Extracted text · highlighting “Play Time”

www.rockridge.org

VOL. 28      NO. 10    ISSUE NO. 304    October 5, 2013                     CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 BusInesses

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

Family: 2012
Halloween: Celebrated on College Avenue by Merchants and the Community Since 1992

Storytelling Witch: 2005
Pirates: 2008
Cowboy, Princess &
Batgirl: 2009
Conductor:
                 2011

21st Annual
College Avenue
Halloween Parade:
Sunday, Oct. 27,
Noon to 2 p.m.

Halloween Parade: Grab Your Kids, Your Costume and Your Candy Bag
Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road?
Because he didn’t have any guts.
Fortunately, you don’t need guts for the
21st annual Children’s Halloween Parade.
All you need is a costume, a sweet tooth
and an escort for those under the age of 12.
Continuing our neighborhood’s great,
ghoulish tradition, the Rockridge District
Association (RDA) and the Rockridge
Community Planning Council (RCPC)

invite you to celebrate Halloween on
College Avenue. From noon to 2 p.m.
on Sunday, October 27, participating
merchants will host trick-or-treating
along both sides of College Avenue, from
Alcatraz to Broadway.
To join the costumed procession, meet at
Halloween Central in front of the College
Avenue Presbyterian Church, 5951 College
Avenue, at 11:45 a.m. At precisely noon,
we’ll kick off trick-or-treating, leading
the first group along the avenue.
At 12:45 p.m., return to Halloween
Central for spooky storytelling and silly,
scary sing-alongs. A storyteller from the
Storytelling Association of California will
spin Halloween yarns in front of the church
and a singer will serenade the crowds.
Don’t miss this holiday fun for kids
of all ages.
Caldecott Settlement
Project Costs
Coming in
Over Budget
Project List
May be Trimmed
About Those Town Hall Meetings....
RCPC Town Halls: Help Make Them Even Better
by Zabrae Valentine, RCPC chair
R
CPC tried something new at
September’s Town Hall meeting
with the hope of drawing more people
to the event, and it worked!
With a 7 p.m. meeting time and
an array of delicious flat bread pizzas
from Jules Thin Crust, guests had the
opportunity to have a bite, chat with
friends and get comfortable before the
program started at 7:30 p.m. It was
terrific! The room was full, and everyone
seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.
Guest speaker Peter Calthorpe, award-
winning Bay Area architect, urban
planner, and Rockridge “almost-resident”
(he lives near the Claremont Hotel)
discussed how best to reduce one’s carbon
footprint in cities, mid-density urban
by Victoria Eisen, city of Oakland consultant
for Caldecott settlement-funded projects
City of Oakland staff and their consultants
are well along designing many of the highest
ranking projects on the Caldecott Settlement
project list.
Unfortunately, as the detailed design of
construction plans has unfolded, corresponding
cost estimates have grown from the initial costs
used to develop the list, in some cases significantly.
This list was developed in 2010 and 2011
through an extensive public process that included
three two-hour walk audits and multiple stakeholder
and public meetings. The process was iterative,
➧➧About the Town Halls, page 9
17
October 2013 RCPC Town Hall Meeting
AGENDA
FROG Park
Caldecott Project Costs Grow
City representatives will
present and discuss Caldecott
settlement fund cost increases
and the potential effect on
proposed projects. Details in
article starting on page 1.
New Swings Coming to
Frog Park: Tell us what
kind and where. Offer your
opinion and view the plans
at the October Town Hall
meeting. Page 10.
Thursday, October 17 | 7:30-9 p.m. Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College at Manila
➧➧Project Costs May Affect List, page 8


2.

October 5, 2013
2.

Brazen Casual Carpool Stickup Sparks Private Security Debate
Following the holdup of a group of commuters in a casual carpool line, a Rockridge
resident started a Crowdtilt campaign (https://www.crowdtilt.com/) to raise funds for
a private security patrol. Later, a second fund was begun, and, recently, a third. Vigorous
debate in neighborhood e-mail networks, erupting just as this issue of The Rockridge
News went to press, showed stark differences of opinion about the suitability of patrols.
RCPC will organize a public forum on this and public safety. Watch for announcements.

Notices of Interest for Rockridge Residents

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

Public Meeting: AC Transit Line 51: Corridor Delay
Reduction and Sustainability Project
A
C Transit,working with the city of
Oakland Public Works Department,
invites the public to a community meeting
October 10 at the Rockridge Branch
Library (Meeting Room 2), 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
to discuss potential improvements to the
Line 51A bus route throughout Oakland.
Lines 51A & 51B are two of the most
heavily used bus routes in the East Bay,
carrying 19,000 passengers a day in
Berkeley, Oakland, and Alameda. Service
has been unreliable due to bus bunching,
late vehicle arrivals and overcrowded
buses. AC Transit has received a $10
million grant to design and implement
infrastructure modifications along the
route to increase reliability and on-time
performance, decrease travel time, and
improve safety for AC Transit riders and

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

pedestrians.
Improvements being considered include:
bus stops improvements (lengthening,
improved landing areas); bus stop relocation
or elimination; intersection and traffic
signal improvements; transit priority signal
timing improvements; left turn pockets;
bus bulbs; and others.
For more information on proposed
improvements for the Line 51 bus
corridor, visit: http://www.actransit.org/
planning-focus/projects-inthe-works/
projects-in-the-works-4/
Can’t make the meeting? Submit your
written comments by Friday, October
25, to Tammy Kyllo, Administrative
Coordinator, AC Transit, 1600 Franklin
Street, Oakland, 94612 or e-mail at
planning@actransit.org.
New Program Helps Homeowners
‘Brace + Bolt’ for Earthquakes
To help Bay Area homeowners protect
their largest investment and loved
ones, the California Residential Mitigation
Program (CRMP) – a joint venture created
by California Earthquake Authority and the
California Governor’s Office of Emergency
Services – is introducing a pilot retrofit
program called Earthquake Brace + Bolt
that would provide rebates for work to
strengthen foundations of homes in the
Rockridge and Temescal communities. The
purpose of the program is to decrease the
physical and financial damage of earthquakes
on single-family residential homes in
California that meet specific criteria.
A typical retrofit can cost between

Newsletter Subscriptions
$2,000 and $10,000. Earthquake Brace +
Bolt will pre-qualify homeowners whose
homes meet the program’s criteria, then
select the recipients of the rebate (up to
$3,000) using a database that will generate
a randomized selection of participants.
The application period for the Earthquake
Brace + Bolt pilot program is limited;
register October 7 through October 25.
Visit www.earthquakebracebolt.com for
more information.
Find additional information about the
California Earthquake Authority at http://
www.earthquakeauthority.com/CEAindex.
aspx, or search: California Earthquake
Authority.
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.
$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:
  November 2, 2013
  November deadline is October 17, 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.
October 5, 2013

3.

Planning Commission
Unanimously Approves
Safeway’s Rockridge
Shopping Center Project
In addition to attractive and interesting kitchens, homes
on the Rockridge Kitchen Tour can offer visual
bonuses to tour-goers, such as the vintage camper
trailers displayed in this home’s yard, projects that
both family and friends have a hand in restoring. Hope
you had a chance to see it. See you next tour: 2015.
The RCPC Land Use Com-
mittee meets Wednesday,
October 23, Rockridge
Branch Library, upstairs
meeting room, 7:30 p.m.
Topics will include an update
on the College Avenue Safeway.
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.
Boero Building (between Manila and Kales
avenues). Several women’s clothing stores
had previously occupied the space.
This is only the latest of various proposals
to locate a real estate office in a College
Avenue storefront. RCPC has traditionally
opposed such proposals, the latest being
Red Oak Realty’s plan to use the space now
occupied by Crossroads Trading Co. RCPC’s
opposition is tied to the organization’s strong
belief that College Avenue street frontage
is best devoted to retail uses. Office uses,
including real estate offices, dilute the
critical mass of retail neighborhood-serving
businesses needed to attract the customers to
keep the street a thriving commercial area.
Nevertheless, the Land Use Committee
heard Prudential’s proposal. The committee’s
biggest concern was not with this specific
office use, but that under the city’s zoning
rules, once a use permit was granted, the
storefront would be permanently available
for future office uses without further city
approval. The committee has therefore
recommended that RCPC not oppose a
use permit if it would be limited to just
this tenant, but to oppose it if the permit
would be permanent. The board will make
a decision at its October 3 meeting.
If you have thoughts on RCPC’s policy
regarding the preservation of retail use along
College Avenue, send them to the committee
at stuflash@aol.com, or mail to RCPC,
4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland, 94611.
Land Use Update
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use
Committee chair
Safeway’s Planned Rockridge Center
■
■College Avenue Safeway
Project at College Claremont
As reported in last month’s Rockridge
News, Safeway violated its settlement
agreement with RCPC and two other
community groups by submitting its building
permit application to the city without first
meeting with the groups to discuss major
design changes from the plan approved by
the city. The city agreed to stop processing
the application until Safeway complied with
the agreement, and Safeway has now met
with the groups and reviewed its intended
changes.
Some changes were considered
acceptable, but several are problematic.
At the meeting, Safeway and the groups
discussed the changes, and how to bring
the project closer to what the city had
approved. A few issues remain. Another
meeting is planned for early October to
try to reach consensus and avoid impacts
to the community beyond those assumed in
the city-approved plans. For the time being,
the parties have agreed not to reveal details
of the disagreements.
Most community concerns addressed
by Safeway’s approval of last-minute
deal with neighborhood groups
After a two-hour public hearing on
September 25, the Oakland Planning
Commission unanimously approved
Safeway’s plans for rebuilding the Rockridge
Shopping Center, located at the corner of
Broadway and Pleasant Valley Avenue.
Safeway’s proposal, changed many
times in the past six years, will replace all
of the current buildings and add 120,000
square feet to the shopping center’s present
185,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. It will
significantly change circulation patterns for
the area, including an added traffic signal
at Coronado and Broadway, the location for
a new main entrance to the center.
Unlike the commission’s acrimonious
hearings for Safeway’s College Avenue
shopping center, testimony at this hearing
was almost all favorable. The dissenting
voice was ULTRA (Urbanists for a Livable
Temescal-Rockridge Area), a primarily
Temescal-based community group favoring
high-density residential development.
It objected to the lack of a residential
component to the project, its automobile
orientation, and a drive-through window
for the new Chase Bank. David Zylstra,
COO of Safeway’s property development
division, said Safeway’s lease with the owner
of the project site prohibited residential
development.
Zylstra also said Safeway was looking at
establishing holiday-season shuttle service
to Rockridge and Macarthur BART stations.
Safeway will also improve placement and
design of AC Transit stops near the site
and is discussing with Kaiser Permanente
adding the center to the route of Kaiser’s
■
■Prudential Real Estate office
5410 College Avenue
Prudential Real Estate, based in San
Ramon, wants to lease a storefront in the
➧➧Safeway Rockridge Center, page 12


4.

October 5, 2013
4.

Meet Captain Anthony Toribio, District 2 Area Commander

Had he not chosen law enforcement as a
career, Captain Anthony Toribio said
he would have been a teacher at the high
school level. Instead, after a discussion
with a roommate, he joined the Oakland
Police Department, and, 23 years later, has
no career regrets.
“I wanted to make a
difference in life, to have
something I could look
back on when I was in my
older years and say I had
made a difference. Law
enforcement seemed noble
to me,” Toribio said.
Although he has a
brother who has been on
the force for seven years,
Toribio is the first in his
family to go into law
enforcement.
In another of the
periodic restructurings
of the Oakland Police
Department that shuffle
and realign positions and
staff, Toribio was assigned
in May to head the new
District 2, covering North
Oakland – all of Rockridge
– and the Oakland Hills,
and comprised of 12
community-policing beats.
This is not his first
assignment in the Rockridge area. In January
2008, Toribio was named North and West
Oakland Captain of an area that included
by Don Kinkead with Judith Berne
Jutting up 10 stories above 7th Street
and Broadway – and hard by the Nimitz
Freeway – the Oakland Police Department
Administration Building, known to those
who work there as the PAB, presents an
indecipherable gray wall of windows and
panels to the street.
Before a seismic retroft
several years ago, the building
was fairly easy to enter
through any of the several
doorways dotting the sides
and front of the ground
floor. Now, many have
been walled off; the
doors remaining are
sturdier, smaller and
more foreboding.
Several can be
opened only by
coded buttons.
On the August
morning that we, Judith
Berne, Rockridge News
writer and Don Kinkead,
editor, entered the PAB to
interview Captain Anthony
Toribio, a line of visitors
already stretched from the
appointment desk through
the door to the outside.
In the large lobby, graced
with a mezzanine floor above
a bank of four elevators, an agitated young
man paced in circles, then across the length
of the lobby, then sat down at a lobby desk,
talking angrily the whole time about how
things weren’t going well for him. His voice
echoed alarmingly through the room. As two
police officers entered the lobby from the
adjoining office area, the young man stood
and walked up to them, crossing his wrists
in front of himself and saying, “I’ve been
bad. I’m ready to be arrested. You can cuff
me now.” The officers casually positioned
themselves on either side of him, and one
asked, gently, “How have you been bad?”
Just then, Captain Toribio came up the
stairs, greeted us, and invited us back to the
office area. Gesturing toward the young man,
still talking loudly, and to the long line still
out the door, Kinkead asked, “Busy day in
the lobby?” Toribio, looking around, said,
“Oh, not too bad.”
much of Rockridge in what was then known
as North Oakland Area 1.
Quoted in the January 2008 issue of
The Rockridge News upon his appointment,
Toribio spoke of his interest in what he
termed “project-based” policing, a crime-
solving approach that works to remove
the root of a problem rather than simply
dealing with the surface concern. Besides
providing a more lasting solution, this
approach gives an officer a greater sense
of achievement, Toribio said then. “Most
people become officers because they want
to make a difference. When they do the job
right, they get a sense of satisfaction, a sense
of accomplishment and pride.”
Now, five-and-a-half years later, the
captain holds to the same philosophy. “I
Toribio on
Private Patrols
‘I
think they can be helpful – they
provide a deterrent to criminal
activity. But, it is critical for those who
would hire a security company to do
their homework and research carefully
what the company offers and what
they – the clients – want. Companies
should have strong policies about
patrol member’s duties. Still, their basic
function is to ‘observe and report.’”
Captain Toribio indicates
the general area of
Rockridge’s part of OPD
District 2.         /D. Kinkead
still feel it is a noble profession. Overall,
it becomes what you make of it – a job or
a passion. I hope those officers who don’t
➧➧Meet Captain Toribio, page 13
Still here for you!
While we await the return to normal parking conditions,
your support means more than ever.
Yasai Market
655-4880
Southie
654-0100
Ver Brugge Foods
658-6854
La Farine
654-0338
Trappist Provisions
594-2339
Vino!
652-6317
The Meadows
653-3322
Wood Tavern
654-6607


October 5, 2013

5.

5.

Black and Orange Ball & Auction Benefits Claremont Middle School

by Jennifer Vetter, Claremont parent
With Claremont’s increased enrollment,
the pressure is on to make the 7th
annual auction bigger and better than before.
Traditionally taking place the Saturday
before Halloween at Uptown Body &
Fender (401 26th Street), this year’s auction
is themed “The Black and Orange Ball.”
Claremont’s school colors are black and
orange, not to mention Halloween’s. Auction
co-chair Deb French said, “Come dressed
in black. Come dressed in orange. Come
dressed in costume. Just come!”
For the first time, Claremont will also
have an online auction, starting Saturday,
October 12 at 9 a.m. and ending Tuesday,
October 22 at 10 p.m. Anyone with a credit

card is welcome to join the fun, as participants
hunt for bargains: a gift certificate at an
old favorite restaurant or a new one like
Bourbon & Beef; a three-month family
membership at the Oakland Y; four tickets
to the California Revels; and much more.
See https://claremontms.schoolauction.
net/auction2013/online_auction
“The Claremont Auction is our biggest
community event of the year and our
biggest fundraiser,” said Claremont PTA
President Elizabeth Gessel. “Our families
look forward to gathering with staff and
the larger Claremont community to eat,
drink and socialize, all while dressed in
fabulous costumes. At the same time, we
raise money for our design, music, garden,
library and technology programs, as well
as for supplies for teachers, student field
trips, and after school support.”
Rockridge merchants along College
Avenue from the J Salon near Broadway
all the way north to Wood Tavern and La
Claremont School Enrollment Soars

by Jennifer Vetter, Claremont parent
The secret is out: Exciting things are
happening at Claremont Middle School
under the leadership of twin principals
Reginald and Ronald Richardson. The
resulting big bump in enrollment – from a
projected 335 to 487 – is causing growing
pains for the school, which needed four
substitute teachers to cover academic core
classes on the first day. Now, three new
permanent teachers have been hired to
teach math, science, and social studies to
6th and 7th graders, and the principals are
working hard to find an English teacher
to fill the remaining open position.
The increase in enrollment is partly
due to more local Rockridge families
deciding to send their kids to Claremont.
For example, 42 of this year’s 6th
graders came from Chabot Elementary
School, as compared to 25 the year before.
Families from other elementary schools
are also jumping on the bandwagon, with
21 from Emerson, 18 from Peralta, 12 from
Piedmont Avenue, seven from Redwood
Heights, five from Kaiser, and five from
Thornhill.
When asked about the reasons for
the school’s new popularity, Principal
Reginald Richardson said, “I believe
parents have been communicating with

➧➧Claremont Auction Gala, page 12
Lic. 691894

Martin Coyle       510-655-8717     Mike Tracy
     5221 James Ave. Oakland Ca. 94618
➧➧Claremont Enrollment Soars, page 12

Coming
Soon
Coming
Soon
Just
Listed
5276 Redondo
391 60th
5319 Shafter
Daniel Stea
Broker / Owner /
Attorney
510.867.4094

Coming
Soon
5330 Manila
Advocacy & Integrity
Since 1997
BRE #01452156

w w w . c o y l e h o m e r e m o d e l . c o m


6.

October 5, 2013
6.

During those
stints, “You
help out with
the animals,”
s h e
s a y s .
“Now I want a
connection with
the people and
to learn their
language.”
Growing up
and going to
public school in
the Rockridge
area has made
her comfortable
with diversity. “I expect it,” she says. By
the time you read this article, she will
have completed a week of pre-departure
preparation at Stanford and another few
weeks of more site-specific training in
Senegal’s capital city, Dakar.
Now, she’s living with a family in
Kedougou and apprenticing with an NGO.
In an e-mail to her mom, she wrote: “My
internship is exactly what I wanted – learning
about planting trees and environmental
education with an organization started by
the Peace Corps.”
This spring, she will have a week of
post-trip evaluation in northern California
before coming home.
“I know there will be things entirely
out of my comfort zone,” Kaitlyn told me.
“But Abby told us to be excited for those
moments. I know that’s when the real
growing experience happens.”
I’m thinking that it takes a brave teen
and a brave teen’s family to go this route.
But Falik is out to make the global bridge
year routine for high school graduates.
She hopes to help future high school
graduates and their parents realize: “It
would be crazy to go straight to college.”

Delaying College for a Global Experience

by Judith Doner Berne
She graduated Oakland Tech in June.
But unlike most of her Class of 2013,
Rockridge teen Kaitlyn Johnke, who lives
down the street from me, will delay going
to college.
Instead, Kaitlyn applied for and was
accepted into Global Citizen Year, an eight-
month program designed to give recent
high school graduates a Peace Corps-style
experience before they enter college. Her
campus: a rural village in Senegal on the
west coast of Africa.
“After doing community service (through
Oakland Tech), I was passionate about
doing something that made a difference,”
Kaitlyn told me, two days before she was
to leave home.
At the same time, she was unclear about
what college to attend and what to study. Her
interests range from nutrition to writing to
environmental science – her AP (Advanced
Placement) environmental science teacher
at Tech, Josue Diaz, is one of her heroes.
Coincidentally it is another Rockridge
resident, Abby Falik, who is giving Kaitlyn
an opportunity she, herself, was denied.
When Falik, CEO and founder of Global
Citizen Year, tried to enroll in the Peace
Corps after graduation from Head-Royce
School, she was told she had to wait until
she graduated college.
But when she took a year off from
Stanford to experience the developing world
on her own, she knew she was on the right
track. “That year was so deeply formative.
I learned so much more than I had in any
classroom,” she says.
“I thought: ‘What would the world look
like if every high school graduate immersed
themselves in the developing world as a
pre-requisite to college?’”
After earning a B.A. and M.Ed. from
Stanford, Falik honed her idea of a bridge
year for high school students, while she
gathered experience with non-profit agencies.
When she entered Harvard’s MBA
program, her goal was to develop a business
plan that she could put into action.
Global Citizen Year began in 2009
with 11 students, placed with families and
non-profit organizations in Guatemala and
Senegal. This fall, 100 have fanned out to
rural villages in Brazil, Ecuador and Senegal,
supporting local projects in education, health,
environmental
sustainability,
micro-financing
and technology.
“We use the
term ‘bridge year’
instead of the more
traditional ‘gap
year’ because the
gap year is often
perceived as a
luxury reserved
for privileged kids,
or those who are
somehow ‘off
track,’” Falik says.
“The notion of a bridge year conveys
an intentional transition from one life
stage to the next,” she says. The goal is to
give young people, regardless of income,
a deeper understanding of the world and
their role within it.
By combining deep community
immersion in the developing world with
intensive leadership training, Falik explains,
the program seeks to give participants the
critical skills and global awareness necessary
to become transformative, social impact
leaders in college – and beyond.
Falik and her husband, Joel Segre, who
works for the Gates Foundation, both grew up
in Berkeley and moved from San Francisco
to Rockridge last October.
“I grew up near the Claremont Hotel
(in the house where her parents Bill Falik
and Diana Cohen still live) and was born at
Alta Bates,” she told me. After living “in a
lot of places all over the world, Rockridge
seemed like home.”
In addition, she moved the headquarters
of Global Citizen Year from San Francisco
to downtown Oakland.
“They’re from all over the country,” Falik
says, of the 600 applicants who applied for
the current Global Citizen Year. Although
“there’s a strong group from the Bay Area
and from California,” she says Kaitlyn
probably is the first to be accepted from
Rockridge.
Although she was nervous, Kaitlyn has
travelled abroad without her mom, Beth, and
younger sister, Kelsey, before. She spent two
weeks in Guatemala in 2009 and in Borneo
in 2012 through a program sponsored by
the Oakland Zoo.
Kaitlyn Johnke,
Global Citizen Year
participant.   /J. Berne
Abby Falik,
founder, Global
Citizen Year.
/Abby Falik
Judy Berne welcomes your comments and column
ideas at judyberne@att.net. For more information
on Global Citizen Year, go to globalcitizenyear.org.


7.
October 5, 2013

7.
Oakland Technical High School: 100 Years of Educating Oakland Teens

by C. Rosenfeld and J. Parker,
Oakland Tech parents
Tech will be celebrating its 100th
anniversary in 2014-15. We are proud
to highlight a Tech alum from each decade
of Tech’s history.
Class of 1918
Stephen David Bechtel, Sr., founder of the
Bechtel Corporation, the largest construction
and engineering company in the U.S. Bechtel
studied engineering at Cal before joining
the family business. His son created the
S. D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation and Tech is
currently the beneficiary of a Bechtel grant.
Class of 1929
Daniel (“Bud”) Hafey, Major League baseball
player for five seasons. The son of a
plasterer, Hafey played baseball for Tech
and eventually for the Chicago White Sox,
Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and
Philadelphia Phillies. Bud Hafey was the
first of three brothers to graduate from Tech
and go on to play major league baseball.
Class of 1930
Tony Martin, born Alvin Morris, actor and
pop singer. His career in music started at
Tech where he formed his first band. After a
few years at St. Mary’s College in Moraga,
he left the Bay Area and “Alvin Morris”
behind and headed for Hollywood, where he
changed his name to Tony Martin, appeared
in over 35 films, had his own television
variety show, and recorded over 50 singles.
Class of 1944
Ruth Beckford, dancer, educator, social
activist, and author. While at Tech, Beckford
toured with Katherine Dunham’s company
and after graduating, became the first
African-American student at the Anna
Halprin Dance Studio in San Francisco. She
started the first city-funded modern dance
program in the United States in Oakland.
After running her own dance company in
NYC for decades, she wrote a memoir: “Still
Groovin’: Affirmations for Women in the
Second Half of Life.”
Class of 1953
John Lawrence, natural scientist, known
internationally for study of insects. After
graduating from Tech, Lawrence earned a
B.S. in Zoology and a Ph.D. in Entomology
at Cal. He worked at Harvard before moving
in 1977 to Australia to work as a scientist
in the Division of Entomology of CSIRO.
His research ranged from beetle fossils to
beetle use as bio-indicators for the effects
of humans on natural habitats.
Class of 1962
Patricia Polacco, internationally known
author and illustrator of over 50 children’s
books. Unable to succeed in her early school
years, Polacco immersed herself in art and
developed a unique drawing style. When
she was 14, a teacher realized that she had
dyslexia and taught her to read and write.
She went on to earn a Ph.D. and published
her first book at age 41. Many of Polacco’s
books are set in Oakland and are tributes
to her childhood in Rockridge.
Class of 1976
Wolfe Perry, basketball star, actor, and coach.
Perry went from playing basketball at Tech
to playing for Stanford and briefly for the
Utah Jazz. Then his degree in theater from
Stanford helped him land the role of Teddy
Rutherford, a high school basketball player,
in the TV series “The White Shadow” in 1980
and be cast in the series “Up and Coming.”
Later, Perry turned to high school basketball
coaching, including at St. Elizabeth High
School in Oakland.
Class of 1988
Terrell Lowery, professional baseball player.
After starring at Tech in the 1980s, Lowery
was recruited to play baseball at Loyola
Marymount in LA. Three years later, he
was drafted by the Texas Rangers and, five
years after that, was traded to the New York
Mets. He broke into the big leagues with
the Chicago Cubs in 1997 and went on to
play for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and for
the San Francisco Giants.
Class of 1994
Anita Shontel Woodley, multi-award winning
actress, radio producer, playwright, and
journalist. While at Tech, Woodley developed
a passion for drama. She graduated magna
cum laude from SF State in Radio and
Television, and worked in broadcast news in
Atlanta, San Francisco, and North Carolina.
Not only has Woodley received numerous
journalism awards, but she has also earned
international praise for her two one-woman
plays, “Mama Juggs” and “The Men in Me.”
Class of 2001
Gabriel Carroll, mathematician, winner of
international math Olympics, Microsoft
researcher, and Stanford assistant professor.
While at Tech, Carroll won the USA
Mathematical Talent Search grand prize and
both silver and gold medals at international
math olympiads. After graduating summa
cum laude in Mathematics and Linguistics
from Harvard, Carroll earned a Ph.D. in
Economics from MIT. He now works as a
researcher at Microsoft and as an assistant
professor of microeconomics at Stanford.
Oakland Tech’s PTSA is creating a book
of reminiscences by Tech alumni in
honor of the Centennial. If you, or anyone
you know, went to Tech and would like to
participate in this project, please sign up
here: http://oaklandtech.com/staff/centen-
nial/interviews/ or email cathy@inventek.
com. All interested alumni are invited to
get involved in the Centennial..


8.

October 5, 2013
8.
Project Costs
May Affect List

This approach can work for capital
projects near frequent transit, a current
priority of funding agencies, but outside
sources will not likely fund capital projects
farther from the Rockridge and MacArthur
BART stations, or planning and study work
of any kind.
With project plans at 65 percent
completion, the city has a better idea of
project costs than it did at the conceptual
stage; however, until construction bids are
received on projects that are 100 percent
designed, we will not know the actual cost
of any of the projects. With that said, the
total cost of the high-ranked projects is
unlikely to come down.
Beyond looking to outside funding
sources, the only way to ensure that as many
projects as possible are built is to make
certain only the most viable and important
projects to the community are pursued.
For instance, future construction of the
soundwalls that would be studied in projects
7 and 8 would have to be prioritized over
highway safety projects in Oakland and
elsewhere in Alameda County. Soundwall
segments in other parts of Oakland have been
studied and fully designed since the 1980s
and are still not any closer to construction.
More details regarding the design and
cost status of the Caldecott projects will be
presented at the Thursday, October 17 RCPC
meeting, 7:30 p.m., second floor meeting
room of the Rockridge Branch Library.
In the meantime, for more information,
contact the city’s Caldecott projects
consultant, Victoria Eisen, at victoria@
eisenletunic.com or 510/525-0220.
from page 1
with costs estimated based on the conceptual
designs supported by the community.
Through the ensuing years, city staff has
met with the public and Caltrans to refine
project designs, including getting a better
understanding of what would be entailed in
the soundwall studies (projects #7-8 in the
final project list below, right).
Design work on eight of the capital
projects at the top of the list is underway
(projects 1-6, as well as 9 and 14 as a
combined project) and is about 65 percent
complete.
Projects #7-8, the soundwall studies, are
the subject of a local petition drive. With
this information, the city’s engineers have
recalculated the expected cost to construct
these projects as shown in the project list.
In all cases, costs have increased,
meaning that the $8 million settlement with
Caltrans will not go as far toward funding
projects as originally projected.
Several factors have contributed to this
situation:
Caldecott	
  Tunnel	
  Settlement	
  Agreement:	
  Final	
  Project	
  List
Original	
  
Revised
cost	
  
cost
No.	
   Name	
  
estimate	
  
estimate

1 Tunnel Road/SR 13/Hiller Drive Intersection Improvements
$ 950,000 $ 1,573,000

2 Pedestrian Facilities on Caldecott Lane/Tunnel Road
$ 850,000

3 Bicycle Facilities on Caldecott Lane/Tunnel Road
$ 290,000
 2&3 Pedestrian & Bicycle Facilities on Caldecott Lane/Tunnel Road

 $ 1,250,000

4 Caldecott Lane/Kay overcrossing Intersection Improvements
$ 100,000

5 Bike facilities on Broadway from Brookside Avenue to Kay OC
$ 410,000

6 Jogging/walking path on Broadway from Golden Gate to Lake Temescal
$ 275,000
 4-6 Pathway & Bicycle facilities on upper Broadway 1

 $ 1,100,000

7 Soundwall study: Eastbound between Vicente Way and Broadway
$ 554,000 $
704,000 2

8 Soundwall study: Westbound between Ross Street and Telegraph Avenue $ 628,000 $
778,000 2

9 Broadway/Keith Intersection Improvements
$ 840,000
9&14 Broadway bike & ped improvements, Keith Avenue to Brookside Lane

 $ 2,100,000

10 College/Keith Intersection Improvements
$ 235,000 $
235,000

11 Bike Route Signage at Rockridge BART
$ 20,000 $
20,000 $8,010,000 3

■
■Projects in the hills require more
and taller retaining walls than originally
envisioned.
■
■As the economy has improved, con-
struction costs have escalated.
■
■Caltrans has added the cost of its
oversight – estimated at $150,000 per study
– to the price tag of each soundwall study.
Matching funds from other sources could
help offset some of these overruns. The city
is applying for a county-wide Safe Routes
to Transit grant to help fund some projects,
and the Fourth Bore Coalition, with its own
settlement from Caltrans, is considering
helping to fund one or more of the projects.

12 Broadway/Lawton Intersection Improvements
$ 400,000 $
400,000

13 Broadway/Ocean View intersection improvements
$ 400,000 $
400,000

14 Broadway/Brookside/SR 24 On-ramp Intersection Improvements
$ 295,000

15 Rockridge BART Bicycle Parking
$ 100,000 $
100,000

16 On-street Bicycle Parking in Commercial Areas
$ 30,000 $
30,000

17 52nd/51st/SR 24 ramps/Shattuck Intersection Improvements
$ 635,000 $
635,000

18 Soundwall study: Westbound between Patton Street and Ross Street 4
$ 179,000 $
0

19 Alternatives' Analysis of Lake Temescal - Tunnel Rd Bike/ped connections $ 200,000 $
200,000

20 College/Miles Intersection Improvements
$ 160,000 $
160,000

21 Claremont/Hudson/SR 24 On-ramp Intersection Improvements
$ 180,000 $
180,000 Orig. funding line
5

22 College/Manila intersection improvements
$ 200,000 $
200,000

23 Pedestrian Scale Lighting on Telegraph from 42nd Street to Berkeley border $ 240,000 $
240,000
Notes
Bold project costs indicates cost has changed since original estimate.
1. Project includes improvements to the Kay Overcrossing, bike facilities on Broadway from the  Kay Overcrossing to Keith
Avenue, and pedestrian facilities from Golden Gate Avenue to Lake Temescal.
2. Includes $150,000/yr/study Caltrans oversight.  Studies cannot be separated; both locations must be studied, or neither.
3. Includes $250,000 for consultant fees to develop the project list and companion fact sheets, coordinate the
public/community process and plan and facilitate community meetings to determine ultimate design of specific projects.
4. Found to be infeasible.
5. Projects #24-37 hidden to allow notes to be seen.  Please see earlier list versions for projects farther down list.
Costs updated 3/22/12  |  List updated 3/15/13  |  Totals updated 9/17/13


9.
October 5, 2013

9.

night vision from which I and many of my
peers suffer.
I have been repeatedly startled by cyclists
dressed in marvelously chic, dark clothing,
riding unlit bicycles on College Avenue in
dense mixed traffic in the dark.
Bicyclists, please: Light up! Let’s work
to avoid any accident that might break the
hearts of those around you.
— Ray Perman
Letters to the Editor
The Rockridge News welcomes letters to the editor. Your name, address, phone
number, e-mail address and city/neighborhood must be included for verification.
Only your name will appear with your letter. Letters may be edited for clarity
and brevity at the editor’s discretion. Views expressed in any letter are the
writer’s own, and may not necessarily be shared by the editor, or by RCPC.
become a national issue, it is time for phone
companies and device manufacturers to
make use of LoJack type tracking systems.
If such a system were to have its own
small power supply independent of the
battery, thieves would have more difficulty
deactivating the phone without tearing the
phone apart. With the GPS already available
on most phones, the data would enable the
police to find and arrest perpetrators.
5) Those with contacts in the local media
or local government can garner support from
the public.
— Jason DiBari
Take These Steps to Reduce Crime
in Rockridge
Editor:
Undergrounding Utilities Costs
Likely Prohibitive for Some
Editor:
The lack of enforcement and a visible
deterrent has emboldened criminals. If
nothing is done, we can assume Rockridge
will become more desirable for criminals
than for residents, visitors and businesses.
If people no longer feel safe walking the
streets, the tax base will eventually decrease,
making it even harder to fund public services.
These thefts are unlikely to stop on their
own and it is unlikely they will continue
without someone eventually getting hurt.
Here are a few ideas to address the problem:
1) A 3-6 month sting operation with
police officers as decoys. Since armed
robbery carries a minimum penalty of 15
years in state prison, prosecuting even a
few can deter others.
2) Cameras at key intersections to capture
license plates after a robbery. With victims
and bystanders identifying vehicles, cameras
can record license plates.
3) A neighborhood watch program,
involving radios, bike patrols and cameras,
will help to provide a sense of security for
residents and should aid law enforcement
with collection of visual evidence should a
crime occur.
4) As theft of high tech devices has
The September issue of The Rockridge
News carried an op-ed piece calling for the
undergrounding of utilities in Rockridge.
A very important consideration for
the seniors among us is making sure that
undergrounding does not cause problems for
those on fixed incomes. Another $2,300 a
year would cause serious issues for me and
I’m sure for others as well. I don’t know
where it would come from.
— Judith Bodenhausen
Cyclists: Light up the Night!
Editor:
As the days shorten, I hope that my
fellow 60-somethings in Rockridge will
join me in reminding the numerous 20-
and 30-somethings who bicycle in the
neighborhood at night that they really do
need serious head lamps and taillights on
their bicycles.
Obviously, apart from proper lighting
being the law, the real reason for concern
is that I am sure most of these young
individuals are very much loved by others.
Have they forgotten?
Also, these young cyclists may not
fully understand the nature of the reduced
About the
Town Halls
from page 1
areas, and the ‘burbs and the challenges to
doing so posed by misconceptions and myths.
Relaxed, candid and ever so slightly
cantankerous, he poured on the data with
slides and comments, generating a lively
discussion. (For more details, see http://
www.calthorpe.com/peter-calthorpe)
RCPC wants to make these Town Hall
meetings events you want to attend. We
think that might include offering light fare
for folks coming straight from the office,
starting a bit earlier (such as 7 p.m., or even
6:30 p.m.), and getting more suggestions
from the neighborhood on desired topics.
But that’s just a start – What do you
think?
Please e-mail us at info@rockridge.
org with your answers to the following
questions:
1) If you’ve attended Town Halls in the
past, what did/do you like/dislike?
2) If you haven’t attended but want to,
what obstacles must you overcome, or what
can we do to enable you to participate?
3) What topics/speakers would you like
us to feature?
Thank you for your help and support.
Specializing in Rockridge Real Estate
Most real estate transactions in Rockridge from 2011 – 2013*

The market in Rockridge remains stable to strong. Rates remain low historically, even if up
from the all time lows of the spring. Feel free to call if you’d like a home valuation.

*personally represented over 30 transactions valued at over $30 million in Rockridge in just the
2011-2013 time period (out of over 75 total transactions valued at over $50 million from 2011-2013)

PENDING: 3BD 2.5BA home in the Peralta School District, Listed @ $849,000 - 432North.com
FOR LEASE: 1BD 1BA remod apt - $1,995/mo & 3BD 2BA home, Chabot Dist - $4,300/mo
COMING: 4+BD 2.5 BA homes, Chabot District.

Lawton Associates is a proud long time sponsor of our local
Rockridge Kitchen Tour and ‘Rockridge Out and About’ Street Fair
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


10.

October 5, 2013
10.

New Swings Coming
to Frog Park
Tell Us What Kind and Where
Wet, Wild, and Wonderful Creek-to-Bay Day
by Leonora Sea, DMV neighbors
association
Start with a creek in need of a little TLC,
add a bunch of enthusiastic volunteers,
throw in coffee from Alem’s and cookies
from Bakesale Betty, and top off with a most
impressive downpour and what do you get?
Creek to Bay Day 2013 in the Rockridge
Temescal Greenbelt, that’s what!
New friends and old arrived promptly at
9 a.m., bravely ignoring the weather report
and ready to pitch in. Completed priority
projects included trimming the lower
branches on the Redondo lawn willow for
easier passage underneath; pulling nutsedge,
kikuyu grass, and other weeds out of the
creekbed; picking up a couple of bags of
litter; and in two locations, cutting back
willow roots that have been blocking the
creek channel.
Rain arrived promptly at 10 a.m.:
lightly at first, and then came the deluge.
Fortunately, the weather was warm enough
for work to continue for the rest of the
morning, while, with the loan of the FROG
EZ-up tent, sign-in sheets, snacks, and gift
tote bags stayed fairly dry.
Thanks to everyone who came, worked
hard, got soaked, and made Creek to Bay
Day at Temescal a rousing success. We
On a sunnier day, Leonora Sea and Lee
Patterson of DMV Neighbors Association
demonstrate some of  tasks accomplished
on Creek-to-Bay Day.                    /D. Kinkead
by Carol Behr, FROG chair,
and Annie Suttle
F
ROG continues to make progress on
plans to add baby and regular swings,
along with other play features in Big Frog
(Hardy Park). You have
several opportunities
to view the plans,
provide your input
and ask your questions
to help guide the way:
■
■Look for the swing plans in the park
(a table will be out on weekends in early
October).
appreciate Mayor Jean Quan stopping by
to support us.
Thanks also to generous donors: Alem’s
Coffee, Bakesale Betty, Mail Max for
printing services, and Eddie’s Liquors for ice.
Special thanks are due to Luciano Cortes-
Nicholas of Oakland Parks, Master Gardener
and guardian spirit of the Rockridge
Temescal Greenbelt. Without his help with
preparation, and with collecting all the piles
and bags generated on Saturday, “Creek to
Bay the Temescal Way” would not have
been possible
■
■Provide your opinion and view the
plans in person at the October 17 RCPC
Town Hall meeting at the Rockridge Branch
Library; start time: 7:30 p.m.
■
■View plans on line: www.frogpark.
org.
■
■Take our survey. Link at www.
frogpark.org; sign-up for our mailing list.
■
■E-mail us with questions and com-
ments or to volunteer: info@frogpark.org.
a
cross-cultural congregation
striving to partner with
         the Rockridge community
   in lifestyle and service.
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










 
­
24


 
	
3rd Floor
Market Hall
TM
Ste. 312
rockdent.com
510.653.6677
Bruce D. Fong, D.D.S.
Filippo Cangini, D.D.S, M.S.
Advanced Preventive,  Restorative,  Periodontal  Gum Care,  and Dental Implants.


11.
October 5, 2013

11.

Upgraded Street Sweeping Warnings Get Results
The nightmare of street sweeping day on Harwood Avenue
above College is finally over. After years of neighbors
hanging hand-made warning signs and giving verbal reminders
about street sweeping days, yet still seeing legions of cars
ticketed on those days (there is no warning on the parking
meters and the city’s signs on the street are faded and illegible),
a couple of neighbors and I had A-frame sidewalk signs made
to display on street sweeping days.
Result: No cars; no tickets; clean streets!
— Submitted by Ray G. Perman

August Sales Volume Doubles vs. 2012

New
Bourbon & Beef
Restaurant and bar
Owner: Munther Massarweh
5634 College Avenue, Oakland
510/788-4821
www.bourbonbeef,com
Lunch 11a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday – Friday,
dinner 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. daily, Saturday
and Sunday brunch 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sleep Play Love
Children’s Consignment
5377 College Avenue, Oakland
510/450-2540
The Barrel Room Oakland
Wine bar
Opening in October
5330 College Avenue, Oakland
www.barrelroomoak.com
Pucquio
Peruvian restaurant
Owners: Carlos and Lisette Moreira
5337 College Avenue, Oakland
510/658-7378
http://www.pucquio.com/
Dinner Tuesday – Saturday
5 p.m. – 10 p.m.
 
  Closed
Nan Yang Restaurant
6048 College Avenue, Oakland

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.

October 5, 2013
12.

Safeway
Rockridge Center
Claremont
Enrollment Soars
Claremont
Auction Gala
from page 3
from page 5
from page 5
local shuttle. He admitted he would have
preferred no drive-through window, but said
Chase insisted. Since Chase has a long-term
lease and could block the project, Safeway
had to give in.
RCPC’s and PANIL’s (Piedmont Avenue
Neighborhood Improvement League)
favorable comments resulted from a last-
minute agreement with Safeway. Besides
clarifying the project’s conditions of
approval, the agreement requires Safeway to
pay for traffic surveys on nearby residential
streets before and after the project’s
construction and occupancy. Safeway will
also post a $500,000 bond: If the traffic
surveys show that the project has increased
“cut-through” traffic on those streets, the
bond will pay for implementing speed
bumps, stop signs, and rotaries to discourage
through traffic diversion onto those streets.
Increased cut-through traffic had been a
major fear in the community.
The commission also certified the final
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for
the project. The EIR acknowledged the
project would worsen traffic conditions at
the Broadway/Pleasant Valley/51st Street
intersection, and other intersections on
Pleasant Valley. Accordingly, the commission
adopted a formal statement explaining why
the project’s benefits justified its approval.
Those benefits include more jobs for local
residents, additional tax revenue for the city,
more convenient shopping for area residents,
and reducing the loss of retail revenue into
surrounding cities such as Emeryville and
Walnut Creek.
Project opponents could appeal the
approval to the council within 10 days.
other parents and the community about how
safe they feel, how positive the environment
is here, how great the teachers are. I believe
the parents grew trust.”
PTA President Elizabeth Gessel said,
“As people continue to learn about the work
being done by co-Principals Ronald and
Reginald Richardson, we expect student
numbers will keep increasing until we
reach our full capacity. We look forward to
building a vibrant Claremont community
with all our students and their families.”
Attendance Clerk Marta Gonzalez lives
in the San Leandro School District but
chose to enroll her son Moises in the 6th
grade at Claremont this year. Last year was
her first year working at Claremont, as it
was for the Richardsons. “It’s not just for
the convenience of bringing my son to the
school where I work. I saw the changes in
the school last year,” she said.
With votes of confidence like that
from the inside, and all the positive media
reports about the school from the outside,
Claremont Middle School seems well on
its way to the best year yet.
Farine support the auction by donating gift
certificates, services, and merchandise.
Donations come from all over the Bay Area
and even farther afield, but Claremont is
lucky to have so many fabulous and generous
Rockridge neighbors.
Norman H. Burg, DDS
General Dentistry
(510) 652-1517
5700 Broadway, Oakland
A Prevention Oriented Practice
Design, Installation and Maintenance
Native Plant Gardens & Stonework
LAW OFFICES OF
KYLE M. JOHNSTON
Andrea Hurd, Horticulturist and Stonemason
License #883905 h tel. 510.558.8429
www.mariposagardening.com
5315 COLLEGE AVE.
OAKLAND, CALIF.
510.527.1880
CALL FOR YOUR FREE
INITIAL CONSULTATION
FAMILY   ╬   BUSINESS   ╬   ESTATE
WWW.KYLEMJOHNSTON.COM
Rockridge design
firm providing
creative, livable
design solutions
•  Residential Remodels
•  Kitchens + Baths
•  Green Building Design
•  Color Consulting
every sunday night at 6 pm
W e ’ re  In  The   
neIghborhood
Jennifer Cooper, owner
5275 James Avenue
Oakland, CA  94618
5 1 0 . 6 5 2 . 5 0 3 6
pumpkinhousestudio.com


13.
October 5, 2013

13.

to offer advice and direction to the captains.
The increased accountability of
supervisors, Toribio believes, has improved
the quality of investigative work of both
officers and supervisors. And, he says,
officers like it “because it all leads to the
goal of stopping the bad guys.”
Additional policing resources are soon to
be made available to the department. “The
police department has made a commitment
to crime reduction and the city has made
a commitment to fight crime by providing
more sworn and civilian staff,” the captain
said. He noted two police academy classes
have already graduated and moved on to field
training. A third class started in September.
Toribio seems determined to spread
the word of the changes in the department
resulting from the reorganization as well as
the improving Consent Decree management.
At a fit 46 years of age and with a persistent
sense of humor (“That’s 322 in dog years,” he
said of his age), he does not lack for the energy
or attitude to get his points across. He speaks
at community meetings, neighborhood
group meetings, and Neighborhood Crime
Prevention Council (NCPC) meetings. He
has opened a Twitter account (@area2opd),
and points out that the department now has
a Facebook page as well.
“But,” he emphasized, as the interview
drew to a close, “crime reduction cannot
happen by police work alone. My challenge
to the community is: ‘What more can you
do to reduce crime?’ Everyone needs to
get out of their comfort zone and make a
commitment to reduce crime. That could
be: volunteer at a school; mentor a young
person; form a Neighborhood Watch;
Meet Captain
Toribio
NCPC Hosts OPD Award
from page 4
begin with a sense of the profession’s nobility
develop a sense of ownership and connection
with the people they serve, protect and help.”
In all, there are now five police districts
with officers assigned according to beats;
there are 35 beats in the city divided among
the districts. Captain Toribio is responsible
for seven beats. Rockridge is covered by
parts of beats 12Y and 13X.
“The reorganization provides a smaller,
more manageable area and time to get into
the weeds of crimes. It also allows more
time to strategize about crime prevention… I
previously had an area about twice as large.”
With this restructuring, Toribio and
his fellow captains can more easily help
officers develop the sense of ownership and
connection Toribio hopes they will have.
Given that the captains have more compact
districts, and will have more opportunity to
work closely with the officers under their
command, he expects a different level of
policing to be possible.
Toribio says he can now review all crime
reports and assign immediate follow-up for
additional evidence or identification to round
out an investigation. Also, exemplary work
can be more promptly rewarded.
This improved accountability works both
ways, he said. As a part of the restructure, the
department’s CompStat system (COMPuter
analysis of crime STATistics) has been
reengineered, permitting senior management
In a public ceremony at the September
Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Council (NCPC) meeting, Oakland
Police Officers Dana Ly, left, and
Gunther Lee were each presented with
a Captain’s Commendation by Captain
Anthony Toribio, center, for the recent
arrest at College and Keith of suspects
thought to have been involved in a
number of Rockridge-area robberies.
Toribio also presented the men
with custom-designed and minted
Area 2 coins in recognition of their
achievement.                     /D. Kinkead
organize a neighborhood event; harden the
target [home] with greater security, better
outside lighting and visibility. Add a video
camera as suitable.”
As we exited the interview room
and walked through the lobby, all was
unexpectedly quiet. No waiting line. No
upset young man. A peaceful moment before
the next wave of PAB business.
G
Rockridge
District 2 Contacts
•	Captain Toribio e-mail: AToribio@
oaklandnet.com
•	District 2 website: http://www2.
oaklandnet.com/Government/o/OPD/o/
BFO/District2/index.htm
•	Problem Solving Officers (PSOs): work
with the Greater Rockridge Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), meeting
monthly with the group. They are:
•	Channelle Del Rosario, beat 12Y,
e-mail: communitypolicingbeat12@
oaklandnet.com, and:
•	Jason Trode, beat 13X, e-mail
communitypolicingbeat13@oaklandnet.
com
•	NCPC: http://www.rockridgencpc.com/
index.php?start=15
Optometry
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
GRUBBCO.COM
510.652.2133
3070 Claremont Avenue • Berkeley
510.339.0400
1960 Mountain Boulevard • Oakland


14.

October 5, 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,
versatile, and efficient. Allow me to make
your life simpler. Contact Cynthia 510/326-
9985. cd.warren@comcast.net.
Weekly Meals Delivered
Too much on your plate? We deliver
delicious, organic, weekly meals to homes
and offices in Rockridge. Excellent local
references. Contact Chef Margaret Riesen
at 510/865-2935.
Rockridge Stress Reduction
Stress Reduction class in Rockridge.
Tuesday, October 15-December 10, 9-11:30.
8-week scientifically proven series includes
awareness, yoga, science, communication
exercises, practice CDs. Great for prenatal,
parents, and anyone. Register now: www.
centerforstressreduction.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
Delicious, Healthy Thai Food
Authentic Tai dishes with choices of non-
organic dishes, vegetarian, and organic
dishes. Sukho Thai, 5498 College Avenue,
510/420-8600. www.sukhothaiusa.com,
sukhothairockridge@gmail.com
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
November issue deadline is October 17.
For information: smontauk@gmail.com
Penelope’s Aesthetics Fall
Special!
Enjoy an express anti-aging facial and
experience the results! Only $49! Call today
for an appointment! 510/594-1552, www.
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.
There’s a
new broker
in town.
INTERIOR-EXTERIOR LEAD
CERTIFIED PAINTERS
Professional preparation. Many local
references. All work Guaranteed
(510) 654-3339
Susan Bernosky
Strahan
Insurance
Services, Inc.
510-450-9051
NA MA S T E
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


15.
October 5, 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

We Have Just the
Route for You!
Samantha Blackburn has moved from
Rockridge but she came back last
month just to deliver the Rockridge News
to Oak Grove neighbors. She is hoping
someone will take her place as block
captain and so are we because we do not
like to think that anyone in Rockridge
is not getting the News. So, please let us
know if you can take her route:

Community Calendar

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. 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
y
y See Vicky Chen, Teen Librarian about International
Games Day. Compete with players from other librar-
ies on Super Smash Bros. Brawl on Nov. 16, from
11am to 2pm.
FOR ADULTS
y
y East Bay Chronic Pain Group: First and Third Tues.
each month, 3-5pm. Info: Susan Malley, 655-3278 or
susanmalley@yahoo.com.
y
y 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.
Route 20D: Odd numbers of Oak Grove
from Zachary’s (leave 25 at Zachary’s) to
5667 across the street to 5670 Oak Grove
and along even numbers including Trader
Joe’s. (Route =35+25)
E-mail Susan at smontauk@gmail.
com or call 510/547-3855.
y
y Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes (to age
5); Saturdays, 10:30am.
y
y Pre-School Story Time: (ages 2 to 5); Thursdays,
10:30am.
y
y Toddler Story Time: (up to age 2); Thursdays,
10:30am, upstairs.
All story times followed by Play Time; parents and
caregivers invited.
Special Events
y
y Lawyers in the Library: Free legal advice and
referrals. 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:
Oct: Rockridge Community Photography Group.
Nov: Darryl Tighe: Abstract watercolor paintings.
Lobby Display Case
Oct: Peter Langenbach: Wooden sculpture.
Nov: Peter Langenbach: Wooden sculpture.
y
y PeopleOlogie Native Crafts Workshop: Thurs,
10/17, 4 to 5:15 pm. Hands-on craft workshop to
celebrate native cultures of Central & South America.
We’ll make woven bracelets like those worn by the
Inca people. Sign up in advance at the Children’s
Desk, or phone Erica: 597-5017.
events and discussion groups): 653-9965 or events@
dieselbookstore.com.
Chabot Elementary School Fall
Carnival & Craft Fair
Sunday, Oct 27, 11am to 3pm. Hand-made crafts from
the local community; food, games, prizes, performances
and activities for all ages. Proceeds benefit enrichment
programs and school improvements. Chabot School,
6686 Chabot Road (cross street Patton). More info:
www.chabotelementary.org.
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.
y
y Not-So-Scary Halloween Stories & Treats: Tues,
10/29, 7 pm. Come in your costume for not-too-
scary stories, fun songs, and special treats. Best
for ages 2 to 8.
FOR TEENS
**Popular Dystopian Fiction Display will be held
between October 13 and 19 to celebrate Teen
Read Week.
LIBRARY HOURS
Tues, 12:30 to 8pm.
Wed., Thurs. and Sat. 10am to 5:30pm.
Fri., 12 to 5:30pm.
Closed: Sundays and Mondays.
Diesel Book/Poetry Readings, Events
All FREE and open to the public.
y
y 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.
y
y Sun., 10/13, 3pm. Publication Party for Shelley Buck:
East: A Woman on the Road to Kathmandu.
y
y Mon., 10/14, 7:30pm. Amnesty International Meet-
ing (2nd Mon. each month): All invited to exchange
ideas on action.
y
y Rockridge Ninjas: watch Anime, 5-6:30 pm; 2nd
Tues. each month.
y
y Tues., 10/29, 7pm. John Freeman: How to Read
y
y Teen ‘Scape: Join other teens each Wed. after
school, 2:30 - 4:15pm. Play video & board games,
make crafts, enjoy light snacks.
a Novelist.
DIESEL, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. More info (other
y
y New to Medicare & open enrollment: presented by
HICAP P2 – Tues. 10/29, 10:30 am – noon.
MAXI
LILLEY
THE ROCKRIDGE REALTOR® WITH A
designer’s
eye
y
y Flu Shots: Nov 12. Call info number below.
Annual $12 membership entitles seniors 55 + 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.
Temescal Farmers’ Market
Open Sundays, 9am to 1pm (all year). Locally grown
fruits and vegetables; fresh ranch eggs; home-made
bakery items; fresh cut flowers; unique prepared foods,
fresh locally caught fish, handcrafts and more. Sample
the goods; meet the grower; learn about unique food
varieties and cooking tips; and listen to live music. Bring
your own reusable bags. 5300 Claremont Ave. (off
Telegraph) at DMV parking lot. More about Certified
Farmers’ Markets at urbanvillageonline.com.
REALTOR® – DRE# 01919653
510.919.8997
maxi@redoakrealty.com

Shopping? Find it in Rockridge!
Lic. #0670129


16.

October 5, 2013
16.

5839 Virmar SOLD
Substantially over the list price
in less than 10 days!
Is there a move In your future?
Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett • 510.339.4789
Go to RockridgeHomeValue.com
for a complimentary market
analysis of your home!
Over 400 homes sold - Experience Counts
BRE# 00875454
BRE# 01404404
KEVIN BROWN
Broker
654-8707 or 593-4780
PROVIDING

Professional,

Full Service

Real Estate Brokerage

To Rockridge Clients
 For Over 26 Years.
We Need More Rockridge Homes to Sell
As of press time, there were only 13 Homes
for Sale in Rockridge. Normally there would be
approx. 24 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
Courtyard, parking, & storage.
www.5260Lawton.com
SOLD
        $1.155,000
COMING SOON
 IN ROCKRIDGE
Playing? Start in Oakland!
Vicente Bungalow + Studio   Call for pricing*
Charming 2 Beds/1 Bath Craftsman Bungalow,
attached studio, plus basement & garage, sunny
yard
COMING SOON
 IN ROCKRIDGE
Above Broadway A 2+Bed /1 Bath
Craftsman Bungalow
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
B R O K E R A G E

aboutface&body
dayspa      oaklandberkeley
serving you since 1981
AVEDA PRODUCTS
Now offering men’s waxing
3190 college avenue
at alcatraz
berkeley, ca 94705
p 510.428.2600
www.aboutfaceandbody.net
sun-tues 10:30-5:30
wed-sat 10:30-8:00
Living? Love it in Oakland!
ELMWOOD
2991 College Ave
510.883.7000
www.mcguire.com