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VOL. 31     NO. 2    ISSUE NO. 330    February 5, 2016                 CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 BusInesses
 ckridgeNews

THE

www.rockridge.org

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

Surrounding Multi-Unit Projects:

Many New Neighbors for Rockridge

The Kingfish Project
Claremont/Telegraph
Sq. Ft: No information available
Housing: 5 stories, 33 condo units
with ground floor commercial space.
Approved by Council on appeal (per
settlement agreement 10/07 with
RCPC). Completion: July 2016.
The Nautilus Group 51st and
Telegraph Project
Telegraph Ave/Clark Street
between 51st and Claremont Avenue
222,720 sq. ft.
Housing: 204 units +33,800 sf. of retail)
Completion: Unknown. Project not yet
approved; still under review.
Merrill Gardens Senior
Housing/Mixed Use
West side of Broadway north of
51st Street
174,000 sq. ft.
127 units senior housing +7,743 sq. ft.
ground floor retail
Completion: Possibly by Dec 2016.
Baxter on Broadway/Temescal
Apartments (SRM Development)
West side of Broadway, south of 51st
Street
210,393 sq. ft. total, including housing
units: 126 market-rate apartments; 4
2-story townhouses; and 8,642 sq. ft. of
ground floor retail.
Completion: Construction to begin
shortly; no permit issued yet.

February Town Hall: RCPC Community Grants Program
Thursday, February 18: 7 p.m. pizza; mtg 7:30, in the Rockridge Branch Library upstairs meeting room.

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The RCPC Board Announces a Community Grants Program
Do you have an idea for a way to improve our neighborhood but
aren’t sure where to begin or how to fund it? RCPC hosts a
Town Hall at the Rockridge Library, Thursday, February 18 at 7 p.m.
for pizza, meeting 7:30, to introduce the new Rockridge Community
Grants program.
Following the successful 2015 Rockridge Kitchen
Tour, the RCPC board voted to establish a fund to
support small community-led projects within Rock-
ridge. Join your neighbors at the February Town
Hall; RCPC board members will present the grants
program: What it is, how it works, who is eligible, and how to apply.
Come
at 7 for
pizza and
n
r
o
f
o
f
s
@
u
r
n
o
friends
i
c
o
Jk
r
i
d
g
g
r
e
o
.
Some observers refer to aspects of Presidential
campaigns as the “silly season.” While
these quadrennial exercises can be silly
at times, the

To be considered as a candidate, email info@
rockridge.org not later than close of business
March 2, to tell the board of your interest and to
receive an informational package. The election will
be held April 21 at the RCPC Town Hall.  More☛
RCPC Invites Candidates
for April Board Election

➧➧RCPC Elections, page 15


February 6, 2016
2.

A Look to the Past: Rockridge
Residents Recall Impact of the
Coming of BART and Highway 24

ROCKRIDGE BRANCH LIBRARY
                  5366 College Avenue
                   at Manila | 597-5017
Library program details/hours: Calendar, page 15

by Edward Guthmann
When I moved to Rockridge in 1977, it never occurred to me to ask when the Grove-
Shafter Freeway (Highway 24) and BART were established, and how different the
neighborhood might have looked and felt previously. One day my neighbor Pat Nolan,
a resident since 1957, told me about the freeway’s devastating impact and described the
Rockridge of 50 years ago. From then on I started looking anew at my neighborhood.
What follows is an oral history, an arrangement of memories, shared by people I
interviewed who lived here during the 1960s when BART and the freeway cut a wide,
disruptive swath through Rockridge.

The Rockridge News, founded March, 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
Jo Ellis	�����������������������������������Asst. Editor
Judith Doner Berne	������������Eyes on Rockridge
Jo Ellis	�����������������������������������Advertising &
Community Calendar
Susan Montauk	�������������������Business Manager
Don Kinkead	�����������������������Graphics & Layout
RCPC Board of Directors, 2015-2016
Brendan Havenar-Daughton...Chair
Open	������������������������������������Vice Chair
Noah Rosen	������������������������Secretary
Ronnie Spitzer	��������������������Treasurer
Kevin Faughnan, Stuart Flashman,
Don Kinkead, Greg Pasquali,
Laura Schlichtmann, Leonora Sea
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org
Newsletter Subscriptions
Catherine Griffing, RR resident
1957-present: Oh, it was great. Lots of kids
lived around here. We’d hop on our bikes and
ride all over. We’d play Hide and Go Seek
and run in and out of neighbor’s yards. No
one minded.

Claire Lomax, RR resident 1945-
79, 1987-present: There was never the
sense of being afraid of anything.

Greg
Brennan,
R R re s ident
1957-present:
We didn’t even
lock our doors
back then.

Jeannette
Lakness-King,
R R re s ident
1951- 6 6: We
h a d  s e a s o n s
for tetherball,
hopscotch, bicycling, roller skating and
kickball. When “Mickey Mouse Club” was
at its 1950s peak we chose parts and acted
out the show.

Greg Brennan: On weekends we’d
leave in the morning and show up at
dusk. Come home dirty and wet from
Temescal Creek. The creek had polliwogs,
frogs, plenty of blackberries. We’d go up to
Lake Temescal and fish for crawdads.

Eric Clausen, RR and Temescal
resident 1959-2009: We knew every inch
of that creek, from Lake Temescal down to
Claremont and Telegraph where the DMV
is now.
Edward
Guthmann:
Rockridge was
developed
after the 1906
earthquake,
when thousands
of displaced
San Franciscans
moved across
the Bay. It
was a modest,
unpretentious
neighborhood
– not the shopping destination and
restaurant center it has become.
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
View of the construction of the Rockridge
BART station  and Grove-Shafter Freeway,
1968. BART photo, Oakland Library History Room
Greg Candler, RR resident 1955-
1973: Looking back, it seems to have almost
a small-town feeling to it. Not what you think
of as Oakland today.
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.
➧➧Rockridge Evolution, page 10
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or $3 OFF orders over $15
Dry Cleaning only  Present with incoming order
Garden Cleaners
5808 College Avenue, Oakland
601-1188
Mon – Fri  7 – 7 • Sat  8 – 6
Across from Trader Joe’s and Zachary’s Pizza
Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
Publication date of the March issue is:
  March 4, 2016
  March deadline is February 18.
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.
February 6, 2016

Looking for a Way to Help Your Community?
The Rockridge News relies on 150 volunteers to bundle and deliver the
newsletter to your doorstep each month. We’ve counted on this network
since 1986 to keep you abreast of local news and community interests.
Now, The Rockridge News is looking for a new District Captain to deliver
to Block Captains in Area 11.
If you are to be that person, a box of eight newsletter bundles will be
provided to you each month. In turn, you take them to the eight block captains
near 5400 and 5500 Taft and Kales and Manila between Broadway and
College. A straightforward and important community job.
Ready? Contact us at smontauk@gmail.com or call 510/547-3855.

Two Auctions: Fun X 2
2 Annual School Fundraiser Auctions
on Tap: Oakland Tech and Peralta
Elementary; Each Will be Held at
Uptown Body & Fender, 401-26th
Street.
• Peralta Auction: Saturday, March 5,
starting at 5 p.m. Theme: “The Peralta
➧➧School Auctions, page 12
was abated.
Councilman Kalb deserves credit for
slowing this process down so community
input could be received, and then working
with RCPC to address the primary concern
– off-street parking – expressed at the RCPC
Special Town Hall meeting in December. The
ordinance is strongly supported by Mayor
Libby Schaaf.
There were also questions  raised about
“unintended consequences,” and Kalb
asked that a thorough review of the effects
of the ordinance be made by the Planning
Department over the next 18 months to be
followed by a report of the findings. Speakers
also expressed a need for pre-approved
architectural requirements that would allow
prompt issuance of a building permit with low
fees. No formal commitment was made on
this issue. Deputy Director of Planning Darin
Ranelletti acknowledges widespread support
for the idea, but says that new funding will
be required. Supporters will need to weigh
in with the city on this.
Another unresolved issue is the potential
impact of homeowners who offer their
secondary units for short-term rental via
Airbnb rather than making them available
to local long-term renters. Although the
new Oakland ordinance does not expressly
The next Land Use Committee meeting is Wednesday,
February 17, 7:30 p.m. at the Rockridge Library.
(Note: After February, the library may be closed for
several months for repairs. Updates at rockridge.org.)
to Fremont Bank. The site’s CN-1 zoning
requires obtaining a Conditional Use
Permit from the City. RCPC is gathering
input on what Fremont Bank’s plans would
be, and the community’s reaction. Plans
will be presented at the next meeting of
the Land Use Committee, Wednesday,
February 17, 7:30 p.m. upstairs in the
Rockridge Library. Terramar and Fremont
Bank representatives will be present, and
the public is invited to attend and comment
on the bank’s proposal.
Land Use Update
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use
Committee co-chair
■
■College Avenue Safeway
Project (College and
Claremont Avenues)
The now year-old retail building at the
northeast corner of College and Claremont
Avenues was sold to Southern California
company Terramar Retail Centers. The
company proposes to lease the large
space at the southern tip of the building
Update on
Secondary Units
Proposal
by Stuart Flashman, Kevin Faughnan and
Ronnie Spitzer, RCPC board members
The proposed Oakland city ordinance
for Secondary Units received its second
public reading at the January 19 City Council
meeting. An amendment proposed by
Councilman Dan Kalb was included.
Owing to an administrative error, the
complete proposed ordinance was not
submitted to the Council, and it was unable
to take action. The final adoption was
rescheduled to February 2.
For each parcel with a secondary unit,
the Kalb amendment limits the number of
Residential Parking Permits to three permits
for the entire parcel. The parcel owner can
provide one of those three permits to the
secondary unit occupant if he or she chooses
to do so. Thus, the concern about potentially
adding three cars to restricted parking areas
➧➧Secondary Units, page 15
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February 6, 2016
4.

Save the Date – Saturday, February 27
7th Annual Pancake Breakfast
to Support Claremont Middle School
North Oakland flapjack fans are invited
to chow down at the 2016 Claremont
Middle School Pancake Breakfast on
Saturday, February 27, at the Rockridge
Masonic Lodge, 5449 College Avenue at
Kales Avenue.
This annual community event is
generously hosted by the Oakland-Durant-
Rockridge Masonic Lodge #188 in association
with the Rockridge District Association
(RDA) and the Claremont Middle School
Dads Club. Proceeds from the breakfast
support educational enrichment programs at
our neighborhood
public middle
school.
As in years past, the delicious menu will
include a full breakfast of pancakes, eggs,
sausage, bacon, fruit, coffee and tea. This
is also a rare public opportunity to visit the
interior of the historic Masonic Lodge, a
College Avenue landmark since the 1920s.
Advance tickets may be reserved online
for $10 per person via the Claremont Middle
School website at www.claremontms.
org. There is no service charge for online
reservations, and the site accepts major credit
cards, debit cards or PayPal.
Note: There are three scheduled seatings:
8 a.m.; 9 a.m.; and 10 a.m. All tickets are
time specific, so be sure to select the seating
time you prefer. If available, tickets sold at
the door will be $12 each. Children under 5
years old eat for free and do not need a ticket.
Tickets also may be purchased with
cash or checks from members of the CMS
Dads Club. For information, contact Dads
Club Co-Chair Morris Dye at webmaster@
claremontms.org.

Four Oakland Tech Boy Scouts Achieve Eagle Scout Rank

by Cindy Wilson
Oakland Tech 2015 graduates Cheyenne
Jacobsen, Kyle Merritt, John
Oberholzer, and current Tech senior Connor
Prime recently received their Eagle Scout
Award, the highest honor in Boy Scouting.
In addition, the family of Jack Lewis, the
Rockridge teen killed when a tree limb broke
near Children’s Fairyland in December,
received special honors. All five boys had
been part of Cub Scout Pack 274, made up
primarily of boys from Chabot and Peralta
elementary schools prior to joining Boy
Scout Troop 202. The awards were presented
at a special ceremony in early January.
Nationally, only around 4 percent of all
Boy Scouts have achieved the rank of Eagle
since it was first awarded in 1912. To become
an Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts must advance
through seven required ranks, demonstrate
their understanding of leadership, service,
character, personal fitness and outdoor skills
at multiple levels. Scouts must earn merit

Tech High
students
recognized as
they achieve
Scouting’s
Eagle rank.
From
left: Kyle
Merritt, John
Oberholzer,
Cheyenne
Jacobsen,
Connor Prime.
/Troop 202

badges in 21 life skills and other areas of
achievement such as physical fitness, first
aid, personal management, and citizenship.

➧➧Scouting Awards, page 12
Despite the Rain, January Sales Dry Up

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

1/7/2016

3
1
5540 Broadway
$775,000
$775,000
24
$1,010,000

1/19/2016   2
1
395 51st Street
$688,000
$688,000
11
$700,000

1/19/2016   3     2     6055 Rockwell Street
$1,247,000
$1,247,000 12
$1,227,500

• Median sold price is $1,010,00
• Average price per square foot is $691
                                • January is historically slow – January 2015 had only 3 sales as well
Welcome 2016!


5.
February 6, 2016

Security Patrols to Continue in 2016

As part of this ongoing campaign to be
a responsible community member, Safer
Rockridge polled its 900-member email list in
December, its second anniversary, garnering
210 responses.
Highlights of the survey reveal:
by Safer Rockridge boardmembers
Doperate under a strict policy prohibiting
racial profiling. Although the patrols serve
primarily as passive eyes and ears, patrol
officers have been responsible for a small
number of arrests and have assisted residents
to deter crimes in progress. Patrol officers
also occasionally assist OPD with reports
and information. A statistical analysis
performed using public data in November
2014 suggested the patrols contribute to a
notable reduction in crime.
id you know that lower Rockridge is
patrolled by professionally trained
private security guards in marked vehicles
more than 100 hours every week? These
patrols are coordinated by the nonprofit group
Safer Rockridge and funded by more than
560 residents and five commercial sponsors,
including Rockridge Market Hall, Cole
Hardware, Daniel Stea/Stea Realty Group,
Ron Kriss/Lawton Associates, and Simon &
Saraya Motley/The Motley Team.
Safer Rockridge formed two years ago
during the perfect storm of a major economic
downturn and the evisceration of Oakland
Police Department (OPD) services by
budget cuts. Since the group’s inception, its
mission has evolved, but essential services
remain the same: Safer Rockridge provides
neighborhood security patrols, vacation
watch services, an escort service, and a
monthly newsletter to everyone in the service
area, free of charge. To cover expenses,
contributions in the suggested amount of $30
per month are requested from residents of
the service areas willing to provide support.
The objective of the patrols is to create
a visible security presence that deters crime
in the neighborhood during peak crime
hours. Always unarmed, patrol officers
■
■94 percent of respondents are happy/
satisfied with the patrols
■
■95 percent see no negative changes in
the community as a result of the patrols
■
■75 percent feel safer since the patrols
started
■
■87 percent want the patrols to continue
for another year; 33 percent agree that
an important goal of Safer Rockridge
is to establish criteria for ending the
patrols
Due partly to its use of crowdfunding to
begin operations, Safer Rockridge has received
international attention, including  a National
Public Radio (NPR) news story and a soon-
to-be-released story in the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police Gazette. Safer Rockridge
also has worked with communities across
the country to help set up similar programs.
■
■78 percent find the escort service; 85
percent find the vacation watch; and
76 percent find the monthly newsletter
useful.
Although the patrol cars travel over
virtually every street in the covered area
2-3 times a day (confirmed by daily GPS
tracking), 44 percent report rarely or never
seeing the patrol cars on their street
Despite many plaudits, the patrols
have generated some controversy. Initial
concerns were that the patrols would be
armed, would use racial profiling, would
cause a reduction in police attention to the
neighborhood, wouldn’t be accountable to the
community, and would change the fabric of
the neighborhood. The all-volunteer directors
of Safer Rockridge have worked to minimize
these concerns, and have sought opportunities
to listen to and address community concerns.
➧➧Report: Safer Rockridge, page 13
FROG PARK EVOLVES
View the latest draft park enhancement
plan revisions online at www.frogpark.
org and email your comments to us
at the address below.
Park enhancements are moving forward
slowly; donations are still being accepted.
To volunteer or to find out more about our
group, contact us: info@frogpark.org
Like us: facebook.com/frogpark.
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February 6, 2016
6.

Eyes on Rockridge
birthdays. I’ve been to every Halloween
parade.”
In some ways, she said, “My kids don’t
know any better” since her former positions
– on the Oakland City Council, as public
affairs director for the Port of Oakland and as
an aide to Jerry Brown when he was Oakland
mayor – also required long hours.
A moment when “I became like a Mother
Bear” was when about 40 Black Lives Matter
supporters peacefully demonstrated at her
Dimond District home before dawn one day
early in her mayoralty. “The crazy thing is
my kids slept through,” she said. Although
she remained indoors, she emphasized her
belief in the right of peaceful assembly. “My
dad fought in World War II so people can
protest their government.”
“I’m incredibly lucky,” Schaaf said,
“because my whole extended family
lives here.” That includes her mother,
Barbara Schaaf-Schock, who picks up her
grandchildren from school twice a week,
and “their super aunt [sister Chris Schaaf, a
dental hygienist] and uncle” who are good
for sleepovers. “My children are being cared
for by family even if it’s not always me.”
Schaaf-Schock, who was Oakland Mother
of the Year in 1996 for her impressive record
of volunteering, said she never dreamed her
daughter would grow up to be mayor of
Oakland. “I dragged her around and she got
to know Oakland and to understand service,”
she told me in a telephone conversation. “But
I am not political.”
It was a family friend, the late Mary
Morris Lawrence, one of the first female
Associated Press photographers, who got
Schaaf interested in local politics. “She
immediately took an interest in me,” the
mayor said. “She started taking me to League
of Women Voters meetings. She threw my
law school graduation party. She was always
Mayor ‘Dances’ to Intertwine
City’s Growth with Heritage
Second of two articles covering Mayor Libby
Schaaf’s first year in office.
by Judith Doner Berne
‘I
’m hopeful I’m the right leader at the
right time.”
That’s what Libby Schaaf shared when
Rockridge News editor Don Kinkead and I
interviewed her at the Rockridge Café, a year
after her election as Oakland’s 50th mayor.
That is no small hope, as Oakland, still
struggling to get on its feet economically,
battles to mesh growth with heritage,
gentrification with diversity, keep its sports
teams and turn around its crime and school
drop-out rates.
That’s why, Schaaf says, the first months
of her first term were devoted to finding the
right people to help her set Oakland on that
course. “I am proud of the incredible team
I’ve been able to attract,” she says. “I literally
stole almost everyone” – from Berkeley, from
Emeryville, from San Francisco.
No, she didn’t send emissaries far and
wide. “You do have to do it yourself. I
literally got down on one knee in her [city
administrator Sabrina Landruth’s] living
room.” Some of her picks had grown up
in or formerly worked for Oakland. Their
common traits: “A lot of talent and a shared
vision,” Schaaf said.
One team member is David Silver, the
Mayor’s director of education and a former
Rockridge resident, who was instrumental in
creation of the recently announced Oakland
Promise, described on page 7.
According to Silver, “This Mayor has
identified that you can’t have a world-class
city without a world-class educational system.
She leads with her heart.” At the same time,
“We don’t want this to be ‘the Mayor’s thing,’
we want it to be ‘the Oakland thing.’”
Schaaf is married to Sal Fahey, a particle
physicist who is a director of software for
an electron microscope manufacturer. The
couple, who met in San Francisco, have two
elementary school-aged children.
“My husband is an incredible support,”
says Schaaf, who tries to devote Monday and
Friday evenings and weekends to family. “I
try to do homework with my kids; I take them
to school every morning. I try to make the
important things. I bake cupcakes for their
When she met with The Rockridge
News in late November, Mayor Libby
Schaaf discussed preliminary details of
her recently announced plan to open
the path to college to more Oakland
students. (See page 7.)               /D. Kinkead
in my life guiding me.” Lawrence, who died
in 2009 at the age of 95, “would have gotten
such a kick out of seeing me be the mayor
of Oakland.”
“Basically our lives haven’t changed”
since Schaaf became mayor, said her mom,
except that her volunteerism has taken a
slightly new twist. You will find her greeting
visitors and answering phones at the front
desk of the Mayor’s Office on Monday
➧➧Mayor Schaaf, page 7


7.
February 6, 2016

good that’s already here. It’s a bit of a delicate
dance. But then again, she quipped: “I was
in advanced dance at Skyline High.”
the rules on so-called “granny units” and
residential parking for properties near public
transit has prompted swift action by the
Planning Commission and City Council.
“I feel like Oakland has missed previous
opportunities,” Schaaf told us. “I’m also a
bit scared. You don’t want to wipe out the
Mayor Schaaf
from page 6
Your comments on this column and suggestions
for future stories about your neighbors and neigh-
borhood are welcomed: judyberne@att.net.
afternoons.
Does Libby Schaaf have any spare time?
After her election, “Exercising kind of went
out the window,” she acknowledges. “But
one day this summer, I was so proud, I got
on my running shoes.” Not long into her run,
“I tripped and fell and broke my hand.” Since
the parade for the Oakland Warriors NBA
championship was the next day, she appeared
with a bandaged hand. Recently, she decided
to try again, this time working with a trainer.
“I do belong to a book club,” she added,
and is proud that she sometimes is one of
those who had time to actually read the book.
“I love fiction.” She and her family spent the
winter holidays with book club friends and
their families at Yosemite.
Much as she wants to keep Oakland’s
sports teams here, Schaaf has refused to
stick Oakland taxpayers with the bill for
new stadiums. She has spoken out against
allowing coal to be shipped through the
former Oakland Army Base and called on
developer Phil Tagami, working with the
Oakland Army Base Project, to respect the
will and health of Oakland residents.
She is excited about high-profile
businesses such as Uber and Sunset Magazine
relocating to Oakland. And her proposal
to beef up the rental unit supply by easing

Snapshot of the Oakland Promise, a cradle-to-career
strategy designed to triple the number of Oakland
public school students who earn a college degree
Vision: To ensure every Oakland child
graduates high school with the expectations,
resources and skills to complete college and
be successful in his or her chosen career.”
Within a decade the Oakland Promise will:

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name, setting college as an expectation for
all. Subsequent school and community-based
activities will encourage savings and promote
a college-going culture. Modeled after a suc-
cessful program in San Francisco, Oakland’s
K2College will be piloted in the 2016-17
school year. Beginning in the fall of 2016,
every kindergartner entering OUSD will be
eligible for a college saving account that will be
set up by the time they graduate elementary
school. The vision is to expand K2College to
all Oakland public school students by 2020.
3. Future Centers
Every Oakland high school student will
have access to a Future Center where they
will develop college and career plans. Staff will
help students apply for college, financial aid,
scholarships, and internships. Students and
their families will be able access computers
and technology at the Future Centers. Middle
schools will have school-wide programs to
develop college awareness.
4. College Scholarships & Completion
In partnership with East Bay College
Fund (EBCF), every eligible Oakland student
will receive a college scholarship ranging
from $1,000 to $16,000. Scholarships will be
phased in by school, contingent on funding. To
ensure students graduate from college ready
for career success, EBCF, in partnership with
colleges and other organizations, will align
services, providing counseling, mentoring,
and peer support.
Funding
The Oakland Promise has $25 million
dollars in expected contributions over the
first four years out of an estimated cost of
$38 million. Major donors include:
Open 55,000 college savings accounts
for Oakland children
Invest $100 million in college
scholarships
Serve nearly 200,000 students and
families across Oakland
Triple the number of college graduates
from Oakland
Oakland Promise Components
The Oakland Promise combines best
practices from across the country to ensure
that all Oakland students and families are
supported on their way from birth through
college, launching into a successful career.
Over 30 implementation partners and
another 100 organizational champions are
supporting this effort. Additionally, every
member of the City Council and the School
Board is an individual champion. There are
four components:
1. Brilliant Baby
Through a two-generational approach,
babies born into poverty in Oakland will have
a college savings account of $500 opened in
their names – setting an expectation for col-
lege from birth. Brilliant Baby will provide par-
enting support and financial services, including
the opportunity for parents to earn financial
awards as they support their child’s healthy
development. Brilliant Baby will launch as a
pilot in fall 2016 serving 250 families in the
first year. An additional 500 families will enroll
in year two and another 1,000 in year three.
Within the next decade, the vision is to reach
all of the most vulnerable families in Oakland,
serving approximately 2,200 babies and their
parents each year at scale.
2. K2College
The Oakland Promise will establish a
universal college savings program in Oakland
Public schools, setting college as an expecta-
tion for all. By 2020, every Oakland student
entering kindergarten will have a college
savings account of $100 opened in his or her
Kaiser Permanente: $3 million over
three years;
PG&E: $1 million over five years;
East Bay College Fund: $1.5 million
annually;
OUSD & City of Oakland: $1.25
million annually;
Payette River Foundation is
sponsoring scholarships for OUSD’s
Coliseum College Prep Academy
(CCPA) High School
Information provided and reviewed by the Office of the Mayor of the city of Oakland.


February 6, 2016
8.

further encourage people to cover what little
green space they have with more buildings?
Once gone, so goes the backyard garden, the
trees and a quiet place to relax.
Both of these issues will have a negative
impact on the quality of life in Rockridge.
Instead we ought to strongly encourage the
City to create more “Rockridges” via smart
urban planning along our major streets
(most of Broadway, lower Telegraph, San
Pablo, International Boulevard) to replace
underutilized commercial spaces. At the
same time developers should be encouraged
to create integrated open spaces/parks to
offset the “backyards” not built, since adults
and kids need spaces to play. The original
Oakland planners skimped on open spaces
and this is our chance to correct their mistake.
— John Dal Pino
Letters to the Editor
The Rockridge News welcomes
posted letters and e-mails to the
editor. Your name, address, phone
number, e-mail address and city/neigh-
borhood 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 are the writer’s own, and may
not necessarily be shared by the editor,
or by RCPC.

Increasing Density Forever Changes the Environment; How Crowded
Should Our Neighborhoods Get? Who Decides?
Editor:

densely congested areas is found seriously
wanting – we know this. Yet we continue to
allow ourselves to be pressed – mainly by
politics and politicians– to continue piece-
meal poorly conceived urban planning that
ignores the central question: When is enough
enough? When will our area reach maximum
urban density as we, the residents, define it,
and what will it look like then? Will you want
to live here?
— Janice Yager
We see the typical pattern of development
occurring in the greater Rockridge area
being built right now – e.g., Pleasant Valley
Road and 51st Street – is large bulky projects
with multiple linear apartments packed on
top of retail space with little or no set-back,
thus looming over the street. Such designs
emphasize the perception of objectionable
congestion and urban density in addition to
contributing greatly to both in reality.
Not considered in these buildings are
modern design elements that optimize
openness and visibility. This lack can be
mitigated by ordinance. For example, a
requirement that three hours of sunlight, as
measured in the winter solstice, must reach
each apartment is already in existence in
Qinhuangdao, China.
The December 9, 2015, RCPC meeting
with the city’s Planning Department staff and
District 1 Council Representative Dan Kalb
regarding easing restrictions on building
secondary units and the abolishment of their
attendant parking requirements raises the
ever important central issue: Just how shall
we build a better city? Is ever-increasing
density and congestion as dictated by our
state and local politicians (founded on past
population growth extrapolated in a straight
line infinitely upward) just absolutely
inevitable? No matter how increasing urban
density is dressed up to appear more palatable
(e.g., more affordable, more sustainable, etc.),
it does forever change our urban environment
and our quality of life.
How crowded should our city and our
neighborhood get? Shall we be the ones to
decide this or shall it be dictated by state
government?
Step by step, seemingly inexorable
changes in Oakland zoning and building
regulations are being pushed that intensify
congestion as they accumulate. Are the
current planning and zoning regulations
adequate to mitigate the impact of density?
The quality of life in the planet’s most
Yes to Parklet in Front of
Market Hall
Editor:
Thank you for your detailed response to
Donald Swetlick’s letter about parklets in
Rockridge (The Rockridge News, January
2016).
I agree with Mr. Swetlick’s perspective
about a possible parklet in front of Market
Hall along the College Avenue side:
• The location is already very popular
• The sidewalks are crowded
• Existing seating and tables constrict
pedestrian movement.
Beyond that, research (Google “parklets”)
suggests that pedestrian-friendly space such
as wide, welcoming sidewalks and parklets
would not only increase district vitality
We Need Better Urban Planning
for More Open Space, Not Less
Editor:
Let’s face it, people own cars whether we
“count them” or not, so it would be a mistake
to change the off-street parking regulations
for new development. The result will be large,
dense buildings with insufficient parking and
more crowded street parking which increases
the danger for pedestrians and makes driving
more hazardous. If we must, let’s create
more public open space as a trade for less
off-street parking.
Regarding more secondary housing units,
I don’t see those as feasible for Rockridge
since lots are on the small side. But why
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9.
February 6, 2016

Letters

neighbors make agreements with airports
to deter planes from flying over certain
locations and at certain times. Is there
something that can be done about this?
— Philip von Furstenberg
ripped up by a “playful” off-leash dog.
Most amazing about this widespread
problem is that even after damage has been
done and tears have been shed, some dog
owners continue to let their dogs run off-
leash on city streets.
There are laws to protect our dogs,
other animals, neighbors, public and
private property, such as the following from
Ordinance #12835 passed by the Oakland
City Council:
“LEASHED: All dogs shall be leashed
and securely and continuously held by a
responsible person when on public property.
“NUISANCE: Dog guardians shall
maintain control at all times in order to
prevent the dog from trespassing onto private
property.... All dog guardians shall pick up
after their dogs.”
View the full ordinance at: oaklandnet.
com/attachments/17769.pdf
You and your dog, and your neighbors
and their pets, are entitled to a safe and happy
existence. Simply obeying the law is the
responsible and caring thing to do.
— Margaret Wahlberg
from page 8
(impromptu interactions), people’s health
(increased physical activity) and global
health (reduced greenhouse gases) but
would also significantly increase merchant
and ultimately city revenue. I don’t see a
downside to making Rockridge more of a
people-centered place.
—Rachel Hollowgrass
Love Your Dog: Leash Your Dog
Editor:
I’d first like to acknowledge and applaud
responsible dog owners who ensure their
dogs and their neighborhoods are well
looked after. But mainly I’ve written this
letter for the woman on my street bitten by
an off-leash dog while walking home from
work  (that would be me); for the two cats
in my neighborhood killed by off-leash
dogs while sunning themselves on their
own property; for the off-leash dog that
ran into the street and was hit by a car; for
the many animals (dogs, cats and birds)
injured or killed by off-leash dogs; and for
the homeowner whose new plantings were
I like living here but traffic and
airplanes are troublesome
Editor:
I have been living in Rockridge for the
last seven years and, for the most part, I am
very happy here. There are, though, a few
things which bother me:
I live on Colby Street. Despite the
speedbumps and stop signs, my street is
much busier than I would like for it to
be. Colby is used as a cut-off for people
traveling between Claremont and Alcatraz.
I don’t know what can be done, but there
is way more traffic on my street than the
surrounding streets;
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Also, I realize we are on one or two
airline flight paths. Usually this doesn’t
bother me, but the other day at 3:25 a.m.,
a plane flying low over my house woke
me up. I have heard in other counties that
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February 6, 2016
10.

Rockridge
Evolution
intersected College Avenue at a vee corner,
like where Lawton meets College at Eddie’s
Liquors.

Annette Floystrup, RR resident 1955-
72, 1981-present: We had a classic, flatiron
Bank of America on that corner. With
architectural medallions of the Christopher
Columbus ships. It was a gorgeous building
and it smelled divine inside.

Claire Lomax: It had brass window
grilles, marble floors. Austere, classical. That
bank was built to last forever.
city legislative powers to the state.
Catherine Griffing: I remember being
in third grade at Rockridge Elementary
School on Broadway Terrace [1965-66].
Representatives of BART came to the school
doing their PR. They showed us pictures of
BART and talked about how fast it would
get from Oakland to San Francisco. They
talked about a tube going under water.

Pat Nolan, RR resident, 1957-present:
Even when they started talking about it,
things began to change.
from page 2
Greg Brennan: Not affluent the way it
is today.

Claire Lomax: This was not
“Rockridge” when I grew up. There wasn’t
that kind of trendiness.

David Chilimidos, RR resident 1957-
72, 79-82, 85-92: There was a mix of white,
Hispanic, Italian, Greek and Portuguese
families. Mostly blue-collar.

Eric Clausen: It was probably 90
percent Italian. The kids I grew up with all
went to Catholic schools. I knew them from
the neighborhood but never saw them in
school.

Jeannette Lakness-King: I grew up
on Hudson Street between Claremont and
Miles. Within half a block of our house,
there were three grocery stores. We also had
a pharmacy with a fountain, a liquor store,
two beauty salons and a dry cleaner.

Michael Kan, RR resident 1961-74,
2009-present: Chimes Market occupied the
current Cactus Taqueria and Maison d’Etre
space. Across was the Chimes Theater.

Greg Brennan: The Chimes Theater
burned down when I was 8 years old, in 1963.
There was a skating rink upstairs in the same
building, a bowling alley downstairs.

Claire Lomax: There was Woolworth’s
where Cole Hardware is now.

Catherine Griffing: There was a
newspaper stand inside The Hut. My Dad
would get tobacco for his pipe, and I would
get comic books.

Greg Brennan: Before the freeway,
Shafter Avenue didn’t bend to the right [at
Forest], but continued on an angle through
what’s now the BART parking lot. It
E.G.: The Bank of America came
down in 1966, along with dozens of
shops, churches and public buildings in
Rockridge, Temescal and West Oakland.
The State Highway Commission decided
what route the Grove-Shafter Freeway
would take, with little regard for the
disruption of neighborhoods.
Opposition “was strong then, very
strong,” Oakland native Ray Mellana says
in Jeff Norman’s 2006 book “Temescal
Legacies,” but ultimately inadequate to
stop the multi-million-dollar project.
The Oakland City Council voted in
1958 to green-light the State Highway
Commission’s plans, angering citizens
who felt the decision was a concession
to outside interests at the expense of
Oakland residents.
A citizens’ group, The North Oakland
Home Defenders, tried to block the
Grove-Shafter Freeway. Their lawsuit,
dismissed by the State Supreme Court
in 1960, claimed that the agreement
between Oakland City Council
and the highway commission was
unconstitutional – an effort to transfer
E.G.: Hundreds of homes were
destroyed to clear a wide pathway
for the freeway and BART, from the
Caldecott Tunnel to West Oakland.
Jeannette Lakness-King: Around
1959 we first learned that the state would be
buying the houses in our neighborhood.

Claire Lomax: We were in an upstairs
flat [on Oakgrove] and could look over to
Miles. When the sun went down, you’d see
this beautiful light on the eucalyptus trees.
My sister had friends on Miles, and their
house was going to be taken by eminent
domain. My sister was outraged.

Evelyn Clevenger, RR resident since
1927: They took all the houses, didn’t pay
much for them. They gave it a fancy name:
“Eminent Domain.” I call it stealing.

Greg Brennan: It was crazy. They
➧➧Rockridge Evolution, page 11
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11.
February 6, 2016

Rockridge
Evolution

neighborhood completely and seemed to last
forever to a young kid.

Greg Brennan: They ran a wrecking
ball through all of that stuff. Somebody
could have made a fortune on the doors, the
hinges, all the brass, old crystal doorknobs.
There was just heaps of stuff and they ran
bulldozers through all of it.

Claire Lomax: Residences were
overgrown with weeds. Everything was just,
like, gone.

Scott Donaldson: I felt betrayed. It was
years before they actually built the freeway.
Things were never the same again.
construction, that part of Shafter was
renamed Miles.
Name withheld by request, RR
resident 1958-present: I was married
in 1955 and in 1958 we bought the house
at 5682 Shafter, next to the Claremont
Jr. High schoolyard. We lived there five
years. When the letter came in the mail
[announcing the freeway] my husband
immediately went into action. He said,
“If this house goes down I go with it.” We
moved the house to Ivanhoe St. They gave
us the value of the home and the lot, so we
had that money to buy this lot.
from page 10
were getting ready to tear down a lot of the
homes. A lot of people had abandoned them,
and we used to break into those houses.
You’d find old appliances, refrigerators with
leftover food. Kids would break windows.

Eric Clausen: My neighbor was an old
British guy who paid me to go in those old
houses and find stuff. He’d then sell it at the
Alameda penny market.

Jeannette Lakness-King: My parents
went to court to ask for more compensation
for the house. They did not get much more,
but we stayed there until it was settled. In
the meantime, nearly all the other houses
in the neighborhood that were slated to be
demolished were taken down.

Pat Nolan: It very quickly became like
pictures you see of places that have been
bombed out.

Annette Floystrup: They started
tearing houses down long before they began
construction. It was terribly sad.

Jeannette Lakness-King: Ours came
down in 1966, one of the last on the street to
be leveled. We moved to Oak Crest Drive.
[When the Hudson Street house was leveled],
my mom got a call from one of the neighbors
and we went down to watch. To my best
recollection, they used a wrecking ball and
took it down in no time flat.

Scott Donaldson, RR resident
1953-69: The demolition changed the
In the next issue, we’ll look back at the impacts
made on Rockridge during the construction of the
Grove-Shafter Freeway and BART.
E.G.: A small number of houses were
moved to other locations. One belonged
to a family on Shafter Avenue east of
College Avenue. After the freeway
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February 6, 2016
12.
Scouting Awards

others,” said Prime. “Jack was on the path
to becoming an Eagle, and it was an honor
to recognize him with our Eagle Scouts.”
Troop 202 has been active since it was
chartered in 1927 and is the second-oldest
Boy Scout troop in Oakland. The troop draws
scouts from the Rockridge and Montclair
districts and all across Oakland.
his Eagle project, he rebuilt two exterior
staircases and painted the interior of a shelter
for women and children in North Oakland.
Connor Prime attended Chabot and
Claremont and is currently a senior at
Oakland Tech. He created paved patios,
refurbished a bench, and landscaped an
outdoor recreation area at a transitional
housing complex for formerly homeless and
abused women in Alameda for his Eagle
project. He plans to study marketing and
creative writing when he starts college in
the fall.
Jack Lewis Honored
As part of the recognition ceremony,
an honorary Spirit of the Eagle award
was presented to the
Lewis family. The
special posthumous
nat iona l awa rd
memorializes scouts
for their contributions
to scouting and to the
troop. Jack Lewis
was a member of Cub
Scout Pack 274 while
a student at Chabot,
and joined Boy Scout Troop 202 while at
Claremont Middle School.
“Troop 202 is a very active, close-knit
and inclusive group. Jack was a member
of our family, and his enthusiasm and
sense of adventure were immeasurable.
These young men had many adventures
together, backpacking in the mountains
of New Mexico and the Trinity Alps in
Northern California, sailing in the Florida
Keys and summiting Mount Shasta, among
from page 4
In addition, each scout must complete an
extensive self-directed service project
including planning, organizing, leading
and completing the project prior to his 18th
birthday. On average, scouts spend around
130 hours on their project.
“It takes a great amount of service,
discipline, perseverance, and commitment
to become an Eagle Scout,” says Troop 202
Scoutmaster Rick Prime. “These young men
worked hard to achieve the honor.”
Cheyenne Jacobson attended Chabot,
Montera and Oakland Tech, and will be
attending Merritt College this spring,
pursuing studies relating to business and
finance. His Eagle project at Redwood
Regional Park involved planting native
redwood trees, running drip irrigation to
them, removing invasive species and building
a fence to protect newly planted trees.
Kyle Merritt grew up in Rockridge.
He was home-schooled prior to attending
Oakland Tech, where he landscaped, built a
path, and planted drought-resistant species
in a heavily trafficked area of school for his
Eagle project. Kyle is taking a gap year and
serving as a volunteer reading partner at
Sankofa Elementary as he prepares to start
college next year.
John Oberholzer is a freshman at
Stanford, where he is studying chemistry.
An accomplished musician, he was home
schooled and attended the Conservatory of
Vocal and Instrumental Arts (COVA) for
middle school prior to Oakland Tech. For
Information about Troop 202 and its activities is
available at the Troop website: www.troop-202.net
School Auctions
from page 3
Cruise.” Suggested: cruise wear; formal
wear; or pirate wear. Tickets: $25 in advance,
$30 at the door. Dance, mingle and support
the Peralta Parents Teachers’ Group’s annual
budget. The PPTG funds what the district
doesn’t: Peralta’s art, music, language, sports,
gardening education, librarian and teacher
support staff. More info and advance tickets:
Peralta.Auction@gmail.com.
• Oakland Tech Auction: Saturday, March
12. With less than two months to go,
Tech is ready for your donations. Those
valuable contributions ensure our success.
Ideas: Restaurant gift certificates, vacation
rentals, homemade jewelry and artwork,
homemade desserts, anything else that
would generate bidder buzz. Donations are
tax deductible (Tax Id 94-6174624). Contact
audreymyoung@gmail.com with donations
or questions. More info at oaklandtech.com/
staff/ptsa-2/auction/. Need an item picked
up? Contact auctiondonation@oaklandtech.
com. Mail donations to: Oakland Tech
Auction, PO Box 22524, Oakland, CA 94609.
Jack Lewis


13.
February 6, 2016

transit in Oakland (the Key System trains and
ferries) to the Oakland Oaks baseball team, to
the city’s Italian American heritage. He was
a long-time member of the Colombo Club,
an Italian social club located on Claremont
Ave, across from the DMV. The club was
formed by Italian quarry workers who had
moved to Oakland after the San Francisco
earthquake and fire of 1906.
Whenever he spoke, said Jeff, “Ray
always brought his unique style, combining
historic fact with personal anecdote, in a way
only someone who has lived it can provide.”
A celebration of his life was held in
November.
— Annalee Allen
In Memoriam
Ray Raineri (1938-2015)
The Oakland Heritage Alliance (OHA)
community has lost a guiding light with
the passing of local historian and tour leader
Raymond Raineri. Ray, as he was popularly
known, devoted himself to collecting
memories of his childhood North Oakland
neighborhood, and his Italian American
heritage. Following his retirement, Ray’s
enthusiasm for North Oakland and Temescal
history found a wide range of outlets
including curating numerous exhibits at the
History Room at the Oakland Main Library,
and contributing articles to local newspapers
such as the Piedmonter and the Montclarion.
Ray led the popular OHA summer
walking tours of Temescal for several years
and he co-authored the publication, “A
Walk Through Temescal,” a self-guided tour
pamphlet, published by OHA in 1997.
According to fellow Temescal resident
Jeff Norman, who worked with Ray on
many projects, Ray had amassed a very
large collection of historic photographs of
North Oakland and he generously shared his
collection and knowledge with one and all.
He was excited to take part in the Oakland
Technical High School Centennial Project
this past year and was a proud alumnus
of Tech. He also attended and graduated
from San Francisco State with a degree in
Sociology.
Ray’s expertise ranged from early public
Annalee Allen is Tours Coordinator for the
Oakland Tours Program, a long-time member of
the Oakland Heritage Alliance, and an Oakland
Tribune columnist.
6 percent are business owners and “other.”
Considering the survey results, Safer
Rockridge will continue to operate at least
through the end of 2016, and the patrols will
continue to be unarmed.
intervals by check or credit card, so total
monthly contributions (and thus, patrol
hours) fluctuate.
Safer Rockridge is also working to make
patrol vehicles more visible, which should
aid visual deterrence and improve public
confidence.
Safer Rockridge is a nonprofit public
benefit corporation. All of its directors
are volunteers and it has no employees.
Contributions to Safer Rockridge are not
tax-deductible; the application for 501(c)(3)
status was denied by the IRS.
To get current patrol hours, to contribute, or
to be added to the Safer Rockridge newsletter
mailing list, email SaferRockridge@gmail.
com. You may also register at www.
SaferRockridge.org.
Report: Safer
Rockridge
from page 5
Despite respondents’ desire for more
citizen’s arrests, Safer Rockridge feels
the patrols should emphasize passive
enforcement absent immediate threat of
injury to a person. That said, this policy is
under review. Additional issues raised by poll
data are also under consideration.
Safer Rockridge shares the goal of
increased patrol hours, but hours are
constrained by the amount of contributions.
While most supporters pay monthly using
PayPal deductions, others pay at irregular
■
■75 percent believe that patrol officers
should make citizens’ arrests for
property crimes, including, if
necessary, using reasonable force as
permitted by law
■
■71 percent feel that the patrol officers
should not be armed
■
■65 percent want patrol hours to be
increased.
Among survey respondents, 83 percent
are homeowners, 11 percent are renters, and
Ed. Note: Survey findings have been rounded to
the nearest whole number.
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14.

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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
Need Help Navigating the
Loan Process?
Home Loans-Refinance-PreApproval, David
Herrenbruck – Rockridge Resident. Call
510/981-9799, david@fishmanfinancial.
net. FISHMAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.,
NMLS#1384117 – CaBRE#01986477
Couples Workshop!
Build communication and intimacy skills.
Friday, Feb. 26, 7-9pm, Rockridge, $60/couple.
Safe and fun atmosphere. Sharing with group
is totally optional. Diversity always welcome.
Esther Lerman, MFT (#MFC22591). Call
510/548-6241 or email estherlermanmft@
gmail.com. www.oaklandcouplestherapy.com
Your Message Could Be Here
Your 36-word message is $22. (Phone number
counts as one word.) Mail to: RN Classifieds,
4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94611.
March issue deadline is February 18.
For information: smontauk@gmail.com
It’s Spring at Penelope’s
Aesthetics!
Refresh, rejuvenate, renew and enrich with
an Express facial for only $49! www.penelo-
pecalef.com. Please call for an appointment,
510/594-1552


15.
February 6, 2016

y
y A Journey to the Heart of Cheddar: Cheese monger
Gordon Edgar will read from his new book, Cheddar: A
Journey to the Heart of America’s Most Iconic Cheese,
and provide some tasty samples. Tues., Feb., 9, 7pm.
Sponsored by Friends of the Rockridge Public Library.

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

Community Calendar

y
y Radical Fiction: Authors Exploring Activism.
Three local authors, Barbara Rhine (Tell No Lies),
Steve Masover (Consequence), and Kate Raphael
(Murder Under the Bridge) will read and discuss how
they express progressive political activism through
literary fiction. Coffee and light refreshments
served. Sat, 2/20, 11:30am.
Greater Rockridge Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Council (NCPC)
Discuss crime and public safety with reps of OPD. 2nd
Thurs. every other month starting in Feb. (2/11) 7:30pm.
Rockridge Library, 5366 College (at Manila). More info:
www.rockridgencpc.com or chair@rockridgencpc.com.
Rockridge Branch Library
5366 College Avenue, 597-5017
For all ages: Computer Tutors. Get help with basic com-
puter skills, email, and e-book & audio book downloads.
You can bring your own electronic devices. Drop-ins
welcomed every Saturday, 2 – 4pm.
FOR CHILDREN
by children and teens. The films will be screened and
celebrated here on Sat., Feb.13 at noon. Free for all
ages and free popcorn. See details and get your
free ticket to save a spot at: http://jameskennedy.
com/90-second-newbery/.
y
y African Queen Dance Company: Workshop and
short performance to celebrate African American
Heritage Month. All ages welcome. Tues, 2/23, 7pm.
CALLING ALL ‘TWEENS: 6:30 – 7:45pm. A monthly,
tween-directed writing, reading, crafts, and community
volunteer group. Each month we will plan the next 3
months of tween-choice activities. February Activity:
Pen Pals. Art supplies, snacks, and camaraderie
provided free to all participants ages 9 to 12 years.
More info: Children’s Librarian Erica Siskind, 597-5017.
FOR TEENS
y
y Writers Support/Critique Group: All writers
welcome. Bring 15 copies of up to 5 pgs. (double-
spaced, MS margins) of any prose for on-site reading/
discussion (also welcome to come empty-handed).
Third Sat. each month, 1 to 5pm; wheelchair-
accessible. Sponsored by the Calif. Writers Club,
Berkeley branch. Info: 420-8775 or Writefox@aol.com.
LIBRARY HOURS
Tues, 12:30 to 8pm. Wed, Thurs & Sat: 10am to 5:30pm.
Fri, 12 to 5:30pm.
Closed: Sun and Mon; also Fri, 2/12 and Tues, 2/16.
Diesel Book Readings and Events
FREE and open to the public.
y
y Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes (to age
5); Saturdays, 10:30am.
y
y Pre-School Story Time: (ages 2 to 5); Thursdays,
10:30am.
y
y Teen Advisory Board (ages 14-18): Meet with other
teens, plan and organize library activities, and get
community service credit for school. 1st Sat. each
month, 1 to 2pm.
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, 2/14, 3pm. Poetry Flash with Ginger Murchison
and Murray Silverstein.
y
y Teen ‘Scape: Play video & board games; make crafts;
do homework. Snacks provided. Tues, Thurs, and
Fridays: 3:30 -5 pm and Wednesdays: 1:30 - 5 pm.
y
y Tues 2/16, 7pm. Idra Novey: Ways to Disappear
y
y Tues, 2/ 23, 6:30pm. Norman Fischer and Susan
Moon: What is Zen?: Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind.
y
y Craft Program to celebrate Chinese New Year and
y
y Making Valentines: Sat, 2/ 6, 3-4:30pm. Bring a list
of classmates –make one valentine for everyone. All
materials provided. Ages 5 to 13 years. (Children under
9 years old must come with an adult.)
y
y Fri, 2/26, 9pm (doors open 8:30). Music Perfor-
mance with bluegrass banjo and guitar impresario
Avram Siegel with guitarist Beppe Gambetta and
Mike Witcher on dobro. Note: $15 cover charge; all
proceeds go to musicians.
Valentine’s Day: Make felt fortune cookies and felt
flowers. 2/10 at 2pm.
FOR ADULTS
y
y eBook Help: download eBooks to your Kindle, Nook,
smartphone, or laptop. Tuesdays (by appointment),
6 – 7:30pm. Make appt. at the library or online at
www.oaklandlibrary.org. Call 597-5017 for more info.
y
y 90-Second Newbery Film Festival: Short films made
y
y Sun, 2/28, 3pm. Poetry Flash with Merle Lyn
Bachman and Sharon Coleman.
Secondary Units
y
y Thurs, 3/2, 6:30pm. Escape from Reality – Freud’s
Bar hosted by Marc Wallis, LCSW, presents The
Bottle Let Me Down.
y
y Lawyers in the Library: Free legal advice and referrals.
1st Tues each month, NOTE: New times and proce-
dures starting in Feb: 6 – 8pm. We will use a lottery
drawing 15 minutes beforehand to determine who may
see the lawyer. (Advance sign-up starts 5 pm at adult
reference desk, must be present for lottery drawing
at 5:45. Call day of program to confirm: 597-5017.
from page 3
y
y Tues, 3/8, 7pm. Wes “Scoop” Nisker: You Are Not
Your Fault and Other Revelations: The Collected Wit
and Wisdom of Wes “Scoop” Nisker.
DIESEL, A Bookstore, 5433 College Ave. More info (other
events and discussion groups): 653-9965 or events@
dieselbookstore.com.
Wisteria Ways House Concert
Yolo Mombo: Transglobal Rhythms. Sat., Feb 20,
8pm (house opens at 7:30pm). Sample tunes at http://
www.yolomambo.com/Store.html. Inside venue; not
wheelchair accessible. $15-20 donation for musicians
(cash only at the door). 383 61st Street. For reservations
(highly recommended), RSVP to info@WisteriaWays.
org or 655-2771.
22nd Annual College Prep Book Fair
Used book sale fundraiser: all kinds of books and at
great prices. Sat, 2 /27, 10am to 4pm and Sun, 2/28, 10am
to 1pm with a bag of books for $10 at noon. College
Preparatory School, 6100 B’way, Buttner Auditorium.
Free parking in our lot. Info: 420-2351.
North Oakland Senior Center
address Airbnb – whereas a Berkeley law
relating to secondary units does – existing
Oakland zoning regulations prohibit short-
term rentals for less than one week. Ranelletti
said that Airbnb rentals are a city-wide issue
receiving plenty of attention but that no
timeline has been established for creating
new regulations for such rentals. The city
collects tax revenue from Airbnb, but the
intent of the new secondary unit regulations
is to create housing for long-term residents,
not to create competition for local hotels. On
the other hand, secondary unit rental owners
would receive income from Airbnb, some of it
likely to be spent locally, so financial impacts
of either course are hard to quantify. The
subject is currently being debated nationwide
at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, so it is
reasonable for Rockridge residents to raise
these concerns and ask that the City Council
address this issue.
The Mayor’s Office will soon release
plans for Oakland’s housing problems.
Although secondary units are expected to
be a part of the overall solution, exactly how
that might happen continues under discussion.
RCPC Election
from page 1
process is serious and has important results.
Nationally or locally, voting for office holders
is an important civic duty.
RCPC offers the annual opportunity for
service-minded Rockridge residents to declare
their candidacy for a position on the RCPC
board of directors if they are 18 years or older
and live within RCPC boundaries: See www.
rockridge.org/boundaries.
Elections will be held in April. This is
your opportunity to help promote community
projects in Rockridge, to help represent
Rockridge to the City on matters of zoning,
development and crime, and to be involved in
strengthening your community. Email info@
rockridge.org not later than close of business
March 2 to tell the board of your interest and to
receive an informational package. Visit www.
rockridge.org/about for more details.
y
y FREE AARP Income tax preparation help. Sign
up now; call or walk in for appointments. Thursdays
February 4 to April 14. More info: 597-5085.
y
y Trip to Pacific Orchid Expo at Fort Mason: Fri, 2/26.
$35. including lunch in San Francisco.
y
y Seniors Small Business Workshop: Assistance from
City of Oakland Revenue Division staff with forms and
revenue payments. Thurs, 2/18, 10am to 12:30pm.
More info at Oakland Business Tax Office, 238-3704.
Annual $12 membership entitles seniors 55 + to discounts
on activities and trips. Mon. – Fri., 9am to 4:30pm. 5714
Martin Luther King, Jr. Way.


February 6, 2016
16.

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