High Street Neighborhood Newsby Adelle Foley | ||
Hadley Louden demonstrates his drums while Tracy Richardson looks on. Photo by Adelle Foley
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Got Earthquake?
'Although Joe Davis, communications coordinator for Maxwell Park Emergency Response Team (MPERT) had sent out the Got Earthquake email in advance of the April 24 Oakland CORE exercise, the tape of a fictional KCBS broadcast that he played periodically to the group gathered in front of Maxwell Park School that morning sounded frighteningly authentic. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the North Oakland hills at 8:30 a.m. Highways 13, 24, 580, and 880 had sustained major damage. A BART train was stuck under the Bay. Power was out. All water should be boiled. Several sections of the Bay Bridge had collapsed. All CORE groups were asked to respond.
'Back on Fleming Ave., Joe offered training on walkie-talkie radios and issued radios to the Allendale neighbors, who were delighted to be able to send and receive messages and can now join the monthly MPERT radio tests. Captain Askew of the Oakland Fire Department and four of her crew arrived in a fire engine and led a discussion of emergency preparation. She explained that the Fire Department handles medical issues and problems with structures and downed wires, while the Police Department is responsible for security, order, and keeping people calm. She advised local response groups to select a controllable site, have a back-up plan, and be flexible.
'At the end of the exercise, Joe took the MPERT report to Fire Station 17 on High St., where a HAM radio operator relayed local reports through the ARES emergency network to EOC (Emergency Operations Center in Oakland).'
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Yard Sales All Around
When my husband and I walked down Brookdale on May Day, we found ourselves in the middle of Maxwell Park's neighborhoodwide yard sale. Tables and lawns from Normandie to Fairfax, from Trask to Camden, displayed the results of spring cleaning and decisions to part with once-beloved possessions. We sampled the sales we encountered on our weekend walk down Brookdale to brunch in the Laurel and back across the pedestrian bridge over 580 and up Birdsall to Monticello, but the map, organized by Libby Rubin, listed 34 locations. Our first stop was at Ashley and Vee Thomsak's, where daughter Cecelia sold me a glass of lemonade made from Maxwell Ave. lemons, and a Raiders outfit was passed on to an upcoming fan in a stroller. On Monticello, Barbara Taylor and her neighbors displayed beautiful black beads, a CD holder, a spa, and copies of the Metro. We were a little too early for hot dogs, but we could have acquired cactus plants or a sign claiming that "A small rotten dog lives here," decorated with the silhouette of a poodle. Almost back at Brookdale, Hadley Louden demonstrated a variety of drums and offered a standing fish tank as well as free plants. Best of all, at every stop we chatted with new and old friends and enjoyed the sunshine.
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Library Opening Postponed
'Latest news is that the Melrose Branch Library will reopen on June 22.'
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Slashed Tires Start the Day Off All Wrong
The first report about slashed tires came before 7 a.m. on April 28, from Laurie on Brookdale over the Maxwell Park listserv, and soon it was clear that the damage included Allendale (both sides of High Street), Renwick, Lilac, and Walnut streets as well. Neighbors knocked on doors to alert others to the flat tires, descriptions of the vandals were communicated by OPD from camcorders, and Allendale Ave. neighbors began to consider installing surveillance cameras along their street. Crime Stoppers offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest, capture, and conviction of those who committed this vandalism. A little over a week later, another tire slashing was reported on Brookdale. The community was angered at the expense and inconvenience of an action that brought no gain except for the hostile pleasure, born of hopelessness, of putting a mark on the world.'