THE “MAYOR” of Montclair is an animal, and believe me, that’s a compliment.

The pug Percy was given the nod in a mock election last week at Crogan’s, and the Village people have spoken.

Looking back, though, I do wonder about his qualifications. Was Percy, indeed, the best beast for the job? After all, the Montclair Antique’s mascot has been sighted (you notice I didn’t say cited) watering the landscape on more than one occasion. A victimless crime, you say? Not if you’re the poor defenseless plant.

Reader’s forum

My piece on the hills motorist who found a nasty note on her SUV has precipitated yet another response. Reader S. Friedlander says, “T’wer me, I would ask the people who were leaving notes on her SUV to say: ‘Please leave it at home and take the bus or walk, or even take your bike — but try to use your car as little as possible.'”

Friedlander says it does no good to demand that someone sell their SUV, when many folks may need a bigger vehicle for work.

Speaking of cars, reader M. Liu says she has a Honda Civic hybrid and is feeling “great these days given the high price of gas.” She’d like me to mention Honda when I write about hybrids and tell readers there will soon be an Accord hybrid to rival the Prius, which I so dearly love to promote. “The more the merrier in the spare the air effort,” she says, and I agree.

Remembering Reagan

President Ronald Reagan’s recent death brought back memories of the time I traveled to his Santa Barbara ranch. Part of a very small group of reporters, I was treated to a side of Reagan that was both real and heart-warming. He showed me his favorite things that day, including the modest home he helped build with his own hands.

His spirit was contagious and he went on that year to lead our nation as president. So it touched me when I heard about the candlelight ceremony for Reagan at several Sunrise Senior Living locations, including one in Oakland. Sunrise offers Alzheimer’s care and used the event to pay tribute, not only to the brave people battling this disease, but to their selfless care-givers.

Donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America by calling toll-free to 866-AFA-8484.

All’s ‘fair’

Get out the bib and the overalls, it’s time for the Alameda County Fair. There’s no better place to pig out on pork rinds and popcorn than Pleasanton, the quintessential place for a hometown celebration.

And speaking of food, there’s a wingding of an event this year, with the First Annual Hot Wing Face-Off on Saturday, July 10. Contestants have 20 minutes to prepare their raw wings on a two-burner propane cooktop in front of an audience. You can download entry forms on the Web at http://www.alamedacountyfair.com. May the best marinade win!

Punny plate

Spotted on a vintage sedan in the Oakland hills, the vanity plate: “75 SWINGR.” Rudy D. says the car sported an added feature — a hula girl bobbing wildly on the back shelf.

WISHES CAN come true, if you find the right “genie.” Just ask Michael Scott, an East Oakland school principal. He had a dream to energize the student body and beautify the campus at E. Morris Cox Elementary School. But without the money, he needed some magic to pull it off.

What came instead was divine intervention, from the Faith Network of the East Bay. The group hooked Scott up with Berkeley muralist Edythe Boone, who shared his mission and saw the benefits to the school and the neighborhood. The mural was unveiled on the playground this week and the sense of pride was heartwarming. You hear plenty of bad news about Oakland schools. But the good news comes from small acts of kindness like these.

Horsing around

For folks who don’t spend enough time with their four-legged friends, there’s a new horse camp at Lake Del Valle in Livermore. Complete with watering troughs and corrals, you can come down off the dusty trails and rest a spell, with your trusty steed nearby.

Since so many hills folks have horses, you may want to check this out: the town of Rio Linda hosts a cowboy-mounted shoot in which you ride horseback, shooting .45-caliber revolvers, racing the clock and firing at … water balloons. Someone should have come up with this 200 years ago. They could have tamed the old West a lot sooner.

One man’s trash…

Think of this as a Goodwill store for homeowners. At ReStore in San Leandro, you can buy everything from cabinets to doors, plumbing supplies to power tools — all donated by people with good hearts and the need for a tax write-off.

ReStore is the recycling shop run by Habitat for Humanity, and the money raised there goes to build new homes for low-income families. It’s a win-win for everybody. Contractors and business people can get rid of excess supplies (without dumping them in a landfill), shoppers get good stuff at great discounts, and Habitat for Humanity gets a new source of cash. For more information, call 510-251-2604.

E-mail bag

I apparently struck a nerve with last week’s story about a reader who found a nasty note on the windshield of her SUV in Berkeley.

Carol Siegal says she had a similar experience in Berkeley last summer when she left a bag on a broken meter, only to return and find a “venomous” note by someone who accused her of being too cheap to pay to park.

“I felt like the adrenaline was pumping through me in anger for the next hour!” she wrote, adding, “the meter really didn’t work.” Carol’s car seems to attract anonymous notes.

Now she’s getting them in front of her own house by a group claiming to be the Claremont Woodlands Neighborhood Association. The official-looking memos state there’s no street parking allowed, but Carol knows it’s not true. “What does all this say about our society?” she wonders?

Montclair on the air

The radio station that calls itself “the Bone” (107.7 FM) is looking for a few good dogs in Montclair.

The station will be broadcasting from the Village on June 18 (from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Crogan’s), and holding a mock election for a new canine mayor. Candidates will have to knock Percy the pug off his perch. The pug that holds court at Montclair Antiques has been the top dog around here for several years.