The Voice of East Bay Living

“Cooking with Love gives food for the soul” Great cooking class at Kitchen on Fire in Berkeley.  Check out their website for weekly schedule of events.

I recently joined this wonderful local garden club which just celebrated its 70th anniversary. Founded in 1947, the club currently has 120 members. The members maintain public gardens at Lake Merritt,the Montclair Library and the Joaquin Miller Community Center. The objectives of the club are to stimulate the love and knowledge of gardening, to aid in the protection of native trees, plant and birds and to encourage in civic planting and conservation.  If you are interested in joining me at the next meeting, just give me a call. I would love to take you as my guest. Sheila Sabine is a business woman, multi-dimensional artist, and Senior Sales Associate at The Grubb Company. ssabine@grubbco.com 510.326.5055

L'Ecole Bilingue- 1009 Heinz Ave. -Berkeley,CA. An interview with my niece, Marketing Director at EB For over thirty years,this wonderful school has provided a bilingual international environment where children from pre- school through eighth grade can be exposed to French, English, Mandarin and Latin. Representing more than 50 nationalities, EB students are able to flourish in a diverse and vibrant community. Learn more about Life at Ecole Bilingue Interested in learning more about Berkeley? Contact Sheila Sabine ssabine@grubbco.com

Every year Berkeley Rotary dedicates a redwood tree in the International Peace Grove at Inspiration Point to a person or organization for their efforts to achieve world peace. The  grove was established on the site of the former Nike missile location for the defense of the Bay Area. In 1955, the Grove was given to Berkeley Rotary and 100 redwood trees were planted. This year the award was given to George Mitchell who worked tirelessly to establish peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East.  The celebration was an Irish theme complete with Irish stew and fiddlers. Be sure and take a hike to the grove.  Want to learn more about the Berkeley Rotary and how you can be involved? Email Sheila at ssabine@grubbco.com

Berkeley Chief of Police, Michael Meehan, was the guest speaker at this week's Berkeley Rotary meeting. He presented some very interesting facts about the Berkeley Police Department: Berkeley police dept. was founded in 1909 All police policies are online Police officers can type & email reports from their cars. They are the pioneers for Social media for police activates-go NIXLE.com to view Crime in Berkeley is at a  50 year low Over 20% of force are female officers (this is twice the national average!) 100% of officers have a college degree Their motto is to be  compassionate, fair & reasonable the Police department hosts periodic public open houses where one can view artifacts and also see how the things are run. Chief Meehan ended is talk by saying,  “I come to work each day with a passion for what I do.”

Quick history about the serene tea house in central #Piedmont

Uptown Oakland is flourishing with many talented  artists.  I would like you to meet Scott Schryver and hear his thoughts on Inspiration. 

Brown Sugar Kitchen at 2534 Mandela Parkway is definitely worth the long wait. This soul food outpost is a community gathering spot, a place to fill the belly, and the beating heart of West Oakland.  It's Owner, Tanya Holland, is becoming more and more famous for her down home delicious food that will please the most discerning foodie. 

In 2001, this former vacant lot with overgrown weeds was transformed into a magical playground by over 1,300 volunteers. Here young children can romp about in miniature castles and slide to their hearts content. Frog Park is a wonderful testament to community driven vision.

Try doing some local volunteer work - there are many opportunities. This Thanksgiving, I helped serve food to the homeless at the  Presbyterian Church on College Avenue . It was a very fulfilling experience.

Do you feel like an escape during these warm fall days? Here are two great suggestions: Alameda is about 20 minutes from most points in the East Bay.  Take Park Blvd straight to the end and you will run into the Elsie Roemer bird sanctuary and salt marsh .  This is one of the few salt marshes that has been preserved in the Bay Area-it provides a critical habitat to a number of endangered birds and plants.  You can walk along the beach then go across the street for a delicious Japanese meal at the Sushi House .  Finally South Shore shopping mall awaits you with a huge number of retail stores.  Another delightful spot by the water is Guaymas Restaurant situated right on the water in  Tiburon . Dining on the patio, You can watch the boats sail in and out and there is a lovely view across the bay of the San Francisco skyline.  Visit  GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ...

A great local getaway is Fourth Street in Berkeley, considered the most upscale shopping district in Berkeley. It has an affluent, eclectic, cafe-society vibe with a sophisticated bohemian flair. Stores feature many hand made items. One of my favorite places is a shop called the Gardener which was established in 1984. Their motto is that it carries beautiful and useful objects for both home and garden. You can find stylish tables made from recycled wood, fresh smelling soaps, sophisticated table settings and fresh plants that change with each season. After shopping there, stop off next door to Zut restaurant, an elegant and casual setting with  a fantastic menu-serving both lunch and dinner.  Visit GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine@grubbco.com

Motown the Musical at the Orpheum theater : your gateway to fun this week in San Francisco Zuni Cafe is a San Francisco dining legend offering culinary delights and artsy lively clientele.  Walk just a few blocks to the Orpheum Theater - built in 1926 and a San Francisco historical landmark- it features the best all the Broadway musicals. The latest show- Motown the Musical , will have you jumping out of your seat and dancing in the aisles.What can I say- let the good times roll!! Visit  GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine@grubbco.com

Nestled in the Richmond hills across the street from normal homes, you will be surprised to find a beautiful meditation center on nearly three acres of land and nearly 8,000 sq ft of living space including meditation room, kitchen, community room and separate house.  Purchased in 2013 by the Guyto Foundation, it is one of the northern California centers used by the students of the Dali Lama. For more information including classes and programs, go to their website . Visit  GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine@grubbco.com

Did you know about this new regulation in Piedmont? There is now a new requirement in the city of Piedmont that all moving trucks within the city limits require a permit. The process to get a permit requires the signatures of neighbors, fees, and for the application to be submitted ten days prior to the moving truck is parked in front of a residence. Visit  GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine@grubbco.com

Piedmont Piano Company located in Uptown Oakland at 1728 San Pablo is an incredible retail piano store by  day and on weekends it offers amazing concerts with many famous musicians from all over the country. It has been a family run store for over 30 years and is yet another one of the many jewels you will find in uptown Oakland. Visit GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine @grubbco.com 

(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...

Just Around The Corner   A16 - a16rockridge.com.com 5356 College Avenue McNally Irish Pub - 510.655.3929 5352 College Avenue Hudson Bay Cafe - 510.658.0214 5401 College Avenue Bittersweet Chocolate Cafe - bittersweetcafe.com 5427 College Avenue Soi Four Restaurant- soifour.com 5421 College Avenue A Cote Restaurant - acoterestaurant.com 5478 College Avenue Enoteca Molinari - enoteca-molinari.com 5474 College Avenue Sukho Thai Restaurant - 510.420.8600 5498 College Avenue Uzen Restaurant - 510.654.7753 5415 College Avenue Oliveto Cafe - oliveto.com 5656 College Avenue For a complete guide visit www.rockridgedistrict.com Prepared by: Sheila Sabine & Judith Glass 510.326.5055 ssabine@grubbco.com jglass@grubbco.com    

This is a national youth development non-profit for low income high school students to transform what they beleive is possible for themselves. Students learn to develop character traits they need to become college educated leaders.  At Lake Merritt everyone was required to run a 5 K race before going on a summer wildeness trip.   Visit GlassSabine.com Contact Team Glass Sabine at ssabine @grubbco.com