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So I something I found myself thinking about last week, for whatever reason, was if I could name one thing that I would like to see the City make their top priority this year, what would it be? I actually surprised myself with my answer, because after puzzling over the question for a few days, I decided that more than charter reform, or records reform, or zoning, or development, or a zero-base budgeting process, or police department reform, I really, really, really want to see the City get serious about disaster preparedness.

 

Eagle-eyed followers of the City Council run-off election between AC Transit at-large Director Rebecca Kaplan and School Board District 1 Member Kerry Hamill will have observed that the two biggest PACs driven by real estate interests have chosen different candidates. Kerry Hamill’s signs were funded by the Coalition for Jobs and Housing, compromised of many […]

An Alameda County grand jury has requested travel documentation for all city employees, as city-funded travel faces heightened scrutiny as officials stare at a massive budget deficit.

Photo by Oakland Tribune

If the Jetsons were Catholic, they would worship here. Behold a 21st-century sanctuary, the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. Here sacred candleholders are bead-blasted to a heavenly sheen; holy texts are illuminated in stainless steel and embedded in resin compounds in the concrete flooring; and the focal point — a massive image of Christ himself — is formed by a custom-designed computer algorithm, with precision laser-drilled perforations in dozens of aluminum panels, shaping the hallowed figure in tiny points of light.

From the day Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums took office nearly two years ago, residents have witnessed a steady decline in city government function as public confidence has withered. The city's administrative structure and finances are in deep distress. In the...

Look, this matter of a civil grand jury asking for travel expense data of Oakland elected officials is more — one more — element of gossip mongering that does not solve any problem.

For all of the picts of the Cathedral of Christ exterior, here’s one you’re not going to see much of — how it adresses the street.

Yikes.

Each Oakland neighborhood offers unique activities for residents and those who happen to pass through. If you’d like a reason to explore a different part of town, why not take a family day and participate in a fundraiser for cancer research at the Mills College pool, or feast on food and history at Peralta Park, or stay home for a mobile book visit from the Oakland Public Library? Here is a list of upcoming neighborhood events that you might have not heard about.

An armed robber chose the wrong victim for a street robbery in Oakland’s Chinatown this morning. The suspect approached a U.S. Customs agent with his gun drawn and demanded her purse.

Authorities determined Monday that a man found dead in his apartment Saturday had been strangled, making the death the second homicide reported in Oakland during the weekend.

From the day Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums took office nearly two years ago, residents have witnessed a steady decline in city government function as public confidence has withered. The city's administrative structure and finances are in deep distress. In the...

In the next four years, fewer and fewer Oakland high school students will be permitted to escape school grounds at lunchtime, according to a plan that will be presented at Wednesday night’s school board meeting. (See full agenda here.)

Skyline, Life Academy, International, Youth Empowerment, Dewey, Far West And Bunche already have closed campuses. Next year, under the phase-in plan, ninth-graders at the Oakland Tech, McClymonds, Castlemont, Fremont and Oakland High campuses would also have to bring their lunches or enjoy the cafeteria fare.

 

But when I talk about the need for charter reform, I’m talking about changes that will allow government to operate more efficiently, things like eliminating the prohibition on outsourcing, or measures that would create a better system of checks and balances, so as to improve government accountability. I am not talking about meaningless and condescending gestures like this:

Klein, with her own toddler and preschooler in tow, has collected 10,000 pounds of slightly used baby clothes — yes, 10,000 pounds — washed them, sorted them into boxes for individual mothers to receive and donated the boxes to area hospitals and health clinics. At the hospitals, which include Highland Hospital, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Oakland, social workers have given them out to mothers and babies in need.

Related: Never Enough Baby Clothes, Today in Montclair, 94611

Photo by Oakland Tribune

A man was shot and killed this afternoon (Sunday) in Oakland. Shortly after 2 p.m., Oakland police found a male adult with several gunshot wounds on the 5900 block of MacArthur Boulevard. The victim was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead, police said.

For this Monday morning, I thought I’d share some photos from this year’s Temescal Street Fair. I never managed to write about it, but I thought this would be an appropriate time to post the photos, since Rockridge is having its neighborhood street fair this Sunday, September 28th. Hopefully these photos will inspire some of you to make it down to Rockridge next weekend.

Nancy Maynard, a news pioneer and the first African-American woman to own a major daily newspaper in America, died Sunday in Los Angeles after a prolonged illness. She was 61.

Photo by Oakland Tribune

On the one hand, I think it’s a step forward that the Berkeley Daily Planet’s esteemed columnist spent more than 10 column-inches discussing this blog in his most recent column.

On the other, it’s a shame that Allen-Taylor decided to label this blog one of the “worst” blogs in the East Bay. Before I spend some time on his specific charges, I’d like to respond to this broad characterization.

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The long-awaited Shepherd Canyon parking problem is finally going to be solved. It’s generally an accident waiting to happen, if you drive down the Shepherd Canyon Road while soccer games are in progress.

Join Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, a local nonprofit that is a force for safer and friendlier streets for a group bicycle ride from Jack London Square to Lake Temescal on Saturday September 27, 2008. You’ll have a chance to learn about the City of Oakland Bicycle Master Plan, and important developments that could affect your future ride and communities along the Broadway corridor.