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Councilmember Henry Chang annouced that after 14 years of serving in the Council's "At Large" position, he's stepping down and not seeking reelection. I personally will miss Henry Chang as councilmember, because he never acted like the public should bow down and worship him in any way. He was always nice, and not just to me, but to everyone. It's rare that one hears a bad word about Henry Chang. He will be missed. Here's The Montclarion's account and their look at the 2008 Oakland City Council elections: By Kelly Rayburn STAFF WRITER - The Montclarion The field of candidates for Oakland's June 3 City Council elections includes business owners, community activists, members of the school board and the man known to many as the North Oakland vigilante. It does not include long-time councilmember Henry Chang Jr. Chang made an 11th-hour decision against running for re-election nearly 14 years after he was appointed to the council to fill the vacancy l...

Hammer talks about his new venture DanceJam.com at The BizWorld Luncheon held last December 4th 2007 in San Francisco.

After weeks of discussions, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums finally got his request for $7 million in funding for new police officers. But buried within this victory comes a question of how to train them. A question posed by none other than Oakand Police Chief Wayne Tucker. According to the Oakland Tribune , Tucker said "It's going to be a real challenge to train the new recruits." That's a huge statement to make. It means that the police department lacks the people to train the new people. Makes you wonder who the heck did the planning for this allocation of money? Wow. If you think about it, that means there's less of an incentive to actually follow through with the Mayor and Council's decision and implement the new policy!

Arnold and Kim Originally uploaded by genexmagazine Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger puckers up to congratulate Kim Klein, the winner of the Fitness International Competition at The Arnold Classic. The Arnold Classic is an annual bodybuilding event the Governor established well before he became Governor of California.

A true service to a city that needs the help. But one has to ask how that will change the nature of life around the Lake? If the Cathedral is the center of a free clinic, will it draw more of a criminal element to the Lake Merritt area? Oakland's new cathedral will have free clinic for uninsured 'Not only a center for the Catholic community, but really, the soul of the city' By Barbara Grady, STAFF WRITER Article Created: 03/08/2008 02:42:04 AM PST OAKLAND — Hoping to help some of 166,000 people without health insurance in Alameda County, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland is planning to open a free health clinic in the new Christ the Light Cathedral Center under construction in downtown Oakland. By the time it opens in late September or October, the Cathedral Center, at 21st and Harrison streets, will include a 1,700-square-foot health clinic staffed by a doctor and a nurse practitioner and drawing from a community of volunteer physicians, diocesan officials said. ...

I received this news in an email from the Adams Point Action Council: Friday, March 7 FIRST FRIDAYS AFTER FIVE! First Friday! 5–9 p.m. JJoin us every first Friday of the month for exciting programs and activities-tonight there's reggae in the café with Root Awakening; special performances at 7 and 8:15 in the James Moore Theatre by the Korean fusion jazz band Purirak, contemporary Persian ballet with the Shahrzad Dance Company, and modern dance by the Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater; talks and book signings with Lonny Shavelson and Fred Setterberg, authors of Under the Dragon, and J. Gary Gwilliam, author of Getting a Winning Verdict in My Personal Life; shopping, yoga, and a great chance to make new friends. Don't miss the most exciting party in Oakland! Full cash bar-museum store and café open. All ages welcome. Included with museum admission.

A "redirect" is when one types "oaklandtribune.com" and is taken to "www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune" where the Oakland Tribune's website is actually located. But guess what, folks, as of 1:24 PM on Sunday, March 2nd, that "redirect" does not work. The report is that "Safari can’t open the page “http://oaklandtribune.com/” because it could not connect to the server “oaklandtribune.com”." No kidding. Try it and let me know if that happens for you. This points to the overall problem of news in Oakland in the 21st Century. That few people care about what's happening and such that a "large" newspaper like the Oakland Tribune would allow it's redirect to not work. People aren't used to typing www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune, as much as just simply "Oakland Tribune" -- that's just a fact. What's going on here is a crisis of lack of concern about news in Oakland, and the Tribune...

Jane Armbruster of Oakland wrote this letter to the editors of The SF Chronicle: Editor - Regarding Chip Johnson's Feb. 15 column, "Oakland mayor politicks as people are killed:" Does anyone really believe that the presence of Mayor Ron Dellums or any elected official would have prevented the tragic loss of life in Oakland that weekend? Could Mayor Ron Dellums, Sen. Don Perata, Council President Ignacio De La Fuente and Attorney General Jerry Brown have donned Superman outfits and put themselves in the paths of bullets? I worked to elect Ron Dellums because he understands that Oakland, and other cities, need more resources to address the deep-seated problems that produce murder in the streets. I would do so again because was in Washington, D.C., lobbying for resources. Unless he and other officials obtain more resources to address urban problems, governing cities is nothing more than administering scarcity. Administering scarcity means denying funds for filling some pot...

This Oaklandish video reminds me of one that Disney may have made during that time. It promotes Oakland with a focus on the weather. What's also interesting is the use of "MOA" for "Metropolitan Oakland Area". "Here's the residents live happy lives; healthy lives.." Check it out.

From the Yahoo! district message board for the Adams Point area.. Posted by: "Banh, Hoang" hbanh@oaklandnet.com hlbee Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:49 am (PST) Hi AdamsPoint folks, This is a meeting organized by District 2 City Council Office, but it will include the OPD Area 2 Commander and his staff. Adams Pt. is in the Area 2, which consists of Police Service Areas 3 and 4. Reducing Crime in Oakland Wednesday, March 5 6:30pm to 8:30pm Edna Brewer Middle School, Panther Theater, 3748 13th Ave at E. 38th St This meeting will give audience members an opportunity to hear directly from Oakland Police commanders about public safety efforts in District 2 and the rest of Oakland. Q & A with your Councilmember and OPD to follow.