1. Thanksgiving Break: City Hall Reopens Monday Nov. 28th; Office Hours Resume on Wednesday, Nov. 30th

2. 5^th Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner, November 23^rd at 7:00pm

3. Save the Date for Our Annual Holiday Party, Friday, December 16, 6-9 pm:

4. Champagne Oak Removed and Relocated

5. Lessons Learned about Emergency Preparedness from last weekend’s CORE Exercise

6. Horace Mann School Planting, Daffodils in the Allendale on 35th Avenue December 3rd

7. Design Review Goes to Council

8. “Envisioning MacArthur” Workshop Updates

9. Maybelle Sewer Work and the Street Patches

10. Keeping Warm in Winter

11. Job and Resource Fair on Friday, December 2^nd

12. Winter Fundraiser for Friends of Sausal Creek, Sunday, December 4, 4-8 pm

13. Applications for Senior Low-income Housing at Lincoln Courts due by December 12

14. Crime Prevention Begins at Home

15. Online Free Benefits for Oakland Public Library Cardholders

16. November is Oakland Firefighters Random Acts Month, Come By Fentons

17. Preparing for the Rains

18. Upcoming Holiday Events

19. Upcoming Green and Community Events:

Last Toast for the Champagne Oak

1. Thanksgiving Break: City Hall Reopens Monday Nov. 28^th; Office Hours Resume on Wednesday, Nov. 30^th: The City Council Offices closes at noon today and will not reopen until Monday, November 28^th. District 4 staff will be off during the Thanksgiving break and will not hold regular office hours until Wednesday, November 30 from 4-6 pm at 4173 MacArthur Blvd. Richard Cowan staffs the Thursday office hours from 4-6 at the Police Substation at the Dimond Safeway. Sue Piper will staff the Laurel Office at 4173 MacArthur Blvd. on Saturday, December 3 from 10 am-Noon and on Sunday, December 4, our monthly booth at the Montclair Village Farmer’s Market. We’ll continue to brave the outdoors throughout the winter, but in case of rain, please look for us at 6211 La Salle Avenue instead.

2. 5^th Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Wednesday, November 23, 7-8:30pm: Join me and neighbors at Fruitvale Presbyterian Church’s 5^th Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner on Wednesday, November 23. The Church is located at MacArthur and Coolidge). Donations should be brought to the church today Wednesday, November 23 between 3 and 6 pm. For details call 538-0925, or send an e-mail to mmclainmonte@sbcglobal.net

Whether you are having turkey (our friends at the Wente Vineyards above excluded), tamales, Peking Duck or other family favorite…All of Us at the District 4 Council Office wish you and your family a Delicious, Safe, and Peaceful Thanksgiving !

3. Save the Date for Our Annual Holiday Party, Friday, December 16, 6-9 pm: Join us at our annual holiday and office fund event. Last year we loved the mix of family and friends at Chabot Science Center and decided to do it again.

4. Champagne Oak Removed and Relocated: Oakland said farewell to its oldest Oak tree Sunday afternoon with a champagne toast (of course). We want to thank the dozens of neighbors aged two to ninety four who joined us in our beautiful Dimond Park. For Brenda Payton’s Tribune column.

· The photo left and others are on the Dimond Improvement Association website. Other photos taken by Ken Rice, Sue Piper, and Jean.

· City naturalist Stephanie Benavidez shared the history of the tree and general information about Coastal Live Oaks. She distributed keepsakes made from leaves from the tree, dipped in bronze, gold and silver metal paint.

· Friends of Sausal Creek who will try to grow them in their Native Plant Nursery.

· Ken Rice, a professional architectural photographer, arrived early Monday morning to take photographs of the tree for posterity and use on educational material that we are planning to develop.

· City tree crews came out on Tuesday and removed all but the tree trunk. The trunk, branches, and canopy were relocated to an area behind the Dimond Pool by the stone steps to the parking lot, so that the public can view the natural cycle of trees as the Champagne Oak disintegrates over time. Please do not take any of the decaying wood.

· We put a few logs that were not affected by fungus aside. We will develop a process so that artists might have access to these…and hope that we could have a public exhibit of pieces to raise funds to preserve other historic trees in the city.

· I am developing a process to establish a register of historic trees in the city, a review of procedures to extend their lives, and changes to city procedures which would give more notice to Park Advisory Committees and others before the removal of these trees.

Meanwhile, the loss of this heritage tree brings home a significant lesson—Those of us who have come from around the world to this special place in California have greatly changed the landscape…but our Live Oak Trees need the native dry environment. Avoid putting other plants (especially non-natives) under a Live Oak that require water beyond what we get in the winter rains. Too much water leads to root rot and compromises Live Oak trees. Try to avoid trampling on their roots. For more information about oak trees, log on to:

Ø http://www.arborday.org/

Ø http://www.californiaoaks.org/

5. Lessons Learned about Emergency Preparedness from last weekend’s CORE Exercise: About 20 neighbors from Maxwell Park participated in last weekend’s citywide emergency preparedness exercise sponsored by CORE (Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies). Another 20 residents in Sue Piper’s neighborhood of Hiller Highlands participated, along with residents in four other locations throughout the city. They practiced community response to an earthquake on the Hayward Fault. Members of the Maxwell Park Council (left) record injuries reported by neighborhood volunteers. A few basics were learned as a result of these exercises:

· Know your neighbors—it’s important to know how many people are living next door, if anyone has special needs and if there are pets.

· Take the CORE I, II and III training. Participants recognized that they need to become more familiar with the details of Search & Rescue, Damage Assessment, First Aid and Communications.

· Hand-held FRS radios and even basic walkie talkies (remember in a real disaster all phone circuits will be jammed) are a great tool for rapid communication, but know where they will and will not work, and be sure to have a back-up plan if the radios don’t work—usually a runner to the nearest Fire Station and emergency center.

· To schedule a free CORE workshop, contact Harriet Wright at http://www.oaklandnet.com/fire/core/index2.html or call her at 238-6351.

Volunteers last Saturday at Horace Mann School.

6. Horace Mann School Planting, Daffodils in the Allendale on 35^th Avenue December 3^rd: Many thanks to the dozens of neighbors, parents & students who joined us last Saturday at Horace Mann School. We planted hundreds of daffodils, painted tiles for firing, and put together several planters for classrooms. Many thanks to Melrose High Hopes’s Jeanne Nixon and Randy Hughes.

Join us on Saturday, December 3^rd from 10:00 to Noon on 35^th Avenue where we will plant trees and daffodils as part of our 35^th Ave beautification project.  Meet at 10:00 am at the Allendale Recreation Center to pick up gardening tools and daffodils and to be assigned a work area.  For the past 8 months residents of 35^th Ave have been working on various projects to improve the quality of life on 35^th Ave, we’re cleaning up blighted properties, working with local merchants, cracking down on problem properties and improving the aesthetic look of the avenue. For more information contact Claudia Jimenez at 238-4742 or cjimenez@oaklandnet.com

7. Design Review Goes to Council: For the past several years the Planning Department has been working to revise design review for the entire city and we have been working with them. We have held community meetings for input on the process and we have mediated neighborhood many disputes. It has been clear to us that all areas of Oakland need more notification in the planning process.  When the work began, some whole areas of the city were far less subject to design review standards. For example, the idea being that building on hills (20% slope) was too idiosyncratic to be included in design review.  “Monster homes” are sprouting up with little notification to or input from neighbors in many areas of the city.

Recently, the Planning Commission has been working with neighborhood groups, planning staff and other interested persons to come up with both a uniform process and uniform standards for design review throughout the city.  In terms of process, they have come up with a much streamlined procedure that will be used throughout the city to extend design review throughout Oakland.  It will be the size of the planned structure, not location that will trigger notification of neighbors as well as a whole set of design criteria, with different criteria for different structure sizes, all being more stringent than what is currently in place.

In terms of standards, while the good news is that design review now will be a feature of building everywhere, there is still much work to be done and work that will require active citizen participation.  With a general approach now in hand, the planning staff and Commission are now turning to such issues as housing bulk as a quantitative concept.   The objective planning tools to insure that a structure is appropriate for its lot feature such concepts as “floor area ratio” (FAR) and “lot coverage ratio (CR).” In other words, objective criteria to insure that a house is not too large for its neighborhood (the former) or its lot (the latter) will be considered.  Not only will this work to prevent “monster houses,” but also can specifically address appropriate structures for substandard lots.  However, while these are fruitful concepts, they have not yet been accepted for most lot sizes by the Planning Commission and will need strong support by all of us who want rational design for all of Oakland.

Beyond FAR and CR, there are also other crucial concepts that have been identified by neighborhood groups as necessary for fair and uniform Design Review throughout the city.  One is the concept of Neighborhood Consistency. Currently, neighborhood consistence is specifically excluded for all buildings on slopes over 20 percent – the idea being that such structures have such peculiar building requirements as to disqualify them from any sort of consistency.  However, in our view and that of many of our constituents, this is a clear overstatement in that hillside building problems can be met while still paying attention to such items as roof form, window treatment, and landscaping - the point being that a building, even on the most severe slope, can address peculiar building requirements and not conflict with overall neighborhood design. Nonetheless, neighborhood consistency in the hills is not yet an accepted idea, and will still require strong input for neighborhood groups, such as the Shepherd Canyon Homeowners Association, which as spearheaded this idea.

A second crucial issue is that of views.  Not only must we insure that views are not lost on such scenic routes as Skyline Boulevard, but we also must insure the same thing neighbor to neighbor.  Just as our office fought last year to insure that newly planted trees must not obstruct established views, all of us must now insist that while it is wonderful that adjacent neighbors may protest view loss under the new Design Review standards, in certain hill areas neighbors further than next door or across the street may also suffer view loss from new construction.  We have testified at the Planning Commission that a two or three house zone be considered in protecting view loss, and this was accepted informally by the Commission.  Now it is time for all interested parties to insure that such concepts as view loss and neighborhood consistence be codified into the Design Review standards currently being finalized.

Further info or for copies of the initial staff report one should contact Christopher Buckley at 510 238-6983 or cbuckley@oaklandnet.com These documents were presented to the CEDA Committee are at:

http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/12211.pdf The City Council expects to see a final product in the spring.

8. “Envisioning MacArthur” Workshop Updates: We have just received the first drafts of our workshop summaries and will be posting them on our website in about a week. http://www.jeanquan.org/EnvisionMacArthur.htm

9. Maybelle Sewer Work and the Street Patches: We have received several complaints about the streets after sewer rehabilitation work on Maybelle Avenue and other Laurel streets was completed last week. Temporary patches were installed until permanent asphalt trench patches can be installed starting this week.

10. Keeping Warm in Winter: With the price of natural gas rising, it is tempting to look to the fire place as a way to warm up our homes. But keep in mind that wood burning fireplaces are major contributors of air pollution in the winter that puts people with asthma and other lung conditions at great risk. Children in Oakland suffer from higher rates of asthma. This year the State has strengthened its criteria for designating “Spare the Air” days—it used to be enacted whenever the pollution reached a level that was considered dangerous to the general public. Now it is enacted when the pollution can affect people at high risk of breathing disorders. The report said that the Bay Area could expect 8 to 9 “Spare the Air” days during this coming winter. So please, do your share and reach for the warm sweater and extra blanket instead of the wood for a fire in your fire place.

11. Job and Resource Fair on Friday, December 2^nd

The Oakland Adult Education Department of Career Technical Education is hosting a Job and Resource Fair on Friday, December 2^nd at the North Oakland Senior Center, 5714 MLK Jr. Way. Don’t miss this opportunity to: meet employers, learn about community resources, and increase network contacts. For more information please follow the link, Oakland Adult Education Job Fair

12. Winter Fundraiser for Friends of Sausal Creek, Sunday, December 4, 4-8 pm: For more than a decade, the Friends of Sausal Creek have built a reputation for their knowledge and passion for restoring Sausal Creek with native plants. Thousands of volunteers have restored our creeks, trails and parks under their leadership. Their Native Plant Nursery in Joaquin Miller Park has distributed plants to community garden projects throughout the city—free plants in return for “sweat” equity at the nursery. Now, the Friends of Sausal Creek need our help. They are facing a $20,000 deficit for the rest of this fiscal year (through June 2006) which has caused them to reduce their weekly hands-on restoration to once a month! You can help in two ways:

Ø Blues for Creeks at Eli’s Mile High Club, Sunday December 4th-. Come kick off your holiday festivities to the rockin’ blues of the Marshall Law Band at Eli’s Mile High Club, 3629 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way on Sunday, December 4th. Admission is $20, $35 per couple, or $50 per family. For tickets or more information, contact Sara Marcellino at coordinator@sausalcreek.org or by calling (510) 501-3672. Tickets available at the door, too.

Ø Join the 100 at $100 Club- If 100 friends donate $100 before the end of this tax year, FOSC will raise $10,000. If another 20 donate $500, they’ll raise the remaining $10,000 they need. Consider the Friends of Sausal Creek as review your list of year-end donations. They are a vital part of our public-private partnership for rejuvenating our precious watershed. Contact coordinator@sausalcreek.org for details.

13. Applications for Senior Low-income Housing at Lincoln Courts due by December 12: Lincoln Courts, the new senior housing facility at the corner of Lincoln and MacArthur, where the old Hillcrest Hotel used to be, expects to start moving in residents this spring. Applications are now being accepted (250 people have already applied) and will be available between Nov. 28 and Dec.12 by calling 649-5915 or by downloading an application at http://www.domusd.com/lincolncourt. We are very excited about this new senior housing development, which resulted from neighbors working closely with our office and city staff to close down the Hillcrest Motel and then working with Domus Developers to create this much needed senior housing. Recognizing that we will have more seniors moving into the neighborhood (the Altenheim will provide another 174 units for seniors when it is completed in another year or so), our office is working the City staff to explore ways to make the Dimond Park entrance on Fruitvale more senior friendly, and to enhance programming for seniors at Dimond Rec Center and the Dimond Library.

14. Crime Prevention Begins at Home: A recent national report noted that crime is down throughout the nation, especially homicides. However, burglaries and car-thefts are up. These crimes also increase during the holidays. Several neighborhoods in District 4 are experiencing a rash of burglaries and car-thefts, as well. They are organizing themselves into Home Alert networks. When neighbors spot something out of the ordinary, not only do they alert the police, they alert their neighbors, as well. Here are a few other ideas to avoid being a robbery victim:

· Always conceal what you have to steal, such as money or a cell phone. Treat your cell phone like your cash: don’t let anyone know you have it. When you go to the store consider putting your valuables in a pocket rather than a bag or purse. Shoppers with their hands full of groceries or packages are more vulnerable to purse snatching.

· Call the OPD non-emergency number, 777-3333, to report suspicious persons. Provide as much information as possible, including the time you noticed the person, the clothing worn, the shoes worn, and the manner in which the person walked.

· Keep doors and windows at home and in your car locked at all times. Our police tell me that the majority of car thefts and home burglaries involve open windows and doors.

· For more safety tips at BART stations, the street, your car, at home and at the ATM, this handout was created for a recent workshop http://www.jeanquan.org/Files/Crime%20Prevent%20101%20Allendale.pdf

· To form a Home Alert group in your block or neighborhood, call 777-8555 or go to http://www.oaklandpolice.com/crimprev/homalrt.html for a wealth of information.

15. Online Free Benefits for Oakland Public Library Cardholders: Thanks to your generosity in passing Measure Q more online resources are available for Oakland Library card holders. You can download up to audiobooks to play on your computer (Windows format only). For a free “key” to magazines and newspapers like the New York Times online (instead of the $50 annual fee), go to www.oaklandlibrary.org/ click on newspaper articles and then click on Infotrac. Once this comes up, put in your Oakland Public Library card # and the last four digits of your phone and you can read the New York Times for free!

16. November is Oakland Firefighters Random Acts Month, Come By Fentons: Help support the wonderful work of the Oakland Firefighters Random Acts, a charitable organization that provides the resources to support people in need in the community and on their 911 calls. Buy the “Firefighter Sundae” at Fentons Creamery at 4226 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland during the month of November and 35% of the sales goes to Oakland Firefighters Random Acts. Drop off new toys and stuffed animals, as well. For details, go to www.ofrandomacts.org or call 465-8422.

17. Preparing for the Rains: We know it seems that summer will never end BUT the Public Works Agency offers up to 20 sandbags and 50 feet of plastic sheeting per household/business to help avoid flooding and landslides. The material is available for pick up at the City’s Municipal Service Center (7101 Edgewater Drive) and Maintenance Satellite Office (5921 Shepherd Canyon Road) between 8 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday. Up to 5 sandbags per household are also available for pick up at fire stations in/near our district: (Proof of Oakland residency is required.)

a. Fire Station Number 6 7080 Colton Blvd.

b. Fire Station Number 17 3344 High Street

c. Fire Station Number 21 13150 Skyline Blvd.

How to help:

Ø Check and clean private drainage systems

Ø Do not place leaves, debris or lawn clippings near storm drains

Ø Place leaves in your household’s yard trimmings cart or in compostable paper yard trimmings bags for pick up on your weekly collection day

Ø Keep natural waterways such as creeks and ditches free from obstructions

Ø Report flooding problems to the Public Works Call Center at 615-5566

Ø Maintain-a-Drain in your neighborhood or commercial district—call 238-7630 or visit www.oaklandpw.com for more information. You will be given free equipment.

18. Upcoming Holiday Events:

· The Montclair Village Holiday Stroll "Candy Cane Lane" will take place on December 1st from 6 - 9 pm. Live music and caroling, motorized cable car, Horse and Carriage Rides, Santa Claus, and much more for the entire family. Local merchants will open their doors to the public and preview their Christmas inventory while raising money for local charities. For more information and a list of businesses participating visit us at www.montclairvillage.com

· Glenview Elementary School Holiday Bazaar, Saturday, December 3, 10 am – 2 pm: This is an excellent opportunity for neighbors to shop, see wondrous happenings at Glenview Elementary School. Sumptuous snacks for sale by the 5^th grade students and families, entertainment by Glenview children, crafts to make and buy, raffles with great prizes and the Scholastic Book Fair. Plan on stopping by the school, located at 4215 La Cresta Avenue. Please contact Candace Kim at 531-7825 if you are interested in participating.

· Holiday ART Fair in Dimond on Sat. and Sun Dec. 3 & 4 from 10 am-5 pm Visit Rita Sklar's studio at 3826 Fruitvale Ave., Dan May's studio at 3836 Whittle Ave,. and the Cottage in the Woods pre school on 3917 Lyman Road.  Many artists, many gift ideas.  Celebrate neighborhood art!!

· Saturday, December 3, 2 pm, Oakland Holiday Parade- Enjoy the multicultural faces of the holidays in Oakland and a great parade on Broadway and 11th Street to 20th Street, to Harrison Street. http://www.oaklandparade.com/

· Thursday, December 15, Free SHS Holiday Concert, 7:30 pm in the Skyline High School Theater.  A free and fun way to get in the spirit…take pride in the wonderful Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Choir with Choir and Orchestra collaborating on two choruses of Handel's "Messiah".

· Dimond International Winter Celebration, Saturday, December 17, 9 am-1 pm: Join friends and neighbors at a Fruitvale Presbyterian Church, 2735 MacArthur Blvd. to enjoy Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah festivities. There will be craft-making for kids, holiday gifts for sale from Dimond and Laurel Merchants and local artists, a pancake breakfast and cultural holiday food, along with photos with Santa. The event is cosponsored by the Dimond Business and Professional Association, the Dimond Improvement Association and the City of Oakland. For details, contact Ruth Vilasenor 336-0105, Shari Godinez 387-1909 or Monte McClain 530-0915.

19. Upcoming Green and Community Events:

· Dimond Book Club Discussion of “Cry to Heaven” by Anne Rice at Dimond Library, November 28 at 6:30 pm: Meeting held at the Dimond Library's Community Room.

· World AIDS Day Fund Raiser at Everett and Jones Barbeque at Jack London Square, Friday, December 2, 6-9 pm: Come commemorate World AIDS Day with HEPPAC, the HIV Education Prevention Project of Alameda County. This fund-raising event with wonderful food and music is sponsored by Everett and Jones Barbeque, Jack London Square. A $25 donation is requested. For info, call HEPPAC at 510-434-0307.

· 12^th Annual “Sustainability at Home” Conference, Saturday, December 3: Merritt College Environmental Studies & Self Reliant House. Learn about photo voltaics, rainwater storage, gray water system, organic gardening, native plant wildlife gardening, Bay friendly gardening, composting, green building materials, solar hot water, wildlife corridor and firesafe landscaping. For details, go to ecomerritt@sbcglobal.net or call (510) 434-3840.

· Skyline High School Tours for Rising 8^th graders: If you and your eighth grader are considering applying to Skyline High School, plan on taking one of the following tours: December 6, 7, 8 and January 4,5,6,10,11, &12. Call 879-3060, ext. 198 to sign up.

· Learn More about Medicare Part D—prescriptions: World AIDS Day Fund Raiser at Everett and Jones Barbeque at Jack London Square, Friday, December 2, 6-9 pm: Congresswoman Barbara Lee is hosting a workshop on the new provisions of Medicare Part D that deal with reimbursement for prescriptions on Saturday, December 10 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Veterans Memorial Building of Oakland, 200 Grand Street. To register, please contact Congressman Barbara Lee’s office at 763-0370.

· Principal for a Day, January 10: From my days as a School Board member, I know that the job of a school principal is one of the hardest around. You can have a first-hand experience with the daily challenges that are common to principals in our local schools. Sign up for the Marcus A. Foster Educational Institutes’ annual Principal for a Day. On January 10, you can partner with a principal, spending the morning visiting classrooms, meeting teachers and trouble shooting issues as they arise. Following the morning activities, return for a reception and luncheon. To register, contact Sharleen Cole at the Marcus A. Foster Institute at (510)835-0391.

·

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT

http://www.jeanquan.org

JEAN QUAN

Council Member, District 4

City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza

Oakland, CA 94612

510 238-7004, 986-2765 fax