Books

Downey again rejects library renovation bids

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — Renovation of the City Library, expected to take 15 months, has been delayed as the City Council May 14 again rejected all bids for the job. New bids are due June 11, Assistant City Manager John Oskoui said.

Published

5 years ago

May 24, 2019

Arnold Adler

By Arnold Adler

DOWNEY — Renovation of the City Library, expected to take 15 months, has been delayed as the City Council May 14 again rejected all bids for the job.

New bids are due June 11, Assistant City Manager John Oskoui said.

Oskoui said the apparent lowest of nine bidders, TELACU Construction Management, which bid the project at $4.94 million, was challenged by the second lowest, AWI Builders, which bid $4.99 million.

AWI, the apparent lowest of 11 bidders, at the March 26 council meeting, was challenged by Cal-City Construction.

The library is slated for extensive interior renovation as well as exterior remodeling and will be closed for 15 months.

During the closure, some library services and programs will be conducted at other locations, including a temporary fire station at Bellflower Boulevard and Washburn Avenue; Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Ave.; and the First Baptist Church of Downey, 8333 Second St.

In a second major project May 14, the council approved plans and directed city staff to seek bids for two projects at Wilderness Park, 10999 Little Lake Road.

The project, estimated at $875,000, includes removal of water and sludge from two ponds and relocation of wildlife, Oskoui said in a written report to the council.

Oskoui said prior to upgrading the park, 2.5 acres of wetlands and animal habitat at the ponds must be drained of water, cleaned and the native wildlife must be protected and relocated.

The drainage project calls for removal and disposal of about one million gallons of water and one million gallons of sludge — plant and animal waste. The contractor must work with a wildlife relocation specialist to ensure animals, fish and bird safety, Oskoui said. He estimated the cost of the project at $800,000.

The second part calls for working with wildlife, bird and turtle rescue organizations to either adopt or release them, possibly to turtle and bird sanctuaries. The ponds must be aerated to ensure fish safety as the water levels drop. Food must be provided for the water foul. Estimated cost is $75,000.

Work on the two projects, financed by a $1.6 million grant from the San Gabriel Rivers and Mountains Conservatory, is expected to start in August and be completed in October, Oskoui said.

Once those projects are completed, work can start to upgrade the park, including the replacement of invasive plant species with native plants, installing a naturalized hardened shoreline plus a new aeration system to improve water quality and return animal wildlife including migratory birds, he said in the report.

The upgrade includes access to the 28-mile San Gabriel River Trail, running along the park, and educational signs for wetland and native habitat awareness, he added.

Funding of the upgrade will come from the 1% sales tax hike approved by Downey voters in November 2016.

That tax will raise about $7.5 million annually. Of that amount, $4.5 million a year has been leveraged to sell and pay off $50 million dollars in bonds to upgrade city buildings and parks.

Bond funds are being used to upgrade and expand all four fire stations, a number of parks and other municipal buildings including the library.

Arnold Adler

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

7 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Book Reviews

Book Review: Books for Poetry Month by Various Authors

Picture books for the littles are a great way to introduce your 3-to7-year-old to poetry because simple stories lend themselves to gentle rhymes and lessons. “See You on the Other Side” by Rachel Montez Minor, illustrated by Mariyah Rahman (Crown, $18.99) is a rhyming book about love and loss, but it’s not as sad as you might think.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

c.2023, 2024, Various Publishers

$18.99 – $20.00

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

On your hands, you have lots of time.

You can make a song, or you can make a rhyme. Make a long story, make a short one, write what you like, make it simple and fun. Writing poetry uses your imagination: you play with words, paint a picture. There’s no intimidation. Creating poetry can be a breeze, or just reach for and read books exactly like these…

Picture books for the littles are a great way to introduce your 3-to7-year-old to poetry because simple stories lend themselves to gentle rhymes and lessons. “See You on the Other Side” by Rachel Montez Minor, illustrated by Mariyah Rahman (Crown, $18.99) is a rhyming book about love and loss, but it’s not as sad as you might think.

In this book, several young children learn that losing someone beloved is not a forever thing, that it is very sad but it’s not scary because their loved one is always just a thought away. Young readers who’ve recently experienced the death of a parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend will be comforted by the rhyme here, but don’t dismiss the words. Adults who’ve recently lost a loved one will find helpful, comforting words here, too.

Flitting from here to there and back again, author Alice Notley moves through phases of her life, locations, and her diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in her latest poetry collection, “Being Reflected Upon” (Penguin, $20.00). From 2000 to 2017, Notley lived in Paris where she wrestled with breast cancer. That, and her life abroad, are reflected in the poetry here; she also takes readers on a poetic journey on other adventures and to other places she lived and visited. This book has a random feel that entices readers to skip around and dive in anywhere. Fans of Notley will appreciate her new-age approach to her works; new fans will enjoy digging into her thoughts and visions through poems. Bonus: at least one of the poems may make you laugh.

If you’re a reader who’s willing to look into the future, “Colorfast” by Rose McLarney (Penguin, $20.00) will be a book you’ll return to time and again. This, the author’s fourth collection, is filled with vivid poems of graying and fading, but also of bright shades, small things, women’s lives yesterday and today, McLarney’s Southern childhood, and the things she recalls about her childhood. The poems inside this book are like sitting on a front porch in a wooden rocking chair: they’re comfortable, inviting, and they tell a story that readers will love discovering.

If these books aren’t enough, or if you’re looking for something different, silly, or classic, then head to your favorite bookstore or library. The ladies and gentlemen there will help you figure out exactly what you need, and they can introduce you to the kind of poetry that makes you laugh, makes you cry, entices a child, inspires you, gives you comfort, or makes you want to write your own poems. Isn’t it time to enjoy a rhyme?