1. Calling for Local Heroes Nominations

2. Celebrate Lunar New Years, the Year of the Dog 4703, in Many Ways and Cultures!

3. Two Upcoming Meetings About Park Stewardship/Maintenance

4. Ties to the 1906 Earthquake

5. New Walking Officer for the Dimond

6. Laurel Purse Snatching Alert

7. More on Dogs & Cats: Leashes, Free Vaccinations, Microchips

8. Thank You Joaquin Miller Park Volunteers

9. Winter Storms & Emergency Preparedness

10. Measure DD Update

11. One City One Book: Book discussion groups & dancing events coming up

12. Recycling Computers and Ink/Toner Cartridges

13. Consider Chabot Space & Science Center for your next event

14. Hosting International Students from Mills College

15. Upcoming Green and Community Events: FOSC Birding Tomorrow, Feather River Family Camp, Green Roofs, Park Volunteer Appreciation Night, Crab Feed Fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club, Studio One & Mosaic Forest Art Classes

1. Calling for Nominations for District 4 Local Heroes: Do you know of a District 4 resident who is a local hero? An inspirational neighbor who has done work on behalf of our community? Nominees may win tickets to an A’s Game and the top five Local Heroes will be chosen to designate $1000 in capital improvements to the public (city or school) project of their choice. This is the third year that my office is sponsoring our District 4 Local Heroes Awards. We’ll be honoring our awardees at a special celebration—complete with Lion Dance in honor of the Year of the Dog-- on Saturday, February 11. Go to www.jeanquan.org to learn more about winners in past year’s Local Heroes.

2. Happy Lunar New Year, Happy Year of the Dog 4703: Over the next three weeks you will have an opportunity to celebrate the Asian Lunar New Year in many communities and in many ways. You will be able to literally get a taste of how the Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and other cultures celebrate the new year:

v CHINATOWN BAZAAR THIS WEEKEND: You can get everything you need to celebrate the holidays and more at he Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce annual Chinese New Year Bazaar. It draws over 35,000 visitors annually, making it the largest event of its kind in Northern California.  One hundred vendors will sell food, souvenirs, clothing, flowers, toys and other unique wares on Saturday, January 21 and Sunday January 22 from 9am to 5pm. Cultural performances and more are featured on stages and in the Pacific Renaissance courtyard, on 9th Street and on Franklin Street. I’ll be there tomorrow at noon to offer official greetings as Vice Mayor and to buy flowers and other goodies for the holidays.

v CELEBRATE TET WITH THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY SUNDAY: Our Vietnamese community organizes its 4^th Annual Tet Festival at Clinton Park (between E.12th and International and 6th and 7th Avenues) on Sunday, January 22 from 10am-6pm.  This year’s festival will feature 40 booths, many serving authentic Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnamese cuisine.  The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:30am will feature dragon and uniform dancing and other ceremonial activities.  The Festival will offer a variety of attractions to people of all ages, including musical and cultural performances, youth talent competitions, karaoke, and a martial arts demonstration. For more maps and more information, http://www.vaced.org/06Tet/06Tet.htm

v LUNAR NEW YEAR AT THE OAKLAND ASIAN CULTURAL CENTER, Saturday, January 28, Noon-4pm: This free event will offer a daylong celebration of cultures with elements of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean cultures. The celebration will feature: Traditional music, dance, & martial arts performances, arts and craft activities and educational materials The Oakland Asian Cultural Center inside the Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 2^nd Floor, 388 Ninth Street, Suite 290. For more information got to this site, call 637-0455 or visit www.oacc.cc

v OAKLAND MUSEUM CELBRATES WITH PANDA ACROBATS, TAIKO, AND MOCHI POUNDING ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 29TH: Celebrate the first day of the Lunar New Year with dragon dancers, the Red Panda Acrobats, Taiko drumming by Kizakura, and J. D. Zhang in “Change of Face.” Activities include mochi pounding and tasting, Chinese opera face painting, storytelling, demonstrations of Tae Kwon Do and Sogetsu ikebana, tea testing, and cooking demonstrations. Visit the artists’ marketplace and food and craft vendors. Presented with DEAF Media and the National Japanese American Historical Society. For a detailed schedule visit: Lunar New Year Schedule 12–4 p.m. All activities included with museum admission.

v LION DANCING IN THE LAUREL COMBINED WITH LOCAL HERO CELEBRATION AT OUR OFFICE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11^TH: For the third year we will be serving tea and Chinese goodies in our Lunar New Open House at our district office in the Laurel, 4157 MacArthur Blvd, 2^nd Floor. We invite you to come and shop and visit the Laurel that day and stop by for a treat between 10am and 1 pm. This is also the day we give our Annual Local Hero Awards and the day the Laurel Merchants have Chinese Lions dance through the area to bring luck to all the merchants and stores. The Lion usually visits us between 11:30 pm and Noon.

3. Park Stewardship and Maintenance Public Meetings: Oakland has been named one of the greenest cities in the nation. One of the reasons is literally the wonder natural resources that we have preserved in our area. Two meetings to consider if you are interested in the City’s parks:

Ø Wednesday, January 25, 6 p.m. Garden Center, Lakeside Garden Center—Councilmember Jane Brunner and I are hosting an informational meeting on Keeping our City Bright, Safe and Green. We will discuss the current Landscape and Lighting Assessment District and the challenges we face in maintaining the City’s parks, open spaces and street lights under this 15 year old measure. Since the district was established the city has added over 320 acres of new park space, 9000 new trees and over 3000 lights.

Ø Thursday, January 26, 8:30-10 am—Oakland’s Groundwork Trust Steering Committee invites the public to a presentation by the San Francisco Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC) on their web-based system for reporting and tracking park conditions and their other park stewardship efforts. To learn more about NPC and “Parkscan”, go to www.sfneighborhoodparks.org/index.html

4. Does Your Family Have Ties to the 1906 SF Earthquake? This April the Bay Area will commemorate the 100^th Anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake. The 1906 Earthquake changed Oakland almost as dramatically as it shaped San Francisco. Like the migrations of the Gold Rush and World War II industrial growth, the thousands of families that moved here after the earthquake changed our city’s history. It played an important role in my family’s history. My great grandfather and grandfather (below) fled San Francisco when Chinatown was destroyed by the fire after the earthquake. They took the ferry to Oakland and it’s been home to my Quan relatives ever since.

After talking to several others whose families came to Oakland right after the earthquake, we are thinking of having party to celebrate the survival of our families and their contributions to Oakland in April. The Oakland Museum of California will be celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the Great Quake by featuring local families with a historical connection to the 1906 Earthquake, mine included. If any of you or friends also have this “Big Quake” Connection, contact us: jquan@oaklandnet.com

Ø There will be lots of opportunities to learn more about what was –until Hurricane Katrina– considered the biggest disaster in American history. The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley offers an exhibit, "1906: The Great Quake -- The History of a Disaster," in the Bernice Layne Brown Gallery of Doe Library that features The Bancroft's own photos, ephemera, manuscripts and more that tell the dramatic story of the April 18, 1906, disaster and its aftermath. You can check it out on line at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/earthquakeandfire/.

5. New Walking Officer for the Dimond: Lieutenant Ricardo Orozco PSA 4 Commander (for the Dimond area) reports that as of this week Officer Iram Padilla is now assigned to the Laurel/Dimond District, until Officer Damon Gilbert returns from his "On Duty Injury" status. Officer Padilla will split his time Monday through Thursday in both Districts.

6. High-Laurel Purse Snatching Alert: Over the past several weeks there have been several residents in the Laurel who have been victims of robberies and/or purse snatches in the early morning hours, especially around commute time. The suspect description provided is usually a male black in his 20's or 30's. Frequently no other description information is available. Officer Karla Rush is currently working on trying to identify this individual or group of individuals responsible. She would like all early morning commuters especially along the High Street Corridor to pay close attention to any individuals that might be hanging or sitting in the area for a long period of time. The victims of these attacks are individuals who are usually rushing and inattentive to their surroundings. If you are out walking it is important that you remain alert. Individuals walking and talking on cell phones, the elderly, women with children and individuals walking with headsets on their heads are easy targets. Officer Rush is notifying day watch units about the increase in daytime purse snatches and robberies along the McArthur/High Street corridor and surrounding streets. If you see someone suspicious sitting or loitering in a particular location, leave the area and call the non-emergency number at 777-3333 or 911.  9-1-1 on a cell phone is 777-3211. Provide a clothing description of the individual(s) and any other noticeable characteristics (race, age, mustache, baggy pants, hooded jacket, glasses, tennis shoes, etc...) let the dispatcher know there has been a problem with early morning robberies in the area. If you are a victim of a crime, it is important that a crime report is filed. If you need assistance on this matter you can call Officer Rush at 777-8646 or Neighborhood Services Coordinator Renee Sykes at 777-8718.

7. More On Dogs—Leashes, Vaccinations, Microchips:

Ø Leashes in Parks—Our office often hears concerns that friendly dogs on trails and in our parks scare young children and their parents when they are not on a leash. This is a frequent occurrence in Dimond Park, which has seen a tremendous increase in use by families, hikers, and people with dogs as the Friends of Sausal Creek have made improvements to the trails along Sausal Creek. City rules require that when dogs are allowed in parks (and many parks DO NOT allow dogs), they must be on a leash no longer than 6 feet, and always under control of the person walking them. In Dimond Canyon, there has been some confusion because part of the trails used to managed by East Bay Regional Parks, which allows dogs to be off-leash in several of their parks. However, several years ago, that stretch went under the management of Oakland’s Parks & Recreation Department, which means that Oakland rules about dogs on leash apply. Unfortunately, the signage in that area has not yet changed, so people don’t realize that all of the property is City of Oakland property. As the City will be changing the signs in the near future, we wanted to give our dog aficionados a “heads up.”

Ø Off Leash Dog Parks—We recognize that dogs need places to run and play unrestricted by leashes. Our office is working with Oakland Dogs (O’Dogs) on several proposals for off-leash dog parks, including one in Joaquin Miller Park, with separate areas for large and small dogs.

Ø Free Vaccination for Dogs & Cats: The first "Shot Fair of 2006" will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2006 at Eastmont Town Center in Oakland.  There will be free vaccinations and information on pet health and pet care. For additional information, please visit http://www.eastbayspca.org/events/shotfair.cfm or telephone 510/569-0702.

Ø Microchip and License Dogs Before the End of 2006! All dogs 4 months of age and older must have a current rabies vaccination, an implanted microchip with the number registered with Oakland Animal Services, and a current license with Oakland Animal Services.  Dogs that were licensed before January 1, 2006 are exempt from the microchip requirement for one year.  All other dogs must be licensed and microchipped by January 1, 2006.  Households that have more than three dogs that are all currently licensed by January 1, 2006 are exempt from Oakland's three dog limit.  Anyone who has more than three dogs that have not been licensed by January 1, 2006 can be cited.  You can have your dog implanted for $10 at Oakland’s Animal Shelter, 1101 29th Ave, or at a local veterinarian’s office. For details, go to www.oaklandanimalservices.org.

8. Thank You Joaquin Miller Park Volunteers: Thanks for the big turnout of Joaquin Miller Park volunteers who worked to improve and protect trails in the rain on Saturday (the best time according to Parkstaff/guardian Martin Matarese). Ever notice the bumps or trenches in the trails in our parks? To keep our trails from turning into muddy rivers and eroding off into canyons and creeks, the bumps and ditches are built to divert water off to the sides. Several members of the East Bay Bike Coalition and the Joaquin Miller Planning Task Force joined Sue Piper of our office, Parks Staff Martin Matarese, and myself on the Cinderella and Chaparral Trails.

9. Winter Storms Serve as Reminders to Prepare for Emergencies: Now is the time to organize your neighborhood for emergency preparedness—having contact information about each resident in your area is critical. During the storm we heard from neighbors who had to help elderly and disabled relatives and friends. If your neighborhood has not already gone through the training program from Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies (CORE), call them and sign up for their free workshops. They have forms and strategies to get you going (510-238- 6351 or email them at core@oaklandnet.com.

Free Disaster Preparedness Class, Wednesday, February 22: Learn how to protect your household from disaster hazards. This free class is open to ALL Oakland citizens. The Dimond neighborhood is presenting this CORE training in part to begin to forge disaster-response partnerships at the neighborhood-to-neighborhood level. 8:30 pm at the Dimond Library community room, 3565 Fruitvale Avenue (across from Safeway). To register, contact Edward Goehring, Coordinator of the Dimond Neighborhood Public Safety Council at ebgb@sbcglobal.net or 336-1256.

Ø Emergency Siren Testing: the first Wednesday of the month is when the City tests its emergency siren system. When it goes off, you should tune into the emergency radio station to learn more about what to do in an emergency—ranging from fire to chemical spill, etc. For details—ahead of time—go to http://www.oaklandnet.com/oakweb/fire/sirens.html

Ø Update those emergency supplies; keep flashlights in all parts of your home. Some of us cooked over our propane barbeques and camp stoves. In our office, most of us have the hand crank radios (some of these let you charge your cell phones) and chemical flashlights. The one storm fatality in our city was a District 4 resident who apparently fell down stairs during the electrical black out.

Ø Check your trees: I have spent many days over the last weeks studying tree related damage to homes, road, etc. Many of our Monterey Pines are nearing the end of their lives; consider removing older ones and replanting natives like redwood or oaks. Eucalyptus is notorious for weak structure and often drops branches in high winds. Look for erosion around the roots. Try to keep the soil around oaks drained and dry. Winter is the best time for the health of your trees to trim them, consider thinning out weaker branches or topping them.

Ø Mulching of tree limbs: For those of you in the Wildfire Prevention District, you can take advantage of the once a year free mulching service by calling 238-7833. No green waste, just tree limbs and branches no larger than 4 inches in diameter in 4 x 4-foot stacks. No more than 2 stacks. They will return you branches in bags of mulch!

10. Measure DD Funds Support Creek Restoration in District 4: Many of the city’s watershed have their start in the hills of my district. As a result, District 4 has 7 creek restoration projects on the Measure DD list of top 20 priorities, and 4 sections of creeks out of 11 on the prioritized watershed preservation and acquisition project list. Not all of the projects will be funded immediately, but on the list for this year are the following District 4 projects (Priority ranking):

Ø (2)Sausal Creek Restoration, Dimond Park: remove falling concrete spillway, repair eroding banks, create new trout habitat and possible daylighting of creek in Dimond Park

Ø (3)Shepherd Creek at Shepherd Canyon Park: restore natural channel in former dump site. Create a trail to connect the surrounding residential area to the park, restore the natural channel and plant native vegetation.

Ø (5)Peralta Creek, Butters Canyon: Develop and implement restoration plan for lots previously acquired by Butters Land Trust, and additional lots purchased and/or preserved via conservation easements by the City of Oakland. Project is located at the headwaters of Peralta Creek.

Ø (7)Courtland Creek, Courtland Creek Park (Between Brookdale and Fairfax Avenues): Remove non-native vegetation, open up view of the creek, restore native plants, implement bank stabilization, and install safety rails along two existing stairways down to the creek, replace wood rail in areas at the top of the bank.

The following projects are ranked, but probably will not be addressed this year do to funding limitations:

Ø (10)Palo Seco Daylighting at Joaquin Miller Park: Daylight 1000 feet of streambed. Restore riparian habitat. Retain existing picnic areas and provide bridges to link picnic areas to existing trails.

Ø (13) Lion Creek at McCrea Memorial Park (casting ponds): Restoration of channel and native habitat, improve connection between park and the creek.

Ø (17) Sausal Creek, Beaconsfield Open Space: Daylight creek from deteriorating culvert, restore habitat and address severe erosion.

11. Oakland Public Library Launches One City, One Book Campaign Featuring Chitra Divakaruni's “The Mistress of Spices”

"The idea is that the city that opens the same book closes it in greater harmony."
-Mary McGrory, The Washington Post

During the holidays I finished the “Mistress of Spices,” set in Oakland and recently made into a movie.

Communities all over the United States have embraced the idea of creating civic unity through the reading and discussion of a common book. I hope you will join me in reading this book and discussing it with those you love, neighbors and friends. Discussion groups are planned at libraries, bookstores, and community groups throughout the city. Organize one yourself…we will post all the discussions in our district.

This book talks about issues both familiar yet whimsicallydifferent. The Mistress of Spices tells the story of Tilo, trained in the ancient art of spices, who operates a shop in Oakland from which she administers curative spices to the local Indian community. Conflicts between the old and young, immigrants and their New American children, love and duty and an earthquake will keep you reading to the end.

The library has organized great South Asian cultural experiences: Indian dancing, both classical and hip hop; henna workshops; and an Indian buffet and reception with the author on Friday, February 10, 7:30 p.m. in the James Moore Theatre, Oakland Museum of California, 10th & Oak Streets.

· Reading and discussion guide

· February 2 - Laurel Book Store, 4100 MacArthur Blvd., 7:00-8:30 pm

· February 4^th, 3-5 pm - Classical Indian Dance Program Inspired by The Mistress of Spices by the PAMPA (Prabhat Academy for Music and Performing Arts), Dimond Branch Library, 3565 Fruitvale Avenue. See photo left.

· February 25, 3-5 pm - Shailja Patel Performs: Spoken Word Theater Performance, Montclair Branch Library, 1687 Mountain Blvd.

· Complete Calendar of Events

12. Recycle, Reuse, Reduce: Recycle Your Computer & Cartridges:

Other computers and technology products can be donated to the Oakland Tech Exchange West at 1680 14^th Street (893-4822), which provides repaired computers to Oakland public school students. This is one of my favorite programs which I helped support as a school board member. This program trains students to repair and recycle computers. In addition to helping schools supplement their computers, it provides hundreds of computers to students to take home or off to college.

Toner and Laser Cartridges: While many companies have their own recycling programs for their products, here are a few local Toner and Laser Cartridges reuse and recycling centers:

Cartridge World, 5940 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618 428-9500—bring in old, empty injet and laser cartridges and have them refilled while you wait, including color inkject cartridges, for about half the cost of new. Open Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat. 11-5

Give Something Back Foundation, 2986 Alvarado Street, Unit H, San Leandro 633-5500 www.givesomethingback.com Drop off M-F 8 a.m. -5 pm.

Office Depot, 3010 E. 9^th Street, Oakland 94601, 535-1400: Drop off used laser and toner cartridges and get a free ream of recycled paper or $2.50 off on your next purchase of any ink, toner or fax product for each ink or tonor cartridge returned toOffice Depot stores.

13. Looking for Space to Rent for Meetings? Consider Chabot Space & Science Center: Mention my name (I’m a founding member of the Chabot Board), and your group is eligible for a 15% discount on any room rental between now and February 28. For details, call Sarah Rogers, 510-336-7421 or email: srogers@chabotspace.org. You can also find out more by going to http://www.chabotspace.org/aboutus/rental/default.asp

14. Hosting an International Student from Mills College: Mills College has an immediate need of a few beds for international students. Mills pays a stipend for each student. Students are between 16 and 60, and come from all over the world. They stay for varying lengths of time, some 2 weeks, some up to a year. If you’ve got a spare room and are interested, contact Lisa Besso via MPNCPC@yahoogroups.com

15. Upcoming Green and Community Events:

· Friends of Sausal Creek Birding Event: The next birding date is Sat. 1/21/06. Meet at the Sequoia Parking lot in Joaquin Miller Park off Skyline Blvd. at 8AM. Hope for good weather.

· Oakland Feather River Camp 2006 Kick-Off Event: Saturday, January 28, Noon – 2 pm at Lakeshore Baptists Church, 3534 Lakeshore Avenue. Come for food, music, camaraderie and to learn what’s new for the 2006 season at Oakland’s Feather River Camp. For more information, call Camps in Common at 336-2267 or e-mail info@featherRiverCamp.com

· Sign up for Studio One Art Classes: New classes are enrolling now for courses in painting, drawing, fused glass, stained glass, glass bead-making, ceramics, sculpture and metals/jewelry making. Classes began this week, but there are still places available. While Studio One undergoes renovation, classes are being held at 1428 Alice Street in the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts (formerly known as The Alice Arts Center). Register on-line at www.oaklandnet.com/parks or call 597-5027.

· Mosaic Forest Art Studio: Located at 3315 MacArthur Blvd. (near Midvale), Mosaic Forest Art Studio offers affordable walk-in studio time, classes, workshops, birthday art parties and gallery events for children and adults. Limited scholarships are available due to the generosity of some folks who strongly believe in what the studio is doing. About 90 people turned out for Mosaic Forest's official opening on Friday, January 13^th. Register now for classes and workshops scheduled through the end of March. If you would like to register for a class, get more information, and/or inquire about a party or gift certificate, stop by the studio or visit the website at http://www.mosaicforest.com

· Volunteer Appreciation Evening: The City of Oakland Public Works Agency, Office of Parks & Recreation, Keep Oakland Beautiful and the Oakland Parks Coalition are hosting a Volunteer Appreciation Evening on Wednesday, February 1 from 5 to 7 pm at the Lakeside Park Garden Center for all of the volunteers who work on projects that keep our City parks and open spaces green and clean. For details, Call 339-2818.

· Oakland Green Roof Market Development Symposium, Thursday, February 9, 8:30 am-4:30 pm: Come to Laney College (900 Fallon Street) and learn about the Mayor’s Sustainability Program in the City of Oakland. Tuition is $195. For details, contact jsprout@greenroofs.org

· Studio One Children’s Art Camp—Presidents Day Holiday, Monday, February 20:Open to students aged 6-12, from 9 am to 4 pm, $35. Located at 1428 Alice Street in