• Friends of Sausal Creek Workday at the Grassland Restoration Site at Sausal Creek, Saturday, March 29, 9am-Noon: Remove invasive plants to help convert Acacia forest back to native grassland in the Grassland Restoration Site at Sausal Creek. Call Kathren Stevenson at 388-5676.  This month's volunteer schedule.
• Monthly Workday in Beaconsfield Canyon, Saturday, March 29, 9 am: Make Montclair a little greener (and safer) in Beaconsfield Canyon (between Ascot and Chelton drives). Replace flammable, invasive plants with native species; clear debris for fire prevention; shore up and extend trails and create more wildlife habitat. No experience necessary. Just bring work gloves if you have them and your favorite garden tools (trowels, pruners, pruning saws, and spades are the most useful). No tools? We have some you can use. Meet at the end of Beaconsfield Place. For information, contact Richard Kauffman at 531-1237 for future dates.

• Free Plant Exchange Saturday, March 29, Noon-4 pm:  Now that it is spring cleaning time in your garden, consider trading your extras  with like-minded gardeners at the annual Plant Exchange. Bring sproutable clippings, bulbs, cuttings and plants to 3811 Lakeshore Avenue. No time to repot plants? Bags and newspaper will do. Call Odette at 866-8482 or go to their website for the trade-in form.

• Global Warming Earth Hour, Saturday,  March 29, 8-9 pm:  Earth Hour started by World Wildlife Fund last year in Sydney, Australia , will involve millions of people in over 200 cities around the world including 100 in North America.  Some of the cities listed are Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, and San Francisco.   Turn off your lights for one hour.
   
• Cambodian Celebration, Oakland Museum, Sunday, March 30, 1:30-2:30 pm: Enjoy Cambodian music, dance, and food in the museum gardens. Take a tour of the exhibition Trading Traditions: California's New Cultures with curator/photographer Lonny Shavelson. Included with museum admission.

• OPC/PWA Volunteer Appreciation Event, Wednesday, April 2 at the Lakeside Garden Center:  If you've ever adopted a spot or drain, planted daffodils or worked on an Earthday or Creek to Bay Day Project, then you won't want to miss this annual event. The Oakland Parks Coalition and the Public Works Agency annually thanks the hundreds of local residents who regularly volunteer to work on our parks, medians, open spaces and storm drains at this wonderful event. To RSVP, call 287-2683 or email the Oakland Parks Coalition.

• Mandela (Fremont) High School Teacher To be Honored by League of Women Voters, Wednesday, April 2: The League of Women Voters of Oakland honors Mandela High School Social Studies teacher, Patricia Arabia, for its Making Democracy Work award to an individual. She is a community activist and former practicing attorney, who has been an Oakland teacher  for 10 years. The English Center for International Women, at Mills College wins the award for an institution. The program features Professor Alex Saragoza,  UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Department, speaking on the topic "Oakland Without Borders? Immigration and the East Bay." The public is invited. Tickets are $60 for League members, $80 for non members, and may be purchased online or through the LWVO office, 1305 Franklin St., Suite 311, Oakland 94612,  834-7640.

• First Friday's at the Oakland Museum, April 4, 5-9 pm: Join us every first Friday of the month for the best party in town -exciting programs, music, and activities. This Friday  features Lacey Baker and The Black Diamond Blues Band in the café; shopping, yoga, and a great chance to make new friends.  Full cash bar-museum store and café open.  Plus, the EarthDance: Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival from 7-11 pm. The 5th Annual EarthDance at the museum features 24 humorous and provocative films in two separate screenings (7:30 and 9:30 pm). Comedies, animations, documentaries, thrillers and family-friendly films celebrate our connections to the natural world. All of this is included with museum admission.
   
• The Bay Area Heart Gallery Special Joint Exhibit, April 1-30, Alameda County Administration Building, 1221 Oak Street.  This is a stunning, professional photography exhibit featuring local children and youth in foster care who are eligible for adoption. The exhibit  includes photographs of diverse adoptive families from across the Bay and their stories.  Exhibit hours are 8:30 am-5 pm, Monday through Friday.  For details, contact Fredi Juni.

• Friends of the Oakland Public Library's Bookmark Bookstore Sale, April 2-5:  Mark your calendar for the Friends of the Oakland Public Library's semi-annual sale. Members and the general public receive 30% off the Bookmark's unbelievably low prices. FOPL accepts donations of your gently-used books, DVDs and CDs.  Your donations help raise funds for the library.  Visit the Bookmark, 721 Washington Street, Monday to Friday, 10:30 am-5:30 pm and Saturday, 10:30 am-3:30 pm, 444-0473 .

• City Hall Rally for the 2008 McClymonds  High School  State Basketball Champions, Friday, April 4, 2:30-3:30 pm.

• OPR Seeks  Mother of the Year Nominations Due Friday, April 4: Do you know an individual who shows an exceptional spirit of volunteerism while balancing daily responsibilities to family? Someone who serves as an exemplary caregiver, such as a foster parent or grandparent? The honoree will be recognized at the 55th Annual Oakland Mother of the Year Award Program set for Saturday, May 10, 10:30 am at the Morcom Rose Garden, 700 Jean Street. Nominations are due on Friday, April 4, no later than 4:30 pm. Nomination forms and award criteria are available online or call Marguerite Hinrichs at 238-2082.

• Thursday, April 3, in City Hall Hearing Room #1
  • 6 pm Council District 3: Nancy Nadel, Sean Sullivan
  • 6:45 pm School District 3: Jumoke Hinton Hodge, Olubermiga Oluwole, Sr.
  • 7:30 pm Council District 7: Clifford Gilmore, Larry Reid
  • 8:15 pm School District 7: Doris Limbrick, Alice Spearman, Beverly Williams
• Friday, April 4, in City Hall Hearing Room #1 (Broadcast Live)
  • 6 pm Assembly District 14: Phil Polakoff, Nancy Skinner, Tony Thurmond, Kriss Worthington
  • 7 pm Council-at-Large: Kerry Hamill, Rebecca Kaplan, Clinton Killian, Charles Pine, Frank Rose
  • 8:15 pm Council District 5: Beverly Blythe, Ignacio De La Fuente, Mario Juarez, David Wofford
• Saturday, April 5, in City Hall Hearing Room #1
  • 10 am Alameda County Board of Education Area 2: Ernest Hardmon, Conchita Tucker
  • 10:45 am Alameda County Board of Superivsors District 4: Nate Miley, Steve White
  • 11:30 am Alameda County Board of Education Area 3: John Bernard, Ken Berrick, Celsa Snead
  • 12:30 pm Alameda County Superior Court Seat 9: Phil Daly, Dennis Hayashi, Victoria Kolakowski, Dennis Reid
• Friday, April 11, in City Hall Hearing Room #1 (Broadcast Live)
  • 7 pm Senate District 9: Wilma Chan, Loni Hancock
  • 8 pm City Council District 1: Jane Brunner, Patrick McCullough
  • 8:45 pm School District 1: Jody London, Tennessee Reed, Brian Rogers
• Thursday, April 24 at Merritt College, 12500 Campus Dr, off Redwood Rd
   
  • 7 pm Council-at-Large: Kerry Hamill, Rebecca Kaplan, Clinton Killian, Charles Pine, Frank Rose

• OUSD/State to Announce Transition to Local Control, Tuesday, April 8: A major step in the long fight of many parents in my district takes place next week.  State  Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell and School Board President David Kakashiba will sign a Memorandum of Understanding transferring control of Facilities and Personnel Management to the local School Board at a special ceremony on Tuesday, April 8 at 1:30 pm at Grass Valley Elementary School, 4720 Dunkirk Avenue. The signing grants the Board authority to hire a District Superintendent, as well as an Independent Internal Auditor, and to appoint all community advisory committees and intergovernmental bodies. Hiring a Superintendent is critical because of past state administrators poor relations with the community; furthermore, the state has been criticized by independent evaluators for its unstable District leadership leading to delays in reforms and other missed opportunities. Most importantly, a good Superintendent provides the kind of educational leadership that helps attact and retain top principals -- the key to strong schools.

Until a Superintendent is selected, State Administrator Vincent Matthews continues to perform executive functions. The Board, which approved the MOU in a March 19 vote, now controls three of five operational areas - Facilities Management, Personnel Management and Community Relations and Governance. The other two areas, Pupil Achievement and Financial Management,  remain under the authority of the State Administrator until specific goals are met..

• AB 2008 Temporarily Bars Additional Charter Schools in Oakland: Assemblymember Sandre R. Swanson (D-16) recently introduced AB 2008 to protect the fiscal solvency and recovery of the Oakland Unified School District. It will prevent the State Administrator and all other chartering authorities from apporoving the creation of new charter schools within its boundaries of Oakland until the Oakland Unified School District has exited receivership and repaid its loan from the state. Letters to the Editor and to state legislators are encouraged. It goes to the Assembly Education Committee on April 9.

OUSD has been in State receivership since 2003, when the District found in updating its financial systems that the fund balances which allowed the district to give teachers a long waited and deserved major increase were overstated. Faced with $30 million deficit, the state authorized a $100 million line of credit and put the district into trusteeship. Under state control the Districts debt has more than doubled, largely due to a  precipitous drop in pupil enrollment, from 54,000 to 38,700 students in 7 years. During state control many additional charter schools were approved and they now house about 7,000 students as of school year 2006-07. This high percentage of charters, more than any other distirct in the state, has been a target of criticism because it creates a large fiscal impact on the District and represents a loss of about $42 million. Creation of new charter schools decreases the total budget available for OUSD, making it more difficult for the District to repay its debt to the State while still providing quality education for the students within its schools. A freeze on the creation of new charter schools until the District has been restored to fiscal health will prevent additional damage to OUSD's finances while protecting the State's investment in the District. For details, go to Asembly Member Swanson's website or call Douglas MacLean at (916) 319-2016.
 

• City Pursues Cases of Wrongful Evictions Due to Foreclosure: If you believe you are being wrongly evicted because of a foreclosure, if the apartment or home where you pay rent has been foreclosed, or if utlilites have been shut off following foreclosure, call the City Attorney's Hotline 510 BE-ALERT. Foreclosures do not end your rights as a tenant; banks or other new owners must maintain their responsibilities as landlords.
   
• Worried About Foreclosure, Do NOT Wait:  Do not wait until the bank takes action, the sooner you begin the more likely you can protect your home. This online foreclosure counseling website has useful information.  They also have a 24 hour helpline, 888-995-HOPE.
   
• In a related move, Assemblymember Sandre Swanson introduced AB 2161 which will protect the rights of homeownership by requiring State Regulators to provide oversight to mortgage grievances between lenders and consumers. It is called the Ombudsman Mortgage Act. For details, go to his website
  and scroll to AB 2161.

• Tobacco Shop Licensing Ordinance Passed:  Last week the Council took its first vote on an ordinance requiring stores selling tobacco to obtain a license costing $1500 annually.  The fee would fund additional staff for the Alcohol, Beverages, and Tobacco Unit of the Police Department. Stores already possessing an alcohol license would already be covered under their current license.  There has been an increasing trend towards small tobacco shops which seem to have little merchandise other than cigarettes and junk food to be linked with illegal activities. Our office has worked to close two in our neighborhoods.

• New District 4 Restaurants: Sushi and pizza seem to be on the menu this year for new District 4 restaurant openings.  A Red Boy Pizza restaurant has already opened in the Leimert/ Oakmore shopping area, with a second one scheduled for later this year in Lincoln Square.  Their website also notes that Red Boy features traditional, vegetarian, and gourmet pizzas, whole or by the slice, pizza and salad.  The Leimert location was jam-packed when Richard Cowan and Jean drove by this week. As for Sushi, both the Dimond District and Lincoln Square will feature new restaurants in coming months.  In Lincoln Square, Soy appears to be nearly ready to open, with glass doors and a sushi bar already in place.  In the Dimond, Nama will open its fourth and flag-ship restaurant later this summer in the old Mel's building across the street from Peets on Fruitvale Avenue.  Nama currently operates family oriented Japanese restaurants in San Francisco, with a menu that offers teriyaki and bento boxes along with sushi.. If you know of more restaurant openings or have an interest in this subject, contact Richard Cowan of my staff who works on helping new businesses locate in the district and other economic development issues.
   

• "Diversity in Play" Paintings Feature Dimond Residents and Park:  Dimond resident artist Rita Sklar's latest exhibit, a series of 15 paintings celebrating the ethnic and racial, gender and age diversity of our community, is on exhibit in neighborhood locations.  Funded by the City's Cultural Arts Fund, it shows families and children playing together in the Dimond Park.  You may recognize some of the people!  (Above) "Lions Pool"
   
  • Dimond Library, 3565 Fruitvale Avenue, until April 15
  • Cafe Diem, 2224 MacArthur, April, Reception: Friday, April 18th from 3-6:00 p.m.
  • Cafe Dimond,3430 Fruitvale Avenue, April; Reception: Wednesday, April 23, 4-6pm 
  • La Farine, 3411 Fruitvale Ave, April

• Fred Finch Youth Center Emancipation Village Meetings: Community Advisory Council meetings for the proposed Emancipation Village for aging-out foster children at the Fred Finch Youth Center, 3800 Coolidge Avenue, will be held the third Thursday of every month at 6:30 pm: April 17, May 15, June 19, July 17, August 21, September 18, October 16, November 20, December 18. RSVP to Aimee Johnson at 485-5308.
   

• Pothole Blitz for Central Oakland  Completed, Moves onto East Oakland This Week:  If you live south or "east" of High Street, the pothole blitz crews are heading your way, call in your potholes! Using new machinery and concentrating crews, the Public Works Agency completed their pothole-filling blitz for Central Oakland this week. They will fill some1,800 potholes each week through April. PWA works on a complaint driven system, so if you find pot-holes that are still unfilled, please report them to the PWA Call Center 615-5566. Please provide the nearest street address and cross streets. On average, the City receives upwards of 250 pothole complaints a month, citywide; but many go unreported.

Why are the crews using "cold pack" asphalt?  This week received a few complaints about the pothole blitz.  Some complained about the quality of pothole patches.  In at least one case the supervisors found the blitz crew (not all regular pothole/asphalt workers) needed to improve the quality of their work and the patch was redone.  The other questions were about "cold" asphalt patches. We all know the smell of "hot" asphalt, one thing I learned visiting crews was that the traditional material cannot be used on cold days (a large part of the time in the Bay Area). In addition, oil prices have led to an unreliable supply from some our sources. So, during much of the month the crews are using a new material which can be heated up (above) but can also be used cold.  It requires a smaller crew and is generally faster. In the places they showed me along International, it appears to be holding up.  If you have complaints call them into the PWA Call Center (see above).

• Support the Allendale Krusherz! District 4 Girls Softball Team: Our office, with the help of another nine individuals in District 4, sponsors this 8 and under Girls Fast Pitch Softball Team based at the Allendale Recreation Center. Come join us to cheer them on at the following games, so far we've won one, lost one, and this weekend the other team forfeited:
  • Saturday, April 5, 11 am, Oakland Crushers! vs. Oakland #2 at Marshall Field
  • Saturday, April 12, 9 am, Oakland Krusherz! vs. Alameda #4  at Krusi 4
  • Saturday, April 19, 9 am,  Oakland Krusherz! vs. Oakland #3 at Marshall Field
  • Saturday, April 26, 1 pm, Oakland Krusherz! vs. San Lorenzo #2 at Duck Pond #1
  • Saturday, May 3, 9 am, Oakland #1 vs. Oakland Krusherz! at Marshall Field
  • Saturday, May 10, 11 am,  Oakland #4 vs. Oakland Krusherz! at Marshall Field.
  • Saturday, May 31, 11 am, Oakland #3 vs. Oakland Krusherz! at Marshall Field
  • June 1- June 7-- Intraleague Playoffs

Facing state cuts from California's $16 Billion shortfall, the impact of the recession and housing slowdown, many cities are making across the board cuts and layoffs.  Oakland is projected to face a $9.5 million deficit in the current fiscal year (ends June 30)primarily due to a decline in real estate transfers and vehicle license fee income.  The Finance Committee has asked the City Administrator to return with a report on actions taken and options to reduce expenses and balance the budget. So far all vacant non public safety positions are frozen unless approved by the City Administrator.

We are beginning hearings this month to close next year's budget shortfall , expected to range from $20-$50 million based on state and federal cuts, an expected continuation of a weak real estate market, the results of ballot measures, the growing gap in the Landscape and Lighting District and rising costs. Departments are being asked to plan for a minimum of a 4 percent cut or enhancement of revenues.  Finance Report

• LANDSCAPE & LIGHTING DISTRICT (LLAD) TO GO BACK OUT TO A VOTE:  In an attempt to maintain current levels of park, median, tree, open space maintenance and safe lighting, the Council voted to put the Landscape and Lighting District back out to property owners for a vote.  This new measure will only attempt to maintain current maintenance levels, unlike the last attempt which would have increased maintenance and facilities.  It includes a set of maintenance measurements and standards.

Funding for the current Landscape and Lighting District has not increased since 1993.  For the last six years there has been a growing  gap because costs have risen and because the City has added over 350 acres of parks (DD purchases of Bay Trail & Creek Watershed like Castle Canyon & Butters, the Mandela Parkway, etc), over 10,000 new street lights to improve safety, and over 9,000 new trees.  The Council funded the LLAD gap and added some staff with the windfall tax increases from the real estate boom; but real estate taxes have crashed and will fall $20 million short of what we projected for this year.  Next year, real estate sales are expected to continue to be down, while the LLAD gap is expected to rise to $9.8 million.
 

• BUDGET WORKSHOP & HEARING SCHEDULE:  The public is encouraged to attend the Council's budget workshops in Council Chambers at City Hall; additionally I will hold at least one hearing in the district:  
   

• Workshops to Discuss Conceptual Issues, Receive Direction from Council
  • Thursday, April 24, 2-4 pm
  • Thursday, May 1, 2-4 pm (if necessary)

• Workshops/Budget Hearings re FY 2008-09 Budget Amendments
  • Thursday, May 15, 5-8 pm
  • Thursday, May 29, 5-8 pm

• Adoption of Budget Amendments, Related Budget Legislation
  • Tuesday, June 17, 6-7 pm

• Get your kit to stop school cuts.

• How Well Do You Know Your Bike Safety Rules? The recent bicycle tragedy in the South Bay, and the death on Skyline of Ed Weiss two years ago demonstrate the need for better bicycle safety awareness for bicyclists, motorcyclists and car and truck drivers. Oakland, fortunately, ranks as the fourth safest city for bicycling in California with a population over 60,000. See pages Oakland in State Perspective on 35-36 of the Oakland Bike Plan for additional information The East Bay Bicycle Coalition has a great safety quiz available in English, Spanish and Chinese as a pdf and online in English.

• Bike Safety Courses: The East Bay Bicycle Coalition offers bike safety courses throughout Alameda County beginning in late March and continuing through May. There's a "Day 1 in classroom session" at Oakland Kaiser on  May 1.

•  Save the Date: Bike to Work Day is Thursday, May 15, 7-9 am: Every year, I join members of the Bicycle Coalition on a trip from Montclair leaving around 7:30 am to City Hall in celebrating Oakland's 15th annual Bike to Work Day. Sign up at any official site and get a free bike bag and other useful gifts. Please join us! Along the way we usually meet up with a team lead by Council Member Pat Kernighan on Grand Avenue as we wind our way to City Hall. As in past years, the City will host a free pancake breakfast and raffle drawing in Frank Ogawa Plaza. Stay tuned for details about our route starting from Montclair Village.

• More Oakland Biking Information
• Metropolitan Transportation Commission
• League of American Bicyclists

• Losses to property worth more than $500 billion
• 5 million people in six surrounding counties strongly impacted
• 1.5 million jobs-- with health care, social assistance and educational services most affected, along with manufacturing and retail.
• Total residential and commercial economic losses, including damage to private buildings and contents, business interruption and additional living expenses due to shaking alone exceed $120 billion.
• Less than 10% of homeowners and 15% of businesses carry earthquake insurance to cover these losses.
• Major disruption to transportation: airports and nearly all the region's port facilities are built on landfill, strongly susceptible to damage by liquefaction and strong shaking.
• Interstate 580 could be offset horizontally by as much as 6 feet. Bridge and BART tunnels are currently being retrofitted; but if not completed in time, more than 180,000 daily commuters using these transportation links will have to seek overtaxed alternative routes for months.
• More than 1,100 roads will be closed--900 in Alameda County alone.
  
   
• Now's the time to get ready for THE BIG ONE!  If you and your neighbors have not yet gone through Emergency Preparedness training, you can take one of many free classes or take our on-line course.
   
• CORE Training at Allendale Recreation Center in April: Allendale Recreation Center has teamed up with CORE to host in-depth emergency preparedness classes. Core I (Home and Family), Thursday, April 10 from 6:30-9 pm; CORE II (Neighborhood Preparedness and Response) on Thursday, April 24, 6:30-9 pm. Both classes will be held at the Allendale Recreation Center at 3711 Suter Street. It's free and open to the people throughout the City-- sign up early with Elena Bermeo, the Allendale Recreation Center Director, at 535-5635.
   
• 911 Registry for Senior or Physically Impaired Citizens:  Help firefighters be better prepared to help or search for seniors and others in a fire or other emergency situation by joining the registry.

• Seismic Program Update:  With four months to go, our seismic retrofit program has over 120 Oakland homeowners applying for retrofit permits compared to less than ten last year.  Staff estimates with the flat $250 rate for permit alone, Oaklanders will save over $185,000 in fees or about $1500 per home.  Most are new home owners who also qualify for a return of transfer taxes up to $5,000 for a completed retrofit.

• Robbery Alert for Foothill Neighborhoods:  This is an alert that the Bret Harte Community Policing Officer posted on neighborhood alert group listserv's this week.  I would ask other neighborhoods along MacArthur and elsewhere to keep an eye out for a green full sized van (Dodge or Ford) with a ladder on the rear driving around in the area.  He said two-three black men in their 20's in this van are responsible for robberies in the area. They approach people outside, in one case a woman talking on her cellphone in her car.  Keep an eye out for strange cars on your street, I always take down license plate numbers if I see unusual behavior (adults stopping to talk to children, slow cruising without destination).  When outside always be alert, the police tell me that people talking on cellphones are common targets because they are so preoccupied.  If you or your neighbors see this van,  call 9-1-1. From a cell the number is 777-3211. If possible, get the license plate of this vehicle.
   

• County Public Protection Committee Meeting, Monday, April 7, 10:30 am, 1221 Oak Street, 5th floor: Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley is hosting a special public meeting to hear and answer questions and concerns regarding the role each Alameda County agency  plays in dealing with crime. Representatives from the District Attorney's Office, Sheriff's Department, Probation, Parole, Judicial and other departments will explain their role and the different steps that follow after the Oakland Police Department performs their job.
   

• Improved Safety at Montclair Park: Kudos to Public Works and the Volunteers of America Crew who applied basic Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design techniques to greatly improve public safety at Montclair Park. By pruning back overgrown shrubs and ivy, there are now clear lines of sight to the tennis court, ball field and pathways. Our office is working with the city to renovate the trails and the play structures and to find funds to create an ADA accessible route from Mountain Blvd to the Park for strollers, walkers and wheelchairs.(<< Right now there are only stairs). Stop by the Montclair Recreation Center (6300 Moraga Avenue) on Saturday, April 26, 11 am- 2 pm  for a Park for Peace pole dedication and ceremony. The program includes dedication of the peace pole, a custom car show, live entertainment, guest speakers, community resources and more.
   
• Save the Date, Saturday, May 31, for the  Neighborhood Services Division Summit 2008-- My Block, My Community, My Responsibility!-- The Neighborhood Services Division (NSD) will be hosting this year's Summit at Laney College at 200 Fallon Street on Saturday, May 31 from 8:30 am-2 pm. There will be several workshops, including a session on Gang Interventions and Sexually Exploited Youth. Free breakfast, lunch and day care will be provided. Translations will be available. BART, AC Transit and accessible to the differently abled. Contact Michael Johnson (238-4742) in our office for more information or to sign up.
   
• New Phone Numbers for the Reorganization: Now that most assignments are completed, the Police Department is trying to update its website. In the interim they have posted lists of new phone numbers for Area and Problem Solving Officers/Beats.
• The Measure Y website and e-newsletter contain a wealth of practical information and an area by area list of services and programs, www.MeasureY.org
   
• For a list of Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils in District 4.
• To organize a Neighborhood Watch Group on your street call 510-238-3091.
• How to file a Police Report: Police use crime reports to plan patrols and follow crime trends. Commanders determine their priorities based on the number and severity of crimes reported. You don't have to rely on the police to actually make the report; for non-urgent crimes such as auto break-ins or after the fact home break-ins you can download a citizen's crime report  from the City's website.
• Make anonymous calls for drug activity to 238-DRUG.
• Truancy Tip Hotline is 879-8172.

• 6th Annual Older Americans Month Celebration:Celebrate Aging-Making Oakland a Great Place to Grow Old--save the date for a celebration at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Friday, May 16, 11 am-2 pm, sponsored by the Aging & Adult Services Division, of the City's Department of Human Services.

• The Council approved the Mayor's appointment of Dimond Resident Dr. Wade Sherwood to the Commission on Aging.  Congratulations, Wade!

• For the last three years our office has helped convene a Council to plan for and improve Senior Services in the Dimond.  The effort grew out of our Envisioning MacArthur Conference which saw that with the new senior housing in the area we have an opportunity to make this a model area for aging.   A shuttle which picks up residents from  Lincoln Courts and the Altenheim for shopping and Dimond Recreation programs, computer classes for seniors, and other programs have been the result.  At this point the Council is mostly service providers; we now want to shift senior residents of the area.  If you are over 55 and are interested in serving, contact Richard Cowan in our office 238-7041.
   

Oakland's most famous tree, the Jack London Oak, is only one of thousands of city trees maintained by the Landscape and Lighting District.>>

• Healthy Communities Grow on Trees:  At the San Francisco Landscape Garden Show, I picked up some interesting information about the value of Urban Forests.
   
  • Leaves of trees capture rainfall, reducing storm water runoff and protect the Bay and ocean. Over its lifetime, a large tree will intercept 27,000 gallons of storm water.
  • By capturing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it into leaves, branches and roots, trees help in the fight against global warming. A large shade tree will reduce carbon dioxide in the air by more than three tons.
  • Trees intercept and absorb air pollutants, including those that cause smog. Every year, a large shade tree removes one pound of pollution from the air. Imagine a pound of dust!
  • When planted strategically, trees shade buildings and reduce our energy needs, helping in California's summertime struggles to produce enough energy. Over its lifetime, a shade tree in the Bay area will reduce energy use by more than 6,000 kwh. Trees in hotter climates will do even more.

For more interesting data about  urban forests, check out the Center for Urban Forest Research.

• Organize Your Street to Plant Trees:  The City can provide free street trees; if you organize your whole street our office will help with leaflets and will help pay for sidewalk cuts.  Contact Sue Piper in our office for more information.
   

Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation's Annual Meeting, Wednesday, April 9, 6-8 pm: The Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation (FOPR) serves as the 501c3 agency for capital improvements to many of Oakland's 130 parks.  The public is invited to their Annual Meeting at the Lake Merritt Sailboat House (568 Bellevue Avenue) on Wednesday, April 9 from 6-8 pm to hear highlights from the 2007 grants program, last year's accomplishments, efforts to complete upgrades to Raimondi Park, and other FOPR business.  For details about the event and their dedicated support to Oakland's parks, visit their website.

• Annual California Wildflower Show at the Oakland Museum of California, Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20: Savor the colors and fragrance of hundreds of freshly collected native flowers at the 50th Anniversary of this show-- flowers from the entire state! The weekend includes slide shows and lectures about California's native flora and horticulture and a chance to talk with experts. Presented with the California Native Plant Society, the Jepson Herbarium of UC Berkeley, and the UC Botanical Garden. Included with museum admission.

• Maxwell Park Monthly Clean up, Sunday, April 20, 9 am- Noon: the Maxwell Park Neighborhood Council meets the third Sunday of the month at Walgreens/Courtland/Redding to combat weeds and trash and to enjoy the daffodils, poppies and other blooming foliage. Coffee and coffee cake will get you through the morning. Meet your neighbors and be an active participant in beautifying the neighborhood. For details, contact Jan Hetherington .

Bay Friendly Garden Tour, April 27, 10am-4pm: Find out how varied and beautiful Bay-Friendly Gardens are on this FREE, self-guided tour. Over 30 public and private gardens will be featured in geographic clusters throughout Oakland and the rest of Alameda County. Several of the garden clusters are walkable and/or bikeable. Registration Closes Soon.
 

• Friends of Sausal Creek Annual Native Plant Sale:  Sunday, April 27, 10 am- 5 pm. This year, FOSC joins with the Bay Friendly Gardening Tour and holds its annual FOSC Native Plant Sale at the nursery in Joaquin Miller Park. Details about the Bay Friendly Gardening Tour
  
   
• Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Sunday, May 4, 10 am-5 pm: A free, self-guided tour of 60 Alameda and Contra Costa county gardens. Details