Danville Today News, July 2013.

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Danville Poets Society: Sharing the Art of Linguistic Alchemy By Jody Morgan

Members of the Danville Poets Society (Poets Society) meet monthly to share their passion for spinning simple words into complex threads of meaning. Initiated in the late 1980s as an adjunct to the Danville Area Cultural Alliance (DACA), the Poets Society originally exhibited framed poems for sale in the gallery space DACA leased from the town above the Village Theatre. When the second-story fine arts gallery closed and DACA disbanded, founding member Paul Sheckler kept the Poets Society going.

During the time the Poets Society operated under the DACA umbrella, the group published a number of anthologies and also sponsored poetry contests. Robert Eastwood, leader of the group for the last ten years, learned about its existence when he entered some pieces of art work in a DACA exhibit. In addition to crafting poems, Eastwood draws and paints in acrylic, watercolor, and oil. When the town reclaimed the 233 Front Street space, Eastwood found space for society meetings in conference rooms, at local businesses and at members’ homes.

The workshop element once part of each meeting has yielded to the members’ prefer-ence for focusing on feedback. “I have always found that monthly meetings stimulate my writing and that I gain a great deal from the feedback,” Eastwood explains. “Poetry requires a discipline of revision, and the group input assists that necessary work.”

Susan Wilson agrees: “It’s important to have a poet’s community in which to share and trade poems and ideas. Writing is a solitary endeavor and it helps to con-nect with others who also love the act and the art of writing. Feedback on new work is also very valuable.”

Each month 8-10 of the 28 members gather for two hours, exclusive of social time before and after. Each poet brings two pieces to read aloud. Each in turn passes out copies of one of his or her poems to every member present. The group provides thoughtful criticism and enthusiastic encouragement following each reading. Line breaks and punctuation, order of concepts within the piece, phrases that capture the imagination, and images that need re-working are examples of what the discussion may include. Each member comments aloud in turn, but is also able to return the poem to the author with private written comments. Then the second round begins.

July 2013 Serving Danville

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ECRWSS

LocalPostal Customer

Volume IV - Number 93000F Danville Blvd. #117,

Alamo, CA 94507(925) 405-6397

Fax (925) 406-0547

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The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of Danville Today News.

Danville Today News is not responsible for the content of any of

the advertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.

See Poets continued on page 10

Poets Deborah Grossman, Robert Eastwood, and Jan Hersh take a quick meeting break. Photo by Jody Morgan.

June 1st was a historic day for the Bounty Garden as the community celebrated the grand opening of this service garden in Hap Magee Ranch Park. The Garden teaches volunteers to raise organic vegetables and all produce raised is donated to the Food Bank of Contra Costa. The Bounty Garden has already donated over 600 lbs. of vegetables from the winter test season and their off to a ‘bountiful’ start with summer just beginning. Pictured above are Chris Koenig with his daughters Tatum and Brooklyn. Photo by Rich Reed.

Totally TrainsTrains will be running through the depot in downtown Danville once

again. You may not be able to hop on board these locomotives, but your imagination will certainly be able to take a journey through the old glory days when railroads expanded horizons and changed the course of history.

The Museum of the San Ramon Valley presents the “Totally Trains” exhibit in the Freight Room from July 9 through August 18. The Mu-seum’s own Train Club has been reinvented with a new enthusiasm and dedication toward reviving the Museum’s train collection. First appearing in 2000, this layout was designed and constructed by an enthusiastic group of train buffs. In the ensuing years, outside train clubs were invited to display their layouts. The need to utilize the Museum’s collection in order to save it prompted the formation of the revitalized Train Club. The Club’s members have been meeting for over a year to bring this wonderful exhibit back to the Museum.

The Totally Trains exhibit features the Mu-seum’s collection of “O” Gauge trains. These

See Trains continued on page 7

www.yourmonthlypaper.comPage 2 - July 2013 ~ Danville Today News

Hartz & Prospect Avenues - Downtown Danville

Thursday, July 11 & August 8, 20136pm-9pm

street festivalt h u r s d a y n i g h t

Hosted by Discover Danville Association & the Town of Danville

Family fun for everyone!

Bistro dining Entertainment

Balloon artistry Kids activities

Bounce house SRV Museum train

Local business & community groups

www.DiscoverDanvilleCA.com

Boulevard ViewBy Alisa Corstorphine, Editor

On a stop at the library a couple months ago, I spotted a flyer noting author Michael Pollan would be speak-ing at the Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek. Having read many of his books, it seemed like a great opportunity to see this local legend in person.

Pollan was speaking about his latest book Cooked - A Natural History of Transformation, which I just finished reading. The book explores cooking and four elements - fire, water, air, and earth - which all help to “transform

the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink.” Every time I would sit down and read a few pages I’d get ravenously hungry, although it didn’t help that my reading time was usually early evening before dinner.

During the talk, Pollan noted that he felt that the acquiring of cooking skills is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children and to ourselves.

I’ve said it before, and the book reinforced the fact, that as a culture and society we have divided labor and outsourced many tasks that were skills that were once offered in the schools, such as cooking, sewing, “home ec,” wood shop, metal shop, auto shop, and electronics. Our high school even had a semester long course entitled “Living on Your Own” which covered things like how to fill out a check and balance a checkbook, how to plan menus, and how to contact and sign up for utility service.

In Pollan’s book he notes how the specialization that we have acquired can be debilitating. He says, “It breeds helplessness, dependence, and ignorance, and eventually it undermines any sense of responsibility.” I think many have lost the puzzle pieces and building blocks to repair, build, and even create what they need. In many ways we’ve become unconsciously lazy, paying others to do things that our parents would have simply done for themselves. It’s not only expensive, it robs us of a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to let someone else have the fun of doing these things for us.

Our kids who have “left the nest” find that many of their peers lack any con-cept of cooking, favoring something that is quickly “zapped” in the microwave or comes to life by the addition of boiling water (AKA the young adult staple of Top Ramen). Learning to prepare food just wasn’t a priority in their homes growing up. We’re fortunate that each of our kids in their own way have embraced healthy eating and prepare many of their meals from scratch. Cooking is healthier than eating out, usually less expensive, often less time consuming, way more social, and much more satisfying on a personal level.

Our daughter moved into a home with four roommates and has started a “Taco Tuesday” tradition. She’s attempting to help the other girls get a sense of the satisfaction and pleasure derived from a meal everyone helps create. Looking through our favorite food website, www.foodgawker.com she stumbled upon a recipe for easy crockpot cooked chicken tacos (please see page 17 for the recipe) which has now become a staple. She’s enjoying the camaraderie, and the smells and the tastes of making her college kitchen like home, and her friends look for-ward to this weekly event.

The other day, our neighbors, who are downsizing, brought over a huge com-mercial grade soup pot that was too big for their current lifestyle. While I didn’t have a particular need in mind, I gladly accepted the sturdy pot. Not a week later I got an email from our oldest son who was looking for a large cooking pot, and I told him I had just the thing. While it might be oversized, it is a “lifetime” piece that he can use for years. Just in the last week the pot has been filled with Spanish rice and a big batch of chili which will be saved for his upcoming week of meals.

After reading Cooked, I am even more inspired to try fermenting some of my garden vegetables. I keep eyeing the stoneware crocks and think one of them is next on the list of gadgets for our kitchen. I think I’ll also try yet again to master a good sourdough, as we get back to making more of our own bread.

Pollan noted at the end of his talk, “I think we are being robbed of a terrific pleasure by not cooking. Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and self-reliance, learning to perform the magic of these everyday transformations, opens the door to a more nourishing life.” We, and a couple hundred others in attendance, completely agreed! If you get the chance, pick up one of Mr. Pollan’s books on food. His books are easy to read, interesting, and incredibly informative.

Check out more of the summer food themed “Reading is so Delicious!” library programs and events at http://nt-evanced.ccclib.org/evanced/sr/homepage.asp?ProgramID=3.

[email protected] Danville Today News ~ July 2013 - Page 3

Meals on WheelsSeniors in your community need your support!

Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services has been supporting seniors in YOUR neighborhood since 1968. Two of our programs, Meals on Wheels and Friendly Visitors, rely on the support of volunteers, and we need your help now more than ever. Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers deliver meals to local home-bound seniors through regular two hour shifts once per week or as substitute drivers. Friendly Visitors volun-teers provide weekly one-hour companionship visits to isolated seniors. To volunteer for either program, please call (925)937-8311.

Summer Evening EntertainmentThe Town of Danville welcomes back the Moonlight Movie series this summer

as a way to show appreciation to the residents. Offering a mix of animated, live action, new run, as well as classic movies, there is always something for every member of the family.

The films, which will be shown throughout the summer on the Town Green located at 400 Front Street, include the following:

July 12: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone July 26: UpAugust 9: The Avengers (2012)Crafts and activities for children will

start at 6:30PM with the movie following at sunset. Families are asked to bring a blanket and lawn chairs. Registration is not required.

For more information, please call (925) 314-3400 or visit www.danville.ca.gov.

| www.TeamCH.net |

Chris Campbell’s family has lived in Alamo for nearly 100 years. As a lifetime Alamo resident, Chris’ knowledge and affection for the area give him unique insight into the Alamo real estate

market and local community. Chris Campbell is your neighbor and Alamo’s Real Estate Expert!

Real Estate BrokerDRE Brokers License #01345618

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The Hay Days parade took place until the current 4th of July parade began in 1962 when Virginia Deaton organized a pet

parade, patriotic speeches, games for children and �reworks. Happy 4th of July, Alamo!

Chris Campbell driving Alamo resident and WWII Hero Joe Vender Haeghen who in 1943 was a B-17 Pilot in the 384th Bombardment Group of

the Eighth Air Force.

Alamo Home Sales – June 2011 Bed/Bath List Price Sale Price1401 Bernie Lane 3/2 $679,000 $685,000347 Bryan Drive 4/3 $1,199,000 $1,180,00010 Gran Via 3/3 $750,000 $680,000 80 N. Jackson Way 4/2 $968,000 $968,000 1524 Las Trampas Road 3/2 $750,000 $705,000 296 Livorna Heights Road 4/2 1/2 $969,000 $905,00063 Lupin Place 5/3 $1,149,900 $1,100,000107 Muir Lane 3/2 $1,099,000 $1,010,000554 Oakshire Place 5/4 1/2 $1,375,000 $1,310,00039 Shawn Court 4/2 1/2 $989,000 $910,0003424 Stone Valley Road 4/2 1/2 $1,090,000 $1,025,00010 Viejo Vista 4/3 $950,000 $885,0007 Woodhaven Court 3/2 1/2 $769,000 $750,000*All single family homes sold in Alamo 5/17/11 thru 6/24/11

Chris Campbell’s family has lived in Alamo for nearly 100 years. As a lifetime Alamo resident, Chris’ knowledge and affection for the area give him unique insight into the Alamo real estate

market and local community. Chris Campbell is your neighbor and Alamo’s Real Estate Expert!

Real Estate BrokerDRE Brokers License #01345618

925-838-5700 [email protected] ChrisCampbellRE.netDirect E-mail Web

®

Call us today for your complimentary staging and market analysis of your home!

Alamo’s Real Estate Expert

The Hay Days parade took place until the current 4th of July parade began in 1962 when Virginia Deaton organized a pet

parade, patriotic speeches, games for children and �reworks. Happy 4th of July, Alamo!

Chris Campbell driving Alamo resident and WWII Hero Joe Vender Haeghen who in 1943 was a B-17 Pilot in the 384th Bombardment Group of

the Eighth Air Force.

Alamo Home Sales – June 2011 Bed/Bath List Price Sale Price1401 Bernie Lane 3/2 $679,000 $685,000347 Bryan Drive 4/3 $1,199,000 $1,180,00010 Gran Via 3/3 $750,000 $680,000 80 N. Jackson Way 4/2 $968,000 $968,000 1524 Las Trampas Road 3/2 $750,000 $705,000 296 Livorna Heights Road 4/2 1/2 $969,000 $905,00063 Lupin Place 5/3 $1,149,900 $1,100,000107 Muir Lane 3/2 $1,099,000 $1,010,000554 Oakshire Place 5/4 1/2 $1,375,000 $1,310,00039 Shawn Court 4/2 1/2 $989,000 $910,0003424 Stone Valley Road 4/2 1/2 $1,090,000 $1,025,00010 Viejo Vista 4/3 $950,000 $885,0007 Woodhaven Court 3/2 1/2 $769,000 $750,000*All single family homes sold in Alamo 5/17/11 thru 6/24/11

The Hay Days parade took place until the current 4th of July parade began in 1962 when Virginia Deaton organized a pet parade, patriotic speeches, games for children and fireworks.

Jared Higgins(925) 487-2907

DRE# 01781054

Chris Campbell(925) 838-5700

DRE# 01354618

Happy 4th of July, Danville!

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Museum Volunteers Needed Looking to get involved in your community? The Museum

of the San Ramon Valley needs your help. Volunteer positions are available in the following areas:

• Greeters • Docents• Walking Tour Docents • Events Committee• Educational Programs (One Room School/Indian Life) Call Eve or Donna at 552-9693 or send an email to srvmu-

[email protected] for additional information.Danville Library Book Sale

Friends of the Danville Library will hold a sale of new and gently used books from July 26 to 28. Book categories include children’s, mystery, sci-fi, fiction, and non-fiction. We also have a wonderful array of cookbooks, art books, and vintage books. The event will be held at the Danville Library which is located at 400 Front Street in Danville.

• July 26 ~ 9 - 10AM members only; 10AM – 5PM public invited• July 27 ~ 10AM - 4PM public invited • July 28 ~ 12:05PM - 3:45PM Bag Day ($5/brown bag)


Lost Dog!

Danville Dog is MissingHe has become lost in this paper!

Sidney Kalin is our winner!

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.

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

Lost Dog! ~ Danville Today News3000F Danville Blvd #117 • Alamo, CA 94507

$50 REWARD

Contra Costa County Library’s Summer Reading Festival 2013Now through August 17

Savor and sample unlimited combinations and tantalizing selections at your local library with Contra Costa County Library’s Summer Reading Festival, “Reading is So Delicious,” a feast for all ages at your local library. Readers of all ages are invited to feed the imagination, indulge in an irresistible buffet of special events, and devour scrumptious books to earn sweet prizes all summer long!

Kids ages 2 through 5th grade can chomp on exciting books, fun crafts, and entertaining performances for Kids’ Summer Reading. Students in grades 6th - 12th can cook up mouth-watering prizes and activities with Teen Reading. Parents and caregivers of babies from birth to 2 years are also encouraged to participate and earn prizes by nibbling on a menu of early literacy-building activities for Baby Reading. Adult readers ages 18 and up can get their fill of Summer Reading with a chance to win a Booklover’s Bag full of goodies and enticing county-wide prizes by submitting a book review online at ccclib.org or at the your local library!

2013 Get to Know ContestLocal youth are encouraged to connect with nature through the 2013 Get to Know

Contest. The contest invites youth (19 years and under) to get outdoors and submit works of art, writing, photography, video or music inspired by their natural world.

Entries may be submitted online at GetToKnow.ca until November 1, 2013. Contest winners will receive prizes, including art supplies, books, outdoor gear, and cameras. For more information, visit GetToKnow.ca.

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2013 FHF Summer CampsFor the fifth consecutive year, Families Help-

ing Families (FHF) will be hosting fun-filled summer camps for local area children aged 3 to 6. FHF youth-counselors are looking forward to seeing familiar little faces and getting to know new campers as well as they take part together in a variety of games and arts-and-crafts activities.

FHF Summer Camps are a unique, positive, and activity-filled way for your little ones to experience the loving care and creativity of our all-volunteer team of youth and adult counselors, led by experienced elementary-school teacher Shannon Neach. Each day will feature a different theme:

• July 29 ~ Safari • July 30 ~ Sports • July 31 ~ Carnival • August 1 ~ Under-the-SeaCamp takes place at the Neach Residence at 547 El Pintado, Danville and the camp runs from 9AM to noon each day, at a cost of $30 per day per child.FHF Summer Camps are a substantial part of fundraising in support of the educational needs of low-income children with language-based learning disabilities, whose

fundamental reading and math skills lag far behind grade level. Education is “the great enabler,” and there are no greater enablers than reading fluency and math basics. For these middle and elementary school children, closing this learning gap is critical to their long-term success and to the overall health of our community.

Your donation will enable FHF to expand our inter-related, educational intervention services which include: Adult and youth-mentoring to build self-confidence and the experience of social inclusion; Funding of educational therapy and pediatric specialists; Funding of summer, residential programs that specialize in both academic and social development for children with ADHD, dyslexia and similar language-based learning disabilities.

We have already seen measurable results; with your help, we can continue to make a sustained difference to these children’s lives.The need is great for learning-disabled children in our community. By participating, you make possible a true win-win-win: your youngsters have a

blast, our volunteer youth-counselors grow through the experience, and the vital educational needs of our community’s children are met.Enroll your child for camp at www.fhfcommunities.org or by emailing [email protected].

Forest Home Farms Historic Park & Glass House Museum Come to Forest Home Farms Historic Park and the Glass House Museum for Fun on the Farm from 10AM

to 2PM on the second Saturday of each month. On these days you can step back in time to explore the site, enjoy tours, and participate in a free activity from days gone by.

On July 13 the theme for the day will be Splash of Water. Wear clothes that can get wet. This day is about exploring how we used water differently in days gone by. Roll up your sleeves and prepare to get splashed as you soak, scrub, rinse, and wring while doing laundry the old-fashioned way. Try pumping water with a hand pump. Discover how ice kept things cold in the days before electricity and where it came from. End your visit by squeezing your own lemonade and dropping in a few ice cubes to cool it off.

Tours of the restored Victorian Glass House Museum will be held at 10AM, 11AM, 12PM and 1PM, and tours of Forest Home Farms Historic Park, including the tractor museum, will be held at 11AM and 1PM. Each tour lasts approximately 45 minutes, and the fee is $5 per person or $8 for both tours taken on the same day. Tour tickets can be purchased in the Gift Shoppe. Children ages 2 and under are free.

For more information about Forest Home Farms Historic Park, call (925) 973-3284 or visit www.San-Ramon.ca.gov. Forest Home Farms Historic Park is located at 19953 San Ramon Valley Blvd., just south of Pine Valley Road in San Ramon.

Veterans of Foreign WarsThe next regularly scheduled meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the

United States (VFW) will be held on Wednesday, July 17th. The VFW Post 75 of San Ramon Valley meets every third Wednesday of the month at the Veterans Memorial Building located at 400 Hartz Avenue in Danville. The building is located on the corner of East Prospect Avenue and Hartz Avenue.

Doors open at 7PM, and the meeting begins at 7:30PM. For more informa-tion, contact Post Commander Ernie Petagara at (925) 362-9806. Find out more about the VFW and our Post on the internet at www.vfwpost75.org.

San Ramon Valley Genealogical SocietyThe 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. There will be a speaker at every meet-ing. Everyone is welcome.

For information, call Ed at (925) 299-0881, visit www.srvgensoc.org, or email [email protected].

Delta Nu PsiThanks to the generosity of our shoppers we have collected enough “Gour-

met Junk Food” to ship to our servicemen this month. Delta Nu Psi will not be holding a collection day in July. The group has now sent 1,092 boxes weighing 26,766 pounds to the War Zone. Cash for the postage is always necessary. For information or monetary donation visit deltanupsi.org for contact information.


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The San Ramon Slammers 11U baseball team took 1st place in the recently held Diablo 680 Pony League Championship Tournament. The Slammers pulled out four consecutive wins over two days to take the 2013 title.

Pictured above - Top Row: Coaches Greg Noble, Rob Rutchena, Brian Snow, Dave Geary, Craig Santa Maria. Middle Row: Jared Amigh, J.T. Noble, Nate Rutchena, Justin Geary, Anthony Santa Maria, Chipper Menard. Bottom row: Jake Snow, Kevin Harioka, Christian Luciano, Brandon Yan, Griffin Bloom, Brandon Louie, Quincy Poynter.

Casting call for Children of World War II Film A “Shout Out” looking for participants in an upcoming documentary which will

be beginning production soon!A documentary film production seeks people who were children during World War

II to share their experience as a child growing up during war time. The film (a 30 minute short form documentary) focuses on children living in the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding areas. Producers are seeking personal stories from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities. Participants will be asked to provide and bring supporting materials to assist in telling their story.

Production begins in late July. Send your contact information and a short summary describing your experience to [email protected]. Mike Paunovich, an award winning documentarian, will be conducting a follow up phone call with each participant to get to know each other before going on camera.

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Newcomers Club A Welcome Coffee is open to all who are

thinking of joining the Alamo-Danville New-comers Club. This casual get together is the perfect opportunity to learn about the many facets of the Newcomers.

Please contact us for the date of our next Coffee gathering. For more information visit www.alamo-danvillenewcomers.com, call (925) 281-1307, or email [email protected].


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Summer Reading ListBy Monica Chappell

If you’re more in the mood for a staycation than va-cation this summer, you can at least transport yourself in mind and spirit with a great wine read. Reading wine books will inspire you and help wrap your brain around the immense world of wine, and summer time is a perfect time to dig in. Here’s a list of a few books, both new and old, that will take you to some great wine regions or at least compel you with some fascinating wine tales. Pull

up your beach chair, pour a glass of something, and crack a book open.Books on Wine Worth a ReadJudgment of Paris by George M. Taber

The Paris Tasting of 1976 was recently put to film in the movie Bottle Shock.This is the book that tells the story of the first time the world realized that wine can be great – even from places-other-than-France.Wine and War by Donald Kladstrup and Petie Kladstrup

The Nazi occupation of France was a flurry of destruction. Wine is the jewel of France, and the Nazis had a lust for finery. During the 1940’s, French wine-makers came together to resist and protect their fragile world.Napa: The Story of an American Eden by James Conaway

You don’t have to leave the country to find a great wine tale. This book chronicles Napa Valley, the fortunes made there, and the wine dynasties that have emerged from it.The Billionaire’s Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace

A novel about one of the largest scams the wine world has ever seen. The story gets interesting when an American billionaire drops over $100,000 on a single bottle supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson. A page-turner made for a lazy summer day, this mystery is the true story of a 1787 Château Lafite Rothschild (Bordeaux).Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

This classic and widely read book (and movie) still holds up as a romantic read if Tuscany, Italy, is on your horizon.

Have you read any great wine books lately? Share with us at [email protected].

Blackhawk Automotive Museum LectureJ. Michael Hemsley, author of Art Deco and the Automobile, will be lecturing

at the Blackhawk Automotive Museum on Saturday, July 13 from 10am-noon.Hemsley retired from the US Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in

1994, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2001, and from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2008. As a freelance jour-nalist, he has reported on motorsports events at all levels of the sport and has written about automotive history and, especially, Alfa Romeo automobiles.

He is currently writing a book on all types of vehicles whose design was influenced by or reflects the Art Deco style. The working title for the book is Art Deco and Transportation.

The Blackhawk Automotive Museum, located in Blackhawk Plaza, Danville, opened in August 1988 to fulfill its mission of ensuring that significant automotive treasures blending art, technology, culture, and history would be exhibited for public enjoyment and educational enrichment. The Museum houses a rotating collection of 90 one-of-a-kind custom coachwork classic cars, limited production cars, and concept automobiles across two galleries. The Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institu-tion and is open year round, 10AM - 5PM, Wednesday through Sunday and most major holidays. For more information, visit www.blackhawkmuseum.org/calendar.html.

Hospice Volunteers Needed Hospice of the East Bay is seeking volunteers to assist Hospice patients

and their caregivers. Opportunities include: • Licensed Hair Stylists to offer hair cuts and styling• Certified Massage Therapists to provide massage therapy • Mobile Notaries to witness the signing of important documents• Bereavement Support Volunteers to provide support to family members

after their loved one has died • Patient Support Volunteers to provide companionship and practical assistance To apply for free training, call Hospice of the East Bay at (925) 887-5678,

and ask for the Volunteer Department, or email [email protected]. Established in 1977, Hospice of the East Bay is a not-for-profit agency that

helps people cope with end of life by providing medical, emotional, spiritual, and practical support for patients and families, regardless of their ability to pay.


Danville - According to industry experts, there are over 33 physical problems that will come under scrutiny during a home inspection when your home is for sale. A new report has been prepared which identifies the 11 most common of these problems, and what you should know about them before you list your home for sale.

Whether you own an old home or a brand new one, there are a number of things that can fall short of requirements during a home inspection. If not identified and dealt with, any of these 11 items could cost you dearly in terms of repair. That's why it's critical that you read this report before you list your home. If you wait until the building inspector flags these issues for you, you will almost certainly experience costly delays in the close of your home sale or, worse, turn prospective buyers

away altogether. In most cases, you can make a reasonable pre-inspection yourself if you know what you're looking for, and knowing what you're looking for can help you prevent little problems from growing into costly and unmanageable ones.

To help home sellers deal with this issue before their homes are listed, a free report entitled "11Things You Need to Know to Pass Your Home Inspection" has been compiled which explains the issues involved.

To hear a brief recorded message about how to order your FREE copy of this report, call toll-free 1-866-265-1682 and enter 1003. You can call any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Get your free special report NOW to learn how to ensure a home inspection doesn't cost you the sale of your home.

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This report is courtesy of J. Rockcliff Realtors #01763819. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. Copyright © 2013

Enjoy the Summer Concerts in our District Two CommunitiesBy Supervisor Candace An-dersen, Contra Costa County District 2

There are many reasons why Contra Costa County’s District 2 is such a great place to live, but high on my list are the Summer Concert series that so many of our communities host every year. This summer there are many musical opportunities for your entire family to take advantage of, and I thought it would be helpful to list them all in one place.

The concerts are held on various nights of the week, and the music reflects many different genres. The park settings and a picnic dinner are perfect complements to an evening of music outdoors.

Alamo – Livorna Park ~ Fridays ~ 6:30PM – 8:30PM ~ Call (925) 313-2272 for information

• July 12th: Alma Desnuda (Original Pop)• July 26th: Evan Thomas & Pap’s Garage (Blues &

Rock)• August 9th: Mixed Nuts (Classic Pop from 1940’s – Present)Danville – Oak Hill Park ~ Saturdays ~ 6:00PM – 8:00PM (except as noted

below) ~ Call (925) 314-3400 for information• July 6th: The Shanks (Classic Rock)• July 20th: The Sun Kings (Beatles Cover Band)• August 3rd: Spinout (Early Rock & Roll) Held at the Town Green,

400 Front StreetSan Ramon – Central Park ~ Sundays ~ 5:30PM ~ Call (925) 973-3200

for information• July 4th: Cheeseballs (High Energy Band) Thursday concert• July 14th: Aja Vu (Steely Dan Tribute Band)• July 21st: East Bay Mudd (R&B, Soul, Funk)• July 28th: The Unauthorized Rolling Stones (Tribute Band)• August 4th: Take 2 (High Energy Band)Walnut Creek – Stanford’s parking lot (unless otherwise noted) ~ Thurs-

days ~ 6:30PM – 8:30PM ~ Call (925) 939-7600 for information• July 11th: Pride & Joy (Pop/Soul) Held in Broadway Plaza Street• July 18th: Nick Colionne (Jazz, R&B, Blues, Funk)• July 25th: The Sun Kings (Beatles Cover Band)• August 1st: Tainted Love (1980’s Dance Band)Enjoy the rest of your summer. I hope you have a chance to take advantage

of the free concerts with your family and friends in our great communities.

models span the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries with freight and passenger trains pulled by both diesel and steam engines. The Museum’s scratch-built model buildings, including a replica of our Museum - the former Danville SP Depot, will be on display, along with selected Lionel “operating accessories” on loan to the Museum for this exhibit.

To enhance your railroad experience, consider reading one of the many marvel-ous books about trains before you visit the exhibit. Children's imaginations will ignite with The Last Train written by Gordon Titcomb, which takes a nostalgic look at trains and days gone by. The historical novel Riders on the Orphan Train by Alison Moore will inspire history buffs of all ages.

Please check the Museum of the San Ramon Valley’s website (museumsrv.org) for information about featured events during the exhibit. Special thanks to Bill Riley, Earle Schremp, Ed Best, Bob Sada, Bob and Cheryl Miranda, Donna Hardman, and Carmen Curtis for steering our community back on track to Totally Trains. The “Totally Trains” exhibit will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10am to 1pm and Sundays from noon to 3pm. Please check the Museum of the San Ramon Valley’s website www.museumsrv.org.

Trains continued from front page

Lic# 1100014354; Bay Area Entertainment

Succulent Garden DesignWhether you are replacing your lawn with a drought-tolerant landscape or

creating a stunning arrangement in a bed, learn how to landscape with fashionable succulents by attending a lecture about water-wise gardening using water-storing plants on July 6th from 10AM to 12PM. Discover how to utilize these plants to the best of their potential and thrill with succulents. Optimize the water-conserving nature of a succulent garden by designing from terrain and drainage to plant selection. The advice and tips from The Ruth Bancroft Garden’s Curator Brian Kemble will help you to understand the initial stages of garden design and the potential that your garden will reach with proper care and maintenance.

View established succulent gardens planted by Mr. Kemble, and understand the components that went into planning and designing the landscapes. Come to the garden willing to carpool to a couple different sites. Be inspired by interesting plant choices, and decide what you’d like to purchase prior to our Summer Plant Sale on July 20th. Join us for a hands-on class about transforming your lawn to a garden on August 24th.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden is located at 1552 Bancroft Road in Walnut Creek. Admission for the event is $20 for general admission and $12 for members.

For more information, visit The Ruth Bancroft Garden or call (925) 944-9352. Books for the Homebound

If you or someone you know has a passion for reading and can no longer visit the library, find out more about the Danville Library’s Books for the Homebound program, a free and unique library service. Trained library volunteers check out and deliver books to homebound individuals residing in their own homes or residential care facilities. Contact Sandra Paiva, Volunteer Coordinator, at the Danville Library at (925) 837-4889 for more information.


Charlotte Wood Middle School By Christopher George, Principal

As we break for summer, we’d just like to thank our community- both those with students and those without- for their support of Char-lotte Wood throughout the 2012- 2013 school year. We are very

grateful to have such a supportive neighboring community, and we look forward to strengthening that relationship throughout the coming years.

Recently, we were able to say goodbye to our departing 8th grade class during our promotion ceremony, held at San Ramon Valley High School. Our five student speakers, Jacob Freiman, Brayden Rasmussen, Samantha Stone and Heather Featherstonhaugh, along with Class President Megan O’Grady did a fantastic job of summarizing the students’ experience at Charlotte Wood as well as wishing them well for the future. This was a fantastic group of 8th graders, and we wish them the best.

We are also excited to welcome our incoming group of 6th graders, as we do every year. Next year’s Charlotte Wood will see some major changes, both structurally and curricu-larly, which we are likewise excited to see. We are thrilled that next year we will be implementing our Modified Block Schedule and a once per week Advisory class to address character development. Additionally, we will be further implementing strategies related to the Common Core State Standards. It will be an exciting year, and we welcome your involvement. Many of our teachers have already begun their summer work in preparing themselves for this curriculum.

In the meantime, we hope our students and families take some time off for summer and enjoy the time. Have a great summer.

SRV Christian Academy By Jan Brunkal, Principal

Summertime! What a great time of year for kicking back and enjoy-ing family time. Even if the living isn’t all that

easy because of crazy summer schedules, the change of pace is wonderful. I always enjoy looking ahead to a new school year. SRVCA will have a number of new staff members, and our community is very ex-cited to welcome them. The CPC campus is always transformed over the summer with a very successful Vacation Bible School. The Children’s Ministry De-partment does a great job of incorporating lots of fun, games, skits, and Bible based teachings for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. This year was not any different. The theme for the week was, “God’s Backyard Bible Camp,” and it included 410 children, and 287 volunteers, 200 of which were teenagers!

This year’s VBS focus was taking our eyes off ourselves and looking for other’s needs. Each day was a different challenge: Monday was Serve family day. Campers served our adopted family in Sintaro, Ethiopia by bringing in gently used backpacks and sending them to the children of this impoverished village (CPC is helping to start a school in this part of Africa). On Tuesday children were asked to Serve friends at San Francisco City Academy, located in the Tenderloin, by bringing in first aid items and granola bars. Many of our friends at the SF Academy come to school hungry and in need of a snack before they start school each day. On Wednesday our campers brought in spare change in order to Serve neighbors. The change collected was donated to “Kids Against Hunger.” This is a wonderful organization that prepares nourishing food packets and then sends them around the world to those in need. Serve Jesus was Friday’s emphasis. Children took the opportunity to serve Christ by cleaning and serving their own community right here on our CPC campus.

What a great week it was. Not only were our kids helping others but learning a lot about themselves and the importance of being “other” centered--a great lesson for all of us.

Tip of the Month By Cynthia RuzziGet your Civic Good on!

We’ve all heard the term “politically correct” – as in “That’s not PC,” meaning the referred re-mark discriminates against a particular group. In our educated, multicultural community one would

hope others would not have to be reminded to be fair, equal, and kind to their neighbors. However, it does seem that political fractions of our country often divide instead of unify our communities. As we prepare to celebrate the 237th birthday of the United States, let’s forget politics and demonstrate our civic good.

What’s Civic Good or “CG”? CG is a welcomed acknowledgement of any activity that’s performed to benefit a town, city, or local area where you live or work. It benefits you and your neighbors by improving the community, and along the way it turns neighbors into friends.

We are tremendously lucky to live in an area where individuals and groups are focused on non-partisan ways to enjoy and preserve our community. Whether it’s the Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley hosting the Danville 4th of July Parade since 1975 or the elementary school students that collected bottles at last year’s event to raise funds for hurt or injured soldiers, there’s always a local way to be a Civic Hero. The parade is the largest single Bay Area event celebrating our nation and draws over 30,000 people each year. Many locals know that parking for the parade is a nightmare, so it’s a perfect occasion to dust off your bicycle and ride to the event. This year the San Ramon Valley Varsity Football team will host a free bike corral at 675 Hartz Avenue in the Balford Building parking lot next to Country Waffle. The bike corral works similar to a coat check – participants check their bike in and retrieve it at the end of the parade (hours 8AM -12PM). Perhaps you’re already familiar with our portable bike racks (thank you Monte Vista Mountain Bike Club for hosting them at the Danville Art Faire) and are looking forward to using them again; look for them at Downtown Danville Summer night festivals on July 11th and August 8th and at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival in October.

You have probably seen the barrels at grocery stores at Thanksgiving and

Christmas to collect food for the needy, but there are folks in our community that are hungry year-round. Recently, it was brought to my attention that we have se-nior citizens trying to exist on $300 per month – and that’s not their food budget. The Foodbank of Contra Costa and Solano County works to alleviate hunger for over 132,000 people in our county each week – and over 25% of these are children. Locally, volunteers for The Bounty Garden (www.thebountygarden.org) and The Urban Farmers (www.theurbanfarmers.org) grow fresh vegetables and collect backyard fruit to help those in need – including individuals within our own community. Both of these groups are always interested in new volunteers, but you can be a Civic Hero by donating extra vegetable seeds from backyard planting or telling a neighbor with abundant fruit about how to register their tree.

Local opportunities abound! Friends of San Ramon Creek invite anyone in-terested in learning more about the creek and the local watershed to help protect the riparian habitat of the San Ramon Creek (Please contact Mary Grim at [email protected] for more information about events and work days).

Local government wants you to be a Civic Hero, too. Yes, we all pay our taxes to live in a well-cared for community, but who says that you can’t help take care of it? You can register as a volunteer for an event or a service project online with the Town of Danville (www.ci.danville.ca.us/Council_and_Government/Employ-ment/Volunteer_Opportunities/), and in Alamo The Alamo Improvement Associa-tion (www.alamoca.org/about.htm) has been working since 1955 to preserve and foster the established character and quality of their town.

It doesn’t take much to be a Civic Hero. As you go about your community you might notice a street light out or a missing or defaced street sign. Most cities welcome the ‘heads-up’ and starting this month, Danville residents will be able to use a mobile phone app to quickly and easily submit inquires or requests using a smart phone or tablet. Demonstrate your ‘CG’ and use your phone to submit a picture of the issue – the app will automatically route the request to the appropri-ate department to be addressed.

Are you a Civic Hero? If so, we want to hear from you. Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SustainableDanville or email us at [email protected]. Go get your CG on and have a wonderful July 4th holiday.

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Stone Valley Middle School By Shaun K. McElroy, PrincipalWork Ethic – the gift you give yourself

At this year’s awards night and 8th grade promotion I used work ethic as the central theme of my comments. Work ethic does not require anything extraordinary from each of us except effort. Our friends at Webster’s diction-

ary define Work Ethic as: a belief in the moral value of work. If you are willing to put in the effort, positive results will follow.

Several years ago Word Cup and Olympic Gold Medalist Tiffany Roberts spoke at a leadership conference for middle school students from SRVUSD. The focus of Tiffany’s speech was about her work ethic. In 1999 Tiffany was the youngest member selected to the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team. Only 15 years old, Tiffany was by far the youngest member of the team. Tiffany told her young audience that she wasn’t sure how she would add value to the team because all of the other women were better players than her. Tif-fany decided that she could be the fittest member of the team and developed a grueling fitness routine that allowed her to run up and down the field for 90 minutes and not get tired. Tiffany’s work ethic provided her with an opportunity to contribute to the team on a world stage. Tiffany was elected to the Women’s soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

It is typical to use an athlete as an example of work ethic, however in Mal-colm Gladwell’s book Outliers, he cites research which indicated that anyone who puts in 10,000 hours on a given task will become an expert in that area. The 10,000 hour rule is now referred to as the “Virtuoso Effect.” Examples in Gladwell’s book came from the entertainment industry, fields of computer science and sports, and nearly every corner of the work world.Information for the Kids…

Just for fun, measure your time spent on tasks learning about anything that you feel is your strongest area of achievement. Do the math and see how close you are to becoming a virtuoso. Remember the rule is 10,000 hours. Have your children do the same calculation to measure their progress along the path to excellence.

Work ethic is made up of three main parts: reliability, enduring failure, and perseverance. The greatest complaint from employers is about employee attendance and punctuality. Reliability means that you arrive early; no one is ever penalized for being early. Enduring failure is all about how your respond to setbacks in your life. Failure is a great teacher. How you recover from fail-ure will determine your future successes. The final trait is perseverance. As students move through school (and life), more is required of their time, effort, and expertise. Effort must match these demands.

Work ethic is something only you can control, as you are in charge of how hard you work. The satisfaction of working hard and achieving something is the birthplace of a healthy self esteem. Too often we (parents) make the mistake of rescuing our children from life. We see the rescue as an act of love, but in reality we are doing long term harm.

It is important to know nothing trumps work ethic--not intelligence, not charm, not good looks, nor test scores; nothing replaces hard work.

In closing, ask your daughter/son if they are doing their summer work: one hour of reading and vigorous exercise each day, practicing their math skills, and journaling. Feel free to assign extra chores as well. Work ethic does not end with the last school bell.

San Ramon Valley High School By Ruth Steele, Principal

This year has been quite a journey for SRVHS, and I have enjoyed every step of the adventure! Aside from learning what makes SRVHS such an amazing school, and building relationships with staff, students, parents, and the community, there is a lot of planning to be done for the future.

There is a significant shift coming with the imple-mentation of Common Core, and there is much that

Site Leadership/administration needs to do in order to support teachers, students and parents through this transition.

American schools are in a fascinating place right now, and Common Core opens the door to transforming our instructional practices so that students truly acquire the skills they need for the rest of their lives.

There are several academic shifts within Common Core that will help us to prepare students with skills that will serve them beyond high school. The simplest way to explain this is perhaps to say that we will focus on them becoming “learners” rather than “learned.”

These shifts include:Speaking and listening - How to thoughtfully discuss, debate, analyze

and present informationReading - How to break down increasingly complex text and understand itWriting - How to write argumentatively, using evidence from multiple

sourcesCommon Core focuses on the process by which students learn, how they

learn, and what teachers can do to support our students in that endeavor. Stu-dents will still be learning the same content in subjects like Math, Science, World Language and Social Studies, but the way they learn it and the way it will be assessed will look different. Students will still take tests, do homework and be assigned grades, but those assessment systems will focus on both the knowledge students acquire as well as the learning process. Traditionally we have focused more on the right outcome rather than the learning acquired in the process. Valid assessment of learning should include both.

The main goals for next school year are to make strategic and purposeful progress as we navigate this transition and to make sure that everyone in-volved understand the shifts as they happen. In 2014-2015 the first Common Core Assessments will be used in schools, so we have a lot of work to do!

Support Group Helps People Cope with the Death of a Pet When you lose your pet, you often feel like a part of you is lost. The death of your beloved ani-

mal companion is one of the most difficult losses you may ever feel. This loss is sometimes made more painful by society’s seeming lack of support for pet grief.

Hospice of the East Bay and the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation is offering a support group where participants can share memories and feelings and talk to others who truly understand and care. Meetings will be held the first Tuesday of each month from noon - 1:30PM at the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation, 2890 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek.

For further information and/or to register, please call Bereavement Services at Hospice of the East Bay (925) 887-5681. Pre-registration is required.

Hospice of the East Bay Bereavement Services are provided free of charge to all community members in need. However, donations are greatly appreciated.


Poets continued from front page

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream By Stan Hitomi, Principal, Alamo Elementary School and Janet Terranova, Principal Monte Vista High School

Inspired by the hit movie and NBC TV series, Friday Night Lights, Monte Vista High School and Alamo Elementary joined forces to put together a one-of-a-kind event last month. First through fifth

graders from Alamo School signed up for a magical evening under the lights at Sam Zackheim Stadium on the campus of Monte Vista High School. Stu-dents had the option to participate in either a football or cheerleading clinic, culminating in a BIG GAME experience under the lights on the artificial turf field – all of the sights and sounds of the real thing!

Friday Night Lights was a fundraising event sponsored by the Alamo School Education Fund. Its impact could be felt beyond what could be mea-sured by the dollars that were raised. In fact, both of us principals we were so impressed by the event that we were inspired to co-write this month’s letter.

Monte Vista’s football and cheerleading programs provided students to serve as “coaches” for this magical evening, but the real magic is what went on between the high school students and the kids from Alamo School.

The amazing thing that both of us witnessed was that the experience had benefits for the students from each of our schools. The Monte Vista students had the experience of becoming the teachers and igniting excitement in the younger students, while at the same time building leadership and organizational skills. Parents from Alamo School were impressed by “how much the high school students cared about the younger children” and “how patient they were.” There was little doubt that the younger students looked up to their coaches as positive role models, and it was a powerful experience for the high school students to see that they could have an impact on the younger kids’ lives.

“Friday Night Lights was an awesome experience--getting to learn drills and run patterns on the field, under the lights, with my friends--it doesn’t get bet-ter than that!” said Christopher Natali a 5th grader at Alamo School. Christopher’s mother, Ruthie Natali, coordinated the event with help from Craig Bergman (MVHS Varsity Football Coach) and Lori Carson (MVHS JV Cheer Coach). Forty boys and 30 girls participated in the event which is likely to become an annual tradition. Both of us principals believe that what started with “Friday Night Lights” may expand to include other programs at Monte Vista and include other elementary schools as well.Alamo School - Important Dates

Online Registration available on district website July 29 School Office opens August 12 New Family Orientation August 15, 3:30PM

Annual On-Site Registration August 15, 4 – 7PM Annual On-Site Registration August 19, 9AM – NoonFirst Day of School August 27 (minimum day)

Monte Vista High School - Important DatesRegistration Packet Pick-up August 14 3pm– 7pm, August 15 Noon – 2pm

Registration August 19 and 20 1pm – 7pm Freshmen Orientation August 21 Freshmen Dance August 21First Day of School August 27 (minimum day)

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Members each read two poems for feedback from their fellow poets. Left to right: LaDonna Fehlberg, Mary Lou Haugh, Grace Atkinson, Robert Shelby, Charlie McCauley, and Paul Sheckler. Photo by Jan Hersh.

For the past three years, Jan Hersh has hosted monthly meetings at her home. A member for the past decade, Hersh takes notes and often discovers new words. “Poems are stories and everyone has one to tell,” she believes. “So the social aspect is precious to me. The members are encouraging and generous in their sharing of what works in our writing.”

The variety of voices heard at any meeting may far exceed the number of members present. Two poems presented by the same author may be as different in composi-tion as rhapsody and rap. One may follow a format as tightly constrained as haiku, while the other may be structured solely by the cadence of imagined conversation. Hersh experiments with forms she discovers networking with other poets online. “It’s a challenge to puzzle out what I want to say within the restrictions of the various forms.” But she also enjoys letting her words flow in free verse. Whatever the format, Deborah Grossman contends that each element is essential: “In poetry, every word, every syllable, every sound counts.”

Inspiration to write comes to members as a balance to other aspects of their lives, as an additional art form to explore, and/or as a primary mode of communication. Wilson began penning poetry at an early age. “I grew up in a very dysfunctional and sometimes violent family. Expressing myself was not safe, so I wrote stories and poems with imaginative characters in order to process my feelings.” Giving voice through poetry to the trauma she experienced has healed her, and she is hopeful that sharing her poems will bring others the same comfort. “Writing about that time in my life has created some of my best work and hopefully will help other girls and

women find the power of their voices.”New to the group, Wilson discovered the Poets Society when she and Robert

Eastwood were featured together at a poetry-reading event in March at Livermore’s Ravenswood Estate. Asked whether she finds reading to a live audience rewarding, Susan responds: “Yes, I believe poetry is meant to be spoken and heard. There is a rhythm, a cadence in poetry that sometimes doesn’t come across when it’s read silently on a page.” The appreciative audience of 60 clearly agreed with her assessment of the value of hearing poetry spoken by the author.

Many members of the group have extensive publication credits. Deborah Gross-man, more readily recognized for her prose regularly appearing in publications like the San Francisco Chronicle, discovered the power of poetry in elementary school and is past Poet Laureate of Pleasanton. Robert Shelby, past Poet Laureate of Benicia, has three chapbooks coming out this year. Wilson is awaiting word on two collec-tions currently under consideration in a chapbook contest, one titled Like a Woman, the other Ancestor Moon. Hersh is compiling her first chapbook, but she has work in online publications and an award-winning poem in The Gathering 11, an anthology for The Ina Coolbrith Circle.

Eastwood’s work has appeared in over 100 journals, and Small Poetry Press has published three chapbooks of his poems. He has twice been nominated for the nationwide Pushcart Prize. Established in 1976, the Pushcart project produces an annual anthology of poetry and prose based on work submitted for consideration by hundreds of small presses and literary magazines across the United States. Each

See Poets continued on page 21



Quick Trips By Linda Summers PirkleThe New Exploratorium

The New Exploratorium, located at Pier 15 in San Francisco, is open. It is beautiful. The publication Explore says, “Glass surfaces act as mirrors large and small, revealing and reflecting in surprising ways. The surrounding bay waters double this effect, reflecting the architecture of the new campus as well as the city and natural landscape around it.”

On a Thursday evening, my son Reed, age 22, and I took BART to Embarcadero station and walked along the waterfront on Bay View Walk (10 minutes) to the New Exploratorium.

From the moment we arrived, helpful and friendly staff answered questions and seemed genuinely happy to be working at the New Exploratorium. I later found out that the orange jacketed staff is made up of 300 students recruited from Bay Area schools to help visitors understand the exhibits and also to learn more about science themselves.

There is so much to see as the space is the size of three football fields. There are over 600 exhibits. Besides just looking, though, the visitor is encouraged to touch, tinker, and even smell the exhibits.

I spoke to Ms. Leslie Patterson, Public Information Officer at the Exploratorium who pointed out some of the most popular exhibits. The Giant Mirror, where you will usually find a crowd, is an interactive giant upside-down image. Even the smallest faraway object appears in perfect focus.

Another must see is Team Pac-Man, where visitors are required to cooperate to play a clas-sic video game-each player can only move the Pac-Man in one direction. According to the website, in Team Pac-Man, you are the exhibit!

My favorite exhibit, The Changing Face of What is Normal, a special exhibit until April 2014, explores “how we have defined, catego-rized, and treated people who fall outside of a professional or societal conception of what constitutes normal mental health and activity” according to the website. This exhibit takes a while to explore, as it is made up of photo-graphs, video, poetry, and compelling artifacts. I also loved the Fog Bridge, by artist Fujiko Nakaya. The website explains it as ephemeral and other-worldly. It magically envelops a 150-foot-long pedestrian bridge between Piers 15 and 17 in an ever-changing blanket of fog. It is lit at night, and it is indeed magical.

After spending about two hours in the exhibit area, we headed up to the Bay Ob-servatory Gallery on the second floor. What a sight! From the deck we could see the Bay Bridge light show with the rising full moon behind it. Everyone who came up to the deck made the same exclamation, “Wow!”

The museum has two restaurants, a walk-up in the front of the museum and SeaGlass, with 200 seats inside and additional seats out-side facing the bay and the pier. Even though the restaurant was very busy, Executive Chef Loretta Kelly found the time to make us feel welcome. Reed and I had the lamb and pulled pork tacos which were delicious. The menu includes honeycomb paired with cheese, rotis-serie chicken, pizza, salad, soups, and sushi. The prices range from $9-$13 for entrees.

• Thursday evenings at the Exploratorium from 6PM -10PM are for adults only. The first Thursday of the month has a theme, and oftentimes there is music.

• Bay Area residents are eligible for a dis-counted rate (except Thursday night which is already discounted), so mention your zip code upon arrival.

The Exploratorium is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10AM-5PM, Wednesday until 10PM and Thursday for adults only (over the age of 18) from 6PM-10PM. Their website is www.exploratorium.edu.

To share your “Quick Trips” ideas, email [email protected].

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project. Start by creating the environment as a whole and integrating a cohesive design of pool, hardscape, and softscape. Do you want a more naturalistic or formal setting? Installing a pool also makes you think about what other elements you want in your backyard. What kind of pool decking would be best? Should you use concrete, flagstone, slate, etc? What other additions to your pool-side entertaining do you want? What is your budget? As you can see, designing a pool into your yard is a serious commitment and investment with a lot at stake. Swimming pools can certainly be the magnet of joy and good times, as well as a liability. If you decide that a pool should be in your backyard, always consider safety first, be vigilant, make sure your children are pool safe and never, ever leave them unattended, not even for a moment.

A hot tip from your local Landscape Architect: Always hire a state licensed contractor to build your project.. Check their license status and referrals. Make sure they have done projects similar to your own. You can verify the status of a contractor at the California State License Board (CSLB). You can check on-line at www.cslb.ca.gov.

Gardening Quote of the Month: “I can’t fly, but swimming is the next best thing.... The water is my sky.” ~Author Unknown

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

Page 14 - July 2013 ~ Danville Today News

Life in the Danville Garden By John Montgomery, ASLA, Landscape Architect #4059Swimming Pools

Summer is finally officially here, although it has been a mild one so far. I assure you that the summer heat is on the way. One way to keep you cool during those blazing hot Danville summers is to have a swimming pool. With the hotter months yet to come, Danville residents are finding creative ways to keep

cool in their backyards. If you don’t already have a swimming pool, you might be knocking on your neighbor’s door offering 25 cents a head to take a dip, or is it more like $5 bucks now? Getting out the “Kiddy” pool, Slip n’ Slide, Crazy Daisy or just running through the sprinklers are some other creative ways to stay cool without a pool.

If you are considering a swimming pool as a major asset to your home environment, here are some things to consider before jumping off the diving board. Pools in today’s terms are a major investment. No longer can you get a simple rectangular pool for less than $70,000. Most pools today are falling into the range of $70,000-100,000+. Why? It’s because of the complexity of the pool designs, accouterments, and locations they are being constructed at.

Some key considerations in designing and constructing a pool are the engineering and accessories that accompany today’s pool. Most flat lot pools can be constructed with standard engineering. Most of Danville’s soil is either expansive clay-type or sandstone bedrock or both. If your pool is going into the clay-type soil, potential problems such as expansion, settlement, and drainage are major issues to consider. If you are digging into sandstone, that’s a good thing. You may pay more for digging, but most likely your pool will stay put.

Popular additions to the pool design are spas; waterfalls; water slides; automatic covers; solar heating panels; in-floor cleaning systems; plasters such as pebble-Tec, Satin Matrix and Pebble Sheen, custom masonry and tile; and of course, computer systems to run the whole thing. Your computer can manage your pool temperature, lights, waterfall, filtering system, landscape lights, cleaning system, solar, and even turn on your spa to warm it up hours before you even get home for that late night dip.

For those with a view, the ever-growing popularity of the vanishing edge or infinity edge pool is changing the way pools have been used in the traditional sense. With high-tech engineering and pier-holes drilled thirty feet into the ground, you can hang a pool off the edge of almost any hillside lot. Of course, you only do this if you are willing to spend what the average Danville home cost in the 1990’s. V-edge pools are simply breath-taking. Depending on the degree of difficulty you can expect these pools to start at $125,000. If you have the opportunity to design one of these babies into your home environment you will be totally awe-struck by the beauty of your surroundings being reflected into the mirror glass reflection of your vanishing edge.

If you are planning a pool as part of your home environment, it is best to integrate the pool design and the landscape design as an integrated master plan design. Pool companies design pools but often end up plunking a pool into your backyard without consideration of your lifestyle and the rest of the

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Clip Notes By Jody MorganI found the meadow movement flourishing at the

Royal Horticultural Society’s 100th annual Chelsea Flower and Garden Show. No matter how formal the design, a swathe of wildflowers softened the edges of hedges or hardscape somewhere in almost every show garden. Designer Chris Bradshaw writes: “More and more pressure is put upon gardens to provide some-thing for wildlife...”

I waved to sunset orange California poppies dotting informal areas. Gusty breezes helped them return the acknowledgement. Azure camass, another North American native, was frequently featured in displays. Eye-catching clouds of white blossoms wafted above the naturalized spaces wherever the eye wandered. My American companions instantly wanted the name of that flower.

Although Philadelphia Flower Show attendees may find fall-flowering football mums forced into bloom to underscore spring-blooming forsythia, visitors to London’s Chelsea event can count on plant materials utilized be-ing seasonally appropriate. Taller than Queen Anne’s lace and blossoming in spring rather than summer, the British wildflower so prevalent throughout the show is locally called cow parsley.

Like other members of the parsley clan, cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) is attractive to bees and a host plant for butterflies. Better, nonetheless, to admire it as a tourist than to bring it home. Several states, including Washington, have this European import on their list of invasive undesirables. It spreads both by prolific seeds and underground runners. Possibly better behaved, the cultivar ‘Raven’s Wing’ boasts edible burgundy foliage dramatically performing as a foil to the effervescent foam-white flowers. Annie’s Annuals offers seed for this versatile variety, which is drought and deer resistant as well as tolerant of clay soil. Is ‘Raven’s Wing’ a courteous containable courtier or a wicked wandering warrior? Alas, I lack the requisite experience to offer advice.

Despite the royal reference in its name, Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) is a carefree carousing commoner romping through roadside ditches and imbed-ding itself in open fields. Arriving from the Old World with the first settlers,

Queen Anne’s lace rapidly colonized North America. One legend explaining the flower’s moniker relates that Queen Anne, brought to England from Denmark to wed James I, was so adept at making lace that she challenged the ladies of the court to best her skill at tatting. Tactfully, none succeeded. The crimson dot in the center of the flower is said to be a drop of blood shed by Queen Anne when she pricked her finger with a needle.

Also known as wild carrot, this naturalized citizen has a taproot that is edible early in its first season, but unappetizingly woody in the second year when flow-ering occurs. The comestible carrot is a subspecies: Daucus carota var. sativus.

Wild carrot is listed among the herbs grown during the 8th century BC in the palace gardens of Babylon. Edible carrots first found favor in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan more than 3,000 years ago. These early carrots were purple, but at some point mutant yellow, red, and white roots evolved. About the time when tulip mania was poised to bankrupt speculators in the Netherlands, a few more practical 17th century Dutch growers turned to breeding carrots. Soon their sweeter orange varieties became popular throughout Europe.

I have successfully cultivated Queen Anne’s lace as an ornamental. The flowers last a long time in a vase. The foliage feeds swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, and the blossoms nourish bees. Deadheading controls the reseeding process. Daucus carota ‘Black Knight’ is a mauve-flowering variation that is actually a comestible carrot. You can buy seeds online form Johnny’s Select Seeds.

Wild carrot’s distant cousins Ammi majus and Ammi visnaga, both com-monly called laceflower or bishop’s lace, are regal-mannered annuals that stand tall in any cutting garden. They are offended by being transplanted, so plan on sowing seeds directly into the location where you want them to hold court. Ammi majus ‘Graceland’ wears snow-white flower caps on sturdy stems rising to a height of four feet or more. Ammi visnaga ‘Green Mist’ has a refreshing mint tinge to the flowers and is less bothered by heat. Swallowtail Garden Seeds, an online-only source based in Northern California, has both available.

Beware the skeleton-maker in the family closet. The foliage of poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, closely resembles that of its non-lethal relatives. California is one of many states listing this species as invasive. Sentenced to death by the court of Athens in 399 BC for corrupting the city’s youth, the philosopher Socrates succumbed by imbibing a beverage brewed from this plant, also known as poison parsley.


Solar Currents By Mark Becker, GoSimpleSolarThe Four V’s

Independence Day is a wonderful holiday. Local parades and celebrations are a wonderful way to celebrate our nation’s 237th birthday. Coincidentally, “Buy American” is becom-ing more in vogue again for various reasons. For the solar industry, “Buy American” has of late become a very obvious choice. Recently in the New York Times an article titled “Solar Industry Anxious Over Defective Panels” was published.

Before reading on, it’s very important for the reader to understand that there are solar panel manufacturers still in business who have never had a recalled or defective product. These manufacturers have strict quality control and testing standards. Every solar panel from these manufacturers is tested as it leaves the assembly line. Many panels made by these companies 30 years ago are still in service today. It’s safe to say that the best value panels are not lowest cost panels. The best value panels will provide the highest long-term production, thereby the best financial returns that can be achieved from a solar system.

As I read the New York Times article, a sense of pride began to well up inside of me. If one were to “read between the lines,” the article validates what I’ve been proselytizing for years: The best value and lowest long term Total Cost of Ownership (LCO) of solar projects rarely comes with lowest initial price. After finishing the article, four words instantly came to mind. “I told you so” (directed at no one in particular) were not the words, although they may have best described my feelings at that moment. The words were “Validation,” “Verification,” “Vindication,” and “Value.”

Validation: For the consumer, choice and installation of products based on price alone, without regard to performance history, bankability, and compatibility, will result in a higher long-term cost of ownership. There are literally tens of thousands of solar panels that are at the center of these quality control problems located around us. A solar panel that fails is a solar panel that most likely provided the lowest initial cost, yet at much greater long-term risk, financial or otherwise. Many of these panels will perform until their seals fail, be it 2, 5, or 10 years from now. Read the article for more details.

Verification: Over 50% of Chinese solar panel manufacturers have become insol-

vent in the last few years, including the world’s former largest manufacturer, Suntech. Multiple independent third party testing services confirmed product quality control problems at multiple module manufacturing sites. It was determined that quality con-trol problems occur when corners are cut in material selection and when solar panel production is subcontracted to other smaller Chinese manufacturers. Defect reporting is not high on the priority list of companies having difficulty remaining solvent. Some developers worldwide reported a 22-35% failure rate of mostly Chinese modules.

Vindication: A business plan based on utilization of best choice products is the correct approach to appeal to customers who choose value over cost. In my opinion, the best solar panels are panels that are compatible with other products, have long-term performance histories, are price competitive, are aesthetically pleasing as possible, and create American jobs. The best-marketed solar panels are the “most efficient,” yet are seriously lacking in compatibility. I’m not singling out Chinese products, but they happen to be at the center of the studies, and traditionally have been the “best” in when it comes to price. When choosing products to achieve maximum financial returns over the course of 25 plus years, the wise choice is a quality product that combines and ranks high in all of the necessary above-mentioned traits. Ultimately the best insurance policy is excellent product. One American manufacturer is about to increase their solar panel warranty to 30 years. A product with a flawless performance history backed by such a warranty is easy to trust.

Value: Three separate groups should benefit from the research published by the New York Times. Manufacturers with rigorous testing and quality controls should be able to reap the rewards of their value-add approach by selling more product.

Installers who have strived to maintain a business plan which is most advanta-geous to their customers will also likely be rewarded with their foresight. Satisfied customers generate more referral business for the installer.

Customers who have chosen quality over price are vindicated in their choice of product. Those extra few dollars you’ve spent on high quality products are an inex-pensive insurance policy which will ensure 25 plus years of excellent financial returns.

If you’re wondering whether your solar system is operating at optimum, or how you can leverage the most financial return out of your solar system, please contact us. We pro-vide bi-monthly seminars to solar home and business owners in our Danville showroom.

Mark Becker is the President of GoSimpleSolar, by Semper Fidelis Construction Inc, a Danville based Solar Installation Firm (License 948715). Mark can be reached at 925.915.9252. Visit GoSimpleSolar’s showroom at 114 West Prospect Avenue in Danville or www.GoSimpleSolar.com, or email [email protected]. Advertorial

How Much are your Trees Really Worth?By Blaine Brende & Joe Lamb

With the world in economic and ecologi-cal turmoil, it pays to take a deep breath and consider the real value of your assets. It’s best to start this exercise close to home because

for most Americans their largest asset is their home. A surprisingly large contribu-tion— between 8 and 19%1 — to the value of your home comes from your trees, shrubs, and other landscape plants. If your house is worth $500,000, that places the value of your plants at between $40,000 and $90,0000. Your trees deserve care commensurate with the value they add to your home’s portfolio.

Trees, of course, have value far beyond real estate. Here’s a quick tour of values economists give for urban trees:

Trees add to home values and thereby form part of the tax base. In so doing trees help fund schools, fire protection services, and police.

Trees work to clean the air. In the process of photosynthesis, trees absorb pol-lutants and even convert harmful chemicals, like nitrogen oxides and airborne ammonia, into benign forms.

Trees act to reduce local tax rates by reducing infrastructure costs. Trees absorb rain and slow the speed at which storm water accumulates, thereby helping to prevent flooding and the need to install larger storm drains.

Trees not only filter pollution, they help prevent it. Shade from trees can reduce air conditioning needs by as much as 30%, and trees planted to intercept prevailing winds can reduce heating needs significantly. “Projections suggest that 100 million additional mature trees in US cities (three trees for every unshaded single family home) could save over $2 billion in energy costs per year.” 2

Trees also help prevent car pollution. In the Sacramento area, an astounding 16% of air pollution comes from cars parked in the sun. Shade from trees greatly reduces the loss of gas, thereby reducing air pollution.

Trees aid healing. When hospital rooms have views of trees, patients heal at a measurably faster rate. Trees help us fulfill Dorothy Day’s maxim: create a world in which it is easier to be nice to each other. Studies find that trees in public housing neighborhoods reduce levels of fear and decrease aggressive behavior; and students

with ADHD develop more self-discipline when they play in natural settings.Berkeley calculates that for every $1.00 the city spends on planting and pruning

city trees, its citizens reap $1.40 in measurable benefits; for Sacramento the return is $1.80, and for New York City an astounding $5.00 is the return for every dol-lar spent. The value added to pruning and planting trees on your own property is higher than that for street trees because trees have a real effect on real estate prices.

Overestimating the value of trees to the entire planet is impossible: how can you put a price on the continuation of human life? If too many trees are stripped from the planet, then tipping points in the carbon cycle are crossed making global warming spin out of control… and making the world too hot for human life. Our Earth is small, and global warming makes it ever smaller. The easy division between what is global and what is local no longer holds: a ton of carbon dioxide from burning rainforests in Borneo heats the air as much as a ton of carbon dioxide from the tail pipes of com-muter traffic on I580. We are all part of the problem. We are all part of the solution.

Trees play a role in all three strategies to fight global warming. Trees help reduce energy use, and they may someday become a source of renewable biofuels. We can protect and restore rainforests and other carbon sinks. Through its work in the Borneo Project, Brende and Lamb works hard to leverage local support for the protection of rainforests. Closer to home we can all help with strategic planting of urban trees to sequester carbon, to reduce heat island effects, and to lower energy consumption. The dividends far outstrip the costs of caring for trees as a necessary part of the ‘green economy.’

Like other living beings, trees do require care. With people it costs less to avoid getting sick than to pay for a cure. The same is true with trees. Quality care improves the health of your trees, extends their lifespan, and increases their beauty. Quality tree work pays dividends to you and to the planet.

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

1. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090119210532.htm2. http://www.treefolks.org/store_biglist.asp

[email protected] Life Cooking By Amy Corstorphine

Growing up, my parents had a list of three skills that my brothers and I had to have. The first was to swim. Second was to know how to drive a manual car. Third was to know how to cook. As I’ve gone to college and lived with roommates from all over, it has never ceased to shock me how few of my peers know how to cook. Either their parents didn’t cook when they lived at home and frequently bought pre-made meals or takeout, or their parents didn’t spend the time to teach them how to make the homemade meals that they pine for while they’re away at school. Although nothing can beat your mom’s cooking (Doesn’t everything taste better when someone else cooks and cleans?), it’s a shame that so many people my age seem to believe that they are not able to cook healthy and delicious food for themselves. Yes, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s easy to pick up a frozen din-ner from Trader Joe’s on your way home from class, or go out to get a burrito instead of cooking. And every once in a while, those are fine as treats. But as my roommates have found, getting takeout every night of the week does not do good things to your budget (or your waistline).

Recently, I had Taco Thursday with some of my friends. I made crockpot salsa chicken and Spanish rice from scratch to go in to the tacos. My friends were amazed that I knew how to make these things, asking me where I found the recipes and how I knew to make it. The funny part is that they are two of the simplest recipes I know! For a weeknight dinner, crockpot chicken has become a favorite. My grandmother gave me her crockpot, and I am so excited to experiment more and try new recipes with it!

For the chicken, use a 16 oz jar of salsa (or one and a half jars, depending on how much sauce you want), 1 lb chicken breast (boneless and skinless), 2-3 tsp cumin, and a packet of taco seasoning (2-3 tsp if you don’t have a packet). Put the salsa and cumin in the bottom of the crockpot, give it a quick stir to incorporate all the ingredients, and add the chicken breasts on top. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8. With about half an hour left, add in the taco seasoning and stir. Shred with two forks when it’s done. If it seems like there’s too much sauce, you can leave the top off for the last half hour of cooking. The nice thing about this recipe is that I can put it in the crockpot before class, and then I can come home after class and studying and have a great meal prepared for me. Low time commitment, but great results! The other great thing about this dish is that it is a very customizable recipe – you can add pinto beans, corn, cream cheese, bell peppers, jalapenos, or whatever your heart desires during the cooking process to customize it.

The Spanish rice takes a little more time to prepare, but it is definitely worth it if you have half an hour. The rice is also quite customizable. The ingredients are ½ onion (chopped), ½ bell pepper (diced), 1 carrot (finely chopped – or if you’re trying to use up baby carrots, use ¾ cup of chopped), 1 cup long grain rice, 1 ½ cup chicken broth, 1 can stewed tomatoes (juice left in), 1 pinch cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook onion, pepper, and carrots in a little oil. Once cooked and a little translucent, add rice. Stir occasionally, but not too much. Once rice is browned, add spices and stir. Add chicken broth and tomatoes with juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes (leave undisturbed – no peaking and no stirring!). If needed, add more broth. If you’re not a big fan of bell peppers and carrots, feel free to take them out. Or add some garlic. Or use diced tomatoes that have chilies in them. Whatever you do, have fun with it!

I have learned in the past couple of years that my must-have ingredients that I always have on deck are 1-2 bell peppers, a tomato, garlic, onion, eggs, tortillas, and broccoli. Yes, all together they may be a bit strange. But in addition to basic pantry staples, you can make great, cheap, healthy, and fast meals with almost any combi-nation of them. Cook the garlic and onion, add the broccoli to steam in the pan, and add to some pasta with a little parmesan and pesto/marinara/olive oil, and it’s an easy quick dinner! You can add some chicken if you want protein, as well. Cooking has be-come one of my favorite hobbies, and I hope that I can share my love of it with those

around me. I’ve al-ready made plans with some friends to make 1-2 meals a week together over summer to teach them how to make easy basic lunch-es and dinners for when they go back to school!

Danville Today News ~ July 2013 - Page 17

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Are You Confident About Your Estate Planning Team?By Robert J. Silverman, Attorney at Law

As always, the first question about estate planning is: Do you have an estate plan? Naturally, if the answer is no, you should change that by working with an experienced estate planning attorney to establish and obtain advice about core documents, including a living trust; will; power of attorney; and advance health care directive.

If you have an estate plan, the next question is: When was the last time you had it reviewed and updated with legal counsel? Consumers sometime view estate planning as a static, one time event. It’s not. Your life and those of your loved ones change. Your financial situation has ups and downs. New tax law is passed. Estate planning law and practice evolves. As I’ve written frequently, it’s generally a great idea to engage in a comprehensive estate planning review at least every 3-5 years, or sooner if anything material changes in your financial or personal life.

If you have an estate plan, you also have an estate planning team. The team may seem to consist of just your estate planning lawyer. Who else might you consider or hire to be part of your team? Albeit some of these team members play smaller and some larger roles, they might include (among others) the following professionals, as merited - your: i) tax accountant; ii) financial advisor; iii) insurance (life, disability, long term care, etc.) agent(s); iv) business attorney; v) banker; vi) real estate agent; vii) mortgage broker.

If you have read my articles before, you know I place a high value on hiring excellent professional advisors. A solid investment in the right professional team members can pay off handsomely in helping you make a series of important deci-sions throughout your life. People establish and continue relationships with various professional team members for a whole host of reasons. Interestingly, these reasons often do not include that the client is extremely confident about the ability, respon-siveness, and ethics of a particular advisor.

In my view, it’s very important to evaluate carefully when hiring, and re-evaluate at appropriate intervals, your level of confidence in each of your professional advi-sors. If it’s anything but very high, you should really make a change or add a team member who can fill a particular need in an expert manner. We are fortunate to live in an area in which there are many fine professionals from whom one can choose.

Aside from professional advisors, you’ll need to assemble the right “personal team

members” – typically loved ones and/or close friends (and in appropriate circum-stances, private or institutional fiduciaries). These are folks you appoint to serve, at the appropriate time when called upon, a critical role in your estate plan, including:

• The successor trustee(s) of your living trust;• The executor and successor executor(s) of your will;• The person(s) you nominate in your will to serve as guardian of your minor

children;• The primary and successor agents you nominate in your Advance Health Care

Directive to make medical decisions if you become incapacitated;• The primary and successor agents you designate under your Durable Power of

Attorney to handle your financial matters if you become unable to do so. Just as it’s important to have a full, excellent team of professional estate planning

team members, it’s essential that your estate planning documents designate the key personal team members who are most likely to carry out your affairs responsibly and in accordance with your wishes when the need arises. Your estate planning attorney can and should play a valuable role in helping you identify sound, objective criteria for making these appointments.

Of course, subjective and emotional issues should not be ignored or dismissed; however, a seasoned estate planning attorney and other professional team members can be very helpful in identifying potential conflicts, warning signs, risks and problems with a client’s initial instincts about who will fill these personal team member posi-tions. The neutral “reality check” such professionals are able to present – particularly when based on many years of actual experience helping people plan and administer trusts/estates – should provide powerful assistance in helping you appoint an estate planning team in which you have justifiable confidence.

Do you remember those you chose (when your documents were originally drafted or last revised) as primary and alternates for each of the handful of critical roles I identified above? If not, it should only take a few minutes to pull out your documents and check. If you don’t feel very strongly that these are your best current candidates, be proactive and work with your estate planning attorney to re-evaluate these prior decisions and revise your documents to set up the optimal team.

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

This article is intended to provide information of a general nature, and should not be relied upon as legal, tax, 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 matters addressed herein. Advertorial

How Much Money Will I Need to Retire?By Sima Alefi

When people come to me to discuss their financial affairs, often times I am asked questions such as:

“Am I on target for saving for retirement?”“How much should I have saved at my age?”“How much will I need to have when I start re-

tirement?” “Will I outlive my money?”

“What would happen if I lost my spouse?”My answer to clients is that there is not a one size fits all portfolio or

solution. Everyone is different. As a financial advisor, I listen to my client’s questions, and I try to sympathize with their concerns. There are many factors to consider before those questions can even begin to be answered. The type of lifestyle that a person has become accustomed to is an important factor. How much debt an individual has accumulated and how long until it is fully paid off are also important to consider. Studies show people need at least 75% of their pre-retirement income during their retirement years. In addi-tion, other factors to consider are your tax bracket and the amount of assets that you have accumulated during your working years.

Here are a few client characteristics and tips for those in various stages of life.The Accumulation Life Stages

Understanding life stages is critical in building the necessary wealth for retirement, considering most investors will likely spend more than 20 years in retirement.

Early Investing Years - The Early Investing Years generally begin with your first full-time job, likely when you have potentially 20 years or more

until retirement. Generally, clients who are less than 35 years of age should be considered to be in their early investing years. At this stage, consider paying yourself first, begin contributing to your 401k plan, and be sensitive to debt accumulation.

Good Earnings Years - The Good Earnings Years typically occur when you still have 10 to 20 years until you retire. Continue to contribute to your 401k plan, payoff your debt at the end of the month, and have a defined retirement goal in place.

Higher Income and Savings Years – The Higher Income and Savings Years usually begin after children are grown, but you may still have up to 10 years until retirement. Your major focus is likely on building wealth with an eye towards retirement. This would be the final “accumulation” life stage before the focus shifts towards living in retirement. At this point, it is impor-tant to think about how you want to spend your retirement years. The Distribution Life Stages

The distribution stage typically begins when the client retires from their primary career and begins to shift their focus, either completely to retire-ment, or perhaps to part-time employment to supplement their income (often referred to as their “encore” career). Important things to consider are taking your required minimum distributions, building a stream of income to support the lifestyle you wish to maintain, and replacing your time with leisure activities. Consider working closely with your financial professional to assess your needs.

Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss. Information contained in this article is for informational purposes

only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Please visit a professional for one of these services. To contact Sima at Edward Jones call (925) 648-2590. Her office is located at 3472 Camino Tassajara, Danville in the Blackhawk Safeway Shopping Center. For more information, visit www.edwardjones.com. Advertorial


Explore 3D PrintingBy Evan Corstorphine, Portable CIO

3D printing. What is it? Why does it mat-ter? How can it help me? These are all the questions I began asking my son Alex when he brought up the topic. I have him to thank for the education I’ve received over the past few months. He’s been out on the front edge of learning this technology, as he’s an entrepre-neur looking for creative ways to manufacture

all the product ideas he’s been coming up with. In addition to his endless web research, he read and recommended a book called Mak-ers – The new Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson. It’s a really good book, and I recommend it as well.

Put simply, a basic 3D printer is a device that takes a specially processed drawing file from a computer and “prints” progressive layers of plastic on a bed to form an object. That object can be al-most anything, as long as it’s not bigger than a one foot cube. Alex’s printer is about twenty inches tall and eighteen inches square. It uses a spool of plastic filament, which comes in different colors, to print. The print head is actually a heated nozzle which melts and extrudes the plastic filament down in a precise bead in thousands upon thou-sands of layers. It can print anything up to a foot square, which is about the size of the printing bed. The plastic is identical to that of a LEGO piece, so you get an idea how sturdy the printed product is.

Alex ordered his printer as an unassembled kit to save a couple hundred dollars. When he got it he was intimidated by the sea of parts, but he stayed up into the wee hours one night to charge through, and I think he surprised himself with how fast it actually went. And it didn’t work right at first, either. Partly, it needed adjustment, and other part was that he was still learning the software that drives the printer. Self-assembly was very educational.

This is a very early-adopter technology. In five years, it won’t look or behave like this. In ten years, this will be a quaint antique. But right now it’s exciting and useful. One simple example of something he’s made is a replacement part for his Foosball table. He broke one of the guides on which the handles passes through the side of the game. Using his Autocad program, he measured and designed a work-alike piece, ran it through the special rendering software that tells the printer how to break it down into “slices” for the printer, and created himself a new one. A couple other items he’s made so far are an iPhone case, a business card holder, an iPhone/iPod stand, a replacement hinge for our Igloo cooler, and a Rubik’s cube type of geared object. He has more complicated projects planned.

If you want to take a look at objects other people have designed and shared, check out www.thingiverse.com and explore their catalog. The possibilities for what you can create with a 3D are as endless as your imagination. And that’s the point. Manufacturing was always something only big corporations could do, and do at great expense. Now, between the advent of 3D printing and all the outsourced services for circuit design, programmers, and just about every other skillset you can imagine, we’ve entered a golden age of micro-manufacturing. It’s a more boutique style of creation and one that favors the small-lot over the mass production of a particular object. Today, an entrepreneur is much more likely to make their product a web-based, open-source project and manufacture in small lots at a higher price, because the object they’re producing is for a specialized audience, even though it may be world-wide. That audience is OK with paying a higher price for a boutique object, because they’re making a conscious choice to go this route rather than the mass-produced object route.

Printing takes a while depending on the size of the object and the detail required. To facilitate this, Alex has set up his computer for remote con-trol, and he’s setup his camera with Skype on auto-answer so he can watch it print while he is away. It can be mesmerizing to sit there and watch an object be created layer by layer before your eyes.

There’s much more to say on this topic, and I’m just getting warmed up. Stay tuned as we talk more about boutique manufacturing and the amazing array of resources available for entrepreneurs today. In the meantime, if you have questions or need help with your systems, networks or technol-ogy planning, you should contact the friendly staff at Portable CIO! Email [email protected], or reach us at 925-552-7953. Advertorial

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The Eye Opener By Gregory Kraskowsky, O.D., Alamo OptometryForeign Bodies

Ocular foreign bodies happen often and are usual-ly pretty annoying or painful to the patient depending on what the foreign body is and where it is located. Most of these are easy to remove in the office and bring immediate relief to the patient. Most foreign bodies that we see in the office are either located on the cornea or under the top eyelid. If there is a more

serious accident where the object has penetrated the eye, more specialized care will be needed than can be provided at our office.

In our office, the majority of corneal foreign bodies are metal. These usually involve working in the garage or at work with some type of metal and not wearing proper eyewear. If someone can see the piece of metal on the cornea (the clear front surface of the eye), then the piece of metal is large. Most times the fragment is very small and can only be seen using the equipment at the office. If there is any type of insult to the cornea, it results in the eye being red, painful, teary, and light sensitive. Patients will usually contact the office quickly after the incident due to the pain. Vision will not be compromised, especially in the early stages. How deeply the foreign body is embedded in the cornea determines how easy it is to remove. In general, most are not that difficult to remove. If they are on the surface of the cornea, a simple tool or Q-tip will do the trick. The patient is given a topical anesthetic so they do not feel anything, and it is very simple to remove. If the foreign body has been present for a few days, some of the corneal tissue has now grown over it, and this now requires a little more work to remove some of the outer cells to get to the foreign body. If the piece is metal, a rust ring starts

to develop around the metal fragment, and that also needs to be completely removed. We have the equipment in the office to do this, and it only takes a few minutes to complete. If a certain amount of tissue needs to be removed, then a bandage contact lens will be applied to promote healing along with an antibiotic drop, and proper follow-up management will be determined.

The other likely place for a foreign body to be found is under the top eyelid. Anything from a piece of dirt, metal, or a contact lens fragment, to a loose eyelash can be found there. Most times when something comes in contact with the eye, it is trapped by the lid during blinking and remains adhered to the underside of the lid. As with corneal foreign bodies, these are very small and difficult for the patient or family member to find. As a consequence of this situation, the foreign body now typically scratches or irritates the front part of the eye every time you blink. Removing these particles is again very easy to do in office. The hardest thing is being able to invert the lid to be able to look at the underside surface. The eyelid is usually irritated and swollen which makes manipulating it more difficult. However, once that is done, visu-alizing the offending agent and removing it takes a very short period of time.

As always, for situations like this, we try very hard to have a same-day appointment slot available. Anything foreign in the eye can be potentially serious and should be seen soon after the incident. As a reminder, anytime you are working on any project at home or work that could have fragments flying in the air, please wear proper eye protection to help avoid the situation in the first place.

Dr. K. at Alamo Optometry is your hometown eye doctor for outstanding service, vision care, and designer eyewear. He can be reached at 925-820-6622 or visit his office at 3201 Danville Blvd., Suite 165 in Alamo. Visit our newly updated website at www.alamooptometry.com, and become a fan on our Alamo Optometry Facebook page. Advertorial

Leg VeinsBy Dr. Jerome Potozkin

As I write this article, it is the first day of summer. For many of us, that means family vacations, summer barbecues and picnics, and simply relaxing from the pressures of our kids’ school year. For others, it means the embarrassment of wearing a bathing suit and show-ing unsightly varicose and spider veins. However, there is hope as the treatment of varicose and spider veins has undergone great improvements from years past.

In my practice, we are lucky to have Dr. Monica Brar. Her practice is limited to the diagnosis and treatment of leg veins. Many people knew Dr. Brar when she practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology and delivered many of your babies. I am also lucky to be married to her. The reality of family life and incredible demands of being a solo practicing Obstetrician and Gynecologist led Dr. Brar to retrain in phlebology (the specialty of treating leg veins). Many of the ad-vancements in the treatment of leg veins stem from the use of the Duplex Ultrasound Machine to visualize the veins underneath the skin. This was a natural transition for Dr. Brar as using diagnostic ultrasound was part of her daily Obstetrics practice. She has studied this art and, because of her expertise, has been an invited speaker at national leg vein conferences.

Some people only have small spider veins that we can easily treat with injection sclerotherapy. However, a diagnostic ultrasound is usually performed to make sure that there is not a larger vein under the skin feeding the superficial veins. If there is a deeper vein feeding the superficial one, and you only inject the superficial veins, treatment in unlikely to succeed. A common myth is that injection sclerotherapy hurts and stings. Newer FDA approved solutions do not sting and burn the way hypertonic saline did in the old days. If a larger vein is identified feeding the smaller ones, that vein would be treated first.

Some of the greatest advances have come in the treatment of vari-cose veins. In the late nineties techniques were pioneered that have all but replaced vein stripping. Vein stripping was often accompanied by a great deal of pain and downtime. The biggest advancement in treating varicose veins came with today’s endovenous techniques

where a laser fiber or radiofrequency catheter is inserted into a vein to destroy it. These techniques have all but replaced stripping. This is a procedure that is routinely performed in our fully accredited operatories with local anesthesia. Most people are back to work the next day, and the results can be incredible.

If you have leg veins ranging from large varicose veins to small spider veins, Dr. Brar is happy to help you. You are welcome to find out more about the cur-rent state-of-the art treatment available by scheduling a complimentary leg vein consultation. It may be too late for this year’s bathing suit season, but there is always next year to think about.

Dr. Potozkin is a board certified dermatologist who has been serving the local community since 1993. His office is located at 600 San Ramon Valley Blvd, Suite 102 in Danville. He is accepting new patients. Please call 925-838-4900 or visit Potozkin.com for more information. Advertorial

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[email protected] Danville Today News ~ July 2013 - Page 21 Options for Knee Pain for the Over 40 AthleteBy Dr. Jeffrey G. Riopelle, MD

Knee pain is one of the most common causes of reduction in activity for people over 40. To understand how to help knee pain, one must start at the root of the pain. Although the knee is a rather complex joint with movement in multiple directions, knee pain can best be understood as resulting from one or more of four basic causes: ligamentous pain, meniscus pain, pre-patellar

bursitis pain, and chondral cartilage pain.By far the most common cause of knee pain in people over 40 is chondral

cartilage pain, which includes arthritis, and this article will mostly be focused on this cause. But let’s discuss the others first.

Ligamentous pain occurs due to an injury to one or more of the four ligaments: the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), the posterior cruciate ligament, the medial collateral (MCL), or the lateral collateral ligament. These injuries are common in high intensity younger athletes, especially football, basketball, and soccer players. Ligamentous pain injuries are less common in older athletes, but they may lead to chondral cartilage pain years after the original injury if the injury, especially an ACL, was never fixed. With ligamentous pain, the involved ligament is either torn completely or partially disrupted. Diagnosis of ligamentous pain is made by exam and by MRI. Treatment usually involves ACL reconstruction for an ACL and may involve either surgery or non-surgical treatment for the other injuries.

The meniscus is a band of cartilage around the edge of the knee joint which aids in smooth motion of the joint. Meniscus injury can occur in any age group from a twisting injury or blow to the knee. It is most commonly seen in football players and other high intensity collision sports players. There are two menis-cuses, the lateral and medial meniscus in each knee. Similarly to ACL injuries, an untreated meniscus injury can lead to chondral cartilage damage years later. Diagnosis is again made by exam and MRI. Treatment usually includes repair or partial removal of the meniscus via arthroscopic surgery.

Pre-patellar bursitis is the least serious of any of the causes of knee pain. A bursa is a thin sack filled with the body’s own natural lubricating fluid. This slippery sack allows different tissues such as muscle, tendon, and skin to slide over bony surfaces without catching. If the bursa becomes inflamed from repeated trauma or kneel-ing, a bursitis occurs, and the knee can become painful and swollen. In the case of bursitis, however, the problem is not in the joint itself. Treatment includes rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medications, and occasionally drainage and/or cortisone injection.

Chondral cartilage pain (including arthritis) is the most common cause of knee pain in the over 40 athlete. It occurs either due to chronic wear and tear from overuse or kneeling, or due to a specific injury. A trauma to the knee can scuff the cartilage or, as mentioned above, an old meniscus tear or ligament tear can cause the knee to function improperly year after year, leading to chondral damage. The chondral cartilage lines the bony surfaces that rub against each other in the joint, i.e., the femur, the patella, and the tibia. As the cartilage becomes scuffed more and more, it gradually wears down to the underbone and arthritis occurs. Bone spurs can form due to the inflammation. Diagnosis can be made by exam in combination with xray or MRI. Standard arthroscopic surgery to “clean out the joint” is surpris-ingly ineffective for both chondromalacia (cartilage wear and tear) and arthritis.

What treatments are helpful? Generally a combination of treatments is most helpful. Anti-inflammatory medications will help pain and swelling although they have not been shown to reduce progression to arthritis. Physical therapy and straight leg raises rebuild muscle strength and help in realigning the knee. Ice at night and heat in the morning are helpful. High quality shock absorbent shoes and padding help keep the cartilage hydrated and help take wear and tear off the joint.

We also recommend eliminating exacerbating factor such as kneeling and squatting and, as the joint worsens, discontinuing high impact exercises such as running. Low impact exercises on the other hand keep the joint moving and can be helpful with re-ducing pain and swelling. Pilate’s exercises, done properly, can be particularly helpful.

In our practice, we have found that supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM are worth a try and provide significant improvement in symptoms for many patients. Studies show conflicting evidence about glucosamine and chondroitin, but our experience with these has been positive. Tylenol is also helpful for pain relief. For osteoarthritis, cortisone injections can provide up to six months relief, but with each sub-sequent injection, the time to recurrence of symptoms typically shortens. Hyaluronic acid injections such as sinvisc have typically been the last resort prior to knee replacement.

When all else fails and pain is to the point it disrupts routine activities, knee

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replacement becomes the final option. One new final possibility for joint rejuvena-tion available in our office through a study protocol involves the use of autologous (your own) stem cells. We are now accepting local patients for a patient sponsored study through the Ageless Regenerative institute to evaluate the regenerative prop-erties of stem cells in the knee. Further information is available through our office.

For information on any of our programs, please call our office, San Ramon Valley Medical Group, Inc., at (925) 275-9333 or visit our website at www.riopellecosmetic.com. We are located at 5401 Norris Canyon Rd, Ste. 312 in San Ramon. Advertorial

organization is permitted to nominate six entries from the current year’s releases.The term “chapbook” dates back to 16th century England when peddlers,

also known as chapmen, began selling cheaply produced booklets of popular tales. “Chapman,” is derived from the Saxon word for merchant: “caepman.” Chapbooks became the favored form of publication for poetry when American Beat Poets and members of the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance of the 1940s and 1950s revived the concept. With neither the inclination to send their work around and around to editors likely to supply nothing more than rejection let-ters nor the means to self-publish hard-bound volumes, they used mimeograph machines and cheap paper to get their work in the hands of the public. A slim booklet of 40 pages or less, the favored configuration for the current chapbook, affords a convenient format for poetry collections. Binding and stock range from inexpensive to deluxe.

New members are always welcome, whether aspiring poets, published profes-sionals, or devotees of the art form. The Poets Society meets in Danville, but it is open to adult residents of all area communities. “We drink wine so our com-ments remain kind,” Jan Hersh offers with a puckish smile. Insightful sugges-tions made by members are tendered with emphasis on what is most successful in each piece. Unlike the alchemists of old who jealously guarded the details of their experiments, members of the Danville Poets Society are eager to share their methods for working common words into susurrant sequences of multi-faceted significance. For more information about the Poets Society including an invita-tion to attend a meeting, contact Robert Eastwood at [email protected].

Poets continued from page 10


Doctors of Sycamore Valley Chiropractic

pharmacist regarding sun sensitivity. The best way to enjoy the sunshine is to limit exposure when the sun rays are

most intense (between 10am and 4pm) and to use adequate sunscreen protection at all times. While the use of sunscreen is critical, it must be used properly in order to be effective. Follow these simple and effective guidelines for sunscreen use

• Sunscreens with a zinc base and broad spectrum coverage are optimal, and zinc is found in higher end brands (we offer Skinmedica, Skinceuticals, Obagi, and Image in our office).

• While these brands are some of the most effective available, even the cheapest generic sunscreen is better than wearing nothing at all.

• Do not wait until you are in the sun to apply. Sunscreens are designed to be absorbed into the skin. Apply liberally (two ounces, equivalent to a full shot glass, for arms and legs) 30 minutes before sun exposure. Sunscreen should be reapplied after swimming or excessive sweating.

• Regular use of sunscreen can begin at six months of age and used indefinitely.• SPF means “sun protection factor.” SPF of four provides protection allowing

four times the sun exposure before burning. SPF eight equals eight times and so on. SPF 15 blocks 93% of incoming UVB rays, SPF 30 blocks 97%, SPF 50 blocks 98%, and SPF 100 blocks 99% of UVB rays.

• One year of sun protection yields noticeably improved skin and reduced risk. It is never too early, or too late, to start using sunscreen so start applying it now.

• Yearly skin checks with your GP, dermatologist, or plastic surgeon will help detect skin cancer early.

These recommendations are meant to be guidelines and need to be tailored to individual skin types. If sunburn does occur, use of cold compresses, over the coun-ter Benadryl, and pain medication may help with the sting. In cases of longer-term sun damage or skin cancer, your dermatologist and your plastic surgeon can help. As always, I welcome the opportunity to help you explore the options available. I wish you a sun safe and happy summer season!

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

Sun Safety for LifeBy Barbara Persons, MD, Persons Plastic Surgery, Inc.

I’m often asked about the most common factors contributing to the aging process. Everyday exposure to the sun, pollution, and other factors in our environment contribute to the natural aging process. As residents of the Bay Area, we are fortunate to live in a very mild climate with lots of sunny days. However, this fortune comes at a price, as the sun is the number one enemy

we battle in our quest to retain our youthful appearance.Frequency and intensity of sun exposure accelerates the aging process,

damages skin, and increases the incidence of skin cancer. As such, part of any healthy lifestyle includes practicing sun safety. We start our lives with thin delicate baby skin and end up with thin delicate elder skin. The care we take to protect our skin really does make a difference. Wearing hats, sunglasses, protective clothing, and liberal use of sunscreen are necessary precautions to protect us from our infancy to our golden years.

This summer, I have noticed children at the pool and playground becoming red and sunburned. Just one bad sunburn in childhood increases our lifetime risk of melanoma (the most fatal form of skin cancer). We need to take effective pre-cautions to reduce these risks. While it is true that over-exposure to the sun may result in more sunspots and premature or excessive wrinkles, melanoma is a very serious consequence of enjoying too much sun throughout our lifespan. Recently, I removed over 50 skin lesions from a 70 year-old patient. Sadly, most of these lesions could have been avoided with a better understanding of how the sun dam-ages the skin and knowledge of the best practices to protect it.

The sun emits two types of ultraviolet rays - UVA and UVB. Either can cause sunburn and damage skin. It is a common misconception that cloudy days offer protection from sunburn. UVA and UVB rays penetrate clouds and still result in sunburn and damaged skin. Medications can also increase the risk of sunburn. These medications include many antibiotics, most acne medications, and some antidepressants. It is always wise to review your medications with your doctor or

Summer Sports and ChildrenEnsure Your Child Has a Proper RecoveryBy Melissa Ko, DC and Kimber-ly Liotta, DC, Sycamore Valley Chiropractic

Each year children are becoming more involved in sports. It’s estimated that about 30 million teens and 38 million children younger than age 14 play sports. Sports offer a fun and exciting way to teach children the value of respect, discipline, and teamwork. However, these life lessons come with a higher risk for injury, whether it’s from riding their bikes or playing Pop Warner football. As Chiropractors we know the causes behind these sports related injuries, and with proper training and recovery, we can help prevent the repeated injuries from which so many children suffer.

Children’s skeletal structures are still growing; children do not have fully developed kneecaps until the age of 10! Since they are still growing and de-veloping, they have slower reaction times and less coordination. Also, because they are kids, they do not accurately assess the risks of their actions in the way adults would. Couple this with the vast difference in height and weight growth rates among children, and the likelihood for injury goes up even higher. Long-term effects of injuries

There are different categories of injuries: acute, overuse, and re-injury. Most acute injuries in young children are considered minor; minor sprains and strains or minor bruises from which kids will quickly and easily recover. These minor sprains and strains, however, can have lasting effects. As children, our muscles are nicely organized with all their fibers parallel. This allows for maximum stretch and flexibility of the muscle. When an injury occurs, the body heals as quickly as possible, thinking we are still cavemen where movement is pivotal for survival. The result is disorganized healing, less stretch, and reduced flex-ibility. Understanding this concept makes it easier to understand how important proper healing can be, even in our young children.

Overuse injuries happen when too much stress is placed on a joint repeat-edly. These are the types of injuries that become more problematic in children rather than adults because children are still developing. Some of the common areas to look for an overuse injury are pain in the front of the knee, discomfort or pain in the elbow, shoulder pain, shin splints, and low back pain.

Re-injuries are the result of returning to a sport before the muscle/joint has healed. This is becoming more and more common with younger aged children, partly because we are under the impression that children are young and therefore heal quickly. Children definitely do heal quickly, but more importantly we want them to heal correctly. Returning to a sport before the injury has properly healed can either worsen the current injury or injure an-other part of the body from compensating for the muscle that isn’t up to par.

All of these injuries are treated in our office with adjustments to restore motion in the joint, and adjunctive therapy is used to reduce the inflammation and allow the joint to heal properly.How Chiropractic can help

As doctors of chiropractic, we help you and your kids prepare for the sports they love and the inevitable injuries they will incur. We have special training in addressing sports and soft tissue injuries, and we utilize a variety of modalities to help our young athletes heal, recover, and perform their best. Our services include ultrasound, cold laser, electric stimulation, sports taping, sports massage, muscle testing, and targeted myofascial (soft tissue) thera-pies. We treat children with sports injuries on a daily basis to help get them back on field faster, and most importantly, with the best recovery possible.

While sports injuries may be impossible to avoid, it is possible to avoid the long-term effects they have your child’s body. Chiropractic offers a safe, non-invasive, and effective way to enhance what your body does best, heal itself! If your kids, or the kids you know, are suffering from repeated sports injuries, give them the chance to play injury free and get them back on the field with Chiropractic care.

Sycamore Valley Chiropractic is located at 565 Sycamore Valley Rd. West in Danville. Please visit their website at www.sycamorevalleychiro-practic.com or call 925-837-5595 for more information or to schedule an appointment. Advertorial

[email protected] Danville Today News ~ July 2013 - Page 23Your Personal Nutritionist By Linda Michaelis, RD. MS.Nutrition Has a Major Impact on Fertility

I have been seeing several women who are concerned with how their diet is affecting their ability to become pregnant. I am glad to inform you that there has been groundbreaking research from the long term Nurses’ Health Study that indicates that various components of diet can help avoid infertility. The researchers chose

nurses for the study because they can be counted on to provide accurate and reliable information. In 1989 the second round of the Nurses’ study specifically explored fertility and was led by Drs. Jorge Chavarro and Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health. The results of the study were that simple nutri-tion changes can offer a powerful boost to ovulation-related fertility.

Here are some of the important findings which I have attempted to incorporate into my counseling:

Avoid trans fats which are artificial fats that have been extensively discouraged but are still widely used in commercially processed foods such as in French fries, donuts, and margarines. Healthy fats such as olive oil, canola oil, and peanut oil should be substituted.

You must get more protein from plants and less from animals. The study re-vealed that women that consumed the highest animal protein were 39% more likely to experience infertility. Thus, adding one serving a day of red meat, chicken, or turkey predicted a one third increase in risk for infertility, while adding a serving of legumes, tofu, or nuts protected against infertility. In my work with couples I introduce to them a plan to still enjoy animal protein along with incorporating dishes that are plant protein based and simple and easy to prepare.

Choose whole grains instead of highly refined white flour products that will create a slower effect on blood sugar and insulin levels. The study showed that women eating easily digested carbs such as white bread, pasta, sodas, and juices with little fiber exhibited insulin resistance. The resulting increase in insulin levels disrupts the finely tuned balance of hormones needed for reproduction. It is my job to show my clients how to substitute the carbs they enjoy with whole wheat breads, brown rice, and new grains such as quinoa and bulgur and to be creative with lots of bean dishes. I tell them that during the summer they should keep all the types of beans they enjoy in the fridge, and enjoy them with salsa or an olive oil vinaigrette like the old-fashioned three bean salad.

The study shows you must have a full-fat dairy product such as a glass of whole milk or a small dish of ice cream every day. Removing fat from milk radically changes its balance of sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and androgens that can create infertility. The more full fat dairy products the nurses had in their diet, the less difficulty they had with pregnancy issues. Many of my female client get nervous when they hear this, and I help them add the dairy and then teach them to compensate by eating less fat in the other meals of the day.

The study addresses the need to take prenatal vitamins that contain folic acid, iron, and B vitamins. For folic acid the women who got at least 700 mcg a day from diet and supplements were 50% less likely to have infertility vs. women that were getting less than 300 mcg a day. For iron, the benefit came with high doses of 40-80 mg. It was surprising that the sources of iron mattered. Women receiv-

ing their iron from meat were not well protected, while those receiving iron from veggies, beans, and supplements were more successful. I work with clients on a two part strategy, including foods rich in folic acid and iron in their diet.

Beverages do matter. Water is great; coffee, tea and alcohol are OK in modera-tion. Leave sugared sodas and juice alone. A glass of wine once a week or cup of coffee once a day will not adversely affect ovulation. Women in the high caffeine group were no more likely to have problems with infertility compared to women who had barely any caffeine.

Lastly, I receive many referrals from OBGYN’s for women that are suggested to lose weight to increase success with pregnancy. Excess weight causes insulin levels to climb and causes an increase in the amount of testosterone in the ovaries and bloodstream which can contribute to infertility. The Nurses’ study showed us that women with the highest BMI’s had trouble with infertility. I work very closely with my clients, holding their hand, talking to them each day, and mak-ing sure the weight comes off as quickly as possible with a healthy and tasty diet based on their favorite foods. I know this is an emotional time, and support is very important especially with work schedules and social occasions.

Linda is glad to inform you that nutrition counseling is covered by many health insurances. Please feel free to call LindaRD and tell her about your nutri-tion concerns. You can call her at (925) 855-0150 or e-mail her at [email protected]. Also please refer to website www.LindaRD.com for past articles, tips on nutrition, and recipes. Advertorial

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Take Care of Your Bladder By Linda Adams, LVN

July is bladder cancer awareness month. The symptoms of bladder cancer may be similar to symptoms of other bladder conditions. It is im-portant to be aware and understand the differences.

The most common symptoms of bladder cancer include:

• Blood or blood clots in the urine • Pain during urination • Urinating small amounts frequently

• Frequent urinary tract infections If you experience any of these symptoms, you should see your doc-

tor who will complete a thorough medical history and examination. You may then be referred to a urologist, a physician who has special training in managing diseases of the bladder.

But what if you are just experience urinary urgency or urinary incontinence? Through simple behavior modification you can lessen your symptom’s severity. Here are a few self care tips to help with these very common issues.

Regulate your fluid intake with a consistent and constant daily consumption. Many people with bladder control problems reduce the amount of liquids they drink because they fear urinary frequency, urgency, and incontinence. This practice actually makes those symp-toms worse. However, I recommend limiting your intake 2-3 hours before bedtime if nighttime voiding is a problem.

Eliminate bladder irritants such as caffeine, carbonated beverages, artificial sweeteners (particularly aspartame), spicy foods, citrus juices and fruits, and alcohol. Also, prevent constipation through use of di-etary fiber, fluid intake, and exercise. Smoking cessation and weight reduction are also recommended.

Avoid using the bathroom when you do not have an urge, this is called “just in case” voiding and can create your desire for increased frequency.

Pelvic floor strengthening, called Kegels, (with or without biofeed-back) done daily and correctly can reduce and even prevent certain problems. The recommended number of Kegels vary, but 60-80 per day has been proven to reduce bladder frequency symptoms.

In most cases urinary incontinence can be treated and controlled, if not cured. If you are having bladder control problems, see your doctor or seek a specialist in urinary incontinence and bladder dysfunction.

Linda Adams, LVN has dedicated her career to helping patients take control of their incontinence. She works with the urologists at Pacific Urology where together they have created a continence program that is specifically designed to reduce and/or eliminate the causes of incontinence. For more information about our Continence Center or to schedule an appointment with Linda, call Walnut Creek: 925-937-7740 or San Ramon: 925-830-1140. Advertorial


Data presented in this column is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the Contra Costa and Alameda MLS service and other quoted sources. Joe Combs, Nancy Combs, The Combs Team, J. Rockcliff and the MLS service do not guarantee the accuracy of this information. DRE #0144125.

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Build Your Dream HomeWest Side Alamo Charmer

J. Rockcliff Realtors 15 Railroad Ave., Danville CA. 94526

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SOLDSOLD

another. They can’t, however, tell us exactly what an individual home is worth. A careful visual inspection and tighter review of the most relevant comparative sales are required to discover a specific home’s respective value range.

To illustrate this point, let’s compare two of our larger market segments. The low-est priced home that sold in Danville sold at $189 per square foot. The highest sold at $609 per square foot. Lowest selling price was $218,000 the highest selling price $4,650,000. That’s quite a difference. The average square foot price in the Town of

Danville, which by the way, is the lowest for our market area, is $369 per square foot. That’s roughly a $200 dollar swing from the midpoint to either the top or bottom. Alamo swung from $239 to $751 per square foot with an average of $426. Again, a very large difference and why the column trailer always emphasizes this point.

The 2013 selling season is off to a really great start as both inventory of homes and interest rates remain low. Assuming that the inventory doesn’t jump unexpect-edly, it’s likely that gently rising interest rates in the foreseeable future will serve as a catalyst to spur greater demand and a further rise in prices.

It’s important to remember that there really is no “average” home and no two homes are exactly alike. If you would like an honest “no strings attached” opinion of your home’s current market value and suggestions for getting it ready for market, please give me a call 925-989-6086 or send me an email [email protected]. Please visit our website to discover more information on our local market www.thecombsteam.com.

Danville Area Real Estate: Home Sales Approximately 45 Per MonthWith about half of 2013 behind us I wanted to review the Danville area real estate

market in segments, and as the sum of its parts. I’ve included a chart for comparison. In our local market which includes Alamo, Danville, Diablo, and Blackhawk, homes are selling at rate of about 45 homes per month through June 18. This is really good when you consider that the economy, while improving, is still in recovery mode. Down from 33% in 2011, approximately 16% of pending sales are distressed sales, which are either bank owned or short sales. No doubt, these are still exerting some negative impact on local pricing.

Homes in the Town of Danville lead the area with the shortest time on market at 22 days. Non-distressed, desirable homes priced right continue to sell fast. Yes! Fast! Already this year Nancy and I have sold several homes with multiple offers in the first week of coming to market, including one investment property which received 53 offers. What’s the secret? It’s very simple! The homes are lovely - nicely updated, freshly painted, and well staged. The homes receiving multiple offers were priced below $1.4 million which seems to be a price threshold that has been very difficult for today’s buyer to cross. Only 60 homes, or about 11% of the 537 homes sold here this year were sold at a price above $1.4 million.

Homes in need of updating are sitting for a longer periods of time and are receiv-ing discounted offers, if they sell at all. Today’s buyers can pretty easily qualify for a first mortgage to buy a home. Getting a second mortgage to fix one up is not so easy, which makes even cosmetic fixers significantly less desirable to the average buyer and valuable to flippers only at a discounted price.

That’s why average price and dollars per square foot figures in today’s market can be misleading when applied to an individual home. Those measures can serve well to inform us of the direction the market is headed when one time period is compared to

Home* Sales Alamo, Blackhawk Danville, Diablo (Jan1-June 18)Active Pending Sold DOM List Price Sold Price Sq. Foot $ Sq. Foot

Alamo 56 36 115 32 1,270,858$ 1,263,909$ 2,966 426$ Blackhawk 38 22 61 44 1,371,920$ 1,346,694$ 3,610 373$

Diablo 14 0 7 75 2,086,857$ 1,997,206$ 3,840 520$ Danville 85 153 354 22 851,530$ 866,791$ 2,349 369$

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Danville Today News, July 2013.

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