A Better Oakland

Does OPD seriously have nothing better to do than conduct “special enforcement sting[s]” about seat belts?

Watch Ron Dellums speak and you are just are certain to hear him mention sustainability as you are to learn that he does not, in fact, have an S on his chest. Sustainable economy this, sustainable city that, and so on. Turning Oakland into a nationwide model for sustainability was one of his key pledges during last year’s mayoral campaign. Until recently, Dellums has done little to indicate how he intends to achieve this goal. Many expected our first real glimpse of his plans would come through his suggested alterations to the city budget.

So Dellums presented his 2007-2009 budget proposal (Warning! HUGE PDF!) to Oakland’s city council last week. Blogger dto510 aptly characterized the document as “status-quo” (from Dellums? Shock!). I’ll talk more about the budget next week, but for now, let’s look at some of what the Mayor himself had to say about it. (more…)

Earlier this month, Mayor Dellums convened an economic summit, celebrating the release of a report from McKinsey & Company commissioned last spring by the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. I had to work, and also couldn’t afford a ticket, so I was unable to attend. But it’s probably better that way, because had I been present for the big announcement, I might have puked in disgust, and that would have been rude. As it was, I nearly injured my eyes from rolling them so dramatically when I read about it the next morning in the Trib: (more…)

When I was younger, I was a big fan of those little puzzle books you bought in the airport bookstore to entertain you during your flight. They featured word hunts, crosswords, and my favorite, logic puzzles. Frequently, when reading the newspaper or listening to public comments at City Council meetings, I am reminded of these logic games I used to so love solving, and I also wonder if perhaps I was the only person who ever entertained myself this way. Certainly, the leaders of the Oakland People’s Housing Coalition seemed to have skipped them. (more…)

Over at Novometro, some pyschopath named Caroline has a bug up her butt about the American Indian Public Charter Scool. Feel free to visit and read her inane ramblings for yourself if you like. Basically, she’s insisting, despite total lack of evidence or logic, that Mr. Chavis is “engineering massive cheating on his school’s test scores.” (more…)