!"#$%&'( &)"*+% ,!-.,"/+
0&1 -.
Christmas is Next Week
2
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CASTRO VALLEY SINCE 1989
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2024
YEAR 36 INSIDE YOUR
FORUM
NO. 49
Gloria Blackstone: Building A Community With Beads By Michael Singer CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
Housing Element Supervisors approve housing plan for unincorporated areas
Page 3
Holiday Cheer Rotary Club hosts its annual Children’s Christmas Party
Page 4
Senior Q&A How to keep your trust up to date in light of changing tax law
Page 10
INDEX Agents in Action .... 5 Classified Ads ........ 8 Holidays .................. 4 Homes ..................... 6 Obituaries ............. 11 Opinions ............. 11 Our Town ................. 3 Seniors ............. 10 Sheriff’s Report ..... 3 Sports .................. 12 WWW.MYCVFORUM.COM
According to Gloria Blackstone, owner of Glorious Beads on Castro Valley Boulevard, building a community is a lot like building a jewelry design with beads. “It’s very social,” Blackstone says. “It’s therapeutic to work with your hands and create something. It’s not too hard. It’s very pretty and doesn’t take too long to make, so you feel really good about what you created, and then you can wear it around.” Blackstone is celebrating 20 years in business next summer. The store is more than a retail space—it serves as a social hub where customers can relax, create, and bond. Blackstone spoke with the Castro Valley Forum about her path and creating community through colorful, long-term relationships. “What I enjoy is talking to people,” Blackstone says. “I don’t think there are very many places where people can just go and relax and maybe use their hands at the same time. After 20 years, a lot of my customers have been coming in. I know them. I’ve heard about their children growing up and grandchildren, and it’s just that you get to know these people like your friends, and they come in a lot now, not just to buy something, but just to visit. see BEADS on page 11
MAC MEETING
The Final Meeting Of the Year By Amy Sylvestri CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
Gloria Blackstone, owner of Glorious Beads on Castro Valley Boulevard, is celebrating 20 years in business next summer. The store is more than a retail space—it serves as a social hub where customers can relax, create, and bond.
At their final meeting of 2024, the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) heard updates from the Chamber of Commerce and the School District. Castro Valley/ Eden Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gary Slate told the MAC that the organization is experiencing positive growth, surpassing their membership numbers from before the pandemic. The Chamber currently has 401 members, up from 220 in January of 2023 and a goal of surpassing 500 members in 2025. Slate touted events such as the Fall Festival, the summer Fam Festival, and the Light Parade as ways the Chamber reaches out. He said they support local business with promotional events such as ribbon cuttings and online outreach, as well as networking opportunities. Slate said that operating a small business is never easy and people especially need support in the unincorporated area where things can be confusing. “The Chamber is even more important in the unincorporated area because you can’t just go to City Hall for everything,” said Slate. “One permit may be in Alameda; you might have to go to Hayward for see MAC on page 3
County Report Uncovers Homeless Trends meda County has experienced an overall decrease. According to the PIT, most Alameda County saw a people experiencing homelessthree percent decrease in over- ness in the county are original all homelessness and an 11 per- members of the county. When cent decrease in the number of surveyed, 78 percent reported unsheltered people since 2022, that their previous permanent according to the Alameda address was in Alameda Point in Time (PIT) Homeless County. Count released on Dec. 11. The PIT found that 58 This is the first time since percent of the homeless pop2013 that homelessness in Ala- ulation is in Oakland, while By Corinne Davidson
SPECIAL TO THE FORUM
the city’s general population makes up 25 percent of the county population. The City of Alameda, Hayward, and Livermore saw increases in homelessness, while Fremont, San Leandro, and Unincorporated Areas — Ashland, Castlewood, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, and San Lorenzo — saw significant decreases. More unhoused people are
in shelters in 2024 than in 2022. Hayward saw the most significant increase in sheltered people, with 105 percent more sheltered this year than in 2022. Aaron Horner, Community Outreach Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Hayward (FirstPres), works with members of the unhoused and low-income communities in the Eden Area.
Horner said that some of the decrease in homelessness that the PIT report found could be attributed to a change in count methodology. Horner said that in past years, people with lived homeless experience were incentivized to help with the count. Those with lived experience understand what it’s like to be unhoused and know the signs of unhoused living. see REPORT on page 7