Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 5

SUNDAY ebruary 24 2008 LOCAL REGION THE OAKLAND tribune NEWS 5 miccv RAY CHAVEZ Staff BUY a 4 year old female yellow Lab sits next to a mosquito breeding area after she found the mosquito bucket during a demonstration at Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District in Hayward on Thursday Labrador sniffs out water where mosquitoes breed xMML' I flinb I sWf I rfr a Buffy one of two canines aiding county abatement efforts By Karen Holzmeister STA WRITER HAYWARD Buffy she of the soulful eyes and silky fur Js the scourge of the mosquito world The 4 year old yellow Labrador called rhe Mosquito for nothing Buffy detects mosquito breeding water in Alameda County saving quite a bit of human detective work Buffy is one of two Bay Area dogs trained in mis type ol airborne scent work to combat the dangers of mosquito borne diseases such as West Nile virus The Mosquito Abatement District for which Buffy's owner and trainer Sharon Mead works is grateful District Manager John Rusmisel says Buffy a mos quito hunter for two years may be added to the payroll Her pay? ood and veterinary costs Lively and friendly at play and all business when wearing her dog" vest Buffy sniffs out foul smelling water from covered utility vaults crawl spaces of houses and pipes half hidden in hillsides i lie signal sue gives says i ms is it in case I see what she's Mead ex plained The signal? Buffy sits the easiest signal Hayward resident Mead could teach Buffy When she succeeds she always gets a food treat bought Buffy with this purpose in Mead recalled I went to the breeder's kennel Buffy left all the other puppies and went out exploring You could see her sniffing the An independent air tracking dog with a strong food drive the perfect combination for the quick and efficient mosquito searches Other areas in which dogs have been trained in scene work: search and rescue drug and explosives detection cancer detec tion and finding termite infestations in 11 houses To train Buffy Mead prepared water in the lab She used the same formula pre pared for traps that attract female mosquitoes looking to lay their eggs Mead created miniature mock ups of build ings with openings such as crawl space vents hiding bowls of stagnant smelling water inside for Buffy to smell The district is gearing up for its busy spring and summer season after winter rains So is Buffy not the only member of the animal kingdom helping the district ferret out mosquitoes The district uses flocks of chickens near remont Livermore and Moun tain House to detect mosquito borne diseases The blood is tested frequently in the spring and summer for virus antibodies and diseases Rusmisel said employees use lancets to prick the combs the red fleshy growths on top of the heads hurt them" he said "In fact they usually fall The district delivers mosquitofish free of charge to homes that need mosquito control im fish ponds The fish eat mosquito larvae 0 On the home front Places where mosquitoes can breed "i 1 Stormdrains 2 Holes in trees 3 Birdbaths 4 Swimming pools hot tubs ichnrtnde 6 Ram barrels Jarnr 8 Tires 9 Toys 10 Wheelbarrows acts about mosquito tax: What to expect: Ballots will be mailed March 1 4 to owners of 428000 properties in Alameda County Stamped return envelopes will be in eluded Ballots are due April 30 Election results will be announced May 1 4 A majority vote is needed for passage kThe current tax raises $800000 a year LTha innraoea tArvnld nkM it 4 Iw Uivnvwuv vvvuiM IUIOG QWVUl vpZL HHHIUI I CL yCCU Some proposed yearly assessments: Single family homes: $5 Condominiums: $3 I 1 1 0 fli Multi family residential over five units: $160 per unit up to 20 units and 50 cents for each additional unit Office: $710 per one fourth acre for first five acres1 then $710 per acre Commercial industrial: $250 per one fourth acre for first five acres then $250 per acre Vacant lots: $125 Agricultural land: four cents per acre Pests fuel tax increase initiative Rate may jump from $174 to $500 for single family homes By Karen Holzmeister STA WRITER Got an itch to vote? want to wait until the June primary comes buzzing around? I Relief is on the way A March mail ballot measure i will ask voters to raise an Ala meda County Mosquito Abate i ment District special tax i The Hayward based agency i and its 13 employees seek and eliminate mosquitoes from breeding sites They test and monitor for diseases carried by mosquitoes including West Nile virus 1 time we found 9000 mosquitoes in a trap in (re mom's) Coyote recalled District Manager John Rus misel Workers respond to service i calls in all of the county's cities and unincorporated areas with the exception of Albany The small city on the county's northern border never has joined the independent spe cial district created in 1930 to combat mosquitoes go there sometimes if we are going to Berkeley and people (in Albany) want mosqui tofish for their ponds" Rusmisel said guess the Albany mos quitoes can fly into Emeryville makes the most service calls for mosquito prob lems Berkeley Piedmont and Livermore make the most Te quests for mosquitofish to elimi nate mosquito larvae Livermore and Pleasanton have the most spections been a quarter century since voters approved the cur rent tax I Single family home owners as an example now pay $174 a year The single family home tax will increase to a maximum of time we found 9000 mosquitoes in a trap in Coyote John Rusmisel Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District Manager $5 if the mail ballot passes The special tax in varying' amounts also applies to other types of residential properties commercial and industrial par cels and agricultural land Assessments on all proper ties now raise nearly $800000 a year Voter approval for the spe cial tax would increase this amount to $2 1 million Total district revenue was $24 million in the 2007 budget year ending last June Property taxes make up about half of the district income followed by the nearly $800000 raised by the special tax The district assessed lower rates in the years immediately following the special tax's ap proval in 1982 The rate has in creased to the maximum amount such as the $174 for single family homes to cover West Nile virus costs and man dated district tax shifts to state education programs or information visit wwwmos quitoesorg call 510 783 7744 or mail acmadmosquitoesorg I 1 4 It I It i Genealogical Society marks 110 years of researching family IB he California Genea logical Society and Li brary located the JL historic Breuner Building in Oakland's emerging is a nonprofit all volunteer or ganization dedicated to aiding educating and encouraging re search in family history Re cords show CGS is the oldest continually operating genea logical society in California The group was founded eb 12 1898 in San ran cisco After close to 100 years there the society moved to Oakland in 1997 It has been located in the Breuner Building at 2201 Broadway for the past year said board member Chris Pattillo Earlier this month Pattillo and 140 or so family history buffs attended an all day seminar on uncovering clues to one's ancestry through his toric photographs pre senter was Maureen Taylor a well known expert who has combined her twin passions of photography and historical re search to help people unlock the mysteries of their past by examining the details of the images from long Pattillo said Attendees came from Throughout the region for the seminar which was held at the Hilton in Concord The society maintains a li brary with more than 30000 reference materials one of a kind indexes and databases as well as a Web site wwwcal gensocorg and news blog rThe group also offers a news Jetter (published bi monthly) by snail mail Pattillo added Annalee ALLEM The library is open for tours and research from 9 am to 4 pm Thursdays and ridays and 10 am to 4 pm Saturdays The Breuner Building is distinctive for its variegated sea green glazed terra cotta Arf Deco style facade It was constructed in 1931 to house the John Breuner Company furniture store founded by its namesake John Breuner (1828 1890) Breuner was a German cabinetmaker who came to California during the Gold Rush and later opened his first shop in Sacramento followed by additional stores in San rancisco and Oak land Several decades later sons Louis and John Jr moved operations to 22nd and Broadway despite the onset of the Great Depres sion to join fellow retailers HC Capwell and I Magnln and the grand and elegant Par amount and ox Oakland movie palaces records show By the 1950s there were seven stores in the Breuner chain in Stockton Richmond Berkeley and Vallejo In the 1970s the Oakland flagship store on Broadway was closed and sold off It later under went a major renovation by new owners and reopened as commercial offices in the late or the time it was con sidered an innovative adaptive reuse new home is located in the basement level of the Pattillo said A blown up photograph of a busy Broadway circa 1930 sits next to the library's front door or its March 8 mem bership meeting the society is traveling to the Oakland Re gional amily History Center maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 4766 Lincoln Ave Margery Bell assistant di rector at the amily History Center and an avid geneal ogist is scheduled to speak Bell has taught beginning and Intermediate genealogy classes at the center for several years and is the author of Upon Line: A Guide to Genealogy" Society President Jane Lindsey will also speak at the meeting She will review the various online subscriptions available to members To learn more about genea logical society activities and research services visit wwwcalgcnsocorg or call 510 663 1358 Annalee Allen's column runs Sun days in the Metro section Please visit us online at insidebayareacom 510 523 0628 Day Night AT WEBER PLUMBING MECHANICAL SERVICES Lie 562098 wwwcomfortdayandnlghtcom WHY BUY NOW? 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