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June 2000 DIA Newsletter

Open Board Meeting

At our June meeting we will talk about:

  1. Traffic issues, including bike lanes and bus routes
  2. The possible reorganization of the DIA.

Do you hate the Web?
Maybe you don't hate it; maybe you just don't have a computer and don't feel like using the computers in the Dimond Library. Whatever it is about you and computers, now you can enjoy www.dimondnews.org without tapping a single key.

Tim Chapman, our Web and News contact person, has set up binders containing print-outs of all the Dimond news that is on our web site. The binders are located in Caffé Diem and the Library and will be updated weekly by Karen Schroeder. Each binder has sections for DIA news, Community Policing, Sausal Creek, Council District Four, and Dimond Events. The original binder in the Library was stolen, apparently by kids who coveted the plastic page protectors. A new binder will be secured in place and should be ready by early June.

In other web-site news: Richard Banker answered last month's call for help and will be assisting Tim Chapman with the site while Tim's arm takes a necessary rest.

DIMOND In Bloom
By Faith Harris
If it's true that flowers brighten everyone's day, then motorists and pedestrians passing through the Dimond Business District have reason to smile, for fresh spring blossoms cheer up a number of spots in the area. Some of the flowers are planted and maintained by merchants and businesses. The Little Book Store, Café Diem, Making Ends Meet and McDonalds are among these.

In other places, however, flowers bloom thanks to the DIA's flower budget and the work of volunteers. The blooms in the planters on the traffic islands are perhaps DIA's most noticeable contribution. Lavender, marguerites, petunias and other posies cheer up otherwise dreary intersections. The flowers in the barrels in front of Mel's, near Block Buster Video, and at the entrance to Mission Bank were also planted courtesy of the DIA. In addition, the blossoms on the Fruitvale side of Cybelle's pizza and those in the large planter near the library are DIA contributions.

There are many more spots that flowers could beautify. Linda Farabee and I are doing our best to plant and water, but we need more help! If you can "adopt a pot" or help in any other way, we would greatly appreciate it.

Faith Harris is the contact person for the DIA Beautification Working Group. Call her to volunteer a little time or to offer your comments or suggestions about beautification in Dimond.

You can reach Faith at 261-2226.

News From the City
Niccolo De Luca, assistant to Councilmember Dick Spees, has some good news for Dimond residents.

Pay Phone Permits
The City may soon be slowing the proliferation of pay phones. On June 6th, the City Council will hear a report with these recommendations: public notice of applications for permits; public hearings on the location of phones; a $265 permit fee for all phones; and an $80 annual fee.

If the Council approves the report, City staffers will have 60 days to draw up a City ordinance governing pay phones. The ordinance will then go to the Council for formal approval.

The process is lengthy, and the phone companies are sure to oppose the passage of this ordinance. If you support regulating pay phones, write our council members and go to the June 6th Council meeting.

Lincoln Avenue Safety
On May 23rd, the City Council voted to put a stop light at Lincoln and Hearst, and to study several further safety measures that could be budgeted for 2001-3.

The changes to be studied include these: using "bulb-outs" to slow traffic; installing a raised median near the Cerebral Palsy Center, the Head Royce School and the Lincoln Child Center; and building a guard rail across from the Greek Orthodox Church.

Councilmember Spees deserves our thanks for improving Lincoln safety.

Did you know?
Imagine that the year is 1910 and that we are walking on MacArthur (Hopkins) from Dimond to Fruitvale. Instead of Blockbuster, we start at "Doc Mason's Drug Store.... Next door is the Diamond Movie Theater.... On we go, passing the Prout Meat Market and Mrs. Short's Candy Store before reaching the corner grocery store once operated as the Dimond Grocery Store.... Across the street on the south side of Hopkins is a vacant field...."
Oakland Tribune, Nov. 8, 1970

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