Lakeview Dog Park Community Meeting - Thursday June 29th, 7 PM to 9 PM

PRESS ADVISORY FROM
Office of Councilmember Nancy Nadel, District Three
Contact: Marisa Arrona, (510) 238-7031

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2006

OAKLAND CITY COUNCILMEMBER NANCY NADEL INVITES COMMUNITY INPUT ON
PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF THE LAKEVIEW LIBRARY DOG PARK.

Thursday, June 29, 2006, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Resurrection Lutheran Church, 397 Euclid Avenue at Van Buren.

Oakland, CA - Please join Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel, the Department of Public Works, the Northlake Neighborhood Group, and O'DOG at a public meeting to review and comment on the preliminary design of the Lakeview Dog Park. The Community Meeting will take place on Thursday, June 29th, at 7:00 pm at the Resurrection Lutheran
Church in Oakland.

The idea of a dog park near Lake Merritt was first proposed by the Northlake Neighborhood Group back in 1998. This unique park-within-a- park will have garden pergolas at both ends and the outer fencing will be covered with hummingbird and butterfly friendly plants.

"The butterfly garden concept actually came first," said Northlake spokesperson Nancy Rieser. "Then the dog owners in our neighborhood group chimed in with their need for a dog park. We quickly realized that we could combine the two projects and create something special for the entire neighborhood. Even people without pets could enjoy the garden."

Councilmember Nadel has provided guidance and financial support for this project from its inception and notes, "Dog parks help create a sense of community." She added, "It has been a pleasure to work with community volunteers that also work to improve the park for other user groups."

Careful consideration was taken for other recreational users when drawing the footprint of the park. Play areas for informal volley ball games and pick up soccer will remain free and open, and the outer fence of the dog park will serve as a ball barrier for the soccer field. The dog park planning committee has even secured donated dirt to re-grade the boggy and uneven soccer field.

Says Rieser, "The soccer field will probably be upgraded before the dog park is installed." The installation of the dog park is
tentatively slated for October. Much of the labor will be donated by apprenticeship programs from local unions. The garden planting will be mostly be done by neighborhood volunteers.

The meeting on June 29th will take place in the basement of the Resurrection Lutheran Church at Euclid and Van Buren.

If you have any questions, or wish to volunteer, please call Nancy Rieser at (510) 465-0928.

Lionel Wilson Formerly Honored - Oakland Tribune

Two of the best hours of mu life were spent talking to a very wise Lionel Wilson at a table in front of Starbucks on Lakeshore in 1997, just one year before he passed away. We talked about what it means to carry on with your goals regardless of opposition. He gave me a lot of advise. But the best thing he told me to do was to listen to people. After five years, the downtown building that carries his name-- the terminal also known as the "Southwest Terminal" also has his name -- finally has the appropriate designation.

Rededication honors Oakland's first black mayor
Name of Lionel J. Wilson, who fought against discrimination, emblazoned on city building
By Zuri Berry, CORRESPONDENT - OAKLAND TRIBUNE

OAKLAND — In his 13 years as Oakland mayor, Lionel J. Wilson worked to stop discrimination in the city, rebuild downtown Oakland and create jobs for minorities.

Wilson, who died of cancer in 1998, was elected the first black mayor of Oakland. He became mayor in 1977 after serving as the first black judge in Alameda County Municipal Court and later California Superior Court.

In 2000, 10 years after he left office, the city office building at 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, known as the flatiron Broadway Building, was dedicated to Wilson.

But there was no official sign denoting it. This week, with Wilson's name imprinted on the building, City Councilmember Larry Reid (Elmhurst-East Oakland) along with Mayor-elect Ron Dellums, the Wilson family and many former and current elected officials celebrated the rededication of the Lionel J. Wilson building.

The Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr., pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church, opened the ceremony with a prayer praising the legacy of Wilson as well as the upcoming tenure of Dellums.

Reid also took the time to publicly back Dellums in the ceremony and vowed to work closely with the new mayor, whose vision is seen as being similar to Wilson's. After working to get a federal building constructed in downtown Oakland with the help of then-U.S. Rep. Dellums, Wilson pushed to name the building after Dellums. So when Dellums got the opportunity to speak Thursday, he expressed what he called "360 degrees" of emotions.

"I stand easy at this point because I stand on the shoulders of Lionel J. Wilson," Dellums said. "I'm just pleased I could play a very small role."

Dellums credited Wilson with creating a legacy in Oakland and said he would keep up his vision.

Reid said he sent a letter to Oakland International Airport in hopes of renaming the airport after Wilson as well. Currently Terminal 2, the Southwest terminal, is named after the former mayor.

"I think it's important for somebody who has done so much for the city of Oakland," Reid said. "It shouldn't even be a discussion."

Warren Wilson, Lionel's brother, described how his brother worked tirelessly against discrimination, a big part of the reason the young judge left a sizable income on the bench for $15,000 a year as mayor.

"All African Americans holding a stable job in the private sector in Oakland owe a debt of gratification to Lionel Wilson," his brother said.
Sandre Swanson, who was Wilson's campaign manager when he ran for mayor and is the Democratic candidate for the 16th Assembly District, said it was Wilson who got him into public service out of college.

When Wilson selected Swanson as his campaign manager, there were rumblings about Swanson's ability to handle it at such a young age, he said.

Lionel Wilson stood up and said, "'This is my choice. If you don't agree with it, there's the door,'" Swanson said.

The confidence in the young Swanson became a boost in his life and a representation of how Wilson liked to include young people in decision-making positions, Swanson said.

Wilson's son, Robin Wilson, said his father wanted everybody to be a part of this city.

"We're very proud of the rededication," he said.