Comment Archives: Stories: Last 30 Days
Re: “CEQA Reform Bill Is Too Modest”
Developers, WalMart, and the SF Bicycle Coalition think CEQA needs to be "reformed." See a pattern there? They just want their projects to sail through the process unhindered by any pesky environmental review on the impacts. Still waiting for the author to tell us who he was quoting with "too much traffic" and "enough parking" quotations.
Re: “Are More Cops the Answer?”
Justin,
The number of police officers Oakland currently has is reflective of the incredibly expensive police union contract -- not a political philosophy that's anti-policing. If Oakland cops got the same salary and benefits as those in comparable cities nationwide, Oakland would have far more officers than it has now -- without having to spend any more money. In fact, when comparing Oakland to other similar cities, Oakland already spends more on policing than they do.
From this perspective, and from the perspective of the IBM study and others, Oakland may be already spending too much on police and not enough on other public-service programs that could help close the steep inequality gap in the city, and thereby have a greater impact on crime.
It's worth repeating, more than 40 percent of Oakland's general fund already goes to police, and Quan and Santana want to increase new spending to above 50 percent. Make Oakland Better Now! wants to go even higher. If that were to happen, Oakland would basically become a city with cops and not much money for anything else. According to research cited in this report, that's a bad idea.
Re: “Two East Bay Barbecue Joints Where Side Dishes Are the Main Attraction”
Hello, everybody (readers):
My granddaughter is an employee of this community located restaurant. By-the-way...you have just got to eat that BBQ!!
My granddaughter, Lady Shay, sometimes work the cash register for the owner, Tina, SMOKE BERKELEY (did I say YUMMY). I'd like to add Lady Shay's bio to Luke Tsai one sided (poor journalism method) reporting.
Lady Shay grew up in Oakland, California. She attended private school most of her life graduating from a private Seventh Day Adventist School in Oakland Hills (8th) grade moving on to San Lorenzo High. At sixteen she graduated from high school then entered Texas Southern University at the age of 16 years old.
Lady Shay discovered THE BREAD PROJECT after realizing her inner self. She changed her occupation and turned to becoming a Chef. While researching options to the tuition that Le Gordon Blue, San Francisco, CA., charged her fortune lay before her in another "dress", she graduated from THE BREAD PROJECT and became its' CAFE MANAGER.
While looking for a second job (economics--Bush economics), Lady Shay found SMOKE BERKELEY. What good fortune.
Perhaps Mr. Luke Tsai meant well but who wants to read the mind of a journalist when we're supposed to read his written words?
Do a better job, LUKE. Did you interview any employees? You've made my granddaughter's impression dwindle!
HOWEVER, hey!! Let's give Ms. Tina over at SMOKE BERKELEY a shout out. Run over (yes, run) today. Get that meal you've always dreamed about coming straight outta TEXAS.
And that's where I'm from. HOUSTON, TEXAS.
ms. akilah mohammed
Re: “Are More Cops the Answer?”
Haven't we already been implementing a public safety strategy that relies on a very very small number of police officers? For those who don't want lots of cops, this is your Golden Age!
Re: “Are More Cops the Answer?”
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Re: “Are More Cops the Answer?”
There's a lot wrong with this article, but the statement about findings from the IBM study strikes me as very true:
"Up to a certain point, hiring more cops might help reduce crime, but above a certain point, the returns — the crime rate — simply don't change, the authors found."
Well by any conceivable measure, the number of Oakland cops is well below that threshold. We can start talking about "more cops not being the solution to the crime problem" when the crime problem is not at absurdly high levels.
Re: “Letters for the Week of May 15, 2013”
Thanks to Ms. Boyd for her contributions to accuracy, however deaf the ears on which they fall.
Re: “The A's Belong in Oakland”
agreed, but they really should be downtown on the waterfront.
Re: “Are More Cops the Answer?”
Fascinating that the union that is directly competing with police for money thinks the police department should continue to shrink as crime escalates. How persuasive!
Re: “Are More Cops the Answer?”
More officers are definitely the answer for Oakland.
No one disputes that crime has many causes, and that economics especially has a lot to do with it. General truisms do not change the fact that Oakland police are seriously understaffed by any reasonable comparison. The Oakland poverty rate is typically much lower - yes, lower - than in most violent cities.
See orpn.org for the facts.
Jean Quan has relentlessly driven down OPD officer staffing, and now Oakland is number one in the country for robberies.
Re: “CEQA Reform Bill Is Too Modest”
Keep Gammon away from that Koolaid! Can he provide cites to any "current research on climate change" which proves that building apartments will prevent people from buying homes in the suburbs? Can he tell us exactly which "research shows that residents of Manhattan have a much smaller carbon footprint than the average American?" Does this include the second and third homes of the increasingly 1% Manhattanites? Making our cities unpleasant, cutting off light and air and paving over open space, will just drive people, especially those who have families, farther out. Jerry Brown's original plan to gut CEQA has been opposed by both labor and environmentalists, and Steinberg's version is almost as bad.
Re: “The Anti-Rapture”
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Re: “Sean Whent Appears to be the Right Choice to Lead OPD”
I probably like Sean Whent more than most people with an OPD background. I have had a lot of conversations with him over the years and I believe that he is a fundamentally good person with good intentions. I think he is better than people realize and I hope that he will surprise some people. He is certainly an upgrade over Tucker, Batts, Jordan & Toribio.
Re: “New Michigan Law Would Keep Kids Out of Drug Stings”
The Police involved in this activity should be brought up on charges of murder. They are directly responsible for the deaths of these children and adults whom they put in extreme danger. And I know they don't care about the people they put in danger. They only care about their career advancement.
Re: “The New Real Estate Boom Is in Short Sales”
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Re: “Sean Whent Appears to be the Right Choice to Lead OPD”
OpD now run by "went outlaw"?
Re: “Debtor's Purgatory”
This article about the attempts of unrepresented debtors to get legal justice highlights the tragic futility of individual responses to systemic abuses. Strike Debt Bay Area is beginning to organize people to respond collectively to all forms of debt—including medical, student, mortgage and credit card debt as well as auto, pay day and other loans. We are breaking down the shame, fear and isolation associated with debt and developing ways to support each other to negotiate fairer financial arrangements. We are also interested in combating the use of debt against public agencies which face exorbitant interest rates from financiers--money which is ultimately paid by all taxpayers.
The second Bay Area Debtors’ Assembly will be held on Saturday, May 18, from 2 to 5 pm at the Unite Here union hall, 209 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco. The Debtors' Assembly is a chance to talk with other people, sharing personal experiences and developing ideas for collective action in response to debt. The assembly will also include an introduction to the Strike Debt movement and a presentation putting personal and municipal debt into the context of modern capitalism. For more information go to strike-debt-bay-area.tumblr.com. We welcome anyone affected by debt or concerned about the impact of debt to attend the assembly or contact us at strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com.
Another resource is the Debt Resistors’ Operations Manual, which is available on line at strikedebt.org. This publication from New York Strike Debt provides suggestions for individuals to contest debt along with analysis of the economic system promoting debt.
Re: “It's Time for the Union Fighting to Stop”
If Kaiser members were persuaded by CNA/NUHW's claim that SEIU-UHW is moving forward as a Union which does the bosses' bidding, and if their readings of the plain language of their last two contracts have been full of concessions, then our Kaiser Service and Tech members would not have turned out to vote to ratify the contracts in record numbers, and they would have voted to leave SEIU. They did not. They are simply unpersuaded by NUHW's "facts".
Before I came on as a staff member of SEIU-UHW, I was a rank-and-file member at Eden Medical Center, where I worked for 25 years and organized my Clerical residual unit into the Union. The training and development I gained as a trade Unionist under the Rosselli-led Local was tremendous. The people leading NUHW are skilled organizers and they wish to help workers. I have zero doubt about that.
Unfortunately, they have lost their perspective and vision. Organizing the organized will not move the labor movement forward. The vast majority of health care workers at hospitals and convalescents in California have no Union. Those caregivers need organizing help to increase their compensation and advocate for better patient care quality and safer working conditions. For these workers, CNA-NUHW has very few answers.
The vast, vast majority of NUHW's organizing has been in attempts to raid SEIU health care worker bargaining units in California. They have attempted to take members from multiple SEIU public sector Unions in addition to their lengthy battles with caregivers represented by UHW. These fights have borne little fruit, and NUHW has not achieved higher standards in the contracts they have managed to settle. And, of course, they have been in negotiations with Kaiser for many years and have been unable to negotiate a contract for any of their bargaining units.
I'm glad that the current SEIU International leadership has steered away from the strategies at the end of Andy Stern's leadership, most notably ending the attempt to organize Unite HERE members and keeping UHW Homecare workers in their Union. The current elected SEIU-UHW President, Dave Regan, was among the International Executive Board members who organized against Anna Berger, Stern's preferred successor, and helped elect Mary Kay Henry as the current SEIU International President.
I think of the leaders who came up with a brilliant set of strategies to win our Sutter Health fights, facility by facility, in 2005 and 2006. I have been sorely disappointed by the direction they have taken their supporters since that time.
Re: “A Little Dab Could Doom Ya”
Straight from the opinion:
"Section 11358, in contrast, could potentially apply to any number of possible
alternative methods for producing concentrated cannabis. Prosecution under section
11358 would be appropriate, for example, if the resin was physically extracted from the
marijuana plant through pressure, through a screening process, or by using an ice water
method to produce the concentrated cannabis. Similarly, section 11358 would properly
apply to the production of concentrated cannabis if the method used was instead by
leaching the resin from the plant material by dissolving it in a nonchemical lipid
extractor, such as butter."
Section 11358 "Every person who plants, cultivates, harvests, dries, or
processes any marijuana or any part thereof, except as otherwise
provided by law, shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code."
215 patients are exempt from this section that this opinion is designating for other methods that are not butane. It basically states that butane extraction falls under Section 11379.6, making it illegal. And other methods fall under section 11358 which 215 are exempt. So no, people will not start getting arrested for making bubble hash as this opinion clearly just defined it under a law 215 holders are exempt.
yay?!
Re: “Your Teen's Marijuana Counselor Might Be A Convicted Pedophile or Thief — Nobody Checks”
Shame on you California.