HOPE celebrates

The HOPE (Health for Oakland’s People and Environment) Collaborative will be celebrating the launch of the three-year proposal on October 31 at Laney College.

OAKLAND, Ca – The HOPE Collaborative was recently granted $1.2 million from the W.K Kellogg Foundation. They will mark the beginning of their implementation action plan at Laney College, on October 31 from 11 am – 3 pm. There will be healthy free food, plant give aways, music, spoken word and children’s activities. Representatives from the Oakland Mayor’s Office are expected to be present along with other dignitaries.

The HOPE Collaborative is a group of organizations, institutions, and community residents that was formed to improve the health and quality of life in Oakland’s most vulnerable neighborhoods by transforming its food and fitness environments. “HOPE seeks to dramatically decrease the disparities amongst community ownership, health and education,” said Leon Davis, co-chair of HOPE. “This then,” Davis continued to say, “will also decrease disparities in crime, improve property value and allow our neighborhoods to become more resilient in dealing with the social problems that affect all of Oakland.”

The HOPE Collaborative envisions: Having more vibrant Oakland neighborhoods that provide equitable access to affordable, healthy, locally grown food; safe and inviting places for physical activity and play; and sustainable, successful, local economies.

The HOPE Collaborative welcomes all community members and organizations that share the vision of a vibrant, healthy Oakland to come and celebrate at Laney College, on October 31 from 11 am – 3 pm.

Contact: Leon Davis oaklandfoodandfitness.net 1-510-877-9256 leondavis3@gmail.com

“Seems it never rains in California…

…But girl don’t they warn ya, it pours, man it pours.” Some words from Hammond Albert and comments from Twitters embody this rainy, fall morning in Northern California:

showbizzy: Chance of Rain = Worst Potential October Storm in 75 years in California Weather hype. Oh no, how will we survive!

mjustsayin: it does rain in california!!!

  jtippins: Sweet south Georgia rain all the way in Northern California

HdR2010: Lovely stormy morning here in California. Kudos to all the folks who have been working crazy hours to bring in many grapes before this rain

 sacareahomes: High Winds And Rain Pound Northern California.http://cbs13.com/local/norcal.storm.hits.2.1241661.html

Elizabeths6: My dog does not like the rain. She hid under the trampoline this morning when I took her out. She a California girl.

 convivius: It’s not supposed to rain in California!

ambreiling: yes California drivers, it’s called rain, it falls from the sky around this time of year

twatson: Feels like home. I’m definitely enjoying the rain since it’s more of a novelty here in California.

GorgeousBorges3: my fellow california drivers: It is just rain, you can still drive without riding the breaks!!!!!

cynthiawebster: Puddles…tree branches in the road…and the smell of fresh rain. It’s a rainy mess in Northern California right now, and I love it!

2009 Love Fest

A day of stimulating sounds, sights (and sometimes smells) at San Francisco’s 2009 Love Fest.

More photos here

Nopa’s Firehouse 21on City’s cutting board

Captain Nikki Griffey and her crew at Firehouse 21 in the North of Panhandle neighborhood are often the first-responders to life threatening situation in the North of Panhandle and Haight neighborhoods,

Captain Nikki Griffey became a firefighter haphazardly. Bored with her old job, she explains, “I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.” Since being promoted to captain of Firehouse 21 about 16 months ago, the Richmond native says the best part of her job is spending 24-hour shifts with a crew she enjoys working with.

Yet, with a city budget in crisis and public services like the San Francisco Fire Department feeling its effects, Griffey and her crew’s future is an uncertain one.

This past summer, the Board of Supervisors approved to slash an additional $6 million from the Department. SFFD Public Informer Mindy Talmadge said that another budget cut may result in the closure of a fire company–and Firehouse 21 could be the first to go.

Temporary closures of fire companies, also known as “brown-outs,” were a reality for many stations in 2005 with Proposition F. Although Station 35 has been the only one to permanently shut down, Talmadge says this was due to the extreme costs required to earthquake retrofit the already rotting building on the pier.

The criteria for determining which stations could be closed, Talmadge explains, are determined by the SFFD‘s research department.  Call volumes and response times from one station to the next are analyzed to determine which closure could have the least impact on a particular area. Mandatory response times for an emergency vehicle to reach the destination of any call must be under four and half minutes. Talmadge says Firehouse 21 meets this requirement before most other companies.

Captain Griffey and her crew, who respond to an average of five or six emergency calls each day, worry that there would a longer response time for the nursing home next door, in addition to the already high volume of calls in The Haight neighborhood and Golden Gate Park.

NoPa neighbors are not staying quiet on the matter. Life-time resident, Kip Fuller considers Fire Station 21 a staple to the community, adding that it would be devastating if they were forced to shut down. “They’re the first responders to life-threatening situations,” he commented, adding that they are good neighbors too. The crew frequently shops at the Divisadero Farmers’ Market, wave as they drive by and host field trips for local school children.

“We want all our companies up and running, and providing the same quality service in every neighborhood of The City,” Talmadge said. “We have used every creative bone in our body to prevent brown-outs and shut-downs, and we’ll continue to try.”

Kip Fuller is starting a Facebook group with the crew of Firehouse 21 to create more awareness about the issue. Griffey says it’s important for the neighbors who want to ensure the future of the firehouse to write a letter to Mayor Newsom and talk to District 5 Supervisor Mirkarimi to not make further cuts. The Mayor begins meeting formally with citizens in February each year to hear their concerns about the previous budget and how to improve funding for public services.

 “If The City thinks the people don’t care,” Griffey said, “then it will be easier to get rid of us.”

NoPa’s Bike the Block Party

A short story with photos I posted about a block party for biking in my neighborhood. My favorite part was riding on a seven-person “funcycle” equipped with a stereo streaming Queen. Dan the DJ and steerer only wishes his younger passengers appreciated Bohemian Rhapsody as much as him.

On the note of biking and streets of NoPa, Streetsblog San Francisco posted a story about the new SFgo freeway signs popping up on already congested residential streets.

The Friday sigh becomes a ride

There’s no such thing as “just another day” at the Society of St. Vincent DePaul’s downtown Oakland campus. Every day contains new faces, stories and yesterday, a new thing–spit.

I left work yesterday and a few blocks in was confronted with an unprovoked loogie from a disheleved looking woman who appeared to have been recently released from the hospital. With AIDS being rampant in this area, thankfully the majority of it landed on my backpack and skirt. I was too shocked to say anything else but “thank you?” before speedily walking across the street and into a restaurant to clean up.

Just over a month since starting, working at SVdP has become a sort of love-hate dichtomy. I love the duties that come with being a case worker and serving some of Oakland’s most vulnerable, but I hate the extreme desperation and need that I’ve witnessed everyday in all kinds of degree. Yesterday as I listened and read the paperwork for a woman who was beat a coma lasting two months by her husband last year. Now she and her seven children finally found decent housing after losing everything. A petition was filed for St. Vincent de Paul to do a home visit for further assessing the mother and her children’s needs, from furniture to paying off hospital bills.

Given the absolute horror of this woman’s case, I usually don’t have time to completely absorb. Before I know it, I’m on to another case. Thankfully this time it was  the good news of a Culinary alumnus, finally, after a 2 year wait, having her ticket drawn for Section 8 Housing.

But at last it’ Friday, and the last Friday of the month at that, which means my first bike ride ever in SF’s Critical Mass.

The Monday rush

In between another fight breaking out in the community center, spending nearly half the day on hold by service agencies and of course the many new, jobless clients coming in, I’m physically and emotionally drained. The line outside of the Alameda County Social Services filtered out the door and around the block, a typical Monday morning scene and reminder of the extreme need amongst many Oakland residents.

While waiting on hold for several shelter referrals, I studied up on Social  Security Income (SSI), Unemployment Insurance and Food Stamps since so many clients depend on these sources. Typically, someone on SSI receives around $850 a month, which seems like a lot, but then they cannot receive Food Stamps. I have heard of many clients paying upwards of $200/week for a motel room which leaves them for about $50 for food, transportation, medicine, etc. The waiting list for affordable housing projects in Oakland is long and the process is tedious, requiring a voucher from the county social service office (which often means more waiting on hold and leaving endless voicemails). There are many resources I’m trying my best to keep up on because as I’m painfully realizing, there isn’t much room for a learning curve when you’re face to face with a person (homeless for the first time) who hasn’t the slightest idea of where to sleep tonight. For many, I am reminded on my way home as I spot a woman and her children sleeping in a curbed car with the windows open, home is on four wheels.

DePaul journalism class: All the news fit to Tweet

Since launching  it’s first online journalism class last fall, DePaul’s J-school is on the forefront of teaching vital new media skills like twittering to tommorrow’s journalist.

Read the story here

SVdP culinary students’ last supper

 

A very well-done story by a journalism graduate student from Berkeley about St. Vincent DePaul’s Culinary graduation last Friday:

http://oaklandnorth.net/2009/09/13/for-grads-in-chef-hats-one-last-nerve-wracking-test/

Midwesterner learns truth about forbidden “F” word

I made that “abdominal” mistake. Several times, actually, (twice in this blog alone). So if I’m fortunate enough to still be graced with San Francisco readers, I want you to know, I’m sorry. I did not mean to refer to your city with the “F” word. “Frisco” warrants a linguistic misdemeanor. I am no longer blissfully ignorant and swear on my new impulsively bought thrift store

hat (For $2, feather adorned and most likely flaunted at a 1969 Janis Joplin concert, I could not resist) that I will from now on say SF, the Bay Area, The Golden Gate City, Shaky Town, Baghdad by the Bay ( I would never say that), or simply “The City”. Naturally, I must next thank those individuals and resources that have awakened me from my lingual faux pas.

1. Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, 1872

Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word “Frisco,” which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay into the Imperial Treasury as penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars. - Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, 1872

2.            My new Bay Area Hula Hooping friend, Steve Whitson (pictured below):

Steve Whitson

 

Oh, if I may be so bold… “frisco” is a term disdained by most residents of the city. San Francisco always works… or “The City”

And of course, the blogging community: (courtesy of Strange Maps)

   > “Don’t call it Frisco” is little more than a provocative title for a book. The argument over what is and is not acceptable to call San Francisco is a silly one, and usually only engaged in by recent imports trying to assert ownership of their new home.

Comment by E-luv — September 14, 2009 @ 8:53 pm

    >The reason you don’t call it frisco or san fran, is because it would be sacraligious, not to mention rude, to shorten Saint Francis’ name. San Francisco. Embellish every syllable. I wouldn’t want people mispronouncing my name when I’m dead, so I like to afford others the same courtesy.

Comment by Johnny G — September 14, 2009 @ 11:18 pm

     >I’ve always abhorred when people called the city “Frisco” — it made me think of that nastiness that is solid vegetable oil!

Comment by Carmen — September 15, 2009 @ 1:36 am

Other Bay Area Hula Hoopers playing together last Sunday in the Golden Gate pandhandle