Oakland Magazine Blog
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Local Heroes
By Dan Five unsung heroes nominated by their neighbors received top honors among a pool of 31 Local Hero nominees at the 2008 Local Hero and Lunar New Year Celebration sponsored by Oakland Council President Pro Tempore Jean Quan, Council District 4. The top award—a grant of $1000 to her favorite local school or organization—went to Barbara Goldenberg of Montclair for her leadership as Vice President of the Wildfire Prevention District, Treasurer of the Montclair Safety & Improvement Council, former President of Hillside Gardeners, and a regular volunteer at Montclair Elementary School.
Grants of $500 each were awarded to: Claire Antonetti for organizing the Maxwell Park Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council to work with the City, Mills College and the District 4 office to plan and seek grants to develop a pedestrian/bike pathway between the Laurel shopping district and mills College, coordinating communications with her neighbors as the project progresses. Roberta Costa, David Pratt and Steve Reuss, of the Allendale NCPC “Feet on the Street” Team who regularly walk through different tblokcs within Beat 24Y, looking for malfunctioning street lights, pot holes, graffiti and other blight and safety issues which they report to Public Works and the local beat officer when necessary.
Richard Kauffmann and Wendy Tokuda, who have regularly organized monthly work parties for the past two years to clear paths and much of the hillsides of invasive plants in Beaconsfield Canyon in Montclair. Now, working closely as an affiliate of the Friends of Sausal Creek, they are embarking on a program of planting natives as part of restoring one of the few remaining open spaces in the Oakland Hills. Maretta Rhone, a grandparent who originally volunteered in her grandson’s Kindergarten class at Allendale School, and liked it so much that she not only continued to volunteer in the classroom the following year, but has enrolled at Merritt College to get her A.A. in Early Childhood Education. Alan Yee, an Oakland native and Redwood Heights resident who is known for his pro bono legal work on behalf of Asian community groups and civil rights issues. He served two terms on the Community Policing Review Board, and was honored this year for his leadership and advocacy in the four-year struggle on behalf of low income tenants who were evicted at Pacific Renaissance in Chinatown. As a result of his work, the City’s settlement will provide 50 affordable apartments for purchase by low income families at Pacific Renaissance and will provide substantial funds to build another 80-100 low income senior units nearby. Thirty-two local residents were nominated by their friends and neighbors this year. Council Member Quan has sponsored the Local Hero Awards since 2005 to recognize the many unsung volunteers and leaders who are making a difference in their neighborhoods. Each nominee received a free Oakland Athletics or Golden State Warriors ticket. “In our work with our constituents, we come across many people who give above and beyond themselves to make their neighborhoods and the City of Oakland a better place. This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ and hopefully, inspiring others to make a difference,” said Ms. Quan.
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