CASTRO VALLEY NEWS YEAR 2 NUMBER 11 / 12
The retail development that has been
the talk of Castro Valley for years has finally been signed by all parties and is on the road to becoming reality. The plan for 3848 CV Boulevard will shift Rite Aid to 20,750 square feet at the far right of the building, add Sprouts in 27,969 square feet at the center with 14,602 square feet left over for a third business. Social media has been abuzz over the project, a Facebook page with 272 fans spread a petition with 98 signatures against the development. Another Facebook page with 174 fans in support shared a petition that garnered 213 signatures. CVMAC members have received a number of emails in protest. However, the council will review the overall project only to determine what building and parking lot improvements will look like, not to determine whether Sprouts should or should not occupy the building.
WWW.CASTROVALLEYTV.COM
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015
Sprouts & Rite Aid Sign Renovation Deal
“I’m thrilled this deal is finally coming to fruition! It’s certainly been a long time coming….five years to be exact. I’m particularly happy Sprouts is on board because our grocery shopping options have been extremely limited, especially since PW closed. Like many Castro Valley residents, I’m tired of having to go to Dublin or San Ramon for part of my shopping and it will be wonderful to have another great option right here,” said CVMAC member, Cheryl Miraglia. Now in development, almost everyone is hush-hush about the project. “The property is under development and in the planning and permitting stage,” said Solomon Ets-Hokin of Colliers, who listed the parcel. There is no timeline for completion, but that has not tarnished excitement now that the deal has finally been finalized. “There’s still the construction phase, but hopefully people will continue to be patient…I think it will be worth the wait,” Miraglia added.
Blighted Boulevard Building UpBADGE For Sale CV NEWS COPS : BEHIND THE Details and pictures from a ride along with ACSO Deputy J. Horn in and around Castro Valley on June 26
9 PM: Person on West Cavendish has video of a person illegally opening mailboxes. Info gathered and report taken.
9:30 PM: Traffic stop on Redwood Road for a driver with expired registration. Dispatch advises the driver has a suspended license. Driver is advised of that. License plate had a registration sticker that did not belong to the car that was removed by Deputies.
11:21 PM: Traffic stop on Redwood Rd. for an unsafe lane change on CVB. Driver is contacted and cited.
12:05 AM: Assist on a bike stop on CVB for insufficient lights on bikes. Individuals contacted and let go with a warning.
12:17 AM: Respond to loud party on Gary Drive. Homeowners refuse to respond. Numerous cars illegally parked in the court are cited.
CV News Restaurant Review with Courtney - Buffalo Bill’s For her third review, Castro Valley News
Magazine’s Food Editor Courtney headed to Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in Hayward to order from the establishment’s menu.
The popular brewpub opened in 1983 and was one of the first such establishments to open in California under legislation passed one year earlier permitting breweries to sell on premises. The establishment was founded by noted photographer and Hayward resident, Bill Owens. But get did er.
enough from the history file...lets back to Courtney’s dinner. What she order? The bacon onion burgHow was it? Good, but greasy.
“It was really good, but the grease was a little off putting,” said Courtney, who was wowed by the barbecue sauce served beside a generous serving of hearty fries and onion straws. Courtney told CVN the last time she was at Buffalo Bill’s, she had a fantastic flatbread pizza and gave her recent visit an overall thumbs up. “I definitely recommend this place, but be careful, because the burgers can be greasy,” she added.
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Asking BART Again...Where’s the Flag? Castro ValWhat do ley Municiyou call a towering flagpole without a flag? Some in Castro Valley are calling it an eyesore, questioning the delay installing a flag on the “clandestine cell antenna” at the BART station.
According to BART spokesman Jim Allison, “The delay is related to an effort to raise funds to install a memorial and / or hold a ceremony for the first time the flag is raised,” Allison said. In February, Allison told CVN the flag and a plaque to honor local Veterans was set to be installed sometime in mid-March. That ceremony never happened. The pole was approved by the
pal Advisory Council (CVMAC) in August 2012.
Crews finished construction work on the pole and surrounding equipment in late October and ever since— the pole has stood bare.
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When asked if there were plans for “the ceremony” to install the flag so the antenna would look more clandestine, and less of a blight to the BART station, Allison had a less than promising response. “It is safe to assume there is no timeline for this ceremony to take place”, he added.
-Story and Still by Robert Souza
CASTRO VALLEY THROUGH THE PHOTO LENS
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or many months, photographer Randy Smith has sent pictures of scenes and landscapes across town that have been shared on the CVN Facebook page. To return Randy’s generosity, he now has his ownpage in the magazine for photos exclusive to print. The first photo (at right) was taken on a clear night in April, of the Veterans Memorial park on Lake Chabot Road that depicts our town’s park dedicated to Veterans. The second photo was taken in May, and caputures a colorfully dressed shopper enjoying a Saturday morning perusing fresh vegetables and fruits at the CV Farmers Market at the BART station. Visit https://www.facebook.com/rcsimages?fref=ts to view more of Randy’s fantastic pictures.
CLEANING UP CV WITH JEFF STONE
“The owner at Cornerstone Coffee on Redwood Road told his employees whenever they see me, they are to give me free coffee in appreciation.” Stone says he mostly sees paper / beverage cups, napkins, cigarette butts and tobacco packages tossed roadside in Castro Valley. He estimates he fills 10 five gallon buckets of trash every time goes out to clean. He dedicates two hours every day picking up trash in Castro Valley, “Because someone has got to do it,” said Stone.
You may not know Jeff Stone, but
chances are you have seen him on his segway vehicle traversing Castro Valley streets picking up trash and debris. Here’s some interesting incidents, observations and happenings Stone passed on to CVN during a recent interview: “Someone told me I was wasting my time picking up trash across town... and the next day I found a $10 bill on Castro Valley Boulevard.” “Another day, I was picking up trash in front of Marshall school and out of nowhere, a gentleman came out and gave me a bottle of Gatorade. He also thanked me, which was nice.”
“While taking this picture ( see below) to send to public works, a woman came out of the trailer park and tossed more boxes on the pile. When I asked her about it, she pointed at the mattress and said, “Everyone else is doing it”.
CHP : “In The Community”
The Castro Valley CHP office is located at 21020 Redwood Road in Castro Valley. If you have any questions or concerns, would like to report a specific traffic complaint, or would like to just stop in and familiarize yourself with your local CHP office, please feel free to visit us or contact the Castro Valley Area at (510) 581-9028. Driving while I m p a i r e d : On 08/24/15, at approximately 6:00 pm, a 36 year old male subject (Hayward resident) was stopped for not wearing his seatbelt, on MacArthur Blvd, at Dutton Ave. in San Leandro. The subject displayed signs of impairment and a driving under the influence (DUI) investigation revealed that the man was DUI of a controlled substance. The man was arrested and taken to jail. Drinking and Driving: On 08/26/15, at 8:15 pm, a 45 year old male subject (San Lorenzo resident) was stopped for speeding and weaving through traffic on Blossom Way at Montgomery Ave. The subject displayed signs of impairment and
a driving under the influence investigation revealed that the man was DUI of an alcoholic beverage. The man was arrested and taken to jail. Deputy Sheriff injured, DUI driver arrested: On 8/21/2015, at approximately 12:10 am, Castro Valley CHP Officers responded to the scene of a two vehicle traffic collision involving an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle. The traffic collision occurred on East Castro Valley Blvd. at Chaparral Lane. CHP Officers contacted a 36 year old male subject (Hayward resident), who was driving a 2012 BMW X5. After conducting an on scene investigation, it was determined by CHP Officers that the male subject had side swiped the left side of the deputy’s patrol vehicle. The subject displayed signs of impairment and further investigation revealed that the man was DUI of an alcoholic beverage. The subject was arrested and taken to jail. The deputy was transported to a hospital and was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
-J. E. ALLEN, Lieutenant and CV Area CHP Commander
HANK’S CVN PET PAGE
Dr. Tiffany Ma launched a house call veterinary practice dedicated to pet hospice care, chronic pain management, and inhome euthanasia this Spring based in Castro Valley. Her goal is to provide customized high quality veterinary care to geriatric or terminally ill pets in the comfort of their own home without any stress or fear.
“It can be devastating if someone tells you your pet only have a few weeks to live and there is nothing can be done.’” said Dr. Ma, “However, we can evaluate pain level and treat it, adjust home settings to help the pet maintain the daily routine, use acupuncture and herbal medicine as part of the multimodal approach to improve the quality of life.” One of the main focuses of veterinary hospice care is to evaluate the quality of life of patients continuously. Since our pets cannot tell us directly how they feel, it is important to have a veterinarian who is specialized in end-oflife care to guide, support, and educate pet owners how to assess whether the pets are
having good days vs bad days. The goal is to avoid premature euthanasia and ensure the pet is comfortable until the time that the pet dies naturally or until the need for euthanasia is determined by the owners with the help from hospice care professional and family. Ma also provides in-home euthanasia as a conclusion of hospice care or a service where hospice care may not be appropriate or desired. This type of end-of-life care happens at home, which allows pets to spend their final moments in a place where they are comfortable, surrounded by people they love and trust. Although it’s called “inhome” euthanasia, it can be also performed in the backyard, your pet’s favorite park, or even at the beach, as long as it’s somewhere quiet and comfortable for everyone. “The pain of losing a pet can be intense. Having euthanasia at home makes the unbearable a bit more bearable by knowing your pet is not stressed out or scared at a strange place at the last moment. It helps starting the healing process earlier,” Ma added.
-Tiffany Ma, Compassion Pet Hospice
CASTRO VALLEY/ EDEN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEWS PAGE
RICKEY & NINA’S TRAVEL ADVENTURES
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or the circulation expansion of the Castro Valley News, this month’s trip takes us to Panama. Panama is the most developed of the Central American countries and home to the Panama Canal. We could have left the CV News in Panama City, but more like our style, we wanted to deliver the news off the beaten path to the real people of Panama. We traveled by car along the Via Panam (Pan American) highway. We walked through the jungle, trying to blend in. We might be naked but we are not afraid. Finally making it into the highlands to an indigenous Ngobe village. All this, to bring the news home. What an adventure!
-Rickey and Nina Chang www. rickeyandninastraveladventures.
“What Castro Valley Issue Is On Your Mind?” Asked at Pete’s Hardware
“Food Trucks. People leave town to eat. The trucks will encourage folks to eat here.” Peter Rosen - Castro Valley Resident
“The county keeps wanting
to cut trees down across CV. It is just not right! ”
Renee Garcia and “Siafu” - Castro Valley Residents
“The traffic here is mad! People are speeding everwhere you look.”
Joan Orr - Visiting Castro Valley from Reno, Nevada
What Should Happen to Your Building? Pauline
Vieira remembers how the Redwood Road library was built with taxpayer funding over 50 years ago. This story starts in a two room chicken brooder house located where Walgreens in the Village Shopping Center is now...
“I was floored that our library was in a chicken coop,” explained Vieira, who now in her 90’s lives in a house on the outskirts of town near the San Leandro border. That rickety converted chicken house inspired Vieira to campaign PTA groups, County Supervisors and anyone who would listen that Castro Valley needed a new library back in the 1950’s. With public support secured—a tax went to the ballot and was approved to construct a brand new building on county-owned property located on Redwood Road. Nowadays, the building Castro Valley funded has been boarded and used for storage for six years since the new library opened on Norbridge Avenue. Talk among county officials is the building and land is to be sold to pay financial commitments incurred to subsidize Castro Valley’s new library on Norbridge. The potential sale of a building perceived to belong to Castro Val-
ley does not set well with some locals. “The county seems to think we should not get anything, but we paid for that building! Why shouldn’t our building be kept in the community?” asserts business owner Ken Carbone, who has served on the CVMAC and County Planning Commission. Library officials claim the building is outdated. “It’s my understanding that as a result of physical deterioration and changes in buidling and occupancy codes, it may take significant amount of money to rehabilitate the building to occupancy standards,” said Albie Udom with the Alameda County Library Administration. Vieira shared her thoughts on the building’s future. “It should be a community center for Castro Valley. That’s the logical thing because of it’s location,” she added. The CVMAC wants to be updated on the building’s status from the county, but the item has been pushed back with no future discussion date set.
-Story & Still by Robert Souza