Extracted text · highlighting “Safeway”

A fire that may have been purposely
set destroyed the cafeteria and kitchen
at Claremont Middle School. An arson
investigation continues.

Rockridge Kitchens
Coming in 2015
O F  R O C K R I D G E  K I T C H E N S
A  T A S T E F U L  T O U R
Rockridge
Kitchens
2015
P L A N N I N G  C O U N C I L
ROCKRIDGE COMMUNIT Y
To a Kitchen
Near You
RCPC’s Rockridge Kitchen Tour
offers new features and activities
for attendees. Page 1.

A decision about the fate of the six
redwood trees at College and Claremont
avenues has been put on hold.
See “Redwood Trees,” page 3.

ockridgeNews

THE
www.rockridge.org

VOL. 30    NO. 3      ISSUE  NO. 320         March 7, 2015                      CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 BusInesses

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

The 2015 Rockridge Kitchen Tour: New Events; New Opportunity

kitchen designers. Three complete example
kitchens on display will bring life to ideas.
Ticket cost is an additional $25 per person;
registration is limited. Reserve your seat now.

More to See and Learn: Tour Events to Help Your Planning

this year’s as well as past years’ participants
in RCPC kitchen tours and can provide
references for their local work and contact
with local clients. The event is free to ticket
holders but you must register. Go to http://
rockridgekitchentour.org for registration and
additional information.
by RCPC Kitchen Tour committee
This year, the RCPC Kitchen Tour adds
two new events — the Kitchen Expo
and the Berkeley Mills Kitchen Seminar —
which will be held in advance of the Tour and
will expand the time tour participants can
speak with architects, contractors and other
specialists about their own plans.
Go to http://rockridgekitchentour.org for
registration and additional information.
Save with early registration
for the Rockridge Kitchen Tour:
Sunday, September 20, 12:30–5:30 p.m.
We have some wonderful examples of
interesting kitchens for you to see
this year, ranging from whimsical “fun
in the kitchen” examples to the “spare no
expense” approach, as well as a finale we
think you will remember for some time.
Early registration can save you
money, so act now. Go to http://
rockridgekitchentour.org for registration
and additional information.
■
■Berkeley Mills Kitchen Seminar:
Saturday, September 19, 2-5 p.m. at
Berkeley Mills, 2830 7th St, Berkeley.
Learn about the process of kitchen
remodeling from concept to completion,
from a noted local firm. Scheduling, budgets,
and cost drivers and the tiniest details of
cabinet hardware, wood choices and wood
finishes will be discussed. A tour of the facility
will show design and build steps, and you’ll
be able to discuss your topics of interest with
■
■Kitchen Expo: Thursday, September
17, 7-9 p.m. at TBD location.
Come meet the architects, contractors,
cabinetmakers and other providers
that deal with lighting, tile work, flooring,
windows and more. Spend time learning
about them, their products and services and
what they can do for you. They represent
New Year Brings Changes to OUSD
by Jody London, District 1 director
With the New Year, there has been a lot going on in the Oakland
Unified School District (OUSD). As the District 1 Board
Director serving North Oakland, I want to share recent developments.
Chabot School Sets Online Auction
Bidding: March 18-25
by Natalie Mehta, Chabot
PTA Treasurer and parent
Chabot Elementary invites
the community to bid on
amazing donations by our parents,
neighbors, and local businesses.
This year’s “Gold Fever” auction
has a goal of raising $150,000
or more to support enrichment
programs and vital services for
nearly 600 Kindergarten through
5th grade students who thrive
in a local public school where
creativity, curiosity, academic
excellence, and social-emotional
learning are nurtured.
We invite you to join us in
bidding on hundreds of fabulous
auction items. Visit www.
chabotelementary.org, click
on the auction website link,
create a bidding profile, and start
bidding. Winnings are tax-free
and delivered to you.
■
■Three New Board Directors: We have new directors for District
2 (Aimee Eng), District 4 (Nina Senn) and District 6 (Shanthi Gonza-
les), and the same commitment to building a full-service community
school district. I’m excited to work with these new leaders, and
impressed with their ability to get to work on our pressing issues.
■
■Big Investment in Early Childhood Education: We are grateful
for the big investment in early education by the Rainin and Packard
Foundations. Oakland is at the forefront of this work. You may have
seen the Talk, Read, Sing billboards around town, or heard about
Hillary Clinton’s visit to Fairyland last

➧➧Chabot Auction, page 12
➧➧Jody London, page 12


2.

March 7, 2015

Celebrate at the Oakland Tech Auction: March 14
Oakland Tech is Oakland’s top-scoring public high school. This year is extra-special
because it’s our centennial year. Tech’s annual Auction and Gala will be held on
March 14 at Uptown Body and Fender, 401 26th street, 6-10:30 p.m. Last year’s auction sold
over 300 tickets and raised more than $90,000 to support our dedicated and hard-working
students. Proceeds from the auction are used to purchase textbooks, laptops and sports
uniforms, to fund support groups and career development programs, and for related needs.
Join with Oakland Tech PTSA to help build on our students’ achievements: Tickets
for the Auction and Gala are $35 each for a celebratory evening of friends, a no-host bar
featuring the French Bulldog Centennial Cocktail and delicious food catered by Oakland
Tech family Vainilla Baking & Catering. Tickets available online: https://oaklandtech.
schoolauction.net/auction2015/tickets/ticket_sales, or at the door on March 14.

ROCKRIDGE BRANCH LIBRARY
                  5366 College Avenue
                   at Manila | 597-5017
Library program details/hours: Calendar, page 15
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
Barry Kaufman	�������������������Rockridge Cornucopia
Judith Doner Berne	������������Eyes on Rockridge
Jo Ellis	�����������������������������������Advertising &
Community Calendar
Susan Montauk	�������������������Business Manager
Don Kinkead	�����������������������Graphics & Layout
RCPC Board of Directors, 2014-2015
Zabrae Valentine	����������������Chair
Virginia Hamilton 	��������������Co-Vice-Chair
Lisa McNally	������������������������Co-Vice-Chair
Michael Kan	������������������������Secretary
Jennifer Daskal	�������������������Treasurer
Andrew Charman, Brendan Havenar-Daughton,
Kevin Faughnan, William Kaufner, Gabe Kleinman,
Don Kinkead, Greg Pasquali,
Laura Schlichtmann, Samantha Weaver
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org
Newsletter Subscriptions

Garden Stewards, Volunteers Sought for
Broadway Pollinator Garden
by Gorden Piper, Pollinator Garden chair
Rockridge
r e s i d e n t s
have come to
appreciate the beauty of the new Broadway
Pollinator Garden site, a work in progress by
the Oakland Landscape Committee (OLC)
and community volunteers. This football-
field size Caltrans site at the intersection of
Broadway and Keith Avenue hosts hundreds
of roses, lavenders, and thousands of
pollinator plants providing habitat for bees,
butterflies and birds.
In 2014, Rockridge resident Carl Price
responded to an article in The Rockridge
News and began volunteering on a regular
basis, helping with planting and maintenance
efforts as a Garden Steward. He now
supervises and works with crews of high
school students from the Alameda County
Probation Department Weekend Training
Academy to beautify the Broadway Pollinator
Garden. He recently helped lead sheet
mulching and annual rose pruning efforts
around hundreds of roses planted along the
Broadway frontage.
The OLC adopted the Caltrans property
in 2006 when it was the site of a homeless
encampment and full of weeds. OLC has
regularly recruited volunteers to develop the
site as a public garden serving area residents
and providing pollinator habitat.
Our goal for 2015 is to recruit additional
Garden Stewards from the Rockridge area to
join Carl Price, the Rockridge Community
Planning Council (RCPC), and OLC in
continuing the development and maintenance
of the Broadway Pollinator Garden
There is an exciting opportunity for
Rockridge residents interested in gardening
to get involved working one or more days

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
Pollinator Garden volunteer Carl Price
at work pruning roses.        /Gordon Piper
each month. We need your help to make it a
beautiful show garden illustrating the pride
of Rockridge residents in their community.
The idea to involve volunteer landscape
designers or architects to help develop further
plans for the garden is under consideration to
be submitted to Caltrans for approval.
The OLC also hopes to work more closely
with the RCPC to secure grant funding
and volunteers, and to develop plans for
enhancing this as a Rockridge community
garden.
The committee provides training and
support for the stewards, and the garden  has
regular help from high school student crews
and community volunteers. Individuals
wishing more information about serving
as a Garden Steward or volunteer in the
Garden are asked to contact Gordon
Piper at rgpiper33@gmail.com or phone
510/843-3828. The OLC website is http://
oaklandlandscapecommittee.org.
Articles submitted for publication may
be e-mailed or mailed to the above addresses.
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. Views expressed in articles accepted for
publication do not necessarily reflect those of The
Rockridge News, its editor, or the board of directors of
the Rockridge Community Planning Council. To reprint
a Rockridge News article, please contact the editor.
Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
Publication date of the next issue is:
  April 3, 2015
  April deadline is March 19, 2015
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 7, 2015

Rockridge Community
Planning Council
2014 Financial Statement
Fiscal Year January 1 –
 December 31, 2014
PROFIT AND LOSS
Income/Expense
Income
Contributions
20,793.89
Scenic Streets
11,845.20
Rockridge News/Rockridge.org
43,008.00
Town Hall Pizza Contributions
276.85
Merchandise Sales
287.91
Interest and Dividends
34.02
Total Income
76,245.87
Expense
Bank Fees
30.00
Office
3,870.29
Contractors
6,942.50
Events
1,962.72
Grants\Scholarships
5,200.00
Merchandise
1,214.68
Misc.
379.30
FROG
10,994.60
Rockridge News/Rockridge.org
31,811.18
Taxes, Licenses & Fees
125.00
Total Expense
62,530.27
Net Income
13,715.60

The March Land Use Committee meeting is Wednesday,
March 25, 7:30 p.m. at the Rockridge Branch library,
5366 College Avenue. Check at rockridge.org to confirm.
(Front door will be unlocked; pull doors apart to enter.)
Meetings are open to the public.
In February, the Land Use Committee
discussed updates on a number of projects
proposed or currently moving forward in
the neighborhood as well as neighborhood
concerns about the proposed removal of six
redwood trees at the former Shell station
site at the corner of College and Claremont.
project on the north side of 51st at Broadway
is moving forward and began demolition
during the last week of February.
■
■Rockridge Shopping Center (The Shops
at the Ridge): Safeway continues to say that
demolition will begin soon, but no formal
word on start date has been provided and
no work has begun.
■
■College Avenue Safeway: The Safeway
store is now open and operating, but retail
building construction and street and side-
walk changes are still in progress and being
monitored. City staff and neighborhood
groups including RCPC are assembling
lists of outstanding issues to be addressed
by Safeway for a meeting anticipated in
early March.
■
■Temescal Apartments: The multifamily
residential project on the south side of 51st
at Broadway is scheduled for hearing by the
Planning Commission on March 18. Neigh-
bors have outstanding concerns about the
height variance proposed by the developer,
SRM. The proposed project height is 60'
at the corner of 51st and Broadway and 45'
at the corner of 49th,
■
■Merrill Gardens: The senior housing
➧➧Land Use, page 15

Redwood Tree Removal Now on Hold
Recently, the six redwood trees on the
former Shell station property at College
and Claremont were individually red-tagged
for assessment as to whether each tree should
be removed. Many neighbors and College
Avenue shoppers have expressed concern
and dismay that Rockridge may be losing
a valued community asset, especially in a
location that is otherwise, for pedestrians,
a bleak sea of asphalt and concrete.
Oakland city tree removal ordinances are
strict, and redwoods are one of four native
species that have extra protection in the

BALANCE SHEET
Assets
Checking/Savings/CDs
RCPC (incl. Scenic Streets)
109,636.63
FROG
63,148.10
Total Checking/Savings
172,784.73
Total Assets
172,784.73
Liabilities & Equity
Total Liabilities
0.00
Equity
Opening Balance Equity
188,980.65
Unrestricted (retained earnings) -29,911.52
Net Income
13,715.60
Total Equity
172,784.73
Total Liabilities & Equity
172,784.73
RCPC tax records are on file at the
Rockridge Branch Library for public review.

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

ordinances. Removal permits are generally
granted only when trees pose a hazard to
people and/or structures. Redwood roots
grow close to the ground surface in a thick
web 20 or more feet in diameter from the
trunk. Roots can be quite large.
When the Shell station redwoods were
planted, no thought was given to how close
they would be to the adjacent building,
and over about 30 years, roots have spread
under the structure and could compromise
its wall and foundation. Because of the
extensive pavement required by the Shell
station, these redwoods had very little open
ground around them and are starved for
moisture. The tree closest to College Avenue
is especially impacted. Redwoods need
room to be redwoods. These six are good
trees in a bad location – too big to move, and
with structure and growth habits that could
jeopardize the building next door.
The community comment period for
this permit ended the week of February 16.
Meanwhile, the property owner has put the
tree permit on hold for a year.
Although the permit is on hold, the owner
is proceeding with soil testing – a necessary
step toward developing the property. For the
present, the redwoods will stay.
— From information provided by Oakland
Public Works Tree Services department
and the department spokesperson.


4.

March 7, 2015

College Avenue: The Beat Goes On and On

College Avenue Commerce: Decades of Service
Merchants’ Years of Service: Part 7
Following is the seventh in our series on businesses in business on College Avenue
at least 25 years. If you have been “on the Avenue” and haven’t seen your business’
name yet, drop us an email at editor@rockridge.org. We want readers of The Rockridge
News to know about you and to stop in to see what you offer.

by Kevin Faughnan, RCPC boardmember
 Yasai Market, at 6301 College Avenue,
was opened in 1980 by John Amano. John’s
sister-in-law is the owner of Berkeley Bowl;
John was raised in the vegetable business
and worked at Berkeley Bowl before opening
Yasai (which means vegetables in Japanese).
John sold to current owners Michael and Bu
Pak in 1992; they kept the name. When I
spoke with Bu about the impact of the Safeway
construction, the conversation topic drifted
to competition. She reminded me that small
stores aren’t automatically noncompetitive.
She recommended I do a price check, which
I did on eight items, that could be put in a
regular salad. Yasai was lower in price than
Safeway on five of the eight items by about
15 percent. I like having a new Safeway store
in our neighborhood, but shopping small
and local means more money stays in the
community, and can leave more money in
your pocket, too. Rapid produce turnover,
competitive pricing, good variety and small
lines at the counter sound like a winning
strategy, but go see for yourself.
 Great Wall Chinese Restaurant,
located at 6247 College Avenue, has been
a Chinese restaurant since 1989 and now is
owned by Kerry Yip, the second restaurant
he has owned. Their extensive menu is all-
vegetarian, and traditional chicken and pork
dishes are actually made from soybeans. I
had the spicy garlic “pork” with brown rice,
and it was very good. The inside is bright and
clean, with an extensive seating area that can
handle large groups. Kerry said he is glad
the new Safeway store has finally opened, so
business and foot traffic can return to normal.
Stores along this section of College Avenue
have all been financially impacted these past
6 months, and can use your support. Stop in
and try lunch, any day of the week.
 Murasaki, the Japanese word for the
color purple, opened at 6050 College Avenue
in 1984 and is now managed by Sherry Yen.
The business specializes in futons, the cotton
mattress that rolls up. The futon has been
in use for thousands of years, particularly

Art on the
(Other) Avenue:
Deco Art
by Carl Schmitz
Among a short string of businesses
on the northwest side of Claremont
Avenue just before it passes under the Grove-
Shafter Freeway toward Temescal, Deco
Art’s stylized green sign stands out. In a
location where the Bay Printmakers Society
originally made its home in the mid-’50s, a
neighborhood artmaking tradition carries
on. Caroline Stern, owner of Deco Art, is
a graduate of CCAC (California College of
Arts and Crafts, now California College of
the Arts, or CCA) and has used the business
for the last 20 years as a base for work in fine
art, murals, faux finish, furniture finishing,
stenciling, color consultation, and interior and
exterior painting.
With such an enterprising range of
interests and services, it is fitting that Deco
Art is also used as a space in multiple
dimensions. As a gallery, Deco Art hosts
2-4 solo or group exhibitions a year for
emerging community artists. The next show,
“Modern Iconoclasm,” will feature stained
glass artwork by Dani Robinson paired
with paintings and drawings from CCA
MFA student Nate Petterson. An opening is
scheduled for April 17 (6-9pm). In addition
to exhibition space, Stern teaches classes for

in Japan where small living spaces are the
norm. An American furniture maker in the
1970s created a folding bedframe to support
the mattress, giving us the futon as we
know it today. That design quickly began to
replace our hide-aways, those bulky heavy
items no one wants to move up a flight of
stairs. Murasaki also offers sliding doors,
custom made in Japan; movable shoji screens;
material for clothing, tablecloths and napkins;
and many other personal items. Business has
been impacted by the Safeway construction at
that corner, and Sherry is hoping for a return
to normal. Stop in and take a look at the many
distinctive items she has for sale.
 The Pasta Shop began life in 1980 in
the space now occupied by Barclay’s Pub.
Five years later, Sara Wilson purchased the
shop when the owners decided to retire; she
moved it into a new space at Market Hall.
She saw the opportunity that the Pasta Shop
could become the cornerstone for a variety of
small food stores patronized by the abundant
foot traffic that BART would provide. Fast
forward 30 years to the present, and you
would have to agree that was a successful
vision. Add in the Bakery, Produce Shop and
Hapuku Fish Market
➧➧Merchants, page 7
➧➧Deco Art, page 4

“Hi! Jenner and Erin here with mommy reminding
you to take good care of your teeth!”


5.
March 7, 2015

Chabot Safety Patrol Makes for Safe School Crossings

by Miranda Carrow, fourth grade
teacher, Chabot School
We all
know that school can be
difficult to get to in the
morning: not only getting ourselves out of
bed, then our children, getting dressed, eating
breakfast, but all the countless other things
that have to get done before leaving the house
on time. Then, walking to school, you have to
watch carefully for traffic, especially at busy
corner intersections.
Well, for the students at Anthony Chabot
Elementary School, there is one less stressful
thing that helps them on their way to
school: the Anthony Chabot Elementary
School’s award-winning safety patrol.
A group of about 25
fourth and fifth graders,
along with a parent or
teacher, controls traffic
at the busy intersection
of Patton and Chabot
Road every morning
from 8:10 a.m. until
school begins at 8:30
a.m., for safer passage
onto the school grounds.
We are fortunate to
live in a community
where many of our
families live close enough
to school to walk there.
We are also a school that
is located close to several
freeway entrances and
the Rockridge BART
station, which means
we have lots of vehicle
traffic each morning. The
safety patrol is an amazing
production to watch, as
over 200 people cross our
crosswalk every morning.
I am fortunate to be the
teacher in charge of this
amazing group of student
leaders, and have been
thoroughly impressed each
year at the dedication and
hard work these leaders
demonstrate each day. Not
only do most of them arrive
30 minutes before school
starts two to five days a
week, they also participate
in monthly meetings
during their recess time.
For each of these meetings,
the captains, sergeants,
lieutenants, and other
leaders are required to
write up and give a report. This is in front of
their peers, the parent liaison, myself, and an
officer from the Oakland Police Department;
no small feat for nine- and ten-year-olds.
Safety Patrols are guided by the Oakland
Police Department and AAA. They work
with over 500 students at 25 elementary
schools in Oakland. Every spring there is an
annual review, with a trophy awarded to the
top school’s Safety Patrol. The competition
is fierce.
While researching safety patrols for this
article, I learned that many of our society’s
The Chabot Safety Patrol ends a shift. Mr. Agajan
and parent coordinator Karen Sternstein look on.
Teacher in charge Miranda Carrow, left photo,
lends extra authority when patrol members control
traffic.                                                         Photos/D. Kinkead
leaders participated in safety patrols at their
schools. These include former presidents
Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; Nobel Prize
winner Dr. Gary S. Becker; U.S. Senator John
Warner; baseball broadcasting Hall of Famer
Joe Garagiola; and many more, including 21
astronauts.
As a teacher, I feel participating in safety
patrol is important for students. They learn
to become leaders and role models in their
community, and they learn dedication and
hard work.
If you have never seen a safety patrol in
action, come watch on the corner of Patton
and Chabot Road any weekday morning at
about 8:20 a.m. I know you will be impressed,
as I am every time.
February Heating Up

Closing date BR BA Address
Original price List price  DOM
Selling price
2/6/15   2
1
5360 Locksley Avenue
$849,000
$849,000
8
$1,050,000

2/9/15   1
1
2005 Pleasant Valley Ave
$268,000
$315,000
73
$302,000
Average List to Sell is 121%· Currently 20 day supply of inventory ·
Median sold price is $676,000 · Average price per square foot is $434
· 4 Sales Currently Pending ·


6.

March 7, 2015

Eyes on Rockridge
Skilled Home Baker
Teaches Bagel
Appreciation 101
lives near Lake Merritt. They had also signed
up for the class, maybe smaller than usual
since it was Super Bowl Sunday.
Lieber, who grew up in Danville,
remembers her grandmother visiting from
Pittsburgh each winter. “My grandmother was
quite a baker. She’d stay six weeks and bake
the whole time.” Plus, “I defended myself from
four brothers by baking,” she said.
Her specialty became artisanal breads.
“I’d always have a loaf just out in the kitchen.”
Many of the recipes came from the “Breads
from the La Brea Bakery” cookbook by Nancy
Silverton. “Then I got turned on to her recipe
for bagels.”
Once Lieber had adapted it successfully,
she had no thought of selling them – or even
giving a class. But a couple of years ago, she
invited the hospitality committee she heads
at Temple Sinai to her house. “I thought we
should have some fun. We work hard, we
should celebrate. We should make bagels
together.”
They enjoyed it so much that someone
suggested she give regular classes. And, “I
found out that I really liked to teach. I realized
I wanted to have everyone be able to make
bagels themselves.”
Lieber is talented enough, in my mind, to
be on one of the cooking networks. Here’s a
by Judith Doner Berne
When
we moved to Rockridge
from the suburbs of Detroit
almost four years ago, we realized we had
landed in a walkable food heaven.
But one notable exception flew in our
faces every Sunday morning – bagels, though
available, weren’t what we were used to. They
weren’t rolled by hand, boiled with honey,
baked on the spot, and of moderate size.
As a child growing up in Detroit, I
remember accompanying my dad to the
Detroit Bagel Factory every Sunday morning,
where the tantalizing smells of baking bagels
wafted over us as we waited our turn in the
long, snake-like line.
Although she is now a ‘bagel maven,’ Laurie
Lieber continues to make her signature
breads, routinely found on her kitchen
counter. She is also working on a new
recipe for sourdough crackers.        /Judy Berne
Detroit Bagel moved to the suburbs, as did
my husband and I.  And our Sunday bagel runs
and the smells and the lines remained constant
as we raised our family and as empty-nesters.
So when Beauty’s Bagels opened on
Telegraph and 38th in the fall of 2012,
producing crusty, right-sized bagels from a
wood-fired oven within walking distance of
our house, our move to Rockridge seemed
complete.
Still, we were intrigued when we learned
about, then attended Laurie Lieber’s “Bake
Your Own (Amazing) Bagels” class, right
here in Rockridge.
Lieber has an engaging manner, a way with
words and a mission – although very part-
time – to teach people how to make their own
authentic bagels. Her real job, since retiring
from public health advocacy, is teaching
Pilates in her backyard studio.
 “I’ve been a life-long baker,” she told my
husband and me as we awaited Flora Feldman,
from Crocker Highlands, and Susan Paul, who
taste of her easy, gracious schtick as she sought
to pass her skills on to us:
“One of the main reasons these taste so
good is because the process is slow. They
(bagels) happen over a three-day period.
“I don’t describe my bagels as sourdough
➧➧Bagel Appreciation, page 7
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7.
March 7, 2015

husband, Phillip Rubin, met on the first
floor of the building where both worked
in downtown Oakland. They have lived in
Rockridge almost 30 years. Rubin walks to
his office on College Avenue, from which he
sells computer software to law firms. “He’s
a peddler; I’m a meddler,” Lieber said with
a smile. They have two adult children, Sarah
and Jacob, both of whom live in Oakland.
Sylvie Mwila Jonath, who lives in
Rockridge, signed up for the class after
receiving Lieber’s announcement on her
neighborhood listserv. The two didn’t know
one another. “It was wonderful,”  Jonath told
me. “You could see she’s got the passion for
it and was very thorough.”
No, Jonath hasn’t yet made bagels at home,
but plans to take the workshop again “for the
fun of it. I’m originally from the Congo. I could
probably introduce bagels there.”
Bagel
Appreciation
have any frustrations.
“There’s something about a hand-shaped
bagel.
“Not all of my students graduate. It’s a
labor intensive thing.”
“For many people my class is really a
bagel appreciation class,” Lieber said. “A lot
won’t make their own.” And, in fact, Feldman
told us: “I’ve been here before. I’m remedial.”
And Paul said: “I’m here for the experience.”
We, too, have yet to use the starter and
recipe Lieber sent home with us. But we
headed home in time for Super Bowl half-time
armed with a few bagels we helped make in
class as well as four raw circles of dough that
we had learned how to roll and hand-shape
(around our actual hands).
We ate the fresh bagels immediately. And,
the next day, my husband boiled the others
in honey water, as Lieber had taught us, then
topped them before baking with her favorite
combo of poppy seed, fennel, sesame seed and
kosher salt. A decided yum on both accounts.
Lieber, who has anthropology and public
health degrees from Cal Berkeley, and her
from page 6
[although she creates them from a sourdough
starter] because people expect them to taste
like San Francisco sourdough.
“I always have access to extra starter.
You have lifelong access to starter because
you took this class.
“I’ll get up in the morning and while
I’m having my breakfast, I’ll make a batch
of bagels.
“I tend to approach baking like a chemist
because I am a control freak.
“These are my bagels and once you take
them home, you can make them yours.
“Bagels are like preschoolers; they need
to rest.
 “Wash your hands [as we were about to
knead the dough]. We’re about to get up close
and personal.
“You should knead until you no longer
More information is available at www.
bakeyourownamazingbagels.com or by calling
510/435-3995. Your comments on this column
and ideas for future stories are welcome: Email
judyberne@att.net.
have and the challenge of trying to maintain
a healthy balance while changes inevitably
keep coming. In the meantime, she’ll keep
looking for those unusual salads that are a
Pasta Shop signature.
 Hank and Frank Bicycles took over
Red’s Bike Shop at 6030 College Avenue in
1986. Does anyone remember when Red’s
first opened on College? Hank and Frank
have been in Oakland since 1925. Their first
bike shop was opened on East 14th Street in
1925, with subsequent stores on Grand Avenue
and in Lafayette. Ian Lautze now manages the
store, and, naturally, bikes to work as often
as he can. It’s a large shop with plenty of
inventory and choices. Sales include high-end
mountain bikes and road bikes, but the bread
and butter of the shop is the “hybrid,” a cross
between the two at a considerably lower price.
The shop gets lots of locals coming in, but Ian
believes the real draw is their lifetime free
service which covers just about everything
except flats and broken or worn-out parts.
Spring appears to be here, so get on that bike,
with a helmet please, and ride on down and
check them out.
Merchants
from page 4
(see website for name history) and you have
the current Market Hall food empire. The
kitchen that supports both the Bakery and
the Pasta Shop is located upstairs. Wilson is
a landlord, tenant, and business owner; she
owns the building with her two brothers and
works in the business every day. Additionally,
as a Rockridge resident of many years, she
can see the various viewpoints that groups
Daniel’s
Recent
Rockridge
Listings
SOLD: $1,380,000
Listed: $1,100,000
5470 Boyd • 3 Offers
SOLD: $1,275,000
Listed: $995,000
5646 Oak Grove • 3 Offers
SOLD: $1,210,000
Listed: $949,000
388 62nd • 3 Offers
SOLD: $950,000
Listed: $795,000
5319 Shafter • 5 Offers
SOLD: $950,000
Listed: $695,000
5347 James • 7 Offers
SOLD: $925,000
Listed: $795,000
5272 Lawton • 5 Offers
SOLD: $925,000
Listed: $849,000
5330 Manila • 7 Offers
SOLD: $925,000
Listed: $699,000
5344 Shafter • 19 Offers
SOLD: $920,000
Listed: 749,000
5486 Kales • 12 Offers
SOLD: $905,000
Listed: $795,000,
391 Alcatraz • 5 Offers
SOLD: $850,000
Listed: 725,000
5231 Coronado • 3 Offers
SOLD: $830,000
Listed: $749,000
5371 Broadway • 2 Offers
SOLD: $811,000
Listed: $695,000
74 Ross Circle • 5 Offers
SOLD: $775,000
Listed: $725,000
5370 Bryant • 4 Offers
SOLD: $775,000
Listed: $649,000
5276 Redondo • 3 Offers
SOLD: $735,000
Listed: $625,000
359 Cavour • 3 Offers


8.

March 7, 2015

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.
The Rockridge News welcomes posted
letters and e-mails to the editor. Your
name, address, phone number, e-mail
address and city/neighborhood must be
included in either for verification. Only
your name will appear with your letter.
Letters to
the Editor
along College.
In dramatic contrast, Cole Hardware is a
terrific addition to College; a truly welcome
one that fits the needs and sensibilities of the
Rockridge area.
Quoting RDA marketing man Chris
Jackson’s approving comments further
promotes hype over sound journalism. But
maybe that is not what The Rockridge News
is designed to provide.
— Sara Hartley
Rockridge News Glosses Over
Safeway Impact on Local Shops
Editor:
On Determining Bicycle Safety
Distances
Editor:
While I appreciate that the retail
community can benefit from upbeat articles
on the “new life” on College Avenue, such
reporting seems a bit biased.
Judy Berne’s breezy observation [The
Rockridge News, February 2015] that local
merchants appear busy, traffic looks OK,
and random non-resident pedestrians sound
happy is extraordinarily shallow. Yasai is
being hurt and four coffee shops within
one block will surely drive someone out of
business... most likely the least-capitalized
(i.e., most local). Safeway’s business plan
depends on killing off Ver Brugge and La
Farine. Chimes Pharmacy was a canary in
the mineshaft for that strategy months ago.
Only our dedicated neighborhood can
continue loyal patronage to local merchants
and protect our beloved shops.
Berne is apparently new to the area and
found the old Safeway, understandably,
below par. But her mostly promotional stance
is both naive and misguided, with little
sensitivity to the real impact of this suburban
mall-sized Safeway “lifestyle center.”
Perhaps believing she is “fair and
balanced,” she highlights all the ways
Safeway is trying to buy community favor, as
though this compensates for the promise of
chain store retail renting high priced spaces
Your recent advice [The Rockridge News,
January 2015] on keeping a safe distance
when passing a bicycle has struck a familiar
chord.
As motorists drive down the street with
their car doors open, holding out their guitars
to measure a three-foot buffer zone (a Fender
guitar works well for this), they should heed
the warning of Mr. Arlo Guthrie in his
Motorcycle Song;
“Now, when you’re going down a
mountain road at 150 miles an hour you gotta
be very careful, especially if you’re playin’ a
guitar. Especially if that guitar is an acoustic
guitar. Because if it’s an acoustic guitar, the
wind pressure is greater on the box side than
on the neck side, because there’s more guitar
on the box side.”
He knew it wasn’t the best song he ever
wrote, but he didn’t have time to change it.
Yours with that kind of enthusiasm,
— Chuck Afflerbach
Worst Fears Realized
Editor:
The Safeway on College and Claremont
is now open, and the worst fears about the
loading bay abutting Claremont Avenue are
realized. What do we now have?
Tractor-trailer trucks idling on Claremont
Avenue (in some cases, over one-half
hour) waiting to go into the loading bay.
Result? Traffic on Claremont is obstructed.
When finally backing into the loading bay,
Claremont Avenue and the side streets are
“blessed” with an extended red light, several
minutes long. Mystic and Auburn are blocked
so no traffic can go
Ed. note: The writer refers to an article
describing the newly mandated 3-foot
distance between automobiles and bicyclists
as “roughly equivalent to... the length of an
acoustic guitar.” Find Arlo Guthrie’s song
here: http://goodsparkgarage.com/arlo-
guthrie-and-the-motorcycle-song/
➧➧Letters, page 9
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9.
March 7, 2015

of competing with the shiny new behemoth. I
urge my neighbors to give extra consideration
to shopping across the street from Safeway
in the coming months to help get our local
businesses through until the newness of
the Safeway wears off, our prior shopping
patterns are reestablished, and we realize
again that it’s just a Safeway  and appreciate
how fortunate we are for what’s across the
street.
— James Austin
are, that keep us coming back. They are
a significant part of the fabric of this
neighborhood, and we owe it to them and
to the business owners to keep Rockridge
a place in which they will survive and
prosper.
— Claire Lomax
Letters
from page 8
in or out. Heaven help us if an ambulance
needs to exit Mystic or Auburn to travel to
Alta Bates emergency.
What a nightmare! What a dangerous
and unacceptable situation! Sadly, Oakland
officials allowed a remote, publicly traded
company, whose loyalty lies with its
shareholders, to build a store too big for the
neighborhood (and they are going to build
a larger one at a more appropriate location
not one mile away). They allowed Safeway
to put the loading bay abutting the street (an
appalling precedent). They allowed Safeway
to use our streets as delivery lanes and
cause massive inconvenience and dangerous
circumstances around that entire area.
Oakland decision makers are responsible
for this appalling situation and they are
responsible for demanding that it be remedied.
— Camille Reed
Safeway and College Ave Paving
Editor:
1. I notice that Philz Coffee is going into one
of the retail spaces at Safeway on College.
I didn’t think that the zoning allowed chain
stores. Philz has 20 stores, counting the one
on College.
2. How come the paving work on College
under the BART station only did half of
the very rough street? There is still a very
rough patch.
— Bill Dutcher
Service Makes the Difference
Editor:
With all the commentary about the
remodeled Safeway and entreaties by many
to keep patronizing the independent shops
across the street, I’m reminded what makes
this neighborhood, my home since birth, a
good place for me to live and shop. It’s those
wonderful people behind the counters!
At La Farine, Vino, Yasai Market and
Cole Coffee are bright, smart, engaging
people with a true customer service ethic.
And not at just these fine shops. On down
the avenue to Noodle Theory, Spasso’s, the
shops in Market Hall and the others. They
recognize us when they take our orders.
They chat a bit if they have time. They are
not anonymous to us nor we to them.
These are the people who help a lot to
make these small businesses what they
Support Local, Neighborhood
Businesses
Editor:
After enduring months of construction
of the new Safeway on College, beloved
neighborhood businesses have suffered
reduced patronage due to the loss of parking,
traffic congestion, and, most recently,
blocked access to storefronts.
These businesses now face the challenge
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10.

March 7, 2015

Frog Park Amenity
Update & Earth
Day Party Preview
Many people have been asking when the
Frog Park enhancements will be ready.
While we received strong support for the
enhancements, we are adjusting the design to
address concerns raised by neighbors close
to the park.
A goal of the enhancements is to provide
additional play opportunities for toddlers
and disabled children, especially via use of a
swing and the spinner. Parents with mobility
challenges will find the enhancements make
the park more accessible.
In other news, we thank you —
individuals, businesses and foundations – for
your contributions. We are close to our $50K
fundraising goal for the enhancements, and
hope to reach it soon. Watch for information
via  www.frogpark.org and in The Rockridge
News.
Thank you park users and residents for
your patience during  this lengthy outreach
and design process. If you have comments
or questions, write me at chair@frogpark.org
— Carol Behr, FROG Chair, and
Theresa Nelson, Park Co-Founder
Frog Jump-Notes & Activities:
Mark your calendar for Earth
Day Cleanup and FROG Family Fest
– Saturday, April 18, Frog Park, Rockridge-
Temescal Greenbelt.
More Jump-Notes:
Welcome to our new committee members.
We are still seeking volunteers with the following
skills: • Marketing and communication;
• Community event planning and coordination;
• Gardening/botanical expertise (e.g., butterfly
garden); • Park maintenance (city coordination,
help during events). Contact info@frogpark.org
with questions or to volunteer.
Riders raise their cycles in celebration upon arriving
at the State Capitol in 2014.           /Ride for a Reason
Ride for a Reason: Oakland Schools
by Michael Napolitano
Somehow
, it happened.
We  b e c a m e
accustomed to teacher wish lists, peeling
paint, extra fees for sports and music, too
few (if any) counselors, and the highest
student-to-teacher ratios in the nation.
Budget surpluses have made things better.
Proposition 30, Governor Brown’s Local
Control Funding Formula directs greater
resources to the neediest students.
However, California still funds its
schools much below the national average,
and continues to have the largest class sizes
in the nation.
According to the Legislative Analyst’s
Office, Proposition 30 would need to provide
three times as much revenue as projected, just
to boost California’s per student funding up
to the 2011 national average: and California
arguably needs more funding per student
because it has the highest number of English
language learners and students living in
poverty.
Nothing is more important to our future
than ensuring that all our children receive
a good education. As Scoop Nisker likes to
say: “If you don’t like the news, go out and
make some of your own.” That’s just what
we plan to do!
Join us for the 7th annual Ride for
a Reason on Saturday, May 16, a bike
ride from Oakland to Sacramento to draw
attention to the ongoing K-12 education
funding crisis, and also to raise funds for
school enrichment programs. Last year, 260
riders pedaled to Sacramento and raised
$106,000 which was shared by six local
public schools.
This year, we have two rides to choose
from: 45 and 109 miles. We provide all the
support you will need to go the distance
on May 16. We encourage all riders to raise
$250 or more in pledges, but the only real
requirement is to ride.
Get more detailed information and
register now to volunteer or donate at http://
rideforareason.dojiggy.com.










 
­
Lic. 691894


 
	
Martin Coyle       510-655-8717     Mike Tracy
     5221 James Ave. Oakland Ca. 94618
w w w . c o y l e h o m e r e m o d e l . c o m


11.
March 7, 2015

Esther McFeely, Rockridge Resident and Centenarian, Passes Away

Esther Ann Hunt McFeely,
believed to be the longest surviving
Oakland Tech High alumna, left
us quietly at age 104 on February
13, 2015, in the presence of
her children gathered in the
Rockridge home in which she
had lived since 1920.
Esther was born in San
Francisco January 19, 1911, to
Howard and Cecelia Hunt and
spent her early years in Nevada
City where her grandfather had
been a “grubstaker” during the
California Gold Rush of the 1850s.
Esther married high school

Zoo as Mother Goose. Later,
she raised several baby chimps
too young for the zoo under the
direction of Suzy,  a zookeeper.
She was also the floral planner
for her senior center. (Most of
the flowers were “donated” from
neighbors’ gardens.)
When her children were
young, Esther opened her home
as a neighborhood ballet studio
and invited the mothers of the
children’s classmates to enroll
them.
Her front porch was usually
Esther McFeely
January 19, 1911
February 13, 2015

sweetheart Fred McFeely on
June 7, 1941, a union from
which daughter Suzy Ruhe,
of Coarsegold, and son James
McFeely, of Alameda, were born.
Esther’s siblings Teddy Hunt
and Mary Steeves predeceased
her.
Esther supported her children
through Camp Fire Girls and
Cub Scouts and received a
PTA Life Membership from
Rockridge Grammar School,
which she attended as a child.
She also volunteered at Children’s
Fairyland and the Oakland Baby

➧➧Esther, page 12

About Esther: Liz Adams Rebensdorf/Early Family Friend
Barbara Anderson/Neighbor

Our Mom, Martha Adams, and
Esther were best friends; the
McFeely family lived at one end of
Lawton and we were at the other
end. We four sisters (the Adams
girls) were always grumpy when
we would be out with Mom and
we’d run into Esther, since that
meant we had to stand around
and wait for a long time while
they chatted.
I (Liz) fondly remember
that several times, we’d pull
Esther’s pump organ out onto
her front porch, Mom would play
Christmas carols, and neighbors
would gather around to sing.
It was always exciting when
Mom had to go to the hospital to
deliver another baby sister; I’d get
to go to Esther’s. Whereas Mom
would put our school lunch –
sandwich and milk – into a metal
lunchpail, Esther would produce
a lunch with everything (carrot
sticks, potato chips, cookies,
Esther and I were neighbors
on Lawton Avenue; we lived
less than a block apart. Most
often, we’d rendezvous on the
sidewalk: I would be in the front
yard forever weeding, she would
be pushing a wirebasket cart up to
the College Avenue Presbyterian
Church with her garden blossoms
for the Senior Center tables.
Conversation was wide-ranging,
starting with gardens, often our
pets, neighborhood happenings,
and certainly RCPC hot buttons.
Esther could be depended upon
to speak her mind.
Lots of us shared her dining
room table monthly for the
counting and sorting of RCPC
newsletters for distribution.
I remember the huge pile of
random rubber bands of all sizes
pickle, unknown goodies) all
wrapped up individually in wax
paper. Sister Motsy remembers
when we were home alone and
our dog Toots went into labor.
One of us ran to get Esther, and
she came scurrying down the
block, sat on the kitchen floor
and helped deliver the puppies,
exclaiming each time, “Oh, this
one is a beauty!” Another time,
Mom called Esther down to look
at the spots on Motsy’s leg, fearing
it might be chicken pox; Esther
diagnosed it as felt marker spots,
Motsy’s poor attempt to stay
home from school that day. Sister
Katsy remembers Esther as being
the neighborhood organizer – if
something fun was happening,
Esther had made it happen. Our
Mom didn’t sew, a handicap
with four “ballerina” daughters,
so Esther was the force behind
many a ruffled tutu. Sister Ginny
remembers Esther walking to
which she collected, and the
drama around opening up the
round table to add extra leaves.
I remember how sweetly she
welcomed our kids who often
came along after school.
Brooke Levin and I fondly
remember a special decoration in
her living room at Christmastime.
On a small table sat a two-foot tall
artificial tree heavily encrusted
with pins, bracelets, brooches,
earrings all dazzling with
rhinestones, pearls, cloisonné
enamel and more. She was casual
about it, something she and other
family members had made a
long time ago; it always came
out for the holidays. Today, each
of those costume jewels would
be treasured finds in the local
vintage shops.
and from the corner store (Otto
Raible’s grocery store on James at
Clifton). We all loved Esther: she
was like a second mother to us and
a big happy part of our Rockridge
childhood.
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12.

March 7, 2015

Tom Nitsan at MPR Financial, Ron Kriss
of Lawton Associates, Adventure Time,
Maxi Lilley of Red Oak Realty, Faramarz
Moeen-Ziai and Stephanie Walton at Bank
of Commerce Mortgage, Rebecca Amato of
Amato Architecture, Hope Broderick of The
Grubb Company, Jill Martenson at Piedmont
Dental by Design, Patrick Pernice of 4by6.
com, Bakesale Betty, Stephanie Walton,
Zoe Cohen, L.Ac., and Elizabeth Norris of
Vintage European Posters.
As you look for local businesses to
patronize, please keep these generous people
in mind.
Jody London
Chabot Auction
from page 1
from page 1
fall to promote early childhood education.
We are also excited about the addition of
Ray Mondragon as our school district’s
first Chief of Early Learning.
A sampling of the generous offerings:
Local Businesses: Cole Hardware, CREAM,
Lesley Evers, Oaklandish, Pave, Pegasus,
and Smitten.
Restaurants: Arizmendi, Chez Panisse,
Filippo’s, Jules Thin Crust, Rockridge Café,
and Zachary’s Pizza.
Get-aways: Tahoe Donner, St. Helena, and
a family retreat at the Cosumnes River.
Local Fun: Fairyland, Lawrence Hall of
Science, Taro’s Origami Studio, East Bay
Symphony, and a Private Challah Baking
lesson.
Sporting Events: Oakland A’s, SF Giants,
and Warriors.
We thank this year’s sponsors whose
generous underwriting supports our
financial success.
Title Sponsors for the 2015 event are
Rosie Papazian of Berkeley Hills Realty and
RPM Mortgage. Additional sponsors include
Jeff Robarts and The Grubb Company,
■
■Solar Power Investment at 16 Schools:
Thanks to voters for their approval in 2012
of Measure J which allowed financing 3.6
megawatt panels at 16 schools, including
Oakland Tech, Oakland International, and
Sankofa. With full operation, we expect
savings of $1.5 million per year.
Chabot appreciates the support of our entire
community and we look forward to seeing you
virtually at our online auction. A link to the bid-
ding will be available on our home page at www.
chabotelementary.org.
■
■AAMA Leader Receives National
Recognition: Chris Chatmon, Director of
our African American Male Achievement
office (the first of its kind in the country),
was recognized by a national education
journal as one of 15 Leaders to Learn
From. Chatmon will be honored at the
White House on March 18.
Esther
■
■Strategic Regional Analysis: This is a
new way of looking at every part of Oakland
for where we do and do not have quality
schools, and how we serve our 48,000
students in district and charter schools.
A preliminary analysis is being presented
to community groups around the district.
from page 12
decorated for the holidays and was the center
for caroling, accompanied by the playing of
the family antique pump organ. Her kitchen
was the center for many family celebrations.
Fred passed away in 1967. Esther’s
grandson Patrick resides in San Diego
with Danielle, Alyssa and Mr. Kitty.
Nieces Donna Sage lives in Hidden
Valley, Dori Steeves in Redding, Dawn
Mazarakis in London, and Nelly McFeely
in Oakland. Nephew Donald Steeves lives in
Walnut Creek. For those who made Esther
comfortable — Carmen, Christy and “the
Italian Lady”— we thank you.
A memorial is planned for the near future.
■
■Reaching a Multi-Year Contract with
our Teachers’ Union: Negotiations have
been ongoing. The District has offered to
increase compensation and reduce class
sizes in early and special education. We
are mindful that 80 percent of our gen-
eral fund revenue comes from the State
(and California is 46th in the country in
per-pupil funding).
■
■Providing Support to Schools: Oak-
land is engaged in the Intensive Support
School Initiative at five schools (Brookfield
Elementary, Castlemont, Fremont and
McClymonds High Schools, Frick Ele-
mentary). The initiative provides specific
resources that will assist school communities
with finding long-term solutions to raising
the quality of education for their students.
Any one of these topics would take up a
full column. You can learn more under the
Hot Topics and Initiatives tabs at www.ousd.
k12.ca.us and reach me via email at jody.
london@ousd.k12.ca.us.
Specializing in Rockridge Real Estate

By now, most Rockridge residents are familiar with the soaring real estate values and rental rates.
We have far surpassed our prior peak before the financial meltdown. We continue to have a short
supply of homes, especially due to seasonal low levels.  Spring is coming and it will pick up some.
It’s a great time to put your home on the market if you are considering it. Let me help you get a
closer look at the real numbers and dynamics. I’d be happy to explain the nuances and strategies.
The data pool is too small to look at averages and medians that won’t translate specifically
to your home. With over 200 transactions, let me use my extensive experience to guide you.

If your group or organization is interested in
learning more about our work to create a school
district that holds itself accountable for superior
outcomes for all students, please email me to
schedule a small group discussion.

Call for a real local expert opinion.
HAPPY SPRING!!!
Perry Riani, Senior Associate
Pacific Union and Christie’s International Real Estate
510.813.3799  PerryRiani@gmail.com
License # 01402540


13.
March 7, 2015

by hosting gatherings and art shows for
people to meet their community.”
Deco Art
Deco Art, 5495-C Claremont Avenue,  is open for
art exhibitions and classes. Proprietor Caroline
Stern has a portfolio of work online at http://
www.decoart.gallery, and can be contacted at
carolinestern@sbcglobal.net or 510/593-4574.
from page 4
adults and children at Deco Art, with a new
series of classes planned for the spring.
Looking toward a “renaissance for art”
in Rockridge, Stern has a vision for more
public murals and decorative adornment for
everything from utility boxes to business
interiors. In 2013, her collaborative mural
work was featured in the Oakland Tribune by
columnist Tammerlin Drummond. And while
she sees the potential in Rockridge’s future,
she is also connected to the neighborhood’s
past and present: “Rockridge has been my
gateway to Oakland and the Bay. I have found
a community of artists in the neighborhood.
I enjoy the diversity and have known a lot of
the original Italian residents and I continue to
try and engage my neighbors in city politics
Carl Schmitz is Art Research Librarian at the
Richard Diebenkorn Foundation. He was in the last
UC Santa Cruz class taught by Magic Humanist
muralist Eduardo Carrillo, and can be reached at
cschmitz@diebenkorn.org.
Interior • Exterior
Lead-Certified Painters
For a free estimate
call Cydney
There’s a
new broker
in town.
510•652•4034
Susan Bernosky
Strahan
Insurance
Services, Inc.
510-450-9051

Deco Art is on the northwest side
of Claremont Avenue, just before
it passes under the Grove-Shafter
Freeway.                           /Deco Art
Norman H. Burg, DDS
General Dentistry
(510) 652-1517
5700 Broadway, Oakland
A Prevention Oriented Practice


14.

March 7, 2015

Professional Math Tutor
Effective, consistent, and reliable help
for middle/high school, college/university
students (all levels, test preparations).
Former university lecturer, LBNL post-doc
and researcher with 20+ years teaching
experience. Andreas: 510/734 9189,
andreaszyx@yahoo.com.
Looking for Something Fun
and Unique?
At your next party or event, experience
the art of belly dance! Elegant, beautiful
and appropriate for all ages. Individual and
group instruction also available. Call Jennifer
at 510/326-3933. www.hipbellydancer.com
Denize & Idelvan
House Cleaning
We clean houses, apartments, offices, in the
Bay Area. Nine years experience. E-mail:
idelvandenize@hotmail.com or call 510/253-
5309 or 510/739-0717.
Your Rockridge Specialists
JUDITH GLASS & SHEILA SABINE —
The Grubb Company. Now may be the right
time for a move. Call 510/326-5055, or email
SSabine@Grubbco.com.
Property Management
Need help managing your property? Attention
to detail. Great rates! Bringing tenants and
landlords together is what I do. Contact George
GvRealtor@gmail.com or 510/710-6826.
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.
April issue deadline is March 19.
For information: smontauk@gmail.com
a
cross-cultural congregation
striving to partner with
         the Rockridge community
   in lifestyle and service.
It’s Spring at Penelope’s
Aesthetics!
Refresh, rejuvenate, renew and enrich with an
Express facial for only $49! www.penelopecalef.
com. Please call for an appointment, 
510/594-1552.
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.
House Repairs & Rehabs,
Interior & Exterior
Kitchen & bath remodel, tile, decks, dry
rot, drainage, walls, termite damage,
doors, windows. Professional work for
affordable prices. Local References Available.
Lic#458473. Don 510/812-0310.
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
As a Realtor® at East Bay Sotheby’s International Realty, my goal is to provide
your home with relevant points of exposure designed to connect you with
potential buyers. Contact me today for a complimentary market analysis.
Ortrun Niesar
Realtor®, BRE #01161032
510.326.2161
ortrun.niesar@sothebysrealty.com
sothebysrealty.com
Each office is independently owned and  operated
california college of the arts
Summer 2014
for high school students!
art
  architecture
  design
  writing
cca’s beautiful oakland
campus is walking
distance from the
rockridge bart station
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


15.
March 7, 2015

Land Use

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.

from page 3

Compiled by Jo Ellis

Community Calendar

with the transition from 60' to 45' occurring
about two-thirds of the way from 51st to
49th. The proposed height is consistent with
the zoning at the corners, but the transition
should occur closer to 51st, per the current
height limit. SRM representatives say the
height variance is necessary to meet proposed
densities in a way that minimizes impact to
neighbors, and the increased height occurs
along Broadway where increased height is
appropriate, so should be allowed.
Neighbors feel that extensive effort went
into establishing those height limits during
the update to the General Plan and Zoning
in recent years, and they should be respected
in the design. They regard the proposed
project as very massive to neighboring
single family residential homes behind it
and adjacent on 49th, and the step-down
in heights as insufficient and additionally
causes more significant shadowing than
it might otherwise, so additional height
exacerbates the concern.
SRM’s position is that they have pushed
project density toward Broadway to address
this concern, and are building less than the
zoning would allow on the portions of the
project that abut neighboring properties, so
must make up the loss elsewhere. Neighbors
are not convinced, and are seeking further
meetings with SRM. RCPC is encouraging
the parties to further this conversation prior
to the planning commission hearing.
Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Council (NCPC)
Discuss crime and public safety with representatives of
OPD. 2nd Thurs(3/12) each month, 7:30pm. Featured
speaker: Dan Kalb, District 1 City Councilman.
Rockridge Library, College and Manila. Confirm mtg. at
www.rockridgencpc.com or chair@rockridgencpc.com.
Rockridge Branch Library
5366 College Avenue, 597-5017
For All Ages: Ready, Set, Connect Program. Computer
tutors help with basic skills, portable devices, e-books &
audiobooks, and social media. Tues, 4:30-6:30 pm and
Sat, 2-4 pm. Drop-ins OK. Info: Vicky Chen, 597-5017.
FOR CHILDREN
NOTE: no story times Apr 1 thru 12.
NOTE: No art exhibits scheduled until further notice.
LIBRARY HOURS
Tues, 12:30 to 8pm.
Wed, Thurs & Sat: 10am to 5:30pm.
Fri, 12 to 5:30pm.
Closed: Sun. and Mon.
Diesel Book/Poetry Readings/Events
FREE and open to the public.
y
y Thurs, 3/12, 6:30pm. Marie-Rose Phan-Le: Talking
Story: One Woman’s Quest to Preserve Ancient
Spiritual and Healing Traditions.
y
y Fri, 3/13, 7:30pm. “Friday Nights” conversation / pod-
cast series: Mallory Ortberg and Suzanne Fischer
discuss Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons. (Info
about this series at www.dieselbookstore.com/event/
oakland-friday-nights-conversation-podcast-series).
y
y Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes (to age
5); Saturdays, 10:30am.
y
y Sat, 3/21, 7:30pm. Literary Karaoke Night: Bring
something from home or grab a book off one of our
shelves (not something you wrote), read one or two
pages from it, and perhaps just as important, listen to
everybody else do the same. (There just might be a
bottle of something strong and distilled, should you
need some liquid courage.)
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 Sun, 3/22, 3pm.Poetry Flash with Willa Schneberg
and Rob Lipton.
y
y New Sibling Class: Parents & children invited
together. Expecting a new baby? Show your toddler
or preschooler what’s going to happen. All types of
families welcomed to this hands-on, new-baby-prepa-
ration workshop. Sat, 3/21, 11:30am -12:30pm. Space
is limited; call Erica to register: 597-5017.
y
y Thurs, 3/26, 6:30pm. Local author/photographer
Camille Seaman: Melting Away: A Ten-Year Journey
Through Our Endangered Polar Regions; joined by
Richard Whittaker.
y
y Fri, 3/27, 9pm (doors open 8:30). Music Performance
with bluegrass banjo and guitar impresario Avram
Siegel, joined by Mike Witcher, and Sharon Gilchrist.
Note: $10 cover charge for this event; all proceeds
go to the musicians.
y
y Kamishibai Making Workshop Series with Erica:
For all fledgling (or experienced) artists & writers (ages
7 to 13). Sign up now to register for 4 consecutive
sessions on Tuesdays in April, 4:30 - 6pm. Watch
a Kamishibai presentation; brainstorm story ideas;
story-board the action & illustrations; and create
artwork on Kamishibai panels. The goal is for each
participant to complete their own Kamishibai story
by the end of the fourth session, and present it to a
live audience in May. More information & to register:
call Erica: 597-5017.
FOR TEENS
y
y Tues, 3/31, 6:30pm. Peter Heller: The Painter.
y
y Thurs, 4/2, 6:30pm. Kimber Simpkins: Full: How I
Learned to Satisfy My Insatiable Hunger and Feed
My Soul.
DIESEL, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. More info (other
events and discussion groups): 653-9965 or events@
dieselbookstore.com.
Jazz at the Chimes
Duo Gadjo Quartet: Parisian Hot Club Era Swing.
Sunday, 3/15, 2 pm.Tickets at the door (cash only)
beginning 12:30pm (doors open 1:30): $15 general; $10
srs. (60+) and students. Refreshments and reception
follows to meet the performers. More at www.duogadjo.
com.The series features Bay Area jazz musicians in a
landmarked Julia Morgan venue: Chapel of the Chimes,
4499 Piedmont Ave. Wheelchair accessible. Free
parking. Info: www.jazzatthechimes.com, chimesjazz@
gmail.com or 654-0123.
Square Dance in North Oakland
Music by The Squirrelly String Band. Calling by Jordan
Ruyle (with occasional guest performers). 1st and 3rd
Fridays each month, 8 – 10pm. All levels welcome; all
dances taught on the spot. $5-10 sliding scale donation.
The Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave.
Info: www.squirrellystringband.com/.
Free Aarp Sponsored Tax Assist
For middle and low-income seniors.Thursdays through
April 9. Bring all relevant documents for yourself and all
dependents. Make appt. at reception desk. No. Oakland
Senior Center, 5714 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. More
info: 597- 5085.
■
■Redwoods: A number of neighbors con-
tacted RCPC regarding posted redwood tree
removal permits filed for the vacant former
Shell station site at College and Claremont.
RCPC encouraged members and neighbors
to seek additional information from the city
arborist and report back to the community
via the Rockridge News. See “Redwood
Trees,” page 3, for details.
y
y Wearable Technology - Power LED Cuffs: We will
sew a simple circuit with LEDs to create a power cuff
that lights up on command. Fri, 3/13, 3:30 – 4:30pm.
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 to 2pm.
y
y Rockridge Ninjas: Watch Anime, 5 - 6:30pm; 2nd
Tues. each month.
y
y Teen ‘Scape: Play video & board games, make crafts,
enjoy light snacks. Every Wed, 2 to 3:30pm.
FOR ADULTS
LAW OFFICES OF
KYLE M. JOHNSTON
y
y Writers Support/Critique Group: All writers wel-
come. Bring 15 copies of up to 5 pgs. (double-spaced,
MS margins) of any prose for on-site reading/discus-
sion (also welcome to come empty-handed). Third
Saturday each month; 1 to 5pm. Sponsored by the
Calif. Writers Club, Berkeley branch. Info: 420-8775
or Writefox@aol.com.
5315 COLLEGE AVE.
OAKLAND, CALIF.
510.527.1880
CALL FOR YOUR FREE
INITIAL CONSULTATION
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). Note:
Volunteer lawyer leaves before 7pm if no more people
present. Call to confirm.
FAMILY   ╬   BUSINESS   ╬   ESTATE
WWW.KYLEMJOHNSTON.COM


16.

March 7, 2015

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berkeley, ca 94705
510.428.2600
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KEVIN BROWN
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654-8707 or 593-4780
fri-tues
10:30-5:30

wed-thurs 10:30-8:00
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Lawton Associates
Welcomes
34
Emily Miller
Emily is the newest addition to our Lawton team.
She grew up in a real estate family and brings
a wealth of knowledge to our business. Her
proven track record in medical sales, assisting
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estate world.
Better Homes
Realty
5353 College Avenue
Oakland
Living? Love it in Oakland!
Just Listed in Rockridge
by
Emily Miller & Ron Kriss
“WALKABLE” PIEDMONT?!
5615 Miles Avenue
3BD/2++BA
$965,000
The best of both worlds - Piedmont Ave and Piedmont Schools
Classic bungalow exterior married to an updated,
and I mean seriously updated, interior.
Watch the story unfold at
www.3Nace.com
*Award Winning Chabot Elementary School
Ron Kriss, Broker
Lawton Associates
510.547.5970
ronkriss@JPS.net
Coming to market mid-March!
Claudia Mills
510.350.6419
cmills@mcguire.com
ClaudiaMillsRealEstate.com
Robin Dustan
415.385.3499
rdustan@mcguire.com
“I Know Rockridge”
Over 140 Homes
Sold in Rockridge
LawtonAssoc.com