Extracted text · highlighting “FROG Park”

www.rockridge.org
THE
R ckridgeNews

VOL 39   •   NO. 5   •   ISSUE  NO. 419   •   MAY 2024                 CIRCULATION: 6,400 RESIDENCES; 200 BUSINESSES

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

RCPC Election
Results are In
Hundreds of neighbors turn out
for this year's election:
One incumbent re-elected
Five new members join the board
Photo by Anna Marks
by Zac Unger, RCPC Board Member
and 2024 Election Officer
The election is over and we have
the results. Thanks go out to
everyone who voted on April 18 or
20. A total of 441 people showed up
to make their voices heard — the
second largest turnout ever!
Bambino Thrift Shop volunteers (left to right) Dee McDonough, Lou Gates, and
Carol Maes are making big plans for the store’s anniversary later this month.
Casey Farmer (incumbent) 	288
Zack Walton
269
Kristen Belt
255
Eli Kaplan
255
Muhammad Alameldin
241
Kim S. Smith
237
Bambino Thrift Shop:
A Beacon of Support
For Thirty Years
infants and young children, regardless
of their ability to pay. This dream
became a reality in 1914 when Wright
founded Baby Hospital (now called
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
Oakland) with social worker Mabel
Weed, her lifelong companion, and a
group of local women.
When the all-male Board of Direc-
tors took control of the hospital in
the late 1920s, the women formed
by Anna L. Marks
Alameda County public health
nurse, activist, and feminist,
Bertha Wright (1876-1971) believed
health care services should be available
to all income groups, especially for
Andrew Charman
192
Annette Floystrup
179
Stuart Flashman
173
Ronnie Spitzer
167
Jennifer McElrath
164
Kirk Peterson
162
Bambino Thrift, see next page
Got Kitchen? Got Time? Join the Tour!
David Beiser
15
by Star Lightner
Congrats to the six winners
highlighted above; please welcome
them to the RCPC Board of Direc-
tors. And a big THANK YOU to
departing RCPC Board Members
Aly Bonde, Andrew Charman,
Annette Floystrup, Ben Friedman,
Robin McDonnell, and Kirk Peter-
son. We appreciate everyone who
participated — candidates, volun-
teers, and voters. (See Letter from
the Chair on page 10.)  n
2024
Hsive to remodel, but maybe you did
it on a shoestring. There can even
be diversity of function. Maybe your
kitchen is particularly small or you
have decided to focus on energy
efficiency. Moreover, it doesn’t have
to be all about the fixtures; it can also
be about structure. Have you moved
walls, repurposed spaces, or changed
the flow?
ello Rockridge, it’s time for
another Rockridge Kitchen Tour
and we are gearing up in two ways.
First, we’re looking for kitchens to
be on the tour. This year we are very
interested in a diversity of kitchens
in terms of style, cost, and function.
Your kitchen may be Craftsman,
mid-century modern, Victorian,
eclectic, or another style. In terms of
cost, many kitchens are very expen-
Kitchen Tour, see page 3


THE
page 2
MAY 2024

and gift certificates that have been
donated from businesses in Oakland,
Berkeley, and beyond. “Traditionally
over the years, The Branches as a
whole have donated close to a million
dollars from different functions…
from Bingo to the Debutante Ball,”
notes McDonough.
Raffle tickets will be available for
sale May 7–18, and cost $5 for one,
$10 for 3, $20 for seven; and $50 for
20. Grand prize is a special shopping
experience: Bambino will pick one
raffle winner who will be entitled to
a 30 percent discount on purchases
made through May 30, 2025. The
discount will be applied to a maxi-
mum of one item per month for any
full-priced item not already on sale
or discounted (non-transferable,
limited to personal use by winner
only. Winner need not be present to
win, but must present identification
and the winner’s certificate at time
of purchase).
It takes a lot of love and attention
to keep the store stocked and appeal-
ing, and Shop Manager Lou Gates
combines that with her background
in information science to find effi-
cient ways to sell things in the store.
She inspects the influx of donations
and posts photos to Social Media.
“We’re constantly trying to make the
store fresh and popular with the kids
in the neighborhood.”
Gates also assists with donations,
which are accepted on Wednesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays from
11am to 1pm. She says typical dona-
tions include clothing, housewares,
jewelry, books, and a some small
furniture (due to limited display
space). Some items are not accepted,
like ripped or torn items, or those
that pose a possible insurance risk,
like exercise equipment, baby cribs,
and baby car seats.
Bambino Thrift, from front page
auxiliary groups known as “The
Branches” to continue raising money
for the hospital. With the support of
The Branches, the Bambino Thrift
Shop opened in 1928. They moved to
5290 College Avenue in 1994.
Carol Maes has been working in
the shop since 1998, first as Manager,
then as Volunteer Manager. She now
serves as Raffle Coordinator for their
big anniversary celebration. Maes
loves working in the neighborhood,
only a half mile from her home
where she’s lived for 50 years. Dee
McDonough, the store’s 30th Anni-
versary Chair, is also a local resident
and has lived in Upper Rockridge
for the past 40 years. The two met
decades ago when both their children
went to school at St. Theresa’s.
The store will be holding a raffle on
Saturday, May 18, and hopes neigh-
bors come by in support. “It’s a little
difficult to get people to come up to
the Broadway end of College Avenue,
so we are going to put out balloons
and advertise a lot that we’re open —
we will be serving tea and cookies,
and holding our raffle drawing that
same day,” says McDonough.
This year, they will be raffling off
more than $4,000 worth of items
The Rockridge News was founded in 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 & Distribution Manager
Judith Doner Berne......... Senior Contributing Writer
RCPC Board of Directors, 2024-25
Casey Farmer.......................................................Chair
Ken Rich..................................................... Vice-Chair
Kim S. Smith................................................. Secretary
Louisa Bukiet.................................................Treasurer
Mark Aaronson, Muhammad Alameldin, Kristen
Belt, Eli Kaplan, Star Lightner, Tom Lollini, Zac
Unger, Zach Walton,
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org
Contacting the Rockidge News
Are there topics you’d like to see covered in the
Rockridge News? Have questions about newsletter
distribution? Want to volunteer to be a Rockridge
News distributor? We’d love to hear from you.
Want to write a letter to the Editor? Letters are
limited to 450 words and are published at the
editors discretion. Send letters to: editor@
rockridge.org. Please include your name, email,
and street of residence. Deadline is the 11th of
each month for the upcoming newsletter.
All submissions accepted for publication are
subject to editing for clarity and brevity. The
Rockridge News reserves the right to refuse any
articles, letters, or advertisements.
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 Ad Deadline for JUNE 2024:
May 20th, 2024
Advertising rates are $28/column inch ($32 for
color). Six-month pre-pay rates available.
For display ads, call Jo Ellis at 510-653-3210
(after noon), or email joellis1@hotmail.com.
Classifieds: Email Susan at smontauk@gmail.com.
Please note that there’s a five-bag
maximum for each donation. For
larger furniture donations, it’s best to
call the shop in advance at 510-658-
7473 to ensure available space.
To learn more, donate, or sign up
for the weekly email newsletter, visit
www.bambinothriftshop.org; or follow
them on Facebook or Instagram. n
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.


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page 3
MAY 2024

Neighbors Pitch in for Earth Day at Frog Park

Kitchen Tour, from front page
In short, there is no template and
no specific type of kitchen we are
looking for. Just as Rockridge is not a
static and unchanging place, neither is
the Rockridge Kitchen Tour. You may
have noticed that there were three
ADUs in the past two Kitchen Tours,
and the RCPC board is enthusiastic
about continuing to highlight them.
Thus, if you have a new ADU that you
would like to have on the tour, please
let us know.
by Will Sheldon
The annual Earth Day Frog Park
and the Temescal Greenbelt
clean-up was a great success. The big
structure was cleaned; the fiber wood
chips were turned over; sand that
had infiltrated the wood chips was
removed; trees, bushes, and ivy were
trimmed; loose debris was removed;
large amounts of trash were collected;
graffiti was painted over; the bath-
room was cleaned… and the park
looks fabulous.
Friends of Frog Park thank all the
volunteers who showed up to spread
the love and get their hands dirty.
Their next clean-up event will take
place sometime in September for
Creek to Bay Day.
Photo by Anna Marks
Thank you to Ain’t Normal Café
for donating coffee, Bakesale Betty’s
for donating cinnamon rolls, and Boi-
chik Bagels for donating bagels and
schmears. And lastly, we thank the
City of Oakland for supplying tools
and a green waste dumpster. n
Kitchen Design Concepts
ADU Kitchens: How did you maximize a
smaller space?
Budget Kitchens: Where did you find
your materials? Did you DIY?
Traditional Kitchens: How have you
preserved the original details of your
kitchen?
BOOK A 5-STAR STAY
★★★★★
Mid-Century Modern Kitchens: Where
did you source the materials? Where did
you draw inspiration?
Post-Modern Kitchens: What design
features did you choose and why?
Smart Kitchens: What technological
features enhance your life?
Green and Sustainable Kitchens:
Have a fully electric kitchen to showcase?
We are also interested in your
feedback: What are some things you
would like to see (or not see) on the
Kitchen Tour? While the Kitchen
Tour is RCPC’s only fundraiser and its
main source of funding, we are inter-
ested in hearing how to make it better,
whatever that means to you.
Second, we need VOLUNTEERS!
The Kitchen Tour has a lot of moving
parts and we need volunteers to
handle advertising, sponsorships, and
to create the tour brochure. We also
need writers to create descriptions of
the kitchens/ADUs; a photographer
to photograph them; and a volunteer
coordinator to recruit and train tour
docents. We have a small but mighty
team in the works so far, but we need
more great folks to put it together.
⟡
⟡
Sebastopol
West Sonoma County
TheSebastopolRetreat.com
Land Use Committee Meeting
The Rockridge community
is encouraged to participate in LUC
meetings where elements of the
General Plan is a primary topic of
conversation.
Meetings are held at 7:30pm
on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.
⟡
⟡
Truckee
North Lake Tahoe
The next meeting will be held on
Wednesday, May 15, on Zoom
TheTruckeeHouse.com
Please email kitchentour@rockridge.
org with kitchen or ADU candidates,
feedback on the Kitchen Tour, or to
volunteer. Thank you. n
To participate, or to request links to
this or any previous meeting,
email landuse@rockridge.org.
Save 10% | Promo Code: RN10
Exp. 9/2024


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page 4
MAY 2024

Behind the Scenes
With the Good
People of Colby St.
by Skip Fogarty
Considering the types of small
businesses typically profiled
here in the Rockridge News, you prob-
ably wouldn’t think about a bustling
video production agency as one of our
neighbors. But right there on Colby,
in a former storefront turned yoga
studio, is a company called MVP,
formerly known as Maximize Video
Productions.
Run by founder Max Fancher,
MVP is a full-service creative agency
with expertise in the whole scope
of commercial production and film
Photo courtesy of MVP
(L to R) Zubeyir Mentese, Eric Wahlstrom, Sarah Barker, Jove Mandzik and
Max Fancher use their MVP/Good People van to haul video gear
and to deliver meals to unhoused folks.
with good clients. That leads to our
best possible work and I think it dis-
tinguishes us in the industry.”
The Santa Cruz native studied
sociology at UC Berkeley and played
football as a running back for the
Bears. After Cal, he operated a sailing
school and charter business in the
Berkeley Marina. He also led sailing
excursions in exotic locales like
Tonga, Tahiti, Greece and Turkey.
Around the time his first daughter
was born, Fancher was looking for a
change of career direction. Always
interested in film and photography,
he said he really caught the bug for
making videos on his sailing trips.
He produced video “scrapbooks” for
clients to remember and share their
adventures. He enjoyed the work and
discovered that people would actually
pay for it. So, he set a new course,
at first working from a bedroom
at home. “We have a picture of our
baby in a sling on my chest while I’m
pounding away at the keyboard.”
Then, one day on his neighborhood
jog, he spotted a “For Rent” sign.
The corner building had caught his
eye before as he was looking for more
space to grow his business. When he
inquired and toured the space,
he knew the former neighborhood
making — from storytelling to loca-
tion scouting to casting to pre- and
post-production editing, and every-
thing in between.
“We take pride in our client list,”
Fancher says. “As our business grew,
we became able to take on bigger proj-
ects for clients like Apple, Genentech
and Covered California. In turn, those
larger accounts allow us to also serve
cause-related companies and nonprof-
its with smaller budgets.” Examples
include Silicon Valley Community
Foundation, Hope Services, and
Goodwill. “We look for opportunities
to partner with clients who are eager
to push the envelope creatively while
also doing good in the world.”
In business for 17 years now,
Fancher says, “we rebranded ourselves
a few years ago. With a lot of thought
and input, we settled on the notion
of MVP being all about good people.
That means we try to attract good
people to work here. Then we align
Years of
technological
innovation have
yielded a
brand-new
exterior stain that
exterior stain that
comes in a wide
variety of colors
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MVP, see next page


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page 5
MAY 2024

MVP, from previous page
grocery was the perfect spot for
MVP. Now, the 1,000-square-foot
boutique studio space includes edit
bays for post-production, conference
space for meetings, and enough
room to shoot the occasional inter-
view or product shot.
Snug in a residential neighborhood,
the company aims to be a good
neighbor in many ways. They held
an open house when they first moved
in, offer fresh water to passerby dogs,
and recently organized an art show
in Colby Park. With creative flair,
they frequently re-purpose the props
from client shoots into fun window
displays describing their projects.
Beyond Rockridge, the company
really walks the walk of being
good people. The first Saturday
each month, they rally employees
and volunteers to feed hundreds of
unhoused folks in San Francisco’s
Tenderloin and in West Oakland.
“We work with City Eats to deliver
hot meals which are much better
than a cold sandwich handout,”
Fancher says. “These days, there’s
plenty of negativity about our down-
town areas, but we find that giving
something back shifts people’s atti-
tudes from helplessness to empathy.”
MVP currently employs about 20
folks. Several are full-time employees
and, as is typical in the production
industry, most MVP associates work
on a per-project basis.
Eric Wahlstrom is the lead editor
on MVP’s various projects. With the
company for over four years, he says
“working at MVP is different than
the large companies I used to work
for because I’m given a lot of creative
autonomy, and my ideas go further
here. Max embodies our good people
ethos in how he supports and values
me as an employee.”
Producer Danielle Cheifetz echoes
those ideas. “Over the years, I’ve
cultivated a network of professionals
with positive attitudes and reliability,
and getting the opportunity to meet
and work with other good people
only helps everyone grow.”
MVP, see next page

Dogs and Cats of Rockridge
Her name, Machka, is slang for
“female cat” in central Europe,
and she stands in solidarity with
all displaced cats during wartime.
The Maine Coon cat loves Costco
Paté and prefers to take a nap
when “people food” is being
served. Machka has an uncanny
ability to get into in any new box in
under five seconds and will chase
any drinking straw to add to her
growing collection. She loves to
play with her sister feline, Kitska.
They both trained easily and have
learned to come on command and
give fist bumps.
This is Germ, a four-year-old
Bernedoodle. He was adopted
from Michigan right before the
pandemic when he was only eight
weeks old. After long hikes, he
loves to be rewarded with peanut
butter, cheese, and Polka dog
treats. He has a lot of empathy
and always knows when you
need extra cuddles. When he is
not walking with his guardians
to Trader Joe’s or Bakesale
Betty, you will find him sitting or
lying down on the porch steps
watching the world go by.
Does your furry friend live in Rockridge? If so, send a photo of your four-legged companion
with a short commentary to: editor@rockridge.org.


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MAY 2024

Mercy Vintage Takes
Over Storefront on
College Avenue
M
MVP, from previous page
Max and his wife Maggie, who
serves as MVP’s CFO, have two
daughters, Ella, 16, and Tessa, 8, and
they live on Boyd Avenue. “One thing
that’s great about Rockridge is the
wonderful public schools,” Fancher
says. Ella attended Chabot Elementary,
Claremont Middle, and is now at Oak-
land Tech. Tessa is on the same course.
“When you find alignment with
your co-workers, your clients, and
your community, it’s just the best
feeling,” Fancher concludes. Charac-
teristically, he gathers the team before
every client shoot in a football-style
huddle to share a bonding chant:
“On three… one, two, three —
good people!”
For info, see maximizevideo.com.
Photo by Anna Marks
ercy Vintage opened in June of
2009 on Piedmont Avenue and
will soon be relocating to College at
Lawton, the corner location previously
occupied by textile designer Lesley
Evers and Right Angle hair design.
Owner Karen Fort currently
operates two shops across the street
from each other, and looks forward
to consolidating them into a larger
location nearly twice the size of the
two combined.
“We all work together and wanted
to be in one space. We’re really excited
to be in that neighborhood. People are
stopping every day to welcome us, and
telling us how excited they are. We
can’t wait to get going over there.”
They plan to continue offering a
wide variety of vintage clothes and
Shop owner Karen Fort purchased
dry cleaner tracks to display her large
selection of vintage Levis®.
accessories for women in a 1920s-era
space. If all goes well, they will open
this month, seven days a week. n


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page 7
MAY 2024

Know Justice,
Know Peace
by Carol Kasparek
“W
e need to do something,”
said engineer, artist, and
Rockridge resident Mauricio Bustos in
reaction to the tide of national events
surrounding the death of George Floyd
in the summer of 2020. He realized
then that he had to “channel his anger
at what was happening in the world,”
and was convinced that he needed to
use his talents to “get people to think
that we are all in this together.”
One of his mentors would always
ask, “Are you connected to power and
to the ground?” Bustos would remind
himself of this as he embarked on an
artistic endeavor to tie it all together.
He decided to use light, as in neon
and LED, to convey his message as
he brought a luminous Black Lives
Matter sign to life. He and his crew
fashioned the BLM piece in a shared
warehouse in Emeryville where Burner
fire-breathing vehicles take shape. He
did not expect that the execution of the
sculpture would turn out to be only
one of his challenges.
When he looked for a location to
mount the piece, he discovered that
people did not want to get involved.
Fortunately, Emeryville’s mayor at the
time connected him with the owners
of Rising Sun whose building over-
looks Highway 24. Bustos and his son
Crew members install the “Know Justice, Know Peace” sign as part of the
Autumn 23 show at The Gardens at Lake Merritt.
corner of Claremont and College with
fiberglass wands that bent and twisted
in the wind. Later, he created a sea of
steel seagrass at the Richmond Ferry
Terminal.
The next large-scale social justice
project for Bustos is already in process
— a huge, animated neon work “Know
Justice, Know Peace,” is currently
taking shape. Bustos has open-sourced
the technology he developed to control
the displays, but money will ultimately
determine the speed of progress. A
crowdfunding site is funneling money
for materials. They are hosting vol-
unteer events where everyone will be
acknowledged for their contributions.
“A kid can say, ‘I sanded that letter,’”
explained Bustos. The Crew (which
also includes attorneys, doctors, and
nonprofit organization leaders) will
continue to devote themselves to
bringing the sculpture into being.
 “Know Justice, Know Peace will be
a powerful gift to the community”,
asserts Bustos, and the Oakland City
Council agrees. They chose the piece
to be part of the Festival of Lights,
and will be mounted within the
month across from the offices of the
Mayor and Chamber of Commerce.
With that unveiling, Bustos will have
achieved his goal of bringing the joy
of social justice to a larger audience —
let there be light. n
were soon up on the roof meticulously
positioning the piece, reassuring
vigilant police officers they were safe
— and on July 25, 2020, the Black
Lives Matter message blazed into
being. “So beautiful, so clean, so much
work,” Bustos remarked on the result.
Bustos has always found interesting
things to do. For 15 years, he has
been part of Core Crew creating fan-
tastical and functional contraptions
for Burning Man. With a graduate
degree in Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, he has constructed
massive outdoor sculptures through-
out the East Bay. On a weekend in
2018, he filled the empty lot at the
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THE
page 8
MAY 2024

Park Day Co-Founder Inspires,
Learns from Students
by Judith Doner Berne
“T
way was a park.” Three years later,
with a growing student body, they
moved to Montclair Presbyterian
Church and added grades 4-6.
In a full-circle scenario, Twin Pines
closed in 1982. Erb and her cohorts,
with an enrollment that had grown
to nearly 300 students, purchased
the property. In 2006, the school
“adopted” the East Bay Community
School and expanded to K-8. “This
was total investment,” she said.
“There was no hierarchy. All deci-
sions were made together by the staff
and board.”
Erb was the reason the late Tom
Little, self-described as a 22-year-old
graduate student who sports a large
red Afro, bushy mustache, and braces,
left San Francisco State to become an
unpaid intern at the new school.
“Tall and willowy, Susan conveys
a serene confidence with adults that
quickly morphs into gentle wackiness
with a young child,” he later wrote
in his book, Loving Learning: How
Progressive Education Can Save
America’s Schools. “When speaking
with children, she’ll rarely look down
at them; instead, she squats or kneels
to address them at eye level as she calls
their attention to wonders they haven’t
yet noticed. I realized right away that
serving as Susan’s apprentice would
teach me more than anything I’d learn
in graduate school.” Little went on to
head Park Day School for 27 years.
hose were the days when any-
thing was possible.” Longtime
Rockridge resident Susan Erb was
referring to the ’70s, when she, then a
fledgling teacher, and five sets of par-
ents left Twin Pines Day School — an
independent progressive day school
in the Temescal neighborhood — to
found Park Day School.
Erb had knocked on the door of
Twin Pines with degrees in art and
psychology from Earlham College,
a Quaker school in her native Ohio,
but no teaching certificate. She was
hired at $500 a month to teach kin-
dergarten although, “I hardly knew
how to teach.”
But growing dissatisfaction with
what she described as a “chaotic”
teaching and learning environment,
drove the group to come up with
an alternative. “We don’t like what
is going on here” — exemplified by
walls filled with psychedelic posters.
“So, what would we like? It was some-
what of a conspiracy. We would meet
after school out on the playground in
secret.”
Come summer, the meetings shifted
to her kitchen. “We didn’t have a lot
of resources, but we did have a lot
of imagination and desire,” she said.
They opened the K-3 Park Day School
that fall, renting space from Beth
Jacob, the Orthodox Jewish Synagogue
on Park Boulevard. “We mopped
bathrooms and painted walls,” and
with no money for furnishings, “We
started digging in dumpsters in the
Oakland Hills, the Oakland flats, and
at Safeway.”
“We took every student we could
get,” Erb said, with a September 1976
enrollment of 22. By October, that had
grown to 28. Their calendar conflicted
with the synagogue’s calendar, so on
pre-Sabbath afternoons they held
classes in a street parklet, “which no
Eyes on Rockridge, see next page


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page 9
MAY 2024

Eyes on Rockridge,
     from previous page
As for Erb, “I was never cut out
to be a director. I was a teacher. A
teacher who loved being a part of a
collaborative experience in all of its
frustrating, challenging, learning,
thrilling, parts: Keeping our eyes on
the prize of creating a dynamic, brave
place of learning for kids and adults.”
A goal from the beginning, she said,
was to have staff and students that
reflected the diverse group of founding
parents. But instead of student tests,
they focused on progressive education
ideals — social justice, collaborative
learning, creative use of space (the
school has gardens and a chicken
coop), and community activism.
That included projects with
Emerson Elementary, the nearby ele-
mentary school; and, until it closed in
2008, the Matilda Brown Home, the
historic, 132-year-old assisted living
facility for women, now part of Park
Day’s campus. “We’d go over and read
stories to the ladies which seemed to
enliven their lives.”
Erb guided three generations of
Mike McConnell’s family. “You send
your child off to the care of a teacher,
not a school,” McConnell said. “So,
when another parent called to say
Susan is unique; would you join us if
she were willing to keep teaching our
children in a new school? The answer
was an enthusiastic yes. And sure
enough, one by one, more wonderful,
committed, dynamic teachers were
added. But Susan was the prototype.”
“She was my smart, beloved
teacher,” said daughter Ericka
McConnell, a Rockridge resident and
commercial photographer. “Susan
was one of the primary reasons that I
loved school. She had these traditions
like Charlotte’s Web Day where we
would dress up as animals,” and post-
ers such as: In This Room It’s Okay to
Make Mistakes.
“I got to revisit her teaching style,
Ericka said, when daughter Flora
Breitbard, now a high school senior,
was in Erb’s first-grade class shortly
before her retirement. Leaving teach-
ing was a hard decision, said Erb. “I
Now retired, Susan Erb reflects on her more than 40 years of teaching,
“We were always activistic in our classroom.”
Photo by Judy Berne
community. “I love the old-fashioned,
family-owned business feel of Cole
Hardware.” Her husband, Mark Levin,
is a regular at Cole Coffee. “Thank
goodness for the small stores and
being able to walk everywhere,” Erb
said, “that is Rockridge at its best.”
Have a Rockridge-based story to tell?
Please email judyberne@att.net. n
was so invested. We had gender-
questioning kids at an early age. We
were one of the first schools to open
our thinking and to learn from them.
I really did grow there. I had the privi-
lege of being at that school.”
She also considers it a privilege to
live in Rockridge where strolling along
College Avenue gives her a sense of
7:1 Faculty-Student Ratio | Max Class Size of 13
DARE to be DIFFERENT
DARE to be DIFFERENT
GRADES 8-12  OrindaAcademy.org


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page 10
MAY 2024

greatly to make building housing
easier. Public opinion has followed suit
to support that housing growth, from
ADUs one unit at a time, to larger
opportunity sites, including CCA
(the former arts college at Broadway
and College). Growth is inevitable —
its how we help shape it.
In the ’90s, RCPC developed
“The Rockridge Area Specific Plan.”
We’re due for an update! Throughout
2024, RCPC seeks to develop a
“Community Vision Plan” to col-
lectively identify how we want our
neighborhood to grow. Through a
series of engagement opportunities
and an online survey, we’ll ask neigh-
bors to weigh in on questions like,
“How do you see Rockridge now?,
“How do you envision it ten years
in the future?,” and, “What are your
favorite and least favorite attributes of
the neighborhood?”
We look forward to your thoughts
and ideas. Sign up for updates here:
bit.ly/VisionRockridge.
P

What can a small neighborhood
association do?
LETTER FROM RCPC CHAIR
A lot actually. Since its founding,
RCPC has been a prominent voice for
the entire neighborhood when talking
to the decision makers in the City
and beyond. Some shining examples
from our history: Passing a special
tax to create the Rockridge Library;
co-leading negotiations with Safeway
for a better project at the College/
Claremont shopping center; and facili-
tating the creation of Frog Park and
Hardy Dog Park. Last year, our letters
to the City led to increased density
on College Avenue and in the City’s
Housing Element.
Growing as a Community
Thank you to the nearly 450 resi-
dents who came out to vote in
the RCPC elections. I’m humbled to
have been re-elected and re-appointed
Chair by our new board. RCPC wel-
comes five brand new board members
who bring fresh ideas, have deep roots
throughout the neighborhood, and
bring professional expertise related
to our neighborhood’s most pressing
issues of land use and growth — in
addition to being active parents in
Rockridge schools and/or safety advo-
cates on their blocks.
Why did I run for RCPC?
I was frustrated by the cost of
housing — both rental and ownership.
I’m agitated by comments like, “my
kids will never afford to live here” and
I believe this problem calls for our
action. Our housing crisis was caused
by a lack of building housing, for
many reasons, including community
opposition to density. Like all of us,
I’ve loved our neighborhood since
the moment I stepped foot here. I
revere our vibrant College Avenue,
our beautiful streets, and our palpable
sense of community. I believe more
people deserve a chance to be part of
this neighborhood and so I’ve stepped
up to serve.
Maison d’Etre to
Reopen this Month
ressed against the windows
of Maison d’Etre, you may
have noticed, is what stands
between the currently closed
doors and the store’s promised
spring reopening — boxes upon
boxes of amazing goods. The
owners are working hard to
inventory, price, and arrange
these goodies onto shelves, and
promise it will be dazzling.
Opening day will be sometime
later this month… stay tuned.
In addition to uplifting voices from
throughout the neighborhood into
the Community Vision Plan, my
goals as Chair are to strengthen our
partnerships with the merchants of
the Rockridge District Association
and to support a successful Kitchen
Tour — our nonprofit’s sole fund-
raiser and longstanding tradition
(coming this fall). n
What’s ahead of us?
State housing laws have changed
Casey Farmer, RCPC Chair
CollegePrep
A private high school in Oakland
Tucked into a glen in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, College Prep’s
informal and welcoming campus provides an educational home for a lively and
talented community of students in grades 9-12. Guided by inspiring teachers
and mentors, they create a vibrant community that is rooted in shared values of
kindness, respect, and a willingness to learn from the perspectives of others.
We invite you to visit us and experience College Prep first-hand.
6100 Broadway    Oakland CA 94618   510.652.4364   college-prep.org


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page 11
MAY 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
New Development Has No
Plan for Safe Access
DEAR EDITOR: The latest version of
the proposed development of the CCA
campus seems to respond to many
of the community’s concerns. I have
spent years on these grounds having
been a student there in the ’60s. Based
on figures provided by the developer
at the February 14 Zoom presentation,
this project, when fully occupied, will
bring approximately 760 residents,
including children, to Rockridge.
I am concerned about the lack of
any design considerations or site
modifications regarding emergency
vehicle access and the ability of people
to escape in case of an emergency
— earthquake, fires, or god forbid, a
shooter.
The only egress from the long
building proposed for the topmost
portion of the site (Building B) is Clif-
ton, a very narrow pedestrian street.
A combination of fire trucks and
ambulances, plus police cars trying
to access people in need of emergency
care would create an absolute mess.
Plus, there is the apartment complex
at 225 Clifton, with another 100 or
so people, and, during the day, the
students from Oakland Tech’s Upper
Campus on the north side of Clifton.
If this project is NOT revised to
consider this possible situation, the
resulting potential catastrophe could
be worse than what we experienced
back in 1989 AND put the property
owners and the City of Oakland in
major financial liability. Do we want
Oakland to declare bankruptcy?
I feel that this plan as currently
designed is extremely dangerous
and needs to be revised to include
a second major roadway that would
allow safety vehicles to access more
of the site. As currently proposed, the
sole exit from Clifton onto Broadway
will allow for only right turns onto
Broadway, heading north, and since
most people will want to go south
into downtown or to the freeway, the
intersection will create traffic jams
Coronado Ave.
Proposed Coronado Ave. East
Coronado Avenue (highlighted in yellow above) could be extended east across
Broadway into the campus to allow another access point in case of emergencies.
I hope that the Oakland Fire
Department, Oakland’s Planning
Department, Oakland’s Planning
Commission, and the Oakland City
Council have the courage to speak up
and make sure that the final design
includes meaningful traffic mitigations
that will provide Rockridge with a safe
addition to our neighborhood. n
at all hours with cut-through traffic
directed into the small neighborhood
streets, etc.
There seems to be another option
that has not been mentioned by the
developer and that is to create a
second access road along the south-
ern portion of the site. This would
create an extension of Coronado, an
intersection allowing left-hand turns
from the site, and also quicker access
from Fire Station #8 to the site.
Susan Shawl
63rd Street


THE
page 12
MAY 2024

have to do is re-bait them every 10
weeks or so during the spring/summer.
The disposables work for about 30
days and then can be thrown in your
normal garbage. Both kinds should be
removed in the fall/winter when they
serve no purpose. These traps just
include an attractant — no poison.
The yellowjackets expire from heat/
dehydration once they’re in the trap.
In my experience, they catch virtually
no other insects, which I appreciate as
well. Given the size of most of the lots
in Rockridge, just one trap in a back-
yard should be effective at reducing the
local yellowjacket population.
Yellowjackets will fly 1,000 feet from
their nest to forage, so merely ensuring
there are no nests in your yard is not
sufficient. The more traps we have
around the neighborhood, the more
likely it is we’ll prevent the formation
of new nests, and the more likely we
can all enjoy outdoor meals in peace.
If you do become aware of a yellow-
jacket nest in an outdoor area, know
that Alameda County Vector Control
will promptly respond and destroy it
once they receive a report.
A yellowjacket nest was identified
on my block last summer, formed in
a hollow tree stump, and I’m happy
to say that ACVC took care of it in a
matter of days. To file a report with
ACVC, check out this page: https://
acvcsd.org/request-service. n
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Yellowjacket Traps —
The Time is Now
DEAR EDITOR: Over the last couple
of summers, the yellowjacket pop-
ulation in Rockridge seems to have
exploded. Also known colloquially as
“meat bees,” these pesky buggers are
familiar to anyone who regularly tries
to dine outdoors in the summer as
they will show up quickly and make it
difficult to enjoy a meal.
Even though there aren’t many
yellowjackets flying around yet this
season, now is the best time of year to
get traps out. Now that the weather has
warmed up, queen yellowjackets that
overwintered in the area are emerging
to venture forth and establish new
nests, and the very first workers born
this year are already flying around to
get those nests going. The Alameda
County Vector Control (ACVC) has
told me that every yellowjacket caught
in the spring prevents approximately
1,000 from being born in summer.
I got my traps out in mid-March and
am happy to report that within about a
week they had caught about two dozen
workers and one queen.
If you want to buy traps, I highly
recommend either reusable or dispos-
able models from the brand Rescue,
which you can order online or find at
most hardware stores. The reusable
ones should last for years, and all you
Aaron Myers
Manor Crest
Market talk: This is the peak month of the year for housing inventory, though still below prior year averages. Contact me
to hear more about buying or selling options in this current market!
SOLD: Gorgeous Rockridge remod w/ stunning views @ 5978Margarido.com 3+BD 3BA ~2,200 SqFt Sold @ $1,950,000
FOR SALE: 4 contiguous view lots in Piedmont Pines, great for 4 homes or a dream estate @ $ 995,000
COMING: Glen Highlands 4+ Bd 3+ Ba 3,300+ SqFt beauty across Hwy 13 from Upper Rockridge - @ $2.1M
May is Awareness Month for: Mental Health, Brothers & Sisters, Love a Tree, Wildfire Safety, Strawberries
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!


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page 13
MAY 2024

on College Avenue
ACRE – Downstairs Café
5655 College Avenue
Tucked inside a tasty brioche bun
(from Starter Bakery) lies the Brisket
Burger — a special blend of 70 percent
chuck and 30 percent brisket — ground
daily for the restaurant. They make 12
burgers each day to ensure freshness,
and serve each of them with shredded
Iceberg lettuce, white onions, white
cheddar cheese, and pickles (from
Somoma Pickleworks). Add avocado or
Hobbs’ bacon for an extra treat. n
Photo by Anna Marks
— Anna L. Marks, editor

Monk’s Kettle to Open this Fall in Rockridge
M

when we were surrounded by our
community, to a time when that
community was more stable, and, in
particular, to a time when that com-
munity was more given to going out
and experiencing the world through
its restaurants, bars and shops. And
we couldn’t be more excited about it,”
says co-owner Christian Albertson.
The new location will feature an
open floor plan, creating a big room
for bar seating and dining. An over-
head trellis and roof will allow for
year-round seating in the large outside
back deck. Reservations will be avail-
able through OpenTable. n
onk’s Kettle will be moving this
fall from San Francisco’s Mission
District into the space formerly
occupied by Citron, at 5484 College
Avenue. The craft beer and wine
tavern, which has another location
in Terra Linda, is well-known for its
award-winning fried chicken sand-
wiches and burgers. The SF location,
which originally opened in 2007, will
remain open through the summer
with a final sale of rare and highly
sought-after beers made from scratch
before their final closing.
“In many ways, we are seeking a
return to the beginning, to the time


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page 14
MAY 2024

Mary Catherine Haug
IN MEMORIAM
May Events at
the Rockridge Library

Cole Hardware moved in. For years
she held court at Cole Coffee (having
been a faithful customer since it was
Royal Coffee and just had the tiny
shop on 63rd), and once driving
became difficult, she made it her goal
to walk from her home to Chocolate
Dragon or Hudson Bay Cafe every day
for her daily caffeine fix and exercise.
But it wasn’t just the businesses she
loved. She loved the community. She
was very social and some affection-
ately called her the “Mayor of College
Avenue.” Whether you knew her or
not, you’ve likely interacted with her
on her walks in the neighborhood,
during her time serving on RCPC’s
board, or bundling the Rockridge
News. She might’ve even checked you
in for your blood donation appoint-
ment at the Red Cross on Claremont
where she volunteered for many years.
And, even if you’ve never met MC,
you have likely noticed her efforts
if you have ever walked down Kales
between College and Broadway. The
magnificent London Plane trees that
line the street were planted in the
1980s after MC collected signatures
from Kales Avenue residents and peti-
tioned the City of Oakland to plant
the trees on the then-bare street. They
are a testament to her long-standing
love affair with Rockridge.
When MC needed to move to more
senior-friendly accommodations,
her most important criterion was to
remain in her beloved Rockridge.
She did not want to be far from her
garden filled with fragrant freesias,
her friends, or her favorite coffee
shops and restaurants. She enjoyed
her last few years at The Point with
a spectacular view of the Bay from
her 6th-floor apartment. On a clear
day she could see the Bay Bridge, the
Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Tam, and
the Campanile at UC Berkeley. She
loved Oakland, and Rockridge above
all, so please, if you feel it fitting, raise
a glass of champagne or a breve latte
in her honor — or plant a tree. She
would love that too.
For information about her memorial
service in August or to share condo-
lences, her children can be reached at
HaugMC@gmail.com. n
Mary Catherine Haug, known
locally as MC, a Rockridge resident
for more than 50 years, passed away
peacefully on April 2nd. She was 80
years old.
MC moved to Rockridge (from
Virginia) in the early 1970s when
a lower-middle-class couple could
still afford a two-story Craftsman
for under $50k. She, along with her
then-husband Arthur Robinson
Boone, raised three children (Wil-
liam, Isabelle, and Phoebe Boone) and
many neighborhood-friendly cats on
Kales Avenue.
During her 45 years on Kales, MC
experienced first-hand some of the
big moments in Oakland history: the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake; and the
1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm. She
remembered well the travels of the
Rockridge Library as it moved from
its original location to a temporary
portable on the Claremont Middle
School campus to its current home
at College and Manila. She watched
the transformation of the old bowling
alley at the end of her street as it
became a bookstore, and the countless
restaurants that came and went over
the years. She saw incredible change
in the neighborhood, but her love for
it never wavered.
MC loved Rockridge to her core.
She believed in supporting small local
businesses. She would line up on
New Year’s Day for the Pegasus
calendar sale and was ecstatic when

For Children
Storytime: Thursdays and Saturdays, 10:30am.
Chess Club: Wednesdays at 4pm. All ages and
skill-levels welcome.
Read to a Dog: Thursdays at 4pm. Two dogs,
Scout and Coco, alternate weeks. They are
trained to listen to young people practice
reading aloud.
Intergenerational Origami: Join Ellen for
amazing folding practice on Tuesday 5/7 at
4pm and Tuesday 5/21 at 6:30pm.
Kamishibai Paper Theater with Erica:
Thursday, 5/16 at 10:30am for toddlers,
Thursday, 5/30 at 1:30pm for preschoolers.
AAPI Culture Experience: Māori Mo Ake
Tonu: Saturday, 5/4 at 10:30am. Come see this
Māori group performance, directed by Tracey
Wihongi Panek (of the Nga Puhi Māori tribe)
perform poi and haka dances and story-telling.
Summer Teen Volunteers Needed: Volunteers,
ages 11-16, needed to help with our Summer
Reading Program in June and July. New vol-
unteers must attend a quick Orientation (5/14
at 6:30pm, 5/17 at 4pm, or 6/1 at 3pm), then
choose shifts (2.5 hrs.) to help younger kids
sign up, get prizes, do crafts, etc. Email esis-
kind@oaklandlibrary.org or stop by the library.
For Teens
Beach Volleyball Tournament with mocktails
and snacks! Wednesday, 5/15 2pm-3pm.
Hosted by the Teen Advisory Board and sup-
ported by the Friends of the Rockridge Library.
Teen Advisory Board: Wednesday, 5/15, 3:30-
4:30pm. Join the Rockridge Branch Library
Teen Advisory Board (TAB) and take an
active role in creating, planning, and imple-
menting programs and services you want to see
at your library (usually every 2nd Wednesday
in the TeenZone, but date changed in May due
to end of school year). New members welcome.
For Adults 
Ask Your Area Home Experts: Every 2nd
Friday, noon-2pm. Get answers, tips, and
connections from a Senior Loan Advisor and a
Realtor, both Rockridge locals. Have questions
answered about home ownership, mainte-
nance, finance, investing, ADUs, downsizing,
moving, and more.
5366 College Avenue
at Manila
510-597-5017
Hours: Mon, Thurs, Sat 10am to 5:30pm
Tuesday and Wednesday from 10am to 8pm
Closed on Sundays.
Holidays: The library will be closed on Monday,
May 27, in observance of Cesar Chavez Day
www.oaklandlibrary.org/events.


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page 15
MAY 2024

List your 36-word message here for only $22 (phone number counts
as one word). Make check payable to RCPC, and write “Rockridge
News Classifieds” in the memo line. Mail to: RCPC, 4900 Shattuck
Ave., P.O. Box 22504, Oakland, 94609-20131.
For more information, email Susan at smontauk@gmail.com.
The deadline for June is May 20, 2024 (available June 8).
Classifieds
Greater Rockridge Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Council
The next meeting will be
held at the Rockridge Library
Conference Room
Thursday, June 13, at 7pm
There will be brief
presentations by Community
Resource Officers and
discussion of crime and safety.
RN
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. CA Lic # 913727; www.
blwfloors.com.
Happy Mother’s Day!
For the month of May relax and rejuvenate
with a custom facial, tailored for your unique
skincare requirements. Visit Penelope’s
Aesthetics! $95. Gift certificates available.
510/594-1552; penelopecalef.com.
A Zoom link is available to those
who wish to attend remotely.
For more details, visit
www.rockridgencpc.com
Electrical Remodels and Repairs
Need outlets for your new electric toilets? I
can help with that.  I’ve been doing electrical
work in Oakland and Berkeley for over 35
years. Sutorik & Company. www.sutorikand-
co.com. Lic #397149. 510/655-3677. n
The Greater Rockridge NCPC
meets every 2nd Thursday of the even
numbered months.
Handyman Service-House Repairs
& Remodeling
Dry rot, kitchen and bath tile refurbishing
or installation, window installation, plumbing,
fence, deck & handrail repair, electrical wir-
ing- fixtures, outlets. And much more. Call
Juan 510/692 -6399 or email jbahena.info@
gmail.com.
law office of
dave karlinsky
Reward Based Dog Training
Does your adolescent pup need help with
basic obedience, leash manners or impulse
control? We offer private training custom-
ized to help your dog succeed! Please call
510/646-9657 or visit dogsquaddogtrain-
ing.com for more information and to get
started.
725 washington st., suite 313  oakland, ca 94607
(510) 788-5700    www.davekarlinskylaw.com
Practicing exclusively in the area of trusts and estates:
• Estate planning

• Probate / trust administration

• Dispute resolution
Garden Maintenance, Cleanups &
Design
Experienced team of two dedicated to the
art of gardening. We specialize in garden
maintenance, cleanups and custom garden
designs. To contact us, please email your-
greengardeners@gmail.com. Check us out
at www.yourgreengardeners.com.
• Special needs trusts
Please contact me during regular business hours to
      schedule an appointment.
663 Alcatraz Ave #4
Challenged credit OK - $1995 /$1995 last
/$1000sec. Available April 1 2024. Large
one-bedroom unit; remodeled. Full kitchen
and full bath. Recently remodeled / close to
UC Berkeley / Bart bus, shopping and more.
415/527-7647; Melissabparker@gmail.com.
ROCKRIDGE BOOK
CLUB
Meets every 2nd Saturday,
3:30pm to 4:30pm
at the Rockridge Library.
Please all (510) 597-5017 for info
and to get a copy of the book.


THE

COME VISIT US AT
THE CORNER OF
LIFE & CHANGE