Alameda briefs: Legal action taken against owner of Barnhill Marina

City and county offices filed a motion against Valley Investments over alleged unlawful tactics to force out longtime tenants.

ALAMEDA

The Alameda City Attorney’s Office, together with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, has filed an enforcement action against Valley Investments-Redwoods LLC and its manager, Amarpal Narang.

Valley Investments owns the Barnhill Marina & Boatyard in Alameda, a floating home marina with 56 berths. Barnhill’s residents, many of whom are low-income and older than 65, pay monthly rents to Valley and are tenants under state and local laws.

The complaint alleges that since purchasing Barnhill Marina in December 2021, Valley has used unlawful tactics to force out and harass longtime tenants. These tactics include drastically raising rents, interfering with the residents’ right to sell their houseboats and trying to strong-arm tenants into unlawful rent increases. Valley also continues to ignore the city’s rent control laws and multiple citations issued by the city.

The enforcement action against Valley and Narang alleges unfair and unlawful practices in violation of the California Unfair Competition Law; maintaining a public nuisance; and violating local laws that protect tenants, including retaliation, coercing tenants to waive their rights, failing to register rent-controlled units and failing to pay required fees.

“Valley’s egregious activities and willful noncompliance left the city no choice but to take legal action to protect the housing security of the over 50 tenant families at Barnhill,” said City Attorney Yibin Shen.

State and city law protects tenants against unlawful harassment by landlords and their agents. Management may not, in bad faith, influence or attempt to influence a tenant to vacate a rental housing unit through fraud, intimidation or coercion or interfere with a tenant’s right to quiet use and enjoyment of a rental housing unit.

The City Attorney’s Office encourages anyone experiencing similar or related violations to contact the Rent Program at 510-747-7520.

— city of Alameda

Group protests fossil fuel financing at branch of Citibank

Twelve volunteers from the group Third Act SF Bay Area (thirdact.org/bay-area) demonstrated recently outside Citibank on Alameda’s Santa Clara Avenue as part of a nationwide effort to persuade Citibank to stop funding fossil fuel infrastructure expansion.

With $333 billion in fossil fuel financing, Citibank is the second largest fossil fuel financier since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed. According to the “2023 Banking on Climate Chaos” report, Citibank funds projects in the Amazon rainforest, Canada, Alaska, the Gulf coast, the Great Lakes and globally, all of which disproportionately harm lower-income communities and communities of color.

— Third Act SF Bay Area

Dance festival happening this weekend at Radium Runway

For hardcore dance fans, curious adventurers and casual drifters, the free, family-friendly Runway Dance Festival will present a weekend of dance, music and stories celebrating the vitality and creativity of Bay Area dance from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Alameda Point’s Radium Runway.

Discover the works of leading Bay Area companies, Tara Pilbrow Dance (Alameda), Embodiment Project (San Francisco) and Post:ballet (Berkeley). Also, experience performances by youth companies from four of the Bay Area’s leading dance schools: Alameda Ballet Academy/Alameda Civic Ballet, Berkeley Ballet Theater, Roco Dance, and Shawl-Anderson Youth Ensemble/Shawl-Anderson Dance Center.

While you’re there, dine from the Locos Only Fusion Food Truck and grab drinks and snacks from the Radium Bar. Hosted by Radium Presents, the Runway Dance Festival is a part of Bay Area Dance Week, an inclusive celebration of movement and dance. Radium Runway is at 2151 Ferry Point in Alameda. For details online, visit radiumpresents.org/runway-dance-festival-2024.

— Radium Presents

Libraries to loan out laptop computers for up to three days

Officials with the Alameda Free Library system are excited to announce the launch of their brand-new Laptop Lending Program, bringing the power of computing directly to community members. The program is meant to remove barriers to technology by offering laptops for loan at the library system’s main, West End and Bay Farm Island branches.

Anyone who doesn’t have a computer at home can now check out a laptop for up to three days, perfect for learning new skills: Brush up your resume, take online courses, or prepare for that big certification exam; staying connected: Video chat with loved ones, manage social media or finally conquer that online job application; or entertainment on the go: Stream movies, catch up on the latest shows or explore the wonders of the Internet.

The library system’s popular Wi-Fi hotspots are the perfect companions for these loaner laptops, creating a mobile workstation wherever you roam. Also, the borrowed laptops automatically erase all personal information upon restart, ensuring your privacy is always protected.

Ready to check out? Laptops are available for loan and can even be placed on hold. Visit your local branch or the library system’s webpage at bit.ly/3vVV0Wo for more details.

— city of Alameda

S.F. music festival organizers working on sound mitigation

The Portola Music Festival is planned to return to San Francisco’s Pier 80 for its third year on the weekend of Sept. 28-29, and event organizers are working to mitigate the sound and vibrations felt in Alameda. Read more about these efforts and how you can share your feedback online at alamedaca.gov/RESIDENTS/Portola-Music-Festival.

— city of Alameda

Bette Center photo exhibit on display now through May 25

During the weekend of the full moon in February, 48 photographers were loosed upon this island for 48 hours, each assigned to document their assigned 1/48th of Alameda. The results of that weekend are now on display in the Frank Bette Center’s annual “Alameda On Camera” photo exhibit on display now through May 25.

The exhibit is dense with visual and emotional content providing visitors with images that are fondly familiar and provocatively peculiar. A disparate bunch, some of the participants had resumes and websites as photographers while others worked at all manner of blue-, white- and plaid-collar jobs. Some had been up-scaling their equipment and skills for decades while some were youths lit with a new fever for photography.

Picturesque Alameda provides countless opportunities for the visually hungry to feast. The city is steeped in history and has an eye focused on a progressive future, but the images shown here are timeless in that they all rely on universal elements of design, organization, color, value, focus and texture to share with the viewer a unique visual experience enjoyed during “Alameda On Camera.” For more information, visit bit.ly/3JjDkaa online.

— Karen Braun Malpas

Paw Prints fundraiser to benefit animal shelter, Bette Center

Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) officials and staff say they’re excited to announce their Paw Prints fundraiser, a chance to buy amazing, one-of-a-kind portraits of the animals you love.

Artists with FAAS and Alameda’s Frank Bette Center for the Arts will paint your pets from photos you supply, and the proceeds will be split evenly to benefit both groups. The cost of a portrait is $50 plus tax with an option for shipping.

The artist may create a watercolor or acrylic painting; a pen-and-ink, pastel or charcoal drawing; or a digitally altered photo. Your portrait will be finished in an 11-by-14-inch format. To participate, choose your favorite photo, visit frankbettecenter.org/order-a-pet-portrait online, provide payment information and upload a photo in .JPG format for the artist to work from.

The Bette Center will host a June 22 reception to view all the portraits, thank the artists and distribute the purchased pet portraits (they can be shipped to anyone who can’t attend).

— FAAS

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