Lamorinda Weekly Issue 11 Volume 7
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Wednesday, July 31, 2013 • Vol. 7 Issue 11 Independent, locally 26,000 copies owned and operated! delivered bi-weekly to Lamorinda homes & businesses www.lamorindaweekly.com • 925.377.0977 FREE Crew chiefs practice a harvest at the home of the Rossi Family in Lafayette, from left: Cathy Rambaud, Michael Kyelberg, Nadav Rave, Siamack Sioshansi, Arra Tojino, Christina Hensley, Peter Rossi with twin sons Mike (orange shirt) and Nic (white hat), Patricia Schultz, and Ken Madderra. Photo Andy Scheck Technology Plus Ancient Gleaning Concept Equals Food for the Hungry By Cathy Tyson nyone can do it,” said board member Jeff Good- grassroots, non-profit organization addresses the problem of roughly 1,000 pounds of local healthy food, while at the same friend as he exuberantly discussed some of the nuts hunger in our local “world of plenty” and reduces the amount of time help out homeowners with an over-abundance of fruit by “A and bolts to assembled do-gooders about becoming perfectly good food going to waste while others are in need. leveraging technology and man/woman power? volunteer crew chiefs at a recent Urban Farmers training. The Where else can a group of people in four hours harvest ... continued on page A10 Advertising Quote of the Week: "I bought bars of Irish Spring Results.Moraga.Tara soap to scrape around the www.TaraRochlin.com 925.586.3442 [email protected] property. The dirt and plants 438 Stonefield Place 359 Deerfield Drive 728 Moraga Road 1365A Camino Peral smelled as fresh as the Emerald Isle. He basked in the clean fragrance of the leprechauns, leaping with glee." Don't miss Digging Deep with Cynthia 4bd+office, 3ba, 2167 sq.ft., 4bd, 3.5b a, 2188 sq.ft., great room 3bd, 2ba, 1493 sq.ft; comfort, 2bd, 1ba, 951 sq.ft.; peaceful Brian, page D8. pristine remodeled rancher. overlooking large creekside convenience & value on over complex, close to everything. Asking $1,150,000 lawn/pool. Asking $1,065,000 a half acre. Asking $699,000 Asking $325,000 Town News A2 - A10 Laguna Creek Repair Project Protects Nature Life in Lamorinda B1 - B12 Classified B8 By Sophie Braccini Food B9 he heavy rains of 2005 turned Moraga’s La- of the Hacienda’s property, next to the Pavilion, be- A backhoe has been removing large pieces HOW TO CONTACT US B9 Tguna Creek into a raging monster that tore at fore crossing under Devin Drive; it merges with of concrete that fell into the creek during the Not to be Missed B10-B11 its concrete containment walls as it tumbled Moraga Creek, which flows to the San Leandro storm and breaking up the remaining pieces. Business B12 through the Hacienda de las Flores property. Since Reservoir. The year round stream is peaceful most “The first step was to divert the water with a Service Directory B12 then, blocks of concrete have cluttered the stream, of the time and provides a nice interface with the pump and a pipe so we can work in the stream,” Sports C1 - C3 erosion has increased and trees have fallen or be- nature trail at the Hacienda. It used to run where explains Vidra, “then after we remove the con- Love Lafayette C4 come compromised. the Pavilion is now located; it was Donald Rheem crete we will dig the side banks and bring it to a Our Homes D1 -D12 The town secured the $650,000 it needed to re- who diverted the flow in the early 1930s. 3 to 1 slope, and fill it with large diameter rocks. This Week Read About: pair the creek banks; 75 percent came from the Fed- When unusually heavy rains fell in 2005 the Then we will build a more engineered wall with BV Roads A2 eral Emergency Management Agency and the rest creek became so powerful it caused major damage large footing.” Commons Future A5 from the California Emergency Management to the concrete side banks and the concrete cover Downstream the concrete was also torn and Controversy Cont'd A6 Agency. The repair work began recently and will above the 9-foot pipe that takes the stream under the erosion of the unprotected banks makes vis- MOFD Acquisition A9 continue until the end of September. the site’s interior roadway. Repairs have to be done ible the roots of trees that are starting the lean Global Student Embassy B2 A field biologist constantly monitors local upstream and downstream of the tunnel. toward the creek. There the creek runs parallel Be a Miwok B3 wildlife and makes sure that birds are not disturbed “There are three enemies to concrete,” says to Moraga Road – it is not hard to imagine what Worsley Makes a Move B4 during their reproductive cycle and red-legged Michael Vidra of BKF Engineers, the firm that was would happen if the erosion continued and/or Peachy Firefighter B9 frogs hop in peace. awarded the construction contract, “water, water water infiltrated under the main thoroughfare. Faulkner's Record C1 Laguna Creek runs through the eastern border and water.” ... continued on page A10 Life in Lamorinda B1-B10 Sports C1-C3 Our Homes D1-D12 Art on LSC Championship AIA Tour Highlights the Run? Records fell Two Lafayette Homes when Lafayette The Orinda swim teams Library Gallery Cathy Dausman took to the visits the unique features art by water last abodes - page D1. the RoadRunners weekend - page - page B1. C1. Page: A2 LAMORINDA WEEKLY www.lamorindaweekly.com 925-377-0977 Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Lamorinda's Best Burton Valley Residents Upset Over Rough Roads By Cathy Tyson nesses, Falk pointed out the city coun- cil gave voters an opportunity to tax themselves to pay for better roads in 2004, 2007 and 2011. Those meas- ures failed to garner enough votes to pass each time, leading to what Falk Civic News calls a “second-best strategy: extend Public Meetings the life of the existing roads by using a variety of coating treatments, with City Council the treatment itself dictated by the Monday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m. amount of traffic on the street.” Lafayette Library & Learning Center, “This is going to cost more Community Hall, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd. money in the long run,” said McNeil, Planning Commission “it’s not a solution for Lafayette.” Benveniste thinks the paving situation Monday, Aug. 5, 7 p.m. is unfair, describing the situation an Lafayette Library & Learning Center, unequal treatment of neighborhoods Community Hall, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd. and streets. Young skateboard fan Design Review Alex Low calls the uneven surface Monday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m. and loose gravel, “the difference be- Lafayette Library & Learning Center, Burton Valley residents gather on rough road covered with chip seal. Photo Cathy Tyson tween a band-aid and a trip to the Arts & Science Discovery Center, fter waiting years for their roads and diminish property values,” said will have a rough texture and may emergency room.” 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Ato get repaved, many Burton Pam and Zap Dawkins in a letter to have a salt and pepper appearance. Due to complaints, a cost sharing Check online for agendas, meeting Valley residents are angry with the the city manager. Nicole Benveniste Due to limited resurfacing funds the alternative was presented where the notes and announcements chip seal that has recently been ap- calls the chip seal “completely inap- city opted to treat the largest number city will offer to share half the cost of City of Lafayette: plied to their neighborhood streets. propriate” for her neighborhood of roads.” a slurry seal if the residents pay the other half. McBride Drive homeown- www.ci.lafayette.ca.us There’s been a flurry of complaints to street. Elizabeth McNeil said the “The city cannot afford to provide do something about the situation. neighbors are up in arms and com- a higher level of paving treatment,” ers came together and quickly raised Phone: (925) 284-1968 the necessary matching funds to pay Chamber of Commerce: “These streets are unsafe, unsightly, plained that the kids can’t skateboard said Falk in a recent letter to disgrun- or use their razor scooters on the loose tled Burton Valley neighbors. “I ac- for the added treatment to cover the www.lafayettechamber.org gravel; in addition, she has an elderly knowledge and, in fact, agree with current chip seal. The campaign to neighbor who can’t get to her mailbox your point that the new surface is not raise roughly $225 from each house- due to difficulty with her walker on ideal and it is certainly not as nice as hold on the street was spearheaded by THE BMW 650 CONVERTIBLE. the new surface treatment. a newly rebuilt asphalt street should Pam Dawkins, Christy Winkles, STUNNING LOOKS, In an effort to smooth things out, be.” He explained what the chip seal Nicole Benveniste and Elizabeth Mc- WORTHY OF YOUR STARES. senior engineer Matt Luttropp and process is and how it works: a mat of Neil. Additional neighbors on Green BMW Concord Michael Heller, BMW Concord, [email protected] city manager Steven Falk sent re- rubberized liquid asphalt with half- Acres, Ruppel, Lowell West, Marsha, sponses to miffed homeowners. inch rock chips applied over the top– Silverado, Lancaster and Crofton While Luttropp recognized that the which fills in the existing cracks in the promptly united to collect funds for new chip seal texture was not what street, reducing water infiltration and the slurry seal on their roads, accord- some residents had anticipated, he re- preserving the existing condition, ing to Falk. McBride Drive residents ferred to a notice sent out in February which should add years to the road’s are looking forward to the slurry seal explaining the process is intended to life.