The City of Piedmont and the Piedmont Unified School District are joining together to collect books for children who lack access to reading materials.

The drive will benefit the East Bay Children’s Book Project, which helps build literacy by putting books into the hands of children who have little or no access to them.

The Book Drive is focused on books for younger children, but we are happy to collect new or gently used books for students up to eighth grade. Textbooks, religious books, encyclopedias, magazines, adult books or library discards will not be accepted.

Books will be collected at the Veterans Hall between 3:00-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21.

Residents can bring books to donate as they collect their bibs for the Turkey Trot!

Between now and then, books can also be dropped in a box on the porch at 147 Arbor Drive.

“As we prepare for Thanksgiving and the holidays, it feels good to share the joy of reading,” said Board of Education President Sarah Pearson. “By donating books for young readers, we hope to foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime.”

“The Thanksgiving Book Drive is an opportunity for the City, the School District, and our community to join together in the spirit of giving,” said Mayor Bob McBain.

For more information on the Thanksgiving Book Drive, please contact the Superintendent’s office at (510) 594-2614.

Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue,

Thursday, November 8  – 7 pm

On November 8, 2018 at 7:00PM, the City of Piedmont will host a community workshop on how residents can achieve climate action goals at home. The workshop will help residents determine how they can do their part to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions through electrification of home appliances combined with electricity from 100% renewable sources.

The workshop will include presentations from East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), StopWaste, and Community Energy Services Corporation (CESC). These presentations will provide information on EBCE, Piedmont’s new local clean power provider, benefits and ways to electrify your homes, and on electric heat pump water heaters.

An EBCE representative will talk about the 100% renewable energy plan residents are automatically enrolled in. Following EBCE, a representative from StopWaste and CESC will present information on ways to make your homes more energy efficient. It is essential for residents to learn more about EBCE as they are the new community choice aggregation (CCA) for Piedmont that will provide 100% renewable energy to your homes. The 100% renewable energy plan will go into effect this November.

For more information about this workshop or to be added to the climate action email list, please contact Assistant Planner Mira Hahn at mhahn@piedmont.ca.gov or (510) 420-3054.

The following Letter to the Editor of The Piedmont Post was sent to the Post, but was not published in the Post.  It is published here for PCA readers.

VOTE NO on CC – Unacceptable City Charter changes.

CC  – the “hire, but can’t fire” proposal –  would unacceptably change Piedmont’s successful government by prohibiting the City Council from acting to retain or terminate their chosen Department Heads – Fire Chief, Police Chief, Finance Director, Recreation Director, etc. 

Piedmonters should not enact this law. It promises problems found in other cities where councils have lost their authority and ability to act.  A new government layer will separate Piedmonters from Council authority. 

Only one person, the unelected City Administrator, would be allowed by Charter to evaluate, direct, retain and terminate Council-hired  key employees -Police, Fire, Finance, Recreation, etc.  

Piedmont’s current Charter works and is coveted by others. 

With 22 years in elected office – Mayor, Council Member, Planning Commissioner, AC Transit President and Director, I have reviewed the Charter proposals and found proposals not in the best interest of keeping Piedmont a great place to live. 

The Charter merits updating, but NOT as proposed by Measure CC.  

Keep Piedmont’s Council strong. Await appropriate Charter change proposals.

VOTE NO on CC at the end of your ballot. 

Alice Creason,

Former: Piedmont Mayor, Council Member, Planning Commissioner, AC Transit President, Director, Piedmont Beautification Foundation Trustee

Excellent publication by the California Association of School Board Officials (CASBO) about “What Every Board Member and Candidate Should Know” regarding School Finances in California. A must read to really understand school funding!

Still Undecided on Part of Your Ballot?

You can still drop off your heavy ballot with No Stamps in the Alameda County Registrar of Voters maintained Ballot Drop Box in Piedmont on Highland Way at Mountain Avenue next to the Post boxes and Book Drop Box behind the Wells Fargo Bank. Ballots will be retrieved three times on Monday and Tuesday.

LAST TIME TO PLACE YOUR BALLOT IN THE BALLOT BOX IS

8:00 PM TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2018, ELECTION DAY.

City of Piedmont
Joint Park Commission and
Recreation Commission 

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

7:00 p.m.

City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA

 Receipt of a Report on the Revised Conceptual Plan for the Linda Beach Master Plan and
Consideration of a Recommendation to the City Council on Next Steps

READ the prior meeting draft minutes, full staff report, and schematic plan > Joint Park and Recreation Commission Meeting 11.7.18 Packet

As a retired CPA, I applied my auditing experience to the Piedmont School Board for this election.   About two years ago, I sensed that something was amiss when I read reports that PUSD refinanced some bonds to a type (called CAB) that roughly quadrupled the bond’s interest expense.  So, using KCOM’s online video archives I studied the applicable archives.  I know the justifications that many board members used for this school financing.   But I find their decision outlandish.  Ultimately, the School Board reversed its error and switched back to CIB financing, which saved the district from incurring an additional $26 million dollars in wasteful interest expense.  As the public archives confirm, Dr. Titan’s leadership led to this $26 million savings.

If you’ve never attended a PUSD board meeting, please go to KCOM (Channel 27) and view any meeting in the archive.  You will begin to appreciate the dedication, determination, and backbone needed to accomplish what Titan has.

If you have been following the employment issues relating to the rogue teacher-student conduct, or the embarrassing decision to appoint Victor Acuna as full-time athletic director at roughly $120,000 per year.  Ask yourself, do you want a board member that has the backbone and perseverance to defend our students from such egregious personnel issues?

Prior to this election, I didn’t know Dr. Titan or any of the school board candidates, so I made a concerted effort to meet them, and study their prospective contributions.  I listened to them at two separate parents’ club candidate forums and via KCOM, I watched them speak at Piedmont’s League of Women voters’ forum.    It’s clear they are all nice people who want to make a difference for our schools.

But when you step into the election booth, set aside your friendships and vote responsibly for the one candidate that since 2013 has been working as a citizen watchdog to ensure proper conduct at PUSD.  Titan will provide the stewardship need now on Piedmont’s school board.

Dai Meagher, CPA (inactive & retired)

Keep the current reporting structure of Piedmont’s City Charter.

Measure CC is a power grab and proponents of CC completely misstate the way City Hall is run as justification.

Measure CC is completely ineffective at telling voters what it will do.

First, as written, Measure CC is completely ineffective at telling voters what it will do. It should have read: “Shall the measure to amend the City Charter to reassign authority to terminate City department heads from City Council to the City Administrator be adopted”. Same word count. Such text would be much more informative to the voters and the fact that Measure CC is drafted so poorly should tell you something.

Measure CC reassigns important oversight authority from Council to the City Administrator with no justification on the record.

Second, from the Mayor in a recent news account: “[The Charter] contains language that suggests that the City Council is responsible for managing and directing the work of City officers. The Piedmont City Attorney strongly recommended that this ambiguity be clarified…” Read that carefully – “suggests” and “ambiguity” – if true then simply clarify the Charter language and keep the current reporting structure in place. Instead Measure CC reassigns important oversight authority from Council to the City Administrator with no justification on the record.

Grab or giveaway, Measure CC is bad for Piedmont and reduces the authority of our elected officials. Coupled with Measure BB (fewer meetings, less voter choice), these measures weaken good governance in Piedmont and should be rejected by the voters.

Garrett Keating, Former Piedmont City Council Member