DISTRICT 4 NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS #166

M&W Liquors Eviction, Oakland Marks War’s 3rd Anniversary, Sausal Trout, Logo Winner, More Daffodils, Sign Up for Earth Day, Teacher Contract Forum, Missing Mail Box

1.       Office Hours in Montclair, Sunday, March 5, 10am-Noon

2.       M&W Liquors Faces Eviction

3.       Oakland to Mark 3rd Anniversary of the Iraq War

4.       Missing Mail Box

5.       The new Joaquin Miller Park Logo

6.       Fish Debates & Grates:

7.       Sign up for Earth Day Projects Now

8.       Send Us Your Daffodil Pictures

9.       Oakland Seeks Mother of the Year Nominations

10.   Seeking Candidates for Community Policing Board

11.   Mayoral Forums: 

12.   Sign the Parent Petition, Attend Public Forum on the Negotiations March 6th

13.   Katrina/Rita Call to Action this Weekend

14.   Tax Help and More at the Public Library

15.   Upcoming Green and Community Events:  Michael Morgan Conducts School Orchestras March 9; MSIC Public Meeting March 9; AAUW Summer Programs ; Oakland Women Business Leaders Conference March 24; Montera Middle School Annual Spring Auction March 25; Skyline Jazz Band at Yoshi’s Jazz House on Monday, April 3 at 8 pm ; Save the Date Maxwell Park School Clean up April 1; Horace Mann Garden May 6, Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour May 7; Celebrate Women’s History Month at the USS Hornet Museum, Saturday, March 18

 

 

 

Thanks to years of creek habitat restoration by Friends of Sausal Creek:  Steelhead Trout in Sausal Creek in a pool near El Centro in the Dimond.  See Item #6 to learn more.

 

1.    Office Hours in Montclair set for Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5, 10- Noon:  Our Chief of Staff Richard Cowan will be at our Laurel Office tomorrow 10am-Noon and I’ll be at in Montclair (6211 La Salle Avenue) Sunday morning, March 5th from 10am-Noon, for drop-in office hours. As usual, Richard will be at the Dimond Police Substation at the Dimond Safeway, 3550 Fruitvale, on Thursday, from 4 to 6 pm and Claudia will hold drop in hours on Wednesday, 4-6 pm as usual at the Laurel Office, 4173 MacArthur Blvd. 2nd floor.

 

M&W owners claim they cannot prevent the drug dealing tied to their store.  But on the day their eviction papers were served they were selling T-Shirts like this that seem aimed at intimidating neighbors. Jean holds up one of the T-Shirts at this week’s news conference.

 

2.    M&W Liquors Faces Eviction:

This week we gathered neighbors, police, and other city officials at M&W Liquors to announce a neighborhood victory.  The owner of the building occupied by M&W Liquors served notice of eviction to the store. The M&W lease expired on March 1st.  Furthermore, the property owner has agreed to give up the right to have a liquor store at that location in the future.   City attorneys estimate legal appeals could take several weeks, but are confident that court will uphold the eviction. The closure of this magnet for crime will be the product of hundreds of complaints made by neighbors throughout the Maxwell Park, Melrose, and Allendale neighborhoods. Their calls into the drug hotline, 238-DRUG and the police non-emergency line 777-3333 in conjunction with arrests for drug sales, illegal weapons, and sales of alcohol to minors made a strong case for closure. Until the eviction is complete, please continue to call.

 

çCaptain Kozicki, head of the new task force on violent crime, speaks to neighbors.    

 

 For the last two years we have been following complaints about the M&W Liquor Store at High and Fairfax. Last summer the complaints increased and multiple arrests outside and inside of the store have been made.  Neighbors report that the drug activity makes them feel unsafe driving near the store.  In the last months there were two shootings and a stabbing outside the store. 

      Over the last two years as we have tried to hold the liquor store owners accountable, the “ownership” was constantly changed to avoid a hearing on their license, we are working with our state legislators to close this loop hole.   While M&W 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 were prepared to go to a Public Nuisance hearing to challenge the Use Permit for a liquor store at that site.  In the preliminary meeting the owners agreed to evict their tenants when the lease expired on February 28th, rather than face the hearing and subsequently being fined up to $1000 per day.

 

3.    Oakland to Mark 3rd Anniversary of the Iraq War:  Last week I ran the information below on how the war in Iraq affects the local economy.  One constituent sent me an email telling me to focus on “local” issues.  I thought the links below showed how the war affected local issues and told him we would have to agree to disagree.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the local costs aren’t so apparent.  So I am sponsoring a resolution and forum on this issue:

 

Ø    On Friday, March 17, Noon to 1:30 pm, City Council chambers, I am sponsoring a Lunch-time Forum with local experts to discuss the impact of the war on the local economy and programs.  Congresswoman Barbara Lee will be on the panel Washington votes permitting.

Ø    The next day, Saturday, March 18th, the Anniversary of the War, the Congresswoman and two of her colleagues will hold a Town Hall Meeting on the Iraq War at the Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Avenue, 9am-11am.  Rep. Lynn Woolsey and Rep. Maxine Waters will join her to discuss the cost of US occupation of Iraq and whether the world is more peaceful and safe three years later.

 

President Bush’s proposed Discretionary Budget, FY2006

This chart does not include any spending for the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan as the Administration did not include estimates in the budget. Based on the current rate of war-related spending, military spending could account for around 56% of the discretionary budget.

 

 

·    The war currently 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: Oakland $404.1 million, San Jose $1.6 billion , San Francisco $1.1 billion

·    Today’s total for Oakland is about $307 million so far.  That equals hiring 5292 teachers for a year.  For more information on the costs, go to: National Priorities website.

·    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.         

 

4.      Missing Mail Boxes: Many residents of Montclair count on the mail box at the corner of Scout and Mountain to drop off their letters safely. It was installed a few years ago as part of an effort on the part of the Montclair Safety & Improvement Council to provide safe ways for residents to protect their mail from theft and by our office as a way of stopping unnecessary trips into Montclair.  Unfortunately, that mail box was damaged and removed, but will be restored as soon as it is repaired.

 

 

5. Joaquin Miller Park Logo:  Thank you to all of you who sent in your choice for the proposed new logo for Joaquin Miller Park. We received over 70 responses.  Votes were fairly close for two of the three choices, so we combined them and came up with the following logo, which will appear on signs, brochures, maps and the new website we are planning to introduce for the park.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Fish Debates & Grates: While soliciting some opinions on tree grates with a fish design, I inadvertently started a debate on our local Steelhead Trout in Sausal Creek  The most interesting thing was that many people were not aware of this wonderful natural resource that flows through most of my district.  Here are a few sources from the Dimond Improvement listserv and other sites on Sausal Creeks most treasured residents:

·          Born to be wild trout: Local fish goes global, Chronicle, 4/22/05

·          http://www.naparcd.org/steelheadtrout.htm

·          From Sam Cohen an expert member of Friends of Sausal Creek:

The resident rainbow trout in Sausal Creek are descendents of anadromous steelhead that spawned in Sausal Creek. They spend their first year in the creek and then swim out to the Bay and ocean to grow. Steelhead come back during the winter rains to spawn. Unlike Pacific Salmon, steelhead usually survive spawning and can return repeatedly to spawn. Because of migrational barriers, steelhead cannot swim up Sausal Creek. Therefore, we end up with only the resident fish that obviously don't grow to the size of their ocean going brethren.

 

Within the creek, rainbow trout populations are isolated as culverts and tall drops are often impassable barriers. Friends of Sausal Creek has been working on trout passage, summer habitat, and creating spawning areas (pools and low enough turbidity so eggs don't suffocate). Generally, the trout will swim upstream in the spring looking for good spawning habitat. We have observed rainbow trout spawning in the El Centro pool and then two months later seen the fry so we know that the spawning was successful. Rainbow trout typically spawn in the tail end of pools in medium sized gravel.

 

 

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 email 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.

 

Daffodils at Lake Merritt:  Over the last two years volunteers planted 100,000 daffodil bulbs.  My gardening friends reminded me that those that have naturalized are coming up with more than one flower…so maybe we have 200,000 daffodils reminding us of what we can do together to make the city a better place?

 

8.Send Us Your Daffodil Pictures:  If we use your photo, we’ll send you two tickets to see the A’s….that other reminder of springtime in Oakland.

 

9.Oakland Seeks Nominations for 2006 Mother of the Year:  Oakland’s Office of Parks & Recreation is launching its annual city-wide search for candidates for Oakland’s Mother of the Year 2006. If you know of an individual who shows an exceptional spirit of volunteerism and is deserving of this coveted award, please send in your nomination before Friday, March 31. The individual must be nominated by an organization, not by a relative or personal friend. Being a parent is not a requirement. A nomination form and award criteria can be found at www.oaklandnet..com/parks. The 53rd Annual Mother of the Year will be honored on Saturday, May 13 at the Morcom Rose Garden, 700 Jean Street at 10:30 am. For details, call 238-4720.

 

10. 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.

 

11. Mayoral Forums:  The Mayor’s Race is clearly getting the most press, this is a list of the debates coming up that are citywide in focus or that are in our district:

 

·        March 18th, 11:30 am- 1 pm:  District 4 Town Hall Mayoral Forum
St Lawrence O'Toole Church, 3725 High Street

·        March 30th, 7-8:30 pm:  Oakland Coalition of Congregations
First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2601 Broadway

·        April 13th, 7-9 pm:  League of Women Voters & the Marcus Foster Educational Institute, Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak St.

 

In addition, 50 debate locations were set up as part of a challenge by Council President DeLaFuente to hold a debate in every neighborhood.  Today the Montclarion  urged all the major candidates to participate.  These are the events scheduled in or near my district.  The full list can be found at the DeLaFuente for Mayor website.

 

Date

Time of Debate

Neighborhood

Location (some pending)

4

Sat, March 11

10 a.m.- Noon

Fruitvale

(Central Oakland)

Patten University

Student Activity Center

2433 Coolidge Avenue

5

Tues, March 14

6 – 7:30 p.m.

Dimond

(Central Oakland)

Dimond Library

Community Meeting Room

3565 Fruitvale Ave @ MacArthur

8

Fri, March 24

7-9 p.m.

Maxwell Park

(Central Oakland)

Maxwell Park Elementary School.  Auditorium

4730 Fleming Avenue

9

Sat, March 25

10 a.m. - Noon

Clawson / McClymonds

(West Oakland)

 

McClymonds High School

2607 Myrtle Street

14

Sat, April 8

10 a.m. - Noon

Redwood Heights

(North-East Oakland)

 

Redwood Heights Elementary

15

Sat, April 8

7 - 9 p.m.

Glenview

(Central Oakland)

 

Edna Brewer Middle School

21

Sat, April 15

7 – 9 p.m.

Allendale

(Central Oakland)

Allendale Recreation Center

 

 

28

Fri, April 28

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Laurel

(Central Oakland)

Victory Outreach Oakland

3814 MacArthur Blvd.

 

30

Sat, April 29

5 - 7:00 p.m.

Millsmont

(East Oakland)

Mills College

 

 

34

Sat, May 6

7 - 9:00 p.m.

Piedmont Pines

(North-East Oakland)

Montera Middle School

5555 Ascot Drive

 

37

Fri, May 12

8 - 10:00 p.m.

Ridgemont

(East Oakland)

Merritt College

 

 

41

Fri, May 19

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Crestmont

(North-East)

Holy Names University

 

43

Sat, May 20

10 a.m. - Noon

Seminary

(Central-East Oakland)

Frick Middle School

2845 64th Avenue

46

Tues, May 23

7 - 9:00 p.m.

Melrose

(Central Oakland)

Horace Mann Elementary

 

 

 

12. 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

 

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, 5366 College Avenue. The purpose of this forum is to provide an honest, open and respectful dialogue, and to provide both parties an opportunity to present real answers to hard questions and real evidence to support their claims. Appearing on behalf of the Teachers’ Union: David de Leeuw, Co-Director of the Health and Bioscience Academy at Oakland Technical High School, and Bargaining Chair for the OEA  Appearing on behalf of the Oakland Unified School District:  Roy Combs, OUSD General Counsel and Lead Negotiator

 

I urge Oakland citizens to look at the independent Fact Finders Report, written by a retired judge after weeks of testimony.  It basically says that the District has the resources to pay more, but the teachers must take some of the cost-sharing measures common in other contracts. Both sides must continue talking, as former union rep and former school board member I believe this can be settled.

 

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 Oakland.  Currently, the State Administrator has total authority and could unilaterally revoke the contract…we need to urge him and his boss, California Superintendent of School Jack O’Connell to continue bargaining and to be held accountable for reducing teacher turnover. 

 

HOW TO CONTACT BOTH SIDES:

 

·        Oakland Education Association

http://www.oaklandea.org/executive_board.htm

bvisnick@oaklandea.org

·        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

 

13.  Katrina/Rita Call to Action: A National Day of Prayer and Call to Action for Communities and People Affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 3, 4 and 5 and for the next SIX weekends, churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious and spiritual gatherings are asked to include a time in their programs for prayer and reflection focusing on the needs of people in the Gulf Coast region who have been displaced by the Hurricanes. Donations to organizations helping to clean up or rebuild homes would be helpful, as would letter-writing campaigns to urge the allocation of more funding by Congress. Ideas for action can be found at http://www.linkedfate.org. For additional information from a local think tank, go to www.policylink.org/Communities/Louisiana.

 

14. Tax Help and More at the Public Library: Many Oaklanders head to the library for income tax assistance and other wonderful events, check out their website: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/taxhelp/taxhelp.html

 

 

·        Thursday, March 30, 5-8 p.m. “Hot Films, Cool Music” at the Main Library. Performers from Youth Movement Records will showcase their musical talents, while Streetside Productions will screen short films made by some of their remarkable teens.

·        Tuesday, April 4, local author/illustrators Elisa Kleven (The Paper Princess), and Thacher Hurd (Art dog, Mama Don’t Allow. Ms. Kelven will present her stories and lead a collage workshop on Tuesday, April 4 at Elmhurst Branch Library, 1427 88th Avenue, 20:30 am and Brookfield Branch Library, 9255 Edes Avenue, 1 pm. Hurd will show how he creates his illustrations and will read stories to youngsters at Dimond Branch Library, 3565 Fruitvale Avenue, on April 6, 1 pm. and Piedmont Avenue Branch Library, 160-41st Street, on April 10, 7 pm.

·        Wednesday, April 5, Internet Safety Class for Parents-7 pm at the Main Library’s Children’s room 125 14th Street. Free.

·        Thursday, April 20, “An Evening with Isabel Allende in Conversation with Patricia Holt”—7 pm in the Oakland Museum of California’s James Moore Theatre, 10th and Oak Streets. A book signing and a chance to purchase titles by both writers will take place immediately following the program.

 

15. Upcoming Green and Community Events:

 

·        Michael Morgan Conducts at the OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL Thursday, March 9th, 7pm:   Farnsworth Theater at Skyline High School, 12250 Skyline Blvd. Free Public Performance
This third annual event will feature student musicians from Oakland High and Skyline High and Bret Harte, Edna Brewer, Montera, Roosevelt and Westlake Middle Schools. Michael Morgan, Music Director Conductor of the Oakland East Bay Symphony will be the Special Guest conductor.

 

·        MSIC Public Meeting, Thursday, March 9: Residents of Montclair are invited to attend the next public meeting of the Montclair Safety & Improvement Council (MSIC) on Thursday, March 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the California Savings Bank on Mountain Blvd. in Montclair. There will be an open microphone so that residents can bring up any issues of concern. MSIC officer elections will also be held. Plan to stop by…for 15 minutes or the entire event.

 

·        Sunday, March 12- AAUW Summer Programs for Children Informational Fair: If you’ve never attended this event, be sure to mark your calendar and bring along your kids. This is the one-stop shopping mart to find out about summer programs in the Bay area, ranging from sports, to music, tutoring, drama, computers and camps for kids pre-school to high school. Admission is free. The event will be held at the Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeside Drive, across from Lake Merritt, from 1 to 4:30 pm. For details, contact the American Association of University Women at 287-9855.

 

·        Oakland Women Business Leaders Conference, Friday, March 24:  The City of Oakland will host its first Women Business Leaders Conference from 8:30 am to Noon at Oakland City Hall on Friday, March 24. Meet with banks, experts in business development, City staff and representatives of Oakland’s Chambers of Commerce. Network, do business together, and learn how the City can help women-owned businesses start up, grow and make a positive contribution in Oakland. To register, call 238-7001.

 

·        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,   401 Highland Avenue, in Piedmont. The Silent Auction starts at 6. For details or an order form, contact Tracy Valva at 653-4996 tvalva@yahoo.com or Nancy Levey 530-6275 nancylevey@sbcglobal.net.

 

·        “Fiddler on the Roof” at Skyline High, March 29-April 1.

 

·        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 Reno High School jazz band festival competition in Nevada later in the spring. Contact David Blumgart directly for purchasing the $10 tickets. He may be reached at daveblumgart@yahoo.com

 

·       Save the Date: Maxwell Park School Clean up – Saturday, April 1, 9am-Noon; Horace Mann School Garden Project May 6th

 

·        Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Sunday, May 7, 10 am to 5 pm: A free tour at various locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Register for passes and a printed guide to 65 bird-and butterfly-friendly, pesticide free, water conserving, low maintenance gardens that contain 30% or more native plants. Native plants will be available for sale at more than twenty gardens, and more than 40 talks will be offered throughout the day. Registration is required at www.BringingBackTheNatives.net prior to April 20th. Volunteers are needed and rewarded with free, private tours of beautiful native gardens. For more information visit the website, email Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net or call (510) 236-9558 between 9 am and 9 pm.

 

·        Celebrate Women’s History Month at the USS Hornet Museum, Saturday, March 18: From 11 am to 3:30 pm, visitors can learn about the changing roles of women in the military while exploring the historic aircraft carrier, participating in pilot briefings, and witnessing aircraft being lifted to the flight deck. A panel of women pilots, space technicians, and military veterans will give a special presentation at 1 pm. The USS Hornet museum is located at 707 W. Hornet Avenue, Pier 3, in Alameda. For details, call 521-844,ext. 237 or go to www.hornetevents.com

 

 

TO SUBSCRIBE OR 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

 

The Creation of  a Thousand Forests is in One Acorn.