This year’s Crucible Fire Arts Festival was my favorite so far. But I’ll let the photos do most of the talking… (Thanks to my awesome girlfriend for taking the vast majority of these pictures!)

On the main stage, there were performers throughout the night, but the highlight was this graceful, incredibly coordinated, strong pair of acrobats - it’s not pictured here, but at one point, one of the women was hanging from the hook by her neck!

And there was certainly a large crowd all night long to watch them and the other performers:

But the stage was not the main attraction for me. The Steampunk Treehouse was where it was at, both outside and inside (and climbing up it, finally!).

But the Kinetic Steam Works crew couldn’t bring just one art installation - they had to bring their steam powered train too:

Once I got my fill of the steam, I could focus on everything else that was around me, like Hydrogen Economy, an interactive piece that allows participants to turn bubbles into fire.

Or another interactive piece by the same artists - False Profit Labs - that hooked up a stethoscope to a participant and then projected his/her heartbeat into fire.

And everywhere I turned, there was fire.

Or a flaming head…

Or flaming cacti…

Dan Das Mann & Karen Cusolito were back with two of their figures from Crude Awakening, which were also on fire for most of the night.

And of course, there were some Burning Man reminders.

If you didn’t make it to the festival this year, no need to be jealous. It happens every year, and it really does seem to get better and better every time. Though it’s a bit pricey, I found out something neat from one of the festival staffers - the Crucible gives out free tickets to everyone who lives within a three block radius!

And though the above photos focus on the fire and arts, one of the best parts of the festival for me was seeing such a wide range of Oakland and Bay Area residents enjoying fire arts together. Young, old, people of every color, experienced Burners, people who would never dream of spending a week in the desert - and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. Thanks to the Crucible for producing such uniquely Oakland events and for drawing thousands of people into our beautiful city to celebrate fire!

(By the way - could anyone else hear the festival from across the city? I fell asleep on Friday night in my apartment in North Oakland to the sounds of deep rumblings and explosions - though I live far away, I can’t imagine what else the sounds could have been.)

(So I haven’t been doing too good a job of writing about the places and events on my list of essential Oakland experiences, but I’m back on track now and will hopefully write some more soon. Also, I went back through old posts and linked to some of them on the essential Oakland experiences page, so head over there if you want to check those out.)

On the advice of V Smoothe, my girlfriend and I drove out to Middle Harbor Park on Saturday. Part of the reason I was so easily allured to the park was the promise of nice views of the crane, and as we drove down 7th, we started to catch glimpses:

After we passed the West Oakland BART station, we could still see the cranes, but there wasn’t much more to see. If we hadn’t looked up directions before going, I would have thought we were lost by how empty it was:

After enjoying the view along the way, we arrived at the park, which was full of people eating lunch, riding bikes, hanging out in tents, playing volleyball, and playing the guitar. The park was also full of geese:

We sat down at a picnic table to eat the Vietnamese sandwiches we had picked up at Cam Huong on our way, and were intrigued by the shade structures and the seemingly random polls that filled the park:

But we soon found out that the structures and polls weren’t random at all. As one of the informational signs told us, these structures were part of Building 122, which was part of the old Naval Supply Depot. It apparently was used by the Navy up until 1998, when it was turned over to the Port of Oakland.

There’s other bits of history scattered around the park, like the mast of the USS Oakland:

And of course, there’s plenty of evidence of Oakland’s continuing use of the port in the dozens of cranes that can be seen from the park:

There were some surprises for me at the park, like the fact that there’s a sandy beach in Oakland. It may be small and certainly not fit for swimming, but it was nice to walk along the sand and look across the bay:

There were also free binoculars that offered stunning up close views of the Bay Bridge, San Francisco, and, of course, the cranes:

We had a wonderful afternoon at Middle Harbor Park. We couldn’t believe that we hadn’t heard about this incredible Oakland park sooner, and I intend to tell everyone I know that they need to go there.

My only complaint it’s almost completely inaccessible by public transit. On weekdays, there’s no bus that goes there! It’s not walkable from West Oakland BART and it would be a long bike ride. Fortunately, the 13 line goes there on weekends, but it runs only once an hour and stops service in the late afternoon. There’s no reason this Oakland gem shouldn’t be accessible by the carless 7 days a week!

There’s also a depressing historical fact about Middle Harbor Park, that I found out last night while reading The Country in the City: The Greening of the San Francisco Bay Area. During World War II, “the Army and the Navy expanded their Oakland and Alameda bases, moving the East Bay’s shoreline a mile closer to San Francisco.” So where Middle Harbor Park is today, used to be the Bay and was home to sea creatures and birds. Luckily, there is an ongoing effort to restore this habitat, some of which I witnessed by the scores of birds that could be seen in and around the park.

So if you have a car or are willing to wait around for the bus on the weekend, check out Middle Harbor Park soon:

Website:
http://www.ebparks.org/parks/middle_harbor

Address:
Middle Harbor Road
Oakland, CA

Park Hours:
8 a.m.-10 p.m.

Public Transit:
Take AC Transit #13, hourly from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends, from Park/14th Street along Broadway and 7th Street in Oakland.

UPDATE: As Eric explains here and here, the council voted to place the initiative on the ballot and not to challenge it legally. However, if the initiative passes, I think they are likely to challenge it.

A few months ago, I explained why the Berkeley anti-BRT initiative is bad news. Well, it looks like the Berkeley City Council and City Attorney may prevent the initiative from making it to the ballot. In fact, they’re discussing this as I type.

From the city’s press release (not posted online yet):

At a special closed-door session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Berkeley City Council, on the advice of its attorney, could vote to go to court to stop a proposed ballot measure that would “require voter approval before dedicating Berkeley streets or lanes for transit-only or HOV/bus-only use.”

The executive session begins with public comment in open session in the City Council Chambers…

The city attorney’s report states that the measure could be unlawful, conflicting with the vehicle code that delegates to the transit agency the authority to create HOV lanes on city streets to the City Council.

I’m not well versed on this part of the law, but I’m assuming Berkeley’s city attorney did his research before bringing this before the council. While I ultimately think that we can defeat this ballot initiative and help move the AC Transit BRT project along, it’d be really nice not to have to sink so much energy into this fight when there are so many other important issues on the state ballot this year (like Yes on Prop 1 for high speed rail and No on Prop 8 that would end same-sex marriage).

Acting City Attorney Zach Cowan echoes some of my arguments against this initiative in a report he wrote about it (again from the unlinkable press release):

According to the city attorney, the measure would:

• place time-sensitive outside funding sources for transit at risk or prevent the city or other agencies from applying for available funding;
• increase costs to prepare the required plan, place it on the ballot and potentially hold a special election if necessary;
• increase the uncertainty in the BRT planning process and reduce flexibility in project implementation should the voters approve a designation plan;
• impede implementing General Plan goals relating to promoting alternatives to automobiles.

I’m not sure what will happen at the meeting tonight, but when I find out, I’ll share the news. No matter what happens, I’m committed to seeing BRT become a reality (and reaping the benefits of it).

This morning, I walked up to my bus stop on 59th & Telegraph and saw this:

I’m guessing someone from the city or county will haul this away soon, but until then, bus riders have a more comfortable place to wait. And since AC Transit recently installed a NextBus screen at this stop, it should be easy to sit back, relax, and not worry about missing the 1 or 1R.

I finally got around to updating my blog’s design. Let me know what you think.

Also, I was walking around downtown Oakland yesterday with a camera and got a chance to take pictures of my favorite intersection at Webster and 9th (there are actually a few intersections like this in Chinatown but this is the one I walk through the most):

San Francisco has some of these diagonal crosswalks - the walk signals allow you to cross in any direction from any of the corners. But none of them are as pretty as these.

While these don’t make sense in most parts of the city, I think we could use more diagonal crosswalks in some other heavy pedestrian areas, like near City Center and Rockridge BART.

I’m sure there are lots of 4th of July festivities going on this weekend. Sure, fireworks and parades are nice, but they get old. Luckily, there are some more exciting events happening next week so I recommend saving some of your energy.

The Crucible Fire Arts Festival - Wednesday, July 9-Saturday, July 12

Last year’s Fire Arts Festival was incredible. And though this annual event seems to get a bit more pricey every year, it also gets bigger and more spectacular. This year, they’re featuring some of my favorite Burning Man fire artists. I’m really excited to get to climb in the Steampunk Tree House, which was always too crowded at BM to deal with:

And my two all time favorite Burning Man artists, Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito will be back this year, I’m guessing with Leaping Giants:

There are five of these figures in total, and though they may not be as exciting as Das Mann’s and Cusolito’s 2007 project - Crude Awakening - they’re phenomenal in their size, precision, and creativity (they’re also environmentally friendly, since they’re created from scrap metal).

In addition to all of these amazing art installations will be dozens of fire performers. So come check it out. And even if you can’t afford a ticket, I recommend coming down and walking around the perimeter, as you’ll be able to check out some of the larger installations from outside the fence.

Here’s the pricing info and the rest of the details:

Visit the Crucible’s website for more details.

July 9-12, 2008
8PM - 12AM
The Crucible’s Fire Arts Arena
Kirkham Street and 5th Street
Oakland, CA 94607
2 Blocks from West Oakland BART

From West Oakland BART Station
Exit the station onto 5th Street, turn right and walk 2 blocks east to Union (at the 2nd light). The entrance to the Arena is on 5th street between Kirkham and Union.

Local Buses/AC Tansit
Take either #19 bus or #62 bus to 7th Street at Union

Mix It Up East Bay - Thursday, July 10

Last month’s Mix It Up East Bay didn’t really happen because the bar was full of people watching a basketball game and it was too loud and crowded for any of the speakers to present. So they’ve bumped those speakers to this month - reps from Oaklandish, Art and Soul Festival, Oakland Art Murmur, and Old Oakland Outdoor Movies. So come grab a drink, learn about Oakland arts, and meet some cool people.

Thursday, June 12th
6-9pm
Arsimona’s Bar and Lounge
561 11th St.
Old Oakland (above Le Cheval)
Join the Mix It Up East Bay Facebook Group

Best of the East Bay Party - Friday, July 11

Next Friday, celebrate the Best of the East Bay at the Oakland Museum of California. And before or after you stop by, make sure to check out some of the open art galleries as part of Oakland’s art murmur. Here are the details via the Oakland Museum’s website:

5:00pm - Midnight

FFAF blues and jazz summer series continues with Billy Dunn and the Ladies Choice Band in the cafe. At 7 p.m. the East Bay Express rolls in with their rockin’ Best of the East Bay Party. Live music and performances throughout the museum until midnight. The amazing lineup of the East Bay’s best talent includes The Uptones, Flipper, Detstroyer-KISS cover band, Dyloot of DeepVoices, HOTTUB, Kev Choice Ensemble, DJ Malachi, Amoeba artist Brandi Shearer, The Whoreshoes, Mike Glendinning, Monarchs, + more music from Amoeba Music; performances by Splash Circus and Savage Jazz Dance Company; screenings of the Express 24-Hour Digital Film Festival; your favorite food and drink vendors; and a Kids Party Zone sponsored by Chabot Space and Science Center. And this year’s party is going Green: come on a bike and get a free tune-up and valet parking. Flash a public transportation pass for a tote bag of goodies. Free!

Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street@ 10th St.
Oakland, California 94607

Transit:
Just a couple blocks from the Lake Merritt BART station or the 1 bus line.

Last night, I had a strange and somewhat humorous dream. I was at some kind of meeting or event for Kerry Hamill, who’s running against Rebecca Kaplan for the at large seat on the City Council. Why I’d be at a Hamill event, I couldn’t tell you, but I was there. She was on stage talking and after giving some introductory comments she said she wanted everyone in the audience to spend the next 20 minutes discussing why BART was better than AC Transit.

Of course, I couldn’t argue this because if I had to pick only one transit service, I’d pick AC Transit over BART any day. So me and a few others stood up in protest and started arguing why AC Transit was better. Kerry pointed at us and said, “You must be Kaplan supporters!” A reporter ran over to us to get comments from us and that’s where the dream gets fuzzy.

When I initially thought about this dream, I thought about what a dork I am, dreaming about a council race and transit, but I got passed that quickly. My dream was pretty interesting when I looked a bit deeper. In case you haven’t been following the at large race closely, Kerry Hamill is a manager at BART and Rebecca Kaplan serves on the AC Transit Board of Directors. So it wasn’t all that bizarre that in my dream event, Hamill was encouraging us to talk about why BART is better than AC Transit, or really, why Hamill is better than Kaplan.

But I don’t think my dream was really all about Hamil v. Kaplan. Lately, I’ve been realizing how adverse or oblivious my peer group feels towards AC Transit. Many of them don’t have cars or use their cars rarely. They all take BART and walk a lot. So to me it seems like it wouldn’t be a huge stretch to hop on the bus once in a while, but it really is.

Take some examples. One of my co-workers volunteers once a week at a place that’s nowhere near BART. She has no car so every week she finds a ride. Once she even took a cab! When I heard this yesterday, I was shocked so I checked out Google Transit and found out that the place she volunteers is only a 10 minute walk from the 1 line. She hadn’t even considered AC Transit as an option but was grateful when I shared the route with her.

Another friend of mine lives on Claremont just a couple blocks from Telegraph. He’s two blocks from the 1 stop and three blocks from the 1R. Yet most days he drives his car towards BART (there’s no spaces left at Rockridge by the time he leaves), park, and walks several blocks. Since BART only runs every 15 minutes, if he misses it, he’s waiting around for a while. When I asked him why he doesn’t just take the bus, he said he had never really thought about it.

I’ve become increasingly frustrated by how unaware many people are about the convenience of AC Transit. People don’t know the bus lines, and they don’t know about the extra tools that make riding the bus much easier - NextBus, Google Transit, and Translink. So instead of getting around easily by bus, they walk out of their way to go to BART, they find a ride, or they just don’t make trips far away from their homes and work places.

I think it’s time for a huge public education campaign. People are ready to get out of their cars, but this increase in transit ridership is disproportionately effecting BART. Until tonight, I hadn’t ridden BART during commute hours in several months. It was so packed that I vowed not to do that again unless I had to. Even if BART is sometimes a bit quicker than a rapid bus, It’s not worth being squished up against people and barely able to breathe.

As dto510 mentioned to me last night at a fundraiser for Rebecca Kaplan, BART can’t add much more capacity, but AC Transit can. So it’s clearly time to drum up some more interest in riding the bus. Beyond continuing to harass all the people I know, any thoughts on how to do this effectively?

I’ve yet to weigh in on Oakland’s latest mess, and I’m not sure I have much to say that hasn’t already been said. There’s been a lot of talk in the blogoaksphere this week about the Deborah Edgerly saga, and I’ve been really impressed by the reporting of dto510 and Zennie Abraham, who often shared updates before the mainstream media reported. So here’s what they had to say…

dto510 picked up the story first at FutureOakland, reporting last Wednesday that Edgerly might be on her way out. After Dellum’s stripped Edgerly of her powers and asked city employees to report directly to him, dto510 reported that Council Member Desley Brooks accused Dellums of violating Oakland’s Charter. A couple days later, dto510 explained that Dellums had backpedaled and was allowing Edgerly to stay on through July and to pick her own replacement. Today, he reported that Council Members De La Fuente and Kernighan had called for Edgerly to be placed on administrative leave, and soon followed up with the letter from Dellums that places her on leave.

Zennie Abraham also followed the story closely, though from a different perspective. He stood up for Edgerly from the beginning, arguing that the allegations of misconduct shouldn’t lead to her ouster. Zennie later pointed out that Edgerly’s alleged conduct was common practice and that favoritism in Oakland isn’t a new problem - it existed under Jerry Brown too. A couple days ago, Zennie argued that Edgerly’s image had been unfairly tarnished:

In the past, when Oakland City Manager Henry Gardner ran the City — we had a Council-manager form of government — and there wasn’t The Internet and the flow of ad dollars away from newspapers, the City Manager was profiled, followed, and respected, ..and male.

Now, the City Administrator is not profiled, seldom followed, mostly disrepected, ..and female.

Last night, Zennie was the first to share the rumor that Edgerly had been placed on administrative leave.

Though V Smoothe avoided the Edgerly story for several days, she finally gave in and gave us her take on the issue, which was essentially an argument that the Edgerly story is indicative of the bigger structural problems of Oakland, and we shouldn’t let this story distract us from these bigger issues. Today, she pointed out that the the person who Dellums chose as the interim city administrator, Dan Lindheim, refuses to write reports for the council, even when council members ask him to.

I think one thing that everyone in the blogoaksphere agrees on is that Dellums did not handle this situation nearly as well as he could have. He changed his mind every other day and showed no leadership in assuring that we could get out of this mess. While Dellums didn’t make me proud this week, my fellow bloggers did so at least something good came out of this situation.

Not all of today’s news is depressing. The East Bay Express released it’s Best of the East Bay awards today, and I’m excited about a couple of the reader’s favorites.

Earlier this month, I urged all of my readers to vote for A Better Oakland as the best local blog. Well I guess some of you did, because V Smoothe won the award! Here’s what she has to say about it:

I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me in the East Bay Express poll! I’m thrilled to be named Reader’s Choice for best local topic blogger. In your face, Mayor of Claycord! Take that, Lauren Do! Anyway, I just wanted to say how happy and flattered I was for the recognition. (And a special thanks to Becks for pimping ABO!) You guys rock.

Awaken Cafe, a new sustainable cafe and art gallery in downtown Oakland that I’ve written about several times, won two reader’s choice awards: Best new business and best cafe/coffeehouse. Here’s what the owners had to say in an email they just sent out:

We are extremely grateful that you took your time to let the East Bay know you think we’re the best! You made this happen. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

We are overwhelmed with excitement and completely moved by your support. We’re clear we are surrounded by an amazing community, and that with your support behind us, the Awaken Cafe will continue to get better and better with age.

We’d also like to thank our talented staff (Elisa, Havah, Rich, and Sarah) for their hard work and commitment to excellence. Thank you to our partners for all that they give. To the CAFE CREATORs who have voted for us with their wallets. And to each of you and all of our customers who make our jobs worthwhile. We couldn’t do it without you!

Congratulations to V Smoothe and the crew at Awaken Cafe!

UPDATE: DeLauer’s has been saved! Thanks to everyone who let me know in the comments.

On Monday I managed to avoid writing about the depressing news of Cody’s closing, but I can’t avoid it any longer. When I read on Sunday that Cody’s was closing, I was surprised and upset. I remember going to Cody’s on Telegraph during my first year in the Bay Area, marveling at their selection, getting lost in their various specific sections, and often walking out with a magazine or a book. And whenever I needed a hard to find book, I always went there first, and if they didn’t have it, they ordered it for me.

I was devastated when they closed the Telegraph store (the 4th Street store was never as good and it was so far away), but I was excited a few months ago when they moved the store to downtown Berkeley. So I was shocked to hear that after being open for such a short time, they were calling it quits.

When I read this, it sunk in even further that our economy has gone to shit, and our local businesses are hurting from it.

But today it got worse. DeLauer’s Newsstand is closing, today! DeLauer’s has been a part of downtown Oakland for more than a hundred years. While their selection has gone a bit downhill over the past few years, I can usually find any major paper there and often depend on the store for back issues. And they’re open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, making it practically the only downtown establishment that’s open past 8pm that doesn’t serve alcohol.

Owner Charles DeLauer had this to say:

“Business is down so bad,” he said Tuesday from his Piedmont home. “We just can’t afford the rent. It’s up pretty high, up to $6,500 a month.”

Joseph Churchward, the store’s accountant for the past eight years, said DeLauer’s has been financially troubled for a long time.

“The industry is changing, and books, newspapers and magazines are dying,” Churchward said. “There have been great cost increases, and it’s time to shut the door.”

Last year, the company lost about $200,000, he said.

But the closure of DeLauer’s can’t just be attributed to the dying industry. There are many thriving independent bookstores in Oakland (and we better make sure to keep them that way). Part of the problem is being located in that part of downtown Oakland:

It’s not surprising DeLauer’s has suffered from a lack of foot traffic. The asphalt thread on Broadway between 13th and 14th has in the past several years become a magnet for homeless people, panhandlers and the mentally ill who live in nearby residential hotels. With bus and BART stops out front, groups often loiter on the sidewalks, asking for money and harassing passers-by.

“It’s an Oakland institution, but it’s a tough time for a business like that. Downtown needs some revitalization and we are working on that,” said Scott Peterson, public policy director for the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. “A business like that survives on foot traffic, and you need foot traffic that is going to spend money.”

In the past year, the Gap store on Broadway has moved from downtown as have the offices of the Oakland Tribune.

I don’t have much more to say about this, except that it’s incredibly depressing and makes me worry about the economic future of our city. The only upside is that representatives from Oakland Citizens Committee on Urban Renewal and the Oakland Private Industry Council have said they’re going to try to save DeLauer’s. I hope it’s not too late.

(Related Post: Sad.)

I was planning to write tonight about Cody’s closing forever, but I’m getting tired of writing about depressing stuff. Luckily, earlier this evening I was inspired to write about something more positive - my love for AC Transit bus drivers.

As I was waiting for the 1R at 14th and Broadway, two cars pulled into the bus zone. As the 1 pulled up, the driver honked his horn, but neither of the cars moved. So the driver just held down his horn for 20-30 seconds, and finally the cars pulled out. I looked around and everyone waiting for the bus was smiling or laughing.

But it got even better. Both cars got stuck at the red light at 15th and after picking up a couple of bus riders, the bus driver pulled up behind them and honked again. At this point, me and the man standing next to me were cracking up and talking about how those car drivers should have just moved in the first place. It’s just so rare that bus riders get the upper hand on car drivers - it felt good.

Though I do get frustrated by bus drivers once in a while, overall, I really appreciate what they do and enjoy seeing their personalities come out. They make my life so much easier and more enjoyable, and their jobs aren’t always easy.

So next time you ride the bus, thank your bus driver. And if you see the bus driver’s frustrations come out, remember the frustrations of driving that they’re saving you from.

I had expected Thursday night’s community meeting on the Rockridge Safeway proposal to be contentious, but I don’t think I was prepared for just how heated and lopsided it was going to get.

I arrived at the meeting about 10 minutes late and walked into Peralta at the same time as another woman approached. We started talking and she asked me what street I lived on. When I answered that I lived on Telegraph, she responded, “Oh, I didn’t realize people over there cared about this.” Pretty obnoxious considering I live about 6 blocks from the Safeway - it’s not like I said I lived on MLK or in downtown.

As I walked up to the room, I ran into another nice wake up call about what this meeting would be like. In front of the door, a few people were standing behind a table with clipboards. I assumed it was the place to sign in and get info so I approached. Then I saw that they were all wearing these stickers:

(Image from OaklandNews.)

And they didn’t have sign up sheets - they had petitions aiming to stop the Safeway project because of its size. I didn’t feel like engaging and was already late so I turned to walk inside, but it was so crowded it took me a few minutes to make my way through the door and then find a spot to stand at the back corner of the room. The place was packed - I’m sure we were breaking some fire code. Michael at OaklandNews reports that 300 people were there, and that sounds like a pretty good estimate.

The representative from Safeway, Todd Paradis, had already begun his presentation. I’m not sure, but it seemed like he was only given 15 or maybe 20 minutes to speak and Brunner was rushing him along, telling him he was running out of time. Paradis showed a bunch of slides, most of which were pictures that can be found on the project website, of current plans and future plans.

People in the crowd interrupted Paradis several times and gasped and laughed at some of what he said. I think the entire room gasped and chattered when he put this slide up:

(Image from Safeway’s project website.)

To his credit, Paradis kept his cool during the presentation, which I thought was very professional and made a good case for the need for change. He explained several times throughout that this was a work in progress and that there would be many more opportunities for community input. Strangely, there was no opportunity given for audience members to ask him questions, which I think would have been the most useful way to make the meeting productive. Instead, the meeting quickly devolved into a venting session.

Three community groups were then given 5 minutes each to discuss their feelings on the project. Someone from the Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC) used most of his time denying that RCPC supported this project, since his comments to the Chronicle made it seem this way. Inexplicably to me, RCPC NEVER supports projects. Sometimes they oppose and sometimes they are neutral, but they never support! Which to me means that they never want to see Rockridge changed in any way, even if it’s clearly to the benefit of the community.

A rep from the Claremont-Elmood Neighborhood Association (CENA) spoke next. CENA’s a Berkeley based group, but I take no issue with them taking a stance on this project since it’s only a few dozen feet from the Berkeley-Oakland border. Unsurprisingly to me, they’re opposing this project - they think it’s too big and doesn’t fit in with the rest of the neighborhood.

Rounding out the trio of opposition groups, Susan Shawl, a community member who’s led the opposition to the project, spoke next and tried to rile up the crowd. She went on and on about how the project is too big, how Safeway hadn’t listened to community input, and how the proposal, if carried out, would completely ruin the neighborhood.

Her sentiments were echoed again and again by the vast majority of the 80 audience members who signed up to speak. We were all given one minute, which seemed like plenty of time for people in opposition to the project, since most of them were repeating what others had said. Here are some of the complaints that came up:

• It’s too big - both in square feet and because it’s two stories high.
• It doesn’t fit in with the rest of the neighborhood and threatens to turn Rockridge into another cookie-cutter suburban area.
• The increased size would lead to a huge increase in traffic, and there are already traffic problems on College.
• The design is ugly (too cliche, too suburban, too corporate, etc.).
• The increased offerings would compete with the locally owned stores across the street and threaten to shut them down.
• The bigger Safeway wouldn’t attract enough customers and it would shut down, leaving a huge empty space and empty parking lot.
• The two-story design would block the sunlight. Someone went further to say that the fact that he wouldn’t be able to sit in the sun across the street at Cole Coffee and drink his coffee was reason enough to oppose the project.
• The design doesn’t include enough public space. One woman had the audacity to say that the current parking lot offers open public space that would be lost in the redesign.
• Safeway’s just a big corporation that doesn’t care about the neighborhood.

After the second group of ten had finished speaking, I started to get a bit worried. Would I be the only one who had something positive to say about the project? Don’t get me wrong - I’m not afraid of having or voicing a minority opinion, but I can’t recall even one instance when I was so outnumbered.

In the third group of ten speakers, though, I was saved from being the lone supporter of change. One person got up and simply said that he didn’t think the project was too big. No one in the audience leaped up to attack him so I felt a bit better after that. A few speakers later, Zak Unger had some even more pointed words:

Zac Unger said a larger store would present an opportunity to shift shopping dollars from Berkeley to Oakland.

“I think we shouldn’t fear change,” Unger said. “I remember all the gnashing of teeth when Market Hall came in. I remember when Trader Joe’s came in. … They’re adding 15,000 square feet of shops. They’re probably the kind of shops we like.”

I joined maybe three other people in clapping for him, as he had said much of what I planned to and added some much needed perspective on the history of fights about other neighborhood projects. After he spoke, I listened to several more people speak against the project, and then my name was called.

As I waited in line at the front of the room for my turn, I started realizing how angry I felt at how unfair the meeting seemed to be and how I couldn’t possibly say all the positive things about this project in the one minute I was given in the way that the opposition had in the more than an hour and a half that they had. Though I’ve spoken in front of larger crowds and even crowds as hostile, I was getting pretty nervous and my heart was beating quickly.

When it was my turn, I started out by saying I agreed that the project needed some work. But I said I was shocked by how some people were talking about the current building and lot as if they were an acceptable part of our neighborhood. Specifically, I referred to the comment about the parking lot being public space, and then I said that I thought the current corner was atrocious and did not fit in with the character of the neighborhood. At that, the crowd gasped and I heard some negative sounds, though I couldn’t make out exact words.

I continued, saying that Safeway attracts people from outside of Oakland to spend money in Oakland, to which someone in the crowd screamed out that I was lying. I, as calmly as I could, put my hand up and asked everyone to let me continue. (The heckler continued to shout but I kept going.) I said that UC Berkeley students depend on this Safeway and you could see dozens of them there any day. I told my own story of going to UC Berkeley and shopping at Safeway and how I spent money at other businesses too and that those were some of my only trips into Oakland. I said that students go to Safeway because it’s cheap and convenient and that these students wouldn’t otherwise venture to this neighborhood because the stores were more expensive. I then said that the neighborhood could use more retail, particularly a hardware store, and that this plan would attract more shoppers to the neighborhood.

My minute was up more quickly than I had hoped and I didn’t get to say that though traffic is a concern, the current parking lot is never full, which makes me think that most people arrive there by foot, bike, or bus. I also didn’t get the chance to remind people that we weren’t talking about a new corporation coming in, but an existing store that has been party of our neighborhood for decades.

After I spoke, several more spoke in opposition to the plan, but several people also spoke in favor of working with Safeway to improve the proposal and to make this plan work for the neighborhood. Also, about five people came up to me individually and said they agreed with most of what I had said.

The meeting ended and I spoke to a few of the people standing near me. I spoke to one woman who was wearing one of the It’S too B-I-G stickers, and we had a very nice conversation. She appreciated my perspective and hadn’t thought about some of the arguments I had brought up. I asked her if she was opposed to any increase in size, and she said that she was not, but that she didn’t like the current project. She shops at Safeway and appreciates the convenience but is concerned about the changes it will bring to the neighborhood. My guess is that most of the people in the crowd who didn’t speak felt much like this woman - they’re scared of what they see of as a big corporation taking control of the future of their neighborhood, but they’re willing to compromise and to accept some changes.

As I was speaking to this woman, the owner of La Farinne (the bakery across the street from Safeway) interrupted our conversation and yelled at me that I was wrong. He glared at me and said that his loaves of bread were a dollar cheaper than the loaves at Safeway. I tried to explain that I was not talking specifically about his store and that UC Berkeley students wouldn’t know that his store was cheaper, but he cut me off and said, “A dollar cheaper, our loaves are a dollar cheaper,” as he waved his finger at me.

I’ve only bought bread at La Farinne a couple times because I usually get my bread at the farmers market, but I’m never going back there. I really couldn’t believe how rude the owner had been to me. It was completely unnecessary.

On that note, I finished up the conversation I was having and walked home. I left feeling extremely frustrated and like this meeting had been stacked against the Safeway proposal by how it was organized and carried out.

Safeway plans to submit an initial proposal to the city by the end of July, and there will be many, many more meetings on this plan. Hopefully future meetings will be more productive than this one. Until then, I at least feel a bit better (and less alone) reading some of the positive and more level-headed critical comments left at the Safeway proposal website or Eric’s analysis of the project at Transbay Blog.

Today, I went to check by blog stats and saw that somebody had found Living in the O by searching for “where to go on hot days in oakland.” I thought about how disappointed that web searcher must have been because I have no idea how to answer that question.

I don’t do very well coping with heat. I can handle it during the day - cold drinks, fans, open windows (or at my office, air conditioning), sitting in the shade. But last night was just too much. I couldn’t get to sleep until 2:30am and then I woke up at 6:30am because my room was already overwhelmingly hot.

Every window was open, our large fan was on high and pointed directly at my head, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t get back to sleep so at 7:00am, I threw a blanket and pillow down on the floor of our living room, opened the back door to the balcony and laid down. It was much cooler on the floor so I managed to sleep past 10:00am.

Nights like last night are some of the few times I wish I didn’t live in the East Bay. (After spending 18 summers of my life in the unbearably hot San Fernando Valley, I though I had escaped such extreme weather by moving to the Bay Area.) I was joking with my girlfriend last night that we need a summer home in San Francisco that we can use on hot nights like these (she of course countered that we could just get a couple more fans).

So today I plan to be outside in the shade a lot drinking some ice tea and munching on cherries, and maybe I’ll seek out a sprinkler to run in. What do you do to cool off on days like these?

(Oh, and for anyone who’s wondering, I did make it to the Safeway community meeting the other night - which was also unbearably hot and crowded. Maybe the heat made everyone cranky, but the night was intense and contentious. People booed at me when I spoke and screamed that I was lying! And after the meeting was over, an owner of one of the small businesses on College interrupted a conversation I was having to yell at me. You’ll have to check back tomorrow for all the sordid details.)

It seems that everyone in the blogoaksphere is weighing in on the proposed Safeway remodel on College in Rockridge. Whether you support it, oppose it or just want to talk more about it, you’ll have a chance to do that on Thursday night at a community forum hosted by Council Member Jane Brunner.

As I mentioned last week, I have mixed feelings about the plan and look forward to learning more at this meeting. But there’s been some hyperbole in the discussion about this so far. Like what Zennie Abraham said:

[Rockridge is] a parade of structures of varied heights, allowing Sun to reach the street and giving a small-town-in-Oakland feel.

But Safeway’s current proposal will destroy that feeling in my view. It calls for a building that does what’s not cool: hugs the street and looms over it. It would drastically alter Rockridge and make it seem more like a retail downtown suburb in Oakland with constant traffic problems.

As Eric pointed out, this is a two story building we’re talking about, not a skyscraper!

Still, as Eric and readers of his blog touch on, and as Rockridge residents argue, do we really need more large, corporate grocery stores in the neighborhood? I’ve thought about this over the past few days. There’s a really nice market across the street from Safeway - Yasai Market - that I sometimes pick up random items at. And several blocks further into Oakland, there’s the Trader Joe’s and of course Market Hall. So it’s not like the neighborhood really needs more grocery square footage.

But then it dawned on me - I’m not sure that Rockridge residents are the only primary shoppers at that Safeway. Who else is? Well, UC Berkeley students. I remember when I lived in the dorms taking semi-frequent trips down the 51 to get snacks at Safeway (none of us students could afford Andronico’s, the only grocery store in walking distance from campus). And it’s no different now. I always see at least one and sometimes ten UC students waiting at the 51 bus stop at Alcatraz and College carrying loads of groceries.

Unfortunately, Oakland residents often leave Oakland to buy things and to go to restaurants, so we lose out on tax dollars. But this is one of the few cases in which Berkeley residents are coming to Oakland to spend money. And they’re not just shopping at the Safeway. Anytime I used to make the trip with friends, I’d talk them into eating lunch with me at Great Wall across the street (mmm - veggie cashew chicken and hot and sour soup). And I must admit, these trips to Safeway were pretty much the only times during my freshman year in which I ventured into Oakland.

So I think I’m coming around on this project. We certainly could use more retail on College and that parking lot is an eye sore! Thursday’s meeting will be contentious, but now I know where I stand.

Thursday, June 19th from 7pm-9pm
Peralta Elementary School, 460 63rd St.
2 blocks from the AC Transit 1 line - get off the bus at 62nd and Telegraph.
4 blocks from the 51 line - get off Alcatraz and College.
(After the meeting, I’d recommend walking down the major streets - Telegraph, College, Alcatraz - because the neighborhood streets are downright creepy and unsafe after dark.)

(See my write up of the meeting here.)

Last month, I lamented about how Bike to Work day makes me feel left out and how there really should be a Bus to Work Day. My wishes have finally been granted and on Thursday, June 19th, all Bay Area transit will be free!

Well, the truth is that this free transit day had been planned long before I made that complaint, and, well, they’re not calling it Bus to Work Day. But the effect is no less rewarding and maybe if we start calling the day Bus to Work Day, we can eventually morph it into a full day annual celebration, just like Bike to Work Day.

Rides will be free all day on all Bay Area bus and light rail systems and there will be free rides until noon on BART, Caltrain, the ACE train, Capitol Corridor trains, and on the Golden Gate, Alameda, and Vallejo ferries.

So if you’re somehow still car dependent or if you’ve yet to ride an AC Transit rapid line, Thursday’s the day to hop on a bus and start reaping the benefits of car free living.