As I’ve mentioned previously, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church’s Hunger Task Force maintains a food pantry and annually provides Thanksgiving baskets to those in need. These efforts are funded in large part through the collection of cans and bottles that are deposited in the recycling collection bin in front of their pre-school. Please consider this as another option for your recycling needs. They’re also looking for additional volunteers to help unload the bin and sort the contents. If you have some free time available, please contact the church at 893-2484.
As I’ve reported previously, the cardboard Ganesha sculpted by Charles Granich now resides in Namaste Yoga. A couple of weeks ago, Charles got married and the wedding flowers later ended up artfully arranged on and around the Hindu deity. Congratulations to Charles (and his bride) on their marriage and also for getting Kickstarter funding for the debut album of La Misa Negra, the group in which Charles plays clarinet and saxophone.
The informal service that Rev. Hopkins performed in memory of Ron Williams was much appreciated by those who knew him and wished to pay their respects. One of the mourners was Joe Provost who later sent me this tribute.
When we were planning the original California Native Garden at the Splash Pad, Michael Sasso was a major resource and, in the ensuing ten years, he’s often advised us on planting and maintenance issues. Recently, Michael embarked on an entirely new venture — the Sasso Bar — the Twenty-First Century version of the candy bars he and I used to eat as kids. It’s quite scrumptious — but, as I pointed out to Michael, the candy bars I ate as a kid were a nickel. On the other hand, a new car was like $1,200.
Volunteering For Oakland is sponsoring its 5th Annual Volunteer Day at Lakeview School on September 7th from 11:00 am — 2:00 pm. Parking for attendees will be available on the playground behind the school building.
The Deadheaders who help maintain the Morcom Rose Garden were the subject of this very nice June 28th article in the Montclarion.
This past Wednesday afternoon, a car traveling westbound on Lake Park skidded out of control on the rain-slick asphalt — destroying one of the Queen Palms on the median. From my past experience, I know that the city too often fails to aggressively pursue restitution in such circumstances — which means that either we taxpayers pay for the palm’s replacement or, more likely, that it never gets replaced. I filed a complaint via SeeClickFix asking that the city file a claim with the driver’s insurance company. I also asked that the Traffic Engineering Department look into ways to slow down traffic on Lake Park since this is not an isolated incident. In the past several years, the palm directly across from KFC was destroyed (and never replaced) and three of the remaining palms have been heavily damaged. Please take the time to voice your support on these issues. You can do so by clicking on this link and voting to fix.