City Hall Scene is a weekly blog post on news, views and events coming out  of 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Things are about to heat up at City Hall, courtesy of Oakland's general fund budget issues.

Can Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts break his contract with the city to take the top cop position in San Jose?

Looks like it. Batts' employment contract does not appear to penalize him if he chooses to step down before it expires in 2012.

Today is not my day. Today is a day I dislike intensely.

Today is Black Friday – a day of consumer mania. The media and retail industries have whipped themselves into a frenzied, frothy hysteria about sales and deals and one-time opportunities that consumers must take advantage of. And for many years, I was a part of this circus.

The hometown debut of Pixar’s 25 year reospective at the Oakland Museum of California is a welcome lift for the city

The Public Safety Watch story is without a doubt one of the most important stories I've worked on since I wrote about schools getting phased out in Oakland.

It was all smiles over mini pastry treats and hot Peet’s Coffee at the Oakland Museum on the Sneak Peek Breakfast Day.

Today, as we mark the anniversary of four police officers gunned down in Oakland, let us also show support for the community where that tragedy took place.

East Oakland is where Lovelle Mixon killed those police officers, and that long-suffering district continues to pay the price for those deaths.

The Oakland Parks and Recreation Department is currently taking job applications and putting the final touch on its annual Summer Hiring Fair set for Saturday, March 20 at 150 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor.

The deadline for the Eva Lowe Fellowship for Social Justice is closing in.

Monday, March 8, is the last day to turn in Fellowship applications for the eight-week progressive program designed to help activists and organizers improve the lives of the working class Chinese immigrant community.