SF Bay Guardian Endorses Rebecca Kaplan (and Mark Leno)

I was extremely pleased today to find that the Guardian had endorsed the two Bay Area candidates I’m very actively supporting – Rebecca Kaplan for Oakland City Council and Mark Leno for State Senate. I’ve already explained why I’m supporting Rebecca, and the Guardian lays out some additional reasons:
Rebecca Kaplan is exactly what the Oakland [...]

What a waste of space

I think at this point I’m one of the few Oakland bloggers who hasn’t complained about J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s coverage of Oakland in the Berkeley Daily Planet. Well, I guess I’m joining the crowd.
In the past, I’ve often disagreed with Allen-Taylor’s point of view, especially his profuse and uncritical praise of Mayor Dellums. But then [...]

Random Bus Thoughts

As usual, I’ve had a lot of time this week waiting for the bus and riding the bus to think. So here are some of my thoughts, in no particular order:
Lost and found: Last night, I rode the 1 home around 9pm. The bus was fairly crowded so I sat down in the first row [...]

Tomorrow: Support Oakland Restaurants & HIV/AIDS Services

Tomorrow is Dining Out for Life, an annual event that raises funds for HIV/AIDS services organizations through restaurants donating portions of their proceeds. In the East Bay, the proceeds will be donated to Vital Life Services, which “supports life with essential services for people living with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses. [Their] services include – [...]

Awaken Cafe Opened Today!

Just a quick note – Awaken Cafe has finally opened! I feel pretty lame because I didn’t actually get a chance to go in and get some coffee (meetings all day), but I did get to walk by and look inside at the tiled wall and paintings hanging everywhere. Though the cafe’s still in it’s [...]

Free Super High Me Screening at the Parkway Tomorrow

I have to admit, I’m not big on stoner culture and I think the celebration of 4/20 is kind of ridiculous, but be that as it may, there’s a great documentary being shown for FREE tomorrow at the Parkway so if you’re going to celebrate, this is a good cheap way to do it.
Tomorrow, Super [...]

Translink Implementation Delayed for BART, Muni, Caltrain

While I’ve been enjoying using my Translink card on AC Transit for nearly a year now – and especially since it’s started saving me money – I was really looking forward to using it on BART and Muni. It’s frustrating to have to carry around a Translink card, a BART card, and change for Muni. [...]

Downtown Beginnings and Endings

Today was a bit of a bittersweet day for me. As I walked back from lunch, I was horrified to see one of my favorite Indian restaurants, Sabina, closed. The signs said they were just closed for “remodeling”, but they also said that a new restaurant (called Spicey Monkey or something like that) was coming [...]

Why I’m supporting Rebecca Kaplan for Oakland City Council

In November of 2006, as I celebrated the Dems taking back Congress, I also was beating myself up a bit because I realized that it was the first election season since I’ve been of voting age that I didn’t volunteer for or work for a political campaign. This year, I promised myself I’d get more [...]

Berkeley/Oakland Reflections: Downtown

I spent the day in downtown Berkeley today, and it really got me thinking about the hurdles downtown Oakland has to overcome before it becomes a more vibrant and contiguous neighborhood.
Though there’s plenty I don’t like about Berkeley, downtown Berkeley has transformed into a bustling area, filled with people and plenty to do. Today, I [...]