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This never happened to us in Oakland
This is a reminder for everyone to look after one another and say hi to your neighbors.
We moved here from Oakland over a year ago for better public schools, less crime, and small community feel.
Unfortunately we are still searching for that small community and neighborly kindness.
A year ago my 10-year-old was hit by a car walking to the park from Valley View Elementary (at First and Kottinger). He was fine (thank goodness), but the person who hit him got out of her car, asked if he was OK and drove away. She left him there alone!
Just two days ago, right by the 7-Eleven at Hopyard, our 14-year-old fell off his scooter and badly broke his wrist and got pretty banged up. The person that saw him fall ran away instead of asking if he was OK. This is a busy street and no one stopped their car to check in! He walked all the way home with an obvious compound fracture. No one checked in.
We just moved to the Del Prado neighborhood. No neighbor has greeted us; I try and smile and say hi, but people avert my friendly gestures. I walk my dog to the park every evening and sadly no one says hello to each other.
This never happened in “dangerous” Oakland. We had a community where we always had each other’s back.
I am shocked. This letter is to remind everyone to check in with each other. Say hello to your neighbor. Stop and check in if you see someone in distress.
— Bonnie Machuca
No for now
While we applaud the city’s efforts over the last two years to reduce the negative shortfall projections for the next several years, the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce feels the decision to try and pass a sales tax increase is being made too fast without fully exploring alternatives that do not require residents and local businesses to pay more for the taxable items they buy in Pleasanton.
The Chamber believes that, before moving forward with the sales tax increase, the city should identify all elements of the Five-Year Citywide Strategic Plan and put an implementation schedule in place. This could take up to two years to complete.
In the meantime, the Chamber strongly encourages the city to use reserves from the 115 Pension Trust Fund and the Retiree Medical Trust Fund for the next two years to help balance the budget. These funds would pay the city’s obligations for both the pension and medical trust expenses, freeing up revenue to address the shortfall.
We also ask for the city to create a public/private partnership to work with the business community to identify the best solutions.
It may end up that the sales tax measure is the best solution available. But before we take that step, the business community believes the City of Pleasanton can and should explore how to further reduce expenses and expand its ability to generate revenue through its existing economic development channels.
— James Cooper, president/CEO, Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce
Campaigns shouldn’t be trash
A year or so ago, Livermore banned campaign signs on public property. I appreciate the City Council for voting for that decision. There were some concerns about the law at the time, but I hope we can now agree it was worthwhile.
It has made a world of difference. Now we don’t have election material junking up every intersection, and every dozen feet down our streets. Not only is Livermore more beautiful, but also we’re less wasteful. How many of those plastic signs and metal stakes went to landfill every two years?
At the same time, we still can employ campaign signs where they are most meaningful, on our private property. If my neighbors believe in a candidate, I can see that on their front yards. I also maintain that privilege. That is the beginning of a community discussion.
What we had before was simply gross, a display of wealth injected into campaigns and dumped onto our streets.
That said, I am seeing a few signs sticking out of public property. Some citizens may have made mistakes. The law is new after all. An honest error. However, election material is technically legal on county property, surrounding some roads leading out of Livermore. There’s no law against that.
It still irritates me, and I ask my fellow citizens to keep campaign signs on their own property. Anywhere else feels like littering.
— Alan Marling
Arroyo Lago development
Where to begin. The Village at Ironwood, an over-55 neighborhood, is facing a housing development behind approximately 20 of our homes. These homes, to be built, 194, are through the “builder’s remedy” for Alameda County.
These homes will be eight feet from the existing wall and raised up six feet, with fill dirt, from the level of our backyards with a new retaining wall, a six-foot “good neighbor” fence on top, all two-story homes 26-30 feet. And 45 will have ADUs on very small lots, over 2,400-square-foot homes.
There are many issues with this development, which relate to all of Pleasanton. There is a sewer plant, water tanks, treated water sprayed near Zone 7 water storage included in this plan. Traffic will be brought on to Valley Avenue, Stanley and Santa Rita.
Please read up on the DraftEIR at www.acgov.org./cda/planning/landuseprojects/ and attend the meeting Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Amador Recreation Center, 4443 Black Ave. in Pleasanton
— Sandy Schiel
Campaign finance report
Over the years this has become the most important document I have relied on to inform where I put my mark on the ballot if I am undecided. This year is no different, except it is merely serving to cement conclusions I had already reached.
I confess to worrying that the Weekly’s new nonprofit status might take away this important bit of reading, but thankfully my fears were allayed.
I urge readers to take the time to read this story and to look carefully at the sources of the donations, particularly on down-ballot candidates. Many of us are calling for change. Whether a candidate represents that change can become clear when we know where their financial support lies.
We know journalism has changed, not always for the best, and local coverage is diminishing. This thoroughly presented assessment of local campaign finance, for many undecided, perhaps first-time voters, remains the bedrock of unbiased information available to the general public.
Thank you, Embarcadero Media Foundation, for retaining the solid support of our democratic right to know that we’ve come to rely on. It is neither red nor blue, right nor wrong, Democrat nor Republican nor Decline to State. It is simply key to preserving all our voting rights … and responsibilities. As citizens, it is our “need to know” before marking the little box next to that name or the yes or no of propositions and measures.
My suffragette grandmothers, Goldie and Minnie, would be very pleased.
— Linda Kelly
Vote down Pleasanton tax increase
Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown and three members of the City Council have mismanaged Pleasanton’s budget over the past few years and now they are asking the citizens to approve millions of dollars in additional taxes to correct their blunders.
Councilmember Jack Balch was the only person with the cognitive aptitude to understand and resolve the budget issue, but the other members ignored his commonsense approach. It has been reported that there were signs of a budget shortfall three years ago, but the council majority ignored the issues and did very little to trim the budget.
And now their only solution is for millions of dollars in a tax increase lasting for at least 10 years. And at the end of the 10 years, don’t expect the tax to decrease, because tax increases never decrease. Vote No on PP.
— David Ott
Hispanic Heritage Month
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15), I hereby submit the following excerpt from a treasured letter that Cesar Chavez (co-founder, with Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers) wrote to me, c/o Action for Animals, on Dec. 26, 1990:
“Kindness and compassion towards all living things is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or against animals, is not the exclusive province of any one culture or community of people. Racism, economic deprival, dogfighting and cockfighting, bullfighting and rodeos are cut from the same fabric: violence. Only when we have become nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves.”
Words to live by.
I had the honor/pleasure of meeting with Chavez several times before his untimely passing (1993). He told me that both he and his elderly mother were vegetarians, for ethical reasons, not health. RIP Cesar! You are sorely missed.
— Eric Mills, coordinator, Action for Animals
I’m voting No on PP
I think the opponents of Measure PP are asking really good questions about whether the city is accurately projecting property tax revenues over the next 10 years and why aren’t certain reserve funds being applied against a possible deficit.
The city website has a lot of information, although it’s really hard to dig through it. But it is possible to see, by their own numbers, that Pleasanton’s property taxes have grown by about 5.5% each year over the past 10 years. Why are we now being told that for the next eight to 10 years, it will only grow by 3.5%?
Are we expecting less home sales even as interest rates fall? Are we expecting less new housing to be built even though several large projects are already approved and East Pleasanton will surely be built out in some way?
Interesting that this 2% difference in property tax growth is worth the same $10 million a year that Measure PP will raise in a sales tax increase. Coincidence or not? On reserve funds, Pleasanton has $51 million in a fund, as of June 30, 2024, to help pay pension costs. None of this was taken into account when calculating the budget deficit. Why?
There are way too many outstanding questions for me to agree to a general tax increase. I’m voting No on Measure PP to tell our leaders to do a much better job of working with all of us.
— Jim Vlamis
Sales tax revenue increase
Please don’t forget to tell your readers that on a large purchase such as a car … You are taxed based on your registration address.
So that small PP tax increase could affect you greatly! Personally I try to buy as much as I can in Contra Costa County, rather than pay Alameda tax rate with the Al Davis tax percentage…
— Blair Pritchard
On community service
I am writing as a 17-year-old student from Amador Valley High and a Boy Scout from Pleasanton Troop 941 to express my thoughts on the importance of community service, particularly in youth programs like Scouting.
As someone who’s had the opportunity to take part in numerous service projects, including my recent Eagle Scout project, I’ve seen first-hand how volunteering strengthens both the individual and the community.
In today’s world, it’s easy to overlook the impact of small acts of service, but I believe they have the potential to bring people together and foster a stronger sense of responsibility, especially among young people.
Through my involvement in Scouting, I’ve participated in activities like annual Christmas tree pickups, assisting at the Veterans Day Parade, and organizing projects that directly benefit local organizations. These experiences have shown me how much we can accomplish when we work toward a common goal.
I would encourage more youth to get involved in service programs and for the community to continue supporting these efforts. The benefits are mutual, where young people gain invaluable life skills and a deeper understanding of citizenship, while the community thrives from the work done by its future leaders.
Thank you for your time and for providing a platform where local voices can be heard.
— Arjun Anand
Large money donors influencing elections
Many people are rightly concerned about large money donors trying to influence our elections and gain favor with elected officials. If you are concerned or hear candidates saying their opponents are supported by interests you don’t support, please check for yourself.
In California every campaign, by law, must report all campaign contributions over $100 by individual contributors, including their occupation and employer. In Pleasanton it is every individual contribution over $25. This information is easily available to us all.
In Pleasanton, you can see these disclosure statements at https://public.netfile.com/pub2/?AID=cop
In Livermore, they can be seen at https://public.netfile.com/pub2/?aid=liv
For other races you can find these statements on the California Secretary of State’s website at https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/campaign/
Confidence in our elected officials is important so please be an informed voter. Check for yourself.
— Sharon Piekarski
