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Health & Fitness

News Roundup from the Mayor

Stories and comments on local news and events I wish to share with the community.

I hope you find of interest and useful this collection of stories on local news and events I wish to share with the community. Your comments and feedback are appreciated.

Police Chief Spagnoli Appointed President of State Organization

On Wednesday, May 25th, the California Peace Officers’ Association (CPOA) appointed San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli President of the 3,000 member organization for the next 12 months. California Peace Officer Standards and Training Executive Director Paul Cappitelli conducted the ceremonial swearing in during CPOA’s annual business meeting.

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In response, I issued the following statement:  “The City Council congratulates Chief Spagnoli on her appointment. We are extremely proud that her extraordinary talents, accomplishments and leadership within the law enforcement community have been recognized by the California Peace Officers Association.” 

Water Rescue Capabilities in San Leandro

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It was very sad to learn of the tragedy that occurred in the City of Alameda on Monday, May 30th, when a person apparently committed suicide off Crown Beach. According to news reports, budget constraints led to the canceling of the city fire department's water rescue program in 2009 and adoption of a policy restricting firefighters from entering the water.

If such an emergency were to occur in San Leandro, because our city contracts its fire services with the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD), there would be a prompt response. We have two response-ready rigid hull rescue boats in service in San Leandro. They are on trailers and ready for rapid deployment. One is located at Station 11 on Catalina Street and the other at Station 10 on Williams Street.  

Both rescue boats are equipped with state-of-the-art navigation, communication and rescue equipment. Personnel assigned to these stations train regularly in water rescue operations and are capable of responding to emergencies at the San Leandro Marina and in the San Francisco Bay.  

Strengthening Our Local Economy and Creating Jobs Through Export Growth

The Global Access Forum on Friday, May 20th, at San Leandro's new Senior Community Center was a great success.  The Forum from U.S. Export-Import Bank, the Small Business Administration,  and the U.S. Department of Commerce.  

The 100 attendees learned about federal financing mechanisms created to assist businesses increase their exports, as well as federal trade resources for identifying new markets. The panel of local business owners, including Hans Peter Michelet of San Leandro based Energy Recovery Inc., shared how they have used these programs and resources to increase their sales.

If you missed the forum, you can watch video clips of each presentation on the city website. Our city staff did a great job working with their federal counterparts in organizing and promoting the forum.  

City Recognized For Innovation In Voting Procedure

On the evening of May 20th, I was delighted to accept an award on behalf of the City of San Leandro from Robert Richie, the Executive Director of FairVote for the city's implementation of ranked choice voting in last year's municipal elections. I had advocated for ranked choice voting when the City Council debated the issue a year ago. Also honored at the ceremony was Steven Hill, who helped bring ranked choice voting to the Bay Area starting in San Francisco.

Not only did ranked choice voting work as advertised in our elections, ensuring that a candidate was selected in one election as opposed to a general and then run-off election, as San Leandro continues to use the system we will save considerable amounts in future election costs than under the prior election system.

Community Turns Out To Support San Leandro Hospital

On May 17th, we had an inspiring and merging it with Hayward's St. Rose Hospital. And it's great that the doctors and nurses of both facilities, the Cities of San Leandro and Hayward, our County Supervisors and State Legislators all fully support the plan. A resolution in favor of the merger proposal will be voted upon by the San Leandro City Council on June 6th.

World Cultural Celebration and Summer Reading Program Kickoff Coming

Everyone is invited to the World Cultural Celebration and kickoff for the San Leandro Library's annual Summer Reading Programs at the Main Library, 300 Estudillo Avenue, on Saturday, June 11th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

This is a great family event. Admission to the celebration is free and includes dazzling multi-ethnic entertainment and special fun for the kids!

Honoring and Preserving The Legacy of Japanese-American World War II Veterans

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to internment camps. As the war progressed, many of the young Nisei, Japanese immigrants' children who were born in the U.S., volunteered to serve in the U.S. military. 

Last month, a documentary, called the "Legacy of the Nisei Veterans," received its premiere at the San Lenadro Library before a packed crowd at the library's theater.  The outstanding documentary was created by San Leandro library employees Mary Beth Barloga and Addie Silveira. Funding for the project came from grants.

City Council and San Leandro School District Working Closely Together

I am proud to be, to my knowledge, the first elected Mayor of San Leandro with children attending our public schools while serving as Mayor. The City Council  had a great meeting in early May with the San Leandro School Board. Both entities are working together on the Measure M bond and other projects and issues. 

In my opinion, this harmony flows from the shared mindset that students are our children. They aren't the children and responsibility of solely the school district. Instead, our students are the children of San Leandro and we all must safeguard and promote their welfare.

The City-San Lorenzo Unified School District liaison committee has also met twice this year. For the first time in over a decade, the City Council and the trustees  of both school districts will meet in a joint session next Fall. We are also planning on hosting a San Leandro Conference on Children later this year. Details will be posted in the  summer. 

Think Green: Recycling Household Batteries

For ACI customers in San Leandro with used household batteries, you can easily recycle them.  Just place used batteries in a clear plastic bag on top of your blue container and the driver will retrieve them for recycling before loading the contents of your blue container into his/her truck.  

All the options for city residents to recycle their batteries (including residents served by Waste Management) can be found at http://www.sanleandro.org/depts/pw/es/household_battery_recycling.asp

Elected Vice Mayor of the Alameda County Mayors' Conference

Many San Leandro Mayors have served in leadership roles in the Alameda County Mayors’ Conferences. I am honored to continue this tradition as Vice President of the Conference for 2011-12. I look forward to working with my fellow Mayors and promoting the shared interests of our cities at regional, state and federal levels of government. 

Connecting on Facebook and Twitter

Let's connect on Facebook and Twitter. My Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Cassidy-Mayor-of-San-Leandro/179919198694403 and my Twitter account is at http://twitter.com/#!/MayorCassidy.

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