The future of San Leandro Hospital is under consideration, and drop-in, urgent care centers are proposed as alternatives to full-service hospitals. What’s your opinion?

… but for a bit of a polar opposite, a somnambulist died of exposure in another Hayward, where wind chills are expected to bring the temp down to 50 below zero. According to the story, “Flesh can freeze in 10 minutes when the wind chill is 40 below or colder, the weather service noted.”

Around these parts, it’s expected to remain more than 100 degrees warmer than that, for the time being.

As mentioned in today’s story, there will be a protest rally at Birchfield Park this afternoon about pending cuts in the Hayward Unified School District. Organizers say it will be big. Here’s the press release:

East Bay School Cuts Showdown as Hayward Teachers Rally Today Against Music, Smaller Class Size Hits

Marching Band to Join 3:45 p.m. Protest Over $12 Million District Cuts List

HAYWARD — Sparked by the state budget crisis, the Hayward Unified School District’s plans to find $12 million in “savings” for next school year by potentially cutting all elementary instrumental music and class size reduction efforts  — and scrapping high school art and other electives – is prompting a protest rally at Birchfield Park this afternoon. Teachers and members of the award-winning Hayward High School student marching band will attend, and the “Angry Tired Teachers Band” of Hayward High educators will play rock protest songs.

“This district is making the same mistake as the governor and lawmakers in Sacramento by trying to balance the state budget on the backs of students,” said Kathleen Crummey, president of the 1,330-member Hayward Education Association. “Music and arts programs are vital to a well-rounded education, and instrumental music in the lower grades is crucial to strong programs in middle and high schools. The district will have about $11 million in reserves and therefore should not be looking at such severe classroom cuts.”

Among widespread cuts being considered for the next school year, the district is considering ending the 20-student class-size caps in K-3 classrooms and changing the high school block system of scheduling to give students a choice of only taking six classes per year instead of eight, which could eliminate high school music and art programs.

*WHAT: Protest rally by hundreds of teachers and students against music and other cuts now among $12 million in budget “savings” under consideration by the Hayward Unified School District for the 2009-10 school year.

*WHEN: 3:45-5:30 p.m. TODAY, Tuesday, Jan. 13.

*WHERE: Birchfield Park, Santa Clara at Winton streets, across from the main post office in Hayward

Hayward power plant foe and recent City Council candidate “Redwood” Rob Simpson has a 1,000-strong forest of 2-foot-tall redwood trees on his Grandview Avenue lot that he’s willing to give away to anyone who wants to plant one.

Simpson’s been doing this for years, he said, and started because he felt “environmentally responsible” for driving a large car. He didn’t want to downsize his transportation – Simpson is a pretty tall guy — so he started giving away the trees as a mitigation measure. This batch will bring his grand total up to 31,000.

“I’m just spreading my seed,” Simpson said.

Anyone who wants a tree should contact Simpson at www.redwoodrob.com or 510-909-1800.

Is your house decked out for the holidays? Want to find the best Bay Area holiday light displays? Check out our interactive map!

As reported in today’s Daily Review, architects have come up with two different ideas for a new main Library. One of the ideas – for a taller, three-story building next to the downtown Post Office – seems to be the preferred model, but so far the public has not weighed in on the idea of moving their library away from the park where it currently resides. Previous polls have held that people like the location, but this new idea of moving the new facility across the street and creating one big central park has not been floated before.

So, what do you think? Pros, cons?

It’s true that they’re down just about everywhere, but Hayward is being hit especially hard, according to a real estate report released Wednesday by zillow.com. Hayward neighborhoods make up three of the five biggest value losers in the East Bay, with Longwood-Winton Grove leading the pack.

Homes there lost, on average, 44.7 percent of their value compared with this time last year. Jackson Triangle didn’t fare much better, with a 44.5 percent loss, and Whitman-Mocine values down 43.7 percent.

Citywide, the average loss was 37.2 percent, and the current median value is about $335,000. That’s about the same as the San Lorenzo average of a 35.2 percent dip to $334,000. San Leandro homes fell 27.9 percent to $373,000.

The Alameda County average is down 18.9 percent, to $479,000.

The Democratic surge in state voter registration, reported today by the California Secretary of State’s office, is spurred in part by efforts in the Eden Area United Democratic Campaign.

Volunteers working out of the Democrats’ local office on A Street in Hayward registered 700 new voters last weekend, reports office manager Edith Looney. Now, the volunteers will spend between now and Election Day walking 300 precincts in Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo and other unincorporated areas on behalf of local and national candidates.

Personal cell phones in hand, they’ll also be calling voters in other states the next two Saturdays on behalf of the Obama-Biden ticket.

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters reported Wednesday that the county had 787,971 registered voters. Overall, that’s up from 734,171 — nearly 54,000 voters — from Sept. 9, the last voter registration listing.

The latest party registrations weren’t available from the county Wednesday. However, in September, registrations in Assembly and state Senate districts covering the greater Hayward area tell the story. In the 18th Assembly District, represented by Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a margin of 56 percent to 19 percent. In the larger 10th state Senate District, represented by Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, the margin is 51 percent Democrat, 20 percent Republican.

In both the Assembly and Senate districts, “declined-to-state” voters in September also outnumbered Republicans.

APR. AYP. PI. API. LOL?

The California Department of Education today released Accountability Progress Reporting results, and it was no laughing matter for area educators.

It’s basically a report card for schools and districts to see if they are making the grade when it comes to state and federal standards.

For the most part, area schools continued to improve when put to the state standard, but still struggle to meet federal expectations, which are rising each year.

While tomorrow’s headline will point out that fact, it does overshadow some of the hard work being done by teachers and students.

And while the education world has its own way of measuring school success, I’d like to know how you as a parent, student, teacher or resident measure a school’s success?

We’ve had a number of “interesting hobby” stories lately, what with the Hayward snake guy, Filipino stick-fighters, Alameda County Fashion Doll Club, and even the dude who looks like Jerry Garcia. 

Well, maybe the last one isn’t really a hobby as much as a lifestyle choice.

Bottom line is, they’re fun stories for the reporter and readers seem to like them, so we’re always on the lookout for more. Do you have a unique pastime? Do you belong to an interesting club? Taxidermy fanatic? Street luge? Let us know — more than likely, your neighbors would love to hear about it. So would we.