Archive for February, 2010
California Tsunamis By The Numbers
By now you’ve hopefully heard the news: despite the National Weather Service advisory , a tsunami didn’t end up hitting Alameda on Saturday. I actually walked along the shore between 1 pm and 2 pm, hoping to see at least a swell, or a surge, or a white cap, but the San Francisco Bay was pretty…
Tsunami Advisory in Effect: California Coast
The National Weather Service has issued a tsunami advisory for the California coast from the Bay Area to San Diego County for this afternoon. The tsunami was triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake that hit Chile this morning. In the Bay Area, the advisory covers Alameda, San Francisco, Santa…
The battle for Tolerance in Alameda rages on
A new group has formed, Concerned Alameda Parents in the constant cat and mouse represented by the tiny fraction of Anti-gay advocates who keep filing lawsuits (and will likely keep losing them).
The group shouldn’t be confused with “Alameda Concerned Parents” which is a group of what appears…
Alameda admissions
On SFGate there is a column from Asian Pop Culture dude Jeff Yang which discusses what he calls the “Asian- Jewish connection” the thesis about whether or not Asians are the “New Jews” isn’t as interesting as all the other stuff in light of the State of California slashing the budget for subsidizing AP exams [...]
Eve Pearlman: A field of their own
For many children with disabilities, that 8 x 11 flyer that comes home from school in their backpack inviting them to Alameda Little League tryouts is a nonstarter. You can’t play baseball in a wheelchair! With a walker! If you can’t swing a bat!
Right?
But then there’s Miracle League baseball, a league of its own with [...]
Real Estate Roundup with Sharon Alva: Spring must be early
It must be spring! The trees are flowering, the birds are singing, and the housing inventory is going up. In fact, in Alameda 14 of the 91 single family residences now for sale entered the market in the last week. In the residential income category, four of the listed 18 just came on the MLS.
Buyers [...]
Decision 2010: Hitting the campaign trail
Another year, another set of electoral contests – and another regular feature on The Island to try to help all you local political junkies keep up with our wild and crazy local political scene. Welcome to Decision 2010!
We’ll start things off with just a couple little tidbits to whet your appetite:
Web master: I was trolling [...]
Green Living by Janet Marchant: Hats Off to Our Green Heroes!
We all know people in our community who deserve a medal for their tireless work to save the environment, but did you know that those green heroes can now receive an actual military honor? From what I’ve heard, it requires intense training, but those who successfully complete the course are awarded a Green Beret, and are qualified to take part in special operations. I can only assume that those special operations include challenging missions like cleaning oiled waterfowl, rescuing baby harp seals, and battling Spartina with some sort of amphibious combat gear. The wearing of the Green Beret must signify an ability to do all of this while also enjoying a dizzying variety of wines and cheeses, and being able to produce nasal vowel sounds that the rest of us only dream of. Oh, and I hear that their green pick-up lines are simply irresistible!
I hope I’m right about all this, because it’s exciting to think that even with the difficult wars going on right now, our country cares enough about the future of our planet to assign green warriors to protect it. I mean, the U.S. Army has long been one of the greenest on the planet, but those olive drab uniforms can’t really compete with the vibrant green of a Green Beret. We are taking environmentalism to a whole new level. So look out, evil polluters and careless consumers; the Special Forces will soon have you whipped into clean, green shape!
Your weekend: Alameda on Camera, Man of La Mancha
Coupla quick things to tell you about for this weekend:
Altarena Playhouse’s production of “Man of La Mancha” opens this Friday, February 26. The production is directed by Stewart Lyle, with musical direction by Armando Fox and choreography by Paula Wujek. Featured performers in the show, which tells the story of dreamer Don Quixote in song, [...]
Governor Appoints New Secretary of Education
As some of you may remember, California’s Secretary of Education, Glen Thomas, resigned three weeks ago.
In the past, the post has sometimes languished for months without a secretary to fill it. But this time the governor has already appointed a replacement: Bonnie Reiss, 54, a Democrat and…
