Business
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
City of Berkeley Files Lawsuit Against Rasputin Music Owner
Business / Law Enforcement & Crime Kathleen Richards — Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Via Berkeleyside, the City of Berkeley has filed a lawsuit against Ken Sarachan, the owner of Rasputin Music, in order to seize the empty lot he owns at the corner of Haste and Telegraph in order to pay back $640,000 in liens and interest Sarachan owes the city.
As we've previously reported, the city council decided last fall to pursue foreclosure proceedings against Sarachan in an effort to force him to pay the liens he owes, develop the land, or sell it to someone who would. The lot across from Amoeba Music has been vacant for nearly a quarter century, attracting rats and becoming a major eyesore.
It was initially the site of the Berkeley Inn, which was destroyed by two fires. The City of Berkeley cleaned up the site after the then-owners Sutter Land Development Company didn't, putting liens on the property. Originally, Amoeba owner Marc Weinstein was going to turn the site into low-income housing with an Amoeba on the ground floor, but Sarachan stepped in and bought the property instead. He never paid the city back or developed the property, despite multiple plans to do so. While Sarachan blames the city for the lack of action, the lawsuit alleges that Sarachan missed multiple deadlines set by the city.
- The vacant lot at Telegraph and Haste.
- Judith Scherr
Wednesday's Best Quotes: On Stay-Away Orders, Oakland's Finances, and Apple's Domination
Politics / Business / Occupy Robert Gammon — Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 11:30 AM
The best quotes of the day:
1. "While we respect every citizen's right to protest peacefully, we will not tolerate individuals who come to Oakland with an organized strategy to riot, clash with police officers, vandalize property and wreak havoc upon the city," Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said in a statement.
2. "It's unconstitutional," said attorney David Briggs, whose client, Mario Casillas of San Bruno, an Oakland Occupy protester, is charged with two felony counts of assaulting a peace officer and is subject to the stay-away order. "They have a right to freedom of assembly, the right to free speech. The stay-away order has nothing to do with the charges."
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tuesday Must Read: Oakland Lowers Layoff Estimate; Richmond Wins Second Lab Campus
Politics / Business / Law Enforcement & Crime Robert Gammon — Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 9:32 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and City Administrator Deanna Santana lowered the number of proposed city layoffs to 105 full-time employees after conducting a major reorganization of City Hall in the wake of the state’s decision to kill redevelopment, the Trib and Chron report. Quan and Santana also are proposing to slash funding to Children’s Fairyland and Oakland Zoo as part of $28 million in budget cuts. However, it will be up to the city council to make the final decision on the number of layoffs and on what cuts to make.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday Must Read: Bill Would Extend Redevelopment Until April 15; Brown Slashes $1 Billion from Prison Spending
Politics / Business / Education Robert Gammon — Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 6:56 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Cities would have until April 15 to dismantle their redevelopment agencies under a bill introduced by state Senator Alex Padilla, a Southern California lawmaker, the LA Daily News reports (via Rough & Tumble). Cities, including Oakland, have been scrambling to meet the February 1 deadline to eliminate redevelopment. Oakland is sending out 1,500 layoff notices this week and plans to ultimately slash 200 jobs. Padilla said cities need more time, and he’s hoping that the extension until April 15 will give the legislature a chance to hammer out a way to resurrect redevelopment in some form. However, it remains unclear whether Governor Jerry Brown, who devised the plan to kill redevelopment, will go along with the extension.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday Must Read: Oakland to Lay Off 200 Employees; PG&E Diverted $100 Million in Safety Funds for Profits
Politics / Business / Health & Medicine Robert Gammon — Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 6:58 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. As expected, the City of Oakland plans to lay off about two hundred employees because of the state Supreme Court ruling that upheld Governor Jerry decision to kill redevelopment in California, the Chron and Trib report. However, because of union seniority and contract rules, the city actually plans to send out about 1,500 lay off notices in total. The large number of notices will give the city the flexibility to decide which departments to eliminate and who should be laid off, city officials said. The only departments that will be exempted from layoffs are police and fire. City Administrator Deanna Santana also hopes to renegotiate some public-employee contracts in order to reduce the number of layoffs.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thursday Must Read: State Analyst Says Brown’s Budget Is Too Rosy; Number of California Millionaires Skyrockets
Politics / Business / Environment Robert Gammon — Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 7:00 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. The nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office says that Governor Jerry Brown’s projections for state tax revenues appear to be overly optimistic — by as much as $3 billion, the Mercury News reports. The governor’s rosy budget projections could mean that the state will have to make even deeper cuts to state services than Brown proposes. The LAO says that Brown appears to be overestimating the amount of tax revenue from capital gains income. The governor apparently is relying on a tax revenue windfall from Facebook’s planned stock offering this year, Bloomberg News reports.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Monday Must Read: Occupy Oakland Clashes with Police, Again; Richmond Seeks Tax Settlement Deal with Chevron
Business / Law Enforcement & Crime / Occupy Robert Gammon — Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 6:52 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Occupy Oakland protesters clashed once again with police on Saturday night after some of the demonstrators hurled objects at the officers, prompting a half-dozen arrests, the Trib and Chron report. The demonstrators were protesting police brutality, and some carried signs that read “Fuck the Police.” Protesters also broke police car windows and windows of a Starbucks coffee shop. A video, below, also showed police attacking a woman on a bicycle. Protesters said they plan to hold demonstrations against police once a week.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Thursday Must Read: Homicides in SF Remain Low as Relationship Between Community and Police Improves; Chevron Loses $9.5 Billion Appeal in Ecuador
Business / Law Enforcement & Crime / Environment Robert Gammon — Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 7:00 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Homicides remained at historically low levels last year in San Francisco, providing yet more evidence that violent crime is unrelated to the economy. The Chron reports that there were just fifty homicides in San Francisco, and that rates haven’t been consistently this low since the 1960s. Homicides have plummeted substantially over the past three years despite the Great Recession. Law enforcement officials credit the declines in part to targeting and arresting violent criminals and to witnesses being more cooperative with police, while community groups say that SF cops have greatly improved their relationship with the public. By contrast, in Oakland, where police have a poor record of solving violent crimes and their relationship with the public remains dismal, homicides increased last year to 103 compared to 90 in 2010.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Tuesday Must Read: Cities Push for Redevelopment Compromise; Bay Area Home Values Dropped by $387 Billion
Politics / Business / Environment Robert Gammon — Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 6:56 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. California cities are pushing the legislature to reestablish redevelopment agencies in the state — at least in blighted urban areas and near transit hubs — in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court decision, the LA Times reports. In cities such as Oakland and Los Angeles, which are plagued with areas of intense poverty, officials say redevelopment is essential to revitalization efforts and for affordable housing. Redevelopment, however, had been abused in suburban and wealthy areas where the definition of “blight” expanded to include tony shopping districts. It’s also unclear whether Governor Brown will sign any legislation that brings back redevelopment in urban areas.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday Must Read: Giants to A’s: Not So Fast; California Lowers Prison Population
Politics / Business / Sports Robert Gammon — Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 6:50 AM
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. One of the owners of the San Francisco Giants said that the team will fight to block the Oakland A’s planned move to San Jose, the Chron reports. In addition, Peter Magowan, who is also the Giants former managing partner, said he does not believe that baseball commissioner Bud Selig will go back on his word and allow the A’s to go to San Jose. Selig has repeatedly said that the Giants own the territorial rights to the South Bay and that no other team can infringe on them. Rumors that Major League Baseball was ready to approve the A’s move also appear to be untrue. The issue is not even on the baseball owners’ meeting agenda next month. And A’s co-owner Lew Wolff disavowed a recent San Jose Mercury News report that said he was “confident” that MLB would approve the San Jose move, telling the Chron he didn’t know where that story came from.
