The biggest shortcoming for me in the current mayoral regime is not that Ron Dellums is not a good CEO. This is a democracy not a corporation, a business, or a factory; it’s a town of many neighborhoods and cultures. What I did expect from this administration, at the least, was a return to participatory democracy, something that should be possible at the local level.

Preliminary results are in from a survey about what types of businesses residents would like to see come to the Lakeshore Avenue business district. You can weigh in on this question right now by leaving a comment.

Santa and Opera Piccola carolers come to the Farmer’s Market (Sunday, the 16th) and to Lakeshore Avenue (Saturday, the 22nd). Check out some Lakeshore Avenue businesses for other musical opportunities.

Pamela Drake surveys the thanks-worthy bounty that is Oakland and shares her ideas for richly satisfying ways to share your good fortune with others. What are yours?

I usually like to promote my hometown in this space, but I gotta get some things off my chest. First off, what bozo…

The obstacles I encountered at last Sunday’s rally for Hillary Clinton raise questions about the candidate’s approach to free speech and about the effects of canned campaigns on our freedoms, our creativity, and our diversity.

Chauncey Bailey was everywhere, covering, inventing, talking, and writing about it all. Losing him is like pulling on one of the threads that holds our hometown cloth together… and seeing what else will unravel. My hope is that multifaceted Chauncey is not remembered for his death and that his death is not used to diss the city he strove to cover in its good news and bad. That would not honor his memory.