Our cover photo--transporting black gold across the ocean from Alaska

Our cover photo today includes tankers parked at the Richmond Longwharf of Chevron, USA.  The name of the boat, "Golden Energy," really says what most people used to think about oil--that it was black gold.  It meant economic prosperity for the people who had it, and girding for battle for the people who didn't have it--perhaps that was the problem, because some people wrongfully thought there wasn't enough to go around. 

When I started publishing in 1972, someone came to me and said to me, "If you say anything bad about Standard Oil, they will say you are anti-business."  I was astonished.  I have no idea who said that to me.  I did not know anything at all about Standard Oil.  So I never wrote anything at all about them.  After about seven years, they put an ad in my newspaper. 

I was obviously not anti-business because I had ads from many of the local businesses and I was trying to promote local business and put it in a good light.  The local business people were treating me better than anyone had ever treated me in my whole adult life. 

Now we have solar energy which is the black gold of the 21st century.  However, the black gold of oil meant people could see more of their world than just the few miles around their house.  They could fly to the other side of the country; they could increase the market for the goods they were selling by transporting it to another country; they could have their invention manufactured in a country with a favorable exchange rate and bring it back and sell it at a profit here in the US, thus making a living.  And then there were many things that were made from oil including the clothing on your back. 

Songs were written about oil, like "Let your little light shine," which is about the oil shale that miraculously burned all night.  And it was even worshipped by the ancient Hebrews, who found they had more oil than they thought they did. Hannukah was a celebration of having enough oil to last eight days instead of only the one day they thought they had enough oil for.  Of course the bible says it was olive oil, not the kind of oil we make into gasoline.

From Wikipedia:
"Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem (Second Temple) after its desecration by the forces of the King of Syria Antiochus IV Epiphanes and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil."

Having enough to go around used to be central to the concerns of world leaders.  They lowered tariff barriers and they took down barriers to the flow of labor across national borders, so goods and labor could freely go where manufactured items could be made at the best price for the whole world.  They called that the "Kennedy Round of Tariff Negotiations," in the 1960's. 
Clothing dropped in price dramatically with the advent of synthetic fabric.  The skills of sewing became nearly obsolete because it cost less to buy a blouse or shirt that was manufactured in a foreign country than it did to make one yourself.  Though the US did not have diplomatic relations with China, we continued to get clothing that was made in the Orient and then had the Hong Kong label applied. 

Along with the imported clothing came bits and pieces of news from women workers in those countries, who were sewing those clothes, as the communist governments made reforms or failed in their attempt to provide a better life for their peoples.  A worldwide wave of nationalism swept across continents.  Countries that had been colonies achieved independence following World War II.  The US became involved in the war to  win hearts and minds over to the ideology of democracy and capitalism.  We learned that communism was not monolithic, that there was a difference between Chinese communism and Russian communism. 

We continued to have cultural exchanges of dance companies.  Then finally the cold war ended, the gates to travel and academic exchange opened, and we were able to visit those countries we had previously called "reds."  Changing the irrational violence towards, and persecution of communist believers in this country was attempted by transforming the color red into a symbol for the Republican party, and telling people that communism had been defeated in those countries so there wasn't any communism anymore.  It's hard to believe that people who had been indoctrinated in that ideology since birth could suddenly stop believing all that stuff and think like Westerners, but that's what we were told.

We go on day after day, one day at a time, with the tankers coming and going from the Long Wharf, hopefully insulated from the sturm and drang of the Richmond City Council and world conflicts.  We are told that we are getting our oil from Alaska.  We do not know if that describes the contents of the tankers or the feelings of the spokesperson.  Doesn't matter, we just want to be able to get the car's gas tank filled up, and still be able to pay for it at the end of the month.  We start thinking about working closer to home, not driving around for pleasure, taking public transportation, the joys of riding the train and so on.  When a police officer in uniform at Laney College tells you to take BART to Oakland, don't drive your car, you know it's time for a change. 

It's time to change with the times and allow the few people who want to throw their money away gambling to do so, but not right up against the flanks of the refinery where it would be too easy to blame it all on them when you lost your life savings, even if they had nothing to do with it.  And don't blame it on the Indians either.  Say it like it is: San Pablo got something new, and now Richmond wants to keep up with the Joneses.  Let's put the casino where it's not right next to the pot of black gold that directly or indirectly keeps us all with clothing on our backs and wheels parked in front of our huts.

If you want to gamble, you have your chance to make a lot of money at the track, right down the street from us in Albany.  To Albany, the racetrack surely is their pot of black gold.   We could have a dog racing track if the city fathers were not so frightened of the animal rights people, who are very strong around here.  No one has done that before in the Bay Area.  I guess we will hear about that idea from the many greyhound rescuers who live around here.

For a newspaper reporter, there are so many ethical considerations in running a newspaper, that it's as if we are supposed to take a vow of poverty just to become a newspaper publisher.  But this is antithetical to the idea of running a business.  The whole idea of running a business is that you make a living from it and you are concerned with giving the best service you possibly can to your customers.  If you are a good business person, you are able to support not only yourself but other people, who become like your family, maybe even better than having your own family.  They work together, they are treated well, they make a living, and it's not something that they dread doing every day, that they can hardly wait for the day they retire and don't have to do it anymore.  They are working together as a team to make a living,  not attempting to sabotage their employer's reputation and sink their business by treating their customers badly.  Working for a company where people treat you with respect makes life a joy.  It is something that can be emotionally and financially rewarding.

I look out there at "Golden Energy" and wonder what it is like to work on a tanker like that.  I wonder what it looks like up close.  When they are gone tomorrow, I wonder where they went.  I do not expect to ever be able to get any closer to an oil tanker than I am right now at this very moment.  I do not expect to have my curiosity satisfied.

When my son and his teenage daughter came to visit a couple of years ago, we went to see the Live OakVictory ship.  They were invited, along with my husband, to go down the  metal catwalks all the way to the bottom of the ship.  They climbed down, but I could not go there, being so overweight and with  a crippled left leg.  So I stayed up top and waited for them to come back.   And waited...and waited.  That tour was not on our agenda, but my son is  US Army intelligence officer so I was proud that he was having the opportunity to see the inside of an historic old ship tht not many people get to see.

I have only gone for a boat ride a few times in the 40 years I have lived by the side of the Bay.  At least I now live where I can see the Bay.  I never expected to have that in my life.  I never expected to own a house in my life.  I expected to live in an apartment all my life.  I expected to be a housewife like my mother was.

Hidden City Cafe -- The Unwrapped Wrap

by Jean Womack

It's an unwrapped wrap! one is tempted to say about the exquisitely delicious hummous-quinoa wrap at Hidden City Café, 109 Park Place, Point Richmond, CA 94801.  They are open Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8:00 a.lm. to 2:30 p.m., and open for dinner on Farmer's Market and music festival days. Their phone number is 510-232-9738.

This is the hummous-quinoa wrap. 

Note that the plate has eight sides.  

Little details like this can make a

restaurant great.

The deliciously organized serenade of freshly-made hummous, quinoa, lettuce, tomato, radish, cucumber and a hint of chopped red onion, with a dash of tangy yogurt sauce, was carefully heaped on a bass of two unwrapped small tortillas, just folded over a little bit. It's double string quartet group of taste sensations.  The Symphonie restaurant is up the street, so it can't be a symphony of taste sensations. It can't really be described as wrap music either. Ian, who has been waitering there since December, pointed out that the hummous wrap is a vegetarian dish.

Freshly cut roses greet the guests.

It was really hard to decide what to choose because I know that everything Hidden City serves is outstandingly delicious. The first choice is always the brunch menu of notoriously large platters of scrambled eggs and everything that goes with them. That is the local's favorite after-church menu. Sometimes they can't get out of their pews fast enough to get a seat in this very popular local eatery. Then they sort of mill around near the door looking worried and hoping against hope that someone will get up and leave so they can sit down.

Guillermina and Robin LaFeber of Guiollermina's

Asian Art and Antiques, take a little afternoon

time out for a nice tete a tete in Hidden City Cafe.

But on a regular business day at 1:30 p.m., there was enough room for a single woman to take a whole booth for herself and spread her drawing book on the table for a good sketch. Ian the waiter brought my cup of Earl Grey tea to me instantaneously. I ripped open the paper pouch and basked in the delightful aroma of very fresh Earl Grey tea and citrus spices before plopping it into the very hot water.

Sketch of Hidden City interior by Jean Womack.

That's Ian Brick on the left, by the cash register.

There is a French flag on the wall over the

door to the kitchen. 

Since the brunch was not available  because they had stopped serving it earlier in the day, Ian gave me the regular lunch menu of ten gourmet items. It begins with a melodious andante vegetarian chickpea and vegetable soup ($3.50 cup, $4.50 bowl), continues with a lively allegro of Farmers Market salad ($5.75), and comes to a crescendo with the hamburger and fries ($9.75, $10.50 with cheese).

l to r, Ian Brick, Isaac Hite, Harrison Hite, Shellie Bourgault
of the Hidden City Cafe

Because it is difficult to choose the best item when one knows they are ALL top-notch five-star choices, I had a brilliant idea. Why not ask the waiter what HE recommends? Ian was very kind to suggest first the sirloin-prime steak ($14.50), or the hummous-quinoa wrap ($9.00). Ian says that quinoa is pronounced "keen-wa." The hummous turned out to be a good choice for a lady who wants to have a wonderfully tasty business lunch but not to go up another dress size as a result.

While I was enjoying my humerous-quinoa wrap and sketching the restaurant interior, Guillermina La Fever, owner of Guillermina's Art and Antiques, (http://www.guillermina.com ) came in with her husband, Robin LaFever, and were seated for a late lunch.

Shelly Bourgault opened Hidden City restaurant about 20 years ago.  She is still the owner and chef of this fine restaurant. It has always been an artist-friendly place, with art work by local people on its walls. Large (18" x 24") ink drawings by Lauren Ari and Alison Luterman are up for view. They are displayed Point Richmond-style, in clear plastic wrappers, suspended from a horizontal wire laundry line by black clips. Poetry by by those two artists  are also displayed. Photos by Jay Corey are on the wall in the back room.#

Mark Lemaire and Twilight, Carol Denney, wow them at Sunday night concert.

Cindy Van Empel ("Twilight")

and Mark Lemaire on acoustic guitar.  His

web site is www.myspace.com/marklemaire

Mark Lemaire and his partner Cindy Van Empel, otherwise known as "Twilight," enchanted a nearly full house of acoustic guitar fans at the Point Richmond Methodist Church, Sunday night, August 22, 2010. Also on the evening agenda was songbird Carol Denney, who accompanied herself on guitar and concertina.

Before the conert. Cindy, Mark, Carol.

The church has good acoustics, so is often used for concerts. Sorry we do not have a Jewish Community Center here, or that would probably be used for concerts too. There used to be four churches in Point Richmond, but we are down to just two now, the Methodist and the Catholic. Sorry, I almost forgot the Christian Science Reading Room on Washington Avenue, and another religious group that meets Sunday mornings at the community center.  Let's see, did I miss anyone?  Let me know if you want publicity in The Point Richmond Voice.  There's plenty of room on a blog to write stuff, not like the expensive space in a newspaper on paper.

Cindy Van Empel ("Twilight") and

Mark Lemaire in concert.

Lemaire's songs tend to be about relationships. He is a man who writes songs about his love relationship with his partner Cindy Van Empel. She stands next to him singing and smiling, while he has a typical frown. She harmonizes with him on voice, but she gives Mark the whole stage for his virtuouso guitar strumming. He pats and strokes the guitar strings more than he actually plucks them. It's a very pleasant sound. He uses plenty of minor chords and progressions, that sometimes resolve themselves into the major chords we are most used to. Also the listener enjoys the tapping and knocking on the wood of the guitar itself. The microphone is plugged right into the bottom end of the acoustic guitar so the audience can hear all the nuances of his virtuoso performance.  It was very pleasant without being overwhelming.

Carol Denney singing

and playing the concertina.  If she had

sung more than three songs, she

would have stolen the concert.  Her

web site is http://www.caroldenney.com/

On the other hand, Carol Denney's voice is her main instrument. She has a soprano-alto range, and sings with the strength and sweetness of Joan Baez or the most professional singer you can imagine. Denney performs with Folk This! and Failure to Disperse. She will play at the Solano Stroll and at Strings. She just returned from the August Music Heritage Festival in Elkins, West Virginia, where she goes every year. I was so hypnotized by her beautiful voice that I forgot to take a photo of her holding the guitar, but I woke up for the second number and captured her accompanying herself on the concertina. And I thank her for telling the audience that the instrument she was holding was a concertina and not assuming we knew that already. I like to get a little education along with the beautiful music, speaking as one who was dragged to Leonard Bernstein music appreciation concerts by my mother when I was a child.

Before the concert.  Cindy, Carol, Mark.

Before the concert, Mark explained that his girlfriend, Cindy Van Empel had suggested "Twilight" as a name for a backup band, and that became her nickname. He lives in Emeryville. He said he toured New England this summer. Her day job is being a city planner. He played guitar since age 12.

Mark's typical expression is a frown, so that's

what they put on their publicity literature--she's

smiling and he's scowling.  That's their trademark.

The audience enjoyed "Rock and Kite,"—sometimes he's the kite, sometimes the rock--that he wrote for Cindy. He is intent and concentrating on his music, as he closes his piercing blue eyes as if that would help him perform better, or better express what he is trying to communicate.



"I only want to lay down with you," he sang to Cindy, reassuring her that she is the only one for him, even though his gaze sometimes strays to other women. The duet "Family Way," was written for his mother, who left home at age 20, had a part time job, and then met his father shortly afterward.



In one song, he mentioned his friend Kathleen, who died from brain cancer a couple of years ago. She had a collection of sea glass. Kathleen had sharp edges, he said. "The ocean will polish your edges away," he sang to us. The sharp edge was Kathleen. She was an Irish lass.



Carol Denney sang "Winter and I," a song Mark had requested. She gave some background for the song. She grew up in Los Angeles, feeling obliged to see something of the rest of the country. So she traveled as far as she could to the other end of the country which for her was the state of Maine. She got a job as a chambermaid and had to wear a little white outfit. Her drinking song was about the long cold winters there. She lived up over a bar. "Tourists can't take it straight and neither can I," she sang.

Carol Denney singing and playing

the concertina.

The audience sang along with Denney when she played, "Who built this house?" After only three songs, she had the audience thirsty for more.

Children would have enjoyed this concert too, but for some reason there were no chldren there whom I noticed.  Perhaps it was because of a pleasant odor that lingered long after I left the concert.  I have no idea what it was. It's not surprising that would occur in this particular church because the Methodist church has a ministry to help people with drinking and drug problems recover from their addictions, as they also do at Glide Memorial in San Francisco, with the leadership of Rev. Cecil Williams.  The church is in the community and Point Richnmond's community is a lot of bars and restaurants along with everything else we have here.

Although Mark's songs are not written specifically for children, there is nothing that you would mind having your child listen to.  Also, it is good for children to see and hear an expert guitar player occasionaly so they will know the difference between and amateur and a professional.  This is music of the quality that many people aspire to.

Lemaire continued with the stone and house imagery. He sang about when home isn't home anymore. "Leave this house a pile of stones when home isn't home anymore." He thanked Bill and Alice Thompson for putting them up overnight and mentioned that Alice still had a cassette tape of "Diamonds on a String," that she had had since around 1986. So he gave her a new CD with that song on it.#

POSTSCRIPT

After this article was published, we received this nice letter from Mark himself, which he gave us permission to reproduce here.

Dear Jean,

Just want to thank all of you for making last night’s First Methodist Church show in Point Richmond such a joy!


Cindy and I contributed a song (The Map Song) at Sunday services that morning, and in doing so, met the community there and got to hear Pastor Dan Damon both preach, and play his own hymns. There was WAY more singing at this service than I ever got to do in my Catholic church childhood! And Dan was engaging and fun in his role as Pastor. Cindy and I also discovered that Dan has written a whole BOOK of hymns that is in every pew and everyone knows them! Alice Thompson played organ as well (more on Alice later). Really a major treat.

Alice and Bill Thompson and their daughters played hosts to us- Thank you! The performance that evening was very well attended, too. Alice may have helped with this, as she is a ML fan since the mid 1980s, and I believe she spread the word in her community that this was a show she recommended. A very special ‘thank you’ to you, Alice!

AND: the acoustics are INCREDIBLE there!

My old friend songwriter, guitarist and english concertina player Carol Denney played a guest set as well. “Winter and I” is one of my favorite songs, and Carol also wowed the audience with “Who Built This House”- another classic from this accomplished writer.

Of course, though many of you mailing list folks were there, many could not attend. I got several letters and calls sending regrets- since it is summer, some were from far flung vacation destinations like England, Mexico, France, etc. Sorry you couldn’t make it! But we will be back. We try to gig concerts in the Bay Area two or three times a year- not too many! The next one will be with virtuoso bass player Michael Manring in Berkeley on Saturday, November 6th.

Cindy and I have seldom met a friendlier, more attentive and appreciative audience as we did at the Point Richmond Methodist that night! We are looking forward to returning soon to entertain again! Thanks to all of you!

Mark Lemaire and Twilight



NEW videos at: www.youtube.com/marklemaire

Mark's music: www.myspace.com/marklemaire

Prevention Connection attempts to protect women against sexual assault

Prevention Connection, which has a web site at http://www.preventconnect.org/, has a program to help protect women against sexual assault.  It is a project of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), located at 1215 K Street, Suite 1100, Sacramento, CA 95814.  Telephone 916-446-2520.  They have online presentations, web conferences, and discussion groups that can help women who feel that they are in danger of being assaulted, or who have been assaulted.  They are also located at preventconnect.wordpress.com and facebook.com/preventconnect, and twitter.com/preventconnect.

You may wish to attend a conference sponsored by CALCASA in Los Angeles this September 1-3, though they say it is probably too late to register.  The web site is http://calcasa.org/nsac/

Another online group that offers new solutions to end violence is http://www.endabuse.org/
This is the web site of the Family Violence Prevention Fund sponsored by the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention.  They offer these 8 ways a man can coach boys into men.

EIGHT WAYS YOU CAN COACH BOYS INTO MEN

Teach early.  It's never too soon to talk to a child about violence.  Talk with him about what it means to be fair, share and treat others with respect.

Be there.  Just being with boys is crucial. The time doesn't have to be spent in activities.  Boys will probably not say this directly;--but they want a male presence around them, even if few words are exchanged.

Listen.  Hear what he has to say.  Listen to how he and his friends talk about girls.  Ask him if he's ever seen abusive behavior in his friends.

Tell him how.  Teach him ways to express his anger without using violence.  When he gets mad, tell him he can walk it out, talk it out, or take a time out.  let him know he can always come to you if he feels like things are getting out of hand.

Bring it up.  Try watching TV with him or listening to his music.  If you see or hear things that depict violence against women, tell him what you think about it.  Never hesitate to let him know you don't approve of sports figures that demean women, or jokes, video games and song lyrics that do the same.

Be a Role Model.  Any man who spends time with boys or teens will have the greatest impact when they walk the walk.  They will earn what respect means by observing how you treat others.  So make respect a permanent way of dealing with people.  He's watching what you say and do and takes his cues from you, both good and bad.

Teach others.  Your job isn't done after the firs talk.  Help him work through problems as they arise.  Let him know he can talk to you anytime.  Use every opportunity to reinforce the message that violence has no place in a relationship.

Become a Founding Father.  Show him how important the issue of vi8olence against women and children is to you.  Join thousands of men across the country who are taking a stand against violence.  Become a Founding Father yourself.

El Sol Restaurant Fits Right In

El Sol gives a welcoming appearance.

The El Sol Restaurant at 101 Park Place, fits right into Point Richmond. There has always been a Mexican restaurant in Point Richmond, way back to when the Mexican Inn was on Park Place for many years. People who grew up in California love Mexican food. People who move here have to learn to love it if they want to survive. This restaurant is in the place where Rosemary's Bakery used to be. Also, Annie ran her restaurant here for a while. It's across the street from the Hotel Mac.

Maggie shows the menu to Jill Jennice.

It helps to bring an expert on Mexican food along with you. So it was my lucky day when Jill Jennice spotted me through the bright and airy front window of the restaurant, and came in to sit with me. Addy had already brought salsa and chips that tasted just like Point Richmond salsa and chips ought to, almost the moment I sat down at the table. The salsa had just the right amount of hotness and the chips were pleasantly crisp.

Fish taco was a good choice.

Jill Jennice ordered a fish taco that made me wish that I had ordered it instead of the quesadilla I was eating.

Me llamo Jean Womack

The quesadilla was authentically Mexican and chewy, loaded with melted cheese and beef—real roast beef chunks, not just hamburger. It was very tasty and filling. I ventured a request to have a taste of Jill's fish taco. You have to be a Californian to know to order a fish taco.  The menu was in English.  However, you ought to know what these words mean before you order: guacamole, nachos, flautas, lumpia, chile verde, burrito, camarones, carnitas, carne asada, chile relleno, enchilada, tamale, chalupa, and taquito.  It took me 40 years to learn these words.  Hopefully you will not be such a slow learner.  You can look them up on the internet.

Addy and Jill Jennice

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Arts of Point Richmond had gotten there ahead of me and had Point Richmond artists' work up on the walls.

Puppet by Doug Calderon

Especially pleasing were Doug Calderon's colorful puppets, who hung from the wall with their own little box/stage. The walls are painted a sunshiny yellow color with authentic Mexican symbols everywhere.

Art by Doug Calderon

I had come in at about 2:45 for lunch, which is the time when many restaurant people are taking their break. No, I did not do this on purpose. I just happened to get hungry at that time of day.

Officer Simmons, Southern Station

Officer Simmons also came in for lunch after Jill and I had been sitting there for about half an hour. He says that's his lunch time, the way his shift is organized. He is the head of the southern station or beat area. His buddy, another police officer, also came in for lunch but did not want his photo taken.

Maggie, Addy, and Niko

It seems as if there is a need for someone to organize board games for old people at a nice restaurant like the El Sol. (They did not suggest that—that is my idea.) Restauranteurs get used to the influx of lunch time patrons.  The rest of the time, us old folks show up preventing them from taking their break, though I did not hear one single complaint, nothing but friendly, efficient service, good food and even letting me take their photos.

Glassware by Joan Moe

El Sol also has a restaurant in Rodeo which has been there since 1982. The Point Richmond restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. They have a catering service also. The phone is 510-260-0163. Most of the combination plates are under $10. One fish taco costs $2.95. They have a wide selection of Mexican food at prices your budget will appreciate.

Meandering in Point Richmond

TIME TO CHECK YOUR EARTHQUAKE SUPPLIES

It's a funny feeling to have the lights go off at 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18, and not be sure if it was PGE's fault or do I need to go downstairs and put a new fuse in my historic breaker box? Knocking on the door of the neighbor up the street brought them to the upstairs window to tell me the lights were off all over Point Richmond and they took it as a sign that they should go to sleep early, and I should too.  I could hear the humming sound of overloaded transformers on Cutting Blvd, or whatever they are called.  I don't know much about electricity, only who to call when it goes off.  Of course my cell phone was no good, since I had neglected to charge it for a couple of days.  However, I grew up in a part of the country where they had hurricanes, so I religiously  stash a living flashlight in an emergency drawer along with candles I never use.  When the light went off,  that flashlight was only a few feet from my hand.  I reflected, well I did something right for a change.   It's time to check the earthquake supplies--portable radio that runs on a battery, water, bandaids, peroxide, etc. I need to buy an electrical outlet that plugs into the car's cigarette lighter.  It would be enough to charge a cell phone.  I guess that blackout was our reminder.

FOR ONCE, SOMETHING DIDN'T HAPPEN TO US IN POINT RICHMOND

It makes a person grateful to live in Point Richmond: the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  For once, something bad didn't happen to us.  However, we are prepared, if it does.  Admiral Thad Allen said they had volunteers but the problem was some of them had muskets and knives.  He said they are trying to decide how clean is clean enough, regarding the beaches in the Gulf.

One woman says, "I remember someone pulled out a knife and pointed it at me when I was a 9-year old child, when I was hanging out by myself at the local stables.  I pulled that knife out of her hand and got a cut on my finger where I still have a scar.  I'll never do that again. So then I was taught about knife safety.  My dad was very concerned about whether it was a switchblade, but I assured him no, it was just a penknife."  Read on.

OVER THE SHOULDER

A possible tragedy that you will not read about in The Point Richmond Voice, because I did not stop.  A small camping trailer, the kind that is pulled by a car, went over the side onto the shoulder of the Castro off ramp going north on I 580.  It apparently fell over the side of the highway as it was being parked on the shoulder on the freeway up above.  It seems that we have a lot of problems with vehicles falling off the road on to  downsloping shoulders of the roads around here.  I didn't stop because I can hardly walk, much less navigate a steep piece of land next to a vehicle that might roll down the hill if a person touched it. A few years ago I stepped on a kickball at a San Francisco middle school, and sprained my knee.  I think this current disability might have something to do with that.  Anyway, someone was already at the accident looking into the window of the trailer with a flashlight.   However, the police were called and said they would respond.  When I drove back to go past it one more time, the railroad train was blocking the road to the on/off ramp that goes down into Chevron, so I couldn't go back.

PLUNGE PARKING IS QUITE A CHALLENGE

What is the city going to do about the horrible parking situation in front of the Plunge?  Driving through there is like driving through land that is booby trapped with people backing their cars out unexpectedly, and people coming around parked cars into the street, still wearing bathing suits and carrying towels, and so on.  The only other way to get out is drive to Tewksbury and go over the overpass.  Or I guess you could go over the hill on Washington Avenue, drive through Miller Park and Brickyard, then up over the hill and down on to Canal, turn left and get on Cutting Blvd that way.

DR. HARTER TO SPEAK HERE

Dr. Bruce Harter, superintendent of the West Contra Cost Unified School District, will be back in Point Richmond to speak at the Neighborhood Council this week.  Dr. Harter takes time out of his busy schedule to speak at many civic meetings.  People should go to the meeting prepared to ask him the difficult questions that he is prepared to answer, since he is a public figure and qualified to be spokeperson for the school district.  It's part of his job.

 Reporters don't go over to the district office and pester the secretaries for information, do they?  They don't go on to school grounds unless they have been invited or have a good reason to be there, like any sensible person.  That's because they ask the person who has, or ought to have information the public needs to know about the schools, who comes out to the neighborhood to answer questions and give out information to the public, and who is the one most qualified to speak to the public about those matters.  He gets paid a big salary to answer questions from the press and the public, among the other things he does. 

When something bad happens in the school district, Dr. Harter is the one who has the most access to information and is most qualified to speak in public or to the press about it.  He has been trained to do that, and if he hasn't been trained to do that, the school district ought to send him to GET trained to do that. 

Some city councilmen who are getting big architectural design contracts from the school district would like to tell the superintendent what to do with his school district and how to run it, and threaten to sue them and stuff like that, to the point where if you have a question about what is going on in the school district he just says, "Ask Tom."  But where are those people when something terrible happens like a girl being raped by five boys?  They don't have anything to say because they do not have any real authority to speak on behalf of the school district.  They do not have one single idea about how to deal with such a horrible event.  They aren't qualified to answer questions about that to the press or anyone.  They don't have the information they need at their disposal, like Dr. Harter has, and they don't know what to do.  They do not even know how to respond when someone asks about it.  That's why the district pays Dr. Harter a lot of money--so he can talk about the bad stuff, not just the good stuff.  So if you  have difficult questions that you want an answer for; Wednesday night Dr. Harter will be at the Point Richmond community center, ready to answer your questions.


STAY OFF SCHOOL GROUNDS AT NIGHT:
KIDS HAVE CURFEWS IN POINT RICHMOND TOO

Last week some kids or grownups were shouting and running around at about 9:30 at night inside the yard at Washington Elementary School.  They were carrying a ball that looked, from a block away, like a basketball.  There is a basketball court inside the school grounds.  The area is posted with big signs saying keep out.  The police were called and reluctantly responded a half hour later with a loud siren, which the neighbors objected to.  They said they have a quiet neighborhood. They have to decide: do they want security for the school or a police deparment that does not know what is going on because no one ever calls them?
It's like having a uniformed police officer walking through a crowded bar.  About half the people are too young to be there.  And they KNOW they are not supposed to be there.  So when the uniformed police officer shows up, they leave.    Berkeley cops might be afraid to do this, but Richmond cops, I guess have spent so much time in bars that they feel right at home walking through a crowded bar.

We keep getting urged to call the police, by the police, so I guess they want us to call them, at least some of them do.  They know how to do things safely so that's probably why they sounded their siren instead of walking up to the fence and yelling at the people inside.  I think the siren on the emergency vehicles is supposed to be loud enough to wake the dead, which is also the job of the police and fire.  I would say THANK YOU for responding to something BEFORE it became a big problem.  Also the police used to always say that a dog is your best protection.  That's why there are so many people with dogs in the Point Richmond neighborhood.

NEAR THE PARK

The police go up the street where I live fairly often, without me calling them. Even though a sign says that Crest Avenue is a dead end street, the street leads to a trail head that goes into Miller Park.  There is a small parking area that overlooks the bay with a commanding view.  People often drive up that winding road to that overlook.  There are overgrown bushes that grow right out into the street, making the street very narrow and hazardous right near the curve on the way up there.  There is no guard rail.  The street has potholes and is in need of repair because the shoulder is crumbling.  And the police go there if people are parked there too long, especially at night.  The police shine their bright lights into the cars.  That would give anyone quite a scare. 

I asked one lady who lives on that block, about it.  I asked her why don't you just let those people have their privacy, and let them neck and make out in their car?  She said she did not like thinking about how some young woman might be being raped in a car right outside her house.  So she calls the police when she thinks they have been there too long.  How long is too long?  Long enough to admire the view, but not long enough to get pregnant.

What's new?

What's New?


Friday, August 27, "Other People's Money" opens at Masquers theatre.

Wednesday, September 8, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Farmer's Market, Park Place, Point Richmond and every Wednesday afternoon through October.

Wednesday, September 8, 7 p.m. Point Molate Land Use Alternatives Workshop. Multipurpose room, civic Center building, 440 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond.

Thursday, Sept 9, Police and Fire 911 BBQ, lunch 11 – 1 pm, Dinner 4:30 – 7 p.m.. Dinner will include 5 Alarm chili Cook-off to benefit police and fire department youth organizations. Chamber members $10, non-members $15.

Friday evening, September 10, 2010, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Point Richmond Music and Art Festival. www.pointrichmondmusic.org Free music, art on display and for sale, arts and crafts for kids, outdoor bar and restaurant food. Bands are Je Conte http://www.jeconte.com/ and Kickin the Mule, http://www.myspace.com/kickinthemule

Saturday, September 11, 10:00 AM to 4 PM: Brooks Island Adventure. Join California Canoe & Kayak at the Richmond Marina for a short paddle to Brooks Island.Then hike around the island guided by a park ranger. A parking fee will be charged at the marina. Fee: Resident $85; Non-Resident $95 Registration Required: 1-888-EBPARKS (1-888- 327-2757)

Tuesday, September 14, Richmond Economic Summit, sponsored by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, Chevron and others, at the Richmond Civic Center, 8a.m. to 4:30 p.m. conference, $50, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Expo, free. Contact Chamber of commerce www.rcoc.org for more information.

Wednesday, September 15, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Farmer's Market, Park Place, Point Richmond. Every Wednesday afternoon through October.

Thursday, September 16, 2010,   Project Homeless Connect, Contra Costa County fairgrounds

Thursday, September 16, 6-8 pm.  Candidates night for 10 Richmond City Council candidates, hosted by the Point richmond Neighborhoodhood Council and Point Richmond Business Association.  1300 Brickyard Cove Road offices.  For more information  call Jake Smith at Smith Office Solutions,  231-4787.

Saturday, September 18, 11:00 AM to 5 PM: Richmond Shoreline Festival at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. Celebrate the shoreline with your community at this eco-friendly event! Live music, food, entertainment, children’s activities, and guided walks — there will be fun for all. Information 544-2233.


Sunday, September 19, Art in the Park, sponsored by Arts of Point Richmond, at the Gateway Foundation Park, next to the Mechanics Bank. Plein air (outdoor) painting, costumes, arts and crafts for the children, art display and sale.


Sunday, September 19,  8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic church, West Richmond Avenue, Point Richmond.  $8, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon.

Thursday, September 23, 6-8 p.m.  Candidates night for 3 Richmond mayoral candidates,  hosted by the Point richmond Neighborhoodhood Council and Point Richmond Business Association. 1300 Brickyard Cove Road offices. For more information call Jake Smith at Smith Office Solutions, 231-4787.




Friday evening, September 24, 2010, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Point Richmond Music and Art Festival. www.pointrichmondmusic.org Free music, art on display and for sale, arts and crafts for kids, outdoor bar and restaurant food Bands are Trio Paz http://triopaz.com and El Desayuno, http://www.eldesayuno.com/

Saturday, October 2, 9 AM: Home Front Festival Fun Run/Walk. The YMCA is sponsoring 5K & 10K Bay Trail fun runs/walks to start off the Home Front Festival By the Bay featuring Mountain Hardwear t-shirts, refreshments, award ceremony with gifts and medals to overall and age group winners, and post-race raffle. Click here for more information and to register for this YMCA event. Stay and enjoy Home Front Festival music, food, rides and booths starting at 11 AM.

October 2, USO dance, Craneway. Home Front Festival.

Saturday, October 16, 2 to 3:30 PM: Low Tide Exploration at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. Come stroll the shore with EBRPD naturalist James Wilson and comb for the interesting things the tide has left behind. With magnifying glasses in hand, no grain of sand is too small for our investigation.

Sunday, October 17, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic church, West Richmond Avenue, Point Richmond. $8, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon.



Thank you for information to David Moore. www.pointrichmond.com, Margaret Morkowski's newsletter at www.pointrichmond.com, The Point Richmond Neighborhood council newsletter, Tom Butt's eforum, City of Richmond web site, Chamber of Commerce web site, The History Association newsletter, the daily newspapers and all the many web sites that give information about what's going on. You may send an event notice to jeanwomack@gmail.com if you want it in the What's Next? Column.  Please send corrections about typos, misspellings to the same address.  No one is perfect.

 8/29/2010

Point Music and Art Festival Starts Them Running

Wendy Waller belts out her own heartfelt version of the blues.

Perhaps from reading The Point Richmond Voice, you think that living in Point Richmond is like being at one long street party.  Well you are not far from wrong about that.  Another of its super-successful outdoor music concerts was held by the Point Richmond Music last Friday, August 13, 2010.  Headliners were Wendy Waller and Lloyd's Garage.  Waller has a deep throaty voice as she belts out the favorites in an energetic bluesy style reminiscent of Maria Muldauer.  Waller's web site is http://www.wendywaller.com/ 

Lloyd really know how to wow the crowd and serve

up some great music.  This band is going big time.

There were lots of cameramen there and they were

almost as good a show as Lloyd himself.

The main event of the afternoon was Lloyd's Garage.  He was so good that the audience would have climbed up on stage with Lloyd if they had not mostly been in the over-40 crowd.  It takes a lot to get these seniors up out of their seats and screaming, if only from the pain of sciatica which seems to be going around.  I have to resist telling people I was shot with a Taser, unless they put the Taser up against the back of my knee when I wasn't watching.  But a few of us can still get up and dance, which they did to Lloyd's rousing music. http://www.lloydsgarage.com/ 

Most people like a good street party and this

is the reason why.  We start young.

18th and Telegraph in Oakland has nothing on us.

If you want a copy of your photo that I took,

please email me and send me your name and I will

send you one in the email, or start another photo

blog with a password attached to it.

The under-40 crowd was there but with babies, so they weren't dancing much except with their babies.  The moms, dads and babies, gave an atmosphere of hope to the party. 

Wendy Waller was singing "Start Running," I guess because there were so many city council candidates there.  This little guy heard it and he thought it meant him.  He took off running down the street, and turned around near Extreme Pizza and ran back again.

Still running.

Also, AOPR (http://www.artsofpointrichmond.com/) was handing out sidewalk chalk to the kids along with pencils, paper and drawing boards for plein air drawing if they wanted it, which a few actually did.

It's great to have someone to play with.  This is the

age when most people learn how to play together peacefully.

Sorry if you missed out on this stage of development.

Face painting is inexplicably very popular.

They make me feel like I'm Mary Cassatt.

Face painting.  It's a man and woman team, I think.

The preferred way to communicate with a baby is

to get down on her level.  This is why child care centers

prefer to hire young people even though age discrimination in hiring is wrong.

My art teacher told me that if I tell my students that something they are doing is probably against the law, I won't have any students.  They won't want to be in my classes.  So I just tell them it's wrong to discriminate against senior citizens even if they cannot bend over far enough to talk to a baby, or can't bend their knees to talk to a baby and still get back up again.

I am not the only one who likes to take photos of kids. 

Shirley Butt, wife of councilman Tom Butt also likes to take pictures of kids.

We just like kids AND their moms.

Jean Brady who has the Barefoot Books

booth at Farmer's Market, and her

husband.  See, you are really getting

the female point of view here because I do

not even know his name, although

she has said his name.  Usually she just says,

"my husband."  We have had a booth next

to each other at the Farmers Market and got

along great.  When he is there and I start talking

to him, she just interrupts me in mid sentence

and starts talking to him and then he has

to pay attention to what she is saying.  I don't care. 

I could just talk to the wall, or the tablecloth or the

fruits and vegetables.  It doesn't matter.

Whatever make them happy.

These people wanted their picture taken.

David Moore of Sincere Design.  If it wasn't

for David Moore, I could probably be made

to disappear and never be heard from

again.  Thanks for keeping me alive, David.

Street, sidewalk, it's all the same to us when the barriers are up against the cars. Whew! Start young! Take back the streets! If you can't beat em, join em! The whole thing would look nice as a grassy field.  Jim DeWitt and Sallie Robertson had the right idea all along.  I know Richard Lompa didn't think so, but he's just one person.

This is Jake Smith's wife, and I could kick myself because

I forgot to write her name down.  I know Jake because I

go to the Point Richmond Business Association 

meetings and he is now the president of that group. 

Also he mans a table at Farmers Market.  They are

Smith Office Solutions on Park Place next to Cafe El Sol,

across from the Hotel Mac.

These Arts of Point Richmond people are (l to r) Janice Chamberlain, cousin of Sharon Taylor-Ward next to her.  On the right is Richard Melvin.  The women are selling photos, nicely and professionally matted. Richard helps put up the canopy and hands out fliers and listens to us nit-pick about where our table is going to be and whether or not we will have a black tablecloth or no tablecloth.  I want to find out where he took diplomacy lessons and see if I can learn some of it myself, right down to head and hand gestures.

Attny. David Vincent, hero of the Masquers and of the

Plunge restoration.  He is back of the bar, WAY

back of the bar.

Eric Smith, who espouses unpopular political causes

and helps crippled old ladies get across the street.

City Councilman Tom Butt

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin (in grey jacket and purple scarf.)

Former Point Ricihmond Business Association

president Marsha Tomassi and city council candidate John

Ziesenhenne, otherwise known as "Z."  He is a former

city councilman who works for the M.A.Hays insurance company.

Richard Lompa in green shirt.

City Council candidate Eduardo Martinez.  He is a

former school teacher.

Tina.

Terrence and Amanda Elliott.  He of Contra Costa College

and she of Main Street.  Two careers and they

are still together.  That ought to inspire us.

Former city councilman Gary Bell, who is running for

city council once again.  It's a non-partisan race, but

he is dressed in blue from head to toe.  So I guess

you can draw your own conclusion.

Drinks were available, face painting was there for the kids, the Baltic was serving outdoor bratwurst and other cheerful stuff was going on.  Around Point Richmond, a political campaign is usually something that cheers people up, I do not know why. 

Arts of Point Richmond had jewelry and other art on display. 

Arts of Point Richmond is still reeling from the loss of Ben Humphrey, Altha Humprey's husband who died last July after a long illness.  His body was returned to England where he will be given a green burial.  Altha says it is a burial on a hillside overlooking some green area.  Altha is still here and Ben's son has returned to Point Richmond for a visit, and he got to visit with his dad before he died.  It's all so sad that I can hardly stand to write about it.  I feel as though I should have sat in the Brasil restaurant and listened to his old war stories a little more while I had a chance.  Altha kept leaving meetings to go home and be with him.  He was really a very nice, gallant man.

Another shot of Lloyd's Garage band.

  Sydney Metrick gave her usual rousing good raffle ticket finale to the event.  And then it was over until the next time. 

I don't know who this man is, but this baby is so cute, I asked him if I could take their photo.

The days fly by.  There are bars with bands in Point Richmond, but you don't have to go there if you don't want to.  You can get your dose of partying and dance music out in the fresh air in Point Richmond once a month or so.  These outdoor events have consistently good quality of management and no crime problems evident, though the police might know something the Point Richmond Voice doesn't know.  We see one in uniform enough to be reassured they are still here watching out for us.  Or watching us.  Whatever.  Police work is more than just aiming a camera at someone.  It's knowing people and how they work. It's knowing when to intervene and when to stand aside and let things take their course.  Knock on wood that our lives are not just ashes to ashes, dust to dust.#