties an option to buy the public property for $18 million, it's far too soon for the Oakland City Council to approve the controversial plan.

Serious long-term financial questions remain unanswered. In fact, the questions have not even been asked by the council.

Instead, the council seems hellbent on hasty approval of developer Michael Ghielmetti's proposal, which has grown to a $1.2 billion development.

This deal could become one of the city's most devastating financial blunders since the days of Horace Carpentier, Oakland's first mayor.

Remember Carpentier? He was the mayor who stole the waterfront from its rightful owners in a scam that took 60 years of litigation to untangle.

It appears the council and mayor want to get the project behind them before the June election. But Oakland could be in for 20 years of trouble if hasty decisions are made.

To avoid such a legacy and a shameful political debacle, the council should call for an advisory measure on the November ballot asking Oakland voters what they would like the council to do. After all, it is public land, and waterfront is at stake. Besides being the right thing to do, the council could dodge a bullet.

The next important step could be taken Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., when the council holds a work session on the project in City Hall.

Before the issue moves any further along, critical financial questions must be answered to assure fiscal integrity. If the proposal is approved, here are some what-ifs to be answered:

Signature Properties, also known as Oakland Harbor Partners, has 20 years to complete five phases of construction. That's a very long time.

What if delays set in because the condo market becomes overbuilt?

What if the developer goes bankrupt and morphs into a new corporation?

What if the property turns over many times, with higher prices and different plans, with no financial gain to the city and a continuing loss of open space and parkland?

It certainly will take more than a quick staff report to satisfy these questions asked by Oakland citizens who want the public parks they were promised when the port and the city adopted the Estuary Policy Plan in 1999.

That plan was created by an Oakland League of Women Voters study headed by Richard Winnie, a league member, former city attorney and now Alameda County counsel. The League's plan called for a mix of marine and recreational land and open space on the waterfront. The present plan bears no resemblance to that vision.

In leadership roles then were Sandra Threlfall of the League of Women Voters and Naomi Schiff of the Oakland Heritage Alliance, who are still tirelessly advocating to get the original plan in place.

The Oak to Ninth property is public trust tideland, which does not permit residential development. So what did the port and the city do about that?

They enlisted state Sen. Don Perata, who sponsored legislation in 2004 that enables the port to exchange portions of the property to free it from the residential restriction.

John Sutter, retired judge, former Oakland council member and director of the East Bay Regional Park District board, is urging a close look at the financial implications. He is concerned because the developer reserves the right to sell off portions of the property to other developers who could hold areas for years, do nothing, then sell them, taking advantage of the probable inflation in land values.

Not only that, Sutter points out, but the option was granted without competitive bidding, and at the time Ghielmetti proposed 1,500-2,000 units — now he plans 3,100 units.

The historic Ninth Avenue Terminal, a spacious building that could become a treasure similar to San Francisco's lively Ferry Building, is another hot issue. The developer's plan calls for demolishing 93 percent of the building. Why should this be its fate when creative uses would make the terminal attractive and useful, an asset to the city?

Sutter suggests the council consider what happened to the former Oak Knoll Naval Hospital land. The city valued it at $11 million and tried to buy it for that in 2003. The Navy rejected that amount and offered the land at public auction. The prevailing bid was $100 million.

At a recent Planning Commission meeting, Commissioner Michael Lighty unsuccessfully sought support for a motion to phase in building bike paths earlier than planned. The commission voted approval without the change and moved the project on to the City Council.

When the final fifth phase of this project is completed in 2029, half of Oakland's current population will be dead or living someplace else. Today's grandchildren will be grown with children of their own who never went close to their city's waterfront.

E-mail Peggy Stinnett at pstinnett@angnewspapers.com.

Yoshi's Gets New Marketing / PR Honcho, Joan Rosenberg

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jason Arnold
510.328.1350, cell 510.326.4353
jarnold@yoshis.com
http://www.yoshis.com

YOSHI'S WORLD CLASS JAZZ HOUSE & JAPANESE RESTAURANT ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & PUBLICITY

JOAN ROSENBERG, FORMER MARKETING DIRECTOR FOR BILL GRAHAM PRESENTS, TO LEAD YOSHI'S THROUGH EXCITING GROWTH WITH NEW SAN FRANCISCO FILLMORE STREET VENUE

INTERIM PUBLICIST JASON ARNOLD TO CONTINUE MANAGEMENT OF THEME PRODUCTIONS AND PR FOR MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL & OTHERS

April 7, 2006; Oakland, CA; The coolest gig on the planet is officially off the market. Yoshi's World Class Jazz House and Japanese Restaurant is proud to announce that Joan Rosenberg, former Marketing Director for local concert promoter Bill Graham Presents (owned by Live Nation), has been appointed as Yoshi's new Director of Marketing & Publicity. Rosenberg will assume the duties of the position officially on April 17, 2006, ending a lengthy nationwide search and several months of speculation.

In the new position, Rosenberg will oversee marketing, advertising and public relations for Yoshi's music and restaurant operations. Currently located in Oakland's Jack London Square, Yoshi's is regarded as one of the greatest jazz clubs in the world, pairing its high-class Japanese cuisine and sushi with two jazz shows per night featuring such legends as McCoy Tyner, Diana Krall, and Oscar Peterson. Yoshi's placed 2nd in the JazzTimes Magazine Readers' Poll as Best 2005 Jazz Club, close behind the historic Village Vanguard in New York. Guitarist Pat Metheny once remarked about the esteemed venue, "I thought clubs like this only existed in the movies."

Yoshi's performers, patrons and diners will have even more to cheer about in 2007 as Yoshi's opens a second club and restaurant in the Fillmore District of San Francisco. The new venue, “Yoshi’s San Francisco,” is currently under construction inside a new twelve-story Fillmore Heritage Center on the corner of Fillmore and Eddy streets. In a neighborhood where musicians once came to jam in over a dozen jazz clubs, Yoshi's San Francisco will offer more jazz aficionados - 420 per show - greater opportunities to enjoy world-class jazz and expand the list of major jazz destinations in the U.S.

While some people would get a migraine pondering the thought of promoting multiple jazz concerts across two venues every night, it's the kind of challenge that Joan Rosenberg welcomes. "I am very excited for the opportunity to be involved with marketing a world-class jazz house like Yoshi's," says Rosenberg, "The opening of the Fillmore Street club and restaurant is even more exciting. It's very hard to get the San Francisco and peninsula residents to drive over the bridge even for the big rock shows. Soon they will have year-round access to enjoy some of the best live jazz right in their own backyard and the musicians will have another great club to play in."

Rosenberg started out as Marketing Manager for Bill Graham Presents (BGP) in 1998. She was responsible for developing creative cross-marketing packages for BGP's annual events including New Orleans By The Bay and San Francisco New Year's Eve. She left BGP for a short time to become Senior Marketing and Communications Manager at a digital music company that was ultimately bought out by a record label. She returned to BGP in 2001 as the Publicity and Promotions Manager and shortly after that was promoted to Director of Marketing. In this role for roughly five years, she has been responsible for all aspects of advertising live entertainment at venues from 900 to 20,000 seats in various markets of Northern California and the North Western United States. Joan graduated from Oakland's Holy Names High School and obtained a B.A. in business from Holy Names University. She was born in Yonkers, New York, lived in both Manhattan and Brooklyn for most of her childhood, and now resides in the Bay Area.

"We are very excited about our new venue in San Francisco,” says Yoshi’s co-owner Kaz Kajimura. “We feel that Joan Rosenberg is the perfect person to take Yoshi's to the next level.”

Yoshi’s Artistic Director Peter Williams concurs. "I'm thrilled to have Joan on board. She brings a great blend of enthusiasm, experience, and professionalism to Yoshi's.”

Joan replaces Jason Arnold of Theme Productions, who has managed Yoshi's publicity and marketing in an interim capacity for the past four months. As Rosenberg enters her position at the renowned jazz club, Arnold will focus his efforts on promoting the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Presented by Verizon, September 15-17. He began working on behalf of Yoshi's in January 2006 after the departure of eight-year Yoshi's veteran Marshall Lamm.

Williams adds, "Change in an organization like Yoshi's is challenging, and losing a key member of a small staff can be difficult. However, this transition could not have been smoother, and this has turned into a great opportunity for us. I am so excited about our future and am looking forward to working with Joan. My sincere thanks also to Jason Arnold for stepping up and picking up the slack in this transition period."

For a current schedule or more information on Yoshi's, please visit www.yoshis.com.

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Oakland Mayoral Debate & RCPC Candidates Forum - April 20th, 7 PM, 5951 College Avenue

I saw this at the Rockridge Community Planning Council's Website:

"The April 20 Candidates' Night will consist of two events: a debate between the three candidates for the mayor of Oakland and a brief presentation by each of the seven candidates for the Board of the Rockridge Community Planning Council. (Details, page 3). Attendees will also have an opportunity to vote for candidates for the Board of the Friends of the Rockridge Library (FORL). (Details, page 5). The event begins at 7 pm at the College Avenue Presbyterian Church Sanctuary, 5951 College Avenue"

Here are the details, again from the RCPC:

Oakland Mayoral Debate
by Cy Gulassa, Editor

You've watched them on TV, read about them in the papers, and listened to critics; now it's time to come hear for yourself what Ron Dellums, Ignacio De La Fuente, and Nancy Nadel have to say about the future of Oakland and Rockridge. What's to be done about schools, libraries, crime, traffic, parks, redevelopment, zoning, trees, (take a deep breath), sidewalks, litter, billboards and budgets? What about city business taxes? Or the strong mayor proposition?

This is your opportunity to ask tough questions and afterwards vote in a straw poll for your favorite.

The Contenders:

-- Ron Dellums, a native of Oakland, worked his way up the ladder of politics from Berkeley City Councilmember to long-term liberal Congressman. He won national fame for his oratory and steadfast opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa. As the first African-American member of the House Armed Services Committee, he was critical of the military and wasteful defense spending.

Lauded for his contributions, he resigned in 1998 after 27 years of Congressional service. Among other pursuits, he has since worked as a lobbyist for local and national businesses.

-- Ignacio De La Fuente became an American citizen at 21, settled in Oakland and began a career in union work that led to his present job as business manager of an international union serving 30 companies. He was elected to the City Council in 1992 and became council president in 1999 after passage of Measure X, the strong mayor initiative. He is the point person for downtown and neighborhood revitalization, and his achievements include the Fruitvale transit village and the
conversion of the Montgomery Ward building into a school.

-- Nancy Nadel, elected for two terms to the EBMUD Board and its first female president, has served for nine years on the City Council. A popular progressive who ran unopposed in the last election, she prides herself on the redevelopment in District 3, including the creation of a transit village at the West Oakland BART station and the revitalization of the Jack London Square area and Old Oakland. Other improvements she shepherded include new market-rate condominiums

Dona Tomas Is In Oakland, Not Berkeley! Geez!

I saw this post over at this random blog which read:

"Dinner in Berkeley
We dined last night with our friends Penny and Dave (both excellent chefs and foodies) at a restaurant of their choice called Dona Tomas (5004 Telegraph St.). They serve high-end Mexican cuisine and yum yum, it was great. The margaritas on the rocks were not too sweet and just perfect...."

Reenie Cooks, you were in the Temescal District of Oakland, and not even a stone's throw from Berkeley.

It's amazing to me how many people seem to think the nicer parts of Oakland aren't in Oakland at all.

Geez.

In A Web-Page World, Council President De La Fuente Asks Oaklanders to Read His 32-Page Bio

Hmm...

Personally, I'd read it Ignacio, but it wasn't a great campaign move at all. That written, I do know you have a story to tell. But it's better done online using a camcorder.

There's your campaign hint.