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www.rockridge.org

CWS

ridge Community Planning Council
board as a non-voting member to
note events and plans for potential
articles; attends RCPC Town Hall
meetings every other month, or as

* otherwise scheduled; determines

the content, clarity and layout of
material to appear in the newsletter,

Ul 5,800 RESIDENCES; 200 BUSINESSES

nning Council « 4123 Broadway, PMB 311 ° Oakland, CA 94611

Your Veins?

erstanding to the news?

especially material the Board may wish to
have published in furtherance of its interest
in providing timely and relevant information
to the Rockridge community.
here is more to tell than this space can
hold. To apply, or for more information,

write: editor@rockridge.org. A stipend is
included.

‘

j ISSUE NO.365 m JUNE 8, 2019

2 .

1 SPonsored by the Rockridge Community Pla

Dear Rockridge News Reader: Do You Have ink In
Do you have a desire to bring clarity and und
you moment could be at hand: With

: current editor Don Kinkead stepping

; down to move on to other pursuits, The Rock-

ridge News, sponsored by the Rockridge

: Community Planning Council, is accepting

; applications for the position of Editor of

The Rockridge News. What’s involved? The

; editor attends monthly meetings of the Rock-

>

.

;

.

he Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC) and

the Greater Rockridge Neighborhood Crime Prevention

~-.-8 .Se@e 6

NCPC-RCPC Joint Town Hall Meeting

Council (NCPC) will hold their annual joint meeting at 7:30
p.m. Thursday, June 20, in the Rockridge Branch Library
upstairs meeting room. The NCPC will lead off with the
Oakland Police Department (OPD) neighborhood crime
status report and a consideration of existing NCPC priorities,
followed by the introduction of our new Neighborhood Law
Corps Attorney David Gomez, who will give a brief overview
of the Neighborhood Law Corps and its functions.

The balance of the meeting will cover emergency pre-
paredness, starting with a keynote address by Lars Eric

30. Thursday, June .

Library Upstairs Meeting room.

7

Holm of Eden I&R, which does emergency preparedness
training throughout Alameda County. Following this,an OPD
representative will discuss the role of the police department
in emergencies. Because of staffing shortfalls, the Oakland
Fire Department has had to temporatily suspend its CORE
(Communities of Oakland Respond to Emergencies) program.
The meeting will end with time for questions. Mr. Holm
wiill talk abut how we can try to fill this gap. We encourage
residents to join us for these important subjects. Speakers
and discussion leaders will be annouunced on rockridge.org

as they are confirmed.
— Karen Ivy, Secretary, NCPC/secretary@rockridgencpc.com

Rockridge Kitchen Tour

Coming September 22: The Biennial RCPC Board of Directors
Adds aNew Member in May

ark your calendars for Sunday, September 22,2019, and watch
for advance ticket sales beginning July | at kitchentour@
rockridge.org and ending midnight, September 20. Advance tickets
are $45 plus service fee. After September 20, tickets are $50.
The Rockridge Kitchen Tour Committee is looking for volunteers

with the following areas of expertise:
Publicity:Ideally we’d like to find a volunteer with

experience in writing press releases, and with contacts at

local media outlets. This } Kitchen Tour Support, page 13

*+¢ wurtons oleoe

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he RCPC Board

of Directors
recently welcomed
new member David
Garcia when he
was unanimously
appointed to an open
position at the May Board
meeting. David is a resident of
Miles Avenue, where he lives
with his wife Fay and two-
year-old son, Diego. During
the day, David works at the
UC Berkeley Terner Center for
Housing Innovation. He has
extensive experience in land use

and housing policy. A
native of Stockton,
David has also worked
in Washington D.C.
at the Government
Accountability Office
doing Congressional
research. He received his mas-
ter’s in public policy from the
Johns Hopkins Institute for
Policy Studies. He also holds
a degree in political science
from UCLA.

David is an avid runner and,

most importantly, a die-hard
Oakland A’s fan.

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Rdckridge News

Walk Scores and Rockridge
Walking in Rockridge

by Leonora Sea

Author’s note: After my driving ability was derailed last November by an injury to my
right hand and the subsequent repair surgery, I found myself walking, a lot. It got me
thinking about Walk Scores, which one often sees in real estate listings. This article is
based on my first-hand observations and a little background research. And — spoiler

June 8, 2019

Z

ROCKRIDGE BRANCH LIBRARY
5366 College Avenu

at Manila | 597-501
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

alert — my own house’s Walk Score turns out to be 89.

R“ estate listings for Rockridge
properties usually include something
called a Walk Score. Houses in the
neighborhood consistently get scores in
the high eighties and nineties out of one
hundred. It’s clearly a selling point for
prospective home buyers, but what do the
numbers mean, and how are scores derived?

From the Walk Score website (www.
walkscore.com), “Walk Score measures
the walkability of any address using a
patented system. For each address, Walk
Score analyzes hundreds of walking routes
to nearby amenities. Points are awarded
based on the distance to amenities in each
category. Amenities within a 5 minute walk
(.25 miles) are given maximum points.
A decay function is used to give points
to more distant amenities, with no points
given after a 30-minute walk. Walk Score
also measures pedestrian friendliness by
analyzing population density and road
metrics such as block length and intersection
density. Data sources include Google,
Education.com, Open Street Map, the U.S.
Census, Localeze, and places added by the
Walk Score user community.”

Rockridge gets high scores based on
the above criteria because it really is a very
pedestrian-accessible community. Even at
the slower pace of an older adult, there are
few parts of the neighborhood that are more
than a 30-minute walk to shopping and
transit. (Walking with a young child might
be different.)

Within five blocks of each other on Col-
lege, there are two full-size grocery stores

fi A R [ E i $5 FREE DRYCLEANING with garment orders over $28
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5808 College Avenue, Oakland

Across from Trader Joe’s and Zachary’s Pizza

and a pharmacy, plus a number of specialty
food shops. Residents have a choice of two
libraries: the Rockridge branch on College,
of course, and the Temescal Library on
Telegraph, actually closer to much of Lower
Rockridge. One can get one’s hair cut, buy
a cup of coffee, get a replacement tub drain
stopper, drop off one’s dry cleaning, and
more, all on College Avenue. Two bookstores
beguile book lovers, and restaurants feature
cuisines from all around the world. No movie
theaters are to be found in the neighborhood,
but several are reachable by transit.

And transit options are excellent. The
Rockridge BART station is a 15-20 minute
walk from many neighborhoods, as are the
College Avenue 51A and 51B AC Transit
bus lines. The 79 line, which also stops at
BART, connects Rockridge with the Clare-
mont District and downtown Berkeley. The
6 line on Telegraph Avenue runs between
downtown Oakland and downtown Berke-
ley, and the 12 line on S5Ist Street connects
Rockridge to Grand Avenue and to Jack
London Square. Short walking distances
and easy access to transit make it easy to
live in Rockridge and work or play in much
of the East Bay and San Francisco without
using a Car.

There are some downsides to being
a Rockridge walker. The least pedestri-
an-friendly: cars. There is a lot of automobile
traffic through the neighborhood, and some
streets, Hudson, upper Broadway, and Keith,
for example, lead to freeway entrances,
encouraging speeding. Drivers sometimes

p Walking in Rockridge, page 12

Garden Cleaners

601-1188
Mon —- Fri 7-72? Sat 8-6

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..........ccc:.ccsese0 Editor

FO BUNS ecicdscrvecescsncistsiiaectventess Asst. Editor

Judith Doner Berne............ Eyes on Rockridge

NOD, FINES i soccosscoutoesensacasciginsttodl Advertising &

Community Calendar

Susan Montauk........cccccsseees Business Manager

Don Kinkead...........cccs0000 Graphics & Layout
RCPC Board of Directors, 2018-19

Leonora Sea... ..cccccesecsseneeees Chair

Alden Conner w...cccccescceee Vice-Chair

Casey Farmer ............ccsc00- Co-Secretary

Andrew Masalin,..........0.+. Co-Secretary

Ronnie Spitzer... Treasurer

Stuart Flashman ......... uuu ASSt. Treasurer

M LAshleigh, David Garcia, M C Haug,
Don Kinkead, Courtney Welch

Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org

>

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONS

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, 4/23 Broadway,
PMB 311, Oakland, CA 9461!

Articles and letters 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 for clarity and brevity at the
editor's discretion and without notice to the submitter.
Views expressed in articles and letters 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.

Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
Publication date of the July issue is:
@ july 6, 2019.
w Submission deadline: June 20, 2019.

Advertising rates are $26/column inch. sif

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 it deems
inappropriate. (Classified ad contact: page 14.)

== => ——-Seo_ —_——_— =

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Rickridge News

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time, and place

| The June Land Use Committee meeting will be held Wednesday,
> 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rockridge Branch Library 2nd floor meeting room

The agenda will include updates on the housing study. Please check at
https://rockridge.org the previous wee

June

k to confirm the meeting’s date,

RCPC Land Use Committee Update — June 2019
The Land Use Committee met May 28.

Update: SB50 (Senators Wiener &
Skinner, Assemblymember Wicks,
and others)

his bill, described in more detail in

the May Rockridge News, was — In
an unexpected move — placed in the
“suspense” file by the Senate Appropriations
Committee’s chair, Senator Portantino
While some news media pronounced the
bill “dead.” that would be an overstatement.
What it means is that no further action will
be taken this year to move the bill forward
past its current committee. This often flags
bills facing strong opposition and needing
significant modification before they can
move forward.

The bill’s supporters have argued that the
bill is urgently needed to help address the

ay housing shortage, because many
~ t

ies are doing little to add more housing,
especially affordable housing. The Wiener/
Skinner bill was aimed most specifically
at promoting denser housing development
in areas with abundant transit or strong job
growth.

In its current form, the bill could have
had major impacts on Rockridge and other
“transit rich” areas of Oakland and the
Bay Area. (The Rockridge Housing Study
[see next item] will provide more detailed

College Pre

A private high school for grades 9-12

analysis of how different policy changes
would affect Rockridge.) It remains to be
seen what changes will be made to the bill
before January to blunt the strong opposition
expressed by many local governments
(including the League of California Cities)
to the bill’s attempt to preempt local land
use controls. At present, the RCPC Board
has taken no position on the bill, but will

continue to follow it

Update: Rockridge Housing Study

he Rockridge Housing Study, begun last

spring, seeks to provide information
about how Rockridge might address city
housing needs. The Committee briefly
reviewed the five alternative policy scenarios
that the study will include. The study will
analyze how each scenario would affect the
amount and type of future housing growth
in Rockridge, and the impacts on Rockridge
that would accompany that growth.

Darin Smith, a Rockridge resident
and a principal of Economic & Planning
Systems, Inc., an Oakland economic and
planning consulting firm, has volunteered
some of his time to help the Committee
analyze the scenarios’ effect on housing.
We hope to be able to present some
preliminary results at the June Land Use
Committee meeting.

P

College Prep is a home for ideas, discovery, and engagement— intellectual pursuits
that our students treasure. Led by exceptional and caring teachers, mentors, and coaches,
our students grow into their best selves.

The College Preparatory School 6100 Broadway Oakland, CA94618 510.652.4364 college-prep.org

U.C. Graduate Student Projects on
Housing at the Rockridge BART
Station

recent U.C. Berkeley graduate course
A inctiited student projects studying
possible housing projects at Glen Park
Station in San Francisco and the Rockridge
BART station. The projects were based on
state legislation allowing BART to “upzone”
land it owned to promote transit-oriented
housing, with an emphasis on affordable

housing.
Three projects on the Rockridge BART

site were presented May 18 ata symposium
on the U.C. campus. The Committee heard
summaries of the projects and viewed slides
presented at the symposium. The projects
all satisfied the basic requirements set by
the course, but varied widely in the type

and amount of housing proposed. Three
slides are shown below. More detailed

information, including more of the slides
presented, will be posted on the Rockridge.
> Land Use Cmte, page 5

org website

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Réckridge News June 8, 2019

ee

is Your Home
a Lead Paint

Hazard?

by Larry Brooks, Director, Alameda
County Healthy Homes Department

| ae paint was generally used on prop-
erties built before 1978. Unless a home

has undergone major remodeling, there is
a high probability that some or all of its
outside or inside paint is lead-based.

Intact lead-based paint is not considered
to be a lead hazard. However, if it is cracking,
chipping, chalking, or peeling, it is a lead
hazard. Even in remediation efforts, lead
dust created by sanding and scraping and
by friction on windows, doors, and drawers
can be hazardous. Lead dust or chips wind
up in the yards our children play in, the
yards we seek to grow vegetables in, and
the landscaping our pets play in. Unless
testing has been done by a state-certified
assessor, always assume the paint is lead-
based paint even if the property has been
repainted,

Why is lead dangerous? Even in small
amounts, lead poisoning can cause perma-
nent damage to the brain and other parts
of the body. Children under 6 are most at
risk for exposure because their bodies are
small and still developing. Children are
normally exposed by putting their hands
and toys in their mouths. The only way to
tell if a child has been exposed to lead is
to get the child tested. Testing is recom-
mended at 12 and 24 months of age. Talk
to your doctor to request a blood lead test.
(It’s usually covered by insurance. If not,
they aren’t expensive.)

When remodeling or renovating a prop-
erty built before 1978, special precautions
must be taken. While small chipped areas
may only require a spot prime and spot

Martin Coyle

510-655-8717 Mike Tracy
5221 James Ave. Oakland Ca. 94618

www.coylehomeremodel.com

Get the Lead Out!

—

Non-housing sources of lead inclu
some imported products such as some toys,
jewelry, dishes and pots, makeup, ayurve-
dic remedies, and brightly colored spices
like turmeric and chili powder. (Note: it 1s
illegal to sell lead products in the United
States. However, such products have been
known to be sold in Oakland’s Fruitvale
and Chinatown neighborhoods as recently
as May 2017.) Additionally, if members
of your household work in lead-related
occupations such as construction, painting,
auto repair, recycling, OF gardening, they
can unintentionally bring home lead dust
on their clothing. They should remove

such clothing and shower prior to entering

the home.
The Alameda County Healthy Homes
Department lists many resources at

https://www.achhd.org:
° Information about how to keep your

home lead-safe
° Instructions on how to get your home

paint, loose, raised or peeling paint must be
sanded or scraped. Uncontained dry sanding
and dry scraping and lack of containment
are some of the common causes of unsafe
renovations and lead exposure.
If you are doing work on your home, be
sure to follow lead-safe work practices:
* Do not dry sand or dry scrape
* Keep the work area damp by misting
to keep dust down
« If you use power tools, use a HEPA
vacuum attachment
* Contain dust and debris in the work
area by using 6 mil plastic sheets
taped thoroughly in place to capture
paint chips, dust and other debris
generated from the work
¢ Waste generated from the work should
be properly handled and carefully
disposed of.
Renovation by contractors, maintenance
personnel, and rental property owners doing
their own work are subject to the EPA’s

Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, tested
which requires training, certification, and © Referrals for hiring a lead-safe co
safe work practices. tractor
° State and federal lead abatement
regulations.

At left: Indications of the possible presence
of lead paint damage may show upas cracking
and peeling paint. Find out about remediation
and more information and support available
from the Community Development Agency
— Alameda County — ACGOV.org. Material
courtesy of Larry Brooks, Director, Alameda
County Healthy Homes Department.

Darin J. Worm
BROKER
510.504.4960

djworm@centurioninsurance.net

Centurion Insurance Agency
Commercial + Personal + Life + Health

JASON KALDIS
ARCHITECT

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910.549.3584

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providing cost effective, comprehensive
Insurance products and services
since 1947,

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June 8, 2019 Rdckridge News ai

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and Use Cmte.

rom page 3

Community Enhancements from

the College Avenue Safeway Project
hen the College Avenue Safeway
Project was given final approval
three and a half years ago, RCPC and two
Other local neighborhood organizations
reached a settlement agreement with
Safeway to address neighborhood impacts
from the project. The settlement agreement
included $300,000 to fund neighborhood
“enhancements.” When Safeway was later
found to have violated one of the settlement
agreement provisions, the settlement of that
dispute provided an additional $100,000 in
funding.
The settlement allowed only a limited
time for the settlement funds to be used,

7s) 6025 ROCKRIDGE BLVD
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The Rockridge Rea

with A Designer's Eye
re) 510.919.8997

maxi@redoakrealty.com

RED
OAK

REALTY

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¢ Perhaps purchase of part of the “point” of
the parcel located catty-corner to Safeway
across the College/Claremont intersection
for a public “pocket park.”

If you have ideas for the use of these
funds, you can communicate them to the
Committee via email at landuse@rockridge.
org, or via U.S. mail to RCPC Land Use
Committee, 4123 Broadway, PMB 311,
Oakland, CA 94611.

FROG Park Swings and More+ Project
Construction Starting Soon

identified (one for equipment installation
and the other for the new poured-in-place
rubber surfacing); negotiations ensued and
approved contract agreements are NOW in

place.
The City notified Hardy/FROG Park

neighbors that construction would begin
and provided start date, and contacts.
This project has been a long haul, and
we are excited to announce it’s happening.
Feel free to email chair@frogpark.org or
visit frogpark.org if you have questions.

and the deadline — January 2020 — is
fast approaching. With that in mind, the
Committee discussed possible uses for the
funds. Those possible uses included:

¢ Further traffic calming measures to
mitigate cut-through traffic on Colby
Street

¢ Improvements to the signals at Safeway’s
Claremont Avenue loading dock

| became of new park features on the
corner of Hudson and Claremont—next to
Hardy Dog Park — will begin this summer
and is estimated to take three to four months
to complete. As early as mid June, you may
see signs posted at the park; fenced barriers
going up to secure the site; and contractor
and city staff with equipment at FROG,
all in preparation for construction. We
should expect wiggle room, per the city
project managers, but the project is finally
in process.

You may recallthe announcementinThe — Carol Behr, FROG Chair
Rockridge News several months ago thatwe (Friends of the Rockridge-Temescal
had obtained the required approvals from Greenbelt) carol@urbehr.com

f

city, state and county entities (including
Caltrans Encroachment Permit, City of
Oakland ADA, Trees and Parks Commission,
and Alameda Flood Control) and our next
steps were to find a contractor.

The city put the project out to bid in early
March and requested expedited responses
for bid proposals. Two contractors were

rockridge + temescal

r

ee

friends of the greenbelt

.

MOTLEY TEAM

REALTORS®
DRE 01265873 | 01798658

EM 22

COMPASS

— A = ——————EEewes
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Competition Drives Price in May

Closing date BR BA Address Original price List price DOM Selling price
5/14/2019 4 2.5 6025 Rockridge Blvd $2,395,000 $2,395,000 19 $2,372,500
5/14/2019 1 1 475 Mcauley St $550,000 $550,000 21 $550,000
5/16/2019 3. 23 465 57Th St $995,000 $995,000 16 $1,450,000
5/16/2019 3 25 6602 Chabot Rd $1,649,000 $1,649,000 16 $2,200,000
5/17/2019 Sark 5833 Ayala Ave $979,000 $979,000 7 $1,325,000
5/21/2019 cee 5427 Boyd Ave $1,095,000 $1,095,000 12 $1,707,000

Homes sold in May closed 25% over the asking price on average.

Specializing in Rockridge | 510.459.4338 | Motley Team.com
Want the highest possible price? Call us and we will show you how we will get it!

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———— .~2S > eee

al li a es pn Ep eae nr i Na re

Rockridge News

SB50 ArticLe FrRustRATING,
DisAPPOINTING

EpDITor:

[ read Mr. Gabel’s article about SB50
in the May 2019 issue of The Rockridge
News with disappointment and frustration.
The article is written from a place of con-
cern for Rockridge, but also from the con-
text of fearing change. It’s this sense of fear
that makes me disappointed and frustrated.

We are in the midst of a housing crisis.
Ample statistics show how severe the crisis
is, The canary in the coal mine is the fact
that population growth in California has
virtually stopped. | know many younger
people who have left California because of
the lack of affordable housing. We need a
younger generation staying in California to
have any hope of continuing the dream that
makes this state and the Bay Area incredi-
ble places to live.

The answer to a shortage is to increase
supply. A smart component to increasing
our housing supply is to build near trans-
portation centers. We need to work togeth-
er to solve this crisis, not pan solutions that
increase housing as change that will destroy
neighborhoods. Rockridge will change,

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tile =countertops »#flooring

4336 Broadway
Oakland
510.547.8288

www.arttileoakland.com

he Rockridge News wel-

comes posted letters and
emails to the editor. Your name,
address, phone number, email
address and city/neighborhood
must be included in either for
verification, Only your name will
appear with your letter.

——

Letters to the Editor

Note: Letters may be
edited for clarity and brev-
ity at the editor’s discre-
tion, and without notice to
the writer. Views expressed in
any letter are the writer’s own, and

may not necessarily be shared by
the editor or by RCPC.

as it must. Keeping it a neighborhood of
predominantly single-family homes is not
tenable nor is it the only way for a neigh-
borhood to thrive. We are privileged to live
in an urban area, near transit, minutes from
downtown Oakland, San Francisco and the
East Bay parks. It’s shortsighted thinking
to want to limit this privilege to the chosen
few lucky enough to live here now.

The Bay Area has been good to me the
39 years I have lived here. I want the next
generation to benefit from the quality of
life Rockridge and the greater Bay Area
offer. Let’s stop fighting change and em-
brace it, roll up our sleeves and make it the
change that transforms Rockridge and oth-
er neighborhoods like ours into thriving,
affordable urban centers.

— Gary Barg

SB50: An ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVE
EDITOR:

The May 2019 Issue of The Rockridge
News featured criticism of California Senate
Bill 50. I would like to offer an alternate
perspective, and voice my support for it as
a 25-year resident of Rockridge.

Rockridge is, by design, a lovely commu-

June 8, 2019

nity. But the city has grown up around us,
The population of California has doubl gg
since the 1970s, and due to the econo
engine of the Bay Area, will continue to
grow. Housing must be built for young
people and migrants to our community,
and it is clear that the California model
of not building enough, and only building
single family homes in ever more distant
suburban rings, has run its course. The
author cites many great benefits of our
low-rise lifestyle. While I would love to
retain all these existing amenities, I think it
is necessary for all Bay Area residents and
Californians to do their part to help address
this housing crisis. The consequences of
decades of NIMBY under-building are
now staring us in the face. It is not livable
for young people to pay $3,000 and up for
one-bedroom apartments; this condition
exists because California has been building
housing at a pace well below population
growth for a long time.

Fighting to protect a community plan
from 40 years ago, developed for a different
era, is a mistake. Rockridge needs to look
forward, with a plan to create a contem-
porary community of character that '®)
the world of the 2020s. That world musf,
by necessity, house more people, and do it
near transit. By supporting statewide reform,
we can ensure similar communities share
in the burden of changing with the times.

There is no other promising effort in
progress for fixing California’s broken hous-
ing policy. The NIMBY trick of espousing
a desire for progress while opposing any
concrete change that would impact your

> Letters, page 7

LAW OFFICE OF

DAVE KARLINSKY

725 WASHINGTON ST., SUITE 313.) OAKLAND, CA 94607
(S10) 788-S7OO WWW.DAVEKARLINSKYLAW.COM

Practicing exclusively in the area of trusts and estates:

¢ Estate planning

¢ Probate / trust administration

¢ Dispute resolution

¢ Special needs trusts

Please contact me during regular business hours to

schedule an appointment.

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June 8, 2019

Rdckridge News

ee OE ee

7.

etters

rom page 6

neighborhood is played out. I will support
SB50. I would be proud to see Rockridge
change to reflect the changing landscape
of California. I would love to be part of a
community that, instead of holding onto the

past, set a new vision and plan for the future.
— Josh Hannah

SB50 is EMBLEMATIC OF
STATE Power GraAB EFFortTs
Epitror:

SB50 has been shelved, but Sen. Scott
Wiener promises to bring it back in January
2020; it’s definitely not over. Consider basic
issues arising as a result of SBSO; it is the
most recent (and the boldest) in a series of
increasingly bold power grabs emanating
from Sacramento to entirely negate local
neighborhood planning power and to destroy
single family home neighborhoods in urban
centers. Powerful real estate, union and hous-

g advocacy groups successfully negate
@> iv0rh000 groups by lobbying the State

to enact these central planning schemes.

The secondary units fiasco of a few years
ago is an example. The State mandates one-
size-fits-all local performance standards for
housing with laws supposedly required to
respond to the State’s own projections of an
ever-increasing California population. This
has led to the ever-increasing loss of local
environmental planning control, thereby
encroaching on our individual rights to live
in an environment with a quality of life of

ea

our choosing.

Shall citizens be required by Sacramento
to accommodate — on the State’s terms — a
population of, say, 60 million? Since most
citizens live at the local level, quality of life
criteria rightfully belong at the local level.
Do Scott Wiener and Nancy Skinner truly
represent us in these matters? Rember, hous-
ing central planning advocates (especially
including state senators) are insulated by
money and power from personally experi-
encing the results of their schemes, thus they
proceed with impunity.

We must not let this one pass.

— J. W. Yager

NEWSLETTER Topic STIMULATED
CONVERSATION

EpITorR:

The May 2019 issue of The Rockridge
News stimulated animated conversations
among my Rockridge-dwelling friends,
and I feel compelled to add our perspective
on SB50 — the More Homes Act — because
| want our community to know there are
residents who support more homes and
welcome more members to our beloved
neighborhood.

Rockridge faces a common scenario for
desirable neighborhoods: the only people
who can afford to live here are those rooted
in their homes for decades, and new fam-
ilies at the upper spectrum of the income
bracket. This means:

¢ Empty nesters have no smaller options

in which to downsize

¢ New graduates have no starter apart-

ments to stay local

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Area b

Visit us at College & Claremont Avenues.
6300 College Avenue, Suite 160
(510) 851-7741

{2} Equal! Housing Lender | Member FDIC | NMLS #478471 | PR-0976-0218

» Service workers, teachers, and others

have no “missing middle” housing.

Not by intent, but as a result of limited,
homogenous housing, the neighborhood
becomes a wealthy, exclusive community.

While Rockridge is “mature” in that
it has a well-established community and
sense of place, that does not mean it 1S
“full.” College Avenue illustrates this point:

* Most buildings are single-story, sin-

gle-use with room to grow

° Existing 35-to-40-foot buildings, such

as Market Hall and the Masonic Temple,

demonstrate heights are beneficial—not
detrimental—to the look and feel of
the district.

¢ Empty storefronts indicate that

foot-traffic (correlated to density) is

too low

* Numerous “help wanted” signs high-

light the lack of worker housing.

1 would like to imagine a Rockridge
community that welcomes more people,
recognizing that more participants bring
more energy, ideas, and resorces to aupport

the who.eto share.

Yes, growth means change and com-
plication: construction inconvenience;
torn-down buildings; unfamiliar faces.
I do not relish these growing pains but

) Letters, page I4

Rockridge

Comfort in style
5933 College Ave.

(next to Dreyer's Ice Cream)
510.823.2290
www.shoesonsolano.com

balance

FINANCIAL PLANNING

fee-only financial planning
wealth management
tax planning & prep

Cheryl Vesely, CFP®, EA
510.847.7432 « cheryl@balancefp.com
www.balancefp.com

— Ne ER IIa ae ee Ee ee

5.

a RD Oy a F8) N)  e L g,  ae  e  k

Réckridge News

June 8, 2019 |

1 14 JonsRockscid se

by Judith Doner Berne

6 [' Just a warm and fuzzy neighborhood
thing.”

She could have been referring to block
parties, seeing the same 90-something
woman on her morning walk from the
nearby senior apartments, attending the

annual pancake breakfast to benefit Clare-
mont Middle School.

But in this case, Rockridge resident
Stephanie Bianco was expressing her feel-
ings about the casual carpool, a way of com-
muting from the East Bay to San Francisco
across the Bay Bridge during the morning
rush hour — approximately 6-10 a.m.

It gives license to what would have been
a single driver and the passengers he or she
picks up to take the HOV (high-occupancy
vehicle) lane. Drive times vary, but the car-
pool lane can get you from Rockridge to the
City in as few as 20-plus minutes. Drop off
is generally at Fremont Street near Mission.
Most passengers find their way home via
mass transit.

Bianco was a regular passenger when she
was working in San Francisco as an assistant
electronics buyer and still uses it once in a
while. The Rockridge stop under the freeway
ramp on Hudson Street at Claremont Avenue
— marked by a Casual Carpool sign — is a
10-minute walk from her Locksley Avenue
house. And if occasionally the line is long or

Rockridge
Optometry

Larry Sarver, OD
scott Yokoi, OD
Cindy Sakai, OD

Jasmine Junge, OD

9321 College Ave., Oakland

(510)655-3797

rockriageoptometry.com

Tales From the Casual Carpool...

the cars infrequent, the express bus stop and
BART station are backups within easy reach.
Another pickup spot is on the north side of
Claremont, east of College Avenue. Others,
listed on various websites by googling
“Casual Carpool,” can be found throughout
Oakland and neighboring towns.

I’ve heard and read several descriptions,
but I like the one that Mina Kim used to
introduce a discussion on the casual carpool
on a February KQED Forum program:
“Casual carpool, a cross between hitch-
hiking and carpooling, has been moving
Bay Area commuters since the 1970s. The
phenomenon, which is particularly popular
in the East Bay, has no official rules or guide-
book so passengers and drivers negotiate
things like radio stations and bridge tolls
among themselves.”

Laurie Dornbrand, who has been pick-
ing up passengers at one or the other of the
Rockridge stops for years, told me that the
first incarnation of the casual carpool began
during the AC Transit strike in the early
1970s. “People would pull up to bus stops
and ask if the people waiting there needed
a ride. It was very altruistic.”

“I’ve always been the driver,” said
Dornbrand, who at one time was going to
her gynecological practice in San Francisco
three times a week. “I still do it whenever I
go into the city. Over the years, maybe three
times I didn’t do it.”

ee

Ati pHotos: JUDITH DONER Bernp
UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE,

“T talk to my riders,’ Dornbrand Said
That’s how she learned of two married coy.
ples who met through the casual car Pool
In one instance, a womaN WAS New to the
carpool, and the other passenger suggesteg
lunch together to further explain how it
works. In the second instance, one of her
passengers told her: “This 1s how I met my
husband. He picked me up.”

“You meet people you wouldn't mee
in your regular life,” said Suzan Ormandy,
who frequented the same Hudson/Claremon;
stop as a driver for the 25 years she lived jp
Rockridge. “People were pleasant and nice
and had a good spirit about it. I found it king
of rollicking and fun.”

But Ormandy, who was driving to her
San Francisco teaching job in her two-door
1968 Volkswagen Beetle at the time, did
experience that “some people had a bit of
snobbishness about the cars. The protocol
is that the car drives up and the next one or
more in line (depending on the car size) gets
in. There were definitely regulars. A lot
people didn’t want to be in my car. There way
a pretty stout, older woman. Sometimes she
would get stuck.”

From what I was told and if you look
up casual carpool etiquette on line, most
riders follow the driver’s lead as to whether
to engage in conversation. Generally, the
radio is tuned to an NPR station. Some
passengers offer $1 to defray the current $3
Bay Bridge carpool lane toll (it used to be

» Casual Carpool, page 9

Experience * Knowledge * Performance

* Sold: 46 Westminster, Upper Rockridge/Claremont Pines, ~2224 SF, 3BD 2BA $1,700,000
* For Sale: 50Elrod.com, Upper Rockridge, 5BD 3.5BA, ~3,000 SF, Views, Cul de Sac, $1,849,000

* Coming: OceanView Dr. 1930s Spanish Med, 3 Blks to College Ave/BART 3BD 1.5BA, $1 ,275,000

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
WELCOME SUMMER!

Perry Riani, Senior Associate

~2016 Realtor of the Year”

1900 Mountain Bivd Oakland, CA 94611
1625 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA 94709
C: 510.813.3799 Perry.Riani@Compass.com
License # 01402540

~
-
*'

June 8, 2019

Casual Carpool

from page 8

free); others don’t.

To verify that, I stood in the casual car-
pool queue for the first time shortly before
9 a.m. on a windy April morning. After a
short wait, Ledid Ago pulled up, and Maria
Morales and I hopped into his car — also my
first time in a Tesla. Both were happy to talk

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passengers after dropping his son off at a Above: Casual Carpool riders join their driver-to-be
Rockridge pre-school. “At the Lakeshore for the morning trip to San Francisco.

stop, everyone does it,” he said, addressing
any monetary exchange between passenger
and driver. “But in Rockridge, no.” He enjoys
that: “You meet a lot of people who come
from different backgrounds. The Bay Area
IS SO mixed.”

Morales relies on the casual car pool to
reach the financial district every weekday
except Friday when she works from home. “I
love it,’ she told us. “When I tell my friends
om other cities, they can’t believe ‘You get
into a car with a stranger.’ I tell them, we all
do. We’re the lucky ones.”

But back to Bianco, who suggested this
story. “What I love about it,’ she said, “‘is
you’re doing your best to cut down on traffic
and the exhilaration of speeding past the
other cars. Once, I had a bad driver, and once
the inside of the car was yucky (dog hair
is a complaint).” And once, in 2013, three
hooded thieves targeted people waiting in
the Hudson/Claremont car pool line — and

were quickly caught. Still, Bianco said,
‘Even standing there I really feel safe.”

As did I. And all the positives I had been
told held true, with one exception. Just after
Ago pronounced: “There’s no traffic today,’
sadly, a fatal accident occurred on the bridge.

a Auto ire |
STRAHAN INSURANCE Susan Bernosky
SERVICES INC 510-450-9050
5940 College Ave., ste A susan@strahaninsurance.com

Oakland, CA 94618
CA License # OD34069

The AARP Automobile Insurance Program from The Hartford is underwritten by Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its affiliates, One
Hartford Plaza, Hartford CT O6155. CA license number 5152. Paid Endorsement. The Hartford pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of
its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP, AARP does not ernploy or endorse agents, producers
or brokers. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. You have the option of purchasing a policy directly from The Hartford. Your price,
however, could vary, and you will not have the advice, counsel or services of your independent agent.

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———

All lanes came to a stop, more often than a
crawl. Instead of the 20 minutes that had
been heralded to reach San Francisco, it took
an hour and a half. “This hasn’t happened
in years,” Ago said and Morales confirmed.
Both missed their 9:30 a.m. meetings.

“I love the feeling once you get through
the merge and you just fly by the other
cars 99 percent of the time,” says
Rockridge resident Stephanie Bianco,
left, about the casual car pool.

(If you have comments on this column or have
a story idea about your Rockridge neighbor,
neighborhood — or yourself — please email
judyberne @att.net.)

Graphic Design
digital and print

Ads, logos, business cards,
brand identities, announcements,
marketing materials...
and anything we can dream of

Contact Lisa originables@gmail.com
Website originables.com

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RdckridgeNews _

June 8, 2019

No Summer Break
for The Rockridge
News Until August

W: still have an essential route on
Broadway Terrace to offer to a
Rockridge volunteer who lives nearby.
We also have a new route on the lovely
street of Locksley. Many thanks to Morgan
Rouquette who has been delivering The
Rockridge News to her Locksley block since

2016. She is stepping down and we need
someone to replace her. Will that be you?

° Route 08B: Block Captain
needed to deliver to both sides of Broadway
Terrace, odd numbers from Broadway to

5409, even numbers from Broadway to
5400.

° Route I8E: Brock Caprain

needed to deliver to 5300 Locksley
between Hudson and Clifton.

Block Captains deliver newsletters door-
to-door; District Captains deliver bundles
to the Block Captains. The newsletter is
published the first weekend of each month
except August and your bundle will be
delivered to your doorstep. Call 510/547-

3855 or email Susan at smontauk@gmail.
com to volunteer

-_

7 on™ r
4 ae
~ x 4 ‘ :

Claremont Middle School News

OUSD Names Principal
Mayer Middle School
Principal of The Year

Claremont Middle School principal Jonathan
Mayer has been recognized at an event held
by the Oakland Unified School District as
Middle School Principal of the Year.

“I would like to thank Claremont parents,
guardians and all of the community for the
support you have shown me over the past five
years,” Principal Mayer said. “I couldn’t do
this without you — the PTA’s financial and
organizational support; the great parents and
guardians volunteering with field trips, in the
library and in classrooms; and the support
of the community. You have been there with
me every step of the way.

“T'd like to give a shout out to our incred-
ible staff,” he said. “Fortunately, the majority
will be back next school year so we can
continue to build on our success.”

Unsure whether

hank you Principal Mayer for all of
i Perea hard work. We know you put
your heart and soul into Claremont. Go

Knights!™ |
Find more news about Claremont and its

programs at: https://www.claremontms,

org

you

can retire? Let’s talk.

MKT-S8941-A

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Benjamin Blake, AAMS*
Financial Advisor

5330 College Ave Suite 230
Oakland, CA 94618
910-844-4772

Edward Jones

MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING

Member SIPC

Morning wake-up calls
Social network modeling
Curling up with a good book
Gardening together

Making lots of biscuits

Local caregivers who want

to help make great memories.

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June 8, 2019 Rédckr idge News 1] ° |

@ Levant Company Rug Sales Precede Ultimate Site Changes

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lh approximately two years, the venera-
ble Levant Oriental Rug Company and

its adjacent parking lot will be razed and

re-fashioned into apartments or condos. Until 10 a month-and-a-half,” Pap, a specialist
then, its doors at 5450 College Avenue have in antique rugs who can be seen on the
PBS Antiques Road Show, said. “That is
extraordinary.” Watch for a more complete

story in a future Rockridge News.
of the late owner Albert Keshishian, who Judith Doner Bernelstory and photos.

re-opened, and the 1,500 carpets and rugs

that Peter Pap purchased from the estate

?*

owwwikpaarch.c Oma.
5253 College Ave.

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died in 2018 at the age of 91, are up for sale.
“We have sold to 150 different individuals

(510)\54730275

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WWW.AMATOARCHITECTURE.COM
510.420.0210

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——

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510.843.6400

12.

Walking in
Rockridge

from page 2

coast through stop signs, and when search-
ing for a parking place on or near College
Avenue can tend to be distracted and less
attentive to walkers.

Another not-so-good factor is the con-
dition of many of the sidewalks. The street
trees are beautiful and add graciousness to
the neighborhood, but tree roots and side-
walks can be a hazardous combination. In
recent years, expanding the tree wells has
helped, but the work hasn’t reached every
tree yet. In some places, the sidewalks are
very old, with dates on contractors” stamps
as early as 1908, and many of them are
beginning to break apart. Tripping hazards
abound, and one needs to be cautious when
walking around parts of Rockridge.

On balance, though, this is a community
that deserves those high Walk Scores. It is
very possible to live here and drive only
sparingly.

Although this article has focused on how
well Rockridge ticks the Walk Score boxes,
there are many more intangible benefits:
exercise, meeting neighbors, supporting
local businesses, and yes, contributing
fewer greenhouse gases to the warming of
the planet.

TRE E SCULPTUR

COMPLETE TREE CARE
Proudly serving Rockridge since 1965!

(510) 562-4000

www.treesculpture.com
Fully Insured | Certihied Arborists | Lic #655977

a

emepenes ann aes,

— a,

» of Oakland

Kathryn Kasch (left) and Margaret
Pinter having a great time weeding at §
the corner of Claremont and Clifton. §

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Scenic Streets Weeding Event Rained Out

ith heavy rains predicted, it was edins cancel the Scenic Streets of Oakland’ §
morning weeding event on Saturday May 18. Despite the cancelation, when the rain
failed to materialize, a few people showed up and were able to get some weeding done,
Our thanks to Margaret, Kathryn, and Sallie for wrestling with the weeds encroachi
on the street plantings along Claremont Avenue. Weeping weeders compliant with th
cancel edict will be able to find solace by participating when we reschedule the event
for later this summer. If you want to be sure to be notified, please send an email to lee.
scenicstreetsoakland@gmail.com. / Robert Firehock, article and photo.

EXPERIENCE THE UNIQUE

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ridge Dental. 2"

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June 8, 2019

Réckridge News

Hardy Dog Park Seeks Volunteers

he Hardy Dog Park group has hada busy spring building and installing two
new benches, maintaining the water station, and keeping the park clean.
We need volunteers to join us for monthly clean-ups the first Saturday of every
month from 9-10:30. Just come on by to pitch in. If you can’t join on Saturday
mornings, help keep our park looking great by refilling the bag dispensers or
picking up trash or dog poop. The park is maintained solely by our awesome
volunteers, The City of Oakland does no maintenance on our little park.

We also need volunteers to help with park renovation plans. Come on by and
see how you can help.
. Newspaper bag donations and tennis ball donations are always welcome
in the bins at each entrance to the park at the corner of Hudson and Claremont.
Come check out our comfortable new benches, shown at right being use-tested

by a Hardy Dog Park Volunteer, on your next visit. (On line: HardyDogPark@
yahoo.com)

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and most of the media PR is done by the
end of August.) There is plenty of collateral

from previous Tours, so much can be adapted
for 2019.

Docents: These are the volunteers who make
the Tour the enjoyable experience that it is.
Docents at each Tour house guide guests
to the kitchen and answer questions, give
directions to other houses, and generally

Kitchen Tour
Support

from page |

should probably take no more than 2-3

hours per week for about 5 weeks. (Starting

in mid-July, we reach out to publications with
Gyre calendars and submission dates,

piedmont dental | BY DESIGN

“ Or. Jill A Martenson, DDS

>19

NEW PATIENT EXAM
mu $2350 VALUE! 4am!

1331 GRAND AVENUE PIEDMONT . CA 24610
t 510 652 2911 f 510652 0772

piedmontdentalbydesign.com

—

keep everything running smoothly. Docents
get tours of several of the houses during
orientation ahead of September 22, and on
the event day get free entry to the other Tour
houses when not on their scheduled shift.

To volunteer, please get in touch with the
Tour Committee at kitchentour@rockridge.
org.

College Avenue

Presbyterian Church
5951 College Avenue | 94618
(510) 658-3665 | www.capcoakland.org

iC] Be safe| open| real BON

BUYING?
SELLING?
LET ME HELP YOU

ANNE D. BRANDON, REALTOR

35+ YEAR ROCKRIDGE RESIDENT AND HOMEOWNER
DRE# 01877719 | 510.682.6644
ANNE@THEHIGHLANDPARTNERS.COM

LUXURY

June 8, 2019

———— anni

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 July
issue deadline is June 20. The July issue
will be out July 6. For information: Email Susan
Montauk via smontauk@gmail.com

Letters

from page 7

they are complications that residents have
faced every decade as Rockridge has

=

Penelope’s Aesthetics

Back Rejuvenating Essential 3 |
Wearing tank tops? Bathing suits? Worrie

bout back blemishes? Experience an essential
back and arm treatment to renew, exfoli-
late,nourish and hydrate dry itchy skin-$45.
Call for an appointment: 510 594-1552 www.

penelopecalef.com

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

evolved. I believe we can overcome them
and continue to grow and improve, as every
dynamic place does.

— Julie Witherspoon

Correction to “Stop SB50” Published in the
May, 2019 Issue of Rockridge News

by Jon Gabel, past RCPC Board member.
April, 2008 — April, 2012

[ am the author of “Stop SB50” published
in the May, 2019 issue of The Rockridge News.
I was not informed until after it was printed
that the editor made changes to the piece with-
out my knowledge or permission — but with my
name still on the byline. This was a serious

breach of journalistic ethics. It had the effect of

weakening my message about the seriousness
of the threat of SBS0; and it falsely represented
my position on this issue. The original wording
of the changed material follows:

1) (Paragraph I of original): “SB50 would
destroy Rockridge...with 3-4 story apartment
houses almost fully covering each lot”. 2)
(Paragraph 4 of original): A quote from
Housinghumanright.org should have read: “A
Housing Is A Human Right investigation has
found that the real estate industry, including
the California Apartment Association and
notorious landlord Russell Flynn, have shelled
out $153,816 to California State Senator Scott
Wiener’s 2020 re-election campaign, accord-
ing to state records. Wiener is the key sponsor
of SB50”.

3) The length of time I have lived in Rock-
ridge was changed from 44 years to 43 years.

_ I hope that those who read the original
piece know that I am strongly opposed to
SB50. I hope RCPC will move quickly both
to organize this community in opposition and
to work with other like-minded municipalities
in the future to defeat this bill.

HARDWOOD FLOORS

Install, sand/refinish, repair, re-coat existin .
Large jobs or small. Twenty-plus years j

Piedmont Ave/Rockridge. Bruce Williams
Woodfloors. Please call or text Bruce at
510/652-8121. www.blwfloors.com

Be a tutor! Support middle

and high school students,

Part- and full-time opportunities. $30/hr
starting. Regular raises and benefits available

to long-term and full-time employees. Car
required. Please apply by visiting www,
studysmarter.com/jobs.

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
prices, free estimate. Chris Rausch Gardening

@ (510) 655 0157.

—

THE SKYLYNE AT TEMESCAL
RETAIL DISCUSSION

Join the owners of the Skylyne (new high-rise
at MacArthur BART) for a discussion with our
brokers to share information for the type of
retail that the Skylyne can support.

Date: Thursday, June 20%
: Time: 6pm
Place: Beebe Memorial Multi-Function Room

Boston |

Properties

June 8, 2019

Rockridge News i |

Books for Wider Horizons program do weekly
Storytimes in Oakland preschools. Plan now: Train-

Email Rockridge News Community Calendar item
(after noon), or mail to: Rockridge News Communit

S to: joellis1 @hotmail.com, phone 653-3210

fan t y Calendar, 4123 Broadway, PMB 311. Oakland,
A 94611. Deadline is the next to the last Tuesday of the month. Compllied by Jo Ellis

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Rockridge Branch Library
9366 College Avenue, 597-5017

FOR CHILDREN

* Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes (for
all ages); Saturdays, 10:30am.

* Toddler Story Time: Songs, active rhymes
and stories (for 9 months to 2 years),
Thursdays, 10:30am, upstairs.

¢ Pre-School Story Time: Read-alouds,
songs, and rhymes (ages 2 to 5); Thursdays,
10:30am.

All story times followed by Play Time; parents and
Caregivers invited.

SPECIAL SUMMER EVENTS: all ages welcome.

“Summer Reading Program on now: pick up free
A's Tickets, Reading Log and calendar of events; or
s!9M UD Online at oaklandLibrary.org/summer. Finish
by August 3rd to get all prizes for reading.

¢ Chess Club: learn the basics; Instruction and

chess sets provided. Best for ages 8 to 12.
Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30pm in June and July.

Paws to Read: Sandy's dog Scout loves to help
kids practice reading. You pick the book: Scout
will sit by you and listen as you read aloud. All

ages welcome. Every Thurs. 3:30-4:30pm in
June, July and August.

¢ Build, Make, Play, Crafts & Projects: Every
Thursday, 3:30-4:30pm. June 6 to August 1.

(Crafts list posted in the library, includes activities
for ages 5 to 12.)

¢ Emily Butterfly: Stories & songs (best for ages 0)
to 6). Thurs, June 27, 10:30am.

TUESDAY EVENINGS at 6:30pm:

® Moonshine Puppet Theater: June 11. Classic
humorous stories.

® Soul Soup with Amber Hines: June 18.
Drumming, dancing, singing, playing.

® Mike the Magician: June 25. Astonishing &
silly magic show.

® Bubble Lady: July 9. Experience every
imaginable bubble.

FOR TEENS

“*Sign up for 2019 Summer Reading (for ages
12-19): Get a free TeenZone notebook. Collect stamps

@ a free TeenZone backpack, raffle tickets,
e

d more. Or register online at oaklandlibrary.org/

rvices/cards-and-visiting/summer-opl/teen-sum-
mer-passport.

“**Teen Volunteers ages 11-16: to help with the
Summer Reading Program and other routine library

tasks. Email Erica at esiskind@oaklandlibrary.org,

of stop by the Children’s Reference Desk to sign up
for an orientation.

* — Terrarium: June 4th, 4pm: Work with an artist

from the Oakland-based Rock Paper Scissors
Collective,

* — Emoji Pouch: June 26th, 3pm: Make ano-sew

felt emoji pouch to hold your cash or other
treasures,

FOR ADULTS

““Adult Summer Reading Program: on now. Read

or complete activities to win prizes. Play online
or at the library.

° Adult Craft Series; Felt flower pins: learn to
hand-sew gorgeous felt orchid pins. All materi-
als & instruction provided. Sat., 6/22, 2 - 4pm.
Sign-up in advance at library or call 597-5017.

° eBook Help: Work one-on-one with a librarian
to download eBooks. Fridays, 2 -3:30pm. Make
appt. online or call 597-5017.

° Second Saturday Book Club: 2nd Sat each
month, 3 -4pm. Phone for details and book
selection: 597-5017.

e Writers Support/Critique Group: Bring
15 copies of up to 5 pgs. of any prose for
On-site reading/discussion (OK to come
empty-handed). 3rd Sat. each month,1pm;
wheelchair-accessible. Info: 420-8775 or
Writefox@aol.com.

UPSTAIRS ART GALLERY:

June: Oakland Art Association: Small format paint-
ings, photos, prints, etchings/more.

July: Aparna Ewing: Quilts
LOBBY DISPLAY CASE:
June: Pride Month

LIBRARY HOURS:

Tues, Wed: 12:30 to 8pm.
Mon, Thurs & Sat: 10am to 5:30pm.
Fri, 12 to 5:30pm.

Closed: Sun; also, Thurs, July 4.

Be a Volunteer Story Reader
in Oakland Preschools

Want to foster a life-long love of reading in Oakland's
children? Volunteers with Oakland Public Library’s

ing for volunteers will take place at Rockridge
Library in September. For more information, go to
www.oaklandlibrary.org/bwh,

East Bay Booksellers Book/
Poetry Readings

FREE and open to the public.

* Sat, 6/15, 7pm. Susan Slusser and Ken
Korach: /f These Walls Could Talk: Stories
from the Oakland A’s Dugout, Locker Room
and Press Box.

East Bay Booksellers, 5433 College Ave. More info
abt. the authors, books and other events: 653-9965

or info@ebbooksellers.com.

Wisteria Ways House Concert

MaMuse and the Fula Brothers: Sat, July 6, 3pm
(house opens 2:30pm). The union of two bands:
music of West Africa and American folk and gospel
traditions. Sarah Nutting, Karisha Longaker, Walter
Strauss, Mamadou Sidibe and Colin Douglas. Hear

examples at www.fulabrothers.com and http://www.

mamuse.org/music. Outside venue; wheelchair
accessible. $15-20 donation for musicians (cash
only, at the door). 383 61st Street. More info and
reservations (highly recommended), RSVP to info@
WisteriaWays.org or 510-698-2458.

North Oakland Senior Center
9714 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way

Mon. — Fri., 9am to 4:30pm. Programs include: Arts/
crafts; health counseling; dancing and exercise:
trips, tours and theater outings; Alzheimer’s
support groups, computer classes/more.

° — Trip to Alameda County Fair: Food & tastings,
crafts, wine & brew garden, rides, animal
exhibits & petting zoo, the famous All-Alaskan
Racing Pigs and more. Friday, June 21; 10am
departure, return 3:30pm. $5.00. Call 597-5085
for more information. Make reservations early:
advance reservation required.

Seniors age 55+ join for $12 annual dues. Provides
discounts, other benefits, and a subscription to “The
North Oakland Senior Times” with full schedule of
classes/events, lunch menus, and volunteer oppor-
tunities. More info at 597-5085.

Temescal Farmers’ Market

Open Sundays, 9am to 1pm (all year). Sample the
goods; meet the growers. Live music. Bring reus-
able bags. 5300 Claremont Ave. (off Telegraph) at
DMV parking lot.

- CL EO PES 2 SEE . 4 7 ~~ — .
: a he ee OP Pe ~ Ad Ps " —— Sow ‘ / i
-F

16. _ Rockridge News : une 8, 2019

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