Bike Alameda

BikeAlameda and the City of Alameda are very happy to introduce a new transportation choice between west Alameda and Oakland. Now bicyclists and pedestrians can travel quickly and safely between Atlantic and Webster and Lake MerrittBART/Laney College.

Sign up to receive status updates at http://lists.bikealameda.org/listinfo.cgi/announceestuarycrossing-bikealameda.org

Stops: Atlantic & Webster and Lake Merritt BART (near Laney College)
Riders: General public, bicyclists and students, faculty and staff from the College of Alameda and Laney College
Cost: Free to users
Hours: Weekday peak commute hours every 30 minutes
Bus Capacity: 24 passengers and 12 bicycles
When: late summer 2011

Stay tuned for specific route, schedules and stop locations!!! Background

Today, bicyclists and pedestrians traveling between the west end of Alameda and Oakland's downtown must use either a bus with a bicycle rack that carries up to two bicycles or a narrow path in the Posey Tube with two-way pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Also, students who are enrolled simultaneously at Laney College and the College of Alameda do not have a direct transit route between these two schools. The City of Alameda, in cooperation with the City of Oakland, the Peralta Community College District and BikeAlameda, won a Bay Area Air Quality Management District Transportation Fund for Clean Air Regional Fund program grant to operate the Estuary Crossing Shuttle for one year with an option to apply for future year funding.

For more information: http://www.estuaryxingshuttle.org/

Public Workshops: CEQA Guidelines Update

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has been in the process of updating its CEQA
Guidelines over the last 14 months. In addition to hosting workshops designed for local
government staff, the Air District is hosting public workshops for community and business groups, consultants, and other interested stakeholders to learn more about the proposed updates and related tools and resources being developed.

At the public workshops, Air District staff will:
• Focus on recommended significance thresholds
for greenhouse gas and toxics emissions.

• Review proposed quantification methodologies
and mitigation strategies.

• Discuss tools being developed to assist lead
agencies in assessing project impacts.

• Provide specific case studies for applying the
recommended thresholds to land use projects.

Note: RSVP or registration is not required.

Public Workshop Schedule:
Thursday, April 15, 2010
9:30-12:00pm
City of Mountain View Council Chambers
500 Castro Street, Mountain View

Monday, April 26, 2010
1:30-4:00pm
MTC Auditorium
101 Eighth Street, Oakland

For more information: http://www.baaqmd.gov/Divisions/Planning-and-Research/CEQA-GUIDELINES.aspx Questions? Contact Greg Tholen at gtholen@baaqmd.gov or 415-749-4954.

The Oakland Regional ACE teams are looking for new mentors in the Oakland and other East Bay areas.

ACE is a national non-profit made up of architect, engineer, and construction industry volunteers dedicated to introducing the industry to high school students in a free after-school program, with particular attention to at-risk youth.

Mentor time commitment varies depending on whether the mentors “share” their efforts or join us as solo mentors, but, generally, we look for a commitment of about 15 two-hour sessions once a week starting in January, plus some start-up/brainstorming sessions before the program kicks off. Two mentors may “split” the effort, if needed. The sessions typically meet from 4pm to 6pm after the work day.

For more information: Contact Myron Humeny at Myron_Humeny@URSCorp.com or go to our national website at www.acementor.org.

The Oakland Region ACE Mentor Mixer is now slated for November 16, 2009! We hope you can come!!

ACE is a national non-profit made up of architect, engineer, and construction industry volunteers dedicated to introducing the industry to high school students in a free after-school program with particular attention to at-risk youth.

The Oakland Regional teams from ACE will be holding an ACE Mentor Mixer in which we’ll describe the ACE program and provide some history of ACE in Oakland to past and potential mentors and interested school representatives.

Mentor time commitment varies depending on whether the mentors “share” their efforts or join us as solo mentors, but, generally, we look for a commitment of about 15 two-hour sessions once a week starting in January, plus some start-up/brainstorming sessions before the program kicks off. Two mentors may “split” the effort, if needed. The sessions typically meet from 4pm to 6pm after the work day.

We hope you will attend and bring any interested mentors and/or school reps with you. Please save the date! Turner will be hosting the event at their Oakland office at 1625 Clay Street starting at 6pm.

Come and learn about ACE and also go to www.acementor.org.

RSVP: Stephanie Davi Ercolini

ACE Mentor Program of America

For more information: 916.799.5483 sdaviercolini@acementor.org

Be a Part of Developing Oakland's Landmark Energy and Climate Action Plan

From the City of Oakland:

"Thank you" to everyone who participated in either of the two second-round public workshops held by City staff on April 30th to gather input on the Oakland Energy and Climate Action Plan.

Online Input Opportunity - This Week

City staff will continue to take public input on the same topics covered at the April 30th workshops through Friday, May 8, 2009.

Copies of the worksheets used to gather feedback at the April 30th workshops are now available on the City's website at www.sustainableoakland.com.

All members of the public are encouraged to download these worksheets, complete them electronically, and email them to climateaction@oaklandnet.com. Alternatively, you may fax or mail them per directions on the website.

For more information: www.sustainableoakland.com.

Habitat for Humanity East Bay's Material Re-Use Program

Builders and renovators stuck with left over material have a win-win option. Habitat for Humanity East Bay picks up many building and renovation materials for free. The donation is tax-deductible.

Donations are used in Habitat for Humanity East Bay's housing developments or sold at The ReStore near the Oakland airport. The ReStore -- a place that Terry McSweeney of KGO-TV (ABC 7) calls, "A handyman's dream..." -- offers new and lightly-used building and renovation supplies at 50-75% off retail. Nearby residents, many of whom are on a tight budget, get the opportunity to buy quality material at affordable prices.

Rest assured that funds raised go toward construction. Habitat for Humanity International earned the coveted 4-Star Charity Navigator rating for sound fiscal management.

Over 1,000 tons of donated material was re-used instead of landing in dumps last year. That makes Frank Atkins, ReStore Manager, feel good. What makes him feel even better is the impact that the donation program has on Habitat homeowners. "We're helping build sustainable homes that limited-income families can actually afford, since the mortgage is interest-free and "sweat equity" (labor on the jobsite) counts as the down payment."

Mohamed Saleh, Habitat resident, says, "Habitat has had a huge impact on my family because not only are my parents able to afford a house for the first time, but they are also putting together a program to help first generation students get into college."

Now that's a win-win.

For more information: (http://www.habitateb.org/restore/index.shtml) or call the Habitat for Humanity East Bay donation line at 510-777-9706.

Saftey Assessment Training Program

Become a registered Safety Assessment Evaluator and be prepared to help local governments perform accurate facility-safety assessments in the aftermath of a disaster.

This program is available to licensed architects, registered engineers, or certified building officials and inspectors.

Upon completion of this full day training, you will:

• Become proficient in California's Office of Emergency Services (OES) Safety Assessment Program (SAP)
• Become registered to assist jurisdictions across California and the nation with accurate evaluation of facilities, buildings, and infrastructures in the aftermath of a disastrous event
• Qualified individuals will earn a State-issued OES badge (in addition to 6 AIA/ CES HSW LUs)

1/16/09

Safety Assessment Training Program

AIA East Bay, with support from the local Office of Emergency Services (OES), presents an all-day SAP training event that will highlight architects' roles in recovery to establish SAP Certification.
Time: 8:30am - 4:00pm

Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland.

Contact: 510/464-3600

Cost: $15 AIA East Bay Members; $30 non-members. Cost includes breakfast and lunch.

Click Here To Register.
6 HSW CES/ LU

For more information: Contact 510/464-3600 or events@aiaeb.org

Teaching Material Needed for Laney College

Dear AIA Members -

Could anyone kindly share some typical project plans that are no longer needed? They will be used as instructional material for the estimating class I will be teaching at the Laney College in Oakland this coming 2009 Spring Semester.

The project(s) can be any small commercial office building, shopping center, multi-use office building, condominium building, etc. Project plans should be 11" x 17" in size and between 8 and 18 sheets. Project specifications are based on the prior CSI 16 divisions at about 1/2" to 1" thick.

I can be reached at 510/530-6351 or on my cell at 510/504-4093.

Thank you very much, and all the best wishes for the New Year.

Naikang Chang

Board and Commission Vacancies - Serve Your City

A number of City of Richmond boards, commissions and committees have vacancies, or the terms of some members have expired. This is an opportunity to serve diverse interests of city government. Most, but not all, bodies require members to be Richmond residents.

The table below is a summary of information extracted from the city clerk’s website (http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.asp?nid=256) and may not be completely accurate and up to date, but it is probably close.

Applications can be downloaded as follows:

· Board or Commission Application Form

· Police Commission Application Form

Appointments are made by the mayor and must be confirmed by at least three members of the new seven-member city Council.

The Richmond Arts and Culture Commission (RACC) and its standing committee, the Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC), are both looking for new members (at least two each). They are especially interested in people who have backgrounds in arts or nonprofit management, engineering and architecture, but welcome all applicants. Interested persons should contact Michele Seville, Arts and Culture Division Manager, at 510-620-6952 or by email at Michele_seville@ci.richmond.ca.us for further information and application materials.

The Design Review Board is looking for members in the design professions, including architects, engineers, landscape architects, etc.

Organization	Vacancies	Expired Terms
Arts and Culture Commission	0	1
Community Development Commission	13	0
Design Review Board	2	5
Economic Development Commission	1	7
Planning Commission	2	4
Urban Forest Committee	10	10

For more information: To find out more about what each body does and what the qualifications are, if any, go to the Richmond Municipal Code at http://bpc.iserver.net/codes/richmond/index.htm and click on Article III BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS* .

Safety Assessment Training in San Jose

AIASCV’s Emergency Preparedness Committee, with support from the local Office of Emergency Services (OES), will provide an all day SAP training event that will highlight architects’ roles in recovery to establish your SAP Certification.

Date: Sept. 25, 2008
Time 8:30am to 5pm
Location : Sheriff’s Auditorium, 55 W. Younger Avenue, San Jose, CA
Lunch included and materials provided.
Fee: $50 Check payable to AIASCV
CES credits, including 5 HSW
RSVP to: colette.marie@yahoo.com by September 19, 2008.

For more information: colette.marie@yahoo.com

City of Walnut Creek looking for Design Review Commissioner

The City of Walnut Creek is recruiting for their Design Review Commission. This is a community volunteer role on a five-member advisory body to the City Council. The opening is immediate to fulfill the 16 months remaining on an unscheduled vacancy. Terms are for three years thereafter. The Commission acts in a quasi-judicial role and assists the City in envisioning its future design planning efforts; ensuring buildings meet established design criteria; and in helping to build community around quality and unique development. The City and Council place great value on the input and direction provided by the Commission and the insight provided by professional architects are especially appreciated in this role. Information on current projects in Walnut Creek can be found on the City’s website on the bottom of the page at this link: http://www.walnut-creek.org/header.asp?genericId=2&catId=10&SubCatid=748


The application and more information on the commission can be found by following this link: http://www.walnut-creek.org/pdf/Commission%20Application.DRC.2008.pdf. Applications are due in my office by 5 pm on Wednesday October 1, 2008.

For more information:
Patrice M. Olds
City Clerk
City of Walnut Creek
1666 N. Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
(925) 943-5819 Direct Line
olds@walnut-creek.org

Architecture and Public Service - Design as a Tool for Change

Join AIA East Bay, Wednesday, August 27th at 5:30pm, for an in-depth program on the pro bono work of Public Architecture.
Time: 5:30pm
Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland.
Contact: Jayna Blackwell, CMP or 520/464-3600 for more information. Click here to register
Cost: $15 for chapter members and their guests; $25 for non-members. Includes cocktails and dinner.

Although some architects are enjoying a new celebrity status, the opportunity for the architecture profession as a whole to assume a meaningful role in shaping the quality of our communities continues to be sorely under exploited. John Peterson, founder and chair of Public Architecture, will present the work of Public Architecture and the work of other architects who are expanding the influence of their efforts and the health of their practices through high quality pro bono projects.

Public Architecture is a nonprofit organization that acts as a catalyst for public discourse through education, advocacy, and the design of public spaces and amenities. Rather than waiting for commissions, Public Architecture takes a leadership role by identifying significant problems of broad relevance that require innovative research and design. Recognizing the dearth of resources supporting pro bono work within the architecture profession, Public Architecture launched The 1%, a pro bono national campaign in 2005. Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, The 1% encourages architecture firms to formalize their commitment to the public good by pledging one percent of their billable hours to public interest work.

This talk, to be held August 27, 2008 at 5:30pm, is part of the AIA East Bay's Monthly Program offerings. Contact Jayna Blackwell, CMP or call 510/464-3600 for more information. Click here to register

Architecture for Humanity - Myanmar Rebuilding Appeal

Architecture for Humanity is raising funds to support reconstruction effortsafter this weekend's devastating cyclone in Myanmar.

Architecture for Humanity: Myanmar Rebuilding Appealhttp://www.architectureforhumanity.org/node/754 http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/myanmar

Often media attention focuses on relief efforts. Months later, after thecameras have left, communities face the difficult task of rebuilding with little support. Architecture for Humanity offers long-term technicalexpertise when it is needed most during the reconstruction phase. Our work will focus on rebuilding sustainable clinics, schools, communitycenters and other critical infrastructure as well as housing. Past experience has shown that these buildings serve as critical anchors inhelping communities rebuild and families restart their lives.

How your contribution can make a difference:
* $15,000 supports a design team for six months to a year.
* $50,000 builds a transitional school (Just about the most important thing you can do as it allows parents to rebuild and begin working again)
* $150,000 builds a community complex (health clinic, daycare center, jobstraining center, government offices.)

If you are interested in getting involved, contact us at: volunteers@architectureforhumanity.org .
To support sustainable reconstruction, make a donation today by visiting: http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/donate We will be posting updates to our site as well.

For more information: Barb@Architectureforhumanity.org
Architecture For Humanity, 848 Folsom Street #201, San Francisco, CA 94107 415.963.3511