East Bay Conservative

By Mark Ross, Contributing Writer

Back in 1972 I had the occasion to visit the Security National Bank in Walnut Creek… as part of my environmental journalist responsibilities. I didn’t get to meet with its CEO, Fortney H. “Pete” Stark, but his presence was felt. A giant peace symbol greeted me as I approached the front door.

It wasn’t long before “Pete” received, from the voters, a lifetime appointment to the U.S. House of Representatives. Ol’ Pete is now in his late seventies. A lot of the Democrat hacks-for-life from the Bay Area are getting really, really long in the tooth. Ronald V. Dellums shocked the world by voluntarily retiring from Congress… presumably in order to hand pick his successor, Babs Lee, thus costing Alameda County millions in special election expenses. Then he woke up and knew he had to save Oakland. From what? It now seems from himself.

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Today, Chip Johnson became the first journalist to put the reality of Oakland’s financial situation in print. Chip says the city might need to file for bankruptcy, and I agree.

Bankruptcy is an unpopular option, and several other bloggers including V Smoothe have pointed out that it wouldn’t accomplish much because the city is not locked into long-term contracts with public employees. So, the argument goes, they can simply negotiate contracts which dig the city out of its fiscal morass.

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By Mark Ross, Contributing Writer

Driving along the communication trench we call Highway 580… west of High Street and East of Fruitvale… you’ll see, on either right-hand embankment, a CalTrans sign naming the bridge that 38th Avenue takes over the freeway.  The story behind this obscure memorial brings to light several issues currently in play in today’s Oakland.

Early on the morning of January 10, 1999, Officer Williams was fatally wounded while searching in the landscaping along Highway 580 for a discarded shotgun.  The assailant stood on the 38th Ave. overpass… from where he fired his illegal AK-47 communist bloc full automatic military rifle.  Officer Williams was killed and another policeman was injured after his hand cuff case deflected the round.

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Today’s Matier and Ross column does an excellent job of exposing what lies at the heart of the budget messes at the city, county and state levels in California.

Key points from the article — 246 former San Francisco employees receive pensions in excess of $100,000 a year. Fifteen are above $150,000.
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