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Oakland Mayor's Race: Joe Tuman is running for mayor

Joe Tuman  The Oakland Mayor's Race added its 11th candidate: San Francisco State University Professor of Communications and Legal Studies and 25-year Oakland resident Joe Tuman. Tuman came from out of nowhere Wednesday to a formidable media splash suitable for, well, for someone who worked in the media. In addition to teaching at SFState, Joe Tuman's other title was "CBS 5 Eyewitness News Political Analyst," a job he gave up to run for Mayor of Oakland. Joe Tuman and I talked twice: the first time briefly at his campaign kickoff by Lake Merritt and the second time at Cafe DiBartolo on Grand Avenue (a video that will come later). Tuman says he simply felt that it was time for the right leadership at Oakland City Hall and he believes he can provide that. In that way, Tuman is no different that Terrance Candell or any of the other candidates in the Oakland Mayor's Race, except that Tuman and Candell point to the leadership problem as they see it more

Oakland Mayor's Race: Joe Tuman is running for mayor

Joe Tuman  The Oakland Mayor's Race added its 11th candidate: San Francisco State University Professor of Communications and Legal Studies and 25-year Oakland resident Joe Tuman. Tuman came from out of nowhere Wednesday to a formidable media splash suitable for, well, for someone who worked in the media. In addition to teaching at SFState, Joe Tuman's other title was "CBS 5 Eyewitness News Political Analyst," a job he gave up to run for Mayor of Oakland. Joe Tuman and I talked twice: the first time briefly at his campaign kickoff by Lake Merritt and the second time at Cafe DiBartolo on Grand Avenue (a video that will come later). Tuman says he simply felt that it was time for the right leadership at Oakland City Hall and he believes he can provide that. In that way, Tuman is no different that Terrance Candell or any of the other candidates in the Oakland Mayor's Race, except that Tuman and Candell point to the leadership problem as they see it more of

Oakland News: ZZA's Enoteca closed; Grand Avenue Monday ghost town

ZZA's Enoteca in Oakland  This installment of Oakland News, or news about what's going on in Oakland, California from very reliable sources, is a sad one. ZZA's Enoteca at 550 Grand Avenue in Oakland's Adams Point District and next to Lake Merritt, the popular food and wine bar next to ZZA's Restaurant on Grand Avenue, was closed down by the Oakland, California representative of the State of California Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC). The reason that this blogger was given was that it "had something to do with a change or 'unraveling' of ownership" according to a very good, but unnamed source. ZZA's Enoteca has been closed since last Friday. ZZA's Enoteca was a welcome addition to not just the ZZA's space, but the growing Grand Avenue restaurant scene. It offered something rare: an ability to work online on your computer over a glass of wine. The free WiFi aspect of ZZA's Enoteca made it a must-be-at for this blogge

Bohemian Grove fund-raiser to feature Grammy Award-winning acts

The Bohemian Grove is hosting its 99th Annual Monte Rio Variety Show (website:  http://www.monterioshow.org  ) to benefit local charities on July 29th. Here's the press release: Monte Rio, Calif. – The Bohemian Club will hold its 99th annual “Monte Rio Variety Show” on Thursday, July 29, offering an evening of music, comedy and theater to celebrate the friendship and connection with the Monte Rio and Russian River communities and to raise funds for local charities. Last year’s show raised more than $30,000 for local charities. In recent years the event has featured Bohemians such as country music star Clint Black, rock legend Steve Miller and Grateful Dead icon Bob Weir. This year’s Monte Rio Variety Show will begin at 7 p.m. at the Monte Rio Amphitheater. A pre-show barbeque, hosted by the Monte Rio Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, begins at 4:30 p.m. Anyone attending the show is encouraged to bring lawn chairs, folding chairs or a blanket. These items can be plac

Oakland News: Lake Chalet loses chef; strip clubs in Oakland?

Lake Chalet Patio in Oakland An Oakland news roundup of things told to this blogger by a number of reliable sources. First, Lake Chalet, the favored eatery of this space in Oakland, has reportedly elected to part with its executive chef Jarod Gallagher. This word comes from people who worked at The Lake Chalet, but now are with other new restaurants in Oakland. While I personally liked Jarod Gallagher and his food offerings, the one issue that has plagued The Lake Chalet is how the food was regarded considering its price points. Jarod did work to change the menu a few months ago, so one can't say he wasn't trying. But the word is that The Lake Chalet's going in a different direction. Business has reportedly been good and the establishment survived the Oscar Grant verdict, so full steam ahead for Lake Chalet. Strip Clubs in Oakland? There's talk by some that if Oakland had more strip clubs it would get more convention business. And the people saying th

Oakland News: Lake Chalet loses chef; strip clubs in Oakland?

Lake Chalet Patio in Oakland An Oakland news roundup of things told to this blogger by a number of reliable sources. First, Lake Chalet, the favored eatery of this space in Oakland, has reportedly elected to part with its executive chef Jarod Gallagher. This word comes from people who worked at The Lake Chalet, but now are with other new restaurants in Oakland. While I personally liked Jarod Gallagher and his food offerings, the one issue that has plagued The Lake Chalet is how the food was regarded considering its price points. Jarod did work to change the menu a few months ago, so one can't say he wasn't trying. But the word is that The Lake Chalet's going in a different direction. Business has reportedly been good and the establishment survived the Oscar Grant verdict, so full steam ahead for Lake Chalet. Strip Clubs in Oakland? There's talk by some that if Oakland had more strip clubs it would get more convention business. And the people saying th

San Francisco event Monday night: Young Frankenstein and Wicked cast at Club Fugazi, 7:30 PM

San Francisco's Club Fugazi, which hosts Beach Blanket Babylon , has an exciting event tonight, Monday night only at 7:30 PM featuring Young Frankenstein and Wicked cast members! It is the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) presentation of "Wicked fun with Young Frankenstein." REAF's "One Night Only" benefit cabaret series are always great fun featuring cast members from hit Broadway shows in original cabaret performances in intimate theaters. Each show takes on it's own character based on the the make up of the touring cast for each show. The cast of "Wicked" has participated in three of REAF's "One Night Only" benefit cabarets over the past year and they always put together fun and exciting numbers for these benefits. Add cast members from the hit show, "Young Frankenstein," which is opening this week at the Golden Gate Theatre, plus special guest MC, comic Bruce Vilanch, and you've got a recipe for a

World Cup 2010: Spain v. Netherlands at The Republic, San Francisco

The World Cup 2010 is history. Spain has beaten the Netherlands. And all we have are memories. What's cool about online video and video-blogging is the ability to capture special moments from the point of view of the vlogger. The Republic, San Francisco In this case, those videos from this space were created just walking down the street in Oakland's Adams Point District , at Era Art and Design Bar for the USA's dramatic win against Algeria , and for the sad loss to Ghana , and today at The Republic Bar and Grill at Scott and Lombard in San Francisco's Marina District . The Republic visit happened because my friend Brian Zahn's a bartender there (as well as at Kel's Irish Bar, also in San Francisco), and also a Facebook friend. He sent a message extending an invitation to watch the Spain v. Netherlands World Cup Final match there. The temptation to get up and go from Oakland to San Francisco and not via car (since a bar was the destination) was

Oscar Grant verdict, Oakland riot: Oriana Bolden video is key

Today, Oriana Bolden, someone not known to this space, sent a video she created in downtown Oakland on Thursday that gives a very comprehensive view of the reactions of the crowd after the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle verdict, and the events leading up to the Oakland riot. It opens with comments from some of the mass of people that gathered at Oakland City Hall Plaza. I was there, but was struck by the number of personal media members there. About one-fifth of the crowd had video cameras of some kind. We also see a silent Councilmember Nancy Nadel as the camera pans through the crowd. Here's the video: Reaction to Mehserle Verdict: Oakland, CA: 8 July 2010 from Oriana Bolden on Vimeo . The video has some shocking events, foremost being how a deaf woman was ran over by a police car. It was not clear where at all the police car was going. We see the angry crowd decent on the police car after it ran over the deaf woman. Also, the crowd tries to make room for an am

Oscar Grant verdict, Oakland riot: two view of police conduct

Just after 9 PM on the Thursday night after the involuntary manslaughter verdict in the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle trial, this blogger got off at 12th Street, Oakland City Center BART Station after uploading the first set of videos of the peaceful protest at 14th and Broadway, and expecting more of the calm that existed around 8 PM. That was not the case. Instead, the police, from not just Oakland, but the California Highway Patrol, and cities like Fremont, had closed into the once safe intersection of 14th and Broadway and had been in the process of carrying out orders to have the crowd leave the area. The result was more police than people, and who did I run into but Oakland lawyer Dan Siegel and two of his friends, who complained in detail about what they saw as runaway police misconduct. One friend said "OPD (Oakland Police Department) had to put us in this vice. (Councilmembers) Jean Quan, Rebecca Kaplan, and I decided we were going to be the police line. W

Oscar Grant verdict: Mehserle involuntary manslaughter sparks protest

Oakland, California is now what it hates most: the center of attention in America for a reason it does not want: the Oscar Grant verdict. Former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not 2nd degree murder, or 1st degree murder as many had desired. The announcement of the ruling had many looking for Oakland to erupt in a wave of violence and property damage that didn't happen while the Sun was up. These three videos below show the giant, peaceful protest, which started on the corner of 14th and Broadway and with one-fifth of its ranks being members of the media, and was moved into the middle of 14th and Broadway. The result was the largest peaceful, traffic-stopping protest ever held in downtown Oakland. This first video shows what happened just before the street protest: The second video is from the middle of the protest at 14th and Broadway: The third video features a the dramatic raising of an enormous flag on

AC Transit: Mary King explains why union asked to take cut

AC Transit Zero Emission Bus  In Monday's Bay Area News Group websites The San Jose Mercury News and the Tri Valley Herald in San Jose, California and Southern Alameda County, AC Transit Interim General Manager Mary King explained why the East Bay California public transit service provider is asking the 1,750 member Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) to accept a contract it imposed on them. King starts by explaining that "Our future — and the future of affordable and environmentally sound transportation for Alameda and Contra Costa counties' riders — is in jeopardy," then tells the reader what this space has been trying to drill into the collective heads of many for some time: revenue froms sales and property taxes has decreased. But what King does not explain in numbers is that AC Transit's total operating revenues have dropped by $12 million in one year, and all one has to do to understand this is download and read the AC Transit budget here: BUDGET .

Oakland Mayor's Race: Terrance Candell crushes Jean Quan, he says

Terrance Candell Oaklander and St. Mary's graduate, Director of Candell's College Preparatory Academy, and CNN Roland Martin look-alike Dr. Terrance Candell , smarting from what he views as an apparent slight on the part of The Oakland Tribune , and regarding the Oakland Seen-produced Mayoral Forum of three weeks ago, issued a provocative video entitled "Candell Crushes Quan & Kaplan At Mayoral Forum pt.1." While this blogger attended the San Francisco Dress for Success event that evening, there was a hired video spy in the building. From the video of the forum, Terrance Candell was the crowd favorite, even as the Oakland Tribune failed to note that fact until down in the depths of the page, and even then giving the appearance that it wasn't real but planted by him. So, since Candell and company thinks he wasn't well-reported by the Oakland Tribune , they issued this video: Candell's style is a crowd pleaser if you're looking for sp

Oakland Mayor's Race: Jean Quan on Oscar Grant, 2010 Oakland Budget, Oakland Police

Oakland District Four Councilmember Jean Quan met with this blogger for a requested redo of an interview conducted with her just after her kickoff event for the Oakland Mayor's Race. The request came from this space simply because the first interview video was so long, 41 minutes long, it was at least 12 minutes beyond the length of the Don Perata Interview of a month ago, and 18 minutes longer than the interviews with mayoral candidates Don Maccley and Greg Harland. Jean Quan  The desire was for a more uniform length that showed the candidate in a good light so that you, the viewer, could make a good evaluation. The result is this 29 minute-plus video that's light-years better than the first one. Rather than meet in a cafe, as before when we met in the upstairs nook at the Lake Merritt Cafe, we met at the Law Offices of Siegel and Lee, the same firm in Oakland City Center where Oakland City Council Vice Mayor Jane Brunner is a partner. Like many of my visits her

Oakland City Council- 2010 election Bloggers and Boosters for Libby Schaaf

If The Oakland 209 Gin Cocktail Competition at Sidebar Oakland felt like a small town reunion of friends, the Bloggers and Boosters party we held for my friend Libby Schaaf was even more so. The event was held at Era Art and Design Bar on Grand Avenue near Broadway in downtown Oakland, and was very well-attended, with a mix of Oakland City Council members like Oakland Council District Five's Ignacio De La Fuente and Pat Kernighan from District Two (who's in a tough re-election battle against Jennifer Pae ), to local notables like Bill Wong, to Libby's family and friends, and their friends. A good, intimate mix. Libby Schaaf  Libby is running for the Oakland City Council Seat currently held by Councilmember Jean Quan, who's running for Mayor. But, and nothing against Councilmember Quan, Libby really should run for Mayor of Oakland. Ignacio said it best: "One of the things I'm absolutely convinced of is that Libby Schaaf is the most well-train

Oakland 209 Gin Cocktail Competition at Sidebar Oakland, California

Sidebar Oakland  You know the Oakland Restaurant Scene has picked up when Sidebar Restaurant on Grand Avenue holds what was the Adams Point District's first cocktail competition. The 209 Gin Oakland Bartender Cocktail Competition was held last Wednesday night at the Lake Merritt bistro-style eatery known for its good food and warm atmosphere. The idea was to learn who could make the best drink creation based on 209 Gin - the makers of which did not endorse this blog post. The competition featured great bartenders making great cocktails and from some of Oakland's hottest eateries: Matt and Brian from Sidebar , Marjon from Era Art and Design Bar , Josh from Pican , Alex from Marzano, Matt from The Wood Tavern , Brian representing Levende East , and Jon who's at Grand Tavern, and Eric from Adesso . (As an aside, the only problem was all of the Oakland 209 Gin Cocktail Competition bartenders were men. There are some great female bartenders, like Britt at Pican,

Pier 39 - Players Sports Bar and Arcade in San Francisco

One evening during the 2009 NBA Finals this blogger was given a surprise: the opportunity to be a celebrity bartender for the first time and at a place called Players Sports Bar and Arcade at Pier 39 in San Francisco. Aside from the fact the owners of Players Sports Bar should have aimed higher that a blogger, it was a heck of a lot of fun. So much so, that for World Cup Soccer, it's got to be hopping! One day, Steve Molloy, one of the owners of this kind of mini Dave and Busters in San Francisco, was the tour guide through this vast 13,000 square foot of Pier 39 space, leading the camcorder through its islands of video games, air hockey tables, and other fun stuff. But the video sat on the computer waiting to be uploaded while yours truly fretted with how to improve it. Yesterday, all the worrying gave in to the desire to just get it out, so the result is the video above and a plug for the place that may have been the first in the San Francisco Bay Area if not Americ

Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle verdict: Oakland cab driver on riot fears

Oscar Grant  As Oakland, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, California, and much of the United States await the jury verdict in the Oscar Grant / Johannes Mehserle murder trial, Oakland braces for what's widely feared to be an outbreak of riots should the jury decision not go in a way that is an obvious punishment for former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle. If you want to find out what's happening on the streets of Oakland around the rioting fears, there are few better people to talk to than Oakland cab drivers. On Saturday night, one cab driver (who did not want to be identified by cab service provider or name), did agree to this video above as we talked about what he heard people saying as they rode his cab . "Everybody's talking about it," he said. "I don't know. Some people are saying that a lot of people left town. You know this guy was saying 'I knew a lot of cool white people that's left town. They're not ra

Fourth of July Weekend in San Francisco features Pier 39 events!

Just got an email from Pier 39 (Pier 39 Beach Street & The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 705-5500) about their many upcoming events for the Fourth of July. Here's what it reads: Fourth of July Waterfront Celebration! PIER 39 celebrates Independence Day with a star-spangled day filled with fun and excitement for the whole family! Beginning at 3 pm, enjoy free live band performances in the PIER 39 Entrance Plaza. From 3 – 5 pm, listen to the soft rock explosion of Mustache Harbor. Then get ready to rock out to your favorite 80's hits with Tainted Love from 6 – 9:30 pm. Be sure to check out our street performers on the Crystal Geyser ALPINE SPRING WATER Stage throughout the day. After the concert at approximately 9:30 pm, look up to the sky over the Bay for The City of San Francisco's annual fireworks display. PIER 39's Fourth of July activities are proudly sponsored by Coca-Cola, Crystal Geyser ALPINE SPRING WATER, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, t

AC Transit in Oakland facing possible driver strike after impasse

Berkeley AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit Oakland, CA-based AC Transit has declared that contract talks between the Alameda - Contra Costa District Transit Company and the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 192, (ATU) have reached an impasse. AC Transit is working to close an estimated $56 million budget deficit due in large part to reductions in revenue from property taxes. AC Transit is working to reduce labor costs by 8 percent at least; far better than cutting jobs but the ATU fails to see it that way. AC Transit has been forced to increase fares and decrease service to make up for the revenue shortfall. ATU made an offer but it reportedly wasn't enough to help close the gap: AC Transit seeks $15 million in savings. What the ATU does not understand is AC Transit's budget problems, like those of the City of Oakland itself, are due to massive reductions in sales and property tax revenue . AC Transit receives a percentage of each dollar of property tax collected in wha