Boulevard Bites

by Toni Locke

Dal Sellman of Redwood Heights, intrepid Metro distributor for the Laurel, called in our first two bites.

### A tale of two benches: Inside the new bus shelter at 35th and MacArthur huddled a sad, beat-up, backless bench. A few feet away, on the new streetscape sidewalk, a spanking new bench sat out in the open. Our Public Works Department told Dal they would fix up the piece of wreckage inside the shelter. What about the new bench a few feet away? Oh, that's another department. We don't handle that.

### A mop-sized doggie came to Jordan Road as part of an extended (in every way) family Christmas house party. The dog slipped out in a moment of confusion and within minutes was pronounced missing. A family search of premises, street, and neighborhood came up empty. Within the hour a friendly neighbor reported seeing a "Found Dog" sign on a nearby telephone pole. Can't be ours. She disappeared only minutes ago. They checked the pole just in case, and there was a digital print of their dog with name and phone number of the finders on nearby Monterey. This is 2005, all right!

### Jean Quan, our District 4 Councilwoman, leads a solidly researched and impassioned fight to save Oakland from the damaging impact of a Florida developer's proposed 2000-slot gambling casino next to the Arrowhead Marsh wildlife preserve and the airport. The City Council voted on January 11 to reject the proposal. Strengthened by similar action by the cities of Alameda, San Leandro, and Berkeley, we may be able to stop what is, unfortunately, a Federal decision, with the infamous Bureau of Indian Affairs involved. For more information, check Quan's Newsletters and Web site, or call her office at 238-7004.

### A New Year's resolution for Metro readers might be to make good use of the public access to our nearby colleges and universities. Merritt College offers horticulture and plant sales. Holy Names University has a nationally respected music-education program and a new concert hall featuring classical and choral performance. Patten University mounts an outreach education program at San Quentin Prison, hailed by Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Mills College fosters cutting-edge new music and art, an Early Childhood Education site plus lab school, Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool, and beautiful walks.

### In January, County Supervisor Nate Miley put before a meeting of the Redwood Heights/Laurel NCPC, held at the Redwood Heights Recreation Center, the working draft of a coordinated countywide program to reduce violence, the outcome of 18 months of careful group planning. "Based on the World Health Organization's definition of violence, the County plan aims for good public policy for years to come," said Miley. "The County runs a major part of Oakland's social services. Our quality of life is at stake here." For more information and a copy of the complete report, call Miley's Oakland office, at 272-6694, or e-mail the County at BOSdist4\@acgov.org.