Residents question ferry takeover

At a special Transportation Commission meeting Wednesday night, Alameda residents said they were blindsided by the passage of SB 976, a bill recently signed into law this week that transfers the city’s ferry services to a new regional authority.

“My philosophy, being a country girl, has always been if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Janet Jones, a regular ferry rider. “The ferry’s the one thing in my life that works really great.”

While supporters of the law say a new regional authority would coordinate emergency efforts in an event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, others question whether ferry services and fares can be maintained under the new system.

Burglar takes $6,000 worth of belongings from an Alameda home

Police are investigating a burglary that occurred over last weekend on San Antonio Avenue

According to a police report, belongings valued at $6,000 were taken from the home sometime between Oct. 5 and Oct. 8 while the resident was out of town. The report, however, did not specify what items were taken.

The police report said the victim reported the burglary on Oct. 9 after he arrived home and found his apartment broken into.

According to the report, the burglar removed a window screen and slid the window open. The burglar then entered the apartment and left with the victim’s property through a rear sliding door.

The victim was in Dublin when the theft occurred.

Thief steals $10,000 worth of copper

Six rolls of copper wire were reported stolen from the Chipman Moving and Storage warehouse at 1551 Buena Vista Ave. on Oct. 4.

The police currently no leads and the case is considered suspended, said Lt. Art Fuentes, public information officer with the Alameda Police Department.

There is a larger epidemic of metal theft across the Bay Area, according to Fuentes.

“The redemption value of copper is so high right now,” Fuentes said.

The stolen copper, valued at $10,000, disappeared some time between Aug. 24 and Sept. 14. John Henry Chipman Jr., who reported the theft to the police last week, was not available for comment. Though the company is mostly known for its relocation and storage services, Chipman Corporation also stores and delivers cell phone equipment, according to the police report.

Though Chipman is in central Alameda, Fuentes said copper theft has mainly been concentrated in the Alameda Point area, where many of the buildings have been vacant since closure of the Alameda Naval Air Station in 1997.

To address copper theft in the city, the police have brought in two private security companies two months ago to patrol around Alameda Point area 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Fuentes said.

Planning Board approves format for Measure A forum

After months of debate, the Alameda Planning Board voted Oct. 8 on the format for a public workshop to discuss the impacts of Measure A, a 1973 law that has limited growth and development in the city. But even though there is now an agenda for the forum, a specific date has yet to be set.

As the city considers a number of deveopment project plans, one that will include the Alameda Point region encompassing a third of the island, some say residents must again take a close look at the benefits and limitations of the law.

But the long debate over what the workshop should look like reflects the division in the community over Measure A, which prohibits the building of multiple dwelling units beyond duplexes in the city and limits density to one house per 2,000 square feet of land.

Enrollment Policy meetings

The Alameda Unified School District will hold enrollment policy meetings starting next week Oct. 8 through Oct. 17. All meetings will go from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and will be held according to schools. The schedule goes as follows:
Monday, Oct. 8, Bayfarm and Earhart, meeting at Earhart
Wednesday, Oct. 10, Haight and Washington, meeting at Haight
Monday, Oct. 15, Edison and Otis, meeting at Otis
Tuesday, Oct. 16, Franklin and Lum, meeting at Lum
Wednesday Oct. 17, Paden and Ruby Bridges, meeting at Ruby Bridges

The meetings will discuss the proposed policy revisions to Kindergarten enrollment. More information can be found here.

School board mull task force proposal

Superintendent Ardella Dailey proposed creating a task force that will address Alameda Unified School District’s equity and capacity issues on Sept. 25.

The group, to be named the Pathway to Excellence & Equity Task Force, will develop recommendations on how to deal with the district’s enrollment imbalance in schools and how close the achievement gap between student groups. The task force will also study how the district can

“We have to come forward looking at our enrollments, our data, collect quiet a bit of information,” Dailey said.

City and county tackle health disparity

Schools and youth programs can reduce health problems in children by giving them tools to overcome poverty and to build a positive sense of their futures, an Alameda County health official told a gathering of school, police and social service people Thursday.

Tony Iton, director of the Alameda County Department of Public Health, presented a study that for the first time drew a connection between school performance and public health needs. According to officials, the city of Alameda could become a model for the rest of the country as it tries to deal with health by addressing school issues.

“Ninety percent of the dollars we spend to heal people, that’s only part of the picture,” Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker said. “There’s so much other things we can do and it’s going to make a lot more difference in terms of people’s health.”

Local Government

Local Politics and Development

Mayor: Beverly Johnson
510 747-4701
bjohnson@ci.alameda.ca.us

City Manager
Debra Kurita
City of Alameda
2263 Santa Clara Avenue, Room 320
Alameda, CA 94501

Deputy City Manager
Lisa Goldman
Phone: (510) 747-4700

City Attorney
Teresa L. Highsmith,
Phone: (510) 747-4750

City has Council-Manager form of government since 1916.
City Council appoints City Manager

Police

Alameda Police Department
1555 Oak St.
Alameda, CA 94501

Chief Walter Tibbet
Office:
Florence Lopez
510-337-8323

Alameda County District Attorney
Tom Orloff
Alameda County District Attorney’s Office
Branch Head: Ann Diem

Courts:

Alameda CourtHouse
2233 Shoreline Drive
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 763-9282

At a monthly meeting, artists talk shop

It was less than an inconspicuous group that gathered Thursday night at Speisekemer Restaurant in Alameda.

At one side of a wooden table at the German-themed bar well-known photographer Bill Owens talked earnestly with other photographers. Between sips of beer and espresso, other artists called out complements over someone’s handmaid jewelry.

From visual artists to gallery owners, members of the Alameda art community met at the bar patio as part of a monthly ritual of networking, appetizers and beer.