In my ongoing quest to understand wokeism, I look at San Francisco, which in many respects is even more wokey-dokey than Oakland. There’s no better way to understand the phenomenon than to examine the wokest things that have been done in San Francisco, and the individuals behind them.
Thao is not up to the challenge of proper governing
Gentrification
I had a great Thanksgiving. Just Maxine, Keith and me, at their house in Silicon Valley. An earlier year, the house would have been mobbed with family, but we’re at a point in our lives when some of those family members have passed on, and others have moved out of the area, in some cases halfway around the world. Keith has cancer, just recently diagnosed: he begins chemo today (Monday). All of which made this Thanksgiving, for the three of us, more poignant than ever.
On this Thanksgiving Day...
I wish everyone a happy, safe holiday! Despite bad news (the Oakland election results, and the shooting of our friend Vincent Williams [see below]), we can always find plenty to be thankful for.
Vincent, the recipient of our 2021 Person of the Year award, was on his way home from San Francisco, where he’d been helping a client, when an unknown assailant fired a bullet into his car, fracturing his skull and causing brain bleeding. Fortunately, Vincent survived, but his rehabilitation will be long. He has started a GoFundMe account, and I’m urging you all to please donate what you can.
Vincent is one of the treasures of our Oakland community. The founder of the Urban Compassion Project,
https://urbancompassionproject.org/
Vincent has dedicated his life to helping the homeless. The work he and his team do is truly extraordinary. Vincent has very little money; his hospital bills alone are likely to be in the six figures. Again, please give what you can to help this remarkable young man recover and resume his vital work.
Thank you.
Steve Heimoff
Meet Cat Brooks, the Puppet Master of Oakland government
What did Cat Brooks mean when she tweeted that “libbysreignofterroris over”? Libby is, of course, outgoing Mayor Libby Schaaf. As someone who follows Oakland politics pretty closely, I was not aware of bad blood between Brooks and Schaaf. So why the “reign of terror” remark?