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COVER:
Photographer Susan Wood captures her granddaughter, Emma Jean Rubbicco, enjoying the wonder of Christmas. Photo by: SusanWoodPhotography.com
INSIDE 7
City News
17
Super Holiday Marketplace &8
11
Read My Mind
Girls on the Run
20
22 A History Note ..............................................
6680 Alhambra Ave. Box #132 Martinez, CA 94553 925-335-6397
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SMALL TALK WITH TERI
by Teri Norbye
Meet Kellie Joe who lives in Pleasant Hill with her wife. She’s the founder and sole employee of Queen of Crusts, a “take and bake” pizza kit home delivery business. Kellie Joe and her wife also co-founded Chicks and Love Pizza, a farmers’ market and pizza catering company. How have you been affected by Covid-19? My wife is a frontline worker as a nurse and I’m an essential worker with a home delivery business. Covid-19 has made me realize that I’m able to roll with the punches for whatever obstacles come my way. What is your biggest challenge? My life has been composed of one challenge after another. As a female in a male dominated industry, Asian American female, and member of the LGBTQ+ community, challenges are always there to greet me. I try my best to embrace challenge. I look them dead in the eyes and grab them by the horns! What do you like to do for fun? We LOVE going to Disneyland and Universal Studios! We’re foodies and love to cook and dine out. We enjoy taking trips along the coast with our two pups.
More about Kellie Joe:
1. My first career choices were magician and comedienne. 2. I once entered a Madonna look-alike contest. 3. I’m a distant relative of Woody Harrelson.
20132013 20142014 20152015
Best Insurance Agent 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016/2017
| DECEMBER 2020 | OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM
Julie Says
Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My! BY JULIE ROSS graceful bird. Even the jaguar was out,
What a glorious pacing for a while before leaping into a day it was. Massive lookout tree. grizzlies wrestled and Having voted early, my husband frolicked in their pool and I spent Election Day at the Oakjust a few feet from land Zoo, where there was a refreshing where we stood. Ma- and widespread apathy concerning the jestic lions sunbathed, revealing some Electoral College among the non-huvery impressive teeth with their wide man residents. Politics aside, it was a yawns. A mother baboon kept her baby much different zoo-going experience in check with a firm grip on the little during a pandemic, with regulations one’s tail, preventing repeated attempts reducing the number of people allowed to join in roughhousing with the “big in. To visit, we registered in advance kids.” A condor took flight right in front online and received timed-entry tickets. of us as eyes grew wide, taking in the Reduced capacity meant parking was nine-foot wingspan of this enormous, a breeze, with no lines to enter. Fewer people also meant better access to observe the animals; no crowding. It was quiet. A really nice break and a great way to spend the day.
During the holidays, the zoo also promises to be a great place to spend an evening. For the rest of this year and through January 17, 2021, the zoo is hosting a new event called Glowfari, which is replacing its annual Zoolights event.
Glowfari is a lantern festival featuring hundreds of life-sized and largerthan-life- sized illuminated creatures. Visitors can take a mile-long walk through dozens of towering wild animal lanterns, including a full-sized elephant. If you haven’t been to the Oakland Zoo in a while, you will be pleased to find modern new gondolas to whisk you up the hill to the California Trail (no more terrifying chair lift). For Glowfari, the gondolas will be festively lit and take you back in time to observe giant prehistoric creatures in lantern form, among them a T-Rex, a stegosaurus, and even a couple of pterodactyls.
This year there are larger light displays, longer hours, and more available dates for the evening program. While enjoying the amazing lantern art, visitors will also have the opportunity to learn more about the importance of every species on earth and the zoo’s commitment to conservation.
Find out more for either a day trip or to attend Glowfari at the zoo’s website, www.oaklandzoo.org. Either way, you can create a special memory this holiday season while supporting the educational and conservation efforts of the Oakland Zoo. Happy Holidays!
You can reach Julie at julieakross@ comcast.net
925-766-6679 NormaJ49@gmail.com
925-381-7272 ErikFlaskerud@Remax.net
Looking for a sign that I’m the right Realtor for Pleasant Hill? Found it.
I’m a neighbor, former teacher, and Realtor serving Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Walnut Creek & Lamorinda. Angie Evans Traxinger 925.305.8677 www.angieandjoan.com angie@angietraxinger.com
DRE #01828901
OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 2020 |
ADUs Are Good for People and Places
Communities that Understand ADUs Allow Homeowners to Create Them ADUs ARE AN AFFORDABLE tend to be slightly more than for simi- housing choices. • ADUs use significantly less energy for HOUSING OPTION larly sized apartments, they often rep- • ADUs enable families to expand be- heating and cooling. • ADUs can generate rental income to resent the only affordable rental choic- yond their primary home. • ADUs are community- compatible. help homeowners cover mortgage es in single-family neighborhoods, • ADUs provide empty nesters and oth- • ADUs offer a way to include smaller, payments or simply make ends meet. which typically contain no studio or ers with the option of moving into a relatively affordable homes in estab-
The income provided by an ADU ten- one- bedroom housing options at all. smaller space while renting out their lished neighborhoods with minimal ant can be especially important for • Some municipalities are boosting larger house or letting an adult child visual impact and without adding to older people on fixed incomes. ADUs as part of affordable housing and his or her family reside in it. an area’s sprawl. • Since the land on which an ADU is and anti- displacement strategies. San- ADUs ARE JUST THE RIGHT SIZE • ADUs provide a more dispersed and built already belongs to the home- ta Cruz, California is among the cities • Generally measuring between 450 and incremental way of adding homes to owner, the expense to build a second- with programs to help lower-income 1,000 square feet, ADUs work well for a neighborhood than other options, ary residence is for the new structure households build ADUs or reside in the one- and two-bedroom homes such as multi-story apartment buildonly. The lot is, in a sense, free. them at reliably affordable rents. needed by today’s smaller, childless ings. As a result, it’s often easier to get • ADUs are typically owned and man- ADUs ARE ABLE TO households, which now account for community support for ADUs than for aged by homeowners who live on the HOUSE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES nearly two- thirds of all households in other housing types. premises. Such landlords are less likely • An individual’s housing needs change the United States. SOURCE: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF to raise the rent once a valued tenant over time, and an ADU’s use can be ADUs ARE GOOD FOR THE ENVI- HOME BUILDERS (AVERAGE HOME has moved in. Many ADUs are created adapted for different household types, RONMENT SIZES), U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (AVERAGE for family members to reside in for income levels, employment situations • ADUs require fewer resources to build HOUSEHOLD SIZES) free or at a discounted rate. and stages of life. and maintain than full-sized homes. • Although market rate rents for ADUs • ADUs offer young people entry-level
Local Quality You Can Trust!
Pleasant Hill COLLISION COLLISION
Collision Repair & Painting • Frame Straightening Insurance Claims • Glass • Customs www.PleasantHillCollision.com • email phcollision@aol.com 925-939-1160 • 1581 Oak Park Boulevard • Pleasant Hill
| DECEMBER 2020 | OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM
Real Estate Advice
Why Your Home Has Not Sold BY PETE SABINE you made. The cost of all renovations does
After putting your not always translate to equivalent added house on the market, value. you might be hoping Poor presentation If the listing of for a quick sale —espe- your home has a poor description and/or cially if you’ve invest- amateur photos, most buyers will not want ed a lot of money to to visit. Make sure your Realtor creates a improve the house or your neighborhood listing that attracts the attention of buyers is in high demand. While you should not with professional photos and videos of the panic if the house does not sell right away, interior and exterior of your home. you should be concerned if you haven’t Houses that smell do not sell A dirty received an offer after six weeks. Here are house leaves a bad impression on buyers. some reasons your house may not be sell- Hire a professional to thoroughly clean the ing: interior, including appliances, carpet, and
The asking price is too high If your windows before showing your house. house is overpriced, it is not going to sell. Lack of emotional appeal If your The longer your property stays on the home is vacant, do not show an empty market, the less likely it will sell at the house. This makes it difficult for buyers to asking price. Compare your property to imagine living in it. Stage your house with similar properties that recently sold within furniture and decor to give buyers a sense your area to get an accurate idea of its true of space and how it can be used. You want value. Do not make the mistake of add- the buyer to feel at home when they tour ing 100% of the cost of any renovations your home.
Sell your home faster, at a higher price, without spending Are you considering selling your home in 2021? your money upfront on improvements and repairs Now is the best time to plan and prepare your home for the 2021 Real Estate market…
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Pete Sabine Leslie Whitney
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Pete@FiveStarRealEstatePro.com
License #00889760 Leslie.Whitney@Compass.com
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| DECEMBER 2020 | OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM
The décor or remodeling is too per-
sonalized Take down your personal décor so buyers have an easier time imagining living there. You might think that dark paint and fixtures in the master bathroom are incredible, but that does not mean potential buyers will agree. If your home improvements or decor are too personalized, most buyers will not get past your unique style and choices for fixtures and finishes.
Less is more If you have too much furniture, it will make the house feel smaller than it is.
Too many repairs are needed The more repairs needed, the less likely a buyer will want your house. Many buyers do not want to deal with the cost or effort of doing repair work, even if it is just small repairs such as tightening a handrail or replacing a broken tile.
The market trend changed Sometimes a hot market can temper by the time your home is offered for sale. Your Realtor should be monitoring competing homes for sale and the supply/demand ratio and communicate with you to make any adjustments in your marketing strategy.
You hired a novice Realtor A seasoned professional Realtor makes all the difference in selling your home at the highest possible price within a reasonable period of time. The common mistakes on this list can be remedied, however, one of the best ways to avoid making them is by hiring an experienced Realtor.
We know how to set the stage for your success. Call us to win with us! Pete Sabine & Leslie Whitney: 925.297.5335. Discover more real estate pro tips. Find our podcasts at FiveStarRealEstateTeam.podbean.com. Compass #01866771. SPONSORED CONTENT
JENNIFER L. MARTIN, D.D.S.
Specialist in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
