combo
 
 Runners of the half-Marathon crossing finish line on Broadway and Telegraph
in Oakland's First Annual Marathon
Reports
City Council Considers How to Close Budget Gap - April 29
Crime Down in Oakland
Update on Weekend No Parking Zone on Lakeshore Ave Next to Lake
Lake Merritt Water Quality Improvements
Residential Disabled Blue Zone Renewal
Rebuilding Together Oakland Needs Volunteers!
Oakland Vies to Become Google's Ultra High-Speed Internet Test Site
Franklin Recreation Center 2010 Spring & Summer Programs
Oakland Parks Coalition Honors Six District 2 Volunteers
Events
Sunday, April 4 Community Easter Events at Franklin Recreation Center and Bella Vista Park
Sunday, April 4 Grand Avenue Clean-up
Tuesday, April 6 BART Holds Community Meetings to Outreach to Under-Represented Groups to Help Improve Fare and Service Policies
Saturday, April 10 Fairyland Celebrates Arbor Day
Saturday, April 10 CANCELLED: Monthly Morcom Rose Garden Work Party - Come on Earth Day, April 17 Instead
Wednesday, April 14 Oakland EarthEXPO 2010, an Environmental Fair at Frank Ogawa Plaza
Wednesday, April 14 Visioning the Future: Chinatown and Area Surrounding Lake Merritt BART Station -- A Community Meeting
Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday until April 15 (Tax Due Date) Free Tax Preparation Services (VITA) Offered by EBALDC
Saturday, April 17

Earth Day - 40th Anniversary Celebration. Clean It! Green It! Mean It! at Park Locations

Thursday, April 22 and Wednesday, April 28 Two Neighborhood-Specific Meetings regarding Proposed Residential and Commercial Re-zoning
Saturday, April 24 School Yard Sprucing at Edna Brewer Middle School
Saturday, April 24 5th Annual CORE Citywide Emergency Response Functional Exercise
Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 Grand Re-Opening of the Transformed Oakland Museum of California: 31 Hours of Celebration
Thursday, May 6 Community Workshops on the Draft Energy and Climate Action Plan (ECAP)
Friday, May 14 4th Annual Oakland Indie Awards Celebrating Social & Environmental Impact of Oakland's Independent Business & Artists - Ticket Purchase Required
Monday, May 17 Citywide Zoning Update Community Workshop on Draft Citywide Zoning Changes, Maps
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City Council Considers How to Close Budget Gap - April 29

Tax revenues to the City are coming in even lower than previously projected. As a result, the General Fund budget for next fiscal year (starting July 1, 2010--three months from now) is a staggering $43 million out of balance. The Council will be making decisions this month and next for how to close that gap. There was a Special Budget Hearing on April 1 (which will be re-broadcast on cable Channel 10 on Sunday morning, April 4) and another one scheduled for April 29.

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Crime Down in Oakland

Here is welcome news on a very important topic: The number of serious crimes in Oakland has been steadily decreasing for the past year. Take a look at this chart which compares the first three months of 2010 with the first three months of 2009. It is wonderful to see this significant drop in crime after the previous three years of constantly high levels. Much appreciation to OPD, which has in my opinion played a large role in this improvement.

Though the overall numbers are coming down, crime is still a reality in some areas. My office continues to communicate closely with community members and the Police to keep our neighborhoods safe.

Update on Weekend No Parking Zone on Lakeshore Ave Next to Lake

Two weeks ago, I sent out an email survey regarding the No Parking zone for weekend and holiday afternoons that exists on Lakeshore Avenue next to Lake Merritt. The No parking zone was instituted over 20 years ago due to nuisance behavior associated with cruising and partying on weekend afternoons. Those issues have not been present for many years, so Councilmember Nadel and I wanted to find out if people would like to keep or remove that No Parking zone. Almost 400 people responded and 79% of those said they would like the No Parking zone to be removed.

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Lake Merritt Water Quality Improvements

Measure DD, the Oakland Trust for Clean Water and Safe Parks bond, passed in 2002, is the source of most of the funding for the improvements underway around Lake Merritt. Another major aim of Measure DD was to improve water quality. The Environmental Protection Agency had listed the lake as an impaired water body because of floatable trash and low dissolved oxygen. The latter creates anaerobic conditions on the bottom of the lake that are inhospitable to aquatic life. While fortunately an impaired water body is not a toxic clean-up situation, it does need to be addressed. Those are the water quality indicators that are being addressed by the Measure DD-funded improvements.

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Residential Disabled Blue Zone Renewal
 
Currently, the City is renewing Residential Disabled Parking Zone (RDPZ) applications. Renewal letters were mailed on March 8, 2010 to more than 500 residences where a RDPZ (blue zone) was installed on the curb more than two years ago. If you received a renewal form, then you must submit the completed form and required documentation to the City's Transportation Services Division by May 9, 2010 or your blue zone may be removed. The RDPZ renewal process will result in the removal of blue zones only if the original applicant fails to show that he/she continues to meet basic eligibility criteria.

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Rebuilding Together Oakland Needs Volunteers!
 
It's time for all good volunteers to sign up for a date in April to help out your community members in need. RTO is seeking recruits for the following dates:

� Saturday April 3
� Saturday April 10
� Sunday April 11
� Saturday April 17
� Sunday April 18

RTO provides free home repairs for low income seniors and disabled persons living in Oakland. They need skilled as well as unskilled volunteers on all workdays at all sites.
RTO provides morning snack, lunch and a tee shirt for all volunteers. Please bring your own refillable water bottles as we will not be handing out plastic water bottles.

Please respond to Rachel Matthews here at your earliest convenience with:
� headcount
� date you are available
� home repair skills if any of you or anyone else in your group

Please request a minor waiver if you have students who are ages14-17. All student groups must provide one adult (parent or teacher only) for every five volunteers.
For more information, please contact Rachel Matthews.

Oakland Vies to Become Google's Ultra High-Speed Internet Test Site

The City of Oakland joined about 600 other communities nationwide recently in a spirited competition for the privilege of becoming a test-site for Google's experimental ultra high-speed broadband networks. With speeds more than 100 times faster than the typical consumer-grade broadband connection, the ultra-fast fiber is intended to stimulate the development of new applications and innovations not currently possible with existing bandwidth. Google's intent is to see just how communities will use virtually unbridled Internet bandwidth.

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Franklin Recreation Center 2010 Spring & Summer Programs

Youth Soccer (Spring): For girls and boys grades 2 - 5. Fundamentals of Soccer. Focus on teamwork, character building, and skill building. Soccer runs April 13 - May 19. Cost: $30

Spring Day Camp: April 5 through April 9. While Schools are closed for Spring Break, Franklin Rec is OPEN. Program Hours: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Monday through Friday. Ages 5 & up. Cost: $70 (includes field trip)

Summer Day Camp: "OPR SUMMER CAMP EXPLOSION" begins June 21 through August 20. Program Hours: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Monday through Friday. Kids will participate in various developmental & fun activities, go on field trips, go swimming, and more! Ages 5 &up. Cost: $75 per week (includes field trips)

FREE SUMMER LUNCH: We will be serving FREE lunches to children and youth up to 18 years old each day, Monday through Friday 12:00 pm to1:00 pm at Franklin Rec Center. Beginning June 21 through August 20.

 
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Oakland Parks Coalition Honors Six District 2 Volunteers

I recognized six District 2 volunteers at the 2010 Volunteer Appreciation Evening, hosted by the Oakland Parks Coalition and co-sponsored with the City's Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful. The annual event salutes all the volunteers who toil to clean and green their neighborhood parks and medians and highlights a few each year for special recognition. These are the six volunteers from District 2 who were honored:

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