As far as my thoughts of you as a person, I have to say I respect your community involvement; you have been involved for many years -longer than this blog, longer than the 11 years I have lived in Alameda. I enjoyed the conversation we had on Oak St a few months ago. Although I was an hour late getting home, it was worth the conversation. Thanks.

I do value this blog despite the blatant personal attacks and rabid 1-sidedness promoting accelerated development in Alameda, and the attacks on the slow-growth candidates during the last CC elections. Many believe this was the purpose for which the blog was created. In the absence of a more neutral Alameda blog, (I have been meaning to check out the AJ’s new blog) this site sometimes feels like it is worth the effort of expressing my thoughts about what is happening in, or to, our community. Perhaps the perceived value is imaginary - a simple catharsis of offering to an illuminated screen.

On one last note - just remember I never ‘partied’ with you, I’ve no idea if you really drank too much of Kesey’s Kool-Aid in the 60’s & 70’s, nor should it matter. I probably used such a ‘barb’ to point out what I thought of whatever you had said, on what ever the topic was, and I hope there is no lasting offense. In fact I most often admire those with an open mind and expanded horizons. One of my favorite living people to admire is my father-in-law Bob, who has contributed so much to Davis where he has taught for over 40 years. His prior position was at a Saskatchewan Hospital where he was working with Humphrey Osmond and Duncan Blewett and other ‘pioneers’ in the late 50’s and early 60’s. But Dr. Robert Sommer is known for so much more. I know I digress, but it easier than thinking about the school tax.

As the recent substantive thread on “Opt In, Opt Out” proves, what lareundo.com can be and often is “about”, is meaningful and constructive dialogue.

The self serving purpose of this post is to apologize to Lauren for detracting from that higher function by engaging in dog fights using unnecessary personal attacks.

It’s said that a wise person should not burn bridges unless they have first learned to part the waters, and at the moment the water feels up to my neck. With time it may hopefully recede. A relative handful of folks post here, but over time one suspects many silent flies have collected on the walls of laurendo.com. who may fly great distances.

Ultimately I have taken the lower road than David Kirwin when it comes to the base and vulgar, but I would point out one small detail. Over almost two years of reading a huge volume of posts by DK, people have periodically been compelled to post taunts questioning whether he has “gone of his medication again”. Calling somebody a poop-head comes too easily to me, but for what it’s worth taunts like that meds quip are forms of personal attack which are not so tempting.

On a good day I might have good naturedly ignored DK’s taunt about my being delusional from a decades old period of drug abuse, but on a bad day that is so close to home as to invoke a violent reaction. But I take ultimate responsibility for turning up the oven full blast and blowing myself right out of the kitchen.

I also take to heart, Robert’s admonishment to “anachrofella” to “grow up”, because the stakes, both personal and political are too high.

Thanks to Lauren for continuing to lay it all on the line on a daily basis with this forum.

Mark I.

It sound like your disatisfaction is with the west end. Maybe you should have done your homework before you bought. Did you know that most section 8 housing is right near you? That will determine much of economic demographic of your neighborhood. This part of town has always been the non-’chic-chic” part of town BECAUSE IT’S MORE AFFORDABLE. The people who can afford to live in the west end don’t need and can’t afford the crappy yuppie merchants you crave. You want a Rockridge experience at a west end price. You should save your pennies and move there, not try to force people to change their ways to please you.

I’ve seen this same mentality ruin places like point richmond, too. It’s very egocentric to demand that every new locale you move into chanGe to meet YOUR desires. For every person like you who wants to rip Alameda apart, there are a dozen who move here BECAUSE THEY LIKE IT THE WAY IT IS.

Do you have any position on whether we need to address the issue of access to the west end of the island (bridge, tunnel, expanded mass transit) as we address the issue of more houses? And especially before we grant a developer the rights to build more homes without addressing the infrastructure issue of access?

Thanks again for an interesting site!

http://www.alamedahornetsquadron.com/

-Dan

I suppose the hostility I have encountered has made me more prone to jump to conclusions myself, but that doesn’t make it right. Though I may not always succeed, I do try to understand where people are coming from, even when I disagree with them.

For example, although I am not a homeowner, I believe I can understand the concern that homeowners have over their property values. They have invested a great deal of time, money, and emotional energy in their homes, and they naturally want to preserve and protect that investment. This feeling of investment has many positive consequences, for it makes people realize they have a stake in the community and drives them to become more involved in local decision-making processes.

Having said that, though, I have also sat through enough City Council, Planning Board, and Transportation Commission meetings to realize that there is almost always at least one homeowner who objects to each and every project that is ever proposed, ranging from things as small as a hot tub or a bus stop to things as big as a new Target store or the redevelopment of Alameda Point. There does not seem to be anything beneficial or popular enough to overcome all homeowner opposition — no matter what it is, someone thinks it will reduce property values somehow.

As usual in the real world, there is no easy answer here. The interests of some homeowners need to be balanced against the interests of the rest of the community. Neither side is automatically right or automatically wrong. What I resent is being told that we can’t have a discussion about where that balancing point should be, or that my voice doesn’t really count in the discussion because I don’t have “the Background,” as Mr. Roberts and his buddies like to put it.

Anyway, thank you for reminding me not to rush to judgement, and thank you for contributing to a rational discussion of these emotionally charged issues.

But Lauren seems to have taken an attitude she has to deride and change all of the people in Alameda, not just make a constructive contribution to change.