File under “stupid ideas”

Way back when, Bill Wattenburg a.ka. a “visionary”, had a brainwave (?):

The idea came to Bill Wattenburg from his perch in the Berkeley Hills one day as he watched the morning commutathon far below, creeping like an undulating snake along the East Bay freeways. To Wattenburg, a Bay Area engineer, consultant and talk-show host long known for his esoteric proposals — many of them questioned at first, then adopted — the thought of turning the (Alameda Naval) air station into a commuter station was a natural.

Here’s Wattenburg’s latest idea: to have thousands of drivers park at the air station, be collected up on buses that in turn are loaded onto ferries for the bay crossing, and then rolled off in San Francisco and on to their final destinations.

’nuff said!

“Captive Audience”

Nah … not the Olympics, nor the “award winning” Don Roberts show, but that’s the name of a small budget movie filmed at the Acquacotta restaurant.

The story revolves around a frustrated novelist who takes a group of restaurant diners and staff hostage. Alameda resident Leonard Bael is one of the film’s actors. Lead actors include Tony Mathews of Pleasanton, who plays writer Harvey Templeton, and Mark McGrath, an Alameda native now living in San Francisco, who plays restaurateur Rick Delano.

On a related note, check out the list of movies filmed in Alameda!

Alameda residents on the US Olympic team

Alameda residents Wes Piermarini and Elliot Hovey are in the US double scull rowing team, according to this article. Rowing schedules, if anybody wants to keep track 🙂

Go Peet’s!

Alameda’s very own Peet’s 🙂 appears to be weathering the recent downturn fairly well. Contrast their recent earnings report to Starsucks closing 600 of their stores!

The company said the rise was partly due to strong growth in its grocery and wholesale business. Peet’s has been expanding by selling its coffee in more grocery stores around the country. Grocery sales jumped 27 percent. Revenue at its retail stores, meanwhile, rose 13 percent, mainly from sales at new locations.

And in other Peet’s related news:

Peet’s new roastery in Alameda, on the bay’s shore right at the northern tip of the main Oakland Airport runway, was awarded LEED gold certification, an unusual honor for a factory.