Our Opinions

Private Funds Only Way To Fix Village

Well, I feel like we were led astray about Montclair Village improvements.   Last week, Montclarions were invited to a special meeting where they could react to the landscape architect’s ideas.

Everyone seemed excited and reacted positively to Leslie Golden’s plans.  That’s all well and good, but there’s no path forward right now.  These plans are simply pipe dreams!

Oakland helped to fund the planning process.  Now it’s up to Montclair residents and businesses to cough up around $1 million, if we want to fix the Village’s public spaces.

Our only hope is that Bella, Montclair’s dog mayor, starts begging for dollars during the Sunday Farmers’ market.  Perhaps she would succeed, much like this Portland (OR) dog at his own Saturday market.

Otherwise, the Montclarion reported that financing hasn’t been secured at all.  There’s a slight possibility that some CalTrans funding would be forthcoming, said Richard Cowan, chief of staff to City Rep Jean Quan.  However those resources seem unlikely in the short term.

If we really want things to happen, then a Village campaign should be launched.  We’ll put our dog mayor and other residents to work – extending the hat and knocking on local doors.

Everyday Food in Montclair: Vote Now

It’s time to survey the crowd about everyday food in Montclair, and you are an opinionated bunch.  What are your top spots for coffee, grocery shopping, pizza and chocolate?

Please take a minute or two to respond:  click here to vote

Before launching Today in Montclair, I conducted a survey for a now-defunct zip code blog.  Back then, I asked for favorites located right in the Village.

The results?  We were in a heated battle about Peet’s, Nelly and Royal Ground.  Cybelle’s was the main pizza option, while Le Bon Bon was for chocolate lovers.  Both Safeway and Lucky’s had their advocates.

However many Villagers hit spots nearby.  To reflect all your everyday food preferences, I wanted to re-open the survey with more options.  Plus a whole year has gone by and your patterns might have changed.

Please vote early but not often – and I’ll share results soon with everyone.  Thanks!

Never Enough Baby Clothes

Montclarion Lisa Klein has been busy the past few years, organizing and distributing 10,000 pounds (!) of baby clothing and blankets to new mothers.  While that seems like a substantial accomplishment, she’s only getting started.

The premise is simple but requires time, energy and money.  Klein prepares and donates “boy” and “girl” boxes to local hospitals, so underprivileged mothers can take care of their newborns with fewer worries.

Today, Klein’s Loved Twice non-profit group gets its day in the sun.  We wanted to pile onto the publicity bandwagon from Comcast Channel One and the Oakland Tribune.  After all, Lisa is a Montclair mother and hometown hero who has done more than her share of good works.

To help the cause locally, you may donate financially or drop off clothing at Cool Tops Cuts for Kids (in Oakland or Lafayette).  While Klein has been able to help 1,000 mothers in Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, and even New Orleans, she continues to need donations and assistance.

Loved Twice has been organized with a larger mission.  By sharing details about conducting clothing drives, Klein would like to encourage other good samaritans to pick up the mantel in their cities too.

Redwood Park Trees May Be Chopped

This summer, the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) announced their plans to thin out trees in Redwood Regional Park, along the East Ridge Trail.

They began their work briefly in July, and cut down trees near the northern entrance.  Then the Park District’s efforts were put on hold, as protests were waged by citizen groups.  What impressed me was the maturity of the protest – whether you agree with it or not.

Despite years of environmental study, there were key questions raised about the sheer quantity of trees to be culled for fire safety or other reasons.  At the time, I only thought about the inconvenience of one of the most popular biking and hiking trails being closed on weekdays.

Apparently many healthy trees were slated for removal, within a 150 foot distance from the trail.  The Hills Conservation Network claimed this was overkill because “fire-safe environments and preservation of natural landscapes are not mutually exclusive.”  They produced this video showing the East Ridge Trail and raising questions along the way.

According to Assistant Fire Chief John Swanson, who works for the Park District, “We are not taking any more trees than are necessary to accomplishing those [fire safety] objectives.”  Montclair’s Rose Nied thought that some trees should be saved from the chopping block, and partially succeeded by walking the trail with Swanson.

The Park District also hosted open meetings, and received comments from hundreds of people afterwards.  Their work was placed on hold while additional assessments were made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  The tree removals are scheduled to re-start soon, unless some additional litigation emerges.

Still this was the right way to protest.  There’s no need to camp out in the forest for two years, like the folks who were finally removed from the remaining Berkeley campus tree this week.

Montclarions Are Teenagers

Today I was bragging about our successful wine festival to some Peninsula folks, and realized exactly how I sounded:  like a classic rebellious teen, proud of my identity and pulling away from my comfortable Oakland support system.

Regarding the Montclair festival, the scale felt just right.  There were people mellowing out to the jazz, milling around the kids games, and even getting massages at the good-health booths.  Of course, the rest were making their way through the mostly-California wine tastings.  We had a nice Sunday.

By comparison, the recent Oakland festival was a grown-up event.  It had multiple music venues, tons of booths, and participatory art on a grand scale.  It was something you would expect from a major city.  We liked playing downtown with the whole family, over Labor Day weekend.

Montclair attempts to assert its own identity, despite having no exact geographical boundaries.  Oakland Tribune reporter Peggy Stinnett once declared: “It is not a town of its own even if it is called Montclair Village.  Children grow up there believing the village is a town and when asked, they’ll say they are from Montclair.  I guess they think it’s sort of a suburb to nearby Oakland.”

We have tried to declare independence, sort of.  “Ever so often in Montclair’s history, residents have proposed seceding from Oakland. But it has never taken hold because the people have not wanted to assume the municipal burdens the independence would involve, and many of them like being a Village in Oakland.  Also, Oakland voters would have to agree. Let’s just forget I ever mentioned it,” said Stinnett.