Saturday, December 11, 2021 from 10am to 5pm

The Winter Stroll is an in-person event presented by the Solano Avenue Association. It will run the one-mile length of Solano Avenue from The Alameda to San Pablo Avenue (in Berkeley/Albany). Activities will include cookie decorating, gift wrapping (Girl Scouts), a Peralta Park Festival of Lights, parking elves, and a puppet show. Solano Avenue will remain open to traffic (not a closed-street festival). This event is rain or shine.

Date: Thursday, December 16

Time: 7:00-8:30 PM

You have a once in a decade chance to shape the future of housing in Albany.

The Housing Element is the City’s official policy statement for how Albany will meet its housing needs for the next eight years. All cities and counties in the Bay Area must update their Housing Elements by January 2023. As part of this process, Albany needs to demonstrate that it has the capacity to meet its “fair share” of the region’s housing needs, which has been determined to be 1,114 additional units by 2031. The Community Conversation will include a presentation of data on housing needs and conditions, an overview of what is covered by the Housing Element, and a chance for the public to weigh in.

With Winter comes wet weather and falling leaves on our sidewalks, driveways, and streets. It’s important to keep your storm drain clean and free of obstruction so that the City’s street sweeper can do a good job preventing seasonal flooding. 

Please contact the Public Works department for information about available sand and sandbags at (510) 524-9543. Thank you for doing your part to keep our City clean, safe, and free of flooding this season.  

A weekly COVID-19 testing site has recently been deployed at the Albany Community Center at 1249 Marin Ave. Testing is held on Tuesdays, from 9AM-4PM. The test is a self-administered shallow nasal PCR test and results are delivered directly 1-2 days upon receipt at Curative's labs. Visit cur.tv/albany or click the button below for more information.

In June 2021, the Albany City Council voted to set the default electricity option for Albany customers to EBCE’s Renewable 100 service starting in January 2022, furthering the goals of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan and signaling Albany’s commitment to curbing global climate change. Renewable 100 costs an additional 1 cent per kilowatt-hour above PG&E rates.

EBCE also offers their Bright Choice service, which is priced 1% below PG&E rates and is approximately 5% more renewable energy than PG&E. Customers who prefer to power their home or business with Bright Choice are welcome to do so by visiting ebce.org/albany and selecting “Choose Bright Choice,” or by calling 1-833-699-3223 during business hours (9AM–5PM on weekdays). Take action by December 22 if you prefer to avoid automatic enrollment in Renewable 100. Customers who are on CARE, FERA, and Medical Baseline programs will default to Bright Choice service automatically but can still choose Renewable 100. Customers can change their EBCE service or return to PG&E service anytime.

To learn more about your electric service choices, please visit ebce.org/compare-plans-residential/ or ebce.org/compare-plans-business/. Customers can also contact EBCE’s call center at 1-833-699-EBCE (3223).

The City of Albany Arts Committee invites artists to submit proposals for the Albany Creative Justice Art Project - the creation of a new public artwork that will actively engage residents of Albany in creatively addressing past, present and future issues of social justice in the city and region.

Applications are welcome from individuals as well as teams, collectives, and collaborators.

December 10, 2021 – March 7, 2022

Location: 1249 Marin Ave, Albany, CA

Art work from Linda Wong are on display this Winter at the Albany Community Center Foyer Art Gallery.

The word Kantha means “rags” in ancient Sanskrit. As a meditative practice, Buddhist monks traditionally pieced together scraps of cloth to make their robes. Early American quilts were made by stitching together old pieces of clothing using a variety of embroidery stitches. The idea of tearing something apart and reorganizing it in a new way is the inspiration behind Linda’s paper kanthas.

The colors and textures of the torn paper remind her of trees and landscapes. Once her printed pieces are set in place, she attaches them using various embroidery stitches. These embroidered “markings” add additional texture and color to her work. Creating these Kanthas has become a meditation practice for Linda. They are a way for her to offer gratitude to the natural world around us.

The Albany Community Center Foyer Art Gallery is supported by the City of Albany and managed by the Albany Arts Committee. The Albany Arts Committee sponsors four art shows per year and the exhibits run for approximately three months. The gallery has played host to wonderful & talented artists from Albany and our neighboring cities.

Security cameras can help provide critical information to help solve crimes in our community. Please consider partnering with the Albany Police Department by participating in the Security Camera Registration Program. Registering your information does not provide the Albany Police Department with direct access to your camera and you may delete your registration at any time. You will only be contacted by the Albany Police Department in the future if there is a criminal incident in your neighborhood or in the vicinity of your security camera.

Effective January 1, 2022, a new California state law (SB 1383) goes into effect requiring that compostable materials be kept out of landfills—including food scraps, paper, cardboard, and plant trimmings—to prevent the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In Alameda County the law is implemented under the Organics Reduction and Recycling Ordinance.

Residents must have curbside compost/organics and recycling collection service and sort materials into the correct bins. Compost/organics and recycling containers are available at no additional cost from Waste Management of Alameda County.

Businesses, institutions, and nonprofits as well as owners/managers of multifamily properties with five or more units must subscribe to compost/organics and recycling collection service, set up color-coded and labeled indoor bins (multifamily properties: common areas only), ensure proper sorting, and educate employees, contractors, and/or tenants about the law at least annually and during tenant move-in and move-out. Certain food generating businesses must also donate surplus edible food to food recovery (rescue) organizations or services instead of composting it.

The CDC recommends COVID-19 boosters for all adults who were fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least 6 months ago and a booster for all adults who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago. People can “mix and match,” or choose a different COVID-19 vaccine than their original series as a booster.

Find a vaccination clinic near you or call 1-510-208-4VAX (1-510-208-4829). Residents can drop by a location near them and don’t need an appointment at County-supported vaccinations Points of Dispensing (PODs) and most pop-ups.

Counter services at City Hall, the Community Center, and Senior Center are available in-person to the community. Appointments are highly encouraged. All individuals, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear face coverings when indoors in public settings.

To sign up for AC Alert go to http://ACAlert.org

Sign-up for the City of Albany’s E-Notification system and get information and updates going on Around Your Block.

City meetings are still virtual until further notice. Please see the City Calendar for all public meeting attendance and viewing options.

Arts Committee | Monday, DEC 13 | 7 PM

Climate Action Committee | Wednesday, DEC 15 | 7 PM

Housing Element Update | Thursday, DEC 16 | 7 PM