2022 Year in Review Part I: January to June

With the final week of 2022 on the horizon, it’s time for us to start saying goodbye to the year that was.

In our typical fashion, the Weekly is reflecting on the previous year in two parts, beginning with January to June 2022 this week.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still in the background (and at times sprung into the forefront) after two years, 2022 felt a lot more like the return to normalcy that many hoped 2021 would bring. Look no further than the large-scale events in the Tri-Valley that were fully back this year, including Taste Tri-Valley Restaurant Week in February, the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in Dublin in March and the Alameda County Fair opening in June.

The primary election also captured many headlines during the first half of the year, with campaigning in the winter and early spring ahead of Election Day on June 7 and eligible ballots being counted for multiple weeks thereafter. Alameda County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Yesenia Sanchez defeating her boss, Sheriff Gregory Ahern, outright in a three-candidate primary were among the significant outcomes of the election.

Administrative turnover at the top was another theme for the Tri-Valley throughout January to June, from the selections of Gerry Beaudin (Pleasanton) and Marianna Marysheva (Livermore) as new city managers, to Livermore schools Superintendent Kelly Bowers retiring to multiple local nonprofits and public agencies announcing leadership changes.

Some local projects continued to advance, including the downtown Livermore boutique hotel, the Costco and JDEDZ in Pleasanton and the Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve near Mount Diablo to name just a few.

Tri-Valley residents also shined on a national stage, most notably with the Amador Valley High School We the People competition civics team winning the U.S. championship. Locals also appeared on TV game shows such as “MasterChef Jr.”, “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!”

That’s just a snapshot of all of the standout stories — positive, negative and everywhere in between — that we covered this year in the Pleasanton Weekly, LivermoreVine.com and DanvilleSanRamon.com. Enjoy this look-back at our top storylines from January to June 2022.

January

* Pleasanton City Council holds the first legally mandated public hearing before it can draw districts and switch from at-large to district elections.

* The city of Pleasanton says it expects to receive the results of the latest Livermore Municipal Airport noise study, conducted in the last half of 2021, by the end of January

* Livermore artist Carolyn Lord reveals about how she draws inspiration from local architecture and vernacular landscape to bring to life her watercolor works, which often feature city landmarks of the past and present.

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended its emergency use authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, allowing children ages 12-15 to get a booster vaccine dose.

* Details emerge about a federal complaint filed against the city of San Ramon, its police department and chief, and several of the force’s officers — one of at least two in 2021 alleging excessive use of force and constitutional violations by San Ramon police officers currently going through federal court.

* Three different maps proposed for use in future Pleasanton Unified School District trustee board elections are given an overview at a special town hall meeting ahead of PUSD’s conversion to district-based elections.

* Livermore City Council unanimously approves an amended and restated disposition, development and loan agreement with Davis-based hoteliers Presidio Companies to develop the downtown wine country hotel.

* Smoking in multi-unit residents in Alameda County’s unincorporated areas will be prohibited in July, thanks to an unanimous vote from the county’s Board of Supervisors.

* Three candidates for Alameda County sheriff-coroner in the primary election take part in a public forum.

* First-term Dublin City Councilmember Shawn Kumagai becomes the Tri-Valley’s first candidate to announce plans to run for California Assembly District 20.

* Pleasanton residents and businesses will start receiving greener electricity from East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), their new local energy provider, this month.

* The Firehouse Arts Center announces that two of its upcoming shows have been canceled due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

* The city of Dublin issues a civic alert warning residents and parkgoers of an uptick in coyote sightings at and around Emerald Glen Park.

* Following a two-year stretch of leniency, PUSD and other Tri-Valley districts face a potentially significant drop in revenue next year if the funding formula doesn’t change to take into consideration a decrease in enrollment and effects of the pandemic on attendance.

* Brock Uhl, a 17-year-old senior at Amador Valley High School, is introducing new audiences to drag culture by organizing and hosting monthly drag show events in Dublin.

* Ahead of annual negotiations between PUSD and labor groups, the Board of Trustees recently received a crash course on a new approach to navigating negotiations between school administrators and staff members, dubbed interest-based bargaining.

* Former Pleasanton city manager and longtime community leader Nelson Fialho steps up to serve as interim CEO of the recently formed Three Valleys Community Foundation (3VCF).

* Theodore “Ted” Young, who worked for years as a sergeant with the Pleasanton Police Department, is facing a murder charge and other felony counts after authorities allege he was drunk when he caused a fatal collision near Sonora.

* Livermore High wrestler Timothy Cowan opens up about returning to the mat for the Cowboys after sustaining a serious neck injury earlier in his career.

* Zone 7 Water Agency announces an increased water allocation of 15% will be given for this year from the State Water Project, up from the initial 0% given by state officials last month.

* Teachers, staff and administration at Resurrection Lutheran Child Development Center in Dublin are seeking a return to normalcy following a difficult start to 2022 that was marked by a closure for an uptick in COVID-19 cases during which the preschool’s premises were ransacked in two burglaries.

* A proposed bill by local Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan that would ban charging more for goods marketed to women was unanimously passed off the Assembly floor.

* A potential five-story, mixed-use building on the edge of downtown Pleasanton that drew protest from some residents was rejected as proposed, according to city officials. But the denial may not bring the end of the Harrison Street project.

February

* The worst of the COVID-19 omicron surge in Alameda County may be over, the county health officer tells the Board of Supervisors.

* A parklet grant program to support restaurants that want to permanently expand their outdoor dining in downtown Pleasanton is approved by the Pleasanton City Council.

* The African American Body of Lab Employees (ABLE) group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory creates a space for communication, education and exchanging professional resources while also supporting youth and engaging the community.

* Dougherty Valley High School freshman Aryan Agrawal earns third place in U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s Congressional App Challenge for his HealthBuddy app, which aims to help cancer patients and doctors understand symptoms and treatments.

* Dublin resident Janet McCarroll talks about her debut book, “Elizabeth and the Piccadilly Council: When Buckingham Calls”.

* Dozens of mountain bikers gather together at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park to call attention to what they say is a lack of trail access for cyclists to use.

* Open Heart Kitchen confirms 2021 was a record-setting year as the Tri-Valley nonprofit served its highest number of meals ever — 2,033,379 — to those in need in the area.

* San Ramon residents are set to have one fewer grocery store available with Nob Hill Foods set to close in March, which a neighborhood advocacy group worries is part of a long-sounding death knell for the Marketplace Shopping Center.

* Pleasanton-based child and family support nonprofit Hively is in the midst of an apparently abrupt leadership transition, appointing Mary Hekl as interim CEO after the departure of its now-former top executive Kelly O’Lague for unconfirmed reasons.

* Livermore-based On-Site Commercial Services Inc. agrees to pay a nearly $29,000 penalty for an illegal dumping case brought by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

* An Alameda County judge denies community group Save Livermore Downtown’s petition challenging the city of Livermore’s approval of a 130-unit affordable housing development at the southeast corner of the Railroad Avenue and L Street intersection. The group promises to appeal.

* Granada High School’s varsity football team will have a new head coach this fall, Marc Moses, who has led the Matadors’ JV team for the past 11 years.

* Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputy Aubrey Phillips, a Dublin resident who had been assigned to her city’s beat for the past seven months, dies after suffering a sudden medical emergency in her patrol car shortly after making an arrest. She was 36.

* California rolls back its mask requirement for vaccinated residents in most indoor spaces.

* Fremont resident Ellen Mai Le, 49, is killed after her bicycle collides head-on with an SUV on rural Mines Road south of Livermore.

* Valley Link announces a leadership change, with deputy executive director and program manager Kevin Sheridan set to take over from current executive director Michael Tree at the end of February.

* Alameda County will join nearly all of the greater Bay Area’s 11 counties to lift their indoor mask mandates, aligning them with the state’s plans to lift its mask requirements.

* PUSD has lost approximately 700 students over the past five years, particularly at the elementary and middle school levels, according to a new annual enrollment presentation.

* Tri-Valley Conservancy now has interim leadership as new Board Chair Lori Souza is appointed as acting executive director after the sudden resignation of Laura Antrim after roughly five months in the lead role.

* The Pleasanton Weekly bids adieu to longtime Tri-Valley Life editor Dolores Fox Ciardelli as she enters retirement.

* A child and a woman each died at an area hospital after becoming unresponsive in the same swimming pool in Blackhawk, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

* After a month-long delay, the Pleasanton City Council decides on a final inventory list of housing sites that will be included in the environmental analysis for the upcoming Housing Element update during a lengthy special meeting. Four of the original 28 sites don’t make the cut: Mission Plaza, Stanford Health Care-ValleyCare, SteelWave on Pleasanton’s east side and Pimlico Drive south.

* Friends, family and Raiders fans celebrate the life of John Madden, former Emmy-winning broadcaster, Super Bowl-winning coach and longtime Pleasanton resident, at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland. Madden died in December 2021 at age 85.

* Pleasanton Cavaliers host the largest girls-only rugby tournament on the West Coast.

* Livermore City Council receives a report on an outside consultant’s analysis of recent police department stop-and-arrest data that concluded “no clearly identifiable or concerning pattern of racial/ethnic disparity” in the encounters that took place during the specified time frame.

* After seven years, Tina Olson is stepping away from her role as director of finance for the city of Pleasanton to join the neighboring city of Livermore as its new administrative services director.

* Outdoor dining and shopping downtown are poised for a big comeback this year, after the Pleasanton City Council approves framework along with a $100,000 sponsorship for Weekend on Main street closures.

* Pleasanton resident Ana Paula Munaretto, 48, dies at the hospital two days after her car was sideswiped and crashed on Hopyard Road on Valentine’s Day morning.

* Police officers fatally shoot a man who allegedly approached them with a knife in hand after initially barricading himself in an apartment amid a domestic violence investigation in Pleasanton. Cody Chavez, 33, of San Jose died at the scene.

* A planned unit development plan to construct 22 single-family homes and 22 accessory dwelling units in the Happy Valley area receives approval from the Pleasanton City Council.

* Taste Tri-Valley Restaurant Week arrives and aims to build on the momentum from the inaugural event in 2021.

* After being placed on paid administrative leave two weeks ago for the second time in his tenure, Bryan Reece, the embattled chancellor of the Contra Costa Community College District, is making his exit, following just over a year on the job.

* Livermore Downtown Inc. appoints longtime Livermore resident and marketing professional Ruby Lopez-Villarreal to replace Rachael Snedecor as the organization’s executive director.

* Longtime Pleasanton resident Carlo E. Vecchiarelli Jr., who held leadership roles within the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District for decades including 15 years as an elected trustee representing the Tri-Valley, dies after battling cancer. He was 79.

* Following months of research into potential sites for a long sought-after cricket pitch in Pleasanton, city staff are considering how to move forward with the next steps of the process amid a surge of negative feedback from community members on the recommendation of Muirwood Community Park as a site several months ago.

* Amador Valley High competition cheer team wins the Medium Novice Division title at the USA Spirit Nationals.

* A Hayward man was arrested after authorities allege he injured people in separate freeway shootings minutes and miles apart on Sunday morning, including an incident in Livermore that brought one side of Interstate 580 to a standstill.

March

* The process to divide the city of Pleasanton into four districts for future elections is ending with the City Council divided over the final map set for adoption, as the council votes 3-2 to formalize the same majority’s earlier endorsement of the Tangerine map.

* Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Steve Van Dorn is stepping down from the role he called his “dream job” after nearly four years at the helm, announcing his retirement effective May 1.

* Axis Community Health CEO Sue Compton has announced she is retiring later this spring after a long career with the Tri-Valley nonprofit healthcare agency, including the past 15 years as its leader.

* Andrew Hall, the former Danville police officer who shot and killed unarmed motorist Laudemer Arboleda to end a slow-speed pursuit in 2018, is sentenced to six years in state prison for assault with a firearm. Hall still awaits the decision from the DA’s office in their investigation into Hall’s other fatal shooting, the March 2021 death of Tyrell Wilson also in Danville.

* The Alameda County Public Health Department aligns with the state’s updated masking policy for schools, which includes a move from requiring masks to strongly recommending them.

* As Dublin mother Katernya Bila tries to not worry endlessly about her own mother, who must shelter in a basement several times a day in Kyiv, Ukraine, she’s taking action by organizing a donation drive in the Tri-Valley.

* BART will receive nearly $271 million in relief funding from last year’s federal American Rescue Plan Act.

* Eight members of Congress, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, are demanding an investigation into allegations of abuse and misconduct at an all-women federal prison in Dublin.

* Amador Valley and Foothill high schools’ joint annual production is returning with a live audience this year, after a disappointing opening night in 2020 at the dawn of the pandemic that saw seats full of stuffed animals rather than people and no show last year.

* A state appellate court panel has denied Pleasanton Citizens for Responsible Growth’s challenge of the public approval process for the proposed Costco store and overarching Johnson Drive Economic Development Zone, siding with the city over the adequacy of the environmental review completed for the project.

* Eight nonprofits split $80,000 raised during the 2021-22 Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund.

* The Alameda County Taxpayers’ Association files suit, alleging County Supervisor Dave Brown was appointed illegally. They argue Brown needed to be a pre-established resident; county counsel disagrees with code interpretation.

* Candidate lists are finalized for the June primary election.

* Mike Beckwith is coming to the end of a years-long mission to run every single street in the entire city. He moved to Livermore from Dublin in 2016 and initially started his running journey through Livermore later that year.

* Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate pleads guilty to two federal weapons offenses in connection with the fatal shooting of Pleasanton native Kate Steinle in San Francisco in 2015.

* Family and supporters of both men shot and killed 2-1/2 years apart by the same sheriff’s deputy in Danville, Andrew Hall, who was recently sentenced to prison for the first death, gather near the location of the second shooting to mark its one-year anniversary and call for a permanent memorial to both victims.

* University of San Francisco’s Pleasanton campus is in its final months before being slated for closure after just under a decade at the Stoneridge Mall Road facility that became the home of the university’s Tri-Valley satellite that was first established in San Ramon in 1986.

* Livermore City Council decides unanimously to send a letter to officials in its sister city of Snezhinsk, Russia, calling for the city to stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

* Trustees at the Contra Costa Community College District approve settlement agreements worth more than $1.5 million combined with two of their highest-ranking administrators who filed individual claims and a joint lawsuit alleging discrimination and other wrongdoing against the district.

* Dublin holds annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

* Livermore High alum Jeremy Wayne Jones and his girlfriend Christina Lyn Garner are arraigned on murder charges with special circumstances alleging that the fatal shooting and stabbing of a 30-year-old Stockton resident Justin Peoples in Tracy at a gas station was a hate crime.

* Months after voting to approve an ambitious housing project that garnered controversy from neighboring residents and the school district, the Dublin City Council reverses course on the East Ranch development while raising concerns about how alternative paths for the applicant might further limit the discretion of the city.

* Gus the horse, a staple on Main Street in Pleasanton for decades, finds a new home at the Museum on Main after the closure of Christesen’s Western Wear.

* Pleasanton City Council votes unanimously to advance the final design concept for a new skate park at Ken Mercer Sports Park, but funding for the estimated $8.5 million construction project remains very much up in the air.

* Labor negotiations between Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department and the local firefighters union reach impasse. Wages, staffing and drug testing policy are among the key issues in dispute.

* At least one of the ongoing debates surrounding the Livermore Municipal Airport may be put to rest as officials announce that the proposed KaiserAir expansion project is not likely to move forward.

* A half-dozen projects in Tri-Valley communities, as well as a handful of others with countywide impacts, were earmarked for nearly $20 million in federal funding thanks to the efforts of U.S. Reps. Eric Swalwell and Mark DeSaulnier.

* After terming out in 2020 based on consecutive years in office, former Livermore mayor John Marchand announces his plans to run for mayor again come November in light of current Mayor Bob Woerner’s decision not to seek re-election amid health concerns.

* Livermore kicks off the second phase of the city’s ongoing East Avenue Corridor Study to enhance mobility and safety along the stretch between South Livermore Avenue and South Vasco Road.

* A federal lawsuit excoriates Alameda County, the health care company Wellpath LLC and more than two dozen individuals involved with Santa Rita Jail in Dublin for failing to prevent the suicide of pre-trial detainee Jonas Alexander Park with substance abuse and mental health issues.

* Livermore-based Asbury Players Community Theater is set to bid farewell to its longtime director Barbara David and her husband, Dave, who is also the group’s set designer, following the upcoming production of “Done to Death”.

* Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown commends the communal bonding and resilience of the residents of Pleasanton in the pandemic while highlighting a range of community accomplishments during her 2022 State of the City address.

* Abir Bhatia, an eighth-grader at Gale Ranch Middle School in San Ramon, is competing in the eighth season of “MasterChef Junior”, which is airing this spring on Fox.

* Jerry Thorne, the former councilman and four-term mayor who served as a leading voice for the city government amid Pleasanton’s growth and evolution during the 2010s, dies unexpectedly at his home in Arizona. He was 77.

* The Tri-Valley Conservancy Board of Directors selects David Epstein as the nonprofit’s new executive director.

* The Pleasanton school board votes 3-2 in favor of the boundary map dubbed “Scenario 4” for the district’s conversion to trustee area-based elections.

* Water rates are set to go up in Pleasanton effective in the coming weeks after the City Council activates Stage 2 drought rates for all city water customers amid the ongoing supply shortage locally and statewide.

* Stephanie Bell, a Pleasanton native, professional engineer and daughter of Mayor Karla Brown, dies after a nearly five-year battle with breast cancer. She was 30.

* Jen Lenard-Benson takes on the role as the new executive director at Sunflower Hill.

April

* Longtime deputy fire chief Joe Testa takes on the role of fire chief for the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department.

* Executive Director Michael Tree is leaving the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority to become CEO and general manager of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District.

* Mangini Ranch Educational Preserve opens near Mount Diablo.

* For the first time in two years and in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah), a multimedia exhibit of gritty imagery and eyewitness testimony is being shown at Pleasanton’s Firehouse Arts Center.

* A new decision from the state Court of Appeals for the First Appellate District suggests that Garaventa Hills won’t be ‘Coming Soon’, as the developer’s webpage has said for the past five years — and the project may never come at all. The court reverses the Livermore council’s 2019 approval of the amended project, finding the city failed to adequately study the no-project option.

* Some San Ramon voters in the southern parts of the city will see a shift in their rail transit district in the next election, leading the nearest BART station in their home district to switch from Walnut Creek to Dublin-Pleasanton.

* Livermore High School teacher Joey Rodriguez is one of a select group of California educators teaching with the Carbon Cleanup Initiative educational toolkit developed by the Livermore Lab Foundation.

* Husband and wife Eric Dat Nguyen, 40, and Khanh “Tina” Tran, 34, admit to bilking Parkwest Casino 580 in Livermore through an extensive scheme to cheat at baccarat over multiple years, according to state prosecutors.

* A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held to inaugurate the new all-abilities playground at IPAL (Inclusive Play and Learn) Preschool in PUSD.

* Prior to announcing a resignation agreement with the district’s former chancellor, trustees and cabinet members at the Contra Costa Community College District received the findings of a damning investigation, new public documents reveal.

* A dry beginning to 2022 prompts the California Department of Water Resources to restrict the State Water Project allocation to suppliers down to 5%, a sizable cutback from the previous 15%, according to Zone 7.

* A whopping 93% of voting members of a nurses union authorize their leaders to call a strike against Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s hospitals. The action does not impact Stanford-ValleyCare facilities.

* People who have been exposed to COVID-19 but are asymptomatic will no longer be recommended to quarantine for any length of time, according to new guidance from the California Department of Public Health.

* The city’s inaugural Poetry Walk features 28 poems covering personal journeys, love, loss, the beauty of nature and even a handful acknowledging the places and scenery that make Dublin special.

* Foothill High alum and assistant coach Johnny Millard always aspired to run a high school football program. That day has arrived, as Milliard has officially become the next head football coach of the Monte Vista Mustangs.

* A man is shot overnight during a confrontation after he attempted to catch the license plate number of a vehicle that was doing donuts at an intersection in central Livermore.

* The Pleasanton City Council selects a familiar face to be the next city manager — former community development director Gerry Beaudin.

* Drivers in Pleasanton have noticed a new traffic signal operating in the city, a long-planned safety measure at the Bernal Avenue and Nevada Street intersection not far from downtown.

* Alameda County Fair is returning to its familiar summertime slot this year after pandemic disruptions, and officials at the fairgrounds are working to get the community geared up by announcing some of the special events now confirmed.

* A 15-year-old girl from Richmond is pronounced dead shortly after she was found seriously injured in a car with an apparent gunshot wound in northern Livermore. A 17-year-old Hayward boy is later arrested on suspicion of committing the murder.

* More than 800 people died while homeless in Alameda County over a three-year period spanning 2018 to 2020, county officials said in their first-ever homeless mortality report.

* Pleasanton City Council reviews plans for many public amenity projects at a special meeting, discussing budget allocations to advance some designs but hitting the pause button on many due to funding questions.

* To honor their commitment to Pleasanton, Bob Williams and Charles Huff are named the 2022 recipients of the Ed Kinney Community Patriot awards.

* A defendant found guilty and sentenced to prison for leading law enforcement on a freeway chase between San Ramon and Dublin three years ago has had that conviction overturned by the California Court of Appeal, citing improper questioning from an officer after the arrest.

* Livermore City Council identifies its top candidate to be the next city manager, Marianna Marysheva, a high-ranking administrator from Irvine who also has prior career and education ties to the Bay Area.

* The scenic stretch of Niles Canyon Road between Fremont and Sunol is closed to accommodate runners, hikers and cyclists for the 2022 Niles Canyon Stroll and Roll.

* In yet another celebration of the 40th anniversary of Dublin’s incorporation, the city — in conjunction with Dublin Arts Collective — sponsors the Dublin Paint Out en plein air competition.

* Axis Community Health announces chief operating officer Liz Perez-Howe as the organization’s next CEO.

* Gryphon Benn takes the leash as Pleasanton’s 2022 Ambassadog.

* Dublin educators and community members rally at the district headquarters and Dublin High School, with the goal of garnering support and attention for the unionized teachers’ fights for proposals that they say would contend with recruitment and retention struggles in the district.

* The union representing about 5,000 nurses at Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital reaches a tentative agreement for a new contract to end the ongoing strike.

* A new life-size bronze statue of late Pleasanton resident Bob Athenour is unveiled in Tulancingo, Mexico, where the former teacher and community leader left a lasting impact through the two communities’ sister city relationship.

* The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors hires James Cooper, the current leader of the Vallejo chamber, to serve as its next president and CEO.

* A divided Zone 7 Water Agency Board of Directors votes to continue participating in the planning phase for the ambitious and long-discussed Delta Conveyance Project.

* The PUSD Board of Trustees expresses interest in a conceptual plan to relocate district headquarters to an office building in Hacienda Business Park, a move that could result in a new home for Village High School and a portion of the current site to be sold for future housing.

* Donlon Elementary parents and neighborhood residents rally to appeal to the school district and raise awareness among the community about their desire to retain all of the large green space and play area at the campus that is being considered as an option for potential new housing.

* The competition civics team from Amador Valley High School is the best in the country, winning the national We the People tournament.

May

* Livermore voters narrowly approve an extension of the school district’s $138 parcel tax for another seven years. Measure A garners 67.31% Yes in the special election (needing a two-thirds supermajority to pass).

* The Sunol Repertory Theatre is back onstage for two weekends in May, reprising the melodrama it prepared to perform before the Bay Area first shut down two years ago — ‘The Treasure of Shiver River’.

* Together with a group of five Alameda County landlords, the California Apartment Association asks the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent enforcement of the county’s eviction moratorium.

* First Weekends on Main opens for the 2022 season in downtown Pleasanton.

* A teenager from Oakley, Sekou Abayomia Brandon, has seen his charges upgraded to include murder after a Livermore woman (Linda Woodward) seriously injured in a car crash allegedly caused by the young man in February recently died at the hospital from her injuries, the Weekly learns.

* Pleasanton resident Javed Wahab, 53, pleads guilty to theft of pandemic relief funds. He admits using $186,000+ for personal use instead of directing it to his hospice treatment and care company.

* Arick Little, a math teacher at the Pleasanton Virtual Academy, is the winner of Pleasanton Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year award.

* Livermore’s Altamont Creek Elementary School is named a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, becoming one of four schools in California to receive the nationwide award.

* After 13 years at the helm, Executive Director Jim DeMersman has announced he will retire from Pleasanton’s Museum on Main in the fall. Sarah Schaefer, the current education director, has been named as his permanent successor.

* Livermore City Council approves a resolution that charts the course for a new development in the Isabel Neighborhood Specific Plan area consisting of more than 100 housing units and infrastructure aimed at utilizing and promoting cleaner energy sources for residents’ transit needs.

* Nonprofit Hively opens new Family Resource Center in Dublin.

* Work continues on the Vineyard 2.0 project, which includes supportive housing, resource center, commercial kitchen and dining room in Livermore.

* George “Dr. B” Baljevich, a legendary figure in Tri-Valley local sports and former TV30 commentator, dies at 84.

* Danville Mayor Newell Arnerich releases a statement, condemning the group of masked people who on Saturday held up signs at the corner of Blackhawk Road and Camino Tassajara, saying things like “White Lives Matter” and “Watch Europa the Last Battle”.

* Shradha Rachamreddy from Dublin’s Quarry Lane School is getting ready for the national competition after being crowned champion of the 2022 California State Spelling Bee.

* Pleasanton attorney Rodman Martin opens up to the Weekly about his experience as a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” after his episode airs nationally. He won nearly $30,000 in cash and prizes on the game show.

* The Pleasanton school board paves the way for the district to purchase the Arroyo Center in Hacienda Business Park for $23.5 million to become the new home of the district headquarters.

* With a new name encompassing the entire valley, Livermore Valley Arts unveils the lineup for its upcoming 15th anniversary season at the Bankhead Theater.

* A large housing development rejected earlier this year after facing a referendum petition is now back on the horizon in Dublin following the City Council’s approval of an amendment to the project that will bind it to state housing laws rather than the outcomes of negotiations by local officials.

* The Weekly runs a series of election previews to highlight local candidates as voters get ready for the June 7 primary.

* The city of Pleasanton has appointed former BART official Veronica Thomas as the city’s new director of human resources and labor relations. She succeeds former director Debra Gill, who has retired after 22 years with the city.

* The Pleasanton school board agrees to advance to the next phase of pursuing a potential bond measure this November, which could align with funding the district’s Facilities Master Plan aimed to help renovate older buildings and modernize classrooms.

* Pleasanton City Council votes unanimously to do away with the proposed Meadowlark Trail following pushback to the project from residents in the adjacent neighborhood.

* Livermore City Council makes strides in moving two projects forward as part of the ongoing redevelopment of downtown by unanimously approving updated agreements for the Eden Housing affordable housing complex and a proposed black box theater.

* Danville resident Joe Alvarez, 97, looks back at what was gained and what was lost personally and in terms of the country he served during World War II and later in the Korean War.

* Two groups team up in a lawsuit to stop development of the Valley Link commuter light rail system.

* Alameda County prosecutors file charges against Manteca resident Alejandro Valencia Torres Jr., who has prior drunk-driving convictions, for allegedly causing a high-speed crash while intoxicated near Dublin 15 months ago and running from the scene while his passenger Kenia Hernandez Berber lay dying on the freeway after being ejected from the car.

* Tri-Valley REACH (2021) and Linda Garbarino (2022) are honored at the Pleasanton Mayor’s Award event, catching up for the canceled event last year amid the pandemic.

* William Nelson has been hired as PUSD’s next assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, succeeding retiring Janelle Woodward.

* More than 300 students at Hart Middle School participate in a walkout in response to the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas where 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school one week earlier.

* Carolyn Scott, executive assistant to the vice president of academic services at Las Positas College in Livermore, is recognized with a Classified Employee of the Year Award for her work toward attaining equity for minority students.

* Livermore mom Jacqui Berlinn opens up about her activism during her son’s drug battle as her Mothers Against Drug Deaths organization gains national attention.

* The Weekly wins 10 CNPA awards for local coverage in 2021, including first place in COVID-19 Pandemic and A&E categories, and second and third for Breaking News.

* Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L.K. Monroe apologizes after her office spent about $600,000 in COVID relief funds on stipends for her staff, mostly managers who took on extra duties during the pandemic. Her opponent in the election, Alysse Castro, attempts to seize on the controversy.

* The city of Livermore, Zone 7 Water Agency and Living Arroyos program celebrate the opening of a new segment of the Iron Horse Regional Trail on the south side of the Arroyo Mocho channel between Isabel Avenue and Murrieta Boulevard.

* The Pleasanton school board unanimously passes a new collective bargaining agreement between the district and the Association of Pleasanton Teachers that includes a 3.25% salary increase starting July 1 and new health benefits.

* The Foothill Falcons win the East Bay Athletic League baseball championship for the first time in 34 years.

* Principals Gerardo Guzman-Rico of Valley View Elementary and Michael O’Brien of Vintage Hills Elementary are resigning from their positions and leaving PUSD at the end of the school year.

* A group of students and parents from the California High School cheer and stunt team are calling for San Ramon Valley schools Superintendent John Malloy to be fired for the way he and his administration handled a recent controversy over an unofficial squad mascot that went viral on social media.

June

* Foothill junior Brandon Knight wins the CIF boys’ state individual championship in golf.

* Alameda County health officials are once again requiring people to wear masks in most indoor public settings because of increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations. The reinstatement would last three weeks.

* Pleasanton high schools hold festive graduation ceremonies.

* Pleasanton City Council agrees to modify its midterm budget to take out about $2 million from the general reserve fund, as well as reduce $1 million from a skate park project, to fully fund restoring the historic Century House.

* Embarcadero Media President/CEO Bill Johnson announces his retirement and the selection of Adam Dawes as his successor.

* The Eden Housing affordable housing development planned for downtown Livermore faces a new hurdle as a resident has filed paperwork to begin circulating a referendum petition in an effort to overturn the City Council’s approval of an amended development agreement for the project.

* Charlotte Wood Middle School history teacher Steve Knapp shows off his range of trivia knowledge for the whole country to see, appearing on an episode of “Jeopardy!” Knapp finishes second in the episode behind juggernaut champion Ryan Long.

* The Livermore Rodeo returns after a two-year hiatus.

* Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate, a Mexican national who fired the shot that killed Pleasanton native Kate Steinle on Pier 14 in 2015, is sentenced to time served, but that will not end his long journey through the American legal system as he still has immigration-related charges in West Texas.

* The primary election is held, but multiple local races are undecided as ballot counting continues after Election Night.

* Civil rights attorney Pamela Price and chief deputy district attorney Terry Wiley are headed for a runoff in November following the four-candidate primary for Alameda County district attorney.

* Former Pleasanton councilwoman Cheryl Cook-Kallio wins election to the Alameda County Board of Education’s Area 7 seat.

* Current directors Dennis Gambs, Sarah Palmer and Olivia Sanwong win reelection and challenger Dawn Benson takes the fourth position available in the June 7 primary for the Zone 7 Water Agency Board of Directors.

* Residents in the Tri-Valley region will start to see and taste a difference in their tap water thanks to upgrades made to the Patterson Pass Water Treatment Plant in Livermore.

* San Leandro resident Kameron Patricia Reid pleads guilty in federal court to two counts of distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of an inmate in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

* Alameda County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Yesenia Sanchez narrowly edges above 50% of the overall vote count for the first time. She would hold on to the majority advantage to earn a surprise upset defeat of her boss, Sheriff-Coroner Greg Ahern, outright in the three-candidate primary.

* Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston, seen as political foes in local law enforcement, each win reelection by comfortable margins over lone opponents.

* Superintendent Kelly Bowers announces her retirement from LVJUSD effective at the end of the school year. At 12 years, she was the longest-serving superintendent in all of Alameda County at the time.

* Alysse Castro flips the script and takes a lead in the election against Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L.K. Monroe. Castro, a San Francisco Unified School District official who lives in Alameda County and used strong local education union backing to mount a challenge, would hold the lead and defeat the incumbent.

* Livermore Valley Arts and community group Tri-Valley for Black Lives team up to host two Juneteenth celebrations at the Bankhead Theater.

* Pleasanton City Council gives initial support to an ordinance that would continue allowing the Pleasanton Police Department to use military or specialized equipment.

* The Alameda County Fair returns for its first summer appearance in Pleasanton since 2019.

* Edralin “Ed” Maduli, who represented the Tri-Valley on the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Board of Trustees for the past six years, dies.

* The Pleasanton school board reviews updated priorities for the Facilities Master Plan, which would include proposals to reconstruct the gyms and theaters at both Amador Valley and Foothill high schools.

* Donlon vice principal Carole Stothers is hired as the next principal of Vintage Hills Elementary.

* Megan Keefer, Cal High principal since July 2019, announces she is stepping away from that position to return to the classroom as a high school English teacher next fall. Some question the timing of her departure, given the recent controversy over the Grizzlies’ unofficial cheer squad mascot.

* Children under age 5 become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine after the FDA gives its approval for the age group.

* Livermore City Council has upheld its existing policy around flying commemorative flags — including the LGBT Pride flag — which can be displayed as a form of government speech.

* Incoming Foothill senior Annabelle Kim is preparing for her role as the second Pleasanton Unified student trustee, a position that she hopes to use to enact changes that would benefit students and the community.

* Dublin City Councilmember Shawn Kumagai advances to a November runoff against Liz Ortega for the open State Assembly District 20 seat.

* Danville police investigate after a robbery attempt turned into an exchange of gunfire on the north side of town not far from downtown.

* The city of Livermore completes another component of its ongoing downtown revitalization plan with the official opening of Livermorium Plaza, nearly one year after work began on the project.

* LPFD and the local firefighters union agree to a tentative labor contract that includes a 13% general wage increase, new short-term staffing and drug testing policies.

* Crews gain control of a wildfire burning on Pleasanton Ridge that caused some evacuations.

* Legislation aimed at protecting access to legal abortions in California — co-authored by Tri-Valley Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan — is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

* The Weekly announces the winners of the 2022 Readers’ Choice contest.

* Pleasanton City Council approves the 2022-23 midterm budget and capital improvement program, which included a plan to move $1 million from the rainy day reserve funds to the skate park project at Ken Mercer Sports Park.

* Joshua Butterfield is resigning from his position as Amador Valley principal to take on the role of director of secondary education for PUSD.

* International energy giant Chevron Corp., perhaps San Ramon’s most well-known corporate resident, plans to sell its headquarters plaza off Bollinger Canyon Road and move to a yet-undisclosed new leased space in the city while allowing some locally based employees to voluntarily relocate to Houston.

* Pleasanton police are investigating after an exchange of gunfire during an apparent auto theft attempt in the Canyon Meadows neighborhood just before dawn.

* The 133-room, boutique-style wine country hotel planned for downtown Livermore is coming to fruition with the city’s recent approval of revised site plans proposed by Davis-based hoteliers Presidio Companies.

* Deputy superintendent Chris Van Schaack is promoted to LVJUSD’s new superintendent.

* Ralph “Sonny” Barger, who was the founding member of the Oakland branch of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, known for its outlaw reputation and the scrapes with law enforcement that resulted, dies at the age of 83 of cancer in Livermore.

* State public health officials announce their public health guidance for the 2022-23 K-12 school year with no mask requirement for students or staff.

* Three members of the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees are facing allegations of collusion in their selection of new election boundaries earlier in the year, after documents that could point to behind-the-scenes efforts to effectively oust another trustee are made public.

* The city of Pleasanton announces a new Bernal Community Park multi-year sponsorship agreement that will change the name of the athletic grounds to Stanford Medicine Sports Complex.

* PUSD is granted full accreditation after a year of being in a probationary period where it had to address and meet certain conditions set by the state for better support for new teachers.

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