
Extracted text · highlighting “Victoria Eisen”
Rockridge responds to death of George Floyd — See page 2
R ckridgeNews
www.rockridge.org
THE
VOL 36 • NO. 6 • ISSUE NO. 376 • JUNE 6, 2020 CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 Businesses
Sponsored by the Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC) • 4123 Broadway, PMB 311 • Oakland, CA 94611
Photo: Carly Fishman
Local Entrepreneurs
Re-Think Household
Products & Packaging
to “Meet the Moment”
— By Skip Fogarty
Back in the day, the friendly neigh-
borhood milkman delivered fresh
dairy right to your door. He also
picked up your empty bottles to
use again. Breathing new life into
that bygone business model is the
brainchild of two Cal alumni who live
right here in Rockridge. But instead of
milk, their Re-Up Refill Shop delivers
a full line of natural body care and
non-toxic cleaning products.
Rockridge residents Matt Zimbalist (left) and Peter Lollo (right) started the
“Re-Up” Refill Shop to help reduce wasteful single-use plastic packaging.
Re-Up Refill Shop, see page 16
Developers Present
Revised Plans for
CCA Campus —
Tower Not Included
— By Stuart Flashman,
RCPC Land Use Committee
The constraints created by the
COVID-19 pandemic didn’t
prevent the Rockridge Commu-
nity Planning Council’s Board
of Directors and Land Use Com-
mittee from holding a highly
unusual joint virtual meeting
on the evening of May 7. At the
meeting, they heard about the
revised proposals for the redevel-
opment of the California College
of Arts (CCA) Oakland campus.
CCA Plan, see page 5
Curbside Pickup Offers
Alternative for Farmers’
Market Lovers
— By Jorja Siemons
Bay Area residents’ passion for
shopping local has not been
stifled by the shelter-in-place policies.
In fact, with the closure of workplaces
and schools, many individuals have
increasingly supported small busi-
nesses, finding it one of the only ways
to remain engaged in the community.
Still, problems remain with safely
accessing local vendors.
Urban Village Farmers’ Market
Association (UVFM) is confronting
this challenge. A nonprofit currently
managing ten Bay Area locations,
UVFM has recently opened a new
Curbside Pickup station at the
Temescal Farmers’ Market. As an
alternative to physically shopping,
Photo: Anna L. Marks
UVFM Marketing Manager Andrea
Pinal loads a car with produce at
Temescal’s Farmer’s Market.
individuals can pre-order their
favorite locally-sourced goods online
every week from Monday through
Thursday, with pickup opportunities
every Sunday from 10am to 1pm at
the DMV parking lot on Claremont
Avenue and Cavour.
Curbside pickup, see page 15
THE
page 2
JUNE 2020
Student-Led Protest Defies Stay-At-Home Order
To Protest Death of George Floyd
Message from Dan Kalb,
District 1 Councilmember
I
On May 25th, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was asphyxiated by white
Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin while three other cops stood by. Despite the
shelter-in-place order due to COVID-19, citizens from Rockridge, across the country,
and around the world, took to the streets to demand justice for Floyd and an end to
the systemic racism that has plagued our country for far too long. Below are photos
from the June 2nd protest march that began at Oakland Tech — Anna L. Marks, Editor
Photos: Anna L. Marks
t’s been nearly 30 years since the
Rodney King beating brought to light
for many in White America the all-too-
common practice of police brutality
toward persons of color, particularly
African American men. Why does this
racist police behavior continue to per-
sist in American society, and too often
with little consequence? A multi-fac-
eted challenge for sure.
Part of the answer may be the
vetting of prospective police academy
recruits. But a big part of the answer
is White America. After rightfully
expressing shock and concern over
each incident, too many people return
to the comfort of their freedom while
re-focusing their understandable
worries on the serious crimes that are
too prevalent in many cities, including
Oakland.
Police accountability and fair and
principled disciplining of police officers
is not and must not be at odds with
a well-staffed and well-trained police
force. Peaceful and passionate demon-
strations have a long and proud history
in Oakland. My staff and I proudly
joined the Youth March. I continue to
urge residents to express their passion,
frustration and pain with respect for
each other, and for the spaces and
places of our beloved town.
Sadly, this current moment has led
a small subset to use these protests
as cover for their criminal behav-
ior: vandalism, destruction and looting
— often targeting our local small
businesses. These vandals and looters
are bent on destruction and self-gain —
and they detract from the focus on the
important issue at hand.
We must not let ourselves get dis-
tracted. We must stop the abuse and
killings of unarmed black men and
women across the country by those
who are tasked with protecting us
from harm; we need to continue our
work to help OPD provide timely 911
responses; investigate and solve violent
crimes; and build trust and confidence
in the community by being visible and
responsive to our needs. n
THE
page 3
JUNE 2020
NCPC & RCPC Joint Town Hall Meeting
— By Karen Ivy, Greater Rockridge NCPC Secretary
The Rockridge News was founded March 1986
by Don Kinkead, and is published monthly (except
August). It 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.
On Thursday, June 11, 2020, at
7pm, the Rockridge Commu-
nity Planning Council (RCPC) and
the Greater Rockridge Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Council (NCPC)
will hold their annual joint Town Hall
meeting. Due to the pandemic, the
meeting will be held on Zoom.
The Oakland Police Community
Resource Officers will present their
usual crime report from over the last
60 days. Captain Chris Bolton, Area
2 Commander, will give an overview
of OPD’s role as the city re-opens and
what OPD anticipates going forward,
as well as to take questions. The group
plans to discuss the effect of COVID-
19 on crime and public safety.
Two Presentations
Anne Janks, organizer for the Coali-
tion for Police Accountability, will talk
about MACRO, a pilot program that
has been funded by the city council, to
divert OPD calls for service on mental
health issues to a community-based
program, and Sean Maher, Public
Information Officer from Oakland
Slow Streets, will discuss the program
and take questions. The NCPC will
send the Zoom link to the Rockridge
Neighborhood Watch Network and the
RockridgeNCPC, both on groups.io. The
RCPC will also send it to their list. To
be included, please send your email
address to secretary@rockridgencpc.
com, to receive the link. n
Rockridge News Production
Anna L. Marks ........................ Editor & Layout Artist
Jo Ellis...................................................Assistant Editor
& Community Calendar
Judith Doner Berne.......................Eyes on Rockridge
Susan Montauk................................Business Manager
RCPC Board of Directors, 2019-20
Leonora Sea..........................................................Chair
Vacant......................................................... Vice-Chair
Casey Farmer......................................... Co-Secretary
Andrew Masalin.................................... Co-Secretary
Ronnie Spitzer...............................................Treasurer
Stuart Flashman...........................Assistant Treasurer
Michelle Boyd, David Garcia, Mary Catherine
Haug, Matt Levy, Eric Lombardo, Robin Zimpfer
McDonnell
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org
Contacting The Rockridge News
Are there community issues you’d like to see
covered in The Rockridge News? Have questions
about newsletter distribution? Want to volunteer
to be a Rockridge News block captain? Want to
write a letter to the Editor?
Articles and letters submitted for publication
should be emailed to the editor. All submissions
are limited to 600 words, and must include the
author’s name, phone number, email address, and
city or neighborhood of residence.
All submissions are subject to editing for clarity
and brevity. To submit content, or for reprints of
an article, contact: editor@rockridge.org.
Newsletter Subscriptions
To subscribe to The Rockridge News, send your
check for $20, payable to RCPC with “Rockridge
News” noted on the memo line.
Mail payment to:
The Rockridge News,
4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94611
Display Advertising
Deadline for July issue: June 18, 2020
Advertising rates are $28/column inch. Six-month
pre-pay rate available. For display ads, call Jo Ellis
at 510-653-3210 (after noon), or email joellis1@
hotmail.com. The Rockridge News reserves the
right to refuse any article, display ad or classified
ad. Email smontauk at smontauk@gmail.com for
information on classified ads.
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.
THE
page 4
JUNE 2020
Rockridge Community Planning Council — Land Use Committee
RCPC
The June Land Use Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 24, at
7:30pm. The meeting will either be held virtually, via Zoom, or in the upstairs
meeting room of the Rockridge branch library, depending on circumstances.
Please check on https://rockridge.org the week before for details. The agenda will
include further updates on the use of Safeway settlement funds; update on the
Rockridge Housing Study; further discussion of revised plans for the redevelop-
ment of CCA’s Oakland campus; and updates on pending State housing legislation.
be allowed to build “micro-units”
(minimum size no greater than 80 sq.
ft., excluding bathroom, but without a
kitchen, and only for permanent occu-
pancy) containing at least five units
in any area zoned to allow multi-unit
residential projects. Projects may also
include up to 25 percent of floor area
for full dwelling units, and ground-
floor commercial space. Use permits
would only be required if also required
for other multi-unit projects, other-
wise, approval would be automatic.
Projects would be required to include
one of the following:
• 8 percent extremely low-income units
• 11 percent very low-income units
• 20 percent lower-income units
There would be no density limit
on micro-unit projects; micro-unit
projects could exceed story limits
by one story or 11 feet, whichever is
greater, and height limits by up to 16
feet; Floor Area Ratio limits could be
exceeded by 50 percent; no ground
floor setbacks if used for commercial
or entryway uses; 5-foot setback from
other residential buildings; and no
off-street parking requirement. n
Update On State Housing Legislation That May
Affect Rockridge
— By Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use Committee Chair
W
CEQA review, as long as the area
involved was either
a) Transit-Rich
b) Jobs Rich
c) An Urban Infill Area
hile the Legislature, like most
other things in California,
wasn’t in session for much of March
and all of April, the legislative session
resumed in May, but with a curtailed
agenda. Senate President pro tem Toni
Atkins has announced that senators
will be limited in how many bills they
can continue to present. In return,
Senate policy committee schedules
have been collapsed to a single policy
committee hearing per bill. I am
unaware of how the Assembly plans to
move forward, but all bills must have
passed out of their house of origin by
June 26, 2020.
Since January, a Senate select com-
mittee, appointed by Atkins, has been
meeting to develop an omnibus Senate
bill addressing housing issues. While
the intent may have been to have one
“omnibus bill,” with something for
everyone to like and something for
everyone to hate, the result was a five-
bill package. It remains to be seen what
will happen to that package.
AB 725 (Wicks/Skinner/Wiener)
Housing Allocation To Low-Density
Areas (passed by Assembly 1/30/20)
click here for full draft
This bill would require that at least
25 percent of a jurisdiction’s Regional
Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)
for both moderate-income and above
moderate-income (i.e., market-rate)
housing be allocated to areas zoned
for between two and 35 residential
units per acre. (Rockridge’s current
residential zoning lies almost entirely
within these density limits.)
AB 3173 (Bloom) – Micro-Unit
Buildings – click here for full draft
Any city or county of over 400,000
population (e.g., Oakland), would
Here are three current bills that, if
passed in their current form, would
likely affect Rockridge:
SB 902 (Wiener) Upzoning without
CEQA Review click here for full draft :
Would allow a city to adopt an
ordinance without California Envi-
ronmental Quality Act (CEQA)
review, allowing projects of up to
ten residential units per parcel for
residential housing to be approved
by right, regardless of any restriction
(including restriction by initiative)
on rezonings, and likewise without
THE
page 5
JUNE 2020
CCA plan, from front page
The plans were presented by Emerald
Fund and Equity Community Build-
ers, the two developers chosen by
CCA.
Last summer, after numerous
community meetings over a two-year
period, these two developers presented
Oakland with a plan calling for
building nearly 600 residential units,
along with 24,000 sq. ft. of affordable
arts production space; 6,300 sq. ft. of
affordable nonprofit office space; and
1.71 acres of public open space. The
proposal also preserved several desig-
nated historic structures, including the
Treadwell Mansion and carriage house,
the entry staircase off of Broadway, and
a renovated facilities building.
The plan also included 35 units
of low-income artists’ housing
and a 19-story tower containing
market-rate units, plus parking.
The tower created a large amount
of controversy. Some praised the
plan for adding new housing to the
area. Others decried placing a high-
rise building on the campus and
questioned the potential traffic and
safety impacts of placing such a large
project on a site with only one auto-
mobile access point.
With work having already begun
on an environmental impact report
(EIR) for the project, at the meeting
the developers presented highly-re-
vised project plans. Those plans
Due to community pressure, the tower has been removed from the plan.
Open space and some historic preservation have remained.
proposal would still be viable, at least
in its most pared-down form.
The Board and Committee pep-
pered the developer representatives
with numerous questions, but also
praised their openness in providing
financial details that would normally
not be made available to the public.
While there was disappointment
about the lack of more afford-
able units, some of those present
applauded the increased open space
in the new plans, especially the more
open southward views.
The developers said that the revi-
sions would require extending the
EIR’s preparation, and expect the
draft EIR to be released for review
and comment in the fall. Publication
of the final EIR (including responses
to comments received) and City con-
sideration of whether to approve the
project would be expected sometime
in 2021. Details of the revised project
plans are available on the project
website (https://www.5212broadway.
com/) within the next few weeks. n
included a few alternative options.
Gone from the plans was the 19-story
tower. Instead, the highest buildings
would now be six to eight stories tall,
stepping down towards Broadway.
There would now be a mixture of
commercial and residential space,
with the number of residences
reduced to between 300 and 450
units, depending on the option
chosen. The developers also dis-
cussed preserving more of the site’s
historic buildings but presented
financial data indicating that much
of the potential historic preservation
wouldn’t pencil out financially.
Gone also were the 35 affordable
artist’s units. The dormitory that
would have held them will now be
sold off and developed separately.
Further, the developers said that the
economic analysis allowed for no
more than 10 percent moderate-in-
come units (size undefined), and no
nonprofit office space. If any build-
ings beyond Mackey Hall and the
Carriage House were preserved,
no affordable units would be
included. Instead, the developers
proposed just paying the City’s
in-lieu fee towards building afford-
able housing elsewhere.
The developers acknowledged that
the recession likely to follow the pan-
demic would depress market prices
for both commercial and residential
space but said they felt that the
Those wanting to comment on
the plans can mail a letter to The
Rockridge News mailbox, 4123
Broadway PMB 311, Oakland CA
94611, or send an email to editor@
rockridge.org. Comments for the Land
Use Committee should be sent to
landuse@rockridge.org, and comments
for the RCPC Board of Directors should
be sent to chair@rockridge.org.
THE
page 6
JUNE 2020
LETTER TO EDITOR
Recycling — Yes or No?
other countries. However, should we
abandon all the lessons we’ve learned
over the past decades and give up on
providing recycling bins for future
generations?
Today, hundreds of kids using play-
grounds, parks and sports fields have
no option other than dumping their
recyclables into garbage cans and
bins. Shouldn’t we use these areas to
teach kids sound recycling habits?
Unfortunately, the City of Oakland is
erasing years of recycling knowledge
and skills and clogging our landfill
facilities with plastics that will not
decompose for 500 years.
I reached out several times to
our Councilman Dan Kalb’s office
regarding this subject, but no
response of interest in this subject
was received. n
Greer Alley, Ocean View Dr
In Oakland City parks, sports fields
and public playgrounds, the answer
to this question from our city admin-
istration seems to be a resounding
NO. After the current contract with
California Waste Solutions was
signed, all recycling bins and recy-
cling services were eliminated from
Oakland public parks.
Moreover, having personally
reviewed 70 percent of Oakland parks,
it’s clear only one percent offer any
recycling bins, which appear to be
neighborhood monitored and main-
tained.
I understand that recycling today is
very challenging — especially since
our main recycling resources have
been eliminated. We can no longer
easily ship our problematic plastics to
Annual Cheese Parade
Goes Virtual
— By Marshka Kiera, Market Hall
Marketing Manager
M
California College of
The Arts Celebrates Its
2020 Class In a Digital
Showcase
Oany Rockridge customers look
forward to the annual Crucolo
Cheese Parade celebration at Rock-
ridge Market Hall. The event, usually
held in March, was postponed from
earlier this year due to COVID-19.
Market Hall is delighted to announce
that we’ll be bringing the celebration
to customers and neighbors through
our (virtual) Crucolo Party on Father’s
Day weekend, Saturday, June 20.
Crucolo is an artisanal cheese that
comes from the Trentino region in
northern Italy as a several hundred
pound wheel. We’ll broadcast the
cutting of the wheel and host a
live Big Italian Cheeses tasting
— all streamed online for viewing.
Partygoers (viewers) will be able to
purchase a Crucolo party kit online
which will be available for delivery,
parking lot pickup or in store. More
details will be announced soon and
can be found online here. n
n Thursday, May 14, California
College of the Arts launched its
Class of 2020 Showcase — an online
platform at CCA.edu. It celebrates the
culminating work of CCA’s graduat-
ing class during a time when CCA’s
campus is closed due to the health risk
posed by COVID-19. The showcase
provides a digital space for students,
friends and family, faculty, and indus-
try professionals to gather virtually and
recognize the Class of 2020’s extraordi-
nary growth and achievements during
their time at school.
The showcase will also highlight
some of the most outstanding work
of this class through Curator’s Picks
selected by divisional curators in
Fine Arts, Architecture, Design, and
Humanities and Sciences. Students
honored with a 2020 Curator’s Pick
earn the opportunity to have their
work showcased on CCA’s campus the
following academic year. n
COME VISIT US AT
THE CORNER OF
LIFE & CHANGE
THE
page 7
JUNE 2020
“Storytime With Mr. Limata,” Catches
The Attention of 6-Year-Olds Everywhere…
AND Ellen DeGeneres
—By Shona Armstrong
augment California’s all-too-often
austere school budgets. Nevertheless,
the school’s energetic staff organizes
activities and programs throughout
the year and work hard to create a
caring and nurturing community.
When they received this windfall,
Emerson’s community thought about
schools with populations even harder
pressed than theirs and decided to
donate half of the money to Equity
Allies, an Oakland-based grassroots
organization.
In 2018, Equity Allies initiated an
Equity Fund for OUSD schools to
raise funds and spread the wealth
among Oakland’s public schools that
struggle to function without the ben-
efit of significant PTA fundraising,
and these funds are especially needed
now that schools are closed during
Limata on ELLEN, see next page
L
shocked to see the “producer” wait-
ing eagerly to speak with him was
— Ellen DeGeneres! His emotional
reaction to the surprise was heart-
warming to see and a joy to behold in
a world filled with overwhelmingly
stressful and difficult news.
Once Limata could absorb what
was happening and catch his breath,
Ellen asked him a little more about
his Story Time program, and pre-
sented him with $25,000 to benefit
Temescal’s own Emerson Elementary
School (serving both Temescal and
Rockridge students) — setting off a
fresh wave of joy for Limata.
Nearly two-thirds of the Emerson
Elementary student body receives
free and reduced-cost lunches. Many
Emerson families are unable to
contribute to the local PTA fund to
ike many teachers these days,
Peter Limata, a first-grade teacher
at Emerson Elementary, is working
hard to embrace the challenge of
educating his students during school
closures. Faced with the sudden
separation from his beloved class in
March 2020, he began a Facebook
Live channel called “Story Time with
Mr. Limata.”
Every weekday at 10:30am, he
greets each of his students ebulliently
by name as they “arrive” in “class”
and then launches energetically into
reading a favorite storybook to his
young friends. If he misses calling
on any of his students, they let him
know about it by sending him emails
chastising him: “You didn’t call my
name!” His first graders run a very
tight ship.
Limata’s storytime project was
born out of his desire to give students
continuity and to share his love of
reading. His efforts have paid off in
many surprising and inspiring ways.
The first day, approximately 30 young
readers joined him for story time. His
presentations were popular, and he
started to notice siblings and other
family members joining in. Since
then, his reading has attracted view-
ers from all around the country, and
his number of fans continues to grow.
On the morning of May 15, 2020,
Limata was expecting to have a
remote meeting with some producers
who were interested in his work. But
when he logged in online, he was
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THE
page 8
JUNE 2020
Tech Teachers Confront
the Challenges of
Distance Learning
— By Judith Doner Berne
share with family members.
Distance learning has hit special
education students — and their teach-
ers — the hardest. Of his 60 students,
who come from all over Oakland, the
long-time Rockridge resident has only
managed to reach seven or eight of
them. For most of those he uses snail
mail to send out their assignments,
then the students take photos of their
work and email them back to him. His
instructional assistant is working with
an even smaller number of students,
those who are able to access Zoom.
“I’m spending most
of my time trying to
track down students
and find out where
they are and what
they’re doing,” Debro
told me. “Homework has always been
an equity issue. This has turned school
into homework.” He’s particularly sad
that an extended school year summer
program, targeted to special education
students, will also be a shadow of its
former self.
“It’s normally community based,”
he told me, “with field trips to grocery
stores, shops and restaurants where
they see what goes on behind the
scenes of those types of businesses.
We walk, we take the bus, we go to
local parks. I bring out my little bar-
b-que. Their parents, too, are really
going to be hurt when this once highly
interactive program can only be
Limata on ELLEN, from previous page
the shelter-in-place.
After presenting the check for
Emerson to Limata, DeGeneres was
not done making him cry. She asked
him some questions about his family
back in Zambia and the ways that he
helps his nieces and nephews there,
and then she wrung even more tears
out of him when she presented him
with a second check for $25,000 for
himself personally. Limata was so
overwhelmed, he could barely stay
seated on his couch.
It’s not only students and their fami-
lies who have had to cope with
distance learning. Here’s a snapshot of
three teachers’ personal perspectives
and challenges.
Keith Debro
Keith Debro, who
has been teaching
social studies and
math to Oakland
Technical High
School’s special education students for
19 years, finds it “kind of pathetic”
that it’s taken a pandemic to highlight
that reliable internet service is not a
given in pockets of Oakland.
That may not be the case in the near
future. The successful campaign to
ensure that every student in the Oak-
land Unified School District (OUSD)
has a computer and internet access
(helped mightily by Twitter CEO Jack
Dorsey’s $10 million contribution and
the final $700,000 donated by Zynga
founder Mark Pincus) will go a long
way toward closing the technology
gap. OUSD Superintendent Kyla
Johnson-Trammell said the goal is to
give every student their own device by
the fall semester so they don’t have to
...and then she wrung even
more tears out of him when
she presented him with a second
check for $25,000.
Limata came to the United States in
the summer of 2012. Inspired by his
mother and his 10-12th grade English
teacher, Mr. Eric Sinyangwe, Limata
always dreamed of being a teacher
and went on to study Education
at Cal State East Bay. He has been
teaching in Oakland since 2014, and
at Emerson since 2015. Most of his
family is still in Zambia, and, under
normal circumstances, he returns
for a visit every two to three years.
Limata says, “I am happy for my
community above all. I know the
donation will go a long way.”
Limata stresses that he is but one
of thousands of teachers across the
country and around the world who
are working hard to stay connected to
their students and to nurture learning
during this difficult time.
“I am honored to represent the
teaching profession and teachers
throughout the world. Every single
one of them is a hero and deserves to
be recognized for their love and their
dedication,” he said. “Even though
I am enjoying Story Time, I cannot
wait to get back in the classroom with
my students in real life.” n
Take seven minutes to lower your
blood pressure now by enjoying the
moment with Limata and Ellen on
YouTube; and visit Story Time with
Mr. Limata on YouTube. You can
learn more about the Oakland Equity
Fund here.
Eyes on Rockridge, see next page
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THE
page 9
JUNE 2020
My demands haven’t been less. I home
Zoom classes every day. Sometimes
they last more than an hour. I want
each class to be as dynamic as I can
make it.” He also meets with students
individually, via Zoom, after class.
Pasternak compares classroom
versus distance learning to watching
a live performance in a theater versus
seeing it replayed on television or as
a film. “You pick up things when you
see a live performance,” he said. “All
kinds of things are going on in the
classroom. What can you see when
you just see each other from the chin
up?”
Still he hopes that if distance learn-
ing continues into fall, the district will
come up with a set of standards for
teaching based on best practices.
Stephen Wright
Eyes on Rockridge, from previous page
Stephen Wright, co-director of Tech’s
computer science department, is at the
forefront of setting those standards.
“Peer learning among teachers is where
it’s at,” he told me. “We’re now asking
teachers to stream media, but not every
teacher has a full-blown computer.
There’s a bunch of us who have been
using these tools already. Everyone
was caught by surprise by the virus-in-
duced school closures. But by next
semester we have to be good at it.”
It could have been worse, he said,
if the shutdown had occurred ear-
lier in the year. But by the time it
happened, “relationships are built,
they have the basic knowledge and
we could be very project-based.”
offered at a distance.
“I’m really worried about what will
happen for them this fall,” Debro said.
“Students who have special needs are
struggling more than ever. Distance
learning would not be the first choice
of special education teachers, or their
students.”
Harry Pasternak
“The economic and cultural diver-
sity of Tech is both its strength and its
weakness,” said Harry Pasternak, who
teaches government and economics to
120 Tech seniors, including one class
for Advanced Placement (AP) credit.
“The conditions that existed pre-virus
have only been exacerbated by distance
learning.”
Pasternak, who has been in the
Oakland Unified School District since
1991, said that all of his AP students
showed up for Zoom classes, whereas
only about 60 percent of the rest
of his students attended regularly.
“The percentage of students who are
actively engaged with school is about
the same as when we’re in school. The
successful ones are going to succeed
no matter what.”
“I think Tech has done everything
it can do to provide a Chromebook
to every single kid,” Pasternak told
me. “But some of my kids don’t have
a quiet place at home to use it and we
have homeless students.
“We have an obligation to teach.
Eyes on Rockridge, see next page
THE
page 10
JUNE 2020
Tunnel Road/Caldecott
Lane Project Poised to
Break Ground
— By Victoria Eisen of Eisen-
Letunic, Oakland’s Caldecott
Settlement Agreement Project
Coordinator
Eyes on Rockridge, from previous page
• Upgraded/modified traffic signal
at Tunnel/13/Hiller intersection with
pedestrian push buttons and bicycle
detection
• Reconstructed median islands,
new high-visibility crosswalks and
new green thru-intersection bike lane
markings at the Tunnel/13/Hiller
intersection
• Micro-surfacing (a pavement
treatment that is between a slurry
seal and a complete repaving) on
Caldecott Lane between Tunnel Road
and the east end of Caldecott Lane
• Continuous bike lanes on Tunnel
Road and Caldecott Lane between the
Berkeley border and the east end of
Caldecott Lane.
Construction will begin once Cal-
trans issues the final encroachment
permit and the contractor obtains
their permit from Caltrans (the entire
project is within Caltrans right-of-
way). Indications that this roadwork
is imminent will include notification
letters to Hiller Drive residents and
along Tunnel Road in Berkeley and
large signs announcing the project.
These signs will list the anticipated
start and ending seasons (summer
2020 to spring 2021) and City of
Oakland and contractor contact infor-
mation. n
Contact Sophea Sem, City of
Oakland, at ssem2@oaklandca.gov or
call (510) 715-7122 with construction-
related questions or concerns,
particularly once construction is
underway.
So instead of looking for the right
answers, it became “What project do
you want to do” and “What can we do
to help? You have to let go of so much
of your teacher power.”
Prepping for the test to give them
college credit “kept my AP students
hooked,” Wright said, with 90 percent
of them doing the work. But just 40
to 50 percent of his other students
kept up. He allowed students to tap
into his calendar to make individual
appointments throughout the day. For
those who did, “I’ve been able to give
them a lot of one-on-one attention.”
Wright, who has been at Tech for
four years and returned to teaching
after 15 years in the technology world,
sees both sides of distance learning
right in his own home. One child, a
Tech graduate, is distance learning
from a New England engineering col-
lege. The other is completing freshman
year at Tech (and will have his dad as a
teacher next year).
A lot of parents won’t want to hear
it, Wright said, but given the current
rules requiring social distancing, it’s
the at-risk students who need to be
back in the regular classroom. “The
kids who are going to be okay, are
going to be okay. But for our students
who have trauma in their lives, leav-
ing the refuge of the school and the
community is huge.”
Meanwhile, teachers like Wright,
Pasternak and Debro push through
the technology, hoping their students
know they are there for them on the
screen and beyond it. n
To comment on this column or to
suggest future columns please email
judyberne@att.net.
The City of Oakland expects to
begin construction on long-
awaited improvements to the Tunnel
Road/SR13/Hiller Drive intersection,
Tunnel Road and Caldecott Lane as
soon as this month. This project will
stretch from Tunnel Road at the Berke-
ley border to the end of Caldecott Lane
in the North Oakland hills, and will
feature the following components:
• Sidewalk that will connect Berke-
ley’s sidewalk on the south side of
Tunnel road with the Tunnel/13/Hiller
intersection
• Shared-use ramp and path on the
south side of Tunnel Road to separate
eastbound bicyclists and all pedestri-
ans from traffic destined for the SR 13
on-ramp
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THE
page 11
JUNE 2020
Local Artist Builds
Website to “Hold the
Town”
– By Justin Hargraves, Freelance
Creative
I
’m a freelance advertising Creative
Director and amateur photographer
who has lived in Oakland for over
a decade. My last agency contract
ended in late March and I was
looking forward to the time off. The
day before shelter-in-place I naively
stocked up on what I thought would
be enough wine, comic books, and
records to last me a month or so.
But after a few weeks, it became
clear that the future of shelter-
in-place and the economy is very
uncertain, especially for the adver-
tising industry. Layoffs and pay cuts
hit hard and the idea of more free-
lance work coming my way seemed
unlikely.
Meanwhile, I was constantly seeing
posts from some of my favorite
small-to-medium-sized businesses
(SMBs) finding alternative ways to
remain active in the community —
everything from curbside pickups,
online sales, GoFundMe campaigns,
and even temporary alternative
revenue sources like gift cards and
T-shirts.
Even so, I knew many continue to
struggle, and since I had a little extra
time on my hands, I decided to start
a project to help out “non-essential”
small businesses in the community,
while also gaining more experience
as a photographer — and Hold the
Town was launched.
Hold the Town allows me to
inform the public on how they can
still support these struggling SMB’s
but also allows me to get out and use
photography as a creative outlet. I
don’t charge anything for a couple
of portraits, and I post the photo
and some company information to
the website and a custom Instagram
account (@holdthetown).
I want to be very clear, because I
know things are too often misinter-
preted these days, I’m not advocating
“I miss the community, the sense
of purpose, the ability to make
money. It’s not just a job, it’s
our lives. We built this place and
it’s like having a hugh part of us
taken away,” says Brad Roberts
(pictured above), co-owner of the
Temescal Alley Barbershop.
Photo by Justin Hargraves
for businesses to remain open before
it’s safe. I’m simply doing what I
can to support the “non-essential”
business community. I take safety
very seriously and ration my public
outings accordingly. I wear a mask
and gloves and shoot on a long lens
to maintain distance.
Overall, I look forward to being
able to photograph and feature
more small businesses but mostly
look forward to the day when these
alternative means are no longer nec-
essary. n
Have a business to recommend for
the website? Please contact Justin at
justindhargraves@gmail.com, or DM
him via his Instagram account online
at @stargraves.
THE
page 12
JUNE 2020
Fremont Bank Pays
Tribute to Miles
Armstead
—By Miles’ Fremont Bank Family
Chabot’s Phoebe
Diamond Named
“Teacher of The Year”
On National Teacher Day, May 5,
the Oakland Unified School
District (OUSD) announced the 2020
Teachers of the Year. Included among
them is Phoebe Diamond, a third-
grade teacher at Chabot Elementary,
who has served Oakland Unified in
multiple roles beyond the classroom
including lead-math teacher, member
of the Site Instructional Leadership
Team, and member of the Math Core
Curriculum Production Team.
Diamond has taught in OUSD for
more than 29 years and has countless
valuable memories, including help-
ing peers understand how students
struggle linguistically and academi-
cally. She is known for having high
expectations for every child, and
for having an unshakable belief that
every child can master the standards.
She does everything in her power to
ensure all of her students succeed. Her
classroom is a place where academic
discussions are commonplace.
Chabot Principal Jessica Cannon
said, “Diamond’s expectations for her
students are rivaled only by those she
holds for herself. I can honestly say
I don’t think I have ever met a more
dedicated, and more reflective teacher
than Phoebe Diamond.” n
On May 1, we tragically lost Miles
Armstead, a beloved member
of our Fremont Bank family. It is
hard to put into words how special
Miles was and what a loss this is for
his family, his community, and his
co-workers.
Miles, a family man through-and-
through, was a devoted husband and a
proud father to his four amazing chil-
dren, with a fifth on the way. Miles
joined Fremont Bank in 2015 as a
Wealth Management Private Banker
and was proud to be a community
banker. From BNI and ProVisors, to
the Rockridge District Association,
his professional associations and
accolades were numerous. He was
extremely proud to call Oakland his
home, and led countless efforts to
build up Fremont Bank’s community
roots in Oakland, Berkeley, San Lean-
dro, Castro Valley, and San Francisco.
Although he is no longer with us,
the memories he created are ever-
lasting. Miles Armstead was a true
champion of his community, an active
volunteer, a close friend to many
of his colleagues and clients, and a
loving family man. He continues
to be loved and cherished by those
who knew him and he will be dearly
missed by his Fremont Bank family.
Fremont Bank has established
a GoFundMe account to accept
contributions in support of Miles’
family; you can access that here.
The GoFundMe will remain active
through June 15, and contributions in
any amount will make a difference for
his wife and children, https://www.
gofundme.com/f/the-miles-armstead-
family-fund. n
law office of
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725 washington st., suite 313 oakland, ca 94607
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Practicing exclusively in the area of trusts and estates:
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THE
page 13
JUNE 2020
The Rockridge TJ’s Line Watch Project: A Personal Mission To Eradicate Long Wait Times
— By Adrian Moyer
When the social-distancing line
began looping around the
parking lot of the Rockridge Trader
Joe’s in March, it hit me harder than
most. I live in an apartment that
overlooks the store’s parking lot, and
the view from my apartment became
a constant dystopian image of our
strange new reality. After about six
weeks of anxiously gazing at bored,
masked, aspiring TJ’s shoppers stand-
ing in the sun, I decided I had to do
something about it.
Spurred on by my neighbors on
Nextdoor, I decided to start a live-
video stream to passively show the
line in real-time for anyone who
wanted to check. In addition to being
an easy way to help my neighbors, I
thought it made sense to use this ser-
vice to raise money for the thousands
in the community who are struggling
Perry the poodle will continue to
keep on the lookout. Follow him
on Instagram @perrythepoodle.
to afford their own groceries right
now. I chose the Alameda County
Community Food Bank (ACCFB),
made a GoFundMe page, built a
website, and within about a week,
RockridgeTJsLine.com was up and
running.
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more than 1000 visitors each day, and
donations have been rising steadily.
I even got interviewed by The Wall
Street Journal. Most importantly, the
project has raised more than $3,000
for the ACCFB. Why I’ll keep going?
Since starting this project, complete
strangers have used words like
‘life-changing’, and ‘a dream come
true’ to describe its impact.
During the very hot weather, the
line moved to the other side of the
store and another neighbor with a
better view is now continuing the
endeavor. In the meanwhile, Perry
the poodle will continue to monitor
the situation. n
THOUGHTS ON
OUR SITUATION
Everyone is Hurting.
Maybe you need someone experienced
to talk with about Real Estate.
I have made my living in some form
or another in Real Estate and have
suffered through the Recessions of
1981, 1986, 1990, 2001 and the best
for last 2006-2008.
I can tell you, for some people each
one of these recessions were just
horrible. Nothing like today, but very
real and horrible just the same.
If you need someone to talk with
about the new world of Real Estate
and what it might be like tomorrow,
next week, or next month, or next ?
Feel free to call or email me.
STAY HOME
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THE
page 14
JUNE 2020
Scenic Streets of Oakland
poppies had, with your indulgence, an
eye-popping season.
While outdoor activities like garden-
ing are returning, we have directions
from Caltrans that our volunteer land-
scaping work is to be held in abeyance
until further notice. So we plan, and
we try to stay in touch as a team.
It’s minor in the scheme of things,
but we take pride in this little bit of
beauty we can provide for our com-
munity and look forward to getting
back out there, even without welcom-
ing hugs, and making the days a bit
brighter for a few people. n
If helping to make sure that the
HWY 24 on- and off-ramps to
Claremont Avenue reflect nicely
on your neighborhood is appealing
to you, please email Lee at lee.
scenicstreetsoakland@gmail.com.
Outdoor activity beckons.
A Sheltered Life for
Matilija Poppies
— by Robert Firehock
Along with the tragedies and
misery brought by this pandemic
are countless less significant changes
and annoyances in our lives. Those
whose friends and family have escaped
the reach of this disease shouldn’t
complain, but those minor issues can
build up and take their cumulative toll
on our mental health, and eventually
our physical well-being.
So whether it’s canceled celebrations,
food anxiety, cultural withdrawal, or,
in the case of Scenic Streets, watching
our ramp work go to the weeds and
our spring planting plans fizzle, we all
need to find strategies to mitigate our
Photo: Lee Paterson
disappointments and look for bright
spots and a path forward.
For us in Scenic Streets, it’s a rec-
ognition that less activity and traffic
has meant less trash, and what is
there is literally in the weeds and less
of an eyesore. Matilija poppies, as
large as an N95 mask, are exploding
on the off-ramp, and our California
THE
page 15
JUNE 2020
excited to have access to this now.”
“We want to be able to keep our
dollars locally concentrated,” says
Tahnee Shields, the UVFM’s Curb-
side Pickup Manager, regarding her
team’s motivation to protect local
businesses in this global health
crisis. “It really is a purchase from
the farm.” For local vendors, this
transition from an in-person to an
online experience has been critical
to maintaining profits. Shields and
her coworkers currently have 80 per-
cent of Temescal Farmers’ Market’s
vendors signed up for the Curbside
Pickup Program, and those busi-
nesses now have a new sales channel.
One such business is Stepladder
Creamery, a farm based in San Luis
Obispo dedicated to small-batch
cheeses. Jill Hammond, Stepladder’s
Marketing Manager, says that ini-
tially the creamery’s team “scrambled
to pull something together” when
wholesale restaurant accounts were
lost, but, with time, operations have
stabilized. “We’ve seen an increase in
online sales weekly and our markets
are now rolling right along thanks
to loyal shoppers, cheese lovers, and
friends across the country,” she says.
Not only can curbside pickup
customers get Stepladder cheeses,
but they can also get essentials like
produce from Lucero Organic Farms
and eggs from Alexandre Farms.
Specialty goods like seaweed snacks
from 12 Seaweed Co. and bone broth
from Mama Tong Soup are also on
the menu.
The program grew out of a need
to get people organic produce, dairy
products, and other grocery items,
and Shields is excited to see it grow
in popularity. Nevertheless, a signif-
icant obstacle her team will need to
overcome is the quick turnaround.
With all the goods being delivered to
the DMV around 9am every Sunday,
Shields and her coworkers only have
an hour to organize all the orders
and make sure they can be delivered
quickly and safely to people’s vehi-
cles. “It takes a lot of organization
and attention to detail,” she says.
“After the end of every shift, we come
together and talk about what works
and what doesn’t work.”
In terms of safety precautions,
UVFM emphasizes on their website
that individuals should come to the
Sunday pickup with their first and
last names in bold letters on their
windshield and space already avail-
able in their vehicle’s trunk. This
ensures minimal contact between
the customers and staff, making the
process more friendly to seniors, the
immunocompromised, and other
high-risk individuals.
Though Shields misses the “social
aspect” of the traditional farmers’
market not present in the Curbside
Program, she thinks it could be an
operation continued in the future,
even with shelter-in-place lifted.
“There have been different times
in the recent past where people
shouldn’t be spending time outside,”
she says, citing the recent wildfires as
one example. “We see this as increas-
ing what is alr eady a resilient food
system.”
For now, the Curbside Pickup
Program is a COVID-19 adaptation,
continuing every Sunday for those
unable to attend the normal Temescal
Farmers’ Market where participants
are kept six feet apart as they shop.
Shields and her team hope that indi-
viduals continue to shop local and
help support their neighbors. n
Farm boxes are available for
pickup at the drive-thru.
Photos: Anna L. Marks
Curbside Pickup, from front page
UVFM has partnered with online
marketplace WhatsGood to assist in
this promotion of small businesses,
as the platform is not a wholesaler
or distributor, but rather directly
sources and pays vendors so they
earn the maximum percent on the
dollar. It also streamlines the process
for customers, as all they have to do
is download the WhatsGood app and
create a personal account to begin
the pre-order process.
Even though May 10, 2020, was
the first official Sunday where
WhatsGood deliveries were handed
out, Shields thinks the turnout and
participation is already successful.
“Customers drove through saying they
hadn’t been to the farmers’ market in
eight weeks,” she says. “They are so
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THE
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JUNE 2020
environmentally conscious kitchen-
ware, food storage containers, and
more. Not surprisingly, one of the
best sellers of late is their all-natural,
alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
“We are passionate about reducing
unnecessary waste and providing
the highest quality, locally sourced
products direct to consumers,” says
Lollo. “All of our ingredients are
business, the founding pair recently
hired Carly Fishman, who also works
on that adjacent community farm.
She heads up website development
and community outreach efforts.
The trio shares a house in Rockridge,
near Chabot Elementary.
Starting a business during a pan-
demic may seem daunting, but in
some ways the company’s timing has
Re-Up Refill Shop, from front page
Peter Lollo and Matt Zimbalist,
Re-Up’s co-founding partners, knew
each other as kids in the San Diego
area and attended Cal together. In
their careers, they’ve both focused
on reducing waste. Following studies
in environmental science, they’ve
engineered many successful waste-re-
duction ventures.
Zimbalist is a specialist in gray-wa-
ter systems and sustainable building
practices. Lollo was once the waste
manager for Berkeley Student Coop-
eratives. He also spearheaded the
Bear-ly Used program, which reduces
the curbside clutter of furnishings
and other discarded items when Cal
students move out of their dorms.
In addition to providing pure,
natural products, the duo is focused
on the problem of plastic waste in our
waterways and landfills. Lollo cites
United Nation’s research that shows
that the economic toll of plastic waste
is enormous. Discarded plastics are
threatening our fisheries, poisoning
people and wildlife, and draining
billions from our economies.
“Encouraging consumers to re-think
the wastefulness of single-use plastic
containers is at the core of our mission,
but we also nudge our suppliers toward
reusable, high-bulk containers,” says
Zimbalist. For example, he notes,
“we work with a wonderful, local,
woman-owned business, Puretergent,
https://puretergent.com/, that currently
delivers their detergents and cleaners
to us in 55-gallon drums which they
refill for us over and over.” Again, the
theme is zero waste.
Re-Up products include dish soap,
laundry detergent, body lotion, tooth-
paste, hand soap, shampoo — plus
Photo: Carly Fishman
Packages are delivered by bike in freshly laundered, reusable cloth totes.
naturally pure and non-toxic. We
go for organic when possible, and
everything is packaged in an envi-
ronmentally thoughtful way.”
They also offer a line of products
they refer to as “DIY” which include
raw ingredients like aloe vera, xylitol,
olive oil, and beeswax. “These products
are for folks who make their own skin
care solutions, tinctures and so on.”
Originally the duo envisioned a
drive-by storefront where customers
could re-fill their own containers
with bulk product. So Lollo and
Zimbalist refitted a steel-shipping
container as their “brick-and-mortar”
location, and co-located with an art-
ists’ cooperative and Urban Adamah,
an urban farming operation in West
Oakland. To help grow their online
been fortuitous. “Nobody could plan
for the way things are today, but we
think our model meets the moment,”
says Lollo. “The home delivery
approach has given us a big boost.”
These days, during COVID-19,
Re-Up is primarily taking orders
online and delivering straight to your
door via electric-powered bicycles.
Empty containers are picked up,
sanitized, and re-used. Couriers
are dispatched twice a week from
their operations center to customers
throughout Oakland and Berkeley.
“We really enjoy this beautiful
neighborhood — all of the trees, the
access to bike trails in the hills, and
the idyllic feeling of swarms of chil-
dren joyously playing,” says Lollo.
So what’s ahead for their innovative
business? “We’re not looking to go
global,” says Lollo. “We want to focus
on building a solid following here in
the East Bay. Success for us would be
to inspire others to use our model to
serve their own communities.”
Rockridge News readers can use the
promo code “Rockridge-News” for a
free bottle of hand sanitizer with the
first order (a $4.50 value).
For more information, please visit
the Re-Up website. n
THE
page 17
JUNE 2020
RNClassifieds
Rockridge News Request for Volunteers
Do You Miss the
Print Version of The
Rockridge News?
— By Susan Montauk, The
Rockridge News Business Manager
needed. A decent-sized front porch is
essential for putting the boxes out for
pick-up over the weekend by the Mar-
shals. Additionally, a steep set of front
steps is a disqualifier.
List your 36-word message here for
only $22 (phone number counts as
one word). Make check payable to
RCPC, and write “Rockridge News
Classified Ad” in the memo line. Mail
to: RN Classifieds, 4123 Broadway,
PMB 311, Oakland, CA 94611. The
deadline for the July issue is June 18,
which will be available on July 4, 2020.
Routes Up for Grabs
We are looking for replacement
Marshals and District Captains for the
routes below. Here’s what’s required:
A Marshal picks up boxes (1-3) at the
bundling venue and delivers the boxes
to the District Captains; the District
Captains receive delivery of their boxes
at their homes and distribute the bun-
dles to the Block Captains. Deliveries
are done the on the first Friday of each
month, except the month of August
which is vacation month.
As The Rockridge News looks to
return to it’s printed version and
home distribution in July or Septem-
ber, the transition back will require
replacing volunteers who have newly
retired. See below for the routes that
need volunteers. We are also looking
for a new place to bundle the news-
letter. We have been lucky to have
several bundling host families over
the years — Bobby and Don Kinkead,
Esther McFeeley, Julie Dewey, Bill and
Nancy Dutcher, and most recently
for over 17 years, Jo and Ken Ellis. Jo
and Ken have decided to retire, and
deservedly so, and we thank them for
all their years of hosting.
For more information, email Susan
Montauk at smontauk@gmail.com.
Penelope’s Aesthetics Skin Care
Salon
is located in a serene garden setting
in the Rockridge neighborhood and
specializes in professional beauty
needs. Facials, waxing and much more!
Open for business again soon! www.
penelopecalef.com (510) 594-1552.
Open Routes
• Marshal: One box drop to District
Captain on McAuley
• Marshal/District Captain: Five box
drops to District Captains on Chabot
Ave, Manor Crest, Ocean View and
Boyd Avenue and 4 bundle drops to
Block Captains on Armanino Court,
Reata Place, Roble Road and Eucalyp-
tus Road.
• District Captain: 13 bundle drops
to Block Captains on Harwood, Ross,
Manoa, Chabot, Auburn, Rockwell.
Garden Care, Clean-up,
Maintenance & Design
Experienced team of two dedicated
to the art of gardening. Garden
restoration, pruning, and veggie
bed installation at affordable
rates. Call Chris: (510) 655-0157
or email yourgreengardeners@
gmail.com. Check us out at www.
yourgreengardeners.com.
Bundling Needs
We bundle the first Friday of each
month (except for August). The news-
letters are delivered by our printer
to your door in boxes early that
morning. We gather in the afternoon
to bundle the newsletters for delivery
to Marshals, District Captains and
Block Captains. Usually 4-6 people
show up to do the work. A good-sized
table, with room to get around, is also
Handyman for Hire
Multi-skilled and well experienced.
Hauling and towing available. No job
too small. Reasonably priced. Lee Self.
(707) 223-1298, call and text.
Email smontauk@gmail.com if you
are interested in any of the jobs or
hosting the bundling at your home. n
HARDWOOD FLOORS
Install, sand/refinish, repair, re-coat
existing. Large jobs or small. Twenty-
plus years in Piedmont Ave/Rockridge.
Bruce Williams Woodfloors. Please
call or text Bruce at (510) 652-8121.
www.blwfloors.com.
Hang in there, Rockridge!
We’ll get through
this together
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. n
–Daniel–
510.843.6400