where's the money?

Besides high unemployment and budget woes for the city, Oakland and Alameda County are facing other money problems. The Oakland Tribune reports that the property tax base is likely to be down another 2% this year. That's bad news especially for schools, as approximately 42 cents of each dollar of property tax goes to support public schools.

Meanwhile, Oakland Seen reports that Oakland participation in the 2010 census so far is geographically divided. Above 580, 73 to 78% have returned their forms. Below 580, the rate is closer to 50%. The East Bay Express reports even lower numbers for West and East Oakland, 32% and 37% respectively. Low participation in the last census is estimated to have cost Alameda County $43 million in federal funding since 2002. While only a some of that would have gone to Oakland, given the current budget, every little bit helps.

Rebuilding Together Oakland

Decent housing is a basic need for everyone. Habitat for Humanity is a great organization, working to eliminate substandard housing world-wide (BTW, thanks for the build-a-thon donations!) In the U.S., that's largely done through building new homes which are sold to low-income people currently paying too much of their income to rent sub-standard housing.

But a trip around Oakland or pretty much any city will show you a large stock of homes of another sort. These aren't people who are about to lose their homes because of sub-prime mortgages, or who bought something bigger than they can afford, or are paying most of their income for rent. These are people who own their homes, and have worked hard to purchase them. But because of age, illness, and/or income level haven't been able to maintain and improve their homes. That's where Rebuilding Together (RTO) comes in.

Mildred

Like Habitat, they use mostly volunteers, and homeowners have to qualify for the service. Through the month of April, groups of volunteers descend on the selected homes and work to repair and upgrade them. I volunteered with RTO for the first time on Saturday, and joined a dozen or so others from around the Bay Area to help Mildred, a homeowner in East Oakland. She raised 7 children, most of whom she put through college, too. The home was one of the first in the area, built at least 100 years ago. The family added on to the back in the 1940s, but it's still a small house. Mildred is 83, and suffers from arthritis and other health problems, but she's still active at her church (where she's known as 'the mother of the church' because of her ubiquitous nurturing.) She uses a cane to get around the house, and a mobility chair (RTO put in a wheelchair lift last year) for longer trips.

There's a list of problems with the house, but the first problem was getting in to work on them. Every time any of Mildred's children moved, it was: "Hey mom, can I keep some of my stuff there? I'll get it later." Add to that donations collected for church and the homeless in her neighborhood. Add to that 30+ years of "stuff" from living there. So most of us spent the morning moving stuff from the house and storage in the backyard to 3 piles: (1) keep (2) donate or (3) dumpster. Fortunately several of her children (and one grandchild) were there to help sort through things. Unfortunately some of the stuff was water-damaged, so the dumpster pile was pretty big. But we set aside various items, and several different scrap haulers took at least one and half pickup loads to the scrapyard instead.

very full dumpster

After lunch, we split into different groups. One worked on sorting stuff from the attic; others cleaned out the kitchen and pulled down the water-damaged ceiling; a couple of people demolished the bathroom. The main electrical panel had been updated by RTO, but there were approximately three (3) outlets through the entire house. I worked with a volunteer contractor on installing some new electrical outlets. While he worked with another volunteer to run new wires under the house, I cut holes in the walls for new outlets.

There's still a lot of work to do, but we made good progress on repairing Mildred's home and making it safer and more comfortable for her, too. Rebuilding Together Oakland also works throughout the year with their Safe-At-Home & Energy Efficiency program. As with Habitat, you don't have to be skilled, but if you do have skills that's always a bonus! I'll be volunteering later in April (after the build-a-thon), but I'm not sure if I'll be assigned to Mildred's house or another.

Oakland Earth Expo

Come celebrate 40 years of Earth Day at the Oakland Earth Expo. It runs from 10AM to 2PM on Wednesday, April 14th, in Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of city hall.

Visit over 100 dynamic local green exhibitors: • green businesses • environmental and social change organizations • artists • government agencies • community groups.

Find tips, products and partners to: • reduce waste • compost • green your workplace • drive less • build or remodel green • reduce energy use • become a smarter consumer • bring your own bag • conserve water • practice bay-friendly gardening • hold a ZeroWaste event • reduce your carbon footprint • restore our creeks • eat seasonally • volunteer • much more!

Read more on the Oakland Public Works Earth Expo page.

food: Brown Sugar Kitchen

Brown Sugar Kitchen

Today after taking K to Kaiser for an appointment, we headed off to West Oakland to try Brown Sugar Kitchen. I'd had some of their food at the open house for Central Station, but neither of us had been to the restaurant itself.

In short, the food was great. Chef/owner Tanya Holland has done something a lot of people like, because the place was packed even though it was a Tuesday at 11AM. We lucked out and got a parking place in front, and the last free table. K had the Baked Egg Tart (kinda like a meatless quiche) and I had the signature Cornmeal Waffles, which are served with brown sugar butter and apple cider syrup. Yum!

The food is prepared with "organic, local and hormone-free ingredients as much as possible". The coffee is roasted locally by Roast Coffee Company (based nearby in Emeryville). Well worth checking out next time you're out for breakfast or lunch.

rain barrels for Oakland

Civicorps loading rain barrels

Part of my home improvement efforts have been to make our house more resource efficient, not just a bit bigger and nicer. As part of that, I added a 60 gallon rain barrel to use for watering plants in our yard. As you know, the rain patterns in California mean that wouldn't get filled from roughly May until November, so 60 gallons won't last the whole dry season.

Eventually I'd like to have a larger tank to collect rain water and gray water from the washing machine, but that's a long ways down the line. So I was delighted when I heard that the city of Oakland was going to be selling rain barrels to residents for only $45. Saturday I header over to Kaiser Elementary in Hiller Highlands to get some. I don't know if they're planning on selling more in the future, but if so, it's a great deal. The barrels hold 65 gallons, are made from recycled plastic, and come with all the necessary fittings for a faucet and the overflow.