Zazoo's Hearing - Monday, July 2nd 6pm
The City of Oakland will have a hearing on the status of Zazoo's Cabaret License on Monday, July 2nd at 6pm. The hearing will be held at City Hall in Hearing Room #1.

As some of you may know, there was a shooting at the end of May (after JLN went to print) and although no one was found at Zazoo's, there were shell casings. A security guard did not see anything. A while after the 911 calls for the Zazoo's shooting (screaming and gunfire were reported by multiple residents) Highland Hospital reported a gunshot victim. The victim said that he had not reported the shooting himself [nor his friends?] because he didn't think it was that big of a deal. He also couldn't remember the name of his friend whose car he was riding in...

The parties continue to disrupt the quality of life at Portobello and many residents from there have asked for help in getting the word out. Supposedly, one resident sued the owner of Zazoo's in small claims court and was awarded $5,000.

Are shootings at nightclubs what we want for the Jack London District? If not, you should support the residents of Portobello and show up for the Hearing. Make sure that the Hearing Officer, Barbara Killey, requires everyone to sign in and show ID.
Posted 6/29/2007

Woman Fatally Hit by Amtrak Train
There's no news on SFGate or the Oakland Tribune sites (see update below), but KCBS has a story about the woman killed yesterday around 4pm at Broadway & Embarcadero while crossing the tracks. KTVU actually has a better story since one of their own reporters was a witness.

A freight train going north that lasted about 15 minutes had people getting impatient to cross. It stopped and started several times and several people even managed to hop over without incident. (Not a smart thing to do.) Unfortunately for 83-year old Lucie Buchbinder, she rushed to cross the tracks just as the freight train finished, but was hit by an Amtrak commuter train coming from the opposite direction. People yelled for her to stop, but she apparently did not hear nor did she look to her left. She was on the other side of the safety arms and like many, didn't wait for them to go up. There were a few reports that the arms went up after the freight train, but other witnesses disputed this.

I suppose the Port could use a bit better signage letting people know of the overhead crossing elevator in between Subway & BevMo, but always look both ways when crossing and if one train finishes, wait to make sure there's not another waiting. Seems obvious, but sometimes impatience can overule doing the smart thing.

Our condolences go out to Ms. Buchbinder's family and friends.

UPDATE: The Tribune finally posted this article. It begs to question Amtrak - why were only four people riding the train?!
Posted 6/20/2007

Flexcar - Try it for Free**
Get a free one year membership ($35 value) for Flexcar!

Okay, so you still probably have to pay the hourly fee and the driver's license check, but that's CHEAP. Details below.

Don't know what Flexcar is? There are two cars in Jack London Square across from Barnes & Noble - a Honda Civic Hybrid and a Honda Element. I've used the Honda for a trip to Brentwood to pick peaches, and the Element to pick up furniture at Ikea. Very convenient!

Here's why I love Flexcar. You pay one hourly rate which includes your gas, premium insurance, 24/7 emergency service, and the vehicle maintenance. You get to drive a newish car that is taken care of and fully insured for one low price per hour. Easy! Although we have 2 cars in Jack London Square, there are 130 in the Bay Area, including cars at the following BART stations - Daly City, Lake Merritt, MacArthur, Rockridge (2), Ashby (2), & North Berkeley.

Here's how you can take advantage of this free one-year membership ($35 value!):

It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Go to www.flexcar.com, click on "Join Now" at the top of any page, and select "Personal" plans.

2. Fill in ffep7FLEX in the "Promo Code" field (box 2).

3. type joannaadler@yahoo.com in the "Enter Referrer's Full Name" field (box 17A).

Give it a whirl. It's worth giving up a second car for. Think of the insurance and maintenance fees you will save!
Posted 6/12/2007

July 4th - NO FIREWORKS IN JLS
Yes, that's right, no fireworks this year at Jack London Square due to "construction zones with safety hazards". Be prepared, there may never again be fireworks in JLS... construction looms for at least several years to come. Sad, isn't it? Maybe they could move the fireworks to JLAC?

Jack London Square does, however, does invite you to join them on July 4th during the day for a good old fashioned BBQ Competition. Vendors and merchants onhand to cater to those who love BBQ. Tasting, sampling and judging. Live musical entertainment and dancing. Restaurant BBQ Specials. Wow.

Next week I'll post some alternative places to view fireworks...
Posted 6/12/2007

Grocery Stores in Oakland.
First, check out this article in today's San Francisco Chronicle.

Mr. Johnson gives Planning Commissioners Doug Boxer & Michael Lighty grief about wanting Trader Joe's workers to be unionized. Isn't that what we would require of Big Box stores? Hmmm, which begs the question as to whether the Hegenberger Wal-Mart employees are union...

In any case, I think it's a fair question and one that was brought up for the Jack London Square project - speaking of which, supposedly their latest financing came from a union. It certainly isn't as if this is the first time it's been brought up and fair is fair. If you want to use it to try to stop a project, it can also be used to make sure that a project you want follows the same guidelines.

Most importantly for District 2 is that their City Council Member is helping them get a grocery store - despite already having several in that area. Where is our grocery store? Shoot, I think we'd settle for just one besides the Sierra Deli & Market, which I LOVE, by the way. It would still be nice to have something more with a larger selection of items, if only so that I can stop hearing all the complaints from the people in the neighborhood.
Posted 6/12/2007