PIEDMONT
Between 300 and 400 of Piedmont’s 3,800 homes lost power Oct. 26, spokesman and City Clerk John Tulloch said Tuesday.
“Many homes were restored last night and many within the last hour,” Tulloch said.
The affected areas included Corpus Christi Church; Zion Lutheran Church and school; and homes on Estates Drive and Hampton Avenue, along Moraga Avenue, including the city corporation yard, Maxwelton, Abbott and areas off Park Boulevard.
“It takes time to physically and visually inspect every mile of power line that was turned off,” Tulloch said. “On Monday morning, PG&E began the all-clear; the weather event was over.”
The city of Piedmont put out an advisory on their website, started a Twitter feed and posted updates on NextDoor.com. Advisories were also put out on the AC Alert system, and PG&E alerted customers by phone of imminent power outages. Tulloch said some calls were received from those who were unaware of the outages.
“We are hoping to use this event as a learning experience to make sure people are prepared,” Tulloch said. “Time to get your disaster kit ready to go. Piedmont is under a burn ban — no outdoor flames, no sparks near anything outside. Fires can move really quickly. We have a great urban forest. We don’t want to minimize the possibility (of a fire). All hands on deck with the shutoffs.”
School district keeping track of fires’ air quality impact
The Piedmont Unified School District is monitoring the smoke drifts from Sonoma County’s Kincade Fire and other blazes. Superintendent Randy Booker notified parents this week that the schools’ HVAC systems have been shut down because they do not filter smoke. Physical education classes will be canceled if the air quality hazard index goes higher than 150.
If the index registers greather than 200, the PUSD will check with Alameda County’s Education Office and the Piedmont school board to determine if schools should be closed. Air quality can be checked by visiting Air Now Bay Area at airnow.gov/index or the Bay Area Air Quality Management District at baaqmd.gov/about-air-quality/current-air-quality.
Residents being urged to sign up for AC Alert notifications
Piedmont residents are urged to sign up for emergency, community and traffic notifications and updates through AC Alert. Safety is the top concern for all residents, who will receive notifications immediately about urgent bulletins. Alerts can be received by email, phone or mobile devices. No personal information is ever shared by signing up. Visit bayareane.ws/332Uz90 to sign up.
‘Elf’ party set to benefit Piedmont Education Foundation
The Piedmont Spring Fling to benefit the Piedmont Education Foundation is hosting an “Elf” party from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 17 at the Piedmont Theater, 4186 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland. Screened will be the entertaining holiday movie with Will Ferrell about a big elf who tries to understand New York City from his childish viewpoint. Tickets are $30 each, and children must be accompanied by an adult. The day includes jingle bells for everyone, kids’ games, popcorn and other refreshments. For more information or to reserve a spot, email info@piedmontedfoundation.org.
— Linda Davis, correspondent
OAKLAND
Hills native’s music documentary hits streaming platforms
Percolating with electric performances, the documentary “Do U Want It?” directed by Oakland hills native Josh Freund and Sam Radutzky, wraps the tale of New Orleand band Papa Grows Funk and its breakup into a larger story about that city’s music, crystallizing the tension between the ease of being a working musician in a city that supports homegrown talent like no other and the frustration that can come with wanting more than that.
The film was a festival darling, screening all over the country, including at SF Indiefest, where it took home the Audience Award in 2018, and is now available on Apple TV (formerly iTunes) and other streaming platforms. For more details, visit douwantitfilm.com.
“This documentary, in all truthfulness, is the story of most of our lives as New Orleans musicians over the last 50 years. This movie represents not just this band but our collective reality,” said The Meters’ George Porter Jr.
— Josh Freund
EAST BAY
United Way seeks volunteers for 2020 tax-prep season
United Way Bay Area’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! program is seeking volunteer tax preparers, interpreters and greeters to help staff Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites throughout the Bay Area during the 2020 tax season. No prior experience with tax preparation is required — training is provided. With the support of trained, IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers, VITA sites provide free tax preparation to low- to moderate-income individuals and families at more than 200 locations across eight Bay Area counties. To volunteer, visit earnitkeepitsaveit.org/volunteer.
Free volunteer training provided by community partners and the IRS will begin in December and January. Volunteer tax preparers are invited to attend three days of classroom instruction. There is also a need for outreach volunteers who require less training. An online training and accelerated certification tool is available for tax professionals. Most volunteers will be asked to volunteer regularly for at least one four-hour shift each week from late January until April 15. Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are welcome, and there is a special need for bilingual Spanish speakers.
— United Way Bay Area
OAKLAND
Orenstein to speak at Morgan School on parenting teens
Best-selling author Peggy Orenstein will be the keynote speaker at a half-day conference on parenting teenagers Nov. 2 at the Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland.
The conference is geared to parents of girls and boys, offering tools to help kids navigate the peer culture, identity challenges and academic pressures of early adolescence. Along with Orenstein’s keynote address, the conference will feature breakout sessions with experts on executive function, sleep science, social media, homework support strategies and more.
Orenstein is an award-winning journalist whose books include “Schoolgirls,” “Girls & Sex” and “Don’t Call Me Princess.” Hew newest book, “Boys & Sex,” will be out in January. The conference, sponsored by Parenting U and the Julia Morgan School for Girls, runs from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m. and costs $100 per person with a 25% partner discount for a price of $75 per person. For details and registration, see parenting-u.com/#registration.
— Julia Morgan School for Girls
Peace Literacy Day at church Nov. 3; Chappell to speak
You are invited to Peace Literacy Day on Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p..m. at Montclair Presyterian Church, 5701 Thornhill Drive in Oakland. Come and hear the day’s leader, Paul Chappell, an international peace educator, West Point graduate and former army captain. He brings to light why people need to be as well trained in waging peace as soldiers are in waging war. He has created the paradigm of Peace Literacy as a skill set that addresses the root causes of conflict.
Chappell is the Peace Literacy Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and the author of the multivolume series, “The Road to Peace,” which forges a new understanding of war and peace; rage and trauma; and vision, purpose and hope. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register and for more information about the day’s schedule and topics covered, go to mpcfamily.org/peace. A box lunch can be preordered for $15. You may attend all or part of the program.
— Montclair Presbyterian Church
PIEDMONT
Documentary ‘Ice on Fire’ to be shown at Community Hall
The city of Piedmont, Piedmont Connect and the Piedmont League of Women Voters will screen the 2019 documentary “Ice on Fire” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Piedmont Community Hall, 711 Highland Ave. in Piedmont. Learn ways to sign up for the Climate Action Challenge Platform to help reduce Piedmont’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The challenge is an online application launched by the city and Piedmont Connect in which residents can sign up and take on different challenges by March 2020. To sign up go to piedmontclimatechallenge.org.
“Ice on Fire” explores the potential extinction-level event caused by arctic methane release and the new developed technologies that could reverse global warming by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. The public is encouraged to attend; the film is free. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. Plant-based foods will be available for purchase from Helping Foods Truck. For more information, contact assistant planner Mira Hahn at mhahn@piedmont.ca.gov or Climate Fellow Justin Szasz at 510-420-3050.
Speaker to discuss long-term cannabis effects on teens
The Piedmont Unified School District’s Education Speaker Series will include another informative talk Nov. 19 at Ellen Driscoll Theater, 325 Highland Ave. in Piedmont. The event from 7:30 to 9 p.m. will feature Danielle Ramo, Ph.D., speaking about cannabis and the developing brain. An adjunct associate professor at UC San Francisco, Ramo will explore how cannabis use affects the teen brain and can disrupt brain development with potential long-term implications. For tickets and more information, email educationspeakerseries@piedmont.k12.ca.us.
— Linda Davis, correspondent
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