Month: November 2008

The Day After: How Alameda County Voted

For now, we can see exactly how Alameda County residents voted, and wanted to share the highlights with you.  Here are the county-level results for Montclarions, in the no-spin zone.

Barack State Flags

Some 56% of registered citizens cast ballots, representing 448,597 voters yesterday.  Nearly 60% of county voters came to the polling places, while the rest used absentee ballots.  How did we vote?

For President: Barack Obama garnered 78.5% and John McCain received 19.3% of our votes. We are the bluest-blue voters around here.

Other Contests: In District 9, Barbara Lee was re-elected by a landslide of 85.7% so she stays in D.C.  Loni Hancock received 76.6% of the votes, which puts her back in State Senate.  And Dennis Hayashi received 61.4% for the Superior Court.

In the State Assembly, Nancy Skinner ran uncontested in the 14th district (north of Thornhill) and Sandre Swanson won 87.1% of the votes in the 16th district (south of Thornhill).  Finally in Oakland, Rebecca Kaplan won the at-large City Council seat with 62.0% votes.

Local Measures: Defeated measures include the ones for Teachers Pay (Measure N) and Police Expansion (Measure NN).  Approved measures include Kids First (Measure OO), Mass Transit (Measure VV) and East Bay Open Space (Measure WW).

State Propositions: The Alameda Registrar hasn’t made our county results available yet, but you can click here for state-wide results.  Of course, the national press focused on two bellwethers:  Prop-8, which eliminates marriage rights for same-sex couples (passed with 51.2% votes); and Prop-4, which requires parental notification for abortions (rejected with 47.7% votes).

Enough saturated coverage for now.

Voting Day 94611: Where To Vote, See Results

Did you vote yet?  Assuming you are a good citizen and have already registered, then stop by your local polling place and pick your president, representatives, state propositions and local measures.

Polling places are open between 7:00am – 8:00pm, and you can find them by clicking here and entering your address.  I’m betting your precincts will be jammed, so bring something to read and eat while you wait.

For procrastinators, at least click through the California propositions and local measures before you show up.  Those automated calls and TV ads hardly present clear pictures of everything on the ballot!

Gracie Montclair Mayor

According to unconfirmed rumors, Montclair’s Mayor Condon will be making guest appearances at various polling places.  Since the mayoral race was last spring, our Gracie isn’t looking for votes but will gladly accept treats today.

After the polls have closed, my favorite spot for local results will be the Alameda County Registrar’s web site.  You can see the full list or drill down for election outcomes there.  A close second will be TV stations and web sites, although it’s not clear how quickly they will post the local results.

Anyway, it may be a long night…or not.

Local Public Works Almost Done

We’re racing to the finish, to complete several road and park construction projects before the official rainy season.  Oakland Public Works has been doing surprisingly well, finishing work at Shepherd Canyon Park, Montclair Park and Skyline Boulevard.

At Shepherd Canyon Park, the parking lot has been completed already.  This lot should improve safety for everyone driving by the park.  It’s built with water-permeable materials, since the canyon has flooding issues.  There will be a dedication sometime soon.

On the other hand, the Shepherd Canyon Road sink holes may re-appear this season.  Nearly $1 million had been approved to replace the ancient storm drainage pipes that cause the problem.  However the fixes have not been funded or scheduled yet, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed about future floods.

Down the hill, the improvements to Montclair Park paths will be done this month.  The remaining tasks include pouring concrete as well as installing fencing, drainage and handrails.  Montclair SIC plans several beautification efforts ahead, including daffodil plantings on November 15th.

Since late September, Skyline Boulevard has been shuttered to make permanent repairs caused by last winter’s storms.  We’ve been blocked from Berkeley, the parks and tunnel detour since then, waiting for Oakland Public Works to re-open the road by early December.

It turns out Public Works has made rapid progress on Skyline.  This weekend, local realtor Laurel Strand declared “whoopee!” in the Montclair Yahoo group, sharing that “Skyline Blvd at Snake to Grizzly Peak Road repair is finished!  We can now travel over the tunnel to Orinda.”

Even with the city’s budget crunch, we seem to be plowing through the projects scheduled before the winter storms.  That’s important because Oakland Public Works will undoubtedly be responding to the storms, floods and other winter travails soon.

Ready For Winter Storms?

Well, the rains really kicked us hard yesterday.  When you drove around town, you could see the flooding beyond the culverts.  The rivers were particularly strong as you headed down the steeper streets.

Last night, some 4,100 households experienced a power outage too.  This happened around 11:00pm, which disrupted key TV viewing – no worries, since you can view the Saturday Night Live clips on Hulu.

With this wake-up call, it’s time to get ready for the winter storms and protect your castles.  Oakland Public Works is providing materiel for local residents, before the floods arrive.

Come with proof of residency and your household is entitled to pick up 20 sandbags and plastic sheeting free from Public Works, on Shepherd Canyon Rd (map).  You may also stop by local fire stations for five sandbags, when there’s bad weather ahead.  All these locations are open weekdays from 8:00am – 9:00pm, and weekends from 8:00am – 4:30pm.

According to Public Works, residents can help prevent floods by keeping drainages clear.  They recommend that you:  check and clean private drainage systems; do not place leaves, debris or lawn clippings near storm drains; and place leaves and green trimming in your green cart for weekly recycling pickup.

Oaklanders have been making strides to keep the creeks and drainages cleared out.  On the Creek to Bay Day, in September, some 1364 volunteers showed up city-wide to collect garbage and green waste.  There’s another program to Maintain-A-Drain, where volunteers lay claim to their very own drains and help prevent flooding as well.

Still, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature.  If you do see any flooding or storm drain problems, please reach Public Works at (510)-615-5566.  Public Works staff picks up the phone weekdays from 8:00am – 4:30pm, while the line is forwarded to Fire Dispatch after hours.

The First Signs Of Rainy Season

After taking our weather for granted, this storm is a quick reminder of the rainy season ahead.  It’s admittedly beautiful in some ways, as we’re watching the fog pour through the hills.  The rains are not torrential yet.

Here’s a virtual tour of how a Montclair rainy day looks and feels, up in the parks.  We begin with a snapshot of a local chihuahua, who’s clearly stressed by the muddy trail walk.  He (or she) is properly pampered and protected from the raindrops, but that doesn’t seem to help much.

Next, the earthworms emerge from even the slightest rain showers.  (Personally I prefer the banana slugs, but they have not yet arrived on the scene.)  In this photo, a lone earthworm has surfaced on top of the rocky soil, and will likely be joined by others soon.  Of course, they have nowhere to go and may get trampled.

Finally here’s an peaceful image of a foggy and rainy day taken in Redwood Park, which should be familiar to Montclarions.  To me, the rainy days actually tamp down the noise levels in the parks.  It’s very comfortable walking among the trees.  For Hollywood mavens, we’re about to see something evil unfold – Blair Witch Trial, anyone?

We haven’t had any rain in so long, and are still suffering from drought conditions.  This weekend provides just a taste of the rainy season we desparately need.  Yet we have to whine a little – it’s sometimes difficult to stay upbeat with the doom and gloom surrounding Montclair.