CASTRO VALLEY FORUM A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CASTRO VALLEY SINCE 1989
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2025
YEAR 37
Pablo Vergara’s Commitment To Community
INSIDE YOUR
FORUM
CV City Lecture
By Michael Singer
Alan Chamorro to give lecture as part of CV City Speaker Series
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
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PHOTOS BY MIKE McGUIRE
One can’t drive far in San Leandro’s Bay-O-Vista neighborhood without seeing signs calling for Lake Chabot Road’s reopening. These are on Astor Drive headed downhill toward Lake Chabot Road, on January 15, 2025.
Homecoming
Redwood Christian High School Honors Homecoming Court
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Lake Chabot Road Won’t Reopen Soon By Mike McGuire
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
Woerz Appointed Kristy Woerz sworn in as new President of CVSan Board
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INDEX Classified Ads ........ 8 Crosswords ............. 9 Events .................. 4 Homes ..................... 6 Obituaries ............. 11 Opinions ............. 11 Our Town ................. 3 Sheriff’s Report ...... 3 Sports ................... 12 Weather ................ 2 WWW.MYCVFORUM.COM
NO. 4
San Leandro’s end of Lake Chabot Road, closed since winter storms two years ago, will not be reopening anytime soon, residents found out at a city council committee meeting on Tuesday, January 14.
Members of the Facilities and Transportation Committee tied 1-1 on a vote to reopen it soon as a one-way street from Astor Drive, near the Bay-O-Vista Tennis & Swim Club, to Estudillo Avenue near Interstate 580. The road is open from Fairmont Drive in Castro Valley to Astor Drive. see ROAD on page 11
Pablo Vergara’s story is one of resilience, creativity, and a deep commitment to community. Over the past 25 years, Pablo and his wife, Shannon, have lived on three continents, but their hearts led them back to Castro Valley, where Shannon grew up. Returning to this small, tight-knit community presented challenges Pablo Vergara and opportunities, and Pablo embraced them with an open of people are supporting the heart and entrepreneurial spirit. idea. It’s always about giving back. This is a great commuVergara spoke with the nity. I’m really impressed with Castro Valley Forum about the people. I’m trying to create his path, the importance of this space where everyone is creating community through welcome.” giving without expecting to receive, and how Pampas Café Having spent decades workbecame an important center for ing in Spain’s bustling tourism creative ideas. industry, Pablo transitioned to a new chapter in Castro Valley. “I think we have to start Faced with difficulties finding thinking considerably about a job, he leaned on his passion strengthening the community—we’re all very good about for food and coffee, launching Pampas, a café that has since giving,” Vergara told the see VERGARA on back page Forum. “It’s not just me; a lot
CV Couple Helps Shape Chanticleers Show By Linda Sandsmark
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
A young Castro Valley couple will be behind the scenes anchoring Chanticleer Theatre’s newest play, “The River Bride.” Castro Valley High grad Danny Georgiev will be stage manager, with costumes by his girlfriend Jasmine Guerrero. Despite being in their early 20s, both have been in the theatre realm for many years.
“I’ve lived here in CV, just a few minutes away from the theater, since 2013,” says Georgiev. “I went to Canyon Middle School and Castro Valley High, where I studied theater and performed in shows since the 8th grade.” He worked at Chanticleers as an actor in “Cabaret” in 2019, his first production out of high school. At Los Positas College, he had his first opportunity to try stage managing. “I’m used to being on the
creative side of things, so stage managing was not something I originally thought I would enjoy, but I found stage management rewarding in its own way,” he adds. “That was 3 years ago, and I’ve been working as a stage manager for companies around the bay ever since.” Costume designer Guerrero met Georgiev during the pandemic “at Las Positas in Zoom school,” she says. They had mutual friends and were
there are also brides and two eventually able to connect in wedding dresses.” person. “I took classes at Las PosiShe says some costumes are tas, where I started in both cast created from scratch, but many and costumes,” says Guerrero. are donated, found in thrift “The head costume designer stores, borrowed, or rented gave us free rein on the cosfrom other theaters such as tumes, which is unusual. CSU Hayward’s Douglas Morrison East Bay has a lot of costume Theatre. classes. Once I transferred to As stage manager, GeorCSUEB, I was involved in the giev’s job is to keep things play, ‘Almost, Maine.’ This running on schedule once the play at Chanticleers is set in the director has completed rehearsAmazon in June, so it’s a lot of als. He will be on-site every skirts and things like that. But see COUPLE on back page