The Island

UPDATED: ALAMEDA FIRE CHIEF ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE

Michele Ellson — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:43:47 +0000

Updated 1:23 p.m. Thursday, September 2

Alameda Fire Chief David Kapler has been placed on administrative leave following revelations he used the city’s gas pumps to fuel his personal vehicles and that he had faced similar allegations in at least one previous department.

Deputy City Manager Lisa Goldman said Kapler had been placed on paid leave until further notice as of Thursday and that Operations Chief Mike Fisher would step in as acting chief. Goldman didn’t offer a reason for the chief being placed on leave, saying she couldn’t comment further because it is a personnel matter.

Some members of the city council demanded an investigation after Kapler was photographed on August 14 fueling a blue BMW coupe at the fire department’s pumps, something some firefighters said they had witnessed on several other occasions. Kapler reportedly faced accusations that he misused a city vehicle when he was chief of the Tahoe-Douglas Fire District in the 1990s, though he told The Island his employment contract there allowed him to use the vehicle for personal trips.

Kapler said he had a verbal agreement with former City Manager Debra Kurita allowing him to fuel his personal vehicles at the city’s pumps, but Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant said that agreement only extended to Kapler’s Honda Ridgeline truck, which the city outfitted for Kapler’s official use. Gallant said she planned to seek modifications to Kapler’s contract and reimbursement for city gas Kapler used.

The department’s fuel logs showed that Kapler filled up seven times during the month of June, consuming 103 gallons of city gas, and four times during a two-week span in July, using 66 gallons. Earlier records weren’t available because the city was apparently not tracking Kapler’s gas use, as they do for everyone else in the department.

After the allegations surfaced, Councilwoman Lena Tam called for the chief to be placed on administrative leave while the allegations against him were investigated, while Mayor Beverly Johnson wanted to know why the previous allegations against Kapler weren’t discovered before Kapler was hired. Johnson also expressed anger that gasoline use and other terms of Kapler’s contract were approved without the council’s consent. Kapler was apparently Alameda’s only city employee with the right to fuel a personal vehicle at the city’s pumps.

Kapler’s written employment agreement shows that he earned a starting salary of $195,702, and that he is eligible for lifetime medical benefits as of October 1 if he doesn’t voluntarily resign or retire before that date.

Tam said Thursday that she had repeatedly raised issues about Kapler with the city’s management, to no avail. She said she has since been contacted by people who raised issues about Kapler’s performance in other places where he has worked.

“People are coming out of the woodwork saying there’s a real problem here,” Tam said Thursday. “And we can’t turn a blind eye to it.”

Tam called the press over Kapler’s fuel use “a black eye” and “an embarrassment to the City of Alameda.”

Johnson said she didn’t have any comment on Thursday’s announcement.

Domenick Weaver, president of Alameda’s firefighters union, said he’s happy city officials took the Kapler matter seriously. But he was quick to distance firefighters from the allegations against the fire chief. No one else at the department has been accused of wrongdoing.

“We hope the community realizes that this is about the chief, and that this has nothing to do with us,” Weaver said.

Your weekend: Seussical, the Musical

Michele Ellson — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:00:10 +0000

Photo by Robert Gillette

Alameda’s theater lovers suffered a heartbreaking loss when the Alameda Civic Light Opera shut its doors earlier this year. Fortunately for us, though, Kofman Auditorium won’t be dark for long. A San Leandro-based theater company called Curtain Call Performing Arts has booked its 2011 season at Kofman, and they’ll be continuing their 2010 season here next weekend with a production of “Seussical, the Musical!”

The musical theater company, which put on its first show in December 2008, was looking for a temporary home base while a new theater is being built in San Leandro, artistic director Andrea Gorham said. When they learned that Kofman was available, they set up shop here.

In addition to performances of “Seussical,” their season will include a production of “Beauty and the Beast” in March, “Annie Get Your Gun” in July and “A Christmas Carol” in November or December. The company also hosts Cantare, a concert choir, and has plans to offer classes and workshops.

Tickets for “Seussical,” which brings a host of popular Dr. Seuss characters to life in story and song, are a wallet-friendly $12 each, and Curtain Call is hosting a “family day” performance at 3 p.m. September 19 where they’ll offer tickets for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade for just a dollar apiece.

“Our vision is to make theater accessible,” Gorham said.

The show is directed by Catherine Heck, and stars Melissa Modifer of San Leandro as the Cat In the Hat, San Francisco’s Ben Euphrat as Horton The Elephant, Tabitha Dance of Fremont as Gertrude McFuzz, Kim Baldwin of San Leandro as Maisy La Bird, Nick Pugliese of San Leandro as JoJo, Phil Smothermon of Castro Valley as The Mayor of Whoville, Fremont’s Pam Rosen as Mrs. Mayor, Shawn Creighton of Bay Point as The Sour Kangaroo and Charles Orlando of Pleasanton as General Genghis Kahn Schmitz.

Performances will be at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays from September 10-September 25 at Kofman Auditorium, 2200 Central Avenue. Tickets are $12, $1 for kids on September 19 and free for children under 5. For tickets and information, call 909-9516 or click the link for Curtain Call’s website up top. (Tickets for the family day performance will be available only through the box office or by phone on the day of the show.)

Manager lays out fresh Point planning process

Michele Ellson — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:50:38 +0000

Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant laid out parameters for a fresh Alameda Point planning process Wednesday night that could have city leaders making some major decisions about who will redevelop the former Navy base and who will make decisions about what happens there over the next 15 months.

“We’re going to push the refresh button,” Gallant told the City Council, which sat in its dual role Wednesday as the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority, the agency that governs Point redevelopment efforts.

Gallant said the city could hire another master developer to manage the preparation of the base for redevelopment or the redevelopment itself. The city also partner with a developer to work on the base or start a nonprofit corporation to handle redevelopment efforts there. She said a decision about who would develop the site – developer, city, nonprofit or some combination – could be made by June of next year.

Over the next three months, city officials should hold community forums and re-examine the hundreds of pages of planning documents generated on Point redevelopment over the years, Gallant said. They should then reconsider the structure of the body that oversees those efforts, she said, perhaps expanding the ARRA board to include locals and potentially out of town experts, and representatives from the private and nonprofit worlds.

The city should also reach into every available corner for help and funding in pushing a plan forward, she said.

The ultimate goal of this process would be the creation of a strategic plan for economic development of the site, Gallant said.

A trio of candidates turned out Wednesday to offer their take on what should happen next, with council candidate Adam Gillitt saying the city should get the public more involved in the process and mayoral candidate Tony Daysog saying the city should hire a master developer to building housing at the Point, which he said would help pay for improvements like recreational facilities and landscaping there.

Council members said that for the most part, they like what they see so far, though Mayor Beverly Johnson said she’d like the public to have readier access to all the planning documents staff will be reviewing. Gallant said the city is working to create a fresh Alameda Point website to display all of the information.

Gallant said the process will proceed “rapid-fire” through the council’s agendas over the next several months.

The city effectively fired SunCal Companies as its master developer for the Point in late July. The company had hoped to build a new community with nearly 4,845 homes, 4.57 million square feet of commercial and retail space, a sports complex, parks and more.

Separately, council members chose to support the Department of Veterans Affairs’ efforts to earn 549 acres of the Point to build an outpatient clinic and above-ground cemetery. Councilwoman Marie Gilmore said the city doesn’t have official say over whether the land is transferred to the VA, though she said Alamedans should act as both partners for the VA’s efforts and as watchdogs to ensure the process benefits us.

The VA’s plans are separate from the city’s own development efforts at the Point.

Bay Farm Island library closing for renovations

Michele Ellson — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:45:53 +0000

Courtesy of the Alameda Free Library

The Bay Farm branch of the Alameda Free Library closes at 6 p.m. today for renovations. Construction is expected to continue through the rest of this year.

Upgrades for the 30-year-old branch library are slated to include a reconfiguration of the library’s interior to create separate areas for adults, teens and children; the addition of new computer workstations; and upgrades of the library’s heating and ventilation system, lighting, wiring, paint, floors, furniture, stacks and counters.

Library staffers said the upgrades are intended to brighten up the library with natural lighting, make the library feel bigger and make the building more functional and accessible.

Library materials requested to be held at the Bay Farm Library will be available for pickup at the Main Library, 1550 Oak Street, and Bay Farm patrons are asked to return their materials there or at the West End branch at 788 Santa Clara Avenue when that branch reopens in late October. Story times and other activities at the Bay Farm branch will be on hiatus while the work is being done, though Alameda Recreation and Park Department activities will continue as the work is underway.

Renovations for the Bay Farm Library are estimated to cost about $1 million, which will come out of Measure O library bond proceeds. More information on the work to be done can be found on the library’s website.

Welcome to The Island 3.0!

Michele Ellson — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:05 +0000

September brings a host of new beginnings: Fresh season, new school year. And this September brings us something very exciting: A brand-spanking-new Island.

First and foremost, we’ve upgraded the look of the site to make it cleaner and more professional (a far cry from our early Blogger days). And we’ve added some features designed to make it easier for you to connect with us, including a live Twitter feed where you can submit your breaking news updates (and garage sale, wedding and other announcements) by adding #theislandofalameda to your Tweet.

You can also add events to our event calendar, either the traditional way (by e-mailing them to happenings@theislandofalameda.com) or by contacting us at that same e-mail address for a password that will allow you to add your concerts, fundraisers and classes onto the calendar.

We’ve also got more news, notably Steve Gerstle’s new Word on Webster column, which offers a wealth of West End neighborhood news. We’ve also installed a news wire on the site to make sure we’re offering you the most comprehensive local news coverage available.

And we’ve got great news for our advertisers: We’ve installed a new ad server that will provide us greater flexibility in serving your ads on the site – and fresh data on how your ads are performing.

Of course, we’re always working to make The Island a better place to get your daily local news fix – and we can’t do it without your help. One was you can help us keep doing what we’re doing is to subscribe; another is to advertise. We’re also always looking for writers to help us tell Alameda’s story; specific jobs (including an East End columnist and political writer) are posted in the “Write” section above.

As always, thanks for all your support. And feel free to contact us with any suggestions or feedback on The Island, at michele@theislandofalameda.com.

Council to hear Point presentations tonight

Michele Ellson — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:50:32 +0000

The City Council is set tonight to get a presentation from city staff on next steps for Alameda Point. Sitting as the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority, they’ll meet at 7 p.m. today at City Hall.

In addition to next steps, staff will talk about applying the city’s new property management strategy to the Point and will ask the council to support plans to put a Veterans Affairs clinic and above-ground cemetery on a 549-acre portion of the Point.

Advance copies of the presentations weren’t available. But the council asked city staffers in July to put together a list of options for redeveloping the Point after effectively firing SunCal as master developer for the site. Councilman and mayoral candidate Frank Matarrese said he’d like the city to explore setting up a nonprofit corporation to manage redevelopment of the site, but Mayor Beverly Johnson said she wanted a fuller picture of the city’s options.

SunCal sued the city in August in an effort to stop city officials from moving forward on any fresh plans and to try to regain their seat at the bargaining table to develop the Point.

Stay tuned for more information tomorrow, after the meeting’s concluded. Or check it out yourself by tuning in to channel 15 on your cable dial or watching online.

The Blotter

Rin Kelly — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:45:01 +0000

*

Monday, August 23

VANDALISM ARREST: Police arrested Dennis Gerard Mix Jr., 45, of Alameda on a vandalism charge after Mix allegedly damaged the window and door frame of a patrol vehicle by kicking it from the inside. Mix had been placed under arrest for outstanding grand theft and petty theft warrants and was in the backseat of the police car at the time of the incident, authorities said.

GRAND THEFT: Police are investigating the theft of a laptop from Harbor Bay Parkway business Abbott Laboratories. An unknown suspect or suspects stole the laptop, valued at $1,200, from a desk in the secured building, police said.

BURGLARY: An unknown person or persons gained entry to a residence on the 800 block of Laurel Street through a window and took items valued at $600 while the victim was out of town, police said.

Stolen vehicles: Green 1998 Honda Accord, between 12:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., from the 2200 block of Central Avenue.

White 2003 Chevrolet Express, between 6 p.m. August 21 and noon today, from the 200 block of Channing Way.

Brown 2002 Chevrolet PT Cruiser, between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., from the 1200 block of Shoreline Drive.

*

Tuesday, August 24

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY: Police are investigating an early morning burglary at the Webster 76 gas station at 1716 Webster Street. According to authorities, 31 cartons of cigarettes and a thumb drive disappeared from the station when a suspect created a diversion by pretending his gas pump was malfunctioning; two other suspects driving a second car then allegedly stole the items, which are valued at $1,353, police said.

GRAND THEFT: An unknown suspect stole a wallet from a purse on the 800 block of Marina Village Parkway, fleeing with items valued at $457.50, including a ticket to Burning Man.

BURGLARY: An unknown person or persons stole two bicycles valued at $1,000 from a detached garage on the 1100 block of Admiralty Lane, police said.

Stolen vehicles: White 2010 Toyota Prius, between 9 p.m. August 23 and 7:40 a.m. today, from the 100 block of Oldcastle Lane.

Black 2007 Honda RS motorcycle, between 7 p.m. August 23 and 6:30 a.m. today, from the 1900 block of Franciscan Way.

Stolen bicycles: Green Bay Packers child’s bike, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. August 23, from the 400 block of Neptune Gardens Avenue.

Wednesday, August 25

BURGLARY: An unknown person or persons gained entry to a garage on the 1300 block of Regent Street and stole a bicycle valued at $600, police said.

GRAND THEFT: Police are investigating an apparent grand theft at a residence on the 1500 block of Broadway. According to authorities, a female suspect allegedly vandalized the apartment she shares with another individual and stole jewelry and a flat screen TV belonging to the roommate.

GRAND THEFT: Police are searching for the suspect or suspects in an alleged theft at Alameda Hospital. The wallet and watch of a deceased man went missing after the man’s death at the hospital, police said, though the items later reappeared.

RACCOON BITE: A raccoon bit a woman walking her dog on the 1800 block of Stanford Street between 8 p.m. and 8:25 p.m., police said. According to authorities, the woman refused medical treatment.

*

Thursday, August 26

FORGERY: Police are investigating an alleged forgery at US Bank at 2227 South Shore Center. An unknown suspect allegedly attempted to cash a check belonging to another individual, police said.

Stolen vehicles: Red 1992 Mazda Miata, between 10:30 p.m. August 25 and 1 a.m. today, from the 1000 block of Mound Street.

*

Friday, August 27

BURGLARY: An unknown suspect or suspects kicked in the door to a residence on the 1300 block of Broadway before conducting a selective search, selecting a victim’s United States passport and bank statements, and then fleeing through a window, police said.

ROBBERY ARREST: Police arrested Sebastian Chastang, 21, last known address in Alameda, for robbery after Chastang allegedly stole a cell phone from a table at Littlejohn Park and refused to return it when the victim tried to retrieve the phone. Chastang, who police also booked for violation of probation terms, allegedly pulled on the victim’s hand before fleeing with the item. He was later found in possession with the phone and positively identified by the victim and a witness, police said.

Saturday, August 28

BATTERY: Police are investigating an alleged battery that occurred on the 600 block of Westline Drive. According to authorities, two male suspects got into an argument with a an elderly woman and pushed her, causing her to fall to the ground.

BURGLARY: An unknown person or persons forced open the rear door to a residence on the 2200 block of San Antonio Avenue and stole items valued at nearly $5,000, police said.

Stolen vehicles: White 2004 Ford F-250, between 10 p.m. August 27 and 9 a.m. today, from the 300 block of Broadway.

Stolen bicycles: Cannondale T700, between 5 p.m. August 26 and 6:40 a.m. August 27, from the 1400 block of Walnut Street.

Sunday, August 29

BURGLARY: Police are investigating a burglary at the Public Storage facility at 1829 Webster Street. According to authorities, an unknown person or persons cut locks on storage units and stole furniture and tools valued at $680. It is the most recent of a string of apparent burglaries at the business.

BURGLARY ARREST: Police arrested Randi Manae Harvey, 28, of Oakland, on a burglary charge after she allegedly stole items from the TJ Maxx at Alameda Towne Centre. Harvey had no means of payment for the merchandise, police said, and had brought an empty bag into the store allegedly to conceal stolen items, showing intent that warranted a charge of burglary rather than theft.

Stolen vehicles: Blue 1991 Honda Civic, between 10:45 p.m. August 28 and 11 a.m. today, from the 1200 block of Shoreline Drive.

Stolen bicycles: Black/white Bridgestone MB-1, between 6 a.m. August 26 and 5:29 p.m. today, from the 900 block of Pacific Avenue.

Washington families could switch schools under new state rules

Michele Ellson — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:49 +0000

Parents with students at Washington Elementary School could seek to send their children to higher-performing schools in the district – or anywhere else in California – thanks to a state law put into effect just a few weeks ago.

The Open Enrollment Act approved by legislators in January allows families whose schools are placed on a list of California’s 1,000 lowest performing schools to apply for placement in higher-performing schools inside or outside their school district. The State Board of Education adopted emergency regulations on July 30 in order to put the law, which was drafted as part of a package of reforms legislators enacted in a failed bid for federal Race to the Top funds, into effect this school year.

The regulations require school districts with schools on the list to tell families on the first day of school that they have the option to seek new school placements, something Superintendent Kirsten Vital told the school board last week she planned to do at Washington. But the law, which grants school districts the right to set written standards for acceptance and rejection of applications, doesn’t require school districts to guarantee slots at specific schools.

Alameda Unified already allows families to apply for transfers to other schools in the district. In 2009, 590 of the district’s 9,900 students were in schools outside their neighborhood attendance zone for a variety of reasons, including parental requests.

Vital couldn’t be reached for more information Monday, though she later said the district wouldn’t be implementing the transfers until next school year. Washington had an academic performance index score of 777 in 2009, making it the lowest-performing elementary school in the district and the only one to not attain a score of 800 or higher, the state target.

The list has been criticized by some because its design excludes many schools that performed more poorly than schools placed on it, including 11 schools that were on the list despite meeting or exceeding the state’s target score of 800. Charter schools are excluded from being on the list, and it can only include 10 percent of any given district’s schools.

Word on Webster: A bus runs through it

Steve Gerstle — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:50:52 +0000

By Steve Gerstle

While Alameda does not have a BART station, it does have a very good bus system. Bus service is a good transportation option for West End residents with many buses serving numerous destinations.

Most of the service is provided by AC Transit, a public transit agency. The West End is fortunate to be served by five major lines that run along Webster Street.

The workhorse of Alameda transit is the 51A line, which runs from Rockridge BART through Alameda and terminates at Fruitvale BART. It serves Webster Street and Santa Clara Avenue and travels up Broadway and over the Fruitvale Bridge to BART. The 51A runs seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight. Frequency varies from every 10 minutes to every 20 minutes depending on time of day. From midnight to 6 a.m., hourly service is provided by the 851 line, which begins in downtown Alameda and continues along Santa Clara Avenue before heading up Webster Street through the Posey Tube into downtown Oakland and to BART.

There are two transbay lines that serve Webster Street and terminate in downtown San Francisco. The O (letter O) bus begins at Fruitvale BART, serves the East End and then runs along Santa Clara Avenue to Webster. It then heads through the tube to 880 and then goes to downtown San Francisco. It runs frequently during commute hours but only once an hour mid-day and on weekends. The O runs from 6 a.m. to midnight. (Beginning October 31, service will end at 10 p.m.) The W bus serves the East End and South Shore and then heads up Webster Street to the tube and on to San Francisco. It only runs during commute hours.

The 20 bus line begins at Fruitvale and MacArthur in Oakland, continues across the Park Street Bridge and then on to South Shore, Washington Park and up Webster through the tube to downtown Oakland. It runs from 5 a.m. to midnight seven days a week every 30 minutes. (Beginning October 31, West End service will end at 10 p.m.)

Line 31 serves Alameda Point, the West End and Marina Village. It begins near City Hall West at Alameda Point and then heads down Pacific and Lincoln to Webster. It then heads north on Webster and east on Atlantic through Marina Village and then through the tube to downtown Oakland, terminating in Emeryville. It runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week every 30 minutes.

There are also some special bus lines from AC Transit that serve our schools: Lines 631 and 663.

Though the planned cuts in West End service beginning October 31 are modest, AC Transit is now planning for yet another round of cuts in December. Some of the cuts proposed would deeply affect West End bus riders. One proposal is to eliminate all weekend transbay service as well as the 31 line to Alameda Point on weekends. Another proposal is to severely restrict all weekend service on all bus lines. Yet another proposal is to eliminate all bus service in Alameda after midnight. More details here.

For more information about these lines, please visit AC Transit’s website. Current fares are here.

In addition to AC Transit, the City of Alameda runs a shuttle for seniors and the disabled. One of the shuttle lines serves the West End and takes passengers to Marina Village, Mastick Senior Center, downtown Alameda and South Shore. The shuttle runs once an hour mid-day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Additional information is available here.

The winner for the best bus stop in the West End is the northbound bus stop on Webster at Lincoln. The stop has a shelter and two benches. It is served by three bus lines to Oakland and two to San Francisco.

News Bits:

Local politicians are laying down roots on Webster Street. On August 22, the Alameda Democratic Club opened its campaign headquarters on the corner of Webster and Lincoln at the site of the old pharmacy. Frank Matarrese opened his mayoral campaign headquarters at 1532 Webster, next to WesCafe, and Marie Gilmore has opened her mayoral campaign office at 1509 Webster Street. Hopefully all the politicians in the neighborhood will benefit Webster Street and the West End.

The thickly encrusted accumulation of pigeon poop at the southwest corner of Webster and Lincoln has been cleaned. The pigeons do not seem deterred. Meanwhile, the sidewalks along Webster Street have been powerwashed in preparation for the Webster Street Jam on September 11 and 12.

The conditions at the parking lot at Webster and Taylor continue to decline. Many of the plants are dying and there is garbage and broken glass in the lot. Residents of the neighborhood have contacted both Code Enforcement and the West Alameda Business Association. Since Diamond pulled out, there has been no charge for parking in the lot and it appears to be getting more use than in the past.

The Frog & Fiddle is expected to open this Monday, September 6 at 1544 Webster Street. They’ll have food, drink and live entertainment.

Alameda Unified’s Green Schools Challenge wins award

Michele Ellson — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:45:30 +0000

Alameda Unified’s Green Schools Challenge has earned the California Resource Recovery Association’s “Next Generation” recycler award. The honor was presented to the district’s custodial staff, and faculty and students from Bay Farm Elementary School spoke at the association’s early August conference in Sacramento.

The program, which aims to increase recycling rates at Alameda’s schools from 40 percent to 75 percent, was implemented in 2009 by a partnership between the district, a group of parents and district staff and Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda, with the aid of a three-year, $142,000 grant. Proponents are working toward setting it up in all of the district’s schools.

Bay Farm fifth graders Allison Cho and Connor Tamor and Mackenzie Jordan, who graduated from Bay Farm to middle school this year, talked to conference attendees about their role in making the program work at Bay Farm and the difference the program made in the amount of trash the school produced. Separately, the school also has a group called The Tree Musketeers where students can learn more about the environment and a garden program.

The students were joined at the conference by Bay Farm’s Michele Kuttner and Lorri Garrett and Ruth Abbe, who helped coordinate the Go Green program.

Founded in 1974, the association promotes waste reduction, reuse, recycling, pollution prevention and composting.