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My long time friend -- all the way back to Bret Harte junior high school and Skyline High School-- car salesman (I bought mine from him, as did KNBR's Gary Radnich), actor, and all around "Man about town" Richard Liberman is going to be the online columnist for "Matier and Ross", the popular muckracking columnists of the San Francisco Chronicle. I am very proud of Richard, and as I told him, they're grooming him to become the next Herb Caine. People -- like me -- are already sending him items. You may remember that for a time, Richard played "Big Vinny" in the Round Table Pizza commercials of about four years ago. There was even talk of Richard playing a role on "The Sopranos." Richard was born to be a star. I can remember when he talked the Women's Pro Tennis reps into letting me onto court to photograph Margaret Court in a tennis match while we were in high school. Richard's always had great media connections, and even L...

I was reading the SF Chronicle at Gold's Gym yesterday, and noticed that Ron Oz took out an entire page in the news section to tell people why he's the best choice for Oakland Mayor. The problem was that he had too many words. I wonder who's going to read it. He should have had big 64-point letters reading "Ron Oz For Mayor of Oakland." That's enough.

I just read Bill Bradley's new west notes which report that Jerry Brown's being outspent by his AG challenger Rocky Delgadillo on TV ads by $2 milllion to just $400,000 for Jerry Brown. That's a dangerous stat for Jerry, and I hope it's not borne of some arrogance on his part. He says he's being "frugal" -- only Jerry could turn an obvious fact that he just plain thinks he can beat Rocky into yet another personal branding effort, where someone will come away saying "Well Jerry Brown thinks small is beautiful, so that's the reason." Oh, brother.

I found this news posted on the Adams Point Yahoo Message Board. I really believe that renters should invest in alarm systems. Thw noise would deter the criminals over time. Imagine hearing the loud siren for blocks. You'd know something was wrong right off the bat. Today, Memorial Day, sometime between 9am and 3 pm, a back unit in apt. bldg. where I live, was broken into and a laptop computer stolen. The robber(s)got in by pushing a green "yard clippings" bin just under the bedroom window and climbing in through a window that had been left slightly ajar. Robber(s) exited through main door of apt. This was in broad daylight, and in full view of a number of condos and apts., plus a house to each side with "vision access." It seems reminiscent of burglary reported for 362 Euclid Ave. on May 20th.

I wish we had this kind of contest when Jerry Brown ran for his second term. But now, we've got a good one and the fur will fly in the next week. Ron Dellums is still the best choice over the two candidates most responsible for Oakland's governmental morale problem. Oakland mayoral candidates making final push De La Fuente, Dellums, Nadel pound pavement to win over undecided voters By Heather MacDonald, STAFF WRITER, OAKLAND TRIBUNE OAKLAND — With less than two weeks to go until the election, mayoral candidates Ron Dellums, Ignacio De La Fuente and Nancy Nadel are all working at breakneck speed to convert undecided voters and mobilize their supporters. While Dellums, a former congressman, and De La Fuente, the president of the Oakland City Council, talk of winning outright June 6, most observers of the race expect the close contest to result in a November runoff — and Nadel, an Oakland council member, should not be counted out. "I'm pounding the pavement," sai...

Ron Oz, a local business man running for Mayor of Oakland, bought a banner ad located on the top of the Oakland Tribune website. I must admit, it's the first time I've ever seen this. Will it increase his name recognition? Well, every little bit helps. It's a good idea. Oh, don't be surprised if the ads not there in a few weeks. Just note that it was there on the date of this post.

Laney pins high hopes, demands on new president Faculty, students want Frank Chong to be an advocate for Oakland college By Grace Rauh, STAFF WRITER, OAKLAND TRIBUNE OAKLAND — Frank Chong does not take over as Laney College's new president until July 1, but already it is hard for him to cross the quad or ride a campus elevator unnoticed. On a recent visit from Mission College in Santa Clara, where Chong has been president for three years, giddy faculty members flocked to congratulate him, many acknowledging they rooted for him early this month, when Chong competed against three others for the post. But it was Athletic Director Stan Peters who may have been speaking for the entire college when he ducked into a conference room in Laney's towering administration building last week to tell the new chief he is sure he will do a great job. When Chong answered he would do his best, Peters snapped back: "Don't try. Just get it done." Students and faculty on the campus nea...