State law mandates removal from yards, outside places of business by Friday, Nov. 15
The city of Oakland is gearing up for a special election to replace recalled Mayor Sheng Thao. The election must take place within 120 days of the declared vacancy, with City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bass filling the mayor's duties until the special election is held. It won't be cheap, printing campaign material and ballots and staffing voting booths; but the hope is the outcome will be worth it.
In any case, the holidays can't come soon enough, as we recover from a contentious election and polarizing rhetoric. The sentiment of "Peace on Earth" seems more appropriate than ever. So does a reminder that state law mandates that political campaign signs in your yards and outside places of business must be removed by today.
As we prepare for Thanksgiving and an accounting of the many positive things we've experienced this year, I thought it would be fun to go back to my Town Crier column of Nov. 26, 2010. It was a much different time, when life seemed less complicated and we gave ourselves permission to be a bit silly. Here were some of my top reasons to be thankful, 14 years ago.
* My husband Chris, who gets up at dawn to prepare the Thanksgiving feast. This goes back to the early years of our marriage when I anchored the news on Thanksgiving mornings on KSFO Radio. I got the double overtime and he got the bird.
* The Butterball Turkey Hotline for giving me fodder for my column and newscasts over the years. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one out there who has kitchen disasters. There are actually women who've stuffed their wedding rings inside their turkeys.
* My high school friend Cindy, for paying attention to the lesson on entertaining in Home Economics. She hosts a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner -- complete with table decorations that could be on the cover of Martha Stewart Magazine. (For those of you who are counting ... yes, we have two Thanksgiving dinners.)
* My cat Tonka, for curling up by the fire while we cook. It takes years of training to get a cat to curl by the fire ala Currier and Ives, especially when the smell of turkey permeates the air.
* Macy's, for continuing the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day parade. The world seems a little sweeter with marching band music and giant balloons.
* My mom and dad, who taught me the virtues of counting my blessings and taking only as much food as I was sure I could stuff in my gullet.
* Corpus Christi Church, for holding mass on Thanksgiving and letting us put our table wine on the altar for a blessing. Please forgive me, Father, if I accidentally take someone's Cakebread instead of my Two Buck Chuck.
And here were some of my other observations from a Thanksgiving column in 2014, a decade ago. Thankfully, these joyful activities are still in place today.
Around Town: Back home, the elves are preparing for the annual Holiday Stroll in Montclair Village. There'll be mulled wine, caroling, sweet treats and Santa, plus late-night shopping and trolley rides. Walk, ride your bike or park in the Montclair Village garage during the stroll.
Ho Ho hike: Where can you find Christmas berries, mistletoe, beard lichen (Santa's?) and even mule deer masquerading as reindeer? The answer is on a moderate 5-mile hike to Mount Diablo's Twin Peaks. You can find a list of hikes and lots of information about Mount Diablo at savemountdiablo.org.
Animal tales: The day after Thanksgiving is a fun time to forage through the fridge for leftovers. But residents of the Oakland Zoo have it even better. They get pumpkin goodies galore, thanks to the truckloads of gourds that are being donated. The elephants, baboons and sun bears will munch on pumpkins straight through the holidays.