Oakland's New Parking Citation System

The City of Oakland is proudly boasting about its new “parking-citation system” which officials say will be a “whole lot more efficient and cut down on frustration.” (As if there’s an enjoyable way to deal with parking tickets.) To hear Zak Walk, chief of staff for Council President Jane Brunner, describe it, you’d think this was done to better serve the constituents. I have my doubts, however, and believe the motivation behind the new system is purely based on collecting revenue.

The new system will be rolled out in several phases. So, what’s to be included in the first phase? If you guessed ‘pay-by phone’ and ‘pay-by-web’ systems, you’d be correct. Gee, I wonder why they chose to include more efficient payment-methods in the first phase. “It’s very exciting for those of us who want to see our constituents better served,” Walk said. And, apparently, even more exciting for those who want collect more parking-ticket revenue.

As defunct as the bureaucracy of Oakland’s government seems to be, they managed to streamline the process of developing and implementing the new system with enthusiasm and determination rarely seen in other matters. When it became clear they were short on manpower to handle the workload of the new project, they brought in interns from Cal Berkley to help out. Do they also bring in interns to assist with things like job-creation, public safety, traffic issues, and business development? My guess is no – because those issues don’t carry the same allure of immediate revenue. Later, when it became evident that they still needed more help with the new system, the Oakland City Council approved a 3-year contract with “ACS State and Local Solutions.” (Don’t let the name fool you – ACS is a private company.) According to a city press-release, the new contract with ACS will raise the collection-rate on parking citations from 68% to 80%. This means taxpayer money was spent to create a new system that’s goal is to collect more money from the taxpayer. Wow.

So what can Oaklanders expect to see in the next phase of the new system? If you guessed replacing handwritten tickets with computer-generated tickets, you’re correct again. Because if there’s one, universal, complaint about parking tickets in Oakland, it’s that the citations aren’t computer-generated! So, thank goodness for that.

The saddest part about this whole thing is that it comes as no surprise. With all the problems and complaints about parking-enforcement in Oakland, the City’s solution to better serve constituents is to implement new payment methods and improve collection rates? (Oh, and to replace handwritten tickets with computer generated ones.) Frustrating? Yes. Insulting? Definitely. Surprising? Not at all.

Twilight: Eclipse, eclipsed on Twitter by Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

Twilight: Eclipse, the third installment in the hit movie series based on the book series by Stephanie Meyer, sold $68.5 million tickets Wednesday to mark the second largest movie opening in history. But with all that, Twilight: Eclipse can't beat Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows on Twitter.

As this is written at 2:08 EDT, "Deathly Hallows" is the second top trend on Twitter; it was number one an hour ago. "Twilight Eclipse" or "Eclipse" are no where to be seen. The reason for this, I speculate, is connected to the difference in Worldwide popularity for both series.

Using Google Insights for Search, I typed in the words "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" for today, July 1, 2010. Google Insight for Search is an online tool that allows you to learn how keywords associated with your online content are doing in a city, region, and the World. It has an "intensity of search" rating that goes from zero to 100.

Today, while "Twilight" as a term has a higher intensity of search, 87 to 63, respectively, and "Twilight Eclipse" is at 79 versus 63 for "Harry Potter," Harry Potter has a higher level of search intensity in the United States than is true for either "Twilight Eclipse" or "Twilight."

Believe it or not, but both "Twilight Eclipse" and "Twilight" have the most search popularity in the Philippines, followed by Romania, then the United States. In the United States, the level is at 52 versus 100 for the Philippines.

By contrast, Harry Potter scores a 100 and a 83 in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively as the two highest regions in the list on Google Insight for Search for "Harry Potter."

Because Harry Potter's enjoying such search intensity for the USA and the UK after the release of the movie trailer for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, that translates into a much higher topic rank on Twitter for "Deathly Hallows" than for "Twilight Eclipse."

The problem for "Twilight Eclipse" is that it's just not as popular in the UK as "Harry Potter." Where Harry Potter has an 83 in the UK, Twilight Eclipse chimes in at just 32. So what does this mean?

It means that if Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows can stir up this much buzz with the release of a trailer, and months before its November 19th release, it will set box office records when it's released. I will go so far as to say it will break Twilight Eclipse' opening day mark of $68 million.

Stay tuned.

Stanford's Jenny Thompson attacked near Boston

Jenny Thompson 

Stanford University's Jenny Thompson, one of the most decorated Olympian in American history with 12 medals overall, and definitely a Wonder Woman, was attacked near Boston on Monday. According to The Huffington Post, Thompson was riding on her scooter in Brookine, Mass, when a car stopped behind her with its headlights out.

Thompson, 37 years young, said two people got out, stopped her, punched her, and tried to take her scooter. But she was too strong for them; she held on to it while screaming for help. The attackers ran away.

Jenny reportedly identified her attackers; Brookline police arrested three teenagers who were riding around on stolen scooters that night. Jenny Thompson managed to keep her scooter.

Too bad to read this about Jenny, as from the time I met her at the 2000 Bay Area Olympians Dinner, she's a hoot of a nice, fun person, even though she went to Stanford! Jenny moved back east to focus on a medical career after killing it in the pool. Nice to see she's not lost much of her strength; instead of being super humanly strong, she's just strong now. ; instead of being super humanly strong, she's just strong now.

Wonder Woman, bring back the legs, the muscles, and the flag, please

The Original Wonder Woman I prefer

Wonder Woman has always been my favorite comic book hero, or more appropriate to this message, heroine. It wasn't until the age of seven in 1969 that this blogger started reading comic books, but the first one was Wonder Woman, circa 1950 (or around that time).

What attracted this small boy at that time was seeing an image that the World did not present: of this obviously strong and yet (and in retrospect it's easier to see this) attractive woman doing things like lifting cars and throwing men. And she did it while putting on a costume that said "I represent America!" So it should come as no surprise that I'm not in favor of the newest look for Wonder Woman.

Not surprisingly, reading Wonder Woman circa 1950, my image of the ideal woman was formed a very long time ago. Whatever woman I was with, and regardless of color, had to look something like that and have at least near-Wonder Woman level of confidence. Lifting cars wasn't a real consideration.

When the Wonder Woman TV show was introduced in 1975, I was excited, but eventually deeply disappointed. I expected Diana Prince on TV to look like the Diana Prince of the 1950s comics: with curves and muscle. Instead, I got the lovely but not at all muscular Linda Carter.

And while I liked Linda Carter as Wonder Woman, it was more because I had no choice. No where else could you see Wonder Woman on TV. It was at that point, I became aware that Wonder Woman was a slave to male fears of women as expressed in how she was drawn.

William Moulton Marston, who created Wonder Woman and drew her, was not afraid of an obviously strong woman, or he would not have created one. But that's not true for the men who've drawn and written Diana Prince since then.

 From the failed 1974 Cathy Lee Crosby Wonder Woman who was not strong at all, to the newest creation released this week, men have dared to give us the real, undoubtedly strong, Wonder Woman of the 1950s.

What does that say about American Men, of which I'm one?  Not much that's good. It says we're afraid of strong women so we take that away from them every chance we get. Take the new Wonder Woman. She looks like a lean female athlete who might run for exercise but can't lift a car, let alone throw it. She looks vulnerable, and like she's neurotic. And she's not really into America because the flag-themed costume is gone. That bothers me too.

The New Wonder Woman of 2010

There's nothing wrong with flying the American flag for good purposes, like showing a strong woman helping people, which is what Wonder Woman does. Why does Superman get to keep his same look, and the red, white, and blue colors, and tights that he's got no business wearing in public? Why not give Superman a makeover? Do the men who draw Superman like that look? I have to ask, because I don't like it. I was never into Superman; Wonder Woman was always for me.

I can see where DC Comics J. Michael Straczynski as writer and Jim Lee as artist are prepping Wonder Woman for the movies, and for Comic-Con in San Diego later this month.  It will make for an interesting Comic-Con, for sure, as Wonder Woman purists like myself butt heads with the, well, lovers of the new, weak Wonder Woman.  (Just have her throw a car, or an airplane.  Something to make me happy.)

But man, I want the Wonder Woman of the 1950s, much as we're going to get the Captain America of World War II in that upcoming movie.

Maybe I should write my own Wonder Woman Movie and make her the strong woman she was in the 50s, because it's clear to me that since then, too many of her artists and writers fear a really strong female image.

Not me.

AC Transit in Oakland facing possible driver strike after impasse

Berkeley AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit

Oakland, CA-based AC Transit has declared that contract talks between the Alameda - Contra Costa District Transit Company and the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 192, (ATU) have reached an impasse. AC Transit is working to close an estimated $56 million budget deficit due in large part to reductions in revenue from property taxes. AC Transit is working to reduce labor costs by 8 percent at least; far better than cutting jobs but the ATU fails to see it that way.

AC Transit has been forced to increase fares and decrease service to make up for the revenue shortfall. ATU made an offer but it reportedly wasn't enough to help close the gap: AC Transit seeks $15 million in savings.

What the ATU does not understand is AC Transit's budget problems, like those of the City of Oakland itself, are due to massive reductions in sales and property tax revenue. AC Transit receives a percentage of each dollar of property tax collected in what are called "flood control districts." There's no sign that with the unemployment rate and the credit crunch, those sales and property tax revenues are going to recover to levels of even four years ago.

The ATU really should make a concession and give a salary reduction. It's not AC Transit being mean; what a lot of people don't seem to get is this country has real economic problems and California's really suffering from it. We're letting manufacturing jobs go offshore; the New United Motors Plant that employed 4,000 people in Fremont, California, has closed. And the green jobs effort has not closed that unemployment gap.

Memo to Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 192: we're in trouble, pitch in an help. Don't walk away from talks, or strike.

Thanks!

The NY Post changes format? Nets! by Suzannah B. Troy

http://www.nypost.com/

Just like abusing eminent domain it looks like Jay-Z and the Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, apparently not a spy have taken out such a large ad featuring their faces plugging The Nets basketball team.   I am guessing very expensive ad that appears The New York Post changed it's format or I thought I was at the wrong site.  I thought someone else had taken over....

Just a side note:  We have a Russian coming in and buying up a majority ownerership in an American Basketball Team and being part of eminent domain abuse so Americans happily living their lives were forced out of their homes in part so a Russian citizen could make even bigger profits!  Nice and China owns a huge part of America's debt!   If America was a person living insanely beyond his means any financial adviser would say stop spending money but because it is a country we allow ourselves to go further in to debt and Russia and China to buy up anything we put on the chopping block.

Billionaires in New York are acting more and more like billionaires in Russia except in Russia sometimes even billionaire have very, very scary things happen to them when the powers that be decide they want to take away their wealth.  That has not happened here in NYC...yet.  It would be almost funny if that did because New York billionaires think they are impervious to just about everything.  One billionaire got busted in Florida and although NY born and bread he of course doesn't declare NY as his residents.  Michael Douglas not a billionaire won't of course declare NY as his residence.  Most Wall Streeters immediately declare any where but NY as their residents to avoid the NY taxes, a piece of info you will not see in Oliver Stone's Wall Street 1 and 2 and just naming movies with numbers is a bad omen.

Getting back to advertisements here in New York where we wonder what is the price tag and if the billionaires are going to far, crossing the line and on this and other lines...

Mike Bloomberg's ads on the steps of Grand Central  The MTA, Mike Bloomberg and his public relations woman for his private empire refuse to answer questions on how much this ad cost and does it advertise him as mayor and his political aspirations as well as his private empire?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbD1HWEV7g4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG1TBJr57cQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG1TBJr57cQ

I am not going to suggest we have a revolution but I can't help but think some very arrogant people are in for some shocking awakenings that they are not above "it" meaning the laws, accountability, etc.

Oscar Grant case: Johannes Mehserle will not be tried for murder

The camcorder tells the take in this case 

As the Oscar Grant trail, where former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle was originally tried for first degree murder comes to a close, a major development happened on Wednesday. According to NBC Bay Area, Judge Robert Perry ruled that Johannes Mehserle could not be tried for first-degree murder, pointing to "an absence of premeditation."

That's a huge development for Johannes Mehserle and gives some Oscar Grant supporters heart-burn because a successful first-degree murder would have certainly meant life in prison or worse. Instead, Johannes Mehserle's now looking at four options: second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter or acquittal. Here's a closer look at what those terms mean:

Second-degree murder is defined as "an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable 'heat of passion' or a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life," according to FindLaw.com

Voluntary manslaughter is "an intentional killing in which the offender had no prior intent to kill, such as a killing that occurs in the "heat of passion." The circumstances leading to the killing must be the kind that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed."

Involuntary manslaughter is "an unintentional killing that results from recklessness or criminal negligence, or from an unlawful act that is a misdemeanor or low - level felony (such as DUI). The usual distinction from voluntary manslaughter is that involuntary manslaughter (sometimes called "criminally negligent homicide") is a crime in which the victim's death is unintended."

Acquittal means that Johannes Mehserle would walk away a free, innocent man.

Jury expected to take weeks to make a decision

It's been reported that the jury in the case would make a decision by Friday, but this space can't see that happening. Judge Robert Perry just gave the jury a new set of considerations, whereas under the first-degree murder charge, Mehserle would have certainly walked away a free man.

But if the jury deadlocks on a verdict, Mehserle would still walk away, but on a technicality.

Given the new choices, Mehserle should get voluntary manslaughter.  The video camera makes the difference in this case.  Without it and the shocking videos we've seen, Johannes Mehserle would have been set free.  Now, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Stay tuned.

Toy Story 3 and Pixar's Teddy Newton at San Francisco's Balboa Theater

Toy Story 3 star and long-time Pixar Director Teddy Newton will appear at San Francisco's Balboa Theater this Friday, July 2nd, and to present the new Pixar short Day & Night at 7 PM and 9:15 PM PDT.

Day & Night stars the voice of Teddy Newton and of Croatian president Ivo Josipovicand and is scored by Academy Award-winner Michael Giacchino. The Balboa Theater is in San Francisco at 3630 Balboa Street (at 38th Avenue).

About Teddy Newton

Newton came to Pixar in July of 2000 to work on the Emeryville - based studio's sixth feature film, The Incredibles and has since contributed his considerable character design skills to many of Disney / Pixar's award - winning feature and short films, including Ratatouille, Your Friend the Rat and Presto.

He was also instrumental in the creation of the "End Titles" for The Incredibles and Ratatouille. In addition Newton is frequently cast as a voice in Disney / Pixar films, including the lawyer Talon Labarthe in Ratatouille and the newsreel narrator in The Incredibles and additional voices in Cars and in Up.

Prior to coming to Pixar, Teddy Newton worked at Warner Bros. in the story department and in character design on Iron Giant. Newton also served as writer/producer for the independent feature film The Trouble with Lou. Teddy Newton is considered one of the most influential animation artists in the industry.

Day & Night

Day & Night is a six-minute movie that appears before Toy Story 3. Pixar describes it as follows:

When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities--and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world--the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.

Croatian president Ivo Josipovic is the radio voice in the film says the radio message is about "how the most beautiful things are those that are still unknown to us, so we should not be afraid of the unknown but rather investigate it," according to The Associated Press.

Come to The Balboa Theater and win a prize

Teddy Newton will answer questions following the 7:00pm screening of Day & Night and introduce the 9:15 show with stories about the making of both Toy Story 3 and Day & Night. Newton will sign copies of the Day & Night poster and one lucky winner will receive a copy of "The Art of Toy Story 3," published by Chronicle Books and signed by Toy Story 3 Director Lee Unkrich and Producer Darla K. Anderson.

Health care news: Marin Healthcare District gets hospital from Sutter Health

Marin General Hospital 

At midnight on Wednesday (tonight), Sutter Health will give the elected Marin Healthcare District in Greenbrae, CA of Marin County, California control of the Marin General Hospital in Kentfield, California after managing it for almost 15 years.

While the prospects of success of an elected public health care center would seem promising, that's only the case when there's money to run it and a private sector partner - not here.

While a lot of press places Sutter in the position of bad person, the reality is different if one does some digging. Sources say that Marin Healthcare District knew Sutter had the ability and the right to transfer funds to its overall system. Moreover, Sutter reportedly offered to build a $400 million earthquake safe hospital for free.

This space is not against public control of organizations (like the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum) but as long as it's done correctly and with a nod toward the need for private sector involvement. There's no reason Sutter could not have remained as a partner in some way, but the edgy and combative approach of some Marin County politicos erased such a possible deal long ago.

The Marin County Grand Jury's view of this was scathing. In a report called "Marin General Hospital: Hope is not a strategy," and released in May of 2009, the Marin County Grand Jury wrote the following on the board's decision to release Sutter Health from its lease and take over Marin General:

"(the decision) woefully underestimates its working capital needs, assumes the public will vote to tax itself for a new wing estimated to cost between $350 million and $400 million, and implausibly takes for granted that it will be able to negotiate reimbursements from insurance companies as favorable as those negotiated by large healthcare systems."

Now, the Marin Healthcare District has to push a bond measure with Marin County voters to raise the necessary funds to build a new hospital. It will be hard to get the voters to approve financing for a hospital board that seems more politically than managerially oriented.

Health care consumers in Marin have other healthcare options are available, including Kaiser and Sutter Health, which continues to provide healthcare services in Marin County and at California Medical Center in San Francisco.

Not that this space hopes for failure by the Marin Healthcare District, just a dose of common sense and a lot less emotion. It's current course is not going to work.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren divorce settlement: a selfish $750 million

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren divorce settlement: $750 million!

Tiger and Elin in happier days

That's enormous. And that's the price Tiger Woods will reportedly pay his soon-to-be-former wife Elin Nordegren after years of fooling around with as many as 14 known mistresses.

It's no wonder Tiger Woods' golf game is off. You golf game would stuffer, too, if you knew you had to give up $750 million to your ex-wife. Oh, and not bring any girlfriends around their kids.

That's part of the divorce settlement between Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren. Tiger Woods can't bring girlfriends around the kids, and a divorced Elin Nordegren can't make comments about his girlfriends. Now, if he marries that woman, it's another story according to The Sun.

This ends a roller coaster ride that leaves thousands of webpages and videos like the ones at this space, of which this interview with Sports Agent Leigh Steinberg is an example:



Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren are selfish

In the view of this space, throwing $750 million to Elin Nordegren for a divorce, when Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren could have sent just $5 million to Haiti is outrageous and selfish. Tiger and Elin could have sent another $20 million to help the suffering workers along the Louisiana and Florida shores of The Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the BP Oil Spill. The many unemployed people in Racine, Wisconsin would have certainly appreciated a $3 million helping hand.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren could have helped a lot of people with just $28 million of that $750 million.

Terrible.

Keith Britton gets Star Trek and Avatar's Zoe Saldana engaged

Zoe Saldana and Keith Britton 

Popular Actress Zoe Saldana has more good news in addition to her being invited to become a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and her accomplishments in starring in Star Trek and Avatar: Saldana's engaged to her boyfriend of 10 years, Keith Britton.

All we can say is "Dude. Keith Britton. What took you so dang long?!" It took Keith Britton 10 years to finally propose to her hotness Zoe Saldana? Ten years. Wow, it took Oakland Raiders Quarterback Kyle Boller just one year to propose to Carrie Prejean and they're getting married this Friday.

Now, that we've gotten the razzing of Keith Britton out of the way, congratulations to the lovely couple.

Now, people want to know who Keith Britton is.

Keith Britton is CEO of My Fashion Database and an actor in Los Angeles who's appeared in Cold Case and As The World Turns. My Fashion Database was established in 2008 and has 18 employees according to Linkedin. It's billed as an IMDB.com for the fashion industry.

Randall Cunningham loses his 2-year-old son in hot tub

Randall Cunningham

Former NFL Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Randall Cunningham reportedly lost his 2-year-old son in a hot tub accident.

According to the Associated Press, the Las Vegas, Clark County Coroner says that the cause of death of Christian Cunningham was pending investigation.

Christian Cunningham appeared to die from an accidental drowning, but that's not official. The youngest Cunningham was pronounced dead at St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena campus in Henderson, Nevada.

At the time of the incident, Tuesday, Randall Cunningham was out of town. Christian Cunningham is the youngest of his four children.

Randall Cunningham is an ordained minister and pastor of a church in Las Vegas with his wife Felicity.

Cunningham was one of this spaces favorite quarterbacks, and in 1998 was one missed field goal kick from playing against John Elway and The Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. Instead, the Vikings were upset in the 1988 NFC Championship by The Atlanta Falcons.