Our Opinions

Guvernator Picks His Murder Mysteries

Today Governor Schwarzenegger announced monetary rewards to solve six murder mysteries scattered throughout California.  In the Bay Area, the bounties are $35k for a Union City teen and $50k for another Livermore teen.  If you have information leading to an arrest, then you could receive a nice payout.

Crime Scene Triptych

Begs some obvious questions:  Are certain lives worth more than others?  What about all the other unsolved cases in the state?  Are the folks killed in Oakland simply unworthy?

Let’s take the case of Johnikka Jackson, who attended Skyline High and later took medical assistant classes at Laney College – until she went missing last summer.  We know about Johnikka because her body was discovered behind Skyline and positively identified in December.  Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering a $10k reward for more tips on this crime.

Many Oakland murders, though, seem to be an afterthought.  It’s just endemic crime, drug-induced crime, ongoing gang warfare, murders that simply happen in every inner city across America, etc.  There might be some minor or occasional rewards for tips, but we’re pretty much awash in zero expectations.

Maybe bigger bounties would make a difference, who knows for sure.  Let’s say tipsters start receiving from $35k to $50k for each unsolved homicide, based on clear reward criteria.  Surely a few Oaklanders might fess up and be worthy recipients.

Of course, the State can’t afford an across-the-board crime reward in this economy.  The Guvernator is doing something good, by announcing rewards for several heinous crimes.  Yet we’re left wondering what this means and why now.

Pied-Clair Should Coordinate Plans

Piedmont and Montclair residents share plenty of things in common, including this 94611 zip code for starters.  We live in nice, quiet hillside locations and are proud of our local schools.

We are in a kerfuffle right now about potential traffic problems on Moraga Ave.  Piedmont is trying to address some school overcrowding and wants to accommodate students at a local park.  This is an opportunity to play nice and coordinate plans.

Piedmont City Council Meeting

What’s happened?  Piedmonters have started planning improvements, including classrooms and fields, at Blair Park.  That should be well and good, as the park is within Piedmont’s jurisdiction.  However Montclarions living near Moraga Ave know and feel otherwise.

If kids are going to be dropped off and picked up at Blair Park, there would be clogged streets nearby.  If you live on Harbord, then it’s possible to experience morning rushes as Piedmonters turn around and head back home.

According to Montclarion Sandra Pohutsky, “Piedmont officials have been bombarded by email from Piedmont residents insisting that the temporary school not be placed in their neighborhoods, or objecting to having their child go to Emeryville to attend a temporary Piedmont school there.”

Last Friday, several Montclarions met with Piedmont councilwoman Margaret Fujioka and asked for guidance about communicating concerns.  She advised attending the upcoming meetings of the City Council (Jan 5th) and School Board (Jan 14th) – and time will be allotted for Montclarions then.

Reasonable discourse is possible!  Our first opportunity is tonight, when Piedmont is holding its City Council meeting (map).  These modular classrooms are on the agenda, and it would be lovely if concerned Montclarions appeared and addressed the Council.  Otherwise, expect this expansion to become a done-deal for the 2010 school year.

More info:   Read tonight’s City Council Agenda as well as the City Administrator Report about the entire Blair Park project.  Reach Geoffrey Grote, Piedmont City Administrator at ggrote@ci.piedmont.ca.us with your views, as well as City Councilmembers and Board of Education members.

Take Survey: How Healthy Are Montclarions?

With the new year coverage of resolutions, it sparks curiosity about Montclarions.  Rather than asking a few coffee shop devotees and neighbors, we decided to conduct a quick survey to gauge the healthy or unhealthy habits of Montclarions.

By answering these simple questions, we hope to profile your fitness and health routines – for the new year and beyond.  Who needs national trends when it’s more interesting to find out what we actually do?   Click here to participate.

Survey Guy

Here are the areas we probe:   How often do you exercise and what kinds of exercise?  What are your good and bad eating habits?  What vices or habits are you willing to admit?  How obsessed are you about yourself or family?  The questions are multiple choice and take a few minutes to complete.

Let’s see how many Montclarions are bigger talkers versus walkers, so to speak.  Thanks in advance for your participation…and we’ll report back soon.

Public Works Not That Easy, Barack

We have heard hopeful pronouncements about WPA-like public works, as the right way to put America back to work.  President-elect Barack sounds great when he speaks about infrastructure projects like interstates, bridges, tunnels, you name it.  Sounds like a nice dream, right?

WPA Forging Ahead

Let the Bay Area’s brand of public works provide a cautionary note.  Despite our proud heritage of iconic bridges, we’re also known for infrastructure that didn’t quite work during the big quake.  Or infrastructure that’s not keeping up with population and traffic demands.  Decades pass, and we are needy and trying to rebuild these days.

The latest hiccups in completing the Bay Bridge retrofit or starting the Caldecott fourth bore are front-page news again.  While bridge construction is underway, a new longshoremen labor dispute holds the steel hostage – and each day adds another million to the project’s billions.  Meanwhile the tunnel boring is mostly financed and may begin sometime next year, after North Hills residents litigate and address some environmental concerns.

If these construction mega-projects serve as prime examples, then we must take a reality check.  Who’s responsible?  How do projects get financed?  How quickly do jobs appear from the ether?   There are years filled with planning, reviews, protests, bidding, construction, labor disputes, cost overages, delays – rinse and repeat.

We encounter the fallout every single day, whether commuting or running errands from our Montclair vahalla.  The  benefits of major infrastructure are worth the tribulations, and we eventually do see the light.  Yet the jobs created during construction, while welcome, are hardly an economic panacea.

Blue Political Views In Montclair

When you live in Montclair Village, you can’t avoid the running chatter and obvious influences of living in Oakland and playing next-door neighbor to Berkeley.

If an archeologist landed here, would he or she be able to understand the political zeitgeist by the evidence we leave in our wake?  The easy answer is yes, and he doesn’t have to dig very deep either.

Let’s look at some of the left-leaning signs around town.  This first photo is located at Montclair’s ground zero:  the Mountain and Antioch intersection.  You may have walked by the stop sign a thousand times, and it actually says “Stop Bush.”

Stop-Bush-Sign-Montclair

The next piece of evidence is a cryptic message scribbled outside McCalou’s Department Store.  There’s pretty much zero graffiti around town but this little message must mean something.  Does it say Joker?  Remember the outside world?  Is it meaningful or just a little tease?

A-Little-Graffiti-Montclair

The last evidence relates to our newspaper choices.  While the Oakland Tribune is probably nearby, there are other options here.  First, the Berkeley Daily Planet appears to be empty.  You can see the San Jose Mercury News peeking out and still available.  There’s also a broken door from the New York Times, which could mean the news isn’t getting delivered?  Not sure.

Newspaper-Choices-Montclair

With these three pieces of evidence, perhaps there might be something pretty funny to say about Montclarions.  We are obviously left-leaning on the political spectrum – and it’s entertaining to see this play out in the Village.  There are red and blue people here, but the bias is clear.