Happy 2014! Do you feel, as I do, that the Year of the Horse is already galloping by?!! Here’s what I’ve been doing since my last newsletter.

Alameda Community Garden Work Day

On January 18, over 300 volunteers helped launch the Alameda Community Garden at the Alameda Beltline/Jean Sweeney Open Space Park, by weeding, mulching, building planter boxes and compost bins, and more. How exciting to see this long-neglected, 22-acre former railroad property being transformed into a community park that will include walking and bicycle paths, picnic areas and a community garden that will help supply the Alameda Food Bank. Special shout-out to Planning Board Member and architect, Kristoffer Köster who donated his services to design the Draft Site Plan, and showed up to help build planter boxes. Many volunteers told me that this community spirit is what they love most about Alameda. I couldn’t agree more.

Welcome to my Fall newsletter. Hope you had a pleasant summer. The City Council was on hiatus for the month of August, but has been back in full swing since then. We have new businesses coming to town, new sand for our beaches, and more. Here's what's been happening in Alameda.

Welcome to my latest newsletter. There’s a lot going on in Alameda these days. The Council has been hard at work on the budget, we’re making progress on the Beltline and at Alameda Point, and we’re bringing new retail and housing opportunities to the city. And of course there’s always time to judge a good old-fashioned sand castle contest!

Here’s what’s been happening in Alameda.

As I embark on my new role as your Alameda City Councilmember, I want to introduce my email newsletter, which I will use to keep in touch with you about what's going on in Alameda and at City Hall, as well as impending Council decisions and debates. I want you to have the opportunity to impact the actions taken by your elected officials before they occur. I also want you to know about specific projects I'm working on to make our city a better place. And most importantly, I want to use this newsletter as a conversation starter, to generate feedback and input from you about how best to move Alameda forward.

So here's what's been happening in Alameda.