MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – April 2,  2009

FARMS IN OAKLAND? Not exactly, but a new farm in Fairfield has a drop site in Oakland, where members can pick up a weekly basket of fresh produce. The Shootingstar Farm is the closest Community Supported Agriculture Project to the East Bay, and it’s run by the family that founded Lafayette’s Orchard Nursery.

Caleb Cushing and Denise Bergez are volunteering to run Oakland’s drop site when the produce is delivered, starting in June. For less than $25 a week, members get a complement of carrots and chard, basil and beets, tomatoes, potatoes and peppers (and more). It’s one more option for folks who want fresh and flavorful produce — and it’s coming to Alida Street this summer. For more information see shootingstarcsa.blogspot.com/

ABOUT TOWN: Rumor has it that Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church is going to offer its parking lot to restaurant patrons in the new “Gourmet Ghetto” of the Glenview. Rumor is wrong. The church’s Roland Wong says they need their little lot for church functions, which are often held at night. Besides, there’s the issue of liability if they offer parking to the general public.

The lot will be open, however, for another worthy cause — drive-by donations to the Alameda County Food Bank. Barrels will be out in the upper lot for the Easter collection from 9-4 p.m. weekdays, April 6-19.

CRIME ALERT: Under cover of darkness, thieves apparently have stolen the last of 12 solar panels outside a portable classroom at Montclair Elementary School. Reader Cathy Sharp says she couldn’t believe it when she drove by and saw the remaining panels were gone — just two weeks after the first nine were stolen. The panels were used to teach students about solar energy.

E-MAIL BAG: There’s nothing like a parking ticket to put a damper on the evening. Reader Ed Benhard says he took his 89-year-old father to Flavors of India in Montclair, recently, after reading my March 20 column piece. “We enjoyed a very pleasant meal,” he writes, but “an hour and 10 minutes later, returned to the car and found a $30 ticket on the car from Regional Parking Inc., located in Martinez.” Benhard says he didn’t see the signs in the lot that warned parking is enforced 24/7 — even on holidays.

Better news for Gregg Kosmos, the Piedmont Pines senior who’s been trying to find the Good Samaritan who helped him after a nasty fall on his street. After putting a plea in my column last week, Susie Larson has come forward as the woman who helped Kosmos by applying pressure to his head wound and making sure he got home. Kosmos called her an angel and indeed — it seems divine intervention played a part. Suzie just happens to be an RN at Kaiser in Oakland.