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by Dimond Neighborhood News

By Hoang Le Banh Dimond Public Safety Council and Walkable Streets Toolkit The Dimond Public Safety Council will meet Wednesday, June 1, 6:30 to 8 p.m., in Dimond Library, to talk about National Night Out. This committee of the Dimond Improvement Association (DIA) is also working on organizing public safety information and resources for the neighborhood, making it accessible via the Dimond Web site and in print. Moreover, with funds from the City of Oakland Neighborhood Services Program, the committee has purchased Walkable Streets: A Toolkit for Oakland, produced by Urban Ecology. One copy is currently available at the Dimond Library reference desk. Circulating copies will be available once they are catalogued downtown. In total, there will be three copies in English and one copy in Spanish. Open House and Sequoia Mask Parade On Wednesday, June 8, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at 3730 Lincoln Ave., come and see what the Sequoia children have been up to this year. Open House is an evening for everyone in the community to check out the classrooms. Come and see your own child's work. Visit the classes in the grade that your child will be entering next year. For more information, call 879-1510. This year's Sequoia Mask Parade will take place on Friday, June 17, 10 a.m. Find a spot to watch the kids go by in "Downtown Dimond." This dazzling display of children's art is an annual tradition that showcases the imagination and hard work of Sequoia students. If you would like to volunteer to help the kids cross streets, please come to the Sequoia Elementary School office at 10 a.m. Transforming Families Class and Dimond Kids' Day Camp What is a family? How is our cultural definition changing? What needs do urban families have and face? Fruitvale Presbyterian Church at MacArthur and Coolidge is holding a Transforming Families Class, a four-week discovery discussion of these questions on Wednesdays, June 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. The church will also host Dimond Kids' Day Camp, August 1 through 5, 9 a.m. to noon, for children three years old to those entering fifth grade in the fall. Meet other families and children that live right here in Dimond. For more information about all activities at this community-oriented church, call 530-0915, or visit www.fvpc.org. DIA Meeting, Volunteers, and Community Picnic DIA will be holding its general meeting on Wednesday, July 6, 7:30 to 9 p.m., in Dimond Library. Neighbors are welcome to exchange announcements and updates. Committees/working groups will report on business development, public safety, streetscape, and announce another "Volunteer of the Month." May's honoree was Grace Munoz, creator of the Heart of the Dimond garden at Champion and MacArthur and the Dimond Dream rowboat planter in front of Dimond Library. For her creativity, Grace received a Dimond T-shirt and dinner for two at any Dimond restaurant of her choice. She thanks everyone who donated funds and supplies. For those who would like to contribute funds for maintenance of the Dimond Dream, speak to a Dimond librarian. DIA is also planning a community picnic in Dimond Park for Sunday, July 24. Magic Dan will put on a magic show for kids of all ages in the morning. The barbecue will be fired up at11:30 a.m. Woman's Will, an all-women theater company, will perform Richard III in the afternoon. Come enjoy food and fun with family and neighbors. Exciting Fa?ade Improvements Many of you may have noticed the removal of the old Albertsons awnings to make way for a new fa?ade for Farmer Joe's. Just as exciting is the now complete fa?ade improvement at the corner of MacArthur and Fruitvale. Many thanks and congratulations to the owners of that building, which houses Cybelle's Pizza, KCM Noodles, and Jackson Hewitt. This was a project two years in the making. Lincoln Court Completion of the much awaited senior housing units at Lincoln and MacArthur is now anticipated by March 2006. If you or someone you know is interested in being placed on the application list, please contact Sirena McCart, at (415) 558-9500 ext.2, or sirena\@domusd.com. Please provide your name, phone number, and mailing address. Hoang can be reached at dia\@dimondnews.org, and more updates are available at www.dimondnews.org.