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The latest Oakland News is good for an old friend.  The Parkway Theater building at 1836 Park Blvd off E. 18th here in Oakland, California, has been unused for over a year now, and the neighborhood before it an empty representation of its once lively self. But all that could change if J Moses Ceaser and the New Parkway Theater Group can raise $200,000 within the next six weeks to reestablish the popular "Speakeasy" theater in the space.  This email sent to this blogger and posted below tells the whole story: Hi Parkway Lovers: Big news! The Parkway will be reopening at its rightful home on Park Blvd! We don’t have a signed lease yet but we’re very close to the finish line and absolutely expect to get something done shortly. Please read on for all the details about the impending lease, other Parkway-related developments, and an amazing Quote of the Week: Negotiations with the Chengs—the Chengs notified us a few weeks back that they would prefer to lease the buil...

This shows Oakland CAO Dan Lindheim (in photo) can dig his own hole fast. The Chief Administrative Officer of Oakland, who's days are numbered in the wake of Jean Quan's victory to become Oakland's Mayor-Elect, insulted Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, saying she "clearly shows a lack of understanding of the City's financial system and the reporting of its assets," as reported by the Oakland Tribune . This blogger, who worked for two of the last three Mayors of Oakland, has seen a ton of examples of hubris, including from myself, but nothing to match what Dan Lindheim wrote about the City Auditor's Report of The Community and Economic Development Agency (CEDA), and by extension, Courtney Ruby herself.  ( Here's Dan in my video from his press conference on The Oakland Police. ) Ruby, who beat back an election challenge from Michael Killian, landing 66.93 percent of the vote, wasted no time in presenting her CEDA loan fund audit report to part ...

If you live in the Adams Point area of Oakland and walk at night, don't walk alone. There has been a rash of crimes in the area of late. For example, according to the Adams Point Yahoo Message Board, there were not one, but five muggings along Euclid Avenue. All of the muggings were thought to have been done by a group of three black men, but that's not certain. Here are some of the notifications of what happened: Monday, November 15th: Hi neighbors, My neighbor, a 20-year old Asian youth was just held up at gunpoint in front of his house. The 2 African American men chased him and were spotted by 4 concerned neighbors (alerted by his yelling) before they ran up to their get-away car - a 4 door blue or black sedan with a driver and sped away. According to the police who arrived in minutes - this was their FIFTH mugging within the hour between Lakeshore and the Laurel. They followed my neighbor home and mugged him as he got out of his car. They are currentl...

The election of Jean Quan as Oakland's Mayor-Elect has made her life far more complicated, and that's using her own words. Quan's newsletter, generally filled with news on happenings about Oakland, became a blog diary of her life since last Tuesday's news - one week after the election was held. Quan Thanks Oakland Quan explains that the voter turnout was greater than she expected, writing: With a record breaking turnout of 121,927 voters, I was declared the next mayor with about 51% of the vote on Wednesday. About 30,000 more voters came out than predicted. I received 53,778 votes -- a record because of the fall election. Jerry Brown (48,124) and Ron Dellums (42,110) won in June elections when typically 40,000 less voters participate. Sorry this editions is so late. As you may guess, my life has only gotten more intense since I was declared Mayor-Elect two days ago. My family, staff, and I are genuinely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and joy we h...

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? ...