It’s the Dog Days of High Summer now, and things have finally quieted down in Oakland. After a turbulent Spring, during which the “defund the police” battle took on immense proportions, people are turning their attention elsewhere.
Restaurants, bars, shops and other venues have reopened. People are on long-delayed vacations. Folks are just grateful to be out there again, enjoying life and having fun. Jose and I went to a Giants game yesterday, with Oracle Park nearly sold out. It was a fantastic day, although I’d estimate that only 15% of the fans had masks.
It’s easy, during a time like this, to forget that harder battles, political and other, lay just ahead. But they do. Oakland feels like it’s caught “inbetween.” Nobody knows what the impact of defunding the police will be. Nobody knows if the City Council’s plans, including MACRO and Roomkey, will work. Nobody knows who the next Mayor will be. Nobody knows how the current crime wave will play out, or how it will influence voters. Nobody knows if OPD will continue to hemorrhage officers. Nobody knows when the next downtown riot will occur. Nobody knows if he or she will be the next victim of a crime. Nobody knows if the Howard Terminal project will go ahead, or if the A’s will leave town, as the Raiders and Warriors already have. Nobody knows if rents will continue to climb, forcing more people out. And nobody knows how this Delta Variant thing will develop.
With all this uncertainty, no wonder people just want to have fun while they can. I just want to have fun. It sometimes feels like the last days of the Roman Empire: bread and circuses before the Huns invade. At the same time, we have our Coalition for a Better Oakland to sustain. It’s a tool. You don’t always need a tool, but when you do, it’s good to have one.
Steve Heimoff