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Redwood City E-News
Building a Great Community Together
Issue #66 ~ March, 2009
(Back to index of all issues)
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Community Meeting to Discuss High Speed Rail Proposal
The California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has scheduled a community information/input meeting in Redwood City to talk about and gain input on the San Jose – San Francisco segment of this proposed electric-powered, high speed passenger rail system project. The meeting is scheduled for:
- Wednesday March 4, 2009, 7 – 9 pm
Veterans Memorial Senior Center
1455 Madison Avenue, Redwood City
It’s important for members of the Redwood City community to attend and participate! The CHSRA is soliciting public and agency input into the development of the scope of the environmental impact report (EIR) – so this is an opportunity for the community to directly comment on what issues should be included in the environmental documents. The CHSRA staff will be providing information on the proposed rail line, and on the possibility of having a station in Redwood City, and will be collecting comments about the scope of the EIR. The deadline for comments has been extended one month, to April 6, 2009.
Redwood City staff is studying the proposal in order to provide official comment, and ensure that the project EIR addresses the critical issues and impacts of the proposed project on the Redwood City community. It’s even more important that the people who live and work here in our neighborhoods take the opportunity to comment.
Public feedback regarding the HST Project can also be directed to the Authority by email (Subject Line: “San Francisco to San Jose HST” to comments@hsr.ca.gov) and transmitted in writing to the Authority (Mr. Dan Leavitt, Deputy Director, ATTN: San Francisco to San Jose HST Project EIR/EIS, California High-Speed Rail Authority, 925 L Street, Suite 1425, Sacramento, CA 95814) until the close of comments on April 6th, 2009.
For additional information regarding the meeting or the project, please call the San Francisco to San Jose project information line at: (510) 587-8640.
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Neighborhood Survey Shows High Levels of Satisfaction
The City of Redwood City periodically conducts a Neighborhood Survey as a means for the community to provide valuable feedback about satisfaction with City services, quality of life, community issues, communication, and other information - this helps the City to better understand the community's interests, concerns, and needs. The City also uses the survey results to help develop objectives for budget purposes as well as continuous improvement plans.
Our most recent survey was conducted in late 2008. There's a lot of interesting information in the survey - just a few quick examples:
- 92 percent of the residents surveyed reported that they are either “very satisfied” (59%) or “somewhat satisfied” (33%) with the quality of life in Redwood City.
- 59 percent of the residents surveyed reported feeling a "very strong" (22%) or "somewhat strong" (37%) sense of community - most often derived from friends living locally, their neighborhood and neighbors, and community programs and activities. An additional 27% felt a "somewhat weak" (22%) or "very weak" (5%) sense of community.
- More than 4 out of 5 residents are satisfied with City services, most notably "attracting people to the downtown,"trimming/maintenance of city trees," and "traffic law enforcement."
- About 3 out of 4 residents feel either “very safe” (39%) or“somewhat safe” (37%) walking in the downtown areas of Redwood City after dark.
- 4 out of 5 residents reported that they feel “very safe” (46%) or “reasonably safe” (34%) walking alone in their neighborhood after dark.
Go to this index page to see the full survey, as well as the Presentation Slides and Executive Summary.
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Join in to Build a New Playground in One Day!
More than 200 volunteers from Amgen and the community of Redwood City, along with organizers from KaBOOM!, will join forces on a single day - Saturday, March 7- to build a new, safe playground at Mezes Park. The new playground’s design is based on drawings provided by children who attended a Design Day event in January, and now this fabulous one-day volunteer project is about to take off! It’s just like an old-fashioned barn raising, but with a modern urban twist!
- Saturday, March 7
Mezes Park, 301 Standish Street, Redwood City
8:30 am – Kick-Off Ceremony featuring Redwood City Vice Mayor Diane Howard
11 -1 pm – Great time to visit and view the playground under construction
2:30 pm – Dedication Ceremony featuring Redwood City Mayor Rosanne Foust
You’re invited to join in as a community volunteer for the day, or visit during any part of the day as an observer. The playground build begins at 8:30 a.m. and the ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 2:30 p.m. Please join us! RSVP by calling 650-780-7252, or email dmonroe@redwoodcity.org. You can also RSVP online.
This is a great partnership between Redwood City, KaBOOM!, and the Amgen Foundation. Our KaBOOM! playground build begins early in the morning with volunteers arriving at an empty site; KaBOOM! leads volunteers in transforming the space to a vibrant neighborhood-gathering place, in less than eight hours flat.
KaBOOM!'s website is www.kaboom.org; Amgen Foundation's website is www.amgen.com/citizenship/foundation.html.
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Properly Dispose of Electronic Waste at E-Waste Event
Electronic waste (e-waste) is an ongoing problem for households and businesses. Many people aren’t sure what to do with their old unused or broken television sets, computers, monitors, fax machines, copiers, or other electronics. They know that these items are not suitable for regular trash or recycling, but then where are they supposed to go?
Periodically there are free e-waste events in Redwood City where you can just bring your old electronics for proper disposal. Some events are co-sponsored by Redwood City and others are by other parties, or are fundraisers. Here's a fundraiser e-waste event coming up in March:
- Free E-Waste Recycling - Saturday, March 7
10 am - 4 pm
Redeemer Lutheran School
468 Grand Street, Redwood City
Televisions, monitors, computers, faxes, copiers, printers, ink cartridges, videogame consoles, cameras, keyboards, mice, mp3s, vcrs, dvds, and more.
Visit www.neuwaste.com for other scheduled events and more information.
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Save Energy & Water With Free Home Energy Audit - and Volunteer to do the Audits!
Redwood City and Acterra are partnering to bring the FREE Green@Home program to our community! This great program brings trained local volunteers to your home to install simple energy-saving devices, give you tips and ideas for saving energy and water, and create an easy home energy conservation plan for YOUR home.
In just one short visit, the Green@Home volunteers will offer these great energy-saving upgrades:
- Provide and install a retractable clothesline
- Install three compact fluorescent light bulbs
- Optimize water heater and refrigerator temperatures
- Install faucet aerators and low flow showerheads
- Show you how to measure and adjust tire pressure
- Install up to five outlet or light switch gaskets
- Measure energy draw of home electronics
You’ll also get a comprehensive checklist of more steps you can take including no-cost, low-cost, moderate cost, and more significant investments in energy efficiency.
Sign up for your FREE home energy audit today - and you can also learn to perform energy audits and become a volunteer with the Green@Home program! The next Green@Home volunteer training with Acterra takes place March 11 & 25, from 6:15 - 9:45 pm
For more information and to sign up for your FREE Home Energy Audit call 650-962-9876 x350 / greenathome@acterra.org
For information on Redwood City’s environmental initiatives visit www.redwoodcity.org/coolcity
It's all part of Redwood City Verde - making it easy to go green!
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City Gets Grant to Use "Rubberized" Road Surfacing Made from Recycled Tires
The California Integrated Waste Management Board has awarded Redwood City over $175,000 to be used in our roadway resurfacing projects, when those projects utilize rubberized asphalt chip seal - a product that incorporates recycled auto and truck tires. It's a great way of recycling, and with this grant Redwood City is able to increase funding for our street projects.
From 2003 to 2008, Redwood City's road resurfacing projects used the equivalent of 60,371 used tires when we installed 3/4 of a million square yards of "chip seal binder" as part of our roadway management program. We're really doing our part to re-use old tires!
Used auto and truck tires have been and are becoming an increasing environmental issue. They take up a great deal of space at landfills, so much so that many landfills will no longer accept them. Tire fires can occur easily, and can often burn for months creating substantial pollution in the air and ground. And the tires themselves are an eyesore. The EPA estimates that about 300 million scrap tires are generated annually!
More and more, scrap tires are used to produce tire shreds and crumbs for new products, used in civil engineering applications, combusted as fuel, and recycled in rubberized asphalt.
Our Engineering and Construction Division is to be congratulated for leveraging this grant, helping to reduce the overabundance of scrap tires, and improve our roadways all at the same time!
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Library Gains Prestigious "5-Star" National Rating
Redwood City is very proud to announce that the Redwood City Public Library has received the coveted “five star rating” from the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service, a new public library national rating system instituted by the Library Journal.
This makes the Redwood City Public Library the top-rated library of any size in the Bay Area, and it’s one of the two top rated mid-sized libraries in all of California. Remarkably, there are only five libraries in California that achieved the five star rating, which is based on per capita measurements including number of items borrowed, number of visits, number and types of programs offered, attendance at activities, and level of public Internet use.
Redwood City’s Library system achieved this top-notch rating through the continuous hard work of the entire Library staff, and the support of the Library Board, the City Council, the Library Foundation, and the community. Visit www.redwoodcity.org/library
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