**San Jose may be a city with Silicon Valley gravitas but it's not the culture mecca that is San Francisco and, to a lesser degree, Oakland. Don't laugh at The Town. Have you read what the New York Times said about Oakland?
San Jose can brag endlessly about its divine right to steal the A's, but the courtroom is about time after time and lawyers. Delay, delay, delay.
MLB's anti-trust exemption has been the law of the land for nearly a hundred years. If and when the SJ lawsuit makes its way to the courtroom Karen Carpenter will rise from the dead.
When you say Oakland and culture in the same sentence, are you referring to the charming qualities like graffiti, crime, pit bulls, loud car radios, pot holes, and the smell of piss? That's the reality for most of Oakland when you leave the lake or hill areas. Thinking about putting your kids in an Oakland public school? Go for it.
ReplyDeleteWanting the A's to stay in Oakland is an emotional view or convenience that can't be supported with a logical argument.
Oakland has one, and only one thing going for it aside from weather, the Port.
Oakland, like other cities, has many problems--Nobody denies that.
DeleteOn the other hand, Oakland has transformed itself into a renaissance with great new downtown restaurants; an haven for artists in Uptown with thriving First Fridays and a zenith for the community; a great China and Korea town in what was once an area beset with crime and urban decay....Lake Merritt is gorgeous. The Temescal area in North Oakland is undergoing both a business and residential boom and in Elmhurst and Little Vietnam too...Sure, there are challenges ahead. It's called life.
Your other comments are not worthy of respond to because they lack any reasonable thought and are racist and insensitive to the core.
"renaissance with great new downtown restaurants; an haven for artists in Uptown with thriving First Fridays and a zenith for the community"
DeleteGo to OpenTable and try to get a 7:00pm reservation this weekend for these great new downtown restaurants. I just did. You know what, plenty of tables available at prime time. Yes, they are well reviewed, hip and trendy. But they are not busy.
As for First Fridays, do you really think any of those artists would ever, ever go to a baseball game? They are as far as you can get from a sports fan (okay, they might like soccer).
And what does Lake Merritt have to do with baseball in Oakland?
It is cute to think about the family of 4 going to a baseball game, but that does not help a baseball team. It is all about corporate sponsors, luxury suite sales, and TV ratings (In their magical season last year, the A's local TV ratings were #28 out of 30).
Tell me how Oakland can build a new ballpark and fix the above problems.
Poster at 10:51am you forgot to mention:
DeleteEvery home in Oakland has a steel front door.
The kind you find at Home Depot.
I live in Oakland. There are parts that are certainly nice, and revived, but the majority of it is pretty bad. It will only gain slightly over the next few years, as the cost of SF real estate rises. But that will stop at some point, and when it does Oakland will taper off again.
DeleteI live in one of the nicer neighborhoods, and I still don't want my loved ones walking home from BART.
A ballpark in Oakland will not fix its problems, no different from Baltimore. There will be a nice area, etc, but so much spending will have to go into protecting that area and pretending it's safe. Oakland is not San Francisco even if I'd prefer to live here.
The people living in these nicer neighborhoods are transient. They're not lifers. They're not raising families here. The majority of Oakland and it's population are in bad shape.
The team should move because any money toward a stadium will only hurt all of the growth that's transpiring.
Nothing like pissing off your South Bay followers.
ReplyDeleteThat's your interpretation.
DeleteA lot of the stuff that the first commenter listed DOES actually exist in Oakland, and in other cities. Tossing out a list of nuisances doesn't automatically make the person racist. Throwing the "R" word out so terribly quickly, with zilch for proof, makes the name-caller seem to be just another knee-jerk apologist for a terribly flawed locale. I take public transportation through Oakland regularly(mostly local AC Transit buses), and I dare not describe in detail the horrid behavior I see regularly on the bus lest I be labeled a right wing fascist by the P.C. people. It'd be nice to keep the A's in Oakland, but habitual crime and nuisance behavior has to be factored into the decision making process ....
DeleteAh rich - the beauty of blogs - I can give my opinion. Thx for not deleting.
DeleteGood post Rich.
ReplyDeleteYou are the best. Your honesty and perception just amazes me.
So, what is the chance of that NYT endorsement is paid for? What do you think?
"So, what is the chance of that NYT endorsement is paid for?"
DeleteHighly likely. Follow the story back to the NYT and you'll see that the contributors are freelance(people without jobs) writers that provide stellar reviews for travel, food, etc.
A city wants favorable exposure so they google a writer that only does positive reviews ~ laura k ingram, and offer to fly her out on the cities dime and do some wining and dining. She does not print negative reviews and providing she's not a trust fund baby, the dots are pretty easy to connect.
Your perception just amazes me.
And I always love to see that pic of the Oakland Coliseum on the front page of your blog...
ReplyDeleteOakland haters are so predictable here and on sfgate. Big cities will have big city problems you morons. San Jose is not immune to gang problems or people pissing in the streets. Oakland is a great city and it rubs some people the wrong way that The Town is getting great recognition nationwide.
ReplyDelete"The Town is getting great recognition nationwide"
DeleteYes by every street gang in America.
How many gangs exist in Oakland?
No more than in SF or Chicago. The worst gang actually is the one in power in Washington DC.
DeleteActually Rich, your comment about being too above it all to respond to the first comment is actually an indication of your own racial biases. Read the first comment carefully - it only mentions actual facts: graffiti, crime, pit bulls, loud car radios, and the smell of piss. There is no hint of race or socio-economic status as causing these problems. Only that the problems exist. YOU are the one impugning these objective descriptions as being due to a certain race. Whether it is in Oakland or Union City (boy just killed by pit bull) or anywhere else, if a city does not have the resources, local government, or citizenship to root out these objective problems then that city is a place most people would choose not to live in. It has nothing to do with race but you evidently think it does, which means that while you like to think you are too above it all to respond, your response objectively demonstrates that you actually believe that the problems are based on race and nothing more. Sad if you actually think about it.
ReplyDeleteHere’s Rich’s deal.
DeleteHe likes to stir up racial crap just to get the blog readers revved up and increase his hit count for the advertisers. It’s a hollow/insincere gesture easily proved. Go to the archieves of his radio show and count the times he has had a guest or topic that addresses the root problems that cause socio-economic inequality. I saw a couple of black ex jocks that he'd probably like to use as minority props but nothing with any meat.
When was the last time he promoted some sort of community involvement hobby horse charity for people to consider helping? Never. He has a radio program and a blog but chooses to avoid helping the needy.
He’s a fraud and a manipulator. If it’s intentional, he should stop, if he’s unaware, he should get some professional help. It’s not a very health thing he’s doing.
I'd imagine this reply will be deleted rather than published.
Yeah, calling it racist or insensitive is ridiculous. But that's typical Rich. You disagree with him, he goes ballistic.
DeleteRich I take it you're from Oakland?
ReplyDeleteI'll sum up the 3 cities in an honest, factual way.
San Francisco- tourist mecca. Too liberal.
Oakland- large African American population.
San Jose-large amount of Latino's and Asians.
Apparently the population of the Bay Area is going significantly Latino and Asian in the next 20 years...if it hasn't already.
Where would you want your stadium?
Damn, I tuned in to hear a three hour Lieberman media rant and a fantasy baseball move fight broke out.
DeleteThe population of California, in general, is trending towards Latino.
ReplyDeleteI would flip the tables, here. Rich, what would you have San Jose do? They want a team. They've tried to go play the game and through the process, and it has failed them by burying them in red tape. You've even said you didn't think there there any "blue ribbon panel". So, they should just go suck their thumb and sit in the corner without a team? How else were they supposed to pursue getting a team? This really comes across as more that they dared to woo a team from your town more than anything. Would you have felt the same way if they had sued, say, the NBA over moving the Kings to San Jose? You don't need to be so anti-San Jose to be pro-Oakland. Blame the A's, if you want, for their efforts to leave Oakland (even though much of the blame should be on the city and the Raiders). Don't blame San Jose for wanting to benefit from Oakland's loss. There are plenty of other cities willing to line-up to take the A's away from Oakland, too. What I think it boils down to is, you don't want the loss of the Warriors and A's to help in taking Oakland off of the map while San Jose is simply hoping that gaining the A's will help put them more on the map. There's nothing wrong with being a homer, but don't hate the other guys for being the same way.
If only Oakland can get a half way competent mayor. Jerry wasn't bad but dropped the ball with our sports teams. Quan, Dellums, Harris, Wilson, ugggghhh!!
ReplyDeleteHey Rich what's it like living in the most dangerous city in America?
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm just so damn scared!
DeleteLet's STAY Oakland!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're from Oaktown. You have some bias, but this is your blog. If people no likie, they no have to readie.
ReplyDeleteStill, Oakland is about as attractive as an armpit on a witch. It's getting better, but it's still not San Francisco. The City has the culture, the restaurants and the sights. Oaktown is gaining on the restaurants. The sights, not so much. The culture, not quite.
In addition, Oakland is not a safe place to be after the lights go down. There's a lot of the city that's very uncomfortable. There's a police issue as well.
San Jose is safer than Oakland and San Francisco. But culture in SJ? The Tech Museum? The restaurants are there.
Between the three, Oakland really stinks when it comes to civic leaders. Ron Dellums served his own purposes. Why do I get the feeling Jean Quan is going to lose the Athletics? Are the Raiders not that far behind?
Oh you're just a typical white American who is scared of his/her own shadow. Many of you live in irrational fear of anything and everything under the sun.
DeleteYes, Oakland has police issues. And so does San Jose!
DeleteRich,
ReplyDeleteMust you riducule the late Karen Carpenter? You may not like her or the music she performed, but that's no reason to ridicule her. The fact that she had serious health issues, for whatever the reason, is not game for crassness.
What's next, Tony Soprano fat jokes? Rich Lieberman "fat Jew" insults? Come on, Rich. Be funny. This isn't it. She did nothing for or to you. Have a little respect, just as you'd expect.
I have heard Lou Wolff say privately that he would move the team to Las Vegas if he could. He may come across as if he's interested in keeping the A's in the bay area, but that's only because there is no other major city in America today where the A's could move that has Major League ballpark.
ReplyDeleteHow does one invest any emotion or loyalty to a team that is owned by selfish, self-centered egotist who thinks his own ca-ca doesn't stink?
The only good owners this franchise has had since it moved to the west coast 45 years ago was the Haas family. They realized the value of community outreach and they made every effort to have their team become an intrinsic part of the East Bay.
All Steve Schott, and now Lou Wolff have done is whine and carp about the inadequacies of their ballpark, tarp off the cheap seats, and trade away rising stars such as Gio and Carlos Gonzalez. Luckily for them they've got a great manager and a wily GM, otherwise they'd be an afterthought!