New Park in the DTO! (with pictures)

I know I promised many of you that I’d have all my endorsements for the quickly approaching election published today, but, um, I just couldn’t finish. But Monday! I promise, I will have it all done and ready for you on Monday. So because I actually want to be able to get all that done on time, I’m keeping things here short today. Read more

Ballot Measure Round-up

Oakland voters will have themselves a packed ballot in November. On top of picking a brand-new City Councilmember and deciding whether they feel like adding another $450/year to their tax bills, they also have a whole slew of inane propositions to say no to at the State level. Anyway, in case you’re having trouble keeping track, here’s the rundown.

Local:

• Measure VV, AC-Transit: Increases its existing parcel tax by $48 a year for 10 years to fund transit improvements for seniors, people with disabilities and students. Two-thirds vote required.
• Measure WW, East Bay Regional Park District: Extends existing property tax of $10 per $100,000 assessed valuation per year. Proceeds of $500 million will be used for preservation of creeks, wildlife, open space, purchase of open space and development of parks and trails. Two-thirds vote required.
• Measure N, Oakland: Levies a 10-year parcel tax of $120 a year for improvements at the city’s public charter schools. Two-thirds vote required.
• Measure NN, Oakland: Establishes a parcel tax to fund the addition of police officers, crime management data systems and independent audits. Two-thirds vote required.
• Measure OO, Oakland: Amends city charter to increase the dollar amount of grants to organizations serving children and increase the amount the city must spend on children and youth. Majority vote required.

State:

• Proposition 1: Authorizes the state to sell $9.95 billion in bonds to partially fund a high-speed passenger train between Los Angeles and Northern California. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 2: Prohibits the confinement on a farm of pregnant pigs, calves raised for veal and egg-laying hens in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 3: Authorizes the state to sell $980 million in bonds for construction projects at children’s hospitals, including the five University of California children’s hospitals. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 4: Amends the California Constitution to require a physician to notify the parent or legal guardian of pregnant minor at least 48 hours prior to performing an abortion involving that minor. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 5: Expands drug treatment diversion programs for criminal offenders, modified parole supervision procedures, allows inmates to earn time off their terms for participation in rehabilitation programs and reduces penalties for marijuana possession. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 6: Creates new state-funded criminal justice programs and mandates that funding for certain existing programs be maintained at 2007-2008 levels. Total funding would increase by $365 million to $965 million starting in 2009. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 7: Establishes and enforces increased use of renewable resources on electricity-generating companies. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 8: Amends the California Constitution to specify that marriage is between a man and a woman. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 9: Amends the California Constitution to expand the legal rights of victims of crime and mandate payment of restitution by offenders, restrict early release of inmates and change the procedures for granting and revoking parole. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 10: Authorizes the state to sell $5 billion in bonds for renewable energy, alternative fuel, energy efficiency and air emissions reduction programs.
• Proposition 11: Amends the California Constitution to shift the responsibility for drawing political boundaries from the Legislature to an independent citizens commission. Congressional lines are exempted from the new commission’s duties but state Assembly, Senate and Board of Equalization districts after the 2010 Census would fall under its purview. Majority vote required.
• Proposition 12: Authorizes the state to sell $900 million in bonds for the Cal-Vet program, which would allow 3,600 additional veterans to receive farm and home loans. Majority vote required.

Oh, and if that’s giving you a headache, just thank your lucky stars that you don’t live in San Francisco, where they have to deal with ballot measures A through V. OMG!

Dellums announces $3 million grant from Kaiser Permanente to fund school-based health centers in Oakland

So, something like 90% (or maybe more) of what I write about about Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums on this blog is critical. Part of this is because I see relatively little in the Mayor’s performance to date that merits praise. But part of it is also that when something good does come along, I have nothing to say about it. If I don’t feel that I have something worthwhile to add to the discussion, I don’t see much reason in writing about a subject.

Take this (PDF!) for example:

Mayor Ron Dellums will join Kaiser Permanente representatives, elected officials and community partners to announce a multi-million dollar grant to fund school-based health centers in Oakland middle and high schools.

The mission of school-based health centers is to provide comprehensive clinical and social service programming while simultaneously developing primary prevention programming based on best practices in public health, youth development, and academic enrichment.

Far too many school communities in Oakland continue to suffer from striking health care disparities. Compromised access to quality health care in concert with a number of factors has contributed to disproportionate rates of violence, respiratory illness, childhood obesity, untreated mental health issues, sexually transmitted infections, and poor chronic disease management.

While campaigning, Dellums spoke frequently of creating wrap-around services for our public schools. He referenced this specific initiative during his State of the City speech.

So…I think this is good. Great, in fact. I agree with the Mayor that health care, especially for children, is important. And Dellums should be proud of the achievement. I quoted the entire press release above, so you can see that I don’t really have any details to discuss. Um…anyway, good on Dellums for this one.

And that is why you rarely see positive posts here at A Better Oakland.

Your Council this week - June 25th-29th, 2007

State of the Art Education Complex: Tuesday, June 26th, 6:00 PM Education Partnership Committee

Last summer, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced a plan to sell 9.5 acres of OUSD-owned property near Lake Merritt to New York developer Terramark for $65 million. The land sale would have put a substantial dent in the $100 million the district owes to the state. The proposal drew violent opposition from members of OUSD’s impotent School Board, who claimed that the sale would actually hurt the district financially, since the cost of relocating the five schools currently housed on the land could reach $35 million. Although their decisions have carried no weight since the district went into state recievership in 2003, the School Board voted to reject the land sale and countered Terramark’s proposal with a vision of their own - a “state-of-the-art education center” on the property. Read more