This Oakland News is chocked full of a lot of stuff, so let’s get to it.
Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders Extend Coliseum Leases
The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority has announced it extended the lease agreements of the Oakland A’s and the Oakland Raiders. According to the JPA’s press release “the lease for the Oakland Raiders was extended through the end of the 2014-2015 football season. The lease for the Oakland A’s was extended through December 31, 2015. The Raiders will pay a fee of $400,000 in December 2014 while the Athletics will pay the authority $1.75 million annually.”
The JPA continues “Joint Powers Authority Board Chairman and Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley remarked, “We are confident in the future for professional sports in Alameda County and Oakland. We have worked with these teams for decades in partnership. Now, there are numerous paths forward, and one may be the Coliseum City project, to retain these teams as part of our local economy. We will use these lease terms to continue to work on a long-term solution that works for all parties.”
Oakland’s At Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said “This development is a positive step in our continued efforts to build a positive future with our sports teams. Oakland is a sports town – and this is good news for the teams, the fans and the city alike. Today’s news is a symbol of the strong partnership between the city, the county and the teams. It materially increases the momentum of our efforts to improve economic vitality and the overall fan experience. As we work to bring new and expanded development to this central and accessible location, the A’s and Raiders will continue to play great seasons here in Oakland.”
City of Oakland Announces Free 2013 Holiday Parking
While the City of Oakland seems to have forgotten about the “Shop Oakland” marketing campaign that was started under Mayor Elihu Harris (who was my boss), it has not forgotten the tradition of free parking during the holidays. City of Oakland says that it will offer free parking every Saturday between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, plus Plaid Friday which is November 29.
Free parking will be offered at meters all around Oakland and in four participating City of Oakland-owned lots for the time period posted on the meter or kiosk (30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours or 5 hours). The City will also provide up to two hours of free parking at four City-owned garages. The free parking dates are as follows: Friday, November 29 (Plaid Friday); Saturday, November 30; Saturday, December 7; Saturday, December 14; Saturday, December 21; and Saturday, December 2.
Highland Hospital Power Outage
Oakland’s Highland Hospital has a 12-hour power outage that managed to escape the mainstream media last week. But a friend who works at the giant medical facility told me it was a total nightmare. “The power was out for four hours before we were officially told ‘the power’s out’ – no shit! We had to draw blood from patients with flashlights.” Fortunately there were no deaths as a result of the power outage but let’s hope this doesn’t happen again.
Adams Point / Haddon Hill Robberies
Adams Point, where this blogger lives, has seen a rash of robberies of late. There was a robbery at Grand and Perkins on Sunday at 7:23pm. There were reports of two suspects, one with a firearm, robbed four victims and fled in a vehicle. While there were no injuries, once again we have criminals at large. Perhaps the same one’s who robbed someone in the 400 block of Van Buren at 12:45am Saturday morning, November 16th? The reports were: Two suspects, one with a firearm, robbed one victim and fled in a vehicle – sound like the same folks? Maybe the same as the one’s who committed a robbery on the 200 block of Lee Street at 10:15pm the same Saturday, but at night?
Then there’s this near Haddon Hill: a robbery at gunpoint Sunday night on 7th ave between e 23rd and e 24th at 9:30pm by what was described as a “40 something black man” who was riding a mountain bike. Yeah, a mountain bike. Someone’s desperate. But equally annoying is the focus on just the race of the man and not what he was wearing – or if he was light-skinned or had glasses. That makes me fear the reporter of the crime as much as the criminal.
Walk in groups, and get to know your neighbor, regardless of color. I include that because some white folks in my neighborhood act like they’re so afraid of anyone black they keep their heads down as they walk – and I see these folks each week. I say hello, but I’ve seen this play out with others while I was walking down the street. Drop your racism and get to know your neighbors.
Please.
Penrose Restaurant Opens On Grand Avenue
The opening of Penrose Restaurant is the best thing to happen to the stretch of Grand Avenue between Mandana and Lake Park, ever. Located at 3311 Grand, the second restaurant started by Charlie Hallowell (Boot and Shoe was the first and across the street) fills a development hole that’s existed for decades and makes the area just plain vibrant. Here’s my video from its unofficial opening Monday of last week:
And this video presents the restaurant offerings on that stretch of Grand:
Mayor Jean Quan’s Dirty Tricks On Libby Schaaf
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan is afraid Oakland District Four Councilmember Libby Schaaf will beat her in the upcoming Oakland Mayor’s Race in 2014. In fact, Mayor Quan’s so afraid of this that she’s had her supporters meet with Libby during her office hours to talk her out of running for Mayor. This is Jean Quan’s first phase of dirty tricks and this one – basically getting friends to bully Libby into not running – is just plain horrible.
Jean’s got to remember that she’s got some issues that make folks not comfortable with her being Mayor of Oakland, again. Remember when she and the good doctor Floyd Huen got into that run-in with the media type at Art Murmur this year and the woman – who said he was drunk? Here’s the video:
Mayor Quan, play fair in the 2014 Mayor’s Race because there are too many people who are watching what you do – including some of your so-called supporters.
Thanksgiving in Oakland
If you’re in Oakland but without Thanksgiving plans, check out this offering that was posted on one of the message boards:
An Eastlake Thanksgiving: An International Lunch! Thanksgiving Day at Noon
A community Thanksgiving meal where Tribe Church cooks will provide juicy smoked turkeys and spiral hams. This gathering will have an international feel to it with various dishes from Korea, China, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, South Africa, etc. available to taste! There will be family friendly inter-active games (parachute, tug-war, board games) and talent sharing.Optional: bring your favorite side or cultural dish to share (not required for attendance!).
Put on by people from Trybe Inc. (www.oaklandtrybe.org ) and Tribe Church (www.tribesites.org )
Thursday, November 28, 2013, from 12p-3p at All Faiths Social Hall located on 2100 5th Avenue, Oakland, CA 94606 (near Park Blvd)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Stay tuned.