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November 2016 Serving Danville Blue Star Moms – Proud Parents Providing Support Holiday Lighting of the Old By Jody Morgan Oak Tree Blue Star Moms (BSM), Chapter 101, was established in 2001 shortly after the Twin Towers fell. The Moms honor the achievements of their own offspring who are serving in the United States Military, Veterans, or Fallen Heroes through an ever-increasing variety of missions from carefully coordinated care packages to programs for Gold Star Parents and events supporting Veterans as well as active duty military personnel. Once a month members from across the East Bay gather at Danville’s Veterans Memorial Building to commune with others who understand what it means to spend every day with their hearts on the line.
Friday, November 25, 5:15 to 8:30PM
Join with your friends, neighbors, and the Danville community for the 40th Lighting of the Old Oak Tree on Diablo Road on Friday, November 25th. The magical evening will have something for everyone. For questions contact the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce at www.danvilleareachamber.com.
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out By Linda Summers Pirkle
At Danville’s 4th of July Parade Blue Star Moms hold photos of sons and daughters serving our country. (Photo courtesy of BSM)
The Blue Star emblem originated with a service flag designed by Army Captain Robert L. Queisser to display his pride in his two sons engaged at the front during World War I. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved the request by the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defenses that mothers who had lost a child serving in the war be permitted to wear a gold star on their black mourning armband. Eventually, the gold star was also placed over the blue on banners displayed by parents across the nation whose children had died in combat. Blue Star Mothers of America, of which BSM is an official chapter, was founded during World War II. Care packages from home are always appreciated by those with boots on the ground around the globe. BSM assembles and ships at least 1,500 boxes each year. Travel-size toiletries are packed in quart bags. Snack size treats and similarly sized protein products are also separately bagged. Socks are important, especially in areas where sand and grit chew through fibers and can’t be washed out. Warm hats are good in cold climates. Asked by an embarrassed Captain with all women under his command if they did special packages for ladies, the Moms answered, “Absolutely!” The next major shipment, Holiday Hugs, will be sorted and sent December 3rd. Other major shipments are made for Valentine’s Day and the 4th of July. Better Homes and Gardens Realty, 630 Danville Boulevard in Danville, offers space year round for collection of appropriate items. Special requests are honored as they are received. Jana Clark, 1st Vice President, says, “As Moms we can’t hear about a soldier who’s cold or hasn’t had a package from home without doing something about it.” Responding to a call from a Special Forces unit serving in Afghanistan, BSM vacuum-sealed two blankets to a care package. Seventy-two boxes were air dropped to the unit. Jana has spoken to some of the grateful recipients who still cherish their blankets. Christine McCracken, Recording Secretary and Care Package Co-Chair, relates: “While my son was at boot camp, there was one young man whose family did not approve of his choice in serving our country. They refused to provide him support through letters, so a few BSMs stepped up to write to him and show our support and appreciation of his service.”
See Moms continued on page 14
Local Postal Customer
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit 263 Alamo CA
ECRWSS
As I step inside a local salon, “Ooh Baby Baby,” one of Ms. Ronstadt’s many hits from the 70’s, is playing and images from my twenties pop into my head. I use every ounce of self-restraint not to burst out in a duet with Linda. It can happen anywhere: the gym, in an elevator, and frequently in the car. Hearing a favorite tune or a special song from your past can transport you to another time and place, and singing along (loudly and with all your heart) is compulsory. According to the article “Does Singing Make You Happy?,” (Julia Layton, Howstuffhappens. com, 4 Oct.2016) singing can help with mood, outlook, and general psychological health. Who doesn’t need a bit of song therapy these days? There are folks in the Bay Area who take singing to the next level; they sing in front of a real live audience! As the line from the 1994 film Forrest Gump goes, “Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get,” you never know what you are going to hear at open mic sessions. Singers from all walks of life and levels of expertise and talent perform at open mic venues where audiences are wowed, charmed, and surprised with country, Elvis, opera, torch, and everything in between. You never Open Mic singer Eileen Zamora with Gary Neuman on know what song style Keyboard. Photo by Brett Zamora you will hear, but you will be entertained with this eclectic group of singers who participate in the vibrant open mic scene in the Bay Area. Local resident, Gordon Douglass has been singing with the open mic or piano bar scene for years. After his daughters left for college, he decided to pursue a long held love of music and took singing lessons. His teacher at the time encouraged him to go to piano bars for the experience and Volume VIII - Number 1 3000F Danville Blvd. #117, to exercise his voice. In hindsight, Douglass Alamo, CA 94507 says, “It was one of the best decisions I ever (925) 405-6397 made.” When Marcello’s, a piano bar in DanFax (925) 406-0547 ville, closed down, the singers had nowhere to Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher go. “About two years ago our group of open editor@ mic singers approached the manager at Faz in yourmonthlypaper.com Danville, Majer Karjawally, and now we meet opinions expressed herein belong there twice a month, and our piano bar evenings The to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Danville Today News. continue to be very successful.” Danville Today News is not Brett and Eileen Zamora are also open mic responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor does singers and actively promote the local piano bar
See Sing continued on page 10
publication imply endorsement.
Page 2 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Annual Fall Food and Turkey Drive
The Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley will hold their annual Fall Food Drive outside Safeway stores in Alamo, Blackhawk, Dougherty Valley, and San Ramon from 10AM to 3PM on Saturday, November 19th. Members will be reminding shoppers about the food drive and then asking them to purchase a $10 bag of food inside the store. They will also be accepting cash donations. The food and funds will be delivered to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano counties located in Concord. The is to help fill all local food banks so that no NEW YEAR goal child or family will need to go hungry this holiday • CARPET NEW FLOORS! season. • HARDWOOD Additionally, the Club will be donating $4,000 directly to the Food Bank to purchase even more • CARPET RUGS • HARDWOOD CUSTOM RUGS groceries. “Every year we collect about 10,000 lbs. of food • RUGS LINOLEUM during our food drive. It’s great to see such community support for the work of the Food Bank,” • LINOLEUM TILE says Nancy Bray, Chair of the Kiwanis 2016 Food Drive. “Our one day contribution accounts for about Family Owned Business 10% of all food distributed between Thanksgiving Since 1989 and New Years by the Food Bank of Contra Costa 3344 Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Solano County.” Lafayette, CA Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers 925.284.4440 dedicated to changing the world one child and one www.LamorindaFloors.com community at a time. Founded in 1915 in Detroit License# 708486 and with headquarters now in Indianapolis, Kiwanis International is a thriving organization of service and community minded individuals who support children and young adults around the world. More than 600,000 Kiwanis family members in 96 countries make their mark by responding to the needs of their communities and pooling their resources to address worldwide issues. Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley meets every Thursday from noon to 1:30PM at the Black Bear Diner in Danville for networking, lunch, and a guest speaker. Additional information may be obtained by visiting www. kiwanis-srv.org.
Diablo Choral Artists Presents Christmas Pudding
Diablo Choral Artists Presents Christmas Pudding, a concert of traditional English songs featuring works by Rutter, Tavener, Vaughan Williams, Byrd, Holst, and more. The concerts features a Christmas carol sing-along. Shows will be held Friday, December 2 at 8pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, located at 66 St. Stephen’s Drive, Orinda, and on Sunday, December 4 at 3pm, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 1601 Mary Drive, Pleasant Hill. Details and tickets are available at www.dcachorus.org or by calling 925-680-7089.
Lost Dog!
$50 REWARD
If you find him and your name is drawn!
Danville Dog is Missing He has become lost in this paper!
He is very small, so you will have to look hard if you want to find him.
To be eligible send a letter telling us where you found him, along with your name and address, to: Lost Dog! ~ Danville Today News 3000F Danville Blvd #117 • Alamo, CA 94507
Jordan Kealey is our winner!
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Families Welcome at Free “Pop-Up Museum” Honoring Korean Veterans
San Ramon Valley veterans will be welcoming families and the general public to a special three day “Pop-Up Museum” in Danville starting on Veterans Day, Friday, November 11. The military-themed exhibits, gathered from local residents, will be displayed inside the main auditorium of the Veterans Memorial Building as well as outside the building. “Honoring Korean Veterans” is this year’s theme and will recognize those who served in “The Forgotten War.” Visitors will have the opportunity to speak with local Korean veterans about their experience in the “Living History” area. In addition to displays from the Korean War era, exhibits will also include military memorabilia from other time periods such as: • Full size cockpit of F-8 Crusader jet from USS Hornet (OK to climb in) • “Huey” helicopter (OK to climb in) • “MASH” Tent, Tactical Operations Center, American Soldier’s Campsite in Korea • Communication gear • Maps and posters • Video of Korean War news reports and home movies from that era • Children’s activities (identify objects) • Blue Star Moms (send a postcard to current service personnel overseas) The Veterans Memorial Building is located at 400 Hartz Avenue in Danville. Event hours are Friday, November 11 from noon to 8PM, Saturday, November 12 from 9AM to 4PM, and Sunday, November 13 from 10AM to 3PM Docents will be available to guide guests around the permanent museum displays. Admission is free. For more information, email info@stevenburchik.com, call (925) 998943, or visit www.vmbsrv.org.
Treats for the Troops
Service group Delta Nu Psi will be collecting “gourmet junk food” to send to our servicemen and women in Afghanistan. Delta Nu Psi will continue sending packages as long as American military members are in the War Zone. Much of the food sent is not normally available to the troops. Collections will be held at CVS in Alamo on Friday, November 4 and at Lunardi’s in Danville on Friday, November 11. Both collections will take place from 11:30AM to 2PM. Please come to either store and shop for our service personal. For more information, visit www.deltanupsi.org. Money for postage is also always appreciated. Please help Delta Nu Psi provide our men and women in the War Zone a touch of home.
Election Wrap-Up
Blackhawk Republican Women proudly present retired Senator Jim Brulte, Chairman of the California Republican Party with an Election WrapUp on Thursday, November 10th at the Blackhawk Country Club, Grille Room. Check-in and a social with hors d’oeuvres and no-host bar begins at 5:30PM, and the speaker will present at 6PM. The cost is $25. “Over the last 15 years, there has been no more enduring force in California Republican politics than Jim Brulte,” noted the Capital Weekly which also called Jim one of the top 20 “most powerful political players in California.” Obviously, California Republicans agree. Elected as Chairman of the California GOP with 25 years of full-time experience in politics and government, Jim was the only freshman ever elected leader of his party in both houses of the legislature, having served in the State Assembly and Senate. Chairman Brulte’s strategies are tried and true with the election of Republicans in the 2014 election defeating the super majority control of the Democrats in the State legislature. Enjoy this unique opportunity to meet with the Senator personally during the social half hour. Please make your reservations by e-mailing or calling Jane Parish at janeparish@sbcglobal.net or 925-216-6663, then mailing a check made payable to “Blackhawk Republican Women” to her at 366 Jacaranda Drive, Danville 94506-2125 to arrive by Monday, November 7th.
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Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 3
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Boulevard View
By Alisa Corstorphine, Editor
As I sit typing this music plays in the background and the song that comes on is Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” The lyrics echo the story I am in the process of writing. I hear the chorus: I’m starting with the man in the mirror I’m asking him to change his ways And no message could have been any clearer If you wanna make the world a better place Take a look at yourself, and then make a change. While contemplating what to write this month, I was reflecting on a recent get-away my husband and I took to the island of Grand Cayman. We were able to do many unique things like kayaking in a bioluminescent bay and horseback riding in the ocean. While the tides were fairly kind in keeping an area known as Seven Mile Beach free of washed ashore debris, unfortunately the other beaches on the island were a magnet for our consumer waste. Washed ashore on several of the beaches were a multitude of pearlescent pink-lined conch shells to be picked up by the dozen. However, for every beautiful shell, there were water and soda bottles too numerous to count, along with motor oil and shampoo bottles and a plethora of lost flip-flops and other footwear dotting the coastline. Realizing Grand Cayman is but a tiny island on this planet, the reality of our global waste problem, especially plastic discards, became even more clear to me. We’ve heard the stats before: many of our material things and single-use items can take years, even decades, or generations to decompose. A plastic bottle of water or soda is often consumed in several min-
utes. However, that vessel won’t decompose for an estimated 450 years. Have you ever wondered how man has been able to live for thousands of years and stay hydrated without the use of a disposable plastic bottle? Since mainstream introduction of a single-use disposable water bottle about 25 years ago, close to 50 billion bottles of water are now consumed in the United States each year, with close to 200 billion consumed annually throughout the world. In the U.S. only 23% of those bottles are recycled, and my guess is worldwide the percentage is much lower. The realty of the problem was hammered home to me on those beaches. I realize a beverage in a plastic bottle can be convenient, but at what long-term cost? The equation of resource consumption and environmental damage just doesn’t add up to me. To make an impact on this problem, humans have to change behavior. By nature most of us resist change. All change efforts have something in common. In One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer, Ph.D. the author notes, “For anything to change, someone has to start acting differently...” The book, which explains the Japanese Kaizen approach to continuous improvement, involves taking BABY STEPS to enact a desired change. We don’t have to be on a pretty beach to see the effects of our waste. Look along our local trails, roads, and waterways. We can all take baby steps to make a difference. We can start by drinking one less bottled beverage a week, then one less every other day, and so on until the new habit becomes using zero plastic bottled beverages. We can always say “no” when offered a “free” water bottle. We can buy reusable containers. If you are a sports team parent, consider having team reusable water bottles passed out at the beginning of the season. We can also pick-up and sort trash along our paths and properly dispose of it. The Chinese classic text the Tao Te Ching notes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” With our busy lives sometimes this seems difficult, but if we don’t take a step now, then when?
Page 4 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Find Everything You Need for Your Thanksgiving Feast
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Wreaths Across America
There are 111 Veterans from all wars, even one from the Civil War, buried at the Alamo Cemetery. Local members of Wreaths Across America will place a wreath on each grave to Honor, Remember, and Teach our community about our heroes. You can help this effort by purchasing a wreath with a tax deductible check for $20 made out to WAA and mailed to WAA, SRVRWF, Post Office Box 1, Danville, CA 94526. Everyone is welcome to join with the group at the Alamo Cemetery on Saturday, December 17 at noon for a special ceremony.
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at
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Interfaith of San Ramon Valleyy (I-SRV) invites you to their annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service titled “Embracing Hope - Living Beyond Fear” on Wednesday, November 23rd at 7:30pm at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church located at 2601 San Ramon Valley Blvd. in San Ramon. Everyone is welcome to join in this one-hour, family-friendly celebration and come together as partner faith communities to pray, offer gratitude, and sing. Please bring canned goods to support the Contra Costa Food Bank, and donations for Shelter Inc. will be accepted.
San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society
Alamo Ace Hardware |3211 Danville Blvd., Alamo | 925-837-2420 www.AlamoHardware.com
Role Players Ensemble Don’t Drink the Water
The Role Players Ensemble will present Don’t Drink the Water, by Woody Allen and directed by Aaron Murphy, through November 12 at the Village Theatre, 233 Front Street in Danville. Friday and Saturday shows will be held at 8PM, Sunday shows will be held at 2PM, and a show on Thursday, November 3 will begin at 7:30PM. When a New Jersey family takes pictures of the wrong thing while visiting cold war Eastern Europe, they find themselves pursued by police and seeking refuge in the American Embassy. Woody Allen brings his signature brand of humor to a motley assortment of characters in this oddball comedy. Tickets cost $20-28 and can be purchased online at www.RolePlayersEnsemble.com, at the Danville Community Center which is located at 420 Front St in Danville, or via phone at (925) 314-3400. For full season information, visit www.RolePlayersEnsemble.com.
Alamo-Danville Newcomers Welcome Coffee
Are you new to the area or a long time resident, newly retired, or an empty nester interested in making new friends and participating in various social activities? The Alamo-Danville Newcomers Club is a women’s organization whose purpose is to enrich the lives of all its members and their families in a social manner. Check out all the Club has to offer by visiting www.alamodanvillenewcomers.com or email alamodanvillenewcomers@gmail.com.
Songs of the Season
The Danville Community Band will be presenting their 15th anniversary Christmas concert on Sunday, December 11 at 4pm. The free concert will take place in a new location: the Multipurpose Room at Community Presbyterian Church, 222 W El Pintado Rd in Danville. The band hopes you join them for this wonderful afternoon.
You are invited to attend the free November 15 meeting of the San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society from 10am to noon at the LDS Church located at 2949 Stone Valley Road in Alamo. The program for this meeting entitled “Lies, Lies, and Damn Lies” will be presented by Jeffry Vailent. For additional information, visit http://srvgensoc.org or email SRVGS@ SRVGenSoc.org.
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Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 5
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Mt. Diablo Branch California Writers Club
Journalist Joan Morris will discuss “Keeping the Hats on Straight” at the next meeting of the Mt. Diablo Branch, California Writers Club (CWC) on Saturday, November 12 at Zico Fraedo’s Restaurant, 611 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill. Morris will explain how to balance deadlines, manage versatility, and navigate the ever-shifting world of digital-first journalism, among other challenges. Morris is the pets and wildlife columnist for the East Bay News Group as well as the garden page editor. She founded Our Garden, a demonstration garden operated by the Contra Costa Master Gardeners. The garden offers free classes on Wednesdays from April through October and donates about 14,000 pounds of fresh produce each year to the Monument Crisis Center. Born in Texas and raised in New Mexico, Morris holds a BA degree in Journalism, with a minor in Russian Studies from the University of New Mexico. She joined the Contra Costa Times staff in 1988 and has held a number of reporting and editing positions within the newspaper group. Sign-in starts at 11:15AM, the luncheon is from 12-12:45PM, and the speaker will present from 1-2PM. Cost is $25 for CWC members and $30 for guests. Reservations must be made by noon on Wednesday, November 9. To reserve, contact Robin at cwcrobin.gigoux@yahoo.com, leave a message at (925)933-9670, or sign up via PayPal: click “Buy Now”on the Mt. Diablo website. Expect confirmation only if you e-mail your reservation. For more information, visit http://cwcmtdiablowriters.wordpress.com/.
Writer’s Panel
The Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW) is hosting a Writer’s Panel on Thursday, November 10th from 7-9PM at the Danville Ranch Clubhouse, located at 1895 Ridgeland Circle in Danville. This event is free to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Please come and hear six very talented, published writers share their passion, knowledge, and experience in writing memoir, family history, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, technical writing, magazine articles, blogs, and book reviews. You will also learn how to get published, and about writing coaches and websites, workshops, reading groups, writing contests, and more. Please RSVP to Holly Sauer at 925-837-8302.
Dana Wellington
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Sons in Retirement San Ramon Valley
Looking for things to do in your retirement? Consider joining Sons in Retirement San Ramon Valley Branch 128. The group has monthly luncheons with interesting speakers and good fellowship. The November speaker will be Mr. Nan Su, an expert on Chinese culture/history and human rights advocate. Additionally, members have lots of fun participating in a variety of activities such as golf, tennis, bowling, bocce ball, movies, bridge, reading, computers, and much more. Many other activities such as travel, dine outs, excursions, baseball games, and holiday parties include spouses, friends, and guests. The group’s next monthly luncheon will be held on Wednesday, November 16th at 11AM. A fee of $23 includes luncheon, guest speaker, and a great opportunity to socialize with at least 150 other retirees from the San Ramon Valley. To reserve a space, please email by Thursday, November 10th to www. info@SIR128.com. The group meets at The Bridges Golf Club, 9000 S. Gale Ridge Rd in San Ramon. For more information about this retirement branch and activities, please visit www.SIR128.com.
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Page 6 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Serving the Bay Area with honesty and integrity since 1973
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3191-J Crow Canyon Pl San Ramon Carpets, Hardwood, Laminate & Stone (925) 866-2200 www.MacFloor.com • info@macfloor.com
In Loehmann’s Shopping Center (next to Lucky’s)
Wine Bloggers Unite By Monica Chappell
As a relative newcomer to the vast community of online wine bloggers, I thought what better way to get acquainted than to seek out and recommend to my readers some of the best wine blogs out there. To start, the word blog is a compilation of two words; web and log. It is a log of thoughts posted publicly on the World Wide Web. At any time of the day or night, someone somewhere is pouring out his or her thoughts about wine on a blog. Bitten by the blog bug myself, I’ve started my own blog and use it as an educational tool. In fact, I recently attended the 9th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference which took place in Lodi. It was a gathering of citizen wine bloggers, industry bloggers, and wine writing professionals who came together for educational sessions, networking, and social gathering. From last count there were over 750 wine blogs. The ones mentioned here are some of my favorites and offer a variety of perspectives. winefolly.com ~ Wine folly’s goal, as stated on their webpage, is to “simplify wine,” and they do just that with articles, graphics, and videos to help out the wine novice. drvino.com ~ Dr. Vino, a.k.a. Tyler Colman, really is a doctor. After teaching political science for two years, he settled into full-time wine writing and education. princeofpinot.com ~ William Gaffney, the “Prince of Pinot,” gears his site exclusively towards lovers of pinot noir. William professes to have changed the preference of many over the years, leading to his moniker “Prince of Pinot.” wine-pages.com ~ One of the most popular (and perhaps longest-running) wine websites is wine-pages.com, which was started in 1995 by Tom Cannavan. The page is fun to navigate, with frequently asked wine questions, notes from tastings, and quizzes. dallaswinechick.com ~ Melanie Ofenloch, author of Dallas Wine Chick, encourages everyone to become educated about what they love, even if they are not experts. Her blog is down to earth, easy to understand, and non-threatening for any newbie. Fast forward to next year, the 10th annual Wine Bloggers Conference will return to Santa Rosa in Sonoma County from November 9 – 12th, and I’ll be there. Until then, stop by my blog, wineappreciation101.blogspot.com, and tell me your favorite wine blog. Monica Chappell is a wine writer and educator based in Lafayette.
2395 Monument Blvd., Suite J Concord (925) 680-4433 (Across from Costco Gas Station, next to Harvest House)
Meals on Wheels
Seniors in your community need your support! Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services has been supporting seniors in YOUR neighborhood since 1968. Two of our 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.
AAUW Annual Holiday Home Tour
The Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek Branch of American Association of Univeristy Women (AAUW) will be holding their 11th Annual Holiday Home Tour on Friday and Saturday, December 9 and 10. Bring your friends and tour five beautiful, festively decorated homes in Danville and San Ramon. Tickets will be available on November 7 and are $35 through Friday, December 2, after which the price increase to $40. To purchase tickets in person visit East Bay Flower Company, 206 Sycamore Valley Road W., Monday -Saturday 9-5 (cash or check only). Ticket can also be purchase via mail or online. Send a check postmarked by December 2nd payable to Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek AAUW with a selfaddressed stamped #10 business size envelope to AAUW Holiday Home Tour P.O. Box 996 Alamo, CA 94507. Use the branch website at http://daw-ca.aauw. net/hht2016/ to purchase tickets using a credit card. A $2 fee will be added to the cost of each ticket For additional information, email aauwhht@gmail.com. Your ticket purchase will help send 12 middle school girls in the Danville, Gopher/Mole Removal Alamo, and Walnut Creek communiNo Poison ties to a one-week Tech Trek mathscience camp for girls in a university setting and help local women receive 925-765-4209 their college education.
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Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 7
GFWC Danville Women’s Club
A representative from TroopsDirect will be speaking to the Danville Women’s Club on Thursday, Novemth ber 17 . “When a specialized unit was deploying without the needed helmets and body armor carriers, TroopsDirect was there with this life saving equipment for their entire team. When a generator powering a remote Special Operations outpost failed, and replacement parts were on a 12-month backorder through the military supply chain, TroopsDirect acquired and shipped the needed parts in less than 72 hours.” These are only two of the many things that TroopsDirect does for the troops. This is going to be a very informative discussion. On November 18th, in conjunction with Hospice of the East Bay, the Danville Women’s Club will be taking part in the Tree of Lights ceremony at the Danville Town Hall. Please join at 5:30PM for the tree lighting ceremony in honor of those who have died. There will also be simple appetizers and hot chocolate following this event. Over the past thirty years, these ceremonies have comforted families who have incurred a loss and also raised funds to support Hospice East Bay’s patient care services. Every Monday from 10:30AM to noon and every Tuesday from 10AM to 11:30AM, the Club has a line dancing class at their clubhouse (242 Linda Mesa Avenue in Danville). The drop-in fee is $3. If you have any questions about this event, please contact Bonnie at normbraga99@hotmail.com. For any questions you may have or to sign up to attend the November th 17 lunch, please contact Karen at (925) 831-9237 or e-mail danvillewc@ gmail.com. Members of the Danville Women’s Club look forward to meeting you and encourage you to also visit their website at www.danvillewomensclub.org. The GFWC Danville Women’s Club was organized in 1911. Women in the Club are members of the GFWC California Federation of Women’s Clubs (CFWC) and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), one of the world’s largest women’s nondenominational, nonpartisan, international service organizations of volunteer women.
Volunteer with AARP Tax-Aide
Do you like working with people? Are you good with numbers? Contra Costa County AARP Tax-Aide is looking for volunteers to become members of a team providing free tax preparation for individuals of all ages. Tax-Aide volunteer positions include Tax Counselors who are trained by Tax-Aide and certified by IRS, and Client Facilitators, who schedule appointments and assist clients at tax sites. Orientation is in November 2016, and classes for tax counselors start in January 2017. Service is from February through April 15, 2017. If you are interested, apply online at www.aarp.org/taxvolunteer or call LaVerne Gordon at (925) 726-3199 for additional information.
Mindfulness Classes:
Therapy Areas of Specialty:
~ Fundamentals of Mindfulness
~ Individual/Couples
~ Mindful Parenting
~ Life Transitions
~ The Mindful Relationship
~ Parenting
~ Cultivating Gratitude & Compassion
~ Stress & Anxiety Reduction
~ Mindfulness of our Thoughts & Emotions ~ Weekly Drop-In Silent Meditation Joree Rosenblatt, L.M.F.T. ~ License #93545 ~ 925.212.2996 50 Oak Ct. Suite 105, Danville www.mindfulnessandtherapycenter.com
What’s Up By Jim Scala
Our two brightest planets will grace the early evening and morning sky by November 15 and be even higher by mid-December. At magnitude minus-4, Venus will always appear as the brightest star in the sky. Since magnitudes are measured in whole numbers starting at zero, a minus number is unusually bright. Venus is the size of the earth, often called our twin, and is shrouded in white clouds making it very bright at magnitude minus four. On the same evening, Vega, one of the brightest stars at 0.3, doesn’t rival Venus. Venus is in the early evening sky and is easily seen as a small disk in good binoculars, and through a telescope looks like a miniature moon just past first quarter. On December fourth, Venus and the crescent moon will be at the same height above the horizon and will make a beautiful view when it’s dark at about 6PM and for a while after. Be sure to get a clear western view and during twilight, when you can see the crescent moon, look left and search for Venus. A pair of binoculars can be a big help. Jupiter is our largest and second brightest planet. At magnitude minus-1.8 it dominates the early morning sky. By 6AM it’s quite high and in the sky. Look at it through binoculars, and you can easily see some of its four Galilean moons and its disk. A small telescope shows more. On November 13 a full moon will dominate the sky, and its brightness makes viewing stars difficult. However, one of the brightest stars, Vega, at magnitude 0.3, will be visible high in the western sky. Colonial Americans named the November Full Moon the Beaver Moon, and the Indians had named it the Frosty or Snow Moon. Full Moons were named by what was important at the time. And, since both societies were focused on agricultural and trapping, that’s what the names depict. There are no public star nights atop Mt. Diablo in November because the weather is seldom cooperative. However, on November 15th at 7:15PM in Walnut Creek’s Lindsey Wildlife Museum there will be a stirring lecture about the planning and building of the 200-inch Hale Telescope on Mt. Palomar in Southern California. It was one of the 20th century’s greatest scientific accomplishments, and the images it produced are awe-inspiring. Refreshments will be served.
Page 8 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Stone Valley Middle School By Jon Campopiano, Principal
October was our busiest month of the year as we participated in Red Ribbon Week, Digital Citizenship Week, the Great Shakeout (Earthquake Awareness), and the Run for Education. Stone Valley (SV) had the most sign-ups for the Run for Education of any secondary school in San Ramon Valley Unified -- 64.82% of the SV community, (387 runners) signed up. Additionally, our jazz band rocked the path and Larry the Lion ran the 5k. We embraced the challenge of having the lowest number of runners (81) last year and worked together to accomplish this incredible feat. Thanks to our PTA parent volunteer, Danielle John, for spearheading our campaign. With the prize money for our participation rates, SV will be purchasing a new set of Chromebooks for our students. Social media and the use of technology dominate our culture. At SV we are making an intentional effort to discuss the dangers of improper social media use. Our librarian, Ms. Volenec, has been delivering lessons around our digital footprint, cyber safety, and tech responsible usage. The district has built an impressive website of resources that I recommend viewing -- www.digitalsrvusd.net. Additionally, our PTA is sponsoring a parent education night in November with the Cyberstrong organization. SV has started an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program which focuses on building study and organization skills, note taking, test taking tips, and visits to high school and college campuses. We are looking for parent tutors every Tuesday and Thursday during the class time to support our students. If you are interested, please contact Ms. Kim at hkim@srvusd.net. Participation in our after-school sports programs is growing! Our cross-country team, coached by Mr. Sherwood, had over 20 runners and six finalists in the district race. Our volleyball team coached by Ms. Daly has over 20 athletes. In the spring we will offer golf and track and field. We are proud to continue our enrichment math program, Math Counts! Math Counts is run by high school students and our 8th grade math teacher, Mr. Nacamu. The club is open to all grade levels and meets every Friday from 2:50-4PM. The club works collaboratively to solve incredibly challenging problems. Thank you very much for your continued support of Stone Valley.
San Ramon Valley Christian Academy By Jamie Westgate, Principal
November is typically a month when we are called to focus on our many thanksgivings. This year it feels like our efforts to pause and consider God’s faithfulness have been clouded by a volatile presidential election season. As our school serves the needs of students in Kindergarten-8th grades, we have found that the election has provided a great opportunity to discuss personal responsibility for every age group and the importance of being a good citizen in the San Ramon Valley. There is much we can learn from in our youth; I have listed a few admirable responses from our third, fourth, and fifth graders who answered the question, “What makes a good citizen?” • Leads people and never leaves others out • Help new people to find friends • Cares for others no matter what • Is trustworthy, loyal, and obedient • Conserves natural resources • Follows the rules and keeps their promises • Makes smart choices • Is selfless • Treats people equally I can’t help but think of the wisdom of Jesus as He provided the secret to healthy leadership and citizen responsibility. He reminded us in Mark 10:45 “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be a slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” As our students learn more about the role of the President, our local officials, and every American citizen, we establish an undercurrent for the importance of service to others. Today’s society seems to have shifted its focus from “them” to “me,” where our motivations are for personal happiness and success of self. It is important that our kids learn that our greatest joys and satisfactions in life will be the result of putting others’ needs before our own. As U.S. citizens, we have much in which to be thankful. As we prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope every SRVCA student, family, and local community member is mindful to appreciate our U.S. servicemen, local police officers, first responders, and those teaching the next generation. We live in a great society and are expected to serve others in an effort to protect it. May the San Ramon Valley have a blessed month as together we reflect on the many reasons to be thankful.
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Los Cerros Middle School By Evan Powell, Principal
The month of October was dedicated to Digital Citizenship and making good choices through Red Ribbon Week. Our students were given the first of three lessons related to Digital Citizenship and the footprint they can leave along with awareness of online choices. During Red Ribbon Week, students participated in a Rally in which Sean Donohue and Teen Esteem presented tips and success strategies for students in making good choices. Students also competed with a door decorating contest and had the chance to enter an essay competition to win some really cool prizes. We have begun our 22nd Annual Basket Brigade and are accepting donations for Thanksgiving dinners. We will gather enough food and Thanksgiving items to support 300 families in our community. Please join us on Thursday, November 17th when we assemble the baskets. Los Cerros will be celebrating our 50th year celebration on Thursday, May 4th, 2017. We look forward to welcoming our alumni and community members to our Open House and sharing their stories of the school.
Charlotte Wood Middle School By Christopher George, Principal
We have wrapped up our first quarter and are swiftly moving into second quarter. As always, we are impressed with our kids and teachers and their work. This year we have worked to make sure that we have interventions programs in place in order to help all students achieve grade level standards. This year, we have changed the nature of our advisory program to reflect the need to help students. Additionally, we have created our lunchtime Achievement Time in order to give kids and teachers the time they need to be able to reassess and continue or complete learning that hasn’t been done yet. We continue our curricular journey towards becoming a true Professional Learning Community school. To that end, we are working hard this year on making sure that students understand clear learning targets. We have additionally continued to work to improve our assessment systems to better reflect learning towards standards. We also wanted to take this opportunity to thank our parent communities for their hard work and behind the scenes dedication. We especially want to thank Amy Rickard for her leadership in PTA and Catherine Golden for her work this year in leading Charger Fund. This month, thanks to Charger Fund and parent support, we were able to fund $40,000 in technology projects for classrooms, including a new Chromebook cart for our sixth grade, replacement technology for some older equipment, and a new light board for our MPR. We do not take your support for granted and are continually grateful for our parent community’s financial and academic support. We hope you enjoy the rest of the fall and the beginnings of the holidays as we move in to November.
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Monte Vista High School
Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 9
By Dr. Kevin Ahern, Principal
With midterms in the rear view mirror, Monte Vista’s students and staff are looking forward to a great run towards the end of the fall semester. There has been a ton of positive energy generated around the Monte Vista campus since the opening of school, and that energy has reached several peaks over the past few weeks. On Friday, September 30th, the Mustangs enjoyed a big Homecoming victory against Granada. That win was followed by Saturday night’s Homecoming Dance on October 1st, which was undoubtedly one of the best events held at Monte Vista in recent years. One thousand, five hundred students and guests danced the night away on two dance floors. Our students truly had a blast at the event. Our school climate work was set into motion over four days in October. Monte Vista welcomed nationally recognized speaker Phil Boyte and the “Breaking Down the Walls” program. Phil addressed all of the juniors and seniors in two separate assemblies and followed up with four groups of students totalling about 400 in day-long workshops that focused on building positive and supportive relationships among themselves and on their campus. Based on the great feedback received from our students, we plan to continue this program for years to come. Monte Vista’s arts programs provided several fall performances over the past month and plan for more in the month of November. MV’s marching band has been performing amazing halftime routines at our home football games and has provided a spirited pep band for our away games. They also competed in their first marching band competition on October 22nd. MV’s nationally recognized Choir performed their annual Back-to-School Concert on October 4th and are slated for several more performances as the holidays approach. MV’s Dance program will perform their three evening shows on November 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at 7PM. These performances will be followed the next weekend by our Fall Play which is slated for November 10th, 11th, and 12th. I encourage everyone in our community to come out and see MV’s incredibly talented performing artists in action. Monte Vista Athletics is once again displaying a powerhouse role in the EBAL. MV Football is undefeated going into our heated rivalry game against San Ramon Valley and will top off the season with a visit to national power DeLaSalle before heading to the NCS playoffs. MV Women’s Volleyball is also enjoying another league leading run through the EBAL before beginning their playoff quest for a third consecutive NCS title. Monte Vista’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Water Polo, and Women’s Tennis are all in position to claim EBAL titles and are equipped to make deep runs into the NCS playoffs. Our school community is very proud of our student-athletes, and we look forward to a great month of November. MV is also reaching further out into our community. Our PTSA has partnered with our administration and faculty to begin monthly, morning coffee meetings where faculty, parents, and community can talk about topics surrounding Monte Vista’s programs. Our next session will be held on November 16th at 8:30AM in Room 118 and will focus on our Social Science program. In addition, Monte Vista Parent, Ryan Meineke, has started the Dads on Campus program. The group met for the first time on October 18th and featured speakers Bob Dillow and Mike Redemer presented “The Four Faces of Dad.” Keep an eye on the MV website (www.mvhs.schoolloop.com) for the next session. As always, thanks to the Monte Vista Community for their support of our school and all of its programs. We look forward to seeing you at one of our campus events.
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St. Isidore School
By Maria Ward, Principal St. Isidore is Thankful...
November brings us a spirit of gratitude, appreciation, and companionship. This month our Gospel Value is Grace. It is that time of year to reach out to one another and say how truly thankful we are for our families and friends. I am reminded of this every day as I take a step into this incredible school, where I am fortunate to be principal. I am appreciative of our staff, students, and parent community that make St. Isidore our home away from home. This is my fifteenth year here at St. Isidore, and I can honestly say that every year gets better because of this community. I personally want to say thank you for this journey we are on together. I am blessed to be here. Our eighth-grade class is gearing up for their week-long trip to Caritas Creek in Occidental, California, during the first week in November. Caritas Creek is a faith community-building experience that endeavors to illuminate how we can see God in all things. At Caritas, students learn to celebrate the gifts that God has given them, build empathy and relationships, and develop understanding for the natural world. Students return with a greater appreciation for their responsibilities as peacemakers and ecological stewards. St. Isidore honors our veterans on Thursday, November 10, at 10AM with our Veterans Day Ceremony. This day is a long-standing tradition here at St. Isidore School and we spend many hours making sure this day is all about honoring our veterans. Our school hosts an assembly that honors our own dads, grandfathers, uncles, friends, and parishioners who have served in our armed forces. We love our veterans and feel very honored to share their stories with our students. This is a day when we remember, reflect, and give thanks. Please feel free to come join us, or call the school office at 925-837-2977 if you are a veteran and would like to participate. This month our students will be partnering with Running With Love. This is a nonprofit organization that one of our own St. Isidore alumni, Alyse Cronin, founded while she was attending Carondelet High School. Running With Love helps support migrant farm workers in Gonzales, California. Their vision is to enable the children of migrant farm workers to achieve a 100% high school completion rate and be college-ready. They focus on removing the environmental barriers that inhibit children from attending college. Our students will be making Thanksgiving baskets for these wonderful people. Each grade is assigned different items, including Safeway gift cards for 15-pound turkeys, cans of corn and peas, cans of cranberry sauce, boxes of stuffing, boxes of instant mashed potatoes, packets of turkey gravy, boxes of brownie mix, and Thanksgiving paper plates and napkins. This is one of the many ways we try to give back. Please visit the group’s website at www.runningwithlove.com for more information. We are excited to help collect these items, giving them a Thanksgiving to remember. We hope you have a beautiful Thanksgiving with your family and friends.
Page 10 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
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scene. “It comes down to this,” Brett explains: “The open mic singers are typically prepared with a song they want to sing, and they know the lyrics. The big factor is the accompanist. We have some exceptional piano players (in the Bay Area).” Local and much loved pianists who “excel in making us (singers) sound great,” according to Zamora, include the beloved Ms. Patti Leidecker whose resume includes performing at Clint Eastwood’s restaurant in Carmel and “is very good at backing singers and improvising,” and the classically trained musician, Gary Neuman, who “is a legend and probably knows all the songs in the American Songbook by ear and can transpose on the fly.” Zamora adds, “Singers and audiences can see the impact an incredible pianist can have on the quality of the performances.” Singers of every level of expertise can get their fix by performing at the open mic venues. Even people who have lots of talent and love to sing can find the prospect of getting up in front of an audience for the first time daunting. Tommy O’Dowd, ad agency production manager and open mic regular, recalled his first time performing. “I was so confused,” he says. “The song was ‘It Might as Well be Spring,’ and when I got the nerve to sing, I didn’t know when to begin or even the words--I thought I knew them. I felt dejected and disheartened that I had failed, but I also wanted more.” He decided to take classes at the SF Conservatory of Music, a suggestion from a friend who recognized his innate singing ability. Years later, Tommy’s talent is obvious and his joy and ease in performing is evident as he belts out Broadway style and American Playbook songs both professionally and at open mic venues. Many singers have similar stories when working towards their first open mic appearance. Po Chiu, who sings Elvis ballads in the open mic circuit, forced himself to face his fears after a co-worker laughed at his singing many years ago. After frequenting the open mic shows for about six months and practicing at home, he got up the nerve to try it himself. He says, “I love the open mic nights. I may not be the
San Ramon Valley High School By Ruth Steele, Principal
Suddenly it is fall, and the days are getting shorter and the mornings darker. In the run up to Thanksgiving Break, I know that everyone is ready for a little time off, and we are all looking forward to being with friends and family. Given that the school year started a couple of weeks earlier this year, we’ve been going at full speed for a while now. Thanksgiving is a great time to slow down and enjoy the things that happen outside of school so that we can come back and finish up the semester ahead of Winter Break. The district calendar changes this year allow for a break around Christmas that won’t require students to prep for final exams in January. Now, these assessments fall in December, and the Winter Break will truly be a break between semesters with no work load for students. One of the overarching goals at SRVHS for the last few years now has been trying to refine the school experience for students and staff so that we can accomplish all the things we need to get done, while still being mindful of how school “feels” for everyone. Our initiatives, which include involvement in the Stanford Challenge Success program, our campus wide 1:1 computer and the new bell schedule have allowed us to significantly shift the day to day experience for our students and staff. However, as we become a more tech centered school campus, one of the areas that continues to be a challenge for both educators and parents, is educating students around digital citizenship and preparing our children for a work force that is increasingly dependent on technology. Many of the careers that now exist are new and developing. These are fields that are much less clearly defined than in the past. One example is strategic marketing through online/social media. The collection of meta-data from consumers and the analysis of purchasing patterns online has completely shifted how products are marketed. As educators, we have to try and figure out how to help students to navigate this extremely complex online world as both learners and consumers. These are life-long skills that adults haven’t necessarily mastered, and as education continues to morph at an incredible rate, it’s a challenge that we are trying to wrap our heads around and fully understand. As part of our work on this at SRVHS, we will be showing the documentary/movie Screenagers on November 9th at 7pm in the PAC (see our website www.srvhs.net for details). It’s a window into the technological world that our teens and tweens have to navigate and the impact that screen time is having on our children’s emotional, academic, and social development. We will also be providing screenings for our staff and for all of our students. Please come if you are interested in this complex and important topic! May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. ~ Nelson Mandela
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best singer, but I always learn from my friends here, and I feel comfortable.” Eileen and Brett Zamora, who are regulars at the open mic scene, reminisced about the first time they performed at a piano bar. “We loved walking downtown from our home to the little piano bar in town. After six months of being part of the audience, we decided to take the leap and sing a song.” Eileen prepared by picking a song (“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”) and started practicing in earnest. That was the beginning of a hobby that has become an integral part Open Mic singer Carol Luckenbach with Gary of their lives. Still piano bar regulars, Neuman on keyboard. Photo by Brett Zamora they also sing professionally at events in the Bay Area and San Francisco. Doug Bryson is another talent in the local open mic scene. His opera training background is evident with the timbre, richness, and range in his voice. He aspired early in his life to be a professional opera singer and has performed in front of an audience of thousands. His life took a different turn, and for over thirty years he put his singing career on hold. Fast forward to the present, and Doug with his incredible tenor voice wows his many fans. He and his girlfriend Karen Henson, a charming, vivacious realtor and country singer (she channels Patsy Cline), perform at local open mic venues and also have performed professionally in the Bay Area. Bonnie England, a regular at the open mic scene, sums up many participants’ comments about the piano bar scene: “It’s a wonderful, joyous night’s entertainment that exists nowhere but at an open mic. There is a sense of inclusiveness that is nurturing and rewarding. The performers seem to appreciate the audience members as much as we in the audience appreciate the performers. I treasure and appreciate the friendships made through the open mic experience—I feel so fortunate to have such a great group of talented and sharing friends!” Another piano bar aficionado adds, “It’s fun when a newcomer brings the house down with a voice no one expected from the person’s appearance. And it’s almost like family or a chapter of ‘Cheers’ where everyone knows your name.”
See Sing continued on page 17
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‘Tis the Season of Giving
Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 11
By Candace Andersen, Contra Costa County, District 2 Supervisor
As the mother of six and now a grandmother of three, I am very aware of how the stresses and commitments of Christmas and the holiday season can be overwhelming on family life. It is also the perfect time to focus on what is most important and extend the great spirit of giving beyond our homes, together as families. There is no better way to teach generosity to our children than to donate or volunteer our time. Many living in our community are struggling to make ends meet, and for them the holidays can be one of the more difficult times of the year. Buying gifts and extra food is not within their budget. Some families are worrying more about essential things, such as where they will sleep that night or where they will get their next meal. Here are a few simple ways you can help if you would like to assist local families and individuals in need. Donate to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano in the 2016 “County Cares Holiday Food Fight.” This is the 13th anniversary of the challenge between Contra Costa and Solano counties. The Food Fight benefits the Food Bank in several ways. This drive has raised over one million dollars in the past 12 years and provides the Food Bank more than $120,000 each year to help families in need. Aside from the gift of food to the needy, this drive is also valued for the sense of community it brings. No one in our community should have to go hungry. Please join this Food Fight by mailing or dropping off a check made out to “The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano” at my office or by visiting www.foodbankccs.org and clicking on the link to the Counties Care Holiday Food Fight. The link will be available for donations to the “Food Fight” from November 23rd through December 31st. Be sure to note where appropriate that you are giving as a “friend of CC County employees” and indicate Board of Supervisors, District 2, and Candace Andersen as the department designee. Another way to help support some of the struggling families in Contra Costa County is by donating to the Holiday Helpers Warehouse. The Holiday Helpers Warehouse has been a program of VESTIA (Volunteers and Emergency Services Team in Action) in Contra Costa County for the past 25 years. VESTIA provides gifts of warm clothing, toys, books and food to families in need throughout Contra Costa County, all through referral from county social workers. Many of the families are in the process of starting their lives over, building new careers, and establishing financial stability and do not have additional resources to provide gifts and new clothing at the holidays. The dates for the Holiday Helpers Warehouse 2016 are Central County (to be held in Pleasant Hill) on December 12th and 13th from 8am to 3pm, and West County (to be held in Richmond) on December 15th from 9am to 3pm. If you, your company, or organization would like to donate directly or volunteer for a two-hour time to act as a “shopper” at the warehouse, please contact Alvaro Florez, Program Manager for HHW at aflorez@ehsd.cccounty.us with “HHW” in the subject line. Suggested donation items to support the Holiday Helpers Warehouse include new toys, clothing, blankets, footballs, basketballs, books, and gift cards. The basic rule of thumb is if your child would want to have the item, a child in need would, too. While all donations are gratefully accepted, they especially need gifts for teens. I will have collection boxes in my Lafayette office (3338 Mt. Diablo Bl.) and Danville office (309 Diablo Road) through December 9th for your convenience. This time of year, many look forward to celebrating the holiday season with their community. In this spirit, there are local tree lighting festivities taking place. The Town of Danville Tree Lighting will be held on Friday, November 27th. If you attend, please stop by my office for some hot cocoa and a holiday treat. The office, located just west of the tree at 309 Diablo Road, will be open from 5:30pm - 8pm . The Alamo Tree Lighting at Andrew H. Young Park will be held on Sunday, December 4th from 4:40pm – 6:30pm . The Bishop Ranch Tree Lighting in San Ramon will take place on Friday, December 2nd at 5:30pm . My office is here to serve the residents of Contra Costa County District 2, which includes San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Saranap, Parkmead, Lafayette, Moraga, Canyon, and Orinda. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can provide you with additional information on this topic or on other County issues. I can be reached at SupervisorAndersen@bos.cccounty.us or 925-957-8860.
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.
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Page 12 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Time to Shine By Cynthia Ruzzi
I have long advocated improving your ‘building envelope’ before considering solar for your home. A building envelope is made up of the walls, roof, and openings of your home such as doors, windows, and skylights. An additional layer of insulation in our attic, low-e windows, curtains, seals around each door, a high energy heating/air unit and appliances, along with LED lights can be used to guarantee a monthly electric bill of around $50. However, the continuing rise of kWh prices contrasted with the lower cost of solar power has our family getting ready to harness the sun. I’ve been researching ways to go solar, and here’s what I’ve learned. 1. Purchase With Cash – Purchasing your system outright gives you the best negotiation power. You may also be eligible for the 30% Federal Tax Credit. Purchasing keeps the cost of your electricity constant, and studies show your property value will go up – often by a greater amount than the cost of your system. 2. Finance Your Purchase – Taking out a loan to finance your system may still be a prudent choice. Some banks offer renewable energy loans with lower rates than your home equity loan, and unsecured loans may be available from your solar company of choice. PACE loans are becoming popular since they are not tied to your credit score. To qualify, you must have 10% equity in your house. The load is paid twice a year as a lien in the property tax. Visit the CaliforniaFIRST program (https://californiafirst. org) or the HERO program (https://heroprogram.com) to learn more. 3. Leases/PPA - In this case, you don’t own the system. Instead, the finance company does. As such, they will install a system on your roof and then charge you for the electricity it produces. Your monthly lease payments should be lower than what you pay PG&E but may increase over time. The drawbacks include: a. You don’t get the 30% Federal Tax Credit – the finance company does! b. When you sell your home your buyer must be willing to assume the lease, or you’ll pay an early termination fee. Have you ever tried to compare bed mattresses from one store to another? Evaluating solar systems is a whole world more difficult. Make sure you understand how efficient a proposed system is – including “how much energy will be generated” and ‘how much will it cost.” When looking for the best return on investment, compare the “Cost Per Watt” between the different proposals. If this is not provided by the solar company, calculate it yourself by dividing the total cost of the system (before the 30% Federal Tax Credit) by the total watts of the system (Note: kilowatt are converted to watts by multiplying by 1,000). Solar companies should provide a written estimate showing the breakeven for your investment. This is the time it will take to pay off the system using the savings from using solar. The fun starts at break-even: your electricity is now free! Always check the manufacturer’s warranty on the panels and the inverters. Expect a 20-25 year life span for top-of-the-line systems. If you do lease, ask for a written document showing what’s included in scheduled maintenance and how often it is performmed. While you can expect a performance guarantee if you lease, you can also expect that their inverters (often central ones) will need to be replaced every 10-15 years. Ready to learn more? Google has a great website, “Project SunRoof” (https://www.google.com/get/sunroof) that recommends a system for your home based on your address and the average amount of the electric bill that you enter. Additionally look for an explanation of how solar works and the advantages of modern micro-inverters verses older central inverters. The site will even connect you to reputable providers if you so choose. Even with a monthly electric bill of $100, you can expect a lifetime savings of $17,000 from a purchased system. It’s time to shine! We’re ready to lower our energy bills, help the planet, and add value to our home – are you? Post a picture of your photovoltaic system at www.facebook.com/sustainabledanvillearea, and let the sun shine in!
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Quick Trips
Guillermo del Toro Exhibit By Linda Summers Pirkle
Who likes to drive to Los Angeles from the Bay Area and then deal with the notoriously congested freeways? No one I know does! Low cost flights to L.A. and the ease of hiring an Uber driver to navigate the busy streets of SoCal qualifies the entertainment capitol as a “Quick Trip.” If you watch the FX series The Strain, a super natural adventure horror show with flashbacks to Nazi Germany, you most likely are familiar with Guillermo del Toro. He co-wrote the books on which the series is based and is the executive producer of the show and director of the blockbuster films Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Pacific Rim. The Los Angeles County Museum is hosting a special exhibit through November 27 highlighting the 51-yearold Mexican-born filmmaker. My husband is a del Toro fan, and he loves the horror film genre, so for his birthday I suggested a quick trip to Los Angeles to visit the Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters exhibit. The exhibit did not disappoint. Deep maroon colored walls, a dark and stormy night projected on the ceiling along with dozens of drawings, artifacts, paintings, photographs, and items from del Toro’s wildly popular (and gory) films and personal collection were on display. I was most interested in the unique and varied pieces del Toro drew inspiration from—Disneyland’s attraction the Haunted Mansion (one of del Toro’s favorite Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Frankenstein’s places), etchings from Francisco Monster; Photo: Joshua White Goya y Lucientes (Spain, 1746-1828) who is the artist whom del Toro connects with “most viscerally,” and even a large lobster suspended from the ceiling which the director acquired while in Prague while making Hellboy II. My husband liked the exhibit and commented that there was so much to take in. The life size rendition of the Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth was a crowd favorite. Our next destination was another favorite for my husband— a bookstore. It wasn’t just any bookstore. The Last Bookstore is a 22,000 square foot space in Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters exhibit downtown L.A. and home to 250,000 new and used books. With dark wood floors, reading nooks, a labyrinth made of stacks of books, and a walk thru tunnel also made of books, The Last Bookstore is defying odds in the bookstore market. Opened eight years ago, it is the largest independent bookstore in California. What a fun place to spend an afternoon. My oldest daughter, a frequent visitor to L.A., suggested that I make an appointment at the “best blow dry bar.” While my husband answered emails and explored a bit on his own, I spent an hour at The DryBar. To the uninitiated, blow dry bars are salons that specialize in shampooing and styling—no cuts. For me, it’s the ultimate in pampering. The Drybar (TheDrybar.com) chain located all over L.A. (and now in San Francisco and Palo Alto) is attributed to being the first in the blow dry field, and in my daughter’s and my opinion it is the best. The element that sets them apart from other blow dry bars is that they use their own products (shampoo, conditioner, all kinds of elixirs), and they are exceptional. Los Angeles County Museum of Art is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd, L.A., (323) 857-6000; lacma.org. The Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters exhibit runs through November 27. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday:11AM5PM; Friday: 11AM- 8PM; Saturday and Sunday: 10AM-7PM; and closed Wednesday. The Last Bookstore is located at 453 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles; (213) 488-0599; Lastbookstorela.com. Linda Summers Pirkle, travel consultant and long term Danville resident, has arranged and led tours for the Town of Danville for several years. Inspired by the many wonderful places to visit in the Bay Area, she organizes day trips, either for groups or for friends and family. “What a great place to live, so much to see, so much to do.” To share your “Quick Trips” ideas email Coverthemap@gmail.com.
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Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 13
Page 14 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Irrevocable Insurance Trust Reviews By Robert Cucchiaro, Certified Financial Planner
For many families in Danville and the rest of the Bay Area, estate taxes were once a major concern, and advanced planning was done to reduce or minimize their impact. The two most commonly prescribed tools were annual gifting (now up to $14,000 per person per year) and the use of an irrevocable life insurance trust, aka an “ILIT.” For those that are unfamiliar with this type of trust, the idea is quite simple: anything that you own is part of your estate and when you die will be subject to estate tax. Today, the amount of wealth that one can pass without any estate taxes due is $5.45M for a single person and $10.9M for a married couple. But those limits were not always so high. In fact, just 10 years ago the amount was $2M per person, and less than 20 years ago it was $600K per person! With these low thresholds, the number of people subject to estate taxes was much higher before than it is today. As a result, estate planning attorneys would often recommend that in addition to a revocable living trust, successful families should also create an irrevocable life insurance trust. Because this type of trust is irrevocable and beyond the control of the person who forms it (the Grantor), it exists outside of a person’s estate. What that means is that any asset owned by this trust does not count towards that person’s net worth when they die, and as a result, it is not subject to estate tax. Let’s use a simple example to make this concept easier to understand. John and Beth were concerned that upon their passing, as much as 40% of their estate would go to taxes as opposed to their children and grandchildren. To mitigate
Technology Matters By Evan Corstorphine
There’s been a revolution happening around us. However, being mindful that we’re in an election year, I should clarify that I don’t mean in politics! The revolution has been about how we are making technology available to help you do your work. By ‘work,’ I mean any productive thing we do with technology, whether it’s sending an email, looking up information on Google, or printing a map. At the home level, we’ve noticed most homes have at least one smart-phone user and at least one tablet such as an iPad. Old desktop computers are not being replaced at the same rate as before. In fact, desktop computer sales have been down every quarter since 2012, which is not surprising, and we see a lot fewer desktop computers in our office for repairs these days. What this means is that people are accomplishing their computing tasks in other ways. When the iPad was introduced in 2009, it turned the consumer electronics world on its ear. Suddenly, people found they could do everything they needed with this 6x9 glass and aluminum tablet, and they found that it was fun to use, too. Not only that, the tablet hasn’t been nearly as susceptible to viruses, so we’re not always having to rebuild or fix them. Its best feature is that it always seems to work, and with the 3G models you can bring them on vacation with you like a book. Why would I buy another desktop computer given this choice? It would seem that the market feels exactly the same way. In fact, the only personal computer sector that is hanging on in any way is laptop sales. People still need computers for some tasks, but they’re “tablet-spoiled” and they want mobility. What about your workplace? The office of tomorrow is a very cool place, and we’re seeing this shift already. In fact, PCIO is blazing the way with all of the technologies I’ll mention here. Most clients we service have some sort of a file server acting as a data repository and security hub. As we’ve become a more mobile workforce, we need to distribute access to the files on our server, and the technology is now here to make it easy. We are implementing a product called Autotask Workplace to enable global access to all of the files we use internally, and it’s HIPAA compliant so the medical offices we support are going to be taking a hard look at it, as well. Think of Autotask Workplace like OneDrive or DropBox, but with all the features, security, and usability they’ve been lacking. As we move PCIOs infrastructure to Autotask Workplace, I’m preparing to cut my air-conditioning bill because I will be turning off at least one, possibly both, of my heat-generating and energy-guzzling servers. If my file server is now cloud-based, what does that mean for my security and for my ability to validate my end-user’s access to important files? The answer
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this concern, they formed an ILIT and made annual gifts to this ILIT using their annual gifting limits. The trustee of this ILIT decided that the best way to invest the money inside of the ILIT, from both an income and an estate tax perspective, was to buy a life insurance policy on John and Beth. Upon their death, that life insurance was paid out income and estate tax free to their heirs, and that money could be used to fund private high school, college education, the purchase of their first home, the starting of a business, or anything else that satisfied the wishes of John and Beth when they set up that trust. ILITs are great vehicles and still something that sophisticated financial planners recommend today. The challenge, however, is that many ILITs formed in the 80s and 90s still own old life insurance policies that have been ignored and could lapse. The reason for this problem is that many of those insurance policies were written at a time when interest rates were high and were assumed to stay high forever, which of course they have not. If you are the grantor or even worse the trustee of one of these ILITs, now is the time to have an independent review of the trust itself and the insurance or other assets owned inside of that trust. If your financial advisor or estate planning attorney are not proactively addressing these issues, you should seek a second opinion. Our firm has been helping successful Bay Area families for over 30 years, and we are here to help you as well. To set up a confidential discussion, send me an email at rob@swrpteam. com or give us a call at (925) 927-1900. Robert Cucchiaro is a Certified Financial Planner. He is a Partner and owner of Summit Wealth & Retirement, a financial planning firm that has been serving business owners in Danville for almost 30 years. Rob specializes in retirement, investment, tax, and estate planning. www.summitwealthandretirement.com. Advertorial comes from Microsoft, and the product is called “Azure.” Using this product, we will duplicate the security and authentication functions we used to perform from a local server. The difference is now we’re doing it from the cloud so that our workforce can authenticate and access everything they need, from anywhere, and Microsoft is maintaining the server (and air conditioning) instead of us. The next part of the revolution is with telephony. We’ve just implemented a new cloud-based VOIP telephone system called RingCentral. If you’ve called our Helpdesk (option 4) you’ve spoken with Jennifer, who works from Arizona. She’s connected to our phone system over the internet, just like she was sitting in our office, and you’d never know the difference. The new system has given us the ability to grow our company while improving client access to important services like the Helpdesk, or the Bench, or Sales. It enables us to take advantage of sophisticated functions we would have paid $20,000 to implement just 10 years ago. And it’s somewhat future-proof, as the system will continue to improve as the company releases new functions and updates for us to use. When we’re finished implementing these new systems, our office will be a model for any company to follow; we can do anything from anywhere, securely and quickly. That truly is revolutionary! Would you like to learn how we can begin your migration to a more mobile and flexible workforce? Please contact us and let’s chat. We’re excited about what the future holds and would love to bring you along with us. You can reach us at info@pcioit.com, or 925-552-7953, option 3. Advertorial
Moms continued from front page
Wearing her BSM Service Pin, Chris has been approached more than once by mothers who don’t know about Blue Star Moms but want to get a care package to a deployed son or daughter. Following one such encounter in a Pleasant Hill Starbucks, McCracken personally packed the Holiday Hugs box for the woman’s son. Postcards created for Operation Post Card are included in care packages, bundled for distribution. The Moms have a postcard table with all necessary supplies at the Alameda Fair each year. In 2016, the Moms were invited to set up a table at the Grand National Rodeo at the Cow Palace on October 22nd. School groups, youth groups, adult organizations, and individuals all contribute to this project. Eagle Scout Projects have also supported BSM missions. The latest involves collecting baseball gloves and baseballs to ship to troops overseas for much-needed recreational breaks practicing the US National Sport. Going well beyond what other chapters offer, BSM brings California’s Gold Star Parents together annually in San Francisco with the aid of Marines’ Memorial. The totally private three-day gathering permits parents whose sons and daughters have sacrificed their lives for our country to acknowledge their grief,
See Moms continued on page 16
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Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 15
Mediterranean Celebrity By Sue Collier, Alamo World Travel
It was a beautiful sunny day when my friend Michael and I sailed out of Barcelona on our 10 day Celebrity Western Mediterranean cruise. We flew into Barcelona three days prior to the cruise so we would have time to explore this beautiful and vibrant city with a rich cultural heritage, renowned for the architectural work of Antoni Gaudi. If you go to Barcelona, don’t-miss attractions include Gaudi’s most famous works, the church La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, Las Ramblas (the main shopping area), the Picasso Museum, classic flamenco performances, and tapas and Spanish wine. The Constellation is one of Celebrity’s most popular ships, part of the “Millenium” class. She holds 1,800 passengers and has the intimate feel of a smaller ship that is easy to get around. We were greeted with a glass of champagne and checked into our very comfortable Sky Suite with veranda. After unpacking, we sat on our veranda, enjoyed a glass of wine, and departed Barcelona. We then began exploring the ship and visited the wonderful Aqua Spa Solarium, took a dip in the covered thalassotherapy pool, and visited the healthful Aqua Spa Café for a light lunch. Our first port of call was Monte Carlo where we enjoyed a visit to the Oceanographic Museum and “donated” some of our money to the local economy at the beautiful Belle Epoque Monte Carlo Casino. Our next stop was St. Tropez. We had made dinner reservations months in advance to dine at Chateau de la Chevre d’Or in Eze, made famous in the 2007 movie Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It was a fabulous prix fixe gourmet meal with attentive waiters in a beautiful dining room with a gorgeous view. The next day a light rain and fog came down, but we happily enjoyed Portofino, a charming stop on the Italian Riviera. We visited the church of San Giorgio with its beautiful inlaid mosaic designs and enjoyed cocktails dockside at a local trattoria overlooking the water. In Rome, we met up with our small group for a private shore excursion tour of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums. St. Peter’s Basilica is home to Michelangelo’s “Pieta.” Rome is a wonderful city, full of great historical sites such as the Roman Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain which is
magical at night! However, one of the most enjoyable things to do was to simply choose a local café and sit outdoors overlooking the Piazza Navona and relax enjoying a taste of Italy’s famous gelato. Our next cruise port was Naples. Sailing into the Bay of Naples, past the hills of Ravello and the pastel colored houses of Positano cascading down to the water, is an experience not to be missed! We enjoyed our shore excursion which was a morning tour of ancient Pompeii, followed by a delicious lunch in the picturesque town of Sorrento, culminating in a sometimes hair-raising drive down the infamous Amalfi Drive to Positano. We ended our day with an afternoon of shopping and a tasting of the locally made lemon liqueur, Limoncello and continued the time honored tradition of having a pair of sandals custom made for us at Artigianato Rollo, a family owned sandal shop that has been in business for over 65 years. We were able to choose the style, heel height, leather color, and decorative add-ons – just like a fashion designer. It was a great shopping experience! All too soon, our cruise came to an end in one of my favorite cities, Venice. Venice is unlike any other city in Europe with its bustling waterways, beautiful churches, great art, and wonderful food. If you have not had an opportunity to travel overseas, I highly recommend a Celebrity Western Mediterranean cruise as a relaxing way to visit Europe. Celebrity, a premium cruise line, offers several sailings from 7 days to 14 days long, visiting some of the most beautiful cities in France, Italy, Spain, and Sicily. Sue Collier is a Travel Agent with Alamo World Travel. She specializes in cruises, customized vacations, and tours worldwide. Sue is passionate about wine, food, music, and travel. Allow her to help you plan the perfect vacation. You can reach Sue at (925) 837-8742, ext. 22 or at suec@alamoworld.com. Advertorial
Attention! Don’t miss Alamo World Travel’s special event on November 15th from 6pm to 7:30pm. Please join us at the Forbes Mill Steakhouse in Danville for a wonderful evening with one of our valued travel partners, Insight Vacations. Enjoy a presentation on the hottest new travel destinations along with wine, hors d’oeuvres, and the chance to win prizes! Please RSVP to Sue Collier at 925-837-8742.
Page 16 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today
The Tree of the Season
Coast Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia By Blaine Brende & Joe Lamb
If you have a coast live oak in your yard, you will understand that its Latin name, Quercus agrifolia, is appropriate. Agrifolia means spiny leaves. And though the tree retains green leaves throughout the year, it also sheds dead leaves, many dead leaves, and they are less than friendly on bare feet. If you are lucky enough to have a mature coast live oak in your garden, you are well aware that its sculptural qualities more than compensate for the ongoing maintenance this big beast requires. I find comfort in the manner wherein old trees twist into their strangely beautiful form, their rugged bark accentuating, in counterpoint, their grace and openness. The generous shade offered by their broad crowns seems to invite one to lounge against their trunks and think about things that are never on TV. Agrifolia became the dominant tree of the costal plain, not because it’s beautiful, but because it’s tough. Though plagued by several diseases and pests, the continuing ubiquity of live oaks over the millennia is testament to their ability to resist diseases and fight off pests. Several fungal diseases, with the generic names “twig blights” and “oak branch dieback,” attack the crowns of live oaks. Brown patches in your oak’s canopy are most likely from these fungal diseases. An aesthetic debit, they rarely pose a serious threat to the life of the tree. Unsightly deadwood can be pruned out. Though these diseases come from water-borne fungi, they often occur in oaks weakened by drought stress. It is common knowledge that over-watering coast live oaks is a good way to kill the tree. Too much summer water promotes the growth of oak root fungus, a common soil fungus that can turn lethal in soggy soils. Less widely appreciated is that summer watering of oaks can make them more disease- and insect-resistant IF, and it is a big IF, they are watered correctly. Correct summer watering of coast live oaks requires placing a soaker hose in a circle around the tree at least ten feet from the trunk and running the water for about two hours–sunset is a good time. It is important to water the tree not more than once a month: once in July, once in August, once in September, and once in October. Over-watering
Moms continued from page 14
honor their children and share fond, happy memories. Asked by some of the Gold Star parents about the possibility of holding a less solemn get-together, BSM staged a delightfully social High Tea and organized an entertaining Jelly Belly tour with wine tasting. BSMs’ annual golf tournament, held at Callippe Preserve Golf Club in Pleasanton, helps to fund the filling and shipping of Care Packages and brings Gold Star Parents together. On June 18 and 19, 2016, the European Train Enthusiasts donated their time and talent to display their model train layouts in Veterans Memorial Building for Danville Summerfest. Contributions received from over 600 visitors will help the Moms with all of their missions.
Blue Star Moms pack and ship 1,500 care packages a year. (photo courtesy of BSM)
From distributing clothing at East Bay Stand Down to “Momming” rest stops with food and drink for Cycling 4 Veterans, BSM supports related organizations in many ways. Helping at the Valor Games held on Coast Guard Island is an especially moving experience. Clark relates, “The Valor Games are so inspiring that volunteers often end up in tears. A triple amputee was still swimming after everyone else finished. The other swimmers made the effort to get back into the pool in lanes beside him to urge him to the finish line.” The list of events in which BSM participates keeps growing. McCracken notes, “There is a lot of work to be done, so we all jump in and help whenever and wherever we can.” Examples include: Welcome Home and Fallen Hero events with Warriors Watch and others, Delta Stand Down in alternating years with East Bay Stand Down, Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship Fund, Wounded Warriors, Wreaths Across America, Concord Veterans Center Holiday Party, Oath for new
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can kill oaks by stimulating parasitic fungi. Judicious watering during dry summers gives the tree a boost but doesn’t encourage root diseases. It’s better not to water oaks at all than to over-water them; and lawns, grown under the canopy of the oaks, are a common cause of over-watering. One way to make your oak (and the many creatures it supports) happy is to turn lawn under the canopy over to native, drought-tolerant plants. This saves water and reduces the likelihood your oak will get a root disease. Oaks also appreciate a layer of mulch. Mulch helps aerate the soil and improves the environment for beneficial soil creatures. Given that the current stewards of the coastal plain seldom burn the woodlands, most of our oak forests have built up a significant load of dead wood. To prevent a crown fire, like the one that ravaged the East Bay in 1991, it is important to make all landscape trees and shrubs more fire safe. At Brende and Lamb it is our fervent hope that all current players in the ongoing drama of the oak woodlands act to maintain a healthy ecosystem in which coast live oaks, and the many creatures that depend on them, continue to appear center stage. Unfortunately, we are starting to see a few cases of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) in the East Bay, concentrated mostly in forested parklands. The SOD pathogen infects susceptible oaks during spring rainstorms. It is difficult to prevent an oak from being infected, but there are steps to reduce the probability of infection, such as the application of Agrifos in autumn. Furthermore, California bay trees can be a host to SOD, where it occurs as a leaf disease. Infected bays don’t die, but they can spread the spores to oaks as water drips from the bay leaves onto the trunk of an oak. Studies show that pruning back bay trees to give a 10 foot separation from your oaks can significantly lower the infection rate. At this time, preventative action is the only way of treating the disease. It takes two years for an infected tree to show any sign of infection, and once infected there is no way to cure the disease. The best place to find current information on SOD is the California Sudden Oak Task Force at www.suddenoakdeath.org. If your trees need a little TLC to protect them against winter winds, or if your property could use a little fire protection, please call 510-486-TREE (8733) or email us at bl@brendelamb.com for a free estimate. Additionally, go to our website www.brendelamb.com to see before and after pictures, client testimonials, and Advertorial work in your neighborhood. recruits at Danville Veterans Memorial Building, Veterans Job Fair at Concord Hilton, making desserts for Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley Crab Feast and Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinners and Ruck Marches (marches over rough terrain carrying a backpack weighing at least 45 pounds) at Travis Air Force Base. The Moms parade their pride annually by carrying portraits of their sons and daughters in Danville on July 4th and Pleasanton on Veterans Day. Some photographs are formal poses in uniform. Others, like Jana’s of her son Josh holding an injured baby come with action stories. Often children stop Clark during the parades to ask about the picture. She tells them, “This is my son in Iraq where he and his men saved this baby and his family. A big family came and asked for Josh’s help to get across the water because the bridge had been blown up. When they said they would help, the Mommy came and handed her little baby to Josh so he would be safely carried across the water.” The speakers committee offers speakers for service organization programs, school assemblies, scout meetings, and similar occasions. Often following a school assembly, students make postcards to include in care packages. Monthly general meetings give members time to voice their anxieties and share information. McCracken says, “Blue Star Moms has provided me a support group of people who understand how I feel and the concerns and fears I deal with on a day to day basis. It is this supportive ear we desperately need, and we have difficulty sharing with friends and family and neighbors who don’t experience first hand these emotions and concerns.” Clark adds, “Sometimes some sons and daughters are more open and communicate what they are allowed to say and how they are feeling about things. There are others who really don’t communicate much at all about anything. Our more experienced Moms are able to help answer questions when someone’s son or daughter isn’t communicating. Answers to questions such as ‘what happens during jump training’ are really helpful.” You don’t have to be a military mom to get involved. Individual volunteers and workplace groups collect items for care packages and work with the Moms on packing day. Corporations like Southwest Airlines help make bringing Gold Star Parents together possible. Contact information can be found at www.bluestarmoms. org. For care package items: carepkgdonations@bluestarmoms.org; Volunteering: beavolunteer@bluestarmoms.org; Postcards: OpPostcard@bluestarmoms.org.
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Life in the Danville Garden
Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 17
Outdoor Living By John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect #4059
Imagine your outside space to be like your home, having different functions and places for varied activities, perhaps, laid out in a similar fashion as the floor plan of your home. There are rooms for activities, food preparation and dining, relaxation and contemplation, and work spaces that can all be a part of the intended vision of an outdoor living design. Particularly in Danville, we are blessed to live in such a favorable environment which supports the idea of living outside. Current trends over the last decade have been moving towards using the outside space as an extension of living space. It’s fascinating to see homes built in the 1950 – 1980’s era and the way the land was used. For instance, take my home in Alamo, built in 1948 on half an acre. The landscape entailed a small concrete patio (square), a small patch of turf, a few fruit trees, and the rest was left to go to seed. I find a lot of homes of this area like that. Today, I develop those unused spaces into usable outdoor living space. As a home has a heart, so does a garden. Generally the kitchen and family room are the center of activity in a home. It is the same for outdoor space. Most folks in Danville enjoy the outdoors all-year-round, making food preparation and dining outdoors desirable. I design a wide range of outdoor kitchens equipped with everything from 48” stainless steel grills, refrigerators, sinks, dish washers, lobster pots, woks, pizza ovens, keg-a-rators, and wine closets. Pretty much anything in the indoor kitchen can be recreated outdoors. The living space shaded by a cabana, pavilion, or pergola becomes the central room of the outdoors supporting activities such as eating and dining, having conversations with friends and family, entertaining, playing games, simply sitting quietly reading a book, or watching TV. At night, the fireplace, fire pit, or heaters can take away the night chill for late-night entertaining. For more rambunctious activities like swimming, soccer, croquet, hide-n-seek, and tag, swimming pools and spas, large turf areas, and sport courts become the activity room or even the sports arena. For the avid golfer, imagine your own putting green! There is a big trend for outdoor living spaces like cabanas, pavilions, and pergolas. These are outdoor living rooms to house cooking, dining, lounging, games, conversations, and watching the “big game.” These spaces are a wonderful and comfortable extension of the home. Lately, I find many of my clients working from home which gives the outdoor living space a completely different potential for use. With wireless capabilities for almost everything, imagine taking care of business poolside while on a conference call with associates scattered halfway around the globe or sitting with your laptop hammering out year-end financials. There are no limits to the ways you can use your outside space. Outdoor living space need not be overdone or complicated. Creating “Outdoor Living” is one approach to effectively design the “floor-plan” of your outside environment. A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Building outdoor living space adds to your property value and is a great investment into the quality of home life.
Gardening Quote of the Month: “I do not understand how anyone can live without one small place of enchantment to turn to.” - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 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. Advertorial houzz.com/pro/jmla/john-montgomery-landscape-architects.
Sing continued from page 10
Piano player Patti Leidecker usually brings her open mic set to a close with one of her signature songs. When Ms. Leidecker sings her soulful rendition of “Something Cool,” there’s not a dry eye in the room. Music can bring on powerful emotions. According to an article in the Washington Post, “The Hidden Power of Singing, Loudly, and no Matter What You Sound Like” by Benjamin Shalva, (Feb.2016) the author says, “As we learn to sing with abandon, embracing our inner child, an innocent delight starts spreading into the rest of our life. We pause a little longer when we pass by wildflowers in bloom. We dance a little jig to elevator Muzak, not caring so much if our neighbors notice. The path of song extends our laughter and widens our smiles. We cry more easily too. The world moves us more…” Recall that special song you and your first love listened to or a tune that reminds you of dancing with your baby in your arms. Sing in your car, sing in your shower, or even sing at an open mic. SING: it’s good for you! The Zamora’s Tips for the Open Mic Newbie: 1) Find out the process. Some open mic events are more structured than others. Is there a signup sheet, and are you allowed to sing one or more songs? 2) Learn your lyrics and bring sheet music. Don’t depend on your phone; you can lose your place easily on the screen. 3) Smile and relax as much as you can; the audience will support your effort. 4) Piano players are there to make you sound good so, tip the piano player! Local venues for Open Mic: Danville - Faz Restaurant, 600 Hartz Avenue, Danville. (925) 838-1320; Faz Fun night on Tuesdays from 6:30PM-9:30PM. Look for the signup sheet. Dinner and drinks are available. The venerable Mr. Gary Neuman at the piano Orinda - Cine Cuvee, 2 Theatre Square, Ste.1 Orinda. (925) 386-0125; Ms. Patti Leidecker hosts open mic in this intimate wine bar every Sunday evening from 6PM-9PM. On Sunday, December 11, singers will celebrate Frank Sinatra’s 101st birthday with their favorite “Old Blue Eyes” tunes.
Page 18 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Clip Notes
By Jody Morgan
No mention of any comestible a vegetarian would ingest is made in primary source accounts of the menu for the three-day feast shared by English settlers and Native Americans in 1621. The 57 surviving men, women, and children who had arrived on the Mayflower were already enjoying a prodigious quantity of wild-caught poultry of unspecified species when 90 unexpected native guests arrived. In a spirit of friendship not fated to last, the native huntsmen contributed five deer to the party. Perhaps if the authors who documented the event had foreseen that it would be remembered annually as “the First Thanksgiving,” they might have listed some of the side dishes. Corn, central to the celebration, could have been served in breads baked with indigenous fruit such as strawberries, gooseberries, or raspberries. It might have been added to soup or prepared as a pudding. But regardless of its place on the table, corn was the one component of their harvest that gave the Pilgrims cause to give thanks. A letter attributed to Edward Winslow dated Plymouth in New England, December 11, 1621, reads: “We set last spring some twenty acres of Indian corn, and sowed some six acres of barley and pease, and according to the manner of the Indians, we manured our ground with herrings, or rather shad, which we have in great abundance, and take with ease at our door. Our corn did prove well, and God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good, but our pease not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown.” The Pilgrims were not the first English settlers to be thankful for success in growing the native corn. Common parlance in England termed whatever the favored local grain crop was (whether wheat or oats) “corn.” Indian corn (maize or Zea Mays) saved Virginia settlers from starvation many years before the Pilgrims landed. Archeologists have uncovered evidence of a 1607 cornfield tilled in Jamestown. DNA testing confirms that the progenitor of maize was a grass: teosinte. The most ancient remnants of maize cultivation discovered to date come from a deposit in Mexico containing tools 8,700 years old. Over the course of centuries, native farmers selected grains displaying the most desirable characteristics to plant. In The New York Times, May 24, 2010, Sean L. Car-
Fixing our Foundation By Jesse E. Call, D.C., Sycamore Valley Chiropractic
It is no secret that posture is a large part of our overall health. You may remember your mom always telling you to stand up straight. Recent studies have found that forward head posture adds strain not only to the neck and shoulder area, but it can also decrease your lung capacity by as much as 30%. When posture fails, it leads to musculoskeletal aches and pains. The wonderful thing about posture is that it is never too late to begin making improvements. Even small changes can lead to big benefits in our health. The foundation for our posture is found in our core. Every doctor, physical therapist, and personal trainer you have spoken to in the last 10 years has told you to strengthen your core. The problem with this line of thinking is that many people have strong cores, but their cores don’t “activate” when they need them to. Core “activation” is when those muscles of your stomach and pelvic floor are taut while the muscles of your back and hip flexor are relaxed. Many exercises like planks, crunches, and cherry pickers are great at strengthening the core but not at activating them. Posture is simply what our muscles, joints, and bones are like at rest or when we aren’t thinking about them. Core activation can be thought of in the same way. I can have a core strong enough to support a car, but if it isn’t turned on when I go to get laundry out of the washing machine, I can still hurt my back. Core activation is a neurological process, not a concept of raw strength. Teaching our brain and core to properly communicate is far more important than having it be strong. There are two very simple exercises that anyone of any age can do that
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roll writes: “The most crucial step was freeing the teosinte kernels from their stony cases. Another step was developing plants where the kernels remained intact on the cobs, unlike teosinte ears, which shatter into individual kernels.” As supplies from England ran low, settlers learned to use Indian corn in recipes adapted with a combination of Old and New World wisdom. They substituted cornmeal for wheat flour or oatmeal in puddings and porridges and dumplings for soups. They fried cornmeal in skillets to create “johnnycakes.” Following Native American practice, they parched kernels of corn dried on the cob and ground them into superfine flour. Travelers carried the flour in leather pouches. Mixed with snow in winter or water in summer, three spoonfuls of the flour fully nourished a grown man for an entire day. Native Americans served Swedish naturalist Pehr Kalm, whose North American Travels were published in English in 1770, “fresh maize-bread, baked in an oblong shape, mixed with dried huckleberries, which lay as close in it as raisins in a plum pudding.” Alice Morse Earle devotes a chapter of her 1898 Home Life in Colonial Days to Indian corn. She recalls: “The ears of corn were often piled into the attic until the floor was a foot deep with them. I once entered an ell bedroom in a Massachusetts farmhouse where the wall, rafters, and four-post bedstead were hung solid with ears of yellow corn …” She notes that during the winter a regular job for boys was shelling corn by the firelight. Sometimes they scraped off the kernels using the iron edge of a fire-peel or the sharp edge on the handle of an iron frying pan. Like Native Americans, colonists wasted no part of the corn plants. Once the kernels were shelled from the dried cobs, settlers stored the cobs to use as light firewood, especially for smoking ham and bacon. Lacking Legos or Lincoln Logs, children used the cobs to build cob-houses. Earle writes: “Many games were played with the aid of kernels of corn: fox and geese, checkers, ‘hull gull, how many,’ and games in which the corn served as counters.”
To place an ad, share a story, or for more information about our papers, call 925.405.6397 or visit our website www.yourmonthlypaper.com will help them to have a core that is more “active.” 1. Proper Core Activation: The first exercise is proper core activation. Many times when I ask patients to activate their core, I see them draw their belly button towards their spine. It makes them look thinner, but it doesn’t activate their core. The proper way to activate your core is to give a quick breath out like you are trying to whistle. When you activate your core in this manner, you will feel the stomach draw in, but you will also feel pressure pushing out. This is an activated core. I recommend doing three sets of 15 of these quick breath out proper core activations 1-2 times a day. It helps to train our brain and core to communicate. 2. Glute Squeeze: The other simple exercise is to simply squeeze the gluteal muscles. This exercise helps to protect the back, but it also helps to fortify your postural foundation and provide not only strength but stability. I recommend starting with three sets of 15 glute squeezes 1-2 times a day. Once you get the hang of the exercises, you can begin to add movement to them like activating your core while you walk across the room or perform a squat. Squeeze your glutes while you walk or lunge. These are great ways to begin to train these muscle groups to be on not just when you think about them but to “activate” subconsciously when needed. This makes an improvement in your posture, not just giving you strength with no purpose. We specialize in helping to examine these movements, identify the problems, and put together a plan to improve posture. If you would like help improving your health and wellness, please give us a call. Sycamore Valley Chiropractic is located at 565 Sycamore Valley Rd. West in Danville. Please visit www.sycamorevalleychiropractic.com or call (925)8375595 for more information or to schedule Advertorial an appointment.
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“Outlaw” Protection By Robert J. Silverman, Esq.
A growing number of clients want to explore how the future inheritance by any of their children may be affected by a subsequent divorce of such children. Concern may stem from any number of things, including simple caution or perhaps a fragile relationship between one’s child and his or her spouse. Occasionally, clients may question the possible motives of a daughter-in-law or son-in-law. It is in this context that I sometimes facetiously refer to in-laws as “outlaws”! Let’s take an example. John and Jane Doe have a daughter, Betty. Betty has been married to Bill for eight years. John and Jane are working with their estate planning attorney to establish a Living Trust under which they want Betty to inherit all of their assets. Jane and John ask their attorney, “How do we ensure that no part of Betty’s inheritance goes to Bill if Betty and Bill get divorced?” It’s an important question but not a quick, easy one to answer. First, when a married person receives a gift or inheritance, California law renders it that person’s separate property. So, generally speaking, if Betty inherits from her parents and then she and Bill divorce, Bill will have no claim over the assets Betty inherited. Since Betty’s inheritance constitutes her separate property, can John and Jane set aside their worries? Unfortunately, John and Jane may still have reason to be concerned. Here’s an instructive hypothetical. Betty, like many married people, believes in the strength and longevity of her marriage. After Betty inherits from her parents, Bill says to Betty: “We love each other; what’s yours is mine and mine is yours, and our marriage is forever, right?” Betty answers, “Yes, of course, Bill.” Following a brief discussion (or, possibly, no discussion), Betty decides to title all of her inherited assets in her name and Bill’s name. Many years go by, during which Betty and Bill deposit various sources of income into, and pay many expenses out of, their “inheritance” account. Bill and Betty then
The Eye Opener
Recent Upgrades at the Office By Gregory Kraskowsky, O.D., Alamo Optometry
As our office is growing and expanding, we are constantly trying to find new and innovative ways to both continue to provide excellent patient care and to enhance the patient experience. We are inherently aware that patients have many options for their eye care, and the fact that our patients continually recommend our practice to their friends and family is extremely gratifying. We therefore continually strive to improve ourselves, and we hopefully have done so. Our two newest additions have been our automated notification system and our new retinal digital imaging system. If you have been at the office in the past few weeks, then you have been introduced to our automated system, Solution Reach. Instead of receiving phone calls and then having to check your voice mail, all patients will now receive emails and texts for appointment confirmation, appointment reminders, eyewear material notifications, and office communications such as recalls, birthday cards, and office newsletters. When patients now confirm through either the email or text, it will feed directly into our system and therefore requires no additional work and calls to make sure the appointment date and time works for you. In addition, when your eyewear materials are ready to be picked up, a simple email and text will go out. This does not require a response; it is just to let you know that your glasses or contact lenses have been received, verified, and are ready. We are hoping that this upgrade in technology makes it easier for patients to receive the information needed regarding appointments and materials. The other exciting news we have is the introduction of the Optomap. This new instrument allows us to take a digital image of the retina. These images do not contain any radiation and are taken through an undilated pupil. The Optomap uses scanning lasers to both image a wide area and different layers of the retina. This capability helps in diagnosis of certain conditions and diseases. Many times the identification can be made by determining the loca-
Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 19 get divorced. At that point, it is extraordinarily difficult to trace which funds are, or were derived from, Betty’s inheritance (and thus, are her separate property) and which constitute community property. So, Bill ends up with a substantial portion of Betty’s inheritance, which John and Jane would never have wanted. John and Jane may, in an effort to protect Betty against the above scenario, have a delicate talk with Betty to warn her about the importance of keeping her future inheritance segregated – just in case she ever divorces. John and Jane may also or alternatively include any number of provisions in their Living Trust. One is a “spendthrift trust” under which, upon her parents’ death, the funds stay in trust for Betty’s lifetime, during which she has access for her needs (instead of Betty receiving all of the inheritance outright). I offer my clients another alternative: Betty is to receive her inheritance outright, but the Trust expressly states that it is John and Jane’s strong desire that Betty keep the inherited assets as her separate property. I call this my “outlaw protection” clause. The spendthrift trust offers very strong protection; however, it’s more costly and inconvenient to administer, and many clients want their mature adult children to have the inherited assets outright, with no strings attached. So, without handcuffing their children, the “outlaw protection” clause gives their children (like Betty) a valuable tool to use upon receiving their inheritance. Betty can explain to Bill that it is important to her to keep the inherited assets in her name only so as to honor her parents’ express wishes – rather than appearing to do so because she doesn’t trust Bill or has doubts about their marriage. Pros and cons of such alternatives should be discussed with an estate planning attorney so that your Living Trust can be drafted and/or revised thoughtfully and carefully in accordance with your wishes. * Estate Planning * Trust Administration & Probate * Real Estate * Business Please contact the author to request a complimentary: i) “Estate Planning Primer”; ii) Real Estate titling brochure; iii) introductory meeting. Mr. Silverman is an attorney with R. Silverman Law Group which is located at 1855 Olympic Blvd., Suite 125, Walnut Creek, CA 94596; (925) 705-4474; rsilverman@rsilvermanlaw.com. This article is intended to provide information of a general nature, and should not be relied upon as legal, tax and/ or business advice. Readers should obtain specific advice from their own, qualified professional advisors. Advertorial
tion of the area of concern within the retina. The easiest example is a nevus or freckle. These are very common and for the most part are benign. Most of the time a nevus is easy to differentiate between a benign finding and a melanoma. Most, but not all, melanomas start as a nevus that transforms into malignancy. When a nevus starts to change, it generally grows wider but also in depth. A nevus is located underneath the retina, and when it starts to invade the retina itself, it might be a sign to get a retinal consult. The advantage of the Optomap is that it can tell you information at different levels of the retina to aid in this diagnosis. In addition, this instrument allows for a digital image to be stored for baseline documentation. Even if the retina is completely healthy, having a representation for your file can be invaluable for the future. Each year these images can be brought up side-by-side for a direct comparison to ensure that either there are no changes or if a subtle change has occurred. As an office, we are trying to keep up with an ever-changing landscape. Changes are sometimes difficult but necessary to continue to practice in a way that is both patient-centric and meets the acceptable standard of care. The enhancements we have made and continue to make have these two tenets in mind. As always, we appreciate all of our patients and patient referrals. It is only through these referrals that we can grow our practice to meet the eye care needs of our local community. Dr. K. at Alamo Optometry is your hometown eye doctor for outstanding service, vision care, and designer eyewear. He can be reached at 820-6622, or visit his office at 3201 Danville Blvd., Suite 165 in Alamo. Visit our website at www.alamooptometry. com, and join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @Alamo Optometry. Advertorial Lic# 1100014354; Bay Area Entertainment
Page 20 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Bariatric Surgery Celebration Fashion Show By Dr. Irene Lo, MD
Struggling to achieve a healthy weight can be overwhelming and frustrating. Obesity is a complex problem and on the rise in the United States. Obesity worsens many medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, joint pain, and acid reflux. We all know that the ideal way to maintain a healthy body and lifestyle is through diet and exercise. But sometimes it is difficult to lose the weight – sometimes willpower is not enough. Bariatric (weight loss) surgery may be the solution for those who are overweight and have been unable to lose those excess pounds through diet and exercise. Bariatric surgery is not a cosmetic procedure or a weight-loss scheme. It involves altering the stomach or gastrointestinal tract, in conjunction with life-style modification, resulting in major metabolic and physical changes. There are several bariatric procedures which either restrict the amount of food the stomach can hold, reduce the body’s ability to absorb nutrients and calories from food, or do both. 680 Bariatrics is the division of West Coast Surgical Associates that promotes weight loss. At 680 Bariatrics, obesity is treated as a complex disease process. We strive to provide our patients with advice and care that is multidisciplinary, comprehensive, and, above all, compassionate. Our team is composed of individuals from various health care disciplines, and all our surgeons are fellowship trained and have received specialized training in bariatric surgery, metabolic surgery, and gastrointestinal surgery. On September 20th, 680 Bariatrics, in partnership with J.Crew and West Coast Surgical Associates, held their first annual celebration fashion show. The event spotlighted the accomplishments of men and women who have lost significant weight through surgical weight loss procedures and gave them the chance to display their healthy, new physiques as they modeled the latest fall fashions from J.Crew. Eight men and women who have had bariatric surgery participated in the event. Over 800 pounds were lost. As participants walked up and down the runway, they were met with enthusiastic cheers from the audience, which included their family, friends, and members of their health care team. During the event, the personal story of each model was highlighted. Audience members learned about why each participant pursued bariatric surgery and how bariatric surgery has changed their lives. You can view this event at http:// www.wcsurgeons.com/join-us-at-our-first-annual-bariatric-fashion-show/ . I found this event to be extremely rewarding and inspiring as one of the surgeons of 680 Bariatrics who contributed to their lifestyle improvement. We are immensely proud of our patients and their weight loss accomplishments. We are honored to be able to share in their weight loss journeys and successes. The decision to have bariatric surgery is not an easy decision to make. At 680 Bariatrics, we strive to provide our patients with the help that they need to achieve their weight loss goals and make lasting improvements in their health care. The first step in seeking weight loss is to obtain more education about various options to weight reduction. Prospective surgery patients need to attend a Weight Loss Surgery informational seminar, which is led by our bariatric surgeon. This provides information about different types of bariatric surgeries and will allow you to have the opportunity to ask any questions that you may have regarding bariatric surgery. Through these seminars, you will determine if bariatric surgery is right for you. Prospective patients also need to attend a weight loss surgery support group. Through these support groups, you will be able to interact with patients who have undergone bariatric surgery and learn more about their experiences. Our team at 680 Bariatrics is dedicated to helping you achieve your weight loss goals. We have a commitment to improving the health and quality of life for our patients. Dr Irene Lo is a Board Certified General Surgeon who has completed a fellowship in Advanced Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and is part of the 680Bariatrics Team at Walnut Creek Surgical Associates. offices in Walnut Creek, San Ramon, and Concord. Call (925) 933-0984 to schedule an appointment Advertorial or find more information at www.wcsurgeons.com.
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Breast Augmentation
By Dr. Barbara Persons, Persons Plastic Surgery
While breast augmentation surgery remains one of the most popular procedures performed in my practice, recent data from the American Society of Plastic Surgery indicates the number of women having breast augmentations has decreased slightly (2%) since 2014. A total of 279,000 women in the US had breast augmentation using implants in 2015. Breast surgery has always been one of my passions, as it feeds my inner artistic side. It is critical that any augmentation is approached from an artistic perspective, as everyone's shape and proportion are different. It is definitely NOT “one-size fits all,” and exceptional results require not only an artist’s eye but also a doctor who understands trends and lifestyles that are unique to women. My initial general surgery residency consisted of five years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas... a unique place to learn about breasts. We performed thousands of breast augmentations, and at that time bigger was often thought to be better. Humorously, a male plastic surgeon in town actually drove a yellow Hummer with the license plate saying CME4DD. Having now returned to my childhood home, I am happily in Northern California where bigger is not necessarily better...where athletics and healthy lifestyles typically prevail. With approximately one-third of women in our area having breast implants, there is a trend towards going smaller for a more natural look along with an increasing trend of utilizing fat grafting for breast augmentation. Fat grafting is extremely useful for women who want half a cup size increase in their breasts. In this procedure, excess fat is removed from an area such the flanks or “love handles” and then is grafted into the breast to create the desired shape and size. While this procedure can be less invasive and less expensive than a traditional augmentation with implants, the downside is that in the long-term fat can and often is naturally re-absorbed by the body, creating the need for more frequent touch-ups. Another popular procedure I perform is what I call a “contour” breast augmentation. I place the implants slightly more toward the center of the chest while suctioning away the excess fat on the sides and in the arm crease. This creates an augmentation that makes one look more shapely, but not heavier or wider. Many women with implants started out by having larger implants when we were younger. What I have noticed with my patients is that there is a trend toward removing larger implants that are made from early generation saline or silicone and replacing them with the new fourth generation silicone implants that provide a more natural shape. Many first-time patients are just starting with smaller implants and a more natural looking size. While the early data on this next generation of implants is still incoming, initial indications are that there are fewer instances of complications and need for replacement or revision surgery. My own breast implants have been exchanged every 8-10 years. Beginning with the first pair in my 20s, followed by a lift (mastopexy) after children, I recently just changed to small fourth generation silicone implants. With October’s Breast Cancer Awareness month in our review mirror, it is important to mention that women with breast implants actually have a lower incidence of breast cancer. This may be because there is less breast tissue to start with or because lumps can be more easily felt over the firmer implant. Indications also show it may be due to some very small immune response related to the implant. All in all, when it comes to breasts, it is great to be a girl! We nurse our children, feel good about our bodies, and we alone get to decide the right size for us as we dance through our lives. When the decision to have a breast augmentation is made, do your homework and be skeptical of anyone offering a one-size, one-price fits all approach to this surgery. I encourage you to visit my website at personsplasticsurgery.com to see a gallery of before-and-after photos of many beautiful shapes and sizes. I look forward to meeting you soon during a consult to determine what is truly the best fit for you. Dr. Barbara Persons is a plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon and is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc. is her cosmetic & reconstructive surgery center, conveniently located at 911 Moraga Road, suite 205 in Lafayette. She may be reached at 925-283-4012 or drbarb@personsplasticsurgery. Advertorial com.
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Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 21
Alamo’s 1st & Only Pediatric Dentist! Alamo Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics Welcomes Dr. Allan Pang Dr. Pang completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California, San Diego. He earned his Doctorate of Dental Medicine at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. After Tufts he completed a General Practice Residency at University of California, Los Angeles. Thereafter, Dr. Pang practiced general dentistry in the community of Los Gatos, California for two years. It was during this time that he realized how much he enjoyed working with his pediatric patients and returned to school to specialize in Pediatric Dentistry. His residency in Pediatric Dentistry at New York University-Bellevue Hospital in New York City allowed for him to have extensive training in treating the well child and those with special healthcare needs such as children with craniofacial disorders and developmental disabilities. Dr. Pang has been in private practice since 2008. He is a Board Certified Pediatric Dentist, a Diplomate with the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, and a member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
(925) 831-8310
Page 22 - November 2016 ~ Danville Today News
Your Personal Nutritionist
Why am I not Losing Weight with all this Exercise? By Linda Michaelis RD, MS
Now is the right time to embark on a weight loss regimen so you will not gain excess pounds over the holiday season. During the winter months we require more food for fuel to keep us warm. I see many clients confusing hunger with feeling cold. My favorite client to work with is one that is tracking calories, exercising, and not losing weight. When a new client calls me and says they are doing all the right things to lose weight and not making progress, a list of scenarios runs through my mind. Those scenarios include: You are eating back all the calories you burn. Exercise is important in the weight-loss equation. But a lot of people overestimate how much they burn—and even use the “I exercised today” excuse to later overeat. How many times have you faced a food temptation and thought, “Well, I worked out today, so it’s OK this time.” If that sounds all-too-familiar, this is one major reason why you’re not losing weight. This type of making up the next day by eating less can be maddening. What do you eat and what do you not eat that next day? We overestimate how many calories we actually burned and underestimate how many calories we’re actually eating. Trainers even tell me that they think weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. You’re relying on exercise alone to do the trick. The real truth is exercise alone will not help you lose weight. A full hour of intense exercise may only burn 400-500 calories for a lot of people. On the flipside, it’s easy to eat hundreds of calories in even a few minutes. But it would take hours of exercise to offset those calories. If you are not changing your diet and reducing your calorie intake, exercise alone won’t help your weight-loss results. You are not eating as healthy as you think. We all think we eat pretty well. No one really wants to admit that their diet might be pretty unhealthy. Often I
Time For Some Holiday Sprucing Up? By Dr. Jerome Potozkin
As we roll into November, the holiday season is upon us. It seems that once Halloween is over we roll into Thanksgiving, Winter Holidays, and the New Year. For many of us it will be the first time we will be seeing friends and family who we haven’t seen in quite some time. This might be a scary thought as you want to look your best when you face your relatives. Maybe you weren’t as religious as you should be about sunscreen last summer, and you are starting to see the ravages of time on your skin. Not to worry; we can help in time for the holidays. This might be the time to think about your daily skin care routine. Medical grade skin care can have significant effects over time. The single thing I recommend most is a high quality sunscreen that blocks out both UVB and UVA ultraviolet light. We have great sunscreens that feel good and have a natural tint so that no one will know you have them on. If you are concerned about Vitamin D deficiency, take an oral supplement. Secondly, a topical prescription retinoid can help stimulate collagen production and help reverse some sun damage. The last in the basic ingredients is a topical antioxidant such as Vitamin C or Resveratrol. That is the bare minimum that I recommend. We routinely customize skincare regimens to fit an individual’s skin type and lifestyle. Maybe you need a bit more help or a quicker fix. Injectable fillers and neuromodulators can offer a significant rapid improvement. The goal with injectable fillers is to create a natural look by restoring the volume that is lost in our face as we age. The biggest fear patients new to fillers have is that they are going to look distorted or abnormal. One area people really worry about is having big distorted lips. Juvederm just released the filler Volbella XC which is great for the fine lines around the mouth and for subtle lip enhancement. My goal is always to create the best natural looking version of you without distortion. This is highly technique dependent. We have many different fillers available today to replace the volume in our face that diminishes with time. Neuromodulators such as Botox Cosmetic, Dysport, and Xeomin act by relaxing muscles. With proper use we can create a natural relaxed appearance (which is helpful during the stressful holiday season). I have had some people in sales tell me that because they appeared more relaxed, their sales success improved. Lastly, lasers, light based devices, and chemical peels can help with color and
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see that my exercise people skimp on eating during the day after exercise and eat heavier at night. It should be the other way around. After exercise your metabolism speeds up and calories are burned off at three times the rate compared to many hours later. We tend to eat late night meals because of schedules which also can prevent weight loss. Many of us also enjoy alcohol, but having these drinks adds on hundreds of calories. A large glass of wine can easily be 200 calories. I see many clients eating too much cheese, nuts, olives, and avocados which of course can be considered healthy fats. However, they are just eating too much of them. You are doing the wrong kinds of exercise. When it comes to exercising, there is a lot of confusion. One day you hear that strength training is the best way to lose weight. The next day you’re told to focus on cardio. To my clients that walk for exercise, I tell them they must step it up and do interval training that will shock the metabolism. Cardio is the key for weight loss. Strength training keeps muscles looking toned and you feeling strong. You are not being consistent enough. When you’re struggling to lose those final 5-10 pounds or trying to overcome a plateau, consistent efforts are most important. Trying to eat “perfectly” and exercising for a whole week, only to step on the scale on the weekend to see that you haven’t lost an ounce you may think, “What is the point?” and go on an all-out eating feast and skip the gym for a couple days. This is when I get calls from clients saying they are having an “emergency.” It is my job to teach you how to enjoy birthday cake, drinks, and social times with friends. You need a plan that includes your favorite foods that are enjoyable and do not make you feel deprived. My eight-week Royal Treatment Program is my most popular for successful weight loss. It includes a weekly visit as well as my coaching you by text, phone, or email and a visit to the supermarket of your choice. Call me and I will tell you about the program and how it can work for you. All Insurance Companies Pay For Nutritional Counselling. Call me at (925) 855-0150 about your nutritional concerns or email me at Lifeweight1@gmail.com. Visit my website at www.LindaRD.com for past articles in my blog section and nutrition tips. Advertorial surface changes in the skin. These changes that we hate tend to be more related to our “photo-age” due to how much sun exposure we have had rather than our biological age. We have treatments ranging from light chemical peels and Photofacials that require minimal to no down time to more aggressive laser treatments that might require a week of social downtime. For some, the holiday time is ideal to take a week off work to get maximal benefits. If you have broken capillaries, brown spots, and textural changes, chances are we can help you get rid of them. Whatever your situation is, we are happy to help. Many of our patients seek our help because what they see in the mirror does not match the active, youthful spirit that they have. If you are motivated to look and feel your best, we are here to help. Wishing you and your family a great Thanksgiving and a happy holiday season. Dr. Potozkin is a board certified dermatologist who has been serving the local community since 1993. His fully accredited dermatological and laser facility is located at 600 San Ramon Valley Blvd, Suite 102 in Danville. He is accepting new patients. Please call (925) 838-4900 or visit Potozkin.com for more information. Advertorial
C L A S S I F I E D COMPUTER HELP
ITkid Computer Help Assistance with any tech related issue for a low price. Help with Email•Wifi•Computer•Smartphone•Tablet•Etc. $40/hr. Contact Max Nunan, local ITkid consultant. (925) 482-5488, maxnunan@gmail.com
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Menopause Matters
Osteoporosis By Timothy Leach, MD, FACOG, CNMP
Osteoporosis is a disorder characterized by low bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to enhanced bone fragility and a consequent increase in fracture risk. In the last few columns I looked at Vitamin D’s role in bone health, morbidity, and mortality associated with fracture and also risk reduction strategies by looking at fall prevention in your home. In this column I will look at how osteoporosis is diagnosed and proven pharmacologic interventions considered standard of care to reduce fracture risk. DEXA scan (or bone scan), a low dose x-ray used in assessing bone mineral density (BMD) typically of the lumbar spine and hip, is the only test on which to base treatment. Results from other technologies or scans from other body sites (wrist or ankle), cannot be used according to the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic classification because they are not equivalent to results derived from DEXA. A normal DEXA result is within one standard deviation of a young adult reference population (T score at -1.0 and above). Low bone mass (osteopenia) is between 1.0 and 2.5 standard deviations of a young adult reference population (T score between -1.0 and -2.5). Severe bone loss (osteoporosis) is more than 2.5 standard deviations below that of a young reference population (T score greater then -2.5). Any person who has osteoporosis (T greater than -2.5) or has sustained a hip or vertebral fracture in the absence of major trauma, (such as MVA or multiple story fall) regardless of bone mineral density, deserves medical therapy according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (www.nof.org). The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) recommends that all women over 65 years old and post-menopausal women aged 50- 64 years old with 1) fracture during adulthood, 2) condition (i.e. rheumatoid arthritis) or medication (chronic steroid use) associated with low bone mass or 3) women less then 65 years old whose 10-year risk of osteoporotic fracture is equal or greater than that of a 65-year-old white woman who has no additional risk factors get a bone scan. FRAX is the WHO fracture risk assessment tool that can be used with and without DEXA results to calculate that 10-year risk. The FRAX website (https://www.shef. ac.uk/FRAX/) can help calculate the 10-year risk for both major vertebral fracture
Recent Advances in Lung Cancer By Gigi Chen, MD
Danville Today News ~ November 2016 - Page 23 and hip fracture. If your risk for a major fracture is 20% or greater or hip fracture is 3% or greater, you should be offered medicine proven to reduce your risk for fracture. A previous column reviewed the morbidity and mortality within one year of a fracture, explaining why you should know if you are at risk. If you have osteoporosis or a FRAX score greater than 20% or 3%, simply taking Vitamin D and getting regular weight bearing exercise is not enough. You will continue to lose bone which will only increase your fracture risk over time. There are several medicines used in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Bisphosphonates are considered the first line of defense to reduce your risk for fracture. These medicines reduce bone loss by inhibiting the cells that are responsible for bone resorption. Bisphosphonates come in oral and injectable forms, and some are dosed weekly, monthly, or annually. They are considered safe to use for between 3-5 years after which many patients take a drug holiday for a few years. Their use is responsible for an 80% reduction in risk for fracture. They are not without side-effects, most common being indigestion. The most talked-about fear and reason cited for not taking a bisphosphonate is osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a rare complication which typically occurs in cancer patients on very high bisphosphonate doses greater than that recommended for fracture prevention. Over 90% of the reported cases of ONJ have been in cancer patients receiving bisphosphonate doses 10 times higher then used to treat osteoporosis. Estimated incidences of ONJ in patients with osteoporosis is between 1:10,000 – 1:100,000. The less talked about fear and second reason patients are reluctant to take a bisphosphonate has been their association with atypical femur shaft fractures. These are thought to occur from over-suppression of bone turnover in patients exposed to bisphosphonates for longer the 3-5 years. A drug-free period may be considered after three years of IV zoledronic acid or five years of oral alendronate. The absolute risk increase in femur fractures from bisphosphonate therapy is five fractures in 10,000 patients over the course of a year. What is often not known is that other than reducing the risk of hip and vertebral fracture, bisphosphonates “SIDE BENEFITS” are decreased risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, stroke, myocardial infarction, gastric cancer, and overall mortality in users compared to non-users. This is why it is important to talk with your doctor about your bone health and know that there are safe medicines that can be prescribed to reduce your risk for fracture. That is why bone health matters. Visit my website at www.leachobgyn.com for links to resources and our Facebook page, Timothy Leach MD, for more information. My office is located at 110 Tampico, Suite 210 in Walnut Creek. Please call us at 925-935-6952. Advertorial is when these medications stop working. As a result, new medicines that fight the resistant pathways have emerged, which includes Osimertinib for patients with T790m EGFR mutation. Cancer immunotherapy is used to stimulate our own immune responsiveness to treat cancer. It helps our immune system to detect cancer as foreign and works to eradicate it. Immunotherapy drugs Nivolumab and Pembrolizumab have been recently FDA approved in treatment of advanced lung cancer. When Nivolumab was compared with docetaxel (chemotherapy) in squamous cell patients, one year survival rate was 42% vs. 24% favoring Nivolumab. Multiple other immunotherapy drugs are currently in clinical development. There are also clinical trials looking at immunotherapy combined with other immunotherapy drugs, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or radiation. We eagerly await the results of these trials and hope they will greatly improve our treatment of patients with lung cancer. Gigi Chen, MD is a Medical Oncologist and Hematologist with Diablo Valley Oncology. She has extensive experience in treating lung and gynecologic cancers and sees patients in Pleasant Hill, Rossmoor, and San Ramon. Many Faces of Lung Cancer - Join Dr. Chen and other medical experts on November 17 from 6:30-8:30 at the Lafayette Library, Community Room. Panel TM discussion with Q&A. For more information or to register for the program, please call (925) 677-504, x272. Advertorial
In the United States, lung cancer occurs in about 225,000 patients and causes over 160,000 deaths per year. It is the most common cause of cancer death in both men and women. There can be a number of risk factors including history of radiation exposure, environmental toxins, lung condition such as pulmonary fibrosis, and genetic factors. However, smoking is the most important and controllable risk factor of any. Screening for lung cancer has not been widely used until recently. The National Lung Screening Trial compared a CT screening with a chest x-ray for individuals who are heavy smokers. It was found that CT screening annually for three years can detect lung cancer early and as a result decrease the risk of lung cancer death by 20%. Now, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services has agreed to cover the cost of CT screening in patients ages 55-77 who have had a 30 ‘pack year’ smoking history and have quit within 15 years. This is an exciting advance in early detection and prevention of death from lung cancer. Lung cancer treatment involves a team approach including the patient, primary care physician, pulmonologist, thoracic surgeon, medical oncologist, as well as a radiation oncologist. We have made great strides in the •Cars •Trucks treatment of lung cancer. For example, previously chemotherapy was the Cars • Trucks • Vans • Boats • Real•Vans Estate •Boats only approach for treatment of advanced lung cancer. Now, we have an •Real Estate Live improved understanding of what drives cancer growth. Some patients may Operators on hand 7 days a week ~ Live Operators have a ‘driver mutation’ in their cancer which is a molecular pathway Tax that deduction • AllTMtransfer documents handled on hand 7 days a week. stimulates cancer growth. As a result of knowing that information, we ~Tax deduction Free pick-up • Running or not in most cases can use targeted drugs to treat the cancer, yielding safer and more effec~All transfer documents Cars • Trucks • Vans • Boats • Real Estate handled tive treatments. Examples of these oral targeted medications that have Live Operators on hand 7 days a week ~FREE PICK-UP been approved by FDA in lung cancer includes Gefitinib, Erlotinib or Tax deduction • All transfer documents handled ~Running or not in Afatinib for patients with EGFR mutation and Crizotinib for patients with Free pick-up • Running or not in most cases most cases www.thefallenheroes.org ALK rearrangement. We are also learning the resistant pathways, which
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Danville Area Real Estate: Mixed Results 3 Quarter 2016 rd
Home Sales Alamo, Blackhawk, Diablo, Danville, (July 1-Sept. 30) 2016
Active Pending Sold DOM List Price Sold Price Sq. Foot $ Sq. Foot In our local Danville Area Market which includes Alamo, Danville, Diablo, and Alamo 36 23 55 44 $ 1,772,974 $ 1,737,091 3,580 $ 516 Blackhawk, homes are selling at rate of about 37 units per month. This is down Blackhawk 30 8 33 38 $ 1,681,685 $ 1,646,614 3,527 $ 468 64% from last year’s total of 102 units per month. Distressed home sales are down Diablo 5 2 5 65 $ 2,440,778 $ 2,270,000 3,320 $ 698 from 7% in 2015 to approximately 2% today. Distressed home sales historically Danville 139 79 241 22 $ 1,183,194 $ 1,165,449 2,487 $ 479 range from 1-2%. After eight years our distressed market has returned to normal. Homes priced right continue to sell quickly. During the most recent quarter Danville of 2015 to $1,165,449 in the third quarter of 2016 for about an 8% decline quarter-overled the area with the shortest time from listing to sale at 22 days. Diablo had the longest quarter. Active listings are a bit more than half of sold homes, hinting that inventory in time from listing to sale with 65 days. Alamo hit 55 days while Blackhawk was less than Danville may be catching up with demand, and Danville may be on the verge of becoming 40 days. A normal market would be 3-6 months from listing to sale. So, the market remains a normal market. On average Danville homes sold during the third quarter 2016 were smaller by apbetter than normal. Alamo showed impressive gains during the third quarter year-over-year with average proximately 257 square feet compared to the earlier time period. So, the actual reported sales price increasing from $1,616,319 to $1,737,091 for a 7.4% increase in price. Dol- decline in average price is overstated. Price paid per square foot during the third quarter lars paid per square foot dipped from $538 to $516 for about a 4% decrease. This is a bit advanced from $472 per square foot to $479 per square foot. This works out to be about misleading as the average sold home was 14% larger than last year. Twenty-four Alamo 1% more than during the same time period last year and may be a better view of the value change in the Danville market. homes sold for more than $500 per square foot. The numbers for the Danville Area Real Estate Market are mixed for the third quarter Blackhawk average price dipped from $1,735,168 to $1,646,614 during this time for a 5% decline but registered a small increase in dollars paid per square-foot, climbing from 2016. This is not what we have experienced during the last few third quarter time periods. $467 to $468 for about a 1/2% increase. Sold homes in Blackhawk were about 6% smaller Of note is that during the past few years our market has shown almost no seasonal dip in this year, so the market is more positive than these numbers might suggest. Ten Blackhawk price during the summer months. A slowdown in sales and lower prices during the summer would be considered normal. We may now be seeing the first real signs of market normalsales exceeded the $500 per square foot mark. This is the same as last year. Diablo, our priciest neighborhood remained fairly steady with five home sales dur- ization since 2007. This will be worth watching. Nancy and I have more than 3,000 email subscribers who receive this article in advance ing the quarter and a $698 average square foot price. Two Diablo home crossed the $800 per square foot mark with one obtaining a remarkable price of $910 per square foot on a of publication. Sign up on our website or just send me an email and we can add you to the purchase price of $3.75 million. There are five active listings in Diablo, the same number list. I assure you no spam will follow. It’s important to remember that there really is no “average” home and no two homes of homes sold during the quarter. The average days on market for these homes is 65 days, 23 fewer days than last year. On average a 3,320 sq. ft. Diablo home sold for about $2.27 are exactly alike. If you would like an honest “no strings attached written opinion of your million during the third quarter. Diablo sold homes last year averaged 5,200 square feet home’s current market value and suggestions for preparing it for market, please give me a call 925-989-6086 or send me an email at joecombs@thecombsteam.com. Please visit so the mix of homes is significantly different. Average sales price for a Danville home slipped from $1,263,578 in the third quarter our website to discover more information on our local market www.thecombsteam.com.
West Side Alamo, Mt. Diablo Views
Downsize to Downtown
Danville Single Story
Completely renovated, 2 master bed suites, 2 beds ensuite, office, library and au pair unit. Soaring ceilings, great flow. Priced to Sell $1,699,000.
Beautiful penthouse condo with two master suites. Walk to downtown Pleasant Hill. Priced to sell $419,000.
Single level 3 bedroom on .47 acre. Pool. Backs to Iron Horse Trail. SRVUSD schools. Priced to sell $963,000
Blackhawk Area
Views! West Side Alamo
Diablo Building Lot
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IN ND
PE
Elegant Mediterranean style 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home with pool/spa. 1st floor MB suite w/2 walk-in closets. Priced to Sell $1,350,000
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West Side Alamo 4 bedroom spectacular views, great location. Worth waiting for. Priced to sell $1,279,000.
Data presented in this column is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the Contra Costa and Alameda MLS service and other quoted sources. Joe Combs, Nancy Combs, The Combs Team, J. Rockcliff and the MLS service do not guarantee the accuracy of this information. DRE #0144125.
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Build your dream home on a 1.64 acre lot in Diablo. Priced to sell $930,000. J. Rockcliff Realtors 15 Railroad Ave., Danville CA. 94526