Albany Today

Please enjoy a photo slideshow on the Albany Art and Music Festival taking place Sunday. Special thanks to Albany residents Richard Ishida and Michele Ku, who helped to capture the moments of beauty at the event. Photos by Linjun Fan, Richard Ishida and Michele Ku.

By Barbara Grady

With 42 school programs on the chopping block – everything from music in the elementary schools to athletics at the high school – the Albany Board of Education will meet Tuesday night to discuss how to salvage some of these programs with parcel tax revenues and community fundraising.

The board of education will meet at 7:30 at the Community Center on Marin Avenue and take stock of its list of earmarked cuts and a small pool of money that comes each year from parcel taxes that Albany voters passed in 1999 and 2005.

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Charlie Blanchard and Michael Barnes, two former members on the Albany School Board, wrote the following opinion article on the waterfront issue. They warn about the risk of high tides flooding the Albany Waterfront and oppose using the city’s  public funds to develop the land.

“As Albany residents,the two of us do not want our tax dollars spent to acquire and upgrade land for parks that will soon  be submerged. And we certainly wouldn’t want to live there, either.”

The controversy surrounding the Albany waterfront is presented as a choice between two opposing positions — commercial development or parkland. But these two positions are not really so different. They are both models of development. Read the rest of this entry »

Albany will hold its annual Spring Art & Music Festival at Memorial Park this upcoming Sunday, April 26, 11 AM – 4 PM. The event features live music, ethnic dances, local artists,  and a variety of food.  Click here to view a detailed program and other information about the festival. Below is a photo slideshow on the wonderful festival in 2008.  

Create Your Own

By Barbara Grady-Ayer

All 29 of the regular Albany public school teachers who received pink slips on March 15 learned Wednesday that their layoffs are rescinded and they’ll have jobs next year, thanks to retirements and leave requests among their colleagues.

However, another 28 temporary teachers have not been so lucky and their layoff notices are likely to stay in force, according to district and union officials. Read the rest of this entry »

The Board of Education at Albany Unified School District unanimously elected a new member Tuesday. Paul Black, a resident in Albany for almost three decades and a parent who is active in school services, will take his seat on the Board later this month.

62-year-old Black was selected among six candidates at a public meeting Tuesday night. After a round of interviews, all of the four current Board members said Black was one of their favorite candidates. They spoke highly of Black’s rich experience in community services and his capability as a thoughtful and collaborative decision-maker. Read the rest of this entry »

The City of Albany is seeking ideas from the community to develop a Climate Action Plan that will be formally adopted later this year.

Albany has made commitments in recent years to take responsible actions to address climate change. In 2007 the City Council set a goal of reducing Albany’s greenhouse gas emission by 5 percent every three years. The Council stated in a resolution that Albany would take a series of measures to make sure its total greenhouse gas emission in the year of 2020 is one fourth less than the levels of 2004. Read the rest of this entry »

The Board of Education of the Albany Unified School District will interview seven applicants Tuesday and select one to fill a vacancy left by Jamie Calloway, former Board President who resigned for personal reasons last month.

Seven people from the community have submitted their applications for the board position. All of them are longterm residents of Albany and most of them have actively been involved in school affairs. Read the rest of this entry »

Several hundred players of the Albany Little League and their families participated in a parade on Solano Avenue to start their 2009 season recently. The League is run by volunteers in the community and has a history of more than half a century. Photo by David Berson, Editor of the League’s newsletter.

The City of Albany will hold a citywide garage sale on Saturday, May 23, from 9am-3pm. It is an opportunity for the community to reduce, reuse, recycle and bargain hunt. Garage sales will be held throughout the city, and a listing of all sales will be publicized in the week of May 18th. Click here to register for a garage sale. Contact Nicole Almaguer, Environmental Specialist, at (510) 528-5754 for further information.

Albany residents may be able to get free weatherization services as a new program funded by the federal stimulus money came into effect recently.

Thanks to federal funding, Albany households with relatively lower incomes could get services such as door weatherstripping and window repairs for free. Click here to see a flyer with more information, and call 510-981-7770 Weatherization Program Office for details.