Artist rendering of the Lake Merritt
Municipal Boathouse, which has recently been restored for public use
- Come celebrate grand opening of municipal boathouse and grounds Thursday,
August 6
Parking Enforcement - the continuing controversy
Tax Penalty Amnesty Program, August 1 through October 31, 2009Launch of GrandLakeNeighbors.org
Looking for Candidates for the Central City East Redevelopment Area Committee
Lunch Celebration for Re-Opening of Street Level Health Project
EVENTS
EVENTS
Friday, July 31: "Space Jam" by Bugs Bunny & Michael Jordan,
Outdoor Movie Shown Across From Parkway Theater, With Pre-Movie Live Music
and Native Dance
7:30 pm – Bring blankets and lawn chairs. Go here for a flyer.
Saturday & Sunday, August
1 & 2: Lakeshore Avenue to Host 2nd Annual LakeFest Street Festival
LakeFest Street Festival in 2008 drew a festive crowd for great food, live music, and art displays - 2009 promises more of the same
LakeFest '09, the second annual Lakeshore Avenue street festival, between Lake Park Ave and Mandana Blvd, will take place on August 1-2 (Saturday & Sunday) from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Lakeshore will turn into a pedestrian zone from Lake Park to Mandana to host this free community event featuring live music, artisans, merchant sidewalk sale, art installations, "green" businesses and non-profits, street performers and a children's fun zone, with a skateboard contest on Sunday.
Date: August 1st & 2nd (Saturday & Sunday)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Lakeshore Avenue Business District, Lakeshore Ave exit off I-580 Freeway
(near Grand Ave and Lake Merritt)
Website here.
LakeFest '09 is a free community event brought to you by Oakland Events, LLC and sponsored in part by the Lakeshore/Lake Park Business Improvement District.
Saturday, August 1: Luncheon Feast of Dance exhibition at Tonga Church
1711 23rd Ave, 1:00 pm to 6:00pm.
The parents and youth of the Tonga Church, located at 1711 23rd Ave, have organized a day of entertainment, food, and Polynesian dances (a region of Oceania, comprising over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean). Please come out and support the Church of Tonga as they try to raise funds to avoid foreclosure on their church, a historic building that they purchased more than six years ago.
Tuesday, August 4: National Night Out
National Night Out Party on Haddon Hill, August 2007
(photograph taken by Casey Oto)This year, National Night Out is on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Amazing how time flies!!!
There are 34 National Night Out events scheduled throughout District 2, occasions where neighbors get to know one another informally. If you’d like to attend an event located near you, please contact Kevin Liao on my staff here or 238-7022.
For more information, go here.
Thursday, August 6: Grand Opening of Municipal Boat House and Grounds:
Ribbon-cutting Ceremony for Renovated Municipal Boathouse and Adjacent
Park Improvements along Lakeside Drive
1520 Lakeside Drive, 2:00 pm.
Go here for invitation to forward to others.
The Boathouse restaurant will be opening in August as well--watch for that announcment.
Sunday, August 9: Celebration Linking Two Fantastic Summer Events –
Oakland
Public Library’s Summer Reading Program and Oakland Museum of California’s
Family Explorations
1000 Oak Street – 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Admission is free.
Entertainment will include mystifying magic by Timothy James, a cartooning workshop with Oliver Chin, scientific experiments with the Lawrence Hall of Science, dancing on an outdoor stage, creative storytelling, and hands-on art activities. Free frozen treats will be provided (as long as supplies last) by Dreyer’s. And, to give credit where it’s due, the library will conduct a ceremony to honor all Summer Reading Program participants who succeeded in reading eight hours or more this summer.
Saturday & Sunday, August 15 & 16: Art & Soul - East
Bay’s Coolest Festival
Noon to 6:00 pm.
Admission: $10 adults, $5 seniors and youth ages 13-17, 12 and under free. Entrances at 14th Street & Broadway, 16th Street & San Pablo Avenue, and Promenade beside City Center West Garage. Go here for more information. Go here to enter a contest to win four free tickets.
Saturday, August 15: Dramatic Reading of "Compared to What?"
Oakland Main Library’s West Auditorium, 125 14th Street (at Madison), 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Admission is free.
The reading of this play-in-progress by District 2 playwright Judith Offer will feature professional actors Conrad Cady and Damon Williams. By way of background, to become a member of the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters was once considered a radical, if not terrorist, activity, in the early part of the twentieth century. Compared to What? sets up the dilemma of two Pullman Porters during 1926 in West Oakland, who are in conflict about the decision to join the organization – and perhaps risk being fired. After the reading members of the audience will be invited to join in a discussion.
This event is co-sponsored by the Oakland Public Library and LaborFest 2009. LaborFest 2009 also will provide a San Francisco venue for another reading of Offer’s play in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the 1934 General Strike.
Saturday & Sunday,
August 22 & 23: 22nd Annual Oakland Chinatown StreetFest 2009
Festivities at 2008 Oakland Chinatown Streetfest10:00 am to 5:30 pm, on Franklin Street (7th to 9th St) and 8th & 9th St (Broadway to Harrison). Free admission.
Come out to Chinatown's Annual Streetfest! Continuous live entertainment on two stages, ethnic food, arts & crafts. Presented by the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Go here for a flyer with more information.
Saturday & Sunday,
August 29 & 30: Puppet Fair and Talking Storybook Box Weekend! at
Children’s Fairyland
Go here for hours and costs.
Features of the weekend: nonstop entertainment including free puppet making for kids, shows by puppet companies in the area, a large historical display of puppets and the ever popular puppet petting zoo; presentation of the one millionth magic key by Bruce Sedley, creator of the original talking storybook box key years ago; and a special performance by Lori and R.J. from the Emmy award-winning band Cotton Candy Express.
REPORTS
Parking Enforcement
I continue to hear from unhappy residents and merchants about the recent changes in parking enforcement. Some people feel that the City is preying on them in order to balance our budget. (Though not everyone feels this way . . . I'm also hearing from a smaller group of folks who think that car drivers ought to help shoulder the real costs of our driving and parking infrastructure.) In any case, I am listening and seriously thinking about the concerns being raised about the new enforcement to 8:00 pm, the $2/hour meter rate and the increased fines for parking violations.
The issue that I take most seriously is the question of whether the new parking policies have or will cause a drop-off in shopping and dining at Oakland establishments, which of course would have longer term negative economic consequences for the city. Some residents are assuming that this will be the inevitable result of increased meter prices and hours. I think it is too soon to say for sure. The City is doing its best to monitor indications of reduced parking and reduced shopping, though it's difficult to get reliable data promptly. If we do conclude that the increased parking rates and hours are in fact reducing patronage at Oakland businesses, I would recommend changing some of the recently adopted parking enforcement policies. I have already asked City staff to start exploring some options.One of the outcomes of the discussion of this issue is that good suggestions are coming from merchants about what aspects of parking enforcement are problematic--from things like wanting longer than a two hour minimum, not requiring people to have buckets of quarters for the old-style meters, the interactions with enforcement personnel, etc. I have asked our Parking Director to meet with merchants to figure out ways to address their concerns. I think there are things we can do to create a more shopping-friendly perception of Oakland.
Why is the City using parking enforcement as a tool to balance its budget?
Local governments all over California are experiencing their worst financial crisis in 70 years. The enactment of increased parking rates was done only after the City made massive cuts in City jobs and expenditures to close a huge budget deficit. Not only did we cut jobs, but all remaining City employees are "sharing the pain" by taking a 10% reduction in compensation.
I still hear from people who say there is plenty of fat to cut in Oakland City government, and thus are especially offended that the City would increase fees and fines. While I don't like resorting to fees and fines, I can say with confidence that our City government is much smaller and leaner than it was a year and a half ago. Here are the facts:
The Council has made three rounds of budget reductions since October 2008. In all, we cut expenditures by $113 million:
- $97 million were permanent reductions and savings, and $16 million represent temporary reductions and transfers of costs.
- 424 positions were impacted by cuts / downgrades; many of the eliminated positions were vacant, as we have had a hiring freeze for almost two years.
- 152 employees were separated as a result (through layoffs or terminations).
In addition, we have cut travel and any other non-essential expenditures to almost zero. Every single department has taken cuts between 10 to 20%. Branch libraries are closed an extra day a week, park maintenance is about half of what it once was, and police overtime is drastically reduced. Internal services have taken commensurate cuts. It is because we did not want to cut further into essential basic services that we decided to help close the gap with parking revenue.
There may be good reasons for changing some of the parking policies, but if we do, we will need to make up for the lost revenue in some other way. Whatever it is, it's going to hurt, because we are long past finding the "easy" cuts.
Tax Penalty Amnesty Program, August 1 through October 31, 2009
Here is a reprieve for taxpayers, generally businesses, which haven’t reported or have underreported City tax liabilities or haven’t paid their tax bills, including those businesses who haven’t registered with the City’s Revenue Division. From August 1 through October 31, 2009, the City’s Tax Penalty Amnesty Program will offer a waiver from penalty and interest assessments associated with unpaid business tax, residential/commercial property business tax, transient occupancy tax, parking tax and/or utility users tax. To take advantage of the Amnesty Program, taxpayers must apply. To learn more, go here and FAQ. Or you can call the Tax Penalty Amnesty Program hotline at 510.238.7254 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm weekdays (please note the following City Mandatory Business Closure days during the period of the program: August 14, September 8 (September 7 is Labor Day and September 9 is Admission Day, both City holidays), and October 23.
Launch of GrandLakeNeighbors.org
The Grand Lake neighborhood continues to show itself to be one of the most vibrant communities in the City. It has a longstanding tradition of community engagement on issues ranging from traffic planning to retail attraction to mobilizing to help make Splash Pad Park a neighborhood asset. Many people have been involved in these and dozens more important organizing efforts over the years. The names of the groups may have changed, but many of the same dedicated participants have remained involved. The reinvention and attempt to put a name on this wide-ranging umbrella group that follows and influences many neighborhood issues is called Grand Lake Neighbors.
The group has launched a fabulous new web site here that puts a tremendous amount of community information all in one place. The goal is for the site to become the go-to web site for anyone who wants to know what is going on in and around the Grand Lake area, and how they can help in any of the community efforts currently underway.
Grand Lake Neighbors (formerly the 14Y/16X NCPC or Grand Lake Community Council) will continue to meet monthly Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church - First Thursday, 7:00pm. Check it out!
We have heard from several District 2 residents that the redevelopment plans for the Broadway @51st Safeway Plaza are of interest to them. Although the shopping plaza is located in City Council District 1, represented by Council President Jane Brunner, people from throughout the City enjoy and value shopping at Safeway and Long’s Drug Store. We have heard from residents that they are concerned about Safeway’s intention to demolish the existing Safeway and Long’s stores and other adjacent stores. At a recent public meeting, Safeway indicated that they were planning to move into the Long’s space at the expiration of the store’s lease in 2011. Safeway would be located at the Long’s site while the rest of the plaza is redeveloped and then CVS, which recently acquired Long’s, would come back to the site when it is completed, but in a smaller format.
Projects of this size understandably raise many questions in the community and therefore the City undertakes a lengthy public process, which hopefully helps to shape the project in an appropriate manner. In this case, due to the size of the project, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required by state law prior to the approval processes that come before the Planning Commission. At this point, Safeway is at the very beginning of its efforts to seek the necessary zoning and planning approvals. Here is what has happened so far:
Late June – Safeway held two meetings to convey its conceptual plans for redevelopment to the public.
June 26 – Notice of Preparation for the EIR was published.
July 15 – The Planning Commission heard public comment on the scope of the EIR. Comments related to the scope of the EIR would have to do with what should be examined or addressed in the EIR report, e.g., environmental effects such as traffic, noise, construction concerns.
July 27 – Public comment on the scope of the EIR closed. Primary contact, Darin Ranelletti, CEDA Planner, indicated that although public comment has closed on the scoping, staff will do everything possible to take into consideration comments received after the deadline. Comments can be submitted via mail to Darin Ranelletti, City of Oakland Planning and Zoning Division, 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3315, Oakland, CA 94612, or via e-mail here.
Much more is to come in the process.
The City will publish a draft EIR that will be open for public comment and hearing. After taking more information from the public into account, the City will then publish a final EIR that will be open for public comment and hearing. Concurrent to these public meetings and comment periods, the Project Review process will also be occurring, which will afford the opportunity for the public to weigh in on issues related to the type of development that is planned for the site. When those dates are set, we will be sure to keep you informed about them in future issues of the District 2 E-news.
Looking for Candidates
for the Central City East Redevelopment Project Area Committee
I am looking for four District 2 residents to serve on the redevelopment board in our area--the Central City East Project Area Committee. To qualify to serve on the CCE PAC, you must live or work within the Eastlake/San Antonio subarea (click here to see the map and the boundaries of the Eastlake/San Antonio subarea). The PAC is the community board that recommends to the Council how to spend the Redeveloment tax revenue.
Here are the four vacancies:
Business owner: If you own a business located in our subareaCommunity organization representative: If you work for an existing community organization or non-profit that operates or provides services in our subarea
Tenant: If you are a renter in our subarea
Homeowner: If you own a home in our subareaThis is a very important board because it makes recommendations on the use of roughly $68 million of tax increment funds (spread over the five year period from fiscal 2008-2013 and four subareas, the East Lake/San Antonio area being one of the four subareas). Click here for more detailed information about the CCE PAC. In addition, the City’s Redevelopment Agency issues bonds from time to time, which may also be used to fund projects within the CCE redevelopment area.
The best way to get a feel for the workings of the CCE PAC is to attend one of its
meetings. The board generally meets from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm on the first Monday of every month at Patton University on 2433 Coolidge Ave. However, there will be no meeting in August. The next scheduled meetign is Monday, September 14.If you are interested in joining a group that decides how to best allocate the millions of tax-increment dollars we have to combat blight and stimulate redevelopment in the CCE area, please get in touch with Kevin Liao on my staff here or call (510) 238-7022.
Donations and Contributions for Recently Burglarized Street Level Health
Project
Two weekends ago Street Level Health Project, a nonprofit organization located at 2501 International Blvd and dedicated to improving the health and well-being of underserved urban immigrant communities in the Bay Area, was burglarized by vandals. Items stolen include a laptop, two desktop computers and digital equipment.
With the community's outpouring of support and contributions, SLHP has just re-opened its doors since the burglary incident, and its screening clinic will resume operations from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.The organization is still in need of additional office and media equipment to support the health education and community-building programs. Please contact Maria Vigil if you have additional donations.
SLHP serves as an entry point to the health care system for those most often overlooked and neglected, namely the uninsured, underinsured, and recently arrived.