Alamo Today, June 2012

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211 By Fran MillerMost people know to call 411 for phone information. Nearly everyone knows to call 911 to register a life-threatening emergency. Not

so commonly known is the purpose of a 211 call – to receive information about emergencies declared in one’s town and outlying area. Taking it one step further is the Contra Costa County Community Warning System, which allows Contra Costa residents to register and, in turn, personally receive emergency information for their area.

The Contra Costa County Community Warning System (CWS) allows residents to receive alerts on cell phones, via email or via Twitter. CWS is recognized as one of the nation’s most modern and effective all-hazard public warning systems and is a partnership of the Offi ce of the Sheriff, the Health Services Department, other government agencies, industry, news media, and the non-profi t Community Awareness & Emergency

Response (CAER) organization – all of whom strive to deliver time-sensitive and potentially life saving information to the people of Contra Costa County.CWS alerts come in various forms: through a countywide telephone notifi cation system, via sirens near major industrial facilities, and in other special safety

zones, through a cell phone voice notifi cation service, via NOAA weather radios, via radio, TV and cable, via the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and now through Twitter and Facebook alerts. (Radio and television broadcasts are still usually the best source of ongoing information about emergencies, but it is important to rec-ognize that different stations and channels serve distinct areas, and information might not be entirely applicable to particular locations.)

June 2012 Serving Alamo and Diablo

Volume XII - Number 63000F Danville Blvd. #117,

Alamo, CA 94507Telephone (925) 405-NEWS, 405-6397

Fax (925) 406-0547

Alisa Corstorphine ~ [email protected]

Sharon Burke ~ [email protected]

The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily refl ect that of Alamo Today. Alamo Today is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.

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See 211 continued on page 22

CHP Steps Up Speeding Citations in AlamoBy Sharon Burke

If you got a speeding ticket in Alamo in April, you had lots of company. At May’s meeting of the Alamo Police Services Committee, Offi cer Eric Brewer of the CHP’s Community Response Team reported that the California Highway Patrol had increased traffi c enforcement in Alamo this spring with particular emphasis on speeders. The increased enforcement came in response to citizen complaints from Alamo residents about speeding in Alamo. From April 1st to May 7th of this year, the CHP handed out over 100 speeding tickets in Alamo. Enforcement was concentrated on Danville Boulevard between St. Alphonsus Way and Orchard Court, and on Livorna Road in front of Alamo School. These two stretches of Alamo roads are where the CHP receives the most complaints of speeders, Offi cer Brewer told members of the Police Services Committee.

At St. Alphonsus Way, Danville Boulevard becomes a 25 mile per hour speed zone in the downtown business district, changing from the 35 mile per hour limit in more residential sections of the Boulevard. The County lowered the speed limit downtown a few years ago due to the large number of entrances and exits onto the Boulevard in the downtown stretch and the number of pedestrians that cross in that block, rendering a 35 mph speed dangerous.

At Alamo School, in accordance with state law governing roads where schools are located, the speed limit changes from 35 miles per hour elsewhere on Livorna Road, going down to 25 miles per hour in front of Alamo School while children are present. It can be diffi cult to determine when children are present; however, modern day schools are in use almost continually, with after school activities til late at night, summer school operating in the summer and sports activities held on weekends, all of these meaning children are present outside normal school hours, which are generally 8am to 3pm.

Offi cer Brewer stated that he had personally inspected all 100 citations and that 99% of them were issued to drivers with an Alamo residential address. This surprised some in the room, as one perception in town is that commuters coming off the freeway are responsible for speeding. Although the majority of the tickets were for excessive speed, some were also issued for Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian, particularly in the downtown area.

Offi cer Brewer also noted that the CHP had received counter complaints from Alamo citizens about the increased enforce-ment, but that this would not affect CHP efforts to enforce traffi c laws in Alamo.

In accordance with California state law, the CHP is primarily responsible for traffi c enforcement in Alamo due to Alamo’s un-incorporated status. Contra Costa Sheriff’s deputies may also issue citations, but it is not their primary responsibility.

The Community Warning System (CWS) has averaged about one to two activa-tions per month over the last four to fi ve years in various communities throughout the County, according to Katherine Hern, manager of CWS. “We have activated for active shooters in a neighborhood, downed power lines, missing persons, fi re warnings, etc.,” says Hern. “We don't operate based on a list of specifi c events; instead, we use the criteria of imminent threat to life or safety, for which there is a recommended protective action authorities advise you to take.”

Hern provides the following example of a recent activation - one that was re-quested by Lafayette’s Police Chief. “An extremely high voltage power line was down in an area between Highway 4 and Mt. Diablo Blvd in Lafayette,” says Hern. “The impact of this power line was not just that power would be out, but that due to the voltage, anyone coming near could suffer serious consequences, even death.

Welcome Aboard the Diablo Valley Lines! By Fran Miller

The mention of a model railway likely evokes the mental image of a parent and child gathered ‘round the Christmas tree as their electric toy train chugs along on its circuitous route. However, a trip to the Diablo Valley Lines Railroad layout of the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society (WCMRS) in Walnut Creek’s Larkey Park will quickly terminate that image. “We are not playing with toys here; we are operating

a model railroad,” says member Ted Moreland with a wink.

A survey of the Society’s approximately 1,800 square foot layout in their own building, specially designed and constructed by WCMRS members, confi rms that this past time is indeed more than child’s play. Featuring

nostalgic steam locomotives, modern diesels, a narrow gauge logging road, and electric traction lines on 4,300 feet of hand laid track with 175,000 individual ties

A group watches trains go by at the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society.

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Boulevard ViewBy Alisa Corstorphine, Editor

Another graduation season is upon us and students are moving on from elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Hopefully they will have gained knowledge, values, and skills that will last a lifetime.

Our oldest son, Alex, just graduated from San Jose State and is continuing his learning and employment with a large networking company in Mountain View. The path to his job stemmed from his education, hard work, and a

little luck. That, combined with his good communication skills, his methodical ap-proach, and his interest in technology, led to where he is now. He laid a foundation of entrepreneurship from an early age with his version of a lemonade stand, AKA Cardboard Cafe, that he set up on the Iron Horse Trail, followed by a successful eBay business. His success is summarized in a quote my daughter shared with me after her UC Davis Women’s Club Lacrosse team placed fi rst in the nation beating, 300 other teams from across the country for the top prize. The quote noted, “We are what we repeatedly do. EXCELLENCE is therefore not an act but a habit.”

The UC Davis lacrosse team roster included many girls who graduated from local high schools including Casey Bowles and Amy Corstorphine - San Ramon Valley, Ming Richie - Northgate, Jennifer Hofmann - Campolindo, Lisa Kritikos - Piedmont, and Jessica Dresser and Samantha Fannin - Las Lomas. Their season was not an easy one. There was tough competition from many California teams in their Western Conference League.

Unlike early sports days when the score was always “fun to fun” with no win-

ners or losers, these girls had seven regular season losses where they only were defeated by one point. Many losses came in overtime and double overtime. “The losses sucked,” my daughter said. However, the team was able to pull out a tenth seed going into the national tournament which led the girls to come up with the motto of “The Perfect 10.” During most of the games at Nationals, they were down by multiple goals at points during the game. They started out down 5-0 against UC Santa Barbara, 4-0 against Michigan, and 6-2 against Colorado State, but they never lost focus. Two of their fi nal games were decided in overtime, and their team came out victorious, realizing their vision by truly becoming the Perfect 10.

Since their win was in Colorado Springs, they followed up their day with an inspir-ing trip to the US Olympic Training center. They were awed by the facilities and by the athletes they observed getting ready to reach the tops of their games to take home the gold with their perfect scores. On their tour they came across a poster that held much relevance. It said, “I learned to win by learning to lose - that means not being afraid of losing.” It refl ected the girls’ path perfectly.

The path to the top is usually not a straight line. There are lots of zigs and zags. Our son spent a few years in community college and took the “six-year plan” towards graduation, but his path worked for him. It was his persistence, like the persistence of the lacrosse team that helped each rise to the top of their game. What makes individuals and teams rise to the top is their dedication, passion, drive, detail, and teamwork. It is time to honor, celebrate, and share the accomplishments of all our local graduates and athletes. Congratulations Class of 2012!

[email protected] Alamo Today ~ June 2012 - Page 3

Girl Scouts Need Your Help! It’s the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts! We are looking for a fl atbed trailer/truck

so we can put together a Girl Scout fl oat for the Danville 4th of July parade, and we can advertise any company donation! The parade theme is “Small Town, Big Heart.” If you can help, please contact Magret Nunes at [email protected].

Alamo-Danville Newcomers ClubThe Newcomers Club cordially invites all ladies new to the area or long-time

residents to a Welcome Coffee. This will be a casual get-together to learn about the many facets of the Club while enjoying coffee and some treats with friends. Please join us June 28th at 10AM to noon. For further information, please call (925) 281-1307, email us at [email protected], or visit our website www.alamodanvillenewcomers.com.

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Danville Community Band Season Finale Concert The Danville Community Band concludes its 10th Anniversary season Trav-

eling the World by Song at their free concert on Sunday, June 17th at 3pm. The band will take you on an armchair tour of songs from around the world, including Barroso’s samba “Brazil,” Karrick’s “Bayou Breakdown,” and Tchai-kovsky’s “1812 Overture.”

Come join the band at Community Presbyterian Church located at 222 W. El Pintado Rd., in Dan-ville as we chart the world with music.

For more information about the band or future performances, visit www.danvilleband.org or call 925-837-5525.

Summer Labyrinth WalkOn Friday, June 22nd celebrate the Summer Solstice with a walk on a sacred

labyrinth. Music will be playing as participants walk the Chartres style labyrinth. The Chapel at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church located at 49 Knox

Drive in Lafayette will be open for prayers, and there will be ongoing readings. You are invited to meander freely between the labyrinth and the Chapel. Guides for walking the labyrinth will be available if desired. Labyrinths are an ancient tool which are undergoing a revival of interest and use.

Walk in gratitude, refl ection, or prayer. Everyone is welcome between 7 and 8pm. For questions, call 925-283-8722.

Families Helping Families Summer CampsOnce again, Families Helping Families (FHF) will be hosting fun-fi lled sum-

mer camp days for children aged 3 to 6. FHF Summer Camps are a substantial part of our fundraising in support of

the educational needs of children cared for by relative (Kinship) caregivers. Each day of the FHF Summer Camps will feature a different theme. Camp runs

from 9am to Noon. The cost is $30 per day per child. Daily themes are: July 16th – Sports, July 17th – Safari, July 18th – Carnival, July 19th – Under-the-Sea. Camp will be held at the Aungle Residence at 1001 Ironwood Place, Alamo.

Enroll at www.fhfcommunities.org or by contacting [email protected] Enjoy Tennessee on the Farm

The San Ramon Historic Foundation and Danville’s Role Players Ensemble invite you to a unique theatrical event of Tennessee on the Farm. Charming, light-hearted, intense, gritty, silly, and off-the-wall describe the three short one-act plays by Ten-nessee Williams. The Pretty Trap, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, and The Case of the Crushed Petunias will be performed in various locations on the farm grounds. Enjoy wine, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and dessert before and in between each performance.

The plays will be held June 23rd at 5pm and June 24th at 2pm at Forest Home Farms located at 19953 San Ramon Valley Blvd in San Ramon. Tickets are $50 and will benefi t The San Ramon Historic Foundation and Danville’s Role Players Ensemble.

For more information, call 925-820-1278 or email [email protected].


The Exchange Club of San Ramon Valley

The Exchange Club of San Ramon Valley meets for lunch the second Wednesday of every month at Faz Restau-rant in downtown Danville. The Club’s sign-in and social time begins at 11:30AM. The meeting starts promptly at noon and ends promptly at 1PM. The one-hour program features guest speakers and a business networking speaker. Guests are welcome. Price is $16 for members and fi rst time guests and $20 for re-turning guests.

For more information, call Karen Stepper, President, at (925) 275-2312, email [email protected], or visit www.srvexchangeclub.org.

Delta Nu PsiDelta Nu Psi will be collecting donations from 11am until 2pm at CVS in Alamo

on June 1st and at Lunardi's on June 8th. Items in demand are individual packets of powdered drink mix and individual eye drops. We appreciate all of the help from the shoppers of Alamo and Danville. For more information, visit deltanupsi.org.

Despite E-mails and Phone Calls from Alamo Citizens,THE ULTIMATE CONFIGURATION* REMAINS IN THE COUNTY ROADS PLAN**THE ULTIMATE CONFIGURATION* REMAINS IN THE COUNTY ROADS PLAN**

The County Public Works project diagram shows the Ultimate Confi guration would add, for indeterminate distances, one new through-lane on Danville Blvd (west side of the road) and one new through lane on Stone Valley Rd (Round Hill side),

sending 50% more freeway traffi c through north, south, and east residential Alamo.

Q: Why is the Ultimate Confi guration in the County roads plan?A: The project is funded with fees local governments collect from developers, and projects funded with developer fees

must be named in the plan. While the plan doesn’t allocate the County’s Alamo AOB developer fee fund (over $2 M accrued) to the project, if the project is in the plan, the County can make the allocation in the future.

Q: Are other funds of developer fees allocated to the Ultimate Confi guration?A: Yes. The County is co-participant in the Southern Contra Costa Regional (developer) Fee Fund, which

allocates $.8 M to the Ultimate Confi guration.

Q: What does it take for the County to implement the Ultimate Confi guration?A: Allocation of AOB funds to the project named in the County roads plan; accrual of suffi cient funds from other sources;

and a public hearing, at which the County could justify the Ultimate Confi guration as traffi c mitigation authorized by voters who passed our local transportation sales tax in 2004.

Q: What can Alamo do to stop the Ultimate Confi guration?A: Show up! The Board of Supervisors is set to approve the roads plan, with the project in it, on Tuesday, June 5, our local

election day. Be there before the meeting starts, and ask to speak on the roads plan (CRIPP) on the BOS consent agenda – 9AM, 651 Pine Street, Martinez. Tell the Supervisors “NO” to the Ultimate Confi guration!

VOTE TWICE ON ELECTION DAY! Cast Your Second Vote Against the Ultimate VOTE TWICE ON ELECTION DAY! Cast Your Second Vote Against the Ultimate Confi guration at the meeting of the Board of Supervisors on June 5th.Confi guration at the meeting of the Board of Supervisors on June 5th.

*Contra Costa County’s project, “Stone Valley Rd/Danville Blvd Intersection Improvements,” to increase capacity for freeway traffi c in Alamo by widening our downtown intersection to resemble the Sycamore Valley Rd/San Ramon Valley Blvd intersection in Danville.**Capital Roads Improvement & Preservation Program, or CRIPP.

Drop Zone for Blue Star MomsThe East Bay Chapter 101 Blue Star Moms is having a Drop Zone to collect do-

nations for their upcoming “Star-Spangled Thank You” care package mailing to our Troops. The event will take place Saturday, June 2nd from 10AM to 3PM at Safeway located at 200 Alamo Plaza. While you are out shopping, please consider picking up some extra items to donate. Come say hello, sponsor a care package mailing ($12.60), make a postcard or two, or drop off a donation to show your gratitude for what our brave troops do for all Americans each and every day. Go to www.bluestarmoms.org, and click on Care Packages for more information, including a list of our donation items.

We will packing up all are donations to send to the Troops on Saturday, June 16th from 10AM to 2PM at Camp Parks located in Dublin. If you are interested in coming out and helping, please go to [email protected].

Veterans of Foreign WarsVeterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), Post 75, San Ramon Valley

meets every third Wednesday of the month at the Veterans Memorial Building locat-ed at 400 Hartz Avenue in Danville, located on the corner at East Prospect Avenue and Hartz Avenue. The June meeting will be held on June 20th. Doors open at 7PM, and the meeting begins at 7:30PM. For more information, contact Post Commander Nathan Greene at (925) 875-1747. Mail to: VFW Post 75 San Ramon Val-ley, P.O. Box 1092, Dan-ville, CA 94526. Find out more about the VFW and our Post on the internet at www.vfwpost75.org.

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Assistance League Seeks MembersAssistance League® of Diablo Valley is a nonprofi t member volunteer organization

dedicated to improving lives through hands on programs. We are actively pursuing members who would enjoy helping with needs of school age children and seniors.

A Prospective Member Coffee will be held on Wednesday, June 20, at 9:30AM in Walnut Creek. If you are interested in spending quality time while helping those who are vulnerable, call 925-934-0901or visit diablovalley.assistanceleague.org.


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Page 6 - June 2012 ~ Alamo Today

San Ramon Valley Pioneers -- and Gold! Part 2 By Beverly LaneIn 1848 Joel Harlan and his cousin Jacob were partners in a thriving livery business in San Francisco. Ac-

cording to Jacob’s account, Peter Wimmer’s letter arrived in April and urged them to come immediately to mine. In his book California ‘46 - ‘68, Jacob said, “It upset all my business plans. I caught gold fever at once, and I notifi ed my wife and my partner Joel that it was time to give up livery stable keeping and go to the mines.”

So that spring Joel and Jacob left their livery business in San Francisco to set up a store in Coloma. Ac-cording to Jacob, Joel put their horses to pasture at Squire Elam Brown’s ranch (in Lafayette) while he got a stock of goods “suitable for a store or trading post at the mines.” Jacob wrote that Joel was a doubting Thomas at fi rst, wondering how “they would start a store with $500, which was our whole money capital.”

William Leidesdorff, a prominent landowner and civic leader in San Francisco, knew the Harlans and agreed to advance them the money. Jacob wrote, “My purchases that day amounted to $4,500 for all of which Leidesdorff made himself responsible.”

They took Capt. John Sutter’s launch up the Sacramento River and hired two ox teams in Sacramento to get to Coloma. Jacob wrote that he turned down an opportunity to be a partner with Sam Brannan “being already in partnership with Joel.”

Their uncle Peter, who was still working on the saw mill, put them up at Coloma until they built a cabin. According to Jacob, they found that miners would pay whatever “we demanded for our goods.” Flour cost $1 a pound, coffee $1.50, and whiskey $8 a bottle. Jacob made money selling colorful cloth as sarapes to Indians. He said, “They had much fi ne gold which they carried in vulture or good quills” and were not stingy. In one day, two bolts brought $1,200 to the young merchant.

José Maria Amador of the Rancho San Ramon went up in June and July of 1848, netting by his account $13,500 from mining and merchandise during one trip and $10,000 more in another. He took cattle and food to sell and brought 25 Indians with him from his Rancho to work for the gold.

The Harlan boys weren’t the only ones to leave for the mines. Writers tell about the deserted streets and unfi nished jobs in San Francisco, San Jose, and Monterey. Miners came from all over the world – China, Mexico, Europe, and the East Coast.

Felix Coats, who settled in Tassajara Valley, wrote, “Hearing so many tales of the rich mines in California, which caused such wild excitement over the whole country, my father and I, having caught the ‘Gold Fever,’ were anxious to try our luck.” They came in 1849.

Brothers R. O. and John Baldwin came from Ohio to try their luck in the Gold Rush as well, arriv-ing in Hangtown (Placerville) in July 1850. John’s diary about crossing the country is typical of many journeys although their small group of men on horseback brought a different perspective.

The Harlan cousins sold their store in Coloma and returned to San Francisco. Joel and Minerva Fowler were married in 1849. In 1852 Joel used his earnings to purchase land from Amador and Norris. His family house which was built in 1858, El Nido, still sits at 19251 San Ramon Valley Blvd.

Jane Wimmer claimed Marshall had given her back the original gold piece, and for years she kept it in a soft buckskin bag around her neck. According to Mary Ann Harlan Smith (Joel’s sister), Peter Wimmer sold it for $500 after her death. Mary Ann thought the honor of fi nding the fi rst gold belonged to both Marshall and Wimmer.

It is said that gold started California, perhaps too quickly. Some historians suggest that the abrupt begin-nings of the state, with a practically all-male cast of characters, was not the best foundation for statehood.

J. P. Munro, in his 1883 History of Contra Costa County, called the fi rst pioneers “birds of passage” who had been to the mines, felt the blessings of the “glorious climate of California,” and returned to settle. They may not have planned it, but these pioneers joined others and became the backbone of the new state.

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Alamo Police Services District P-2, Zone B

Deputy Mike Carson, Alamo Resident Deputy, activities for April 2012Deputy Carson Completed:

6 moving citations • 2 non-moving citations • 3 fi eld interview cards • 11 reportsDeputy Carson Responded to or Conducted

3 alarm calls • 9 patrol requests/security checks • 4 suspicious vehicles • 1 suspicious subject • 1 found property • 1 suspicious circumstance • 1 civil issue • 2 service to citizens • 2 disturbances • 1 vandalism • 1 auto burglary • 1 receiving stolen property • 1 unlicensed driver • 1 drunk in public • 1 outside assistIf I Were a Thief Program (Crime awareness and prevention)

165 streets covered • 58 fl yers distributed • 22 ve-hicles in Alamo Plaza fl aggedReported Incidents

1) Danville Boulevard – Deputy Carson re-sponded to a reported Miscellaneous Burglary. The detached garage was entered and items were taken, also a bottle of alcohol and two pairs of shoes were stolen from the backyard area. Two possible suspects were seen leaving the area in a white Suburban.

2) Lunada Lane – Lieutenant Grottkau spotted a suspicious vehicle traveling on Cervato Drive. Lt. Grottkau contacted the driver of the vehicle and Deputy Carson responded to assist. While speak-ing with the suspect, it was discovered that he was in possession of stolen property. He admitted that he was in the area looking for packages on front porches of homes in the area to steal. Deputy Carson arrested the suspect and transported him to the main jail, where he was booked on the listed offense.

3) Danville Boulevard – While on routine pa-trol, Deputy Carson saw a subject who appeared unstable on his feet. Deputy Carson contacted the subject to check his welfare. While speaking with the subject, Deputy Carson could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath, along with other objective signs of intoxi-cation. Due to the suspect’s level of intoxication, Deputy Carson placed the suspect under arrest and transported him to the main jail, where he was booked for being drunk in public.Items of Interest

1) In March Deputy Carson successfully completed the Prescription Drug Abuse Training Course and the Patrol Bike Class.

Deputy Mike Carson is Alamo’s full time resident deputy. His position is funded by Alamo’s P-2B police services district, which includes ap-proximately 60% of Alamo household. District households pay an $18 annual parcel tax plus a portion of the 1% property tax. The Alamo Po-lice Services Advisory Committee advises Sheriff David Livingston on the resident deputy and his services. The Committee is composed of Alamo residents within the district and it meets on the fi rst Monday of each month at 5p.m. in the offi ces of the Alamo Chamber of Commerce, located at 120B Alamo Plaza. Alamo citizens are welcome to attend the meetings.

[email protected]: Local, Free-Range or Organic?By Cynthia Ruzzi, President Sustainable Danville Area

Doesn’t it seem like feeding ourselves and our families has gotten a lot more

complex in the last few years? Deciding on the best food options at the grocery store is time consuming and sometimes diffi cult. Is the fresh, organic broccoli trucked from thousands of miles away better for you than the conventional broc-coli grown and frozen 200 miles from your home?

We want to feed ourselves and our families well. We want to do right by our farmers and their workers, our environment, and our local economy. Yet, if we’re going to spend more of our paycheck on food, then don’t we want to make sure that there’s a payback in taste and nutrition? Hence the dilemma: When shopping, should you buy local, free-range, or organic food?

So why is eating local a big deal? According to the World Watch Institute, food consumed in the U.S. typically travels 1,500-2,500 miles to reach our plates. In fact, the energy used for food production accounts for about 20% of all fossil fuel used in the United States. A local-eating pioneer, Joan Gussow, once said that shipping a strawberry from California to New York requires 435 calories of fossil fuel but provides the eater with only fi ve calories of nutrition. Based on that, what you eat may be as important as what you drive.

When you shift your diet toward local foods, you are protecting nearby farms, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting your local economy. Besides being bet-ter for the environment, local food generally tastes much better because it is picked when it is ripe and is much fresher when we eat it. Eating fresh, local food allows you to capture nutrients that will have otherwise diminished over the many miles conventional foods normally take to reach your plate. However, it seems to me that if the ‘fresh, local food’ is grown conventionally using chemical pesticides (or in the case of meat - antibiotics and hormones), it defeats the benefi ts of buying ‘fresh.’

When I shop at local farmers market, I ask vendors, “How do you grow your veg-etables (or raise your meat)?” These open-ended questions (instead of “Do you spray pesticides on your crop?”) usually reveal which farms are passionate about sustain-able, healthy growing practices. And let’s face it, if I’m going to pay more for farmers’ market products, then I want to make sure I’m not just paying for atmosphere.

Is free-range the ‘Wild West’ of eating? The term ‘free range’ implies that the animal is allowed to roam freely instead of being contained in any manner. However, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and indicate that the animal has been ‘allowed access to’ the outside. The USDA regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range, nor the duration of time that an animal must have access to the outside. So cowboy, free-range isn’t a guarantee that your chick has ever left the hen house – where they have been trained to fi nd food and water. Hence, that grass stomping hen may only be more nutritious for you when the term free-range is partnered with ‘no antibiotics, no hormones, organically-fed and/or grass-fed.’

Do you need to eat only organic food? Did you know that if your food doesn’t say 100% organic it can contain unhealthy chemicals? If a product label says ‘Made with Organic Products’ it means that only 70% of the products need to be organic in that food item. However, organic products can be twice as ex-pensive as conventional items, so if you must make a trade-off between which products to buy organic, then use a resource like the Dirty Dozen List from the Environmental Working Group. They offer a downloadable list for your wallet and you can fi nd the complete list at www.ewg.org/foodnews/list/.

In the end, it’s pretty basic. The more you know about your food sources and the more you eat whole, unprocessed foods, the healthier you’ll be. If you are interested in learning more about how our food choices affect ourselves, our families, and our community, then please join us Thursday, June 21st 6:30pm.

The Danville Library is sponsoring this month’s Sustainable Danville Area Forum with two special speakers. Linda Riebel, author of The Green Foodprint will talk about the main guidelines to environmentally wiser food and share many options, so you can tailor earth-friendly eating to your own lifestyle. Also, Danville Area Sustainable Business leader Joey Mazzera from Green Apple Acu-puncture (www.greenappleacupuncture.com) will reveal the ten most important herbs to integrate into your diet for a holistic approach to healthy living. Joey is a licensed Acupuncturist and received her Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from The American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco. For more information, visit us at www.sustainabledanville.com and www.facebook.com/SustainableDanvilleArea.

Alamo Today ~ June 2012 - Page 7

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www.yourmonthlypaper.comRancho Romero Elementary School By Skye Larsh, Principal

The Big Test is over. The long weekend is over. The end of the school year always seems to arrive too quickly. However, great learning events and projects are still oc-curring at Rancho up to the very end.

Two big events that recently occurred and deserve rec-ognition are Pledge for a Smile Walk-a-Thon and Camp Rancho. I mention these in particular because of the student connectedness to school and the positive school climate

that was created, two factors that support academic performance and behavior. Rancho Romero Student Council in conjunction with Pledge to Humanity was

pleased to present Pledge for a Smile 2012 Walk-a-Thon on Friday, May 25. Each grade level had the opportunity to walk the track around the school during a scheduled 45 minute period. Students were supported by sponsors for an amount per lap or a direct donation . All proceeds helped fund cleft palate surgeries for children in Mexico. We are very proud of our Student Council and truly value the contributions they make to the school. Their leadership has made a difference to the lives of many.

Camp Rancho was a smashing success thanks to the coordination of parents, Shan-non Neach and Melissa Snellgrove, and our staff. Over 250 students checked in for the evening and set off for pre-selected camps, which included football, kindergarten tea, garage band, cheer camp, mad science, CSI, Kung Fu, and more. Many students ended their camp experience with a group bingo game and dessert, however, seventy students continued with a sleep over in the park.

Upcoming Events:June 7 Spring Instrumental ConcertJune 13 5th Grade PromotionJune 14 Last Day of School (minimum day) and PE Presidential Awards


Upcoming Meetings and EventsAIA - Alamo Improvement Association - June 19th , 7pm - Creekside Community Church -1350 Danville Blvd.Alamo MAC (Municipal Advisory Committee) - First Tuesday of each month 6pm - Alamo Chamber of Commerce Offi ce 120-B, Alamo PlazaP2B - Police Services Advisory Committee - First Monday of each month, 5pm - Meets at Alamo Chamber of Commerce Offi ce located at 120 -B, Alamo PlazaP5 - Round Hill Police Services Advisory Committee - Second Wednesday of each month, 7pm - Meets at Round Hill Country Club - Lower Level Meeting Room CERT classes - Community Emergency Response Team - Visit www.fi redepartment.org/community_outreach/cert/upcoming_classes.asp

Alamo Women’s ClubWhere Women Come Together to Work Toward a Better Community for AllJUNE

05 - Cards Club - 9-12pm AND Let’s Walk! 4-5pm, meet at Clubhouse06 - Mah Jongg - 10:30-12:30pm

08 - Community Garage & Craft Sale set up - All Day

09 - Community Garage & Craft Sale - 9-4pm

12 - Let’s Walk! 4-5pm, meet @ Clubhouse13 - Installation Luncheon - 11:30am, Outgoing & Incoming Board,Member of the Year Award, Federated Awards30 - AWC end of fi scal yearFor questions, contact President Nancy Combs at NancyPCombs@

TheCombsTeam.com.

8

Alamo Zoe is Missing

Elaine Yee is our winner

If you fi nd her and your name is drawn!$50 REWARD

She is very small, so you will have to look hard if you want to fi nd her.

To be eligible send a letter telling us where you found her, along with your name and address, to:

Lost Dog! ~ Alamo Today3000F Danville Blvd #117 • Alamo, CA 94507

Lost Dog!

We have a new dog, but now she has become lost in this paper...Keep your eyes out for Alamo Zoe!

Alamo Women's Club Scholarship RecipientsThe following students were recipients of scholarships given by the Alamo

Women’s Club for 2012. • Rebecca Herman from Monta Vista; instrumental scholar, $500 • Courtney

Cheng from San Ramon Valley; violin scholar, $500 • Raquel Royal from San Ramon Valley; art scholar, $500 • Katharine Friedman from DVC; $1875 • Sandra Kane from DVC; $1875 • Jessica Schaffer from Youth Homes; $1125 • LaTasha Johnson from Youth Homes; $1125 • Emily Gebhardt from Del Amigo; $750

Rotary Honors Rancho Educator and StudentBy Sharon Maybaum - Rancho Romero 5th grade teacher

Each year the Rotary Club of Alamo honors one educator and one student from each of the local schools. This year Catherine Powell was selected as Rancho Student of the Year, and Skye Larsh-Faraghan was selected as Rancho Educator of the Year.

Catherine is a kind, compassionate young lady. If a student is sad or upset, Cath-erine will check in with them and make sure they are okay or offer support. If a student is left out, Catherine will strive to include them. When working in a group, Catherine works effectively with her classmates and together they produce exceptional work.

As a student Catherine’s work is always of the highest quality. Catherine participates enthusiastically in discussions, and she is respectful to adults and her fellow students.

As a leader Catherine serves on the student council as secretary, and she will-ingly takes on extra assignments outside her responsibilities. Recently she helped to organize the Pledge for a Smile fundraiser by setting fundraising goals and working on the bulletin board outlining the reasons for supporting the walk-a-thon.

Catherine is also a committed athlete. She puts the same hardworking ethic into practice, whether it is on the soccer fi eld or running the mile.

The staff at Rancho overwhelmingly selected our principal Skye Larsh for the Educator of the Year. As a fellow admirer of Skye, and as a teacher at Rancho, I collected the thoughts and sentiments of the staff and students to share with the Alamo Rotary Club.

As I organized my notes, the quality that continued to stand out about Mrs. Larsh was her genuine caring and respect for the students, teachers, support staff, and parents. But how does she demonstrate that characteristic so fully as to have it resonate with the community?

The Rancho students voice it so clearly: “Mrs. Larsh is everywhere. I see her in the hallways talking to students, playing

with us on the playground, working in my classroom all the time, and asking what I am working on and how I feel about the work I am doing.”

“Mrs. Larsh makes everyone feel important. She involves us in opportunities to show leadership by being responsible for projects, such as the bulletin board that describes and announces activities and events at school.”

The staff also had glowing remarks to share about Skye: “Skye listens to the staff and helps fi nd solutions to challenges. She inspires

the staff with meaningful staff development and encouragement.”“She shows professionalism by asking for staff input in decision making, and

she is everywhere on campus making sure the school runs smoothly. Skye is a wonderful fi t for Rancho. She has the respect of the students, parents,

and staff as she encourages strong relationships, builds trust, and fosters a school culture that values each individual in a positive learning community.

Danville Girls ChorusPresenting Music through the Decades

The Danville Girls Chorus will perform their fi nal concert of the 2011-2012 season with a musical journey through the last hundred years of popular music. The performance will take place on Saturday, June 9th at 11AM at the East Bay Fellowship Church, located at 2615 Camino Tassajara Road in Danville. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children 14 and under. They can be purchased in advance by calling 837-2624 or at the door just prior to the concert. Come Sing With Us!

Danville Girls Chorus Placement Auditions for the 2012-2013 season are being held on Tuesday, June 12th in Danville. Girls in grades 3-8 are invited to join the fun singing, performing, and learning how to read and appreciate music of all types. No experience is required. For more information or an appointment, please call the chorus line at (925) 837-2624.

[email protected]

Alamo Elementary School By Stan Hitomi, PrincipalAll I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Schools, like so many other things in life, are cyclic. So even as we close out the current school year, the cycle for the next year has already begun. Last month our incoming kindergartners attended one of two “Getting to Know You” days in preparation for the start of school in August. But the kindergarten they will attend is not the same as what we remember.

Many of us remember naps and snack time as part of the kindergarten ritual. The snacks are still here, but the naps are gone. Today’s kindergarten program at Alamo School (AS) includes math, reading, writing, science, social studies, art, music,

computers, and library. And yes, there is homework. The kindergarten classrooms at AS are equipped with state-of-the-art technology including video projector, document camera, and a Sound Enhancement System that fi lls each classroom with clear, even sound so that every child hears every word. Next fall, thanks to our EdFund, kindergarten students will learn to use iPads and student response systems (clickers).

Despite the enhanced curriculum and technology, the primary goal for our kindergarten program remains the same as it has been for decades. Our goal is to have every student feel good about school. We hang on dearly to this goal. Several special programs support our work toward this goal through a “whole child” approach to developing healthy minds and bodies.

Every week our kindergartners attend Perceptual Motor Training (PMT), an innovative program that is run by parent volunteers and is designed to improve sensory-motor, perceptual-motor, and cognitive functioning. The program features movement activities that are often combined with cognitive skills such as math or vocabulary. The kids just love it! And so do the adults.

Another favorite program in kindergarten is the Buddy Program. Every kindergarten student at AS is assigned a 5th grader as their Buddy. They meet with their Buddies throughout the year in activities that range from character development to music and dance. Music is another strong program for kindergarten. The program culminates in an annual spring concert in front of the whole school.

For students who fi nd they struggle in kindergarten, we have a comprehensive program for assessment, intervention, and monitoring. The intervention program at AS includes Reading, Math, and the Rainbow Room that uses small group and one-on-one sessions with children to teach empathy, social problem solving, and emotion management. Students receiving intervention are monitored to determine if they are improving, or if additional services are required.

The single most important part of our kindergarten program is our talented and dedicated teaching team. Nicki Scott, Michelle Beem, and Cathy Garrett (Alamo Rotary Educator of the Year - 2012) make up our veteran team that combines experience with a commitment towards continuously improving their craft. Linda Henderson is our classroom para-educator who supports both kindergarten classrooms.

So what really happens during a year of kindergarten at AS? Most students loose a few teeth, grow a lot taller, and learn to tie their shoes. They also learn how to wait and walk in a line, sit and listen, and raise their hands when they have a question. They are writing stories about their own lives in their own words. Some are reading chapter books. They are counting to 100 by 10’s, 5’s, and 2’s. But most of all, they have learned all they really need to know for First Grade.


Stone Valley Middle School By Shaun K. McElroy, PrincipalPTA Honorary Service Awards

As part of our spring Open House event, the PTA hosted a reception for our Honorary Service Award re-cipients. The recipients below received repeated ovations from nearly 900 parents, students, and staff.

• Janis Dewar – Honorary Service Award - Regional Director SF Bay Region Odyssey of the Mind since 2004, increased the number of competitive teams by 66%.

Member California Odyssey of the Mind Board, served on the PTA Executive Board at Stone Valley for 7 years.

• Pam Absher – Continuing Service Award - SV 2011-12 PTA President, three major accomplishments – 1) parent classroom visitation day, 2) providing blue tooth audio sys-tems to all academic classrooms, 3) doubling the attendance at Open House and creating a grand community event for the Honorary Service Awards ceremony. Five years service to both to lunch time supervision and offi ce support, Ed Fund Assistant secretary.

• Jeff Hager – Honorary Service Award - Coaches after school sports (cross country, ultimate Frisbee), Started two new classes in the past two years, Video Production and Environmental Marine Science, member of the fi eld day and staff development committees. Co-created the SV community garden. Won the National Educational video competition.

• Cecilia Reyes – Very Special Person Award -14 years at Stone Valley as Coun-selor Tech, eight years as Registrar. We wish Cecelia good luck in her retirement.

• Denise True – Golden Oak Award – Nearly 20 years of service to the Alamo community, classroom volunteer, two term PTA President, PE Assistant, Library Aide, Offi ce support, Parent Education Program, SV Attendance Secretary, and current Offi ce Manager.

• M’Lu Knauss – Continuing Service Award - Boy Scout Unit Commissioner, Para Educator Alamo School, math intervention specialist, Noon Duty supervision, CCD teacher at St. Mary’s of Walnut Creek, math tutor.

• Fred Hofsterter – Honorary Service Award – Leader Boy Scout Troop 216, 8 years, Scout Master Award of Merit 2009. Served 21 years in the US Army in the following venues Operation Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Exxon Valdez oil

spill, Loma Prieta Earthquake, hurricanes Andrew and Hugo.• Linda Buschmeyer – Continuing Service Award, Rancho Romero PTA

Executive Board 3 years, lunch supervision, PTA Cross county chair, PTA Refl ec-tions Chair, Parliamentarian, 8th grade promotions chair.Alamo Rotary Teacher and Student of the Year

Jeff Hager was busy completing his 6th year as a science teacher at SV and probably never saw the Teacher of the Year and the Honorary Service Award coming his way. Jeff is humble and hardworking, and his love of science and his enthusiasm for the natural world is contagious amongst the student body. Jeff is the “Pied Piper” on the SV campus. When Jeff started coaching cross country, 75 students were seen running down Miranda Avenue at 7AM following him to Starbucks. Jeff’s following continued to build as he created new opportunities for students through sports, science, video production classes and working in the community garden. Jeff also created the award winning video seen here www.nextvista.org/bohr-model-of-the-atom.

The 2011-12 Student of the Year was chosen by teachers representing every grade level and subject discipline. The intent of the group was to insure that Mackenzie Loar was chosen. “Mac,” as she’s known, has touched the lives of adults and students through her academic efforts, achieving the Principals Honor Roll status for fi ve straight semes-ters, appearances on SVTV, WEB leader to 6th graders and as a teaching assistant.

Jeff Hager presented Mac at the Rotary Awards luncheon, and noted, “Many students seem to begin a dark descent as they navigate the middle school years, but Mac has continued to soar, starting out as an amazing and thoughtful 6th grader, and growing and blossoming each subsequent year. She is the type of student that makes her teachers proud and excited to be teachers, not just through her classroom achievement, but through positive attitude and willingness to make the world a better place, and she truly deserves this recognition as Rotary Student of the Year.”Math Counts Team Wins National Video Competition

Coach Rebecca Herman worked with the team of Joel Herman, Jake Horne, Jake Perry, and Alec Zhang to create a video that received national recognition. The title of the video was Probability, Counting & Combinatorics. The problem the students dealt with was how to create 120 combinations of clothing using a minimal amount of garments and accessories. Go to http://video.reelmath.org/home.aspx?vid=wZRnmEjM6Ww%253d to see how they did it.

Rebecca Herman is this years’ recipient of the PTA Alumni Scholarship. Re-becca will attend UC Berkeley in the fall.

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Monte Vista High SchoolBy Janet Terranova, Principal

We are in the middle of end-of-the-year activities, planning for next year and thinking about summer plans.

Many of the culminating activities include award ceremonies for our students who excel in a variety of dif-ferent arenas. Last week I had the opportunity go to the annual ROP Students of Excellence Awards Ceremony which honored 38 students from around the area and two

of our own Monte Vista students. You may not be familiar with ROP (Regional Occupational Program), but you may have students and friends who participate in ROP programs. The Contra Costa County ROP serves nearly 12,000 students with classes in 34 high schools throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The high school program has a variety of academically focused career classes, many of which meet the UC requirements. Monte Vista is fortunate to be able to offer many ROP courses including Engineering, Culinary Arts, Advance Place-ment Environmental Science, Developmental Psychology of Children, Sports Medicine, and many more. Some of the programs articulate with Diablo Valley College, and our students’ high school coursework allows the student to move beyond introductory courses at DVC.

Great news for the next year – We will have limited bus service from the Diablo Middle School area to Monte Vista through TRAFFIX. TRAFFIX is a congestion relief program in the San Ramon Valley which utilizes a fl eet of school buses to help alleviate traffi c congestion. TRAFFIX has been serving three schools in Danville since the Fall of 2009, and it is now expanding service on a one-year trial basis providing student shuttle bus service to Monte Vista High School for the 2012-2013 school year.

The TRAFFIX shuttle bus will pick-up and drop-off at two locations:• Existing County Connection bus stop outside the Tassajara Crossing Shop-

ping Center on Camino Tassajara• Blackhawk Plaza in the Draeger’s parking lot*Exact shuttle stop locations will be provided on the Monte Vista High School

page of the TRAFFIX website prior to the start of the 2012-13 school year. Please note the following:• TRAFFIX only has resources to serve students attending fi rst period (not

A period)• The TRAFFIX shuttle bus has a maximum capacity of 50 students• Seats will be sold on a fi rst-come-fi rst-serve basisTRAFFIX 2012-203 season passes are now on sale at a discounted rate.

Register between today and June 14 and you’ll save $75 and get an annual pass for only $200 for the entire school year. The regular price is $275, still a bargain compared to what other student transportation program cost and still cheaper than driving.

You can log-on to the TRAFFIX website at www.ridetraffi x.com to create an account, register, and secure a seat for your student for the upcoming school year. We anticipate that this route will fi ll up quickly, so buy your pass today.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the TRAFFIX Program Manager, Alex Weis at manager@ridetraffi x.com or call (925) 866-TRFX (8739) Monday through Friday between 8AM and 4PM.

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SAT/ACT - Start Planning for College NowBy Susan Sokat, Director, Club Z Tutoring!

For some students, thoughts and plans for higher education only begin as high school graduation nears. But, as the competition to get into college grows more fi erce with every year, it’s important for students to make plans sooner rather than later. Wait too long and your spot at the college of your choice just may go to your neighbor in Chemistry class. If students want a competitive edge in today’s market, it’s critical to consider college placement exams such as the SAT and ACT well before your Senior year of high school.

Start by researching your school of choice to see which test is preferred and to fi nd out about minimum and average scores on either test that will be accepted for incoming freshmen. Knowing this will allow you to set goals for a success-ful score. If your school of choice accepts both the SAT and ACT as acceptable placement exams, consider taking both tests as part of your college preparation plans. You may fi nd that you score higher on one test versus the other, depending on your aptitude for the various subject knowledge they measure.

It is important to know the differences between the two exams, and you may want to take either of them multiple times in an effort to increase your score. Both tests contain math, reading, and writing, however the SAT has a focus on vocabulary, and the ACT has a section on scientifi c reasoning. SAT gives you a score for Reading, Writing, and Math. You can obtain a possible 800 on each sub-test. ACT gives you an average score of the subject tests on a 36 point scale.

SAT may tend to have “trickier” questions. On the SAT, wrong answers may be used against you, and in some cases, it may be better to skip a question than to guess.

You will want to know these facts about the tests in order to prepare. You will also want to know when each test is being offered and when to sign up for that date.

To give yourself a better chance of increasing your scores on either exam, consider working with a private tutor. Taking sample practice tests and practicing on your specifi c areas of weakness is the best strategy for improving your scores. You will also want to memorize concepts and mathematical formulas, and practice your writing. For information on SAT and ACT individualized tutoring, contact Club Z! at 786-7149. Please fi nd test dates and important information about the SAT and ACT tests at www.clubztutoring.com/danville. Start planning now for the college of your dreams!

Alamo Municipal Advisory Council presents the Alamo Municipal Advisory Council presents the Alamo Municipal Advisory Council presents the

2012 Summer Concert Series2012 Summer Concert Series2012 Summer Concert Series Fridays 6:30Fridays 6:30Fridays 6:30---8:30p.m. 8:30p.m. 8:30p.m.

at Livorna Park at Livorna Park at Livorna Park ( A t th e c or n e r o f L i v or n a R oad a n d M i r an d a Av enu e i n A l a mo . )( A t th e c or ne r o f L i v or na R oad a nd M i r anda Av enu e in A la mo . )( A t th e c or ne r o f L i v or na R oad a nd M i r anda Av enu e in A la mo . )

Admission is FreeAdmission is Free

Bring blankets, chairs, snacks, family, friends and dancing shoes. For information call Recreation Staff at (925) 313-2272.

June 22: Moonalice Inspiring audiences with an original blend of Rock,

Country and Blues music.

August 3: The Fabulous CruiseTones Enjoy a wide variety of songs of the 1930s

to the hits of today.

July 6: The Sun Kings Delivering driving energy that recalls the earliest Beatle

shows with lively arrangements and harmonies.

July 20: Petty Theft Loving the classic and contemporary American Rock and Roll of

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? If so, then you will love PETTY THEFT!


San Ramon Valley High School By Joseph A. Ianora, Principal

It is hard to believe, but it is true - the school year is almost over! We have fi nals and graduation, and then we are out for the summer! I would like to share a few thoughts and refl ections as we near the end of the school year. New Administrative Changes: Change can be unsettling, especially when it involves a Principal and Assistant Principal who have been here for quite some time. Questions include: Who will the new principal be?

What changes will they make? Will the change benefi t my student? And, how will the change affect my student’s learning? Some questions will be answered very quickly, and others will take more time. The important thing to remember is to dialogue with and support each other through this time of change. While it can be anxiety producing, it is also a wonderful opportunity to develop new relation-ships and enhance an already incredible educational experience.

As for me, I have loved my time at San Ramon Valley High School. You have given so much to me – your time, your fi nancial support, and most importantly, your sons and daughters. I truly hope their high school experiences have been positive ones under my tenure. Wolftracks, the magazine: We published our second edition of our SRVHS mag-azine (Wolftracks), fi lled with interesting articles about Alumni and current events at the school. If you would like to receive this magazine, please sign up under Alumni on our web page (www.srvhs.net), or stop by school to pick up a copy. Sports: We are winding down yet another phenomenal season with our Spring Athletic Teams reaching great heights. ~ Women’s Swimming & Diving • EBAL Champions! • NCS Champions – SRVHS won by an impressive 92 points at the NCS Meet

~ Men’s Swimming & Diving • EBAL Champions! • 3rd Place at NCS Cham-pionships, missing out on 2nd by a few points

~ Women’s Track & Field • EBAL Champions! • 4th Place at NCS Qualifying Meet • 7 Athletes (Kaitlyn Eklem, Emily Evans, Alina Sinclair, Sammi Kruger, Sarah Herron, Christine Bayliss and Sydney Biekert) to move onto the Meet of Champions at UC Berkeley

~ Men’s Track & Field • 6th Place at NCS Qualifying Meet over the weekend

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~ Men’s Lacrosse • EBAL Champions with an 18-3 record! • #1 Seed in the NCS Playoffs

~ Baseball • Tied for 2nd Place in EBAL • #4 Seed going into NCS playoffs ~ Men’s Golf • 3rd Place NCS Tournament of Champions • Competing at the

Nor Cal Championships in Chico, CA ~ Men’s Volleyball • Advanced to the 2nd round of NCS as a #5 Seed ~ Men’s Tennis • Overall 12-4 record and seeded #7 in NCS • Beat Castro Valley

in fi rst round of NCS and lost to #2 seed and eventual NCS Champion Miramonte Thank you to Academic Boosters who support our academic programs through

their fi nancial contributions. They provide funding to support 18 classes! In ad-dition to class size reduction and purchasing 70 iPads, they also fund our Career Center, after school tutoring, the student directory, and much more.

As the year ends, we have staff members who are concluding their careers at SRVHS and going on to enjoy the benefi ts of retirement or new adventures. Retiring are Teresa Roeder and Phil Childress. Jesse Hansen will move to Martinez Junior High School as an administrator, John Walker will take over as principal of Cam-polindo High School and I will become principal at Del Amigo High School.

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Alamo Municipal Advisory Council presentsAlamo Municipal Advisory Council presents

2012 Movie Under the Stars2012 Movie Under the Stars Friday, July 27thFriday, July 27th Movie starts at 8:45 p.m.Movie starts at 8:45 p.m.

at Livorna Park in Alamoat Livorna Park in Alamo (Located at the corner of Livorna Road and Miranda Avenue)(Located at the corner of Livorna Road and Miranda Avenue)

Privacy By Evan Corstorphine, Portable CIO

In March 2011 I wrote about privacy, at least the illu-sion of it we all subscribe to, and how much things have changed over the last twenty years. I described how the common individual has no concept of how little privacy they retain and how much information anyone with com-puter skills can dig up on their lives. I’m sure it upset a lot of people to realize they live far from anonymously,

and how much they’ve lost control over their anonymity. Sometimes even I am caught off-guard. I have a simple anecdote to describe just such an incident.

A young friend of our family turned 21 recently. As is customary, he invited a handful of his closest friends to meet him at a local bar for a night of over-imbibing to mark his ascension into the world of “grown-ups.” I suppose it’s necessary at this point to explain that I’m 48, not in my 20’s, so I’m pretty unfamiliar with the bar scene. Anyway, my wife and I showed up, and a young man was stationed in front of the bar checking ID’s. Ok, I fi gured his job is to ensure nobody under 21 fi nds their way into the bar. It makes sense in this ever-regulated world for a small business to protect itself by ensuring there is no way an under-age drinker makes their way into the bar. But it was more than that.

I sensed something was different when we approached the front of the line and the young man held his hand out to signal us to s.t.o.p. and wait “there” before we went any further to enter the bar. As he fi nished with the person ahead of us, the young man asked for our ID’s. At fi rst I felt complimented, because being salt and pepper (probably a little heavier on the salt!), I thought it was a formality that he wanted to see our ID’s. I even pointed to my grey hair and said, “Really? You’re kidding, right?,” in an effort to relieve him of this formality. Maybe he was just checking to make us feel good; maybe we still looked young enough to pass for someone under 21? All of these thoughts were quickly erased when in a tone reminiscent of my last traffi c stop, he asked me to take my license out of my wallet, not just show it to him. That surprised me. Should I keep my hands where he could see them, too? At this point, the cuteness of the situation receded, and I was pretty irritated. Yes, he was doing his job, but what the heck was this? I was just looking to go into a bar and have a drink with a young friend. How does ensuring drinking age devolve into this?

After a brief exchange that left my wife completely irritated with me “for caus-ing trouble,” we entered the bar and proceeded to revel in the celebration with our friend. But the incident stuck with me, because I felt like I had been unexpectedly poked by the horns of the privacy dilemma.

I wasn’t satisfi ed or settled with the way our entry into the bar had gone, so I made my way to a friendly face behind the bar, and I asked her what was with this third-degree at the front door, and why was someone so very obviously over 21 being treated like this? What she said made sense but made me sad. Yes, she said, they check ID’s to ensure people are 21. But when they ask you to take your ID out of your wallet and scan it, it’s because they store the information contained on your driver’s license in their own little ID database. They do this, she said, to hold onto a list of everyone who entered the bar in case of fi ghts or other problems, where it’s necessary to give information to the police about who was in the establishment. I don’t know if this is a condition of their business license for that type of establishment in that city, but it may be. She went on to explain that felons often don’t have licenses, and that by asking for an ID they are excluding those who’ve just been released from state accommodations, which seems to further reduce the possibility for trouble. The bottom line? You cannot be anonymous if you want to go to that bar.

All of this made enough sense for me to go to the young man at the front door and apologize for giving him a hard time. But this loss of anonymity bothers me, and I fi nd it unsettling. I don’t like being tracked, and I bristle when someone tells me in an offi cious tone to take my license out of my wallet and hand it to them. It is an element of control and intrusion over me that I didn’t bargain for when I agreed to come out and have a drink with a friend. I live a low-key life, fairly anonymously, and when I am unexpectedly yanked out of that anonymity, I react.

Our kids don’t know any different and think I’m making a big deal. Am I just old and cranky? I’ll let you be the judge. It seems like one more unexpected corner of our lives where our privacy has been sacrifi ced for the “greater good.” Welcome to the new age. Your papers, please?

Computers, networks, and of course privacy require a steady hand from sea-soned professionals. Coincidentally, some of those professionals reside at Portable CIO, a great local IT consulting fi rm that can be reached by emailing [email protected] or calling 925-552-7953 for a consultation. Advertorial


The Car GuyBy Paul Matthew Peterson, Specialty Sales ClassicsConfessions of a Certifi ed Old Car Nut

My mother was the fi rst to notice my condition soon after I got my fi rst car, a light

blue metallic ’65 Mustang convertible. It was hands-down the coolest (pedal) car on the block, and it was just like my uncle Phil’s REAL Mustang...except his was a coupe. Back in 1966, Uncle Phil drove an auto transport for Ford, delivering new Fords to Denver from the assembly plant in St. Paul.

The day after I got the ‘Stang, Mom snapped a photo of me towing the con-vertible up the driveway with my trike. My older brother, Burt, helped me park the back wheels up on a couple 2x4s, and Mom had another photo-op of my legs sticking out from under the car while I ‘fi xed the u-joints.’

After we moved to Idaho and got an old farm with some space around it, Dad drug home a non-running 1950 Buick Roadmaster for Burt and me to tinker with. Burt was about 12 years old, and I was around nine. The car arrived at noon, and by the time Burt got home from school at 3:30, I had removed everything on the car that was held on by Phillips head screws. On a 1950 Buick, that’s 50% of the outside trim and lights and ALL the interior trim. I remember Burt and me strug-gling to open the hood for months, only to fi nd out it opened sideways!

A few years later we ended up back in Minnesota, and, with Dad’s passing, I started hanging out in Uncle Butch’s garage after school working on the cars he was repairing for family members and friends. Uncle Butch taught me the lion’s share of what I know about cars. I was changing clutches on 454 Super Sport Chevelles by age 13 and helping swap engines by 14. I studied the section of those old Motor’s Repair Manuals that showed the grills of all the different years and models so the mechanic could tell what he was repairing, and I could tell the makes of oncoming cars at 100 yards. I lusted after my Aunt Peggy’s maroon ’66 Pontiac Lemans 326 four speed…badly...daily.

Another move back to Idaho at 14 put me in the driver’s seat with a daylight-only license designed for farm kids, which was the answer to this city kid’s prayers. I drove Mom’s Nova and had some junkers in the driveway from 14 on…but at 16 I bought MY FIRST REAL CAR!

For $850 of Dad’s life insurance money I bought a dark copper 1966 Oldsmo-bile 442 four speed, showing an honest 80,000 miles on the odometer from the original owner. At the time I was working at J.C. Penny’s Auto Center. I had lied about being 18 to get the job as a tire technician, and the Olds had belonged to a customer. Two hours after I got the stone-stock 442 home, I immediately cut off the muffl ers and tailpipes, welded on some ‘Purple Hornies’ glass-pack muffl ers, and tossed the stock whitewalls and hubcaps in exchange for some Radial T/As and smooth center chrome wheels. The Craig ‘Powerplay’ 8-Track fl oor mount stereo packed a whopping 12 watts per channel, so I seat-belted my Radio Shack 12” house speakers in the back seat with 20 feet of speaker wire, and I was the king of the high school keggers, with the speakers on the roof, and my Boston 8-Track wailing away.

The ‘66 was pretty fast for being a stock engine. For fun, I could raise the idle to 1000 RPM, pop the clutch, and get a ‘chirp in all four gears, never raising the idle.

By the time I was 19, my friends and I fi gured out I had bought and sold ap-proximately 17 cars. I had two jobs, two cars (a 1973 VW ‘Sport Beetle’ and a 1970 W-30 442), and two insurance payments. My condition was becoming critical, so I found a temporary solution. I took a job selling used cars, but I only did it because they let me drive a different car home every night. I obviously needed help.

Now at age 52, I’ve had some 350 cars pass through my hands. A fair number have been cars I ‘turned,’ but at least 200 have been my daily drivers. My favorite one? Well...the NEXT one is always my favorite one, of course.

Now seriously, working at a place like Specialty Sales Classics is just what the doctor ordered for this certifi ed old car nut. With over 200 collector and exotic cars in our four locations, I get my fi x daily. Last Friday I sold a spectacular 1976 Corvette for less than $11,000, then Saturday I delivered a cool ’37 Ford Street Rod, and consigned a customized 1966 Mustang Convertible that won ‘Best Of Show’ at the National Mustang meet in Fairfi eld…..Yes, I’m car crazy, and Specialty Sales Classics is my daily therapy.

Check out our inventory at www.SpecialtySales.com. Feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions or comments, or call 800-600-2262. Advertorial

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Financial Planning Issues for WomenBrought to you by Peter T. Waldron & Robert J. Waldron

In conjunction with Spectrum Wealth Partners, a division of Lincoln Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor.

Women face a number of challenges when it comes to money. On average, they earn less than men but live longer. Women are also more likely to leave the work place for a period of time, forfeiting wages and benefi ts.

The result? Many women have to make ends meet with limited fi nancial resources. It’s no surprise, then, that a recent survey found that many women are not doing enough to plan for the future. Time for a Reality Check

Developing good fi nancial management skills is a matter of taking time to learn the fundamentals and establish a working fi nancial plan. For women who are juggling a variety of responsibilities, however, fi nding that time can be a chal-lenge. If you’d like to have better control of your fi nances, here are some suggestions. Adopt a Budget

Coming up with a budget is a key factor in taking control of your fi nances, especially if you’re usually out of money by the time payday rolls around. A budget doesn’t have to be about depriving yourself; it’s about seeing how you’re spending your money and deciding where to cut back.

Start by keeping a list of everything you spend for a month or two. Then, divide the list into categories, add the numbers up, and go over the results carefully. You may be shocked at how quickly “little” expenses — a gourmet coffee on the way to work every morning, a movie every Friday night — add up. And you may be pleasantly surprised at how easily you can cut back on spending and boost your savings.Make Saving a Habit

It’s very likely that you have several fi -nancial goals you’d like to accomplish. So, you’ll want to put money away regularly. Arranging for a direct deposit from your pay-check into your savings account is an ideal way to make your goals a top priority.

One important goal you should add to your list is to build up an “emergency fund.” Ideally, you want to have a savings account with enough money to cover three to six months’ worth of expenses. Other goals might be saving for new furniture, a car, or the down payment on a house. If you have children, you may want to save so you can help them with their education expenses. Protect Your Income

Make sure you have adequate life insur-ance coverage, especially if your family relies on your income or you stay home to provide care for children or relatives. You may also want to consider disability income insurance to provide needed income in case you’re unable to work.Invest for Your Future

Investing your money wisely can help you reach your goals. You’ll want to keep

some savings in low-risk investments (such as money market accounts) where the money is easily accessible. For long-term goals, consider investments that have more earning potential, such as stocks and bonds, and funds that invest in these securities. Another smart investment move is to join a tax-deferred retirement plan if you can. It’s a smart and convenient way to invest for the future - especially if your employer matches a portion of your contributions.

Investing doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with a few basic strategies and build up your knowledge as you go. Choosing a portfolio of investments and following your progress will be a learning experience. For help, talk with a professional fi nancial plan-ner. He or she can work with you to develop a plan that helps meet your needs.

Please contact Peter Waldron to schedule a complimentary review of your fi nancial situation, call 925-659-0383, or email [email protected].

Peter T. Waldron & Robert J. Waldron Jr. are registered representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors, a broker/dealer, member SIPC, and offers investment advisory service through Sagemark Consulting, a division of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a registered investment advisor, Spec-trum Wealth Partners, 3000 Executive Parkway, Ste 400, San Ramon, CA 94583. Insurance offered through Lincoln affi liates and other fi ne companies. This information should not be construed as legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a tax advisor regarding this information as it relates to your personal circumstance. The content of this material was provided to you by Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. for its representatives and their clients. Advertorial


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From Our Family to Yours

Call our office today.

The New York Life family is here to help you achieve your financial goals through the products we offer. Whether you’re purchasing a first home, starting a family or business, accumulating funds for your children’s education, or saving for retirement, we will work with you to develop a financial strategy that’s right for you.

© 2011 New York Life Insurance Company, 51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010. SMRU00454979CV (Exp. 08/25/13)

From left to right:

(925) 552-7152

Group Photo Here

Pictured are agents of the Greater San Francisco General Office of New York Life Insurance Company in Alamo.

John Erwin "EJ" M. Magbitang, LUTCF (CA Ins. Lic. #0D37634), Emma M. Magbitang (CA Ins. Lic. #0710892), Julius Elmer "Joel" M. Magbitang, LUTCF (CA Ins. Lic. #0D35676) 3000 Danville Blvd., Suite L Alamo, CA 94507 Tel. (925) 552-7152 / Fax (925) 552-7127 www.MagbitangFinancialGroup.com

925.820.9570 714 San Ramon Valley Blvd, Suite B, Danville

Sycamore Square (next to Lucky’s) [email protected]

Bob Shalon, EAMaster Tax Advisor • Enrolled Agent

Tax Tips By Bob Shalon, IRS Enrolled Agent, H&R Block, Danville Offi ceAutomated IRS System Helps College-Bound Students with Financial Aid Application Process

College-bound students and their parents typically want to make every dollar and every minute of the college experience count including money spent on tuition and time spent on the college fi nancial aid application process. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is helping minimize the time spent on the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form by automating access to federal tax returns with the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. This tool provides the opportunity for applicants to automatically transfer the required tax data onto the FAFSA form.

Here are some tips on using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool:• Benefi ts - The IRS Data Retrieval tool is an easy and secure way to access

and transfer tax return information directly onto the FAFSA form, saving time and improving accuracy. Also, the increased accuracy reduces the likelihood of being selected for verifi cation by the school’s fi nancial aid offi ce.

• Eligibility Criteria - Taxpayers who wish to use the tool to complete their 2012 FAFSA form must 1) Have fi led a 2011 tax return 2) Possess a valid Social Security Number 3) Have a Federal Student

Aid PIN (individuals who don’t have a PIN, will be given the option to apply for one through the FAFSA application process) and 4) Have not changed marital status since Dec. 31, 2011.

• Exceptions - If any of the following conditions apply to the student or parents, the IRS Data Retrieval Tool cannot be used for the 2012 FAFSA application: 1) An amended tax return was fi led for 2011 2) No federal tax return for 2011 has been fi led 3) The federal tax fi ling status on the 2011 return is married fi ling separately or a Puerto Rican or other foreign tax return has been fi led.

• Alternatives - If the IRS Data Retrieval Tool cannot be used and if the college requests verifi cation documen-tation, it may be necessary to obtain an offi cial transcript from the IRS. To order tax return or tax account tran-scripts, visit www.irs.gov and select “Order a Transcript” or call the Transcript toll-free line at 1-800-908-9946.

In addition to helping reduce the time and effort in-volved in completing and submitting the FAFSA form through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, the IRS offers money-saving information to college students and their parents. Important information regarding tax credits and deductions for qualifying tuition, materials and fees is available at the IRS Tax Benefi ts for Education: Informa-tion Center and in IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefi ts for Education both of which are available at www.IRS.gov.Links

• IRS Data Retrieval Tool/FAFSA - http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp

• IRS Tax Benefits for Education: Infor-mation Center - www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=213044,00.html

• IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefi ts for Educa-tion - www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

• Order a Transcript - www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=232168,00.html

In many cases it is the parents’ tax returns that determine if your child gets fi nancial aid. I hope that you fi nd these links useful. Remember that the Danville offi ce of H&R Block is now open all year on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will be returning at the end of June. Please call me with any questions at 925-820-9570. Advertorial

Blackhawk Republican Women Present John Hanson

John Hanson, Chair of the Monterey County Rom-ney Campaign, will be speaking on “The European Financial Crisis” at the June 6th meeting of the Black-hawk Republican Women. The event will be held at the Blackhawk Country Club located at 599 Blackhawk Club Dr. in Danville. Check-in and social will begin at 11:15AM followed by lunch and the speaker at 11:30AM. Cost for the event is $25. Come hear what’s going on in the Euro zone and how it affects the U.S. from a successful conservative businessman who knows!

Please make reservations or cancellations by noon on Monday, June 4th . Contact [email protected] or (925)828-2360.


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Blended Families – Careful Planning is Critical By Robert J. Silverman, Attorney at Law

Last month, I presented a case study illustrating how poor planning by blended families can cause severe fi nancial and personal harm to their loved ones. This month, I’ll describe some ways in which a blended family can avoid this damage by establishing a thoughtful, customized estate plan.

First, both spouses need to acknowledge confl icting interests. Then, they should identify specifi c confl icts and explore constructive ways to reconcile them. While there are no “one size fi ts all” solutions, an experienced estate planning attorney can share invaluable tools and give meaningful counsel and assistance.

Below is the most common type of confl ict and a description of a few practical approaches to resolv-ing the confl ict successfully.

Confl ict: How do you provide for the potential needs of the surviving spouse while ensuring an inheritance is received by the children of the spouse who dies fi rst?

First, it’s critical for each spouse to consider how he or she generally wishes to provide for his or her spouse and children (and potentially step-children) if he or she is the fi rst spouse to die (“deceased spouse”). Many factors can come into play, including the length of the marriage and each spouse’s: personal feel-ings, age, fi nancial resources, current and potential health needs, lifestyle, number of children (or, if none, primary loved ones), children’s ages, children’s needs, and children’s fi nancial resources.

The best tool to codify the plan is a revocable living trust, which can be structured so that, upon the death of the fi rst spouse, the assets are split up into two separate sub-trusts. For the purpose of this article, I’ll refer to them as the “Survivor’s Trust” and “Deceased Spouse’s Trust.”

The Survivor’s Trust contains the survivor’s assets (50% of the community property and all of the survivor’s separate property) and remains revocable. Naturally, the survivor can do absolutely anything he or she wishes with these assets and can change who will receive the assets on his or her death.

The Deceased Spouse’s Trust contains the deceased spouse’s assets (50% of the community property and all of the deceased spouse’s separate property) and is irrevocable. Typically, the surviving spouse is entitled to some distribution of funds from the Deceased Spouse’s Trust; however, the survivor cannot give away the assets, spend the assets frivolously, or change who is to receive whatever is left in the Deceased Spouse’s Trust, if anything, when the survivor dies.

Depending on the circumstances, the Deceased Spouse’s Trust might provide that the surviving spouse will receive only income. This ensures that the principal of the deceased spouse’s assets (hopefully adjusted upward by appreciation dur-ing the survivor’s life) is preserved so that the deceased spouse’s children receive them upon the death of the surviving spouse.

Alternatively, the Deceased Spouse’s Trust can not only pay the surviving spouse income but also principal, if any, for the needs of the survivor’s needs. Of course, this makes it less likely that the children of the deceased spouse will receive a substantial, or any, inheritance on the death of the surviving spouse.

Yet another possibility is to state that the survivor can withdraw income and only a limited percentage or a set dollar amount of principal each year. An infi nite number of other variations of a Deceased Spouse’s Trust are possible, limited only by the couple’s imagination and the drafter’s experience and skills. For those who have substantial wealth, important Federal Estate and Gift Tax ramifi cations must also be considered.

Another approach is to distribute certain assets to the surviving spouse (either outright or to a Deceased Spouse’s Trust) and other assets to the children. For example, the Deceased Spouse could designate his or her children as benefi ciaries of a life insurance policy and/or retirement account (e.g. 401K or IRA). The home and other assets can then be made available to the surviving spouse. The benefi t of doing this is that upon the death of the deceased spouse, his or her children receive at least some signifi cant inheritance immediately, rather than potentially waiting many years until the surviving spouse dies to receive any inheritance. Furthermore, it helps minimize or avoid ongoing confl icts between the children of the deceased spouse and their step-parent concerning how the Deceased Spouse’s Trust is administered.

All assets should be considered, various competing needs identifi ed, and goals of each spouse established and discussed, and a customized, comprehensive, and practical estate plan should be drafted to accomplish the couple’s objectives.

Mr. Silverman is an attorney with Buchman Provine Brothers Smith LLP, 1333 N. California Street, Suite 350, Walnut Creek, CA 94596; (925) 944-9700; [email protected]. His practice emphasizes Estate Planning, Trust Administration & Probate, Real Estate, and Business. Mr. Silverman offers a free introductory consultation.

This article is intended to provide information of a general nature, and should not be relied upon as legal, tax, fi nancial and/ or business advice. Readers should obtain and rely upon specifi c advice only from their own qualifi ed professional advisors. This communication is not intended or written to be used, for the purpose of: i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code; or ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any matters addressed herein. Advertorial

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Trains continued from front page

See Trains cont.on pg. 20

3201 Danville Blvd., Suite 150 • Alamo, CA 94507 (925) 314-1891 • Fax (925) 309-2462

www.fmacpa.com • Email: [email protected]

Feeney McClaskey and Associates, IncCertifi ed Public Accountants

Active Participation Matters in Rental Real EstateHow active are you? Staying active is good for your health — and for reducing

your tax bill. Here's how: Actively participating in your real estate rentals can help maximize your deductions.

As you may know, rental real estate is considered a "passive" activity. Passive activities are those in which you're not involved on a regular and substantial basis, and they're subject to passive loss rules. Those rules generally limit losses on your rentals to the amount of your income from other passive activities.

But when you actively participate in your rentals, you may qualify for an exception to the general rules. In that case, you can deduct up to $25,000 of losses from your rentals even if you have no passive income. That means you can use rental losses to reduce other income on your federal tax return, including wages and interest.

What's the defi nition of an active participant? You may be thinking of an hourly requirement, such as spending 500 hours or 750 hours on your rental properties dur-ing the year. Those tests do not apply to the active participant exception.

Instead, to be an active participant you have to own at least 10% of the rental and genuinely participate in management decisions such as approving amounts spent on upgrades and repairs.

To claim the full $25,000 allowance, your modifi ed adjusted gross income (MAGI) must be less than $100,000 ($50,000 when you're married fi ling separately). The allowance disappears completely when your MAGI exceeds $150,000.

Do you have questions about the tax treatment of rentals? Take action and give us a call. We'll run the numbers to make sure you get the most benefi t available.

Community Affairs/Senior Services By Roger Smith

I spent an interesting hour with long time Alamo resident, Elaine Welch. She is the Executive Director of Senior Helpline Services, a local non-profi t organiza-tion dedicated to enabling seniors to age in place safely and comfortably by providing transportation services, telephone relationships, information, and referrals and

also offers opportunities for seniors and others who care about aging issues to become agents of change for our communities.

Elaine started her career as an RN, and she then earned her MBA from St. Mary’s College and devoted her next 25 years to Kaiser’s corporate offi ces with responsi-bility for Kaiser’s Medicare compliance in all regions throughout the US.

After retiring the fi rst time in 1998, and blessed with high energy along with a focus on helping seniors and with the public speaking skills set to match, Elaine became the Executive Director for Senior Helpline Services. Adept at securing funding in an era of tight budgets, she now often describes her job as having another MBA, that would be a Master’s with a little Begging and a lot of Advocacy (for Seniors).

Today her staff, which includes her husband Dale, are involved in “Giving Back” to our local communities through programs, such as “Rides for Seniors.”

Started in 2005, the “Rides for Seniors” program provides seniors, who no longer drive or cannot access other forms of public transportation, with their “mobility” to remain “independent” and to remain in their own home, and not be forced into a nursing home or other institutional residence.

Rides are provided free of charge with donations accepted but not required. More than 130 screened and trained volunteer drivers provide their time and

compassion along with their automobiles to assist seniors in need and located within the driver’s local area with one-on-one, door-through-door transportation services.

Rides provided are primarily for the purpose of routine medical and dental care, and shopping for groceries and other basic necessities, enabling seniors to remain independent and to “age in place” - their own home.

Using a personalized approach to matching seniors with drivers, Dale oftentimes works seven days a week coordinating the rides for dozens of seniors with the avail-ability of the many (and many more needed!) volunteer drivers on their roster.

If you’d like more information on this valuable service for a senior you may know or if you would like to devote time each week to become a volunteer driver, visit www.seniorhelpline.net or call (925) 284-6161. They want to hear from you!AIA’s Annual Membership Drive

Now in its 57th year, AIA, a non-profi t 501(c)(3) organization, has the longest history of serving our community and helping shape it into “Alamo - the place where we love to live!” Alamo residents have been joining the Alamo Improve-ment Association and working in support of AIA’s mission statement, which is to “preserve the semi-rural character of Alamo.”

As Board President, I want to thank our many volunteers, both past and pres-ent, for their efforts over the last 57 years in making Alamo into the wonderful community that it is today.

I want to thank all Alamo residents for their interest in AIA and encourage each of you to become members. Please complete the AIA membership form below, in-clude a check for $50, and return it to AIA at P.O. Box 156, Alamo, CA. 94507.

over 54 x 32 feet, 400 working switches or turnouts, and several miles of electrical wire, the WCMRS layout operation requires a dispatcher to communicate with several engineers who are provided a high-above-the-track bird’s eye view. The WCMRS layout is believed to be the most mountainous model railroad of its kind anywhere. A train’s complete single circuit of the mainline takes 45 minutes.

But, even though skill and know-how are integral, many members readily acknowledge that their interest stems from fond childhood memories. “I’ve always loved trains,” says Moreland, who has been involved with WCMRS for 36 years and is currently Chairman of the WCMRS Board. “I’m old enough to remember real steam locomotives. When my dad returned from the Korean War, he brought back two footlockers full of model train engines and track. We moved so often while he was in the service, that we never had a chance to set-up the whole thing. Finally, we moved to a home where we could build the layout in the garage…and then I left for college.”

Was it a subliminal need to fi nish what he started? Perhaps; but Moreland cites the simple and majestic strength and power of large locomotives as the allure. “Trains are just kind of cool,” he says. “I can’t really explain it.”

While the engineers may seem to have all the fun, successful operation and maintenance of the railway requires skills and cooperation of all types: carpenters and cabinet makers to construct the sound baseboard, artisans to paint and craft the scenery, and electricians to install wiring. There are tasks for all members who are interested in learning, sharing, and growing the ever-changing layout. The society currently boasts a membership of 60, ranging in age from 18 to

90. Work-nights are Fridays and Tuesdays. The layout is open for public viewing the last Friday of each month from 8 – 10pm and the third Sunday in January, March, May, and September. The annual holiday show takes place two weekends in November.

New members are invited to help out for three months, at which time one becomes a


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Life in the Alamo GardenDesign and BudgetBy John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect

First, I want to personally thank you all so much for your participation in our 3rd Annual Garden Tour Fundraiser “Life in the Walnut Creek Garden.” I am very proud to announce we generated donations close to $10K for three charities that participated. The weather was perfect, and we all had a great time. It exceeded our expectations! I look forward to talking to you at our 4th Annual Garden Tour next year.

This year I had the delightful opportunity to greet and chat with folks about the fi ve gardens on the tour. People commented on how distinctly different each garden was. While a lot of the questions were specifi c like, “What kind of plant is this?,” some were about the design process. I found it intriguing that many ques-tions were about Design and Budget, so it inspired me to write about it. I want to dispel the myth that good creative design is expensive.

First, expensive is relative to each family’s budget. Every project and client is dif-ferent. Therefore, everybody’s design goals and budget is different. Budgets are purely client driven by their wants and scope of the project. Everyone has a list of what they want and desire. Some clients have BIG want lists and are willing to “invest” in the budget to HAVE what they want while others only want some simple advice to do it yourself. I work with my clientele hand-in-hand with Design and Budget. I am well aware that while design options are limitless, most budgets are not. Good creative design need not be expensive; good creative design needs to be executed within the budget parameters. I require my clients to make tough decisions about their wants and budget so as to meet their expectations. The last thing I want is to create a beautiful garden on paper that isn’t affordable; I am committed to having my clients living in them!

When a client interviews me to do their project, they basically want to know two things, “How much are your fees going to be?,” and, “How much is my project going to cost?” To answer the fi rst question, which is easier to answer, for everyone, whether or not it is a small project or a big one, my fees are by the hour based on the scope of services I provide. I love working on all aspects of a garden. I have three basic services; consulting, design, and construction assistance. I have a two hour minimum for consulting on items like garden spruce ups, fl ower pots, annual color borders, etc. My design services include conceptual master plans, construction documents, and planting plans. Construction assistance includes helping you with contractor selection, bids, on-site decisions, and project observation.

In answer to the second question, project costs are driven by my client’s wants. People know what they want but often times don’t know what it costs. The specifi c way I work gives you control of the budget be-cause my fees aren’t based on how much your project costs. I am interested in identifying how much you are willing to “invest” into your home and

what’s appropriate to the home and your family budget. Before I design anything, I evaluate your wants and desires and weigh it against your budget. Once these pa-rameters are understood I begin the design, and at every step of the process I provide a line-item budget so choices and decisions can be made regarding the design and budget.

I love what I do! With more than 35 years in the garden, my clients’ and my own, I understand the enjoyment we receive from our gardens, whether small or large. Not only am I a licensed landscape architect, but I am a passionate gardener! I am dedicated to designing garden environments that produce the feelings you wish to have when you are in them; inspiration, rejuvenation, relaxation, playful, peaceful…

Good creative design doesn’t have to be expensive; it has to be good creative design within your budget!

A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Over the years I have observed that good design can save you money in the long run by doing it right the fi rst time!

Gardening Quote of the month: “How much the making of a garden, no matter how small, adds to the joy of living, only those who practice the arts and the science can know.” - E. H. Wilson

If you would like me to write on any particular subject, email your ideas to [email protected] or for design ideas visit www.jm-la.com. Advertorial

www.yourmonthlypaper.comPage 20 - June 2012 ~ Alamo TodayThe Art Of Screening By Blaine Brende & Joe Lamb

Trees and shrubs provide many valuable services in the urban ecosystem. One of the most important, from the perspective of homeowners, is screening for privacy and to hide undesired objects. Well-placed foliage

can keep out prying eyes and enhance personal safety, and a view of beautiful leaves and branches gives more pleasure than the view of a neighbor’s garage. Over the long run, preserving a living screen requires planning and judicious pruning.

Plants grow toward the sun; they maximize foliage where there is most light. As trees mature, the density of the canopy can act as an umbrella and shade out the interior lower branches, which causes them to die. To see a clear example of this, look at a mature oak in the forest. The majority of foliage is in the outer shell; the interior is bare. This natural phenomenon works well for plants in the wild, but it may not succeed well for your screening needs. Luckily, there are ways to avoid this loss of valuable screening.

All strategies for maintaining screen involve keeping sunlight fl owing to interior branches. Suffi cient light on the leaves reduces dieback. It is best to act before the screen is compromised (an ounce of pruning is better than a ton of replanting). In plants with latent buds, English laurels for example, trunks can re-sprout even after interior branches have withered. However, many species lack latent buds and are incapable of re-sprouting, and for those species preventative medicine is the only medicine. Even for species with latent buds, keeping branches healthy is much easier, and more effective, than reinvigorating them.

• Eliminate light competition from surrounding plants. Evaluate the plants growing near your screen plants to see if they are casting a shadow on branches critical to screening. Plants shading out important screen plants can be removed, or they can be thinned and shaped to increase illumination of screening branches.

• Thin the screen plants themselves. This may seem counterintuitive, but the exterior of the screen plant may be shading its interior. It is not uncommon to see 40-foot pittosporums that look like balloons, with the only green occurring in the canopy. To revitalize, it is generally best to remove all dead wood, thin the top heavily, and even thin the screen area. The goal is to maintain layers of green from the edge of the canopy through the interior. A thick, multi-layered screen is less prone to failure. If it is not acceptable to lose any bottom screen, even temporar-

ily, a good compromise is to thin those portions above the screen area. Thinning only one portion of the tree is an aesthetic challenge, but it can be done.

• Shape the tops of screen plants. It is sometimes possible to shape back the tops of screen plants to allow more light to reach the lower branches. Our philosophy of pruning requires that the overall beauty of the plants be considered in all prun-ing cuts. Because health and beauty are often synonymous, we have found that bringing light into the interior usually enhances tree aesthetics.

What do you do if you have already lost the screen? It is diffi cult to get branches to grow back once they have died, but radically thinning or lowering the plant may induce growth in lower foliage. Unfortunately, this is hard to achieve without sacrifi cing the aesthetics of your trees and shrubs. Sometimes it is possible to fi ll the gap with shade-loving plants. Other times the only solution might be to remove the plant and start over. Each case is different.

If you need help, do not hesitate to give us a call, for advice or to do the work. At Brende and Lamb, we have 20 years of experience balancing the aesthetics of your trees and shrubs and maintaining your screening needs. If your trees need a little TLC, please call 510-486-TREE (8733) or email us at [email protected] for a free estimate. Additionally, go to our website www.brendelamb.com to see before and after pictures, client testimonials, and work in your neighborhood. Advertorial

Trains continued from page 18

Clip Notes By Jody Morgan The bride carried an exquisite bouquet of garlic

fashionably intertwined with herbs whose powers prom-ised longevity, ensured fertility, and provided suffi cient fragrance to keep the offensive odors emanating from the unwashed guests at bay. Not the choice for even the most tradition-minded of 21st century brides, perhaps, but it was quite the rage in medieval Europe. Garlic kept the evil spirits as well as the Black Plague away.

This pungent member of the onion family was be-lieved by ancient Egyptians to have similar magical

properties. The Chinese have been using it since 3,000 BC for both medicinal and culinary purposes. Modern research indicates that garlic is an antibiotic and an antifungal agent. Stakes infused with garlic oil are available to ward off the four-legged evildoers tunneling into our gardens. Moles and gophers be gone!

June being a favorite month for weddings (I confess to having chosen it so I could be photographed before my mother’s spectacular rhododendron hedge), I decided to research historical horticultural contributions to weddings through the ages. Most interesting of my fi ndings is that brides for thousands of years have borrowed freely from foreign customs to make their own celebrations distinctive.

Although Queen Victoria’s impact on social mores is generally viewed as a bit staid, stuffy and even repressive, she daringly broke with expectations when she marched to the alter as a bride in 1840. Rebellious Victoria rejected the dress interwoven with metallic threads favored by generations of her royal family. She audaciously wore instead a simple gown of white. The snowdrops she carried for her bouquet (well it was February in England) were her groom’s favorite. Did be-ing queen encourage her to reverse the chivalrous custom whereby knights of old wore a fl ower representing the colors of their bride’s family? (That tradition came down to modern times as the suggestion that a groom should wear one of the fl ow-ers chosen by his bride for her bouquet.)

Shockingly, Victoria exchanged the jeweled tiara her royal predecessors favored for the garland of orange blossoms traditionally worn by Saracen brides. The Cru-

saders apparently fi rst introduced the custom to Spain where imported citrus trees fl ourished and from there it migrated to France and England where an enclosed orangery was required to preserve the plants through the winter. The ability of the species to produce both fl owers and fruit simultaneously throughout the year accounts for its legendary connection to fertility. For Victoria and Albert, the superstition proved effi cacious as the couple welcomed nine royal offspring.

Queen Victoria’s use of orange blossoms, while a break from royal custom, had suffi cient precedent in Western weddings that the Saracen connection probably went unremarked. Married in France in 1780, the Marquise de La Tour du Pin writes of her wedding day in her Memoirs that her fl oral adornments included “a bouquet of orange blossoms on my head and one to my side.” In 1828 an American bride, daughter-in-law of President John Quincy Adams, decorated both her gown and veil with orange blossoms.

Highly collectible are the alternatives fashion-conscious brides utilized in climates where orange blossoms were not available. Wax replicas once less expensive in colder climates than the exotic fl owers are now vastly more valuable than actual blossoms. Possibly echoing the time in which genuine fl owers faded, superstition suggested artifi cial orange blossoms had to be discarded within one month of the nuptials.

The myrtle carried by Victoria’s daughters in their bouquets and by royal British brides thereafter came from a posy given to Victoria by Albert’s grandmother when the couple visited Germany in 1845. Her majesty planted a sprig from the posy at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight where it still thrives. Evergreen myrtle has leg-endary signifi cance as a symbol of both love and immortality. According to ancient Greek mythology, myrtle was sacred to Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, and Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Demeter held power over the cycle of life and death. Greek brides and grooms wore garlands of myrtle and other greens. Romans added fl owers to the garlands. Whatever wildfl owers were in season were employed.

The custom of tossing the bridal bouquet began sometime around the 14th century as a defense mechanism. Grabbing a piece of the bride’s clothing was considered to be good luck. Imagine having your gown torn to shreds by your guests! To escape their clutches, brides began throwing everything at hand including their garters and their bouquets at the crowds. Eventually catching the bouquet was accepted as a substitute symbol of favorable fortune.

switchman. Advancement (and increased responsibility) includes the further ranks of brakeman, conductor, engineer, and fi nally, the top spot of senior engineer. It takes about 1 ½ years to move through the ranks and earn “keys to the building” privileges as well as priority for any committee chair position.

Concord resident Rosa Marie Delgman is one of two women members. After six months of membership, she is a brakeman and has learned to take apart and service the engines, change the wheels, add weights for traction, and change couplers. “I watch and learn in anticipation of one day operating the engines,” says Delgman. Like any organization in which participants share a passion, WCMRS inspires strong and lasting friendships. Many work-nights begin with dinner at a local restaurant, and it is not uncommon for members to organize rail related fi eld trips and outings, such as to the Western Railway Museum in Rio Vista or a train ride to the Rail Museum in Sacramento. “After 36 years, you get to know some of these folks fairly well,” says Moreland. “They’re like family.”

For more information visit www.wcmrs.org.

[email protected] Alamo Today ~ June 2012- Page 21

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What Does Having Good or Bad Posture Really Mean?By Dr. Angela McCraken, Kenny Family Chiropractic

Posture is the window to the spine. This is the cor-nerstone statement of why it is important to have good posture throughout your life. First, good posture has to be defi ned in order to truly understand its importance. Good posture consists of having your ears align with your shoulders and your shoulders align with your pelvis

when you are looked at from a side view. When you are looking at someone from the front, their ears, shoulders, and pelvis should be level. When someone is sitting, good posture consists of the legs being at a 90-degree angle with the back straight and the shoulders back.

Every day we see bad posture in the population. You can watch someone walk down the street and see their shoulders and head sit forward in comparison to the hips and the feet. When posture is incorrect, there are many side effects that can happen. When there is bad posture in one area of the body, there is also normally compensation somewhere else in order to center the person in space. One of the main problems is that incorrect posture becomes a repetitive stress on the spine. This repetitive stress can go on to cause changes in spine health, and a person can start to show symptoms if the stress is continuous.

The symptoms can include headaches, TMJ pain/dysfunction, neck pain, mid back pain, low back pain, and symptoms going down into the buttock and legs. There can be more systemic dysfunctions such as gastroesophageal refl ux (acid refl ux) and constipation. There can also be changes to someones gait or walking biomechanics when there is a change in posture. A change in normal gait can be just as harmful as the bad posture. These changes can go on to commonly cause plantar fasciitis, foot pain, and knee pain.

The next step would be the correction of bad posture to alleviate any symptoms and to prevent further problems. Most people these days are sitting while they are at work. Whether they are typing, answering phones, or driving for long periods of time, there is always a way to instill proper posture. Lumbar supports should always be used when someone is sitting in a chair. This allows for the proper curves of the spine to be supported. Next when using a phone, a headset should be used so that the hands are free and the neck can remain in a neutral position. The next step would be doing specifi c exercises and stretches. The exercises are to strengthen the muscles that have been neglected and core strengthening in order to stabilize the spine. The stretches are to elongate and relax the muscles that have been over used. These stretches and exercises used in combination allow for the body to realign and function properly.

Lastly, how does chiropractic fi t into the rehabilitation of the bad posture? Our job is fi rst to adjust the spine of any subluxations that may be present. This is done to help bring motion back into the segments that have been stuck. When motion has been restored, it allows for the spine to have the proper biomechanics to function properly. On top of the adjustments, we prescribe the stretches and exercises to help correct posture and we demonstrate the proper way that each exercise is performed to the patient. We act as the inspiration to our patients to keep with their corrective treatment in order for them to have optimum health.

Our team at Kenny Family Chiropractic specializes in correcting and main-taining posture through Chiropractic Care and Posture Rehabilitation.

Call today for a Complimentary Consultation and a Complete Assessment of your posture and spine with all Diagnostic Testing (x-rays included if necessary). Mention Alamo Today and receive this complete exam for $17 for the fi rst 17 callers.

Visit us at our Open House on June 9th. Call today to RSVP.Kenny Family Chiropractic - Dr. Angela McCraken, Dr. Jerry Kenny, Dr.

Malia Kenny and our dedicated Kenny Chiropractic Team are located at 185 Front St. Suite 107 in downtown Danville. To schedule an appointment call 925-838-9355. Please also visit our website at kennychiro.com. Advertorial

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Although a relatively small area, it was a denser population due to the mix of apartments and business. The CWS used phone lines, cell phones, and media to notify the public of the incident and issue a Shelter in Place.

“Additionally, very recently, we notifi ed the residents of Diablo of an at-risk miss-ing juvenile girl and requested any information on her whereabouts,” adds Hern.

Citizens need only register to receive the voice alerts on their personal cell phones or any other landline on which receptivity to Telephone Emergency Notifi cation System calls might be problematic. (Emergency warnings come from a caller ID of 00000000.) “But more and more, the CWS has the capabil-ity of using devices that people can access at a more personal level,” says Hern. “Just as we recommend having an emergency ‘go kit’ with fl ashlights, batteries, water, etc., we now recommend people prepare with an ‘Emergency Alert Sys-tem’ which includes: a) purchasing a weather radio, which provides a simple,

inexpensive personal siren providing alert and full information on an incident, b) bookmarking www.cococws.us on your computer and registering at http://cws.cccounty.us to receive alerts on your cell phone, c) registering for text and email notifi cations at http://edis-by-mail.net , and d) ‘liking’ CWS on Facebook, and following CoCoCWS on Twitter.”

For further information on the Contra Costa County Community Warning System, visit www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=161.

[email protected] Alamo Today ~ June 2012 - Page 23Your Personal Nutritionist By Linda Michaelis, RD. MS.Can’t Lose Weight Despite Healthy Eating and Exercise

I frequently get people coming up to me during my 24 Hour Fitness Club classes saying they are exercis-ing fi ve days a week and eating healthy but not losing weight. The following case study is typical.

Carolyn, a nurse, exercises early at the gym at least fi ve times a week. For breakfast she had a Lara Bar, and for a mid-morning snack she had a cup of granola with plain Greek yogurt mixed in. For lunch she always ate low fat cottage cheese with two pieces of fruit. For her 4PM snack she would buy a bag of Baked Lays. Carolyn would come home starved, and she would snack on baked pita chips with hummus or several handfuls of nuts where later she would have the traditional high protein-veggie-starch dinner with her family.

Carolyn fi t the pattern of having frequent snacks during the day and a large dinner at night. Given her age and size, I told her that in order to lose weight she needed to keep her calories to 1,500 on days she did not exercise and 1,800 for when she did. In spite of good exercising habits, she was nonetheless sabotaging herself. After an intense 45 minute exercise regimen, her metabolism is revved up to fi ve times the rate as before the exercise. We discussed the need for her to have a large part of her daily calories closer to the period after exercise rather than her practice of eating the bulk of calories later in the day which culminated with a 1,000 calorie dinner.

I recommended some dietary changes for Carolyn. At this time the Lara Bar seems to help get her thru the morning exercise routine, especially since she was still full from the heavy dinner meal. However, as she lightens up her dinner, we discussed how she will be more hungry in the morning where she needs to eat more. Great breakfasts before the gym are those with protein and fi ber like a hard-boiled egg or cottage cheese which she loves with a toasted whole wheat English muffi n. For mid-morning Carolyn can have some oatmeal along with toppings of her choice such as brown sugar and raisins. I fi nd oatmeal is too heavy before the gym but a great choice after-wards. Her Greek yogurt and granola is a great snack, but the ratio needs to be reversed - one cup of Greek yogurt is a wonderful source of protein, and a sprinkle of granola is great for crunch. Carolyn also decided to try peanut butter with an apple or celery at this time as well.

We discussed why Carolyn’s cottage cheese and fruit is a poor choice for lunch and only provides two ounces of protein. She needs to have at least 4-6 oz of protein for lunch. For instance, she could choose leftover meat from the previous night with a cup of veggies, or a salad and a cup of whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat pasta or couscous, barley, faro, or even a sweet potato. We even included her fruit as dessert. At fi rst Carolyn thought this was too much food, but I suggested that she take it all to work, eat the protein and veggies fi rst, and keep the grains and veggies for mid-afternoon snacks rather than her usual potato chips. Carolyn is now arriving home without being famished. She no longer needs the after work snack and can enjoy a cup of Good Earth tea, which is so sweet and pungent it is referred to as dessert tea.

For dinner she is no longer having a large portion of protein since she would have eaten enough during the day to keep her blood sugar in balance and avoid hunger. After determining her favorite foods, Carolyn keeps her dinner calories to 500 which may include a 6 oz. baked potato (200 calories) with butter or sour cream (100 calories) and sauteed veggies or a salad with dressing (100 calories for the dressing or oil and minimal for veggies). She then has 100 calories left for such desserts as a fruit juice bar or two, a half a cup of lowfat ice cream, or even a slice of white cake with strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

I am thrilled to tell you that after working with Carolyn for one session she instantly began losing weight. I have continued to counsel Carolyn for two months via phone and e-mail, and she has lost 15 pounds. By the way, she has Aetna PPO insurance which is covering her weight loss program.Please feel free to call me at (925) 855-0150 or e-mail me at [email protected] and tell me about your nutritional concerns. Refer to my website www.LindaRD.com for past articles, recipes, and nutrition tips. Advertorial

Bishop Ranch Wellness and Safety FairThis is one event sure to leave you feeling great! On Thursday, June

7th, from 11:30am – 2pm Sunset Development is kicking off the Bishop Ranch Wellness and Safety Fair. This free event will be staged at Bishop Ranch Eleven’s courtyard and parking lot located at 2301 Camino Ramon in San Ramon. Over 40 vendors will be on-site to share the very latest on health, diet and exercise, present interactive demos, and offer free cholesterol screen-ings, bone density tests, and blood pressure checks. Look for the San Ramon Fire Department, who will be presenting life-saving tips and advice, and stop by Jamba Juice and buy a fresh fruit smoothie to benefi t the American Heart Association!

At the end of the event there will be a raffl e for a Wii, Wii Fit, and a set of Wii Fitness games!

For more information, call 925-866-0100.


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The Eye OpenerBy Gregory and Laura Kraskowsky, O.D., Alamo OptometryA Different Perspective

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Laura, Dr. K’s wife. As our children have grown, I have become much more involved in the day-to-day business at Alamo Optometry. I thought it might be interesting to give our readers a new perspective for the month. Since Dr. K began writing this column, I have often suggested topics

that I, as a layperson, think are interesting, relevant, or helpful. So now I would like to share my thoughts on Dr. K and our offi ce.

I am a pediatric Occupational Therapist by profession. However, I have been hearing about all things eye-related since the early days of our relation-ship, when Dr. K decided to follow his heart into Optometry. As he applied to and decided on an Optometry school to attend, worked hard throughout the program, and graduated proudly, I watched him happily take his place in his profession. For seven years, he worked for up to three different practices at any given time, up to six days a week, all the while hoping to fi nd a practice he could call his own--a practice to give his heart and soul to, to grow and develop according to his own beliefs and capabilities. In 2007, we got the op-portunity to buy Alamo Optometry. Getting the key and walking through the door on that Sunday, July 1st was completely surreal! Knowing that the next day he would go to work and have to pick up where the previous owner left off was incredibly daunting and exciting at the same time. He jumped right in and has never looked back. We are so proud to be celebrating our fi ve year anniversary this July! We are grateful for our wonderful patients who keep trusting us with their eye care and referring us to their family and friends. We simply could not be here without them.

Just like anything worthwhile, tending to the business has been stressful and frustrating at times, but it’s also been truly rewarding. With a small staff, I am often the “fi ll-in” person when needed. As I sit at the front desk, I have had patients say to me, not knowing that the doctor is my husband, “We just love Dr. K! We love it here.” These times make my day! It means that he is

doing what he set out to do, creating a practice that is personable and caring. When our patients take the time to tell a friend or write a favorable review of our practice online, we are not only thankful because of how it helps our busi-ness grow, but it also makes us happy that we are providing the kind of care we believe in, the level of care that we want to receive from other doctor’s offi ces that our family visits. I am well aware that no business or person can be perfect or suit everyone’s needs. However, I am confi dent in knowing that my husband values every patient, and that he works very hard to prove it.

A few months ago, Dr. K wrote about what it meant to him to be a small busi-ness owner in our local community. He mentioned that owning a business has made him more aware of the importance of our support of other local businesses, and I couldn’t agree more. We are thankful to live and own our business in this Valley where I grew up, and we want to show other local businesses that we appreciate their contribution and value here as well. Especially in this economy, when even large, well-established franchises are going out of business at every turn, we recognize that our reputation depends on giving our patients great value for their money, with an emphasis on honest and caring customer service.

Thanks for letting me share my sentimentality as we approach this milestone in our journey. We are so excited to be celebrating fi ve years in this community! To celebrate our anniversary next month, we will be having an Open House in the evening on Thursday, July 12th. We would love for you to stop by and say hi!

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 offi ce at 3201 Danville Blvd., Suite 165 in Alamo. Visit our newly updated website at, www.alamooptometry.com, and become a fan on our Alamo Optometry Facebook page. Advertorial

Hearing Loss Association Come to meetings of the Diablo Valley Chapter of Hearing Loss Association

of America at 7pm on the 1st Wednesday of the month at the Walnut Creek United Methodist Church located at 1543 Sunnyvale Ave., Walnut Creek Education Bldg., Wesley Room. Meeting room and parking are at back of church. All are welcome. Donations accepted. Assistive listening system is available for T-coils, and most meetings are captioned. Contact [email protected] or 925-264-1199 or www.hearinglossdv.org.

[email protected] with Minimal ScarringBy Barbara Persons, MD, Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc.

As summer ap-proaches, I find that

my practice is busier than ever. Most people would think that plastic surgeons become busy in the summer because that’s the time of year when people want to look better in a bathing suit. While it’s true that summer does bring people into my offi ce looking to enhance their appearance through cosmetic surgery, sum-mer is also the time of year when I see more patients after being involved in an accident. Local emergency rooms are packed in the sum-mertime with people who have been involved in accidents while participating in warm weather activities such as swimming, hiking, and biking. I have spent years during my training in trauma centers and emergency rooms, working in high-pressure situations and focusing my attention on saving lives, and ensuring that patients are not at risk of serious illness or infection.

My advanced training in aesthetics is an added benefi t my patients receive. For example, repairs to facial lacerations from a biking ac-cident can be done in a way that leaves minimal scarring. Please use me as a resource and give me a call, especially when kids are involved. I would be happy to help.

This past week, my patient’s sister was involved in a car accident. She was taken by ambulance to the emergency room where they made sure she had no major injuries and evaluated for a number of horrible lacerations on her forearm. My staff and I told our patient to call us if there was anything we could do for her sister. Two days later we were asked to take a look at her sister’s arm because it was painful and oozing. The woman had baseball type stitches in the largest laceration and 17 centimeters of cuts in a star-like pattern on her forearm. During my fellowship in hand and microsurgery, and other advanced training in cosmetic and maxillofacial surgery, I repaired countless traumatic injuries very similar to this woman’s. I consulted with her, and we agreed on a course of treatment that involved replacing the baseball stitches with 100 fi ner carefully placed sutures that will result in a more aesthetically pleasing and less painful repair. The result for this began with a consultation that allowed me to improve her situation and offer her a more aesthetically pleasing result in my offi ce … away from the long lines and crowds of the typical ER.

As a mother I know fi rst hand that the emotions involved when your child is injured are amplifi ed on an exponential scale. The injury (especially facial laceration) itself is traumatic enough, but add to that a lengthy wait time in an unfamiliar environment and what is already a scary experience can become almost unbearable. I treasure my involvement in this community, and I want to be used as a primary resource for these types of injuries. Please call me and I will ensure that it will be a calm and comfortable experience for your child. Most importantly, the injury will be optimally repaired the fi rst time, avoiding

the need for future scar revision.An additional note - It is a common misconception that lacerations must be

repaired immediately. In some cases, if the laceration is cleaned well and kept moist, excellent results can be achieved days after the initial injury.

Common sense must prevail with all bites, cuts, scrapes, or burns. Elevate and apply pressure for bleeding, ensure safety of the environment, and call 911 if there is a life-threatening emergency. The paramedics in our area are fantastic!

Keep in mind that our offi ce accepts most insurance plans and even on a cash payment basis treatment at our offi ce is likely to be a less expensive option. As always, it is my pleasure to offer my expertise and I look forward to consulting with you soon. Wishing everyone a safe and happy summer season.

Barbara L. Persons, MD is a Board Certifi ed Plastic Surgeon and owns Persons Plastic Sur-gery, Inc. located at 911 Moraga Rd, Suite 205 in Lafayette. She may be reached at 925.283.4012 or [email protected]. Advertorial


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skin is a bit oily, begin every night, but if you have dry areas, begin applying three nights weekly. A pea size amount is the usual recommended amount, but for sensitive skin a split pea, lentil, or sesame seed amount is plenty at fi rst. Dab it onto your forehead, nose, mid-cheeks, and chin, and then spread it out. You don’t want a thick application, just a light coating is enough. Remember you will be using this for months, so start out slowly. After a month, or sooner if your skin tolerates it, you can increase the quantity and the frequency.

Retinoids may cause dryness, fl aking, burning, and irritation at fi rst, but most peoples’ skin adapts rapidly. By starting out slowly, and with small amounts, most irritation can be avoided. Avoid retinoids if you are pregnant. Your skin will be more sensitive to the sun. Remember to protect daily with a hat and sunscreen. Insider Tips and the Bottom Line

It typically takes eight to twelve weeks to see initial improvement, but the results are well worth it.

Planning a trip to the beach or the mountains? Leave your retinoids at home. Higher altitude means more ultraviolet sun exposure and less humidity. Your skin will dry out and become sunburned more easily. Both of these will result in more irritation from the retinoids. It’s more simple to take a break, and resume use when you get back home. Trips to beaches mean more water time, refl ection from sand and water, and more sun time. Unless you are super conscientious about sun protection, follow the advice above, take a break, and resume when you are home.

Retinoids offer a time-proven benefi t for acne, fi ne wrinkles, dull splotchy skin, some warts, and keratosis pilaris. Results take a few months, and although irritation may occur initially, over time most peoples’ skin adjusts. Retinoids deliver the benefi ts they claim, and the benefi ts are worth the adjustment time. Do not use while pregnant, and take extra care to protect your skin from the sun while using retinoids.

To have your skin evaluated by a board certifi ed dermatologist and have a treatment specifi cally designed for your skin, contact Dr. Shanny Baughman at Alamo Oaks Dermatology, 3189 Danville Blvd, suite 130, Alamo, 925-362-0992, [email protected] or Dr. Kelly Hood, 970 Dewing, Suite 301, Lafayette, 925-283-5500, [email protected]. Advertorial

Retinoids The Ultimate Product for Flawless SkinBy Dr. Shanny Baughman

Retinoids are topical products derived from Vitamin A. They are benefi cial for many skin conditions from acne, to warts, to sundamaged skin, to keratosis pilaris - those annoying bumps on the backs of your arms.

Prescription strength products containing adapalene, tretinoin, or tazaratene are best, while over-the-counter, products containing retinol, retinal, or retinylpalmitate have very limited effect on the skin. The rest of this article

is about prescription strength retinoids. Retinoids work by helping the skin shed more quickly so that oil plugs don’t

form in hair follicles. They also lighten dark spots on the skin, and they ‘plump up’ the skin, making

large pores and fi ne wrinkles less obvious.Common Brands of Prescription Retinoids

Brand Name Generic Name Strength DIFFERIN Adapalene 0.1%, 0.3% lotion, gel, creamEPIDUO Adapalene & Benzoyl Peroxide 0.1% + benzoyl peroxideATRALIN Tretinoin 0.05% gelREFISSA Tretinoin 0.05% creamRENOVA Tretinoin 0.02% creamRETIN A Tretinoin 0.025%, 0.05%. 0.1% cream, 0.01% gelRETIN A MICRO Tretinoin 0.04%, 0.01% gelTRETIN X Tretinoin 0.0375% creamZIANA Tretinoin & Clindamycin 0.025% + clindamycin gelTAZORAC Tarazotene 0.05%, 0.1% cream, gel Generic retinoids provide outstanding value, so if money is a consideration,

they are hard to beat. Brand name products tend to be in a more elegant prepa-ration. They may be less irritating and may degrade less quickly in the sun. Are they worth the cost difference? It is debatable. Generics are what I recommend the majority of the time.

To use a retinoid product you apply a very small amount to clean skin at night. If your

Dr. Kelly Hood, LafayetteDr. Shanny Baughman, Alamo

Celebrate Father’s Day Early at Pints for Prostates! By Sachin Kamath, MD

June is the month we celebrate the dads in our lives. Perhaps that is why June is also Men’s Health Month. The purpose of Men’s Health Month is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems, and to encourage early de-tection and the treatment of disease among men and boys.

Another program aimed at creating awareness for men’s health was founded by Rick Lyke, a prostate cancer survivor di-

agnosed at a young age. He felt a deep desire to get the conversation going with friends about the importance of prostate cancer screening. He started with one-on-one conversations, usually while sharing a pint of beer. Rick’s passion led him to establish the ‘Pints for Prostates’ nonprofi t organization – with the goal of raising awareness and preventing prostate cancer.

On June 13th, Diablo Valley Oncology and Pacifi c Urology sponsor their annual ‘Pints for Prostates’ event at Pyramid Alehouse in Walnut Creek. The guest of honor and keynote speaker will be Rick Lyke! A $20 donation Pints Pack-age includes beer, beer glass, hors d’oeuvres, and raffl e ticket. Space is limited, so reserve your spot by calling (925)677-5041.

What are the key statistics about prostate cancer?

Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. The lat-est American Cancer Society estimates for pros-tate cancer in the United States are for 2012:

• About 241,740 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed

• About 28,170 men will die of prostate cancer About 1 man in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.

Prostate cancer occurs mainly in older men. Nearly two thirds are diagnosed in men aged 65 or older, and it is rare before age 40. The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 67. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer. About 1 man in 36 will die of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer can be a serious disease, but most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it. In fact, more than 2.5 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today.

Dr. Kamath is a Radiation Oncologist with Diablo Valley Oncology in Pleasant Hill. He can be reached at (925) 825-8878.


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Is Food a Problem for You? Overeaters Anonymous offers a fellowship

of individuals who, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from compulsive overeating. This is a 12-step program. The free meetings are for anyone suffering from a food addiction including overeating, under-eating, and bulimia. The group meets Wednesdays at 6PM at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Lafayette. Visit www.how-oa.org for more information.

Alamo Today Classifi edsReach over 6,300 homes and businesses in Alamo - Help Wanted, For Sale, Services, Lessons, Pets, Rent-

als, Wanted, Freebies... $35 for up to 45 words. $5 for each additional 15 words. Run the same classifi ed ad in our sister papers “Lafayette Today” or “Danville Today News” at half off!Send or email submissions to: 3000F Danville Blvd #117, Alamo 94507 or editor@yourmonthly-

paper.com. Payment by check made out to “The Editors” must be received before ad will print. Your cancelled check is your receipt. We reserve the right to reject any ad.

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C L A S S I F I E DCONDO VACATION RENTAL Mauna Lani Resort, Big Island. New luxury 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath condo on 4th fairway. Minimum 3 night stay. Contact Alamo owners for discounted rate. (925)381-7042 [email protected]

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YOUTH PROGRAMSGOT KIDS? Fun, interactive, youth programs for toddlers to high school students. www.StPaulsWC.org. Located in downtown Walnut Creek.

HOUSE SITTING, PET SITTING, PROJECTS, TO-DO-LISTS, ERRANDS, ORGANIZING, and MORE. Reliable, punctual, UC Davis Sopho-more, San Ramon Valley High Grad, looking for part-time, summer-time work. Call Amy at 925-487-4356 or email [email protected].

WORK WANTED


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 and Nancy Combs, J. Rockcliff and the MLS service do not guarantee the accuracy of this information. DRE #0144125.

Perfect throughout. 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath. Huge outdoor entertainment area and pool.

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Completely renovated single story on Golf Course. $1,399,000

2 bedroom 2 bath townhome with great views in a gated community. Updated granite and stain-less kitchen, patio, attached garage. $540,000

Dramatic, one-of-a-kind luxury home with amazing views! $1,599,000

Exquisite 5 bedroom 4.5 bath custom luxury home on level .5 acre lot. Custom pool and spa! Eye pop-ping, mouth dropping, Wow! Appeal. $2,240,000.

Golf Course Single StoryCustom Luxury Contemporary

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Page 28 - June 2012 ~ nthlypypypapapperer.c.comom

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Alamo Real Estate Sales Swing UpwardLast month I reported that million dollar Alamo home sales were on the upswing. Even better

news is available now and I have included a chart which compares 2011-2012 year to date through May 14th. While every number on the chart isn’t bright green, the overall picture is extremely positive.

So far this year, home sales have more than doubled from the previous year. Last year at this time only 42 Alamo homes had sold. This year 109 homes have sold. Mathematically that is a 259% increase in sales, which sounds more like the market for iPads than Alamo homes. Still, it is a bullish number for Alamo.

Another key development that should be mentioned is price paid per square foot. Except for a goofy number in March of 2011, this number has consistently remained above $350 and currently sits at $374 for the month of May 2012. While not nearly as bullish as the unit sales number, it argues strongly that a bottom has been hit. Sounds trite, but the market can’t recover until a bottom has been reached. I think maybe it has.

Rather than pour through the numbers which I have placed on the page for you to see, I would like to pass on some anecdotal information and personal opinion that might illustrate the market change we are currently experiencing. Two weeks ago on a Tuesday, Nancy and I listed a property. By Friday we received three offers and the home pended at greater than list price.

On the following Thursday we listed a property and reviewed offers on Monday. We received 40 offers and our seller selected the highest all cash offer with no appraisal contingency. Needless to say it went well over the asking price. We helped the seller make selected improvements to the

home that paid for his cost many times over. In the week just passed, we were in a multiple offer situation on a multi-million dollar home.

Yes, even demand for the big boys is picking up. We are currently working with two couples looking for multi-million dollar homes and we are not fi nding the ones they want.

This past week we put three additional buyers in contract. Nancy and I are accustomed to selling many homes each year, but the fl urry of buying activity we are experiencing right now is greater than anything we have seen since 2004-2005. For the moment demand is there, but the inventory of acceptable homes is not high enough to meet it.

Let me attempt to explain why I think this increased activity is happening. From the buyer’s perspective: First, I think people are tired of being afraid; it’s not in our nature. Secondly there is fi ve years of pent-up buyer demand sitting on the sidelines ready to make a move. Third, mortgage rates keep falling; this week the rate was the lowest yet at 3.75%. Fourth, banks are once again loaning “Big, Big Money” and at great rates. Lastly, the “Bubble Maker” 80/10/10 is back again.

If you are thinking about selling your Alamo home, here is what I can tell you about today’s buyers. They want perfection and they are willing to pay for it. They won’t pay for peeling paint, dirty carpets, or ten years of deferred maintenance. They love “real” hardwood fl ooring. They hate any appliance that isn’t stainless steel. They love white windows. The only blue they want to see is in the sky. They are less concerned about the color of your granite, but it better be granite. Oak is just O.K. for fl ooring. It is defi nitely not an acceptable cabinet material. A “ bummer” bathroom is a $25k deduction. Bad roof, deduct $50k. Kitchen not up to scratch, fi gure $100k less. No lawn, no sale.

Today’s buyers don’t seem to have the time or the temperament to fi x up a home. In their minds the cost of fi xing will be double the actual price of the improvements involved. A tired, shop worn, thirty year old house in original condition is going to bring $250-$270 per square foot depending on its location. It’s worth even less to a “Flipper.” A little well placed investment can make a huge difference to the seller in today’s market.

If you are thinking about selling your home and would like an honest opinion of its market value and some ideas on how to improve it, please give me a call 925-989-6086, or send me an email [email protected]. Nancy and I will be happy to help.

2011 2012 % Chg 2011 2012 %Chg 2011 2012 %ChgUnits Units Price Price $$/Sq. Ft. $$/Sq. Ft.

Jan 9 11 22% 1,000,000$ 1,109,000$ 11% 370$ 366$ -1%Feb 3 16 433% 1,143,000$ 1,293,000$ 13% 351$ 367$ 5%March 7 22 214% 855,000$ 1,097,000$ 28% 324$ 356$ 10%April 15 25 67% 1,064,000$ 1,235,000$ 16% 358$ 365$ 2%May* 8 35 338% 1,400,000$ 1,204,000$ -14% 389$ 374$ -4%* May 1-May 14

Documents

Alamo Today, June 2012