WELCOME TO THE OPINION PAGE
The following letters and other commentary express only the personal opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Piedmont Civic Association.
Submit a letter, opinion, article, etc. | Receive email notice of new articles
On May 2, 2018 in the Piedmont City Council Chambers, the Park Commission met to discuss current and future issues with our public parks and properties. As the crowd slowly filed in, the Commission Chair announced that the meeting had officially started and the small crowd in attendance went silent.
This meeting covered topics in the parks and recreation sector of the government. The main purpose of this meetings was to inform the Commission and public of problems in their parks, take public input, hold discussion, and make recommendations to the City Council and hopefully solve problems. This meeting happens once a month.
Topics that arise in these meeting are citizen complaints, new park ideas, solutions, and information on the prior month from the Public Works Supervisor, Dave Frankel. Mr. Frankel talked about what his team has accomplished and provided details on their current projects.
The Commission started the meeting discussing a problem that has occurred on Pala Avenue of residents illegally pruning the trees outside their house. A couple of residents and their gardeners were caught illegally pruning trees. They were fined, but they did not accept the fine without a fight. Pruning a tree can kill the tree if not done correctly and can also kill the vibe of the block as the tree is not nearly as beautiful.
Apparently the residents complained that the trees were growing too high and obstructed their view which they felt could decrease their property value. So the commissioners discussed the possibility of planting new trees on Pala Avenue that would not obstruct the residents view. Dave Frankel suggested purple plume trees should be planted, because they do not grow above a certain height and would stay out of the way of residents views. All of the commissioners agreed to look into the possibility of new plantings on Pala Avenue in order to satisfy the residents. No one from the crowd spoke for or against this topic.
The other main topic discussed was the trash in Piedmont Park that is left by high school students. This topic was brought up by Lena Flescher, a student speaker, and the topic ended up being one of the main points of the meeting. She told the commissioners that punishment must be enforced in order for students to finally pick up the trash. Nancy Kent, lead staff to the commission, agreed with Lena. Ms. Kent spoke about this issue as she has already been involved with teachers to try and fix the trash problem. Kent also encouraged the students in attendance to contact her with ideas on ways students can become more involved in the process.
In speaking to Mr. Frankel, I learned he was there because he is required to do a report at the end of each meeting on how his sector of the government is doing and to discuss any problems that he may encounter. They may also call on him in the middle of a meeting to give his professional opinion on something such as which tree would work best in a location. Mr. Frankel did not have any crazy reaction to the meeting as he has sat through many of them and knows exactly what to expect. As for addressing his concerns, Mr. Frankel said he and his crew are going into the park the next day to remove all of the trash.
by Carson Gerhardy, Piedmont High School Senior
Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Students Observe Piedmont’s Active Park Commission
Did you know that it is against code to prune a street tree, and you can be subject to a fine for doing so? Or that our Liquidambars are being slowly replaced by Purple-Leaf Plums, or that one hard working team of individuals is single-handedly saving the paws, ears, and noses of Piedmont dogs? These are things I learned during the May 2 Piedmont Park Commission meeting in the Piedmont City Council Chambers.
While Piedmont residents see the benefits of their work every day, few know of the Piedmont Park Commission, which meets once a month to discuss the flora we place near our streets and in our parks, as well as renovations to Piedmont parks.
This month, the Piedmont Park Commission met to discuss the replanting of trees in our parks and on our streets, Arbor Day, the Linda Beach Master Plan, and the installation of a new bench. The meeting started with a discussion of the replacement of Liquidambars with Purple-Leaf Plums, and the potential problems that the Liquidambar root systems could cause during removal. The commissioners wanted consistency, and wanted to ensure that the plum was the designated tree for replacement. A commissioner pointed out that using plums would restrict the view of residents less, and a discussion about whether residents and gardeners can prune city-owned trees ensued (They cannot, and can be subject to a fine should they be caught pruning).
The commissioners then acknowledged the Piedmont Garden Club’s donation to insert strip lighting into a public building. The commissioners commented on its expert illumination of the deck and its both contemporary and traditional aura.
Moving on from this, the commissioners discussed a new meeting about renovations to the Linda Beach Park. They wish to hold that meeting in the Beach Auditorium, and wanted it to reach specifically the neighborhood near the park as they would be the most affected by the changes. PHS student Lena Fleischer spoke out about this issue, saying that the installation of a new skate park and other attractions would not have too much of an effect on the residents’ quality of life, as they are used to noise from Beach Elementary. The commissioners wanted to encourage walking rather than driving to the park and discussed how an added parking lot would affect these numbers.
PHS students Katherine Irving and Isa West spoke about the planting of non-native species in Piedmont parks, emphasizing the need for more local plants. PHS student Natasha Yskamp-Long spoke about littering in Piedmont Park, and a discussion ensued about how to best keep students from littering.
Public Works Supervisor Dave Frankel then gave his monthly maintenance report, in which he discussed the ongoing battle against weeds. In particular, he pointed out that since his team does not use herbicides, they must do all the weeding by hand. I discussed this point with him later, and found that his team is responsible for removing as many foxtails as they can from the dog parks, which reduces the risk of dogs getting infections from embedded foxtails in their paws, ears, and even noses.
A family I know recently had a dog die from a foxtail, which reached the dog’s brain, so I know firsthand how dangerous these plants can be, and am infinitely grateful for the hard work Frankel and his team put into hand-weeding the parks.
Frankel then went into further detail about the planting of plums and the replacement of American Elms with London Planes. He then discussed the 5 phases of the removal of American Elms, and that they now have only 4 elms left to remove and replace with London Planes. The Commission then ended with announcements concerning the date of the next Linda Beach plan meeting.
I interviewed Supervisor of Public Works Dave Frankel. Frankel was not here to speak out on a specific issue. As supervisor, his job is to give a monthly brief of his team’s work at every Park Commission. This month he brought up the issues of hand-weeding, and how it is taking them a lot more work and time than it would with the use of chemicals. Frankel will be back next month to give another briefing, and will presumably be back for every other Park Commission as well, to inform them of the latest on the removal of trees, replanting of new ones, and destruction of weeds. Frankel thinks the meeting went well.
by Katherine Irving, Piedmont High School Senior
~~~~~~~~~~~
Illegal Tampering with Trees Causes Concern
On Wednesday May 2, the Piedmont Park Commission held their monthly meeting in the Piedmont City Council Chambers. The meetings are held to discuss and receive updates on parks, plants and other environmental aspects within Piedmont.
The meeting started off with a report of three damaged trees at 426 Pala Avenue by Nancy Kent, Parks and Projects Manager. It was noted that the trees were decaying and concern for branch failure with their poor structures. Jim Horner, member of the commission, recommended observing the trees across the street, which are liquidambar styraciflua and are located just underneath the street’s power lines. Horner also recommended removing those three trees now and place them elsewhere. He finished by saying that the planting should be protected when they are being removed.
The first speaker on this issue was Dave Frankel, the Public Works Supervisor, who said that the trees on Pala Avenue were left as they were found and that there was evidence of illegal pruning and topping by previous residents. The neighborhood block contains a large number of liquidambar styraciflua trees, all planted in tight spacing, which has caused decay and water sprout branch tear outs. Frankel recommended that all of the liquidambar trees be replaced with fruitless plum trees because they won’t impact the views from homes like the liquidambar trees do.
The next topic was the acknowledgement of the installation of new LED lighting around the Tea House. In 2016, the Piedmont Garden Club made a generous donation to the city to upgrade the lighting around the Tea House. Unfortunately, when the mature oak tree near the house died and was removed, the small downlights that hung from the tree’s branches were lost. This made the area feel quite dark and lifeless but the recently installed new lighting was made possible thanks to the collaboration with Thomas Skadski of Lumen Works, in which they designed LED lighting that could be mounted underneath the benches to provide a warm glow to help revitalize the edges of the Tea House decks. Finding the right contractor for this was difficult until the staff began working with Schulkamp Electric to install the Community Hall pole lights, where they then discovered Lumen Works.
The last and final topic of the meeting had to do with an update on the Linda Beach Playfield Master Plan. The city had held a neighborhood meeting on April 25 to hear from residents about their opinion of the Linda Beach Tot Lot Master Planning project. The attendance was an impressive 50 residents plus and the preferred 35% master plan, site analysis and existing condition plans were posted around the auditorium for review. The audience was encouraged to voice their concerns and other comments to become a factor in the summary of public opinion, which was presented to the City Council on May 7.
When the meeting concluded, I spoke with Dave Frankel. He is the Park Supervisor and he gives a monthly maintenance report to the Piedmont Park Commission. He wants to inform the Park Commission of the activities of public works staff during the prior month. He has recently learned of different American Elm trees that he may need remove and to start planting new street trees. He has much respect for the volunteers who are on the Piedmont Park Commission and the amount of time they put in because they aren’t getting paid for doing what they do. They are taking time out of their lives to help make Piedmont a better place. Frankel will continue doing his job including reporting monthly to the commission as well as now taking into account the concerns that were addressed by students at this meeting.
by Dylan Bradsby, Piedmont High School Senior
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Trees to Rebellious Pruners, and Everything in Between
Upon stepping into a Piedmont Park Commission meeting, it becomes quite evident that this is unlike other government meetings. The sound of impassioned debaters and fiery homeowners all pushing for their beliefs is replaced by the quiet discussion of which trees to plant in the coming year, and updates on the work of Piedmont’s maintenance crew. This government body, which meets once a month in the City Council Chambers, comes together to discuss the parks and plants throughout Piedmont, and any changes or improvements to be made to them.
This particular meeting, on May 2nd 2018, lasted an hour, from 5:30 to 6:30 and had a total of zero disagreements among its participants. The meeting commenced with a discussion about the replacement of dying trees throughout Piedmont, but particularly on Pala Avenue. All of the government officials agreed that an effort needs to be made to ensure the consistency of street trees throughout the neighborhood, so Purple Leaf Plum trees were designated the new street tree for Piedmont. It was decided that these trees would also eventually replace many Liquidambar trees that would soon begin to obstruct views, and will also face issues as they are growing underneath power lines. The Plum Tree were chosen due to their ability to be easily planted amidst Piedmont’s hilly topography, and their low height, which ensures that they do not obstruct any views.
A brief statement was then made about the success of Piedmont’s Arbor Day this year, as well as the success of the LED lights that were donated by the Piedmont Garden Club for the Tea House Bench, which are now installed.
A quick mention was made surrounding the illegal pruning of street trees by residents. To the surprise of all attending, it was discovered that those caught performing this daring act could be fined, and have been.
Commission Chair Betsy Goodman brought up the hot topic in the meeting -the Linda Beach Park. A meeting was recently held at Egbert W. Beach Elementary School in order to hear the opinions of residents regarding this park renovation. Staff Liaison and Manager of Parks and Projects, Nancy Kent, expressed her enthusiasm regarding the meeting, stating that it was very helpful. Most of the complaints made were surrounding issues with parking, the importance of the tot lot to the neighborhood residents, and issues with the amount of noise a park will attract from people playing sports, skating, and the like.
Piedmont High School Senior and Beach neighborhood resident Lena Fleischer addressed this issue, stating she believed a park would be great for a lot of the local families and children to have a place to play. In addition, she claimed that there was already so much noise coming from Beach Elementary School that a park could hardly turn this neighborhood from a quiet one to a noisy one, when it is already quite noisy.
Next, the issue of trash in Piedmont Park was addressed by Piedmont High School Senior Natasha Yskamp Long. As a frequent user of the park, she has begun to notice high amounts of trash littering it, and even “mountains of hundreds of plastic water bottles.” She credits this increased volume in trash to the lack of follow through regarding the Piedmont Administration’s threat to ban off-campus lunch or get the police involved in the issue.
Student Lena Fleischer then returned to the podium and pitched the idea of hanging up painted signs throughout Piedmont Park to remind students not to litter. Nancy Kent in particular appeared very excited by this idea, and plans were made to discuss it further.
As a Piedmont High student and a member of Piedmont Environmental Club, Natasha’s method, in my opinion, would prove far more effective in eliminating littering in Piedmont Park. I have a more cynical view of the intentions of many of my classmates, and think that handing out detentions to future perpetrators would be much more impactful on the students than signs would be.
Throughout my high school career, I have been a member of two environmental groups, both of which received the fewest number of visitors of any club on club day and have an average turn out of three people during weekly meetings. Although there are many members of the Piedmont High community that care about the environment, the majority do not consider it a high priority, and handing out punishments, such as detention, could have a direct impact on them personally and would show a lot better results.
The last topic brought up at the meeting was that of maintenance. The Piedmont Supervisor for Public Works Dave Frankel updated the room on the extensive and time consuming hand weeding projects that would soon begin in an attempt to avoid using pesticides. In addition, the crew has begun mulching and will soon start planting more London Plane Trees through Piedmont. The staff will begin performing Spring Pathway maintenance and have already fixed a sidewalk and removed a liquidambar tree from Magnolia Avenue.
The Public Works Department has dealt with a couple of Acacia trees that fell down in Piedmont Park, and have pushed back their paving project due to bad weather. The staff has started their five phase plan for the removal of almost all of the American Elm Trees in Piedmont due to a disease that has impacted most of the trees. There was talk of past replacement of these trees with purported disease resistant Liberty Elm Trees, but this proved to be ineffective as the Liberty Elm Trees were soon infected as well.
After the meeting, I interviewed the aforementioned Piedmont Public Works Supervisor, Dave Frankel, regarding his attendance at the meeting. He said that he attends the Park Commission meetings because it is his job to inform the Parks Commission of the activities of the Public Works Department for the month. He stated that “my concerns are resident concerns.” While he often informs his crew of issues that he sees that need to be taken care of, most of his work is based off of the needs of Piedmont’s residents. Piedmont, it turns out, is a more eventful place than one would think, with Dave Frankel “fielding about 50 calls a day.” According to Frankel, a big issue he is currently working on is the level of trash in Piedmont Park. Sadly, his team is there almost everyday picking up the trash that should have been disposed of by the students of Piedmont High School. Hopefully, this problem will soon be dealt with by the school so that our helpful public works crew will not have to spend their valuable time picking up after teenagers.
by Isa West, Piedmont High School Senior
~~~~~~~~~
Park Commission: Complaints about Trees Obstructing Views; the Supervisor of Public Works and Students Discuss Park Litter
Last Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 5:30 pm, the Piedmont’s Park Commission held its monthly meeting in the City Council Chambers. The meeting discussed many things, from the status of specific trees to the Linda Beach Master Plan.
The meeting began with a discussion of the compromised/dying liquidamber trees on multiple streets in Piedmont. Members of the Commission discussed replacing them with purple leaf plum trees due to their greater ability to latch onto the soil. Parks and Project Manager, Nancy Kent, mentioned that “A lot of tree problems that you deal with are at the sidewalk level.”
Supervisor of Public Works, Dave Frankel, informed the Commission that Piedmont Public Works has completed the majority of their tree removal/replanting for the year and is making very good progress. The Commission also discussed some aspects of the process, wherein Frankel informed them that the Public Works team takes pictures of the trees that are removed so that they can be put back in the exact same way. He also mentioned that some trees planted in the last few years have not taken well to their environment and which species of trees would be better for planting in the future.
Member Nancy Kent chimed in regarding resident complaints about their views being obstructed by tall trees. Frankel stated that replacing liquidamber trees with leaf plum trees would help solve that problem because liquidamber trees grow to be extremely tall, while leaf plum trees do not grow beyond a certain height. Frankel also said that residents have been illegally pruning trees. A commissioner asked him what the protocol was in that situation. Frankel explained that residents have been fined for illegally pruning trees in the past, although it is rare because the only way to catch someone doing it is when a neighbor calls into report it.
Students, Katherine Irving and Isabella West, spoke during public comment on the need for local species of trees to be planted instead of foreign trees. They explained that local trees are better for the ecosystem. I agree that planting local trees is better than planting foreign trees. Local animals such as birds and rabbits will be able to live better in the environment that they are adapted for.
The Commission also discussed the Linda Beach Master Plan. Student, Lena Fleischer, gave her thoughts on the project. She mentioned the idea of having a mural painted by local residents on the bridge facing Beach Park.
The Commission wrapped up the meeting by discussing the issue of trash being left by Piedmont High School students at the park. They brainstormed ways of encouraging students to throw away their garbage. The commission reasoned that there are plenty of trash cans so it is not a problem of accessibility.
In an interview with Frankel following the meeting, he explained that his job is to “inform the Parks Department of the Public Works Department’s work they have done in the prior month.” He stated that “my concerns are resident concerns” and his team receives “about 50 phone calls a day.” Frankel also mentioned that he has taken pictures of the park after lunch and sent them to Piedmont School District Superintendent Randall Booker in order to provide evidence of the trash left behind by Piedmont High School students. Frankel urged students who attended the meeting to voice their concerns to Booker by email or in person.
By Max West, Piedmont High School Senior
I am writing to express my support for Nancy O’Malley in June’s District Attorney election.
Nancy is the first woman to be elected as District Attorney of our county, and has served in this position for the past ten years. She has worked as an attorney in the office for nearly 30 years.
During her career, Nancy has committed herself to keeping our communities safe and to serving victims of crime. As District Attorney, Nancy has become a leader in the fight to end human trafficking and to clear the backlog of rape kits in order to bring justice to victims of sexual assault.
Under her leadership, the DA’s Office has increased efforts to protect our environment and has strong units to combat domestic violence, elder abuse and consumer fraud.
Alameda County is fortunate to have a strong, dedicated and compassionate District Attorney. Please join Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, the Sierra Club, Congressman Eric Swalwell, and me in supporting Nancy O’Malley, and please remember to vote on June 5!
Sincerely, Teresa Drenick, Piedmont Resident
On Wednesday, April 11th, 2018, the Piedmont School Board held their bi-weekly meeting. The meeting started at 7:06 p.m. at City Hall and concluded around 7:40 p.m., making it one of the shortest meetings in a while. The main reason for this was because there was nothing on the agenda to discuss. The real purpose of the meeting was to take questions from a few students, the Parents Club, and questions pertaining to changing the location of the fire alarm in preparation for the new building that will be built at Piedmont High School.
The first question was from a member of the Piedmont Education Foundation (PEF) and the Parents Club about the cost of Chromebooks for the Middle School and High School because of the lack of donations from 6th grade parents this year. She urged people to keep Chromebooks up to date by donating money. She also urged people to contribute to the Piedmont Spring Fling at piedmontspringfling.org .
Next, a representative from MHS updated the board on what is happening on campus such as Senior Prom, athletic events, and a dance show field trip to Alvin Ailey at UC Berkeley.
The first student to comment in the meeting was Maggie Lucas, a PHS Senior. She asked the School Board to consider investing in an “extracurricular PE class,” because PHS requires one year of freshman PE as well as another year of PE or sport. This causes many students to sacrifice academic periods. Additionally, all of the extracurricular sports are very competitive and do not guarantee spots because many athletes get cut from the teams.
Next, Drew Lali, another senior argued that the School Board should reconsider taking away the two days that are part of Winter Break for next year’s schedule changes.
I was the last PHS Senior to comment. I asked the School Board to consider investing in online textbooks for PHS or alternative online material content for classes. I asked this because for students who travel between two homes on a regular basis (like myself), it can often be a burden to have to carry heavy textbooks back and forth. Additionally, the online content is more up to date than much of the content that are in the textbooks, and is continuously being updated. Although most classes now have online textbooks, I always have two or three classes each year that still use hardcover textbooks.
Michael Braidy explained how the fire control on the 10s building at Piedmont High needs to be moved to the 30s building in preparation for the construction of the new building that is expected to start early March of next year. However, Braidy did clarify that the schedule for construction is still very flexible.
When the meeting concluded, I spoke to Doug Ireland about the meeting. He is a member of the School Board and is there for the bi-weekly meetings. He explained that he learned that the School Board should reevaluate the costs of Chromebooks based on the comments made by the Parents Club earlier in the meeting. He also noted that the Board will be going forward with looking at the costs and installation of fire alarms at Piedmont High. Last, Ireland was happy about how short the meeting ended up being.
bySaatvik Dube, Piedmont High School Senior
Relocation of Fire Alarm and School Spending
On April 11th, 2018, at the Piedmont City Council Chambers, there was a biweekly school board meeting. The members of the school board attended, with the addition of one student from ASB for Millennium High School. Also, Students, both in High and Middle school, attended the meeting for school related assignments.
The School Board meeting addressed the topics of school spending and relocation of the Fire Alarm system to the 30’s building at Piedmont High School. Also, a student at Piedmont High School addressed the graduation requirement for Physical Education.
First, the spending amount schools get is allocated from the Government of California, and in addition the Parents from Piedmont can donate money to foundations created by Piedmont Parents to help the Schools. A low percentage, 35 %, of 6th Grade Piedmont Parents donated money for Piedmont Middle School. Almost half, 45%, of 9th Grade Piedmont Parents donated money for Piedmont High School. The money parents donated can help the subjects in School. For example, I know families that donate to Paints, an organization that helps promote Art classes in the Piedmont Unified School District. I think all parents that are apart of any school district should donate to provide as much help as they can from these organizations.
The Second issue addressed was the relocation of the Fire Alarm system to the 30’s building. The 10’s building is going to be taken down as well as the Theater to update the buildings and make them earthquake safe and much nicer than their current status. The school is moving the fire alarm system to the permanent spot in the 30’s building before the 10’s building is being torn down. Sarah Pearson, School Board President, asked the question, “Will the theater be able to put on plays and shows for the students and Parents?” The person said that people will be able to see plays before March because the Theater will be shut down early March of next year.
After the meeting, I interviewed Sarah Pearson about the meeting. She told me, “It was the shortest meeting [she] could remember in [her] five and a half years on the school board.” When I asked why this was the shortest meeting, she replied, “that there is going to be a special meeting on Monday to go over in depth the policy.” The School Board meeting was short but packed with information about the following topics above. What will be the resulting outcome of the new theater and 10’s building over the years?
by Drew Lalli, Piedmont High School Senior
The School Board meets every other week, but this meeting was different than the others. At some meetings there are lots of topics to cover and even contencios voting. Well other meetings, like this one, include the call of a Kakapo. However, on March 28th at 7 p.m. the School Board had very little to discuss and almost no voting. There were not a lot of decisions to make, because of this, the School Board spent the majority of the time focusing on events that were coming up or were currently going on within the high school.
The meeting began with Heather Frank, Executive Director of Piedmont Educational Foundation (PEF), updating the board on the Spring Fling. Every year PEF plans a Spring Fling with a different theme; this year’s is New Orleans themed. They hope to raise $400,000 and the biggest auction item is a trip to go on an African safari.
Following Heathers presentation Anna Goldberg, ASB Co-President of Piedmont High School, updated the board and listeners about what was going on in the high schoolers’ lives. She told them most seniors would be finished hearing from colleges within the next two weeks. Then she discussed how popular the Acapella Revue was. This topic was very exciting to the board and they started to discuss Mr. Joe Piazza, Acapella Teacher, and how he continues to amaze the town year after year.
Before the meeting started, I interviewed Heather and was surprised to find out that she comes to every meeting they have. This is because she frequently needs to update the School Board about what is happening at the Educational Foundation. Heather is not only in charge of spring fling, but all fundraisers for the schools in the District. She appreciates hearing from the students when they attend meetings and likes to hear the concerns they have. She shared that the meetings are typically small but if there is a community concern they can become very full.
Andreas Bjork and Nathan Horst were the first students to speak to the board. They chose to discuss the mountain biking team and its development. In the future, they are hoping to have their team recognized as an official Piedmont High School interscholastic team rather than a club, with the end goal being participants receiving PE credit. To my surprise, the board shared they were unable to respond to them on the topic of the mountain biking club because this was not on the original agenda, but expressed appreciation for the students’ input. Arguably, the highlight of the meeting came when Board President, Sarah Pearson, asked Andreas to perform his first prize winning bird call: the Kakapo. Andres thrilled the board by doing not just one call by this bird… but two calls, they were ecstatic.
Eva Hunter, PHS senior, next discussed her frustration with the inconsistency of athletic directors as well as the need for more female leadership in PHS sports. She noted that the vast majority of coaches, trainers and administrators are men. There has never been a female athletic director, and there is a perceived emphasis on men’s sports over women’s sports.
Immediately after Eva spoke, two students came to the podium one by one and spoke about their response to the Let’s Talk Assembly which took place earlier the week. The program had two parts; an assembly and one of the three sessions. Ms. Taylor was in charge of the assembly and was led by students in the acting class. One of the students who spoke at the meeting was in the assembly and felt that lots of students were impacted by the program. People had openly said having the assembly made it easier to talk about events they were struggling with in their lives without having to talk about it directly. The assembly included stories from actual students, similar to the date rape assembly which was held earlier in the year. The second student was in charge of facilitating one of the sessions. In her session they had sentences such as “ someone I really respect at this school is ____ or people think I am ___ but I feel I am ____” it seemed to help students openly discuss issues at the school.
The last speaker of the meeting was Michael Brady, Student Support Service at Piedmont Adult School, discussed the requirement for the school. They have “issued over 300 diplomas since 2006, they have served over 1,300 people on independent study”. The Adult School also recognized it takes some students longer than others to accomplish graduation requirements. There have been a wide range of people who have attended the school, including the homeless, and incarcerated youth. Most of the students they serve are between 18-30 and 99% of them are from outside of Piedmont.
Attending a SchoolBoard meeting was fascinating to me because I better understood what goes on behind the scenes with the schools and what information is being relied to the board and see how many pieces of the puzzle are occurring without any knowledge from the students. It was very nice to see the effort the staff from PEF, the Adult School, Board members, and students put into making sure the high school is as enjoyable as it can be.
by Maya Marcus, Piedmont High School Senior
On March 14th, 2018, the Piedmont School Board met to discuss issues related to the protests that occurred the same day in schools across the Piedmont community. The protests and student gatherings were a response to the violent events that transpired on February 14th, 2018 in Parkland Florida. Schools across the nation planned demonstrations protesting gun laws and honoring the 17 victims of the shooting.
On the proposal for the School Safety and Gun Violence Resolution 12-2017-2018, members of the Board spoke on the need to establish and perform further background checks as well as banning certain classes of firearms, to ensure the safety of students and the Piedmont community as a whole. In addition, the Board spoke on creating additional funding for the implementation of counselors and taking measures against bullying. An agreement was unanimously reached and Resolution 12-2017-2018 was approved and prepared to be sent to representatives.
Board Member Cory Smegal addressed the issue of absences for the day as many Middle and High School students skipped class to protest. Unlike middle schoolers, high schoolers at Piedmont High School were marked down with an unexcused absence.
Superintendent Randall Booker spoke to this, stating that the High School event was “student led” and made up of student leaders. In contrast, the Middle School protest was organized by the staff. For reasons of security and liability, Booker stated that although he and the Board gave their full support to students exercising their rights to free speech, they could not excuse high schoolers as students had organized the event independently from the school.
Teachers and school staff had made it clear that they were going to mark protesting students with an unexcused absence but would offer accommodation for make ups. Students should not be too worried about these absences as they are common practices when there are walkouts and protests.
Last year, I participated in Piedmont/Oakland walkout protesting the election. We were gone for an entire class period but teachers were very open to making accommodations or opportunities to make up missing work. Students’ walkouts and protests are important ways we can make ourselves heard and are necessary despite the consequences.
On the matter of free speech, members of the Board discussed the importance of students expressing their voices. This was “not a movement of disobedience [but rather] a movement of solidarity.” The Board recognized that the High School Lie-in was not designed to be a political protest but rather an event mourning the tragic events of the Parkland shooting. High school student leaders had also organized more politically minded events during lunch the week of the 14th.
The School Board also spoke on the issue of lighting at Witter Field. PUSD Director of Alternative and Adult Education proposed the implementation of 42 light fixtures replacing the 72 light fixtures on Witter Field. This new system would provide better lighting quality, would be more energy efficient and would reduce the amount of light pollution. The Board unanimously approved the implementation of the project during the summer and the Piedmont community can expect improved lighting as soon as Fall 2018.
The School District is facing a problem where students during lunch are using the Main Park as a lunch spot but rarely clean up, leaving trash and food. I spoke to Ms Levenson, Piedmont High’s librarian who told me even the police have gotten involved, passing out littering fines to students who don’t pick up after themselves. The School Board spoke of various repercussions this could have and the possibility of closing the campus at lunch time.
by Thomas Poppas, Piedmont High School Senior
Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.
The government body which met on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. was the Piedmont Recreation Commission discussing the future of Beach Play Field. The contract to design the new field complex was given to GroundWorks Office, who proved their creativity, collaborative approach, and vision of Piedmont needs.
Groundworks employee Sarah Keshell presented the 35% in progress plan for the new Beach Play Field to the Recreation Commission. Groundworks said they conducted an online survey which received about 200 responses. They also met with community members to come up with important additions to the new play field. Things that were pointed out included “Tot lot valued by the community, no place to watch sports, add restrooms at north end, and make tennis courts regulation size.”
After hearing all the community feedback, Groundworks’ Will Smith presented the in progress plan which included 2 new building complexes, a skate park on the south end of the park (next to the Oakland Avenue Bridge), an area to eat lunch next to the existing redwood trees, which will be preserved, expanded tennis courts to meet regulation size, and an “Art Plaza” which will bring color to the new Beach Play Field.
Near the end of the meeting, community members addressed problems such as safety for the children crossing Oakland Avenue coming to play. Another major issue is the noise from the skate park which will affect the recently built townhouses and nearby neighbors on Greenbank Avenue.
The neighbors are tired of monitoring the field and new amenities will cause teenagers to come out and party, creating a lot of unwanted noise.
I think it would be easy to fix these issues by adding a speed radar next to the Oakland Avenue crosswalk, and more illuminating colors to get drivers’ attention. To solve the noise, adding sound walls with art on them is an easy solution and locking up the area at night will keep out unwanted visitors. Additionally, I interviewed a group of young skaters. They said they were kicked out of all the skate spots and adding the new skate park is a good idea. They urged the Recreation Commission to have a professional skate park designer come to help because “it really makes a difference, especially to make it for all age levels.”
In conclusion, the Recreation Commission is very excited to see the project continue and enjoyed the presentation. Moving forward they will focus on dealing with sound issues and safety for the children.
By Jason Finkel, Piedmont High School Senior
Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.
The Race to be the Smartest Kid in the Room
In a town of overbearing parents and their genius children, there is a majority that is not being spoken for. The average student is being forgotten. With parents trying to propel their kids to excel in every subject, teachers want it to slow down. The name of the government body is the School Board. The purpose of their meetings is to discuss issues that affect the school. People may also bring problems to the School Board to deliberate. The School Board meeting meets every two weeks.
The major issue that was discussed at the February 28, 2018 meeting was how math classes should be compressed. There is a concern right now that the classes are being too compressed and are cramming too much information into a short amount of time. Teachers want to slow down the math classes and allow kids to digest the material. However, parents with high achieving kids think the math classes are too slow.
Allison Elvekrog spoke out saying that her child Jack was bored in Calculus AB. She was concerned that her son was not being pushed enough in the class. However, student Hayden Stone who is in the same class felt like the class was too hard. Hayden said that the class was challenging enough and she thought there were very few kids who were bored.
In my opinion the math classes are the hardest classes offered at Piedmont. Math analysis was the hardest class I have ever taken at Piedmont. I think that kids who excel at math are rare and are special circumstances. Maybe there should be a special class for them that will allow them to excel. I think the math classes should be less compressed and go into more detail.
In an interview with Diana Miller, she said she attended the meeting because she is invested in the Math Pathways program. She wants to have an influence over the School Board’s decision and present her side of the story. She said that one of the problems with the current math situation is that people are double compressing due to social pressure, which she does not think is right. She said that she was surprised that the Board was split on the decision. She thought they would all agree or disagree with the presentation. She said that in two weeks the Board will come back with their decision.
by Riley Francis, Piedmont High School Senior
Trees, Recreation Facilities, Water Fountain for Dogs in Dracena Park, Lights and Plantings at the Community Center, Art Center Landscaping, Street Sweeping, Arbor Day –
The Park Commission Meeting of March 7, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. was held in the Piedmont City Council Chambers, and covered several issues and updates with regards to the state of Piedmont’s community spaces, upcoming Arbor Day, monthly maintenance and park safety updates, and more.
The March meeting began with the regularly-scheduled 10-minute public forum. There was one speaker. Piedmont High School Senior Yasi Parsa thanked the hard work of the Park Commission and strongly encouraged a continuous implementation of drought-resistant plants in Piedmont, whenever possible, due to its resulting conservation of water and environmental benefits.
The first item on the regular meeting agenda was the Approval of Park Commission Minutes for February 7, 2018, and Park Commission Chairperson Jamie Totsubo confirmed that there were no corrections by the Park Commission members; all members accepted the minutes as presented.
The second item on the agenda was an update on Community Hall Lighting and Planting and Civic Projects Donation from the Piedmont Garden Club. Nancy Kent, Parks and Facilities Manager, said that the existing light poles at Piedmont Community Hall were replaced by four Spring City Light poles with new LED fixtures. Kent said the lights are dimmable and that she is happy about their implementation.
In my opinion, the lights are important to improve because good lighting is so necessary in a communal and ceremonial space.
Kent also said that the Evergreen Hedge and declining cherry trees in the courtyard will be replaced by a new Laurel Hedge and White Flowering Dogwoods, in the week of March 19th. She said baskets will be hung at the community hall lights, and that the Piedmont Garden club will donate to the City to have the plants selected and the baskets hung.
Former Park Commission Chair and Park Commissioner and future Piedmont Beautification Foundation (PBF) president Patty Siskind donated money to the Park Commission for the Dracena Dog Park, in order to install what she said is a much-needed water fountain for dog owners and patrons. She also introduced a diagram with succulent plants that are drought-tolerant, and said the design of the baskets at the Community Center can embody “thrill, fill, and spill,” which, as Kent went on to clarify, means a possibility of minimal irrigation for the succulents.
Following this, an update was given by Kent on the city’s playgrounds. According to this report, the safety of the playgrounds at the Piedmont Park, Recreation Department, Hampton Field, Lower Dracena Park, and the climbing and swings at Beach Elementary school, were reviewed this year as part of the facilities maintenance program requirements. As a result, the Recreation Department’s equipment has been replaced, and four of the five play structures received the Gold-Edge Certificate of Compliance. There was also an adjustment that was carried out on the playground equipment at Hampton. Oak tree branches were pruned away from the Recreation Department and the Piedmont park climbing structure, and the gap between a slide structure was fixed as well. According to Kent, this year’s report was a good.
Subsequently, there was an update on the Linda Beach Master plan during the meeting. Kent said that currently, the Plan is in an interim stage, and an online survey of more than 240 responses was taken on the Park’s preliminary design options. Kent reported that there were a lot of different ideas, and no main consensus. She also said that there are three very similar design presentation meetings on the Park Masterplan; the first will be presented March 21st at the Recreation Commission, the second at the Park Commission on April 4th, and the third one at the City Council Meeting of May 7th. The staff will review the public input taken from the three meetings and make another presentation, Kent said.
Following this topic was an update on the Heritage Tree Policy. Totsubo said that at the last Park Commission meeting, a Heritage Tree Selection Sub-committee was chosen, which is permanent for as long as the Heritage Tree Policy exists. A motion was made during the March 7th meeting to approve this appointment of Commission volunteers Jim Horner, Patty Dunlap, and Robin Wu.
Park Commission member Jim Horner said that he encourages people to send in applications for the trees, and that the deadline is Friday, March 16. Kent confirmed that it was a fillable PDF available on the City website.
An update was also given on Arbor Day by Commissioner Brian Mahany, who discussed the Arbor Day poster. Arbor Day, he said, will be on April 19th at 5 p.m., inside the Piedmont Park Community Center, lasting most likely under an hour. The Piedmont Jazz Lab band and PHS jazz band combo will perform at the event. Keynote speakers will be Commissioner Jim Horner and Mayor Bob McBain. Mahany said that while a two-sided banner could cost more, some of the benefits include a relatively nicer view of the images on both sides, and an alleviation of the sun shining through. He said there are two bids of $950 dollars for the most likely one sided banner.
Lastly, a monthly maintenance report was given by Public Works Department Supervisor of Maintenance Dave Frankel. First, he said that weeding in Piedmont parks has been a focus in the past month, due to rainy weather. He said there was planting done at the Community Hall Circle, at the Bonita Avenue corner of 801 Magnolia Avenue, and at the Piedmont Center for the Arts, by Public Works Department staff.
Trees were removed from the Wildwood Avenue entry to Piedmont Main Park, and the staff has also cleared creeks, trash racks, and catch-basins, during rainstorms.
Frankel also said that California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is back in town, and that they are working on the removal of Acacia trees and weeds in the Park courtyard and at Blair Park.
Frankel reported that Davey Tree Company is in town, working on PG&E line clearing work, and that the Public Works Department staff has been planting street trees such as some Southern Magnolias on the corner of Monticello Avenue. They also removed a Magnolia tree on Moraga Avenue, which was hit by a car, as well as some decaying American Elm trees on Highland Avenue.
Frankel noted that if anyone wants to have their street swept, they can currently contact the Public Works Department, as they are not servicing sewer lines.
Commissioner Horner said that he thinks that having succulents at the Piedmont Community Hall is a good move, because they are durable, long-lasting, freeze-resistant, and look good.
I agree that they have aesthetic value and can last, and I think that since these plants will also conserve water, it is a really good idea.
Nearing the end of the meeting, Mayor McBain thanked Chairperson Totsubo for her fine work on the Commission as both a member and chairperson, and said that it was a pleasure to work with her for many years. He said that there will be a ceremony in May for honoring Totsubo and other civic volunteers.
“Having been here so many nights and evenings, what a great job you’ve done,” McBain said. “I want to say thank you for all your work and help, and you have made things better, so thank you.”
Totsubo thanked McBain and reminded those interested to send in applications for a vacant spot on the Park Commission, saying they are due Friday, March 9, at 5 p.m.. She also thanked all of the staff, expressed her confidence in their work, and said it was a fun, seven-year learning experience.
“I know I’m leaving an amazing group of smart and talented commissioners, who can navigate complex issues,” Totsubo said. “And I’m confident and happy that Arbor Day will be in good hands for many, many years to come, so good luck, Robin and Jim, Patty, Betsy, Eileen, and Brian. Good luck, and have fun with your time.”
The meeting ended with Commissioner Betsy Goodman handing an orchid to Totsubo on her retirement, thanking her generosity towards serving as the Chair during a time when the Commission was young.
After the meeting, I interviewed Dave Frankel, and asked him why he attended the meeting, including any difficulties and problems that may have caused him to attend. He said that he gives monthly maintenance reports on the park staff’s activities to the Park Commission at their meetings, and that regarding his takeaway from the meeting, he was disappointed that Jamie Totsubo was leaving. He said she is a wonderful and outstanding Park Commission chairperson.
According to the Piedmont City website, the Commission meets on the first Wednesday of each month, making recommendations to the City Council about improvements to the public parks, and managing the street tree improvement program of the city.
by Yasi Parsa, Piedmont High School Senior
Let’s Talk (About Listening)
Adults and students milled into the Piedmont Veterans’ Hall on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 8:30 in the morning. Boxes of coffee and bagels were sitting in a room adjacent to the main room and the attendees of the “Let’s Talk!” program took their turn waiting in line and smearing flavored cream cheese on bread. Less than ten minutes later, everyone was seated around one of twelve circular tables as Cheryl Wozniak introduced speaker Sara Wicht.
Sara Wicht, an educational consultant with over 20 years of experience in social justice and anti-bias education, led the “Let’s Talk!” program session with the help of Cheryl Wozniak, Director of Curriculum & Instruction. As may be indicated from the title “Let’s Talk! Building a More Inclusive Piedmont Through Deliberative Dialogue”, “Let’s Talk!” was hosted to open up discussions about diversity and, by association, identity. “Let’s Talk!” was hosted Feb. 5, 10, and 11 and it is unclear whether these sessions will be continued next year.
The major issues discussed at this meeting included identity and how it compares to others, the benefits and downfalls of race, how to respond to strong emotions, implicit bias and stereotypes, and selective attention.
Everyone participated in a set of activities and afterwards we, as table groups, discussed the deeper meaning behind the activity and then discussed the topic, such as what we consider the most important part of our identity and why.
Personally, I consider my race to be the most important part of my identity, because it is the part of me that I’ve been aware of the longest. I also spent a couple of years grappling with what it means to be Asian, a Japanese-American, in a predominantly White school. Now, it feels less urgent to represent Asians and be aware that I am Asian in Piedmont, but it was definitely a concept that I focused a long time on and, because of that, it is what I would consider the most important part of my identity. During the debrief, we discussed how we are not one part of our identity and that we are multi-faceted individuals, which I could not be more grateful for.
“Let’s Talk!” was a workshop that you had to sign up for to attend, which may have had some shortcomings. I think David Lindenbaum put it best when he said that “a majority of the people that are here are probably not the people who need to be here.”
Lindenbaum said that he attended the “Let’s Talk!” workshop to have a greater awareness of challenges that people of color face and how their view of the community and the world are different than his.
“I don’t know if I learned how to approach difficult subjects, because I think right now people are questioning what is fact,” said Lindenbaum. “I think this group is in the middle, open-minded.”
Lindenbaum said having an open mind and listening to other peoples’ opinions is the way to bring positive change.
by Susan Kuroda, Piedmont High School Senior
Content on the PCA website by Piedmont Civic Association is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
Some icons are Copyright © Yusuke Kamiyamane
