Following county's success, some East Bay cities are lining up to regulate sideshow spectators
Brian Copeland wants to know “what hell is going on” about San Leandro’s embattled police chief; How Fremont's home prices being tops in the Bay Area may affect its mayoral race
CITY NEWS
HAYWARD
—SIDESHOWS A NO-GO—Nearly a decade ago, former Hayward Councilmember Marvin Peixoto famously described the high-speed cars zipping down a portion of the downtown Hayward Loop as the beginning of the Indianapolis 500.
—The long-standing issue has now morphed into a proliferation of sideshows and what the city of Hayward calls “illegal speed contests.”
—On Tuesday, the Hayward City Council will hold a work session to strengthen an existing city ordinance with punishments for spectators at sideshows.
—The proposed changes follow a similar ordinance passed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors earlier this year that only covers nearby unincorporated areas.
—Hayward already has a spectator ordinance, but it covers only drag races and “speed contests,” language that evokes Danny and Sandy from Grease, as opposed to the highly organized and large sideshows often seen today in the East Bay.
—The proposed amendments would define sideshows in the ordinance. A criminal violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor that includes up to six months jail time and a $1,000 fine.
—However, more likely a violation would be handled administratively with a $500 fine for a first offense, $750 for a second, and $1,000 fine for a third offense.
—Last month, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department reported to Board of Supervisors committee that their sideshow ordinance has paid immediately dividends, significantly lowering the number of sideshows in the unincorporated areas.
SAN LEANDRO
—LACK OF TRANSPARENCY—Brian Copeland, the comedian and playwright, is a member of San Leandro’s inaugural Community Police Review Board (CPRB).
—And like many San Leandro residents, he wants to know why the city’s police chief was placed on administrative leave two weeks ago.
—“I feel at the very least that the board should know what the hell is going on,” Copeland said during last Wednesday’s CPRB meeting.
—“Talking to friends, neighbors, strangers, I’m not alone in this opinion. We deserve to know why is this all so secret?”
—“It’s all under a veil of secrecy,” Copeland added. “Nobody knows why. Nobody knows what the allegations are. Nobody knows what happened that was so serious that this measure was taken.”
—Another CPRB member said it was embarrassing that they were given no information. At minimum, the public should know which policy was allegedly violated.
—San Leandro Police Chief Abdul Pridgen was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 11 for alleged violations of the police department’s policy. The city is conducting an independent investigation of the allegation.
—No matter how frustrating it may be to not know the reason behind placing Pridgen on leave, it’s well established the situation is a personnel matter and the police chief has a right to privacy.
—ICE CREAM TEXTS—In 2018, San Leandro had a similar high-profile city hall controversy when then-city manager Chris Zapata was placed on administrative leave.
—But the public didn’t have to sit around and wonder what happened because Zapata immediately penned a 23-page document detailing the allegations made by a well-known leader of a San Leandro non-profit, along with evidence that refuted the allegations, including text messages.
—An independent investigation found the allegations against Zapata were not credible. He later received a $350,000 payout, before leaving to become Anaheim’s city manager. Zapata, who is now city manager in Sausalito, ended up donating his payout to another local non-profit.
—POLICE BLOTTER—San Leandro Police Department intends to bring to the city council’s Rules Committee potential ordinances related to limiting sideshow activity in San Leandro, Assistant Police Chief Luis Torres told the Community Police Review Board last Wednesday.
—San Leandro Interim Police Chief Kevin Hart said, “I’m excited to be here.” Hart is a retired Kensington police chief and former Dublin councilmember. On his retirement: “I just barely know how to spell retirement, so it wasn’t a good fit for me.”
—The CPRB’s independent police auditor will release its first annual report on Sept. 30.
FREMONT
—SELLERS’ MARKET—Fremont is now the most expensive city to live in the Bay Area. The median price for a home in Fremont is $1.4 million, topping much bigger neighboring cities San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland.
—Fremont is a nice place to live, but there’s more to the city’s expensive home prices, and it’s likely to be a talking point in next year’s mayoral election.
—Housing stock. Fremont’s supply is low, although they have been working well at improving their overall amount of new housing units.
—One of the candidates in Fremont’s upcoming mayoral election—former Fremont Councilmember Vinnie Bacon—is well-known for his dogged questioning of new housing because of its impacts on traffic and schools, along with his disdain for developers.
—The solution to exorbitant home prices is to increase supply. But saying you want to build more housing is bad politics in Fremont.
—Tacitly campaigning as the candidate who helped your home values skyrocket is always a winner in Fremont.
—FOREIGN DELEGATION—The City of Fremont is welcoming a delegation from Taiwan this afternoon that includes the Mayor of Changhua Shih-Hsien Lin.