Month: January 2009

Blow Me Over, Blow The Man Down

Today we seem to be experiencing “end of days” weather, with amazing winds and record-high temperatures to boot.  It’s over 70 degrees right now, and this is January?  So much for the rainy season, as this feels like fire season instead.

This morning, we weren’t literally blown off our moorings.  However the neighborhood pine trees are all reaching their 80-year expiration dates, and these major gusts could topple a few.  Expect plenty of natural or man-made detritus in our neighborhoods when this all blows through.

Windy Destruction

The Tribune reported on the strange weather and snapped this photo down in the Laurel District, which shows what happens when a single tree meets civilization.  It looks like the house and roof actually withstood the impact of the tree fall, but it’s hard to confirm.  Of course, the Laurel is in “the slants” where wind speeds are lower than the hills – let this be fair warning.

Feel free to click on the National Weather Service report for today and next week.  While the winds are beginning to die down, we can still expect gusts up to 30 MPH through tonight.  Today in Montclair doesn’t normally re-issue weather reports, but this is too unusual to ignore.

Please report what you are seeing and feeling out there, if you get a chance.

Montclair Crimes Declined Slightly Last Month

Montclair’s crime rates have declined a bit this past month, from 51 to 39 incidents overall.  The rates dropped significantly in the 13Y police beat (north of Thornhill) but held relatively steady in the 13Z beat (south of Thornill).  Throughout the 94611 zip, there have been fewer burglaries, robberies and assaults too.

In the northern part of Montclair, there were just 12 incidents this past month.  Maybe our burglars and thieves decided to take a holiday break, as their hits dropped from 20 to nine (!) during the past 31 days.  Although the numbers bounce around monthly, this was still a quieter period.

94611 Crimes

In the Montclair shopping district and southern reaches, some 27 incidents took place over the past month.  Burglaries continued to decline, while thefts and vehicle thefts increased noticeably.  There were recent reports of burglars casing places near Skyline Blvd, so neighbors continue to keep watch.

Right now, the Montclair Safety Council is asking for safety priorities to share with the OPD 13Z beat officers.  Please email MSIC Chair Nick Vigilante (nvigilante@msn.com) about problems in your neighborhoods, which can be better patrolled or addressed this month.

More info:   If you’re curious about your own neck of the woods, then take a look at crime data available through the CrimeView system.  You can select crimes, define dates, and enter your address/distance there – give it a try.

How The Montclair Social Network Goes

Right before the holidays, we set up a social network for Montclarions to connect and share things.  Yes, it’s a place where you are the center of the universe, and many early adopters have joined and begun posting.  You can check it out – right here.

We couldn’t find an informal way to connect Montclarions online, and wanted to see if this did the trick.  Our other networks on Facebook and LinkedIn are filled with family, friends and colleagues who don’t share Montclair in common.  You could ask who’s going to rent the old yarn shop but they won’t care – and so you don’t ask either.

Montclair Social Homepage

Here are recent examples of what folks want to know or discuss a bit.  Of course, you’re welcome to answer resolutely, hazard a guess or otherwise offer your two cents:

  • Are there door-to-door commuting services to SF locations?
  • Do you know about the Tues accident, on Moraga at Masonic?
  • How are you feeling about the downtown violence this week?
  • Where are all the culverts and streams that run through town?
  • Would you like to join a solar panel deal?
  • Is the new Mickey Rourke film decent or not?

We’re hoping to provide an easy way to connect with other villagers, without any effort.  You can ask questions or comment through postings, share events and schedules, set up discussions, post documents or photos, and more.  You can share with everyone, your friends, individuals…or restrict for your own use.

It can be a hassle to remember to visit, though.  We suggest taking the network updates with you, like we have done under “our social network” heading in the right-hand column.  If you have Yahoo or other portals, log into Google, or use other readers, then copy this link for the Montclair Social Network or the Today in Montclair blog too.

If that previous paragraph confuses you, then please ignore it (!) and just visit this blog or the social network directly.  For more information about the social network, check out this quick tour or learn how to sign up.  This social net is for you, and we’ll see how useful it becomes in the weeks ahead.

Survey Says: We’re Moderately Healthy

When outsiders look at Montclarions, they may see hippy, organic health nuts.  After all, our crowning glory is a weekly farmers’ market, which we support come rain or shine.  Montclair won’t ever become a classic white bread and jello place – but it shouldn’t wave the humorless tofu nation’s flag either.

Today in Montclair conducted a health survey (questions here) which revealed we are fairly moderate in our daily habits.   Some Montclarions eat right and exercise, while others just lounge, eat junk and hang out online.  We are a mixed bag.

Local Runner

Let’s start with the exercise you favor.

Gym attendance seems to be an all-or-nothing proposition, since over 40% of you attend after the new year and all year long.  What’s more, regular attendees are showing up at least ten-plus times monthly.  During visits, everyone hits the weights while about half mix them with aerobics.

Walking figures into your lives, with 85% saying you head out on streets or trails during the month.  Most walk with other adults or dogs, and a quarter of you stroll six or more times monthly.  Hiking must be on the weekends, since you go wandering only a handful of times.  Over half of respondents run or jog, but there are only a few who tie up their running shoes ten-plus times monthly.

The more soul-stirring pilates, yoga and spa activities didn’t register strongly in the results.  About 15% of you partake but I wonder if there is something about a survey that isn’t appealing to the yoginis.  Regular sports like bicycle riding were reported, with half of you getting off the sofa.

You eat and feel a little guilty.

Well, Montclarions definitely enjoy their candy most and nearly 30% ate sweet treats six-plus times each month.  Some 85% also scarf chips or salty snacks at least four or more times per month.  Nearly everyone is worried about eating too much food generally.

We asked about vices and bad habits, and you confessed about white foods the most, like popcorn, buttered rice, bagels and toast.  Booze, beer, wine and coffee also made the list.  Other foods like ice cream, desert and fried items were mentioned, but not very often.

You are still healthy villagers, when it comes to overall eating habits.  Over 40% buy fast-food meals, but only average three meals monthly.  Around 70% of you have breakfast, consume veggies and eat fruit at least ten times per month.  Some 40% take vitamins and supplements, too.  All very impressive, don’t you agree?

We asked you to pass judgment.

It turns out that you are worried about your eating, exercise and online routines.  You registered some concerns about how often your partner/spouse exercised or surfed online.  For kids still at home, you monitored their online habits but felt they were okay.  No one focused on their family’s TV viewing habits, so the times are a changing.

We’d like to thank the survey participants, who ranged from 30-49 years old and split 25% male and 75% female.  If you would still like to add your two cents, then I have left the survey open.

Piedmonters Share The Floor

Well we expected civility in the hills, and that’s what happened when Montclarions showed up at Piedmont City Hall this week.  Remember the kerfuffle about turning Blair Park into a temporary school zone?  The sensitive issues have now been formally discussed in the open.

There were 50 audience members at Piedmont’s City Council meeting, on Monday evening.  Council members reviewed all their plans for Blair Park, which included 24 modular classroom to be replaced by soccer fields in two years.  Plans called for a pedestrian overpass on Moraga Ave, as well as large retaining walls (blue lines, below).

Blair Retaining Walls

Then some 25 citizens, including 10 Montclarions, addressed the Council.  They were all well-behaved and followed these prescribed rules of order:  don’t repeat what was already said in e-mails to council members;  don’t repeat what the previous speaker said; limit comments to the temporary school placement; and speak for two minutes or less.

Montclarions rejected the Blair Park plans because of major traffic problems that Piedmonters had not considered in their earlier assessments.  The size and scope of the plans seemed inappropriate given the Moraga Canyon location, with 24,000 sq. ft. of classrooms placed in the park.

Another wrinkle emerged at the meeting, namely the retaining walls needed to shore up unstable park land.  It turns out that BART construction debris was piled there in the 1970s.  Thus construction engineers recommended two walls to shore up the nearby cliffs, and Piedmonters are giving the walls a second thought:

You wouldn’t let me build a four-story home in Piedmont.  Why should you build  a four-story wall?

A 40-foot wall will be ugly and will ruin the beauty of this entrance to Piedmont, which was recently written up as one of the most beautiful small towns in America.

What’s next?  Piedmont’s School Board will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 14th to explore alternatives beyond Blair Park.  These include putting portables at Wildwood and Beach schools, placing portables at Wildwood and Vista Park’s tennis courts, or using an unoccupied Emeryville school.  Montclarions are welcome to attend and be heard.

The School Board members will cast their votes on Tuesday, Jan. 27th.  If the recommended option involves Piedmont-owned property, then they return to the Council for approval.  Now is the time to speak up, and both Piedmonters and Montclarions should contact/email members of the School Board and City Council with their concerns.

Let’s applaud the grass-roots and participatory democracy underway – as we negotiate rather than declare war in what CBS5 Eye on Blogs called the Battle of the Not-Oakland Cities.

Update:  Read later takes by The Montclarion and Piedmont Neighborhood News.