CASTRO VALLEY FORUM A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CASTRO VALLEY SINCE 1989
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2023
YEAR 35 INSIDE YOUR
FORUM
Living the Dream CV native, Micaiah Gill, works miracles with restoring home items
Page 2
Avoid Gimmicks Three things that you can do to get real, meaningful results
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Executive Team County DA announces Executive Team to deliver justice reform
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INDEX Calendar .................. 4 Classified Ads ....... 8 Crosswords ........... 9 Homes ...................... 6 Horoscope ............... 6 Obituaries ............ 11 Opinions .............. 11 Our Town ................. 3 Sports ................... 12 Weather ................. 2 WWW.MYCVFORUM.COM
NO. 2
Relief for East Bay Renters
Freeway Billboard Opposed
By Michael Singer
By Mike McGuire
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
Alameda Couty is giving more than 60,000 renters in unincorporated communities new legal protections, including banning landlords from conducting criminal background checks on applicants. At its meeting yesterday, Supervisors approved three ordinances that were first reviewed on December 20. The vote comes as the county’s COVID eviction moratorium is expected to expire at the end of April. “It’s exciting,” said Paulina Jacobo, an Ashland renter. “This vote reminds us that justice will be brought to our historically ignored community and to those who were unjustly displaced. We cannot forget about us.” Unlike their neighbors elsewhere in Alameda County cities, renters in the Eden Area, which includes Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview, San Lorenzo, Hayward Acres, and Castro Valley, have no local tenant protections. Renter-advocate groups have long complained of skyrocketing rents, uninhabitable living conditions, and no-fault evictions. There are more than 140,000 residents in the uninsee RENTERS on back page
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors has delayed approving an electronic billboard along Interstate 238 near East 14th Street after a citizen’s group charged that the proposed billboard violates federal, state, and local laws. The county had proposed relocating some traditional billboards from local streets to a smaller number of electronic billboards along freeways, something it says is legal. There is already an electronic billboard in Castro Valley near the Grove Way entrance to Interstate 580 eastbound and on Interstate 880 near the A Street entrance northbound. The Alameda County Taxpayers Association (ACTA), in a December 11 letter written by attorney Jason Bevis, cites several sections of the California Outdoor Advertising Act and other laws barring billboards in a designated “scenic corridor” section of a highway, excessive height, relocating a billboard to residential land, aesthetics, and safety. The ACTA also questioned a deal in which the county splits revenues received for the billboards, for the life of a 30-year contract, with an outside see BILLBOARD on page 10
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPTAIN DAVE NELSON
FALLING TREES: ABOVE: One man was rescued, and his wife and four kids got out safely after a Eucalyptus tree smashed into this home on Sandy Road just before 4 p.m. this past Saturday. Alameda County Fire Department rescue crews removed the man pinned to the couch inside the house and took him to Eden Hospital for injuries. Fire crews reported the injuries were to the man’s legs. Neighbors say he is an officer with the Oakland Police Department. The nearly 200-ton tree took down power lines and cut power to the neighborhood for a few hours. BELOW: This past Friday at around 1:30 p.m., a tree fell out from behind the fence of the Hacienda Trailer Park onto Castro Valley Boulevard. Alameda County Fire responded, cut the tree up, and removed it from the roadway. No injuries were reported.
PHOTO BY LINDA SANDSMARK
Senior Driver Safety Class Returns Next Week the library and the California Highway Patrol. “We want seniors to drive as Older drivers can top long as possible and as safely up their skills at the Castro as possible,” says Officer Dan Valley Library on Wednesday, Jacowitz of the Highway PaJanuary 18, in a popular annual trol, who teaches the class. class being offered again by Topics likely to be covered By Mike McGuire
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
include new laws that affect drivers, rules of the road, safe driving tips for any age, and compensating for the physical changes that come with aging, said Jacowitz. It is a state-certified safe driving class, and insurance
companies are authorized to give discounts to those who have taken it — but while many do, they aren’t required to. Librarian Nathan Silva suggests checking with your insurance company first to avoid any surprises.
The class always fills rapidly, and while the spots are currently taken for this session, Silva is urging people to get on the waitlist. The library notifies people by e-mail when spaces open up. see CLASS on page 3