OAKLAND
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, a ranking member of the U.S. Congressional Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, released the following statement June 14 upon passage of the 2025 fiscal year’s National Defense Authorization Act in the House of Representatives.
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“Once again, this extremist Republican majority has forced through a defense bill that ignores the needs of the American people and our allies while continuing to enable rampant waste, fraud and abuse at the Pentagon.
“At $895 billion, this year’s budget is the largest in history and continues a pattern of blindly sending money to defense contractors and failing weapons systems despite the American people’s desire to rein in military spending. This amount represents half of our total discretionary spending, and yet year after year members are deprived of the opportunity to meaningfully challenge this obscene number.
“Even a $100 billion cut could fund transformative national priorities like hiring more teachers in public schools, health care, clean energy and more — without sacrificing our national security.
“We cannot continue to rely on military solutions to solve human security needs. I call on my colleagues to continue pressing for greater debate on Pentagon spending, more accountability when the Pentagon fails its audits and for substantial reallocations of the Pentagon budget into domestic and human needs.”
— U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee’s office
PIEDMONT
City seeks input on businesses wanted in commercial areas
Help inform future standards for what types of businesses are allowed in Piedmont’s commercial districts by completing a brief online survey.
The Planning & Building Department is working to streamline permitting processes for new business in Piedmont’s commercial areas along Grand and Highland avenues. Citizens’ input will help staff understand what types of businesses residents want to see. For each of 16 possible business types, from dance studios to cafés to liquor stores, the survey asks:
• Do you think it should be permitted without a public hearing process, permitted with limitations, or not permitted?
• What should we consider when creating standards for that business type?
Currently, any new businesses wanting to open in Piedmont’s commercial areas must go through a lengthy permitting process that involves public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council. The time and uncertainty involved in this process creates a barrier to bringing new businesses to Piedmont.
Your responses will help staff develop proposed updates to Piedmont’s Zoning Code that identify business types that would be allowed “by right” (without a public hearing), as well as standards to which each business type would have to conform.
For example, the code may define a café as a permitted use, but also set standards for by-right permitted cafés, such as: they can’t serve alcohol, operate after 8pm, or offer drive-through service.
Preliminary survey results will be shared with the Planning Commission at a study session on Zoning Code updates at their next meeting on July 8, but no action will be taken at the meeting. The Planning Commission and City Council willdiscuss and consider proposed revisions over the next several months.
The survey is available online at piedmont.ca.gov/commercialusessurvey and just takes a few minutes to complete. After completing the survey, participants can enter to win a $50 gift card to Mulberry’s Market in Piedmont. The survey will remain open through July 19.
This effort is part of Piedmont’s work to implement its state-mandated sixth cycle housing element. For more information on the housing element, visit piedmontishome.org. For questions about permitted commercial uses, contact Associate Planner Gopika Nair at gnair@piedmont.ca.gov.
Firefighters put out blaze at hard-to-access, secluded home
The Piedmont Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at 140 St. James Drive in late May after a Piedmont police officer smelled smoke there while on patrol. Firefighters arrived at the scene within minutes to find fire burning on the house’s main floor.
The building is at the end of a long private drive too steep to for a fire engine to navigate, which is common in Piedmont. Firefighters carried hundreds of feet of hose up the hill on foot to reach the house and were able to extinguish the fire before it spread from the room of origin.
Officials have no comment on a possible cause, as the investigation of the fire and its cause is ongoing. While the fire was controlled in less than an hour, firefighters worked several more hours to ensure any hidden pockets of fire were fully extinguished.
“Earlier that day, our crews trained on a similar situation involving very long access roads. In this situation they did an excellent job building on that training to perform a fast and effective firefight “ said Piedmont fire Chief Dave Brannigan. “This is a good example of the many secluded properties in Piedmont. Homeowners are urged to keep access lanes free of parked cars, trash bins and vegetation at least 3 feet back from the roadway and 15 feet clear overhead.”
— city of Piedmont
Donations can help those in need in Africa, Latin America
Recent contributions to the Piedmont-based Lantern Projects charity organization in March and April provided much-needed supplies to people in need in the developing world. All funds received by the organization go to the projects, and every donation really helps.
Lantern Projects is accepting donations now to fund school uniforms in Kenya (project #494), a school playground in Cameroon (project #495), food relief and deworming medicine in Haiti (project #496) and costumes and uniforms for a ballet school in Cuba (project #497).
Tax-deductible donations in any amount (please identify which project number is being funded) can be made online at lanternprojects.org or sent by a check payable to Lantern Projects at 51 Glen Alpine Road, Piedmont, CA 94611-3522.
— Lantern Projects
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