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More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com San Francisco Chronicle Columnist Phil Matier is a friend and one-half of the well-known reporting team of Matier and Ross . I've known Phil since 1993 when I started as a columnist for the Oakland-based Montclarion and he and his professional sidekick Andy Ross were working under the same "Matier and Ross" title. Over the years Phil has always lent an ear and advice. Now, since I blog on the SF Chronicle's website SFGste.com, I figured I'd take time to do something that was always in the back of my mind: make a vlog featuring an interview with Phil. The result is this 21 minutes long video . Frankly, it also a way of paying back those at the SF Chronicle who've given me the freedom to express myself and bring light to some issues that ordinarily would be ignored. Phil and I met at Merritt Station. A local cafe near Lake Merritt in Oakla

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com I just read the Oakland Tribune's editorial (Monday, October 12th) on the City of Oakland's parking enforcement policies and the word that immediately came to mind when I was done was this one: irresponsible. Somewhere along the way the Oakland Tribune forgot that it was supposed to represent the needs, hopes, and wants of the people of the City of Oakland, not the City of Oakland. The Tribune editors wrote: Some of the most irrational parking opponents still aren't satisfied. They're demanding — which is utterly absurd — that the council set parking rates at 50 cents per hour, end aggressive ticketing, forgive all tickets issued since July 1 and issue an apology for instituting the parking changes in the first place. Irrational? Under the Tribune's twisted logic, the "Shop Oakland" program of free parking on Christmas holidays is just plain i

Youth at What Now America (WNA) express their views on Oakland through pictures.

The Blog Michael d's Buzz Report features Oakland's Lake Chalet Restaurant in full palm tree mode! My favorite place, for which now after all my self-starting advocacy I'm a spokesperson of sorts, is still drawing great crowds especially for Taco Tuesday's. Here's one of my videos - more to come - on the great new place to eat and hang:

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com I watched as much of the NY Giants' mugging of the Oakland Raiders 44 to 7 as I could stand, even as the CBS Sports NFL group was apologizing for the game! CBS Football Analyst and NFL great Boomer Esiason said it looked like the Washington Generals versus the Harlem Globetrotters, and one had to assume the Raiders were the Generals, which were always beaten by the Globetrotters. Seeing them actually do that was a low point in Oakland Raiders football history, and now we must call into question everything the Raiders are doing on the field. Especially on offense with the Oakland Raiders passing game. I've said and written it before, and I'll do it again. The Raiders passing offense lacks the basic practices used by organizations that install timed passing games. The lack of use of hashmarks as landmarks is just the start of the problem. It's the overall

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com I've received a lot of comments, calls, and texts since I revealed the City of Oakland's parking tow sting operation on Saturday. Working backward and reading some of them, a friend told me just a few minutes ago that just last, on College Avenue and Kasel, she saw an Oakland parking enforcement person - she used the term "meter maid" but that implies a level of civility of behavior I've not yet seen in the staffers - actually measuring the distance of a car's wheel to the curb and a red zone before giving them a ticket! Now, to say that's beyond the pale is an understatement but it shows just how much the City of Oakland's trying to squeeze money out of Oaklanders where they feel it the most (other than housing): transportation. The other story comes from a reader who explains: Not only is the city selectively issuing parking tickets

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com As Oakland Councilmembers like Jean Quan remind you that on Tuesday they voted to roll back parking enforcement times from 8 P.M. to 6 P.M., a terrible and really hurtful act is being done by the City of Oakland and its harming a lot of Oaklanders. The City of Oakland's instructed parking enforcement staff to just check license plates on cars to make sure the registrations' up to date. If it's not, even if the car's legally parked and regardless of the records error the driver is fighting, they will tow it. This is happening every day and now it happened to me. I had a DMV registration charge that I proved was too high from 2008. My 2009 costs were paid already but this matter has been in dispute and we finally resolved it and at a cost I could afford. Meanwhile I was barely using the car for obvious reasons, and staying around the neighborhood. But, late

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com I took a self-created video tour of Alameda Naval Air Station, and I must say that I'm profoundly disappointed that this once great facility, the economic engine of Alameda when it was open and running, is in what can only be called a horrible state of disrepair. In other words, it's blighted. The land that was this great " Aviation Gateway to the Pacific " supports some of the largest buildings I've ever seen in my life. As a member of the first "Alameda Base Reuse Committee", it was our collective dream to see this 1,500 acre monument to America's Military history redeveloped. Now, after years of not visiting the land as extensively as I did Wednesday, I'm really shocked that basically nothing has been done to improve this property and restore it to economic production. A remade and expanded trail is not enough. Even SunCal

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com The Oakland Gang Task Force , that was the much talked about unit of the City of Oakland's Police Department in the Discovery television series "Oakland Gang Wars", has been disbanded. In fact, this action happened just about a month ago according to sources who do not wish to be named. The reason for the action is a combination of budget cutting and political infighting out of the view of Oakland's City Council. Reportedly, but I offer this is not the exact explanation and only a caricature of entire story, the eight-person unit had one officer who was not well liked by the commanding sergeant, who wanted him reassigned. The other officers involved like and respect the officer and so disagreed with the planned removal. That set in motion a number of actions, some involving high level OPD execs, that my sources did not fully disclose but had something to d

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Kanye West has done it again. Proving that President Obama was right and he indeed is a jackass just weeks after his celebrated break in on Taylor Swift as she was accepting the award for "Best Female Video of The Year" at the MTV Video Music Awards... Kanye West opened his mouth and told a TMZ.com reporter that he wanted chicken because "I'm black." You know, there's an old saying that if you forget the past you're doomed to repeat it. In this case, younger African Americans like Kayne obviously weren't instructed that being black does not come with a set of instructions or limitations, as we were told in the past, as much by ourselves as by others. This - his comment - strikes a heavy nerve with me (and I don't care if he was kidding) because when I was little, specifically between the ages of 4 and 13 while growing up on th

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com From the blog Oakland Online we have this bit of scary news. There's a murderer lurking in the Glenview District, which is defined primarily by Park Boulevard as it extends to Montclair. Oaklander Online reports : A week has gone by and the suspect for the triple-shooting on Canon Avenue remains at large. On Wednesday, September 23, a man shot and killed Damon Wessel, 48, and Michael Caldwell, 44 in a four-plex less than half a mile from Park Boulevard. Shots fired at around 8:40 p.m. and a third victim, whose name has not been released, was in critical condition last week at Highland Hospital. More than a dozen police officers arrived at the scene when one of the victims called 9-11. Sgt. Gus Galindo said that those shot knew the gunman.  Visit Oaklander Online for the full story.   News of the murders brought the homicide rate up to 85 for this year and rattled neig

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com I've got a new favorite local blog - well one of them. It's called " Knife Catchers " and covers Alameda real estate in a cool way with the blogger, "L. Opine", who's tone, while rather acerbic, is entertaining and makes the otherwise boring task of reading about housing fun. For example, she writes : This is the third time I've sat down to write a post about tiny 318 Pacific Avenue: I find the neighborhood so depressing it's difficult to muster the energy to research even just a few facts. But in the interest of comprehensiveness, here goes 318 Pacific Avenue, a "wonderful Victorian Farmhouse" which is neither wonderful nor Victorian (nor a farmhouse, really)...Anyone paying more than $275,000 for this property given its tiny size and pathetic location just a few blocks from the barren desolation of the old Naval Air Station i

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com At the 2009 NFL Draft, after USC quarterback Mark Sanchez was selected 5th by the New York Jets (and finally had a terrible game against the New Orleans Saints today), I opened the media interview by cracking on USC: Mark Sanchez just gave a chuckle when I said that the reason he left USC was because he knew Cal would beat the Trojans this year. Well, forget that. Cal, er, we, lost big time Saturday, 30 for them, to 3 for us, and frankly it wasn't that USC was that much better but that we just didn't execute well or call the right plays. Or as my Cal buddy Greg Heywood put it the following today, "When USC safety Taylor Mays catches Jahvid Best on a reverse, you know it's gonna be a long day." It sure was. Mays is 6-3, 230 pounds of hitting machine. So why call a reverse and not a double reverse since USC's so fast? Cal's best effort

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com I have it from a very good source that the Oakland Redevelopment Agency is upset with SMG Coliseum, the managers of the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, because they charge the organization is withholding information needed to complete a bid for Oakland to host a FIFA World Cup Soccer Game. I believe it because the source is a good one and SMG Coliseum has done this before. To me. When I was working to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland . What happened in my case was that I needed specific drawings of the Coliseum to have for the Super Bowl bid package we at the Oakland Alameda County Sports Commission were creating. Sally Roach, who was representing the Stadium Management Group at the Coliseum at the time - 1999 - told me they didn't have the drawings. Deena McClain, who was then and is now again working as the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Administrator,was led t

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Wow, what a year for the passing of people who formed our modern culture. From Michael Jackson and Farrah Faucett to Naomi Sims, the World's first black supermodel. She passed away of complications due to breast cancer last month at just 61 years old. By being the first black supermodel, Naomi Sims ironically opened up modeling and the fashion industry for a wider range of women regardless of race. Today fashion and modeling are so much a part of our mainstream culture that BARE Magazine has achieved much success as a college-run fashion magazine at UC Berkeley. Naomi Sims is the focus of this blog and of a renewed push for breast cancer fundraising and awareness. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 but thanks to a then-new drug called Femara , she's still doing very well. On October 1st, she turns 75 years old.

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Briefly I have to admit to some confusion. The Alameda Chamber of Commerce is for the redevelopment of the Alameda Naval Air Station as proposed by SunCal, but against an initiative process . Or at least as written. That's unusual. In all of my years working in economic development developers were afraid to go to the voters to get a building project approved. The answer is obvious: they could lose, big time. Yet opponents always said "Take it to the voters". Well, that's being done now. It's a good idea. Plus, my personal bias having served on the original Alameda Base Reuse Committee, is to see our work become reality in the development of the former air station. More later.

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Speaking, er, writing of Councilmember Jean Quan and her pursuit of the office of Mayor of Oakland, she's having one of those exploratory meetings I referred to. I an email from Maggie Kostoff of The Grand Avenue Breakfast Club which reads: You are invited to join us- District 4 Councilwoman, Jean Quan, is considering running for Mayor of Oakland. I have scheduled an opportunity to meet with Councilwoman Quan. I personally do not promote any candidates, but feel that this is rare opportunity to share your opinions with a potential candidate. She is meeting with Oakland citizens to discuss how you view the office of the Mayor, and to discuss your priorities for this important office. This meeting is an open discussion for our local community. When: Saturday, September 26, 1:30pm-3:30pm Where: Lakeview Library (located across the street from Gold's Gym on Gra

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com The infamous Conga Lounge MaiTai  Which you'll need after getting a ticket in Oakland! (Just don't drive after you've had it!) I just got an email from Emmanuel ( Mano) Thanos, the owner of the famous (or infamous if you've had one of their Mai Tai's) Conga Lounge . He's responding to my video and blog post on the Oakland City Council's decision not to toss out the current parking enforcement system. If you didn't see the video, here it is: Here's Mano: This is Mano here from the Conga lounge and Pizza Rustica Cafe. It is a shame that the Oakland City Council has decided not to listen to the people of Oakland. We used to be quite busy after 6pm. Now folks stay away until 8pm when they can park without having to pay the high hourly fee of $2 or the fine of $55! This parking policy is extremely short sighted and has caused trem

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com Yesterday I blogged on how the Oakland City Council got its ass chewed out by angry Oakland business owners and residents Tuesday night over the new parking enforcement process, especially the $55 tickets and the 8 PM daily end time. I promised a video; here is the first of a set of them: It features Grand Lake Theater owner Alan Michaan explaining that he wants the Oakland City Council to "rescind (the parking plan) or (be) recall(ed)" and Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Carl Chan explaining that his well-organized group (which will be more of the focus of my second video), has no such intentions. The video at nine minutes long also features the angry rant of Oakland retailer Steve Salazar, who accuses the City of Oakland of "predatory parking ticket" practices. But I want you to notice the African American gentleman in the backgroun

More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com The Oakland City Council got its ass chewed out last night, and I'm not sure there's much left this morning. This is an account best told with video, and I've got a lot of it coming today. The meeting, at least for the issue of rolling back parking enforcement times from the current 8 PM ending to the old 6 PM stop point, didn't itself end until 12:29 AM. I've attended well over a 1,000 Oakland City Council meetings going back to 1987, but I can't remember one where several people were as red-faced angry as they were last night. Oh sure, we've had our "Hugh Bassett" moments, where the Oakland school teacher would blast Councilmember Larry Reid (District 7 East Oakland), but nothing like this. Only video does it justice. Grand Lake Theater owner Allan Michaan is threatening to start a recall of the Oakland City Council after it failed t