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I appreciate that you are friends with Deborah Edgerly , and take your comments with that grain of salt. I also agree that there is no doubt more to this story, and it may play out in her favor. We will all have to see what happens, and I for one await further insights and will suspend judgment. However, 2 thinhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifgs regarding her being a scapegoat for nepotism: 1. Just because it happens a lot doesn't make it right. You know this, as does everyone who's made it out of the 3rd grade. 2. I'm trying to think of anyone else who could or WOULD call the OPD repeatedly to make sure that their child gets preferential treatment. Can't think of anyone. Certainly no elected official would risk that - assuming that they carried that much political weight. And certainly only a few appointed individuals have the clout to force something like that. So to suggest that everyone does it strikes me as a bit of a mis-characterization. At least you're ...

What I find so "funny" -- and by that I mean strange -- about the entire rush to oust Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly , is that she not only does have the City Charter-endowed right to impact what City staff -- including the police department -- but she'e being scapegoated for an action that certain City Council members have been known for: calling city staff to have them act on something. The difference is that Miss E can do that, but City Councilmembers can't do that. But it happens on a regular basis. I think this is a real flaw in the City Charter in that Councilmembers should be able to have some sway over what is done by City Staff, but only to a certain extent. But the fact is that at least one Councilmember was known to call city staffers and push through contracts for relatives. That's a fact. The East Bay Express , and some other bloggers just don't know Oakland at all.

For me, covering what turned out to be this three-part video documentary started with a call from a friend and fellow Cal Alum who said that I should get "down there" with my camera because there was no video on what was happening. So, fresh from a meeting, and with two hours to spare, I went over to the Grove in front of Cal Memorial Stadium, the site of the clash between the Cal Tree Sitters and the UC Administration and Police. The overall story is that we -- Cal -- needs an upgraded stadium facility and the plans for this have been in the works for almost ten years. With the success of Cal Coach Jeff Tedford, it became easier to raise money toward this objective. As part of the effort , the University of California was able to secure $500 million from British Petroleum, most of which would go to the creation of a new research institute, and the rest toward what will be an athletic facility upgrade -- a new training center where the Grove is. (CORRECTION - The BP D...

Ok. Here's another reason why Mayor Ron Dellums and other Oakland Officials should think twice before firing or forcing out Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly regarding her alledged interference with a police investigation is this: she's protected by the Oakland City Charter and such an action is blocked and considered a crime itself -- Section 1208. Violation. The violation of any provision of the Charter shall be deemed a misdemeanor and be punishable upon conviction in the manner provided by State Law, unless otherwise expressly provided for in this Charter. (Amended by: Stats. November 1988 and Stats. November 2000.) One thing I learned from working for Mayor Elihu Harris was to ask what the Oakland City Charter says. So I did. This is the section of the Charter that governs "Miss E": ARTICLE V THE CITY MANAGER Section 500. Appointment. The Mayor shall appoint a City Administrator, subject to the confirmation by the City Council, who shall be the c...

UPDATE: Deborah Edgerly Protected By Oakland City Charter UPDATE: Chip Johnson's Right About Favoritism in Oakland UPDATE: Delums Fires Edgerly UPDATE: Rumor: Oakland Police Wiretapped Deborah Edgerly UPDATE: John Russo and Courtney Ruby present reform package There's a bit too much desire to throw Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly under the bus regarding her alledged interference with a police investigation of an Oakland Gang. Knowing "Miss E" as I have since 1993, I'm going to come to her defense. In 15 years I'm never known Miss E to do anything but play by the book. Sometimes that's frustrated my efforts, particularly when I worked to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland, but even in my worst moments during that time between 1999 and 2001, I understood her position. But I've always respected and regarded her as a custodian of the City's budget and procedures. So this new story sound like just that -- I don't believe for ...

Tom Gonzales, has filed a lawsuit to against East Bay Community Foundation of Oakland and to regain control of his son's charitable bequest in order to ensure that the tens of millions of dollars are spent as the younger Tom Gonzales wished. In this, the image of the East Bay Community Foundation has been damaged. The East Bay Community Foundation was originally the receiver of a bequest of $23 million from the Gonzales Foundation,and it was to be controlled by EBCF. But distribution of the money has been on hold until various tax claims involving the Gonzales estate are resolved. In a kind of fit, EBCF elected to sue the family just because EBCF has not received all of the money. I guess they forgot who it belonged to. But in doing this, the reputation of the East Bay Community Foundation has been damaged because it seems like an awardee can't trust the East Bay Community Foundation to simply hang on and be a team player. Stay tuned.

This video covers the events outside San Francisco City Hall involving the first day of legal same sex marriage in San Francisco: Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 5:38 PM. A historic news and politics event. I went with the objective of determining the opinions of people in the crowd. I even met a woman from Oakland holding a sign that read "Hetero Couples For Gay Marriage".