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Part II

July

The city created the America's Cup Ad Hoc Committee to look into how Alameda can reap the benefits of the San Francisco 2013 sailing competition.

Vice Mayor Rob Bonta announced that he was running for state assembly. At that point, Bonta had been on the council for eight months.

Former California Fire and Forestry Protection Director Ruben Grijalva was asked by City Manager John Russo to investigate the circumstances of the Raymond Zack incident. Grijalva later issued a controversial report on the matter.

August

Francis and Catherine Collins received word from the city that their warehouses along the 2200 block of Clement Avenue, in the area known as the Boatworks property, needed to be demolished.

Two-year old Cambria Hurst's walker was stolen outside her home on the 2700 block of Washington Street, setting off a media frenzy. Though Hurst never got her original walker back, Joel and Dave Weissbart of Bart Manufacturing generously bought Hurst a new walker.

After 58 years in business, the Quintero family sold their famed Acapulco restaurant. Spokesperson Laurance Quintero cited "the economy and some obligations" as the reasons for the restaurant's sale.

September

Dennis Evanosky

In September, Alameda police pardoned the pet pot-bellied pig Bosco after he was cited for violating a city ordinance dating back to the 1930s designed to control livestock.

The U.S. Navy and the city announced that they had reached an agreement to officially transfer Alameda Point from Navy control to city control. Though the Navy originally asked $108.5 million for the Point, due to the countrywide economic downturn, it decided to hand over the old naval base for free.

The Department of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment awarded the city a $225,000 grant to create an economic development strategy for Alameda Point. The strategy, when finished in 2012, will detail how the city can attract more business to the old naval base.

Alameda's version of the Occupy movement stormed city hall in October.

The Raider Nation lost a controversial figure when Al Davis passed away on Oct. 8.

October

In support of the national "Occupy Wall Street" movement, nearly 80 Alamedans rallied outside city hall to make a statement about wealth inequality in the United States.

The Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) announced that it had reached an agreement with the city to keep the Alameda Animal Shelter open. It was agreed that FAAS would run the shelter as a nearly independent non-profit, with little financial assistance from the city.

The city removed a number of trees along Park Street as a part of its "Park Street Streetscape project," an effort to further revitalize the commercial street. Many Alameda residents and clerks felt that they were not given enough notice about the tree removals, prompting the city to consider new tree removal notification procedures.

The second half of 2011 brought controversy to the Island. Dorothy Wong hugs the ghost of a Park Street tree in November.

November

A number of Alameda residents transferred their money from big banks to small local banks and credit unions. The movement of money was a part of "Bank Transfer Day," a grass-roots effort to punish big banks for their role in the current financial crisis.

The city announced plans to name the old Beltline property after Alameda activist Jean Sweeney. Sweeney, who passed away in December, had found a loophole in the city's contract with the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad companies (the parent companies of the Alameda Beltline Railroad) that allowed the city to buy back the Beltline property for a very low price.

The city council unanimously passed a comprehensive smoking ban ordinance. The ordinance banned smoking in most outdoor places and apartment complexes. The teachers' union and the school district declared that they were at an impasse in their class size contract negotiations, leading the parties to bring in a state mediator to hammer out their differences. The feud is still ongoing.

December

School Board Trustee Margie Sherrat was elected president of the Board of Education.

An apartment complex on Shore Point Court went up in flames, displacing nearly 60 people and causing $1.5 million in damages to the building. A faulty space heater was later blamed for the fire.

The California Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to eliminate the state's 400 redevelopment agencies was legal. The ruling put the fate of Alameda redevelopment areas into question.