Boulevard Bites

by Toni Locke and Sheila D'Amico

### Fire, Police, Red Cross, and State Emergency Services, four cornerstones of Oakland's plan to meet disaster, reported to the Neighborhood Newsletter Network meeting at the Main Library on March 9. Grassroots journalists from Rockridge, Piedmont Avenue, the MacArthur corridor, Grand Lake, and Jack London Square listened to and talked with Kim Shunk, for the CORE program of the Oakland Fire Department Office of Emergency Services; Felicia Verdin, for the Oakland Neighborhood Watch Program; Jason Wallace, youth outreach for the Red Cross; and Jan McClellean, Alameda County Office of Emergency Services. These agencies are cooperating and going full throttle. Let's get the word out.

### A colleague remarked the other day that she was delighted to see the daffodils the city planted were blooming again. She didn't know those daffodil bulbs, donated by Home Depot, were planted by hundreds of citizen volunteers.

### Although neighbors at Fairfax and High are breathing a sigh of relief, the closing of M&W Liquors brings up several issues. Is closing small businesses what we want to be doing? Is the store destined to be another long-term dark and empty space like the former Mama Rosa's up the street or any of a dozen other spots we can name? How do we ensure that we aren't just moving suspected street criminal activity from one corner to another? Moreover, how do we get information to the youths and young adults who are just hanging out on the corners? How do we let the youths know of sports, music, art, and other activities available to them, and how do we help the young adults get access to jobs?