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January 2012 Hunger Continues Even After the Holidays Contra Costa’s Food Bank Answers the Daily Call By Jody Morgan Hunger is a problem every day. The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano helps 132,000 people each month – a 35% increase over the past two years. How well do seasonal food drives meet the needs of the 180 partner agencies? What happens when the flood of donations hits the warehouse? Is there a time when the cupboard goes bare? The mix of hunger-stricken local residents is hitting Food Bank volunteers close to home. Lisa Sherrill, Community Relations Manager for the Food Bank, spends time in the field meeting with both beneficiaries and distributors of the
Renee Baptiste, Joseph Stockdale, and Rob Luger rotate barrels at a recent Food Drive.
Food Bank’s regular programs. Volunteers, she reports, are finding their neighbors in line for groceries or hot meals. “If that person is one paycheck away from the situation, maybe I am too,” they are realizing. Lisa has talked with many folks working three jobs and still finding they don’t have enough to cover basic family needs. Do you pay for the gas to get to work or the shelter over your children’s heads? Senior citizens are balancing budgets that don’t include sufficient funds for both medications and food. Eighty-nine thousand of the individuals receiving aid are residents of Contra Costa County. Scouting for Food kicks off the holiday season with a pre-Thanksgiving collection by local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts netting an average of 150,000 pounds of food in a single day each year. Neighborhood, supermarket, school, and church holiday food drives bring in about one million pounds. Local members of the National Association of Letter Carriers took in 173,000 pounds during this year’s annual collection on May 14, 2011. Interviewed midway through a workday that began at the Concord warehouse at 5am and would end at the same location about 7pm, Renee Baptiste is passionate about her work. Baptiste is on hand day after day for all of the neighborhood collections. Overseeing the rotation of full barrels being loaded on the Food Bank’s big truck with empty barrels being dispatched to collection sites, Renee is confident that even in this down economy 2011 donations will exceed 2010’s records. Non-perishable comestibles are weighed at the close of the day. Monetary donations continue to accumulate well into January. The Food Bank distributes over one million pounds of food each month. The major seasonal food drives provide about 10% of the overall supply. When
See Food continued on page 20 Local Postal Customer
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Serving the Lafayette Community Jay Lifson 2012 Marquis Business Person of the Year This might soften the sting for his wife and three daughters who, rumor has it, had trouble recognizing him recently. This is not because Jay shaved his beard, but because his work and community service take so much of his time. Born in 1954, Jay was raised in Beverly Hills, California and immediately took a liking to good food, eventually starting a restaurant career with Bob’s Big Boy, home of “steaks, shakes and pancakes.” In 1982, Jay bought and operated the Rocking Horse Jay Lifson Restaurant in Lafayette. After selling the restaurant in 1988, Jay worked as Director of Food Service for the Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa and later opened Bing Crosby’s Restaurant as General Manager. He also spent 10 years as General Manager and Training Director for Hungry Hunter Restaurant. Jay took over the helm of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce in 2005 as the Executive Director, and his leadership has been exceptional. Since 2005, the Chamber’s revenue has increased 65%, and membership has increased 42%. This success has been vital in allowing the Chamber to continue its role of promoting business and enhancing the quality of life in our great city. There seems to be few Planning Commission or City Council meetings that Jay doesn’t attend. In the early morning hours you might not recognize the guy fixing the strand of twinkle lights on Mt. Diablo Blvd. that went out the night before, but that’s also Jay. And if you’re a business needing help with a governmental matter or a government official needing assistance solving a particular problem for a business, Jay is the one to call. Jay was on the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
See Lifson continued on page 8
Lafayette Girl Scout Troop 32790 completed their Silver project by collecting enough donated items to create over 40 baskets to raffle off at the annual International Refugee Committee Feast. Every family was able to take a basket home. The 11 Girl Scouts collected donations from family members, neighbors, classrooms, and a variety of other sources. Additionally, the girls were responsible for creating and facilitating an art/craft table for children ages 2-20. They brought supplies for coloring, making friendship bracelets, and assembling fridge magnets. The families and children were so happy and thrilled. These Lafayette Girl Scouts helped make the world a better place while they were gaining courage, confidence, and character in the process.
Volume V I- Number 1 3000F DANVILLE BLVD #117 ALAMO, CA 94507 Telephone (925) 405-6397 Fax (925) 406-0547 editor@yourmonthlypaper.com Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher The opinions expressed herein belong to the wriers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Lafayette Today. Lafayette Today is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.
Page 2 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
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Gold Coast Chamber Players
Quilts Promotion at Way Side Inn Thrift
Celebrate Mozart’s birthday with the Gold Coast Chamber Players when this award winning ensemble performs at the Lafayette Library Community Hall on Saturday, January 21st at 7:30pm. These world renowned musicians will be performing one of the most popular pieces of chamber music of all time, the beloved clarinet quintet, featuring San Francisco Opera’s clarinetist Tony Striplen. Making his debut with Gold Coast will be legendary pianist, William Corbett-Jones who will perform the Piano Sonata in b Flat major, K.570 as well as the “Kegelstatt” Trio with clarinetist Tony Striplen and violist Pamela Freund-Striplen. Will listening to Mozart make you smarter? Come and find out! Meet the musicians after the performance. Tickets are $30 general, $25 senior, $10 student and may be purchased online at www.gcplayers.org or over the phone by calling the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce (925) 284-7404.
The secret is out - throughout the year, member volunteers of Assistance League ® Way Side Inn Thrift Shop, located at 3521 Golden Gate Way, in Lafayette, have been quietly preparing for the Quilt promotion which begins Tuesday, January 10 th. Quilts play an integral part of our nation’s culture in that, initially, they consisted of scraps of material that, when stitched together, provided warmth for a people intent on claiming their destiny. Today, the age-old lesson of the importance of making do with what resources are available, remains. Over the years, quilts have evolved from utilitarian objects to objects of art. Visit the Thrift Shop to find over 50 beautifully crafted quilts, many of which are hand-pieced and hand-stitched. You will also find fabrics, quilt frames, quilt books, and an extensive thimble collection. If you have any quilt related donations, you still have time to drop them off at the Thrift Shop. This promotion continues as long as the inventory lasts. The Shop’s hours of operation are 10AM to 4PM, Tuesday-Saturday. They are closed Sunday and Monday. Returning to more modern technology, please consider donating your car for tax purposes and for benefitting Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s eight philanthropic programs. To learn more, visit diablovalley.assistanceleague.org and select “Donate Car.”
Free Tax Preparation Free tax preparation for the 2012 tax season is available starting February 2011 from AARP’s Tax-Aide and United Way’s Earn It, Keep It, Save It (EKS) programs. All tax preparers are trained and certified by the IRS. While both programs serve taxpayers of any age, Tax-Aide does not have an income limit in whom they can serve but EKS can only serve individuals whose incomes do not exceed $50,000. To complete your tax return, Tax-Aide will need you to bring to the appointment your: Social Security card or ITIN letter for all individuals to be listed on the return, copies of all W-2s, 1098s and 1099s, other income and deductions, and your 2009 tax return. For information or to make an appointment for the Tax-Aide please call Walnut Creek Senior Club site at (925) 943-5851, Walnut Creek Grace Presbyterian Church site at (925) 405-6278, Walnut Creek St. Paul’s Episcopal Church site at (925) 979-5013 or drop into the Walnut Creek Rossmoor Adult Community, Hillside Clubhouse Vista Room for appointments made on-site on February 1 st from 10 am to 1 pm. For general information and other site locations, call (925) 726-3199. For information on EKS sites call 2-1-1 or visit www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org.
One Week Host Families Needed for Students High school students from the south of France will be coming to our area for one week, April 13th - April 20th. Host families are needed to take care of the students on the weekend, and evenings. Weekdays the students will travel with their class to explore San Francisco. This is a wonderful opportunity to expose your family to another culture and language. Students have a varying command of the English language and are looking to improve their English skills! For more information, visit www.exchange-students-lecas.com or email teacher Martine Causse at martine.causse@yahoo.com.
Lamorinda Peace and Justice The Lamorinda Peace and Justice Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7 – 9 PM in the fireside room of Lafayette Methodist Church, 955 Moraga Road, Lafayette. Our group is committed to working to support a healthy planet, a thriving local community, and a safe, equitable world for all. For more information, call 925-946-0563.
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Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 3
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Boulevard View By Alisa Corstorphine, Editor I read an article this month by Sustainable Danville, when something caught my eye. The writer noted how when she was a student at Cal Poly, she took one class each quarter that didn’t count for anything beyond her personal interest in the topic. My daughter took a similar approach last term at UC Davis, and she took an Animal Science class. In class they learned how to grade eggs, milk cows and goats, shuck oysters, and herd pigs for weighing. Of course she probably won’t use these skills every day, but it definitely expanded her knowledge in new areas. I often reflect on my time in high school and junior high. In addition to the English, history, math, and science courses offered, there were also a lot of “hands-on” classes such as wood shop, auto shop, metal shop, jewelry making, electronics, home economics, cooking, and sewing. I took the American Red Cross First Aid class as a summer school elective back when summer school offered fun, not just remedial, classes. I clearly remember making a blue skirt in my sewing class, and grinding and polishing rocks in the jewelry making class. My husband (who went to the same junior high and high school as I) made a lamp on the wooden lathe in wood shop, and he learned basic and advanced auto repair skills in auto shop. His electronics class, which fueled the fire for his future career, was taught be the same teacher (John McCollum) who taught Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of Apple computer fame. Those elective classes provided a foundation for us to be more self-sufficient. Unfortunately, with many of these classes now eliminated from schools (or poorly attended in lieu of heavier academic classes needed to get into hyper-competitive colleges), the stepping stones for some of these basic trade skills have been overlooked. Our kids do well academically, but they don’t know how to cut wood, fix or diagnose car problems, or measure voltage; all skills they’ll probably need at some point in their adult lives. However, I think the tide is slowly turning. The recognition of the importance of these skills is resurfacing. It’s being driven by economics and practicality, because when you can’t afford to pay someone, you better know how to do it yourself. When my grandfather passed away, I inherited many of his tools. When I went
off to college, I was the girl in the dorm who people turned to when they needed anything fixed. Being the oldest of five girls, my father gave me his can-do spirit to fix and repair things. I wasn’t always as methodical as he wanted, but I had the confidence to tackle the project. There are several Bay Area places where you can still learn some of these handson basics. The Crucible in Oakland is a “non-profit collaboration of arts, industry, and community.” They offer classes and lab sessions in skills such as blacksmithing, jewelry making, glass flame-working, welding, ceramics, foundry, neon and light, and stone working. You can learn more at www.thecrucible.org. The people I know who’ve attended their classes speak very highly of the instruction. Some for-profit businesses such as TechShop (www.techshop.ws) offer hands-on facilities for inventors, hobbyists, groups, and “anyone else who wants to be able to make things that they dream up but don’t have the tools, space, or skills.” Their website notes, “You can think of TechShop like a fitness club, but with tools and equipment instead of exercise equipment.” TechShop provides machinery and tools such as milling machines and lathes, welding stations, sheet metal working equipment, drill presses and band saws, industrial sewing machines, plastic and wood working equipment, electronics design and fabrication facilities, and pretty much everything you’d ever need to make just about anything. Local recreation centers and colleges also have some facilities and classes to fill the need to create, fix, or build. Also, hobby stores, hardware stores, and electronics stores like Radio Shack and Fry’s Electronics have begun stocking clever and inexpensive kits to help teach basic electricity and electronics skills, soldering, solar energy, radios, and more. The kits are an excellent way to dip your toe into these skills, and they are fun for kids and families alike. As the new year starts, make this the time to learn something new, and get back to basics. Be more self sufficient. While you may never find yourself needing to herd a pig, you may find those same skills are useful in herding crowds or even a group of kids!
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Page 4 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
California Writers Club
Human Trafficking
January Workshop
What Is It? How Can You Make a Difference?
The California Writers Club (CWC), Mt. Diablo Branch, will present bestselling Author Nick Mamatas to lead their Saturday, January 14th workshop. Mamatas’ topic is “Beginnings and Endings for Fiction and Non-Fiction.” Workshop attendees will learn how to tantalize a reader, what editors look for in the very first paragraph, and how to write an unforgettable conclusion. Mamatas is the award-winning author of four novels, more than 80 short stories, and hundreds of articles on writing and editing. Check-in is from 8:30AM to 9AM. A full breakfast will be served from 9AM to 9:30AM, followed by the workshop from 9:30AM to noon at Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant located at 611 Gregory Lane in Pleasant Hill. The cost is $35 for CWC members and $40 for guests. Reservations are required and must be received no later than noon on Wednesday, January 11. Contact Betty Iverson at bjiverson@comcast.net or phone 925376-3631. Expect confirmation only if you e-mail your reservation.
The Contra Costa County Interbranch Council of American Association of University Women presents the program Human Trafficking: What Is It? How Can You Make a Difference? on Sunday, January 29th from 2-4pm at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center located at 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette. Come and hear three government and non-profit sector experts from our area: Jennifer Alderete, special agent with Homeland Securities Investigations, Cindy Liou, staff attorney with Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach , and Ms. Caritas Foster with the Holy Family Sisters organization. The three will discuss the scope of the problem (nationally and locally), suggest ways to combat human trafficking, and inform attendees of nonprofit and government resources. This program advances education and advocates effective action that can be taken on these issues by the local community. The presentation is free to attend. For questions, please contact Tena Gallagher at tena@aol.com or 925 837-0826.
Youth Workshop and Contest Two local authors will teach a free comedy writing workshop for Contra Costa County middle school students in 6th through 8th grades on January 21st, from 9AM until noon at the Walnut Creek Library. The CWC and the Walnut Creek Library are sponsoring the workshop, led by children’s book authors Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff and Sarah Wilson. The workshop is being held in preparation for interested middle school students to enter the Contra Costa County Young Writers Contest, sponsored by CWC. Deadline for contest submissions is April 1, 2012. Register for the January 21 workshop at http://tinurl.com/7humdhm. For contest guidelines and writing tips, go to http://cwcmtdiablowriters. wordpress.com/young-writers-contest/.
How to Turn Your Expertise into a Successful Book CWC and the Lafayette Library will present three local authors discussing “How to Turn Your Expertise into a Successful Book” at the library from 2pm to 4pm on Sunday, January 22nd. The workshop is free to the public. Nannette Rundle Carroll is the author of The Communication Problem Solver, and she is a corporate trainer and communications expert. Patricia Evans has authored five books on verbal abuse and interpersonal communication, and Catherine Accardi is the author of three Arcadia Publishing company’s Images of America books. The Lafayette Library and Learning Center is located at 3941 Mount Diablo Blvd., Lafayette. For information, call 925-385-3380. More information about the California Writers Club Mt. Diablo Branch is available at http://cwcmtdiablowriters.wordpress.com.
Save the Date! The celebration to recognize Lafayette’s 2012 Business Person of the Year will be held at the 2012 Chamber General Membership Meeting, scheduled for Friday night, January 20th at the Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa. Everyone is invited to join. In addition, our new Mayor, Carol Federighi, will give her “State of the City” address, and you will be introduced to our 2012 Board of Directors led by incoming President Caesar Perales. Register on our website www.lafayettechamber.org today! This event will sell out quickly.
Lost Dog!
$50 REWARD If you find him and your name is drawn! He is very small, so you will have to look hard if you want to find him.
Lafayette Luther is Missing He has become lost in this paper. Send a letter telling us where you found him, along with your name and address to:
*****NOTE: NEW ADDRESS***** Lost Dog! Lafayette Today, 3000F Danville Blvd #117, Alamo, CA 94507
Walter Harland Holmen our winner! Luther was hiding on page 6 last month.
Educating Women Educating Women is the focus of the January 17th meeting of the American Association of University Women, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette Branch (AAUW/OML). The importance of women receiving a quality education will be covered. Betty Marvin, an architectural historian, will bring the famous 19th century female architect, Julia Morgan, to life, by dramatizing the challenges Ms. Morgan faced to get her engineering degree at the University of California in the 1890’s. Betty’s presentation will reveal interesting details in the development of Hearst Castle and many other unique buildings that have become Julia Morgan’s signature creations. The second speaker is a recipient of an AAUW Fellowship and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Anthropology at U. C. Berkeley. Yalda Asmatey will speak about her current research, “How Green is My Valley: An Ethnographic Inquiry of Man-Made Toxic Disasters in the San Joaquin Valley.” It is a case study of Kettleman City, CA, home of the largest Class 1 toxic waste dump in the western United States. Ms. Asmatey is a dynamic and passionate speaker. This program is sponsored by AAUW Educational Funds, which has been providing more than $3.7 million in funding for over 240 grants and fellowships to outstanding women and nonprofit organizations in the 20112012 academic year. The meeting begins at 9am on Tuesday, January 17th at the Holy Trinity Serbian Cultural Center, 1700 School Street, Moraga. The public is invited to attend. For further information, visit www.aauwoml.org.
Vacancies on County Commission and Committee Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema will be interviewing applicants for District 2 county commissions and committees. Lamorinda residents are invited to apply for the current vacancies. • Contra Costa County Women’s Commission (CCCWC) educates the community and advises the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and other entities as necessary on issues relating to the changing social and economic conditions of women in the County, with particular emphasis on the economically disadvantaged. The CCCW’s mission is: “To improve the economic status, social welfare, and overall quality of life for women in Contra Costa County.” Additional goals are: To offer referrals to resources for women who need assistance with issues such as sexual harassment, child support, child abuse, or domestic violence; To legislatively advocate on behalf of women and girls; To organize and co-sponsor conferences, forums, and public hearings which address issues related to women and girls. • Family & Children’s Trust Committee (FACT) makes funding recommendations on the allocation of a variety of funds for prevention and intervention services to reduce child abuse and neglect, provide supportive services to families and children, and promote a more coordinated, seamless system of services for families. For further information and applications, please call Supervisor Uilkema’s office at 925-335-1046.
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Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 5
Family Rediscovers Its Own History By Julie Sullivan, Lafayette Historical Society (LHS) In May, 1846, a wagon train of 14 families and 16 wagons led by Elam Brown headed west from St. Joseph, Missouri. Brown eventually bought 900 acres and started what later became the town of Lafayette. Margaret Allen and her husband, Isaac, were part of Brown’s train, but Isaac died of typhoid on the trip west. Margaret, left a widow with 11 children, married Elam after arriving in Lafayette, and the town’s first family was created. When the modern-day descendants of Lafayette’s founding couple wanted to organize an Allen-Brown family reunion, they turned to the Lafayette Historical Society (LHS). On October 29, 2011, a dozen descendants of the families gathered at LHS for an afternoon of reminiscing and discovery. Cousins who had never met in person came from as far away as Fort Bragg and San Luis Obispo. The reunion was organized using the following Evite, “Come meet distant AllenBrown cousins… Dust off those old family photos, genealogy charts, Allen-Brown Elam Brown Margaret Allen research documents, and artifacts, bring them along to share. Please forward this Evite to other Allen-Brown family members that you think would like to attend this event.” Each family member wore a badge with his or her name, the name of their ancestor, and their ancestor’s photo on it. Judie Peterson of LHS worked with the family creating these. “Our ancestors were two steps from the pioneers, yet we are fortunate that they documented their family history,” one of the family members explained. “Now it’s a lifetime of research for us. What’s the saying? You don’t have to know what you’re looking for – one thing leads to another. Everyone who came has the genealogy bug and is interested in validating what happened and when.” “We wanted to give our family members the chance to meet each other and to share their wealth of photos and documents, as well as help LHS build its archives and expand its network of source people,” a local family member who volunteers at LHS added. “We are indebted to LHS for keeping our family genealogy alive. It’s amazing seeing how hard the volunteers work, and how dedicated they are. We’re planning on getting together every year.” LHS president Mary McCosker says, “We were delighted to assist the family, and they graciously allowed us to scan their personal pictures, which are valuable additions to our photo database. We want local residents to be aware of the treasure trove of material we have at our disposal, if they’re interested in researching ancestors who lived in Lafayette.” For more information, call (925) 283-1848 or visit www.lafayettehistory. org. LHS History Room in the Lafayette Library and Learning Center is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10AM – 2PM.
The World is Big, and Salvation Lurks around the Corner The International Film Showcase opens their second year with the feature The World is Big, and Salvation Lurks around the Corner. After surviving a horrific car accident, a young man can’t even remember his own name. In an attempt to cure him from his amnesia, his quirky grandfather (Miki Manojlovic, Underground) travels to Germany and organizes a spiritual journey for his grandson, back to the country of his birth. While traveling with his grandfather across time and place on a tandem bicycle, the young man begins to reconnect with his forgotten past. Based on Ilija Trojanow’s autobiography, this touching crowd-pleaser explores such powerful themes as family, loyalty, and cultural identity. This film is the winner of seven international awards. Bay Area Premier screenings at the Orinda Theatre start on January 6 and at the Rheem Theatre on January 13. Showtimes will be at 1:30, 4:00, and 6:30PM daily, and at 9:00PM on Friday and Saturday only. For tickets and additional information, visit www. LFEF.org or www.orindatheatres.com.
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Decendants of the Allen-Brown family
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Page 6 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
The Bookworm By Joan Stevenson By her own admission, it takes a lot to render the Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation’s Executive Director, Kathy Merchant, speechless, but Robin Holt, President of the Friends did just that when she arrived on December 16th bearing a check for $25,000. It was a gesture of friendship made possible because of the incredible work done by the volunteers at the Friends Corner Book Shop. Regaining her voice, Kathy declared, “When we say ‘best friends,’ the Library Foundation needs look no further than our next door neighbor, Friends of the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, who continue to be our faithful and extraordinarily generous angel donor.” If your resolutions for 2012 include realizing your dream of writing a book, we may have just the seminar for you. On Sunday, January 22nd from 2-4pm, members of the California Writers Club will co-host with the Friends of LLLC a seminar titled “Turn Your Expertise into a Successful Book.” Presenters will share their personal experiences including writing strong book proposals, tips on ways to share your knowledge, and building speaking and online platforms. On Tuesday, February 7th from 6:30-7:30pm, our neighbors across the boulevard, Whole Foods, will host Girls Night Delicious Detox with nutrition coach, Jamie Dougherty. Come and hear how to ditch the postholiday pounds and regain that light and sprite feeling. The evening includes a cooking demo and free healthy snacks. On Thursday, January 26th from 6-7pm, a Theatre Reading Group will gather. The group will select a play a month from moderately priced and sometimes free productions, discuss it as a group, and then attend the play (if you wish). All levels of theatre knowledge are welcome, beginners especially. This month’s selection is Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. You are invited even if you haven’t already read the play. Why on earth are Steinway Grand Pianos the focus of this month’s Science Café? Come and hear the music and the lecture when local concert
11th…Wednesday 7:00–9:00pm 15th…Sunday 1:30–2:30pm
CH A&S
18th...Wednesday 7:00–8:00pm A&S
19th.....Thursday 1:00–3:00pm
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19th...Thursday 7:00–8:00pm
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21st...Saturday 7:30–9:00pm
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24th...Tuesday 7:00–8:00pm
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31st..Tuesday 7:00–8:00pm
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Documentary film ~ Race to Nowhere.............................$10 The film is a call to action to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare youth for their future. Funds raised support Lafayette Nursery School. racetonowhere.com Lawrence Hall of Science: Birds! ..........................$20/child Feel the soft feathers of a real dove, let it perch in your hand. See bird eggs & nests; learn about their habitats. Bird craft activity, too. Ages 3 - 6. www.lawrencehallofscience.org/library Berkeley Repertory Theatre Docent Talk......................Free Ghost Light – A docent will discuss this evocative new play, a poetic collage of fiction and memory, staged by none other than Jonathon Moscone. reserve@LLLCF.org
www.yourmonthlypaper.com pianist Justin Levitt will discuss the science behind the creation of the concert grand piano from 12,000 individual parts. Science Café takes place on Tuesday, January 24th from 7-8pm. Admission is $5 per person. Boxed meals are available for pre-purchase: ($10 non-refundable). Call 925-2836513 x101 for menu selections and to reserve your space. February 2nd Sweet Thursday will feature Susan Snyder, a writer, author, and a librarian at the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. Ms. Snyder has several titles to her credit including the recently published, Beyond Words, a collection of excerpts from fifty illustrated diaries spanning two hundred years of adventure and contemplation. From the records of 18th century Spanish explorer Pedro Font to those of a young David Brower first encountering the wilderness, these unfolding stories reveal as much about the times in which they were written as they do the diarists particular inner worlds. Beyond Words is a fascinating and intimate collection that just may inspire you to pull out pen and paper to capture the fleeting images and experiences of your own life. For those of you who stand in awe of the photographer who captures more than the image on the film but uses the camera to portray the character and humanity of his subject, you are in for a treat. On Sunday February 12th we welcome to LLLCF Michael Collopy, one of the preeminent portrait photographers of our time who has gained worldwide recognition for his commissioned portraits of hundreds of public figures. His portfolio includes a vast array of portraits from world leaders such as Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher, to entertainers like Ella Fitzgerald and Luciano Pavarotti. In the fall of 2001 Collopy released his second book, Architects of Peace. Inspired by children rights activist Marian Wright Edelman, Michael photographed 75 of the world’s greatest peacemakers, movers, and shakers and asked each one to write a personal statement on the issue of peace. After the tragedy of 9-11, Collopy combined with thecommunity.com to create a website profiling the living Nobel Peace laureates reaction entitled: The Peacemakers Speak. Join us Sunday, February 12th from 4-5:30PM for this special event as Michael Collopy shares stories and photographs of his distinguished subjects. Please reserve in advance by emailing reserve@LLLCF.org or call 925-283-6513 x101. The fee is $10.
2nd to March 8th Thursdays 10:00–12:00noon 2nd...Thursday 12:00–12:30pm
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2nd..Thursday 7:30–9:00pm
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)....................Free Film Festival Preview with UC Professor Michael Fox The SF film critic will discuss picks for upcoming festivals. OLLI will also outline winter courses. www.olli.berkeley.edu World Affairs Council - East Bay....$8 mbrs. $10 nonmbrs Why Pakistan Matters: Dr. Neil Joeck will draw on his experiences in the Nat’l Security Council to discuss policy issues in the region. www.worldaffairs.org
7th...Tuesday 6:30–7:30pm
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8th...Wednesday 6:30–7:30pm
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Gold Coast Chamber Players....$30 Gen, $25 Sr, $10 Studt Mozart Melodies- Join Gold Coast’s musicians as they dazzle with this all Mozart performance. www.gcplayers.org
12th...Sunday 1:30–2:30pm
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12th...Sunday 4:00–5:30pm
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Science Cafe: The Science of Steinway and Sound...........$5 Concert pianist Justin Levitt will discuss the science behind the creation of the concert grand piano from 12,000 individual parts. Dueling pianists perform! reserve@LLLCF.org Greenbelt Alliance & Sustainable Lafayette..................Free Protecting Open Space and Providing for Future Generations Alison Hill and Matt Vander Sluis will provide the current local and regional perspective. greenbelt.org
16th...Thursday 3:30–4:30pm
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A&S
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)....................$125 Michael Fox: Global Lens - The International Documentary This 6-week course will examine how global documentary filmmakers explore social issues. www.olli.berkeley.edu Lindsay Wildlife Museum: Animals Underground..$5/child Ms. Jenna will read a book about underground animals at 11:30, Lindsay will arrive at noon with various animals to see and experience. Ages 2 1/2 - 5. reserve@LLLCF.org Friends of LLLC Sweet Thursday: Susan Snyder........Free Susan Snyder, librarian, teacher, author & illustrator will provide a lively discussion of her latest book, Beyond Words: 200 Years of Illustrated Diaries. no reservations necessary Whole Foods Lafayette & Health & Lifestyle Coach........$5 Jamie Dougherty: Girl’s Night Delicious Detox - Hear how to ditch the post-holiday pounds & regain that light & sprite feeling. Cooking demo & snacks. www.facebook.com/wfmlafayette Commonwealth Club: Ralph Richard Banks...........(GSLC) $12 mbrs, $22 nonmbrs, $7 students The author of Is Marriage for White People? will discuss marriage in the 21st century. commonwealthclub.org Lawrence Hall of Science: Rabbits!........................$20/child Pet, feed and get to know friendly rabbits. Pretend to be a rabbit and play rabbit games. Rabbit craft activity, too. Ages 3 - 6. www.lawrencehallofscience.org/library Photographer Michael Collopy - Architects of Peace....... $10 This renown portrait photographer and student of Robert Avedon shares stories and photos of his preeminent “subjects”. reserve@LLLCF.org Lindsay Wildlife Museum: Animal Chemistry........$5/child Finding Food: Learn how animals use chemistry to adapt. Try hands-on chemistry to measure, mix & observe how animals find their next meal. Ages 11-14. reserve@LLLCF.org
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Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 7
Sustainable Lafayette – Tip of the Month Happy New Year! If you have the appetite for one more easy New Year’s resolution that will help the environment, we have a suggestion. Think about all the disposable items that we use and throw away every day--disposable paper towels, disposable napkins, disposable coffee cups, disposable plastic or paper shopping bags, disposable water bottles, disposable takeout containers, and hundreds of other items. Every year Americans throw away enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons to circle the earth 300 times. While convenient, most of these disposable items end up in the local landfill or in the environment. Even if you buy disposable items made with recycled and recyclable materials, they require energy and materials to create. Moreover, they require more energy to recycle and often the recyclable material is shipped all the way to China. Our suggestion for a New Year’s resolution is to pick just one disposable item that you use on a regular basis and try to use a reusable alternative. It’s an easy way to reduce your environmental impact, save money, and is often safer for your health. Following are a few ideas to consider: Use a reusable water bottle – Bottled water is completely unnecessary in Lamorinda, which has outstanding tap water straight from the Sierras. Use of disposable plastic water bottles produces 1.5 million tons of waste per year and requires up to 47 million gallons of oil to produce. And only about 20% of the bottles are ever recycled. Buy a reusable water bottle and take it with you wherever you’d bring a disposable bottle. Use reusable shopping bags – Everyone has heard this one, but still 60,000 plastic shopping bags are used every five seconds in the U.S. and only about 20% of grocery shoppers in Lafayette use reusable bags. Keep bags in your trunk and grab them when you head into the store. Use reusable coffee mugs – In 2006 over 16 billion disposable coffee cups were used, which can’t be recycled, and generated over 250 million pounds of solid waste. If you’re having coffee at a local shop tell them it’s “for here” and you’d like your coffee in a mug, or if you’re on the run, bring a reusable coffee mug for them to fill. Use reusable produce bags – While most of us have heard of reusable shopping bags, we often use just as much plastic for produce. Buy some reusable produce bags and keep them in your shopping bags. Use reusable kitchen wipes and napkins – A surprising amount of our kitchen waste is from paper towels and napkins. Try reusable wipes (check out SKOY) and old-fashioned cloth napkins instead. Use reusable lunch kits instead of disposable bags, baggies, etc. Use reusable flatware (plates, etc.) instead of disposable paper plates, even for kids parties and picnics, etc. Many stores like IKEA sell plates that are very inexpensive but will last for years. Use reusable takeout containers. Think ahead and bring your own container to avoid getting stuck with styrofoam that can’t be recycled and takes eons to decompose. Use refillable pens instead of buying another pack of disposable ones. Use reusable cloth diapers instead of disposable ones that generate 2% of all municipal waste. Use reusable cloth wrapping paper, bags, and ribbons instead of disposable paper that goes in the garbage. Use reusable glass bottles for milk. Just bring them back to the store when you’re done. Diablo Foods offers this service. Use reusable razors instead of disposable ones. Use reusable batteries instead of disposable ones that have to be taken to a special recycle drop-off. Hopefully you get the idea. Notice anything and everything that is disposable and see if there is an easy alternative that will prevent unnecessary waste and energy use. As a New Year’s resolution, just pick one disposable category to convert. There are many reusable items for sale at Diablo Foods and Whole Foods and also at online web sites like reuseit.com. To read real-world success stories about how Lafayette residents are reducing waste and living more sustainably, please visit www. sustainablelafayette.org.
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Page 8 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
Lifson continued from front page for several years and served as President in 2003. He currently serves on several boards and committees and has been a member of the Lafayette Rotary Club since 1994. Jay has also been the recipient of many awards, most recently the 2009 Margaret Lesher Memorial Award for his work with Project Second Chance. The Marquis Business Person of the Year award is given to the individual who supports the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce mission: To promote and maintain the healthy business climate and to preserve and enhance the quality of life in Lafayette. The Business Person of the Year award is presented to someone who has given of their time, money, or energy to help make Lafayette a healthy community, where people will want to live, work, and shop. It is also someone who models excellence in everything they do, and who brings us together and makes us proud to be a member of the community. It was easy for the panel this year to unanimously pick Jay Lifson from the group of nominees. When told of his selection as Business person of the Year, Jay said, “I’m only doing my job.” You chance to celebrate with Jay will be on Friday, January 20th at the Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa. Cocktails will be served at 6pm and dinner at 7pm. To register, please visit www.lafayettechamber.org.
CONTRA COSTA ONCOLOGY
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Speaker Promotes Literacy and Language Learning By Nira Horeis If the only books you read in high school were Beowulf, The Illiad, and Moby Dick, would you, as an adult, view reading as a fulfilling pastime? Vicki AT CONTRA COSTA ONCOLOGY, we are committed to providing WALNUT CREEK Traverso, a 1998 Acalanes High school graduate, the highest quality care. Specializing in comprehensive cutting-edge treatment SAN RAMON current English teacher, and recent guest speaker at programs for all forms of cancer and blood disorders, our nationally recognized CONCORD a meeting of the Acalanes Chapter of the Daughters oncology experts and specialized oncology nurses are dedicated to providing ROSSMOOR of the American Revolution (ACDAR), believes the best possible care experience. We understand the wide array of concerns and challenges faced by you and your family, so we ensure the most sophisticated a love of reading needs to be nurtured in public DANVILLE levels of medical oncology and hematology care, while providing you with the schools by having high school students read both contracostaoncology.com utmost support, compassion, and respect. curriculum texts and personal enjoyment books for 925.939.9610 which young readers feel a strong connection. A compelling guest speaker, Vicki is a local product of our excellent Lamorinda schools and daughter of former ACDAR’s Regent, Alyce Traverso. Teaching today in a low income area high school, Burton High School (BHS), in San Francisco, Vicki was required to make immediate cultural adjustments from her own high school experiences to the culture at BHS, an inner city high school where many children come from homes where too often buying books is neither affordable nor particularly valued. Vicki recognized the books she loved as a high school student were not likely to draw connections to her students at BHS. Most children can learn to love reading, insists Vicki, if you find a book about the right topic for that child. Perhaps sports will capture their attention, or maybe a teenage drama theme is more compelling. The BHS library is an important source for kids who do not have many books in their homes. Since Vicki and her husband, Todd Morgan, also an English teacher at BHS, have been teaching at the high school, the number of books checked out from the school library increased from an average of 1500 to 4500 per year. Based on professional experience, Vicki and her The Gold Coast Chamber Players provided a student group to play holiday music at Whole husband recommend that parents who discover their children show no interest in Foods in Lafayette led by Artistic Director, Pamela Freund-Striplen. Students from local schools books should encourage their children to find any reading material they can enjoy, participated in bringing holiday cheer on Christmas Eve to lucky Whole Foods shoppers. Check out www.gcplayers.org for information about upcoming concerts in Lafayette. even comic books, to establish the habit of reading for fun and information. Pictured above are Jessica Ng, Pamela Freund-Striplen, Nick Villanueva, Emily Ng, For information about ACDAR, visit www.californiadar.org/chapters2/acalanes/. Grace Fishel, and Kara Chiu.
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Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 9
So What Does 2012 Look Like? By Art Lehman, Village Associates Realtors California home sales and median price are predicted to improve only slightly in 2012, as the continuation of the tepid economic recovery, uncertainty about the future, and funding challenges for residential mortgages are expected to keep the market moving sideways, with little foreseeable momentum in either direction, according to the California Association of Realtors® (CAR) 2012 California Housing Market Forecast. Well, that is not exactly what we were hoping for. Of course we’d love to hear everything is getting back to normal. However, we know that’s unlikely to happen for quite a few years. The forecast for California home sales next year is for a slight one percent increase to 496,200 units, following essentially flat sales of 491,100 homes this year compared to the 491,500 homes sold in 2010. Focusing on 2012, the basics of the housing market – such as low mortgage rates, high housing affordability, and favorable home prices – are expected to continue, but at this point, a strong housing recovery will depend on consumer confidence, job creation, and the availability and cost of home loans. I think that the sellers that could sell but don’t have to will play a big role in next year’s housing market in Lafayette. Many sellers that did not sell in 2011 may list their homes in 2012, thereby improving the mix of homes for sale compared with the past few years. Besides sellers, Real Estate Owned (REO) and Short Sales will remain important for the overall market as lenders continue to clear their books through the foreclosure process. While REO’s and Short Sales have not seemed to be as problematic in our area in terms of pricing new sales, clearly I’ve noticed refinancing (depending on your luck of appraisers) has been more challenging. As far as California median home prices are concerned, it is predicted that prices will increase 1.7 percent in 2012 to $296,000 in 2012, according to the CAR forecast. Following a double-digit increase in the median price in 2010, the median home price will decrease a projected 4 percent in 2011 to $291,000. “2012 will be another transition year for the California housing market, as the continued uncertainty about the U.S. financial system, job growth, and the stability of the overall economy remain in the forefront for all market participants,” said CAR Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “An improvement in job growth, consumer spending, and corresponding gains in housing are essential to a broader recovery in the economy, but would-be buyers will remain cautious as they weigh these myriad uncertainties against the clear opportunities presented by today’s very affordable housing market.” The most likely scenario is for the modest recovery to continue, and this should push sales up slightly next year to one percent and maintain levels that are significantly higher than those recorded during the depths of the housing downturn. So that’s what the experts are saying. I guess we get to sit back and watch how it plays out! If you have any questions on selling or buying a home in the area, please contact me at 925 200-2591 or by email at art@artlehman.com. Please feel free to email a topic for the next article too. If you’d like a free automatic email update of current listings and sales visit my website to sign up www. artlehman.com. Advertorial
Cinema Classics Pal Joey By Peggy Horn The movie, Pal Joey, (1957) is a film adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name. Both productions were based on a novel by John O’Hara. The movie, starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, is filled with the beautiful music of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart including the songs, “I Could Write A Book,” “Small Hotel,” “The Lady Is A Tramp,” and “My Funny Valentine.” The famous Nelson Riddle did the arrangements. This movie offers visual and auditory evidence as to why Frank Sinatra was such a huge star. He acts, he dances, and he sings with a swankiness that even today is imitated but never bested. Furthermore, the fabulous fifties style is in view from the font used for the credits to the diner china cups from which the characters drink their coffee, and it’s all good. The plot revolves around the character Joey Evans, played by Frank Sinatra, a ne’er do well rascal who has a conscience all right, but it is buried deep. Mr. Sinatra is completely believable as a man who could win and break every girl’s heart. Joey woos a wealthy widow, Mrs. Prentice Simpson, played by Rita Hayworth, to enlist her ‘muny’ to achieve his heart’s desire of opening his own nightclub, Chez Joey. The nightclub plans are complicated, however, by a girl from the chorus line, Linda English, played by Kim Novak. From the music to the scenes of a 1950’s San Francisco, where it was filmed, this movie is a direct hit. Some of the lyrics are hilarious as in the performance of a song entitled, “Zip,” sung by Mrs. Prentice Simpson. Before she married her wealthy husband, Mrs. Simpson had been a stripper, and in the song she alleges to have been a broad with a
broad, broad mind: “Zip! I was reading Schopenhauer last night; Zip! And I think that Schopenhauer was right!” This very entertaining love story set to music is available online inexpensively for your viewing pleasure.
Teen Actors Bring Everyone’s Favorite Dog Snoopy to Life
“This is the first time I’ve ever played a dog before, but, luckily for me, he walks upright and acts more like a human than a dog,” says 15-year-old Mariana Kneppers, who portrays Snoopy in the musical of the same name for Civic Arts Education’s Youth Theatre Company (YTC). “Although he’s a dog, he has a lot of attitude, and it’s important to convey that to the audience,” Kneppers adds. The sophomore at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek has been performing with YTC for the past four years. A program of the City of Walnut Creek, the Teen Theatre group of YTC will present Snoopy January 27 at 7pm and January 28 at 2pm and 7pm at Del Valle Theatre located at 1963 Tice Valley Blvd. in Walnut Creek before taking the show to Los Angeles for a competition in mid-February. “The opportunity to compete in L.A. is fabulous and this musical really allows our teens to shine on many levels,” says Director Nicole McGann. “They’ve really been having so much fun creating hysterical stage pictures – like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel – just letting their imaginations and talent run wild.” For tickets, call 925943-SHOW or go to www.lesherartscenter.org.
Page 10 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
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Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Gives Dictionaries to Third-Graders For the 14th consecutive year, Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club distributed complimentary dictionaries to thirdgraders attending six different schools in Lafayette. A total of 446 hardcover Houghton-Mifflin American Heritage Children’s Dictionaries were handed out recently at all four public elementary schools in Lafayette – Happy Valley, Burton Valley, Springhill, Lafayette – and two independent schools – Saint Perpetua and The Meher School. Dictionary Day, as it is known, is the centerpiece of the club’s ongoing community service programs. Since the inaugural year of 1998, more than $50,000 worth of dictionaries have been distributed. The effort is funded year to year entirely by private donations. Club members enter the classrooms, introduce themselves, hand out copies of the dictionary to each pupil, then give prompting instructions on how to look up words. Each child signs the book and is free to take it home as his or her permanent personal property. Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary is in its 25th year of Kevin Cragholm, a member of Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary, assists a third-grader at Happy Valley Elementary School with looking operation. Weekly meetings are held on Fridays at 7:15AM up words in the dictionary he and classmates just received, over breakfast at Postino restaurant, 3565 Mount Diablo compliments of the Rotary service club. Photo by Tom Black Boulevard, Lafayette. Guests are always welcome.
A New Year's Toast
By Monica Chappell
Do your New Year's resolutions include: eating better, exercising more and getting healthy? The next time you raise a glass of wine to toast a friend’s health, you may be doing more than expressing goodwill. For some of the same reasons “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” a glass of wine a day may set you on your way to wellness.
I'll Drink to That Now is a great time to enjoy the pleasures of wine, especially since science is discovering the potentially powerful health benefits of drinking the fruit of the vine. A great number of studies have been done to determine the therapeutic and diseasefighting powers of wine, both red and white. When it comes to protecting the heart, red—not white—wine has always been the hero. We've all heard that red wine is good for us, but how good it is depends on who you are and how much and how often you drink it.
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A Votre Sante (To Your Health) When it comes to health, all alcoholic beverages are not created equal. While all may have the power to relax us, only red wine contains a lot of polyphenols, heart-friendly antioxidants that help inhibit plaque buildup in the arteries. Studies suggest that the polyphenols, or tannins, which derived from grape skins and seeds giving red wine its color also act as protectors against cell damage caused by nasty molecules called free radicals, produced by sun, pollution, and cigarette smoke; all are believed to be culprits in the aging process. Wine, however, is not the only source of polyphenols. They are also abundant in a wide variety of foods including tea, chocolate, and many fruits and vegetables.
The Art of Living Well Wine has played an integral role in everyday life, religious ceremonies, celebratory events, and the enjoyment of meals by societies throughout history and continues to do so. While some of the recent studies concerning wine and health are more conclusive than others, many of them offer a good reason to make wine part of your daily life. Monica Chappell is a wine writer and educator. For a list of upcoming programs, visit www.wineappreciation101.blogspot.com.
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Trust & Estate Litigation – A Growth Industry By Robert J. Silverman, Esq. Trust and Estate litigation is a growth industry. While statistics are rare, my colleagues and I receive many calls about trust and estate disputes. Sadly, many of these disputes end up in court. Some legal experts go so far as to call the problem an “epidemic.” This article will cover some reasons for this phenomenon and a few tips on how you can help your loved ones avoid the tremendous heartache and expense of litigation. One reason for this rise in trust and estate litigation is that the U.S. population is aging dramatically. On January 1, 2012, the first “baby boomers” turned 65. Over the next 20 years, approximately 65-70 Million boomers will reach 65 - about 10,000 each day! As boomers die, the transfer of generational wealth is going to be astounding. In the first half of this century, literally tens of trillions of dollars will transfer from one generation to the next. Another reason for this increase in litigation seems to be the economic downturn. Many actual and prospective inheritors are needy; sometimes they feel desperate. But, to a certain extent, regardless of the economic climate, people will fight over inheritance because it’s human nature. We’re imperfect, and we can be greedy. We don’t communicate as well as we should - even with (perhaps especially with) our loved ones. Misunderstandings arise, poor choices are made, perceived and actual inequities occur, and disagreements and conflicts leave bitter feelings. How can you not be discouraged by all this? By learning about optimal ways to structure your estate plan, and taking affirmative steps to reduce your family’s exposure to ugly, time-consuming and expensive legal proceedings. The most common mistake that leads to a court proceeding is not having a funded Living Trust. Even if you have a Will (and not a trust), a court action for estate administration - probate - is essentially guaranteed. That doesn’t mean the probate will be a contested proceeding, but it will nevertheless usually cause unnecessary time and fees to be incurred in the process. Of course, just having a full set of estate planning documents doesn’t mean you are “home free” in avoiding legal proceedings. Much of the time spent in Probate Court involves flawed documents. Sometimes the flaws are blatant, sometimes more subtle.
Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 11 Frequently, the documents are internet-based legal forms or “canned” documents prepared by an unskilled estate planning attorney or paralegal service. The use of these by consumers is myopic, leaving loved ones vulnerable to courthouse grief and many multiples of the fees and costs they thought they were saving. In any event, canned documents are an unreasonable substitute for a customized plan drafted by a seasoned estate planning attorney, and supported by such wise “counselor’s” practical advice and skilled drafting. One of the most critical aspects of a Living Trust is choosing a successor trustee – someone who will manage the trust after the initial trustee(s) dies or becomes incapacitated. At the heart of a lot of disputes is the designation of an inappropriate person. The fact that someone is close to you in the kinship chart (e.g. a child or sibling) doesn’t mean that he or she has the right skill set, judgment, and sensitivity to do the job correctly, fairly, and in the way you would want and expect. Nominating co-trustees, rather than a sole trustee, is also generally a bad idea. Typically, a client’s initial instinct is to choose a close relative. I engage clients in a “reality check” discussion, explaining a trustee’s serious responsibilities, and outlining rational criteria for choosing a trustee. Consequently, the client sometimes decides to name a different family member or even an unrelated party, such as a neutral, objective institutional trustee or licensed private fiduciary. This decision always merits careful consideration. Another common and dangerous litigation trap is the failure to anticipate and reconcile potential competing interests (e.g. between your children and between your children and their step-parent). Fortunately, there are appealing ways to streamline an estate plan so that assets are made available and/or distributed to various loved ones in a manner that minimizes or eliminates the potential conflict. Thoughtful legal counsel, and accompanying careful and appropriate document drafting, are invaluable in keeping folks off of the crowded trust/estate courtroom battlefield. Mr. Silverman is an attorney with Shapiro Buchman Provine Brothers Smith LLP, 1333 N. California Street, Suite 350, Walnut Creek, CA 94596; (925) 944-9700; rsilverman@sbllp.com. His practice emphasizes Estate Planning, Trust Administration & Probate, Real Estate, and Business. Please call for a free introductory consultation. This article is intended to provide information of a general nature, and should not be relied upon as legal, tax, financial and/ or business advice. Readers should obtain and rely upon specific advice only from their own qualified 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 Advertorial matters addressed herein.
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Page 12 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
2012 Predictions By Daniel A Barnes, CFA Since 2007, Barnes Capital has made annual predictions about what will happen in the new year. Thinking about the future and what could happen is crucial in our role as a steward of people’s money. Overall, our 2011 predictions were on target. Take a look at our complete review at www. barnescapital.com/insight. We have less confidence in our 2012 predictions than we did for 2011.
2012 Predictions 1)Bonds are now definitely expensive. But uncertainty about slashing budgets, the situation in Europe, and interest rates remains high. Since stocks have fallen 50% twice in the last decade, the stability of bonds is still very attractive. Bonds are likely to deliver flat to mid-single digit total returns in 2012. 2) Gold - For the moment, gold is out of favor as we enter 2012. Gold will struggle in the first half of the year, but it will reach new highs in the second half of the year to finish at $2000/oz. Gold’s weakness is a function of the asset being viewed as a risk asset. The move towards new highs will be powered by the short-term memory of buyers, the uncertainty of the presidential election and unresolved European debt issues. Here’s a look at Gold’s yearend closing price over the last 13 years. 1999 - $288, 2000 - $271 (-6%), 2001 - $278 (+2%), 2002 - $348 (+25%), 2003 - $415 (+20%), 2004 - $437 (+5%), 2005 - $516 (+18%), 2006 - $634 (+23%), 2007 - $833 (+31%), 2008 - $881 (+6%), 2009 - $1096 (+24%), 2010 -$1421 (+30%), 2011 -$1566 (+10%) 3) Oil - Oil prices are strong, indicating that global growth isn’t as weak as feared and that the new normal for oil is greater than $80 a barrel. We expect oil to remain range bound from $90 - $115. 4) European Debt - The big question mark is the issue everyone knows about, the European debt. The Euro reaches few conclusions, weakens a bit, and all major issues including Greek default are pushed off until 2013. 5) The Euro - The Euro will weaken to $1.20 but not break below $1.15 in 2012 versus the dollar. For some perspective, the Euro was launched
Brainwaves by Betsy Streeter
www.yourmonthlypaper.com in 1999 at $1.17 per Euro. 6) Unemployment - Currently the unemployment rate has declined below 9%, but that’s only because many job seekers have stopped looking for work. Unemployment will remain the Achilles heel of the current administration and remain stubbornly around 9%. Until our society is transformed by higher energy costs, unemployment of 8% is the new normal. Retail (particularly among travel agents and sales clerks), low-skill manufacturing and real-estate-related jobs aren’t returning this decade, if ever. 7) GDP growth - The Gross Domestic Product will putter along with growth that’s greater than 2% but less than 3%, solving no problems but creating few as well. 8) The election - The presidential race will be a nail biter. Nobody will know the outcome until Election Night, November 6th. 9) Housing - After five years of waiting for prices to return to 2007 levels, homeowners will get real. Homeowners who want to move will start to do so. Until the mortgage, foreclosure, and short sale issues are resolved, however, the real estate market data is suspect. We expect this process to take at least another three to five years. 10) Forecasting - Barnes Capital will retire from the forecasting business, citing “impossible expectations,” “poor compensation,” and “declining confidence” in our own omniscience.
In Conclusion The Year 2012 will provide continued strong corporate earnings and governmentsubsidized low interest rates. The economic resolution of Europe will make minimal progress as it continues to wait for political consensus. Don’t hold your breathe. Stocks are priced modestly more attractively than they were one year ago. Bonds are less attractive. Therefore, we will not increase our fixed income risk exposure substantially this year, in order to achieve a Pyrrhic one-year victory. Our clients’ primary needs are wealth preservation. We believe that real wealth preservation in inflation-adjusted terms is going to be difficult to achieve this decade. Our investment strategy is focused on safe returns, not optimal returns. We remain believers in the solid returns of strong dividend-paying stocks, covered call writing, and municipal bonds, including California General Obligation bonds and Gold. A cataclysmic meltdown in 2012 is unlikely. There is simply too much money being printed by Bernanke’s Federal Reserve for things to fall apart. Austerity, it isn’t. But, to employ an overused cliché, we’re just kicking the can down the road. Let the next Administration start the process of structural change; this one’s just muddling through. Barnes Capital LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor. We manage trusts and retirement income portfolios. Financial planning is an integral part of our process. We protect client capital using municipal bonds, highest quality dividend companies and precious metals, which have protected wealth in every epoch spanning five millennia of bankruptcies, inflation, and other forms of Advertorial attrition. Call 925-284-3503 and visit www.barnescapital.com
Boat Safety and Education Classes Boat Safety Training and Education classes are offered by the Diablo Sail and Power Squadron. The Squadron is a non-profit organization and classes are open to all. To register, go to www.DiabloSquadron.org or call (925) 377-2628. The Martinez Sea Scout Facility (MSSF) is located at 255 North Court St., Martinez (head north towards the Marina). All other locations are as listed. • America’s Boating Class (ABC) – January 29th and February 4th ~ 8AM PM – 4 ~ Bridge Marina Yacht Club, 20 Fleming Lane Antioch • Seamanship – Thursday evenings, February 16 – March 22 ~ MSSF
Courses for Inland Navigator Certificate • Weather – January 19th ~ MSSF • VHF Radio – February 9th ~ MSSF • How to Read a Chart – Bridge Marina Yacht Club, 20 Fleming Lane, Antioch • Engine Maintenance – April 10 – May 15 ~ 3160 Crow Canyon Rd -Suite 400, San Ramon • Using GPS – April 19th ~ MSSF • Radar – May 17th ~ MSSF • Anchoring – June 21st ~ MSSF
San Ramon Valley Genealogical Meetings The San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society meets at 10am the third Tuesday of every month, except August and December, at the Danville Family History Center, 2949 Stone Valley Road, Alamo. A speaker is at every meeting. Everyone is welcome. For information, call Ed at (925) 299-0881, or visit http://srvgensoc.org.
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Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 13
Life in the Lafayette Garden Garden Architecture By John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect #4059 What is “Garden Architecture?” Garden = a plot of ground where plants, vegetables, and flowers are grown. Architecture = the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and hardscape. I approach your Lafayette landscape design with “Garden Architecture” in mind. The two design fundamentals brought together in a creative and cohesive design make up your landscape environment. Successful landscape design is a good balance of both. The approach I take is to focus on the “architecture” initially. The “architecture” defines the design. It creates structure with the borders, edges, views, and function of the “softscape.” Structures serve as background for people and plants. A focal point deserves significant detailing. Background structures don’t. Scale and proportion are important. Structures need to be scaled appropriately and in proportion to the surrounding environment. The outdoor environment allows for larger scale than the indoors. Measure the scale of structures by keeping in mind existing large scale trees, distant horizon lines, adjacent properties and views, and buildings.
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Architecture provides the bones to any landscape design. They provide ongoing significance throughout the season while the “softscape” changes from season to season. In general “hardscape” structures include the floor of the landscape (patios, decks, paths), steps and grade changes, enclosures and ceilings (arbors, pergolas, gazebos), walls (retaining, seat walls, benches), fences, buildings (cabanas, pool houses, potting sheds, storage sheds), use and recreation (swimming pools, sports court, bocce), and focal points (water features, bridges, garden ornament, gates, trellises). The purpose of any structure in the landscape design is function and form. What function shall any particular structure perform? In other words, what do they do? Those hot summer days in the Lafayette garden demand the need for shade, and those long cold gray winters when deciduous trees drop their leaves, give you bones. Arbors or pergolas are “Garden Architecture” that can fulfill that function. What do they do? They provide shade in the summer and structural bones in the winter! A structure can have several functions. For instance, an arbor can define a portal, an entry into a garden room, or it can frame a view beyond. The form an arbor takes is an open structure usually with plants or vines climbing over it to form a portal or tunnel. An arbor can be built to take on any form that suits your design style. It can be as simple as an arched gate with climbing clematis or a bold design with four twelve-inch round Corinthian columns with rough hewn beams above heavily laden with Wisteria. Depending on the scale and architectural styling of your home and the design theme of your landscape, an arbor has many different forms it can take while performing the same function. A pergola as defined here is a free-standing overhead structure supported by posts or columns. The material that provides the shade may vary from lattice, to wood beams, to vines. All can provide shade depending on how much you wish to have. Pergolas generally are more significant structure because of the function. Often, a pergola becomes a garden room or enclosure in the garden, a gathering place for people, and a focal point. “Garden Architecture” brings form and
function to any successful landscape environment. A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Built structures must be executed with proper construction techniques which are ensured through proper design, construction details and specifications, and on-site observations during the construction process. Landscape architects are tested and licensed by the state to design garden architecture. Gardening Quote of the Month: “One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides”. ~W.E. Johns If you would like me to write on any particular subject, email your ideas to jmontgomery@jm-la.com or for design ideas visit www.jm-la.com. Advertorial
Page 14 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
The Care of Mature Trees By Blaine Brende & Joe Lamb Entering my sixth decade, the gathering stiffness in my joints deepens my appreciation that living systems change as they age. Trees also change as they grow older, but, for trees and humans alike, how gracefully we flower in later life is not determined by genetics alone. Long life for humans is a relatively new phenomenon. Our Paleolithic ancestors seldom lived beyond 35 years of age, and they would, I imagine, marvel that the average American now lives to be 78. However, long life for trees is nothing new. Methuselah, a bristlecone pine growing in the Sierras, has attained the astounding age of 4,838 and is the oldest documented living organism on our planet. It lifts my heart to acknowledge that the pine nut, which grew to become Methuselah, sprouted its first needles 2,268 years before the birth of Buddha, 2,832 years before the birth of Jesus, and 3,402 years before the birth of Muhammad. To promote long life, reduce the stresses on your trees. The densely packed clay soils common to the East Bay produce many stresses. Compacted soils lack air spaces and inhibit the movement of oxygen. Clay soils are soggy when wet (which promotes root rot), but they are hard when dry (which promotes drought stress). Improving the porosity of the soil by mulching, aerating, and, sometimes, by radial trenching reduces the stress on your tree. Mulching is the easiest and cheapest of these techniques. Two or three inches of quality mulch under the canopy of the tree, but not piled against the trunk, helps to keep the soil soft, moist, and cooler in the summer. Aerating aids soil porosity and reduces stress. To aerate the tree, use a deep root irrigator to drill many one-inch diameter holes to a depth of around 30 inches throughout the zone under the tree’s canopy. Pruning to remove dead and diseased branches reduces the stresses on the tree. Many fruit trees suffer from diseases, both fungal and bacte-
www.yourmonthlypaper.com rial, carried from flower to flower by pollinating insects. After entering through the flower, the infection spreads, usually slowly, down into the woody tissue. Pruning to a point below the spread of the disease increases the lifespan of the tree. As with humans, stresses can have cumulative effects. When pines are drought stressed, they are unable to make the sap they use to drown burrowing insects. Oaks suffering from oak root fungus have trouble taking up water and often suffer from drought stress. When planning elder care for your trees, several factors beg consideration: What is your emotional attachment to the tree? Is the tree a hazard? Will it become a hazard in the future, and, if so, when? What will it cost to maintain the tree? Will it attain ‘sabi,’ the beauty of aging, if given the correct care? I hope that as I grow older I accept Roethke’s challenge and ‘dare to blaze like a tree.’ If you wish to extend your tree’s lifespan please call 510-486-TREE (8733) or email us at bl@brendelamb.com for a free estimate. Additionally, go to our website www.brendelamb.com to see before and after pictures, client testimonials, and work in your neighborhood. Advertorial
Gardening with Kate By Kathleen Guillaume This is becoming one of the drier winters on record. Please note that while the morning fog may make your ground look nice and damp, you should take the time to go around your garden and dig up the soil, putting your shovel down 6-8” to see if it is dry. A lot of us turned off our irrigation systems when we got those first rains in November. That’s what I did. Now I have set my irrigation system to “Manual” and let it run a full cycle once a week... and still on the south facing side of my homem the soil is as dry as a bone. Our air has been very dry also, and you might note that you plants in pots are a little more thirsty than usual. If a pot dries out, you may need to give it some special attention. Take a metal rod or bamboo stake, and poke the soil as you water. This creates water tunnels that will let water again begin to penetrate the dried soil areas. I keep a few bamboo sticks near my potted plants just for this purpose, as most of my potted plants are in large containers, way too big to be lifted into my large galvanized pan to be soaked to let the water slowly work its way up through the body of the planter. This is an overnight soak for most pots. Get a friend to help you tilt a pot over to make sure that the roots haven’t created a plug in the drainage hole. Otherwise when the rains come there will be no drainage and the roots could rot. Remember a dry and stressed plant will get more frost damage than one that is well hydrated. It may be time a good time to treat your potted plants to new soil. If the pot is large tip, it over with the opening facing a place where there is room for you to work. Lay out a tarp to catch the plant and hold all of the old soil. With the plant and root ball laying on the tarp take a spade loosen the root ball as much as possible. Try to shake the soil away from the roots. If I have several plants in a pot, I just carefully lay each aside. Next, I reposition the pot and mix up a batch of potting soil in my wheelbarrow. I start filling the pot up, repositioning the plants and always leaving a two inch space from the rim of the pot. When plants are dormant, you can also trim the roots, but
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remember to prune back the top growth slightly more than the roots have been pruned. This applies to any shrubs that are the primary filler in your potted plant arrangement. It’s also time to prune roses. Remember to keep your cuts at a 45o angle; this lets water run away from the cut stem. Most roses like to be taken down to at least 18” at which point you have very few cross branches to eliminate. Your finished pruning should have a bowl shape with most interior branches removed. Be sure to pick up all rose leaf litter to make sure that you have no fungus left that will create black spot, rust, or mildew this spring. When you finish, if the weather is going to be dry for a while, spray the roses and soil with horticultural oil. Place mulch over the cleaned up soil, and repeat the spraying again in February. Are you beginning to feel that January is a work month? If you want to have a beautiful garden, you do have a lot of work in January and February. But, it is time for treats too. It is bare root season at our nurseries. Treat yourself to a bare root peach tree such as a dwarf Alberta. It needs a full sun location. When I got mine from Kathy Echols of Midhill Farms she showed me how to prune a bare root peach; four feet from the base find some bud nodes and make a 45o cut just above them. Yes, you will have just a stick of a tree left, not one branch on it, but peaches and cherry trees grow like crazy, even the dwarf varieties. You want to end up with a bowl shape just like a pruned rose eventually. In the spring and summer, every time a branch gets three to four feet long, take a third off. You will be rewarded with a healthy, beautiful tree giving you the greatest gift as there is nothing like the taste and smell of a sun ripened peach to reward you for your winter’s work. It is also time to dig up and get rid of any rangy plants that aren’t giving you your water’s worth. Look into replacing them with some of the wonderful salvias that need less water and offer food to both bees and hummingbirds. Your nursery person can make some good suggestions for the space you have. Happy New Year and Happy Gardening.
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Ten Years of PCIO
Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 15
By Evan Corstorphine, Portable CIO
Local Authorized Dealer Where were you in 2001? I worked in San Francisco for a startup that was going to be the “next big thing” in insurance industry software. Like millions of others, I had high hopes of a big payday when our company became successful. The best Just Floors laid plans often go awry, and something indeed happened on the way to the bank. 1051 #B Detroit Avenue The economy in general, and the venture-capital funding pool in specific, were Concord, CA 94518 At the Back Entrance to Costco very rocky in 2001. All that was needed was for the economy to be nudged to fall 925-681-4747 into an all-out recession, which it did in grand form following the September 2001 JustFloorsConcord.com attacks. Taking everything into account, the company I worked for decided it had Lic. #708486 over-built due to slower-than-expected adoption of our product by the insurance industry and the new reality of post-9/11 economics. The writing was on the wall, and in October of 2001, for the first time in my professional career, I was no longer employed. For those of you who have never been “let go,” I must say it’s not a lot of fun. No matter how you may rationalize what has happened, it’s hard to avoid a bit of bruised ego. I had always thought about striking out on my own, but the corporate world and the “golden handcuffs” had always been a strong disincentive. Now that I was separated from the firm, I had some choices to make. There were three avenues to pursue. They were a) go find another job, b) find a firm to consult for, or c) start a new company. With technology budgets plummeting due to the recession and a glut of good people on the market, I decided against going back to corporate life. I felt it was going to be ridiculously over-competitive, I’d have a terrible commute, and I’d have to work a lot more hours than I wanted to given the state of the economy. I did try consulting for a boutique firm for a little bit, but it didn’t feel right. Maybe it was whom I was serving, but it just didn’t float my boat. I decided to create my own firm. What should I call it? Well, I was an unattached CIO (Chief Information Officer), and being unemployed I was quite available, so from there it was easy; “Portable CIO” was born. Besides being an accurate description of the owner, “Portable CIO” represents the conveyance of corporate-level computing expertise down to the small business and residential customer. It is no accident that this firm isn’t called “PC Doctor” or “Geeks Are Us” or anything else cutesy and ultimately demeaning to our profession. Our aim has always been to serve folks who try the other firms, realize something’s missing, and are ready for a fresh start. We have always taken a thoughtful and methodical approach to help our customers figure out their technology, and it’s resonated with our clients. Ten years later, computer technology has maintained its meteoric progression. Hardisks have grown in size from 40 gigabytes back when we started, to over 3TB (3000 gigabytes) today. Computers used to come with 1 gigabyte of memory, and now we order them with 12 gigabytes. The single-core “Pentium 4” microprocessor has been replaced with four or eight-core i7’s and Xeon processors, effectively quadrupling or octupling computing power. We’ve seen the introduction of the iPod, the iPad and Tablet Computing, Android, flat panel displays of enormous proportions, Ask Dr. Happy DVD and BlueRay players on the computer, and countless other enhancements. By Bob Nozik, MD Back in 2001, the “Michealangelo” and “Klez” viruses were wreaking havoc on unsuspecting computer users. Little did anyone imagine the creative and destructive Dear Dr. Happy, ways that bad guys would evolve over this decade, including advanced root-kits, I am a 60 year old woman married for ten years Trojan’s, XP-Antivirus, and even the “Stuxnet” virus that was created to cripple to my second husband, Sam. He and I get along Iranian nuclear ambitions. Who would have guessed that ten thousand viruses and great; so, what’s my problem? I really don’t like malware of various origins and types would be created every single day in 2011? Janet, his daughter. She is 35 and single. She is also Yet some things haven’t changed one bit. People are still people. We all still outspoken, ‘knows everything’ even though she has made a mess of her life through her poor choices. have business problems to solve, and we hope technology can help us improve our Of course, she blames everyone but herself for her situation. We still open emails we shouldn’t. We still visit websites we should avoid. We still leap before looking. Just like ten years ago, Portable CIO’s primary job is failures and disappointments. What’s more, she sucks the energy out of every working with people first, technology second, to address the strategies, processes, room she enters and infects everyone with her mood, which is usually bad. Not and habits of the organization. We’re very good when working with technology, surprisingly, she isn’t very fond of me either. Still, Sam and Janet are very close but we’re at our very best when working with people. It sounds cliché, but we re- and our mutual dislike weighs very heavily on Sam. I really can’t avoid her; she lives just ten minutes away. Dr. Happy, what should I do? ~ Clueless ally do listen, and we really like our jobs. We love what we do, and Dear Clueless, Well, let’s look at what’s going on here. Your marriage is good but you we plan to be around for the and your husband’s daughter don’t get along. And, as the old saying goes: foreseeable future. I’d like to insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. You personally thank you for being a part of Portable CIO’s suc- need a new approach, and I suggest that it come from a cocktail of three cess over the past ten years. If happiness principles: acceptance, compassion/kindness, and non-judgment. we’ve worked with you, thank At 35, Janet’s personality is pretty well set, so it is time for you to accept you, because our business her as she is and stop judging her. And doing this will make all three of you feel better. Plus, I’d bet that as Janet feels less judged, she’ll respond is based on your trust. If we by softening the rough edges of her personality. And, Clueless, even if she haven’t met you yet, I hope we get the opportunity in 2012. When you’re ready remains unchanged, your greater acceptance and compassion will make you for a seasoned, people-centered approach to computing, give our friendly staff a feel happier and elevate your already good relationship with Sam. Advertorial call at (925) 552-7953, or email helpdesk@theportablecio.com.
Happiness Tip
Montelindo Garden Club Come Hear Gary Bogue On Friday, January 20th writer Gary Bogue, whose daily column on pets, wildlife and environmental issues has appeared in Contra Costa newspapers since 1970, will speak on Creatures of the Urban Wilderness - Your Backyard. Mr. Bogue has also been Museum Curator at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum and Executive Director of Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation. The program is at 10:30AM with a plant sale and refreshments starting at 9AM. The event is free and the public is cordially invited. The event is held at the Orinda Community Church, 10 Irwin Way, Orinda.
Judgment is one of the most common and most destructive of our mental activities. It also happens to be a great destroyer of happiness. Judging usually is based on impulse and once made, often enlists our slower, more deliberate reason to justify it. Because judging tends to separate our world of grays into black and white extremes, is almost always wrong. So, knowing this, whenever you find yourself judging others, remember that you are almost certainly being unfair to the one you are judging and having your happiness suffer in the process; a classic lose-lose. Please send questions/comments for Dr. Happy to Pollyannan@aol.com.
Four Steps To Support Your Changes
www.yourmonthlypaper.com change, so they tend to get bumped off the bus. Choosing too many goals or goals that are too big decreases your chance of getting where you want to go. Keep faith in yourself by keeping it simple.
By Michael Anne Conley, MFT
2. Discover a workable path for accountability.
Page 16 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
“What is exact change?” – Mr. Spock to AdmiralKirk, Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home In The Voyage Home, Spock’s question is an inside joke, foretelling of a 23rd Century future in which people don’t use cash to get around town. When we use our Clipper cards today, only 25 years after the movie was released, we recognize that some things don’t take centuries to change. On a personal level though, Spock asks the ultimate question posed by everyone who seeks self-improvement: “What is the exact change I can create for my life?” The New Year is a natural time to make some new choices.After all, you made it through the holidays, hopefully better than you thought you would. You survived the guests or being a guest, shopping lines, the return lines, and all the food. If you’re thinking of joining a lot of other people who want to lose weight, quit smoking, or exercise regularly (the top three annual resolutions), you sure don’t want to set yourself up for failure. Yet various studies, including one in 2007 by British psychologist Richard Wiseman, indicate that most people who make New Year’s resolutions have left them behind by June, if not before. However, all is not lost. If you’re ready to make some adjustments in how you engage in your life and relationships. Here are four suggestions to increase your chances of satisfaction:
1. Keep it simple. One reason people fail is because they are trying to do too much. Give yourself a chance by making only one commitment. Science writer Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide, has explored the science of the brain, and he discovered that Spock isn’t the only one who doesn’t understand exact change. The part of your brain that’s in charge of willpower has so much on its mind that resolutions are chump
Ask the Expert By Dr. Kelly Hood We thought we’d begin the year with some frequently asked and important questions you have asked. 1. Are sunscreens safe? I have heard some ingredients cause cancer. A. I am taking this information straight from the Sun Cancer Foundation research scientists who provide peer reviewed research published in medical journals. We are Dr. Kelly Hood, Lafayette exposed to much junk science printed by individuals and special interest groups whose theories have not been tested or proven. Let’s look at the three most commonly questioned sunscreen components. Q. Can the UV filter oxybenzone cause cancer? “Junk Science” answer: An old research study on rodents suggested that oxybenzone can penetrate the skin and produce free radicals, harmful substances that, in theory, may contribute to the development of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Best Answer: Oxybenzone underwent extensive review and was approved by the FDA for its current use in sunscreens. It has been available in the US for more than 20 years, and there is no evidence that it has any serious side effects in humans. Research on human subjects provides the most relevant and useful information about safety of substances. We can’t automatically assume that research findings on rodents are relevant in humans. Q. Does retinyl palmitate speed the growth of tumors after sun exposure? “Junk Science” answer: A special interest group says an FDA study on mice done 10 years ago suggests that retinyl palmitate may speed the growth of tumors. The study was never published. Best Answer: Retinyl palmitate is the form of Vitamin A that is stored by the skin. The is no evidence that Vitamin A is carcinogenic to humans. In fact, Vitamin A compounds, retinoids, actually help prevent skin cancer, eliminate skin precancers, and help reverse the aging effects of sun damage. The mouse study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, which suggests
According to Dr. Wiseman’s research, you’ll get closer to success by following one path if you’re a woman and another if you’re a man. If you’re a guy, you’ll tend to do better by dividing your goal into units and measuring them over time. If you’re a woman,you’re more likely to meet your goal when you announce your intentions and ask your friends for encouragement. This year, try out ways of being accountable until you find what works for you. Now that could be a resolution in itself!
3. Take small steps. The Dalai Lama said, “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” Neuroscientists continue to clarify the relationship between your body and its brain. For example, research shows that physical activity and exercise is effective in making us feel better. Taking small, concrete action toward your goal today will energize you and give you hope for taking another small step tomorrow.
4. Reward yourself along the way.
In your personal journey, behavior change is a process of finding a middle place between pressuring yourself too much — or not enough. From time to time, you’ll step forward, and some days you’ll retreat. This back and forth is a part of natural rhythm, like a wave on a beach. As one wave pulses onto the beach, the last one is underneath, returning to the sea. So rather than waiting for a big reward when you’ve reached your ultimate goal this year, be sure togive yourself small rewards along the way for any sign of progress, however small it may be. In this way, no change is ever exact. It doesn’t have to be to count. Michael Anne Conley is a health educator, marriage and family therapist and the director of Stillpoint Integrative Health Center at 953 Mountain View Drive in Lafayette. She has offered holistic approaches to habit change and addiction issues for 27 years. You can learn more at925Advertorial 262-4848 or wellnesslafayette.com.
that its findings were not deemed worthy of publication. Q. Are nanoparticles (tiny or “micronized” -sized particles) in sunscreen absorbed by the skin, and are they harmful? “Junk Science” answer: In theory, the small size of these particles could allow penetration through the skin, where the particles could gain access to DNA, causing skin cell mutation that can lead to cancer. Best Answer: Sunscreen is applied to the top layer of skin, made up of dead cells, and multiple studies have shown that nanoparticles do not pen- Dr. Shanny Baughman, Alamo etrate living skin. The general consensus is that they pose no risk to human health. Dermatologists know that one in three Caucasians will get skin cancer during their lifetime. Data clearly shows that sunscreens help prevent skin cancer. For more information on skin cancer and sun damage, contact us. 2. Does shaving decrease the efficacy or effectiveness of armpit antiperspirants? Answer: Shaving decreases the efficacy of armpit antiperspirants, especially in women who frequently shave the armpits. Antiperspirants function by creating little plugs of protein on the sweat gland, thus preventing the flow of perspiration onto the skin surface. This plug must be maintained with the continuous application of the antiperspirant. Aggressive armpit shaving physically removes the plug, allowing sweat to flow freely. Thus, in women who complain of excessive sweating, the efficacy of topical over-the-counter antiperspirants can be improved by decreasing the frequency of shaving, applying less pressure with the razor, and shaving only once over a given area. To have your skin evaluated by a board certified dermatologist and have a treatment specifically designed for your skin, contact Dr. Kelly Hood, 970 Dewing, Suite 301, Lafayette, 925-283-5500, khoodderm@yahoo.com or Dr. Shanny Baughman at Alamo Oaks Dermatology, 3189 Danville Blvd, suite 130, Alamo, 925-362-0992, shanny.derm@gmail.com Advertorial
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New Years Wishes for Continued Rejuvenation! By Barbara Persons, MD, Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc. Our family at Persons Plastic Surgery hopes you had a wonderful holiday season - one full of tradition, family, friends and delicious food. As we open the next chapter of our lives during the year of 2012, it is time to reflect upon the ways in which we can make our communities, families, and ourselves more engaged and vibrant. With the details of everyday life making our days busier than ever, I have found that the most effective way to focus is to write down my personal goals. In this new year, my goals focus on ways in which I can continue to better myself - not just as a physician and surgeon, but also as an involved and productive member of the community. This year I will strive to accomplish the following:
Community: 1. Supporting the schools in the area through the Lafayette Partners in Education 2. Preserving clean and flowing lakes, rivers, and streams through the Lafayette Parks and Recreation 3. Donating my time towards volunteer activities through my children’s school and scouting groups, my church, and local community organizations
Family: 1. Strive to dine together at least four nights a week 2. Plan special dates with each of my children once a week 3. Give attention to my 14-year-old Husky dog and three-month-old Bengal kitten
Self: 1. To spend quality time with my close friends 2. To find emotional balance through prayer and meditation
Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 17 3. To be my physical best through exercising regularly and eating nutritiously January always motivates me to make changes in my routine that will turn back the clock on aging and become my physical best. Working towards this goal offers a sense of rejuvenation - physically, emotionally, and mentally. Hiking the beautiful Bay Area trails and breathing in cool crisp air always gets my day off to a great start. Improved nutrition results in clearer thinking, a calmer demeanor, and an improved ability to sleep. In thinking about ways to counter the aging process, a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon could be just the spark you need to make the most of 2012. Consider the many ways a full service physician’s office can help you look as young as you feel. Take this opportunity to do the things your friends are doing but not necessarily talking about: regular facials, microdermabrasion, laser genesis, laser hair removal, botox, fillers, eyelids, facelift, necklift, fat grafting, breast augmentation, breast reduction, tummy tuck, and liposuction, just to name a few. At Persons Plastic Surgery, we can consult with you on your options as these treatments and procedures make up a significant part of our practice. More importantly, we work with our patients not just on the physical rejuvenation and change, but we also provide the tools for lifestyle rejuvenation which help ensure that the change is enduring. Welcoming the new year should inspire us all to work towards living our best lives. Whether it is through exercise and nutrition or through greater involvement with family, friends, and community, all provide their own unique spark that add meaning to our daily lives. It takes a village for us to reach our goals and to achieve lasting improvement. Take charge in your village for the change you see necessary. Please consider me part of your village. Barbara Persons, MD is a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon by The American Board of Plastic Surgery. She is available at Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc. 911 Moraga Rd, Suite 205, Lafayette 925 283 4012 or info@ personsplasticsurgery.com. Advertorial As an example of improved care for patients, physicians from both specialties will hold regularly scheduled case reviews in order to confer on more difficult cases. Such multi-specialty conferences are not uncommon in university and hospital settings but can be impractical for private, stand-alone practices, where doctors from different specialties rarely appear in the same physical locations. With our new organizational structure, we will be able to provide collaborative tumor boards to patients in the private practice setting. Matthew Sirott, MD is a medical oncologist at Diablo Valley Oncology, home to the largest single site for cancer treatment in Contra Costa County. Its seven physicians bring together medical oncology, hematology, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, diagnostic imaging, clinical trial, and supportive care all in one convenient location. Learn more at DiabloValleyOncology. md. Pacific Urology is one of the San Francisco Bay Area's largest urology practices. The group's mission is to provide university quality of care in a private practice setting. Learn more at www.PacificUrology.com. Advertorial
Bringing Oncology And Urology Together By Matthew Sirott, MD Economic trends in health care combined with new opportunities in continuity of care has led our two practices to form Contra Costa County’s first multi-specialty group of its kind. Pacific Urology, a six-physician practice with origins dating back to the 1980s, is merging with Diablo Valley Oncology and Hematology Medical Group, a seven-doctor group specializing in treating cancer and blood disorders. There are two principal reasons we are merging our practices. 1 - New opportunities to deliver a stronger continuity of care for patients. 2 - Increasing economic pressures and challenges in delivering health care. Our practices have developed an organizational structure that will best meet patients’ needs through collaborative treatment of cancers of the prostate, kidney, and bladder. Both practices will retain their individual names but will now share infrastructure and resources such as information technology systems, business office processes, and clinic locations. The costs of practicing medicine are escalating while reimbursements are declining. We anticipate a 30-40 percent decrease in Medicare payments in 2012. By combining our practices, we secure the future for both organizations, allowing us to see more patients in more locations, reduce our overhead expenses, and collaborate more closely than ever before.
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Page 18 - January 2012 ~ Lafayette Today
New Year’s Resolutions By Michael Nelson, M.D.
www.yourmonthlypaper.com wonder what is mental exercise? It involves challenging your mind. This can include playing bridge again or completing your 1000th crossword puzzle, but the best mental exercise is to learn a completely new topic. This may be the year to learn Spanish or Chinese. New technology can be challenging also; just ask anyone who tried to teach their grandparent how to get voicemail off their cellphone. Reduce your cardiovascular risk factors. These are the things that cause heart attacks, stroke, and other nasty conditions. I often get asked what I think the chance of a family member getting Alzheimer’s disease is if their parent has it. Because not all memory loss is Alzheimer’s, I frequently empower the family by informing them that a lot of memory trouble has to do with poorly controlled hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes. Weight loss and exercise, both very popular resolutions, will reduce those cardiovascular risk factors. And who doesn’t love to tell someone to quit smoking. Too bad it’s rarely effective. If you follow these four easy suggestions, your brain will thank you, and that is a great goal for 2012. The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and does not replace proper medical care. Michael Nelson, M.D. is a board certified adult neurologist who has been serving general neurology patients in the East Bay for the past nine years. His office is located at 970 Dewing Ave, Suite #300 in Lafayette. He can be reached at (925) 299-9022 to schedule and appointment and can also Advertorial be found on the web at www.michaelnelsonmd.com.
Everyone loves New Year’s resolutions. Apparently, it is also big business because every other commercial this time of year is for a diet pill, gym membership, or some ridiculous home exercise appliance (remember the Thigh Master?). My personal resolution for this year is to stop procrastinating, but I may wait to do that until next year. I will offer four easy suggestions on New Year’s resolutions that will keep your brain happy in 2012. Wear a helmet. It’s an easy thing to do. Having young children myself, I make sure that they wear appropriate helmets for their activities. I have seen lots of other parents do this also, but they forget to put helmets on their OWN heads. This is particularly true on a bicycle. You don’t need to be going fast to hurt your head; if you don’t believe me just drop a watermelon from the height of your head onto concrete and see what happens. I would also like to remind parents that bicycles are vehicles on the road and need to follow the same rules as a car. It’s very dangerous to be weaving in and out of parked cars on the wrong side of the road like an Englishman leaving their local pub. Don’t drink too much. I’m sure there were plenty of people who woke up on New Year’s Day saying they will never drink that much again. A moderate amount of alcohol does reduce the chance of getting many neurological diseases, but too much will cause damage to both your brain and the rest of your nervous system. There is a direct toxic effect and also a depletion of essential vitamins that occurs following drinking alcohol. Too much is more than two drinks a day for men Heartfelt & and one drink a day for women. A drink is 12 oz Supportive of beer, 4 oz of wine, or 1 ½ oz of hard alcohol. Increase both physical and mental activities. Your risk of Alzheimer’s disease is lower with At All Times... regular cardiovascular exercise, such as walking www.excellentcareathome.com for 20 minutes three times a week. You may
Events for Lafayette Seniors All classes are held at the Lafayette Senior Center (LSC) located at 500 Saint Mary’s Rd in Lafayette unless otherwise noted. Space is limited. Please call 925-284-5050 to reserve a spot. Annual Membership fee: $10 per person. General Event fee: Members $1; Non-Member $3. Special Concerts fee: Members $3; Non-Members $5. Ongoing Caregiver Support Group: Members: no charge; Non-members $1. Estate Planning: What Everyone Should Know Tuesday 1/24 10:30am-Noon • Elderberry Room Are you aware of the basic documents you should have such as a trust, will, health care directive, personal property gift list, and power of attorney? Learn about the new document called POLST, as well as recent changes in the law. You will receive practical tips on how your loved ones can most effectively use these documents with institutions (i.e. banks and hospitals) during times of need.
Back Stage Tour and Behind the Scenes Look at Distracted Wednesday 2/8 10:30am-Noon • Town Hall Theatre,3535 School Street at Moraga Rd, Lafayette “When you have a child, it’s like having your heart walking around outside your body.” Nine-year-old Jesse is ‘distracted.’ His teacher thinks he has ADD, his father thinks he is ‘just a boy,’ and mom just wants him to live a ‘normal’ life. Take a backstage tour as well as an up-close and personal peek at the making of Distracted. We have the theater to ourselves as the director, actors, and stage managers share their insights on the producing of this play. Call 284-5050 to reserve your spot. Driver’s Safety Class Tues & Thurs: 2/7 & 2/9 10:00am-2:00pm (must attend both days to receive certificate) Refine driving skills, develop safe, defensive techniques, and possibly lower your insurance premium. Includes tips on avoiding stress and accidents. Fee $12 A.A.R.P. members / $14 Non-Members. Elderberry Room, Lafayette Community Center. Please call 284-5050 to secure space. Anne Randolph’s Parkinsons Workshop Friday 1/27 11:30am12:30pm Sequoia Rm.
Our mission is to provide personalized care, help maintain independence and enhance our client’s quality of life on a daily basis. • Free in-home assessments • Regular home visits ensure the right care plan • Hourly care for you • Live-in care • Fully bonded and insured • Geriatric care mgmt. • Elder referral and placement 3645 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite D Lafayette, CA 94549 (beside Trader Joe’s)
925-284-1213
Living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be challenging, but there are things you can do to maintain your quality of life and live well. Learn about the stages of PD and how to optimize your physical ability as long as possible.
Free Memory Screening Following Randolph Workshop Causes of memory loss include simple age related decline to more serious conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Often memory can be improved with early diagnosis and intervention. Appointments are required; please call 284-5050. Appointments: 12:30, 12:50, 1:10pm Bi-Monthly Caregiver Support Group Mondays 1/9, 1/30, 2/13, 2/27, 3/12, 3/26 • 1:30–2:30PM • Sequoia Room, LSC Caring for frail older adults in the home often creates great stress and emotional anguish for spouses and family members. Licensed Geriatric Care Manager Carol Shenson, M.A., CMC, offers a bi-monthly support group for family members who will be or are involved with the direct care Lamorinda Dance Social Every Wednesday • 12:30 – 3PM • Live Oak Room, LSC Enjoy afternoon dancing every Wednesday, and learn some great new dance moves. On the first Wednesday monthly, professional dancers Karen and Michael will provide a dance lesson and live DJ services, playing your favorites and taking requests. $2 Members/ $4 non-members. Positive Living Forum (a.k.a “Happiness Club”) Thursdays 1/12 (Elderberry), 2/9 (Cedar), 3/8 (Elderberry) • 10:30am – noon Positive Living Forum features eminent speakers on a wide range of topics that will stimulate and guide participants towards a more ideal and positive life experience. Drop-ins are welcome. Moderated by Dr. Bob Nozik, MD. Lafayette Senior Services Commission - The Commission meets on the 4th Thursday of the month at 3:30 – 5:30PM at the Lafayette Senior Services Center. View agendas at the City of Lafayette office or at www. ci.lafayette.ca.us. Free Legal Assistance for Older Adults 2/3, 3/2 10am or 11am • Alder Room • Landlord/Tenant Problems • Medi-Cal Issues • Durable Powers of Attorney • SSI Overpayment • Rights of Nursing Home & Long-term Care Residents. Call 925-284-5050 to schedule an appointment.
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Lamorinda Senior Transportation An Alliance of Transportation Providers By Mary Bruns, Program Coordinator How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most. - Stephen R. Covey Volunteerism is an act of unconditional love, creating the world as you would like it to be. In the picture at right, Reigh Granlund drives Lafayette seniors to do their grocery shopping and errands on Wednesdays. Lisa Strahan joins him to assist passengers who want a little help. Franklin P. Jones says, “Love doesn't make the world go ‘round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” As we begin the New Year, consider what you would like your legacy to be – to Lafayette, to Lamorinda, to Contra Costa County, to California, to the U.S., to the world. On my desk, I have a card I found many years ago that helps me remember there is no one else except us, to do what needs to be done. The card reads: “We are the prayer that we want answered.” As you step up to the plate to give a ride to a senior who no longer drives, you are paving the way for services to be in place when you need them as in “paying it forward.” This is one meaning of the phrase, “Everything you give, you give to yourself.” “The Senior Helpline Services’ Rides for Seniors program that provides
Ataxia Support Group On January 14th the Northern California Ataxia Support Group luncheon and meeting will be held. A lite lunch and refreshments will be served from noon -12:30pm. Introductions, sharing, announcements, news, and updates will take place from 12:30pm-1pm. From 1:15pm-2pm guest speaker Don Gibbons, Senior Science and Education Officer of California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the State Stem Cell Agency will speak. CIRM is a leader in California for funding stem cell research. Come learn and ask questions. Everyone is welcome. The meeting will be held at Our Savior Lutheran Church in the Recreation Hall located at 1035 Carol Lane, in Lafayette. The cost is $7 for lunch and meeting, and $4 for meeting only. For questions call Joanne Loveland at 925-735-7037.
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 are available for T-coils, and most meetings are captioned. Contact: HLAADV@hearinglossdv.org or 925.264.1199 or www.hearinglossdv.org.
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Lafayette Today ~ January 2012 - Page 19 free, one-on-one, door-through-door rides is at capacity with more services being requested every day,” says Elaine Welch, Executive Director. “Volunteer drivers are the only solution to this problem. If you are between the ages of 25-75, have a car in good working order, a clean driving and criminal background record, are caring, compassionate, and willing Becoming a Volunteer Driver = and able to help ambulatory seniors get to/ Love in Action from their medical appointments or shopping for basic necessities, please give us a call at (925) 284-2207. Make a New Year’s resolution you’ll really keep, and feel the joy of helping others less fortunate than yourself! It will change their lives for the better and yours, as well.” The Lamorinda Spirit Van Program is expanding to a two-van program as of January 9, 2012 thanks to the donation of a second vehicle by the County Connection. As of January 10th, we will be modifying our schedule to facilitate Lamorinda passengers being able to go to morning medical appointments and special events at Lafayette Senior Services. Be sure to call (925) 283-3534 for more information. Four additional volunteer drivers would allow us to offer rides all day Monday through Friday.
Lamorinda Senior Transportation An Alliance of Transportation Providers *Call each program for information, opportunities to volunteer and to make tax-deductible donations. Volunteer drivers are always appreciated. “The world only exists in your eyes - your conception of it. You can make it as big or as small as you want to.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lamorinda Spirit Van
283-3534
Serving Lamorinda seniors with rides to the C.C. Café for lunch in a social setting, grocery and sundry shopping, errands, medical appointments, physical therapy, other appointments, etc. $10 round trip. Call to register for more information.
Contra Costa Yellow Cab and DeSoto Company 284-1234 20% discount for Lamorinda seniors. A taxi is often an economical alternative to owning, insuring, and maintaining a car.
Volunteer Driver Program Volunteers driving their own cars provide free rides for seniors.
Orinda Seniors Around Town
402-4506
Serving Orinda seniors with rides for appointments and errands.
Senior Helpline Services Rides for Seniors
284-6161
Serving Contra Costa seniors with rides to medical appointments Monday through Fridays and to grocery shopping on Saturdays. Ask about reassurance phone calls.
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JOHN ROLF HATTAM - ARCHITECT Specializes in modest budget, new and remodeled residences. Over 200 completed projects. AUTHOR: Houses on Hills and Other Irregular Places. Also, National Parks from an Architect’s Sketchbook Call for a brochure: 510-841-5933. 737 Dwight Way, Berkeley.
MUSIC INSTRUCTION with Robbie Dunbar. Bach to Beatles and beyond. Piano, guitar, other instruments. All ages and levels welcome! I travel to your home. Decades of experience, including Masters of Music Composition. Also PIANO TUNING. (925) 323-9706, robbiednbr@gmail.com
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Food continued from front page
the barrels loaded with donations roll through the warehouse’s back door, each item has to be carefully checked before it can be staged to go to its final recipient. In the Concord warehouse serving Contra Costa County, Steve Strouse supervises the volunteers sorting gifted goods to ensure items are within expiration date guidelines. Lids are screwed off peanut butter jars to make sure seals are in place. A list of food recalls is consulted. A huge area of the warehouse holds contributions waiting to be processed. Hundreds of volunteers assist the Food Bank staff throughout the year. Fortunately for the growing population of county residents facing hardship and hunger, the Food Bank stocks its facilities year-round with bulk purchases. As a member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks formerly called America’s Second Harvest, the Food Bank is able to buy big box lots of fresh produce such as carrots and potatoes as well as soups, cereals, and other commodities. Ninety-five cents of every dollar donated goes directly into food programs. “Food drives supply variety,” explains Lisa Sherrill. Goods from the holiday collections supplement the less diverse purchased foodstuffs until the end of February and sometimes even into March. Each agency is given a weekly allotment of goods from bulk purchases and the opportunity to select a designated amount of more diverse provisions while the stock lasts. The Letter Carriers drive comes at a critical time and carries the Food Bank into the summer months. August, September, and October can be lacking in variety in the non-perishables area, but gifts of garden produce are on the rise. Remarkably for such a large organization, the Food Bank has developed ways to utilize even the smallest offerings of fresh fruit and vegetables. Walk-in donations of miscellaneous garden bounty rose to 41,783 pounds in the year ending June 30, 2011, a major increase over the 27,826 pounds received the previous year. Perishable food products account for 30% of what the Food Bank distributes. Donations of bread from Oroweat, milk from Sunnyside Farms Dairy and yogurt from Brown Cow supply weekly needs. In 2005 the Food Bank distributed 800,000 pounds of produce. In fiscal year 2010-2011, that amount increased to 4.6 million pounds. Executive Director Larry Sly summarizes his own amazement at the growth of the organization that delivered 30,000 pounds of food during its first year of operation in 1975. Hired in March of 1976 to drive a truck for the Food Bank, Sly notes in his statement opening the Food Bank’s 2010 Annual Report: “When I was driving a pickup truck gathering bread from Safeway stores I did not visualize a Food Bank that would have tractor trailer trucks driving down the highway. I did not see a time when a welldeveloped system of soup kitchens would exist in our community.” Nevertheless, he has managed to turn the Food Bank into a sophisticated operation that channeled 12.6 million pounds of food into programs for hungry children and adults in Contra Costa and Solano Counties in fiscal year 2010. Virtual Food Drives are just one of the new creative methods the Food Bank uses throughout the year to supplement seasonal food donations. For those familiar with online shopping, it’s a natural. Instead of lugging heavy bags of canned goods, the donor selects items from an online shopping list. Local companies can do an office food drive without bringing big barrels into the workplace. The purchasing power of the Food Bank maximizes every dollar. In addition to supplying local soup kitchens and charities, the Food Bank supports Food for Children, reaching 4 and 5 year olds, Food Assistance, a program for households defined as low-income by the federal government, the Senior Food Program, for low-income senior households, Extra Helpings, servicing people living with HIV/Aids, and Farm 2 Kids, an after school program in schools where over 50% of the students qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Farm 2 Kids supplies each participant with a bag a week of fresh fruits and vegetables. Family pets get food donations through the Animeals program sponsored by $ 00 Contra Costa Humane Society. To help or be helped, contact the Concord office of the Food Bank at 925-676-7543. Expires January 31st, 2012 The office will suggest the program or agency that best suits your interests or needs. Food donations can be accepted at the Concord Open Tues thru Sat 10 to 6 Sunday 11 to 5 Closed Monday warehouse, 4010 NelsonAvenue, on Mondays am pm and Fridays 7 -3:30 , Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays 7am- 7pm, and Saturdays 7:30am to Danville 925.648.0293 Alamo 925.820.8492 3:30pm. For more information, visit the Food 3426 Camino Tassajara 3189 Danville Boulevard Bank’s website www.foodbankccs.org/.
No More No Burn Days SPARE THE AIR
USE GAS LOGS
Any Gas Log Set