(Reprinted from Oakland Tribune/Inside Bay Area

DeAngelo Eagleton of Emeryville is wanted in connection with the death of his girlfriend Taranda

EMERYVILLE — Taranda Monique Jones dreamed of becoming a cosmetologist, and with three sisters she practiced her hair styling and makeup techniques regularly.

But at 5 foot 8, she also had an athletic side, and did well at basketball at a former high school, said her older sister Tiffany Jones, 21.

But lately, the 18-year-old Emeryville resident hadn’t had much interest in either, “blinded by love,” and failing, her older sister said, to show up for school because of her rocky relationship with on-again, off-again boyfriend, DeAngelo Eagleton. And now Eagleton, also 18, is suspected of killing the teen earlier this week.

Eagleton, who has addresses in Emeryville and Oakland, is wanted on a probable cause warrant in connection with the shooting death of Taranda Jones. Jones was found with a gunshot wound to her upper torso in her home on 47th Street in Emeryville at 3:30 p.m. Monday, police said Wednesday. It was not clear who found her. Her parents were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Citing an ongoing investigation, Emeryville police Officer Brian Head declined to release any information on why they suspect Eagleton in the woman’s death.

Tiffany Jones, of Richmond, said her sister and Eagleton met at Emery High School about a year ago, and there had been at least once instance where Taranda Jones had called in tears after the two quarreled. Jones said Eagleton pushed her sister against a wall once after finding a text message from a male friend.

“I’m just starting to think she was blinded by love, she didn’t see him as a bad person,” Jones said.

Cesar Cruz, the dean of students at ARISE High School in Oakland and the co-founder of Homies Empowerment, a group that offers after-school programs for at-risk youth, met Taranda Jones seven years ago through the Making Changes Freedom School in San Pablo.

He remembered her as an “amazing activist,” who organized a protest against uniforms at her middle school when she was 12 and later rallied against environmental pollution because one of her sisters had asthma.

“I was just so moved by her because she was a real visionary,” said Cruz, who also said he gave the teen a place to stay when family problems arose.

Cruz said Taranda Jones attended Ralph J. Bunche High School in Oakland, but the district could not confirm if she was still attending classes at the time of her death.

Oakland school district spokesman Troy Flint said the staff at the school were not up to speaking about the teen, but Flint added that in her seven months at the school she made “an impression as a very friendly, polite, personable girl and that (the principal) was very surprised to learn of her death.”

Her sister said that though the two lived apart, she always knew she had a friend in her younger sibling.

“Everyone looked up to her as a mentor and came to her for advice. I even came to her a few times when I had a problem,” she said. “She did my hair a few times, she was really good at it. I was encouraging her to go to beauty school in the Bay Area and she (had) called a few schools for appointments.”

Funeral services are pending.

Anyone with information about Eagleton’s whereabouts or the case should call Emeryville police at 510-596-3700.

Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report.

City Staff to Bring Revised Budget to City Council June 5

Citizens, city staffers, and city council members wrestled with Emeryville’s next budget during three workshops held at City Hall on May 21, May 22, and May 23.  There’s a difference between plowing through the 245-page draft budget, as members of the Finance Advisory Committee did in April, and listening to the give-and-take between city department heads, city council members, residents, and other interested parties featured in these workshops.  Both experiences taught me a lot, and the two together were invaluable.  Let me share some impressions of what I’ve learned:

City Manager Patrick O’Keefe and Treasurer Karen Reid stressed that the next budget is profoundly different than those of past decades.  Redevelopment Agency (RDA) funds are gone, about $30 million in total.  Mayor Jennifer West said, in essence, that the Redevelopment Agency driven boom growth days are over; we now need to concentrate on sustaining a vibrant and livable city with the means still available.   That’s a good starting place for making sense of the budget now under development.

City staff, which peaked at 183, will now be 147 strong.  The biggest reduction comes from the transfer of 27 fire fighters from the city to Alameda County, a move that Kevin Johnston, our Fire Chief, describes as “win-win” for the city because it saves money—about $2.6 million over five years– and improves services.  We will still have two fully manned stations, a fully staffed headquarters unit, a new regionally integrated disaster preparedness scheme, better training programs, binding contracts for support services from neighboring fire units, and other enhancements.

But not all staffing news is this positive.  A hard decision was made to eliminate 4.5 other staffers, including a respected Community Preservation Officer and an admired arts coordinator, this despite eloquent testimony regarding their talents and past services.  Hard times, serious losses.

All of the city’s department heads presented lean budgets:

• Planning – Planning and Building, a department little affected by the loss of Redevelopment Agency (RDA) funding, still presented the lowest budget request in 10 years, with Planning Director Charlie Bryant stressing the need to protect funding for support of the city’s General Plan.
• City Attorney – In the absence of Redevelopment Agency business, City Attorney Michael Biddle’s office will cede the Assistant City Attorney’s post.
• Finance – The Finance Division’s Karen Reid proposed a budget that should save the city about $100,000.
• Public Works – Public Works’ Maurice Kaufman reported steep reduction in Capital Improvement Projects—often RDA driven in the past—but promised action on sewers, sidewalk repairs, Marina dredging, trees, and maintenance programs, among other things.
• Police – Police Chief Ken James presented a “status quo” budget, despite staffing shortfalls and an increase in crime (arrests up from 833 to 976 in the past year).  Understaffing could drive an increase in overtime for the Department.  The Chief says he’s “hopeful” about keeping the lid on overtime, but not entirely “confident” about being able to do so.  He’s at work trying to solve staffing problems.
• Administrative Services –  It’s lean times but, more or less, business as usual for the city’s Administrative Services division and for those parts of the budget supporting the City Council, City Manager, and City Clerk.Finally, subject to negotiations, the city will spend less on lobbying in the next two years.
• Economic Development and Housing – Two things stand out about reports from Economic Development and Housing Department head Helen Bean, and Melinda Chin of the Community Services Department.  Bean stated that affordable family housing tops the list of her department’s goals in deploying funds left after the loss of Redevelopment Agency support.  That’s good news and a good priority.  As affordable family housing goes, so, to some degree, go our schools.
• Community Services – From Chin came the request for three new teachers, an education supervisor, and an expanded salary range for the Director of Emeryville’s Child Development Center (ECDC).  The ECDC Advisory Committee and city staffers were united behind the request, and the City Council voted 5-0 to endorse it.  Here’s another investment in the city’s future that should pay dividends.

I was also pleased to see City Council, staff, and public support for Community Promotions Grants, for ECAP, for the Rebuilding Together program, and for Emeryville’s Celebration of the Arts, all of which are still alive in the new budget.  So too is funding for city park amenities.  These are not big ticket items, but each plays a role in keeping our city vibrant.

The three days in May saw many other issues raised, debated, and dealt with or delayed.  Further, nothing is yet fixed and final, even regarding some of the items discussed above.  City staffers are now at work responding to the decisions/directions the budget workshops produced. They will bring a revised budget to Council on June 5, and the City Council will approve a final, two-year budget on June 19^th.   How we spend our diminished resources affects us all.  Stay tuned in and stay in touch.

A few last words: I find the sweat equity and professionalism city staffers have put into developing the budget impressive; I find equally impressive the poking and prodding the City Council and members of the public gave their work.  I certainly don’t agree with all said or done so far in the process, but messy and difficult as it’s been, on balance it adds up to a reasonable display of local democracy.   Let’s hope we all can live gracefully with the final product, the 2013-2014  Budget for the City of Emeryville.

Bill Reuter is a Resident Member and Chair, Finance Advisory Committee, City of Emeryville

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State Has No Obligation to Fund ECCL; Attorney for Emeryville’s Oversight Board Says Agreement is Void

Two Days Too Late

An agreement by the state to pay $21 million in redevelopment money toward the Emeryville Center of Community Life (ECCL) does not constitute an enforceable contract and the city should withdraw its request for funding, said the attorney for Emeryville’s Oversight Board. The county-level Board was established to monitor the city’s transition now that the Governor has eliminated state redevelopment funds.

Oversight Board attorney Paula Crow has submitted an analysis of ECCL and other pending city projects under a new state law (AB 26) which defines what is and is not an enforceable obligation. Crow’s analysis, submitted to Oversight Board members Friday, said the agreement between the state and the city regarding ECCL was made two days too late. The contract was executed on July 1, 2011, two days after the effective date of the law eliminating redevelopment. Crow said ECCL should be removed from the city’s list of projects submitted to the state for continued funding under AB 26. Crow’s recommendation will be discussed by the Oversight Board at its regular meeting 5:30 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, May 29 ) at Emeryville City Hall.

“The Oversight Board has no discretion on this,” said Greg Harper, an Emeryville attorney, former mayor, and AC Transit representative on the Board. “It looks like the city moved fast to try to get it though, but not fast enough. It was two days too late.”

Harper added, “I am really happy we finally have a road map for evaluating these agreements. Paula has developed a template with which to analyze each and every project under AB 26 and determine which ones are enforceable obligations and which ones aren’t. Apparently, ECCL is an example of one that isn’t.”

It is important to note that this will not affect the portion of ECCL funded by the Emeryville Unified School District (EUSC) through a bond sale. That portion, including an elementary school and high school, sports fields, and other amenities at a cost of $48 million, will go forward. Plans for the other part of the project, to be paid with the $21 million in redevelopment money, included a community center with playgrounds, a courtyard, “paths and plazas,” and space for social service providers.

The elaborate and controversial plans for ECCL involve tearing down the high school this summer and moving those students to a location in Oakland that the EUSD is leasing for $1.1 million. A new school will be built on the site and the high school students will move back to the new school along with the students from Anna Yates Elementary School, which will close permanently. A recent renovation of Anna Yates cost almost $9 million. The school district has not divulged the future plans for the Anna Yates building. Some residents vehemently oppose the closing of Anna Yates and have sent a letter to the EUSD Board of Trustees. The letter will be formally presented to the Board at its June 11 meeting, according to an article in The Emeryville Tattler.

Go to the Emeryville Center of Community Life website for more information about the project.

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