By Matthew Artz, Rebecca Parr and Chris De Benedetti, Contra Costa Times (California)

Oakland: Interference causing radio failures
A team of investigators have determined that the constant problems with Oakland’s $18 million public safety radio system is being caused by radio frequency interference, according to a city report released Thursday.

The Federal Communications Commission opened an enforcement investigation into the interference this week after being notified by city officials, the report said.

Oakland is still considering scrapping the radio system it implemented last year in favor of joining a regional system that city officials say could be up and running by late October. The city expects its review of the regional system to be completed within two months.

Oakland: Judge denies police union motion
The federal judge overseeing reforms in the Oakland Police Department this week denied a request from Oakland’s police union that its members to be briefed on conversations between Chief Howard Jordan and the department’s federal monitor concerning discipline of individual officers.

In a two-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson said the conversations did not need to be disclosed to officers because the federal monitor is not a member of the chief’s chain of command and has no power to discipline officers.

“Instead the monitor communicates with the chief of police only as an agent of the court, and his communications therefore bear the same protection as communications from this court,” Henderson wrote.

Henderson said circumstances might change, however, if he orders places the department under federal control or grants the monitor increased powers.

Oakland: Ethics Commission accused of breaking rule
The commission in charge of policing transparency in city affairs might have inadvertently violated state open meeting rules.

A former Oakland Public Ethics Commissioner has filed a complaint against the commission for failing to notice a recent subcommittee meeting held to interview and nominate prospective commission members.

Commissions typically don’t have to provide public notice of subcommittee meetings, but because the Ethics Commission at the time was down to just five members, its three-member subcommittee amounted to a majority.

State and city law require that meetings must be publicly noticed if a majority of members are in attendance, according to a complaint from former commissioner Ralph Kanz.

Kanz said the commission risks having future actions nullified if it doesn’t fix the oversight.

“I think it was an honest mistake, but I don’t think you should compound the mistake by glossing over it,” Kanz said.

The Ethics Commission, established by Oakland voters, has been a disappointment to good government advocates, who hoped it could be a powerful watchdog over city affairs. It has just one staffer, and didn’t meet at all for nine months last year through March.

The subcommittee meeting occurred May 16, just weeks after Whitney Barazoto was hired to oversee the commission.

Barazoto said she is awaiting an opinion on the complaint from the city attorney’s office.

Hayward: City recruiting for general plan task force
City residents — including those in high school — interested in helping shape Hayward’s future are encouraged to apply for its general plan task force. The plan, which is the city’s blueprint for development, growth and land use, was last updated in 2002.

The group will meet once a month starting in October and through spring 2014, advising city staff members as the new general plan is crafted. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the plan in June 2014.

Hayward senior planner Erik Pearson said the plan was being updated because “we want to incorporate current City Council priorities, specifically sustainability, the climate action plan we adopted in 2009 and more emphasis on neighborhoods and public safety.”

Applications are available at the city clerk’s office, 777 B St., or the city’s website at www.hayward-ca.gov/NEWS/2012. They can also be requested by phone, 510-583-4400. Applicants younger than 18 will need parental consent.

The deadline for applications is Sept. 26. After an initial screening by Hayward staff members, applicants will be interviewed and appointed by the City Council in October.

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