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Ignacio working with some excited kids at the 2007 Earth Day Festival

Council President De La Fuente's

District 5 Connection

Fruitvale Glenview San Antonio Tidewater Jingletown

Issue #14 April 2008

 

  Letter from Ignacio

 

Dear Oaklander:

 

Beautifying the City is the simplest way we can improve everyone's quality of life. This Saturday is Earth Day, and I'm proud of how seriously we take Earth Day here in Oakland and District 5. I hope you will join your neighbors and myself at one of the following Earth Day events, or even just pick up litter or plant a tree on your own block. All events are 9-12pm unless specified. More information on Oakland Earth Day can be found here. District 5 Earth Day events (if your event is not on this list, please call us and tell us about it):

   

Brewer Middle School: 3748 13th Ave (9am-2pm)

Manzanita SEED: 2409 E. 27th Street

Jingletown Arts & Business Council: 3001 Chapman @ Derby Street

Friends of Peralta Hacienda Park: 2465 34th Avenue

Neighborhood Earth Day Fun: 3876 Fruitvale Avenue

EBALDC and New Hope Church: 2618 E. 16th Street

Mom's Club of Oakland: 2311 Embarcadero @ Union Point Park

Unity Council: 3705 Foothill Blvd @ Cesar Chavez Park

San Antonio Neighborhood Network.: Meet at SOL - 1236 23rd Ave

Friends of Sausal Creek: E. 27th Street @ Barry Place
Oakland Catholic Workers: 23rd Ave & E.12th
25th Avenue Neighborhood Watch/SGI Org: 2318 25th AVe

 

Sincerely,

Ignacio 


District 5 News

For more information, contact Claudia Jimenez at 238-7051/cjimenez@oaklandnet.com

 

Something exciting is happening at Josie De La Cruz Park!

I'm sure you've noticed the construction equipment and the fenced off field at Josie De La Cruz Park and you're probably wondering what is happening.  What's happening is that we are getting a new artificial turf field installed at the park!  After waiting for several years to make improvements at this park, we have partnered with Discovery Channel on this project and thanks to an in-kind donation, we were able to move this project along in record time. We expect to have a completed field by the end of this month!

 

Plans for Cesar Chavez Park to Receive a Face Lift Have Started:.  During the 07/09 budget deliberations, we secured redevelopment funding in the amount of $250,000 for new play equipment for kids 5 through 12,  a rubber surface for the play equipment area (good bye sand), new pathways for safer disabled accessibility and a new basketball court.  Improvements are scheduled for construction in late fall.  The park recently received a major spruce up from the Parks Tree Maintenance Division as well as lighting repairs and upgrades from our electrical department.  Code Compliance also helped us clean up adjacent properties that had erected illegal fences that created a visual blight for the park. 

 

Waterfront Trail Milestone: Getting control of real estate has been the biggest impediment to progress on the Measure DD Waterfront Trail project. However, the City made a significant step forward on April 2nd by recording trail easements across two private parcels.  Measure DD can now begin the design work and permitting work for this segment, which will connect the new trail at Alameda Avenue with the existing trail near High Street.  When complete, people will be able to walk or bike along the water unimpeded from the Fruitvale Bridge to the High Street Bridge.

Affordable Housing in San Antonio: A new Oakland affordable housing development was highlighted in the April/March 2008 edition of the San Antonio Unity. The building will be located at 2719 Foothill Ave and will provide 65 units of affordable senior housing. Construction is schedule to be completed by August 2008 and the building will be loaded with amenities. For more information, call 510-593-4469.

St. Josephs Redevelopment Will Offer Affordable Housing: Also highlighted in the April/March 2008 edition of San Antonio Unity was the BRIDGE housing corporation's plan to redevelop the underutilized St. Josephs Professional Care Center (located at 2647 International Blvd.) into approximately 158 units of affordable housing for seniors and families. BRIDGE anticipates starting construction on the senior rental project in late fall 2008 and units will be ready by early 2010.

 

District 5 5th Grade BIKE MONTH ESSAY CONTEST REMINDER!:  CALLING ALL 5TH GRADERS!  District 5 is having the 2nd annual essay contest during the month of April to celebrate Oakland bicycling month and share the importance of writing and riding. The topic is: "How does riding a bike improve your life an your community?" First place wins a new bike with helmet and lock. Second and third places win A's tickets. Essays are due April 30 and prizes will be awarded on Bike to Work Day (May 15). Essays should be 500 words or less and the winner must live in Oakland's Council District 5 or go to school in District 5.
Plans for the new artificial turf field at Jose De La Cruz Park

Ignacio listening to the concerns of a local Fruitvale resident

Public Safety

For more information, contact Claudia Jimenez at 238-7051 / cjimenez@oaklandnet.com

 

Fruitvale Avenue Target Area Project:

This week our Service Delivery System Team launched a focus effort along Fruitvale Avenue.  The effort, similar to the larger Fruitvale Safety Project, will focus on Fruitvale Avenue from International Blvd to Lynde Avenue.  Last week a team of us went out to conduct an assessment of the area and we took note of all issues including blight, code compliance violations, illegal dumping, graffiti, damaged stop signs, areas where people loiter, and areas of potential drug dealing activity.  Team members will be responsible for follow up on the issues within their jurisdiction.  We hope to have a positive impact on the area, if there are any specific concerns that you'd like to see addressed, please send them to Claudia at cjimenez@oaklandnet.com or call her at 238-7051.

 

One Hundred People Attended Gang Awareness Workshop:

This past Saturday, we joined with Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) and offered a "Gang Awareness Workshop" for the community. The workshop was attended by parents, clergy, community leaders, and several local youth.  The presentation by California Youth Outreach focused on what parents should look for if they think their child may be involved in a gang.   In response to the recent gang related shootings, we brought in California Youth Outreach to provide the information to the community.  California Youth Outreach is dedicated to reaching out to all gang impacted youth, families and their communities with education services, intervention programs and resource opportunities that support a healthy and positive lifestyle for current and future generations.  In addition, Project Re-Connect, one of our Measure Y providers, has scheduled a 7-week course for parents who fear their child may be involved in a gang.  The classes start April 22nd at United for Success Academy, on the Former Calvin Simmons Campus 2101 35th Ave.  The classes are from 6:00 pm to 8:15 pm and are bilingual (English/Spanish).  There is still space for 10 more families, if you are interested or know a family who would benefit from these sessions, please call 482-1738 or call Claudia in my office at 238-7051.

 

Oakland Seeks Volunteers to Help with Police Officer Hiring Effort: Citizens interested in lending a hand to help the City of Oakland reach its goal of having 803 police officers by the end of 2008 have an opportunity to participate in this important effort. The Oakland Police Department needs community volunteers to serve as oral board panel assessors for the hiring of Police Officer Trainees. Interested candidates must meet one of the following criteria: 1) live in Oakland, 2) work in Oakland or 3) own a business in Oakland.  The upcoming oral board dates are currently scheduled for:

  • Monday, July 21, 2008
  • Monday, August 25, 2008
  • Monday, September 22, 2008
  • Monday, October 20, 2008
  • Monday, November 17, 2008

Community members interested in serving on the boards should email opdjobs@oaklandnet.com with their contact information (including name, address, phone number, email address, and their dates of availability) 

 

City Hall Update

For more information contact Ratna Amin: 238-6126 / ramin@oaklandnet.com

 

The LLAD Ballot in your Mailbox:  Property owners in Oakland have all received a ballot for the City's Landscape and Lighting Assessment District. This assessment funds parks and street lighting and maintenance.  This assessment will only attempt to maintain current maintenance unlike the last attempt in 2006 which would have increased maintenance and facilities (and did not pass). Because of a motion from Councilmembers Quan and De La Fuente, the ballot measure includes a set of maintenance standards and funding for GPS systems for city vehicles/equipment so we can increase accountability and efficiency. Funding for the current Landscape and Lighting Assessment District has not increased since 1993.  For the last six years there has been a growing  gap because costs have risen and because the City has added over 350 acres of parks (DD purchases of Bay Trail & Creek Watershed like Castle Canyon & Butters, the Mandela Parkway, etc), over 10,000 new street lights to improve safety, and over 9,000 new trees.  The Council has been closing LLAD gaps using budget surpluses. Next year real estate sales are expected to continue to be down, while the LLAD gap is expected to rise to $9.8 million. Find more information here.


Kids First ( Measure L) was re-authorized by the Council for a ten year extension: As allowed by Measure K passed in 1996, the City Council re-authorized Kids First. This measure provides 2.5 percent of City's unrestricted General Fund--about $12 million - for youth programs distributed on a competitive process recommended by a Youth-Adult Commission and approved by the Council. These funds are exclusive of City spending for youth programs in parks & recreation, libraries, arts, summer job programs, internships and other directly funded  programs. We believe that we must serve our youth this way to give them opportunities to succeed and grow. If the Council decides not to extend the program, it is required to put in back on the ballot for a public vote. Highlights of the report include:

o

Budget Hearings: The City Council must pass a balanced Mid-Cycle budget by the end of June. Several budget hearings will be held to get information from staff and to receive the Mayor's proposed budget. We are looking at a $10-$20 million shortfall for 08-09. The hearing dates are scheduled as follows: April 24 (Thursday) 2-4pm Discussion of Issues
May 1 (Thursday) 2-4pm continue discussion
May 15 (Thursday) 5-8pm - Discussion of Mayor's proposed midcycle proposal

May 29 (Thursday) 5-8pm - continue discussion
June 17 (Tuesday) 6pm - adopt midcycle budget

 

Revised Industrial Zoning: On April 15th, the City Council voted to approve new zoning ordinances for

areas identified in the General Plan as Business Mix/General Industrial Transportation. The new zoning is intended to create certainty for businesses and  To address the issue of work-live, we have asked staff to do work with stakeholders and find a way to allow industrial artists to stay in the area while not infringing on the sustainability of industrial uses. Staff will return with revised guidelines this fall.


District 5 Jewel : William Wood Park


A Diamond in the Rough
Nestled between Fruitvale Avenue and McKillop Drive, just a few blocks from the Dimond shopping district, is a quite patch of open space in a dense neighborhood. Indeed, William Wood Park may go unseen by many eyes, but it's exactly this hidden quality of the park that gives it its serene value. As nature would have it, the property of William Wood Park could not be developed due to soil instability. It thus caught the attention of Fruitvale Avenue car dealer and former Oakland Parks Commissioner, William D. Wood.      Rather than leave the area bare, Mr. Wood sought develop the property into a park for the City of Oakland. Unfortunately, he didn't live to see its completion, as he died in 1967. However, he left behind $118,391 for park capital improvements, and with the help of the Dimond Improvement Association and the Alameda Flood Control, the city was able to acquire the property in 1973. Then, three years later in 1976, the park was completed with a field and baseball diamond and dedicated to Mr. Wood. Today, the park stands as a small reminder of his efforts to preserve parks and open space both in District 5 and the larger City of Oakland, More importantly, however, the park  stands as a secluded area for our children to play away from the hustle-and-bustle of modern Oakland. For location, see maps.
William Wood Park between Fruitvale and McKillop

District 5 Announcements and News

   

Glenview Read-a-Thon a Huge Success: On Friday, April 4th the Glenview Elementary School raised $30,000 for new books in the school library, far exceeding their $10,000 goal. In addition to reading, the kids were read to by local celebrities, including Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, children's author Dashka Slater, Oakland firefighter Damon Covington, Newsweek San Francisco bureau chief Karen Breslau and three members of the Cal football team. The PTA is still accepting donations for this outstanding fundraiser, please visit http://www.glenviewpta.org/ for more information.

 

Edna Brewer Band and Orchestra Fund Raiser, Saturday, April 19, 10 am- 2 pm at Lakeshore Farmer's Market: Hear the Brewer Beginning and Intermediate Orchestras, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble and Advanced Symphonic Band perform on a live stage with special guests: Falso Baiano, Brazilian Samba and Choro Ensemble,John Pearson, Acting Principal Trumpet, San Francisco Opera plus more special guests. The Edna Brewer Middle School Music program is a new gem in this great school's crown. In its first year of full time instruction in over 5 years, the program has grown from 20 students to 140, from 2 ensembles to 5. Help raise the $6,000 needed to keep the music playing at Edna Brewer Middle School. Details, contact Zack Pitt-Smith, Director of Bands at the school at 599-4321.

 

Think College Now Achieves "Distinguished School" Status: On April 9th, 2008, three Oakland Unified schools, Hillcrest, Lincoln and District 5's own Think College Now, received one of the state's most prestigious education honors. The trio of elementary schools earned the 2008 California Distinguished School Award, given to "the state's most exemplary and inspiring schools". They now share the honor with just 340 of the state's more than five thousand elementary schools, and prevailed in a year where the selection criteria was, according to the California Department of Education, "more stringent than ever". More on Think College Now: http://www.thinkcollegenow.org/. Congratulations to Principal David Silver and his team!

Second Saturdays at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park: Head to the park on your weekends, where Peralta Hacienda will have several fun events for the whole family. Upcoming events include "Earth Day" (April 9th beginning at 9am), "Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour (Sunday, May 4th, 10am to 5pm), and "Listen! International Day For Telling Life Stories" (Friday, May 16th, 4pm to 6pm). Also be sure to check out the thousand daffodils that were planted by volunteers in fall and are now in full bloom. For more information, call 510-532-9142 or visit www.peraltahacienda.org

 

Introducing the Glenview Odyssey of the Mind Road Rally Team: Odyssey of the Mind is a 30-year old international creativity program for students of all ages, offering five new problems each year (see http://www.odysseyofthemind.com.)  Students solve these problems through their own creativity, with strict rules prohibiting adult input and limiting spending, and then compete in regional, state and world tournaments. The Glenview Road Rally team has advanced to the World Finals, to be held in College Park, Maryland, May 31st-June 3rd.  The Road Rally team will be competing in a mechanics problem solution, where students have designed and built their own cable-propelled non-motorized vehicle, decorated it as a cat, have 6 students dressed as mice singing and doing skits while the one student dressed as the cat performs four sporting events at four checkpoints, all within 8 minutes! The Road Rally team is a group of seven Glenview Elementary students in 3rd-5th grades, from culturally and income-diverse families.  The goal is to send the Road Rally vehicle and props, seven team members and two coaches to the Odyssey of the Mind 2008 World Finals in College Park, Maryland. Costs per person for flight, lodging and meals will be $1178.  They also need $600 for the team to ship our equipment to the event.  The team will be conducting car washes and food sales in the next six weeks to raise $12,000. Tax-deductible donations can be made out to Glenview PTA, and earmarked for Odyssey of the Mind Road Rally.  The PTA receives mail c/o Glenview School, 4215 La Cresta Avenue, Oakland 94602.  Thanks for any support you can offer! Contact:  Karen Cohn, Glenview PTA volunteer - terikaren@yahoo.com - 510-531-8634

 

San Antonio Neighborhood Network Family Night:  This event will take place on Wednesday, April 30 from 4:00 - 5:30 pm at 2277 International Boulevard in Oakland.  Hosted by Jumpstart and Raising a Reader, this Family Night will feature story time, crafts, fun and food.  Every child will go home with a free book! This is part of a series of Family Nights, every final Wednesday at 4pm at the Eastside Arts Alliance Cultural Center, 2277 International Blvd.

 

 

District 5 in the News

We always say that District 5 is the heart of Oakland and has the best residents. 
You can read and hear what makes our community so wonderful:

   

Jingletown Arts on Radio: KQED FM Forum had 1/2 hour segment yesterday centered around the JINGLETOWN JUNCTION exhibition at Pro Arts Gallery.  There was a lively discussion about the exhibition, the history and   phenomena of Jingletown, its artist community, and the greater   implications for community development. You can listen to the show by clicking on this link (or cutting and pasting it):

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R804101000

Related links:
http://www.proartsgallery.org/index.html

http://jingletown.org/

 

Fruitvale "Guerrilla Fruit Tree Planter" in the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/30/CMQ7UH8O0.DTL&hw=fruitvale&sn=001&sc=1000

 

International Boulevard food praised again - this time in the New York Times:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/travel/30hours.html?scp=3&sq=berkeley&st=nyt

 

Moving Brewer Middle School Transformation on Public Radio:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kalw/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1254118

 

 

City-Wide Announcements

 

Mayor Dellums Kicks-Off Youth Summer Jobs Program 2008: On March 31st, Mayor Ron Dellums kicked off a campaign to provide quality summer jobs for Oakland's young people. The Mayor's Summer Job Program is a collaboration that brings together the Youth Employment Partnership (YEP), Scotlan Center and Youth UpRising to make an investment in Oakland's future workforce by providing opportunities for youth in the city's job market. The mayor urges young Oakland residents (ages 14 to 21) to submit an application prior to the June 10th deadline. Applications and program information are available on the mayor's Web site (www.mayorrondellums.org), or by calling the YEP at (510) 533-3447. Please visit the mayor's website for information about where to turn in completed applications.

 

Public Workshops on the Estuary Crossing Feasibility Study: The City of Alameda, with support from the City of Oakland, is conducting a study to determine alternatives to the Posey Tube for bicyclists and pedestrians wishing to cross the Oakland-Alameda Estuary. There will be Preliminary Project Alternatives Workshops for interested parties to provide feedback on Saturday, May 17th, from 10am to 12pm at Jack London Aquatic Center and Wednesday, May 21st, from 7pm to 9pm at City Hall West in Alameda.  For additional information, contact Gail Payne at 510-749-5918 or GPayne@ci.alameda.ca.us.

 

Oakland's 15th Annual Bike to Work Day Celebration: Save the date! The celebration begins Thursday, May 15th, from 7am to 9am. As in past years, the City will be hosting a free pancake breakfast and raffle drawing in Frank Ogawa Plaza, with an 8:30 press conference. There will also be "pedal pools" of cyclists who wish to ride downtown with their Council members and/or council office staff. For more information call Jennifer Stanley at 510-238-3983 or visit http://www.oaklandbikes.info


211 Hotline A Critical Public Communication Tool: Since July 2007, Eden I&R has been publishing and posting (http://www.ednir.org/) the 2-1-1 monthyl reports that have highlighted the many successes of 2-1-1 Alameda County. As indicated in the February 2008 reports, 2-1-1 has received 27,684 calls since July 1st, an average of over 3,460 calls each month. The types of calls have ranged from emergencies like victims of domestic abuse needing a safe place for their families; to adult children seeking safe and affordable residential and in-home care for their elderly parents; to information about foster care programs; foreclosure legal aid assistance, and where to access free diapers. The city continues to promote the use of the 2-1-1 hotline; it's efforts were recently highlighted in the Oakland Tribune (view the article at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20080211/ai_n21416414). 

 

Effective Parenting Classes: Project Re-Connect, in collaboration with United for Success Academy and Peralta Creek Middle School are offering classes for parents who fear that their children may be attracted to or involved with gangs. The program begins April 22nd, 2008 and will take place at United for Success Academy (2101 35th Ave) from 6:00 pm to 8:15 pm. For more information, call 510-482-1738

 

Día De Los Niños Literacy Event: The KQED Education Network is seeking three to five organizations to participate on this day of positive literacy activities. Participants will be highlighted on KQED.org as a community partner and recognized nationally on the Raising Readers website. The event will take place on Saturday, May 3rd, at Cesar Chavez Park from 12pm to 3pm. If you are interested in participating, please RSVP by April 18th to Ann Martinez at ymartinez@KQED.org

Come Explore Your Environment at the 14th Annual EarthExpo in Downtown Oakland: Over 100 exhibitors and 5,000 attendees will be part of the Oakland EarthExpo and green wave charting a path to a sustainable future At noon, Mayor Dellums will walk among the exhibitors to thank them for their tremendous dedication and contributions to Oakland's environmental health, economic vitality and social equality. The event will take place on Wednesday April 16th at City Hall (1 Frank Ogawa Plaza) from 10am to 2 pm.


Important City of Oakland Contact Numbers

Police Emergency                                                                  911

(Crime in progress or about to happen)

Police Emergency from a Cell Phone                               777-3211

Police Non Emergency                                                   777-3333

Graffiti Removal (Public Works Hotline)                            615-5566

Street Maintenance (Public Works Hotline)                      615-5566

To start a Home Alert Neighborhood Watch Call               238-3091

To anonymously report drug activity (voicemail)                238-DRUG
To report Street Light outage or flickering lights                 615-5430

Concerns about Home Foreclosure     BE-ALERT
Ignacio De La Fuente

Council President Ignacio De La Fuente
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza 2nd Floor | Oakland, CA 94612
Office: 238-7005 | Fax: 238-6129
idelafuente@oaklandnet.com | www.idelafuente.com


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