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Coming back from vacation often requires a bit of readjustment. Such was the case for me starting Monday while catching up on news and emails that I missed during my family’s week in Waikiki.
The news gods kept our team busy in my absence, with stories about the new Union Jack pub in downtown Pleasanton, an update on the central figure in an unauthorized car detailing business in Alamo and coverage of Contra Costa County’s $920 million Measure G community college facilities bond among the many interesting articles I read in arrears.
We also continue to dig at the underlying allegations in the lawsuit that Alameda County settled last week for $36 million with the family of a Dublin couple murdered execution-style by an unhinged sheriff’s deputy, as well as tracking more principal turnover at Tri-Valley schools, State Sen. Aisha Wahab’s bill targeting Alameda County supervisors’ discretionary spending and some intriguing closed-session items from recent government meetings.
There are so many leads on our devoted team’s plate as we head into this holiday weekend, graduation season and the primary election.
Adding to that list in some cases, taking topics off in other instances, here is what caught my eye as I went through my inbox of nearly 1,200 fresh messages from my break (plus those lingering from before and after).
The Tri-Valley wrestling community is mourning the loss of former Amador Valley High school coach Bennie LaFever, who died May 9 at the age of 67.
A Don wrestler himself in school, LaFever was involved with his alma mater’s wrestling program – and others, including Foothill High – across five decades, with his latest stint as Amador head coach coming in the winters of 2023 and 2024.
“He impacted the lives of thousands of men and women in multiple sports and multiple schools all over the tri valley and it was his huge heart that made him a great coach. He would do anything for his athletes and poured his heart and soul into everything he did,” Amador wrestling wrote in a post on Facebook last week. “We will miss Bennie more and more every day but we won’t forget the lessons he taught us or the sacrifices that he made.”
I haven’t seen a formal family obituary yet, but sportswriter Al Fontes wrote a great article memorializing LaFever for Simple Man Wrestling. I expect our own Dennis Miller will share his reflections soon.
Before I left for Hawaii, I missed the chance to cover the big out-of-area news for Sunflower Hill: The Pleasanton-based nonprofit won approval to build a 48-unit residential community in Lafayette for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The project is in partnership with Satellite Affordable Housing Associates and the city of Lafayette, the latter of which donated the land that had been a city-owned parking lot at 949 Moraga Road.
“The City of Lafayette has made a strong commitment to embrace the needs of individuals with I/DD who need affordable housing and residential support. The contribution of the land was critical to the success of the project. Sunflower Hill is thrilled to bring our vision to Contra Costa County,” Sunflower Hill board member Rosemary Kirbach said in the press release.
In other nonprofit news, Valley Humane Society joined other Bay Area animal groups in an effort to provide more than 2,000 free spay/neuter surgeries for rescue pets last Saturday.
Goodness Village, which has a tiny home community for those experiencing housing insecurity, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a recently announced fundraiser June 20 at the Robert Livermore Community Center.
Sunflower Hill and Goodness Village were also among 26 organizations to benefit from $232,595 in grants distributed this spring by the Rotarian Foundation of Livermore.
Elsewhere in the community, the “Don Lewis Harmonic Symphony” public art installation by Anton Standteiner in Pleasanton’s Delucchi Park will be commemorated on June 4.
Foothill High School’s DECA team scored successes at the annual International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, led by first-place awards for Allen John, Nikhil Krishnan and Agastya Kuluvalli in the Career Development Project event.
The Livermore Valley’s Wood Family Vineyards’ 2023 GSM (Red Blends category), Cellar 13 Winery’s 2025 Sidanelv (White Blends) and Garré Vineyard and Winery’s 2025 Rosato di Sangiovese (Rosé … tied with Navarro Vineyards from Anderson Valley) were among the Best of Show winners for the Alameda County Fair’s inaugural California Signature Wine contest.
I received dozens of other intriguing local leads, including some serious news. We’ll try to cover as many as we can in the coming days and weeks.
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the associate publisher and editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What A Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
