Who says you can’t go home again? Mark Zinns did it, and things are working out just fine.
Zinns is the new director for Montclair Park and Recreation. It must be like deja vu for him since he grew up here and worked part-time at the center in college.
“Having the opportunity to come back here is like a really great homecoming for me,” he said.
After serving in the National Guard in the ’91 Gulf War, Zinns returned to Oakland to run the Dimond Recreation Center for 13 years before transferring to Montclair.
“At Dimond we really got the community involved in our programs,” he said, “Neighbors were taking pride of ownership in the park.”
That’s what’s needed in Montclair.
Just last year, a city-funded study showed Montclair Park and Rec was weak when it came to tapping the community for advice and support. But Zinns is already changing that.
“We have an advisory council now and have already had a cleanup night to get the center back in shape,” he said. “Just walk inside, and you’ll see the difference. The old walls have a new coat of paint, and there’s a new attitude as well. Wheelchair ramps are going in this fall, and new furniture has been ordered for the center — kind of a “mini-makeover.”
But with budgets so lean and expectations so big, Zinns would like to see more volunteers with an interest in the park. The programs and time commitment is up to the individual.
“There’ll be no more than one night meeting a month,” Zinns promises, “and if you can’t make the meetings, that’s fine too.”

• HIGHWAY HOOPLA: Local Realtor/columnist Pat Talbert wants to know the latest on the barrier replacement along Highway 13.
“It seems to lose more vegetation daily,” she notes, echoing the concern of other readers who say our once-scenic byway is looking pretty barren these days.
Councilwoman Jean Quan tells me she is working with state officials to find funding for both vegetation and irrigation for new highway plants, but says “little can be assured until the budget process in the state and other agencies moves forward for the next fiscal year.”

• E-MAIL BAG: Brenda Lynch wants readers to know that hills jazz singer Barbara Dane will perform May 1 at a benefit for the East Bay Agency for Children.
“This will be a wonderful afternoon on the waterfront in Alameda,” she says, at the home of Alice and Frank Fried. If you haven’t heard Barbara Dane, her band The Golden Gate Hot Seven “trumpets” some of the Bay’s best jazz musicians, including KKSF featured artist Ric Alexander on saxophone. Their style is ’50s jazz revival, and they’re often called the Buena Vista Social Club of the Bay Area.
It’s a great party for a great cause, and you can find out more by calling Tandra DeBose at 510-268-3770.

• OUT AND ABOUT: Congratulations to local author Carole Terwilliger Meyers for her new book, “Weekend Adventures in San Francisco & Northern California.” This is actually her eighth edition of this travel guide, which includes everything from restaurants to river rafting trips.
In Oakland, she touts the tulips at Mountain View Cemetery, the Chabot Space & Science Center, the USS Potomac, the zoo and a cavalcade of cafés and fine restaurants, including Fentons. The book is available in stores and at carousel-press.com

SEEING the Sabatte brothers at the Montclair Malt Shop the other day reminded me of my childhood. Some of my earliest memories are of Mom and Dad bringing in the milk from the little metal delivery box on the front porch. I didn’t grow up here, so the Sabatte family didn’t deliver our milk — but they might have delivered yours. Their grandfather owned Berkeley Farms, one of the most enduring and endearing East Bay institutions.
Commenting on the company’s famous “Farms in Berkeley” cow campaign, Herb Caen once said it was the most successful and longest running advertising slogan in Bay Area history. The “cow” was none other than voice man Mel Blanc, who did a few other animals you might remember, including Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny. Like those famous cartoon characters, the Berkeley Farms “Mooo” has achieved cult status, according to the founder’s grandson, Gary Sabatte.
Like all of the male family members, Gary drove the home delivery trucks for Berkeley Farms as a youth.
“It was an exhausting six to seven day a week routine,” he remembers, “and it seemed one could never get enough sleep.”
That lack of sleep may have led to an incident Sabatte still remembers today.
“Four cases of glass bottled milk fell out of my truck’s side door at the intersection of MacArthur and Broadway near the old Pland’s Restaurant. What a mess!”
As I think of the old days of milk delivery and, yes, even cows in Berkeley — I can’t help it yearn for that simpler time. Like the cream that rose to the top of the bottle, hard work was rewarded with success. Gary, George and Jack Sabotte (all Oakland hills residents) should be proud of their accomplishments. Berkeley Farms has survived because of their family’s strong work ethic and the company has earned its place in history.

FOOD FINE: They call it a “farm-acy” since it’s right next to Kaiser Permanente. The new branch of Food Mill is a mighty little market with some of the best selection and prices I’ve seen on healthy groceries.
Located next to the pharmacy in the MB Center, (MacArthur and Broadway) they have everything from wild salmon to Pomegranate juice, from Buffalo burgers to organic fruits and vegetables.
“Kaiser approached us at our store in East Oakland,” says manager Jutta Kaiser, who, despite her last name, says there’s no relation to the medical center. Still, she was happy to open the “farm-acy” as a way to reach Kaiser customers with the best foods available.

SAVING TIME: If you enjoy queuing up at the post office, then this story is not for you. The little Canyon Post Office is expanding its services to include passport photos and processing. Avoiding the drive to West Oakland is just one reason to discover Canyon. Another is the sweet country charm of this mail center and the redwoods that surround it. No noisy crowds of people and their packages here — just the babbling of the brook as it flows through the cool, damp forest.

EAGLE AWARDS: Four hills boys who started school together and scouts together are receiving the ultimate honor next month.
Cameron Copland, Ian Faison, David Pezzola and Ryan Sullivan are becoming Eagle Scouts on May 1 at a ceremony at Corpus Christi School. Not only did the boys attend this Catholic school, they graduated together before going off to different high schools. But their community service remained constant and their achievement is one that few boys reach.

TALKING TURKEY: In a year when the wild turkey population is exploding, several readers have reported a particularly tame bird along Skyline at Shepherd Canyon Road. I spent much of my morning last Friday tracking that turkey, which led me on a wild goose chase through some prickly canyon scrub. After getting no closer than 10 feet, I concluded this bird is not interested in being domesticated, nor is it eager to be part of a wild game dinner.

TEMPUS FUGIT. Time passes quickly, whether we’re having fun or not. But one way I’ve found to slow the hands of time is to slow down myself. An hour can seem like a day when I’m strolling, noticing new things and appreciating the old.
The new village clock caught my eye the other day. What a beautiful timepiece, stately and proud as it stands on the corner of Mountain and La Salle. Thanks to the Montclair Village Association for planning and purchasing this grand ornament and thanks to Raimondi’s for paying the monthly electric bill. Speaking of time, the long-awaited farmers market is coming to Montclair on Sunday, May 1. It’s been a long time coming, and I know we’ll turn out to support it.

SWEET CELEBRATION: The Montclair Safeway has always had great community spirit, so it’s no surprise it recently held a Spring Art Competition. Assistant Manager Susan Rodgers coordinated the event and every kid who entered was a winner, with lots of sweet treats and adorable stuffed animals for prizes. It’s this kind of tradition that makes our village so special.

EMAIL BAG: Reader Pat Grier comments: “I was interested to read in your column (April 8) that the landlord/owner of the space Montclair Produce was in, wanted a market in there. Uh, he had one.” She cites high rent as the reason Montclair Produce closed, and suggests the market concept is already springing up nearby. “Farmer Joe’s is going to open in the old Albertsons sometime this summer & Gabriel at Rocky’s is rumored to be putting in a meat counter,”she writes.

MORE EMAIL: With identity theft becoming a growing problem in the Bay Area, reader Scheria Smith suggests you look up her business on the Web. She says www.scheriasmith.org features a short, informational movie on how to protect your credit.
Smith’s company, Identity Theft Shield, offers a prepaid plan that continuously monitors your credit, provides you with reports, and helps you restore your identity if a theft occurs.

OBSERVATORY OBSERVATIONS: I took out-of-town guests to the Chabot Space & Science Center recently and they were star-struck. “We can’t believe you have something of this magnitude in your neighborhood,” they said as they spent hours in the Mars exhibit and taking in the Planetarium and the Megadome Theater. Having just been at the National Air and Space Museum, I can honestly say the Smithsonian has nothing on Chabot when it comes to covering the great beyond.

HUMAN CHAIN: You’ve heard of Lake Merritt’s Necklace of Lights? Well, Lake Tahoe is planning a necklace of a different sort this summer –77,000 people are wanted for a human “peace” chain around the lake on Saturday, June 25. With the winter they’ve had, the snow may just be melting.

CORRECT ME if I’m wrong, but isn’t it spring? I keep getting e-mails about new storms in Lake Tahoe and truckloads of snow falling in the Sierra.
An extension of winter may sound like a good thing, but it could put a chill on some of spring skiing’s best events. Like Squaw Valley’s bikini and boxer slalom this Sunday. If the weather doesn’t warm up, the racers could get frostbite. Many parts will be exposed to the elements.
Then there’s Sugar Bowl’s Hawaiian Luau party on Saturday. Skiing in a grass skirt doesn’t afford you much warmth, even with a mai tai in each hand.
And what about the long-standing tradition of pond jumping? You can’t jump a pond at the bottom of the ski run if there’s no snow melt.
If this is global warming — then I’d hate to see a really snowy winter.

ABOUT TOWN: It’s been almost a year since Montclair Produce closed its doors and the building’s only sign of life is the flower shop, which has taken over part of the space. But word is the landlord is trying to find partners for a Rockridge-style marketplace.
A likely tenant would be Montclair Bakery and owner Cheryl Lew says she’s considering the move next door but there’s a lot of money involved. “The landlord is pretty committed to trying to find a way to put in another market,” she said, adding he’s been approached by chains and mortgage companies and turned them all down. I think we’d all welcome a marketplace in this location, especially if they could open up more parking.
Meanwhile, Montclair Village has its own trouble keeping tenants. The latest business to say goodbye is Ps Home, which is expected to be out by the end of May.
Broker Ann Moody tells me the space will be split into three shops, and she’s looking at everything from a shoe store to an art workshop for two of the spaces. The third shop might be taken by an existing Montclair business –A Great Good Place For Books. As of this date, nothing is nailed down.

ON THE BAY: Thanks to reader Howard Smith for telling me the Potomac has launched its 2005 cruise season. More than 80,000 people have sailed aboard FDR’s floating White House since it opened to the public at Jack London Square in 1995. This ship is one of Oakland’s treasures and everyone, young and old, will enjoy the tour. For more information, call 510-627-1215.

HEAVENLY MUSIC: It may seem like an unlikely place for a concert, but Oakland’s Chapel of the Chimes has some wonderful live music events. Marilyn Kosinski at The Oakland Lyric Opera has put together an eclectic selection of songs for April 17 (2 p.m. Sunday), featuring a pianist and two sopranos doing French duets.
She calls these performances “opera light,” saying even the most die-hard opera haters will like them. The venue alone (Julia Morgan designed this historic structure) is worth the visit.

HOOP RIVALRY: It was a battle of the local Catholic Schools when grads from St. Theresa’s and Corpus Christi squared off in a basketball fund-raiser recently. The boys, all students at Bishop O’Dowd High School, packed the gym and raised $1,700 for tsunami victims.
Their moves may have been compromised by the skimpy uniforms (the guys were squeezed into their grade school shorts and jerseys) but it was a great game and St. T’s pulled out the win.

IT WAS 1988 when we first moved to Montclair. Young newlyweds, my husband and I found nightlife just down the hill at a place called The Equinox. The club’s closure marked the beginning of a long drought for those of us thirsty for live local music.
Finally, the drought appears to be over.
There was a warm, welcoming glow coming from the historic Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club last week. Folks filtered in for an evening of comedy, commentary and music. Many of us had never seen this remarkable building, which had quietly been part of the landscape here since the 1920s. The fire crackled and threw light on the persimmon-colored walls. The mahogany bar gleamed as the men and women of Montclair shared wine and warm conversation.
The evening was organized by Andrea Gordon, a local Realtor with a background in theater and a dream of starting an Art Salon in Montclair. “This community has everything going for it,” she said, “but rarely do we see live performance happening here.” With her own money, Gordon hopes to change that. And the Woman’s Club couldn’t be a better venue.
The grand old lady is already home to the 17-piece Montclair Women’s Big Band, and features a wonderful stage with a brand new sound system and great acoustics. The ballroom is a classy as ever, with its four double doors that open into the wooded courtyard. It’s a beautifully restored building that is perfectly situated across from the local library.
Gordon’s next live event is on May 16, with bi-monthly shows after that. Let’s support her dream to bring live entertainment to Montclair. Let’s make this a gathering place for everyone who celebrates music as the soul of a community — and the way to bring us closer together. For more information on upcoming shows, her Web site is www.andreagordon.com.

SPEAKING OF MUSIC: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention La Taza de Cafe here. Owner Daniel Brajkovich is creating a wonderful Latin music club where the old Thornhill Cafe used to be. Two of the featured musicians are from Havana and they (Evelio Roque and Coto Pincheira) set the mood for the sumptuous tapas that are served right up until closing at 11 p.m. It was Daniel’s dream for this to be a gathering place, too, and it’s become even more — as neighbors bring instruments to play with the band. It reminds me of Europe, where music is life and rarely a meal goes by without song.

EASTER CELEBRATION: The hunt was on, last week, as dozens of neighbors searched for eggs on the little storybook street called Fernwood Drive. Montclair writer Dennis Cavagnaro likens this street to a fairytale village of hobbit-like houses with diamond-shaped windows and medieval charm. He says the children were neatly dressed and well-behaved as they searched merrily for the brightly-colored eggs in the beautifully manicured garden. Sounds like something out of the society pages of the Montclarion — decades ago.

E-MAIL BAG: It’s good to know that this little column can make a difference. Pat Schwinn says that after last week’s piece on the mercury thermometer exchange at Montclair Presbyterian Church, she heard from a reader who had thrown her old broken thermometer in the trash. Schwinn gave her an emergency containment kit and the mercury is on its way to hazardous waste — instead of contaminating the landfill. Applause, applause!

MORE E-MAIL BAG: Regarding the piece on longtime radio personality Gene Nelson, David Ferrell Jackson writes: “Oddly enough, I am working this morning on a pair of 1965 air-checks of Gene from wonderful old KYA. The sound isn’t that good, but we should have them up on the Bay Area Radio Museum Web site (www.bayarearadio.org) by the middle of next week.

DALE MARIE GOLDEN always gets her man. No, this isn’t a tale of love in the hills — it’s a crime story. Our heroine is a senior executive at Montclair’s Wells Fargo Bank and her motto is none other than “not on my watch.” So in comes a guy trying to cash a stolen $5,000 check the other day. The man made the mistake of calling, first, claiming to be a relative of the customer. Our Ms Golden knew something was amiss so she called local beat cops Felicia Aisthorpe and Johnna Watson.
Aisthorpe had her squad car and Watson came by motorcycle with a backup patrol.
“We’re here for you, Dale,” they proclaimed as they rounded up the suspect and shoved him into the black and white. And this is where the story gets good.
The partner comes up to the police car and asks how long his pal is going to be.
“What’s your name?” the officers ask, and he tells them. They run a check and he has a rap sheet that reads like a book. “Apparently these guys were part of a pretty big fraud ring,” says Golden, “and we broke it up.” These three women are like the Mod Squad — kicking butts and taking names. I guess it’s all in a day’s work.

E-MAIL BAG: In the wake of last week’s piece on veteran KSFO/KYA radio personality Gene Nelson, Ben Bruening writes: “I was 15 when I first discovered Gene and 30 when the new owners came in and he left the air (in the mid-’90s) I can’t explain to those who never heard him (my wife, for example) what he did that made him special. You had to hear him talk about the “Little Missus” and “little nippers” and where they had dinner last night and what movie they had seen to appreciate him.” Thanks, Ben, for the memories.

WARM HEART: Reader Bob Anderson had a sweet experience in Montclair the other day. He was shopping for gifts to bring 19 girls in an orphanage near where his wife, Edna Mitchell, is working in Kabul, Afghanistan. “The things I looked at for the older girls (12 to 15) were inappropriately sexy for Muslims,” he writes, adding he was worn out and discouraged when he finally stopped at Annie’s Hallmark in Montclair. Not only did owner Mohammed Khatib pick out 20 beautiful origami kits, he insisted that they be his gift to the girls. “Montclair is indeed a special place,” says Anderson, “and it’s people like Mohammed who make it so.”

TOSSING TOXINS: If you’ve got an old mercury thermometer around the house, it’s time to bag it up and take it to church. From 11 a.m. until noon on Sunday, March 27, the Montclair Presbyterian Church Eco-Stewards will give any Alameda County resident a brand new digital thermometer in exchange for their used mercury thermometer. And how dangerous are mercury thermometers? Just 400 of them could potentially contaminate 2.5 billion gallons of water. Save The Bay and the East Bay Municipal Utility District are co-sponsoring this drive and Pat Schwinn has more information at 339-2669. By the way, the Eco-stewards also collect old batteries and fluorescent light bulbs each week.

THINK GREEN: If you like home tours, then check out this spring’s “Build It Green Home Tour”. Reader Larry Hayden (owner of Federal Building Co.) says up to 30 “environmentally friendly” houses will be showcased in Alameda and Contra Costa counties on May 1. Sign up for the tour and you can see everything from super efficient solar homes to healthy homes with low toxicity. For more information, check the Web site.

APPARENTLY I don’t get out enough. For years, I have known about the eclectic cuisine on College Avenue but have ignored its siren calls. I’ve lived in an oyster, having rarely experienced the pearl. All that changed when I walked in the doors of a charming trattoria called Locanda Olmo. I was greeted warmly by a couple with a passion for food and a yearning to share it.
Charlotte Oculisti took us upstairs to an intimate place that her husband, Leonardo, had spent weeks creating. Rich earth tones and a vineyard motif gave it the feel of a Tuscan villa as we breathed in the sensuous smells of toasted bruschetta and rich herb risotto. Like most family-run restaurants in Italy, Charlotte was our server, running up and down stairs with the flair of a dancer. In fact, dancing was her profession in Italy, and she spent many a night in the spotlight, even dancing on stage during a Prince concert.
But these days, stardom is the last thing on her mind. Charlotte’s life is rich enough with the success she enjoys in the restaurant and as the mother of two young boys. Not to be outdone by mom and dad, the kids have boundless energy of their own and thrive on simple things like shopping for produce and darting in and out of the kitchen. And the love of family spills over to the customers who dine here.
Yes, we are blessed to be living in one of the culinary capitals of the world. Our restaurants are second to none. And while some people only dream of going to Tuscany, we can find it just minutes away, at Locanda Olmo, on College at Ashby in Berkeley.

ANOTHER TREASURE: Not long ago, a reader told me about Lucciola Children’s Bookstore on Piedmont Avenue. Lucciola means firefly in Italian and the shop is as illuminating as its name. Run by three women from Argentina, Lucciola celebrates culture from around the world with children’s books in several languages, including Spanish and Italian. But it’s not just for reading material.
The women also teach Spanish to customers as young as 2, with weekly sessions.
“We teach by singing and talking and dancing and reading to the children,” says Rosanna Sosa Payne, who does the bookkeeping for the shop while her partners Ines Tisker and Laura Juarez teach the classes.
The inspiration, she says, is the service they want to provide to their community.
“When we were raising our kids we tried to buy books and teach them our language,” she says, “but it was so hard finding books (Spanish) in the big stores.” So this is their way of giving back, of sharing the spirit of children from all cultures who call the East Bay their home. For more information on Spanish classes and books, call 652-6655 or see their Web site at www.Lucciolabooks.com.

EMAIL BAG: Reader Therese Brewitz wants to invite everyone to her upcoming show at the Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club (across from the library). Her five-piece band, Implied Five, is playing a concert at 9 p.m. Monday, March 21.
Brewitz is Swedish and says her band actually plays Swedish rap, as well as some smoky jazz and surf pop. Radio legend Scoop Nisker of KFOG is the host and the show is a bargain for just five bucks.

SPEAKING OF LEGENDS: Call this a blast from the past. Mark Abboud, a young guy who works at both Montclair Antiques and Montclair Hardware, showed me an old radio station album the other day from the 1960s. KYA’s 21 Golden Gate Greats had the top picks from some of San Francisco’s legendary disc jockeys like Gene Nelson and Russ Syracuse. Abboud snagged the album after someone brought it into the antique shop. Since I grew up with these songs (“Hang on Sloopy” by the McCoys and “Along Comes Mary” by the Association, to name a few) and later worked with Nelson and Syracuse at KYA –I guess that makes me an “oldie” too. An oldie, but a goodie.

What’s a birthday party without a clown? That’s probably what director Julie Jones was thinking when she planned the party for Oakland’s Ascension Senior Center. She picked, perhaps, the Bay Area’s most famous clown to entertain her group – the cosmic cut-up Wavy Gravy. “I’m an activist clown and a frozen dessert,” Wavy laughed, referring to the ice-cream flavor that bears his name. But he’s also something else. A trooper. Despite 7 back surgeries that left him clearly in pain, he showed up to entertain the crowd last week. Looking out over a sea of gray hair, he told a few jokes and then laid himself down on a bed he’d brought into the room. And why was it so important for him to show up for the 26th anniversary? You’ve probably heard, the Senior Center is in danger of losing is funding. It’s fate, like that of other Adult Education programs, is tied to state funding for the Oakland Schools. Jones says she’s doing everything she can to keep her center alive, since it serves hundreds of hills seniors with lunch and dozens of activities each week. She sees Wavy Gravy as one person who can bring attention to her plight.

Building Facelift: It seems like just yesterday that Albertons opened in Montclair, but already the store is getting a facelift. A 17 week remodeling project started this week, that will add another aisle of frozen foods and pump up the produce department (with more organic fruits and vegetables). The final touch will be new paint through-out.

Column Comments: My column on crime (February 25th) prompted reader John Marquette to ask why Oakland Police don’t cut down on their paperwork by using voice recorders? He knows of a police department in Ohio where patrols use voice recorders and have civilians transcribe their notes, freeing up manpower. With that system in place, maybe John would have gotten a better response when he reported 2 vehicle vandalisms on his street (Clemens Road) last month. “Every police number I called had either been disconnected or no-one answered,” he says. John’s wife finally got a live person to mail out a crime report form. But police were apparently too busy to come out and take fingerprints off the rock that was used to smash the car windows.
Meanwhile, reader Nick Solli sees a solution for a different kind of manpower crunch – at the local libraries. “When I went to the Oakland Animal Shelter recently, I saw they had a lot of volunteers,” Nick says, wondering why the Montclair Library couldn’t have volunteers supplement their staff. He says he would help out, and thinks a lot of other folks, especially retirees, would offer their services too.

Shop Talk: Wheels of Justice in Montclair just finished up an 8 week internship with 2 middle school kids from the Canyon School. The boys learned everything from tagging merchandise to changing a flat tire in their ninety minute sessions each Wednesday afternoon. While working in a bike shop was fun, the guys may have been “trumped” by their classmates who landed the internship at Chez Panisse. They got to taste that great food each week.

Punny Plate: The Volkswagen Beetle is the cutest counter culture car I’ve ever seen. So it caught my eye when I spotted a lime green bug, last week, with the personalized plate HIP PEA.
All it needed was that popular bumper sticker “Imagine Whirled Peas”.

THIS IS a column about nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty to say, but none of it’s really important. For instance, did you know there’s self-checkout at Albertsons in Montclair? When I was a kid, I fantasized about being a grocery store checker. Now, I can do the job any time I like. I can check myself out day and night. And speaking of Albertsons, they’ve got the cheapest lunch in town, now, with their parking lot barbecues. For a buck, you can take two chicken legs to the park and have yourself a picnic. Add a wing and you’re really living.

SPEAKING OF FOOD: KCBS radio did a piece on Grinders in Montclair recently comparing the sandwich shop to that famous eatery in New York featured in Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi” episode. Anyone who goes to Grinders knows the subs are tasty and the service is no nonsense. In other words, know what you want before you get up to the counter.
Meanwhile, have you noticed the turnover in shops in Montclair lately? Rent is the reason that many store owners say they can’t stay. Finer Things would still be open today if the landlord had agreed to a plan that merchant Toni Murphy had worked out to share her space with Maurine Marie from the Malt Shop. Still, Murphy was lucky. She got an offer on her house just as she was shutting down shop and now she’s off to Pacific Grove.
These are just my observations as I walk around town. They won’t make the headlines, but they’re interesting, nonetheless. A column about nothing. Maybe it will catch on.
TASTY TRIP: One of the most popular field trips for local students is to Semifreddi’s Factory in Emeryville. Two of the owners of the popular bakery, Nancy and Mike Rose, have children at Montclair Elementary School, and offer interesting tours that are capped off with a free bag of bread for each visitor. Happy 20th anniversary to Semifreddi’s — a great local company with wonderful bread.

E-MAIL BAG: Regarding my Feb. 18 column on Oakland police issuing tickets to Montclair motorists, reader Toni Walchek writes: “It’s nice to have a beat officer in Montclair. However, you and your readers should be aware that Felicia Aisthorpe has written up people (me included) for ‘illegal’ U-turns at intersections.”
Walchek says that according to the California Driver Handbook, U-turns in business districts are permitted at intersections. I looked this up and thought the wording was ambiguous. But appealing a ticket or dealing with the DMV can be so frustrating, I think I’d skip the U-turn all together.

THINK SUMMER: Anyone with kids knows it’s already time to think about summer camps. But with all kinds of options, how do you know what’s out there? On March 13, almost 100 summer camps and programs will be set up at Oakland’s Scottish Rite Center for the annual Children’s Summer Programs Information Fair. From preschool to high school, your kids are covered at this one stop shop. It’s free, so get there early — close to 2,000 people are expected to attend. For more information, call 510-287-9855.

HAUNTED OAKLAND: I just love a good ghost tale, don’t you? So I thought I’d share a Web site that tracks spooky stories around the country and here at home that details dozens of haunted places, including Mills College, where a shadowy ghost carriage travels the road behind two dormitories. Oakland’s Holmes Book Co. has a “spirited character” who reportedly throws books around. Our city’s SPCA has a friendly specter who weeds the grounds around the pet crematory. And even Joaquin Miller Park has a resident wraith – the ghost of a woman who was hit by a truck as she crossed the road one foggy night. I get chills just thinking about it.

IF CRIME isn’t the No. 1 problem in Oakland, it’s close. And more and more readers are sharing their stories of theft and frustration. Take the man on my street whose van was stolen from his garage. Neighbors felt certain that an abandoned truck nearby was linked to the crime. But it took several weeks for police to respond and when they did, the officer admitted that “probably nothing could be done”
Earlier this month, LeAnne Bearden’s car was stolen in the Laurel District. Police found it on a Friday afternoon, but didn’t call her till the following Tuesday. It sat it the tow yard, collecting fines for five days, which she then had to pay to get the car back. “It’s like being a victim twice,” she says. “First by the thief and then by the city.”
Just as frustrating as the slow response is police saying they’re too strapped to investigate these crimes. Whatever happened to “dusting for fingerprints” and talking to witnesses?
In the end, really all we can do is stay vigilant. Keep our cars locked up at night and have some kind of alarm for the daytime.
Because with this kind of crime, protecting our assets is up to us.

TENDER WORDS: You’ve probably seen the “Chicken Soup” books. There are several versions, with the latest being “Chicken Soup for the Single Parent’s Soul.” Nestled in the dozens of inspiring articles is one from Skyline High graduate Mike Robbins, who writes a tribute to his Oakland hills mom. Lois was single when she raised her two kids. Mike remembers how she taught him to play baseball, then supported him at Skyline and Stanford and into the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals. But for all his accomplishments, this may be the sweetest. “He gave me a wrapped copy of the book,” Lois says, “and he asked me to read it out loud.” Her reaction lit up the room. “I went nuts — crying, screaming and carrying on.” Mike turned 31 this month, but Lois feels like she got the birthday present — and the nicest thank you a son could ever give.

POSTAL TIDBIT: Just when you thought every branch of government was broke, the United States Postal Service has expanded its branch hours in Montclair! It’s just a test, mind you, but now you can mail your packages and buy your stamps until 7 p.m. on weeknights.
Of course, not everyone sees the need for this change. One reader reports that her friend looked blankly at her and said, “Why, with stamps.com do you even care what the hours are?”

E-MAIL BAG: If you’ve got pop-up problems on your computer, here’s a reader who can sympathize, and even help. Dr.Max Mansoubi says he’s just opened the Bay Area’s first anti-spyware and anti-malware computer clinic — at 3756 Grand Ave. in Oakland.
Experts say spyware is becoming a huge threat that not even anti-virus programs can contain. You know you’re infected when so many advertisements pop up, your computer slows to a crawl.

SPORTS MANIA: Congratulations to Ricky’s Sports Bar in San Leandro for being Sports Illustrated’s pick for No. 2 sports bar in the nation. Ricky Ricardo (I love that name) has good pub food and just about every sporting event you could ask for on an insane number of televisions (he even has them in the bathrooms!) And on Easter Sunday night Ricky’s spotlights an Oakland band called, appropriately, the Easter Eggs — live in the lounge.