1. Art and Diseño

February 2015
Swearing In for 2015
REETINGS EVERYONE. Well, it’s official. The El Cerrito Chamber
installed its directors for 2015 at our luncheon on January 21st. Congratulations
to all who were re-elected and particularly to our newest Director, Melanie
Mintz. And thanks to Councilmember
Janet Abelson for officiating the installation. I would also like to thank the Board
for allowing me to serve one more year
as your President. As always, I encourage
everyone to please reach out to members of our board with any suggestions or
concerns you may have for the benefit of
our business community.
Like last year, our board meetings
will be held on the first Tuesday of every
month at our office at 10296 San Pablo
Ave. in El Cerrito. Board meetings
begin at 8:30 a.m. Also, our monthly
lunches will be held on the third Tuesday of each month. Currently we are
holding our lunches at the Del Norte
© See From the President, page 3
Welcome
NEW MEMBERS
•
Albany Bowl
540 San Pablo Ave. • Albany
(510) 526-8818
www.thealbanybowl.com
•
Firestone Complete Auto Care
10733 San Pablo Ave. • El Cerrito
(510) 559-6936
www.DriveAFirestone.com
•
La Strada Italian Cuisine
2215 Church Lane • San Pablo
(510) 237-9047
www.lastradasanpablo.com
•
Patricia Stanley z Mary Kay ®
El Cerrito • (650) 817-5665
www.marykay.com/pstanley
Steve Kahn
G
El Cerrito Councilmember Janet Abelson (seated) administers an oath of office to Mark Figone, Judy Pope,
Michael Roberts, Melanie Mintz, John C. Stashik, and Sonja Givens-Thomas at the January 21st meeting.
2015 Officer and Director Lineup
Sil Addiego, Coldwell Banker Bartels
Term runs through 2015
[email protected]
Melanie Mintz, City of El Cerrito
Secretary
Term runs through 2016
[email protected]
Mark Figone, East Bay Sanitary Co., Inc.
President
Term runs through 2016
[email protected]
Judy Pope, D’Jour Floral of Kensington
Term runs through 2016
[email protected]
Sonja Givens-Thomas, El Cerrito Royale
Term runs through 2016
[email protected]
Michael Roberts, Golden Gate Fields
Term runs through 2015
[email protected]
Marty Kaliski, Marty’s Motors
Vice President
Term runs through 2015
[email protected]
John C. Stashik, Premier Graphics
Treasurer
Term runs through 2016
[email protected]
Matt Khadivian, El Mono restaurant
Term runs through 2015
[email protected]
Mark Scott
Manager
[email protected]
GRAND OPENING!
Official Ribbon Cutting at 11:30 a.m., Friday, February 6th
Complete Auto Care
TM
FOOD • FUN • PRIZES all weekend long
Enter to win a Flat Screen TV or Apple iPad
plus other in-store prize drawings
during the weekend celebration
®
®
10733 San Pablo Avenue at Portola
El Cerrito • 510-559-6936
Farmers Market Spotlight: J&M Organic Farms
T
EL CERRITO POLICE Employees
Association will hold their annual
crab feed, gun and general raffle on Friday, February 6th, at the Community
Center. This begins at 6 p.m. and benefits the police canine corps. Tickets: $45
available at the police department front
counter. Typically a sell-out; don’t snooze.
▫
Reno by rail. If you don’t like crab
feeds, then ignore the above and take a
ride on the Reno Fun Train (aka: the
“Party Train”). First trip of the season is
February 6th. The Reno Fun Train is a
Friday-Sunday package with five trips
this year. The Sierra Scenic is the Tuesday-Thursday daytime version with its
first trip on February 17th. All trains
have a theme: Soul Train, Mardi Gras,
Fabulous ’50s, etc. You may even meet
Elvis. Tickets and complete information: www.keyholidays.com.
▫
Grand openings. Firestone’s huge
grand opening celebration announcement is covered elsewhere in this
newsletter. Mind Body Dojo (traditional Japanese karate) holds a grand
opening on February 1st at the former
flower store, 7512 Fairmount Ave.,
across from Fatapple’s. A one hour
group workout starts at 11 a.m. followed
by an open house from 12:30-2 p.m.
Light food and drinks will be served.
www.mindbodydojo.com.
In other El Cerrito business news,
Gorden Messer is hoping have his new
Batteries+Bulbs store at 10770 San
Pablo Avenue open next month. The
store will sell all types of batteries and
light bulbs. Think of all the devices you
use daily that need batteries and this new
business could be your energy source.
Curiously, Enter Net, the Internet
cafe and gaming venue at Moeser and
San Pablo has been closed since the
beginning of the year. Now you will have
to find another location for faxing service.
Tofu Yu, which once had a retail
outlet at the Moeser Square center, is
now selling their gluten free products at
our Farmers Market at El Cerrito Plaza.
Page 2
Jean Thompson
HE
Danilo Cacatian works at the Tuesday market.
Devine Manzano works at the Saturday market.
By Jean Thompson, Market Manager
customers’ favorite is J&M Farms, aka J&M Organic Farms. They
have been with this market since opening day 20-plus years ago serving their
many customers every Tuesday and Saturday.
J&M is currently our only organic farmer, being certified organic by Global
Culture and California Department of Agriculture. The California Organic Products
Act of 2003 requires the disclosure of the type of seeds and substances used on crops,
with brand names, the rate of application, and the total amount applied for
36 months from the expected date of organic harvest. Currently, J&M farms on
91 organic acres which produces 100% organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
I recently asked a sampling of customers why they shopped with J&M. One
14-year customer described them as “Awesome, friendly, and they know my name.”
A 20-year customer said “I appreciate the variety, the fact that they are organic, and
always friendly.”
I have enjoyed having them at the market and look forward to many more years
to come.
The Farmers Market at El Cerrito Plaza is open all year
Tuesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
O
NE OF OUR
▫
Nanny government. On New Year’s
Day smoke free regulations took effect
in El Cerrito. No smoking in any public
area including sidewalks, parks, trails,
co mme rc i a l z o ne s a nd s o f o rt h.
Denizens of the BART path haven’t gotten the news yet including the ones
smoking pot. Or is that legal now? (Oakland likes it.) Who enforces this ban?
In the fall smoking will be illegal in and
around rental units. Amend your leases
or kick out the smokers. (Smokers cost
property owners more in maintenance.)
Tobacco retailers, already required to
be licensed, may be hit with more costly
regulation by City Hall. Tip: pay attention to Council proceedings. What’s next:
a Snapple® tax? Maybe license the sale
of bacon, ice cream, and other fatty
foods? Common sense and self control
have become so “yesterday.”
BYLINE
▫
Good eats. Tom’s Catering provided
some great BBQ tri-tip, chicken, mushrooms, and potato salad at our January
lunch meeting. Keep Tom coming back
and I won’t miss a meeting! The word is
Tom will be cooking for the next several
months. See you on February 17th.
▫
Good corporate citizens. The photo
below shows the mark of a total loser.
This blight was on
one of the Nation’s
Foodservice buildings. Nation’s, headquartered right here,
will promptly clean it
up at their own expense; they always
do. Thanks, Mr. Dale Power. We need
more bike patrols along the greenway to
hopefully catch vandals in the act. We
did pass the 10% sales tax.
February 2015
Cyber-crimes
W
E HEAR A LOT about acts of cyber-crime. Acts of identity
to develop an unbreakable Wi-Fi access code that could secure
theft are so common that recovery strategies are almost
Wi-Fi access for emergency responders only during emerroutine. Banks, financial institutions, and corporations must be
gencies. During the 9/11 crisis the entire communication
losing billions of dollars and yet cyber-crime is treated like just
system was overwhelmed by citizens making calls to New
another cost of doing business. After the Home Depot hack
York to check on relatives. A government priority has been to
my bank stopped, then reissued, all the
develop a directable and unbreakable
cards I had ever used there. No muss,
Wi-Fi access system. Within hours of
no fuss. Except for the inconvenience to
the initial tests the system had been brome, but I was just a small cog in the
ken, accessed and redirected for possieconomic gears. The fundamental cause
ble use by terrorist communication
for the hacks remain U.S. government
systems. The system was accessed
MAR K SC OTT
requirements that every user of the
through the backdoor. In telecom and in
Internet leave a backdoor (a way in) and every Web system
life it seems as long as rules exist, they will be broken by those
must be developed according to a system of protocols.
who don’t have to follow them or even worse have no relucBackdoors and protocols developed so the U.S. governtance to use the rules against us.
ment can access every account on the Web. It turns out that
Some European interests are experimenting with systems
if the government can get in the backdoor so can hackers, forthat are not Internet based and therefore more secure. Such
eign governments, and cyber-criminals. A backdoor provides
systems will probably have a cost possibly through subscripassured access and the protocols turn out to be road maps to
tions but would not be susceptible to U.S. requirements for
every Internet system ever developed. For many years the best
backdoors and protocols. I hold a strong opinion that regulaminds in government (an oxymoron) and corporate computer
tion should be kept to a minimum when it comes to business,
programmers have tried to develop unbreakable systems but
for the simple fact that I do not believe a government has the
it always comes back to same starting point. As long as we have
right to interfere in personal choices (yes, the way you choose
to leave backdoors and use protocols the criminals will have
to conduct your business is a personal choice). The only thing
near instantaneous access to use the net for nefarious means.
our government should do with the Internet is protect us and
In the utmost secrecy, programs to make the Internet
enforce contracts. Anything less would lead to anarchy and
secure have been hacked and released and as fast as the govgang warfare, anything more would lead to statism. Guess
ernment can develop code it is hacked. One project has been
which way we are headed?
Manager’ s
Minute
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Place Community Room at 11720 San
Pablo Avenue. We will strive to bring
interesting speakers to these lunches
and I encourage any of you who have
recommendations for speakers to contact me.
As Chamber President I will continue as a member of the city’s Economic Development Committee
(EDC). The Committee’s meetings are
open to the public and I encourage any
of you who are interested to join us at
City Hall on the third Thursday of each
month or to contact me with questions
or suggestions about this committee’s
work.
We are currently planning another
mixer with the Chamber and the EDC
on March 6th at the Rialto Cerrito
Theater. This will be a no-host event
from 5-7 p.m. and will be a great opportunity to share thoughts and views about
your businesses with the EDC.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tom
Peterson at the most recent EDC meetFebruary 2015
ing. Tom and his wife Wenyan are opening a new restaurant at 10042 San Pablo
Avenue in the space formerly occupied
by Comcast. Their projected opening
date is May 8th. The restaurant will be
called Noodles Fresh and will specialize
in gluten free rice noodle dishes. It will
also include a tea house as well as beer
and wine. Welcome Tom and Wenyan;
we look forward to your presence.
Lastly, the El Cerrito Police Employees Association will be holding its
annual crab feed on February 6th at the
El Cerrito Community Center. There
will be all you can eat crab, as well as
salad, pasta and bread and great raffle
prizes. All proceeds will benefit the
police department’s canine program.
You can order your crab feed tickets at
[email protected].
History from the EC Historical Society
EC Historical Society Collection
© Continued from page 1
BYLINE
Ca. 1910. Looking
northeast at the
original Fairmont
School, which burned
down in October
1924. A new school
was built in its place
and that school was
subsequently remodeled. The dirt road in
the foreground is
Eureka Avenue.
Murietta Rock (at
Arlington and
Cutting) is visible in
the distance.
Page 3
10296 San Pablo Ave. • El Cerrito, CA 94530
February Luncheon Meeting
Tuesday, February 17 • Noon
Del Norte Place Community Room
11720 San Pablo Ave. (near Knott), El Cerrito
Catering by Tom
▪
$15
RSVP: (510) 705-1202 or [email protected]
Online at: www.elcerritochamber.org
Calendar of Events
February 3 Chamber Board meets, 8:30 a.m., at the
Chamber office.
3 City Council meets; 7 p.m., City Hall.
8 Soroptimist Speaker Series. Victoria Zackheim,
prolific author and playwright will appear at the
Northbrae Community Church, 941 The
Alameda, in Berkeley. Social at 6:30; speaker at
7 p.m. $20. Email [email protected] or
call (510) 237-8918 for tickets.
12 Cerrito Classic: “Roman Holiday,” 7 p.m. at
Rialto Cerrito Theater.
13 “Doubt: A Parable” premiere at Contra Costa
Civic Theatre, 8 p.m. Through March 8. ccct.org
17 Chamber lunch meeting; noon. Del Norte Place
Community Room.
17 City Council meets; 7 p.m., City Hall.
Ads and Thoughts from Mo…
A long, long time ago in 1976 a lady by the name of Maureen Zuerner took
some classes at Heald College in Oakland (which is no longer there unfortunately), and graduated with a secretarial degree. She has the capability of doing
great things for businesses: such as typing letters, making copies and labels,
sending out email (which wasn’t even thought about then at all), collating,
stapling, and handling banking. I have worked with the blind and elderly for
years and was the secretary and treasurer for the Junior Chamber of Commerce back in the 1990s.
If you need some kind of work as mentioned above, please give me a call at
the office (510) 705-1202 or cell (510) 375-6694. Thanks and looking forward
to hearing from you soon!
•
It seems as though that we have forgotten about the neighbor that needs
help when they want to do something. I have a need and I thought that I would
address it here. As a member of this Chamber we have plenty of networking
opportunities available to us within such as Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole, Berkeley, Albany, and so on. But, as I have gotten older, it seems now that I cannot get
to these various functions at night because I now have night blindness.
If you know of anyone in our area that is interested in networking opportunities and would like to take another person along that does not drive at night,
call me. Contact me at (510) 705-1202. It would be much appreciated. Thanks,
ahead of time.
— Maureen Zuerner
Chamber Officers
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Manager
Page 4
Mark Figone, East Bay Sanitary Co., Inc.
Marty Kaliski, Marty’s Motors
Melanie Mintz, City of El Cerrito
John C. Stashik, Premier Graphics
Mark L. Scott
PRODUCED
BY
(510) 235-2195
PRINTED Minuteman Press
BY Berkeley
(510) 540-7113
Members of the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce
BYLINE
February 2015