And she did it with a press release that made no mention of 90 percent of homicides and shootings occuring in 100 city blocks:
Recent media reports have covered a report from Urban Strategies Council regarding the 100 Blocks Initiative and the data of the Police Department. The Mayor’s office would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that the 100 Blocks Initiative was created 5 months ago, to focus on the neighborhoods and areas of Oakland that are most impacted by gun violence.
In the most recent reporting period, murders are down citywide by 56%. We are pleased with this direction and we will remain focused on gun violence and how to reduce it in the City of Oakland.
Although the report may be accurate while standing alone, there are key differences and some similarities:
Here are the favorable/unfavorable ratings for council members and a few more politicians from the April poll commissioned by Larry Tramutola. In the last column, the higher the number, the more popular the politician.
AEG or SMG: it’s just alphabet soup to me. Rather than leave it up to the politicians and their pals on the Coliseum’s joint powers board to decide, perhaps a competition is in order.
The contract should go to whichever outfit can bring back James Taylor — and his hair — for a 30th anniversary concert at the Coliseum.
I got my story about SF wooing the Warriors online only 20 hours after Matier & Ross — a new record for me.
I didn’t have enough time/space in the story to drive home this point, but the city is definitely moving ahead with a $3.5 million study for its plan to turn the coliseum area into a sports-entertainment complex with new buildings galore for the Warriors, Raiders and even the A’s.
There is some question about where the money for the study will ultimately come from. The city had approved using redevelopment dollars, but the state killed that program last year, and it’s unclear whether the Controller John Chiang would challenge that as an improper use of funds. But even if he does, city officials say they will move ahead with the study and find other sources to pay for it.
In fact, in a statement released Monday Mayor Jean Quan noted that Oakland has a $45 million reserve — for now. It’s still unclear whether the state will challenge Oakland’s nifty accounting last year that netted it $28.3 million for selling the Kaiser Convention Center to its now defunct Redevelopment Agency. If the state nixes that deal — the wording in a recent letter from the Controller seems to indicate that it’s a decent possibility — Oakland would have a much smaller reserve fund.
According to that Tramutola poll most Oakland voters support limiting council members and the city attorney to just three terms. But according to Councilmember Jane Brunner’s recent op-ed in the Chron, most of her colleagues feel otherwise and would vote against her proposal to bring the issue to voters in November.
Brunner has spent most of her 16 years in office in the anti-term limits camp, but had a change of heart this year while watching candidates jockey to replace her as she sets her sights the city attorney job. The state’s open meeting law is supposed to prevent Brunner canvassing a majority of her colleagues, but in this case the math is pretty clear.
She needs five votes to get term limits on ballot, and of the eight council members Larry Reid and Desley Brooks are publicly opposed and Nancy Nadel is a long-standing term limits opponent. That means Brunner needs the backing of every other council member, and she’s done enough homework to know she doesn’t have it.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the struggling effort to recall Mayor Jean Quan, and a recent poll commissioned by political consultant Larry Tramutola, that found that two thirds of likely Oakland voters would oppose a recall. Tramutola, who ran Don Perata’s losing 2010 mayoral campaign, concluded that a recall vote was doomed to fail.
The poll, conducted in mid-April by EMC Research has a 4.9 percent margin of error. Tramutola didn’t release all of the data, but did send us a memo with the following information:
One reason I’m reviving this blog is that, even without a recall, there’s going to be way more candidates running for elected office in Oakland this year than we can find space to profile in print.
The latest entrant is Richard Raya, who required a correction from your’s truly before he even entered the very full field to replace Councilwoman Jane Brunner. Raya is the policy director at California Forward — a group advocating government reform. I wrote recently that he was the “police” director.
Click the link below for lots more about Raya. He’s got a pithy slogan “Love this Town,” a big font size, lots of nonprofit experience and four boys. He’s also got two french mastiffs, which I pictured looking like over-sized poodles, but actually look like the toughest things to come out Fifth Republic since Andre the Giant
Raya is one of seven declared candidates in a field that includes BART Director Bob Franklin, Community policing leader Don Link, council aide Joanne Karchmer, and Democratic Party activist Dan Kalb.
Kalb could become the first politician to run unsuccessfully in both San Francisco and Oakland within a 10-year period. He moved to Rockridge shortly after losing a supervisor’s race to Ross Mirkarimi.
This is Chris Dobbins doing his part to support the Green Stampede, a homework club affiliated with the A’s, Wednesday night at Oaklandish. Pink underwear and youth groups might sound a little strange. But they fit the occasion: A documentary, Out: The Glenn Burke Story, about Glenn Burke, an Oakland native and Berkeley High graduate who was ousted by the A’s Billy Martin for being gay. The proceeds of Dobbins’ and City Hall hopeful Sean Sullivan (pictured here) went to the Green Stampede.
Few of us will be inside the Paramount Theatre tonight with Brad Pitt for the premier of Moneyball, the story about the A’s brainy numbers guy who cobbled together a team on the cheap. Only the politicians and wealthy among us will be there even though the taxpayers actually are keeping the A’s and Billy Beane sheltered with subsidies of about $10 million a year for the stadium alone. But really this is all about stars and glamour and enjoying the limelight. Tailgates are setting up right now near the Paramount. And the local bars, lounges and restaurants are jumping on board:
•Pican (2295 Broadway) is offering $5 Pican Pale Ale,Wine and Tennessee Margarita/$6 Shrimp Beignets
• Luka’s Tap Room (2221 Broadway) is offering a $3 Trumer Pilsner, Racer 5 and Guinness. Plus $5 margarita or glass of wine/$1 oysters.
• The Layover, located at 1517 Franklin Street (offering $3microbrew drafts/$4
cocktails/$6 highend wines. Half off if you mention Moneyball.
• Mama’s Vietnamese (365 19th) is featuring 15% off all of their entrees.
And yes that is Brad Pitt as Beane in the publicity photo although only his costar names are shown.
The monthly two-for-one at Oakland’s Breads of India on Clay Street begins August 25.
A little mughlai biryani or fish tikka, maybe a cocktail from the bar and a light comedy flick from India? This month’s four-course menu features old Delhi dishes and the movie Cheeni Kum (“Less Sugar”). $40 per person. 7 p.m.
- Oakland Tribune Outtakes
