Coast Guard can receive financial help amid shutdown
In response to the current government shutdown, Sea West Coast Guard Federal Credit Union is offering interest-free payroll loans to active-duty, retired and civilian Coast Guard members in order to help them through any financial difficulty they may face as a result of working without pay.
Project Tree was created in 2016 when the publishers of the Alameda Sun, alarmed at the decline of Alameda’s urban canopy post-drought, offered Alameda Backyard Growers (ABG) $1,000 to buy and plant some trees. A fledgling program was designed to purchase and plant fruit and shade trees in private yards around town. Project Tree Phase 1 eventually proved itself a success by putting 34 new trees in Alameda soil.
The City Council is soliciting applications from residents who would like to serve on the Recreation and Park Commission, the Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB), and the Transportation Commission. Application forms may be obtained from the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Ave., Room 380, by calling 747-4800, or at alamedaca.gov.
Potential commissioners are encouraged submit applications to the City Clerk by Thursday, Jan. 31. Call the City Clerk’s Office with any questions.
Alameda Police Department’s (APD) Crime Prevention Technician Michaelia Parker, left, spoke with local businessman Tom Bierly during last Tuesday morning’s Coffee with a Cop at the West End Starbucks. Parker staffs APD’s crime-prevention unit, C.O.P.P.S., which stands for Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving. The coffee klatsch offered residents the opportunity to speak with police officers, ask them questions and voice their concerns about crime in the city.
Ocean Cleanup (OC) announced on New Year’s Eve that it has shut down its experiment to collect debris from the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” (GPGP) — a mass of refuse and debris known as a gyre. OC said that “structural malfunctioning of the cleanup system” has forced the company to return to Alameda earlier than planned.
“We will set sail as soon as an appropriate weather window is available,” OC stated.
