Family Fun on the Fourth

hoopin'

Not as many fireworks this year as some years, but there was plenty else going on in Oakland to celebrate the Fourth of July. One free and family-friendly event was Family Fun on the Fourth at Jack London Square.

It was aimed at kids, but there was plenty of food and music to keep parents happy. And watching kids enjoy themselves can be pretty entertaining, too. It was perfect weather, sunny with a slight breeze, and no fog to be seen.

Various food vendors were set up, including Oakland's own Tina Tamale, Oakland Chocolate Co., JLS locals Kincaid's and Miss Pearl's Jam House, and more. MOCHA was there, as were face painters, the Amazing Bubble Man and a petting zoo with goats, sheep, a cow and an alpaca. The Oakland Fire Department had an engine there for kids to sit in, there was a large slide, and a group brought out hula hoops for kids all ages to enjoy.

All in all a fun afternoon!







My full album of pictures can be viewed here:

Family Fun on the Fourth 2011

Check out more pictures at Oakland North.

we've got a budget!?

In a city council meeting that came right down to the June 30th deadline, Mayor Quan cast the tie-breaking vote to give Oakland a budget. At least for now, the $58 million deficit is covered. Starting with one of Mayor Quan's proposals and adding and removing things, the council worked back and forth until it was down to two sides which weren't that far apart. Given the various limitations, it wasn't possible to save everything, but they finally came up with a budget.

Following the budget process has been interesting. I don't envy the council or mayor their jobs. And while I was impressed that they came up with a solution at all, I disappointed with the acrimony in some of the council meetings. As Trib columnist Tammerlin Drummond said,

"the lack of civility displayed by some Oakland City Council members toward each other and members of the public was appalling."

You can follow along with city council meetings on Twitter with the hash tag #oakmtg, and watch it on KTOP (while it still has funding), either on cable or online. Or attend them in person and join in the fun.

The real questions are about the budget itself:

• It depends in part on concessions from some of the city unions, some of which are only tentative. And we don't know full details, other than what the firefighters are offering. Some of what has been heard is unsettling, including: Council members may no longer "support, endorse or sponsor" any proposal to change any City Charter provision relating to the police union. Mayor Quan thinks the pact is unenforceable.
• While the libraries were mostly saved, if funding for them falls much the city won't be able to collect Measure Q funds. That would greatly reduce the funding: Measure Q provides about 60% of the library's budget.
• The budget depends on the sale of the Kaiser Convention center for $28 million. The seller? Oakland. The buyer? Oakland. Chip Johnson calls it bizarre. The building is worth no where near that in the current market, but the city would transfer the funds from its (state budget-imperiled) redevelopment agency to the general fund. Whether the state will allow it remains to be seen.

Mayor Quan would like to pass an $80 parcel tax to help balance future budgets and restore some of the things that were cut. But as Max Allstadt said on Twitter,

Nobody should vote for a parcel tax without other much needed reforms. #oakmtg

Personally I'm wary of another parcel tax after the Measure Y debacle (i.e., the city was only supposed to collect the tax if they kept at least 802 officers; we're currently at about 637). I'm also not fond of parcel taxes in general, as they don't spread the load evenly. In any event, the city is having to call a special election (at the cost of $700,000) to try to get the voters to approve it. If it passes, it will bring in approximately $11 million a year, but it's a very big 'if'.

Deeper than the 'ifs' and 'maybes' is the fact that no real substantive changes were made. One of the underlying issues is that a large percentage of the city budget goes to public safety, yet people don't feel safe. The concessions from the unions help, but they're not a long-term fix to the problem by themselves. Then there are some of the social programs funded by Measure Y that have no accountability, yet aren't facing budget cuts the way basic services are. The $28 million sale of the Kaiser Convention Center is a one-time deal.

I don't know what all the right answers are, but I do know that the current budget doesn't address the basic problems. As council president Larry Reid said:

"I just know we're all going to be back here doing this again very soon."

Additional reading
...on the budget:
Sean Maher (Tribune)
Tammerlin Drummond (Tribune)
Chip Johnson (SFGate)
Bob Gammon (East Bay Express)
VSmoothe (A Better Oakland)

...on the parcel tax and special election:
Mayor Jean Quan (on OaklandLocal)
Ryan Phillips (Oakland North)
Matthai Kuruvila (SFGate)

...on the OPD reorg and budget:
Matthai Kuruvila (SFGate)
Harry Harris and Sean Maher (Tribune)
Chip Johnson (SFGate)
Daniel Borenstein (Tribune)

Finally, a big thank you to all those who make it possible to keep track of the goings on in Oakland: KTOP, all the people who tweet #oakmtg, and A Better Oakland, Sean Maher and Matthai Kuruvila for their reporting.

upcoming Oakland events

Another week, another bazillion fun things to do in Oakland.

Waterfront Flicks - Thursday, July 7, sundown at Jack London Square. This week's flick is Julie and Julia. There will be food from Miss Pearl's Jam House, beer from New Belgium via East Bay Bike Coalition, and more. It's also a benefit for St. Vincent de Paul, so you can bring canned food or cash donations to help. More info on the JLS website. (free)

Final Space Shuttle Launch - Friday, July 8, 7:30am (weather and NASA permitting) at Chabot Space and Science Center. The current weather forecast in Florida isn't very promising, so plan accordingly. This will be the last space shuttle launch in history. See the Chabot website for details. ($10)

Cosecha opening - Friday, 9am in Old Oakland. The long-awaited opening of a new restaurant in Swan's Marketplace. Cosecha is run by Chez Panisse and Eccolo alum Dominica Rice and will feature Californian - Mexican food. (Please don't hold the Flash-only website against them, but do encourage them to do better.)

Dancing Under the Stars - Friday, July 8, 8:30pm at Jack London Square. This week's free dance lessons are on the Merengue. (free)

Bites on Broadway - Friday, July 8, 5:30pm at 45th and Broadway. It was shut down the other week to straighten out permits, but it's back again this week. It's mobile food and fun. See some pictures from a previous Bites on Broadway.

Downtown Oakland Walking Tours - Saturday, July 9, 10am at Preservation Park. Free walking tours from the city of Oakland. This Saturday's is in the history-filled Preservation Park. (free)

Oakland Heritage Alliance walking tours - Saturday, July 9, 10am for "Borax" Smith Estate, Sunday, July 10, 10am for Mountain View Cemetery. The Oakland walking tours from the city focus on downtown, but the OHA has walking tours in other parts of Oakland. The first two up feature the E.M. "Borax" Smith Estate in Cleveland Heights, and the Mountain View Cemetery. As Oakland Local says, it's a great way to get some exercise while learning about Oakland. ($10-$15)

Temescal Street Fair - Sunday, July 10, 12pm-6pm in the Temescal. The 8th annual Temescal Street Fair. It was originally scheduled for June, but an unseasonal rain storm forced it to be rescheduled. There will be music, food, art, a kids' area featuring a climbing wall, and more. (free)

Seed Circus - Forage - Sunday, July 10, 1pm at the Oakland Museum. Part of a series called Seed Circus, it begins with a foraging bike tour of the Temescal by Forage Oakland, followed by a panel-lead discussion, followed by the screening of The Gleaners and I. (bike tour: free; rest w/$10 OMCA admission)

Coming Up:

Jazz by the Lake - Sunday, July 17, noon at Camron-Stanford House. A live jazz concert featuring Nicolas Bearde, with a brunch and beautiful views of Lake Merritt. Call 510.874.7802 for reservations ($35-$50)

Lake Temescal

early morning swimmers

One of Oakland's gems is Lake Temescal, located near highways 13 and 24. It's a man-made lake straddling the Hayward fault, and was originally created as a reservoir. Now it's used for swimming, picnicking, fishing, or just enjoying a bit of nature. There are short hiking trails around the lake, and a bikeway at the east side of the park that I ride frequently to and from Rockridge and the Temescal district.

Despite many visits, I'd never been there for swimming. The Fourth of July promised to be a hot day, so K and I made an early visit to Lake Temescal to cool off. We got there before 10AM, and most of the picnic spots were already claimed and the parking lots were filling up. The EBRPD guy collecting the beach fees said there'd been 1500+ people through on Sunday, and today promised to have even more. By the time we left a couple hours later, the beach was starting to fill up, and the BBQs at were going full blast.

Despite being in one of the wealthiest, least diverse Oakland neighborhoods, the Fourth had a beautiful cross section of Oakland enjoying the lake. I stopped by later in the afternoon, and the park was packed with happy people. Besides swimming at the beach, there were people eating, laughing, playing soccer, hiking, fishing and just hanging out to celebrate Independence Day.

A Bit of History
According to the park brochure, Franciscan missionaries named the creek "Temescal" from two Aztec words: Tema (to bathe) and cali (a house). The lake and the neighborhood (which the creek flows through, albeit mostly underground these days) were named for the creek. The reservoir was originally built in 1868 by Anthony Chabot's Contra Costa Water Co. to provide drinking water, and the story has it that wild mustangs were run back and forth across the dam to compact it during construction. Most of the manual labor to build the dam was done by Chinese immigrants.

c.1915, The Comet, from Oakland Hills

Besides its history as a reservoir, Lake Temescal is also connected with the railroads that used to run through the area. The Sacramento Northern (which my grandfather worked for) had tracks which ran where the bikeway is now. A historical panel in the park shows pictures. (These are the same tracks that continued through what is now Montclair Village and up Shepherd Canyon; the shallow grade is part of what makes it ideal for cycling.) At the time, an electric train called the Comet also ran directly over the lake on a trestle.

c.1950, from Selections from the
Oakland Tribune Archives

The area was converted to one of the first three East Bay regional parks and opened to the public in 1936. The lovely stone beach house was built by the WPA in 1940. The beach house can be rented for special events, and behind it there's a lovely patio and garden area.

In more recent history, Lake Temescal has again been used as a reservoir. Not for drinking water, but to provide water for fighting fires. In 1991, helicopters used it for water to fight the Oakland firestorm. As recently as 2009 it's been used for firefighting as well.

See also the Wikipedia entry on Lake Temescal. For more pictures and reading, visit the Oakland history room at the main library, and check out Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, including:

• Images of America: Oakland Hills by Erika Mailman
• Images of America: Selections from the Oakland Tribune Archives by Annalee Allen

Available at your favorite neighborhood Oakland bookstore.

Visit Oakland!

Last month the Oakland Convention Visitor's Bureau announced the results of their 2011 Visit Oakland photo contest. I didn't enter, but they received hundreds of great photos. Oakland photographer Matt Beardsley was the winner, but all of the 32 finalists are worth checking out. In case you haven't noticed, we live in a beautiful, interesting city!