Random Saturday thoughts

• So, I didn’t end up getting to do my series about industrial land this week as I had hoped. Real work and life obligations were particularly time consuming. Rest assured, the posts are not canceled, but delayed. I hope to have the first up tomorrow, but definitely by Monday.
• This is a very sad day for the State of California. State legislative analyst Elizabeth Hill is retiring. Hill provided non-partisan, objective analysis of the fiscal implications of decisions before California’s legislators and voters. I so looked forward to sitting down with a glass of wine and my voter guide and reading her analysis on State propositions every election. Although too many legislators and voters ignored her warnings, a government that carefully considered the information she provides would be a well-run one indeed. Every State should have one of her, and while I’m talking about it, every city should too. If Oakland’s City Council spent any time at all thinking about the real implications of the decisions they make, fiscal or otherwise, this city would be a much safer, prettier, and cleaner place. I wish Ms. Hill the absolute best in retirement and I hope that her replacement and well-trained staff will be able to continue working to the high standards she established.
• This is taken from City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente’s newsletter:
  

  FRUITVALE SAFETY PROJECT A SUCCESS: On Tuesday March 18, we will be conducting the final Fruitvale Safety Project meeting. The results have been great! It is clear from this project that we can do something about public safety when we put a variety of City resources together in one place, get people talking to each other, and do regular check-ins. We’ll be sending out a summary of the Fruitvale Safety Project accomplishments next week.

  I questioned the Fruitvale Safety Project when it was first announced, so if it’s been successful, that makes me happy. I haven’t been checking the crime numbers in that area for comparison, but presumably next week’s summary of accomplishments will show a drop in crime. My question now is: if the project is such a success, why is it not being continued? Perhaps we will learn more about this next week. Until then, color me confused.

• Is there an affordability problem in Oakland? Of course! But there are also parts of the city where 900 square foot condos are being marketed for $129,000. That’s for a place with no income limits or resale restrictions, not a BMR unit. More Oakland bargains at Redfin.
  

  One Response to “Random Saturday thoughts”

  1. ratna amin says:

     April 26, 2008 at 4:25 pm

     The Fruitvale Safety Project was a success and was not continued because the plan from the beginning was to do it for 3 months and the move to another part of the District – we have now move the focused effort to Fruitvale Ave. Some of the efforts have definitely continued in the original project area. The Fruitvale Safety Project created new connections – things happened through coordination and information sharing between departments that would have not happened otherwise such as improved lighting, park improvements, and coordinating street outreach with OPD’s gang unit. The Council and voters have funded a lot of programs – now we have to create results from the programs and thats what the Fruitvale Safety Project accomplished. We hear the model is now going to be used by the Mayor’s office in other parts of the city.

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