Coronavirus puts politics on hold | Tim Talk | Tim Hunt | PleasantonWeekly.com |

Local Blogs

Tim Talk

By Tim Hunt

E-mail Tim Hunt

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

View all posts from Tim Hunt

Coronavirus puts politics on hold

Uploaded: Mar 24, 2020
The coronavirus is so dominating the news that anything else is an after-thought at most.
So, it was last week when former vice-president Joe Biden moved closer to the Democrat nomination with three victories over Bernie Sanders, his lone remaining opponent. It got a whisper of coverage Wednesday morning and little has been reported since.
It’s reached into the Pleasanton November City Council election that is a pivotal one. Three of five members (Mayor Jerry Thorne, Councilman Jerry Pentin and Councilwoman Karla Brown) are termed out. So, there will be two open council seats plus the possibility of a third one if Councilwoman Kathy Narum runs for mayor and is elected.
Two candidates for the City Council seats had events scheduled that were postponed. Randy Brown, a real estate broker and chairman of the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, had scheduled his kickoff event for last Wednesday, March 18, and postponed it.
The same goes for Planning Commissioner Jack Balch who had a breakfast fundraiser set for April 16 at Goal Line Studios in Pleasanton.
Before the shelter in place mandate was issued last Monday, I had reached out to the termed-out councilmembers asking their plans plus Narum. I heard back quickly from Pentin who said he had made no decisions. Brown responded with a no comment, while I did not hear back from Narum.
So it goes with everyone, understandably, playing it close to the vest until the picture is clearer about the coronavirus.
The third weekend in March just passed and with it went a Pleasanton tradition.
That’s free dumping for green waste at the transfer station on Busch Road. I have taken advantage of the spring clean-up day, both for my yard and for our church, for several years. There’s some pruning that needs to be done at church and, given its location less than ½ mile from the transfer station, it’s easy to make multiple trips.
As I tracked down what happened with the city and its 2018 contract with Pleasanton Garbage, it turned out that the city traded the fall and spring green waste days for the three curbside pick-up days, according to Becky Hopkins in the city manager’s office.
The bulk sidewalk pickup of stuff in an 5x8x 3 ¾ area was an excellent tradeoff. That can be green waste, but it also can be bulky items that cost a small fortune to get rid of at the dump—refrigerators, dishwashers, mattresses to name a few. It also includes electronic waste, another category that can be costly to recycle.
Having taken advantage of the bulk pickup four times to date, I can affirm a wise decision by the city leaders. It’s an excellent tradeoff.
Community.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Mar 24, 2020 at 12:45 pm

SCAMS related to corona virus are NOT ON HOLD.

SCAMMERS ARE BUSY TRYING TO HARM YOU: Web Link

BE CAREFUL!


Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Mar 24, 2020 at 6:41 pm

trump continues to LIE about the coronavirus:

Web Link


Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Mar 24, 2020 at 7:01 pm

naughty naughty...Web Link

all about Moraga!!! tee hee


Posted by Chris Smith, a resident of California Somerset,
on Mar 25, 2020 at 3:46 am

Trump seems to be more concerned about opening up the country to save the economy rather than saving people's lives.


Posted by DKHSK, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Mar 25, 2020 at 9:35 pm

DKHSK is a registered user.

Tim,

Politics are certainly NOT on hold. All you have to do is review what Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Shumer did with regards to the current stimulus bill.

Shameless.


Follow this blogger.
Sign up to be notified of new posts by this blogger.

Email:

SUBMIT

Post a comment

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from PleasantonWeekly.com sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.

Burning just one "old style" light bulb can cost $150 or more per year
By Sherry Listgarten | 10 comments | 2,297 views

Reflecting on lives this Thanksgiving Day
By Tim Hunt | 0 comments | 1,110 views

Premiere! “I Do I Don’t: How to build a better marriage” – Here, a page/weekday
By Chandrama Anderson | 1 comment | 697 views

 

Support local families in need

Your contribution to the Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund will go directly to nonprofits supporting local families and children in need. Last year, Pleasanton Weekly readers contributed over $83,000 to support eight safety-net nonprofits right here in the Tri-Valley.

DONATE HERE