By now you’ve probably heard about the various “Occupy Wall Street” protests that started on the East Coast and are now taking root in cities across the nation. They’ve garnered support from a lot of our local U.S. reps, saw an Oakland councilwoman join them in their tent city and are starting to pop up in places that usually don’t see very many demonstrations: San Ramon on Tuesday, Walnut Creek on Wednesday and on Friday, MoveOn.org will bring it to the Bank of America near Bayfair Mall in San Leandro. Find the press release after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s some news from the Hayward Area Historical Society. Each year, they honor local residents, organizations and businesses that are history minded, and for 2011 they’re seeking the public’s help in coming up with some candidates. They’d like to hear from you by the end of the mo nth.

Click on the link at left to cue the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey."

The Daily Review received one in 2006, a few years before I landed at the paper. I took a photo of the black obelisk award, attempting for some kind of dramatic perspective.

Submissions can be made by mail:

ATTN: History Award Nominees

Hayward Area Historical Society

22392 Foothill Blvd.

Hayward, CA 94541-2710

By phone: (510) 581-0223 ask for Alison

By email: alison@haywardareahistory.org

Find press release after the jump, but feel free to also bounce some ideas around in the HayWord comments, too, it could be fun!  Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE 10/3: While they are not releasing names because of privacy concerns, Hayward trustees are making a trip to Compton tomorrow to interview people in regards to one of two final candidates for the superintendent post. The other candidate is employed by a Northern California district, said Board President Lisa Brunner. She said they’re “two very different candidates, with different strengths.”

Hayward Unified announced a pair of special, closed-session meetings on Saturday and Monday to interview superintendent candidates. Board President Lisa Brunner said they have five people lined up, but of course names are confidential at this point. Here’s the previous info on how that supt. search has been going.

Got an email from a reader saying that although the city’s ban on polystyrene foam products at restaurants and other businesses serving food went into effect in July, he’s seen some of the nonbiodegradable culprits being used out there. I’m going to go take a look at the locations he specified, but has anyone else noticed noncompliance?

The ordinance was approved by council in October of last year.

From city’s website: Effective July 1, 2011, restaurants and all other vendors selling food at retail must use only paper, cardboard, aluminum or recyclable plastic cups, plates, bowls or trays.

This requirement applies to:

•Foods eaten at a business, packaged leftovers, or ordered “to go”

•Foods offered by a Hayward business that can be eaten without further preparation (e.g. cooked chicken, sandwiches or sushi)

There’s also a bill going through legislature that would take such a ban to the statewide level by 2016.

These are the bad boys we're looking for. Seen any around?

Four days of outdoor events — street party, City Hall concert and Zucchini Festival — kick off tonight, here’s our story on that. Sean Brooks, the city’s economic development manager, said he expects to see a large turnout at the Friday concert because of former Tower of Power frontman Lenny Williams and Lava, a popular local Latin group that will also be performing at tonight’s street party.

“We had 100 to 200 people come to the concerts earlier this summer,” Brooks said. “Expecting more like 800 to 1,000 on Friday.”

Rich Essi, the general manager of the Zucchini Festival, said he expects one of the founding Pointer Sisters to be a draw to his event, which he said has been growing in recent years.

“It’s because of the economy,” he said. “People don’t go anywhere, they don’t like to spend the money on gas. So they’ll keep close to home.”

Asked about rumors that the festival is leaving town, he acknowledged that it’s something he has threatened to do because he feels the city doesn’t offer enough support and promotion of the event. But he said he has no plans to change the venue at this time.

The Standardized Testing and Reporting results came out today, find our overview story here with links to data. While Hayward as a district remains considerably below both the state and Alameda County averages for proficiency in math and reading, both areas did see some progress. For English, 40.7 percent of kids tested proficient, compared with 39 percent in 2010 and 36.4 percent in 2009. In math, 37.3 percent tested proficient this year, compared with 35 percent last year and 32 percent in 2009.

Quick comparisons: San Leandro came in at 46 percent proficient in English, 36.4 percent in math, with about a 1.5 percentage point gain in each. San Lorenzo had 42.9 percent proficient in English, 36.9 percent in math, both down by a fraction of a percent from last year. Castro Valley had 73.6 percent proficient in English, up from 70.6 percent, and 65.5 percent proficient in math, up one percentage point.

Some individual Hayward schools had impressive results, as you can see on this chart.

“We are particularly pleased with the results at Longwood, Harder and Burbank,” wrote Leticia Salinas, a director of academic affairs with the district, in an email.  ”Under state and HUSD board guidelines, these schools put in reform efforts that had phenomenal gains.  We are so pleased with the work that Longwood, Burbank, and Harder have accomplished.  These schools  worked  with a focus on collaboration as a school community and targeted professional development in the areas of standards and assessment.   For example, in English Language Arts at grade 2, the percent proficient/advanced increased 23%  at Burbank , 16% at Harder and 15% at Longwood at 2^nd grade.  The teachers, students, principals, and parents accomplished so much!”

Here’s a list of Hayward schools and the change in the proficiency score from last year, double-digit gains bolded, declines in red:

Bowman Elementary -3.51%
Brenkwitz High -0.10%
Bret Harte Middle -1.96%
Burbank Elementary +13.75%
Chavez (Cesar) Middle +1.40%
Cherryland Elementary -1.61%
East Avenue Elementary -6.37%
Eden Gardens Elementary +2.22%
ldridge Elementary +4.19%
Fairview Elementary +2.66%
Faith Ringgold School of Arts +17.95%
Glassbrook Elementary -6.48%
Golden Oak Montessori of Haywa +5.15%
Harder Elementary +8.30%
Hayward High +1.22%
Impact Academy of Arts & Techn +17.96%
Leadership Public Schools +11.80%
Longwood Elementary +13.12%
Lorin A. Eden Elementary +4.74%
Martin Luther King, Jr. Midd +3.31%
Mt. Eden High +0.97%
Ochoa (Anthony W.) Middle +7.71%
Palma Ceia Elementary -4.75%
Park Elementary -1.10%
Ruus Elementary -1.35%
Schafer Park Elementary +4.11%
Southgate Elementary +2.58%
Stonebrae Elementary +1.34%
Strobridge Elementary +7.83%
Tennyson High +4.67%
Treeview Elementary +2.26%
Tyrrell Elementary -4.25%
Winton Middle -0.22%

Find the lengthy press release from the state after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »

Mayor Sweeney and volunteers get ready to get the word out about energy conservation.

Volunteers, city officials and the Keep Hayward Clean and Green Task Force hit the streets last week to do some door-to-door tutoring on ways residents can save money and help the environment by using some energy-saving tips. It was organized by Engage 360, a  group with a goal of spreading the word about energy conservation in various communities throughout the state, including Hayward, a city that prides itself on promoting sustainable practices. Here’s a flier for a contest the city is holding that could win homeowners free energy efficiency improvements.

Here’s the press release on the event, as well as some tips, from Engage 360: Read the rest of this entry »

It's time for a giant makeover.

So it turns out the 1/4 lb. Giant Burger on Mission Boulevard is merely on a hiatus for renovations. I spoke with Kathryn Lee, a member of the Hahn family that owns the restaurant as well as others in Oakland, and she said that after 50 years it was time to do some major repairs. The floor and counter are all ripped out, and they will also make all facilities, including the bathrooms, updated to the latest ADA standards. What’s really exciting for the Mission corridor aesthetics is that they plan on refurbishing the big burger sign, which is looking pretty haggard there days but would be a nice retro beacon if restored.

Estimated time before you can get 1/4-pound beefed again: One month.

And as I mentioned in earlier comments but bears repeating, there will also be a Five Guys Burgers and Fries opening, possibly by the end of the year, in the Target shopping center at A Street and Hesperian.

The walkability index is a guide that rates cities and neighborhoods based on proximity to nearby amenities such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools, parks, and public transit. 

Here is Hayward’s data and a pretty cool map in which green is good and red is bad in terms of legging it around town. Notice that while the overall number isn’t very impressive, some areas of town are indeed very walkable according to their methodology. In particular, North Hayward is up there at 77, which isn’t bad considering the 85 rank enjoyed by the country’s two most walkable cities of New York and San Francisco. San Lorenzo also got a 58 overall score, while San Leandro was somewhat higher at 65. Castro Valley faired poor for walkers, with a score of 45.

Fun feature: Enter an address and find a walk score particular for where you are. I’ll have you know that the Daily Review’s address is a “Walker’s Paradise” with a score of 98. The Castro Valley neighborhood where I grew up rated a dismal, “Car-Dependent” score of 28, but I could have told you that it wasn’t much fun getting around pre-car without the rating. 

 Here’s the press release from Walk Score.

According to the website, “The 372 largest cities in California have an average Walk Score of 50. The most walkable cities in California are West Hollywood, Albany and San Francisco.  The least walkable cities are Mead Valley, Prunedale and Adelanto.”

UPDATE 7/29: Here’s the story.

UPDATE 7/28: Board not going forward with Palacios. Brunner swings vote, says that while Palacios is very impressive, doing a great job in Pittsburg, he may not be right person for Hayward. Board will move on to third round of supt. search, will not have one for start of school year, which Brunner said she finds “very depressing.” Trustee McGee said he’s not worried because ”we have people in place who will be able to keep district moving.” He said next step is “getting together with search firm and interim superintendent and discuss how we will go forward.” Both said Palacios didn’t meet the criteria on the brochure they created. Press release expected in the morning, will write a story tomorrow.

The board voted 3-2 to offer the job to Enrique Palacios, an associate superintendent at Pittsburg Unified, contingent on the site visit and interviews. Barring any problems, they would then enter contract negotiations. Here’s a story that quotes Palacios regarding the positive state of Pittsburg schools.

Board President Lisa Brunner and trustees Maribel Heredia and Jesus Armas voted to go with Palacios. Luis Reynoso and William McGee cast dissenting votes.

“We’re all looking for different things,” said Brunner. “He is much heavier on the business administration than the academic end.”

Brunner added that they did recently hire an associate superintendent of academic affairs. Here’s that story from a few weeks ago.

Brunner said only two candidates were brought forward to be interviewed by the board, and “the other was also excellent.”

Looking around for info, came across this although I’m pretty sure it is the wrong Enrique Palacios.