The Voice of East Bay Living

Derik Landry, renovator and realtor discussing his latest projects in Winters, California. For more information about Derik Landry, www.dwelldefined.com Sheila Sabine is a business woman, multi-dimensional artist, and Senior Sales Associate at The Grubb Company. ssabine@grubbco.com

Just a hop skip and a jump from Hayward is the adorable town of Niles. It became famous between 1912 to 1916 where silent  films were made by Charlie Chaplin and Bronco  Billy. At one point this town was called the first Hollywood. This historic town is still a charming 5 Block long commercial district loaded with charming antique stores. It was placed on the map also by the Niles Canyon Railway, a unique passenger train that shuttles tourists between Niles  through the hills of Fremont on century old heritage railroad equipment. You can hop aboard this excursion train which makes this journey every Sunday. You won't regret visiting this charming corner of the world.

Today at Berkeley Rotary, we had a speaker from the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) who shared information about climate change and why it's important for individuals to be aware of our changing environment. ACE is a national organization that was founded in Oakland and dedicated to educating people about climate change. Statistics show that 90% of scientists believe that climate change is caused by people while 46% of the general public disagree. In fact, polls reveal that climate change is very low on the list of the general public's priorities. People are mostly worried about terrorism, the economy, and jobs. Climate change is at the bottom of the list. The urgency of climate change is very apparent with the drought in California. Climate change impacts all of us living on this planet. Young people have the most to lose when it comes to climate change and the most to gain by taking action. This is where ACE has found an opportunity to make a difference by connect...

This week, Berkeley rotary hosted an executive from Tesla - the largest employer of the automotive industry California.  Priced at $75,000, these highly coveted electric cars are manufactured in California in the Toyota factory located in Fremont. The Tesla model X is an SUV car and can hold up to seven people.The battery life lasts for 250 to 270 miles. The cost is about $8 to $10 for electricity to drive 270 miles. There are Tesla charger stations that have been set up across United States (207 stations across America and 420 stations throughout the world). The charger stations are conveniently located near 24 hour stores where you can shop or eat while you're waiting. It takes 30 minutes to charge your car battery and it is free.  The  mission of Tesla motors is to accelerate the world to sustainable transportation. The goal of the company is to have an affordable car by 2017 for $35,000.  You can schedule a test drive locally in Walnut Creek...

  We are seeing a rise in the use of succulent plants, especially in California where everyone is being very conscious of the drought.  Succulents  are not a new plant.  From the early days of the Egyptian tombs, cave paintings, and fossils to the present day, they have long been considered as objects d"art.   Succulents are famous for their sturdiness.  They can survive in very arid desert climates as well as the cold Alpine regions of Europe where they adapted to the rocky soil and strong winds.    For more information go to the East Bay Nursery website .

The guest speaker at our Berkeley Rotary meeting was Nancy Skinner, a member of the California State Assembly. Here are a few tidbits from her talk: -California is the 8th largest economy in the world. -California voters in 2012 passed a temporary tax which paid down the state debt by $12 billion.  -There has been increased funding to elementary schools and all public schools will receive a 10% increase in funds this year.  -More money is currently being spent for improvement of local streets ,roads, and the park systems.  -California has made the largest investment in a decade for pre-school care.  Two areas that desperately need help in the state: -The state has an incredibly high incarceration rate-state is spending a lot of money and this is not serving us.New funds are being used to assist low level offenders to find productive work and lives.  -A shocking 25% of California residents live on or below poverty level-the poverty is a toxic i...

Here is our newest North Berkeley listing. It is truly one of the most elegant and fabulous homes that we've represented!

(Fragile by William Buffett) In California, this summer we are dealing with a drought. In many countries throughout the world people have been experiencing serious drought for many years. In Ethiopia for example, 8 million of the country's 60 million people are at immediate risk due to drought. A few weeks ago Berkeley Rotary had an amazing guest speaker, Angela Mason ,who works with the World Vision Organization. She is especially focused on those countries who do not have enough water. She believes  that the future wars of the world will not be fought over oil but rather over  water. In most parts of the world, there are no hot showers, no clean water and no flush toilets. There are actually more cell phones in the world than toilets. Across the world, women spend two hundred million hours per day collecting water. In fact, most women around the world get up at midnight and walk all night to get water for their families. Angela has worked tirelessly collecting funds t...

C'est le Buzz... After attending a regional real estate conference, here are some highlights: One agent described the San Francisco market as kind of heart-breaking with the median price at $990,000  and buyers chasing after one house and then another. There are a lot of young buyers who want to be in sunny neighborhoods and walk everywhere.  In the East Bay, we are finding an overflow market  with buyers coming from all directions to buy a house. In Piedmont homes are selling for over $1,000/sqft with sometimes 23 offers. 35% are all cash offers....Where did all this cash come from? I wish someone would adopt me. Leslie Appleton Young, chief economist for CAR was the guest speaker. She said that our economy is no longer in Recovery but in Expansion. A lot of people have no cash restraints-they just want to move their money out of their country into our country. Short sales and REO's have declined significantly-now under 2% nationwide. Everyone is l...

Wonderful new Impressionist Exhibit at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. The gift of the art patron Alma Spreckels, this dramatic building's spectacular setting makes it one of the treasures of the city. There are over 70 visiting paintings from the National Gallery in Washington currently on display.

There is a new regulation that has just been issued by the state of California, effective January 1st, 2014. For all single family homes undergoing alteration of improvements, all plumbing fixtures must be replaced with water conserving fixtures in order to obtain final permit approval. This does not apply to properties undergoing repairs or maintenance including sewer lateral replacement, retaining walls, fences window replacement and other categories (or homes built after 1994).