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Alameda County Fire Department Log
Submitted by ACFD
Wednesday, December 30
• At 6:51 p.m. firefighters responded to a report about an overturned box truck leaking fuel on Hesperian Boulevard underneath I-880 near Hayward. One person was extracted from a vehicle with minor injuries and taken to a hospital for treatment. Cal Trans and a tow truck also responded to the incident. The roadway was temporarily closed for cleaning.
Aurora to buy Uber’s self-driving vehicles arm
By Cathy Bussewitz and Michael Liedtke
AP Business Writers
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP), Dec 07 – Uber is selling off its autonomous vehicles development arm to Aurora as the ride-hailing company slims down after its revenues were pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Aurora will acquire the employees and technology behind Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group in an equity transaction, the companies said Monday.
Uber will invest $400 million into Aurora, and Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Aurora’s board of directors, the companies said.
After the transaction, Aurora will be worth $10 billion and Uber will hold a 26% stake in the company, said Chris Urmson, CEO of Aurora, in an interview.
“Our first product will be in trucking and freight, but we look forward to taking this great team that we have and accelerating that while continuing working on light vehicles and ride-haling, and we’ll ultimately see our vehicles deploying on the Uber network,” Urmson said.
Uber will not have exclusive rights as a ride-hailing company to Aurora’s technology, but the two companies will have a “preferred relationship,” Urmson said.
“For the last five years, our phenomenal team at ATG has been at the forefront of this effort – and in joining forces with Aurora, they are now in pole position to deliver on that promise even faster,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with Chris, and to bringing the Aurora Driver to the Uber network in the years ahead.”
Uber will lose a critical piece of its company after the pandemic cut into its finances by suppressing demand for shared rides. Its path to profitability has often been linked with its plans to deploy autonomous vehicles and reduce the high cost of paying drivers.
The company’s efforts around self-driving technology was marred in March 2018 when one of its automated test vehicles hit and killed a woman, the first death involving the technology. The backup Uber driver involved in the crash was charged with negligent homicide for being distracted in the moments before fatally striking the woman in suburban Phoenix.
“There’s no doubt they had a pretty rough couple of years a while back,” Urmson said. “What’s been impressive to me in meeting the team over the last little while is just how much the team has learned, and the tenaciousness, and determination of the team as they come to market in a thoughtful, safe way.”
Aurora, based in Mountain View, Calif., is led by former Google, Tesla and Uber executives. Aurora also has partnerships with delivery giant Amazon and auto companies Hyundai and Kia, among others, but its partnership with Uber is its first official relationship with a ride-hailing company.
The deal means Uber will be entrusting a key piece of its future to a 3-year-old startup co-founded and run by one of the engineers who launched Google’s pioneering work in self-driving cars more than a decade ago. Urmson was one of the most visible people involved in the once-secret project that Google initially dubbed “Chauffeur” before it was finally spun off into a separate company called Waymo. Google and Waymo remain closely aligned under the same corporate parent, Alphabet.
While at Google, Urmson also worked on the self-driving car technology with another top engineer, Anthony Levandowski, who defected to Uber in 2016 oversee its early efforts to build robotic vehicles.
As part of that effort, Uber bought Levandowski’s startup, Otto, for $680 million. That deal quickly disintegrated into a scandal after Waymo accused Levandowski of stealing its trade secrets and using them to help Uber to make the transition from human drivers to autonomous vehicles.
Uber denied the allegations, but eventually reached a $245 million settlement with Waymo in 2018 after a few days of testimony during a high-profile trial in San Francisco. Before the settlement, Uber’s former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick revealed he believed Google’s self-driving car technology posed an existential threat to Uber during his dramatic appearance on the witness stand.
That fear drove Kalanick Uber’s to open its own self-driving car division stocked with robotic experts from Carnegie-Mellon University as former Google engineers acquired as part of the deal with Levandowski. Uber eventually fired Levandowski in 2017 and Levandowski wound up being sentenced to 18 months in prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to stealing some of Google’s trade secrets before he left the company in 2016.
Counting Birds
By Ayn Wieskamp
For more than a century, Audubon Society has conducted an annual Christmas Bird Count. The first was on Christmas Day in 1900. It was organized by an ornithologist named Frank Chapman, who was also an Audubon member, as a counter to a long-standing “Side Hunt” tradition, during which hunters would compete to see who could bag the most game, including birds.
According to the Audubon Society website, 27 birders participated in the first count, recording 90 species, in locales ranging from Toronto, Canada to Pacific Grove, California.
The 121st Christmas bird count was from December 14, 2020 through January 5, 2021. Audubon and other organizations use the data collected by citizen scientists “to assess the health of bird populations, and to help guide conservation action.”
Counters work in specific areas 15 miles in diameter, counting and recording the species of all the birds they see. Participants need not be experts. If they are beginners, they are assigned to a group that includes at least one experienced bird watcher. Neophytes can help spot birds and keep count. Audubon also has a Great Backyard Bird Count on President’s Day. Residents count the birds in their backyards and communities, then enter the results online.
Dave Riensche, aka “Doc Quack,” East Bay Regional Park District’s wildlife biologist, has been a part of the annual bird count for more than 36 years. Riensche reports that during the 2019 bird count at Coyote Hills Regional Park, 88 participants identified a “whopping” 134 bird species, which is a new record. This included rare birds like Vaux’s Swift, Long-eared owl, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, American Bittern and many more. “The area including Coyote Hills ranks in the top 10 percent in the nation for the number of shorebirds,” says Riensche.
Within the region of the Ohlone Audubon circle, which encompasses Fremont and Hayward, the team set another new record of 181 bird species counted. Riensche and other park district staff and volunteers have been active in bird conservation for many years, including measures such as creating habitat for California quail (the state bird), and establishing Tern Town, a colony for California least tern at Hayward Regional Shoreline.
Park district staff members Tammy Lim and Dina Robertson comprised a team of two, counting in Sunol Regional Wilderness and adjoining San Francisco watershed lands. Of note was a male phainopepla (flycatcher) that they have seen every year in the past five. Despite some damage to his habitat caused by the SCU Lightning Complex fires, the bird was still there. They also saw a second male in another spot, lots of acorn woodpeckers, and some golden eagles. They counted 43 species in all in their small area. Lim is a resource analyst, and Robertson is the wildland vegetation program manager.
Because of pandemic concerns, volunteer counters were generally restricted to family groups this year. But the count went on, nationwide. Elsewhere in the East Bay, there is a Central Contra Costa 15-mile circle that includes most of Mt. Diablo State Park, parts of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, Concord Naval Weapons Station, and Waterbird Regional Preserve. In that circle, some 40 volunteers counted at least 161 species of birds, a 25-year high.
Riensche says that Christmas Bird Count participants contribute to one of the largest databases in history. The scientific and conservation values of the CBC grow with each winter season, especially with the bird population trends that are revealed. “On the local level, it forces us all to think about the impacts of habitat loss, sea level rise and climate change,” he said.
Logistical issues and COVID-19 concerns prompted some local chapters – Point Reyes, Oakland, San Francisco, and South Marin – to cancel their counts. Volunteers sign up for the Christmas bird count every November. However, Audubon has programs throughout the year. For more information, visit www.audubon.org.
BART Police Log
Submitted by Les Mensinger and BART PD
Sunday, December 27
• At 8:18 p.m. a man identified by police as Ryan Arlington Clark, 40, of Fresno, was arrested at the Bay Fair station in San Leandro on an outstanding warrant for parole violation. He was booked into Santa Rita Jail and issued a prohibition order.
Monday, December 28
• At 7:51 p.m. a man identified by police as Victor Aleso, 27, of Oakland was arrested at the Hayward station on an outside agency warrant. He was booked at Santa Rita Jail.
Tuesday, December 29
• At 6:42 p.m. a man identified by police as Quinton Allen, 30, of San Leandro was arrested at the Bay Fair station in San Leandro on an outside agency warrant. He was booked at Santa Rita Jail.
• At 7:17 p.m. a man identified by police as Gregory Soto, 50, of Hayward was arrested at the Hayward station on suspicion of public intoxication and an outside agency warrant for public intoxication. He was booked at Santa Rita Jail.
First openly gay justice sworn in to California Supreme Court
AP Wire Service
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Dec 04 – California’s Supreme Court has its first openly gay justice.
Martin Jenkins was sworn in on Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom in a virtual rather than in-person ceremony because of coronavirus safety restrictions.
“In swearing in Justice Jenkins today, our state once again makes history, and we elevate an extraordinary Californian to the bench,” Newsom said in a statement. “The people of our state could not ask for a finer jurist or better person to serve them in this capacity.“
Newsom nominated Jenkins to replace Justice Ming Chin, who retired on Aug. 31. The Commission on Judicial Appointments unanimously confirmed Jenkins in November, praising him for his “brilliant intellect, first-class temperament, and boundless humanity.”
During a news conference in October, Jenkins said his identity as a gay man has been “perhaps the greatest challenge of my life.”
Jenkins also is the third Black justice to serve on the court. He joins a diverse bench that includes another Black justice, Leondra Kruger; Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, who is Latino; two Asian Americans, Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye and Justice Goodwin Liu; and white justices Joshua Groban and Carol Corrigan.
Jenkins grew up in San Francisco. His father was a clerk and janitor at the city’s iconic Coit Tower. He was a prosecutor in Alameda County and a civil rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Reagan administration.
He was appointed as a federal judge in 1998 joined the state Courts of Appeal in 2008. He retired last year and joined Newsom’s administration as the judicial appointment secretary, helping Newsom vet potential appointments for judgeships.
New California laws address virus, fires, law enforcement
By Don Thompson
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Dec 30 – What a strange legislative year it was.
The coronavirus pandemic forced California state lawmakers to twice shut down their sessions for weeks at a time – the first unexpected work stoppage in 158 years. Masked lawmakers tried to limit the number of bills they considered, but still ran out of time on the final night, partly because quarantined Republican senators had to vote remotely.
Yet they still managed to pass hundreds of bills, 372 of which were signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Most take effect with the new year. Among them:
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
As the pandemic set in, so did nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Police killings of primarily Black and Latino men gave urgency to bills that previously stalled and prompted new efforts at law enforcement accountability, some of which failed in the session’s waning hours.
One new law requires the state attorney general to investigate any time police kill an unarmed civilian, while a second gives county supervisors greater oversight of county sheriffs.
Evaluations of peace officers must include assessing bias against race or ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.
Police can’t use carotid restraints or chokeholds.
Youths up to age 17 can’t be questioned by police or waive their rights until they have a chance to consult with an attorney.
Suspects may be entitled to new trials or sentences if they can show their case was tainted by racial bias. And juries will be picked from all tax filers, a broader pool than the current lists of registered voters and licensed drivers.
Governments can’t use software to track a person or object without first getting a warrant.
Former inmate firefighters can quickly apply to have their criminal records expunged after their release, which gives them a shot at becoming professional firefighters or seeking employment in other licensed professions.
WILDFIRES
Record wildfires have scarred California’s landscape, spurring a drive for more protections.
Homeowners in fire-prone areas must further reduce vegetation within 100 feet (30 meters) of structures, including eliminating vegetation immediately adjacent to structures, though the rule can’t be enforced until the state develops regulations and lawmakers provide money for beefed-up inspections.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services must take into account the needs of the elderly, children, those with language barriers or physical or mental disabilities when updating the State Emergency Plan.
Insurers must prominently notify policyholders if their offer to renew a policy reduces coverage, such as eliminating fire protection, and get it acknowledged in writing.
Emergency vehicles can use a distinctive “Hi-Lo” warning sound to notify the public of an immediate need to evacuate an area in an emergency under a law that took effect in September.
Employers can’t force domestic workers to work during an evacuation, whether the danger is from fire or the coronavirus.
HEALTH AND CORONAVIRUS
Employers must quickly notify workers of potential coronavirus exposure.
Hospitals must maintain a three-month supply of personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves and supply it to endangered employees. The state itself must also build a stockpile under a separate law.
Several coronavirus laws already took effect. They include one presuming for the purposes of workers’ compensation that the virus was contracted on the job unless employers prove otherwise. Another requires Cal/OSHA to provide agricultural workers and employers, in English and Spanish, the best ways to prevent coronavirus infections. Food facility employees must be allowed to wash their hands every 30 minutes and additionally as needed.
Good Samaritans who rescue children under age 6 from overheating in unattended vehicles can’t be held civilly or criminally liable if they first call emergency workers before breaking in.
Insurance companies can’t deny life or disability income insurance solely because an applicant has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
A new law bans the sale of most flavored tobacco products, but the industry says it has enough signatures to block the measure until voters weigh in, which may take until 2022. California officials are delaying the effective date until county clerks decide if a sufficient number are valid.
BUSINESS AND LABOR
California-based companies must have at least one board director by the end of 2021 who is a racial or sexual minority. By 2022, that bumps to two such directors for smaller boards and to three for boards with nine or more directors. It follows a similar California-first requirement for female board directors.
Companies with 100 or more employees must provide the state information on employees’ race, ethnicity and gender in various job categories, information that could help the state identify pay disparities.
Leaves of absence under the California Family Rights Act expand to include all companies with five or more employees, instead of the previous limit of 50 or more employees.
Employers can’t discriminate or retaliate against workers who take time off for medical care, court proceedings or for other reasons if they are victims of a crime including sexual assault, domestic violence or stalking.
Businesses can’t avoid paying back wages just by adopting a new name under a law that says they’re liable if have the same owners, facilities or workforce.
Employees have a year, instead of six months, to file discrimination or retaliation complaints with the California Labor Commissioner.
A bill that already took effect exempts about two-dozen more professions from California’s landmark labor law designed to treat more people like employees instead of contractors. The law was primarily aimed at ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft, which won a reprieve on the November ballot.
The minimum wage rises to $14 an hour under another existing law that will bring it to $15 an hour for all employees by 2023. Employers with 25 or fewer workers must pay $13 an hour.
California court: Sex offenders can qualify for early parole
By Don Thompson
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Dec 28 – The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that inmates who have been convicted of nonviolent sex crimes may be eligible for early parole consideration as part of a ballot measure that nearly two-thirds of voters approved of four years ago.
“The initiative’s language provides no indication that the voters intended to allow the (Corrections) Department to create a wholesale exclusion from parole consideration based on an inmate’s sex offense convictions when the inmate was convicted of a nonviolent felony,” wrote Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye in the unanimous decision.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown, who championed the 2014 initiative as a way to reduce prison populations and costs by speeding up chances for parole, has repeatedly said he and other proponents never intended for it to cover sex offenders.
But lower appeals courts ruled that the plain language of the initiative means they cannot be excluded from consideration as nonviolent offenders, and the high court agreed.
The ballot measure, the justices ruled, “is not ambiguous concerning its scope regarding offenders who were previously convicted of a registerable sex offense or who are currently convicted of a registerable sex offense that the Department has itself defined as nonviolent.”
Under California law, violent offenses include things like rape, sodomy and continuous sexual abuse of a child. But the definition leaves out many other offenses, like pimping, incest, indecent exposure and possessing child pornography.
The ruling could allow parole consideration for about 20,000 inmates, said Sacramento attorney Janice Bellucci, who argued the case and also is executive director of the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws. About half are now serving time for sex crimes while the other half are in prison for some other offense like burglary or drugs but were previously convicted of a sex crime.
But the court put the number much lower, based on the state corrections department’s earlier figures. While about 22,400 inmates were required to register for a sex offense based on a current or prior conviction, more than 18,000 were serving time for a violent offense. That left about 4,400 inmates.
Bellucci didn’t disagree with the lower figure but said it’s unclear how corrections officials will rewrite their regulations based on the high court’s ruling. Sometimes they have argued that all sex offenders are by definition violent, while other times they have used the narrow definition in state law, she said.
She called the ruling “a significant victory” for inmates convicted of sex offenses.
Corrections department spokeswoman Dana Simas echoed the high court’s emphasis that the decision does not necessarily mean sex offenders will be paroled.
Parole boards can still choose not to allow individual earlier releases, which the justices said leaves corrections officials “with ample room to protect public safety” without the broad prohibition the corrections department had argued was needed for sex offenders.
“The Board of Parole Hearings may consider an inmate’s prior or current sex offense convictions when evaluating the inmate’s suitability for parole,” the justices said, but it may not deny “even the mere possibility of parole to an entire category” of inmates.
The ruling, Simas said, “will have no impact on the existing exclusion of individuals convicted of violent felony sex offenses from this parole process.”
The justices had stayed eight other related cases while it considered Monday’s ruling.
The ballot measure allows officials to consider paroling inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes after they have served their basic sentence and before they have completed sometimes lengthy additional terms for enhancements for things like using a gun, having prior criminal convictions, or being involved in a street gang.
The high court thus ruled “that nonviolent offender parole eligibility must be based on an inmate’s current conviction” and offenders cannot be excluded from consideration for what the state deems a nonviolent sex offense.
California’s Next United States Senator
Submitted by Governor’s Press Office
Governor Gavin Newsom has selected California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to be California’s next United States Senator, filling the term being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Padilla, who is a national leader in the fight to expand voting rights, will become the first Latino to represent California in the United States Senate.
Padilla also served as chairman of California Complete Count Committee, where he led efforts to reach hard to count communities and worked with community-based organizations to secure a safe and fair census count.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust placed in me by Governor Newsom, and I intend to work each and every day to honor that trust and deliver for all Californians,” said Padilla. “From those struggling to make ends meet to the small businesses fighting to keep their doors open to the health care workers looking for relief, please know that I am going to the Senate to fight for you. We will get through this pandemic together and rebuild our economy in a way that doesn’t leave working families behind.”
How young drivers can steer clear of costly car insurance
AP Wire Service
Dec 28
By Kayda Norman of NerdWallet
Insurance costs for drivers in their early 20s can be staggering – after teenagers, young adults have some of the highest car insurance rates in the country.
In fact, the average car insurance rate for drivers 20 to 25 years old is about $2,200 a year for full coverage, according to a 2020 NerdWallet analysis of the top five insurers in the nation. That’s about $700 more per year than the average rate for a 40-year-old driver.
WHY IS CAR INSURANCE SO EXPENSIVE FOR YOUNG DRIVERS?
Drivers ages 20 to 24 are involved in more crashes than any other age group besides teens, according to the most recent data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS. Young drivers, like teenagers, are inexperienced and more prone than older age groups to take risks like speeding and not wearing a seat belt.
For example, IIHS has found that 16- to 24-year-olds in the front seat are the least likely to wear seat belts, and drivers who speed tend to be younger than drivers who don’t. IIHS has also found that 42% of drivers ages 21 to 30 who were killed in crashes in 2018 had a blood alcohol content at or above the legal limit, more than any other age group in the study.
As drivers age, risky driving behavior declines, with crash rates leveling out around age 30, according to Eric Teoh, director of statistical services at IIHS.
Even so, young drivers can still save on auto insurance by following a few guidelines.
DRIVE SAFELY
Don’t drink and drive, avoid accidents and slow down. Sounds simple, but a clean driving record can save hundreds of dollars a year. A separate 2020 analysis from NerdWallet showed that, on average, 25-year-old drivers pay nearly 25% more per year for full coverage car insurance after one speeding ticket and almost 50% more annually after a car accident.
Staying “ticket- and accident-free goes a long way to less expensive insurance,” says Michael McCartin, president of Joseph W. McCartin Insurance Inc., an independent agency in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metro areas. “You don’t want to be 22 years old and looking for insurance with three tickets.”
SHOP AROUND
In addition to age, insurers use a variety of factors to determine rates, including gender, location and your car’s make and model. Because each company weighs these factors differently, getting quotes from multiple providers is the best way to find a good rate.
Try to compare quotes from at least three insurers for equal amounts of coverage once a year or whenever any big changes happen, such as moving or getting married.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DISCOUNTS
Ask your insurer about any discounts you might qualify for. McCartin says young drivers will save the most by bundling insurance if they buy another policy from the same company. And young drivers still living at home save by staying on the same policy as their parents.
Other discounts young drivers can ask for include price breaks for being a student living away from home, getting good grades and completing a driver’s education course.
CONSIDER NONTRADITIONAL CAR INSURANCE
If you won’t be driving much for the foreseeable future, you could save money by switching to per-mile insurance, with rates based on how many miles you drive.
Similarly, if you’re a safe driver, consider usage-based coverage, which uses an app or device to track driving behavior, such as speeding and hard braking, to determine a discount or reward.
While some companies specialize in per-mile insurance, many traditional insurers offer both of these options.
BUILD YOUR CREDIT
In most states, insurers use a credit-based insurance score to calculate your auto insurance rate. This score looks at information such as payment history and outstanding debt, similar to the credit scores used to get a credit card or loan but weighed differently. The practice is not allowed in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, or Michigan.
In other states, credit can impact car insurance rates more than a DUI for some drivers. On average, 25-year-olds with poor credit pay 74% more per year for full coverage car insurance than drivers with good credit, according to NerdWallet’s rate analysis.
You can improve your credit by:
– Paying bills on time.
– Paying down credit card debt.
– Keeping your credit utilization, the percentage of your total available credit, low.
Learn more about your score by getting a copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
Will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?
AP Wire Service
Dec 17
Not until there’s enough data from studies in different age groups, which will stretch well into next year.
The Pfizer vaccine authorized in the U.S. this month is for people 16 and older. Testing began in October in children as young as 12 and is expected to take several more months. The Food and Drug Administration will have to decide when there’s enough data to allow emergency use in this age group.
Depending on the results, younger children may be enrolled for study as well.
Moderna, which is expected to become the second COVID-19 vaccine greenlit in the U.S., began enrolling study participants ages 12 to 17 this month, and will track them for a year. Testing in children younger than 12 is expected to start in early 2021.
It is uncertain if the results on younger children will come in time for vaccinations to begin before the next school year.
Positive outcomes in adult studies are reassuring and suggest it is safe to proceed in testing kids, said Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University and director of its vaccine research program.
Even though children usually don’t get very sick from COVID-19, they can spread the virus to others, said Dr. Robert Frenck, who is the lead researcher for Pfizer’s study in kids at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. At least 1.6 million youth have been infected, 8,000 have been hospitalized and 162 have died from the virus, he noted.
“It’s really important, not only for themselves but also for society,” Frenck said.
COVID-19: Progress towards the end
By Madhvika Singh
Since the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered in New York on the morning of December 14th, more than 3.1 million people across the country have taken the vaccine as of Dec 30th, with California having the largest share at over 300,000.
The COVID-19 vaccine distribution is the biggest vaccination campaign in recent history. The United States announced its Operation Warp Speed on May 15, 2020 with a goal to produce and deliver 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by January 2021, as part of a broader strategy to accelerate development, manufacturing, and distribution of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for COVID-19.
Currently there are two vaccines that have been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for preventing COVID-19; one developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and another by Moderna. Both the vaccines are based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology and are highly effective in preventing COVID-19, with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at 95% and the Moderna vaccine at 94% effectiveness. There is a critical difference between them as far as logistics are concerned, though. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine needs ultra-cold temperatures for storage (-94F) whereas the Moderna vaccine can be stored at -4F.
The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are taken as two intramuscular injections three and four weeks apart, respectively. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most common side effects are fever, chills, tiredness, headache, and pain and swelling in the arm where the shot is taken. The CDC also reports that it has learned of some people experiencing severe allergic reactions after getting the COVID-19 vaccine and recommends consulting with a physician to check whether vaccine would be safe for people with prior allergic reactions to other vaccines or injectable therapies.
In addition to imparting immunity to recipients of the vaccine, vaccines may also reduce virus transmission from people who do contract COVID-19 despite vaccination. While FDA scientists are still unsure, the hope is that this will be the case, as it is for most other vaccines. Data from clinical studies also indicated that people who have previously had COVID-19 could benefit from taking the vaccine. There was some evidence that participants with evidence of prior COVID-19 infection had a reduced incidence of re-infection after taking the vaccine.
The production capacity for vaccines and resulting number of doses available for administration are expected to increase rapidly over the coming months, but supply will probably remain limited for the time being. Until production capacity ramps up to make vaccines freely available to the general public, the US government is managing the initial and ongoing distribution and allocation of doses to various states through Operation Warp Speed. Federal and state officials are also handling distribution of the limited supply of both vaccine doses to individual facilities.
The allocation of the vaccines is based on the adult population for the 50 states, eight territories and five federal entities including Department of Defense (DoD), Veterans Health Administration, Indian Health Service, State Department and Bureau of Prisons. The allocation does make allowances where there is concern around equitable distribution – for example for geographically isolated areas, such as Alaska, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and for states where Indian Health centers chose to affiliate with their states rather than the Indian Health Service. Mechanisms for actual distribution and administration of vaccines to the community are left up to the individual jurisdictions.
Alameda County Public Health Department’s (ACPHD) COVID-19 vaccination plan builds on CDC’s guidelines to ensure equitable access. As per ACPHD, local COVID-19 trends indicate that Latino, African American, and Asian Pacific Islander communities have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, suffering a disproportionate number of cases and deaths, and face significant barriers to COVID-19 prevention. ACPHD’s plan calls for using the Healthy Places Index (HPI) data measure set by their Health Equity Team to help determine equitable distribution of the vaccine points of dispensing (PODs).
There are three more candidate vaccines for which large-scale (Phase 3) clinical trials are either in progress or are being planned for. These are being developed by AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax, as per the CDC.
With progress being made on the vaccination front, we hope we will finally be able to gain an upper hand in our battle against COVID-19 in the new year.
Information in this article is compiled from various government agencies like ACPHD, CDC, FDA, DoD, DHHS and other sources like Bloomberg in our effort to share the most objective and current information with our readers. As information about COVID-19 vaccination is evolving and changing rapidly, please reach out to your medical providers for individual questions and concerns, as this is not intended to replace medical advice.
Sources:
https://www.fda.gov
https://www.cdc.gov
https://www.defense.gov
https://www.hhs.gov
https://covid-19.acgov.org
https://www.bloomberg.com
Dictionary.com picks ‘pandemic’ as its 2020 word of the year
By Leanne Italie
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP), Nov 30 – On Dec. 31, China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown origin to the World Health Organization. By Jan. 31, WHO declared an outbreak of a novel coronavirus a global health emergency. Come March 11, the world was facing down the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parents sat children down to explain what a pandemic is. Related terms usually restricted to medicine and science stormed into everyday conversation. Over time, we were pandemic baking and pandemic dating and rescuing pandemic puppies from shelters.
All of which led Dictionary.com on Monday to declare “pandemic” its 2020 word of the year.
Searches on the site for the word spiked more than 13,500% on March 11, senior research editor John Kelly told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of the announcement.
“That’s massive, but even more telling is how high it has sustained significant search volumes throughout the entire year. Month over month, it was over 1,000% higher than usual. For about half the year, it was in the top 10% of all our lookups.”
Another dictionary, Merriam-Webster, also selected pandemic as its word of the year earlier Monday.
Kelly said pandemic beat out routine lookups usually intended to sort more mundane matters, such as the differences between “to, two and too.”
“That’s significant,” Kelly emphasized. “It seems maybe a little bit obvious, and that’s fair to say, but think about life before the pandemic. Things like pandemic fashion would have made no sense. The pandemic as an event created a new language for a new normal.”
Lexicographers often factor out routine lookups when evaluating word trends.
The pandemic, Kelly said, made us all worthy of watercooler chatter with Dr. Anthony Fauci as our knowledge grew about aerosols, contact tracing, social distancing and herd immunity, along with the intricacies of therapeutic drugs, tests and vaccines that can help save lives.
“These were all part of a new shared vocabulary we needed to stay safe and informed. It’s incredible,” said Kelly, who works with a team of lexicographers to come up with words of the year based primarily on site traffic.
Asymptomatic, furlough, non-essential, hydroxychloroquine and a host of other pandemic-related words saw massive increases in lookups as well.
Jennifer Steeves-Kiss, chief executive officer of Dictionary.com, said one key ingredient in the hunt for the site’s word of the year is sustained interest over time. Pandemic met that standard.
“This has affected families, our work, the economy,” she said. “It really became the logical choice. It’s become the context through which we’ve had dialogue all through 2020. It’s the through line for discourse.”
The word pandemic has roots in Latin and the Greek pandemos, meaning “common, public.” Breaking it down further, “pan” means “all” and “demos” means “people.” As evidenced in a medical text by a Dutch-born physician, Gideon Harvey, pandemic entered English in the 1660s in the medical sense, Kelly said. He noted that “demos” is also the basis for the word democracy.
A pandemic is defined by Dictionary.com as a disease “prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world; epidemic over a large area.” Its broader sense, as evidenced in its roots, can be used thusly: “A pandemic fear of atomic war.”
EARTHTALK
Trucking Goes Electric: Accelerating Toward A Greener Future
By Emily Folk
The idea of an electric car isn’t a new one. Some of the first vehicles ever invented were powered by electricity rather than internal combustion engines. While they didn’t take off as quickly, the idea has always been there, just waiting for technology to catch up with our imaginations.
Choosing an electric vehicle over a more traditional option is a great way for the average consumer to shrink their carbon footprint and reduce their impact on the environment. Until recently, though, this technology has been limited to passenger vehicles. Advances through 2019 and 2020 have shown that this may be a viable option for larger vehicles, such as trucks.
Here are some reasons the trucking industry is considering going electric:
Reducing Fuel Costs
Fuel costs have always been one of the biggest expenses in the trucking industry. Even if contracts don’t change, expenses vary depending on the price of oil at any given time. With freight trucks transporting roughly 80% of the cargo moved within the United States, those costs play an enormous role in efficiency and profit within the industry.
Instead of relying on fossil fuels, electric trucks get their power from the grid. There is some price fluctuation with coal-burning plants regularly changing the cost of electricity based on fuel expenditures. However, the changes are dramatically less than they would be for a truck driver pulling up to the diesel pump every time they need to refill the tank.
Once you move beyond the initial investment that accompanies purchasing an electric truck, these vehicles may end up paying for themselves. This will be especially beneficial for small companies that often find themselves struggling to stay out of the red when fuel costs start to climb toward the stratosphere.
Contending with New Regulations
Advances in modern automotive technology have helped reduce emissions created by massive trucks. In fact, they dropped 40% between 2007 and 2017, according to the EPA. However, the trucking industry remains one of the largest creators of greenhouse gas emissions in the country. The Cleaner Trucks Initiative was introduced in 2018 to update the emissions standards for heavy freight trucks, something the organization hadn’t done since 2001.
Rather than contending with the problem of retrofitting older trucks to meet new emissions standards, companies now have the option to choose electric vehicles to circumvent the need for compliance testing. This will make life easier for drivers and their employers alike.
This switch will also become vital as more cities start establishing low emission zones (LEZs) where traditional freight trucks won’t be allowed. While these are currently more common outside of the United States, we may start seeing them here in the future. LEZs are reducing air pollution in neighborhoods and cities by restricting the use of high-emission vehicles. These neighborhoods provide public transportation or redesign their streets so pedestrians and cyclists can move safely.
Electric Future for Trucking Industry
Electric freight trucks are expensive, but so too were electric passenger cars when they first started hitting the market. Now you can bring home an electric car or SUV for roughly the same price as its more traditional counterpart unless you’re going for one of the really fancy options like a Tesla Roadster.
The future of the trucking industry will likely be steeped in electric vehicles, which will be a good change. These trucks will reduce emissions, make the sector more efficient and end up shrinking costs in the long run. That is something most people agree will lead to a better future for the industry and the planet, as well.
EarthTalk is produced by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss for the nonprofit EarthTalk. See more at https://emagazine.com. To donate, visit https//earthtalk.org. Send questions to: [email protected].
Editorial
Back to the Future
The Back to the Future franchise made popular from the first 1985 film featuring a young man’s journey with a brilliant, but eccentric inventor who converts a DeLorean automobile into a time machine, describes the advantages and pitfalls of traveling back and forth through time. Throughout the initial film and its two sequels, characters Marty McFly and Doc Emmett L. Brown face some of the same challenges although in different temporal contexts. In all instances, changing scenery and alteration of primary protagonists and villains doesn’t change a story line that revolves around key incidents and their consequences, calling for courage in the face of bullying and intimidation.
In our daily lives, it is easier to ignore or deflect rather than confront significant community concerns. After all, it may appear there is little the average resident can do to alter the direction of events when those in power decide on a course of action. However, it is possible to pay attention to events and decisions that lead to an ultimate result and thereby alter results. Most choices that appear at council meetings do not just suddenly appear on an agenda. Typically, they travel a path, often visible to the public, through boards or commissions tasked with sifting through details of a proposal before it is presented to ultimate decision makers. Criticism and suggestions can have a much greater impact in the formative stages of proposals rather than following extensive time and effort fashioning a finished product. Resistance to change is magnified as the process proceeds.
Just as Marty McFly traveled through time to understand why and how his present and future situation was altered by past actions, so too can we, the public, review past challenges that remain, though in a different context, today. The clamor about growth, housing, traffic, environment, wage disparity and quality of life have been muted by the prevalence of concern about the devastating impact of COVID-19. But as a plethora of vaccines become widely available, hopefully 2021 will see this threat recede. However, the same pre-COVID problems remain and need to be addressed, although probably in a different context.
How will the advent of significant telehealth, telecommute and economic measures emerge from the devastating impacts of a pandemic? Will needs and direction modify in response to changes of population pressures in the Bay Area? Some major industries have opted for growth in different geographical locations while others may adapt to more home-based employment. Will choking traffic patterns continue to escalate or abate in response to these changes? Will new development such as the proposed Costco at NewPark Mall exacerbate existing traffic bottlenecks or enhance the viability of nearby housing? What will be the effect on regional mass transportation networks? If population pressure decreases, what happens to inequality of housing opportunities?
These are just a few of the challenges and opportunities facing new and returning administrations. It is imperative that our elected leaders and their professional staffs carefully examine and try to anticipate how these changes will affect the future of our Bay Area communities. As the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2020, a collective sigh of relief was palpable. In response to a feeling of hope for the new year, it is now time for all of us to renew commitments to collective vigilance that will guide, aid and support all aspects of families, friends and neighbors.
As Doc Brown says in a parting message to Marty and (wife) Lorraine, “Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.”
New program offers financial guidance to Alameda County residents
By Alfred Hu
There is a bit of good news amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. For those who are struggling to figure out how to weather the storm financially, a newly created service called Financial Navigators can offer sound advice and guidance. Launched in Alameda County on November 30, it aims specifically to assist individuals and families whose finances are impacted by Covid-19 and is funded by the non-profit organization Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE). To date there are 31 Financial Navigator programs funded by CFE around the country.
Financial Navigators can help clients in many ways, such as prioritizing payments for housing, food and insurance; giving advice on avoiding scams, debt managing, and negotiating with a creditor; and providing information on how to maximize income through emergency cash assistance, emergency loans, unemployment insurance and short-term disability. And best of all the service is free. However, Financial Navigators do not provide financial assistance like cash or loans but can provide information on where to get such services.
To get started, potential clients can call (510) 574-2000 and ask for the program or simply go to https://finnav.org/alameda and register for a call by providing their name, street address, language preference, phone number and/or email address. Within 48 hours a Financial Navigator will call the client for a free one-time session lasting approximately 30 minutes. The client will be asked a series of questions, and information and resources will be given to address the client’s issues. Furthermore, consultation sessions are available in English, Spanish, Arabic and Dari.
After the session, a summary of the discussion and any resources given will be sent to the client via email if desired. If ongoing consultation or coaching is needed then the client can connect to the following organizations: SparkPoint Fremont (led by City of Fremont’s Human Services Department/FRC Division) or the International Rescue Committee (IRC) of Oakland (through their Financial Empowerment Program). Judy Schwartz, Family Resource Center Administrator, noted that clients are very grateful for the follow-up email that lists all the resources discussed during the call.
Financial Navigators are people like Alejandra Acosta, a graduate student working on her Master’s Degree in Social work. She likes being able to use her skills to assist clients. As of mid-December, she has helped around 20 callers, many of whom were struggling and needed guidance on where to start. She noted how much they appreciate having someone to talk with and get resources from.
“I’ve heard many stories since becoming a Financial Navigator. Everyone has a story and I am honored to be on the other end of these calls to listen,” said Acosta. “When a client thanks me for listening and helping them, I know I’ve done my job. That is the most rewarding part of this job!” She also mentioned that Financial Navigators can assist individuals during Covid-19 and help them with many untapped and under-utilized resources. “Being able to speak to a Navigator that has knowledge and capability to explain these resources can be great,” Acosta added.
Financial Navigators
(510) 574-2000
https://finnav.org/alameda
Effective date delayed for California’s flavored tobacco ban
By Don Thompson
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Dec 27 – California state officials have agreed to delay the effective date of what state lawmakers intended as a Jan. 1 ban on flavored tobacco products, after opponents led by tobacco companies said they filed enough signatures to put the new law to a statewide vote.
The secretary of state and attorney general’s offices won’t enforce the pending law until county clerks have enough time to verify that there are at least 623,000 valid signatures.
Inyo County’s top elections official, Kammi Foote, this week said she was referring the petition there to the county district attorney because her office found a high level of signatures that do not match county records.
Supporters of the law said that should throw the whole signature drive into question. The main group opposing the law, the California Coalition for Fairness, said in a statement that it takes the allegations seriously but turned in more than 1 million signatures, far more than enough to qualify for the ballot.
What supporters called one of the nation’s strongest such laws would not make it a crime for people to possess flavored tobacco products but bans retailers from selling them. Violators would face a $250 fine.
If enough signatures are valid, the measure will go before voters in the next statewide general election or special statewide election, likely in November 2022. If not, the law will take effect when the secretary of state certifies that the signature drive fell short.
The California Coalition for Fairness said it expects the referendum to be through the verification process by the end of January.
The group backed by R.J Reynolds Tobacco Company and Philip Morris USA said the ban would harm thousands of retail businesses during what already is a bad economic period due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“More than 1 million California voters signed the petition to place the measure on the ballot, and this stipulation honors their rights,” the group said in a statement.
Jim Knox of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said it makes sense not to have retailers banned from flavored tobacco sales starting Jan. 1 only to have the products at least temporarily legal again if the referendum qualifies.
“Nonetheless, it’s a victory for the tobacco industry,” he said. “They have thrown the implementation of this important health measure into chaos. They’re attempting to subvert the will of the Legislature and at the very least prolong the time the tobacco industry has to inflict addiction and death on our young people and communities of color.”
Secretary of State Alex Padilla notified county officials that they should start verifying the signatures on Dec. 7. In a court filing two days later, he and Attorney General Xavier Becerra agreed to delay the law’s effective date.
The pending law does not ban all flavored tobacco products. The bill would exempt loose leaf tobacco, premium cigars and shisha tobacco used in hookah, a type of water pipe. Premium cigars are defined as any that are not mass produced by a machine, have wrappers made entirely from whole tobacco leaf and cost at least $12.
It also does not ban the sale of flavored marijuana products.
But proponents including doctors and groups fighting cancer, lung, heart, and dental disease applauded the measure’s ban on flavors including minty menthol as part of an effort to discourage marketing they said appealed to youth and particularly those in low-income and Black and Latino communities.
Fremont Police Log
Submitted by Geneva Bosques, Fremont PD
Wednesday, December 22
• Officers responded to a report of an assault inside an abandoned factory on Shinn Street. A male victim was assaulted by an unknown man with a metal pipe. The victim was taken to a hospital for medical treatment. An investigation is continuing.
Thursday, December 23
• Officers responded to a carjacking report on Beard Road and Mello Way. The victim was making an Amazon delivery on Beard Road when an unknown man jumped into his driver’s seat and began to drive off. The victim ran after the vehicle yelling until the suspect stopped the truck. The suspect appeared to reach for what the victim thought was a gun; no gun was seen. The victim stopped chasing the truck and the suspect fled. The vehicle was later located abandoned at Union Square in Union City.
Saturday, December 26
• Officers responded to a robbery report at the CVS store in the Fremont Hub shopping center. Three suspects entered the store and began to steal items. When confronted by an employee one of the suspects punched the employee in the face.
Tuesday, December 29
• At 6:13 a.m. officers responded to a report of a battery on the 42000 block of Osgood Road. Upon arrival, blood was found at the scene and local hospitals were notified. At 6:24 a.m. a male arrived at a local hospital with multiple stab wounds and was taken to a trauma center. He was initially reported in stable condition with non-life-threatening wounds. At 7:20 a.m., another male arrived at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. It was determined this male was involved in the altercation. Police believe no others were involved in this incident. Detectives from the Investigations Unit took over the investigation.
Humane Society gets 250 guinea pigs from overwhelmed owner
AP Wire Service
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP), Dec 19 – The Oregon Humane Society in Portland has taken in 250 guinea pigs from an overwhelmed pet owner.
It’s not known exactly how the unidentified person in Lane County became inundated with the furry little rodents, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. But experts say it can be difficult to determine a guinea pig’s gender – and they’re best kept in pairs -– because they keep each other company.
Oregon Humane Society spokeswoman, Laura Klink, said an adoption timeline will be determined in the next several days. “We certainly would love to see some of these guys go home in pairs, whether it’s two males or females. But obviously, we’re going to be giving a lot of counseling on how quickly they can reproduce if you’ve got a male and a female together,” said Klink.
The Oregon Humane Society’s Cat and Kitten Intake Center has been closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, so it could accommodate all of the guinea pigs. Because there are so many, the society is also working with the Greenhill Humane Society and Lane County Animal Services in Eugene.
There will be a special process for people hoping to adopt the guinea pigs and officials said its small-animal specialists will work with potential adopters to ensure a good fit.
Cornucopia of Corn
Article by Daniel O’Donnell
Photos Courtesy of www.rareseeds.com
Bootleggers in the southern United States preferred using an heirloom corn variety called Jimmy Red for a century. The bright red kernels gave the moonshine a distinct red tint and a light nutty flavor. When the last bootlegger using Jimmy Red corn died in the early 2000s, there were only two remaining ears of this corn left in existence. A farmer and seed saver named Ted Chewning salvaged the kernels and germinated them. Today, Jimmy Red corn is used by craft distilleries to make small batch whiskeys, and Jimmy Red grits, cornbread, and flapjacks are showing up on the menus of prestigious restaurants across the country. Other heirloom corn varieties are becoming popular as well.
Industrial farms grow only a few varieties of corn because end users want a crop that is consistent every year. Smaller local farmers have the opportunity to grow some heirloom corn varieties because restaurant chefs and home cooks shopping at the farmers markets they supply want colorful and arguably superior-tasting ears of corn. Growing heirloom corn is also an excellent choice for the home gardener as well. Whether the variety produces blue, red, orange, black, or multicolored kernels, tastes sweet, nutty, or buttery, it will surely be a hit with family and friends.
Corn, also called maize, is grouped into six different types defined by the characteristics of their kernels and how they can be used. Sweet corn is eaten raw or cooked. Dent or field corn is dried and then used to make syrups, oils, and flour. Flint kernels are dried and ground to make grits, cornmeal, and polenta. Flour corn and popcorn uses are self-explanatory. Pod corn, only used ornamentally, is a mutant variety of any of the other types of corn that has formed leaves around each kernel. Some articles list waxy corn as one of the six types of corn because, after being cooked, it becomes sticky, unlike any of the other types of corn. However, it is a type of dent corn.
Listed below are 10 heirloom corn varieties. Seeds can be bought through Baker Creed Heirloom Seed Company – www.rareseeds.com – or ordered for contactless pickup from their Petaluma Seed Bank – [email protected]. Ordering seeds early is recommended as there is risk of their selling out of certain varieties as spring nears.
Country Gentlemen provides a nice introduction to heirloom corns. It is one of the sweetest heirloom corns and its tender white kernels look like a conventional white corn kernel but do not form in rows. The kernels create an eye-pleasing zigzag pattern instead.
Atomic Orange is an heirloom corn that explodes with color, protein, and beta carotene. The ears can be ready for harvesting after only 60 days, making it one of the fastest maturing heirloom corns.
Striped Japonica is said to be the world’s most beautiful corn plant. Originating in Japan, it has striped white, yellow, pink, and green foliage that complements the crimson-black husks and kernels. Kernels can be ground into corn meal when dried.
Glass Gem is both a flint corn and a popcorn. The shiny collection of different colored kernels looks like glass beads. Eye-catching entire ears or loose kernels are well worth storing on the counter while waiting to be popped or ground into cornmeal.
Mini Blue, Dakota Black, and Strawberry are three popcorns that have unique and attractive looking kernels. As the names suggest, Mini Blue is blue, Dakota Black is black, and Strawberry is red. Each of these amazing looking popcorns also has fantastic individual textures and flavors once popped.
If there were not enough different color heirloom corns to choose from for color alone, Hopi Turquoise is another stunning addition to the list. The brilliant color carries over into the cornmeal, flour, polenta, and other uses.
Montana Lavender Clay is a descendant of two Native American corn varieties. Bred by Ed Schultz, farmer and world-renowned expert corn breeder, Montana Lavender Clay produces beautiful purple kernels that are used to make a silky soft cornmeal.
Japanese Black Sticky Corn is traditionally steamed or grilled in Japan and has a sweet taste and waxy texture. It can also be a substitute for the commonly used glutenous rice for making the Japanese rice cake mochi.
Every seed pack has planting and care instructions. There are, however, a couple of tips to emphasize. Corn does not transplant well, so seeds should be sown directly into soil with plenty of compost. Corn is wind pollinated and should be planted in blocks, not rows, with each plant having 1 square foot of space.
People have been growing heirloom varieties of corn in the Americas for thousands of years. There is no telling how many varieties have been lost. Growing some of the varieties that remain will not only allow people today to enjoy them, but help ensure that they can be enjoyed by people tomorrow.
Daniel O’Donnell is the co-owner and operator of an organic landscape design/build company in Fremont. www.Chrysalis-Gardens.com
Baker Creed Heirloom Seed Company
www.rareseeds.com
Contactless pickup
Petaluma Seed Bank
[email protected]
History Column: Our Historical Treasures
By Phillip Holmes
Originally ran November 12, 2013
We have lost some of our historical treasures. What happened? Where did they go?
Apparently, the oldest historical treasures in our area are fossils in the Bell gravel deposits near Irvington. Those remaining are buried under or divided on both sides of Interstate 680.
Mysterious rock walls scattered around our hillsides are very old, but we don’t know their true age. Some have been pierced by roads or fences, and a few have been hauled away or moved because they were in the way or needed elsewhere.
Our next oldest treasures are Ohlone village sites. Many have been cultivated for farms, gardens, roads or building sites. They are gone, but a few have been preserved as bedrock mortar sites or parks, most notably Coyote Hills Park. The Ohlone people were forced into the mission system where many died from disease and life changes.
When the American pioneers arrived, this was a land of grass and flowers. Overgrazing and cultivation changed it to a land of mustard and new plants with cultivated fields of wheat and hay. The fields are covered by housing developments, but the mustard survives in vacant areas when given a fighting chance.
Arguably, the most prominent man-made structure of this area is our Mission, sometimes called our number one treasure.
Embarcaderos used to line our bay frontage but were gradually displaced by trains. A horse-car railroad ran from Newark to Centerville but was replaced by railroad service which in turn, was reduced by large trucks. The demand for passenger service brought trains back to our area.
A succession of airports was located in the area but were displaced when land was sold for development.
Our pioneers erected a number of charming and beautiful houses. The Bunting house on Thornton Avenue was probably the most elaborate and beautiful in the area; it burned down through careless management. The Crowell house in Irvington was torn down when no one came forward to preserve it. Other famous houses that were torn down include the Howard Overacker house on Peralta, the Robert Blacow mansion on Fremont Boulevard and the G. M. Walters home in Irvington. Houses saved through the efforts of private citizens, sometimes with City help, include: Patterson House at Ardenwood, Shinn House, Hervey House, the Dusterbery Home, Gallegos House, Higuera Adobe, the Davis and W. Y. Horner houses.
Historic commercial buildings include: Carriage House, Washington Hotel and Brown Barbershop, Ehrman Store, Beard Granary, Niles Depot, Clark’s Hall, Vallejo Adobe, Curtner Mansion, and Kimber Park. The Bringhurst family saved St. Joseph’s Rectory and the Rix Cottage.
Curtner Seminary, Anderson Academy, International Kitchen, St. Mary of the Palms, and the Cohen Hotel were lost to fire. The origin of the Cohen Hotel fire was very suspicious and controversial because it came in the midst of frantic efforts to save and restore it. Most of the wooden buildings in Mission San Jose were destroyed by two separate fires. Centerville and Irvington also suffered from big fires.
Vineyards once covered the slopes of Mission San Jose and Warm Springs; remains of the once famous Palmdale Winery survive near Irvington.
Additional historical treasures have been, stored, stolen or seemingly just disappeared. Fremont Kaiser Hospital employed an artist to create a picture to match the name of each building. For instance, the Ohlone picture depicts Native Americans and the Embarcadero image recreated a landing. These pictures were displayed for a while then disappeared. Someone removed them but we don’t know when, how or why.
Centerville residents erected a memorial near Fremont Boulevard to record the names of Washington Township men and women in the military services in World War II. Development forced them to move the memorial close to Cloverdale Creamery where it gradually disintegrated.
The first high school of this area was not far away on the present Peralta Avenue. There was a large rock in front of the school, revered by students as a special monument to the high school system and selected patriotic leaders. Students often posed for pictures by the rock. It was buried in 1924 and never located again. The high school [Washington High School] was replaced except for the arched doorway which was retained with alumni support.
Not far from Washington High School, the 1962 Fremont Hub sign has been replaced and the original apparently lost to history.
The Irvington Monument was not lost. It was saved and installed in a small park near its original location at the five corners. The St. James Episcopal Church was not lost either. It was just moved down the street.
This brief survey of historical resources shows that although some of our treasures have been lost, others have been saved by the efforts of caring citizens and survive for us to appreciate. It is up to us to care for them and preserve them for future generations.
Homekey acquisition phase finishes on-time and under budget
Submitted by Governor’s Press Office
On December 29, California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that all 94 Homekey projects have closed escrow, buildings that will provide 6,029 critically needed housing units for people experiencing homelessness throughout California.
A total of $750 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Fund has been allocated to 51 applicants for the 94 projects. These critical investments enable this high-risk population to follow public health guidance to slow the spread of COVID-19, using innovative approaches, such as converting temporary non-congregate housing, including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings and other properties, into permanent long-term housing for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
In addition, $96 million in operating supports – a combination of state funds and philanthropic investment – has also been fully awarded. In total, Homekey utilized $846 million to rapidly purchase and subsidize these 6,029 units in less than six months from start to finish.
“In a matter of months and in the midst of a pandemic, we did what many said was impossible – California created over 6,000 new units, on-time and under budget, helping thousands of homeless Californians move out of cars and tents and into permanent housing,” said Newsom. “Homekey is possible because of federal support to slow the spread of COVID-19 and partnership from the Legislature and local leaders who didn’t settle for excuses and instead got to work to do something historic.”
California governor offers plans to reopen in-person schools
By Don Thompson
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Dec 30 – California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday encouraged schools to resume in-person education next year, starting with the youngest students, and promised $2 billion in state aid to promote coronavirus testing, increased ventilation of classrooms and personal protective equipment.
The recommendation was driven by increasing evidence that there are lower risks and increased benefits from in-person instruction particularly for the youngest students, he said. It comes amid increased pressure on schools to reopen campuses based on those rationales.
“As a father of four, I know firsthand what parents, educators and pediatricians continue to say: in-person is the best setting to meet not only the learning needs, but the mental health and social-emotional needs of our kids,” Newsom said in a statement.
The proposal comes as California remains consumed by a growing pandemic crisis, with hospitals, particularly in Southern California, increasingly stretched by soaring cases that are expected to grow in coming weeks. But hope is on the horizon as vaccines begin rolling out, with educators among those recommended for shots after the initial round goes to health care workers and those in congregate care facilities.
Newsom called for a phased approach focusing first on those in transitional kindergarten through second grade, as well as children with disabilities, those who have limited access to technology at home and those who he said “have struggled more than most with distance learning.”
Other grades would be phased in during the spring, but remote learning would continue to be allowed if parents and students wish, and for those who have health vulnerabilities that make it risky to return to the classroom.
Aside from the $2 billion in assistance that Newsom said he will include in his proposed budget next month, he said his administration will push for safety measures.
Those include frequent testing for all students and staff, up to weekly testing in areas with high rates of virus transmission. All students and staffs should have masks, there should be increased contact tracing for those who test positive for the virus, and he backed making school staff a priority for vaccinations.
Dr. Naomi Bardach, a University of California, San Francisco, pediatrician and expert on school safety, will lead what Newsom is calling a Safe Schools for All Team composed of state health, education and occupational safety representatives. He said the team will help schools with their safety plans and provide support materials for educators.
The state will also have a website where parents and students can see their school’s reopening status, state funding, and any school outbreaks. It will also have a way for educators and parents to report any problems or concerns, which he said will allow the state to impose what his office called “escalating levels of intervention beginning with technical assistance and ending with legal enforcement.”
California State PTA President Celia Jaffe, in a statement provided by Newsom’s office, said the plan “is rooted in science, health and safety – all key tenets to any conversation about returning to in-person instruction.“
His office also had other statements of support from state lawmakers, educators and health experts.
The move comes even as the state’s most densely populated area continues to set new death and hospitalization records and will remain under strict stay-home orders for the foreseeable future as another hospital-filling coronavirus surge looms in mere weeks.
California’s top health official, Dr. Mark Ghaly, announced Tuesday an extension of the Dec. 6 lockdown restrictions for LA County and 22 others in Southern California and the agricultural San Joaquin Valley. The regions have about 60% of the state’s population of 40 million and also have seen COVID-19 surges since the Thanksgiving holiday that have left hospitals struggling to find beds for emergency room and intensive care unit patients.
Some hospitals have set up tents to hold ER patients and one converted a disused cafeteria to handle patients.
State officials notified hospitals late Monday they should prepare for the possibility that they will have to resort to “crisis care” guidelines established earlier in the pandemic, which allow for rationing treatment when staff, medicine and supplies are running short.
Ghaly and other health officials have said people ignoring social distancing to gather with friends and relatives over Thanksgiving led to a “surge on top of a surge“ that has resulted in the medical crisis.
The hospital rates appeared to be stabilizing in general statewide, but they remained explosively high in the south, and Ghaly urged people to stay home on New Year’s to avoid an even worse surge in January and early February.
CONTINUING EVENTS:
Monday – Saturday
Free COVID-19 Testing
M-F: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Sa: 9 a.m. – 12 noon
Drive through, drop-in, and walk-up testing by appointment
Bay Area Community Health
39500 Liberty St., Fremont
(510) 770-8040
http://bach.health/covid/
Mondays and Wednesdays
Parenting During COVID R
Tue: 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Wed: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Virtual support group to help families cope with challenges encountered during COVID
To register: www.fremont.gov/3060/Caregiver-Support
(510) 574-2100
Tuesdays
Free Virtual Sing-Along
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Zoom choir meeting hosted by Mission Peak Chamber Singers
https://www.chambersingers.org/
Contact: [email protected]
Wednesday – Saturday
Free COVID-19 Testing
11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Drive through and walk-up testing by appointment
Make appointment at: https://ac.fulgentgenetics.com/
Glad Tidings Church
1000 Glad Tidings Way, Hayward
Wednesdays and Sundays
McNevin at The Mudpuddle
6 p.m.
Dinner time tunes, oddservations, and bad jokes
Via Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/mudpuddlemusic
Thursdays
First Presbyterian Church of Newark Virtual Youth Group
6:30 p.m.
Youth and young adults, students welcome
Contact: [email protected] for Zoom Meeting ID#
www.newarkpres.org
Thursdays, January 14 – March 4
Life Review Group
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Life is a journey. Explore the story of your life
1-800-260-0094/ [email protected]
Sundays
Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church Family Service
10 a.m.
Via ZOOM
For link, call (510) 471-2581
Sundays
First Presbyterian Church of Newark Virtual Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
Sunday School, Ages K – 6th grade
Contact: [email protected] for Zoom Meeting ID#
www.newarkpres.org
Saturdays
Virtual Telescope Viewing R
9:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Free on Facebook Live
Join resident astronomers live from Chabot’s observation deck
https://chabotspace.org/calendar/
Saturdays
Online Comedy Shows R$
8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Made Up Theatre’s interactive comedy has gone to YouTube!
Sunday, November 29 – Saturday, January 16
FirstPres Advent StoryWalk
Follow a guided trail featuring laminated pages of a children’s Christmas book
FirstPres Church Hayward
2490 Grove Way, Castro Valley
https://bit.ly/2IRU78a
UPCOMING
Friday, January 8
Drive-In Movie Night $
Frozen: 6 p.m.
Alameda County Fairgrounds
4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton
https://bit.ly/3hwS72l
Friday, January 8
How to Negotiate a Lease R
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47678
Saturday, January 9
Drive-In Movie Night $
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle: 6 p.m.
Alameda County Fairgrounds
4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton
https://bit.ly/3o7YThB
Tuesday, January 12
Every Business is Going Online – Thanks to the Pandemic R
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47647
Thursday, January 12
Northern California Public Workshop
2:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Voice your community’s water needs
Via Zoom
Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctcOispjgoGdZfwSHl8tYudPmKjhnjiQow
(916) 834-3177
[email protected]
Thursday, January 14
Music For Minors II Kids Choir Auditions
3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Open to all 1st – 6th graders
Via Zoom
https://tinyurl.com/y8dan9k5
www.musicforminors2.org
(510) 364-0741
Friday, January 15
ACSBDC Small Business Q&A R
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47697
Saturday, January 16
Drive-In Concert $
Gareth Emery: We’ll Be OK
3 p.m.: https://bit.ly/2X0zkmM
7 p.m.: https://bit.ly/3pyqCYY
Alameda County Fairgrounds
4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton
Tuesday, January 19
Increasing Restaurant Online Food Orders R
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47689
Wednesday, January 20
How to Use a CRM to Increase Sales R
1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47643
Thursday, January 21
Access to Capital for African Americans in Business Restoration and Rebuilding R
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47410
Thursday, January 21
Electric Vehicle Financial Incentive Clinic
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Discover the many financial assistance programs available
https://bit.ly/3h1jgKz
Saturday, January 23
Diamonds in Education Virtual Telethon
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Comedian Kabir “Kabeezy” Singh, auctions, and award presentations
Via Facebook Live and YouTube
www.diamondsineduction.com
www.nhsfoundation.org
Tuesday, January 26
Marketing Your Services During Challenging Times R
3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47686
Wednesday. January 27
Alameda County HR Guidelines R
1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47685
Thursday, February 4
AMC Online Math Contest $R
For Fremont students. Deadline to apply is 1/5/21
https://bit.ly/3ntTS2D
Wednesday, February 10
AMC Online Math Contest $R
For Fremont students. Deadline to apply is 1/11/21
https://bit.ly/3nyTAre
Photos in 1 new Sharon
LEAF reaches milestone in 2020
Submitted by LEAF
It’s official! This year, LEAF (Local Ecology & Agriculture Fremont) reached the milestone of donating more than 5,000 pounds of produce to our two food banks, Tri-City Volunteers and Centro De Servicos. This translates to more than 10,000 servings of fruits and vegetables. Because of the pandemic, there are longer lines of people needing food at these two organizations on a regular basis. In response, our Stone Gardeners volunteered over 2,300 hours of their time to plant, nurture, harvest, and deliver LEAF’s produce.
While we owe a great deal of gratitude to partners like East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) and StopWaste for their support, generous donations made to LEAF by people like you were equally vital in making this possible. And we’re not slowing down! As the need for our services persists, so shall we. And we can’t do it alone. Every $2.00 you donate to LEAF allows us to deliver a pound of produce to help families in need. Your generous giving helps keep our gardens watered, our soil amended, and our electricity flowing. Help us to reach and surpass this goal in 2021.
Support our garden in 2021 by donating at https://fremontleaf.org/donate/.
Doughnut shop visit inspires judge to write children’s book
AP Wire Service
By Lori Pilger
Lincoln Journal Star
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP), Nov 15 – Inspiration struck, as it sometimes does, at a Lincoln doughnut shop, the aroma of warm sugar heavy in the air.
Rob Otte, a district court judge in Lincoln, said the stop at Dunkin’ on Old Cheney Road with his five grandkids and their dads led him to write a children’s book, “Lily Discovers People are Like Donuts,” which hit Amazon’s online bookshelf at the end of October.
“I just noticed at the time that the grandkids are so different in so many different ways,” he said.
And when they ordered, each chose something different.
“Literally, it was born at that minute,” Otte told the Lincoln Journal Star.
Her brothers, who made an appearance in the book, didn’t even mind being called monster doughnuts.
Carey Goddard, a freelance graphic designer and illustrator in Lincoln, said when Otte approached her with the idea, she decided to go for it. In mid-May, she lost her longtime job due to the pandemic and had to start rethinking things.
“There always was that itch to do something else, something that really sparked my passion again,” she said.
Goddard grew up drawing her own comics, keeping a sketchbook and putting together her own stories, and always had wanted to try illustrating a children’s book.
“It’s a whole different thing when you’re putting together stories for somebody else,” she said.
Goddard said Otte gave her a lot of creative rein. She sketched the characters in pencil, then went over them with ink and scanned them in so she could add the color digitally on her laptop.
Until a few weeks ago, they still were tweaking words and making changes, adding a friend in a wheelchair inspired after seeing a boy on a wheelchair path at a city playground.
Otte and Lily both said they liked how it turned out.
“The art is not only spectacular, but it’s all Carey,” Otte said. While it says on the copyright page that the names and characters are all products of his imagination, “Lily is the real Lily,” he said, referring to his granddaughter, Lily Salem.
He enlisted her help on the story, which celebrates diversity – of doughnuts and people – imagining if people were doughnuts what kind they might be.
“I think it’s cool,” said Lily, a Lincoln fourth grader who loves reading, especially chapter books. “I haven’t really been the inspiration of anything before that has been out in the world. So this is real exciting for me and my family.”
Lily said she thought she was going to look cartoonish, but the book version of Lily ended up looking more like her than she expected. Except maybe the hair, which looks a little different than hers.
Lily said, just like in the book, she thinks that everyone is different and that we should respect that.
“Life would be boring and flavorless if everyone was the same, and there were no different types of doughnuts. It’d be the same everyday,” she said.
Otte said he liked the story and its undercurrent message of diversity, but it was more about showing the grandkids that they can do something different than they usually would and learn something new.
With extra time at home over the summer due to the pandemic, he said he had time to make a better connection with Lily, working on something real and tangible.
“I never thought of myself as an author, but I like challenging the grandkids to think, `Hey, I can do that,”’ Otte said.
It seems to have worked.
Lily said she already has started thinking up new adventures for the book version of herself to go on. Maybe she’ll explore Florida next with her cousin, Poppy, or visit the farm. She hasn’t yet decided.
Save the date for an Elegant Affaire
Submitted by Shirley Sisk
For over 42 Years, League of Volunteers (LOV) has touched the lives of Tri-City children, seniors, and people in need. Since 1979, we’ve been working to improve the quality of life in the communities of Fremont, Newark and Union City with more than 40 programs, events and services provided every year, including: Arts in Schools Assemblies, Sunday Concert Series, Emergency Food Pantry, Holiday Adopt-a-Family & Food Basket Drive, and many more.
This year, LOV’s annual Elegant Affaire will be virtual – but lots of fun with Entertainment Live Auction, Special Drawing, Fund-a-Need, Silent Auction, and Message of Hope. This year’s Elegant Affaire is free! Register via email at [email protected]. Please include your name, email, and cell phone number to receive event information.
LOV Elegant Affaire
Friday, Feb 12
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Free virtual event
Register at [email protected]
Virtual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration program
Submitted by Jean Ficklin
The Afro American Cultural & Historical Society of Fremont, Newark, Union City & Hayward presents the first virtual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration program on Sunday, January 10, 2021. This year’s theme is “From the Dream to Reality: The March for Justice Continues.”
The program will acknowledge proclamations, and feature an art exhibit by students of Mrs. Selina Chavez’s Visual Arts classes at Newark Jr. High School. Other participants include Rev. Garrett Yamada of First Presbyterian Church of Newark, Michelle Gaskins, Mrs. Betty Williams & Friends, and Mr. Ken Smith, Keynote Speaker.
Martin Luther King, Jr. program
Sunday, January 10
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Via Zoom
Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88108318500
Meeting ID: 881 0831 8500
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Reflections
It has been almost 55 years since the magnificent “I Have a Dream” speech touched the souls of so many people. Since early March, the words have been resonating in my spirit almost daily.
Dr. King’s extensive vocabulary facilitated his ability to speak to people of all creeds and walks of life. His was always a message of hope while appealing to the evil ones to be just and fair. What would he say now after having observed the number of movements, the marches, funeral processions, homeless people encampments, youth who have lost their way, and outcries to our leaders for help? What would he say to those evil-minded individuals who invaded movements to render violence, loot and destroy property?
What would he say about the most moving experience for me? It was my visit with my son to the “Pray Their Names” memorial garden at Niles Discovery church. Most of the young men and women I had seen on television or read about. Four of the names are special to me! The creators of this rotating memorial noted that there had been 7,000 African Americans killed by policemen since Emmitt Till in Money, Mississippi. I am grateful that Tri City Voice covered this ceremony. Otherwise, I would not have had the sobering experience. There is power in prayer and prayer warriors must be vigilant. Pray for justice and peace…love and respect. Our survival depends on it.
On a joyful note, Dr. King would have been overwhelmed to see how many people exercised their right to vote. Democracy was at work in full bloom.
Since the Afro American Cultural Historical Society’s (AACHS) first observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1977, citizens have volunteered their talents to get the message across that we should be able to get along and respect each other. That was the dream. It is yet, the hope. Forty-one pastors, and two educators have been keynote speakers. Thirty-one choirs, a number of liturgical dancers, instrumentalists, children’s verse choirs and a multitude of others helped with visuals, publicity and receptions. All are a part of the Society’s Dr. King legacy.
A bevy of elected officials have been so supportive with both their proclamations and presence. AACHS officers and members send out a shout of loving appreciation to Tri City Voice for its ongoing loyal support.
First Presbyterian Church looks forward to hosting the 45th celebration in 2022.
From the Memorial Garden at Niles Discovery Church
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Medgar Evers
Oscar Grant
James Powell, Jr.
“When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This week and the following weeks, we join with others of like minds across the nation and around the world in articulating his dream, his hope…. his vision.
Jean Ficklin
Newark, CA
Monarch Butterflies – where are they?
Submitted by Christina Garcia
Every year, in late October, we start searching the eucalyptus groves around the farm for overwintering monarch butterflies. It’s always a thrill to spot a cluster of these gorgeous insects high in the trees. Ardenwood is one of about 400 known monarch overwintering sites along the California coast, and for many years was one of the largest in the area, with groups of 1000-6000 butterflies spending the winter most seasons.
Delighting thousands of visitors to the farm over the years, the fragile creatures silently hang together high in the trees through cold, wet and windy weather. On sunny days, standing deep in the grove surrounded by thousands of flying monarchs was like being inside a magical butterfly-filled snow globe! In early February, we’d say farewell as they fanned out across the West to lay their eggs on milkweed and complete their life cycles in places as far away as Washington, Idaho and Utah.
Over the years, we’ve worked hard to keep our forest healthy and safe for the monarchs, planting dozens of new trees and shrubs and removing dead and dying ones. But in 2018, only a few monarchs passed through our forest, and none stayed through the winter. Sites up and down the California coast reported the same thing – no or very few monarchs. The crisis continued in 2019, with the total population reaching the lowest level ever recorded – less than 1% of historic populations.
The annual Western Monarch November count in California has continued to show a dramatic and perilous drop in numbers. In the 1980s, monarchs were plentiful with the species estimated at 3-10 million. The count was in the millions in the 1990s but dropped to 192,624 in 2017. Two years ago, the Xerces Society’s Thanksgiving count sighted only 27,212 butterflies. This year, in the Thanksgiving Count (November 14 – December 6), less than 2,000 monarchs were counted, a decrease of 99 percent, indicating possible extinction. The New Year’s Count, from Saturday, December 26 to Sunday, January 10, will be another critical measure of the remaining monarch population.
Following a four-year assessment, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that monarchs deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act but have not taken action due to other species with higher priorities. However, those following the decline of monarchs have been stunned by the rapid and near total collapse of the western migratory population.
Scientists have linked the steady decline in monarch numbers over the past few decades with habitat loss and degradation, pesticides, and climate change, as well as other factors that are not yet clear. But it’s not too late – we can take actions NOW to help save the western population, and you can help!
How You Can Help Monarchs:
• Plant flowers that bloom February-April and September-October. Migrating adult monarchs must have access to nectar in the early spring.
• Plant native milkweed. Remove tropical milkweed species that can spread disease
• Avoid pesticide use in your gardens.
• Record your observations and add to Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper or Monarch Larva Monitoring Project.
• Choose organic, non-GMO produce.
•Visit the following websites for more information and volunteer opportunities:
www.monarchjointventure.org
www.xerces.org
www.monarchmilkweekmapper.org
www.citizenscience.gov/monitor-monarchs/
www.ebparks.org
Check Your Sky’s Quality with Orion
By David Prosper
Have you ever wondered how many stars you can see at night? From a perfect dark sky location, free from any light pollution, a person with excellent vision may observe a few thousand stars in the sky at one time. Sadly, most people do not enjoy pristine dark skies –knowing your sky’s brightness will help you navigate the night sky.
Brightness of planets and stars is measured in terms of apparent magnitude, or how bright they appear from Earth. Most visible stars range in brightness from 1st to 6th magnitude, with the lower number being brighter. A star at magnitude 1 appears 100 times brighter than a star at magnitude 6. A few stars and planets shine even brighter than first magnitude, like brilliant Sirius at -1.46 magnitude, or Venus, which can shine brighter than -4 magnitude! Very bright planets and stars can still be seen from bright cities with lots of light pollution. Given perfect skies, an observer may be able to see stars as dim as 6.5 magnitude, but such fantastic conditions are rare; in much of the world, human-made light pollution drastically limits what people can see at night.
Your sky’s limiting magnitude is, simply enough, the measure of the dimmest stars you can see when looking straight up. So, if the dimmest star you can see from your backyard is magnitude 5, then your limiting magnitude is 5. Easy, right? But why would you want to know your limiting magnitude? It can help you plan your observing! For example, if you have a bright sky and your limiting magnitude is at 3, watching a meteor shower or looking for dimmer stars and objects may be a wasted effort. But if your sky is dark and the limit is 5, you should be able to see meteors and the Milky Way. Knowing this figure can help you measure light pollution in your area and determine if it’s getting better or worse over time. And regardless of location, be it backyard, balcony, or dark sky park, light pollution is a concern to all stargazers!
How do you figure out the limiting magnitude in your area? While you can use smartphone apps or dedicated devices like a Sky Quality Meter, you can also use your own eyes and charts of bright constellations. The Night Sky Network offers a free printable Dark Sky Wheel, featuring the stars of Orion on one side and Scorpius on the other, here: bit.ly/darkskywheel.
Each wheel contains six “wedges” showing the stars of the constellation, limited from 1-6 magnitude. Find the wedge containing the faintest stars you can see from your area; you now know your limiting magnitude. For maximum accuracy, use the wheel when the constellation is high in the sky well after sunset. Compare the difference when the Moon is at full phase, versus new. Before you start, let your eyes adjust for twenty minutes to ensure your night vision is at its best. A red light can help preserve your night vision while comparing stars in the printout.
Did you have fun? Contribute to science with monthly observing programs from Globe at Night’s website (www.globeatnight.org) and check out the latest NASA’s science on the stars you can – and can’t – see, at www.nasa.gov.
This article is distributed by NASA Night Sky Network. The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach. Visit https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm to find local clubs, events, and more.
Newark Police Log
Submitted by Newark PD
Thursday, December 10
• At 3:08 a.m. Officer Damewood met and arrested a 34-year-old Oakland man in the 5000 block of Cedar Court on a felony warrant and possession of a controlled substance. The man was booked at Fremont Jail.
Tuesday, December 15
• At 8:43 a.m. Officer Hernandez investigated a stolen 1994 Acura in the 5000 block of Tenaya Ave. The vehicle was recovered in Oakland on December 19.
Thursday, December 17
• At 9:00 p.m. Officer Frentescu investigated a hit-and-run vehicle collision in the area of Cherry Street and Auburn Avenue. The suspect vehicle was located nearby. Officers arrested a 37-year-old Newark man on suspicion of DUI and hit-and-run. The man was booked at Fremont Jail.
Saturday, December 19
• At 12:53 a.m. officers responded to a report of a disturbance in the 5000 block of Cedar Court. Upon arrival officers met and arrested a 26-year-old Fremont woman on an outstanding warrant. She was cited and released.
• At 9:19 p.m. Community Service Officer Lau responded to a report of a stalled vehicle in the intersection at Jarvis Avenue and Newark Boulevard. Upon arrival Lau saw the vehicle start to swerve and eventually drive on the wrong side of the road. Patrol officers responded and stopped the vehicle. Officer Fredstrom arrested a 43-year-old Union City woman on suspicion of DUI and driving a vehicle without an ignition interlock device. The woman was booked at Fremont Jail.
Thursday. December 24
• At 3:03 a.m. officers responded to a report of suspicious activity in the 5000 block of Salisbury Drive. Before officers arrived, the suspect vehicle fled the scene. Officer Slavazza confirmed a burglary to a locked trailer had occurred; the incident is under investigation.
• 12:45 p.m. officers responded to a report of a train and vehicle collision at Stevenson Boulevard and the railroad tracks. No major injuries were reported.
Saturday, December 26
• At 4:59 p.m. officers responded theft report in the 200 block of NewPark Mall Road. The loss was $1,500 worth of merchandise. The incident is being investigated by Officer Kapu.
Sunday, December 27
• At 7:18 a.m. Officer Kapu responded to a report of a vehicle collision in the area of Broadway Avenue and Cherry Street. Upon arrival, Kapu met and arrested a 23-year-old Hayward man on suspicion of DUI. The man was booked at Fremont Jail.
Ohlone College Board of Trustees
December 16, 2020
Ceremonial item:
• Swearing in of new and re-elected trustees: Greg Bonaccorsi, Lance Kwan and Rakesh Sharma.
Items submitted for information:
• Learning College Week/State of the College Schedule.
• Ohlone Community College District and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) joint session proposal for successor contract duration: 2020-2023.
• Reviewed and accepted First Quarter 2020-2021 Financial Report and related budget changes.
Items submitted for discussion:
• First reading policies: Board Proclamations, Evaluation of the President/Superintendent, Nondiscrimination, Prohibition of Harassment, Child Abuse Reporting, Withholding of Student Records.
• Technology Master Plan (First reading).
Consent Agenda:
• Approved November 2020 payroll warrants
• Approved of various personnel actions.
• Approved two non-renewal employment contracts
Richard Watters, Chair
Greg Bonaccorsi
Suzanne Lee Chan
Jan Giovannini-Hill
Vivien Larsen
Lance Kwan
Dr. Rakesh Sharma
Megan Aves, Student Member
Oracle says it will move HQ from Silicon Valley to Texas
AP Wire Service
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP), Dec 11 – Tech giant Oracle Corp. said Friday it will move its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas, and let many employees choose their office locations and decide whether to work from home.
The business software maker said it will keep major hubs at its current home in Redwood City, California, and other locations.
“We believe these moves best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
The move comes the same week that Tesla founder Elon Musk announced that he has moved to Austin. Musk had criticized California officials for restrictions designed to limit the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly boasted about Oracle’s decision.
“Oracle just announced they have moved their headquarters to Austin,” Abbott tweeted. “Texas is truly the land of business, jobs, and opportunity. We will continue to attract the very best.”
Texas has long targeted companies in high-cost California for relocation. This month, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, one of the early companies in Silicon Valley, said it will move to the Houston area and build a campus with two five-story buildings by 2022. In 2018, Toyota shifted its U.S. headquarters from Southern California, to Plano, Texas, a Dallas suburb.
In its most recent fiscal year, which ended May 31, Oracle reported earnings of $10.1 billion on revenue of about $39 billion. The company was founded in Santa Clara, California, in 1977.
Oscar Jaime Iniguez
August 23, 1963 – December 12, 2020
Oscar was born on August 23, 1963 in Fremont Ca. On December 12, 2020 at the age of 57 he lost his battle with heart complications at Fremont Kaiser Hospital. He joined his beloved parents Javier and Josefina Iniguez in heaven. He is survived by a sister Patricia Caracol and his brothers, Javier Iniguez Jr. and Jose A. Iniguez. Nephews G. Paul Caracol jr., Jesse and Owen Iniguez. Nieces Andrea A. Caracol, Elysa and Taiya Iniguez and 5 Grand Nephews, as well as his dear friend Della Estrada. Plus many extended family members and friends. Oscar worked for the State Of California as a Toll Collector for 28 years, he was loved by everybody Family, friends bosses, co-workers, anybody who knew him. Oscar was known to be a good man, with a big heart always extending a hand to help others. He was an avid S.F. Giants and Raiders fan. Oscar will be very much missed but never forgotten.
PG&E offers customer protections, financial-assistance programs
Submitted by Tamar Sarkissian
As COVID-19 cases rise throughout the state, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) continues to offer support in numerous ways for customers navigating the unprecedented pandemic.
Actions to Protect Customers
PG&E intends on maintaining the following customer protections through April 16, 2021:
• Moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment for residential and small commercial customers
• Post-enrollment verification and re-enrollment requirements have been suspended for the California Alternate Rates for Energy Program (CARE) and Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) Program (FERA)
• Security deposits are being waived for small commercial customers (residential customers are not required to submit security deposits)
• Participants on the Medical Baseline program, which offers customers with qualifying medical conditions a lower monthly rate on energy bills, are not being asked to re-certify through a doctor or other eligible medical professionals for up to one year
Energy Saving Resources and Financial Assistance Programs
To take advantage of additional programs, tools and savings opportunities, PG&E recommends customers become more familiar with the following:
• Separate from CARE, income-qualified households with three or more persons can apply for the FERA at www.pge.com/FERA for an 18 percent discount on their electric bill.
• Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help (REACH) provides income- qualified customers with financial assistance during times of hardship. Customers impacted by COVID-19 will be provided with up to an additional $100 in bill payment assistance through April 16, 2021. The program is funded by PG&E through tax-deductible contributions from customers and employees. For details, visit www.pge.com and search under the “Save energy & money” and “help paying your bill” tabs.
• The federally funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides financial assistance to help offset eligible household energy costs, including heating, cooling, and home weatherization expenses. To learn more, dial 211 or (866) 675-6623.
Risks of Carbon Monoxide
Submitted by Tamar Sarkissian
With winter months upon us and many people still sheltering, working, and schooling from home due to the ongoing pandemic, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is reminding customers to protect themselves against the dangers of carbon monoxide.
According to the Center for Disease Control, every year in the U.S. at least 430 people die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning and approximately 50,000 people will be sent to the hospital. Carbon monoxide is especially dangerous because it is odorless and cannot be seen, and all California homes are required to have carbon monoxide detectors. Customers can take these steps to protect their homes and their families:
• Carbon monoxide can be emitted from improperly functioning gas appliances, particularly those used for heating and cooking.
• Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed on every floor, near sleeping areas, and common areas. These devices should be tested twice a year, and batteries replaced if necessary.
• Check the date that the detector was manufactured. The sensors in most carbon monoxide detectors have a useful life of five to 10 years.
• Most detectors have an audible signal, usually a series of chirps, which differs from the alarm to indicate low battery, malfunction, or device end of life. Refer to the owner’s manual or the instructions on the back of the detector for more information.
Gas Safety Tips
• Never use products inside the home that generate dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, such as generators, outdoor grills, or propane heaters.
• Never use cooking devices such as ovens or stoves for home heating purposes.
• Never cover the bottom tray inside an oven with foil or an aftermarket liner.
• When using the fireplace to stay warm, make sure the flue is open so venting can occur safely through the chimney.
• Make sure water heaters and other natural gas appliances have proper ventilation.
If you suspect carbon monoxide in your home, or if you smell the distinctive “rotten egg” odor of natural gas in or around their home or business, you should immediately evacuate and then call 911 and PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. For more gas safety tips, visit www.pge.com/en_US/safety/gas-safety/gas-safety-tips.page.
Rrooar Academy educates in motivational speech
Submitted by Ish Amitoj Kaur
2020 has been a historical year in many ways. There was not much that anybody could change with what was going on, whether the wide spread virus or the frustration of the upheavals in governance. What we could do was to pave a path of resilience. If we could beat this, we could beat more obstacles to come. Gagan A Kaur, founder of Rrooar Coding and Robotics Academy quickly improvised. She introduced creative arts and life skills into the curricula. Rrooar Academy offered students a much needed platform where they could make their voices heard, share opinions, and create original content.
On December 20 Rrooar’s first Original Oratory and Motivational Speech competition opened with a surprise speech from Gurbir Grewal, the 61st Attorney General (AG) of New Jersey. His words infused the 22 young orators with energy and excitement to deliver their speeches on the topic of the evening, “The Power of Yes.”
They talked about subjects from personal experiences to social and political and climatic scenarios. Bay Area theatre activist Ish Amitoj Kaur coached the kids in public speaking.
The program concluded the guest of honor – J.J. Kapur. Kapur won the National Original Oratory award in 2017 and is now a junior at Stanford. Kapur talked about his journey in the world of public speaking. He announced the awards for the students.
Millicent R. Dizon, Honey Patel and Manjit Gill, public speaking enthusiasts in their respective fields, were the judges. They shared their words of wisdom and experiences as the program progressed. Happiness coach Lisa Lopez emceed, and Ravnoor Sahota was event manager.
Group 1 Winners
1. Vihaan Adhikesavan, Forest Park Elementary, Fremont
2. Saanvi Ingole, Forest Park Elementary, Fremont
3. Siddharth Rao, Forest Park Elementary, Fremont
Group 2 Winners
1. Shriyadita Poduval, Mission Hills, Union City
2. Maheep Singh, Bethany Elementary, Mountain House
3. Ranvir Thapar, Forest Park Elementary, Fremont
Group 3 Winners
1. Sachnoor Kaur, Mountain House High School, Mountain House
2. Ashvika Prakash, Thornton Junior High, Fremont
3. Alam Singh, Hansen Elementary, Mountain House
Group 4 Winners
1. Manmeet Kaur, Kerman High School, Fresno
2. Gaganjeet Singh, Kerman High School, Fresno
3. Abraham Mershedi, COIL, Fremont
Special Award – Thought Leader
Ashvika Prakash
Special Award – Budding Orator
Vihaan Adhikesavan
Special Award – Motivational Speaker
Puran Veer Singh
Special Award – Rrooaring Ahead Into the Future
Abraham Mershedi
Rrooar Academy is opening its Original Oration and Motivational Speech program to schools as a competitive segment. Email [email protected] for details.
Ruby Lee Giddings
Resident of Fremont
January 30, 1925 – December 19, 2020
Ruby Lee Giddings passed away peacefully in Fremont, California on Dec. 19, 2020. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, who always put her family’s needs above her own.
Ruby was born in Adair, Oklahoma on Jan. 30, 1925 to mother Maude Hamilton and father Rex Norton. Ruby moved to California in her youth and found her home here. She worked as a telephone operator, until she became a mother to her daughter Diana.
She married her husband Glen Giddings in 1957 and lived in Livermore with him for more than 50 years. Ruby was Glen’s sole caretaker as his Alzheimer’s diagnosis progressed.
In her spare time she loved to play bridge, watch soap operas, and cook. She strongly believed a glass of wine with dinner each night helped her longevity.
She was predeceased by husband Glen, daughter Diana, mother Maude, brother Pete and grandson Matthew.
She is survived by her grandson Logan McCoy and his wife Cristina McCoy along with her great-granddaughter Naomi McCoy. She is also survived by her step-daughter Danna Ortman and niece Toni Stanley.
In lieu of flowers please send any memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.
Fremont Chapel of the Roses
510-797-1900
School districts proceed with caution in reopening plans
Submitted by Michelle Smith McDonald
In a statement released December 30, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L.K. Monroe reacted to California’s updated Safe Schools for All Plan:
“Governor Newsom’s Safe Schools for All Plan to provide vital resources to school districts to facilitate the phased opening of elementary schools for in-class instruction is a critical step toward the goal we all share of returning our children to schools, and demonstrates an important commitment by the State and the Governor to support those efforts.
“I am mindful that during this difficult time of surging COVID-19 cases across the state and in Alameda County, we must continue to prioritize the safety of our students, families and staff. Nothing is more important. We must also use this time wisely because we do not want to lose one minute of the opportunity to take the necessary steps to give students the in-person instruction they need and deserve.
“Districts continue to plan for the return of students with the steadfast support of the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) and Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD). Many of our districts have already, or are in the process of, submitting their reopening plans to ACOE for review. They also continue to engage in critical conversations with stakeholders in their communities, including families and labor partners.
“What is needed now is the implementation of concrete strategies to create safe learning environments including: uniform standards for testing of staff and students; robust contact tracing; priority access to vaccinations for teachers and school staff; information and transparency to school communities; and the funding and resources to support the safety measures that districts must put in place.
“In addition, I will continue to strongly advocate for districts to preserve and expand their ability to return small groups of students who are in the most urgent need of access to in-person instruction, as is currently allowable under state guidance.
“Our educators have done incredible work under unprecedented circumstances in the past nine months to provide meaningful education to our students from a distance. Our education leaders have guided their communities through immense challenges. We face difficult weeks ahead and we must remain vigilant to weather them. But better days are coming, and I join with the members of our Alameda County Board of Education in committing to unwavering support of the students and families of Alameda County.”
Guidance and resources for schools in Alameda County can be found at www.acoe.org/reopening. To read the Safe Schools for All Plan summary, visit the California Department of Public Health website at www.cdph.ca.gov, then type “Safe Schools for All Plan” in the search field and follow the link.
San Leandro City Council
December 15, 2020
Certificate of Election/Oath of Office to New Members:
• Council member-elect, District 2: Bryan Azevedo
• Council member-elect, District 4: Fred Simon
• Council member-elect, District 6: Pete Ballew
Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter Aye
Pete Ballew Aye
Victor Aguilar, Jr. Aye
Bryan Azevedo Aye
Fred Simon Aye
Deborah Cox Aye
Corina Lopez Aye
Milpitas Police bid adieu to longtime colleague
Submitted by Milpitas PD
Longtime colleagues and friends gathered December 24 to celebrate the career of Sergeant Huy Tran on his last workday before retiring from the Milpitas Police Department (MPD) after 27 years.
Prior to joining MPD, Tran was a volunteer police cadet with San Jose State University. He joined MPD as a police officer on January 27, 1994 and was promoted to sergeant in 2004. During his career in Milpitas, Tran served in variety of capacities including Special Investigations Unit Gang Detective, Arrest Control and Tactics Supervisor, SWAT team member and SWAT team leader.
In February 2007, Tran was recognized by the California Correctional Peace Officers Memorial Run for Crime Victims. He was presented with a Letter of Commendation and a Medal of Distinction for his efforts and professionalism in keeping our community safe.
Over the years, Tran volunteered at many events including participating in the Great Mall Chili Cook-Off, Community Safety Awareness Festival, Peace Officers’ Memorial, Police Department’s Open House and Festival, Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run, and Super Bowl 50. Tran’s retirement was effective December 31.
California sues seafood companies over alleged lead, cadmium
AP Wire Service
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Dec 29 – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued five seafood companies on Tuesday, alleging they have sold fish that contains lead and cadmium in the state without legally required warnings.
The state’s lawsuit alleges the companies violated Proposition 65, which prohibits exposing consumers to chemicals that could cause cancer or reproductive problems without clear warnings.
The suit says the California Department of Justice found unacceptable levels of lead or cadmium in fresh and frozen clams, cuttlefish, eel, octopus, oysters, periwinkle and sea squirt.
The defendants named in the suit are importers, distributors and wholesalers of seafood including Clearwater Seafoods, Rhee Bros., Seaquest Seafood Corporation, Jayone Foods and Pacific American Fish Company.
Email messages left with the companies seeking comment were not immediately returned.
The suit also claims the companies broke California’s unfair competition law and its prohibition on fraudulent business practices.
Social Security Matters
Ask Rusty – No Simple Answer to “When to Claim Benefits?”
By Certified Social Security Advisor Russell Gloor
Association of Mature American Citizens
Dear Rusty: I’m almost 59 and hope to retire from working soon. Should I take Social Security as soon as possible, or wait for the maximum amount? Signed: Planning Ahead
Dear Planning Ahead: I’m afraid there’s no simple answer to your question, except “it depends.” It depends on your health; it depends on your need for the money when you retire; and it depends on your life expectancy. Plus, your marital status may also influence your decision on when to claim.
First of all, you cannot claim your Social Security retirement benefit until you are at least 62 years old. But if you claim at 62 your benefit will be cut by 30 percent from what it would be if you waited until your full retirement age (67). You actually have an eight-year window starting at age 62 and lasting until age 70 to claim your Social Security benefit. The earlier in that window you claim, the smaller your benefit will be. And the longer you wait to claim (up to age 70), the higher your benefit will be.
At age 70, your benefit will reach maximum at 24 percent more than it would be at age 67, and 76 percent more than it will be at age 62. Essentially, if you are in good health, don’t urgently need the money earlier, and expect to enjoy at least “average” longevity (about 85 for a man your age today), you will not only get a much higher monthly benefit, but also collect much more in cumulative lifetime benefits by waiting until age 70 (or as long as you can) to claim. Of course, no one knows how long they will live, but there are online tools, which can assist you with estimating your life expectancy. One relatively simple and user-friendly tool is available from Social Security at www.ssa.gov/oact/population/longevity.html.
Conversely, if you are not in good health and don’t expect at least average longevity, or if you urgently need the money when you retire from working, claiming earlier may also be a prudent choice. If you are married and you predecease your wife, her survivor benefit will be based upon the benefit amount you are actually receiving, so by waiting to get a higher benefit for yourself you are also enhancing your wife’s eventual benefit as your widow, should you pass before her.
Be aware too that, should you decide to go back to work, until you reach age 67, you’ll be subject to Social Security’s “earnings test” which limits how much you can earn before Social Security takes back some of your benefits (the 2021 limit is $18,960 and if that were exceeded, they’d take back benefits equal to half of the amount it was exceeded by). The earnings limit changes annually but goes away at your full retirement age.
So, these are the things you should consider in deciding when in that eight-year window to claim your benefits. I cannot directly answer your question for you, but I hope the above gives you what’s needed to make an informed decision on when to claim your Social Security benefits.
This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at [email protected].
Aspiring singer releases new song
Submitted by Elizabeth Carrera-Eiras
Hayward resident Alessandra Kianas Eiras, an aspiring singer and actress, recently turned to the online world to share her singing talent. She released her first single, “Wonder of Living,” a smooth jazz tune to her own website at https://akianaeiras.hearnow.com. Her song is also available on major streaming music platforms including iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora and Deezer. A video with her performance is also posted on YouTube at https://youtu.be/_QlAyx0kptY.
Alessandra, is a City of Hayward Youth Commissioner and is the winner of the city’s Youth Hall of Fame Award for Leadership. She recently was awarded Second Place for her solo singing performance in a competition sponsored by the Hayward Foundation of the Arts. During the pandemic she has been busy with distance learning and making music from home.
Community Bulletin Board
FREE
Working Electric Elevating Chair
Available curbside at 200 block of Hawaii Cir., Union City
(Tropics Mobile Home Park)
New box art brings life and color
By Stephanie Gertsch
Photos courtesy of Suzanne Gayle
This year saw some eye-catching new box art in Fremont. One design by Hayward muralist Suzanne Gayle is sure to bring joy and hope as well as beautifying the community.
Gayle grew up in the south and came from an artistic family – but California helped her discover her own voice. “I really didn’t find myself and the artist part of me until I moved out here,” she says. “I think [it was] getting away from the family, and that overshadowing of being the youngest and being a little intimidated by all my older siblings.”
Now living in Hayward, Gayle is drawn to large-scale art: “As soon as I did my first large mural… I knew that was it, and I really liked doing things that are bigger.” When Hayward started its mural program, she was one of the first artists, and found immense joy in public work.
“I know there’s some artists who prefer to do the work and not be interrupted while they’re out there painting. I welcome it! Come talk to me, I enjoy it. It might take me longer to do the project, but love talking to people and learning about people and learning about their communities. I learn so many things! And that’s what makes it fun.”
Passersby give her feedback and ideas – such as incorporating more animals into her art. Gayle’s own lab mix Sadie comes with her on projects and gets a chance to visit with other dogs as Gayle chats with people.
Eye-catching jewel tones make Gayle’s style highly recognizable. “People know my style because I really do use intense colors…A little ‘hyper reality.’ Even though some of the scenes may be realistic styling, the colors are much more vibrant than you would necessarily see in nature.”
Mural painting engages both the mental and physical sides of an artist. Says Gayle, “I really enjoy the fact that it takes your whole body. You’re using every part of you. It also is like meditating to me. I’m so engrossed in what I’m doing that part of my brain relaxes and I’ll often come up with new ideas and new designs when I’m taking my shower after painting all day.”
Gayle’s past projects include a 180 foot long by six feet high retaining wall for Garin Regional Park. She’s also painted fifty traffic control boxes around the Bay Area, and six in Fremont. Her other boxes focus on clean energy, with designs such as windmills under a bright blue sky. She especially enjoys working with sponsored boxes and bringing a theme to life.
The box Gayle painted to honor HERS Breast Cancer Foundation is a perfect example of her style. To visually represent the organization, Gayle worked closely with HERS Executive Director, Tina Fernandez Steckler. She recalls, “Tina was very influential in giving me so much information about their program, what they do, what they represent. Making sure that I represented a good variety of people.”
Along with the motto “We Are Stronger Together,” the box depicts a crowd gathered for HERS’ annual dove release. Naturally, the background is the vibrant pink associated with breast cancer awareness ribbons. However, Gayle made a point of working blue into the color palette, to show this illness affects all genders. She also echoed the ribbon shapes in the human figures to balance the overall design. She explains, “I wanted to make sure [the ribbons were] visible and told what it was about, but didn’t take over the theme. Because the painting was as much about the community and the people.”
Overall, this box represents what she loves about the Bay Area. “The blending and mixing of colors, that represents our community. The individual colors represent the diversity in the community, and the vibrant colors represent the uniqueness of each individual within the community.”
While Gayle was completing this box in the center of Fremont’s medical offices, she was dealing with her own health issues, leading up to back surgery in November and a follow-up neck surgery in December. Before that her health had been declining for years, even as she went through other life upheavals and a previous surgery.
Gayle speaks honestly on working with limited mobility. “I got to the point where I had to rely on people for everything, handing me the paint. If I was up on the ladder, they would have to give me everything. If I dropped a brush, they needed to give me a brush. If I needed a different color, they needed to give it to me. She admits, “It’s been very depressing…I enjoy working with other people, but it’s been very hard to be dependent on them.”
While completing the HERS box, Gayle tackled the full-body job of painting from a wheelchair. Of course, her dog Sadie stayed by her side and was a big support during this journey. Now she is healing and looking forward to finishing her clean energy boxes. She says, “That’ll be the first thing I do once I get the go-ahead to start working again.”
Connect with Suzanne Gayle:
Website: www.starartsstudio.com
Instagram: @starartss
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzanne.gayle.73
This is the second in a series on Fremont’s traffic control boxes. Next will be an article on a series of history-themed boxes.
Teenager unites youth against child hunger
Submitted by Daksh Kohar
Daksh Kohar started “Talent2Give” with the idea to use his artistic talents to give back to the community. He started off selling his art and slowly graduated from small fundraising sales to forming non-profit organization Talent2Give. Kohar has strived to unite young minds with their talent and channel it towards community service: “What matters most to us will require us to make decisions with higher morals and ethics. The world of tomorrow needs to be fed today and only a healthy gut can serve as a strong foundation for future.”
Talent2Give (T2G) celebrated its first anniversary in August 2020, and as the year drew to a close was raising funds to provide 10,000+ meals for kids around the world. 2020 was challenging in every possible way and T2G embraced the challenge with positivity. Kohar proudly states, “My team found creative ways to give back to the community while retaining our mission on child hunger. Through a series of online activities such as reading clubs, art lessons, virtual fests and more recently selling hand painted eco-friendly tote bags, T2G has proven – When the going gets tough the tough gets going!”
Talent2Give has become a global movement and hopes to continue growing fueled by compassionate members making a difference through their talents in the community and raising awareness on the acute problem of child hunger.
You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] or visit https://talent2give.org/. Follow Talent2Give on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get updates on events, activities and more.
New regulations to streamline financing of low-income housing
Submitted by Mark DeSio
State Treasurer Fiona Ma announced that California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) and California Tax Credit Allocation Committee have both adopted regulations to streamline the process for financing low-income housing. This step will create greater alignment with the Newsom Administration’s housing goals in the process for financing low-income housing with the use of tax credits and tax-exempt bonds.
The new CDLAC regulations will include sections for geographic sectors as well as improved regulations to address housing for the homeless. In addition, CDLAC allocated about $563 million of tax-exempt bonds to 20 housing projects for low-income people. The bonds will help finance 17 housing projects for new construction and three projects to preserve current projects that are aging. The housing, located throughout California, will serve seniors, large families, and those with disabilities.
“This is a big step forward for financing low-income housing,” said Ma. “A more efficient, streamlined process is just what we need to help alleviate the low-income housing shortage.”
The new regulations focus on cost containment and public benefit through the prioritization of homeless and extremely low-income/very low-income housing policy objectives; create a new scoring model that prioritizes housing projects that affirmatively further fair housing – taking meaningful actions that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity; remove barriers of entry and create a new pool for developers who are Black, Indigenous or People of Color; and prioritize financing for affordable, shovel-ready new construction and preservation projects.
Offering Nonprofits Communication, Calendar, and Tools
Submitted by Kathy Kimberlin
The Tri-Cities are vibrant and strategically urban communities, as well as the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the Bay Area. With this come diverse needs, many met by local nonprofits that support needs ranging from health care, enriched education, introduction to music, to social emotional well-being resources. With all this nonprofit work in the Tri-Cities area, three local nonprofit champions were inspired to create the Tri-City Nonprofit Coalition (TCNPC) with these benefits in mind:
• Searchable directory of Tri-City Nonprofits
• Comprehensive event/activity master calendar
• Library of professional resources
• Educational events (Zoom meetings, webinars, speaker series, presentations)
• List of public meeting spaces
• Social and networking events
• Newsletter
Co-Founders Tina Fernandez Steckler, Kathy Kimberlin, and Lisa Stambaugh have all worked with or for Tri-City nonprofits for many years and have all personally experienced the challenges of not being connected with other nonprofits. Scheduling an annual event to avoid conflict with another big event is just one example of a challenge that could be solved by a shared master event calendar.
Sharing of resources and collaboration among nonprofits to make all of our communities stronger are two principles embraced by all three co-founders. A perfect example of how working together strengthens us all: Two years ago, the Give Teens 20 organization came across a grant that didn’t fit their services, but their Executive Director contacted the Fremont Education Foundation (FEF) because they thought it might be a great fit for FEF programs. FEF applied and received the grant. By sharing information and resources, students and teachers in Fremont Unified directly benefited.
The TCNPC kick-off and very first Meet & Greet via Zoom in December was a smashing success with 40+ attendees and three guest speakers, including the newly-elected Alameda County Supervisor District 1 David Haubert, Union City Council Member Jaime Patino, and Nonprofit Expert/Coach Donna Wies. David reminded us all that Alameda County has a strong track record of recognizing the strength of its people and partnering with nonprofits, and he plans to continue that tradition. Jaime recognizes that nonprofits are the backbone of our communities – they address many issues the government cannot, and do it with compassion and a smile. Donna has observed a long-time void with the lack of professional associations for nonprofits, and believes TCNPC has a great opportunity to fill this void locally, commenting at the Meet & Greet that she could not believe how fast this fledgling organization has made significant progress.
On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 6:30 p.m., nonprofit expert Donna Wies will present “What You Didn’t Know About Nonprofit Service – a presentation about Board Roles.” To register via Zoom, visit their website www.tcnpc.org or Facebook page facebook.com/tcnonprofitcoalition. Registration required. All nonprofit presidents, executive directors, board members, volunteers, and nonprofit Champions are invited. Hope to see our local nonprofits at this free and valuable presentation!
What You Didn’t Know About Nonprofit Service
Wednesday, Jan 13
6:30 p.m.
Via Zoom
Register ahead of time at: www.tcnpc.org
Lions keep serving during trying year
Submitted by Union City Lions Club Board
Happy Holidays Lions
On behalf of the Board, we want to say thank you for the services provided during the holidays. To begin, Lions Greg and Lion Laura chaired the meal services provided through Our Lady of the Rosary Church during the month of November. Several Lions assisted, and meals were provided to 240+ individuals.
Lion Brian and Lion Jaime oversaw the Turkey give-away at Centro de Servicios. This program was in lieu of our Lion Al & Marcella Roderigues Memorial Senior Citizens Thanksgiving Dinner, and it was a huge success with the community. Approximately 160 Turkeys were provided through our Lions Club.
Working within the state’s COVID pandemic restrictions, we served. All of us should be proud of the work done on behalf of our community!
Finally, our Lions celebrated the Holiday, virtually. Yes, we had a virtual Zoom get-together and it went better than anticipated. There were plenty of laughs and gifts given. The winner of this year’s Ugly Sweater Contest was Lion Regis. He won a gift card to Tomatina’s.
To all of our Lions we wish you merry holidays and look forward to a time when we can be in each other’s company again.
Longtime police department worker honored
Submitted by Union City PD
Officials from the Union City Police Department (UCPD) recently honored Property and Evidence Manager Lorril Fong-Jean for being selected as its 2020 Employee of the Year.
Fong-Jean has been with UCPD for more than 30 years and is recognized throughout California as one of the best in the field of Law Enforcement Property and Evidence. She was nominated and selected as the President of CAPE (California Association of Property and Evidence) and has set the standard for regional Property and Evidence needs that revolve around organizational management, professional audits, employee development and training, and property and evidence building design and development.
Having earned a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution and a degree in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Fong-Jean also is a department trainer and expert in employee resiliency and mindfulness. She coordinates regular mindfulness and stress reduction training opportunities for department employees and provides research materials for managers and supervisors to recognize and respond to employee wellness related issues.
New US dietary guidelines: No candy, cake for kids under 2
Dec 29
By Carla K. Johnson
AP Medical Writer
Parents now have an extra reason to say no to candy, cake and ice cream for young children. The first U.S. government dietary guidelines for infants and toddlers, released Tuesday, recommend feeding only breast milk for at least six months and no added sugar for children under age 2.
“It’s never too early to start,” said Barbara Schneeman, a nutritionist at University of California, Davis. “You have to make every bite count in those early years.”
The guidelines stop short of two key recommendations from scientists advising the government. Those advisers said in July that everyone should limit their added sugar intake to less than 6% of calories and men should limit alcohol to one drink per day.
Instead, the guidelines stick with previous advice: limit added sugar to less than 10% of calories per day after age 2. And men should limit alcohol to no more than two drinks per day, twice as much as advised for women.
“I don’t think we’re finished with alcohol,” said Schneeman, who chaired a committee advising the government on the guidelines. “There’s more we need to learn.”
The dietary guidelines are issued every five years by the Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. The government uses them to set standards for school lunches and other programs. Some highlights:
INFANTS, TODDLERS AND MOMS
Babies should have only breast milk at least until they reach 6 months, the guidelines say. If breast milk isn’t available, they should get iron-fortified infant formula during the first year. Babies should get supplemental vitamin D beginning soon after birth.
Babies can start eating other food at about 6 months and should be introduced to potential allergenic foods along with other foods.
“Introducing peanut-containing foods in the first year reduces the risk that an infant will develop a food allergy to peanuts,” the guidelines say.
There’s more advice than in prior guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women. To promote healthy brain development in their babies, these women should eat 8 to 12 ounces of seafood per week. They should be sure to choose fish – such as cod, salmon, sardines and tilapia – with lower levels of mercury, which can harm children’s nervous systems.
Pregnant women should not drink alcohol, according to the guidelines, and breastfeeding women should be cautious. Caffeine in modest amounts appears safe and women can discuss that with their doctors.
WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
Most Americans fall short of following the best advice on nutrition, contributing to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Much of the new advice sounds familiar: Load your plate with fruits and vegetables, and cut back on sweets, saturated fats and sodium.
The guidelines suggest making small changes that add up: Substitute plain shredded wheat for frosted cereal. Choose low-sodium canned black beans. Drink sparkling water instead of soda.
There’s an app to help people follow the guidelines available through the government’s My Plate website.
READ LABELS
The biggest sources of added sugars in the typical U.S. diet are soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts, snacks, candy and sweetened coffee and tea. These foods contribute very little nutrition, so the guidelines advise limits.
There’s information on added sugar on the “Nutrition Facts” label on packaged foods. Information on saturated fats and sodium is on the label too.
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Associated Press writer Marion Renault in Rochester, Minnesota, contributed. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Water Workshop
Submitted by Paul Cambra
The California Water Commission is conducting a series of public workshops as part of its efforts to assess a potential state role in financing conveyance projects that could help meet needs in a changing climate. The Commission’s goal with these workshops is to learn from diverse voices across the state. Participants are encouraged to share their perspective on conveyance infrastructure needs and priorities, effective partnerships, public benefits of conveyance, possible criteria to assess resilience, efforts in preparing for changing hydrology, and effective financing mechanisms. The workshops are not associated with the pending proposal to improve conveyance through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The third workshop will focus on Northern California, and will be co-hosted by the Northern California Water Association.
“Water suppliers in Northern California serve water for multiple benefits, including cities and rural communities, farms, fish, birds, wildlife and recreation,” said David J. Guy, president of the Northern California Water Association. “The conveyance of water is important for climate and water resilience in this region. We encourage active participation in this workshop to explore how conveyance projects can best serve these various beneficial purposes into the future.”
The workshops will be conducted via the web-based videoconferencing service Zoom. More detailed instructions on how to use Zoom and participate in the meeting can be found on the Commission website. If you require translation of any materials or interpretation during the workshop, please call (916) 834-3177 or email [email protected]. This workshop will be followed by one on Central California.
The Commission will use the information gathered at the regional workshops to help formulate its recommendations on a potential state role in financing climate-resilient conveyance. The draft paper will be available for public comment before it is finalized and presented to the Administration in mid-2021. For more details and a complete schedule of workshops, visit cwc.ca.gov/Programs-and-Topics.
Northern California Public Workshop
Thursday, January 12
2:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Via Zoom
Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctcOispjgoGdZfwSHl8tYudPmKjhnjiQow
(916) 834-3177
[email protected]
Kids’ and Adult winter art classes
Submitted by Hayward Area Recreation
After a successful fall season, Hayward Area Recreation has a variety of online art classes for the winter 2021 season. Check out these classes starting in January. Register at www.haywardrec.org/register. (Prices will vary, check website for details.)
Young Rembrandts – FUNdamental Drawing 16423
January 6 – February 3
Wednesday; 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
5 classes
Ages 4-6
Animals Around the Bay 16414
January 29 – March 5
Friday; 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
6 classes
Ages 7 -9
Art Exploration 16413
January 29 – March 5
Friday; 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
6 classes
Ages 7 -9
Youth Ceramics 16419
January 8 – March 5
Friday; 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
9 classes
Ages 11-15
Pottery Firing
(Fire and Glaze 15962, Midfire 16034, and Firing only 15961 options available)
January 7 – February 6
Thursday – Saturday
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
(four visits)
Ages 15+
Online Ceramics 16420
January 6 – March 3
Wednesday; 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
9 Classes
Ages 16+
Portrait Painting 16416
January 18 – February 22
Monday; 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
6 classes
Ages 18+
Watercolor 16417
January 20 – February 24
Wednesday; 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
6 classes
Ages 18+
PhotoCentral Lab Membership 16415
January 20 – March 1
Monday, Wednesday
Times available on the Hayward rec guide
5 hours
Ages 15+
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