Month: August 2010

Village Bank Robber Returns

The Trib’s reporting that the same guy who robbed the Wells Fargo in Montclair at the end of June returned this morning for another take at the till.

OPD describes the bank robber as a black man in his late 20s or 30s with a goatee. He’s about 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 180 pounds. His signature item of clothing is a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap, which he was wearing during both robberies. He was last seen on Tuesday morning running down Mountain Boulevard toward Park Boulevard.

Let’s hope the third time’s not lucky.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the robber’s arrest. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211.

Joaquin Miller Path a Go

More than 20 years ago, when City Councilwoman Jean Quan’s kids were in elementary school, Quan worried about the condition of the path that linked Joaquin Miller and Montera schools to the edge of the village at Scout Road. It’s taken some time, but this month, construction crews will finally begin repairs on a big chunk of the narrow, old and dangerous pathway.

With $140,000 from the Pay-Go Funds of Quan and former At-large Councilman Henry Chang, combined with $20,000 from community donations, the trickiest, twistiest, and steepest section of the pathway will be renovated by the time school starts at the end of the month. Sue Piper, policy analyst for Quan, said “We are dealing with the worst part.”

When this phase of construction is finished, the crosswalk will be realigned with a new landing, there will be a connection between the landing and the pathway, and a new layer of decomposed granite will rejuvenate the pathway between the landing and the cellular equipment. Oakland Unified will have to deal with the stretch between the landing and the schools. The entire length of the path between Ascot and Scout is 1,950 feet.

While this is a big step, there’s some money left over, and donations made in the next couple of weeks will help push the renovation as close to Scout Road as possible. Contributions are tax deductible.

Joaquin Miller School Pathway Project Account #P330610
c/o Sue Piper, Council District 4 Office
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612

Note: Put Joaquin Miller School Pathway Project Account #P330610 in memo