UPCOMING EVENTS
April 6: Live Jazz and Blues, First Friday of the Month at Oakland Museum
April 6 & 7: The Revenge of Huitlacoche/La Venganza de Huitlacoche
April 7: Lake Chabot Golf Course Grand Opening Celebration Featuring An "Alice In Wonderland" Themed Easter Egg Hunt and Golf TournamentApril 10: Prescott Circus Showcase FREE Performance
April 14 & 15: EarthDance at International Environmental Film Festival: Sophisticated, Passionate, Funny
April 17: How To Purchase Your Building Easily Seminar
April 18: Earth ExpoApril 19: Comedy fundraiser at Oakland Asian Cultural Center
April 21: EARTH DAY EVENTS in District 2 -- Please participate in one!
April 26: Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation’s Taste of Spring
April 28: Planning for Future Development Around Lake Merritt: A Community Meeting Sponsored by Councilmembers Pat Kernighan and Nancy Nadel
April 28: CORE (Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies) Citywide Emergency Communications Exercise with an Earthquake Scenario...And Coming in Early May
May 4: 1st Annual Oakland Indie Award Celebrating the Spirit and Impact of Oakland’s Independent Businesses and Artists
REPORTS
Oakland Ice Center - New Management Agreement Goes to the Sharks.
Question: Do you skate at the Oakland Ice Center? Please let me know
Modernizing Cleveland Elementary School to Start in AprilNew Bike-Safe Grates Are Great
Notice of Draft Environmental Impact Report Preparation for Highland Hospital Acute Center
Help Support Oakland High School with Oakland A's Fundraiser
Ways to Help Peralta Elementary School
Youth Employment Partnership Receives $300,000 State Grant
Children’s Book Project Resolution
Update on Upper Lakeshore Avenue Sewer Project, Slurry Seal and Lane Re-Configuration
Update on Firestation Status at Santa Clara
Oakland Public Library Calendar of Events for National Library Week
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 6: Live Jazz and Blues, First Friday of the Month at Oakland Museum
Enjoy the rhythm and blues of Willie G, live in the museum café this Friday, April 6, from 5–9 p.m. The first Friday of every month takes on a whole new groove at the Oakland Museum of California! Hear live performances by leading Bay Area artists, and enjoy the full cash bar and tasty entrees from our café. A cool, safe, and comfortable place for family and friends to get together—all ages welcome! Stroll through our galleries and gardens, relax with your favorite drink, or dance your heart out at FIRST FRIDAYS AFTER FIVE!
The Oakland Museum of California is open until 9 p.m.!
Upcoming First Fridays After Five:
- April 6, 7 p.m, meet author John Moir, author of Return of the Condor: The Race to Save Our Largest Bird From Extinction. Author reading and booking signing.
- May 4–Rolando Morales Quintet
- June 1–Blues and Jazz Summer Serie
- July 6–Blues and Jazz Summer Series
- August 3–Blues and Jazz Summer Series
April
6 & 7: The Revenge of Huitlacoche/La Venganza de Huitlacoche
At the Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater, 8 pm, EastSide Cultural Center, 2277 International Blvd, tickets: $15.
April 7: Lake Chabot Golf Course
Grand Opening Celebration Featuring An "Alice In Wonderland"
Themed Easter Egg Hunt and Golf Tournament
Themed Easter Egg Hunt and Golf Tournament. Festivities begin at 9:00 am, 11450 Golf Links Road. For more information, go here.
April 10: Prescott Circus Showcase FREE Performance
You are invited to the Prescott Circus Showcase 2007!
If you have never seen the Prescott Circus in action, you must go and see this great group of children in action.
Tuesday, April 10th, at 2:00 pm
At the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts
1428 Alice Street, Oakland
Free! Seating is limited, please make reservations by calling (510) 482-1672 or info@prescottcircus.org.
April 12: Michael Pollan,
Pulitizer prize-winning author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma,"
in conversation with San Francisco Chronicle Food Writer Carol Ness Kicks
off National Library Week
This free event will start at 7 pm, at the James Moore Theatre, Oakland Museum of California.
April 14 & 15: EarthDance at International Environmental Film Festival:
Sophisticated, Passionate, Funny
This event is presented by the Oakland Museum of California, and will be held on two days: Saturday, April 14, 10 am – 11 pm and Sunday, April 15, noon – 10 pm. For complete program & ticket information, go to www.earthdancefilms.com or call 510.238.2063. One screening/workshop included with museum admission ($8 general, $5 senior/student), Half-Day Festival Pass: $15, 1-Day Festival Pass: $25, 2-Day Festival Pass: $40.
April 17: How To Purchase Your Building Easily Seminar
This seminar will be presented by the Community Bank of the Bay and Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce at noon (catered lunch), at the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Board Room, 475 14th St. RSVP @ www.oaklandchamber.com, then click on “calendar”. Questions? Contact Layidua Salazar at 510-874-4800 ext 319 or lsalazar@oaklandchamber.com. Seminar will focus on the SBA 504b (a government-funded building purchase loan program).
Come by Wednesday morning from 10 am – 2 pm, at the Frank Ogawa Plaza and visit over 100 exhibitors showcasing Oakland’s sustainable urban environment. Click here for many more details.
April 19: Comedy fundraiser at Oakland Asian Cultural Center
April 19, 2007, 6:30 pm
OACC, 388 9th Street, Suite 290, Oakland CATicket price: $50, reserve your tickets today!
refreshments will be servedThe Oakland Asian Cultural Center presents “Get your laugh on!” Empowering communities through the art of laughter, the OACC is celebrating 11 years of multicultural programming in Chinatown with a fun and entertaining fundraising event featuring the following talented Asian Pacific American comedians: Sheng Wang, Tessie Chua, Nitin Kant, and Nico Santos. Our guest MC will be Samantha Chanse.
For more information: (510) 637-0455, jchu@oacc.cc
www.oacc.cc
April 21: EARTH DAY EVENTS in District 2 -- Please participate in one!
Prelude to the Earthday Kick off Event: SDS - a joint operation between OPD and City agencies - clean up of the E.18th and Park Blvd area on March 26
Earth Day Clean Up, Spruce Up Events Need You on April 21!!!
Each year thousands of volunteers turn out on Earth Day to plant, prune and spread mulch in parks and school gardens, pick up trash around Lake Merritt and along shorelines, and otherwise spruce public spaces. Tons of trash get collected by volunteers, making beloved parks and schools look so much better. This year we’re hoping that 4000 volunteers will devote time and energy on Earth Day! I’ll start the day in Chinatown, then join Mayor Dellums at 10 am at FM Smith Rec Center to kick off the E.18th St Clean-up. Read on to see where you can volunteer. Hope to see you Keeping Oakland Beautiful!Following is a complete list of District 2 and near-by Earth Day sites and staging areas. If you would like to see a listing of all sites in Oakland, click here.
Neighborhood Clean-ups
Chinatown Clean-up – 250 - 10th St; litter pick-up starting at 9:00am
E.18th St Clean-up- Meet at FM Smith Recreation Center, 1969 Park Blvd. Begins at 10 am; litter pick-up
Clean-up around New Mount Hermon MBC – 1649 12th Ave; litter abatement – 10th Ave to 14th Ave, 18th St to 14th StSchools
Franklin Elementary School – 915 Foothill Blvd; campus clean-up and planting
Lakeview Elementary School – 746 Grand Ave; campus clean-up
Edna Brewer Middle School – 3748 – 13th Ave. Click here for flyer with details
Oakland High School – 1023 MacArthur Blvd; campus clean-upParks & Medians
Morcom Rose Garden – Jean St off Grand Ave; pruning, mulching, weeding
Lincoln Square Park in Chinatown – 250 10th St; neighborhood clean-up
Clinton Park – 425 International Blvd; clean-up of streets and Clinton Park
Cleveland Cascade – 2250-2300 Lakeshore Ave; weeding
Lake Merritt – Sailboat House, 568 Bellevue Ave; clearing trash from shoreline
E. 19th St Median – 1044 E. 19th St; weeding and litter pick-up
Beaumont Underpass – Beaumont under I-580; weeding and litter pick-up
Lake Merritt BART – 8th St @ Oak; litter pick-up
Most projects begin at 9 am. Each volunteer will receive a free 2007 Earth Day tee shirt, as long as supplies last. Tools, latex gloves and bottled water will be provided. For your protection, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants and closed-toe shoes. If you have a favorite hand tool, put your name on it and bring it. If you have heavy work gloves, wear them.
April 26: Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation’s Taste of Spring
The fundraiser will be held at the Rotunda Bldg, located next to the Frank Ogawa Plaza, from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm. Partial proceeds from the event will give new life to Raimondi Park. To purchase tickets, visit www.oaklandparks.org or call 510.465.1850.
April 28: Planning for Future Development Around Lake Merritt: A Community
Meeting Sponsored by Councilmembers Pat Kernighan and Nancy Nadel
This community meeting will be held from 1 pm – 3 pm, at the Veterans Memorial Bldg, 200 Grand Ave @ Harrison St (parking lot entrance on Bay Place). This will be the second community meeting to discuss where high rise development should and should not go around the lake. At this meeting, City planners will review the current zoning and General Plan for the area and present alternative mechanisms for refining development guidelines.
April 28: CORE (Citizens
of Oakland Respond to Emergencies) Citywide Emergency Communications Exercise
with an Earthquake Scenario
The exercise will commence at 9 am 'till noon, debriefing 1 pm to 3 pm Active CORE groups, ham radio operators from the Oakland Radio Communications Association (ORCA), and Oakland firefighters will participate in a simulated disaster response experience. Click here for more information about the exercise or to learn how to take the free CORE training offered by the Oakland Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Services. See press release here.
Coming
in Early May...
May 4: 1st Annual Oakland
Indie Award Celebrating the Spirit and Impact of Oakland’s Independent
Businesses and Artists
The celebration will be from 5:30 to 8:00 pm, at the Rotunda Bldg, 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza. Click here for more information. Click here for the annoucement.
REPORTS
Oakland Ice Center - New Management Agreement
Goes to the Sharks.
Question: Do you skate at the Oakland Ice Center? Please let me know
Last Tuesday the Council approved a 3 year management contract for the Oakland Ice Center with San Jose Arena Management (SJAM), which is affiliated with the San Jose Sharks hockey team. This followed a months-long debate over whether the contract should go to SJAM or Rink Management Services (RMSC). Over a month ago, the Council vote deadlocked, 4 to 4. Mayor Dellums declined to break the tie... A second vote failed to break the deadlock.. I voted for RMSC the first times because I thought they had a more community-friendly management style, and they were the strong favorite of the current patrons. However, from the beginning I’ve stated that both companies were very good, and either of them would be a big improvement over the current management, which has lost money for several years and neglected physical maintenance.When it became apparent to me that neither the Mayor nor any other councilmember was going to break the deadlock and ensure that the rink gets better management soon, I took the lead this week to resolve the stalemate by voting for SJAM. Here's why:
- The City needs a new rink manager. Either candidate would do a better job managing the rink than the current operator.
- Councilmember Quan and I were able to negotiate substantial improvements in the contract over what was offered originally by either company. Key benefits include:
- SJAM will provide free skating sessions to at least 1,000 Oakland public school students a year, with SJAM financing the transportation of the students to the rink;
- SJAM will set up a high school hockey team and offer scholarships; and
- SJAM will contribute $100,000 to capital improvements at the rink.
- My initial concern that SJAM would focus too much on hockey was allayed by their agreeing to a schedule that balances ice time among figure skating, public skating and hockey.
- The financial deal is very good for the City. SJAM gets paid only if revenues exceed operating expenses. They will get 70% of net revenues.
In recent months I have met with leaders of the ice rink patrons and heard from many skaters via email. The parents of the hockey players and the figure skaters were very passionate about the great experience their kids were having at the Oakland Ice Rink and they wanted it to stay the same. But I also learned that only about 10% of the hockey players live in Oakland, and less than half of the other skaters are Oakland residents. Because there are so few ice rinks in the Bay Area, people are driving from San Ramon, Pleasanton, and even Santa Cruz to play hockey! While I am glad that Oakland has an attraction that is bringing visitors to our city, I think you’ll agree with me that it doesn’t make sense for Oakland taxpayers to subsidize the existence of this rink unless it is providing recreational opportunities to a substantial number of Oakland residents.. That is why a critical factor in my decision was that the Sharks agreed to provide free skating for OUSD students. Though I am sympathetic to the wishes of the current rink users, my first obligation is to the residents of Oakland, and I believe the contract we negotiated with SJAM is by far superior in its benefits to Oakland residents, both financial and recreational.
And now, a question: Do you or your kids ever skate at the Oakland Ice Rink? During this entire controversy, I realize that, of all the emails I received, only ONE was from a resident of District 2. So I would like to find out if other District 2 residents are using the Oakland Ice Rink. If you do, please let me know via email at pkernighan@oaklandnet.com. It's a fun recreational experience and I'd like to see more Oaklanders taking advantage of it.
Modernizing
Cleveland Elementary School to Start in April
Cleveland Garden in the making
Thanks to recent Measure B funding, work is slated to begin in April on modernizing aspects of Cleveland Elementary School. The outdoor restrooms, closed for the last two years, will be renovated. The indoor restrooms where tile is lifting up due to faulty plumbing will get makeovers, too.The small portable will be replaced with a larger portable comparable in size to the other two that are already in place nearby. A few classrooms will be upgraded. Still under discussion is the impact of the construction on the garden.
Construction is due to begin mid-April and continue over the course of the summer. It’sscheduled to be completed before next school year begins.
If you have questions about the modernization plans and construction schedule, contact Leah Maddock, President of the Cleveland School PTA, at 510-879-1080.
New Bike-Safe Grates Are Great
Oakland cyclists have reason to be pleased now that the roads underneath their wheels are more secure. The City of Oakland replaced 900 traditional drainage grates with new bicycle-safe covers that won’t snag wheels.
In May 2004, Caltrans’ Hazard Elimination Safety Program awarded a $340,000 grant to this project in a competitive bid among several California cities. Oakland used $40,000 of its Measure B ½ cent sales tax for transportation as matching funds for this project.The City’s Public Works Agency has replaced approximately ten percent of Oakland’s approximately 10,000 grates, focusing on high-priority locations reported by citizens.
Traditional drain grates have parallel slots wide enough to swallow some bicycles' wheels, risking falls on pavement in front of traffic. This style grate also poses a hazard when cyclists swerve to avoid it. A bike-safe grate lets water pass without allowing routine debris to clog the inlet. The design also ensures that bicycle wheels will not be caught.
To report hazardous grates, contact the Public Works Agency Call Center at (510) 615-5566. Generally, maintenance staff can address the issues in five days. For more information about the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities program, visit www.oaklandpw.com.
To help meet our state and county waste reduction goals, many cities in Alameda County have begun Food Scrap Recycling Programs.
Why should we recycle food scraps? Food scraps and food soiled paper are the largest single item in our waste stream - making up approximately 35% of what we throw away in Alameda County. Food scraps are a resource, not a waste. By participating in the food scrap recycling program, food scraps and food soiled paper are sent to a composting facility. Instead of taking up space in the landfill, our food scraps become compost - a valuable resource used by landscapers and farmers. Click here for flyer.
Three simple steps to recycling food scraps:
- Collect food scraps into your kitchen pail
- Empty the contents of your kitchen pail into your green yard waste cart
- Set out your green yard waste cart for weekly pickup
What you can include
All Food Products
Fruit, vegetable, breads, cereal, dairy
Meat, fish (including bones)
Leftovers & table scraps
Coffee Grounds, filters & tea bags
Food-Soiled Paper
Paper towels, plates & napkins
Pizza boxesWhat you cannot include
Plastic (bags, containers, Styrofoam etc)
Glass
Metal
LiquidsFor more info, call 238-SAVE or go here
Notice of Draft Environmental
Impact Report preparation for Highland Hospital Acute Center
The Highland Hospital campus, located at 1411 E. 31st St., is a licensed acute care facility owned by Alameda County and operated by the Alameda County Medical Center. The Acute Care Tower within the Highland Hospital campus has been determined not to meet state-mandated earthquake-resistant standards. The County has determined that the Tower, built in 1967, cannot be cost-effectively retrofitted. In lieu of a retrofit, the County has decided to demolish various on-site buildings and replace them with a new Acute Care Tower (140 feet high), an adjoining Hub Building (60 feet high), open space, slightly expanded staff parking facilities and services facilities.
The environmental review for the Proposed Project will be prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. Some of the topics expected to require more detailed analyses and will be discussed in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to be prepared for the proposed project.
• Historic resources because of potentially historic buildings on site;
• Traffic, including roadway capacity, circulation, and parking supply, both during construction and operation of the Proposed Project because of existing congestion and parking shortages in the vicinity;
• Noise during construction and operation of the Proposed Project because of nearby residences; and
• Air quality during construction and operation of the Proposed Project because of nearby residences.
If you have views on the scope and content of the proposed environmental impact report, please get your comments to Bruce Jensen, Sr. Planner, Alameda County Planning Dept, 2242 W. Winton Av, Rm III, Hayward 94544 by Mon, Ap 30, 2007.
Parking Shuttle available from Lake Merritt BART for Patients, Visitors
and Neighbors of the Alameda County Medical Center at Highland Campus
Parking at Highland Hospital is frequently unavailable. Likewise, parking at Lake Merritt BART can be hard to find. Here’s an alternative available to patients, visitors and neighbors of the Alameda County Medical Center at Highland Campus: ride the free shuttle between Highland Hospital and Lake Merritt BART Station.
Shuttle service at Lake Merritt BART begins at 6:00 A.M. in the BART parking lot (800 Madison St.) The last pick-up from the hospital is 8:00 P.M. from the 31st St. parking lot (old ED parking lot). The shuttle service runs every 12-15 minutes between station and hospital.
Pictures from Pergola Dedication
On March 3 Councilmember Nancy Nadel and I celebrated the completion of one of the first of many Lake Merritt improvement projects funded by Measure DD.
Help Support Oakland High School with Oakland A's Fundraiser
Step up to the Plate for Education is the Oakland A’s fundraiser for Oakland schools. At certain games, you can save $2 on Field Level outfield tickets and in addition, the Oakland A’s will donate $10 of every ticket back to Oakland High School. Please go here to read the latest about Oakland High School and find the Oakland A’s order form.
District 2 is seeking a new representative to this committee. The Budget Advisory Committee provides fiscal management in an advisory capacity to the City Council. These are 2-year terms and no more than two terms to be served consecutively. All members must be residents or taxpayers of the City of Oakland. Meetings are once a month. If interested, please contact my Jennie Gerard, Chief of Staff @ jgerard@oaklandnet.com or 510-238-7023.
Ways to help Peralta Elementary School
As you may have heard, there was a serious fire at Peralta Elementary School the last week in March. Much of the school, including the library, was damaged. The school is now looking to rebuild its library collection and the Crocker Highlands Elementary School community is helping by collecting books for Peralta. These donated books can be new or from your personal library (but please be sure the books are in good condition).
Peralta would be grateful for any books suitable for elementary students. The Peraltalibrarian is especially interested in non-fiction books (particularly about animals and science), sports books, fun books (how to draw, make paper airplanes, do magic tricks, etc), and almanacs are also very popular. Many children enjoy Sports for Kids Illustrated and other children’s magazines and a subscription for the remainder of the year would be much appreciated. Also, there is a need for crayons, markers, and colored pencils for use by the children in the library during lunchtime.
Crocker Highlands will have a box set up outside the school’s office and will coordinate getting the books to Peralta at the temporary location. Or you can take them directly to Peralta’s temporary location at Carter Middle School, 4521 Webster Street and leave your donation in a box in the library. The contacts at Peralta are parents Ann Daniels @ anngdan@pacbell.net and Anne Janks at 510-213-2953 or email her at ajanks@yahoo.com.
The Parent-Teacher group hopes to also raise $75,000 by June 1 for their “Peralta Rising” campaign and more information can be found at www.peraltaschool.org. Donations can be made online or sent to the Peralta Parent Teacher Group, in care of Kathy Rieves and Christopher Waters, to “Peralta at Carter Middle School, 4521 Webster Street, Oakland 94609.
The Peralta Parent Teacher Group (Peralta Parent Group, Inc.) is a 501©3 organization and contributions are fully tax-deductible. The Federal Tax ID number is 94-2831254.
Please pass this message on to your friends and neighbors, and to any communities you area part of that might be able to help: churches, synagogues, workplaces, volunteer groups, online communities, etc.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and assistance in working together to help rebuild Peralta!
Youth Employment Partnership Receives $300,000 State Grant
California’s Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Victoria Bradshaw, recently came to Oakland to tour YEP’s facility and meet some of the young women who will be participants in a program to train disadvantaged young women to work in the construction trades. This program just earned a $300,000 state grant and was one of three programs statewide to earn the grant from a pool of 50 applicants.YEP’s mission is to enhance the employment opportunities of underserved Oakland youth by providing training, job placement, access to education, and comprehensive support services. They serve some of the most at-risk young people in our community and ninety-five percent of YEP’s program participants come from households living at or below the federal poverty line.
YEP is located at 2300 International Blvd. For more information please go to www.yep.org or call 510-533-3447.
Children's Book Project East Bay Receives City Council Resolution
student recipient of books expresses her appreciation to the Children’s Book ProjectAt the April 3 City Council meeting I was proud to present a City Council Resolution commending the Children’s Book Project East Bay on the occasion of giving away 120,000 books to readers spanning pre-school to high school.
The Book Project East Bay was founded in May 2005 by Ann Katz, Fern Lehner, Judy Milford and Denise Young with the purpose of building literacy by putting books into the hands of children who have little or no access to books of their own. To this day 10 regular volunteers collect, sort and distribute these books. 60,000 books have gone directly to local teaches to supplement their classrooms, 30,000 have gone to doctors and nurses at pediatric clinics and hospitals, and 30,000 have gone to a variety of other clients including the Oakland Housing Authority, police officers, court-appointed children’s advocates, crisis counselors and homeless shelters.These books have been donated by a variety of sources including individuals, local merchants and book stores; youth, civic and religious organizations; and publishers.
Contributions of new and gently used books are accepted at the Grand Lake Neighborhood Center, 530 Lake Park Avenue. For more information please call 510-238-2301.
East 24th Street is the recipient of a resurfacing, repaving, and restripping make-over based on a need-based analysis performed by our Public Works. The resurfacing has already been done, and the restriping will be done next week.
Update on Upper Lakeshore Avenue Sewer Project, Slurry Seal and Lane Re-Configuration
The project to construct a relief sanitary sewer on Lakeshore Avenue between Mandana Blvd. and Walavista Avenue, which began in October 2006, is finally drawing to a long-awaited close. The project was undertaken to address sewage overflow problems at the corner of Walavista and Lakeshore during major rainfalls. The final stage of the project will take place the weeks of April 16th and 23rd and will include a slurry seal and re-striping of the lanes along that same stretch of Lakeshore Avenue.
As was reported in several previous District 2 e-newsletters, there was substantial community support for incorporation of a lane configuration change along those blocks, because the sewer project necessarily required a slurry seal and re-striping. Therefore, the lane configuration change would not come at an additional cost to the City if the concepts could be coordinated. The change that was proposed by community members and subsequently evaluated and designed by the Public Works Agency is commonly referred to as a “road diet,” which is often associated with traffic-calming effects. The new configuration includes a travel lane in each direction, a continuous center turning lane that could be used by both northbound and southbound traffic, and bicycle lanes in both directions. The area designated for on-street parking and the curb-to-curb width of the street will remain unchanged. See previous e-news articles for more detail on the proposal.
There was vigorous community input and debate on the subject culminating at hearings before the City Council Public Works Committee and the full City Council. The new lane plan was approved by the City Council on March 20, 2007, and will be implemented in this final stage of the sewer project work.
Update on Firestation Status at Santa Clara
Many of you have written me with your concerns that Fire Station #10 on Santa Clara Avenue has been closed for several months. I, too, have been extremely concerned about the closure, as it is obviously a life safety priority, and have pressed the City Administrator to get it fixed without further delay. The station is expected to be ready for business in two weeks, by April 20.
In the meantime, the firefighting and medic crew from that station have been operating out of the station on Park Blvd near Brewer Middle School.Here’s why the closure happened. Public Works went in to replace the floor and do some painting, a process expected to take two weeks. When there, they discovered mold in the walls. In order to get rid of the mold, they needed to remove the sheetrock which contained asbestos. Both because of the mold and the asbestos, the firefighters could not re-enter the building. There were several hang-ups along the way, but Public Works and the abatement contractor are working hard, including on Saturdays, to get it done. They are expecting to pass the air quality tests in a week and will have the firefighters back to their home station no later than April 20.
(An historical note I learned along the way: Fire Station 10 is the oldest fire station in California, dating to the 19th century.)
Oakland Public Library Calendar of Events for National Library Week
National Library Week is April 15-21 and Oakland’s libraries will be celebrating this occasion with events throughout the month. Authors will be speaking, there are book clubs and anime (Japanese animation) nights for teens, storytellers, chess workshops and drop-in play for kids. Among the numerous services and activities offered are free tax help through April 16 at the Main and selected branches, workshops for college information at the Asian Branch, or you can join the Lakeview Writers Group or Chess Club. For a full listing of all of the latest library news and events, visit their Web site @ www.oaklandlibrary.org.
The Bookmark Bookstore, owned and operated by Friends of Oakland Public Library, invites you to support the library and save money at their annual sale. This huge book sale will take place April 3 – 7 at 721 Washington Street, Oakland. Call 510-444-0473 for more information.