Post-Holiday Blues ... and Reds

On his walk today Your Boulevardier noticed several broken windows on Castro Valley Boulevard. Specifically, a window at Crush Comics was boarded up, and a window and two glass doors at Direct Sales were secured with plywood or tape and awaiting repair. It's a shame to think that holiday revels in Castro Valley got so out of hand that vandalism was the result, but it so appears. Do readers have any more information about these happenings?

By way of contrast, nature was having none of the human-caused havoc. The morning skies were clear and cold, and the few remaining leaves and berries on deciduous plants were calling for attention, as evidenced by these fruits appearing on a shrub on Redwood Road.



The clear winter weather just begs for long, objective-free walking, in the opinion of Yours Truly. It (the weather, that is) is not supposed to last; off-and-on rain is predicted for the rest of the week. Your Boulevardier has professional work to catch up on, and so, in a way, he hopes the inclement weather comes; it will force him to stay at his desk and complete the projects before the New Year arrives.

Worthy Cause in Castro Valley

Your Boulevardier received the following email from two different people, and commenter Greenridge posted it below. The originator is L'avocat de Boulevardier Steven Dimick, who has given permission to republish it here. (Some slight edits have been made, clearly marked.)

Your Boulevardier went by Lee's Donuts this morning and purchased a very nice cinnamon roll. His waistline will not let him do so daily, but he will be making a contribution and encourages readers who are able to do the same.

Friends,

You have probably read that the owner of Lee's Donuts on the corner of Grove Way and Redwood Road was brutally pistol whipped about a couple of weeks ago during an early morning robbery. I'd like to tell you a little more about him.

Sam Nouv came to the U.S. from Cambodia and, in 1987, started working at Lee's Donuts. Before long, he was leasing the business from its owner and, in 1990, bought the business. He and his wife, Lori, go to work every day at 3:30 a.m., open up at 4:00 a.m. and don't close until 6:00 p.m. -- every day, seven days a week. They do close on a very few holidays, but in 19 years have never had a vacation and the most time they have ever had off at any one time is two days.

Our grandparents or great-grandparents worked like this when they first came to America, but no native-born American that I know would do so.

In addition to working these brutal hours, they are raising three sons, a 21-year-old currently at Chabot College, a 15-year-old at Castro Valley High School and a 10-year-old at Independent Elementary.

And Sam and Lori are two of the friendliest people you could ever hope to meet.

Sam has been back to work -- briefly -- for the last couple of days, but the burden of keeping the shop open for the last two weeks has fallen on Lori, the kids and a few friends.

I asked Lori if they had adequate medical insurance and she said they did, but their deductible and co-pay were killing them, when nearly all of their income goes for basic living expenses. Lori said their share of the medical expenses was $15,000. Sam later told me it might not be that high, but is at least $7,000 (Kaiser told them they don't have a final figure yet.)

Some community members are [planning] a series of fundraisers for the family. Ken Martin is planning a charity bocce ball tournament and other ideas that have been kicked around include a car wash. If you'd like to participate, [contact Steve Dimick via the link above].

In the meantime, if any of you can see your way to making a donation, however small, the family can sure use it. $100 would be great, but $5 or $10 will be equally appreciated. (I merely slipped them some cash.) Please look in your wallets for old, unused bills or consider writing a check to "Sam Nouv." You can deliver your donations to my office (20880 Redwood Rd., Castro Valley) or directly to the Nouv family at their store.

You could also pass this story on to your neighbors or other friends in Castro Valley. They just might see fit to give you a donation to pass on, or to visit Lee's and slip a few dollars into Lori's hand. And maybe they'll pass the story along even further.

Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give. Despite our occasional differences, Castro Valley is a real community.

Steve Dimick

MAC Swings For The Fences

The Castro Valley Forum reports that the town's Municipal Advisory Council is looking into the tall fences that surround Castro Valley's public schools. Your Boulevardier finds himself ahead of the curve on this issue, having examined the issue last May. The post generated a bit of back-and-forth among both of the readers of this blog, which provided some diversion.

It remains the opinion of Your Boulevardier that these fences are unsightly and forbidding, which is not a positive image to portray at a school.

Wudas Is Right

There are fewer things online that are more pathetic than an abandoned blog. One of those things is a blog with a long hiatus followed by a post reading "Sorry it's been so long since there has been a post."

The Castro Valley Boulevardier falls into the second category.

The usual excuse applies: real life has been busy. Several things have been noted by Your Boulevardier, but he has not taken time to post on them. For example:

• A couple of weekends ago, several of the concrete trash bins on Castro Valley Boulevard were knocked over. They were righted within a day or so.
• Other vandalism seemed to spike as summer drew to a close. The pedestrian overcrossing over Highway 580, frequented by Your Boulevardier, was tagged again, and promptly cleaned up again. Your Boulevardier is pleased that the appropriate authorities are staying vigilant to it.
• Restaurants have come and restaurants have gone. The Indian restaurant in the Village, the Vietnamese place across from Pete's Hardware, and the "Theme Unknown" place by Kragen Auto Parts are among the openings. (Your Boulevardier has not tried any of them.) Closed are Fongs, Peking Village, and Pancho's. Meanwhile, Bangkok 580 fell victim to a takeover robbery.
• The cloudy creek question (the post on which prompted Wudas to remind Your Boulevardier to update the blog) was resolved, and it appears the problem was simply construction erosion upstream. If Your Boulevardier appeared alarmist, he apologizes.
• Your Boulevardier participated in Barefoot Boot Camp at Castro Valley Yoga in the third week of August. The upper body is still complaining, though proud to have made it. It's amazing and heartening to think that a dozen people would be up and exercising at 6:00 a.m. for six consecutive days!
  
• School has opened, and it is pleasing to Your Boulevardier to see children walking to their classes. Still, school zones continue to be dangerous places for pedestrians, what with distracted parents driving their offspring while engaging in telephone conversations, eating breakfast, or attending to their grooming.
  
• For Sale signs, and vacant properties, seem to be appearing more frequently around town, at least in Your Boulevardier's home district of Baywood.
• Your Boulevardier saw a poster for a Green training class co-sponsored by the Castro Valley Sanitary District and the Castro Valley Adult School, upcoming on September 27. More information can be found at the Adult School website (appropriately enough, on Mr. Green's welcome page.)
• A production of Carousel is coming to the Center For The Arts later in September. One can't go wrong with Rogers and Hammerstein.
• Castro Valley product Rachel Maddow is getting a regular MSNBC show. Your Boulevardier does not partake of intense political coverage from any portion of the spectrum, so he has not seen the show; but he knows friends of Maddow's parents, and hears that they are rightfully proud of their daughter.
  

For now, this list of tidbits will have to suffice. Again, Your Boulevardier apologizes for the long drought of new material.

Overpass Gets a Blast

Graffiti-removal crews have worked for two days to clear graffiti from the pedestrian walkway over I-580 connecting the Baywood District with the BART station and downtown Castro Valley. As Your Boulevardier and the Trusty BoulevarDog are regular users of this overpass, its cleaning is most welcome.

A workman on the crew told Your Boulevardier that his firm had been hired by Alameda County to do the work. He said that there had been some conflict between CalTrans and the County over who was responsible for the cleanup but that in the final analysis the responsibility had fallen to the County. He also said that cleanup was not (yet) on a regular schedule, so it would behoove users of the walkway to contact the County when the tags reappear. One can call (510) 670-5500; more information can be found here.

Personally, Your Boulevardier is busy composing a thank-you note to Supervisor Miley. One does not know if he was responsible for the cleanup, but it's good that he knows that graffiti removal is important to residents of Castro Valley.

That Ought to Keep the Kids in School

Construction continues on the security fence surrounding Creekside Middle School. The chain-link portion on Paradise Knolls is complete, and its tall zinc-clad poles and mesh gleam. Heavy, rectangular black posts now line the Center Street frontage, awaiting some sort of connectors; judging by the height of the posts and their color and construction, Your Boulevardier suspects that an eight- to ten-foot-tall wrought-iron-style barrier is on its way.

One wonders if there isn't a better use for the CVUSD's capital improvement budget. Your Boulevardier cannot claim to be a student of the district's finances or a close scrutinizer of its operations, so he will not judge. He will just wonder.

One is reminded of the new roadsigns going up along Interstate 580 through Ashland, San Leandro, and Oakland, just west of Castro Valley. Soeur de Boulevardier first noticed and mentioned that these monumental new signposts seem to be replacing perfectly adequate existing signage. One sometimes wishes that the dollars had been spent on the road surface, rather than on the directional placards that dangle above it.