The increasingly artsy environs around downtown are of course a source of civic pride, but the arts have also been used to put the Town down, from Gertrude Stein’s epigrams to aborted television pilots. Recently, all the way on the northern border, a “tea party” of craftsmen (and women) knitted over Berkeley’s rail-side HERETHERE sculpture, covering up this perceived slight at Oakland. Given the sculpture’s proximity to pioneering Internet-enabled Nomad Cafe, will we soon see censorious socks on (Regr)Etsy?

In Jack London Square, vegetarian restaurant and wine bar Encuentro gave up its most popular recipe to the Chronicle recently. You could try this at home, but it seems pretty labor-intensive. Best to visit Encuentro, don’t you agree?

Geisha, the long-awaited and somewhat controversial establishment dreamed up by the owner of the former Silver Lion and Golden Bull watering holes, opened in the former Oakland Stamp Factory on 14th near Webster this week. A generously-sized bar, well-expressed decor, experienced bartenders, and a full kitchen will add life to a street mostly known for shuttling people from downtown to the Lake. I don’t know what sort of food the cabaret-licensed nightclub will serve, but Geisha’s eponymous cucumber-lime punch is tasty.

Finally, I would like to encourage Art Murmerers to take advantage of my client Friendly Cab’s First Friday promotion. Sponsored by Kapsack & Bair DUI attorneys, three DTO hotspots will offer $5 taxi coupons tonight to help you get home or even cover a bar-hop. Stop by The Layover (1517 Franklin), Penelope (11th and Clay), and Era (19 Grand) so you can enjoy the drinking without the driving! After all that walking and biking for the Car-Free Challenge, it will be nice to traverse all the DTO has to offer in the comfort of a back seat. Enjoy your First Friday!

To show solidarity with local businesses damaged by this and last week’s rioting, Oaklanders have organized two events designed to bring folks to the DTO. Tonight, blog commenters have declared a Night Out, and are encouraging everyone to spend the evening at one of downtown’s many restaurants, discos, and cultural venues. Tomorrow (Sat Jan 17 2009), merchant groups throughout the city have organized 17th on 17th, a mini-festival celebrating downtown’s charming block of shops between Franklin and Webster Streets, from 2 to 5p. When was the last time buying a smoothie and a handbag was such a good deed? I look forward to seeing you there.

If I were to update last month’s Uptown Excitement blog, I’d call it Uptown Explosion. Several restaurants announced openings in the greater Uptown area, generating attention from San Francisco to Westlake. The district may soon see a champagne bar, but still no taco trucks.

More than just the culinary arts are flourishing in Uptown. Partners from B Restaurant, Fiveten Studio, and Levende East are planning a multi-level dance club in the block of historic storefronts including 21 Grand, once home to Industrielle, a mattress dealer, and a military-themed bookstore. Meanwhile, an improv theater has found a home nearby, on Broadway.

Maybe I’ve been paying too much attention to BRT, TOD and LTEs, but it seems like car parking is an issue as Oakland becomes a bit more thriving. But not only cars need parking. Bicyclists are of course aware of the crippling lack of bike parking since meters were replaced by kiosks. For another modal perspective, the crew of the Zen Sakai document the hassle of parking a boat to get lunch at Jack London Square.

Saturday, City Councilmember-elect Rebecca Kaplan, Equality California’s Sean Sullivan, and other leaders (TBA) will address a gathering of Oaklanders at City Hall in opposition to Proposition 8. Tomorrow looks to be warm, and Frank Ogawa Plaza is a sunny spot on a nice day.

Lest I leave out the jewel of downtown, please enjoy this Zeppelin’s-eye view of Lake Merritt, and your DTO weekend.

The O-Scene has a comprehensive list of election night parties, though it doesn’t include the official Alameda County Democratic Party bash at the Oakland Marriott. Other places holding parties include Air Lounge, Everett & Jones, Kimball’s Carnival, Luka’s Taproom, and an undisclosed location in Ghost Town.

See you there! I’ll be the guy with the I Voted sticker.

On Monday April 7 Councilmembers Chang and Kernighan and the planning staff are holding an outreach meeting, starting at 6p, a Restaurant Peony in Chinatown. The forum is organized by the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. This was revealed only by a neighborhood services coordinator who spotted the email on the “Asians in Oakland Government” group and then shared it with her neighborhood group.

Though Old Oakland, SOBO, Uptown and Downtown Lake Merritt don’t seem to merit the notice of city planners or Councilmembers, at least there will be one meeting on the downtown zoning update that’s actually inside the affected area. Too bad few people will know about it.

The proposal will be presented to the Zoning Update Committee of the Planning Commission on Wednesday, at City Hall, which is actually downtown. And near several different transit lines.

Also, I’d like to thank the Oakland Museum for throwing one of the DTO’s best parties ever. Make Me, Hottub, DJs, exhibits, and free beer – I can’t remember so many people ever having so much fun at our beautiful museum.

The underlying map is from the Oakland Convention and Vistors’ Bureau, and contains major errors but is pretty. I will look for another base map for the next update.

• The UCOP’s parking garage cost the RDA $3.9m, and gross revenue fell 13% despite the removal of downtown parking for new development. The city expects the garage to operate without public subsidy in the future.
• All downtown residential projects that had public subsidy included affordable units.
• The DTO’s Façade Improvement Program is winding down, a victim of its own success.
• A very small amount of discretionary money to aid commercial ventures was distributed to the At-large and District 2 councilmembers.
• A new program is a $3m fund for site acquisition for redevelopment of small sites in “targeted areas.”
• Lincoln Recreation Center and the adjoining park are being upgraded. There are no other park projects downtown, aside from Measure DD, which is not a redevelopment project.
• $29.7m was generated from the housing set-aside in the last three years alone.
• The state forced us to give up $9.1m to the schools and other agencies, to balance their budget.
• Of $66.5m spent on projects, $51.9m (78%) went to the Uptown district, primarily to Forest City and the Fox Theater.
• The Central District map is downtown up to 27^th Street (including 48% of the area slated for retail redevelopment), the Jack London Square area above Embarcadero, and some very suspicious holes carved out around the Kaiser Center and Lake Merritt BART station.