Come out and volunteer on Earth Day, April 18,
9 to noon
Saturday, April 11: Lakeshore Avenue's 22nd Annual Spring Derby Decorating Contest and Easter Parade
Tuesday April 14: City of Oakland 2007-2014 Housing Element Community Briefing
Wednesday, April 15: Earth Expo at Frank Ogawa Plaza – Recycle Batteries, Cell Phones
Thursday, April 16: Oakland’s 5th "Operation Homeless Connect"
Saturday, April 18: Earth Day - Clean Up Projects Throughout Oakland
Wednesday, April 22: Central Estuary Specific Plan: 2nd Community Meeting
. ..Coming in May
Tentative: Thursday, May 7: Community Meeting for Upper Broadway Retail Specific Plan
Wednesday, May 13: Presentation of the Mayor's Proposed Budget
REPORTS
Remembering Our Fallen Officers
Lakeside Path to Open Soon: Update on Lakeshore-El Embarcadero and Measure DD Improvements
Reporting Potholes in OaklandParkway Update
Feral Cats and What You Can Do to HelpNeighborhood Law Corps Tracking Blighted Houses
Grand Lake Neighborhood Stub Club
Kick the Bag Habit this Earth Day
Submitting Comments to the Auditor’s City’s Residential Parking Program
EVENTS
Saturday,
April 11: 3rd Annual City-Wide Spring Egg Hunt Sponsored by the Office
of Parks & Recreation
Lake Chabot Golf Course, 11450 Golf Links Road (above the Oakland Zoo).
Registration begins at 8:30 am; 1st hunt for children 6-12 years - 9:15 am sharp; 2nd hunt for children under 6 years – 9:30 am sharp. Light refreshments served. Chabot Café open for service. Parking is limited. Free bus to event – Contact your recreation center for more information.
Saturday, April 11:
Lakeshore Avenue's 22nd Annual Spring Derby Decorating Contest and Easter
Parade
Pick up a plastic derby at a store on Lakeshore for only $2, decorate it, and gather at the Lakeshore Baptist Church, 3455 Lakeshore, around 10:00 am. The Easter Bunny will lead the parade up and down the Avenue and back to the church for judging. Prizes will be awarded in three age categories from three to twelve. Each winner will receive a basket full of Lakeshore goodies, and all the children will receive snacks and small prizes. After the parade and judging, the Lakeshore Church will sponsor egg decorating for all. In case of rain, the parade will take place in front of the church.
You can find derbies to decorate at Georges Cleaners, Silver Lining Jewelry, Izek Day Spa Salon, Walgreens, Adventure Toys and Learning, and the Lakeshore Cheese Steak Shop. Please call Lakeshore Business Improvement District Executive Director Pamela Drake at 510.451.1257 for more information.
Tuesday April 14: City of Oakland 2007-2014 Housing Element Community
Briefing
The City of Oakland 2007-2014 Housing Element Community Briefing was rescheduled from March 24 so as not to conflict with the community vigil for the slain Oakland Police officers. The briefing will be from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Hearing Room 3, at City Hall.
The City of Oakland invites you, your neighbors and the members of your organizations to attend a community briefing about the new Public Review draft of the 2007-2014 Housing Element. Senior staff from the Community and Economic Development Agency will be on hand to answer questions and hear comments in a participatory and informational presentation.
State law requires cities to update their Housing Elements every five years—showing how and where new residents and new population growth will be accommodated. Housing Elements guide the City’s housing efforts, by documenting policies which encourage:
• the construction and rehabilitation of affordable and market rate housing
• housing for seniors and those with special needs
• first time home buyer programs
• foreclosure assistance
The purpose of this meeting is to inform the public about the details of the Housing Element, and to receive comments, while the Housing Element is still in draft form. Formal adoption of the Housing Element is expected to take place in several public hearings during late spring/early summer of this year.
Since 2007, over 1,000 units have either been built or are currently under construction in Oakland. The City has approved 5,000 more units, and an additional 7,000 units are in some stage of pre-development. The Housing Element documents where there is vacant land, infill sites and potential sites for new housing to meet the regional housing goals of approximately 14,000 new units over the next five years. No changes to current zoning or regulations are proposed in the Housing Element.
The City has sent this Public Review draft of the Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and has made that draft available to the public, on the website here.
Wednesday, April 15: Planning Commission Consideration of Proposed Rezoning
of the Central Business District
Hearing Room 1, Oakland City Hall – The meeting starts at 6:00 pm but the item, #7, will not be heard before 8:00 pm.
A staff report is available here.
Wednesday, April 15: Earth Expo at Frank Ogawa Plaza – Recycle Batteries,
Cell Phones, etc.
The 15th annual Earth Expo event will be Wednesday, April 15th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Explore the booths around Frank Ogawa Plaza (next to City Hall).
Celebrating a sustainable urban environment with opportunities to connect with dynamic and local green businesses, environmental and social change organizations, artists, government agencies and community groups.
Learn how to: reduce waste or compost • green your workplace • drive less • build or remodel green • reduce energy use • become a smarter consumer • bring your own bag • restore our creeks • practice bay-friendly gardening • hold a ZeroWaste event • reduce your carbon footprint • much more!
Bring your mercury thermometers, unwanted medications, batteries and cell phones for recycling!Click here for more info.
Thursday, April 16: Oakland’s 5th "Operation Homeless Connect"
First Presbyterian Church at 27th St. and Broadway – Volunteers are needed – Go here for a flyer.
The success of Operation Homeless Connect is dependent on volunteers. They are responsible for assisting with navigating homeless clients through the array of services and information; working with a site map, volunteers partner with individual clients to assist them to access services. Volunteers give out warm coats and other outdoor gear, assist with serving meals, meeting and greeting clients, performing intakes, and many other needed jobs. Volunteers and clients sit and break bread together at a common lunch, and take the opportunity of a shared meal to exchange ideas and views. Each volunteer receives a Project Homeless Connect t-shirt, morning coffee and pastries, and a hot lunch.
The Department of Human Services, which sponsors the event, needs your help in your community prior to the event organizing community groups to volunteer, passing out flyers to homeless people in your neighborhood, and designating and staffing a bus pick up location in your area and other outreach efforts. Also, churches, schools and other agencies are encouraged to conduct clothing drives for Project Homeless Connect. Items needed include warm coats, socks, shirts, rain gear, backpacks and shoes.
Because parking is limited at this event, volunteers are encouraged to take public transportation. There is some street parking available in the area for early birds.
If you are interested in volunteering for the Project Homeless Connect event, or in making a donation of goods or dollars, please contact Gesunda Royal-Shipp, Event/Volunteer Coordinator, at 510-238-2077 no later than April 10, 2009. Gesunda can schedule your volunteer shift and make arrangements to receive your donations. Many volunteer stations are popular and fill up fast as they are filled on a first come, first receive basis.
As a volunteer you will need to completed a volunteer form and take the form with you to the event. Please do not mail the volunteer shift form. We will not be accepting any volunteer forms via mail this year; PHONE CALLS ONLY.
If you would like to make a donation to support this event please make your tax deductible donation payable to The City of Oakland Hunger Program and mail to Chyrill Quamina at 150 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 4340, Oakland, CA 94612. The tax identification number is 94-6000384.
Background: Project Homeless Connect is a one-day resource fair launched by Oakland ‘s Department of Human Services in 2005. It brings together a number of mainstream and homeless-specific services in a “one-stop-shop” setting, and provides service access to chronic homeless persons living on the street and in encampments, the homeless who are hardest to serve. This event represents a unique collaboration among City and County government agencies and the non-profit service provider communities.
City services include the provision of shelter beds, transitional housing and permanent housing; rental assistance; housing counseling; outreach services and harm reduction goods, including rain gear, warm coats, socks and other items. County services include acute medical and dental care; psycho-social screening and mental health crisis intervention and counseling; appointments to clinics and the county medical center; sign-ups for county benefits, such as general assistance, Medical and food stamps. The non-profit community provides services such as benefits advocacy, daytime drop-in, case management and counseling services; housing search assistance; homeless prevention services such as landlord/tenant mediation and move-in assistance; services for persons with substance use issues and related recovery programs; legal assistance; services for persons with HIV/AIDS, and many more. Other services are provided by volunteer local business providers, including free haircuts, massages, eye care and more.
Saturday, April 18: Earth Day - Clean Up Projects Throughout Oakland
9:00 am to 12:00 noonJoin thousands of Oakland volunteers who will turn out this Saturday to clean, green and spruce up parks and other public spaces on Earth Day. Go here for flyer of featured Oakland locations.
Locations and meeting spots in and near District 2:
- Chinatown – 250 -10th St
- Morcom Rose Garden – 700 Jean St
- Friends of Cleveland Cascade – between 2250-2300 Lakeshore Ave
- Gardens at Lakeside Park - 666 Bellevue Ave at the Lakeside Park Garden Center
- Lake Merritt Park – 568 Bellevue Ave at the Sailboat House
- Edna Brewer Middle School – 3748 – 13th Ave
- 12th Ave & E. 17th St vicinity - New Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church – 1649 12th Ave
- Beaumont Underpass - Beaumont Ave under I-580 near Highland Hospital – go here for flyer.
Monday, April 20 and
April 27: Community Budget Meetings with Mayor Dellums, Councilmember
Kernighan and other City Council members
Two dates and two locations, both start at 6:30 pm.
• 4/20, 6:30 pm – Edna Brewer Middle School, 3748 - 13th Ave (confirm location by calling 238.2984)
• 4/27, 6:30 pm – Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave
These meetings offer a unique opportunity to learn about the City budget and the difficult choices ahead. You can compare incoming revenue with the cost of maintaining existing City services. Unfortunately, that gap is growing as the latest tax revenue figures are coming in. City Administrator's staff will present the charts and graphs showing the relevant numbers and trends. Your input is welcomed as we grapple with how to balance the City's budget for next fiscal year, beginning July 1.In next month's E-News I will be offering more analysis and recommendations of what changes need to be made in order to keep the City running while money is in short supply.
Wednesday, April 22: Central
Estuary Specific Plan: 2nd Community Meeting
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm. The Unity Council: Fruitvale-San Antonio Senior Center – 3301 East 12th Street, Suite 201 – For more information, go here.
Thursday, April 23:
Harrison Street – Oakland Avenue Community Transportation Plan Community
Workshop #2 – Alternatives Review
Westlake Middle School, Gym – 2629 Harrison Street @ 27th Street. Open House from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm; meeting 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Please join CEDA Planning staff to review and prioritize alternatives for improved safety, access and livability along Harrison Street – Oakland Avenue corridor. For more information go here.
Oakland
Museum's Calendar of Events Throughout April
Come see your favorite authors, poets, artists, and filmmakers and more at the Oakland Museum! Click here to see a listing of upcoming events for January.
Oakland Library Events Throughout April
Click here for a listing of events at the Oakland public library in April.
… Coming in May
Tentative: Thursday,
May 7: Second Community Meeting for Upper Broadway Retail Specific Plan
For confirmation of meeting date, time and location, check back here later in April and click here.
The Upper Broadway Specific Plan process is focused on creation of a destination retail and mixed use development along Broadway between West Grand Avenue and I-580. The Specific Plan, when complete, will provide an area-wide set of development regulations and requirements, including the distribution, extent and location of land uses, infrastructure standards and financing mechanisms for public improvements.
The goal of this project is to guide development of an urban mixed use, mixed-income area with major retail and high density housing development opportunities. Infrastructure improvements for bicycle, pedestrian, transit, and parking that provide connections with transit, regional and local commercial and activity centers, and housing in surrounding neighborhoods will be integrated into the project.
The City has engaged WRT (Wallace Roberts Todd) to prepare the plan and documents required for environmental compliance. An extensive community participation process is getting underway now.
Wednesday, May 13: Presentation
of the Mayor's Proposed City Budget
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm – City Council Chambers
This is the formal hearing where the Mayor and City Administrator present the Mayor's proposal for balancing the City budget for FY 2009-2011. In the following weeks, there will be three more budget hearings before the City Council (dates below)..
• Budget Workshop #1 – May 28, 4:00 pm -7:00 pm (Council Chambers)
• Budget Workshop #2 – June 1, 4:00 pm -7:00 pm (Council Chambers)
• Final Budget Adoption and First Reading of Associated Ordinances – June 16, 6:00 pm (Council Chambers)
In addition, there will be a live televised "Budget Townhall" on May 27 at 6:30 pm during which KTOP viewers can call-in to have their budget questions answered on-air.
Remembering Our Fallen Officers
Many beautiful tributes have been written to our recently fallen police officers. I am not going to try to add to those now, but I did want to at least commemorate here the lives of Mark Dunakin, John Hege, Erv Romans, and Daniel Sakai. They sacrificed their lives to keep Oaklanders safe. I was proud of how the great majority of Oaklanders came together in the wake of this tragedy to offer condolence to the grieving families and to express support for the officers of the Oakland Police Department who put their lives on the line for the rest of us everyday.
The funeral service for our slain officers was beautiful and extraordinarily sad. There is a very nice photographic tribute to the officers, including photos of the funeral service, on the website of the Oakland Police Officers Association here. I encourage you to view it.
Potholes (to report a pot hole or other street maintenance issue email pwacallcenter@oaklandnet.com or call 615-5566)
I think everyone has noticed the increased number of potholes that have appeared after the winter rains. The City is having a hard time keeping up, but is planning a "Pothole Blitz" starting on April 20. There are 2300 lane miles of streets in the Oakland and the City has just three trucks in its street maintenance crew dedicated to pothole repair. Unfortunately, for a period of time in March, there was significant service disruption due to multiple equipment failures. The Public Works supervisor recently reported that the crews are back in service, so hopefully we will soon see an improvement in the condition of the streets at least with respect to potholes.
During the“Pothole Blitz” starting the week of April 20th,. The Public Works department allocates additional staff to tackle potholes. It will take place six times in targeted areas over a two month period. The first target area will be the middle section of the City, from Lake Merritt to High Street.
The closing of the Parkway Theater several weeks ago was the cause of much lament throughout
Oakland, and especially in the surrounding neighborhood. The unique and much-loved movie house was a real Oakland institution and a valued part of the neighborhood. Since the closing of the business, there has been a big community organizing effort by local residents to find a way to re-open the movie business or identify other desirable uses for the building. The web presence for the group is here.I have spoken with the owners of the theater building and they would like to find a new tenant who would be able to re-open a movie business in the space. They are happy to work with me and the community to find a business that would be welcomed by the community and which would be financially viable. It will probably take a few months to get some results, but I am very hopeful that a movie business will be able to open at the Parkway in the not-too-distant future.
Lakeside Path to Open Soon: Update on Lakeshore-El Embarcadero and Measure
DD Improvements
I’ve received lots of questions about the construction work between Lakeshore Avenue and the Lake. The good news is that the path at the edge of the lake will open by the end of April. Many of us who have missed walking and running next to the lake will welcome the reopening of the pathway.
Work has seemed to progress very slowly in the Lakeshore project during the fall and winter as crews re-contoured the site, built forms and then poured concrete for a continuous path curb and concrete benches, constructed a retaining wall, and laid conduit for electrical lighting. All this work was preparation for the shoreline path’s new surface, which will comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The surface will be made of decomposed granite with a polymer added as a hardening agent in order to support wheelchairs. The hardening agent is a stabilizer that requires five days of dry weather and at least 60-degree daytime temperatures in order to set up. Now that spring weather has arrived, the conditions are right for pouring the path’s surface.
When the lakeside path is ready to open later this month, the contractor will move the fence to allow access. Then work will begin on creating the new multi-use path and planting strip next to the street. During this work, you’ll be able to use a couple of crossing points between the path along the lake and the street in order to access the new lakeside path. The new multi-use path adjacent to the street is expected to open for use in June.
Work is underway at El Embarcadero (near the Lakeview Library) to increase the parkland in front of the Pergola. Over the next four months the contractor will finish the widening to three lanes of the two-lane roadway next to the Lakeview Library, remove the existing slip turns at Lakeshore and Grand Avenues, and install a traffic light at the intersection with Lakeshore Avenue. By mid-summer the widened roadway adjacent to the Library will open to two-way traffic and the lane closer to the Pergola will be reconstructed to become a pedestrian promenade.
In September the roadway surface of Lakeshore Avenue from E. 18th Street to MacArthur Blvd will be ground down and a new surface laid, then striped for one vehicle travel lane in each direction, a continuous left-turn lane in the center, and on either side of the travel lanes there will be Class II bike lanes next to parking zones. I have asked our City staff to look for funding to extend the resurfacing work on Lakeshore from MacArthur to Lake Park where the northbound lanes of Lakeshore are in deplorable shape. Finally, new landscaping will be planted in the fall throughout the project just before the project wraps up in early November and winter rains begin.
Feral Cats and What You Can Do to Help
It is estimated that there are thousands of feral cats in Oakland, living in back yards, under crawlspaces, and anywhere where they can find shelter. Feral cats are the offspring of regular domestic cats that were at some time abandoned, lost, left behind, or unwanted by their owners. They generally live short lives due to disease, lack of food and poor quality of life. These cats are scared of people, yet depend on them for food. The key to solving the feral cat problem, according to Ellen Lynch, District 2 resident, is to humanely reduce the population of these cats, with the goal that these cats are eventually "owned" and cared for.
For over thirty years Ellen has worked with hundreds of feral cats in various Oakland neighborhoods. As one who takes great joy in doing her part and working with other volunteers to improve the lives of these often abandoned animals, Ellen has developed a unique perspective on and knowledge of dealing with sick and injured cats, fostering motherless kittens and socializing them, and the process of trapping, spaying/neutering and releasing of ferals, also known as "TNR."
Humanely TNRing these cats and taking the young, adoptable ones to a shelter or rescue group is the proven way to compassionately deal with this problem and make a difference in these cats' lives and our neighborhoods. The Oakland Animal Shelter promotes TNR, along with the East Bay SPCA, Humane Society, Fix our Ferals, Hopalong Animal Rescue and others.
There are stable colonies of spayed/neutered ferals throughout Oakland, according to Ellen. These are adult cats who cannot be relocated easily, but who have caretakers who have TNR'd them and have taken the responsibility for feeding and caring for them. Some neighbors understandably don't want these cats around and don't want to deal with the waste the cats produce, and so it is important for people who are working with ferals to talk to their neighbors and explain that the objective is to stop future litters of kittens and help the cats that already live in the neighborhood, emphasizing that spayed/neutered cats don't wander, spray, or fight as much. Without the TNR intervention, the feral cat population would be constantly increasing.
Below are resources for free spay/neuter and TNR:Fix Our Ferals holds free clinics on a regular basis. Last year they worked with residents of 94606 for a massive "winter cat campaign" and successfully trapped/spayed/neutered hundreds of cats in a short period.
Oakland Animal Services, our hardworking City Shelter is also a great resource, as well as East Bay Feral Fix through the East Bay SPCA are resources to look into.
Neighborhood Law Corps Tracking Blighted Houses
To help combat the numbers of increasingly neglected properties in Oakland resulting from home foreclosures, the Neighborhood Law Corps (NLC) is beginning a program to track blighted, vacant buildings as a first step towards better enforcement against the owners. The NLC will coordinate its efforts with the Community and Economic Development Agency – Code Enforcement Division because a building inspection is still the first step required in an enforcement action. If a property, particularly a vacant property, is a lingering blight in your neighborhood, please report it to the NLC, even if you have already reported the issue to CEDA-Building Services. NLC is going to be assisting CEDA to prioritize and take swifter action against the most egregious cases and also looking for common ownership among multiple neglected properties.
Go here for the NLC flyer/checklist.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU IDENTIFY A BLIGHTED PROPERTY
When you find a property that meets these conditions, please send the following information:1. The specific property address
2. A description of the problemsYou can contact us by email here.
Or call us at 1-800-BE ALERT (1-800-232-5378)DEADLINE
May 30th (the earlier, the better) so NLC can prosecute the owners and get the problems cleaned up.
Grand Lake Neighborhood Stub Club
The Grand Lake Retail Advisory Group has recently introduced its very own stimulus package. It's designed to stretch the pocketbooks of area residents while helping to support locally-owned independent businesses. Aptly titled, "The Grand Lake Stub Club" it allows patrons of the Grand Lake Theatre to save their ticket stubs and use them for valuable discounts from any or all of the twenty-five merchants who've signed on as Stub Club members.
If you want an early dinner, you can buy advance tickets and take advantage of special offers from half a dozen eateries. Or take the opposite tack with the movie followed by dinner or drinks and dessert.
The ticket stubs remain valid for seven full days at a wide variety of shops with discounts ranging from 10 to 20% with some freebies thrown in including a free oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip cookie from "The Grand Bakery".
The "Stub Club" list of participating merchants will be distributed at the theatre box office and also at the Saturday Farmers Market. Signs identifying Stub Club members are posted in their front windows.
Stay tuned for periodic updates to allow additional merchants to join in this promotion.
For more information about the Grand Lake Retail Advisory Group's efforts to help revitalize their neighborhood shopping district, visit here.
Kick the Bag Habit this Earth Day
On just one day in 2007, over 25,000 bags were plucked from San Francisco Bay by Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers. Last year, 1.37 million plastic bags were removed from coastal areas worldwide, second only in number to cigarette butts. The unfortunate reality, however, is that this amount represents only a small fraction of the total plastic trash flowing into the Bay and ocean. In fact, Bay Area residents use an estimated 3.8 billion plastic bags per year and discard over one hundred plastic bags per second. It is estimated that millions end up in the Bay, polluting our waters, smothering wetlands and entangling and killing animals.
Trash in the Bay also has global ramifications. The North Pacific hosts a floating garbage patch estimated at twice the size of Texas, where plastic particles are more abundant than plankton.
Aside from the harm it poses to the environment, plastic bag pollution is unnecessary, preventable and costly. Bags clog storm drains and recycling equipment, ultimately costing cities millions, while bag litter lowers property values and degrades recreational areas.
In conjunction with Earth Day, Save The Bay is launching a new campaign to dramatically reduce plastic bag litter in the Bay and ocean. On April 14, visit www.saveSFbay.org to join this campaign, which will feature a critical action to protect San Francisco Bay and a fascinating new video showing what could happen if we fail to reduce our dependence on bags.
This Earth Day, join Save The Bay to kick the bag habit and make the switch to reusable bags to protect our beautiful Bay and the 500 species of wildlife that depend upon it!
Submitting Comments to the Auditor’s City’s Residential Parking
Program
The elected City Auditor, Courtney Ruby, is conducting a performance audit of the City of Oakland's Residential Permit Parking (RPP) Program. As part of the audit, she needs input from residents of permitted areas. If you do not live in a permitted area, please disregard this survey.
Please fill out the survey no later than April 17, 2009 and include any comments, concerns, or suggestions at the bottom. Please forward this email to other residents of permitted area who may be interested in taking the survey.
Here is the link to the online survey:
The results of the audit will be shared with the public and posted on the Auditor's website for you to read. To receive updates about this and other audits, please sign up for her email update list here.If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Auditor’s office here
or 510.238.3378.