What do we want for the Pleasant Valley Safeway project?

I’m often a bit surprised by which of my posts generate the most comments. For example, I never could have imagined that my post earlier this year on alternatives to a surface parking lot in Uptown would ultimately led to a movement to stop it. And though I knew many people would miss the Big Longs on Pleasant Valley, I was pleasantly surprised at how immediately so many of you were willing to engage, either by sharing your comments here or by attending the meetings last week.

The meetings were a bit of a disappointment, especially since they turned out to be just a presentation of the images that were already available online and a couple opportunities to speak with Safeway reps (some of whom either didn’t know what they were talking about or lied). But whether Safeway holds more meetings or not, this project will becoming to the Planning Commission several times before it is approved. The first hearing will be on Wednesday, July 15 at 6pm, even though one of the Safeway reps told me she had no idea when this would be coming before the commission. So put it on your calendar and I’ll be sure to remind you as the date approaches.

Before that though, it’s important to think about what we want. I sometimes fall into the trap of focusing on what I don’t want. For example, one thing this project does not need is more parking. I wanted to make sure of that so I stopped by on Sunday afternoon, and I was even a bit surprised at how empty the parking lot was. This was taken in front of Longs, from the middle of the first section of parking:

And this was the parking situation near Pet Food Express and Chase:

Now I know it sometimes gets more crowded than this (I’ve seen it more crowded), but nobody’s going to convince me that more parking is needed.

But what do we want? Many want Longs to stay or something to take over its myriad of 24 hour offerings. Others have called for housing on top of retail. And some of us would like serious bicycle, pedestrian, and transit improvements. But only one person I know has taken the time to come up with an actual plan to meet some of these needs.

Eric at Transbay Blog proposed this:

Green = two height classes. Pink = pedestrian alley/plaza. Yellow = commercial storefront (does not represent a different height).

You’ll have to head over to his blog for an explanation, but as you can see, it includes dense development and no surface parking. It also has a much more urban feel and includes residential on top of retail.

I love this proposal. Do I think Safeway will go for it? Probably not, but that’s ok. We need a starting point. We need to ask for what we want and then compromise from there. It’s not nearly as productive to keep telling Safeway what’s wrong with their proposal, unless we can show them what a desirable proposal looks like.

Thanks to Eric for taking the time to put this together. I’d love to hear thoughts on this or hear about alternate proposals.

Oakland Blogger Showdown: Living in the O vs. A Better Oakland

OK, so the title of this post might be a bit misleading. V Smoothe and I won’t be duking it out in the Thunderdome or anything like that. But we are two of the three finalists for the Best of the East Bay best blogger award.

I hadn’t realized this previously, but East Bay Express is holding another round of voting, where the top vote winners for each category are facing off. For the blogger award, it’s Living in the O vs. A Better Oakland vs. Inhuman Eating Machine. I’m not going to ask you to vote for me, but please do vote for either me or ABO – it’d be a shame if an Oakland blogger didn’t win.

More importantly though, there are lots of Oakland businesses, artists, and community members that have made it to this final round of voting, and you should vote for them too. Here are my suggestions some with links to previous posts on these places, people, and events:

• Best Artsy Cafe/Best Cafe: Awaken Cafe
• Best Band: Damon and the Heathens (You can find my reasoning in my last post about voting.)
• Best Club: Uptown
• Best Performer/Singer/Musician: Kev Choice (Yeah, he’s up for practically every musical category and deserves to win several awards. Did you catch his set at Uptown Unveiled? It was incredible.)
• Best Festival: Temescal Street Fair
• Best Local Book: Bryant Terry, Vegan Soul Kitchen (Help stop Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food from winning. I love Pollan, but that was by far his worst book. It was written in a hurry and didn’t really say much. Terry’s book, on the other hand, braves new territory.)
• Best New Culture Scene: Uptown Oakland
• Best East Bay Product/Best Place to Buy a T-Shirt: Oaklandish
• Best Farmer’s Market: Temescal (I know many won’t agree with me on this one, but I’m loyal to my local market.)
• Best Salvage Store: East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
• Best City Employee: Jason Patton (Jason is one half of the City of Oakland’s bicyle and pedestrian team, the other half being Jennifer Stanley. Also, he’s up against Ron Dellums and a bunch of other elected officials.)
• Best Community Organizer: V Smoothe (OK, so V Smoothe is not even her real name, but let that slide and show that blogging and community organizing can go hand and hand.)
• Best Rising Political Figure: Sean Sullivan (I’m sticking with my initial choice, even though he’s up against Rebecca Kaplan and Van Jones. Why? Kaplan and Jones have risen already and are staying put for a while, while Sullivan is still moving up.)
• Best New Restaurant: Sidebar (See why in my initial review when they first opened.)

That’s it for my recommendations. Share yours in the comments below. Voting closes on July 6th so take a few minutes to cast your ballot now.

It’s time for the City Council to weigh in on the Oakland Airport Connector

Disclosure: I was recently hired to work part time on a short term basis for TransForm on the Oakland Airport Connector campaign. However, the thoughts expressed in my posts on this subject are my own and should not be construed to be those of TransForm.

The campaign for a better connector is really heating up. The Oakland Port Commission directed their staff to work with BART to look at alternatives to the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC). Don Perata sent a hard-hitting letter to MTC arguing that the OAC is “too much money for too little transit and economic value.” And just last Thursday, several Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACTIA) members strongly questioned the project and asked staff about alternatives.

Doesn’t it seem like it’s time for the Oakland City Council to weigh in? Larry Reid and BART don’t think so.

Last Thursday, Councilmember Nancy Nadel asked the Council Rules Committee to put a review of the OAC on the agenda for the July 14th Public Works Committee meeting, which she chairs. Specifically, she asked to agendize the “Discussion And Possible Action On The Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) Design And Construction Proposal, Funding Status, Local Job Projections, And Projected Ridership For The Oakland Airport Connector Project.”

It seems commonplace for the Chair of the Public Works Committee to ask to review a half billion dollar public works project that the Council hasn’t reviewed in many years and which has changed substantially over time. So when the item came to Rules Committee, it was largely expected that they’d put it on the agenda.

BART and Larry Reid didn’t want that to happen though. Kerry Hamill, from BART, spoke to the committee and urged them to hold off hearings until after recess, in September. Her stated reasoning was that the RFP was just released and that BART wouldn’t have solid numbers until then. The problem with that argument is that BART has been approaching agency after agency for funding, so although the final financial numbers may change a bit when proposals return, the numbers are solid enough to present to MTC, the Port, and ACTIA, which means they should be ready to present to Oakland.

Councilmember Larry Reid backed up Hamill and pleaded with the other committee members to hold off until after recess. Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan presented the reasons why the committee should immediately agendize the item – costs have skyrocketed, ridership projections have plummeted, the fare has increased from $2 to $6, and the local community stops have been eliminated. She made it clear that if the Council waits until September to review the project, it would be too late for them to impact the OAC project.

Kaplan is right, and it was apparent that besides Reid, the rest of the committee members were convinced by her arguments. Ultimately though, they didn’t take any action and pushed the issue to this week’s Rules Committee meeting. This July 2nd meeting will be the last chance to agendize the issue before the Council goes on recess.

That’s why it’s so important for any Oaklander who cares about public transit and economic development to contact the Rules Committee members and ask them to immediately agendize a review of the OAC. Please take 2 minutes and send an email via TransForm’s action page.

Or if you’d prefer, email or call the committee members directly:

Council President Jane Brunner, District 1
JBrunner@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7001

Jean Quan, District 4
JQuan@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7004

Ignacio De La Fuente, District 5
IDeLaFuente@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7005

When you contact them, know that you’re not alone in asking for the City Council to weigh in on this project. Last Thursday afternoon, a few hours after the Rules Committee meeting, ACTIA heard an informational report on the OAC. Many ACTIA board members raised questions about the project and alternatives, and some specifically wanted to know whether Oakland really wants this project or not. Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty said, “I need some direction out of Oakland….that says either you want this, or you don’t want this.”

So please contact the Rules Committee and echo the words of Haggerty. It is time for Oakland to give some direction on the OAC, and the July 14th Public Works Committee meeting is the time and place for that to happen.

For background information and ongoing updates about the OAC, please visit www.OaklandAirportConnector.com.

Previous posts on the Oakland Airport Connector:

• 6/16/09: Don Perata on Oakland Airport Connector: “Too much money for too little transit”
• 5/29/09: Oakland Airport Connector now in the hands of the Port Commission
• 5/13/09: BART staff coordinate Oakland Airport Connector astroturf campaign
• 5/8/09: Take Action: Turn Oakland Airport Connector into RapidBART
• 4/27/09: Advocates secure temporary win on the Oakland Airport Connector
• 4/22/09: BART’s brilliant plant for financing the Oakland Airport Connector
• 2/23/09: Protect Bay Area Transit: Stop MTC from Wasting Stimulus Funds

June 29-July 5 Oakland Political & Community Events

Monday, June 29th - East Bay for Kamala Harris “$30 Before June 30th” Countdown Bash

Though it’s early in the 2010 campaign cycle, statewide candidates are busy raising money and building their support bases. Whether you’re decided in the Attorney General race, Monday’s party for Kamala Harris should be a fun event and is probably one of the cheapest AG fundraisers you’ll find. Music will feature Martin Luther Rebel Soul Music, Kev Choice Ensemble, Fear & Fancy, and DJ D Sharp. The party will be held at Maxwell’s Lounge, 341 13th Street from 7:30-10pm. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online – all ages are welcome. You can RSVP and find more info on Facebook.

Tuesday, June 30th – Oakland City Council Meeting on Budget (note special time)

Tuesday’s Council meeting, which starts at 5pm and should be very long, is all about the budget (yes, again). They’ll be discussing a mix of taxes, fees, and cuts, which is a refreshingly well-rounded approach compared to what’s going on in Sacramento. See the full meeting agenda and check out my post about how to watch and understand City Council meetings if you need some guidance on how or where to view the meeting. The meeting starts at 5pm at the Council Chambers in City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Wednesday, July 1st – Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Meeting

Every month, the Central Committee meets to discuss party business and to make plans for the future of the Democratic Party in Alameda County. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Democratic Party, this is a great way to do so. I’m an associate member for the 16th Assembly District, so you can find me at this meeting every month. The meeting will be held from 7-9pm in the San Leandro Main Library, Dave Karp Room, 300 Estudillo Ave., San Leandro, CA 94577.

Thursday, July 2nd – Temescal Street Cinema

The Second Annual Temescal Street Cinema returns to 49th and Telegraph (Bank of the West Building) this summer for another year of great, free, locally made films! There’ll be live music and free popcorn at every show, with events getting started at 8 PM every Thursday from June 11-July 16. Movies will start when it gets dark, no sooner than 8:30 PM. Come early or bring a chair! This will feature Drylongso: “Pica is a woman who can’t find meaning in her own life. Living in Oakland, CA, she’s tired of her job at an illegal poster distribution center. Unable to complete a photography project on herself at school, she grabs a Polaroid camera and decides to document the existence of young black men, whom she feels are a breed on the verge of becoming extinct. What results is a beautiful tribute to the power of community.” Find out more details at the Temescal Business Improvement District’s website.

Friday, July 3rd – Dancing Under the Stars at Jack London Square

Via Angela Woodall: “Free Outdoor Classes from May 1 to July so you can Dance the Night Away on Oakland’s Waterfront. On Friday nights this Spring and Summer, Jack London Square will see sizzling salsa, tight turns, and elegant waltzes. But on this dance floor, there will be no judges and no one will be voted out. Jack London Square today announced Dancing Under the Stars, a summer of free outdoor dance classes open to the public. Over ten Friday night sessions, visitors will be treated to professional instruction in a range of popular steps, all on Oakland’s waterfront and by the light of the stars. Dancing Under the Stars will begin at 8:30 PM each Friday at the foot of Broadway from May 1st to July 3rd.” This Friday, they’ll be teaching Salsa.

Saturday, July 4th - Fireworks Show at Jack London Square

The Port of Oakland and the City of Oakland will present a 20 minute fireworks show over the Oakland and Alameda estuary. Jack London Square provides a prime viewing area for watching this spectacular event. The fireworks will begin at 9:15 PM and end at 9:35 PM. Jack London Square will celebrate the holiday with live music beginning at 7:00 PM. Enjoy the big band sounds of the Ben Oni Orchestra and the Rhythm and Blues of the BluesBurners. Free bike valet will be available at 7:00 PM at Jack London Square’s newest shop, Bay Area Bikes. Parking at Jack London Square may be scarce, so visitors are invited to take public transportation.

Sunday, July 5th - 5th Oakland Grand Prix of Cycling

Approximately 350 cyclists from USA Cycling will bike a .85 mile closed loop of Oakland City Streets in the Kaiser Center Area for these Multi-Lap (Criterium) Bicycle Races from 8am-5pm. Cheer on amateurs and professionals, including riders from across the country and some foreign amateurs as well. The Races will feature eight separate multi-lap events, ranging from (Senior 1/2/Pro-Am, 40 miles) down to 10 laps. Location: A .85 mile closed loop of Oakland City Streets in the Kaiser Center area: A clockwise hourglass loop on Harrison, 19th, Webster, 20th, Franklin, 22nd, Webster, 20th and Harrison. For details, call (209) 533-8234 or email Velo Promo.

Bart to Riders: Whatever you do, don’t ride the bus (or other transit)!

As you no doubt have heard, BART’s negotiations with unions haven’t been going so well, and there’s a possibility that workers could strike as soon as next week. So BART issued a press release yesterday, explaining alternative options to its riders in the case of a strike, which makes complete sense.

What doesn’t make sense is the order in which they placed these recommendations. BART’s first two suggestions are to adjust work hours or telecommute, which is great advice if your boss will allow that. But for the rest of us, BART’s next suggestions are to carpool or to drive alternate routes that might not be as congested. Um, are they serious?

Way down at the botttom of the list, after recommending bicycling, they finally mention that there are other transit agencies in the Bay Area that serve a majority of their riders. Look, I’m all for bicycling, but I really can’t imagine that many people who take BART are traveling a short enough distance that biking would be a viable option. But for so many, other public transit agencies offer the best alternative if BART is shut down.

So why isn’t this recommendation at the top of BART’s list? I don’t think it’s because BART is evil and wants to congest our roads further and create more pollution. It’s more likely it’s because they’re terrified of losing riders to AC Transit, Caltrain, and other transit agencies that offer comparable service.

I didn’t live here at the time, but friends have told me that BART’s last strike in 1997 was when AC Transit’s transbay commuter service really took off. People switched to ACT, and many never switched back. And I can understand why – most of the transbay commuter buses are extremely comfortable and less crowded than BART. Also, there’s a much better chance that an ACT transbay bus stops within walking distance of your house, which means riders can ditch their cars and not have to pay for parking at a BART lot.

But beyond the transbay mess, there are a surprising amount of people who use BART to commute within the East Bay, and with ACT’s rapid lines, I would not be surprised if, in the case of a strike, BART riders made the switch to local ACT service and never switched back.

This is all very bad news for BART, which has been losing riders, but is it so bad that BART should essentially be discouraging its riders from riding the bus or using other public transit options? I think not. So my recommendation, if a strike happens, is to first look into other public transit options before hopping in your car.

Rebecca Kaplan: Vote Yes 4 Oakland

This guest post was written by Oakland City Council Member At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan.

Friends, Neighbors, Oaklanders….

This week, vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out to all Oakland voters, for the special election taking place this July.  I am voting Yes on all four measures, and ask you to join me. Like most cities, Oakland is struggling to balance our budget and fund what matters.  The four measures on the July 21st 2009 ballot will help fix Oakland’s economy, support our vital public services, provide jobs, and strengthen our future.  All four measures are endorsed by a diverse coalition, including the Labor Council, the Oakland Builders Alliance, the California Nurses Association, and the Democratic Party.

Measure C provides funding for the Oakland Museum, Chabot Space & Science Center, the Zoo, and community events and festivals. It includes funding to help strengthen and market our hotel and hospitality industry, to create jobs. Measure C is paid for by a small increase in the hotel fee. Although only hotels pay this fee, even hotel leaders are supporting Measure C.

Measure D adjusts Oakland’s budget to redirect several million dollars towards police, fire, library, and seniors services. It reallocates funding without raising taxes, and changes the formula for the “Kids First” initiative, to protect vital public services and provide fair and reliable funding.  It’s supported by the League of Women Voters.

Measure F creates a new business tax category with an increased rate for Oakland’s cannabis dispensaries. It is supported by Oakland’s medical cannabis dispensaries and patient advocates, along with doctors and nurses, and provides vital funding to fill Oakland’s budget gap, and help fund essential services, while allowing for reasonable control and regulation of cannabis dispensaries.

Measure H fixes a loophole in City law to make sure properties in corporate mergers pay the same Property Transfer Tax as residential homeowners and local businesses do. It helps fund essential public services and does not raise the transfer tax. Measure H guarantees fairness by ensuring all transfers pay the existing rate.

All four measures have widespread support.

I am voting Yes on all 4 Measures because all of them will help solve our financial crisis, not only now, but also in coming years.  They are projected to help with about $8 million to $10 million in the first year, and by an even larger amount in future years.  There is no borrowing involved — so these efforts will not only strengthen our situation in the present, they will also help improve financial stability for the long-term.  I know that these Measures are part of the solution — but not the whole picture — and I am continuing to work on other efforts (which are not on the ballot) to strengthen Oakland’s economy and budget.  Measures C, D, F, and H are the parts of the solution which are required to, by State law, be approved by voters.  I am asking for your support, please vote Yes on C, D, F, and H.

You can get involved or learn more at www.Yes4Oakland.org

All voters should also be aware that this is a vote by mail only election. You should receive your ballot in the mail around June 25. It must be received by the Registrar of Voters no later than July 21, so mail your ballot back by July 15. For ballot questions, call (510) 272-6933.

Pleasant Valley Safeway & Longs community meetings

UPDATE: I had the wrong address for the location. The correct address is now updated below.

I apologize for not having the time to put together this week’s events listing, especially since there’s a ton happening this week, as always (feel free to use the comments section below to promote any events you know about). But there was one thing I couldn’t have forgiven myself for not writing about – the community meetings tonight and Thursday night about the proposed removal of Big Longs and the expansion of Safeway on Pleasant Valley, between Broadway and Piedmont.

As you probably can guess from my previous posts on the College Avenue Safeway, I’m all for store expansions when they add to the community, especially when they add in additional small retail, which this plan calls for as well. But I couldn’t be much more sad about the potential loss of Big Longs. There’s basically nowhere else in North Oakland (or anywhere in central Oakland up until Walmart) that you can find everything at any time of day (they’re open 24 hours!). Seriously, every time someone asks me where to find something random, I recommend Big Longs. They have a huge garden section, hardware, kitchen supplies, pet stuff, a surprisingly large fabric section, groceries, and of course all the stuff a regular Longs would have. When the Big Longs closes, I’ll probably have to do my random shopping at Target in Albany.

That said, I’m not sure what can be done to save Big Longs, unless Longs wants to stay and is getting pushed out. If the closure of Longs is a done deal, the next best thing is to make sure that the small retail that’s added to the plaza covers most of what Longs offers. I’d love to see a small nursery and a hardware store, for example.

At this point, the plan’s preliminary, but you can check out Safeway’s design plans.

One thing that sticks out to me about this plan is that they’re adding more parking (which seems crazy), but they do plan to take away some surface parking by adding parking on top of the Safeway. This will create extra room for retail shops on Pleasant Valley.

Tonight and Thursday night are the first opportunities to weigh in about this project so if you have any thoughts or concerns, I highly recommend attending one of the meetings:

Tuesday June 23, 2009 7-8:30 pm or Thursday June 25, 2009 7-8:30 pm
Chapel of the Chimes Mortuary, 4499 Piedmont Avenue (Just off Pleasant Valley)

You can find more info about the meetings and answers to basic questions in Safeway’s flyer.

Oakland Updates: Best of the East Bay, Uptown Unveiled, Oakland Airport Connector & Pay-Go

There’s so much going on in Oakland lately that it’s kind of impossible to keep up with here so I decided I’d just lump a bunch of brief updates into one post.

Still time to vote for Best of the East Bay: For some reason, the East Bay Express decided to extend voting for its Best of the East Bay Awards. Earlier this week I recommended voting for Damon and the Heathens as best band and Sean Sullivan as rising political figure. You have through Monday, June 22 to vote, so vote now if you haven’t already.

More Uptown Unveiled Photos: I posted my iPhone photos yesterday and Chris Kidd asked where he could find some more professional photos. Luckily, there are TONS on Flickr. My favorite photo sets come from The Inadvertent Gardener, psilocybes, vision63, amicicara, and Ken L. Katz. Enjoy!

What really happened at the Port? The Tribune covered the Oakland Airport Connector vote at the Port Commission, but unfortunately got it very wrong. V Smoothe wrote a blog post correcting all the mistakes and adding more background so that’s where you should go for the whole story. (The short version is that the Port voted to move ahead to apply to be able to give money to BART, and they’ll later have to vote on whether to actually give this funding or not. Also, they directed BART to look into other alternatives – yay!) So I called the Tribune reporter, Janis Mara, and discussed the mistakes in her story since I knew this was not a story that she had covered before. She went ahead and issued a correction. Thanks to V for bringing this to my attention and to Janis for making the correction.

Other Oakland Airport Connector updates: The City Council Rules Committee was supposed to vote this past Thursday on whether to agendize an update on the OAC, but Rules Committee got canceled, so it will be before them this Thursday, June 25th. That means there’s still time to contact the Council about this. Later on Thursday, ACTIA will also be discussing the OAC. It’s unclear at this point if they’ll just be receiving an update or if it will be an action item, but advocates will be there to encourage ACTIA to direct BART to study alternatives. If you need a good refresher on the OAC, check out the debate KPFA held on Friday between John Knox White of Transform and Linton Johnson of BART  (about 10 minutes in):

Terra Verde – June 19, 2009 at 1:00pm

Click to listen (or download)

And some good personal news – TransForm just hired me to work part time for the next several weeks on the OAC campaign. Since I already have another full time job, that means I’ll be very busy so posting here might be lighter than usual. (If you’re interested in filling in by writing a guest post, please contact me.)

How do you feel about pay-go? In response to Dellums saying he thought pay-go should be entirely eliminated, Debby at Today in Montclair set up a survey to find out about how Oaklanders feel about pay-go. Whether you have strong feelings or not, please take her very brief survey – I know I’m interested to see the results.

That’s it for now – if you have questions about other Oakland issues I’ve written about (or haven’t), feel free to ask them below.

Photos from Uptown Unveiled

Uptown Unveiled was amazing. There were thousands of pedestrians enjoying the streets, some beautiful art, and plenty of great music. I couldn’t stop smiling for most of the night – I just loved seeing so many different people out enjoying Oakland.

I hope many of you could make it. If not, here is some of what you missed, offered in the order I took the photos (on my iPhone), mostly without comment.

This was on the fence of the empty Uptown lot we saved from being a parking lot. It's a nice idea, but I assure you, not true.

Save some energy to party on Friday night

So I know I promised a post about Uptown Unveiled, but V Smoothe beat me to it and did a great job explaining why you absolutely have to go. So now I don’t have to do that (thanks V!) and can instead tell you about an incredible event happening Friday night.

It’s nearly impossible for me to believe, but Sisterz of the Undergound (SOTU) is having its 8th anniversary party on Friday. If you’ve never heard of SOTU, it’s a collective of female hip hop artists from across the country, rooted right here in the Bay Area. SOTU was born out of what was meant to be a one time show, organized by my sister, to showcase female hip hop talent. She gathered several amazingly talented women together and put on a packed show at the Justice League. It was so successful that it grew into an artist collective and later into a non-profit that teaches all the elements of hip hop to Bay Area youth.

My sister left the Bay Area a couple years ago, but SOTU has still been going strong, and this party should as fun as their past events. Here’s a preview of their some of their breaking talent:

So check out Uptown Unveiled on Thursday, but save some energy for Friday night and cross the bay for SOTU’s 8th anniversary party. The party starts at 9pm and goes until 2am, at Club Six, 60 Sixth Street. It’s just a few blocks from Powell or Civic Center BART, and if you want to stay late, the 800 all nighter AC Transit bus will get you back to Oakland. If you RSVP via Facebook, it costs $5 before 11pm – otherwise it’s $10 all night.