Parks, taxes, and promises
In addition to the continued debate on the repeal of Measure OO, the Oakland City Council tonight will also consider placing a $46 parcel tax (PDF) on the ballot...
Tom Thurston: CCE PAC meeting April 6–come early and speak freely.
The most interesting element to the upcoming meeting of the Central City East Redevelopment Project Area Committee (CCE PAC) on April 6 (Paton University cafeteria)...
It doesn’t have to be this bad. Really.
Root causes this, demographics that. Why is it that one can’t ever point out that violent crime in Oakland is inexcusably high without getting an almost immediate...
Tom Thurston: Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.
Monday night saw the first community meeting for the Area Specific Plan for the Central Embarcadero area. The area stretches from Coast Guard Island to the Martin...
The first step to solving a problem is recognizing that you have a problem
It’s amazing to me how obstinate so many of Oakland’s residents are in their complete refusal to acknowledge Oakland’s serious violent crime problem....
Honoring Oakland’s fallen officers
I struggled mightily last night trying to decide what to write about today. I remain dumbstruck over the tragic events of Saturday afternoon.
Open Thread
Want to talk about something I haven’t covered? Do it here. You can find the previous open thread here.
Senseless, tragic killing of Oakland police officers this afternoon
The number of Oakland Police officers killed in in the line of duty during the department’s history rose today from 47 to 50 (Update: Now 51). The news is...
The future of news in 1981, and now
“Imagine, if you will, sitting down to your coffee, turning on your home computer to read the day’s newspaper. Well it’s not as far-fetched as...
Chris Kidd – Planning on the Estuary II: This time it’s *personal*
You thought you could get away from me, didn’t you? Alas, the irascible Chris Kidd is back with another (not-so) arcane post about the planning and zoning going...
Jack O’Connell vs. OUSD
I have my hands full enough with the City that I don’t even try to cover the schools, but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in them. I wish...
Oakland Crime Stats Update, March 2009
Apologies for the light posting last week and technical problems on Friday. I believe the issue has now been resolved and hopefully it will not happen again. Light...

