Gateway Park Public Workshop #2

Thursday, May 13th, Bike to Work Day 2010

Bike to Work Day Pancakes, Prizes and All-Day Valet Bike Parking

Bicyclists at Oakland's 17th Annual (Bay Area's 16th) Bike to Work Day celebration will enjoy:

• A free pancake breakfast (7-9am), courtesy Piedmont Grocery and Tully's Coffee

• Free Club One Day Pass (for showers and more)

• Free all-day valet bike parking, courtesy East Bay Bicycle Coalition

• AC Transit bike rack loading demos

• Free bike safety checks, courtesy of Bay Area Bikes and Wheels of Justice Cyclery

• A canvas bag with goodies (including Amtrak/Capitol Corridor companion-fare coupons, Oakland's brand new 2010 Bikeways Map, and an "I [BIKE] Oakland" bike tube sticker)

• A raffle with prizes donated by local businesses including this year's Grand Prize: round-trip tickets for two to Santa Barbara on Amtrak and a Dahon folding bike!!!!

Alameda County Energizer Stations

On the morning of May 13th, over 200 Energizer Stations will be located along local bike commute routes in all nine Bay Area counties to provide free beverages, snacks and good cheer to bicyclists. We'll be mapping the locations of the energizer stations on this page so check back and plan your Bike to Work Day commute to visit one of our Energizer Stations.

[Oakland Energizer Map]

Starting at 5:30-8:30pm, On Telegraph Avenue from 16th-18th St, Oakland, plan to wrap up the excitement of Bike to Work Day with the biggest, most extravagant ever Bike Away from Work Party, which will feature The Crucible's Art Bike Program, Beyond Bikes Art Exhibit, Cyclecide Heavy Pedal Bike Rides & Show, Big Tadoo Puppet Show, music, raffle prizes, awards, food and beer from Trumer Pils Brewery in Berkeley and sponsored by the East Bay Express.

Some Good News and other Stuff

Potholes seem to be a common sight on streets and highways no matter what city you’re in.

The Oakland Public Works department of the City of Oakland has announced in its efforts to keep the City of Oakland’s vehicular and pedestrian traffic safe, Oakland Public Works will conduct Pothole Blitz the week of May 10th will be in West Oakland.

Eight Public Works crews will fill potholes during this week.

Until additional resources are provided to repave streets, we’ll continue to patch, patch and patch some more. If you have a favorite pothole, please call us at 510.615.5566 and we’ll send crews to fix it,” said Interim Public Works Director Vitaly Troyan.

The public is encouraged to “Report a Problem” using the online form at http://www.oaklandpw.com/  or to notify the Public Works Call Center at 510. 615.5566 of the pothole locations.

The Oakland Public Works department is requesting the public’s assistance by slowing down when they see crews working on the roadways is also greatly appreciated.

I am requesting that Prescott Oakland Point community members report Potholes and their locations ASAP, so they can repaired during this blitz.

Some Online Forms:

Pot Holes: http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/srwebsite/RequestInfo.aspx?ProbID=3630

Graffiti: http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/srwebsite/RequestInfo.aspx?ProbID=4294

Illegal Dumping - debris, appliances, etc. http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/srwebsite/RequestInfo.aspx?ProbID=4295

Illegal Dumping – mattress/boxspring http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/srwebsite/RequestInfo.aspx?ProbID=4394

Service Request Directory: http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/srwebsite/Intro.aspx

Service Request Status Check: http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/srwebsite/CheckStatus.aspx

Prescott NCPC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 13th 2010, 6:00pm at the OHA Administration, 935 Union St, Oakland. For more information, contact NSC Sandra V. Sanders-West, 510.773.0462

West Oakland Project Area Committee (WOPAC) is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12th 2010, 6:30 – 9:00pm at the West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline Street, Oakland. For more information, contact Project Manager Hui-Chang Li, 510.238.6430

WOPAC Subcommittee Meetings:

Community Outreach / Equitable Development, Wednesday, May 5th 2010, 6:30 – 8:30pm at the Willie Keyes Recreation Center, 3131 Union Street, Oakland

Neighborhood Planning and Projects, Thursday, May 6th 2010, 6:30 – 8:30pm at the West Oakland Senior Center

Taste of Spring, held on Thursday, May 6th 2010; 5:30 -8:00pm at the Rotunda Building in downtown Oakland. Taste of Spring the annual fundraiser for the Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation. This event features superb wines, gourmet food, live and silent auctions, and highflying entertainment.

This outstanding organization raises funds to support recreation programs for Oakland's youth, as well as capital funds for park renovations. Their biggest park project was the $5 million renovation of Raimondi Park in here in the Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood, completed in 2008. For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, contact: Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation at 510.465.1850 or visit http://www.oaklandparks.org/.

City of Oakland, Community Workshops on Draft Energy and Climate Action Plan

On Thursday, May 6th 2010, at the Elihu M Harris State Building, 1515 Clay Street (between 15th St & 16th St), and Meeting Room 1. Two identical Community Workshops to identify actions the City can take to help minimize energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the Oakland community, will be held to provide an overview of content in the draft Energy and Climate Action Plan and receive public comments. The first Workshop Session 1: 3-5:00pm and the second will be held from 7-9:00pm. To assist with planning for needed space, please RSVP, identifying which workshop session you plan to attend, to climateaction@oaklandnet.com.

The next scheduled Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) meeting is on Thursday, May 13th 2010, 7-9:00pm at the West Oakland Senior Center. The City distributes Community Development Funds through the federal CDBG program. Each year, the federal government distributes CDBG funds to cities for their local community development projects. The major focus of Oakland's CDBG program is physical development activities--community-wide housing, public facilities and improvements, neighborhood revitalization, and economic development. A restricted portion of the grant funds can be expended for public services activities. For more information, contact Michele Byrd, Manager; 510.238.3716 or http://www.blogger.com/mbyrd@oaklandnet.com

Promise Neighborhood Town Hall Meeting

West Oakland Promise Neighborhood Town Hall Meeting

Saturday, May 8, 2010

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

M. Robinson Baker YMCA

3265 Market Street, Oakland, CA 94608

Do you want to know more about exciting new opportunities to improve education in West Oakland?

Hear about President Obama’s Promise Neighborhoods initiative and the West Oakland Innovation Zone.

Have your voice and opinion heard.

Free brunch and childcare will be provided!

RAFFLE AT THE END OF THE EVENT

Sponsored by:
West Oakland Education Task Force
Great Oakland (GO) Public Schools
Prescott-Joseph Center
Oakland Parents Together

West Oakland Education Brain Trust

The West Oakland Education Brain Trust (WOEBT) is a collaboration of committed individuals, organizations and OUSD leaders who are invested in the education and health of West Oakland children, youth, families and community members. We aim to work together with schools, children and youth, families, and the community to improve our public schools for West Oakland students.

Why was the WOEBT formed?

WOEBT was formed to address the immediate needs in West Oakland’s public schools and to improve the quality of education our children are receiving. It was developed by District 3 Board Member, Jumoke Hinton-Hodge when she leveraged her relationships with community leaders, organizations working in West Oakland, the Faith-based community, and various educational reformers to create a team that would really analyze the data and trends in the West Oakland Public Schools and lead the community in developing a plan that will dramatically improve the educational experiences and outcomes of West Oakland youth.

National Pet Week May 2-8th 2010

 

Petsmart kicked off the National Pet Week once again with its annual Second Chance for Love – National Adoption Weekend.

There is some great work here at the Oakland Animal Services that I wish to acknowledge in regards to Lucy, titled “From Shelter Dog to Search & Rescue Dog.”

Here’s one of the great stories found at http://oaklandanimalservices.org/

Lucy has been at Oakland Animal Services for almost 8 months! We quickly realized that Lucy is a special dog - extremely intelligent and very ball driven. We put her through several tests to assess her ability to be able to train to be a Search and Rescue Dog and she passed all of them! These tests included throwing a ball and then spinning her around in circles to see if she would still go look and find the ball and hiding a ball to see if she was able to get it. Even though Lucy passed these difficult tests, we were unable to find a group who would take her into their program because she is part pit bull.

We didn't give up though! Volunteers made calls to groups all over the country. And, Amy, one of our volunteer mentors, and Martha, our Animal Care Coordinator, made a video of Lucy and publicized it all over the internet. The video went viral and finally nearly 8 months after she came to the Shelter, we got a call from a woman in Las Vegas who was looking for a dog to train for search and rescue! She saw Lucy on the video and knew Lucy was the one! Friends of Oakland Animal Services paid for Lucy's fligt to Las Vegas and she was sent today to start her new life!

Headed for Search/Rescue After 8 Months!

Something about Shepherds named Buddy

There something synonymous about “rescue”, the name “Buddy” and German shepherds.

In Sept. 2008, a German shepherd named Buddy saved his owner's life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure. Buddy was able to press programmed buttons until a 911 operator come on the line.

During the 911 call, Buddy is heard whimpering and barking after the dispatcher answers and repeatedly asks if the caller needs help.

Police were sent to the home, and after about three minutes Buddy is heard barking loudly when the officers arrived.

Buddy was adopted at the age of 8 weeks from Michigan-based Paws with a Cause, which trains assistance dogs, and trained him to get the phone if he began to have seizure symptoms.

Another Buddy:

In April 2010, Buddy an untrained 5-year-old German shepherd guided Alaska State Troopers through winding back roads to a fire at his owners' workshop.

Caught on a patrol car's dashcam video, shows Buddy meeting the trooper's vehicle, then dashing to their property about 55 miles north of Anchorage.

"He's my hero," owner Ben Heinrichs said, his voice breaking. "If it wasn't for him, we would have lost our house."

The dashcam video shows Buddy meeting the trooper's vehicle, then dashing to their property about 55 miles north of Anchorage on April 4.

Buddy’s owner was working on parts for his truck when a spark hit some gasoline and ignited, lighting his clothes blaze. The man ran outside to stomp out the flames by rolling in the snow, closing the door to keep the blaze from spreading, but realized Buddy was still inside the burning building and let the dog out.

Buddy ran into the nearby woods where the dog encountered a trooper, whose global positioning device had failed while responding to a call about the fire.



The video shows Buddy occasionally looking back at the patrol car as he raced ahead, galloping around three turns before arriving in front of the blaze, which was very close to the home.

CELEBRATE the joy your pet brings to your household. If you don’t have a pet, you should consider the benefits of pet ownership and support pet adoption.