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Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff continues to chase a pipe-dream of a project to build a ball park in Fremont using a financing plan that I've told Don Fisher of the Gap is not workable. It's funny what ego can do, but even a large ego can go only so far. It's a waste of time what the A's are doing. What's even sillier is saying they're not going to stay in Oakland. Where the hell are they going, and with who's money? Baseball, both in TV ratings and franchise value, isn't the investment it used to be for an organization in a market this size. There's an answer, but I'm not going to give all of....Well, ok. Part of the answer is that Lew needs to learn local politics. Right now, he's really screwing up. He would get a losing score playing my Oakland Baseball Simworld. A's owner says there's no chance team will stay in Oakland Carolyn Jones, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, October 22, 2007 (10-22) 22:13 PDT Sa

EBMUD and UC Berkeley's present: A Clean Sweep - Help Protect the Bay! WHEN: Friday, October 26, 2007 7am-3pm WHERE: 1000 Folger Ave. at San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, CA 94720 (near Ashby) * FREE COMPUTER RECYCLING Accepting personal TVs, monitors, portable DVD players, CPUs, laptops, power cords, circuit boards, keyboards, and mice. More info at 510-642-1186 or http://overstock.berkeley.edu * SAFE MEDICINE DISPOSAL Bring unwanted medicine in original containers with your name marked out. More info at 510-287-1651 or www.ebmud.com/cleanbay * THERMOMETER EXCHANGE & MERCURY DEVICE DISPOSAL Exchange mercury thermometers for a free digital thermometer. Also accepting other mercury devices. Bring in two plastic zipper bags to prevent spills. More info at 510-287-1651 or www.ebmud.com/cleanbay

I read the latest news on the Oakland Army Base with more than the usual passing interest. I absorbed it and chuckled. I could not help it. Why? Because the Oakland Army Base land has sat largely unused for years -- since 1999 -- while the Oakland City Council and whomever happened to be Mayor jockied with the Port of Oakland for control of its development. That struggle is also itself countered by competing ideas of what Oakland Councilmembers want to do with the land. It's these political tug of wars that have delayed development of what is still the Bay Area's best infill development opportunity. I can go over scores of examples of land uses that have been proposed for that area, from a ballpark for the Oakland A's to a farmers market, which was the proposal of long-time Oakland development activist Steve Low, my friend and for some time the with the West Oakland Commerce Association (WOCA). But as much as I like Steve, even he's been part of the enormous num

If one needs more evidence that Mayor Dellums backed the wrong presidential candidate, here's more. His own constituents, by a massive margin, have given more money to Senator Barack Obama's campaign for President. As I told Mayor Dellums great communications director, all the Mayor has to do is switch his endorsement to Barack Obama. It's that easy. Here's the Tribune article. Obama gets more money than Clinton Illinois senator trumps New York's in donations from Contra Costa, Alameda counties By Lisa Vorderbrueggen, STAFF WRITER Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., may lead the presidential fundraising pack nationally but in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, it is the charismatic junior senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, who has the edge. Nearly $4 out of every $10 shelled out by East Bay residents as of Sept. 30 went to Obama, led in large measure by contributions from folk in the liberal strongholds of Berkeley, Oakland and Piedmont. Generous voters in the two

This was at Rebron.org This reporter and I were at this same meeting, a North Oakland Community meeting where this time Ron Dellums, our mayor spoke. I have some different takeaways from what she wrote, though top of mind for everybody at this meeting was how to control the violence in North Oakland. You’d think the easy answer is get more cops on the street but it’s not that easy. If it was easy, it’d be already done. So violence was the main issue, the expansion of Children’s Hospital/zoning in general was the other top issue. I should be more concerned since several murders and shooting have happened within a one/two block radius of my house, but I know the neighborhood is getting better. I see it everyday. What I did like hearing was what Ron Dellums had to say with Oakland as a model city. I think he’s right about the opportunity. There’s a lot of Oakland pride and there’s a lot to like about Oakland, people just see the violence in Oakland but don’t see the there there. People

October 15th, 2007 | Coast Guard, Waterway Security, Security SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The Department of Homeland Security has announced the awarding of over $6.1 million in supplementary Port Security Grant funds to the ports of San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond and Stockton, California. The San Francisco Marine Exchange was selected by the Coast Guard Federal Maritime Security Coordinator as the fiduciary agent to oversee the use of these funds on behalf of the Northern California Area Maritime Security Committee. The Port of Redwood City received an additional award of $33,000.00. These funds are to be used to enhance seaport security, mitigate seaport risks, and aid the resumption of seaport trade following an incident or disaster. The funds will be spent in accordance with a risk mitigation and resumption of trade plan that will be developed to steer the use of future Port Security Grant funds over the next five years.

We're celebrating Blog Action Day today. Stay tuned to our blogs!

Over at Tagami Vision, Phil's got a great video interview with Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker. In this series on crime, Chief Tucker gives us a view on how the Oakland Police work to fight crime in Oakland.

A great article that needed to be written! It's amazing how stupid we are not to try to develop a diverse work force. Blacks see bleak future in Silicon Valley Census shows dot-com bust harder on African Americans, Latinos By Mike Swift, MEDIANEWS STAFF Article Last Updated: 10/15/2007 06:57:51 AM PDT When Geoffry Brown was laid off from a marketing job with a San Jose software company in 2003, he could not know what lay ahead: several years of unemployment, a divorce and, ultimately, a pay cut when he went back to work. "Nobody wants to hire a 46-, 47-year-old guy. Could I say that being black had anything to do with it? I won't go that far," Brown said. "But I will say I didn't have some of the (employment) networks some people had." Brown questioned whether he should leave Northern California for a place with cheaper housing and a more vibrant African-American culture. During the tough years after the 2001 tech bust, many blacks in Silicon Valley w

Former Governor and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown is all over the death of Anna Nicole Smith and released this statement, which I got from TMZ.com: "Brown's Statement Posted Oct 12th 2007 2:24PM by TMZ Staff "The California Department of Justice today served search warrants at various doctors' offices, billing locations, and residences in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties, related to the death of Anna Nicole Smith. The locations searched today are related to doctors who provided medical treatment or prescribed drugs for Anna Nicole Smith or her associates. On March 30, 2007, the California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement commenced an investigation into circumstances surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith, including the prescribing and dispensing practices of several California licensed doctors and pharmacies. To date, agents have reviewed over 100,000 computer images and files, analyzed patient profiles and pharmacy logs and interviewed witness

Phil Tagami's new online show has a spiffy new blog home at www.tagamivision.com In the first episodes, Tagami interviews several prominent Oaklanders about the crime problem in our city. It's most informative. The web show will have even more content in the near future, and continue to be primarily video-based with occasional blog posts in between. The idea is to bring focus and attention to Oakland's most pressing problems. It comes really from Phil's personal experiences in trying to improve the downtown area he works in. Now, of course, he's got a vested interest in the effort, but his work benefits all of us in bringing the community together. Here's a sample of some video shows on TagamiVision: Phil talks to Police Chief Wayne Tucker.... Part One.. Part Two...

Mayor Ron Dellums made the massive error of backing Senator Hillary Clinton in the Presidential race, a sure sign that Barack Obama will win the nomination. Of course, this didn't come as just a simple endorsement -- it came as yet another Clinton deal. In this case, Hillary placed Mayor Ron Dellums in some role in her campaign. How many times she's done this in some form makes one dizzy. But what's really wild is that Dellums would back someone who's flipped-flopped on so many issues and supported the Iraq War that it's not funny. Plus, Dellums apparently can't bring himself to back a young Black Senator named Barack Obama. It's funny with some older African Americans in Oakland. They're so afraid of anyone Black who can be in charge that they'd back someone White. I'm serious about this, and would not write it if it were not true. The real mental slaves are those who say to me -- who are Black -- that Barack can't win because he&#

Sunday September 30th 2007 was a day that featured an event I seriously doubt will ever be replayed in my lifetime, or yours. On a day where Senator and Presidential Candidate Hilliary Clinton was expected to be the host of a rally in Downtown Oakland, California, local and state organizers with the Obama for America campaign held a rally of their own to open the new Northern California field office. An office located not just in Downtown Oakland, but only two blocks from where Senator Clinton was to speak. The Obama people blocked off a one-block stretch of land between 14th and Broadway and 14th and Franklin, and erected a stage for bands, then opened the doors of their new Oakland home at 436 14th Street, Suite 305. For a time, it seemed as if there were more Obama supporters than Clinton supporters, and that was because there were. As time went on, many of the estimated 5,000 people that came to hear Senator Clinton seemed to be causal attendees. Each one of which was gr

This video is based on the lawsuit that Bob won and is discussed below and here. Kids Get $3M in Mom's Death Montereyherald.com June 20, 2007 Original Montereyherald.com article: Kids Get $3M in Mom's Death A Monterey County jury awarded almost $3 million to the children of a woman killed when a Monterey cypress toppled on her car on Highway 1 north of Moss Landing on New Year's Day last year. 'There was a message with this,' said Bob Schock, an attorney representing two of Jacine Calderon Sarmiento's children. 'After the verdict, the jurors said they hoped the state of California would do something about the trees along the highways.' Sarmiento, 45, was driving along Highway 1 during a raging storm on Jan. 1, 2006, with her 5-year-old daughter when the tree fell on her vehicle. Sarmiento was killed and her daughter, Athena, suffered minor injuries. At the time, emergency crews reported that two other cypress trees from the grove along the highway fell

From the Barack Obama website -- link in the title of this post. Oakland/Northern California HQ Opening with BLACKALICIOUS (Meeting) We are extremely excited to announce our FREE Grand Opening party with special musical guest Blackalicious! Live and in person, in the middle of 14th Street in downtown Oakland! "Like a few other West Coast rap acts, including the Pharcyde and Jurassic 5, Blackalicious has generally favored what hip-hoppers call the "positive tip"; in other words, its lyrics have often been spiritual and uplifting rather than violent or misogynous. Like a lot of experimental alternative rappers, Blackalicious can be quirky and eccentric; nonetheless, spirituality is a big part of the group's music." It's going to be AMAZING. Don't miss it. WHEN: Sunday, September 30, 1:00 PM WHERE: 436 14th Street, 3rd Floor - directly in front of the 14th Street exit of the Oakland City Center BART station, between Broadway and Franklin. WHO: Everyone!

VSmoothe attacks Mayor Dellums for taking credit for the Shorenstein Building on the T-12 site downtown. A building in the design and planning process since 2000.

Councilmember Laurence E. Reid City of Oakland 7th District Councilmember Laurence (Larry) E. Reid represents the interests of District 7 residents in the City of Oakland. Larry was elected in November 1996, and was sworn in to a four-year term on January 6, 1997. Larry's motto and mission is "to make a difference and improve the quality of life of those who elected me." Larry Reid is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio where he began his career in politics. Following a distinguished tenure in the military, Larry became a political aide to the Mayor of Cincinnati. Shortly thereafter, presidential hopeful Walter Mondale hired Larry to work on his campaign staff. During this period, Larry ventured to California where he met then Assemblymember Elihu M. Harris, which began a long and productive relationship. Larry accepted a position as legislative aide to Assemblymember Harris, serving in the State Assembly for six years. When Assemblymember Harris put in his bid fcr Mayor of Oakl

The 55,000 square-foot Whole Foods Market has just opened today at 27th and Harrison and brings good news and the promise of reviatalization to an area that has been waiting for both for too long. I was given a tour of the new place one day before its opening by Jolyn Bibb, Marketing Specialist of Store Openings for Whole Foods. While the video shows the store and what Jolyn said, I can tell you its quite a place to be in. A breath of fresh air. There's an official opening today which begins with a "Bread and Baking" ceremony at 8:45 am before the doors open at 9 AM. Through the day there will be music, food samples, and a guest appearance by famous local chef Paul Bertolli. Plus, reusable Whole Foods Market Green Bags will be given to the first 5,000 customers with a purchase of $15 or more, and a raffle for a giant gift basket filled with a variety of products. There's a lot of food stations in this facility as well. There's something called a dine-i