Hometown Heroine! Danielle Mieler, the City of Alameda’s Sustainability and Resilience Manager, recently received a “Hidden Heroes of the Greenbelt” award [1] from Greenbelt Alliance, a non-profit that works to preserve open space in the Bay Area and help communities become resilient to a changing climate.
[2]Not only is Danielle working to implement the City’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, she also founded and co-chairs the Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC), a coalition of 30+ local, regional, state, and federal stakeholders and community-based organizations. OAAC partners work collaboratively to identify and implement actions to address sea level rise, protect and restore water quality, recreation, and habitat, and promote community resilience. Danielle notes that, “Alameda is a low-lying island in the middle of the bay. The climate threat is existential to us . . . and we feel and see the need to prepare and to build infrastructure for our communities [to] get us into the future and serve future generations.”
Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Danielle!
41st Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day
And, speaking of the environment, the 41st Annual Coastal Cleanup takes place on Saturday, September 20, 2025. (Did you know that this is California’s largest annual volunteer event?!!) You can help remove trash and plastic pollution at Robert W. Crown Regional Shoreline (Eighth Street and Otis Drive) and earn a Coastal Cleanup patch or sticker. Supplies will be provided—simply sign up, show up, and help out. All trash will be collected at the end of the event by Park District staff. Registration is requested, but walkups are allowed. Register online [3].
[4]Statewide Special Election November 4, 2025
There will be a Special Election this November to vote on proposed temporary changes to California’s Congressional District Maps. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters will begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots by October 6 and ballots can be returned by mail, at designated drop-off locations, or at the Registrar’s Office (1225 Fallon Street, Room G-1, Oakland).
If you are not yet registered to vote, or have moved since the last election, the last day to register to vote in this special election is October 20, 2025. You must be 18 years old to vote and it’s easy to register online at the California Secretary of State Voter Registration web page [6].
Your vote is your voice, and your power, as a citizen. Make your voice heard! Exercise your power!
Another gun violence tragedy
Last month in Minneapolis, two young children attending Mass before class were killed, and 18 other students and adults were injured, when an individual fired through church windows into the church. The shooter’s motives are unclear, and may never be known, but Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison noted the need for additional mental health resources to help eliminate these horrific incidents.
Alameda Family Services (AFS) provides mental health services, family support, and early childhood education programs. On October 6, 2025, AFS will launch a new Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), a facility-based mental health treatment program for adults and teens who are experiencing a mental health crisis. This eight week/three days per week IOP will treat all major diagnoses: depression, anxiety, trauma, bi-polar, etc. Patients will be accepted on a rolling enrollment basis and all major insurance will be accepted. For more information visit the Alameda Family Services [7] website or call 510-629-6300.
Like Minnesota, California has “red flag” laws, or Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs). These are court-issued orders that temporarily suspend a person’s access to firearms when they are found to pose a significant risk to themselves or others by having legal access to firearms or ammunition. California Attorney General Rob Bonta notes that GVROs can be used when friends, family members, co-workers, classmates, school employees, and others are concerned that someone they know may be at high risk of harming themselves or others with a firearm. GVROs are civil court actions and do not become part of a person’s criminal record.
In California, Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVROs) are a resource available to protect spouses, people in a dating relationship, cohabitants, or other family members. In addition to prohibiting the subject of the order from possessing firearms or ammunition, DVROs can prohibit the person from contacting or harassing the protected party. For more information about obtaining a GVRO or DVRO, visit Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and Gun Violence Restraining Orders [8] webpage.
Call 9-8-8
The 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 to provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. If you, or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress, please call 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained counselor who can listen, provide support, and connect you to resources. Help is available 24/7.
Be Green. Make Your (Voting) Voice Heard. Seek Mental Health Support. Be Alameda Strong!
Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft is the Mayor of the City of Alameda. Reach her at [email protected] [9].