Just The News

How The Budget Pit Feels

On Monday eve, we were able to hear about Oakland’s budget from one City Hall insider.  Oakland’s budget director, Cheryl Taylor, patiently reviewed the major points of the general purposed fund by department – and what’s left for the waning 2009-2010 fiscal year.

To us, it felt like a mining pit.  We’re already digging below ground level, with different parts of the budget carved from the earth and given away.  And at some point, we stop seeing any ground beneath our collective feet.  Nice metaphor, we think.

Although seemingly untenable, there must be another $10.5 million saved before this year’s over.  At least Director Taylor was clear about the challenges.   If we understood correctly, then only 12 percent of the general funds are even available.  Plus only a portion of that $52 million is game since we’re well into the fiscal year.

Taylor put things in perspective when recalling Oakland’s boom and bust cycle.  A while ago, we used to have “three people to do one job,” she explained.  “Now there’s one person to do three jobs.”  It’s not easy to figure out how to save and simultaneously maintain government services.

The Monday meeting enabled civilians like us to suggest or react to possibilities.  No one was crying “save my piece of the pie” here.  Instead, people were soberly considering how public safety or other services might be severed during the recession.

Beyond this fiscal year, there were very interesting rays of hope.  One idea was that work currently done by sworn officers might be civilianized.  Another suggestion was to dive into all the suppliers and contracts again, given these economic times.  And privatizing several city services or resources was raised as well.

However, the task at hand was solvency today.  Make Oakland Better Now!, a citizen initiative, organized this week’s meeting to identify and assess what could be done right now.  After all, the  City Council will be forced to find the remaining millions soon – and we might as well offer our two cents.

Blair Park Leaves The Neighborhood

Did you catch the CBS-5 news last night?  Our Blair Park conservation vs. development concerns are no longer hyper-local, as they made the early TV newscasts.

First, the Friends of Moraga Canyon’s Sandra Pohutsky and Peggy Esposito appeared on air.  “I agree more soccer fields are needed,” declared Esposito.  “It’s a wildlife corridor, so you are destroying a lot to appease the soccer clubs.”  The Moraga Avenue traffic problems were discussed as well.

Then Steve Schiller, past president of the Piedmont Soccer Club,  explained that 1,200 Piedmont kids play soccer and “there isn’t any other space in Piedmont.”  The plans for two soccer fields, snack bar, overhead crosswalk and parking lot were mentioned in the newscasts.

In coming months, there will be environmental and other reviews by the City of Piedmont.  Oakland has officially submitted their concerns, with our city bordering the potential project.  Of course, sports field development is hardly a fait accompli.

From this TV coverage, we suppose that Bay Area viewers understood the classic conflict and little else.  This report merely wrapped up with a “stay tuned,” as Piedmont’s review process plays out.

The Rest Of The Bunny Story

As an unadulterated example of neighborly cooperation, the bunny story ranks up there.  A few days ago, the wires (and wireless) heated up over bunny sightings in Montclair.

Saving Multiple Bunnies

Yet Merriewood residents were getting a little confused, as they tried to solve the growing mystery.  At first there was one bunny, and then another.  One wrangler tried to straighten out all the cross-communications:

  • Some of you (email addresses hidden) HAVE a lost bunny.
  • Some of you have recently SEEN a lost bunny.
  • Some of you are just INTERESTED in lost bunnies?!

Montclarions jumped on the bandwagon because it was a quiet year-end.  Everyone was at home, and seemingly online too.  Two neighbors stepped up to the challenge, capturing and holding both bunnies safely.  We wondered about returning these bunnies to their rightful owner.

The Rest Of The Story

As Paul Harvey (R.I.P.) used to say:  and now, the rest of the story.

Montclarion Paula Moseley was the erstwhile bunny owner, having taken in several bunnies only a week earlier.  She shared her simple story of compassion:

I have only had the bunnies since December 22, when I was at the Oakland Animal Shelter and was waiting with a young woman who was going to turn in the bunnies.  She had already checked with San Leandro Shelter and they couldn’t take them.   She was concerned that Oakland would not take them either.  She had only gotten them that day when she met a man who found them in a box in the woods.  The young woman is a college student and had no place to keep them.

I said that I would take them since I have a large yard with a dog run.  Unfortunately the dwarf bunnies were small enough to hop through the wires, before I could reinforce it with chicken wire.  But they seemed to enjoy being in the yard and might keep to that area.  Not so.

They have explored the whole neighborhood munching all the way.  I have recovered the two younger bunnies but the larger one may still be at large.  I attempted to catch her on New Year’s Eve; I could be a foot from her but if I tried to restrain her, she hopped away.

At this point, there’s both good and bad news to report.  One bunny’s still at large.  One bunny’s been adopted.  And there are two more ready for homes.  Please reach Paula (baxterblanco-at-gmail.com) if you would like a bunny or find one running around your yard!

We mostly appreciated the whole show of compassion, with so many people helping these bunnies.  It’s a parable about how to treat fellow humans, not really a story about bunnies at all.

Get Cracking About 1-2-3 Choices

The Oakland City Council has now green-lighted ranked choice voting for November’s election, based on a vote of six aye’s and two nay’s.  That means four years will have transpired between voter approval and implementation, as the wheels of democracy turn slowly between the state and city.

What is this kind of voting?  Well, it’s a ballot that enables voters to select their first, second and third choices.  It’s a procedure which eliminates primaries and opens up the candidate pool as well.  Try out this San Francisco educational demo here.

Oaklanders Voted For Ranked Choice

Some 69 percent of voters approved Measure O to alter and consolidate our local election cycle, back in 2006.  The Secretary of State finally authorized the change in December, and the Council’s blessed things tonight.  To remind everyone, here’s what voters approved:

This proposed Charter amendment would require the City to use a ranked choice voting method, known sometimes as instant runoff voting, to elect the offices of Mayor, Council, City Attorney, City Auditor and Board of Education at November general elections, which would eliminate June primary elections for these offices.

Tonight’s Discussion and Vote

We watched many citizens address the City Council, often representing groups concerned about voter education and outreach.  The League of Women Voters’ president stepped up the podium and declared that “we’re prepared together with all the other community-based groups.”

Council members also took their time sharing views about voter turnout.  Their discussion then touched on the direct, unbudgeted costs to switch over:  it could run $1.5 million, or less when (most likely) shared with other Alameda County cities, namely Berkeley and San Leandro.

After all was said and done, the Council acknowledged many more voters would turn out in November rather than June – and that would make a big difference in voting outcomes.  Council members knew they needed to support the voter mandate too.

A Bigger, Welcoming Tent

We listened closely to the City Council members, and their comments reflected the need to create a bigger, welcoming tent filled with candidates and voters.  The voting change allowed them to get on soapboxes.

Rep Nancy Nadel explained “it’s less expensive for the candidate, and that’s when you get real grass-roots policy makers coming forward.”  Our rep, Jean Quan, supported the power of coalitions and said the upcoming election must “have the most amount of people involved, of all kinds.”

Rep Desley Brooks focused on voter engagement.  “It is true that November elections have more people who participate,” said Brooks, but “that’s not because of ranked choice voting.”  Rep Rebecca Kaplan sought additional outreach efforts, perhaps by redirecting Oakland’s matching grant money to groups like the NAACP, Unity Council, or Oakland Rising.

All things return to Oakland’s budget deficit, currently pegged at around $12 million or so.  Reps Ignacio De La Fuente and Jane Brunner wanted to understand any incremental costs, this year.  As a voter mandate, the switch would come down to making other trade-offs and cuts soon – always about the money.

More info:  RCV Status Report – De La Fuente Letter – Voter Mandate Recap

Have You Lost A Pet Bunny?

On a kinder and gentler note for year-end, some Montclarions began spotting a domesticated bunny around the Merriewood area yesterday.

The bunny rabbit was friendly and well-acculturated to humans.  One neighbor even had sufficient time to take a picture this afternoon – and you can see the cutie comes from central casting.

So we believe that someone nearby has lost their bunny!  At this point, there’s been a missive placed on Craigslist, but some additional bull-horning might help the cause:

This little guy showed up in our front yard about a half hour ago.  The bunny is very friendly and calm, and ate a carrot and had some water.  If it’s yours, or if you know who it belongs to, please let us know. We live in the Merriewood area of Montclair.

Email:  comm-rhm73-1532341094@craigslist.org

We hope this bunny finds its way back home, for the New Year.

January 3rd Update:  The bunny alert has worked!  Two friendly bunnies were found and taken into foster care, on Merriewood and Nottingham.  The owner of the bunnies was identified, and lives on Valley View.  We believe that foster parents are connecting with said owner this afternoon.  All is well in the world.