First up: The folks at the Harbor Bay Club are holding a raffle for the foundation and for Alameda Meals on Wheels, and tickets are just $5 (with discounts if you purchase multiple tickets). They’re donating Club-related prizes worth up to $4,500, and the proceeds from the raffle go to each charity. You can get tickets for the raffle online, but you’ll need to do it soon: They’re announcing winners today.

Also, the foundation will benefit from two fundraisers businesses will host in August. On August 18, Aroma Restaurant and Alameda Business Network are offering appetizers, a drink ticket and a raffle ticket for a $10 donation to AEF. For $35, you can have a prix fixe dinner (with 15 percent of the proceeds going to the foundation). They’ve also got a package deal for $50, which includes a drink ticket, 20 raffle tickets and dinner with gratuity. They’ll have a silent auction as well. The event takes place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Aroma is at 2337 Blanding Avenue.

Then on August 21, John Beery Yachts is hosting a Pirates in Paradise! event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The “fun-raiser” will include kayaking, canoeing, whale boating, dragon boats and more. They’ll have dragon boat races and a small boat regatta to compete in (vessel required) on the estuary, boat rides, a raffle, art, music, food and more. Sponsors include John Beery Yachts, the Pasta Pelican, Wright Way Insurance and others. John Beery’s at 2415 Mariner Square Drive. For more information or to register for the regatta ($10 for adults, $5 for kids), contact Deborah Wright at wrightwaydesigns@hotmail.com or 508-3939.

Meanwhile, Alameda Towne Centre is working with the foundation to collect school supplies and musical instruments for homeless children, who make up close to 10 percent of Alameda Unified’s student population. School items being collected include backpacks, notebooks, pencils and pens, folders, protractors, calculators, markers and other classroom items. Gently used musical instruments are being collected as well.

Donations can be made at AEF’s table at the center’s Summer Beats Concerts tonight, Saturday and Sunday. The shows begin at 5:30 p.m. and they’ll be held at Centre Court. Towne Centre, of course, is at the corner of Park and Otis.

Meanwhile, Towne Centre is inviting young, advanced musicians to join their Young Songwriters Workshop & Jam Session with drummer DC Carter and Project 7 on Sunday, August 1. The workshop will be held from 1 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., and the jam session begins at 5:30 p.m. Applications to participate are due Friday. For more information, contact Marsha Harrison at marshah@harsch.com or call her at 521-8100.

AEF will be holding their big fundraiser, “All Together Now,” on November 12 at Auctions By the Bay theater. Stay tuned for more details on that.

“Thank you so much for your support! It was a very hard decision to make, but one that we were forced into making due to the economy and the partnership. It just became impossible for us to keep Havana in Alameda,” they wrote to a fan who commented on their page.

I was mourning the loss of my favorite crab cakes and boniato garlic fries when the husband weighed in. He’d walk right by there during the Park Street Art & Wine Faire on Sunday, and the place was still open.

Huh?

As it turns out, the restaurant is still open, with what looks like the same menu but a new name: Habanas, according to both Yelp! and the sandwich board set up outside the restaurant.

I called to ask about the closure announcement, which the Habanas folks dismissed as a “prank.”

“We just split a business partner off, that’s all,” they said.

Still waiting to hear back on my e-mail to the Havana folks, who announced on Facebook that they’re looking for a new location for a second restaurant. Stay tuned.

In other Island biz news, the city’s looking for someone to take the Park Street space formerly held by Robek’s. They’ve put out an RFP to fill the 1,470-square-foot space, which is here (scroll down). Two Webster Street, meanwhile, have made moves: Needle in a Haystack, which offered sewing and knitting supplies, has moved to a new space at 1734 Clement Street. And Almost Home Antiques has moved to Berkeley, where they are hoping to open anew in a few weeks.

The council asked staff to get cracking on the list at the tail end of an action-packed, seven-hour meeting Tuesday night, the council’s last schedule meeting until September. The request came in lieu of a proposal by Councilman Frank Matarrese that would have focused the city on exploring the formation of a nonprofit corporation to handle base development and on job creation instead of housing.

“I think it would be a mistake to start giving specific direction on little component parts of this. We’ve got to offer an overall vision, and we can only do that when we know what our options are,” Mayor Beverly Johnson said, adding that she thought Matarrese’s ideas were good ones but that a broader range of development options should be considered.

Councilwoman Marie Gilmore said she wanted the public to have an opportunity to offer their ideas on what should happen next at the Point, while Councilwoman Lena Tam said she wants a funding source identified first for any plan that might be considered.

SunCal’s Pat Keliher asked city leaders how long the plans Matarrese proposed just one day after SunCal was effectively fired as Point developer were on the drawing board. And he accused the city of working on other plans while they were supposed to be negotiating toward a deal with SunCal.

“While we were paying city staff in good faith, it appears the city was working on a secret Plan B,” Keliher said, referring to a talk Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant gave at a 2009 Chamber of Commerce breakfast where she reportedly said the city had a Plan B for developing Alameda Point. Keliher said the developer paid more than $17 million in it quest to seal a development deal for the Point.

Gallant didn’t respond to Keliher’s claim, though Councilman Doug deHaan disputed it.

“I’m just appalled that someone says we’re doing secret plans in the back room. I don’t think that’s the case,” deHaan said.

Matarrese said he was always gathering information and considering alternatives for Alameda Point.

“My mind doesn’t shut off when the signatures were gathered or when the measure was on the ballot or when the measure went down,” Matarrese said.

The council also voted, 5-0, to hold off on putting city charter changes on the November ballot that would eliminate binding arbitration for the city’s firefighters and require any initiatives, including the firefighters’ upcoming minimum staffing measure, to have a funding source before they could be put in place.

Tam asked her dais-mates to reconvene a council subcommittee to vet the proposed changes and to consider them for the November 2011 election instead, the date the firefighters’ initiative will be decided.

Gilmore said she thought the council shouldn’t rush to put the amendments, some of which had been in the works for over a year. She said the public should have more time to talk about the proposed changes before they go on the ballot.

“I don’t think this is something that should be taken lightly. The public should have the opportunity to ask questions and have input on this,” said Gilmore, who said she thought city staff should have brought the proposed charter changes to the council sooner.

Gallant said several of the proposed charter changes – which included adding another member to the Public Utilities Commission and removing the city manager as a voting member of that body, allowing the city clerk to reject legal bids and allowing the city to change its business hours – weren’t new ideas, and Highsmith said the changes were being proposed for the November ballot because it’s the next available general election.

Domenick Weaver, president of the Alameda firefighters union, asked the council not to put a measure on the ballot that would eliminate the union’s right to binding arbitration, which he said had been used just once in the 30 years it’s been in place.

He said the council can’t put the binding arbitration matter on the ballot, citing a state Supreme Court case that would require the city to meet and confer on it. But Highsmith said the city disagrees.

Ann Spanier of the League of Women Voters of Alameda asked the council to wait on putting the charter amendments on the ballot so the public could have more time to learn about and comment on the proposed changes, which haven’t had a prior public hearing.

The City Council also unanimously approved a $71.1 million general fund budget for 2010-2011 early this morning, an increase over the $68.7 million budget it okayed for 2009. The budget covers public safety, recreation and other services.

“The budget is tight this year. What we think we are bringing in in revenues, we think we will expend,” Gallant said, adding that the city hasn’t spent more than it has taken in over the last 18 months. She said 2009 layoffs and other departmental cuts helped bring the city’s budget in line.

The budget shows an anticipated $12.1 million cash balance at the beginning and end of the year, and Gallant said she expects the city can build toward a recommended balance of $13 million, or 20 percent.

Gallant said the city has resolved much of the $7.6 million deficit that had built up in the city’s internal service funds as city departments failed to repay their worker’s compensation and other fixed costs. She said the deficit is now $200,000, and she expects that deficit to disappear by the end of 2011.

But she said the library is running a deficit because of the way bond debt the city incurred to build its new library is structured, which she said she will work to fix midyear. The city’s budget figures show a projected negative balance of $866,984 for the library fund at the end of this fiscal year.

The city’s overall budget of $297.9 million includes money for the Housing Authority, Alameda Municipal Project, debt funds, redevelopment, money for capital projects and additional funds.

Separately, city staff offered information on a $24.3 million capital improvement program to maintain and fix the city’s sewers, roads, parks and other infrastructure.

The council will also consider changes to the way the city handles the council’s access to legal opinions at a future date. Gilmore said she wanted the discussion after she said she was required to view a legal opinion in Highsmith’s office. She said that when she questioned the restriction, Highsmith offered “vague comments leaks coming out of closed session,” a reference to allegations of leaks from Tam.

Monday, July 19

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ATTEMPTED VEHICLE THEFTS: Police said there were two attempted vehicle thefts in the blocks surrounding the intersection of Buena Vista Avenue and St. Charles Street. In both cases an unknown suspect or suspects shattered a car window and attempted to activate the ignition, police said.

BURGLARIES: Police are investigating apparent burglaries at two residences in an apartment complex on the 2000 block of Otis Drive. A locked front door had been forced open and the two units had been ransacked, police said.

BURGLARIES: Police are investigating a series of burglaries at a residence on the 1500 block of Central Avenue. Authorities said that a malfunctioning garage door had allegedly been used as a means of repeated entry to a garage from which two bicycles and two sub-woofers have been taken since June 1.

BURGLARY: An unknown suspect or suspects smashed a back door window to a residence on the 400 block of Santa Clara Avenue in order to gain entry and remove currency and computer equipment valued at $4,150, police said.

GRAND THEFT/FICTITIOUS CHECK: Police are investigating an 18-year-old female suspect who allegedly attempted to cash a fictitious check worth $1,470 at Bank of America. The victim of the alleged theft resides in Oakland, police said.

BURGLARY: Police are searching for the person or persons involved in an alleged burglary on the 400 block of Lincoln Avenue.

Stolen bicycles: Black beach cruiser with white wall tires, between 9:45 a.m. and 10:10 a.m., from the 200 block of Maple Way.

*

Tuesday, July 20

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BURGLARY ARREST: Police arrested Oakland resident Leroy Darmaryi Gonzalez, 21, on a burglary charge. Gonzalez was known to be wanted on probable cause for burglary and called to turn himself in, police said.

THEFT BY FRAUD: Police are investigating a fraud case in which the 75-year-old victim transferred $10,596 to another individual as part of an alleged confidence scam. According to authorities, the Alameda resident received a call from someone identifying himself as an “officer of the court” in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The caller allegedly told the victim that his grandson had been arrested in Santo Domingo for possession of cocaine and would need money wired for bail. The victim wired $4,700 before receiving a second call requesting additional money to pay a judicial fine. The victim then sent an additional $5,100 to the suspect.

BURGLARY: An unknown person or persons smashed the real sliding door of a residence on the 2300 block of Pearl Harbor Road and removed items valued at $4,800, police said.

FRAUD: Police are investigating a fraud that cost Marina Village Parkway business Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co. nearly $600, authorities said. According to police, the suspect forged and cashed checks purportedly from the business.

Stolen vehicles: Gray 1991 Acura Legend, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. July 18, from the 2500 block of Barbers Point Road.

Stolen bicycles: Blue Schwinn Voyager, between 10:03 p.m. July 18 and 7:30 a.m. today, from the 2000 block of San Antonio Avenue.

White Giant Grand Rapid, between noon June 6 and 3 p.m. July 17, from the 2100 block of Shoreline Drive.

*

Wednesday, July 21

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FOUND PROPERTY: A disassembled ATM has been found on the 1000 block of Atlantic Avenue, police said.

BURGLARY: Police are investigating the latest in a series of burglaries at the Public Storage facility at 1829 Webster Street. An unknown suspect or suspects cut the padlock off of a locker and removed baseball cards valued at $3,550 sometime between June 1 and today, police said.

*

Thursday, July 22

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BURGLARIES: Police are searching for the unknown person or persons who entered a residence on the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue through an unlocked front door and removed a laptop computer valued at $1,100 during daylight hours, police said. An unknown suspect or suspect also entered a residence on the nearby 300 block of Santa Clara Avenue through an unlocked rear door and took an iPod and cash valued at $698. The alleged theft also occurred during the day while the resident was away, police said.

FRAUD: Police are investigating an alleged fraud in which a victim wired $13,510 to a suspect as an insurance payment for a fictitious sweepstakes.

BURGLARY: An unknown person or persons entered a residence on the 2700 block of Pearl Harbor Road while the victim was away at work, removing laptops and jewelry valued at $4,150 before fleeing, police said.

FRAUD: Police are investigating an alleged fraud involving a victim who believed she was working for a “secret shopper” company she had only had contact with online. A representative of the company, XConsumer Secrets, allegedly sent fraudulent money orders to the victim with instructions to cash them and send money to another individual, police said.

VIOLATION OF RESTRAINING ORDER ARREST: Police arrested a 25-year-old man with no known address for violating a restraining order his mother had taken out against him, authorities said.

*

Friday, July 23

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GRAND THEFT: Police are searching for the unknown suspect or suspects who took a purse containing items valued at $13,300 from the Shamrock Bar at 1403 Webster Street between 12:55 a.m. and 1:08 a.m. today.

BURGLARY: An unknown person or persons forced open the door to a residence on the 1700 block of San Antonio Avenue and fled with jewelry and cash, police said.

BURGLARY: Police are investigating an apparent burglary of a residence on the 2700 block of Pearl Harbor Road. Items stolen in the daylight crime are valued at $19,200, police said.

Stolen bicycles: Black Cannondale F9 mountain bike, between 1 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., from the 1400 block of Park Street.

*

Saturday, July 24

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BURGLARY: An unknown suspect or suspects entered a residence on the 200 block of Corpus Christi Road and removed a video game system, police said.

Stolen bicycles: Gray Mongoose mountain bike, between 12:43 p.m. and 12:48 p.m., from the 2400 block of Clement Avenue.

Specialized Crossroads, between 9 p.m. June 23 and and 9 a.m. today, from a secured courtyard area of an apartment complex in the 1400 block of Eighth Street.

*

Sunday, July 25

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BATTERY: A 25-year-old woman struck another 25-year-old woman with her fists during a confrontation on the 2900 block of Central Avenue, police said.

Stolen vehicles: Blue 1990 Toyota Camry, between 2:30 p.m. July 24 and 6 p.m. today, from the 2000 block of Alameda Avenue.

Stolen bicycles: Unknown make and model, between 1 p.m. July 18 and 10:30 a.m. today, from the 2100 block of San Antonio Avenue.

Worksman Lite Trike tricycle, between 1 p.m. July 19 and 11 a.m. today, from the 2300 block of Buena Vista Avenue.

Gray Marine Novato, between an unknown time on July 22 and 8 p.m. today, from the 1200 block of Broadway.

Fifteen Alameda Islander swimmers competed in the Junior Olympics in Orinda. Photo by jack Boeger.

Fifteen swimmers from Alameda Island Aquatics competed at the Junior Olympics championships last weekend in Orinda.

Catherine Boles made the finals in three events: Women’s 11-12 50 meter back (7th), 100 meter back (6th), and 200 meter back (7th). Her times of 1:15.14 in the 100 and 2:42.43 in the 200 meter races were also new Islander team records.

Marlena Nip also made the finals and placed 8th in the 400 meter freestyle with a time of 5:00.42 in the 17-18 age group. In the men’s 17-18, Daniel Truong placed 8th in the 200 meter breast stroke with a time of 2:54.18 and also swam to personal bests in the 100 meter freestyle and 100 meter breast stroke.

In 10-under boys, Arron Clavin qualified for a Far Western time in the 50 meter freestyle, beating his previous best time by nearly two seconds. Jake Cuenca and Yosiah Fetahi swam in their first Junior Olympics and swam to best times as well.

Alexa Lum qualified in six events in 11-12 girls and raced an amazing 400 meter freestyle. Rebecca Krause (13-14 girls) beat her best time in the 100 meter back and Helene Takamura (15-16 girls) dropped more than four seconds from her previous best in the 100 meter back.

In the men’s 15-16 age group, Christopher Lam and Galen Lam (no relation) put in good races, while Morgan Truong qualified for Far Westerns in the 100 meter breast stroke. In the women’s 17-18, Zoe Allen and Jennifer Hwang also put in personal bests.

Twelve Islanders are gearing up for next weekend’s Far Western Championships out in Concord.

Ballot bits: Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant and City Clerk Lara Weisiger want the council to put a few items on the November ballot. They want voters to consider eliminating compulsory arbitration for financial disputes with Alameda’s firefighters union, a move they say will restore local control in making those decisions.The firefighters, who are not allowed to strike, used the right to arbitrate once, in 1990. The arbitration rule does not extend to the city’s other employee unions.

Also on the list are changes to Alameda’s city charter that would:

*Delay the effective date of any ordinance that requires spending money until the funds to cover it are identified; protect the city manager’s right to propose, and the council’s right to pass, a budget – and prohibit a ballot initiative or referendum from conflicting with it.

Alameda’s firefighters put an initiative on the ballot that would require the city to maintain a certain level of fire department staffing.

*Authorize the City Clerk to reject legal advertising bids. Now, the City Council has that right.

*Reconstitute the Public Utilities Board as a six-member body, with the City Manager sitting as a nonvoting member. The board now has five members including the City Manager, who votes. The ballot measure would also require contracts authorized by the board to be in writing.

*Repeal a section of the City Charter that lays out the city’s business hours.

Tuesday’s meeting marks the last opportunity the council would have to vote on the freshly offered ballot measures before their August recess.

Docu-drama: Councilwoman Marie Gilmore wants her dais-mates to discuss and/or take action on what she’s saying is City Attorney Teresa Highsmith’s policy of not releasing legal opinions to council members in advance of meetings on written request, which Gilmore says is a violation of the city charter. Gilmore said at the council’s July 20 meeting that she had asked Highsmith for a copy of her opinion on the city’s legal exposure following SunCal’s insistence that their exclusive agreement to negotiate a development deal for Alameda Point should be extended. But she said Highsmith would only allow Gilmore to read the opinion in Highsmith’s office.

Drawbridge controversy: City officials are getting set to write the U.S. Department of Transportation to ask them to deny Alameda County’s request to slash staffing hours at the city’s three drawbridges. They said Coast Guard policy prohibits them from reducing the hours they operate the draws in order to cut costs, which is the county’s stated reason for wanting the policy change. If approved, they would be allowed to reduce staffing at the Park Street, High Street and Fruitvale bridges from 24 hours a day to seven and a half hours a day, with operators on call to work with four hours’ notice.

It’s a miracle: The council is being asked to consider an agreement with the Alameda East Bay Miracle League to move toward development of 5.5 acres of former Navy land into a special, rubberized ball field for developmentally disabled kids and a common area for a long hoped-for Estuary Park. (The city would renovate soccer fields that are already there.) The city would give the league $50,000 for design development drawings for the field, and would work with them toward a long-term lease for the property, with an anticipated opening day in April 2012.

Trailer terms: The council is set to change its newly adopted ordinance banning recreational vehicles, trailers and boats from parking on city streets. They’re codifying an existing effort by the Alameda Police Department that allows residents to park those types of vehicles on the street for 24 hours in order to prepare them for trips. Residents can call the police department for up to two temporary parking permits for the vehicles per month.

Citation contract: City officials are looking to contract out traffic and parking ticket processing to the City of Inglewood, which has provided the service to other municipalities for two decades. They’re saying that contracting out the services would be cheaper than revamping the city’s existing ticket processing services. City staff will still provide in-person customer service for ticket holders. The cost of the contract with Inglewood is $75,000, or about $3 per ticket.

Cars-housing balance: The council will consider shuffling the cars off the city parking lot that sits at 2216 Lincoln Avenue in order to build an affordable housing development there. If approved, the city will work to build as many as 19 housing units for very low- and low-income developmentally disabled residents on the site, which is just under half an acre.

Real estate management policy: The council will be looking at a new policy to guide use of the city’s real estate, including land it manages under state Tidelands leases. Under the policy, the city manager would be the ultimate arbiter of the policy, which offers a matrix of different uses for the city’s land and management strategies, and the land transactions to take place under it.

Tam’s attorney, John Keker, said another lawyer hired by the city to help investigate Tam’s alleged actions failed to provide evidence she committed criminal misconduct, the standard he said would be required to invoke grand jury removal proceedings against Tam.

Keker cast Tam’s actions as the diligent – and wholly legal – acts of a committed public servant, not those of someone acting to contravene the city’s best interests.

“We respectfully submit that the Letters present no evidence of wrongdoing by Councilmember Tam, much less a basis for the draconian remedy of removal from office. These Letters appear to result from political infighting at its worst – unleashing politically damaging and baseless demands for Section 3060 proceedings without even providing the Councilmember an advance opportunity to respond,” Keker wrote to assistant district attorneys Ann Diem and Lawrence Blazer.

Keker said Tam’s alleged disclosures didn’t violate the Brown Act because they didn’t come from a closed session and weren’t privileged communications. And he said Tam’s e-mails to fellow council members didn’t break public meeting rules because they were one-way communications that the law allows. And he said blind-copying other members of legislative bodies on e-mails is “a recommended practice for local legislators seeking to avoid Brown Act violations.”

Tam is accused of blind-copying City Councilwoman Marie Gilmore on e-mails she sent to other members of the council.

Michael Colantuono, who Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant and City Attorney Teresa Highsmith hired to investigate Tam, wrote Blazer on May 26 and Diem on July 2 with his investigative findings against Tam. Blazer directed a reporter to Diem, who did not return a call seeking comment Monday.

“Mr. Colantuono’s repeated omissions of important law and facts reflect the fact that these Letters are anything but the neutral evaluations they purport to be,” Keker wrote.

Alameda Blaze 12U Tournament Results

Santa Clara Tournament July 23-25

*

The Alameda Blaze won their third tournament of the season on July 25, posting a 5-0-1 record in the Santa Clara tournament and finishing the season with a 31-8-1 record. The Blaze played seven tournaments on the year and had three championships and four second place finishes. The team’s season performance was the best Alameda Blaze softball season on record both from a win-loss percentage and tournament finishes.

Friday July 23

Alameda Blaze 5, Almaden Lightning 1
Alameda used tight defense behind the pitching of Sammy Williams to knock off Almaden to start the tournament. The Blaze offense scored runs in all but one inning. The Alamaden pitcher’s control problems and some timely hitting throughout the lineup provided enough offense for the victory.

Saturday July 24

Alameda Blaze 4, Santa Clara Sparks 4
Santa Clara pushed across two runs in the bottom of the sixth and the time limit expired to give the Blaze their first tie of the season. Santa Clara threw three different pitchers at the Blaze and Alameda could come up with the clutch hits they needed to break the game open. Kennedy Hanson, Meida Tautalatasi, Julia Boyden and pitcher Shannon Regan all had two hits on the night and Regan pitched well enough to win, but three Blaze errors were enough to cost the team a victory.

Alameda Blaze 5, Santa Rosa Hackers 1
Alameda fell behind early, but finished strong for a convincing win over the Hackers. Pitcher Sammy Williams was dominant after a shaky first inning, only allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts. Kennedy Hanson, Caroline Liu, Williams and Alanna Reyes had two hits apiece and Kelley Desmond had an important two-run single in the third to put Alameda ahead to stay. The Alameda defense was sharp and helped Williams limit the Hackers to one hit and one base runner over the last five frames.

Sunday July 25

Alameda Blaze 4, Sunnyvale Shockwave 2
The Blaze scored three in the first and played solid defense to support pitcher Shannon Regan and hung on for the win. The middle of Blaze lineup was the difference, with Meida Tautalatasi driving in three runs on a first inning double and Kelley Desmond scoring twice to pace the offense. Regan scattered six hits and shut down every Sunnyvale rally to earn the victory.

Semifinals

Alameda Blaze 4, San Mateo Slammers 0
Pitcher Sammy “Dub” Williams tossed a three-hit shutout over seven innings and the Blaze cruised to victory. Jordan Cenidoza, Kennedy Hanson, Meida Tautalatasi and Julia Boyden had two hits each as the Blaze flashed lumber and lightning in a four run third inning, which provided more than enough for Williams. Vivienne Saulovich joined the party with a hit and a run and Caroline Liu had a run batted in to help the cause.

Finals

Alameda Blaze 4, Almaden Lightning 2
Pitcher Sammy Williams earned her second championship game victory of the season and the Blaze turned in a solid defensive performance and enough offense to take the title. The Blaze got off to a good start with two runs in the top of the first, but Almaden answered with one in the bottom of the inning. The Blaze posted another two runs in the top of the second with Julia Boyden and Kennedy Hanson scoring both runs on wild pitches. Alameda threatened in the fourth and again in the seventh with the bases loaded, but it turned out four was enough for the dominant Williams. She limited the potent Lightning offense to five hits and when runners got to second the Blaze came up with the big play, the biggest being Kennedy Hanson’s running catch on a low-liner for the final out. Williams finished the tournament 4-0 and the Blaze allowed only 10 runs in six games to take this low-scoring tournament.

City Councilman Frank Matarrese is asking his dais-mates on Tuesday to consider forming a nonprofit development corporation to manage the redevelopment of the Point with a focus on commercial development there; others are calling for a fresh, public process to determine what Alamedans want to see on the former Naval Air Station.

The Island wants to know what you think. What would you like to see out there? Housing, parks, light industry? What are key elements of any plan to develop the base? What’s doable, and what’s pie-in-the-sky? Should Alameda try to do this on its own, or should city leaders seek out another developer to manage redevelopment of the base? Or should we do something else entirely?

Drop us a line in the comments section to let us know what you think sometime over the next few days. We’ll post a story next week.

The company could also be offered $1 million in tax and fee breaks over the course of its 12-year lease for building in Alameda and bringing an estimated 650 jobs, which would make it one of the largest employers on the Island.

The Planning Board is slated to decide Monday night whether to approve plans to construct a five-building, 205,000-square-foot campus for VF Outdoor on a vacant, 13.7-acre stretch at 2221 Harbor Bay Parkway that is owned by SRM Associates. The plan would include four two-story office buildings and an “amenities” building with a café, employee fitness center and conference facilities.

The plan also includes an organic, edible garden; a butterfly garden; beach volleyball; a basketball court; and waterfront trails.

SRM and VF Outdoor will seek LEED Gold certification for the project, which they estimate will be worth $48.75 million at buildout. VF Outdoor is hoping to begin construction this coming September and to move into their new campus in October 2011. The company has lease options on the land for up to 27 years.

If approved, the project would more than double the number of LEED certified buildings on the Island – and ultimately could increase the Harbor Bay Business Park’s census by 20 percent.

On Tuesday, the City Council will be asked to consider a package of tax incentives of up to $1 million for VF Outdoor offering reimbursements of a quarter of the city’s share of the property taxes the company would pay, half their utility users tax and half their business license fee over the course of their initial, 12-year lease, and all of their property transfer tax for the first phase of the two-phase project if the company purchases the property from SRM.

The project is expected to generate more than $6 million in revenues for the city and Alameda Municipal Power over the course of its initial lease period.

The company is moving here from San Leandro, and it had looked at four other sites in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville before choosing Alameda, a staff report for the council says.

“VF Outdoor will augment the reputation of both the city and the Harbor Bay Business Park as a center for environmentally conscious companies, clean technology businesses, and sustainable development,” the report says.

If approved, the project would be the largest, non-speculative, commercial office project in the East Bay in “many years,” the report says, and would provide 350 construction jobs.