Oakland, California Will Host Pilot Program/Experiment for Guaranteed Income

Oakland, California, will host what may be the first universal basic income experiment in the United States.

Around 100 families will be given a minimum wage as part of a pilot experiment by startup accelerator Y Combinator.

They will be given between $1,000 and $2,000 each month to see how the basic income affects their happiness, well-being and how they spend their time.

Oakland was chosen for its social and economic diversity and the fact it has areas of concentrated wealth and considerable inequality. Participants were selected randomly across the economic spectrum and include both the employed and jobless.

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1640 Broadway, Oakland

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1700 Webster, Oakland Rendering

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4th and Madison, Oakland Rendering

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Oakland's Coliseum City Development Gets an Extension

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Oakland's Brooklyn Basin Rendering

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New Tower Between 11th and 12th on Clay in Oakland?

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460 Grand Rendering, Oakland

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A Proposed New Waterfront Stadium for the Oakland A's

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New Residential Towers for Oakland's Jack London Square

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I Got Caught in This This Morning

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Fortunately, I wasn't hit by the truck, but had I been at my usual place at my usual time, I would have been a prime target for the twit driving this monster. Instead, I got stuck in two hours of traffic driving from Lafayette to DT Oakland.  Normally, it takes 10 minutes...this time it took 2 hours.

MacArthur BART Station Redevelopment Rendering

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Kids on the Oakland Zoo Carousel

Chinese Company Invests $1.5 billion in Oakland Waterfront

Wow.  Given the real estate issues in China right now, this is an interesting development.  I wonder if the Chinese experience in American real estate will be better than the Japanese.  Hope so in many ways. 

That land ought to have been redeveloped some time ago.  It could be a nice place.  Lots of Oakland could be a really nice place.  Yet...I have to wonder if they won't have issues with Occupy et al.  oy.

Fairyland and My Family

The year 1948 was a prehistoric era for children’s entertainment. There was no Disneyland or Nickelodeon TV, and most amusement parks catered to thrill-seeking teenagers. The few “kiddielands” in the U.S. included a simple carousel, pony ride, and cotton-candy stand.

Oakland businessman Arthur Navlet had an idea to change all of that. The well-respected nursery owner took his proposal for a storybook theme park, featuring fairy-tale sets, farm animals, and live entertainment, to the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, a group dedicated to civic betterment (and still in operation today). They loved the idea.

With the support of Oakland’s parks superintendent William Penn Mott, Jr., the Breakfast Club and the citizens of Oakland raised $50,000 to build Children’s Fairyland on the shores of Lake Merritt.

 My daughter has been going there since she was about 18 months old.  My son has been going pretty much the same.  However, we will be discontinuing doing so.  My daughter has out grown it and the last few times we went, she was too big to ride on a number of rides.  Likewise, my son isn't as interested in the rides.  He loves the stuff that is really not much different than what you would find at a normal playground.  So...we'll not be going anymore.

Here are some pix from the last few times we went.

The color coordinated one is the absolute last time.  Probably ever.  A bit sad.  Each kid is different.  Each kid grows up.  Its an end of an era, of sorts.  And the beginning of a new one.