Monday! Monday! Monday!

Wish I felt as lively as those three exclamination points this am. We're almost at Christmas, and the shopping frenzy is strong for many, as is the impulse to celebrate the season, give thanks, and do good. If you missed it, read last week's account by Ryan Van Lenning of Thursday night's meeting in North Oakland on crime prevention and public safety. And keep checking the OL calendar for things to do over the next two weeks.

Do you think BART is going to be able to have a fair and effective process to hire a new chief? Will the Board of Directors be transparent in their process? We're VERY interested, and excited Reginald James came out to the public BART meeting last week that invited citizens to give input into hiring and search critera. (Question: How many people do you think showed up to this meeting?)

We're sports fans here only in the Go Oakland! sense of the word, but it was great to hear the Raiders won. And seeing Tommy Kelly lose his pants (while sporting some efficent-looking black briefs) was a hoot.

This past weekend was all about food and holiday prep for lots of folks, with a pork prom and a jam exchange, as well as lots of holiday food shopping round town.

How will you remember 2009? What are your hopes for 2010? Oakland Local would like to know, and we'll award an ipod shuffle to the poster who has what a small group of OL team members judge to be the best post on this topic. Fill out our form and tell us what you think--need all responses by Dec. 30th. http://oaklandlocal.com/blogs/2009/19/how-will-you-remember-2009-and-what-are-your-hopes-2010