Extracted text · highlighting “Don Kinkead”

www.rockridge.org

VOL. 28      NO. 9    ISSUE NO. 303    September 7, 2013                     CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 BusInesses

Sponsored by the Rockridge Community Planning Council • 4123 Broadway, PMB 311 • Oakland, CA 94611 • 869-4200

Rockridge Kitchen Tour Sept 29; Tickets on Sale Now

/Photos: Kelly Patrick Dugan
Safeway Begins Site Prep
Venerable College Ave Store Gone
Going...
Going...

This self-guided tour offers guests
an opportunity to experience a variety
of kitchen styles and sizes. The event
brochure is full of photos, resources, a
floor plan, and the stories behind what
you will see. How can an art collection
by Natalie Mehta, tour chair
The 2013 Rockridge Kitchen Tour is
nearly here. This year marks the tenth
biennial event since 1995, and continues
to offer guests a personal look inside nine
beautifully remodeled residential kitchens
in our historic Rockridge neighborhood.
➧➧Tour Tickets On Sale Now, page 7
Gone! Totally.
/Chris Jackson
Safeway officials and Oakland city leaders,
including Mayor Jean Quan, recently
gathered in front of the old supermarket
building, top left, to announce the official
groundbreaking and inauguration of
construction of the new store at College and
Claremont avenues. Three weeks later: Gone.

/Susan Shawl
/Don Kinkead

NCPC to Host Ceremony for Officers
Who Nabbed Two Robbery Suspects
NCPC Meets Thursday,
September 12, Rockridge
Library. Ceremony: 6 p.m.
as a result of recent street robberies,
spotted a vehicle at College and Keith
that had reportedly been involved in a
robbery on Howe Street. The suspects
were taken into custody and a firearm
was recovered.
Captain Anthony Toribio, in charge
of the newly designated Area 2 which
covers North Oakland and the Oakland
Hills, will present the two arresting
officers with commendations at a special
public ceremony at 6 p.m. Thursday,
by Karen Ivy, NCPC Secretary
With eight robberies taking place
in Rockridge in less than a three-
week period, it was especially good
news to hear that the Oakland Police
Department (OPD) captured a pair of
robbery suspects on August 26.
OPD Officers Gunther Lee and Dana
Ly, on directed patrol on College Avenue
➧➧NCPC Hosts OPD Ceremony, page 5
NCPC? Neighborhood Watch?: What? See Page 5

September 19 | 7:30-9 p.m.
Agenda: RCPC
Town Hall Meet
19
■
■Featured Guest: Peter Calthorpe
        — Of Cities and Survival —
Come hear Peter Calthorpe, award-winning Bay
Area architect, urban planner, and Rockridge
resident, discuss how land use and transporta-
tion investments can overcome environmental
and fiscal challenges to improve the quality of
urban life. Mr. Calthorpe will share insights from
his recent trip to China, where he explored how
basic design practices that promote transit, biking,
and pedestrian mobility can improve the sustain-
ability and
➧➧Town Hall Agenda, page 12
■
■Refreshments will be served. RSVP to: info@
rockridge.org (“Calthorpe” in subject line).
■
■Two copies of “Urbanism in the Age of Climate
Change,” by Peter Calthorpe, will be raffled to
attendees at the meeting.


2.

September 7, 2013
2.

Essays on matters of local interest are invited for consideration
as Op-Ed pieces for The Rockridge News. Please limit length to
450 words and submit to editor@rockridge.org.

ROCKRIDGE BRANCH LIBRARY
5366 College Avenue
597-5017
HOURS:
Mon, Tues:
Weds, Thurs, Sat:
Friday:
Sunday:
Library program details: See Calendar, page 15.

It Is Time to Move Rockridge’s Overhead
Electric Utility Lines Underground

12:30 – 8 p.m.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
12 – 5:30 p.m.
CLOSED
Tue: 12:30 – 8 p.m.

Wed, Thu, Sat: 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Friday: 12 – 5:30 p.m.
	Sunday and Monday: CLOSED; Also, Tues 9/10
by David Lorié
While Rockridge may lead the city of
Oakland in charm and character, it lags
behind many of Oakland’s neighborhoods
in replacing overhead utility lines.
Neighborhoods such as Crocker
Highlands, Trestle Glen and Piedmont Pines
have worked to get their utility lines moved
underground, but Rockridge neighborhoods
continue to tolerate and coexist with the
maze of power, phone and cable lines strung
precariously from rooftop to poletop.
It’s time Rockridge caught up with its
neighbors.
A group of interested residents has
formed a committee to investigate the
viability of “undergrounding” the overhead
utility lines in Rockridge. You can learn
more about it, take a survey to register
your opinion, and get involved at www.
rockridgeunderground.com.
The Pros and Cons of
Undergrounding Utility Wires
Undergrounding power lines has several
advantages: Aesthetics, increased property
values, reduced outages during storms
and safety (reduced risk of fire, seismic
hazards and falling objects). It can also
save neighborhood trees from severe and
sometimes aggressively asymmetrical
pruning.
Updating the street lighting during an
undergrounding project can further enhance
the aesthetics of the neighborhood and
provide for increased safety from crime
because of a more efficiently lit environment.
The main drawbacks are cost and
disruption. The process of undergrounding
existing overhead lines involves trenching
the street and a portion of most properties
(from the house to the street).
Construction takes about one year
for each mile of undergrounding and
costs roughly $60,000 per property plus
approximately $9,000 in costs such as panel
conversion and service lateral trenches
associated with each property.
The California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) has two programs
for the replacement of existing overhead
distribution lines with underground service.
Under a Rule 20A project, the county,
PG&E and other affected utilities pick up
85 percent of the total cost while property
owners pay only for the cost associated
with each property. But since PG&E is only
undergrounding 30 miles of overhead power
lines per year in its entire service area, the
waitlist in Oakland is 40 years.
Piedmont Pines, for example, applied
for a Rule 20A undergrounding in 1987.
After years of battles with PG&E and the
Oakland City Council, and after getting
leapfrogged by other neighborhoods on the
waitlist several times, construction finally
got under way in October 2011. “We’re
really excited,” said Robbie Neely of the
Piedmont Pines Neighborhood Association.
“Although it took forever to get started,
Phase 1 will be completed by the end of the
year.” Ms. Neely added that when all three
phases of the project are completed, it will
be the largest residential undergrounding
in the state.
For those neighborhoods seeking to speed
up the process, there is a privately financed
alternative that can have the utility lines
undergrounded in a two-to-four year time
frame. Under a Rule 20B project, the property
The Rockridge News, founded in 1986 by Don Kinkead,
is published monthly in Oakland and is sponsored by
the Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC),
a nonprofit 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
Don Kinkead	�����������������������Editor
Ortrun Niesar..................... The Muse
Barry Kaufman	�������������������Food
Jo Ellis	�����������������������������������Advertising &
Community Calendar
Theresa Nelson	��������������������Neighborhood Merchant
Susan Montauk	�������������������Business Manager
Don Kinkead	�����������������������Graphics & Layout
RCPC Board of Directors, 2013-2014
Zabrae Valentine	����������������Chair
Christopher Chin	�������������Vice-Chair
Laura Schlichtmann	�����������Secretary
Bernard Baltaxe	�����������������Treasurer
Stuart Flashman	�����������������Chair Emeritus
Andrew Charman, Virginia Hamilton,
Michael Kan, William Kaufner, Don Kinkead,
Lisa McNally, Greg Pasquali
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org
Newsletter Subscriptions
To subscribe to The Rockridge News, send
your check for $20, 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?
	 Want to volunteer to be a Rockridge News
block captain?
	 Would you like to write a letter to the Editor?
Contact us at one of the following:
Editor: editor@rockridge.org
www.rockridge.org
The Rockridge News, 4123 Broadway, PMB 311,
Oakland, CA 94611
RCPC Voice-mail: 510/869-4200
Articles submitted for publication may be e-mailed
to the above address. Submissions are limited to
600 words; must include the author’s name, phone
number, e-mail address, and city or neighborhood
of residence; and are subject to editing. To reprint
a Rockridge News article, please contact the editor.
➧➧Utility Wires Underground, page 13
$5 FREE DRYCLEANING with garment orders over $28
or $3 OFF orders over $15
Dry Cleaning only  Present with incoming order
Garden Cleaners
5808 College Avenue, Oakland
601-1188
Mon – Fri  7 – 7 • Sat  8 – 6
Across from Trader Joe’s and Zachary’s Pizza
Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
Publication date of the next issue is:
  October 5, 2013
  October deadline is September 19, 2013
Advertising rates are $26/column inch. Six-
month pre-pay rate available. For display ads,
call Jo Ellis at 653-3210 (after noon), or e-mail
joellis1@hotmail.com. RCPC reserves the right
to refuse any display or classified ad that it deems
inappropriate. (Classified ad contact, page 14.)
EXPERT
SHIRT
LAUNDERING!


3.
September 7, 2013

3.

Rockridge Area Safeway Projects Still Problematic

Rockridge Shopping Center
College Avenue Store Replacement

Final EIR for Rockridge Shopping
Center Rebuild to be Issued Soon
In Its Haste to Start Construction,
Safeway Violates Agreement
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use Committee chair
Safeway’s second Rockridge-area project, rebuilding the
Rockridge Shopping Center to add 120,000 sq. ft. of additional
retail and office space and replace the existing 50,000 sq.ft. store
with one 15,000 sq.ft. larger, appears heading for a Planning
Commission hearing in late September. The final environmental
impact report (FEIR), which will include responses to comments on
the draft report, is, according to Oakland Planner Darin Ranelletti,
due to be published “early in September.”
The project at Broadway and Pleasant Valley Avenue between
the Rockridge, Temescal, and Piedmont Avenue communities
has a long history, including two major revisions to respond to
criticism from the community and from the Planning Commission.
Most observers feel the revisions have significantly improved
the project, but serious concerns remain about traffic impacts on
surrounding residential streets.
RCPC initially focused its concern on making sure the project
was appropriate to its urban location. More recently, concern
has shifted to pressing Safeway to improve the project’s transit,
bicycle, and pedestrian accessibility, especially given its location
near the Rockridge and Macarthur BART stations. Obviously, the
more people who use alternatives to the private auto to access the
center, the less will be its traffic impacts.
A meeting between Safeway and local community group
representatives for Safeway to present its latest project plan revisions
was scheduled for just after Labor Day. RCPC is hopeful those revisions
will continue to show responsiveness to community concerns.
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use Committee chair
Demolition of the old Safeway store at College and Claremont
Avenues has begun, and Safeway is barreling ahead towards
starting construction of its new shopping center. Unfortunately, in
its haste, Safeway overlooked a key provision in the settlement it
reached last winter with RCPC and two other community groups.
The agreement, reached after many hours of arduous negotiations,
calls for Safeway to meet with representatives of the three groups
– RCPC, Friends and Neighbors of College Avenue (FANS), and
Berkeleyans for Pedestrian Oriented Development (BPOD) – to
discuss any major design changes between the plans approved
by the city in December and the drawings that would guide the
actual construction of the store. That meeting was to happen before
Safeway submitted its application for a building permit to the city.
Its purpose was to allow the community groups to comment on the
changes and resolve any disagreements about whether they were
warranted. In case of disagreement, the groups could ask the city
to review, and potentially reject, the changes.
Apparently, Safeway never told the construction manager
about the provision, so he went ahead and submitted the permit
application without any meeting. Upon learning of the breach, the
groups contacted the city’s planning department. Pete Vollman,
the planner handling the project, agreed to suspend processing the
permit until the required meeting occurred.
That meeting, scheduled for September 4 at City Hall, is to allow
the groups to review
➧➧Safeway Violates Agreement, page 12
off-street parking report.
Agendas: Please check with
committee chair Stu Flashman,
652-5373, or e-mail stuflash@
aol.com the week before the
meeting for an updated agenda.
Next meeting: Wednesday,
September 25. Topics will
include an update on the College
Avenue Safeway and Rockridge
Shopping Center projects, and
further discussion of the city’s
The RCPC Land Use
Committee meets the
fourth Wednesday of the
month at the Rockridge
Branch Library, upstairs
meeting room, 7:30 p.m.
the households responded.)
The study was designed to examine
residents’ existing use of off-street parking
and evaluate their attitudes towards incentives
to reduce private car ownership. The results
would be part of deciding whether to reduce
off-street parking requirements for new
residential construction. A similar study is
planned to evaluate commercial off-street
parking requirements.
While suggestive, the study produced few
clear-cut results. Not surprisingly, buildings
without off-street parking (generally older
buildings) had lower rates of car ownership.
Two buildings located close to the Fruitvale
BART station also had lower car ownership
and higher transit use. The results also
seemed to indicate that a small but significant
proportion of residents might respond to
incentives such as free transit passes or
higher parking costs by giving up at least
some of their private cars. RCPC plans to
review and provide detailed comments on
the study.
To read and comment on the study, find
it on-line at: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/
Government/o/PBN/OurOrganization/
PlanningZoning/OAK030572, or by calling
planner Darin Ranelletti at 238-3663 or
e-mailing DRanelletti@oaklandnet.com.
Send comments to the same e-mail address
or c/o Planning and Zoning Division, City
of Oakland, 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite
3315, Oakland 94612.
Land Use Update
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use
Committee chair
■
■Residential Off-street Parking
Study, Citywide Rezoning,
Phase 2
In support of revisions to the city’s off-
street parking requirements for new
construction as part of citywide rezoning, the
city conducted a study of off-street parking
for multifamily residential buildings. The
study looked at the behavior of 294 Oakland
households in 11 residential buildings in
the Fruitvale, Jack London Square, and
Telegraph Avenue areas. (The buildings
include 815 units, but only about a third of


4.

September 7, 2013
4.

Creek to Bay Day,
the Rockridge-
Temescal Way

Kids Paint Plaques to Help Dog Park Renovation

by Becky Alseth, local resident
Hardy Dog Park got a splash of color
in late August thanks to more than 60
children from College Avenue Presbyterian
Church’s Vacation Bible School summer
program. The kids painted dozens of
temporary plaques to adorn the park’s
fence, adding a refreshing vibrancy to the
otherwise dreary space.
The campaign generated $7,000 in
contributions for Scenic Streets, the local
volunteer landscaping group that is leading
a renovation of Oakland’s oldest and most
dilapidated dog park. Dozens of residents
and businesses sponsored one of a selection
of youthful works of art offered in a choice
of bone, fire hydrant and dog shapes.
“During each of our summer sessions,
we have the kids participate in community
improvement projects,” explains Pastor
Monte McClain. “Painting plaques to help
raise money for the local dog park was a
lot of fun for the children and
helped them realize they can
make a difference in their
neighborhood.”
Funds raised were matched
dollar for dollar by Dreyer’s
Grand Ice Cream, a supporter
of Scenic Streets’ other nearby
landscaping projects as well.
Local volunteer Robin Binaoro
says the campaign puts the
group closer to achieving its
goals of improving the safety,
access and functionality of
the dog park.
B i n a o r o
acknowledged
t h a t  m a ny
p l a q u e
sponsors, like
himself, don’t
even own dogs
or use the park.
“But so many
of us drive by it
every day and
wonder why
it has to be
such a bleak
space,” he said.
“Residents realized that the improvements
we have proposed, such as adding shade
loving trees and shrubs to the dog park, will
greatly enhance the gateway to Rockridge.”
The renovation plans are being reviewed
by city officials currently and can be viewed
at scenicstreets.org.
by Leonora Sea, DMV Neighbors
Creek to Bay Day is Oakland’s annual
stewardship event and celebration of
our urban waterways; this year it coincides
with the autumnal equinox on September 21.
It’s time to welcome autumn to the
Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt, and to
gather, get acquainted, and get our own
Temescal Creek ready for winter.
The DMV Neighbors Association is
coordinating Creek to Bay Day, Saturday,
September 21, at the creek from 9 a.m. to
noon. Sign in at the corner of Redondo
and Cavour. Volunteers will be treated
to pastries and coffee at the sign-in table.
Families and groups are welcome.
We’ll sweep, prune overgrowth, pull
ivy, remov blackberries and weeds, spread
mulch, pick up litter, and remove roots, silt,
and debris from the creek channel. Plan to
stay after we’re done for snacks, drinks, and
conversation on the lawn under the trees.
For more info, contact Leonora Sea,
DMV Neighbors Association, leonorasea@
yahoo.com, or look up Temescal creek on
the city’s Creek to Bay Day web site: www.
oaklandcreektobay.org.
Are you interested in neighborhood
creeks in Oakland and the East Bay?
Visit the Oakland Museum of California
watershed website: http://museumca.org/
creeks/MapOak.html.
/Monte McClain
/Monte McClain
Rollover Collision
at Controversial
Intersection Sparks
Calls for Action
Hardy Park Dog Run.
“Motorists approach the on-ramp like
they are getting ready for take-off. They have
little regard for pedestrians in the crosswalks
or bicyclists on the streets” says Tom Hull, a
nearby resident. “It’s surprising there aren’t
more accidents here. The city needs to take
action before someone gets killed.”
In fact, the city of Oakland does have
an action plan in place to study the area.
Kristine Shaff, spokesperson
for the Public Works Department,
says that additional safety
enhancements are currently
being considered for the near
term, such as enhancing signage
and altering traffic light timing.
More robust safeguards
may take a while longer. The
intersection is tentatively
slated to receive substantial
by Nancy Schaaf, local resident
Two vehicles collided at the intersection
of Claremont Avenue and Hudson Street
on Sunday, July 18, causing a small SUV to
roll onto its roof in the crosswalk that spans
the entrance to the highway ramp. This
latest incident at the notoriously dangerous
intersection has residents calling for more
pedestrian safeguards near Frog Park and
/Sean Riley
➧➧Collision, page 13


5.
September 7, 2013

5.

NCPC Hosts
OPD Ceremony
from page 1

Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council;
Neighborhood Watch. What’s the Difference?

Editor’s Note: A recent posting on the Rockridge Neighborhood Watch group stated a common concern:
“I don’t know what the difference is between the RockridgeNCPC and RockridgeNeighborhoodWatch
groups.” Below are brief statements about the differences and similarities of the groups, and links to more
information, compiled from site-specific searches. To join the Yahoo-hosted RockridgeNeighborhoodWatch
group itself, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RockridgeNeighborhoodWatchNetwork/

September 12, at the Rockridge Library,
just prior the next Greater Rockridge NCPC
(Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council)
meeting. These ceremonies usually take
place at the Oakland Police Department
headquarters at 455-7th Street in downtown
Oakland. Captain Toribio thought that it
would be much better for these two fine
officers to be recognized by the community
members they help to protect.
Join us on September 12, 6 p.m., at
the Rockridge Library to meet Officers
Gunther Lee and Dana Ly and give them
our sincerest thanks and appreciation.
What Is NCPC?
A
Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Council (NCPC) is made up of you
and your neighbors working together and
in partnership with the Oakland Police
Department (OPD) and other city agencies
to address ongoing problems in your
neighborhood.
NCPCs generally choose three priorities
for the Oakland Police Department Problem
Solving Officers (PSO). The Neighborhood
Services Coordinator, PSOs, beat officer,
and other city agencies work together and
with the NCPC to develop and implement
a strategy for addressing the priorities.
OPD also reports back to the NCPC about
progress on the priorities until the problems
are resolved or changed.
Throughout the city, NCPCs are
organized on the basis of their area’s police
beat. Rockridge is covered by beats 12Y and
13X. Residents in the beat area staff and
run the group. All neighborhood residents
are invited to attend its meetings.
Monthly meetings of the Greater
Rockridge NCPC (GRNCPC) are usually
held on the second Thursday of each month
at the Rockridge Branch Library, 5366
College Avenue.
Find more information at the GRNCPC
web site: http://www.rockridgencpc.com/
What Is Neighborhood
Watch?
A
Neighborhood Watch group is a
partnership between a self-selected
group of neighbors and the Oakland Police
Department to improve safety and prevent
crime.
After holding two Neighborhood Watch
meetings, preparing a map and roster of the
neighborhood members, selecting a block
captain and alternate, and registering this
information with the city’s Neighborhood
Watch Coordinator, the group of neighbors
are designated a neighborhood watch group.
Street signs identifying the area as home to
a watch group are posted.
The block captain and the alternate are
liaisons between the watch group and the
police department, making sure the map and
roster are complete and the Neighborhood
Watch signs are installed. The liaisons also
schedule meetings, maintain the membership
roster and map, and distribute flyers or
other information as provided by the police
department.
Call Neighborhood Watch Coordinator
Brenda Ivey at 510/238-3091 for more
information. Visit the web site: http://
www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/
CityAdministration/d/NSD/s/BLP/s/NW/


6.

September 7, 2013
6.

her array of old canning jars.
“It’s probably rooted with my
grandmother,” mused Mehta, who was
born in Australia but grew up in the South
Bay. “I never really thought about that. She
always stored everything in jars.
“I also wanted vintage lighting in the
kitchen,” Natalie said. “No cans.” She was
struck by fixtures designed with old x-ray
shades that she saw in a San Francisco
restaurant and was able to track down Vanessa
Bell of Berkeley’s Omega Lighting Design,
who created a vintage fixture for her kitchen.

That Porta-Potty in your yard could land your kitchen on the tour

by Judith Doner Berne
‘S
he smiles when she talks about
kitchens.”
That’s what my 18-year-old granddaughter
said after she sat in on my interview with
Natalie Mehta, chair of the Rockridge
Community Planning Council’s (RCPC)
10th Rockridge Kitchen Tour.
This year’s event, to be held between
12:30 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, September 29,
is Mehta’s third go-round as either chair or
co-chair of the biennial event. Other years,
she’s been a docent, welcoming tour-goers
and offering details about the kitchens they
are viewing.
“I probably look at two dozen kitchens
(ahead of each tour) and we accept nine,”
said Mehta, who is also active on the Chabot
Elementary School PTA board and the
RCPC Land Use Committee. “Whenever
I see a Porta-Potty outside a house I write
down the address.”
Ironically, one of the portable restrooms
was outside Mehta’s house on the day of
our interview. You guessed it: She and her
husband, Manish, are re-doing their 1939-
era kitchen.
“I’ve been mentally planning this since
we moved into this house in February 2002,”
she says. Since then, they made its narrow,
Pullman-style layout work even as their
family grew to include Anand, 11, Maya,
9, and Aidan, 7.
“The ceiling looked like the inside of
an old Chevy Impala,” she describes. “The
sizing that covered the lath and plaster had
split and was sagging down the center. The
rest of the kitchen had yellow tile with
burgundy tile accent liners, a yellow tile
backsplash and a dark brown heavily worn
and stained vinyl floor.”
Further, she says, “Someone had tiled
over the counter surface of the two existing
built-ins with small mosaic tile in the shape
and color of cat kibble – with thick dark
brown grout to add to the ambience. A blue
border featured white ducks with yellow feet.
Oh yes, it was a real beauty!”
Beyond that, there was no dishwasher or
garbage disposal. “I haven’t had a dishwasher
since I left for college at 17,” Mehta says,
somewhat proudly, although that is about
to change.
But although she is modernizing, the
effect won’t be modern. It will reflect what
During construction, the Mehtas have set
up a make-shift kitchen in their basement
where they already had an under-counter
refrigerator and sink. Their old stove,
microwave and toaster ovens are in one
room, the refrigerators and sink in another.
“I’m using two pans, two pots and a
colander,” Mehta says. “And we’ve been
totally fine.”
So two years from now, can we expect to
see their completed kitchen on the Rockridge
Kitchen tour? “We will never be on the
tour,” she says with a laugh. “That would
be a marriage-ender.”
Typically, the event draws upwards of 500
people (the record was around 800) who pay
$35 in advance or $40 the day of the tour.
“It’s mostly women, but there are a number
of men,” Mehta says. “Most of the people
are from Rockridge or Piedmont and are
contemplating re-doing their kitchens. But
there are people who come year after year.”
Mehta took over from Susan Montauk,
who founded the kitchen tour in 1995 and
led it through 2009. “I always loved it, but
it was time,” Montauk says. “Natalie had
worked with us. I thought she was terrific.
She does more of the work herself than I
did. She’s amazing.”
It’s the RCPC’s principal source of funds,
raising, on average, $20,000 for community
projects. They include the restroom facilities
RCPC Kitchen Tour chair Natalie
Mehta knows first-hand the trials
of a kitchen remodeler. Relocated
temporarily to the basement, the
family’s kitchen equipment is split
between two small rooms as their
main kitchen is remodeled.   /Judith Berne
she holds true: “What I love about old kitchens
is they are super-efficient.”
Yes, she’s culled ideas through the years
from the kitchens she’s visited.
 “The biggest thing is adjusting the
layout to your needs,” she says. You are
often encouraged to, for example, keep the
sink where it is. It might cost a little more,
but she has seen that “kitchens often work
so much better if we change the layout.”
Mehta has also relied on the Internet as
well as what catches her eye, such as the
display shelves she spied at Berkeley’s Tail
of the Yak that she had duplicated to hold
➧➧Inside the Tour, page 7
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Advanced Preventive,  Restorative,  Periodontal  Gum Care,  and Dental Implants.


September 7, 2013

7.

7.
Inside the Tour
An RCPC Kitchen Tour 2013 Vignette
A Modern Twist on a Classic
from page 6
at Frog Park, benches along College Avenue
and the re-designed Rockridge BART Plaza.
“I love people’s stories about their
kitchens,” Mehta says, stories that are
recapped in the tour brochure along with
the photographs she selects from those
taken by professional photographer Kelly
Patrick Dugan. Both are shared with the tour
committee which tries to select a variety of
styles while keeping the tour fairly walkable.
“This year two houses are right next to
each other,” Mehta says.
“I think the best thing about the tour is
while there’s variety, there’s also similarity”
because so many of the houses are from the
same era, she says. That makes it easier to
envision a kitchen you like in your own house.
Probably her most frustrating experience
was two years ago when a kitchen she featured
on the advertising poster was withdrawn
because the homeowner was suddenly
transferred. “The posters had already been
printed and distributed,” she says.
“Homeowners change their minds,
docents bail,” says Nancy Sale, who has
been in charge of gathering the more than
40 docents from the tour’s inception.
“Natalie is very well organized and
very patient,” Sale reports. “She inherited
a blueprint (from founder Montauk), but
she’s made some improvements. She’s a real
smart person.”
by Keziah Moss
After living in
their home for
10 years, one young
family was ready
to put a modern
twist on their classic
Rockridge bungalow.
Walnut cabinets,
C a e s a r s t o n e
counters, and a
backsplash artfully assembled from Heath
ceramic tile seconds, united to create their
fantastic new kitchen. Clever design details
including deep cabinets, an appliance garage,
and banquette seating provide ample storage
while keeping necessities close at hand.
Large sliding doors allow the family to enjoy
uninterrupted views of the garden, and when
a crowd gathers, the doors pull open to
let the party spill onto the back deck. This
renovation has created an indoor/outdoor
atmosphere cherished by all.
To see this beautiful renovation, and
eight others, please
join us for the 2013
Rockridge Kitchen
Tour on Sunday,
September 29, from
12:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Here’s how you can
get your tickets now:
Online: Advance
Tickets ($35) may
b e  p u r c h a s e d
through September 27 online at www.
rockridgekitchentour.org
On the Avenue: Advance Tickets ($35)
are available at Rockridge Home, 5418 College
Avenue, open daily 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets
are available here through September 27,
and may be purchased via cash or check.
On site: For those who wait, $40
Day of Tour Tickets will be sold at the
registration desk in front of the College
Avenue Presbyterian Church, 5951 College
Avenue, beginning at 11 a.m., Sunday,
September 29.
/Kelly Patrick Dugan
Tour Tickets on
Sale Now
modern amenities be fit appropriately into
a traditional space?
These questions, and more, will be
addressed by the architects, designers,
contractors, and enthusiastic docents
available in each of the nine kitchens on
the tour.
Whether you are looking for ideas and
resources for an upcoming renovation,
or just interested in supporting this
community fundraising event, there is
plenty to enjoy.
Event and ticket information is available
in the Tour vignette article above, and at
www.rockridgekitchentour.org.
from page 1
For further Tour details, see adjoining articles.
be beautifully incorporated within a
kitchen? Where do you place full-sized
laundry appliances so they are readily
available yet hidden from view? How can
If you have comments on this column or want to
suggest a topic or person you think would make
interesting reading, please email judyberne@att.net.
Coming
Soon
Coming
Soon
Coming
Soon
Over $7,000,000
in Rockridge
Sales Since
Jan. 1st
5726 Redondo
5330 Manila
5319 Shafter
Daniel Stea
Lic. 691894
Advocacy & Integrity
Since 1997
Broker/Owner/
Attorney
510.867.4094
Martin Coyle       510-655-8717     Mike Tracy
     5221 James Ave. Oakland Ca. 94618
w w w . c o y l e h o m e r e m o d e l . c o m


8.

September 7, 2013
8.

this month’s recipe for a unique take on
the hipster burger.
Pork (lamb, turkey or beef)
Portobello Burgers
Ingredients
1 pound ground pork (lamb, turkey, or
beef)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or
parsley
salt/pepper to taste
4 large Portobello mushroom caps, stems
removed
Olive oil
4 large burger buns
Any burger fixings you like
Preparation
Prepare a grill, set to medium high
temperature.
y
y
Combine the ground meat, garlic,
rosemary or parsley, and salt and
pepper.
y
y
Use a spoon to lightly scrape away
the mushroom gills to hollow them
out.
y
y
Drizzle mushrooms inside and out
with olive oil.
y
y
Press ¼ of the meat mixture into the
hollow of each mushroom.
y
y
Grill the burgers, meat side down,
about 4-6 minutes. Flip and cook
another 6-7 minutes.
Serve on a toasted bun with any fixings
you like
Rock  ridge
Cornucopia
Cornucopia
Barry A. Kaufman
Restaurant critics often refer to the current
post-Chez Panisse food revolution as
the snout-to-tail craze, the farm-to-table
movement, the return of retro cocktails and
the new comfort food.
Starting in the Williamsburg
neighborhood of Brooklyn, the hipster
restaurant movement has come to Oakland
in full force. Oakland is often referred to as
the new Brooklyn. As a Brooklyn transplant,
I find this all most amusing.
Oakland neighborhoods like Rockridge,
Temescal Triangle and Uptown, have become
ground zero for some of the hottest and
hippest restaurants in California. Millennials
or hipsters have emerged as a distinct
demographic subculture with an edgy
focus on food, art, and music. You often see
tattooed hipsters snapping photos of their
food and sending them out on Facebook or
other social media sites. The young chefs at
these restaurants are pushing the boundaries
of culinary creativity. The menus defy
simple categories such as Cal-Med, Asian
fusion, or modern Italian. From food trucks
to small and loud downsized restaurants in
emerging urban neighborhoods, hipster fare
has created a new food revolution.
On College Avenue, the Ramen Shop is
a hipster’s delight. A short menu offering
locally sourced and house-made ingredients
is a “noodle slurper’s” ideal meal. How
can you beat the Meyer lemon ramen and
pork belly?
The newest addition to the surging
Temescal Triangle is the ultra-small Juhu
Beach Club from Top Chef finalist Preeti
Mistry. Juhu Beach Club features street food
from Chef Preeti’s hometown of Mumbai.
Juhu’s menu features unique Pav combos.
Pavs are slider-sized sandwiches with fillings
such as smoky black cardamom-braised
short ribs or pulled pork in a vindaloo BBQ
sauce – very yummy.
Oakland’s most booming dining
destination is, of course, the hot and
happening Uptown. Restaurants like
Hopscotch, Marrow, Flora, Hawker Fare,
Duende, and Luka’s Taproom are creating a
buzz throughout the Bay Area Twitter crowd.
The only warning I have is for the
more-senior diner: the noise level of these
restaurants can be high. Food at these hipster
spots is worth trying, but the noise level can
be a distraction.
I’m not sure Oakland is the new Brooklyn,
but the emerging food scene is certainly
putting the city on the culinary map.
Quirky burgers made with locally
sourced grass-fed beef are the go-to bite
for the Twitter and tattoo crowd. Check
Barry Kaufman is a graduate of the California
Culinary Academy. Barry is available for cook-
ing classes and tours of East Bay ethnic markets.
Barry’s e-mail is: kaufman42@comcast.net
Specializing in Rockridge Real Estate
Most real estate transactions in Rockridge from 2011 to 2013

The media may provide market data from recent ‘months’, but it is key to keep up on the very
latest activity.  After 18 months of prices rising sharply, prices may have peaked a couple of
months ago.  This is likely due to a combination of buyer fatigue, modest increases in interest
rates, and our typical late summer slow-down. It is still a strong and stable market, with a bit of
the edge taken off the exuberance. Stay tuned as the fall inventory increases!

Down the street is the newly expanded
Toast featuring innovative cocktails and
small plates. Originally started as a wine
bar, Toast has reinvented itself as a cocktail
and lunch and dinner spot. Next door, the
soon-to-open Box and Bells from Michelin
chef James Syhabout of Commis and Hawker
Fare fame, promises to be a new Rockridge
destination mecca. Opening is set for late
summer. Chef James will be offering a
new hipster trend of staff meals from the
Commis kitchen.

SOLD: 3BD, 2.5 BA nr Temescal/Farmer’s market @ 5137Miles.com, seller rep - $911,500
LEASED: 2BD 1BA home, 5315 Locksley - $3,295/mo. 1BD 1BA “efficiency apt” $1,195/mo
COMING: 3BD 2.5BA built in 2006, Peralta District, 3 blocks to College Ave @ 432 North St.
4+BD 2.5 BA plus studio on huge lot in Chabot District for sale.   1 & 2 BD Apts. for lease
Happy Autumn!
Call for a real local expert opinion.
Perry Riani, Senior Real Estate Specialist
Lawton Associates BRE# 01402540
510.813.3799
priani@earthlink.net
L A W T   O   N
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
LAWTON ASSOCIATES REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE


September 7, 2013

9.

9.

Local Community Garden Now in 13th Year

by Greer Alley, Rockridge resident
Our neighborhood on Ocean View Drive
between Broadway and Margarido has a
magnet that we all refer to as the community
Garden. This is a
story about that long
block of neighbors
in Rockridge that
came together as
a community to
celebrate, to work,
and to join each other
as a neighborhood
around our garden.
Thirteen years
ago, our garden area
was an abandoned
s p a c e  b e t we e n
sidewalk and street.
Barren and full of
leaves, electrical panels and trash, it was not
an inviting entrance to our little community.
Then, more than 15 neighbors came together
to excavate, amend soil, set boulders, install
temporary irrigation and plant. Materials
were purchased by the neighborhood or
through donations from local nurseries
and Acapulco Rock and Soil in Richmond.
Since that summer of 2000, we have had
an annual December holiday party to watch
the lights go on in the trees and decorate
them with wonderful outdoor ornaments
given to us by a neighbor living many
blocks away. Neighbors install the tree lights
prior to the party. Then, working from the
shoulders of adults, kids decorate the trees
and the adults bring appetizers and drinks
to share. We invite everyone on our block:
From new homeowners and renters to old-
timers, everyone is welcome.
Over the years, the garden has been
t end e d  by  a
group of Garden
Guardians. In
dry months, the
guardians use
soaker hoses to
keep the garden
watered. They
weed, prune and
pick up debris. A
dedicated group,
they have not
changed their
guardian schedule
for 12 years.
This year, we
received a grant from Keep Oakland
Beautiful. With that funding, we purchased
materials for a permanent drip irrigation
system that will use water supplied by a
generous neighbor.
On Mother’s Day, eight neighbor men
installed the new system, and the plants
are thriving.
The community garden continues to
evolve. Trees reach adolescence. Native
plants thrive. Weeds grow. Cigarette butts
are thrown and picked up. We have never
had vandalism, graffiti or trauma to our
garden. Yet, as happens in nature, an aspect
of urban gardening has cropped up: gophers
have discovered the garden.
To be continued.....
Temescal’s Culinary
Crawl Is Back: Sept 17
This is the cool event where you get to
stroll the sidewalks of Telegraph Avenue
on a warm September evening sampling the
amazing food from Pizzaiolo, Barlata, Burma
Superstar, Tanjia Moroccan, Doña Tomas, Marc
49, Lanesplitter, Tara’s Organic Ice Cream,
and many more.
The Crawl raises money for local schools
and resources:
Ocean View Gardeners: Dee Stevens,
left, Doug Moon, Jody Stevens, Michael
Monroe, Dale Alley, Craig Lyall, Eric
Jabobsen & Greer Alley.       /Dom di Mento
n Emerson Elementary
n Claremont Middle School
n Oakland Tech High School
n Women’s Cancer Resource Center
n Lions Center for the Blind.
Tickets, $30/person, at the BID (Business
Improvement District) office, 510-49th #203.
(Call 860-7327, or e-mail before to make sure
somebody’s there!), or, buy tickets online: http://
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/441754
Rockridge Out & About:
Sunday, October 6
Come picnic with Market Hall during
Rockridge’s Out & About Street
Fair, Sunday, October 6, 12-6 p.m.
Along College Avenue from Ocean View
Drive to the BART station, Market Hall and
neighboring businesses will offer a wide array
of foods, beverages and fun activities.
Details here: http://rockridgemarkethall.
com/events/item/rockridge-out-and-about
Among the many events and attractions,
you will find:
businesses
5:00–5:20 p.m. – Comedy from Mario A.
Montes – a popular Bay Area comedian and
your favorite Marin Sun Farms' butcher!
Other Activities:
➧
➧
➧
n 12–5 p.m. – Pumpkin Painting – FREE
for the kids (or until pumpkins run out)
n 12–5 p.m.  Market Hall Prize Wheel
– Spin for free prizes ranging from yummy food
treats to Market Hall swag.
n 2 - 6 p.m. – Cookbook Exchange –
Bring a book, take a book! An annual fundraiser
for the Rockridge Public Library. Books also
available for purchase.
n Chefs Stage: Sponsored by Market
Hall and Nathan & Co.
 11:30–1:30p.m. – Live music with
Brasiliando: Featuring Mary D’Orazi, vocals;
Marcos Silva, piano; Harvey Wainapel, sax;
Doug Lee, bass; and Greg German, drums
 2–5 p.m.– Local Rockridge culinary
personalities' chef demonstrations. Free food
tastings, gift certificate giveaways from Rockridge
n 12–6 p.m. – Cheese Box Art. All
proceeds go to MOCHA.
n 2:30–5:30 p.m. – Zydeco Flames. Dancing
on the BART Plaza at College & Keith
n Food offerings from Market Hall
Merchants from 12–6 p.m. (or until sold out).


10.

September 7, 2013
10.

Rockridge Branch Library: Thank You, Library Friends, for Support

by Erica Siskind, children’s librarian
We’d like to thank the Friends of the
Rockridge Library for the special
programs and resources for children they’ve
funded this past year. The projects have
been much appreciated by our patrons and
have enhanced the experience of every
visitor to the library. Many members of the
community have contributed to FORL, so
this thank-you goes to you all.
This spring, we conducted three parenting
workshops on topics of interest to families
with the very youngest children; Sleep
Issues, Yoga with Baby, and Infant Massage.
During the last session, we got a great idea
for next year: Massage for Moms – where
kids ages 3 to 13 learn some great hands-on
techniques for helping their moms relax. The
final workshop in this series was Language
and Brain Development in Children.
May was Asian and Pacific Islanders
Heritage Month, the perfect time to share
our Kamishibai stories. On the first Tuesday
night of May, families came for an extended
story time, followed by Japanese candy – the
traditional end of a visit by the Kamishibai
story teller. All through the month, Erica
performed Kamishibai stories for class
visits (using the beautiful wooden box-
stage purchased by FORL) and talked to
students about this special story format
that interconnects the histories of children’s
books, Japanese street theater, and manga
and anime.
FORL has instrumentally supported our
summer reading program for more than a
Erica Siskind presents a
Kamishibai story, a storytelling
form that originated in Japan
in the 12th Century, in one of
a series of school class visits.
/Photo Courtesy of Erica Siskind
neighbors ages 11 to 17 who help out
with the summer reading program.
Over 1,000 kids sign up for the
program every summer, and we need
help to register everyone, explain
how to participate, and distribute
prizes. The Junior Volunteers are
a crack team of experts who spend
between 10 and 40 hours of their
summer vacation helping out at the
library. Things run more smoothly because
these junior volunteers help sort books
and DVDs to get them back on the shelves
during our busiest season. We know that
everyone in the community wants them to
feel appreciated for their hard work, sharp
skills, and enthusiasm.
This fall, FORL will be funding a series
of craft workshops for kids ages 5 to 12.
When you came to the library this
summer for one of our special events, to
get prizes for reading, or just to check out
whatever you like, I hope you got a quick
peek at the farm diorama in the Children’s
Area, too. It’s a favorite with preschoolers.
From all the patrons of our library;
Thanks, Friends!
/Courtesy Erica Siskind
decade, by funding our intern, a library
trainee just finishing 11th grade who works
at the Rockridge Library in June, July,
and August. The intern makes sure the
summer reading program runs smoothly
by supervising volunteers, keeping track
of prizes, and, effectively, doubling our
ability to help young patrons.
FORL once again has made it possible
for the Rockridge Library to host extra
summer performances – above and beyond
what the library general fund provides – to
joyful and enthusiastic crowds. When you
came to a show this summer – many held
on Tuesday nights – know that FORL funds
supported the program series.
In addition, FORL provides small
gifts for our Junior Volunteers. These are
a
cross-cultural congregation
striving to partner with
         the Rockridge community
   in lifestyle and service.










 
­
24
College Avenue Presbyterian Church
5951 College Avenue, Oakland  510 658-3665
Sunday worShip 10:30 aM • Visit: capcchurch.org
our wonderful community meal, fridays, 6-7pm
a great opportunity to serVe


 
	


11.
September 7, 2013

11.

Coming Soon to Frog Park: Survey Choices, New Swings, More

by Carol Behr, FROG chair
Based on your FROG priorities survey
responses, the Friends of the Rockridge-
Temescal Greenbelt (FROG) committee
members are working on the number one
interest: more swings. FROG continues to
plan and work through the survey results list.
Swings for the Park
FROG hired MIG, Landscape
Architecture & Green Infrastructure, a
landscape architect and park design firm, to
help assess and identify locations for swing
placement in the park, and to recommend
swings and creative features. The firm has
already recommended that the new swings
be located next to or near the current swings
and has drafted several design options,
including various configurations of these
new features:
More than two years ago, the DMV
agreed to restore the area after cutting down
several large trees in the DMV parking lot
and creek area without prior notice. With
extensive input from local residents, the
FROG committee and the community, the
DMV restoration plan was finalized as a
three phase process.
The first phase was planting the DMV
parking lot trees; the second phase was
installing additional boulders; the final
phase is the new and replaced trees and
additional picnic table that will serve park
visitors, farmers market and DMV patrons.
Review the plan: www.frogpark.org.
Request information or volunteer, e-mail:
info@frogpark.org-
meeting at RCPC’s town hall to discuss
the different options and provide input:
Rockridge Library, 2nd floor, October 17.
View plans online: www.frogpark.org.
E-mail us with questions and comments or to
volunteer: info@frogpark.org. For the latest
survey information, visit www.frogpark.org
and sign-up for our mailing list.
DMV Restoration Update
Final phases of the DMV restoration
will begin in late September when the
DMV continues its promised restoration,
including planting 13 new trees and shrubs
along the DMV Creekside. All that remains
is to install one new picnic table next to the
existing one on a date to be determined.

More Park News: First Saturday Cleanups Continue
September marks the one year anniversary
of the “First Saturday” monthly Frog
Park cleanups. Based on its success, FROG
plans to continue the program for another
year.
Highlights include: adding sand to
both sandboxes, distributing wood chips
throughout the Big Frog park area for
a safer play time, surveying park users,
beginning the replanting of our butterfly
garden, widening the creek bed to prevent
flooding, tree trimming, general cleaning
and mulching.
This program relies on support from
Oakland Tech’s BuildOn club, which reached
out to FROG last year to propose these
workdays. Likewise, volunteers from the

■
■Two baby swings
■
■Two more regular swings
■
■Some exciting additional play features
that may fit into the budget.
FROG is working closely with the
city, and has met with MIG, Fourth Bore
Coalition members, RCPC and others to
secure funding sources, minimize project
management costs, and begin planning.
Fourth Bore settlement funds will be
used for park improvements, though possible
additional funding may be needed.
Coming: Share Your Preferences
and Comments
■
■Late September: Sunday table set
up in the park, to show the plans and get
the community’s input
■
■October: Join our community

Berkeley Kiwanis and UC Berkeley Circle
K Clubs are essential to FROG operations.
The College Avenue Presbyterian Church
summer camps provided much-needed
summer maintenance.
All “First Saturday” cleanups are family-
friendly. We provide tools. Meet at Big
Frog Park, Hudson Street and Claremont
Avenue, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. (Note the new
time) Thank you all. We look forward to a
continued partnership.
Fall Maintenance Day
FROG thanks all community members
who have pitched in to help on our workdays.
Frog Park was built by Rockridge residents
and we are honored by your continued
➧➧More Park News, page 13
August Sales Volume Doubles vs. 2012

Closing date BR BA
Address
Original price
List price DOM
Selling price

8/6/13
2
2
5290 Broadway Terrace
$575,000
$575,000
15
$671,000
8/6/13
2
1
5826 Colby Street
$719,000
$719,000
13
$800,000
8/9/13
2
2
5301 Locksley Avenue
$615,000
$615,000
21
$770,000
8/9/13
2
1
347 Glendale Avenue
$779,000
$779,000
11
$960,000
8/14/13 3
1
5135 Manila Avenue
$625,000
$625,000
8
$735,000
8/15/13 2
2
5400 Broadway Terrace
$660,000
$660,000
1
$660,000
8/15/13 3
1
5272 Shafter Avenue
$768,000
$725,000
20
$700,000
8/16/13 2
1
328 Glendale Avenue
$695,000
$695,000
13
$785,000
8/20/13 3
1
5528 Broadway
$885,000
$885,000
15
$1,090,000
8/20/13 3
2
5646 Oak Grove Avenue
$995,000
$995,000
16
$1,275,000


12.

September 7, 2013
12.

walkable. It’s a place where your destinations
are close enough to walk to and where you
feel safe enough to walk. And it’s a place
that is interesting enough socially to make
you feel that walking is perhaps something
more than just getting from point A to point
B. I think that is the heart of it.”
Since the formation of Calthorpe
Associates in 1983, Peter Calthorpe’s scope
has expanded to include innovative design
projects within the United States and abroad.
His work reflects how community design
with a focus on environmental sustainability
and human scale can be adapted in urban
and suburban cities with great success. His
current task in China focuses on developing
standards and examples of low carbon cities.
Town Hall Agenda:
Peter Calthorpe
Safeway Violates
Agreement
from page 1
from page 3
energy efficiency of China’s growing cities.
He will also highlight the application of
these same successful planning elements
reflected throughout Rockridge.
changes, including significant alterations to
the retail building’s design and an increase
in the height of the building’s Claremont
Avenue frontage.
The building’s architect and Rockridge
resident Ken Lowney, who has not been
involved in preparing the construction
drawings, is compiling a list of the major
design changes, and has indicated that he
has misgivings about some of them.
The three groups hope to reach an
agreement with Safeway so the project can
get back on track towards construction.
■
■Please RSVP to: info@rockridge.org
– put “Calthorpe” in the title line, or phone
869-4200. For this special event, Jules Thin
Crust Pizza, new to College Avenue, will
be served with other light refreshments.
■
■The evening will conclude with a
raffle of two copies of Calthorpe’s most
recent book, “Urbanism in the Age of
Climate Change,” in which he explains how
sustainable urban development can play
a key role in reducing carbon emissions.
Mr. Calthorpe often cites the Rockridge
neighborhood to illustrate the positive
environmental and social impacts that
mixed-use, high-density development can
have on an urban setting.
In his response to blogger Scott London’s
question, “In a nutshell, how would you
describe good urban design?,” Calthorpe
explains that “a well-designed city is
For more information, please see:

http://www.calthorpe.com/peter-calthorpe
http://dirt.asla.org/2011/02/08/
interview-with-peter-calthorpe-author-of-urban-
ism-in-the-age-of-climate-change/
Rockridge design
firm providing
creative, livable
design solutions
•  Residential Remodels
•  Kitchens + Baths
•  Green Building Design
•  Color Consulting
W e ’ re  In  The   
neIghborhood
Jennifer Cooper, owner
5275 James Avenue
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13.
September 7, 2013

13.

While this price tag might seem steep, it
can be tax deductible in many cases. Also,
state or federal grants can be sought to reduce
the bill. For example, FEMA has contributed
funds through its Hazard Mitigation Grants
Program towards utility undergrounding in
some (non-Oakland) areas.
Whether it is through a speedy, mostly
privately financed 20B undergrounding, or a
more time consuming (but less burdensome
for property owners) 20A project, it is
time Rockridge joined the other Oakland
neighborhoods in modernizing our utility
line infrastructure.
Utility Wires
Underground
More Park News
from page 11
commitment. September’s Fall Maintenance
Day relies on College Preparatory School’s
freshman and senior classes and school
advisors to complete needed yearly tasks.
Adults and teens can stop by until 3 p.m.
Saturday, September 7, to help with the
jobs: clean and seal wooden play structures;
turn wood chips; sift sand; clear the creek;
remove graffiti; general cleaning.
The wood sealer is messy, so children
are not asked to help with this task.
from page 2
owners foot most (about 80 percent) of the
total bill, but the city finances the cost of
the project, recouping it later from owners
via a property assessment. The assessment
must be approved by a vote of at least 60
percent of affected property owners.
An estimate for the total cost of a
financed Rule 20B undergrounding is about
$2,300 per year per property for 30 years.
Note: FROG Park play areas will
be closed Saturday, September 7, for the
maintenance day. The play structures will not
be open until Sunday as the sealer must dry.
Bring gloves, smoothing rakes, turning
forks and pruners, if available. E-mail
Howard Ferrier, volunteer coordinator, for
details at hwferrier@sbcglobal.net or leave
a phone message at 510/220-4249.
says he raised concerns about the intersection
with then-Councilmember Jane Brunner
after his volunteers saw a bicyclist struck
by a truck last year.
The group was pushing for a ticket
camera that would discourage speeding and
incomplete stops, common violations at the
heart of the problem. But Lund says Brunner
indicated an OPD study had concluded
this intersection did not meet the criteria
to make the device economically viable.
In the meantime, it will simply be up
to motorists to obey the law. Shaff claims
that many do not realize that even entering
a crosswalk occupied by a pedestrian is
illegal.
Nearby neighbors report frequent fender
benders at the intersection, but OPD sources
say records show surprisingly few reports
on file, suggesting that many collisions are
not being reported.
Collision
from page 4
improvements funded by the CalTrans
settlement over the Caldecott Tunnel’s
fourth bore. However, the project barely
made the list for funding, so formal plans
won’t be undertaken for approximately
another two years, says Shaff.
Peter Lund, founder of Scenic Streets,
Norman H. Burg, DDS
General Dentistry
(510) 652-1517
5700 Broadway, Oakland
A Prevention Oriented Practice
Happening Now! Happening Here!

Your neighborhood 
family eyecare providers
since 1947
Dr. Donald Sarver
Dr. Larry Sarver
Dr. Scott Yokoi
Dr. Cindy Sakai
5321 College Avenue, Oakland
510-655-3797
www.rockridgeoptometry.com
G

GRUBBCO.COM
510.652.2133
3070 Claremont Avenue • Berkeley
510.339.0400
1960 Mountain Boulevard • Oakland

MAXI
LILLEY
THE ROCKRIDGE REALTOR® WITH A
designer’s
eye
REALTOR® – DRE# 01919653
510.919.8997
maxi@redoakrealty.com

Rockridge
Optometry


14.

September 7, 2013
14.

House Repairs & Rehabs,
Interior & Exterior
Kitchen & bath remodel, tile, decks, dry
rot, drainage, walls, termite damage, doors,
windows. Professional work at affordable
prices. Lic#458473. Don 510/812-0310.
Personal Assistant
I can help with your project and household
or personal needs. Highly experienced, ver-
satile, and efficient. Allow me to make your
life simpler. Contact Cynthia 510/326-9985.
cd.warren@comcast.net.
Want a Date Night With
Your Sweetie?
Try Friday Night “Date Night” Dance Classes
in Glenview with David Kelso & Chris Mehling.
12 weeks, Sep. 20 – Dec. 13, 7:30-9:00pm.
Call to learn more. 510/530-7671.
Rockridge Stress
Reduction
Stress Reduction class in Rockridge Tuesday,
October 15-December 10, 9-11:30. 8-week
scientifically proven series includes aware-
ness, yoga, science, communication exercises,
practice CDs. Great for prenatal, parents,
and anyone. Register now: www.centerfor-
stressreduction.com, 510/594-8224.
Love Your Surroundings?
Need help getting organized? Want to de-
clutter your home or office? Let me redesign
your environment in your style & create space
and harmony. Free, no-obligation consulta-
tion. Laura Panica, Organizational Consultant.
510/407-2669. www.liferestyled.com
Small, Rear Unit for Rent
Located between Lawton and Manila. Good
for one person. Close to transportation,
shopping. Walk to College and to Temescal.
$1,200/month plus deposit. Call 650/365-4262.
Your Message Could Be Here
Your 36-word message is $22. (Phone number
counts as one word.) Mail to: RN Classifieds,
4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94611
October issue deadline is September 19.
For information: smontauk@gmail.com
Back to School Special!
Penelope’s Aesthetics!
Offering a custom teen facial with eyebrow
wax for only $49! Relax and refresh with
a custom facial for only $49. Includes free
eyebrow wax! Call for an appointment today!
510 594-1552. penelopecalef.com
Electrical Repairs &
Remodels
From doorbell repair to whole-house
rewiring, we’ve been doing electrical work
in Oakland and Berkeley for over 30 years.
Sutorik & Company, www.sutorikandco.
com, lic. #397149. 510/655-3677.
Quality Carpets & Floors
Enhance the look and beauty of your home
at affordable prices. Carpets, hardwood,
tile, vinyl and marmoleum. Lic#873398.
510/547-7377.
Rockridge:  5400 College Avenue
 Elmwood:  2930 College Avenue
Weekend Brunch in Elmwood
There’s a
new broker
in town.
Design, Installation and Maintenance
Native Plant Gardens & Stonework
Susan Bernosky
Strahan
Insurance
Services, Inc.
510-450-9051
NAMASTE
Andrea Hurd, Horticulturist and Stonemason
License #883905 h tel. 510.558.8429
www.mariposagardening.com
SUMMER
SPECIALS
$139
5 CLASS PASS +
60 MINUTE MASSAGE
10 CLASS PASS +
60 MINUTE MASSAGE
$199
BERKELEY | GRAND LAKE | ROCKRIDGE
W W W. I L O V E N A M A S T E . C O M
Shopping? Find it in Rockridge!


15.
September 7, 2013

15.

E-mail Rockridge News Community Calendar items to: joellis1@hotmail.com, phone 653-3210 (after noon), or mail to:
Rockridge News Community Calendar, 4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94611. Deadline is the next to the last
Tuesday of the month.

Compiled by Jo Ellis

■
■Fri., 9/20, 7pm. The San Francisco literary journal
ZYZZYVA’s Fall Issue Release Party. Hosted (wine
and snacks) by editors Laura Cogan and Oscar
Villalon: readings by local contributors Dean Rader,
Rosie Cima, Nana Twumasi and Kate Milliken.

Community Calendar

■
■Thurs., 9/26, 7pm. Publication Party for Annie Bar-
rows: Ivy + Bean Take the Case.
Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Council (NCPC)
Residents and business members engage in discussions
about crime and public safety with representatives of
OPD. 2nd Thursday each month. See story p.1 for
report of special ceremony on Sept 12, starting at
6pm. Rockridge Library, upstairs meeting room, 5366
College Ave. Info at www.rockridgencpc.com or
chair@rockridgencpc.com.
Rockridge Branch Library
5366 College Avenue, 597-5017
FOR CHILDREN
■
■Rockridge Ninjas: watch Anime, 5-6:30 pm. For
Sept only, meet 3rd Tues. (9/17). In future months
on 2nd Tues.
■
■Fri., 9/27, 7pm Jim Ziolkowski: Walk in Their Shoes:
Can One Person Change the World?
■
■Sun., 9/29, 3pm. Valerie Miner: Traveling with Spirits.
DIESEL, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. More info (other
events and discussion groups): 653-9965 or events@
dieselbookstore.com.
Taste of Temescal
■
■Teen ’Scape: (starting on Oct. 2) Join other teens
each Wed. after school, 2:30 - 4:15pm. Play video &
board games, make crafts, enjoy light snacks.
FOR ADULTS
■
■East Bay Chronic Pain Group: First and Third Tues.
each month, 3-5pm. Info: Susan Malley, 655-3278 or
susanmalley@yahoo.com.
On Tuesday, September 13, from 6-8:30pm, sample
great food from 25 Temescal restaurants along Tele-
graph Ave. Live music and prizes. Proceeds benefit
local schools (e.g. Claremont, Emerson and Oakland
Tech) and the Women’s Cancer Resource Center. See
story p.9 for ticket info. More event info at http://
temescaldistrict.org/.
Rockridge Out-And-About Street Fair
Food, Drink, Music and fun activities for the whole family
Along College Ave. between Alcatraz and Kales. Sunday,
Oct 6, from noon to 6pm. See story p.9.
Jazz at the Chimes
■
■Writers Support/Critique Group: All writers welcome.
Bring 17 copies of up to 5 pgs. (double-spaced, MS
margins) of any prose for on-site reading/discussion
(also welcome to come empty-handed). Third Saturday
each month; 1 to 5pm. Sponsored by the California
Writers Club, Berkeley branch. Info: 420-8775 or
Writefox@aol.com.
■
■Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes (to age
5); Saturdays, 10:30am.
■
■Pre-School Story Time: (ages 2 to 5); Thursdays,
10:30am.
■
■Toddler Story Time: (up to age 2); Thursdays,
10:30am, upstairs.
■
■Lawyers in the Library: Free legal advice and refer-
rals. First Tues. each month, 5 to 7pm. (Advance sign-up
starts 4:45pm at adult reference desk). Volunteer
lawyer leaves before 7pm if no more people present.
ART EXHIBITS (subject to change; call to confirm)
Gallery:
Sept: Lorraine Bruce: Paintings.
Oct: Rockridge Community Photography Group.
Lobby Display Case
Sept: Travel Books.
Oct: No display.
LIBRARY HOURS
Tues, 12:30 to 8pm.
Wed., Thurs. and Sat. 10am to 5:30pm.
Fri., 12 to 5:30pm.
Closed: Sundays and Mondays; also Tues, 9/10.
Diesel Book/Poetry/Readings
All FREE and open to the public.
NOTE: during September, for each used book pur-
chased, get a second used book of your choice (of
equal or lesser value) FREE.
■
■All story times followed by Play Time; parents and
caregivers invited.
FOR TEENS
Vocalist Clairdee and her band in a concert entitled
“Something to Live For: A Love Letter to Lena Horne.”
Sunday, Sept. 15, at 2 pm, followed by artists’ reception
and refreshments. Tickets at the door (cash only) beginning
12:30; doors open 1:30pm: $15 general; $10 seniors (60+)
and students - for concert and reception. Hear selections
at www.clairdee.com. The concert series features Bay
Area jazz musicians in a landmarked Julia Morgan venue.
Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Wheelchair
accessible. Free parking. Info: www.jazzatthechimes.
com, chimesjazz@gmail.com or 654-0123.
Square Dance in North Oakland
Music by The Squirrelly String Band. Calling by Jordan
Ruyle (with occasional guest performers). 1st and 3rd
Fridays each month, 8 – 10pm. All levels welcome; all
dances taught on the spot. $5-10 sliding scale donation.
The Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. Info:
http://squirrellystringband.com.
North Oakland Senior Center
Programs include: Arts/crafts; health counseling;
dancing and exercise; trips, tours and theater outings;
Alzheimer’s Caregivers support groups, computer
classes/more. Annual $12 membership entitles seniors
55 and older to discounts on activities and trips. Mon. –
Fri., 9am to 4:30pm. 5714 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.
Subscribe to “The North Oakland Senior Times” for full
schedule of classes/events, lunch menus, and volunteer
opportunities. Info: 597- 5085.
■
■Teen Advisory Board: (ages 14-18) Advise the library
how to better serve teens. Get community service
credit for school. Snacks provided. 1st Sat. each
month, 1-2 pm. Confirm: 597-5017.
■
■Sun. 9/8, 3pm. Poetry Flash with Maxine Hong
Kingston, Fred Marchant, and Jean Valentine.
■
■Mon., 9/9, 7:30pm. Amnesty International Meeting
(2nd Mon. each month): All invited to exchange
ideas on action.
■
■Tues., 9/10 7pm. Local author Joshua Safran: Free
Spirit: Growing Up On the Road and Off the Grid.
■
■Thurs., 9/12, 7pm. Meir Schneider: Vision for Life:
Ten Steps to Natural Eyesight Improvement.
■
■Wed., 9/18, 7pm. Michael Castleman: Killer Weed:
An Ed Rosenberg Mystery.
INTERIOR-EXTERIOR LEAD
CERTIFIED PAINTERS
Professional preparation. Many local
references. All work Guaranteed
(510) 654-3339
Lic. #0670129


16.

September 7, 2013
16.

Coming Soon
In The Heart of Rockridge
Charming 2 bedroom 1 bath craftsman with
Super sharp detached studio
$850,000
Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett • 510.339.4789
Go to RockridgeHomeValue.com
for a complimentary market
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BRE# 01404404
KEVIN BROWN
Broker
654-8707 or 593-4780
PROVIDING

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To Rockridge Clients
 For Over 26 Years.
We Need More Rockridge Homes to Sell
As of press time, there were only 6 Homes for
Sale in Rockridge. Normally there would be approx.
20 Homes actively on the market right now in
Rockridge. Sellers are seeing multiple offers and
over asking offers  because of the continued tight
supply of homes for sale.  If you had thought
about selling in the past, but thought prices were
too low, you might be surprised as prices have
increased significantly. Call me for an evaluation of
your home and its value in today’s seller’s market
32
SPECIALIZING IN

OResidential Sales

OIncome Property

OCommercial

OProperty Management
SOLD IN ROCKRIDGE
Better Homes
Realty
5353 College Avenue
Oakland
5260 Lawton Avenue Bungalow & Cottage
$975,000
Beautiful Craftsman 2+/2 Bungalow w/Family/
Rumpus on lower level w/bath
Charming Craftsman 2/1 Cottage. Sunny
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www.5260Lawton.com
SOLD
        $1.155,000
COMING SOON
 IN ROCKRIDGE
Playing? Start in Oakland!
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attached studio, plus basement & garage, sunny
yard
COMING SOON
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With new kitchen & bath. Killer original detailing
Award Winning Chabot Elementary School
*NOTE:  Because of Rockridge Newsletter lead
time, all prices are not available at print deadline.
Ron Kriss, Broker
Lawton Associates
L A W T O N
510-547-5970 Ext. 55
ronkriss@jps.net
“#1 in Rockridge Real Estate”
A S S O C I A T E S
Over 130 Homes Sold in Rockridge
www.LawtonAssoc.com
R E A L   E S T A T E
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