DISTRICT
4 NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS #165
Seniors Scam Alert, Liquor Stores, Free Pet Shots, Sign up for Earth Day April 22, Forum on Teacher Negotiations, Oak to 9th Forum, Last Call for JM Logo
1.
Office Hours
in
2.
Sad
Anniversary of the
3.
Story of Two
Liquor Outlets: Club Nayarit and M&W Liquors
4.
Seniors
& Scam Artists
5.
Seeking
Candidates for Community Policing Board
6.
Public Forum
on Teachers Negotiations March 6th:
City, Parents Urge OUSD & Teachers to Negotiate, Read the Fact
Finders Report
7.
Sign up for
Earth Day Projects Now
8.
Free Pet
Shots, Sunday, February 26, 11 am - 3 pm at Eastmont
Mall
9.
LWV Forum on
Oak to Ninth
10.
11.
Last Call - Help Select
New Logo for
12.
Bookmobile
in the
13.
One City One
Book: Book discussion groups &
dancing events coming up
14.
Upcoming Green
and Community Events: Mayoral Forums, Maxwell Park Clean-up April 1st , Skyline Jazz at Yoshi’s
April 3rd Oakland Women
Business Leaders Conference March 24; Montera Middle
School Annual Spring Auction March 25; Save the Date; Maxwell Park School Clean
up April 1; Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour May 7
Over 20 people
gathered in this weeks Vigil Against the War at Fruitvale & MacArthur Blvd: As
we approach the third anniversary of the war, it is a good time to reflect on
how the war touches our lives. See #2.
1.
Office
Hours in
Email
Problems: As the City continues to expand our
email systems and security, our servers are undergoing changes. We have found that a few emails that we
should have received or that we have sent seem to have disappeared in the last
few weeks. Additionally, if you copy
other people on an email that you send us directly…it most likely ends up in
our new spam filters. While we try to
retrieve as many as possible, we often have to sort through hundreds of spam
emails a day and may miss one occasionally.
So if you don’t hear from us in two working days, contact us
again. Each of us averages 100-150
emails each day. Our goal is to respond
in one working day, but on some days we can’t get to everyone. This is especially true on Tuesdays when we
are often in formal City Council meetings all day and most of the evening.
2.
Sad
Anniversary Approaches: The Congress is considering the President’s
third request for $70 Billion more for the war.
The Chronicle did a good
article this week on the “local” cost of war put together by the National
Priorities website. Both are good
food for thought as we approach the third anniversary of the war. While there will be a major demonstration in
·
The war current costs the nation
about $100,000 per minute.
·
Including the new appropriations in front of Congress, the local
financial share of the war costs will be:
·
Today’s total for
·
The costs are more than
financial. This website measures formal
military casualties, but does not cover the civilian losses. Nor is there an estimate for how many more
will die in this country, because the President is cutting Headstart, schools,
police, medicare and Medicaid benefits at the same
time.
· True
Majority has online petitions to Congress.
3.
Story
of Two Liquor Outlets: The story of two problem liquor outlets come
to a head this month. Last year the
residents of the Melrose-High area named the Club Nayarit
as one of its most problem liquor outlets.
Loud noise, adjoining drinking, prostitution, and drug dealing near and
in the bar were reported. Based on
arrests, police reports, and neighborhood complaints we worked with neighbors,
the ABAT (Alcohol, Beverages and Tobacco Unit), Arturo Sanchez of Nuisance
Properties and Laura Blair of the Neighborhood Law Corps to bring the club
owners to a hearing. Shortly, before the
hearing the owner agreed to most of the conditions that we would have requested
from the hearing officer. Since then a
licensed security guard was hired, the building has been brought up to code,
and complaints have almost disappeared and there have been no new arrests for
drug dealing.
Last week, as the last step in the
Compliance Plan, the owners brought the following design to the
Last year the M&W Liquor Store at High
and Fairfax also started generating a large number of drug related crimes. Multiple arrests outside and inside of the
store have been made. Neighbors reported
that the drug activity makes them feel unsafe driving near the store. Last weekend there was shooting. Over the last two years as we have tried to
hold the owners accountable the “ownership” was constantly changed to avoid a
hearing on their license. While owners
claimed to be able to do nothing, they refused to use the video equipment
installed for sidewalk and interior surveillance and sold t-shirts reading “No
Snitching” or promoting drug use. They
either put or allowed furniture on the sidewalks used by the dealers gathering
there. Last month we prepared to go to a Public Nuisance hearing challenging
the Use Permit for a liquor store at that site.
In the preliminary meeting the owners agreed to evict their tenants when
the lease expires on February 28th, rather than face the hearing and
subsequently being fined up to $1000 per day.
We understand that the liquor store owners will try to fight the
eviction, but we believe the continuing incidents outside and inside the store
will mean an eviction reasonably soon.
Channel 2 covered this yesterday, http://www.ktvu.com/video/7387777/detail.html
4.
Safety
Alert for Seniors—Watch Out for Scam Artists: Twice this past week our office received reports of local seniors at risk
from scam artists. One involved people calling a senior to tell her that she
was the recipient of government funds. They had more details about her than she
would have expected. Ever alert, she notified her neighbors and our office, and
we cautioned her not to open her door to the individuals should they show up at
her door step, as they had promised. Fortunately, the fact that she asked a lot
of questions dissuaded them from going any further. The other had to do with several
young men in their late 20s approaching businesses in the Dimond
and trying to convince the owners that they needed work done on their parking
lots. Quick thinking on the part of another
business owner prevented an elderly property owner from signing a $3,000
contract. Once again, by asking pointed questions, such as “do you have a
contractor’s license?” and “may I see a copy of your license” was enough to
send them scattering. Remember, anyone doing
door-to-door solicitation must have a permit from the City of
In the past year, we are seeing more and more of our neighborhood listservs alerting neighbors of unusual and possible
illegal activity in their neighborhood. It is an effective way to contact
neighbors and quickly put a stop to scam artists—All the more reason for
neighbors to form Neighborhood Watch and/or CORE groups. The first step is to
put together a list of contact information for your neighbors—name, address,
work, home and cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and a list of who lives at
the house—adults, children, seniors, pets, etc.
Organizing a Neighborhood Watch is easy to do, and is one of the most
important things you can do to prevent crime.
Please call 238-3128 or email FVerdin@oaklandnet.com
as soon as you can to organize a meeting to get you and your neighbors together
to form your Neighborhood Watch. All you
need is a date, time and location and an invitation to your neighbors asking
them to attend the meeting. Meetings
usually take place Monday - Thursday in the evening at 6:00pm, 6:30pm or 7 pm;
however we can work out a time that is mutually beneficial for you and your
neighbors. How to Start a Neighborhood Watch Group Leaflet.
Over 50
neighbors come together for the a Family Emergency Preparedness Class at Dimond Library this week.
To find sign up for free classes, http://www.oaklandnet.com/fire/core/resources.html
5.
Seeking Candidates for Community Policing
Board: With the passing of
Marvin Smith, there is now an opening for a District 4 representative to the
Community Policing Board. The Board works with the Police Department to
strengthen community-police collaborations.
If you are interested in serving on this Board, please send me a letter
describing what experience you have in community policing and involvement in
Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils (NCPCs) or
Neighborhood Home Alert skills Please include your resume.
6.
Sign
the Parent Petition, Attend Public Forum on the Negotiations March 6th: Christopher
Waters and Kathy Rieves, Peralta Parent Teacher Group
(PPTG) Co-Chairs, are circulating a petition asking people to urge resolution
of the District/Teachers impasse. You can sign the petition online by logging
on to http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/Negotiate_Now
This is in addition to the resolution that
the City Council passed urging the State Administrator for the
Additionally, the Peralta Parent Teacher Group is hosting
a forum on Monday, March 6, from
6 to 8 pm. at
the meeting room of the Rockridge Public Library,
Appearing
on behalf of the Teachers’
·
David de Leeuw, Co-Director of the Health and
Appearing
on behalf of the
·
I urge
What disturbs me most is the current rate
of teacher turnover: 30 percent. Even in the
worst years of the late 80’s when the district was nearly taken over by the
state and the district practiced the poor management practice of laying off the
youngest teachers each year until the state settled the budget….the turnover
rate was not this high!
We must work together to make
sure that teachers are paid fairly and want to stay in
HOW TO CONTACT BOTH SIDES:
·
http://www.oaklandea.org/executive_board.htm
·
State
Administrator Randy Ward: randolph.ward@secmail.ousd.k12.ca.us,
·
Jack
O'Connell, State Superintendent
(916) 319–0800 (ph) joconnell@cde.ca.gov
·
Senator
Don Perata
510-286-1333 (ph),
510-286-3885 (fax) senator.perata@sen.ca.gov
·
Assemblywoman
Wilma Chan
916-319-2016 (ph),
916-319-2116 (fax) wilma.chan@assembly.ca.gov
Daffodils
at the top of
7. Sign up for Earth
Day Projects Now: Earth Day falls on Saturday, April 22 this year.
Last year, District 4 had the most projects in the city and we anticipate that
we will continue to generate many beautification projects throughout District
4. While the deadline for official status with Keep Oakland Beautiful (KOB) isn’t until March 20, we encourage groups to
sign up early, so you can take advantage of the tools, t-shirts, water and
other goodies that KOB provides. Our
office often provides technical advice and raises funds to supply food, plants,
and supplies for projects. Please
send an e-mail with the location, project and contact person, phone number and
e-mail address to Jennifer Argueta (jargueta@oaklandnet.com)
so that we know you are planning an activity. Go to http://www.oaklandpw.com/AssetFactory.aspx?did=1558
to download a registration form.
8.
Free
Shot Fair for Dogs and Cats, Sunday, February 26, 11 am to 3 pm, Eastmont Town Center Mall:
The East Bay SPCA will be
providing vaccinations and rabies shots for dogs, cats, kittens and puppies as
well as information on free spay and neuter surgery. Please refer your neighbors to http://www.eastbayspca.org/events/shotfair.cfm
. Spanish speakers will be
available!
Sketch of proposed marina-restaurant area in
the Oak to Ninth development.
9.
LWV Forum on Oak to Ninth Development,
Thursday, March 2, 7pm: The
Oak to 9th Development will be one the largest new developments in
the city’s immediate future. Located on the city’s estuary it raises complex
questions of the balance between housing, retail, open space, density,
historical preservation, and public access.
The League of Women Voters is conducting a public forum on the Oak to
Ninth Development plan on Thursday, March 2 at 7 pm in the City Council Chambers
at City Hall. The forum will present divergent viewpoints on the plan for
waterfront development currently under consideration by the City. Scheduled
speakers include representatives of the City of
10.
Allendale Rec Center
Users—Fill out Survey: The
new director a the Allendale Recreation Center Director is seeking community
input on what programs the community would like to see at the center. If
you live in the area, please take a moment to complete this survey and provide
feedback to the center director.
11.
Last Call - Help Us Choose Logo for
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3 12. Bookmobile in the
Laurel: The Oakland Public Library Bookmobile returns to the Albertson’s
parking lot in the Laurel on Tuesday, March 7,
and again on March 28 , April 18, and every three weeks thereafter. It
also swings by the
13. Last
Events for
"The
idea is that the city that opens the same book closes it in greater
harmony."
-Mary McGrory, The
Speakers and readings at Montclair
Library bring this citywide campaign to an end.
Hope to see you there. This book
talks about issues both familiar yet whimsically different. The Mistress of Spices tells the
story of Tilo, trained in the ancient art of spices,
who operates a shop in
· Reading and discussion guide
·
February 25, 3-5 pm - Shailja Patel Performs: Spoken Word Theater Performance,
Montclair Branch Library,
·
Salon of Spices: South Asian Writers in Performance featuring Wajahat Ali, Shailja Patel, Mahmud Rahman & others. February 25, 7-9 pm, Barnes &
14. Upcoming Green and Community Events:
·
·
·
Montera Middle School Annual Spring Auction,
Saturday, March 25: Help support one of our local middle schools by donating goods or
services to the 2006 Spring Auction. This year, the auction is being held
at the Piedmont Veterans Hall,
·
Skyline Jazz Band at Yoshi’s Jazz
House on Monday, April 3 at 8 pm: This is a benefit set show for the Skyline Jazz band to
raise money towards the
·
Save the Date:
·
Bringing Back the
TO SUBSCRIBE OR FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT
JEAN
QUAN
Council Member, District
4
City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa
Plaza
Oakland,
CA 94612
510 238-7004, 986-2765
fax
The Creation of a Thousand Forests is in One
Acorn.