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VOL. 20 NO. 1 ISSUE NO. 208 January 8, 2005! CIRCULATION: 5,100 RESIDENCES; 200 BUSINESSES
Sponsored by The Rockridge Community Planning Council • 5245 College Ave. PMB 311 • Oakland, CA 94618 • 644-4228
agenda:
RCPC Town Hall Meeting
Thursday, January 20, 7:00 pm.
Rockridge Branch Library
5366 College Avenue at Manila,
Community Room (Upstairs)
The Future of Rockridge
How do you want to see Rockridge
develop over the next 10 years?
Please join us at the January 20 Town
Hall Meeting to share
your ideas about
future development,
as well as to weigh in
on other important
issues that affect
our neighborhood,
such as transporta-
tion, traffic, parking,
crime, and parks and
open space.
s
hare your
ideas about
future devel-
opment, as
well as weigh
in on other
important
issues that
affect our
neighborhood.
In 2004, RCPC
responded to a num-
ber of proposed new developments in
Rockridge, including two new restaurants
along College Avenue and a retail complex
on Claremont Avenue. In addition, RCPC
is launching a planning process to explore
development opportunities under the
Rockridge BART station.
Oakland Schools Face Sweeping
Changes, Closings in 2005
Closures, charters, New Small Autonomous Schools
(NSAS) part of controversial solutions to OUSD ills
by Kerry Hamill, Member,
Oakland School Board
Smandate to re-make
troubled schools
contained in the
federal “No Child
Left Behind” act.
weeping changes are planned in the
Oakland School District in response
to the loss of 9,500 students in six years,
chronic academic underachievement, and a
Kerry Hamill
State-appointed
school district administrator Dr. Randy
Ward last week acted on two initiatives
which will overhaul the current complement
of 13 North Oakland schools. Ward will
close Golden Gate Elementary School at
6200 Golden Gate Avenue and Washington
Elementary School at 581 61st Street by
the end of this school year. A New Small
Autonomous (NSAS) Kindergarten-
through-8th grade school (a district school
— not a charter school) is currently being
Teacher’s union president Ben Visnic
surveys pickets protesting proposed
Oakland school closings. PHOTO: CY GULASSA
SCHOOLS CHANGES, PAGE 12
Who’s Got the Power? We’ve Got the Power!
What Kind of Power? Union Power!
In late January, the RCPC board will
hold its annual strategic planning retreat
where we will be setting policy on how
RCPC responds to development propos-
als and pursues development opportuni-
ties. In addition, we will determine our
program priorities for 2005. These are
important discussions, and we need to
hear from you.
The January 20 Town Hall Meeting is an
important opportunity for Rockridge resi-
dents to help set the direction for RCPC in
the coming year. We need your input!
by Cy Gulassa
Chanting Q&A riffs like “What’s dis-
gusting? Union busting!” and waving
picket signs at honking motorists, a group
of about 60 Claremont workers paraded on
the sidewalk outside the main entrance to the
Claremont Hotel at noon on December 18 to
protest stalled contract negotiations.
Pickets from Unite Here Local 2850 tell it
like it is at Claremont Spa: (fr left) Johnathan
Hintze, Ivana Krakcinovic, Lorraine Powell,
Marlo Savioni, Kelly Dunn. PHOTO: CY GULASSA
According to Claire Darby, a rally leader
and spokesperson for Unite Here Local 2850,
the boycott
UNION PROTESTS, PAGE 10
Rockridge Kitchen Tour 2005: Make Your Kitchen a Star!
The Rockridge Kitchen Tour seeks kitchens in Rockridge
for its October tour. If your classic or renovated kitchen
is ready to show or if the remodel will be completed by
this spring, please let us know.
Don’t be shy! Submissions may be directed
to Jennifer Edmister at toejrb@earthlink.net
or to RCPC at 644-4228, attention Kitchen
Tour.
Rockridge
Kitchens
2.
January 8, 2005
Infill and History at Temescal Place
&## !
, %+
Jeff Norman, Temescal artist, and Tom Dolan, Rockridge architect,
enhance “green” condo development with historical tributes
by Claire Wahrhaftig-Isaacs
It’s 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday,
December 15, at Lanesplitters
Pizza Parlor at 48th and Telegraph.
A lively crowd is enjoying beverages
and snacks. The group of developers,
residents, lookers-on, friends and
city officials moves as one across
the street to the new 25-unit, com-
pletely occupied, six-story condo
development named Temescal Place.
At 4811 Telegraph, it’s a handsome
and simple building.
The buzz is about Temescal’s
becoming “the” place to be.
Jeff Norman, artist, (left) and architect
Tom Dolan show off a photo (c.1895) of a
Telegraph Avenue streetcar, now part of a
historical display at Temescal Place.
PHOTO: CLAIRE WAHRHAFTIG-ISAACS
" ( (-'(&!( $ * "#) # % (' !
The Rockridge News, founded in 1986 by Don Kinkead,
is published monthly in Oakland and is sponsored
by the Rockridge Community Planning Council, a
non-profit public benefit organization founded to:
preserve and enhance the unique character of the
Rockridge neighborhood; promote the health, safety
and quality of life of its residents; furnish a forum for
community involvement, and provide leadership and
representation of neighborhood interests.
Rockridge News Production
Cy Gulassa ..........................Editor-in-Chief
Ortrun Niesar, Claire Isaacs
Jodi Schiller......................... Writers
Barry Kaufman...................Food
Jo Ellis...................................Advertising &
Councilwoman Jane Brunner is elated. Under quickly rigged bright lights on the
sidewalk, she states, “We are going BACK to the way we were in the 1880s in Temes-
cal.” She adds that the new building is a good development for the neighborhood and for
business and restaurants. Artist Jeff Norman, including the temporary historical plaques
for Temescal Plaza’s construction fence, the Temescal Post Office sculptural seated area,
and the public art for Fire Station 8, has once again made a place come alive with history
artistically presented. Yes, this is a great artist’s community.
Community Calendar
Theresa Nelson ....................Neighborhood Merchant
Lydia Gans...........................Photography
Susan Montauk...................Business Manager
Don Kinkead.......................Graphics & Layout
RCPC Board of Directors, 2004-2005
Daniel Ferdelman ..............Co-Chair
Deborah Weinstein...........Co-Chair
Jessica Pitt ...........................Vice-Chair
Mike Taylor..........................Secretary
Ehab Bandar........................Treasurer
Norman met with Ron Kriss and Roy Alper, developers of the building, two years
ago. At first they planned only an historical plaque acknowledging the site’s Italian his-
tory. This grew to include a striking black-and-white photo of old-time Temescal’s cable
car, conductor and gripman. “Here, Over Time,” is a series of 11 maps in the lobby that
document the site in chronological order from 1776, revealing how the Bay Area and
neighborhood have changed.
Jennifer Edmister, Cy Gulassa
Hiroko Kurihara, Susan Montauk, Mike McDonald,
While this is a private development and no art was required, Kriss, a broker at Lawton
Associates in Rockridge, and their facilitator, Patrick Zimski, were eager to honor the neigh-
borhood. So was architect Thomas Dolan, also a Rockridge resident. Dolan, a great believer
in urban infill, says, “Auto transit is a measure of dysfunction. One should be only 15 minutes
away from work by some form of transit other than auto — public transit, bike, or foot — or
the system is wrong.” An advocate of Smart Growth and a proponent of “green architecture
and urbanism,” Dolan is proud that Temescal Place has the largest array of solar panels on any
roof in Oakland. Because Oakland has designated Temescal a “growth and change” district,
they are allowed a 20-foot height variance to achieve greater housing density. “Merchants feel
density is their friend,” he said. He noted that BART is only 10 minutes away in two direc-
tions. The building is “contextual,” that is, it refers to details of nearby buildings, especially
one at 42nd St., and thus reflects the neighborhood.
Theresa Nelson, John Potis, Camille Reed
NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONS
Annual subscriptions to The Rockridge News
can be obtained by sending a check for $18, payable
to Rockridge News Subscriptions to: Rockridge News
Subscriptions at the address below.
CONTACTING THE ROCKRIDGE NEWS
Are there community issues you’d like to see
covered in The Rockridge News?
Do you have questions about newsletter
distribution?
Would you like to volunteer to be a Rockridge
News block captain?
Contact us at one of the following addresses or
telephone numbers:
Rockridge might do well to note this trend in neighboring Temescal. While Rockridge
has its restaurants and shops, one sees no effort here to adorn buildings with art or histori-
cal materials. Maybe it’s worth considering. At any rate, the feeling is lively and getting
much safer in this sister neighborhood, so close to Rockridge shopping. Do take a look.
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Editor: editor@rockridge.org
www.rockridge.org
The Rockridge News, 5245 College Avenue,
PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94618
RCPC Voicemail: 644-4228
Articles published in The Rockridge News may be
reprinted only with the permission of the Editor.
NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING/DEADLINES
Publication date of the next issue is
February 5, 2005
February deadline is January 20.
Advertising rates are $22/column inch. Six-month
pre-pay rate available. For display ads, call Jo Ellis
at 653-3210, or e-mail joellis1@hotmail.com.
(RCPC reserves the right to refuse any display or
classified ad that it deems inappropriate.)
3.
January 8, 2005
Neighbors Speak Out About
Pedophile Priests at St. Albert’s
Join DMV
Neighbors in a
Temescal Creek
Cleanup
by Lydia Gans
The Rockridge neighbor-
hood was in the news
last month – and it wasn’t
very flattering. St. Albert’s
Priory – which many of us
had once thought of as a
peaceful, friendly neighbor
— was recently revealed to
be serving as a treatment
center for priests accused
of pedophilia. The resulting
uproar — or was it just a tem-
pest in a teapot? — inspired
this Rockridge News reporter
to contact some of the prio-
ry’s neighbors for their reaction.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
9 a.m. to Noon
Please join the DMV Neighbors beside
Temescal Creek for a volunteer creek
cleanup. We will meet in the DMV park-
ing lot at Claremont and Cavour at 9 a.m.
Saturday, January 15. The DMV Neigh-
bors Association will provide coffee and
snacks.
SNAP demonstrators at the corner of Birch
Court and College Avenue protest housing of
priests at St. Albert’s Priory who are undergoing
treatment for allegedly molesting children.
Volunteers will weed, rake, sweep,
prune, cut back the ivy and pick up debris.
The City of Oakland Public Works Envi-
ronmental Services Division will supply
gloves, garbage bags, and tools (loppers.
rakes, hoes, brooms, litter pickup sticks,
etc.). If you have a favorite tool for these
activities, please bring it with you. Be sure
to label your tools. Wheelbarrows are espe-
cially useful. The creek bed may be wet,
so boots are recommended.
PHOTO: CY GULASSA
nity against their predation,” she said. “And
that’s not right. When you’re an admitted
pedophile and your order is paying major
restitution to victims on your behalf, at that
point I think you’ve lost some of your claim
to privacy. It wouldn’t be beside the point
to post their pictures and their names on St.
Albert’s website.”
Details were aired in several newspaper
articles and Channel 7 reports. Of the 21 men
residing at the priory, seven are priests who
have reportedly admitted to sexually abusing
children. Apparently they were transferred
there a couple of years ago under a cloak of
secrecy. The flurry of media coverage and a
flyer distributed by SNAP (Survivors Net-
work for those Abused by Priests) has made
most of the priory’s neighbors aware of the
scandal. Interestingly, residents expressed a
wide range of opinions about St. Albert’s
priests.
A Harwood Avenue mother of three said
she was shocked by the news but not wor-
ried about her children. “The bottom line
for me is disclosure. We all have a right to
know.” Her husband agreed: “I don’t feel our
children are at risk.”
Please join us. It always looks so much
better after our morning of “yard” work.
Sponsored by the DMV Neighbors
Association and the City of Oakland
Environmental Services Division. For
questions: Margaret, 655-1767.
Another woman said that her children
have many friends in the neighborhood
and “go in and out of people’s houses,” but
she was not overly concerned. “If it’s true
they’re in therapy and that it’s been a long
time since they offended and that they’re
doing the work that they need to do, I sup-
port that,” she said.
People spoke quite freely, but only on the
condition that their names not be printed,
and they consistently expressed anger over
the church’s secrecy on the matter.
One person who has spoken vehemently
and publicly is Annette Floystrup, the first to
inform me of the situation. She is outraged
that these priests are here and that their pres-
ence was not disclosed. “The order’s primary
focus has been to protect the privacy of these
men; it has not been to protect this commu-
pen
Orees.com
T
A web-based
local business
A mother of grown children was ambiva-
lent. “I don’t think these people should be
getting off at all… they have committed
a crime and they should be subject to the
laws of the state.” But then she added, “They
haven’t bothered me; they haven’t bothered
the community; I guess I can say, what’s the
harm? If somebody does get harmed then
should we say, I told you so?”
Brand-name camping gear Affordable prices
On Chabot Road, I met with a couple of
parents who were unconcerned but suggested
that this might be a good reminder of the
importance of parents being aware of what
their children are doing and who they are
associating with.
ST. ALBERT’S PRIESTS, PAGE 7
4.
January 8, 2005
Sparks Fly As Gulassa Sworn In to Peralta Position
by Claire Wahrhaftig-Isaacs
Oconflicts of interest, violation of procedures,
lack of vision and poor judgment. The Board
sat with frozen faces while many in the audi-
ence of 200 or more cheered the critics.
by EBMUD Director Bill Patterson, Gulassa
said that his decisive win was a mandate to
bring new fiscal accountability and open
decision making to the district. He plans to
urge the new Board to revisit the Laney land
decision in January. Dignitaries at the event
included members of local school boards,
BART, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee.
ne might think of a swearing-in of a
new public officer as a rather pleasant,
cheery event. But before Cy Gulassa and his
fellow new Peralta College Board trustees
even took their oaths, a series of speakers
utilized the open forum of the meeting of
the outgoing board to berate a last-minute
contract award.
Mills and Peters suggested that the
board’s decision violated the Brown Act,
because it was not properly noticed to the
public. They faulted the outgoing board for
not educating the public about this proposed
action and the fact that the resolution was
passed without the public, faculty or
students having information or input. They
claimed the lands are needed for athletic
activity and future growth. Such a huge
building project would bring increased
traffic, stymie any future college growth
and turn Laney into an “urban jungle,”
they said.
The other three Trustees, Marcie Hodge,
Bill Withrow, and Nicky González Yuen,
were then sworn in.
Just before Thanksgiving, with little
notice, the old Board granted an exclu-
sive one-year contract to create a plan for
developing the Laney College parking lot
and adjoining lands. No faculty or staff, not
even the president of Laney College, had
received prior notice of the proposal, and the
Board voted on the item even though it was
labeled “discussion only”. A parade of angry
speakers, including faculty union president
Michael Mills and Laney football coach
Stan Peters, admonished the old board for
As the new nameplates were placed on
the podium and the old removed, the new
Trustees and three holdovers sat down to
do the college’s business. Soon Gulassa was
taking notes, scanning papers and sipping
water like a pro.
But most of the audience was there to
enjoy watching favored candidates take their
formal oaths of office. After being sworn in
Help Improve Literacy: Become a Head-Start Storyreader
W
ant to pick up great story-reading
skills and encourage a new gen-
eration of readers in Oakland? Volunteer
storyreaders present weekly storytimes to
preschoolers at one of Oakland’s 20 Head
Start centers, introducing children to the
pleasure of stories and inspiring excitement
about books and reading. In a comprehen-
sive storytime class that begins Tuesday,
January 18 at the Rockridge Branch Library,
participants will learn the art of storytell-
ing from Gay Ducey, whose storytelling
talents have been featured on the Mister
Rogers show.
can College, Santa Rosa College, UCB
Extension and her alma mater, the Uni-
versity of California at Berkeley Library
School. She is the former co-chair of the
National Storytelling Association, and is
co-founder/director of the Bay Area Sto-
rytelling Festival.
Training Dates:
Volunteers must attend all dates.
Tuesday, January 18
6 pm-8:15 pm
Wednesday, January 19
6 pm-8:15 pm
Thursday, January 20
6 pm-8:15 pm
Tuesday, February 1
6 pm-8:15 pm
All training will be at the Rockridge
Branch Library, 5366 College Avenue. Bilin-
gual volunteers are especially needed.
Wednesday, February 2
6 pm-8:15 pm
Tuesday, February 8
6 pm-8:15 pm
For more information or to reserve a
spot, call 238-7453.
Saturday, February 12
10 am-2 pm
New volunteers must complete a series of
seven classes focusing on how to select and
share wonderful books and present engag-
ing storytimes for preschool children ages
three to five. Training dates and locations
are listed in the accompanying schedule;
volunteers need to sign up in advance
and attend every meeting to complete
the course. Books for Wider Horizons, a
program of the Oakland Public Library,
facilitates both the training course and the
volunteer program.
“Wishing you a very
happy New Year and
a prosperous 2005!”
Instructor Gay Ducey is the Children’s
Librarian at the Rockridge Branch of the
Oakland Public Library. Ms. Ducey serves
as professor of storytelling for Domini-
5.
January 8, 2005
Biker Cops? In Rockridge? Vrooom!
Nestled side-
by-side, 13 police
motorcycles hug
the curb next to
the Claremont
Diner, a clean, well
lighted place.
Sheriff’s
Department
motorcycle
training officer
Rich Cademartori
explains why
all these cop
motorcycles were
cruising Rockridge
recently.
PHOTOS: CY GULASSA
by Cy Gulassa
Tof vrooooms.
for an intensive, two-week course in basics
at the Dublin police training campus, which
yearly graduates over a hundred trained
motorcycle officers.
“What’s up?” I asked the captain.
“Motorcycle school,” he said, zipping up
his red jacket. “After this lunch break, all
these rookies’ll head for the hills, a little
training on canyon and ridge roads, sharp
turns, U-turns, figure-8s, formations, stuff
like that.”
he sight of a baker’s dozen of gleaming
police bikes at parade-rest on Florio
Street beside Rockridge’s Claremont Diner
on a recent December Saturday was enough
to slow pedestrians and invite several dog
walkers to gawk. One Rockridge resident,
prudently restraining his terrier from making
its mark on a motorcycle, wondered aloud,
“Who’s patrolling the highways if a whole
brigade of cops is fueling up at the same
time?”
Why were they in Rockridge?
“Well, it was their first off-campus
outing and they were training on upper
Lawton Avenue on how to park a bike on
a steep grade with rolled gutters,” Cadem-
artori said.
It turns out that the “sheriff” is actu-
ally retired Oakland police officer Rich
Cademartori, Temescal-born-and-raised,
who is the official Lead Motorcycle Instruc-
tor for the regional training center of the
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Students
come from all over the Bay Area, he said,
including Napa and Santa Clara counties,
So what’s so special about the Claremont
Diner? There always seems to be lots of
cops here.
Barely was that question posed when
someone who looked like a sheriff out of
central casting emerged from the diner,
swinging wide the stainless steel door,
a strapping six-footer with silver hair
and moustache, a grandfatherly face and
hands that could crush walnuts if the need
should arise. A stream of cops followed
him, like church letting out. They chat-
ted, stretched, adjusted sunglasses and
helmets and mounted their Kawasaki KZ
1000s, which brayed a thunderous chorus
“Simple. Great classic food, good ser-
vice, a nice clean environment.”
What do cops eat nowadays?
“Used to be hamburgers when I was a
cop, but now some even go for tofu.”
Cademartori saddled up and took the
lead. One-by-one the rookies peeled off after
him, roaring up Florio Street in thunderous
single file. Bringing up the rear was instruc-
tor Tom Ryan astride a vintage Harley, a kind
of caboose to the train of fresh cadets.
! ! ! "
! "
!
6.
January 8, 2005
Peaberry’s, Politics & Tea
Earl Grey in the Ascendant
by John Gussman
“Thank God for tea! What would the world be without tea? How did it exist? I am
glad I was not born before tea. I can drink any quantity when I have not tasted wine;
otherwise I am haunted by blue-devils by day, and dragons by night.”
— SYDNEY SMITH (1771-1845), EDITOR OF THE EDINBURGH REVIEW
Lynn Mallard, the proprietor of Peaber-
ry’s Coffee & Tea Company, began with
a background in chemistry. She entered the
artisan coffee and tea trade in the early
1980s, working for Peet’s in Berkeley. Later,
she decided to strike out on her own, and in
1989 opened a shop in Market Hall.
in Austria, Germany, or Britain.
Forty years ago, Earl Grey tea was less
often seen than now. When one did come
across it, it was always loose, and usually
packed in a dusky yellow tin bearing the
name of Twinings. Since then, however,
Earl Grey tea has spread far and wide, even
to small towns and truck stops.
Charles, Earl Grey
advance on Philadelphia in 1777, and who
was later raised to the peerage. During
the 1780s, the younger Grey, spurning the
family’s Tory traditions, entered the House
of Commons as a Whig, at a time when the
Whigs (forerunners of the Liberal party)
were in decline. In Parliament, Grey was
a firebrand, agitating for reform of the
electoral system and against the abolition
of home rule in Ireland.
Seated in her Emeryville tasting room
some months ago, Lynn discoursed on the
subject of tea as she measured tea leaves
onto a scale, preparing for a tasting session.
She spoke about Earl Grey tea, and the vaga-
ries of the leaves and the blends. Peaberry’s
introduced its own
Earl Grey tea blend
in 1997.
With the spread has come diversification.
Until lately, the typical Earl Grey, at least
in the United States, was a conventional
mixture of Chinese and Indian black teas,
strong and robust, and easy to balance
against a strong
bergamot scent.
But today there are
Earl Grey blends of
every type, using
leaves from nearly
every tea-growing
region in almost
every
imagin-
able combination.
Green teas are
seen in Earl Grey
blends very often,
and even (rarely)
white teas.
“Earl Grey,” of
course, refers to
a tea which has
been scented with
bergamot.
The
bergamot (citrus
bergamia) is a kind
of small, inedible,
pear-shaped orange,
mostly grown in the
Reggio di Calabria,
a coastal region
of southern Italy.
Each winter berga-
mots are harvested
and peeled, and
the peels are cold-
pressed to produce
a greenish oil with
a grapefruit- or lavender-like aroma.
During 1806-7, the Whigs gained control
of the government, and Grey became Foreign
Minister, winning passage of legislation to
ban the slave trade throughout the British
Empire. Fresh from this triumph, and now
acting as Whig leader in the House of Com-
mons, he called for abolition of the religious
tests which prevented Catholics from being
commissioned as officers in the Army and
Navy. This so outraged King George III that
he dismissed the Whig ministry.
The historian Lord David Cecil
describes Grey as “a shy, reserved, grand
seigneur of unbending principles and dis-
tinguished manners.” H.W.C. Davis states
that he “loved to sally forth… to deliver a
rousing speech… [defending] the liberties of
British subjects, or the rights of oppressed
peoples…. On such a subject he was grace-
ful, incisive, even eloquent; his gestures and
his delivery were consummate.”
The blends are
now often accented
with lavender or
other petals — a
French innovation
— or with leaves
or blossoms from
the bergamot tree itself. Peaberry’s Earl
Grey, for instance, owes its uniqueness
partly to the blending and balancing of
Indian tea leaves and bergamot, but partly
to wild blue mallow blossoms.
Who Was Earl Grey?
S
Lynn Mallard, of Peaberry’s,
displays a bergamot in the tasting
room. PHOTO: JOHN GUSSMAN
Earl Grey tea is traditionally prepared
by placing a quantity of tea leaves in a large
blender or drum, squirting oil of bergamot
into the drum, and rotating the drum so that
the oil mixes with the leaves. The tea then
sits for some days, while the oil settles in.
Later, when the leaves are steeped, they
produce an infusion with a smoky or citrus-y
fragrance and a complex taste which many
tea drinkers find delightful. Some tea sellers
blend and scent the tea themselves, while
others have this done by wholesalers, usually
Grey soon succeeded to the top party
leadership, as well as to his father’s earldom,
and entered the House of Lords. For the next
23 years, however, since Grey refused to
join any coalition in which his party was
not dominant, the Whigs had little influence
on affairs of state.
trange to say, this scented tea which has
proven so versatile was named for one
of the most inflexible — though one of the
most progressive — British politicians of
the nineteenth century. Charles Grey (1764
-1845) was the son of General Sir Charles
Grey, a British commander who led the
All this changed in 1830, when an ultra-
conservative Tory government collapsed
CONTINUED TOP OF NEXT PAGE
7.
January 8, 2005
more in the body of the house, should stand
more upright, and raise his arm — (which
no Englishman does, and all foreigners do)
from the Shoulder, and not from the Elbow.
But he speaks beautifully, and is a torch
among tapers.” (Letter of Dec. 6, 1831.)
British diplomat in China was responsible
for saving the life of a mandarin. The grate-
ful mandarin sent Earl Grey a quantity of
scented tea, along with the recipe. Grey later
asked Twinings, the London tea firm, to
replenish his supply, and the tea was often
served in his household.
Earl Grey, from previous page
amidst outbreaks of mob violence in the
rural counties and widespread discontent
among many branches of society. At the
request of the new king, William IV, Earl
Grey agreed to become Prime Minister at
the head of a liberal coalition.
Unfortunately, the Lords refused to pass
the Reform Bill without mutilating it. Grey
and his cabinet then resigned. With civil
unrest spreading through the country, and
the Tories unable to form a government, the
King had to consent to create enough new
liberal peers (lords) to ensure passage of
the original Bill. On the next reading of the
Bill, rather than see their numbers diluted,
enough Tory peers abstained to allow the
Reform Bill to pass.
While Earl Grey held sway in Westmin-
ster, the tea that now bears his name was,
simply, black tea from China, scented with
citrus oil (whether from bergamot, or from
the oriental bitter orange, we cannot be sure).
China had a monopoly on the tea export
trade to Europe; the first chests of Indian
tea did not reach London until 1839.
The Grey ministry pushed hard for a
Reform Bill which would extend the elec-
toral franchise to the middle class and
abolish the “rotten boroughs” (obsolete
electoral districts). The House of Com-
mons, in a state of fright, quickly passed
the Reform Bill, and it went to the House of
Lords. There, Grey himself led the debate,
reviving (says Lord Cecil) “for the wonder
and delight of a new generation, the stately
splendors of eighteenth-century oratory.”
The whole matter is more complicated
today. It is no longer just a question of
sending word to Twinings: now there are
hundreds of Earl Grey blends, with new
ones appearing all the time. How is one
to choose?
Grey’s ministry, which lasted only four
years, also got Parliament to abolish slavery
within the Empire and to make it unlawful
for children younger than 12 to work in
factories for more than 9 hours a day.
After the debate, the Rev. Sydney
Smith, a celebrated literary reviewer, tea
afficionado and close friend of the Prime
Minister, wrote to Lady Grey: “Lord Grey
should stand further from the Bench and
NEXT MONTH: Choosing from
And the tea connection? As the story
goes, while Grey was Prime Minister, a
a multitude of Earl Greys.
St. Albert’s Priests
with their lives.”
Several people questioned the wisdom of
having so many pedophiles in one setting.
One suggested that having as many as 7 out
of 21 priests with the same problem might
cause them “to think they’re normal.”
Other residents on Presley Street voiced
their anger about the secrecy.
from page 3
“It probably would have been fine if they
had said something ahead of time. But if you
didn’t tell us, it sort of (implies) that you
were hiding something,” one person said.
A neighbor remarked that the men
living at Siena House on Presley Way,
which is affiliated with St. Albert’s, have
been great neighbors. When they walk by,
“they’re cordial, say hello, and are not overly
friendly,” she said. Although she has small
children, she said, “We don’t feel threatened.
Apparently it was all in the past and there
are different takes on whether they can be
rehabilitated. You have to let people get on
The issue that seemed to rile most neigh-
bors was the Church’s silence. As the SNAP
flyer declared: “Parents and neighbors need
honest answers. Enough secrecy!” As I write
this, several meetings are planned. And I
have to end with an all too familiar state-
ment: I called St. Albert’s to get their input
but they did not return my call.
Another Presley Street resident expressed
stronger feelings. “It’s just another example
of the Catholic Church’s attitude of hiding
things, covering them up, being secretive
and in denial… and the whole foolishness
of celibacy.”
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8.
January 8, 2005
Crime Reports in Rockridge
female, armed with a silver gun, told the
victims to “Give me that” before they took
their purses. The male was described as
black, 25 years old, 5'11" and 160 pounds.
The female was described as black, 30s,
5'7" and 170 pounds.
by Susan Montauk, NCPC Vice Chair
Rchase and they believe the man they took
into custody, 45 year-old Derric Lewis, is
the Oakland Hills cat burglar.
ockridge residents were victims of a
variety of crimes and scares during
the month of December and they reported
them to the Rockridge Neighborhood Watch
Network, an on-line Yahoo! group. Here’s
a sample:
During the burglary crisis, hills resident
Steven Fox helped establish a block-by-block
e-mail/phone network to disseminate
reports about the burglar’s
activities in his neighbor-
hood. These new lines of
communication have galva-
nized many citizens to lobby
for better police protection.
In November and December,
Mayor Brown held a series of
open forums for citizens to air their
concerns about crime. Hills residents
and others throughout Oakland spoke
to the need for more police resources to
devote to burglary investigation (there is
only one OPD staffmember to follow all
leads on burglaries in Oakland).
CRIME WATCH: A possible pattern of rob-
beries developed in mid-December and
involved victims walking to and from
Rockridge BART. One male and one
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: With OPD resources
at a minimum, citizens can help protect
themselves by keeping in touch about
crime and suspicious behavior in their
a mountain lion sighting in upper
neighborhoods. Rockridge residents
Rockridge;
can join the Rockridge Network
a theft of bicycles from Elizabeth
Yahoo! group by logging on to
House by a group of male teens;
www.yahoo.com and searching
a tree-pruning scam by a well-spoken
for Rockridge Neighborhood
man who goes by the name of John
(see Letters to Editor, page 10);
Watch Network.
Rockridge residents are
also invited to attend the monthly
Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council
meetings to report specific concerns and ask
questions of community-policing officers.
The greater Rockridge NCPC meets the
third Tuesday of each month (next meeting
January 18) at the Temescal Library, 5205
Telegraph Avenue, at 7 pm. More infor-
mation about the NCPC can be found on
www.rockridgencpc.com.
attempted mail theft (call the Postal
Service at 415/778-5911 to report
mail box tampering);
home burglaries on Ayala, Harwood,
Bryant and Lawton.
The Oakland hills cat-burglar has appar-
ently been caught. Beginning in July, this
daring criminal engaged in a months-long
spree of about 60 home burglaries in that
neighborhood. Orinda police apprehended
a suspect on October 28 after a three-hour
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A S S O C I A T E S
R E A L E S T A T E
B R O K E R A G E
9.
January 8, 2005
Nomad Café Owner: “Community Hero”
by Cy Gulassa
Iservice, being involved in the community,
and respecting workers—even if it shrinks
the first bottom line. In short, when it comes
to business philosophy, he holds that if busi-
nesses nurture rather than exploit the com-
munity, residents will willingly support them
even if prices may be slightly higher.
n mythology, those who rise above self-
interest to face great odds for the benefit
of the community are commonly anointed
heroes. In that spirit, Christopher Waters,
owner of Nomad Café at 6500 Shattuck
was dubbed “Community Hero” by Coun-
cilmember Jane Brunner at her December
Community Advisory meeting celebrating
sustainable businesses.
The Brunner proclamation honors
Waters for being a community leader, creator
of a “thriving small business and a friendly
crossroads for the neighborhood,” and for
designing the café’s “proactive recycling
and composting programs [that] divert 12
tons of waste per year from local landfills.”
These business practices earned him the
State Waste Reduction Program (WRAP)
of the Year award, and certification as a
Green Business by the Alameda County
Department of Environmental Health.
No, Waters does not rescue damsels
lashed to train tracks or deflect incoming
meteors. He does something far more heroic.
Risking apostasy, he joins those who believe
that business should have two bottom lines,
one for taking something out of the commu-
nity (profit), and one for giving something
back (sustaining it) by, among other things,
protecting the environment, giving good
Nomad Café Owner Christopher
Waters receives “Community
Hero” award from Councilmember
Jane Brunner. Waters is also a
volunteer gardener at Rockridge’s
Peralta Elementary School.
The café serves organic vegetables and
only Fair Trade organic coffee and organic
tea, and is famous for its sandwiches,
smoothies and desserts. With free wi-fi
access, a place to park toddlers, outdoor
tables, hip staff and a sleek, glassy design,
Nomad is a great place to read, type that term
paper or just hang out.
PHOTO: CY GULASSA
"SHOULD YOU
SAVE FOR YOUR
KID'S COLLEGE
OR FOR YOUR
RETIREMENT?
OR BOTH?"
In addition, Christopher Waters is a vol-
unteer parent gardener at Peralta Elemen-
tary School where he teaches children about
native plants, growing cycles, composting,
nutrition, and making dye for weaving.
Complete architectural
services since 1970
$$
$
5278 College Avenue
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 654-6755 fax 654-3424
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10.
January 8, 2005
Union Protests from page 1
Letters to The Editor
The Rockridge News
5245 College Ave., PMB 311
has several objectives—to get management back to the table to
negotiate health benefits and back pay for the three-and-a-half years
members have gone without a contract. The protesters also want Spa
employees to be able to unionize. “Today’s picketing is to remind
the old management and the new one coming in that we will never
stop boycotting until we get a just settlement,” Darby said.
Oakland, CA 94618
or e-mail: editor@rockridge.org
The Rockridge News welcomes letters to the editor. Please limit to 200 words
and include name, address and a phone number for verification. Only your name
will appear with your letter. Letters may be edited for clarity and brevity.
Many businesses have supported the boycott, including Kaiser
Permanente and the Port of Oakland, causing a major loss of income
that forced KSL, the owner of the Claremont, to sell its holdings last
February to CNL Hospitality. KSL, however, will continue to serve
as the interim manager.
TREE TRIM/YARD WORK SCAM ARTIST IN ROCKRIDGE
Editor:
Okay, he comes to the door, tells you that he is working down
the street, is almost done and wants to know if you would like to
have your trees trimmed. He is probably in his late 30s, early 40s,
has light skin and eyes and a close-shaven head, good build. He
says his name is John Niu, that he is Tongan. He is well spoken,
seems like a good guy, even tells you that he is a good man. He has
no business card with him but he gives you his telephone number,
has tools and talks knowledgeably about the trees. He quotes a
price and asks you to pay him in cash. You hire him and he starts
to trim the trees. The first tree looked pretty good, I thought.
Meanwhile, the pickets marched on, some still wearing their
waiter uniforms, chanting in Spanish, “¡Escucha! ¡Escucha! ¡Esta-
mos en la lucha!” (“Listen, Listen! We are in a struggle!”). They
rattled wooden clackers and beat their picket signs with sticks. A
few Oakland police officers stood near their vehicles, squinting into
the bright winter sun.
He worked for me one afternoon, then showed up on time the
next morning. He then worked until noon, at which time he said
he needed to be paid so that his brother could get the car out of
the shop and come to pick up the branches. I paid him the amount
we had agreed upon. We had also begun to talk about working on
my fence. He started to take the fence apart, said he had the wood
and I should advance him some of the money for that job so that
he and his brother could get started on it this afternoon. I paid
him a portion of the agreed upon sum for that job and he left to
get his car, or so I thought. Thing is, he never came back.
General Dentistry
I called the two numbers he had given me and they are bogus.
I called a neighbor for whom he said he had worked, and she knew
immediately who he was, and that he had done the same thing to
her as well as another neighbor across the street. He works until
he has your confidence, gets whatever cash he can in advance and
then leaves the leaves and disappears.
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People need to be warned or they are going to be out of some
serious cash. At least five or six people here know what he looks
like and how he operates.
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11.
January 8, 2005
The Rockridge Muse by Claire Wahrhaftig-Isaacs
Living your Dance,
Sarita Berry,
Loretta Dorsett,
Judy Job, Yoshiko
Kukado, and dance
teacher Joanna G.
Harris.
Dancing your Life
When Ortun Neisar, who writes
this column, asked me to fill
in during her unusually busy holiday
season, I wondered how I could best
serve our Rockridge News readership. So
I was thrilled to learn from Harwood
resident Yoshiko Kukado that Joanna
Gewertz Harris is teaching dance for
older adults at the Shawl- Anderson
Dance Center, on Alcatraz just east
of College. Shawl-Anderson, you may
know, is a first-rate serious dance studio.
Many greats of the dance world, such
as Charles Weidman, May O’Donnell
and Margy Jenkins, have taught master
classes there, and currently Reginald
Savage uses it as a home base.
PHOTO: CLAIRE
WAHRHAFTIG-ISAACS
Dance in the P.E.
Department. She
invited me to her
class at Live Oak
Park. I was much
younger then, and
very self-conscious
about my body.
She taught me that the figure is less
important than the attitude. She herself
had the wrong shape for ballet, so she
switched to modern dance. She studied
with such legends as Martha Graham,
Duncan Dance, Jose Limon, Hanya Holm,
Anna Halprin, and Merce Cuningham in
New York City, where she grew up in
the Bronx. It’s not surprising that she
just returned from the Big Apple, where
she gave a lecture on Jewish modern
dance history; she’s part of it.
What is unique about this
class is its cooperative
and creative atmosphere.
We support one another,
encouraging, not challeng-
ing or competing…
Joanna starts each class with a simple
body warm up. Then after stretches, we
work out a dance pattern and practice
it. We do both barre and floor work,
using all parts of our bodies gently but
firmly. Finally, we develop and expand
the dance patterns while encouraging
personal creativity. We also work in
pairs, lines, and circles, and finish
with a simple cool down followed by
meditation.
Singing Your Song
A public announcement
S
Joanna has taught dance, dance
history, and dance therapy at such places
as Mills, Lone Mountain College, and
Carnegie Institute of Technology. She’s
an accomplished arts administrator with
experience at the New Pickle Family
Circus, Dance through Time, Stagebridge,
Aurora Theater, and the Oakland East
Bay Symphony. She’s worked as an artist-
in-residence here and abroad and has
written critical reviews. Presently she is
Project Director of Bay Area Dancing,
1915- 67: Beyond Isadora?
ACRED & PROFANE, a chamber chorus
based in Rockridge, is looking for
voices in all sections for its 2004–05
concert season.
What is unique about this class is its
cooperative and creative atmosphere. We
support one another, encouraging, not
challenging or competing, not showing
off our figures, our strength or agility.
This is a class for people mostly between
50 and 80. (The 80-year-old is Judy Job,
a renowned local dance teacher herself
who runs the decades-old legendary
Peters-Wright Studio in San Francisco
in the Haight, and loves to work out
with Joanna.) The purpose is to have
fun while experiencing well-designed
exercise. There is no pressure to jump
or run or do anything that could damage
joints, muscles, or bones. It is safe for
seniors and others who have not been
exercising recently. For this full-figured
writer with her hip replacement, injured
knee and old back problem, this class is
a miracle of fun and gradually improving
agility.
In February, our winter concert will
celebrate the Songs of Solomon throughout
history and in spring our May concert
will be All Swedish, all a cappella. Our
concerts will take place in Berkeley,
Walnut Creek and San Francisco.
If you are an experienced singer with a
healthy voice and a great attitude, please
join us for this extraordinary concert
season. Rehearsals are Monday evening
in the Oakland/Rockridge area. S & P is
a small, fine-tuned chamber choir that
enjoys singing high quality repertoire
in a supportive, fun, and challenging
rehearsal environment.
This dynamic woman could inspire
a snail to dance. She makes it natural
and clear.
We are fortunate to have such a
vivid and accomplished individual right
around the corner. Do join us. Joanna’s
class is held each Tuesday morning from
9:30 to 11 a.m. Park early. Cost is $10
per session. Give it a try. These days I’m
dancing with delight. You can, too!
Auditions will be held in January. To
schedule an audition, please contact Sacred
& Profane at 415/602-2492, or e-mail
the director at seeman@usfca.edu. For
more information, please visit our Web
page at http://www.sacredprofane.org.
For information, phone/FAX Joanna
at 653- 8111 or e-mail joannagharris@
comcast.net.
Best of all is our teacher. I first met
Joanna in the 1960s, when I worked at what
is now Cal Performances and she taught
12.
January 8, 2005
Schools Changes
1999 (58% in 2004 versus 28% in 1999).
However, according to district data, our
enrollment has been on a consistent tra-
jectory downward since 1999, and the
enrollment loss has occurred primarily
within the African-American community.
While most private schools and districts
across the state record fewer students,
no losses compare in scale to Oakland’s.
Undeniably, the city’s skyrocketing housing
prices are driving out many poor families,
and charter schools now educate more than
4,000 families.
While most private
schools and districts
across the state record
fewer students, no losses
compare in scale to Oak-
land’s. Undeniably, the
city’s skyrocketing housing
prices are driving out many
poor families, and charter
schools now educate more
than 4,000 families.
from page 1
“incubated” and will open at the Washing-
ton Elementary School campus next fall.
Danielle Neves, a Westlake Middle School
assistant principal, has been named as the
school’s new principal. All six North Oak-
land preschool and after-school programs
currently housed in flatland elementary
schools will remain open next year.
Ward also announced that he will close
the 6th grade at Verdese Carter Middle
School at 4521 Webster Street next year,
allow the current 7th graders to graduate as
planned in 2006, and eventually close the
school over time. Students who normally
feed into Carter would instead be directed
to the new middle school at Washington.
Across the rest of the district, Ward
closed five additional schools. In East and
Central Oakland, King Estates Middle
School will close, and a NSAS school
will open at the site next year. Fremont
High School in 2000 was one of the most
overcrowded secondary schools in the
state. Former School District Administrator
Dennis Chaconas (and the School Board)
broke the school into NSAS schools. Ward
will technically close the original school,
now that all new families have been placed
in one of the NSAS “theme” schools on
the site. No family will be displaced in
this closure.
mance, innovations in the teaching and
learning process and far greater participa-
tion among parents. Teachers must reapply
for jobs at a newly created school, instead
of the district’s seniority system dictating
placement.
I
Aspire Public Schools, a charter school
consortium with 11 schools statewide and
three in Oakland, will open a new elemen-
tary school on the Golden Gate Elementary
School site in September, 2005. The new
charter will lease space from the district,
and is required to accept any current Golden
Gate Elementary School families interested
in attending. Kristyn Klei, a former East
Palo Alto charter school principal with a
track record of boosting achievement among
very low-income students, has been named
the school’s principal.
believe it is essential to gather a team
of employees that shares a vision if we
want “new schools” to succeed. The policy
does not take a job away from any teacher.
A teacher not accepted at a new school is
guaranteed a job at another school. I have
advocated vigorously for the creation of
the new school at Washington, and will
continue to advocate that no family in the
North Oakland area targeted for changes be
denied a public school close to home.
Ward also closed the School of Social
Justice, an NSAS school created by Chaco-
nas (and the School Board), which failed
to attract any students this school year
and has been empty. Rudsdale Academy
and West Oakland’s Village Academy are
8th grade programs created as temporary
intervention schools in 2002 to serve 8th
graders not yet ready for a comprehensive
high school. Next year, struggling 8th grad-
ers will be directed into special programs
created within our existing comprehensive
high schools. Again, no families will be
displaced from these closures.
New Small Autonomous Schools
Carter, Washington and Golden Gate
schools have all dramatically lost enroll-
ments since 1999. Washington is down from
331 students in 1999 to 153 students this
year – the school is less than 50% occupied.
More than 100 families who live in the
attendance area transferred to another school
in the Oakland Unified School system. Aca-
demic achievement declined significantly
at Washington and Golden Gate (GG) last
year, with GG losing 79 points from its
Academic Performance Index, the highest
drop in the district. At Golden Gate, only
10% of the students are proficient in reading,
and 8% in math. Washington shows 23%
proficiency in reading and 17% in math,
and Carter shows 12% in reading and 5% in
math. Nearly 200 families from the Carter
attendance area transferred to other OUSD
middle schools.
Drop in Enrollment
A
NEXT MONTH: Hamill examines schools
affected by the No Child Left Behind law.
These and other proposed changes
raise a host of tough labor and community
issues. New schools proposed by Ward’s
staff are using the New Small Autonomous
School (NSAS) District policy adopted by
Chaconas and the School Board in 2000.
The policy calls for the creation of new,
small, redesigned schools for Oakland’s
most underserved students. It limits the
size of the schools and outlines criteria
for admitting students, hiring staff, rede-
signing curriculum and encouraging teacher
collaboration. Most NSAS schools have
demonstrated improved students perfor-
cross the district, students are learning
better. More than double the number
of students are scoring at basic, proficient
or advanced in language arts today than in
13.
January 8, 2005
FROGPark Set for Public Art Funding
R
ockridge’s FROGPark, located near the
intersection of Claremont Avenue and
Cavour Street — site of the Department of
Motor Vehicles building — is scheduled to
receive generous funding for a public art
component, according to sources at City
Hall and FROG board members.
plans for FROGPark. She explained that
FROG is receiving $125,000 for creek-
related projects from Measure DD, and
is setting aside $40,000 of that for an
art component. Previously, FROG had
set aside $10,000 from funds raised from
other sources for the devleopment of an
artist-designed master plan.
which would educate the public about the
creek and its natural history. An artist could
present these in an attractive and creative
graphic form.
At the meeting, Director of Public Art
Steve Huss went over the role and proce-
dures of PAAC, which include developing
a selection panel of artists as well as send-
ing out a Request for Proposal to the art
community.
At a meeting of the Public Art Advisory
Committe (PAAC) of the Oakland Cultural
Arts Commission on December 6, FROG
Board member Jennifer Cooper presented
In addition, there is $6,750 left over from
Phase I of the park development. In 2003
this fund was to be spent to restore the mural
“Oceanus,” located on the west side of Cla-
remont between Clifton and Hudson under
the Highway 24 crossover, which had been
vandalized over the years. However, Roberta
Babcock, Assistant Director of Public Art,
arranged funds from other sources for this
restoration, saving the public art funds for
a project within the park itself.
Liaison from PAAC to the FROG Board
is PAAC member Claire Wahrhaftig-Isaacs,
of Roble Road. She has considerable experi-
ence in public art, having worked before
retirement as Director of the San Francisco
Arts Commission, where she administered
its public art program.
Jennifer explained that ideas being
considered tend towards nature themes
!
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January 8, 2005
Database/Excel Consultant
Get out that mailing, take inventory, keep track
of things! Rockridge based Micorsoft Access
programmer and Excel expert working with
individuals, small businesses and non-profits.
Solid references. Datamajig: 510/852-4218
Your Message Could Be Here
Your 36-word message: $18 (phone number
counts as one word). Mail to: RN Classifieds,
5245 College Avenue, PMB 311, Oakland, CA
94618. February deadline is January 20.
Tahoe Condo For Rent
Our lovely 3br/2+ba condo in Incline Village is
available for rent! Sleeps eight, is fully equipped!
Close to everything! Call 652-6664 for more
information.
5295 College Avenue (nr Broadway)
Oakland • 510 601 8828
Jazz and Classical Piano Lessons
Rockridge jazz pianist with UC Berkeley
music B.A. offers lessons in jazz, blues, clas-
sical, music theory, ear-training, technique.
Experienced, patient teacher, all ages/levels.
Janet 653-6783.
Pilates or Gyrotonic®
Free 30-minute private session*.First class
FREE* in Pilates, Yogilates, NIA®, Gyroki-
nesis®, and/or Yamuna® Body Rolling. (*For
new clients). Mind-Body Connection, 5255
College Ave, 420-0444 (www.mindbodycon
nection.net)
Housecleaning
Reasonable rates. Expert & reliable services
from local employment cooperative. Call
534-6766 and we’ll send someone to spiff
up your home. Ask for our references from
Rockridge clients.
Home Repair Expert
Carpentry, remodeling. Doors and windows,
glass and locks, small electrical, plumbing jobs,
drywall, painting, fences, decks and other odd
jobs. Good rates. Rick 510/464-5934.
Temporary Room Rental
Having out of town guests and nowhere to put
them? Large, sunny room available in Crafts-
man home in Rockridge/Elmwood area. See
website for photos and info. http://geocities.com/
cayenne2810 or call 547-8788.
Antique Repair and Refinishing
Experienced and Knowledgeable. All types of
furniture. New finishes, repairs, waxing, p/u
& delivery available. Family-run since 1990.
E-mail pictures for estimates and questions.
Bruce@BayAreaAntiques.com 534-0603.
Classified ads: Call Susan Montauk, 547-3855
YOU MAY LIVE 30 YEARS
PAST RETIREMENT.
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Personalized Weight Loss
Healthy Living Solutions. FREE body analysis
and personalized consultation. “Good Health &
Wellness through Good Nutrition” Gary Sinick
510/597-1129 www.for-a1health.com. Your local
Herbalife Independent Distributor
Art Classes With Karen Legault
Watercolor, Chinese Brush Painting, Botanical
Drawing and Absolutely Beginning Drawing
and Painting Classes are offered for Adults
and Children. Winter schedule starts January
11 and in March. Brochure available.
French With a Fulbright
Scholar From France
Individual and group needs: 684-4951.
15.
January 8, 2005
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Compiled by Jo Ellis
Check Your…
E-mail Rockridge News Community Calendar items to: joellis1@hotmail.com, phone 653-3210, or mail to: Rockridge News
Community Calendar, 5245 College Avenue, PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94618. Deadline is the next to the last Tuesday of the month.
Councilmember Brunner’s
Community Advisory Meeting
English. Everyone is invited to bring their favorite
book, story, or poem to read, as we take turns in a
continuous reading “chain”. All over the country,
groups will gather on this designated time. Children
will lead in reading first. Local editor, writer, and
author, Daphne Muse will serve as host. Free event.
For questions, please call Linda at 597-5017.
For Adults:
• Lawyers in the Library: Free legal advice. First
Tuesday of each month: 1/4, 2/1: 6 to 8pm. Advance
sign-up starts at 5pm.
and volunteers. Learn more at www.ogsl.org or
at OGSL hotline, 339-7268.
Activities & Events for Seniors
• College Avenue Adult Center. College Ave.
Presbyterian Church, 5955 College Ave. Every
Wednesday, 9:30am to 1:30pm. Light exercise,
socializing, travel programs and music. Hot
lunch available at noon for $2. For details about
upcoming field trips and special programs, call
Kathy at 531-6724.
First Saturday every other month, 10am to noon.
Peralta Elementary School: 460 63rd St. (parking
on Alcatraz Ave., just east of Telegraph). No Janu-
ary meeting. February 5 topic: Casinos. More
information at 238-7001 or www.oaklandnet.com
(the site for all City-related information).
The Greater Rockridge N’hood
Crime Prevention Council
• North Oakland Multi-Purpose Senior Center.
5714 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Center Hours:
Monday – Friday, 8:45am to 4:45pm. The News-
letter, “North Oakland Senior Times” provides
a full schedule of classes as well as a monthly
menu for lunch: (suggested donation: seniors
age 60 + $2.25 and $4 for those under age 60).
Call 597- 5085 to get details about membership,
newsletter, classes/events and opportunities to
become a volunteer.
Elder Care Support Group
Library Hours:
Monday and Tuesday, 12:30 to 8pm
Weds, Thurs and Sat 10am to 5:30pm
Steering Committee meets 3rd Tuesday each month,
7 to 8:30pm. Temescal Library, 5205 Telegraph Ave.
Residents and business members of NCPC’s 12Y
and 13X areas are invited to voice their concerns
about crime and public safety.
Rockridge Branch Library
Friday, 12 to 5:30pm
Closed: Sundays.
Closed 1/1 (New Year’s) and 1/17 (MLK Birthday).
Diesel Book/Poetry Readings
5366 College Avenue, 597-5017
For Children:
• Toddler Story Time: 1st and 2nd Saturdays,
10:30am: 1/8, 2/5 (NOTE: Closed on the first
Saturday of the New Year 1/1, and the second
Saturday of February, 2/12).
• Pre-School Story Time: 1st and 3rd Wednes-
days, 10:30: 1/5, 1/19, 2/2.
• Pajama Story Time: 2nd and 4th Tuesday,
7pm: 1/11, 1/25, 2/8.
• Special Event: Craft continuing in January:
Drop in during January to make snowflakes for
our windows. Kids of all ages welcome! Ask at
the Children’s Reference desk.
Intergenerational Program:
Special Event: Sunday, February 6, 2005, from
2-4pm. Join us in celebrating Black History Month
through literature. The Rockridge Branch Library
will be a participant site for the Annual 16th National
African American Read-In Chain which is nationally
sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of
5433 College Ave. All events are FREE and open to
the public.
• Monday, 1/10, 7:30pm. Amnesty International.
monthly meeting. All welcome.
• Tuesday, 1/11, 7:30pm. Join Book Group #3 to dis-
cuss Night of Many Dreams by Gail Tsukiyama
• Tuesday, 1/18, 7pm. Join Book Group #1 to discuss
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Thursday, 1/20, 7:30pm. Joan Marie Wood: pub-
lication party for new book of poems, Her Voice is
Blackberries.
More inf. about readings, book/discussion groups and
classes: 653-9965 or www.dieselbookstore.com.
Writers Support/Critique Group
Alta Bates Medical Center, Herrick Campus, 2001
Dwight Way, Berkeley. Free for family/friends
caring for older adults, 3rd Wednesday of each
month, 4 -5:30pm. Call Monica at 869-4569 or
e-mail Monicalcsw@alum.calberkeley.org.
Volunteers Needed
• Alameda County Community Food Bank. All
welcome, including groups and kids age 10 or
older. Assist in the warehouse or office; staff the
Hunger Hotline, the Food Bank’s toll-free food
referral service. Hotline shifts Mon-Fri, 9am-12pm
and 1-4pm. Call Volunteer Mgr. Mary Schoen:
834-FOOD(3663) or www.accfb.org.
• Bambino Thrift Shop: 5290 College Ave All
volunteer shop benefiting Oakland Children’s
Hospital. Volunteers needed Tuesdays through
Saturdays. We will train you to help with pricing,
selling and merchandise display. Call manager,
Carol Maes: 654-9709.
• North Oakland Community Charter School
(NOCCS): tutors to work with 1st to 4th graders,
one-on-one or in small groups, on math skills,
beginning reading and writing skills. Weekly
time commitment of at least one hour. Located
at College Ave. Presb. Church, (next to Dryers).
Contact Jennifer Bloom, Director: 655-0540 or
teachers@noccs.org.
Rockridge Branch Library, every third Saturday,
(January 15), 1:30 to 5pm. ALL writers welcome.
Bring 8 copies of 5 pages of your prose for on-site
reading/discussion. Sponsored by the California
Writers Club, Berkeley branch (www.berkeleywr
itersclub.org/). For more information: 482-0265
or Writefox@aol.com
Oakland Girls Softball League
All Oakland girls ages 6 to 14, can still sign up for the
2005 season. Sign up on Saturdays, 1/8 and 1/15 at
Redwood Heights Rec Center, 3883 Aliso St, (Redwood
Road at Highway 13). Opening Day March 5; season
runs through early June. Begin practice mid-February:
no experience necessary; pre-season clinic for all skill
levels. Also needed: Coaches, managers, sponsors
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January 8, 2005
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