PIEDMONT
Joshua Kaiser, the project manager for the city of Piedmont’s new community swimming pool, was to present a status update on its construction at this week’s City Council meeting.
As of July 30, construction was estimated at 96% complete. The project crossed another milestone on July 31, as crews completed the final concrete pour for the activity pool deck, the pedestrian safety bulb-outs at the city’s corner of Magnolia and Bonita avenues and the sidewalk leading into the pool entrance off Bonita Avenue. Landscaping has begun, with more planting scheduled in the coming weeks.
Magnolia Avenue will be closed Saturday between Hillside and Bonita avenues for restriping. Pools are scheduled to be filled with water in late August, triggering the critical “commissioning” period. During commissioning, the complex mechanical, electrical and building management systems that control the facility are tested to ensure they are working together and as designed.
This period is particularly important for Piedmont’s project, as the new, all-electric aquatics facility is one of the first of its kind in California. Commissioning can take as little as six weeks, or much longer if significant issues are identified that need to be resolved. An expected opening date will be announced after the commissioning process is underway.
The new pool features twice the water area and more than double the lap lanes of the former facility. The 27-meter competition pool includes a diving well and 12 lap lanes, while the 3,177-square-foot activity pool has zero depth entry, warm water year round and three lap lanes. Beyond the water, the new facility has a rentable poolside party room and rooftop pavilion.
Citizens can stay informed about the new community pool project by subscribing to email updates at piedmont.ca.gov/PoolUpdates. To view this week’s Piedmont City Council meeting online, visit piedmont.granicus.com/player/clip/3087.
— city of Piedmont
OAKLAND
Red Oak Realty’s free outdoor cinema night on Aug. 16
Red Oak Realty invites the public Aug. 16 to its free outdoor cinema nights, which will kick off their ninth season with a special screening of the 1980s film “Dirty Dancing.” The movie will be shown on a giant 50-foot screen in the Red Oak Realty parking lot at 6450 Moraga Ave. starting at dusk (around 8 p.m.) in the Oakland hills’ Montclair Village district.
Festivities will kick off at 7 p.m. with a live DJ set by Bukue One and — new this year — lawn games for all ages. Enjoy free popcorn generously provided by Montclair Village business CRUfit.
Make it a full evening by grabbing snacks or a meal from other nearby favorite businesses like Farmstead Cheeses & Wines, Falafel Corner or Em Deli Catering, or turn the evening into a date night with dinner by Red Oak’s food sponsors for this event — Daughter Thai, Crogan’s or Mountain Mike’s — before the show begins.
For more information about Red Oak Realty or Montclair Village visit redoakrealty.com/about or montclairvillage.com online.
— Megan Christian
Club to host Aug. 28 event on AI, surveillance concerns
On Aug. 28, the East Bay’s Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club will feature speakers for the presentation “Data Privacy, Surveillance and AI: How Do We Protect Ourselves?”
“Understanding how to protect our data is a necessary step toward resisting the development of an authoritarian state” says longtime Wellstone club member Nancy Friedman.
The in-person program will start at 6:45 p.m. in North Oakland’s East Bay Community Space at 507 55th St. (at Telegraph Avenue), with time during the event for questions and comments. Club members say Berkeley and Oakland, both sanctuary cities, are considering surveillance systems, so ensuring that the cities maintain our civil rights while monitoring our safety is important.
The cities must protect privacy as well as keeping people safe from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and those seeking to jail political opposition, according to the club, which contends that while artificial intelligence (AI) systems are powerful tools for improving efficiency and solving problems, they must address safety concerns to assure benefits.
Planned event speakers are Brian Hofer, who started the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission and a privacy advocacy organization, Secure Justice; and Graham Drake, a senior policy advisor on AI and criminal justice reform for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and a member of the Northern California ACLU’s Board of Directors.
Wellstone invites attendees all to become Wellstone members, who meet regularly on each month’s fourth Thursday in-person and on Zoom. Wellstone was founded in 2003, and many members are longtime participants in civil rights and peace movements. For more information or a Zoom link to the Aug. 28 meeting, email wellstonedrc@gmail.com or visit wellstoneclub.com online.
— Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club
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