Voting - Did you know?
Here's some helpful information to prepare you for voting season.

Everyone knows that there is no longer a polling location at Jack London Square or the old fire department near Beverages & More, right? Just checking. It seems voters showed up there back in June, even though those haven't been valid polling locations for quite some time.

If you've moved, even within the same county, you need to re-register to vote. You can register through October 20th to be eligible to vote in the November 4th election. Register online here.

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters is still looking for polling location help, so if you want to earn a few extra dollars for working on election day, here is where you can go online to register for that.

Be sure to look at your Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlet, which not only prepares you for all the different races being voted in, but also on the back has your current voting location. Since many voting locations have changed recently, PLEASE check this so that you're ready on November 4th. For example, in Tower Lofts, our polling location is listed as:

Your precinct has no poll place. Vote and return ballot by mail.

I'm not sure why we have no polling location, because I certainly tried to get us one and even thought we had it covered, but I guess I have to keep working on that. If no polling location is listed you MUST vote by mail using the ballot they have sent to you.

Here in Allegro's Building C (where Jack London Mail resides), the polling location is 189 Third St in the space adjacent to the Allegro gym. (Third & Jackson) I thought it would cover more of the neighborhood than it apparently does, but oh well. Don't assume that this is your polling location - check first!

If you don't have your pamphlet available, you can check online as to where your polling location is, although it says on the website that you need to wait until 15 days before the election.

I recently took a class to become a polling location inspector (glorified name for supervisor for the day), and I learned some interesting things that I thought I'd pass on.

Wearing a candidate or issue t-shirt, button, hat, etc is considered electioneering and not allowed within 100 feet of a polling location. If you should end up wearing such items, as polling location workers we are supposed to ask you to remove them or cover them up. A t-shirt can be turned inside out.

If you are registered as a vote by mail voter, you can still vote at your local precinct (if you have one), but it will be on a provisional ballot, not a regular ballot. You could also take your ballot by mail to the polling location to dropoff, but if you don't have the envelope to send it in with it, you will use a provisional ballot.

And voting machines! I learned a lot about voting machines. First, I know that many people are skeptical of them. But the ones in Alameda all come with a paper trail. When you vote, you can see a summary of all your choices on paper (to the left of the screen), as well as on the screen. You can even go back and change something. When finished, the paper goes to the next blank area so the person after you doesn't know how you voted.

The paper ballots get scanned, but how do you know what they scanned? You can't review what the scanner read compared to how you voted, even if there is a paper trail.

But here's the insider scoop about the voting machine. You have to ask to use it. As a poll worker I can't point it out to you, I can't offer it to you if there's a huge line waiting to vote, etc. YOU have to ask for it. And, if only four people use the machine throughout the day, those four votes won't be counted. You have to have at least five people use the machine in order for the votes to count. Their reasoning is that if you only have one person use it, then you know how that specific identifiable person voted based on the final report for the machine at the end of the night.

I thought this was bizarre because I know someone asked me last year to use it, but apparently that was illegal.

The Alameda County Registrar is expecting a 90% turnout in voters compared to only a 30% voter turnout in June. I hope that Alameda County can beat that 90% prediction!
Posted 10/14/2008

MoNO Restaurant Closes - thank you, Economy.
Thanks to an underwhelming economy, MoNO Restaurant and Wine Bar closed their doors on Saturday after a little over six months of being open.

We loved MoNO, and loved having another locally owned business here in the neighborhood within easy walking distance. We loved the vibe of the place and couldn't help but consider the transformation that had turned it into such a lovely place compared to what it used to be. The contrast was amazing - as was the food, the wine, and the ambiance.

Here's a link to The Dude's first photos... and more photos, and even more photos. The Dude is a huge MoNO fan and a really great photographer!

One can't help but wonder if the bailout might magically work some spell to overcome the hardship and help Todd & Eloisa bring MoNO back sooner rather than later. ::fingers crossed::

Best wishes to Todd & Eloisa. Our thoughts are with you and we all hope that you can find a way to make it all work despite the (#&#&^#(=)*#$$ economy. Maybe a new, improved President might help?
Posted 10/13/2008

Miette, but not Miette, coming to Jack London Square
Oakbook has a great interview with Megan Ray, on bringing Miette to Oakland, only the name of the bakery and cooking school will be different, along with the product line. Miette, at the Ferry Building in SF is one of my favorite window shopping spots... yum!

No dates are given and a fair amount of construction work will need to be done, so don't go looking for it anytime soon, but it's a step in the right direction for the future of Jack London Square. And just to clarify, it will be in the ground floor of 66 Franklin, where the Spaghetti Factory and El Torito used to be, not in the new Jack London Market currently under construction adjacent to Heinold's.
Posted 10/07/2008

Register (or re-register) to vote by October 20, 2008
Just an FYI, especially for those new to the Jack London District.

You can register to vote online, or we will try to have forms at the JLDA Candidate Forum on Monday, September 15th. The Forum will be your chance to meet City Council At-Large candidates Rebecca Kaplan and Kerry Hamill. The forum will be held at the Portobello Regatta Room at 11 Embarcadero - towards the back of the parking lot past the tennis courts next door to KTVU. The forum will start at 6:30pm and go until 8pm.

This is your chance to see for yourself what the candidates have to say and ask questions. Since Council Member Nancy Nadel isn't very supportive (imho!) of our neighborhood, perhaps we can get some committments from one of these candidates for the at-large seat.
Posted 9/11/2008

Ellington's Future Uncertain
The Ellington is the under-construction condo building on Broadway between 2nd & 3rd Streets. It is 134 condos with a fair amount of retail space at the ground level.

A month or so ago, someone sent me a link to an article on the developer, Molasky Pacific. It seems that Irwin Molasky (apparently of some fame in the Las Vegas development scene) had filed personal bankruptcy.

(In a side note, it is worth further clicking on the link in that story to one about a "troublemaker" who has my favorite quote of the year - "I've always found," Shabel said at one point, with her slight British accent, "that if you have a cocktail party before the project is completed, it usually spells trouble. Almost none of them end up going through." How appropriate! Didn't the Ellington have their grand opening back at the beginning of the year with tales of sales starting in April?)

So then today I was catching up on my San Francisco Business Times reading and I saw a story about the Ellington. It seems that it was SOLD three months ago to their equity partner, Lehman Brothers. It seems that now Lehman Brothers has troubles of their own and are selling off most of their commercial real estate holdings, whether that includes the Ellington has not been announced. The story comes from the September 5-11, 2008 issue.

At the last construction meeting, Swinerton said that they were expecting to turn the building over to the developer in October 2008... hmm, will individual units be sold, or the building as a whole???
Posted 9/09/2008

Register to Vote / Announcement of new polling location
If you're new to the neighborhood, it's a good time to re-register to vote. You can do it online by clicking on this link. You have until October 20th to register.

When you get your voter information for the November issue, be sure to look at where you'll be voting. Last week a new polling location was approved at 3rd & Jackson in the empty space adjacent to the Allegro Apartments gym. Hopefully it will cover a good majority of the District.

After the last election I asked as many people as I could if they voted. I don't care who or what you voted for, just that you voted. I can't tell you how many people told me that they hadn't voted! And the variety of excuses was interesting. A good majority of the excuses were that they didn't know where to go to vote. Some thought that their polling location was still at the Port Building in Jack London Square, which it hasn't been for at least two or three elections. Others were confused by the location in Chinatown.

So this time around, check your booklet when it comes if you're not voting by mail. Hopefully you'll find a very walkable polling location right here in your neighborhood.

(Note to Phoenix Lofts & others on the "other side of Broadway" - not sure where your polling location would be, so do be sure to check your booklet.)
Posted 8/05/2008

Jack London District Association vs Jack London Mail
I heard one of the most silly things ever yesterday and in a day full of frustration regarding the Jack London District, this one thing in particular took the cake.

I own a business here in the neighborhood. I know it's a convenient spot for people to come in to ask about neighborhood stuff, but it's still a business. I know I'm here most of the time, so it makes me an easy trap for people to ask questions or pass along news. But just keep in mind that it's a business (sorry to keep repeating) and that even if I don't have customers in the store at that moment, it doesn't mean I'm not working on something for a customer who isn't physically in the store.

I can't tell you how frustrating it is every day to be asked the same two issues repeatedly. Parking can be an all day subject full of drama and disagreements as to whether the current permit scheme is the right thing to do or not. For the record, I believe it is the right thing to do, but too late in happening and not a whole lot of hope of it lasting past the first year since it's doubtful that the City will sell 1100 permits at the $150 price. The history is worth reading, but I'm not going to tell the tale again here. Go back and read old issues or blog entries. Please, whatever you do, don't ask me about it in the store. I need a time out from the subject.

The other issue I get asked about daily is the grocery store. I've said it so many times that I feel like a broken record. No, there is currently no signed deal for a grocery store here in the District. The ground floor of the Amtrak parking garage being built is, in theory, where a grocery store will go since the developer was required to put in retail space on the ground level, but it's not a guarantee that a grocery store will go there. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon. I'd love to be wrong because of how much I'd love for a grocery store to be right there. But I'm a fairly logical person and logic tells me that with new construction are big costs, which equate to high rents. When you further look at it from a grocery store's standpoint, they need super low rents because they have a relatively low margin (even in high end grocery stores) compared to overhead costs, so I just don't see it. Like I said, I hope I'm wrong. I would really love to be wrong.

So out of about a dozen people that came to see me before noon yesterday about non-business stuff, one person shocked me partly because he wasn't asking about either of these two most popular issues. He was asking about something completely different. When I suggested going to JLDA to discuss the issue, I was given some wierd answer about how JLDA is a "waste of time" and that they're only interested in the Waterfront Warehouse District.

You could easily have knocked me over with a feather. How is it that people have this perception? The JLDA Call is providing more info on JLDA than I provided back when I printed the Jack London News. Certainly the most recent issue I read of the JLDA Call had no articles that I can recall on the subject of the Waterfront Warehouse District. Parking seemed to be the biggest topic.

When asked why this person felt the way he does about JLDA, he said that "even the colors on the website were the same colors as on the WWD signs". Uh, yeah, but how does that make it all about the WWD? I just looked at the site and the National Night Out event info (it's TONIGHT!) is on the front page with other articles on Kimball's withdrawing a cabaret license request for a new space they had been considering, the new waterfront access map, and a report on the District 3 candidate forum. There are links on the left side which point people to specific subjects such as development, the community calendar, parking, crime & safety, etc.

So how do people have that perception? Because this person told me that most people he knows seem to feel the same way. Is that true?

I was a founding member of JLDA. I gathered a group together to form into the new JLDA so that it wasn't just about a "neighborhood", but about the entire district. JLNA (Jack London Neighborhood Association) had disappeared a few years earlier and rather than resurect that, a group of us decided to go for a broader name to include the businesses in the area, not just residents.

JLDA has monthly meetings that ANYONE & EVERYONE is welcome to attend. You should, as a courtesy, let them know that you will be going so as to make sure there are enough chairs/space. The next meeting is Monday, August 18th at 7pm at the Egghouse - 229 Harrison at Third Street. Send an email to info@jlda.org if you will be attending. Go! Find out for yourself what they are talking about and working on. See if you can provide some help. If you have an issue you want to discuss, let them know. They're an easy group to talk to. I, however, am NOT on the Board. So talking to me about stuff that they need to know about isn't the way to go. I realize that this sounds pretty harsh, but it's true.

Getting involved in your neighborhood is an investment in your home, business, or whatever else brings/keeps you in the neighborhood. Expecting someone else to get involved for you is unfair. It's the organizing of the masses that creates change. This District has slowly been evolving in that direction and I hope that evolution continues. But it won't happen if people go out trying to get things done individually - because our voice isn't as loud as individuals as we are as a group.

Need a notary, to ship a package, or to rent a mailbox? Come on down to Jack London Mail.

But if you need to talk about the neighborhood, want to get involved, or ask questions about the neighborhood contact JLDA or go to their next meeting August 18th. Trust me, it won't hurt a bit... well, maybe a tiny bit, getting through some of the required bureacracy, but only by getting involved can you expect anything to change.

I'm going to keep taking a break from events and meetings. It's someone else's turn to get involved!
Posted 8/05/2008

MoNO Back In Business
Not even a week after a minor fire, MoNO is reopening tomorrow for lunch and dinner.

Show them some support and go by for a drink, if not a full meal. I especially recommend the Agua Fresca and the Peach Martini's...

Lunch is served Tuesday through Friday 11:30am-2pm.

Dinner is served Tuesday through Saturday 5:30pm-9:30pm.

You can also make reservations via OpenTable.
Posted 7/22/2008

Story Index for the old 2006 print issues
This is mostly for my own benefit - I need to be able to search on the stories I wrote for Jack London News' print editions. The online issues don't have the best graphics, so if you need a high resolution electronic copy, let me know and I can see if there's a way to get it to you. (Hopefully no one will need or want one!)

Volume I, Issue 1 - January 2006 - 2 pages [pdf]

Advertisers: Sierra Salon, Jack London Mail, Sierra Deli & Market, Red Hanger Kleaners, Prime Smoked Meats, Subway, World Ground, Peerless Coffee, & Cuckoo's Nest

Volume I, Issue 2 - February 2006 - 2 pages [pdf]

Advertisers: Yoga & Pilates Classes, Jack London Mail, Sierra Salon, Prime Smoked Meats, Oakland Library Benefit

Volume I, Issue 3 - March 2008 - 4 pages [pdf 1001.73 KB]

Advertisers: Yoga & Pilates Classes, Urban Bay Properties, World Ground, Silk Road, Heinold's First & Last Chance, Sierra Salon, Prime Smoked Meats, Century 21, Waterfront Action, Creative Effects, Jack London Mail, Subway, Sierra Deli & Market, iSmile Dental, Peerless Coffee & Tea, and Caldecott Properties

Volume I, Issue 4 - April 2006 - 4 pages [pdf 1.34 MB]

Advertisers: Yoga & Pilates Classes, Caldecott Properties, World Ground, Sierra Salon, Jack London Mail, Waterfront Action, Prime Smoked Meats, Heinold's First & Last Chance, Century 21, Saf Keep Storage, London Real Estate & Loan, Subway, Sierra Deli & Market, iSmile Dental, Urban Bay Properties

Volume I, Issue 5 - May 2006 - 4 pages [pdf 1.92 MB]

Advertisers: Jack London Mail, Aqua Via, World Ground, Sierra Salon, Waterfront Action, Prime Smoked Meats, Markus Supply Ace Hardware, Century 21, Saf Keep Storage, Studio 8, Sierra Market & Deli, iSmile Dental, Joan Morrow Prudential Realty, Caldecott Properties

Volume 1, Issue 6 - June 2006 - 4 pages [pdf 1.83 MB]

Advertisers: 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, Aqua Via, World Ground, Sierra Salon, Markus Supply Ace Hardware, The Fat Lady, Jack London Square Farmers' Market, Saf Keep Storage, Studio 8, Joan Morrow Prudential California Realty, iSmile Dental, Mignonne, Sierra Deli & Market, Oakland Public Library, Jack London Mail, Prime Smoked Meats, Century 21

Volume 1, Issue 7 - July 2006 - 8 pages [pdf 5.21 MB]

Advertisers: 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, Aqua Via, World Ground, Sierra Salon, Oakland Public Library, The Fat Lady, Jack London Mail, Miramonte Company, Soizic, Tamarindo, Joan Morrow Prudential California Realty, iSmile Dental, Mignonne, Sierra Deli & Market, London Real Estate & Loan, Century 21, B Restaurant & Bar

Volume I, Issue 8 - August 2006 - 8 pages [pdf 3.83 MB]

Advertisers: 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, Aqua Via, World Ground, Sierra Salon, Markus Supply Ace Hardware, The Fat Lady, Jack London Mail, Miramonte Company, Teresa Jenkins Main Attorney-at-Law, Jessos Seafood, Flexcar, Soizic, Waterfront Action, Prime Smoked Meats, Tamarindo, Oakland Public Libary, iSmile Dental, Fenton's Creamery, Jack London Mail, Sierra Deli & Market, London Real Estate & Loan, Century 21, B Restaurant & Bar

Volume I, Issue 9 - September 2006 - 8 pages [pdf 6.58 MB]

Advertisers: Sell Smart, Aqua Via, World Ground, Waterfront Action, Jack London Square Farmers' Market, The Fat Lady, Sierra Salon, Miramonte Company, Teresa Jenkins Main Attorney-at-Law, Jessos Seafood, Flexcar, Soizic, Tamarindo, 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, iSmile Dental, FasTrak Covers, Jack London Mail, Sierra Deli & Market, London Real Estate & Loan, Century 21, B Restaurant & Bar

Volume I, Issue 10 - October 2006 - 8 pages [pdf 13.96 MB]

Advertisers: Sell Smart, Aqua Via, World Ground, Waterfront Action, Oakland Public Library, The Fat Lady, Sierra Salon, Miramonte Company, Teresa Jenkins Main Attorney-at-Law, Jessos Seafood, Flexcar, Soizic, Blue Moon Temple, Tamarindo, 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, iSmile Dental, Jack London Mail, Sierra Deli & Market, London Real Estate & Loan, Century 21, B Restaurant & Bar

Volume I, Issue 11 - November 2006 - 8 pages [pdf 6.26 MB]

Advertisers: Sell Smart, Caldecott Properties, World Ground, Waterfront Action, Jack London Square Farmers' Market, The Fat Lady, Sierra Salon, Miramonte Company, Teresa Jenkins Main Attorney-at-Law, Soizic, Macy Movers, Blue Moon Temple, Dashe Cellars, Jack London Mail, Kincaid's, A Lucky Dog, 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, iSmile Dental, JC Cellars, FasTrak Covers, Sierra Deli & Market, London Real Estate & Loan, Century 21, B Restaurant & Bar

Volume I, Issue 12 - December 2006 - 12 pages [pdf 9.97 MB]

Advertisers: Prime Smoked Meats, Caldecott Properties, World Ground, Waterfront Action, Jack London Square Farmers' Market, The Fat Lady, Sierra Salon, Miramonte Company, Teresa Jenkins Main Attorney-at-Law, Flexcar, Soizic, Mignonne, Tonya Perme Pet Photography, ProArts Gallery Store, Swarm, Peerless Coffee & Tea, Jack London Mail, Macy Movers, Blue Moon Temple, Dashe Cellars, Tamarindo, A Lucky Dog, Kincaid's, iSmile Dental, Oakland Public Library, Heinold's First & Last Chance, Saf Keep Storage, Sierra Deli & Market, London Real Estate & Loan, Century 21, B Restaurant & Bar

Posted 7/16/2008

Waterfront Access Map
I was just reading another Oakland focused blog and figured readers here could use a reminder that we have a really great park a nice bike ride away. While Middle Harbor Shoreline Park is often cold and windy, it should be spectacular with our current heat wave. So get out your bike and go for a spin.

Another nearby waterfront park to visit is Union Point Park, just down Embarcadero just past the Coast Guard Island access road.

This great map has both parks on it as well as info on the Bay Trail.
Posted 7/09/2008