A 25-acre, 472-unit housing transit-oriented development in South Hayward was approved by the Hayward City Council Tuesday night. But despite evidence the city is in the grips of an affordable housing crisis, the project includes just 48 units of affordable… Read More ›
Al Mendall
Hayward continues slow track toward easing growing housing crisis
Hayward Councilmember Elisa Marquez pushed for a moratorium on rents Tuesday, but gained only tepid support from her colleagues. HAYWARD CITY COUNCILThe Hayward City Council gave direction to staff Tuesday night to study a menu of new protections for the… Read More ›
Hayward elected officials voice strong support for Urban Shield
Activists protesting Urban Shield last year in Pleasanton. PHOTO/stopurbanshield.org HAYWARD CITY COUNCILFew local issues rankle East Bay progressive more than Urban Shield, the annual emergency training event and law enforcement trade show in Pleasanton founded and hosted by Alameda County… Read More ›
After begrudgingly offering 6 affordable units for Hayward project, exec brags about lengthy Italian vacation
KB Home executive Ray Panek, left, missed the Oct. 3 Hayward meeting that resulted in the council slamming its project due to a lack of affordable housing. HAYWARD CITY COUNCILA month ago, the Hayward City Council appeared to have stomped its… Read More ›
Hayward officials voice strong support for affordable housing; state concern over rising rents
HAYWARD CITY COUNCILA week after Hayward elected officials roundly turned away a developer’s bid to build a slew of market-rate housing units on Mission Boulevard, councilmembers continued to voice a newfound pledge for more affordable housing in a city currently… Read More ›
Hayward City Council tells city manager to begin accepting applications for cannabis permits
HAYWARD CITY COUNCILHayward was originally one of the first cities in the East Bay to allow medical cannabis dispensaries. But after concerns over the safety of its dispensaries, including one instance when the current mayor toured one such establishment while… Read More ›
Hayward finally becomes a sanctuary city
HAYWARD CITY COUNCILIt took awhile, but the Hayward City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to join eight other East Bay cities by becoming a sanctuary city. “We started talking about this just after the election,” said Hayward Councilmember Al Mendall. “It’s taken us… Read More ›
Hayward City Council ‘bummed’ by ballooning budget deficit
Hayward’s proposed budget includes adding 6.6 full-time employees for staffing the new downtown library. HAYWARD CITY COUNCILHayward City Manager Kelly McAdoo didn’t want the City Council to ask many questions Tuesday night after they learned about the fiscal health of… Read More ›
WATCH Hayward’s city manager alert mayor to clear room of children before teacher urges city to protect kids from Trump
HAYWARD CITY COUNCILhttps://hayward.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=358&starttime=1534&stoptime=1987&autostart=0&embed=1 Hayward has a history slyly tamping down public dissent. Former Hayward City Manager Fran David once sent a letter to a resident who frequently questioned the city’s use of no-bid contracts during the public comment portion of… Read More ›
As Hayward’s $25 million education grant winds down, future funding is uncertain
Hayward Councilmember Al Mendall suggested the future administrative costs for Hayward Promise Neighborhood was deliberately omitted. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL |The Hayward Promise Neighborhood program, born out of a 5-year, $25 million federal grant to improve education outcomes in Hayward’s impoverished… Read More ›
Hayward school board president tells obtrusive city council to ‘stay in your lane’
Hayward school board President Lisa Brunner scolded the City Council Tuesday night. HAYWARD | Relations between the Hayward City Council and its school board has been sour for years, but recent contentiousness between the two government bodies spilled out in… Read More ›
There’s nothing new about Hayward hiding its dirty secrets
Hayward City Hall is in many ways a chamber of secrets masking serious dysfunction. HAYWARD | When Greg Jones, then Hayward’s city manager, was secretly dating a sitting councilmember, the City Council and entire city government enabled the illicit and… Read More ›
Luis Reynoso to Hayward City Council: ‘Clean your house first’
There is no love lost between Hayward school board member Luis Reynoso and the city’s elected officials. HAYWARD | A local advocacy group that includes several Hayward city councilmembers, has designs on one day replacing the entire five-person Hayward school… Read More ›
A new day for the Hayward City Council includes a quartet of recognizable faces
Councilmember Francisco Zermeno takes the oath of office Tuesday night in Hayward. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL |Hayward was in a self-congratulatory mood Tuesday as it celebrated the inauguration of four city council members and said goodbye to another. Councilmembers Francisco Zermeno,… Read More ›
With Hayward election a month away, Mendall, Marquez are flush with cash
Hayward Councilmember Al Mendall reported more than $35,000 in cash available for the June election. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL |If cash is king in Hayward, and that’s a big if, then Councilmembers Al Mendall and Elisa Marquez could be on their… Read More ›
Who has money in the Hayward City Council race and who doesn’t?
Hayward Councilmember Elisa Marquez has the most unencumbered available cash in the 10-person June council election. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | In a place like Hayward where daily reporting on City Hall is non-existent and community apathy is high, candidate for… Read More ›
5 BEST EAST BAY PRIMARY RACES IN 2016: #4 HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL
ELECTION16 | Starting in 2013, the Hayward City Council waged a war over wages and ultimately imposed a five percent wage cut on more than 300 city employees represented by SEIU Local 1021. Following the council’s decision in February 2014,… Read More ›
No consensus from Hayward leaders for combatting homelessness
Hayward Councilmember Greg Jones said the city needs an emergency homeless shelter. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | Homelessness in Hayward continues to be a vexing problem for its city council. While the problem exists in the city and primarily in its… Read More ›
Mark Salinas plots return to Hayward City Council next year
Mark Salinas during a Hayward City Council meeting in 2014. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | Former Hayward Councilmember Mark Salinas may have made the biggest gamble of the 2014 election cycle when instead of running for likely re-election to his council… Read More ›
Hayward struggles to find funding for proposed youth center
The current Eden Youth and Family Center is located at Tennyson and Ruus Road in Hayward. County supe has $15m lined up; support from Kaiser HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | Hayward is looking to provide a replacement to the aging Eden… Read More ›
Hayward may seek greater campaign finance transparency
Hayward Councilmembers Greg Jones and Al Mendall may be targeted by unions for their vote to impose a wage cut on city workers. Some CMs may fear union reprisal in 2016 election HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | With an eye toward a… Read More ›
City Hall Insider: Agenda notes from around the East Bay, June 15-17
OAKLAND/June 17, 5:30 p.m.Lake Merritt land deal returns to council E. 12TH ST, PART III It’s the Oakland public land deal that forced a shutdown of the City Council in May by protesters and nearly went down in flames two… Read More ›
AGENDA NOTES: Hayward adds to water conservation plan; lessens transparency
Eighty-two complaints have been made in Hayward over wasteful water usage, but no citations issued. Hayward City Council Meeting777 B Street, HaywardTuesday, Apr. 7, 7 p.m.[FULL COUNCIL AGENDA]Twitter hashtag: #haymtg BROWN OUT An amendment to Hayward’s existing Water Shortage Contingency… Read More ›
Hayward irons out some kinks in its massage parlor regulations
HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | Over the past few years, the Hayward City Council has tried to legislate away some of its more seedy downtown elements. On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved new regulations on massage parlors enacted by the State… Read More ›
Vanquished Hayward Councilman Says Residents Need to Start Voting
Mark Salinas: looking ahead to 2016? HAYWARD | Former Hayward Councilmember Mark Salinas suffered two political defeats within the same month last July. He lost his bid for mayor, the race he chose to run instead of seeking re-election to… Read More ›
The Skinny: Hayward City Council Preview, Jan. 28, 2014
Hayward City Council Preview777 B StreetTuesday, Jan. 28, 7 p.m.[FULL AGENDA HERE] Twitter hashtag: #haymtg.Twitter handles: @zermenoformayor @hwdcouncilman @almendall >>> REASON TO FILL OUT A SPEAKER’S CARDGENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT Staff is recommending the City Council approve a modification to… Read More ›
Hayward Councilmember Mendall Advocates for Raising Minimum Wage
Hayward Councilmember Al Mendall, right, wants Alameda County or Hayward to raise the local minimum wage to $12 or $15. PHOTO/Steven Tavares HAYWARD | MINIMUM WAGE | There is a growing push in the East Bay calling for a steep… Read More ›
Hayward Tries to Kick the Habit with ‘Timeout’ on Tobacco, E-Cigs Business
A woman with a version of an e-cigarette. HAYWARD CITY COUNCIL | HEALTH | It is too easy to buy a pack of smokes in Hayward, says city staff, and the number of e-cigarette retailers and hookah lounges in the… Read More ›
2013 Year In Lists: Best/Worst Dressed East Bay Politicians
BEST Rebecca Kaplan 1. Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland councilmember>>> Who would have ever thought the East Bay politician who made the simple vest the rage of council couture could top herself, again? Gone is the vest, for the most part, and… Read More ›
Anybody Seen Larry Reid Lately?
Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL | Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid has been absent from nearly every public meeting since the divisive July 26 censure hearing for Councilmember Desley Brooks. During the infamous meeting, Reed called some of his council colleagues and the… Read More ›
