Our Opinions

Where Was The Tribune Report?

While I enjoy the Oakland Tribune, something happened today that made me really sad:  zero mention about a new candidate for the Oakland mayoral race next year.  This little news item was published by the San Francisco Chronicle instead.

According to the Chronicle, Robert Bobb will join the mayoral candidate race.  After serving for many years as Oakland city administrator, Bobb threw his hat into the ring and plans to return home from his temporary Detroit gig.

Now there are three unofficial candidates counting Jean Quan, our Montclair-Laurel city council rep;  presumed front-runner Don Perata, the former state senator; and newest arrival Bob Bobb.  Most Oaklanders assume that current Mayor Ron Dellums will retire after his single term in office.

Tribune Mirror Reflections

Back to the Oakland Tribune’s miss, though. It’s one thing to drop extra or non-essential coverage.  Or forego unaffordable investigations, Pulitzer prizes be damned.  (Though I felt that State of Play, the new flick featuring Russell Crowe as the investigative journalist, was bittersweet.)

When city news isn’t broken by Oakland’s official paper of record, that’s quite noticeable to locals.  Although the Tribune was scooped by the City across the Bay’s gumshoe, you would think the item warranted some mention today.  We figure it will get printed tomorrow.

In the meantime, let’s take a moment here and shake our heads…no, no, no.

Play With Oakland Budget Challenge

Worth your time!  Take a few minutes and play with the Oakland Budget Challenge model, available online.  Through this model, you are able to make high-level cuts in department spending or select ways to increase tax revenues.

To close the $70.8 million budget gap in 2009-2010, you could maximize the choices and end up with a $3.1 million surplus.  Throw in the voter-approved increase in sales tax, however, and you see another $8 or $16 million surplus.  We wish it were that easy.

Oakland - Maxed Model

Some of the options don’t feel realistic, especially cuts to essential police or fire protection.  Yes, it’s possible to save $20 million here or there…but we think this feels like a Hobson’s choice:

Hobson’s choice (noun) – the choice of taking either that which is offered or nothing; the absence of a real alternative.  Origin:  1640-50; after Thomas Hobson (1544-1631), of Cambridge, England, who rented horses and gave his customer only one choice, that of the horse nearest the stable door.  (Random House)

We like the educational benefits. The budget model is a fun tool that’s simple to use.  You put in your preferences and see the gap closing along the way.  When you go back to change options, the differences are shown as well.

When complete, you see overall gap closure, major areas versus your plan, and even pie chart allocations.  I think all civic-minded Montclarions should try this model – and even your high school kids would learn something here.

Yet decisions are more difficult. By definition, this model is only a representation of Oakland’s budget challenges.  The choices are real, and decisions must be made by the City Council right now.

We wonder what’s underneath the hood overall, from line item expenses to cash flows.  Where are the cuts related to compensation, travel, health, profit sharing (pension) and other cross-departmental expenses?  How do the different departments compare, when looking at their expense mixes?

We know that a single model can’t do everything, and it needs to be simple for constituent appeal.  We hope the City Council representatives dive into the numbers a bit more thoroughly – it’s hard to tell from this far away.

Never Mind, Stop Conserving Water

What, stop conserving water in drought-laden California?   That’s one new and surprising message we heard today from our water utility.  Apparently, East Bay residents saved too much water this past fiscal year, and the East Bay Municipal Water District (EBMUD) revenues dropped…well, yeah.

Earlier today the EBMUD Board of Directors voted unanimously to end water rationing, although 20,000 acre-feet were actually saved.  “We would like to thank our customers for cutting back,” said EBMUD spokesman Charles Hardy.

Water Sprinkler

Yes, you read this correctly!  Their solution is to thank us for our efforts over the past year, and stop rationing by July 1st.  In its place, EBMUD plans to raise rates for all customers 7.5 percent on that day and then tack on another 7.5 percent next year.

It’s been a year since we were told to turn off the spigots and sprinklers, and reduce water usage or pay the fines.  Thus we embraced the go-green mentality and urged our neighbors to conserve water.  Besides, this conservation ethic seemed like the righteous thing to do.

Now the EBMUD directors have figured out that conservation wasn’t their only goal, as solvency mattered more.  We can hear their green eye-shaders explaining that higher rates will work well based on current water consumption levels.  Plus customers will act rationally and conserve water because the rates are rising.  And if some folks want to use more water, we make more shekels.  Got it?

Tough To Enforce Leash Laws

You may experience the Dog Wars in Montclair, simply by wandering the streets and local paths.  In one camp, there are people who want dogs to be leashed.  In another camp, there are owners who want their dogs to run free.

Most of the time, there’s detente because Oakland already has leash laws.  Some city parks allow leashed dogs, and a few have controlled and fenced areas to unleash dogs.  On the surface, we have a well-organized and civilized way of keeping both camps happy.

Dogs On Leash

Dog Bites Woman

However, some dog owners are blithely ignoring the rules of order.  Last week, there was a stellar example of dog-bites-woman on the Shepherd Canyon path.  One runner reported she had been bitten three times by a white-coated dog – and twice during a single day!

This dog owner “refuses to put the dog on a leash and does not respond to my request to be a responsible pet owner,” explained the victim.  “I would hate for other runners, children or casual walkers to experience what I have over the past several weeks.”

Ranger Rescue

While details have been reported to the Oakland Police Department, this is hardly high on their list of priorities.  It used to fall to the Oakland Rangers, who are now an endangered species.  Ranger Kent McNab still responded to this latest victim and to locals:

Message to Victim:

If you see her [the dog owner] again, please call the Park Rangers directly at 482-7888, and we will try to contact her.

Although there are only two rangers now, and we only work 10am – 6pm Wednesdays – Sundays, we can usually respond much quicker than a police officer during those hours.

Message to Locals:

With only two rangers left for over 150 parks, we try to patrol the trail a couple of times a week.  Most of the things we do now are reactive, based on calls from citizens.

After 6pm and on Mondays, Tuesdays, and holidays, when there are no rangers, call the police non-emergency line [777-3333] and they will stack the call for the beat officer.

Ticketing Violators

Montclarion Robert Scribner believes the Shepherd Canyon path dog-attacks are not an anomaly.  “It is a matter of complete disdain for the law and the rights of others. I have witnessed and personally experienced several incidents like this one.”

During prime-time dog walking hours, around 7:30am weekdays, Scribner recommends that rangers set up shop and issue tickets to all owners of unleashed dogs running up the Shepherd path.

We noticed the rangers aren’t on duty then, but believe there are practical solutions like switching ranger hours, having rangers work a little overtime, or making this path a patrol priority for Oakland police.

Dog Wars Detente

Well there should be detente between the two camps, because there’s room for co-existence.  The leashed camp seeks safe passage along the Shepherd path, whether for runners or families.  Let’s see if the laws can be enforced now.

All is not lost for the unleashed camp, who already use dog runs or visit more welcoming spots.  While this requires a quick drive uphill, owners happily take their off-leash pooches on endless Sibley, Huckleberry or Redwood Park trails.

It’s disappointing that the Shepherd path skirmishes are happening, as it points to a lack of civility.  What’s with these dog owners, who simply refuse to follow a few simple laws?  Anyway, we hope that detente is restored in our local Dog Wars, because we have bigger things to worry about.

Update: “The matter of dogs being walked without leashes, and the alleged woman with the dog that has bitten residents, is on MSIC’s radar screen,” said Nick Vigilante.  Anyone with info about this offending dog owner may write Nick at nvigilante-at-msn.com, and your identity will remain confidential.

Oakland’s 13th Worst In Crime

Oakland does have high crime rates, when you look at both violent and non-violent crimes.  According to the MetroCrime 2008 Rankings, Oakland came in 13th worst out of 388 U.S. metro areas.

The CQ Press produces their rankings based on FBI crime statistics for six crimes:  murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.

Unlucky 13

For each crime type, CQ calculates the number of local crimes/100,000 population as well as variances vs. national averages.  Then CQ adds these six variances together to issue the metro results.

We’re not saying that violent crimes aren’t important.  However burglaries and motor vehicle thefts also contribute to quality of life, and should be included when assessing Oakland’s crime issues.

With this 13th ranking given to Oakland, we don’t have much farther to fall…sigh.