PIEDMONT
City staff will bring the sixth cycle housing element to the City Council for adoption in March or late February. The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed housing element at a special meeting Jan. 12 and unanimously voted to recommend that the city adopt the proposed housing element.
The city submitted the draft housing element Nov. 18 to the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Planning staff have been active holding multiple public meetings to discuss the plan to build 587 new Piedmont housing units. The city will have the next eight years to implement the mandate. For more detailed information, visit PiedmontisHome.org.
2023 Hecht Volunteer of Year award nominations open
Nominations for the 2023 Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year award are now open. The Piedmont Unified School District presents the award annually to volunteers who have made a difference over time through their involvement and commitment to Piedmont youth.
Nominations are confidential and will be due by March 17. A selection committee will vote on the award recipient who will be recognized at the May 10 school board meeting. Nomination forms are available on the district’s website (piedmont.k12.ca.us) or by calling executive assistant to the Superintendent Sylvia Eggert at 510-594-2614.
Previous honorees include Andrea Swenson, Hillary Cooper, Eileen Ruby and Ray Perman. The award was established in 1998 in memory of Arthur Hecht who was known as a tireless volunteer in service to youth.
Wildwood Elementary Principal Cramer to retire in June
The Piedmont Unified School District has announced that longtime Wildwood Elementary School Principal Carol Cramer will retire at the end of this school year after 23 years as principal.
Cramer joined the PUSD as a teacher at Beach Elementary School in 1988 before moving to Wildwood as principal in 2000. PUSD will begin its search for a new principal immediately. The position will be posted with interviews to take place this spring.
“I have loved my time in the district and particularly at Wildwood … . There has been much joy in the work which I will miss,” Cramer said.
Enrollment open for Piedmont district’s next school year
The PUSD has opened enrollment for the 2023-24 school year. Kindergarten information night is scheduled for April 27 at 7 p.m. in the Beach Elementary School auditorium at 100 Lake Ave.
New Piedmont families enrolling for the first time will need to upload proof of residence, a birth certificate or passport, immunization records and TB risk assessment for each child being enrolled.
Children turning 5 years old between Sept. 2 and April 2, 2024, are eligible for the district’s 2023-24 school year transitional kindergarten program. Visit the district’s website (piedmont.k12.ca.us) for more information.
— Linda Davis, correspondent
EAST BAY
Summer break STEM kits for K-6 school girls assembled
Scientific Adventures for Girls (SAfG) and the Sharks Foundation recently gathered together to create 600 summer STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) kits for girls throughout the East Bay.
This special event was a collaboration between the San Jose Sharks’ foundation and SAfG to produce 600 STEM kits for girls in kindergarten through sixth grade across 21 different schools in Berkeley, Richmond, Oakland and Emeryville. During the event, more than 50 participants from three organizations gathered in San Jose to create STEM kits that feature shark and ocean-themed STEM activities.
These kits will be distributed to girls who are enrolled in SAfG’s after-school programs at the 21 elementary schools mentioned above before their summer break. The kits support extending education during the summer months to engage and keep students interested in STEM. This event was part of the Sharks Foundation’s January Education Month campaign.
— SAfG
OAKLAND
Montclair Neighborhood Council looking for volunteers
The Montclair Neighborhood Council (MNC) steering committee seeks volunteer officers and community members to join monthly meetings and get involved in crime prevention, emergency preparedness, beautification and community improvement.
The officer positions available are chair, vice chair, treasurer and secretary; and the other available positions are community representatives and community organization representatives. The MNC can elect up to 11 community members in addition to the four officers. Those eligible must live in police beat 13Z. Police beat locations can be found on the MNC website at montclairneighbors.org.
Anyone interested in finding out more or who would like to run can email the MNC at hello@montclairneighbors.org. The election timing is dependent on the city timeline for assisting the council with the online election. The commitment can be for as little or as much time as volunteers have available.
— Montclair Village Association
PIEDMONT
Lunar New Year celebration Friday at the Driscoll Theater
The Piedmont Asian American Club (PAAC) will celebrate Lunar New Year and the Year of the Rabbit from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ellen Driscoll Theater, 325 Highland Ave.
All are welcome to attend this free event that will include snacks, calligraphy and crafts, a lion dance and performances by Piedmont High School students.
Piedmont High presents ‘Hello Dolly’ through Sunday
Piedmont High School will present the perennial classic musical farce “Hello Dolly” at the Alan Harvey Theater on the school’s campus at 800 Magnolia Ave. Shows this week are Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. and at 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets, at $15 for students or seniors and $34 for reserved seating, are available online at www.showtix4u.com/event-details/69880.
First appearing on Broadway, the show won a Tony award for best musical in 1964, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The 1969 film based on the play starred Barbra Streisand as Dolly Levi and Walter Matthau as wealthy Horace Vandergelder, to whom Dolly would apply her matchmaking skills. The show also received many other nominations, including 10 Tony nominations.
Valentine’s Day concert Feb. 12 to benefit city arts center
The In the Tradition Piano Trio will present a benefit Valentine’s Day concert at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in the Piedmont Center for the Arts at 801 Magnolia Ave. The trio of Bill Jackman on Steinway piano, Rich Trevor on bass and Anthony Pegram on drums will perform classic romantic songs to celebrate the holiday.
Tickets are $20 at the door or online at bpt.me/5316993. Proof of vaccination, face masks and social distancing will be required.
Pool construction affects nearby parking till next year
Construction of the city’s new community pool is underway, and the Piedmont City Council approved parking changes to accommodate it at its Jan. 17 meeting on Highland, Magnolia and Hillside avenues.
A proposal to turn Bonita Avenue into a one-way street between Vista and Oakland avenues has been temporarily postponed for further review because of its potential impacts. The council is expected to review part of the parking proposals at their meeting next week.
The city must make parking concessions to accommodate the construction that will take place until sometime in 2024. According to the Jan. 17 city staff report, all parking on Bonita between Magnolia and Vista avenues, Magnolia between the recreation building and Bonita, and the carriage house parking lot will be eliminated, affecting 57 permitted, city staff, two-hour and other designated parking spaces.
The council will continue to review the proposed parking plans. Portions of area sidewalks also need to be closed during construction, and fencing will be placed in the middle of the roadway. The tennis courts will have no access from Bonita during pool construction and will have to instead be accessed through the gate at Vista Avenue.
Construction is taking place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and on occasional weekends that will be approved by the city on a case-by-case basis. Contractors will provide street and sidewalk signage and flaggers. For questions or concerns, contact project manager George Sanen of Griffin Structures at 415-858-8582.
— Linda Davis, correspondent
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