Extracted text · highlighting “Michelle Boyd”

Sponsored by the Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC)  •  4900 Shattuck Ave., PO Box 22504, Oakland  94609
RockridgeNews

THE
www.rockridge.org

VOL 38   •   NO. 6   •   ISSUE  NO. 387   •   JUNE 5, 2021                      CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 Businesses

RCPC’s Place in Rockridge History
— by Annette Floystrup, RCPC Board Member
Why does the Rockridge Com-
munity Planning Council
(RCPC) exist? What has it accom-
plished? In this first in a series on
Rockridge and the RCPC, we begin
with a short look back in history to
convey the context surrounding the
organization’s genesis.
RCPC has its roots in the
Vernon-Rockridge Improvement
Club, later the Rockridge Improve-
ment Club, founded in 1910. The early
neighborhood association was con-
cerned with the basics — community
policing and safety, fire suppression
services, schools, and a library. These
concerns have remained largely the
same over the decades.
In the ten years following the
devastating 1906 earthquake, Oak-
land’s population more than doubled
as people and businesses relocated
from San Francisco. In what is now
Upper Rockridge, a development was
Photo courtesy of:
Oakland Public Library,
Oakland History Center
Vernon-Rockridge Hall at 5515 College Avenue is currently home to
The Rockrige Improvement Club (and former home of The Hut).
RCPC History, see page 4
What Is Land Cost?
Why Should I Care?
Sign Up for the RCPC ENews Today
— by Michelle Boyd, RCPC Communications Chair
— by Stuart Flashman, RCPC
Land Use Committee Chair
Want to stay informed about
Rockridge Community Plan-
ning Council (RCPC) and partner
events in between editions of this
newsletter? Interested in receiving
The Rockridge News in your inbox?
Like everyone these days, RCPC is
going more and more digital.
We’d love to include you on our
email list if you are not signed up
already. We promise we won’t spam
you. We’ll send you updates a few
times a month on items we know
our community members care about.
Scan the QR code (on right) with
your phone’s QR code app to find
our signup form. You can also visit
https://bit.ly/3u71jz7.
Own a storefront? We’ll hang a
poster at your business to get the
word out to more neighbors. Please
drop us a note at info@rockridge.org
to participate.
This is the first of a series of articles explaining
the results of the Rockridge Housing study.
In some ways, the cost of land may
seem an esoteric concept, but it’s
central to understanding why houses
and apartments in Rockridge cost as
much as they do. For homeowners,
the first introduction to land cost
is often homeowner’s insurance —
what you pay an insurer to protect
against things like fire and flood
damage. The cost of a homeowner’s
insurance policy is based in part on
Land Cost, see next page


THE
page 2
JUNE 2021

to a land’s value, and it has an enor-
mous effect on the cost of housing.
Of course, land cost is influenced
by many factors: Is the land level or
on a slope? Is it near an earthquake
fault, a flood zone, or other haz-
ardous condition? Is it near public
transit or a freeway exit? Is it noisy
or quiet? How far is it from shopping
areas? Theaters? Parks? How good
are the area’s public schools? All
these factors will influence land
cost, and they reflect how desirable a
house at that location would be to a
buyer. (Similar factors apply to com-
mercially zoned land.)
In fact, the cost to build a house
may be considerably less than the
cost to buy the land it sits on. That’s
particularly true here in Rockridge.
With high walkability, easy access to
transit and freeways, good schools,
and pleasant tree-lined streets, land
costs in Rockridge are among the
highest in Oakland, and indeed
higher than most places in the East
Bay. Indeed, the cost of land in Rock-
ridge can be $11 million per acre, or
even more.
As we’ll see in the next article in
this series, this can make building new
housing here, affordable housing in
particular, somewhat problematic. n
Land Cost, from front page
“replacement cost.” That’s what it
would cost to rebuild your house if
it burned to the ground. What often
surprises people is that the replace-
ment cost is usually considerably less
than what it cost to buy the house.
The difference is the land cost.
For example, a house may have cost
$900,000, but the insurance company
might insure a replacement cost of
$400,000. That’s because the insurer
thinks it would take $400,000 to
rebuild the house from scratch. The
difference between what the house
cost to buy and its replacement cost,
in this case, $500,000, is the land cost.
It is perhaps obvious that land
cost will depend on how much land
there is. In Rockridge, house lots
are often about 4,000 square feet or
one-eleventh of an acre. Therefore,
if the cost of a 4,000 square foot lot
was $500,000, the land would cost
$500,000 x 11 = $5.5 million per acre.
While it might seem that the cost
of an acre of land would be constant,
it’s anything but. It is a truism in real
estate that three factors are import-
ant in real estate pricing: location,
location, and location. That’s an over-
simplification, but location is central
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.
Rockridge News Production
Anna L. Marks ........................ Editor & Layout Artist
Jo Ellis........................Assistant Editor & Ad Manager
Susan Montauk................................Business Manager
Judith Doner Berne................................... Staff Writer
RCPC Board of Directors, 2021-22
Leonora Sea..........................................................Chair
Robin McDonnell..................................... Vice-Chair
Casey Farmer................................................ Secretary
Ashley Pandya.............................. Assistant Secretary
Ronnie Spitzer...............................................Treasurer
Matt Levy......................................Assistant Treasurer
Michelle Boyd, David Garcia, Stuart Flashman,
Annette Floystrup, Kirk Peterson, Ken Rich
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 submitted for consideration should be
emailed to the editor. All submissions are limited
to 600 words max (300 words for letters), and
must include the author’s name, email address, and
city or neighborhood of residence.

Slow Streets Program — Continue or Not?
O

All submissions are subject to editing for clarity
and brevity. To submit content, or for reprints of
an article, contact: editor@rockridge.org.
program, which began last July, and
consists of evaluation and develop-
ment of specific recommendations for
each location. Based on the feedback,
Slow Street signage and barricades will
either be upgraded to more durable
materials and other context-specific
changes, or the Slow Street designation
will be removed.
Many district residents expressed
support and interest in this program.
Councilmember Kalb and District
One staff are receiving periodic
reports on the program as a whole
and on each specific location, and
will be sharing more information as
the program develops.
To make your voice heard, visit:
tinyurl.com/oaklandslowstreets. n
akland Department of Transpor-
tation (OakDOT) had a range of
initiatives implemented in response
to the pandemic. One of those ini-
tiatives, launched in April 2020, was
the Slow Streets Program, which was
intended “to support safe physical
activity and alleviate overcrowding
in parks and on trails by discourag-
ing through traffic on certain local
streets.” Temporary barricades and
more permanent circles were installed
on several streets, slowing the traffic
flow in one or both directions on a
single street.
District One (which includes Rock-
ridge) has a number of streets that
are part of the program. The City is
currently engaged in Phase II of the
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:
RCPC, 4900 Shattuck Avenue,
PO Box 22504, Oakland, CA, 94609
Display Advertising
Deadline for the July 2021 issue: June 17
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. Email Susan Montauk at smontauk@
gmail.com for information regarding classified ads.
The Rockridge News reserves the right to refuse any
articles, display ads, or classified ads.
Views expressed in published articles do not
necessarily reflect those of The Rockridge
News, its editor, or the board of directors of the
Rockridge Community Planning Council.


THE

page 3
JUNE 2021

Rockridge Community Planning Council — Land Use Committee
RCPC
The next Land Use Committee meeting will be held on Monday, June 21, at 7:30pm,
via Zoom. The meeting is open to the public. Please check Rockridge.org or the
RCPC Facebook page the week before for details. Send an email to landuse@rock-
ridge.org or call (510) 652-5373 to receive a web link or phone number to attend.

RCPC board open discussions with
TRC, Councilmember Kalb, City staff,
and potentially the property’s owner
on coming up with an attractive and
feasible plan for use of the site.
Proposal for a Massage Establishment
(5479 College — formerly Right-Way
Shoe Repair)

RCPC Land Use Committee Update — June 2021
by Stuart Flashman, RCPC Land Use Committee Chair

The City has announced a public
hearing on June 22nd, 2021, at 3:30pm
via Zoom on this application for a use
permit. The hearing can be accessed
online at: https://us02web.zoom.
us/j/86977774756. The committee felt
that more information on the applica-
tion and proposed business should be
obtained and provided to the Board of
Directors for its consideration.
 A video of the meeting will be posted
on RCPC’s YouTube channel. n
most significant bills with a likelihood
of becoming law. It was agreed that
an article explaining the two bills
should appear in the July issue of The
Rockridge News. Stuart Flashman
and David Garcia will be the primary
authors of the article.
The Land Use Committee held its monthly
meeting on May 24th via Zoom, with a
quorum of members present.
Rockridge Housing Study
The subcommittee working on
evaluating the feasibility of incentives
for affordable housing has at this point
produced a rough spreadsheet model
that allows evaluation of the financial
feasibility of housing project proposals.
Three general categories of projects
have been evaluated: construction of
multifamily housing (2-4 units) on a
single residential lot; combining several
residential lots to produce a larger mul-
tifamily project; and construction of a
large multifamily residential project on
an “opportunity site” one acre in size.
With current land costs and con-
struction costs, almost any project
in Rockridge would appear not to
pencil out — even with 100 percent
market rate units. Even application
of the State’s density bonus provision
would not make private housing proj-
ects feasible. The subcommittee will
continue to refine its model, consider
some possible future scenarios, and
evaluate possible incentives that might
make building new housing, especially
affordable housing, feasible.
The Committee has begun present-
ing study results in The Rockridge
News with an article explaining the
meaning and importance of land costs
(see article on front page). The next
article will discuss preliminary hous-
ing feasibility conclusions.
Phase II of “Shops at the Ridge”
(Broadway/Pleasant Valley)
The committee discussed further
what might happen with this large site,
which currently sits idle. There appears
to be a standoff between the master
tenant (TRC, Inc.) and the property’s
owner. TRC would like to develop the
site with a mixture of housing, office,
and retail space. The owner has been
dead-set against allowing any residen-
tial use. As was mentioned last month,
TRC has proposed as a fallback posi-
tion either an auto dealership, big box
retail, or drive-through fast food busi-
nesses. Several Rockridge News readers
submitted comments strenuously
opposing this. Unfortunately, options
like a park or sports fields seem
unlikely except perhaps as a short-term
interim use. The Committee voted
unanimously to recommend that the
Current Housing Legislation Affecting
Rockridge
There was further discussion of an
article outlining currently pending
State legislation that could significantly
affect Rockridge. There was general
agreement that two Senate bills, SB 9
(Atkins) and SB 10 (Wiener) are the


THE
page 4
JUNE 2021

Housing in Rockridge:
Affordable Only, or
Market Rate Too?
— by Ken Rich, RCPC Board Member
The views presented in this article are
solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the position of
the Rockridge Community Planning
Council or its Board of Directors.

Rock-Ridge Place was an early development above Broadway in what is now
known as Upper Rockridge.

As a new RCPC Board member,
I’m excited to get engaged in
the important issues facing our
neighborhood. So I thought I’d start
with one of the most important ones
— housing and affordable housing. I
often hear the sentiment that if Rock-
ridge residents support new housing
construction in our neighborhood
at all, it should only be “affordable
housing.” I feel differently and believe
we should welcome new housing of
all types into our neighborhood. In
the remainder of this article, I hope to
explain why I believe this to be true.
First, some facts and definitions:
“Affordable Housing” is generally
accepted to mean housing whose
monthly rent or mortgage payment
is no more than 30 percent of the
gross income of a family making
somewhere between 30 percent and
120 percent of the median income for
Oakland (around $35,000 to $140,000
per year). Because these rents or sale
prices are set so low, and the cost to
construct new housing is so high,
significant subsidies are needed to
build affordable housing.
The bulk of these subsidies come
from state and federal sources, but
especially in California, our cities
must make sizable investments as
well. In Oakland, that investment
generally equates to the city needing
to contribute roughly $200,000 per
new affordable housing unit. To build
200 units of 100 percent affordable
housing in Rockridge would cost the
City of Oakland $40 million.
Given these high costs, and the
need to create affordable housing
Photo: Courtesy of Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Center, circa 1910.
RCPC History, from front page
was bisected and brought to its
commercial knees. Construction
lasted until 1970, and the traffic
disruption, coupled with the massive
loss of population, steadily eroded
the commercial base. Store after store
closed its doors, until finally 50 per-
cent of the businesses stood empty
and boarded up. Crime in the area
skyrocketed, and Rockridge became
Oakland’s highest crime neighbor-
hood in the late 60s and early 70s.
The neighborhood responded by
establishing Neighborhood Watch
groups through a network of small
block associations, six of which
eventually coalesced to form the
beginnings of the RCPC we know
today.
This series on the RCPC and
Rockridge history will continue in
upcoming issues of The Rockridge
News. n
begun in 1910 called Rock-Ridge Place.
Three related developments spanned
from 51st Street to Ocean View and
up to present day Hwy 13. The lots
were expensive and intended to attract
wealthy residents.
The working class, including many
Italians who came to work the quarry,
could not afford the high prices of
Rock-Ridge Place. They bought homes
in the Vernon tract, the flatlands on
either side of College Avenue. Truck
farms and orchards west of College
Avenue gave way to craftsman bunga-
lows by the dozen, the majority of them
being built between 1910 and 1920.
In the early 1960s, demolition
began for construction of the Grove-
Shafter freeway (now Hwy 24) and
BART. More than 1,400 structures
were demolished, mostly single
family dwellings. College Avenue
Housing in Rockridge, see next page


THE

page 5
JUNE 2021

Housing in Rockridge, from previous page
throughout the city, it is unlikely that
the City would have the resources
to invest in anything more than
a nominal amount of affordable
housing in our neighborhood. So,
when someone advocates for only
affordable housing to be built here in
Rockridge, whether they realize it or
not, they are arguing for little or no
housing to be built here at all.
What about market-rate housing
(sometimes disparagingly called
“luxury housing”)? These are just
apartments (certainly not more
luxurious than our craftsman
houses) whose price tags are high
because these days they cost between
$600,000 and $800,000 per unit to
build, and because there is more
demand than supply. But, is it true
that building some of this type of
housing in Rockridge is a good idea?
Key streetcar heading to Rockridge along College Avenue, approaching
Claremont Avenue, circa 1910–1920.
Photo: Courtesy of Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Center
Rockridge: Success
Under Pressure
— by Jody Colley, Rockridge
District Association
Tliaison between City services and
Rockridge businesses, the RDA moni-
tors public safety, roadwork, economic
development opportunities, and regu-
lations that may impact merchants in
the area.
The RDA is a Business Improve-
ment District (BID) formed in 2000
by the vote of business owners to
self-assess an annual fee that funds
vital projects such as streetscapes,
lighting, safety, and media promotions
to help attract locals and visitors.
Essentially, RDA businesses pay to
fill in the gaps where City of Oakland
services end for the benefit of the
community at large.
Prior to this model, Rockridge was
Do The Math
he shops and services that line
College Avenue are re-emerging
from a challenging year of pandemic-
induced restrictions and closures.
Despite some business turnover, the
overall low vacancy rate relative to
other districts in Oakland is a tes-
tament to Rockridge’s resilient local
economy.
The area’s demographics, location,
and public transit access all are con-
tributing to a relatively quick recovery.
You may not be aware, however, of
the role of the Rockridge District
Association (RDA) in supporting the
local businesses that operate within its
boundaries.
For example, the RDA takes under
its wings the stewardship of tree
maintenance and planting along Col-
lege Avenue. This alone over the years
has exceeded $100,000 in costs, and
continues to grow. The RDA is also
responsible for removing damaged
and hazardous newsstands and aban-
doned bus shelters, street cleaning,
trash receptacle maintenance, and
repainting blighted street poles.
Some neighborhood festivities are
led by the RDA, including holiday
lights, shopping campaigns, and the
annual Out & About Festival. As a
Let’s assume that a typical two-
bedroom house in Rockridge sells for
$1.4 million. That translates, if you
assume 20 percent down, to a monthly
mortgage, taxes, and insurance pay-
ment of about $6,500 per month. Let’s
also assume that a typical family is
comfortable spending 30 percent of its
gross income on mortgage, taxes and
insurance. That family would need to
make $260,000 per year to buy a small
house in Rockridge. Compare that to
around $3,500 per month for a large
two-bedroom apartment at the Logan,
a new apartment building on 51st and
Telegraph. Using the same 30 percent
rule, a family would need to make
$140,000 per year to live there.
For reference, a couple consisting of
two Oakland public school teachers
would make an average of about
$140,000 per year. To be sure $140,000
is still not a small amount of money.
Think about how many families
making at least $140,000 but less
than $260,000 we could welcome into
Rockridge as amazing new neighbors.
Since there are comparatively few
existing apartments in Rockridge,
building some new ones might just be
the easiest way to make our neighbor-
hood more diverse and affordable. n
RDA, see page 12


THE
page 6
JUNE 2021

The Greater Rockridge Neighborhood Crime
Prevention Council Meets on June 10th

NCPC MEETING

— by Karen Ivy, Secretary, Greater Rockridge NCPC, beats 12Y and 13X
Epresent his vision for community-
oriented policing. Join us to discuss
crime and public safety issues in your
area. Bring your neighbors to come
hear what he has to say, and feel free
to ask questions.
You can meet our relatively new
Community Resource Officers
(CROs), Officer Meeran Gichki (Beat
12), and Officer Aaron Johnson (Beat
13). You will also meet our Neighbor-
hood Services Coordinator, Angela
Moore from the City Administrator’s
Office, who can facilitate and assist
residents with issues or concerns in
their neighborhoods in partnership
with the Oakland police department
and all City departments.
If you’re on one of the NCPC’s email
lists, you’ll get an automatic reminder
closer to the date. If you aren’t, you
can sign up at RockridgeNeighbor-
hoodWatchNetwork+subscribe@
groups.io or RockridgeNCPC+sub-
scribe@groups.io. We hope to see you
there.

ver wonder what community
policing is about? You should,
because either you or your landlord
pay the property tax for it through
Measure Z. Ever wonder what the
Community Policing Advisory Board
(CPAB) does? Find out by joining the
Greater Rockridge Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Council (NCPC)
at the next meeting on June 10 on
Zoom.
Guest speaker, Creighton Davis,
chair of Oakland’s CPAB, will
Recent Crime Stats
April was a relatively quiet month
in 12Y and 13X except for general
property crime (burglary and theft),
of which we had 15 in 12Y and 16
in 13X. No other crime category in
either beat exceeded 10 incidents in

The Greater Rockridge Neighbor-
hood Crime Prevention Council
(NCPC) will hold its regular
bimonthly meeting on Thursday,
June 10, at 7pm, on Zoom.
To Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/99809678270?p-
wd=RG5ROU90WmZLNU9aT-
09uOHFZQ294Zz09
Meeting ID: 998 0967 8270
Passcode: 990756
the month. Even auto-related crime
was down — 8 incidents in 12Y and
4 in 13X. As I look back over the
pandemic, in most months, no cate-
gory of crime in either beat exceeded
20 incidents (less than one incident
per day).
The exceptions were March (the
first month of lockdown) and May of
2020. In May, 12Y topped out at 32
auto-related property crimes and 26
general property crimes. For more
crime stats, visit our Crime Stats and
Maps at https://tinyurl.com/yzeplobr.
The April 2021 minutes of the
Greater Rockridge NCPC are now
available online at this link: https://
tinyurl.com/y7r5qmbz. You can also
open the document directly at this link:
https://tinyurl.com/26ak72wn. n


THE

page 7
JUNE 2021

Join The Rockridge
News Family of
Volunteers
appreciate all your efforts on behalf of
our Rockridge community.
We are very fortunate to have new
volunteers, and are waiting to hear
from other neighbors who want to
help us fill the following routes:
— by Susan Montauk, Rockridge
News Delivery Manager
• 25A: 400 block of 57th Street from
Ayala to Telegraph and all of Vicente
Street
Please join us in welcoming three
new volunteers who will be
replacing several retiring block cap-
tains and a marshal: Cristin Williams
is the new marshal for the Colby/
Hillegass route; Charlotte Strother
will deliver along Claremont Avenue,
Adele Mendelson will deliver to
Locksley; Mark Coyle will deliver
to Chabot Road; Brenda Reeves will
deliver to Colby, and Dylan McCune,
who is just nine years old, will be
delivering the newsletter to Lawton.
Many thanks to our long-time
volunteers for their dedication —
Jim Clarke and Liz Maxwell, Coley
Florance, Meredith Kaplan, Kristin
Wilson and Jo and Ken Ellis. We so
• 20G: From Pedestrian Way down
even numbers on Claremont up
Forest to Miles both sides, then down
Claremont to Freeway.
This is a once-a-month responsibil-
ity during the weekend after the first
Friday of the month, and can take up
to a half hour to complete. Block Cap-
tains will have their bundle delivered
directly to their doorstep, and then go
door-do-door to delivery to each of
the homes. Newsletters must be tossed
onto porches or inserted into the rail-
ings (not in mailboxes, please!).
To volunteer, email Susan Montauk
at smontauk@gmail.com, or call (510)
547-3855. n

Flex Streets Eases Use of Sidewalks for the Public
W

All fees are still being waived and
permitting is streamlined for use of
the public rights-of-way including
sidewalks, parking lanes and even
street closures. Businesses expanding
operations into private parking lots
and other private outdoor areas will
also benefit. Some restaurant-goers
would like to see the parklets remain
long term, and this is under consider-
ation. Take this online survey or text
FLEX to (510) 380-7360. n
ith the move to the Orange Tier
this past March, and a fully
reopened economy coming mid-June,
bars with parklets are fully operating
indoors and outdoors to serve food
and drink. Bars, restaurants, and
other establishments that want to
add or continue to use the adjacent
sidewalk, parking lane, or traffic lane
for outdoor seating are encouraged to
see to the City’s Flex Street Initiative
at oaklandca.gov/flexstreets.


THE
page 8
JUNE 2021

Tech’s First Black Male Valedictorian Tells
Classmates “We’re Going to Change the World”

His parents, he said, “were looking for
the perfect fit. I think they wanted me
to be constantly challenged.”
His four years at Tech gave him
stability, Muhammad said. “I was able
to make tight bonds with fewer people
as opposed to weaker bonds with a lot
of people.” After taking the school’s
most advanced math class his fresh-
man year, he turned to several Peralta
District community colleges, as well
as UC Berkeley and Stanford for
higher-level math and science classes.
— by Judith Doner Berne, Rockridge News Staff Writer
H
His goal: “To excite younger students
about the wonders of science. I find
this especially important because our
communities of color often lack access
to the hands-on science experience
that makes learning so enjoyable.”
He was accepted and offered a
scholarship to all 11 colleges to which
he applied. After whittling it down
to Harvard and Stanford, he decided
on Stanford, where he will study
engineering. His decision was partly
driven by his desire to continue to be
involved with and expand KitsCubed,
which now has development and
assembly teams, and so he could stay
close to family.
His achievements, Muhammad
said, “all come from my family. They
taught me life lessons, reading, and
arithmetic.” His dad is a retired Oak-
land Fire Department captain who,
along with his mom, a Cambodian
immigrant, runs a real estate firm.
“They’ve been supportive all my life.”
He has an adult brother and a sister in
11th grade at Head-Royce School. “She
does better than me,” he said.
Throughout elementary and middle
school, “I probably went to seven
or eight different Oakland schools,
naming Kaiser Elementary and Mon-
tera Middle schools as his favorites.
e’s been making local and
national news as the first Black
male valedictorian in the 107-year
history of Oakland Technical High
School, but that’s not how 18-year-old
Ahmed Muhammad views it.
“It is definitely a bittersweet
moment,” he told me as we sat on
the steps of Oakland Tech on an
overcast Sunday in mid-May. “I’m
proud. It took a lot of hard work, but
I shouldn’t have to be the first Black
anything. I’m the first Black male
valedictorian who was afforded the
opportunity to achieve it at Tech. I
hope it inspires other kids.”
Tech, like all Oakland Unified
School District schools, has an open
enrollment plan, so kids from all
over the city can apply to attend.
Muhammad lives in East Oakland,
sports a 4.7 GPA, and plays point
guard for its varsity basketball team.
With more free time during the recent
pandemic, he founded KitsCubed,
a nonprofit that donates hands-on
science kits to minority Oakland
kids with money raised by selling
them through Oaklandish stores,
and online at www.kitscubed.com.
“I probably have double the credits I
need to graduate,” he said.
“He’s the first freshman to ever take
AP Calculus BC,” said Mary Daisy
Fong who has taught math for 20
years. “He was the brightest student
in the class and of course he aced it.”
After that, she said, “He kind of came
under my wing. He’s just an amazing
kid. Even as a ninth-grader, he had
such a very good heart and sense of
perspective. And, as he matured, he
just got better.”
“I love math and science,” Muham-
mad said, “not so much the theories
but their application to the real
world.” But he also learned to love
Tech’s acclaimed Paideia classes,
which intertwine history and English,
despite “this is not my thing.” Paideia
Eyes on Rockridge, see next page
ZϬϭϮϲϱϴϳϯͮϬϭϳϵϴϲϱϴ
Competition Drives Price in April
Closing date
BR
BA

Address                                Original price         List price
DOM
Selling price
4/09/2021
4
3

5448 Boyd Ave                      $1,895,000
        $1,895,000
12
$2,554,488
           4/10/2021
3
1

5732 Clover Dr                      $1,585,000
        $1,585,000
 0
 $1,585,000
           4/13/2021
2
2
         5885 Ocean View Dr            $1,149,000
        $1,149,000
 6
$1,355,000
           4/15/2021
4
4

5848 Colby St                        $2,495,000
        $2,495,000
 0
$2,850,000
           4/19/2021
4
3.5
         5850 Chabot Ct                     $1,599,000
        $1,749,000
46
$1,720,000

4/23/2021
2
1

481 55Th St                              $799,000
           $799,000
 4
   $960,000

4/26/2021
1
1.5

448 60th St                               $799,000
           $799,000
15
$1,325,000

4/27/2021
2
1

400 60th St                               $998,000
           $998,000
 8
$1,450,000

4/27/2021
4
4

6121 Harwood Ave               $1,999,995
        $1,999,995
 4
$3,025,000

4/27/2021
4
1.5

6475 Colby St                        $1,950,000
        $1,950,000
11
$2,730,000

4/29/2021
3
2

5947 Keith Ave                         $995,000
           $995,000
16
$1,300,000
Homes sold in April closed 28% over the asking price on average.
^ƉĞĐŝĂůŝnjŝŶŐŝŶZŽĐŬƌŝĚŐĞͮϱϭϬ͘ϰϱϵ͘ϰϯϯϴͮDŽƚůĞLJdĞĂŵ͘ĐŽŵ
tĂŶƚƚŚĞŚŝŐŚĞƐƚƉŽƐƐŝďůĞƉƌŝĐĞ͍ĂůůƵƐĂŶĚǁĞǁŝůůƐŚŽǁLJŽƵŚŽǁǁĞǁŝůůŐĞƚŝƚ͊
ŽŵƉĂƐƐŝƐĂƌĞĂůĞƐƚĂƚĞďƌŽŬĞƌůŝĐĞŶƐĞĚďLJƚŚĞ^ƚĂƚĞŽĨĂůŝĨŽƌŶŝĂĂŶĚĂďŝĚĞƐďLJƋƵĂů,ŽƵƐŝŶŐKƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJůĂǁƐ͘>ŝĐĞŶƐĞEƵŵďĞƌϬϭϴϲϲϳϳϭ͘ůůŵĂƚĞƌŝĂůƉƌĞƐĞŶƚĞĚŚĞƌĞŝŶŝƐŝŶƚĞŶĚĞĚĨŽƌŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƚŝŽŶĂů
ƉƵƌƉŽƐĞƐŽŶůLJĂŶĚŝƐĐŽŵƉŝůĞĚĨƌŽŵƐŽƵƌĐĞƐĚĞĞŵĞĚƌĞůŝĂďůĞďƵƚŚĂƐŶŽƚďĞĞŶǀĞƌŝĨŝĞĚ͘ŚĂŶŐĞƐŝŶƉƌŝĐĞ͕ĐŽŶĚŝƚŝŽŶ͕ƐĂůĞŽƌǁŝƚŚĚƌĂǁĂůŵĂLJďĞŵĂĚĞǁŝƚŚŽƵƚŶŽƚŝĐĞ͘EŽƐƚĂƚĞŵĞŶƚŝƐŵĂĚĞĂƐƚŽĂĐĐƵƌĂĐLJŽĨ
ĂŶLJĚĞƐĐƌŝƉƚŝŽŶ͘ůůŵĞĂƐƵƌĞŵĞŶƚƐĂŶĚƐƋƵĂƌĞĨŽŽƚĂŐĞĂƌĞĂƉƉƌŽdžŝŵĂƚĞ͘


THE

page 9
JUNE 2021

Eyes on Rockridge, from previous page
teachers Douglas Stubblefield and
Marietta Joe, he said, “rearranged the
furniture in my mind.”
“What makes Ahmed such a
remarkable scholar is that he is so
intellectually curious,” Joe recalled.
“As he moved through high school,
we could see his interests widening.
There is a beautiful humbleness to
his curiosity. Ahmed could have
stuck with what he thought were his
natural inclinations in STEM, and
found joy right there, in that comfort
zone. But he discovered that the
humanities were just as disorderly
and mechanistic, just as wondrous
and mysterious, as science and math,
and he flourished there as well.
“What makes Ahmed such a
remarkable human being is his
humanity.” Joe wrote, “He connects so
well with his peers in the classroom
and on the basketball court. He has
real conversations with his teachers
and professors. There is an authentic-
ity and honesty to him that makes him
so accessible to others even with all his
brilliance. He has the ability to self-
reflect, and that reflection leads him to
kindness, and empathy, and humor.”
Although playing point guard for
Tech’s Bulldogs has been an important
part of Muhammad’s life, he doesn’t
expect to try out for Stanford’s team.
“I bet I could train hard enough to
walk on,” he said. “But I know I’m not
going to the NBA. I might play club
or intramural, but I want to explore
other stuff.” He hesitated when asked
what advice he might have for younger
students. “I’m just 18. I’m still in high
school. I don’t feel qualified.”
Muhammad’s valedictory speech,
delivered at four graduation cere-
monies over two days at the end of
May to meet Covid-19 guidelines,
lauded the Oakland Tech Class
of 2021 and “what we have had to
endure.” He gave me this sense of it:
As ninth graders, we rallied against
gun violence, he said. In 10th grade,
we went on strike with the teachers.
As juniors, we were part of the global
youth climate strike and had to switch
to distance learning as the pandemic
Photo: Judy Berne
“I loved my time at Tech,” says Class of 2021 Valedictorian
Ahmed Muhammad, pictured here in front of the school.
took hold. And as seniors, we were
at the forefront of the peaceful Black
Lives Matter march that began at Tech
in the wake of the police murder of
George Floyd as well as continued
distance learning.
“No other class has had to endure
that,” Muhammad said. “I think
our class has been prepared and
we’re special. It’s a testament to the
teachers here. We’re going to change
the world.” (See him deliver his com-
mencement speech on YouTube.)
To comment on this article and
to suggest topics for future columns,
please email judyberne@att.net. n


THE
page 10
JUNE 2021

In Memoriam
Paul Cooper
(May 1951-March 2021)
— by Chris Orr
On March 3, 2021, my husband
Paul Cooper, co-owner of Pipe
Spy Plumbing and Sewer Services,
died of Covid-19. Paul was born in
1951 in Philadelphia, and we came to
Oakland together in 1974. In 1985,
we made our home on the Rockridge-
Elmwood boundary. Yes, there are
houses in the area that are literally
in both Berkeley and Oakland, a fact
that amused Paul who was fond of
saying we cooked in Berkeley (our
kitchen) and ate in Oakland (our
dining room).
Paul was avid about alternative
energy. For his 50th birthday, he
converted a Porsche 914 to electric
drive, long before the modern auto
industry caught up with his vision
of vehicles running without fossil
fuels. On weekends, he could often
be found at the curb, tinkering on
the car, always happy to answer the
questions of passers-by on how and
why to convert to electric.
In the late 1970s, Paul founded a
solar hot water company in Oakland
from two plumbers working out of
their respective homes in 1998, to over
two dozen employees and a busy shop
today. Even in this field, Paul excelled
at innovation, leading Pipe Spy to
become one of the first companies to
use trenchless technologies to replace
sewer lines with minimal impact on
landscaping.
Paul was well known among our
Rockridge and Elmwood neighbors
as a friend and contractor, and more
often both. Paul was a kind man,
a problem-solver and a mentor for
many. He is greatly missed. n
called Solar Station. Solar Station
developed solar water-heating systems
for the UC Cooperative Student Hous-
ing and ABC Diaper in Berkeley — at
that time the largest solar hot water
system in California. Although sub-
sidies for residential and commercial
solar dried up after President Jimmy
Carter’s advocacy was thwarted by
his successor Ronald Reagan, Paul
continued his career in water systems,
focusing on the essential services of
general plumbing and sewers.
Along with his partner Heiko Dzier-
zon, Paul grew the Pipe Spy business


THE

page 11
JUNE 2021

Meet Your Neighbor:
Alexis Madrigal,
Journalist Committed
to Equity and Lifting
up Community
— Interview by Casey Farmer,
RCPC Secretary
Alexis Madrigal is a contributing
writer at The Atlantic, a former
staff writer at WIRED, and most
recently a co-founder of the COVID
Tracking Project. Alexis serves on
the board of Chapter 510, which is
a “made-in-Oakland youth writing,
bookmaking & publishing center.”
Rockridge resident Alexis Madrigal is an author, a staff writer at
The Atlantic, and co-founder of the COVID Tracking Project.
our neighbors gather. Our few blocks
make up a very tight-knit community
that is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and
multi-generational.
Casey: You were just named as a
host of KQED’s Forum. What are you
excited about and what will you bring
to this show? (https://www.kqed.org/
forum).
Alexis: I’m excited to actively work
to knit together the narrative of a
region that is home to nine counties
and 100 cities. The problems we face
in the Bay Area need to be solved by
working together, which is often diffi-
cult to do with government. We need
to do that work on a cultural level.
Casey: You co-founded the COVID
Tracking Project in the early weeks of
the pandemic. What was it and why
did your team develop it?
Alexis: The COVID Tracking Proj-
ect sought to provide COVID data
when the federal government couldn’t
be relied upon to do so — oftentimes
they were not telling the whole truth
about the data or the government
didn’t have all of the data public
health officials needed. Our mission
was to fill those gaps in the data. It
was developed through volunteer
labor and philanthropic contributions
with my co-founder Erin Kissane.
Casey: Please tell our readers a little
about yourself.
Alexis: I was born in Mexico City.
My father is Mexican and my mother
is from Massachusetts. When I was
young, we moved to LA and then to
rural Washington so I really grew up
in the woods. I’ve been the same size
as I was since I was about 10 years
old, so early on I thought I’d be a
professional athlete. But when I didn’t
continue to grow, I decided I wanted
to be a writer.
My very first media gig was in 1996
when I started a UCLA basketball
blog at age 14. It was my first taste of
writing and I loved it. I also enjoyed
building community online. For me,
the internet was such a lifeline to
other places outside of the woods of
my childhood home. I studied fiction
at Harvard then started writing for
WIRED in 2007, specifically about
science and the internet.
Casey: Analyzing this data so closely
and writing about the impacts of the
pandemic must have been challenging.
What did you learn from the experi-
ence?
Alexis: It was a difficult year to
track the COVID numbers. What I
took away from the experience was a
saying among public health experts:
“the causes of the causes.” You can
look at health disparities in a bunch
of different ways and believe a lot of
reasons for those disparities, but only
if you go a layer deeper can you truly
know what is going on. n
Casey: What is your Rockridge story?
Why did you move here?
Alexis: My now-wife and I found
Rockridge when we moved back
from the East Coast to the Bay and
were looking for a place to live and
have babies. We found a great home
on Colby Street which we love with
all of our hearts. My favorite thing
about the neighborhood is actually in
front of my house where so many of


THE
page 12
JUNE 2021

Clearing the Air About
the Leaf Blower Ban
RDA, from page 5
Businesses that pay into the RDA
fund are within specified addresses:
represented by the College Avenue
Merchant’s Association which relied
solely on volunteers and the generos-
ity of a handful of donor merchants.
Formalizing a BID allowed for a
steady stream of revenue to cover
much needed and costly projects that
could be undertaken and sustained
for years.
Though one of the first of its kind
in Oakland, over a dozen districts
have since followed with similar mer-
chant-tenant, commercial-property
owner, and even residential-property
owner assessments to raise funds for
similar projects.
Despite being one of the top
revenue-generating districts funding
the City of Oakland, the RDA works
off a lean budget of approximately
$180,000 per year — a small slice
of the overall $4+ million in pri-
vate-sourced and controlled funds
that are allocated to business districts
in Oakland on an annual basis.
At the time of its formation as a
BID, property owners lobbied suc-
cessfully to apply assessment fees to
business operators only, not commer-
cial property or residential property
owners.
While this limited the revenue
potential for the district significantly,
it keeps the burden of this commu-
nity investment overwhelmingly on
• 62nd Street [307]
— by Skip Fogarty
S
• Broadway [5050, 5152, 5100 - 5301
(odd numbers only)]
ome homeowners and landscapers
may not be aware that as of April 1,
2021, gas-powered leaf blowers have
been banned throughout the city of
Oakland (see April 2021 Rockridge
News). A new ordinance, authored
by Councilmember Dan Kalb, prohib-
its these noisy, polluting machines
in our neighborhoods. The City
Council approved Kalb’s bill with
a unanimous vote. Come October,
gas-powered string trimmers will also
be deemed obsolete — at least as far
as the law is concerned.
“It’s something I’ve been wanting
to do for years, but the city has many
urgent issues to address,” says Kalb.
“Public safety and the housing crisis
are higher on our agenda, but the
environmental and quality-of-life
impacts of these machines can not be
ignored.”
Oakland joins at least 20 other
California towns and cities that have
red-lined leaf blowers. Indeed, there’s a
movement afoot to eliminate gas-pow-
ered gardening equipment, and the
reasons are manifold.
Let’s start with the noise. A typical
gas blower generates anywhere from
65 to 115 decibels. At the high end
• Chabot [6201]
• Claremont [6076 - 6250]
• College [5231 - 6323]
• Florio [6201]
• Keith [5655]
• Manila [5400]
• Miles [5697 to 5699], and
• Oak Grove [5723]
the shoulders of the small businesses
and solopreneurs that line the first
and second floors of College Avenue.
This investment into their local
business community allows everyone
in the neighborhood to benefit from
a safer, cleaner, and more bustling
business district.
The RDA is a nonprofit organi-
zation led by a volunteer board of
directors composed of business stake-
holders and residents with one staff
position to support its mission.
Those interested in joining the board
should email info@rockridgedistrict.
com for information; this year’s
annual elections will be held on June
17, 2021. n
Blower Ban, see next page
law office of
dave karlinsky
725 washington st., suite 313  oakland, ca 94607
(510) 788-5700    www.davekarlinskylaw.com
BUYING?
SELLING?
LET ME HELP YOU!
Practicing exclusively in the area of trusts and estates:
• Estate planning

• Probate / trust administration

• Dispute resolution
Anne D. Brandon, Realtor
510.682.6644 | 510.339.9290
Anne@TheHighlandPartners.com
DRE# 01877719
• Special needs trusts
Please contact me during regular business hours to
      schedule an appointment.


THE

page 13
JUNE 2021

that the City itself has been converting
to electric equipment for several years
now, partially funded by a state grant.
The ordinance lays out a tiered
schedule of fines ranging from $100
to $1,000 for repeat violations. Com-
plaints may be filed with the City’s
Planning & Building Department’s
code enforcement division. Fines will
be levied on the property or business
owner, not landscaping crews.
“We obviously can’t chase down
every single complaint, but we’ll be
looking for patterns and will intervene
when necessary,” says Kalb.
In other cities, compliance with
blower bans has been achieved over
time. Encouragingly, neighboring
Piedmont and Berkeley have made
great strides in eliminating the use of
this type of equipment.
Also on the horizon is Assembly Bill
1346 that proposes blocking the sale
of all gas-powered mowers, trimmers,
and small engines used chiefly in
recreational vehicles. The Assembly bill
as drafted would require all of these
machines to be zero-emission by 2024.
One of the sponsors of the bill,
Assemblymember Lorena Gonzales
(D-San Diego), says, “It’s time to phase
out these super polluters. They’re not
only bad for our environment but can
cause serious health issues for workers
and our communities.”
Blower Ban, from previous page
of that range, the noise is equivalent
to operating a chain saw. And the
low frequencies emitted by these
machines carry over longer distances
and project significantly more sonic
force than electric blowers. Even
when decibel ratings are equivalent,
electric equipment operates at higher
frequencies that do not carry the
same impact as gas blowers.
“Besides the nuisance factor, these
machines are very dangerous to the
health and safety of the workers who
operate them,” Kalb emphasizes.
While neighbors may be annoyed
by a blower’s roar, it’s only for short
durations. But a gardener is running
that machine one foot from his ear for
a couple of hours every day. Hearing
damage is cumulative and, combined
with noxious exhaust fumes, workers
are endangered by this equipment.
Speaking of fumes, let’s consider
the impact on air quality. The Cali-
fornia Air Resources Board (CARB)
states that running a gas blower for
one hour belches as much smog as
driving a Toyota Camry from Los
Angeles to Denver. “Relative to cli-
mate change, we need to recognize
and mitigate the impact of this type
of equipment,” says Kalb.
Two-stroke engines are notorious
polluters because, by design, they
exhaust a lot of unburned, atomized gas
and oil. Compared to modern vehicles,
CARB studies show that these gas-
The City of Oakland received a grant
to help replace its gas-powered
blowers and trimmers.
Photo by Dave Simbosa on Unsplash
powered tools emit 500 times as many
hydrocarbons and 25 times the carbon
monoxide. This is a primitive technol-
ogy that was banned for motorcycles
and marine engines long ago.
Finally, leaf blowers — gas or electric
— can launch spores, mold, pollen,
and other allergens into the air to drift
across property lines and irritate sensi-
tive neighbors.
With a new law on the books, what
about enforcement? “As with any new
ordinance, some people will become
aware of it sooner than others,” Kalb
states, “the city does not have the
resources to drive around looking
for violations, so it’s incumbent upon
property owners to speak with their
contractors and spread the word in
their neighborhoods.”
To this point, “we have focused on
building awareness and communicat-
ing with both business owners and
residents,” Kalb explains. He added
Got a story tip for Skip? Email
editor@rockridge.org. n


THE
page 14
JUNE 2021

TNT Strength Finds A
Home on College Ave.
T
NT Strength opened its doors at
5255 College Ave in Rockridge
on April 1 in a studio with a long fit-
ness legacy including being formerly
owned by champion bodybuilder
Jack Delinger. TNT, which stands for
“Truth Not Trends,” offers individual-
ized strength training sessions both in
the studio and online with safe, effi-
cient strength training techniques and
research-based exercise principles.
The owners, Liam “Taku” Bauer
and Jesse Schmidt, have more than
TNT coach Jesse Schmidt helps
client Fiona Doyle with her workout.
35 years of combined experience as
strength coaches and have worked
with professional athletes, amateur
athletes, children, and adults into
their 90s. Visit them at https://tnt-
strength.com. n

Rockridge Dining Guide
Contact these local restaurants
for pickup and delivery —
and be sure to ask about indoor
& outdoor dining options.
A Coté
A16
Ain’t Normal Cafe
Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers
Becky’s Chinese Restaurant
Beer Baron
Belotti Ristorante
Boichik Bagels
Cactus Taqueria
Casa Barotti Spizzicheria
Cole Coffee
Crepevine
Enoteca Molinari
Filippo’s
Flavors of India
Great Wall Chinese
High Peaks Kitchen
Holy Basil Pho
Hudson Bay Cafe
Ike’s Love & Sandwiches
Khana Peena
Kitchen Story
La Farine
Marica
Millennium
Mitama
Momo Ramen
Namastey Patio
Noodle Theory
Oliveto Restaurant
Philz Coffee
Ramen Shop
RareTea
Redfield Cider Bar & Bottle Shop
Rikyu Japanese Restaurant
Rockridge Cafe
Smitten Ice Cream
Soi 4 Bangkok Eatery
Southie’s
Sukho Thai
The Burrito Shop
The Chocolate Dragon
The Golden Squirrel
Uzen
Wood Tavern
Yimm
Zachary’s Chicago Pizza

Refill Shop To Open New Location in Rockridge

The Re-Up Refill Shop will be
moving to a new location by the
end of this month at 6025 College
Avenue. This retail store will offer
ecological bath, food, and cleaning
products in refillable containers in

order to reduce single-use plastic
waste, along with a bulk-food section.
They also offer free milkman-style
bicycle delivery. Check out their
products online before their storefront
opens at ReUpRefills.org. n


THE

page 15
JUNE 2021

RNClassifiedAds
Rockridge Temporary Rental
Need housing for a remodel or extended
visit? Bright, modern 3&1/2 bdrm located
close to BART and shopping. Includes
utilities and monthly cleaning. $3,950/
monthly.  Available 9/1/21-11/30/21. Call
510/693-6700.
I’m back!! Penelope’s Aesthetics
Skincare Salon
A cozy salon located in a serene garden
setting in Rockridge! Relax and rejuvenate
with a facial tailored for your unique
skincare requirements. Please call: 510/
594-1552; penelopecalef.com.
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: RCPC, 4900 Shattuck Ave., PO
Box 22504, Oakland, 94609-20131.
The deadline for the July 2021 issue
is June 17 (available on July 3). For
more details, email Susan Montauk at
smontauk@gmail.com.
Save Your Family Memories!
Photo Scanning: Prints Slides, Film Video,
Wall Design, Custom Photobooks. Since
2004 Locally owned & operated in
Oakland.  Your memories are important,
don’t wait. Please call us to learn more.
415/773-1878. MementoPress.com.
Electrical Remodels and Repairs
Need deck lighting? I can help with that.
I’ve been doing electrical work in Oakland
and Berkeley for over 35 years. Sutorik
& Company. www.sutorikandco.com Lic
#397149, 510/655-3677.
BOOKS PURCHASED
Single Volumes. Entire Libraries. Tavistock
Books. First Editions, Rare & Collectible.
Alameda, CA. 510/814-0480. vjs@
tavbooks.com, www.tavbooks.com.
Chabot Canyon Raquet Club
Your neighborhood Tennis Club is
accepting new membership applications.
Six new, lighted tennis courts. 7040
Chabot Road, Oakland. 510/652-6060.
www.chabotcanyon.org.
Get Coaching. Get Results.
•Want to exponentially grow your
business? •Ready to fast-track your
corporate job? •Considering starting
a new career venture? Schedule a
complimentary session now. Call (800)
322-5610 or visit DaisukiCoaching.com.
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
Handyman for Hire
Multifaceted and well experienced.
Hauling and towing available. No job
too small. Reasonably priced. Lee Self.
707/223-1298-call and text.
Eliminate Gutter Cleaning
Forever!
LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-
blocking gutter protection. Schedule a
FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 15% off
Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military
Discounts. Call 844/514-0871.


COME VISIT US AT
THE CORNER OF
LIFE & CHANGE

THE
5845 Colby Street | Rockridge
$1,925,000 | 5845Colby.com
www.ClaudiaMillsRealEstateTeam.com
Claudia Mills
510.350.6419
c.mills@ggsir.com
Lic.#01881682
Each Franchise Is Independently Owned And Operated.
KEVIN BROWN
Broker
654-8707 or 593-4780
PROVIDING

Professional,

Full Service

Real Estate Brokerage

To Rockridge Clients
 For Over 26 Years.
SPECIALIZING IN

OResidential Sales

OIncome Property

OCommercial

OProperty Management
Better Homes
Realty
5353 College Avenue
Oakland