From past experience I propose a possible solution to Alameda’s rent issue. With about 12 years on the rent review board in Vallejo, with two years as chairman, I know Vallejo’s ordinance could be used for renters and landlords in Alameda as it has been for properties in Vallejo.
The headline in a recent commentary (“Rent Control Unfairly Taxes Landlords,” Nov. 19) said it all, but the counter to that was on page one (Landlords Sneak in under Moratorium,” Nov. 19). All this proves that we must have a better control over excessive rents in Alameda.
Corporate America, in its beneficence, infinite wisdom and noble pursuit of perpetual profit, has finally created a holiday truly worth celebrating, a holiday that honors what really matters: acquisition. This holiday — currently known as Black Friday — will now be called “Thanksgetting.”
Since at least 2000, with the city’s visioning process, the gateways to Alameda, particularly the one at the intersection of Park Street and Blanding Avenue, have been recognized as very important and deserving of special architectural treatment.
From time to time in the newspaper we read a lament about rents and housing prices being increased, driving citizens out of their homes. Nothing new about this, it is established real estate practice. In America, your fellow citizen exists to be used and then discarded, like an old T-shirt used to change your oil. When a citizen is pitched out onto the street, it certainly nullifies any concept of community.
When I was a kid in grammar school, Nov. 11 was called Armistice Day. And at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, our teacher would have everyone stand and be quiet for a minute. Doing so, we acknowledged that moment in 1918 when an armistice was signed and the dreadful carnage of World War I finally ended.
We were also honoring those who were fighting in the second of the World Wars. The war that was still underway. For me, it was to honor my Dad, away in the Navy, and my uncles and neighbors who were in uniform around the world.
