Extracted text

VOL. 33       NO. 10    ISSUE NO. 358      November 3, 2018                   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

RCPC November Town Hall Meeting
7:30 to 9 p.m., November 15; Rockridge Branch Library Upstairs Meeting Room
Planning for the California College of the Arts (CCA) campus
development plans is advancing. CCA representatives will
be at the town hall meeting to present updated development plans
for the reuse/redevelopment of the college’s former Oakland
campus to the Rockridge community. The proposal includes

1
almost 600 units of housing, including a 19-story tower. Located
on the East side of Broadway just north of Shops at the Ridge,
the campus is recognized for several historic buildings dating
to the college’s founding in 1907 as the California College of
Arts and Crafts (CCAC).
A g e n d a
2
The RCPC Board of Directors is proposing modifications
to the association’s Bylaws to clarify RCPC’s boundary
description and aspects of voting procedures. Details of the
proposed changes are presented on page 2. Board members will
also review the changes at the town hall. Residents will then be
invited to vote on the proposed modifications.

A Lot to Ponder
When Ben Friedman moved to
Rockridge in October 2017, the
vacant lot at the intersection of College and
Claremont caught his eye and his imagination.
Despite the healthy redwoods at the rear
of the lot, the grasses in the center seemed
dead. When the rains followed in November
and the space came alive, Friedman, pictured
at right, wrote an article for The Rockridge
News of his excitement in the changes he
saw and the vision he had for the site: the
opportunity for this space to become a
public park providing much-needed green
space that would a benefit residents and
businesses alike.
Others have recently commented on
the community needs the area could fill
and written to the Rockridge Community
Planning Council (RCPC) and The Rockridge
News to learn what might be done.
Their letters and ideas follow:

enjoying a coffee from one of the many local
providers, anything but the litter-gathering
desolate waste-land it is now.
— Phillip Rubin
Hello, RCPC
Editor:
What is the status of the unused triangle of
land at the corner of Claremont & College?
Are there any plans? Is there a conversation?
Has anyone expressed interest? I’d like to
start or participate in a conversation about
developing that land into a park or play space.
I’m willing to put some money toward that
initiative.
— Rich Robinson
RCPC Land Use Committee Chair Stuart
Flashman had information to offer to one of
the letter-writers:
Hi Rich,
Your e-mail was forwarded to me as chair
of RCPC’s land use committee.
The parcel at College and Claremont is
privately owned. It’s actually two parcels with
separate owners, but it’s our understanding
that the two owners have set up a jointly-
owned entity (probably an LLC) to develop
the parcel. No development application has
been filed with the City, but from talking to
an architect and an attorney working with
the owners, it appears it will be a 3-story
Vacant Lot, College and Claremont
Editor:
I live and work in Rockridge. Three or
four times a week I visit our financial
district near the corner of College and
Claremont. Each walk forces me to
pass that grotesque chain link fence on
the south west corner. A few months ago,
after the first of the fence’s iterations
disappeared, we were greeted by an empty,
quiet triangle, the peace of this green space
only to be shattered by its more permanent
appearing replacement. During the inter-
fence period, I and my neighbors thought
of how many community-building ways the
space might be used before it’s replaced by
the inevitable condos: a small urban park, an
occasional farmers’ market, a music venue, a
pumpkin patch, a craft fair, a spot to sit while
➧➧A Lot to Ponder, page 14


November 3, 2018
2.

RCPC MEMBERS TO VOTE ON BYLAW AMENDMENT
AT NOVEMBER TOWN HALL MEETING
At the upcoming Town Hall meeting of
the Rockridge Community Planning
Council, to be held November 15, 2018,
members will be invited to vote on a proposed
amendment to Section 5.1 of the RCPC
Bylaws (“Eligibility for Membership”).
ROCKRIDGE BRANCH LIBRARY
                  5366 College Avenue
                   at Manila | 597-5017
and residency).
The requirement that an RCPC member
must be a “permanent resident” within the
boundaries is a traditional provision in the
RCPC Bylaws. Over time, however, many
have found the phrase to be ambiguous
and confusing. The Board now feels that
changing the operative phrase to “principal
residence” (as defined above) would make
the residency criterion clearer and easier
to apply.
Ordinarily, determinations of membership
eligibility are made at the RCPC annual
election meeting in April, and at other
meetings when members are asked to vote.
The proposed amendment should make the
residency requirement easier to understand,
and is likely to make the process of certifying
voters at election time more efficient.
The Board does not expect that the
proposed amendment will cause any
significant enlargement or diminution
of the membership of RCPC. The forms
of documentation presented by members at
election time will, in most cases, be the same
as in the recent past (e.g., California driver
license, State of California identification
card, PG&E bill). However, the amended
language would provide a basis for the
board to permit certain other forms of
documentation as proof of residency or
identity, such as college student ID cards.
It is possible there may be a few cases
of persons who have exercised rights of
membership in RCPC in the past, based on
the status of being a “permanent resident,” but
who, in a future determination of residency,
might be found not to have maintained
a “principal residence” within RCPC
boundaries during the 60 days before the date
of determination. If the proposed amendment
is adopted, such persons will be unable to
exercise their rights of membership, unless
and until they establish (or re-establish) a
principal residence within the boundaries
set forth in Section 5.1.
Library program details/hours: Calendar, page 15
The Rockridge News, founded March 1986 by Don
Kinkead, is published monthly (except in August)
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, 2018-19
Leonora Sea	������������������������Chair
Alden Connor	��������������������Vice-Chair
Sally Smyth	��������������������������Secretary
Ronnie Spitzer	��������������������Treasurer
Ashley Cruz, Stuart Flashman, Eduardo Gutentag,
M C Haug, Don Kinkead, Andrew Masalin,
Courtney Welch
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org
Newsletter Subscriptions
Ballots will be cast between 7:30 p.m.
and 9 p.m., in the 2nd floor meeting room of
the Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College
Avenue, Oakland. In order to cast a ballot, a
person must be at least 18 years of age and
be able to document residency within the
RCPC boundaries.
The proposed amendment has been
approved by the RCPC Board of Directors,
but in order to take effect, will require an
affirmative vote of a majority of the members
present (and constituting a quorum) at the
November 15 meeting.
The proposed amendment would
clarify the basic criteria of eligibility for
membership in RCPC. The first sentence
of Section 5.1, as currently worded, states:
“Membership in the corporation [RCPC]
shall be open to any natural person who
(1) is at least eighteen years of age, (2) is
interested in the promotion of the purposes
of this organization, and (3) is a permanent
resident within that area of the City of
Oakland contained within the following
boundaries …”
The amendment would change the
words “is a permanent resident” to “has his
or her principal residence.” In addition, a
new sentence would be added, stating that
“a person’s ‘principal residence’ means
a residence which the person has been
occupying as his or her primary residence for
at least sixty (60) days up to and including the
date on which a determination of residency
is made.”
The amendment would further provide
that “The Board of Directors may from
time to time issue specific guidance for
implementing the requirements set forth in
this section” (e.g., documentation of identity
To subscribe to The Rockridge News,
send your check for $20, payable to RCPC with
“Rockridge News Subscription” on the memo
line. Mail to 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
Articles submitted for publication may be
emailed to the editor or sent to the address above.
Submissions are limited to 600 words, must include
the author’s name, phone number, email 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, contact the editor.
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Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
Publication date of the December issue is:
  December 8, 2018.
  Submission deadline: October 11.
Advertising rates are $26/column inch. Six-
month pre-pay rate available. For display ads,
call Jo Ellis at 653-3210 (after noon), or email
joellis1@hotmail.com. RCPC reserves the right
to refuse any display or classified ad that it deems
inappropriate. (Classified ad contact, page 14.)
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3.
November 3, 2018

The third proposal was for a four-story
ten-bedroom rooming house. The first
floor would again be a 1,400 sq. ft. foot
commercial space, but the upper three
floors would be residential bedroom/
bathroom combinations. There would be a
common kitchen and dining area, along with
common open space, on the fourth floor.
This proposal would require a variance to
allow the fourth floor. Committee members
discussed how to deal with residents’
parking, since the site has no space for
off-street parking. Because the area has
residential permit parking, an agreement
disallowing parking permits to project
residents might be a strong disincentive to
car ownership by residents.
Committee members present expressed a
preference for reserving four-story buildings
for projects containing affordable units. The
architects will bring back a proposal taking
into account the committee’s comments for
further review by RCPC.
The November Land Use Committee meeting will be
Wednesday, November 28, 7:30 p.m. at the Rockridge Branch Library.
The agenda includes an update on the housing study. Check at https://
rockridge.org – the RCPC website – the previous week for updates.
the first floor fronting on College Avenue,
with residential units above.
The simplest proposal would have a
1,400 sq.ft. retail space on the first floor,
five small apartments on the second and
third floors, and a rooftop open space area
shared by the five apartments. A variant on
this would add two affordable apartments,
allowing a density bonus fourth floor, with
the roof top open space now above the fourth
floor. A further variant would still have two
affordable units, but would reduce the size
of the first floor commercial space so that
the project would fit into three stories, plus
rooftop open space.
RCPC Land Use Committee Update –
November 2018
The Land Use Committee met on
October 24. A quorum was not
present, so no recommendations were
made. Committee members and interested
residents heard the items summarized below:
Mixed-use replacement for sin-
gle-story structure at 5346 College
Avenue (next to McNally’s Irish Pub).
An architect group planning to replace
the current one-story bungalow, which
has been converted to commercial space.
presented three alternative proposals. All
three involved a retail/commercial space on
Shops at the Ridge Phase 2,
Northeast corner of Broadway and
Pleasant Valley Boulevard.
Chair Flashman reported on a meeting
between representatives of RCPC and the
Piedmont Avenue Improvement League
➧➧Land Use Committee, page 13
Fuller caption to follow -- College
Prep students go off-campus to pick
up litter on Keith, Golden Gate, and
College Avenue.
BUYING?
SELLING?
LET ME HELP YOU
ANNE D. BRANDON, REALTOR
35+ YEAR ROCKRIDGE RESIDENT AND HOMEOWNER
DRE# 01877719 | 510.682.6644
ANNE@THEHIGHLANDPARTNERS.COM
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November 3, 2018
4.

What About Those Scooters?
by Karen Ivy, Secretary, the Rockridge
Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council
You must have noticed by now the
electric scooters littering Oakland
streets. They appeared earlier this year.
They’ve been touted (by the vendors) as
“the solution to our transport problems.”
The Rockridge
N e i g h b o r h o o d
Crime Prevention
Council (NCPC)
has learned that the
City didn’t pass an
ordinance authorizing
t h e  D e p a r t m e nt
of Transportation
(DOT) to set up a
permitting process for
motorized scooters
until September 2018.
DOT hopes to have
regulations in place by
the end of November
and approved by
the end of 2018.
Meanwhile, the scooter companies are
renting these things without any particular
supervision and without, as far as the NCPC
can tell, any attempt to enforce either their
own posted rules or the applicable California
state laws.
So What Are the Rules?
rental companies to notify riders that they
must wear a helmet. This means that if a
14 year old kid rides an e-scooter, that kid
is in violation of two laws. Three, if he isn’t
wearing a helmet before January 1. Four,
if he’s riding on the sidewalk. Five, if he
has a passenger.
NCPC Has a Board Vacancy
The Greater Rockridge NCPC has an open
Vice Chair position. If you are interested
in crime and public safety in the community,
consider volunteering for this position. Our
bylaws say the Vice Chair “will assist the
Chair as needed.” In practice, this means
attending meetings (7 p.m. at the Rockridge
Library on the second Thursday of even-
numbered months – February, April, June,
August, October, and December); chairing
the meeting if the Chairman can’t attend;
and possibly attending the bimonthly Area
2 Commander’s Meeting (second Mondays
as announced) if the Chairman can’t attend
that. The Vice Chair also assists in making
decisions on programs and directions for the
Insur-
ance: You
might not be
covered by
your insur-
ance while
r id i ng a n
e -s c o ot e r.
The Insur-
a
n
c
e
Information
I n s t i t u t e
notes that
homeowner’s
policies usu-
ally exclude
coverage for
“s el f-p r o -
pelled vehicles,” and standard personal auto
coverage excludes coverage for vehicles with
fewer than 4 wheels. (See: http://www.iii.
org/insuranceindustryblog/e-scooter-shar-
ing-programs-are-you-covered/
In general, the scooter companies don’t
carry insurance to cover their renters. San
Francisco’s new permitting process requires
it, but Oakland doesn’t have a permitting
process as of October 2018.
Driver’s License: Probably the most
important rule is that you have to have a
driver’s license to operate one (Cal. Veh.
Code §21235). You can have any class of
license, including a learner’s permit, as long
as you’re 16 years old or older.
Other Rules of the Road:
These rules are in all the scooter operating
rules that I’ve seen, but they are also in the
California Vehicle Code (CVH §21235).
We’ve never seen any evidence that scooter
companies try to enforce them except with
well-meaning exhortations on their web sites.
The scooter companies all say on their
web pages that scooter users have to be
18 or over and have a driver’s license to
rent a scooter. They used to take people’s
word for this, but Oakland now requires
scooter renters to submit a photograph
of a driver’s license, to validate both the
license and the renter’s age, but it isn’t
retroactive. So there are people out there
with rental contracts whose legal status is
unconfirmed.
COMING SOON!
TWO FABULOUS
3+BR/2BA LISTINGS
➧➧NCPC/Scooters, page 8
Bay View Midcentury
with Level Yard in North Berkeley
&
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Victorian Row House w/Updated
Open Kitchen near Temescal
Helmets: This will change as of Janu-
ary 1, 2019 but right now scooter renters
must wear a helmet. We think removing
the helmet requirement is insane. It was
requested by Bird, a scooter company. Los
Angeles recently approved regulations,
effective January 1, which require e-scooter
Ruth Goldstone
510.418.7191
eastbayprop@gmail.com
DRE# 01300164
For more information, or if you’re thinking
of selling or buying, contact Ruth.


5.
November 3, 2018

Scenic Streets Planting Season Looms
After a summer and early fall of weekly
trash pick-ups and pruning, your
neighbors in the Scenic Streets efforts are
gearing up for a rainy season planting push.
We’re the folks in bright yellow vests who
try to keep the Claremont Avenue on- and
off-ramps to and from Highway 24 looking
presentable. We also take responsibility
for a couple dozen nearby sidewalk trees.
If you are someone who appreciates the
gateway to your neighborhood looking a bit
nicer, enjoys gardening activities and has
a couple hours a month to contribute, we
would welcome you with open arms, and a
bright safety vest and gloves! Contact Lee
at lee.scenicstreetsoakland@gmail.com.
We usually work on the ramps as a group
on Wednesday mornings, but attending to
the street trees can happen on your own
ductible contributions. You can send a
donation to our fiscal sponsor, Oakland
Parks and Recreation Foundation, PO Box
13267, Oakland, CA 94661, payable to the
Foundation. Note in the memo field that it’s
for Scenic Streets of Oakland. The Scenic
Team thanks you.”
You Could Be in This Picture
schedule, with a partner or not. Once or
twice a year we have a Saturday work party
with more ambitious goals, like spreading
a lot of mulch, extensive weeding or new
plantings. Look for us to ask for your help
in those ‘one-time’ efforts as well.
If you want to help but time doesn’t
allow it, we also appreciate your tax-de-
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Did you know?  Prop 10 coming on the ballot in November would remove rent control protection of
your own single family home and new construction, limiting creation of needed housing. It would
also allow cities to limit the amount of rent you ask for your home even after it becomes vacant!! Non
owner occupied multiunit rental property that isn’t newer construction is already subject to rent control
in Oakland.  The proposition provides no additional affordable housing incentive.  UC Berkeley and
Stanford Economists predict it will further constrict availability of rental property and provide no help to
those looking for housing.  Good intentions, but actually further restricts housing supply.
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Mark your calendars for 11/4, end of daylight savings time and 11/6, election day!!!
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“2016 Realtor of the Year”
1900 Mountain Blvd Oakland, CA 94611
1625 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA 94709
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November 3, 2018
6.

Eyes on Rockridge
                     ‘Likely I Have Hundreds of
                      Half-Siblings Out There…’

in environmental management from San
Francisco University.
The moms formed their own tight-knit
group. “It turned out they were all very nice
people,” Beth said. “By the end, I felt a real
affinity for these interesting women.”
Meanwhile, their children – 11 girls and
eight boys – at first “were more like half-
strangers than half-siblings,” Kaitlyn said.
But after “busying ourselves with a puzzle
or game to keep the silence from getting
too awkward…the more extroverted ones
arrived and things warmed up. We talked
about ourselves, our lives and what it was
like to grow up being sperm donor children.”
Kaitlyn, it turned out, was second oldest.
Most were just finishing high school or
heading off to college. “The entire weekend
was a search for similarities to which we
could exclaim ‘Maybe its genetics!’” She
discovered that, like herself, many were
participants in cross-country or track in high
school. And that was not a sport associated
with her mother’s side of the family.
But for Kaitlyn, who is once again in
Senegal (on a paid internship for Global
Citizen Year) and also spent major time
abroad while in college, it was a chance “to
learn more about the diversity of human
experiences within the United States.
“We were from all over the country and
from unique family situations. Many kids are
from lesbian moms and others have single
moms by choice, like my own.” A smaller
subset, she explained, hadn’t been told
they were sperm donor children in order to
by Judith Doner Berne
What if you woke up one morning
to discover that you had 68 half-
sisters and brothers…and counting?
That’s kind of what happened to Kaitlyn
Johnke, Rockridge born and bred, who grew
up down the street from me. Her mom, Beth
Johnke, is a single mom. And Kaitlyn knew
from an early age that she had an anonymous
sperm donor just as her younger sister,
Kelsey, now a senior at Oakland Tech, knew
she had been adopted from China. In fact,
they went as a family in 2009 to visit Kelsey’s
orphanage in Anqing City, Anhui Province.
Kaitlyn, now 23, has been the subject
of this column before, as the result of her
taking a year off from academics between
her graduation from Oakland Tech and
her four years at Cal Poly, from which she
graduated last spring. She spent that bridge
year as part of the Oakland-based Global
Citizen Year program working for a non-
profit in Senegal and later wrote about it for
The Rockridge News.
Knowing a good story when she sees one,
Beth, who distributes The Rockridge News to
deliverers in our corner of Rockridge, sent me
Kaitlyn’s August 18 blog enticingly entitled
“Brothers and Sisters From the Same Mister.”
This Eyes on Rockridge column, written
with Kaitlyn’s permission, is based on direct
quotes and paraphrases from that blog and
an interview with her mom. Here’s how she
begins:
“In December of last year, I got my DNA
results back from 23andme, which my mom,
sister and I had done as part of a family
discount…The most interesting part of my
results was not the report saying what parts
of the world I come from but was actually
the discovery of 10 half siblings.” Although
she and her mom share the same color of hair
and eyes, Kaitlyn never thought they looked
very much alike. At the same time, “I never
thought I would learn more about the other
half of my genetics.”
But, as you might already have figured
out, Kaitlyn’s sperm donor was not a one-
shot guy. He had donated at four different
sperm banks and over a period of years.
She was able to connect with several of her
half-siblings who had shown up on 23and
me and, later, to still others who had done
their DNA tests on Ancestry, sought out the
Donor Sibling Registry or were part of a
Facebook group.
In mid-August, she joined 19 of her
half-siblings on a weekend camping trip at
a retreat center outside of Denver. Her mom
and sister came too. “We were nervous,
but I had to go,” Beth said. “I was curious
myself – you know I am a scientist.” A
retired environmental specialist, she holds a
B.S. in biology from Cal Poly and a masters
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7.
November 3, 2018

Courtesy of the Johnke Family.
Family
“Likely I have hundreds of half-siblings
out there, some of who don’t know they are
sperm donor children or aren’t interested
in their potential genetic connections,” she
hypothesized.
Although a few of her half-siblings have
met with their sperm donor face to face, “He
doesn’t want to be exposed to the public,”
so she would only say this: “He seems like
a kind and smart man who likes chicken
and Coca-Cola. From pictures, I feel like I
can definitely see where I got more facial
similarities from him than my mom.”
“He is open to connecting with us, though
he is understandably a little overwhelmed by
the number of us that exist,” Kaitlyn said. But
she doesn’t think she will take advantage of
that – at least not at the moment. “I feel like
I have gotten enough information from my
half-siblings and I’m not really looking for
any kind of social/emotional connection or
relationship. Other adults in my life have
been role models and have filled the “father”
figure.”
Does Kaitlyn feel like she now has sisters
from page 6
maintain a connection with the father-figure
in their household.
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Grand Opening
➧➧Family, page 14
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November 3, 2018
8.
Claremont Spanish Language Students
Prepared for “Days of the Dead”

offered one of their walls to decorate with
the students’ artwork. Paper cutouts and
flowers, photos and posters are on display
to advertise OMCA’s Days of The Dead
Celebration. Additionally, owner Heather
Clapp delighted the Claremont participants
with an after-school gathering to enjoy
pizza and jamaica, a traditional Mexican
drink, made from hibiscus flowers. A
very happy culmination of our Rockridge/
OMCA community connection.
by Carolina Juárez
Every autumn brings not only Halloween
but also the Mexican celebration of
“Días de los Muertos” or “Days of the Dead.”
And for the sixth straight year, Rockridge
students and merchants have come together
with the Oakland Museum for a community
commemoration of all our ancestors.
As a Spanish teacher at Claremont
Middle School, I made cultural presentations
to the early morning Viva el Español
language classes. The students learned
about the ancient Mesoamerican tradition
of honoring lost loved ones. Altars display
photos and mementos of departed family
members. Folk art and marigolds decorate
these memorials. Most students have
seen the recent movie “Coco,” a brilliant
presentation of the Days of the Dead
tradition.
Using art tissue generously donated
by Blick Art Materials in Rockridge,
the students carefully cut “papel picado”
pennants and folded paper flowers. The
student art then went to decorate the
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)
for its annual Days of the Dead festival,
held Sunday, October 21.
This is the sixth year that Rockridge
restaurant Jules Thin Crust has kindly
Claremont
Spanish Language
students created
a representative
Days of the Dead
wall hanging that
was displayed at the
Oakland Museum of
California (OMCA)
annual festival.
Photo courtesy of
Carolina Juárez.
NCPC/Scooters
added fees and surcharges it comes to $197.
limit will increase to 35 MPH.
You can’t legally ride scooters faster
than 25 miles per hour under any circum-
stances. Lime’s page says the maximum
scooter speed is 14.8 mph. There are multiple
public discussions about how fast scooters
should be allowed to go.
You can’t carry passengers on e-scoot-
ers. Yes, we’ve seen people doing this.
from page 4
You can’t leave e-scooters lying on
their side on the sidewalk, or anywhere that
obstructs pedestrian traffic. This includes
spaces where buses load and unload. NCPC
gets regular complaints about this.
You can’t legally ride e-scooters on
the sidewalk unless you’re crossing it to
enter or leave a property. You have to ride
in the street, and if the street has a bike lane
you have to ride in that. The official fine
for riding on the sidewalk is $25, but with
At the moment you can’t legally ride
scooters on roads with speed limits above
25 MPH. On January 1, the road speed


9.
November 3, 2018

Rockridge, Once: Now Home to Trader Joe’s

COMPLETE TREE CARE
Proudly serving Rockridge since 1965!
(510) 562-4000
www.treesculpture.com
Fully Insured | Cer5fied Arborists | Lic #655977

Interior • Exterior
Lead-Certified Painters
For a free estimate
call Cydney
510•652•4034


November 3, 2018
10.

Demand continues in the Rockridge Fall Market
 Closing date BR BA
Address
Original price
List price
DOM
Selling price

09/12/2018
3
3
403 63rd St
$969,000
$969,000
14
$1,310,000

09/13/2018    3     2       5334 Miles Ave
$1,075,000
$1,075,000
14
$1,570,000

09/14/2018   4
3.5
6529 Hardwood Ave
$1,595,000
$1,595,000
20
$1,700,000

09/17/2018   3     2       5223 Boyd Ave
$1,075,000
$1,075,000
13
$1,645,000

09/24/2018     2     2       434 North St
$799,000
$799,000         16
$950,000

09/27/2018     2     1       477 Hardy St
$1,025,000
$1,025,000
15
$1,200,000

www.buttrickprojects.com

Member

Homes sold in September closed 28% over the asking price on average.


11.
November 3, 2018

Artist’s Corner: Kevin Flynn
Kevin Flynn Explores the Mystery of Time
was chosen for an exhibit in Washington,
D.C. at the Center for Contemporary
Political Art for a show entitled “Defining
the Art of Change in the Age of Trump”.
He acknowledged that “Until the election
of Donald Trump, I shied away from political
work.” Now, no longer reluctant to make
political art, he has taken up Anish Kapoor’s
call: “Our silence makes us complicit with
the politics of exclusion. We will not be
silent.”
Flynn questions where we will end
up if our culture discards history and the
treasures of vintage culture and memory.
Perhaps he will be looking at the Phoenix
manhole covers as portals to another time
and place.
by Caroline Stern
Photographer Kevin Flynn likes strolling
the streets of Rockridge where he and
his wife, Marilyn, have lived since 1996. He
says, “Rockridge is a vibrant neighborhood
with a diversity of people: Even the home-
less want to live here!”
He enjoys remembering local history
and the artists and writers who have called
Rockridge home. He recalls “that Jessica
Mitford lived on Regent Street and went
to Cole Coffee; that Richard Diebenkorn’s
studio was up the road on Hillcrest; that
there is a Julia Morgan church on College.
Our house, in fact, was built by the owner
of Phoenix Iron Works in 1907 just after
the earthquake. Phoenix manufactured
manhole covers and they were used in lots
of East Bay neighborhoods. Whenever I’m
walking, I’m always looking down trying to
spot one: It’s like a treasure hunt.”
He also likes to discover more about
Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury days
of literature by searching through vintage
photos, texts and forgotten childhoods, or
to reveal the life and work of 19th century
photographer Julia Margaret Cameron on
the Isle of Wight.
Flynn received his degree in photogra-
phy from UC Santa Cruz; early influences
were Henri Cartier-Bresson and Harry
Callahan. His work has spanned analog
through digital and iphone cameras. He
takes his images back into the past, evoking
a blurry memory, then presents a moment
in the here and now or somewhere in
between.
His photos evoke mystery, reworking
Alice in the Looking Glass and other classic
art. He captures time and timelessness,
presenting classic literature and art twisted
into the 21st century. Holbein’s 15th cen-
tury woodcuts are re-imaged by overlaying
found animal vertebrae. He pushes his
work into ambiguity: Picture a vintage novel
bound in twine or pierced with a spike.
When he worked for newspapers during
the Watergate era, Flynn’s art was not
political. This changed dramatically when he
was recently notified that one of his photos
View Kevin Flynn’s many portfolios at http://
www.kevinflynnphotographer.com.


November 3, 2018
12.

Letters to the Editor
The Rockridge News welcomes
posted letters and emails to the
editor. Your name, address, phone
number, email address and city/neigh-
borhood must be included in either
for verification. Only your name will
from residents that would have prevented
the project from going forward. Instead
of trying to work with the public, the City
simply imposed a draconian solution and
then began posting a motorcycle officer to
enforce the no left turn edict. But there is a
solution: restore that section of Broadway
to the way it was before, with two lanes in
each direction.
Wlad. Wlassowsky, Assistant Director,
Department of Transportation, and
Consultant Victoria Eisen are the parties
responsible for this situation. Please direct
complaints to them.
— Jon Gabel
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.
because vehicles turning left onto Lawton
from northbound and southbound Broadway
occupied separate lanes.
There is now no safe and legal direct route
for hundreds of residents of the Lawton-
Ocean View Drive-Keith-McMillan Avenue
area, located southeast of the Rockridge
BART station, to get to their homes when
driving northbound on Broadway. Turning
westbound onto Ocean View Drive from
northbound Broadway is dangerous because
the intersection is on a hill. It is difficult to
see oncoming southbound Broadway traffic
coming off Highway 24, typically quite fast,
from there. This blind spot is the reason there
is no pedestrian crossing of Broadway at
Ocean View. Keith Avenue is one-way and
is not accessible from Broadway.
In an August 21 email from Ms. Eisen,
my detailed complaint to the City and request
for a meeting were answered as follows:
“You and your neighbors will have to change
your customary travel patterns as a result of
the turn prohibition… Ocean View is not
a safe option; rather, this prohibition will
require the households on Lawton, Ocean
View, Keith and McMillan that are between
Broadway and College to use College Avenue
to drive home when they are coming from
the south.”
But College Avenue is already congested.
And, the City did not assess the impact of
the change on travel times, fuel consumption,
or air pollution.
City staff did not spot this problem during
the design phase. Had it been known earlier,
I believe there would have been an outcry
“Road Diet” cuts off access to
neighborhood from northbound
Broadway
Editor:
As part of the Broadway “Road Diet”
recently implemented (partly with Caldecott
Tunnel Settlement funds), Broadway was
changed from two lanes in each direction
to one lane in each direction plus a center
turn lane. To the dismay of many living
between Broadway and College Avenue, left
turns onto westbound Lawton Avenue from
northbound Broadway have been prohibited.
Victoria Eisen, the consultant overseeing
Caldecott Settlement projects, issued an
email notice in January that stated, “The
best way to allow safe left turns through the
5-legged intersection of Broadway/Lawton/
Rockridge Blvd has evolved since it was
discovered in the field that the original design
needed to be adjusted. The final treatment
will be to reverse the current left turn pocket
from northbound Broadway-to-westbound
Lawton to a southbound-to-eastbound left
turn pocket. This change was motivated
when the community brought to the city’s
attention that Lawton is the only feasible
street that serves the neighborhood east
of Broadway, while there are a number of
parallel alternatives to Lawton that connect
Broadway and College Avenue.”
This notice did not state that left turns
onto westbound Lawton from northbound
Broadway would be prohibited; the change
was not presented to the public for comments
ahead of implementation; and there was no
problem before Broadway was reconfigured
In Rockridge since 1997
Have you reviewed your
business insurance lately?
Yes we do offer:
Workers Comp
Insurance
Susan Bernosky
510-450-9050
INSURANCE SERVICES,  INC
CA License 0D34069
www.strahaninsurance.com


13.
November 3, 2018

There are many more non-permitted than
permitted cars with permits. This is typical.
While some of these cars move within two
hours, I assure you that many, if not most,
do not move during the day. Many are even
parked for several days.
When the 2-hour parking system was put
in place 32 years ago, it solved a horrendous
parking situation for those living within
proximity of the BART station. Since 2011 it
is as bad now as it was then, only we now pay
for it. Like Jon, we don’t feel we are getting
any kind of bargain, despite our council
member’s claims.
I’m surprised the merchants along
College Avenue aren’t calling for better
enforcement. After all, our streets serve as
their parking lot. With such low parking
turnover, their customers have a hard time
finding a place to park. Enforcing the parking
zones would open more spaces for customer
parking. It’s not only the residents who are
ill served.
What is made obvious by Jon’s research is
that it’s really a simple solution: return to the
pre-2011 shift schedules so that these parking
permits are enforced. In the meantime,
since the city and our council member seem
reluctant to do anything about this problem,
call 238-3099 and ask for an officer to come
out. Maybe if enough people call, they will
enforce the parking rules and we will be
better served.
— Michael Reardon
Permit Parking System is Broken
Editor:
Jon Gabel is to be commended for his
opinion piece and research into the broken
Rockridge permit parking system reported
in the September issue of The Rockridge
News. He clarifies, by analyzing the shifts of
the parking officers, why few non-permitted
cars are cited. This explains why there has
been virtually no enforcement since they
changed the shift schedules in 2011. (Still,
even before 2011, parking enforcement was
spotty and sporadic at best.)
Like Jon, and probably many other
Rockridge residents, my wife and I regularly
call the traffic parking phone number (238-
3099). In the past month, I have called five
times for someone to come and patrol my
street. Usually Yolanda answers and says
that she will send someone out. She probably
does. However, in only one case, did I
actually see an enforcement officer come
down my block. Ultimately, she nabbed three
cars. And if an officer showed up on the other
times – I did keep my eyes out and didn’t
see anyone – no cars were ticketed, most
likely because no one came by. And, even if
someone did show up, with the shift change,
apparently no one came back to ticket.
My own recent survey showed the
following:
Land Use
Committee
from page 3
(PANIL) and representatives of TRC, Inc., the
master-lease holder for Shops at the Ridge. TRC
reported it had examined numerous options for
the phase 2 build-out and concluded that only
a mixed-use project including some residential
units would be financially viable.
As envisioned, the plan would involve four
four-story buildings, with retail on the ground
level of each building, a total of about 60,000
sq.ft. of retail. The upper three stories on
three of the buildings would be apartments.
In the fourth building, the upper stories would
be office space. TRC reps acknowledged the
difficulty of convincing the property’s owners
to accept a residential component and the
need to modify the sites’ master ground lease.
They have begun meeting with the owners to
negotiate lease revisions. RCPC and PANIL
representatives applauded the addition of a
residential component and expressed a desire to
have an interim use established soon, so the site
would not continue to sit vacant.
The TRC reps said they were looking at
establishing interim single-story retail uses,
using recycled shipping containers similar to a
development in San Diego called, “SteelCraft.”
(Find it online to get a sense of what’s being
proposed.) Such a proposal would require city
approvals, and would likely generate significant
traffic through the already-impacted 51st/
Broadway/Pleasant Valley intersection. Perhaps
it could be used to leverage traffic improvements
– like signal synchronization along Broadway?
September 24, 2:30 p.m.:
33 cars
15 permitted cars
18 non-permitted cars
1 empty space
0 tickets
The photo
shows the
effect of
the lack of
enforcement:
More cars
parked for
longer times;
fewer resident
spaces.
September 25, 2:30 p.m.:
33 cars
13 permitted cars
20 non-permitted cars
1 empty space
0 tickets.
Update on Rockridge Housing Study
Last month’s call for technical assistance in
evaluating the five alternative housing scenarios
resulted in several offers of help. Committee
members discussed forming a subcommittee
to move the housing study forward. Also
discussed was outreach to faculty members at
the Cal-Berkeley campus who might be able to
contribute ideas, expertise, and perhaps graduate
student assistance. An initial meeting is planned
for the coming month. Anyone interested in
participating should e-mail landuse@rockridge.
org.
EXPERIENCE THE UNIQUE
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510.326.2161
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o.niesar@ggsir.com
GoldenGateSIR.com
Lic.# 01161032
Each office is independently owned and operated.


November 3, 2018
14.

Celebrate the Holidays!
Penelope’s Aesthetics is offering a full
European facial w/eyebrow wax for $65!
Relax and refresh for the holidays. Gift
certificates available. What a fabulous gift!
call 510/594-1552 penelopecalef.com
Gardening Cleanups and
Maintenance
Experienced team of 2, dedicated to the
care and maintenance of plants and trees.
Garden design and restoration, pruning and
vegetable garden installation, affordable rates.
Yelp: Chris Rausch Gardening. Chris Rausch
Gardening. Chris @ 510/655-0157.
HOUSE REPAIRS &
REMODELING,
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR
Plumbing, tile work , decks, dry rot, drain-
age, walls, termite damage, doors, windows,
kitchen & bath remodel. Professional work for
affordable prices. Local references available.
Juan 510/692-6399 or Jbahena.info@gmail.com
Edward Jones Open House
& Canned Food Drive
Tuesday, November 13, 4:30-6:30p.m.
5330 College Avenue, Suite 230. More info:
510/844-4772 or ben.blake@edwardjones.
com. Refreshments will be served. We hope
you can join us.
Handy Man for Hire
Multifaceted and well experienced. Hauling
and towing available. No job too small.
Reasonably priced. Lee Self. 707/223-1298.
Your Rockridge Specialists
– JUDITH GLASS & SHEILA SABINE –
The Grubb Company
Now may be the right time for a move.
Your home says a lot about you and we are
here to listen. Call 510/326-5055 or email
SSabine@Grubbco.com
Your Message Could Be Here
Your 36-word message is $22. (Phone number
counts as one word.) Make check payable
to RCPC and write Rockridge News
Classified Ad on the memo line. Mail to:
RN Classifieds, 4123 Broadway, PMB 311,
Oakland, CA 94611. The classified ad
December issue deadline is November
22. The December issue will be out on
December 8. For information: Email Susan
Montauk via smontauk@gmail.com
Erratum
A layout error in the October issue of the
newsletter caused the caption below identifying
the site and subject of the photograph to be
omitted. The Rockridge News regrets the error.
Family
The Cranes
     Are Flying...
           Over Oakland
As construction cranes crowd
the horizons, Oakland changes
before our very eyes. Rockridge is
not exempt. Land Use Committee
Chair Stuart Flashman catalogued
Rockridge building projects for
an Out & About display that drew
sustained interest from Rockridge
residents and event visitors.
Photos and text start on page 8.
from page 12
and brothers that she can consider family?
Again, not at this point. A group of her
half-siblings, she said, met each other when
they were much younger and have created
relationships that she describes as close
friends or real half-siblings. “Some of them
are the only child to their parent(s), and so I
understand how half-siblings could fill the
sibling-void.”
“I am not in the position to take advantage
of this half-sibling-hood in the same way. I
have a little sister that, while adopted, feels
like my full (not half) sister. We spent our
childhood together,” she wrote, “helping each
other up only to push each other back on the
floor and being dragged by our mom to each
other’s performances and athletic events.”
Also, Kaitlyn explained, “I have already
grown up. I grew up in a family. I have
found host families (all over the world). I
have supporters and friends that I value so
much, and it never mattered to me if they
were related to me or not. I have graduated
college and am no longer confined by the
house of my family. I love to travel, live and
learn in other parts of the world.”
The time spent with her half-siblings
“caused me to reflect on what it means to be
siblings and a family and what these newly-
made connections mean to me and could
mean to me in the future.”
A Lot to Ponder
from page 1
(or perhaps 4-story, with affordable units)
building, probably covering most of the lot.
Our understanding is that it will likely have
commercial space on the 1st floor, with
residential units on the upper floors. There
would be resident parking underneath the
building. The building’s application may
have been delayed because the site used
to be a gas station, and the proposal to
excavate for parking requires reopening
investigation of chemical leaks from the
station’s underground storage tanks. (It had
previously been cleared for above-ground
development.)
Several area residents have suggested
developing the site as a public park. Since
it’s in private ownership, at a prime location
on an active commercial street less than 1/2
mile from BART; on a major bus route; and
zoned for 3 stories of commercial/residential
space, the price for getting the parcel into
public ownership is likely to be prohibitive.
However, you are welcome to investigate that
option further.
— Stuart Flashman
stuflash@sbcglobal.net
To comment or to suggest ideas for future columns
about Rockridge and its very interesting neighborhoods
and residents, email judyberne@att.net.
Cranes at work at the MacArthur
Station Residences project.
Builder Boston properties expects
completion in 2020.            /D. Kinkead


15.
November 3, 2018

Email 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


November 3, 2018
16.

NEW LISTING
ROCKRIDGE
5876 Ocean View Dr
$1,855,000
3+ Beds /1+ Baths
• Traditional Shingle Home
• Spacious Rooms
• Upgraded Kitchen
• A “Real” Family Room
• Remodeled Bathroom
• Work at Home Office Space
• Hardwood Floors, Fireplace
• Yard with Patios, Gas Fireplace,
Great Play Space for Everyone
ROCKRIDGE HOME PRICES HIT
$1,000 PER SQUARE FOOT!
INTERIOR-EXTERIOR LEAD
CERTIFIED PAINTERS
Professional preparation. Many local
references. All work Guaranteed.
(510) 654-3339
Valuing your home might be easier
than you think. Try multiplying the
size of your home by $1,000 per
square foot and you will be close.
Of course, I can get you closer.
Call Me!
“I know Rockridge”
Ron Kriss, Broker
Lawton Associates
direct 510-612-2547
RonKriss@JPS.net
L A W T O N
“#1 in Rockridge Real Estate”
160+ Successful Sales
in Rockridge
www.LawtonAssoc.com
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