Oakland News Now Daily Jan 15 2023: Oakland Flooding, Can Sheng Thao Lead?
This is the first edition of what is a daily video-blog in the tradition of Rocketboom and called Oakland News Now Daily with some Herb Caen mixed in. What's Rocketboom? It was a three-to-five minute video-blog series that launched in 2005 and posted once a week featuring whatever news its creators Amanda Congdon and Andrew Michael Barron believed was important. It was the first of its kind and marked the emergence of video-blogging, or what we now call vlogging as an industry. Now if you have to ask who Herb Caen is, or was, that's too bad, but understandable given the passage of time. Herb Caen was the main daily columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, and famous for a form of writing he created called “three dot journalism”. Each “item” was typed below three dots. Anyway, by the time I was old enough to be aware of him, which was 1976 in Oakland, a mention in Mr. Caen's column meant you were doing something good, bad, funny, or just interesting. Later, like around the So, in honor of that style, I'll preface each part of Oakland News Now Daily with one simple word: item. ITEM Zennie Abraham is a blogger, not a journalist. In other words, I'm not the arbiter of all truth, and I come with an expressed bias and a bite. Plus, I change my mind from time to time, and I'll let you know why. I also hate labels like “conservative” “liberal” and “progressive” and I have noticed that the decline of American society has been in direct proportion to the need for one to idenfity themselves as “conservative” “liberal” or “progressive”, rather than have an original thought. ITEM Oakland flooding has caused the closure of the Oakland ZOO, a number of streets to be underwater, and all together a lot of damage, but is anyone with the City of Oakland recording the problem? Where's Sheng Thao other than standing behind a screen in the emergency services room for a photo op? Is there a City of Oakland “Oakland Flood” website where Oaklanders can report problems and get help? Sure, there's 311, and the normal “report problems” place, but given the magnitude of the storm, don't you think something specific is needed? Oh, and what about employing tax increment financing to get some money in Oakland to help folks fix the Oakland Flood problems? Mayor Thao was big on talking about it during the campaign, but now that she's Mayor of Oakland, she's gone silent. ITEM Will Mayor Sheng Thao's partner and from my personal experience all-around good guy Andre remember not to yell at the Mayor out loud in front of people in public – or in private? ITEM A parking ticket in Oakland is north of $100 now. That's a good percentage of someone's grocery money – like all of it. Can't the City drop the ticket fee by 50 percent and not gouge folks? ITEM In her Inauguration Speech, Oakland Mayor Thao mentioned Oakland in the 1920s as if our city was the seat of all racism. Obviously Sheng never heard of Oakland resident Earl Warren, who, as Alameda County District Attorney in 1930, demolished the local KKK. Oakland's current reputation as a true place for people of all colors didn't happen overnight – it was built by people like Earl Warren. Mayor Thao, know your Oakland history. Oh, and yeah, Earl Warren was later appointed to the Supreme Court. ITEM Yes, as I vlog this, I'm in Fayette County, Georgia, helping my 88-year-old Mom while still keeping my place in Oakland (no mean trick) and once again, North Georgia has been haunted by tornados. Mom and I are safe, but the folks who need help are the ones who lost their entire homes last week. Folks like Valerie Joslin – she and her husband lost their home of 20 years. So, if you're able, go to GoFundMe.com, search “Georgia tornado” and help out. ITEM The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to recount the votes cast in the November 8th Election. Fine, but when does the recount process starts? And what happens if Loren Taylor wins? I'm told he would have to go to court to get Sheng, as they say, “up out of that seat” - and she would certainly file a legal challenge to that. Would they get a judge who didn't vote for one or the other? What a mess. ITEM Oakland Raiders Owner and once Oaklander Mark Davis said that he's upset that the crowds at Allegiant Stadium are mostly dressed in the colors of the opposing team, like the Kansas City Chiefs, and remarked that it's not like it was in Oakland. Did Mark Davis just sound the call for The Raiders eventual return to Oakland? So, if you like this format, let me know at zennie@zennie62media.net or drop a tip for Zennie62Media, Inc, as if the company employs this piano player at your favorite bar, like the Alley Cat at 3325 Grand Avenue – my place. Tips here: https://ift.tt/JowfiDF And if you have a news item, let me know at zennie@zennie62media.net Stay tuned, thanks, and see you tomorrow.
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN61hv_ew3g
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