PIEDMONT
The popular Thanksgiving Turkey Trot through the streets of Piedmont is nearing. Participants will gather at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 28 on the start line at Highland Avenue near the Exedra for the 5K run/walk/stroll that has become a tradition now in its 18th year. Runners who pace a 6-minute mile or faster will have a designated start stall, and there will be chip timing in the run bibs. Awards will be presented to the top three male and female finishers in each age group.
Overall top male and female winners will each receive a gift certificate for a turkey from Village Market. First place in all age divisions will receive a pumpkin pie from Piedmont Grocery and a gift certificate from the Transports running store. For the lowest prices, register online by Nov. 8 at piedmontturkeytrot.com. Long-sleeve dry wick T-shirts will be given to the first 1,800 registered participants. Net proceeds will benefit Piedmont High cross-country and track-and-field programs and Piedmont’s Athletic Facilities Preservation Fund.
Lantern Projects accepting donations for various causes
Piedmont-based Lantern Projects helps people in need around the world, where donations large or small make a difference in lives. Send a tax-deductible donation of any amount to Lantern Projects, 51 Glen Alpine Road, Piedmont, CA 94611 and mark the wish number and your email address on your correspondence.
Wish #386 will help a Ugandan refugee camp with food. Donations from $7 to $48 will buy staples, toilet paper, toothbrushes and personal items.
Wish #387 will help the Nahua people in the mountains of Southern Mexico purchase a food prep counter for $300, $40 for lumber and wire and $15 for garden tool and seeds.
Wish #388 in Tanzania will help a self-help group formed by Maasai women who collect 5-cent donations which they pool to help the sick and for funerals. They sell tea leaves, soap and cheese to also raise money for the cooperative. They need a $3,080 milling machine, for which they will contribute $380.
Wish #389 in Kenya will help children with albinism, which is lack of pigmentation in eyes, hair and skin. A program is dedicated to helping those affected. A long-sleeve shirt to protect skin is $15, $13 for a UV protection hat. Other program supplies are $35 to $65 for notebooks, folders.
Guitarist Garcia to perform Nov. 17 at Center for the Arts
Renowned classical guitarist and Oakland resident Leonardo Garcia will appear at 5 p.m. Nov. 17 at Piedmont Center for the Arts, 801 Magnolia Ave. in Piedmont. He will perform works by Villa-Lobos, Astor Piazolla, Augustin Barrios and others. His two sons, Max, 16, and Charlie, 12, will join him in a work for two guitars by Grammy winner Sergio Assads. Tickets can only be bought in advance at brownpapertickets.com/event/445560: $30 for adults, $10 for students.
— Linda Davis, correspondent
OAKLAND
Talk will cover protection from home health hazards
Skyline Community Church welcomes you to our first presentation in a series provided by our neighboring experts living in the Bay Area as a free education service to improve the health and well-being of everyone. Our first launching talk, on the topic of protecting ourselves and pets from hidden health hazards at home, will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 17 after Sunday services.
Speaker Susan JunFish, MPH, is retired from Cal/EPA, the founder of Parents for a Safer Environment, and is an environmental health scientist and public health educator trained at UC Berkeley. She will address the 10 toxic categories of environmental exposures, referred to as “oxidative stressors,” and will explain how many everyday and unexpected hidden sources of toxic exposures have simple solutions. Reduce your and your loved ones’ risk for cancer, autoimmune diseases, reproductive/developmental diseases, learning disabilities and even conditions like sleep disorder and anxiety.
Skyline is an open and affirming sanctuary at 12540 Skyline Blvd. in Oakland, a beautiful event venue atop the hills, with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows looking into the canyons and wilderness. RSVP at skylineucc.org/events to guarantee seating.
— Skyline Community Church
Retired lawyer receives award for lifetime achievement
Retired environmental lawyer Michael Sherwood has been awarded the California Lawyers Association’s prestigious Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Field of Environmental Law. The award was presented at the recent annual Environmental Law Conference in Yosemite.
The lifetime achievement award was established “to recognize environmental lawyers who have contributed to the field of environmental law over a sustained period, achieved excellence in the practice of environmental law and provided legal services with high ethics and collegiality.”
Sherwood was a staff attorney with the environmental law firm Earthjustice in San Francisco and Oakland for 39 years. During his career, he sued to protect endangered species and to stop logging, mining and road construction on sensitive public lands in Alaska, California and elsewhere. He helped protect salmon populations in Washington, Oregon and California. In California, he helped stop clear-cut logging of old-growth redwoods adjacent to Redwood National Park.
— Earthjustice
SPCA waives seniors’ adoption fees for older cats, dogs
The East Bay SPCA has launched its new Seniors for Seniors program in which senior shelter dogs and cats (ages 7 and older) will have their adoption fees waived for adopters ages 65 or older. Our goal is to increase our older animals’ chances of finding a new home while also improving senior citizens’ health and quality of life.
“There are many benefits to adopting a pet. Research shows having a pet can help people reduce stress, lower your blood pressure, decrease your risk of strokes and heart attacks and more,” said Karalyn Aronow, the East Bay SPCA’s vice president of operations. “The quiet home of a senior citizen and the often calm and gentle demeanor of senior pets can be a perfect match for a mature animal in need of a second chance and a senior citizen looking for companionship.”
East Bay SPCA staff will help adopters select a pet who fits into their lifestyle and housing situation. All cats and dogs adopted from the East Bay SPCA are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped.
— East Bay SPCA
Hills native’s music documentary hits streaming platforms
Percolating with electric performances, the documentary “Do U Want It?” directed by Oakland hills native Josh Freund and Sam Radutzky, wraps the tale of New Orleand band Papa Grows Funk and its breakup into a larger story about that city’s music, crystallizing the tension between the ease of being a working musician in a city that supports homegrown talent like no other and the frustration that can come with wanting more than that.
The film was a festival darling, screening all over the country, including at SF Indiefest, where it took home the Audience Award in 2018, and is now available on Apple TV (formerly iTunes) and other streaming platforms. For more details, visit douwantitfilm.com.
“This documentary, in all truthfulness, is the story of most of our lives as New Orleans musicians over the last 50 years. This movie represents not just this band but our collective reality,” said The Meters’ George Porter Jr.
— Josh Freund
EAST BAY
United Way seeks volunteers for 2020 tax-prep season
United Way Bay Area’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! program is seeking volunteer tax preparers, interpreters and greeters to help staff Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites throughout the Bay Area during the 2020 tax season. No prior experience with tax preparation is required — training is provided. With the support of trained, IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers, VITA sites provide free tax preparation to low- to moderate-income individuals and families at more than 200 locations across eight Bay Area counties. To volunteer, visit earnitkeepitsaveit.org/volunteer.
Free volunteer training provided by community partners and the IRS will begin in December and January. Volunteer tax preparers are invited to attend three days of classroom instruction. There is also a need for outreach volunteers who require less training. An online training and accelerated certification tool is available for tax professionals. Most volunteers will be asked to volunteer regularly for at least one four-hour shift each week from late January until April 15. Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are welcome, and there is a special need for bilingual Spanish speakers.
— United Way Bay Area
PIEDMONT
‘Elf’ party set to benefit Piedmont Education Foundation
The Piedmont Spring Fling to benefit the Piedmont Education Foundation is hosting an “Elf” party from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 17 at the Piedmont Theater, 4186 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland. Screened will be the entertaining holiday movie with Will Ferrell about a big elf who tries to understand New York City from his childish viewpoint. Tickets are $30 each, and children must be accompanied by an adult. The day includes jingle bells for everyone, kids’ games, popcorn and other refreshments. For more information or to reserve a spot, email info@piedmontedfoundation.org.
— Linda Davis, correspondent
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