Community Corner

While You Were On Vacation: Top Stories of the Summer

In case you missed it, there was a parade down Highland Ave, renewed debate over Blair Park and the pool, a shooting at Gaylord's, and the community mourned the sudden death of one young man.

  1. The Piedmont community was rocked by the news that Alexander Thomas Glenn, who had graduated from PHS in 2005 and from San Diego State just this spring, had died in San Diego harbor Aug. 13. He apparently died as he had lived, with exuberance.
  2. : An increasingly brazen targeting patrons of cafés along Piedmont Avenue came to a head late Friday, July 22, when customers tussled with a pair of would-be robbers and a gun went off. Since then, Oakland police have stepped up their presence on the avenue.
  3. : The Municipal Tax Review Committee's conclusion that the city can't afford to take on the cost of building or maintaining new sports fields touched off the simmering debate over the proposed development of Blair Park. Proponents of the project when some committee members suggested that funds to cover 10 years of maintenance be put in escarow before they're allowed to break ground. Ultimately, the minority group backed off of that demand somewhat. But an overwhelming majority of respondents to a Piedmont Patch poll still agreed with the committee that guarantees that the city will not be left holding the bag are critical to a vote on the next municipal services tax. 
  4. : On July 1, the Piedmont Swim Club became the Piedmont Community Pool. The scene on opening day , but as the summer rolled on questions began to arise about whether the city would be able to sustain it. In June, City Council had on pool operations in its first year under city management, assuming the aquatics program would bring in an additional $375,000. As of July 26 the pool looked to be falling short, having in revenue, and prompting some to wonder how it should be funded long term. 
  5. : In keeping with small town tradition, Piedmonters donned red, white, and blue and lined the street to watch the roll down Highland Avenue on the 4th of July with the leading the way. To kick off the picnic in the park afterwards, the community joined David Martin's House Party in .


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