Councilman Shields's municipal drilling ban passed preliminarily and resoundingly, with even Councilman Dowd acquiescing with great trepidation and concern; and Mayor Ravenstahl's approach to the pension problem took another seeming body blow when a measure to renegotiate his lease deal morphed into a measure to further along a transfer of assets to the Parking Authority necessary to Council's competing retention-and-borrowing plan. I posted some impressions on that down here but am opening it up because I feel less certain than usual over what is afoot.
Hey if this is an open thread, can I mention how nice it is that Matt H quit blogging?
ReplyDeleteDuring the council meeting today it sounded like Luke was planning to use our surplus to retire old pension bonds rather than putting it into the pension fund. Wouldn't that throw a wrench into the Peduto plan?
ReplyDeleteDid you not like his anti-Luke posts?
ReplyDeleteIf this is really an open thread, "I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear."
ReplyDeleteFirst, if you want to ride your bike to Pitt, great. If you want to ride part of the way on the sidewalk, I don't blame you as there are stretches where your safety would seem to require it. But, if you are behind a pedestrian and passing at speed, get a stupid bell or give a loud shout. The same traffic that drove you to the sidewalk means I can’t hear you say “excuse me” in a whisper. The next cyclist who blasts by my ear at 15 mph on the sidewalk gets an umbrella thrown at them.
ReplyDeleteSecond, if you feel you need to bring a laptop and fifteen books to class each day, a backpack is helpful. But, when the 61c is crowded and you are edging down the aisle, you really need to take the backpack off and carry it by hand to avoid smacking the other passengers.
ReplyDeleteWhat's word on Onorato? Will he run again and who runs if Onorato's out?
ReplyDeleteAlso, was this just what it looked like (entitled asses throwing a fit) or was there a point.
ReplyDeleteSorry MH, I am one of those kids on the 61c, and the various other Oakland buses. I can't wait until the day where more academic materials are electronic.
ReplyDeleteTo those of you who have asked questions here, I don't know. I think Matt H only writes legislation now.
ReplyDeleteThere is a meeting of the ICA on Monday, when the Ravenstal-Peduto budget will be rejected, possibly among other things. Do you think they are empowered to just ask for a copy of the Lease agreement and be like, "Here, we can sign that.". If I were a member of Lazowski Morgan Draper Price, it would be occuring to me I have been lobbying the wrong body up until this time.
Actually, considering the state of our, um, government, it might be nice if our financial oversight boards were to spring heroically into collaborative, proper, pro-active action somehow. PMRS made it extremely clear they are not about to be our consultant.
Do you think they are empowered to just ask for a copy of the Lease agreement and be like, "Here, we can sign that.
ReplyDeleteThe ICA can not force us to sell public assets unless we enter bankruptcy. The answer to your question is No.
TED:
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!!!
Good to know.
We'll just wait for the state who does have the authority to do it for us.
Third, South Oakland doesn't need to be covered in trash.
ReplyDeleteI know this is the wrong blog, but what was the motive behind ranking Dems refusing to do anything until the session is up?
ReplyDeleteOf the high-ranking ones, one is retiring and the other was defeated. I imagined they wanted to stick the incoming Republicans with a nice backlog of problems and see how much they enjoy it.
ReplyDelete"This was part of Councilman Peduto's (pension) plan," mayoral spokeswoman Joanna Doven responded. "In the spirit of cooperation, we included it in the budget and are glad he is willing to be charged with carrying through on his proposal."
ReplyDeleteTypical Ravenstahl.
"I'd love to have some discovery here," too.
ReplyDeleteI found Matt H here: ...we went in and were met by a wall of stench and filth.
ReplyDeleteMH - Wow. I had heard it was tough working for Bruce, but jeez.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I even saw that. I rarely read that blog and I certainly wouldn't have caught the name if I hadn't read it above.
ReplyDelete