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More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com According to a friend, City of Oakland employees got a real long Labor Day vacation. First, the City was closed last Friday. Then we had the three day weekend holiday which was to end on Tuesday, but in the City of Oakland's case, employees were furloughed on Tuesday (and I know because I saw Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente looking badass in sunglasses at the Lake Chalet's Patio for "Taco Tuesday") so that means most didn't come back to work until Wednesday - unless they happened to take that as a sick day. The result: a full six days off. Even with all of that rest, morale is still really low in all quarters. Why? Well, for starters to be furloughed means you don't get to work that day and you don't get paid. My friend thinks its a good way to save money, so no complaints there for that person, but it's not the same for some others...

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com The latest news in the unfortunate story of the accused battery and assault charge on San Diego Linebacker Shawne Merriman by Tila Tequila is that Merriman claims he was trying to get Tequila , who's real name is Tila Nguyen, to avoid driving while intoxicated. This is just what I speculated in my video commentary: Tila's lawyer disputes Merriman's claim, saying it's "spin" but does not offer an alternative explanation regarding what happened. Morever Tila herself now says she was not drinking, and that she's allergic to alcohol. Really interesting... But Stingaree nightclub owner James Brennan says that Tila was drinking Saturday night. Apparently Tila made the claim to an aversion to cocktails on her Twitter page but that specific tweet is now not to be found . Also not to be found is any reason why Tila's suddenly covering up he...

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Last Wednesday I attended the suprisingly popular public hearing held at Hayward City Hall by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) on the planned Russell City Energy Center. I've followed this issue because it's another example of what I contend is an unnecessary division between jobs and environmental health. The hearing did not result in a final decision being made but was held to gain the required public comments on Calpine's permit application to build the 600-megawatt complex. But that didn't stop people, mostly opposed by a 60 percent, 40 percent ratio, from coming out to the meeting, which I'm from here down calling "an event". I also must observe that I don't think a lot of the opponents really understood the technical issues behind the plant enough to be shown evidence that Calpine's working to have a plant that...

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com I had to take a time out to send a little message to my friend Jack Cafferty at CNN. He has a blog post focusing on Van Jones and asking if the White House should have so many czars. Van Jones: Mayor of Oakland Now a bit of background, CNN's been very good to me by giving me a platform to feature my video work, particularly during the Democratic National Convention last year, and putting me on live TV more times than I can immediately recall. CNN essentially "made me" so after so many appearances and headquarters visits, like the one below, where I met the iReport staff that's become family to me, I've got a pretty good idea what they're looking for. Now, I know what CNN's doing - same thing I do - ask a question or go to a subject that I know will smack the hornets nest and get people emailing, commenting, and talking, er, like this one. It...

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Is California becoming a "party economy"? Governor Schwarzenegger should talk to Joe Diamos. Diamos says we're in trouble Since our credit crunch of 2008 and the staggering wave of not just job losses but the dramatic drop in overall job creation over the last eight years, I've always believed our American economy was in trouble. Rather than throw out a bunch of statistics, I decided to turn to someone who's in the middle of the economic storm: Joe Diamos of Diamos Funding Group in Redwood City, Ca. Diamos' company is a law firm that specializes in representing you before the bank you have a mortgage with to get that bank to adjust your loan - called "loan modification" - so that you're better able to afford your monthly payments. I asked Mr. Diamos how the economy was doing; I didn't get an enthusiastic answer. "It...

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com On YouTube.com Lady GaGa , The Jonas Brothers and Gravy Boat are all in the business of music and part of my new series called "Music Monday" where we feature blogs and videos about local and national singers and groups. Lady Gaga is the incredible pop pretty singer with infectious dance tunes like "Poker Face. The Jonas Brothers have become a World phenomenon, I present to you Gravy Boat . Gravy Boat - which features Steve Gerard, Erik Frykman, Marc Ramsey and Don Frank - is based in Marin and plays in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, my connection to this cover band is my friendship with Erik and his brother Lars, which goes back to when we were, oh, 14 years old.   Lars and Me: 1974  Fast forward to August 2009, and I visited San Francisco's popular bar and restaurant La Barca to here Gravy Boat for the first time.  I also brought my camco...

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com The lastest information on the ongoing story of the trade of New England Patriots Defensive End Richard Seymour to Oakland has Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable on the NFL Network today at 4 PM PST saying that the star lineman told him he wants to come to Oakland. According to Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times , Cable said he talked to Seymour today. That counters earlier information that Seymour didn't want to come to Oakland. He was traded to Oakland for the Raiders 2011 first round draft pick, leading some to scratch their heads regarding why the Silver and Black would make such a trade for someone about to turn 30 years old. The NFL network's Alex Flanagan said it for me "It seems confusing." Mike Mayock said that the Raiders could control Seymour by slapping the much-hated "franchise" tag on him after 2010. Solomon Wilcots observed tha...