Piedmont Joins in East Bay Bicycle Coalition Bike to Work Day 

Mayor John Chiang has issued a proclamation declaring May 9, 2013  Bike to Work Day in Piedmont.  He invites Piedmonters to join him as he leads a pedal pool from Piedmont City Hall to downtown Oakland.  (see schedule below)

Morning and afternoon energizer stations will be set up to offer free coffee, snacks and other goodies. Cyclists also will be treated to special parties, discounts, free bike repairs and other happenings in neighborhoods across the Bay Area.  Piedmont bicyclists can meet and receive encouragement at the “Energizer Station” at Ace Hardware, 1221 Grand Avenue, where bikers will be offered refreshments and “goodie bags” by Scott Donahue and the Connect Green Transportation Group.

Between 6:00 am and 11:00 am bicyclists will ride free on the ferry from Jack London Square, Broadway and Embarcadero.

Piedmont recreational and commuter bicyclists have  options for riding with City elected officials:

7:30 a.m. Mayor John Chiang will leave from City Hall (120 Vista) heading to the Energizer Station at Ace Hardware (1221 Grand)

7:45 a.m. Mayor Chiang, Tim Rood, and others from Piedmont Connect’s Green Transportation group will leave  Ace Hardware, heading to the Grand Lake Theater (3200 Grand), where they will join a “pedal pool” of Oakland elected officials and other bikers.

7:55 a.m. Pedal pool leaves Grand Lake Theater, heading to Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland.

8:15 a.m. Arrive at Ogawa Plaza to fanfare, pancakes!

7: 00 a.m.  Councilmember Garrett Keating will depart from the corner of Highland Avenue and Moraga Avenue, riding east to meet the Montclair pedal group at Wheels of Justice Cyclery, 2042 Mountain Blvd.  The Montclair group will bike down Park Boulevard, Lakeshore Avenue and meet at Grand Lake Theater.  Park Boulevard, which borders several blocks of Piedmont, is a designated Oakland bike route and is proposed as an element of Piedmont’s bicycle/pedestrian master plan, as is Moraga Avenue, a busy street through Piedmont.   Questions about the Montclair route can be addressed to (510-566-1481) or gkeating@ci.piedmont.ca.us .

5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Old Oakland, 9th and Broadway, DJ Olga T spinning tunes, Dance Party with Planet Booty, raise a glass to your fellow bicyclists and games: Berlin Style Ping-Pong; Four Square; Pinball Parlour; bike games Slow Roll and Bike Sumo

The first celebration of Bike to Work Day was organized by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition at Oakland City Hall in 1994. This year many East Bay schools are participating in Bike to School Day.The San Francisco, East Bay and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalitions encourage commuters to leave their cars at home and join tens of thousands of their fellow Bay Area residents in biking to work.

How to Make Your Own Safe & Simple Cleaning Products-  

As a follow-up to a recent program on “Chemicals in Everyday Products,” Piedmont CONNECT will offer a hands-on opportunity to start lowering your family’s exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in cleaning products. Piedmonters are invited to drop in to the Havens School Science Room on Saturday, May 4, from 3 to 5 p.m., and walk away with 3 – 4 products and recipes to use at home.  A small supply fee will be collected the day of the event to cover the cost of materials. > Click to read more…

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

On Saturday, April 27 between 10 am and 2 pm unused and outdated prescription drugs can be dropped off at the Piedmont Police Department. Properly disposing of medications is difficult since most drug stores won’t accept them and they should not be put in the trash or flushed down the plumbing.

see previous PCA article for more details.

League of Women Voters Annual Meeting and Luncheon-

State Assemblymember Nancy Skinner will be  the Piedmont League of Women Voters’ guest speaker on Friday, May 10, 2013, at 216 Hampton Road, Piedmont. She will speak at 11 a.m., immediately following the League’s annual meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m..  The free program is followed by the League’s spring luncheon from noon to 1 p.m..  Advance reservations and payment of $25 for the luncheon are required: please call (510) 547- 0762 before May 6.

Nancy Skinner was elected to the State Assembly in 2008.  Following redistricting last year, Piedmont became part of her district. She currently chairs the Assembly Rules Committee and formerly served as chair of the Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee.

Skinner brings to the Assembly a long history of public service and a record of environmental and social justice leadership. She served on the Berkeley City Council and the East Bay Regional Park District Board, owned a small business, and was active in student government at UC Berkeley.  As a legislator, she is perhaps best known for her E-Fairness bill requiring Amazon and other internet retailers to collect sales tax.

A renowned leader in the fight against global warming, Skinner co-founded ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, a membership association of over 2,000 cities worldwide, and launched the Cities for Climate Protection program that now involves over 500 U.S. cities and counties.

She is author of the gun safety bill, AB 48, which would require ammunition buyers to show identification, sellers to be licensed and to report their sales to the Department of Justice. The bill, which has passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee, also makes it illegal for gun owners to buy parts that turn their guns into assault-style weapons.

Information on the League of Women Voters of Piedmont.

Editors Note: Any opinions expressed are those of the League of Women Voters of Piedmont and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.

Piedmont Unified School District Names Two Recipients of 2013 Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award-

The recipients of the 2013 Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award are Bill Drum (posthumously) and Mary Ireland. The award will be presented to Ms. Ireland and the family of Mr. Drum at the May 8, 2013 Board of Education meeting. > Click to read more…

What are they? Why should we care? How can we reduce our health risks?

The League of Women Voters of Piedmont, Piedmont Connect, and the Beach Parents’ Organization’s Green Committee will host a free community event featuring Tracey Woodruff, PhD,MPH, of the University of California at San Francisco. The program will be held on Wednesday, April 24, 7- 8:30 p.m. at the Beach School Auditorium, 100 Lake Ave, Piedmont.  Everyday household furnishings, containers, and personal care products, including furniture, can contain ingredients such as lead, flame retardants and plasticizers that pose health risks. > Click to read more…

Town Hall meeting on crime issues Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 7:30 PM in the Veterans Memorial Building

Piedmont’s new Chief of Police, Rikki Goede and several officers  will explain  the steps the Police Department is taking to combat the increase of crime in our City.   This meeting will be hosted by the City’s Public Safety Committee, the City Council, the City Administrator, and other City officials attending. There will be time allotted for residents to ask questions of Chief Goede.

Chief Goede’s served in the police departments of San Diego for 10 years and San Jose for 16 years, reaching the level of Assistant Chief.  She has worked in virtually all areas of police activities, including patrol, field training, crime prevention, internal affairs, robbery, gang investigations, and a variety of command assignments.

The Piedmont League of Women Voters (LWV) will hold a forum in City Hall for representatives of the pro and con sides of the proposed $2,406 per year for 8 years Measure A School Tax.

Editors’ Note:  The Piedmont League of Women Voters  has endorsed the School Tax, Measure A.

The Piedmont Civic Association is a non-partisan organization and does not support or oppose ballot measures or candidates. 

Following is the LWV announcement.

LWV Piedmont Election Forum

Measure A – School Parcel Tax: Pros and Cons

The League of Women Voters of Piedmont will host an election forum in advance of the March 5, 2013 special election in Piedmont.  Measure A, the Piedmont Unified School District parcel tax measure, is the only item on the ballot. The forum will take place on Thursday, February 7, 2013, from 7:30-8:45pm at City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue in Piedmont.  Panelists Doug Ireland and Jonathan Davis, replacing Katie Korotzer, will present the argument for Measure A, with Tom Clark and Rick Schiller presenting the argument against.  Audience members are invited to submit questions for the panel.  Jan Zovickian will serve as moderator for the evening. The community is cordially invited to attend and learn more about the school parcel tax. Those unable to attend are invited to view a simulcast of the event on KCOM-TV, channel 27.

The Piedmont Recreation Commission will be considering Piedmont Community Pool budget, fees and schedules for the period May 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014 at a public hearing on Wednesday, January 30, at 7:30pm in the City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont.