Again it was a challenge selecting a Comment of the Week. Our article asking for reader suggestions on what to do with the empty Guitar Center building generated many responses and intriguing possibilities. We also received a number of notable comments on articles about the closing of Foley & Bonny after 66 years, a national honor for after-school advocate Jennifer Peck and an interview with Marty Kaliski of Marty's Motors. But since the June 5 election is coming up soon, we turned to another article that drew attention, a May 15 guest column on the proposed parcel tax for West Contra Costa …
Usually we chose one Comment of the Week, but we sometimes pick two when circumstances warrant, as they did this past week. Those who nominated Todd Groves for this year's "Distinguished Citizen Award" from the Ed. Fund devoted five single-spaced pages to describing his contributions to El Cerrito schools, and when we published an article on May 8 about him being chosen, "Todd Groves Gets 'Distinguished Citizen Award' from Ed. Fund," several readers responded with expressions of appreciation and examples of his efforts. We chose two comments to give a slightly more rounded picture of the …
It wasn't easy this past week to select our Comment of the Week. Several stories generated reader discussion and differing views: a new peril for Windrush School, the occupation of the Gill Tract, the rumor that Walmart might move into a vacant supermarket building on the El Cerrito/Richmond border, and others. We turned in the end to an article that stirred no controversy, our April 25 police blotter, "Assaults, Break-ins – Recent El Cerrito Crimes," to highlight the comment from Margaret Lowry of Tatami Multi Arts: I would like to say thank-you to the EC police force. We moved to El …
We generally select one reader comment to highlight as our Comment of the Week. On topics that elicit strongly divided opinions, however, we sometimes choose two comments to avoid appearing to favor one side. So it was for our April 19 article, "Approval for Chipotle Grill in El Cerrito." The El Cerrito Planning Commission voted 6-0 Wednesday to grant a use permit for the popular chain to move into the building at San Pablo Avenue and Carlson Boulevard now occupied by Payless ShoeSource, whose lease is not being renewed. The story prompted several comments, including our two Comments of the …
Our April 14 story on a newly launched campaign to build a new El Cerrito Library, "New El Cerrito Library Campaign Launched," drew an enthusiastic response from reader Dorothy Coakley. Her comment is perhaps the shortest we've ever selected as the Comment of the Week: YESSSSSS!!!!! Editor's note: We welcome reader comments on our articles. The "Comment of the Week" doesn't necessarily reflect the view of El Cerrito Patch. It's chosen according to what we believe will be of general reader interest. For other examples from our "Comment of the Week" series, please click here.
We never quite know which direction the reader comments on our articles will take. One unexpected discussion arose this past week in the reader comments on our April 4 article about reuse of the old Portola Middle School site, "Old Portola School Site to Be Soccer Fields, Long Slope?" Following a suggestion to rebuild the city's cramped library at the Portola site, Kathy A. suggested putting the library in the abandoned Safeway building on San Pablo Avenue at Moeser Lane, an idea that sparked several comments, including two selected as our Comments of Week. One is a follow-up by Mike and the …
Cutting greenhouse gases by increasing non-polluting transportation includes helping bicyclists park at BART stations. Our article on El Cerrito's pioneering role in BART's expanding system of electronic shared-use bike lockers, "Another El Cerrito First – Those Electronic Bike Lockers," drew our Comment of the Week from the reader registered as "Kyle": I love those lockers! They make bike commuting to BART feasible (not having to worry about bike theft, vandalism, etc.), as the article says, I discovered them several years ago, and they've allowed me to totally upgrade my commute. I use …
Among the personality traits commonly attributed to the wild turkeys of El Cerrito, humility and deference seem to be notably lacking. Their comportment as they blithely stroll about town has generated ongoing public discussion about how to co-exist with them. Our May 19 story, "El Cerrito Turkeys on Tour; Franklin on Favorite Fowl," drew a recommendation from reader Marta Belanger, which has been selected as our Comment of the Week: Has anyone else noticed that they get particularly aggressive when they're honked at? I've seen it several times. A tom is in the middle of the street, taking …
El Cerrito's restored art deco movie house, known both as Cerrito Theater and Rialto Cinemas Cerrito, has become more than just a place to see contemporary and classic films while also enjoying food, beer and wine in a kind of large living-room atmosphere. It has also been playing host to community events, especially those connected with film. One took place Thursday night – a talk by British writer Geoff Dyer – and our article about the event, "British Writer Draws 100-plus to Cerrito Theater," attracted our "Comment of the Week" from reader Al Miller: "This event, and the community response…
The appearance of Peggy Orenstein, author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, at Prospect Sierra School last Tuesday prompted us to publish an article about the seeming gender gap in ambition. That article, "Are Girls Less Ambitious Than Boys?," drew our Comment of the Week from reader Liz Ozselcuk: "US corporate policy is not family friendly; you are expected to work late hours and weekends if you want to be seen as being upward bound in the company. Maybe this lack of "ambition" is more about women realizing that they will be expected to choose against the interest of their families and …
The article that drew the most comments this past week was our "Best Sandwich" poll, which showed that several places around El Cerrito have devoted fans and enjoy a reputation for quality sandwiches, including The Junket, Well Grounded, Ba Le, Fatapple's, The Arlington and Semifreddi's, among others. The winner, The Junket deli, was praised not only for its sandwiches but also for its atmosphere and other menu choices, as highlighted in our Comment of the Week by Susan Wehrle: The Junket will custom make your sandwich, and they have so many options, a real Deli. Also, they are very nice to …
Reader Larry Craighill offered an explanation for why a resident reported twice seeing a mountain lion in his backyard near Moeser Lane and Contra Costa Tuesday, as described in the article, "More Mountain Lion Sightings Reported in El Cerrito." Cougars were reported the same day in two other Bay Area cities, San Mateo and Los Altos. In our Comment of the Week, Craighill wrote: With such a dry season, I shouldn't be surprised that the deer are spending more time around irrigated areas. They come out of the parks when it gets dry, and the mountain lions will follow them no doubt. Editor's note…
When Saint Mary's High School held its "Locks of Love" event Wednesday, in which donors give their hair for cancer patients who've lost their own, the youngest contributor was a third-grader from Harding Elementary School, 8-year-old Evelin Aguirre. The Feb. 17 article about the event, "Gift for Those in Need: 'Locks of Love' from Saint Mary's," singled out the "little miss" from Harding and drew our Comment of the Week from Clare McCormick, who reported why Evelin did not heed the urging of her friends not to cut her hair: Little Miss Evelin Cruz Aguirre told me "I have to do the right thing…
After last week's pilgrimage here by a group of 12 European fans seeking sites connected to Creedence Clearwater Revival, we published a poll Saturday asking readers if the city should do more to mark the legendary band's El Cerrito origin, "Poll: Should El Cerrito Do More to Commemorate Creedence Clearwater?" The poll has been receiving a large number of votes and quite a few comments, including our Comment of the Week by T Booher below. The comment responds to two other comments, one by Ricardo Amor saying El Cerrito honors itself by honoring the city's "blue-collar treasure," and the other…
The tragic death this past week of former El Cerrito High School student Tyler De Martini, who was hit by a car while riding a skateboard down Marin Avenue, raised a number of questions. One was whether the helmet requirement for minors should be enforcned. De Martini, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered a severe head injury and was removed from life support following a report that tests showed no brain activity. Even though he was 18 and therefore exempt from the state law requiring helmets for minors, his death heightened fears about skateboarders of all ages. Our poll on whether police …
El Cerrito seems to have few, if any, sacred cows, though the city's successful Recycling Center seems to enjoy an unusually high degree of civic pride. So it's not surprising that a guest column by an upset neighbor of the facility, "View: Nuisance – El Cerrito Recycling Center," generated a reader debate and a wide variety of viewpoints, several of which struck us as candidates for our "Comment of the Week." We chose one by Kari Jones, not because we necessarily agree or regard it as the "best," but because we think it reflects several of the issues that arose in what appears to be a clash …
The topic that draws the most reader interest on El Cerrito Patch is local schools – their problems and what can be done to remedy them. A Jan. 7 blog post in our "Local Voices" section by Todd Groves about the new math initiative at Portola Middle School, "Game Change for WCCUSD Academics," has drawn a sizeable number of reader comments in the ensuing days, including our Comment of the Week from Robert Menzimer: Great work by the indefatigable Todd Groves and other EC parents who have helped generate this stimulating development on behalf of math education in the district. Todd and his …
Reader opinion on allowing anonymous comments on articles is obviously sharply divided, as shown in our reader survey this past week, "Poll: Should Anonymous Reader Comments Be Allowed?" With 113 votes cast as of this writing, 34 percent said yes, 36 percent said no, 27 percent said yes with prior registration of the real name (not to be published), and 1 percent chose undecided. (Total doesn't equal 100 percent due to rounding.) It was not easy to select a Comment of the Week from the many thoughtful responses, which raised key issues and reflected the complexity of the debate. To provide a …
The issue of school safety is fraught with natural fear for children and staff and with the difficulty of separating rumor from fact. The comments posted on our Jan. 1 article, "Schools Chief Praises Public Education," reflected a range of views and experiences, as well as strong disagreement, from several readers who contributed heartfelt thoughts about the subject. To provide an indication of that range and avoid the appearance of taking sides on this volatile issue, we've chosen two comments this time for our Comment of the Week: From Sharon Johnson: (Quoting another comment:) "One thing …
This comment was posted by reader Eric Bordax in response to a commentary from El Cerrito High student Kai Marshland, Letter: Cultural Geography Class at High School Deserves an F, published Dec. 31. Isn't the point of a class like this to teach kids about cultures that exist outside of their own bubble? I don't think it's so much about history than it is getting students to entertain viewpoints that they would have otherwise not been exposed to (e.g., other religions that challenge the students intellectually). Editor's note: The "Comment of the Week" doesn't necessarily reflect the view of …
