Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

For this blogger, 2010 California Primary Election Night will be remembered for an emotional, stirring speech by Kamala Harris, now the California Democratic Representative in the race for the Attorney General seat now held by Jerry Brown, and an angry, irrational, and racist cab driver who really should be off the streets of San Francisco , or at least not allowed to drive a cab. It started at 9:15 PM PDT as I walked up the escalator at The BART Embarcadero Station to Market Street on the side in front of the San Francisco Federal Building. The initial plan was to walk over to the cab stand on Drumm Street in front of the Hyatt Regency. Then I saw a white cab drive slowly by, so I yelled "Hey taxi" and on cue, the cab slowed more and turned from the second lane to the first lane and to me. I clapped my hands in delight, opened the door, and got into the cab. That was the end of my joy. Angry Luxor Taxi Driver  I told the man to take me to Delancey Street w

The latest news from the Oakland Mayor's Race comes in the form of a communication from Don Perata's Office specifically stating Perata's intentions with respect to participation in Oakland Mayor's Race candidate debates or forums. The letter states the following: I regret that I will not attend any mayoral forums until the official filing deadline for mayor has closed and the full field of aspirants is known. Holding mayoral debates before all candidates are declared is undemocratic and misleads voters. In particular, Mayor Dellums has yet to announce his intentions as is his right as an incumbent. The mayor is running for re-election until he says he's not, or when filing closes in August. Ron Dellums has served our community for almost four decades. He's well entitled to such consideration. Sincerely, Don Perata. Presumably, Perata's statement also applies to Oakland At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, who's not offically said she&

California Attorney General Candidate Chris Kelly's people have smartly bought up a lot of Internet ad real estate in promoting Kelly's run for the seat currently held by Jerry Brown. But enough is enough. Chris Kelly's ad appears on the top of this blogger's SFGate.com / San Francisco Chronicle website blog. It wasn't placed there after consultation with this space, so here's the message: ZENNIE ABRAHAM IS NOT VOTING FOR CHRIS KELLY. I'M VOTING FOR KAMALA HARRIS. Ok. And yeah, screaming. Chris Kelly does not have the connections or the experience to be a good top lawyer for California; Kamala Harris does. Being California Attorney General is not an issue of evaluating the legal impact of Facebook code, as was the case when Kelly was Facebook's legal representative. Being California Attorney General is about knowing who to call, when, and why to accomplish an objective for people in a region. There's little if anything in Chris Ke

Make it seven competitors in the Oakland Mayor's Race upcoming debate as Don Perata bows out of the Thursday, June 10th Oakland Mayoral Candidates Forum sponsored by 100 Black Men of The Bay Area. But what's interesting behind the reason, according to a very good source , is that the Perata camp gave a weird reason for not wanting to participate in what they thought was going to be an Oakland Mayor Candidates Forum in September, even thought the source claims Perata was not asked officially to do so. The Perata Camp said that as current Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums had not actually announced what he was going to do, run for another term as Oakland's Mayor, or not (even as some have told this blogger he was going to run again), Perata didn't think it was fair to participate in any forum. Seriously. At the time, the source was surprised Perata was going to be in the 100 Black Men-sponsored forum. Perata is not going to be there as of this writing. That's a mi

Don Perata  The Oakland Mayor's Race which once featured ten candidates - Ron Dellums, Don Perata, Don MacLeay, Jean Quan, Greg Harland, Maya Dillard Smith, Terrance Candell, and an tenth person who's still not ready for prime time - is now down to nine. Sources who know her told this blogger Maya Dillard-Smith has elected to drop out of the race. Not to be mean, but to be critical, Maya Dillard-Smith stood a better chance in the Oakland Mayor's Race with a real website and a good Internet strategy. She did not have one. Her only real Internet marker was a Facebook page called "Maya for Mayor." The problem with the growth of Facebook is anyone thinks that a Facebook page can do as a serious Internet marker. It can't and it doesn't. When you do a Google search for Maya Dillard-Smith, a website that reads "Maya Dillard-Smith for Mayor of Oakland" should pop up. It doesn't because there's not one. A simple website, or a free

The Oakland Mayor's Race finally has its first official candidates forum. This Thursday, May 10th, 100 Black Men of The Bay Area will host the "Oakland Mayoral Candidates Forum" at the First Unitarian Church at 685 14th Street in Oakland from 6 PM to 9 PM. Yes, all of the candidates will be there as of this writing. If Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, who has not made an official statement on his future in or out of Oakland, does not show up, don't take it as a sign he's not going to run. It's June and we've got a lot of time before November. We also have a lot of candidates: ten. So many that my sources tell me 100 Black Men almost made a mistake in not inviting all of them. At first, 100 Black Men extended invitations to three Oakland Mayor's Race participants: Don Perata and Oakland Councilmembers Jean Quan and Rebecca Kaplan. But the other candidates got wind of the event and literally raised hell, threatening to crash the party and present th

The spaces available on Union Street The 2010 San Francisco Union Street Festival is history and while it was an overall success, the crowds Sunday were less than in the past and once the tents were folded and the people went home, the empty store fronts were on display once again. To be sure, new and great restaurants like the home-away-from-home eatery called The Brick Yard at 1787 Union St (at Octavia) , and replacing The Bayside Bar and Grill at a space that sat empty for two years, and the upcoming "Unwind" just down the street, promise a brighter future for Union Street, the way still has a long trek to make to recover its past luster. There are over 20 spaces for lease along Union Street as of this writing, and overall it looks like a ghost town almost totally devoid of the vibrant street scene that once attracted thousands of people. Union Street lacks a book store and a movie house. The Apple Store was not aggressively pursued by the neighbor association;