Author: montclairoak

Montclair Library, At Risk?

There’s plenty of concern about whether most of Oakland’s libraries can remain open, with the severe budget crunch.

Mayor Jean Quan has laid out three budget options, and Budget A translates into 14 closures — including our Montclair Library.  No one wants this worst-case outcome, given the painful cuts which would impact many city services.

Here’s a recap of the budget options, from District 4 Rep Libby Schaaf:

  • Budget A — Assumes no voluntary employee concessions, so is all-cuts; cuts 395 city jobs.
  • Budget B — Assumes 10-15% concessions from all employees; cuts 162 city jobs.
  • Budget C — Assumes 10-15% concession plus an $80 parcel tax is adopted; cuts 104 city jobs.

Save Oakland Library has outlined all the library closures and cuts caused by Budget A.  There would be only $3.6 million available from general funds, a pittance.  And Measure Q parcel taxes, earmarked for libraries, would evaporate.  Why?  These taxes only get collected if the City funds $9 million minimum from general funds.  (Measure Q contributed around $14 million this past year.)

We hope that Budget A won’t see the light of day!  So let’s move to Budget B which, according to Council Rep Schaaf, will keep the libraries open and hours intact.  She explains this budget scenario:

The total Library budget would actually increase by about $1.3 million and authorized staffing would increase by 1 FTE.  The only change required is shifting $400k in General Fund costs to Measure Q, which staff assures me won’t change services AT ALL.

But believe me, other Councilmembers and I love our libraries and understand their value.  I’m confident that even without full concessions, we’ll be able to preserve current library services and Mayor Quan’s Budget B shows it can be done.

That leaves Budget C, which involves an election and more parcel taxes. It’s a little hard to contemplate that option. Would we even have an election?  Would voters approve another tax, in this climate?  Who knows?

Hey, maybe we will somehow luck out — like Governor Jerry Brown’s recent, surprising revenue projection gift at the state level.

Thursday Night Open, In The Village

Everyone’s invited to Montclair Village this Thursday evening.  Why now?  After all, we’re not celebrating a holiday, wandering around a fine arts festival or eating our way through a fundraiser.

Village merchants are rolling out their red carpets for the first-ever “Shop Local Extravaganza.”  Stores are open late, so that we can pick up essentials or non-essentials before the Memorial Day weekend.

“It’s a perfect time for busy families to shop for seasonal specials and have fun in the process,” says Roger Vickery, director of the Montclair Village Association (MVA).

Village shops will stay open until 8:30pm, with their own special discounts and screaming sales.  To attract local shoppers and strollers, there will be additional lures of free food, refreshments, art and entertainment.

Yes, parking is also free after 6pm.  The La Salle garage stays open until 9pm.

Why Not Overstock.com Coliseum?

Yesterday, Overstock.com announced that they will spend over $7 million for naming rights!  The Coliseum will be officially called the “Overstock.com Coliseum,” at least for the next six years.

This hits home for yours truly, the original Today in Montclair blogger.  First, I’m an Oakland loyalist who is currently living in Utah.  Second, I ran marketing for Overstock.com nearly a decade ago.  While Utah-based Overstock has become a well-known national brand since then, getting more Bay Area exposure could be a smart move.

According to Overstock Chairman and CEO, Patrick Byrne:

Overstock is thrilled to become a part of the City of Oakland and Alameda County.  The Overstock brand is a perfect fit with the excitement and culture of the area.  We look forward to becoming part of the community and doing our part to give back.  Residents of the area can look forward to many great events taking place in the Overstock.com Coliseum.

More importantly, CEO Byrne follows his beliefs.  While I was working at Overstock, he launched Worldstock to help distribute goods created from third-world workers.  The department still exists today, and has given back directly to NGOs and workers around the world.

Start thinking about how Overstock might help Oakland…an interesting opportunity.

CORE Earthquake Exercise Sound Real

The City of Oakland is holding a “Citywide Emergency Response Functional Exercise Plan” this Saturday morning and, with its large earthquake scenario, seems like the most realistic practice possible!

What’s most striking are the communication channel tests, which are no longer all about ham-radios.  In a true sign of the times, you are instructed to receive text messages and visit Facebook for updates.  You’re also supposed to ask non-Bay Area people to receive texts, which makes good sense.

For the 2011 exercise, the City of Oakland wants to test individual and group contacts.

The exercise objectives for ALL participating individuals are to:
1.  Communicate with an Out-of-Area Contact.
2.  Receive an official text notification from the City of Oakland/CORE.

The exercise objectives for participating neighborhood groups are to:
3.  Demonstrate effective communication within the neighborhood.
4.  Demonstrate effective communication with another neighborhood group.
5.  Demonstrate effective communication to the City Emergency Operations Center.
6.  Practice an orderly evacuation of the neighborhood.

Interested?  Take a quick look at the PDF guide here, if you would like to learn more and/or participate this coming Saturday.

Digging On Caldecott Fourth Bore

Caltrans and their contracted workers are making steady progress on the Caldecott fourth bore, and daily progress doesn’t exactly make headlines anymore.  However digging has begun from the Oakland side, so we’re curious about the progress and schedule ahead.

The North Hills Community Association (NHCA) recently announced a special Town Hall Meeting about Caldecott Tunnel this Thursday evening — starting 8:00 pm, at Claremont Hotel’s Lanai II Room.  Construction status and safety issues will be presented by Ivy Morrison, who serves as Caltrans Caldecott Tunnel Project Public Information Officer.

All Montclarions are most welcomed to this Town Hall, whether you live in the northern reaches (north of Thornhill) served by NHCA or not.  After all, everyone’s impacted by the Fourth Bore activities over the next couple years.

But wait, there’s more.  If you are interested in local dog laws, then you’re also invited to attend the regular NHCA meeting beginning at 6:30 pm.  Public Safety Officer Trent Thompson will address “issues surrounding dangerous dogs, including new law proposals to the  City of Oakland, new enforcement policies and procedures within Animal  Control.”