Breaking down the City Auditor’s math & claims

On Tuesday night, the Oakland City Council passed what I think is a pretty good budget amendment, considering the huge gap they had to fill. They averted the worst cuts, and overall, the community seemed pretty happy. By the time they reached public comment on the budget, most speakers thanked them for the changes before [...]

Mystery Cafe

Every day on the bus, I pass an empty storefront on Telegraph that has had this sign up for several months:

It’s between 43rd and 44th, across the street from Aunt Mary’s Cafe. My assumption is that a cafe is in the works, but I’ve never seen any evidence of progress, until this morning. On my [...]

Bringing the playa to Oakland’s runway

I have several heavy, substantive posts that I really want to get to this week, but those will have to wait until at least tomorrow. I didn’t think I’d get to write anything this evening because of the long council meeting, but you’re in luck, since they’re discussing the Army Base yet again, and I [...]

July 27-August 2 Oakland Political & Community Events

Monday, July 27th – Musical Mondays at Jack London Square – Lava

This summer, Jack London Square is holding a two month series of Musical Mondays. Jack London Square hosts live musical entertainment to enjoy while playing favorite board games. Check out chess, checkers, scrabble and much more. Build up an appetite and check out [...]

Oakland Updates: Election, Budget, OAC, Parking, and ACT

Though a ton has been happening in Oakland this week, I’ve unfortunately been mostly unable to write about it, since I flew to LA after the MTC meeting and have been absurdly busy ever since. Luckily, others have covered the important stuff, so I thought I’d take a few moments to highlight what’s been going [...]

Zac Unger: Oakland Fire Union agrees to more than $6 million in cuts

This guest post is written by, Zac Unger, a lifelong Oakland resident. He has been an Oakland firefighter for 11 years and serves as a member of the executive board of Local 55.
As some of you may have heard, the firefighter’s union has just approved a new contract by an 80-20 margin. Granted, I’m an [...]

Transportation Day of Action in Oakland Tomorrow!

Disclosure: I am working on a part time, 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.
You hopefully have already noted that the MTC hearing on the Oakland Airport Connector [...]

Monday Morning Distractions: Fire Arts Festival 2009

This year’s Fire Arts Festival was just as spectacular as it was in 2008 and 2007, but it was much bigger. That meant more art, more space, and much more fire. Here is some of what I saw:

July 20-26 Oakland Political & Community Events

Monday, July 20th – Musical Mondays at Jack London Square – Bobby Young

This summer, Jack London Square is holding a two month series of Musical Mondays. Jack London Square hosts live musical entertainment to enjoy while playing favorite board games. Check out chess, checkers, scrabble and much more. Build up an appetite and check [...]

Oakland Public Works Committee strongly questions 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.
On Tuesday morning, the Oakland City Council, via the Public Works [...]