WHAT INTERESTS teenage girls? Music and makeup, that’s for sure. Shopping and boys — goes without saying. But Girl Scouts? Now you’re getting into a select group. You see, girls may start out as scouts in grade school, but by high school they’ve lost interest.
That’s why I’m honoring Troop 2399, eight hills sophomores who’ve just earned their Silver award. With leaders Twila Foster and Meredith Forristal, they compiled a guide to Bay Area Girl Scout campsites which details everything from numbers of cabins to cooking facilities. And they did this on top of their homework and sports and church commitments.
Now it’s on to the Gold Award for these girls who’ve been together since kindergarten at Corpus Christi School in Piedmont. And that’s what’s so special. Despite going to different high schools (St. Mary’s, O’Dowd, Miramonte and College Prep), they’ve stayed together to achieve a goal very few Girl Scouts achieve.
Congratulations, girls. In life, as in scouts, I know you’ll “go for the gold.”

‘RAT PACK’ REVIEW: Hills mom and musician Rebecca Faiola says “The Tribute” (playing at the Post Street Theater in San Francisco) is the best impersonation of the “Rat Pack” she’s ever seen. She ought to know, since she and her husband, Frank, have their own Sinatra tribute band that plays parties all over the Oakland hills.
“We were delighted to see this style of music performed ‘live’ with a full orchestra and all four of the ‘Rat Pack’ on stage singing their classic tunes,” she says. Faiola says the singers were spitting images, both visually and vocally, of Frankie and Dino and the boys and she highly recommends the show for a great night out.
Meanwhile, Rebecca and Frank have their own Sinatra gig coming up soon — a fund-raiser for Saint Theresa’s School. You can book them to play your events by calling 510-326-3553.

DEJA VU: If a cat has nine lives, how many lives does a building have? Joe Sullivan may be wondering over at The Book Tree on La Salle Avenue, where cars have smashed into the front of his store twice in three years. Both episodes involved seniors and in the latest accident, a pedestrian was injured on the sidewalk. The car “hit the bricks” back in June, as they say, and cracked the old facade, which will be hard to replace. Still, it could have been worse, and hopefully the driver and the pedestrian have recovered from their injuries.

CRIME WATCH: Despite the police patrols and the $22,000 a year spent for security by Bay Alarm, merchants are still getting robbed in Montclair. Both Movie Express and Noah’s Bagels have been hit at gunpoint this summer, and it’s unnerving to say the least. But thefts have been prevented, too, according to Raimondi’s owner Al Atallah. He says Bay Alarm provides escorts on request after dusk and also checks shop doors to make sure they’re locked. What more can be done? Like a neighborhood watch, maybe the merchants need better communication when they see suspicious activity. It seems to be vital in this place and time.

SWINGING SINGLES: The Oakland A’s bats weren’t the only thing swinging last weekend at the Coliseum. Reader Lynne Orloff Jones tells me Saturday was Yahoo singles night — where the price of admission was “just the ticket” for a new romance. And the pre-game warm-up wasn’t bad, either. It included a free wine reception with a glass and five tastings. Can you say “Yahoo”?