Talk:Piedmont, California/Archive 1

Needs Work
In particular, a history section. I started the section with existing tidbits. Contribute more. Tmangray 04:27, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Initial Comments
I was looking at the map of this little town, and I saw that Piedmont was surrounded on all sides by Oakland, making Oakland itself have a huge hole in it. Now, was Piedmont once a part of Oakland, and later separated itself from Oakland for some odd reason?

What, is the "affluent" community in Piedmont so afraid of calling themselves a part of Oakland? Give me a break!

Response--The City of Piedmont is a separate entity from Oakland. The Vatican is not the same as Rome.

Another Response:

Piedmont is and always has been a separately incorporated city in Alameda County. It has never been a part of Oakland. It is not unusual for a city to be "landlocked" by another city. (See a map of Beverly Hills, for example, which is completely surrounded by LA.)

Montclair, Glenview, Rockridge - these are all districts within Oakland. If you call the police or fire in those areas, the Oakland Police or Fire Departments will show up. Similarly, your kids will attend the Oakland Unified School District. In contrast, Piedmont has its own police, fire, unified school district and tax base, just like any separately incorporated city.

kleinheero wrote:

Hm, that is interesting that someone has said Piedmont was always a serparate city. I've done research in the Oakland Public Library's Map Room, and came across a picture of a group of people who lived in the Piedmont area, lobbying for the separation of Piedmont from the rest of Oakland. If only I knew that picture would be vital toward this page's debate...


 * I used to live in Berkeley, and I was repeatedly told that Piedmont had separted from Oakland. But I quote from the website of the City of Piedmont, which indicates the historicity of the municipality:
 * On January 7, 1907, Hugh Craig and James Ballentine filed papers with the State of California to incorporate a new city which was just 1.8 square miles in size. They called it Piedmont. The map they used for the new town was from the Piedmont Sanitary Sewer District and because the sewer lines were already underneath houses there are many homes which are now half in Piedmont and half in the City of Oakland. An election was held on January 26, 1907 and 118 men who owned land in Piedmont voted to become a city. Some people were unhappy with the decision and another election was held in September of 1907. One-hundred fifty-five men voted then, and Piedmont became a city because of just 10 votes! Fishhead64 22:26, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

winknnudge wrote:

I don't think that the City Piedmont had ever been a part of the City of Oakland. My understanding is that Piedmont was located in an unincorporated part of Alameda County before its residents voted to incorporate in order to avoid annexation by the City of Oakland. Before incorporation, it may have colloquially been referred to as an unincorporated part of Oakland due to its proximity to Oakland's borders at that time. Perhaps the issue came up for a vote due to the influx of San Franciscans to the East Bay as a result of the 1906 earthquake.


 * Piedmont seceded from Oakland under the leadership of Joseph Knowland.  I used to think this was pretty snotty but it looks like it was a pretty good idea.  The government of Oakland has been incompetent for generations.   Just check out test scores in Piedmont (Egbert Beech School -- 98th %ile) vs test scores just two blocks across the border in Oakland (Piedmont Avenue School -- 30th %ile).   Is there any question that that little imaginary border is the difference?
 * With the election of federal lobbyist Ron Dellums things are only getting worse. 2006 has the highest murder rate on record.   Oakland should be broken up into many smaller cities so people can break free of the corrupt central government and take back control of their local schools.  Oakaphobe 18:19, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

Another notable feature
The article lists some parks. Isn't anyone going to mention the public Rose Garden? I live in Oakland myself. Maybe a Piedmonter knows enough about the R.G. (and can cite a reference) to add something. Cognita 02:53, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Good idea. I'll add that to the article later. Hopefully with a photo as well. — Emiellaiendiay 07:43, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

Music
I'm considering deleting this section entirely, because it adds little valuable content to the article and is simply an opportunity for blatant self-promotion, personal attacks, and vandalism, as has happened repeatedly so far. A key aspect of Wikipedia is verifiability, and the section "Music" has failed in this regard so far. Deletion: any thoughts? — Emiellaiendiay 09:05, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I completely agree with the deletion of this section. I am a resident of Piedmont, and have not heard of the bands the section mentions.Thunk 04:10, 9 March 2007 (UTC)