Castro Valley News - Year 2 , Number 2

CASTRO VALLEY NEWS YEAR 2

NO. 2

The addition of a grocery retailer con-

tinues to be talk of the town as plans to add Sprouts Farmers Market store to the Rite Aid building have been confirmed.

Over the past months, Rite Aid employees have enthusiastically informred customers of the impending improvements, claiming the new grocery market could arrive as soon as April 2015.

An email to Sprouts headquarters in Phoenix Arizona netted a general reply confirming the opening — but no timeframe.

“We do not have any immediate plans to open this store, but will be sure to reach out when we have an opening date,” said Sprouts PR person, Donna Egan.

CVN spotted a real estate listing online (photo at right) also confirming that Rite Aid and Sprouts are “anchored” at the building located at 3848 Castro Valley Boulevard.

WWW.CASTROVALLEYTV.COM

“Sprouts” Arrival to Castro Valley Confirmed

DECEMBER 2014

The plan will shift Rite Aid to 20,000 square feet at the far right of the building, potentially add Sprouts in 27,000 square feet at the center with 14,000 square feet left over at the far left for a third business.

“I spoke with Rite Aid a couple of weeks ago. Lease details still being worked out between landlord and Rite Aid. I thought they would be coming forward with application in about two months,” said Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (CVMAC) member Cheryl Miraglia.

CVMAC members have received a number of emails in protest of Sprouts over the past few months.

However, the council will only review the overall project only to determine building and parking lot improvements will look like, not to determine whether Sprouts should or should not occupy the building.

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Who are Castro Valley’s First Level Decision Makers?

With

the smoke cleared at the ballot box for November ’s elected seats, let’s take a look at what it’s like for county appointees representing CV. “It really is not an easy thing to do… trying to run your own business and invest in your community,” said lifelong Castro Valley resident, Ken Carbone, who served on the County Planning Commission for five years and the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council for eight.

The Planning Commission is made up of seven appointees from five Alameda County Districts. The PC is advisory to the Board of supervisors on General Plan adoptions, reviewing development regulations and acting upon various county issued development applications.

There are two Boards of Zoning Adjustment — one for East County areas and one for the West County area. They hear all Variances and those Conditional Use Permits for which the Planning Commission is not the decision making authority.

Last on the county roster is the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council, that is made up of seven residents who provide an advisory role to Supervisor Miley for the orderly development of Castro Valley.

These are the first few rungs of local government in Castro Valley and the Unicorporataed areas on how policies overseen by the county are reviewed and revised.

Story continues on the last page of the magazine.

CV News Restaurant Review with Ashley - Krayon’s Gallery

F

or this month’s installment of the Castro Valley News Restaurant Review, our food Editor Ashley chose to pay a visit to a place you may not think of visitng for lunch...

“Most people don’t know that Krayon’s does lunch every Friday,” explained Ashley, who was looking forward to a cheeseburger with (her favorite) tater tots. The Friday fare at Krayon’s is prepared with care by owners Fred and Karen Jonke.

Since they only serve lunch once a week, Friday’s at Krayon’s is the “place to be” every week to rub elbows and break bread with Castro Valley neighbors. It’s not unusual to hear political conversations or talk about town over a game of Yahtzee. “You know coming here on a Friday, you are bound to see your friends and catch up with them,” Ashley explained.

How was Ashley’s cheeseburger? It was amazing. Her favorite thing about them? The buns Krayon’s uses are wonderfully soft and “croissant-like” whild the patty was fresh and tasty.

For Ashley, the once a week lunch opportunity is something of a treat. “Friday lunches at Krayon’s is always something to look forward to,” she added.

-Story / stills by Robert Souza

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Heavy Rain Storms Raise Water Level at Lake Chabot

Diminishing water levels at Lake Chabot

are on the rise thanks to a series of strong rain storms that have doused the Bay Area.

“We are seeing some major improvements.

The water quality is better, there is less algae and fishing has improved also,” said Lake Chabot Park Supervisor, Tamie Andrews during a recent interview with CVN among the now green rolling hills above the park.

In October, CVN spoke to Andrews for a feature and magazine article about the drastically low water levels at the lake. The reason for the low levels? The drought. Normally water from rain comes down from the upper San Leandro river to charge Lake Chabot.

No rain, no additional water to Lake Chabot.

While the recent rains have certainly brought a few inches of water to Lake Chabot, more is needed.

“We are certainly not out of the drought,” explained Andrews who dispelled the rumor that water is being removed from Lake Chabot for household use.

“No water is being removed from the lake for that. Nobody has the infrastructure to make that water usable,” she added.

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Palomares PTC Raise Thousands For Campus

With just a little over two dozen mem-

bers, the Palomares Elementary School Parent Teacher Club manage to fundraise big bucks to help support the school.

So far, they have $30,000 for the year which was exactly their target fundraising goal for the 2014. “Our parents truly are the unseen heroes,” said Palomares PTC president Veronica Priem.

Somewhat hidden in the Palo Verde area with just 147 students, Palomares is the little school that can. Every year their “Hawk-A-Thon” packs the campus with parents and supporters donating money to kids running laps on campus. The fundraiser nets overwhelming support and raises funds for music and art in action programs and for classroom materials.

Despite being a compact campus with a small

community the school continues to flourish. “We really do have a great set of people who care about the school and campus,” Priem added.

Go online and visit: http://pptcwebs i t e . w i x . c o m / p a l o m a re s h a w k s for more information on what the Palomares Parent Teacher Club does.

-Story by Robert Souza

County Cracks Down on Donation Boxes...Again

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lying directly in the face of a sixteen month old county ordinance strictly regluating them — those blue donation boxes reappeared across Castro Valley.

One or two of the boxes began appearing in late November, and by December, over a half dozen were occupying parking lots across Castro Valley. They are typically dropped off during the overnight hours in parking lots without any consent.

Some assert these boxes attract unsightly debris and dumping. A picture of a large pile of unwanted items was sent to the CVN Facebook page (above photo) on Decem-

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ber 9. One of our contacts with the county told us phone calls were made to companies responsible for the boxes, and many were removed.

Donation boxes were removed with an ordinance adopted on August of 2013 that requires owner consent for placement, states boxes should remain in good order free of graffiti and litter. No box is allowed within 2,500 feet of another box, and non-permitted boxesnot removed by operators can be removed and destroyed by the County.

-Story by Robert Souza

SEVEN HILLS RD. PLAZA MERCHANTS

CVN’s Late Christmas Gift: Banchero’s Soup Recipe

It was a sad day on June 6, 2012 when

Banchero’s restaurant closed their doors for good after 63 years of serving hearty Italian food to generations of local families.

Facebook pages were set up and flooded with pleas for them to stay open, along with a multitude of memories of good food and family memories. One of CVN’s editors did an online search and found a recipe for Banchero’s trademark barley soup.

“There was no better soup anywhere,” explained CVN food editor Ashley who said, “Just about every birthday, family dinner out and Christmas dinner on my Dad’s side of the family happened at Banchero’s.”

The same recipe you see above was shared on the Castro Valley News Facebook page in October and was shared online over 300 times.

Since the holidays were upon us. and memories of family get togethers at Banchero’s came to mind….we decided to share it with our magazine readers to enjoy.

-Story by R. Souza

CASTRO VALLEY/ EDEN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEWS PAGE The Castro Valley / Eden Area Chamber of Commerce would like to encourage people to suggest any community event ideas to us. We also want to hear your questions! We are here to support and enhance the business community and quality of life.

Our staff wants to go into 2015 ready and prepared to do as much for Castro Valley and the Eden Area.

We strive to be relevant and a “catch all” for the events happening and information in the Eden Area.

If you have any suggestions, events or would just like to say hello, stop by our office at 3467 Castro Valley Boulevard or call us at 510-537-5300. *This Is A Paid Advertisement Page For The CVEA Chamber of Commerce*

Castro Valley Comes Out to Salute Linda Roark as Business Person of the Year

Almoste ninety movers and shakers,

business owners and community members came together for lunch and to celebrate Pete’s Hardware owner Linda Roark as the Castro Valley / Eden Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year.

“It was a fantastic event that exceeded our expectations,” said Chamber Office Manager, Ashley Strasburg.

“Every time we salute a merchant is a reminder of how lucky we are .”

Awardees are recognized for excellence in business and for going above

and beyond to enhance the Eden Area by assisting the community. Past winners of this prestigious award include Randy Vanderbilt, Bruce Johnson and Dave Knudsen.

A number of past recipients of the honor were in attendance at the December 10 luncheon held at Redwood Chapel on Redwood Road.

Strasburg urges folks to check out the chamber website www.edenareachamber.com for a full list of sponsors and a plethora of photos from the event. If you would like to nominate someone for the 2015 Busines Person of the year, stop by the Chamber office at 3467 Castro Valley Boulevard, or by calling 510-537-5300.

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: Here are a few more photos from your ever expanding CVN circulation across the globe.....

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Spreading the Castro Valley News Magazine at Old Town Square in Prague (picture at left) and in front of the oldest working Astronomical clock in the world.

It was installed in 1410!

Also, the Castro Valley News Magazine is bringing love and peace to the John Lennon Wall in Prague.

The wall is where folks of all ages and walks of life write statements of world ideals, love and peace.

By the way, we are in contact with CVHS Spanish teacher Gina McLeod....and we are going to be talking to her class about Guatemala. Hope everyone in CV and across the globe had a great holiday season!

~ Rickey & Nina Chang / Castro Valley

It is mostly an uphill struggle, full of obstacles and News Magazine is now avaiable at selected National

“What Castro Valley Issue Is On Your Mind?”

Asked at Pete’s Hardware

“I have concerns about test scores at schools. It seems they are declining.”

Jan Leber - Castro Valley Resident

“ We need more law enforcement

in town and to have a good restaurant in Castro Valley. ” Abbis M. - Castro Valley Resident

“I am from San Leandro, and Castro Valley seems just fine the way it is. ” Lynn Enos - San Leandro Resident

CV “Policy Makers” Story Continued From Page Two

O

ne of 58 counties in California, Alameda County is home to over 1.5 million people living in 14 incorporated cities as well as in six unincorporated communities and rural areas throughout the 813 square miles of the County.

“Whether you agree or disagree on issues, the best thing people can do is show up to meetings and be an advocate,” said CV business owner and current Planning Commission member, Jeff Moore. “No matter where you come from, we need your viewpoints and expertise.”

Moore has served on the Planning Commission for about a year and a half and served previously on the CV Municipal Advisory Council. Moore genuinely enjoys public service and feels its a perfect way to give back to the community and learn from others through their viewpoints.

Moore agrees with Carbone hoping Castro Valley will get more involved in cooperative efforts to improve our town.

“The biggest problem is the vocal minority in Castro Valley seem to rule what happens here. There are a lot of people who don’t realize you have to learn the rules before you can change them,” added Carbone, who hopes di-

vided parties can disagree to disagree on issues and not resort to personal attacks.

Appointees for the PC, MAC and BZA must reside in the area desired to serve in and are interviewed by the County Supervisor whose district said community is in.

Applying is as easy as sending a resume to the office of the respective Supervisor.

“Citizen participation is very important, otherwise there is no way the Supervisors will know what’s going on.

Committees are citizens who work with other citizens who come up with ideas to improve their community,” said Bob Swanson, who works for Supervisor Nate Miley.

Swanson believes the average individual does not know much about local government because of their busy schedules.

Moore’s last comment during his conversation with CVN stressed the importance of community involvment, “We need folks to show up and be an advocate for the community...be active!,” he added.

-Story by Robert Souza