Rasselas Jazz Club: Concerts for Change Benefiting Homeless & Hunger December 28th

I just got this email regarding this event at Rasselas Jazz Club on December 28th:

Concerts for Change – Benefiting Homeless & Hunger

Featuring some of the Best Jazz Funk Bands in the Bay Area:

Messy Guest Quartet (jazz, funk)                                      Dec 28 th

An up and coming high-energy band that will keep you dancing.

Fil Lorenz Soul-Kestra, 14 piece soul-jazz-funk orchestra.    Jan 25 th

A world-class band, impeccable, and limitless in its capabilities.

Joe Bagale, with an 8-piece band and unstoppable grove.    Feb 22 nd

These guys will make sure your booty is shakin' & souls are breaking.

Free Ticket Raffle: visit Progressive-Alliance.org to find out more.

Ages:     All Ages until 10 pm, After 10 pm 21+ Only

Cost:      Only $9 on line, and Only $12 at the door

Dates:    Sundays Dec 28 th, Jan 25 th, Feb 22nd

Time:     doors 7 pm, show 8pm

Place:     Rasselas Jazz Club & Restaurant

1534 Fillmore Street bet: Geary & O’Farrell

Organized and Produced by Progressive-Alliance.org

With Special Thanks to Rasselas Jazz Club for letting us use their venue.

Thanks so much for your time and support.

Sincerely,

Paul Warnow                  paul@progressive-alliance.org

Social Network:     http://progressive-alliance.net/

Static Website:      http://progressive-alliance.org/

Email:         paul@progressive-alliance.org

Zennie Abraham's Travel Problem Focus of CNN Live Appearance Today

I had the pleasure of sharing my iReport story with CNN's anchor Richard Lui who's a fellow Cal=Berkeley graduate like myself. The original video on CNN is below and I told my story live today at CNN Headquarters. Thanks to the CNN iReport team and to the  producers at CNN. 


Original video:

East Bay Express Chris Thompson Didn't Get Robert Bobb Salary Memo

I just read the East Bay Express' Chris Thompson's blog about the fact that Mayor Ron Dellums still has not named a City Administrator.  That's because the one person Dellums wants -- former City Manager Robert Bobb -- reportedly asked for $350,000 !  That's too much for the cash-strapped City of Oakland to stomach.  

Oakland Tribune Owner MediaNews Group In Trouble - San Francisco Business Times:

More at San Francisco Business Times:: “Moody's Investors Services on Thursday rated MediaNews Group Inc. -- owner of 29 newspapers in Northern California -- as being in “substantial risk” of default on its debt.

Denver-based MediaNews owns the Oakland Tribune, the Contra Costa Times, the Argus in Fremont, and the San Jose Mercury News, among other local papers.

The ratings service downgraded its “corporate family rating” of the privately held media company to Caa3 from B3 on $962 million in debt. It also lowered its “probability of default” rating to Caa3 from Caa1.”

-- And the Trib's plan to charge money to online readers for content access is not going to stop this slide.

David Cohen Latest Bay Area News Layoff Victim - Editor and Publisher

More at Editor and Publisher: “CHICAGO David Cohen founded the newspaper group in California that became Silicon Valley Community Newspapers (SVCN), and became its principal owner and CEO when it was spun off as a separate group. It grew from six to 11 weeklies.

When Cohen sold SVCN to Knight Ridder, he stayed on as group publisher and retained the position when the weeklies ended up with MediaNews Group as part of its acquisition of the San Jose Mercury News.

But now Cohen joins the large ranks of newspaper veterans laid off by the brutal industry economy. In a literal exit interview with his newspaper, the publisher told reporter Dale Bryant he understood the move.
”

Oakland's Fox Theater Preview - SF Gate.com

More at SFGate.com : “(12-25) 16:54 PST -- It's difficult to say what is more remarkable about the hallucinogenic interior of the Fox Oakland Theater: the Moorish details that flood the ceilings and walls, or the fact it survived decades of neglect.

"It's a wonderful glimpse of the past," said Kurt Schindler, a principal of the Berkeley architecture firm ELS. "These picture palaces were about glitz. They were designed to take you into another era, offering fantasy and escape."

Schindler's firm is one of many consultants that had a hand in bringing the Fox back to life. It reopens Feb. 5 - a little more than 80 years after its premiere and 43 years after the theater last was used with any sort of regularity.”

The Hot Toddies Sing "Rocker Girl" at The Uptown

I've actually heard a lot about the Hot Toddies, but never seen them. So here they are at the Uptown Night Club on Telegraph Avenue. Wonder when they'll be back?

Southwest Boeing 737 landing at Oakland International - Video

I love this kind of video and considering that we're all traveling it's appropriate for this time of year. A Southwest plane coming in for landing in Oakland and where one can see East Oakland below.

Oakland Survey Shows Young People Want Jobs : postnewsgroup.net

More from The Oakland Post: “The young people based their findings, which they presented to board members Nov. 18, on a survey they conducted of 1,000 youth in West Oakland, Sobrante Park, Cherryland and Ashland.
In West Oakland, 91 percent said drugs were a problem, and 8 percent said violence was a problem. In Sobrante Park, 73 percent said violence and drugs were a problem. When asked how violence can be stopped, the majority of young people said they needed more jobs, sports and dance groups, and a recreation center,”

-- Old news at the Post, but needs to see the light of day.

Budget Deficit Faces Oakland City Council - Oakland Tribune

More at Inside Bay Area: “OAKLAND — City officials will be swimming in red ink once again when they return to business after the New Year.
Mayor Ron Dellums released a budget report this week projecting a general fund deficit of $50 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, and $58 million the year after that. The bleak projections are due to an economy in recession and expected increases in spending on children's programs and employee benefits and pension obligations, among other things, Dellums' report said.
The mayor will meet with the City Council on Jan. 12 to begin hammering out a spending plan for the two-year period beginning July 1 and to take stock of the city's fiscal picture over the next five years.
"Most public agencies nationwide, as well as private businesses large and small, local and global, face a daunting financial future," Dellums said in a statement. "The city of Oakland is no exception. The economic downturn that we face is unprecedented."
The projected $50 million deficit for the 2009-10 fiscal year represents more than 10 percent of Oakland's general fund, and Dellums recommended a number of possibilities for closing the gap, including asking voters for an increase in the local sales tax to pay for specific programs; negotiating with employees for concessions on retirement and medical benefits; and the possibility of more City Hall closures in years to come.”

Obama Shirtless? My Chest Is Better Than Barack Obama's

The sight of our President-Elect Barack Obama shirtless in Hawaii has some in a tizzy. But look, many brothers have hairless, sculpted chests, like me! My chest is better than President Obamas!