The Zone 7 water board will undergo a major change after the June primary election with at least three new members among the seven directors.
It typically has been a board without much change term-to-term with directors serving several terms. The lone incumbent to file for re-election, Sarah Palmer, was first elected in 2006 and is the longest serving member. Sandy Figuers, whose term runs to 2028, was elected in 2008.
Two-term incumbent Dennis Gambs, who spent his career on the Zone 7 staff, did not file for re-election. Cathy Brown, who was serving a two-year term, and Dawn Benson, who will finish one term, both did not submit filing papers.
There’s plenty of competition for the four seats with seven other people competing with Palmer. Seema Badar, a Dublin resident, and Livermore resident and retired Lawence Livermore Lab chemist Alan Burnham, are both running for the second time.
They are joined by: Jim Lehrman, a Pleasanton resident who is also a professional geologist and certified hydrogeologist; Patricia Muga, a real estate appraiser; business owner Rishabh “Rish” Rao; Sean Roberts, a computer engineer; and Heidi Turner-Zika, an information security officer, according to the county registrar of voters and individual campaign websites.
It is an important board that is wrestling with how to deal with forever chemicals in the ground water as well as diversifying the water supply so it is less dependent on water exported from the Delta. It also is responsible for flood control.
One other note: District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson, who was appointed by the Board of Supervisors after voters recalled Pamela Price, is facing the deposed Price who filed again to run for the seat as well as trial attorney Gopal Krishan.
Read the business pages and it’s striking just how wide-spread the challenges are facing traditional retailers—whether they’re selling luxury goods or trying to reach the middle class.
Faced with bankruptcy as a result of its acquisition of Neiman Marcus, Saks Global is selling a major property in San Francisco’s Union Square that it acquired a year ago as part of the companies’ merger.
A spokesperson for Saks Global — the parent company of retail brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue, and as of 2024, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman — confirmed that the luxury retail holding company has opted to sell the land beneath the Neiman Marcus store at 150 Stockton St. The buyer’s identity was not disclosed, but a company spokesperson told the Chronicle that Saks Global will continue to own the 200,000-square foot building and has forged a long-term lease deal for the Neiman Marcus store with the property’s new owner.
Saks Global is slicing expenses and cutting under performing stores. Among those in this month’s closure list was its Saks Fifth Avenue store in South Coast Plaza, one of the fanciest shopping centers in affluent Orange County in Southern California.
It’s a similar story out in the desert where the Sak’s is closing its location at the Gardens at Paseo, the upscale shopping district in Palm Desert. It’s bordered by the equally upscale communities of Indian Wells and La Quinta. There’s plenty of seasonal residents there over the winter, but affluent folks with multiple homes often live there year-round because it’s livable in the summer with air conditioning and the medical care is excellent.
