u/SanFranciscoMan89

Oakland continues to be a great city to live, work and play in.

This community was created to talk about the good, bad and ugly that Oakland entails.

In order to support and grow this community, we'd like to welcome u/shamusfinnegan to the team.

u/SanFranciscoMan89 will continue to be involved but having additional moderators will allow the team to respond more effectively to questions and keep the community civil and engaging.

Please welcome u/shamusfinnegan and support them in their new endeavor.

Hopeful that Costco can open a new store in West Oakland.

I believe rising tides lift all boats. Hopefully by Costco opening shop here other companies will replicate.

However, Oakland seems to lose stores and restaurants as fast they arrive. Downtown had stores like Gap, Target, Foot Locker, and Lululemon but were unable to keep them in Oakland. In n Out was a heavily publicized example of a company moving out of Oakland because of crime.

Not surprising, there are major retailers in neighboring cities not far from the Oakland boarder (San Leandro, Emeryville, etc).

So what can Oaklanders and city government do to help Oakland become more retail and commerce friendly?

Oakland and San Francisco can be complementary cities.

San Francisco seems to be experiencing a renaissance and on the rise.

What can Oakland learn from San Francisco and bring here?

What areas should Oakland stay distinct from San Francisco?

We're in the days of going between warm and cool days.

Oakland is a special place with temperate weather.

Some trees will start changing colors and losing leaves.

I like this time of year.

Do you look forward to the change in season? What activities comes to mind when getting to this time of year?

Yes please.

Barbara Lee is quoted saying "if you trash our town, you will be held accountable.”

I would love for her to keep her word on this one.

Another day, another dollar.

The story details a bike stolen in Berkeley and then brought to Oakland.

There was a tracker on the bike so they knew exactly where it was.

The newscaster called OPD and waited multiple hours to respond.

It sounds like eventually, they took the bike back on their own because of lack of OPD response.

So many things that aren't working and OPD Captain is making excuses that since it's not a violent crime that these crimes are not a priority.

Not any question here just recognizing that crime and homeless continue to make their way to Oakland because they know laws will not be enforced and they can do whatever they'd like with little repercussions.

The Oakland Spiders won a national championship last month.

Held in Madison Wisconsin, they beat the New York Empire in the quarter finals and the Minnesota Wind Chill in the finals.

Come join the celebration this Wednesday at Prescott Hall.

Working within the constraints of our budget, what would efficacy look like in Oakland?

I would start enforcing laws.

I would prioritize collecting fines and money owed to the government. Ensure that speeding tickets are collected. Ensure that parking tickets are collected and if not, impound the cars.

Rinse and repeat. Increase the income and reduce expenses where possible. Money doesn't grow on trees and stop pretending it does.

Your thoughts?

I realize the frustration in Oakland at times. I also think it has something to do with not wanting to hear political speak but to see action.

In other words do what you say you're going to do. Don't feed me grand ideas without backing with results.

I don't need new laws on the books. I just need the current laws to be enforced.

Your thoughts?

So who uses Too Good To Go here and what are your favorites?

Donut Savant and Vientian Cafe are only blocks from each other one in the Oakland Allendale neighborhood.

Half joking that this is a new foodie destination.

Vientian is my go to for Laotian or Thai food.

Have you been to one or both?

Decades ago Zachary's Pizza was a special occasion pizza.

The Rockridge location is still open but I honestly haven't picked up a pizza there for a while.

I searched and I didn't find much discussion on this subreddit.

So is it still considered good and when's the last time you had a Zachary's Pizza?

Has anyone seen this article?

I feel like there's not enough data on who and where the violent crime is coming from.

If you can't identify the problem it's hard to come up with a solution.

Tldr - the ceasefire program targeting the small percentage of those causing these violent crimes is effective.

I was looking into Commis for a special occasion with my partner.

I dined there over a decade ago but the price seems a bit too rich for my blood now.

So what east bay fine dining restaurant would you recommend for under $500 (all in)?

Nice to have a three day weekend.

So what are your plans for Labor day?

Or are there any festivals or public activities you care to share?

I moved to Oakland in the late 90s and have followed city services since that time.

I remember going to neighborhood meetings and hearing the newest police chief (Richard Word) talking about turning the city around and getting rid of these new issues including sideshows.

In other words, new players, same playbook. The rote answer is "if we only had enough police officers, our problems could be solved".

Well, what would Oakland look like if we had enough police officers and we had effective police leadership?

My blue sky is clean streets, minimal car robberies, and reduced crime. We would call police and they would arrive within minutes. Criminals would leave Oakland and terrorize other cities since they'd recognize that they'd be arrested and prosecuted for crimes they commit in Oakland.

Your thoughts?

If you're willing to share (opposed to being afraid of overloading your favorite secret spot), what's your secret destination?

Could be a restaurant, a hiking trail, store, or street/view.

Not so secret but mine would be Vientian Cafe. A great Laotian restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood. Great food and great prices.

What's yours?

My opinion is that many of the crime and dumping issues we have in Oakland is because of the lack of law enforcement. I believe most law abiding citizens feel this way.

The contrarian view is that laws are not equally apportioned (I.e. racist or applied inequally to different groups) so we should defund the police, limit their powers or do nothing until the laws are rewritten.

This may be seen as too much of a simplified approach so I'm interested in your opinions.

Your thoughts?

I feel like the South Bay and Southern California have more Chinese restaurants that aren't Cantonese.

So what are some of your favorite Chinese restaurants that focus on dishes that aren't Cantonese? What are your must order dishes there?

I'm comfortable driving to San Leandro, Berkeley and surrounding areas.