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Oaklanders Not Going To A's Games, Says "Marine Layer"

A blooger who calls himself "Marine Layer" -- not his name -- says that Oaklanders don't go to Oakland A's games, but there's a reason for that. Marine Layer writes : Pro-Oakland types often say that ownership has in effect spit on them and driven them away. Some non-Oaklanders have concluded that the fandom really hasn't been there in the first place. Honestly, I think it has more to do with numbers: Oakland's population is only 1/6th of the East Bay, even less of the Bay Area's 7 million. One thing I've pondered is how many former Oakland residents attend ballgames. As the Oakland Hills has taken in transplants from San Francisco and the rest of the country, certainly many longtime Oakland residents were displaced. Some have left the flats for opportunities elsewhere, especially with the erosion of the manufacturing sector. It's likely a combination of the above factors, which is rather inconvenient for partisans looking for an easy scapegoa

Deborah Edgerly's Unused Vacation Pay Not A Benefit; Edgerly's Character Defamation Continues

Look, I'm not writing this to defend fired Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly' entire performance, but to act as a reasoned corrective. Phil Mattier and Andy Ross ' column today listed what Edgerly was entitled to in the way of monetary compensation: The bennies include: -- Nine weeks of vacation. -- Two weeks of management leave. -- Three weeks of executive leave. -- Ten weeks of sick leave (paid out at 33 cents on the dollar). It's a grand total payment of $90,024, city officials confirmed. Right. But what "city officials" forgot to tell Matier and Ross is that because Edgerly worked so many hours, she didn't take sick leave or management leave, or vacation pay. I like Phil and Andy, but I have to not only disagree with the way they present this information, but point an accusatory finger at the "city officials" who confirmed this information, because they could have took effort to tell Matier and Ross of the nature of the compensati

Political, Sports, and Celebrity Blog Writers Wanted - Inquire Within

If you want to express your political or sports or hollywood view unfettered and are looking for an outlet to get your blog and video work seen or just your view, send an email to zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com . You will become part of our " SBS Personalities " if you wish, which gets you your very own page and more exposure. Just send an email. We're building the next great political and pop culture blog!!

YouTube user "joshuahaskellcarr" Sends Zennie A Death Wish

I received an email on YouTube from"joshuahaskellcarr" which was a Death Wish, pure and simple, and explains how much this person wanted me "gone." So I informed YouTube, blocked the user, and now I'm informing you. I'm also "Defining The Relationship" between guests and me in my channel, or "my house." Please do not use nasty words or harass me or any other commenter. And behavior like the one I described in this video will be met with a ban and a report to YouTube and the FBI. I'm serious about this. We can disagree and still be civil toward one another. Please bring your debate hat and your "A" game, as Ron Paul supporters have done. They're the masters of civil debate; love em.

Viacom and Judge Louis L. Stanton Violate YouTube Users of Privacy

On Thursday July 3rd, U.S. District Court Judge Louis L. Stanton forced YouTube to give Viacom -- which owns shows like "The Daily Show", and "The Colbert Report" -- records that show what videos you and I have been watching. Here in this video , I explain that the implications are dangerous and could help, for example, the Chinese Government find and kill Tibetan protesters. In this, a private company could purchase the data from Viacom and then resell it to the Chinese Government. The Chinese Government could use the IP address information to find the general location of Tibetan protesters, go to their areas, and kill them. That's a possible scenario. I considered the court's "restriction" on use of the material by Viacom. But that's the problem: the block is on how the data is used -- there's no specific prohibition of the sale of the information. The reason for all of these actions, if you've not followed the story is t

Donna Brazile Of CNN Comes To SF For Obama Fundraiser July 15th, Palace

Donna Brazile , originally uploaded by AFSCME.org . CNN's Donna Brazile Comes To SF For Obama Fundraiser July 15th, Palace Hotel CNN's Donna Brazile is coming To San Francisco For a Fundraiser for the "Obama Victory Fund" July 15th from 12 noon to 1:30 PM at The Palace Hotel, (2 New Montgomery, downtown San Francisco and just off Montgomery BART Station), and you can join us with a $150 contribution or a $1,000 contribution for a VIP reception to host Ms. Brazile. To join us, just click on this link: https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/BrazileJuly15 And as you sign up and donate, type in "Zennie Abraham" in the field "PLEASE LET US KNOW WHO ENCOURAGED YOU TO MAKE THIS CONTRIBUTION:" About Donna Brazile Donna Brazile is Founder and Managing Director of Brazile and Associates, LLC and is the first African-American to direct a major presidential campaign, having done so for Gore-Libermann 2000. Brazile is perhaps best known as the weekl

David E. Mix Claims City Of Oakland Rigged LLAD Tax Vote

Charlie Pine of " Oakland Residents for Peaceful Neighborhoods ", who was recently interviewed at TagamiVision , and who unsucessfully ran for the at-large seat in the 2008 Oakland City Council race, posted this web article which features the actions of activist David Mix: City Tampered with LLAD Tax Vote The City of Oakland gave a privileged property owner – the Port of Oakland – extra votes in the recent mail ballot on a proposed increase of the Landscape and Lighting Assessment (LLAD) tax. ORPN previously reported how the City rigged the LLAD vote with outlandish determinations of how much "benefit" one property or another receives from park maintenance, tree trimming, and street lighting. Although a flagrant violation of any democratic standard, it is not automatically illegal. However, citizen activist David E. Mix has uncovered outright vote tampering. The votes of homeowners, apartments, and other properties were weighted by the proposed increase in their

Nancy Nadel - Councilmember Releases Statement On Mayor Dellums / Deborah Edgerly Issue

Nancy Nadel - Councilmember Releases Statement On Mayor Dellums / Deborah Edgerly Issue Oakland District Three Councilmember Nancy Nadel issued this statement on the City Hall circus that surrounded Deborah Edgerly's firing by Mayor Ron Dellums: Dear Oakland Resident, We are in the midst of troubled times in Oakland. I have been receiving many calls and emails about the issues surrounding the City Administrator and the Mayor’s response. As a scientist by training, I am intent on getting all the facts before rushing to judgment as I determine the best course for the city and continue my work to empower our residents to be active, productive and proud of their city. As I become aware of the need for deeper investigation, I will approach the appropriate level of government to provide it. I want to assure my constituents and all the residents of Oakland, that I will work diligently to expose and eliminate any corruption and just plain sloppy practices that diminish our city and dev

Easy Lounge Fun On Wednesday Nights

Easy Lounge Fun On Wednesday Nights Ok. Those of you who are frequent readers of this blog space know that I've had problems with the Easy Lounge and some "unusual" bar service in the past. But I'm here to explain that's all gone. I went Wednesday night and had a fantastically relaxing time. To be totally frank, the vibe at Easy Lounge is different when two female bartenders are at the helm as opposed to the normal set of males and testosterone-laden service. The star of the show is Sylvia, who's an informative and personable image for Easy. Indeed, she's "easy to get along with and fun to talk to after a day of work. It's also the first time I've ever seen Tom Cruise' movie Cocktail. Ok. Stop with the frowning.

AC Transit - East Oakland - Girls Fight On Bus

Ok. First, you wonder what this is doing here on this blog. Simple. It's a part of life in Oakland, just as much as Lake Merritt Farmer's Market, Whole Foods Market, Salsa dancing, or any of the good things about this city. This is one of the bad aspects of it, and one reason I avoid riding AC Transit and drive the car -- even with these high gas prices. Sorry, but someone's got to get their kids under control. This is terrible.

Salsa By The Lake - Looks Like Fun, But When Is It?

I have seen this group of people dancing and moving only once, and as I was in a car on the way to somewhere else, wasn't able to stop and discover when they met again. This video -- not mine -- was taken as these Oaklanders (I hope) were doing the Salsa thing under the "columns" at the end of Lake Merritt near Mac Arthur Blvd. If anyone watching this can add more detaills, please do in the comments section!

Oakland Hiring Audit A Terrible Idea: Charter Review Committee Is Needed

The call for a City of Oakland "hiring audit", given by both Council President Ignacio De La Fuente and Mayor Ron Dellums in the wake of the firing of Chief Administrative Officer Deborah Edgerly on Tuesday (and the focus of a July 15th City Council meeting), is a terrible, emotional, knee-jerk idea adopted by two elected officials who need to take three steps back and rethink their entire approach to this matter. They've already made a ton of errors. Dellums mistake is in appearing as if he has all of the managerial stability of a switch-hitter, changing from one way of dealing with Deborah Edgerly, then opting for a nuclear approach. Ignacio does, what he does all too well, pounce in to take advantage of a perceived weakness in his opponent. But his mistake is in his execution of this action. Remember that Dellums beat De La Fuente in the last Oakland Mayor's race, and now public perception of Dellums has reached rock-bottom, so low that Ignacio's playing

Rumor: Deborah Edgerly Wiretapped By Oakland Police; If Calls Are Recorded, They're Not Legal

Yesterday, I was tipped off by an Oakland Resident that the Oakland Police have been wiretapping now-former Chief Administrative Officer Deborah Edgerly and say that the resulting evidence is incrminating. Now, I can't, as of this writing confirm this. It may be a couple of police officers trying to score points with an influential person, but I'm taking the claim seriously. Why? Well because it comes from people -- Oakland Police -- who can do it. I found this analysis of current California law, which reads: Both federal and California law enforcement officials may eavesdrop on and record telephone conversations without a court order under the so-called "one party consent provision" (18 USC 2511(2)(s); California Penal Code 633). In other words, if state or federal authorities have the consent of one party to a conversation (such as a government informant), the conversation may be monitored. This provision applies only to eavesdropping by law enforcement official

On: Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums Fires CAO Deborah Edgerly

Today, it was annouced that Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums fired Chief Administrative Officer Deborah Edgerly after sending signals that he was going to first leave the process such that he could retire, then placed her on administrative leave, then on Tuesday of this week, decided to fire her. Regardless of where you look, it's hard to find a cool head in all of the Oakland City Hall mess. For more, read: "Chip Johnson's right about favoritism."

On Rush Limbaugh, His $400 Million Contract & Michelle Sixta

Today, it was announced that Rush Limbaugh signed a %400 million contract with Clear Channel. In this video , I explain that Rush's success came at a price. Michelle Sixta is a friend of mine and at one point lived on Madison, across Lake Merritt from me in Oakland, Ca. Michelle was a lot of fun. She and I would go on something called the "Back Yard Bird Watch" and generally had a good time, then lost touch after a few years. She was also -- prior to our meeting -- married to Rush as his second wife. She didn't talk about him much at all, but when she did, she explained that at first their marriage was fine, but as the years went on, Rush was more into himself than into her. He'd rather read a book than have sex. I hope she's going to get part of that $400 Million. Meanwhile, Rush has taken aim at Senator Barack Obama's run for president by employing his call screener James Gould as "Bo Snerdley" the official Obama criticizer. In my view, pick

SF Yoshi's Fundraiser For Speaker Karen Bass Has Cal Assemblyman Sandre Swanson and Oakland Club Owner Geoffrey Peete

This is a video of a fundraiser I attended on July 1st at Yoshi's In San Francisco. The hosts of the event were Hala Hijazi, the President of Professionals VIP, and Former and Legendary Speaker of The Assembly and Mayor of San Francisco Willie L. Brown, Jr. Speaker Brown was at his best, holding court, and at the end of her speech, he encouraged the crowd to "Drink. Drink. Drink. And then let me represent you for driving drunk!" Brown is now an attorney at Kay and Merkle. It was a great turn out, with everyone from Art Torres the head of the California Democratic Party, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and several SF supervisors like Aaron Peskin and Sophie Maxwell, to Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, and business leaders like Michael Johnson, who owns Yoshi's in San Francisco to Kofi Bonner of Lennar, and Steven Kay of Kay and Merkle, and my friend Beth Schnitzer who heads marketing for Pier 39 and Melissa Galliani who's the local sales manager of KFRC.

Chip Johnson's Right About Favoritism: Welcome To Oakland

I want to be the first Oakland blogger to affirm Chip Johnson's article today charging favoritism in the City of Oakland. My response is that it doesn't start or stop at the CAO's office or with Deborah Edgerly herself, and a really complete look should go back 10 years, not just 2004. Look, I was treated so terribly by the City of Oakland when I was trying to bring the Super Bowl here , that my own mother -- who's still cancer-free by the way -- observed that "Between Blacks who are jealous of you and Whites who think someone White should be doing what you're doing, you're going through a terrible place." She was right. Oakland's government has a long history of hating well-educated Black men who don't follow the normal ethnic stereotypes. I remember 1998, when all of us from Elihu Harris' office -- I was economic advisor -- were being placed in various departments of the City of Oakland after Jerry Brown won a landslide victory to

On Bill Clinton and Barack Obama

This is my video blog on the need for Bill Clinton to be part of the Obama for America campaign effort. I feel that Obama can't win without President Clinton's support. But then the Clinton's have some image repair work to do and helping Barack's the best way to do it. ( See more over at Zennie's Zeitgeist. )