Boulevard Bites

by Toni Locke

### A worldwide string of catastrophic disasters is goading Oakland into active preparation for the major earthquake that lies in our near future. The Metro belongs to a newly reconstituted Neighborhood Newsletter Network of grass-roots publications. NNN plans a March 9 forum on "Oakland Preparing for Disaster" at the main library. A panel of city officials will answer questions about our current state of preparedness. We will report. ### The January announcement that 18 new officers have qualified for OPD, with more to come, is good news for our neighborhoods. A renewed call for a permanent, visible, available police protection in the Laurel and Dimond now has a little more chance of reality. The need is painfully evident. ### Our city's many January 2006 celebrations of Reverend Martin Luther King's birthday lifted Oakland's spirits. Never has our country been more in need of the broad, humane, peaceful, forward-looking kind of leadership he dedicated to the service of his people, his nation, and his world. ### The Metro opens its 2006 run with heartfelt thanks to the community of volunteers, businesses, and readers that have created and supported this nonprofit paper for over fifteen years. Happy Valentine's Day.