July 2012

Today's news: Council releases confidential Measure A memo

The City Council voted Tuesday to release a confidential memo laying out staffers’ case for new rules allowing apartments and other multifamily housing despite voter-approved restrictions put in place by Measure A. The memo lays out potential legal challenges the city could face – including a lawsuit housing advocates had already threatened to file – if its leaders failed to gain state approval of a new housing element to its general plan that demonstrated the city had sites zoned to allow multifamily housing to be developed. Read more >> about Today's news: Council releases confidential Measure A memo

Amblin’ Alameda: Being Human

Submitted by Morton Chalfy on

I have been thinking about being human ever since I was a boy in the East Bronx, in the forties. As a child I had the notion that I could go anywhere safely because I was sure I would be recognized as a fellow human being by anyone I met. The Bronx, like Alameda, had such a diverse population that it seemed representatives from all the world were around and I could easily see our common humanity. They would also, I reckoned, see mine. Read more >> about Amblin’ Alameda: Being Human

The Explainer: Alameda's many fire reports

Michele Ellson
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 12:05am
Alameda fire reports

City officials have released a quintet of reports authored over the past eight years examining the services provided by the Alameda Fire Department that look at everything from calls handled and response times to staffing and the spacing of fire stations, nearly all done as city officials sought out ways to trim costs in the face of a challenging economy. Read more >> about The Explainer: Alameda's many fire reports

Today: New feature alert!

Toady we're introducing a new feature called The Explainer, with the goal of breaking down complicated issues (or lengthy reports) into bite-size chunks; our inaugural entry offers you the Cliff's Notes version of five reports on fire service the city just released. You can get a quick rundown on what the 447 pages of reports say here; feel free to drop us a line if there are other subjects you'd like us to break down in this space. Read more >> about Today: New feature alert!

Real Estate Report: Prices Beginning to Turn Heads

Submitted by Pat Colburn on

The statewide median home price was at $308,050 in April of this year, up almost 5 percent over last April. It was the first time the median price was above the $300,000 mark in nearly a year and a half (since December 2010). Prior to March, we had seen 16 months straight of year-over-year declines in the median price. However, in March and April the California housing market bucked that trend as constrained inventory levels put upward pressure on prices across the board. Read more >> about Real Estate Report: Prices Beginning to Turn Heads

FULL STORY: School board signs off on lease deal

Michele Ellson
Monday, July 30, 2012 - 12:05am
Historic Alameda High School

Alameda’s Board of Education on Friday approved a controversial lease deal for new district office on a 3-2 vote, the latest in a string of efforts to address seismic safety concerns that have loomed at Historic Alameda High School for decades.

The district will pay $552,000 a year for six years to lease a 26,720-square-foot space at 2060 Challenger Drive from Legacy Partners I Alameda LLC with an option to purchase the Marina Village space for between $5.1 million and $5.5 million by September 30, 2013. The lease contains a six-year extension option. Read more >> about FULL STORY: School board signs off on lease deal

Today's news: More on that district office lease, and real estate prices on the rise

Alameda’s Board of Education on Friday approved a controversial lease deal for new district office on a 3-2 vote, the latest in a string of efforts to address seismic safety concerns that have loomed at Historic Alameda High School for decades. The district will pay $552,000 a year for six years to lease a 26,720-square-foot space at 2060 Challenger Drive from Legacy Partners I Alameda LLC with an option to purchase the Marina Village space for between $5.1 million and $5.5 million by September 30, 2013. The lease contains a six-year extension option. Read more >> about Today's news: More on that district office lease, and real estate prices on the rise

BREAKING: School board signs off on controversial lease deal

Alameda’s Board of Education has approved a controversial lease deal for new district office space at Marina Village, on a 3-2 vote. The district will pay $552,000 a year for six years to lease a 26,720-square-foot space at 2060 Challenger Drive from Legacy Partners I Alameda LLC with an option to purchase the space for between $5.1 million and $5.5 million. The deal appears likely to become a political issue as the seats of three board members – Mooney, Tam and Hererra Spencer – are up for grabs in what is shaping up to be a hotly contested election. Read more >> about BREAKING: School board signs off on controversial lease deal

BREAKING: SCHOOL BOARD SIGNS OFF ON CONTROVERSIAL LEASE DEAL

Michele Ellson
Friday, July 27, 2012 - 8:02pm
I shot this from my bicycle.

Alameda’s Board of Education has approved a controversial lease deal for new district office space at Marina Village, on a 3-2 vote.

The district will pay $552,000 a year for six years to lease a 26,720-square-foot space at 2060 Challenger Drive from Legacy Partners I Alameda LLC with an option to purchase the space for between $5.1 million and $5.5 million. Read more >> about BREAKING: SCHOOL BOARD SIGNS OFF ON CONTROVERSIAL LEASE DEAL

The Broad Brush: Your news in 60 seconds

Submitted by Michele Ellson on

For a summer week, this past one brought a lot of news. Here’s what happened:

This week opened with the announcement that Peet’s Coffee & Tea is being acquired in a nearly $1 billion deal. The company announced that Joh. A. Benckhiser, a German investment group that is taking the company private, will keep its Emeryville HQ and Alameda roasting facility in place. Read more >> about The Broad Brush: Your news in 60 seconds

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