Aesop's
Playhouse--New children's theater at Fairyland
EVENTS
July 16-19: 42nd Annual U.S. Youth Games
July 17: Graphic Novelist Jason Shiga’s Reading From and Slide Presentation About BookhunterJuly 19: City Auditor’s Last Meeting regarding Public Works Agency Audit
July 19: Dedication ceremony for restored E.18th Street Pier Overlook
...And Coming in August
Saturday, August 2, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and Sunday, August 3, noon to 2:00 pm: LakeFest ’08: Art, Food, and Wine Festival on Lakeshore Ave
August 5: National Night Out
Sunday, August 10: Oakland Public Library’s Summer Reading Program’s Fun Finale at the Oakland Museum of California
REPORTS
State of Affairs in City Government
Volunteers Needed for LakeFest '08 on Lakeshore Avenue
Canada Geese are Back for the Summer Molt
Wallace Street - Sliding Houses to be Demolished
Measure DD Projects Around Lake Merritt are Picking Up Steam
Current Excavation at El Embarcadero: PG&E’s C-X Project
Aesop’s Playhouse at Children’s Fairyland
Grand-Lakeshore Retail Survey
Completion and Celebration of Revive Chinatown Pedestrian Safety Streetscape ProjectSeptember 30 Deadline for Small Grants to Clean and Beautify Your Neighborhood
EVENTS
July 16-19: 42nd Annual U.S. Youth Games
The City of Oakland's Office of Parks and Recreation will host the 42nd Annual U.S. Youth Games, July 16 - 19, where hundreds of young athletes will participate in Olympic-style competitions in Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, Swimming, Track and Field, Bowling, Flag Football, Golf, Double Dutch Jump Rope, Tennis, Chess and Academic Bowl. The Games also feature Boating and Table Tennis exhibitions, highlighting alternative recreation opportunities for youth (and adults, too).The first Youth Games occurred in the summer of 1967 in New York City. The program, created by former New York Mayor John V. Lindsay, was designed to showcase inner-city youth demonstrating their skills, and provide an opportunity for youth to test their skills against their peers from around America. For the past 41 years, the Games have touched the lives of millions and provided countless thrills and educational experiences for youth. Many professional athletes have participated in the Youth Games throughout the years, including basketball star Chris Mullin, football star DJ Williams, tennis star Pam Schrieber, and track star Bo Jackson!
For more information on times and locations of opening and closing ceremonies and specific events, click here.
July 17: Graphic Novelist Jason Shiga’s Reading From and Slide Presentation
About Bookhunter
Main Library, 125 - 14th Street. 6:00pm to 8:00pm, Thursday, July 17
A former employee of the Oakland Public Library, Jason Shiga will return to recount the exciting adventures of Bookhunter, in the actual setting of his hilarious and action-packed police procedural. A graphic crime thriller with a bookish slant, Bookhunter was recently nominated for the comics industry’s most prestigious award, the Eisner, for Best Graphic Album. Shiga will be joined by fellow Sparkplug cartoonists Trevor Alixopulos and Hellen Jo. Alixopulos will read from his new graphic novel, The Hot Breath of War, a series of vignettes that explores the entwined themes of sex and war in an age when war is seemingly without end. Hellen Jo will read excerpts from her collected works, an eagerly anticipated Sparkplug fall 2008 release.
July 19: City Auditor’s Last Meeting regarding Public Works Agency
Audit
Lake Merritt United Methodist Church – 1330 Lakeshore Ave - 10:00 am – 11:30 am – If you have thoughts about the quality of the service provided by the Public Works Agency, here’s an excellent opportunity to make your voice heard. For more details, go here.
You can also submit comments via email here.
July 19: Rededication of the E.18th Street Pier
The event starts at 11:30 am. Councilmembers Pat Kernighan and Nancy Nadel invite you to join a ribbon-cutting celebration rededicating the E. 18th Street Pier. Originally built 100 years ago as part of improvements to Lake Merritt by then Mayor Frank Mott, the pier was designed by Walter Reed who also designed the Municipal Boathouse and the Pergola. The pier is one of three architectural features constructed to mark the major creek inlets to Lake Merritt. The three are:• E. 18th Street Pier marking the entrance of Park Boulevard Creek
• Pergola marking Indian Gulch, Trestle Glen Creek and Wildwood Creek
• Seating area adjacent to Grand Avenue at Harrison Street marking Glen Echo Creek
...And Coming in August
Saturday & Sunday, August 2 & 3: Councilmember Pat Kernighan’s
"Office Hours"
Visit with your Councilmember during the Lakeshore Avenue Lakefest event on Saturday, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and Sunday, noon to 2:00 pm. Pat will be at a booth at the event to informally meet with constituents during those times. Stop by to let her know what is working and not working in Oakland.
Saturday, August 2,
and Sunday, August 3, 10 am to 6 pm: LakeFest ’08: Art, Food, and
Wine Festival on Lakeshore Ave
Art, wine, and food lovers will have an opportunity to gather in the Grand Lake near Lake Merritt on August 2 & 3 from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm to enjoy Lakefest’08: Art, Food & Wine Festival on Lakeshore Avenue. The street festival will feature live music, arts and crafts booths, local vendors, a Green Living Expo, activities for kids, wine tasting, gourmet food booths and is hosted by the Lakeshore Avenue Business Improvement District and proudly produced by Oakland Events. Admission is free!
On Saturday, the festival will take place in conjunction with the much beloved Grand Lake Farmers’ Market, where locals shop for fresh food from over 50 vendors. On Sunday, Splash Pad Park will transform into “Art in the Park”, featuring art installations brought to you by ProArts (Open Studios), chalk art for kids and other interactive projects all taking place while local bands and community groups perform on the Splash Pad Community Stage. The festival will also include children’s entertainment such as face painting, games, jumpers, art projects and a special appearance by Thunder from the Golden State Warriors.
The main stage, sponsored by The Oakland Tribune and Insidebayarea.com, will be located on Lakeshore Ave at the Trestle Glen intersection. The stage will feature performances by local bands that live in the neighborhood and some of the Bay Area’s finest talent. Headlining the show is Zion I, performing on Sunday from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. The stage line-up is available on the festival website (see below).
The Wine Tasting Tent, sponsored by Vine Wine Bar, will highlight some of the finest boutiqu wineries in the Bay Area. Wine tasting packages will be available for purchase at ticket booths beginning at noon both days. (Purchasers of tickets must be at least 21 years old; a photo ID is required). Packages start at $10 and include a commemorative tasting glass and tasting tickets. Beer will be available for sale at the beverage tent sponsored by Trumer Pils.
The Green Living Expo is a special section highlighting businesses and non-profits whose products and services cover a range of market sectors and sub-sectors, including: green building supplies, socially responsible investing and "green stocks", alternative healthcare, organic clothing and food, personal development media, yoga and other fitness products, eco-tourism and more. The Green Living Expo is sponsored by The Uptown Apartments (located at 19th and Telegraph, go to The Uptown for more information).
For more information about LakeFest ‘08, go here.
Street Closures during LakeFest ’08: Art, Food & Wine FestivalDuring LakeFest ‘08 Lakeshore Ave will be closed between Lake Park and Trestle Glen from 5:00 am on Saturday, Aug 2 until 9:00 pm on Sun, August 3. The Lakeshore Ave parking garage and parking lot in front of Trader Joe's and Walgreen’s will be accessible. To avoid vehicular traffic, attendees are encouraged to walk, bike or use public transportation to get to the event. Free bike valet will be available. For more information on getting to the festival, please visit here.
For the past thirty some years, Oaklanders have celebrated National Night Out, a time when residents organize block parities in order to get to know their neighbors better. This year National Night Out will take place on Tuesday, August 5 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
National Night Out is America's night out against crime, an annual event held in communities across the country to strengthen spirit and unity, and raise crime prevention awareness by setting the stage for neighbors to get to know one another. Research has shown when neighbors know each other, stronger and safer communities result because trust increases, information travels faster and resources can be mobilized to solve problems more effectively. That’s why National Night Out is considered so important to community policing efforts.
We encourage block parties, barbecues, ice cream socials or other outdoor events as ways to celebrate National Night Out. Events can happen anywhere, including single-family neighborhoods, apartment buildings or condominium and townhouse complexes. They can be big like Ivy Drive’s in years past, with its multiple grills and a band that attracted hundreds of people, or a small handful of neighbors relaxing in lawn chairs, visiting with one another and eating ice cream, or anything in between.My staff and I will visit every registered block party in District 2. Police officers, firefighters and other City staff will come by, too, with give-away items for children and special gifts for party hosts. I hope you will consider sponsoring an event; my staff and I will look forward to joining you for awhile.
To register your National Night Out event or to review the block party guide, go here or contact Brenda Ivey at 238-3091. Or, click here, here and here for the English, Spanish and Chinese flyers.
Sunday, August 10: Oakland
Public Library’s Summer Reading Program’s Fun Finale at the
Oakland Museum of California
The event will start at the museum - located at 1000 Oak St - from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Entertainment will include Magic by Alex, featuring Bay Area native Alex Ramon, a young, award-winning illusionist who has gained renown by performing his mind-bending magical tricks on Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show.
Representatives from the Insect Discovery Lab – each having six legs or more! – will be on hand to scare up an audience. The lab hasn’t announced which creepy characters will make an appearance, but it could include walking sticks from Malaysia, millipedes from Africa, or scorpions. Daring kids will want to get an up-close look at these fascinating arthropods.
UC Berkeley’s Cognitive Control and Development Lab will set up a display to demonstrate how the human brain works. Fun ‘brain games’ will get kids thinking about what’s going on up there in the old noggin.
Children can get their faces painted by a clown, participate in hands-on art activities, listen to stories, or enjoy free frozen treats provided 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.
For more information, call the Oakland Public Library’s Children’s Room, at 510.238.3615, or visit the library here. To request sign interpretation or other accommodations, please call at least five working days prior to this event at the number above or 510.834.7446 (TTY).
REPORTS
State
of Affairs in City Government
Dear Neighbors:It has certainly been a difficult month for Oakland. Allegations of mismanagement and nepotism at City Hall have resulted in a crisis of confidence in our city government, that exceeds anything I have seen before. As bad as this situation is, I believe it also has created a big opportunity to make major and much-needed changes in the way the City does business. Public support is clearly there to bolster City leaders who are willing to "rock the boat" and pass serious accountability measures. I urge all of you who feel strongly about this to continue to make your voices heard over the upcoming months as various reform measures come before the City Council and other oversight bodies. We can and must institute a culture of accountability at City Hall.
I expect several reform measures to come forward between now and October, some of which I will be co-sponsoring. The first of these went to City Council last night, July 15: 1)ordering an audit of the City's hiring and promotion practices for the past 5 years, and 2) a Whistleblower Ordinance. The ordinance protects employee whistleblowers from retaliation by their supervisors or co-workers. This ordinance needs funding for investigators in order to have some teeth, and that will come back in September, after the Council's August legislative break. Though it might seem obvious that such an ordinance is needed, there were signs of resistance last night from at least one councilmember and some members of the public who like the status quo. There was also resistance to putting upcoming audits solely in the hands of our elected City Auditor Courtney Ruby. I think the City Council needs to get out of her way and let her do the job she was elected to do. So I urge you to keep following these issues and speak up when needed. I will endeavor to keep you informed of when the reform measures are coming up.Next up is a strong Anti-Nepotism Ordinance (sponsored by Council President De La Fuente) to be heard at the Council's Finance Committee next week, Tuesday at 2:00 pm. Click here to see the report. At the same meeting Councilmember Quan is introducing an item to control the City Administrator's discretion in granting extra compensation benefits (such as management leave, sick leave buy-outs, etc.). I encourage you to email all councilmembers to express your thoughts.
In September, more administrative reforms will be introduced including limits on travel, credit card expenditures, hospitality expenses and the like. We also will be combing our City budget to reduce unnecessary expenses and focusing on delivering the basic services that you expect and deserve, especially public safety.
It will take a few months to pass and implement the needed reforms, and it won't be easy. The virtue and the weakness of our system of government is that is based on diversification of power among the branches: Mayor, Council, appointed City Administrator and the huge bureaucracy that she oversees, elected City Auditor, and elected City Attorney. (There is also another seat of power, which is the City employees, all of whom are organized in powerful collective bargaining units.) Ideally it is a system of checks and balances that prevents abuse of power by any one branch. But there is a big downside: it doesn't allow for any one entity to have enough power to make bold changes when needed. The system is very resistant to change. In order to get anything done, each branch has to cooperate with the others; Mayor with Council, Council with City Administrator. This is one of the reason that our former City Administrator was not challenged on rumors of questionable actions. If Councilmembers want to get anything done by City staff, they have to go through the City Administrator and have her cooperation. This situation was exacerbated by the fact that for the past 5 years, the former City Auditor was non-functional--not performing the watchdog role that was necessary. So our task now is to tighten up this ship. It is not as easy as in a private business, but it can be done if we stay focused on instituting clear rules and performance standards, and if the public keeps pressure on ALL branches of government to fulfill their respective function.. . . In the meantime, it's summer in Oakland. There are amazing wonderful and creative things going on all around us - arts, events, new businesses and community building being made possible by Oakland artists, business people, teachers, and volunteers. Let's celebrate and support them. Some of those great things are listed below. I hope you will check them out and enjoy your summer. Our E-News will be taking a break for August, and will be back in September.
Volunteers Needed for LakeFest '08 on Lakeshore Avenue
Volunteers are needed to staff LakeFest ‘08. Volunteers are asked to commit to working at least two hours. The festival runs from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Volunteer shifts will begin at 8:00 am and end at 8:00 pm; duties include set-up, vendor check-in, ticket sales, beverage booth sales, and tear down. Volunteers will receive a free festival staff t-shirt, and snacks will be provided throughout the day. Job descriptions, volunteer instructions and shift sign-up sheets will be available one week prior to the event.
Volunteers are required to attend the LakeFest Volunteer Training Meeting on Thursday, July 24, 7:00 pm at the Lakeshore Baptist Church, 3435 Lakeshore Ave. Please RSVP to Pamela Drake by July 24 if you wish to join the fun. For more information, please contact Pamela Drake, LakeFest Volunteer Coordinator, at 834-9198 or by email here.
Canada Geese
are Back for the Summer Molt
If I didn’t know what time of year it was, I could guess from the grumpy calls beginning this month about the Canada Geese at Lake Merritt. Each summer, since population counts started, geese fly in to Lake Merritt swelling the year round population of fewer than 200 to 1900 by early July. The geese come to the Lake’s quiet waters surrounded by accessible adjacent lawns for their summer molt, the annual loss and then regrowth of their flight feathers. Lake Merritt is an ideal location for them to molt. The entire Lake and surrounding park are a wildlife refuge designated by State law in 1870, giving birds a safe refuge.
Last August Councilmember Nadel and I held a public meeting to discuss what could be done to lessen the negative impacts of the geese. We had a study done, the Lake Merritt Canada Goose Management Study, which can be found here. Based on the findings of the report and public input from the 100+ meeting attendees, we proposed a couple of measures to make it easier for people to co-exist with the geese and avoid their droppings. One of those was a Naturesweep, a mechanical broom that sweeps lawns. I paid for it from my discretionary funds, but it was late in being delivered by the manufacturer. You should start seeing it in use in the afternoons this week at specific locations around the lake. The other pilot project was a temporary fence to create a "goose free" area on the lawn and tot lot on Bellevue Avenue; however, that didn't go forward due to adamant opposition by the nearby residents. So the quest goes on for better solutions.
Some callers have complained about geese crossing Lakeshore Boulevard near E. 18th Street, thus interfering with traffic. There are no practical measures to prevent geese from crossing streets. Most drivers have discovered they can ease slowly through the herds on Lakeshore. Knowing that the visiting geese won’t be here long -- their numbers taper off dramatically later in the summer – makes most drivers’ occasional encounters unremarkable.
Others have complained that the geese are eating the grass down to the dirt on Lakeshore. Lawns along certain stretches of Lakeshore look particularly barren this year, not entirely the result of the geese. Anticipating the forthcoming El Embarcadero-Lakeshore park and street improvement projects, which will start later this summer, the City won’t try to resuscitate these lawns this year. I am also concerned that the lawns around other parts of the lake are looking especially bad this summer, so I will be working with Public Works staff to figure out what's wrong and get it solved.
Wallace
Street Approval - Sliding Houses to be Demolished
After years of the City issuing multiple code enforcement citations and property liens, as well as community meetings to address the issue, I am happy to say that the City is finally moving ahead to demolish the Wallace Street properties and stabilize the hillside. The three teetering, collapsing houses on Wallace Street overlooking 14th Avenue have been a major eyesore for anyone that has driven along 14th Avenue since 2002, when the landslide occurred. The properties and landslide present a major public safety hazard for anyone who could be hurt venturing onto the properties, as well as to the homes at the bottom of the hill on 14th Avenue. During this time, the City has red-tagged the structures as uninhabitable, boarded up the buildings, and fenced off the property to keep out trespassers.
The money to perform the demolition and stabilization work comes from the City's Redevelopment Agency. At the July 2008 Central City East Project Area Committee (CCE PAC) meeting, the City's Redevelopment Agency staff and I presented a plan that was approved by City Council during a closed session hearing in June that would allocate up to $800,000 in Redevelopment Agency funding to demolish and stabilize the properties. The CCE PAC voted to approve use of the funds, and now we are proceeding briskly to solicit a contractor to perform the demolition and stabilization job.
I will shortly announce a meeting with the neighbors of Wallace Street to discuss next steps, such as what the neighbors would like to see happen with the properties once the demolition and stabilization are performed. If you live in the Wallace Street area and would like to be informed of any updates, please email my staff Kevin Liao here.
Measure
DD Projects Around Lake Merritt are Picking Up Steam
Several important projects, called for in the Lake Merritt Master Plan and funded primarily through the Measure DD Clean Water, Safe Parks bond measure of 2002, are moving ahead after years of design and engineering work, environmental review, and delay caused by a lawsuit over removal of trees. With the tree lawsuit dismissed and to avoid further delay, the City chose to complete all tree removals that were necessary for park and street renovations at Lake Merritt. All tree removals are now complete. Over 500 new trees will be planted as part of the projects mentioned below, more than twice as many as were removed. Meanwhile, thousands of mature trees still remain around the Lake. Following is an update on the biggest projects underway.
Construction will begin on park renovations at El Embarcadero and along Lakeshore Avenue in late summer. You may have noticed that PG&E has commenced work at El Embarcadero on its C-X Project (see following story) in order to avoid conflict with the City’s forthcoming project. For more on this project, you can go here.
The 12th Street redo project, which will transform the south end of the Lake, is expected to start in spring 2009, upon notification of expected Federal funding. In addition to creating a new four-acre shoreline park, the 12-lane “mini-freeway” will shrink to a six-lane tree-lined boulevard with bike lanes and new traffic signals allowing pedestrians to cross safely. The mouth of Lake Merritt Channel, currently buried in culverts under the “freeway”, will be widened to increase tidal flushing, improving wildlife habitat and water quality. Bicyclists will be able to ride along waterside paths past a new tidal marsh. Kayakers will be able to paddle toward the Bay.
Core improvements to the Municipal Boathouse will wrap up this month, restoring the exterior to its original condition and installing up-to-date utilities in the building. Ninety-five new pilings, structural steel braces, and concrete shear walls now reinforce the building against future earthquakes. In the fall the restaurateur will commence work on installing a kitchen and dining area improvements. Park and street improvements at the Boathouse and on Lakeside Drive will start soon and are scheduled to be completed in order to coincide with the opening of the restaurant in the first half of 2009. The work consists of renovating and landscaping approximately four acres of parkland surrounding the boathouse; constructing a stairway entry leading from Lakeside Drive, which is funded in part by a $100,000 contribution from the Rotary Clubs of Oakland, East Oakland, North Oakland/Emeryville, Oakland-Sunrise and Piedmont/Montclair; consolidation of the two existing parking lots into one new 28-space lot and a parking aisle of 13 spaces along Lakeside Drive; and improvements to Lakeside Drive between 14th St and Madison St including a bike lane and pedestrian safety improvements.
For more information about these and other Measure DD projects, visit here.
Current Excavation at El Embarcadero: PG&E’s C-X Project
You may have wondered what is the big excavation project going on on El Embarcadero street (just south of the Lakeview branch library). In order to improve the reliability and increase the capacity of the electrical transmission system serving the City of Oakland, PG&E has started construction of its C-X 115kV Transmission Line project, which will install 3.66 miles of transmission lines. The lines will be constructed between PG&E’s Substation C, located at Second St and Castro St, and PG&E Substation X, located at 3729 Park Blvd. The following streets will be affected: by the project: Castro St, San Pablo Ave, Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Grand Ave, El Embarcadero, MacArthur Blvd and Park Blvd.
PG&E started the project at El Embarcadero to ensure no conflict with the forthcoming El Embarcadero – Lakeshore park improvement project, which is funded by Measure DD bonds and scheduled to start in August 2008. The City will work closely with PG&E to see that all the underground work that might be needed in this area (such as gas and water lines) gets taken care of at the same time in order to minimize future disruptions. PG&E will complete installation of the short piece of the duct in El Embarcadero by July 31. During this underground construction, vehicles traveling from Grand Ave to Lakeshore Ave will not be able to use El Embarcadero. In order to access Lakeshore Ave. from Grand Ave., vehicles can use MacArthur Blvd.Construction of the rest of PG&E’s C-X 115kV Transmission Line project is anticipated to start in 2009 and be completed by 2010. Total project construction is anticipated to take 12 to 14 months. Questions or complaints? Call (510) 238.3651.
Aesop’s Playhouse
at Children’s Fairyland
Children’s Fairyland has just introduced its new Aesop’s Playhouse. The children’s community theater opened to the public at the end of June with performances by Cotton Candy Express, Children’s Fairyland Theater Program, Dimensions Dance Theater, E. W. Wainwright’s African Roots of Jazz Performing Arts Academy and Ronn Guidi Foundation for the Performing Arts.Fairyland, a non-profit organization, is the oldest storybook theme park in America. Since its opening in 1950, it has become renown for stimulating children’s imaginations, creativity and desire to learn through multi-cultural and multi-lingual programs, including fairytales, sets, play-acting, storytelling, reading and animals.
Aesop’s Playhouse will fill a void in children’s performing arts in Oakland. The highly-anticipated theater project is funded entirely by Measure DD (a $198.25 million bond measure to fund restoration of the City’s parks, trails, bridges, among other projects). With seating for nearly 200, the new theater is modeled after a traditional Greek amphitheater and will provide a place for the broadest range of children’s performing arts groups throughout Oakland and the Bay Area to perform for audiences year-round. Oakland-based Ace Architects designed the structure and Scientific Art Studio of Richmond created the theater’s unique, whimsical characters.
Residents and shoppers in the business district that includes Grand, Lake Park and Lakeshore Avenues have teamed up to form the Grand-Lakeshore Retail Advisory Group (GLRAG). Working with the Grand Avenue Business Association and the Lakeshore Business Improvement District, volunteers are seeking to identify the area’s unique strengths and weaknesses and discover needs for retailers that are not currently being met but might fit in the area.
GLRAG has initially focused on designing an in-depth community survey to measure community needs while promoting the area. The group hopes to influence potential retailers and property owners to fill their storefronts with shops, restaurants, and services that the community will support and that will create an even more vibrant neighborhood shopping district.
Previously, community members have been successful in persuading property owners and retailers: Starbucks, Arizmendi, Trader Joe’s and most recently Camino all came to the Grand-Lakeshore area because of community efforts.The survey, which will take about 10 minutes to complete, is available online at www.glrag.org through Labor Day, September 1st, 2008. Printed copies will be available at the following locations beginning on July 14.
• Grand Lake Neighborhood Center - 530 Lake Park Avenue, varying hours.
• Grand Lake Farmers’ Market Information Booth – Every Saturday - 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
• LakeFest ’08 - August 2nd & 3rd on Lakeshore Avenue, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Grand Avenue National Night Out Celebration - August 5, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
GLRAG needs volunteers to assist with publicity, distribution, and analysis. For more information or to volunteer, email here or call Pamela Drake at 451-1257 or Ken Katz at 451-6537.
Completion and Celebration of Revive Chinatown Pedestrian Safety Streetscape
Project
photo: Sue Mark
After years of community planning and months of construction, the Revive Chinatown pedestrian safety project has been completed. In celebration of this major streetscape project, the Chinatown community, City of Oakland, and other community based organizations held a press conference and a dragon lion dance performance on Wednesday, July 16, 11:00 am, in front of the Silver Dragon restaurant located at the intersection of Webster St and 9th St.
The Revive Chinatown project began as a community-based planning process in 2002 focused on creating a safer pedestrian environment while increasing the attractiveness and vibrancy of Oakland Chinatown, and was based on a collaborative effort between the City of Oakland, Asian Health Services, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, and Oakland Chinatown community members. Implementation of Revive Chinatown recommendations involved construction of several proposed infrastructure improvements that will dramatically improve pedestrian safety and access at 16 contiguous intersections centered on the core of Chinatown.The local media covered the great turnout, helping to showcase the scramble intersection (which allows a 4-way stop and pedestrians to cross diagonally from all 4 corners) that is one of the highlights of the project.
I would like to thank Asian Health Services, Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Caltrans, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, community volunteers and the City of Oakland staff for making this possible.
Have you had it with the graffiti that is so pervasive in Oakland? So have I as have my fellow councilmembers. Like you I am fed up with the shabby appearance created by graffiti. I am also distressed by the amount of time City staff spends removing it. Like picking up litter, removing graffiti costs the City and ultimately us taxpayers, who would much rather not have to spend funds this way.
We councilmembers on the Public Works Committee have asked staff of Keep Oakland Beautiful (KOB), a program of the Public Works Agency, to come forward with a more robust program for removing graffiti and better yet, for discouraging it in the first place. Last month’s call for muralists for specific properties along I-880 that are frequently tagged is a pilot effort to discourage tagging. The City paints out graffiti on public property. Call 615.5566 (the Public Works Call Center) to report. Graffiti on private property is another matter; it’s the property owner’s responsibility to remove.
Community groups interested in maintaining their neighborhoods free of litter and debris may adopt-a-spot on-line here.Tool-loans and or graffiti removal kits are available pending a site assessment and a signed Volunteer Agreement. The kit contains solvent, gloves, protective eyewear, rags, scrub and comes with safety instructions.
September 30 Deadline
for Small Grants to Clean and Beautify Your Neighborhood
The Public Works Agency’s Keep Oakland Beautiful (KOB) announces the availability of small grants in a pilot program aimed at encouraging local citizens and community groups to clean and beautify the Oakland.
Designed to foster local solutions and community improvement, grants in the amount of $200 - $500 will be distributed from funds raised by KOB. There are two funding cycles: summer and winter. Deadlines are April 30 (summer) and September 30 (winter).Examples of successful grants could include the makeover of a park or the beautification of a section of a neighborhood or a community area. Grants will be awarded to individuals or groups that demonstrate creativity and/or community renewal. Evidence of sustainability of the project after the grant funding terminates is a criterion. The use of partnerships to leverage the scope of the project and public visibility are also factors, which will affect how the applications are ranked by the organization.