Judge Dellbert Gee, right, administers the oath of office to new City Councilmember John Knox White on Dec. 18. Knox White will take his seat on the Council with the city’s new mayor, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, newly elected Councilmembers Tony Daysog and Jim Oddie, as well as Councilmember Malia Vella.
Oddie, whose term had expired, was elected to fill the seat vacated when Ezzy Ashcraft won the majority.
Negotiators for the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) and the Alameda Education Association (AEA) reached a tentative agreement Thursday, Dec. 20, in negotiations over salary and other contract considerations.
Under the terms of the one-year agreement, members of the AEA, which represents teachers, nurses, speech and language pathologists, as well as counselors, will receive a 4.5 percent salary increase.
Pictured above (not necessarily left to right) are: Will Durst and his merry band of pranksters: famed political comic Durst himself, notorious raconteur Johnny Steele, major award-winner Debi Durst, Captain Syntax Michael Bossier, the glamorous Mari Magaloni and — last but not least — the beguiling, yet troubled, Arthur Gaus, Esq.
This motley band will appear 7 p.m. sharp, Friday evening, Jan. 3, at Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave., with their end-of-the-year comedy extravaganza.
Jim Franz ‘Retires’
The year began with the city giving Jim Franz, aka the “Energizer Bunny,” a royal send off. Franz moved to Alameda in 1981, where he got a job with the Red Cross and volunteered to sit on Alameda’s Social Service Human Relations Board.
His involvement in community affairs so impressed his fellow Island City dwellers that they named him “Man of the Year” and “Humanitarian of the Year.”
Alameda natives accomplished many athletic feats in 2018. Here’s part one of a two-part series looking back at some of the great athletic exploits from Alamedans in 2018.
January
The 45th annual Alameda Elks Hoop Shoots City finals kicked off 2018 on Jan. 5. Isaiah Croxton and Mia Wong won the boys’ and girls’ eight- to nine-year-old division; Jack Omarra and Isabelle Lu won the boys’ and girls’ 10- to 11-year-old division; and Kaim Hajjem and Jayden Banaria won the boys’ and girls’ 12- to 13-year-old division.
