A West Coast-polling organization, EMC, has been hired to ask Alameda residents about several new tax proposals and other issues affecting the Island.

A call was received by this writer at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 26, and included about 30-plus questions on the upcoming early-summer election.

The majority of the questions concerned the possibility of a 1% utility tax to pay for street and sign repairs, which would effectively raise the utility tax to 8.5%. Another option is to raise the sales tax in town 0.5% to 9.25% in order to pay for the street improvements.

Yet one more proposal includes levying a $50 a year fee on boat slips to cover emergency water-rescue and fire services.

It’s clear that opponents and supporters of the tax proposals are gearing up — so get ready to answer the survey call, which will take about 15 minutes of your time.

The Oakland Museum of California is hosting its annual White Elephant Preview Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, January 29, at 333 Lancaster Street– just across the Fruitvale and Park Street bridges from Alameda.

Museum supporters say this is a “must for serious bargain hunters,” with everything from fine art to gently used ski equipment and appliances for sale.

It also gives shoppers and collectors a chance to buy items for sale before the general rummage-sale event takes place on March 3 and 4. For the price of admission, which is $20, Alameda residents can support a good local cause and have a lot of fun.

Call (510) 536-6800 or visit the White Elephant Sale website.

Donations are still be accepted for those who would like to give items to the museum-support organization.

The Alameda Architectural Preservation Society is hosting a meeting with Greg McFann of the city’s Community Development Department.

The event, Ask the Building Official, is set to take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 26, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1420 Lafayette Ave.

The event is free to members and costs $5 for non-members.

Parking is available at the corner of Chestnut Street and Santa Clara Avenue.

UC Berkeley has decided to build its new research laboratory operations in Richmond, not Alameda, according to news reports on Monday.

“We’re disappointed, but it’s not a death blow,” said Alameda City Manager John Russo in a Bay Area News Group interview. “I truly think we would have been the best choice, but overall I think the process was fair. Kudos to Richmond.”

Thanks in part to its attempt to bring the labs to the Island, Alameda was able to obtain the former base from the Navy for free last year, saving the city about $108 million in conveyance costs, Russo said.

Richmond was chosen over Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville and Albany. Its winning pitch was based on its proximity to the lab’s main campus in the Berkeley hills, its abundance of adjacent open space that can be developed for future expansion and city officials’ eagerness to accommodate the lab plans, UC officials said in a news report.

In addition, the University of California, which oversees the lab, already owns the property in Richmond: the UC Richmond Field Station, where some labs and offices are already located.

Appearing before the San Francisco 49ers playoff game today, Musical Art Quintet’s chamber music ensemble promises to share with audience members an infusion of rhythms from Argentina, Cuba, Africa, jazz, classical and even electronica beats, according to staff at Rhythmix Cultural Arts.

Members of the Musical Art Quintet — who will perform at 2 p.m. today, Sunday, Jan. 22 — got together in 2008 in the Mission district of San Francisco during chamber music jam sessions every Sunday night at Cafe Revolution. They consider the genre of music they play to be “nuevo chamber music” — i.e, music that is very different from traditional chamber music and full of Latin American influences.

Each week, group leaders Sascha Jacobsen wrote a new piece to be performed at Classical Revolution. “With ink still wet, the ensemble would read through the piece in front of a live audience. As their repertoire grew, a core group of players emerged and the quintet was founded,” shares Rhythmix, which is located at 2513 Blanding Ave.

The name of the quintet is taken from a string quartet formed in the 1940s and led by the great-grandfather and namesake of the bassist and composer of the quintet, violinist, Sascha Jacobsen.

Although classically trained, members of Musical Art Quintet consider themselves to be “skilled improvisors.”

“Whether it is Argentine Tango, Afro-Cuban Son, Klezmer, classical works, or even electronica, the Quintet is at home,” they say.

Tickets are $15-$20 and can be bought online or at the door.

Alameda’s Virago Theatre Company is celebrating six years of its work bringing opera and passion for theater to the Island and throughout the Bay Area at 7 p.m. tonight, Jan. 21, in Berkeley.

Singers Eileen Meredith and Ray Chavez will entertain the audience with selections from Virago’s upcoming production of “Madama Butterfly.” Performers Sally Mouzon, Alex Tate and their colleagues will also present other beloved pieces as part of a special evening of music, wine and fun, the group says.

The event is a fund-raiser for the theater company’s winter and spring productions of “A Taste of Honey” and “Madama Butterfly,” and its members would like to see as many Alamedans and other supports attend as possible.

The suggested donation is $30, and the venue is the Berkeley Piano Club at 2724 Haste St., Berkeley.

“Madama Butterfly” will be presented from March 31 to April 15 at Rhythmix Cultural Works.

As road work continues on the I-880, California Highway Patrol has stationed officers on or near the entrance ramp to the I-880 North to watch traffic coming from the Island and other nearby areas.

On 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, a patrolman monitored the flow of traffic in the carpool and regular entrance lanes to the I-880 North from 23rd Avenue in Oakland (across the Park Street Bridge). The officer, who was located on the left-hand (or West) side of the carpool lane, appeared to be checking to see if there were two or more persons in each car that was using the carpool lane.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Jan. 18, a patrolman was on the opposite (right-hand or East) side of the I-880 North entrance, checking to see if drivers were respecting the traffic signal and carpool rule.

The sting operation could continue for a while, due to construction on the I-880, so watch out.

Alameda’s Little Ice Rink will welcome Olympic ice skater Brian Boitano to a retro-themed event this Friday, Jan. 20.

Boitano, who won a gold medal in men’s figure skating in the 1988 Olympics and is a Bay Area native, will judge a disco dance and costume contest starting at 8 p.m. The contests are part of Little Ice Rink’s Disco Ice Day celebration.

“Ice rink attendance has been fantastic,” said Carrie Ewing, vice president of operations for Perforce, a global software company founded 15 years ago in Alameda. “I’d say we’ve had roughly 6,000 visitors, and people are loving the chance to skate outdoors.”

The ice rink, which is open through Jan. 29 on Park Street, offers “happy hour” prices on tickets from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On Saturdays and Sundays, local ice skaters perform at 1:45 and 3:45 p.m.

The 3,000-square-foot outdoor rink is located at the corner of Park and Tilden Way. In addition to renting skates, the rink also offers novice skaters the use of handy plastic “seals” that they can lean on as they move around the rink.

The Little Ice Rink near Park Street and Lincoln Avenue will be open for about two more weeks — through Jan. 29.

With bad weather expected to start in the Bay area on Thursday (and last for at least at week), now may be a good time to get down to the ice rink.

For residents, especially younger ones who may not be experienced on the ice, there are plastic orange seals that serve like carts or aids for visitors to hold on to as they move around the rink to lessen the risk of falling.

(The skates for rent are also colored bright orange.)

Perforce Software Foundation sponsored the rink, which has proven to be very, very popular with Alamedans during and after the holiday season. There are warm refreshments available for purchase.

Alameda Public Affairs Forum will host a discussion with Rabbi Michael Lerner at 7:45 p.m., Saturday, January 14, at the Alameda Main Library.

According to the group, Lerner is “one of the most challenging thinkers of our time” and has just published a book on the Middle East: “Embracing Israel/Palestine: A Strategy to Heal and Transform the Middle East.”

In the book, he addresses the roots of the threat of a war against Iran by Israel and the United States, and proposes a strategy to reconcile Israelis and Palestinians as essential first step toward transforming the Middle East.

Copies of Lerner’s new book will be on sale at the event courtesy of Books Inc., and Lerner will autograph them.