It seems as though many city governments are going to have to get really creative next year to manage their budgets in the wake of these slow economic times.

At last night's San Leandro City Council work session on the budget for next fiscal year, Mayor Tony Santos proposed an unconventional idea of his own to address the city's projected budget deficit.

He suggested the city charge a fee on its fire insurance policy, saying he was once given the title as one of the country's six experts on this matter (he used to work in the insurance industry in his heyday). This idea also accompanied his suggestion for a public safety tax if the economy doesn't return to normal in the next two years or so, as well as making use of the council's authority to implement the city's charter.

"If we had some public safety tax, an insurance policy fee in fire insurance, and also if we implemented the charter provision at least on health benefits — if we could get $2 million from each, that would give us at least $6 million," he said. "That would go a long way in managing the budget situation a little better."

Read the full budget presentation given to the council here.

According to the San Leandro Community Action Network's latest e-newsletter, City Council candidate Ursula Reed just picked up some huge support.

Actor Danny Glover has apparently taken a personal interest in Reed's campaign and will be coming to San Leandro on Saturday to speak at a reception for her.

Wondering how this all happened? Her campaign manager, Terrell Santiago, said Glover heard about Reed "through a friend of a friend." After their conversation, Glover, who is known to be pretty politically active, apparently asked what he could do to help.

In addition to coming to support Reed's campaign, Glover will be talking about his upcoming film, which is about Toussaint L'Ouverture, who led the Haitian slave revolt against the French colonial regime in 1791.

Check out the invitation here.

The Hayward Chamber of Commerce will hold a Gourmet Gala to raise funds for the Measure I campaign from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Stonebrae Country Club, 222 Country Club Drive.

The exclusive event will feature food prepared by Stonebrae's Executive Chef, Richard A. Bailey, and will provide attendees an opportunity to hear more about the bond. For tickets or for more information, call 510-537-2424.

Still think San Leandro is virtually unknown to the outside world? Well, think again.

The city's unconventional marketing campaign to attract folks to downtown, aptly called "I Am San Leandro," apparently is attracting some unconventional interest.

A LiveJournal blogger recently wrote an entry about his fascination with one of the marketing campaign's tools. In the entry, he stated that he had been at a restaurant in Berkeley and noticed a small cut-out of a man used for the "I Am San Leandro" campaign (pictured above). Then he went on to say that he was so fascinated by the cut-out, he decided to name it "San Leandro" because, on the back, it read "I Am San Leandro." The next part is too hilarious to summarize. He went on to say:

I have been carrying him around in my backpack ever since, trying to decide what to do with him, and my current trip to Palm Desert has finally given me the answer. So, much like the Travelling Gnome and other such efforts, I have taken on the wholly unoriginal task of carrying San Leandro with me, taking photos whenever I can be bothered to remember it and hopefully not destroying his fragile paper body in the process. Wish him luck.

Unbeknownst to the blogger, the cut-out is not just some random piece of paper. It is actually a photo of a real person. In fact, it is San Leandro planner Elmer Penaranda. That was supposed to be the whole point of the marketing campaign: to show folks not familiar with San Leandro what the city is all about and that all kinds of people live and work there.

But I guess the blogger didn't quite get that point. Instead, he wrote that he will be taking his "little San Leandro" along with him on various trips for a few "traveling gnome"-type photo ops.

At least San Leandro is getting some props. But it makes one wonder: Are the people this marketing campaign was hoping to target — retailers — getting it?

Wondering who helped pay for all those glossy campaign mailers that will be inundating your mailboxes in the coming days?

Campaign contributions to the nine candidates for Hayward City Council, as well as information on how they spend that money, is now available here. (The disclosures only cover up to March 17. The next cycle of expenditures won't be made public until the end of May).

Or, you can click directly on Linda Bennett, Barbara Halliday, Olden Henson, Marvin Peixoto, Bill Quirk, Rob Simpson, Francisco Zermeño, Steve Bristow, Anna May

Let us know if you find anything interesting.

In what may be a recent record, the San Francisco Chronicle has published two Hayward-centric stories within a matter of weeks that are not about crime or carnivores.

The first was by architecture critic John King, who had one take on downtown ("half-inch-thin brick is pasted ... alongside brick-red stucco") last year and a bit of a new take ("fragrant wisteria bloom(s)") this year.

The other was by golf writer Roy Kroichick, who revealed today that the Stonebrae Country Club golf course has a new name and new affiliation with the PGA Tour. Jane Sacco, vice president of Vox Populi, Stonebrae's PR consultant, said this insider golfball scoop was the result of her firm being "under non-disclosure" with the bigger paper.

And in what other others are saying about others, our cutthroat rivals at the Fremont Argus point out that the Chronicle also made a springtime visit to Lake Elizabeth.

Contract talks appear to be heating up between San Leandro teachers and the school district. Union leaders have sent this letter to staff at Pleasanton Middle School, where school board member Lisa Hague is a history and journalism teacher.

Teachers at PMS took offense to the letter, as outlined in this e-mail:

To the members of the executive board of SLTA,

The teachers at Pleasanton Middle School received a letter from Brian Kennedy of behalf of the SLTA dated April 21, 2008 (copy attached). The letter is slanderous. It is an example of the least professional behavior I have seen in my eight years of teaching.

Ms. Hague is the hardest working educator that I know. She is an outstanding teacher and communicator. She is one of the strongest teacher-advocates that I know. Her manner is professional at all times.

She is well-respected throughout the Pleasanton Unified School District, including teachers, administrators, union members, and non-union members, like myself.

If this is how the teachers in San Leandro are represented, it is apparent why there is an impasse in the negotiations.

Leni Seymon
Algebra Teacher/Math Department Chair
Pleasanton Middle School

Read more in tomorrow's Daily Review.

On Saturday, Hayward celebrates Cinco de Mayo downtown with music and dance.

Here's the full schedule Read the rest of this entry »