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Want to show your support for new ballpark for the Oakland A's? Show up at the meeting of the City of Oakland Planning Commission tomorrow, December 1st, at 6 PM PST at Hearing Room 1, Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA. If you want to speak in favor of the new ballpark proposal and talk about the creation of an Environmental Impact Report for the proposed new A's ballpark at Jack London Square - of course you do - just get there at 5:30 PM, fill out a speaker card, and give it to the Oakland Planning Commission's secretary. Right now, according to the meeting's Facebook page , 156 A's fans plan to attend. Be there.  Aloha!

This is the San Francisco Bauer's "Wi-Drive" commuter shuttle bus service . It's the same one used by Facebook and Twitter employees to go to and from work. What this blogger likes about the shuttle bus service is the seats. Wow. They're really thick, cushy, leathery, and luxurious. You can operate your laptop computer and work online while on your way to work. The Bauer's "Wi-Drive" bus was used by the San Francisco Giants to transport their players to and from that awesome parade after their amazing World Series win. Need corporate transportation? Call my good friend Gary Bauer. He and Bauer's Transportation delivers for all occasions and transport needs. Bauer's Transportation is at 1-800-546-6688.

This is the level the University of California Football Program has fallen to. Cal Alumni are starting to call the team "Holmoesque." That term first surfaced two weeks ago after the Oregon loss, as a good Cal friend of this blogger feared a return to those ugly days of yore. Three losses later, some think we're there. Cal lost to Washington 16 to 13 and this, the third loss in as many games, has Old Blues, Young Blues, and even Middle-Aged Blues fuming. Tom Holmoe Cal finished not just 5 and 7, but 3 and 6 in the Pac-10. The worst record in Jeff Tedford's glorious rein as Cal's Head Coach. While not the 1 and 10 season of 2001, Cal's 2010 performance was enough for my friend to say "I hope we don't see a replay of Tom Holmoe, we're starting to look "Holmoesque." Tom Holmoe, currently the Athletic Director at BYU, was Cal's football coach for five years, posting a 16 and 39 record, the infamous 2001 season, had an 0 a...

Having her car, a Toyota Prius, booted for more than 10 unpaid parking tickets (you only need more than 5 to get booted) is one of those moments where Mayor-Elect Quan needs a thick skin. Why? Because, from experience, I know it was an inside job. Probably the work of City Hall Gadfly Sanjiv Handa, or someone with that level of knowledge. Happy Thanksgiving! When then-Oakland City Councilperson Jean Quan beat former State Senator Don Perata to become Mayor-Elect of The City of Oakland, this blogger wrote the following : ...With all of this, Mayor-Elect Quan must be sure to realize that she does not have a mandate; she did not score the majority of popular votes. That should be of concern for her. The Mayor-Elect must - and I think will - be open to people. Moreover, Jean must - and this can't be overstated - develop a very thick skin. She must work to jettison the idea that people who criticize her aren't in her corner. Not so. She's Mayor of Oakland, now, and ...

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? ...

View Larger Map Atlanta, GA - When this blogger got the email announcing Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan's Banquet, the first name that jumped off the page was "King of King." King of King is an excellent Chinese Restaurant at 1139 East 12th Street not far from Lake Merritt, yet more in Central East Oakland than the San Antonio District. The last time I visited this place where the Mongolian Beef is to die for was when Alameda County Treasurer Don White ran for Mayor, only to give way to Ron Dellums, who would become Oakland's Mayor. The management of King of King was gracious and prompt. It's no wonder the eatery has been the choice of Oakland insiders for at least the last 15 years. No, it's not the "most best" Chinese food in the Bay Area, OK. But what it has is a hard-to-beat combination of service, price, and local familiarity. King of King is a slice of Oakland everyone must experience at least twice. It's great that Jean's h...

The political career of former State Senator, Assemblyman, and Alameda County Supervisor Don Perata is over. After a miraculous loss to now former Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan, Perata met with the media in Oakland today. According to the blog Oakland North , who's Berkeley J-school students do a great job of covering the part of Oakland that's north of Lake Merritt, Perata said he would not seek a recount, and stood ready to help Oakland's new Mayor-Elect Quan, and any other elected official. From the distance of 2,600 miles, where I am to visit my Mom, the announcement of Perata's decision not to legally challenge the Ranked Choice Voting count was a bit of a surprise, but given the hours that passed between last night and now, it's apparent cooler heads prevailed. That's a good thing.  Jean should be allowed to enjoy her win, and Don should call her ASAP, rather than at some point in time. The bottom line is that Jean Quan won fair and square. More...

The Oakland Mayor's Race is both over and heating up yet again. First, big congratulations to now-former Oakland Councilmember and Oakland Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, who won the Ranked Choice Voting mayoral election by 50.98 percent to 49.02 for Former State Senator Don Perata. This after all absentee and provisional ballots were counted today by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, Wednesday. Jean becomes Oakland's first female and first Asian mayor.  That, alone, is massively cool. Second, the outcome has rankled the Perata Campaign, which has put out strong signals that it plans to file a lawsuit to have the vote count "reconsidered." As Perata Campaign Manager John Whitehurst has said to the media "It's a travesty that a candidate that wins 78 percent of the precincts and leads by more than 11,000 votes (after first-choice votes are counted), with a margin of nearly 10 percent, loses the election. In any other contest it would be a landslide win, ...

As of this writing, The KPFA Morning Show is no more, but you can attend a protest of the action at 11 AM at KPFA on 1929 Martin Luther King Jr Way, near the intersection of Martin Luther King and University Avenue in Berkeley. On Monday, four employees of The Berkeley, CA-based, Pacifica-owned KPFA Morning Show , KPFA's most popular locally-produced program - were fired as part of what was called a "cost-cutting" move. The staff includes the two KPFA Morning Show hosts Aimee Allison and Brian Edwards-Tiekert, and Morning Show Executive Producer Laura Prives and Esther Manilla. Many Oaklanders know Aimee Allison as the local personality for Comcast, as well as a former candidate for the Oakland District Two Council Seat that's currently occupied by Pat Kernighan, who won another four year term on election day. Meanwhile, according to a source via email, Brian Edwards-Tiekert was pointed to as the person who made "enemies" on the KPFA Board of Direct...

The much-anticipated final Oakland Mayor's Race ballot count that was to take place at 4 PM today (and had television media rushing to the Alameda County Registrar's Office at 4 PM just as this video blogger was leaving) has been delayed around 24 hours. According to David Mac Donald, who was the hero of the Alameda County effort to handle the massive turnout for the 2008 Presidential Election that saw Barack Obama elected the first African-American President of The United States, the reason is a "crowded election." "We've had more ballots to process in this election, than in any election in history," Mac Donald said. "And the reason is because with Ranked Choice Voting, every voter in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro got three ballot cards. And so it's triple the amount of paper that we have to handle. So it's been a big effort, but we're making a lot of progress. We're getting there." Mac Donald said that he...

Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips posted one of the most pathetic post-game speeches this blogger has ever heard by an NFL coach after the Cowboys were slammed 45 to 7 against the Green Bay Packers. Now, with a 1 and 7 season so far, the media's calling for Coach Phillips head to be rolled. Indeed, Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, who must feel like he's being cursed for making fun of the idea of drafting Tim Tebow, said that people would feel a change. The Cowboys lost to a good team in the Packers and an excellent quarterback in Aaron Rogers, but the collapse of Dallas was shocking. It started with a 28-point second quarter, and that's when it was apparent the Cowboys were going to be blown out of the building. They were. The Cowboys suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season, and then on NFL Network Sunday night, Coach Phillips took the podium. Afterward, NFL Network analysts Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, and Steve Mariucci got into a live...

Last Tuesday night, the night of the 2010 Midterm Elections, as now Governor-Elect Jerry Brown was making his way through the audience of media and well-wishers, and this video blogger was filming the action, Brown turned right, and into my camcorder's lens. The first thing out of Jerry's mouth - well the second thing after "there's that blogger" - was referring to the comments that Arnie Fields made about him during our interview. Arnie Fields ran for Mayor and lost, again, big time. Arnie knows in his heart of hearts that he's not going to be the Mayor of Oakland unless he makes a concerted effort. But that's another blog post. Arnie's ran twice because he's got Jerry Brown on the brain, and doesn't like the "10K" - Jerry Brown's project that brought thousands of units of apartment and condo housing to downtown Oakland, and helped transform Oakland's population. Ok, we've been through that discussion. But i...

The news that Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan may be the next Mayor of Oakland has outraged Oakland Police Officers. This blogger just got a call this evening from a long time friend who's name I will not reveal and who's working "out in the field" on the streets of Oakland after the Mehserle verdict, who said "Hey. It's busy out here, people on the street, but we've got it really well contained. We're way over-prepared for this, this time."  (Which explains why he was able to take time to call this blogger.) Then his tone changed. This is someone who doesn't get that upset a lot; not this time. He said "You know me. I generally don't pay attention to politics, but whoa! This shit out here is nothing compared to what I was told. You're politically in the know, so I call on you. Is it true, we're going to have Jean Quan as our Mayor!? If that's the case, I'm outta Oakland, and I'm taking as many people as...

The unthinkable just happened. Oakland District 4 Councilmember Jean Quan outpaced Former California State Senator Don Perata 51 percent to 48 percent and unofficially won the Oakland Mayor's Race.  If the results hold, Quan becomes Oakland's first female mayor and its first Asian mayor. This news is according to the Alameda County Registrar's Office . Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Jean Quan, if these results hold up. The numbers are really, really close. The results, the product of the new Ranked Choice Voting system, went through 10 computerized rounds. Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and Councilmember Kaplan transferred the largest number of votes, so it must be surmised that their strategy of supporting each other actually worked. If you think about it, and look at the numbers, that means three-fourths of the second choice results were for Jean Quan. That's amazing. This is really funny, in a good way. It means the system worked, even if some may n...

In a small press conference Thursday, Oakland Councilmember and City Council President Jane Brunner and Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim sat down to talk about the election and the status of Oakland Police staffing. Well, it was really all about Oakland Police staffing, and not so much about the ranked choice voting election. Oakland Mayor-Elect Don Perata (which we can say because his 11 point first vote lead coupled with the first and second choices yet to be counted puts him closest to the needed 50 percent majority), said at his election party that his first action as Mayor of Oakland will be to reinstate the 80 police officer positions eliminated to trim Oakland's huge budget deficit. Here's the video containing Perata's comments at the 4:28 mark: Don Perata's proposed action was met with some hesitation from new Oakland District 4 (Montclair - Oakland Hills) Councilmember Libby Schaaf, who said that she wasn't willing to rubber stamp Pe...

If first choice results hold under Ranked Choice Voting, and given his 11 percent lead, there's little reason to think otherwise, Don Perata will be Oakland's Mayor-Elect. Mayor-Elect Perata got 35 percent of the first choice votes; the full results will be by Friday, but his lead's large enough to pull the top Oakland politicians, from Councilmember Larry Reid to AC Transit Executive Director (and former Alameda County Supervisor) Mary King to his party at Z-Cafe on 27th and Broadway. But in apparent victory, Perata set up what will be his first political battle of his mayoral term: the reinstatement of 80 Oakland Police Officers. Laying off 80 Oakland Police Officers this year was a controversial move to cut the City of Oakland's budget, and caused a packed City Council meeting where police officers listened to a community that didn't seem to like them very much. Not so Don Perata. Asked on video to come by this video-blogger what his first move will b...

Today marks the end of a long and exciting Oakland Mayor's Race. This blogger has talked extensively on and off camera with all 10 of the candidates, created over 300 minutes of video interviews, and read a lot of information on all of them. Former State Senator Don Perata who will be the best choice for Mayor. The simple reason is, for all of the issues lobbed at him, Perata is a leader who gets things done. That written, political newcomer Joe Tuman is the second choice, followed by At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. This was tough, because for a long time, Perata's run for Mayor was a surprise in that a higher office seemed the more logical direction - like Senator. But Perata, for some years now, has expressed desire to be Mayor of Oakland, got an early start, kept his focus, and never looked away. Perata followed the advise then-Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris gave to me more than once: make sure they're always talking about you. And everyone has. Meanwhile, P...

Arnie Fields is, from this bloggers view, the unofficial Mayor of Oakland. The block of 7th Street that runs next to the BART tracks and contains the BART West Oakland Station, is marked by "Fields For Mayor" signs, all over the place. Only a billboard for "Marcie Fields For Mayor" provides a momentary break from the "Fields For Mayor" images. That, and Fields owns the popular Revolutionary Cafe that's in the middle of the block at 1612 7th Street, which also has his signs. Arnie Field may not win the race for Mayor of Oakland, but Fields is certainly a force in Oakland. Arnie Fields is an energetic, friendly, and knowledgeable Oaklander who's primary reason for running for Mayor is his anger with former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, who he describes as a "kook." This blogger reminded Fields that that "kook" was about to become Governor of California - or so it looked - and Fields said "I hope not." Arnie Field...

Peralta Community College District Board Member Marcy Hodge has labored as one of the lesser known candidates, who's activity in the Oakland Mayor's Race was punctuated by having her sister Nicole Hodge file a defamation lawsuit against The East Bay Express . In the video interview, Hodge talks about why she decided to run for Mayor and her approach. Hodge says she decided to run for mayor because she didn't think any of the candidates were talking about the issues Oaklanders were dealing with. "I didn't really feel really excited about the candidates." She's ran a campaign that features billboards and lawn signs all over Oakland.  What's interesting is as this day approached, more and more "Marcie Hodge" lawn signs have appeared around Oakland.  A signal that some Oaklanders had not decided on a candidate and were swayed toward Hodge. The East Bay Express and Hodge Robert Gammon has, for some reason, consistently and dangero...

If you haven't made up your mind on who to vote for in the Oakland Mayor's Race on election day, today, this series of Zennie62 on YouTube videos should help a little. They comprise over 300 minutes of conversations and 15 videos that in total make up the most ambitious video blog effort I've ever done.   The idea was to give you a view of all of the candidates, not just some of them.  (That effort's the biggest example of local print and television media prejudice and attempt to control information I've ever seen.  And if someone calls them by a name that brings up Nazi Germany, they'll start whining and crying, but at this stage, given their antics, I don't care what they think.) So in honor of The San Francisco Giants as World Champions and Tim Lincecum, this blogger says FUCK YEAH! (OK. Lots of San Francisco street party hoping and killer videos in celebration last night, but I digress.) The videos represents all of the candidates: Councilmembe...