A view
of Oakland's Morcom Rose Garden,
located
just off Grand Ave at Jean Street.
January 14: Mayor Dellums’ First State of the City Address
January 18: Oakland Celebrates the Dream Opening Ceremony
January 19 and the following three Saturdays: Self-Defense Course for Women presented by the Office of Parks and Recreation & the Oakland Police Department
January 22: Deadline to register to vote in the Presidential Primary
OTHER EVENTS
January 18: Councilwoman Jane Brunner’s Women in Business Brown Bag LunchJanuary 29 and the following 6 Tuesdays: Effective Parenting Classes--How to help Teens stay safe.
...And Coming in February
February 8: Deadline to apply for Citizens’ Police Academy
REPORTS
A Sobering Beginning to 2008 - Public Safety in OaklandDid you know? We're having THREE elections next year!
League of Women Voters Offering Free Presentations on the 10 Measures on the February 5th Ballot
St Marks Seniors Rejoice at Renewal of Their Housing Lease
Welcome Sarah Lin, Our New Administrative Assistant and Scheduler
Oakland Libraries After School
Lincoln Elementary and five other Oakland schools named National Title I Distinguished School
Grand Lake Traffic Calming Committee Proposes Improvement for Lakeshore Avenue--Give us your feedback.
Splash Pad Park/Farmers Market Advisory CommitteeSummer Internship Programs in Government Available for Asian American Students
CORE Classes in January & February, and Workshops February, March & April
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 14: Mayor Dellums’ First State of the City Address
You can watch a webcast of the Mayor's first State of the City address tonight shortly after 6:00pm. Log onto Channel 5's website here, and look for the link.
You can also attend in person. It is free to the pubic. The event will be held at the Oakland Marriot, located at 1001 Broadway, starting at 6 p.m. Since parking is limited, you are encouraged to take public transportation.
The Mayor will give the address again at the City Council meeting of January 15. Expected time is between 6:00 and 7:00pm.. The meeting is televised on Cable TV channel 10.
January 18: Oakland Celebrates the Dream Opening Ceremony
The event, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, is held at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall. Celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as Oakland marks Dr. King’s 79th Birthday. Event will feature a keynote address by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA., and live entertainment as well as a resource fair with information on volunteer opportunities, community events and celebrations commemorating Dr. King, his life and his vision.
In the event of inclement weather, the celebration will be moved to the Elihu M. Harris State Building at 1515 Clay Street. For additional information, call (510) 444-CITY or visit www.oaklandnet.com/celebrations.
January 18: Councilwoman Jane Brunner’s Women in Business Brown
Bag Lunch
Come hear Kathleen Archambeau, author of Climbing the Corporate Ladder in High Heels, at Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room 3, from 12.00 pm - 1:00 pm.
Ms. Archambeau teaches organizational behavior at the University of San Francisco. She has coached, trained, taught and worked with over 20,000 corporate warriors from Silicon Valley icons to Fortune 500 CEOs. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of U.S. Houseof Representatives. has said, "Kathleen Archambeau's book is an essential tool for American women who want to succeed in business."
Ms. Archambeau will discuss strategies for success from her book including:
• How to climb the corporate ladder and have fun doing it
• How women can use 12 of their natural roles and talents to advance in Corporate America
• How to thrive in a downsizing and outsourcing global economy
• The secret of becoming a billionaire
• How to achieve both a rewarding career and a fulfilling life
• What women can do when they hit the glass ceiling
Whether you are just starting your business, growing an already thriving business, or simply in the initial entrepreneurial stage, this FREE event is one that should not be missed. Questions? Call (510) 238-7001. Please note, parking is limited, so please consider taking BART (to 12th St Station) or AC Transit.
January 19 and the following three Saturdays: Self-Defense Course for
Women presented by the Office of Parks and Recreation & the Oakland
Police Department
The courses will be held at the Franklin Recreation Center, 1010 E. 15th St, from 1 pm – 4 pm. Course Fee: $40.00, which includes course instruction, Certificate of Completion and personal protection items to take home!
The Self-Defense Course is designed to empower women to feel confident by teaching them specific skills and techniques to defend themselves in potentially dangerous situations. Facilitated by OPD Defensive Tactics Instructors, the course covers topics such as Self Protection, Handgun Safety and Sexual Assault Awareness.
Participants must attend all four of the three-hour sessions to successfully complete the course.
Register online here, activity # 70068.301. Click here for flyer.
January 21: Children of the Movement: three films and an author’s
talk about marching beside the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in 1961
The free event will begin at 1 pm. The film will show at 3:30 pm. Charlene Hampton Holloway, author of Whitlock’s Compositions, will be giving a talk and book signing at the African American Museum & Library of Oakland, located at 659 14th St. Please RSVP at (510) 637-0200.
January 22: Deadline
to register to vote in the Presidential Primary
January 22 is the deadline to register to vote in the Presidential Primary, which takes place February 5th. You can register at the Alameda County Court House. Alternatively, you can pick up a registration form at the City Clerk’s office in City Hall and at libraries and mail it in prior to January 22.
The League of Women Voters of Oakland will register voters at the Rockridge Safeway (51st & Broadway) on Wednesday, January 9, 10 am – 4 pm; Wednesday, January 16, 10 am – 4 pm; and “Midnight Madness” on Tuesday, January 22, 6 pm – midnight.Click here for information on the League of Women Voters registration drive in front of the Rockridge Safeway at 51st and Broadway.
January 29 and the following 6 Tuesdays: Effective Parenting Classes -
How to help Teens stay safe and deal with negative peer pressures.
Offered by Project Re-Connect in collaboration with Spanish Speaking Citizens' Foundation, the classes are from 6:15 pm - 8:15 pm and held at Spanish Speaking Citizen's Foundation, 1470 Fruitvale Ave. The classes are free, and will be offered in English and Spanish. For more information, call (510) 482-1738.
Schedule
January 29, 2008: Violence Prevention 911- 411
February 05: Self Esteem: Communication
February 12: Conflict Resolution
February 19: 2008 Substance use and abuse
February 26: 2008 When Stress Gets Your Best
March 4: Putting it into Practice
March 11: 2008 Celebration
February 8: Deadline to apply for Citizens’ Police Academy
Meet for 14 Saturday mornings from February 16 to May 17 to learn about criminal law, police procedures and crime prevention techniques. Discuss community challenges with officers from various sections of the Oakland Police Department. Click here for a flyer and here for an application. Please complete the application and return it to the Oakland Eastmont Station, 2651 73rd Avenue, Oakland, CA 94605-7685. Application deadline is Friday, February 8, 2008.
REPORTS
A Sobering Beginning
to 2008 - Public Safety in Oakland
To all the good people of District 2,For my first newsletter of 2008, I had planned on sending you a cheerful New Year's greeting and reviewing some of the new and exciting things happening in Oakland. However, I was jolted into a very different frame of mind, as I think most people were, by the tragic shooting of young Christopher Rodriquez last Thursday. While it has become sadly commonplace for Oakland to experience several shootings a week, the circumstances of this incident rocked most people to their core. How is it possible that an innocent child who is indoors taking a piano lesson could be hit by a bullet? And yet it happened, due to a brazen daytime robbery across the street from the music school. The only positive aspect of this shocking crime is that police officers were nearby, heard the gunshots, and apprehended the shooter.
As most of you have heard on the news, Chris was severely injured and is being treated at Children’s Hospital. Chris was a student at our own Crocker Highlands school. The school principal reports that there has been an outpouring of support for Chris and his parents. A team is in place to assist the family with food and other support, and the school district has responded with crisis counseling for the students at Crocker. My heart goes out to Chris and his parents as well.
This shooting of a child has really shaken people up. It is a shocking reminder that gun violence can happen to anyone, anywhere in Oakland. People who have never written to me before about crime are demanding that the City do something to make our streets safe. Though our Police Department and several of our elected leaders, including me, have been trying hard to put more police on the streets, as well as to implement violence-prevention and intervention programs, we have got to do more. Below is information on our efforts to increase the size of the police force and make our policing more effective.Filling the Vacancies in the Oakland Police Department
After the passage of Measure Y, the City allocated funds sufficient to pay for 803 officers. Yet, three years later, and despite a very vigorous recruiting program, the total force has only 31 more officers that it did at the beginning of January 2005. The total number of sworn officers this month is 732 . The main reason for the excruciatingly slow increase is that the rate of attrition is almost as high as the rate of hiring. According to the chart presented to the Public Safety Committee of the City Council last week, 202 new officers joined OPD from January 2005 through January 2008. That is actually a very impressive number of new officers to complete the Academy, given the competition with all the other jurisdictions who are also actively recruiting. But during the same period, 171 officers left the force. Thus the net gain was only 31 , leaving us far short of our goal. Imagine a bucket that we are trying to fill with water. We are pouring a LOT of water into the top, but there is a gaping hole in the bottom, so it never gets full.
As a member of the Public Safety Committee of the City Council, I have been asking for and receiving reports from OPD examining both recruitment and attrition. OPD presents us with information on their efforts and explanations of the obstacles they have encountered, but so far, has not come up with any break-through solutions. As a Councilmember, I am precluded by law from being as “hands on” as I would like to be in working with OPD staff to solve these problems. I am looking to Mayor Dellums to present practical strategies for hiring more officers and incentivizing older officers to stay longer with OPD . I am cautiously optimistic that some concrete proposals are coming soon, perhaps even in his State of the City address. Mayor Dellums hired a Public Safety director, Lenore Anderson, who came on board in October and who has been working extremely hard to find ways to improve many aspects of the City’s public safety strategy. I have discussed a number of ideas with her, and have expressed my willingness to partner with the Mayor’s office in making the changes needed to reach our hiring goals.
More investigators Needed
Related to the general understaffing of OPD is the dire shortage of investigators (who also are sworn police officers). There are only 10 homicide investigators and 8 robbery investigators. I am particularly concerned about the lack of robbery investigators, as the 8 investigators are tasked with solving 3,500 robberies annually. Despite their best efforts, 8 people cannot possibly track down the culprits in that many crimes. I believe the inability of OPD to identify and arrest the great majority of robbers is a huge factor contributing to the epidemic of robberies. The robbers know that their odds of getting away with the crime is pretty good, so it encourages more people to do robberies.
During the last budget session, the Council passed a resolution directing OPD to transfer more staff into Investigations. That has not been done. Arguably, the decision is up to the Chief of Police, and he has decided that the higher priority is having more patrol officers on the streets. While few people would want to take any officers away from patrol, I believe that OPD can find other ways to put more investigators on the robbery detail.
OPD Should hire more Civilian staff
One solution to the understaffing issue in OPD is to hire civilians to do tasks that do not absolutely require a sworn officer. The Council authorized a number of such positions for Police Service Technicians in the budget a year ago. I think we need to provide for more, though that will mean having to make cuts in some other departments.
OPD Reorganization in effect January 12:
On January 12, the Oakland Police Department implemented a major change in the way it functions, with the goal of being more effective in reducing crime. I am very happy to see this new system begin, as I believe it has enormous potential to improve community policing and reduce crime. I have been urging the adoption of this model since December 2006, when the Harnett consulting group made the recommendation to the City.
The new form of organization is called Area Command, and though it differs in some particulars from the Harnett recommendations, it is based on the concept of geographic accountability. In it, the city is divided into 3 separate areas, each headed by a captain, 5 lieutenants, and its own complement of patrol officers, problem-solving officers (PSO’s), and CRT teams (special operations teams). The captain is responsible for deploying that staff in the best way possible to reduce crime in that geographic area. The Captain will have more authority and responsibility to coordinate the activities of all staff than under the previous "watch" system.
Under the watch system, there was a separate commander for each of the 3 patrol shifts ("watches") during a 24 hour period. So each commander was responsible to manage patrol citywide for an 8 hour segment of time. This did not make for a cohesive approach for fighting crime in a particular area.. A problem-solving officer (community policing officer) might be working on an issue, but it was difficult to coordinate his or her efforts with the patrol staff who worked at different times of day.
According to the Harnett consultants, the geographic policing model spreads responsibility for community policing throughout the organization, all the way up to command staff, rather than isolating it as a function of a small group of officers, the PSO’s. In practice, the new system will doubtless take a few months to work smoothly and reach its full potential. One unique feature of Oakland’s system is that patrol officers will change from working 10-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts. The 12 hour system is more efficient to schedule officers for patrol when needed most. However, most officers are not at all happy about the change. It will take some time to get used to, but hopefully they will adapt. The 12 hour shift is very popular in some police departments on the W est C oast.
Most of our Council district will be in Police Area 2, along with the Fruitvale and Glenview, comprising the middle section of the city. Chinatown will be in Area 1, along with the rest of downtown, West Oakland and North Oakland. The Area Commander for Area 2 is Captain Rick Orozco. I am happy to say that he is enthusiastic about this new challenge and committed to working with the community to reduce crime in Area 2.
For more detailed information about the concept and implementation of Area Command, you can read the OPD report here.
Having a Peaceful Community requires more than Policing
As most of you know, I am strongly in favor of having more police officers to protect our residents. However, I want to be clear that that is only half of the solution. As long as children are growing up neglected in the poorest and most violent neighborhoods in Oakland, there will be a constant supply of drug dealers, burglars, robbers and shooters. As a society we must come to grips with this fact. Until we as a country take responsibility for changing the life-deforming circumstances into which many American children are born, we will continue to have new generations of angry, anti-social, violent people. Such interventions will take a great investment of money and time, along with a great amount of courage, intelligence and compassion. We need pre-schools, family support services, parent education, mental health counselors, school counselors, nurses, tutors, music teachers, art teachers, sports coaches, recreation centers, mentoring centers, job training, jobs, and more. The common denominator here is having many more caring, competent adults involved in the lives of children who don’t otherwise have access to the guidance every child needs.
There are no easy answers, only the undeniable knowledge that if we continue to ignore the needs of such children, we will endlessly battle an onslaught of crime. This task is more than the City can handle alone, but we need to do the best we can, by rallying all the human and financial resources we can muster, and by making it an issue for our national leaders as well.
Here's hoping (and working) for a more peaceful 2008.
Did you know? We're having THREE elections next year!
Presidential primary, Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Primary election for all other officials, Tuesday, June 3, 2008*
General Election, Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Registration for the presidential primary closes Tuesday, January 22. Are you registered to vote?Ways to register to vote:
- The League of Women Voters of Oakland will register voters at the Rockridge Safeway (51st & Broadway) on Wednesday, January 9, 10 am – 4 pm; Wednesday, January 16, 10 am – 4 pm; and “Midnight Madness” on Tuesday, January 22, 6 pm – midnight.
- Register in person: at the Alameda County Courthouse, 1225 Fallon St, Room G-1 in the basement, Registrar of Voters Office. The Registrar's office is open on weekdays during normal business hours. OR,
- Register by mail: Pick up a registration form at city libraries or
the City Clerk’s office in City Hall. Form must be completed and
postmarked by January 22, 2008.
Check http://www.smartvoter.org for details on registration and ballot issues, or contact the League of Women Voters of Oakland at 510-834-7640 or here.
*While many of us had hoped that Instant Run-off Voting would be implemented for this election cycle, the voting equipment has not yet been certified by the State or Federal governemnt, therefore we are proceding on the assumption that we will have the June primary as usual.
League of Women Voters Offering Free Presentations on the 10 Measures
on the February 5th Ballot
The Oakland League of Women Voters, which is interested in expanding its outreach to more diverse groups within the city, is offering to go to any group to make a free, completely neutral, one-hour presentation on the ten ballot measures that appear on the February 5th ballot. The ballot has seven state measures, two Alameda County measures (related to Children's Hospital of Oakland funding), and one Oakland Unified School District measure.
League members are available to make presentations between January 7th and February 1st, at the group's choice of date, time and location. The members can make presentations in English and Spanish; for other languages, they ask for the group either to provide a translator or send someone for training who would then make the presentation accompanied by a League member. Anyone who would like this training in order to make presentations should contact Nikki Harris at 704-8286.
League handouts about the ballot measures are available in five languages -- English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.
With advance notice, the League presenter also can bring voter registration forms, which are essential for anyone who has moved and not re-registered at the new address.
If you know of any group interested in a presentation or you have questions, please contact Judy Merrill to schedule a date and time: email here or 654-9600.
St Marks Seniors Rejoice at Renewal of Their Housing Lease
About a year of ago, about 100 seniors who are tenants of the St. Marks Apartments, located in Chinatown, contacted my office and Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker’s office, asking for our help. They had just received the legally-mandated one year notice of eviction, stating that their Section 8 leases would expire in December 2007 unless a new lease agreement was reached. Throughout 2007, my office, along with Alice’s office and Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office, met with the owner of St. Marks and officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to try to reach an agreement for a new Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract, so that the tenants could stay in their apartments and continue paying the same rents.
I am happy to say that the owner of St. Marks and HUD recently reached an agreement on the terms of a new 20-year HAP lease contract, thus allowing the tenants to stay at St. Mark’s and pay substantially the same rents. A few weeks ago, we announced to the tenants this great news, just in time for the holidays. The heart-felt appreciation that the tenants expressed upon hearing our news just shows what we can accomplish when we work closely with the community and other elected officials.
I would personally like to thank the office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker, HUD, our City’s Housing and Community Development staff, and Carl Chan for all their help and work in getting the St. Marks tenants their new leases.
Welcome Sarah Lin, Our New Executive Assistant and Scheduler
We are very pleased to welcome Sarah Lin to our District 2 Council staff as our administrative assistant and my scheduler on January 14th. Born in Hong Kong and raised on the San Francisco Peninsula, she came to the East Bay to study and pursue a career in the helping professions. She has been active in helping the monolingual Chinese community in addressing seniors' concerns on behalf of the City’s Department of Human Services. Through her work for the City of Oakland's Senior Companion Program in partnership with the Oakland Fire Department, she has conducted the 9-1-1 Disaster Registry and has gotten to know various communities throughout District 2. In addition to English, she speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. After January 14th you can reach Sarah at (510) 238-7246.
Oakland Libraries After School
The Oakland Public Library, continuing a long tradition of providing high quality after-school programming for children, will launch a new initiative starting this January. Oakland Libraries After School (OLAS) will offer access to computers, library collections that support school curriculum, drop-in homework assistance for elementary school students, and the opportunity for children to participate in enrichment programs. The Main Library and three branch libraries, César E. Chávez, Eastmont and Golden Gate, will be the pilot sites to offer OLAS.
The program is primarily designed to benefit elementary school students (grades K-5) and first-year middle school students (grade 6) from Oakland. Regular attendance is not required, so children who come to the libraries on an occasional basis can still participate in OLAS programs.
OLAS activities will take place 3 pm - 5 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 2 pm - 5 pm on Wednesdays. Drop-in tutoring offered by qualified volunteers from the community and from local institutions of higher education (such as UC Berkeley and Mills College) will be available in either group or one-to-one settings. Activities may include bibliographic instruction or using educational software on library computers. Community partners will contribute to enrichment programs such as art, theater, dance, calligraphy, nutrition and computer literacy training.
For more information and to become a volunteer, please call (510) 238-3848, or see the Oakland Public Library’s Web site here. To request sign interpretation or other accommodation, please call the number above or (510) 834-7446 (TTY) at least five working days prior to the event.
The Public Works Agency is offering sandbags and plastic sheeting to help protect Oakland residents and property owners protect their properties from storm-related damage. A maximum of 20 sandbags and 25 feet of plastic sheeting (per household/business) is available for pickup at the following locations:
MUNICIPAL SERVICE CENTER
7101 Edgewater Drive
PUBLIC WORKS MAINTENANCE SATELLITE OFFICE
5921 Shepherd Canyon Road
Sandbags (up to 5 only) can also be picked up at the following Oakland Fire Stations:
OAKLAND FIRE STATIONS
Monday – Friday 8 am – 9 pm
Saturday and Sunday 8 am – 4:30 pm
Fire Station #3 1445 – 14TH ST.
Fire Station #6 7080 Colton Blvd.
Fire Station #7 1006 Amito Ave.
Fire Station #8 463 – 51ST St.
Fire Station #10 172 Santa Clara Ave.
Fire Station #12 822 Alice St.
Fire Station #16 3608 – 13TH Ave.
Fire Station #17 3344 High St.
Fire Station #20 1408 – 98TH Ave.
Fire Station #21 13150 Skyline Blvd.
Fire Station #24 5900 Shepherd Canyon Rd.
Fire Station #25 2795 Butters Dr.
Fire Station #26 2611 – 98TH Ave.
Fire Station #28 4615 GrassValley Rd.
Fire Station #29 1016 – 66th Ave.
Proof of Oakland residency is required to obtain the sandbags and sheeting.
How Residents Can Help
• Check and clean private drainage systems.
• Place leaves and green trimmings in your Green Cart for weekly recycling pickup.
Do not leave leaves, debris or lawn clippings near storm drains.
• Keep natural waterways such as creeks and ditches free from obstructions.
• Report flooding problems to the Public Works Agency’s Call Center at 615-5566.
• Maintain-A-Drain in your neighborhood or commercial district.
Maintain-A-Drain: Volunteer Opportunities
The Public Works Agency is renewing its call for volunteers to join its Maintain-A-Drain Campaign. Residents and merchants can help prevent flooding by keeping storm drains in their neighborhood free of debris. In exchange, the City will give volunteers a free set of rain gear, a rake and debris bags. By volunteering to keep a storm drain clean, each volunteer can help the City focus storm-response activities on the most critical storm-related problems. Remember, “If it is plugged, it will flood.” To join the Maintain-A-Drain Campaign, volunteers should call (510) 238-7630 or go here.
In an emergency or to report storm damage, Oakland residents should call the Public Works Agency Call Center at (510) 615-5566.
Lincoln Elementary and five other Oakland schools named National Title
I Distinguished School
Lincoln Elementary is one of six Oakland Unified schools that were named California 2007-08 Title I Academic Achievement Award winners recently. The Academic Achievement Award honors schools that produce sterling academic results while serving a socio-economically disadvantaged population. Title I schools like Lincoln, Monarch, American Indian, Carl B. Munck, Oakland Charter and Think College Now, the Oakland winners, educate high concentrations of students from low-income families and often have large English Language Learner (ELL) populations. California is home to 6,000 Title I schools and just 239 of them received the Title I Award.
The Title I Academic Achievement Awards salute schools whose students demonstrate strong academic performance and reinforce the belief that, given the proper conditions, all children can learn and achieve. All of the winning schools have student bodies where 40 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch, yet, in every case, they more than doubled the State’s academic growth targets.
Lincoln Elementary, where nearly 90 percent of the children qualify for free or reduced lunch and many students speak languages other than English at home, proves that socioeconomic or linguistic challenges need not stand in the way of excellence. “Lincoln’s academic success is due to many factors: high family and student commitment to education; professional quality of the staff; and a focus on instruction with high expectations of everyone,” said Lincoln Elementary Principal Caroline Yee. “Underlying all of our efforts is the enormous amount of trust that parents place in the staff to teach their children. Lincoln School takes seriously its responsibility to leave no child behind. The results bring pride to the staff, the students, their families and the community.”
Grand Lake Traffic Calming Committee Proposes Improvement for Lakeshore
Avenue
The Grand Lake Traffic Calming Committee (GLTCC), a group of neighborhood residents who volunteer their time, has been working to calm traffic and improve the safety and pedestrian orientation of the Lakeshore/Grand Lake area since 2000. During that period the GLTCC has submitted a number of improvement ideas to the City of Oakland, a few of which have been implemented. However, the GLTCC believes that much remains to be done.
Currently the GLTCC is awaiting the City's response to a plan that would render the Lake Park/Lakeshore and Lakeshore/MacArthur intersections safer and more attractive to pedestrians. The particular crosswalk being addressed is at the pointed corner at the 76 station and crosses Lakeshore to the yogurt shop. Two years ago, the committee proposed achieving this objective by widening the sidewalks and modernizing the traffic signaling. Last year, the City rejected this approach as being too expensive. Since then the GLTCC has developed an alternative plan featuring large planters strategically placed to protect pedestrians and at the same time better channel traffic through the two intersections. The Lakeshore Business Improvement District, a commercial property owners' association, has indicated a willingness to maintain the landscaping contained in the planters. This latter alternative is significantly cheaper than the original plan because it would avoid both extensive concrete work and street drainage changes. The proposal is currently in circulation in draft form and awaits a preliminary City response. Please take a look at the plan - Sketch 1 and Sketch 2, which is a more detailed view of the Lakeshore Lake Park intersection. We are interested in your feedback. Provide your comments to Joanne Karchmer here.
For information about the GLTCC, its proposals and its meeting schedule, please contact either Jerry Cauthen at 208-5441 or email here, or Annie Flores at 836-2322 or email here, members of the GLTCC. Questions and comments in response to GLTCC proposals are always welcome and new members are always welcome to attend GLTCC meetings.
Splash Pad Park/Farmers Market Advisory Committee
In April 2007, Councilmember Kernighan formed the Splash Pad Park/Farmers Market Advisory Committee. The committee is comprised of residents, local Grand Avenue and Lakeshore Avenue merchants, representatives from the Grand Lake Farmers Market, and City staff, all of whom volunteer their time to work on issues such as sustainability of the park space, promoting local businesses, promoting a vibrant Farmers Market in the Grand Lake neighborhood, mitigating parking problems and much more. The Committee is also a forum for community members to raise issues of concern, new ideas or to resolve conflict around issues related to the Farmers Market. The Committee provides valuable feedback to Councilmember Kernighan and other City agencies to inform their planning and decision-making related to Splash Pad Park and the Farmers Market. Committee meetings are always open to the public. The next meeting will be held at Lakeview School Auditorium (rear entrance) on Wednesday, January 16 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. All are welcome.
Summer Internship Programs in Government Available for Asian American
Students
The CAPA CEF Internship Program is a unique oportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of our democratic process by working directly in the office of an ellected official of government departmen/agency in the East Bay and San Francisco area.
The program is open to Asian American students who will be high school seniors or college students in Fall 2008, and must be a resident of Contra Costa, Alameda, or San Francisco County.
For more information, click here for the brochure. The application must be postmarked by March 2, 2008.
CORE Classes in January & February, and Workshops February, March
& April
Have you resolved in 2008 to prepare yourself and your family for a disaster? If so, the City’s Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies offers excellent, free classes and workshops. Attending these will give you many ideas for how you and your loved ones can prepare yourselves to be on your own for 72 hours or more.
Check out the following schedule of classes. If you already are a CORE graduate (have taken CORE I, II and III), you are eligible to attend the workshops. Advance reservation required for all classes and workshops. Call 510-238-6351 or email core@oaklandnet.com to make a reservation or to ask that a class be scheduled for your neighborhood group. For more information about CORE, go to www.oaklandcore.org.
Classes
CORE I: Home and Family Emergency Preparedness
Select One of the Classes
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Office of Emergency Services
3:00 pm - 5:30 pm
1605 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Mills College
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
5000 MacArthur Boulevard
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Patten University
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
2433 Coolidge Avenue
CORE II: Neighborhood Preparedness and Response
Only CORE I graduates are eligible. Select one of the classes.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Mills College
6:30 - 9:00pm
5000 MacArthur Boulevard
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Office of Emergency Services
3:00 - 5:30pm
1605 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
CORE III: Emergency Response Hands-On Training
Only CORE II graduates are eligible. Select one of the classes.
Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Boulevard
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 6:00 am - 9:00 pm (Class A)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 6:00 am - 9:00 pm (Class B)
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 6:00 am - 9:00 pm (Class C)
Saturday, March 1, 2008
9:00 am - 3:00 pm (Hands-On
Training & Practice Exercise)Workshops
Advance registration is required. Only CORE graduates are eligible for workshops.
Disaster First Aid - Saturday, February 23 - 9:00 am – 4:00 pm - Fire Training Center, 250 Victory CourtThis popular workshop provides extensive hands-on training and practice.
• Learn Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START)
• Recognize and Treat Life-Threatening Conditions
• Conduct Head-to-Toe Assessments
• Practice Safe Lifts and Carries
• Prioritize and Treat Common Injuries
• Set Up and Manage a First Aid Station
Neighborhood Emergency Communications – Saturday, March 15 - 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Office of Emergency Services, 1605 Martin Luther King, Jr. WayIn emergencies, maintaining accurate information and clear, concise instructions is essential. In this workshop you will learn and review strategies to enhance communications skills to and from your disaster response team and your neighborhood Incident Command Center. You will practice preparing messages for transmission to the emergency operations center, and using two-way radio. Participants will also review and practice basic protocols. CORE Incident Commands, communications leaders and members are especially encouraged to attend this workshop, as it will be good preparation for the April 2008 Citywide Exercise (see March E-News for more on this).
CORE Refresher – Saturday, March 29 – Patten College, 2433 Coolidge Avenue or Saturday, May 17 - Fire Training Center, 250 Victory Court - 9:00 – noonThe CORE Refresher is for YOU! If the date on your CORE photo ID badge has come and gone, your badge has expired and you are no longer considered CORE certified. At the refresher you will: review basic emergency preparedness and response principles; refresh and practice beginning response tactics such as using a fire extinguisher, conducting a systematic search, splinting a limb, using a two-way radio; and update your CORE ID badge and disaster service worker form.
Effectively Managing Your Neighborhood Incident Command Center – Saturday, April 5, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Fire Training Center, 250 Victory CourtAnyone who has taken CORE III will remember what it was like to coordinate the response, dispatch response teams, receive and prioritize information from the neighbor, and manage chaos calmly. At this workshop you will practice skills to: delegate and maintain accountability, assess and priority response activity, work together as a response management team, and roll-play various neighborhood command center positions. You will increase your understanding of the incident command system and your confidence in managing your neighborhood response.