The New URNA Newsletter! Vol. 2!

December 15, 2016
PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH A NEIGHBOR!

Greetings Upper Rockridge Neighbors,

URNA wishes all of you HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Yes, this is an extra edition of the Newsletter for December, mainly because we have news!

(This mailing is addressed to: Current and Former Members of URNA, Volunteers, Newsletter subscribers. Feel free to forward to anyone!)

1. OPD Meeting with all Associations: On December 3, we had a meeting with Captain Randy Wingate and FIVE neighborhood associations in Montclair. Much useful information exchanged and Cpt. Wingate was very helpful. Gordie will coordinate with surrounding associations too since we all have same goals and can learn from each others' processes... USEFUL INFO FROM OPD BELOW! Read it!

2. MEMBERSHIP DRIVE: We've seen a good number of people sign up for newsletters but we really need more URNA members to sustain/grow the patrols and cameras! You'll see door hangers for URNA on your door soon and please give to a neighbor if you're already a member. Any new Volunteers welcome to help market URNA and make us all safer!

3. Are you on NextDoor.com yet?! URNA has no formal relationship with the NextDoor.com web site (yet) but we urge you all to join that website to keep up to date on what's going on in the 'hood! Additionally, Oakland Police have accounts and often post useful info on crimes, statistics for our Area2, etc. You may only join the neighborhood of your house location and URNA spans several neighborhoods, so BE SURE to click on the Map and other surrounding areas to ensure that you see posts from them as well!

4. See the NEW MEMBER RATES below, and much useful information on our NEW URNA website!

IMPORTANT URNA ANNOUNCEMENTS

WHAT TO DO if you see suspicious people or experience crime:
At the meeting with OPD, Cpt. Wingate made it clear that we should call in all incidents that happen in our area for the simple reason that OPD resources are assigned by need. (OPD numbers are on our web site)
We also have a "Community Resource Officer" - did you know that? So, if you see a suspicious person you can call the CRO and for any more serious incidents, of course call the OPD. Don't forget that Full Members of URNA also get assistance and security checkups from our SC3 patrol officer Alex when he's on duty!
CRO Area2: Kristine Jurens communitypolicingbeat13@oaklandnet.com
Telephone: Still waiting to get this...!

Area 2 CRO Sergeant: T. Martin
tmartin@oaklandnet.com
Tel: 510-238-2008

OPD makes arrests in rival gangs likely responsible for crime in Rockridge area: At our 3 Dec meeting, Cpt. Wingate had been up late the night before making arrests on several gang members that were suspected in being involved in a variety of crimes in our area. Ironically, two of the gangs had been fighting each other and there were several murders in the past week of rival gang members, but this also allowed arrests after tracking the suspects in those. The sad news is that those gangs are quite large and operate in a variety of ways. So, more support from OPD and our own neighborhood security patrols is needed.

Volunteers/Board Members: We are always looking for more volunteers, and someone to help with community education and outreach. Please contact us if interested. You are also welcome to attend a board meeting at any time. New Membership drive starts this month. Full board meeting in January.
Tax Expert? We are looking for someone to help with Association tax returns...

Hours/Funding Update: SC3 patrols currently have added several weekend days and alternate hours on different days... Patrol hours are sent to members only. Please JOIN so we can expand hours! For every 12 or so new members we can expand patrol hours by roughly 10 hours!

Holiday Packages Delivery? Watch out!

With holidays approaching more packaged theft abounds. Patrols can help, but also check out the Holiday Safety Tips on the URNA Website on IN THE NEWS page...

BRAND NEW Website Launched!

CHECK OUT our new redesigned Website with many helpful tips and full information about URNA activities and Membership!

SAFETY TIPS/FAQS/NEWS ITEMS & More! Read our new Mission Statement...

Cameras: We have several cameras located at Village Market and looking into installing new license plate reader cams at strategic locations... As per advice from OPD, cameras may NOT be installed on public land and OPD has discontinued license plate readers despite their effectiveness in catching bad guys! (privacy concerns) We would like to install several license plate readers on member properties. FOR EACH 10-20 NEW MEMBERS we can pay for one license camera installation. If you are interested in having a camera on your property and have internet connection, please contact us.

Car Vandalisms increase: There have been multiple car vandalism incidents in Rockridge lately. This is a sad reality of our times. Some seem like random acts, but be sure to NOT LEAVE ANYTHING of value in your car if you are parking it outside on street to prevent break-ins. If you park in front of your house, consider a front-facing camera / signage or a motion sensor light. The new LED versions of the lights are quite bright!

New Membership Options: Please forward this newsletter to neighbors and anyone who might be interested. Check our new website for the URNA Patrol Coverage Map and Membership info. Patrol hours will be sent separately to members... THANK YOU.

BEST WISHES FOR THE HOLIDAYS FROM URNA! We with the very best for you and your families during this holiday season and looking forward to a safe and secure 2017!

NEW MEMBERSHIP LEVELS/RATES!

As announced, there are new rates for members! The biggest obstacle to getting the most out of our patrol services is membership! We NEED MORE OF OUR NEIGHBORS to participate. More members = more hours of patrol service (or cameras) = more safety for our area! We hope these rates will be attractive to all residents of Upper Rockridge!

We know that some of our neighbors have their own alarm service patrols and some areas have cameras. Pls Remember that we ALL benefit from our service. We now offer TWO MEMBERSHIP levels for URNA*:

FULL MEMBER: $35/mo*
ASSOCIATE MEMBER: $20/mo*

For full information about what features are included, please visit the website and see JOIN NOW!

**Rates are for new members and renewals after Dec 1.

Dear loyal existing URNA members: We of course appreciate it if you wait for your next renewal for the automatic membership rate decrease (and thanks for extra support!) or feel free contact us at billing@URNA-oak.org to pro-rate your renewal date or receive a credit for the lower rate if desired. Thx

HOW TO EMAIL US: We have created convenient aliases to contact URNA, as well as through the contact form on the website. Here they are:
info@URNA-oak.org -- General Inquiries or Membership Info
billing@URNA-oak.org -- Billing Matters
newsletter@URNA-oak.org -- Join Newsletter
outreach@URNA-oak.org -- To help membership drive
vacation@URNA-oak.org -- vacation watch request (Full members only)

Best Regards,
- Gordie, Brad, Craig, Ben, and Lori, Ryan, Melissa

ABOUT US/ABOUT THE PATROLS

The Upper Rockridge Neighborhood Association is a California nonprofit unincorporated association formed in the Fall of 2014, and is not organized for the private gain of any person. The Association is organized exclusively as a social welfare organization within the meaning of Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. See Website for List of Board Members.

SC3 Patrol officers are unarmed and do not use racial profiling. They are trained to observe and report suspicious or criminal activity. Their first response to any criminal or safety concern is to contact OPD, and then observe, report, and, when it is safe to do so, assist anyone in need.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY OR URGENT SITUATION, ALWAYS CALL 9-1-1 (from landlines) OR THE OPD EMERGENCY LINE (510) 777-3211 (from cell phones) FIRST.

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Upper Rockridge Neighborhood Association · 4427 Harbord Drive · Oakland, CA 94618 · USA