THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 2-8. –ALAMEDA COUNTY– Regular council meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 10:30 a.m. [ENTIRE AGENDA HERE] –BALLOT MEASURE FOR CHILDREN– The Board of Supervisor will approve placement on the June ballot of a countywide half-cent sales tax measure to fund child… Read More ›
sales tax
Haggerty: Alameda County is not helping transportation sales tax by buying cars from elsewhere
ALAMEDA COUNTYAlameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty says its purchasing policies, especially when it comes to big-ticket items such as automobiles, are undercutting its own ability to fund Measure BB, the countywide one-cent transportation sales tax used to rebuild the East Bay’s roads…. 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 ›
San Leandro eyes potential ballot measure to tax cannabis, parking lots
San Leandro may ask voters to approve a ballot measure that would among other uses, replace its police station. SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL |Over the past three election cycles, San Leandro voters have helped the city bolster its treasury through… Read More ›
Glazer talks feminine hygiene with his daughter on Twitter
STATE SENATE | 7TH DISTRICT | A bill introduced last week by Southern California Assemblymember Cristina Garcia to remove sales tax on tampons was, at first, met with skepticism from Steve Glazer, an East Bay state senator whose politics in… Read More ›
San Leandro talks of paying down unfunded debt with new revenues
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | The uncertain economic times of year’s past appear in the rearviewmirror in San Leandro. “Things are on a significant uptick in San Leandro,” said City Manager Chris Zapata during a budget work session Monday night…. Read More ›
Betty Weed?
CONTROLLER | When an election with close 4 million votes cast comes down to a difference of a mere 481 votes, the cause of the winning margin can be attributed to thousands of different minute factors. Weather is often a… Read More ›
Former San Leandro Mayor Calls Out Current One for Stance on Tax Measure
San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy and former Mayor Tony Santos are still rivals four years later. SAN LEANDRO | Former San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos says the current mayor should apologize to residents for opposing a quarter percent sales tax… Read More ›
Haggerty Vows to Deliver Tri Valley Votes for Latest County Transportation Measure
Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty opening the campaign Tuesday for Measure BB. ALAMEDA COUNTY | TRANSPORTATION | The loss of Measure B, the Alameda County transportation sales tax measure defeated two years ago by a razor’s edge, was a problematic… Read More ›
San Leandro Places 30-Year Sales Tax Extension on November Ballot
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | Nearly four years after voters in San Leandro approved a much-needed sales tax measure viewed by many to have helped the city escape the worst of the Great Recession, city leaders will again ask them… Read More ›
Kaplan Controversy May Undermine Crucial Transportation Measure
Rebecca Kaplan with former aide, now campaign manager Jason Overman PHOTO/Steven Tavares OAKLAND | MAYOR | Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan may have circumvented campaign finance rules when she paid staffer for her 2010 mayoral run from a expenditure committee set… Read More ›
Cassidy Pads Resume with Falsehoods when Truth is more Compelling
CAMPAIGN 2014 | SAN LEANDRO | Politicians take credit for things. It’s a fact of life that becomes amplified during campaign season. So, it’s no surprise San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy is pumping up his resume over the last four… Read More ›
Swalwell: I’m Liberal! But not for the East Bay, says Rankings
Talking out Both Sides of their Mouths Edition | What was Schaaf Thinking? | Zany Zermeno CHAPTER 5 | Apparently, being called out for numerous lapses of ethical conduct is a problem than can be worked out for Rep. Eric… Read More ›
The Skinny: San Leandro City Council Preview, Mar. 3, 2014
San Leandro City Council Preview835 East 14th Street, San LeandroMonday, Mar. 3, 2014, 7 p.m.[FULL AGENDA HERE]Twitter Hashtag: #slmtg >>> REASON TO FILL OUT A SPEAKER’S CARD Reconstructed Burrell Field in San Leandro. PACIFIC SPORTS COMPLEX AGREEMENT Four years ago, San… Read More ›
Reauthorization of County Health Care Half-Cent Sales Tax Heads to June Ballot
Alameda Health System received $88 million in tax revenue last year from Measure A. ELECTION 2014 | ALAMEDA COUNTY | Nearly every government agency seeking a ballot measure this election cycle characterizes its important in dire terms, but some come with… Read More ›
Reauthorization for Alameda County’s Measure A may not come until 2016
A large portion of Measure A tax dollars is used to operate Oakland’s Highland Hospital. ALAMEDA COUNTY | HEALTH CARE | Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan believes voters will not be asked to reauthorize a critical funding measure for the… Read More ›
San Leandro May Spend $110k To Study Potential Tax Measure in 2014
San Leandro may eye a road improvement tax next year. It has struggled in recent years to find money to repair its roads. SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL | With the coming mid-term election season just around the corner, voters in Alameda… Read More ›
Alameda County Supervisors Join Early Push For Legalizing Pot
ALAMEDA COUNTY//BOARD OF SUPERVISORS | It was no surprise last week the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution urging the federal government to refrain from raids on local medical cannabis dispensaries and respect states like California, Washington and… Read More ›
Approval Of Dispensaries In San Leandro May Hinge On Ballot Measure
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL//CANNABIS | Permits for a maximum of two medical cannabis dispensaries may be approved by the San Leandro City Council Monday night. But, in a late twist, the potential ordinance would not go into effect pending a… Read More ›
Wieckowski Bill Authorizing County Transportation Tax Measure Heads To Governor’s Desk
ASSEMBLY 25 | A tweak in the state law that would allow Alameda County and Contra Costa County to again consider a transportation tax measure next year was approved last week by the State Senate. The bill offered by Fremont Assemblymember… Read More ›
Former CEO Who Wrecked St. Rose Hospital, Took $1.28M Severance, Named To ‘Measure A’ Blue Ribbon Committee
Michael Mahoney ALAMEDA COUNTY | Michael Mahoney once ran one of the most crucial safety net hospitals in Alameda County. His mismanagement coupled with the dim realities of running a hospital in pre-Obamacare America led to the near bankruptcy of… Read More ›
ALAMEDA COUNTY SEES BUDGET FUNDING GAP FALL TO $80 MILLION
ALAMEDA COUNTY//BUDGET | The East Bay’s local economy is moving further from the worst of the Great Recession and closer to better times—except, only slightly. Last week, the Alameda County administrator’s office announced a $80.2 million funding gap that follows four… Read More ›
Wieckowski’s Measure B1 Redux Passes Committee; As Does Skinner’s Ammo Bill, Corbett’s Made In California
ASSEMBLY/SENATE | Few unsuccessful local ballot measures in recent memory have elicited more grumbling after the fact than the Alameda Country transportation bill, Measure B1, narrowly defeated last November. Whether it be deteriorating streets in San Leandro or crumbling highway on-ramps… Read More ›
Mayor To Hayward: With Better Schools, Your Home Could Be Worth $100k More!
HAYWARD | Hayward Mayor Michael Sweeney says the city is going nowhere fast unless it improves its consistently flagging schools. “We’re at the bottom,” said Sweeney, while pointing to a chart before residents Wednesday at a neighborhood state of the… Read More ›
Wieckowski Launches Attempt For Another Alameda County Transportation Tax Measure
ASSEMBLY | Measure B1, the Alameda County initiative to fund transportation projects with a half-cent sales tax increase that failed last November by the slimmest of margins, may get another chance to go before voters. Fremont Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski is resurrecting… Read More ›
Assembly Candidates Quirk, Ong Tussle Over Proposition 30
ELECTION ‘12//ASSEMBLY 20 | There are difference between Assembly candidate Bill Quirk and Dr. Jennifer Ong, after all, and they rest squarely on Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown’s sales tax increase on the November ballot. “There are real differences between… Read More ›
Ong Is Trying To Outflank Quirk For Far Left Voters, 20th Assembly Immigrants
ELECTION ‘12//ASSEMBLY 20//ANALYSIS | When it comes to the newfangled open primary system, the appearance of two Democrats on the November ballot has proven to show early and expected signs of fraying upon the party fabric. This is happening in the… Read More ›
Alameda Group Files Petition to Recall Assembly Candidate Rob Bonta
ELECTION ’12//ASSEMBLY 18/ALAMEDA | By SHANE BOND | The CitizenELECTION ’12//ASSEMBLY 18/ALAMEDA | In Alameda, a familiar adversary for most of its City Council has collected over 40 signatures for a recall campaign against current 18th Assembly District frontrunner, Rob… Read More ›
San Leandro’s Undercover Conservative Mayor Fights To Raise Taxes, Lower Wages
ANALYSISMar. 6, 2012 | San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy is battling schizophrenia when it comes to taxes. He supports them sometimes, protests them other times. That’s the easy assessment. His uneven record on sales and parcel taxes are also exacerbated by a… Read More ›
Young Says He Would Support Further Cuts To The State Budget
ASSEMBLY 18Feb. 23, 2012 | AC Transit board member Joel Young says he would support further cuts to the state budget, if elected to the Assembly’s 18th District. Young’s response came in a questionnaire from the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club…. Read More ›