Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

I just checked SBS' Oakland Focus stats and noticed that our old friends at the Oakland Mayor's office are back and in a big way! 10 page views from one visitor, and going through all of the Oakland Focus archives! Thanks for the traffic. We'll keep writing and I'm sure you'll keep giving us stuff to write about!

Airport concession workers score 'living wage' Vote guarantees $9.90 an hour beginning in May 2008 By Paul T. Rosynsky, STAFF WRITER OAKLAND — With few exceptions, all employees working concessions at Oakland International Airport's expanded terminal will be paid a "living wage" in two years, the Port Commission decided Tuesday. The vote closes a loophole that exempted companies from the living-wage law if they had 20 or fewer employees. It guarantees a minimum wage of $9.90 an hour for employees with health benefits and $11.39 an hour for those without. The action came as the port seeks a new company to build and operate concessions inits two existing terminals and its Terminal 2 expansion, expected to open later this year. Advocates of the law were concerned the new company would subcontract its concessions to smaller businesses to circumvent living-wage requirements. Port officials agreed that everyone working at the airport should get a fair wage. "We bel

I still think this is a case of two women who may have been a bit angry at everyone after getting tossed from the nightclub, and Jerry was right there at the wrong time. He should go to Cafe Van Cleef instead of 17. OAKLAND — District Attorney Tom Orloff said Tuesday he will not charge Mayor Jerry Brown with a crime after two women accused him of breaking a cell phone and making racist statements outside a downtown nightclub. Orloff said not enough evidence existed to bring charges in the matter, which stemmed from an incident early March 5 outside @17th, a popular club near Telegraph Avenue. Orloff's office investigated the alleged vandalism rather than the Oakland Police Department to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. "It's obvious that the mayor has been completely exonerated," said Gil Duran, the mayor's spokesman. "The charges were ridiculous from the start." Ayesha Wilson, the Manteca woman who leveled the charges against the mayor,

I saw that information in today's Oakland Tribune... Basketball star fatally shot near Oakland club High schooler likely in wrong place at wrong time; police still seeking killer By Kristin Bender and Harry Harris STAFF WRITERS - OAKLAND TRIBUNE OAKLAND -- A few years ago, Ronald Hall Jr. was living in a run-down East Oakland apartment without lights or power and without money or hope for the future. His mother was on the streets -- again -- living on heroin and welfare checks. She would return home from time to time to pull the state checks from the mailbox, but she was strung out and unable to care for her teenage son, a star basketball player, say those who knew him. Still, he stayed with her, fearful that she would be injured or killed -- by her own hand or by angry drug dealers. He stayed away from drugs himself. And he tried to avoid violence. But it found him early Monday morning when he was shot dead around the corner from a Jack London Square nightclub. His death -- the 42

I think Peggy's idea is the best way. Let the voters of Oakland make the choice! LET'S VOTE ON HUGE HOUSING PROJECT PEGGY STINNETT, Oakland Tribune March 23, 2006 ALTHOUGH the Oak to Ninth waterfront condo project has been around since 2003, when the port gave Signature Properties an option to buy the public property for $18 million, it's far too soon for the Oakland City Council to approve the controversial plan. Serious long-term financial questions remain unanswered. In fact, the questions have not even been asked by the council. Instead, the council seems hellbent on hasty approval of developer Michael Ghielmetti's proposal, which has grown to a $1.2 billion development. This deal could become one of the city's most devastating financial blunders since the days of Horace Carpentier, Oakland's first mayor. Remember Carpentier? He was the mayor who stole the waterfront from its rightful owners in a scam that took 60 years of litigation to untangle. It appears

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Jason Arnold 510.328.1350, cell 510.326.4353 jarnold@yoshis.com http://www.yoshis.com YOSHI'S WORLD CLASS JAZZ HOUSE & JAPANESE RESTAURANT ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & PUBLICITY JOAN ROSENBERG, FORMER MARKETING DIRECTOR FOR BILL GRAHAM PRESENTS, TO LEAD YOSHI'S THROUGH EXCITING GROWTH WITH NEW SAN FRANCISCO FILLMORE STREET VENUE INTERIM PUBLICIST JASON ARNOLD TO CONTINUE MANAGEMENT OF THEME PRODUCTIONS AND PR FOR MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL & OTHERS April 7, 2006; Oakland, CA; The coolest gig on the planet is officially off the market. Yoshi's World Class Jazz House and Japanese Restaurant is proud to announce that Joan Rosenberg, former Marketing Director for local concert promoter Bill Graham Presents (owned by Live Nation), has been appointed as Yoshi's new Director of Marketing & Publicity. Rosenberg will assume the duties of the position officially on April 17, 2006, ending a lengthy nationwide search and sev

I saw this at the Rockridge Community Planning Council's Website: "The April 20 Candidates' Night will consist of two events: a debate between the three candidates for the mayor of Oakland and a brief presentation by each of the seven candidates for the Board of the Rockridge Community Planning Council. (Details, page 3). Attendees will also have an opportunity to vote for candidates for the Board of the Friends of the Rockridge Library (FORL). (Details, page 5). The event begins at 7 pm at the College Avenue Presbyterian Church Sanctuary, 5951 College Avenue" Here are the details, again from the RCPC: Oakland Mayoral Debate by Cy Gulassa, Editor You've watched them on TV, read about them in the papers, and listened to critics; now it's time to come hear for yourself what Ron Dellums, Ignacio De La Fuente, and Nancy Nadel have to say about the future of Oakland and Rockridge. What's to be done about schools, libraries, crime, traffic, parks, redevelopment,

I saw this post over at this random blog which read: "Dinner in Berkeley We dined last night with our friends Penny and Dave (both excellent chefs and foodies) at a restaurant of their choice called Dona Tomas (5004 Telegraph St.). They serve high-end Mexican cuisine and yum yum, it was great. The margaritas on the rocks were not too sweet and just perfect...." Reenie Cooks, you were in the Temescal District of Oakland, and not even a stone's throw from Berkeley. It's amazing to me how many people seem to think the nicer parts of Oakland aren't in Oakland at all. Geez.

Hmm... Personally, I'd read it Ignacio, but it wasn't a great campaign move at all. That written, I do know you have a story to tell. But it's better done online using a camcorder. There's your campaign hint.

(Tagami with Mayoral Longshot Candidate Ignacio De La Fuente and Charlotte Laws. Yeah, Phil's supporting the longshot.) I saw this at the New Home Builders News Blog and almost choked: "Phil Tagami, a developer who restored the Rotunda Building and is working to rehabilitate the dilapidated Fox Theater in downtown Oakland, said he and others want to hear specifically what it means for a development to embrace diversity.." For as long as I've known Phil -- and that's since 1991 -- he's always had a very weird, unfortunate view of the matter of race and diversity. We've had a lot of arguments about this. Sometimes I thought he seemed to be picking fights with anyone who called for it. Now, in my little playground that's this blog and away from the more rough-and-tumble matters of SBS, I get to adress this issue of diversity and developers and Phil and Oakland. Phil, listen up! Diversity is simply making the choice to find and work with people of co

Yep. After chiding the Bay Area Reporter for asking his stance on Gay and Lesbian marriage, a deparate-to-win Jerry Brown finally "comes out." Anything to be California's AG.

I've seen her signs around Lake Merritt, so I decided to check out her site. She's spot on about the Port of Oakland, if brief. Here's the rest of her message: "I want to use the District 2 City Council seat to insure that the needs of Oakland's working families come first. We can make Oakland better by increasing funding and support of locally-controlled schools and youth recreation programs, bringing community policing to every area, expanding home ownership opportunities in the city, and creating living wage jobs for our people. We need a more open government so that every member of the community can be part of key decisions on city contracts and development deals, and can influence how our tax dollars are being spent, including Measure Y public safety and Measure DD park expansion funds." "Myth – Oakland does not have the resources to fund education, libraries and parks and recreation. Fact – The Port of Oakland could provide the city with resources

There's a school of thought that Nancy Nadel's the longshot candidate for Mayor. I'm here to tell you that she out-polls Ignacio De La Fuente, and now to such an extent that he, not she, should be considered the longshot candidate. Nancy's a threat to win because in a city that treats its female politicians well at the polls, Nadel's the first woman to launch a credible campaign for the city's top job. Frankly, all she has to do is pound the pavement and stay out of the Dellums / De La Fuente media battles -- waged by De La Fuente -- and she at leat scare the heck out of Dellums. I can't see her winning, but I can see her forcing a runoff. She's the number two player in the campaign.

Someone recently presented an idea that would remove one of the largest generators of sales tax revenue -- it's a documented fact -- in Oakland for a new stadium for the Oakland A's. Not good and shows a complete lack of understanding of Oakland not to mention redevelopment economics. Just to properly prep the land -- with all of the impact from the storage of cars -- would cost over $100 million. Plus, the land is worth more than just the buildings -- the cars are counted too. Without going into more detail, I'll close by saying it's time to close that idea. It's too much of a win-lose. Pick another site, like Oak to Ninth.

Wow, with his name recognition, you'd think Mayor Jerry Brown would be light years in front of Rocky Delgadillo, his challenger for the California Attorney General's Office. But he's not. Rocky's raised $3.8 million versus Jerry's $4.2 million. That's a near dead heat. Here's Rocky! Rocky shoots for the `Moonbeam' Delgadillo vs. Brown shapes up as competitive attorney general primary BY RICK ORLOV, Staff Writer In one of the most intriguing political races of the season, an upstart Latino politician from East Los Angeles faces one of California's best known - and most controversial - political figures of the last generation. It's Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo vs. the mayor of Oakland and former two-term governor Jerry Brown. At stake in the June 6 primary is the title of Democratic candidate for California attorney general. The winner will face Republican state Sen. Chuck Poochigian of Fresno, who is unopposed in the GOP primary.

This project was first proposed way back in 1991. The fact that it's took this long to get it off the ground is a clear sign of Oakland Redevelopment Agency's lethargy and the determination of Oakland's District Six Councilmember Larry Reid. BART's airport monorail on track Officials seek private help for connector targeted to run by 2011 By Paul T. Rosynsky, STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUNE OAKLAND — A plan that would have a private company build and operate BART's monorail to Oakland International Airport appears to have gotten the long-stalled connector project back on track. After years of delays due to a $141 million funding shortage, BART officials now say they believe the job can be done and expect the $377 million monorail to open by 2011. The optimism comes as the agency seeks proposals from private firms that would be willing to cover a $141 million funding gap to get the project. In return, the winning firm would operate the system and collect fares from

OAKLAND, CA (KCBS) -- Public works crews have closed a stretch of Alvarado Road where several homes were evacuated earlier this week after flooding and slides. The city determined that four homes on Alvarado near Claremont were not safe for habitation and yellow-tagged the houses. As a precaution, Oakland's Public Works Director, Raul Godinez, decided to close the road in front of those homes on Saturday evening, making a major road through the Oakland hills impassable. “This is how I come in and out,” said Abby Conover, who took advantage of a break in the rain to walk her big dog Trickster. Four times this week, crews have cleared mud and debris from the road, and the rain continues to send parts of the hill-sometimes just pebbles, other times larger rocks-tumbling down. “Given the fact that we're getting more rain, we thought that it was prudent to go ahead and close the road,” Godinez said. Two doors down from the closure, Carol Kerbel was keeping one eye on her neighbor&#

I understand that the "grassy knoll" is being considered for a parking lot as part of the Boathouse Redevelopment Plan for that part of Lake Merritt, but I must agree that removing it would be a massive blow to the park-like image of that area. Well, heck, it is a park, right? Besides, if people want to come to the new restaurant, let them walk there. Force them to take BART and park along Grand Avenue. Also, send the AC Transit "!2" Bus down the avenue to serve the facility. That's a better way.

Check out my post on the SBS Baseball Business Blog.

I saw this post over at "Drinking Liberally" about the recent Mayor's Debate. Seems that commenters look at either Ron Dellums or Nancy Nadel. I think Dellums is the better choice.