April 7
How is San Leandro doing? — 11:15 a.m.-1 p.m. State of the city is assessed by Mayor Stephen Cassidy at a luncheon sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce — members and nonmembers are invited. Luncheon is at the Senior Community Center, 13909 E. 14th St., San Leandro. Prepaid registration is required. Cost: $30 for chamber members, $40 for nonmembers. Register at: sanleandrochamber.com, click “events” link. For more information, call 510-317-1400. Read the rest of this entry »

Yikes, once again I find myself a day behind on the calendar post. Here’s what we have/had on tap for the  week. Of note: There’s going to be a Hayward Cesar Chavez event and teach-in at at City Hall starting 5 p.m. Thursday, a new Hayward Arts Council exhibit opens Friday, also at City Hall, featuring the artists at right and for the next four Saturdays, Big Read events, again at City Hall. Read the rest of this entry »

The City Manager included the latest “rolling 12-month comparison” in her report from last week. It compares the most recent yearlong period for which stats are available — in this case February 2010 to January 2011 — the the same period of a year prior.

As you can see, most crime in Hayward is on the decline. Violent crime down 11 percent. Although there is an increase in murder and rape, the police chief previously said that the murder stat is an anomaly caused by a particularly nasty first part of 2011. Rape is up 39 percent, with the numbers being a difference of 13 cases.

While property crime is down 14 percent, there’s been a large increase in residential burglaries, to the tune of 39 percent. The uptick is significant in terms of numbers: 546 vs. 758. As Chief Ron Ace mentioned at the state of the city event earlier this year, there’s been a similar rise in many other surrounding cities.

San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli talked crime stats at a neighborhood meeting in that city last week. You can watch it on this blog. She said San Leandro has seen a drop in crime of 8 percent, but burglaries have gone up 15 percent. Unclear whether she’s talking total burglaries, in which case Hayward would have a similar increase, of 14 percent, thanks to a sizable drop in nonresidential burglaries.

Another big decrease: Auto thefts. I wonder if $4/gal gas will have a further cooling effect on car snatchings or if thieves will steal a new car everytime they run out of fuel…

Lots of stuff this week, night meeting after night meeting after night meeting means I’m on the late schedule. Tonight we have San Leandro talking about the future of the Marina at 5:30 p.m., followed by Mayor Stephen Cassidy’s State of the City speech at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, Hayward’s going to get an update on what’s going on with the proposed gang injunction program, and they’re going to be looking at adopting a negative declaration and approval of a plan to widen Winton Avenue. And HUSD will have a hearing on latest proposal to the teacher’s union. Also, Bully Awareness Forum on Friday night. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a meeting tonight that I just found out about, regarding the disposal of Bunker Hill properties currently owned by Caltrans. A Bunker Hill resident faxed me a city document that she’d gotten hold of through a public records request. It outlines potential troubles, such as “limited ingress and egress” and “unsafe nature of the existing roadway,” and the need for road and infrastructure improvements. It also points out that Caltrans wants to get a fair deal for the land, money which will then be used to fund transportation projects in Alameda County.

Bottom line: “Caltrans has made a preliminary finding that it would be preferable to market the property as one large piece, which would maximize return on the entire parcel and allow flexibility in ultimately configuring development so as to make development more economically feasible, while meeting the zoning and health and safety requirements of the city. It is this preliminary finding that we will be discussing with attendees at the upcoming meeting at Hayward City Hall Council Chambers on Monday, March 7, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.” Read the rest of this entry »

The City Council voted to have staff write up an ordinance that will ban any medical marijuana dispensaries from moving into town. That will make them the seventh Alameda County city to do so — Alameda, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Livermore and Pleasanton have such bans in place, according to a staff report. Dispensaries are allowed in Albany, Berkeley, Oakland and unincorporated Alameda County. There are two nearby AlCo dispensaries, in San Lorenzo and Cherryland.

Hayward remains the biggest AlCo city that doesn’t have a policy one way or the other.  The city was considering prioritizing the matter last year, but did not do it. There was no mention of medical marijuana during the priority setting process this year.

Cities such as Oakland are looking at the industry as a potential boost to city coffers. Oakland has a business license tax on marijuana dispensaries, and it was estimated at San Leandro’s meeting that it brings in about $1.4 million each year, based on gross sales of $28 million.

Find Hayward’s story from last February after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

 Here’s this week’s calendar. Just about to head to San Leandro to see what they say about options for a medical marijuana ordinance. Tomorrow, the Hayward City Council is poised to take steps to save redevelopment assets from a possible state take. And Wednesday’s Sustainability Committee meeting could be a big one, as they will be looking at the draft Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance. They moved that meeting into the main Council Chambers instead of the work session room, in case people turn out. Read the rest of this entry »

From a April 13, 1974 story after Frazier was elected to the City Council.

We had a story in today’s paper about the passing of Faith Frazier. For space reasons, we couldn’t write more than that, but I received a lot of information that is included below. The bio is courtesy of former San Leandro Mayor Shelia Young.

“I’ll tell you something,” said her son, Carl. “My mom has devoted more years in San Leandro to civic issues, political issues than probably anyone else other than Jack Maltester. My mom goes back to before the city was really a city.”

“She passed away peacefully at Kaiser Hospital last Sunday, February 20, 2011, with her family by her side,” wrote Young in an e-mail.  “She was an incredibly gifted woman who helped numerous people throughout her lifetime learn things about government and how it affects us all. She will be missed by scores of electeds throughout the city of San Leandro and Alameda County. Clearly, she was a legend in her later life and accomplished much by way of leadership and knowledge sharing.” Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the calendar for the coming week. At right is a photo from “Private Lives,” at the Douglas Morrison Theater.

Feb. 23
Job lab — 12:30-2:30 p.m. Wednesdays. The Castro Valley Library, 3600 Norbridge Ave., offers assistance for community members seeking employment by providing a quiet space for job seekers to use the library’s laptops to update or create a resume, search for jobs online, or other employment-related activities. Computers and assistance available on a walk-in basis. For more information, call Lyn at 510-667-7903.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s what’s going on this week. A story on the Corita Celebration is running in tomorrow’s paper, but it’s available online, and you can already wander through the gallery at Hayward City Hall and take a look at various pop art works. She’s most famous for the stamp at left, which became one of the best selling U.S. Postage stamps of all time after being released in 1985. Read the rest of this entry »