Category Archives: Firefighters

The Princes of Alameda

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

For years, the Merry‑Go‑Round believed that the savviest political operator ever to occupy an office at City Hall was former City Manager John Russo. But in our estimation Mr. Russo now has got himself a rival for the crown:  City … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, City Hall, Development, Firefighters, Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Our PINO mayor

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

Thus far, Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft has managed to avoid becoming the target of our local online insult comedians. The “progressive” bloggers and commenters have spent their time discovering new (or dredging up old) sins committed by Trish Spencer and … Continue reading →

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Jim Oddie: remembrance of things past

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

“If you want to know what I’m gonna do, just look back at what I did.” So former Councilman Jim Oddie assured voters – twice – during the League of Women Voters forum last Tuesday. Well, today the Merry‑Go‑Round will … Continue reading →

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Johnny, we hardly knew ye

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

The decision by Councilman John Knox White not to seek reelection this November will deprive the Merry‑Go‑Round of one of our favorite pastimes:  listening to Mr. Knox White enlighten the public every first and third Tuesday about what studies show … Continue reading →

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The CARE program begins

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

The City’s pilot program for responding to “mental health crisis” calls began operating on December 16, 2021.  Today, the Merry‑Go‑Round will report on the results thus far.

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Fire out in front

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

Once again, Alameda firefighters are leading the way. Don’t worry:  this isn’t going to be another column about campaign contributions. Instead, our topic today is . . . vaccination rates.

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Alameda next?

Posted on August 15, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

First came the cities of San Francisco and Pasadena, which mandated that all of their employees get vaccinated against the COVID‑19 virus (and submit proof thereof) as soon as the federal Food and Drug Administration formally approves one of the … Continue reading →

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Fire wins again

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

Well, it looks like the City finally is going to launch a program to take the responsibility for responding to so-called “mental-health calls” away from the Alameda police department, as police-reform advocates have been demanding for months. But it’s not … Continue reading →

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Crisis response crisis?

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

The process of finding a way to replace having police officers respond to “mental-health crisis” calls has taken awhile – and it’s not over yet.

Posted in Budget, City Hall, Firefighters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Funding “police reform”

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

Thanks to the two budget workshops held on May 11 and May 20, we now know how much the City of Alameda intends to spend in the next two fiscal years on “police reform”:  $1.35 million next year and $1.95 … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, City Hall, Firefighters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments