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(Tagami with Mayoral Longshot Candidate Ignacio De La Fuente and Charlotte Laws. Yeah, Phil's supporting the longshot.) I saw this at the New Home Builders News Blog and almost choked: "Phil Tagami, a developer who restored the Rotunda Building and is working to rehabilitate the dilapidated Fox Theater in downtown Oakland, said he and others want to hear specifically what it means for a development to embrace diversity.." For as long as I've known Phil -- and that's since 1991 -- he's always had a very weird, unfortunate view of the matter of race and diversity. We've had a lot of arguments about this. Sometimes I thought he seemed to be picking fights with anyone who called for it. Now, in my little playground that's this blog and away from the more rough-and-tumble matters of SBS, I get to adress this issue of diversity and developers and Phil and Oakland. Phil, listen up! Diversity is simply making the choice to find and work with people of co...

Yep. After chiding the Bay Area Reporter for asking his stance on Gay and Lesbian marriage, a deparate-to-win Jerry Brown finally "comes out." Anything to be California's AG.

I've seen her signs around Lake Merritt, so I decided to check out her site. She's spot on about the Port of Oakland, if brief. Here's the rest of her message: "I want to use the District 2 City Council seat to insure that the needs of Oakland's working families come first. We can make Oakland better by increasing funding and support of locally-controlled schools and youth recreation programs, bringing community policing to every area, expanding home ownership opportunities in the city, and creating living wage jobs for our people. We need a more open government so that every member of the community can be part of key decisions on city contracts and development deals, and can influence how our tax dollars are being spent, including Measure Y public safety and Measure DD park expansion funds." "Myth – Oakland does not have the resources to fund education, libraries and parks and recreation. Fact – The Port of Oakland could provide the city with resources...

There's a school of thought that Nancy Nadel's the longshot candidate for Mayor. I'm here to tell you that she out-polls Ignacio De La Fuente, and now to such an extent that he, not she, should be considered the longshot candidate. Nancy's a threat to win because in a city that treats its female politicians well at the polls, Nadel's the first woman to launch a credible campaign for the city's top job. Frankly, all she has to do is pound the pavement and stay out of the Dellums / De La Fuente media battles -- waged by De La Fuente -- and she at leat scare the heck out of Dellums. I can't see her winning, but I can see her forcing a runoff. She's the number two player in the campaign.

Someone recently presented an idea that would remove one of the largest generators of sales tax revenue -- it's a documented fact -- in Oakland for a new stadium for the Oakland A's. Not good and shows a complete lack of understanding of Oakland not to mention redevelopment economics. Just to properly prep the land -- with all of the impact from the storage of cars -- would cost over $100 million. Plus, the land is worth more than just the buildings -- the cars are counted too. Without going into more detail, I'll close by saying it's time to close that idea. It's too much of a win-lose. Pick another site, like Oak to Ninth.

Wow, with his name recognition, you'd think Mayor Jerry Brown would be light years in front of Rocky Delgadillo, his challenger for the California Attorney General's Office. But he's not. Rocky's raised $3.8 million versus Jerry's $4.2 million. That's a near dead heat. Here's Rocky! Rocky shoots for the `Moonbeam' Delgadillo vs. Brown shapes up as competitive attorney general primary BY RICK ORLOV, Staff Writer In one of the most intriguing political races of the season, an upstart Latino politician from East Los Angeles faces one of California's best known - and most controversial - political figures of the last generation. It's Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo vs. the mayor of Oakland and former two-term governor Jerry Brown. At stake in the June 6 primary is the title of Democratic candidate for California attorney general. The winner will face Republican state Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno, who is unopposed in the GOP primary. ...

This project was first proposed way back in 1991. The fact that it's took this long to get it off the ground is a clear sign of Oakland Redevelopment Agency's lethargy and the determination of Oakland's District Six Councilmember Larry Reid. BART's airport monorail on track Officials seek private help for connector targeted to run by 2011 By Paul T. Rosynsky, STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUNE OAKLAND — A plan that would have a private company build and operate BART's monorail to Oakland International Airport appears to have gotten the long-stalled connector project back on track. After years of delays due to a $141 million funding shortage, BART officials now say they believe the job can be done and expect the $377 million monorail to open by 2011. The optimism comes as the agency seeks proposals from private firms that would be willing to cover a $141 million funding gap to get the project. In return, the winning firm would operate the system and collect fares from ...