Month: November 2008

Do Oakland Closures Save Enough Money?

The City of Oakland will save *a little* money by closing its offices one day/month.  We seem to be timid about asking city workers to feel the pain, though.

On the day before Thanksgiving, the City of Oakland will shut down all non-essential services.  Our police and fire departments stay opened, along with Head Start and a few other places.

Shut Happens

Last week, the Oakland Tribune confirmed these monthly closures through June, as well as regularly scheduled closures between Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

There are also cuts in police overtime, five percent reductions in base pay, and $430k savings from the Mayor’s Office.  There’s no question all these actions will help, as every penny matters now.

However I’m an advocate for cutting back further. Start by looking at Silicon Valley as an example, where many engineers and knowledge workers toil away.  These tech sector employees aren’t exactly landed gentry anymore.

Since the cold winter arrived last month, Silicon Valley managers and staffers have been laid off in droves while others have taken large cuts in take-home pay.  Everything is slowing and cash must be conserved – and these businesses cannot operate with Oakland-like deficits.

With that in mind, it’s tough to say that Oakland has gone far enough. I’m unable to inspect city salaries, yet understand (but cannot verify) that we pay pretty well compared to other cities.  Oakland is almost treating employment like an entitlement program.

City workers don’t seem to be giving up much, yet.  With offices closed one day per month, these workers will sacrifice 1/30th of their pay.  They should be able to keep their health and other benefits without problems.

So while I’m pleased that Oakland’s taking some steps to conserve, they could cut more deeply like their private industry counterparts.  Is this simplistic?  Do you agree?

Stop Your Jaywalking

Stop your jaywalking, while running errands or shopping in Montclair Village.  According to the buzz, our cops will begin actively ticketing pedestrians for committing this crime and breach of etiquette.

Local merchants watched the police hold court on La Salle last Thursday and Friday.  A few confirmed that cops were warning jaywalkers, yet stayed focused on ticketing folks who drove through crosswalks while pedestrians were still there.

No Jaywalking

According to eyewitness Laurel Strand, the cops “were actually holding up traffic yesterday while ticketing motorists in the middle of La Salle – kind of a surreal scene as the merchants and pedestrians all outside watched the ticketing as a strange form of entertainment.”

Roger Vickery, director of the Montclair Village Association, explained that Oakland Police were responding to community requests, and will “be back to address jaywalking and motorist behavior in the future.”

“Village merchants want the laws obeyed but not to the point where shopping in the Village is affected,” said Vickery.  “Perhaps with a bit more cooperation between pedestrians and motorists we won’t have the need for OPD enforcement.  I would seriously welcome that.”

So what is jaywalking?  Well, it means crossing the street between intersections where there are lights, stop signs, and obvious crosswalks.  To clarify, here are relevant excerpts from the California Legal Codes:

  • Code 21955:  Crossing Between Controlled Intersections – Between adjacent intersections controlled by traffic control signal devices or by police officers, pedestrians shall not cross the roadway at any place except in a crosswalk.
  • Glossary 445:  Official Traffic Control Signal – Any device, whether manually, electrically or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and proceed and which is erected by authority of a public body or official having jurisdiction.
  • Code 21950:  Pedestrians At Crosswalks – (b) No pedestrian may suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.  No pedestrian may unnecessarily stop or delay traffic while in a marked or unmarked crosswalk.

Don’t know about you, but I have definitely parked on La Salle or other places and just scurried across the street to do errands.  Now we’ll have to consciously reach a crosswalk and proceed – and this shouldn’t be too onerous.

Celebrating $2.50 Per Gallon

Among the three gas stations in the Village, one has finally dipped below $2.50 per gallon for low-test gas.  The independent station at Thornhill attained this milestone, while the two oil company-branded stations on Mountain are almost there.

Gas Prices

What a change from the sheer despair we felt back in June when prices were north of $4.50 per gallon.  Now that it costs just 55% of that sky-high amount, commuters can breath a sigh of relief.

According to U.S. Census data, some 62% of 94611 residents drive alone to work.  We travel to all compass points, and 25% spend at least 45 minutes commuting daily.  So declines in gas prices translate into meaningful savings.

Do we return to our gas-guzzling ways after work?  Do we hit the roads, California dreamin’ and all?  Hhmm.

Sorry, Montclair Soaps Aren’t Edible

“I cut my soap into square bars an inch thick.  At first glance they look a bit like a nice cheese,” says Kim Emanuel, owner of Montclair Soaps.  They look so delectable that he’s actually heard someone exclaim, “Wow, these are lovely…can you eat them?”  Well, no.

Emanuel has been making unique soaps here for the past two years, using olive oil.  He explains that “olive oil is very similar to the natural oils manufactured by skin and so it acts to moisturize and protect, without being greasy.  The cold process of making olive oil soap results in a bar that is both deeply cleansing, moisturizing and extremely gentle to the skin.”

Montclair Almond Cherry Soap

Of course, there’s an interesting back story about Kim and his decision to begin making and selling soaps in 2006.  He’s a semiconductor engineer by day and felt the need to do “something a bit more human.”

“Soap by nature is very touchable, has wonderful aroma, it’s pretty and one can retreat into a tub of hot water with a bar of great soap,” declares Kim.  “Before you know it, all the stress of the day drifts away.  It’s a meditation.  Soap is wonderful!”

He says his “favorite part of the whole process is when people come back to me after using my soap and tell me how much they love it, or how nice their skin feels…or how their nine-year-old son takes more baths now.”

It’s great to have a real soap maker in our backyard.  Among the 14 varieties, he sees the highest demand for Mint Rosemary, Almond, Apricot, Oatmeal Milk & Honey, Pear and Lavender soaps.  I’m attracted to the Lemon Grass, which puts me in the minority.

Montclair Soaps

Holiday Gift Alert! Montclair Soaps maintains an online store and also holds court Sundays at the Temescal Farmers Market.  You can order soaps online here, and Kim has graciously offered all Montclarions a $1/bar discount by inserting the word “MONTCLAIR” in the coupon code box at checkout.

Also you can avoid shipping charges completely, as a local.  Just mention that you want to pick up bars at the Temescal Farmers Market (next to the DMV on Claremont Ave) when you see the special instructions in the online shopping cart.  You can meet Kim there every Sunday to pick up your order.

Happy 50th Birthday, Thornhill School

Thornhill Elementary School celebrates the big Five-Oh this year!  Originally it was built to serve the boomers, and has prospered since then.  Everyone connected with the school, past and present, is invited to a re-dedication ceremony on Wednesday evening, at 6:30 pm.

During the mid-1950s, the architects envisioned a very modern looking school situated beautifully in a natural landscape.  There was a large and open plaza for students to congregate as well.  Click here to see a full-sized version of the original architects’ drawing.

Thornhill School Vision

When construction began in 1957, the original site looked pretty barren and almost rural.  Here’s a snapshot of the framing underway and it doesn’t look too impressive at this stage.  Eventually the school was opened with great fanfare, by Fall 1958.

Thornhill School Construction

Not surprisingly, the school was an iconoclast right from the start and The Montclarion reported that “custard hit the fan” back in 1958.  Within weeks of opening, what should have been a perfunctory meeting of the new PTA (Parent Teacher Association) became a unified rebellion – and the unique PFC (Parent Faculty Club) was born.

Why did this happen?  Local parents objected to sending money to some far-away organization, preferring that all their resources stay with the new Thornhill School.  Additionally, mothers and fathers wanted to participate equally in the organization and hold meetings in the evenings.

Thornhill has been lovingly and consistently embraced by parents.  These days, they organize regular fundraisers to pay for a librarian and various arts/music offerings for kids, even when the Oakland Schools can’t afford them.  There are all kinds of special after-school enrichment classes too.

Today Thornhill has outgrown its original space, but the school continues to thrive.  Northern Montclarion kids are getting a good education and performing well, in what feels like a public/private partnership.  Congrats on reaching the half-century milestone, Thornhill.