Best of The East Bay Magazine 2021

THE MAGAZINE OF OAKLAND, BERKELEY AND THE WORLD THAT REVOLVES AROUND US

March April 2021

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Stay Social. Stay Engaged.

Stay Connected.

Our award-winning family of senior living communities and services provide a supportive, engaging lifestyle for your loved one.

Connect with our Residential Living Advisors today!

eskaton.org/bayarea

Discover The Eskaton Difference Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Care Rehabilitation • Skilled Nursing • Home Care

Superior Housekeeping Is Essential for anyone who values an inviting home in which to live and entertain.

For over 33 years The Cooperative Cleaning Company has met this need for the Bay Area’s most discerning clients.

We meet or exceed Federal, State & Local COVID-19 prevention standards. Ask about our no additional charge disinfecting process.

The Cooperative Cleaning Company (CCC) delivers superior green housekeeping services while providing employees with compensation, health care, and paid time off benefits exceeding the industry average. A native of France, owner Sarah Neil holds a master’s in anthropology from the Sorbonne in Paris and speaks eight languages. Mike Neil, a fourth-generation San Franciscan, spent 30 years in IT before “retiring” to help with CCC. And when not studying at university, daughter Roxane Raphael rounds out the management team.

The Cooperative Cleaning Company, 510-845-0003, CoopCleaning@gmail.com, CooperativeCleaning.com

BEST OF THE EAST BAY

Mar & Apr 2021

THE MAGAZINE OF OAKLAND, BERKELEY AND THE WORLD THAT REVOLVES AROUND US

CANNABIS p16 EVERYDAY p20 FEATURE p28 FAMILY p32 INTRODUCTION p6

Voted Best Private School in the East Bay! Thank you to everyone who voted for us.

St. Paul’s is a K-8 independent school located steps from Lake Merritt. We welcome families and faculty of all faiths or none.

We are offering summer camp June–August 2021.

Come check it out!

ARTS & CULTURE p8 BEAUTY HEALTH & WELLNESS p12

HOME IMPROVEMENT p44 RECREATION p46 ROMANCE p49

PUBLISHER

DESIGN DIRECTOR

ADVERTISING DIRECTORS

Rosemary Olson

Kara Brown

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

PRODUCTION OPERATIONS MANAGER

Lori Lieneke Lisa Santos

Karen Klaber

EDITOR Daedalus Howell

ARTS EDITOR

A transformative education built on fearless learning, service, and diversity

FOOD & DRINK p36

D. Scot Miller

COPY EDITOR Mark Fernquest

Sean George

SENIOR DESIGNER Jackie Mujica

CONTRIBUTORS Jeffrey Edalatpour Lou Fancher Janis Hashe Jonah Raskin

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGERS Danielle McCoy Ben Grambergu Mercedes Murolo Lynda Rael

CEO/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Dan Pulcrano

AN EAST BAY EXPRESS PRODUCTION www.eastbaymag.com TELEPHONE: 510.879.3700 ADVERTISING: sales@eastbaymag.com

510-285-9600 | www.spes.org 4

| 510.879.3730

EDITORIAL: editor@eastbaymag.com CIRCULATION AND BUSINESS: publisher@eastbaymag.com

Except as otherwise noted, entire contents ©2021 Metro Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.

EAST BAY MAGAZINE | EASTBAYMAG.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

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There,There

W

ithout a doubt, it’s her most quoted line.

Since its publication in the late ’30s, the five-word quasi-mantra has served as both commentary and condemnation of Oakland. I’m referring, of course, to Gertrude Stein’s infamous incantation, “There is no there there.”

Hailing from her Everybody’s Autobiography, Stein’s words offer not only a desultory summation of an entire city, detractors often cite the line as some kind of gospel truth that extends through tunnels and over bridges to include the whole of the East Bay. And it’s wrong.

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Stein is not just factually wrong but morally, philosophically, and, well, grammatically wrong as well.

We at the East Bay Express like to think we’ve proven Stein wrong every week since our paper’s inception in 1978. This year, like every year, we take the time to double down on the premise that the East Bay is the most dynamic, innovative and interesting place on the Left Coast by highlighting The Best of The East Bay. A Dutch friend of mine once suggested that, “The difference between the East Bay and San Francisco is the same difference

between Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Tourists love Amsterdam but, in reality, the best punk rock, coffee and beer is in Rotterdam.” Agreed. Not only do we have better punk rock et al (stream the excellent doc Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk if you need a refresher), we have an inherently better attitude. At the risk of reading like armchair Zen, the East Bay does what it does so well because it’s the doing itself that provides the joy. Equal parts almanac, city guide and record book, doing this issue was likewise a joy—and we sincerely hope it is for you, as well. So there.

—Daedalus Howell, Editor

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Voted Best Latin American

4923 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland | 510-679-2423 1337 Park Street, Alameda | 510-398-1150 www.CholitaLinda.com

ARTS ´ CULTURE FIGHT THE POWER Downtown Oakland offers cultural lessons to the world.

Resilient Most

T

City

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experienced street clashes between peaceful protestors and a police force implementing brutal tactics forbidden by elected officials, while an out-oftown white supremacist “Boogaloo Boy” murdered a federal officer in an attempt to cast blame on citizens seeking fairness, justice and peace. As the largest pandemic in 100 years ravaged the country, our streets became distressed by a seemingly never-ending struggle.

Downtown Oakland could have accepted this onslaught with resignation. Our storefronts could have remained drab reminders of the power of outside forces. Our sidewalks could have remained empty, our walls sad reflections of a defeat in a war manufactured without our consent.

Instead, Downtown became alive with color and movement, re-committing to the revolutionary values that are embedded in its foundations. Murals spontaneously sprang up, inspiring

progress, unity and continued mobilization. Socially distanced and socially conscious marches, teachins and street-art projects produced wheat-paste fliers, zines and even downloadable mixtapes reflecting the unstoppable creative power of one of the most influential cities in America since the late 1960s.

2021 promises an even more refined and focused vision coming out of Oakland to the rest of the world. From the unveiling of a street dedicated to Black Panther Founder, Huey P. Newton, to Oakland Museum of California’s upcoming Afrofuturism exhibit, “The Town” continues to shape the future. —By D. Scot Miller

PHOTO BY DANIEL ARAUZ, WIKICOMMONS

he national press often glosses over the cultural impact Downtown Oakland has had on the world stage during the past decade.

From the protest for justice for Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Nia Wilson and countless others, to being the epicenter of the global—and still growing—“Occupy” movement; the radius that emanates from “Oscar Grant Plaza” has expanded to influence everything from movies (Sorry To Bother You, Fruitvale Station, Blind-spotting, Black Panther) to the Arab Spring.

Downtown Oakland is a living symbol of the cultural resilience of a land and a people undaunted by the oppressive mechanisms of control bent on global domination, even as those forces set their sights on “The Town,” acknowledging its power to instigate and inspire global transformation.

In 2020, Downtown Oakland

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Voted Best Credit Union in the East Bay. Thank you members!

We’re proud to share the honor of the 2021 East Bay Express Best of the East Bay award with the same amazing members who voted for us. As a not-forprofit financial cooperative, our peoplebefore-profits philosophy is at the heart of all we do.

Discover the Patelco Difference with significantly better rates, lower fees, and products and services developed to truly improve your financial well-being, no matter where you’re at.

• Online banking and the Mobile App with Anywhere Deposit • Products designed to help you save

Visit your local branch or go to patelco.org to learn more about the benefits of becoming a member.

• 37 branches plus access to 6,000+ shared-service branches • 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide

Insured by NCUA

ARTS ´ CULTURE BEST ART GALLERY

BEST MUSIC VENUE

BEST BALLET SCHOOL

BEST OUTDOOR ART EVENT

ROUND WEATHER SHAWL ANDERSON BEST COVER BAND

TAINTED LOVE BEST DANCE INSTRUCTOR

MOMO LEBEAU BEST INDY FILMMAKER

BOOTS RILEY

THE FOX

READERS PICKS

RESOLUTE Downtown Oakland’s street art tells a million stories.

FIRST FRIDAY

BEST OUTDOOR MUSIC VENUE

GREEK THEATER

BEST PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

LESHER CENTER BEST PERFORMING DANCE COMPANY

OAKLAND BALLET COMPANY

BEST LOCAL BAND

BAUS

BEST MEDIA PERSONALITY: TV, RADIO, PRINT

MICHAEL KRASNY BEST MOVIE THEATER

GRAND LAKE THEATER

BEST PLACE TO DANCE

ASHKENAZ

BEST VIRTUAL DANCE STUDIO

HIPLINE

10

INSIDE LANDS

BEST RECORD ⁄ CD STORE

AMOEBA

BEST VIRTUAL FESTIVAL

AUTUMN LIGHTS

BEST VIRTUAL BALLET COMPANY

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET

BEST VIRTUAL FILM FESTIVAL

BEST VIRTUAL COMEDY NIGHT

COMEDY OAKLAND

BEST VIRTUAL SYMPHONY

OAKLAND SYMPHONY

FRAMELINE

BEST MUSEUM

OAKLAND MUSEUM

BEST VIRTUAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

BEST VIRTUAL LGBTQ EVENT

OAKLAND PRIDE

BEST VIRTUAL THEATER TROUPE ⁄ PERFORMANCE

BERKELEY REP

EAST BAY MAGAZINE | EASTBAYMAG.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

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Be unique, Be you.

At St. Paul’s Towers, at this unconventional time, you can define community living in your own way.

Even with physical distancing, you can be a vital part of a community that solicits opinions, listens to all voices, and respects individuals.

Join a community that supports and stimulates, communicates and cares. Engage your way at St. Paul’s Towers.

For a virtual tour or to learn more, please call or visit our website.

510.891.8542 www.covia.org/st-pauls-towers

A not-for-profit community owned and operated by Covia Communities. License No. 011400627 COA #327

BEAUTY, HEALTH ´ WELLNESS THANK YOU Hands down, the healthcare workers have earned high praise.

Celebrating

Health Workers H

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for months on end, but doing daily laundry, decontaminating any shared surface touched, gathering meals left for her on the stairway as if for a feral animal, eating alone and following strict, Zoom-attendance-only protocol at family and holiday celebrations. She and other healthcare workers exemplify the best of humanity.

Hallelujah for the people across the country who nightly stood on their balconies to cheer healthcare workers coming off their shifts, and to the neighbors who held howling festivals on front porches in bursts of community togetherness that defied the cleaving power of Covid. Following more traditional channels, faith communities worshipped online. More than one church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other worship center devised

special task forces to better serve their members and all people who lacked access to the internet, but desired access to a higher power. Youth groups realigned annual mission trips abroad or to Mexico or South America and focused their energy at home: preparing meals and supply kits for the homeless, serving at food banks and kitchens, shopping for house-bound seniors or people with physical disabilities and more. Praise-worthy investment in the local community’s welfare and social-justice issues resulted in a surge of virtual conferences, panels, expert presentations and Zoom gatherings or outdoor rallies addressing antiracism and allyship, restorative justice practices, inequities in education, policing, mental health stigmas and more. —Lou Fancher

PHOTO BY JAVED ANEES, WIKICOMMONS

umanity’s best—hands down and (eventually, finally) dressed in gowns with proper PPE—were the heroes serving in Bay Area hospitals, clinics, community health centers and testing sites, homeless encampments and other locations. These were folks who, during the pandemic, brought public service to a higher level, often putting their own health at great risk.

Their decision to work was fueled by economics, but also by what seemed to be an otherworldly, altruistic factor that streamed through their veins and arteries. A friend of mine’s wife is an emergency room nurse who made the choice to isolate from her husband and children. She lived in the same home with her family like a paranoid, not only sequestering herself in a separate room

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Family owned. Family operated.

Family owned. Family operated.

Oldest auto repair shop in America.

Oldest auto repair shop in America.

Free in-person and virtual estimates All vehicles sanitized before delivery 110 10TH STREET • OAKLAND • (510) 836-2535 • ARTHANDSON.COM

BEAUTY, HEALTH ´ WELLNESS BEST ACUPUNCTURIST

MAMIE CHOW L.AC. BEST ALCOHOL ⁄ DRUG REHABILITATION

AA

BEST ALLERGIST

COLUMBIA ASTHMA & ALLERGY BEST ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY

ST. PAUL’S TOWERS

BEST CHIROPRACTOR

DR. TERESA LAU

BEST ENDODONTIST

BEST LASIK EYE SURGERY

BEST ESTHETIC DENTIST

BEST LOCAL HOSPITAL

JASON R. CALVERT DDS LAKE MERRITT DENTAL BEST EYE LASH EXTENSIONS AND ⁄ OR BROW ENHANCEMENTS

COCOON URBAN DAY SPA BEST FULL-SERVICE BEAUTY SALON

ROCKRIDGE DAY SPA

VIBRANT BODY WELLNESS

BEST HAIR SALON BEST DAY SPA

PIEDMONT SPRINGS

KETER SALON

BEST DERMATOLOGIST

JASON FUNG, MD 14

KAISER PERMANENTE

ONE MEDICAL

BEST HOME HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

CENTER FOR ELDERS INDEPENDENCE

BEST PERSONAL TRAINER

KRISTIN RIOS BEST PHARMACY

PHARMACA BEST PLASTIC SURGEON

BEST MASSAGE SERVICES

JOANNE COSGROVE, CMT BEST NAIL SERVICES

NAVEANA

MICHAEL CEDARS MD FACS BEST SKIN CARE SPA

SKIN SPIRIT

BEST NUTRITIONIST

BEST TELE-HEALTH

BEST OB ⁄ GYN

DR. YVETTE GENTRY, MD

BEST URGENT CARE CENTER

BEST OPHTHALMOLOGIST

BEST VIRTUAL YOGA STUDIO

SRINIKA HEALING

EAST BAY WOMEN’S HEALTH

BEST HEALTH CARE CLINIC

BEST DENTIST

OAKLAND ECO DENTAL

BERKELEY OPTOMETRY

READERS PICKS

DR. MELANIE L. HOM, MD

ONE MEDICAL GOLDEN GATE URGENT CARE

SQUARE ONE YOGA

BEST PEDIATRICIAN

DR. ANDREA LEE, MD KAISER PERMANENTE ALAMEDA

BEST WAXING STUDIO

LUNCH BOX

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SPONSORED CONTENT

Customize Your Trash Service

Bay Area Bin Support Can Help You

T

he pandemic has created another set of problems for landlords and property managers – trash. Trash and cardboard has increased exponentially for apartment complexes with residents now staying and working from home. Building management is usually left to figure out how to manage this sudden increase of trash volume and cardboard boxes cluttering their trash rooms and enclosures. The services provided

by Bay Area Bin Support (BABS) are far from “one size fits all,” explained Nancy Fiame, who, with her husband Junior, founded the first ever push & pull company in 2015. “We figure out what trash issues your property is facing and we help fix it.” said Fiame, citing the accommodations required for everything from senior citizen living facilities to Cal Berkeley student housing.

The BABS team focuses on improving cleanliness in trash areas, removing illegal dumping, junk hauling, pressure washing, doorstep trash collection valet services and more. For properties with large onsite compactors, Bay Area Bin Support will transport the dumpster bins from one part of the property to the compactor, empty the bins, compact, and then place back.

In fact, BABS customizes its waste maintenance services for all the properties it serves, including apartment complexes, multi-family buildings, and commercial sites. This includes “pushing or pulling” bins and/or trash compactors to proper street pick-up positions, returning them after being emptied by city trucks, and ensuring areas are clean afterwards. The junk hauling service BABS introduced in spring 2020 has now become an important part of their offerings, as tenants and residents use time at home to clean out their residences—and much of what they don’t want winds up on the street.

The amount of recycling has also substantially increased. People are ordering much more online and discarding the packaging. “Some properties actually need service both mornings and evenings,” said Fiame. “We can do that.”

Before H

After H

Property managers and commercial property owners face multiple fees and fines if their trash and recycling are not stored and disposed of correctly. “By bringing in a professional service that knows the local laws and guidelines, we can help our clients stay in front of the situation, as well as save time and money,” said Fiame. “We know all the do’s and don’ts.”

The increased cleanliness, hygiene and tidiness BABS clients experience benefits an entire community. “These are quality-of-life issues,” noted Fiame. “Good and regular maintenance discourages bad behavior, such as illegal dumping, and rewards good behavior.”

The first of its kind in the Bay Area, BABS now covers 18 Bay Area cities and serves more than 400 properties.

Demand has only continued to grow, as pandemic-related issues cause changes in waste management needs. The company has responded by adding and training additional employees, who remain at the heart of BABS’ commitment to great—and safe—service.

For more information, visit bayareabinsupport.com or call 888.920.2467

CANNABIS COMPASSIONATE TEACHERS The Hattans spend much of their time educating the public about a plant they’ve come to love and respect.

Cannabisfor

Fiddling Around N

obody knows the world of the cannabis dispensary better than Cameron Hattan, though he hasn’t

ever owned or operated a dispensary and doesn’t want to. For years, he was a cannabis cultivator. Now he’s a cannabis salesman extraordinaire who works

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with rural farmers and brings their products to distant urban markets.

“Getting weed on the shelves of a dispensary is one of the most difficult things in the world,” Cameron tells me.

“The cannabis industry is like no other.

You can’t use banks or credit cards.

Everything has to be in cash.

“For years, I knocked on a dozen California dispensary doors a day. I’ve been to hundreds of them. In the early days, many kids who worked behind the counter had no retail experience, though they had smoked dope.”

Cameron pauses for a moment and catches his breath. “Prior to the

»

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SERVICES SAFELY DELIVERED

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CANNABIS

READERS PICKS

FIT AS A FIDDLE Fiddler’s Greens is available at 7 Stars, in Richmond, and at QualiCann, an Oaklandbased cannabis-delivery service.

«

passage of Prop. 64 in 2016, dispensaries were poorly marked and hard to find. After Prop. 64, purchasing shelf space became the norm. If you didn’t pay, your products weren’t carried or were stacked in a dark corner.”

For nearly a decade, Cameron and his wife, Shannon, grew marijuana for the medical cannabis market ushered in by Prop. 215, which voters approved in 1996. The Hattans were the first licensed cannabis growers in Sonoma County, focusing primarily on CBDdominant strains. When their business expanded, they partnered with other “legacy” growers and grew a portfolio under the “Fiddler’s Greens” brand which they created. It’s thriving, as is their distribution company, “High Tide.”

Shannon Hattan grew up in Texas and attended Texas A&M. In the mid-1990s, for a class project, she did research on cannabis, which led her down a rabbit hole and into the marijuana Wonderland. She met

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Cameron in the Virgin Islands, where he worked as a bartender after a stint with the Marines.

A long and winding road brought them to Northern California, where they began to cultivate cannabis for their own health and wellness. They are a rare breed, indeed, who transitioned to the regulated market that decimated a thriving community of cannabis farmers.

Now, the Hattans spend much of their time educating the public about a plant they’ve come to love and respect.

Their compassion makes them ideal teachers. The bottom line: try Fiddler’s Greens weed, which is available through 7 Stars in Richmond and QualiCann, an Oakland-based cannabis-delivery service. If your East Bay dispensary doesn’t carry products from Fiddler’s Greens, ask for them and tell them the Hattans sent you. —Jonah Raskin Jonah Raskin is the author of “Marijuanaland: Dispatches from an American War.” He writes the cannabis column for the North Bay Bohemian and the Marin Pacific Sun.

BEST CANNABIS DELIVERY

FARMACY

BEST CANNABIS LABEL

NUG

BEST CBD PRODUCT

BERKELEY PATIENTS GROUP BEST CURBSIDE SERVICE

HARBORSIDE BEST DISPENSARY

BERKELEY PATIENTS GROUP BEST EDIBLES

KIVA

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I am a Father & Grandfather I am a gardener I am a retired backpacker I am a believer in baseball & jazz Larry Miller, Resident at The Point in Rockridge

Our community is full of great people like Larry.

Come live where your independence can thrive and assistance is readily available.

BEST

of Oakland 2019

Will Bucquoy Photography

Will Bucquoy Photography

4500 Gilbert St., Oakland 510.658.9266 ThePointAtRockridge.com

Sonoma Wine Country’s most spectacular vineyard setting Lunch, Dinner & Weekend Brunch | 9900 Sonoma Highway (CA12), Kenwood | 707.833.6326 | saltstonekenwood.com

Voted Best Outdoor Dining – Press Democrat

EVERYDAY SOULFUL Bryant Terri’s book ‘Vegetable Kingdom’ tops our Best Of.

Books

We Love

B

est of Everyday applies to the little things that made each day of pandemic lockdown a little more bearable: Grocery stores that limited the amount of toilet paper each customer could buy at one time, thus putting the brakes on hoarders and saving the rest of us from … using copy paper or this newspaper for purposes other than originally intended.

The Bay Area’s diverse culinary industry also supported underserved communities and many, many, healthcare workers with meals; often at some cost or barely breaking even, but nonetheless doing it to keep their staff gainfully employed.

And then there were books and independent booksellers. Reading became equivalent to travel. For example: In one week it was possible to journey

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worldwide on a research ship to an imagined alternative life with Nora Seed, the protagonist in author Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, visit chef and cookbook author Bryant Terry’s diasporic Vegetable Kingdom and take a liberating weekend spin through San Francisco and the 1980s in writer, historian, feminist and activist Rebecca Solnit’s searing memoir, Recollections of My Nonexistence. The country’s oldest Black-owned bookstore, Oaklandbased Marcus Books, came on strong with an extensive offering of the best of titles for all ages addressing racism, antiracism, allyship and more. Of course, this was only the tip of the shop’s literary iceberg, for customers could order from every genre to fill the long days and even longer nights with beloved classics, poetry, nonfiction, biographies, cookbooks, short

story collections, anthologies and more.

Other East Bay bookstores not to be outdone or overlooked by any stretch include A Great Good Place for Books, Mrs. Dalloway’s, Moe’s Books, Walden Pond Books, Pegasus Books, Owl and Company Bookshop, Books Inc., Orinda Books (Orinda), Rakestraw Books (Danville) and others. Many supplemented their considerable book stock with Zoom and online author talks and virtual, interactive writing workshops.

Regardless of income or any classification other than cardholding status—free for all—libraries made it possible for everyone to experience the best of escapes through reading, films and much more. Books made an unbearable year … bearable.

—Lou Fancher

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YOU NOTICED!

PORT R AITS

Visit www.nanphelps.com/offers

nan@ nanphelps.com | 510.528.8845 | 398 Colusa Ave., Berkeley

All of us at The Floor Store are proud and grateful that you have seen fit to vote us the East Bay’s 2021 Best in Carpeting and Flooring.

For more than thirty years, it has been our goal and our mission to be the Bay Area’s first choice in flooring.

Thank you for recognizing our efforts.

YOUR BAY AREA FLOORING AUTHORITY

ALBANY CONCORD DUBLIN SAN RAFAEL SANTA ROSA SAN FRANCISCO SAN CARLOS SUNNYVALE SAN JOSE

www.FloorStores.com

EVERYDAY BEST AC ⁄ HEATING SERVICE

ATLAS HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING BEST ACCOUNTANT

DEBORAH FISHER FISHER & COMPANY LLC

BEST ATTORNEY—CRIMINAL

BEST AUTO DEALER

BEST ATTORNEY—DIVORCE

BEST AUTO DETAILING

LEE MARANTO GERARD A. FALZONE

BEST ATTORNEY—FAMILY LAW BEST AD AGENCY

JOHN MCNEIL STUDIO

SARAH SUMMERALL

BEST ANTIQUE SHOP

BEST ATTORNEY— INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

BEST ART SUPPLY STORE

BEST ATTORNEY— LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

MIXED PICKLES FLAX ART & DESIGN

BRAND & BRANCH

BEST ATTORNEY—CANNABIS

SELNA PARTNERS BEST ATTORNEY—CIVIL

EMILY DAHM

BONJOUR THORMAN, BURNS & DAHM LAW FIRM 22

ALBANY SUBARU CLASSY AND CLASSIC AUTO DETAIL

BEST BOOKSTORE—USED

WALDEN POND BOOKS BEST CAREER ⁄ LIFE COACH

ANNA SCOTT BEST CASINO

BEST AUTO REPAIR

ART’S AUTOMOTIVE

NUGGET CASINO RESORT BEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

BEST BARBER

DAX LEE’S BARBER & APOTHECARY

BERKELEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

BEST CLEANING SERVICE BEST BART STOP

ROCKRIDGE

EMILY AND JJ’S CLEANING

BEST BIKE SHOP

BEST CLOTHING ALTERATIONS

LUNSKI & STIMPERT LLP

BEST BODY-ART ⁄ PIERCING PLACE

BEST MEN’S CLOTHING STORE

BEST ATTORNEY— TRUSTS AND ESTATES

BEST BOOKSTORE—NEW

DAN FEINBERG

FEINBERG, JACKSON, WORTHMAN & WASOW

BEST ATTORNEY—BUSINESS

BRIAN A. RIPLEY

READERS PICKS

BEST ATTORNEY— REAL ESTATE

ANDREW MCCLELLAND

KATHLEEN A. HUNT UNIQUE LAW

TIP TOP BIKE SHOP INDUSTRIAL WALDEN POND BOOKS

BERKLAND CLEANERS

STANDARD AND STRANGE

BEST WOMEN’S CLOTHING STORE

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BEST

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EVERYDAY

TRAIN SPOTTING A westbound BART train approaching the East Bay’s best station in Rockridge, Oakland.

BEST COSTUME ⁄ FESTIVAL APPAREL SHOP

BERKELEY HAT CO.

BEST CULINARY STORE

PRESERVED

BEST CURBSIDE SERVICE BEST COVID CURBSIDE SERVICE

MARKET HALL FOODS

ROCKRIDGE MARKET HALL

LESLEY EVERS BEST COWORKING OFFICE SPACE

BEST FABRIC STORE

TEMESCAL WORKS BEST CREDIT UNION

BEST FINANCIAL ADVISOR

EMILY BACH

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BEST JEWELRY STORE

BEST FLOWER SHOP

WISTERIA

BEST LOCAL BANK—BUSINESS

BEST FRAMING SHOP

CHEAP PETE’S

BEST LOCAL BANK—CONSUMER

BEST GIFT SHOP

BEST LOCALLY MADE RETAIL PRODUCT

URBAN INDIGO

PAVE

MECHANICS MECHANICS

OAKLANDISH

BEST GREEN BUSINESS

MUDLAB

BEST GROCERY STORE

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REAL-LIFE ROSIE The contributions of the Rosies were slowly forgotten after the war, and they were never properly recognized.

Good As

Gold Congressional Gold Medal honors real ‘Rosie the Riveters’

BY Janis Hashe

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P

hyllis Gould is now 99. But she was only 20, married and with a baby, when she went to work in the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond as a welder, becoming one of an estimated six million American women who fulfilled vital roles in the effort to win World War II. Website history.com records that between 1940 and 1945, the percentage of women in the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to 37 percent.

Phyllis was not the only member of

her family who became what came to be called a “Rosie the Riveter.” Her sister, Marian Sousa, now 94, moved down in 1942 from the family home in Oregon, first to help her sister with childcare, then, after completing a six-week course in engineering drawing at UC Berkeley, taking a job at the shipyards revising blueprints. She made $35 a week, “which was a good salary in those days,” she said. Eventually, Phyllis and Marian were joined by another sister and their mother, who also became Rosies.

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Despite the acute need, their paths weren’t easy. “My husband was opposed to my working,” Phyllis said. But she attended welding class at Richmond High School anyway, and then traveled to Oakland to a hiring hall, where she was told she had to be a member of the Boilermakers Union. Male union officials refused to allow her to apply, until, one day, in tears at another refusal, she met a man who told her, “Go back and ask again.” She did, and was finally admitted to the union.

Even then, on the job, she was relegated to low-skill tasks, until she told her boss she could do a vertical weld—and did one. “He gave in at that point,” she said, and Phyllis began welding the three-story deckhouses, part of the “Victory Ships” being mass assembled in the shipyards. By the time the war was over, she was a Navycertified welder, “which is as high as you could go,” she said.

But, like almost all the women working in the war effort, both Phyllis and Marian went back to their homes after the war, raised families and never re-entered the workforce. Slowly, the contributions of the Rosies were forgotten—and they were never recognized as they should have been, both sisters agree.

Decades passed, until in the 1990s, Richmond City Council–member Donna Powers called attention to the number of former Rosies still living in the area, and pushed for the creation of

All the day long, Whether rain or shine, She’s a part of the assembly line.

She’s making history, Working for victory, Rosie—rrrrrrrrr— the Riveter.

— POPULAR SONG RECORDED

BY KAY KYSER

a national monument honoring their service. “I wrote letters, starting with President Clinton,” said Phyllis. Just before leaving office, Clinton signed the certification for the Rosie the Riveter National Memorial and for other sites throughout Richmond. In 2000, the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park was established in Richmond.

Yet, there was still more to do. Mae Krier, of Pennsylvania, who had worked building B-17s and B-29s during the war, joined forces with Phyllis to lobby for the creation of a national “Rosie the Riveter Day.” The idea did not gain traction, but another one, the striking of a Congressional Gold Medal honoring the Rosies, did.

Even that effort was a long struggle, said Tammy Brumley, who has acted as the park’s “Rosie Wrangler” since 2012.

“Phyllis writing and calling, Mae

hitting the floors of Congress to petition. There’s nothing like meeting a real-life Rosie, handing you a red-andwhite polka-dot bandana she sewed herself and then being asked to sign onto the bill,” Brumley said.

Phyllis recalled writing reams of letters and feeling a little discouraged.

Finally, she wrote one to then-Vice President Joe Biden, adding a P.S., “I want a big Biden hug.” She got that hug, as did several Rosies, including Marian and Mae, when they were invited to the White House. There, they met not only Biden, but President Obama, who revealed his grandmother had worked in the defense effort.

There was now support at the highest level for the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal, including from Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, and California Congressmember Jackie Speier. There was also general agreement that many women who served did not identify themselves as “Rosies” because they didn’t do riveting work or they weren’t white.

Brumley told a story of her husband’s 94-year-old aunt, who, when asked, “Weren’t you a Rosie?” replied, “No, I didn’t rivet—I painted bombs in a munitions factory in Arkansas.” Said Marian Sousa, “Black women thought they didn’t belong because they weren’t allowed to join the unions.” Phyllis related the true story of a 7th-grade girl whose essay on “Rosie the Riveter” as a female hero received an “F” because,

»

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Sisters Phyllis Gould and Marian Sousa.

«

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Ambassadors,” who, when the park reopens to visitors, will continue to greet and tell stories of the Home Front on Fridays. This will also pay tribute to dedicated Rosie Ambassador Agnes Moore, who passed away in January 2021, just short of her 101st birthday.

“We love seeing the school groups, the 4th graders who are learning about American history,” Marian said.

“There’s great joy in speaking to people, and also hearing their stories.”

The event will also include “FundA-Need,” an online auction supporting the park and trust that is even more vital in a time of pandemic. Work has continued even during this time, with a 15-minute documentary about the Rosie Ambassadors currently in postproduction, according to park Marketing Director Lisa Foote. The film will show at the park’s visitor center when it reopens, and will also be available online.

For more information about the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, the Rosie the Riveter Trust and the upcoming events supporting them, visit rosietheriveter.org.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LISA FOOTE

the teacher told her, “She isn’t real.”

Finally, in November 2020, both houses of Congress passed the bill authorizing the creation of a Congressional Gold Medal honoring the Rosies, which would be placed in the Smithsonian. President Trump signed the bill in December 2020. Rep. Speier asked Phyllis to contribute ideas for the design.

“I suggested it portray five female faces; white, Black, Asian, Latino and Native American, of different ages,” she said. “Everyone was included.” The medal is currently being designed.

From April 1–11, the Rosie the Riveter Trust, which supports the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, will toast the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor with a virtual celebration. On April 11, virtual visitors can hear online from the “Rosie

Like the park’s exhibits, the documentary will not shy away from some of the “uncomfortable aspects” of the war effort. The park’s exhibits and films include information about the internment of Japanese Americans, and the oldest active ranger in the National Park Service, Betty Reid Soskin, has achieved national notice for her efforts to tell the story of Black women who served.

Proceeds from the auction, and another event planned for September, will support other park programs as well, including the Rosie Service Core, a summer program for girls, in which they learn about trades that could lead to career paths. “We are also partnering with the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Contra Costa County,” Foote said.

She noted that there’s still time for people to interview family members who participated in the war effort, document their histories and gift them to the park. Photos are especially precious and will be preserved.

As for Phyllis Gould: She still has plans. She hasn’t given up on the idea of a national holiday honoring the Rosies—she would like it to be March 21, her mother’s birthday—and she wants to see plaques mounted on the Bay Trail next to the park, naming and saluting many more Rosies.

And truthfully, in the spirit of “We Can Do It!”—don’t bet against her.

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family PLAY BECKONS Give in to the call to frolic with your little one this spring.

Kid Nation O

f all the places available in the Bay Area for young ones to express themselves fully, out-of-the-house still ranks No. 1 with parents. With the dangers of Covid-19 lurking in the air, it may be difficult to find safe and fun places for little legs to run amok, little hands to explore and little minds to expand. Fortunately, the season is getting warm, and the opportunities for exploration and respite have begun to bloom in full.

Oakland’s Children’s Fairyland re-opens on March 19th. Founded in 1948, the favorite playground for tots and toddlers for over 70 years remains a great destination for parents on sunny days. The newly reopened park promises family fun while following the current

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safety guidelines. www.fairyland.org San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center for Art and Culture presents the Fort Mason Flix movie drive-in. Familyoriented fare, like James and The Giant Peach and Disney’s Cars, are projected on a large screen, giving even the busiest parent the option of running their ward through the vast grounds of Fort Mason, or sneaking in a nap to the soothing tunes of Finding Dory or The Princess and The Frog. www.fortmason.org Oakland Zoo has reopened. Located at the lower entrance of the zoo, the Wayne and Gladys Valley Children’s Zoo encourages children to learn through exploration and play, with animal attractions like lemurs, rabbits, alligators and a petting yard of the most fascinating animals our ecosystem has

to offer. Be sure to show up around the “chow times” so your kids can learn about conservation and sustainability, or become an Earth Agent member for more outdoor fun all year round. www. oaklandzoo.org For a more serene but no less physically taxing experience, the University of California Botanical Garden is open for business (https://

botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu). Requiring a reservation for attendance does not take away from the spontaneous experience of taking in exotic flora with a new set of eyes by your side. The same is true for San Francisco Botanical Garden as well, where garden crafts, bug hunts in the Children’s Garden and story time will keep your little ones entertained. www.sfbg.org —D. Scot Miller

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Fearless, We Pursue

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appeal. Owner Laurel Davis’ genuinely novel idea—which at first seems counterintuitive—was to make each donut smaller.

Davis explained the origin story behind her approach. “The thing that always bothered me as a kid was going back into a box of donuts, maybe in the afternoon, and you look inside and all those beautiful pastries now just look like a mess,” she says. One donut winds up on top of another one. For her, it wasn’t appetizing to the eye. “Not only do I love the way food tastes,” she says, “I also love the way it looks.”

In 2012, she opened Donut Savant in downtown Oakland on a month-tomonth lease. “I just wanted to elevate the product and the experience of the shop,” she says, adding that, “In a lot of people’s minds it’s kind of lowbrow.”

Everything is made from scratch. “We use the best quality ingredients that we

can and we make small batches in-house throughout the day so that everything is very fresh.”

Her second sensible reason for downsizing was this—apple fritters and maple bars are huge. Yes, you could eat one of them by yourself, but after that a sense of gluttony can easily set in. The serving sizes at Donut Savant aren’t disappointing. They’re bigger than petit fours. Yet they do share similar qualities. For donuts, they’re dainty and pretty, but just as satisfying as the ones at other shops that are the size of fists.

“We’re making them a little bit smaller so that you can have two or three different things,” Davis says. “You can have five apple fritters if that’s what you wanted to do.”

Ms. Davis knows exactly what I want to do. —Jeffrey Edalatpour Donut Savant, 3000 38th Ave., Oakland.

510.9.SAVANT. donutsavant.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DONUT SAVANT

efore the recent grand reopening of Donut Savant in the Allendale, the DS website posted a tantalizing video teaser. For several weeks you could click on donutsavant.com to find moving footage of batter frying in baskets of hot oil. The approach was subtle and enticing. Instead of a large declarative font announcing an exact opening date, virtual visitors enjoyed a visual and auditory preview of what was to come. I checked the site at least once a week to substitute an ASMR experience for my actual donut cravings.

After the doors opened in November, the site removed the frying video.

Now the lead image is a horizontal row of donuts featuring the tagline, “We’re redefining donuts in Oakland California.” Animated logos from a variety of food publications back up the claim of their wide-ranging

36

DO-NO WRONG No matter which one you pick, you’ve picked the right one.

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HOME IMPROVEMENT STAY-AT-HOME More people invested time and money in their gardens this year.

Building Up

Your Home Alone

A

dmittedly, the best trends in home improvement during 2020 resulted from being locked up like pandemic prisoners in our homes. Even so, shelterin-place incarceration and the necessity of clean hands gave cause for celebratory, socially distanced shopping at locally owned hardware stores such as Telegraph Hardware, Cole Hardware, Ellis Ace Hardware, Montclair Village Hardware, Moraga Hardware and others. Mud rooms and entryways that were once filled with, well, muddy stuff, were transformed by home-dwellers into sparkling sanitation stations with antibacterial soaps, sprays, wipes, UV light blasters and other viralhating cleaning supplies and equipment.

Garden nurseries, especially because they often have outdoor shopping areas, had a heyday supplying newbie green thumbs with soil, tools, plants, knee pads, watering cans and other botanical whatnot. Expert advice delivered

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casually at the stores or in a generous blooming of online offerings flowed at East Bay nurseries including Annie’s Annuals and Perennials in Richmond, Oakland’s Broadway Terrace Nursery, Panting Justice’s garden shop and online market, popup nursery The Plant Plug, succulent-savvy Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek and East Bay farmer’s markets. Customers who once needed a map to find their way to their own backyards spent hours digging in the dirt, recreating miniature Gardens of Versailles or simply reveling in getting their hands dirty enough to make use of those spanking-new mud rooms. Along with botanical achievement, marvelous realizations occurred: Green beans grown in one’s own backyard taste superior to anything purchased in a can or a frozen-food container, or raw and “fresh” from a grocery-store bin. Oh yeah, and those farmers at the local farmer’s market? They sure do work hard for a

living. That, and every blossom, whether grown by a novice or a master gardener, is worthy of cheers.

Gyms and fitness centers were forced into lockdown for much of the year. Even short spells allowing socially distanced outdoor workouts or indoor, limitedcapacity openings were sporadic as Covid-19 waxed and waned. Good thing for some: no more $75 bucks a month drained from the bank account. Declaring themselves liberated forever from pumping iron in a cavernous warehouse with hundreds of sweaty, grunting people—or getting aerobic with the bouncy bouquet of a Zumba queen filling their nostrils—people turned garages into gyms. Competition for equipment was fierce, but diligence, enough money and a plethora of online sites for scrounging could land a home-gym rat with a rack and enough dumbbells to keep those biceps and pecs growing like the bougainvillea in the backyard. —Lou Fancher

EAST BAY MAGAZINE | EASTBAYMAG.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

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RECREATION

Backyard Getaways

NOISES OFF Nature calls for a few moments of silence in 2021.

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n the Bay Area, residents tend to heap praise upon the California redwoods further up North, but the majesty redwoods display in our own backyards is terribly underrated. As solitude and reflection force themselves into the center of our lives, this is the perfect time to reconnect with nature and ourselves. The East Bay offers plenty of opportunities.

Redwood Regional Park is a hidden redwood forest that lies off Redwood Road just a few miles over the ridge from downtown Oakland. The forest’s groves give scant evidence of the park's flourishing past—in the mid-1800s the

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area was the scene of industrial logging to supply building materials for the San Francisco Bay Area. Thankfully, the logging era has passed, and 150-foot coast redwoods have replaced those cut down.

Hikers, bicyclists, joggers and picnickers from all over the Bay Area call the 500-acre Joaquin Miller Park their destination for recreation. The woodland trails lead through redwood groves and oak woodlands and across creeks and meadows. It is one of the few open space areas in the City of Oakland where dogs are allowed—on leash— throughout the park.

Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserves’ 240 acres boast a wide

diversity of native plants. Flower enthusiasts can take a self-guided, 1.7mile tour that winds through a variety of terrains. The trail is open daily, from dawn to dusk.

Next to the hum and industry of Oakland International Airport lies the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, a 741-acre park leased from the Port of Oakland that protects the remainder of a once-extensive marshland at San Leandro Bay. Meditative walks contemplating the dissonance between the slow constant of nature and the rapid pace of humanity are highly recommended.

—East Bay Express Staff

EAST BAY MAGAZINE | EASTBAYMAG.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

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GRIND Make the bowl your goal at the Berkeley Skate Park.

Located at Harrison Park, the 18,000-square-foot park has long welcomed beginners and aspiring Tony Hawks alike.

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ROMANCE

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TOWN FAVORITES These local lipsticks are 2021 make-up staples.

PrettyPandemic T

here were endless, politically burdened, proor-con statements made ABOUT masks in 2020.

Happily, for people choosing to MAKE a statement with a mask, the options were equally generous. A tightly curated list had the best masks paired with deep hometown love for Oaklanders. From the city boosterism of designs available at Oaklandish to Oakland Museum of California’s lively masks made by Mixed Bag Sewing seamstress and local artisan Joslyn Lacy to the Crucible’s bevy of artists who pivoted from other activities to make masks, customers were able to express civic pride upfront and with style.

For sheer beauty, the best masks came from Sonson. The private label fashion brand, helmed by Rashima Sonson,

introduced 3-layered woven cotton face coverings with anti-bacterial and antiviral finishing, adjustable nose bridges, pocket filters for extra protection, matching headband and mask sets, kids masks and more—all arriving in bold, African-Inspired patterns or sophisticated-yet-subtle geometric designs and solid tones.

Of course, masks made it possible to dress up without the lipstick.

People who saved money on everyday lip coloration bought from a local pharmacy or big-box store had reason to splurge on GLŌGIRL Cosmetics’ custom line. Founder Tosca Hillman applies her extensive knowledge gained during her years in the makeup industry with a desire to produce cosmetics that reflect the diverse beauty

of women “on a global scale.” The results? Soixante Neuf (French for the number 69), a stunning, deep-wine lipstick, or Ciao Bella, a smoldering, orange-nude lipstick. And there are Boss Gloss applications, from Lo Key to Backyard Boogie to Liquid Fudge.

Most traditional for a one-color-fitsall application might be the Lip Drip BBQ, a fiery-red liquid lip smacker.

GLŌGIRL Cosmetics currently ships from the Bay Area to all 50 states and plans to expand to worldwide distribution. Which means that for those moments when a mask isn’t part of your makeup and for future days when masks are a mere relic of this public health crisis—now is the best time to jump on the GLŌGIRL lip ship and sail. —Lou Fancher MARCH/APRIL 2021 | EASTBAYMAG.COM | EAST BAY MAGAZINE

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