editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
October 2016 Mount Diablo – Magnet for Early 20th Century Motorists By Jody Morgan
Serving the Lafayette Community
As soon as roads to the summit of Mount Diablo were completed in 1915, intrepid motorists began using the steep grades to test their driving prowess. Eager for proof of superior performance to advertise, automobile manufacturers used the Mount Diablo climb to establish reliability of their products. Challenge trophies brought professional competitors. Amateurs vied to clock the fastest time from Oakland to the top. The era ended and was almost forgotten after 1931 when Mount Diablo State Park acquired the roads.
Knitted Knockers By Fran Miller
High-gear motoring contests on Mount Diablo were headline news in the early 20th century. (Clipping courtesy of the Blackhawk Museums)
Raised in Danville, Robert Noble Burgess enjoyed a view of what was then the Railroad Ranch from his boyhood home. Owners, Seth and Dan Cook willed the ranch to their niece, Mrs. John F. Boyd, who turned it into Oakwood Park Stock Farm. In 1912 the entrepreneurial Burgess bought the property. He continued purchasing parcels, eventually negotiating for land at Mount Diablo’s summit. Burgess founded Mount Diablo Park Club (now Diablo Country Club) with plans for a 13,000-acre development of summer homes on the mountain’s western face. To lure affluent investors visiting the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition to fall in love with the panoramic view from Mount Diablo, he convinced the Oakland, Antioch, & Eastern electric railway to extend service from Oakland to his Diablo community. Building macadamized roads up the mountain from both the Northgate and Southgate sides was a major undertaking. Pathways had to be blasted through the primarily stone and shale surface. In memoirs Burgess writes: “The blasting holes had to be drilled as deep as 30 feet, and that was in the day of hand drills.” “Robert Noble Burgess founded Diablo Country Club in 1914, a time when country clubs were the natural next step from city clubs. For those with the means and the leisure time, there were two fast emerging activities in America, golf and a sport called motoring. The mountain became the perfect backdrop for both,” explains David Mackesey, Diablo Country Club Historian and three-time President. Headlines in the June 2, 1915 Daily Gazette announced: “First Auto Ascends to
Local Postal Customer
It was Barbara Demorest’s physician who directed her to a noninvasive aesthetic solution following her double mastectomy in 2011. He asked Demorest, a Washington state resident, if she was a knitter and showed her a photo of a “knitted knocker” with an online link to the pattern. Too frail to undertake the knitting project herself, she asked a dear friend to make a pair for her. The handmade knockers did the job, and were light and comfortable. It was after her first “wearing” that Demorest resolved to make the item readily available to local mastectomy patients, and thus, KnittedKnockers.org was born. Demorest’s initial goal was to provide free and accessible knitted knockers to anyone who needed them in her county. Over the past five years, her efforts have expanded worldwide to include a network of volunteer knitters and crocheters – such as East Bay resident Kara
See Knockers continued on page 20
Girl Scouts from left to right: Maile Broad, Keri Wendt, Madison Price, Jordan Pratt
Girl Scout Silver Award Project
Four members of the 8th grade Lafayette Girl Scout Troop #32238 recently completed the work required for their Silver Award. Maile Broad, Jordan Pratt, Madison Price, and Keri Wendt hosted an event for Stanley Middle School’s incoming 6th grade girls. The 8th grade girls remembered the feelings of anxiety and confusion that many Volume X - Number 10 3000F Danville Blvd #117 See Motorists continued on page 16 5th grade girls feel when they Alamo, CA 94507 start middle school and wanted Telephone (925) 405-6397 PRSRT STD to make the 5th grade girls feel Fax (925) 406-0547 U.S. Postage editor@yourmonthlypaper.com more comfortable and excited PAID about coming to Stanley. Their Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher Permit 21 opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and Lafayette, CA event, held in early May, was the The do not necessarily reflect that of Lafayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible for the content of any of the adfinal part of a year-long journey ECRWSS vertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.
See Scouts cont. on page 21
Page 2 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Mobility Matters
Mobility Matters provides mobility management services in Contra Costa County between public and private transportation providers for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low income individuals. The program is provided at no charge to clients. To learn about receiving assistance or volunteering for the program, call (925) 284-2207 or e-mail office@ mobilitymatterscc.com. Help support programs of Mobility Matters by participating in their annual raffle. Tickets are $25, and you can choose the item you want to try to win which includes an hour flight over the Bay Area and a $100 VISA gift card, a basketball signed by Warriors basketball “Splash Brothers,” a Livermore Bootlegger Adventure for four, a Tahoe getaway, or $1,000 cash. The drawing will be held on September 24, and participants do not need to be present to win. For ticket information, call (925) 284-2207.
Walnut Creek Garden Club
The Walnut Creek Garden Club’s monthly meeting will be held on Monday, October 10 at 10AM in the Camellia Room at Heather Farm, located at 1540 Marchbanks Road, Walnut Creek. All are invited to attend a meeting and consider becoming a member. Business will begin at 10AM followed by a social from 10:30-11AM and a program at 11AM. At October’s meeting florists will show how to create floral arrangements using items commonly found in a grocery store.
Sustainable Sunday
Sustainable Lafayette will kick off fall with its annual “Sustainable Sunday” fundraiser on Sunday, October 9th from 2pm - 5pm at Metro Lafayette. This year’s fundraiser will support Sustainable Lafayette’s newest initiative, the Lafayette Open Space Project. The event will feature sustainably produced appetizers and beverages, live music, and a silent auction with items from Bay Area artists and businesses. This year’s speakers will discuss "the broader impact of local action" and include Ben Simon, CEO of Imperfect Produce, Alexandra McGee, Community Power Organizer of MCE, and Edie Irons, Communications Director of TransFormCA. The proceeds of the auction will directly benefit the Lafayette Open Space Project, which seeks to preserve and protect Lafayette’s undeveloped resources. The fundraiser will also support other programs, including the Lafayette Earth Day Festival, the Summer Environmental Film series, and the Green Schools project. Metro Lafayette is located at 3524 Mt Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette. Tickets are $75 for adults and $35 for college, high school, and younger students. Tickets are available at: SustainableSunday2016.eventbrite. com. Event tickets are tax-deductible minus the fair market value of food/ beverages received. Sustainable Lafayette’s mission is to provide the community of Lafayette with the information, inspiration, tools, and assistance that help encourage sustainability. The group serves residents, local businesses, schools, property owners, city government, and community organizations in order to benefit the environment and future generations. For more information visit www.sustainablelafayette.org.
Lafayette Hiking Group - Fall 2016
Meet in the parking lot out from Lafayette BART’s main entrance at 8:30am. Bring lunch or snacks, water, layered clothing, good walking shoes and sun protection.
Saturday, October 29, Walter Costa Trail, Lafayette
We will start at Lafayette BART and walk along Mt. Diablo Blvd or side paths to the Lafayette Community Garden. We will take a short tour of the Garden, then start on the Walter Costa Trail which is across the creek from the Garden. The trail goes along the creek, then on streets up to Quail Ridge, past vineyards, into the woods, through neighborhoods and emerges at Happy Valley School. We then walk down Happy Valley Road back to BART. The hike is bout 4.5 miles, hilly, with some paved trail. The leader is Alison Hill. For questions email LafayetteHiking@comcast.net.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
Chromatica Sings Innocence, Love, and Heartbreak: Texts by and About Children
Chromatica, a regional chorus recently dubbed “the undiscovered musical jewel of the East Bay,” will perform its “Innocence, Love and Heartbreak” concerts on Saturday, October 29 at Peace Lutheran Church, 3201 Camino Tassajara in Danville; Sunday, October 30 at St. Perpetua Church, 3454 Hamlin Road, Lafayette; and Saturday, November 5 at Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church, 1578 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton. All NEW YEAR concerts begin at 7PM. • CARPET David Huff, Chromatica’s founding musical NEW FLOORS! • HARDWOOD director, has assembled a remarkable program of RUGS songs that use texts written by or about children. • CARPET The program reminds us of the joys, sadness, and • HARDWOOD CUSTOM RUGS wonder of childhood at a time when so many of • RUGS LINOLEUM the world’s children are faced with war, famine, and abuse. The pieces range from the humorous • LINOLEUM TILE to the profound, the elegiac to the tragic – and the musical quality is exceptional. Family Owned Business The very popular and accomplished Eric WhitSince 1989 acre gives us the lovely “A Boy and a Girl.” One 3344 Mt. Diablo Blvd. of America’s foremost choral composers, John Lafayette, CA Rutter gives us “Five Childhood Lyrics.” Several 925.284.4440 charming (and actual) Children’s Letters to God ask questions like: “What is it Like in Heaven?” www.LamorindaFloors.com License# 708486 and “What is it Like when you Die?” Billy Joel’s “Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)” is justly famous as a bedtime song to his daughter. Sir John Tavener’s “The Lamb” celebrates this remarkable English composer’s choral writing genius. And the program includes much more – Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” written for his young son, killed in a tragic accident, in an arrangement by one of Chromatica’s chorus members, and “Prayer for the Children,” an anthem that comes from war torn Bosnia and says everything about the terrible impact of conflict on children. Says David Huff, “Chromatica has always chosen music that’s different from most community choruses. In this program we highlight the struggles, triumphs, and tragedies of childhood with some truly lovely pieces that are rarely performed. In our fifth year, we continue to reach out to our audience with new and beautiful choral music which it is a privilege to present.” Chromatica was founded in 2011 and now includes 24 men and women singers. It has performed nine prior series of ticketed concerts in the East Bay, attracting large and enthusiastic audiences. Led by David P. Huff, an outstanding director and operatic tenor who has sung both in New York and San Francisco and accompanied by the exceptional pianist Julie Rieth, it seeks to perform challenging pieces at a high level of professionalism. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students, and children 10 and under are admitted free. For tickets and to find out more about Chromatica, visit www.chromaticachorale.org. For a more personal look you can find Chromatica on Facebook. Tickets for all concerts are also available at the door.
Volunteer with AARP Tax-Aide for 2017 Tax Season
Do you like working with people? Are you good with numbers? Contra Costa County AARP Tax-Aide is looking for volunteers to become members of a team providing free tax preparation for individuals of all ages. TaxAide volunteer positions include Tax Counselors who are trained by Tax-Aide and certified by IRS, and Client Facilitators, who schedule appointments and assist clients at tax sites. Orientation is in November 2016, and classes for tax counselors start in January 2017. Service is from February through April 15, 2017. If you are interested, apply online at www.aarp.org/taxvolunteer or call LaVerne Gordon at (925) 726-3199 for additional information.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 3
We endorse Measure C:
Boulevard View
By Alisa Corstorphine, Editor
I think that many of us find that our lives are so busy that it is easy to get in a rut and do the same thing every day, also known as the “lather-rinse-repeat” cycle... wake-up, eat or skip breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed, do it all over again. For those with kids, you probably throw in a few extras such as sports, homework, and extra-curricular activities. In order to expand my horizons and break out of that cycle, I’ve been searching for new and different activities for myself and for my family at home, locally, and while travelling. Even though the “kids” are older and not around much, it is something we can do that brings us together. With these goals in mind, the new adventures begin! Last weekend my daughter and our neighbors participated in a cheese making class put on by a woman in Oakland (www.farmcurious.com). Over two and a half hours we had a whirlwind introduction in how to make bloomy-rinded cheeses such as Brie and Camembert. The hands-on class had us mixing and stirring to form curds and whey, and we left with a basket of curds and guidance to finish the process over the next few weeks. While the Brie is currently in a loosehockeypuck state, we all look forward to the end result and, with more experience, testing, and trials under our belt, recreating and modifying the recipe to come up with our own unique varieties. For years our family has been saying we were going to make homemade rootbeer, and we actually had purchased some rootbeer extract a few years ago
which until now just sat on the shelf. With our commitment to new adventures and armed with some bottles, the extract, five gallons of water, a heap of sugar, and a half teaspoon of yeast, two weeks later we have about 16 bottles of fairly decent rootbeer and are spending evenings enjoying classic rootbeer floats. Sure, we could have just purchased the rootbeer at the grocery store, but going through the process of creating gives us a better understanding of what it takes to make these things and allows us a chance to customize and develop something more unique. A weekend away to Santa Barbara found us at a glassblowing class where in two hours we were able to create a bowl, tumbler, paperweight, or vase. The family-owned business, Santa Barbara Art Glass (sbartglass. com), offered the experience of dipping our wielding rods into the crucible of molten glass, adding color to our piece, shaping our creations, while continuously spinning our “blob,” and blowing life into our items. The results were amazing, and all of us can’t wait to go again. Our local community offers great cooking classes, and there are many gardening and yard classes nearby. Our area is full of adventures from skydiving (which is NOT on my bucket list), to sailing on the Bay, to hiking Mt. Diablo. The internet has many articles on “experiences over things.” Some are saying experiences over things is a trendy millennial fad. However, I think experiences trigger memories that linger and can also bring people together. Some of the classes and experiences bring us back to homesteading, our roots, and introduce us to selfsufficiency or a trade skill. Some experiences are adventures. I have enjoyed dog sledding in Alaska, concerts, hiking, zip lining, geocaching, and next on the list is ocean horseback swimming: an experience as well as one to cross off the bucket list.
Page 4 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Six Reasons Runners and Local Spectators Love the Lafayette Reservoir Run October 30th - Races Start at 8am
The annual Lafayette Reservoir Run, scheduled for Sunday, October 30th attracts upwards of 4,000 people of all ages and athletic ability including hundreds who enjoy just cheering on the runners, seeing friends and neighbors, and dining at the Rotary pancake breakfast! Now in its 24th year, this community fitness event also attracts serious runners from across the Bay Area because of the event’s unique combination of small town feel, beautiful scenery, and challenging 5-K competition and 10-K course. Here are the top six reasons so many love the Lafayette Reservoir Run: 1. Location. The Lafayette Reservoir Run is held in the heart of beautiful downtown Lafayette, with all runners coursing through the tree-lined Mt. Diablo Boulevard in full fall leaf grandeur. Mid-race, the 10-K course circles Lafayette Reservoir along a paved path within view of the water and wildlife. 2. One Event, Choice of Races. Enjoy a two mile Fun Run (8am start), a fast paced 5-K (8:30am) or a beautiful 10-K with a challenging “heartbreak” hill (8:45am start). All races start and end at the same spot, which makes it easy to enjoy the event with all your friends and family, whether they’re competitors or spectators. 3. Community Event Fun. Pre-race warm-up exercises, music, food, health expo – and lots of friendly people. This year, with the race so close to Halloween, there’s a costume contest, too! 4. Easy – and FREE – Parking. Held on a Sunday morning, there is easy access to both street parking and plenty of BART parking in the upper lot, close to the race check-in. 5. Easy to Enter. Prior to race day, register online at http://bit.ly/resrun16 for same-day registration the registration desk opens at 6:30AM at the corner of Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Lafayette Circle) ** Bib, t-shirt, and timing chip can be picked up prior to race day at Runners Mind at 3541 Plaza Dr., Lafayette, during regular store hours, 10am7pm on Friday, October 28, and Saturday, October 30 – or pick it up on Race Day after 6:30AM. 6. A Healthy Local Fundraiser! The Lafayette Reservoir Run benefits local schools and helps support the Chamber’s other community programs. The Lafayette Reservoir Run is presented by the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Concord BMW, Dudum Real Estate, East Bay Mudd, Cobain Orthodontics, and Minuteman Press. Full Res Run details can be found at http://bit.ly/resrun.
Lost Dog!
$50 REWARD
If you find him and your name is drawn! He is very small, so you will have to look hard if you want to find him.
Lafayette Luther is Missing He has become lost in this paper.
Send a letter telling us where you found him, along with your name and address to:
Lost Dog! Lafayette Today, 3000F Danville Blvd #117, Alamo, CA 94507
Marcie Simon is our winner! Luther was hiding on page 3 last month!
Fall Harvest Celebration
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
The Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center invites you to our fifth Annual Fall Harvest Celebration on Sunday, October 16th. Please join us from 11AM – 3PM at the garden to share in the celebration! There will be garden tours, games, displays, refreshments, music, raffle, a Native American dwelling and artifacts, a scarecrow and Gall doll making. All ages are welcome and there is no charge. The garden is located at 3932 Mt. Diablo Blvd. - across from the reservoir. For more information visit www.lafayettecommunitygarden.org.
Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Picking!
Celebrate autumn at a family-friendly event with live music, food trucks, fun for kids, and other seasonal activities. Head down to The Gardens at Heather Farm located at 1540 Marchbanks Drive, Walnut Creek for the annual Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 9 from 11am to 3pm. Wander through the patch of vine-growing pumpkins, pick a pumpkin to take home, snap photos of the kids, dance to live music on the lawn, savor a great lunch and festive treats, and learn more about what makes The Gardens tick! Enjoy food trucks and live music throughout the day. Kids of all ages will enjoy planting activities, games and fun crafts about how to start a garden led by The Gardens youth education staff. The festivities also feature a bounce house, face-painting, healthy farmstand snacks, mini-photo sessions, apple cider, apple doughnuts, and more. Admission fee of $6 per person to be collected at the door. Pumpkins, food, beverages and professional mini-photo sessions are available for purchase in addition to the entry fee. For more information, visit www.gardenshf.org or call (925) 947-1678.
What’s Up
By Jim Scala
Go up Mt. Diablo on October 8th, and plan to be at the lower summit parking lot by 6:30PM for the Mt. Diablo Astronomical Society’s (MDAS) public observing session. It will be a splendid time to observe a slender crescent moon and the planet Saturn through MDAS members’ scopes. Also visible that evening will be several spectacular star clusters and the Andromeda Galaxy. Think also about attending MDAS’s stimulating monthly meetings at the Lindsey Wildlife Museum’s auditorium, located at 1931 First Ave. in Wanut Creek. On October 25th the doors open at 7PM, and an MDAS member will talk briefly about an aspect of observing followed by a noted astronomer speaking about the possibility of aliens existing. Refreshments are included, and the meeting ends at 9PM. If you can’t make Mt Diablo on the eighth, then on October 15th go to where you will have a clear view of the western horizon. The sun sets at 6:30PM and at about 7PM, if you look carefully, you can see Venus in the darkening sky. If you can’t see it on the 15th, keep trying and by the 31st, Halloween, it should be visible. Remember, when you look west in the evening, you’re looking back at where Earth’s been. Venus is catching up and as it gets closer and passes Earth, it appears larger and goes through phases like the moon. After you have searched for Venus, look east and the Harvest Moon will be rising. Early Americans named it to commemorate harvesting crops. By the 22nd the moon rises close to midnight, so the sky will be dark. Get to a place away from lights and look for the big dipper somewhat low in the northern sky. It looks like a huge dipper with its handle going west; that’s to your left. With your eye on the dipper, find the two stars at the end, and follow them in an imaginary line to the North Star. Then you are looking exactly due north. Return your eyes to the dipper, and follow the handle out to the third star. That’s Alcor and if it’s dark or you have binoculars, you can see its companion star Mizar. Mizar means “Test.” In ancient times people used it to test good vision, and if it couldn’t be seen the person needed vitamin A. Nowadays, carrots are the best source.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Town Hall Presents Liberty Valance: An Ode to the“Old West” with a Contemporary Twist
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 5 Classes Start Oct. 11
Town Hall Theatre opens its mainstage season by presenting the first Bay Area staging of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, running from October 1-22. When a young scholar from New York City The Writing Studio named Ransome Foster travels west in search of a new life, he arrives beaten and half-dead on the dusty Where Words Come to Life streets of the western outpost of TwoTrees. Rescued from the plains, the town soon becomes his home The Writing Studio is a unique program that provides as he finds solace in the love of a local woman. Is love enough to save him from the vicious outlaw who classroom instruction and individual sessions for students hates what he stands for and wants him dead? In a scene reminiscent of the duel in Hamilton, Ransome in grades 3-12. Young writers step into a world of creative must decide whether to turn and run….or to stand up for what he believes in and become The Man Who storytelling and essay based expository writing projects Shot Liberty Valance. and develop strong writing skills in the process. Set in the Wild West in 1890, the play is a classic western story of good versus evil – while at the same time The writing studio also a romance with contemporary themes. The play “brings to life the vivid essence and grit of a handful of 3455 golden gate Way, suite A, lafayette characters in a classic Western setting,” says artistic director Suzie Shepard. But the reason Town Hall selected it as the season opener is because the play “focuses on the (925) 385-0211 www.lafayettewritingstudio.com humanity of these western archetypes and uses their daily struggles as a reminder of larger issues of social justice, hope, and longing for a better life.” Directed by Town Hall’s Managing Director Dennis Markam, the play stars Nate Smith as Ransome Foster and Heather Kellog as Hallie Jackson. Tickets (ranging from $20-$32) are available online at townhalltheatre.com or by calling the box office at (925) 283-1557.
TRICKOR TREAT STREET FREE
SAFE FAMILY FUN
Trick or Treat at Participating Local Businesses in Downtown Lafayette!
Friday, October 28 4pm - 6pm Recommended for children 9 & under. Sponsored by the Lafayette Chamber www.lafayettechamber.org
Directors Thoughts
You may ask, “How is this production bringing something new to this story?” For those who are exclusively familiar with the movie, there are a number of differences large and small. This script is a cleaner, more pared down version that gets to the heart of the story and the hearts of these characters in a much more efficient and engaging way. In our production we are trying to eschew a lot of the cinematic elements of westerns that have kind of become cliché in favor of a more truthful, direct telling of this story. A lot of people will be surprised at how invested they get in these characters. Westerns — by and large — aren’t known for their character development, but, especially with these terrific actors we’ve gathered, we have a production that feels very lived in. Nate Smith (Ransome Foster) is the actor most like his character in the show. A lot of the more charming moments that we’ve come across are ones that he naturally brought with him to the role. Heather Kellogg (Hallie Jackson) is least like her character in the show. Hallie is very warm and fun like Heather, but also has a very tough exterior that Heather has had to put on for the role. We think our audiences will be surprised to discover that our season opener, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, was REGISTRATION OPENS 6:30AM written by a British playwright. After immersing himself in the world of westerns via a computer game, films and 2 MILE FUN RUN 8:00AM an original short story, Jethro Compton took on the task of 5K RACE 8:30AM adapting this story to stage! He is quick to point out that it 10K RACE 8:45AM is very different than the popular film under the same name. In an interview with Pardon My French, Compton admits LIVE MUSIC that he’s only spent “a week in Missouri.” Despite firsthand HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST experience in the western territory, Compton brings to life PANCAKE BREAKFAST the vivid essence and grit of a handful of characters living in HEALTHY LIFESTYLES FAIR a cinematic type legend. Compton focuses on the humanity of these western archetypes and uses their daily struggle as a SUPPORTING LOCAL EDUCATION reminder of larger issues of social justice, hope, and longing for a better life. ONLINE REGISTRATION: Town Hall Theatre is proud to share the work of this http://bit.ly/resrun2016 talented writer, director and producer on our stage. We hope to see you this October and hear what you think of this PRE-RACE PICK UP NEW LOCATION: legend!
DOWNTOWN LAFAYETTE
Realtors Recommended for a Reason
3541 PLAZA WAY, LAFAYETTE
Minuteman Press Lafayette Lafayette
PRESENTED BY THE LAFAYETTE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WWW.LAFAYETTECHAMBER.ORG • (925) 284-7404
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
Page 6 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
The Bookworm By Joan Stevenson
I read recently of the rash of new libraries that are opening with no books…digital libraries. That is hard for me to imagine. But then libraries come in many different forms like the one in a phone booth in England and the little free lending libraries that you can see popping up all over our fair city. However, none of those can compete with the Lafayette Library and Learning Center which has digital, hard copy, and used books, CDs, and a bucket load of programs and events as well as just plain fun. So let’s see what is on the calendar for the next month. Come on October 13th at 7:30PM to Litquake: Braving the Elements taking place in the Community Hall. Our guests are Jason Mark, editor of Sierra Magazine, and the author of Satellites in the High Country, in conversation with Nathanael Johnson talking about his recent book Unseen City: The Majesty of Pigeons, the Discreet charm of Snails, and Other Wonders of the Urban Wilderness. In Unseen City, Johnson shows us how learning to see the world afresh, like a child, shifts the way we think about nature. Instead of something distant and abstract, nature becomes real and all-at-once comical, annoying, and beautiful. This shift can add tremendous value to our lives. Join Charles M. Schulz Museum staff for an introduction to cartooning, animation, and Charles Schulz through a variety of drawing and art activities. Learn to Cartoon will take place in the Community Hall on Saturday, October 15th at 2PM. There are two WOW events that you will not want to miss. The first is on Wednesday, October 15th at 2PM in the Community Hall. It will be a lecture on The Brothers LeNain – Painters of Seventeenth Century France. This fall, the Legion of Honor presents the first major US exhibit devoted to the mysterious LeNain brothers who were celebrated painters in Paris in the early seventeenth century. Little is known of their lives, but they lived and worked together, producing some of the most arresting paintings of their time. The WOW lecture on Wednesday, November 9th at 2PM will focus on the Asian Art Museum exhibition, The Rama Epic: Hero. Heroine, Ally, Foe. The 2,500-year-old Rama epic is one of the world’s greatest works of literature. This beloved tale with bloody battles, daring rescues, passionate romance, and a shape-shifting monkey warrior gets told again and again.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com Both events are free and hosted the Friends of LLLC. Just a reminder – funding for the Friends free events comes from the revenue generated by the Friends Corner Book Shop. On October 29th there will be an all-day (9AM-5PM) half-price sale at the bookstore. Thanks to the many volunteers who make it happen. Friends of the Lafayette Library and Learning Center welcome author Julie Barton. Julie joins Sweet Thursday on October 20th at 7PM to share the unforgettable story of how her dog saved her life. Her memoir, Dog Medicine, captures the anguish of depression, the slow path to recovery, and the astonishing way animals can help heal even the most broken hearts and minds. The Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation in partnership with The Commonwealth Club present Mary Ellen Hannibal, author of Citizen Scientist. This event will take place Friday, October 21th at 7PM. Digging deeply, Mary Ellen Hannibal traces today’s tech-enabled citizen science movement to its roots: the centuries-long tradition of amateur observation by writers and naturalists. Combining original reporting, meticulous research, and a memoir in impassioned prose, Citizen Scientist is a literary event, a blueprint for action, and the story of how one woman rescued herself from an odyssey of loss - with a new kind of science. Mary Ellen Hannibal is an emerging voice in environmentalism and a sought-after speaker who connects the scientific community to the public. Tickets are $15. To purchase, call 925-283-6513 x102. LLLC Foundation discount tickets also available. The Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation in partnership with the Commonwealth Club present Senator Barbara Boxer and The Art of Tough: Fearlessly Facing Politics and Life. Barbara Boxer has made her mark, combining compassionate advocacy with scrappiness in a political career spanning more than three decades. Now, retiring from the Senate, she continues the work to which she’s dedicated 30 years in Congress. In her memoir, she shares her provocative and touching recollections of service, and cements her commitment to the fight for women, families, equality, and environmental protection, all in a peaceful world. Sometimes lauded, sometimes vilified, but always standing tough, Boxer has fought for what is right even when her personal convictions conflicted with her party or the majority rule. Tickets include a copy of The Art of Tough. General admission is $35, and premium admission is $50. LLLCF donor general admission is $25 and $45 (Donors call 925-283-6513, ext. 102 to purchase). For this special event, please note no large bags will be allowed, and attendees are subject to search. No tickets will be sold at the door. For more information on registering for events, visit www.lllcf.org.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 7
In the '60s, Lafayette Folk Weren't Medicare Open Enrollment –What Should You Do? Medicare open enrollment is here – October 15 to December 7 . Is your Big Rotor Rooters Medicare Advantage plan leaving or increasing its prices for next year? Do th
By Ruth Bailey, Lafayette Historical Association
Fifty years ago there was rejoicing at the western end of Lafayette as the SF-Oakland Airline relocated its Lafayette heliport to Walnut Creek. As Mrs. Dolores Green, president of the Sunset Village Homeowners Association, described the decision of the airline to move east, “Delighted and excited. It couldn’t have come at a better time—Thanksgiving Week.” The SFO/Sunset Village “Battle of the Choppers” has been waging [or did the Sun mean to say “raging”?] for months, prior to the dedication of the heliport April 15, 1965, behind the Hillside Motel. “At Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Harold Mossman, owner of the motel and past president of the Chamber of Commerce, said that the people of Lafayette should vote on the issue. “Asked to comment on the SFO operation’s ‘phasing out,’ he said the heliport hasn’t affected his own business, but that he felt it was good for the community. ‘The reason Walnut Creek wants the heliport is the reason we in Lafayette should want to keep it.’ Meanwhile, in the quiet Village called Sunset, the residents gave thanks that the noisy, big birds may soon fly away.” And there was more news affecting the town’s appearance and infrastructure in the November 25, 1966, issue of the Sun. Under the headline “A New Face-Lift For Lafayette,” the report said, “Exploratory discussions were held recently in a meeting chaired by Dr. C.L. Feiler, chairman of the Lafayette Design Project’s Beautification Committee, to determine if a pilot experimental development might result in a unique and attractive face lifting for the central Lafayette business district could be supported. “With recent outstanding improvements to the storefronts facing Mt. Diablo Blvd. and the development of off-street parking to the rear of the stores on the south side of the Blvd. and between Hough Street and Moraga Road, the proposal for a further beautification of this section is now under study,” said Dr. Feiler. “A visit to this block was made by Aaron Green, prominent landscape architect of San Francisco, who indicated as he had earlier in the Lafayette Design Project, Frank Lloyd Wright Associates’ Report of 1961, that this section of Lafayette’s business district would be an ideal area to initiate the experiment of arcades to be built in front of the business establishments and extending nearly to the curb line along Mt. Diablo Blvd. “The Frank Lloyd Wright Report states the proposed arcades would ‘provide tangible direction toward the visual improvement of the shop fronts in a unique and beautiful manner calculated to intrigue and attract customers.’” [It’s probably too late to find out if that’s would be true. We’ll have to leave strolling under the arcades until we visit the enchanting capitals of Europe.] But here’s something fancy that did happen locally. An advertisement in the 1966 paper announced “Capwell’s Shows Expensive Hats,” and the copy went into more detail: “The millinery department of Capwell’s will have a special showing of fur hats worth a total value over $25,000. Included will be minks, sables, leopards, cheetah, lynx, Indian lamb, nutria furs made up in draped toques, pill boxes, helmets, hoods, berets and cloches. Individual pieces of the collection are priced from $75 to $495.” [What do you mean, ‘endangered species’? As a matter of fact, Capwell’s itself was on the endangered list by 1966, although it held on for a couple more decades.]
Share Your News and Events With Us! Contact us at 925.405.6397 or editor@yourmonthlypapercom
th
you have questions about your Medicare health or prescription drug plan for 2017? This is the time to understand your coverage. It’s a good idea to review your health or drug plan each year to make sure it’s still the best choice for you. Your needs and medications may have changed since last year, and plans may be no longer be available or may change their premiums, provider networks, formulary of approved drugs, and/or copays. Contra Costa HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) can help you understand your options during open enrollment. HICAP will be giving community talks during October and November, and will provide information on what’s new with Medicare and changes to Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans for 2017. Handouts with plan details will be available. HICAP will also be holding several special counseling events for open enrollment, including events in Walnut Creek, Rossmoor, Danville, and Pleasant Hill. HICAP will review your plan and can help optimize your coverage and potentially save you a significant amount of money for next year. If you want your medications reviewed, it’s best to complete a worksheet in advance and schedule an appointment. Drop-ins will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. You can get help on any Medicare-related issue at one of these special sessions. Call HICAP at 925-602-4163 or visit www.cchicap.org for more information. HICAP does not sell or endorse any products and offers free, impartial information and assistance to all Medicare beneficiaries or their caregivers.
Fall is Here
By Erin Martin, Village Associates Real Estate
The hustle and bustle of fall is here, but the moms of Lafayette get a moment to catch their breath now that school is back in session. Summer vacations are gone, day camps are behind us, and weekend trips to Tahoe make way for Saturday soccer games, fall basketball, and parent-school parties. September also brings an increase in real estate activity as parents or soon-to-be parents can now focus on where they want to live for the next twenty or so years. Lamorinda saw a strong spring selling season with a continued upward trend over last year. As we transitioned into summer, the higher-end market over $1.5 million started to soften a bit as folks started to scatter for summer plans. In addition, in mid-June the stock market dropped by 6% in less than a week and lack of recent Bay Area IPOs started to catch up to us a bit. The back-half of 2015 and the first-half of 2016 was a lack luster period for Bay Area IPOs, which are impacting Lafayette home prices more than ever as tech companies continue to push north into San Francisco and Oakland, making Lafayette now accessible. This combination of seasonality and other economic influences in my opinion helped drive the softness we saw in the higher-end market over the summer where price reductions and extended time on the market were the norm. This is a good reminder that like a lot of things in life, timing is critical for certain major decisions. While our home is the place we raise our families and build lasting memories, it is also likely your largest asset that requires a great deal of care and thought when either buying or selling. Understanding and monitoring the local market and all factors that influence the value of your home are crucial anytime you are even thinking about selling or buying a home. As September has arrived we have seen the higher-end market come around a bit. Buyers are back looking for homes in force, the stock market has rebounded 10% from early June, and a few Bay Area IPOs have had strong recent initial showings. Timing sometimes is everything, or at least it is a major contributing factor. Please feel free to contact me with your real estate questions, or for a free home evaluation. I can be reached at (925) 951-3817 or by email at erin@erinmartinhomes.com. Advertorial
Page 8 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Contra Costa County Makes it Easy for you to Vote!
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
By Candace Andersen, Contra Costa County, District 2 Supervisor
Over the next few weeks we can all expect our mailboxes to become stuffed with political mailers, our television and radio airwaves filled with endorsements, and online popup ads advising us of how we should vote. That, combined with one of the most contentious presidential races we’ve seen in years, might discourage some from going to the polls, but I hope that is not the case. Voting is one of our most important opportunities as citizens to express our viewpoints. One of my favorite slogans I saw a few years ago in the town of Waimanalo on O’ahu, Hawaii was “No Vote, No Grumble.” Despite a larger volume of ballot measures and candidates to vote on than in recent years, our staff at the Contra Costa County Elections Division is prepared to run a smooth election. They’re adding new ways to make it more convenient than ever to vote. The Elections Office wants to remind voters that, unlike the complicated primary election in June, you can vote for presidential candidates from any party this time. And while much of the attention is on the race for President, there are many important local issues that have more of an impact on our daily lives on the November ballot. The Elections Office anticipates a higher-than-normal turnout this November. Because of that, they are adding a number of ways that Contra Costa residents can vote early and at their convenience. The Election Division’s goal is to allow you some flexibility when it comes to managing to fit voting into your busy schedule. No more having to rush on Election Day. Once again, the San Ramon Valley, more specifically the San Ramon Community Center on 12501 Alcosta Blvd., will be one of the sites for Contra Costa Elections’ Regional Early Voting program. The Lafayette Library is also one of the Regional Early Voting sites. The program will kick off on October 31st, a week ahead of the November 8th election. All registered Contra Costa voters will be able to vote at any of seven locations around the county. These Regional Early Voting sites will be open from 11AM to 7PM Monday, October 31st through Friday, November 4th, and 8AM to 5PM Saturday, November 5th. In addition to these sites, vote-by-mail voters can continue to drop off their ballots at “CoCo Vote-N-Go” drop-off boxes at all 19 city and town hall buildings and the County Administration building at 651 Pine Street, Martinez. No postage is required. Because of the number of items on the ballot, it’s quite a bit thicker than usual. Postage to mail your vote by mail ballot back this election is $.68. The Elections Office is adding six new drop-off locations, including the Dougherty Station Library in east San Ramon. One more program worth considering is that Elections Office staff members will be at local libraries, senior centers, and farmers markets to collect vote-by-mail ballots. Again, no postage is required! The Ballot Express program will be at the Orinda Senior Village, 11AM to 1PM on October 20th and the San Ramon Senior Center from 11:30AM to 1:30PM on November 1st. Your voter information guide should arrive around the end of September, and vote-by-mail ballots will be mailed out during the week of October 10th. Ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day. For more detailed information or to see if you are registered to vote, visit www.cocovote.us. Voting has become much more convenient than it used to be, so please take the opportunity to vote this November. My office is here to serve the residents of Contra Costa County District 2, which includes San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Saranap, Parkmead, Lafayette, Moraga, Canyon, and Orinda. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can provide you with additional information on this topic or on other County issues. I can be reached at SupervisorAndersen@bos. cccounty.us or 925-957-8860. A special thanks to Scott Konopasek and Paul Burgarino of the Contra Costa Elections Office for their contributions to this article.
Witches’ Brew
By Monica Chappell
Wine can create the perfect witches’ brew when paired with Halloween candy. Everyone has a favorite so kick your Halloween up a notch this year by pairing iconic Halloween candies with a glass of wine. Beware! Halloween pairings can definitely present more of a trick than a treat; so don’t pair your sweets with the wrong varietal. The horror! Thankfully with all the wine out there, whether you are a chocoholic or a die-hard lover of candy corn, there’s a wine to be paired with your candy. Here are my favorite ways to get creative with Halloween’s best-known candies. Dessert Wines: These wines include Late-harvest, Ice Wine, Sherry or Port and will pair nicely with coconut candies like Almond Joy or Mounds. Sweet on sweet works so also try Toosie Rolls, Butterfingers or Twix. Off-Dry Whites: The fruitiness in Riesing, Gewuztraminer, Malvasia and Moscato will stand up to the soft chewy goodness of classic Candy Corn, Skittles or Starbursts. Rich Whites: Rich, buttery California Chardonnay or French versions of Rousanne, Marsanne and Viognier go with the creaminess of candy apples, caramel squares and anything caramel-based. Bold Reds: Wines that fall into this category include Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah. When it comes to chocolate, the intensity of the wine’s tannin should match the intensity of your cocoa. Dark chocolate and Toffee options calls for a big reds. Light Reds: With lighter reds like Merlot, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Grenache think milk chocolate like Hershey’s, M&M’s and Reese’s. Wine can make your sweets that much better so when the sun goes down and your little ghouls and goblins go to sleep, dig through their plastic pumpkins and have some fun with wine and candy pairing. Monica Chappell is a wine writer and educator based in Lafayette.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 9
Walking the Reservoir By Jim Scala
W a l k i n g Conversations. One Tuesday morning during the seniors walking group, Helen asked about a talk I was giving on Old Wives Tales. To make it simple I asked her if she had ever heard the expression, “An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away.” She had and asked if that saying was based on fact. I explained that in past centuries cancer was known as the wasting disease which describes how people appear as they succumb to its ravages. Over time women noticed that appleeating-women appeared less likely to get breast cancer, and they passed that information on to their daughters. We know today that the benefits relate to the apple’s pectin, a type of fiber that helps eliminate the by-products of estrogen metabolism. That advice makes more sense today than it did then. Many folks thought old wives tales weren’t serious. Perhaps someone will ask me, “Is fish really brain food?” On the same walk a retired coach was asked about the Forty-Niners opening game that they won 28 to zip, but had been predicted to lose. He discussed the sports pundits who are usually wrong. These are but two typical conversations our seniors walking group have while walking the reservoir. A book, The Philosophy of Walking, tells how well-known philosophers who, while walking alone, developed great concepts. Nowadays we walk in groups, and there were 16 of us on that morning. I conclude that through our stimulating discussions, we gain both knowledge and ideas. Lafayette’s Senior Center. Our senior walking program is sponsored by the Lafayette Community Center which is administered by Maureen and Molly. These tireless women work hard to bring diverse opportunities to Lafayette residents of all ages. They are good to walk with and witty to talk with. They need volunteer drivers to help with some of the programs, and you can call them at (925) 284-5050 or www.LafayetteRec.org. Turkeys are a lesson in survival. People often ask me if wild turkeys are taking over the reservoir. Turkeys were reintroduced to California by state bird experts in the 1960s and have learned to coexist comfortably with us humans. When you’re driving out below the dam, you have probably had to stop for turkeys roaming among what remains of the old pear orchards. Those aged, still producing, pear trees are remnants of a once thriving valley that’s now our reservoir. Although turkey hens lay as many as seven eggs, very few chicks survive to adulthood, and their gobbling translates to, “We’re pretty darn tough.” Sunday afternoons on the bandstand. At about 3PM as the sun is lowering and imparting a beautiful glow on the water, people often bring lounge chairs to the stage and enjoy the beautiful view, have some food and beverage, and enjoy conversation. Many children are enjoying the play area’s opportunities to romp and learn – even about music. I often do my yoga there, and it doesn’t take long for some small children to carefully inspect what I’m doing and then start doing the same thing. If their mom tries to call them, I say, “It’s okay; they’re helping me recapture my youth.” Walk the canyon trail. At the far end of the paved trail, the canyon trail leads west. It’s actually the remnants of the road that went down to where the pear orchards were and the stream that was dammed to make the reservoir. Walk the canyon to where it reaches a “T,” take a right turn, and follow it until it becomes quite steep, turn back, then go left on the canyon trail and return to the paved one. While it’s not a rim trail walk, it takes you into “cat” country. I call it that because it’s where most people spot bobcats, foxes, and other reservoir wildlife. It’s most rewarding feature is it allows you to explore part of the rim trail without facing the hills. In addition, when you return to the paved trail, the drinking fountain is close by. Calories and water. After a recent walk, Joanna held up her iPhone and said, “I walked 2.91 miles and burned 181 calories.” Actually, a 160-pound person burns 250 calories walking the paved trail. And after the first 20 minutes, 50% of those calories come from fat. Walk three times weekly, and each month burns a pound of fat and converts more to muscle. At each water fountain, drink three swallows to prevent dehydration. Let me hear from you at jscala2@comcast.net.
AAUW Events
A Taste of Walnut Creek
The 19th annual restaurant walk, A Taste of Walnut Creek, will be held on October 18 from 6 to 9PM. Proceeds will benefit American Association of University Women (AAUW) Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, (OML) Branch Tech Trek Stem summer camp scholarships. Buy your tickets and join your friends for a delightful evening tasting food from over 20 downtown Walnut Creek restaurants. Tickets are available for purchase for $30 per person before October 10 from Jan Cushman, 143 Meadow View Road, Orinda, CA 94563. Make your check for $30 out to AAUW OML Community Outreach Fund, Inc. (Add $2 for postage if requesting ticket book be mailed). For more information, e-mail jancushman@comcast.net. Help send Lamorinda middle school girls to Tech Trek summer camp by supporting this fundraiser.
Let’s Tango at the Garden Party
Ruth Bancroft Garden Annual Fundraising Dinner
The Ruth Bancroft Garden is pleased to announce their Annual Fundraising Dinner to be held on October 21 at 6PM. Come have fun while supporting this extraordinary garden and community! The event will take place in the Perera Pavilion at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, 320 Civic Drive, Pleasant Hill. Tickets are $175 and include a delicious sit-down dinner, cocktails, plus live entertainment with Argentine Tango dancers. Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on and win fabulous items during the silent and live auctions. For complete information and to purchase tickets, visit www.ruthbancroftgarden.com. Staff at the Garden has worked hard to put together an outstanding array of auction items, including exclusive garden experiences, one of a kind garden planters, an original hand-hewn redwood dining table, palm sheath year-round table arrangements, and the right to “Name the New Lane” at the entrance to the Garden. About the garden: The mission of the Ruth Bancroft Garden, Inc. is to preserve its extraordinary example of garden design and to continue to develop its collection of water-conserving plants for the education and enjoyment of the public.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
Page 10 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Sustainable Lafayette Tip of the Month Is it Time to “Go Native?”
October is a great time to assess your yard. Applaud the plants that survived the summer heat under the voluntary reduced watering schedule, and give up on the ones that either struggled mightily or just couldn’t make it. The question is, “What works in place of the water lovers?” Now is the time to look at your property and think about where you can incorporate native plants. The fact is that our Mediterranean climate is unique. Only a small portion of the earth enjoys wet winters (assuming we have one this year!) and dry summers like ours. Growing native plants can take the headache out of gardening and the guilt out of water consumption, while benefiting native wildlife. If you look at California native plants, you notice right away the leaves are usually quite small, gray, or fuzzy. These are all ways they have evolved to get out of the sun. Their roots are tough and deep, which help them survive through our long dry summers and gusty winter rains. Unlike plants from other parts of the world, California natives often bloom in fall instead of spring, or in both spring and fall. They’ve adapted to our adobe soil and don’t need special enhancements or fertilizers for them to thrive. Also, they have to get along outside of our fences, on hillsides, and most have adapted defenses against deer and other plant eaters. Turning to California natives can drastically reduce your water bill. Most natives do not tolerate summer watering and get along just fine with winter rains. Also, they do not thrive on drip irrigation, which is a relief to those of us who have doggedly tried to keep drip irrigation systems working properly. If you plant natives during the right time of year, then you can sit back and let nature do the work. Most native plants thrive if planted just after the rainy season begins in November. Others are fine planted in early spring. Native plants which are planted in June or July will need water to get established, and will also become very confused to have the “rain” and heat together. It is far better to wait until autumn for planting. Perhaps you have a distressed or unwanted lawn area that could be converted to a beautiful native garden. Native grasses like rush and sedge never need mowing, fertilizing, or pesticides. Sheet mulching makes it easier and faster than you might think to convert a lawn.
Quick Trips
Lions and Tigers and Meerkats By Linda Summers Pirkle
With five small children in tow, my friend Barb and I made our obligatory trips to the Oakland Zoo when the kids were in preschool. As the children grew older, our visits were less frequent. When the TV show Meerkat Manor aired in 2005, my youngest daughter and I intensified our visits to the zoo. She loved visiting the meerkats. The Animal Planet television series Meerkat Manor, produced by British production company Oxford Scientific Films, follows the “Whiskers” clan of meerkats in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa. “Shakespeare,” the brave little meerkat who carried his sibling to safety and saved his brother from predators, is high drama and still remembered by the fans who enjoyed the program many years ago. To the uninitiated, the meerkat exhibit at the Oakland Zoo is an enclosed mound of dirt with grasses, trees, and small bushes. It is home to a gang of meerkats, members of the mongoose family. They stand up, all twelve inches, survey the surroundings with their pot bellies protruding, then back down they go into their tunnels, scurrying to their next adventure. The very young or those who don’t mind crouching down can peek into the underworld of the meerkats through a glass window viewing station. My daughter now lives in Paris and returned home for the month of August. Her request to visit the Oakland Zoo was a sweet surprise. Since our last visit about five years ago, the East Bay Zoological Society which manages the Zoo has made improvements to the physical assets such as Maddi’s Center for Science Find the meerkat in the picture. Look closely and Environmental Education, the to see the chubby little guy on his way down a Wayne and Gladys Valley Children’s tunnel at the Oakland Zoo meerkat exhibit.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com And, California natives don’t need to be drab! Beautiful flowering natives like ceonothus, penstemon, and flowering currants can provide splashes of color. If you want to eat your garden, you can try some native edibles such as California strawberries, yarrow, and native blackberry. If you love hummingbirds but find that filling and caring for the feeder takes too much time and effort, you can plant fuschia, salvia, and coral bells – all have evolved to attract hummers. There are a host of plants that also attract local butterflies and native bees. Feeding our native pollinators helps their populations thrive. Some great plants for this are California poppy, globe gilia, checkerbloom, monkey flower, and butterfly bush. You may have read about how much of our national pesticide and fertilizer use is actually in home gardens. Some lovely plants that can deter bugs on their own and happily thrive in our native soil are Western Red Bud, Douglas Iris, black sage, coffeeberry, snowberry, toyon, and mock orange. Local nurseries are available to help. Ask what natives they have in stock and what they can order. Plus, Bringing Back the Natives – the annual self-guided East Bay garden tour that takes place in early May – hosts its Fall Native Plant Sale Extravaganza on Sunday, October 23 from 10AM-4PM. The participating nurseries are: • U.C. Botanical Garden at Berkeley, 200 Centennial Dr., Berkeley • Markham Nature Park and Arboreteum, 1202 La Vista Ave., Concord • East Bay Wilds, 2777 Foothill Blvd., Oakland, CA 94601 (the entrance is on th 28 Ave.) • Friends of Sausal Creek Native Plant Nursery (the nearest address is 3594 Sanborn Drive, Oakland) • Annie’s Annuals and Perennials, 740 Market Ave. Richmond • The Watershed Nursery, 601 A Canal Blvd. Richmond • Green Thumb Works, 16276 E. 14th Street, San Leandro (corner of E. 14th & 163rd @ Dig Deep Farms greenhouse on the Pacific Apparel lot). For more ideas about how to transform your home and community into more sustainable places with enhanced quality of life for current and future residents, please visit sustainablelafayette.org. Zoo, the new Veterinary Hospital, and other animal exhibits. We read with interest the story of four tiger sisters now living at the zoo. According to the exhibit poster, the cubs Grace, Ginger, Molly, and Millou were part of a traveling animal show where guests could pay twenty dollars to have their photos taken with real tiger cubs. Pulled prematurely, these tigers should have stayed with their mothers through the first two years of their lives. A custody battle between the divorced owners left the four tigers neglected. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) rescued the then 20-month old sisters from their predicament, and in September 2011, thanks to the work of many volunteers and several corporate sponsors, the four gorgeous tigers are now living at the Oakland Zoo. They are beautiful to watch. Exciting things are happening at the zoo. The California Trail, a new feature, will expand the zoo and feature 20 acres of new animal enclosures, an interpretive overlook with views of the San Francisco Bay, a California Interpretive Center, a camping area with platform tents for overnights at the Zoo, and a children’s play and learn center. California native animals in the process of acquisition will include the grey wolf, grizzly bears, mountain lions, jaguar, bison, bald eagles, and a California condor. One of my favorite things about the Oakland Zoo is the neighborhood feel to it which is enhanced by an amazing volunteer squad. Many of the volunteers are seniors who are friendly, patient, and knowledgeable about the exhibits at the zoo. Over the years, I have been enthralled with stories from these volunteers. While resting on a bench during our latest visit, I was able to witness a volunteer in action. A dad and small child were standing next to each other near the elephant exhibit. A petite senior in zoo cap and uniform stood for a while next to the little family. She engaged the dad in a short conversation and then bent down to the darling little girl, pointed to the elephants, and began a short story which clearly delighted the small child. The Oakland Zoo is located at 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland. California Trail estimated grand opening is summer 2018. Their website is Oaklandzoo.org, and their phone number is (510) 632-9525. Linda Summers Pirkle, travel consultant and long term Danville resident, has arranged and led tours for the Town of Danville for several years. Inspired by the many wonderful places to visit in the Bay Area, she organizes day trips, either for groups or for friends and family. “What a great place to live, so much to see, so much to do.” To share your “Quick Trips” ideas email Coverthemap@gmail.com.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Technology Matters
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 11
By Evan Corstorphine, Portable CIO
A few years back I had the privilege of working with a group of professionals in SF at a startup. The company didn’t end up working out, but I made friends and learned many valuable lessons. One of those lessons was, “a lousy plan that’s written down beats a brilliant plan that’s locked away in someone’s head.” In other words, they who document their plan will win the day, and, if you fail to plan, plan to fail. Back then we were building software for an e-commerce website. Software development is a complex task and requires excellent project management. It’s not unlike building houses in that there are interdependent elements that have to be tackled in a certain order for it to work right. The walls can’t be put up until there’s a foundation to bolt them to, and the roof can’t be put on until there are walls to support it. Everything depends on something else that came before it, and it has to happen in order. Imagine a contractor is building a home. They have poured the foundation, the frame is built, and they’ve put on the roof. Now they’re working on building the interior when suddenly the homeowner appears and says, “I want you to add two more bedrooms, move the kitchen to the other side, and we should have ten foot ceilings.” While these changes can probably be accommodated, there are enormous consequences to the project schedule and potentially to the viability of the final product. To the homeowner, it’s just some cosmetic changes they’re excited about; to the builder, it’s a nightmare. At once, the project must stop and the architect must create new drawings to fit everything together. All the other contractors such as electrical, plumbing, painters, and dry-wall must all be rescheduled, and all the permits also have to be re-approved. When all the re-engineering is complete, it’s now a brand-new project; they have to carefully tear down what they’ve already built and begin reconstructing the home with entirely new plans. Changes like this can sometimes turn out great, but they can also end up causing the home to look like Frankenstein’s bride because it wasn’t built with a cohesive theme from the start. And forget the original timetable. It’s all about project management. For that reason, we use a very strict planning methodology that guides us through your project, ensuring a stage is complete before we move to the next. Doing things in a specific order, we clearly document and communicate the process so everyone involved knows where they stand. Everyone thinks they have the ‘perfect’ project methodology, but they all share the same basic concepts only using different names. Our seven stages are Concept/Charter, Planning, Design, Build, Test, Implement, and Maintain. The key is to move in one direction through the process; there’s no looping backward. Once you finish the Design phase and move into Build, any bright ideas that we come up with for enhancements to the product are automatically put into “Phase II,” which is a new project. Why? Remembering the house analogy above, we want to avoid introducing un-vetted changes into the project design and blowing the schedule we committed to delivering. If we accommodate re-design on the fly, the project’s finish line will keep moving further and further out, and quality will inevitably suffer. Getting back to my point, this is why having a written plan is so important. If everyone agrees to the plan and commits to the deliverables, it’s easier to keep everyone on track if someone gets the urge to make changes after the design is locked down. Now, imagine that you start building your project, but you don’t have a written plan that everyone has agreed upon. What defense do you have when someone begins suggesting large changes that you know have significant implications? None. That’s why having a clear, written plan is critical. My boss used to say, “If it’s not
written down, it doesn’t exist.” It’s one of my favorite sayings because it’s proven true, over and over. Project management is something we do very well at PCIO. We design, implement and maintain an excellent IT infrastructure for our clients. If you have an upcoming move, technology build-out, or another large scale effort on the horizon, let’s grab coffee and talk about how we could help take the stress off your shoulders. If you’d like to chat, you can reach me at info@pcioit.com, or 925-552-7953. Advertorial
Do you have a story idea, photo,or sporting news to share? Contact us at 925.405.6397 or editor@yourmonthlypapercom
Page 12 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
When Should You Have “The Talk” With Your Children? By Robert J. Silverman, Esq.
Clients frequently ask: “When should we talk to our children about our estate plan?” or “Should we give our kids a copy of our documents?” Of course, each person and each family is different, and no universally correct answers to these questions exist. Many factors should be weighed when considering whether to discuss these matters with your loved ones and whether to let them see your estate planning documents. These factors may include, among many others: whether you have a blended family, the age and maturity of your children, whether or not you are treating them equally in your Will and/or Living Trust, whether one but not all of your children are nominated to serve as the Executor and/or Successor Trustee, how large your estate is, whether any beneficiaries other than children (individuals and/or charities) will receive a portion of the assets, and how likely you are to make material changes in the future. Your family might benefit in many ways by discussing your estate plan, but in this article, my focus is on just one - before you’re gone, your children will at least know what you’re planning and why (even if they don’t agree with it). If you have a conventional plan (and particularly if you have a non-blended family) under which your Trust or Will provides essentially that all children will receive equally, the need to communicate may not be compelling. However, even then, unless the children know what you’ve done, the opportunity to engage in potentially helpful discussion is limited. You should give greater consideration to communicating with your children about estate planning matters when your documents depart from the norm in any significant way (particularly as to key asset distribution and trust/estate management provisions) or when you have a blended family. Often, these situations merit talking with your children candidly about your decisions as soon as you feel it’s appropriate. Sometimes, it’s helpful for your estate planning attorney to
www.yourmonthlypaper.com facilitate or be involved in such discussions. Even when you have a non-blended family, or your Will or Trust is pretty conventional, communication can be helpful. Perhaps, you have (or you should have but have not) carved out certain tangible gifts or real property or closely held business interests for one or more specific children. Maybe, you’ve chosen one child ahead of others to play a key role in the administration of your trust or estate. One or more such “small” matters may be perceived as a very big deal to certain children or other loved ones. Your reaction so far may be that these are your assets, it’s your estate, and you can choose to do whatever you want (whether or not such decisions are, or appear to be, objectively reasonable or fair to your children)! If so, I’d say I couldn’t agree more. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t deceive yourself that your children will see things this way -- in fact, they may take great umbrage upon learning what you’ve decided. Their reaction may result in friction among the children or resentment of one or more of the siblings who is viewed as being “favored,” and this friction can tragically damage or destroy familial relationships. Query: might it be better to communicate about such potentially sensitive things during your lifetime rather than leaving your children with no explanation, leading to anger and/or guilt when you’re gone? Even if one or more of your children believe your decision is unfair, or disappointing, or illogical, at least they’ll know what to expect and have some basis for understanding why you made your decisions. Naturally, you should not expect discussion about these issues to be absolutely comfortable or stress-free but, deciding when to “have the talk” and what to reveal and discuss with the children is not a subject to be taken lightly or ignored. * Estate Planning * Trust Administration & Probate * Real Estate * Business Please contact the author to request a complimentary: i) “Estate Planning Primer”; ii) Real Estate titling brochure; iii) introductory meeting. Mr. Silverman is an attorney with R. Silverman Law Group which is located at 1855 Olympic Blvd., Suite 125, Walnut Creek, CA 94596; (925) 705-4474; rsilverman@rsilvermanlaw.com. This article is intended to provide information of a general nature, and should not be relied upon as legal, tax and/ or business advice. Readers should obtain specific advice from their own, qualified professional advisors. Advertorial
COMPUTER SERVICES: PCs/Macs/Tablets/Smartphones • Upgrades • Maintenance • Networking • Data Recovery • Virus/Malware Removal • Back-up Solutions • Email/ Hosted Exchange IT DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION: IT Strategy Development • IT Infrastructure Assessment • Cloud Services IT INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT: Desktop, Server, & Network Monitoring and Management • Office Move Management • Disaster Preparedness
Technology. Simplified. Serving Bay Area businesses and residents since 2001
925-552-7953 helpdesk@pcioit.com www.pcioit.com
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 13
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Montelindo Garden Club
The Montelindo Garden Club is excited to have as our October speaker Andrea Wulf, a British award-winning, New York Times bestselling author and historian focusing on the role of nature and gardens over time. Ms. Wulf’s talk, based on her book The Founding Gardeners, will provide a unique perspective on America’s creation: how the passion for plants and agriculture of our founding fathers – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison – helped shape the nation. The Founding Gardeners adds depth and nuance to our understanding of the American experiment, and provides us with a portrait of the founding fathers as they’ve never been seen before. The Montelindo Garden Club meets the third Friday of every month, September thru May. Our October meeting will be on Friday, October 21. Refreshments will be served at 9am, the meeting begins at 9:30am, and the speaker begins at 10:30am. The meeting will be held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 66 St. Stephens Drive, Orinda. The event is free and everyone is welcome. Reservations are required. Please email montelindogarden@aol. com. Founded in Orinda in 1970, the Montelindo Garden Club is open to all area garden enthusiasts, both women and men. The Club’s mission is to support the love of gardening and nature by providing practical information about plants and gardening as well as to support civic planting and conservation programs. The club holds general meetings that include presentations from a variety of knowledgeable and interesting speakers on the third Friday of the month from September through May. In addition, the Club sponsors small group interest groups and half-day excursions as well as a number of social activities. The club is open to guests and new members and encourages those interested to attend a Friday meeting. For those subsequently deciding to join the Club, the annual membership fee is $35. Check out www.montelindogarden.com for more information and a list of this year’s speakers.
Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour
The fall workshop schedule is now up on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour’s website (www.bringingbackthenatives.net/fall-2016-workshops-2), and registration is open. Come this fall, and learn how to: • Remove your lawn • Install a drip irrigation system • Select native plants for your garden • Propagate natives from seeds, cuttings, and divisions • Garden sustainably These workshops will fill up; register now to avoid being disappointed. 092116d_Lafayette_Lafayette_Today_Active_Living_A.indd
Native Plant Sale Extravaganza
1
9/23/16 10:52 AM
Come to this year’s fall Native Plant Sale Extravaganza on October 23 when seven nurseries will be open from 10AM-4PM, with knowledgeable staff on hand to help you select native plants for your garden. Fall is the time to plant natives; take advantage of this great opportunity to purchase hard-to-find plants! Shop to your heart’s content as a portion of the proceeds from this event go to support the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. If you are interested in running an ad in the garden guide, please reserve a space by calling (510) 236-9558 or e-mailing kathy@kathykramerconsulting. net. Company sponsors are also being sought to support the 2017 Tour. Follow and “like” the Tour on Facebook to see a changing gallery of native plant garden photos, read about what to do in your native plant garden each month, and stay informed about Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour events.
Page 14 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Fall Pruning
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
By Blaine Brende & Joe Lamb
Now is a great time to prune your trees to protect them against winter storms. There are three kinds of tree failure: branch, column, and entire tree. Judicious pruning reduces the likelihood of all three kinds of failure. Selective removal of weight from leggy branches makes it much less likely that a branch would fall, causing injury or damage to property. It takes a lot of “in tree” experience to identify branches with weak crotches and/or with unsafe weight distribution. Thinning the canopy to reduce friction from the wind greatly reduces the odds of a column breaking, or of the entire tree falling over. When done correctly, a tree pruned for safety should still look natural, even after 30% of its foliage is removed. Many evergreens, such as cedars, cypresses, and redwoods, and many species of deciduous trees, such as valley oaks, can be pruned in this time of year. Monterey Pines should only be pruned between October 15th and February 15th unless compelling safety reasons dictate otherwise.. The timing for pruning is restricted because sap from pruning cuts attracts bark beetles that are destructive to pines. These beetles become dormant during the fall and winter months. Some species of beetles carry pine pitch canker, an increasingly common fungal disease that disfigures pine trees, sometimes killing them. If your tree has dead tips scattered throughout the canopy it probably suffers from pine pitch canker. To prolong the aesthetic life of a diseased tree, prune out the infected tips before February 15th. October is also a good time, if you haven’t already, to make your landscape more fire safe. It is not uncommon for the East Bay to experience hot, dry, and gusty winds in the fall due to sinking air from the bay combining with inland high-pressure systems. The Oakland Hills fire of 1991 occurred on October 20th, its precursor, the 1923 Berkeley Fire, started on September 27th. Removing dead wood, breaking up fire ladders, and limbing vegetation back from your home can greatly improve the chances of your home surviving a wildfire. Brende & Lamb knows how to fire prune your landscape in a way that improves fire safety, without sacrificing the natural aesthetic. Clearing some under-story trees and removing dead wood usually enhances the natural feel of a landscape by making it look more like a mature forest. Pruning trees for safety is a craft requiring study and experience. A well-pruned tree should not only be safer, but it should look beautiful. At Brende & Lamb we take great pride in both the science and the art of pruning. Each plant has a natural growth pattern, and our trimmers are expert at accentuating the shape given the plant by nature. Our trimmers are well practiced in aesthetic pruning and are attuned to the artistic flow inherent in tree forms. One form is weeping, as with Willows and Chinese Elms. In some species, such as the Monterey Cypress, branches ascend at acute angles to the trunk, giving the tree an upswept look. Branches in the Coast Live Oak bend and twist, forming complex arcs. Each tree species has a unique form and flow. When necessary, trees and shrubs can be reduced in size, but crown reduction requires a good eye: a poorly reduced tree looks like a thicket of stubs. Topping is almost always a bad idea. However, the crown of many trees can be reduced by cutting back long branches to the crotches formed by shorter branches growing in the same direction. If the branch doesn’t fork, we cut back to the lowest growth point that will neither create a thick stub nor undermine the arching quality of the branch. When a tree or shrub has been reduced in this way, it’s difficult to detect the cuts or tell that the branches have been shortened. If your trees need a little TLC to protect them against winter winds, or if your property could use a little fire protection, please call 510-486-TREE (8733) or email us at bl@brendelamb.com for a free estimate. Additionally, go to our website www.brendelamb.com to see before and after pictures, client testimonials, and work in your neighborhood. Advertorial
Gardening with Kate By Kathleen Guillaume
I half awoke before dawn and could hear rain pattering on my roof and the rattle of wind... Wonderful, I thought, my garden will be so happy. I drifted back to sleep. When I woke up I rushed to my back slider to look outside and saw dry, dry, dry...it was a dream of longing during an Indian summer. We may have to face another dry winter, but my heart is full of hope. However, it is still best to plan for drought when selecting plants and garden projects. October is a time to harvest those remaining tomatoes. Years ago I learned a trick that has worked for me. Often in the fall, at the end of the summer growing season, you will find an abundance of not quite mature tomatoes. If you pull out the plant and hang it upside down in your garage, most of the tomatoes will slowly ripen. This will leave your garden space available for winter crops and let you enjoy the last taste of summer. I never have had luck growing broccoli or cauliflower, so growing in my winter garden I grow several varieties of chard and always some leeks. Homegrown chard beats anything you can buy in a store because you can harvest the outer leaves when they are still tender. Chard is my favorite green. I fry up some chopped bacon, drain off the fat, add brown sugar to caramelize the bacon so it won’t get soggy, then add chard which I’ve cut in strips. I let it wilt down and finish with pepper and a few splashes of rice vinegar. This is my favorite sweet and sour veggie dish. Now is also the time to start growing sweet peas, which I plant from seed. Nurseries carry a large variety of sweet peas including some of the old fashioned varieties which are more fragrant. To prepare sweet peas for planting, you can either soak or nick the seed shell. I am a soaker -- soak the seeds in water overnight and discard any that haven’t plumped. Next, plant them in rich soil according to the seed packet instructions. The sweet peas will need a string or trellis structure to climb unless you plant some of
the newer bush varieties. I plant some in late October, some in late November ,and some in late December to account for any and all weather disasters. If you are lucky enough to belong to the Lafayette Garden Club, you might be able to persuade Diane Pereira to trade some of her seeds. She has a very hardy variety that is old fashioned, highly fragrant, and vigorous growing, and they are a feature of many of her glorious flower arrangements. Sweet peas have been gone too long from the average garden. Burpee has a variety called ‘Incense Peach shades’ which has peach and peach-chiffon blooms. Stop by the seed racks at our local nurseries, and take a look at the sundry varieties. With Halloween on the way, it is pumpkin time. I love the green, blue, and white varieties. However, I know some people are partial to the traditional bright orange varieties. They make attractive porch and house decorations. I find that pumpkins last a lot longer when they aren’t cut up and carved -which is almost a childhood requirement! Try using a glue gun to attach some silk flowers and foliage around the pumpkin stalk, you can easily have some great mini masterpieces for your entry porch or for around your home. They make great arrangements when you vary the pumpkins sizes. If you have azaleas and rhododendrons, it is a perfect time to feed them. With our more temperate weather, the heavy clean-up jobs, like pruning and dividing perennials, can be postponed until November. So, use this first month of autumn to relax and enjoy the cooler weather, and to harvest those last of your summer garden’s bounty. As soon as we have the first crisp evenings, the leaves on our fall trees will begin to turn, and between ginkos, Chinese pastache, sweet gums, and maples we will be brought back to those days of our youth when we raked leaves into large piles that we jumped into and, gathering handfuls, threw them in the air to let them rain down on our heads. If you plan to add a specimen tree to bring fall color to your garden, wait about a week or two into crisp evenings, then go to your nursery and look at the fall colors on each specimen. Never believe what you see on a plant tag as to color. You want to actually view the tree so you can see the depth or brightness of color on it as it will be something that lives for many years. Happy gardening.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Life in the Lafayette Garden
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 15
California Casual By John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect #4059
Over the past 20 years, the introduction of drought tolerant, Mediterranean-based plant material has infiltrated main-stream landscape design styles. The days of junipers, oleanders, Monterey pines, ivy, and oh yes, agapanthus are long gone. When I interview my clients, one of the questions I ask is, “What plants do you absolutely hate?” The above list always contains the unmentionable plants of the 60’s drought era. With the uncertainty of winter rains and the word “drought” being discussed, California’s sensitive water issues are forever present in our minds. Our firm has always integrated water-conserving measures into our design styles as a general practice. Recently, the state has mandated new projects with more than 500 sq. ft. of landscape meet WELO (Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance) guidelines. As a result of this requirement, our landscapes are being planted with a much more diverse and water efficient plant palette. Nursery growers are cultivating a broader spectrum of plant species as well as sub-species and cultivars. What that means in common terms is we have a better selection of plants to be creative with that have lower water requirements. These new selections are not only showing up in boutique nurseries like Orchard Nursery in Lafayette, but they are also showing up at warehouse stores. The result is a landscape style that I call “California Casual” which enhances the home environment with color, texture, and fragrance. The overall look is a mix of mildly manicured plants and structure in the background, an open sprawling look in the foreground, and interesting focal points for directed interest. Background planting is so important because it is what shows off the color, texture, and focal interest. Some good water conserving examples of background plantings are Abelia x grandiflora ‘Sherwoodii’, Choisya ternata ‘Aztec Beauty’ – Mexican Orange, and Rhamnus californica ‘Mound San Bruno’- Coffeeberry to name a few.
Creating a focal point of interest is very important to creating landscape style. You’ve seen landscapes that you can’t quite put your finger on why you don’t like it. Well, it’s because what you are seeing is a mix of one of these, and one of those, and two of these, and three of those. Everything is homogeneous which is boring! Create a focal point by bringing your attention to a beautiful multi-trunk tree like Olea europa ‘Swan Hill’ – fruitless olive, Vitex agnus-castus – Chaste Tree, Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ – Ninebark, a gloriously blooming shrub, or a change of texture. And you don’t need just one focal point, turn a corner and there, is another surprise! Make it fun! Now, for what really brings the “California Casual” style together is the color, texture, and fragrance. Use lots of perennials for color, grasses for texture, and shrubs and vines for smelly stuff. Lavender, catmint, germander, hardy geraniums, hellebores, and day lilies add vivid color in an open-sprawling manner when set off by that structured background. Ornamental grasses can add the dramatic texture that will set any landscape apart from the homogeneous one. With a wide selection of Phormiums – New Zealand flax, Carex - sedge, Festuca - fescues, iris and sub-tropical grasses like Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum Dwarf’ – red fountain grass, a planting design can have drama from spring to late winter with arching blades in various color schemes to whimsical movement of the seed heads. Bring on the fragrance! Daphne, lilac, gardenia, Mexican orange, citrus, lavender, and jasmine can delight your senses from winter to fall. Fragrance adds pleasure to your landscape experience. “California Casual” is a much more relaxed landscape style in comparison to the landscapes of the East Coast and Europe, and landscapes of the 50’s and 60’s. While looking beautiful they conserve our precious water resources.
A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Deadhead (clip off the dying flowers) as the blooms begin to fade to encourage plants to produce more flowers. Also, tell your gardener to leave the power hedge trimmers at home. A “California Casual” landscape requires less watering, pruning, fertilizing, and spraying, thus lowering operating costs and use of resources. Gardening Quote of the Month: “If a person cannot love a plant after he has pruned it, then he has either done a poor job or is devoid of emotion.” ~ Liberty Hyde Bailey If you would like me to write on any particular subject, email your ideas to jmontgomery@jm-la.com or for design ideas visit www.jm-la.com or www. houzz.com/pro/jmla/john-montgomery-landscape-architects. Advertorial
Page 16 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
AAUW Tech Trekkers Thrilled by their Experiences at Grace Hopper STEM Camp By Jan Cushman, Co-Chair, OML-AAUW Tech Trek Initiative and Stanford University Camp Counsellor
“This has truly been one of the most amazing experiences in my lifetime... This camp has helped me gain confidence of who I am as a person, and that doesn’t come around every day” - Reese Six rising 8th grade girls from Lamorinda returned from their week-long Tech Trek camp on the Stanford University campus with glowing reports of fun and learning. The girls attended camp on scholarships sponsored by the Orinda/Moraga/Lafayette branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The girls who went to Stanford this year are Emilia Gutman, Henel Kaidantzis, Abbie Lee, Shannon Lipp, Hannah Liu, and Reese Whipple. The cost to send each girl to Tech Trek camp is currently $900. Tech Trek math/science camp is designed to encourage 7th grade girls to persist with their excitement about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through high school, college, and into their careers. This year, core classes at camp included Computer Coding and Cyber Sleuthing, as well as Marine Biology, CSI forensics, 3D Math, and Engineering Design. At camp, they took apart computers, wrote computer code, dissected fish, solved problems using DNA code, measured vitamin C in chemistry lab, built functional robots that did tricks, and attended field trips to a marsh, Symantec, VMWare, the Stanford blood lab, virtual reality lab, and solar car plant. They also met numerous professional women scientists and engineers, just to mention a few of the activities. “Tech Trek opened up so many doors for me. For example, I never knew I liked astronomy, but because of Tech Trek, I learned that I love astronomy and would like to study it in high school and/or college,” said participant Shannon. “My favorite part of the week was visiting the VMWare company to see how real life programmers work. This experience really was life changing and I wish I could do it again. I grew in so many ways,” said camper Helen. If you would like to donate to the AAUW OML Tech Trek scholarship program, or if you would like to attend a Tech Trek fundraising event such as the Walnut Creek Restaurant Walk on October 18, please contact Jan Cushman at jancushman@comcast.net. The American Association of University Women, empowering women since 1881, was the first organization to provide educational scholarships for women. See the OML-AAUW website for more information: http://oml-ca.aauw.net/tech-trek/.
Motorists continued from front page
the Summit of Mt. Diablo – Scenic Boulevard Will Be Open To Tourists in Week – Supervisors Adopt Toll Rates.” The posted rates: “Automobiles with two passengers $1.00; all others $1.50. Vehicles – two horse $1.50; 4-horse $2.00; 6-horse $2.50. Miscellaneous – individual persons, $.50; each cow, horse, etc. $.10; each sheep, $.05.” Soon automobile companies were doing test runs. A Dodge Brothers car went from the Inn at Mount Diablo Park Club to the summit in one hour and five minutes. Arnold Blackmur, In Old Diablo, cites the engineers’ comments: “The elevation at the Inn is 500 feet, elevation at the summit is 3,849 feet, making the average grade 10%, many sharp turns and pitches measuring as high as 23%. Condition of road, very rough and dusty.” The sport of hill climbing began almost as soon as the first automobile was made. The earliest recorded event near Nice, France occurred January 31, 1897. By 1916, amateur drivers were racing up Mount Diablo. Lenore Barnett of Marin County set a record of 1 hour 45 minutes and five seconds from Oakland to the summit in her Maxwell roadster. An advertisement for the Briscoe 4-cylinder car (Oakland Tribune, October 22, 1916) boasts: “Briscoe Car again smashes Mount Diablo record.” The driver made the run from Oakland to the summit carrying four passengers in 55 minutes, capturing the Mt. Diablo-Savage Trophy. The Tribune High Gear Trophy was also hotly contested. In 1917 reporter Edmund Crinnion rode in the front seat of the winning King “8” driven by George Seely. His February 18 report states; “The car made every foot of the way from the Danville toll gate to a point well above the parking space at the summit in the high-gear carrying a combined passenger load of 698 pounds.” Despite extensive contemporary coverage, when the Alexander Trophy resurfaced in 1995, these motoring exploits were almost forgotten. John Zolomij, Director of the Raymond E. Holland Collection of Automotive Art, was working in Danville in an advisory capacity while the collection was installed at the Behring Museum (now the Blackhawk Museums). He recalls, “I was at an automotive art memorabilia show in Pennsylvania. It was the first year of the show. A gentleman came up to me and asked, ‘Aren’t you doing something in California? There’s a guy in the corner who has a trophy from there.’Another hour and it would have been back in someone’s study. When I called Ken Behring to tell him about getting the Alexander Trophy, he couldn’t believe it. ‘What a find!’ he said.” The Museum still holds the trophy. Engraving reads: “The ALEXANDER TROPHY OFFERED AS A PERPETUAL CHALLANGE ___(word illegible) Mt DIABLO HIGH GEAR CHALLENGE CONTEST.” Winners listed are: Chandler Driven by C.W. Hobson Jan. 23, 1918; Harry L. Kiel with Westcott Jan. 31, 1918; Westcott Feb 4th 1918; Chandler Six Driven by C.W. Hobson April 27, 1923; Devaux 6-75 Sedan Driven by C.W. Hobson Sept 1, 1931. Zolomij asked Mount Diablo Interpretive Association for information. Edith Valle-Riestra tackled the project. Most contacts on her extensive list had little or no knowledge of the races, but eventually her diligence netted several newspaper articles. Oakland resident H.O. Alexander, sales manager of B.F. Goodrich’s Pacific Coast branch, was a member of the Mount Diablo Park Club. His trophy was awarded to the six-cylinder strictly stock car using only ordinary grade gasoline and oil driven the farthest on the Mount Diablo grade in high gear carrying four passengers with a combined weight of not less than 650 pounds. United States entrance into World War I dealt Burgess financial defeat. With his bankruptcy, properties he held reverted to original owners or defaulted to investors. Fortuitously, Walter
See Motorists continued on page 19
Automobile manufacturers proved the reliability of their products on Mount Diablo’s steep roads. (Oakland Tribune, Oct. 22, 1916)
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Children and the Money Talk
By George M. Noceti, CRPS® -Wealth Advisor and Paul A. Noceti, Financial Planning Specialist with The Integra Group at Morgan Stanley
Intergenerational wealth planning is best achieved as a team in order to plan for the things and people you love most. Over the next three decades, we are poised to witness the largest wealth transfer in history as $6 trillion will be passed on to younger family members in the U.S.1 Are you having the “Money Talk” with your children? Parents are making it a priority to pass down to their children the knowledge and tools necessary to responsibly handle a significant inheritance. They often feel their children’s values may become distorted by the comforts and benefits that wealth provides if not given the proper guidance. Ultimately, these parents fear the next generation will squander their wealth rather than use it as a tool for positive change. Generally, the inheritor can feel one of two ways: grounded and financially empowered, or they can experience a lack of self-esteem and guilt over receiving funds they didn’t work for. But there are several steps that parents can take to help ensure the wealth they’ve protected will both endure and be used wisely by generations to come. Among these first steps are getting organized and having certain vital documents in place, keeping the lines of communication open with their children, and involving them at the start of the financial decision-making process.
Estate Planning
Documenting your decisions about how your portfolio should be managed, who will receive your assets and in what manner it will be received are all important factors to take into consideration when drafting a trust or will. Parents who create trusts may find comfort in knowing that their children and grandchildren will benefit from a properly managed inheritance, and that their assets will continue to be used in a way that reflects their values.
Communication
Equally as important is communicating the details of your estate plan to your children and periodically revising those documents as circumstances change (e.g., marriages, births, illnesses or a changing economy). When parents communicate with their children about their values and expectations for the family nest egg, children are more likely to be prepared when they receive it and may also better understand their parents’ motivations. Likewise, parents are more likely to feel assured that their legacy will live on as their children and other beneficiaries learn to invest money and make contributions to society via philanthropic giving. Hosting regular family meetings provides a space where your closest loved ones can share both expectations and concerns, discuss issues, and reach agreements together. Some families go as far as developing a family “mission statement” that outlines shared family values and determines common objectives. Children should be involved in these processes from an early age.
Financial Decision-Making
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 17 measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound). Further, allowing children to participate in decisions regarding investments and philanthropic endeavors instills a sense of responsibility and ownership in the process and decisions that are made. When the time comes, these traits and others may prepare them to manage the family legacy both intelligently and responsibly. The good news is that the task of transferring wealth from one generation to the next can be eased. Parents may achieve the results they desire, through a multigenerational effort involving collaborative planning and open channels of communication. As a business magnate, entrepreneur and philanthropist once said, “…With great wealth comes great responsibility…to give back to society and…to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way…” – Bill Gates. The sooner you have “the Money Talk” with your children, the better it may be for both your and their own future. Contact us for further information on how our advice can better help you plan financially for you and your children. Also contact us for a complimentary Medicare Review, Social Security Review and understanding the new rules, 529 Plans, and a Financial Plan Review, please contact us at George M. Noceti, CRPS® - Wealth Advisor at (925)746-2982, via email at george.noceti@morganstanley. com, or visit our website at www.ms.com/fa/theintegragroup. Connect on LinkedIn: George M. Noceti, CRPS®. Follow me on Twitter: @GNocetiMS. 1 Source: Wealth Management Systems Inc., a DST company. Returns based on yearly total return of the S&P 500 for the period from January 1, 1928, to December 31, 2014. The S&P 500 has performance data going back to 1926, including the elections that occurred in 1928 and every four years thereafter. It is an unmanaged index generally considered representative of the US stock market. Investors cannot invest directly in any index. Index returns do not represent the performance of any actual investment and do not reflect the costs and commissions associated with investing. Past performance does not predict future results. STANDARD DEVIATION. A statistical measure of volatility (risk) demonstrating the degree to which an investment’s returns have varied over time. Asset Allocation does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining financial markets. The opinions expressed by the authors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and data in the article or publication has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Neither the information provided nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation by Morgan Stanley with respect to the purchase or sale of any security, investment, strategy or product that may be mentioned. © 2016 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. Advertorial
TeleCare Connects with the Homebound
Since 1971, member volunteers of TeleCare, a philanthropic program of Assistance League® of Diablo Valley, have been making daily reassurance calls, Monday through Friday, to those in our community who are homebound. As the chapter’s longest standing philanthropic program, TeleCare empowers the clients, no matter what their ages, to remain in their homes. What ensures this is a daily confidential journal kept for each client that member volunteers consult prior to the phone calls then update accordingly. Last year alone, member volunteers devoted 765 hours to connecting with homebound clients. Unfortunately, many clients are socially isolated and don’t have anyone to check on them daily. Statistics indicate that loneliness can cause a 20% decline in health, a number that increases for seniors, the elderly and the homebound. TeleCare not only offsets that statistic, it ultimately serves as a safety net for clients and their families especially if volunteer callers are unable to reach the client. If you live alone or know someone who does, a daily phone call would be a great way to stay connected with life and make new friends. Other TeleCare activities include attending an annual holiday party to meet fellow clients and member volunteers face to face, as well as receiving greeting cards from the Assisteens®, an auxiliary where kids learn to participate in a community service at a young age. To help, or for more information about TeleCare, please call (925) 934-0901.
Providing children at an early age with safe, hands-on money management experience teaches them to prioritize and make SMART goals (specific,
The “Good Old Days” are now!
Rates are better than 50-60 years ago (see proof above)
The Alison Company Nationwide Financing on Commercial Property
Douglas Scott DRE#00859191 | Kevin Corstorphine DRE#01944908
805.845.5200
Dscott@alisonmortgage.com | Kevin@alisonmortgage.com
www.alisonmortgage.com
Lic# 1100014354; Bay Area Entertainment
Page 18 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Menopause Matters
By Timothy Leach, MD, FACOG, CNMP
Prior columns defined Vitamin D’s role in osteoporosis and why you should care about your bone health. This column reviews risk factors that may predispose you to hip fracture and offers recommendations to reduce that risk. Some risk factors in women are not modifiable: menopause, thin stature, age, and genetics (mom having osteoporosis increases your chances of having osteoporosis), parent with hip fracture, rheumatoid arthritis, long term steroid use. Modifiable risk factors include increased intake of calcium/vitamin D, not smoking, and consuming less than three alcoholic beverages daily. Weight-bearing and strength-training exercises are beneficial to bone development and maintenance. Patients often discuss with their physicians medicines that intend to reduce the risk of hip fractures but overlook the significant risk reduction from fall prevention strategies. Among women aged 75 years and older, muscle strengthening and balance exercises have been shown to reduce the risk of falls and fall-related injuries by 75%. Falls are a precipitating factor in 90% of all fractures, including hip fracture. In the US and Canada approximately 1/3 of women older than 60 fall at least once a year. The incidence of falls increases with age, rising to a 50% annual risk in women over 80 years. Poor vision, hearing, balance, and muscle weakness become critical determinants of fall risk. A risk for falling is a prior fall, and having two or more falls in the last year significantly increases the risk for future falls. This, however, is preventable. If you or a loved one is falling, then seeing your family doctor, neurologist, or geriatrician is important to evaluate balance and gait, lower extremity strength, sensation and coordination, visual impairment, cognitive impairment, footwear, and foot problems. Medications like anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, anti-epileptics, and anti-hypertensives can also contribute to fall risk. An often overlooked area of risk is the home. A review of your home can
www.yourmonthlypaper.com include adjusting or eliminating safety hazards in the following areas: Lighting: Provide ample lighting, easy-to-locate light switches, night lights to illuminate pathways, lights on at all stairways. Obstructions: Remove clutter and low-lying objects, remove raised door sills to ensure smooth transitions. Floors and carpets: Provide nonskid rugs on slippery floors, use nonskid floor wax and repair worn, buckled, or curled carpet. Furniture: Arrange furniture to ensure clear pathways, remove or avoid low chairs and armless chairs, adjust bed height if too high or low. Storage: Install shelves and cupboards at an accessible height, keep frequently used items at waist height. Bathroom: Install grab bars in tub, shower, and near the toilet; use a chair in shower and tub, install nonskid strips/decals in tub and shower, elevate low toilet seat, or install safety frame. Stairways and Halls: Install handrails on both sides of stairs, remove or take down throw rugs and runners, repair loose and broken steps, install nonskid treads on steps. Helpful websites for fall prevention are: • Center for Disease Control - www.cdc.gov/injury/STEADI • National osteoporosis foundation - www.nof.org • American Bone Health - https://americanbonehealth.org/what-you-shouldknow/exercise • Geriatric Bone Health/Physical Therapy - http://geriatricspt.org/index.cfm • UCSF - http://ptrehab.ucsf.edu/stand-tall Join us on Saturday, October 1st from 10 – 11AM for an office open house and brief presentation on perimenopause and menopausal genito-urinary sexual health. I will review the North American Menopausal Society’s (NAMS) recommended strategies to keep that “spark alive.” Coffee and pastries will be served. For more information, visit our Facebook page at Timothy A Leach MD. Visit my website at www.leachobgyn.com for links to resources and our Facebook page, Timothy Leach MD, for more information. My office is located at 110 Tampico, Suite 210 in Walnut Creek. Please call us at 925-935-6952. Advertorial
Hope Hospice Offers Classes for Family Caregivers Hope Hospice will hold two different classes for family caregivers in October.
Understanding Advanced Illness: A Palliative Care Perspective • Saturday, October 8 • 9:45AM - noon
At times, it seems as if what may have started out as a single medical diagnosis morphs into many, especially with the elderly patient. This session looks at a variety of illnesses and provides guidance in determining when curative care may become palliative (comfort) care. Caregivers will receive valuable information on the most prevalent co-existing medical conditions among the elderly and chronically ill. The featured speaker will be Cynthia Gassmann, RN, Director of Patient Care Services, Hope Hospice.
Essential Skills for the Family Caregiver • Saturday, October 22 • 9:45AM -noon
Many family caregivers are asked to perform a variety of medical or nursing tasks, enabling their loved ones to remain at home. Hope Hospice staff members Jill Biggs, RN; Kari Rayford, LVN, Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse; Socorro Garcia, Home Hospice Aide; and Debbie Emerson, Community and Family Health Educator, will be on hand to share their expertise. They will help train caregivers in basic skills such as medication management, wound care, operating medical equipment, bathing, toileting, transferring, understanding medical terminology, and implementing personal and home safety measures. Any community member engaged in the role of family caregiver or expecting to soon become a caregiver is invited to attend these classes. Light refreshments will be served. Classes will be held at Hope Hospice, 6377 Clark Avenue, Suite 100, Dublin (2nd floor conference room). Register online at HopeHospice.com or contact Hope Hospice Community Education Volunteer Debbie Emerson at debbiee@ hopehospice.com. Hope Hospice’s Family Caregiver Education Series offers 12 classes designed to provide training, education, support, and resources for those caring for loved ones with chronic or disabling conditions. For more information about other TM sessions, visit HopeHospice.com. These programs are available at no cost to all community members; however, donations to Hope Hospice are greatly appreciated.
DONATE YOUR CAR!
About Hope Hospice
For more than 35 years, Hope Hospice has provided personalized end-of-life care to families in the Tri-Valley and surrounding communities. As a community-led, non-profit organization, Hope Hospice offers services regardless of insurance, income status, nation of origin, or religion. Staff is available 24/7. Hope Hospice is accredited by the Joint Commission, licensed by the State of California Department of Health Services and Medicare/Medi-Cal certified. Learn more at HopeHospice.com or call (925) 829-8770.
Cars • Trucks • Vans • Boats • Real Estate Live Operators on hand 7 days a week Tax deduction • All transfer documents handled Free pick-up • Running or not in most cases
888-694-5250
www.thefallenheroes.org
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Your Personal Nutritionist
How Much Sugar is OK for Children By Linda Michaelis RD, MS
Have you heard of the new recommendations from the American Heart Association addressing sugar for children? Sugar is getting daily front page coverage these days as it is a major contributor to obesity and diabetes in our kids. We are being told that children, aged 2-18, should consume no more than six teaspoons of added sugars daily which is equivalent to about 100 calories or 25 grams. What does this really mean?
Added Sugars
Sugars in your diet can be naturally occurring or added. Naturally occurring sugars in foods are found in fruit (fructose) and milk (lactase). Added sugars are sugars themselves and syrups that are put into foods during preparation or processing or that are added at the table. The major added sugars are found in sodas, candy, cakes, cookies, yogurts, cereals, granola bars, flavored bagels, and flavored syrups that are added to frappacinos. You should ask for two pumps of flavored syrup or half the normal amount.
Now Let’s Do the Math
You need to remember that one teaspoon of sugar is equal to four grams. The problem is food labels express the amount of sugar in “grams” rather than teaspoons. To calculate teaspoons of sugar in a Chobani Blueberry yogurt, you divide grams by four. The yogurt has 30 grams of sugar, so dividing 30 by four you roughly get eight teaspoons of sugar. My 16 year old client Brad had been diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1. Breakfast consisted of two cups of Raisin Bran, a cup of milk, and a glass of orange juice. Each cup of Raisin Bran has 20 grams or five teaspoons of sugar, so his two cups of cereal consisted of 10 teaspoons of sugar (40 grams divided by four). The cup of milk (lactase) he added to the cereal has 12 grams or three teaspoons of sugar. The small glass of orange juice added 20 grams or four teaspoons of sugar. Adding that up we get 17 teaspoons of sugar. Brad was shocked and almost fell off his chair. And that was only breakfast!
Motorists continued from page 16
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 19
Hidden Sugars with Different Names
Look at the list of ingredients because sugar has many names. Besides those ending in “ose” such as sucrose, you will see corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, corn sweetener, agave nectar, date sugar, palm sugar, coconut sugar and beet sugar, barley malt syrup, maltodextrin, raw sugar, honey, and fruit juice concentrates.
Recommendations for Family Members
I tell my clients that they can enjoy their desserts and fruit, but sweets should be consumed after a meal, not haphazardly during the day. Sweets eaten between meals make us hungry soon after consumed so we become famished for our next meal and then overeat. A dessert is a wonderful celebration of life and should be eaten mindfully after a balanced meal when we can control our portion size. I recommend to my clients who love sweets to enjoy a sweet serving after lunch and dinner, equal to 100 calories each or roughly 15 grams of sugar. This would be consistent with the new guidelines where it represents 25 grams of added sugar each day. A treat may be a Fudgeicle, a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich, or two Oreos. Stay away from granola bars for breakfast or energy bars because they do not fill you up even though they say they have a lot of protein and fiber. When I look at food diaries, I see my clients eating soon after they eat one of these bars, making it clear to me they are being taken in by the media, thinking they are a great meal replacement or snack. They are all on the sweet side which causes people to want even more sweets to satisfy their sweet tooth. When you are hungry you need real food that provides protein and fiber like roasted turkey wrapped around a pickle. This statement from the AHA will help parents understand the stakes and consciously target the right amount of sugar in their family’s diet. It would be my great pleasure to work with your family and get them started on a healthy eating plan that does contain sugar in a reasonable manner.
Nutritional Counselling is Covered by Insurance
ABMG, Aetna, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Health Net, Hill , Sutter and other companies cover nutritional counseling. Refer to www. LindaRD. com for information about my services. Call me (925) 855-0150 or email at lifeweight1@yahoo.com Advertorial
P. Frick joined the Mount Diablo Park Club in 1917. By 1919 Frick was reassembling many of the parcels Burgess had controlled into the 10.000-acre Diablo Ranch. In his two-part article on Frick (Diablo Watch, 2004) Seth Adams writes: “It was about the same time that public discussion began about preserving the mountain as a state park.” The 1921 dedication of Mount Diablo State Park created an entity in name only. Motoring competitions continued. Frick personally presented a trophy to the Ford dealers of Alameda and Contra Costa counties as the Berkeley Daily Gazette, January 5, 1924, reports. A 1918 Ford with 75,000 miles on the odometer and a new 1924 Ford made the high gear run. “Owing to recent rains, the The Alexander Trophy was awarded in Mount Diablo high-gear cars had to contend with deep mud and slush and even with snow on the final grades.” challenge contests three times in 1918 and again in 1923 and Where would Save Mount Diablo be today if co-founder Mary Bowerman hadn’t owned her Nash? 1931. (photo courtesy of the Blackhawk Museums) Bowerman was assigned to investigate Mount Diablo flora because no one else in her UC Berkeley botany class had a car. In a 1997 interview with Galen Rowell, she recalls; “I started going up there every week about a year before the top became a state park in 1931. There was a private toll road with a steep entrance fee, but when I went to the owner in Oakland and told him I was studying all the flowering plants and ferns and didn’t want to pay each time, he graciously agreed.” 1929’s Stock Market crash undermined Frick’s finances. He needed to sell some land. Mackesey explains, “In 1931, a public/private matching fund California State Park Bond issue cleared the way for the first purchase of land, and the $20,000 private match was gifted by Diablo Country Club member John Irvine, to acquire the 328 acres that included Rock City. With this purchase, the toll road became a public road, and the future of the park was assured.” Celebrating the transition from magnet for motoring enthusiasts to public park, a cavalcade of 5001,000 cars headed to the second dedication of Mount Diablo State Park on April 26, 1931. Torrential rains disrupted the parade. Thunder punctuated the governor’s reception, hastily moved from Rock City to Diablo Country Club. (Special thanks to Timothy McGrane and the Blackhawk Museums, David Mackesey and Edith Valle-Riestra for sharing archival Motorists enjoyed hill climbing competitions on Mount Diablo until the State Park opened in 1931. Drivers celebrate reaching the summit materials.) c.1920. (photo courtesy of Beverly Lane and Ralph Cozine)
Page 20 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Genomic Tests Help Breast Cancer Patients By Christine Chung, MD
Jane is a 60 year old grandmother who just found out that she has breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy of the right breast, and the breast tumor was removed. She is worried because the surgery showed a two centimeter invasive ductal carcinoma. After dealing with the stress of the diagnosis, surgery, and now confronted with a recommendation to begin chemotherapy, she asked, “Doctor, do I really need to have chemo?” Oncologists consider various clinical factors before recommending chemotherapy for a patient. These include the patient’s age, the tumor size, the grade of the tumor (tumors are graded based on how aggressive the cells appear under the microscope), and the number of lymph nodes containing cancer cells at the time of diagnosis. Also, the expression of various receptors on the tumor cells – the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and her2 neu receptor – also help to identify high-risk patients who would benefit from chemotherapy. But the analysis doesn’t stop with the clinical diagnosis; in our arsenal of diagnostic tools, we also have genomic assays that can help assess if a patient may benefit from chemotherapy. These genomic assays test a piece of the patient’s breast tumor to see which genes are turned on in the cancer cells. The expression of these genes is used to estimate the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence elsewhere in the body. These genomic tests, known commercially as Oncotype Dx, Mammaprint, or PAM 50, can further guide oncologists in giving chemotherapy recommendations. How much weight should a doctor place on a genetic test, particularly when it conflicts with the clinical diagnosis? A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine (Cardoso et al) identified 1,550 breast cancer patients with high-risk clinical features, for whom chemotherapy would normally be recommended. However, the genomic test classified these same patients as low risk. These “clinical high risk/genomic low risk” patients were then randomly assigned to receive chemotherapy. After five years, 96% of patients who received chemotherapy were alive and cancer-free, while 94.4% of patients who avoided chemotherapy were free of disease. Thus, the survival was similar among patients classified by the genomic test as low risk, regardless of whether they received chemotherapy. Dr. Tiffany Svahn, a breast cancer specialist at Diablo Valley Oncology, said that the “genomic evaluation of breast tumors prevents us from over-treating many patients, which is what we did before we had genomic testing. These assays have benefitted so many women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.” Creating a cancer therapy plan is a complicated and nuanced process requiring a thorough discussion with your oncologist about clinical, genetic, lifestyle, and other factors. These genomic tests are an important addition in the decisionmaking process, though the chemotherapy decision remains a complex one. Christine Chung, MD is a board certified Radiation Oncologist with Diablo Valley Oncology & Hematology Medical Group and practices in Pleasant Hill and Berkeley. For more information, please call 925-6775041 or visit www.dvohmg.com. Advertorial
Lic# 1100014354; Bay Area Entertainment
www.yourmonthlypaper.com
Knockers continued from front page
Riley-Paull – who make and supply their handiwork for free. Riley-Paull started volunteering after seeing a KnittedKnocker.org advertisement in an online knitting magazine. “I thought, WOW, this would be the perfect group for me because I work extensively with breast cancer patients, AND I knit and crochet,” says Riley-Paull. “The idea of a soft washable prosthesis made complete sense to me. I immediately began making the knockers myself and started giving them to the patients who wanted them.” Soon she was organizing knitted knocker efforts throughout Northern California, and now the organization has several sub-groups throughout the Bay Area. A Sacramento branch is also now forming. “All the branches work together to help each other,” says Riley-Paull. “While we are not a formal group, we are definitely a community. Volunteers may make the knockers on their own time and some volunteers make several knockers and send them in all at once. Some prefer to make them to order as the requests come in. There is no minimum number or upper limit to how many can be made, and there is no obligatory time commitment.” Due to swelling and tenderness, most mastectomy patients have to wait at least six weeks after surgery for a permanent, custom-made prostheses. The knitted (or crocheted) knockers are soft enough and comfortable enough to be worn right away after surgery, and some women even prefer to use them long term. Knitted Knockers are made of non-wool, machine washable and dryable yarn, and are filled with PolyFiberFil. (Clear, well-written patterns and videos for double pointed needles, circular needles, straight needles, knitting looms, or crochet hooks can be found on the KnittedKnockers.org site). Sizing can be customized by adding or subtracting the filling through an opening at the back. They can be worn with any regular bra, sports bra, mastectomy bra, or post-op camisole, and depending on the type of bra, they can also be lightly sewn into the bra for added comfort. “We would absolutely love it if all knitters and crocheters could help out by making these knockers,” continues Riley-Paull. “We have a steady demand for them in all sizes. Finished knockers can be dropped off at FashionKnit yarn store in Walnut Creek (1876 Ygnacio Valley Road). FashionKnit has been extremely generous to us and hosts an afternoon knocker-making group sessions on the first Saturday of every month. We also accept monetary donations which are used for postage. All knockers are provided free of charge to those in need of them.” “One of my greatest joys is getting a call from a doctor requesting more knockers,” says Demorest. “One nurse said to me, ‘I sure wish you could be there when we have a woman who is dejected, wondering what they are going to do, and we bring out the bag of knockers. They always bring a smile to their face at a difficult time, and sometimes they bring tears.’ I don’t need to be there to see it. I know, because I was one of them.” For more information, please visit www.knittedknockers.org.
Hospice Volunteers Needed
Hospice of the East Bay is seeking volunteers to assist Hospice patients and their caregivers. Opportunities include: • Licensed Hair Stylists to offer hair cuts and styling • Certified Massage Therapists to provide massage therapy • Administrative Support Volunteers to assist in the Pleasant Hill office • Thrift Shoppe Volunteers to work in one of the organization’s five stores which are located in Alamo, Concord, Martinez, Danville, and Walnut Creek. • Bereavement Support Volunteers to provide support to family members after their loved one has died • Patient Support Volunteers to provide companionship and practical assistance To apply for free training, call Hospice at (925) 887-5678 and ask for the Volunteer Department, or email volunteers@hospiceeastbay.org. Established in 1977, Hospice of the East Bay is a not-for-profit agency that helps people cope with end of life by providing medical, emotional, spiritual, and practical support for patients and families, regardless of their ability to pay. To learn more or to make a donation of time or money, please contact (925) 887-5678 or visit www.hospiceeastbay.org.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month By Dr. Charleen Lee Kim, West Coast Surgical Associates
Not so many years ago, a patient went to surgery not knowing whether she would wake up with her breast or if it would be removed. She would have biopsy under general anesthesia to remove a lump in the breast, determine if it was cancer, and then if it was cancer, almost always undergo a mastectomy. We have developed much better tools to make the diagnosis, and become much more sophisticated in tailoring treatment to each patient. We utilize simpler operations. The result is fewer complications and better results. Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, and that risk can double if there is a strong family history. Early detection can improve outcomes. Breast cancer can be detected by selfbreast examination, clinical breast examination (done by your physician), screening mammogram, or ultrasound. Every woman over age 40 should have a discussion with her physician about when it is appropriate for her to start screening and how often she should be screened. If an abnormality is identified by physical examination or imaging, a biopsy of tissue should be taken to determine if the abnormality is cancer. Biopsy is often done in the office by a breast surgeon or radiologist using ultrasound and local anesthetic. Once a diagnosis of breast cancer is made, the patient will meet and discuss treatment options with a team of doctors that focus their practice on the treatment of breast cancer: The Breast Surgeon is often the first specialist consulted. Today’s breast surgeon concentrates practice on breast surgery, often has developed advanced skills in both ultrasound breast evaluation and oncoplastic tissue rearrangement, and will be a mentor and navigator for the patient. The breast surgeon will discuss different options for surgery and the timing of surgery. In the past, all women with breast cancer had the same operation—a mastectomy.
Brainwaves by Betsy Streeter
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 21 However, we now know that patients get the same results when only the lump of breast tissue with the cancer is removed (partial mastectomy or lumpectomy) leaving the breast intact as long as the patient also receives breast radiation treatment. New techniques in breast surgery emphasize incisions in areas of the breast that hide well and the rearrangement of remaining breast tissue so the patient is left with a cosmetically acceptable scar and less deformity of the contour of the breast. Mastectomy is still an option for treatment in some patients and can be done in conjunction with reconstruction of the breast by a plastic surgeon using either implants, or the patient’s own tissue can be used to reconstruct the breast contour. The Radiation Oncologist provides radiation to the patient after breast conserving surgery, and sometimes after mastectomy. There are several different ways of giving radiation. The newest technique, which is still under clinical investigation, is intraoperative where the radiation is given to the patient in one dose while she is in the operating room and asleep during surgery. Then, there is accelerated partial breast irradiation using a catheter that is placed in the lumpectomy cavity in order to limit radiation to the rest of the surrounding tissues. This kind of radiation is usually given over five days. Whole breast radiation is the standard radiation given to patients over a five week period. The kind of radiation that is best suited for the patient will be determined after a discussion between the radiation oncologist, the breast surgeon, and the patient. The Medical Oncologist is the “Cancer Doctor.” The oncologist specializes in chemotherapy and hormonal treatment. Often surgery is done first followed by these oncologic medications to keep the cancer away. Some breast cancers should be treated first with medication (chemotherapy or hormonal therapy) to shrink the cancer and allow for a better surgery. Breast cancer treatment is constantly improving as a result of research being done and newer advances looking at genes and special characteristics of the breast cancer. Breast cancer treatment today is no longer “one size fits all” as it has been in the past. It is now tailored to each individual patient and their specific breast cancer type. As part of the breast cancer treatment team, we specialize in counseling patients every step of the way and keeping them informed of all their treatment options so that they are an integral part of the decision-making process. Dr. Charleen Lee Kim is a board certified general surgeon who is a Diplomate of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. She practices with West Coast Surgical Associates -- offices in Walnut Creek, San Ramon, and Concord. Call 925- 933-0984 to schedule an appointment. You can view her on www. wcsurgeons.com. Advertorial
Is Food a Problem for You?
Overeaters Anonymous offers a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from compulsive overeating. This is a 12-step program. The free meetings are for anyone suffering from a food addiction including overeating, under-eating, and bulimia. The group meets Wednesdays at 6PM at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Lafayette. Visit www.how-oa.org for more information.
Scouts continued from front page
which included many hours of hard work, fundraising, and marketing. The girls held a garage sale with the other members of their troop to raise money. They then gathered their ideas for the event and met with Stanley Principal David Schrag and counselor Tiffany Sullivan who were enthusiastic about the idea. To prepare for the event they spent many sessions creating a presentation, covering everything from the Stanley dress code and block schedule to what to do if students experience bullying. The Scouts created a flyer and invited all of Lafayette’s 5th grade girls. The Scouts set a goal of 50 participants and were excited to host 115 girls at their event. The day began by introducing Stanley’s Principal Schrag and Counselor Sullivan in addition to four 6th grade teachers. They then gave the 5th graders a tour of the school before gathering in the gym for their Power Point presentation. They answered multiple questions from the 5th grade girls, and the event concluded with handing out a “Stanley girl’s survival kit” to each participant. The event was a huge success, and the Scouts hope that the incoming 6th grade girls left feeling more comfortable, prepared, and excited about attending Stanley Middle School this year.
Page 22 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
Events for Lafayette Seniors
All classes are held at the Lafayette Senior Center (LSC), located at 500 Saint Mary’s Rd in Lafayette, unless otherwise noted. Space is limited. Please call 925-284-5050 to reserve a spot. Unless otherwise mentioned, events are free for members and $10 for non-members.
Lunch n’ Learn: Emergency Preparedness: We’ll Help You Get Ready! 10:30 – noon • Jennifer Russell Building, LCC - We all have the best
intentions to be prepared for emergencies, but it’s a task many of us leave undone on our “to do” lists. These workshops will demonstrate just how easy it is to be prepared. RSVP at Seniors@LoveLafayette.org or 284-5050. • Session 2 ~ 10/12, RSVP by 10/5 Hands-on Workshop: Use a fire extinguisher. Turn off a gas main. Learn about the “Neighborhood Readiness” concept. See the items you need for your “Go Bag,” car kit and home emergency supply kit, and more. • Session 3 ~ 10/19, RSVP by 10/12 Progress Checkup and Next Steps: How did you do with your preparations? Were you able to locate your gas main and practice turning it off and on? Is your “Go Bag” complete and in position? We’ll help you prioritize your next steps and tie up any loose ends so you’re fully prepared. Let’s Do Lunch! 1st Tuesday monthly • 11:30AM- Discover and explore the various dining experiences in the Lamorinda area. Relax, dine, meet new people, socialize, and enjoy lively conversation! Space is limited. Contact Lafayette Senior Services for the schedule of restaurants and to make your reservations. Individuals will pay for their own lunches; the restaurants will provide separate checks. This interest group is offered in conjunction with Lamorinda Village, www.lamorindavillage.org. Anne Randolph Physical Therapy Presentation Wednesday, October 26 • 11:30AM – 12:30PM • Cedar Room, LSC - Art of Balance: If you are worried about falling or are at risk of falling, you should know about activities that improve balance. Learn how to gain increased balance and avoid the risk of falling. Discovering Opera: Rossini’s The Barber of Seville Thursday, November 3 • 1:30 – 3PM • Lafayette Library, Arts & Science Room - Dr. Bartolo, an elderly gentleman and guardian of the young and beautiful Rosina, wants to marry her. Enter the dashing young Count Almaviva, who has fallen in love with Rosina at first sight. Figaro, the barber of Seville and jack of many other trades as well, helps the Count gain entrance to Dr. Bartolo’s home, woo Rosina, and marry her practically under Dr. Bartolo’s nose. Lecturer Bradford Wade will give a guided tour of The Barber of Seville with a description of the plot interspersed with musical examples. This lecture is given in conjunction with Opera San José’s production of The Barber of Seville, November 12-27. Apple Basics 1st & 3rd Thursdays • 11AM – 12:30PM • Elderberry Room, LSC - This on-going series covers topics for Apple devices such as the technology needed for wireless communication, your Apple ID, iTunes, iCloud, and the basics of iPad and iPhone usage. Topics for future sessions will be determined by participants’ input and needs. There will be time for Q&A at the end of each class. Lamorinda Tea Dance Wednesdays • 1 – 3:30PM • Live Oak Room, LSC Enjoy afternoon dancing every Wednesday, and learn some great new dance moves. On the first Wednesday monthly, professional dancers Karen and Michael will provide a dance lesson and live DJ services, playing your favorites and taking requests.
Words of Wisdom...From the Philosophical to the Lighthearted
3rd Tuesday Monthly • 10:30AM–noon • Toyon Room, LSC Share your opinions with us in a freewheeling exchange of ideas: from current events to philosophy to the inspirational. There may be agreement or there may be different opinions -- it’s all in the spirit of learning, sharing, enrichment, and good humor. Our “elder perspective” frequently sounds a lot like wisdom! Reservoir Walking Group Tuesdays and Thursdays • 9AM – 10:30AM • Meet at reservoir at 8:45AM center bench on the dam - Led by Jim Scala, Lafayette Today’s “Walking the Reservoir” columnist. Join us for camaraderie, fresh air, and enjoyable exercise. Optional bonus: at the end of the walk, Jim will lead you through easy yoga poses and breathing exercises in the most beautiful outdoor yoga studio: the band stage overlooking the water. Increase your balance and fitness, both physical and mental, and leave each week feeling uplifted and radiating that overall sense of well-being! Please call (925) 284-5050 or email seniors@lovelafayette.org to add your name to the email notification list. Bring quarters or a credit card for the parking meter. Annual senior (62+) passes may be purchased at the reservoir visitor center. Positive Living Forum (“Happiness Club”) 2nd Thursday monthly • 10:30AM – noon • Sequoia Room, LSC - Brighten your day with Dr. Bob
www.yourmonthlypaper.com Nozik, MD, Prof. Emeritus UCSF and author of Happy 4 Life: Here’s How to Do It. Brighten your day and take part in this interactive gathering which features speakers on a wide range of topics that guide participants toward a more ideal and positive life experience. Drop-ins welcome! Free Peer Counseling 2nd Tuesday monthly • 10AM - noon • Alder Room, LSC - Contra Costa Health Services offers free one-on-one counseling with senior (55+) counselors who use their life experiences to help other older adults cope with life changes, problems, crises, and challenges. Confidentiality is strictly observed. Appointment required. Please call Lafayette Senior Services to sign up for one of the 60-minute appointments. Lamorinda Nature Walk and Bird-Watching Wednesdays • 9AM - noon • Alder Room, LSC - Experience nature at its finest along our local trails. Delight in the beauty that unfolds around each bend, all the while learning to identify a variety of birds. Bring a water bottle; binoculars will be helpful if you have them. Join us every Wednesday or whenever you are able. For more information or to place your name on the route email/phone list, call Lafayette Seniors Services. Hearing Screening September 7 & October 5 • 1 - 2:20PM • Alder Room, LSC - Please call Lafayette Senior Services to make an appointment. Minimum of two sign-ups required in order for hearing screenings to take place. Drop-In Mah Jongg! Tuesdays • 12:30-3:30 • Sequoia Room, LSC - Calling all Mah Jongg players! Bring your card and mah jongg set, and join us every Tuesday afternoon. This group is for all levels. Smart Driver 8-Hour Course November 8 & 10 • 9AM-1PM • Elderberry Room, LSC - Refine your driving skills, develop safe and defensive techniques, and possibly lower your insurance premium. Max: 25 paid registrants. First come, first served, by date check is received. Send check, made payable to AARP, to Lafayette Senior Services, 500 Saint Mary’s Rd., Lafayette, CA 94549. Important: Prior to sending a check, please call 284-5050 to determine space availability. $15 AARP Members • $20 Non-Members of AARP.
Caring Hands
Reaching Out to Seniors One at a Time
Life at any age involves challenges, but these intensify as we age. The first concern may be that it becomes too difficult to drive to the doctor or the grocery store, or to just get a haircut. Support systems change, neighbors and friends may not help as expected, and loneliness may put a damper on daily routines. Caring Hands volunteers offer friendship that makes an extraordinary difference in the quality of life for many of our seniors. Here are just a few of the words grateful care receivers have used to describe their relationship with their volunteer match: “When she came, it was as if a heavy burden was lifted off my shoulders. She is my angel.” “Not only does it allow me to have an intelligent friend, but it relieves me from having to take public transportation which causes me pain every time.” Caring Hands Volunteer Caregivers Program, a collaborative community outreach program between John Muir Health, social service agencies, congregations of various faiths and the community-at-large, creates finely-tuned one-on-one matches. The Caring Hands Program is dedicated to helping aging adults in Contra Costa County remain independent as long as safely possible. Isolation and loneliness shorten lives and may make health problems worse. If making time to volunteer is on your to-do list, consider joining Caring Hands as a caregiver or even as an occasional driver. Enriching matches are created; loving friendships and deep relationships are formed. Care receivers treasure a friendly visit, a walk in the park or other social outing. Reading mail, letter writing, or providing respite care to give a break to a family member are thoughtful services that can make a big difference to a frail or isolated senior. Since so many older adults need transportation to doctor’s appointments or stores, the best volunteer for Caring Hands is someone who is available once a week for 1-3 hours on a weekday and who can provide transportation. Volunteers receive ongoing education, support and recognition of their efforts. Perhaps you can be that friend who gives a waiting senior hope and help. The next training session in Walnut Creek will be held on Friday, November 18 from 9AM -2:30PM, at the John Muir Health Medical Center. For a volunteer application or for more information about Caring Hands please contact Stacy Appel, Volunteer Coordinator, at (925) 952-2999.
editor@yourmonthlypaper.com
Lamorinda Senior Transportation News
By Mary Bruns, Program Coordinator, Lamorinda Senior Transportation Measure X
The Advisory Council on Aging unanimously voted to support “Measure X” – the proposed new county-wide transportation sales tax which, if passed in the November election, will provide funding for safe transportation for children as well as accessible transportation for seniors and the disabled. It will also provide funding for improving our BART, bus, ferry, and train networks; reducing congestion and smoothing traffic; fixing local streets and roads; building sustainable communities; and protecting the environment. To see the Transportation Expenditure Plan Summary, go to www.keepcontracostamoving.net.
Become a Volunteer Driver
Becoming a volunteer driver for one of the transportation programs that serve older adults is an opportunity to bring joy to others by helping them get out of the house and go where they want or need to go. In turn, you receive the satisfaction and joy of having contributed to another person’s well-being by taking them to the doctor, grocery shopping, a hair/nail appointment, an errand, or for a social visit. Four hours every week or two is all it takes at the Lamorinda Spirit Van to create so much happiness. Imagine a world in which everyone is part of a larger network of caring individuals, and no one is ever isolated and alone. Together, we can do this. Call 925-284-5546 for more information. You can also meet us at our annual fun get-together on Sunday, October 9 – 10:30am to 12:30pm at the Lafayette Community Center Alder Room. “A good life is when you smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are for what you have.” – Author unknown
Off to see the Wizard … I mean the Oakland Museum
The Lamorinda Spirit Van Program enjoys opportunities to offer passengers occasional day trips with our lunch driver, Eddie Caravalho. These trips give people who no longer drive a way to go to new places. Jeanette said: “The Lamorinda Spirit Van trip to the Rosie the Riveter Museum was educational and fun, and the van transportation made it very convenient.” Jean said, “It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.” With this in mind and
Lafayette Today ~ October 2016 - Page 23 while the weather is so pleasant, the group asked for a trip to the Oakland Museum which is scheduled for Saturday, October 22nd. Let us know if you would like to join us for this day trip. We will stop for lunch afterwards. Call 925-283-3534 to reserve your seat. Per their website, “The mission of the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is to inspire all Californians to create a more vibrant future for themselves and their communities. When the OMCA first opened its doors more than 40 years ago, it brought together three historically independent disciplines—art, history, and natural sciences—under one roof. This progressive multidisciplinary approach was to celebrate the many facets of California. Our collections—comprising more than 1.9 million objects including seminal art works, historical artifacts, ethnographic objects, natural specimens, and photographs—and our programs explore and reveal the factors that shape California character and identity, from its extraordinary natural landscapes, to successive waves of migration, to its unique culture of creativity and innovation. OMCA has reopened its galleries after a transformation that touches almost every aspect of the 300,000 square-foot Museum and builds on the founders’ original multidisciplinary and civic-minded intent by improving integration of OMCA’s collections and programs…” Like the Lamorinda Spirit on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ lamorindaspiritvan. Pictures of recent trips and events are posted on the page. Be sure to check out the wine country pictures.
Lamorinda Senior Transportation An Alliance of Transportation Providers
Volunteer Drivers – Needed, Valued, and Appreciated We will accommodate your schedule. Call one of the programs below to volunteer.
Lamorinda Spirit Van
283-3534
Takes Lamorinda older adults, age 60 and up, to errands, appointments, shopping, classes, and to lunch at the C.C. Café. Wheelchair and walker accessible. WE LOVE TO SAY YES, so call early to make your reservation.
Contra Costa Yellow Cab and DeSoto Company 284-1234 20% discount for Lamorinda seniors.
Orinda Seniors Around Town
402-4506
Volunteer drivers serving Orinda seniors with free rides to appointments and errands.
Mobility Matters Rides for Seniors (formerly Senior Helpline Svcs) 284-6161
Volunteer drivers serving Contra Costa seniors with free rides to doctors’ appointments during the week. Grocery shopping on Saturdays.
County Connection LINK Reservation Line
938-7433
For people with disabilities. (Older adults often have “age-based” disabilities.)
Mobility Matters Information and Referral Line 284-6109 Gogograndparents.com 855-464-6872
A way to use UBER or LYFT without an iPhone. Press “0” to speak to an operator.
C L A S S I F I E D S ARCHITECT
JOHN ROLF HATTAM - ARCHITECT Specializes in modest budget, new and renovated residences. Over 200 completed projects. Brochures available for all of our professional services •RESIDENTIAL RENOVATION •NEW RESIDENCES •CHURCHES •COMMERCIAL •MULTI-FAMILY. For the brochure meeting your need call 510-841-5933.
Lafayette Today Classifieds
Reach over 12,000 homes and businesses in Lafayette Help Wanted, For Sale, Services, Lessons, Pets, Rentals, Wanted, Freebies... $35 for up to 45 words. $5 for each additional 15 words. Send or email submissions to: 3000F Danville Blvd #117, Alamo, CA 94507 or editor@yourmonthlypaper.com. Run the same classified ad in our sister papers “Alamo Today” or “Danville Today News” and pay half off for your second and/or third ad! Payment by check made out to “The Editors” must be received before ad will print. Your cancelled check is your receipt. We reserve the right to reject any ad.
Page 24 - October 2016 ~ Lafayette Today
www.yourmonthlypaper.com