Boulevard Bites

by Toni Locke and Sheila D'Amico

### A Glenview neighbor passed on some advice on how to run block parties. A holiday like the fourth of July is a great time to start. Here's a quick "to do" list.

1. Well in advance, agree on date and time. Make fliers and pull together a phone roster for your street.

2. Go to the OPD (Broadway and 7th) and obtain a blank petition to block off the street.

3. Get at least 50 percent of the residents on the block to sign and return the filled-in petition to the police.

4. Arrange for volunteers to set up tables and canopies the morning of the party.

5. Arrange for a potluck with entrées, salads, sides, and desserts assigned alphabetically by first letter of last names.

6. Buy nonalcoholic drinks, paper goods, and decorations, to be paid for through a donations bucket that will be set out at the affair.

7. Arrange for extra entertainment (clown, musicians). A jumper that kids love rents for about $100 a day and is available from the "Jump For Fun" Web site, or phone 800-281-6792.

8. Put signs on cars parked on the street the night before, asking that cars be moved before the party. Set up makeshift barriers or saw horses the morning of the party.

9. Get everyone involved, making their own yards part of the fun and helping with all parts of the project.

10. Finally, be patient. It takes a year or two before the event catches on and becomes a neighborhood tradition for which people will stay home to attend, year after year.

### You should now be seeing work-in-progress on MacArthur Blvd. between High and 35th. According to Richard Cowan, chief of staff at Jean Quan's office, groundbreaking for the Laurel Streetscape was scheduled to begin on May 20 or 21.

### The Oakland City Council is gathering information on violence prevention and reduction from the Police Department and others working on the issue to prepare a November ballot measure. At a May 10 workshop, councilmembers requested cost-benefit analyses from agencies and expressed interest in determining the roots of violence. The agenda is scheduled to be continued at the regular Council meeting on June 15.

If you are interested in this issue, you can download the 2003 Violence Prevention Plan from the home page of the city's official Web site at www.oaklandnet.com. For the May 10 agenda and its extensive attachments, go to the same Web site. Under "frequently visited pages," click on "City Council meetings" and follow the links to the meetings until you reach the monthly calendars.