• Council Recess: Formal Council meetings start again after Labor Day, but our regular City Hall and District 4 office hours are the same throughout the summer.

• On Labor Day weekend, I'll join the city recycling staff at the Art and Soul Festival downtown to explain our Zero Waste Goals and the new ban on polystyrene take out food containers.

• September Montclair Office Hours . Instead of hosting our office hours on our usual first Sunday or Labor Day weekend, we will have our booth at the Montclair Wine & Jazz Festival on Sunday, September 9th.

(Above) Jean with the Prescott Clowns at last year's Laurel Street Fair.

My office and the City are proud to join the Laurel District Association in sponsoring the LAUREL WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL, tomorrow Saturday, August 12th from 1pm to 7pm. The festival is packed full of entertainment for the entire family including two stages featuring live World Music performances by professional musicians and local talent, a Kid's World Family Fun Park with activities for children of all ages, a street fair with over 80 local artisans, merchants, community groups and international gourmet cuisine. The festival will take place along MacArthur Blvd. between 35th Ave and 38th Ave. Admission is free

For a complete Schedule.

 

For more details about the event please visit ...

Photos wanted: As we get word of more unregistered National Night Out parties, it's clear that almost 70 neighborhoods in our district joined in! Thank you for the many new photos that were sent to us this week. Registered or not, if we don't have a representative photo from your neighborhood, we would still like to have one. Please send us digital photo.

If you sent us one and you don't see it, please send it again. We found some in our spam filter and we may not have caught them all.

(Left) Enjoying National Night Out on Maybelle Avenue.

For more photos of National Night Out 2006 in District 4...

• $2000 Reward for Clues Leading to the Arrest of the Trash Can Snatchers: After a flurry of publicity this week, the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Community Bank of the Bay, and the Public Works Department have offered to match my offer of a $500 reward from my privately raised office holder funds for evidence leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves, driving a white truck, who stole 20 trash cans in the Dimond last week. It appears that 75 cans have disappeared citywide! If you have any information regarding the theft, please contact Richard Cowan in my office: rcowan@oaklandnet.com or 238-7041.
 

• OPD is currently conducting an investigation and has a few leads. We are asking the public to report any suspicious activity to OPD’s Theft Section at 777-8602. Furthermore, a notice is being sent to all scrap metal recyclers in the region notifying them to be on the lookout for these stolen containers and warning them that recycling stolen municipal property is illegal.

• How much do these cans cost? Due to an apparent math error in the Chronicle story, local media has incorrectly reported the cost of the cans as being half a million or $8000 each. Fortunately, we are not buying these from the Pentagon's suppliers. The cans were purchased with a state grant, funded by bottle deposit fees on beverages, to increase recycling in the city These tough stainless steel trash cans have compartments on the top for recycling bottles and cans. To buy, ship, and install, they may cost up to $1500 each.

• A NICE CONTRAST: • Boy Scouts install trash containers at Joaquin Miller Park. Thanks to John Bouey, the Piedmont Pines Neighborhood Association and our Joaquin Miller Park Working Group, Boy Scouts will be installing concrete pads, bollards and trash containers in the park along Skyline Blvd. The work has been organized by Eagle Scout Kevin Terashima, a senior at Bishop O'Dowd High School and Piedmont Pines resident, who plans to study medicine. The team has refurbished old cans and continues work over the next few weekends, forming the frames for concrete bases, and pouring the concrete. (Above l-r): Kevin Terashima, Bryan Ong, Sawley Vickrey, Michael Traylor.

• Bay Bridge Closures on Labor Day Weekend. The Bay Bridge eastbound deck and several eastbound on- ramps (First Street, Essex Street, Sterling Street, 5th and 8th Streets) will be closed from 11:59 pm, Friday, September 1 until 5 am Tuesday, September 5. Closures are in the eastbound direction only. Westbound into San Francisco will remain open throughout the weekend. Please plan ahead-- Expect delays. Use alternate routes, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Richmond-San Rafael Bridge or the San Mateo Bridge. Or use public transportation. BART will be running overnight service to select stations Friday night through 1 am Tuesday morning. Regular BART service resumes at 4 am Tuesday. Visit the BART website for schedule information. There will be limited access over the Bay Bridge for public transit routes only. AC transit will be running modified schedules. Visit the AC Transit website for details. Also call 511 or visit Caltrans updates for additional information and status reports.

• Warren Freeway Sign Replacements Scheduled for November/December. CalTrans has informed our office that existing signs within the gore areas at various exit ramps will be replaced with overhead signs at three locations on Route 13: northbound off to Carson Street; southbound off to Moraga Avenue, and southbound off to Mountain Blvd. Construction is slated to begin in November/December 2006.

• Cinderella/Sunset Trail Slide Repair: For those of you who hike the Cinderella or Sunset Trails in Joaquin Miller near Castle Canyon, please be aware that city funds to repair the slide which closed parts of the trails and threatened the creek have been approved by the Council. A contractor is now being selected and work may close the trail in the fall.

• Dog Park Delay: Due to difficulties of running water lines out to the new Dog Park in Joaquin Miller Park, it appears that we will not be able to open until the fall. For questions or more information, contact Sue Piper in our office: spiper@oakland net.com or 238-7042.

• Slow Down ! The recent death of a cyclist on Skyline is a reminder that we need to share the road safely. In the summer there are more hikers, joggers, bicyclists, and children on our streets. Our office regularly receives complaints from constituents about drivers speeding up and down arterial streets from hills to flatlands. Usually the speeders are not visitors, but rather local residents in a hurry. For the most part, the speed limit in residential areas is 25 MPH, whether it is posted or not. If you're crossing over the lines on curves, you're driving too fast... and watch for kids and pedestrians on the sides, they're no match for a car.
We ask for traffic enforcement on busy streets on a rotating basis (the city has 18 motorcycle officers) and you will see more of them over the next months. We have gotten several complaints about the number of traffic officers in the hills. If you have been following my newsletter you know the Oakland Police department is hiring and training new officers. When cadets are in the last part of their training they are paired with another officer. Right now several new traffic officers are being trained and they are doing training maneuvers as a group in various parts of the city. So it is not unusual to see 4 to 8 motorcycle traffic officers in a group right now.

Earlier this week, our office met with the City's Traffic Engineering staff to view the section of Skyline that intersects with Shepherd Canyon, Manzanita and Pinehurst near where the incident occurred. The City's Traffic Engineers will get back to us sometime towards the end of the month with recommendations on signage and other ways to improve traffic safety, not only in that intersection, but along Skyline itself. We will set up a meeting with interested parties once we have details. Meanwhile, please contact Sue Piper in our office if you have questions or want to be included in the meeting.

• Use Window Locks and Sturdy Doors: Home burglaries pick up every summer as we forget to lock bathroom and upstairs windows. There has been a lot of discussion on neighborhood listservs about second story entries. Tables, garbage cans, trees, cars, and even ladders in your backyard may make it easy for someone to climb into a second story window. Home invasion robberies during the evening are also a danger as we leave doors, especially back doors, open to cool down the house. Invest in inexpensive window locks that let you open the window without letting someone in, sturdy screen doors, motion detector lights or alarms for gates, doors, and windows.

• Pesky Door-to-Door Sales: We get frequent complaints about door-to-door sales persons. They are suppose to have a permit registered with the city, ask to see it. Many are legitimate, some are exploitive of the young students they drop in the neighborhood. Because they try to get information on neighbors to use in their sales pitches, there are some fears that they are casing out the neighborhood. The best practice is to not open your door to anyone you don't know if you are uncomfortable or alone. And--here's where having e- mail contact information for your neighbors comes in handy. Many Home Alert groups maintain listservs of local residents so that they can communicate safety information quickly.

• Fake Honeywell or Comcast Inspectors: We also have had a rash of so-called alarm or cable television "inspectors" entering peoples backyards. Ask for identification, if in doubt call the police.

Our office is working with the Office of Parks & Recreation to enhance the programs and equipment at Brookdale Park. As part of that process, we have designed a quick survey for park users. Please complete and return this survey to Claudia Jimenez by September 1st.

 

Fill out the Brookdale Park Survey....

Chabot Observatories: A View to the Stars - Since 1883, countless visitors have gazed through the Chabot telescopes at the wonders of the night sky. This new exhibit opened this week to mark the 123rd birthday of the Chabot Science Center. It explores the history of the Chabot Observatories and how its historic telescopes continue to be used today. Anthony Chabot, who created Lake Temescal and brought water to Oakland residents, purchased the first telescope at the request of the School Superintendent who wanted students to have access to the latest tools of science. Generations of students have been touched, including Foundation Chair Ed Penhoet, founder of Chiron, and actor Tom Hanks, whose inspiration for Apollo 13 came from his visits to the old Chabot.
Daytime visitors can virtually operate a telescope, experiment with mirrors and lenses to understand how telescopes create images of distant objects, and travel though more than a century of Chabot's history via multimedia kiosks, historical images, and artifact displays.

At Founders Day this week many of the people who had the vision to keep the center open for new generations of Oakland students gathered. The most honored guests were the dedicated members of the East Bay Astronomical Society, the core of unpaid volunteers who care for the telescopes, and Kingsley Wightman, the Oakland teacher, who dedicated 44 years of his life to making science "fun" and who probably did more to save the center than any other individual. Kingsley worked for a decade after his official retirement without pay. Generations of children remember him as "Mr. Science." (Above) Jean and Kingsley at the dedication of the third and current Chabot Science Center at its dedication 6 years ago.

Don't forget that on these warm and clear nights, the Chabot telescopes are free to the public on Friday and Saturday nights. They are the largest telescopes in the nation open to the general public.

More about Chabot's history....

• The King and I , closes at the Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park this Sunday. Free tickets to children 16 and younger who are accompanying paying adults to any performance. These tickets are not reserved; present your adult ticket at the box office between 7 -8 pm on the night of the performance and receive a free child's ticket as close to your seats as possible. If the adult tickets were purchased with a group rate, a free child's ticket will be issued per TWO adult tickets. For information, www.woodminster.com

• Kids Ride Free Saturdays on BART in August: Each paying adult can bring up to 2 kids free on Saturdays this month, thanks to Giant Viz Media, the people who make the Pokemon toys. In addition, $5 tickets for Saturday's, August 12th A's game against Tampa Bay and $5 tickets for the August 19th Ringling, Barnum & Bailey Circus performances are available.

• Bicycle Trails Council of East Bay Trail Cleanup on Chaparral Trail in Joaquin Miller Park, Saturday, August 26 at 8 am. Volunteers will finish their pruning work along the Chaparral Trail to improve sight lines. Tools and water will be supplied by BTCEB. Dress appropriately, as there is poison oak in the area. Meet at the parking area by the restrooms near the Sequoia Arena gate (off Skyline) at 8 am. Take the Joaquin Miller/ Lincoln Avenue exit off Highway 13 (Warren Freeway). Proceed up the hill (east) on Joaquin Miller about 1 mile and take a left onto Skyline Blvd at the light. Continue on Skyline 1.2 miles and take your first left into Joaquin Miller Park. Circle around to your right to the rest rooms. Non BCTEB members are welcome to join the work party.

• Dressage Show at Sequoia Arena. Stop by the Sequoia Arena in Joaquin Miller Park Sunday, August 19, starting at 9 am to see riders and their horses at their best. For details, call 531-5449.

• Lake Merritt Gondolas are back. For $75 you can take your sweetheart out on Lake Merritt for an hour. If you must take the kids or friends, its only $10 more per person. You can make reservations or buy gift certificates online at Gondola Servizio or call 866-737-8494.

• Chinatown Streetfest, Saturday & Sunday, August 26-27, 10 am-6 pm: One of the largest Asian American festivals in the nation, this festival spans ten blocks of Chinatown with more than 280 booths. Small businesses and community organizations from all over California showcase a myriad of delicious foods, unique Asian products, and special services. There will be arts & crafts, entertainment on four stages, and a Cultural Village presented by the Oakland Museum of California. Free. (Left) Feeding the Lion at last year's Laurel Street Fair.

• 5th Annual Sistahs Steppin’ in Pride East Bay Dyke March and Festival, Saturday, August 26, Lake Merritt. March gathers at the Lake Merritt pillars at 11 am and marches at noon. Bring friends, your drums to join the SSIP Drum Corps. Contact Afia Walking Tree at 534-9603. The free festival continues from 1-6 pm in Snow Park's Sistah Village (Harrison between 19th & 20th Streets) with vendors, information, children's area, elder space, food and performers.

• Art and Soul, Labor Day weekend, September 2-4, 11 am-6 pm, Live rock, blues, jazz, gospel and more makes Downtown Oakland rock with 60 bands on five concert stages, an Oakland Expo of our food and wine industry, children's area, poetry, and many arts and food vendors. Adults $5, children under 12 free. There's no better way to end the summer!

• Montclair Wine & Jazz Festival, September 9-10, noon-7 pm. For one magical afternoon, the town is transformed into a street fair featuring live music, wine and food booths, arts, crafts and kids activities. For details, go to Montclair Village Association

• A Day in the Park at Maxwell Park. Come join neighbors and friends at the First Annual Maxwell Park Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council Picnic on Saturday, September 16, 10 - 4 pm at Maxwell Park. Watch for details.

For a full schedule of performers at Oakland's Art & Soul Festival....

• Sunday's in the Redwoods--Music and Drama at Woodminster Amphitheater this fall! Starting September 17, Oakland Parks & Recreation, the Montclair Village Association, Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation, and my office are sponsoring four FREE events at Woodminster.

• Oakland East Bay Symphony and The Great Wall Chinese Youth Orchestra, Sunday, September 17, 3 - 7 pm.
• The Taming of the Shrew, set in the 70's, by the African American Shakespeare Company, plus poetry and other spoken word, Sunday, September 24, 3 - 7 pm
• Four Flavors of Jazz and up and coming youth jazz groups, Sunday, October 1, 11- 7 pm
• Gospel at the Woodminster, Sunday, October 8, 3 - 7 pm

VIP Seating & food available. Call 238-3092 for reservations.

 

http://www.oaklandcitycenter.com/images/topbluenav.gif http://www.oaklandcitycenter.com/images/topbluenav.gif

• Free Wednesday Noon Concerts at City Center: Steps away from the 12th Street BART, enjoy the variety of restaurants and music this summer. Coming up, Noon-1pm:

• August 16, Low End Theory - Funk/Rock/Jazz
• August 23, Tom Rigney - Zydeco
• August 30, Natasha Miller - Vocal Jazz

 

• Free Wednesday Evening Homegrown Blues Concerts in Old Oakland at 9th Street and Broadway, 5:30-7 pm: After work head for Old Oakland and enjoy one of 40 restaurants, 33 galleries, 40 clubs and bars, and many other attractions. My current favorite is the new Breads of India at 948 Clay Street near Ninth Street. They're all listed in this guide. On Wednesdays the Bay Area Blues Society has put together great free concerts.

• "Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity" is Chabot Science Center's newest planetarium show. Watch the birth of a black hole, zip through a wormhole, journey past the event horizon, and experience the formation of the Milky Way. The show is done in association with the PBS science series, NOVA. NOVA will air a one-hour film about black holes in the fall of 2006 titled "Monster of the Milky Way." The planetarium show is free with general admission.

•The Joy Luck Club shows August 19 at the 2006 Old Oakland Outdoor Cinema. Free parking at 8th and Washington Streets. Bring chairs and blankets for an outdoor experience at 9th Street between Broadway and Washington. Join a pre-screening talk with TAMLYN TOMITA, star of ‘Joy Luck Club’, as well as Anne Huang, Executive Director of the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.  The showing begins at dusk. For details call the Oakland Film Office at 238-4734 or visit Old Oakland Outdoor Cinema website

• Celebrate Laurel Book's 5th Anniversary this month! Congratulations to Luan Strauss who opened her independent book store on MacArthur five years ago on September 15th. The Book Store will have a booth at the Laurel Music Festival this weekend with special guests Erika Mailman signing copies of Oakland's Neighborhoods.

•Walking Tours of our Local Neighborhoods. Oakland Heritage Alliance hosts its 25th Annual Walking Tours of Oakland including the Redwoods. On Sunday, August 13, 10 am-12:30 pm, join Dennis Evanosky and Richard Schwartz on a tour through Leona Heights. This tour is limited to 30 experienced hikers by reservation only. Extra tours have been scheduled for Sunday, September 17 and Saturday, September 23. For details, go to the Oakland Heritage Alliance website

For our district office we rent a small office space at 4137 MacArthur conveniently located in the Laurel near Maybelle Avenue on MacArthur. We share a kitchen and conference room with non-profits and small businesses. Our landlord has recent expanded the number of small offices available. If you are interested, please contact Kevin Rath at 499-6136 or go to the Laurel Office Center website

The first library bond, since Oakland passed a $1.7 M bond after WWII to build the current main library and several branches, will be on the November 7th ballot. This bond would fund approximately $148 million of an estimated $167 million in facility upgrades called for in the Library Master Plan: upgrades for all libraries, two new branch libraries, and a new Main library at the historic Kaiser Convention Center.

Save the Date, September 16th: The Oakland Neighborhood Library Coalition is sponsoring a fundraiser September 16th at the African American Library and Museum downtown featuring Oakland authors. This building was Oakland's first main library and has been beautifully restored. The Coalition is forming outreach committees for each branch library. If you can help, contact Sue Piper in her private role (she only works for us part-time): sgpiper@sbcglobal.net

What's at Stake for District 4? The Library Master Plan proposes several important improvements for our district:

• New Laurel District Branch, the most under served area in the city after Prop 13 brought the city to close over a quarter of its branches.
• Major expansion of the Dimond Branch, the third busiest branch in the city.
• Upgrades for the Melrose and Montclair branches.

 

Email: jquan@oaklandnet.com

Phone: 510 238-7004

web: http://www.jeanquan.org