Extracted text · highlighting “Susan Strahan”

www.rockridge.org

VOL. 29      NO. 3      ISSUE NO. 309      March 8, 2014                       CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 BusInesses

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

IN April: RCPC Board Elections; 6 Seats. support rockridge: page 2

New Contractors for Private Security Patrols
What’s the Latest
at Safeway on College?

by Safer Rockridge representatives
We are pleased to announce the
formation of Safer Rockridge, a non-
profit group formed to help organize safety
ideas and initiatives in Rockridge, including
the security patrols. Information about Safer
Rockridge and the patrols can be found at
www.saferrockridge.org.
The Safer Rockridge Security Patrols are
funded by concerned Rockridge community
members and businesses. The main goal of
the security patrols is to enhance the safety
of all Rockridge neighbors and guests on our
streets and in our public spaces. The security
patrols will do this by:
Security officers from Premiere
Protective Service (www.ppsguards.com)
will provide the patrols. They will patrol the
region shown in the map below.
/Chuck Afflerbach
It is sometimes difficult to know what
is happening at the construction site for
Safeway on College. They work, they stop,
they work again. Sometimes it rains.
To help keep people up-to-date, Stuart
Flashman, an RCPC boardmember who
along with other neighborhood group
members negotiated with Safeway on project
and construction design, has arranged with
Elisabeth Jewel of Aroner, Jewel and Ellis
(AJE) for regular construction site updates.
AJE “provides local government lobbying,
community outreach” and other services to
its clients, according to its web site.
Here is a general look ahead for what to
expect at the site in the next several weeks:
■
■patrolling neighborhood streets and
public spaces to deter criminal activity
■
■being a resource to residents and
guests who may have immediate
security concerns
■
■providing the Oakland Police
The security officers will be unarmed.
They are trained to observe and report
suspicious or criminal activity, and their
Department with documentation of
observations that can help them in
their duties of law enforcement in
Rockridge.
➧➧Security Patrols Revamped, page 10
■
■Site preparation continues with
the removal of more dirt. Crews have been
forming the store walls and concrete pouring
of foundation footings and walls.
20
AGENDA: March 2014 RCPC Town Hall Meeting
Thursday, March 20 | 7-9 p.m. Rockridge Library
We Mean Green: Add trees and landscaping; remove utility
poles; improve the environment, health and property
values. Learn how from local experts and neighbors.
Rockridge is regionally known and
locally loved for its neighborhood
charm. Over recent months, we’ve discussed
making our streets safer, but how can we work
with the city and our neighbors to make our
streets even more beautiful and inviting?
On March 20 from 7-9 p.m. at the Rockridge
Branch Library, hear from local experts and
neighbors about how we can add trees and
landscaping, bring down the cluttering utility
poles, and make streets safer for pedestrians
■
■Claremont Avenue will be wet from
the tire washing of all departing trucks.
The street sweeper will be on hand to keep
debris out of storm drains.
to walk, cyclists to ride, and kids to play by
implementing traffic-calming design.
Many studies have shown that, in addition
to enhancing quality of life, these improve-
ments can have a dramatic beneficial impact on
health, the environment and property values.
Our conversation will focus on what
the city does, what neighbors can team up
to do, and what you can do that can add
up to greener, cleaner, and safer streets in
Rockridge.
■
■In March, neighbors and shoppers
will begin to see new parking restrictions.
On Claremont, the coveted all-day casual
carpool parking spots will be removed.
Parking on College from Claremont up
to 63rd Street will also be temporarily
restricted. All restricted spaces will have
signage indicating how long the spaces will
be blocked off.
Thursday, March 20 | 7-9 p.m. Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College at Manila
➧➧Notes: Safeway Construction, page 12


2.

March 8, 2014
2.

RCPC
Election
April 2014
At the April Town Hall Meeting:
Candidate’s Forum, Board Elections
ROCKRIDGE BRANCH LIBRARY
5366 College Avenue
597-5017
HOURS:
Mon, Tues:
Weds, Thurs, Sat:
Friday:
Sunday:
Library program details: See Calendar, page 15.
RCPC Board Election Procedures
R
CPC’s annual election for the Board
of Directors will be held in April. At
the RCPC Town Hall meeting Thursday,
April 17, candidates for the RCPC board
of directors will introduce themselves and
describe their platforms for Rockridge.
Four incumbents and two new candidates
are standing for the six available seats.
Each is pictured below with excerpts from
their statements. The full statements
will be printed in the April issue of The
Rockridge News, due out on April 5.
There will be two opportunities
in April to vote for the candidates of
12:30 – 8 p.m.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
12 – 5:30 p.m.
CLOSED
your choice: You may vote at the Town
Hall meeting Thursday, April 17,
starting at 7:30 p.m., or you may vote
Saturday, April 19, in front of the
lobby of the Rockridge library, between
11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Voter Eligibility
Persons age 18 and over who live
within RCPC boundaries are eligible
to vote. Verification will be by driver’s
license or DMV ID card showing an
address within RCPC boundaries, as
depicted on the RCPC website at
rockridge.org.
Tue: 12:30 – 8 p.m.

Wed, Thu, Sat: 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Friday: 12 – 5:30 p.m.

CLOSED Sun and Mon
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, Jennifer Daskal, Kevin Faughnan,
Virginia Hamilton, Michael Kan, William Kaufner,
Don Kinkead, Lisa McNally, Greg Pasquali
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org

Incumbent
Incumbent
New Cand.
Incumbent
Incumbent
New Cand.
Christopher
Chin
Virginia
Hamilton
Gabe
Kleinman
Laura
Schlichtmann
Zabrae
Valentine
Samantha
Weaver
C

Lhristopher Chin: I am particularly
interested in promoting better
communication and participation within
the Rockridge community.
Vaura Schlichtmann: I have enjoyed
working on RCPC’s neighborhood events,
participating on the Land Use Committee,
and helping distribute The Rockridge News.
Zirginia Hamilton: I am committed to
both preserving the unique character
of Rockridge, and being open to new ideas
and community input.
Gabrae Valentine: Since last year, the
RCPC board has initiated several
terrific projects that, as chair, I’d like to
see through to completion.
S
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
abe Kleinman: I want to see how we
might better understand and design
solutions for the needs and desires of
everyone in the community.
amantha Weaver: I want to contribute
to the RCPC’s mission to provide
leadership and representation of
neighborhood interests.
Reward: Stolen Antique Burl Bowl
An American antique wooden burl bowl
was stolen from Talisman antique
shop on College Avenue in Rockridge on
Saturday, December 28. It measures about
24" in diameter by 9" in height.
T he b ur l
bowl has been
in the owner’s
family for at
l e a s t  e i g h t
generations.
Originally a
wedding gift,
through the
generations it
accompanied the family from Illinois to
Southern California, to the Sierra Nevada,
and finally the East Bay. The bowl holds
the family’s history in America. Its loss has
caused immeasurable grief to the family.
Talisman
is offering
a
$ 1 , 0 0 0
reward for
i n f o r m a t i o n
leading to the
return of the
bowl. Please
contact Talisman
at 510/653-7998.
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.
Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
Publication date of the next issue is:
  April 5, 2014
  April deadline is March 20, 2014
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.)


3.
March 8, 2014

3.

Rockridge Community
Planning Council
2013 Financial Statement
Fiscal Year January 1 – December 31, 2013
PROFIT AND LOSS
Income/Expense
Income
Contributions
8,340.54
Scenic Streets
29,627.31
Rockridge News/Rockridge.org
41,962.92
Kitchen Tour
14,863.87
Legal Defense
100.00
Total Income
94,894.64
Expense
Bank Fees
6.00
Office
3,449.09
Contractors
6,246.68
Events
694.72
Grants\Scholarships
4,339.74
Maintenance\Cleaning
936.01
Misc.
1,223.57
FROG
10,753.27
Kitchen Tour
3,876.51
Safeway EIR
1,500.00
Reconciliation Discrepancies
-57.15
Rockridge News/Rockridge.org
35,492.84
Scenic Streets
2,121.73
Taxes, Licenses & Fees
69.00
Legal Defense
6,175.00
Utilities
466.18
Total Expense
77,293.19
Net Income
17,601.45
BALANCE SHEET
Assets
Checking/Savings/CDs
RCPC (incl. Scenic Streets)
107,793.64
FROG
54,005.49
Total Checking/Savings
161,799.13
Total Assets
161,799.13
Liabilities & Equity
Total Liabilities
0.00
Equity
Opening Balance Equity
193,171.65
Unrestricted (retained earnings)
-48,973.97
Net Income
17,601.45
Total Equity
161,799.13
Total Liabilities & Equity
161,799.13
RCPC tax records are on file at the
Rockridge Branch Library for public review.

The RCPC Land Use Commit-
tee meets Wednesday, March
26, 7:30 p.m., Rockridge
Librar y meeting room.
Topics will include an update on
the Rockridge Safeway project.
Agendas: Please check with
committee chair Stuart Flashman,
652-5373, or stuflash@aol.com, the
week before for an updated agenda.
Land Use Update
Is Safeway for Sale?
Recent reports of the Safeway corporation
being up for sale have raised concerns about
how a sale would affect Rockridge’s two
Safeway projects. While it’s impossible to
predict whether the company will be sold,
and what a potential buyer might decide,
word has it that the two Rockridge stores have
been, on a sales-per square-foot basis, among
Safeway’s most profitable stores. It seems
unlikely a new owner would fail to rebuild
the College Avenue store or continue to move
forward with Safeway’s approved plans for
the Rockridge Shopping Center rebuild. We
will report here any changes we learn about.
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use
Committee chair
■
■College Avenue Safeway
Project
College & Claremont Avenues
Construction continues on this large and
important project. Construction updates
will be reported regularly in The Rockridge
News, beginning this month. (See story
on page 1.) RCPC and the three other
community groups will meet monthly with
Safeway to discuss construction progress
and any construction activity issues. If you
live near the store and see or hear anything
you think Safeway needs to know about (and
perhaps do something about), please contact
RCPC at 869-4200 or info@rockridge.org.
■
■Proposal for Use Permit
“Sunset” Provisions
As regular readers of this column know,
➧➧Land Use Report, page 12
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.
Soundwall Process Flawed
Editor
Soundwall Process Excludes Many
Editor:
Does it make sense to sign the soundwall
study petition? YES! Your signature speaks
for all of us who endure the noise and other
impacts, and those affected by the noise but
don’t get to sign.
Who are those people who are excluded?
The 1,000 students, faculty and staff of
Chabot Elementary and Claremont Middle
schools directly across from the freeway
The city of Oakland has identified 481
homes whose residents are eligible to petition
the city to fund the soundwall study. As the
deadline approaches, problems have emerged
regarding this petition process:
• Some of the eligible households –
including my own – report that they have not
received a mailing from the city informing
them of the petition and how to sign it.
➧➧Process Flawed, page 13
➧➧Process Excludes, page 10


4.

March 8, 2014
4.

FROG Seeks Funds for Added Park Features

for kids to play. Let’s finish what we started.
Donate via www.frogpark.org/ or mail
checks to: “FROG,” 4123 Broadway, PMB
311, Oakland, CA 94611
Frog Save the Date:
April 26 Earth Day and
Frog Park Family Fest
Celebrate Earth Day at Frog Park and the
Greenbelt, a city of Oakland featured
volunteer site sponsored by FROG and the
DMV Neighbors Association. Come to a
family-friendly cleanup and stay for a special
FROG Family Fest with great kid activities.
Let’s get our park ready for summer fun,
9 a.m.-12 noon. Help replant the butterfly
garden, sift sand, clean up, and prepare the
pond and creek bed for the creek turn-on.
Well-known to be little-known
facts about Frog Park
Did you know that just 15 years ago,
what is now the popular Frog Park was
a mass of overgrown weeds surrounded by
a chain link fence?
Did you know that the Frog Park play
structures were built by 1,300 volunteers
over 10 days in 2001?
We would like you to know, too, that
we’re trying to raise $50,000 to add toddler
swings and other fun features to Frog Park.
(We’re off to a good start: $11,000 raised
so far.)
Sustained over the years by volunteer
maintenance and generous donations,
Frog Park is a testament to the power of
In a 10-day construction push in 2001 –
the Big Build – Frog Park climbing and
play equipment were built, creating
the backbone of the park.      /FROG photo
a community-driven vision. It’s a local
treasure that started with the simple notion
that our neighborhood needed a safe place
➧➧Frog Park Family Fest, page 10

The Lorax Project Plants Over 100 New Trees in Rockridge
necessary Oakland Unified
School District (OUSD)
approval was lacking.
Oakland Board of Education
member Jody London helped
secure passage of an OUSD
board resolution in January to
keep the planting date intact.
Thirty-five volunteers
braved the rain on January
8, pre-digging the holes to
ensure a successful planting.
Using picks, digging pry
bars, and five jackhammers,
volunteers broke up the tough soil laden with
rubble from the construction of Highway 24.

by Rich Proulx
In December 2013, the Lorax Project was
announced in the pages of The Rockridge
News. Three months later, a line of redwood
trees has been planted and is taking root along
Highway 24.
Concerned by scientific research that
demonstrates negative health effects from
exposure to pollution for people who live,
work, or attend schools near major freeways,
Lorax Project founders sought to create a tree
barrier which research has shown significantly
decreases the transmission of air pollution.
Members of the Claremont Club on
Hillcrest Avenue generously hosted a
community meeting on December 15 for
neighbors to learn more about the project.
Speakers included Children’s Hospital
Supervising Physician Gina Lewis and Chabot
Elementary PTA President Laura Burnett.
Neighbors then formed a committee to support
the project. Pledges from meeting attendees
were enough to plant 22 trees.
Over the course of the next few weeks,
/Lorax Project
more than 70 neighbors donated. The project
found a key partner in Oakland non-profit
Urban Biofilter, who donated many trees and
provided tools and key volunteer support.
“Urban Biofilter is thrilled to have contributed
to the Lorax Project’s success,” stated Sydney
Moss of Urban Biofilter. The Sierra Club also
provided a great deal of expertise and volunteer
assistance.
While the project had the support of
Chabot Elementary for some time, it became
apparent shortly before the planting date that
$5 FREE DRYCLEANING with garment orders over $28
or $3 OFF orders over $15
Dry Cleaning only  Present with incoming order
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5808 College Avenue, Oakland
601-1188
Mon – Fri  7 – 7 • Sat  8 – 6
Across from Trader Joe’s and Zachary’s Pizza
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➧➧Lorax Plants a Forest, page 8


5.
March 8, 2014

5.

Tech Engineering Academy: Bridges to Learning

Chabot’s Spring Fling
Auction: Online Access
to Amazing Items
– joined by sophomores and seniors – must
construct a bridge as a class project. As many
as 100 academy students work together on
the final 50 bridges typically constructed
until one is declared the strongest.
The academy grew out of Oakland’s now-
defunct school vocational training program.
A multi-classroom area once filled with
lathes, milling machines, welding stations,
drill presses, and drafting tables has been
transformed with workstations and a 3-D
printer.
The Oakland Unified School District
(OUSD) developed the academy system in
1986 to help students achieve college readi-
ness; the Engineering Academy followed in
1987. Two Tech teachers created the rigor-
ous curriculum in use today, designed to
teach visualization skills and the connection
between mathematics and physics to budding
engineers through project-based learning.
Parker Merrill, an original Academy
co-founder, continues as program director.
Raised on a New Jersey farm, his curiosity
about how things work evolved into his
college major, Industrial Arts. He comes
by Ronnie Spitzer, Tech parent
It’s so quiet, you can hear a bridge break.
Two hundred collectively held breaths
finally release when the balsa and glue
creation collapses with a crack under its load.
Once “8 lbs for bridge #50” gets recorded,
the annual Engineering Academy Bridge
Competition officially ends.
Started 19 years ago in a collaboration
between Tech and the American Society
of Civil Engineers, the competition quickly
became a most beloved tradition at Tech.
Using supplied materials, academy juniors
by Chabot PTSA members
Chabot Elementary’s annual auction is
just a month away, and this year’s Spring
Fling event has a goal of raising $150,000
through an online auction and gala event.
This is a community-wide effort that
raises funds to support Chabot’s music,
science, art, media, library, gardening, P.E.
and Spanish programs that are offered to
nearly 600 students in Kindergarten through
5th grades. These programs are an essential
part of what makes our local public school a
place where creativity, curiosity and intellect
are nurtured.
Bid on hundreds of fabulous auction
items available online from March 26
through April 3. Log on at http://auctions.
readysetauction.com/chabotelementary/
home, create a bidding profile, and start
bidding.
➧➧Chabot School Spring Fling, page 10
Bridges built by Oakland Tech
Engineering Academy students.
/From the Oakland Tech website
Mayor’s Town Hall
Meeting, OPD Area 2
➧➧Tech Engineering Academy, page 5
a
cross-cultural congregation
striving to partner with
         the Rockridge community
   in lifestyle and service.
April 19, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
North Oakland Senior Center,
5714 Martin Luther King, Jr Way
Mayor Jean Quan, Interim Police
Chief Sean Whent, Area 2 Captain
Toribio, OUSD Superintendent Gary Yee,
Serving Rockridge
since 1992
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
5400 College Avenue at Manila
➧➧Community Mtg, page 10
Rockridge
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


March 8, 2014
6.

6.
He had happened upon the March 1868
minutes of a group attempting to start a new
Masonic Lodge in Oakland. The first name
on the page was Nathan Weston Spaulding.
“It was one of those moments you realize
that this was meant to be,” Forsyth said. “I
was about to start the journey which has
taken me from Maine (where Spaulding was
born in 1829) to California (where he was
lured by the gold rush in 1851) and ended
at Mountain View Cemetery (where he was
buried in 1903).”
Turning to the Internet, Forsyth learned
that Spaulding was indeed a man for all
seasons who greatly contributed to the
growth and stature of Oakland.
A carpenter by trade, Spaulding built and
opened the first hotel in Campo Seco, one of
the early gold mining camps. After marrying,
he moved to Sacramento to manufacture
inserted-tooth saws and later invented and
patented “the Spaulding saw,” said to have
revolutionized the circular saw business.
Then it was on to San Francisco, where he
established the Pacific Saw Manufacturing
Co. and N.W. Spaulding & Bros. in Chicago
with two of his brothers.
But Oakland beckoned in 1866. There,
according to news accounts, he served on
the city council, and, as chairman of the
streets committee, helped lay out, pave
and light the city’s streets. Elected mayor
twice without opposition, Spaulding also
reportedly initiated the move to relocate the
county seat from San Leandro to Oakland.
“He was a huge philanthropist, donating
all of his mayoral salary to charity, adopting
an orphan boy and serving on the first
board of Stanford University, started by his
friend Leland Stanford,” Forsyth recounted.
Spaulding also served four years as Assistant
U.S. Treasurer, appointed by President James
A. Garfield.
Local Masonic Lodge Master
Digs Deep to Uncover Its Past
by Judith Doner Berne
When the all but forgotten gravesite
of a two-time Oakland mayor is
re-dedicated at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 29 in
Mountain View Cemetery, David A. Forsyth
will have completed his quest.
The Rockridge resident, who incidentally
is my backyard neighbor, is the current
Master (think president) of Oakland Durant
Rockridge Lodge 188 F.&A.M. (Free and
Accepted Masons). Founded in 1917, the
Lodge is located in the award-winning
landmark building on the west side of College
between Kales Avenue and Taft Street. The
building was constructed in the 1920s by
the Lodge.
Forsyth, born in Edinburgh, Scotland,
immigrated to the United States when he
was 22 and later became a Mason, like his
Scottish grandfather before him.
“When I joined Oakland Durant
Rockridge Masonic Lodge seven years ago,
I always wondered about the portrait that
hangs on the wall of our beautiful Lodge
room,” he says.
It was obviously old, had dates on it, but
no name. As “a keen amateur historian,”
Forsyth says, “I wanted to know about this
man; who he was and why had he such a
place of honor on our wall?”
From a list of past masters he determined
it was Nathan Weston Spaulding, the first
master of Oakland Masonic Lodge 188 –
which combined with the Rockridge and
Durant Lodges in the 1980s.
“I always intended to dig more,” but work
and family took precedence, he said. Turning
to business, Forsyth formed UIB Insurance
Brokerage Services, Inc. in 2009 and, later,
married Batya, a partner in Hanson Bridgett,
a San Francisco law firm. Their daughter
Hannah is five.
“Masons don’t do anything quickly,”
he also noted. “Everything is pursued with
patience.”
Then, two winters ago, a leak from
the building’s water heater threatened
the Lodge archives. As Forsyth and other
Lodge members worked to move them to
drier ground, “The first one I pulled out was
the oldest book,” Forsyth told me. “And I
was looking at the page record that started
everything we have here.”
David A. Forsyth, Lodge Master,
researched the history of the long-
ago Mason in the framed painting,
above, who turned out to be one
of the founders of today’s College
Avenue Masonic Lodge.     /Judy Berne
Once Forsyth found out that Spaulding
was buried in Mountain View Cemetery, he
could have turned to cemetery records to
uncover the gravesite. But he wasn’t looking
for an easy quest.
“My wife, daughter and I love to go
rambling through the cemetery on weekends,”
he told me. “I had uncovered so much and
I wanted to find the last piece of the puzzle
myself. There’s a treasure hunt aspect to it.”
It took six months to discover it among
Mountain View’s 175,000 graves. “We came
upon an amazing clover leaf-shaped site,
big by today’s standards,” but somewhat
➧➧Masonic Lodge History, page 7










 
­
24


 
	


7.
March 8, 2014

7.

 Grave of Nathan Weston Spaulding,
Mason and two-time mayor of
Oakland, in Mountain View Cemetery.
Spaulding will be donated to the city to
complete its mural at the rededication.
Mayor Jean Quan and the head of the state’s
Masons have said they will attend. Stanford
University President John L. Hennessy and
Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew are
other dignitaries who have been invited.
“The theme of my year was to review
our history and show we are standing on the
shoulders of giants,” Forsyth says. I think
we’d all agree: Mission accomplished.
Your comments and suggestions for other columns
are most welcome. Please email judyberne@att.net.
/David A. Forsyth
“David has been a one-man band,” says
Lawrence Altomare, who has been Lodge
secretary for 14 years. “He got us to learn
about our history in the community and
that we have connections to both major
universities in the Bay Area.” (Henry
Durant, another early Lodge member,
co-founded UC Berkeley and was its first
president. Durant also was a twice-elected
mayor of Oakland.)
“David discovered that the governor
of California during the 1906 earthquake,
George Pardee, was a member of our Lodge
too,” Altomare says, and was mayor of
Oakland, like his father before him.
And when Forsyth was doing research at
Oakland’s City Hall, “He also saw that the
city was missing one portrait in its mural
of past mayors,” Altomare says. Yes, it was
Spaulding.
A copy of the Lodge’s picture of
Masonic Lodge
History
More About the Lodge
The Lodge website describes how,
in 1917, the Rockridge Lodge was
founded, later receiving its charter on
October 11, 1918. After holding its first
few meetings at Brooklyn Lodge #225, on
East 14th Street near downtown Oakland,
the Lodge moved into a building (since
replaced) at the corner of College and
Keith, where Market Hall now stands.
In 1926-27, the Lodge constructed and
moved into the landmark building which
is still home to ODR (Oakland Durant
Rockridge) Lodge.
Have a look at the Lodge’s art deco
interior on Saturday, April 26, when the
Lodge co-sponsors its annual pancake
breakfast to benefit Claremont Middle
School, one of its charitable endeavors
to aid education.
Find more Lodge history on its website
at http://www.odr.org/
from page 6
deteriorated, Forsyth described. “Although
it showed no outward Masonic symbols, the
site is Masonic in its setup. The checkered
pavement and central altar give it away.”
When attempts to find any living
relatives fell short, the Lodge elected to have
the fallen urns, cracked walls and foundation
repaired. An inscribed one-by-two-foot open
book, fashioned from Sierra white granite,
will be added to mark the rededication.
“It’s very special that someone outside
the family wants to do this,” says Ray Ortner,
Mountain View’s sales manager. “David had
a lovely vision. It shows the tribute the Lodge
wants to bestow upon this gentleman.”
Still here for you!
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eye
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March 8, 2014
8.

8.

Changes for DVD Circulation at the Rockridge Branch Library

by Jon Gabel and Annette Floystrup,
co-chairs, Rockridge DVD Project
The Oakland Public Library (OPL) has
announced that DVDs can now be
requested from any branch of the Library
and delivered to the branch of your choice.
Up to now, only books could be requested
from other branches. For Rockridge patrons,
this means easy access to the large DVD
collection at the Main Branch, as well as to the
many television series DVDs at the Piedmont
Branch. As part of the new policy, DVDs
will “float” throughout the OPL system.
This means that DVDs will be shelved at the
branch where they were returned.
We want contributors to the DVD Project
to be kept current on policy changes that affect
the collection, especially when they are as
positive as this. This new policy is consistent
with the deal
made with the
OPL as part of
the Rockridge
DVD Project. In
exchange for the
right to float all
DVDs at some future date, OPL paid for
the cataloging of all the DVDs that the
DVD Project brought in. As the cost of the
cataloging would have been more than that
of the DVDs themselves, we considered (and
still consider) this to be a terrific deal.
For several years, OPL patrons have only
had access to the DVD Project materials at the
Rockridge Branch, but now these materials
will circulate system wide. If patrons
from other branches request DVDs from
Rockridge, those DVDs may temporarily
end up on the shelves at other branches, but
those same DVDs can also be requested right
back to Rockridge. What will be lost is the
ability to browse all titles just by looking
at the shelves. What will be gained is that
there will be more – and different – titles
available here as Rockridge patrons request
DVDs from other branches and return them
to Rockridge.
The Rockridge DVD Project expanded
the DVD section to both sides of a full aisle
in the stacks. There are now so many DVDs
on the shelves that the number of DVDs which
can be checked out at one time has gone
from four to ten. With the new float policy,
there could actually be more DVDs in the
Rockridge Branch than under the old policy.
It will depend on how many DVDs Rockridge
patrons request from other branches.
project also donated over a dozen trees to the
Broadway Pollinator Garden at the corner of
Broadway and Keith.
There are other tree planting projects in
Oakland on the horizon. “The Sierra Club
tree team has a big piece of Urban Biofilter’s
original request for 500 trees and is planning to
plant at three West Oakland schools (Lafayette,
Prescott, and Hoover) on March 15, 22, and 29,”
stated Arthur Boone of the Sierra Club. Added
Moss, “There is much more work to be done
and we look forward to continuing to work with
our amazing volunteers to plant more trees.”
Lorax Plants a
Forest
from page 4
Brian Carthan, manager of the Public Works
Park and Tree Services Division, contributed
to the success of the project by permitting his
staff to dig the holes at Chabot Recreation Area.
On February 15, 45 volunteers arrived
for the tree planting. London and City
Councilmember Dan Kalb spoke to the crowd
and planted the first tree. In all, over 100 trees
were planted (chiefly redwood trees) at Chabot
Recreation Area, Chabot Elementary and
at residences located on Miles Avenue. The
Rich Proulx is the director of The Lorax Project and
can be reached at richproulx@lyceuminstitute.org.
For more information about future planting efforts,
contact Arthur Boone at arboone3@gmail.com.
Councilmember Dan Kalb and OUSD
Boardmember Jody London ready
to plant the first Lorax Project tree.
/Lorax Project
Pending
Pending
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9.
March 8, 2014

9.

Asphalt Trips Up Hardy
Dog Park Renovation
must be completed before any other
improvements could begin.
Ironically, City Hall does have an
ADA budget on-hand, but Lund says his
group was told the fundamental fixes
Hardy needs don’t qualify for funding.
So even though the dog park had never
been compliant, the community would
need to pay to make it so if any other
renovations were to proceed.
Organizers have been scrambling
to find a solution. Caltrans still owns
the land, but its contract with the
city releases it of any responsibility.
Councilman Dan Kalb’s office has
gotten involved and hopes to encourage
one of the city’s asphalt contractors to
step in pro bono.
“It’s been a bit frustrating” says
Lund. “We’re so close to bringing this
popular amenity up to community
standards.
“We also hope community members
with ideas or resources will step forward
with ideas and referrals. I can be reached
by email via peter@scenicstreets.org.”

Pernicious mud puddles at dog
park gates make access difficult
and dangerous for users. Layers
of old asphalt cause rainwater
and other runoff to puddle up for
months on end.          /Scenic Streets
teeth when they fetch. It’s also a key
contributor to the park’s notorious mud
puddles.
“The disabled and elderly have
particular difficulty accessing the
park,” says Peter Lund, founder of
Scenic Streets, the group leading the
project. “Rainwater and hose runoff are
deflected by the asphalt and create mud
which can take months to evaporate in
this shady space.”
City planners determined that if the
park was going to be renovated, it would
need to be more ADA compliant. The
old asphalt would need to be removed
so a smooth gate-to-gate path could be
installed. Upgraded gate latches would
also be required. The additional cost
would be $10,000 more than Scenic
Streets had raised and the asphalt work
by Becky Alseth, Rockridge resident
Patrons, residents and local businesses joined forces
last August to raise over $13,000 to renovate
dilapidated Hardy Dog Park, but the project has run
into a tough obstacle: asphalt.
Before it became Oakland’s first dog run, the area
had been a Caltrans equipment yard. Three thousand
square feet of the original asphalt still remain,
damaging dogs’ paws when they run and breaking
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Wow!! The market continues to show strong demand in Rockridge with a low inventory of homes. Rates remain reasonably
low but economic pressure is building for them to increase this year. Interestingly, these factors make it a good time to both
sell or buy. Reminder: Average and median statistics on home sales are just that, averages. They don’t dictate at all what
would happen with a specific home as there are variables including pricing, showing conditions, marketing strategies and
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10.

March 8, 2014
10.

Chabot School
Spring Fling
Security Patrols
Revamped
Frog Park
Family Fest
from page 5
from page 1
from page 4
A sampling of some of the generous
offerings includes:
Local Businesses: Gift Certificates to
Diesel, Pegasus, and Shawl Anderson Dance
Restaurants: Gift certificates to A16,
Chez Panisse, Comal, Dopo, and Zachary’s Pizza
Getaways: Kings Beach Cabin in Tahoe;
Overnight in a restored vintage Airstream in
Rockridge; A Week in Home in Todos Santos,
Mexico
Local Fun: Chabot Space & Science
Center, Taro’s Origami Studio, Oakland Ice
Center, and Fairyland
Sporting Events: tickets to the Oakland
A’s, San Jose Sharks, and SF Giants
A special thank you goes to this year’s
sponsors, who stepped up to ensure the event
is a success. Sponsors include Jeff Robarts and
Hope Broderick of The Grubb Company; Tom
Nitsan at MPR Financial; Ruth Goldstone of
Marvin Gardens Real Estate; Jill Martenson at
Piedmont Dental by Design; Maxi Lilley of Red
Oak Realty; Faramarz Moeen-Ziai at Bank of
Commerce Mortgage; Adventure Time; Bakesale
Betty; La Farine; 4by6.com and Antidote Juicery.
As you look for local business to patronize,
please keep these generous people in mind.
Chabot relies on the generosity of its local
communities to make the auction a success.
We appreciate the support of our entire
community and we look forward to seeing
you – virtually – on our online auction site.
Bring your own tools or use ours. Coffee
and refreshments provided. Stay for half an
hour or the entire morning, rain or shine.
Then, party at the FROG Family Fest.
Bring your family, kids, and your picnic lunch
and blanket to Big Frog Park between 12
noon and 2 p.m. Expect loads of entertaining
games, bubble-making, face painting, crafts,
and more.
When: Saturday, April 26 from 9am-12
noon (Family Fest 12 – 2pm)
Where: Big Frog (Hardy Circle near
Miles) or Greenbelt (Redondo Avenue
at Cavour)
Who: Community members and kids
of all ages
Contact info@frogpark.org with questions
or to volunteer.
first response to any criminal or safety
concern will be to contact the Oakland
Police Department. They will then observe,
report, and assist anyone in need when it is
safe to do so.
Safer Rockridge Security Patrols will
provide service to all residents and guests
in the service area and are supported
entirely by community contributions. The
amount of patrolling provided will be
directly proportional to the amount of funds
raised. Safer Rockridge’s goal is for enough
households to participate to support two
patrol cars for 12 hours per day, every day of
the week. To meet this goal, 630 households
will need to contribute $30/month. While
$30/month is the suggested contribution
level, households can contribute at any level.
During the month of March, a limited
patrol will be supported using remaining
funds from the CrowdTilt fundraising last
fall. Safer Rockridge is now raising money for
full patrols for April, May, and June. Please
see www.saferrockridge.org to contribute.
Please send comments and questions to
Safer Rockridge by emailing saferrockridge@
gmail.com.
Process Excludes
from page 3
have no voice in soundwalls, despite noise
measurements of weekday maximums of
almost 80 decibels. Excluded, too, are those
who use Frog Park: families with children,
caregivers, dog park users, and walkers. And
everyone who lives more than two blocks from
the freeway: also excluded.
The 5-7 decibel reduction will make a
huge difference to everyone who lives, studies,
works or plays near the freeway. Decibels
are a logarithmic scale: 80 decibels is four
times as loud as 60 decibels (80 decibels is
like standing next to a blender, 60 like being
next to a vacuum cleaner).
I urge readers to sign the petition, and
help everyone affected by the freeway noise.
— Theresa Nelson
■
■How we can strengthen community
policing.
Community Mtg
■
■How we can work with our schools.
from page 5
■
■How we can improve employment
opportunities.
Additional details will be in the April
issue of The Rockridge News.
and Councilmember Dan Kalb will
gather community feedback for the
purpose of growing police-community
collaboration. Topics to be covered:
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11.
March 8, 2014

11.

Rockridge Real Estate: 2013 Review
are available that allow a conversion to a
mortgage within a narrow window after the
purchase has been completed.
Is this going to cause another meltdown
or a bubble? Not very likely. The good
news is that new banking regulations seem
to be working. There is real money behind
those sales. Will there be a ceiling on those
rising home prices? Most forecasts say yes,
since salaries are not rising to keep pace
and economic uncertainties still abound
worldwide. But here in Rockridge, San
Francisco’s burgeoning tech industry and
high housing costs need to be factored in.
2014 will be a good year.
What Your Home Is Worth
Here is an update from the previous year.
Criteria for evaluating a home differ
greatly depending on the overall profile of
the home. It is best to work with your local
realtors, appraisers and mortgage brokers to
get a proper evaluation. However, you can get
a good snapshot yourself by going to open
houses of homes of similar size, condition,
amenities and applying a per square foot
measure to your property.
Today, a good measure for a well-
maintained two-bedroom bungalow (about
1,222 sf.) would be about $650 per square
foot, considerably higher than last year. A
good average measure per square foot for
a medium sized (1,855 sf.) three-bedroom
home is about $544, but it is likely your home
could fetch a much higher price based on
its appeal, condition, scarcity and location.
Four-bedroom homes (about 2,695 sf.) sold
at an overall average of $456 per square
foot in 2013, but homes of four bedrooms or
more tend to be much larger, newer homes
or historic homes that traditionally fetch
prices well above that depending upon the
total number of bedrooms, the overall size
and desirability of the home.
Whether it is new or old, worth a lot or
not so much, enjoy your Rockridge home.
by Ortrun Niesar, Rockridge News
Contributor
In reviewing real estate statistics for 2013,
we are happy to announce that Rockridge
home values have clearly returned to pre-
recession levels. In fact, we have recovered
better and more quickly than most other
neighborhoods in Oakland or Berkeley.
It seems that, despite our endemic urban
problems, Rockridge retains its appeal as a
vibrant premier residential neighborhood in
the East Bay.
Much of the popularity of Rockridge
can be credited to a unique blend of natural
attributes of the area. We enjoy excellent
climate and a natural setting. Location,
yes, but people, too, make the difference.
The general respect for the Arts and Crafts
heritage has preserved a friendly, small-town
atmosphere and relatively open spaces even
though the population density resembles that
of nearby more urban environments.
Neighborhood streets are walkable, lined
with attractive historic cottages. College
Avenue supplies a lively restaurant and
shopping scene as well as an easy commute
to the City and UC Berkeley. There is also
good availability of necessary services, such
as hospitals, public transportation and public
and private schools. All of these factors help
to make this a great place where people want
to live and raise their families.
Market Analysis
It is safe to say that the area has made a
real recovery, one that will last. It is hoped
2014 will finally bring us a sane, more
balanced housing market.
The number of homes sold in Rockridge
in 2013 rose to levels experienced before
the recession: 122 homes and a good 30
percent over the previous year. It is hoped
that number will rise even higher in 2014.
With mortgage rates still at historic
lows and the presence of a large number
of cash buyers, it would not be surprising
if overbidding were the norm again this
year. In 2013 the average increase over list
price was about 10 percent, but a whopping
83 percent of the sold prices were up to as
much as 30 percent over asking. More homes
on the market would help to keep prices
more realistic and in line with affordability.
Nobody wants to see another bubble.
What’s different about the 2013-14
market? Cash purchases are the wild card.
They have the advantage of by-passing the
appraisal contingency and assuring quick
and easy closes. In 2013, 30 percent of
buyers purchasing two-bedroom homes in
Rockridge did so with cash, skewing the
market numbers. Cash buyers won’t go
away soon as long as the tech industry keeps
going strong. In fact, to accommodate cash
buyers, new mortgage banking programs
Average Sales Price
by No. of Bedrooms
Year
2BR
3BR
4+BR
No.
Homes
Sold
2005
802,513
956,722
1,466,920
124
2006
760,782
962,488
1,498,687
112
2007
780,268
986,895
1,330,031
127
2008
757,011
921,476
1,329,080
98
2009
711,967
840,074
1,388,314
79
2010
680, 617
876,609
1,330,676
90
2011
702,011
924,398
1,126,722
87
2012
751,185
943,017
1,325,490
88
2013
796,082
1,009,302
1,500,740
122
Rockridge Cumulative
Home Sale Prices 2005-2013
This analysis covers Rockridge single-family-
home sales from the Berkeley border in the north,
south to Broadway Terrace and 51st Street, west
to Telegraph Avenue and east to Highway 13.
Information supplied by East Bay Regional Data
(EBRD) for 2013 is deemed to be reliable but
not guaranteed.
Year
Avg.
Price
Percent
Change
Median
Price
Percent
Change
2005
1,032,139
14.4
930,500
15.6
2006
1,111,317
7.6
903,500
-3.0
2007
1,106,186
-1.0
1,000,000
10.3
Ortrun Niesar is a realtor with East Bay Sotheby’s
International Realty: ortrun.niesar@sothebys-
realty.com.
2008
1,029,153
-7.0
905,000
-9.5
2009
904,954
-12.0
850,000
-6.0
2010
962,757
6.4
838,000
-.02
2011
907,628
-5.7
837,000
0
2012
975,426
7.5
905,000
8
Happy? Glad to be in Rockridge!
2013
1,030,674
5.7
911,500
.7


12.

March 8, 2014
12.

Community-Sponsored Benches Now Grace Library Yard

cement, FORL board member Brett Young’s
construction expertise, and the steadfast
support of the project by Director of Library
Services Gerry Garzón, I am thrilled to
announce an installed and already well-
loved bench near the library’s driveway on
Manila Avenue.
Please enjoy it, and be on the lookout
for more improvements to the library
compliments of FORL and the wonderful
“village” of Rockridge.
To learn more about how the Friends of
the Rockridge Library support the library
and how you can share your ideas, visit
www.friendsofrockridgelibrary.org.
Association (RDA) to learn more about
the benches that line College Avenue.
Bieri shared, “Since the benches were
already city-approved and had held up well,
and we weren’t interested in introducing
another design element to the streetscape,
we thought finding out where the existing
benches came from was a good idea.”
She was right: it turns out that surplus
benches were languishing on top of
a container in the City of Oakland
Corporation Yard, and Jackson generously
and enthusiastically donated a few to FORL.
With the help of Chris Holt, acting
manger of the yard, a forklift, some donated
by Sarah Washburn, FORL board
member
When Friends of the Rockridge
Library (FORL) Co-Chair Kathy
O’Neal noticed people using the library
wi-fi outside the building walls, she had
an idea: What if FORL funded a seating
area to provide a more comfy spot to surf
the web, wait for a friend, or enjoy a good
library book?
This thought set in motion a series of
events we’re calling: It takes a village to
provide a bench.
FORL Co-Chair Carol Bieri contacted
Chris Jackson from the Rockridge District
which can mean that retail gradually gets
displaced by other uses, such as office use.
Over time, this could result in the eclipse
of College Avenue’s reputation as a favored
retail area.
RCPC is looking at asking the city, as
part of its citywide zoning update, to revise
its zoning ordinance so that when a use
requiring a use permit leaves a site and is
replaced by a different use, the use permit
for the prior use would expire. This would
not be a problem when, for example, one
restaurant is replaced by another one in
the same space. It would, however, mean
that if a restaurant left and was replaced
by a retail use, a later restaurant use would
require a new use permit. RCPC believes
this would help restore the zoning’s intended
preference for retail uses.
RCPC is talking to community and
merchant groups in other parts of the city
to see if this is also a concern in other CN-1
zoned areas before bringing the proposal to
the city for its consideration.
Notes: Safeway
Construction
Land Use
Committee
from page 1
from page 3
■
■Expect busy truck traffic on
Claremont once concrete pouring begins.
All trucks will enter from and exit off of
Claremont. Construction hours are 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Weekly construction updates can be
found at www.safewayoncollege.com For
more information, call Safeway’s community
affairs consultant, Elisabeth Jewel, at
510/306-2126.
one of College Avenue’s continuing problems
is the multiplication of street frontage non-
retail uses on the avenue. This runs counter
to the intent of the C-31 – now redesignated
CN-1 – zoning, which requires a conditional
use permit for most non-retail uses. Under
Oakland’s zoning ordinance, once a use
permit is granted for a particular site, it
never expires, regardless of whether that
use actually continues on the site. In fact, a
single site can have three or four use permits
for different non-retail uses, all available for
a new tenant without having to go through a
new approval process or even be reviewed
for new conditions of approval. Essentially,
a building owner can collect a “closet” of
use permits and pull the appropriate one out
whenever a potential tenant wants to start a
particular use at the site.
The problem with this is that retail use
loses its favored status under the zoning,
Ed. Note: the safewayoncollege web site
named above links to a “real-time feed”
from a camera mounted at the College and
Claremont corner of the project. Dedicated
sidewalk supervisors – and other interested
observers – will find viewing modes that
range from real-time to elapsed time to
date-selectable time. The camera link is
http://oxblue.com/open/Safeway/Oakland.
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13.
March 8, 2014

13.
Tech Engineering
Academy

Seniors concentrate on architecture or
advanced CAD design, plus AP Physics and
AP Calculus.
Every graduating Academy senior attends
college. Members of the most recent classes
can be found at, among others, Brown,
Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Tufts, UCLA,
UC Berkeley, Oberlin, West Point, Case
Western, Stanford, McGill, and Cal Poly.
Oakland Tech This is It! On-line
Auction Open Through March 13
Bid on fantastic items from fine dining
establishments, local businesses,
sporting event tickets, travel destinations
and more in the Tech on-line auction, open
to the entire Rockridge neighborhood:
https://oaklandtech.schoolauction.net/
auction2014/online_auction.
from page 5
from a long line of teachers and school
administrators, joining OUSD as a
substitute teacher in 1971, later becoming
a full-time teacher. Credentialed in physics
and vocational training, Parker’s love of
teaching and commitment to the Academy
clearly shows (not to mention his passion
for racing Porsches).
Today, 120 students in grades 10-12
are enrolled in the academy, roughly half
being women. Entrance is competitive.
Typically 100 freshman students vie each
spring for the 65 seats offered to 10th grade
students. Math assessment, grades and
writing sample all figure into the entrance
selection criteria.
Academy sophomores learn traditional
and Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD). Juniors
soak up Honors Physics and Descriptive
Geometry, as well as Mathematical Analysis.
eligible voters should know that they have the
option to participate. The city should update
its list of eligible households, send another
information mailer to all of the homes, and
extend the petition deadline to ensure a fair
vote that honors the voice of the community.
— Paola Coda
Process Flawed
from page 3
• The petition doesn’t indicate what to
do or where to mail in a signature; those
interested have to do their own research to
determine how to send in the petition, which
might discourage some people.
• The list of eligible properties includes
addresses that do not exist and omits
addresses that do exist and should be
included.
Whether one is in favor of performing the
soundwall study or against it, we can all agree
the issue deserves a fair vote and all of the
Ed. Note: Find petitions online: http://
www.rockridge.org/sites/default/files/
oakland_caldecott_soundwall_study_
petition-1.pdf. Return signed petitions
to: Attn: Wlad Wlassowsky, Soundwall
Petitions, Community & Economic
Development Agency, Transportation
Services Division, 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza,
Suite 4344, Oakland, CA 94612
No Rockridge Sales in February

WE DESPERATELY NEED INVENTORY!
This is a great time for sellers to list their homes. If you are considering a
move, please call us for a free estimate of value!
• Expanding family with a need for more space?
• Empty nesters thinking of downsizing?
Take advantage of today’s low interest rates and hot market conditions.


14.

March 8, 2014
14.

House Repairs & Rehabs,
Interior & Exterior
Kitchen & bath remodel, tile, decks, dry rot,
drainage, walls, termite damage, doors, win-
dows. Professional work for affordable prices.
Local References Available. Lic#458473. Don
510/812-0310.
iCan Help-Arik Rosenthal
Mac Tutoring
iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Peripherals. Check
e-mail, surf the web, video chat, download
apps and ebooks. An abundance of patience
at a reasonable rate. Schedule a session
today! 510/206-2914. arikoved@gmail.com.
Organizational, Academic,
Career Help!
For uniquely-abled students and adults, and
those “on the Spectrum.” Years of experience,
patient and kind, local person, reasonable
rates with neighborly discount. Check out
www.BrightOptionsLearningDisabled.com,
Mark 415/691-5637.
Personal Assistant
Life Made Simpler offers Household and
Project Management services. Highly
experienced, organized, creative, and a
natural talent for multi-tasking. Allow me
to make your life simpler! Cynthia. 510/326-
9985. Cd.warren@comcast.net
Feather River Art Camp
For adults (and kids). www.featherriver
artcamp.com June 15-22, 2014. “a perfect joyful
blend of art, nature, creativity, camaraderie.”
Painting, ceramics, watercolor, writing, book-
making, guitar, mosaics, glass beadmaking,
fused glass, nature journaling.
Catholic Clarity, Eastern
Splendor, Evangelical
Fervor and Yiddish
Humor!
Who needs more? St Peter’s, Lawton at
Broadway, 8 & 10 a.m., Sunday; noon,
Wednesday; 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
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
Apr i l i ssue deadline is March 20.
For information: smontauk@gmail.com
Henry C. Levy & Co.
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Certified Public Accountants
and Consultants
A Professional Corporation
■
• tax preparation • estate planning
• tax planning
• business valuation
5940 College Avenue, Suite C
Oakland, California 94618
510.652-1000   FAX 510.654-2363
Tax Stress?
Penelope’s Aesthetics Professional Skin Care
Salon: offering a full deluxe stress reduction
facial with massage and eyebrow wax for
$59. Gift certificates available. Located 2
blocks from College Ave. Call today for
an appointment. www.penelopecalef.com
510/594-1552.
TAI CHI and QIGONG
Classes
Explore the many aspects that benefit your
health and well being. Thursday, 9:30am,
Saturday, 9am. Please visit our website
for details. www.harmonytaiji.com or
email harmonytaiji45@gmail.com for more
information.
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.
Aesthetic Pruning
I specialize in pruning trees & shrubs under
20 feet tall. I work with trees to enhance
their natural beauty. Maple specialist, but I
prune all garden trees. Certified Aesthetic
Pruner. Bruce Thompson 510/428-4964.
There’s a
new broker
in town.
Susan Bernosky
Strahan
Insurance
Services, Inc.
510-450-9051
NAMASTE
G
New to yoga?
3 CLASSES
FOR $30*
GRUBBCO.COM
*NEW STUDENTS ONLY
GOOD FOR 30 DAYS
510.652.2133
3070 Claremont Avenue • Berkeley
BERKELEY | GRAND LAKE | ROCKRIDGE
510.339.0400
1960 Mountain Boulevard • Oakland
W W W. I L O V E N A M A S T E . C O M


15.
March 8, 2014

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

y
y Mon., 3/10, 7:30pm. Amnesty International Meet-
ing (2nd Mon. each month): All invited to exchange
ideas on action.
y
y Thurs., 3/13, 7pm. Ariel Gore: The End of Eve: A

Community Calendar

Memoir.
y
y Sun., 3/30, 3pm. Poetry Flash, with Patrick Donnelly
and Robert Thomas.
DIESEL, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. More info (other
events and discussion groups): 653-9965 or events@
dieselbookstore.com.
Wisteria Ways House Concerts
Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Council (NCPC)
Residents and business members engage in discussions
about crime and public safety with representatives of
OPD. 2nd Thurs. each month, 7 to 8:30pm. Rockridge
Library, upstairs meeting room, 5366 College Ave.
Confirm mtg.at www.rockridgencpc.com or chair@
rockridgencpc.com.
Rockridge Branch Library
5366 College Avenue, 597-5017
* Free computer help & tutoring (for all ages) *
Ready, Set, Connect Program: Internet, email, Microsoft
office, EBook download, and more. Tuesdays 4-6pm and
Saturdays 1-3pm. See Vicky Chen.
FOR CHILDREN
2- 3:30pm. Play video & board games, make crafts,
enjoy light snacks.
Contact Vicky Chen for all teen programs.
FOR ADULTS
y
y Writers Support/Critique Group: All writers welcome.
Bring 15 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.
y
y Snowapple: Three part harmonies and operatic
interludes on dozens of instruments by 3 girls from
Amsterdam. Saturday, March 29 at 8pm (house opens
at 7:30). Hear them on http://www.snowapple.nl/.
y
y OoN: Bass and bassoon duet play melodic chamber
jazz. Saturday, April 5 at 8pm (house opens at 7:30).
Hear them at http://www.oonband.com/.
Both concerts inside venue; not wheelchair acces-
sible. $15-20 donation for musicians (cash only at the
door). 383 61st Street. For reservations (highly recom-
mended), RSVP to info@WisteriaWays.org or 655-2771.
Jazz at the Chimes
Featuring the Grupo Falso Baiano quartet performing
a blend of traditional Brazilian choro music with modern
influences of jazz, flamenco and samba. Sunday, 3/16,
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.
Hear selections at www.grupofalsobaiano.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 or Evie Ladin (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 Tele-
graph 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 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.
y
y Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes (to age
5); Saturdays, 10:30am.
y
y Covered California: Get help signing up for the new
Affordable Health Care Act. Sat. 3/15, 1:30- 4pm, and
Sat. 3/29 2:30 – 4:30pm.
ART EXHIBITS (subject to change; call to confirm)
Gallery:
March: Renee Bien: “In the City,” mixed media.
April: Drawings & Photos by the students of Oakland
Tech High School Fashion, Art & Design Academy.
Lobby Display Case:
Mar. and Apr.: TBA
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/Readings/Events
All FREE and open to the public.
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.
FOR TEENS
y
y Create Your Own App: Youth Radio’s Mobile Design
101 gives participants an introduction to the process of
app development. By the end of this session, everyone
will have designed their own app. Wed. 3/12, 2 pm.
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 Saturday
each month, 1 to 2pm.
y
y Rockridge Ninjas: watch Anime, 5-6:30 pm; 2nd
Tues. each month.
y
y Sun., 3/9, 3pm. Poetry Flash with Wendy Chin-Tan-
ner, Joan Naviyuk Kane and Danniel Schoonebeek.
y
y Teen ‘Scape: Join other teens each Wed. after school,
california college of the arts
Summer 2014
y
y Free AARP Tax Assistance: Thursdays 9:45am-
1:15pm., now through April 10th. Call for your personal
appointment.
y
y UC CalFresh: Staying Healthy & Active. 6 free
nutrition classes to help seniors live well and reduce
the symptoms of chronic conditions. Free giveaways,
recipes and samples. First Tuesdays: through June 3.
10:30am-12 noon. Pre-register at 597-5085.
for high school students!
y
y Asparagus Festival by Amtrak: Opens for sign-up
March 11.For questions about this and other trips,
call Sharia: 597- 5085.
art
  architecture
  design
  writing
cca’s beautiful oakland
campus is walking
distance from the
rockridge bart station
y
y BART Tickets on sale for $9 (a $24 value) for
seniors 65 and over.
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, 9a.m. – 1p.m., year ’round. Bring your
own bags. 5300 Claremont Ave. (off Telegraph) at DMV
parking lot. More about Certified Farmers’ Markets at
urbanvillageonline.com.
scholarships available
earn 3 units of college credit
cca.edu/precollege
cca also offers:
young artist studio program for middle-school students
summer atelier for students who have just completed 9th grade


16.

March 8, 2014
16.

Terry Kulka & Julie Bartlett
aboutface&body
dayspa      oaklandberkeley
Is there a move in your future?   As a team we bring
twice the knowledge,  attention & effort.  We’re
THERE for you! Benefit from our combined 35 years
experience selling Rockridge homes.
serving you since 1981
AVEDA PRODUCTS
Now offering men’s waxing
Call Today! (510) 682-5917
RockridgeHomeSales@Gmail.com
www.Rockridge-RealEstate.com
Over 400 homes sold -
Experience Counts
3190 college avenue
at alcatraz
berkeley, ca 94705
p 510.428.2600
www.aboutfaceandbody.net
KEVIN BROWN
Broker
654-8707 or 593-4780
sun-tues 10:30-5:30
wed-sat 10:30-8:00
PROVIDING

Professional,

Full Service

Real Estate Brokerage

To Rockridge Clients
 For Over 26 Years.
Living? Love it in Oakland!
URGENT
There is a severe shortage of homes to sell or lease in
Rockridge (any size or condition).  I estimate we are
short by at least 16 homes = Read “Sellers Market.”
There are only 6 homes actively for sale right now at
the beginning of the Spring market.  Same for rentals
- call or email me for more information! 510-612-2547
or RonKriss@JPS.net
32
SPECIALIZING IN

OResidential Sales

OIncome Property

OCommercial

OProperty Management
COMING SOON
Belgrave Place     *not priced yet
4+BD/2+BA
Almost untouched since build. Part of a very
upscale development of 7 mini mansions.
Grand rooms, amazing detailing, maids stairway -
you get the picture. Cool old bathrooms - intact.
Award Winning Chabot Elementary School
Better Homes
Realty
5353 College Avenue
Oakland
FOR SALE IN ROCKRIDGE
SOLD
       3 OFFERS
5625 Broadway
       $1,285,000 List
3+ Beds/ 2+ Baths
Amazing New Home
Finest modern design, materials & workmanship
Award Winning Chabot Elementary School
www.5625Broadway.com.
Playing? Start in Oakland!
FOR LEASE IN ROCKRIDGE
LEASED
5521 Lawton Avenue              $3,850/mo
$3,850
2BD/1BA Newer kitchen. So. facing yard.
 Award winning Chabot Elementary.
*NOTE!  If you want to rent let me know ASAP.
I had over 25 groups tour this property and
leased it in a week.
*NOTE:  Because of Rockridge Newsletter lead time, all
prices are not available at print deadline.
Ron Kriss, Broker
L A W T O N
Lawton Associates
510-547-5970 Ext. 55
Home, the Ultimate Luxury Address.
ronkriss@jps.net
“#1 in Rockridge Real Estate”
Over 110M in Sales in Rockridge
www.LawtonAssoc.com
A S S O C I A T E S
EAST BAY OFFICE   |   510.883.7000   |   MCGUIRE.COM
R E A L   E S T A T E
B R O K E R A G E
“I know Rockridge”