THE ISLAND

Big garage sale fundraiser Saturday

2008-07-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mielle Gonzalez’s ordeal began with a rash that lasted for months, her mother, Suzy Clement, says. Not long after she entered kindergarten, in 2007, she developed pain and weakness in her legs that became so severe she couldn’t walk up the stairs in her home, and would have to crawl to a piece of furniture to stand herself up.

A doctor took one look at Mielle that Halloween and offered a name for her frightening condition: juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare immune system disease that affects about 5,000 children in the United States. But he offered Clement and her husband, Lenny Gonzalez, few clues about the trials ahead – trials that have included a dizzying progression of toxic treatments that would leave Mielle by turns bloated, sick and in the throes of severe, medicine-induced mood swings, and a relapse this spring that caused more muscle weakness and pain.

“My daughter said her brain wants to explode and beat somebody up,” Clement says, citing the effects of the steroid prednisone, one of the treatments doctors are using to try to battle the disease into remission.

About a third of the children who contract the disease – which causes muscle weakness and pain, severe fatigue, rashes and digestive, lung and heart problems – go into remission permanently, while a third experience relapses at some point. Relapses can be triggered by something as simple as a sunburn.

A third battle the disease their entire life, and complications caused by the disease can be fatal. It has no known cure.

Fortunately, the family has friends working to help them out. They’ve got the support of another family living just around the corner whose daughter has the same rare disease, something Clement calls an “outrageous coincidence” which leads her to wonder if there may be an environmental cause for the disease. “There’s so much they don’t know (about the disease),” Clement says.

This Saturday, about 30 families are holding a garage sale to raise money for research to fight the disease and to help Mielle’s family pay her medical bills. The family is taking Mielle to Chicago to consult with one of the country’s top experts on the disease next month.

The sale is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 1514 Bay Street. They’ll have loads of baby and kids items, furniture, bikes, clothes and more. There will also be lemonade and live music. (The couple, both professional photographers, will be taking pictures of the event, too.) If you can’t make the sale but want to help, you can donate to the organization working for a cure for this disease, Cure JM, by clicking here.

My humble assessment

2008-07-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we got a letter from the county informing us that we were among the 44,000 or so lucky property owners in Alameda County getting a break on our taxes for the coming year. But my husband and I had to stop mid-end zone dance when we realized a kind of important fact: Our tax dollars are actually used to pay for stuff. Like public safety. And libraries. And parks. Would our city be able to continue paying for these vital services with less money than they’re accustomed to getting from us?

Well, it turns out that the money they’re not taking from my husband and I, they’ll collect from someone else: Despite the apocalyptic real estate market we’re in, the assessed value of property in Alameda actually rose over the last year, by almost 6 percent, according to the assessor’s figures.

So how did that happen?

First off, only a relatively small number of properties in this county were even considered for the tax break: Around 70,000 purchased between July 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007 (those who got the break had assessed values that were higher than fair market value as of January 1), and some others whose assessments already dropped. So if the value of your property dropped $50,000 on January 2, you’ll be waiting until next year to see any resulting tax break.

Secondly, even in this market, a lot more property got built and changed hands than got reassessed, says Brian Hitomi, chief of the assessor’s appraisal division. And we all know happens when a house that someone has owned 20 or 30 years gets sold.

The city’s not in the clear just yet: With things being as bad as they are, the county’s likely to get a lot of assessment appeals (ask anyone at the assessor’s office how they are and the answer will be “busy”). If a lot of those get granted, the city’s budget picture could be a little less balanced. (Property taxes are the city’s #1 revenue source.) City leaders have already made adjustments to next year’s budget in anticipation of a 1 percent decline in property tax dollars, Deputy City Manager Lisa Goldman said.

Dr. Robert Butts, 1956-2008

2008-07-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sad news: Beloved Alameda pediatrician Dr. Robert Butts has died. Butts passed away Friday after a six-month struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 52.

A native of Galesburg, Ill., Butts practiced in Alameda for over a decade and also worked at Children’s Hospital in Oakland. Friends, co-workers and patients remembered him as a man with a great sense of humor who was devoted to the work of caring for children; in 2005, he was voted best physician by readers of Alameda Magazine. Parents whose children were in Butts’ care have written several letters of support for him in the local papers in recent months; a website set up for Butts had gotten nearly 8,000 hits as of Monday night.

“He was a very caring, very loving person,” his brother-in-law, Greg Keller, told The Island on Monday. “There are very few people who are as giving as he was,” he said, a sentiment family members are hearing a lot from the community around Butts’ houseboat.

Keller said Butts was very musically inclined, playing piano, Celtic harp and ukulele, which he learned while working in Hawaii. He also loved traveling to Yosemite and climbing Half Dome, Keller said. “But mainly, what he did is, he worked,” Keller said.

Butts is survived by his father, Cyril; sisters Betsy (Greg Keller) and Bridget (Roger Badesch); several nieces and nephews; and his dogs, Sam and Maddie. A memorial service has not yet been set. In lieu of flowers Butts’ family is asking for donations to environmental organizations – a cause family members say Butts cared deeply about – or the American Cancer Society.

For updates on the memorial service or to post condolences in Butts’ online guestbook, click here.

Rede-what now?

2008-07-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last week we posted an item on the City Council’s plan to ask voters to okay an increase in the property transfer tax, and a fascinating debate over the value of the redevelopment process erupted in the comments section. (Does calling redevelopment fascinating make me a nerd? Wait, don’t answer that.) Here’s how redevelopment works: A city has property that its leaders may consider blighted – think crumbling, vacant storefronts or, say, a certain Superfund site that encompasses a third of our Island city – that they would like to see put to more productive use. But this property, with all its problems, isn’t as attractive to a developer as site without them. So what’s a city to do? Declare the place a redevelopment area, subsidize new development by issuing bonds, and then use the tax dollars generated by it to pay those bills, under the redevelopment scenario. Perhaps not surprisingly, some people are a wee bit uncomfortable with this system, because they’re not too keen on subsidizing for-profit businesses and because they don’t like the fact that city councils (acting as redevelopment agencies, a common second hat for them to wear) can issue millions of dollars in bonds without asking voters first. They fear this is a system ripe for abuse, and there’s certainly precedent for that (think slum clearance in the 1960s; Chicago’s city government has also been accused of abusing its redevelopment powers). And they question whether the subsidies are truly necessary to make new development happen. But on the other side of this debate is a legitimate question: Is it worth it for the city to spend money to turn a truly blighted property into something that could serve its residents and perhaps ultimately channel money into the city’s coffers – property some believe would, in the real world, remain blighted otherwise? The city made the controversial decision to use redevelopment money to finance the rehab of what is now the Alameda Theatre, and folks are still pretty divided about whether they made the right choice. Guess it’s fair to say that development at Alameda Point will provoke the same concerns? Anyway, if you want to get down to the nitty gritty on this one, the comments laying out all the issues around redevelopment (including the intriguing suggestion that the city set up a citizen—led watchdog group to make sure officials don’t abuse their redevelopment powers) is here.

Your weekend, part deux

2008-07-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well folks, looks like we have two weekend events to tell you about this weekend. (The heck, you say. On our little Island?) It's true: The Alameda Wine Company, aka the wine bar next to the new Alameda Theatre, is now open for business. And this weekend, they're hosting their first specialty tastings. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, proprietor Karen Ulrich will be offering six of her "most rock-bottom value" wines. On Sunday, she'll have a flight of three international Pinot Noirs at what she promises will be a special reduced price, accompanied by Miles Davis on the stereo. Want more info? Check 'em our right here.

Your weekend: Starlight movie

2008-07-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Do you miss the ambience of catching a drive-in movie under the stars? Well, you’re in luck. This Friday night, park and rec is offering a free showing, sans cars, of “Curious George” at the Alameda Point Multi-Purpose Field, which is next to the Alameda Point Gym at 1101 W. Redline Drive. (Yeah, it’s a kid flick. But c’mon. We’re old. And when did you ever watch those movies, anyway?) The field opens at 6:30 p.m. for picnics; pre-show festivities start at 7:30, and the movie rolls at 8:15. Chairs and blankets are okay, but barbecue grills, alcohol and pets are not. The folks at park and rec would like you to register in advance, though you can register on the night of the movie, if space allows. The event flyer is here; you can also call 747-7529. Box dinners can be ordered for $5 if you call today; other refreshments will also be available. And if you miss this one, they’ll be showing “E.T.” on Friday, August 15.

Comment: A lesson

2008-07-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

This fall, the school district and school board are slated to undertake the likely-to-be-controversial task of finalizing and approving curriculum to address sexual orientation and gender identity, which will extend down to the kindergarten level. District officials say they’re doing this to give teachers the tools they need to address anti-gay slurs and bullying and to help comply with state laws outlawing harassment of students based on race, religion, sexual orientation and other factors. They say it’s part of a wider curriculum already in place to teach problem-solving and life skills. But some parents - including some at Franklin School, which recently hosted a session on transgender issues on behalf of a student there - are questioning whether the lessons their children will learn will be age-appropriate and if they need to be specifically targeted toward one group, while others have voiced concerns that the district is advocating values they don’t personally agree with. And they are unlikely to be heartened by the fact that since what’s being taught is not sex ed, there won’t be an opt-out. We’ve talked to people on all sides of this issue over the past few weeks, and this is how we see it: We feel the district’s goal of curbing anti-gay bullying and supporting same-sex families and gay and transgender students is a worthy and necessary one. And we agree with advocates who say that the lessons need to be specific, because the name-calling and bullying is specific, as are the results: Kids who face such bullying are less likely to learn, and have a good chance of coming to some kind of harm. We know from experience that children learn to tease based on what they may see as behavior that isn't gender “appropriate” (like boys wearing pink shirts) long before kindergarten. By the time they hit middle school, as shown in a recently aired documentary, kids have absorbed a litany of ridiculous stereotypes about what it is to be gay from TV and other media – stereotypes that, if applied to people based on race, religion or any other characteristic, would be swiftly addressed, without question. That said, we are hopeful the district, the school board and advocates of this curriculum won't be dismissive of concerned parents and will be willing to have a constructive dialogue with them about what will be presented in the classroom (assistant schools chief Debbie Wong said it will center at the elementary level around family diversity and combating slurs and bullying; she said the district’s curriculum team is looking at model curriculum and lessons developed by other districts, including San Francisco, San Leandro and Berkeley). And we feel that labeling all parents who voice questions or concerns as close-minded or bigoted is counterproductive at best, and that such name-calling negates the lesson of tolerance the district is trying to teach. Pressing an information packet, perhaps, into the hands of every parent – something that, from what we understand, apparently did not happen at Franklin (Principal Gail Rossiter could not be reached for comment) – could be critical to allaying some parents’ concerns about what will be presented and could also be a vital tool for extending the lesson the district is trying to teach into students’ homes. The district is hosting two community meetings in the fall to talk with parents about the curriculum it is developing, and we feel that this is a good step. In the meantime, if you want to know more, we’ve got our previously written item on the curriculum team’s presentation to the school board here, a dozen pages from the district outlining the issues around this with an evolving FAQ here, and information on the umbrella curriculum that this lesson would fall under, called Caring School Community, here.

Broken ground

2008-07-16T14:55:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to drop a quick note that the folks over at Resources for Community Development broke ground this morning on Shinsei Gardens, a 39-unit apartment development targeted for homeless vets and their families and the disabled, on a portion of the old Fleet and Industrial Supply Center. In addition to providing a roof for a whole bunch of soon-to-be-formerly homeless people, the complex will be super-green, with photovoltaic elements, sustainable flooring and counters, water-saving plumbing fixtures (a must in these dry times) and drought tolerant plants (ditto). The apartments will also be within striking distance of the bus and a variety of social services, and there will be more services on-site. RCD, which also developed The Breakers at Bayport apartments, expects the $18 million project, which will be run by Operation Dignity, to be completed in July 2009. Here's our original post on this if you want more information.

Most likely to succeed

2008-07-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it looks like one thing’s a lock for the November ballot: A request from the City Council to increase the property transfer tax – paid by buyers and sellers when a home or other piece of property changes hands – from $4.50 (ed. note: It's $5.40 - thanks Lena T) per $1,000 of a property’s purchase price to $12. The increase could raise about $5 million a year for the city.

As we explained the other day, the council passed a budget a few weeks ago, but they’re looking for additional revenue solutions to deal with what they anticipate will be ongoing budget shortfalls. They hired a polling firm to ask voters about whether they’d approve a parcel tax, maintenance assessment or increase in the transfer tax, and the latter solution was apparently the only one of the three that could pass.

Here’s the gist of the council’s conversation: It’s the apocalypse, people. The city has cut $9 million total from its budget for this past year and the one coming up, and they’re expecting more financially choppy times ahead. If they don’t get more cash in hand, they will need to cut services like police and fire. They could close all the libraries, and that wouldn’t even be enough to fix the problem. They could consider raising the sales tax, but let’s face it, there aren’t enough stores on the Island for people to shop at to make that work because everyone has a fit when someone tries to put one here (including the council, which is apparently considering a ban on big box stores, according to the Journal). If we’re not careful, we could turn into broke-a** Vallejo. And do you have any idea how difficult it is to concentrate on this stuff when there are so many videos of totally hot Doctor Who star David Tennant on YouTube? (Okay, I added that last part.)

Rob Platt of the Alameda Association of Realtors said his members are against the tax increase because it’s an excessive burden on people buying and selling homes, and he said his group plans to vigorously oppose it. That didn’t sit well with folks on the council, who wanted to know where the hell Platt was when they were making this year’s round of painful budget cuts and whether he had any other ideas to help balance future budgets. Another member of the realtor’s group pointed out that with the originally proposed increase to $14.50, the tax would add a total of around $13,000 to the cost of a $900,000 home in his East End neighborhood.

The council also okayed a list of charter amendments for the November ballot, which is here, and bid a sad adieu to the city’s chief financial officer, Juelle-Ann Boyer, who is retiring on August 1. You can read all about her accomplishments here.

Paden players

2008-07-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

We here at The Island just want to give a shout out to parents at Paden School, who worked for four years to raise the money for this brand spankin’ new play structure. “Project manager” and incoming Paden PTA prexy Gwen Meyer said parents at the school started raising money when her daughter was in kindergarten to replace the structure, which was becoming dangerous for the kids. Parents had a successful fundraising and grant-writing drive last year, earning $12,000 with a silent auction and $8,000 with a raffle and pulling in grants from Lowe’s, the Kiwanis and others. All told, they raised $51,000 to finally purchase it this year. This past weekend, a group of about 15 parents (and a group of eager-to-play kid testers) gathered at Paden to put the structure together. Meyer says the school district will kick in for rubber safety matting underneath. Meyer’s daughter is entering fourth grade now, so she’ll have two years to enjoy it before middle school. “I think it’s a real testament to the Paden community, who stuck with it,” Meyer said. Here’s some photos of the (nearly) finished product.

The plan

2008-07-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

Got questions or concerns about future plans for Alameda Towne Centre and the environmental impact report - which addresses traffic, noise and other environmental impacts? Well, you're in luck. The Planning Board, bowing to the late hour and the request of some concerned citizens who needed more time to digest the lengthy EIR, opted Monday night to wait until its August 11 meeting to decide whether to certify the report and okay a plan to expand the center. For those of you keeping score at home, the plan would put a second story on what will soon be Kohl's, a parking garage that could be up to three stories across from future-Kohl's if there's demand, two new restaurants on the water side of the plaza (adios, car wash?) and fix up the old Safeway for a proposed Orchard Supply Hardware store; there'd be about 49,000 square feet of new store space, for a grand total of around 706,000 square feet. The plan would also allow Towne Centre to be open from 6 a.m. to midnight every day, deliveries 24 hours a day except for parts of the center that are within 200 feet of residences and outdoor dining. A staff report laying out the details of the proposed expansion plan is here; documents laying out possible environmental impacts and how they'll be dealt with are here and here. If the full EIR is online I missed it, so call the Planning & Building Department at 747-6800 to find out how to view or obtain a copy of that.

Correction

2008-07-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

Well folks, looks like we pulled a bonehead move: The city clerk's office is not up for grabs in November, and is apparently not even an elected office. We misread the county's press release on what offices would be on the ballot, and we take full responsibility. The Island deeply regrets the error.

Open season

2008-07-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Today marks the start of candidate filing season. Up for grabs are the two city council seats currently held by Doug deHaan and Marie Gilmore; three school board seats now filled by Bill Schaff (who says he’s not running again), David Forbes and Janet Gibson; city clerk (ed note: city clerk is not an elected office, per Tony D), auditor and treasurer; and a host of special district seats (including four seats on the city healthcare district). Interested? You’ve got until 5 p.m. August 8 to file the appropriate papers with the city clerk’s office for the council seats, auditor and treasurer (August 13 if the incumbents don’t run); all the paperwork is available in Room 380 of City Hall. For more information, call City Clerk Lara Weisiger at 747-4800 or look here. Same deal on the dates for school board, city clerk and special district seats; forms for these are at 1225 Fallon St., Oakland, Room G-1. Info on the process is here; offices up for grabs are here. To file for any of these positions, you need to be a registered voter here in Alameda, and need to have held that status for the past 30 days or more. So far, we’ve got a fella by the name of Justin Harrison running for city council; his info’s here. We’ll give you more as we get it confirmed. Or if you’re running, feel free to post a comment.

The taxman cometh

2008-07-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

The City Council passed a budget a few weeks ago, but there was one big piece of the process outstanding: Revenue solutions to the city’s ongoing money woes. At the end of June, a polling firm hired by the city asked 400 Alameda voters how they’d be willing to tax themselves to help fill the city’s coffers. The winning solution: A nearly threefold increase in the property transfer tax. The tax, which could impact people buying and selling property here on the Island, would increase from $5.40 per $1,000 paid for a piece of property to $14.50 under the proposed November ballot measure. Even in this apocalyptic market, it would apparently put an additional $6.9 million in the city’s general fund each year – an amount that will increase as new developments come on line, according to this city staff report. The tax increase would require 50 percent of voters plus one to pass, just under the 52 percent of voters polled who would at least lean toward supporting it. In Alameda County, the transfer tax ranges from $4.50 per $1,000 in Hayward to $15 in Oakland and Berkeley; Albany just put something on its November ballot to increase its transfer tax from $11.50 per $1,000 to $14.50. Other solutions floated by the pollsters were another $120 a year parcel tax for public safety, which would require a two-thirds vote to pass but only had the support of 41 percent of those polled, and a maintenance assessment, which was supported by 27 percent of those polled. So can this thing pass? According to pollster Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin and Associates, we like our city, think it’s headed in the right direction, and don’t perceive any significant problems here. That said, we like our city services – especially our fire stations, which got a temporary reprieve from rolling blackouts this budget cycle – and we don’t want to see them get cut (except for the golf course, which 43 percent of those polled said could go with less maintenance). The proposed ballot language for the tax hike is here. The council is slated to consider the ballot measure at its regular meeting Tuesday night at City Hall.

And while we’re on the subject of ballot measures, the council will also consider a slew of amendments to the city charter for the November ballot, which from the looks of things could rival San Francisco’s in size this go-round. On tap are changes that would require the city auditor and treasurer to be a certified public accountant and licensed financial planner or analyst, respectively; eliminate transportation from the purview of the Public Utilities Board; requiring city contracts to be in writing; allow the city manager to issue no-big contracts in case of emergency; and allow the City Council to change office hours for city offices. The list is here.

Your weekend: A night at the Opera

2008-07-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Alameda Civic Light Opera is kicking off its twelfth season this Saturday with a production of "West Side Story." The show stars Beverly Viljoen as Maria, Robert Lopez as Tony, Donna Rapa-Olsen as Anita, Richard Tabor as Bernardo and Ryan Rigazzi as Riff, and was directed and choreographed by Jeff Teague. Shows are on at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through July 27 at Kofman Auditorium, 2200 Central Avenue. For more information, including ticket prices and information on a champagne and dessert reception on opening night, call ACLO at 864-ACLO or try their website at www.aclo.com. Also this weekend, Rosenblum Cellars will be the site of a community fair and wine tasting fundraiser for Alameda Meals on Wheels and Alameda Friendly Visitors. The event, which runs from 1 to 5 p.m., will include a silent auction, raffle, hors d'oeuvres from 11 local restaurants, and a children's backyard carnival. Rosenblum's at 2900 Main Street. Raffle tickets are $5 each, and donations are accepted at the door. For more information, call 523-6107.

Progress at the Point?

2008-07-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

The City Council did its own version of the Late Late Show last week, though the subject matter was far more interesting: Possible progress on development plans at Alameda Point. Base reuse manager Debbie Potter told the council (sitting as the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority) that the Navy "embraced" a timeline for renegotiating the terms for sale of the land, while developer SunCal's project manager, Pat Keliher, said that the Navy "acknowledged we need to re-evaluate what we're doing with the Point."

Last month, John Knox White over at Stop, Drop and Roll reported on a provision in the defense bill for next year, pursued by the city, that would change the terms for the sale of Alameda Point: either a new deal by July 2009 or $10 million plus 12 percent of sales of anything built there, as opposed to the $108.5 million price tag for the land right now. If things don't work out with SunCal, the city could auction off the land and the city and the Navy would split the proceeds, which could be a lot simpler than the mess that would ensue under the current terms, if SunCal walked away.

Potter recently told us that the intent of the bill is to speed up development of the Point. The bill has passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting action in the Senate. Meanwhile, SunCal has said it needs to rethink the current development blueprint for the site, which might not be entirely feasible when you consider the current economic environment and the site's main features, which include crumbling buildings, wrecked infrastructure, the seemingly growing extent of the contamination out there and a huge flood plain.

Even if the bill does pass, there's plenty of things that could stall any development plans (see aforemetioned challenges). And Keliher said SunCal is still talking with the state Department of Toxic Substance Control and federal Environmental Protection Agency to see what they will allow his company to build out there. But, on a possibly more positive note, the company has taken on a potential financial backer, which we reported recently. They may talk with the council on this next week.

SUPERINTENDENT TO RETIRE

2008-07-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

It's official: Alameda schools chief Ardella Dailey is set to retire as of January 1, 2009, due to "personal family necessity." The district said in a press release that the school board has already started looking for someone to replace her. The district also will need to hire a new chief financial officer, with Luz T. Cazares leaving at the end of August.

Dailey, who started her career with the district in 1985 as director of the Woodstock Child Development Center and also served as principal of George Miller Elementary School, was picked to head the district initially on an interim basis for the 2005-06 school year, after serving for five years as assistant superintendent.

She guided the district through several years of budget cuts, and presided over it through tempests over kindergarten lotteries, Measure A parcel tax expenditures and a public art display on the Washington School fence. But school board president Bill Schaff credited her with having an "extraordinary commitment" to the district over her long career here.

Blogger Rob "Scoop" Siltanen, who broke the news of Dailey's retirement earlier today, said this:

(W)e should all thank Superintendent Dailey for her great service and dedication to AUSD, including her commitment to moving forward the conversation in Alameda about equity and excellence and for steering the AUSD ship safely through terrible financial times.

And here's the district's press release, from Mike McMahon's website:

Superintendent of Schools Ardella Dailey announced today that she will retire effective January 1, 2009 due to personal family necessity.

Dailey has served the Alameda Unified School District for over twenty years, the past three years as Superintendent of Schools. Dailey noted that leaving at this time - with the recent passage of Measure H demonstrating strong community support for our schools - would be a good point for another Superintendent to step in.

The Board has begun working on a Superintendent search process that will seek community input and participation.

Dailey will continue working to provide the leadership necessary to keep the district on the path to excellence and equity for all students, and will ensure that the next six months will provide a smooth transition to a new Superintendent. Dailey will make herself available during the search process and after the selection to support the transition.

“It has been a pleasure to work with the School Board, the school district staff, our students and our community,” said Dailey. “I am proud of this district and am confident our schools will continue to excel in the years to come.”

School Board President Bill Schaff expressed his appreciation for Dailey’s extraordinary commitment and years of hard work on behalf of AUSD. “Ardella has dedicated the last twenty years of her professional life to serving and improving Alameda schools,” said Schaff. “the School District of Alameda is indebted to Ardella and we wish her the very best.”

“I know this transition will not be easy for her as she has always felt that all the students of Alameda are her extended family,” continued Schaff. “Our thoughts are with Ardella and her primary family.”

SCHOOLS SUPE APPEARS HEADED OUT

2008-07-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Blogger Rob Siltanen is reporting that Alameda schools superintendent Ardella Dailey is leaving the district. Siltanen's sources tell him that Dailey is expected to announce her pending departure sometime today or tomorrow. We'll have more on this as the news develops. Rob's post is here.

Wedding bells at City Hall

2008-07-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

Looking to get married at Alameda City Hall? Well, now you can, with an added bonus: You can ask any member of the City Council to marry you. County officials deputized the rest of the City Council to perform marriages last week (Mayor Beverly Johnson and Councilmember Marie Gilmore were already set to perform marriages). City Manager Debra Kurita and Christina Baines, executive assistant to the city manager and council, can also perform marriages, per Eve Pearlman's blog. Since the recent California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriages, the city has received about 40 inquiries about City Hall weddings, says Vice Mayor Lena Tam - a number that impressed the county's chief clerk-recorder, Kevin Hing. "Wow, that's a lot," said Hing, who said the county is now averaging 60 to 70 weddings a day, three times the number of weddings performed there before the court decision. Any couple, same or opposite sex, with a valid marriage license issued by Alameda County, picture ID and a witness can request a City Hall wedding and the marrying services of a member of the City Council. And the $50 fee certainly won't hurt the city's ability to make their budget balance this year. For more information or to make an appointment, call Christina Baines at 747-4701.

NO RECOUNT

2008-07-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well, we checked in with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, and it's official: Measure H is a done deal. The registrar certified the election results a little over a week ago, and no one has asked the county for a recount of the results, they said. Any voter could have challenged the results within five days of the certification, but it didn't happen. The temporary parcel tax, which looked down for the count right after the election, bounced into the win column eight days after the June 3 election and stayed there to finish. The measure passed 11,445 to 5,663, with 66.9 percent of voters in favor. You can view the official results and get a whole lot more detail on the election here.

On a related note, the school board is holding a special meeting tonight where they'll discuss Superintendent Ardella Dailey's contract. (Since contracts are a personnel matter, the board will discuss it in closed session.) The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be held in the superintendent's conference room at the district offices, 2200 Central Avenue. The agenda is here.

The schools get a budget ... sort of

2008-07-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last Monday night, the school board went through the formality of passing an $86.7 million budget for next year. I say formality because until the folks in Sacramento pass a state budget, budgets for our school district and countless others are little more than piles of used paper. "It's a lot of make-work, and not for anything. You can't conclude anything until we get a final (state) budget," school board president Bill Schaff told the handful of folks in attendance when the budget was passed. "I consider it a waste," Schaff said, adding that he is frustrated with the process that requires districts to put together a budget by July 1 - without knowing how much money they'll have to spend on our kids' education for the coming year. With Measure H money coming its way, the board felt confident enough to restore a whole slew of programs facing the anticipated budget ax next year, including class size reduction, high school sports and elementary school music programs. And this budget shows a Measure H surplus of $1,678,000 for the coming year, and the funds to avoid school closures (more on that later this summer). But there are a lot of little things the board doesn't know, like whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts will stick, or whether the state Legislature will agree to purchase bonds against the state lottery, which could create an additional impact to school funding, let alone a dollar amount from the state for next year. And with a showdown looming over slashing services versus raising taxes (tastes great! less filling!), a wee bit of time could pass before any of those minor details are available. And when they do, school districts across the state will have 45 days to reinvent the wheel. Well, at least we can take heart in our decreasing dependence on the state to fund our schools: With the passage of Measure H, Alamedans are directly contributing 8.4 percent of the funding for our schools, under the current budget scenario.

Your weekend: Fun on the Fourth

2008-07-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Island is bursting with Fourth of July goodness on Friday, starting with the Ralph Appezzato Charity Event, a 3.1 mile footrace to raise funds for Midway Shelter and the American Red Cross. The race begins at 9:45 a.m. in front of Bank of Alameda, 1417 Park Street. Entry fee is $25. There’s more information here. Next up, it’s that most Alameda of traditions, the Mayor’s Fourth of July Parade. This year’s theme is “Green and Clean,” whatever that means. You probably already know everything about it if you are part of the half of town that is expected to ride on one of the 170 floats slated to participate in this year’s parade (last year’s rivaled Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s speeches in length), which begins at 10 a.m. on Park, at Lincoln and winds through town. The website for the parade is here. Then it's a Jumpin’ and Jivin’ July 4 Jubilee (Jeepers!), from noon to 4 p.m. at Rittler Park, corner of Grand Street and Otis Drive. The event includes “patriotic” games and crafts, jump houses and music, plus food and drinks. Wristbands are $5 for crafts, $5 for the jump houses or $10 for both, and there’s a charge for food. More info is here. Last but not least, the USS Hornet is hosting an Independence Day Party featuring music, family activities, ship tours, food and drinks and a view of the fireworks. Family fun begins at noon and ends at 8 p.m., and the bands play from 1 to 9 p.m. Fireworks start at 9:15 p.m. Tickets are $22 for adults, $25 at the door; for kids ages 5-17, tickets are $12. More info here. Enjoy!

Golf plan gets green light

2008-07-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Near the end of another painfully long meeting that began Tuesday night, the City Council approved a plan to bring in an interim director to run the Chuck Corica Golf Complex but expressed doubts about the feasibility of a new master plan that recommended a nearly $11 million makeover. The council said it will also consider closure of the complex’s Mif Albright course and fee increases recommended by Golf Commission President Jane Sullwold. The council voted to seek out a private operator to run the facility in the long term, but they will ask the public what it wants to see out there first. Councilmember Frank Matarrese questioned the feasibility of the master plan, which recommended a private operator who would pay roughly a half-million dollars a year to lease the complex and also make improvements that could include banquet facilities, tennis, a fitness facility and spa as well as revamped courses that could support national play. Sullwold said the plan was unrealistic for Alameda, and other local golfers also voiced their dismay with it. She said other local cities that lease their courses to private operators have had problems getting those agreements honored. The discussion could herald a détente between the City Council and the Golf Commission, which have engaged in quite the war of words over the past month over responsibility for the course’s financial problems. But it also could herald a big financial hit for the city, which Sullwold said took around $1 million off the top of the golf complex’s books this past year – money Councilmember Doug DeHaan said the city may no longer be able to take. It’s not clear whether the council’s decisions will stave off the imminent doom for the course predicted by NGF Consulting, co-authors of the report. They said elimination of the transfers won’t be enough to save the complex or fund needed improvements. The interim manager would run the course for about a year while a proposal for a long-term lessee is drafted.

Hooray! Sort of

2008-07-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

The City Council last night dropped a plan to ban bikes, skateboards and other types of muscle-powered fun on public property, including all of the city's parks and to allow park directors to cite scofflaws. The proposal, which grew out of plans to prohibit skateboarders and cyclists from flying down the six decks of the Civic Center Parking Structure, drew criticism across the blogosphere and from Alamedans who questioned why the council would prohibit kids from cycling and skating in some of the only safe places available to them. The council instead went with its original plan to prohibit skateboards and cyclists from riding on city property, with an exception for cyclists riding to lockers in the Civic Center Parking Structure. Scofflaws could be ticketed by police. "I think we went astray last time," Councilmember Frank Matarrese said, in suggesting the council stick with Plan A on this one. Interestingly, the public debate over this stirred fresh questions about the use of motorized gizmos, like Segway scooters and wheelchairs, in bike lanes; the concerns could be addressed as part of the Transportation Commission's bicycle master plan process, council members said. And on another interesting note, city staff - at Councilmember Doug DeHaan's request - pointed out that bikes were banned in the city's parks for nearly half a century, until the council lifted the prohibition in 1989. On a separate transportation-related note, the council approved fuel surcharges for the Island’s two ferry systems. Single, one-way tickets for the Alameda/Oakland ferry would go up 50 cents, to $6.50; tickets for the Harbor Bay ferry would go up 75 cents, to $6.75 for a one-way trip.

Comment: The end of fun

2008-07-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we told you that in response to concerns about skateboarders in the new Civic Center Parking Structure, the City Council was considering a ban on skateboarding on city property. Imagine our surprise when Mayor Beverly Johnson, listing aesthetic concerns over the legally required posting of signs advertising the ban, suggested the city simply ban skating, skateboarding and bicycling on all city property, including parks – and the rest of the council nodded their heads in assent. And to sweeten the deal, they plan to let park supervisors cite scofflaws. It would be a gross understatement to say that we think this is a really bad idea. And it looks like people agree with us: Some 93 percent of participants in our recent poll on banning cycling in parks said they don’t like the idea.

Let’s start with the fact that this is a city that claims to be striving for a more “green” way of living (Clean and Green Fourth of July Parade, anyone?), and that a huge part of that plan is getting people out of their cars. How does kicking kids off their bikes and scooters in some of the only safe places they’ve got to ride in encourage this? Then there’s the question of the necessity of this ban. No one – not even the Police Chief, who proposed the original skateboard ban – cited a safety concern with bike riding or skating in parks. Our esteemed mayor simply believes the signs that would have to be posted in select locations advertising specific prohibitions would be too ugly. Then there’s the utter lack of a public process around this proposed ban. It was discussed as a specific ban on skateboarding on public property and evolved at eye-blinking speed into a full-blown ban on “muscular-powered vehicles,” without any real opportunity for public debate. And the council has put the item on its consent calendar for tonight, meaning it could be approved without a real public hearing. Lastly, we have to consider the wisdom of giving park supervisors the right to cite. Our neighborhood park is already run pretty much like a prison camp, complete with signs hand painted by the kids in the park program there banning cycling, scootering and climbing trees. Are these folks who really need more power?

We’re with our colleague John Knox White in hoping that the council was just in such a hurry to finalize the budget that it didn’t stop to think about this, and that it will be reconsidered at the council meeting tonight. We’re all for dealing with specific safety issues. But we think that this proposal – and not bikes in parks – is what needs to get banned. The City Council has more important issues to deal with. Let’s focus on those instead.