Preparing for 20-plus mile Kayak Voyage around Alameda

 I am preparing for a repeat of my 2013 SF Bay kayak trip around Alameda. In 2013 I paddled my Perception "Sparky" kayak on the 'round Island route accompanied by Keith McCoy of Alameda and his brother. 

Perception "Sparky" 9 ft. kayak
(now 19 yrs old and still going strong)

Our journey, as marked below, took a little more than 5 hours.

Yesterday's (Sunday) training session, still in "Sparky", launched on the Oakland side of the High Street Bridge and went into San Leandro Bay against an ebb tide.

High Street Bridge launch site in background

Channel Marker 1 in Estuary Channel 

I plan to make the trip on favorable tides during the last week February or second week of March. Several dates will be identified in case of weather delays.

 

Veteran's Day 2021

 

Retired from the Pharmaceutical Industry

After 41 years in the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry, I have retired. I entered the industry as a technician at Cutter Laboratories plasma center in Oakland before moving to Bio-Rad Laboratories where I worked for 10 years in manufacturing and quality/regulatory. Cetus and Chiron were my next assignments for 12 years. With these biotech companies I had the privilege of being part of the Proleukin, Betaseron and Menjugate vaccine product approval and manufacturing operations. 

In 2004 I began to provide quality and compliance service to start-up development companies, traveling the world working with contract manufacturers, laboratories and distribution depots for a wide range of new drug product. 

I am extremely thankful for the good people with whom I worked across the US and around the world.

Good News from Oakland's St. Elizabeth School

Students at St. Elizabeth's are coming back into the classroom after a year of COVID-19. The return of in-classroom learning is rolling out thanks to the hard work of Principal Lynne Mullen, her hard working teachers and staff and staunch support from parents!

94601 was hit particularly hard by COVID-19 but recent months improvement in controlling the virus' spread have allowed for a return to in-classroom learning. The empty school yard will hopefully return to the once bustling play area as students return to 34th Avenue. Here is a message from Principal Mullen from this last week.

We are sailing along! Our reopening is going extremely smoothly. We now have students in grades K-4 back in class. Next Monday, Grades 5 and 8 will return, and Grades 6 and 7 will return the following Monday. We have held three parent meetings (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) and have shared our plan and answered parent questions. Our parents have been wonderfully supportive. 

Thanks to a generous donor friend of Sr. Regena, we have an air purifier in every classroom. 

Thanks to the Dominican Sisters' Vision of Hope Book of Dreams and donors like you, we have two water-bottle filling stations which have replaced water fountains in the school for more sanitary dispensing of water. 

We also have been able to purchase desk shields for teachers and students, outside sinks for hand-washing, hand sanitizer dispensers for every classroom, an electrostatic sprayer for sanitizing the classroom every morning, and crates for students to keep their backpacks and lunches in so they don't have to use their lockers or cubbies. 

We have placed yellow dots marking 6 feet all around the campus, on benches, in the cafeteria, and in the hallways, to help students keep their physical distance from one another. We have hired additional staff to supervise recess and lunch so that the teachers can have their break. We have about over 100 students planning to or already have returned to campus, and we have more than 80 student who have chosen for the moment, to remain home for remote learning.

St. Elizabeth has been providing Catholic education to Fruitvale area children (including me, back starting 60 years ago).

St. Elizabeth still follows that mission today, meeting the challenge of serving its students even in the most trying time.

Build Out Jean Sweeney Open Space Park as Planned

I was disturbed to read the article in the East Bay Times which reports that Alameda officials have indicated that the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park won’t be as large as originally envisioned.

The link to the East Bay Times article is below. 

With all the new housing now under construction on the Northern Waterfront and at Alameda Point, it is imperative to fulfill the City's commitment to completing this open space as planned.  I don't thin UP Railroad has been the best steward of their land, which the City was working to obtain to complete the park. The City needs to continue its efforts to acquire the parcels are originally intended.  

Email your City Council to urge them to stay the course to complete Jean Sweeney Open Space Park as planned.

Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft (2018-2022) email: mezzyashcraft@alamedaca.gov

Vice Mayor Malia Vella (2016-2024) email: mvella@alamedaca.gov

Councilmember Tony Daysog (2018-2022) email: tdaysog@alamedaca.gov

Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer (2020-2024) email: tspencer@alamedaca.gov

Councilmember John Knox White (2018-2022) email: jknoxwhite@alamedaca.gov

Link to News story

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/03/29/alameda-change-in-city-park-plan-puzzles-council-residents/?fbclid=IwAR1eZAJuGEeFrY8BMPBsylWMRs2ecKEm68IWlOO4q9ybkpNdvk24B-Bh2wA

In the News: Violence Against Asians

Recent news reporting violence against Asians locally and around the country are a blunt reminder of how far we are from meeting fundamental human rights, let alone those held as American ideals. Attacks have ranges from verbal abuse, to assault and battery causing injury and sadly death.

It's a stark reminder of our people, and even worse, our own government's history mistreatment of those who look, speak, worship or have orientation different from a white population or differ from a white male population.

For real and lasting change for the better, I think it is important that individual step up and contact their elected representative in support laws, City Charter provisions, and Constitutional  amendments that promote fair and equitable treatment regardless of race, belief, origin, sexual orientation, gender, age or economic status.

There will always be bigots, and people from time to time will act on the worst side of human nature, but our governments can and should be institutions that continuously promote equal rights and equitable treatment for all. 

21st Century Police Policy and APD's Armored Vehicle

I used to think that public oversight by the City Council in a city Alameda's size would be good enough, but absorbing the past year and a half  I realize I was wrong. Ongoing and public civil oversight of the police department is essential in a modern democracy and must be embedding in city government. 

I agree the recommendation from the Committee on Police Reform and Racial Equity to establish a Charter Commission, institutionalizing our community's expectations and measuring police actions against those expectations and the law.  

Related to police policy, the March 16th Council Agenda Item 6B on decides the fate of APD's armored vehicle. To me oversized vehicle this smacked of militarization, with its drab paint job and intimidating image. I don't think this is good for Alameda  or in keeping how police should interact with our community. I hope the Council votes to get rid of it.

And, since it deployment in 2013 it has been used 33 time, just 2 of being in Alameda. This vehicle, driven by APD has been deployed 8 times to Berkeley, whose City Council denied funding to it's police department for buying its own armored vehicle, some saying, reflecting its distaste for military style vehicles!

 See the full staff report at this link:

https://alameda.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx