Danielle Mieler, the city of Alameda’s Sustainability and Resilience Manager, recently received a “Hidden Heroes of the Greenbelt” award from Greenbelt Alliance, a nonprofit group that works to preserve Bay Area open spaces and to help communities become resilient to a changing climate.
Not only is Danielle working to implement the city’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, she also founded and co-chairs the Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC), a coalition of more than 30 local, regional, state and federal stakeholders and community-based organizations. OAAC partners work collaboratively to identify and implement actions to address sea level rise; protect and restore water quality, recreation and habitat; and promote community resilience.
“Alameda is a low-lying island in the middle of the bay,” Mieler notes. “The climate threat is existential to us … and we feel and see the need to prepare and to build infrastructure for our communities to get us into the future and serve future generations.”
Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Danielle! Also, speaking of the environment, the state’s 41st annual weekend Coastal Cleanup will take place Sept. 20. Did you know that this is California’s largest annual volunteer event? You can help remove trash and plastic pollution at Robert Crown Memorial State Beach (the entrance to which is at Westline and Otis drives) and earn a Coastal Cleanup patch or sticker.
Supplies will be provided — simply sign up, show up and help out. All trash will be collected at the end of the event by East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) staff. Registration is requested, but walkups are allowed. Register online with the EBRPD at apply.ebparks.org/custom/501/opp_details/12639.
Statewide special election: The state will hold a special election Nov. 4 to vote on proposed temporary changes to California’s Congressional district maps. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters will begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots by Oct. 6, and ballots can be returned by mail at designated drop-off locations or at the county registrar’s office in Room G-1 at 1225 Fallon St. in Oakland.
If you are not yet registered to vote or have moved since the last election, the last day to register to vote in this special election will be Oct. 20. You must be 18 years old to vote, and register to do so online is easy at the California Secretary of State’s website: sos.ca.gov. Your vote is your voice and your power as a citizen. Make your voice heard and exercise your power!
Another tragic shooting: Last week in Minneapolis, two young children attending Mass at a Catholic school before class were killed and almost 20 other students and adults were injured when an individual fired through windows into a church. The shooter’s motives are unclear and may never be known, but Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison noted the need for more mental health resources to help prevent these horrific incidents.
Alameda Family Services (AFS) provides mental health resources, family support and early childhood education programs. On Oct. 6, AFS will launch a new Intensive Outpatient Program, a facility-based mental health treatment program for adults and teens who are experiencing mental health crises.
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft is the mayor of Alameda. (photo courtesy of Maurice Ramirez — BANG archives)
This eight-week program for three days a week will treat all major diagnoses: depression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar disorder, etc. Patients will be accepted on a rolling enrollment, and all major insurance will be accepted. For more information visit alamedafs.org online or call 510-629-6300.
Like Minnesota, California has “red flag” laws, or gun violence restraining orders. These are court-issued orders that temporarily suspend people’s access to firearms when they are found to pose a significant risk to themselves or others by having legal access to firearms or ammunition.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta notes that these orders can be used when friends, family members, co-workers, classmates, school employees, or others are concerned that people they know may be at high risk of harming themselves or others with a firearm. The orders are civil court actions and do not become part of a person’s criminal record.
In California, domestic violence restraining orders are a resource available to protect spouses, people in a dating relationship, cohabitants or other family members. In addition to prohibiting the subject of the order from possessing firearms or ammunition, the orders can prohibit the person from contacting or harassing the protected party. For more information about obtaining either restraining order, visit oag.ca.gov/ogvp/gvro-dvro.
Call 9-8-8: The 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 to provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crises or emotional distress. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress, please call 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained counselor who can listen, provide support and connect you to resources. Help is available 24/7.
Be green, make your (voting) voice heard, seek mental health support and be “Alameda Strong!”
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft is the mayor of Alameda. For contact information and other details, visit bit.ly/mayorashcraft online.