I’m amused reading Ray Ratto’s Twitter feed this morning. He’s fielding questions about the A’s stadium situation, perhaps in response to Chronicle Sports Editor Al Saracevic’s column on the front page of the Sporting Green today (paper/iPad app only until Tuesday). Ratto’s staying consistent in his belief that the Wolff/Fisher group doesn’t have the money [...]

This one’s a must read, people. Howard Bryant may be a Boston guy through and through, but he cut his teeth at the Merc’s sports department for years as the A’s beat writer. He’s also written some excellent books on baseball: Juicing the Game, Shut Out, and his most recent work, The Last Hero: A [...]

Nearly thirty years ago I went on a field trip with my brother and dad to a nursery in the Santa Cruz mountains. The nursery mostly grew coast redwoods. The afternoon was chilly as the marine layer wafted in over the mountains, giving the trees the moist, dense air that makes them thrive. As we [...]

Update 6/16 10:50 AM – Governor Brown has vetoed both of the main budget bills, AB 98 and SB 69. The veto came as Brown has been is discussions with Republicans over tax extensions, which were half of his inaugural budget solution. The GOP has given no quarter on these taxes, which apparently has forced [...]

Today is the deadline for the state to pass its budget. As part of the budget, two new redevelopment bills are being debated. AB 26x/SB 14x Redevelopment, Part 1 Eliminates redevelopment agencies and provides for orderly wind-down of RDA activities including payment of existing debt and the continuation of pass-throughs. The related bill (AB 27x/SB [...]

In light of how San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed used hardball tactics to get across-the-board concessions from public employee unions, it’s a good time to check in on how his counterpart in Oakland, Jean Quan, is doing. In late April Quan presented three different budgets to the City Council, which included different mixes of cuts, [...]

After an attempt to convert part of the Fairmont San Francisco into condos was derailed by objections by the local hotel workers union, the owners of the hotel, who include Lew Wolff and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, have decided to sell the property. The hotel was bought in 1998 by the same group as part of [...]

After a lengthy four hour debate, the San Jose City Council approved a $2.5 billion budget, a 10% drop from last year. The budget includes the first ever layoffs at SJPD, totaling 100 officers. The 7-4 vote included dissenters who wanted additional funding for police in light of an increasing homicide rate. Couple that with [...]

95.7 Sportsradio’s ratings took a 33% dive from 0.9 in April to 0.6 in May in the SF-Oakland market. Conversely, they rose 33% in San Jose from 0.6 to 0.8. Ratings for the twin KNBR’s have stayed steady. As for still-in-receivership KTRB, it’s possible that their AM license may be turned back in to the [...]

Last week I wrote that redevelopment bill SB 286 (Wright) was stalled, with similar bill AB 1250 working the other house. Turns out that last Friday SB 286 was amended and brought to committee again. This time its language largely matches that of AB 1250, which should make it easier to get a unified plan [...]