Serving the neighborhoods from Fruitvale Avenue to Seminary Avenue and from Foothill Boulevard to Warren Freeway since 1989Volume 20 Number 6 August 2008

A Nonprofit Community Newspaper • www.macarthurmetro.org

Keith Carson, Amy Graybeal, Ronile Lahti, Leonard Montalvo Intervention Agency, Winifred McKee, Marilyn Miller,Margaret Strom, Tarpoff & Talbert

You, too, can become a friend of the Metro. See page 2.

Your support helps keep the Metro alive! Become one of the Thousand Friends.

Post Office Box 19046, Oakland, California 94619 • (510) 287-2655

elf-described as “a searcherfor her whole life,“ MaggieDorsey found her way

when she returned to the Laurelafter raising her children inOrinda. Thrilled to return to thecity of her childhood, she dis-covered The Oakland Center forSpiritual Living (OCSL). Thefirst time she walked throughthe door, she realized “I amhome.” The Center, sparked alarger spiritual journey for her.“We really believe in universalprinciples that are divine andspiritual principles that are uni-versal. So we have people fromall backgrounds, raised in alldifferent kinds of religions.”

Because of her lengthy workhistory and experience withbusiness and finance at PacificBell, Maggie began running herown emergency communicationcompany. While doing COREtraining, she heard about a class

on critical incident stress man-agement training. She wanted towork locally with emergency re-sponders and help them “havea space to process after a criticalincident.” During the first dayof training, while watching avideo about the Oklahoma Citybombing and a chaplain whowas doing a debriefing, Maggierecalls “Right then and there Igot my calling. I saw myself asa chaplain and a minister doingchaplaincy and crisis interven-tion and trauma work.”

She took the path of reli-gious study and became a li-censed Religious Science Practi-tioner. While currently servingas both Treasurer of OCSL andas a chaplain with the OaklandFire Department, she continueson her path to becoming a min-ister at Holmes Institute of Reli-gious Science. But Maggie doesnot see herself as a pulpit minis-ter. Her passion is pastoral care.

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From Finances to Faith—the Journey of Chaplain Maggie Dorsey

he Laurel District As-sociation proudly in-vites you to attend our

annual Laurel Street Fest.On Saturday, August 9,from 1 to 6 p.m.,MacArthur Blvd. willtransform into an amazingpedestrian-only zone from35th Avenue to 38th Av-enue. The Laurel StreetFest will feature two stages

Rocking out at the 20083rd Annual Laurel Summer

Solstice Music Festival.

More photos on page 5.

Laurel Street Fest

Maggie Dorsey—ready for the call. cont inued on page 4

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with live music, gourmetfood, and booths with over70 vendors. Kid’s Worldwill have games, pony rides,a petting farm, bumper cars,rock climbing, and plenty offamily fun activities. Pleasetake this opportunity to sup-port and explore your localLaurel Business District,showcasing over 90 retail,service, and food establish-ments. Shop Local. ShopLaurel.

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Bumper cars at last year’s Laurel Street Fest.

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Laurel Neighborhood News

Senior HousingProject Sinks

On May 30, 2008, AMG &Associates withdrew its applica-tion to construct a senior hous-ing project at High Street andMacArthur Boulevard. Aftersubmitting a permit applicationin August 2006, the developersought city approval to constructan affordable senior housing

project on the vacant parcels ofthe former Roberts Tires, LaurelLiquors, and PG&E substation.

The proposed project re-quired several conditional usepermits and variances to buildhousing with parking on parcelszoned for commercial and retailuses in a building taller andmore dense than current zoningwould allow.

For two years the developermaintained that site contamina-tion had been removed. Thisled the city to grant the project acategorical exemption from the

California Environmental Qual-ity Act (CEQA). According to thecase planner, Robert Merkamp,“this excused the project fromundergoing an EnvironmentalImpact Report (EIR).” An EIRrecords the scope of theapplicant’s proposal and ana-lyzes all its known environmen-tal effects. It can recommendcostly mitigation measuresor even denial of a project.

On February 20, 2008, theOakland Planning Commissionapproved the project. The

Pilgrim Lutheran Church’s Little Pilgrim Preschool and Daycare program celebrates its 20th anniversary this monthwith a service on August 24 at 10 a.m. All students, alumni, and their families are invited to the service and thepotluck that follows. For more information, call 531-3715, or go to www.pilgrimlutherans.org.

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2August 2008

HOT NUMBERSPUBLIC AGENCIES

ABAT—the Alcoholic 777-8670Beverage Action Team

Graffiti hotline 238-4703

Abandoned cars 238-6030

O.P.D. Non-emergency 777-3333

Animal control 535-5602

Beat Health (drugs) 777-8630

Crime Stoppers 238-6946

Drug Hotline 238-DRUG

Public Works 615-5566

Truancy Tip Line 879-8172

Noise Hotline: 238-6777(Oakland CEDA,property complaint line)

C.O.R.E. 238-6351(Citizens of OaklandRespond to Emergencies)

City Tree Unit 615-5850

Oaklanders Assistance 444-CITYCenter can direct you tothe appropriate governmentalservices in Oakland.

PRIVATE AGENCIES

A Safe Place 536-7233(domestic violence)

East Bay Community 548-2377Mediation (neighborhood disputes)

Sentinel Fair Housing 836-2687(free landlord-tenant counselingand discrimination investigation)

Managing EditorSheila D’AmicoCopy EditorsAnne FoxEmily DoskowDiane StoneFinances/BookkeepingReuben GoldbergAdvertising ManagerKrista GulbransenArt DirectorAndreas JonesWord ProcessingBaby DjojonegoroPhotographyNick Lostracco, Jody BerkeBryan Farley, Nikki MortimerDistributionPeter BondMailingGloria WilmerCalendarMarilyn GreenFriends and Money HoneysGloria WilmerEditor EmeritusToni Locke

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Board of DirectorsReuben GoldbergMarcia HenryBrian HolmesJudith OfferErnest VillafrancaBart Wright�

A special thanks to allresidents, associations, andmerchants for their support.

Also, a special thanks to allvolunteer writers, artists,photographers, and distributors.

Printing by Wesco Graphics, Inc.,Tracy, California, (209) 832-1000.Opinions expressed in the MacArthurMetro are those of the contributorsand do not necessarily reflect theviews held by the publication.©2008 by the MacArthur Metro,P.O. Box 19046, Oakland, CA 94619,www.macarthurmetro.org,(510) 287-2655.

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deadline the 15th.

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How to Reachthe Metro

WRITE US A LETTER. Sendyour comments to Lettersto the Editor, MacArthurMetro, P.O. Box 19046,Oakland, CA 94619; or tometroreaders@earthlink.net

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Letters may be edited forlength or clarity. Please in-clude name, address andphone number. We do notprint anonymous letters.

GDIWTSHTSBAFHITA

emember that scene inthe movie Casablanca,when Claude Raines’

character has to close downRick’s Cafe? He utters one ofthe movie’s memorable quotes,“I’m shocked, shocked to findthat gambling is going on inhere.” Before the words arecompletely out of Raines’mouth, the croupier interrupts,hands Raines a roll fo bills, andsays, “Your winnings, sir.”

Earlier this summer, whenthe reaction began to comedown to reports that the CityAdministrator had questioneda police officer who was in theprocess of towing her nephew’scar and that she made or threat-ened to make a telephone call tothe officer’s superior, I felt thatI was watching a modern ver-sion of that Casablanca scene.

Putting aside for themoment the very serious accu-sations that the City Adminis-trator may have interfered witha police investigation, I won-dered, what exactly was caus-ing all the surprised reactionto the telephone call? Isn’t theability to pick up the telephoneand call someone you know inhigh places the ultimate perk?Or is it networking run amok?Have we created a climatewhere you have to know some-one to solve a problem or geta job? Have we made a shamof civil service in favor of some-one we know putting in a wordfor us, moving us through theprocess? Have we created ascenario where the “usualsuspects” continuously cyclethrough all the elected and im-portant appointed positions?

As we look into the work-ings of the city, it is beginningto look as though we havecreated a mess. Possiblenepotism—enough to cause

EDITORIAL

B Y S H E I L A D ’ A M I C O the auditor and the city attor-ney to propose new regulationson hiring. Possible faulty bud-get figures. The appearanceof election irregularities in amail-in vote. A city seeminglyin the grip of an unsolvablehomicide epidemic.

It will be interesting tosee how our elected officialsand others in high places dealwith this crisis. Meanwhile,the people keep on going.The Maxwell Park communityorganizes to create a morefriendly eponymous park.Melrose High Hopes workstoward a solution to illegalsideshows. Redwood Heightscreates an urban park. Dimondrevitalizes an NCPC and givesit a new name more in keepingwith neighborhood goals. Lau-rel participates in an interna-tional music festival and a des-tination community street fair.Leona neighbors rally to sup-port a Metro writer and helphim gather information to com-municate neighborhood storiesto the greater community.

Hundreds of ordinarypeople speak out on neighbor-hood listservs. They communi-cate with neighbors oneverything from the city crisisto criminal activity to loosedogs to notification of govern-ment meetings to exchangingtheater or sports tickets.

The people, especially whenorganized, know the questionsto ask. When elected officialsand appointees listen andacknowledge community wis-dom, it can be the “beginningsof a beautiful friendship.”

CorrectionOur thanks to Hadley Loudenfor writing two Gardencolumns while Adina Sarawas away, and apologiesfor misspelling his name.

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Love the MacArthur Metro? Want to help it reach its 7,000readers? We are seeking volunteers to be members of ourDistribution Team.

Must be available from two to six hours around the first ofthe month.

Email the editor at Metroreaders@ earthlink.net or leavea message on voice mail at 287-2655.

Help with MetroDistribution

our neighborhood creekgroup, the Friends ofSausal Creek, is hard

at work. We have several newrestoration projects under wayin Dimond Park and a renova-tion in the works at our nativeplant nursery in Joaquin MillerPark, where we’ll be hostinga plant sale and open housein October.

In Dimond Park weplan to spruce up the gardensaround the Tot Lot and de-velop a natural lawn of nativeplants—an example of a lawnthat can survive our dry sea-sons without extra watering.With this year’s drought andlimited water supplies, thisis a timely project.

Under our proposal,some 700 square feet of kikuyugrass, a species of Africangrass that crawls into thegarden and overpowers nativeplants, could be replaced witha demonstration of nativeplants that are suggested forlawn alternatives.

Our efforts in DimondPark also include restoringthe creek banks in the Tot Lotarea to remove encroachingnon-native invasive Cape Ivy,a plant that arrived about sixyears ago and threatens tosmother our other plantings.Creekside restoration alsomeans increasing accessibilityfor the kids who use this pub-lic space, so they can have asafe experience playing in theclear water of Sausal Creek.

This restoration work

requires the planting of nativeplants, all of which we growat our native plant nursery inJoaquin Miller Park. FOSC iscurrently engaged in the firststages of a nursery face-lift,brought about by the needto upgrade our aging shadestructure.

Eight years ago we quicklyconstructed a nursery to pro-vide for our needs in whatwas then a significant restora-tion in Dimond Canyon. Sincethen, the wooden poles ofthe shade house and thepropagation area have begunto decompose. We are aboutto replace them with cementand galvanized steel. We aretaking advantage of theserepairs to redesign the nurseryto allow FOSC to maximizeits plant propagation. In all,this renovation will cost about$40,000.

FOSC is beginning toreplace the shade structurethis summer and plans forits completion by October, justin time for our fall Plant Saleand Open House on SundayOctober 26, 2008. If you wouldlike more information orcan donate money to theseprojects, contact our executivedirector Sara Marcellino atcoordinator@sausalcreek.orgor 510-501-3672. We wouldgreatly appreciate andrecognize your donation.

As you can see, theFriends of Sausal Creek isnot letting any moss growunder our feet. We are movingahead, making our collectivewatershed the best it can be.Please come out and join us.

Friends of Sausal Creek

B Y M A R K J . R A U Z O N ,F O S C B O A R D P R E S I D E N T

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Stop the Sideshows The Melrose High-Hopes NCPCis tired of screeching tires, loudmusic and even gunfire at mid-night, so neighbors are focusingon stopping sideshow activityin Beat 27X. The project began atthe June meeting with groupsof neighbors identifying prob-lems and solutions and draftingcommunications. City officials,the DMV, and the OPD wereasked to respond. Watch forthe results in future columns.

It’s Our Town/Slow It Down

For a long time I had a bumpersticker on my door at work. Itread “It’s Our Town/Slow ItDown.” Early in July I learnedhow to use a tool that could sup-port that goal. Thanks to MichaelJohnson of Councilmember JeanQuan’s office, I found myself in aclassroom at the Eastmont policestation learning about the historyof radar, a little of how it works,and how to use it to measurethe speed of vehicles. PoliceOfficer Daniel Tirapelli, theTraffic Division’s expert, walkedus through braking distances,the Doppler principle, laws, andhow to use a radar gun. Thenwe gathered outside to try it out.After training, a team of threevolunteers can measure speed,log the entries, and make surethat the operation is safe. Radarvolunteers can’t issue tickets, sowe give the license plates andspeed to the OPD, which sendsout a letter reminding the driversto slow down—and promisingmore enforcement.

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High Street Neighborhood News

Back to Evolving SchoolsThe new school year brings oneschool a new name, another anopportunity. The school thatemerged from incubation is nowofficially “Maxwell Park Interna-tional Academy.” A mixture ofold and new staff and students,the new school will be lookingfor volunteers to help out. Mean-while, at Melrose LeadershipAcademy, approval of the planto grow the middle school at theold Sherman school site into aK-8 Spanish/English immersionschool has brought excitementand renewed commitment tothe work ahead.

Good-Bye to Rev. Sallyat the Jazz Vespers

We were drawn into the JazzVespers at High Street Presbyte-rian Church by mellow music.By the end of the service KatParra and her jazz trio had takenus on a desert caravan, presentedmusic full of energy, and finallybrought the audience into the

performance. The music de-lighted the audience, but thistime the church had a bitter-sweet aura. It was the Rev. SallyJuarez’ last service. Rev. Sallyhas become a moving force inthe community as well as thechurch. Her passion for socialjustice, particularly for youngpeople, sparked a like responseamong the church’s High StreetNeighbors. Sally is off to Mexicoto join her daughter’s family.We wish her well and hope ourpaths cross again.

The next Jazz Vespers willbe Sunday, August 31, at 5 p.m.,followed by food and fellowshipin the social hall.

Melrose BranchReads Up a Storm

The Melrose Branch Libraryhad a banner summer readingprogram. More than 400 young-sters from elementary schoolthrough teenage years curledup with books. They receivedgifts from finger puppets,coupons, and books to chancesin raffles. Drop in or call535-5623 for information onthe remaining summer pro-grams.

A blood red sunriseHazy skies turning blue-greyA thousand fires ——————————————Adelle Foley can be reached atjandafoley@sbcglobal.net.

he hot weather we’vehad off and on this sum-mer has brought several

things to our lives. First,there’s the challenge of simplykeeping cool and comfortable.Second, there are the water-usage restrictions we have tokeep in mind or pay for dearlythrough our water bills. Next,there’s minimizing the firedanger around our homesby cutting out overgrownvegetation. We expect theOakland Fire Department tocome through Leona Heightson their annual inspectionany day now.

On a personal note, myfamily has noticed severaladditions to the animal herdhere at our home. In additionto our two cats, who daily canbe found loafing around thedriveway, we now have araccoon and two skunks whomake themselves at home ei-ther sniffing around, or in theraccoon’s case, lying around,as if they own the place. Andyes, I said the raccoon is lyingaround. She’s young andclearly enjoys the company of

B Y G O R D O N L A V E R T Ythe cats and has adopted theirbehaviors, lying around onlyfeet from where they are. We’venever seen anything like it.

In other news, EBMUD hasapparently completed the bulkof the work on Leona Streetwith the installation of thenew pipeline. Travel on LeonaStreet was a little more bumpythan usual, but we expect thelong-awaited paving job by theCity of Oakland to be startedsoon, and we all are lookingforward to that.

Also, we’re grateful to ourLeona Heights security blockcaptains who recently met.Their organization should helpwith a number of issues, andit would be in our best interestto support them. And, in thatvein, I appreciate all the storyideas that have come in toincrease the neighborhood’sparticipation in the contentof this column. This column’shere for you to learn all youcan and share all you care toabout our great neighborhood.Your thoughts are alwayswelcome, and you can feelfree at any time to send themto me at Lavertyhillmob@sbcglobal.net.

Leona HeightsNeighborhood News

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Jazz Vespers at High Street Presbyterian Church with Kat Parra and her jazz trio.

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New Principal to be NamedRedwood Heights School bidsa fond farewell to principalAnn Kruze and looks forwardto welcoming a new principalfor the fall.

Kruze accepted a positionwith Oakland Unified SchoolDistrict to coordinate instruc-tional technology programsthroughout the district. Herleadership and contributions

to RHS are greatly appreciated.The school and neighborhoodcommunity wish her successin her new work on behalf oflocal schools.

In July, the RHS PrincipalSelection Committee wasformed. The committee hasbeen facilitating the interviewprocess with OUSD and willrecommend a new principal forthe school. Committee membersinclude four RHS parents,three RHS teachers, two RHSclassified employees, and one

Redwood HeightsNeighborhood News

B Y D E N I S E D A V I L A

RH community member.RHS parents have sup-

ported the committee by identi-fying the qualities and skillsthey would like a new adminis-trator to possess, including theability to work with a diversestudent, family, and community

population; foster and supportgood teaching practices andprograms; and advocate forRHS at the district level.

The Metro looks forwardto introducing the new RHSprincipal to readers in anup-coming edition.

4August 2008

PauletteAvery,

R.N., M.S.N.,I.B.C.L.C.

To Your Health

ith apologies to thelucky readers whosleep well, I’m devot-

ing this and next month’s col-umn to those who don’t. Sincea poll last year by the NationalSleep Foundation found that67 percent of American womensurveyed report having troublesleeping, and many men alsosuffer from sleep disorders,the majority of readers shouldfind this information of interest.

I’m taking a personal ap-proach this time because I’vedealt with sleep problems formany years, and recently it be-came essential that I find some-thing safe and effective to helpme sleep. A few years ago whenmy insomnia began to interferesignificantly with my life, mydoctor prescribed a sleep medi-cation for me. It worked great!I fell asleep quickly and wokein the morning without any un-pleasant side effects. Gradually,I found it wasn’t working aswell. I’d get to sleep fine, butawaken four to five hours laterand have trouble returning tosleep. That problem was atleast partially solved when themedication became availablein a time-release formulation.I could get to sleep and stayasleep. But as my insomniacontinued and then worsened,I found myself taking it almostevery night. When I requested arefill, my doctor expressed con-cern that I might be developinga tolerance to the drug and sug-gested I try something else. Atabout the same time, I saw a re-port on TV about people becom-ing addicted to this medication,despite the drug company’s as-surance that it is not addictive.It was time to find another way.

My doctor told me that sev-eral of her patients had foundanother prescribed medicationhelpful for sleep problems. Itwas an antidepressant with theside effect of sleepiness andwithout the problem of addic-tion. With some reluctance, Idecided to try it. It didn’t workfor me until I took the full dose

of two pills. Then I did sleepbetter, but I also had a drymouth and felt headachy. Thatwas tolerable, but when I hadan episode of light-headedness(another possible side effect)one morning after taking theantidepressant the night before,I decided it was not the rightchoice for me.

I asked my doctor for areferral to a sleep specialist. Shereferred me to a neurologist. Ididn’t know how this wouldhelp, but I agreed to go. Theneurologist asked me lots ofquestions about my health andthe history of my sleep prob-lems. Then he did a neurologicalexam that included checking myreflexes and asking me to touchmy finger to my nose with myeyes closed. I passed with flyingcolors. That was the good news.The bad news came when hetold me that primary insomnia,meaning the kind most peoplehave, including me, has noknown cause or treatment. Hedid suggest that I get evaluatedfor sleep apnea to be sure thatwasn’t part of my problem. Irarely snore and had no othersymptoms of sleep apnea, soneither he nor I thought thatwas likely to be the problem,but again I agreed to do it.

This time the referral was tothe Sleep Lab. Finally, I thought,I might get some answers. Myappointment at the Sleep Labincluded five other patients.We sat around a table in a smallbasement room while a womantaught us how to use a machineat home to monitor our oxygenlevels and other informationwhile we slept. The nextmorning we would returnthe machine to the lab, and ifthey weren’t too busy, we couldfind out the results right then.

For the rest of the story,you’ll have to wait until nextmonth’s column. In the mean-time, may you sleep well! ——————————————Paulette Avery is a registered nurseand a freelance writer who special-izes in health issues.

Diary ofa FormerInsomniac,Part 1

Devoted Librarian LeavesDimond Leadership

After eight years serving thecommunity as the Branch Man-ager of the Dimond PublicLibrary, Catherine Nicholswas sent off with laughter, love,and thundering applause ather retirement party June 28.

Mary Schrader, a colleagueand friend from library school,will “miss her dearly,” as willothers. Catherine began in theMain Library’s Children’sRoom and continued her com-mitment to educating youngpeople through her tenure atthe Dimond Library. Catherinecreated the AdventuReadersprogram to encourage older chil-dren to pursue reading. Her pas-sion and ingenuity for children’slearning led in part to her beingawarded Oakland Library’sEmployee of the Year in 2002.

A constant in her career hasbeen a commitment to growthand learning in the branch andin the community. Mentoringwas a familiar role. Catherinemodeled “appreciation forpublic service,” hiring localyoung people and assistingothers to make public servicethrough the Oakland Librarya career. Catherine will continueto volunteer at the DimondLibrary, while her retirementallows her to spend more timewith her beloved grandchildren.

Neighborhood Coalitionfor Positive Change (NCPC)

Traditionally labeled a Neigh-borhood Crime PreventionCouncil, the newly formed 22xNCPC ratified bylaws at theJune 2 community meeting andwill be referred to as the 22xNeighborhood Coalition for

Dimond Neighborhood NewsPositive Change. In recentmonths, area volunteers haveestablished working groupsand initiated projects to improvethe safety and quality of life inthe community.

The July 14 meetingfeatured the new Web siteOakland22xNCPC.com. Princi-pal designer Josh Vermettedonated his expertise to buildthe foundation of a powerfulonline resource for Beat-specificinformation. The site allowsvisitors to easily find phonenumbers, maps, forms, or eventdates. Your content additionsare welcome.

Sign up for the 22x emaillist to receive general announce-ments and meeting minutes.Each working group—PublicSafety, Economic Development,Traffic, and Beautification nowhas a dedicated email list. Inter-ested in a specific topic? Jointhrough Oakland22xNCPC.com.

The Beautification Groupconducted their first in a seriesof community cleanups on Sat-urday, July 26. The Group isapplying for resources fromKeep Oakland Beautiful andwill need more volunteers forfuture events, look for announce-ments online.

Join in OktoberfestThe July 2 Dimond Improve-ment Association GeneralMeeting featured a planning ses-sion for Oakland’s Oktoberfest,October 4, at Fruitvale &MacArthur in Dimond. OaklandEvents founders Helen Wymanand Tina Ayer detailed eventlogistics and facilitated discus-sion on what community volun-teers can contribute.

Volunteers are neededfor this great day in Dimond.Contact Helen Wyman athelen@Oaklandevents.net, orvisit OaklandOktoberfest.com

Dimond Family PicnicThe Fourth Annual DimondPicnic and Open House on July27 celebrated Dimond Park andthe great sense of communitywe share. Thanks to AbdoAlwadi, owner of two StarMarket and DIA Board Member,for sponsoring the barbecue andserving again as head cook. Andthanks to many volunteers.

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As a Fire Department chap-lain she is on call and no day is“typical.” She notes that inOakland there are not manystructure fires; most of the firedepartment calls are emergencymedical. But after a recent fireinvolving the burning of 35 unitsand displacement of multipleresidents, she spent a weekchecking on the emotional well-being of the residents involved.Her most intense task has beendeath notification. Though thecoroner usually handles notifica-tion, if the coroner is delayed,the job falls to Maggie. “Wedon’t want to have the familysitting there in the unknown,hearing it from other people.”At the first scene she went tothere were two deaths, andpeople in the crowd were “start-ing to get agitated.” She calledthe family together and gavethem the news, also arrangingfor other sources of emotionalsupport. “I see my role as justbeing a place of calm right in themidst of such crisis and traumaand pain and grief. They can cry,they can yell, they can scream,they can be completely silent,whatever they need. I just wantto be a listener, be the witness.”

Maggie believes that inter-faith spiritual principles can helpall communities, including ourown troubled Oakland. “Becausethe truth is, we need to knowthat we have so much availableto each of us, and unless we lookfor meaning within ourselves,we can never find meaning fromanybody or anything outsideus. None of those things everprovides true happiness.Whatever our faith principlesare, we need to embody themin our own lives, rather thanjust thinking about them.” Inserving, Maggie also feelsserved. “Every time I go out ona call, it feeds my soul, just theprivilege of serving firefighters,just bringing them water.”

Maggie recalls the attitudeof people just after 9/11, howthere seemed to be so muchmore patience, so much morecompassion. “Wouldn’t it beabsolutely lovely if we livedevery day like that?”

Maggie will be participatingas a tent leader for women

Maggie DorseyC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 1

cont inued on page 6 Maggie Dorsey

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A Artist ReceptionFri., Aug 8th, 6:30-8:30pm

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Maxwell Parkin Maxwell Park

This year will be the ThirdAnnual Maxwell Park Day-in-the-Park on Saturday, September13, noon to 5 pm. There will be amusic stage, children’s activities,great barbecue, and a raffle ofgoods from local merchants.The park is located in the 4500block of Fleming, two blocksfrom High Street.

If you were there last yearor the year before, you will re-member the sounds of kidslaughing and yelling as theyenjoyed their day in the park.You might remember hearingthe parents and neighbors dis-cussing what’s up in the neigh-borhood. Remember the taste ofthe barbecue prepared and soldby Youth UpRising members?Did you get your face painted?Did you perform on the stage?Do you recall watching childrendecorate rocks, string necklaces,or pet the miniature horse?The children surely do, if theywere lucky enough to be there.

If you weren’t able to attendbefore, or if you are new to theneighborhood, this is your dayto meet your neighbors in ourneighborhood park.

Helpers NeededThe Day-in-the-Park is organized

by the six-member CommunityBuilding Neighborhood ActionTeam (NAT). Tasks are dividedamong the members, and theyneed a little more help. Volun-teers can pass out fliers, assistduring the day, or help set upor clean up. It takes about $1,300to put on the event, so cashdonations are needed.

Park ImprovementsSomething else is afoot in thepark: some pretty extensiveplanning by the newly organizedFriends of Maxwell Park. Therehave already been two generalmeetings, plus a Conversationin the Park totaling about 80participants. Chaired by NancyKarigaca, the Friends of MP(previously called the Park NAT),

has three teams: survey,fundraising, and design.

Nancy says, “We received atremendous amount of help fromJean Quan’s office, especiallyfrom Richard Cowan, Sue Piper,and Michael Johnson. Sue Piperhas a lot of experience workingwith park projects and willguide us in relating to the city.Jim Ryugo from Public Worksis working with us. Friends ofOakland Parks and Recreationalready has an account for us,through which we can receivetax deductible contributions.”

The survey team distributedsurveys via the Internet, by handat neighborhood council meet-ings and block parties, and toMaxwell Park Elementary Schoolstudents. Surveys were alsoavailable in a mailbox attachedto a bulletin board on theFleming side of the park. Theboard will remain in place forannouncements, program re-ports, and suggestions.

The fundraising team needsmore members, though most oftheir work will take place later,once initial design plans areworked out. The design teamwill look at the survey data inAugust and will present generalresults at their booth at theDay-in-the-Park.

See You ThereCome to the Day-in-the-Park,have fun, and learn more aboutthe Park NAT’s planning process.

Day-in-the-Park: Helen daSilva, email, hds2288@aol.com,Krista Gulbransen,Krista_gulbransen@yahoo.com;Park NAT, Nancy Karigaca,nkarigaca@comcast.net

Maxwell Park Neighborhood News

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approval was appealed to theCity Council and scheduled tobe heard on May 20, 2008.Information surfaced that thesite contamination was notmitigated to the extent claimedby the developer.

The State maintains a list ofcontaminated sites not eligiblefor categorical exemption fromCEQA. The Roberts Tires parcelwas on the Hazardous Wasteand Substances Site “Cortese”List. “When this information

came to light,” Merkamp said,“we advised the developer ofthe option of withdrawing itsapplication and reapplying aftercleaning up the contamination.”

When asked how the place-ment of the project site on a Statelist for underground contamina-tion was missed, the plannersaid that it was probably “acombination of a mistake bythe city and information notfully revealed by the applicant.The County enforces and regu-lates the clean up of contami-nated sites.”

He added, “Even with cityapproval there was little chancethat any housing for seniorswould have gotten built on acontaminated site.”

The project had the backing

Nancy Karigaca, Park NAT chair, stands by the announcement boardbehind the Fleming entrance to the Maxwell Park.

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Photographer Phillip Siddiq cap-tured these cool moments on a hotday at the 2008 3rd Annual LaurelSummer Solstice Music Festival.

Laurel NewsC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 3

cont inued on page 6

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CLASSIFIED RATES The rate for classifiedads is $.50 per word. Discounted pricesavailable for five- and ten-issue frequen-cies. Please type or write your copy clearlyand mail it with your check to The MacArthurMetro, P.O. Box 19406, Oakland, 94619.Deadline is the 15th of the month. Forclassified-ad frequency discounts anddisplay-ad information, please contact KristaGulbransen at 287-2655, fax: 291-2944.

6August 2008

Calendar of Community Events

B Y M A R I L Y N G R E E N , C O O R D I N A T O R

The MacArthur Metro calendar welcomes a range of listings. We emphasizecommunity meetings and actions that address neighborhood concerns as wellas cultural events that enrich our lives. To have your event listed, pleasecontact Marilyn Green no later than the 12th of the preceding month at 531-9233 or marilynmetro@aol.com.

Please note: NCPC meetings, Dimond and Melrose Branch Libraryevents, and the general calendar are in separate sections.

Neighborhood Crime Prevention CouncilsBret Harte/Joaquin Miller Beat 22Y NCPC: Thursday, August 7, 7 to8:30 p.m., Imani Church, 3300 MacArthur. Contact Renee Sykes,Neighborhood Services Coordinator, rsykes@oaklandnet.com, or ChairMolly Stoufer, mschlesinger1@yahoo.com.

Maxwell Park Neighborhood Council: Wednesday, August 13, 7 to8:30 p.m., LDS Church, 4705 Virginia Ave. at Knowland. Check ourWeb site http://maxwellparknc.com or call Jan Hetherington at534-4978 for more info.

Melrose High Hopes Beat 27X NCPC: Thursday, August 21, Nomeeting in August.

Dimond Library3565 Fruitvale Ave. Information: 482-7844.

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park:Saturday, August 2, 2 p.m. Hear National Park Ranger (and long-timecommunity leader) Betty Reid Soskin share the overlooked stories andcontributions of the “Rosies” and other Americans on the home frontduring World War II. Sponsored by AAUW Oakland-Piedmont.Contact: Helen (AAUW) at 531-4275.

Lawyers in the Library: Tuesday, August 5, 6 to 8 p.m.; sign up forlottery at 5:45 p.m. Free legal information and referral in conjunctionwith the Alameda County Bar Association. Please call in advance toconfirm on the day of the program.

Puppet Theatre: Tuesday, August 5, 7 p.m. Fratello Marionettes presentThe Frog Prince.

Spanish Conversation Group: Tuesdays, August 5 and 19, 6:30 to7:30 p.m. Practice and improve your Spanish and learn new vocabu-lary. Participants should be familiar with the basics. Xequina Berberhas been leading Spanish conversation groups for the past ten years.For ages 18 and up. Drop-ins welcome. Contact: Sarah Hodgson,shodgson@oaklandlibrary.org

Storytime: Wednesdays, August 6, 13, 20, and 27, 10:15 a.m. and11 a.m. 10:15 a.m. for toddlers to age 2; 11 a.m. for ages 3 to 5years. Stories, songs and fingerplay.

Teen Time: Thursdays, August 7, 14, 21, and 28, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.Games, music, food, and crafts for teens 12 and up.

Book Discussion Group: Monday, August 11, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Houseon Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is this month’s book. Groupmeets the second Monday of each month.

Family Storytimes: Tuesdays, August 12, 19, and 26, 7 p.m. Yourfavorite librarians read wacky, wild, and wonderful books.

Melrose Library4805 Foothill Blvd. Information: 535-5623.

Puppet Art: Wednesday, August 6, 3 p.m. Don’t miss Tommy’s SpaceBug Adventure, the hilarious exploits of a boy, a space bug, and amad scientist.

Tween Time: Wednesday, August 6, 13, 20, and 27, 3:30 to 4:30p.m Fun activities for ages 8 to 12.

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General CalendarEnvironmental Classes at Merritt College: Classes begin mid-August. Takea single class or work toward a certificate or degree. Subjects includegreen building, sustainable urban planning, growing sustainable food,environmental justice, California Indian Natural Resource Management.For specifics, contact www.ecomerritt.org or 510-434-3840. Registeronline at www.peralta.edu.

25th Annual National Night Out: Tuesday, August 5, 6:30 to 9 p.m.,Fleming and Monticello. Gathering at 6:30, walking at 7.

Rhoda Ave. Neighbors’ National Night Out: Tuesday, August 5, 7 to 9p.m., driveway at 3621 Rhoda Ave. Please bring food and drink to shareand ideas about what you want to do to make our block a better place tolive.

St. Jarlath Senior Center: Tuesdays, August 5, 12, 19, and 26, 9 a.m. to1:30 p.m., Fruitvale and Pleasant. 532-2068.

Fruitvale Presbyterian Church Senior Center: Wednesdays, August 6, 13,20, and 27, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 2734 MacArthur Blvd. 530-0915.

Laurel Street Fest: Saturday, August 9, 1 to 6 p.m. Laurel District Associa-tion sponsors this annual community event. Pedestrian-only zone betweenthe entertainment stages on the Blvd. at 35th Ave. and 38th Ave.

Jazz Vespers: Sunday, August 31, 5 p.m., High Street PresbyterianChurch, High and Courtland. Call 533-2366 for details.

riter Coach Connection(WCC) is coming toOakland this fall. Fol-

lowing eight years of successin Berkeley and Albany schools,WCC will bring teams of trainedcommunity volunteers to TheMedia Academy, one of the Fre-mont Federated High Schoolson Foothill Blvd, to work withstudents on their classroomwriting assignments. WCC, aprogram of the nonprofit Com-munity Alliance for Learning,is actively recruiting volunteersto work one-on-one withMedia’s 10th-grade studentsthis coming school year.

WCC volunteers receivetraining in step-by-step strate-gies to help students at all levelsof ability to think deeply andwrite clearly. In 25 to 30-minutewriting conferences, coaches re-inforce teacher lessons, provideencouragement, and challengestudents to think critically.

The volunteer commitment

is about two hours per weekduring the school day on Thurs-day or Friday, two weeks permonth. No professional writing,editing, or teaching experienceis necessary. WCC encouragescoaches from diverse back-grounds and walks of life.Volunteers will need a negativeTB test and may be subjectto fingerprinting and a back-ground check. To learn moreand register, go towww.writercoachconnection.org

With a successful launch atMedia Academy, WCC hopesto expand to other Oaklandsecondary schools in the future.During 2007-08, 280 WCCvolunteers provided six to tencoaching sessions throughoutthe year to over 1,500 studentsin Berkeley and Albany. “I’m ahuge fan of WCC,” says Berkeleymiddle school teacher MarthaCain. “The one-on-one attentionstudents get is priceless.”

Please contact LynnMueller, writercoachconnect@yahoo.com, 524-2319.

of the Planning Departmentand several public officials.

In a private email blastingcity officials, one project oppo-nent wrote: “The criticism thathas been directed to those of uswho have been protesting thisdevelopment is that we areagainst senior housing. That isabsolutely correct. I have alwaysbeen against senior housing atthis commercial spot because ofair pollution, traffic, safety, andinsensitivity to elderly people,who have absolutely no choicein where they get to live whenthey are dependent upon thegovernment for housing.”

The email went on: “Thereis a reason that this would neverbe market-rate housing. Thatreason is that if anyone had achoice, they would never livewithin 60 feet of I-580. And theywould never live on top of atoxic waste dump.”

Read what Dennis Evanoskywrote about undergroundcontamination on this site inhis December 2001 Metrocolumn, “Shenanigans onthe Boulevard.” Go towww.macarthurmetro.org.

veterans at the East Bay StandDown for homeless veterans atthe Pleasanton fairgrounds, Au-gust 7 to 10. Five greater BayArea counties are participatingin this outreach event. Home-less veterans have already beenscreened. At the Stand Down,they will be provided with re-sources to find medical care, le-gal help, food, and cleanclothes. “It’s designed to helpsupport vets to turn their livesaround,” Maggie says. Morevolunteers are needed, so ifyou’d like to help, go toeastbaystanddown.org. You canalso email Maggie atmedorse@pacbell.net.

Maggie DorseyC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 4

Help Oakland Teens Succeed—Become a Writing Coach

B Y L Y N N M U E L L E R

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I enjoy recreating what life has to offer, capturing the momentsthat life presents and bringing them back. I not only capturethe image, I also provide lasting memories of the moment

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Lavender carpetsUnderneath neighborhood treesCold spring, fine blossoms

—Adelle Foley

August 2008

7

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The Metro acknowledges contributions of $50 or more by listing your name orbusiness as a Money Honey for 10 issues. You keep our paper alive and well.

MONEY HONEYS

On June 6, the DimondBranch Public Library held abook launch and celebration forWords on Fire! An Anthology ofTeen Voices, published byWordrunner Press in Petaluma.An award presentation, poetryreading session, and booksigning recognized the workof 39 teens. The book has 20art illustrations as well as 71poems, with topics rangingfrom light-hearted and whimsi-cal to brutally honest and raw.Subjects include nature, heart-break, introspection, hopes anddreams, and community. Thebook’s four sections are arrangedaccording to topics of identity,life experiences, passion, andneed for change. I found someof the poems simply amazing,with voices that seemed farolder than the authors’ years.This particular one had mecaptivated and smiling:

Today I Will Be Something ElseI am the Burger BuddyI am the ketchupI am over-applied on my hostdripping over the sides.I am the liveliness of my Burger Buddy.

—Joaquin Mejia

The book was made possiblewith donations given in honorand memory of John R. Pichotto,a longtime supporter of theDimond Library and a formerOakland Public Library Com-missioner. Many volunteers

$50 up to $150 (continued)

Mike Ferro

Brian Holmes

Wendy Jacobsen

Nancy & Vic Miloslavich

Madeline Smith Moore

Jeanne Nixon

Kathleen Rolinson

Mary Edna Stevens

Margaret Welch &Fruitvale Presbyterian Church

Craig Franklin Cooper

Emily Rosenberg

Lydia Palmin & Tom Daley

Helen & William R.Shyvers. Jr.

Donald Braden & Sue Morgan

Eleanor Dunn

Bette R. Golden

Erin Hughes

Jane L. Stallman

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Victoria Wake

Anonymous in honor ofDavid Raich

Anonymous in honor ofDouglas Ferguson

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were involved in the project.Giovanna Capone, a graduatestudent at San Jose StateUniversity’s School of Libraryand Information Science, is edi-tor of Words on Fire!, and taughta poetry class for teens in thesummer of 2006. Some of thepoems in this book are productsof that class. You can purchasethe book for $12 at the DimondBranch Library (3564 FruitvaleAvenue), or borrow it at variousOakland Public Librarybranches. Our Dimond branchwill continue to support andencourage teen artists in thefuture. Look for upcomingclasses and opportunities foryouth in the Teen Area.

Opera Piccola, a theatercompany that brings the arts to

all types of communities, hasmoved its headquarters to ourDimond district. The new ad-dress is 2946 MacArthur Blvd.,next door to Ron Guidi’sOakland Ballet Academy.People can check out upcomingtraveling shows and perfor-mances at www.opera-piccola.org. Opera Piccolacollaborated with StagebridgeSenior Theatre previously,with Being Something: Living‘Young’ and Growing ‘Old’ inOakland, and I would love tosee this production for myself.

I didn’t intend this editionto be the “Italian AmericanHeritage Month” at BoulevardBites, but for some odd reasonit has turned out that way. Enjoyyour August, everyone, and I’llsee you on the boulevard.

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Please contact Sheryl Graab,Community DevelopmentDirector, at sgraab@girlscoutsnorcal.org or 510-499-4981.

Teens read their poems at Dimond Branch Public Library for a book launch on June 6.

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Girl ScoutsC O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 8

August 2008

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he newly formed Girl ScoutBrownie troop of RedwoodHeights Elementary School

is learning how to juggle. It isearly evening at RH RecreationCenter. The girls from the newtroop, and other girls, are workingwith ChelseaZephyr Rustigian tolearn the fine arts of juggling andclowning. Aden says “I learnedhow to almost juggle.” Riley andAli say that they had “lots andlots of fun.” Kiya says she likes“acting like clowns.”

This summer program, “AGirl Scout Summer,” continuesthrough the end of August.

The participants are GirlScouts from the Girl Scouts ofNorthern California Council. Thecouncil reaches communities fromGilroy to the Oregon border andserves approximately 55,000girls. There are currently over 90Girl Scout troops in the Oakland-Emeryville-Piedmont area. These,and all Girl Scouts, range in agefrom 5 to 17. With the help ofadult volunteers, the girls learnleadership, life skills, outdoorskills, money management, andgoal-setting. For older girls inmiddle and high school, there aretravel opportunities, communityservice awards, and leadershipopportunities. While Girl Scoutingis a great addition to college

applications, most girls willsimply say it’s a lot of fun.

These opportunities for girlsdon’t just happen. Whether youare interested in becoming a troop

leader or serving your communitywith your own special skill andschedule, Girl Scouts is lookingfor volunteers like you.

A parent-and-volunteer

information night is beingplanned for Tuesday evening,August 26, at 6:30 at DimondLibrary. Parents and guardians

Girl Scout Brownies Learn to JuggleB Y S H E R Y L G R A A B

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