City Auditor Roland Smith Sues The City Of Oakland - Tribune

I've known Roland Smith for over 10 years and going back to my days with The Montclarion. I first met him at the annual Christmas party of a mutual friend. As to the matter of how Roland treats his staff, this has been old news. But I didn't realize it had escalated to this level. Roland needs the staffers, if only to take a look at how the City's spending its money.

Embattled auditor sues Oakland
Mayor, council named in filing that asks a judge to restore staff
By Heather MacDonald, STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUNE

OAKLAND — City Auditor Roland Smith has sued the mayor, city administrator and City Council, claiming they improperly stripped his office of the staff needed to effectively execute its duties.

Filed Monday in Alameda County Superior Court, the lawsuit asks a judge to order the city to immediately hire three permanent deputy city auditors and to increase the number of positions in the office to nine beginning July 1.

"Principles of independence and accountability demand that the city's auditing powers be guarded against political interference," according to the suit. In addition, the suit asks the judge to hold a hearing to determine precisely how many staff members are necessary to meet the requirements laid out by the City Charter.

In January, an internal investigation that determined Smith created a hostile work environment prompted City Administrator Deborah Edgerly to reassign all but two members of his office.

Smith, who dismisses those allegations as "distortions and fabrications," has long battled the council and city administration over staffing and his budget. Smith will face three challengers on June 6 in his bid for a third term.

Scott Kivel, Smith's Petaluma-based attorney, acknowledged it was unusual for an elected official to sue other elected officials in the same municipal government.

Kivel said Smith filed suit after exhausting all of his "viable" solutions. Smith scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. today to discuss the lawsuit.

The City Attorney's Office has recused itself, said Erica Harrold, a spokeswoman for City Attorney John Russo. The firm of Ruiz & Sperow has been retained to represent the city, she added.

Edgerly did not return a phone message Wednesday afternoon.

The inquiry, conducted by a private law firm, found Smith verbally abused his staff, retaliated against them when they complained and made derogatory remarks about women and Asian employees.

In March, Edgerly agreed to recommend to the council that three new staff members be hired, with three more hired after the start of the fiscal year on July 1. In return, Smith agreed to allow Edgerly to assign an employee to keep tabs on the day-to-day operations of the office and have final say over any personnel decisions.

That agreement was mediated by Judge Richard Hodge, the former presiding judge of the Alameda County Superior Courts.
However, on April 4, the council agreed to hire three new employees in the auditor's office — but only on a temporary basis, and made no final decision regarding staffing for the 2006-07 fiscal year.

Several council members said they were concerned that the problems in the office would reoccur and prove costly for the city.
Smith's suit accuses Edgerly of failing to live up to the agreement, and contends the City Charter gives the council no choice but to adequately fund the independent office of the auditor. That position is supported by an opinion issued by Russo.
In a statement, Russo said the ultimate resolution of the suit should preserve "the independence of the office rather than one that subjects it to inappropriate council control."

Cody's Is Closing? I Can't Believe It!

Well, the place I have long associated with Berkeley culture and my Cal years is closing. Cody's on Telegraph Avenue.

It was just two years ago that Cody's played host to former President Clinton and I came over to pay my respects and hand a letter to one of Clinton's aides about my now late stepfather, who grew up in Hope, Arkansas, the former President's home town.

Wow. It's such an institution. It can't be allowed to just fade away.

But I guess that's up to Fred Cody, isn't it?

Disturbing Pattern Of Targeting Certain African American Establishments Near Adams Point Emerging

In reading the Yahoo! Message Boards, a constant plug for Yahoo! when I type this, I see a constant pattern of targeting some African American businesses: The Golden Bear and The Seranader, both bars, are mentioned.

I've not seen any examples of the kind of crime that has come to plague some downtown Oakland establishments. Rather, some of the people writing on the boards undoubtedly make assumptions about "those people" because they are black, and in the case of the Seranader, have patrons who ride motorcycles.

I hope this pattern of racial targeting stops. Having people with different, yet safe habits has historically given texture and vibe to the Lake Merritt culture. There's no reason to try to force some businesses to close under the guise of safety when the real, underlying reason, is skin color.

I have several friends -- white -- who regularly go to these establishments and have a great time.

There's no reason anyone else who lives in Adams Point can't either.

That written, if a large group of residents of Adams Point has a problem with some of the activity that once-in-a-while happens in front of those establishments, I'll bet you the owners agree as well.

Let's help them stay open.

Oakland Teachers Settle Strike - Oakland Tribune

By Paul T. Rosynsky - STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUNE

OAKLAND - City teachers voted for stability Wednesday night, agreeing to a three-year contract that will end free health care but add more than 6 percent to salaries during the next three years.
Beating back a last-minute drive by opponents urging teachers to vote against the pact, a definitive majority, 931 to 639, instead said they can live with contract provisions that will have them paying at most $700 per year for health care.

``A lot of time has been taken away from the children already,'' said high school teacher Barbara Castleton. ``If I was teaching to get the last possible dime I could, I wouldn't be teaching.''

Many of the teachers who said they voted in favor of the contract made similar argument as they left the Oakland Scottish Rite Center.

Many also said they saw no resolution in sight if the contract had been rejected.

``The alternative is to go back and bargain, which would be too hard, or to go on strike, and nobody wants to do that,'' said an elementary school teacher who also voted in favor of the contract.

The contract approval brings an end to the more than two-year saga that came within hours of a strike. It also eases, for now, the hostile relationship between teachers and State Administrator Randolph Ward, who took over the bankrupt district more than three years ago.

``It's a big win for teachers and for families,'' school district spokesperson Alex Katz said. ``The important thing is to focus on the last five weeks of the school year and make it as productive as possible,'' Katz said.

The contract's approval, however, had not been guaranteed.

The union's bargaining team and district officials first reached a tentative agreement on April 19, averting a strike the following day.

But within hours, a group of teachers began to lobby against the pact.

It failed to win an endorsement from the union's executive board and among union representatives from Oakland schools. David de Leeuw, chairman of the union bargaining team, said he would vote against the pact. Union president Ben Visnick supported the deal.

Contract supporters said it is a fair deal and those opposed said it is not enough to keep teachers in Oakland.

Health benefits were the biggest sticking point in contract negotiations and the tentative agreement will end free health care for teachers.

Under the deal, retroactive to July 1, 2005, teachers will receive free health care during the first year, and spend half a percent of their salaries on health benefits during the second and third years. Beginning June 30, 2008, the union will cover 4 percent of premium costs. Teachers will pay no more than $700 per year for health care and their contribution will be based on salary.

Teachers also will receive a 6.25 percent raise over three years, although many have noted that 4 percent of the increase is the restoration of a previous pay cut.

``No one is jumping for joy,'' Union president Ben Visnick said. ``Money is not great in this contract but it was the health care that mattered.''

The deal met with resistance the minute it left the bargaining table.

The union's 16-person executive board deadlocked over whether to endorse the contract in late April and union representatives voted it down 55 to 46 earlier this month.

In the end, however, it came down to teachers not wanting to go on strike and realizing the district did not have the cash to pay increased benefits.

``These are the economic realities of the district,'' said a teacher from an elementary school, who voted in favor of the deal. ``We're in debt to the state ... teachers are just not going to get a better deal.''

Lenox Av Abduction -- One Suspect Still At Large - Oakland Tribune

This is the Lenox Av Abduction Matter

Teen charged as an adult in kidnap, rape
Second suspect sought in 'vicious' Oakland hills assault of 35-year-old
By Harry Harris, STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUE

OAKLAND — A 17-year-old high school dropout will be prosecuted as an adult in the kidnap-robbery-rape last week of a 35-year-old woman that one investigator called the most brutal assault he has ever seen.
A second suspect is being sought.

West Oakland resident Clifton Haynes was charged Tuesday with forcible rape, kidnapping to commit robbery, carjacking and three other sex crime counts. Haynes has acknowledged his involvement, authorities said.

Authorities could only confirm one prior arrest for Haynes. But Assistant District Attorney Norbert Chu, who filed the charges and made the decision to prosecute Haynes as an adult, said that made no difference.

Citing the severity of the crime, Chu said he would have made the same decision had Haynes' record been clean.

"This was a sophisticated, vicious and brutal crime," Chu said.

Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, who investigated the case with Sgt. Steve Lovell, called what happened to the woman "the most brutal sexual assault" he has seen in his 16-year career.

The woman had just gotten out of her car on Lenox Avenue in Adams Point about 7:45 p.m. Thursday to visit friends when Haynes and the still-unidentified accomplice confronted her with guns, Arotzarena said.

The woman was robbed and then forced into her black Volkswagen Jetta by the suspects and driven away, police said. They took her to an ATM in Castro Valley, where she was forced to withdraw money, police said. She was then driven to the Leona Heights area in the Oakland hills, where the sexual assault took place, police said.

Arotzarena said it is still not clear if the second suspect joined in the sexual assault on the woman, who needed medical treatment for injuries. The woman was left in the hills about 8:45 p.m. Thursday and sought help from nearby residents.

The break in the case came Friday afternoon. Arotzarena said Haynes had driven the Volkswagen to the 400 block of 28th Street to steal some paper plates from an auto dealership to try to deter police from looking for the car.

But he locked the keys in the car and was spotted breaking into it and driving off by a dealership employee, who called police, Arotzarena said.

Officers responding to that call found items on the street dropped from the car linking it to the rape victim.

Sgt. Paul Bernard spotted the Volkswagen a short time later at 12th and Center streets, stopped it and arrested Haynes.

Arotzarena said police are investigating whether Haynes could be responsible for other street robberies in the Adams Point area.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are still offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the second suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at 238-6946.