“May you live in interesting times” —Ancient chinese curse, likely apocryphal Over a year ago I posted this photograph from a vacant lot along the Oakland waterfront. One commenter suggested that it looked like a relic of the dying American economy. Another thought, more colorfully, that it was “maybe the last known hideout of a […]
I happened to mention the bakery Arizmendi in a brief post about electoral politics on Monday. The only stranger I have ever recognized inside Arizmendi is Joe Tuman, a professor at San Francisco State and a regular political analyst on CBS’s local TV and radio news. I wouldn’t typically write about a year-old sighting of […]
This storefront on Lakeshore Avenue is frequently rented by political campaigns, but I was still a bit surprised to see that Meg Whitman’s campaign had moved in, with a cooperative bakery down the street in one direction and a ferociously anti-Republican movie theater in the other (and just a few hundred yards from where I […]
I was perusing the Craigslist job listings (anyone in need of a gently used blogger and dilettante?) when I came across this ad: Liberal Oakland Mayoral Candidate Seeks Campaign Staff (oakland downtown) Life-long leftist grass roots organizer and business woman considering bid in upcoming election. In order to evaluate a logistical and thematic approach we […]
In yesterday’s post about the community meeting with Oakland’s new police chief, I focused almost entirely on his presence and leadership qualitiies, and I mostly ignored the specifics of his plan. That was partly intentional: I am not an expert on policing strategies, nor do I wish to become one. The whole point of having […]
In late January, I rode my bike three miles in the rain (uphill!) in order to hear Oakland’s new police chief at a community meeting. Unfortunately, the meeting had been cancelled the day before with little public notice, so I ended up riding back home. Given that history, I was a bit reluctant this evening […]
Thursday, February 11, 2010
It’s been a terrible week for pedestrians around here. On Tuesday alone, a woman was killed in an Oakland crosswalk by a hit and run driver, a woman crossing the street in San Francisco was killed by a city utility truck (she appears to have been in a crosswalk too), and yet another woman was […]
I was talking to a politically active friend about a month ago, as the Senate was about to pass their version of health care reform legislation, and I told him I was nervous that the Democrats in Congress, being Democrats in Congress, would find some way to fumble the ball one yard from the end […]
Sunday, December 20, 2009
In a city which had to severely cut core services in order to deal with a 20% shortfall in its general fund earlier this year, and which faces further fiscal fiascoes for the foreseeable future, can someone explain to me why being the Chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee is being touted by Oakland […]
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
This is the view to the north as you pass down 34th Street in Oakland between Telegraph and MLK, which I finally got around to photographing today: If you look at aerial photos of Oakland from the 40’s or 50’s, before these freeways and BART tracks were built, then you will find that the land […]
John McCain on one of the Sunday shows: “I think that a fundamental difference we have is whether we think government does a good job at administering health care in America or providing health insurance for the American people,†he said. “I don’t think they do.†Sure, Mr. McCain, whatever you say—this is why Republicans […]
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Friday, September 18, 2009
Is Gavin Newsom the first gubernatorial candidate in history to livetweet the birth of his child?