September 2015 Orinda News with Extra Page.Indd
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Orinda’s #1 News Source! THE ORINDA NEWS Gratis Published by The Orinda Association 12 issues Annually Volume 30, number 9 Delivered to 9,000 households and Businesses in orinda september 2015 Lots of Fun at Orinda Classic Car Show benefi ts Nonprofi ts By SALLY HOGARTY Editor hree Shelby Cobras, several Mustangs, Ttwo Woodies and many more classic cars will ensure lots of fun for local resi- dents as the 11th Annual Classic Car Show rolls into Orinda on Sept. 11-12. “This is really a destination event,” says founder and organizer Chip Herman. “We’ll have a little fun and, hopefully, raise more than a little money for our local nonprof- its.” Beneficiaries of the Classic Car Show include the Orinda Association, Seniors Around Town ride service, Educational Foundation of Orinda, the Orinda Rotary, Orinda Starlight Village Players, Lamorin- da Arts Council, Orinda Chamber of Com- merce, Orinda Parks and Rec Foundation and the Orinda Historical Society Museum. sAllY hoGArtY It all begins on Friday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. Getting ready for Dancing with the cars are (l-r) Jim and Sue Breedlove, Candy Kattenburg, Cora Hoxie, Bill Wadsworth and opening the door, chairperson with the popular Dancing with the Cars Barbara Bontemps. the 1957 t-bird shown is owned by orinda resident Eddie Kassick. dinner. Billed as “Fun, Fun, Fun till Her dancing to live music with surf-inspired Daddy Takes the T-Bird Away” (yes, the songs of the Beach Boys and Jan and Senator Glazer Names Orindan car show includes some beautifully restored Dean,” she adds. Bontemps encourages T-Birds!), this year’s dinner will resemble party goers to dress the part – Hawaiian Chief of Staff a beach party. “We’ll have two Woodies on shirts, dresses, flip-flops and maybe even By MAGGIE SHARPE family settled in Orinda in 1999. In 2010, display complete with surf boards hanging an Annette Funicello look-a-like would Staff Writer they moved to London and then Singapore. out the back,” says Rotary member and be welcome. A cake auction plus a silent “We just returned to our Orinda home dinner organizer Barbara Bontemps. “We’ll and live auction (which includes a trip to ormer Orinda Mayor Steve Glazer, who six weeks ago and couldn’t be happier to also have a Shelby Cobra, a ’65 Mustang Hawaii) will raise additional funds for the Fwas sworn in May 28 as State Senator reconnect with our friends and this special and a T-bird at the dinner to give people an nonprofits. for District Seven, has named Orinda resi- community,” said Whittaker, who holds idea of what to expect the next day.” Tickets are $100 per person (non- dent Stephen Whittaker his Chief of Staff. a B.A. from UC Berkeley, an M.A. from Bontemps says the food will also reflect reserved) and $125 (reserved) and can be “Steve knows me well and is very Cambridge University, England, and a the beach party theme with stuffed pork purchased by calling Bontemps at 925-899- J.D. from Harvard Law School. “After law loin, coconut confetti rice, citrus salad and, 9929, emailing her at [email protected] or [See STAFF page 8] of course, tropical drinks. “We’ll also have [See CLASSICS page 6] School Board Approves Installing IN THIS ISSUE Garden in Wagner Ranch Nature Area News Building Permits 5 By DAVID DIERKS consider the Wagner Ranch Nature Area PG&E 5 Assistant Editor to be an enormous asset to Wagner Ranch, Police Blotter 5 the school district and community. It’s an Around Town t the August 10 Orinda Union School extremely impressive piece of land. The Benefi ts 6 ADistrict Board Meeting, the board projects undertaken over the years to make voted four to one to approve the installation it such a wonderful resource for school Local Residents 7 of the Wagner Ranch School Garden inside children are truly magnificent.” Performing/Visual Arts 11, 13, 19, the Wagner Ranch Nature Area (WRNA). The new garden will form a triangle (100 21 The school garden will occupy 5,000 square feet by 100 feet by 114 feet) in a corner of Restaurant Guide 14-16 feet, about .6 percent of the total 18 acre the chain link fence which forms the pe- contriButED Photo Schools/Students 9, 10, 17 Stephen Whittaker, senator Glazer’s chief of WRNA. Wagner Ranch Elementary School rimeter of the WRNA. “Our students would staff, and his wife Carol. Business Buzz 24 (WRES) Principal Jim Manheimer said, “I [See WRNA page 20] Calendar 21 familiar with the concerns of residents in Car Time 7 Orinda and throughout my Contra Costa and Classifi ed 20 lou seal comes to Wilder Alameda county district,” said Glazer via Editorial 4 ampers at the Giants Baseball email. “He brings unique insights given his CCamp at Wilder Field in Orinda got lifelong work in business and law. He will Everyday Changes 8 a nice surprise when the Major League be a great staff leader in the Capitol who Orinda Association 2 baseball team’s mascot, Lou Seal, can keep me and my team focused, effective Roving Reporter 12 showed up. and responsive to the people of the Seventh Seasoned Shopper 22 After leading the kids in some cheers, Senate District.” Something to Howl About 10 Lou went on to spread his team spirit to Whittaker was born in San Francisco in The Reel Less Traveled 18 other camps. For information on next 1962 and raised in Monterey. He and his year’s camps at Wilder, email info@ sfgiantscamps.com. sAllY hoGArtY EcrWss Postal customer customer Postal PErmit# 4 PErmit# orinDA, cA orinDA, PAiD us PostAGE us non-ProFit 2 n THE ORINDA NEWS n SEPTEMBER 2015 orinDA AssociAtion Tom Romaneck Joins OA Board A Message From the OA President ocal painting contractor Tom Roma- Time for a Fresh Look at our Downtown Lneck is the newest member of the Orin- da Association (OA) Board of Directors. Born and raised in San Francisco, Tom Bill Waterman and his wife Denise moved to Orinda in 2003. “My wife was raised in Concord and wanted to be closer to her mother so arlier this summer our City Council lage), are eyesores and are in need of our we moved to Orinda,” says Tom. “We have Ecompleted its work on the latest round attention. Clearly, some kind of action is made so many friends here and greatly of the state-mandated Housing Element required in this area. enjoy the small town atmosphere.” as part of its overall land use plans. And Certainly, planning in our two downtown Romaneck’s company specializes in in- with the considerable input and support districts has to be done very thoughtfully terior and exterior painting as well as deck of the Citizens Infrastructure Oversight and carefully. One idea might be to create restoration. He has over 100 references Commission (CIOC), and many hard work- a new “Downtown Specific Plan,” along the from Orinda residents for whom he has ing concerned citizens, and city staff, the lines of what Lafayette did in the past 10 worked. “I take a lot of pride in my work council has pushed ahead with the early years. That plan, which supplemented their and take my time to be sure the job is done sAllY hoGArtY stages of a road and drain repair plan. Hav- general plan, was the product of nearly 10 right,” he adds. Painting contractor Tom Romaneck recently ing moved ahead on these critical and time years of planning and discussion between joined the oA board. When not beautifying local residences, consuming matters, the council now has the neighborhood associations, city staff Romaneck likes to volunteer his time for a is now a very active member of the Orinda the opportunity to begin anew what will no and council. The plan created the needed variety of community groups and events. Chamber, where he is chairman of the Am- doubt be a very lengthy discussion about detail and structure for a creative develop- “My love of volunteering goes back to the bassador’s Committee. “The ambassadors what kind of downtown our city will have ment process, and gave rise to fresh new early 90s when I got involved with the Spe- are the backbone workforce of the cham- in the coming decades. ideas. Another proposal, suggested by cial Olympics in San Francisco,” he says. ber,” Romaneck explains. “We do the set up Plainly stated, our two prized downtown folks in Orinda Vision and supported by the Romaneck was a member of the Lafayette and clean up after such chamber events as areas – the theater and the village districts Orinda Chamber of Commerce, would be Chamber of Commerce for eight years and [See ROMANECK page 8] – could benefit from some new and vibrant to invite the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to businesses and offices. On the theater side, form a Technical Assistance Panel (made the last new structure built was Theater up of multidisciplinary experts in planning, Square, which to my memory was nearly 25 architecture, construction, governance, etc.) years ago. On the village side, aside from to provide some new ideas and the momen- our marvelous Library and City Hall build- tum needed to come up with some realistic ings, there haven't been any new private solutions to this perplexing challenge. buildings built or had substantial exterior It’s probably safe to say that virtually all updating in about 40 years, since the “Vin- of us here in Orinda appreciate and value tage House” was constructed sometime in living among the green/brown hills and the mid-1970s (during the “disco”music era moving about in a place that maintains its for those of us that remember).