As I reported yesterday for the East Bay Express, David Muhammad, the hugely popular Alameda County chief probation officer, was placed on paid adminsitrative leave. The 38-year-old Muhammad was accused by one of his deputies of sexual harrassment.
Demian Bulwa has the details of the lawsuit in the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Alameda County Waste Management Authority, or their more hipper name, StopWaste.org, approved Wednesday a potentially groundbreaking plastic bag ordinance banning the toxic totes at grocery stores and pharmacies, but it’s likely not the last you will hear about it this year.
Surprisingly, the body didn’t get greedy eating the entire politically-fulfilling pie. Instead, it left a portion for elected officials in a few East Bay cities hoping for a notable and guilty-free portion of a ban wildly popular among residents and environmentalists.
Since San Jose passed a similar ordinance last year, officials in the East Bay could see the tidal wave of plastic bag ordinances careening their way.
Officials in Berkeley are already formulating their own more comprehensive plastic bag ordinance including a ban on bags from retailers, which was notably absent from the County’s ordinance.
Expect at various times this year, for several East Bay cities to take on similar, wider-ranging ordinances, not only for the benefit of shrinking swelling landfills and saving the environment, but for the prime opportunity for local pols to puff their chests and pop their collars.
Here’s a curious post from CSNBayArea.com regarding the A’s lease with the Coliseum ending next year.
Is the City of Oakland playing hardball, the article asks? It also posits Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente may be bluffing with his recent comments on the stadium issue.
De La Fuente told the paper this week that “the A’s have made it absolutely clear the last place they want to be is in Oakland. The city has bent over backward to persuade them to stay. “Sometimes, enough is enough.”
Maybe he means exactly what he means and A’s owner Lew Wolff means what he means when he says Oakland is no longer a viable market for the team.
It also argues De La Fuente and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty might be inclined to keep the A’s in Oakland for political points because both are up for re-election.
That is hardly the case. De La Fuente and, especially Haggerty, are by no means facing any sort of challenge to their respective seats this November.
Richmond is the big winner after UC Berkeley chooses it the future home of a second campus for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The big losers: Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville and Albany.
I made some hay over at the EastBayCitizen about the out of place three-piece suit worn by new city manager of San Leandro, Chris Zapata, during his first appearance Tuesday night at City Hall.
When applied to a politician, though, the somewhat archaic threads conjures up just one image: Tammany Hall’s Boss Tweed.
But, it also reminded me that another local politician enjoys the grandeur of the three-piece—the irascible Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty (pictured above).
Observations + musings about East Bay politics + media.
