Author: Marilyn Gildea

The weather on Saturday, May 1, 2021 was perfect, and helped make our garage sale a huge success.  More than 50 people had registered to hold a sale or set out their free items in their driveway.  In addition, many others also posted their addresses and for-sale or give-away items on the MLN email list.  Others just set their no-longer-needed items out at the end of their driveways.

Messages of appreciation included these:

R:  Thanks for organizing… a great turnout!  Much of our long-unused stuff is now in new hands.

N:  We met some new neighbors, and it was fun.  I got rid of some things I never use.

D:  We walked around for 2.5 hours, viewing goods, but mostly chatting.  It was wonderful to see old friends and meet new people.

L:  I had the best emotional day in a very long time!  To see people, converse, see them find treasures that lit up their faces, and to simply give things away, all contributed to a memorable day.  This was way more than a neighborhood garage sale.  This was a glimpse of normal.  The timing was perfect. Thank you for the hard work to make it happen for all of us.

From Tom Purcell, Monta Loma Neighborhood Watch Captain:

I encourage everyone to register a bike of any value, but many police departments no longer offer this service. Instead, they direct people to https://bikeindex.org/, a non-profit online bike registry.

The bikeindex site offers easy, step-by-step instructions for registration and provides a QR sticker to place on the bike. If the bike is found, anyone with a smart phone can quickly determine whether it has been reported as stolen, and reunite the bike with its owner.

But if you prefer not to create an account yourself, I have created a Monta Loma group account to register bikes. The MLNA has generously purchased a supply of the QR stickers, and I am offering them free to any residents who would like to place one on their bike(s).

I’ll also give stickers to those who can register bikes themselves, or who have already registered their bikes with bikeindex. Just log onto your bikeindex account on your smart phone, scan the QR code, send me your address, and I’ll leave you a sticker. At the URL encoded by the sticker, you can then click a link to register the sticker to your specific bike.

If you would like some help, or join our Monta Loma bikeindex account, contact me at MontaLomaNBC@gmail.com and I will help you through the process.

BTW, to see “10 bicycle protection tips to secure your bike from thieves” go to https://velosock.com/blogs/blog/10-bicycle-protection-tips-to-secure-your-bike-from-thieves.

Ernie Bianco’s son, John, and the rest of the Bianco family continued the tradition of running his model trains evenings on Adele Ave. between Thanksgiving and Christmas. On Christmas Eve Kate Shih played her trumpet and Elna’s daughter-in-law, Kelly McCoy-Prael, sang Christmas carols. Articles about the trains display have appeared in the December 21, 2018, issue of the Mountain View Voice (on pages 1 and 17), the December 12, 2016, issue of the Mountain View Voice, in the December 21, 2010, issue, and on pages 1 and 9 of the November 30, 2012, issue. A 2015 article in the San Francisco Chronicle features photos by James Tensuan, son of neighbor Donna Tensuan.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s event such a huge success. The four volunteers at the two welcome tables signed in over 300 attendees who enjoyed the free ice cream and toppings while meeting their neighbors.

Photos of the 2019 Ice Cream Social are here.

New this year were Monta Loma Neighborhood logo items, which are available for purchase. Twenty-nine Monta Loma tee shirts were sold but there are still some available for purchase.

The Mobile Library staff welcomed 135 new and long-time patrons to the bookmobile, and a crew from the Fire Department brought an engine. Representatives of the Recreation Department offered literature on upcoming classes and events, and Janine McCurdy brought information on the Zero Waste and Food Scraps & Recycling programs.

The Monta Loma History display showed early photos of the neighborhood and a binder of the MLNA’s early history. Neighborhood Watch information was also on the history table, and the CERT display offered information about keeping us safe during a disaster. Laureen Lam taught us about allergy-fighting plants for our yards.

Familiar faces from Mountain View Trees (which has merged with Canopy) answered questions about tree problems.

Attractions for the children included Gizmo Gary’s balloon creations, face painting and games, and Gloria’s cotton-candy machine.

Mayor Lisa Matichak, Police Chief Max Bosel, and two members of the MVLAHSD Board attended, but Police Sgt. Wally Magee may have been the most popular guest because he brought a very friendly police dog. They all appreciated the opportunity to meet Monta Loma residents, and their appreciation was echoed by the neighbors.

 

More than 50 neighbors attended the meeting on May 29, meeting new neighbors as they looked over the displays of information and the new MLN logo items.

Acting President Tricia DelGaudio began the meeting with a review of MLNA activities (Email list, newsletter, CERT, Neighborhood Watch, block parties, Ice Cream Social, and Holiday Progressive Dinner), and introduced the volunteers who make these possible. She also showed slides of recent traffic improvements, including a video clip of drivers cutting the Nita/Nita corner before the new lane barrier was installed.

Tricia then introduced the board candidates. Because the election was uncontested, the slate was ratified by voice vote. The 2019-2020 board members are listed here.

Guest speakers Community Services Officer Jodie Pierce and Sgt. Wahed (Wally) Magee from the MVPD spoke about safety. They mentioned the importance of block parties, which encourage neighbors to know and to watch out for each other. Officer Pierce said that 40% of the block parties held in Mountain View are in Monta Loma. Sgt. Magee stressed the importance of reducing theft from vehicles. If a laptop, iPad, or mobile device is not completely shut down, it constantly looks for WiFi, and burglars use devices that can detect them. Rental cars and Teslas are prime targets for auto burglaries. Parking lots are prime car-burglary spots, so your items should be put in the trunk before reaching your destination.

Questions from audience members included these:

What crimes are increasing? Car burglaries, mail theft, and drugs, partly due to lower penalties.

How to prevent package theft? Security cameras that are less noticeable, neighbors who will collect your packages, and Amazon drop-off boxes.

 

 

One Monta Loman’s trash was another’s treasure at our neighborhood garage sale on Saturday, May 4. In addition to the 21 families who registered their sales to be publicized on the neighborhood email list, our website, NextDoor, and the Voice’s online Community Calendar, others also set out their no-longer-needed items to pass along, and many people visited the sales.

The event was recycling at its best, plus an opportunity to meet more of our neighbors.

The neighborhood email list, MLN, has long been a wonderful neighborhood resource, allowing us to share requests, information, no-longer-needed items, and much more. 

Problems with Yahoo Groups prompted moving the list to a new host. Those already on the Yahoo list were emailed an invitation to join the new list. The new list was activated in April 2019, and the old list retired.

Monta Loma residents and property owners who would like to join this list should send a request including your name and address to mln-owner@lists.montaloma.org. You may be asked a question to verify that you live in Monta Loma.

Ernie Bianco’s son, John, and the rest of the Bianco family continued the tradition of running his model trains evenings on Adele Ave. between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The display was featured in the December 21, 2018, issue of the Mountain View Voice (on pages 1 and 17), and drew more than a hundred people on some nights. Sandra H. commented, “We walk over every evening when it’s clear. It’s a great way to get the kids outside, even though it’s dark. It’s the highlight of our year. John is a neighborhood hero!”

Neighbor Elna Tymes reported, “The trains were a huge success during the evenings leading up to Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. Lots of happy, appreciative people, ‘kids with their faces all aglow’ and adults fascinated, too. Unfortunately, it rained and was windy in the late afternoon and early evening of Christmas Eve, so my daughter-in-law didn’t sing this year, but John was out by the garage as usual.”

Articles about the trains display also appeared in the December 12, 2016, issue of the Mountain View Voice, in the December 21, 2010, issue, and on pages 1 and 9 of the November 30, 2012, issue.

The eleventh annual holiday potluck progressive dinner was held on Saturday, December 1, 2018, and was again a great success. The 14 attendees enjoyed each other’s company and good food, and raised $375 for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

The attendees expressed interest in holding a progressive dinner in the summer, when we can walk from home to home in daylight, and eat outdoors.

Photos of the 2018 dinner are here.

Photos of the 2016 dinner and other MLNA events are here.

The progressive dinner and other MLNA events are listed under Events.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s event such a huge success. The four volunteers at the two welcome tables signed in over 300 attendees who enjoyed the free ice cream and toppings while meeting their neighbors. Photos of the event were taken by Jim Cochran.

The Mobile Library staff welcomed 110 new and long-time patrons, who checked out 87 items. A crew from the Fire Department encouraged visitors to step inside their vehicle, and a representative of the Recreation Department offered literature on upcoming classes and events.

The Monta Loma History display showed early photos of the neighborhood and a binder of the MLNA’s early history. Neighborhood Watch information was also on the history table, and the CERT display offered information about keeping us safe during a disaster.

Mountain View Trees members answered questions about tree problems. Wouter Suverkropp offered rides in a carriage pulled by a walking robot.

Attractions for the children included Gizmo Gary’s balloon creations, face painting and games, and Gloria’s cotton-candy machine. New this year was a group of chairs to enable attendees to sit for a while.

Thirty-three Monta Loma tee shirts were sold but there are still some available for purchase.

Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak, several members of our two school boards, and Sgt. Magee of the MVPD attended. They appreciated the opportunity to meet Monta Loma residents, and their appreciation was echoed by the neighbors.