Just The News

City Rep Wants Albano Here

Jean Quan, our city council representative, seems to be picking up the torch for Claudia Albano – the city coordinator who has been actively supporting and nurturing Oakland’s neighborhood watch groups.

Yesterday we reported on the uproar surrounding the firing of Albano and re-assignment of Felicia Verdin.  It didn’t make any sense to Montclarions and others who develop grass-roots neighborhood groups.

Community Triptych

Apparently Albano will interview for another city position next week.  We’re still not sure whether she will continue to be in the driver’s seat regarding neighborhood services.

Quan clearly wants to push the matter, even though the City Council is limited in its authority.  She said “We are concerned that some front line services may be cut by the reorganization.  I expect there will be more discussion between the Mayor, Administrator and Council over the next two weeks.”

Here’s the full, uncut response from Representative Quan this morning.

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Montclarions Denounce Albano’s Firing

Some bad news was hidden in Mayor Ron Dellums’ announcement about new city appointees:  the quick firing of Claudia Albano, Oakland’s neighborhood services manager, who is much-loved among all neighborhood organizers.

Additionally Felicia Verdin, who coordinates the neighborhood watch program and community policing training, has been re-assigned to another department.  These changes are supposed to be effective by close of business, today.

Oakland Administration Gears

What the heck is this about?

When a politician or business executive first rides into town, you expect some housecleaning.  In this case, a new city administrator who isn’t new to the city, Dan Lindheim, may have some reasons to sack Albano and Verdin – or simply wants to create his own team.  We don’t know.

Yet this current team has made a difference for community volunteers.  They organize regular trainings, provide guidance and are touted as “what works” in Oakland city government.  There’s been a huge outpouring of grief from Montclarions, who have found them to be quite helpful on all safety matters (read here.)

Let’s see what happens today.

In this case, it makes sense for Mayor Dellums and City Administrator Lindheim to swallow their pride and reverse course.  Our neighborhood crime watch groups are based on volunteers and voters who value the support they have received over the past few years.  If it ain’t broke, then why break it?

Frankly I feel sorry for the new appointee, who is caught in the crossfire.  The Tribune reported that “Dorlista Reed, who helped develop the city of Berkeley’s Neighborhood Services initiative among other programs, [has been named] as public safety coordinator.”  She may be a qualified and wonderful person, but has a very hard act to follow.

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Oaklanders and San Franciscans Are Pretty Fit

Recently, Men’s Fitness released their annual listing of the fittest and fattest cities across America.  They ranked the 50 largest cities, including all three Bay  Area metros.  San Francisco and Oakland were among the fittest (#12 and #20) places, while San Jose landed in the fattest ranks (#15) overall.

That makes sense when you add up all the different criteria below.  San Franciscans log fewer hours with their TVs, have places to work out, can access healthcare, and aren’t as overweight as folks in other places.  Interestingly, Oaklanders receive top grades for their junk food and overweight criteria.  All three cities share great geography and state obesity initiatives.

Men's Fitness Cities

However some of these fitness results are head-scratchers, because they don’t reflect realities of available resources.  We found details about survey criteria, which describe calculations falling within strict city limits – and that explains a lot.

  • Parks: Take a look at the grades for parks and open spaces in Oakland (C-), San Francisco (D+) and San Jose (F), which seem off-kilter.  We know that many Oaklanders take advantage of the East Bay Regional Parks.  Likewise, San Franciscans use the access trails along the Pacific Ocean.  Even San Jose residents escape to nearby regional and state parks.
  • Junk Food: The junk food grades also seem a little counter-intuitive, showing Oakland (A-) and San Jose (B+) beating out San Francisco (C).  Perhaps there are more fast-food joints per capita in San Francisco, but it sure doesn’t feel that way.  At the same time, nutrition rankings redeem San Francisco (A) when compared to Oakland (B) and San Jose (C).
  • Air Quality: Finally, the air quality rankings are suspect.  Oaklanders don’t lack for fresh air, and Montclarions literally revel in their mountain-like environs.  We see a lower grade (C+) than San Francisco (B+) , while San Jose’s grade (D) makes sense in the valley.

Yet this Men’s Fitness list provides valid, apples-to-apples comparisons among major U.S. cities.  Assuming these quality-of-life indicators are priorities, we should try to improve some of these grades.  Access to health care and exercise facilities are common goods, right?

Waiting For Caldecott Environmental Review

Due to our state’s budget ills, the fourth bore construction funding has been delayed for the Caldecott Tunnel – at least until mid-February or perhaps far longer.

We wondered whether this delay impacted the Fourth-Bore Coalition (FBC) and its efforts, and the quick answer is no.  The FBC continues to push for a full environmental review, including the construction-related pollution that would impact Montclarions living near Highway 24.

Fourth Bore Coalition

“Our major concern, at the moment, is that the governor would like to exempt the Caldecott improvement project from CEQA, so the project can move forward quickly.  We feel this is a very short-sighted move, ” declared Ann Smulka, FBC chairperson.

FBC brought suit against the California Dept. of Transportation, saying that it violated environmental reviews required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  The Alameda Superior Court hearing took place on November 5th and Judge Frank Roesch will be handing down a decision soon.

There are many legal briefs you can read at the Fourth Bore site, and here’s a choice quote:

Caltrans does not have the kind of discretion that, at one time, was practiced by absolute monarchs.  Rather, CEQA requires that its provisions be interpreted in such a manner as to afford the fullest possible protection to the environment within the reasonable scope of the statutory language.

Smulka said “the health and safety effects of the project could be relatively easily avoided by Caltrans through project modifications.  The cost of mitigation would be very small in relation to the $420 million cost of the project.”

On a practical level, the Coalition wants Caltrans to “acknowledge and mitigate the project’s impact on nearby schools, residents and parks.  We are particularly concerned about the impacts of Oakland’s Claremont Middle and Anthony Chabot Elementary schools which, given their proximity to the highway, are already subjected to hazardous air and noise pollution.”

Now our neighbors living by the Tunnel wait for the court’s clock to count-down.  Judge Roesch is required, by law, to deliver his ruling by early February.  If the review is approved, it represents another twist – right along with the funding freeze and delayed schedules.

Winter Bad Air Settles Here

Yesterday was really hazy, and declared a non-breathable  Spare The Air Day in the Bay Area.  Today is another bad-air day, which means that it’s illegal to burn wood of any kind.

Based on the Bay Area’s air quality forecast, it looks like the seasonal bad-air will settle here for the next few days.  Notice the poor air quality in the Coast and Central Bay area, which includes Oakland and the Oakland  Hills.

Spare The Air Forecast

Yesterday was an official alert day.  The air quality was called “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” and all active kids or adults with respiratory problems like asthma were advised to limit outdoor exertion.

While haziness has cleared a bit today, more bad-air days are ahead.  The alert level is moderate this week, which means “unusually sensitive” people should watch out at this point.  It’s still illegal to burn wood now.

What’s with the wood?  Unbreathable days are caused by particulates, and wood-burning can contribute significant levels.  According to the Bay Area Air Quality folks, wood fires contribute up to one-third of all particulates on a winter’s night.

These pollution declarations are a new thing, based on new wood-smoke regulations passed last year.  The Bay Area Air Quality Management District began its alert program this winter season and, counting yesterday, there have been seven official alert-level days.

Anyway, don’t wait for the cops to follow your smoke trail – just keep your wood-burning fireplaces and stoves turned off this week.