Deborah Richman's Blog – January 2009 Archive (17)

The new city administration, your takes?

Well, now we have the news on all of Dellum's appointments. Here are the appointment and my takes.

-Dan Lindheim as Oakland's next city administrator - Boy, it's hard to say if this guy really has the chops, folks are already saying thumbs down. I say progress if we can get real budget done, we'll see.

-Former Oakland budget director Marianna Marysheva-Martinez as assistant city administrator. - Anyone know her record? She did budgeting, but not sure how… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 30, 2009 at 12:00am — 1 Comment

How One Montclarion Reacted to Dellums Speech

Here's the reaction from Jim Dexter about the Dellums speech. Jim oversees the North Hills Safety Group, north of Thornhill. I am not nearly as patient or trusting as Jim! What do you think?

Re: [montclairsic] Dellums "State of the City" -- hopes and dreams, not plans

While I feel that Dellums did a poor job of defining the 'State of the City', I feel that he may have done an even more important role of defining what vision we should be reaching for in our… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 28, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Attend OPD Citywide Community Policing Mtg - Wed at 6:30pm

If you are interested in learning about community policing from the deputy police chief, then join other interested Montclarions to learn more. Here are details.

From: Nicholas Vigilante

Subject: Deputy Chief Kozicki To Address Present & Future of Community Policing in Oakland

Hello Everyone,

There will be a Neighborhood Watch Steering Committee Meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2009, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, in… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 26, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

Is Mail Delivery A Problem For You?

There's chatter about the success or failure of local mail carriers. Nick Vigilante, who chairs the Montclair SIC crime prevention team, is asking whether this should be a priority - which means he will raise it with the Oakland Postmaster. Leave a message for him at crimeprevention@montclairsic.org.

Added by Deborah Richman on January 25, 2009 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Yelp Reviews For Montclair

The Yelp Reviews for Montclair are pretty useful, though it would be great if there were comments about more places to eat and shop. It seems like the most popular spots receive the most reviews.

I'm thinking about running surveys (on Today in Montclair, 94611) about different businesses, and then putting the results into the Yelp listings. Would that… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 24, 2009 at 6:34pm — No Comments

PG&E Working To Restore Power

Power was out for 4000 customers.

I was driving through dark intersections, with light out at Thornhill-Moraga and Thornhill-Mountain intersections. This was after 8pm or so.

Heard that Piedmont Pines back on, but Shepherd Canyon's still black.

Per Nick Vigilante, from Montclair SIC, "PGE says there are about 900 who still don't have power. Estimated time for correction by 11:00pm."

On a dark and rainy night, electricity would be… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 22, 2009 at 10:00pm — 1 Comment

NYTimes - Every Single Inaugural Address For Illiterates!

Hey, I just noticed this fun feature.

You can scroll over each president and see the most important words associated with their inaugural addresses. The tag cloud gives you a sense of what's changed, sort of, from Washington through Bush.

Of… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 20, 2009 at 12:50am — No Comments

How many are football couch potatoes?

Okay, how many of you are football couch potatoes today? Double or single potatoes, given the two games? Curious!

Added by Deborah Richman on January 18, 2009 at 2:19pm — No Comments

Friendly Reminder - Celebrate Inaugural At Womens' Club

I happen to think the Inaugural is something worth celebrating with neighbors.

If you have nothing planned, then dress up and attend the Ball for Obama supporters at the Women's Club. All the event info is here.

Otherwise, ask a few friends over and turn on the tube - even if its just CNN looping in the background.

This is an event we'll want to remember for the next generations, I think.… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 16, 2009 at 11:37am — No Comments

A couple strangers harassing Moraga/Estates folks lately

The folks south of 13 have been on the short end of the stick.

This week alone...one guy was knocking on doors, and he/his buddy were effectively casing homes and later robbing them. Really bad timing for one poor homeowner who arrived mid-burglary. These guys pulled a gun on him and made him lie down until they finished stealing the goods and departed in a nice, black SUV suburban.

Today...there were a few solicitors in the same general area who acted very strangely. One… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 14, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Wish that George had been rescued here

Added by Deborah Richman on January 10, 2009 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

One Block Off the Grid

Forwarding this request from Dean, on Snake Road.

Dear Neighbors,

I've been following "One Block Off the Grid" for a few months after reading an article about them in the Chronicle. I've also spoken with one of the guys who works there a couple of times and I'm impressed with what they're doing.

It's an organization that has worked with different 'neighborhoods' to negotiate discounts for solar installations for their homes. Basically, individuals are… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 10, 2009 at 8:11am — No Comments

Miss The Free Street Parking

No more holidays in the Village, and I miss the free street parking already. I did get the parking coupon from the machine, and inserted it on my dashboard. Unfortunately I underestimated the time for errands, and received my post-holiday gift: a parking ticket. From what I can tell, I'm out $75 for an hour's worth of parking. Ugh.

Added by Deborah Richman on January 7, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Need more guys for quick health survey

Well, many females responded and participated in the How Healthy Are Montclarions? survey from a few days ago.

Where are the guys? Please participate (click here) and answer multiple choice questions about eating, exercise, TV and computer use. It's a very short survey, really.

Thanks in advance for your… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 6, 2009 at 12:05pm — No Comments

There are no yeggs in Montclair

Is this really true? Given our interest in the various ways burglars can hit Montclair homes, I just wonder.

Definition: yegg \yeg\, noun:- a burglar who robs safes; safecracker

"A train robber is better than a public yegg" has been the campaign slogan of A.L. Jennings, train robber and member of the famous Dalton gang, who was nominated in today's primaries for County Attorney over a half dozen opponents.

- New York Times, 1912-08-08

P.S. I… Continue

Added by Deborah Richman on January 3, 2009 at 6:19am — No Comments

Not bad, over two dozen so far...

Thanks for joining, during this initial and slow week.

We haven't exactly been promoting the network, but I have received messages from most of you about the need to share locally.

Anyone can use the "blog" tab to post comments to all - and encourage you to do so.

It's nice to have this common ground.

Added by Deborah Richman on January 1, 2009 at 9:17pm — No Comments

To the new year

We don't see anything live, just the tape-delayed NYC celebration now.

Saw this three hours ago, on CNN as well.

Love Bill and Hilary hugging and dancing, hhmm.

Hope some of you went to celebrate, somewhere locally.

Added by Deborah Richman on January 1, 2009 at 12:01am — No Comments