Month: October 2008

Political Reminder: Monday Deadline To Vote

Monday is the final day to register to vote!  Just complete this form and mail it by tomorrow.  Or register in person at the Alameda County Registrar’s office, which stays open until midnight Monday – at 1225 Fallon Street, G-2, Oakland (map).

On the national front: We have the privilege of voting for the 44th U.S. president, and this matters even though we’re a “done-deal” state which supports Obama over McCain.

California’s still an important financing whistle stop.  Yesterday, Veep candidate Joe Biden collected a reported $2.3 million at Atherton, Piedmont and Sea Cliff events for the Democratic National Committee – all in a day’s work.

On the local front: Besides the U.S. prexy race, there are other important California propositions and more local measures on the ballot.  Let’s focus on all Oakland and Alameda County measures:

  • Measure OO – Oakland Fund For Children and Youth Act – League of Women Voters Says No
  • Measure N – Outstanding Teachers for All Oakland Students Act – No Position By League
  • Measure NN – 2008 Oakland Police Services Expansion Measure – No Position By League
  • Measure VV – Alameda County, AC Transit Parcel Tax Measure – League Says Yes
  • Measure WW – Alameda County, East Bay Regional Park Bond Measure – League Says Yes
  • At Large Councilmember – No Selection By League

There’s no doubt that Montclarions chat and clearly care about local issues like community services, kids, teachers, cops, transportation and parks.  Make sure you have registered, so you can cast your ballot on November 4th.

Walking Montclair’s Steeps

While there are all kinds of great ways to view the topography of Montclair, the most practical one is Walk Oakland! This cool map shows the specific pitches of streets, and helps you get around on foot or bicycle.

Click here to see the map, and magnify any Montclair neighborhood.  You’ll notice the streets are graded by color, with deeper pinks as you head up the hills:  0-3% white; 3-6% light; 6-9% medium; and over 9% dark.

Take a closer look at this Montclair snapshot.  If you know your area, then you’ll agree the pitch colors are remarkably accurate – depending on whether they head up or transverse the hills.

What I like best about this map is that is reveals some ideal walks.  Why do I always restrict to walking up to Skyline?  Probably nothing more than habit.  As an avid walker, the map encourages me to check out some other places rather than my typical routes.

This walking map also manages to label the streets and neighborhoods clearly.  While we don’t commonly use the original neighborhood names, they honor our history.  In addition to Hiller Highlands, Montclair and Piedmont Pines, you can zoom into Forestland, Merriewood and Fernwood too.

Of course, it’s fun to fly around Google Earth and see actual satellite images.  It’s even more useful to have these pitch measurements – and there’s no other place to find them.

How Montclarions Respond To Burglaries

What a range of reactions to the recent uptick in burglaries!  From the online boards, coffee shops, and neighbors walking their dogs, here’s an unscientific recap.
Defend Yourself: Most of the hits happen when we’re not home, but folks seem to be scared because sometimes the robberies are at night too.  All kinds of ideas have been suggested, from baseball bats to firearms.
One interesting suggestion was to learn basic self-defense.  There’s a class for women starting tomorrow, at the Redwood Heights Recreation Center (map).  It costs $41 and will run on Saturdays, from 3-6pm, through November 8th.  Either show up or reach instructor Titus Taylor:  ttaylor@oaklandnet.com, 510-238-2384.
Make Home Improvements: Update your locks, replace old garage door openers, and install alarms inside or outside your home.  Why bother?  At the recent community meeting with Oakland Police, Sandra Pohutsky took great notes and shared six things that Montclair break-ins have in common.

1. The burglars will leave if they hear an alarm after breaking in, so consider getting one of some type.
2.  Doors kicked in are often 1970’s doors which have become brittle with poor framing.  How strong is your door?
3.  Dead bolt locks in old doors may have been installed with small screws that are now loose.
4.  A sense of complacency may have resulted in using only the little door handle locks, leaving the dead bolt locks unused.
5.  Front doors may be hidden from street view; cut down bushes and trim trees.
6.  Inspect your house and beef up security.

Call The Cops: We are starting to help the Oakland Police track burglars more frequently now, said Montclair SIC’s Nick Vigilante, by calling and reporting suspicious people.  Problem Solving Officer (PSO) Maureen Vergara, who covers Beat 13Z, asked for these details if possible:

1.  license plate information – number and state
2.  vehicle descriptions – make, model, color, and year
3.  suspect descriptions – gender, race, as much as possible

Quit Oakland: Some people want to give up and join Piedmont and/or declare independence from Oakland.  This was quickly pushed away as irrelevant or untenable by some, who have looked into the possibility before.  Others are still hopeful.

What Montclair Might Look Like

Did you see what Montclair might look like with a renewed streetscape?  Recently the Montclair Village Association (MVA) provided some before-and-after images.

Here are the “after” images with various sidewalk, crosswalk and banner concepts superimposed on village streets.  Those banners seem to honor our hills and trees, in purple and yellow hues.  Montclair already feels like a friendlier destination!

At the behest of the MVA, landscape architect Leslie Golden was brought into the planning process early.  Her firm has done all kinds of streetscapes and parks, which reflect the sense of place.  You know that island and palm entrance to the Oakland Airport?  That’s Golden Associates at work.

Anyway, the MVA held initial meetings where Golden was able to solicit ideas from merchants and villagers alike.  She asked what kinds of improvements were desired, and then shared preliminary ideas for our consumption.  The plans were not getting dictated or handed down to us.

A few weeks back, I wondered what would happen next and how improvements might get funded – which was putting the cart before the horse.  We’re not quite ready yet.

“Having a Master Plan to work towards is needed before any funding can be solicited,” explained Roger Vickery, MVA executive director.  The Association is trying to establish a long-term vision, with improvements rolled out over several years.

The MVA is requesting your reactions to the preliminary plans now.  Everything is up for review, right down to Village logos shown on their site.  Please email them at montclairvillage-at-sbcglobal.net.

Your Everyday Food Winners

We recently surveyed Montclarions about everyday food, including top spots for coffee, grocery shopping, pizza and chocolate.  Coffee seems to be the most local preference, since everyone gets their fixes in town.  When it comes to the other staples, however, you are willing to shop around.

Coffee Houses:

Over 60% of Montclarions prefer Peets, in a resounding and crushing victory.  The rest of you split the remaining votes among Thornhill Coffee, Royal Ground and Nelly in the rear.  Good old Starbucks didn’t register much with locals, but some visitors must keep them in business.  (Click for more Montclair Coffee Shop info.)

Grocery Shopping:

There’s simply no consensus about the best place for groceries.  As the election official, I’ll award the sentimental favorite medal to Farmer Joe’s (Yelp).  There were enough write-ins to make it rank among the balloted candidates.  Here’s what Yelpers had to say:

  • Farmer Joe’s is also a great alternative to battling the parking lot mess and angry hippies at Berkeley Bowl or the feeling of conspicuous consumption at Whole Foods.
  • The prices and quality of the fresh stuff are really really good, especially compared to Safeway or Lucky, and you feel like you’re supporting a family-owned business.
  • This is by far my favorite grocery store in the entire world.
  • I skip over Lucky’s, Safeway and Farmer Joe’s #1 to shop here from the south, where I live; or, from the Berkeley direction where I work, I skip over a far more impressive collection of Safeways, Whole Foods and yes- even Berkeley Bowl, which is now a zoo at all hours of day and night- to shop at Farmer Joe’s #2.

Back to the official election results now.  Within the Village, Lucky received the most votes but no one raved about the market.  They did like the convenience, staples and prices there.  Beyond the Village gates, Trader Joe’s (Yelp) was the preferred alternative.  By comparison, Safeway and Village Market trailed behind and Whole Foods straggled into last place.

Pizzerias:

What a close race, which required a recount of the paper ballots!  The almighty Zachary’s (Yelp), over in Rockridge, came out the overall winner – which means our pizza identity is shaped more by Chicago than anywhere else.  Within Montclair, the two winners were Cybelle’s and Rustica.  The runner up and dark horse was Red Boy (Yelp), just down Park Blvd.  (Click for more Montclair Pizza info.)

Chocolate Sources:

Well who can argue with Berkeley’s Scharffen Berger (Yelp), which came out tops?  It was a three-horse race, with strong contenders Le Bon Bon and XOX Truffles pulling up the rear.  At least we have truly top-notch chocolate around here, so the supermarket option wasn’t much considered by survey respondents.

Thanks all, for your votes and opinions.  What morsels should we survey next?