El Cerrito's July 4th Festival starts at 10 a.m. today, but the transformation of Cerrito Vista Park, Contra Costa Civic Theatre's parking lot, and the stretch of Pomona Avenue between the two isn't something that happens overnight.

Preparations for the annual Independence Day celebration – sponsored by the city and worldOne – were already underway Monday as Cerrito Vista Park on Moeser Lane was beginning to sprout bounce houses, rides, the groundwork of the worldOne stage area, and more.

Classic Amusement owner George D’Olivo and his crew were busy setting up attractions like the two-story Cap’n Hook Treasure Island Playstation for El Cerrito’s celebration, one of several Independence Day events the business is providing rides for.

A group of volunteers crowded around Corey Mason of worldOne. Recreation Director Chris Jones marked off stall locations along Pomona Avenue. And a crew trimmed trees to spruce things up and eliminate possible hazards for the expected crowd of thousands.

The work continued Tuesday, winding down with a pre-festival party in the evening with DJ Doug Wendt’s All World Beat that also served as a sound check. Security guards kept an eye on things overnight.

The bulk of the activities – rides, games, food, information and vendor booths, and the El Cerrito Art Association show, demonstrations and sales – wind up at 6 p.m., with music on the main stage continuing until 7 p.m.

Parking will be tight, with a couple of blocks of Moeser closed in addition to the adjoining section of Pomona Avenue. The Community Center parking lot will be reserved for performer and disabled parking. Attended bike parking will be available on Moeser.

El Cerrito Patch invites you visit our festival booth on Pomona and to submit your photos of the event as soon as it's convenient by attaching them to this article (click the green Upload Photos and Videos button under the photo section of this article, or by adding them to our Pics & Clips gallery. You can also email them to elcerrito@patch.com. Please include the photo credit information, and we welcome caption information too.

For more information see an earlier Patch article, the city of El Cerrito website, and worldOne's website.

Here's a gallery we created for photos from us and from our readers taken at El Cerrito's big July 4th festival today. We saw lots of you with cameras, so please feel welcome to share yours by clicking the "Upload photos and videos" tab below the photos that are alread attached.

The sprawling event – sponsored by the City of El Cerrito and WorldOne – filled Cerrito Vista Park, part of Pomona Avenue and Contra Costa Civic Theatre's parking lot with rides, bounce houses, games, music and other entertainment, and booths.

Thank you also to the many current readers and future readers who stopped by the Patch booth to say hello.

Update, July 6: Congratulations to reader "rink," who correctly identified the All Creatures veterinary clinic as the location of our feline tree-sitter. (If you look closely at the featured photo on our Directory listing for All Creatures, you can see the painted cat perched next to a tall bush at the right of the photo.)

Welcome to the latest installment of El Cerrito Patch's irregularly published Mystery Photo contest. We will give a prize to the first reader to identify the whereabouts of this tree-sitting cat in El Cerrito or Kensington by putting the answer in the comments section below this article.  

Click here to see earlier Mystery Photo contests. To receive alerts when we publish the next Mystery Photo contest, click the Keep me posted button below. So far, we haven't been able to stump our observant readers (though we almost did with one that took 16 weeks to solve).

The city’s oldest church, El Cerrito United Methodist, may seem to have disappeared last October when it moved out of its longtime home on Stockton Avenue at Richmond Street, but the church is still around, as evidenced by its booth along Pomona Avenue at the July 4 festival Wednesday.

After selling the Stockton Avenue building to El Cerrito Chinese Christian Church, the small congregation met in the parsonage on Cabrillo Street for a few weeks before finding a home renting space at Good Shepherd United Methodist, 6226 Arlington Blvd. in East Richmond Heights.

Margo Bennett, one of the members staffing the July 4 booth, said the church has about 30 people attending each Sunday and is looking to reach out to the community and slowly grow.

Bennett and another member at the booth, Cindy Cosco, said the church is developing small groups that meet during the week such as one that focuses on traditional Bible study, another on health, and another called Seekers that discusses a variety of topics. They said the small groups gather at a variety of locations such as coffee shops.

According to a Sept. 19, 2010 Patch article by Alan Lopez, the church building was being sold because it needed major work and its congregation had dwindled.

"There's too much deferred maintenance and the building isn't handicapped accessible,” said Christine Shiber, the pastor at that time. “Without an infusion of time and especially money, it's not suitable for us anymore."

The church began with a Sunday school in 1906 at 524 Richmond St. and moved to its longtime home at 6830 Stockton Ave. in 1926. It became the oldest church in El Cerrito.

Mariah Furness Tollgaard became the church’s pastor about a year ago, according to Bennett.

The church’s summer schedule is:  July Worship: 9:30 a.m. July 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29; Summer Vespers July 15 at 5 p.m. August Worship: 11:15 a.m. August 5, 12 and 26; and, Summer Vespers August 19 at 5 p.m.

More information on the church is available on its website.

In a dispute-provoking guest column Monday, "View: Parking the 'Wrong Way' on Some Streets Shouldn't Be a Crime!," El Cerrito resident Bob Wieder took exception to the law banning parking in the wrong direction on two-way streets and to the city's strict enforcement of the law. 

A state law says you can't park your vehicle pointing in the opposite direction from traffic on either side of a two-way street. (You can't park with driver's door next to the curb.)

The law is intended in part to prevent cars from encountering each other head-on in the same lane. Wieder said the law is pointless on narrow residential streets where parked cars leave only enough room for one traffic lane.

While El Cerrito strictly enforces the law throughout the city, nearby Berkeley generally does not enforce it in residential neighborhoods.

Since Wieder's column provoked a lively exchange of reader views, we'd like to get a broader gauge of reader sentiment in the poll below. Please let us know where you stand, and please feel welcome to tell us the reason for your vote in the comments section.

More and more, you're hearing it here in the Bay Area: "Tomorrow is a Spare the Air Day."

When it happens, it simply means the air we breathe that next day is likely to be tainted with particulates of pollution that can cause harm to our health, especially for those of us with extra sensitivity to impure air.

Certainly, you can log on to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District website, and get the readings you're looking for.

As an alternative, the American Lung Association has released a free app that gives smartphone users immediate notifications from their area.

The Lung Association has created the State of the Air application for iPhones or Androids. It's considered "a life-saving resource for people living with lung disease like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), people with heart disease or diabetes, as well as older adults and children." according to their website.

With State of the Air, users can enter their zip code or use the geo-locator function on their smartphones to get current and next-day air quality conditions.

The app provides levels of both ozone and particle pollution, and sends out alerts if our Bay Area air quality is unhealthful. If the day’s air pollution is particularly severe, the app will provide specific recommendations – advising that outdoor activities should be rescheduled or that people who work outdoors should limit extended or heavy exertion.

You can get the American Lung Association app as a free download in the Apple and Android markets, or at this site.

Also, the Lung Association has created a public service advertising (PSA) campaign to encourage people to download the new air quality app. You can see one of the videos on the YouTube attached to this article.

Local bluegrass maestro Bill Evans has just released a new video, "Distance Between Two Points," that consists of a bluegrass soundtrack accompanying a video depicting Evans with his daughter as she discovers joy in music.

Evans, who lives in Albany, plays monthly in Kensington in the popular "Bangers & Grass" performances at the Kensington Circus Pub. The five-member "Bangers & Grass" ensemble – including two musicians from El Cerrito – were featured in a San Francisco Chronicle article in March.

The six-minute video, produced and directed by Sarah Fisher of Blue Lotus Films, takes place in a backyard festooned with several banjos, including a couple suspended in the air. Evans appears with a banjo in a chair, while Albany Middle School student Clara Bekeny plays in the yard.

Bekeny represents Evans' daughter Corey Evans at a younger age as she is beginning to discover music. His actual daughter – who went on to develop her music abilities and is now 19 – appears at the end of video to perform "The Distance Between Two Points" with her father. The song was written by the pair years ago.

An announcement about the release calls it "the first concept video ever for a bluegrass instrumental." The song, "The Distance Between Two Points," is from Evans' CD "In Good Company," currently at the top of the Folk DJ List charts nationally, according to the announcement.

The music on the soundtrack features Evans on banjo; three fiddlers, Darol Anger, Tashina Clarridge and Tristan Clarridge; David Grier on guitar, Mike Marshall on mandolin, and Todd Phillips on bass.

The front page of the weekly El Cerrito Journal for today, July 6, in 1944 reflects a 27-year-old city carrying on civic life under the shadow of World War II. Here are some of the actual headlines from the paper's front page, followed by our brief summaries of the articles:

Burglar Enters
Mechanics Bank
in El Cerrito

A display of currency in the window of Mechanics Bank was too tempting for early Wednesday for a burglar who used a Key System bus-stop bench to break inside and swipe the money. The purloined money included both real and counterfeit bills, worth about $200, and will be hard to use since it was stamped for display, police said. Both the FBI and El Cerrito police took fingerprints. Piled next to the display were Bond dinner prizes, worth a significant amount, but for some reason they were left undisturbed by the intruder.

Capacity Crowd
At El Cerrito
Bond Dinner

The Miami Inn was packed last night for the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce's Fifth War Bond Dinner Rally at the Miami Inn. Bidding was spirited at the auction of prizes donated by local merchants, which included alarm clocks, fine bottled goods, door-bell chimes, Kleenex, chocolates and other hard-to-get prized items. Dean Maddox, known as "Buddha" on the radio, served as emcee, and the after-dinner entertainment including a song-and-dance act by Tommy and Beverly of Universal Studios and the "Lovely Lady of the Networks," Kay Leron Herald. A local touch was added by young Miss Arline DeCamp, known as the "Gypsy Violinist."

55 Per Cent Cast
Ballots In Last
Primary Election

Even though registration was at its lowest in the last eight years, the percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in the May 16 primary in California – 55.91 percent – was the highest it's been since 1924, or 20 years ago. The race with the most ballots cast was for U.S. Senator, with votes cast by 931,630 Democrats and 718,000 Republicans. Voting in the U.S. Presidential primary with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Earl Warren were 770,222 Democrats and 594,439 Republicans.   

Business Men, Women Of
El Cerrito Sponsor Banquet
To Honor 3 Prominent Men

Three prominent El Cerritans were in for a big surprise – and lavish gifts – Friday evening when they were honored at a banquet attended by more than 250 residents of the city. Especially surprised was former police Judge Louis E. Navellier, who helped plan the banquet in the belief that only two people were being honored, police Judge Joe Martyn Turner and Chief of Police Floyd Gilbert. Navellier received a valuable diamond ring after being lauded for the many quiet ways he had served the community, such as heading a large number of committees, helping youngsters who got into trouble and providing baskets of groceries to families in need. Also praised were Turner, who received a handsome wrist watch, and Gilbert, who had a diamond-studded star pinned to his chest.

El Cerrito Soldier
Wounded in Action

Private Woodrow Grizzle, son of Mrs. Sue Gahan of 260 San Pablo Ave., was wounded in action, the War Department in Washington announced this week. He is the South Pacific theater of the war. 

Click here for other vignettes we've published about El Cerrito history. Click the Keep the Keep me posted button below for alerts to future articles in this series. You can find some back issues of the El Cerrito Journal at the Shadi Historical Room at City Hall, open to the public on the third Thursday of each month, 4:30-6 p.m.

Celebrating a "grand reopening" Thursday was the L & L Chinese Seafood Restaurant in El Cerrito, which abruptly closed on Feb. 27 last year when it was damaged by a fire that started in the kitchen after an employee locked himself in the freezer and apparently left something heating on a stove.

The front of the establishment at 10140 San Pablo Ave. was festooned by balloons, potted flowering plants adorned with auspicious red ribbons, and a hand-written red sign saying, "L&L Chinese Restaurant Grand Reopening Daily Business." The sign said the business is open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

A late-afternoon visit Thursday by Patch to the restaurant, located on the eastern side of San Pablo between Central and Lincoln avenues, found several employees and no customers.

The restaurant is essentially the same as it was before, with the same owner, one of the employees said. The owner was not there and cannot be reached by phone, the employee said.

Hundreds of thousands of computer users infected by the DNSChanger computer virus could lose access to the Internet on July 9.

The Huffington Post reported in April that the problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers.

The FBI responded with a safety net using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions.

"But that safety net is going offline next Monday meaning that anyone who is still infected with the virus will lose access to the Internet unless they remove it from their machine," writes Hayley Tsukayama in the Washington Post.

Many people still don’t know whether or not their computers have been affected.

The FBI is still urging computer users to visit www.dcwg.org, a Web site run by its security partner, to find out whether their computer is infected and how to fix the problem. U.S. users can run the test directly at www.dns-ok.us.

The problem arises during the process of shutting down the computer. Once the shutdown is complete, computers infected by DNSChanger could lose access to the Internet. D-day is set for July 9.

According to CBS News, about 277,000 computers worldwide — 64,000 of them in the United States — could still be infected.

After July 9, any computers still infected will not be able to access the Internet.

By Bay City News Service

The cities of Berkeley and Albany and the University of California at Berkeley said Thursday that they will no longer seek a federal grant of more than $160,000 to buy an armored vehicle.

The police agencies of all three public entities recently banded together to seek a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for an armored vehicle that they would share and would be housed at the UC Berkeley  campus.

But the proposal came under scrutiny at two Berkeley City Council meetings in late June at which council members said they wanted more information about the vehicle.

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said Thursday that the proposal to buy the armored vehicle was "almost a fait accompli" before the City Council learned about it and credited Berkeley Copwatch, a volunteer police watchdog group, for filing a Public Records Act request that brought it to light.

"It should have been vetted and brought to our attention and it's very upsetting that that didn't happen," Bates said.

Bates, Albany Mayor Farid Javendal and UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said in a statement that "Law enforcement's interest in obtaining a vehicle that would protect officers during situations involving oncoming gunfire, or to rescue victims during such situations, such as  occurred at Oikos University in Oakland a few months ago, is understandable." But they said that after the planned acquisition came to the  attention of campus and city officials, "campus administrators evaluated the proposal and concluded that such a military-style vehicle is not the best choice for a university setting."

Bates said, "We are concerned about the safety of our citizens and our police officers, but this approach is not in alignment with our values and we don't believe it is needed."

He said the three public entities are notifying the Department of Homeland Security that they are declining the grant.

Bates said he doesn't think the city of Berkeley or the university would need an armored vehicle very often and if they did they could obtain one from nearby cities that have them, such as Oakland and San Francisco.

He said he, Javendal and Birgeneau "are united in our opinion that we don't need it and we don't want it."

A bicyclist involved in a collision with a vehicle in the Lucky supermarket parking lot in El Cerrito Plaza Tuesday afternoon was taken to Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo with an injury to his right ankle, according to El Cerrito Fire Marshall Michael Bond.

The accident was logged at 5:26 p.m., Bond said. He said he didn't have further details about the victim, vehicle driver or who may have been at fault.

Patch contacted the El Cerrito fire department after learning of the accident from the police bulletin of Albany police.

Patch has requested more information about the accident from El Cerrito police.

Fatal collision with bicyclist on June 6

On June 6, a 92-year-old El Cerrito woman, Jean Smith, was fatally injured in a collision with El Cerrito bicyclist Douglas Herring, 57, as she walked across Arlington Boulevard near Arlington Park. When Patch last checked with El Cerrito police, the police investigation was still in progress and no findings of fault by police had been released.

In response to neighborhood concerns following the accident, El Cerrito city staff will hold a meeting Tuesday, July 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Arlington Park Club House to hear residents' concerns and ideas about traffic safety along the Arlington near the park.

For other police-related news in El Cerrito, click "El Cerrito police" next to Related Topics below. For alerts to updates on future police-related articles, click Keep me posted.

June 27 armed robbery at Creekside Park

Two men armed with a handgun robbed a victim of car keys at Creekside Park in El Cerrito on the evening of June 27, according to the Albany police department's police bulletin.

Albany police were called in for mutual assistance at 8:52 p.m., the bulletin said. The location was listed as near where Belmont Avenue ends at the park, which sits next to Cerrito Creek just north of Albany Hill. 

The suspects were described as two black males in their 20s, one about 5 feet 8 inches or 5 feet 9 inches tall, medium build with a white hoodie and blue jeans and carrying a semiautomatic handgun, according to the Albany bulletin. The other was described as wearing a hoodie and jeans, with no visible weapon.

The pair were last seen running near Lassen Street and Santa Clara Avenue, Albany police said.

Information on the crime on crimereports.com lists the time as 8:45 p.m., the location as the 3400 block of Belmont and the crime as "robbery firearm." No other are details are given on crimereports.com. Information about El Cerrito crimes on crimereports.com is supplied by El Cerrito police.

El Cerrito Patch has requested more information about the crime from El Cerrito police.

June 27 strong-arm robbery near Creekside Park

A strong-arm robbery occurred much earlier the same day, June 27, about a block away, according to crimereports.com.

The description on crimereports.com lists the time as 6:20 a.m., the location as Lassen Street and Santa Clara Avenue, and the crime as "robbery strong arm." No other details are given.

El Cerrito Patch has requested more information about this crime from El Cerrito police.

June 25 strong-arm robbery at Creekside Park

Two days before the two robberies on June 27, a strong-arm robbery occurred at Creekside Park, according to El Cerrito police. 

A woman was walking in the park listening to music on her iPhone through earbuds when an unknown suspect forcibly removed the iPhone from her sweatshirt pocket and ran northbound on Belmont Avenue, according to a crime blotter from El Cerrito police published on Patch June 30. The blotter did not list the time of the crime.

The victim went to her home and called the police, the blotter said. 

For other police-related news in El Cerrito, click "El Cerrito police" next to Related Topics below. For alerts to updates on future police-related articles, click Keep me posted.

With the start of the second half of 2012 comes a host of new laws for Californians. Here are a few that may impact your life.

AB 9, authored by Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), requires schools to implement bullying complaint procedures and alternative discipline policies for bullying.

AB 69, authored by Jim Beall (D-San Jose), grants counties access to the Social Security Administration to determine seniors who are eligible to receive food stamps.

AB 300, authored by Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), imposes minimum standards for sterilizing, sanitizing and maintaining safety at body piercing, tattoo and permanent cosmetic businesses.

AB 341, authored by Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata), requires recycling for businesses and apartment buildings of more than four units that have more than four cubic years of waste per week.

AB 959, authored by Brian Jones (R-Santee), allows welfare and food stamp recipients an extra month to file quarterly reports.

AB 1156, authored by Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park), revises the definition of bullying, gives bullied victims priority for transferring schools and requires bullying-prevention training.

AB 1215, authored by Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland Hills), mandates used vehicle dealers to participate in a program for flagging salvaged and junk as well as raises the maximum document-processing fee for vehicles.

AB 1424, authored by Henry Perea (D-Fresno), mandates that the state suspend licenses from the state’s highest tax delinquents.

SB 190, authored by Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), changes the enforcement of mechanics liens and requires a person to forfeit his lien if he includes labor of materials in a claim. 

SB 222, authored by Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and Elaine Alquist (D-Santa Clara), ensures that all women receive maternity coverage regardless of their health insurance policies.

SB 424, authored by Michael Rubio (D-Bakersfield), authorizes a design professional to convert a design professionals lien into a mechanics lien assuming that certain requirements are satisfied.

SB 510, authored by Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), authorizes a broker to appoint a manager of a branch office and delegate supervising responsibility to him.

SB 841, authored by Lois Wolk (D-Davis), adds restrictions on indemnity obligations in contracts between local agencies and solid waste enterprises.

The funding and quality of local public schools continued to generate a large number of reader comments this past week, particularly in response to two stories, "Class Sizes for K-2 Raised in West Contra Costa Schools" and "School Board Takes Step Toward New Parcel Tax Measure in November." And a new topic – enforcement of the law against "wrong way" parking – also sparked extensive and sharp exchanges of reader views on two articles, "View: Parking the 'Wrong Way' on Some Streets Shouldn't Be a Crime!" and "Poll: Should City Enforce 'Wrong Way' Parking Law on All Streets?" 

Selected as Comment of the Week was one posted on the parcel tax article by Carl Lumma, who addressed the relatively less examined question of how well Measure K, the recently defeated parcel tax for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, was crafted.

Carl Lumma:

Sorry I missed the meeting. Is there no official forum for public comment on the web somewhere?

I live in Kensington and thought Measure K was horribly written. I will never vote for a parcel tax that exempts seniors (or any other special group), and never for a parcel tax so vague about how funds would be used.

I see a lot of who-said-what above, but very little talk about how money might actually be used to *improve education* for our kids. In fact, throughout the whole row, the only thing I've heard that can reasonably be correlated to education quality is class size, and even there I saw no specific information on expected class sizes with and without Measure K.

One question I would like to have asked the board is: Given unlimited funds for hiring teachers, what class sizes (defined as full-time teachers per child per grade in the district) could be supported by our current infrastructure? In other words, how low could we go if money weren't an object?

After Measure K failed, Ramsey made comments about kicking Pinole and Hercules out of the district. I found this deplorable.

• 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.

This article was going to be about how proud we are at Playland-Not-at-the Beach for having won Best East Bay Party Venue and The Best Indoor Play Place for two years in a row by Parents’ Press readers. If you have been to Playland-Not-at-the-Beach I hope you agree, if you have not been here please stop by for a visit and a free tour any Saturday or Sunday. 

The focus of this article changed when we began planning our booth and fund-raising effort for the El Cerrito Relay for Life event July 21 & 22 at Cerrito Vista Park.  We had been encouraged to concentrate on one type of cancer and to educate people about the one type of cancer that had touched us the most.   We soon realized that the types of cancer that had touched us were as many as the number of people it had affected in our lives.  We did touch briefly on many of the negative aspects of it, but we soon found ourselves talking about the positive outcomes, which may sound like a paradox to many of you.

Life changing events are, well, life changing. For some the most intense parts of dealing with a terminal illness have past, some are dealing with it now, and I have little doubt, some of us will have it touch our lives (in most cases, again) in the future. I hope next month to share some of the positive things some of us have learned or taken with us from our experiences. Some of the positive effects are not so easily recognized or noticed when they are happening because we are so focused on the needs of the moment.

Cancer had a BIG effect on ALL of us here at Playland this year because of the passing of Richard Tuck last April (in 2011). Richard, a larger than life figure who influenced all who met him, was the founder and creative force behind Playland.  Richard did not die from cancer as much as he lived with it for the 14 months after his diagnosis. He never lost his incredible enjoyment of life, fun, and all that could be. In fact, he would describe it as one of his most productive years.

We missed the Relay for Life last year because it happened to fall on the same weekend we had a celebration of life party for Richard here at Playland.  This year Playland will be open as usual, but we will also have a team at Relay for Life. If you would like to support our team and the American Cancer Society, please visit us at our booth the weekend of the event and/or visit us online now at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/PlaylandPals. You can also show your support by sponsoring or making a luminaria in honor/memory/support of someone who has dealt with, has, or has had cancer. I have not experienced this in person yet, but I have been told it is a very special part of the Relay for Life weekend. We will have supplies to make them at Playland the first 2 weekends in July and at our Playland After-Dark (18 & over) event Tuesday, July 10^th. We can also accept pre-made luminaria, or if you would like to sponsor one but don’t have the time or crafting ability to put it together, we will gladly accept requests to complete one for you.

We invite you to join us at Playland to help us all add more magic, more birthdays, and more memories to all of our lives. To find more details about dates and times please visit  www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org.

Frank Biafore is Playland’s Fabulous Fun Facilitator. This column was originally published in the July issue of the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter, "Byline." 

El Cerrito Patch welcomes guest columns from members of the community. Those interested can write to elcerrito@patch.com. To see past guest columns, please click here.

All you need to do to nominate a business is to add it in the boxes above. You don't have to make nominations in all categories, just however many you like. comments below. If you already see the business you want to nominate, you may want to add your comment about why it should be included, because we may not be able to add all businesses to our poll and we want to make sure the top ones make it into the poll.

Thanks in advance for your participation.

If you subscribe to the daily El Cerrito Patch email newsletter, you'll see when the voting starts. Plus, you'll be getting each day's headlines and events – plus any breaking news alerts.

Below are the nominations we've received from you so far in our revived Readers' Choice feature for your favorite spots in several categories in El Cerrito and Kensington.

Today, July 9, is the last day to nominate the favorites that you'd like to see as candidates when we start the voting on July 23. If you'd like to add more places to any of the lists below, please go to our nomination-posting article here: "Nominate Your Favorite Places in El Cerrito and Kensington."

We asked for places in El Cerrito and Kensington, and we received several nominations from other communities. We appreciate those suggestions, but based on feedback from readers and our own further consideration, we have decided to limit the nominations to El Cerrito and Kensington (and those businesses along San Pablo Avenue whose storefronts touch El Cerrito and who have El Cerrito addresses). Otherwise, there was no easy way to limit the choices. If you'd like to nominate a place where we have another Patch site, like Albany or Berkeley, please feel welcome to enter the nominations on those sites, which are also conducting their own Readers' Choice projects.

After today, we'll begin compiling the nominations into the final lists of candidates. We'll begin the voting on July 23.

Food and Drink

Sushi

• Katana Ya
• Sushi Sho 
• Taki Sushi 
• Yaoya-San
• Yammy
• Yokohama
• Yusan

Pizza

• Armadillo
• Little Caesars
• Pizza Roma

Cheap Eats

• The Arlington Cafe
• Ba Le Vietnamese Sandwiches
• Best Burritos
• Chef's
• Fatapple's
• Heng Heng Pho
• The Junket
• Little Hong Kong
• Mac's Wok
• Nibs
• Rubio's
• Safeway Deli
• Well Grounded
• Wienerschnitzel

Chinese

• Chef's
• Happy Golden Bowl
• Little Hong Kong
• Panda Express
• Uncle Wong's
• Yuet Foo Seafood
• Yummy

Burger

• Elevation 66
• Fatapple's
• Kensington Circus Pub
• Nibs
• Raphael's Shutter Cafe
• Red Onion
• Nation's Giant Hamburger

Kids and Family

Park

• Arlington Park
• Blake Garden
• Canyon Trail
• Castro Park
• Cerrito Vista Park
• El Cerrito Splash Park
• El Cerrito Swim Center
• Hillside Nature Area
• Huber Park
• Tassajara Park

Family-Friendly Restaurant

• The Arlington Cafe
• Elevation 66
• Fatapple's
• Inn Kensington
• The Junket
• Kensington Circus Pub
• Macaroni Grill
• McDonald's
• Nibs
• Nong Thon
• Raphael's Shutter Cafe
• Rubio's
• Sugar Cone Cafe
• Well Grounded

Place to View the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay

• Blake Garden
• Cerrito Vista Park
• Colusa and Eureka avenues
• El Cerrito Hills
• Hillside Nature Area, including Memorial Grove
• Foot of Central Avenue
• Mid-way up Moeser Lane
• Mira Vista Golf and Country Club
• Stockton Avenue
• Sunset View Cemetery
• Top of Moeser Lane
• Top of Potrero Avenue

Mural Visible to the Public

• Castro Elementary School
• Contra Costa Civic Theatre
• Fairmont Elementary School
• Yuba Street house
• Playland-Not-at-the-Beach
• Well Grounded Building

Place for Fun/Activities with Kids

• 4Cats Arts Studio
• Arlington Park
• Castro Park
• El Cerrito Swim/Community Center
• Playland-Not-at-the-Beach
• Sugar Cone Cafe

Shopping

Gift Shop

• Arlington Pharmacy
• Barnes & Noble
• D'Jour Floral & Boutique
• Dream World
• Ichiban Kan
• Jenny K

Bargain Store (new goods)

• Dollar Tree
• Down Home Music
• Inchiban Kan
• Marshalls
• Ross

Used Goods Store

• Bay Area Free Book Exchange
• Good Stuff Thrift Shop
• Goodwill truck at Recycling Center
• The Turnabout Shop

Dry Cleaner

• Flamingo Cleaners
• Great American Dry Cleaners
• Happy Cleaners & Laundry
• Kensington Cleaners
• M & P One Hour Cleaners
• OK Cleaners

Drug Store

• Arlington Pharmacy
• CVS – either one
• CVS – El Cerrito Plaza
• CVS – On San Pablo at Moeser
• Safeway Pharmacy
• Walgreens

Grocery

• Colusa Market
• El Cerrito Natural Grocery
• Giovanni's
• Lucky
• Safeway
• Trader Joe's

Coffee Shop

• All Star Donuts
• Barnes & Noble
• Fatapple's
• The Junket
• Nibs
• Peet's
• Raphael's Shutter Cafe
• Semifreddi's
• Starbucks
• Sugar Cone Cafe
• Well Grounded

Services

Post Office

• Arlington Pharmacy Post Office
• El Cerrito Main Post Office on San Pablo
• Fairmount Avenue Post Office

Public Wi-Fi Spot

• Barnes & Noble
• El Cerrito Library
• Peet's
• Starbucks
• Starbucks at Safeway
• Starbucks – El Cerrito Plaza

Health and Beauty

Haircutter

• Circle Salon – Inca Arechiga
• Larry Parks
• Leon's
• Perfect Cuts
• Phil's Barbershop
• Reflections
• Reflections – Diane
• Tracy Hair Studio

Workout Spot

• Bridges Rock Gym
• Curves
• El Cerrito Community Center – Pilates
• El Cerrito Community Center – Zumba
• El Cerrito Senior Center
• El Cerrito streets and hills
• El Cerrito Swim Center
• Fitwise Pilates
• Moeser Lane
• Ojas Yoga Center

Martial Arts Studio

• East Bay Judo Institute
• TG Taekwondo 

Automotive

Place to Get Your Car Fixed

• El Cerrito Honda
• El Cerrito Tires
• Fairmount Auto Service
• Foreign Auto Clinic
• Marty's Motors
• Paul's Shop
• Plaza Auto
• RC Imports
• Rob's Automotive
• Steve's Auto Care

Smog Check

• El Cerrito Honda
• Foreign Auto Clinic
• Midas Auto Service 
• Plaza Auto Service
• Quality Tune-Up
• Rob's Automotive
• Smog Depot
• Steve's Auto Care

Oil Change

• El Cerrito Honda
• Foreign Auto Clinic
• Marty's Motors
• Midas Auto Service 
• Pennzoil Speed Oil Change
• Plaza Auto Service
• Quality Tune-Up
• RC Imports
• Rob's Automotive
• Steve's Auto Care

Pets

Pet Supply Store

• PETCO
• Pet Food Express
• PetVet
• RabbitEars
• Tropical Fish World

Following the death of a 92-year-old El Cerrito woman who was hit by a bicyclist as she crossed Arlington Boulevard next to Arlington Park, the City of El Cerrito has scheduled a community meeting for tomorrow night, July 10, to discuss traffic safety along that section of the busy road.

Residents in that area have long been concerned about traffic hazards on the curving, hilly boulevard often plagued by speeding vehicles. The June 6 collision with a bicyclist that killed Jean Smith at Arlington and Brewster Drive was the second fatal accident at the same intersection in recent years.

Tomorrow night's meeting – at 6:30 p.m. at the Arlington Park Clubhouse – is designed in part "to hear residents' concerns and ideas about traffic conditions along Arlington Blvd. between Buckingham Drive and Arbor Drive," according to a city notice about the event.

At the same time, the notice said, representatives of the police department and city engineering department "will be on hand to present background information and preliminary concepts utilizing various traffic management tools."

"The El Cerrito Public Works Department is considering modifications to Arlington Blvd. to create a safer traific environment for pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles in the vicinity of Arlington Park," the announcement said.

Following Jean Smith's death, resident Denise Sangster talked to some of her neighbors, including Smith's son-in-law, Bill Scott, "about holding a meeting with the city to talk about safety issues at the Arlington/Brewster curve," Sangster said. "Bill indicated his strong desire to see safety issues are address once and for all. Given this was the second fatality in this corner, I approached the City about a meeting."

Sangster said the meeting follows a similar meeting that neighborhood residents had with city personnel in 2004, when neighbors expressed their wishes for a number of safety improvements. But the City Council at that time, Sangster said, largely ignored the neighbors' input and decided chiefly to install a stop sign at Moeser Lane and Arlington.

Sangster, the moderator of the Arlington Neighbors email list, was injured, along with her dog, in 2003 when they were hit by a vehicle while in a crosswalk near the same intersection, Sangster said.

In a June 9 interview with Patch, Bill Scott and his wife, Cindy Scott, who is Jean Smith's daughter, appealed for action on addressing the traffic danger at that spot on Arlington.