Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

This is a video of the recent June 19, 2008 meeting to present Safeway's controversial plan to dramatically move and expand the current Safeway store at College Avenue and Claremont. The new store will be at 6310 College Avenue and roughly at what is now a corner gas station. The new 75,000 square foot store -- three times the size of the current facility -- will undoubtefly bring more traffic and also foot traffic closer to the center of Rockridge in North Oakland. That's the concern of the over 300 people who packed the room on that hot Thursday June 19th evening. The video features incumbent Councilmember Jane Brunner's presentation of the meeting, a talk with Patrick McCullough, who was Brunner's challenger in the last election primary (2008), a presentation by Dan Metzger of the Claremont / Elwood Neighbor Association, Stu Flashman of The Rockridge Community Planning Council, and Elizabeth Jewel, the planning consultant, as well as Todd Paradis, of the Safeway Rea...

I created this "vlog" (video-blog) to deal with and talk about a problem I've had with certain friends. Perhaps you've had the same problem where some of your, in my case, friends who are White (or the reverse or generally interracial) don't give you proper "consideration" in your friendship, where consideration is a kind of contract that all friendships have -- a contract of basic expectations of treatment. In other words, while you call them, they don't call you, or if you are dealing with someone who's racist, they tell you that you "see racism" rather than coming to your aide. Or they are your friends as long as they're able to take advantage of you or get information from you, but when they get around their friends, you suddenly don't exist. I'd like to know your response to my video and your view. Thanks.

The Hot Pink Feathers Dance Troupe Is introduced by Peter Van Kleef just before their performance at Cafe Van Kleef in the Updown District of Downtown Oakland. You can learn more about the popular dancers at their website at HotPinkFeathers.com or by just visiting Cafe Van Kleef on the first Saturday of the month at 9 PM. Video is also on MetaCafe , and Google , as well as MySpace , Crackle , and other sites.

Liza Zimmerman, AKA "Liza The Wine Chick" took me and a bunch of others to the C. Donatiello Winery , a great winery in Sonoma, just outside of Healdsburg, California. The full account is covered in The SF Examiner , but I can report that the limo ride and the winery and company were fun. Stay tuned for the video of the trip. If you want to learn more about Liza The Wine Chic, visit her website at http://lizathewinechick.com

Yesterday, I reported a rumor that Deborah Edgerly, Oakland's Chief Administrative Officer, was going to be placed on Administrative Leave . Today, that rumor has been confirmed by the Oakland Tribune and SFGate.com . From the Trib.. Mayor Ron Dellums sent Edgerly notice at 1:24 p.m. Friday that she had been placed on paid administrative leave until her July 31 retirement date amid allegations that Edgerly interfered with a police investigation. Dellums' move came just three days after he joined Edgerly at a City Hall news conference to announce that Edgerly would be allowed to serve through the end of July, as the two had previously agreed, even as Edgerly faced mounting criticism. My comments from before, stand. I feel the Mayor should have stuck to one decision -- the first one -- and not given in to pressure. I continue to feel sorry for what "MissE" is going through and feel that, while she's certainly made mistakes, her counterparts before her have as ...

Larry Bowoto, the Nigerian Accuser who claimed that Chevron hired people who then shot him and violated his human rights, is the focus of a court hearing that starts today according to the SF Sentinel, and which seeks to learn why Bowoto dropped half the charges that he brought before Chevron. Chevron has claimed that Bowoto and more than 100 members of his paramilitary group stormed the Parabe oil platform, 9 miles off the Nigerian coast and held its employees hostage until Nigerian police and military intervened and helped save the Chevron Nigeria employees. It reads like another version of the Ecuador Shakedown. I am getting updates on this via the Internet so visit this blog for more news on this investigation.

I just came from a dinner and during that event, learned that Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Deborah Edgerly may have been placed on administrative leave, but David Shea, Chief of Staff for Mayor Ron Delums would not confirm that a high-level meeting took place today or that the outcome was indeed to change the CAO's status from "retiring July 31st but still working" to "paid administrative leave." In my view, swaying from one decision to another is not a sign of good leadership. It's not the Mayor Dellums can't be a good leader, but I think what's happened is that Dellums made a bet that Senator Hillary Clinton would be the next step in his occupational life, lost that bet when he failed to back Senator Barack Obama, who's going to be the next president, and now is concerned about maintaining the job of Mayor. Thus, the back-and-forth indecision.