PTAs on steroids

In light of the recent discussions on the plight of schools in Alameda and the various efforts being undertaken to find a solution, this NYT article makes for interesting reading. Perhaps some of these tactics might be relevant in Alameda?

Last month, the Scarsdale Middle School PTA in Westchester County began posting podcasts of meetings on the Internet as a way to reach more parents, while the PTO at Squadron Line Elementary School in Simsbury, Conn., now has its own reserved parking space at the school. (To raise money for the school playground, parents bid each month for the right to use it.)

And in the Washington suburbs, the Arlington Traditional School PTA developed training manuals with past meeting minutes, treasurer reports, and program evaluations for its six vice presidents last year.

Yet another famous Alamedan: Frozone

Continuing the occasional series on Alameda/Alamedans.

No, hell hasn’t frozen over … nor are the rising sea levels threatening Alameda (not yet, anyway). The Chronicle has an article on the ice-skater playing the lead role in the Disney on Ice production of “Disneyland Adventures”.

In the show, Rodgers plays the character Frozone from “The Incredibles,” the best friend of Mr. Incredible, and a speed skater, as the Incredibles crew makes its way through Disneyland.

…

After attending Encinal High in Alameda then transferring to the School of the Arts in San Francisco for his final two years of high school, Rodgers went on to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he received his BFA in 2004.

Whilst I am perhaps a few dozen years older than the intended target audience of “Disney on Ice” and hence won’t be heading out to watch the show anytime, “The Incredibles” was a great movie and had some hilarious gag lines! Samuel L Jackson provided the voiceover for Frozone.

Consequences of a rising bay

That’s the subject of a report in the Chronicle, with high-res maps showing potential impact of rising sea levels across the bay area.

New maps show that neighborhoods and roads in many cities near the San Francisco Bay shoreline would be under water if global warming causes tides to rise as much as 3 feet in the coming decades, and officials say regions face key decisions about where people will be able to live and build.