Places Of Note

We Are Only The ATM

While reading the Tribune this morning, I noticed a feature about how homicides impact everyone in Oakland.  Even if we don’t live in neighborhoods with any murders, we are supposedly living with extra stress nearby.

If you are cowering in the Oakland Hills, then it’s most likely related to home burglaries or robberies.  One Rockridge resident declared that we’re known as the local ATMs!

ATM Machine

Though our area primarily experiences thefts of all stripes and colors, that’s not completely connected to living in Oakland.  Take a look at any place with a little wealth or high property values, and you will see the ATM phenomenon play out.

In fact, our perpetrators don’t consistently come from Oakland; they venture from Contra Costa and other places too.  We often are targeted right alongside the Berkeley Hills and Lamorinda.

Here’s another data point to refute local crime fears.  Whenever we post crime statistics at Today in Montclair, the traffic to our site noticeably drops off.  We don’t know why you aren’t interested in stats, and whether it’s due to boredom, disgust or the desire to otherwise disengage from reality.

However, you perk up when new and more creative crimes appear.  Let’s hear about the guys casing open-houses and stealing staged furniture, the solicitors who come back later for electronics gear, or even those restaurant robbers hitting on patrons.  Now that’s the juicy stuff we like!

Seriously, we can be careful and vigilant but I don’t really buy the living-in-fear hypothesis.  When the four cops were killed, I admit to short-lived fear about my route to the airport.  I don’t believe Montclarions usually feel like they exist around a war zone and exhibit undue stress.  What do you think?

Yes, Montclair Schools Earn Top Scores Again

The most recent California academic test scores were released two days ago, and the Montclair elementary schools did just fine.  Take a look at the Academic Performance Indicators (APIs), where we show all the Oakland elementary schools which ranked at least “7” or more statewide, on a 1-10 scale.

Top Oakland Elementary Schools

Top Ten Scores

Based on these APIs, Thornhill and Montclair ranked in the top ten percent statewide, while Joaquin Miller fell into the second decile or top twenty percent of schools.

That kind of strong showing doesn’t surprise us at all.  After all, there are plenty of devoted parents who spend time working at the schools, organizing fundraisers for student activities, and helping their kids study and finish their homework.

Things get more interesting when you look at our schools versus “similar schools,” which is a politically correct ranking against statewide peers with matching racial and economic profiles.  Now you see that Thornhill, Montclair and Joaquin Miller have a little catching up to do.

New Super Looks At Inequities

Meanwhile Oakland has just appointed a new school superintendent, Dr. Anthony Smith.  He already lives in Oakland and has a kindergartner entering Crocker Highlands next year too.  Smith seems focused on helping the whole school system, especially the underachieving schools.

Smith has strong opinions about providing a good education rather than teaching for tests.  According to the Tribune, he is rather dismissive of No Child Left Behind which has been “soul-stripping for students and for teachers.”  He does want to ensure there are the right resources available to motivate learning.

Funding Sources

The newcomer wants to examine the current fundraising model, which effectively contributes to have and have-not schools.  In the hills, we work hard to raise funds all year long and deliver educational resources that aren’t available in the flats – like librarians and after-school activities.  Many Oakland schools don’t have the luxury of fundraisers, of course.

With the budget crunch, we believe that Superintendent Smith will consider how to fairly redistribute wealth from all the available pools.  Not to be greedy, but we wonder when it’s appropriate to “rob Peter to pay Paul.”  Should one school’s efforts directly or indirectly benefit another?

More info:   Take a quick look at the Oakland Tribune’s school blog, which covers all the latest district happenings from the beat reporter.  Also check out the school scores released Thursday by California’s Department of Education.  While this data took almost a year to collect and crunch, it still holds up to close scrutiny.

Oakland’s Victory Siren Comes To Life

While there were a few hundred Chrysler Air Raid Sirens installed during the Cold War, only one has been actively used for performance art these days – and it’s from Oakland.

After Jack Schroll rescued this monster siren from Woodminster Amphitheater in 2007, it was first used in a Burning Man Festival project!  As part of Crude Awakening, created by Oaklanders Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito, the siren called people to worship at the oil derrick’s altar.

Crude Awakening - Air Siren

Click on the video and see the whole story unfold.  At first, the steel people are doing what comes naturally and actively worshipping their oil god.

Crude Awakening - Worshippers

Eventually their false god consumes its very last oil, as represented by the fireball.  Afterwards, the worshippers are able to return to and respect nature again.  (From attendees, we heard this felt like an apocalyptic scene.)

Crude Awakening - Explosion

Beyond Crude Awakening, the Oakland Victory Siren has been used in other performances.  There was another great Dan Das Mann show on the water – watch this Sausalito Burn Boat video complete with the siren, fire bursts, tesla coils and music.  For a front-row seat, here is the siren blasting away on the boat.  (Yes, it’s really that loud.)

The siren’s made appearances in the Bay Area each year.  It’s been down in Half Moon Bay, at the Pacific Coast Dream Machines show, and wheeled out for inspection at the Alameda County Fair as well.  What an interesting Cold War relic and legacy to see up close.

More info:   Learn all about the Chrysler Air Raid Sirens and how one devoted Oaklander rescued and refurbished this Oakland blaster – Oakland’s Victory Siren Gets Saved.

Oakland’s Victory Siren Gets Saved

In the Oakland Hills, we were sitting on a Cold War relic that had been ignored for decades – until it was rediscovered and used by Oakland performance artists.  The story begins with a Chrysler Air Raid Siren, which was dusted off and lovingly saved for posterity by Oaklander Jack Schroll.

“I could not let this piece of history go to the scrap pile,” Schroll explained.  “I have made a good living in Oakland for the last 33 years and I feel this is a small something to give back.  I will never sell the siren.”

Chrysler Air Raid Siren

Run For Cover

Remember fall out shelters?  After World War II, Americans were drilled in how they should respond to missiles and other enemy threats while at home, work or school.  You were supposed to duck and run for cover when you heard the dreaded siren.  (Don’t worry, it was before my time too.)

Around the country, there were a series of alert systems set up to communicate with citizens.  You probably know about the “emergency alert” tests conducted by TV and radio stations.  In addition, extremely loud air raid sirens were installed to let everyone know something was, well, very wrong.

History Of Victory Sirens

Chrysler manufactured many of these long-distance horns, including one model that put out 138 decibels and produced 30,000 watts of power.  They only delivered a few hundred of these monsters, between 1952 to 1957.  Of course, the sirens were tested regularly and maybe helped deflect Americans’ fears.

One siren could be heard four to five miles away.  The siren operator also could be remote, since he was able to turn it on or off by “high tech” telephone.  According to Victory Siren, “the loudness of this siren is unmatched by any other warning device ever sold, ever.  It’s also considerably louder than the largest steam whistle or horn.”

Our Woodminster Siren

Our local Chrysler had been perched atop the Woodminster Amphitheater, in Joaquin Miller Park.  After years of neglect, Oaklander Jack Schroll decided it was worth saving.  Schroll had to battle the City of Oakland, but his mission was a roaring success.

There were actually five documented sirens in Oakland, including two that still existed on Lafayette School and Woodminster Amphitheater roofs.  The Woodminster siren seemed to be in very good shape, in a protected spot for decades.  Years of summer theater-goers had no clue it was there, but Jack knew otherwise.

Schroll first submitted approvals for restoring both sirens and spent nearly two years wrestling his request through the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board.  In April 2007, the Preservation Board granted their unanimous approval  (see PDF).  The Oakland Unified School District and City of Oakland later gave their thumbs-up, since the sirens were owned by those entities.

Siren Extrication Begins

Now that Jack had the rights, extrication and refurbishment presented the next hurdles.  I was able to reach him a while back, and asked about the steps involved:

It was a matter of preparing the proper documents.  I had to send a copy of the crane operators license to the City Attorney’s office along with proof of insurance.  This was a little tricky as everything really had to happen at the same time.  The City issued a permit to remove property on a given date.  I had to coordinate with the Public Works Dept and the City Attorney’s office.  There were a few snags and I must give credit to the City Attorney.  They actually stayed late on a Friday night so we could proceed on Saturday.  This was done mid May.

Once we had the [Landmark Approval] letter in hand, we contacted Skyscraper Cranes of SF.  They did a site survey and gave me an estimate.  I approved the estimate and we set a date.  Although the Siren weighs only 6000 pounds, it took a 75 ton crane to remove it.  This was due to the fact we had to reach over some tall trees to hook on to it.  It took myself and my crew about three hours to remove the wiring and unbolt it from the roof.

We set it down on a trailer and took it to my shop.  Like a kid with a new toy, we began that day inspecting it.  On eBay, I found an original owners manual for the siren.  What are the chances of that?  We found the siren was intact, but the engine had serious damage due to the freeze in the Oakland Hills in the early 70’s.  We had to repair the block and replace the cylinder heads.  We then found a replacement fluid drive as the existing unit was not serviceable.

The Siren Works

In just two short months, Jack Schroll did his very first “run up” of the siren on July 4, 2007.   The siren debuted later that summer to a huge audience, and has been part of the performance art scene ever since.

Schroll continues to make sure all the mechanical aspects of the siren work well, and has plans to work on the outside cosmetics too.  But it’s all about that sound, that remarkable siren blast.

More info:   Find out where the Oakland Victory Siren has appeared, it will surprise you –  Oakland’s Victory Siren Comes To Life.

Why Live In Montclair?

As a local blog, we get to see the search terms that people use to find us and they reveal many interests.  Someone visited Today in Montclair yesterday, after googling:  Why live in Montclair?

I’m imagining that this searcher is deciding to move to Montclair Village, because it seems like a strange thing for a current villager to search online.

Oakland Berkeley Hills Deer

For all you wanna-be Montclarions, you need to hear from us (and not your realtors).  Here are some of the pros and cons of our place:

Montclair Pros:

  • Still has folks who have been here forever
  • Still aspires to Berkeley intellectualism
  • Still feels like a village, but has a canine mayor
  • Still has a dress code of sweats and t-shirts
  • Still lets driven people hide in plain sight

Montclair Cons:

  • Not where hipsters mingle or thrive, like in SF or DTO
  • Not a normal family spot with garage, flat lawn and 2.5 kids
  • Not immune from city ills, as you need to lock up
  • Not quite the city, as wild animals may eat your cats
  • Not well known like Peninsula or Contra Costa suburbs

Recently I went to an Oakland blogger meet-up which attracted everyone who writes about our faire city.  I still felt a little cowered by the cool factor, but was welcomed to the fray – and think that’s really the reason for being here.