Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Hey, even if I had $50K, I wouldn't spend it on a party for myself. The Dellums people are planning to spend that much money per donor, up to a half-million dollars. I think this is a terrible way to go. No party should be structured this way. What the Dellums people should do is turn to San Francisco Black and White Ball head Paula Goodrich for advice on what to do. Or just follow her model, which is to take a part of the city, rope it off, erect tents, book bands, get corporate sponsors, and charge a fee. Bingo. That's it. In other words make it an Oakland event for the many, not for the few. Wow. I'm a fan of the Mayor, but what they're doing is the wrong way to go.

by Hiroko Kurihara, Chair, RCPC Land Use Committee At press time, Albertsons was preparing to close their parking lot to the public because of Albertsons LLC and Terranomics’ difficulty in accessing the loading dock and showing the property to prospective tenants and developers. The RCPC Land Use Committee is working closely with Albertsons representatives and Councilmember Brunner’s office to help broker a solution that keeps the lot open and provides designated parking slots for Claremont Middle School teachers. Merchants are concerned about the closure and might be able to help monitor the lot. Regarding ROSS: Dress for Less Stores as a potential new tenant, the Land Use Committee has learned that the Rockridge site is most likely not among the 40 sites under consideration by the company. Nevertheless, we will be sending a letter to senior management at Cerberus Capital, to convey the concerns and preferences for the site expressed at the community meeting last July. We’ll keep you

Oakland's Law Corps wins 'profound honor' Organization has dealt with drug dealing cases, including crackdown on liquor stores OAKLAND TRIBUNE Article Last Updated:12/05/2006 02:51:44 AM PST OAKLAND — The National League of Cities on Monday named Oakland one of nine winners of its 2006 award for municipal excellence, honoring the work of the Neighborhood Law Corps. City Attorney John Russo, who founded the organization five years ago, said the city constantly seeks innovative, creative ways to address chronic urban problems. "It's a profound honor to be recognized for such a prestigious award," Russo said. Oakland was also named one of three Gold award winners. Law Corps attorneys, who are usually fresh out of law school, focus on quality-of-life issues and have tackled dozens of cases involving drug dealing and building-code vio-lations. The Law Corps has also led the city's crackdown on liquor stores that blight the community when they provide a haven fo

"San Francisco Red Sox Fan" points to the East Bay Express article on how the Oakland A"s execs managed to work a deal to -- perhaps -- move to Fremont. The article's just ok. Another typically long piece of work that in this case doesn't get to the heart of the matter of the problem of sports in Oakland. In fact, in this case, the authors seemed to write as if they were looking to talk to "names" rather than determine what really happened. But leave that one to another person. I'm diappointed in their work. It's a wimper, not a bang.

"Black Sheep Girl" complains of the terrible bus service and the "creepy dudes" that hang out at the "Oakland BART" station -- don't know which one, but could be 12th or 19th Street -- so she decides to walk home. All the better to see Lake Merritt. We used to have a shuttle that drove around Lake Merritt; we need it back. It was paid for by the Oakland Redevelopment Agency, when for one moment it really understood what city building was all about.

Wow. I happened to catch this bit of news over at the blog called BiggAndyy, which you can go to with a click on the title of this post. He reports that the awards for Oakland kids turning in their guns are tickets to -- LOL -- a Guns and Roses Concert! What genius came up with that? It's supposed to be some weird pun, get it? Turn in your guns for Guns? It's not something the folks in the neighborhoods would come up with. First, it's just not a good idea -- better to give money. Second, and I'm just gonna haul off and write this, the person who came up with the idea certainly wasn't Black or Latino, and yet the program, let's face it, is aimed at African American neighborhoods in Oakland! What's going on over at the City of Oakland? You gotta wonder. Makes you shake your head.

This is Oaklandish's bus, or what they call a "Mobile Operations Unit." But I've got to ask what do they really do in that monster thing? Here's their info... This classic '67 Clark Cortez camper van has been outifitted with A.V. equipment (projector, FM radio transmitter, P.A. system), a kegerator, the Folklandish library of books, videos, collectibles & memorabilia, as well as our line of 'local love' goods. So basically we're rigged and ready to turn it out on-location at the drop of a hat! This completes our long standing dream of being fully equipped to bring our message & media to events and parties all over the town. Look for it November 5th at Dia de los Muertos in the Fruitvale!