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CASTRO VALLEY FORUM A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CASTRO VALLEY SINCE 1989
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
YEAR 33
INSIDE YOUR
FORUM
NEWS
Peace Pole Installed and Blessed at Lake Chabot
Tarantu-Love
Every year around this time, mating season begins for tarantulas
Page 2
OUR TOWN
Restaurant Walk
Nearly 250 participate to keep ‘Restaurant Walk’ tradition alive in CV
Page 3 NEWS
Asian Art
‘Affection for Chinese Calligraphy & Paintings’ now open to the public
Page 4
INDEX Classified Ads ............ 8 Crosswords ............... 9 Home Improvement ... 5 Homes ....................... 6 Horoscope ................. 2 Legal Notices ........... 10 Obituaries ................ 11 Opinions .................. 11 Our Town .................... 3 Weather ....................... 2 PHONE: (510) 614-1560
(REVISED) P01 FRONT 09-29.indd 1
By Michael Singer
NO. 39
CVUSD Names Nazario Director of Special Education
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
This year’s United Nations International Day of Peace included the installation of a 12-foot tall, obelisk-shaped, Peace Pole near the shores of Lake Chabot. More than 300 people attended the September 18 event including representatives of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Eden Area Interfaith Council, Castro Valley Baha’i Community. Back in 1981, the United Nations General Assembly declared September 21 to be a day of peace; to be celebrated by governments and communities worldwide by actively practicing nonviolence and ceasefire for 24 hours. East Bay Regional Park District has hosted an annual International Day of Peace celebration since PHOTO CREDIT: MONA KOH, COURTESY OF EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT 2017. Members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe perform see PEACE on back page blessings on the new Peace Pole at Lake Chabot.
By Michael Singer
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
Castro Valley schools will be getting a new director of special education starting next month. At its September 22 meeting, the Castro Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) Board of Education approved Kevin Nazario for the position of Director of Special Education and its representative for the Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). Nazario is replacing Suzy Williams, who after 13 years in the district has taken a role elsewhere. Typically, special education services are managed through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Castro Valley develops approximately 900 student IEP plans district-wide, annually, with a budget of $20 million according to a CVUSD spokesperson.
Nazario has 12 years of special education under his belt, beginning as a teacher with the West Contra Costa Unified School district. During his first few years, Nazario developed monitoring systems with teachers, administration, and parents to support student learning. He also led professional development on co-teaching for teachers and students to be successful in the general education setting. He then moved into administration roles before serving for three years as the director of special education for secondary programs. During that time, Nazario developed accountability systems for state and federal compliance procedures, as well as compliance reporting. “One of his district-wide goals included improving see NEW on page 10
Marketplace Developer Outlines His Boulevard Vision By Mike McGuire
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
Castro Valley’s downtown got a boost when the Castro Valley Marketplace opened last year and now its developer says plans are afoot to similarly update several other businesses he manages along Castro Valley Boulevard, with some opening by next spring. In a presentation to the Castro Valley Rotary Club at its September 14 meeting, developer Craig Semmelmeyer said he plans to transform both the lumber yard at the west end of town and the former dry cleaner and cigarette store that now lies vacant at the corner of Wilbeam Avenue and Castro Valley Boulevard.
Semmelmeyer said his company, Main Street Property Services, plans to keep the original buildings and update them, rather than tear them down and start over. The original designs had much to offer, he said. “We look around and see buildings in Castro Valley that, many of them, when they were probably originally built, were much more attractive than the renovations that have taken place,” said Semmelmeyer, who is the founder and principal partner at Main Street. For example, the Wilbeam site formerly housed the “Flying A” gas station, and that it used to have a restaurant within it. Semmelmeyer said he’d like to put a restaurant back in
His company, at the Marketplace and elsewhere, seeks to attract retailers whose products aren’t currently found in town, Semmelmeyer said. He also firmly believes that businesses help their business neighbors flourish by providing other products the same customers need. Semmelmeyer is in the process of updating Castro Valley Lumber at 2455 Castro Valley Blvd. It currently has five buildings in a long, narrow PHOTO BY MIKE MCGUIRE lot with somewhat difficult access, hemmed in by the end Some of the buildings at Castro Valley Lumber, viewed from Norbridge Avenue. of Norbridge Avenue and Interstate 580, he said. The property there. He’s negotiating with an the backlot, he sees a barbecue was at the center of a debate upscale hamburger chain that place with an outside smoker, in January this year when an application by Chick-fil-A fastand retail stores potentially would put in outdoor seating see DEVELOPER on page 10 for as many as 150 people. In inside.
9/28/21 1:58 PM