Secret meeting on A's port-ballpark plan

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig speaks at a news conference after meeting the team owner at MLB headquarters in New York, Thursday, May 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig speaks at a news conference after meeting the team owner at MLB headquarters in New York, Thursday, May 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Photo: Seth Wenig, Associated Press Photo: Seth Wenig, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Secret meeting on A's port-ballpark plan 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's blue-ribbon committee snuck into town Wednesday for a top secret meeting with East Bay officials and boosters at a downtown Oakland law office to discuss a new plan for an A's waterfront ballpark.

This is the same three-member committee that has been meeting for three years, and has yet to make a recommendation on the A's proposed move to San Jose.

Those in attendance included Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, City Administrator Deanna Santana, City Council President Larry Reid, Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Nate Miley, County Administrator Susan Muranishi, plus a delegation of high-profile ballpark boosters led by Clorox CEO Don Knauss and developer Mike Guilmetti.

For months, Quan and company have been publicly touting the idea of building the new ballpark next to the Oakland Coliseum as part of a huge sports, housing and retail complex.

But this meeting focused on a waterfront ballpark - most likely at Howard Terminal at the Port of Oakland.

The idea would be for the cash-strapped port to sell the land for a badly needed $40 million - a move Quan might now be able to swing after her recent appointments to the Port Commission.

Although not stated at the meeting, the message was that - contrary to what A's managing partner Lew Wolff says - the town does have a viable plan and site, and if he is not interested in staying, then the team should be sold to someone who is.

The blue-ribbon committee also met a day earlier with San Jose officials about the status of their ballpark plans.

Ironically, the San Jose visit came just as state Controller John Chiang dispatched a team of auditors to determine, among other things, if the San Jose Redevelopment Agency properly spent $25 million last year to assemble an A's ballpark site after Gov. Jerry Brown had ordered such agencies disbanded.

If auditors determine there was any wrongdoing, San Jose could be ordered to sell off the ballpark property to the highest bidder - which would be a real curveball to any A's move.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed declined to say what was discussed with the baseball committee, but did tell us he's not worried about the A's losing their option for the ballpark site.

"We have looked at the statute very closely, and we are within our rights," he said.

Viz violence: The recent explosion of shootings in and around San Francisco's Visitacion Valley involves the third generation of the Sunnydale housing project's Down Below crew - only this time the targets, the methods and the guns have changed.

The violence has come in cycles. It began with the crack epidemic of the 1980s, followed by the rap shootings of the '90s. Most recently, it's come as rival gangs are busted or fall apart - with infighting among a new generation of Down Below members suspected of snitching or ripping off each other.

But this current outbreak is different.

"This crew is extremely aggressive and methodical," said gang task force Sgt. Tony Chaplin.

"In the past you had shootings where they would spray the neighborhood with gunfire in a drive-by," Chaplin said. "These guys are not afraid to stick around, get out of the car and make sure that they finish someone off.

"Or they just walk up to them - which tells us that the victim likely knew the shooter." Another thing that has changed is the weapons.

"We've seen a drop in the seizures of AK-47s and assault rifles and a rise in handguns," which are easier to carry and conceal, Chaplin said.

Unlike a gang fight, he says, "When you're fighting among yourselves, you have to be armed all of the time."

Outside success: For the first time in its five-year history, next week's Outside Lands music fest in Golden Gate Park has sold out before the gates open.

"Last year we still had about 1,000 tickets on the first day," said Another Planet promoter Gregg Perloff.

"It's been growing every year," Perloff said.

This year's "multigenerational" headliners include Neil Young and Stevie Wonder for the over-50 crowd, Metallica and Foo Fighters for the thirtysomethings, Jack White for the 20s, and Skrillex for the teens.

The vast majority of the 65,000 people a day bought three-day tickets at $225.

Rec and Park is expected to make at least $1.45 million this year from the show.