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ckridgeNews

THE
www.rockridge.org

VOL. 30    NO. 4      ISSUE  NO. 321         April 3, 2015                         CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 BusInesses

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

16

April 2015
RCPC Town
Hall Meeting

Town Hall and RCPC Board Election

Come
at 7 for
pizza and
friends

AGENDA
Election Procedures & Voting
As the first item on the Town
Hall Agenda, Rockridge
residents will hear candidate
presentations, then vote on

If the quorum is met, residents
unable to attend the Town Hall
may vote Saturday, April 18,
in the lobby of the Rockridge
library, between 11 a.m. and
2 p.m.
three RCPC board candidates.
Twenty-five or more residents
must vote or sign in at the
meeting to establish a quorum.
I. RCPC Board Election:
Two incumbents and one
new candidate will discuss
their candidacy and positions,
and take questions from the
community. Voting will then
be open. ☞Candidate
statements, page 2.
II. Presentation of a
City Resolution honoring
Rockridge News Editor
Don Kinkead. Dan Kalb will
recognize Don Kinkead for
his years of service to the
Voter Eligibility
Persons age 18 and over
who live within RCPC
boundaries are eligible to
vote. Verification is by:
driver’s license; a DMV ID
card; or your utility bill;
any one with an address
within RCPC boundaries
as depicted on the RCPC
website: rockridge.org.
community. The RCPC board
invites you to come share stories
and appreciation.
III. Land Use Committee
Overview of Major Development
Projects in Rockridge: Topics will
include the Merrill Gardens site
on Broadway north of 51st; the
Rockridge Shopping Center on
Pleasant Valley; the Temescal
Apartments on Broadway south
of 51st; the Kingfish site on
Claremont; and the Global
Entertainment/Creekside site at
51st and Telegraph (story, page 1).

Town Hall: Thursday, April 16 | 7-9 p.m. Rockridge Library, 5366 College at Manila | RSVP/pizza: rockridge.org

500 New Units Planned in Rockridge Area

New Features,
More Benefits for
RCPC Kitchen Tour
by Greg Pasquali, RCPC boardmember
There is a lot of new development proposed
and underway around Rockridge right
now. Whether you noticed the demolition
underway at the Merrill Gardens site on
Broadway north of 51st in the last few weeks,
are wondering when the vacant half of the
Rockridge Shopping Center on Pleasant
Valley might start redevelopment, have heard
that Temescal Apartments on Broadway
south of 51st was approved by the city last
month, or are curious what’s happening at
the Kingfish site on Claremont or the Global
Event
Date
➧➧500 New Units, page 12
Thursday,
Sept 17
Free Kitchen Expo
Meet and speak with architects,
contractors and other kitchen
specialists (registration required).
The Best Research Project Around
by Gabe Kleinman,
RCPC board member
It was the spring of 2012. My wife and I
had just fulfilled a dream of ours: to own
a home, in Rockridge no less. Although our
bank account was drained, our optimism
was filled to the brim.
As new homeowners often do,
we started out with grand visions
for how we’d make this home
our own. Redo the master
bathroom! Redesign the
dining room (but don’t touch
the built-ins)! And, of course,
the big daddy of them all: the
kitchen remodel.
Three years in, we’re still talking
the talk but, alas, have yet to walk the
walk. We quickly learned that remodeling
a kitchen takes quite a bit of cash, hundreds
of decisions, and research.
The research, it turns out, is the most fun
and inspiring, and the easiest to do. It’s also
best done in the wild - in people’s homes,
friends and strangers alike – rather than
a studio or contrived environment.
We’ve spent the last few years
conducting our fair share of
studies.
As far as “native viewing”
oppor t u n it ies go, t he
Rockridge Kitchen Tour is the
best of what’s around. So much
to touch, see, and learn from!
It also comes with a side benefit:
proceeds
Berkeley Mills Seminar
View the kitchen makeover
process from planning to
installation, all built by one
provider. Review natural woods
and other materials available;
learn elements of cost drivers,
overall costs, scheduling, quality.
Saturday,
September 19
Rockridge Kitchen Tour
Meet up with friends and family:
register and pick up your tour
booklet; you’re on your way.
Sunday,
Sept 20
More Kitchen Tour Details and
Tickets: rockridgekitchentour.org/
about-the-rockridge-kitchen-tour/
➧➧Best Research, page 7


2.

April 3, 2015

RCPC Election 2015: Candidate Statements

ROCKRIDGE BRANCH LIBRARY
                  5366 College Avenue
                   at Manila | 597-5017
places, businesses, and built environment
and through community building events like
town halls and festivals.
I am a member of the RCPC Transpor-
tation Committee, co-chair of the Land
Use Committee, organize RCPC’s Out and
About booth, and help with town halls. It is
important to ensure Rockridge continues
to grow and evolve to stay healthy, and
helps contribute to the growth and fiscal
health of the city. That means making sure
our business mix is diverse and reflective
of the market, and that proposals for new
housing are well designed and reflect the
diversity of our community.
Jennifer Daskal
Lawton Avenue
Library program details/hours: Calendar, page 15
Incumbent
My husband, three
year old daughter,
8 year old pug and I
moved to Rockridge
in 2012. Since then we
have added two cats, a fish and will soon
be welcoming our second daughter to this
wonderful neighborhood and community.
When we moved to Lawton Avenue,
everyone told us how lucky we were
and to be ready for of lots block parties,
impromptu Friday night get-togethers and a
wonderful neighborliness that rivals some-
thing out of the 1950s. They were right!
To show my appreciation for this fantas-
tic neighborhood, I decided to join the
Rockridge Community Planning Council in
January of 2014. In that time, I have served
as Treasurer, Liaison with the Parks com-
mittee, Co-Chair of the 2015 Kitchen Tour,
Co-Chair of the Halloween Parade and
assisted in Town Hall events and Rockridge
Out and About. It has been a whirlwind, but
I have enjoyed every minute of being able to
give back to such a welcoming community.
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
Noah Rosen
Lawton Avenue
Candidate
The son of a low-
income housing
consultant and an
environmental planner,
I was destined to care for people and
places. I am interested in building more
socially equitable and environmentally
sustainable cities, regionally, and in my
backyard. I believe individuals should be
active in their community. RCPC is the
perfect organization to exercise this belief.
A relatively new Rockridge resident, I
will provide a fresh, young perspective to
RCPC. I am excited to learn from folks who
have lived in the neighborhood for years,
and work together to make Rockridge
even better for residents, businesses, and
visitors.
As a board member, my purposes
will be: Listen to community planning
concerns and respond in a thoughtful,
holistic way; increase the amount of public
space in Rockridge (pocket parks, outdoor
seating); gain a deeper understanding of my
neighbors and neighborhood.
To subscribe to The Rockridge News, send
your check for $20, payable to Rockridge News
Subscriptions, to: Rockridge News Subscriptions at
the address below.
Greg Pasquali
Lawton Avenue
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
Incumbent
My wife and I moved
to Rockridge over
three years ago; I joined
the RCPC board soon
after. A stray copy of
The Rockridge News helped convince
us about this incredible neighborhood.
After our move, I was excited to be part
of ensuring Rockridge stays great through
thoughtful attention to our streets, public
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.
$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
Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
Publication date of the next issue is:
  May 2, 2015
  May deadline is April 16, 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.)
EXPERT
SHIRT
LAUNDERING!


3.
April 3, 2015

The April Land Use Committee meeting
is Wednesday, April 22, 7:30 p.m.,
at the Rockridge Branch library, 5366
College Avenue, upstairs meeting room.
Confirm at rockridge.org. (Front door
will be unlocked; auto-open will be off;
pull doors apart to enter.) The agenda
will be posted on rockridge.org by the
preceding Sunday. Meetings are open to
the public.
the meeting, but they are also bound by the
settlement. If you have other concerns, e-mail
landuse@rockridge.org.
The management transition is apparently
taking some time. As a consequence, the
project’s initiation has been slowed. Latest
word: demolition of the CVS building and
construction of the new Safeway store will
not begin until late spring or summer of this
year. There is a skeletal website for project
information: www.theshopsattheridge.com/.
Land Use Update
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use
Committee co-chair
■
■Merrill Gardens Senior
Housing Project – West Side of
Broadway, North of 51st Street
Construction of this large senior housing/
mixed use project is underway. There may
be traffic disruptions on both Broadway
and 51st Street as construction proceeds.
Find construction schedule details at
the SRM Development website: www.
srmdevelopment.com/rockridge. If you
have construction work concerns, find
developer phone numbers on that website,
or e-mail RCPC at landuse@rockridge.org.
■
■College Avenue Safeway
Project, College and
Claremont Avenues
RCPC and the community groups that
reached a settlement with Safeway over this
project submitted a punch list of issues to
Safeway and Terramar, the new owner of
the retail building, in February. The groups
met with Todd Paradis, Safeway’s regional
real estate manager, and its attorney in
mid-March. The meeting was far from
harmonious, but RCPC expects Safeway to
comply with its settlement obligations and the
city’s use permit. Some items are major: The
electronic parking space availability display
doesn’t work. This means drivers can’t tell if
they have space to park on the parking deck,
and it means Safeway can’t tell how full its lot
is, a requirement of the settlement. Another
major item is that meters have been installed
along Claremont Avenue, but there is no
signage to protect the casual carpool area
from filling up with parked cars. Of further
concern: nobody from Terramar attended
■
■Nautilus Mixed Use Project –
East Side of Telegraph Avenue
Between 51st Street and
Claremont Avenue
This is another proposed large project
on the Rockridge border, and also part of
the city’s “densification” strategy on major
transit corridors. It is the successor to two
large projects, Civiq and Creekside, that
were approved but never built. It proposes a
fairly large rental housing component plus a
retail component including a grocery store.
The Nautilus Group, developer, will present
an update on its proposal at RCPC’s April
Town Hall meeting. See the article beginning
on the front page for more details.
■
■Temescal Condominium
Project, Broadway (West Side)
South of 51st Street
SRM is also doing this large condominium
project just south of 51st Street. These
projects mark the first effects in Rockridge
of the citywide rezoning approved in 2012,
which in turn implements the General Plan
adopted in 1999. We can expect more and
larger development projects along both
Broadway and Telegraph Avenue. This
project was given final Planning Commission
approval in March. Unless appealed, work
leading up to demolition and construction
will begin soon, and actual on-the-ground
work is probably six months away.
■
■College Avenue Retail Zoning
Working Group
As previously reported, the city has
agreed to have RCPC initiate a study
of some potential changes to the city’s
CN-1 commercial zoning, which governs
College Avenue and other neighborhood
commercial areas such as Piedmont Avenue
and Montclair Village. A main focus will be
to look at whether the city should establish
guidelines for “extinguishing” a use permit
when a use terminates or is replaced by
a different use. Other related use permit
issues may also be considered. We will
involve groups in affected parts of the city
and expect to complete the study and make
recommendations to the city by year’s end.
If you are interested in participating, e-mail
to landuse@rockridge.org.
■
■Rockridge Shopping Center –
Broadway (East Side) North of
Pleasant Valley
Like the College Avenue Safeway retail
building, this project was sold by Safeway
to Terramar, a southern California shopping
center development/management company.
a
cross-cultural congregation
striving to partner with
         the Rockridge community
   in lifestyle and service.
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our wonderful community meal, fridays, 6-7pm
a great opportunity to serVe


4.

April 3, 2015

FROG and DMV Neighbors Celebrate Earth Day: Saturday, April 18

DMV: ‘Get Ready for Spring’
by Leonora Sea, DMV Neighbors
It’s time to get ready for spring and
summer at our local open-space gem, the
Rockridge Temescal Greenbelt and Frog
Park. Come out for a community work day
on Earth Day, Saturday April 18, 9 a.m. to
noon, sponsored by FROG and the DMV
Neighbors Association.
Tasks at Big and Little Frog will be
to remove debris, turn fibar (the bark-
like cushioning material under the play
structures), sift and clean sand, care for
plants in the butterfly garden and along the
path, and rake out the pond so the creek can
flow again.
The DMV Neighbors Association
is coordinating clearing the creek bed,
and raking, weeding, pruning, and trash
collecting along the greenbelt between
Clifton and Little Frog, also to ready the
creek to flow again. Many cleanup activities
are kid-friendly. Tools and gloves will be
provided, or bring your own, if you prefer.
(Please mark them well as yours.)
Sign in with FROG at Hardy Park for the
park cleanup and with the DMV Neighbors
Association at Redondo and Cavour for
the creek. Snacks and morning coffee will
be available courtesy of our neighborhood
merchants. Let’s make this a fun and
successful Earth Day.
FROG and Earth Day Tradition
Save the Date:
April 18
When: 9 a.m. to noon
Where: Big Frog (Hardy Circle near
Miles) or Little Frog
(Redondo Avenue at Cavour)
Who: Community members and
kids of all ages
Contact info@frogpark.org with
questions or to volunteer.
by FROG Park Committee
F
ROG Park continues its tradition this
year of honoring Earth Day with its
annual Earth Day volunteer event. Pitch in
and help clean up this neighborhood gem;
bring your own tools, or use ours. Every
year since 2002, Earth Day at Frog Park has
been a way for neighbors to connect with
one another and to renew and celebrate the
work of the original 1,300 volunteers who
built this park on a then-vacant lot in 2001.
This year, we plan to replant the
butterfly garden and clean up the Frog
Park pond. Coffee and refreshments will
be provided.
Frog Park Happenings
committee leaders. More information at:
FROG Park website: frogpark.org
Greater & Greener 2015:
greatergreener.org
■
■A hearty thank you to all who have
generously contributed so far: FROG Park
continues fundraising and planning for
an improved playground area with new
equipment. Please visit frogpark.org for
updates, or to get involved.
Merchants: Should
You Have Been
Included?
After a seven-installment series on
businesses in business on College
Avenue for at least 25 years, we are down
to three more to write about: they will be
included in the May issue. If you have been
on the Avenue all that time and haven’t
seen your business’ name yet, write to
editor@rockridge.org to ensure your
business is included.  – Kevin Faughnan
■
■Frog Park was featured in the
February, 2014, issue of Landscape
Architecture magazine as an exemplar of
community bootstrapping for local parks.
Frog Park was one of a handful of Bay Area
parks built with grit, alternative funding,
and volunteer labor. (We’re glowing! Visit
our website for the full article.)
■
■On April 14, Greater & Greener, a
biannual international conference on urban
parks, will feature Frog Park in a mobile
workshop and tour, led by FROG Park
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725 washington st., suite 313  oakland, ca 94607
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Practicing exclusively in the area of trusts and estates:
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• Dispute resolution
• Special needs trusts
Please contact me during regular business hours to
      schedule an appointment.


5.
April 3, 2015

And the Winner Is…
they have just been published for the first
time, really appealed to me.
JV: Is it just novels? And how did you
get the books?
CR: Oh, no. We read fiction, nonfiction,
and graphic novels – anything that was
a debut. If an author had been published
before, even for a different audience,
they’re not eligible. Most of the books we
got from publishers, but sometimes we
had to go out and get them ourselves. We
were scouring every source of information
about new books – we looked for small
presses, checked blogs and talked to people
at conferences and with colleagues.
JV: What was the process like? Were
there big arguments?
CR: I can’t tell you which books we
Rhode Island, Minnesota, North Carolina,
Louisiana, and Kansas. In this interview,
she described her experience.
Jennifer Vetter: How did you get to be
on the Morris committee?
Carla Riemer: I applied. There’s a
selection committee that evaluates the
applications for all the different awards
committees.
JV: Why the Morris?
CR: The reason I chose the Morris, and
fortunately the Morris chose me, is that
a couple of years ago, when I went to my
first ALA Annual, I sat in on a panel of
debut authors discussing their books: how
cool is that! The idea of giving someone
a boost at this point in their career, when
CMS Librarian Helps in
Morris Awards Judging
by Jennifer Vetter
Claremont students and library volunteers
wondered why Ms. Riemer went to
Chicago at the end of January in the middle
of back-to-back blizzards. Finishing off a
year of work, she was taking part in the
final deliberations and awards ceremony for
the Morris Award, given by the American
Library Association (ALA) to the year’s
best debut book written for teens.
Carla Riemer, the librarian at Claremont
Middle School since 2012, served on the
2015 Morris committee with seven other
librarians from Alabama, New York,
➧➧CMS Librarian, page 13

Claremont Baseball Knights Take the Field After Many Years

by Thomas Kirchstetter
The Claremont Knights baseball team
played their first game of the season
at Bushrod Park on Wednesday, March 26.
The event marked the first time Claremont
Middle School has fielded a baseball team in
a very long time. Under the leadership of new
principal Jonathan Mayer, enthusiasm for this
Oakland middle school is growing, and the
revival of the baseball program by coaches
Scott Windels and Rob Ades and the sixteen
Claremont student athletes warrants special
recognition. The baseball program provides
students an opportunity to showcase their
talents, builds school pride, and strengthens
community.
W h i l e
their Willard
M i d d l e
S c h o o l
opponents
prevailed in
the season
opener 14-2,
the Knights
showed their
merits as a
young and scrappy team. Zach Kirchstetter
struck out six in two innings of work,
Redding Traiger struck out two, and Cory
Frost struck out three. Kalen Windels started
a two-out rally that led to the Knights’ two
runs on the day.
Come out to cheer on the Knights as they
continue to take the field for Claremont!
Ed. note: “We’re a baseball family,” says article
writer Thomas Kirchstetter, parent of Claremont
8th grader Zach, pictured in the article. His wife
is a Claremont Middle School PTA member. Their
two other children, a son and a daughter, are in
Chabot Elementary, and play baseball and softball.
Zachary Kirchstetter delivers the
season’s first pitch for the Claremont
Knights.    /Courtesy of CMS Baseball Knights


6.

April 3, 2015
Eyes on Rockridge
Longtime Resident Revisits ‘The College
Avenue of My Childhood’

Paul’s Grill (the after-school Tech hangout);
Chimes Grocery (the Chinese owners kept
it open on holidays like Christmas).
The Avenue and adjacent streets also
hosted a couple of other groceries, a
toy store, camera shop, florist, laundry,
television repair shop, barbershop, bank,
antique store, ice cream store, gas station
and Safeway.
She also remembers, from more recent
times, when The Pasta Shop first opened on
the corner where Barclay’s Restaurant and
Pub is now, before moving to its current digs
at Market Hall.
“It was our introduction to a whole new
world of food, a new way
of eating,” she says. “And
on occasion they served up
the most amazing French
apple pie, infused with just a
touch of Calvados. The earth
shifted on its axis when I ate
that pie. Thank God it’s no
longer available.”
All of this is what
colors her thinking as
she contemplates what
Rockridge is today and
might become.
No, she isn’t fond of the
new Safeway although she
didn’t shop at the old one.
“I’m pretty sure how you
feel about the remodeling
process and the size depends
a lot on how long you have lived here and
how close you live to that area,” Claire says.
“It’s not that the older people don’t
want change,” she assures me. “But the
Safeway looks to me like an aircraft
carrier run aground on a miniature golf
course – appropriate for suburban space and
sensibilities, but not for this area.
“Rockridge seems to have morphed from
a neighborhood into a destination,” Claire
says. “And really, how many fab restaurants
does any area need? And, how many large
groceries?” She thinks attracting more small
businesses is in the area’s best interests. “We
lost out when the luggage store was forced
to move.”
Addressing some long-standing
vacancies, she says, “It seems as if many
commercial space owners would prefer
to leave buildings empty and claim a loss
on taxes than rent for more reasonable
amounts to long-term tenants. That’s their
by Judith Doner Berne
My guess is that it’s rare when 100-year-
old houses in Rockridge have belonged
to only to one family. But that’s the case for
Claire Lomax’s home.
Her grandfather, Richard Clifford
Porter, a ship salvager, and his wife Jennie,
a nurse, were the first occupants of the 1913
Craftsman bungalow on Harwood where
Claire lives today.
Her mom, Mariam Porter Lomax, a Cal-
Berkeley-educated hospital dietitian, grew
up there, and moved back in after the death
of Richard’s second wife, Beatrice. Since
Beatrice lived to be 104, Claire’s mom was
75 before she took up residence again in her
childhood home.
Meantime, Claire, now 69, was not far
away, living at one point in the Lake Merritt
area and at another in Walnut Creek. In
1989 she moved in with her mother, “mainly
because we knew we’d be good housemates
– and I knew that later on she’d probably
need some help.”
When that time came, Claire adjusted
her work hours in payroll at Cal to care for
her mother and later to visit her in a nursing
home. When Mariam died four years ago “in
her 100th year,” the house became Claire’s
– including a chest and two pieces of glass
that her grandfather had salvaged.
What she saw in the nursing home
when she visited Mariam is why she now
volunteers for California Advocates for
Nursing Home Reform.
Still, “I spent life as an underachiever,”
this articulate, well-read woman with a wry
sense of humor told me as we sat in her living
room in view of a number of her own works
of art and crafts.
“I went to four different universities and
graduated in my 40s. I had a very interesting
life – with all kinds of jobs,” including being
one of North Oakland’s first female letter
carriers.
Claire, who grew up on nearby Oak
Grove, recalls walking to school: Chabot,
Claremont Junior High (which her mother
also attended), then Oakland Tech from
which she graduated in 1962.
“When I grew up this was Oakland,” she
says. “No one referred to it as Rockridge. It
was a lovely neighborhood but no one would
have bragged about living down here in the
flatlands. Montclair and Piedmont were
‘The Places.’”
“Life as a kid here was great. We had
Claire Lomax rendered this “Our Town”-type art
work depicting her concept of the perfect place to
live.                                                              /Judith Berne
hours of unsupervised play. We went through
open homes (up for sale). We played in the
street. I remember taking the train to San
Francisco.”
She recalls dinners and sleepovers at her
grandparents’ house. “We didn’t come as
often as Aunt Bea and Granddaddy would
have liked because she was a dreadful
cook – burned peas and carrots and mac
and cheese.”
Traffic noise obscures them now, but
Claire says that as kids, “We stayed in bed
awhile after waking to listen to the fog horns
on the Bay. They made this wonderful deep,
two-toned sound. We didn’t think it at all
remarkable that we could hear it so well so
far away.”
Claire compiled a detailed list of the
places she frequented along “the College
Avenue of my childhood.” The list includes
the Chimes Theater (“we ate Jujubes while
we watched”); Woolworth’s (right next door);
Mount’s Pharmacy (with a lunch counter);
➧➧Once Upon a Time on College, page 7


7.
April 3, 2015

Rockridge Library Sprucing-Up Continues

by Patricia Lichter, Rockridge
Library branch manager
Continuing a number of
physical improvements to
the Oakland Public Library’s
Rockridge Branch, the building
will have a facelift when its
exterior is painted late this spring.
The library will remain open
for business during the painting

and the Teen Area. Later this year,
new carpeting and interior paint
will complete the renovation.
These improvements are
funded in part by a generous
donation from the Friends of
the Rockridge Library (FORL),
in partnership with the city of
Oakland.
Any questions or concerns
can be directed to Jane Lopez,
Supervising Librarian, 238-3511.
Before painting the exterior of the Rockridge Branch
library later this spring – one of a number of building-wide
improvements now underway –  workers will protectively
prune and shield the flourishing Wisteria that graces the
front of the building.                                                     /D. Kinkead

project.
Prior to painting, the wisteria
landscaping, beloved by many in
the community, will be carefully
pruned and protected.
The Rockridge Branch
Library, first opened in 1996
and located at 5366 College
Avenue, has recently added air
conditioning to the meeting room
’70s, as they prepared to open (that historic
residence) to the public,” she says. “We were
asked to draw our perfect house – and this
image came to me: A sweet little apartment
over a bookstore on a corner, with lots of
windows and light. I wanted to be able to
look out on the street scene and be close to
the shops.”
At the time, “the idea of a Rockridge
shopping district was but a gleam in a few
eyes,” Claire says. “BART had opened
but the neighborhood was still recovering
from the hard years of BART and freeway
construction.”
Yet, it’s surely an image that can be seen
along College Avenue in Rockridge – at
least for today.
Once Upon a
Time on College
Best Research
from page 1
from ticket sales go to the Rockridge
Community Planning Council (RCPC), a
group that looks out for the neighborhood
year ’round, not just its kitchens on a
biennial weekend.
So as my wife and I continue to fill up
our coffers in anticipation of the kitchen-
remodel-to-come someday, we’ll be headed
to the Kitchen Tour to see the best of what’s
around. Hope to see you there.
from page 6
prerogative, but it seems wrong.”
Meantime, Claire is delighted by the
opening of Cole Hardware. A great reader,
she is particularly fond of the Avenue’s two
bookstores. “When I spend money, it’s for
used books – mysteries. I like my plots to be
real simple because life is so complicated.”
But her fantasy for College Avenue is a
small movie theater that shows great foreign
films. “It would never fly, but I’d sure like
it!” A framed drawing on her wall conveys
another fantasy.
“I was taking the training for docents
at Camron-Stanford House in the late
You can comment on this column or suggest subjects
for others by emailing judyberne@att.net.
“Hi! Jenner and Erin here with mommy reminding
you to take good care of your teeth!”


8.

April 3, 2015

Rockridge Library Friends Laud Long-Serving Board Member

by Sarah Washburn, FORL member
Phil Fitzwater has lived in Rockridge
since the late 1980s. When describing
his life back then, he begins with a story
about the library—a temporary trailer near
Claremont Middle School that housed the
library’s books while plans for a new library
building were in development.
For Phil, libraries have always been the
heart of a neighborhood. He remembers
fondly his time spent at Shenandoah Public
Library, Iowa, a stately building built in
1905 with the generous support of $10,000
from Andrew Carnegie. Memories of card
catalogs and stamped books put a wistful
smile on his face that burst into a kid-like
exuberance when he remembered checking
out “Thus Spake Zarathustra” by Friedrich
Nietzsche when he was 13 years old. Even
though the content eluded him, Phil was
enthralled by the title and thrilled to have it
in his clutches. “Libraries are magic. They
give a small-town kid like me a ticket to
the world.”
He’s not so small town anymore—
heading Iris Environmental, a successful
environmental engineering firm serving
cutting-edge high-tech clients—yet his
strongly-held belief that the library is a vital
core of the community, a safe place where
anyone can “just be,” has not changed as
his world view has broadened.
Phil’s interest in supporting his
neighborhood library sparked when
neighborhood visions of a proper building
blossomed into plans — under the leadership
of The Rockridge Community Planning
Council (RCPC) and a ten-year committee
stewardship by community member Nancy
Dutcher — for what would become the
Rockridge Library in its current location.
When you visit the library today, you’ll
find floor tiles in the library’s foyer
marking neighbors’ investments in the
library’s future. Phil’s tile has the words,
“He soared to the sun, writing the man he
might become.” He wrote that aspirational
passage back in 1996 believing “if you can
write it, you can be it.”
His interest turned into service when he
joined the Friends of the Rockridge Library
board as their treasurer. He wanted to “help
the library have more resources, to give
the library things they couldn’t otherwise
afford.” He joked that he wanted to make
sure his donations were well spent, adding,
“I’m kind of a control freak.” Jokes aside, his
imprint on the library is far larger than the
12x12 tile gracing the library’s entrance. His
influence, his interest, and his inimitable
conviction that libraries are vital and worthy
of support are unmatched.
Over the past 20 years, Phil’s
contributions to the Rockridge Library have
included the complete set of Metropolitan
Opera DVDs, the Horatio Hornblower
series, an entire set of classical CDs, the
Patrick O’Brian series of historical novels,
two sets of leather reading chairs, four
laptops used in the checkout program, and a
beloved Stickley rocking chair where moms,
dads, and caregivers have spent countless
days and years reading to their loved ones.
Thank you, Phil, for supporting a space
where kids—and kids at heart—can enjoy
a lifelong exploration with a ticket to the
world they found at the library.
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9.
April 3, 2015

For Animal Lovers
This is the beginning of Foxtail Season,
which means big problems for animals.
You can help: watch for foxtails (see picture
below) when out walking and yank them
out by the roots. Then, put them in a plastic
bag and then into the trash (not green bin).
Questions: Sari Kulberg 510/653-6432

Lower Rockridge Parents Group Hosts

14th Annual Community Yard Sale
The Lower Rockridge Parents Group
(LRPG) holds its annual Community
Yard and Bake Sale this month, the proceeds
of which will benefit Peralta Elementary and
Claremont Middle School. The sale takes
place on the Peralta School playground on
Alcatraz Avenue between Telegraph Avenue
and Dana Street on Saturday, April 25, from
9 a.m.-1 p.m.
LRPG was founded in 2001 by three
neighborhood moms who had two specific
goals in mind: to build community support
for Peralta, their neighborhood elementary
public school, and to increase the general
feeling of community within the Lower
Rockridge neighborhood.
One LRPG event has become a rite of
spring: the annual Community Yard Sale.
The Yard Sale is a great opportunity for
friends and neighbors to do some spring
cleaning, shop for great stuff, meet new
friends, catch up with old friends, and have
Climate Courage
a coffee and brownie in one of Peralta’s
many gardens.
This Yard Sale is like no other. It’s one
of the East Bay’s largest and has raised over
$53,500 to help support our neighborhood
public schools.
Through the years, LRPG Yard Sale
proceeds have helped support music, art, and
physical and science education at Peralta and
Claremont. Collaboration among the schools’
communities, neighbors and businesses has
helped buoy Peralta and Claremont during
difficult financial times.
Items not sold are donated to other
charities. Past charities receiving donated
items include: Clausen House; Elizabeth
House; Bananas; Alta Bates Thrift Shop;
and The Salvation Army.
by Jan Cecil
Want to help protect our children’s
climate, but aren’t sure where to start?
Do climate projects seem way too complex
and hopeless? Come to an overview of the
many positive climate activities in the East
Bay. Meet with others to share your concerns,
learn what’s up, and clarify how you might
want to use your skills and interests to
contribute: Tuesday, April 21, 6:30-7:45
p.m., Berkeley Library South Branch, 1901
Russell Street at MLK Way, Berkeley. FREE.
Questions, call 510/549-3509.
Norman H. Burg, DDS
Donate, volunteer, shop and enjoy.
If you have questions about the sale and/or want
to donate or volunteer, please contact LRPGYard-
Sale@gmail.com.
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10.

April 3, 2015

Letters to
the Editor
The Rockridge News welcomes posted
mailings 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 may be edited for clarity and
brevity at the editor’s discretion. Views
expressed in any letter appearing in The
Rockridge News are the writer’s own,
and may not necessarily be shared by
the editor, or by RCPC.
shareholders, better check your pension/
retirement plans, 401Ks, and IRAs and divest
yourself of all those big bad corporations.
Safeway is here to stay and serves the
needs and tastes of many in the community.
I think there are enough people who can
support both types of businesses.
— Mary-Lynn Wilson
School District Financial Decisions
Are Frustrating
Editor:
In Support of Safeway
Editor:
I’ve been reading with interest the
comments about the new Safeway on
College. I love shopping there and I’d like
to offer a rebuttal to the naysayers.
1. There are many people – young
families, seniors – who cannot afford the
extra expense of shopping at the smaller
stores. Shouldn’t they be afforded the
opportunity to shop locally in a store with
pleasant surroundings and a good selection?
2. The shops on College will not
necessarily lose customers to Safeway. I
have never set foot in any of those stores
so my shopping habits have not changed.
People who do shop in places like Yasai and
Ver Brugge will likely continue. Conversely,
Safeway will bring in people from other areas
who might venture into some of the small
stores on College.
3. Safeway employs 200 people. These
people pay taxes and spend money. Peet’s
Coffee has the right idea; invite Safeway
employees to visit their store. Why wouldn’t
Safeway employees want to shop on College?
If Safeway closed down tomorrow, would the
small mom and pop shops be able to absorb
these people? I think not.
4. I find Safeway employees very friendly
and willing to help shoppers navigate the
large store. I’ve had conversations with the
butcher, deli people and cashier.
5. According to the Safeway Foundation’s
Web site, it donates “an average of $200
million a year in grants and product
donations to charitable organizations.”
6.  Lastly, if you don’t like large, publicly
traded companies that pay dividends to their
It was good to see Jody London’s update
on recent Oakland Unified School District
developments (The Rockridge News, March
2015). However, I was frustrated by Ms.
London’s suggestion that OUSD could not
meet Oakland’s teachers’ salary and class
size requests because the District needed to
be “mindful” of the General Fund.
Was the School Board being similarly
mindful when it tapped the General Fund
for the nearly $1M increase in cumulative
base pay for OUSD senior managers in
2014/2015 (from $2.81M to $3.76M)? The
increases include the creation of several new
positions, such as:
Chief of Schools (Allen Smith) at $175K.
This new position is in addition to OUSD’s
Superintendent of Schools.
Chief of Organizational Effectiveness
and Culture (Yana Smith) at $155K.
To the Unsung Heroes
of Rockridge:
Editor:
As I traveled through our wonderful
neighborhood this morning, I saw some
amazing individuals:
■
■A father and his 3-year-old daughter
removing graffiti from a wall.
■
■An older gentleman sweeping his
street.
■
■A young woman removing outdated
flyers from telephone poles.
■
■A woman trimming overgrown ivy
under the highway.
I offer a personal “thank you” to these
four individuals and to the others I didn’t
see today on my way to work. If each of us
does one thing to make our community a
nicer place, it truly adds up.
Way to go, Rockridge residents!
— F Gallagher
Deputy Superintendent for Business
(Vernon Hall) at $193K. This new position
is in addition to OUSD’s CFO.
Chief Talent Officer (Brigitte Marshall)
at $160K.
Deputy Chief of Post Secondary
Readiness (Bernard McCune) at $157.5K.
Paid for by the General Fund, each of
these positions provides health benefits and
➧➧Letters, page 11


11.
April 3, 2015

Letters

About a year ago, the board hired current
superintendent Antwan Wilson to lead our
work on these issues.
Supt. Wilson has cut central office
spending by 20 percent. Proposed cuts in
the 2015-16 budget would bring central
spending down a total of 33 percent, all in
just one year. We’re taking these resources,
plus funding we are finally recouping from
the state (we’ve gone from 50th to 46th in the
country in per pupil spending), and focusing
them in support of our schools or directly
in schools.
Supt. Wilson is building a leadership team
with talent from Oakland and around the
country, with particular focus on community
schools, financial oversight, and employee
retention and development. The Chief of
Schools and the Deputy of Post-Secondary
Readiness (critical for Measure N Linked
Learning oversight) address school needs.
The talent and organizational effectiveness
positions are critical to our efforts to build a
better organization. The financial oversight
positions are long overdue and essential for
getting our fiscal house in order.
These positions have been more than paid
for by cuts elsewhere. Get the full breakdown
here: www.ousd.k12.ca.us/Page/12710. This
reorganization and budget reprioritization is
also helping us offer the largest pay increase
in more than a decade to our teachers.
— Jody London, Vice President,
Oakland Board of Education,
District 1 (North Oakland)
The New Safeway Is an Affront
Editor:
The new Safeway on College Avenue,
huge and hideous, is an affront to the
sensibilities of our community. I, like many
others, opposed it strenuously during the
negotiation process. Alas, our voices were
not heard. I find the building(s?) viscerally
upsetting, and I have chosen not to shop
there. Fortunately, my decision to boycott
this Safeway (and perhaps all the others in
Oakland and Berkeley as a result) has been
an easy one to make. There are so many other
choices among lovely, small, independently
owned shops: Yasai; Ver Brugge; La Farine;
Southie; and, further on down College
Avenue, there is Trader Joe’s, which is part
of a chain but whose management and
employees behave locally. They strive to
please us shoppers by providing the goods we
want and by trying also to be neighborhood
insiders. And then, there is Cole Hardware!
I can hardly praise it enough. What a
wonderful addition to our neighborhood it is.
The employees there are friendly, intelligent,
helpful and truly interested in the workings
of the Rockridge community.
— Sharon Osmond
from page 10
25 vacation/personal days, 12 sick days, and
a three percent cost of living increase in
July 2015. Additionally, the General Fund
is paying for Mr. and Ms. Smith’s combined
$27.5K moving bonus, and Mr. McCune’s
$17K moving bonus.
I cannot see how these new positions
and benefits are examples of mindful
management, especially compared to the
total raise of $3.3M that OUSD offered
Oakland’s combined 2,700 teachers and staff
for 2014/2015.
— Alex Naughton
Board of Education Director
Jody London Responds
Editor:
As a long-time resident of Oakland and
OUSD parent, I understand frustrations over
perceived wasteful spending in our schools.
As a member of the Board of Education, it
is my responsibility to ensure we use our
scarce tax dollars wisely. I take all three
roles seriously, which is why I support Supt.
Wilson and feel it necessary to respond to
this letter.
Since joining the School Board six years
ago, I’ve worked with other directors to
establish leadership and fiscal discipline.
Solution Needed for Camps of
Vagrants
Editor:
I wrote to Council Member Dan Kalb
about the vagrant problem at the underpass
on Presley, and want the community to be
aware of it as well:
Recently, the vagrant who currently lives
there came up to my house brandishing a
brick and threatening to throw it through our
window. Two of my neighbors witnessed this
and called the police.
Officers responded while the vagrant
took off running. For all this, the worst that
will happen to him is a misdemeanor charge
and ticket. Meanwhile, my 3-year-old son and
10-month-old daughter are now scared that
this guy is going to return and harm them.
We need a permanent solution and I
suggest these ideas:
1. Increase the criminal penalty for
homeless encampments. Currently, police
cannot arrest vagrants who set up these
shelters in our city.
2. Construct something positive in the
underpass. San Jose uses these underpass
spaces for storage lockers that are rented out.
3. Create protective barriers to prevent
easy access to these areas.
— Name withheld by request


12.

April 3, 2015

Masons Host 6th Annual Pancake
Breakfast to Benefit Claremont School

Thanks as well to our local merchants,
including Market Hall Foods, Cole Hardware,
Becky’s Chinese Restaurant, Smitten Ice
Cream, Jules Thin Crust, Pegasus Bookstore,
Tootsies, Powell’s Sweet Shoppe, and all the
teachers, students, families and members of
our Claremont community who attended.
by Claremont Dad’s Club members
On Saturday, February 7, the Rockridge
Masonic Lodge hosted the Sixth
Annual Pancake Breakfast to support
Claremont Middle School. The Claremont
Middle School Dad’s Club organized
ticket sales and publicity for the event,
with generous support from the Rockridge
District Association (RDA).
This year’s breakfast raised more than
$5,750 in raffle and breakfast ticket sales – a
record amount for this festive annual event.
The breakfast also continues to serve as an
important community builder as people
from the school, residential and business
communities come together for a delicious
meal.
Once again, the Masons put on a
great spread and graciously opened their
beautiful College Avenue facility to the
community. Student musicians under the
direction of Claremont’s dynamic new
music teacher, Vincent Tolliver, provided
live entertainment, with a mix of jazz and
string ensembles performing throughout
the morning.
The Pancake Breakfast Raffle featured
a long list of prizes, including a grand prize
iPad Mini donated by local real estate broker
Ron Kriss of Lawton Associates, as well as
two box seat tickets to an Oakland A’s game
donated by District 1 City Council member
Dan Kalb.
Funds raised through raffle ticket
sales will be dedicated to a spring outdoor
education program that will give students
in all grades at Claremont an opportunity
to go camping at the Gillespie Youth Camp
facility in Tilden Regional Park.
Proceeds from ticket sales gave a
welcome boost to the Claremont PTA’s 2014-
15 annual fund, which supports a broad range
of educational initiatives at our neighborhood
middle school, located on College and Miles
avenues next to the Rockridge BART station.
Programs and activities supported by the
PTA include high-quality computer learning
resources, after-school sports and one of the
best library programs of any public middle
school in Oakland.
This event would not have been possible
if not for the efforts of so many who
volunteered their time and energy to make
it happen. Special thanks must go to Chris
Nowell and all of the Rockridge Masonic
Lodge members who hosted the event and
cooked the meal, and to Chris Jackson and
the RDA for their generous support.
500 New Units
from page 1
Entertainment/Creekside site at 51st and
Telegraph, you’ve probably seen or heard a
little bit about all the activity.
This month’s Town Hall meeting will
include (in addition to the annual RCPC
Board election and a presentation by Dan
Kalb in recognition of Rockridge News
Editor Don Kinkead) a brief overview of
the roughly 500 new residential units in
development around the neighborhood, and a
presentation by Nautilus Group on the mixed
use proposal for the Global Video/ Creekside
site at 51st and Telegraph, which has been
updated over the last year in response to
neighbor and city input.
We hope you will join us for our
election, an informative discussion, and an
opportunity to provide input into the 51st
and Telegraph project. Come early for Jules
Thin Crust Pizza. Doors open and pizza
arrives at 7 p.m.
Did you know Rockridge prices broke an
all-time record in 2014?
PRICES ARE UP 36% SINCE 2010!
CALIFORNIA COLLEGE
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$300,000
$200,000
$100,000
$0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Oakland campus near Rockridge BART
San Francisco campus in Potrero Hill
* Data is sourced from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). MLS data is provided by individual listing brokerages. These are sources we deem re-
liable. We have no reason to doubt their accuracy, but we do not guarantee them. Past performance does not guarantee future performance.
It’s never been a better time to sell.
Contact me for an evaluation of your property today.

cca.edu/summer
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510.919.8997
maxi@redoakrealty.com


13.
April 3, 2015

of that. You have to evaluate each book
against each criterion, and if it made it to
the next level, you had to write even more.
JV: Did you get to meet the authors?
CR: The publishers of the five finalists
threw a small restaurant dinner for us, the
publicists, and the authors. We had already
made the decision by the time we had the
dinner, so it had no influence on us. All
the authors were really nice people, fun to
talk to. It was a nice thing to do.
JV: Were all the finalists there?
CR: E.K. Johnson, author of “The Story
of Owen,” couldn’t make it in from Boston
because of the snow. [Blizzards in the
Midwest and all along the East Coast
complicated travel to and from ALA
Midwinter, which was in Chicago from
January 30 to February 2.] All the authors
who were there gave moving speeches at
the award presentation ceremony. All in
all, it was a great experience.
CMS Librarian
from page 5
discussed or what we said about them, but
I can say we had a great committee with
a great chair and I feel very fortunate to
have worked with these people. And I’m
not just saying that.
JV: How did the committee meet?
CR: We used ALA Connect, which is text
chat, but then we started using Google
Hangouts so we could see and hear each
other. We met face-to-face at the ALA
Annual Conference last June in Las Vegas,
and again in Chicago at the ALA Mid-
winter Conference in January to choose
the winner.
JV: Were there any books that were so
bad that you didn’t feel you had to read
the whole thing?
CR: Even if we thought a book didn’t meet
the criteria, we had to write about it and
explain why to the rest of the committee.
Actually, we were all uniformly pleased
at the quality of the books. There were so
many really good books that we had a hard
time narrowing it down. For those of us
who are privileged enough to buy books
for our libraries, we can still promote
good books that didn’t make it to the final
round [of five].
JV: How many books did you have to
read in total?
CR: Without disclosing the number, I can
tell you I had to get a new bookcase for
my house and even that was overflowing.
My family got used to the loud thud of
boxes on our porch.
JV: What will happen to the books now?
CR: Some I’m keeping, some have made
their way to the Claremont library, some
went to the school district, and the rest I
will give away.
JV: Did you have any time for pleasure
reading on the side?
CR: At the very beginning of the year,
I was still reading a little bit for fun, but
I soon had to give that up, and all my
TV shows. The last few months were the
busiest: it was insane. So many books! But
in the end it was fine; we got it all done.
What really takes time is the write-ups
about every single book, and keeping track
From the ALA website: The William C. Morris
YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a
debut book published by a first-time author writing
for teens and celebrating impressive new voices
in young adult literature. For more information
about the award, the 2015 winner, runners-up,
and past winners, go to http://www.ala.org/yalsa/
morris-award. —JV






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have you been away from your faith for a time?
you are missed.
st. augustine catholic church
join us for mass on saturdays at 5 pm, or
sundays at 8 am, 1030 am, or 6 pm.
400 alcatraz (between college and telegraph) oakland  94609
http://staugustineoakland.com
questions? call the parish 510.653.8631


14.

April 3, 2015

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.
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
Professional Math Tutor...
offers 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.
Rockridge Acupuncturist
2nd generation acupuncturist, 5664 Broad-
way. Gentle, effective treatments relieve
stress and difficult pain (sciatica, back pain,
sports injuries, etc.). Call for an appointment
or a free consultation with Alex Chung,
L.Ac,: 510/882-8900, alexchunglac@gmail.
com, www.chungacupuncturecenter.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.
Garden Restoration
Over 20 years serving the Rockridge area.
Knowledgeable, great references. Chris
510/655-0157.
Short Term
Rockridge Rental
8/12 - 11/22 (with some flexibility), $4,950 per
month. Spacious 4 bed/ 2.5 bath home, formal
living/dining rooms, gourmet kitchen, backyard
w/deck & BBQ. Near shops, restaurants &
BART. Ron Kriss, Broker, Lawton Associates,
510.547.5970 ex. 55.
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.
May issue deadline is April 16.
For information: smontauk@gmail.com
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.
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.
Hoping? Find it in Rockridge!
There’s a
new broker
in town.
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
Susan Bernosky
Strahan
Insurance
Services, Inc.
510-450-9051
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


15.
April 3, 2015

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

home accessories, and gifts. CSL is an all-volunteer,
non-profit organization that raises money to fund local
charities that help at-risk children residing in Alameda
and Contra Costa counties. To become a volunteer, email
DeAnna@CustomCreationsInteriors.com. Ticket sales
and more information about VIP and other packages are
available at www.ChildrensSupportLeague.org.
14th Annual Community Yard and
Bake Sale
Sat., April 25, 9am – 1pm. Sponsored by Lower Rockridge
Parents Group to benefit programs at Peralta Elementary
and Claremont Middle Schools. Peralta School playground
(Alcatraz Ave between Telegraph and Dana). For more
info or to donate items: LRPGYardSale@gmail.com.
See story p.9
Free Aarp Sponsored Tax
Assistance
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.
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: squirrellystringband.com/.
Temescal Farmers’ Market
Open Sundays, 9am to 1pm (all year). Locally grown
fruits and vegetables; fresh ranch eggs; home-made
bakery items; fresh cut flowers; unique prepared foods,
fresh locally caught fish, handcrafts and more. Sample
the goods; meet the grower; learn about unique food
varieties and cooking tips; live music. Bring your own
reusable bags. 5300 Claremont Ave. (off Telegraph)
at DMV parking lot.

Community Calendar

Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Council (NCPC)
Discuss crime and public safety with representatives of
OPD. 2nd Thurs (4/9) each month, 7:30pm. 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, email, portable device setup,
e-book & audiobook download, or social media. Tues,
4:30-6:30 pm and Sat, 2 – 4pm. Drop-ins welcomed.
Info: Vicky Chen, 597-5017.
FOR CHILDREN
NOTE: no Story Times Apr 1 thru 12.
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.
GALLERY ART EXHIBIT
April: Sally Petru: botanical paintings.
May: TBD
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 Mon, 4/6, 8pm. Jeff Chang and Daniel Levin Becker
will discuss Kendrick Lamar’s new hip-hop album,
To Pimp a Butterfly.
y
y Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes (to age
5); Saturdays, 10:30am.
y
y Tues, 4/7, 6pm. Publication party for local author
Gabrielle Blair: Design Mom: How to Live with Kids:
A Room-By-Room Guide.
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 Tues, 4/14, 6:30pm. Ryan Gattis: All Involved.
y
y Fri, 4/17, 7:30pm. “Friday Nights” conversation/
podcast series with local authors Scott Saul
and Waldo Martin. (Info about this series at www.
dieselbookstore.com/event/oakland-friday-nights-con-
versation-podcast-series.)
y
y Kamishibai Workshops and Performances:
yy 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.
yy Kamishibai - Japanese Paper Theater. Celebrate
Asian & Pacific Islanders Heritage Month with
Librarian Erica’s presentation of this traditional form
of storytelling popular in Japan during the 1920s to
1950s. Nibble on Japanese treats as you watch stories
from a variety of countries performed in English on
the back of a bicycle. Saturdays at 10:30am (5/2,
5/16, 5/30); Tuesdays at 7pm (5/5, 5/12, 5/19); plus
a presentation at the Oakland Museum on Friday,
5/29, at 6:30 pm. More information & to register:
call Erica: 5017.
y
y Tues, 4/21, 7pm. Publication party for Spring 2015
issue of ZYZZYVA. Readings by Molly Giles, Robert
Hass, Ruth Madievsky, Monique Wentzel, and
Matthew Zapruder. Hosted by editors Laura Cogan
and Oscar Villalon. Come early for a good seat and
some complimentary wine.
y
y Sun, 4/26, 3pm. Poetry Flash with John Shoptaw
and Daniel Wolff.
Are You Ready for an
Earthquake?
y
y Thurs, 4/30, 6:30pm. Marian Lindberg: The End of
the Rainy Season: Discovering My Family’s Hidden
Past in Brazil.
y
y Sun, 5/3, 3 pm. Chris Scofield: The Shark Curtain.
Joined in conversation by J.L. Powers.
DIESEL, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. More info (other
events and discussion groups): 653-9965 or events@
dieselbookstore.com.
Bookmark Bookstore’s Spring Sale
All sales benefit the Oakland Public Library. Thurs
thru Sunday, April 9–12, 10:30am-5:30pm Thurs.,
Members’ Preview: 50% off. And for all book lovers:
30% off Friday; 40% off Saturday; 50% off Sunday. The
Bookmark Bookstore, 721 Washington Street (in Old
Oakland). 444-0473 or bookmark_bookstore@yahoo.
com. Friends of the Oakland Public Library: info@fopl.org.
Free Yoga Classes
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9am and 6:30pm. All levels
welcome. Bring your own mat. Classes begin May 5; call
or come in to sign up. All classes are free and open
to the public (but donations are appreciated). Body
Options, 3212 College Ave. More info: Cory DeGregorio,
595-8101 or corydegregorio@icloud.com.
Children’s Support League (Csl)
Fundraiser
Five beautiful homes in Rockridge and Piedmont will be
on tour Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, from 10am
to 4pm, as the Children’s Support League of the East
Bay presents the 27th Heart of the Home tour. CSL’s
popular boutique at the Piedmont Community Center
will be open Fri.,10am – 6pm, and Sat., 10am – 4pm with
CORE 10th Annual Citywide Exercise
Saturday, April 25, 9am – 12pm in neighborhoods
throughout the city. After a major earthquake or other
disaster, this event is a functional emergency response
exercise designed to support Oakland residents practicing
emergency response activities within their neighbor-
hoods. It serves to improve CORE member training and
expands disaster preparedness awareness throughout
the community. Individuals and neighborhood groups of
all skill levels are encouraged to participate. To register
already established CORE block groups to participate
as a group, call CORE at 238-6351.
CORE Training In Rockridge
CORE (Communities of Oakland Respond to Emer-
gencies) is a program of the Oakland Fire Department,
Emergency Management Services Division. The train-
ing, (offered in 3 parts as CORE I, II, and III) teaches
self-reliance skills that enable neighbors to establish
response teams to take care of the neighborhood until
professional help arrives. Take CORE I (Home and Family
Preparedness), on Wed, 4/15 and CORE II (Neighbor-
hood Preparedness and Response), on Wed, 4/22. Both
classes are at 6- to 8:30pm at the Rockridge Library,
5366 College Avenue. (CORE III is given at wheelchair
accessible OFD sites.) Advance registration is required
for all classes. Register online at www.oaklandcore.org.
More info about all CORE programs at www.oaklandcore.
org. or core@oaklandnet.com.
y
y Sing-along in English & Spanish led by Mariela
Herrera to celebrate Día de los niños/Día de los libros
(Children’s Day/Book Day) and DIA (Diversity In Action)
Day: Thurs, 4/30,10:30am. Best for ages 2 to 5, but
all ages welcome, and each child will receive a book.
FOR TEENS
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 Teen ‘Scape: Play video & board games, make crafts,
enjoy light snacks. Every Wed, 2 to 3:30pm.
FOR ADULTS
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.
y
y Lawyers in the Library: Free legal advice and


16.

April 3, 2015

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dayspa      oaklandberkeley
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654-8707 or 593-4780
fri-tues
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Living? Love it in Oakland!
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To learn more
Visit ClaudiaMillsRealEstate.com
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