Barbers Point News

Alameda Point Trees Clear Cut.

2008-01-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

What a sad day for Alameda.
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. I guess it is typically human to destroy nature in the name of progress. I find it particularly ironic that this destruction was carried out by Ploughshares Nursery, our neighborhood organic nursery that specializes in California native plants. It also is ironic that Ploughshares and their parent organization Alameda Point Collaborative didn’t bother to talk to their neighbors because they didn’t have to. You see we are all renters here on Barbers Point Rd. so the planning process treats us as if we don’t exist. But at least we have a voice and can protest the degradation of our neighborhood and speak out for replacing all the trees that were cut down.
But there are others beings whose neighborhood has been destroyed and they don’t have a voice. This land was extensively used as habitat and feeding ground by Redtail hawks, Great Blue Herons, hummingbirds, Redwing Blackbirds, Jack Rabbits, gophers, House Finches, Mockingbirds, Blue jays, Crows, and large numbers of LBBs (Little Brown Birds). This is not by any means a complete list; it just covers the most visible of the many animals that use this land for food and shelter. This two-acre area between Barbers Point Road and Main St. was what is called an edge environment. An edge environment tends to have both trees and open field. This combination provides food and shelter for a wide range of animals making a particularly rich environment that supports more wildlife than either an open field or a fully wooded area. In an intensely urban area like Alameda the loss of this much wildlife habitat is particularly troubling. Because open space is at premium here it is not easy for wildlife to move to another place for food and shelter. This is compounded, especially for birds, by it being the middle of winter. Because of the cold and wet conditions, this is a time of year when food and shelter are particularly important for our resident birds.
I’m asking my neighbors and fellow residents of Alameda to help me speak out on behalf of the wildlife that have no voice to speak for themselves. With some careful planning and effort this land can accommodate both the wildlife and Ploughshares expansion plans. I encourage you to take a minute and call the numbers below. Please ask Alameda Point Collaborative and Alameda City Planning to prepare and implement a tree replacement plan as soon as possible. This is something they should have done in the first place rather than being encouraged to do it after the fact. With a little input from you this land can continue to support a large and diverse bird and animal population. Time is of the essence here; it is important that A.P.C. act soon to remediate the environmental damage that clear cutting this lot has caused. Please call Doug Biggs at Alameda Point Collaborative/Ploughshares at 510-898-7849 or dbiggs@apcollaborative.org and ask him to replace all of the trees that were cut down. Also please call Mr. Andrew Thomas of the Alameda City Planning Dept. at 510-747-6881 or athomas@ci.alameda.ca.us and ask him to look at the situation and help with a remediation plan. If you are directed to voicemail, do leave a message and do ask for a call back. Please be polite but firm, these are not bad folks, they are just folks who made a fixable mistake. So lets make sure they do fix it.
Thanks in advance for your help.

A BIT OF JETHRO TULL

2008-01-26T02:06:00.000-08:00

A slice of an interview with Ian Anderson from 2004 with some concert footage from Isle of Wight 1970. A good place to start.

Skating Away...

Farm on the Freeway (Live in Istanbul July 13th 1991)

A song for Jeffery (from the Rolling Stones circus 1968)

We Used to Know (1969 Remind you of Hotel California? The story goes that the Eagles toured with Jethro Tull and were inspired by this song to lay down Hotel California. Don't know if it's true or not but there is definitely a family resemblance.

A little bit of Tull makes the medicine go down. Hope you like it.

FRIDAY'S VIDEO TEN AT TEN.

2008-01-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

01/25/2008 - FRIDAY!!! A ten tune visit to...1972!!!

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes

Uriah Heap - Easy Livin'

Mark Almond - The City (BEST OF SET!!)

The O'Jays - 992 Arguments

Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water

Leon Russell - Tightrope

Hollies - Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress

Al Green - Love & Happiness

10.

Rod Stewart - Handbags & Gladrags

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (Can you say glamrock?)

Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes

Uriah Heap - Easy Livin'

Mark Almond - The City

The O'Jays - 992 Arguments

Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water

(1,716,256 views on Youtube. Anybody know when and where this was?)

Leon Russell - Tightrope (video mashup over the track)

Bonus Leon Russell just because it's too good to pass up. Yes that is really Leon Russell with short hair circa 1964. If you look at the eyes and nose you can see it.

Hollies - Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress

Al Green - Love & Happiness (I had a clip of a young Al Green on Soul Train but it got taken down. Bad timing I guess. So now we have Al in concert in memphis.)

Rod Stewart - Handbags & Gladrags

And just because I hate what Rod Stewart became in old age here is the original version of the song as it charted in 1967.

So that didn't turn out too bad. We got something for every song and a couple bonus historical cuts as well. That Leon Russell clip is almost 44 years old. Just as a point of interest, YouTube often has lots of extra material about artists that appear here. I can't post it all cause... well I'd never get the blog posted and it is a little off focus for what I'm doing here. However, if you see something here by an artist you like, by all means hit YouTube and see what else there is. Everybody have a good weekend and we'll pick this up on Monday.

NO TELECOM IMMUNITY. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

2008-01-25T07:10:00.001-08:00

EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is doing a very cool political action. They are asking folks to take a picture of themselves with a sign that shows where they are from (City and State) and makes a short statement against retroactive telecom immunity in the FISA bill that is being debated in the Senate today and monday. The banner below will take you to EFF's page for this action.

Flickr has a very cool photo pool of folks who've already done this if you need some inspiration. This is not a time to sit on your ass in America folks. If you want your country back you have to speak up for it.

Being politically active in America is easier now than at any time in the past. For instance, I sent emails to 14 Senators yesterday urging them to vote against Telecom immunity in the FISA bill that is being dealt with by the senate today and Monday. Every Senator has a webpage with a contact form. You can look up Senators at the Senate.Gov website. There is a searchbox in the upper right corner of the page. You just enter your senator's name, click on the top entry in the results and you will be at their official webpage. Then you look for the contact button, it usually will be at the top of the page, left side, or all the way at the bottom. You click the contact button and you are on their webmail contact form. Generally they want you to fill in your name, address, and email. Then pick a generic subject area from a drop down menu, paste in your text and hit send. If you are doing multiple contacts I suggest you whip out a general statement on the subject you are concerned about. You can copy and paste the text to save time. Be polite, be concise, be persuasive. Congratulations, you have just become politically active. Didn't hurt a bit, did it?

Video Ten at Ten for 1/24/2008

2008-01-24T18:18:00.001-08:00

A little more video mashup featuring KFOG's ten at ten goodness sprinkled over Youtube video madness. MMM MMM Good.

01/24/2008 - Thursday! Later in the 70's...1977!!

1.	Lynyrd Skynyrd - I know a Little
2.	Klaatu - We're Off You Know
3.	Steve Miller Band - Swingtown
4.	Little Feat - New Delhi Freight Train (BEST OF SET!!)
5.	ELO - Telephone Line
6.	Foreigner - Cold As Ice
7.	Greg Kihn - Madison Avenue Man
8.	Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23
9.	Bee Gees - Boogie Child
10.	10cc - Good Morning Judge

Lynyrd Skynyrd - I know a Little

Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Know a Little
Uploaded by pxxxfxxxxr

Klaatu - We're Off You Know (No youtube, no google, no nothing.)

Steve Miller Band - Swingtown

New Delhi Freight Train (No little feat but how about a vid of the song's composer Terry Allen performing his song. Good bio on this guy if you google him.)

ELO - Telephone Line

Foreigner - Cold As Ice (with five seconds of Billy Joel at the start)

Greg Kihn - Madison Avenue Man (Nada, No where, No how)

Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23 (youtube also has the original by Shuggie Otis)

Bee Gees - Boogie Child (You'll either hate this or it will make you laugh)

10cc - Good Morning Judge

Video Ten at Ten for 1/23/2008

2008-01-23T13:09:00.000-08:00


Gene Loves Jezebel - Love & Desire
John Cougar Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow
XTC - Summer's Cauldron
Dire Straits - So Far Away
INXS - What You Need
Eric Clapton with Tina Turner - Tearing Us Apart
Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene
Timbuk 3 - Hairstyles & Attitudes
Bruce Springsteen - War (BEST OF SET!!)
David Lee Roth - Ladies Night in Buffalo

Gene Loves Jezebel - Love & Desire

John Cougar Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow

XTC - Summer's Cauldron (Sorry, no love from Youtube on this one. There is lots of other good XTC vids on youtube however.)

Dire Straits - So Far Away

INXS - What You Need

Eric Clapton with Tina Turner - Tearing Us Apart

Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene

Timbuk 3 - Hairstyles & Attitudes (Nope, if anyone has this one don't be shy)

Bruce Springsteen - War

David Lee Roth - Ladies Night in Buffalo

As always let me know if you have a source for any missing videos. A big vote of thanks to Dave Morey and KFOG for many years of the ten@ten snapshot of America's musical history.

Video Ten at Ten for 1/22/2008

2008-01-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

Dave Morey got back to me with his blessing on the video ten at ten so I'm gonna rock with this. With no further ado may I present today's list.

01/22/2008 - Tuesday! Big fun in...1975!!

1. Grand Funk - Bad Time
2. War - Low Rider
3. Led Zeppelin - Trampled Underfoot
4. Phoebe Snow - Poetry Man
5. David Bowie - Fascination
6. Sugarloaf - Don't Call Us, We'll Call You (BEST OF SET!!)
7. America - Sister Golden Hair
8. 10cc - Blackmail
9. Spinners - They Just Can't Stop it (Games People Play)
10. Bad Company - Good Lovin' Gone Bad

Grand Funk - Bad Time (Mark Farmer at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk last summer)

War - Low Rider

Led Zeppelin - Trampled Underfoot

Phoebe Snow - Poetry Man

David Bowie - Fascination (I could not find a vid of Bowie performing this.)

Sugarloaf - Don't Call Us, We'll Call You

America - Sister Golden Hair

10cc - Blackmail (Youtube didn't give me any love here. If anybody has this or knows where to find it do let me know.)

Spinners - They Just Can't Stop it (Games People Play)

Bad Company - Good Lovin' Gone Bad

Ok folks thats all for today. My selection process for these vids is pretty much a random walk through what YouTube has to offer. I slightly favor the original video for the song or interesting in concert versions. I am open to suggestions or alternates sources. Youtube happens to be convenient but I am willing to look elsewhere if y'all have good suggestions. Email for Video Ten at Ten only is tenatvideo@yahoo.com

A Video take on KFOG's 10 at 10.

2008-01-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

This is just a little experiment.


1.	Grateful Dead - Althea
2.	Pearl Harbor & the Explosions - Drivin'
3.	Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue
4.	Babys - Back on My Feet Again
5.	Split Enz - I Got You
6.	Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia (BEST OF SET!!)
7.	Donna Summer - The Wanderer
8.	Gary Numan - Cars
9.	Christopher Cross - Sailing
10.	Vapors - Turning Japanese

This morning's set list. Now let us see if we can find the requisite videos. (No Pearl Harbor, sorry. Jane Dornacker we miss you still.)

Grateful Dead - Althea

Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue

Babys - Back on My Feet Again

Split Enz - I Got You

Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia (BEST OF SET!!)

Donna Summer - The Wanderer

Gary Numan - Cars

Christopher Cross - Sailing

Vapors - Turning Japanese

Don Perata Carjacking followup.

2008-01-20T16:34:00.001-08:00

In today's S.F. Chronicle, Matier and Ross lead with a follow up on Don Perata's carjacking. In the story Don indicates that he now has a silver 2007 Crown Victoria. I guess that would be for the undercover cop effect. Mr. Perata has probably been feeling a little heat for his former ride which was a candy apple red Dodge Charger with 22 inch rims. He indicated to Matier and Ross that he leased the Charger off the lot at Connell Dodge and that he payed for half the lease and the state picked up the other half. So we owe Mr. Perata a really tiny apology since he wasn't holding California's taxpayers for the whole bill. Still, not exactly astute thinking on Mr. Perata's part to pick the bling mobile in the first place. It's interesting how politicians who have been in the system for awhile get really blind to public perceptions of their perquisites. Also how offended they get when they are called on their inappropriate behavior. And of course, a little not so gentle probing from Phil Matier would probably get anybody feeling a bit defensive.

Tales of Brave Ulysses. A bit of time travel...

2008-01-17T00:39:00.000-08:00

I always find the story behind the story to be the most interesting story. So here is a little story sliced, diced, and viewed from a few different angles. So first the tale of the making of the tales.

And now a view from back in the day. This clip is from the Smothers Brothers show in 1968. I guess the Mommas and the Poppas weren't the only people into fuzzy hats and vests.

Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton.

That was Cream in sixty eight which leads to Blind Faith in 1969 featuring Steve Winwood's amazing voice, heard here on "Can't Find My Way Home".

Blind Faith one year and one album only. But what an album. OK kids that's all for tonight. Hope you enjoyed it.

Yummy reading reccommendation.

2008-01-16T00:16:00.001-08:00

I used to subscribe to the magazine "Fantasy and Science Fiction" for a number of years. I gave it up when reading it became another nagging should do rather than a joyful exploration of good writing. They now have a website, a sort of a teaser site where a lot of the content is behind a subscription gate. However they do publish some juicy tidbits as free teasers and this issue has a really good one. One of the writers who really influenced my take on the world when I was a teenager was Bruce Sterling. Bruce has just published a long short story or "novella" if you want to be foo foo about it. It is entitled "Kiosk" and is available as a free read at "Fantasy and Science Fiction".
Two cups of coffee should be just about right for reading it (one if you are a slow drinker). This story partakes of the dangers and pitfalls of fabricating people's fantasies in the modern world. Excellent brain food and a good break from reading too much local and national politics.

A tip of the hat to Cory Doctrow via Boing Boing for the hot reading tip.

Depopulation of the open spaces.

2008-01-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

When I was a little nerd reading science fiction in the late sixties and early seventies one of the more chilling themes visited by writers was the depopulation of the open spaces. Typically the story would have all humanity aggregated into super cities and the farms worked by robots with little or no human intervention. I think the aspect of these stories that touched me was the sense of loss of our connection to the planet. Also of the loss of small communities with their quirks, their hopes, their dreams large and small, and their sense of enduring place.

I should note my perspective on this. I am a country kid, born and raised in Ohio. We had goats, chickens, rabbits and a large garden. We roamed the country side on foot and by bike. We were well connected to the land we grew up on. We played in the creek at the edge of the front yard, we swam in the river about a half mile from our house. We built forts and hide outs. We imagined grand mythologies that we played out in the fields and woods surrounding us. We had, even as youngsters, a strong sense of place. A sense that this was a special spot on the face of the planet and that we were lucky to be there.

As I grew older I began to realize how unusual my growing up experience was. Even in the 70's being a kid from a farm or homestead was very rare. And even as I was realizing how unusual my beloved homestead was I was realizing that there was no future for me there. That there was no community of like minded people, no decent employment to be had, and no eduction available beyond high school. If I wanted a non dead end future for myself it would be in the city. My brother and I struggled with this for years, not wanting to let go of our beloved homestead at the same time we realized that there was no future there. Our story is by no means a unique one. It is a part of the greater story of the depopulation of great swathes of the American countryside. A community of any size, large or small, is tasked with providing a future for it's youth if it wants to survive. Small communities in America have been unable to do that and as they become hollowed out by the loss of their youth, they lose their future and begin to become ghost towns. The physical landscape of these places holds stories and memories. Stories of hope and promise, followed by stories of loss, longing, and melancholy. And when the people are gone their stories become ghosts themselves.

Now, on that note I urge you to read a really touching essay and pictorial in the Jan. 2008 issue of National Geographic that covers a piece of this story in N. Dakota. Also you can check Norwegian Immigration, for a bit of history of the forces that drove immigration to these places. This linked essay speaks about immigration to Minnesota but equally applies to next door North Dakota.

In future posts I'll write about some of the things that make a good and vibrant community. We have in Alameda a special place to live. People may arrive in Alameda by accident but they choose to stay because the community offers them something. That something may be hard to quantify or very specific. To close this post, ask yourself why you landed here and what being in Alameda means to you.

io9.com New SCIFI Blog out of S.F.

2008-01-02T02:46:00.000-08:00

A brand new cyber love child has been born for the New Year. Barely a day old it already looks promising as a regular stop whilst wondering the web. Drop by after work and knock back a quick shot of fast forward futurism, go home with something new between your ears. Or maybe you'd prefer a long tall drink of retro 50's rocket fiction. "Is that a little retro nostalgia on your collar darling?"

Edited by AnnaLee Newitz with regular contributions from Kevin Kelly. If you like science fiction new or old you'll like this. www.io9.com/ and you're there. Very much Boing Boing style and layout but different focus. AnnaLee Newitz is very strange (and I mean that in a good way) and I think she will do good things with this.

DON PERATA GETS HIS BLINGMOBILE STOLEN AT GUNPOINT.

2008-01-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

Alameda native and Ca. Senate leader Don Perata was carjacked at gunpoint on Sunday night whilst on his way to deliver a Christmas gift to Oakland politico Ignacio De La Fuente. His chariot of choice was a 2006 Candy apple red Dodge Charger with 22" bling bling rims leased for him with our tax dollars. Don was not harmed and his ride was recovered later near HillTop Mall in Richmond. You can see articles in the L.A. Times, S.F. Chronicle, or the San Jose Mercury for more details. Don did indicate that he might drive something a little more sedate in the future.

Mr. Perata is far from the first politician in California to take flak for their choice of state leased cars. This is an issue that pops up from time to time (mostly on slow news days). This is a widely abused perk that is decades overdue for reform. The basic issue is that if you are a California legislator in either the House or Senate you are entitled to have the state lease a car for you so that you have transportation while you are away from home doing the people's business in Sacramento. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. The issue is that there seems to be no upper end on what you can lease. I won't go through the list of outrageous rides that have been leased over the years because that has been well covered elsewhere. I do think there should be a flat upper limit to what the state lays out for a lease. I'm thinking something on the order of $350 a month plus a mileage allowance would be far more appropriate than the current system. Or perhaps something more radical, that makes a statement, such as getting a fleet lease on a whole raft of Toyota Prius cars. That would be in line with California carbon reduction goals and would be a whole lot more palatable to voters than the current system.

A few unkind words for Mr. Perata to close this post. Although he and I share a party affiliation and basic liberal outlook we don't share much of anything else. Mr. Perata is an old school politician of the, "Bring home the bacon to my district and never met a perk I didn't like variety". Mr. Perata carries with him a cloud of ethically dubious actions that damages what could have been a stellar political career. This is all well documented for anyone who cares to Google the relevant news articles. He is a style of politician that America can simply no longer afford. I am ashamed to say I voted for Mr. Perata several times in the past. That is a lapse of judgement that I will never repeat.

You probably won't see much of this style of rant in my blog but this one really pissed me off.

YEAR END REFLECTIONS

2007-12-31T13:45:00.001-08:00

In the six or so years I've lived in this spot I have always been amazed by the wealth of wildlife in this little corner of Alameda.

This morning while walking el doggo I saw a single Monarch fluttering by. And last night while again walking el doggo I could hear the slow sonorous tones of a frog calling from the vernal pond at Linear Park. He seemed to be broadcasting that all was right in his corner of the world and that was worth comment on his part.

We are regularly overflown by Canadian Geese coming and going in all directions. Sometimes so close you can hear their wing beats. Humming birds every time you turn around. Powerful little life forces and seemingly unafraid of anything. We got mocking birds chasing the cats and while super high on testosterone singing their fool heads off at three am. There are Great Blue Herons who come hunt in the fields next door. They stalk mice and gophers the same way they hunt fish. There are house finches fussing in the back yard. Crows, Red Tail Hawks, Redwing Blackbirds, Blue Jays, Turkey Vultures, and many l.b.b.s (little brown birds) that I can't identify. There are raccoons, possums, rabbits, and the occasional skunk. There are all sorts of butterflys in the summer. It is really cool to watch them come feed on flowers that I planted. There are shorebirds (can't recall the name at the moment) that circle at night and make a plaintive cry in the dark. Lots of life affirmation all around all the time if one is simply aware.

And finally to close the year a little life affirmation from our friend Louis Armstrong. This is a concert clip from BBC-TV dated July 2nd 1968. My best wishes to all for the New Year.

WARRIORS DO IT BACKWARDS AGAIN.

2007-12-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

Conventional basketball wisdom holds that the Warriors should have won at home against Denver and lost to Denver on the road. Home court advantage and all of that. The Warriors of course did it their own way. Friday they struggled mightily to stay in the game with Denver and always looked like they might pull off another comeback win. However, they never managed to put together a string of defensive stops and scoring long enough to get a decent lead on Denver. Allen Iverson had an outstanding game with 39 points. It was a painful game to watch.

Tonight however they were a different team playing in Denver. More hustle, better rebounding, much better defense, and they held Allen Iverson to 13 points. Neither team shot all that well but the Warriors were the masters of their own destiny and it showed. They outscored Denver in the first and fourth quarters and showed how good of a team they can be when they're fired up.

They did much the same thing earlier in the season losing in New Jersey and then winning the following night at Cleveland. Conventional wisdom would have reversed that scenario. At this point they are always interesting to watch (if somewhat painful at times) but very streaky. I'm thinking it is a pretty safe bet that they'll get to the Western Conference playoffs barring injury, acts of god, and so on. However, unless they get a lot more consistent from game to game I think they are going to be in trouble against a steadier team in a best of 7 series. I'd be happy to be proven wrong on that prognostication.

Anyway, there is a lot basketball to be played yet in this season. The Warriors have a serious road trip in front of them. They play at Houston tomorrow night and at Dallas on Wed. Then at home on Fri. against New Orleans and host San Antonio on the following Mon. Should be fun to watch.

FOUNDATION STORIES: Or how it all got started.

2007-12-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was going to write about Rhythmix, our own McArthur winner, and Kiva but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Instead I'll introduce you to our theme music and lay out our foundational myth.

OK, children of love, gather round the glow of your monitors, shut out the cold winter night and let uncle Rog tell you a little tale. Ahh, a little sip from my glass of Rosenblum's "Vin du Ordinaire" and I'll get started. I'm a firm believer that every good creative enterprise should have theme music and a creation myth. In the case of my little blog the two go hand in hand.

Way back in 79 when I escaped from the midwest and moved to OZ (S.F.) I shared an apartment with Richard. Richard had a pretty good album collection and among those albums was the Greatful Dead's "American Beauty". We played that album all the time. I particularly came to like "Box of Rain". It was good winter time music for one thing. It seemed to touch hauntingly on the themes of love and loss, of hope and regret. It ends with the line, "Such a long time to be gone, such a short time to be there." I have always interpreted that line as an admonition to get on with your life and do the things that you really want to do.

It has been a lot of years since I've listened to much Greatful Dead. But a few days ago as I was driving back home on Atlantic, in the rain, "Box of Rain" was playing on the radio. As I listened to the lyrics I thought, "Yes, I'm just going to sit down and start doing that blog." I came home and did just that. That is the power of music for you. So that's my little creation story. Hope you liked it. But wait there's more... I was looking around YouTube for a nice concert clip of "Box of Rain" and I ran across a short two and half minute interview clip with Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter about the writing of the song. Turns out this was written when Phil Lesh's dad was dying of cancer. Check it out, it is well worth two and half minutes of your time. The second clip is of the boys in concert playing the song.

A GOOD PARK... PART TWO

2007-12-28T15:39:00.000-08:00

So, I finally got time to get on the phone to Alameda Parks and Rec. dept today regarding the dead and dying redwood trees (see first post below). I left a message on their repair line and also a voice mail for Dale Lillard who is the director of Parks and Rec. I was expecting not hear back from anybody until the new year. However, about 20 minutes after I left the voice mail Dale called me back. You gotta love this aspect of living in a small town. Good luck getting that kind of response in S.F. or Oakland. Mr. Lillard was very nice and said that they were aware of the problem and were trying to figure out what to do about it. Part of the problem in figuring out what is going on is that there are perfectly healthy trees right next to dying ones. Now some of the dead trees have have just been plain vandalized. For others it is less obvious what is going on. Might be soil contamination that existed when the trees were planted, might be lack of water, might be run off from BayPort construction, might be chemicals being dumped by construction workers, and could be all of the above.

Here is what I do know. There are (or were) 117 redwood trees planted the full length of Linear Park. Of that total 27 are missing, dead, or so far gone that they'll need replaced. " I'm sorry Mr. Redwood your prognosis is not too good, the fact is you're toast Mr. Redwood, dead tree standing and all that jazz." In addition there are about 20 or so other trees that are showing signs of stress. That is they are showing brown tips at their growth points, and lots of yellowing or brown needles. These trees probably will join the dead tree standing club if prompt action is not taken to save them.

Here is where things stand right now. Mr. Lillard indicated that I should get in touch with John McDonald who is their head of maintenance and that Mr. McDonald could arrange to do a walk through of the park with me and fill me in on what they have done and are going to do regarding the redwoods. I left a voice mail for Mr. McDonald who is out of the office until Jan. 2nd. I'm hoping to meet with him by the end of next week or shortly thereafter. I will keep you posted as this moves along.

My feeling is that Parks and Rec. are a little baffled as to what their next steps should be. I also get the feeling that they have not completely investigated the situation to see what is going on. (I could be wrong on that, but I don't think I am.) This is where a little polite citizen action comes into play. Parks and Rec. is pretty responsive to citizen input (the joy of small towns again). If they hear from a few more of us park using, dog walking, bike riding Alamedeans on the subject of taking care of the redwoods in Linear Park... well it should help to focus their attention on solving the problem sooner rather than later.

So, get out to Linear Park and look at the trees for yourself and then let your fingers do the walking. Parks and Rec. Maintenance Line is 510-747-7541. Parks and Rec. head of maintenance is John McDonald at 747-7530. Director of Parks and Rec. is Mr. Dale Lillard at 747-7529. I find that just leaving a voice mail works very well. It gets your point across and keeps it short and sweet. Also it means that you can call when it is convenient for you rather than trying to make time during office hours to call.

Ca. Primary voter guide arrives.

2007-12-27T01:02:00.001-08:00

Oy Vey!! I could have waited a few more days before having this show up in my mailbox. I really don't want to start thinking politics the frigging day after Xmas. Maybe I'll just slide it under the mail pile for a few days before I start reading it.

Besides all the presidential stuff there are several big money constitutional changing measures for California. My prediction is that no matter what the outcome of the vote these measures will move immediately to the court system.

I'll be voting from the comfort of my couch again this year. Ahh... I can see it now. A little fresh popped popcorn, a Warriors game on the tube, and big pile of election literature as I try to figure out what these constitutional amendments really mean. But seriously, registering for an absentee ballot was the smartest thing I've ever done as a voter. It really takes a lot of the stress out of voting. I highly recommend it to everyone. And here is the real beauty of it. Even if you don't get your ballot into the mail on time you can still vote from the comfort of your own home and drop your absentee ballot off at your polling place. No waiting in line, no filling out the ballot in somebody's cold garage.

A GOOD PARK SLOWLY GOES DOWNHILL.

2007-12-26T19:47:00.000-08:00

I live in a very interesting part of Alameda. Parts of my neighborhood include lots of open space, abandoned housing, an organic nursery, an award winning winery, Coast Guard housing, and Linear Park. Linear Park is the subject of today's post. I've lived near Linear Park for over six years now and in that time seen it slowly take on the shabbiness of long term neglect.

For those of you who are not familiar with the park it runs for approximately a half mile next to Main St. beginning at Atlantic Ave. and ending at Singleton Ave. It is about 115 feet wide give or take a little. The park has "good bone structure", whoever originally designed the park had a good vision and it was well realized in the construction of the park. The park invites you to stretch your legs, jog, walk your dog, ride your bike and get a little fresh air in your lungs. It is a well used park. I walk my dog there almost every day. I see joggers, bikers, kids coming from or going to school, moms with strollers, and kids on skateboards. What I also see is a park that is being very poorly maintained.

One of the features of the park is a half mile row of redwood trees at the back edge of the park that defines the border of park with adjacent Coast Guard housing and Bay Port housing. At least it used to be a feature. Now it appears to be an exercise in how to slowly kill a redwood tree. It is not a pretty sight. About two dozen of the trees are either dead or flat out missing. Most of the rest of the trees between Atlantic and Willie Stargell Ave. are showing signs of stress. This time of year healthy redwoods should be showing new green growth both at the leading tip and the points of the branches. In Linear Park I see lots of brown on the leading tips and branch points. It seems likely that the watering system got damaged at some point and the trees are no longer getting watered. Nobody in Parks and Rec. seems to have noticed. It takes an extended period without water for a redwood to show as much stress as these trees are showing.

Now generally I really like Alameda Parks and Rec., they are one of the organizations that makes Alameda a great city to live in. However, in this instance they are really asleep at the switch. So, fellow citizens of Alameda help me to wake them up. Pick up your phone and make the call. 510-747-7542 is the number for Parks and Rec. maintenance requests. Also it wouldn't hurt to call and leave a voice mail for the Director of Parks and Rec., Mr. Dale Lillard. The main office number is 510-747-7529 and the receptionist can put you through to his voice mail. Be polite, but let them know you like your parks to be fully maintained and taken care of not just sorta maintained.

Now in closing let me encourage you to get out and see Linear Park for yourself. The stressed out redwoods are unfortunately just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are many things wrong with this park that can only be fixed if you, me and other Alameda folks demand that they be fixed. I'll be revisiting this topic in future posts to cover the other things gone wrong in Linear Park. I'll also be posting a few pix. to illustrate what I'm talking about