October 20: News & Notes

Our neighborhood is not sitting idle. Despite the obstacles, we are organizing meetings, protesting, and holding petition drives to help shape the future of our urban paradise. This is not new: residents have continually stepped up when required, as demonstrated by our community-built Frog Park, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. As with the Rockridge Library (featured in our last edition), neighbors came together to build something extraordinary.

Today marks 35 years since the Oakland Hills Firestorm of October 20, 1991, which killed 25 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes, and came within a quarter-mile of the Claremont Hotel. Historian Annette Floystrup looks back at the event and shares personal reflections of this defining event—unforgettable for those living here at the time.

And be sure to bring your dog in costume to the family-friendly Halloween Parade this coming Sunday, October 25, from 11am-2pm, for the Canine Costume Contest at the Rockridge Voice booth in front of Market Hall. The winner gets a $100 prize!

Since launching in January of this year, Rockridge Voice has established itself as a valuable media presence—bringing current events and relevant news to an active and involved readership. Our progress has been made possible thanks to our loyal contributing writers, sponsors, and members (who now total nearly 900!).

We welcome all voices and opinions—and, if you appreciate what we do, please consider upgrading your free subscription to our FRIEND level ($10/month) to help ensure we can keep this going strong. Our content is available to all who are interested, and we plan to keep it that way. Reader support makes this possible—thank you.

… and, if you haven’t done so already, go out and vote!

Anna L. Marks,
editor/publisher

Here are this edition’s featured articles:

Frog Park: Built by Neighbors, Sustained by the Community for 25 Years

When the Alameda County Flood Control District channeled the Temescal Creek, resulting in a pathway overgrown with weeds and lined with a chain link fence, they saw the potential for neighborhood open space. READ MORE

Remembering the ’91 Oakland Firestorm 35 Years Later

On October 20, 1991, Diablo winds fanned a wildfire through the Oakland–Berkeley hills, killing 25 people, injuring 150, and destroying 3,469 homes and apartment units. Oakland had faced one of California’s most destructive fire disasters. READ MORE

Join the Halloween Fun: Rockridge Parade Returns October 25

Rockridge families can look forward to an afternoon of Halloween magic when the 34th Annual Rockridge Halloween Parade returns to College Avenue. READ MORE

A Desert Oasis Mural for the New East Bay Jewish Community Campus

San Francisco artist Mark Ulriksen, known for his colorful, often humorous New Yorker covers, has designed a mural outside the new East Bay Jewish Community Campus in Rockridge. Painted by Berkeley muralist Hayley Ferreira, READ MORE

Phase 2 of the FROG Park Climatescape: Where We Are, Where We’re Headed

This past May, Rockridge Voice reported on what was in store for the Frog Park Climatescape, a new climate-responsive landscape and garden space near the Hudson Street entrance of FROG Park that we installed and planted in September 2023. Well, since then, we’ve reached several milestones and are

Rockridge VoiceJohn Kamp

Restoring Art Along the Greenbelt

If you’ve walked along FROG Park’s greenway from the DMV toward Hardy Park, you’ve likely noticed the cement sculptures along the path. And, you’ve probably noticed that they are no longer functioning as designed. Since the project’s installation in 2010, time, weather, and even vandalism

Rockridge VoiceAnna L. Marks

Rockridge Rallies for Democracy—and Heads to the Ballot Box

Several hundred Rockridgers and their neighbors from across Oakland lined Broadway just north of 51st Street, on Saturday, October 17, at a No Kings Rally aimed at getting out a “Vote Early” message. They carried signs left over from past rallies proclaiming No Kings and Diversity not Deportation, as well

Rockridge VoiceJudith Doner Berne

Prepare for Rain, Adopt a Drain

They say the rain is coming, big time. Rockridge residents can help the neighborhood prepare by joining the city’s Adopt-A-Drain program. When neighborhood volunteers clear leaves, litter, and other debris from storm drain inlets, this helps rainwater flow and reduces the risk of localized flooding. Keeping drains

Rockridge VoiceGuest Author

Letters to the Editor:

Who Pays? Infrastructure and Public Safety Concerns at 5727 College Avenue

Outsized Buildings Coming to Rockridge: Who’s Responsible?

Adriana Valencia is the Right Choice for AC Transit

… and, thank you for visiting Our Sponsors, Calendar, and Bulletin Board to stay up to date with all the goings on at the Rockridge Voice… and, please share our e-newsletter with your friends and neighbors too!