Alameda Chainsaw Tree Massacre?

Barbers Point, for those of you who don’t know (I didn’t know until someone directed me to a map) is a street that runs through Alameda Point.  In the spirit of blogging about the hyper local in Alameda, there is a new blog in the “sphere” for Barbers Point, entitled simply enough, Barbers Point News.  

There was apparently a bit of drama around Barbers Point neighbors and Ploughshares Nursery as logged on the BPN blog, excerpts:

The chainsaws started early on Barbers Point Rd., followed closely by the angry whine of the chipper as it tore up the 20 plus trees that used to enrich our little neighborhood. Just under two acres of rich habitat for wildlife and the enjoyment of neighbors was turned into an ugly flat empty lot in under 7 hours.

…

And the nominees are…

According to the Alameda Journal 13 residents have applied for the open Planning Board seat recently vacated by Gina Mariani, they are, in Alameda Journal — which means no particular — order:

• Albert Verm
• Horst Breuer
• Jeffrey Mitchell
• Brian Buckingham
• Charles Wallis
• John Knox White
• Michael Henneberry
• June Grant
• Noel Wise
• Ronald Silva
• Cecilia Campbell-Notar
• Gregg deHaan
• NormaJean Washingtonpalmer.

Wine around town

So I’m guessing that the wine industry is much like the tech start-up one…you either pray to hit it big on your own and be able to build a nice cushy campus where people ride around on Segways or you hope to get bought out by a much bigger company that appreciates your product.    In the case of Rosenblum Cellars, they did the latter, as reported yesterday by just plain dave.

While at first this seemed like a pretty small news story, it’s been covered by a number of news outlets, but the Santa Rosa Press Democrat did the most thorough story:

British beverage giant Diageo announced Monday that it has agreed to buy zinfandel specialist Rosenblum Cellars for $105 million.

…

The acquisition is aimed at strengthening Diageo’s high-end wine portfolio, which is managed in Napa.

“The company currently does not have a brand primarily focused on zinfandel,” Diageo said. “The addition of Rosenblum Cellars will immediately give it one of the most recognizable names in a booming category.”

…

Ship storm

What would you do if you had an abandoned vehicle on your property sitting there for months and months on end.   You’ve finally had enough so you have asked someone to take it away and they said they will do it, but it will cost you $200,000.   Two people step up and stay they have recently purchased the vehicle, will pay you for storage costs for as long as they have owned the vehicle and take it away within the next month, at no cost to you, the only thing is, they have no proof they own it.

What would you do?

Me, I’d let the guys haul it away and pay me for my troubles.   The City of Alameda?  Not so much.   From the Journal:

Only in the EBX

Filed under, “Really?”  The EBX, taking a break from its weekly dose of dissing AC Transit, Ron Dellums, or Don Perata, has decided to celebrate the wonder of wonders that is the Tribe.net Alamedan’s Not So Anonymous forum.   Speaking of AC Transit, Oakland blogger, V Smoothe, was none too happy with the liberties taken by Robert Gammon in his piece about AC Transit, apparently the first of two parts.   My personal opinion on the VanHools, they are okay.  I liked the old buses, and the new ones are fine.   The only buses I loathe are the coach style ones that make you climb 20 stair steps and squeeze through the tiny little aisles.   They may be comfortable for a long haul, but are a bitch to navigate into.  But I digress.

Anyway according to the EBX, unlike you all mud-slinging commenters, the touchy feely goodness currently happening over at Tribe.netis refreshing in its non-snarkiness.   I guess EBX must have missed the touchy feely goodness that went on for weeks and weeks in the comment section of the Pork Product post.

Where have you gone, SunCal

…a city turns its questioning eyes to you.  Woo woo woo.

According to an East Bay Business Times article (and the mass email sent out late yesterday), SunCal is “postponing” their scheduled January 30th meeting and will reschedule at a later date.  Certainly they want to put a good spin on the cancellation, I mean….postponement, and so have announced that they need to reschedule to better prepare reponses and presentations based on the community feedback from the December meeting.   This meeting was supposed to be:

A presentation and discussion of a limited number of preliminary development alternatives for Alameda Point

But alas, we’ll have to wait until SunCal is ready for us.   Although in the meantime, you can check out their website, there are photos and presentations up from the previous meetings.

In other news, even though the theater opening has been delayed due to heavy rains, the parking garage is set to open on time, with the grand opening celebration slated for January 31st at noon, but the festivities start at 11:30ish with live music and then the Mayor and Councilmembers will enter the parking garage in a procession of alternative fuel vehicles.   Is it too much to hope that one of the councilmembers will bring up the rear in a bicycle? 

One parent at a time

I found the most recent comments about the quality of Washington school, but then the need for charter schools despite the acknowledgment that the schools actually do provide a stellar education very puzzling.   On one hand several posters have said that the type of schooling received in West End schools are equal to that of those received by East End kids, a point I have been trying to make over and over again.    But then those posters that have been saying that the West End schools do provide a good education are insistent that there is a need for charter schools, as though the charter will somehow provide a panacea for all that supposedly ails the school district or schools in general.  

The same poster asks previously why do we need such bureaucracy in the district level, asking why do we need a full time communications and public relations type person for the school district, but then laments that the school district and the schools have not done enough to talk about how great the schools, like Washington, really are.   As a parent of a not yet school aged child yet but having gotten involved enough in my neighborhood to know that similar conversations are being had about private schools, worrying about test scores, etc… about Ruby Bridges, I feel the frustration of the parents who see their neighbors opting for private schools rather than doing their due diligence about their neighborhood school.

Deep Impact

Tonight the School Board will be hearing about the second charter school application to come down the pipeline during these upcoming difficult financial times.   Renaissance Leadership Academy, although there’s not a whole lot in it about cultivating future leaders for their K-8 population, will be presenting their application tonight.   It will not be voted on tonight though.   But also being presented is information about how the proposed State level budget cuts will be affecting the Alameda Unified School District as a whole.   From the Alameda Journal:

…Overall, the district will lose about $4 million under the governor’s plan, which also calls for immediate suspension of the law that ensures basic public school funding.

“This is going to be felt all around,” Cazares said Friday. “It looks pretty dire for us. And I’d say at this point cuts are inevitable.”

…

Stay Classy, ADN

It looks like Alameda Daily News has gotten back some of the old sparkle that it lost rather recently.   What am I referring to?  None other than a letter to the “editor” by Dorothy Freeman:

…Monday night’s Alameda Planning Board meeting,  Item  9-B, “Change in the Format for a Future Public Forum Regarding the Housing Element and Measure A”, was a discussion to approve changes in the format to the upcoming public forum on how to convince Alamedans that Measure A is responsible for all the problems we have.  The Staff Report, available at http://www.ci.alameda.ca.us/archive/2008/attachments/pb_sub_520.pdf, speaks to the problem of finding persons who are willing to come and be “panelists and moderators” for the different subjects the Planning Board wants discussed.  Pro Measure A is not one of those subjects.

Friday Funnies

Because I’m feeling like sharing the things I find chuckle worthy this morning.   First up, many many thanks to Jan Sutter who mailed in one of the funniest letters to the editor I’ve read in a long time to the Alameda Sun:

I’m disappointed the tax-funded charter school thing didn’t fly. Holding teachers accountable and awarding merit pay to quality schools is good.

Fact is, we haven’t taken the model far enough. I think we should have charter police forces. Like charter schools, we should provide tax money for diversified law enforcement. We could start with the proven school model and have Catholic police precincts, Jewish, Evangelical, Muslim, Chinese Christian, agnostic and so on. We’d then establish tax-funded magnet police precincts with low crime to attract deserving citizens.

Of course, like charter schools, the police would be the ones to pick who lives in a district. Success would be measured using a police performance index (PPI). In law-abiding precincts, officers would get merit pay. Where law breaking was high, cops would be held accountable. If rampant crime didn’t drop, officers would be put on probation, reprimanded or even fired.

Still no improvement? Then under-performing police stations would be closed down entirely. Citizens would be given tax vouchers to relocate to better areas. Don’t want to move?

Then tax money would go to purchase firearms to form peer-driven, well regulated militias like in the Constitution. Which, to think about it, might make whole communities in Alameda lively learning-centers indeed.

And then for those of you that are actively following the national primary race, some guy named Mighty Rex has created a Guide to the Candidates, Star Wars Style.   This should speak to your inner geek, or have you heading over to wikipedia to try to figure out who Boba Fett is.   Someone should get this guy to do political commentary somewhere, it would be so much more fascinating than the current crop of folks that say the same thing: nothing.   With apt characterizations like Darth McCain, Mitt Skywalker, and SeeJoe Threepio I’m waiting for the next installment.   Or maybe an Alameda version when our local election rolls around, I think the folks over at Alameda Daily Noose could do a bang up job with “An Alameda Guide to the Candidates, the Harry Potter edition.”