Leona Heights Neighborhood News

by Gordon Laverty

Leona Heights Improvement Association's Winter Potluck Dinner and business meeting will be held on Thursday, November 4, at Leona Lodge, 4444 Mountain Boulevard from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Business items will include Y2K household preparations, led by Marilyn King; the Leona Quarry status; 580 Freeway sound damping; and personal security. Potluck dinner starts at 6, with business meeting at 7:15 p.m. Local residents were overjoyed to learn in September that the California Trucking Association request to CalTrans for large-truck use of Highway 580 between 106th Avenue and Broadway had been turned down. We are grateful to the City Council, City Administration, and City and Alameda County and State elected leaders who supported our neighborhood group outcry. We welcome new residents to our area and hope that you enjoy as much as we do the fellowship, mutual support, and diversity of our neighborhood. Earthquake Preparedness Update The Menlo Park office of the U.S. Geological Survey on 14 October released the latest estimates of probabilities of large earthquakes on local faults. Since Leona Heights residents live in or very near the Hayward Fault, we must take seriously the estimate of a 70 percent probability over the next 30 years of a large shake on this fault. Those in two- and three-story dwellings, especially those overhanging steep slopes, should give consideration to structural review of their home's earthquake resistance. Everyone should review the fixity of china closets, electronic equipment, and bookcases to reduce personal property loss.