Profiling Protesters

The Alameda Sun a very interesting article about the recent protest around the police activity surrounding Iko Bayarsaikhan’s murder.   When I first heard about this group’s intention to protest alleging racial profiling, my first thought was indeed to roll my eyes.   However, I must caveat that very candid first impulse by saying that if in fact there were some “irregularities” in the police investigation, then there should be an independent investigation looking into the matter.    While I am generally very supportive of youth being politically active and expressing themselves in a very public forum, I think something like this required a bit more tact than a public demonstration pronouncing the Alameda Police Department as having committed, “one of the worst cases of police harassment ever experienced by the East Bay’s Southeast Asian community.”    I have to agree with the Alameda Journal’s editorial that it was a bit much and on the inflammatory side. 

While it is important for a community to continually support its law enforcement and the men and women putting their lives on the line to protect us every day, it is also important for a community to continually scruntize and be aware of the actions of this life line to make sure that incidents like the ones alleged by the protesters do not happen.    It is crucial that if 250 community members — let’s say it was 225 to subtract the number of press that was there — felt as though this was an important matter to make public then it should be addressed beyond responses from the police in a newspaper article.

Oh, and one small correction to the Alameda Journal editorial wich stated:

…The suspects, like the victim, were a part of the Southeast Asian community…

Actually, not really.   While the suspects were ethnically “Southeast Asian,” Iko and her family were from Mongolia, not in Southeast Asia.   Mongolia, situated between Russia and China would be considered East Asian.   If the word “southeast” was struck from that phrase, then yes, it would be true, but that’s a pretty minor quibble.

Turning the tables

Can I just say how much I am loving the exchange that has been going on the past few days on Alameda Daily News?  Not the stuff about the Alameda Police Department and recent protest — what’s there to say other than to give the protesters the big eye roll?  But the letters going back and forth regarding Greening Alameda Point, “Measure A absolutists,” and the low income housing tooth fairy.   It’s like the old Alameda Daily News is back, before the press release fillers and the predictions by Les Grosscup and subsequent posts of failure to correctly predict.   For those that do not know what I am talking about, let me explain.   On the Saturday post Thanksgiving, Action Alameda wunderkind David Howard posted a triumphant letter setting Action Alameda up as the choice for a new generation, the middle ground that we all could select to support.  Between the continuum of HOMES on one end and Keep Measure A on the other, they stood squarely in the middle of it all.  Full post because you all know the drill about ADN not archiving:

Museum piece

So, I’m watching the City Council meeting from last week, mainly for the conversation about the Carnegie and the ultimate result (voted 3-2 for putting the Planning Department/Community Arts thingamabob in), and decided to skip back to the “Presentation by the Alameda Museum of Business Plan” or something worded along those lines.   After the request made by the City Council when the Alameda Museum’s funding was up for review to forumulate a business plan, the Board finally delievered.   Now, I haven’t seen the business plan, I only know what was discussed during the presentation and I have some thoughts.

My first reaction was to feel slightly bad for the Alameda Museum, I know they are trying really hard to raise money and be a functioning and useful resource.   And they are, to a certain extent.   It was a little sad that when queried about their recent solicitation efforts the result was not the most positive, as in, did not get them much money.   But then listening further to the dialogue between the museum representatives and the City Council was not entirely positive.   It would be better for the representatives, rather than being defensive and making excuses, to be open to suggestions being made by the City Council.   For example, the Mayor brought up the suggestion which was made in the Carnegie consultant’s study that the Museum become accredited so that it could access more grants to open up the types of funding they could raise.   The Museum representative said that this was not something that they had considered and that it wasn’t necessarily in their plans.   According to a brief skimming, it doesn’t cost a lot to become accredited ($400 application fee and a minimal annual fee), but it does take some time to put together an application and the museum has to have clear vision and direction.   

Styrofoam at the mouth

Is “yucky” according to Donna Meadows of the Little House Cafe on Blanding, home to Alameda’s first grass parking lot.    From the Alameda Journal, it appears that Alameda is going to move forward toward a ban on stryofoam:

…The city is considering a ban on polystyrene food containers, and it may happen as early as next month.

A meeting to discuss the proposed ban and get public input will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Ave.

Prohibited items would include take-out food containers, bowls, plates, trays, cartons and cups, according to a press release the city issued last week.

In addition, restaurants, food vendors and city facilities will be required to use containers that can break down in nature, unless an affordable alternative is not available.

The city has suggested that restaurants and food vendors could charge a “take-out fee” to customers to cover the cost difference for purchasing the alternative product…

Tis the season

Squee!   Now open at Alameda Towne Centre is Bed, Bath, and Beyond.   Our family was at Alameda Towne Centre on Friday to do a little shopping and noticed shopping carts by the BBB storefront and thought we would take a gander over there to see if it was open, we had planned a trip to the BBB store in Jack London Square, but were pleasantly surprised that the BBB was open.   While there, we purchased some items in the “Beyond” category with a 20% coupon off all purchases they were giving away at the door that morning, which meant that my hoarded stash of BBB coupons was safe for another day of purchases.   The next day I needed more “Beyond” items and made my way down to ATC again and noticed that the parking lot on the non-grocery store side was as full as I have ever seen it at ATC, looks like BBB might be nicely filling its “anchor store” purpose.  

But speaking of retail, while driving up Webster to get to ATC, it appears that the City of Alameda or the West Alameda Business Association (WABA), I’m not sure which, has kicked off the holiday shopping season by allowing free parking at the metered slots up and down Webster Street, which is really very thoughtful.  However, someone decided to use plastic shopping bags to cover the meters in the universal sign for “this meter is broken” which simply looks really tacky.   Can someone put, at the very least, a nicer sign or ideally, a nice hood like this one in order to indicate that this is something special for the holidays?  

Hey Big Spender!

Ah…the day after Thanksgiving.   Nothing like spending quality time with the family that makes one think, “Hey, I need to get down to Best Buy to snag me up some heavily discounted electronics!”   But when you are purchasing yet another $20 DVD player, think about some of those quality Alameda organizations that could use some of your ducats and put than $20 to better use.   

And in particular the Alameda Civic Light Opera needs your help, from the Alameda Journal:

…”If every household in Alameda sent $10, it would help this incredible community asset,” said Teddy Tabor, a member of the ACLO board since its inception.

Opera company leaders say the nonprofit organization not only provides quality shows but a community service as well.

There’s an internship program for high school and college students, theater classes for adults, a summer camp for children and opportunities to volunteer.

Jeff Teague, ACLO’s artistic director, said the company brings people together, bridging gaps in ethnicities, income and generations. “It’s great to see how that happen,” he said…

The Editoral in the Journal also offers a plea for help but with a caveat:

…During the holiday season, there are many demands on our pocketbooks. Probably the last thing any of us feel we need right now is another plea for help, but this one is different. Anyone who has ever enjoyed the magic of a stage production knows the value of keeping musical theater in our community. Movie theaters and videos can’t compare to the thrill of seeing live performers on stage .

There are those who feel the opera company has brought the financial woes on itself and has not been fiscally responsible in paying its bills. Some see it as a drain on the community to continue to support a struggling operation. They feel there are plenty of other theaters around, so why bother to keep this one going? The answer is simple. We need this kind of cultural entertainment in our lives.

We support this effort but with a strong plea to the opera company to use the money to get back on solid financial ground and come up with a plan to make the theater fiscally responsible and viable.

…Officials say they already have more than $56,000 toward the $100,000. It’s only six weeks from the deadline, but they’ve passed the halfway point…

If you care about the arts and appreciate the years of community performances by the Alameda Civic Light Opera, now is the time to reciprocate.

And while there may be some folks positively gleeful at the notion that ACLO might go under, seeing an organization that adds so much to a community in dire straits should elicit sympathy and a desire to help. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was going to post the requsite clip of Adam Sandler singing the Thanksgiving Song, but this Saturday Night Live clip is just so much funnier.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  

Thankful giving

It’s generally during the holidays that folks are most generous with their giving, this year remember that there are some great Alameda organizations that can use your help to assist in furthering their mission.   Since food is almost always at the forefront of our minds when thinking about the holidays consider donating food, time, or money to the Alameda Food Bank.   The Food Bank has recently moved into a brank spanking new building at their current location off Constitution, from the Alameda Sun:

…The new building is a grand 2,065 square feet, outshining the former facility by some 500 square feet. Kahn showed off the larger work area for volunteers, while Russell showed his “pride and joy,” the spacious waiting area and children’s play corner. Both are looking forward to better serving the hungry in the city with a facility that accommodates more clients and provides space for more storage and administration as well…

But of course there are many other worthy organizations that deserve your support such as:

• Boys and Girls Club
• Meals on Wheels
• Alameda Education Foundation
• Alameda Library Foundation
• ACLO
• Alameda Museum
• Alameda Point Collaborative
• Friends of the Library
• Friends of the Parks
• Midway Shelter
• Girls Inc.

And I’m sure there are many more, but those are the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

Chartered Tour

From the Alameda Journal, evidently the charter school currently operating on the Encinal High campus is looking to expand and looking to two of the shuttered elementary schools: Longfellow and Woodstock on the West End to serve their needs, highlights:

The organizers of an Alameda charter school with more than 100 students on its waiting list are eyeing some of the city’s recently closed elementary schools as sites for a second campus.

…

Both sites are in the city’s West End and just blocks from the Alameda Community [Learning] Center, which state officials recently named a California Distinguished School.

…

“Taxpayers built them as schools, right? They were not meant to be used as closets or for storage,” the corporation’s Paul Bentz said about the Woodstock and Longfellow sites.

…

Q: Pardon me sir, but how do you get into the Carnegie Library?

A: Money, money, money.

Oh, that and the much touted “public access” to the building as well.   The horserace basically came down to two plans, the first was allowing the Alameda Museum to move into the building and the second was a Community Arts/Planning and Building Center.   Which will prevail?  On Tuesday night, the City Council will make that determination.

According to the staff report when it all pencils out both will cost about the same to renovate, albeit the money going into different places for different uses.  The most noteable difference is the need for an air conditioning and forced air heating system as well as the windows needing to be covered in order to protect the collection, if it is to be used as a Museum.    But even after funding the renovations it will cost $150K - $200K for ongoing maintenance and operating costs.   The funding seems a bit vague for both projects, although the Community Arts/Planning and Building Center  (CAPBC) proposal seems a lot more firm than the:

…Alameda Museum has indicated that they are currently negotiating with an anonymous private donor to secure funding.

At the very least if it turns into CAPBC there should be an ongoing funding stream to continue operations, whereas the Alameda Museum, as we know, has struggled — like all other community organizations — to fundraise for funding to even cover the rent on their current digs.   With limited hours of operation, it would definitely not service the purpose of making it open and available for the widest variety of people.  Too bad there wasn’t more vision for this process, it seems like everyone was rather stuck on it being either the CAPBC or the Museum.   The City Staff, of course, being more inclined toward the CAPBC and preservationists toward the Museum or some other arts related use.   A nonprofit incubator could have brought in funding from rents or a small business incubator.   Perhaps just allowing different established nonprofits to co-locate in the building.  

Ah well, either one the gets chosen will make someone somewhere displeased, so at this point, the best solution is something that will be solvent in the long term.