Yes, Goats Are Back!

Sure enough, our beloved goats have returned from their off-season stomping grounds.  We spotted the billies roaming the lower reaches of Hiller Highlands this afternoon,  making rapid progress on a now-mowed patch.  You might catch a glimpse yourself, while looping from 24 West to 13 South.

With brush growing quickly around here, these goats contribute to annual fire-prevention efforts.  The East Bay Regional Park District has scheduled two major grazings this year – first in Claremont Canyon from May 23rd – June 3rd, and then at Redwood Regional Park from July 19th – August 4th.

To prepare for fire season, the goats won’t have to operate alone.  The Park District already has cut down brush and intends to oversee controlled burns along with local fire officials.  As soon as calm weather prevails, these burns will take place in Gwinn Canyon, a high-risk area flanking Claremont Canyon.  So don’t be alarmed if you see a little weekday smoke in the hills.

Within a couple weeks, Montclarions will need to start working as well.  It’s almost time to get out your machetes and slay the greenery growing too closely to your homes.  While still a whisper, there will be rallying cries:  defensible space! defensible space! defensible space!

April 20th Update:  The NY Times Bay Area blog reported about local goats, since our Oakland City Council is deliberating on whether to approve (or not approve) $250k for goat grazing on city-owned lands.

Another Perfect Day In Nearby Hills

Our East Bay springtime is ephemeral and utterly amazing, and the emerald greens, flowers, flowing waters, and overall gestalt are an antidote to our daily responsibilities.  This weekend, we drove 45 minutes to the Sunol Regional Wilderness and it delivered on all spring fronts.

The Waters

Our travels took us to “Little Yosemite,” and this gorge definitely reminded us of that little national park on a 1:500 scale.  If you haven’t been to Sunol before, then you must put this on your to-do list.  The water shots, above, are low resolution video freeze-frames we took by mobile phone.

It’s quite easy to get there!  The walk down Camp Ohlone Road lasted around 15-45 minutes, depending on your propulsion speed.  There were a couple dozen walkers and families with the same idea, and plenty of room for everyone.

As you parallel Alameda Creek, it eventually transitions into a beautiful, rocky gorge that continues for a good distance.  We climbed down and around the rocks, finding suitable perches.  Then we simply sat quietly, listening and letting the river run.

The Hills

Eventually the emerald hills and comfortable weather beckoned, and we decided to head up a couple thousand feet through the adjacent Ohlone Regional Wilderness.  This part of the visit is for heartier hikers, and you need to decide how many vertical feet and miles to travel.

We headed straight up, down and across the ridges on this picture-perfect weekend.  With a single, cross-country trail running through Ohlone, views like the one snapped above reveal San Francisco Water District no-man’s land.  At this point, we were a couple miles from Rose Peak, known as Alameda County’s high point.

En route, we noticed prodigious white, purple, and yellow wildflower carpets which won’t be around much longer.  That feeling of spring, with few signs of civilization in the watershed, had worked liked a charm.  Ohlone and Sunol both hit the spot – and felt just right on this weekend celebrating Earth Day.

Montclarion Pushes “Sporting Values” To Kids

Hollywood.  New York.  Montclair.  Who knew that kid-oriented media could take a leap forward here?  Since last year, local Dean Kisieu had been chatting about improving tween offerings.  He wanted star athletes to help educate and entertain kids, through a mix of TV and more interactive media.

Today we ran into Dean while making a coffee run, and learned about the birthing of Hey! You Up There! This program was “picked up” by Comcast SportsNet California (cable channel 41), and starts airing in late summer.  Next up is a San Francisco fair, including a mascot contest, coming this fall.  Plus a feature-packed site will encourage tween involvement with athletes and much more.

Check out the videos here.  We liked the interview between Montreal and hockey star Claude Lemieux, where he told the interviewer how her name should be pronounced in French.  You hear Lemieux explain that, as a teen, he used to pull double-shifts at a gas station and disliked this job.  He really couldn’t think of any other job he even liked to do now, besides hockey.

Olympic swimmer and multi-medalist Natalie Coughlin also jumped into the act, admitting she felt foggy during the Athens Olympics and later frightened by the 18,000 Beijing fans.  She was still embarrassed about crying during her most recent gold medal ceremony.  Oh, and she gave up spelling “guacamole” when put on the spot.

Some sweet connections were also made with Olympic boxer and gold medalist Andre Ward.  During a push-up contest, he eagerly competed with a local boy and they both ended up smothered in pie cream.  Athletes like Ward seem very accessible when communicating with kids – by sharing feelings, providing life lessons and clearly having a little fun.

To brighten your day, we simply had to pass along these previews.  Montclarion Dean Kisieu and his co-founder, Mike Kennedy, also describe their mission on Vator.tv, where you should register and vote for them.

P.S.  If you or your neighbors are doing interesting things, then please share ’em with MontclairOak.

Who Represents You In City Council

Psst…there’s a dirty little secret about Montclarions.  Even some of the most tuned-in denizens don’t know exactly who represents them in the Oakland City Council.  Admittedly the geographic borders are a bit arbitrary, though here’s your answer:  click here and enter your address.

Current representation: In the Oakland City Council, Jean Quan serves District 4, while Jane Brunner reps District 1.  Typically, the rule of thumb is north and south of the Moraga-Thornhill thoroughfare, yet that’s not technically correct as the border wanders circuitously around Thornhill.

We wanted to shed geographic light due to the 2010 election cycle.  Montclarions living in District 4 can pay attention to the candidates starting to gear up now.  Everyone else in District 1 can view these proceedings from afar, with an understanding that these districts interact pretty closely.  They are both major voting blocks for the city overall.

Maps and borders: We have no idea why some of these border lines were drawn right across neighborhoods.  As an added twist, our assigned police beats aren’t aligned to these council districts.  Beat 13Z falls cleanly within District 4, while Beat 13Y gets torn asunder by Districts 4 and 1.  Should those residents call two reps about their safety matters?

Of course, your home address does belong to one council district and one beat.  Again please click here, enter your address and check your council district.  And click here to see the police beat map, along with current 13Z and 13Y stats.  It’s good to know who’s got your back.

Boost An Oakland School Library

Can you imagine going to schools without libraries or attentive school librarians?  The libraries throughout Oakland Unified Public Schools have seen far better days, and many school kids can’t take their libraries for granted anymore.

Various elementary and middle school libraries are re-stocking and, in some cases, re-opening their doors again.  There’s no question that volunteers are welcomed with open arms, to help organize and supply these bastions.

Progress is measured one school at a time. Your neighbors are now supporting Reach Academy, an East Oakland elementary school serving 310 students with an inadequate library.  On Sunday, April 18th, Montclair Local School Action Group volunteers have organized a Book Share event to collect hardcover books as well as financial donations.

It’s easy to help the school.  Next Sunday, please drop your donations at the Women’s Cultural Arts Center on Mountain Blvd (map), from 12-2 pm.  If you’re unable to make it to the Women’s Center, then donations may also be given to volunteers at the Montclair Farmers Market that morning.

What are acceptable donations? Bring along hardcovers that are in gently used condition.  Fiction picture books work well for younger kids, while chapter books are best for the fourth and fifth graders.  Non-fiction should be up-to-date, and please leave all encyclopedias at home.

As the saying goes, let’s help stock the library in one fell swoop.  Besides donations from your personal collection, A Great Good Place for Books will graciously offer 10 percent discounts when you buy brand-new books for this school.  Alternatively, you may donate money and help supply all kinds of library materials to Reach Academy.

Your donations are in very good hands! Ann Mayo Gallagher serves as the head librarian for Oakland’s public schools, and she’s devoted to improving the school experiences and to encouraging all library volunteers as well.  We first met her during the Volunteer Faire For Oakland last fall, where school volunteer programs of all stripes were assembled at the Oakland Public Library.

We’re happy to see that Montclarions are now focused on assisting Librarian Gallagher with Reach Academy.  If you want to find out more about helping this or other school libraries, please reach Gallagher and ask to join her email list:  ann.gallagher@ousd.k12.ca.us.