ALAMEDA
Doug Siden, an Alameda resident who served as an East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) Ward 4 board director from 1993 to 2017, passed away peacefully Jan. 7. EBRPD General Manager Sabrina Landreth issued a statement about Siden’s passing.
“Doug Siden was a champion for civil rights and a dogged advocate for access and social and environmental justice,” she said. “His efforts to support opening thousands of acres of shoreline and parks within the East Bay regional parks system is part of his legacy. He will be deeply missed.”
His advocacy efforts for the park district included ensuring access for all, supporting development of the Tidewater Boating Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland (near the city’s border with Alameda’s Bay Farm Island), extending the San Francisco Bay Trail in Oakland and San Leandro, securing funding to preserve Alameda’s Robert W. Crown Beach from tidal erosion and protecting and restoring the Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline in San Leandro. He also led successful campaigns for East Bay bond Measures CC and WW, which continue to fund much-needed regional park and community improvement projects.
Siden’s lifelong dedication to youth education, social justice and inclusion began in the 1960s with his service as a minister and marching alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Alabama on the historic walk from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery and with César Chávez in California on behalf of better treatment for farm workers.
He was a founding board member of the MLK Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland and chaired numerous conservation and community organizations. In June 2022, the EBRPD’s Crab Cove Visitor Center in Alameda was renamed in Siden’s honor. Also in his honor, the flags at EBRPD properties were flown at half-staff this month.
The East Bay Regional Park District is the largest regional park system in the nation, comprising 73 parks, 55 miles of shoreline, and more than 1,330 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and environmental education. The district receives an estimated 30 million visits annually throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the Bay Area.
— EBRPD
Get tickets soon for Kiwanis Club’s Feb. 1 chili fundraiser
Officials with the Kiwanis Club of Alameda (KCA) are excited to hold their annual Chili Cookoff fundraiser from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Al DeWitt Officers Club (Alameda’s “O’ Club”) at 641 W. Redline Ave. on Alameda Point in Alameda, for which tickets are almost sold out.
Featured will be chili tastings, a silent auction of merchant- and member-donated baskets, a full meat barbecue dinner and sides catered by Back Forty, live music, dancing, entertainment and an auction/raffle for high ticket items. Admission/dinner prices are $90 for adults and $40 for children 4 to 12.
Beer and wine will be sold during the event, and major sponsors include Black Stallion Estate Winery, Edward Jones by Dominic McKenna, Faction Brewing, Poppy Bank, Eastside West Realty by Becky Cusack, Joe & Kathie Barker and the Park Street Tavern. To purchase tickets, call 510-764-1472 or email alamedakiwanis@gmail.com. All proceeds will be distributed to Alameda nonprofits serving children, youth and families.
— KCA
Apply by Feb. 22 for $6K Van Sickle college scholarship
Applications are now open for the $6,000 Ken and Shirley Van Sickle Scholarship. This college scholarship is open to graduating seniors from the city’s public high schools who live in Alameda. Selection is based on a combination of academic achievement, leadership ability and financial need.
The scholarship is named in honor of Ken and Shirley Van Sickle, two distinguished educators who devoted many years to the education of Alameda’s students. Now in its 38th year, the scholarship was established by their son, Keith, an Alameda High School alumnus who later earned degrees at Stanford and Harvard.
Last year the scholarship was awarded to Z’haria Anderson and Sesina Haile, of Encinal High School, who are now enrolled at the University of Southern California and UCLA respectively. The deadline for applications is Feb. 22. The link to the scholarship application may be obtained from each high school’s counseling office.
— Keith Van Sickle
BAY AREA
See Jewish travel stories in new show starting Saturday
World Premiere! Traveler’s Prayer, a powerful new theatre show of true travel stories that explores the Jewish people’s place in the world in ways that will connect with everyone. Produced by The Braid, the go-to Jewish story company, the show features professional actors performing stories that move across the globe and into audiences’ hearts with laughter and tears.
It includes a hilarious story written by Emmy-winning writer Cindy Chupack (“Sex and the City,” “Modern Family”), a heartbreaking and profound one by New York Times-bestselling author Ellen Sussman and a surprising and wild tale from Mindy Myers (11-time winner of The Moth), plus many more true stories and live music performed by talented young singer-songwriter Rhiannon Lewis.
There will be two Bay Area performances: at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Palo Alto and 2 p.m. Sunday in Los Gatos, plus two live Zoom performances (11 a.m. Feb. 2 and 4 p.m. Feb. 6). Tickets are $45 for general admission and $20 for students or young professionals. More details are online at the-braid.org/bayarea.
— David Chiu, The Braid
To submit an item for our “In brief” section, please email it, at least three days before print publication, to njackson@bayareanewsgroup.com. Each item should be 90 to 180 words and include a short headline along with the name of the group or individual to credit for it.