Remains of Oakland WWII soldier found and to be buried
OAKLAND
The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Robert Allen, a soldier killed in World War II, will be interred July 12 at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. The Allen Brothers Mortuary in San Marcos will hold a memorial service prior to the interment.
Allen, 20, a native of Oakland, was a crew member assigned to the 860th Bomber Squadron, 493rd Bomber Group in the European Theater of Operations. He was killed in action on August 18, 1944, when the B-24H Liberator he was serving on was hit by anti-aircraft fire after bombing a German position near Roye, France.
Allen was identified on September 19, 2023, by the U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency after soldier remains were excavated for laboratory analysis at a site near Boussicourt, France, in 2018. More details about Allen can be found online at bit.ly/3VPJsg5.
The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch of the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, plays a key role in locating family members of missing soldiers from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The process begins with locating the missing soldier’s closest family member (known as the primary next of kin), followed by a request for family reference samples or DNA, which serve as the primary source for identifying the remains.
Once a soldier has been identified by the Armed Forces Coroner, the Past Conflict Repatriations Branch notifies and informs the family of the results of the historical, forensic and DNA reports, the services and the post-mortem process, including burial with full military honours.
— U.S. Army Personnel Command
PIEDMONT
Homeowners are reminded to prepare their yards for fire season
While the grazing goats arrive in Moraga Canyon to remove dead grass on the mountainsides, it is time for local residents to prepare their own yards for fire season by trimming trees and shrubs, clearing flammable material, and removing dead vegetation around their properties.
The East Bay Hills have experienced severe wildfires several times over the past 150 years. These events, and recent wildfires across California, have taught us that our communities are best protected when everyone takes steps to keep vegetation under control around their homes. This helps reduce the spread and severity of fires when they do occur.
The gold standard for wildfire protection is to remove all vegetation within 5 feet of a home. Even if that’s not possible on your property in the short term, you can do your part and increase your home’s chances of surviving a wildfire by taking the time over the next few weeks to implement some of the simple protection measures listed below in your yard.
• Create space between plants and your home: Remove branches that hang over your roof or are within 10 feet of your chimney. Prune plants away from buildings. This buffer zone will protect your home and provide firefighters with an area to defend your home in the event of a fire. Keep at least 10 feet between tree canopies.
• Create space between plants: Prune trees so that the lowest branches are at least 6 feet above the ground, or three times the height of the shrubs below the tree. This will prevent fire from spreading from the ground into the tree canopy, where it can spread more quickly.
• Remove debris and flammable materials: Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds in your yard. Remove leaves and pine needles from roofs, gutters and the ground. Remove flammable materials such as paint or propane tanks from under decks and from buildings.
• Remove dead or dying material from plants: It is important that all plants in your garden are watered and well cared for. Remove dead or dying plants. If you have eucalyptus trees in your garden, remove any fallen bark or leaves.
Download a yard preparation checklist at piedmont.ca.gov/yardchecklist. If you need help determining what work needs to be done on your property, call the fire department at 510-420-3030 and request an inspection. Our staff is trained in best vegetation management practices and is happy to help you make informed decisions about fire-safe landscaping.
City staff will soon begin updating our Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, which includes long-term strategies to reduce damage to our community from natural disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes and floods. For more information and links to additional resources on preparing your property for fire season, visit piedmont.ca.gov/vegetation. For other related questions, contact the Piedmont Fire Department at 510-420-3030.
City seeks input on companies wanted in commercial areas
Help set future standards for the types of businesses allowed in Piedmont’s business districts by completing a short online survey.
The Planning and Building Department is working to streamline the permitting process for new businesses in Piedmont’s commercial areas along Grand Avenue and Highland Avenue. Citizens’ input will help staff understand what kind of businesses residents want to see. For each of the 16 possible business types, from dance studios to coffee shops to liquor stores, the survey asks:
• Do you think it should be allowed without public consultation, with restrictions or not at all?
• What should we consider when creating standards for this type of business?
Currently, any new businesses seeking to locate in Piedmont’s business parks must go through a lengthy permitting process that includes public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council. The time and uncertainty associated with this process poses a barrier to new businesses locating in Piedmont.
Your responses will help staff develop proposed updates to Piedmont’s zoning code that identify the types of businesses that would be allowed “as a matter of law” (without a public hearing) and the standards each type of business would have to meet.
For example, the code may define the permitted use of a café, but may also set standards for cafés with legal permission, such as not serving alcohol, not being open after 8 p.m., and not offering drive-thru service.
The preliminary study results will be presented to the Planning Commission at its next meeting on July 8 in a study session on zoning code updates, but no action will be taken. The Planning Commission and City Council will discuss and consider proposed changes over the next few months.
The survey is available online at piedmont.ca.gov/commercialusessurvey and takes just a few minutes to complete. After completing the survey, participants are eligible to win a $50 gift card to Mulberry’s Market in Piedmont. The survey will run through July 19.
This initiative is part of Piedmont’s work to implement the state-mandated Sixth Stage of Life Housing Element. For more information on the housing element, visit piedmontishome.org. For questions about permitted commercial uses, contact Associate Planner Gopika Nair at [email protected].
— City of Piedmont
OAKLAND
Lee praises US Surgeon General’s stance on gun violence
Democratic U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland on June 25 praised U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy for issuing a landmark warning on gun violence in America on Tuesday, declaring it a public health crisis.
In 2024, Lee, along with dozens of her colleagues, co-authored a bicameral letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging Murthy to release such a report to fill gaps in gun violence research and identify areas where data remains limited.
This comes as the Bay Area has faced several recent tragic cases of gun violence. Lee continues to use every federal tool at her disposal to combat the gun violence epidemic in her 12th Congressional District in California and across the country.
“In the year since my Democratic colleagues and I called on HHS to release a Surgeon General’s report, hundreds of mass shootings have occurred, causing irreparable harm and trauma to communities across the country,” Lee said.
“I am grateful to Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra for heeding our request and issuing this advisory to demonstrate that gun violence is a public health crisis – one that requires a whole-of-government response. Together, we must develop a renewed sense of urgency on this issue and mobilize elected officials to act and enact comprehensive reforms before more innocent lives are lost.”
Gun violence is widespread. More than half (54%) of U.S. adults or their family members have experienced a firearm incident in their lifetime. Over the past decade, the number of people dying from firearm injuries, including suicides, homicides, and accidental deaths, has increased. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. Learn more online at bit.ly/3VGHhvd.
— Office of U.S. Representative Barbara Lee
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