Hayward is in the early stages of a proposal to begin looking at the feasibility of annexing nearby unincorporated Cherryland and its roughly 15,000 residents, according to sources.

The plan is likely to appear as a Hayward City Council referral at its next meeting on Oct. 15. and backed by Mayor Barbara Halliday and Councilmember Aisha Wahab.

Cherryland is an unincorporated neighborhood between San Leandro and Hayward, and flanked by flanked by Hayward, Ashland, and San Lorenzo. Adding Cherryland, which has no elected municipal government but is instead is overseen by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, would fill out the western portion what is now North Hayward and extend three major thoroughfares, including Mission Boulevard. Like Hayward, Cherryland's racial make up is predominately Latino.

Outreach to Cherryland residents and community activists is also in the beginning stages, said the sources. A local Cherryland community group will hear the proposal Tuesday night.

In recent years, residents in unincorporated Alameda County, which also include Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Ashland, and Fairview, have been restive in terms of a desire for greater political representation.

Talk of incorporation has again quietly bubbled up in Castro Valley, and the proliferation of Municipal Advisory Councils, boards appointed exclusively by the county supervisor, has served to quell some of the anxiety for greater control over the future of their communities.

Whether or not, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who represents Cherryland, will support, in essence, losing a portion of his power in the overall district is an open question.

When Castro Valley sought to have its Municipal Advisory Council become an elected board, Miley took a neutral stance. Some of his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors, meanwhile, blasted the idea, and its was shelved.

It's also unclear why Hayward is seeking Cherryland and its roughly 1.2 sq. miles of territory at this time. The city has struggled financially in recent years. Although, its general fund has somewhat stabilized, a recession is predicted sooner than later. While Cherryland, by many accounts, has great potential for development, it might take decades for this to actually take place.

Oakland Council Seeks to Quell Rising Worries Over A's Future

The Oakland City Council is asking the city administration to iron out its differences with the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, who are proposing to sell their half of the Coliseum complex to the Oakland Athletics.

The recommendation comes after Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred reacted negatively to the lawsuit filed by Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker last week to block negotiations between the county and team. A court date is set for next month.

If the lawsuit is not dropped, Manfred suggested, according to media reported, that the A's could move to another city — perhaps, Las Vegas, future home of the Oakland Raiders.

"In the interest of reducing strife and litigation, the Oakland City Council has unanimously asked our administration to meet directly with county leaders, on strategies to resolve issues regarding our shared public property," Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan said in a statement Monday afternoon. "As we look toward the future and work on these concerns, we thought it would be valuable to talk about what would be good to see happen at this site."

Oakland recently was granted a temporary restraining order to block the sale of the county's share of the Coliseum complex to the A's. The A's planned to use proceeds from developing the land to help fund construction of its planned downtown ballpark at Howard Terminal.

The council's swift action Monday follows a drawn out exodus of the city's two other professional sports franchises. The Raiders are moving to Las Vegas in 2020 and the Golden State Warriors opened the new Chase Center in San Francisco for a pre-season game last Saturday.

Richmond Parks Official Announces Retirement

East Bay Regional Park District boardmember Whitney Dotson announced his retirement, effective December. He was first elected to the board of directors in 2008 after years as a community activist and environmentalist in Richmond. During his tenure, he supported completion of the San Francisco Bay Trail between Berkeley and Albany, and Pinole Shores and Bayfront Park. The restoration of marshland at Point Pinole is named the Dotson Family Marsh. His seat is up for re-election in November 2020. In the meantime, the park district announced it will begin accepting applications to serve the remaining year of Dotson's current term. The Board of Directors expects to make an appointment in early January, they said.

In Other News

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that allows the creation of public banks in California cities and counties, the Sacramento Bee reported. A public bank in Oakland that possibly includes others areas of the East Bay has been discussed for several years. ... California primary voters will be asked to approve a $15 billion school construction bond measure, the Sacramento Bee reported. The measure will provide $9 billion for K-12, and $2 billion apiece for U.C., state universities, and community colleges. ... BART is putting together what could be the mother of all tax measures, the Mercury News reported. Among the projects to be funded by the potential $100 billion ballot measure is a second bay crossing. ...

PG&E has already spent $140 million for attorneys in its bankruptcy case, the East Bay Times reported, even before compensating victims of the wildfires the utility accidentally started. ... In a Southern California case that has implications for several East Bay cities, a federal appeals court upheld Santa Monica's ban on short-term rentals, the Los Angeles Times reported. Several local cities have passed similar prohibitions in the East Bay. ... In order to create larger buffer zones for the San Francisco Bay to confront climate change, a plan was approved to fill-in some shallow portions of the bay in order to allow vegetation to take root, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. ... Emeryville is building a homeless shelter for up to 25 families that will house Oakland residents, the Chronicle reported. The project is framed as an example of collaboration on a regional problem. ... Berkeley's new online parking permit program is off to a bumpy start, Berkeleyside reported. The city put the process of applying for parking permits online last summer in order to simplify it and offer instantaneous approval. No parking stickers are required. ...

Sutter Health, the large Northern California hospital system, is set to go to trial over charges it significantly overcharged patients, The New York Times reported. Consolidation of local hospitals is one important factor. In Berkeley, Sutter Health is proposing to close Alta Bates Hospital. ... Derick Almena, the Ghost Ship master tenant, will face a retrial that is scheduled for November, NPR reported. A mistrial was declared last month for 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter against Almena. Max Harris, also charged with the same crimes, was acquitted. ... Bacteria in the water at Berkeley's Aquatic Park is getting worse, Berkeleyside reported, and the city is unsure why. The city recommends avoiding all contact with the lagoon. ... A man who started a fire at a construction site on the Oakland-Emeryville border last year was sentenced to five years in prison, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. ... East Bay rap legend Keak da Sneak is out of prison after serving five months for illegal gun possession, KPIX reported. ... Laptops and desktop computers were stolen from the library and computer lab at Oakland's Redwood Day School, KTVU reported. Two other instances of theft also occurred last Saturday. ... Richmond's Citizens Police Commission concluded that Officer Wallace Jensen mislead investigators after he fatally shot Richard Perez outside a liquor store in 2014, the East Bay Times reported. A report found Jensen "embellished" his story that Perez lunged towards him and attempted to take his weapon. ... Automotive retailer Pep Boys agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle a lawsuit that it illegally disposed of car fluids and motor oil in Alameda County, Bay City News reported. ...

With actress Felicity Huffman serving time at a women's prison in Dublin for attempting to circumvent university admissions rules, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that requires special admissions exemptions are approved by three campus administrators, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. ... Michael Diehl, the "mayor of Berkeley's streets," died this week after being struck by a car, Berkeleyside reported. He was 64. Diehl was a noted Berkeley advocate for the poor and homeless. ... A Cal student filed a lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court blaming U.C. Berkeley for forcing her to continue cheerleading despite suffering three concussions, the Chronicle reported. The student is now facing the possibility of brain damage from the untreated concussions. ...

The A's season ended in a familiar fashion after losing the winner-take-all wildcard playoff game versus the Tampa Bay Rays, ESPN reported. It's the second consecutive year the A's have lost a one-game playoff. ... Poor presidential campaign polling numbers are often followed by staff shake-ups. Sen. Kamala Harris continued this practice by adding trusted leadership from her senate office to the campaign, Politico reported. ... Kincaid's, the venerable Jack London Square seafood restaurant, closed last weekend after three decades in business, the Times reported. The restaurant's parent company has faced financial difficulty recently.