Native Americans and other protesters gathered at the Bay Street Mall last Friday (aka Black Friday) to urge shoppers to boycott the mall, which is built on the site of the largest Indian burial ground on the West Coast. This fact -- the source of much consternation for Bay Area native people -- was brought to light by archeologists when the mall broke ground eight years ago. At that time, archeologists announced the presence of thousands of Ohlone, pre-Columbian skeletal remains. It was reported during construction that concrete piles were actually driven through the remains of the people buried there. The shell mound was once 60 feet high and up to 600 feet in diameter.

“This shopping mall is built on the sacred burial site of my ancestors,” said protest organizer Corina Gould of Vallejo. “How would you like it if they built a shopping mall on your grandfather’s grave.”

Protesters representing Indian People Organizing for Change, based in Oakland, have gathered each Black Friday for the past eight years to urge shoppers to boycott the mall.

(Protest Organizers Corina Gould and Wounded Knee (3rd photo from top ))

(Photos and caption by Brian Donahue).

City Transportation Committee Votes "No" to Keeping Horton Street Safe for Bicyclists

by Brian Donahue and Marc Albert

Bicyclists pedaling along Emeryville’s only designated north-south Bicycle Boulevard beware.

The city's Transportation Committee voted last Tuesday to strip bicycle lanes from a portion of Horton Street in order to accommodate more cars.

The vote by the Transportation Committee, comprised of City Council members Nora Davis and Ken Bukowski, ignores a unanimous recommendation by the city's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee to either retain the bike lanes or adopt the universal standard for bike boulevards. That standard, created by the cities of Palo Alto and Berkeley, limit speeds to 25 mph and the number of vehicles to 3,000 per day. The standard is based on traffic engineers' determination that the street becomes unsafe for bicyclists if speed or traffic increases beyond those numbers. In the case of Horton Street, the bike-ped committee has asked that "traffic calming" devices be installed in order to keep the volume and speed of traffic down.

Despite the advisory committee's concerns over safety, the Transportation Committe voted not only to remove the bike lanes but also refused to install traffic calming. Nora Davis, chairwoman of the committee, responded to concerns with a single-word rejoinder: “Poppycock!” (adopting a favorite retort of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher).

What's Good for Bicyclists is Bad for Business

Transportation Committee member Ken Bukowski referenced the potential constraints bike boulevard standards would impose on the planned “Transit Center,” an office tower to be built just north of the Amtrak depot.

“If we were to impose a limit on the cars to help bikes, it would hurt development,” Bukowski said, thoughtfully. He said that the Horton Street bike boulevard was always intended to be temporary.

Issues of Safety

Bike-ped committee members Scott Donahue and Sam Fousee say they are already very concerned about bicyclist safety on Horton Street.

“There are already too many cars on Horton Street,” Fousee said. He and Donahue said that in order to keep speed and traffic within a safe range, traffic calming is necessary.

As development along Horton Street continues, the city projects traffic volumes in excess of 9,000 cars a day. "A lot more cars are coming and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Bukowski said. Davis agreed.

The fate of the Horton Street Bike Boulevard will be decided by the full City Council at its meeting Dec. 15. Concerned citizens are encouraged to attend the meeting and have their voices heard.

Open Letter to the Emeryville City Council

New Council Members Should Address Staff Salaries and Hiring Practices, Ken Bukowski Debacle(s)

by Walt Watman

While everyone has the right to speak up about what is most important to them, it seems to me that issues like the ones below, which I have raised before and which continue to be ignored by the City Council, continue to be of great import.

I ask that the newly elected City Council members consider what I am about to say and take a stand on these matters,

1) Insisting that the City Council publish the salaries of City Attorney Mike Biddle and City Manager Patrick O'Keefe, and also insist that they, as the city's highest-paid employees, take a salary cut. The reduction in their salaries might prevent layoffs of other city employees earning far less, or at least allow the city to retain those employees part-time. Cuts should start at the top, not the bottom.

2) Insisting that the City Council explain, and then remedy, the fact that it has never permitted City Attorney Biddle's position to be posted, thus allowing a fair and competitive hiring process. After all, Biddle "negotiated " a $1.25 million settlement cost to the city in the wrongful death suit filed by the widow of Michael Smela, who was struck and killed by Bukowski as he drove away from a community meeting. This is an instance of what I consider questionable performance in these troubled financial times. And there are other such instances, yet Biddle's contract is renewed without any competition from other candidates.

3) Insisting that the City Council explain why they slap the citizens of Emeryville in the face by making no statement about and taking no action to remove Council Member Ken Bukowski even though he has been fined for political practice violations, and continues to blame the sun, the stars, and everyone else for his actions, taking no responsiblity for any of them.

4) Insisting that the City Council disclose the amounts of subsidies to developers, and the revenue the city will get in return from giving those subsidies to their fair-haired developers. Not to mention why they have not allowed us to know the details of various developers' proposals.

If this kind of naked abuse of power, disregard of citizens' right to know, contemptuous defiance of what is right in favor of self-serving politics -- not to mention the spending of taxpayer money for salaries and projects that are not made known to them and are not fairly determined -- were addressed by the new Council members, then such matters as pedestrian rights, bicycle lanes, and the like would not require so much attention because the Council would be acting in good faith.

This is a matter of the rights of all citizens to open government, to explanations of spending, to fair employment practices, to getting the best city attorney and city manager rather than the ones most willing to shake hands with the Council who hired them. This is a matter of priorities, not whose ox is being gored.

Walt Watman has lived in Emeryville for eight years. While national issues such as health care and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have most of his attention, he finds it difficult to be silent on Emeryville matters when the people's business is conducted in ways that are unprincipled and bad for the city. Walt believes the city deserves better.

Ken Bukowski's San Francisco Landlord Petitions Rent Board for Increase to Market Rate

Building Manager Says Drug Paraphernalia
Seen in Bukowski's Apartment

by Tracy Schroth

The manager of the San Francisco building where Emeryville City Council Member Ken Bukowski has had an apartment for the past 30 years said a petition has been filed with the city's rent board to raise the rent to market rate. He did not specify an amount, but a neighbor of Bukowski's with a similar unit said he pays $1,800.

Bukowski now pays $350 for the rent-controlled apartment, on the third floor of the building at 798 Post Street in Lower Nob Hill.

The Secret News previously reported that Bukowski had the apartment, a fact that was rumored for years but never officially confirmed or made public. When questioned about the apartment, Bukowski said he stays there "15 to 20 percent of the time." This is despite San Francisco law that allows only full-time tenants to qualify for rent control.

"It was assumed that he was a full-time resident of the building, primarily because his initial signed lease indicated nothing to suggest he was going to use the apartment on a part-time basis," said a formal statement issued by the apartment building's resident manager, Steve West. Based on Bukowski's recent admission, "a petition has been made to the Rent Board ... requesting to raise his rent to current market rate as he is no longer a full-time tenant and thus not covered under rent control statutes," the statement said.

Drug Paraphernelia and "Strange Smells"

West said in his statement that he is aware of the recent allegations of drug use by Bukowski.

"While I cannot confirm or deny those statements, several tenants have complained of constant comings and goings of non-residents of the building to Mr. Bukowski’s unit," as well as "strange smells" coming from the apartment.

West went on: "An authorized entry was made into his unit and drug paraphernalia was observed. If he is indeed using or manufacturing drugs, my hope is that he is not doing it on this property, as any drug use could endanger the other residents of the building. The matter is one for the police to handle and I can only hope they are following up on these allegations, not only for Mr. Bukowski's safety, but for those around him as well."

In a recent interview with The Secret News, Bukowski denied allegations by his niece, Kim Bukowski, that he is a methamphetamine user, although he "tried it ... a long time ago." He did say, however, that he smokes marijuana.

When asked about his plans for the San Francisco apartment, he said he will probably pay the rent increase. He said he plans to get this money, and the money to repay more than $100,000 in loans, back business taxes, and fines for misusing campaign donations, by selling off part of his Emeryville property.

New Results: Jennifer West and Kurt Brinkman Elected to the City Council

by Tracy Schroth

The latest results: Jennifer West and Kurt Brinkman - not Frank Flores, who was four votes ahead of Brinkman in the preliminary count - have been elected to the Emeryville City Council. The new total includes all permanent absentee and provisional ballots. The new results were posted by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters at 2:30 p.m. today, Nov. 5. The results are still being listed as preliminary, while the Registrar completes its audit. The counts are expected to be made official early next week, according to the Registrar's office.

Jennifer West easily won one of two seats with a whopping 855 votes (56%). Kurt Brinkman received 746 votes (31.8%), and Frank Flores, 739 (31.5%).

All three incumbents of the Emery Unified School Board were re-elected, with Cheryl Webb receiving the most votes at 879 (27.37%), followed by Joshua Simon, 844 (26.26%), and Miguel Dwin, 737 (22.95%). Brian Donahue and Darice Bridges received 476 votes (14%) and 272 votes (8.47%), respectively.

Measure K, which increases the tax on the city's card rooms, was passed 1,156 (83%) to 232. The tax will go from 9 percent to 10 percent under the new measure.

(Photos: Jennifer West with family, Kurt Brinkman).

Jennifer West Wins City Council; Bd Ed Incumbents Retain their Seats

by Tracy Schroth

Jennifer West easily won one of two seats on the Emeryville City Council with a whopping 707 votes. It looks like Frank Flores won the second seat with 628 votes, narrowly beating Kurt Brinkman, who got 624 votes. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters is still listing the results as preliminary due to the narrow margin between Flores and Brinkman.

All three incumbents of the Emery Unified School Board were re-elected, with Cheryl Webb receiving the most votes at 739, followed by Joshua Simon, 709, and Miguel Dwin, 631. Brian Donahue and Darice Bridges received 388 votes and 235 votes, respectively.

Measure K, which increases the tax on the city's card rooms, was passed 964 to 203. The tax will go from 9 percent to 10 percent under the new measure.

(Photo: Jennifer West speaks to supporters on election night. Click photo to enlarge).