Year in Review: Part II

By July, we began to realize things were not getting back to normal any time soon, and folks found ways to cope with inconveniences and find enjoyment where they might. By the second half of the year, everything was happening virtually, from business to school to clubs to entertainment to fundraising.

Then deep into the pandemic, the wildfires struck, smoky air filling the Tri-Valley, and residents preparing to evacuate. As the fires were extinguished, the holidays neared and health officials begged us to stay in place for this one year’s celebrations.

As the pandemic and quarantining continued, residents looked for — and found — more and more ways to help those suffering loss of income and other challenges. We ran myriad stories about individuals reaching out to help others.

Pleasanton, known for its planning, has also shown that it can quickly change gears to cope with the unexpected. The library initiated curbside service, then let patrons inside for a while. Pleasanton’s Hometown Holiday celebration became an entertaining production on community television.

December stories include the first doses given of vaccination against COVID-19 so there is light at the end of the tunnel although we now realize the tunnel may be long and dark.

We look ahead to the challenges and hopes of 2021. Happy New Year!

July

* After canceling Alameda County Fair because of COVID-19, the fairgrounds offer drive-in concerts and movies, and create a space for fair food trucks.

* Vegetation fire breaks out near the Sunol Regional Wilderness off Sheridan Road and grows to an estimated 108 acres, one of 43 fires battled by Alameda County Fire Department on the Fourth of July. Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department responds to 51 calls that day, some confirmed or likely to have been related to fireworks — despite pleas from fire officials for residents to avoid illegal fireworks this year in the interest of public safety.

* Danville resident Dr. Ari Gershman is fatally shot while off-roading with his teenage son in an apparent random attack in a rural area in Sierra County during the Fourth of July weekend. His son Jack, 15, is rescued after spending more than a day lost in the forest land after running for his life away from the danger. The story of Dr. Gershman’s death and young Jack’s escape makes national headlines.

* Alameda County Public Health postpones indefinitely its reopening timeline for businesses that had been on track to return in July, citing the need to better contain the COVID-19 pandemic amid recent upticks in local cases and hospitalizations.

* Cal Fire reports that so far this year, California has had 3,000 wildland fire incidents, so preparing for wildfire season is an increased priority.

* Dublin City Council denies the At Dublin project, a proposed retail and housing development spanning 76.9 acres in eastern Dublin that has been a source of contention in the community for several years. The project will be given a life line later in the year, when the council denial is changed to “without prejudice.”

* Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) reviews possible strategies for students in the fall, including attendance on a staggered schedule several days per week, a flexible hybrid option, and the district’s long-term independent study program.

* PUSD offers no-cost meal service to families in need in July and August via the federal meal program, Seamless Summer Option.

* Las Positas College announces classes will be online in the upcoming semester, combined with some in-person labs.

* Pleasanton city officials urge residents to wear face masks in public after a week of halted reopenings and an increase of COVID-19 cases locally and countywide.

* A Bay Area attorney representing several sexual abuse victims demands the removal of a youth swim coach from USA Swimming, Steve Morsilli, longtime coach for the Pleasanton Seahawks, for allegedly failing to report claims of abuse by other coaches. Morsilli denies the accusations.

* Daniel Moirao is appointed interim superintendent of Dublin Unified School District in the wake of Dave Marken’s abrupt resignation.

* Community Association for Preschool Education (CAPE) joins forces with preschool provider Kidango to expand child care services for low-income families in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore, with a grant from Child, Family, and Community Services.

* Livermore community reacts to news that the drunk-driving murder conviction of Brian Jones is overturned on appeal, with the appellate court majority reasoning his right to a fair trial was violated due to an improper juror dismissal. Jones, 40, was convicted for the 2015 crash that killed Esperanza Morales Rodriguez and her 14-month-old daughter Yulida Perez-Morales in Livermore.

* Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association and Livermore Valley Winegrowers Foundation hold Taste Our Terroir and the Livermore Valley Wine Auction online and in July rather than September to raise money for meals for children in need.

* PUSD decides, after a four-hour discussion, that students will be learning online until further notice when the new school year starts next month.

* Livermore Area Recreation and Park District adjusts its hours around daylight savings time, changing from a static time year-round.

* Tri-Valley sees three marquee retirement announcements this month: Livermore Police Chief Michael Harris, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Bill Goldstein and Alameda County Fire Chief David Rocha.

* Pleasanton Public Library begins curbside pickup for patrons who pre-order books on the website to be delivered to their vehicles.

* Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Chief Willie McDonald is named the new fire chief for the Alameda County Fire Department.

* Ninety-eight residents weigh in about the overall performance and service of the Pleasanton Police Department at a virtual community listening session, following a recent spate of public discussions triggered by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The open-mic session is part of an action plan that also calls for future review of police policies and procedures.

* Abbie 4-H Club member Hailey Maggy, 9, participates in the fair’s virtual Livestock Show and Auction where her steer Johnny is named Supreme Champion Market Beef.

* Livermore community mourns the death of Joseph “The Jet” Cairel, a Granada High School alum and professional indoor soccer player who drowned in a boating accident in the Delta near Discovery Bay this summer. He was 29.

* Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce hosts a virtual trade show for members to showcase their business, products and services in a visually appealing, user-friendly online setting.

* Museum on Main presents its second virtual exhibit, “Water/Ways,” which explores the importance of water, its impacts on climate, and how it sculpts the landscape.

* State and local officials announce timelines that postpone fall sports until likely the second semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Interscholastic Federation releases a statement saying there would be no sports played this fall, with those sports moved back until January 2021, with practices starting in mid-December.

* Alameda County Sheriff’s Office loses two longtime employees at different hospitals less than 24 hours apart from complications caused by COVID-19 — Deputy Oscar Rocha and sheriff’s technician Valerie Leon.

* Nottingham Cellars in Livermore discontinues its flagship red blend, Supremacy, upon deciding that the name is insensitive to the Black community.

* A small group campaigning for local congressional candidate Alison Hayden, the Republican candidate looking to unseat incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore), causes a stir by not wearing face masks at the Pleasanton Farmers’ Market.

* PleasantonWeekly.com limits comments in its popular Town Square reader forum to those who have registered on the site with their name and email address, in an experiment to determine if requiring registration will lead to more respectful discussions of local issues.

* Former Pleasanton police chief David Spiller comes out of retirement to become interim chief of the Menlo Park Police Department.

August

* Pleasanton Senior Center is closed to visitors but many programs are still run to help support senior residents this summer, including drive-thru meal pickups.

* City Council approves a design concept to overhaul the corner of Bernal Avenue where Sunol Boulevard becomes First Street for a more pedestrian-friendly intersection with improved traffic flow.

* Pleasanton hair stylists and salon owners protest to reopen their businesses, at the Alameda County Public Health Department in Oakland, saying they can provide services safely.

* Livermore police make a renewed call for information to help solve the suspicious death of James Vincent Naples, 24, who was found dead in a local hotel room over the Memorial Day weekend.

* Alameda County Fairgrounds announces that the drive-in movies and food truck series have been extended through Labor Day weekend, and it’s also added new music shows and educational programming.

* Tri-Valley Nonprofit Fund (TVNF) completes its second round of fundraising, donating $10,000 each in unrestricted funds to six local organizations that have been identified as key safety-net service providers: Axis Community Health, Open Heart Kitchen, CityServe of the Tri-Valley, Tri-Valley Haven, Senior Support Program of the Tri-Valley and Spectrum Community Services (Meals on Wheels).

* Citing a lack of physical distancing among residents and losses for local businesses, the city of Livermore halts its downtown street closures. Meanwhile, Pleasanton extends its Main Street closures through the Labor Day weekend.

* Bay Area nuclear war protesters hold their annual rally at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory virtually last week on the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima to call for an end to nuclear weapons.

* Ultra camp film “Death Blood 4” is released, a sci-fi B-movie that pays homage to Pleasanton, where it is filmed.

* Pleasanton Weekly holds its first forum of the fall election season, featuring the candidates for Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 1: Dublin Mayor David Haubert and Fremont City Councilman Vinnie Bacon. Weekly publisher Gina Channell and editor Jeremy Walsh will moderate seven other local election candidate forums this year, all livestreamed via Zoom: Pleasanton city and school, Dublin city and school, cities of Livermore and San Ramon, and San Ramon Valley school board.

* Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center announces a substantial legacy gift from the estate of longtime patrons Jene and Isabelle Dupzyk, a home appraised at approximately $700,000.

* A husband and wife are charged with allegedly conspiring to steal approximately $4 million from Parkwest Casino 580 in Livermore in a baccarat scheme from 2015 and 2016.

* PUSD classrooms remain dark as teachers and students boot up their laptops at home for the first day of online instruction signaling the start of full-time distance learning for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus pandemic.

* Vegetation fires near the Sunol Regional Wilderness and the Calaveras Reservoir during lightning strikes prompt an evacuation warning for Kilkare Canyon residents. Cal Fire reports 20 separate fires it dubs the “SCU Lightning Complex,” and smoky skies blanket Pleasanton for more than a week.

* PUSD plans a budget while looking at a net operating loss of about $1.44 million and a net projected funding decrease of $2.8 million. The district, however, has nearly $10.4 million in undesignated reserve funds and around $5.6 million in restricted funds.

* Bob Athenour, 91, a retired Amador Valley High foreign language teacher who later helped form the Pleasanton-Tulancingo Sister City Association, dies after an illness.

* At a special five-hour online City Council meeting, Pleasanton residents ask for changes to the Pleasanton Police Department’s use-of-force policies, to establish a mental health response program, and to eliminate both school resource officers and the “D.A.R.E.” anti-drug program from local campuses.

* Alameda County public health order says some personal services can resume commercial operations outside and communal outdoor swimming pools can reopen but people are urged to wear face coverings, wash hands often, and stay 6 feet away from others.

* Dublin Unified School District selects Emerald High School as the official name for its second comprehensive high school, which is expected to break ground next month.

* PUSD and the Association of Pleasanton Teachers confirms a formal agreement over hybrid and remote learning during a special online board meeting.

* City Council updates the city’s COVID-19 Business Assistance Program, which means extra financial relief for some locally owned businesses negatively impacted by the novel coronavirus.

* Stanford Health Care-ValleyCare captures national acclaim, receiving awards and recognition from various accreditation groups for its exemplary general care and excellence in several specialties.

* Bay Area transit agencies release a joint “Riding Together” plan to assuage riders’ fears of contracting COVID-19 and suggesting ways for them to keep healthy as they return to public transit.

* Cal Fire reports there have been nearly 14,000 lightning strikes causing more than 700 new wildfires statewide that burned over 1.32 million acres with seven fatalities reported and nearly 1,700 structures destroyed.

* Culinary Angels puts out a call for volunteers to help prepare and deliver two deliveries a month of nutrient-rich meals, using organic, locally grown produce to people fighting serious disease.

* Pleasanton’s Nico Lemoine, 20, continues the family tradition of success on the soccer field as a member of the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.

* Joseph DeAngelo, probably better known as the Golden State Killer, is sentenced in Sacramento to 12 life terms for the killings, rapes and other crimes committed in California, including some in the Tri-Valley.

September

* Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center launches a series of virtual Sunday evening concerts called “Vineyard Vibes.”

* Pleasanton extends the closure of Main Street to vehicular traffic on weekends to run through October, including an extra day on Labor Day weekend.

* Twelve young theater enthusiasts comprise the inaugural class of the Actors Conservatory at Las Positas College.

* COVID-19 outbreak at Pleasanton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center kills 12 residents and at least one employee and results in nearly 90 other infections at the facility, after surfacing last month.

* One of Pleasanton’s oldest and largest trees, a eucalyptus at Lions Wayside Park behind the Firehouse Arts Center, is removed after it becomes infected with an incurable sulphur fungus that could result in falling branches and is classified a public safety hazard.

* Helen Tirsell, an equal rights advocate and public policy leader who left her mark on Livermore history in the 1970s when she served as the city’s first female mayor, dies in her modern hometown of Oakland. She was 85.

* City Council votes to ban the retail sale of flavored tobacco products within city limits and establish a tobacco retailer license, effective in 2021, and joins more than 150 other cities in banning flavored tobacco sales and the establishment of new tobacco retailers within 1,000 feet of a public school, park or recreation center.

* While the Tri-Valley’s census self-response rates remain above the state and national average, there are still roughly 15% to 30% unaccounted for.

* Fire crews continue to make headway against the SCU Lightning Complex, in what has become the state’s second-largest wildfire on record, and Cal Fire lifts all evacuation orders and warnings for parts of Alameda County, including unincorporated Tri-Valley.

* Livermore’s Vine Cinema, which opened in 1956, faces new challenges to survive the pandemic after it was closed March 16.

* Two Foothill High brother grads, Kwans and Yujin Kim, are announced winners in the young adult category of “Reimagining Brooklyn Bridge,” an international design competition.

* Gregory Jonathon Stephens, 38, is arrested after a standoff for allegedly killing his girlfriend — 51-year-old Kellie Henry — at a ranch property in rural Livermore over Labor Day weekend.

* Tri-Valley hospitals urge residents not to postpone routine or recommended medical appointments and procedures during the pandemic, noting a decrease in patient turnout since March.

* LPFD commemorates the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a livestreamed flag-raising and remembrance. Las Positas College also holds its 9/11 remembrance ceremony online.

* City Council approves the design phase of the city’s first all-abilities playground, to be located at the site of the current playground near the softball fields at Ken Mercer Sports Park.

* A male’s decomposing body is discovered near the Marilyn Murphy Kane Trail in southwestern Pleasanton, in a brush area a number of yards away from the path. Over a month later, family members will identify the victim as Robert Hilker, a chef at a downtown restaurant who’d been reported missing.

* Dr. Jennifer Penney of Axis Community Health in Pleasanton reports she has observed an increase in the need for mental health and counseling services.

* Niles Canyon Railway operates special trips using a classic steam engine two weekends in September, after being closed since March.

* Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) wins the 2020 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award, beating other bus and rail systems around the U.S. and Canada that also provide up to 4 million passengers trips annually.

* Pleasanton introduces robot cleaners for its city facilities to supplement sanitization done by human cleaners, especially targeting airborne particles.

* Annual Paint Pleasanton, sponsored by Pleasanton Art League, takes place virtually for one week rather than in person during a weekend for artists to share works depicting places in Pleasanton. The results are its first online exhibit, with 51 artworks created by 23 artists.

* Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton meets online for the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, and Rabbi Dr. Laurence Elis Milder notes that although they will be praying in a Zoom room, “The prayers will be as real as ever.”

* Area 4 Rotary clubs work together for a $96,850 Rotary International Global Grant to assist the community health care response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Alameda County.

* Alameda County advances out of the purple tier and into the red tier in the state’s COVID-19 blueprint, indicating some improving local metrics, but county health officials said no new reopenings will occur yet.

* Another attempt to put face mask enforcement as an action item on a future council agenda falls short at a Pleasanton City Council meeting, after only Mayor Jerry Thorne and Councilwoman Julie Testa support agendizing the item.

* Livermore police bid a somber farewell to one of their own during a memorial procession and service for Officer Maximiliano “Max” Messina, who died this month after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

* Tri-Valley Teachers of the Year are biomedical science instructor Josh Hill from Foothill High School in Pleasanton, English and AVID teacher Nicole Meyer at Fallon Middle School in Dublin, and Miguel Baez for teaching computer arts and IT at Granada High in Livermore.

* Pleasanton may need to plan for about 4,800 new housing units over the next decade and a half, according to a staff update during a City Council online meeting.

* Alameda County supervisors pass a temporary ordinance that caps fees charged to restaurants by food-delivery services at 15% of each order’s price.

* Valley Link now has nearly a third of funds needed to build out the planned regional transit system, after the Alameda County Transportation Commission agrees to reallocate $400 million in Measure BB funding toward the project.

* Amador Valley High grad Catherine Breed, 27, swims from Santa Cruz to Monterey, 25 miles, in a record time of 12 hours and 42 minutes.

* Mike Biondi, an assistant superintendent in the Livermore school district who also worked as a principal in San Ramon earlier in his career, is found dead near a lake in western Nevada after being reported missing for more than a week.

October

* The SCU Lightning Complex fires that raged for weeks south of the Tri-Valley is declared to be 100% contained after charring 396,624 acres across six counties, according to Cal Fire.

* City Council hosts its second online community meeting on policing, set to focus on a revised implementation plan for key strategies from the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, part of a series of city meetings on social justice reform and community policing in response to civil unrest after the George Floyd killing.

* Dublin school and community leaders break ground for the new Emerald High School on its east side, an event that is livestreamed.

* East Bay Regional Park District announces it will be reopening several parks to a limited number of visitors, including Del Valle Regional Park in Livermore.

* Eugene O’Neill Foundation presents three one-act Eugene O’Neill plays filmed in the Old Barn theater at Tao House in a series of rolling weekly premieres online.

* Tri-Valley Haven holds a Virtual Pace for Peace from Oct. 17-31, for supporters to walk or run 5K or 10K in support of local survivors of domestic violence.

* PUSD plans a small cohort supervision pilot program, which is not instructional but will allow staff to provide physical supervision and support for certain students at PUSD sites.

* LAVTA resumes collecting fares for all Wheels, Rapid and Dial-a-Ride paratransit services, after temporary barriers are installed to shield drivers when passengers resume boarding at the front of the bus.

* Nail salons open in Alameda County for indoor operations, following county and state guidelines for operating.

* PPIE holds its Week of the Stars to “raise community spirit and funds” for schools.

* Las Positas College Department of Theater Arts presents a digital retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” which means crash courses in home lighting and remote costume design, digital filmmaking and camera angles, and the intricacies of live streaming.

* Alameda County is upgraded to the orange tier in the state’s COVID-19 blueprint.

* New community group “We Are Pleasanton” forms to generate funds for several key school improvement projects in the wake of PUSD’s Measure M failing in the March primary.

* Pleasanton city officials pull the plug on the 2020 Hometown Holiday Parade, planning a televised tree-lighting ceremony to broadcast Dec. 5, the original parade date.

* Grocery Outlet plans to open a store in the supermarket space in the Vintage Hills Shopping Center that has sat empty since New Leaf Community Markets left nearly four years ago.

* PUSD trustees debate whether to pause plans to build the future $48 million school for grades 4 and 5 at the Donlon Elementary site or stay the course.

* City Council approves a nearly $1.5 million purchase of upgraded body cameras and tasers for local law enforcement.

* LARPD has taken a financial hit during the COVID-19 pandemic that results in the implementation of a restructuring plan, which includes a round of layoffs among other budget cuts.

* Tri-Valley Adopt a Creek Spot and Living Arroyos are presented with the statewide Outstanding Sustainable Stormwater Program Award to recognize volunteers for picking up more than 45,000 gallons of litter and planting nearly 7,000 California native plant species near local creeks and rivers.

* Pleasanton artist Usha Shukla, who finds inspiration for her vivid abstract paintings from nature, is awarded a 2020 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award.

* PUSD trustees vote 3-2 to support reopening local elementary schools for students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade starting Jan. 4.

* City Council increases maximum loan amounts and agrees to make other modifications to a little-used loan program offered by the city down payment assistance (DPA) program.

* Livermore Acting Police Chief Jeramy Young has his interim tag removed and is appointed to the permanent position.

* Visit Tri-Valley’s Tri-Valley Beer trail, featuring 17 breweries, alehouses, taprooms and restaurants, reopens for participants to explore the best brews the region has to offer, with a touchless beer passport system to help prevent possible COVID-19 exposure.

* Museum on Main offers its annual Ghost Walk live via Zoom, featuring spirits telling their stories at haunted sites downtown.

* Livermore Valley Opera kicks off its “Triple Treat” of free online concerts featuring professional opera singers, while Livermore wineries offer special wine pairings to complement them.

* Pleasanton resident Domenica Maurice, 33, dies in a solo-vehicle crash down an embankment on San Pablo Dam Road in Orinda around 12:20 a.m. on a Monday.

* Family and friends hold an evening vigil downtown in a show of support for former Foothill High student Sydney “Syd” West, 19, who has been missing for three weeks.

* Convicted killer Steven Carlson confesses to the murder of 14-year-old Tina Faelz as she was walking home from Foothill High School in Pleasanton on April 5, 1984, when he was 16. He was convicted of the crime six years ago.

* Public health officials say “naturally socially distanced” indoor activities such as bowling alleys and climbing walls may open for business, and also limited indoor dining, movie theaters and worship services, admitting 25% or fewer than 100 people, whichever is less.

* Local and county officials outline options to celebrate Halloween as safely and responsibly as possible, noting that trick-or-treating and outside parties are high-risk activities.

* Zone 7 Water Agency Board of Directors unanimously rejects a 1.7% connection fee increase in an effort to support the local economy through hardships caused by the pandemic.

* Safeway Inc. agrees to settle a consumer protection case with two local district attorneys for price gouging with the sales of certain hand sanitizer brands early in the coronavirus pandemic.

November

* Pleasanton elects Karla Brown for mayor; Valerie Arkin and Jack Balch for City Council; school board members Mary Jo Carreon and Kelly Mokashi; and re-elects school board president Steve Maher.

* Livermore voters elect City Councilman Bob Woerner as their new mayor and newcomer Brittni Kiick as the City Council District 3 representative in the city’s first district-based election. (Councilman Bob Carling wins re-election unopposed for District 4.) For Livermore Valley school board, voters chose Kristie Wang and Yanira Guzmán.

* Dublin Unified School District’s Area 1 elects Kristin Pelham as a new trustee; Area 4 re-elects Gabi Blackman. Incumbent Catherine Kuo earns a full term for Area 3 after going unchallenged.

* After serving one term on the council, Melissa Hernandez is Dublin’s new mayor-elect; newly elected council members are Sherry Hu and Michael McCorriston.

* Current Dublin Mayor David Haubert is elected to Alameda County Board of Supervisors for District 1, succeeding retiring Livermore Supervisor Scott Haggerty.

* Measure W, the countywide half-cent sales tax, and Measure X, the $90 million fire facilities bond, both pass narrowly. Measure W is 50.09% Yes, while Measure X is 66.78% Yes (needing two-thirds).

* Actress Lori Loughlin reports to the minimum-security federal prison for women in Dublin to begin serving a two-month sentence stemming from her conviction in the college admissions bribery scandal.

* Pleasanton Library reopens to the public, offering socially distanced internet stations in addition to the usual array of books and other library materials and services. No chairs or tables for reading or studying are available, nor any interactive toys for children.

* PUSD leaders break ground for new science classroom buildings at Amador Valley and Foothill high schools, livestreamed on the district’s Facebook page.

* LAVTA invites the public to hop aboard its shared autonomous vehicle (SAV) after the self-driving vehicle starts service Nov. 16 providing rides from the eastern Dublin-Pleasanton BART Station to nearby locations.

* Annual Tri-Valley Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony through downtown Pleasanton is canceled, but Tri-Valley Community Television highlights former military service members in its new “Spotlight on Veterans” program for Veterans Day.

* Pleasanton police respond to an uncommon “emu-gency” situation after receiving a call about a stray emu wandering in west Pleasanton.

* California DMV opens a second office in Pleasanton at the Stoneridge Shopping Center after closing its Walnut Creek field office, while encouraging customers to use its expanded virtual services.

* Dinosaur Adventure Drive-Thru arrives at the Alameda County Fairgrounds for a three-weekend stay in Pleasanton.

* The robotics club at Dublin High designs a high-tech drone to be built and used to sanitize the football stadium and other facilities at the school but certain high-priced parts need to be bought first.

* California Department of Public Health places Alameda County into the most-restrictive purple tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, resulting in the end of indoor dining, worship services and gym activities for the time being, as well the closure of bars and reduced indoor capacity for retail stores and shopping malls.

* PUSD considers scrapping plans for the planned new school for grades 4 and 5 at the Donlon Elementary site and starting over with a newly developed alternative proposal to address overgrowth issues.

* An Alameda County Superior Court judge rules against petitioners suing Pleasanton for a second time over environmental approvals for the proposed Costco and overarching Johnson Drive Economic Development Zone, potentially ending the lawsuit and clearing the way for the project to move forward.

* Bay Area health officials implore residents to celebrate Thanksgiving responsibly, such as getting together with family and friends virtually and staying physically distanced.

* Pleasanton Downtown Association unveils program to encourage Pleasanton residents to shop, dine and otherwise support local businesses this holiday season — “Shop Small — Support Local.”

* The 2020-21 Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund kicks off to benefit six core Tri-Valley nonprofit organizations: Axis Community Health, CityServe of the Tri-Valley, Hope Hospice, Open Heart Kitchen, Valley Humane Society and ValleyCare Charitable Foundation. The fundraising drive will continue until Jan. 17.

* This year November and December prove to be a good time to put homes on the market, with fourth-quarter sellers serious and motivated.

* Livermore resident Gregory Paul Vien, 61, who is facing charges for two cold-case sexual assaults in the East Bay, dies from injuries sustained in a suicide attempt that occurred one week prior in the hours after the crimes’ survivors testified against him in court. Vien had been out of custody due to a controversial COVID release.

* City Council hears an update on the city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP 2.0) regarding Pleasanton’s long-term outlook for addressing climate change that could entail the city producing its own renewable energy and investing in green infrastructure.

* Pleasanton Mayor Jerry Thorne hands out the final Mayor’s Award of his four-term tenure during a virtual ceremony, recognizing Chris Miller, a longtime leader in the local military veteran community.

* Castlewood Country Club, which dates back to 1924, is renamed The Club at Castlewood to herald its $16 million remodeling and upgrading project scheduled to launch in the spring.

* Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center raises $200,000 with “Best of the Bankhead,” a fundraiser with catered dinner and wine enjoyed along with virtual entertainment by Bankhead Theater favorites.

* City Council increases funding for a city-run rental assistance program to help Pleasanton residents who have struggled to pay their rent during statewide COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and are experiencing “significantly reduced” household incomes.

* BART Board of Directors votes to forge ahead with an incentivized retirement program intended to help with its failing financial outlook due to the coronavirus pandemic.

* Livermore Public Works Department successfully comes to the aid of resident Jenna Madrid after she accidentally flushes her wedding ring down the toilet, from where it begins its journey to the wastewater treatment plant where it is found.

* State officials delay the start of high school sports this school year, pushing out the Dec. 7 start date indefinitely amid surges of COVID-19.

* Lauren Swenson-Lennox of Pleasanton becomes the Tri-Valley’s first female Eagle Scout.

* Playground equipment at two Pleasanton parks is set on fire in apparent arson incidents, at Hansen Park and at Creekside Park. Police say they might be related.

* Rising Bay Area rapper Lil Yase — stage name of Alexander Mark Antonyyo Jr., 26 — dies at a local hospital after being shot multiple times near the eastern Dublin-Pleasanton BART Station. The circumstances are still unknown.

* East County Board of Zoning Adjustments approves developing a 410-acre utility-scale solar power plant north of Livermore, the “Aramis Project.”

* Resident group Save the Hill, who have spent a decade objecting to a proposed residential development in northern Livermore, files a notice of appeal following a recent ruling by Alameda County Superior Court in their environmental lawsuit over the project.

* Pleasanton-based biotech company 10x Genomics, Inc., is ready to expand its corporate and research presence in the city by developing a new campus across Stoneridge Mall Road from its current headquarters. Planning Commission discusses early plans at a public workshop.

December

* Pleasanton high schools announce they will be pausing all voluntary in-person extracurricular activities until at least the end of the semester after some students attended a party over Thanksgiving break that officials say may have resulted in potential positive cases and exposure to COVID-19.

* Tri-Valley residents have the next month and a half to weigh in during the 50-day public comment period for the Valley Link transit project’s draft environmental impact report recently released by the Tri-Valley/San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority.

* The beacon on Mount Diablo is lit Dec. 7 as part of a special pre-recorded ceremony in recognition of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and shown in a streaming video at www.savemountdiablo.org that includes three East Bay residents who survived the Pearl Harbor attack.

* Livermore-Amador Symphony celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birthday by releasing video projects virtually.

* Encore Players present “It’s a Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play” on Zoom, sponsored partly by the Livermore Public Library.

* City Council agrees to begin design process for a new skate park in Pleasanton, which will be located at Ken Mercer Sports Park.

* The alarming rate of spread of the COVID-19 virus prompts Bay Area health officers to implement the state’s new regional stay-at-home order now through Jan. 4 rather than wait until hospitals are near crisis.

* Three advocacy groups file appeals to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors opposing the decision to approve the proposed 410-acre, utility-scale solar Aramis power plant north of Livermore. The proponent files an appeal too, over county-imposed conditions of approval.

* Black Tie Transportation takes over Pleasanton Paratransit Service (PPS) after City Council approves a $896,400 agreement to take over daily operations starting Feb. 1.

* Sunwalker’s Livermore Community Solar Energy Facility is approved by the East County Board of Zoning Adjustment. It’s the second large solar power plant proposal approved for North Livermore in recent weeks; resident group vows to appeal.

* Tense controversy arrives in Livermore after pro-police media group Law Enforcement Today writes a scathing opinion article over public meetings notes of a city Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee working group introducing a discussion of whether the Thin Blue Line flag is a symbol of hate.

* The Pleasanton school board unanimously agrees to reopen all 15 elementary and secondary schools within several weeks of each other, as soon as Alameda County is officially back in the red tier of the state’s COVID-19 case monitoring system — though nobody knows when that might happen.

* The four sitting Livermore City Council members vote for an interview and appointment process, as opposed to calling for a costly special election, to fill the vacancy on the dais created upon Bob Woerner’s ascension from councilman to mayor.

* National news outlet Axios releases an expose story after a yearlong investigation into the actions of a Chinese national accused of being a covert spy targeting young American politicians between 2011 and 2015, including Tri-Valley Congressman Eric Swalwell.

* ALS Cure Project, founded in honor of late Pleasanton resident Gretchen Piscotty, promote new research partnerships with Livermore Lab Foundation and LLNL to help discover new treatments and a cure for ALS.

* Homes are colorfully illuminated across the Tri-Valley to help residents enjoy the season from a safe distance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Holiday shows are offered virtually, including Valley Dance Theatre’s “The Nutcracker,” which performs every year at the Bankhead Theater.

* Executive Director Chris Chandler, the longest-serving leader of the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association, is retiring.

* Dublin attorney and former two-term California assemblywoman Catharine Baker is appointed to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

* The first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Alameda County and the first doses are administered to hospital workers and first responders.

* Two LVJUSD high-schoolers and one recent alum die in a late-night crash on Las Positas Road. This marks the second of three fatal crashes in Livermore within about 33 hours.

* One custodian dies and another is being treated at a local hospital after being found in medical distress amid a strange chemical smell and fentanyl at the scene at Fallon Middle School, Dublin police say.

* Pleasanton sends a letter to residents stating in part, “We have reached a critical point in the pandemic, and now more than ever we must each do our part by following the new Regional Stay-At-Home Order to slow the spread of the Coronavirus and protect our Pleasanton community,” urging everyone to “Wear a mask, and stay well and healthy,” and to shop local.