Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

With Jean Quan's stunning Ranked Choice Voting win in the 2010 Oakland Mayor's Race, the City of Oakland now has six of its eight mayor and city council positions held by women. Here's the count: Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, Council President Jane Brunner (District 1: North Oakland), Coucilmember-Elect Libby Schaaf (District 4: Oakland Hills, Montclair), Councilmember Pat Kernighan (District 2: Chinatown, Glenview), Councilmember Nancy Nadel (District 3: Downtown, West Oakland), and Councilmember Desley Brooks (District Six: Central East Oakland). That leaves just Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente (District 5, Fruitvale, San Antonio), and Councilmember Larry Reid (District 7, East Oakland) as the only remaining male members of the Oakland City Council. Why? This isn't to provide a definitive answer by any stretch, but to start conversation about an important turning point in Oakland's political history. For years, any woman running for office in Oakland ...

Oakland Artist and friend Gabrielle Teschner is no stranger to my videos. She starred, with the setting and the great food and hospitality, during the opening of The Lake Chalet Restaurant in August of 2009 . This time, hard at work at creating art, Gabrielle took time to share with this blogger and viewers her latest creations. She's a specialist in arches and also made a series of blocks around African nations. She calls them "kits." Thus we have "Kit Benin" and so on, after each nation. For more information, Gabrielle Teschner's website is here: http://www.gabrielleteschner.blogspot.com/

If one looks at the statistics for the 2010 Oregon Ducks, it's better for Cal fans with game tickets to go for a half, then make way for The Bears Lair, or Henry's for a session of cocktailing and socializing. Just make sure not to drive. In other words, it looks like it's going to be that kind of day. It's rare to see an opponent that has an average game score of 54.7 points, versus just 17 points allowed. Oregon is first in not just the Pac-10, but the nation in total offense, with 567.2 yards per game. That's totally insane. However, there are some notable statistical openings for Cal. First, Oregon allows a total 329 yards of total offense per game, which can be divided into 229 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. That's enough to be effective, and means that Oregon's pinball scoring machine forces opponents to try and play their game. Few teams can beat Oregon in a track meet, and none in the Pac-10 so far. What's the weakness? ...

View Larger Map Atlanta, GA - When this blogger got the email announcing Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan's Banquet, the first name that jumped off the page was "King of King." King of King is an excellent Chinese Restaurant at 1139 East 12th Street not far from Lake Merritt, yet more in Central East Oakland than the San Antonio District. The last time I visited this place where the Mongolian Beef is to die for was when Alameda County Treasurer Don White ran for Mayor, only to give way to Ron Dellums, who would become Oakland's Mayor. The management of King of King was gracious and prompt. It's no wonder the eatery has been the choice of Oakland insiders for at least the last 15 years. No, it's not the "most best" Chinese food in the Bay Area, OK. But what it has is a hard-to-beat combination of service, price, and local familiarity. King of King is a slice of Oakland everyone must experience at least twice. It's great that Jean's h...

The political career of former State Senator, Assemblyman, and Alameda County Supervisor Don Perata is over. After a miraculous loss to now former Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan, Perata met with the media in Oakland today. According to the blog Oakland North , who's Berkeley J-school students do a great job of covering the part of Oakland that's north of Lake Merritt, Perata said he would not seek a recount, and stood ready to help Oakland's new Mayor-Elect Quan, and any other elected official. From the distance of 2,600 miles, where I am to visit my Mom, the announcement of Perata's decision not to legally challenge the Ranked Choice Voting count was a bit of a surprise, but given the hours that passed between last night and now, it's apparent cooler heads prevailed. That's a good thing.  Jean should be allowed to enjoy her win, and Don should call her ASAP, rather than at some point in time. The bottom line is that Jean Quan won fair and square. More...

The Oakland Mayor's Race is both over and heating up yet again. First, big congratulations to now-former Oakland Councilmember and Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, who won the Ranked Choice Voting mayoral election by 50.98 percent to 49.02 for Former State Senator Don Perata. This after all absentee and provisional ballots were counted today by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, Wednesday. Jean becomes Oakland's first female and first Asian mayor.  That, alone, is massively cool. Second, the outcome has rankled the Perata Campaign, which has put out strong signals that it plans to file a lawsuit to have the vote count "reconsidered." As Perata Campaign Manager John Whitehurst has said to the media "It's a travesty that a candidate that wins 78 percent of the precincts and leads by more than 11,000 votes (after first-choice votes are counted), with a margin of nearly 10 percent, loses the election. In any other contest it would be a landslide win, ...

As of this writing, The KPFA Morning Show is no more, but you can attend a protest of the action at 11 AM at KPFA on 1929 Martin Luther King Jr Way, near the intersection of Martin Luther King and University Avenue in Berkeley. On Monday, four employees of The Berkeley, CA-based, Pacifica-owned KPFA Morning Show , KPFA's most popular locally-produced program - were fired as part of what was called a "cost-cutting" move. The staff includes the two KPFA Morning Show hosts Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla. Many Oaklanders know Aimee Allison as the local personality for Comcast, as well as a former candidate for the Oakland District Two Council Seat that's currently occupied by Pat Kernighan, who won another four year term on election day. Meanwhile, according to a source via email, Brian Edwards-Tiekert was pointed to as the person who made "enemies" on the KPFA Board of Direct...