Asphalt for Parking, Sidewalks for Walking

Since I fell in December, I've been hobbling around with a little help. First with the aid of crutches; and since about January by the use of a hand-me-down cane that used to belong to my father.

Without health care my rehab and physical therapy has consisted mostly of walking around town. Our being blessed with such nice weather this season, has made it a no-brainer, except for when I developed a bit of arthritis in my good knee.

I'm not quite ready to put the cane back in the closet for the next time I wrench a knee. But, walking IS getting better with more and more mileage I add to my tally.

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There've been a couple of things that I've observed the more I walk around town.

First off, the number of other people walking around with a third leg of some sort. We're not just talking about elderly either.

Before starting to walk with a cane, the most I'd really notice were those walking with a four legged walker. Now it seems like there are people with canes everywhere I go.

In fact, on one trip to church on Sunday, I saw no less then three other people in a span of three blocks of downtown Oakland walking with canes. All were in the 30-40 year range.

I'm hoping I'll shortly be at a point where I won't have to use it. But, having done so now for going on six months has created a fuller appreciation for those who are afflicted with permanent disabilities.

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The other thing that I've noticed is the continued encroachment on sidewalks by parked vehicles, especially in residential areas.

Years ago, a family friend was visiting our house. One morning he came out to find a parking ticket on his front windshield for blocking the sidewalk.

Mind you this was probably 15 years before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The driveway of my childhood home was pretty short by today's standards. However, it was also extra wide, with enough room for people to walk around the vehicle, with space to spare.

Flash forward to 2012.

Last year, Albany, CA's Planning & Zoning Commission took up a discussion about the narrow section of Washington Ave between Pierce Street and Gateview Avenue.

Not sure when it started. But, residents have taken to parking with the right wheels of their cars on top of the sidewalk.

The explanation given was that this was a narrow street, and if cars on both sides of the street parked legally, then there would barely be enough room for a vehicle to get through (especially a large SUV). People were basically concerned about their cars getting hit.

As I remember it, several options were to be studied. Making the block one way; keeping it two-way, but eliminating the parking on one side of the street; possibly others. I don't remember all of them off the top of my head.

That study must've went by the way side. Either that, or they've decided to continue to allow people to park illegally, because it seems like nothing has changed.

Being that this block of Washington is extremely steep the chances of someone using a wheel chair to go through are probably not great.

The same CANNOT be said for Pierce Street.

At least a couple of times a week I walk the full length of Pierce Street. For the most part people park legally. However, there's a narrowing of the street, north of Washington Avenue, right around Calhoun Street, where there are more than a handful of vehicles which seem to constantly park over the sidewalk.

Sometimes only a little. Sometimes taking up over half the sidewalk, leaving only enough space for a person to walk crabwise through. (Heaven help anyone who might be in a wheel chair. They would simply be out of luck!)

Big SUVs, vans and trucks, I might understand an owner's rationale. But, once there was a Mini Cooper which had more car on the sidewalk than in the street!

No matter how you try and rationalize it, illegal parking is…illegal.

The next time you pull your vehicle up over that curb ask yourself what it would be like if you, yourself, had a disability, and were forced to ride a wheel chair everywhere you go. (And also, check into Uninsured Driver coverage on your auto policy.)  

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In case anyone is wondering where I've been, I haven't given up blogging. I just decided to take the month of May off to recharge my batteries. Then I looked at a calendar today and realized I'm almost half way through June as well!

Hopefully, look for at least one new entry a week. More, if things come to mind.

movie review: The Call (2013)

(reviews may contain spoilers for those that have never seen the film or are unfamiliar with the characters.)

* * *

THE CALL (2013)

Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) is a 911 operator in the nerve center of a Los Angeles area emergency Call Center. She's on top of her game, handling call after call with coolness and ease. That is, until a momentary lapse of judgment causes a serious situation to go from very bad to even worse.

Shaken to her very core, she leaves the hectic front lines for the comfortable position of instructor. This wouldn't last.

While showing a new group of recruits around, she's drawn back into the line of fire when one of her previous recruits becomes flustered by a call, which seems remarkably similar to her very last call.

From this point forward we're taken on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs as police try and track down the latest kidnap victim.

Overall, the film kept me watching for its short 96 minutes, and I would have been happy to have seen the cat and mouse action stretch the movie out. Unfortunately, all stories have an ending, and it's in the ending where this film stumbles a bit.

Not only did the resolution seem unbelievable, and somewhat slapped together, the acting simply fell flat in the last scene.

All through the film the kidnap victim was frazzled and freaked out. Then, she somehow gains a backbone, which I found hard to swallow.

* * *

Berry gets top billing, and I'm sure people will be flocking to the theaters because this is being portrayed as another action movie for her. While she is definitely the biggest name on the screen, her character is just one part of the ensemble, and I'm not sure warrants the marque treatment she's getting.

When she is on screen, she plays the emotional scenes with great verve, capturing your attention, not only with her dialog, but also with the emotion in her eyes.

Sorry guys, but don't go to this film expecting to see her in slinky ultra-tight leather pants, or an orange one piece swim suit. She's matured enough in her roles, so she could trade that in for a comfy pair of blue jeans and a polo shirt.

This film's eye candy is Abigail Breslin, who plays kidnap victim Casey Welson. Breslin has come a long way since starting her career as Mel Gibson's young daughter in Signs (2002), or even more recently, as Emma Stone's younger sister in Zombieland (2009).

Happily, the film doesn't try to rely on Breslin's good looks, and she generally does a decent job as the naive teenager turned kidnap victim.

Our psycho du jour is Michael Foster (Michael Eklund). We never really get a firm grasp on why he is doing what he does. There's a quick montage of shots which makes an implication. But, the viewer is left to fully interpret them. Perhaps the creators felt it wasn't necessary since Foster's violence is what people will mostly take away from the theater.

At the helm was Brad Anderson, probably better known as a director on the small screen (Fringe, Boardwalk Empire).

While keeping us engrossed with the near constant action, he went too far with some of the violence and gore. One particular scene could have been stopped just before the blood started flowing, and it would have been just as effective.

Keeping pace with the action on the screen was a snappy soundtrack penned by Academy Award winning composer John Debney.

One other thing comes to mind. Perhaps the cell phone network of towers is more complete in Southern California, but it's sure not good enough to get the constant Five Bar signal strength seen nearly throughout the entire film.

Anyone who is plagued with the notoriously bad cell phone coverage we experience here in Albany, should be astounded by constant connection which facilitates much of the dialog.

* * *

The R rating is justifiably earned.

If you have an aversion to violence, gore and blood, or any combination thereof, do yourself a favor and skip this one.

It's not just one scene, and then you're safe. There are multiple scenes that could easily give people nightmares for days to come if they're bothered by that type of action.

RATED: 5.5 out of 10 STARS

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Nearby theaters currently showing The Call are the Shattuck Cinemas, UA Emery Bay 10 and Century 16 Hilltop.

A full listing of show times and locations can be found at Fandango.

A Community Tragedy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently our small community of Albany experienced a string of tragic events which have shaken our town to its core.

• 9/24 AUSD learns of allegations of inappropriate actions between teacher and student. Places teacher on leave
• 9/26 morning APD arrests teacher
• 9/26 AUSD notifies parents about classroom shuffling and announces parent-only meeting
• 9/26 8:17p Teacher formerly booked into Custody
• 9/27 morning Teacher released on bail
• 9/27 5pm  AUSD parent meeting addressing events
• 9/28  Teacher's 2pm hearing  postponed until 10/24
• 10/1 10:30a Sheriff receives call about teacher's death; body discovered along road in San Lorenzo
• 10/1 3:14p AUSD notifies parents of death, indicating would not inform students till next day
• 10/2 8:30a AUSD holds press conference regarding teacher's death

James Izumizaki, 28, was a teacher and counselor at Albany Middle School. Judging by the many comments left on Albany Patch articles by students and parents he was well liked and admired.

Interspersed with those positive comments were others vilifying the school district, police and Albany Patch - who was the news outlet which initially broke the story.

Many comments suggested AUSD was at fault for not investigating further before reporting to the police. It is NOT the responsibility of the school district to decide if police notification is warranted.

California Penal code places teachers and administrators among professionals REQUIRED to report such allegations to the police. (Penal Code § 11165.7). Furthermore, they could be held liable for not reporting (Penal Code §§ 11166(c); 11166.01).

* * *

Many comments suggested APD hastily arrested Izumizaki and that the plea for others to come forward was nothing more than efforts to fabricate a case.

At this point the public does not know what information police had prior to arresting Izumizaki. What should be assumed is there WAS enough Probable Cause to bring charges. Probable Cause does NOT equate guilt. It only means the police have something needing further investigation.

Izumizaki was obviously not considered a flight risk, or else bail would have been higher than the statutory minimum. Or a judge could have denied bail outright.

In fact, Izumizaki was released by the next morning, with notice to appear Friday. That hearing was then delayed three weeks. Having formal charges brought within seven days would have been unusual without damning evidence so a delay was not surprising.

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Comments have suggested that by Albany Patch providing ANY coverage at all it ruined Izumizaki's life. That this private matter was none of our business.

Arrest records ARE a matter of public record.

For right or wrong, teachers are held to a higher standard because of their contact with children. They are placed in a position of trust.

The mere reporting of a public arrest in no way takes a side, guilty or innocent. Are there news outlets which purposely drive an agenda? Absolutely. Do I believe Albany Patch was guilty of that? No. It ONLY reported what HAD happened, without editorial comment.

To see what reporting with editorial comment looks like, check out footage of Nancy Grace's coverage of the Casey Anthony Trial. For me she clearly biased even before formal charges were filed.

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Might Izumizaki's tragic end been prevented if things had been handled differently by Patch, AUSD or APD? Possibly. It's currently impossible for the public to say what Izumizaki's final act was motivated by. But, that does not make them libel for that act either.

Was the Albany Patch headline referring to "Lewd Acts" really necessary? Patch did not come up with that legal definition. It was merely citing the official wording used by the government. (At no time has Patch written a headline about Izumizaki with the word "molestation" as one commentator stated).

Was that a charged-sounding headline to use? Yes.
Was it deliberately used to imply Guilt? No.
Could the headline have been reworded to not include "lewd?" Perhaps.

However, the fact remains those were publicly available charges which any responsible reporter would have included, at the very least, in the body of the article.

Should commenting have been turned off on articles? Hind sight is 20/20.

I can understand the rationale on why public comments were allowed - To allow people an outlet to express feelings on a very serious situation.

In retrospect, comments seem to have accomplished nothing more than vilifying Patch, APD, AUSD, or the person alleging the improper relationship.

* * *

I've personally known two people who have committed suicide. One was because they were in the final stages of terminal cancer. That reason, though extreme, could be comprehended.

The other had been fighting an ongoing battle with mental illness. From what I understand intimate friends saw no outside appearances treatment wasn't working. Then one morning they simply found them dead. Two weeks before that I'd seen them smiling and happily dancing around.

No matter what drove him, the ultimate responsibility for the decision to take his life lies with Izumizaki.

One commenter would have liked to have heard Izumizaki's side of the allegations. By taking his own life, Izumizaki chose to remain silent, except for any parting comments he put in the note found inside his car.

It now rests with the Alameda County judicial system on whether they will release any contents from that note. Doing so could provide some closure to everyone involved, and it would be coming from Izumizaki.

My heart goes out to Izumizaki's family and co-workers. They will have to live with the knowledge of these events for the rest of their lives.

My heart also goes out the student who brought the allegation to light, as well as the students who are now confused after having nothing but good memories of the man.

I'm afraid this chain of incidents will be with us for weeks to come.