Our Opinions

Casual Carpool From Montclair?

In Oakland, no one has to hitch a ride and hope they will end up in San Francisco.  Unlike typical hitchhiking, casual carpools are an organized effort where both riders and drivers join forces for the daily commute across the Bay.  This is part of our local fabric, with carpools operating over the past 30 years.

Old Fashioned Hiktchiker

These casual carpools are almost a misnomer, since they depend on reliable locations and trustworthy volunteers.  Passengers know they can find a ride during rush hours, while drivers expect to speed through the carpool lanes over the Bay Bridge.

Montclarions have to leave the village to join these carpools, and generally head to Park Blvd.  According to RideNow, there are currently nine locations in Oakland and one in Piedmont.  There’s one next to the Orinda BART too.

One regular commuter to the city, Patricia Carberry-Harris, thinks it’s about time to establish a casual carpool in the Village.  She typically takes the V express bus from LaSalle every morning, and is looking for other options:

I am wondering if there might be interest in starting a casual carpool location in front of the old firehouse on Moraga near the tennis courts.  The location looks ideal – there is enough room for several cars to pull into, and once you have your passengers, you can head right down to 13 and hop on 24.

Having a casual carpool in that location would obviate the need to drive down Park Boulevard and pick up passengers at one of the two Park locations, and then keep going to 580.  If anyone has suggestions about another location that might work better, please feel free to chime in.

Patricia’s suggestion sounds very plausible.  There should be enough demand for a small carpool spot here, and I’m betting that Montclarions would leave a few more cars parked at home.  Feel free to comment here,  or reach Patricia directly at pcarberryharris-at-yahoo.com.

More info:   Check out the casual carpool spots on this google map.  Learn more at RideNow about carpool etiquette.  Visit the ride discussion board if you have more questions.  Read about bridge rules at the Bay Area Toll Authority.

Pack Heat At National Parks

So now you can legally carry a concealed weapon while visiting our National Parks.  After all, you might feel the need for a pistol during a hike up Half Dome!

It almost seems like an April Fool’s joke.  Today a credit card bill passed through the U.S. Congress and President Obama is poised to sign it.  The new protections afforded to credit card-carrying Americans are a good step forward.  But there’s an unmentioned provision to reverse a Ronald Reagan-era ban on guns in parks, thrown in without warning.

Last Cannon Yellowstone

I love this quote from the  Brady Campaign:  “Families should not have to stare down loaded AK-47’s on nature hikes,” said Paul Helmke, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.  We saw this coming, when Bush reversed the Reagan provision back in December.

Now we have the freedom to bear arms while visiting our natural wonders.  It’s not hunting season ever.  No one is planning on attacking you in the woods.  No one ever likes carrying extra weight when they hike.  So this is political posturing at its finest, and I feel sorry for the extra burden placed on the National Park Service rangers.

Of course, I can’t help but think about Oaklanders carrying weapons around our city parks.  Even if there were trouble makers, no one will really know about them.  Only two park rangers are assigned to all the parks and their jobs will get chopped soon.  While I believe our assigned police officers are focused on their city beats, park surveillance is too much to ask from an already-stretched crew.

Budget Matter: Keep Park Rangers Alive

Another budget head-shaker?  It sure looks like the Oakland Park Rangers will die, following their slow fade over the past few years.

The Friends of Oakland Rangers have been keeping up with the budgeting travails of the proud lone rangers.  There are three positions and two are currently filled.  According to Mayor Ron Dellums’ budget plan, all the positions will vanish and the Oakland Police pick up the slack.

Friends of Oakland Park Rangers

From now through July 1st, the two rangers are supposed to cover West and East Oakland.  Oddly enough, they are not supposed to focus on the central part of the city – where the largest parks are located like Dimond, Lakeside and Joaquin Miller.  The ranger station at Joaquin Miller is officially closed as well.

The Friends of Oakland Rangers are strongly advocating the City Council to keep the ranger station, fund the three ranger positions, and shift the group to Parks and Recreation.  (The rangers used to be part of the Parks department until 1992, when the Police department took ’em over.)

We’re gonna have a serious mess on our hands and will settle for something.  Even scaled back, the current rangers have been responsive and aware of what’s happening in the parks.  Now the full range of park problems will go unnoticed.  Care for an out-of-control bonfire, on a windy day?

Budget Matter: Keep CORE Alive

This Oakland budget cycle is pretty nasty, and the metaphor that comes to mind is getting blood from a stone.  One head shaker for all Oaklanders should be our CORE program, which stands for Citizens of Oakland Respond to Emergencies.

With the first responders getting hit in the Fire Department, it seems even more important to keep our CORE program live.  As you likely know, CORE trains citizens to help themselves.  Further, we are talking about a rounding error for the City of Oakland.

Oakland CORE

Who is behind the scenes?  The CORE program is essentially run by the Emergency Planning Coordinator, Kaity Booth.  Many folks have communicated with Oakland City Council members already, and there are plans afoot to speak up at tonight’s council meeting.  Even at this late stage, I think it’s worth sharing how one volunteer feels:

We are now organized, we are now focused and we now have the knowledge and confidence to effectively take care of ourselves, our families, our neighbors and our fellow Oakland citizens WHEN (not if) disaster strikes as first responders.

Oakland has a winning program in CORE and a real jewel in Kaity Booth.  As one of the recent graduates of the CORE program, I have seen Kaity in action.  She is knowledgeable, organized, supportive of the participants and her colleagues, articulate and 100% responsive.  She is the glue that holds all the great pieces of this program together.

I am impressed enough with her leadership and the CORE program that I have already volunteered as a victim and have indicated my interest to lend my training expertise to the program.

It’s a tough time, and every interest group is going to try to “save” their special areas.  The CORE program seems like a low-cost insurance policy which supports neighborhoods and blocks – plus contributes to overall civility.

June 5th Update:  Kaity Booth and her emergency planning coordinator position will not be cut by the City of Oakland.  Also the Fire Department will have some firefighters offering additional training around our city.

Officers Can Respond In The Hills

Last night, I stopped into our Thornhill 7-Eleven on the way home from work.  It was after 11pm or so, and I needed some pita chips and peanuts to make it through the night.

Every so often, I run into police officers around there or the gas station.  It’s been a while since I was complaining about ridiculous gas prices with some cops.  Late Tuesday, I entered the store while cops were picking up their sustenance too – and we discussed the hills scene.

Old 7-Eleven Promotion

These two officers patrol the hills at night, and cover a very large area.  Based on my chat with one policeman, I can say that he seemed really caring and clued into what’s happening around Montclair.  We are concerned about getting things stolen, and he knows all about it – and noted that perps come from Contra Costa as much as Alameda county.

After listening to this officer, two pieces of advice seemed useful to pass along.  First, please call the police with anything you might see that’s suspicious.  Don’t decide it’s “not worth it” because you just never know.  Second, identify who you are and your location.  This makes it easier for police to respond or investigate things.

These police want to help.  While they are short-handed, they generally patrol the main arteries through Montclair.   If someone is snooping around or trying to steal something, the thinking goes that perps will eventually exit down canyon roads like Broadway, Thornhill, Shepherd, Ascot, etc.  (They also patrol based on recommendations from our local North Hills and Montclair neighborhood councils.)

When you have heard noises or spotted a stranger around, no one will accuse you of paranoia for calling the cops.  You may not get instant follow-up, but it still helps to call and fully identify yourself and location – as this improves the chances that your place or block will get checked out.  What’s the downside, really?