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Spring Home Improvement
Have a Hoppy Easter Sunday
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM A COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CASTRO VALLEY SINCE 1989
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2024
YEAR 36
INSIDE YOUR
FORUM
New Director
De La Torre named CVUSD Multilingual Services Director
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TLC for Bat
Storm weary mini bat gets rehab at Sulphur Creek Nature Center
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National Champ
CVHS alumna Ajayzee Zaballos wins national wrestling honors
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INDEX Calendar ................ 10 Classified Ads ........ 8 Crosswords ............. 9 Homes ..................... 6 Obituaries ............. 11 Opinions ............... 11 Our Town ................. 3 Sheriff’s Report ..... 3 Sports .................. 12 Weather ................ 2 WWW.MYCVFORUM.COM
MAC MEETING
NO. 13
MAC MEETING
HERE’S THE SCOOP!
Grove Way Housing Reviewed
Housing Mandate Problems By Michael Singer
By Amy Sylvestri
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
CASTRO VALLEY FORUM
A new affordable housing project is being proposed on Grove Way, the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) heard at their meeting Monday night. The property, located at 1467 Grove Way, about 250 feet from Foothill Boulevard, is owned by the City of Hayward and Berkeley-based affordable housing specialist group Resources for Community Development (RCD). RCD currently has 5,000 residents in its affordable housing projects throughout the area. RCD told the MAC they are looking into securing state funding to allow the project to come to fruition, and they are currently in a “hopeful stage.” According to Nora Guzman of RCD, state funding decisions will be announced in August. Guzman said they are also looking at other funding sources and would return to the MAC with more detailed plans in the future. The tentative plan would be to demolish four existing buildings on the see GROVE on page 11
Last Wednesday, community development and planning officials laid out a map of Alameda County’s unincorporated towns showing where they think property owners and developers can add 4,711 housing units in the next eight years to satisfy state law. The proposed map includes houses, condominiums, apartment buildings, and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs, commonly called in-law units). Some construction is already underway. Other projects, like a plan to add apartments to the Castro Valley BART Station, are not included because they have either been postponed or – in the case of the Rite Aid property – are likely to retain their commercial status. “To enable greater housing, we have proposed increased densities on about 50 vacant lots in parts of Castro Valley and Fairview,” said Alameda County Community Development Agency (CDA) planner Olivia Ortiz. “One of the elements of the overlay is that we will revisit our inventory twice a year see MAC on page 10
KNUDSEN’S ICE CREAMERY REOPENING TOMORROW: After three months of renovations, the Ice Creamery on Castro Valley Boulevard is scheduled to reopen tomorrow. The new space has half the dining area as it did last year but is still selling the ice cream, fountain drinks, grilled burgers, and sandwiches the community has known for 20 years. Owner Shay Knudsen says the restaurant will still sell its own chocolate and caramel confections but will make them at a separate site. The restaurant will be closed in observance of Easter Sunday.
Gemignani: The Michael Jordan of Pizza Tossing selection committee, which has selected the multiple world champion and Guiness World Preparing to give a speech at Record-holder to be part of its the annual International Pizza Class of 2024. Expo & Conference in Las Ve“You are sweating aftergas last week, Tony Gemignani ward,” Gemignani noted, looked around as he pondered siding with the majority on the the ultimate question: Are athlete issue. pizza-throwers athletes? He’s called the Michael “I know if I asked about a Jordan of Pizza-Tossing, the hundred guys standing behind LeBron James of Pizza-Making … all because, as a me right now, they’d all say Fremont teen-ager, he quit his yes,” he responded. job at McDonald’s to join his And so has the Castro older brother Frank in his new Valley Sports Hall of Fame By Dave Del Grande
SPECIAL TO THE FORUM
endeavor: Pyzano’s Pizzeria in Castro Valley. “I grew up on a farm,” Gemignani, now 50, said of his youth in Fremont after having been born in Alameda. “We grew apricots, cherries, oranges, basil, tomatoes … I love food. Food has always been a big part of my life. “When I was graduating (from Washington High in 1991), my brother found Castro Valley. He liked the city, and he thought it would be a good place to put a pizzeria. I went
to work for him. I fell in love with it.” Gemignani also fell in love with Castro Valley. He moved into town in 1997 and immediately started hiring high school students to work for him. “Pyzano’s was always that restaurant that you started out at for your first job,” he proudly states. “It was a great job to start at – learn customer service and discipline. We had so many great employees. It was awesome.” see PIZZA on back page
Tony Gemignani