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Moving Oakland Forward Together |
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I want to thank the many friends and neighbors who came out to the many inaugural and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day activities. Jim Ratliff hosts a great Lakeshore-Grand Ave site and caught this photo of Mayor Dellums and Council Members below at the Hands Around the Lake event, a symbol of city leadership determined to work together.
On MLK Jr. Day we joined hundreds of students and others cleaning the marshes along the Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline Park. We enjoyed the casino-less serenity and amazing diversity of bird life. It was a great reminder of why we banned styrofoam! (See #11) Over the next weeks there are a wide range of community meetings and opportunities to become involved in our City, hope to see you soon.  Jean Quan District 4 Council Member Council President Pro Tempore
<< Volunteers working on trail drainage in Joaquin Miller Park last year...More fun than it looks! • Trail Work Day in Joaquin Miller Park this Saturday, January 20, 9 am-Noon: The Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay works closely with the City's Park Maintenance Department and the Joaquin Miller Park Working Group to keep our trails in safe condition following the winter rains. If you enjoy walking or riding these trails, this is an easy way to give back to the park. Bring gloves, hat and water. We meet at the Ranger Station. Map • FOSC Restoration Planting Opportunities: On Saturday, January 20, from 9 am until Noon, volunteers will meet at the Monterey Trailhead to plant at the Redwood site near in Dimond Canyon. Volunteers are also needed to help out in the Nursery from 1:30 to 4:30 pm on Saturdays. For details, contact Kathren Stevenson, Restoration Coordinator,or visit the FOSC website.
On Saturday, January 27, 9 am-Noon, at the Zion Lutheran Church, we will present proposals for improving the walkway for pedestrians and bikers on upper Park Blvd between the Leimert Bridge and Mountain Blvd. Leaflet & Survey Our office has worked with volunteers to improve trails throughout the district. This Park Blvd trail has beautiful views of Dimond Canyon that few people who speed by in cars realize is there. Landscape Designer Gillian Garro of Larman & Garro has developed a conceptual plan for a multi-use pathway up Park Blvd. We hope this project will encourage more people to walk to the village, make the walkway safer and more inviting for students, strollers, and seniors. We will use the plan to seek funding, grants, and plan community work days. Please contact Sue Piper at 238-7042 or by email to let us know if you are interested in attending.
The Wild Fire Prevention District Board is the citizens oversight committee but their meetings go beyond the usual business items and are often very educational. Next week there will be a special presentation by Frank Beall, Professor emeritus, UC Berkeley on Issues in Development of a Community-based Fire Hazard Assessment at the January 25, 7 pm at Trudeau Center, 11500 Skyline Blvd. He will discuss the need to evaluate of a number of interactive variables, including fuels, weather, topography, infra-structure and fire response. Related information. Live demonstration of New Technology for Vegetation Management at 4 pm on that day: a special demonstration of a hydro mechanical obliterator on Redwood Road, east of highway 13, between Skyline and Via Rialto Drive, north side of the street. Hydro Mechanical Obliteration (HOM) is an process that hydro mechanically disintegrates organic material for fire prevention tasks and vegetation control. For details: Please contact Kristine Shaff or 238-7396 to let her know if you plan on attending.
With the increased crime and the awareness of crime, neighbors are organizing and revitalizing neighborhood alert groups all over the city. Here are a few of the common sense tips that were shared at some of the meetings this week:
Experiencing a crime wave? When there is a wave of crimes in a neighborhood that is usually quiet, we have found that home alert groups can help us figure out what has changed. In one quiet neighborhood relatives dealing drugs moved in and took over a home of an elderly person. The relatives and their clients were responsible for crime wave. We were able to get the senior help in removing them.
• Oakland has about 600 Neighborhood Watch Groups and that number is growing. Just this month we have helped kick off at least 5 block groups. On Wednesday, January 24, 6:30-8:30 pm, Block Captains of Neighborhood Alert Groups are invited for an Annual Winter meeting at Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor, Hearing Room 4. Neighborhood CORE Leaders are also invited to attend. The special guest speaker is Oakland Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Israel. There will be validated parking at the City Hall Garage, 14th and Clay Streets. Please RSVP so that seating and refreshments can be planned: call 238-3128, or e-mail NVigilante@msn.com • Montclair CORE Leaders Meet Next Tuesday, January 23, 7 - 8:30 pm: If you are thinking about forming a CORE group in your neighborhood and you live in Montclair, consider attending the next meeting of the Montclair Organized Neighborhood Program (MON) at the Montclair Community Play Center, 5815 Thornhill Drive. MON links neighborhoods in the greater Montclair/Oakland Hills area to address concerns around emergency preparedness, crime prevention, parking and traffic safety issues, beautification, socialization, etc. The regular MON Leaders meetings facilitate the organization. of MON groups by sharing information, ideas, best practices and support. To date, their meetings have focused on emergency preparedness for earthquake, wildfire and all other civil disasters, utilizing the CORE program. The January 23 meeting will cover CORE training issues and the upcoming City-wide CORE Neighborhood Exercise on April 28th. • District 4 NCPC Meetings: Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council meetings are open to the public and are a great way to meet the police assigned to your area and learn more about community policing in your area. Our staff attends most of these NCPC meetings:
Our office has been working with Peets on their building permits, this is their proposal for the Dimond store. The design adds windows which would eliminate much of the current Dimond mural (side on the left). They are proposing to fund a replacement or new mural. We are interested in hearing your opinions on this proposal. We are also interested in hearing from people who would be interested in planning or working on a new mural should this be the final outcome. Please contact Richard Cowan in my office, 238-7041.
Speeding and side shows in the Melrose area have led to a series of barriers on Ygnacio. All are different, none of them are attractive. Working with the Traffic Division and neighbors and with funding from my office, we have come up with three designs for landscaped traffic barriers. Each features native plants and boulders. We will also add an additional barrier near Horace Mann School. Neighbors at each intersection have agreed to help water the plants. Please send your comments on these designs to Ann Combs of my office or call 238-4742.
<< Workgroup members John Eckhouse, Dale Risden, and Austin McInery review the new map with Jean in front of newly posted version that can be found on kiosks in the park. • New Map and Updated Website for Joaquin Miller Park: JM Park is one of the largest, most beautiful parks in the East Bay. For the past two years, our Joaquin Miller Park Working Group has been hammering out details for a new brochure and trail map, along with a more comprehensive website for Joaquin Miller Park. The new map is on the city website and the map/brochure is available at the ranger station and our offices. The printed brochure features the history of the park, trail use and restrictions, topographical and botanical information, and much more. Thanks to the Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation for the printing, to Karen Paulsell of Friends of Sausal Creek for creating the revised map, and to Sue Piper on our staff for the brochure and website. Projects for the coming year include creating a fundraising effort for the park, developing a phase II plan for landscaping the Abbey (Joaquin Miller's home), installing new trail signage and Park welcome signs, a "Day in the Park" in May, and fund raising activities. All meetings are open to the public. The minutes of the Working Group meetings may be found on my website.
• 100 Families Oakland: Art and Social Change exhibit at Oakland Museum: Opening this weekend, January 20th, the art of Oakland families who made art under the guidance of professional artists will be featured. (Left) For details, visit the 100 Families website The project is sponsored by F. Noel Perry and the Center for Art and Public Life. • Enrolling students in OUSD schools for next fall: This is especially important if you plan to enroll your student back into the Oakland Unified School District from private or parochial schools. The district's Open Enrollment ends January 29, during which time parents of entering Kindergartners, and those entering the district for the first time must enroll their students. For current 5th, 8th and pre-kindergarten students who are already attending OUSD schools, applications are personalized and will be handed out at the school. Applications for students in other grades who wish to enroll at a different OUSD school, and for students returning to the district will be available on line, at school sites and at the Student Assignment Office (879-8111) at 1098 Second Avenue, Portable 18. • Meeting to Discuss Maxwell Park School Redesign: January 25th 5:30 to 7 pm. District personnel will be engaging parents and community about the future of Maxwell Park Elementary School, which is considered an "Area of Focus" school due to declining enrollment and the school's program improvement status. The district will be making a decision regarding the future of the school by February 15th. I encourage all stakeholders to attend and to make their voices heard. There are currently five options being considered by the school district: 1) continued monitoring and support 2) internal restructuring of the school 3) new school incubation [a new school opens in place of the existing school] 4) turn to charter 5) school closure. For details, contact Monica Wilson at 879-1393. • Maxwell Park Elementary School needs 3-6 volunteer judges for their school competition in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Fest this Thursday, January 25th. There will be two assemblies or time slots that need judges. The first begins at 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. judging the kindergarten through third grade students. The second assembly is from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. judging the fourth and fifth grade orators. Winners compete at the district level. • Volunteers are also needed for the Maxwell Park Elementary Scrabble Tournament, Wednesday, January 31: Several schools from Oakland and beyond are coming to Maxwell Park Elementary School for a Scrabble Tournament and Root Beer Floats. Volunteers are needed to set up, proctor the games, keep things moving and positive, hand out t-shirts and prizes, and scoop ice cream. Maxwell Park students warm up at 2, the others arrive at 3 and the event goes until 5 pm. If interested, contact principal Ruben Aurelio.
<< Pioneering Astronaut Wally Schirra poses in the Mercury capsule at Chabot when 11 astronauts/cosmonauts visited the Space & Science Center last weekend. • Oakland Civic Orchestra's "North by Northeast" Concert, Sunday, January 21: at 3 pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Avenue will present Borodin's Prince Igor Overture, Sibelius' Finlandia and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9. Admission is free. This is the 15th Anniversary of the volunteer orchestra. Call 238-7275 or visit their website. • Lunar New Year Celebration 2007: The Oakland Asian Cultural Center offers auspicious food tastings, hands on activities, performances from the China Songshan Shaolin Temple, The Purple Bamboo and Great Wall Youth Orchestras (Oakland's local youth Chinese orchestra) and more on Saturday, February 3, from Noon until 4 pm. Admission free. The Oakland Asian Cultural Center is located at 388 Ninth Street, Suite 290, Oakland, CA 94607. • Volunteer Appreciation Evening, February 7, 4 to 6 pm: The City's Public Works Agency and Keep Oakland Beautiful are celebrating the good work and giving thanks of all of their volunteers-- from Adopt a Spot regulars to Daffodil planters. If you have worked on Earth Day, Creek to Bay Day, Daffodil Planting, Adopt a Spot, Adopt a Creek, and other clean up and beautification projects, please RSVP to Noel Gallo or call 615-5415. Refreshments will be served.
<< Jean & husband Floyd display the polystyrene and other plastics picked up out of the marshes on MLK, Jr. Day.
If you need a reminder of the harm done to the environment
by polystyrene containers to our environment, take a walk by
the shoreline near Damon Marsh. The tides deposit the litter
from storm drains and creeks in this area. Easily about half
of the litter is polystyrene. Egret flies over Damon Marsh
below. • Ban on Polystyrene Containers for Take Out Food: The legislation I sponsored to requires restaurants, food trucks and other retail food providers to eliminate the use of polystyrene plates, cups, bowls, and utensils took affect January 1st. In addition, biodegradable, compostable alternatives must be used as they become affordable. If your local restaurant or store is still using polystyrene, you can help us by distributing the leaflet below and reporting violations to 238-SAVE or recycling@oaklandnet.com For details about the new ordinance, go to the City's new Green Ware website.
<< Melrose's Jeanne Nixon won a local hero award last year for her work on the Horace Mann School garden. Do you know a District 4 neighbor who has demonstrated outstanding community spirit and service? Go to our website to see last year's nominees and send your nomination to Jennifer Argueta in our office. Please provide the name, address and contact information for both yourself and the nominee, along with a brief paragraph describing why you believe this person or group deserves recognition. The awards will be presented at our District Office on February 24th as part of the Lunar New Year celebration in the Laurel. All nominees receive Oakland A's or Warriors tickets. The top awardees are allowed to designate up to $1000 in District 4 Council Capital funds to any public project.
Mark your calendar for Fourth Annual Bay- Friendly Garden Tour, Sunday, April 29: This year's tour continues to celebrate the diverse styles of Bay-Friendly, pesticide free gardens. These gardens contain at least 30% native plants. Registration for the tour is required. Registrants receive a tour guide book with garden directions and descriptions by mail. Native plants, vegetable starts and Mediterranean perennials can be purchased at select sites on the tour. Online registration provides a sneak preview of the 2007 gardens. Volunteers are needed for the day of the tour. If interested, please contact Lawrence Grodeska at 614-1699.
• Emergency Kits For information on emergency supplies. We recommend:
• Montclair Neighborhood CORE Leaders Meeting, January 23. If you are considering organizing a CORE (Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies) group on your block and you live in Montclair, consider attending the next Montclair Neighborhood CORE Leaders Meeting on Tuesday, January 23 at 7 pm at the Montclair Community Play Center, 5815 Thornhill Drive. For details, contact Sandy Pohutsky. • The Redwood Hts Neighborhood Association and Redwood Hts School have organized a CORE II training for Jan. 23 at the RHS School at 6:30-9pm. Core II helps prepare your neighborhood in case of an emergency. • Citywide CORE Neighborhood Exercise planned for Saturday, April 28th Mark your calendar if you have a CORE group. And if you have any ideas about how to make the experience more effective, contact Roger Vickery, chair of the Montclair Safety & Improvement Council (MSIC), who is the MSIC representative to the CORE Exercise Planning Team. • The American Red Cross, Bay Area is undertaking a comprehensive program to train one million Bay Area residents in Disaster Preparedness. They have launched the "Give the Gift of Preparedness" Campaign. You can purchase disaster kits, a First Aid/CPR class, a pet First Aid kit or sponsor emergency preparedness training to your neighborhood, school, business or place of worship. I gave hand cranked flashlights and radios to everyone in our family. Go to the ARCBA shopping website for great gifts and supplies that will protect you and support the campaign. Enter Promotional Code, “GIFT” for a 20% Discount. Expires 2/28/2007
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