Just The News

No More Bay Area Backroads

Bay Area Backroads is no more!  Host Doug McConnell posted news that his TV show has been dropped due to “tough economic times [which] required KRON to cease production.”  The last new episode airs this weekend, with reruns thereafter.

The decades-long program is a source of local inspiration.  McConnell acts as the chief cheerleader of open spaces and top spots within the Bay Area.

Currently there are Seven Bay Area Wonders featured online, and the Claremont Hotel makes the cut because of the classic architecture and nice hillside setting.  It’s keeping company with the Golden Gate Bridge.

Earlier this year, McConnell returned to Tilden Park and showed off the top spots.  It was a trip down memory lane for Doug, who also used old footage of his now-grown toddler visiting there.

Anyway, Doug isn’t planning to disappear soon and hopes that Backroads will be picked up by public TV station KQED.  He also plans to make videos available on Open Road TV – which would be just fine with us.

Update:  Open Road TV is now a weekly show on KQED-TV, and you can watch full episodes here.

Counting Crimes In Montclair

When Montclarions hear about a single crime, they start thinking there’s a crime wave underway.  Will my car get stolen too?  Is that home for sale a prime target?

Our numbers seem fairly moderate and steady.  In the past three months, there were 82 crimes reported for the Montclair core and 352 crimes in the zip code.  People just want our stuff.

Within Montclair, some 17 autos were stolen or 21% of all reported crimes.  Burglaries represented 22% of crimes, while thefts added 35% to the total blotter.  The rest came from assaults, narcotics and vandalism.

Overall, the Montclair police beat contributed about 25% of all 94611 crimes.  Given the crime mix in both geographies, we live in a pretty safe place based on official reports.

For more information, visit the Oakland Police Department’s CrimeView site.  There you can select crimes by address, landmarks and more.  The results can be mapped by crime type as well.

Depressing Robbery On Piedmont Ave.

There’s a depressing, new-style robbery that seems to be sweeping up the hills.  Now the thieves hold up a restaurant or bar and all its patrons too.  After all, why not get as much money as possible to pay the bills?!

The Tribune reported armed bandits hitting the venerable Kerry House last night, located on Piedmont Avenue (map).  This robbery took place at 1:40am, when most businesses are closed – so it’s possible that quiet streets made these bandits more courageous.

Piedmont Avenue is a very popular and one-of-a-kind shopping district.  Oakland’s desperate thieves are starting to follow the money and are no dummies.  If they succeed, there will surely be copycat thefts elsewhere on Piedmont too.

The local police “on the beat” probably should be walking the streets while any restaurants or bars are open, including peak or wee hours.  Maybe that will be enough to avert a crime wave during the heat of summer.

That Undesired Traffic Light

Yesterday, Oakland City Council members green-lighted a Public Works department request to study La Salle / Mountain traffic.  Public Works can now apply for $100k in grants, which helps them assess the installation of a traffic light – one that’s undesired by locals.
Apparently the Public Works momentum won’t be derailed.  They noticed a few accidents and decided a traffic light was a priority to improve public safety.  Back in March, they held a hearing which covered the Montclair intersection.  Although support wasn’t clear, they moved forward through a City Council subcommittee yesterday.
Based on my chats around town, there seem to be many Montclarions opposed to the light and virtually none who think it’s a good idea.  Some villagers even showed up to protest Public Works’ efforts yesterday, including Derek Liecty, Jim Dexter and Claudia Falconer.
City Council members also agreed the traffic light isn’t necessary and yet authorized grant applications anyway.  According to Claudia Falconer, “Of the three Council members present, two stated outright that it seemed wasteful to place a signal in a neighborhood where most people didn’t want it, and the third suggested other intersections that might need it more.”
In the Montclarion (paid access), Michael Gourhan had framed the Montclair problem differently:  “So how do you reduce the number of people relying on Montclair as a stop on the way home?”  He suggested reductions by placing key services on Thornhill or outside downtown.
Meanwhile, there are efforts underway to beautify the Village and make it more walkable.  The Montclair Village Association (MVA) has arranged for a landscape architect to draft and develop changes now.  After getting inputs from citizens, MVA doesn’t recommend any radical changes but does support more amenities in the next year.
Thus, installing a traffic light should not be considered on an independent or isolated track.  Everyone’s intentions are good, but forging ahead doesn’t make good sense.

Creative Crooks Fit In

What happens when you mix Montclair homes-for-sale with a few creative crooks?  A new heist that seems to pay dividends through furniture sales.

These smart guys take advantage of realtors’ open houses.  They can tell if the sellers have moved, and also make sure there’s “staged” furniture worth stealing.

Witnesses have spotted an innocuous, white moving van driving up to homes.  Of course, the crooks are loading up the furniture and neighbors don’t think anything is amiss.

According to police reports, the furniture movers have robbed at least four homes successfully.  One home on Colton was hit for $50k alone, which is quite a pay day.

Local realtors say the attempts are even higher.  At one home, Mary Dresser noticed her lock-box was missing and discovered furniture moved into the garage.  As if on queue, she also saw that white van driving by.

Mary’s advice to us:  “Please keep an eye on your neighbors homes if they are for sale. These thieves are brazen… even saying hi to the neighbors. They look like they belong, but they could easily be thieves.”