Oakland Works Awards Ceremony

Eagle Scout project upgrades Oakland church youth center

So when the Boy Scout and soon-to-be high school freshman began searching for an Eagle Scout project he turned to the youth center and Arlene Romaine, pastor for Christian education at Ponds Reformed Church and youth center director. After talking with Romaine, Mike decided to upgrade the youth center’s snack room and convert it into a more functional space.

On Sunday, more than two dozen church members packed the renovated “café style” space to thank Mike and fellow troop members for their generosity and hard work. The renovations were done in time for the start of the school year, when the youth center will expand from serving 25 kids to 30, church officials said.

The youth center, which opened in 2006, is a non-profit ministry of the church with serves children between 11 to 15 years old who live in the area. Parents pay a fee to the church so their children can go there after-school and do their homework and play games in a supervised environment.

“God does certainly work in mysterious ways, and this room is truly an answer to prayer,’’ Romaine said. “….Besides being beautiful, this room will now be functional as well and be able to accommodate all 30 … members at one time.”

Mike, who also donated a sign to the center on Sunday, said he was glad to give back to a place where he had so many great times.

“I feel accomplished,’’ he said after a prayer dedication ceremony, which was attended by his parents, Patricia and Paul Zakrzewski, his younger sister, Victoria, and uniform-clad members of Boy Scout Troop 49 of Oakland .

More than 200 hours were spent by Mike, his childhood friends, and other troop members, spackling walls, drilling in new cabinets, installing countertops and assembling tables and chairs. The work was completed in a week.

“He planned it out, he measured it out, he decided how much materials to get, he called all the scouts, arranged them to come, and made the schedule every morning,’’ said Paul Zakrzewski, the troop’s scout leader who oversaw the project while it was being done.

OaklandSeen awarded by League, helps "makes democracy work ...

Jack London Square’s Scott’s Seafood Restaurant was the scene of the 20th annual League of Women Voters of Oakland All-City Luncheon on April 27, 2011. Following introductory remarks by League Co-president Katherine Gavzy, Mayor Jean Quan took the podium. To a sellout crowd of Oakland “movers and shakers,” Quan emphasized the political struggles she has faced and those of other women in politics, concluding that there is an urgent need for more women to enter the field. Turning to Oakland issues, she spoke of the upcoming city budget with its three recommendations based on city revenues http://bit.ly/kzOCxZ.

Councilwoman Libby Schaaf introduced the day’s program by announcing that, “If you are not reading these (Oakland) blogs, then you don’t know what’s going on in Oakland, what people are saying, what they are talking about.” She highlighted the passion and fervent emotions expressed in the blogosphere, noting that online local publications “post rollicking debate that is exciting and educational.” Clearly, many in the sold-out audience were as yet unaware of social networking and the many alternative news outlets on the internet, so Councilmember Schaaf’s remarks were a revelation to an older generation of political and media leadership in attendance at the event.

Schaaf then turned to the business at hand: the presentation of awards. OaklandSeen publisher Aimee Allison was first to receive a “Making Democracy Work” award on behalf of the OaklandSeen family of online subscribers, its managing editor Pamela Mays McDonald, and the growing community of contributors to OaklandSeen.

“OaklandSeen is known for showcasing positive stories about Oakland that often go untold, as well as publishing blogs written by elected and appointed officials about things they’re working on,” read the official program. The League award acknowledged the publication’s major accomplishments in barely a year of existence: OaklandSeen co-sponsored several mayoral forums in the 2010 election, providing public access to the candidates; published content from over 100 local contributors, giving voice not only to officials and organizations, but to grassroots citizens engaged in the process of improving our community; published up-to-the minute, around-the-clock content during the Oscar Grant/Johannes Mehserle disturbances, the 580 shooter chase and other major incidents; and built a vibrant online social network where issues are discussed and debated by citizens from all parts of Oakland.

Ceremony

Ceremony

Oakland, "Athens of the Pacific" : also facts and figures of Alameda County

Rethinking what works with offenders, probation, social context and desistance from crime

What works on Wall Street, a guide to the best-performing investment strategies of all time