Not her first rodeo

So for a bit of a chuckle, I found this on candidate Trish Spencer’s campaign filing from her 2018 Mayoral election run:

In probably the most puzzling #alamtg campaign contribution I’ve ever seen. From Trish Spencer’s 2018 Mayor run: pic.twitter.com/e5K3eZ0inP

— Lauren Do (@laurendo) July 30, 2020

Yes, you read that right.  Trish Spencer took money from Scotts Miracle Gro PAC.  Scotts. Miracle. Gro.  It’s not clear why but it’s definitely in the category of strange and unusual.

But what’s it’s the chuckle-y is what wasn’t found in the campaign filing database maintained by the City Clerk’s office.  That is Trish Spencer’s semi-annual campaign filings for her 2018 re-election campaign.   You see, if you still have money left in your campaign coffers you still need to file reports.

Can’t be bothered now

Just in case you weren’t quite positive if the language you are using to cape for A/26 is problematic and dogwhistle-y.   The answer is, “yes”:

If your talking points sound anything like this, maybe you want to rethink your position on the importance of keeping A/26 in Alameda’s charter.

The seeker

The other day, true to form, Councilmember Tony Daysog lobbed a topical grenade into various Alameda groups and then refuse to engage in a debate about what he posted which included two letters to the editor hugging tight to the need for A/26 to protect Victorian homes.

Of course, we all know that there are many other, stronger, policies in place that currently protect old “vintage” homes.  City staff put together a handy-dandy guide earlier this year but the main protection in Alameda is the Historic Preservation Ordinance which also created the Historic Advisory Board which created a first wall of protection over any structure built before 1942 and further protections for any structure designated a historic monument.

Then in response to a blast from the past capture I posted on Twitter, Tony Daysog posted this:

I knew Mrs. Johnsen. She and her husband Don were neighbors, as I grew up next door to them at 146 Santa Clara. Incredibly warm, thoughtful caring people. https://t.co/yxWtsoBCMM

— tony daysog (@tonydaysog) July 29, 2020

Candidate update 2

Add this to the “it just got interesting” files, the most recent City Council update (I’ll do one on the School Board separately) has some interesting additions to the list.  If this list grows and all these people qualify, I’m definitely pulling out the popcorn for the November 2020 campaign.

I see you’ve met Cynthia

You know that Geico commercial about HOAs?  It’s funny to those of us living in an HOA because it’s true.  Have I mentioned how much I dislike living in a community with an HOA?  The solution, I guess, is to find a non HOA home, but that would require moving and I really like my house.

But the problem with HOAs is that there is a tendency toward exclusion if you get just the right make up on your HOA Board.  There becomes talk about no trespassing signs, parking patrols, and “well-being committees” (because you can’t legally say that HOAs are doing anything about security) in order to keep order.  For those of us with a much more laissez-faire attitude toward being a neighborhood in a larger community it can be frustrating when we pick up our heads to pay attention to what out HOA is doing.

And HOAs have a lot of power over the community it controls, but with HOAs there comes a lot questions about whether communities with HOAs are duplicating the redlining or racial covenants of the past.  In 2019 there was a study out of UC Irvine about the rise of HOAs in the US.  From a post from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research out of Rice University:

Move fast, break things

After all the news coverage of the first day of the new COVID-19 testing site in Alameda a press release was sent out in the wee hours of the morning letting everyone know that the site was “paused temporarily”:

Alameda COVID-19 testing paused temporarily — CityHealth Urgent Care committed to quick reopening

More info about testing in Alameda and the Bay Area: https://t.co/n0ZGdTsZtj

Read the press release about pausing operations: https://t.co/VWKpakXqZm #alamtg

— City of Alameda (@CityofAlameda) July 23, 2020

Apparently there was some issue with liability insurance.

But, good news is they tested 1000 people on the first day even though they estimated their daily capacity at only 500 tests.

Hands off

I listened to the City Council meeting on Saturday night which was supposed to present to the City the plans on the re-imagining the police department and public safety in the city of Alameda and I have to say that I am concerned.

It feels a bit like the City Council subcommittee lost its way when coming up with that plan on what to do next.  I literally had to reopen the agenda item for the meeting from June 29 to recall what goal the City Council was trying to work toward.  That’s bad because it speaks to a lack of clarity and an opaqueness to the process which is already a difficult one to have from the start.  When you have speakers that night who express a lack of understanding about what the process is and these are people who want to see this move forward and succeed then you have clear failures of communication on what we should all be expecting.

So what was the result from Tuesday night?  Well, the result is that the City Council has essentially washed its hands of this entire process.  How so?  The subcommittee decided that it would be best that the steering committee and the resulting task forces be able to talk “freely” and so wanted to ensure that the groups were not bound by pesky open government laws like the Brown Act.  In order to do that the Council is not able to give any direction or guidance on this process at all.

I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

The City Council.  Your elected body who is supposed to represent you, the people, is unable to give ANY direction AT ALL otherwise it would fall under the Brown Act.

How the turntables

Yesterday around noon there was an exclusive report from ABC 7 News about the retirement of Alameda Police Department Chief Paul Rolleri.  From the report:

Alameda Police Chief Paul Rolleri announced his retirement in a letter sent to the city manager Wednesday, according to multiple sources close to ABC7. Per the letter, the Alameda native will retire by the end of August.

I’m asking for a copy of the letter so I’ll post it if I get it.  I don’t know if those sorts of things are public since it’s technically a personnel issue.

Gift horse, mouth

Last week the City put out a press release about Alameda’s very own COVID-19 testing site.

Testing starts today.

From the press release:

Located in The Research Park at Marina Village at 300 Wind River Way, Alameda, CA, the new CityHealth testing unit will have the capacity to test 500 people per day and will return test results within 15 minutes.

…

To facilitate testing as many people as possible, no appointments are required. The CityHealth Alameda COVID-19 testing site will be open 7 days a week, 9am to 5pm, with an initial opening date range of July 22, 2020 to September 22, 2020.

It’s awesome that the City of Alameda was able to make accommodations for this testing site and — based on how the press release it structured — looks like the owners of Marina Village had a hand in making this all possible as well.

Back to the Start

About a month ago the City Council agreed to appoint a City Council subcommittee to begin the work of re-imagining what policing should look like in 2020 and beyond.  The City Council will be taking a first look tonight at what the subcommittee has proposed but it doesn’t seem as though the subcommittee has gotten any farther than what was already proposed in the framework on June 29.

So this is where the City would have been had they moved forward with the framework from June 29:

Proposed Process (one month):

1. Identify a steering committee for the development of the scope and goal
2. Hold multiple Town Hall meetings in July to develop a consensus Goals and Objectives within the identified scope.
3. Before July 3rd, City staff to arrange 5 Town Halls the weeks for July 13th and July 20th, array of times and days to accommodate different schedules. Publicize list July 6th
4. Return to a special council meeting for concurrence with proposed goals and outcomes during the week of July 27th