MONTCLARION: September 16, 2011

“Potholes that could swallow a small child.”

“A surface like a moonscape.”

“Something from Outer Mongolia, not California.”

These are words being used to describe the still unpaved section of Mountain Boulevard between Ascot and the onramp to Highway 13.

You’ll recall we were told work would begin on or around Aug. 16. Here we are in mid-September, and we now have the added stress of school-day traffic jams along the pitted main artery to Montera and Joaquin Miller Schools.

“Have patience” says the folks at Oakland Public Works. The potholes have been circled, and the prep work is being done for the sidewalk, curb and gutter repairs. The “goal,” they reassure us, is have the road repaved before the end of the “paving season.” If that means Christmas, then consider it a gift. Your car’s undercarriage and tires may actually last into the new year.

STREET SCENE: Here’s more evidence that we’re all in too big a hurry these days. A car struck a senior in Montclair last week, and witnesses say some motorists were impatiently trying to get around the accident. It was a terrible scene, says reader Linda Safir, with the victim lying in the intersection in front of Le Bonbon and the elderly driver who hit her, standing dazed nearby. Thankfully, several Montclarions rushed to help the critically injured woman until paramedicscame.

EMAIL BAG: How important is Oakland’s city-owned Feather River Family Camp? Just ask 8-year-old Duncan Moran, who left his dad a note and a four-dollar donation for the cash-strapped camp last week. If every person who’s ever enjoyed this 87-year-old Sierra gem (www.featherrivercamp.com) would give a few bucks online, the camp would be able to survive the city’s plan to end all subsidies.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT: She’s turning 80 this fall, and she’s fabulous. The East Bay’s own Rita Moreno is back at the Berkeley Rep in a theatrical autobiography called “Life without Makeup” through Oct. 30. It’s nothing short of inspirational to see Moreno — the first to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy — dancing and singing snippets from “West Side Story” with two male performers and a four-piece band. She connects with her audience in a most intimate way, sharing her life’s story with delicious candor and wit. We even get the dish on her flings with Brando and a famous singer with gyrating hips.