Bring
the Bag!
Saturday, April 19: Earth Day Oakland. 9am to noon, Volunteer at a Site Near You!
Wednesday, April 16: Oakland’s Annual Earth Expo: The Sustainable Urban EnvironmentWednesday, April 16th: Benefit For Street Level Health Project, a Local Health Clinic, With Live Musical Performances
Saturday, April 19: Disaster First Aid WorkshopTuesday, April 22: Public Works Committee Hears Report on Proposed Canada Goose Management Plan
All April until Saturday, May 3: Paul Robeson, 110 Years of Greatness: a month-long inspirational display at the West Oakland Branch
...And Coming in MayWednesday, May 7: Unity Council Home Ownership Center Offers Foreclosure Prevention Workshop
Thursday, May 8: Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation's 5th Annual Taste of Spring event in the beautiful Rotunda Building.
REPORTS
District Two Crime Meetings Get the Attention of Chief Tucker and City Leaders
Madison Square Park Renovation Celebration
Joanne Karchmer, our Constituent Problem-Solver, Goes on Maternity Leave From Late April to Early September
National Public Radio (NPR) Does Story on Transformation of Edna Brewer Middle School-- Featuring District 2 Parents
“10,000 Steps”: Promoting Four Downtown Block ParksADA Improvements at I-580 Parking Lot (at Grand & Lake Park Ave)
Santa Clara Avenue Crosswalk Project Underway
League of Women Voters of Oakland to Hold Candidate Forums in April
Four
Garfield elementary students perform at City Hall as part of Prescott
Clown troupe (they're the ones with the hula hoops)
CITY-SPONSORED EVENTS
All
April until Saturday, May 3: Paul Robeson, 110 Years of Greatness: a Month-long
Inspirational Display at the West Oakland Branch
All April until Saturday, May 3: Paul Robeson, 110 Years of Greatness, a month-long inspirational display at the West Oakland Branch. Sponsored by the Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee, the display commemorates the 110th anniversary of Robeson’s birth with materials that reflect upon the man’s extraordinary achievements in a remarkably diverse range of fields, including academics, athletics, music, and acting.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. Educators are encouraged to bring their students. The West Oakland Branch is located at 1801 Adeline Street. The library’s hours are Monday 11:30 am – 7 pm; Tuesday – Thursday 10 am – 5:30 pm; Friday 12 noon – 5:30 pm; and Saturday 10 am – 5:30 pm. For information, call the library at (510) 238-7352, or visit the Oakland Public Library’s website here.
Wednesday,
April 16: Oakland’s Annual Earth Expo: The Sustainable Urban Environment
The Sustainable Urban Environment, a popular and festive lunchtime environmental fair that has become the region’s lead-off event for Earth Day – Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th & Broadway – 10 am – 2 pm. Among other features, there will be free mercury thermometer exchange and unwanted medications disposal at the EBMUD-Save the Bay booth.
Wednesday, April 16th:
Benefit For Street Level Health Project, a Local Health Clinic, With Live
Musical Performances
La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, 8 pm. Street Level Health Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of underserved communities in the Bay Area. Street Level is an entry point to the healthcare system for those most often overlooked: the uninsured, underinsured, and recently arrived
immigrants. There will be musical performances. $5 to $10 donation would be appreciated.For more info, see here.
Saturday,
April 19: Earth Day Oakland. 9am to noon, Volunteer at a Site Near You!
9:00 am to noon. This is the City’s largest volunteer based community improvement event dedicated to keeping Oakland beautiful. Choose from among 100 registered locations throughout Oakland, including the following in or near District 2. Volunteers should check in at staging location noted in parentheses. No need to register in advance-just show up.
• Morcom Rose Garden (Jean St entrance off Grand Ave)
• Chinatown--(Lincoln Recreation Center, 250 10th Ave)
• Lake Merritt (Lake Merritt Institute, 568 Bellevue Ave)
• Gardens in Lakeside Park (666 Bellevue)
• Bella Vista Park (1025 E. 28th St) – 10 am – 1 pm
• Cleveland Cascade (between 2250-2300 Lakeshore)
• Beaumont Ave, under 580 freeway. Landscaping maintenance.
• Crocker Highlands Elementary School (525 Midcrest Rd)
• Lakeview Elementary School (746 Grand Ave)
• Edna Brewer Middle School (3748 13th Ave)
• 9th Ave & International (1430 9th Ave)
• 12th Ave & E. 17th St (1649 12th Ave)
• E. 19th Median (1044 19th St)
• SANN Earth Day Event (1430 23rd Ave)
• Oakland Catholic Worker (23rd & E. 12th )For more information on all the registered sites in Oakland, go here or call 238-7611.
Saturday, April 19:
Disaster First Aid Workshop
9 am to 4 pm. This free workshop, sponsored by CORE (Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies), is facilitated by Oakland Fire Department’s EMT and CORE Instructors. The workshop is open to all who have completed CORE III training within the last three years. Advanced registration is required. Call 238-6351 or e-mail here.
• Learn S.T.A.R.T. - Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment,
• Recognize and Treat Life Threatening Conditions
-Open Airways
-Stop Bleeding
-Treat Shock• Conduct Heat-to-Toe Assessments
• Practice Safe Lifts and Carries
• Prioritize and Treat Common Injuries
-Treat Cuts
-Learn to Splint
-Treat Burns• Learn to Set Up a Neighborhood First Aid Station and Assign Tasks
• Practice Hand-on Skills in a Simulated Emergency Test
Monday,
April 21: Deadline for Submitting Nominations for Oakland Heritage Alliance’s
Annual Partners in Preservation Awards
Click here for nomination guidelines, categories of awards and nomination form. Awards will be presented to winners on May 8 at the Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave.
Tuesday, April 22: Public Works Committee Hears
Report on Proposed Canada Goose Management Plan
City Hall, Hearing Room One – 12:30 pm (time subject to change) – Migrating Canada geese seeking refuge for their annual molt will start arriving at Lake Merritt in mid-May. Their presence will bring a vast increase in the amount of goose waste, and the inevitable unhappiness of frustrated park users. At a community meeting last July, organized by Councilmember Nancy Nadel and me, City staff presented the Lake Merritt Canada Goose Management Study The study evaluated several alternatives for reducing goose waste in the park areas around the Lake. (to review the study, go here)
We asked staff to implement two of the methods—a lawn sweeper to pick up the goose poop, and temporary fencing around the children’s playground area on Bellevue to keep the geese out of that area. From my Paygo discretionary funds, I’ve funded the fencing and the purchase of a NatureSweep for the lawns. I asked staff to report on their progress to implement these measures in time for this molting season. That report will be presented at the Council’s Public Works Committee meeting on April 22. (To review the staff report that will be considered at Committee, go here) Hopefully you will see the sweeper in action by the end of May.
Thursday,
April 24: Free Special Evening with Poet, Writer, Activist, and Educator
Nikki Giovanni Reading and Discussing Her Most Recent Work
The Oakland Public Library, in conjunction with the Oakland Museum of California and the Friends of the Oakland Public Library, invite you to “Join the Circle of Knowledge” by participating in this annual author event – now in its 16th year - held to celebrate National Library Week. For more information, call 238-3271.
In a rare West Coast appearance, Ms. Giovanni, author of nearly 30 books both for adults and children, will read from and discuss her most recent books, including Acolytes, Rosa, On My Journey Now, and The Grasshopper’s Song. Seating is limited (first-come, first-served); doors open at 6:45 pm. Light refreshments will be served.Her first book of poetry, Black Feeling Black Talk, was published in 1968. Since then, many of her titles have received awards and honors. Her autobiography, Gemini, was a finalist for the National Book Award; Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes, and Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, were honored with NAACP Image Awards; and her children’s picture book, Rosa, about civil rights activist Rosa Parks, was named a Caldecott Honors Book. Recently, Oprah Winfrey called her one of America’s twenty-five
“Living Legends.” Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Ms. Giovanni grew up in Lincoln Heights, a black suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. She currently teaches at Virginia Tech University.
Thursday,
April 24: Award-Winning Theatre Troupe Word for Word Presents
"When Tom Smith Caused the 1906 Earthquake" at Lakeview Branch
Library
Lakeview Branch Library, 550 El Embarcadero – 1 pm. This retelling of a family folktale by Greg Sarris asks the question, “Who is the most powerful medicine man, Tom Smith or Big Jose?” Tom Smith’s uncontrollable desire to be the winner results in some pretty strong magic that spreads all the way to San Francisco (can you hear the rumbling??) For more information, call 238-7344.
...And Coming in May
Thursday,
May 1: Two Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils, the Grand Lake Community
Council and the Adams Point Action Council, will hold a joint meeting
in May (different time and place than usual)
The Bellevue Club, 525 Bellevue Ave, 7:00 pm. Take this opportunity to become acquainted with an adjacent NCPC with common concerns, and at the same time get a good look at the beautiful Bellevue Club. Easy, safe parking behind the building.
To find out the time and location of other NCPCs' meetings in District 2, go here.
Friday, May 2: 2nd Annual "Oakland Indie Awards" - Celebrate
Oakland’s Independent Businesses & Artists, Great Party, $20
Admission
Historic Sweet’s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway (BART accessible)
5:30 to 8:00 pm. - Awards Party with Food and Wine Tasting.
8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. - After Party with Live Music and No-host Drinks.
Go here to get more info or register on-line for tickets, which are $20 plus processing fee of $1.75.
Wednesday, May 7: Unity Council Home Ownership Center Offers Foreclosure
Prevention Workshop
6 to 9 pm, at San Antonio Church (Gym), 1535 16th Avenue & September 17, at San Antonio Recreation Center, 1701 E 19th Street. The Foreclosure Prevention Workshop offers information about how to avoid foreclosure and what to do once you're in foreclosure proceedings. Click here for more information, or contact Maria Hernandez at The Unity Council Home Ownership Center at 510.535.6920.
Thursday, May 8: 5th Annual Taste of Spring in the Beautiful Rotunda Building
300 Frank Ogawa Plaza - sponsored by Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation producing biggest, best fundraiser yet, including lively entertainment, delicious food and premium wines. Entertainment will be provided by Trapeze World, the top aerial and acrobatic production company in the nation, and the event will feature both live and silent auctions. 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Tickets for FOPR members are $40 in advance or $50 at the door. Tickets for the general public are $65 in advance or $75 at the door. For more information, call FOPR at 510-465-1850 or visit the FOPR website here.
REPORTS
District Two Crime Meetings
Get the Attention of Chief Tucker and City Leaders
District Two continues to experience crime at about the same levels as last year, which is to say, very high. There has been progress in some areas, but new problem areas have cropped up. I am greatly concerned about the amount of crime, but I am pleased to say that Chief Tucker and the Mayor’s Office have demonstrated great interest in addressing the crime concerns of District 2 residents.
Chief Tucker personally attended three large community meetings that took place in our district in March. The first was the district-wide meeting at Edna Brewer Middle School on March 6. The second was the March 19 meeting of the Chinatown NCPC, which attracted almost 300 people due to community organizing in response to three bank robberies and numerous street robberies. Mayor Dellums spoke to the crowd and stayed for the whole two and a half hours.
Most recently, on March 26, Chief Tucker, many OPD officers, and I attended a large meeting at St. Anthony’s Church in the San Antonio neighborhood to hear the concerns of parishioners who had attended a memorial service, which had been interrupted by drive-by gunfire two nights before. A lot of strong feelings were shared by the community. OPD discussed how the community and OPD could communicate better in an effort to reduce crime and gang violence in the neighborhood.
I think these meetings were the beginning of better communication between OPD and communities that have previously been reticent to contact the police. Also following each of these meetings, concrete actions are taking place to address the concerns raised.
Madison Square Park Renovation Celebration
Dedication ceremony for remodeled Madison Square Park
The path to serenity and balance requires daily practice
What began as a crisis in the fall of 2006 ended with a joyous celebration at a newly remodeled Madison Square Park on March 29.
For many years, hundreds of Tai-Chi practitioners and other exercise groups - most of whom are seniors – have been congregating at the BART Administration Plaza every morning to do their exercises.To the great dismay of the exercisers, BART announced in 2006 that they needed to dismantle the Lake Merritt BART Administration building for seismic safety reasons and the BART Plaza would be closed to the public. The seniors were in a panic to find a location where they could continue their practice. I was also very concerned because I didn’t want the community to lose this unique (and free!) opportunity for healthy recreation. After many meetings and much fund-raising, the seniors and I came up with a plan to re-model Madison Square Park so that it had more flat area that could be used for Tai Chi and other activities.Park projects normally take years from planning to completion, but this one moved at breakneck speed due to the extraordinary efforts of several City staff and community advocate Ed Loo. Our City heroes are David Lau, Director of Project Delivery in Public Works, Jim Ryugo, Building Services Manager, and Alison Schwarz, Project Manager. Knowing the impending deadline for closure of the BART Plaza, they moved mountains (actually they moved grassy berms) to get Madison Square Park ready in time. Our Community hero, Ed Loo, is one of the Tai Chi exercisers and a retired engineer. He spearheaded the fundraising among the seniors and Chinatown community and prodded the City staff every step of the way to get a quality project done. Also, not to be forgotten, is our own Council staffer Kevin Liao who helped coordinate all the parties into a harmonious team and made sure the project stayed on track.
The Grand Opening party of March 29 was great fun and was attended by several hundred people who enjoyed two hours of performances by Tai Chi, Chi Gong, and other exercisers. Congratulations to everyone who helped create the new home for the Tai Chi practitioners! And the community wants to extend the invitation to anyone who wants to join in. Just come on down around 7:00 am and start to follow along. I’m told that pretty soon you’ll get the hang of it!
Joanne Karchmer, District 2's Constituent Problem-Solver Extraordinaire,
Goes on Maternity Leave From Late April to Early September
Our ace constituent liaison Joanne is going to take break from the District 2 Council office for 5 months in order to give birth and bond with her third child. We are delighted for Joanne and her family, but feeling quite sorry for ourselves, who are going to have a difficult time trying to keep up with constituent needs in her absence.
We ask for patience in the event that we can’t keep up with the requests for assistance, and we also offer some “self-help” alternatives while Joanne is gone:
615.5566, the Public Works Call Center, can address most problems with City infrastructure, such as potholes, broken streetlights or traffic signals, parks maintenance issues, street trees, flooding, etc. You can also your complaint to PWACallCenter@oaklandnet.com
444.2489, Oaklanders Assistance Center. Operated by the Mayor’s Office, these staffers help solve problems for constituents living anywhere in Oakland.
For other City resources, see our website here.
National Public Radio
(NPR) does story on Transformation of Edna Brewer Middle School -- featuring
District 2 Parents
Log on to hear a great story about our local middle school, including the leadership of several District 2 parents and the Principal Jamie Marantz, which resulted in huge positive changes at Edna Brewer over the past 5 or so years. Click here for the mp3 of the story.
“10,000 Steps”: Promoting Four Downtown Block Parks
Do you like to spend time in downtown Oakland’s parks? Do you want to help preserve urban open space? Do you want to meet some of your new neighbors? Marksearch, an artist team (Sue Mark + Bruce Douglas), and Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation have created 10,000 Steps, an interactive project designed to increase awareness of four historic parks: Lafayette, Lincoln, Jefferson and Madison Square Parks. Starting in April, be on the look out for marksearch: you will see them weekly walking in and around these four parks pushing their whimsical work cart made from reused materials. They believe the best way to preserve authentic open public green space in the city is through its vital use.
During their stewardship, not only will they invite you to help them with cleanings and plantings, they also will be collecting your park stories: they want to know why urban green space is important to you. They will digitally record your park stories and display them on their work cart and website.
Over the following year, they will use the stories people share with them to create self-guided walking tours to these four parks. The tours will be designated with permanent sidewalk medallions that promote parks, stewardship and the community. Printed multilingual map-guides of the tours, with images and stories collected from our on-site conversations, will be distributed to downtown residents and will be available at local library branches and other public venues. A downloadable PDF version of the map will be put on the Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation and other City of Oakland websites.
marksearch is an independent artistic cultural research team that has collaborated on community-based art projects since 2000. They create interactive projects that invite people to reflect upon their local communities, consider healthy alternatives to driving, and increase awareness of the natural environment within the urban fabric. In the summer of 2006 you may have seen them riding our tandem bike as WE Riders, a project to help West & East Oaklanders locate, culturally define and celebrate their neighborhoods. They used bike routes, collected and displayed stories and images on a traveling kiosk-bike trailer. See here for commentary, maps and images from all of the rides. You can reach them here.
Hope to see you in the park!
ADA Improvements at I-580 Parking Lot (at Grand & Lake Park Ave)
During May the parking lot under I-580 will undergo modifications to meet the new vertical height requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The construction, funded by Caltrans, will last for two to three weeks and it will all be night time work. This modification not only will update the lot to better comply with ADA requirements, but also is expected to improve traffic circulation inside the lot between regular parkers and morning car poolers. For more information, contact Eric Bertumen at 986.2659 or Ade Olowasogo at 238.6103.
Santa Clara Avenue Crosswalk Project Underway
Our office receives countless requests for traffic safety improvements due to speeding drivers on practically every street in Oakland. Our Transportation Services Division has the money and time to address only a small portion of the requests. Here is a success story--one that was deemed a high priority and was funded by the City.
The many seniors living in the big residential buildings on Santa Clara Avenue need to traverse Santa Clara Avenue at Lake Park Avenue (as it merges into I-580W) in order to get to the shopping areas on Grand and Lakeshore. It is quite dangerous due to the high speeds of cars approaching the freeway and making the sweeping right turn onto Santa Clara. In response to their requests for a safe crossing, the City’s traffic engineers began developing plans in 2005 to improve the traffic island and pedestrian crossing at that intersection. Transportation staff presented plans to the Grand Lake Community Council in 2006 seeking further input on the re-design. A consensus was reached, and the journey through the bureaucracy of bidding and contracting commenced.
We are happy to report that construction of a new island and sidewalk began this month and will include:
• a curb bulb-out on the northeast corner of the intersection to eliminate the sweeping right turn onto Santa Clara Avenue, which will slow vehicles turning right onto Santa Clara Avenue.
• the traffic island in the center of the street will be modified to provide a safer refuge and more accessible pedestrian crossing, especially for seniors using walkers.
• realignment of the crosswalk, which will lessen the total crossing distance for pedestrians.
For a better understanding of what improvements are being implemented, you can see photo here.
League of Women Voters of Oakland to Hold Candidate Forums in April
The League of Women Voters of Oakland are conducting 16 forums for candidates for various offices being contested in the June 3 Primary Election. The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The public is invited to attend any or all of the forums, and to submit their questions for the candidates. The remaining forum will take place on April 24. For more information, go here.
CORE (Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies) Annual Citywide Emergency
Response Exercise Coming Up
On Saturday morning, April 26 the Oakland Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Services and active neighborhood CORE Groups throughout the city will conduct the 3rd annual citywide emergency response exercise. Last year 35 neighborhood CORE Groups participated in the exercise.
Every year the annual exercise tests neighborhood CORE Groups’ ability to respond to disaster. Exercises in the first two years focused on emergency communications.
This year’s exercise will focus on each Neighborhood Incident Command Center's work to establish a First Aid Station and test its First Aid Response Team members’ handling of a variety of injury scenarios. The exercise will give neighborhood CORE Groups an opportunity to review how well they organize and equip the First Aid Station. The exercise also will give CORE Groups experience in integrating into the exercise untrained neighbors who volunteer on the spot.
Active CORE Groups, ham radio operators for the Oakland Radio Communication Association, and Oakland firefighters will participate in the exercise. If your CORE Group hasn’t registered yet to participate but is interested, contact CORE immediately at 238-6351 or email here. Information on the citywide exercise is available online here.