Lafayette_Today_December_2015

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

December 2015 Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley: Actively Serving Every Day

By Jody Morgan

Although most visible to the general public on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley (VNVDV) actively contributes to the community 365 days a year. Originally conceived as a primarily social organization, VNVDV quickly became involved in a variety of outreach projects. The

VNVDV Parade Team with their 1949 International Harvester KB-1 Pick-Up. L-R: Del Loewe, Ray La Rochelle, Jerry Yahiro, Carl Swanson, Dan Young, Dave Smith, Jerry Carlson, Rich Lambert. Photo courtesy of VNVDV.

all-volunteer non-profit offers support to veterans and actively serving members of all branches of the United States Armed Forces as well as their families and provides

The Shabbateers

See VNVDV continued on page 13

By Linda Summers Pirkle

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully everyone is blessed.” ~ Maya Angelou As 2015 winds down, holiday parties are in full swing. At one local home, sixteen people will be enjoying each other’s company, sharing good food, and enjoying fine wine. At some point during their merry making they will discuss what organizations they will be contributing to in 2016. For the past ten years this dinner group has donated thousands of dollars to charities and spent many hours

Seated left to right: Barb Goldsmith, Silvia Belotz, Leila Friedenberg, and Renee “Spud” Wright. Standing left to right: Howard Gerber, Diane McClarty Miller, Lynn Bloch, Andy Stein, Nancy Orgel, Betty Lou Moglen, Linda Gerber, Tony Slimick, Ian Friedenberg, Les Bloch, Mark Belotz, and Dean Chapman. Not pictured: Karen Stein and Andy Orgel.

giving their time and expertise to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Glide Memorial, and San Francisco Food Bank.

See Shabbateers continued on page 19

Local Postal Customer

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit 21 Lafayette, CA

ECRWSS

Serving the Lafayette Community Stay Home for the Holidays

By Jay Lifson, Lafayette Chamber

You have seen the posters and stickers all over town...“TRY LAFAYETTE FIRST!” Try Lafayette First is not simply a marketing campaign; it’s a state of mind. For years your local Chamber of Commerce has been reminding you of the many reasons why supporting local merchants makes sense. Whether it’s buying holiday gifts, using local services or meeting friends for dinner, shopping local does matter.

Consider this -- when you stay in town and shop…

• You appreciate the cultural value of a vibrant downtown filled with a wide variety of unique businesses and boutiques.

• You save on gas and time.

• You help create a strong tax-base by circulating money in town versus sending it elsewhere. This helps pay for police, road repairs, and other essential services you count on.

• You support the businesses that generously donate to local schools and non-profits throughout the year.

When you think about it, isn’t it more fun to do business with people you know, like, and trust? Your local merchants work hard for your loyalty, so please remember them this holiday season.

There are more choices for shopping in Lafayette than ever before. So relax! Stay away from the crazy malls, and enjoy the season. We live and work in this amazing place called Lafayette. Happy Holidays!

A Super Bowl!

By Linda Summers Pirkle

Charming and robust, John Zorich can be found at Danville Bowl every Thursday afternoon doing what he loves: visiting friends and bowling.

Not a wrinkle on his handsome face and a full head of white hair, this Lafayette resident recently celebrated his 99th birthday. Always a strong man, he continues to exercise with his weights every day. A story he shared with his children when they were growing up described a time when he was at his grade school graduation. During the ceremony the principal gave a little comment about each graduate. In John’s case the principal said, “John, as we all know, you’re a tough guy, an iron man, but we want you to keep in mind that iron eventually rusts.” Not showing any Volume IX - Number 12 evidence of rust, 99 year old Zorich has been 3000F Danville Blvd #117 bowling for the past 80 years. He was 19 years Alamo, CA 94507 old when he bowled his first game. He recalls, Telephone (925) 405-6397 “I picked it up (bowling) and never really Fax (925) 406-0547 stopped playing.” Father of nine and grand- editor@yourmonthlypaper.com father of two, Zorich spent his working Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher years as a Teamster, driving delivery trucks The opinions expressed herein belong to the and do not necessarily reflect that of Laand his favorite pastime was bowling. His writers, fayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible daughter Denise Eyton-Lloyd says, “Dad for the content of any of the advertising herein,

See Bowl continued on page 8

nor does publication imply endorsement.

www.yourmonthlypaper.com

Page 2 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

11 Annual AAUW Holiday Home Tour th

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek Branch will be holding its 11th annual Holiday Home Tour on Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12.

Bring your friends and join AAUW for their fabulous Holiday Home Tour. AAUW will showcase five beautiful, festively decorated homes in Danville and San Ramon.

Tickets are $35 each. A senior discount of $5 will be offered through Saturday, December 5th. To purchase tickets visit http://daw-ca.aauw.net/hht2015, or for purchase by mail send a check postmarked by December 5th payable to Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek AAUW with a self-addressed stamped #10 size envelope to: AAUW Holiday Home Tour, P.O. Box 996, Alamo, CA 94507. To purchase in person, visit East Bay Flower Company, 206 Sycamore Valley Road W, Monday - Saturday from 9-5 (cash or check only).

Your ticket purchase will help send 12 middle school girls in the Danville, Alamo, and Walnut Creek communities to a one-week Tech Trek math-science camp for girls in a university setting and help local women receive their college education.

Please, no children under 12 or pets. Tour tickets are not tax deductible.

Email questions to aauwhht@gmail.com.

General law practice with a concentration on EstatePlanningandLandlord/TenantLaw

925.283.2500 | 925.451.6679 derek@wagleylaw.com www.WagleyLaw.com

3433 Golden Gate Way, Suite B | Lafayette

Assistance League of Diablo Valley Prospective Member Coffee

Since 1967, Assistance League® of Diablo Valley, a nonprofit member volunteer organization, has improved lives in our community through hands-on programs. You might have heard of its primary fundraiser, the Way Side Inn Thrift Shop, a well-known landmark which is located at 3521 Golden Gate Way, in Lafayette.

Assistance League of Diablo Valley is actively pursuing prospective members who would enjoy preparing new clothing for elementary schoolchildren to promote a more successful educational experience, screening schoolchildren for vision issues, performing educational puppet shows for school children, reading to second grade students, or helping in supplying emergency clothing, food and supplies to those in crisis. Two recently formed philanthropic programs concern implementing art in the classroom and staffing the Listen Program which helps identified students with reading skills. Two other programs address the needs of seniors.

A Prospective Member Coffee will be held on Wednesday, January 6, at 9:30AM at the Community Resource Center in Walnut Creek. If you are interested in spending quality time and meeting energetic and upbeat people while helping those who are vulnerable, please phone (925) 934-0901.

For more information, please visit diablovalley.assistanceleague.org.

Super Holiday Boutiques

The holiday season’s largest shopping extravaganza in Contra Costa is the sixth annual Super Holiday Boutique to be held in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, and Danville/Alamo. Shoppers will find a potpourri of gift items and will be able to get free photos with Santa and Olaf.

The free holiday indoor events allow shoppers to find special one-of-a-kind holiday gifts and stocking stuffers for family, friends, and colleagues from a variety of arts and crafts vendors, home-based businesses and commercial exhibitors. There will also be holiday decorations galore along with self-help and home improvement exhibitors.

The Boutiques will be held Friday, December 11 from 3-8pm at Heather Farm Community Center, N. San Carlos Dr. off Ygnacio Valley Rd. in Walnut Creek, on Saturday, December 12 at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, 320 Civic Dr. off Taylor Blvd. from 10am – 3pm, and on Sunday, December 13, from 11am – 4pm at San Ramon Valley High School, 501 Danville Blvd. in Danville.

There will be free holiday arts and crafts activities allowing kids to make Do you own, or have you inherited, a tired or ugly home? keepsake presents for their family and friends.

Are you facing foreclosure?

Each attendee will receive a free raffle ticket. The donation of each can of food Does your house sits on a large parcel of land and you would like to to the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano will earn the donor another raffle ticket. sell just a little piece for extra cash?

The first 200 families through the door daily will receive a holiday goody bag.

Do you own an empty lot? Do you want to sell your property as soon Visit www.superholidayboutique.com for more information. as possible but don’t want to spend more money to repair it?

HOMEOWNERS

ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT GETTING OUT of YOUR HOME?

Family Bike Rides

Every Sunday – 9-11:30AM

Join BikeLafayette for its weekly Family Bike Ride from Stanley Middle School to Moraga Commons and back. The ride is recommended for people 7 years and up. Younger children are welcome in a bike trailer or on your bike. The children will have fun playing at the Commons. Riders are usually back at Stanley by 11:15AM. You are encouraged to bring snacks and water.

For more information about BikeLafayette, visit www.facebook.com/ bikelafayette.ca.

Search and Rescue

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team needs volunteer members to respond to missing person incidents, disasters, and other critical incidents. Team members are on call 24/7 year-round. The program provides required training; including wilderness traveling, first aid, map and compass usage, tracking disaster response, and search skills; and may also include special training for canine, equestrian, technical, mountain bike, or other rescue skills.

For information and applications, visit www.contracostasar.org or call 925-646-4461.

No problem.

We can give you a quick, friendly, no pressure, fair, all cash offer for your property, using a reputable escrow company and a quick close.

We’ll pay closing costs and the agent’s fee and you will get paid quickly without much hassle.

No need to repair the house (or the lot) before selling it, no matter how bad it looks, you can just walk away.

We’ll even get rid of the junk you’ll leave behind.

WE ARE NOT INVESTORS who will flip your home or leave it empty, adding another “ghost” house to the neighborhood. We are simply a little family wanting to keep/restore your home to its former beauty - or build a small house on your empty lot. Please call (925) 317-3535 or email cristina.california@live.com to see if we are a match.

Lamorinda and Alamo areas are preferred because of proximity to family and friends. Thank you.

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Boulevard View

By Alisa Corstorphine, Editor

As neighbors have driven by our house recently, they have noticed a big void in our front yard. Due to damage and disease we had to remove three birch and four maple trees from our property. As painful as the decision was, we were unwilling to risk potential damage from any upcoming winter weather or a storm unleashing El Niño’s fury. The possibility that a falling branch could crush through our roof, land on a car (already had that happen once), or hurt someone walking by sealed the decision. Knowing that woodpeckers and other birds often made their homes in the trees’ cavities, we wanted to take care of this during a time when animals weren’t taking up residence.

The trees held many fond memories. When our children were younger and I was leading their Cub Scout troop, the Scouts would come over and be eager to rake our plethora of leaves so they could build a great mound to fall into. I think the kids always thought the piles of leaves would provide a little more “cush” to their landings than they actually ever did, but the thrill of jumping into the leaves couldn’t be matched, and I loved the extra help getting all of the leaves into one pile - a win-win!

The trees also provided an irresistible spot for late night “decorating” antics.

However, with my kids no longer in school and perhaps the higher cost of TP, those late night escapades were held to a minimum lately.

One of the trees held a climbing rope. About 20 years ago when we lived in Portland, Oregon I went down to the shipyards in search of a soft, stout rope that could be used by the kids for climbing. I found a nylon rope that fit the bill and someone in the shipyards wove a metal eyelet into the rope so we could hang it more securely. The rope moved with us from our home in Portland, to our home in Seattle, and to our current spot where it was tied on to one of the branches of the maple tree. Many kids learned to climb a free standing rope. There were also climbing contests and hours of swing time. Over time the attachment point of the

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 3 rope swing grew into the tree limb. When we had the trees cut we again saved the rope with a section of the wood attached. Perhaps we can invert the structure so the wood from the tree limb will now be the base of a swing hanging from the same rope.

While we know we made the right decision (which was further confirmed when we found the center of a couple of the trees completely mushy and sponge-like), it still wasn’t a project we wanted or needed right now.

However, now is the time to turn the negative into a positive. We have been left with a blank canvas. We can turn our lawns from under the trees and those that surrounded the other portion of the front yard into something completely new and more “water-wise.” It’s time to think outside the box.

Our property is located on a street where many people walk by. Perhaps we will make a gathering spot for welcoming neighbors and giving passers-by a place to connect, maybe barbecue, or have a potluck.

Gatherings don’t have to all be hidden in the backyard. Our yard may allow us to foster a sense of community and get to know our neighbors a little better. Maybe some of my gardens will expand, and more herbs and artichokes will be planted.

We will be working with Landscape Architect John Montgomery whose monthly columns have been a part of this paper for years. Ironically, his article this month discusses the design process. I am excited for where this journey will take us.

As we end 2015, I want to thank you for your readership and patronage of the businesses who help bring this paper to your homes each month. I look forward to seeing what the blank canvas of a new year brings for all of us.

Stay Home for the Holidays

Walnut Creek Jazz Band and Flock of Flutes Annual Concert

Catch the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Jazz Band’s and Flock of Flutes Annual Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 13th, at the Civic Arts Auditorium. This is always a very special performance. The Jazz Band directed by Max Pricco will play everything from a medley of holiday favorites, to contemporary jazz arrangements from composers like Dizzy Gillespie, Burt Bacharach, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney.

The concert starts at 4pm with the fabulous Flock of Flutes, the East Bay’s premiere flute choir, directed by Monica Williams. Following the Flock of Flutes, the Civic Arts Jazz Band will perform. Mark the date on your calendar ... you won’t want to miss this awesome concert!

The concert will be held at the Shadelands Art Center located at 111 N. Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek, Ticket are $10 at the door. For questions call 925-330-8222.

Support Your Local Businesses and Merchants

Page 4 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

Diablo Choral Artists Christmas Concerts and Sing-Along

www.yourmonthlypaper.com

Diablo Choral Artists invites you to “Once Upon A Starry Night,” in two performances: December 4, 8PM, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1924 Trinity Ave., Walnut Creek, and December 6, 3PM, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 66 St. Stephen’s Drive, Orinda. Under the direction of Mark Tuning, the Artists will be performing a variety of beautiful songs of the season, and a few fun ones, as well as an audience sing-along. There will be harp accompaniment, and John R.S. Walko will accompany the chorus on piano and organ. Tickets are $25 adults, $18 seniors 60+, $5 students, and free for children 5-12. Tickets are available at the door, through www.brownpaperGopher/Mole Removal tickets.com, or by calling (800) 838-2006.

No Poison But that’s not all! Come and join Diablo Choral Artists for a Christmas Music Sing-Along on December 11, 7:30PM at Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek. There will be live piano ac925-765-4209 companiment and the words of favorite songs and carols projected on a large screen. Tickets are $10 adults and $5 children under 12. Refreshments will be provided.

Diablo Choral Artists (DCA) has been entertaining audiences with significant works of sacred and secular choral music since 1993, when it began as Voices of Musica Sacra. Chorus members come from many areas of the East Bay Area for their love of singing and their goal of “sharing the harmony” with the community. The forty member chorus performs a variety of significant works of choral music from all over the world and from many musical eras.

DCA is open to new members (especially tenors) and presents two to four concerts a year. Visit www.dcachorus.org for more information.

Solo Opera Presents Hansel & Gretel

Solo Opera presents Hansel and Gretel, the first production in its 2015 Storybook Opera series for children and families. For this delightful holiday presentation, Solo Opera will collaborate with three community organizations.

The Contra Costa Children’s Chorus will perform as the Gingerbread Children Chorus. In addition, dancers from Lori Buffalow’s The Next Step Dance Studio will appear as the Fourteen Angel Ballet. The third collaborator is the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. Throughout Hansel and Gretel, there is a running theme of hunger and poverty. Solo Opera is asking the audience to bring a nonperishable food item to the shows to donate to the Food Bank.

The story of Hansel and Gretel originates from the beloved German fairytale concerning two poor hungry children sent into the forest by their mother. Lost, they encounter a wicked witch who lives in a house made of gingerbread. She tries to capture the children, but they outwit her and end up bringing back to life all the other lost youth of the village whom the witch had turned into gingerbread children.

The show runs at the Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd, Walnut Creek. The December 18 show will begin at 7:30PM, and the December 19 and 20 shows will begin at 2PM. For tickets call (925) 943-7469, visit the Lesher Center box office, or go online to https://lesherartscenter.showare. com/eventperformances.asp?evt=411.

For more information, visit www.SoloOpera.org.

Meals on Wheels

Seniors in our community need your support! Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services have been supporting seniors in YOUR neighborhood since 1968. Two of the programs, Meals on Wheels and Friendly Visitors, rely on the support of volunteers, and we need your help now more than ever.

Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers deliver meals to local homebound seniors through regular two hour shifts once per week or as substitute drivers. Friendly Visitors volunteers provide weekly one-hour companionship visits to isolated seniors. To volunteer for either program, please call (925) 937-8311.

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

Judy Crudele is our winner!

Luther was hiding on page 24 last month!

Hollywood Director Judges Local Video Contest

The Lafayette Youth Arts Society (LYAS), a local student-run arts organization, recently opened the 3rd Annual Writing and Photography Contest for Lafayette middle school students. This year, the LYAS expanded the photography segment of their contest to include a video contest, where students can submit one minute-long videos that respond to the given contest

Left to right LYAS members Samantha Swan, Charlie Keohane, Uma Unni, Zoe Portnoff, Isabel Rurka, and Sophia Benveniste.

prompts. Brian Horiuchi, a Hollywood director and writer, will be judging the video contest. Horiuchi has been writing and directing feature films, television, music videos, and web projects for over ten years. Most recently, he wrote and directed the feature film Parts Per Billion, starring Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Gena Rowlands, Frank Langella, and Alexis Bledel.

Inspiration for the video contest came from increasing interest in video-based social media, such as Vine, a short-form video sharing social medium where users share six-second videos, says LYAS team member Isaac Douglas. “We noticed how popular Vine had become with middle schoolers in recent years, and we wanted to encourage kids to create content instead of just consuming it.” Isaac Douglas, who is in charge of the video segment of the contest, is a sophomore at Acalanes High School and a member of the LYAS leadership.

“Most kids have smartphones which can take videos, and that’s all you really need to enter our contest. Of course, if you have a film camera, that’s great, but we aren’t going to expect that from all of our contest participants,” says LYAS Vice President Zoe Portnoff, a junior at Campolindo High School.

To further encourage students to participate, the LYAS is also hosting a free video-making workshop for Lamorinda middle school students, taught

by San Francisco Film Society affiliate Mary Guzmán. The workshop, which will be held on January 10, 2016, is oriented towards younger kids who have little to no experience in video making and will show kids how to create interesting and fun short videos. Armed with their new skills from the workshop, participants can choose to create videos to submit to the contest, although there is no obligation to do so. To inquire about the video workshop, please email the LYAS team at contact@lyas.org.

The deadline for all entries is January 31, 2016. For more information about the LYAS and the 3rd Annual Writing and Photography Contest, visit www.lyas.org.

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Lamorinda CERT

Lamorinda’s first responders are well prepared to handle everyday emergencies. During a disaster the number and scope of incidents is likely to exceed the police, the fire, and the EMS providers’ ability to immediately serve all citizens in need.

There are 60,000 residents in Lamorinda. There are normally six police patrol cars, seven fire engines, and two ambulances on duty. That’s one first responder vehicle for each 4,000 residents. When a large-scale disaster strikes you and your family could be on your own for quite a while!

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is an all-risk, all-hazard training course. It is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Citizen Corps programs. This valuable course is designed to help you take care of yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your neighborhood in an emergency situation.

CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster preparedness where citizens learn to take independent actions that are critical to their safety. Many people will respond to others in need without training but the CERT course is designed to help them do so safely and effectively.

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 5

Celebrate the Holidays

At Merrill Gardens At Lafayette Studios from $3,500 per month

Merrill Gardens at Lafayette knows how to celebrate the holidays – with music, entertainment, and special holiday dining experiences. We’ll even take you shopping and help you wrap your gifts! Now is the perfect time to move in with us and enjoy this special time of year with friends.

Lamorinda CERT is directed by a Steering Committee Call today to learn about our made up of volunteer members selected by the Citizen Studio Rent Special.* Corps Councils of Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda. It is a program of the Moraga-Orinda Fire District and Our holiday gift to you! organized under the California Volunteers program and the Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA. What do you learn in Lamorinda CERT training?

(925) 854-1858 The Lamorinda CERT training provides lecture and 1010 Second Street hands-on education including: • Local risks and what you need to do to prepare Lafayette, CA 94549 Lic #079200358 • Managing utilities, hazardous materials, and putting *Call for details. merrillgardens.com out small fires using an appropriate fire extinguisher • Providing basic medical aid Retirement Living • Assisted Living • Memory Care • Using “START Triage” and how to treat the “Three Medical Killers” by opening airways, controlling bleeding 111915b_Lafayette_Today_Holiday_Special_CMYK_U_A.indd 1 11/20/15 9:22 AM Lamorinda. The next class starts Tuesday, January 12 in Lafayette.

Visit and treating for shock www.lamorindacert.org for the full class schedule.

• Effectively searching for and safely rescuing victims There is no charge for this training. Instructors are local volunteers • Organizing yourself and spontaneous volunteers to be effective as a and firefighter/paramedics who have been trained to FEMA standards. team and collecting disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts Lamorinda CERT receives very little funding from federal and state grants.

• Disaster psychology The primary funding source is a private foundation, the Lamorinda CERT • Terrorism awareness Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation that accepts donations and provides • Radio communications volunteer services for local events.

• Pet preparedness To sign up, go to www.lamorindacert.org to register online. To leave a The training is held one night each week for seven consecutive weeks voice message, call (925) 255-5143, and a CERT member will call you back. from 6:30PM to 9:30PM. The last evening is a three hour hands-on exercise.

Any adult who lives or works in Lamorinda is welcome to take the class.

Teenagers age 16-17 are welcome with a parent or guardian’s authorization.

Classes are held several times each year at various venues throughout

www.yourmonthlypaper.com

Page 6 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

The Bookworm

By Joan Stevenson

As I write this column many of you are in your car traveling to Thanksgiving dinner. We just returned from our car trip, and the best thing we took along was John Carr, aka Oliver Stone, the most skilled assassin in our country and the hero of author David Balducci’s spy series, The Camel Club. You can take this book along on your next trip by picking up a CD at Lafayette Library and Learning Center. We were so close to the end of the CD when we arrived home that we sat in our driveway and listened until we learned “who’d done it”! This is one more reason to stop by the library before you pack your suitcase.

One of the benefits of volunteering at the Friends Corner Book Shop is meeting the customers and sharing their stories. There is a regular visitor who, on more than one occasion, has paid for a $10 bag of books with a $100 bill and will not take change! And there is a couple who enjoys long sailing voyages, and before they pack they shop at the bag sale and fill their bag with paperbacks. At the end of their trip, they contribute the gently used but well-traveled books back. By the way, there are wonderful gift books put out for Christmas shoppers, like cocktail table books that sell for $35-$75 retail and under $10 at the Friends Corner Book Shop.

What you could not afford prior, now you can with the Friends low prices!

While we are thinking of travel, on Wednesday, December 9th at 2pm, the Far East comes to the library when a docent from Asian Art Museum will lecture on “Looking East.” This current exhibit features more than 170 paintings, prints, furniture, and decorative arts that trace the West’s growing interest in Japan starting in the late 19th century. Masterpieces by great impressionist and post-impressionist painters such as Van Gogh, Cassatt, Degas, Gauguin, and Monet are juxtaposed throughout the exhibition with artworks by celebrated Japanese masters. This is a free program thanks to the Friends. Registration is required.

www.yourmonthlypaper.com The Bookworm is a big fan of the Lafayette Library and Learning Center Website Master Calendar. Much of the information in this column comes from it. However, sometimes I am baffled by what I read -- like this entry: “Participate in an Hour of Code.” Upon investigating, I learned the event was about computer programming, and the opportunity to learn is given in one hour segments. I should have asked my granddaughter, Miranda, because elementary school kids are much more savvy with computers and things like “code.” The offering is planned for elementary through middle school students. Once you learn how to program with Code.org, the world of creativity opens much wider to include games, play labs, and all manner of artistry. An Hour of Code is offered several times, but you must sign up first. Learn more at lafayettelib.org.

I have a confession: I have never seen a Star Wars movie. But, as usual, enlightenment at the Lafayette Library will bail me out. On Thursday, December 17 at 3pm in the Community Hall the celebration begins. You will not want to miss the Star War Party: Return of The Jedi, Episode VI event. Come join us to watch the prequel to the Force Awakens. See Luke Skywalker who has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Star Wars fans can watch the original three movies on Thursdays in December to get ready for Episode 7, which premieres December 18th.

Popcorn will be provided! The event is designed for kids, teens, and adults.

For our teenagers there will be two chances to complete art projects that might make wonderful gifts. On Wednesday, December 9th from 3:30 – 5pm there will be an opportunity for make cool decoupage boxes. A week later on Wednesday, December 16th from 3:30 – 5pm , you can make a dreamcatcher to catch all of those good dreams that you’ve been having and get rid of the bad ones. The event is for 6th to 12th grade students only. Both events are free. Register by visiting www.lllcf.org/calendar/ programs/teen.html.

Happy Holidays to you and I wish you a healthy, joyous New Year. See you in 2016!

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Diversity on the Docket a HalfCentury Ago

By Ruth Bailey, Lafayette Historical Society

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 7

11 Critical Home Inspection Traps to be Aware of Weeks Before Listing Your Home for Sale

The October 29, 1965, issue of the Sun raised the Lafayette - According to industry ex- sale or, worse, turn prospective buyers issue of diversity, or lack thereof, in the area. Under the perts, there are over 33 physical prob- away altogether. In most cases, you can misspelled headline “Civic Unity President Discusses lems that will come under scrutiny during make a reasonable pre-inspection yourself Intergration,” Orinda resident Dr. Wilson Yandell, a a home inspection when your home is if you know what you're looking for, and practicing psychiatrist and president of the Orindafor sale. A new report has been prepared knowing what you're looking for can help Lafayette Council for Civic Unity, was quoted in a talk to which identifies the 11 most common you prevent little problems from growing the Orinda Association: “We don’t expect to move West of these problems, and what you should into costly and unmanageable ones.

Berkeley to this side of the tunnel. We hope to create an know about them before you list your home To help home sellers deal with this issue attitude of welcome to anyone who can afford and chooses for sale. before their homes are listed, a free report to live here. The change will be slow. We hope it will be Whether you own an old home or a brand entitled "11 Things You Need to Know to one we can be proud of.” new one, there are a number of things Pass Your Home Inspection" has been Explaining that the Orinda Council expanded last year that can fall short of requirements during a compiled which explains the issues involved.

[1964] to include Lafayette, Dr. Yandell said that there home inspection. If not identified and dealt To hear a brief recorded message about were 130 active members. “The Orinda Council for Civic with, any of these 11 items could cost you how to order your FREE copy of this report, Unity (CCU) formed in 1959, he said, when a Japanese dearly in terms of repair. That's why it's call toll-free 1-866-265-1682 and enter Nisei family had decided not to buy in the area due to critical that you read this report before 2003. You can call any time, 24 hours a day, ‘unpleasantness’ by some of the neighborhood in which you list your home. If you wait until the 7 days a week. the Orientals had planned to live. building inspector flags these issues for Get your free special report NOW to learn you, you will almost certainly experience how to ensure a home inspection doesn't “A community group got together and decided to costly delays in the close of your home cost you the sale of your home. launch an educational program. The CCU’s purpose is to This report is courtesy of J. Rockcliff Realtors CalBRE #01763819. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. Copyright © 2015 promote within the community an attitude for welcome to all and to promote equal rights,” according to the doctor.

“There is no race problem in Orinda, except from a [limited] point of view, said Dr. Yandell. He expressed regret that the children of this area were growing up with one point of view. Not being exposed to various cultures presented ‘a built-in disadvantage’ for the youth, he said.

“Some of the prime efforts of the CCU have been in the realm of housing. The CCU had endorsed an Open Housing Covenant in 1960 with the Walnut Creek Unitarian Church. It also opposed Proposition 14. There is a subcommittee that works with realtors to encourage listings which will break down race barriers. Another phase of the CCU is to encourage equal job opportunities.

“He commended the Orinda School District for hiring its first Negro teacher last year, although through his own choice he only stayed one year. The total picture Orinda presented was not an image of welcome to minority races,” [a listener commented.] “She said that 150 homes were offered for sale last year in the $100,000 to $150,000 bracket, and not one was sold to a Negro. There are four Negro families in Orinda, and more Negroes and Orientals in Lafayette, according to the Council for Civic Unity.”

The 2010 census of Lafayette gave the city’s population of 23,893, as 84.7% (20,232) White; 9.0% Asian (2,162); 5.8% Hispanic (1,388); two or more races 4.2% (1,000); 0.7% African American/ Black (166); 0.3% Native American (66); 0.1% Pacific Islander, (27), and 1.0% Other Race (240). This information plus data on age, gender, education and home ownership is available on-line under City of Lafayette, CA: Demographics.

Oldest Chamber of Commerce Business Founded by a Japanese Resident of Lafayette

Somewhat ironically, Lafayette’s oldest membership in the Chamber of Commerce belongs to Mt. Diablo Nursery, originally “Harry’s Nursery,” next to the Lafayette Park Hotel. The garden business was founded in 1950 by Harry and Shigeko Ide, who moved to Lafayette after being confined for four years at Tule Lake Japanese Internment Camp during World War II. The Ides’ two oldest daughters were born in the camp.

If you visit the Garden Center today and step inside the gift shop at the rear, you will be inside the 800 sq. ft. home Harry Ide had built when he started the nursery. The minimalist structure, based on an Army design, provided a kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms for Mr. and Mrs. Ide and their four daughters.

Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s Baby Bags Program Lauded by CCC’s Aspiranet

One of Assistance League® of Diablo Valley’s ten philanthropic programs, Community Programs, includes Baby Bags, a project where member volunteers stuff onesies, diapers, wipes, teething rings, “chewies,” books, and a toy into literally hundreds of baby bags with assembly line precision.

These much appreciated bundles then go to Aspiranet, whose staff members distribute them to hospital identified mothers of at-risk infants and toddlers in West Contra Costa County. In 2015, member volunteers assembled 660 baby bags for infants at risk.

Recently, Odessa Caton, Welcome Home Baby District Director at Aspiranet, addressed member volunteers at the Assistance League of Diablo Valley regular chapter meeting. Implementing Aspiranet’s mission, “Raising Hope, Empowering the Community,” Caton explained that Aspiranet home visitors do not merely supervise the client families rather, they partner with them to help the family and the infant bond by screening client mothers bi-monthly for depression, offering a parenting curriculum called “Kids Growing Great,” providing infants and toddlers bi-monthly developmental screening, conducting “Five and Under classes,” and celebrating an annual Holiday Socialization Event.

Mrs. Caton further explained that Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s involvement with Welcome Home See Bags continued on page 18

Page 8 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

Keeping Your Neighborhood Safe This Holiday Season

www.yourmonthlypaper.com

identifiable information and account numbers.

• Do not place outgoing To mail in your mailbox. CrimBy Candace Andersen, Contra Costa County inals may steal it. Consider Supervisor, District 2 dropping your mail at the Ah, Christmas time, when criminals view the local post office. holiday season as their time of opportunity. Cash, Keep your garage door credit cards, mail with gift cards, and packages left Ad Idea •for closed, evenand in the middle unattended on a doorstep are all so appealing.

Danville, Alamo Soap Dish of the day.

This will deSafety and security are an important concern for Lafayette Today 26.00 many homeowners. Around the holidays, it can be easy to overlook those crease the chances of a thief concerns due to the increasingly busy schedule many people have between stealing items from inside Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Unfortunately, putting home security on your garage.

3” X 5” Tea Kettle the backburner during the holiday season can prove to be a grievous error.

• Don’t post holiday Bottle Brush Danville Today 190.00 130.00 From shopping, to gift delivery, to home protection, there are several imChristmas Tree travel plans or photos from w discount 142.50 48.00 portant safety practices our local law enforcement recommends.

Tissue Box your fabulous vacation on 52.00 • If you display a Christmas tree in a front window, do not put gifts where social media until you get Alamo Today 155.00 they are visible from the street. home as this may alert more 116.25 • Don’t advertise that you’re away from home – thieves look for clues likew discount than just your friends to Dog Bone outdoor lights burning 24 hours a day, piled up newspapers, mail, or advertis- your extended absence.

Frame Lafayette 180.00 Heart Frame Cork Back 45.00 ing fliers hanging on door knobs. Use an inexpensive light timer when you • Install motion and w discount 135.00 38.00 Place Mats (set of 4) are away, and either put “on hold” or ask a neighbor or friend to pick up your dawn-to-dusk lighting 68.00 mail and newspapers. around your home.

• If you go out for the day or evening, turn on a radio, television, or lights • Ask a trusted neighbor so the house or apartment appears to be occupied.

Walnut Creek, Broadway Plaza to watch your house while Danville, The Livery • Burglars know to look for the hidden door key near the front entrance. you are away, and arrange DO NOT hide spare keys under rocks, in flowerpots, under doormats, or above for someone to check your door ledges. Instead, give the spare key to a trusted neighbor. residence to ensure there are no problems. Many local law enforcement agen• Lock valuables and packages in the trunk of your car; mini-van or SUV cies provide vacation checks while residents are away. You can contact the owners should do their best to keep items left inside the vehicle out of sight. City of Lafayette police services call the 24-hour dispatch at (925) 283-3680 • At night, park under streetlights. and schedule a vacation well-check.

• Look around. Be aware of your surroundings when you are out.

Finally, watch out for your neighbors when they’re not home. It is impor• Keep track of purses and wallets. Thieves often prey on distracted shoptant to report any suspicious activities. Our local police and sheriff deputies pers in crowded stores or while dining in restaurants. would much rather follow up on an incident that turns out to be harmless than • Try to remove mail from the box soon after it is delivered so thieves don’t respond after a crime has been committed. have an opportunity to steal the items inside.

My office is here to serve the residents of Contra Costa County District 2, • Have packages sent to your work address if possible so they are not sitwhich includes San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Saranap, Parkting all day on your porch unattended. mead, Lafayette, Moraga, Canyon, and Orinda. Please contact us if we can • Consider purchasing a locking mailbox. These devices protect packages provide you with additional information on this topic or on other County issues. and make it more difficult for thieves to steal mail that may contain personally I can be reached at SupervisorAndersen@bos.cccounty.us or 925-957-8860.

Bowl continued from front page

was always busy. He played golf sometimes, but bowling was really his thing. He was very good at it, and he still enjoys his weekly game.”

In a July 2014 Bloomberg Businessweek article written by Patrick Clark titled “America’s Vanishing Bowling Alleys,” Marciel Fournier, who owned a string of bowling centers in the 1960’s noted, “The bowling alley was the bluecollar country club.” Most of Zorich’s business came from people competing in weekly leagues. Zorich and his buddies were league players in those days and his daughter reflected, “Dad played with all the companies he worked for, including Oscar Mayer, Capri, and Alhambra. They all had leagues and Dad played every Tuesday and Thursday night. Those were his nights to bowl.”

There were plenty of bowling alleys in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Zorich mentioned he played at most of the Bay Area alleys. “I know there were at least seven alleys in Oakland, one in Rheem, some in Alameda, and some in San Leandro.” Now, many of those alleys are closed. According to the Bloomberg Businessweek article, “As the workforce changed and access to other recreational activities expanded, interest in bowling leagues waned.” But that interest did not wane for Zorich and many of his friends who continued bowling. Zorich remembers fondly his best friend for over thirty years, Bill Wheeler, who along with some other buddies bowled as long as they physically could. Zorich is still going strong at age 99. In fact, he mentioned he had his best game ever when he was aged 80. “I bowled 279, a good game!”

The Danville Bowl hosts a senior league on Thursday afternoons. General Manager at Danville Bowl, Kim Glushenko says, “We have 57 bowlers on the senior league who are aged 50 and up. Most of the seniors bring their own bagged lunch. We offer a senior discount and provide shoes and free coffee.” She laughingly added, “They (the seniors) do like their coffee, and the group goes through a minimum of 12 pots of coffee (the big pots) during their league time, and that’s twelve decaf and twelve

Give& TO KEEP

regular pots of coffee. They let us know right away when we are running low!”

Justin Oertel, Danville Bowl Vice President of Operations says, “We have stayed open despite many centers closing because we are in a wonderful little valley with a very good population. We’ve tried to maintain (and I think we do a good job of it) a family fun atmosphere, as well as John Zorich with grandson Andrew. make sure the lanes are consistent and friendly to our league bowlers.”

Zorich has been with the senior league in Danville for the past 15 years. He arrives at 11:15AM to practice. At noon the league players start the first of three games and they finish around 3PM. Steve Overby, long time Danville Bowl employee says, “John is an amazing guy. He is well liked and he knows bowling. He can still read the lanes. His power is not as strong as it once was, but he’s definitely got it. He scored a 150 at his birthday party, he was pumped.” Kim, the General Manager added, “John is such a great guy. He knows everyone’s names and usually has a good supply of delicious chocolate candies that he readily hands out. Everyone likes John.”

Zorich is not sure what has contributed to his long and healthy life. His daughter Denise said, “He grew his own organic vegetables, he does not believe in taking prescription drugs unless necessary, and he has good genes. Our Dad has a great sense of humor, and with nine kids he needed that.” John mentioned a day after his birthday, “I’m sure I’ll make it to age 100; it’s less than a year away!”

To find out more about the senior league at Danville Bowl, call 925-837-7272 or visit www.DanvilleBowl.com.

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Walking the Reservoir

By Jim Scala

Christmas Holiday at the Reservoir. Walk the paved trail clockwise and after the second restroom you’ll come to the Holiday Tree. By Thanksgiving it boasted several red bows, a few ornaments, and two greetings. For over thirty years people have adorned it with tree ornaments, pictures, and tributes to loved ones and even some religious symbols – usually Christian. All religions symbols and ornaments are welcome to express our ecumenical fellowship.

We’re all on this beautiful earth together, so do your part to prove the holiday spirit is alive and well at our favorite meeting place.

Why is the Tower so tall? I get this question regularly. The answer tells how bad events often turn out for the better in the fullness of time. In the plan developed in the early 1920s, the water level for the reservoir was to be just below the tower’s cupola which was built first. The earthen dam was similarly high on the hills on either side. However, while under construction, the dam collapsed and construction stopped. Later, in the early thirties, construction resumed and the reservoir was completed. Lucky for us.

At the planned water level, the paved trail wouldn’t exist and we’d have only the rim trail. Now, the tower adds unusual beauty to our marvelous recreation area, and the paved trail hosts over a million visitors annually. It worked out for the better.

“Take a Chance,” is Barc’s Bench. This elegant memorial to a man who took a chance and succeeded is located on the south side near the west end of the paved trail. Barcley Simpson, a successful businessman, loved art and said, “Buy art because it gives you pleasure, not because it might be valuable someday.” That philosophy led to his Lafayette art gallery, recently taken over by UC Berkeley.

Barc’s WW-II navy fighter squadron was the first to enter Tokyo Bay at the war’s end. He loved the reservoir and said “good morning” to everyone he met, and his memorial bench overlooks one of the reservoir’s most scenic views. Sit down, soak up the beauty, and feel Barc’s warm presence.

This drought’s impact on reservoir’s wildlife. It’s easy to see this four year severe dry spell’s effect by looking at the dam’s apron. That’s the flat area with the large, black fish-stocking pipe. Water is ten feet below the apron even after several inches of rain. In a typical dry year it’s seldom two feet below, and in wet years it’s actually over the apron. The low water is all due to evaporation.

Go to the far end and walk out into the reeds. Notice the large cracks in the ground that is usually underwater. It has been devastating to egrets and kingfishers that rely on the small fish, frogs, and other marsh dwellers for food. We all miss our beautiful white egrets.

Many people have commented on the birds’ decline. It’s simple ecology.

During a prolonged drought – four years now – insects diminish and worms go deep. A decline in insects and worms is a double whammy for birds. The females can’t produce eggs, and hatchlings fail to thrive when they don’t get insects and worms from the parents.

People often comment on not seeing as many rabbits and other animals that grace early morning walks. They face the same difficulties as the birds.

Senior’s walking leads to a wine tasting. At Lafayette’s senior walking program many discussions take place as we follow the paved trail. One morning Gladys and Onsi discussed their wine making and it became the topic. Next time we walked they brought me a bottle labeled Save the Wino in large print and Petit Syrah in small print. Of course, I’d never seen this label and learned it was designed by their daughter who is saving African Rhinos. Our talk turned to local wine making, and other walkers joined in.

That interesting discussion led to a Sunday evening wine tasting hosted by Toni and Mike featuring local wines.

Many were familiar with Leslie’s and Jim’s of Los Arabis Vineyards, Pinot, but not many had tasted the Rspatenkas, Poignets, and the HMSs wines and others. We we also tasted Eichorn’s brandies and sipped Jacoby’s beers. Of the 33 walkers, now tasters, very few knew we had so many wine makers and brewers. Toni’s fine lasagna sent everyone home feeling full. I was surprised next morning – an optional Monday – when five of us walked.

Guess what we talked about.

Let me hear from you: jscala2@comcast.net.

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 9

Paradise in Lafayette!

Our products are all-natural, free of synthetic chemicals and crafted in-house.

~December Special~

Get a one hour Massage-Vichy shower combination treatment for just $110.

After your treatment we’ll treat you to a little spa lunch.

Call us today for an appointment

Offer expires December 31, 2015.

925-6959-SPA (772) www.sagestudiospa.com Gift certificates available

Wines for Your Christmas Dinner Menu

These wine picks pair with holiday recipes

By Monica Chappell

Carols. Tree-trimming. Cookie decorating. Christmas is full of time-honored traditions, and chief among them is Christmas dinner.

Large gatherings call for making one or two main dishes with no time for precious plating or individually sautéed fillets. Think rib roasts and glazed hams.

When it comes to picking wines for the family table, you’ll want to find bottles that can play supporting roles to the star dishes of the night and work with the whole meal at the same time. Here are some options for the main course.

Glazed Ham

For the centerpiece of the meal, consider going retro with a glazed ham.

Choose a fruit-forward red with moderate tannin for a solid match. Try something new like a nero d’Avola, a leading red grape in Sicily.

Rib Roast

A standing rib roast with aioli makes an impressive presentation. Serve it with an approachable cabernet-based wine that has some backbone but won’t overpower the rest of the meal. For a twist on the familiar, try sausage-stuffed turkey breasts with chestnuts. The combination of spice and fat in the sausage calls for a simple, fruity red, such as gamay.

Goose or Duck

Match the weight with red wines, balance the oiliness of the meat with high acid/tannic wines, and complement the flavors with wines that taste of raspberries and cherries. Red Burgundy is perfect, or for a white wine, it needs to be medium-sweet and high in acid, such as ripe, aromatic Alsace Pinot Gris and Riesling.

What are your favorite Christmas dinner pairings? Let me know.

Monica Chappell writes and teaches about wine. For wine class information, please email wineappreciation101@gmail.com.

www.yourmonthlypaper.com Scottish Country Dancing

Come dance every Thursday evening, year-round. No partner is required and no Scottish ancestry is required. Adult beginner classes for Scottish Country Dancing take place each week with free lessons at 8PM. More experienced dancers also begin at 8PM. Once a month Ceilidh dancing will take place as well. Dancing will be held at the Danville Grange, located at 743 Diablo Rd in Danville. All dance nights are drop-in. The first beginner lesson is free, afterwards the cost is $8/night or $6/night if attending a 10week session paid in advance.

Call Witsie at (925) 676-3637 or Kathleen at (925) 934-6148 for more information. For children’s classes ages 7 and up, please contact Cathy at (925) 284-9068 for dates and fees.

Page 10 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

Sustainable Lafayette Tip of the Month

Staying Warm in Your Home without Wasting Energy

One day it was Indian summer, and the next day – BAM! – we turned back our clocks and the nights grew long and cold. The average California home uses 27% of its total annual energy for heating. Here are some tips on keeping comfy…without blasting your furnace. There are many simple things you can do, in addition to a little shivering, to save money and reduce your carbon footprint.

Set Your Thermostat: Set the thermostat to 68°F when you’re at home and awake, and lower it when you’re asleep or away. Each degree that you lower your thermostat cuts your heating bill by 3 to 5%. Turn the temperature down further at night (PG&E recommends 55 degrees) and when you’re away for more than four hours. Do you wish your thermostat could be used from a smart phone? Now it can be. Apple offers the popular Nest Learning Thermostat (nest.com), Honeywell has a Wi-Fi smart thermostat, and there are several others including EcoBee3 and Sensi.

Wear a Sweater: Clothing is an efficient forms of insulation. Wear a sweater and thick socks around the house. Long underwear keeps you toasty and can be found in smart fabrics that are light and non-bulky.

Let the Sun Shine In: Open the drapes and shutters on sunny days to help warm your home. Close the drapes at night to help insulate the house from the cold outside air.

Clean or Replace Your Furnace Filter: Inspect, clean, or change your system’s air filters regularly (monthly), following manufacturers’ instructions. Dirty filters hamper airflow and overwork the furnace.

Tune up Your Furnace: A heating system can waste up to 50% of the energy it uses if it’s not operating efficiently. Gas furnaces should ideally be tuned up every two years. A simple tune-up can improve a furnace’s efficiency by 5%, saving about 9 therms of gas per year, with a corresponding drop in emissions.

Close Fireplace Dampers: For safety, be sure the fire is out and the ashes

Quick Trips

East Brother Island

By Linda Summers Pirkle

Visitors to the Bay Area are familiar with Alcatraz, Treasure, and Angel Islands, but tiny East Brother Island, although less known than her “big island” sisters, is a historical landmark with important American maritime history. The island is visible from the Richmond San Rafael Bridge, and ferry riders see it on their daily commute. East Brother Light Station Bed and Breakfast is located in the strait that separates the San Francisco and San Pablo Bay. My husband, who loves everything having to do with water, was happy to accompany me on a visit to the island. The current inn keepers on East Brother Island, Bryan and Stephanie Wesolek, are ideal for their unique jobs. Bryan is a retired chemist with degrees in mathematics and music (his passion in off hours is listening to jazz at Yoshi’s), and Stephanie has a degree in legal studies. She is a trained chef, and her cooking is renowned. They both spent a year sailing in the United Kingdom where they earned their Commercially endorsed Ocean Yacht master tickets. Topping off their credentials, they both hold a 50 ton Masters license with the United States Coast Guard as well as PADI Certified Open Water Diver licenses. Needless to say, when Bryan picked up our group at the Pt. San Pablo harbor on a Saturday morning for a short speed boat ride to East Brother, we knew we were in good hands.

In the late 1800’s East Brother Island was chosen as a site for a lighthouse to guide ships through San Pablo Strait. The federal government blasted the top off the tiny island and began construction in 1873. Besides a six-room dwelling with an attached tower for the beacon, the little base includes a fog signal building, workshop, boathouse, water tanks, water cistern (the only source of water for the island), and a rain catchment basin. At one point in the early 1900’s there were two families living on East Brother, and one building was used as a schoolhouse for the children of the lighthouse keepers. The

www.yourmonthlypaper.com

are cold before closing a damper. Consider installing a glass door because the fireplace is a major source for heat loss in the home. Try not to use the fireplace and heating system at the same time. Fire needs oxygen and will draw warm air from the rest of the house and replace it with cold air from outside through any leaks that may exist.

Seal the Cracks: The gaps around the windows and doors of the average American house add up to 10 inches by 10 inches. Use weather stripping and caulk to seal leaks around windows, doors, heating ducts, and plumbing.

Check any interior utility closets to see if there is cold air coming through them into your home.

Consider Additional Insulation: If you live in an older home that has not been extensively remodeled, then you would likely benefit from adding insulation in the attic.

A program called “Energy Upgrade California” will help you fund insulation, upgrade your furnace, repair your ducts, etc. and receive generous rebates and incentives. To learn more, visit energyupgradeca.org.

Monitor your energy use over the winter using MeterHero (meterhero. com) or the PG&E SmartMeter System, which allows you to view your hourly electric and daily gas energy usage data. Go to pge.com and create an account.

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.

To share a story inquire about advertising, contact us at 925.405.6397 or editor@yourmonthlypaper.com entire island is only three quarters of an acre.

Technology brought about an automated rotating beacon, and in the late 1960’s there was no need for live-in lighthouse keepers. Thankfully, concerned citizens formed a non- profit group and saved the charming Victorian home along with all the outer buildings as a California Historical Landmark.

“It’s like living in a page from National Geographic,” says Bryan. “The animal life varies from western gulls, brown and white pelicans, oyster catchers, geese, hummingbirds, black phoebes, Canadian geese, cormorants, herons, egrets, harbor seals, mallards and porpoises.” Besides interesting conversations with the hosts and other guests, our memorable moment was enjoying the spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay from the “eagles nest” of the lighthouse.

There are five cozy bedrooms available to rent; a gourmet dinner with champagne, wine, and a full breakfast are included. Some guests rent the entire Victorian house for private parties, and it is a very popular auction item for schools and fund raising organizations.

• Pick-up location is Pt. San Pablo Yacht Harbor, 1900 Stenmark Drive (former Western Drive), Richmond.Their website is ebls.org and phone number is (510) 233-2385.

• Day tours are generally only available during the summer months (April to October), but since the weather has been mild they have kept it open for the public to enjoy. Cost is $20 per person.

Inspired by the many wonderful places to visit in the Bay Area, Linda Summers Pirkle organizes day trips, either for groups or for friends and family.

To share your “Quick Trips” ideas email Coverthemap@gmail.com.

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

2015 Real Estate Trends in Review

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 11

By Erin Martin, Village Associates Real Estate

December is a very busy month for most Lafayette residents. I am looking forward to seeing Mt. Diablo decorated with lights, the bustle of holiday shoppers at Diablo Foods, and the many special celebrations that occur during this time of year. In a blink of an eye, 2015 will come to a close.

Before we ring in 2016, let’s take a quick look at the trends shaping 2015.

Local home price appreciation continues with a recovering economy and the continued trend of high-tech companies moving north to San Francisco, making Lamorinda accessible to a new group of tech workers. Through November 21st, the 2015 average home price in Lafayette is up 15% to $1,522,617 compared to $1,322,056 in 2014. In looking at Lamorinda as a whole, the 2015 average sales price is up 10% to $1,372,884 compared to $1,240,835 in 2014.

I often hear from sellers that they have decided to stay put because they can’t afford to buy something else. This trend and lack of inventory is driving home prices up. In 2015 there were only 704 transactions in Lafayette compared to 832 in 2014. The lack of inventory means that too many buyers continue to chase too few homes for sale. Just this month a fixer in the Glorietta neighborhood in Orinda with a list price of $899,000 received 27 offers and 16 of those were all cash. Out of the top six offers four were cash. There is no doubt that in 2015 the cash buyer market continued to be strong. According to Roger Cruzen, freelance writer for California Association of Realtors, “23% of buyers paid all cash in 2015” nudging home prices higher and wedging out the first time home buyer requiring financing. The foreign buyer is contributing to the number of all cash purchases. According to California Association of Realtors, 66% of international buyers paid all cash.

Affordability is a major concern across California. I constantly wonder how people, especially young families starting their careers, can afford to buy or even rent a home in Lafayette. If a potential buyer has saved enough to have the money for a 20% down payment, they also must have an annual income of $225,000, a 700 plus credit score, and no other debt to afford an average home in Lafayette ($1,522,617). These numbers are at current interest rates that are only expected to rise over the next year.

With El Niño in the forecast, make sure you clean your gutters and that your drains are clear of debris as soon as possible. If you need a referral for a vendor to provide this service, please do not hesitate to email me.

I would like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year. I am extremely fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful community. Please email me with your real estate questions or comments. I can be reached at erin@erinmartinhomes.com or by phone at (925) 951-3817 if you would like a free home evaluation.

Please feel free to call or email me with your real estate questions or for a free home evaluation. I can be reached at (925) 951-3817 or Advertorial by email at erin@erinmartinhomes.com.

A Coaches Perspective on Mental Toughness Training

An Interview with Stephanee Lawrence, USTPA and Head Varsity Tennis Coach By Sheryl Kline, M.A.

I was fortunate enough to recently sit down with Head Varsity Coach, Stephanee Lawrence. She has been coaching tennis for decades and recently coached a local High School Men’s team to a League Championship as well as to a bid to the State Finals.

This fall, I had the pleasure of working with Coach Stephanee the during her first year coaching a Women’s Varsity Tennis Team.

Here are a few comments coach Stephanee had when asked about Mental Toughness Training and why it’s helpful.

1. Is Mental Toughness important for teens and tennis? If so, how? Yes. Mental Toughness can be applied for everything or just a part of the game. It depends on the situation and the player.

2. Is Mental Toughness as important as technical skill? Yes. At a certain level of a player’s development, they must learn how to be Mentally Tough.

3. What are the consequences of not being Mentally Tough? There are a few important consequences. First, players can have temporary withdrawal and lose focus during a point, game, or match. In extreme cases, players can withdraw completely from the sport. If teen tennis players are not Mentally Tough, they will not achieve their true potential.

4. This was the first year your varsity women’s team had a Mental Toughness coach. Was it helpful to them? Were the athletes receptive to Mental Toughness Training? Yes, it was helpful. The girls still have a ways to go, but they started to be able to apply the information. There was

See Tough continued on page 18

Page 12 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

Technology Matters

When is the Cloud the Right Choice?

By Evan Corstorphine, Portable CIO

We get asked about “cloud computing” a lot. We hear the question from businesses and individuals who want to know when the time is right for them to “head to the cloud” with their data.

At issue is the fundamental misunderstandings of what cloud computing really is. The term ‘cloud’ is really just a euphemism for “internet” or “web based.”

I use these terms interchangeably. The offerings out there are maturing and some may be right for your situation. Every business is different. Here is your one sentence definition of what the “cloud” is: Any computer resource outside your own network is in “the cloud.” Think about it. If your next door neighbor started a service offering “cloud backups” from a server in his garage, he is your “cloud,” and you are his customer. Voila.

Luckily, cloud services are typically not provided out of people’s garages.

They’re primarily offered from data centers sprinkled throughout major cities across the US and other countries. My point is, the cloud is wherever you aren’t. It’s just another way of saying, “a computer somewhere out there on the internet that we hope is secure and well maintained.” With that established, let’s discuss when it’s time to use cloud resources. There are three typical scenarios for ‘cloud computing.’ The first is for cloud-based backups, the second is for cloud-based applications, and the third is for cloud data storage.

We have been proponents of internet-based backups for years. They are secure, effective, and more reliable than any other backup system we have worked with. We’ve saved many clients from disaster by having these in place.

For example, we saved a recruiting business who lost their entire database due to hardware failure. Because they had internet backups we had set up, they were able to restore their data and get back to work. And we recently saved a client who had his Mac computer encrypted by an unscrupulous caller who posed as someone from “Apple.” The bad guy tricked our customer into letting them onto his computer where they encrypted his hard drive and signed off. Our client was left completely without access to his computer unless he paid a ransom (even

www.yourmonthlypaper.com paying the ransom can provide no success in getting your data back). Luckily several years ago we had installed a four year Crashplan backup subscription on his system, and we simply wiped the computer and restored his backed-up data.

Internet-based applications have crept into our lifestyle in many ways. Does your business use SalesForce? How about Microsoft Office 365, Gmail, or Google Docs? Do you check your credit card balance online? Do you research your family heritage at Ancestry.com? When was the last time you picked up a Yellow Pages instead of ‘Googling’ or ‘Bing’ing’ a local business? These are common examples of ways that ‘cloud computing’ has entered our lives. For the most part, the offerings have become sophisticated enough that people are beginning to feel comfortable abandoning locally-based applications in lieu of exclusively using these web-based apps. A few of our larger clients use cloudbased apps exclusively. They don’t own any in-house servers, and all their IP (intellectual property) is contained within these web-based systems.

The third area is data storage. This is where I want you to be cautious. Yes, web-based storage is and can be convenient. I use it all the time. But would I trust an outside company with 100% of my data without ME having a backup of that data as well? NO WAY, and neither should you. We only recommend cloud-based storage when the situation allows us to setup a backup of whatever is being stored on the internet-based resource. Services such as Box, Dropbox, Copy.com, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc., are useful, but limited. These are not backup services. If you delete a file, it’s gone. If you delete the local copy and it gets synchronized, it’s gone. Unless you are syncing their data to a local computer which is then being actively backed up by something like Crashplan or a local device, you are exposed. Don’t get zapped, and don’t fall for the “trust us” sales pitch of these services. When you put all of your data in the cloud without local backups, you’re breaking a fundamental rule. IT best-practices demand we keep a minimum of two, preferably three separate, available copies of our data to ensure it’s viable and available. Bad things happen, and it’s our job to help keep you safe.

Every situation is different, and that is why we consult with you to achieve your objectives. Our staff is experienced and can help you safely begin leveraging “the cloud.” Please reach us at 925-552-7953, or you may always Advertorial reach us through email at, info@theportablecio.com.

Thinks like a CIO...

Performs like the best tech.

The best of both worlds when you need COMPUTER SERVICES. Great Team. Great Service.

Serving Bay Area businesses and residents since 2001

COMMERCIAL MANAGED SERVICES: Servers • Office Moves • Remote Helpdesk COMPUTER SERVICES: PCs/Macs/ Tablets/Smartphones • Upgrades • Maintenance • Networking • Data Recovery • Virus/Malware Removal • Back-up Solutions • Email/Hosted Exchange

925-552-7953

helpdesk@theportablecio.com www.theportablecio.com

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 13

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Energy Matters

Protectors and Defectors

By Mark Becker, GoSimpleSolar

Due to the current rate of market adoption of solar PV, solar panel manufacturers are reaching production capacity. Predictions are that at some point the industry will not be able to supply the market demand for solar panels. Ultimately, some solar projects will have to wait for supply to catch up to demand. Some larger scale commercial and utility PV projects may not make it “under the wire” for the expiring tax credit as these projects require significant design and planning approvals. There are many market forces that are contributing to the phenomenon of high demand. These forces include recognition among the public and government sector that solar PV is excellent alternative to paying PGE for electricity, the December 31, 2016 expiration of the 30% Federal Tax Credit, the expiration of current “net metering” laws, and lastly, consumer perceptions to “get while the getting is good” so as to not miss out on the above benefits and returns.

“Grid Defection” is a term and a practice that will become increasingly popular amongst utility ratepayers. Electric customers who generate their own power and back it up with energy storage, such as a battery bank, will be able to “defect” from the grid and say “adios” to PGE or their electric utility. Due to current utility rate structure, there is not a strong financial incentive to “defect” at this time, but customers with energy storage currently monetize their batteries by reducing monthly PGE demand charges, or shaving power use during peak cost hours. Some ratepayers simply want the security of back-up power when the grid is down. New net metering laws (how solar interacts with the grid) are being written which will incentivize energy storage to smooth the grid and shift renewable penetration to reduce customer demand profiles. If compatibility with the future electric grid is desired, the average home or business owner considering solar should ensure that the solar system being proposed requires only additional equipment, not major modification if energy storage, advanced grid interactivity or complete energy independence.

As a reminder: The California Contractor’s State License Board (CSLB) is the state agency responsible to protect consumers and enforce construction industry law when problems arise between consumers and contractors.

It’s ILLEGAL for a contractor to change pricing for a project after entering into a home improvement contract UNLESS there were factors that would affect pricing that were not discoverable during the estimation process, such as mold damage discovered after removal of a wall during execution of the project.

A price change should only occur with a scope of work change and be handled via a “Change Order” process, which is clearly outlined on the www.CSLB. ca.gov website. A contract price change for any other reason other than as noted or per homeowner request can be cause for revocation of a contractor’s license by the CSLB. If your general contractor is employing subcontractors and you receive a “Preliminary Notice” from said subcontractors, you must ensure that the general contractor pays the subcontractors. If you pay the general contractor, but he or she doesn’t pay the subcontractors, YOU can still be legally liable to pay the subcontractors if they’ve provided you a Preliminary Notice. Indeed, you may have to pay TWICE for the same work if your general contractor did not pay them. Otherwise a lien on your home may result. Takeaway: If you receive a “Preliminary Notice” from a subcontractor, protect yourself by ensuring that the subcontractors get paid by writing joint checks, or getting Conditional or Unconditional Waiver and Release forms from the sub-contractors after they have been paid.

As a result of the increasing demand for solar PV, there are many new products coming to market. As you decide on products for your solar PV system, to ensure lowest risk, lowest long-term cost, and best value, ensure that you choose products that are not proprietary and have proven long-term (25+ years) field performance. Don’t succumb to “wow” factors or unfounded claims of “greater electric production” over products with long-term field performance. Solar PV, done right, is a 25+ year investment and can be the safest investment one can make.

Mark Becker is the President and business owner of GoSimpleSolar, by Semper Fidelis Construction Inc, CSLB 948715. GoSimpleSolar is one of the very few solar PV installers utilizing both licensed roofers and licensed electricians for installation work, project managed by a solar PV NABCEP professional. For more information Advertorial visit www.GoSimpleSolar.com.

Holiday Gift Ideas from

Le Creuset French Oven

31/2,5,7.,and9quartsizes Starting at $260.

Sale $299.99 Reg. $360.

Holland Bowl Mill Solid Cherry & Birch Bowls

All-Clad Non-Stick 8” & 10” Skillet Set

12” & 14” Starting at $125.

Made in Wisconsin

Sale $149.99 Reg. $249.

Emile Henry Bread Cloche $130.

All-Clad Precision Pressure Cooker

Count all of the Holiday Mice in TheKitchenandenteryournameinthe drawing to win a $50 gift card!

Drawing will be held December 20th.

Alamo Ace Hardware |3211 Danville Blvd., Alamo | 925-837-2420 www.AlamoHardware.com

VNVDV continued from front page

speakers presenting authentic, apolitical accounts of the Vietnam War. Describing how the group first came together, Past-President and now Treasurer, Michael Slattengren relates, “We began the organization in 1991 to promote camaraderie and networking and then moved into community service. A lot of Viet Nam veterans walked away from the service and wanted nothing to do with the military or veterans’ organizations.” Monthly meetings include good-humored teasing (reflecting what Slattengren refers to as the “sibling rivalry” between

Jerry Yahiro left and Ron Lowe right hold the banner announcing the 2016 VNVDV sponsored Wheelchair Foundation distribution in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of VNVDV.

service branches) and informative, entertaining programs. The 160-170 members come from the entire East Bay and Tri-Valley area. The majority saw action in Vietnam, but a few are actually non-veterans. County Service officers are available at the monthly meetings to discuss benefits veterans have earned through their honorable service.

December is a busy month for VNVDV. Members and guests will bring unwrapped toys to the Annual Holiday Appreciation and Recognition Dinner on December 3rd for Operation Santa Claus. Primary sponsor Tesora Martinez partners with VNVDV to make this a memorable event for the specially invited military families. The 2014 guest list included 110 families of active duty, wounded, and

See VNVDV continued on page 20

Page 14 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

The Care of Mature Trees

By Blaine Brende & Joe Lamb

Entering my sixth decade, the gathering stiffness in my joints deepens my appreciation that living systems change as they age. Trees also change as they grow older, but, for trees and humans alike, how gracefully we flower in later life is not determined by genetics alone.

Long life for humans is a relatively new phenomenon. Our Paleolithic ancestors seldom lived beyond 35 years of age, and they would, I imagine, marvel that the average American now lives to be 78. However, long life for trees is nothing new. Methuselah, a bristlecone pine growing in the Sierras, has attained the astounding age of 4,838 and is the oldest documented living organism on our planet. It lifts my heart to acknowledge that the pine nut, which grew to become Methuselah, sprouted its first needles 2,268 years before the birth of Buddha, 2,832 years before the birth of Jesus, and 3,402 years before the birth of Muhammad.

To promote long life, reduce the stresses on your trees. The densely packed clay soils common to the East Bay produce many stresses. Compacted soils lack air spaces and inhibit the movement of oxygen. Clay soils are soggy when wet (which promotes root rot), but they are hard when dry (which promotes drought stress).

Improving the porosity of the soil by mulching, aerating, and, sometimes, by radial trenching reduces the stress on your tree. Mulching is the

Gardening with Kate

By Kathleen Guillaume

We are in the heart of holiday season, so I’m wishing a very merry Christmas to some and a happy holiday to all. This is a time when we think of others, and come bearing gifts and good cheer. The best gifts come from the heart; there is nothing like a card that promises a friend ‘x’ hours of weeding or ‘x’ hours of pruning or garden clean up, especially to older members of our families, an elderly neighbor, or a friend who has recently had a child and might need one less chore on their to-do list.

We all have friends and family who already have everything or almost everything, and the best gift for them is one which is homemade, whether it is a jar of one of your excellent jellies, a box of candied lemon or orange peel (really easy recipes are available online), or a holiday floral arrangement for a friend’s end table or entry hall.

If you are really pressed for time, an easy gift selection is a potted plant.

To make it festive tie the pot with ribbons or bows, and stick a few holiday picks (which Michael’s has a ton of) in and around the pot. Your selection of picks will give you a broad range of colors to work with from bright colors to subtle metallics. You can also select a festive pot and plant it with things you know will be a favorite of your recipient. If your plant is a gift for the front porch, ask the people at your favorite nursery for deer resistant recommendations. The best designs have something tall, a medium size filler, and something that spills over the edge. In fact this can even be your gift to yourself and your own home. One of my favorite combinations for this time of year is the False Holly, Osmantus heterphyllus either “Goshiki’ or ‘Varigatus’ which have holly shaped leaves. Both varieties are variegated and slow growers, so they take to pots easily. This plant can be surrounded with a circle of blooming cyclamens, which are available in an array of colors at this time of year. For the something tall, find a branch with or without leaves, cut it so it is about 1/3 taller than the anchor plant when it is sunk into the soil, find a pleasing pattern and spray it gold, silver or bronze, and tuck it in the back of the pot.

Don’t forget our fine feathered friends. Most nurseries have hangers of bird food that is shaped like an ornament or ball. Add some colorful ribbon and hang birdfood in one of your trees from a string long enough that the average squirrel cannot reach. These seed balls also make good gifts for bird-lover friends.

www.yourmonthlypaper.com easiest and cheapest of these techniques. Two or three inches of quality mulch under the canopy of the tree, but not piled against the trunk, helps to keep the soil soft, moist, and cooler in the summer. Aerating aids soil porosity and reduces stress. To aerate the tree, use a deep root irrigator to drill many one-inch diameter holes to a depth of around 30 inches throughout the zone under the tree’s canopy.

Pruning to remove dead and diseased branches reduces the stresses on the tree. Many fruit trees suffer from diseases, both fungal and bacterial, carried from flower to flower by pollinating insects. After entering through the flower, the infection spreads, usually slowly, down into the woody tissue. Pruning to a point below the spread of the disease increases the lifespan of the tree. As with humans, stresses can have cumulative effects. When pines are drought stressed, they are unable to make the sap they use to drown burrowing insects. Oaks suffering from oak root fungus have trouble taking up water and often suffer from drought stress.

When planning elder care for your trees, several factors beg consideration: What is your emotional attachment to the tree? Is the tree a hazard?

Will it become a hazard in the future, and, if so, when? What will it cost to maintain the tree? Will it attain ‘sabi,’ the beauty of aging, if given the correct care? I hope that as I grow older I accept Roethke’s challenge and ‘dare to blaze like a tree.’

If you wish to extend your tree’s lifespan 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 Take a trip to one of your local nurseries and walk around; you are bound to get great ideas for holiday giving. If it is in your budget, one of my favorite accessories in the garden is a glass globe which comes in all different finishes and colors. The globes are beautiful when set out among plants. My preference are the ones that have a mirror-like finish and reflect the plants, especially when they have a contrasting color. Garden path lights (solar) come in a variety of finishes and designs. There are solar lit dragonflies and other designs which will tempt you to treat your own self to an “I’ve-really-been-good” gift. There is not a gardener in the world who wouldn’t love to receive a gift card to their favorite nursery, if you become totally stumped.

In this time of good will and abundance, remember that there are people all around us who are less fortunate, and a wonderful gift to give someone who has everything is a donation in their name to one of your or their favorite local charities like Meals on Wheels, Food Bank of Contra Costa, and others that serve the people in your community. It is also good to remember this time of year to shop local; shopping around Lafayette and keeping your hard earned dollars in your own community is something that keeps the city healthy. Remember in all things that it is the thoughts and the sentiments you share with others that count. Have a most joyous holiday season, and happy gardening.

Lic# 1100014354; Bay Area Entertainment

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Life in the Lafayette Garden

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 15

Process for a Successful Design

By John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect #4059

What does it take to create a successful landscape design? Some might say that success is measured by critics and experts, but I believe it is measured by the end user, you. A successful landscape design has to meet the expectations of the owner. What I love the most is getting a call a few years after my client has been living in their yard, and they say, “John, I’m sitting here in my backyard and I was thinking of how much I enjoy the peacefulness and beauty, and I wanted to call you to say thank you!” For me, that is my measure of success.

Here are the three phases I use in creating a successful landscape design.

The first phase of the design process is a “Conceptual” design. Our first task, along with you, the owner, is to develop design goals and a design program to fit your needs. Some of these design goals are practical and functional, while some are your dreams and desires. After we develop the goals and design program, we will analyze the site and off-site conditions so we are familiar with the existing conditions and parameters with which we are working. Once we receive the necessary information, we draft an accurate scaled base plan (site Call for details plan) from which your conceptual design will be created.

When we complete your conceptual design, you will have an accurately 925.939.8300 scaled, illustrative, and schematic landscape plan that will represent your design solartechnologies.com goals, existing conditions, and your dreams and desires. The “Conceptual” Lic. #932914 design is visual communication so you can “see” the possibilities. Every idea, even a conceptual one, has an associated cost. From the concept design we develop a budget, a line-item spreadsheet detailing the cost of the project. At this point you have the necessary information to make an educated decision based on what you want and how much it costs.

Phase two is the “nuts and bolts” of the design. We will need to communicate to the contractor your design details and specifications in order for you to acquire bids, navigate planning and permits, accept a contract, and build your project. During the Construction Documents phase we provide services that will complete the Landscape design so you may enter into the Construction Phase to bring your outdoor environment to reality. The Construction Documents will be the “building” set of drawings necessary for your contractor to acquire permits and build the project to the design and specifications. Construction documents include a detailed Planting Plan with planting specifications, botanical and common plant sizes and quantities, a Hardscape Plan, and plans that detail lighting, grading and drainage, irrigation, material selections, notes, and specifications. Working drawings (how to build) are included for built site elements like arbors, trellises, pergolas, swimming pools, cabanas, retaining walls, etc.

After the completion of the Construction Documents you are ready to build your project. The Construction Documents are the vehicle to communicate the parameters of your Landscape project to the necessary contractors so they may provide you with “apples to apples” bid proposals. This will assist you in selecting your contractor(s) to build your project. You will also need the plans to acquire permits.

Phase three is the Construction Phase. It is very important that the design intent and vision is brought to reality during construction. Our Construction Phase Services become a very important part of completing the design. The design process actually continues into construction. During construction, design decisions and interpretation are necessary in order to lay the design onto the land and bring the design vision to reality. Typically, this is when the design can be misinterpreted or contractors can make subtle changes to cut corners. This part of the design process ultimately guarantees the success of your design because it puts the control of the outcome in the hands of the owner and landscape architect.

My clients have said that the design process saved them time and money during construction by not having to make decisions under pressure, paying for changes, and not having to take time off work to manage the contractors.

A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Built landscape structures must be executed with proper construction techniques which are ensured through proper design, construction details and specifications, and on-site observations during the construction process. Landscape architects are licensed and qualified to draw construction documents.

Gardening Quote of the Month: “Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.” ~Author Unknown 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 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

New Real Estate Law – Probate Avoidance Tool?

By Robert J. Silverman, Attorney at Law

After many attempts during recent years, the California legislature passed, and the governor signed, an interesting new bill - AB139. Effective January 1, 2016, the law makes available a new kind of deed, called a “revocable transfer on death deed,” that enables an individual real property owner to designate a grantee who will, on the owner’s death, become the legal owner of the property. Furthermore, no court probate proceeding will be required.

I’ve often written about the many disadvantages of probate, which include significant attorneys’ fees, costs, and inconvenience. This legislation was an attempt to create a consumer-friendly way for individuals (not couples) to transfer real estate to a loved one simply, without needing to hire an attorney to draft a Will and/or a Revocable Living Trust.

Until enactment of this new law, no methods have been available to enable a non-probate transfer on death of real estate owned by an individual. While one has always been able to deed/transfer a “joint tenancy” interest in a property to a loved one, this can cause serious problems, including that: a) the owner exposes her equity in the property to the creditors of the added joint tenant (co-owner); b) the joint tenant loved one could force the sale of the property and take half of the sale proceeds; and c) the future sale by the loved one can potentially result in substantial income tax liability that would not have been triggered if the loved one had instead received the property on the owner’s death

by Will or Trust.

The appealing part of this new law is that since the property transfer is effective only upon the owner’s death, the above disadvantages do not exist. So, does the new law mean that Wills and Trusts are no longer necessary or desirable or, furthermore, that the need to engage in estate planning has gone away? Definitively, “no!” Is this new method of transferring real estate on death by deed a magic bullet? Again, a resounding “no.”

While it can be useful in certain, limited circumstances, the revocable transfer on death deed has important limitations and potential problems First, it creates a relatively easy way for a predator to take advantage of an elderly property owner by persuading the elder to sign such a deed. The law contains some protections against such abuse, but the protections are certainly not foolproof. This type of fraud could cause a huge problem and be difficult and expensive to try to remedy. If an elderly owner instead engages in more conventional estate planning such as working with an attorney to establish a comprehensive estate plan, including a Revocable Living Trust – this potential fraud damage is avoided.

Another critical limitation is that, unlike a Trust, this simple deed is not suitable if an owner wishes to add appropriate or necessary conditions. If the desired grantee is a minor or young adult, or the owner might prefer that the distribution be delayed or controlled rather than given to the grantee outright (i.e. with no “strings attached”), then using this new kind of deed would be unwise. Instead, a Trust, prepared and executed with proper legal formalities, can create meaningful control and protection, including probate avoidance, for such loved one.

What happens if the named grantee in the deed dies before the property owner dies? This question leads to the most fundamental shortcoming of the new law. Let’s suppose, for example, that the grantee dies and the owner is then incapacitated or unable to revoke the deed prior to her death. In that event, if the owner had no valid Will, the real estate would go to the owner’s next of kin. That applicable “intestacy” statute could result in the real estate being distributed to a blood relative whom the owner would have never wanted to inherit her property. Typically, this is not a problem for people who establish a Living Trust (or a Will)

www.yourmonthlypaper.com because they routinely designate one or more contingent beneficiaries.

Accordingly, if the primary beneficiary dies before the owner does, the property is alternatively distributed per the owner’s wishes.

The “bottom line” is that this new law, if used when appropriate and after consulting with legal counsel, can be helpful; but it is only one limited tool, among many, that might be useful in any particular estate plan.

Upon request, I’ll be happy to provide you, on a complimentary basis, any or all of the following: i) an “Estate Planning Primer”; ii) a brochure on alternative methods of holding title to property; iii) an introductory meeting.

Mr. Silverman is an attorney with R. Silverman Law Group specializing in estate planning, trust administration and probate, real estate, and business taxes. They are 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

For advertising information contact Lafayette Today at 925-405-6397 Blackhawk “First Sunday” Cars & Coffee

Blackhawk Automotive Museum hosts a monthly Cars & Coffee event year round for all car enthusiasts. Held on the “First Sunday” of each month, starting at 8AM and going to 10AM, the Museum welcomes all classic, collector, and special interest car owners and enthusiasts.

On Cars & Coffee Sundays, the Museum opens an hour earlier, at 9AM, and participating car owners will receive complimentary Museum admission tickets.

The Museum is located at 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle in Danville. For more information, visit www.blackhawkmuseum.org/carsncoffee.html, call (925) 736-2280, or email museum@blackhawkmuseum.org.

Brainwaves by Betsy Streeter

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Retirement Planning for DualIncome Households

By George M. Noceti, CRPS® -Wealth Advisor and Paul A. Noceti, Financial Planning Specialist with The Integra Group at Morgan Stanley

The typical American family reflected in iconic television shows of the 1950s and 1960s, in which the husband went off to work each morning and the wife happily played out the role of homemaker, is firmly in the minority. By 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that six in 10 families with children have two working parents. What’s more, the majority of Americans feel they need dual incomes in order to reach their financial goals.1 For a major goal like retirement, working couples need to be especially vigilant to coordinate their planning efforts in a way that supports their combined accumulation objectives. As you and your spouse execute your joint retirement strategy, keep some of the following tips in mind.

IRA Contributions and Deductibility

In 2015, you and your spouse can each contribute $5,500 to a traditional or a Roth individual retirement account (IRA), if you have sufficient taxable compensation (or earned income from self-employment).2 If you are age 50 or older, you can direct an additional $1,000 to your IRAs for a combined total of $13,000. Your eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA is dependent on your filing status and modified adjusted gross income for the year. You also may be able to deduct all or a portion of your traditional IRA contributions if you satisfy Internal Revenue Service guidelines. For example, if you file a joint tax return and neither spouse is covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan, traditional IRA contributions are generally fully deductible up to the annual contribution limit.

If you both are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan, traditional IRA contributions will be fully deductible if your combined adjusted gross income (AGI) is $98,000 or less. The amount you can deduct begins to phase out if the combined AGI is between $98,000 and $118,000, and no deduction is allowed if it is equal to or exceeds $118,000.

Similarly, if one spouse is covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan and the spouses file a joint federal income tax return, the spouse who is not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan may qualify for a full traditional IRA deduction if the combined AGI is $183,000 or less. Deductibility phases out for combined incomes of between $183,000 and $193,000, and is eliminated if your AGI on a joint return equals or exceeds $193,000. Note, however, Roth IRA contributions are not income tax deductible.

Coordinating Multiple Accounts

Like any investment portfolio, retirement accounts should work in unison to help you pursue a specific accumulation goal. However, with job changes so prevalent, it is likely that a couple may have multiple retirement accounts, including 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plans, rollover IRAs and possibly defined benefit plans. Because of the range of investment options offered under such plans, it is important to keep the big picture in mind in order to maintain a coordinated investment strategy. As you review your accounts, ask the following questions: • Is your overall asset allocation in line with your objectives and risk tolerance?

• Are the portfolios adequately diversified? Are they overweighed (or underweighted) in any one asset class or individual security?

• Do the portfolios complement your other investments (e.g., taxable investment accounts, real estate, and other assets)?

• Consider the fees associated with your retirement accounts and how they might affect returns. Would it make sense to consolidate some accounts to help minimize these costs?

Retirement Distributions

Couples nearing retirement need to decide the timing of retirement account distributions in light of their income needs, tax situation and market dynamics.

Among the issues to consider are: • Tapping taxable and tax-deferred accounts. Conventional wisdom suggests that tapping taxable accounts first enables your tax-deferred accounts to continue compounding longer – and potentially growing larger – over time. However, there are also those who argue that waiting longer to tap tax-deferred accounts could result in larger required minimum distributions.

• Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, allowing you to put off

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 17

GREAT SERVICE. EVEN BETTER VALUE. CONVENIENT SHUTTLE SERVICE TO HOME, THE OFFICE, BART AND BACK.

FACTORY SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE Improve mileage and extend the life of your vehicle - follow recommended service schedules

% OFF 10 REGULAR PRICES

`

LUBE, OIL & FILTER Multi-Point Performance Inspection Drain and Replace All Engine Oil Install Genuine Factory Oil Filter

DIAGNOSIS/ CHECK ENGINE LIGHT INSPECTION Let our trained experts perform an initial inspection and diagnosis. We’ll also provide you with the exact cost to perform the repair. No obligation, nothing to buy.

TAX 2995 FREE

$

+

Synthetic oil extra.

For Acura, Honda, Lexus, and Toyota vehicles only. Valid only at THE SERVICE OUTLET on the day of service. Please present coupon when service order is written. Not valid in conjunction with other coupons, offers or discounts. Synthetic oil extra.

SINCE

1993

LAFAYETTE 3360 Mt. Diablo Blvd.

925.283.3133

SAN RAMON

2151 San Ramon Valley Blvd.

925.837.3000

THESERVICEOUTLET.COM

distributions as long as possible and/or receive tax-free income.3 10/27/14 12:05 PM 1410127-TSO-ALToday-5x6.25.indd 1 If one or both spouses are covered by a defined contribution (DC) and/or a defined benefit (DB) pension plan, you will typically be given several pay-out options to consider. These may include: • A single life or joint life annuity – Typically the distribution method of choice for DB plans, a single life option, pays out a fixed benefit for your lifetime; the joint life option continues paying some portion of the benefit upon death to another party, typically the surviving spouse. DC plans may also offer the option to annuitize, convert all or a portion of the account balance to a guaranteed stream of income for life.

• A lump-sum payment – Typically an option for both DB and DC plans, in which the full value of the account is paid out upon retirement. It is up to you to then decide whether and how to reinvest the proceeds.

Social Security

You can begin receiving Social Security payments as early as 62, although delaying the election increases the monthly total. Married couples may want to consider first tapping one spouse’s benefit and delaying the other one’s until age 70, which maximizes the income and may substantially increase the couple’s total Social Security payout over a lifetime.

Determining when and how to claim Social Security benefits is a complex matter involving many variables. Please contact me for assistance in considering the particulars of your situation as you and your spouse plan for retirement.

Source:1 Forbes, “4 Dual-Income Households Tell All: How We Save and Spend,” November 4, 2013. 2 If an individual has more than one IRA, the limits apply to the total contributions made in the aggregate to all the Traditional and Roth IRAs an individual owns. 3 A Roth Conversion may not be right for everyone. There are a number of factors taxpayers should consider before converting, including (but not limited to) whether or not the cost of paying taxes today outweighs the benefit of income tax-free Qualified Distributions in the future. A 10% penalty tax will apply on funds converted to a Roth IRA, if those funds are withdrawn before five years have elapsed unless the owner is age 59 ½ or another exception applies. Before converting, taxpayers should consult their tax and legal advisors based on their specific facts and circumstances. Asset allocation and diversification do not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining financial markets.

For further information on how dual income families can better plan for retirement, as well as a complimentary Medicare Review, Social Security Review, and 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 LinkedIn: George M. Noceti, CRPS® Follow me on Twitter: @GNocetiMS. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice and are not “fiduciaries” (under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or otherwise) with respect to the services or activities described herein except as otherwise agreed to in writing by Morgan Stanley. Individuals are encouraged to consult their tax and legal advisors (a) before establishing a retirement plan or account, and (b) regarding any potential tax, ERISA and related consequences of any investments made under such plan or account.

George and Paul Noceti may only transact business in states where they are registered or excluded or exempted from registration www.morganstanley.com/ Transacting business, follow-up and individualized responses involving either effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, will not be made to persons in states where they are not registered or excluded or exempt from registration.© 2014 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. Advertorial

Page 18 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

Tough continued from page 11

definitely a difference from the beginning of the season to the end. They have a good foundation. The girls interest in Mental Toughness Training picked up as the season went on. They had an increasingly positive attitude toward Mental Toughness Training. By the end of the season they were anticipating the sessions.

5. Do you feel there are applications for Mental Toughness Training for academics as well as for athletics? Certainly, especially for competitive testing. Preparing for the SAT is the same as preparing for a tennis match.

6. What do you feel was the most important about Mental Toughness Training? Mental toughness training allows players manage their emotions, so they are able to play well in stressful situations. They gain the skills to play in the present. They are also better equipped to deal with obstacles that might get in their way (ie: sun, heat, fatigue).

My office is in Orinda, and I specialize in Mental Toughness Training for Teens. For more information, please have a look at my website, www.

SherylKline.com where you can sign up for my free newsletter or book a free 15 minute consultation, send me an email at Sheryl@SherylKline.

Advertorial com or call me at 925-285-0526.

Bags continued from page 7

Baby Bags has a profound effect on the families’ wellbeing. These families struggle with such issues as inadequate housing, unemployment, lack of transportation and documentation and, as a result, isolation. A routine home visit by an Aspiranet staff member holding a bag filled with baby care supplies helps offset these obstacles. One recipient mother commented that knowing people are willing to help her made her feel less alone. Another added, “I wouldn’t have money to buy diapers at the end of the month.” Not surprisingly, the greatest gift of all is a note carefully placed in each Baby Bag that conveys hope and compassion. Mrs. Caton then concluded by thanking Assistance League of Diablo Valley for its ten year involvement with the Welcome Home Baby Bags program.

To learn more about Community Programs and Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s nine other philanthropic programs and the recently awarded GuideStar Exchange gold participation level status, please visit diablovalley. assistanceleague.org or the GuideStar Exchange.

www.yourmonthlypaper.com

Reconstructive Surgery: The Other Side of Plastics

By Barbara Persons, MD, Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc.

What I really enjoy about writing this monthly column is that it affords me the opportunity to educate, and clarify misconceptions about plastic surgery. My practice encompasses both cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery, and is in the most basic sense, about changing my patients’ quality of life. Whether the surgery is cosmetic or reconstructive, I look forward to work every day because I know I can help people feel more confident about themselves, and improve their ability to function well, both physically and emotionally.

Many of my past articles have focused on education associated with cosmetic procedures, but this month I want to focus on the reconstructive side of my practice. According to the American Board of Plastic Surgery, reconstructive surgery is defined as “surgery performed on abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors, or disease.” Generally, reconstructive surgery is performed to improve function, but may also be done to approximate a normal appearance.

As a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, I perform both cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. Reconstructive surgery represents a significant portion of my practice. The American Board of Plastic Surgery requires extensive training in areas which include congenital defects of the head and neck, craniomaxillofacial trauma, reconstructive surgery of the breast, surgery of the hand, plastic surgery of lower extremities, plastic surgery of the trunk and genitalia, burn reconstruction, microsurgical techniques, reconstruction by tissue transfer, and surgery of benign and malignant lesions.

While a plastic and reconstructive surgeon’s training is extensive and spans many areas of expertise, a strong sense for aesthetics is also critically important for a procedure to be successful. Reconstructive surgery is in fact, as much an art form as it is a science. To perform a successful reconstruction, one must envision the results, the “art,” before beginning to operate. It is “seeing” in a completely different way.

Plastic surgery has often been misunderstood, or perceived as being superficial. The reality is that my training and strong aesthetic sense has enabled me to perform countless reconstructions, most recently on a pregnant woman with rapidly progressing cancer. It has allowed me to reconstruct a gunshot victim’s facial wounds, and repair the faces of dozens of children who were victims of dog attacks. Additional reconstructive procedures I’ve performed include reconstruction of skin cancer defects, skin grafts, and hand surgery.

To have the opportunity to work with patients in need of reconstructive surgery is one of my greatest joys in life. I have seen the physical and emotional transformation of thousands of patients over many years of performing surgery.

Enabling a patient to live a normal life, while instilling in them a sense of renewed confidence and self-esteem, is remarkably rewarding. It is more than improving appearances, it is allowing people to live the life they deserve and desire.

Dr. Barbara Persons is a Plastic Surgeon and owns Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc. located at 911 Moraga Rd, Suite 205 in Lafayette. She may be reached at 925.283.4012 Advertorial or drbarb@personsplasticsurgery.com.

Each of these filled baby bags coveys a message of hope and compassion.

www.yourmonthlypaper.com

925.934.3743 • 925.934.1515

www.dumploadsonus.com • www.erecycleonus.com 1271 Boulevard Way, Walnut Creek Monday-Friday, 8-5 • Saturday 9-1, Sunday, closed

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Find the Joy Amidst the Chaos During the Holiday Season

By Joree Rosenblatt

Last year I saw a very poignant quote posted on Facebook regarding Black Friday. It said, “Because only in America, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.”

The irony of this quote struck me. With of all the craziness we invite into our lives during the holidays, it is easy to lose sight of the meaning behind the holiday we are celebrating. What’s ideally supposed to be a season of focusing on family, gratitude, giving, creating memories, and (for many families) faith, often becomes a time of rushing around, stressful family gatherings, and excess of everything including food, alcohol, parties, gatherings, and stuff we don’t really need.

The truth is, often times (and not only pertaining to the holidays), we don’t end up with the experience that we imagined in our minds. Sometimes we are able to have stress-free, calm, peaceful, relaxing, and fulfilling occasions, but this isn’t always the case. It’s normal to run around for last minute shopping, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, and more cleaning, so that by the time we sit down at the beautifully decorated table with delicious smelling food, we are so tired that we secretly can’t wait until the evening is over so we can relax!

It’s almost as if we just want to get through it, and therefore we are not even enjoying the process. And then we end up repeating the same patterns year after year with the optimism that “this year will be different,” yet we don’t do anything differently that will lead to that change.

I understand that this isn’t the case for everyone; some people are very organized and don’t feel stressed by all the holiday to-do’s. But, if you are stuck in a Ground-Hog-Day-like-experience with the same story playing out year after year, don’t judge yourself; you are human and habits are hard to break, even when you have really good intentions to do so. The holiday season is inherently frenzied, and we are fighting an uphill battle in how to find the joy amidst all the chaos. But it’s there; you just have to be more

Shabbateers continued from front page

Their first get together was held in 2005. “It was a memorable evening,” recalls Mark Belotz, long time Danville resident. “Seventeen bottles of wine were consumed by sixteen people, the food was delicious, and the party didn’t end until 1AM.” It was the first of many epic dinners for the group. Now, ten years later, the same families continue to meet once a month, though now the evenings usually end by 10PM. Alcohol consumption has tapered off a bit, but the core group still meets regularly at each other’s homes to enjoy good food, fine wine, and great discussions as well as keeping their focus on giving back and volunteering.

What is the formula that works so well for this enduring dinner philanthropy group? Belotz thinks it’s the like-mindedness of fellow members. Also he says, “We try to be inclusive; everyone feels like they belong.” Group member Dean Chapman also agrees. He notes, “We are not just a bunch of middle-agers enjoying tasty food and great wine in someone’s backyard or dining room; its how we think of each other and those in need of healing, whether spiritual or financial. We try in our own small way to say we care.” Les Bloch added, “Gathering one Friday a month is an opportunity to talk about our families, our work, politics, and the evolving events of the world. We enjoy the other people in the group who are special, friendly, and intelligent and let’s face it, love wine! The added plus to the evening with stimulating people is the aspect of contributing to the common good via our annual party to discuss which charity or cause we are going to contribute to and as in Tzedakah, which means to do what is right and just, to do justice in our lives and to do it with humility.”

Shabbat is the Jewish joyful day of rest; Silvia Belotz dubbed the members of the dinner group the “Shabbateers.” The “Shabbateers” rotate their dinner meeting locations throughout the year. The host family chooses the menu theme, and emails are sent to the other families for potluck additions.

One culinary treat always enjoyed at the dinner party is challah, braided egg bread eaten on the Sabbath and other Jewish holidays. Mark Belotz says,

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 19 aware and present to notice and appreciate it.

The solution starts with cultivating the tools to help get you get centered when you begin to feel unbalanced. When you find that your busyness is taking away from what is really important, then it is time to slow down, take a few deep breaths and reconnect with yourself and your intentions. Mindfulness is the practice of living with greater awareness, attention, and intention, and connecting to your breath, which continually draws you into the present moment. We often get stuck on autopilot and go through the motions of life, and thus miss a lot of what is happening around us. Practicing mindfulness helps break free from those habits and patterns that no longer serve you and create more a more present way of being.

Mindful tips for surviving the holiday season

~ Take a minute and just breathe ~ Let go of what you can’t control ~ Increase your presence ~ Look for the joy amidst the chaos ~ Focus on gratitude ~ Increase compassion, for yourself and others ~ Be in the moment, rather than focusing on the past or the future ~ Let go of the attachment of how you thought it was supposed to be and accept what is ~ Practice responding and not reacting to what is arising in the moment If you would like to learn more about mindfulness and how to bring the practice into your life, you can find out more at www.joreerose.com. I work individually with clients and families, lead workshops, and bring mindfulness into the workplace. I am leading a Mindful Parenting Workshop on Sunday, January 24 in which parents can gain tools to be more present, create deeper connections with their children, and discipline more effectively, all the while cultivating a place of centering and calm. I also recently had a mindfulness book for kids published, Squirmy Learns to be Mindful, which teaches young kids the tools of how to appreciate being in the moment, find gratitude, and connect with their breath to calm their brains and their bodies. You can find all this info and more resources on my website.

I wish all of you a joyful holiday season – chaos and all!

Advertorial “Our master baker at our dinners is Barb Goldsmith. She brings the challah for every get together and seldom makes a regular one. She will surprise us with a sundried tomato and feta version, a special Mexican jalapeno challah, a caramelized onion and gruyere loaf, a chocolate and marshmallow one or a blueberry and cream cheese version to sweeten things up.” And, he says, “Challah makes great French toast in the morning!”

Throughout the years many organizations have been recipients of the Shabbateers philanthropy. Les Block mentioned, “One of our members’ daughter has a unique disease called Lafora, and one year we decided to fund a weekend for some of the families to connect with others whose children

See Shabbateers continued on page 21

Lic# 1100014354; Bay Area Entertainment

www.yourmonthlypaper.com down in between bites. Sit down and eat at a party instead of standing up because Your Personal Nutritionist you will not be as mindful when standing.

How to Survive the Holiday Season Without Become aware of your hunger signals. Eat when you are hungry. Stop eating Gaining Weight when you are satisfied. There is no need to eat until you are uncomfortable to truly enjoy a party.

By Linda Michaelis RD, MS It is OK to say, “No thank you,” to your host when offered an appetizer that What I hear from clients this time of year is, “How you do not like. can I enjoy the holidays without overeating and gaining Do not overeat from pressure at a party, and be true to yourself and not give in. weight?” or, “Oh! I just will start my diet again on Janust The number one rule for eating at a party is to not arrive too hungry. If you ary 1 ” or, “How can I say no to all the goodies offered?” arrive hungry, you are setting yourself up to fail in a situation where you will inHere are a few tips that have proven successful.

The key to nutritional success during the holiday evitably overeat. Have a substantial lunch the day of the party. Don’t just have a madness is to become mindful of your eating. What does this mean? Becoming bowl of soup or salad, but add at least 4-6 ounces of protein and a cup of veggies.

Skip breads and save them to eat at the party. Try tuna stuffed in a tomato or an mindful means developing a moment-to-moment awareness of what you are eating without judging yourself. It means deliberately paying attention to your thoughts egg white omelet with diced ham and veggies.

If you are asked to bring a dish, bring one that will help you through this event. about food, taste, aroma, and sensation in your mouth. It means becoming more aware of how you eat rather than what you eat. For example, when you are eating Bring a shrimp cocktail, skewered shrimp, roasted veggies, grilled asparagus with quickly without savoring your food and then immediately taking another serving, balsamic glaze, or a fruit salad. These items will balance your meal especially when the party offerings are often starch and fat laden. you are not eating mindfully.

Make time for your exercise program. You can burn off 300-500 calories with When you arrive at a party and prepare a plate of food, first think, “Do I really an intense hour of exercise. like this food?” “Is it on my list of favorites, and then is it as good as I thought it Also, arrive fashionably late to the party if possible. Just think what that will allow would be?” This is mindful eating.

Practice moderation, not deprivation, because deprivation will only cause a you at your next party- definitely a few appetizers and a couple of holiday cookies.

During the holiday season I often counsel my clients by phone or e-mail. We backlash of binging and overeating. Some of my clients are chronic dieters who are speak often and I try to “hold their hand” through holiday parties. My clients so focused on the role that food plays in losing weight that they do not allow themselves to enjoy food. I teach all of my clients to enjoy holiday parties. The clients give me an idea of what will be served, and we role play the event starting from the beginning of the day through the feast. It gives them a sense of confidence to learn to realize that occasional overeating does not equate to instant weight gain.

If you return to eating mindfully after a night of overeating, you will be eating attend the party with a plan in mind.

It is a constant thrill for me to hear how compared to past years they have less. I see many clients want to throw in the towel when they overeat at a party and been able to sail through parties with even more enjoyment without overeating. they get very upset with themselves and end up repeating the undesired behavior.

Feel free to call me to discuss your upcoming party so we can put together a plan.

One effective tool for mindful eating to observe what you do with your silNUTRITIONAL COUNSELING CAN BE COVERED BY MEDICAL INverware when you are eating. Do you keep it in your hand the entire meal or do SURANCE - Aetna, Hill Physicians, Sutter Health, Health Net, Blue Cross, Blue you put it down between bites. Do you prepare another bite before you are still chewing? You are not eating mindfully when there is attention to the next bite Shield, and other insurances. Please refer to my website www.LindaRD.com for past articles and information about services. Feel free to call me at (925)855-0150 instead of focusing on what is in your mouth.

Advertorial Put your fork down when you are chewing. With finger foods put the food or email lifeweight1@yahoo.com. the VNVDV website, Speakers Bureau Co-Director Mike Martin, a naval supply VNVDV continued from page 13 officer in Da Nang, admits, “When some of us get up in front of people to give killed-in-action American military personnel all treated to a catered holiday meal. these talks, some of us will literally break. Something flashes in our head and the Typically 225-250 children of all ages are on hand to receive stockings stuffed voice starts to quiver and eyes will well up.” Bill Green, Martin’s Co-Director, with gifts and a special present from Santa’s Workshop as well as a visit and photo spent 12 months “in country” in the northern mountains and still feels the urge with the bearded gift-giver. Up to ten tons of manufactured snow are used to creto patrol his Alamo property for intruders and assess potential hiding places for ate a sledding hill. The closing raffle features prizes from fully decorated trees to snipers whenever he walks through local parks. vacation get-aways and handcrafted quilts. Blue Star Moms co-hosts the event.

Praise for the VNVDV educational talks underscores their importance. From Beyond helping their fellow veterans to appreciate their own achievements, Tom Dalldorf, Amador Valley High: “The U.S. History Department feels your visit VNVDV has sought from its inception to improve the image of Viet Nam veterans has a huge impact on our students’ understanding of the Vietnam Experience.” prevalent among those who did not share their experiences. “We wanted to address From St. Mary’s College graduate Susan Perry: “It is one thing to read about the the negative representation of Viet Nam veterans in the press by showing these Vietnam War in history class. It is another to listen to a real person who went were fathers, husbands, and business people,” Slattengren says. The VNVDV through all the tragedies and controversies of the war.” Dr. Teri Ann Bengiveno, Speakers Bureau answers the need to dispel inaccurate impressions by profferLos Positas College writes: “The presentation is invaluable, poignant, and even ing properly documented information and personal remembrances untainted by at times humorous…The impact on my classes has been tremendous …” a political agenda.

Generating respect for those currently serving our country is another key To date the VNVDV Speakers Bureau has taken historically accurate presencomponent of the VNVDV mission. “One of the reasons we are so active is that tations to almost 70,000 individuals including students from grammar school to we never want to see any member of the military or any veteran treated as we college level and interested groups such as Rotary and Kiwanis. Talking about the were treated when we came back,” explains VNVDV Past-President Jerry Yahiro. traumatic times they have tried to put behind them does not come easily. Quoted on “I felt the politics had eclipsed the veterans, their service and their lives. I wanted to create a memorial that everyone would be able to respond to,” writes Maya Lin in an essay published on November 2, 2002 in The New York Review of Books on designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for Washington, DC. The statue in Danville’s Oak Hill Park funded

by VNVDV as the initial element of the All Wars Memorial likewise honors the sacrifices of everyone Veterans and their families celebrate completing the 2015 Alcatraz-San Francisco “Take the Rock” Swim Challenge sponsored by VNVDV and who has served our nation.

Page 20 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

Nadadores Locos Swim Club. Photo courtesy of VNVDV.

See VNVDV continued on page 21

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Herbal Supplements and Advice for Women with Recurrent Bladder Infections

By Jeremy Lieb, MD

Treating women with recurrent bladder infections can be really, really difficult. Because of the overuse of antibiotics we have helped to support the so called super bugs, which are infections that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. For example, a patient presents with mild symptoms of burning or frequent urination and is treated with bactrim for a low grade infection. Next month another ‘infection’ is treated with Cipro, then Amoxicillin, then Nitrofurantoin. Guess what: the next infection could be impossible to treat with oral antibiotics because the bacteria are resistant to all of them.

I often advocate a natural approach to flush the urinary tract in an attempt to lower the bacteria count. A similar analogy would be using a mouthwash for oral hygiene. Most patients are aware of the benefits of cranberry. This will help to reduce the bacteria adhering to the bladder wall. It’s important to either use a pure cranberry tablet or pure cranberry juice; sweetened cranberry cocktail juices are not effective. I usually recommend taking one ounce of juice or one pill three times a day for 10 days upon onset of symptoms. Then continue taking once daily to suppress symptoms. It is essential to supplement with ample water to flush the urinary system. Otherwise, this protocol will not be as effective.

Another treatment I commonly recommend is D-Mannose. It is a nutritional supplement that is a complex sugar which sticks to the bacteria and reduces their capacity to adhere to the bladder wall. This is commonly used in other countries. I recommend treating with D-Mannose pills twice a day until symptoms improve then once daily for prevention. D-Mannose is widely available online and at local health food stores. Once again, use this supplement with ample water intake.

My recommendation is for antibiotic treatment if an infection is proven on urine culture and the symptoms are progressively getting worse. I usually prefer to delay treatment with mild burning and frequency because most healthy women can flush these infections without antibiotics.

Obviously, these recommendations are intended as general advice, and the decision when to treat with antibiotics should be made with you and your physician.

Dr. Lieb is a board certified urologist with Pacific Urology. He treats general urologic conditions with a special focus on treating female and pediatric urology, cancer diagnosis and treatment of the prostate. Pacific Urology has offices in Walnut Creek, Concord, San Ramon, Brentwood, Livermore, Fremont and Antioch. 925-937-7740 or visit www.PacificUrolAdvertorial ogy.com.

Shabbateers continued from page 19

had the disease. Hearing how we gave them a moment of happiness was a good feeling.”

Kiva, a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty (Kiva.org) is another group favorite. “Ian Freidenberg introduced us to the website for Kiva” says Les Bloch. “I enjoy hearing updates and reports on the Kiva micro-loans to see how they help lives around the world by doing something as simple as buying a villager a goat or a cow to make a big difference in their lives. As a group we decided that these loans would go exclusively to women.” Andy Stein added, “It’s rewarding to hear how many micro-loans we’ve made and how many times they have been repaid and re-loaned, over and over. To know that we are affecting people’s lives through philanthropy in small amounts in countries across the world is pretty cool.”

The December meeting is important because the charities and causes will be chosen for the upcoming year. “I enjoy seeing how different people in our group passionately care about a truly wide range of charities, some as local as ARF and others as global as Kiva,” says Andy Stein. Les Bloch commented, “This year with the Syrian crises and many other world issues,

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 21

VNVDV continued from page 20

When the opportunity came to travel back to Vietnam in 2006 with the Wheelchair Foundation, Yahiro finally made the difficult decision to return. He went again with the Foundation in 2012. The 2006 trip brought 500 wheelchairs to wounded Vietnamese veterans and orphans affected by the war. The second delivery distributed wheelchairs to the general population. The journeys brought Jerry a therapeutic sense of closure. “Prior to 2006 and 2012 about every day something would remind me of Viet Nam. Now I can go days without thinking about Viet Nam, however it is still there,” Yahiro notes. “The Vietnamese have accommodated better. To them it was a war of independence. They differentiate individuals from politics.”

Yahiro is also Director of East Bay Stand Down (EBSD), which VNVDV has helped to stage since its inception in 1999. The biennial 4-day event held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds brings approximately 450 homeless and disadvantaged veterans together to receive dental, medical and psychological care and to connect them with employment, legal, and social services. New clothing, hot showers, haircuts and nutritious meals help rebuild self-esteem. EBSD’s goal is giving “A Hand Up and Not a Hand Out.” Inspired by his grandfather’s recollections of serving as a fighter pilot in Vietnam, Danville Scout Chris Behring knew he wanted his Eagle Project to benefit veterans. Working with Maureen Morley, EBSD Special Projects Coordinator, Chris designed and executed his project in 2014 supporting EBSD by raising money for sleeping bags and directing fellow scouts from his troop in videotaping interviews with veterans for the Library of Congress History Project. Big 5 Sporting Goods, a regular EBSD sponsor, provided high quality sleeping bags at $15 apiece for veterans to keep after Stand Down. With the help of troop mates and the Rotary Clubs he personally addressed, Behring was able to raise over $11,000.

In order to qualify for inclusion in the Library of Congress Project, each recording of a veteran recounting his or her military experiences must last at least 30 minutes. A special tent was set up for the interviews. Commenting on his favorite memory from this portion of his Eagle Project Behring recalls, “One Marine Veteran told a few stories in his interview that he had never told anyone before.

His wife was there and she was very grateful because she had never before heard much about what her husband had done during his military service.”

Behring was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at a Court of Honor held on May 17, 2015.

“Take the Rock” Veteran Swim Challenge is a self-confidence and camaraderie building opportunity sponsored by VNDVD in cooperation with the Nadadores Locos Swim Club. Open to all US military veterans, the annual swim from Alcatraz Island to a San Francisco beach on September 20, 2015 included 40 swimmers. Yahiro proudly describes the achievement of one veteran paralyzed from the chest down who completed the 1.3-mile challenge.

From donating gas cards enabling veterans to get to appointments and interviews to providing information on benefits and services, VNVDV actively aids veterans, currently serving military personnel and their families on a daily basis. To read more about their mission and the events they sponsor, or to join or support their projects, visit www.vnvdv.org. it will be challenging to see where the money will be best spent.”

Lynn Bloch summed up her thoughts about the dinner meetings: “I love this special group. It’s an honor to be included. I am part of a body of people who really care about each other and the world around them. The monthly dinners are something I really look forward to. It’s a bonding time and a nourishing evening in so many ways.”

Mark Belotz shares tips for starting your own dinner/philanthropy group: *Be consistent with your start time. We begin at 6:30PM with prayers over our bread, wine, and candles. *At each dinner we place a box in an out of the way place for donations.

Donation amounts are kept confidential. We set the amount at $20 per person, but often times more is donated. *Bring your calendars to the end of the year dinner to sign up for your night to host next year. *Enjoy!

To place an ad, share a story, or for more information about our papers, call 925.405.6397 or visit www.yourmonthlypaper.com

Page 22 - December 2015 ~ 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.

Reservoir Walking Group Tuesdays and Thursdays • 9AM – 10:30AM • Meet at reservoir 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, all in magnificent surroundings. 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.

Apple Basics 1st & 3rd Thursdays, 12/17 11AM – 12:30 • Cedar Room, LSC - This on-going series covers topics 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. Please note: this series deals with Apple devices only.

Positive Living Forum (“Happiness Club”) 2nd Thursday monthly • 10:30AM – noon • Elderberry Room 12/10, LSC - Brighten your day with Dr. Bob 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!

Words of Wisdom...From the Philosophical to the Lighthearted

3rd Tuesday Monthly 12/15 • 10:30AM–noon • Elderberry Room, LSC Take part in this free-wheeling exchange of inspiration, information, and humor. Topics will be explored, examined, and discussed by participants.

Stories and photographs will stimulate humorous discoveries regarding the benefits of becoming the ‘elders of our tribe.’

‘As The Page Turns’ Book Club 3rd Tuesday, Monthly • 1PM - 2:30PM • Elderberry Room, LSC - Looking for a good book to discuss with others? Join this informal group of book lovers and enjoy enrichment, lively discussion, fellowship and refreshments. Please call Lafayette Senior Services for the book title and to add your name to the email notification list: 284-5050.

Lamorinda Dance Social Wednesdays • 1 – 4PM • 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. **Skip 12/23, 12/30 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, 284-5050.

Drop-In Mah Jongg! Every Tuesday • Noon–3PM • Cedar 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. No need to RSVP – just show up and pay at the door.

Free Peer Counseling - Contra Costa Health Services offers free one-onone 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: 284-5050.

Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Programs (HICAP) 1st Wednesday/3rd Tuesday appts: 10AM, 11AM, noon • Alder

Room, LSC - HICAP provides free and objective counseling and advocacy services to Contra Costa Medicare beneficiaries and their families who need assistance with Medicare enrollment and issues involving Medicare and associated insurance programs, including prescription drug coverage.

www.yourmonthlypaper.com HICAP does not endorse or sell insurance products. For appointments, call Lafayette Senior Services: 284-5050.

Hearing Screening & Telephone Distribution 1st Wednesday Monthly • 1PM –2:45PM • Alder Room, LSC - Hearing screenings take place each month; CTAP representatives are here once a quarter. This quarter they will be here Wednesday, December 2nd. You will receive a free adaptive telephone then if the results from your screening determine that you are eligible. Please call Lafayette Senior Services at 284-5050 to make an appointment. Minimum of two sign-ups required in order for hearing screenings to take place.

Lafayette Senior Services Commission 4th Thursday of the month from 3:30 – 5:30PM at the LSC - View agendas at the City of Lafayette office or at www.ci.lafayette.ca.us.

Church Provides Community Care

Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian’s Stephen Ministry has 25 trained lay people who provide ongoing, one-on-one Christian care to those in our congregation and in the community who are experiencing transitions in their lives. LOPC Stephen Ministry is confidential and is provided at no cost. A Stephen Minister is...

• A congregation member with a gift for listening, • A lay person who has received 50 hours training in providing emotional and spiritual care, • A committed caregiver who listens, cares, prays, supports, and encourages those who are hurting, and • Someone who will “be there” for his or her care receiver, meeting faithfully for about an hour each week, for as long as there’s a need.

Stephen Ministers are available for those who are dealing with illness or hospitalization, loneliness, aging, being shut-in, separation due to military deployment, death or serious loss, separation or divorce, disabilities, or grief and anxiety.

If you know of someone who would benefit from the ongoing confidential, no cost, spiritual, and emotional support of a Stephen Minister, contact Jean Lee at (925) 943-2237, or visit www.lopc.org/ care_stephen_ministry.asp.

TM

DONATE YOUR CAR!

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

Group Helps People Cope with Death of Pets

When you lose your pet, you often feel like a part of you is lost. The death of your beloved animal companion is one of the most difficult losses you may ever feel. This loss is sometimes made more painful by society’s seeming lack of support for pet grief.

Hospice of the East Bay and the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation is offering a support group where participants can share memories and feelings and talk to others who truly understand and care. Meetings will be held the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30-7PM at the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation, 2890 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek.

For further information and/or to register, please call Bereavement Services at Hospice of the East Bay (925) 887-5681.

Hospice of the East Bay Bereavement Services are provided free of charge to all community members in need. However, donations are greatly appreciated.

editor@yourmonthlypaper.com

Wishing You the Holiday Spirit!

By Mary Bruns Lamorinda Senior Transportation

“A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere.

Before him, I may think aloud.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“Friendship makes prosperity more brilliant and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it.” - Cicero It’s that holiday time of year when we want to do something special for our family and friends. We may put up special decorations in our home, send holiday cards, or look for the perfect gifts for our loved ones. We love to see faces light up when we have been successful in touching someone’s heart by our gift. That being the case, if you are retired or have some time

on your hands or if you want to brighten someone’s day, we invite you to check in on your neighbors, family, and friends to see if they need any assistance or the gift of your attention. Providing a gift of time or assistance to those who are super busy or those who tend to become a little isolated is a treasured gift that is greatly appreciated.

We help our adult children by babysitting our grandchildren. It helps them have a date night with their spouse, lunch with a friend, or get away time for a pedicure or hair appointment. We can help young neighbors in the same way.

We can assist older adults by checking in with them to see how they are doing. Research has shown that isolation leads to loneliness, depression, illness, and sometimes an earlier than expected death; so you would be giving a beautiful gift of friendship by taking an older adult to coffee or lunch, getting an ice cream cone together, helping with changing a hard-toreach light bulb or smoke alarm battery, making a minor repair, or simply sitting down together for a visit and lending an ear. An old American Indian Proverb reminds us,“We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.”

In evolutionary developmental terms, this practice helps us to move from the personal to the universal – beginning to see our family as bigger than our personal family – becoming more inclusive. Albert Schweitzer tells us, “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”

From Charles Dickens comes the quote, “Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts.”

In the wake of recent terrorist attacks, we can succumb to fear or rise to the challenge of making new friends by extending care and good will to those around us. “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves,” suggests Edmund Hillary. Sara Paddison adds, “Realize that now, in this

Lamorinda Senior Transportation An Alliance of Transportation Providers

Volunteer Drivers – Needed, Valued, and Appreciated We will accommodate your schedule, travels, and vacations.

You will be helping your friends, family, and community!

Lamorinda Spirit Van

283-3534

Takes Lamorinda older adults to errands, appointments, grocery shopping, special events, and to lunch at the C.C. Café. Call early to reserve your ride. WE LOVE TO SAY “YES!” Wheelchair and walker accessible.

Lafayette Today ~ December 2015 - Page 23 moment of time, you are creating. You are creating your next moment. That is what’s real.”

The holidays are also that time of year when many people make donations to those organizations they wish to support. As you consider your annual giftgiving, we hope you will remember the Lamorinda Spirit Van Program with a donation. If this feels right for you, you may make your tax-deductible check payable to the City of Lafayette; write “Lamorinda Spirit” on the memo line; and mail to Lamorinda Spirit, Lafayette Community Center, 500 St. Mary’s Road, Lafayette, CA 94549. The Lamorinda Spirit serves older adults who live in Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda, providing rides to destinations within Lamorinda as well as to destinations in Concord, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek. We are most appreciative of your help.

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.

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. 737 Dwight Way, Berkeley.

P L AC E YO U R CLASSIFIED HERE! 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.

Contra Costa Yellow Cab and DeSoto Company

284-1234

Orinda Seniors Around Town

402-4506

Senior Helpline Services Rides for Seniors

284-6161

County Connection LINK Reservation Line

938-7433

20% discount for Lamorinda seniors.

Volunteer drivers serving Orinda seniors with free rides to appointments and errands.

Volunteer drivers serving Contra Costa seniors with free rides to doctors appointments during the week. Grocery shopping on Saturdays.

Older adults often have “age-based” disabilities. By describing your disability, you can become eligible for this service – providing you with additional transportation options.

Page 24 - December 2015 ~ Lafayette Today

www.yourmonthlypaper.com