CASTRO VALLEY NEWS YEAR 1, NUMBER 8
WWW.CASTROVALLEYTV.COM
JUNE 2014
Plan to Renovate and Add Stores to Rite Aid Builidng Protested
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ne of Castro Valley’s biggest stores boasting wide gaps between aisles is expected to have its floorspace divided and become home to a “Farmer’s Market” store named Sprouts. After months of rumors the plan was substantiated in early April when CVN confirmed it with store employees. Recently, a real estate website posted designs (at right) with renovation concepts illustrating potential upgrades. Details: Rite Aid will keep 20,000 square feet of the building, Sprouts is expected to occupy
27,000 square feet and a remaining flyer urged the community to contact 14,000 square feet of floorspace is members of the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (CVMAC) currently being offered to takers. to object to the project proposal. A county official told CVN negotiations are ongoing to occupy the Parking concerns and traffic woes are 14,000 square foot space open to an- the two main concerns in the flyer. other “yet to be named” retailer. The builing at 3848 Castro Valley On May 19, flyers were stuffed into Boulevard, has previously been ocmailboxes in the Marshall area in cupied by Value World and Payless. protest of the plan. Titled, “Castro This Story Continues on the Valley: Sprouting Like a Weed”, the Last Page of this Magazine.
Canoe Believe “The Sign” Has Been Gone Seventeen Years ?
the controversial Castro Valley “canoe” sign covered by 16 years worth of dust, debris and shame.
Typefaces in the sign were said to be in homage to the different influences in the community including script for the word “Castro” deriving from the areas Hispanic heritage. The depiction of the contentious canoe supposedly represented the Ohlone Indians, who once lived in Castro Valley. Many people in town felt its resemblance to a motel sign was out of step with the character of Castro Valley.
The $106,000 “sign sculpture” commissioned by the Alameda County Arts Commission Committee on Public Art was created by Washington artist Nancy Klein. It stood on a center median of Redwood Road near the boulevard and was removed in late 1997 by overwhelming community demand and transported to the Dublin garage where it has been since.
The “canoe” was up for no more than a month and never fully completed. The removal process began the day following that overwhelming meeting at CVHS. “The sign was something that just did not belong in our downtown community,”, Story by R. Souza Carbone added.
Rent-free in an Alameda County warehouse sits
Castro Valley business owner Ken Carbone was part of the movement against the sign. “I remember a meeting at CVHS with (former supervisor) Mary King where there were so many people it was standing room only with people stuffed in breezeways and people peeking in through windows. There was only one person of over a thousand who said they actually liked the sign!”
CV News Restaurant Review with Ashley - Palomares Cafe
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or the June installment of the Castro Valley News restaurant review, our food editor Ashley made a trip for dinner to recently relocated Palomares Cafe on Lake Chabot Road. A longtime favorite at the 580 Marketplace shopping center, Palomares Cafe reopened at their new location to the delight of dedicated customers. Ashley recalled the quality food at the former location and was excited to give the new venue a chance. What did Ashley order from the Palomares menu? Chicken Marsala. How was it? “The chicken was very flavorful and these are the best mashed potatoes I have ever had in my entire life. Sorry Grandma...but these are killing it!” Chef and owner Shebli Massarweh told CVN he is excited to reopen and glad to see the faces of many returning customers. “I want to say thank you to Castro Valley for all their support over the years,” he said. Ashley’s overall conclusion on Palomares Cafe? “It was all delicious. I am so happy they are back open because the food is great,” added Ashley, as she polished off her FAVORITE dessert, the Cheese Crepe with Raspberry Puree. -Story /stills by Robert Souza
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Eichler Remembered in CV For Progressive Policies
Castro Valley is known for its tract of
Eichler homes in the Greenridge area, but not everyone knows the builder broke ground in CV with non-discrimination policies. “I don’t think there were many black people in Castro Valley at that time,” explained Yvonne Daniel, who has owned her Greenridge Eichler for nearly 50 years. She recalls that in 1964, our town was known for chicken ranches and our hills and streets were populated by groves of cherry and apricot orchards. Daniel was surprised to hear the builder’s policy then was, “whoever had the money to pay for a home could buy one” during the height of racial segregation. Between 1950 and 1974, Joseph Eichler’s company built over 11,000 homes in nine communities in Northern California and homes in three communities in Southern California. During this period, Eichler became one of the nation’s most influential builders. Daniel says Castro Valley had a “racist bedroom community reputation” but claims she rarely experienced outright bias or hatred once her family arrived. She said with a
Above: Yvonne Daniel still lives in an Eichler home that was sold to African Americans during the heyday of segregation and racial bias. Below: Renowned Real Estate developer Joseph Eichler and one of his homes.
chuckle the people in town referred to Greenridge as the “Red Communist Hill” due to the progressive integration of races in the area. “This guy who built homes took a stab at the establishment letting anyone buy a home. The community began to feel proud and work together,” Daniel added. -Story & above still by Robert Souza View a full story video by scanning this QR code with your smart phone:
CV News Flashback: Local Boys Have a “Hot Time” in Town
During the month of Sep-
tember 1954, the Miss America Pageant was broadcast on television for the first time, and the Soviet Union test fired their first ever thermonuclear bomb. 1954 also went down in history for the TV premier of the “Tonight Show” hosted by comedian and composer Steve Allen. The NBC show is still on the air 60 years later. Locally—September 1954 saw a trio of young boys get in a heap of trouble in town for starting a huge fire they allegedly intended to put out with water pistols. This 60-year old newspaper article from a long defunct CV newspaper called, “Castro Valley Life” tells the story of three boys equipped with matches and water pistols setting a huge swath of Oak Street and Strobridge on fire that took hours to extinguish.
According to the story, the three boys were “contrite” and reprimanded by their parents. The article also details a long list of fires in Castro Valley, including a number of grass fires, a smoking television, overheated refrigerator motor and burning rubbish. -Story and Stills by Robert Souza
Almond Ave. Horse Stable Is
Throwback to CV’s Yesteryear Just a few miles away from our modern downtown, you’ll find a “homestead” that is staying true to the traditions of Castro Valley’s rural history. “It’s definitely a throwback to a different time,” explains Paula Banchero, whose family has owned the Almond Avenue home and land that features a horse stable and grazing pasture that faces a busy roadway. Back in 1954, Banchero’s family purchased the one acre plot of land above Lake Chabot Road when the area was a sparse panorama of farms and livestock. She recalled that years ago, it would not be odd to see folks riding horses “to and fro” across the Valley. Banchero said in the “old days” of our town,
the sprawling CV landscape had very few houses. She remembers going to Parsons and AB Morris schools in town, campuses that are now gone from Castro Valley like most of the stables and chicken ranches that populated the Valley. “It definitely reminds people of the old days in town, and some come by to ask if they can feed the horses. It’s definitely a throwback,” Banchero added. -Story & stills by Robert Souza
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Marshall School Looking For Info On Play Set Fire
School officials released surveillance stills
of a car believed to be associated with the intentional fire that destroyed the play structure at Marshall Elementary School on May 8. The CVN Facebook page broke this story the morning after and photos of the melted structure were met by outrage and sadness from parents across Castro Valley. The fire is believed to have been intentionally set at around 1 a.m., and campus surveillance shows a foreign model compact car in the parking lot during that timeframe. Marshall Principal Jesse Woodward asked CVN to share the images of the car and is asking folks to call the Alameda County Sheriffs office at 510-667-7721 or email him
<jwoodward@cv.k12.ca.us> with any information on the incident they might have. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are the only shots caught of a car on campus the evening of the fire at Marshall. Sheriffs have gone through this with a fine tooth comb and not been able to identify a face or make out the license number. However, locals might know of better ways to find that out, know the car or have a clue,â&#x20AC;? said Woodward. -Story by R. Souza / Play set still by Kim Deene
CV History with Lucille Lorge: “Safe Under the Golfland Dragons”
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ave you ever wondered why the legendary trio of Dragons at Golfland are bursting out of a mound of crimson cement? With bugged-out eyes and gaping maws, the Dragons are resting on a decades old walkin safe from the “old days” of Castro Valley. “When the golf course people bought that land, they could knock down the buidlings down easily, but a walk in safe from Mr. Payne’s real estate office would not move,” explained Castro Valley historian, Lucille Lorge. Lorge recalled the parcel of land was previously used by a traveling circus in the 1930’s and a Collie kennel that sold the first “Lassie” dog to MGM movie studios. By the 1950’s, a Real Estate agent named Mr. Payne
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occupied the building and installed a walk-in safe that served as an unofficial cash repository for many of Castro Valley businesses. “This was long ago, at a time before any banks were in Castro Valley,” Lorge recalled. Construction crews sweated over what to do with the safe—and most options did not work or were too expensive—so it was decided to haul in a cement truck and seal it all in. After that, the three Dragon heads were mounted atop the mound of dried cement that was painted red. So, is there treasure in the safe? “There is nothing in it, there’s no time capsule or anything. I’m sure Mr. Payne would have cleared that safe out of everything,” added Lorge -Story by Robert Souza
CASTRO VALLEY/ EDEN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEWS PAGE Castro Valley / Eden Area Chamber Member of the Month: Edita Kohatsu / Gift Express
Gift Express is a small gift shop located in Castro Village, near Ross and the new TJ Maxx store. It is filled with items from approximately 40 different vendors, ranging from jewelry, fashion, handcrafted / vintage items, and many unique gifts. Running the whole operation is Edita Kohatsu - a native of the Philippines, and a Castro Valley resident for the past 10 years. Many of the items you’ll find for sale have been handcrafted by Edita herself, or one of the many other vendors with a wide array of talents. Kohatsu explains she has benefitted a great deal through promotions and networking the Castro Valley / Eden Area Chamber of Commerce have provided her throughout the community. The promotions from the Chamber have helped Gift Express expand the five to seven vendors they started with to the current roster of vendors that fills the floorspace with great one of a kind items.
*This Is A Paid Advertisement Page For The CVEA Chamber of Commerce*
Outdoor Movie Night and Men’s Health Expo Keep June Jumping in Castro Valley
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pair of community events co-sponsored by the Castro Valley Eden Area Chamber of Commerce brought fun and information to Castro Valley residents of all ages.
There were 13 vendor booths from local groups and organizations and even a snowman cake custom made by Baptista Baking who is associated with Castro Valley Matters. “Expect more outdoor movie nights over the summer,” said Chamber Office Director Ashley Strasburg.
Around 200 parents and children gathered at the Adobe Art Center Park on San Miguel Friday, June 13th for an outdoor presentation of Disney’s “Frozen” animated feature. The event was presented by the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, Castro Valley YMCA and the Castro Valley Eden Area Chamber of Commerce.
On Saturday June 14th, the first Bay Area Men’s Health Expo was held at the Castro Valley Community Center and featured a bevy of local organizations and officials focused on men’s health. The event was co-sponsored by the Castro Valley Eden Area Chamber of Commerce, Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, San Lorenzo Junior Rebels, Supervisor Nate Miley and the Alameda County Public Health Department.
Letters To The Editor Submissions must be no more than 300 words, include writers first and last name, phone number and city of residence. CVN may edit letters as needed. Email all submissions to: castrovalleytelevision@gmail.com Editor: In many ways, sarting a local newspaper or magazine is like climbing a mountain.
It is mostly an uphill struggle, full of obstacles and slow moving at times. But by being determined and keeping your head held high, once you conquer the summit, it’s all downhill from there!
~ Rickey & Nina Chang / Castro Valley Editor: I could not agree more with Bernice Nickell’s letter to the Castro Valley News Magazine about Mary Hayshi. Why did Mrs. Hayshi think the Bay Area would not remember her “questionable” background during this election? We do not need thieves in office! Someone who is dishonest and a shoplifter and cannot come clean by admitting what they have done has serious issues and should stay out of the political arena. Castro Valley should be concerned since Mrs. Hayashi apparently lives there. I am very glad Mrs. Hayshi did not make it in to the running for the election and hope she can find an occupation more suitable for her lifestyle.
~ V.C. Stella / San Leandro
CORRECTION: The story: “Planning for the Last Big Park Area in CV” on page 1 of the May Castro Valley News Magazine mistakenly crossed up numbers regarding the 2006 vote on Measure Q. The approval vote was 63% in favor and 37% against it. Regardless, the measure did not meet the 2/3 approval rate needed to go forward for purchase of the parcel. The Castro Valley News Magazine regrets the error was included in our story.
“What Castro Valley Issue Is On Your Mind?” Asked at Pete’s Hardware
“The future of the Daughtrey
building. I want something there that looks good for downtown.” Tim Fiebig- Castro Valley Resident
“We need a Castro Valley history museum. That and Castro Valley cityhood.” Richard Warren - Castro Valley Resident
“I have traffic concerns
about ‘Sprouts’ going in to the Rite Aid building. ” Michelle Martin - Castro Valley Resident
Rite Aid Building Revitilization Story Continued From Page One:
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or years, the Rite Aid building has been on a county and community “wish list” to undergo improvements to update and revitilize the area. CVMAC member Cheryl Miraglia has volunteered many extra hours keeping tabs and working behind the scenes to bring improvements to the underused building and area. “We have received only about six emails from neighbors who are against the proposed project,” explained Miraglia, who told CVN about 93% of all the comments submitted to her have expressed
entusiastic support for the plan to go forward. Miraglia believes the flyer is “a hit piece” from an anonymous person who did not have the courage to add their name to their objections. “I am thrilled about the prospect to finally have the blight cleaned on that property as well as having another grocery shopping opportunity for Castro Valley,” she added.
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This flyer was distributed in the area surrounding Rite Aid within recent weeks. The flyer is in protest of the a redevelopment plan for the builidng that will include seperating the floorspace and potentially adding two major retail stores.