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The race for the California 18th District Assembly Seat currently held by the termed-out Sandre Swanson recently lost a candidate that this blogger thought had a chance because she was the only woman: Kathy Neal. The reason for Neal's departure, according to my sources, was simply that Neal didn't think she could win. "It was not enough support and not enough money," my source said. "She didn't want to just be in the race; she wanted to win it. After the poll, she didn't see a reason to stay in." The head of Kneal Resource System, former Port of Oakland Commissioner, and former wife of former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris (Neal was married to Elihu when I was his economic adviser), Kathy was not only behind Rob Bonta ($161,883), Joel Young ($154,078), and Abel Guillen ($118,584) in contributions, but had came up third in one poll behind only Guillen, with Bonta, the Democratic Alameda councilman, out in front. Neal's departure makes the pos

The State Of California has just issued its Final Environmental Impact Report for the 173-acre vineyard owned by Artesa Winery in the Sonoma County town of Annapolis, Calif. Artesa Winery is wholly owned by the Codorniu Group, a family-owned company based in the Penedes region of Spain since the 16th Century. Ironically and sadly, a small and rather controversial group, "The Friends of Gualala River", is taking an anti-immigrant, anti-Spanish stand against the vineyard, even though Artesa and Codorniu Group, based in Spain, have gone out of their way to preserve and protect the entire property. In the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Chris Poehlmann, president of The Friends of Gualala River, which opposes the project, based his criticism on the Spanish origins of the small, family owned Codorniu, saying "This is a foreign corporation coming into the coastal forests of California wanting to cut down our forests for their corporate gain." Something not true at all

Kathy Neal has announced that she is now formerly the candidate for the 18th District California Assembly Seat, which represents a good portion of Oakland, California. Here's the letter Ms. Neal issued just moments ago: 18th Assembly District race. As the only woman in a field of three known candidates, she entered the race much later than her opposition yet garnered considerable traction. “I am proud of the progress we made in such a short period of time and greatly appreciate the help, partnerships, and backing that emerged from a widely diverse base of support. While I will not be an active participant in the race at this time, I will continue to be involved in state and local politics, because I am committed to improving the lives of those in our community, especially for those among us who are less fortunate or disenfranchised,” Neal said. Neal, who currently serves as the 16th AD Vice Chair of the Alameda County Democratic Party, has previously worked beyond the

[caption id="attachment_15600" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Rick Bolander"] [/caption]Last year, this blogger blogged about Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist and Oakland Restaurant lover Rick Bolander, and his company called Kajeet. Now, since few still have heard of the firm with that funny name, Kajeet, here's the info from last year . If you’re a parent who’s wondered how to virtually corral the chance that your kids will use their cell phone for something called “sexting,” you’ve probably pounded your head in frustration. Well, there’s an answer: Kajeet, a cell phone service “for kids” located in Maryland, but funded by Silicon Valley investor Rick Bolander, who serves as managing partner. Bolander brought his experience in “working with digital content providers and service providers” to bear in his role in helping to form Kajeet. Why do I mention Rick Bolander first and before its CEO? Because under his direction, Kaje

I just ran 5 miles to raise funds for cancer research. My question: is any one else up yet??

First team run of the season. Up b 4 the sun to run! And so it begins ... 4 the next 6 mos! :)

The City of Oakland and Alameda County must reject AEG, the Anschutz Entertainment Group, from being even considered as stadium manager for the Oakland Coliseum, and for one reason: AEG does not have the best interest of the Oakland Coliseum in mind. Why would an organization openly court the Oakland Raiders to move to Los Angeles, work to buy a portion of the team at a cut-rate price (something that Colts Owner Jim Irsay has threatened to block), and yet turn around and even think to ask to replace SMG (Spectacor Management Group) as manager of the Oakland Coliseum? A one-word-answer: power. And its that interest in power that would wreck the Oakland Coliseum for the foreseeable future. Right now, the Oakland Coliseum, and the City of Oakland, is under a wave of negative sports industry PR not of its own making. The Oakland A's were making noise about leaving for San Jose. The Golden State Warriors have made noise about wanting a new stadium in San Francisco. And Oaklan

In an action that comes as no surprise to anyone, an Ecuador appeals court confirmed the decision by Ecuador to award an $18 billion damage award to Ecuador. Ecuador's court, long accused of bribery and beset with scandal, would not dream of going against the wishes of that country's President Rafael Correa. Consider that President Rafael Correa recently sued a popular local newspaper and its columnists and editors for $80 million, as I explain in this video, when the cost was just $10 million.... ...then took the "pledge" (if you will because those news guys don't have $80 million in their pockets) and attached it to the $116 million that he said would stop Ecuador from drilling in the Yasuni park region. And Correa has allowed his state-run oil company Petroecuador to continue oil drilling and environmental damage, and to the point where it and other foreign oil companies have committed over 100 oil spills since Chevron left the country in 1992. St

[caption id="attachment_14777" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sanjiv Handa"] [/caption]Sanjiv Handa, RP? Still can't believe it. It's a good idea to blog to get out of my head the idea that in my reality Sanjiv Handa, Oakland's Gargoyle - head of the East Bay News Service, expert on Oakland Government, gossip about Oakland's elected officials, and source of intel on the next local government party - is putting together his next newsletter, all set to tell us the whole matter was all a mistake, he's just fine, and that the effort to recall Mayor Quan was going slow because of disorganization and lack of money (which is true). But what's true is that Sanjiv is gone from our physical presence. I've never used the term "gadfly" because I never saw Sanjiv as an irritant, and I have little respect for those who describe him that way anyway. Why? Because some of those same people either wrote about o

Oakland Food Truck Pods Coming to a Neighborhood Near You! After three years of sometimes contentious discussions, the Oakland City Council is poised to propose a pilot plan to allow Oakland’s numerous and varied food truck offerings a chance to set up in “pods” that is, groupings where few restaurants or other food services already exist, and be permitted as a group. [caption id="attachment_14012" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Karen Hester"] [/caption] Karen Hester, long time event promoter, said that it will allow Oakland entrepreneurs like her to plan ahead knowing how many trucks will be allowed and what will be required of them. Previously, food trucks were only allowed in the Fruitvale district where Taco trucks have blazed a trail of high quality, less expensive offerings in areas where people are comfortable walking up and taking their food elsewhere to eat. But, as a result of some problems encountered in the Fruitval