Tax Season Is Upon Us

Your Boulevardier has, once again, fallen behind on postings. It's not for lack of material; it's for lack of a much more precious commodity: time. Work has been very busy, leaving time for walks but not time for writing about walks.

Another profession that is busy this time of the year is that of tax preparer. Dueling sign-carrying dancers have been at work in front of the H&R Block and Liberty Income Tax offices on Castro Valley Boulevard, luring in those for whom a person in a gown the color of aged French copper seems like a reliable advisor in financial matters.

Those who are less inclined to follow a human-animated sign would do well to look for this gem, which Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou spotted the other week as lunch was eaten at Swiss Delices.



There's much to admire in this hand-painted beauty: the rich, albeit faded, color scheme (Your Boulevardier counts at least seven different hues), the artistic touches (the flower over the "i" and the pointing finger, for example), and the unusual typography leap out. One hopes Don & Linda's Tax Service keeps the sign forever.

Lady in Green

Your Boulevardier chatted ever so briefly with a charming young woman in front of Liberty Tax Service on Castro Valley Boulevard yesterday afternoon. She's a tax preparer by trade but had been drafted by her employer to don Lady Liberty's green robes and headdress and wave at passing vehicles. In lieu of a flaming torch, she held a festive red cup from Starbucks.

Wearing a big smile, she told Your Boulevardier: "I didn't expect so many people to smile and honk!"

A photo was surreptitiously snapped later on the walk, from the far side of the street. Kindly forgive the poor quality of the image.

Lake Chabot Boat Fees

An article in today's Daily Review reports that Lake Chabot will start charging fees for zebra mussel inspection on personal boats launched in the lake. The fees will also be charged at Del Valle and Contra Loma. Per the article:

The fees at all 3 recreation areas will be $6 for boats brought in on trailers and $3 for boats fastened to car tops. A vehicle bringing in two kayaks will be charged $3.

The inspection program has been in effect for a while at Lake Chabot. Your Boulevardier's limited experience has been that the inspectors are hard to find, and one can wait quite a while at the launch dock waiting for them to arrive. It's hoped that the fee will be coupled with more efficient procedures.

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.