1. Oakland
Speaks Out on War & Violence, Peace & Justice
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· Last Saturday, actor Sean Penn led off the Town
Hall on Iraq with
Congresswoman Barbara Lee at the Grand Lake theater. He
spoke angrily about impact of the war on the people he had
met on his trips to Iraq and the Middle East. Congresswoman
Lee explained why she voted against the Pelosi bill which
asked for a timetable to leave Iraq and approved $124
billion for the war. Lee is a member of the
Out of Iraq Caucus,
which includes Lynn Woolsey of Petaluma and Maxine Waters of
Los Angeles and has authored an alternative bill which calls
immediate withdrawal and funding for redeployment. "We can't
afford to spend one more dime or lose one more American or
Iraqi life on this illegal and unwinnable war," Lee told the
crowd.
 · Afterwards
over 500 marched from Lake
Merritt to a rally at City Hall. Congresswoman Lee,
Assembly Members Swanson & Hancock, the Mayor's Office, the
School Board, Alameda Labor Council & Teacher
Representatives, and speakers from Oakland church and youth
groups spoke on the impact of the war on local government,
on ending the war and ending the violence here at home.
March Photos by Jackson Porretta.
·
Envisioning Peace Concert in
the Dimond: Saturday evening almost 200 attended the
community concert at Fruitvale Presbyterian.
(Below) Sequoia Elementary students sing.
· What
the Iraq War Costs Oakland, a panel discussion,
is available on the
City's website. On March 19, I moderated this
discussion with local experts about what the War on Iraq
means in cuts to real health, education, social and
crime prevention programs for Oaklanders and its long
term impact on the nation.
City Resolution marking the 4th Anniversary of the
War in Iraq.
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2. Weekend Events |
·
Friends of
Sausal Creek, today Saturday, March 31, 9 am-4:30 pm:
Restoration and Nursery Programs meet at Joaquin Miller Park
Nursery to prepare for the May 6 annual plant sale.
· Radical
Wheels Provides Extreme Fun for Youth and Families:
Saturday, March 31, 9 am- 6 pm at the Oakland Coliseum
parking lot.
 Radical
Wheels features a six lane go-kart race track, several
skateboard ramps, and a remote control car arena. Youth and
their families are invited to come out and race go-karts or
bring their own skateboards and remote control cars for a
day of organized fun. Sponsored by the Office of Parks &
Recreation, in partnership with Council Member Larry Reid
and the City Administrator's Office. Tickets are $7 per
person. For details, call 238-7275 or visit
www.oaklandnet.com/parks.
·
Woodminster Summer Musical Auditions: Open to adults and
teens for all three shows of the season:
- "West Side Story" July 13-22
- "The Wizard of Oz" August 10-19
- "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat"
September 7-16
Children's
Auditions-- March 31 only- 10 am- noon, no appointment
necessary. Children will be asked to sing. Adult & Teen
Auditions: March 31-April 1: Singers 12-4 pm either day, no
appointment necessary. For details: call 531-9597, email
Harriet Schlader, or visit their
website.
· Native Plant
Garden Tour at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park,
Saturday, March 31, 11 am-1 pm:
Stop by the Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465
34th Avenue, today to help commemorate Juan Bautista
de Anza's expedition through Northern California in
1776 and the resulting Spanish-Native American
contact. Explore the Native Plant Garden and enjoy a
culinary sampling of traditional Ohlone acorn soup
and special hot chocolate. Free.
· Eggstravaganza & Falcons at the Oakland
Museum, Sunday, April 1, 1-4 pm:
Celebrate spring
with eggcentric activities and an eggcellent magic
show with Blake Maxam. In a program featuring a live
peregrine falcon, UC Santa Cruz's Predatory Bird
Research Group presents "Birds on the Brink: The
Return of Falcons to California," the story of their
peregrine falcon recovery efforts and current issues
affecting raptors in California. Special family
tours of the
Bringing the Condors Home!
exhibition.. Included with museum admission.
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3. Keeping Oakland Green |
·
Oakland Celebrates Stop Waste.Org's new "Green"
Headquarters: This week
I joined other local officials in dedicating the new offices
of StopWaste.Org, the Alameda Waste Management Board, at
1537 Webster Street.
StopWaste.org is a major source of
green building resources and hopes their building will
be a teaching tool. Using the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System,
the building is one of the few renovated buildings in the
nation to meet the highest standard--LEED Platinum. The
project recycled 75% of construction debris, cut water and
energy use by 40%, generates 10% of its electricity needs
and is carbon neutral. Furnishings and building materials
use a high percentage of recycled materials. Landscaping
uses saved rain water, 75% native plants, compost & worm
bins. If you are downtown stop by for a brochure on the
building and other great materials to stop waste.
·
High School Students Join FOSC for Big Restoration
at Dimond Park on April 7: The event is from 9 am -
1 pm, and participating students will receive lunch, a
t-shirt and a ticket to a private hip-hop concert. To sign
up, students must call (1 (888) ROCK-889. Teachers can also
get a representative from Rock Corps to visit their
classroom next week to talk about the importance of
volunteerism and community service. Contact
Jon Zuckerman.
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4. Sign Up for Earth Day April 21, 9am-Noon; Earth
Expo April 18 |
·
Organize an Earth Day Project:
Last year for the fourth year in a
row, our District led the city with about 600 volunteers
working on about 30 projects! Whether its a few
neighbors sweeping the block or weeding the median
strip, joining the hundred plus volunteers along Sausal
Creek, or a major project like building a school garden
in one day. Sign up today and send us an email, too. The
city can provide tools and T-Shirts. Our office tries to
get donations of food and beverages when requested.
To register your neighborhood site, borrow tools, fliers
and more
·
Celebrate Sun & Earth Day at Chabot Science Center--Kids
Go Green, Be Part of the Solution on Saturday,
April 14 11 am-4 pm. Wear green and receive $1
off each admission. Bring in your injet cartridges and
receive a coupon to purchase our own quality compost for
99 cents in the Starry nights Gift Shop. Learn more
about global climate change 4-5 pm, Dan Kammen,
director of
University of California's
Renewable
and Appropriate Energy Laboratory,will
show kids and their families how fast the climate is
changing and what they can do to make a real
contribution in the fight against the global warming
crisis simply by making a few day-to-day changes!
Free with general
admission. RSVP at the Box Office at 336-7373.
Chabot Space & Science Center.
·
Earth Expo, Wednesday, April 18th, 10 am - 2 pm: Over
100 dynamic businesses and organizations will join city
staff to showcase their contributions to Oakland's
sustainable urban environment. Last year Oakland was
named the 5 the most sustainable city in the nation.
Taste organic produce, touch green building materials,
see Bay-friendly landscaping ideas, listening to a
"chalk talk" by the City's energy efficiency expert,
take a look at hybrid cars, and get energy saving tips.
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5. Community Garden Tours, Plant Sales &
Discounts
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·
Visit 9 Fabulous Hillside Gardens-April 22, 11
am- 4 pm: The Hillside Gardeners of Montclair
have been beautifying public spaces in Montclair since
1947--most recently at the Joaquin Miller Community
Center and the Joaquin Miller School garden. Visit some
fabulous gardens and support the Hillside Gardener at
their annual tour, Sunday, April 22 from 11 am to 4 pm,
rain or shine. Tickets are $30. Call 464-3006 or send a
self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Hillside Gardeners,
5701 Cabot Drive, Oakland, CA 94611.
·
Bay Friend Garden Tour Sunday, April 29, 10am-4pm,
features over 40 gardens
many in Oakland.
Register online for the 2007 Bay-Friendly Garden Tour
Download
this tour flyer and redeem the second page at one of
the Bay-Friendly partner nurseries for a 10% discount on
Bay-Friendly plants.
·
Register now for Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, May
5-6:
Registrants receive passes to more than 60 bird- and
butterfly-friendly, pesticide-free, water conserving, low
maintenance gardens that contain 30% or more native plants.
The gardens will be open on Sunday, May 6 from 10 am-5 pm at
various locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa
Counties. Wish you could see more gardens? Sign up for the
Select Tours on April 28 and May 5. There is a limit of 30
people on each Select Tour:$30 per person. A number of
native plant nurseries (including FOSC's Native Plant
Nursery in Joaquin Miller Park) will be having sales on May
5 & 6.
·
Merritt College Annual Plant Fair,
Saturday, April 28, 9 am-3 pm.
There will be exotic
plants, yummy vegetables, miscellaneous perennials, annual
flowers and rare trees and shrubs, along with free advice,
good music and lots of food. All proceeds benefit the
Landscape Horticultural Department at Merritt
College. For details, call 436-2418. |
6.
Community
Policing News
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·
NCPC Leaders Meet:
This morning we are hosting a meeting of District 4
Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council leaders to coordinate
resources and share experiences. Over the last four years
we have been able to increase the number of NCPC's and
participation. We see real progress on the "top three"
issues chosen by them to work on with police in every
neighborhood, especially now as Problem Solving Officers
have been increased under Measure Y. If you have not
attended an NCPC before or recently we encourage you to
participate.
Schedule.
·
Teens & Guns:
Ironically, just as we heard youth leaders speak out on
violence this
week, we also had another shooting where a youth was injured
near High and MacArthur. In addition to increased patrols,
we have also asked Youth Outreach Workers to talk to groups
of teens who congregate on MacArthur and High. We are
working with merchants on moving some of the benches in
this area; the Business Improvement District is also
hiring a private security firm for evenings when the walking
officer is not on duty.
Local parents can help by encouraging their teens avoid
hanging out in this area. If you see young people hanging
out during school hours, call the
Truancy Hotline 879-2753.
With the Boys & Girls Club and new leadership in the area's
Park & Rec Centers, encourage youth to explore new
alternatives. Furthermore, if you own a gun make sure it is
locked in a secure place. Too often as a School Board
member I found most of the guns which students carried were
"borrowed" from relatives.
·
"John" or "Tito" Hits
Unsuspecting Homeowners: Several listserv's report
the return of a man comes around in his truck along 580 and
offers to do some job, trimming brush, painting, etc. for a
very low price. He can be very aggressive and intimidating.
After a very short time, an hour or less, he asks for
partial payment or for money to buy supplies. If the owner
gives it to him, that's the last they see of him.
Door-to-door offers are rarely very satisfactory. Check
licenses, bonding, and references before you let someone
work on your home.
·
Dumping: If
you have some one doing work around your house that requires
disposal, please ask them for the the garbage dump receipts
before paying them. Too often that old refrigerator or
mattress ends up on some one else's street. If the material
is traced back to you, you could pay fines up to $1000.
Take advantage of your annual bulky pick-up and call
Waste Management at 613-8710
for an appointment.
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7. Traffic &
Street Repair Updates |
 ·
Street Resurfacing Projects: Our office
frequently hears from constituents about pot holes and
deteriorating streets. Funding for street repairs and
road infrastructure has been on a steady decline since
around the country. In recent years California state
funds for this purpose were diverted. Last year the
state returned some of these funds and the City Council
allocated several million of the one-time budget surplus
generated by the record number of new real estate sales
for street repair. If you call the Public Works Call
Center 615-5566 or
PWACallCenter@oaklandnet.com, potholes are generally
filled in about a week. Funding for street resurfacing
is limited and is prioritized for the busiest streets;
nevertheless, the City will be resurfacing High Street
between Foothill and Redding and Tiffin Road between
Waterhouse and Lyman sometime in the next few months.
·
New High & Fairfax
Traffic Light: Since the traffic
division fixed the cameras at this corner last Thursday,
we have not received any new complaints. Meanwhile, I
have asked for more traffic officers on High Street
until motorists get used to the slower speeds. If you
have comments about the lights for the traffic engineers ,
contact:
Ade
Oluwasogo at 238-6103 or contact
the
PWA
Call Center 615-5566.
·
Speeding issues: Local residents and
our office have been meeting with the City's traffic
engineers and traffic enforcement staff about ways to
address speeding issues on Skyline Blvd. and Snake Road.
Working closely with the Montclair Safety & Improvement
Council (MSIC), the Montera Association, Piedmont Pines
Neighborhood Association and local PTAs, we continue to
focus on enforcement and education on streets
surrounding our local elementary schools, as well.
Traffic education continues to be a big priority in the
hills--since most of the speeders are neighbors from
above rather than out-of-towners. The police will be
enforcing the speed limit--since sometimes it takes a
ticket to make the point.
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8.
Naming the Bike Path/Trail in Shepherd Canyon |
Sometime over the next few months, the City and East Bay
Regional Parks will be trading ownership of scattered sites
that each had been maintaining for the other.
The trade will unify the
ownership of the bike path/walking trail in Shepherd Canyon
that goes to Montclair. Once this officially becomes
City property, it needs an official name. I will use this
name in the city legislation I will sponsor to keep the
trail open to dogs on leashes. This and other East Bay
Regional Park Trails allow dogs on leash, but dogs are
banned from most city parks and open spaces unless
explicitly authorized. Please take a few minutes to email
Sue Piper with your vote for a new name for the trail.
We will be accepting suggestions through April 9:
- Montclair Railroad Trail
- Montclair Short Line Trail
- Montclair Bike Trail
- Other
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9.
New Bicycle Master Plan Hearings |
 The
update to the City of Oakland's Bicycle master Plan is
scheduled for completion this fall. The City has released a
Draft Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for
public review. There are several opportunities:
- Community Meeting, Wednesday, April 5,
5:30-7:30 pm in the Lakeside Park Garden Center (666
Bellevue Avenue at Grand Avenue) for an open house on
the Draft Plan. Presentation at 6:15 pm.
- Public Hearing: Wednesday, April 18, 6 pm at the
City Planning Commission, City Hall, 1 Frank H.
Ogawa Plaza.
Draft copies of the Bicycle Plan and the Draft EIR can be
downloaded from the website below, or can be picked up from
the Community and Economic Development Agency, Planning and
Zoning Division, 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3315,
Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm. The documents are
also available for review at the Oakland Main Public
Library, Social Science and Documents, 125 14th Street.
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10. National Library Month, Click It for Digital Services,
Tax Help |
·
The Bookmark's HUGE Book Sale, April
4-7: More than 17,000 books at 30% off-new stock,
no library discards! FOPL members can take
advantage of First Choice Day, Tuesday, April 3 from 10:30
am - 5:30 pm. Operated by the
Friends of the Oakland Public Library at 721 Washington
Street in Old Oakland, it's a great place to browse.
Donations of used books and CDs are always welcome. Call
444-0473.
 ·
Click-It for National Library
Month: Some of our libraries best customers never
walk in the door. With your library card you can access
valuable resources on-line. Want to read the New York Times
archives without a four hundred dollar plus subscription? Go
through our library portal. Traveling abroad? I load my MP3
with Pimsleur Language programs (usually $200 plus) and with
enough books to take me across the country or oceans. You
can also find:
- Best selling novels, both audio and e-books
- Over 30,000 magazines and newspapers
- Investment data and journals
- 28,000 auto manuals
- Live chat with a librarian
- Tumblebooks, listen to on-line books for children
·
National Library Week Author Michael Pollan
will speak at the Oakland Museum on Thursday, April 12, 7 pm.
Every year one of the hottest authors reads and answers
questions to support Friends of the Oakland Public Library.
His book The Omnivores Dilemma: A Natural History of Four
Meals has been on the Bay Area's bestseller list for
weeks. It examines the Industrial Food System and the world
of "Big Organics."
·
Tax Help at the Library:
Oakland Public Library, in partnership with the American
Association for Retired Persons, offers free tax assistance
through April 16, 2007. Trained volunteers are ready to help
at the following library locations. Be sure to bring copies
of your last year's federal and state tax returns and all
materials pertaining to your 2006 tax forms (and your
spouse, if filing jointly!). Seniors, ages 60 plus, will be
given preference at walk-in sites only.
For locations. |
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11. Help Our Local Merchants |
·
Nominate A Local Business for an Indie: This website
promotes Oakland Businesses. Nominations can be made at:
http://www.oaklandunwrapped.org/indies/ or call
868-3410.
·
Write-In a Local Restaurant in the Zagat Survey: It
seems the staff of this famous restaurant guide rarely
ventures off College Avenue or Downtown when looking at
Oakland. Many of our neighborhood restaurants are as
tasty. Our family is nominating Phom Penh (Laurel), Los
Comales (Dimond), and Italian Colours (Montclair). Register
and vote free at
www.zagat.com. You won't be able access the reviews
without subscribing but you can vote for your favorite
restaurants and may receive a free copy of the guide.
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12.
School & Youth News |
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· Support
Swanson's Bill to Return Local Control to Oakland Schools,
AB 45: Members of the Maxwell Park
Education Neighborhood Action Team/Maxwell Park School
Together group are going up to Sacramento on Wednesday,
April 4 to speak with Assembly members on the Committee on
Education to voice their support for Sandre Swanson's AB45
which calls for the return of local control to oakland
Public Schools. Contact Ilana Kohn at 432-5504.
· Easter
Egg Hunts
- Laurel
District Association Annual Egg Hunt,
Saturday, April 7 at Allendale Elementary School, 11 am.
- Lake
Chabot Golf Course Grand Opening and Egg Hunt,
Saturday, April 7: Kids 6 and under at 9:15 am; kids 7
and older at 9:30. Youth and Adult free Golf Clinics
start at 10;15 and 10:45 for the first 120 people that
register for each group. For more information, or
registration
-
Montclair Lion's Club Annual Easter Egg Hunt,
Sunday, April 8 at Montclair Park, 9 am.
·
Spring at Chabot: OUSD Science
Fair Display, April 4-5, 10 am-5 pm, free with general
admission. Extended hours
at Chabot Space & Science Center April 8-13: Sunday, 11-5;
Mon-Thurs, 10-5; Fri & Sat, 10-10.
· Tea
with Nancy at a Great Good Place for Books, April 4,
4:30pm: Bring the kids to spend
the afternoon with Jane O'Connor, author of Fancy
Nancy and the Posh Puppy at a Great Good Place for
Books, 6120La Salle Avenue, in Montclair. Call 339-8210
for details.
· Sequoia School Multicultural Festival
and Silent Auction, Saturday, April 28, 4-8 pm: Come
join the fun and help raise funds for new play
structures at the school. There will be performers,
great food, and wonderful items to bid on. The committee
still needs donations or services for the Silent Auction
or ads for the program. Contact Giovanna
Queeto.
· Opera
Piccola's Performance of Suzan-Lori Parks' "365
Days/365 Plays": Performing students
from Oakland Tech and the East Oakland School of
the Ares (EOSA) are part of this national series
of plays created by one of the country's most
important playwrights. On Wednesday, April 4 at
7 pm at the Oakland Metro in Jack London Square,
Opera Piccola will present works from Week 21 of
Suzan-Lori Park's year of innovative plays.
· OPR Catalog of Spring and Summer
Activities for Kids and Families: The 2007
catalog is now available at Recreation
Centers,
online or by calling 238-7275. You can
register online as well.
· Asthma Camp Registration:
There are 90 openings for the 2007
American Lung Association's Greater Bay
Area Asthma Camp-- July 29 - August 1 (4
days, 3 nights). Applicants will be
accepted on a first come basis, so
please sign up as soon as possible.
Registration is $25. To be eligible, the
child must be between the ages of 8 and
12 and be diagnosed with asthma. For
details, contact
Barron Pagtakhan at the American
Lung Association at 893-5474, ext. 239.
·
Help Save Bret Harte's Yosemite
Leadership Program: For the
past 14 years, Bret Hart Middle School
has been sending students to the
Yosemite Institute. Unfortunately this
year, the school cannot subsidize the
cost. The Bret Harte PTA needs $3000 to
fill the funding gap. Please help
support this program by sending a tax
deductible donation to the Bret Harte
PTA, c/o Lesley Johson-Gelb, 315 Lenox
Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610, and indicate
that you are contributing to the
"Yosemite Leadership Fund."
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13. More
Community Events
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·
6th Annual Oakland Firefighters Random Acts Awards &
Dinner Dance,
 Saturday,
April 21 at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Lincoln
Avenue.
This is the group's largest fundraiser of the
year, and includes a Citizen hero of the Year award
presentation and recognition of a person in the Oakland
Community for their many Random Acts of
Kindness. Oakland Firefighters Random Acts, a
tax-exempt charitable organization,
provides funds and resources for
Oakland Firefighters to provide Random Acts of Kindness
when they encounter people in need in the Community and
on their Emergency 911 calls. For questions or
to make a tax
deductible donation, call 465-8422.
(Above) Bikes for Tykes Program.
· San Francisco
Scottish Fiddlers in Concert, Friday, April 27,
8 pm, Holy Names College: Some local
neighbors are part of the
San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers
and their director, world- renowned
Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, in their 21st
season. More than 100 musicians -- with the massed
ranks of fiddles joined by cellos, guitars, drums,
harps, flutes, basses, piano, and a one-person choir
of harmonicas -- fill the hall with the irresistible
rhythms and melodies of Celtic music. Dancers and
singers round out a program that taps the springs of
musical feeling from jigs, strathspeys and reels to
achingly beautiful slow airs. Audiences are
encouraged to join in, sing along and even get up
and dance if so inspired.
·
4th Annual Taste of
Spring Fundraiser for FOPR:
Save Thursday, April 26 for the
Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation's 4th
Annual Taste of Spring Fundraiser at the Rotunda in
downtown Oakland. This fundraiser supports Oakland's
parks and recreation centers. Last year FOPR
provided more than $27,500 a year in grant funding;
completed Phase 2 of the Rockridge Greenbelt;
created interpretive signage for the FM Smith Mule
Team Renovation; and worked on design development
and fundraising for Raimondi Park. For every dollar
Friends receives, they are able to leverage the
funds to bring in three for park-related issues.
District 4's Phil Tagami, managing general partner
of California Commercial Investments, is this year's
honoree. For details, call 465-1850.
·
Joaquin Miller Park Open House, May 5:
Bring friends and
family to the Meadow in Joaquin Miller Park for a picnic
and day of fun from 11am-3 pm. Learn about the wonders
in Joaquin Miller Park--our little bit of the Sierra
right in our back yard-- as well as about services of
the local neighborhood prevention council and other
groups.
·
4th Annual Horace Carpentier Dinner, May
8: Who was Horace Carpentier? A: The
"father" of Oakland! Hear Henry Gardner,
Executive Director of the Association of Bay
Area Governments and former Oakland City
Manager, at the Fourth Annual Horace Carpentier
Dinner supporting Waterfront Action and the Jack
London Aquatic Center, 6 - 9 pm, Tuesday, May 8.
For details,
click on Waterfront Action's website.
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District 4 Neighborhood
News
and
the beauty of the city. It was fun to see Oakland through
their eyes...the architectural variety and beautiful
restorations, cherry blossoms on Ogawa Plaza in front of
City Hall, Lake Merritt, and daffodils everywhere.
to enjoy our city's great weather and many parks and
natural beauty. Spring means that we move our
