Living in the O

• Yesterday’s budget meeting via Twitter

  Number of comments: 1
  I had hoped to write a real blog post yesterday or today, but yesterday flew by and today I woke up with a nasty cold and I can’t really focus. So you won’t get a super-excited post from me about City Attorney John Russo’s opinion, issued yesterday, that clearly states [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 3:08pm EST
  by Becks

• Budget meeting this Thursday, no thanks to Jean Quan

  Number of comments: 5
  Somehow I totally missed this when putting together the weekly events listing, even though I was looking for it, but there’s a special budget meeting tomorrow, Thursday, December 17th at 10am. I might have missed it because I naively thought it would be held in the evening, when working people [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 1:46pm EST
  by Becks

• Broadway shuttle offers environmental, economic & community benefits at no cost to the General Fund

  Number of comments: 15
  Tomorrow’s committee meetings are going to be packed with some exciting, forward thinking transportation projects, including an update on BRT and another discussion of the citywide parking study at the Public Works Committee. But the transit item I’m most excited to will be heard before the Community & Economic Development [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 6:37pm EST
  by Becks

• December 14-20 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Wednesday, December 16h – AC Transit Meeting on Service Adjustment Plan At AC Transit’s regular Board meeting, the Board will be voting on final approval of the service adjustment plan. They also will be voting on changing transfer policy so that transfers would be valid for 2 hours, instead of the [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 10:36am EST
  by Becks

• Oakland Holiday Shopping Guide

  This holiday season, there are a myriad of holiday local shopping opportunities – so many so that it might be hard to keep track of them! So I thought I’d write a brief guide to best places to shop for gifts in Oakland. This guide is just a selection of [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 12:45pm EST
  by Becks

• Believe it or not, the final Oakland Airport Connector project is even worse than expected

  Number of comments: 15
  UPDATE: Unsurprisingly, the BART Board voted earlier today 7-1 to approve the project. Tomorrow, the BART Board of Directors will vote on approving the contract to begin construction of the Oakland Airport Connector. And believe it or not, the project has gotten even worse. Remember at that late night City Council meeting [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2009, 1:46pm EST
  by Becks

• Tonight’s Council Meeting: Mills Act, Solar Financing, Stimulus Update, and Legislative Agendas

  Number of comments: 1
  Tonight’s Council meeting will cover a large array of issues, some of which I’ve described below. Item 14.1: Eleven Mills Act Contract Ignacio De La Fuente has forged an uncommon alliance with historic preservationists to propose the approval of eleven properties under the Mills Act two-year pilot program and the expansion of [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 1:37pm EST
  by Becks

• John Klein: The Public Ethics Commission Plods On

  This guest post was written by John Klein, a resident of Oakland for over 23 years. His sense of ethics was formed as full-time volunteer for 12 years during the 70’s and 80’s with Nyingma Centers, a Tibetan Buddhist community in Berkeley and Sonoma County, and more recently as a [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 12:02pm EST
  by Becks

• December 7-13 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Number of comments: 1
  Monday, December 7th – Oakland LGBT Roundtable From Jean Quan’s newsletter: “Topics to be discussed include  Port of Oakland Commission appointment; report back on Chicago LGBT Community Center visit; Oakland LGBT Community Center next steps and Oakland Pride Update. Bring unwrapped NEW toys to support the Oakland Mayor’s Community Toy Drive.” [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 11:26pm EST
  by Becks

• Positive rider reactions at AC Transit open house on service adjustment plan

  Number of comments: 15
  On Tuesday night, AC Transit held its last open house on the service adjustments necessitated by budget cuts. This open house ended a lengthy, inclusive, and thorough process AC Transit undertook over the past several months. The Board of Directors will vote on the final service adjustment plan on December [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 3:33pm EST
  by Becks

• Donate to the Blogoaksphere Virtual Food Drive

  Number of comments: 2
  For this holiday season, V Smoothe at A Better Oakland has created a way for Oakland bloggers and the blogoaksphere community to join together to help the Alameda County Community Foodbank provide meals to those who need them. She’s set up a virtual food drive, that as of this posting [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 10:27am EST
  by Becks

• Temescal Produce Market fills neighborhood grocery store gap

  Number of comments: 5
  Recently, I’ve been thinking pretty seriously about moving closer to the middle of Temescal. Right now, I’m technically in Temescal (at least, according to some), but I’m many blocks and a freeway overpass away from 51st and Telegraph and all the great stuff in that area. But there was one [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:18pm EST
  by Becks

• November 30-December 6 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Note: Due to the holidays, there are dozens of events happening in the next couple of weeks so I’m picking and choosing a bit. For a more complete list of Oakland holiday events, check out City Homestead’s comprehensive listing. Tuesday, December 1st– AC Transit Community Open House for Revised Service Adjustment [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 10:58am EST
  by Becks

• My growing gratitude for Oakland art

  Number of comments: 4
  There are so many reasons that I’m grateful to live in Oakland that I couldn’t possibly list all of them in a blog post. Luckily, V Smoothe covered many reasons that overlap with mine (especially AC Transit and all the great farmer’s markets). But there’s one thing that I’ve grown [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 2:37pm EST
  by Becks

• Joel Young: The hidden costs of health care

  This guest post was written by Joel Young, a lifelong Bay Area resident and a member of the AC Transit Board of Directors. As the raucous health care debate plays out in Washington DC, I have become increasingly aware of the stakes for the Bay Area. Skyrocketing health care costs touch [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 12:47pm EST
  by Becks

• November 23-29 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Monday, November 23rd – Meet Oakland’s New Police Chief All community stakeholders are invited to come to this introductory gathering with Oakland’s new Police Chief, Anthony W. Batts, to hear how he plans to approach the complex issues in Oakland.  Former Berkeley Police Chief Douglas Hambleton and Oakland’s former Acting Police Chief [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 5:37pm EST
  by Becks

• Ofrendas Para los Muertos – from Oakland, with love

  Number of comments: 2
  Last night, before heading to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting and then the Walk Oakland Bike Oakland meeting, I stopped by the opening night of Ofrendas Para Los Muertos, an exhibit in the atrium of the State Building. I only had 10 minutes to enjoy, since my bus [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 5:27pm EST
  by Becks

• Safeway on College – The cost of doing nothing is not nothing

  Number of comments: 15
  Last night’s Planning Commission hearing on the College Avenue Safeway went well overall. Sure, the neighbors showed up in force to try to stop the project or at least to greatly reduce the scale of the project. But it was just a scoping session so staff and commissioners repeatedly reminded [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:45pm EST
  by Becks

• Fight against Oakland Airport Connector leads to FTA civil rights investigation of BART

  Number of comments: 15
  I didn’t expect to be writing about the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) anytime soon, and I certainly didn’t expect to be sharing good news about it. Well, ok, maybe it’s not good news about the OAC, but I do have some incredible news to share about the outcome of our [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 3:05pm EST
  by Becks

• Tonight’s Council Meetings: Budget, billboards, and OFCY

  Number of comments: 1
  UPDATE: The budget workshop just ended, but you can follow the City Council meeting on Twitter #oakmtg. I finally gave in and joined Twitter, after months of being harassed, just so I could get in on the discussion there. You can find me @oaklandbecks Tonight there will be not one but [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:12pm EST
  by Becks

• November 16-22 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Monday, November 16th – Oakland Local Community Meetup Via the Facebook event: “Oakland Local is one month old! Come join us at our first community meetup in downtown Oakland–community partners, OL bloggers & reporters, people interested in being involved with OL and anyone else who wants to support us are invited [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 3:18pm EST
  by Becks

• Don Perata: Message to City Council: Instant Runoff Voting: Protect Our Civil Rights

  Number of comments: 15
  This guest post was written by Don Perata, who was the President pro Tem of the California State Senate from 2004-08. He chaired the Senate Elections and Redistricting Committee in 2001 charged with protecting the Voting Rights Act when drawing congressional and legislative districts following the 2000 census. There were [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 5:26pm EST
  by Becks

• John Gatewood: Safeway at College @ Claremont – Opportunity to Enhance an Urban Village

  Number of comments: 11
  This guest post was written by John Gatewood, one of the co-founders of ULTRA (Urbanists for a Livable Temescal Rockridge Area), which supports higher density mixed-use development along the major transit corridors of north Oakland. John works in the Graphic Arts Industry and is a resident of Temescal. Safeway is in [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:11pm EST
  by Becks

• Rules for running for Mayor of Oakland – Rule #3

  Number of comments: 7
  A couple weeks ago, I started a new series about rules for running for Mayor of Oakland. Today I’ll share the third rule and will continue with this series in the coming weeks and months. Rule #3: Do not do anything that is or appears to be illegal or unethical Sounds pretty [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 10:09am EST
  by Becks

• November 9-15 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Monday, November 9th – Town Hall with Mayor Dellums and Police Chief Batts Come hear Mayor Dellums and Chief Batts share their vision of public safety. Topics include: Mayor Dellums — public safety strategy: PIES (Prevention, Intervention, Enforcement, Sustainability) Chief Batts — vision for the Oakland Police Department Crime statistics: crime is down double [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 12:55pm EST
  by Becks

• What’s going on with instant runoff voting? Registrar Dave MacDonald explains… sort of

  Number of comments: 15
  Last night, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Dave MacDonald came to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee meeting to discuss instant runoff voting (IRV), which is a hot topic in Oakland right now. MacDonald started off by making it very clear that he wasn’t taking sides on IRV, but that the [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 5:50pm EST
  by Becks

• Expanding and moving our apartment garden

  After years of maintaining a small garden on our apartment balcony, we finally decided to ask our apartment manager if we could move our garden to the benches at the back of our garage, which we can see from our balcony. He of course said yes so we moved most [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 3:09pm EST
  by Becks

• Tonight’s Council Meeting: World Cup, billboards, and performance measure tracking

  Number of comments: 2
  Remember about a month and a half ago when I asked you if you wanted more City Council coverage and promised I would provide it? Well, things got busy for me after that, and then I took a couple week break from blogging, so I’ve yet to follow through on [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 3:02pm EST
  by Becks

• November 2-8 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Number of comments: 2
  Monday, November 2nd – Town Hall with Mayor Dellums and Police Chief Batts Come hear Mayor Dellums and Chief Batts share their vision of public safety. Topics include: Mayor Dellums — public safety strategy: PIES (Prevention, Intervention, Enforcement, Sustainability) Chief Batts — vision for the Oakland Police Department Crime statistics: crime is down double [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 11:08am EST
  by Becks

• When BART reaches capacity, Oaklanders will be the first to suffer

  Number of comments: 15
  For anyone who commutes between Oakland and San Francisco, I’m guessing this has been a bit of a chaotic week. And at some point, if not every day during the closure, you probably took BART across the Bay. And I have no doubt that it was beyond crowded in the [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 3:06pm EDT
  by Becks

• Rules for running for Mayor of Oakland – Rules #1 & #2

  Number of comments: 4
  I know I announced a few weeks ago that I was taking a break from blogging, but I expected to be back in the full swing of things this week. Little did I know how difficult it was to start blogging once you’ve stopped! I have a couple posts I’m [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2009, 7:02pm EDT
  by Becks

• John Gatewood: Oakland is a Rust Belt City and what the Zoning Update can do about it

  Number of comments: 2
  This guest post was written by John Gatewood, one of the co-founders of ULTRA (Urbanists for a Livable Temescal Rockridge Area), which supports higher density mixed-use development along the major transit corridors of north Oakland. John works in the Graphic Arts Industry and is a resident of Temescal. Oakland is a [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 1:09pm EDT
  by Becks

• October 26-November 1 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Tuesday, October 27th – Walk Oakland Bike Oakland Meeting You may not have thought about it this way, but walking and biking are climate action! Attend WOBO’s October Volunteer Meeting this Tuesday night to discuss opportunities for advancing walking and biking within Oakland’s Energy and Climate Action Plan. The discussion will [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 6:46pm EDT
  by Becks

• October 19-25 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Tuesday, October 20th – Oakland City Council Meeting Woo! The Council has been having a series of long and intense meetings since recess, and this week’s meeting looks like it will follow in that pattern. First, the Council will swear in Police Chief Anthony Batts. Then, among other items, they’ll be [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 7:03pm EDT
  by Becks

• October 12-18 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Tuesday, October 13th – Final Vote on EBMUD Water Supply Management Plan 2040 Via EBMUD Director Andy Katz: “The EBMUD Board of Directors will consider adopting the Water Supply Management Plan 2040 to meet our water needs over the next 30 years on Tuesday afternoon, October 13.  While the Plan includes [...]
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  Posted: October 11, 2009, 5:50pm EDT
  by Becks

• A brief break from Oakland politics & blogging

  Number of comments: 3
  Note: I am no longer working for TransForm, and as always, the thoughts below are my own. Tuesday night was a bit devastating for me. I’ve been working with so many others since February to defeat the OAC, and I had always hoped that if all else failed, the Oakland City [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 1:59pm EDT
  by Becks

• Breaking down the Chamber’s misinformation on the OAC

  Number of comments: 1
  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. So I really didn’t think I’d get to this today, [...]
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  Posted: October 06, 2009, 3:56pm EDT
  by Becks

• Stop the OAC: Make a call and send an email today!

  Number of comments: 15
  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. Tomorrow night, the Oakland City Council will be voting on [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
  by Becks

• October 5-11 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Monday, October 5th – Commercial/Corridors Technical Advisory Group Meeting Thus far, the TAG has reviewed a framework for ten new zoning districts for the City’s corridors and commercial. The TAG has also reviewed detailed activity tables and design regulations for each of the proposed zones and a framework for appropriate height [...]
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  Posted: October 04, 2009, 10:11am EDT
  by Becks

• Jack London Square Lights

  Number of comments: 2
  Last night, I went to Jack London Square for the Full Moon Buy Night. The weather was gorgeous, and it was a fun, mellow event. At the beginning of the evening, I walked around alone and snapped a bunch of photos on my iPhone. For some reason, I gravitated towards [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:37am EDT
  by Becks

• What’s so special about Oakland? – Restaurant owners explain

  Number of comments: 2
  When I first started reading this week’s East Bay Express article about Oakland’s restaurant scene, it seemed like it would read just like all the others: wow, Oakland has lots of great new restaurants! and you won’t necessarily get shot if you go to them! But past the long listing of [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2009, 11:43am EDT
  by Becks

• A more rational business approach towards parking enforcement changes

  Number of comments: 12
  The common refrain in Oakland recently is that businesses are opposed to the meter rate increases and the metering time change from 6pm to 8pm. Several business owners, led by Allen Michaan of the Grand Lake Theater, have spoken out at Council meetings, expressed their concerns to the media, circulated [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 11:52am EDT
  by Becks

• Stop the OAC: Urge the Oakland City Council to pass a resolution opposing this boondoggle

  Number of comments: 3
  UPDATE: Please call and email the Council today! Contact info, phone scripts, and email templates can be found here. 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 [...]
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  Posted: September 28, 2009, 9:33am EDT
  by Becks

• September 28-October 4 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Monday, September 28th – The Story of How Copenhagen Became a Cycling City In the 1970s, Copenhagen was an automobile-centric city, even though it had a substantial cycling population. Huge public demonstrations in the early 1980s resulted in significant changes in the city’s transportation infrastructure. Since that time, Copenhagen has become [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2009, 1:24pm EDT
  by Becks

• Do you want more City Council coverage?

  Number of comments: 2
  As I was writing the weekly listing of Oakland events yesterday, I realized that I was spending almost as much time writing the part about tonight’s City Council meeting as I was writing the rest of the post. I also realized that it was nearly impossible to say everything I [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 8:32pm EDT
  by Becks

• September 21-27 Oakland Political & Community Events

  Number of comments: 2
  Tuesday, September 22nd – Oakland City Council Meeting After a two month long recess, the Council is back in action this week and this first meeting is full of important and contentious issues. Among many other items, the Council will discuss and vote on an emergency moratorium on nail salons and [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2009, 10:40am EDT
  by Becks

• UPDATED w/photos: Happy PARK(ing) Day!

  Number of comments: 3
  Today is PARK(ing) Day, “an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists, and citizens independently but simultaneously temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.” And on my way to work I was able to snap a photo of the PARKing spot outside of Pizzaiola on Telegraph near [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 2:07pm EDT
  by Becks

• Oakland Public Works to BART: Oakland does have a stake in the OAC

  Number of comments: 6
  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. Yesterday, the Oakland Public Works Committee meeting got off to [...]
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  Posted: September 16, 2009, 12:10pm EDT
  by Becks

• Scott Haggerty, Democrat?!

  Number of comments: 2
  Yesterday, I was speaking to a colleague about the resignation of the District Attorney and the appointment process when he mentioned Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty switching parties to become a Democrat. “What?!,” I responded, sure that I must have misheard him But I had not. At the annual Labor Day picnic [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 11:53am EDT
  by Becks

• Oakland Airport Connector Updates

  Woo! I leave for a week and the blogosphere and media worlds explode with news about the Oakland Airport Connector. In case you’ve missed any of the excellent coverage, here’s a brief roundup. FTA Title IV complaint filed: Last week, Public Advocates filed a complaint on behalf of TransForm, Urban Habitat, [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2009, 11:52am EDT
  by Becks