Our Opinions

Montclarions’ Entertainment Picks, Survey Here

Let’s have a little fun here, and capture the cultural zeitgeist in Montclair.

Help us discover your favorite singers, actors, flicks, reads, sites and more.  Who or what tops your list this year, this past decade or all time?  Please take this survey.

After you answer these questions, we promise to share results quickly.  You only need to divulge your top entertainment picks, not too tough.  Also we threw in questions about top local eats as well as the years gone by.

Here’s some unsolicited advice to survey-takers.  First remember to respond quickly, because that’s easiest and gets to your heart first.  And also answer honestly:  we think you aren’t telling the truth by listing Foreign Policy as your favorite mag.  Cheers!

The Crystal Ball Wasn’t Too Clear

Exactly 365 days ago, we made official predictions for the coming year.  Apparently the crystal ball we were using wasn’t too clear, especially when looking at Mother Nature’s plans for the Oakland Hills.  We’re happy to report that only three out of ten predictions were sorta true.

Recapping Official Hills Predictions

10 – We experience three 5.0+ quakes but avoid the Big One next year.  While these lesser quakes get covered by CNN, no one mentions them around here.

🙂 No dice.  Let’s not tempt the fates, since the Hayward Fault’s well past its 140-year “Big One” date.

9 – Major rainstorms produce at least ten big mudslides on Skyline Blvd, and ten new palaces are built on the land.

🙂 No dice.  We’re excited the hillsides remain intact, as that’s not a foregone conclusion.  New palaces, built for any reason, are few and far between.

8 – Locals establish “private” public schools, going well beyond funding school libraries and other resources…to paying all teachers too.

🙂 No dice.  As usual, our grade schools get plenty of local support – and the kids are testing very well.

7 – One fast food chain tries to lease space on Park Blvd, but its franchisee slinks away after Glenview neighbors organize a high-profile march to protest the move.

🙂 No dice.  However, Glenview is looking good these days in the restaurant department.

6 – Another fine chocolate shop opens in Montclair, setting up a three-way competition that creates serious strife but no reduced prices at Le Bonbon or XOX Truffles.

😐 No dice.  We’re still happy with having the two chocolate shop options, here in the village.

5 – Just 25% of empty nesters see their kids return home.

😦 Score. The economy’s so bad that all the college grads returned to their nests, trying desperately to find something to do!

4 – Only one percent of us follows the Oakland A’s and Raiders, down from two percent because three players move away from the Hills.

😦 Score. It’s a been quite a year for the hometown teams, whether we’re following their performance or not.  We would miss the Oakland A’s if they actually moved, though.

3 – We arrange a sit-in at Oakland City Hall, inviting a crew of Berkeley professors to occupy the place until there’s a budget and real contingency plans.

😐 No dice.  Yet there’s much hand-wringing and online/blog coverage over shortfalls.  Oaklanders are pinning their hopes on the new police chief and upcoming mayoral election.

2 – The Diablo winds fuel massive fires, which decimate the Hiller area.  Unlike 1991, everyone gives up and donates their ruined properties to the East Bay Regional Park District.

🙂 No dice.  Hey, we’re still here and pleased to report the mellow fire season.  We did keep our fingers crossed on the Orinda fire which was quickly snuffed out.

1 – Zero homicides take place in the Hills, again.

🙂 Score.  This outcome is pretty much a given, but we’ll take a point for our prescience.

Last Push For Holiday Cheer

Santa reports that his Oakland Toy Drive needs a last-minute boost, because he doesn’t have enough toys to deliver next week!  We can help Santa spread more good cheer to needy Oakland kids, by donating new toys or money in the next few days.

Here’s the grim news from Santa’s accountant.  Only 10,000 toys have been donated so far, and another 5,000 are needed to reach last year’s level.  Plus the current dollar donations are $6,000 versus $26,000 last year.  Don’t you think you can help, even a little bit?

There are several drop-off points.  In the hills, unwrapped toys are accepted at Chabot Space & Science Center as well as the Oakland Zoo.  With just a few days left before Xmas, it might be best to make drop-offs down at City Hall – Santa’s central collection and pick-up point.

Or donate money instead. If you are crunched for time, then Santa’s elves will buy toys on your behalf.  Please call 510-777-TOYS and donate some of your hard-earned shekels.  Ho-ho-ho and many thanks.

P.S.  On a related holiday note, our Blogoaksphere’s Holiday Food Drive has succeeded.  While the $1,000 goal was relatively modest (compared to Santa’s toy drive), we’ve exceeded $2,000 as of tonight’s tally.

A Little Computing Money For Cops

Uncle Sam gave a little computing money to Oakland cops this past week.  We’re not going to look this gift horse in the mouth, but understand it triggers the Oakland Police Department to spend more on support costs.  Where are they going to find the bucks?

For a long time, Oaklanders have craved better responsiveness by their police force.  The City just received $1.3 million for CompStat, to track crime patterns more effectively.  On a geographic basis, all the reported activity – like summonses, arrests and crimes – would get closer scrutiny.  This tool and approach ideally helps the force re-set their priorities, at least weekly.

Yet the CompStat funding isn’t nearly enough.  Last January, the IT and Police Departments sent City Administrator Dan Lindheim their CompStat request for $3.3 million start-up and $1.7 million ongoing dollars.

In this request, the former police brass recommended hiring another 15 people to run the works, incurring $105k in startup costs and $1.7 million annually thereafter.  Wow!

The cops also requested $1.8 million for 200 laptops.  These acquisitions translated into $1.1 million in licenses, $240k in wireless fees (two years) and $500k in maintenance (one year).  That’s tough to chew!

We don’t know if all these additional, gold-plated resources are needed or not.  We do know that getting this federal grant isn’t a free ride for the City of Oakland.

More info:   No CompStat for OPD – CompStat Request – Say Hello To My Little Friend – CompStat In Practice

Where The Oakland A’s Belong

Yeah, we think the Oakland A’s belong in Oakland.  The  ballpark should be in a spiffy new Oakland location, and any of the three suggested sites would be just fine for us.

As you likely know, the jury’s out right now.  Major League Commissioner Bud Selig and his committee are busy scratching their heads about the right city and locale.

While we get that decisions revolve around the almighty dollar, we don’t exactly understand what drives this Major League Baseball choice.  So here are a few profound questions and thoughts for Commish Selig:

  • Do you know the way to San Jose? Apparently the A’s co-owner, Lew Wolff, wants to head south.  We don’t know how you feel, but it is definitely too damned hot in San Jose during the summer.  Both players and fans would show up at the ballpark and prepare for a sauna there, ugh.
  • Why give no-mans-land Fremont a chance? We’re not sure if this option is live, as Fremont plans fell apart earlier this year.  The Fremont A’s would counterbalance the NUMMI plant closing news.   Yet it’s tough to understand why you would prefer settling by this, um, highway exit.
  • Why is Oakland there for you? Well, we’re a real place that doesn’t need to offer directions.  (Oakland also has a friendly city theme song, but we digress.)  Jack London Square North seems to be where Tribune survey-takers want to go, so give that serious consideration along with Victory Court and Howard Terminal.

For Oaklanders, it’s easy to take a hometown team for granted.  Let’s make a pact here:  to attend more games in the future.  At this point, we’ll need to sit tight and see how this all plays out – and hope the A’s stay home.

December 12th Update:  Oaklandish is now selling t-shirts declaring “Keep Baseball in Oakland.”  Half the proceeds go to local Little League scholarships, and you may buy one here.