February 2020 Community Focus

COMMUNITY

FEBRUARY 2020

FOCUS ourcommunityfocus.com

IN THIS ISSUE: • A SPECIAL KIND OF LOVE • RYAN JOSEPH IS BACK! • 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

PLEASANT HILL • CONCORD • MARTINEZ • LAFAYETTE • WALNUT CREEK

SMALL TALK WITH TERI independent & locally owned

by Teri Norbye PUBLISHERS: Becky Coburn Jennifer Neys Elena Hutslar info@ourcommunityfocus.com ADVERTISING: Community Focus info@ourcommunityfocus.com COPY EDITOR: Alison Clary GRAPHIC DESIGN: Trish Heaney

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MISSION STATEMENT The Community Focus is a free, independent, monthly publication dedicated to highlighting the vibrancy of the local businesses and residents while strengthening and building connections within our community.

COVER:

Love is in the air! Metal hearts at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire. The faire takes place the first Sunday of every month. For more information visit: alamedapointantiquesfaire.com.

Photo by: Trish Heaney

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Jokes for Jazz

13 Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

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Ebb and Flow of Progress

5 Hawks Volunteer

23 White Pony Honored

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2015

Best Insurance Agent

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Meet Bel McNeill who lives in Walnut Creek with her two kids, James and Joseph. She has owned her bookstore, Bel and Bunna’s Books, in Lafayette, for almost four years and says, “I read 126 books in 2019. My favorite books were The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and Malamander by Thomas Taylor.”

How does your bookstore survive in the age of the Internet? We struggle. It’s the same as all retail stores. We’re primarily up against Amazon. I need to differentiate my bookstore by putting a book into somebody’s hands, spending time with their children, and providing their children with activities to do. It’s so much better than pressing a button and hoping what you get is the right one for you.

More about Bel: 1. My parents are Scottish. I was born and raised in Richmond, London, and came to America 13 years ago.

2. My biggest challenge has been proving myself in my work life for the past 32 years because I never went to college. Also, bringing up my kids 5,000 miles away from their family in the UK was difficult.

3. I’m a chaotic optimist. I always think everything will turn out alright. I live in this land of utter chaos, and it’s fun!

Julie Says

Science News Wrap-Up: Black Holes to Cuttlefish

BY JULIE ROSS

In 2019, news from the world of science was truly monumental.

Reports on devasting threats to biodiversity launched record-breaking waves of climate activism. The Event Horizon Telescope captured the first image of a black hole, confirming a fundamental theory of how our universe works. Google announced it had created a qubit-based computer that could rapidly solve a problem it would take a typical supercomputer thousands of years to complete. Amazing.

Meanwhile, also made throughout the course of recent years were countless discoveries that are certainly smaller in scale but nonetheless inspiring (and delightfully entertaining) in their own way.

Take, for example, the scientists at the University of Richmond in Virginia who have

trained rats to drive tiny cars. They constructed the cars by taking small plastic containers and adding an aluminum floor and a steering mechanism made of three copper bars.

When a rat stands on the floor and grabs the copper bars with its paws, a circuit is completed and the car moves. Touching the left, right, or center bar steers the car in different directions. The rats soon learned to drive their cars all over the testing arena to find treats. But why teach rats to drive, you ask?

Learning difficult new skills has been shown to reduce the level of stress hormones in rats, which has human applications in studying how neurological and psychological conditions affect mental capability. At least that’s their story -- I imagine the scientists also just liked watching rats drive around collecting Fruit Loops.

Then there are soccer-playing bees, courtesy of scientists at Queen Mary University, in London. In this study, the scientists

taught a group of buff-tailed bumblebees to move a small wooden ball to the center of a platform to earn a drop of sugar water. Once this insect version of scoring a goal was mastered, test bees were placed to observe the action. After watching goals being scored by the trained bees three times, the test bees were given their chance at ball-handling.

They scored a goal almost every time, even when the task was made more difficult by the scientists. That these bees learned to complete advanced cognitive tasks after observing their peers is truly remarkable. (And, you have to give scientists credit for coming up with this stuff.)

The final scientific discovery I’ll mention here had this headline in the paper: “Cuttlefish with 3D Glasses Have Researchers Jumping Up and Down.” Who could resist reading a story with that title? This study had scientists at the University of Minnesota fitting cuttlefish in their lab with little 3D

glasses by applying a dab of glue and some Velcro, which evidently can be tricky. As one of the scientists remarked, “Some individuals will not wear them no matter how hard I try.”

Really? Just imagine that image. To summarize, the study was an attempt to add to the knowledge base surrounding 3D vision in various species. The experiment determined that cuttlefish do indeed see in 3D, while their cousins the octopus and squid apparently do not. That finding is what had the scientists jumping up and down in excitement.

To each their own, I suppose.

Science. There is no end to the wonders yet to be discovered. I don’t really make New Year’s resolutions, but I do have a goal for 2020, and that is to be amazed by something in nature every day. I think it’s going to be an easy goal to achieve.

Today’s discovery: tardigrades. Look ‘em up. You can reach Julie at julieakross@comcast.net

week, band tryouts, or the start of a football, soccer, swimming, or lacrosse season—you name it—groups invariably turn to hazing to vet and memorialize enrollment.

It’s a practice that continuously proves to have deadly consequences. Yet, if I have learned one thing from AHA!’s general, it is the unique power of the human spirit and its ability to bring about change. Progress doesn’t happen in a vacuum or a straight line. It ebbs and flows with the rhythms of dedication and hope.

Together, through community, commitment, and awareness, we can end the tragic cycle of senseless deaths and give birth to a new generation of group dynamics founded on the backs of awareness, accountability, responsibility, and self-love.

Join us, and be the change, support, and rising tide of hope young people so desperately need.

AHA! 2020

The AHA! Movement has a huge year planned! We are in the midst of redesign-

ing our website, sponsored four 2020 PHBA sports teams, partnered with the Junior Giants to bring hazing awareness and prevention to coaches across the organization, and we have traction in expanding our middle school awareness program.

In early February, we are relaunching our ambassador program with the help of a bright young Chapman University student, Olivia Mello. In June, we host our secondannual Home Run Derby Contest in partnership with Payless Batting Cages at Willow Pass Park in Concord. In August, we host our second-annual Day at the Ballpark with the SF Giants. And in September, we host our fourth annual Monte Carlo Night, AHA!’s annual gala fundraiser. This year’s Monte Carlo Night is a must-attend as we have a monumental announcement to share. Thank you for your continuous support. Together we can and will save lives. For more information, please visit ahamovement.org or send an email to Debbie Smith MM at lovesfmlb@aol.com.

AHA News

The Ebb and Flow of Progress

BY RYAN SMITH, CHAIRMAN OF AHA! BOARD

On February 2, 2005, Debbie Smith MM, founder and CEO of the AHA! Movement, received a fateful call about her son, Matt.

For Smith, a tower of fiery, bubbly inspiration, the month of February is gut-wrenching. Flashbacks, photos, the smell of the air, all act as whispery reminders of the senseless tragedy that claimed her son. It’s an ebb in her otherwise free-flowing quest to end the practice responsible for her son’s death.

I met Debbie in early 2015. It was the result of a mutual friend connecting the dots between the high school I attended and a son taken from his mom far too early.

From that moment, I felt a kinship to her positivity, light, fire, and passion for the vulnerable child needing a voice. Her spirit seemed to flow forth with the conviction of a battle-tested general.

This February marks the 15th anniversary of Matt’s death and the fifth anniversary of the AHA! Movement. From securing the first felony in a hazing-related death to Matt’s Law, to sharing Matt’s story for the first time, to the numerous news articles and documentaries, to forming the AHA! Movement, to securing the 5013C status, to developing AHA!’s ambassador program, to AHA!’s first college presentation, to the many citywide Hazing Awareness proclamations, to our first, large-scale fundraiser, to our middle school hazing prevention program, to the formation of ParentsUnited2StopHazing (PUSH), to the countless volunteers and devoted supporters; each act and result is an ardent example of the resilience, drive, and commitment alive within the AHA! Movement.

As we start a new year and decade, children are still losing their lives to the senseless act of hazing. Month after month, an innocent family is ravaged by the senseless death of a loved one. Whether it’s rush

OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 3

Stronger Than You Know A Special Kind of Love

BY DENA BETTI

The voicemail was short. It said, “I’d like to pick your brain about how I can provide support to my grieving children for the events occurring in our lives ...so if you can give me a call …” I called Carissa right back. We had been friends since high school, but our connection to one another was now thread together more

by Facebook posts and comments than actual human connection. As she shared her recent reality with me, I learned that her beautiful family had been shattered and broken by drug addiction, adultery, and betrayal. Everyone in her family was, in their own way, grieving the loss of what they once had.

I couldn’t help but think Carissa was the last person something like this would happen to. She was a leader, has a bril-

liant mind, attended a prestigious private college, is committed to her family and spouse, and the list goes on. But now life was breaking her, and she was fighting back through the fervor of her own selflove.

When we love ourselves enough to be real about our situation and circumstances, it means we allow ourselves to open to the truth and unselfishly love ourselves. It is at that point that we can truly share ourselves with another person. Life is meant to be shared. This is the bold step Carissa was making on that very day she asked me to call her back.

Authentic friendship goes beyond surface chitchat. It is genuine heart-toheart sometimes gut level sharing. It happens when people love themselves enough to get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives.

They share their hearts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their

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doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer. In our culture, this type of selflove is rare. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there’s pretending, role-playing, politicking, superficial politeness, and shallow conversation.

People wear masks, keep their guard up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. But is this truly self-love or a life based in fear?

Darkness is used to hide our hurts, failures, and flaws, but in the light, we bring them all out in the open and admit who we really are and the challenges we face. Of course, being authentic requires courage, self-love, and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure and rejection and being hurt again. Why would anyone take such a risk? Because it is the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. We only grow by taking risks, and the most difficult risk

of all is to be honest with ourselves and with others.

Self-love allows you to look out for yourself, and in looking out for yourself you also look after others. I believe the greatest gift Carissa is giving her grieving children is showing her vulnerability and pain and, most importantly, showing that it’s by facing the pain that we move through the pain. What an immeasurable amount of self-love this takes. And, yet, in the end, by caring for herself she will have given a priceless gift to her family: the gift of self-love. So, as you reflect on all those you love this month, reflect on your love for yourself. It is one of the most powerful loves to be honored and cared for. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Dena Betti is a graduate of the University of San Francisco, chairperson of #hersmile Nonprofit, and a certified life coach. For more information, email dena@strongerthanyouknow.com.

Campbell Theater Presents

Women of Words (WOW) Productions in partnership with OnStage Theater proudly presents NATURAL SHOCKS, a play based on Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy – “The heartache and the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to” (Act 3, Scene 1) – to which the character makes repeated references. This narrative poses the same crucial question in this one women tour-de-force play. This solo show, directed by Kevin Kennedy and Carol Foote Bower and starring Lauren Stanovich as Angela, tackles the theme of a woman in crisis, with a natural disaster of a tornado serving as an extended metaphor for the turbulent violence in her life and her desperate attempt to escape its fury. Though a self-proclaimed unreliable narrator, Angela reflects on a lifetime of trauma, illuminating the truth behind her endangerment. NATURAL SHOCKS is a damming condemnation of violence, abuse, and firearms in America.

Where: Martinez Campbell Theater, 636 Ward Street, Martinez When: February 21 – March 14 Times: 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays/ 2:30pm on Sundays Tickets can be purchased at: www.campbelltheater.com Who we are:

Women of Words Productions has been based in Fairfield, California, since 2013.

Theresa A. Deed and Gwendolyn Sampson Brown are just two women who love community theater and harness that desire by bringing quality theatrical productions to our community. Our goal is to produce entertaining, thought-provoking performances that stimulate discussion about relevant and current topics in our world today. Women of Words will not shy away from tough subjects; instead, we strive to shine a spotlight on issues relevant to our times, hoping to promote tolerance and understanding for our diverse social cultural backgrounds. We invite our audience to examine these topics with us, sometimes with tears, other times with hysterical laughter.

PHMS Jazz Band Club Needs Your Help Help Keep the Jazz Band Club Running

This is one dedicated group of middle school students! Six months ago, the Pleasant Hill Middle School Jazz Band Club met daily at 7:15am, before school classes began. Their enthusiastic and committed music teacher was excited to take over the music program, especially the jazz band, during her first year at the school. Unfortunately, funding has run out due to budget cuts, and this much loved music program now meets only three times each week.

They are working very hard to raise the funds to get back to five days a week.

Pleasant Hill Middle School Jazz Band needs to raise approximately $20,000 by April 15, 2020, to run a 5-day-per-week program for the 20202021 school year. Their fundraising efforts have included frequent bake sales, hot chocolate fundraisers and playing for donations at Lunardi’s.

BurgerIM Fundraiser

For the remainder of the school year,

the BurgerIM at Kohl’s shopping center gives back a percentage of money spent every Monday and Wednesday when PHMS Jazz is mentioned.

JOKES FOR JAZZ Fundraiser

An upcoming fundraiser the community can enjoy while helping the students out will be a comedy night called “JOKES FOR JAZZ.” It will feature headliner Dan St. Paul and Dauoo Naimyar on February 27, at 8pm (doors open earlier for best seats), at Texas Back Forty Restaurant, 100 Coggins Dr., Pleasant Hill. Tickets are $20 for the show, and dinner and drinks may be purchased at the restaurant. The students are working hard toward their goal of keeping the music program alive for future students at Pleasant Hill Schools and our community!

If you can assist the Jazz Band with their efforts, please email PHMSjazz@ gmail.com.

BurgerIM FUNDRAISER for PHMS JAZZ Mention PHMS JAZZ at BurgerIM Every MONDAY and WEDNESDAY Visit BurgerIM in the Kohl’s Shopping Center and mention PHMS Jazz Band and 20% of your order will be donated to the club!

2380 Monument Blvd C-2 in the Crossroads Shopping Center

Brought to you by the PHMS Jazz Parents. For questions, email PHMSjazz@gmail.com OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 5

Mayor’s Message Working Together to Address Homelessness

While on city council and now as mayor, one of the most frequent questions I am asked is about our homeless population. Being homeless in itself is not a crime, and our police department does an excellent job with the difficult task of ensuring public safety while maintaining a person’s civil rights.

Many people help out in their own way (with food, clothing, and shelter), but often those are only temporary fixes.

I frequently wonder if the situation is because of economics, mental health challenges, substance abuse, or a combination of all three. As human beings, we don’t want to see anyone suffer.

Clearly, the issue of homelessness is complex and not unique to Pleasant Hill. Still, we are tasked with offering solutions to this epidemic. So I wanted to share a few options at the city level.

Faith-based organizations and nonprofits also offer services. We all have the same goal: getting people into the services they need and, hopefully, to a place where they can rebuild their lives.

Here are a few options and programs:

CORE (Coordinated Outreach

Referral, Engagement) This program brings services and resources directly to individuals living outside. CORE teams target high-risk, hard-to-reach homeless individuals, youth, and families living outside who typically don’t access services or don’t know how to access services. The two-person teams use a client-centered “whatever it takes” approach to build rapport, with the goal of eventually connecting the homeless person to services that get them off the streets and stabilized.

The City of Pleasant Hill shares the cost of a dedicated CORE team with Martinez. CORE communicates with Pleasant Hill Police dispatch daily and responds to calls involving homelessness. This frees up law enforcement to work on criminal issues the city may be experiencing

CORE meets bi-monthly with Chief Bryan Hill and Captain Greg Kogler to develop strategic approaches to homelessness in the city. In addition, our Community Resources Officers work closely with CORE and regularly meet with the team to discuss hotspots and provide a coordinated approach to city issues

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Matt Rinn, Mayor of Pleasant Hill

Call 2-1-1, a free service from the county, if you want to help someone get connected to resources that are available. Our CORE team will often respond in person.

Ask PHill is an app that allows you to upload photos and report issues you see around town that are non-life threatening. (In an emergency or if someone is going to harm themselves

or is a danger to others, please call 9-11). With Ask PHill, the city can respond and take appropriate action, and on a leadership level, we can track turnaround times and the effectiveness of our departments. Download it today!

If you have ideas about ways to assist, please email me at mrinn@pleasanthillca.org

See you around town.

Public Meetings Civic Action Feb. 5 City Hall, 100 Gregory Lane, Small Community Room, 6:30pm. Contact: 671-5229 City Council Feb. 3, 24 City Hall, 100 Gregory Lane, Council Chambers, 7:00pm. Contact: 671-5229 Architectural Review Feb. 6, 20 City Hall, 100 Gregory Lane, Large Community Room, 5:00pm. Contact: 671-5209 Planning Commission Feb. 11, 25 City Hall, 100 Gregory Lane, Council Chambers, 6:30pm. Contact: 671-5209 Commission on Aging Feb. 13 City Hall, 100 Gregory Lane, Small Community Room, 5:00pm. Contact: 671-5229 Education Commission Feb. 22 City Hall, 100 Gregory Lane, Large Community Room, 7pm. Contact: 671-5229 PH Rec & Park Board Meetings are typically held the 2nd & 4th Thursday each month at District Office, 147 Gregory Lane. Meeting dates and agendas are posted 72 hours prior to meeting. Refer to recent agenda for meeting dates.

District residents are encouraged to contact board members about current issues facing the district.

Chamber Calendar Feb. 4 - State of the City Mayor’s Breakfast 2020- 801 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill Feb. 7 - Ambassador Meeting, 8:30-9:30am, Pleasant Hill City Hall, Community Room Feb. 11 - Morning Business Mixer- Hosted by Darlene Baxter Farmers Agency, 8-9am, 2216 Morello Ave, Pleasant Hill Feb. 12 - 680 Networking Group, 8:30-10am, JFK University, 100 Ellinwood Way, Room 112, Pleasant Hill Feb. 13 - Chamber Business Mixer- Hosted by Gregory Lane Family & Implant Dental Practice, 5-7pm, 401 Gregory Lane, #242, Pleasant Hill Feb. 17 - President’s Day- Chamber Office closed, All day Feb. 20 - Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting, 8-10am, Large Community room at City Hall Feb. 24 - GAC, 4:30-6pm, WiseGirl Ristorante, 1932 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill Feb. 26 - 680 Networking Group, 8:30-10am, JFK University, 100 Ellinwood Way, Room 112, Pleasant Hill

CITY NEWS

Pleasant Hill City News Food Trucks Return

The popular Off the Grid food trucks have returned to Trelany Road, next to City Hall, every Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm. You’ll be able to enjoy an extra hour - until 9pm - in the spring. (More information on exact date coming soon.)

Meeting between City and Recreation and Park District

At the January 13 city council meeting, Councilmember Flaherty gave an update on the January 6 liaison meeting between the city and the Recreation and Park District. Discussion included the district’s Master Plan along with various facility and park improvements, the upcoming bond measure, and the homeless situation within the city and the impact it’s having on park facilities and park patrons. “The district is supportive of using the CORE team, and we talked about ways to improve that and whether there was an opportunity to increase it and what the cost of all of that was,” said Councilmember Flaherty.

The Coordinated Outreach, Referral, Engagement (CORE) program works to engage and stabilize homeless individuals living outside through consistent outreach to facilitate and/or deliver health and basic needs services and secure, permanent housing. The two-person CORE team works in collaboration with the Pleasant Hill Police Department to provide outreach assistance to those experiencing homelessness.

Vassar at 925-671-5229 or email her at gvassar@pleasanthillca.org for additional information.

Friends Book Sale The next premium book sale is scheduled for Saturday, February 8, from 10am to 3pm. The book sales are held at the Pleasant Hill Library and offer a huge selection of high quality, individually priced premium books, CDs, DVDs, and audio books, puzzles, and board games as well as like-new books for sale. All fiction books are alphabetized by author, while non-fiction book categories include biography, cooking, gardening, history, health, and travel. From 1 to 3pm, most items are 50 percent off. There is no early entry and no bag sale at this event.

Purchases at the Friends book sales help fund the library collection and programs for all ages. You can also browse our newest and finest quality used books inside the library in the Friends Book Store on Tuesday, 1pm to 3pm, and Wednesday through Saturday, from 11am to 3pm. Book donations, CDs, DVDs, and jigsaw puzzles in good condition can be left in the donation room at the Pleasant Hill Library during library open hours, Monday through Saturday.

Election on March 3 Measure A General Obligation Bond

The Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District is sponsoring Measure A. The district is seeking to raise a significant amount of money to improve their parks and facilities. The amount to be raised is $63.5 million, averaging $3,400,000 collected annually, for completing all projects in the Master Plan, totaling $63,564,214. The fiscal impact to residents would be 1.9 cents per $100 assessed property value (annually). The Winslow Center, Pleasant Hill Park, and Old School House site project will take up the bulk of the funds. To see the full list of projects and estimates, visit: www.pleasanthillrec.com/561/Measure-A. It will require 2/3 majority “yes” votes to pass.

Jewish International Film Festival

Local movie buffs need go no further than downtown Pleasant Hill this winter to take in an array of fascinating independent films when the East Bay International Jewish Film Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary at the Century 16 Theatres. The festival runs from February 29 through March 8. “We are delighted to again bring the best in international and independent films to the local community,” said Festival Director Riva Gambert. “We will be screening 45 features, documentaries, and shorts. With movies coming from Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, South Africa and Great Britain, there is something for everyone’s taste, including romantic dramas, comedies, thrillers, and serious dramas.” Several of the films have been nominated by their countries for Best Foreign Film. Visit the festival website at: www.jewishworldcinema.org. Brochures are available at Century Theatres and downtown Pleasant Hill shops.

ARCHITECTURAL MOULDINGS

Community Awards Night

Get ready to celebrate the contributions of people, non-profits, and businesses that enrich Pleasant Hill’s quality of life at the 48th Community Awards Night.

This year’s event takes place the evening of April 14 at the Pleasant Hill Community Center. The Community Awards are hosted by the City of Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District, Foundation for Pleasant Hill Education, and Pleasant Hill Community Foundation. For tickets, visit pleasanthillca.org/tickets. Contact Community Relations Manager Gayle

925.798.7525 themouldingcompany.com

Come vi our newsit showroo m!

5117 COMMERCIAL CIRCLE, CONCORD, CA 94520 OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 7

Mayor’s Message

Late last year, the Martinez City Council unanimously approved a license agreement with the Pecos League to use Field 4 at the Joe DiMaggio Baseball Fields at Martinez Waterfront Park. This agreement gives the league exclusive use of this professional field for all home games. The field will be available for other teams/leagues when the yet-to-benamed Martinez team is away. Spring training starts on May 22 at 6:30pm, and the first official game of the season is on May 28 vs. the Monterey Lumberjacks.

Tickets are currently on sale and can be obtained on the team website http:// www.martinezmackerel.com/. Other teams in the Pacific Division are Bakersfield Train Robbers, Santa Cruz Seaweed, Wasco Reserve, and Pittsburg Anchors.

Although the Martinez team was initially named the Mackerel, the league has agreed to consider other names after

some complaints from the public. Other names currently under consideration are the Beavers, Pipeliners, and Sturgeons.

Pecos Commissioner Andrew Dunn will announce the chosen name at the State of the City Breakfast on August 11 at 7:30am at Creekside Church, on Fig Tree Lane.

The last of Measure H projects, Golden Hills Park, will commence very soon after a delay of several months due to problems with the contractor that previously won the construction bid.

The city decided to rebid the project and a new contractor was chosen. In December, city staff held a preconstruction meeting with the new contractor to kick off the project. The project is expected to take 120 working days, not including delays for rain, and should be completed in the summer.

If you have been downtown lately,

Rob Schroder, Mayor of Martinez

you have experienced a vibrant and exciting ambiance, with new shops, great eateries, and high-end wine and cocktail establishments. You would have also seen a new mid-rise office building going up on the east side of downtown between Marina Vista and Escobar Streets. This is the Contra Costa County Administration Building, which will house the Board of Supervisors Chambers, Clerk of the Board, County

Administrator, and County Counsel.

Once completed and occupied, the old high-rise county building at 651 Pine Street will be demolished. Because the building was constructed with some lead and asbestos materials, it cannot be imploded and must be taken down piece by piece. I know the residents on the eastern side of the downtown are looking forward to an improved view of the Carquinez Strait.

Chamber Calendar State of the City Mayor’s Breakfast , Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 7:30 to 9:30am Each year, the Martinez Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the City of Martinez hosts the annual State of the City Mayor’s Breakfast. This annual event showcases our city’s direction and plans for upcoming projects and vision for the future. The Chamber of Commerce convenes business leaders and influencers throughout the community to this “must attend” event. At the Creekside Church, 444 Fig Tree Lane in Martinez.

Call the Martinez Chamber Office to Purchase Tickets 925-228-2345

Public Meetings Senior Helpers 925-677-2150 www.seniorhelpers.com/ca/concord/careers

8 | FEBRUARY 2020 | OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM

Senior Helpers 925-677-2150 www.seniorhelpers.com/ca/concord/careers

City Council Meeting Feb. 5, 19 City Hall, 525 Henrietta Street, 6-9pm. Contact: 372-3500 Zoning Administrator Meeting Feb. 19 City Hall, 525 Henrietta Street, 4-6pm. Contact: 372-3500 Design Review Meeting Feb. 12 City Hall, 525 Henrietta Street, 4-6pm. Contact: 372-3500 Planning Commission Meeting Feb 11, 25 City Hall, 525 Henrietta Street, 7-11pm. Contact: 372-3500 For confirmation, visit www.cityofmartinez.org

CITY NEWS

Martinez City News

Coming to Main Street Arts The Road Traveled

Tamsen Armstrong presents “The Road Traveled,� a year of her plein air paintings of California and the Southwest. Finding inspiration from her life in California and her travels through Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico, Tamsen paints the unique Western landscape. “I am drawn to the light and color of the land, sky, and sea and hope my paintings tell stories of places that are both familiar and sublime.� Her show runs throughout February. Join Main Street Arts on February 8, from 2pm to 5pm, for a reception.

Councilmembers Discuss Issues Facing Martinez Homelessness, Accessory Dwelling Units

During council comments at the January 15 city council meeting, Councilmember Gipner expressed concern over the homeless problem in the city. “I would like to be able to find a spot in Martinez where our homeless people can be so we can control the situation instead of moving them around from place to place, which is against the law. I’m hoping we can have this discussion sooner than later,� she said.

Councilmember DeLaney also brought up the homeless issue and added, “As everybody knows, this is one of the largest issues facing California. I look forward to having on our agenda a discussion on what options we may consider such as safe parking lots and porta-potties in other locations, and I encourage us to get that scheduled.� She would also like to make further progress on ensuring that the ordinance dealing with accessory dwelling units is brought into conformance with state laws, “so that we can process ADUs in our neighborhoods in a more expeditious fashion, with less financial bourdon on folks who are interested in doing this. It does provide a potential housing option in communities like ours that don’t have a lot of opportunities for outward expansion.� She also mentioned wanting an update on wrapping up the General Plan along with hearing what progress has been made with respect to the train depot and efforts to save the old historic jail from demolition.

Parks, Recreation, Marina & Cultural Commission Update

Wine and Chocolate Stroll

The I (heart) Downtown Martinez Wine and Chocolate Stroll returns on Saturday, February 8, from 1:30pm to 4:30pm, in downtown Martinez. Grab your sweetie, gal pals, family and friends and head downtown for a fun afternoon, strolling from business to business and sampling over 20 wines and chocolate treats! Advanced tickets are available online for $30 plus tax and service fee (or $40 at the door if not sold out).

Redeem your advance purchase ticket for a wine glass, wine charm, and tasting pass at Main Street Plaza, 600 block, next to Starbucks. You can purchase tickets using the Mainstreet Martinez website at: https://downtownmartinez.org.

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Rankin Aquatic Center

The annual Iceberg Swim was held on Saturday, January 4, when the community

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The Aquatic Center will hold a job fair on February 8 and March 14 for several po

sitions, including lifeguards, swim instructors, pool managers, recreation leaders, ball field maintenance, counselors in training, and junior lifeguards. If you are interested in any of these positions, stop by the Recreation Office at 525 Henrietta Street to fill out an application. For more information, please contact the Recreation Office at (925)

372-3510 or email recreation@cityofmartinez.org.

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Youth Sports

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The Baseball Parade will be Saturday, March 7, and feature the Athletes of Martinez Baseball & Softball Association. One of the largest youth organizations in the city, the Martinez Youth Baseball and Softball League (or Little League), has one of the largest girls softball program in Northern California. Plans are underway to make the day memorable for hundreds of athletes. A picnic will follow at the Waterfront Park.

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$5 Book Sale at the Library

The Friends of the Martinez Library will hold a book sale at the Martinez Library, 740 Court Street (lower level) on Saturday, February 8, from 11am to 4pm. An early bird entrance for members will be at 10am, and membership applications will be available at the door. The public may fill a grocery bag with a variety of gently used books, CDs, and DVDs for just $5. Proceeds from the sale go to support programs at the library for children, teens, and adults.

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Happy Birthday!

Local Centenarian Celebrates 100th Birthday

BY JEANNE SCHWASS

Mary-Louise Leach was born in San Francisco in 1920 and celebrated her 100th birthday this January. She and her husband, Timothy J. Lynch, Sr., raised seven children, first in Pleasant Hill and then in Lafayette. They were part of the “tent” people who founded Christ the King Parish. Mary-Louise always loved to read and made calls on behalf of starting the new Pleasant Hill library. She was an active volunteer and fundraiser for all of her children’s schools. She also volunteered with the Padua Unit of Catholic Charities at Christ the King parish and eventually went to work for Catholic Charities in Oakland.

As a teenager, Mary-Louise was a fan of Greta Garbo, Montgomery Cliff, Tyrone Power, and Marlene Dietrich and often went to the movies, which cost only 25 cents at the time. She knew her husband, Timothy, was “the one” right away and never thought of dating anyone else after meeting him at a picnic in Burlingame. A mutual friend mixed up their last names and introduced them as Mary-Louise Lynch and Tim Leach. “We had a good laugh over that!” After the picnic, the two went out to eat with friends and didn’t get home until after midnight, talking and getting to know each other. She discovered they were both interested in acting, and Tim wound up joining her theatre group where she had the starring role in The Upper Room. They announced their engagement on October 3, 1941, during

WWII but before Pearl Harbor.

Mary-Louise describes her husband as “very involved in his community. He was a big, tall Irishman with a beautiful tenor voice. He loved his Irish heritage and was so proud when he’d sing the Irish ballads and talk about Ireland, even though he was the first generation born in the U.S. A. He tried to be a good father and was proud of each of his children.”

She went back to work at age 59 after raising seven kids. She had been involved with Catholic Charities for years as a volunteer fundraiser and started a career in the fundraising department of Catholic Charities in Oakland before moving on to accounting. She is still friends with some of her co-workers today.

When asked how she became successful and dealt with hard times, MaryLouise says, “I believed in myself and what I was capable of. I always had a deep belief in God to help me through what I needed to get through.” She says the three events that most shaped her life were: 1. Growing up during the Depression. “I was young and didn’t think we were poor. It was just our normal.” 2. Becoming a mom. 3. Going back to school at age 58 to get a high school diploma. “It helped me see I was a lot smarter than I had believed. I didn’t just want my GED; I wanted my diploma, so I enrolled in night school to get it. I was chosen as valedictorian and had the privilege of giving the valedictory address to my class, with my family watching.”

With regard to parenting, Mary-Lou-

ise says, “It was important to do the very best with each child. Each of my kids deserved attention in a different way, and I tried to make time for each one. I felt very strongly about being there for my kids and was involved in five different PTAs at one time, attended school functions, and participated in fundraising at Christ the

King School, Carondelet, St. Mary’s HS, and St. Mary’s College. She would like to be remembered as loving, compassionate, and generous and says her love has encompassed every one of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She thinks what the world needs now is more love and understanding.

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OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 11

Real Estate Trends Kitchens are the Soul of Every Home

CARPET • HARDWOOD CUSTOM RUGS LINOLEUM • TILE Family Owned Business Since 1989 3344 Mt. Diablo Blvd.

Lafayette, CA

925.284.4440

www.LamorindaFloors.com License# 708486

BY NORMA FLASKERUD

A new study by Point2Homes looked at 1.2 million listings across the U.S. in 2019 and found that certain areas of the home get brought up repeatedly. After analyzing 65 million words and 1.2 million listings, the study found, unsurprisingly, that “home,”“room,”“bedroom,”“bath,” and “flooring” were the five words that came up the most often. They appeared in descriptions for homes of all types, from the fixer-upper to the multimillion-dollar mansion. Descriptors such as “great,”“beautiful”“gorgeous,” and “perfect” also came up in the top 100.

“Although bedrooms and bathrooms are obviously never omitted in a home description, making them the most common words, the room that gets the most attention is the kitchen,” reads the study.

“The kitchen is the soul of every home and its features and upgrades are vital to buyers.” Across the board, agents frequently stressed “granite countertops” and “hardwood floors.”

We all know not every home is updated or remodeled to today’s high style and exacting standards. Not every home has granite counters in the kitchen and is a dream home as seen on HGTV! In fact, many homes are vintage; they can be from the 1940’s, ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, or ‘80s.

In late December, I was shopping at Macy’s at Sunvalley Mall and a customer recognized me from the November Community Focus article and photo, which was fun. We started a conversation and his wife asked if wallpaper was okay when selling a house. I said it wasn’t advisable when selling a home (assuming it is older/dated), and she seemed sad to hear that. She said, “I’ll never sell my house.” What I wish I had said to her then was, “How we live in a house and how we sell a house are two different things. Never be sad or embarrassed about your house as you live in it.

It’s yours to enjoy and do with as you like.”

We just met with another homeowner whose house is early ‘60s vintage. She is the original owner and is contemplating moving. Her question was, “Do I sell as-is or do I fix it up?” We discussed our concierge service, in which we can get a stager consultation and obtain fix-up bids and then decide whether it makes sense to fix it up or to sell as-is. There is no obligation to do the fix up. The good news is, with our concierge service, the cost of the fixup can be paid out of the sales proceeds at closing so it does not need to come out of pocket for the seller.

Please call us for input on how to best sell in today’s market. We are here to guide and advise you so you can get the most out of your home’s sale. Inventory continues to be very low, supporting a continuing seller’s market in early 2020.

Contact The Flaskerud Team Remax Accord: 925-338-2980 NormaFlaskerud@ Remax.net ErikFlaskerud@Remax.net or 925-381-7276 SPONSORED CONTENT

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SPORTS

Ryan Joseph Returns to College Park Back on Campus After Two Years

College Park senior Ryan Joseph suffered a spinal cord injury at a wrestling match two years ago that left him paralyzed from the neck down, but he has returned and is attending school!

He spent the last two years in Colorado rehabilitating at Craig Hospital. Ryan, a resilient young man with amazing determination, has been able to take some steps with assistance. He has defied all odds and has made incredible strides.

Ryan attended this year’s wrestling

tournament, the same one where he was injured, to watch his sister compete, and he addressed the crowd: “I just can’t thank everybody here enough for all of the help you have given me and my family.” Members of College Park Choir came to sing the national anthem and Ryan stood to join them.

Help Ryan Walk Again

Now that Ryan has returned home, he faces new obstacles. His father writes, “Our home accessibility renova-

tions are the product of love and generosity, but important work remains and Ryan struggles in the unfinished spaces.

Meanwhile, he is striving to walk again on his own without the assistance of a hospital therapy team.”

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation has published the average yearly health care costs and living

expenses for Ryan’s type of injury and they are estimated at $1,064,716 for the first year and $184,891 for each following year. Health insurance has generously covered hospital expenses, but there is so much they do not cover. To help Ryan with his goal, please consider donating. Search “Help Ryan Joseph Walk Again” at www.GoFundMe.com.

Ryan stands with the College Park Choir for the national anthem.

Hawks Volunteer

The Pleasant Hill Hawks is more than just a winning travel baseball organization.

Hawk families convened on Sequoia Middle school on January 11 to amass 800 hours of combined work hours. Project improvements to the school and fields include fixing the side road entrance, tree trimming, leaf removal, backstop repair, helmet box installation, repair of vandalism to the fields, garbage removal, weed removal, and painting benches, backstops, and knack boxes. Three huge dump runs later; the grounds are looking pristine. In addition, Hawks teams volunteered over the holidays at the Monument Crises Center and the Contra Costa Food Bank. Check us out on Facebook – Pleasant Hill Hawks Baseball. Submitted by Lenny Towle

Ryan Joseph addresses the crowd along with Athletic Director Jim Keck.

Letter of Intent

College Park senior Payton Heaney has committed to playing Division II Soccer in college next year. Payton will be playing for California State University East Bay in Hayward and studying Kinesiology in the fall of 2020.

OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 13

PAIR UP

Ah, Nuts!

The Perfect Food to Pair with Wine

BY MARIA TERRY

Nuts are a winefriendly food. This means that nuts taste good with wine and can make ingredients that clash with wine more palatable when nuts are part of the recipe. The reason nuts work with wine is first and foremost because of their fat content. Fat, as long as it is not cold, smooths out the tannic and acidic qualities of wine. Additionally, many wines have nutty flavors of their own due to time in a toasted barrel or from beneficial oxidation during an aging process.

In California, we have zucchini yearround and it is one of those wonderful vegetables that lasts quite some time in the refrigerator. This is why I am always looking for ways to prepare zucchini.

I like the idea of a salad that is slightly warm for a cold winter night but is healthy and easy to throw together. I immediately wanted to pair this Zucchi-

ni & Pine Nut Salad with a Greek white wine. I think it was the fresh herbs and pine nuts. One Greek wine that would go really well is Roditis (“Ro dee’ tees”).

It is a blush colored grape that is grown in Attica, Macedonia, Thessaly, and Peloponnese. The wine is elegant and light, with stone and citrus fruit flavors. Fortunately, just about any white wine will go with this salad because it is warm, has nuts, and is not too acidic. If you can’t find a Roditis, consider an Albariño, and if you only want to open one bottle, open your main course Chenin Blanc early.

Savennieres (“Sahv’ ven yares”) is made from the Chenin Blanc grape and comes from the Loire (“Low-are”) region of France. It is full-bodied and has high acidity, so it can age quite well. When white wines age, they oxidize and develop nutty flavors. Chenin Blanc has primary flavors of quince, lemon curd, and chamomile. It is a lovely, complex wine. The nuts and lemon in this Steelhead Trout & Green Bean Amandine rec-

ipe will complement those same flavors in an aged Savennieres. The full body of the wine will match the fattiness of the fish, yet the flavors in the wine will not overpower the delicate flavor of mild trout, which I find less fishy than salmon. If you can’t find a Savennieres, look for a dry Vouvray or find a dry Chenin Blanc from either California or South Africa. Also, you can substitute salmon for the steelhead in a pinch.

Moscato is a sweet sparkling wine from Italy that has pretty floral aromas with pear and citrus notes. It is lightly sparkling and cleanses your palate from a Pear-Hazelnut Tart With Crumble Topping (go to www.lasommelierre.com for the recipe), especially if you serve it with vanilla ice cream. Moscato is fairly easy to find, but if you want to end your meal with a non-alcoholic beverage, try a hot jasmine tea. The white flower notes of the tea complement the floral quality of the pear. As a side note, ice cream and other cold foods are difficult to pair with wines because of their

Zucchini & Pine Nut Salad INGREDIENTS 6 zucchinis (thickly sliced lengthways) Olive oil (to brush) ½ cup pine nuts 5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon honey 3 cups mixed salad leaves ½ cup fresh mint, parsley, or basil leaves DIRECTIONS Roast or grill zucchini brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Toast the pine nuts in a small pan over medium heat. Crush in mortar and pestle.

In a small bowl, combine crushed pine nuts, oil, lemon juice, and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the zucchini diagonally into thick strips. Place in a large serving bowl with salad greens and fresh herbs. Toss with dressing.

Yield: 6 servings

..........................................................

14 | FEBRUARY 2020 | OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM

high fat content and their temperature.

The cold fat coats the tongue, so when the alcohol hits the tongue, there is an unpleasant slipperiness. This is why you need bubbles or a hot beverage to clear the palate of the fat.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Maria Terry is a certified sommelier and wine educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.LaSommelierre.com.

Steelhead Trout and Green Bean Amandine INGREDIENTS ½ pound green beans (4) 6-ounce steelhead trout fillets Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste Canola oil Flour, for dusting 1 stick of butter 1 medium shallot, minced 2 lemons, juiced ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 200º.

Trim the stem end from the haricot verts and cut in half. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the beans until just tender and refresh under cold water. Set aside in a colander to drain.

Make sure the trout fillets are cleaned well. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and preheat the canola oil.

Lightly dust the trout with flour and pan fry, one at a time, until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.

As the trout finish cooking, place them on a platter in the oven to stay warm.

When the last fish is cooked, dump the excess fat from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium, add the butter, and sauté the shallots for 30 seconds. Add the haricots verts and warm through. Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice.

Spoon the haricot verts and sauce over the platter of trout and garnish with toasted almonds.

Yield: 4 servings

..........................................................

PAIR UP

Pear-Hazelnut Tart with Crumble Topping INGREDIENTS Crust 1¼ cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon salt 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter cold ¼ cup buttermilk Frangipane Filling 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/3 cup light brown sugar 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons hazelnut liquor optional ½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups hazelnut flour or almond flour 1/3 cup maple syrup 3-4 in pears, peeled and thinly sliced into ¼ inch slices Crumble ¼ cup hazelnuts roughly chopped 2 Tablespoons pistachios roughly chopped ¼ cup old-fashioned oats 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter 2 Tablespoons brown sugar ½ teaspoon ground ginger Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS Crust Place the all-purpose flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and use your fingers to break the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles small peas.

Add the buttermilk. Mix with a wooden spoon, drizzling in more buttermilk as needed (no more than 1 tablespoon at a time), until dough just comes together (a few dry spots are ok). Gently knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until no dry spots remain, about 1 minute. Divide the dough in half. Shape into a circular disk.

Grease a 9-inch tart pan with butter. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch round. Carefully transfer the crust to the prepared tart pan. Lift up the edges and allow the dough to sink down into the dish. Trim edges to even out crust if needed, then prick the bottom of the dough with a fork a few times. Cover the pan and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to two days.

Frangipane Filling Preheat the oven to 375º.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the two eggs, one at a time, until fully combined. Add the egg yolk and beat until combined. Now add the vanilla and hazelnut liquor, beating until combined. Stir in the hazelnut flour and salt until just combined. Set aside.

Add the maple syrup to a skillet with sides and bring to a boil. Boil 3-5 minutes or until the maple syrup just starts to thicken.

Remove from the heat and add the pear slices. Let the pears sit in the syrup for a few minutes but no longer. You don’t want the pears to become too soft to work with.

Once your crust is chilled, remove from the fridge and spread the filling inside.

Layer the pear slices over the filling, gently pushing them just slightly into the filling.

Drizzle the remaining maple syrup over the pears.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden. Allow the tart to sit 10 minutes, then slice and top each slice with a few scoops of the crumble and a bit of vanilla ice cream if desired.

Crumble Add the hazelnuts, pistachios, oats, butter, brown sugar, ginger, and salt to a skillet set over medium heat. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring often until the nuts and oats are toasted and golden. Remove from the heat and slide the mixture onto a plate.

Allow to cool.

Yield: 6 servings

..........................................................................................................................

Estate Planning Why Title Matters

BY JEFFREY HALL, CPA, JD Probate /Trust Attorney Understanding how your real estate is owned, or “titled,” is necessary because it determines the extent of control you have over your real estate, how susceptible your property is to creditors, and what will happen to it upon your death.

Common ways in which real estate is owned: Individually: As the sole owner, you have full control over the real estate. You can transfer it to anyone and can mortgage it.

Bankruptcy code offers some protections for personal residences should you have creditor issues, but the real estate could be vulnerable to being taken to satisfy debts or creditors’ claims.

Tenants in Common: When several people own real estate as tenants in common, no one person can claim ownership of a specific portion of it. The ownership does not have to be equal. One person can own a 25% interest (i.e. “share”) while the other has a 75% ownership interest. Each co-owner is free to transfer or mortgage their interest as they wish, however, the more co-owners, the higher the possibility for creditor issues.

Joint Tenancy (aka “joint tenancy with right of survivorship”) Two or more individuals own an equal and undivided

interest (share) in the real estate. When one of the owners dies, their interest automatically passes to the remaining co-owners, and the survivor(s) continue to own the real estate. Each co-owner is able to transfer their interest to another person, but the new coowner does not become a joint tenant but rather a tenant in common with the original co-owners.

Tenancy by the Entireties: not authorized in California.

In a Trust: As the trustmaker, you can establish rules for the use of the real estate or appoint a person (sometimes yourself) to oversee the maintenance of the real estate while allowing others (sometimes yourself) to enjoy it. A primary benefit of transferring ownership to a trust is that at your death the real estate does not have to go through the probate process. This is because the trust, not you, is the owner, and the trust can never die.

If your real estate is not titled properly, it can completely undo your intent for your estate planning. Consult with your neighborhood estate planning attorney, Jeffrey Hall.

You may visit his website at www.HallLawGroup.com or call (925) 230-9002. We are a veteran owned –veteran friendly law firm.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice nor the establishment of an attorney-client relationship.

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Estate Planning Making Changes to Your Plan

BY DANIEL DuREE

Regardless of how well drafted your estate planning documents are, life changes inevitably require changes to your estate plan. The type of change and the document it affects determine how these alterations are made.

Below are methods for making changes to

the following estate plan documents.

Living Trust

Life changes that alter how you wish to distribute your assets or who you want to be in charge of that distribution involve the living trust. A living trust is changed by doing an amendment to the trust. An amendment is a separate document that will be attached to the trust and describes the changes that will be made. The downside to a simple

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amendment is that when you are gone, people will see the original trust as well as the change. So if you are making a change that may hurt feelings of a loved one (such as removing one child as successor trustee in favor of another), you can always do a restatement, which is basically a complete new version of the trust with the new terms.

With a restatement, there is no evidence of what the original terms of the trust were.

Will

With a trust based estate plan, a pourover will is generally used, which leaves everything to the trust. Because of this feature, if you are making a change in asset distributions, you do it through an amendment to the trust rather than changing the will. However, if you are changing who you wish to be in charge of your estate when you pass away, you should also change the executor of your will. A will is changed by creating what is called a codicil. It is similar to an amendment to a trust and is a separate document that is then kept with the will.

Durable Power of Attorney or Advance Healthcare Directive

If you wish to change who will be in charge of your financial, personal, or healthcare management should you become incapacitated, you will need to appoint a new agent under your durable power of attorney and/or advance healthcare directive. There is no amendment method to these documents, and new documents will be drafted.

Remember, when making any changes to a will or a trust in which the same execution requirements apply, a trust amendment must be notarized and two independent witnesses must witness a will. If you have any questions about changes to your estate planning documents, please feel free to call my office.

Daniel L. DuRee is a third generation resident of Contra Costa County and a licensed attorney practicing in Walnut Creek.

He can be reached at (925) 210-1400 or visit www.DuReeLaw.com.

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Old Favorites Revisited

BY MICHAEL G. HARRIS, OD

As you can imagine, I have lots of favorite authors and get excited when they publish new books. This column, featuring a few of my favorite authors, is a mixed bag, from the highly recommended to the why bother to read.

Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key is another thriller by the author of The Woman in Cabin 10. The narrative is a letter written from prison by Rowan Caine to her lawyer explaining why she was wrongly convicted of killing a child under her care. The story is spellbinding and full of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I will not give away the ending, but it comes as a

complete surprise. It would’ve made Agatha Christie proud!

At first blush, John Grisham’s The Guardians seems like many of his previous legal whodunits. But as I read on, the story was not simply a rehash of his prior books and got more interesting. Cullen Post, a former criminal prosecutor, now works as a clergyman for Guardians Ministries, a small group that tries to exonerate wrongly convicted murderers on death row. The book follows his efforts to prove the innocence of several mistakenly convicted individuals.

Every step along the way in this pageturner, the courts, law-enforcement, and DA’s office try to thwart his efforts. Post’s principal case deals with the wrongful conviction of Quincy Miller for the violent murder of his ex-wife’s divorce attorney. Because

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of sketchy evidence and bribed witnesses, Miller has spent 22 years on death row. Post’s challenge is to find new evidence before Miller is executed. It’s another thrill ride for those who love legal yarns. The cases are especially interesting in this age of DNA testing, where new evidence has exonerated many wrongly convicted prisoners.

Pulitzer Prize winning historian David McCullough’s latest book is The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West. It’s an account of the 1870’s settling of the Northwest Territory, “a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.”

This vast territory of land was ceded to the United States by Great Britain as part of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which formally ended the Revolutionary War.

Massachusetts minister Manasseh Cutler wants to open this territory for settlement by veterans and their families. Congress created this territory in the Northwest Ordinance, which included “three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly,

the prohibition of slavery.” The story is interesting but lacks the pizzazz and energy of his previous books like The Path Between the Seas, John Adams, or 1776.

Ken Follett’s latest book is Notre-Dame: A Short History of the Meaning of Cathedrals.

Having learned much about cathedrals for his blockbuster bestselling novel The Pillars of Earth, Follett was distressed by the 2017 fire that might destroy the beloved Paris landmark, the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. He uses this catastrophe to tell a wonderful story about Notre-Dame, “from its construction to the role it has played across time and history,” its connection to Europe’s other great cathedrals, and its influence on Follett’s most famous novel.

I was delighted to learn that a sequel to Michael Crichton’s 1969 sci-fi thriller The Andromeda Strain had been published. It’s called The Andromeda Evolution and is credited to Crichton, although Daniel H. Wilson wrote it after Crichton’s death. Unfortunately, my excitement waned as soon as I started the book. It adds little to the original story and seems like a rip-off using Crichton’s name. Reread the original instead.

OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 19

By Jen Thoits Communications Manager Pleasant Hill Rec & Park

Meet Matt Rinn.

General Manager’s Message

The Future Is Now

By Michelle Lacy General Manager, Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” – Alan Lakein After two years of research, community outreach and plan development, our Master Plan is complete and approved by our Board of Directors. That’s Great. Fantastic. But what does that actually mean and why is it important?

The completion of our Master Plan (a.k.a. “The Big Picture”) means that the Rec & Park District now has a comprehensive vision and roadmap which identiies and prioritizes a comprehensive list of projects to maintain, preserve and improve District parks and facilities over the next 10-15 years. The goal is to ensure our park system and community facilities continue to provide outstanding, quality recreation opportunities or, as we like to say “Wow! experiences”, for generations of families and individuals. Our kids, their kids and our great grandkids will have beautiful places and spaces in our community to play.

So now what? We have a plan but how do we implement it? The cost of implementing these Master Plan projects is well beyond the scope of our operating and capital budgets. Our Board of Directors determined that a general bond would be the most viable option to fund the scope of

• Upgrades to playground equipment, picnic tables and park pathways in all District parks.

these projects. In December 2019, they au- • Renovation of turf areas and basketball thorized the placement of a $63.5 million courts at Pleasant Hill Park and RodgersBond Measure, Measure A, on the March 3, Smith Park.

2020 ballot.

For more information on Measure A Measure A funds would be used exclu- and to view the conceptual site plans plus estimated project costs, visit our sively for projects included in the Master website at pleasanthillrec.com.

Plan (see project plan highlights below).

Funds will not be used for District salaries or pensions. And we will have an oversight committee to ensure Measure A funds are used as promised. For the bond measure to pass, 2/3 majority of “yes” votes are required. Measure A funds would make the following proposed projects happen: • A new park on Oak Park Boulevard adjacent to the new Pleasant Hill library.

The new park will have sports elds, bocce ball courts and a meandering ADA compliant trail along the existing creek.

• A new community pool with aquatic facilities in Pleasant Hill Park.

• A new public gym with tennis courts and pickleball courts at the Winslow Center site on the corner of Pleasant Hill Road and Taylor Boulevard.

• A small multi-use facility at the School House site on the corner of Pleasant Hill Road and Oak Park Boulevard.

• New or renovated bathrooms in several our park facilities including Rodgers-Smith Park, Pleasant Hill Park, Brookwood, Chilpancingo Park and Shannon Hills Park.

In 2009, Rec & Park had another bond measure on the ballot, Measure E. Within ve short years, the District built the new Pleasant Hill Community Center, Senior Center, Teen Center and completely renovated Pleasant Oaks Park into a modern sports complex. The public recreational facilities are a tremendous, well-utilized core assets to our community. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in the past and look forward to delivering on our vision in the future.

I want to thank our Board members, my staff and especially all the members of the community for your time, effort and input that went into the Master Plan process and help us to get The Big Picture.

Thank you.

Matt is a man who wears many hats well.

With his wonderful, perfectly shaped head, his personable demeanor and extremely altruistic and community minded nature, that is no surprise to anyone who is fortunate enough to meet him.

Not only is Matt the owner of a local State Farm Insurance Agency (#myagentMatt) but he is also a husband, father, soccer coach, Rotary Club member, former PH Education Commission member, Citizen of the Year (has the belt to prove it), “Selle King” and, of course, our 2020 Pleasant Hill Mayor. Oh, and he also happens to be a huge Rec & Park fan.

When Matt and his family moved to Pleasant Hill 9 years ago, it was the Rec & Park District that rolled out the welcome mat. “We didn’t know anyone here,” Matt shared. “It was really Rec & Park programs that provided us with a way to meet and connect with other young families in the community. We made so many new friendships through Rec & Park activities that we th still hold dear today.” Both his daughters attended the Rec & Park preschool and took ballet classes. Matt and his wife joined his neighborhood Rec & Park bocce team and enjoyed expanding their network of friends across the community. Together, Matt and his family attended just about every community family event Rec & Park offers.Rec & Park also helped serve his business needs by providing convenient and beautiful meeting spaces.

What makes Rec & Park so special? Matt said, “the Rec & Park staff!” As a Rec & Park staff member and coming from this very accomplished community leader, I’ll take it.

Thanks for sharing the love, Mayor Matt.

pleasanthillrec.com

From the Contra Costa County Historical Society

A History Note $100,000 Knitting Needles

BY MARJORIE NEWTON

In 1988, the Concord City Council voted to spend $100,000 for an art project to beautify the city. Ninety-one aluminum poles, varying in length from eight to fifty-one feet and ending in a sharp point, were erected in the median strip on Concord Avenue. The largest pole was 91 inches and weighed nearly 100 pounds.

While many people compared this artwork to knitting needles or porcupine quills, these “spirit poles” were part of a Heritage Gateway to Concord project that represented the changes in Concord history, from the native tribes to the Spanish and to the modern city it has become. In the five-block median strip from Market Street to Salvio Street stood an oak tree representing the Ohlone tribe that was indigenous to the area, with flowering fruit trees representing the settlers, a formal

garden, and then two blocks of poles.

The aluminum poles were anchored at the base, giving them the flexibility to wave in the wind. Originally, ivy plants were supposed to grow up the poles, but the ivy could not stick to the aluminum and kept sliding down. In a contest by the National Inquirer, the poles were “the ugliest publicly funded sculpture in America.”

At one point, flags were hung on some poles in an attempt to make them more utilitarian. A response from others was to place large plastic marshmallows on the tips of some of the poles.

The artist was Gary Rieveschi. In 1991, one of the shorter poles fell in a windstorm and public safety became an issue. The city’s maintenance staff found cracks in nine others, which were immediately taken down. Then, an engineering firm found 41 more suffering from stress

Pleasant Hill Senior Activities Feb. 4 - Dental Hygiene 101 at 9am. Dr. Hoang will demonstrate techniques for brushing and flossing and how to appropriately use an electric toothbrush. She will go over different dry mouth aids as well as denture adhesives and answer any of your questions. Free , but please RSVP to 798-8788 or online.

Feb. 13 - Care Management Series Presents, “Planning for Quality of Life Through Your Medical Journey,” 2:00pm. We will discuss Medicare guidelines which dictate the length of time you may qualify for care in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, rehab facility, or home health service. Additionally, care management resources will be shared if you are unable to advocate for yourself at any time. Presented by Beacon Home Care. Light Refreshments will be provided. FREE, but please RSVP to 798-8788 or online.

Feb. 27 - Mardi Gras Taste of the Vine Social from 3-5pm. Didn’t make it to New Orleans this year? Let us fill your wine glass with some wonderful wine selections (non-alcoholic available) and tempt your senses with delicious food and King Cake. Plus, enjoy a stellar jazz performance from the five piece band, Four and More. Sponsored by Carlton Senior Living. Tickets: $15 or $20 after 2/14.

Feb. 28 - Memory Café *NEW* from 11am-12pm. Join us for various activities, socializing, meeting new people, etc. Designed for care partners and care receivers with mild cognitive impairment. Put on by JFCS. For more information, contact Dee at 925-927-2000x638. Free. RSVP to 798-8788 or online.

Feb. 28 - New Senior Club Member Orientation at 2pm. Are you new to the Senior Club Membership? Are you currently participating in an activity but curious about the other ones? Are you looking to get more involved and want to find out about our volunteer program? If you answered yes, then please join us! We will have board and staff members available to answer questions as well as tell you more about what the Senior Center has to offer. There will be light refreshments and giveaways. Please RSVP to 798-8788 or online.

233 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill 925-798-8788 Register for classes and events at www.pleasanthillrec.com

fatigue. On April 27, 1999, the city council voted to have the poles removed and placed into storage in the city maintenance yard the next day. A problem arose, though, because the California Art Preservation Act states that works of art may not be removed without the written permission of the artist. The argument was made that the art was still in existence though not erected. Also, nothing could be done to the five blocks of median because it was part of the Heritage Gateway designed by the artist. This presented another problem when the city wanted to put a left turn lane entry into the city’s new parking garage.

Two years of negotiations between the artist and the city council ensued.

Gary Rieveschi received a payment of $75,000 to settle his claim with the city.

When asked about the fate of the poles, Park Supervisor Tyce Dekker relayed that

they had been sold for scrap. It would be nice to think that the City of Concord had received the $175,000 expended in exchange for the aluminum, but it does not seem likely. If the average size of the poles was 75 inches and weighed 75 pounds, at the scrap yard, it was worth about 75 cents a pound. You can do the math.

Information for this article was gleaned from the newspaper clippings, files, and other archives of the Contra Costa County Historical Society and from the recollections of county employees.

A History Note is presented by the Contra Costa County History Center, 724 Escobar St., Martinez, using materials from the society’s collections. Open hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays, from 9-4, and the first and third Saturdays, from 10-2. Check out the website: www.cocohistory.org

In the Mix

Cherished Armando’s to Close

BY PAUL COTRUVO

Just as I was wrapping up this article to submit, I received some devastating news. One of the best venues in our area is closing. Armando’s in Martinez has been going strong for more than 14 years and featured some of the best talent in the Bay Area and beyond. It appears that due to a dispute with the landlord, the last show will be held on February 9. It is very rare in our area to have a place that is strictly a music venue. Over the years, many genres of music shared that stage: jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock, folk, big band, and country.

Owner Roy Jeans, a Martinez legend, wanted it all in his place. He also made shows the most affordable to attend. Live music is definitely a difficult thing to do on a small scale, but Roy and Eloise made it work. It is hard to put into words, but

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he created an atmosphere that musicians and patrons could only feel when they were there, like when sitting in the eclectic painted chairs or the comfy couch while listening to an up and coming artist or legends such as Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks and David Lindley. It’s such an intimate setting. Roy will be looking for an alternative location, and we are hopeful and encouraged that Armando’s will rise again and continue to be a cherished part of not only the musical landscape in Martinez but the Bay Area.

For some local reaction, I asked my fellow board members of the Martinez Music Mafia to make some statements and comments. As you will see, Armando’s was more than just another venue for bands to play.

Scotty O’Neill: “My life has truly been impacted by Armando’s. From the early days, when it was looking like a true speakeasy, to getting organized with jazz acts, jams, open mics, I found a community out of this magical place. All because of Roy Jeans, who named Armando’s after his grandfather, and Eloise Cotton, who fostered a local and wider reach to national acts coming though. The aesthetic of this place never stopped evolving, both in visual and audio experience, because of Roy’s creative and artful approach to making that room the best in the Bay. And as a performer there, all I can say is it’s the best stage ever to work with outstanding sound and to play -- and always to an appreciative listening audience. No matter what happens going forward, we can all take respite in having this chapter in our lives to remember until our last breath.”

Brian Walker: “It’s sad to see this chapter in the life of Armando’s come to an end. Hopefully, a new chapter is right around the corner. Armando’s has done more to revitalize the cultural life of downtown Martinez than any other initiative attempted in recent memory.”

Bruce Campbell: “Aside from the obvious benefits of having Armando’s in town (excellent live music on a regular basis), as a semi-pro musician, I benefited from

the performing atmosphere, which was markedly different from bar gigs. It really helped me hone my stagecraft, mic technique, and dealing with sound people, etc.

- things that musicians need to know but are rarely formally taught.”

Chris Bryant: “Armando’s has been a sanctuary for myself and many others for great music in Martinez and the entire Bay Area -- the vibe and the room are unique.

It’s been an honor to both play and work there the last few years, and it’s inspired me to strive harder to be better in both my own performances and those I organ-

ize and work on. The spirit will live on and, hopefully, rise again. The desire to perform there made us dig deeper musically. ”

Please check the Armando’s website for announcements of the last show on February 9. I have a feeling it will be amazing! www. armandosmartinez.com. Thank you, Roy and Eloise, for creating such a unique venue. We are indebted to you forever.

Quote of the Month: “Time to move, time to get going, what lies ahead I have no way of knowing.”

Tom Petty

Paul’s Picks

February 1: Hot for Teacher, Retro Junkie, 2112 N. Main St., Walnut Creek, 9pm February 7: The New Frantics, Roxx on Main, 627 Main St., Martinez, 8:30pm February 7: The Billy Bunch, Dan’s Bar, 1524 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, 10pm February 8: Valarie Jay & the Americano’s, Roxx on Main, 627 Main St., Martinez, 8:30pm February 13: Stephanie & Joey, Rocco’s Pizzeria, 2909 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, 8:00pm February 21: Junk Drawer, WiseGirl, 1932 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill, 9pm February 22: Paul Trombetta, Back 40, 100 Coggins Drive, Pleasant Hill, 6pm February 22: The Bell Brothers, Roxx on Main, 627 Main St., Martinez, 8:30pm February 22: Lumberyard, WiseGirl, 1932 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill, 9pm

Live Music Venues

Armando’s: 707 Marina Vista, Martinez, www.armandosmartinez.com Back Forty: 100 Coggins Drive-Pleasant Hill, www. backforty.us WiseGirl: 1932 Oak Park Blvd. Pleasant Hill, www.wisegirlph.com Dan’s Bar: 1524 Civic Drive Walnut Creek, www.dansbar.com Roxx on Main: 627 Main St. Martinez, www.roxxonmain.com Rocco’s Pizzeria: 2909 Ygnacio Valley Road Walnut Creek, www.roccospizzeria.com Retro Junkie: 2112 N. Main Street Walnut Creek, www.retrojunkiebar.com Vinnies: 2045 Mt. Diablo Street-Concord, www.vinniesbar.com

IN THE GARDEN

New Beginnings Forward into Spring

BY LESLEY STILES

As the month of hearts descends upon us and brings flowers, rain, snow, sunny days, and hopes of spring, life can feel pretty good in the Diablo Valley.

I have been away from my column for awhile due to opening a restaurant in downtown Martinez, Roxx on Main.

Rebuilding this business has been an adventure, to say the least. Of course, we got in over our heads even though we had it all figured out. As soon as we started construction, doubt started creeping in and releasing anguish I had previously tucked into an old winter basket. Like the proverbial peeling of life’s onion, nocturnal prowls took up residence in my body and mind and tried to obscure normal pathways of productivity as more and more “ideas” of what would be the best path to completion took hold of contractor and client conversations. Naturally, it took twice as long and cost twice as much to reopen -- months longer than anticipated. It’s a fine dagger line between having profound knowledge of a subject and being merely clever in the execution of a project. It’s an eye-opener for sure and as exciting as being bushwhacked by cupcake bearing orangutans. That’s a good thing -- being a lover of the cupcake. We are having a blast and have been well received by the dining and live music community so far.

Even in chilly, snowy, rainy weather, the sun comes through enough to warm our hearts and clear some of the cobwebs out of the holiday hangover maze in our heads, possibly making room for New Year creations as well as resolutions. Narcissus are the early bloomers, foisting their scent upon anyone possessing a nose. If you are not a bulb grower and these amazing and special baby daffodils aren’t at your fingertips, don’t despair; they are available at farmers’ market stands and awaiting your retrieval for a cute little vase, possibly passed down from a sweet old granny somewhere.

Blessed are we to have endless fresh produce at our year-round farmers’ markets, as I have commented many times in this column. Currently, greens such as kale, spinach, lettuces, and thick herbs like parsley and cilantro compete with citrus to take center stage in the arena of seasonal produce in Northern California.

Meyer lemons hang sumptuously from neighborhood trees in a public show of immodest preening, begging to be swiped off that tree and squeezed into lemonade or whipped into a lemon pie.

Kumquats are boiled into marmalade, and we even have a special cocktail shaken with kumquat simple syrup. Satsuma mandarins, pomelos, Cara Cara oranges, tangerines, and tangelos -- there are more kinds of citrus than Carter has pills.

Perfectly pairing a sour mandarin orange with an ichang papeda, an Eastern Asian fruit that slightly resembles a small grapefruit with overtones of lime, results in a yuzu, which is rapidly becoming the darling of the culinary world, regardless of the nature of the cuisine. The yuzu itself looks like a small, bumpy grapefruit mottled with yellow and green, and it has a history, in name anyway, of being confused with pomelos. Used for skin and juice, the center does have some pulp but is mostly seeds and juice. The flavor scale ranges from indescribable to not being done justice when described as a cross between the mingling, extremely aromatic, and best qualities of mandarin, lemon, lime and grapefruit. Possessing that ethereal quality of umami, where you have a taste of some delectable morsel and are hit with a “Wow! What is that flavor?” -- yuzu is indeed very difficult to put into a box.

Originating as a wild tree fruit in Central China, yuzu was introduced into Japanese and Korean cuisines during the Tang Dynasty. Often combined with honey to make wine, yuzu juice is also a central ingredient in ponzu sauce. American brewers have been using yuzu juice in beers since 2003. Rarely eaten as a fruit, yuzu rind can transform any dish you would add lemon zest to but takes it to a new level

of mysterious, flavor raising eyebrows on the buffet. Juicing fresh cucumber pickles along with a touch of rice vinegar and yuzu rind makes a perfect accompaniment to grilled meat sandwiches as well as a relish for fish. Grating it into your persimmon cookie recipe or raspberry jam elevates your standing among food friends. Use juice in place of vinegar in salad dressing recipes or reduction sauces. Yuzu marmalade is a study in perfection on sourdough toast. Just the oil from the fruit rubbed behind the ears is enough to make you popular.

Extremely frost hardy, the trees have been introduced into California’s Central Valley and grow next to savvy, citrus growers’ oranges and mandarins. It’s also available through mail order, and you could be the first one on your block to not only know what a yuzu is but have it in your garden for pleasure year-round.

On a personal note, I am so happy to be finishing up our first six months at Roxx and back in a place where I can write my column again! Thank you so much for reading all these years, and we hope to see you downtown Martinez sometime soon!!

Guaranteed we will have local, seasonal, organic, and amazing produce as well as products, always!

Lesley Stiles is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and Chef/ Owner of Roxx on Main, offering delicious, sustainable foods to the community.

She can be reached at lesley@roxxonmain.com • www.roxxonmain.com • www. lesleystilesfoods.com 925 370 ROXX

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

INGREDIENTS 4 medium sized beets (I use golden beets if I want color integrity of the dish, as red beets tend to color everything in their wake a hypnotizing red hue) 1 Cara Cara orange 1 blood orange 1 navel orange 3 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar ¼ cup crumbled chevre or feta ½ cup toasted walnuts 3 cups assorted salad greens Salt and pepper to taste DIRECTIONS Wash beets and remove stem end and root tail. Rub with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in baking dish, cover, and roast at 350 for about 45 minutes to an hour until beets are easily pierced with a knife. Let cool until you can easily handle them. Peel, quarter and slice the quarters about ¼ inch thick.

Peel and slice the oranges. Place greens in a bowl. Toss in the beets, oranges, walnuts, and goat cheese. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and rice vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and gently toss to mix all.

Serves 4

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OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 23

SCHOOL NEWS

Principal’s Corner Thank You!

JOSEPH G. ALVAREZ PRINCIPAL COLLEGE PARK HIGH SCHOOL

Thank you so very much for your ongoing support, from updating our garden to providing PTSA (10K!) monetary assistance, which goes directly into our students’ classrooms. I hope you join me for the open house on February 20 and see for yourself what fantastic faculty and course offerings we have. The annual parent night showcases our multi-cultural show on February 24 and is another great and fun way to see our diverse and rich student body. As always, please visit our school website for more information.

Spring athletics began on February 10 and we have the highest number of students participating at this time. Please come out to any sport and support our community. All schedules and information can be found at collegeparkathletics. com.

Tara O’Sullivan is a 2006 graduate who was killed in the line of duty while serving the Sacramento Police Department. Thank you to our MDUSD maintenance and operations department as well as our very own athletic director, Jim Keck, and athletics booster president, Jeff Eide, who personally worked and ensured this memorial area was put into place. We will be holding a memorial service soon.

Falcon up!

Everything we do at College Park

Recruitment Fair

2020 Contra Costa County Teacher/Certificated Staff

The Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) will present its annual Contra Costa County Teacher/Certificated Staff Recruitment Fair, on Saturday, February 29, from 9am to 11:30am., at Alhambra High School’s gymnasium, located at 150 E St., in Martinez.

Attendees will discover a number of countywide teaching positions in a variety of fields, including all levels of K-12 education, specialty, and substitute teaching positions. Representatives of some local school districts will be offering employment interviews on site.

Along with the CCCOE, representatives from a number of the Contra Costa County school districts will be on hand, as well as the county’s charter schools. In addition, information will be available about local teaching programs and teaching credential requirements.

For additional details about this free event, contact Morgan Broshar at 925-9423489.

High School dramatically impacts the lives of our future every day. All my interactions with both adults and students on campus embrace service with kindness, questioning to clarify, and finding common ground to best support. When I first heard of the passing of Kobe Bryant and the other eight passengers on board the helicopter that took their lives, I was

in pure and utter shock. I thought of his countless hours in the gym to prepare himself to be the best in his sport and provide his best effort to each contest.

None of us knows when our last day will be, but we must approach each day with a sense of purpose, without fear but with faith in our intentions and the good we can do.

All-State Honor Choir

College Park High School announced that an unprecedented four students have been selected to participate in the 2020 all-state honor choir. The culminating event of the honor choir event will be a concert held at the acclaimed Saroyan Theatre in downtown Fresno on February 22 during the annual California All-State Music Education Conference.

Out of hundreds of students who audition every year to participate in regional and all-state honor choirs, Ajani Harris, Nate Holden, Clayton Hults, and Miles McCall have been selected for this year’s elite ensemble. All four students are members of the College Park High School choir program, directed by Bruce Rockwell, now in his tenth year of teaching music at CPHS. “We are very proud of these students and their accomplishments,’’ said Mr. Rockwell. “The hard work and dedication demanded by their craft is evident. They will be excellent representatives of our music department, our school, and our community.’’

The California Choral Directors Association, which sponsors the all-state honor choir, is the largest state affiliate of the American Choral Directors Association. The mission of ACDA is to inspire excellence in choral music through education, performance, composition, and advocacy.

MEF Awards Grants

Martinez Education Foundation (MEF) recently awarded grants in the amount of $185,572 to teachers and staff throughout the Martinez Unified School District schools. Schools receiving grants include Alhambra High School ($36,156), Martinez Junior High School ($51,152), Morello Park Elementary ($24,872), Las Juntas Elementary ($16,327), John Swett Elementary ($28,703), John Muir Elementary ($21,120), and Vicente Martinez High School/Briones School ($7,242). For more information, go to www.martinezedfoundation.org.

MEF thanks and appreciates all of its contributors, especially Shell Oil Products, PBF Holding, Lippow Development, and the Cameron-Baird Foundation for their generous support this year in making these grants possible. Thanks also to the community for their great support throughout the year and allowing MEF the opportunity to make our schools better! Save the date for the next Run For Education: Sunday September 27, 2020.

24 | FEBRUARY 2020 | OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM

College Park students selected to participate in All-State Honor Choir. Pictured (LtoR): Miles McCall, Ajani Harris, Nate Holden, Clayton Hults.

AARP’s Prestigious Award

White Pony Express Founder Receives Award for Relief of Camp Fire Survivors

Almost 100 people gathered at the nonprofit organization White Pony Express in Pleasant Hill to attend a special AARP California ceremony to honor Dr. Carol Weyland Conner, founder of White Pony Express, with the 2019 Andrus Award. AARP California State Director Nancy McPherson presented Dr. Conner with the award for her extraordinary leadership in bringing aid to survivors of the Butte County Camp Fire, the worst fire in California’s history. AARP received more than 100 nominations from across the state for this award.

The Andrus Award is AARP’s most prestigious volunteer tribute. It recognizes outstanding individuals who share their experience, talents and skills to enrich the lives of others. The award is given annually to an individual who embodies the principles of AARP’s founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, who believed in the power of ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

When the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise and 18,000 buildings in the Butte County area, it left thousands of people homeless and destitute.

Dr. Conner quickly galvanized White Pony Express volunteers to make trips to the disaster area and bring food, clothing, and cash to the survivors. When the news coverage of the tragic situation ended, Dr. Conner’s volunteers contin-

ued to help. Over the course of many months, 182 volunteers made 91 trips to the Butte County area, each taking about eight hours. They sought out survivors in remote places and gave those displaced community members 58,213 pounds of food and 1,833 articles of clothing. In addition, they gave away thousands of dollars in cash to buy needed supplies and gas.

“Dr. Conner’s record of achievement, service, and commitment provides an extraordinary example of the difference that volunteerism can make in the lives of individuals and in the well being and vitality of a community,” stated Nancy McPherson. “Her example inspires all of us to want to make a difference.”

The ceremony included live music, a short video on the Camp Fire, and a brief review of WPE’s work in helping the fire survivors. In addition to honoring the work of Dr. Conner, WPE volunteers who helped bring food and clothing to the fire survivors were also recognized. As part of the award, AARP presented a $1,000 check to White Pony Express.

ABOUT WPE:

White Pony Express operates a Food Rescue Program that picks up quality surplus food every day from supermarkets, restaurants, and farmers’ markets and then delivers that food—free of charge— to shelters and churches that feed the

hungry. Since its founding in 2013, WPE has delivered over ten million pounds of fresh food. WPE also has a general store

that has distributed over 500,000 items of high-quality clothing, toys, and books to the underserved for free.

Pictured (LtoR): Michael Murray, AARP CA Strategic Business Operations Director; Dr. Carol Weyland Conner, White Pony Express Founder; Nancy McPherson, AARP CA State Director.

White Pony Express brings aid to Camp Fire survivors.

OURCOMMUNITYFOCUS.COM | FEBRUARY 2020 | 25

Diablo Valley Oncology What’s new in Breast Cancer Treatment?

BY TIFFANY SVAHN, MD

The end of the year is a time for families and holidays but also when the latest updates in breast cancer treatment are announced at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Thus, as we head into 2020, we have new insights into improved treatment options for breast cancer.

An important question that often arises in treating hormone-sensitive early stage breast cancer is how long should a patient remain on her estrogen blocker? Five years? Ten? There have been several studies addressing this question, and the answer remains

unclear. The NSABP-B42 study looks at women who have completed 5 years of anti-estrogen therapy - either aromatase inhibitor (AI) or tamoxifen followed by AI. Women were randomized to an additional five years of AI versus placebo.

There was a 4% absolute reduction in breast cancer recurrence with extended AI use but no difference in overall survival seen thus far. Importantly, there was no increased risk of osteoporotic fractures with longer AI use. The decision to continue anti-estrogen therapy beyond 5 years remains individualized based on the patient, risk of their tumor, bone density score, and tolerance of the treatment. We now have another important study showing a potential benefit of longer treatment, and genomic assays

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are being investigated, which will hopefully help guide treatment decisions.

HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer is an area where we have seen several treatment advances. Three important therapies were presented at SABCS that will soon, if not already, be available to treat patients. Trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu®) was granted accelerated FDA approval on 12/20/2019.

The oral HER2-blocker, tucatinib, was granted FDA breakthrough designation on 12/18/19 based on improvement in overall survival, including patients with brain metastases. Finally, margetuzimab (an anti-HER2 antibody) is awaiting FDA approval based on improvements in outcomes in combination with chemotherapy compared to trastuzumab (Hercpetin®) and chemotherapy.

Breast cancer is a complex disease, with treatment options varying between the stage and specific biology of an indiI’m not in trouble anymore!

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Please join me at the Cancer Support Community on February 19, at 6:30pm, to hear more about new treatment strategies in breast cancer. Reservations recommended. Please email sgoldberg@dvohmg.com or call 925677-5041.

Dr. Svahn is a medical oncologist and breast cancer specialist with Diablo Valley Oncology and Hematology Medical Group in Pleasant Hill. She is the medical director of the Women’s Cancer Center of the East Bay. Contact information: 925-677-5041 or www.dvohmg. com SPONSORED CONTENT

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february 4

february 19

february 22 & 29

february 29

Pleasant Hill Garden Study Club

Breast Cancer Update

Gardening in a Changing Climate

Considering Matthew Shephard

A five-week series to learn how to create, cultivate and enjoy a home garden through the lens of a changing climate. Saturdays 9:30am12pm, Rodgers Ranch Heritage Center, 315 Cortsen Rd., Pleasant Hill. sustainablecoco.org.

Cantare Con Vivo’s 100-voice Chorale, an Oaklandbased community choir, will present the premier East Bay performance, a new 95-minute oratorio by Craig Hella Johnson about the life, death, and legacy of Matthew Shepard. 7:30pm, WC Presbyterian Church, 1801 Lacassie Ave, WC. Tickets at www.cantareconvivo.org

Club meets Tuesday, 7pm. Free, all are welcome. Pleasant Hill Community Center, 320 Civic Dr., Pleasant Hill. www.phgsc.com

Hear the new updates from experts. 6:308pm at the Cancer Support Community, 3276 McNutt Ave, WC. RSVP to sgoldberg@dvohmg. com

february 7

february 20

february 28

march 1 & 15

Act II Improv

Backyard Beekeeping 201: The Next Level

Model Train Show & Open House

How to Raise Your Own Chickens

Workshop is from 10am - 12pm at Rodgers Ranch Heritage Center, 315 Cortsen Rd., Pleasant Hill. Learn pest and disease recognition & management, making splits from existing colonies and more. $25, register at sustainablecoco.org.

Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society hosts the largest HO scale layout on permanent display in the Bay Area, in the building built especially for a model railroad.

Over 4,300 feet of track. Adults: $3; children and seniors: $2; children under 6 yrs. are free. 8-10pm, 2751 Buena Vista, Walnut Creek. www.wcmrs.org

Papa John Kiefer offers workshops to include topics on raising young chicks, laying hen maintenance, and sustainable coop construction. 1-3:30pm. Free; reservations required.

Lafayette location provided upon registration, chickenspapajohn@gmail.com.

A creative outlet for improvisational artists to innovate and grow. Minimum age is 16. All proceeds go to charity. Check for times and ticket info at www.campbelltheater.com.

Campbell Theater, 636 Ward Street, Martinez.

february 8

ongoing

$5 Bag of Books Sale

Volunteer with Seniors

Friends of the Martinez Library will hold a book sale on from 11am-4pm.; early bird entrance for members at 11am. Fill a grocery bag with a variety of gently used books, CDs, and DVDs for just $5. Martinez Library, 740 Court St. Proceeds support library for children, teens, and adults.

Spectrum Community Services is looking for individuals who would like to volunteer in senior centers all around the East Bay. Please call Spectrum Community Services at 510-8810300 ext. 242 or fill out an application at www.

Spectrumcs.org.

february 12

feb 21 - march 6

february 29

ongoing

Magic Club

Natural Shocks

Assembly #112 Magic Club meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Denny’s Restaurant, 1313 Willow Pass Rd., Concord, 6:30-7pm – Greet and Meet Time. 7-8:30pm – Workshop Time (learning new effects or Lecture time), 8:30-10pm – Performance Time (bring a trick to perform). https://sam112.com

A play based on Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy. This solo show tackles the theme of a woman in crisis, Check for times and ticket info at www.campbelltheater.com. Campbell Theater, 636 Ward Street, Martinez.

St. Paul’s Concert Series

Volunteers for Senior Van Service

Konevets Quartet will join soprano Marina Tolstova for an evening of a cappella splendor, performing both sacred and folk music from Russia. 7pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1924 Trinity Avenue, Walnut Creek. https:// stpaulswc.org/concert-series/

Pleasant Hill Senior Center Van Service is looking for a volunteer ride schedule dispatcher. Only one morning shift each week (9-11am). For more information, visit pleasanthillca.org/seniorvan or call 925-671-5288.

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