Honoring Our Military
Heroes
(12/27/08)
The
Sentinels of Freedom and representatives from Veterans groups
in the Tri Valley welcomed home service men and women in a
celebration held on December 27, 2008 at AT&T in San
Ramon. San Ramon
Mayor H. Abram Wilson, Danville Mayor Newall Arnerich, and
Countra Costa County Supervisor, Mary Piepho, presented
proclamations to members of the military home on leave or in
between deployments.
Brigadier
General Nick Tooliatos was the guest speaker. He described the
responsibilities and service of the men and women who risk
their lives to protect America. "How can you thank
them?" Tooliatos asked. "Live your lives well and be
productive citizens," he answered.
Mayor Wilson
said the ceremony is our way to say "Thank you," to the
service men and women present, and, as stated in the program,
". . . all
those serving in the active and reserve Armed Forces."
The event
was covered by CBS Radio and TV, Channel 5, and FOX Channel 2
News. Click here to see the Channel 2 coverage of the
event.
ABC7
Salutes Safe-Cat Foundation
(12/27/08)
Marla
Rogozin and Elise Stewart, who started Safe-Cat Foundation at
the beginning of 2008, were profiled on ABC7 News on December
26, 2008. Click here to view the video.
Stewart and
Rogozin tirelessly rescue cats from the shelters in Dublin and
Martinez and take them to adoption events every weekend in San
Ramon or other parts of Contra Costa and Alameda
Counties.
Regulars at
the San Ramon Farmers' Market might recall seeing the Safe-Cat
Foundation booth staffed by Marla Rogozin and other Safe-Cat
volunteers. When
the market closed for the Winter, Rogozin took cats to the
PetSmart in Concord.
She will return to San Ramon with cages of kittens and
cats when the market reopens in May.
Elise
Stewart brings her cats and those cared for by other fosters
(the gray kitten poking the donations jar is one of mine) to
the Pet Care Depot on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. Pet Care Depot is the
pet store connected to the Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center at
2000 Bishop Drive. Safe-Cat also holds
adoption events on Sunday afternoons at the Pet Food Express
in the Waterford Shopping Center in Dublin.
Mehran Answers Questions on City
Center
(12/16/08)
The
Workshop on City Center Financing was supposed to be held this
Fall. The end of Fall is rapidly approaching and there
is no workshop scheduled.
With
the economy in shambles and credit tight will the City Center
project go as scheduled? Alex Mehran, President of
Sunset Development, says yes. "We are proceeding with
cautious optimism," Mehran told the Observer in an
exclusive interview. "That's Cautious with a capital C,"
he added.
Plans
for the office building property on the south side of
Bollinger Canyon Road are underway and site preparation will
begin next year. Mehran said the Civic Center portion of
the project is waiting for credit markets to settle down
before applying for public financing.
Rumors
have been circulating that opposition to the Neiman Marcus
store in Walnut Creek might be funded by interests in San
Ramon hoping to attract a similar upscale anchor store to the
new City Center. Mehran called that scapegoating. "The
fact is they came up with a cockamamie scheme for parking and
thousands of people in Walnut Creek signed the petition to
keep it out."
"San Ramon will have a City Center,"
Mehran assured, and it will be timed for the quality of the
project.
School District Holding Community
Forums
(SRVUSD
Press Release dated 12/17/08)
The San
Ramon Valley Unified School District is encouraging parents
and community members to attend one of four forums scheduled
in January to discuss the impact of the current State budget
crisis on local education. “The state of California is in a
very serious financial crisis, and as a ‘ward of the state’
this school district and this community face an extremely grim
financial situation,” said Superintendent Steven Enoch. “The
district also has the added challenge of a parcel tax election
this spring. The combination of the state economic meltdown
and the prospect of a failure of the parcel tax will result in
a drastic reduction in the quality of education in our
district. It is for these reasons that we need to talk with
our community.”
The forums
will provide the district with opportunities to share more
details about these challenges and to hear community input
related to the preservation of local public education. The
Board of Education will most likely act in late January to
place a parcel tax on the ballot in the spring, so the forums
will give parents and community members an opportunity to help
shape the measure before it goes to the voters. The district’s
existing parcel tax is set to expire in June 2009.
“We are also
strongly encouraging community members who do not have
children in the district to attend the forums, as the quality
of our schools has a direct impact on property values and the
overall quality of the communities our district serves,” said
Enoch.
The forums
are designed to last approximately 1 ½ hours, and will include
information about the district budget and financial
projections, as well as time for community input and small
group discussion. Each forum will be identical in content so
parents and community members can attend the forum that best
fits into their schedule. To RSVP, visit the San Ramon Valley
Council of PTA’s website at: http://www.srvcouncilpta.org/ParentEd/Survey/TakeSurvey.aspx
For more
information, contact your school office or the district office
at 925-552-2933.
Community
Forum Nights 6:30-8 PM – In School Libraries
• January
12, 2009 San Ramon Valley High School, 501 Danville Blvd,
Danville
• January
15, 2009 California High School, 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San
Ramon
• January
20, 2009 Monte Vista High School, 3131 Stone Valley Rd,
Danville
• January
22, 2009 Dougherty Valley High School, 10550 Albion Road, San
Ramon
Forest Home Farms Docent Training
Forest Home
Farms will have a docent training
session for new volunteers on Thursday, January 15, 2009
from 9am-12pm. The meeting will be held in the Boone
House Apt. B at Forest Home Farms. The address is 19953 San Ramon Valley
Blvd. , San Ramon , CA 94583 . This training is open to
the public and is for anyone who is interested in becoming a
volunteer at the farm. *You are not required to volunteer
after attending the meeting.
If you have
an interest in local history, are a
retired teacher, or love
working with
children, then we are looking for you! This fieldtrip
program is great for retirees, stay-at-home moms,
part-time
workers, and those with extra free time who would
like to be involved in the community! There are
four different areas for volunteers to choose from:
Grandpa- leads tours and activities, Grandma-
leads tours and activities, Garden- explains concepts
of organic gardening and aids children in gardening chores,
and Canning- presents a canning demonstration and leads
activities.
Volunteer
Description: Docents lead hands-on activities that
teach the agricultural history of the San Ramon Valley and
Forest Home Farms. It is a very rewarding experience to see
how much the children enjoy learning and to be able to answer
their questions. Education docents need to attend a two-hour
training session twice per year. Volunteer commitment is 2
times per month minimum, and each tour lasts 3 hours.
Volunteers must be available on weekday mornings and be
fingerprinted through the San Ramon Police Dept. Fieldtrips
run Monday thru Friday, 9am-12pm during the school year with a
short break in winter. Spring fieldtrips for 2009 begin February 3. For more
information contact Stephanie Herscu at
(925) 973-3282
or sherscu@sanramon.ca.gov.
Council Meeting Recap
(12/9/08)
The Council gave a proclamation to
Steven Liao for the Building Bridges program that helps
families maintain their homes in San Ramon. Sponsors and
volunteers of the program were recognized too.
Marc Corti, Principal of Cal High,
and Band teacher Kent Johnson, thanked City staff for it's
assistance in coordinating the Northern California Band
Championship competition held at Cal High in November.
The Council voted to
approve Warrant Criteria for installing warning signals
at crosswalks on main arteries and collector roads.
The locations must meet qualifications for traffic,
speed, pedestrians, and prior accidents for the yellow
flashing lights or beacons to be installed. This will
make installation of these devices more consistent
throughout the city, and keep down the temptation
to overdo it.
The council
voted to cancel the December 23, 2008 meeting, but will hold a
joint meeting with the Planning Commission on December 16,
2008 instead.
City Center
Timetable
(7/18/08)
Here's an
abreviated development schedule for the new City Center that
was presented by Alex Mahran, President of Sunset Development,
at the June 24, 2008 City Council meeting.
·
Site plans and engineering will be
completed for the lots on the South side of Bollinger by the
end of 2008.
· The
architectural design of Plaza with the hotel, retail and
residential units on the North side of Bollinger will be
submitted to the City for approval in March of 2009.
· Construction
of the office buildings on the South side of Bollinger will
begin in 2010 along with the new City Hall to the West.
·
The first Office Building will open in
December of 2010.
·
The City Hall will open in December,
2011.
·
The whole project will be completed by
November, 2012.
The project
is estimated to bring in $4-6M a year in new revenue. The
Council and Sunset Development will hold a Public Workshop
this fall to go over the financial terms and conditions for
the City Center Project.
December 27, 2008 9:30 PM
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