Your Local News Source Since 1963 SERVING LIVERMORE • PLEASANTON • SUNOL THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2008VOLUME XLV, NUMBER 28

Art & Entertainment............8, 11

Bulletin Board......................7

Classifieds...........................9

Editorial.................................4

Mailbox...................................5

Roundup..................................3

Short Notes.............................2

Sports......................................6

Obituaries................................7

Open Homes....................On-line

Photo - Doug JorgensenFirst Wednesday festivities in Pleasanton included the 1st Division Band marching down MainStreet. The band presented a concert during the event, which had a theme of 'Red, White andBlues."

Inside

David Goosman’s woodturnings from the 400 year oldoak tree.

Ancient OakTurned intoWorks of Art

There will be something spe-cial at this year’s Art in the Oaks.

The Livermore Art Associationand Alden Lane Nursery host the22nd annual Art Under the Oakscelebration, Saturday and Sun-day July 12 and 13.

This year features a specialmemorial to the nursery’s iconic400 year old oak tree, which wastoppled by a strong storm earlierthis year. Dozens of artists havetaken pieces of its wood andtransformed them into a uniquecollection of artwork, which willbe on display. They will be avail-able for purchase.

The event combines art, foodand live music under the oakcanopy of Alden Lane. Over 40local artists will display art forsale, offering an array of paint-

The public is invited to joinin the festivities of a brief recep-tion to observe the start of con-struction of Pleasanton’sFirehouse Arts Center. It will beheld Thurs., July 17 at 3:30 p.m.at Old Fire Station #1, 4444 Rail-road Ave., Pleasanton.

The center will feature a 240-seat flexible studio theater, 2,000square feet of gallery space, twolarge art classrooms, and a grandlobby for receptions and events.

The project is expected toreach completion in late 2009.

Pleasanton residents Nancyand Gary Harrington have do-nated what will become a dra-matic feature of the FirehouseArts Center: two 30-foot glassmarquees designed by world-re-nowned glass artist Martin Don-lon.

Meanwhile, the PleasantonCultural Arts Foundation, theCity’s non-profit partner on theproject, is actively raising fundsand has thus far secured $1.77million for the Firehouse ArtsCenter.

Work to BeginOn FirehouseArts Center

(See ART, page 11)

Under a recent agreement be-tween the Tri-Valley ArtistsGuild (TVAG) and the BothwellArts Center, ArtWalk Livermore2008 is to become a fund-raiserfor the Bothwell, a move whichsaves the ArtWalk from oblivionand helps the Bothwell providethe affordable space needed bythe many artists and cultural artsgroups that use the space.

Until recently, ArtWalk was onpermanent hold. The event sim-ply grew too successful for thesmall, 6-member organizationknown as TVAG (Tri-Valley Art-ists Guild) and their friends.

Enter the Bothwell Arts Cen-ter, a project of Livermore ValleyPerforming Arts Center (LVPAC).The Bothwell needed an addi-tional fundraiser. TVAG gladlyhanded over the event to keepArtWalk alive and help theBothwell. Linda Ryan, managerof the Bothwell and, coinciden-tally, the originator and directorof ArtWalk Livermore, is takingthe helm once again, with mar-keting, fundraising and a strongvolunteer base supplied byLVPAC.

Ryan, declared, “I neverplanned to do another ArtWalk –it takes one heck of a lot of work.But, with LVPAC providing mar-keting, fundraising and a strongvolunteer base, it became clearthat we’d have the supportArtWalk needed. Rather than try-ing to invent another fundraiser

AgreementSaves ArtWalk

(See ARTWALK, page 8)

PET OF THE WEEKLydia is a shy 2-year old that is looking for a quiet home tosettle into. She does not like being at the shelter and justwants to go home. She has beautiful, long fur that she loves tohave brushed. She may act a little shy when you first meet her,but she is a true “snuggle bug” at heart, just give her time. Toadopt Lydia into your home, visit her at Kitty City in ValleyHumane Society, 3670 Nevada Street in Pleasanton. Visit theweb site www.valleyhumane.org or call 426-8656 for moredetails.

Open Seats at BART, Pleasanton SchoolsBy Ron McNicoll

At least two political seats willbe open in the Valley in the Nov.4 general election.

The filing period opens nextMonday, July 14, and closes Aug.8. The period is extended for fivecalendar days, if an incumbentdoes not file for an office.

District 5 BART director ZoydLuce said that he won’t run forre-election.

Pleasanton school trusteeSteve Brozosky said he won’tseek the office again, in order tofulfill a promise he made whenhe was appointed last year to theboard. He is serving the remain-der of the term of longtime board

member Juanita Haugen, whodied in March 2007.

Luce, a Dublin resident, un-seated Pete Snyder from theBART board four years ago, in asurprise win over the formerDublin mayor. Luce wrote in ane-mail to the Independent thathe has “lost faith in our politi-cal process. I believe that weneed to undertake some majorrevisions, which I am writing abook about.”

Former Dublin Mayor LindaJeffery Sailors, who is a Liver-more resident, announced in thewinter that she will run for theBART position. She already haslined up endorsements from the

mayors of Livermore, Pleasantonand Dublin. The BART districtis comprised of Livermore, Pleas-anton, Sunol, Dublin, San Ra-mon, and parts of Danville, CastroValley, and Hayward.

In the Pleasanton school dis-trict, Brozosky said that it is im-portant to leave his seat open,because he feels strongly that anincumbent has an advantageover any challenger. He wants tomake sure there will be a levelplaying field for new people torun for the board.

Schools thrive on communityvolunteers. Many are qualifiedto make a contribution as schooltrustees, said Brozosky. He added

that he’s available to people whowant to find out more about theissues and what it takes to serveon the board.

Brozosky’s seat may not bethe only one that will becomevacant on the Pleasanton schoolboard. Trustee Kris Weaver saidlast week that she is undecidedabout whether to file again. “Ihope new people would step for-ward, and would like to partici-pate. I would encourage peopleto run, and tell them how to runfor the board. I would share myexperience with anyone inter-ested,” she said.

Pleasanton school trusteeChris Grant’s term also expires

this November. He was appointedin January 2007 to replace StevePulido, who became a juvenilecourt judge. Grant was not avail-able for comment about whetherhe will seek an elected term.

HOSTERMAN WILL RUNOn the Pleasanton city coun-

cil, Mayor Jennifer Hosterman isdefinite about running. She heldher kickoff campaign two weeksago at the Rose Hotel.

Hosterman said she wants tocontinue projects being overseenby the council. She is the city’srepresentative to the CongestionManagement Agency, and hopesto become its next vice chair,

(See ELECTION, page 4)

The drop in property valuesin the Eastbay because of de-faulted mortgages on residenceshas a silver lining for conserva-tionists. The lower propertyprices have made it easier to ac-quire land for park and openspace purposes, even in rural ar-eas.

Save Mount Diablo is usingthe drop in prices to acquire moreland for open space. The groupput out an alert to its 7000 mem-bers, hoping to raise more fundsto maximize the advantage of thelower prices in the market.

Seth Adams, director of landacquisition for the non-profit,told members that because of thedip in the market, “conservationis becoming increasingly afford-able. Because of this, SaveMount Diablo has the opportu-nity to preserve a significantnumber of acres of natural lands,if we make the investment now.”

“We need your donations tohelp us take advantage of thiswindow of opportunity. This‘moment in time’ won’t last for-

Drop In Home PricesHelping ConservationWith Acquisitions

ever, and as a result Save MountDiablo is stepping up its acqui-sition efforts,” said Adams.

The drop in market prices isalready bringing results for SaveMount Diablo. Last month it ac-quired 17 acres on Marsh CreekRoad because of the affordabilityof the land. Adams said thatboosting the group’s treasury canhelp it move quickly in buyingsmall acquisitions or makingdown payments on larger parcelsuntil park districts have fundsavailable to do the purchases.

Save Mount Diablo, foundedin 1971, serves as a middlemanin open space preservation. Thegroup acquires land, then holdsit for park districts, which have alonger legal and political processbefore they can accept it.

Adams described the SaveMount Diablo’s role as a “pre-acquisition” function. The groupworks with East Bay RegionalPark District, the state’s park dis-trict, and local districts. It dealswith city open spaces, water-

(See OPEN SPACE, page 4)The Livermore Valley Per-

forming Arts Center has releasedits 2008-09 season of LVPAC Pre-sents attractions for the 500-seatBankhead Theater.

This will be LVPAC Presentssecond season. Programs will fea-ture over twenty internationallyrecognized artists and ensemblesranging from the Argentineandance company Tango Fire to therenowned folksinger Arlo Guthrie.

The season begins in mid-Sep-tember with American Ballet The-atre II, the classical ballet com-pany, and continues throughLivermore’s 2009 Rodeo Week-end with the Western swing bandAsleep at the Wheel. Additionalattractions include The Kyle

Eastwood Band (Clint’s son),Ottmar Liebert, The Best of DooWop, Punch Brothers featuringChris Thile, Rickie Lee Jones,The Aquila Theatre Companyperforming Shakespeare’s TheComedy of Errors, Marcus Rob-erts Trio, A Big Band Tribute toGlen Miller and Gene Krupa, JilAigrot, Beppe Gambetta andDan Crary. Classical pianist Jef-frey Siegel also returns with hisKeyboard Conversations.

Highlighting the season arefour special engagements. Thefirst, on October 3rd will be agala fundraising performance forLVPAC featuring legendary co-medians, The Smothers Broth-ers. To celebrate New Year’s Eve,

LVPAC has scheduled a returnvisit from The Four Freshmen.The spring gala will featureBroadway musical star TommyTune and the Manhattan RhythmKings. Rounding out the seasonwill be the national touring com-pany of the 2005 Tony Awardwinner for Best Broadway Musi-cal, The 25th Annual PutnamCounty Spelling Bee sponsoredby Wells Fargo.

Tickets for all LVPAC Pre-sents performances go on sale tothe general public on Monday,July 14 at the Bankhead TicketOffice, by phone or online. Inaddition to LVPAC attractions,the Bankhead Theater will play

Arlo Guthrie, Smothers Brothers, TangoFire Among LVPAC Presents Programs

Photo - Doug Jorgensen

A fireworks spectacular capped off 4th of July festivities inLivermore. The annual event is presented by the LivermoreArea Recreation and Park District.

BusinessesLove GoingTo The DogsBy Ron McNicoll

Livermore and Pleasantonmerchants are proud of theirdowntowns’ aesthetics and thepedestrian-friendly ambiancethat development has giventhem. That attractive atmosphereis being extended to dogs andtheir human companions.

Merchants are putting outwater dishes and dog biscuits onsidewalks during business hoursas a courtesy to the animals.Some businesses are also allow-ing people to come in with theirdogs, provided the canines arewell-behaved.

Jinnie Frazier, a retired Wheelstransit planner, said that whenshe went into a new Livermorebank earlier this year, “I waswarmly welcomed in to do busi-ness with my dog on a leash.”

Guaranty Bank branch man-ager Hafiz Safdari said that hestarted the custom as “a personalthing. We have dogs. We’re notpromoting it throughout thewhole bank. It’s something we doas individuals.” To be admittedto the bank, the dogs must befriendly, on a leash, not barking,and well-behaved.

Safdari noted that even after

(See LVPAC, page 4)

(See DOGS, page 12)

Axis Community Health is reg-istering patients in its ACE(Alameda County Excellence)program. ACE is a new county-funded program that is designedto better meet the needs of pa-tients with diabetes, congestiveheart failure and hypertension(high blood pressure).

ACE participants are unin-sured Alameda County residentsbetween the ages of 19 and 64who meet income requirements.They must be US citizens or legalresidents for at least five years.Depending on income levels, pri-mary care medical visits are ei-ther entirely free of charge or in-clude a nominal co-pay for visitsand prescriptions.

“The program is designed toprevent chronically-ill patientsfrom falling through the cracks byoffering them comprehensive casemanagement and good preventa-tive care,” says Sylvia Madrid,Axis’ ACE Case Manager. “Westrive to keep them as healthypossible, reducing emergencyroom visits and loweringhealthcare costs at the same time.”

ACE services include outpa-tient medical care at Axis Com-munity Health, laboratory tests,prescription coverage and health

The City of Pleasanton’sParatransit Service (PPS) plansto expand its Downtown Routeto include Wal-Mart, StoneridgeShopping Center, ValleyCareMedical Center and KaiserPermanente beginning Friday,July 11, 2008. A pilot downtownroute offering same-day fixedroute transit service waslaunched in January 2008. The

education. Eligible patients arealso eligible for free or low costoptometry and podiatry ser-vices.

ACE patients are assigned“health coaches,” who give thempersonal attention and addresstheir individual concerns. Pa-tients are provided with educa-tional materials to help preventthe worsening of their condi-tions as well as appointment re-minders to ensure their condi-tions are being monitored regu-larly. Health coaches ensure thatpatients understand their doc-tors’ instructions and the pre-scription medications they re-ceive. Spanish translation is pro-vided when it is needed.

“ACE is an excellent new pro-gram and, currently, we haveroom to enroll more patients init,” adds Axis CEO SueCompton. “As with any effortto stay healthy, it is a real ben-efit to have a partner or advo-cate who helps the individualstay on track. That support isthe foundation of ACE and isalready proving to be very ef-fective.”

Information about the ACEprogram is available by callingSylvia Madrid at 201-6057.

New Program Takes onChronically Ill Patients

new route has been in great de-mand and users sought a routeexpansion to other destinations.

Pleasanton recreation super-visor Pam Deaton said that thedowntown route service has ex-ceeded expectations. The routehas gone from an average of 13riders per day to 18, which wasthe target goal for the end of the

Pleasanton ExpandingDowntown Paratransit Route

(See ROUTE, page 4)

PAGE 2 - The Independent, JULY 10, 2008

4-H/FFA Fair WinnersThe Agricultural Community of

Alameda County would like to con-gratulate the 4-H and FFA championsand their leaders of the 2008 AlamedaCounty Fair Livestock competitionincluding the students from LivermoreHigh Schools Ag Dept. Also, con-gratulations and thank you to all theparticipants for working so hard tofinish their projects.

Champions are: beef, supremechampion market beef and overall 4-Hchampion market beef, Frankie Imhof;overall 4-H reserve champion marketBeef, Kara Glaze; overall FFA cham-pion market beef, Breanne Maggy;overall FFA reserve champion marketbeef, Carly Rose;

Other beef champions: 4-H cham-pion market steer, Frankie Imhof; KatieRicart, Stephanie Hammerschmidt; 4-H reserve champion market steer, KaraGlaze, Haley Imhof, AlexandraCastello; 4-H showmanship marketbeef, Jessie Peterson, Cathy Scroggins,Cash Kuhn; FFA showmanship marketbeef, Danielle Harvey, Bronti Phillips;

Sheep: supreme champion marketsheep and overall 4-H champion mar-ket sheep, Jimmy Bennett; overall 4-Hreserve champion market sheep, RyanStoneham; overall FFA championmarket sheep, Kyle Koell; overall FFAreserve champion market sheep, Jes-sica Morris;

Other sheep champions: championFFA market lamb, Jimmy Bennett,Kelsie Bowles, Ryan Stoneham, JustinLuthi;

Swine: overall 4-H champion swine,Kaitlyn Rose; overall 4-H reserve cham-pion swine, Jimmy Bennett; overallFFA champion swine, Leslie Tsuda;overall FFA reserve champion swine,Brook Toledo;

Other swine champions include:champion FFA market swine, JulieBlack, Brook Toledo, Austin Griffith,Leslie Tsuda, Frankie Imhof, BillyHammett, Andrew Imhof, Kaitlyn Rose,Jordan Ott, Rachel Fisher; reserve cham-pion FFA market swine, Kristin Shade,Julie Black, Haley Cook, Frankie Imhof,Sean Gallagher, Travis Egan, RichelleBrozosky, Jimmy Bennett, Craig Nunes,Hewey Burnett;

Goats: overall 4-H champion goats,Justin Luthi; overall 4-H reserve cham-pion goats, Katie Ricart; supreme cham-pion goats, FFA champion goats, re-serve champion goats, Kyle Koell;

Landscape: FFA Horse crew 2, 1stplace; other FFA 1st and 3rd placeribbons.

Happy Birds PerformThe Livermore Public Library will

be presenting the performing parrotshow “Happy Birds” on July 12 as partof the library’s Summer Reading Game,“Catch the Reading Bug @ Your Li-brary.”

The Happy Birds are a team ofperforming parrots that, along withtheir trainers Ed & Julie Cardoza, havebeen entertaining audiences since 1989.The birds’ feats include bike riding,roller skating, singing opera, playing

basketball and doing animal impres-sions. The Happy Birds have appearedon television on The Tonight Show,The Ellen Show, America’s FunniestHome Videos, and Animal Planet.

The Happy Birds will perform Sat-urday, July 12th at the Livermore Pub-lic Library’s Springtown branch, lo-cated at 998 Bluebell Drive. This freeperformance will begin at 11am, andwill take place outside the library.

The Livermore Public Library’s“Catch the Reading Bug @ Your Li-brary” Summer Reading Game is a freeprogram for all young people and theirfamilies. The Summer Reading Gamebegins June 13, and ends August 16,2008. Click on the Summer ReadingGame link from the Livermore PublicLibrary’s web site http://www.livermore.lib.ca.us or call 373-5504 for more information.

Kidgits Club ActivitiesAll Kidgits are invited to join in for

summer fun at our Swim Safe and StayFit event at Stoneridge Shopping Cen-ter on Sat., July 19. The day features aspecial bubble show by BubblesmithSterling Johnson and photos withDolphie, the American SwimAcademy’s mascot.

The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire De-partment will be there to let kids test outbeing a firefighter on a fire engine. TheEast Bay SPCA will also be in atten-dance to teach kids about animal safety.Just Dogs Gourmet is offering a freeleash, collar and ID tag for anyone whoadopts an animal during the event.

Simon Kidgits Club is open to kidsages 3-8. For information go towww.simonkidgitsclub.com.

Sign up at Guest Services and redeivecomplete program details as well as aschedule of events for the year. Theannual membership fee is $5 per mem-ber.

Activities are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the

grand court at Stoneridge ShoppingCenter in Pleasanton.

History TalkLoretta Kaskey will be the guest

speaker at the Livermore Heritage Guildprogram on Wed., July 16th.

She has been actively involved withthe Livermore Heritage Guild and theCity of Livermore Heritage Preserva-tion Commission for a number of years.She has found a niche in researchingher own southside home. In addition,she has conducted research on somechapters of the very popular ”EarlyLivermore Book."

She will discuss how to researcholder houses or buildings in a commu-nity.

The History Lecture will be at theCivic Center Library, 1188 S. Liver-more Ave., Livermore. Doors open at7 pm, talk is at 7:30 pm. Come early forrefreshment and conversation. Opento everyone, membership not required.A $2 donation is suggested. For moreinformation call 443-9740.

World War II VeteransA lecture by veterans of World War

II, “Stories and Recollections” will beheld at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 17, at theLynnewood United Methodist Church,4444 Black Ave., Pleasanton.

Admission is $5 for members; $10for non-members. Memberships willbe available that night for purchase. Noreservations are necessary. Informa-tion, call 925-462-2766.

The lecture is presented by theMuseum On Main Street with a missionof of enriching community life througheducation and preservation.

Ice Cream SocialThe City of San Ramon and the San

Ramon Historic Foundation is hosting

its annual Old-Fashioned Ice CreamSocial on Friday, July 18 from 6:00 to8pm at Forest Home Farms, 19953 SanRamon Valley Boulevard.

Live entertainment will feature theHot Rods playing rocking hits from the1950’s. The Tri-Valley Chevy ClassicClub will display restored 1955-1957Chevys. In addition, there will bechildren’s crafts and games, sheep dogdemonstrations, tractor rides, tours ofthe farm and of course, free ice cream.

Save money by pre-registering foronly $3.00. Register by calling (925)973-3200. Cost at the gate is $5.00. Formore information, call Forest HomeFarms at (925) 973-3284.

Youth Court VolunteersHigh school summer volunteers are

needed for Tri-Valley Youth Court(TVYC) to serve as Jurors and Advo-cates.

TVYC meets the first Tuesdayevening of each month at the Gale/Schenone courthouse in Pleasantonfrom 5:30 - 7:45 pm. For more infor-mation, visit our website atwww.trivalleyyouthcourt.com or callTonya at (925) 337-7175.

The Great OutdoorsMatt Johanson, author, skier,

climber, presents a slideshow of hisfavorite ski trip (Yosemite to Mam-moth), best climb (El Capitan) andradical hike (to the top of Mt. Lyell) atthe Pleasanton Library on Thurs., July17 at 7 p.m.

Pleasanton Public Library is at 400Old Bernal Ave. The program is freeand open to all. No registration re-quired.

For more information, call Penny

Johnson, 931-3405.

Shot ClinicsAxis Community Health has sched-

uled its free summer immunizationclinics for children on July 12, August2 and September 6, 2008, from 9:00-11:30 a.m. The clinics will take placeat Axis’ Pleasanton Clinic only locatedat 4361 Railroad Avenue in downtownPleasanton.

Saturday Immunization clinics areopen to all Tri-Valley families who arelow income or uninsured, includingthose enrolled in Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal Managed Care. Parents should bringchild’s immunization records and in-formation about family income andmedical insurance. There is a fee forsome immunizations.

Immunization appointments arealso available at (925) 462-1755.

VALLEY ROUNDUPThe Independent, JULY 10, 2008 - PAGE 3

Veterans WorkshopCongressman Jerry McNerney (CA-11) will

hold a Veterans Assistance Workshop in Pleas-anton this Saturday, July 12 in conjunction withVFW Post 6298.

The Veterans Assistance Workshop will beheld at the Veterans Memorial Hall on Main St.in downtown Pleasanton from 10 a.m. to noon.

The workshop will feature service providerswho can aid local veterans in filing VA claimsand obtaining or replacing service medals. In-formation regarding employment and educa-tional opportunities will also be available.

Service providers include: VA Oakland Re-gional Office, Alameda and Contra CostaCounty Veteran Services Offices, Las PositasCollege Veterans Program, Cal State East BayVeterans Assistance Program, Palo Alto HealthCare System, Blue Star Moms, East Bay Chap-ter #10, Alameda County Workforce InvestmentBoard, and Swords to Ploughshares.

“Too often, the brave men and women whoserve in our nation’s Armed Forces return homeeither unaware of the many services and ben-efits available to them as veterans or find it dif-ficult to navigate the process to receive suchbenefits,” Rep. McNerney said. “The workshopwill help veterans in our community learn aboutand apply for the benefits they have earned.”

A flyer with information about the event isavailable on Rep. McNerney’s web site at http:// m c n e r n e y . h o u s e . g o v / p d f /workshop_pleasanton.pdf. For more informa-tion, contact Rep. McNerney’s Pleasanton of-fice at 925-737-0727.

Relay Raises Over $211,000Over one thousand participants and hundreds

of volunteers braved triple digit heat to takepart in the annual Relay for Life on June 21.

The Livermore Relay for Life raised over$211,000. It was the largest turnout ofparticipants in the history of the event.

Throughout the day and into the night peoplewalked for a cure. A handful of people walkedthe entire 23 hours.

Among those who helped to make this year’sevent a success were the National CharityLeague, Tri-Valley Eagles, Carl’s Jr., LivermoreLions and many other volunteers and sponsors.

Water Saving HeroesZone 7 Water Agency has joined other Bay

Area water agencies to launch a regional pub-lic education campaign aimed at reminding resi-dents and businesses to curb water use this sum-mer and fall. The effort comes as California facesits first statewide drought in 16 years and amidstgrowing concerns about the future of water sup-plies from the Delta and other sources.

The “Water Saving Hero” campaign featuresordinary people adopting simple water conser-vation practices. The campaign will soon blan-ket radio and television airwaves, billboards,transit stations, buses, trains and websitesthroughout the region. The effort also features awebsite, www.WaterSavingHero.com, whereBay Area residents can link directly to learnlocal water agency’s conservation tips and cashrebate information.

“After two of the driest winters in our state’shistory and with climate change upon us, a re-gional campaign is a powerful way to remind usall in the Bay Area that water is not an infiniteresource and that we all must do what we can toconserve as much as we can – and to avoid wast-ing water,” said Zone 7 General Manager JillDuerig.

Zone 7 is the water wholesaler for Pleasan-ton, Livermore, Dublin and Dougherty Valleyin San Ramon, and has requested customers tovoluntary reduce usage this year by at least 10percent.

The more than $1 million “Water SavingHero” campaign is a partnership among elevenBay Area water agencies and organizations fromthe nine Bay Area counties, including Zone 7,the Alameda County Water District (ACWD),Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency(BAWSCA), Contra Costa Water District(CCWD), East Bay Municipal Utility District(EBMUD), Marin Municipal Water District(MMWD), City of Napa, Santa Clara ValleyWater District (SCVWD), San Francisco PublicUtilities Commission (SFPUC), Solano CountyWater Agency and Sonoma County WaterAgency. The campaign is funded by Bay Areawater agencies, but will be reimbursed by a grantfrom the California Department of Water Re-sources.

“Drought, struggling ecosystems, aging in-frastructure and the effects of climate changeare converging to create the most serious watercrisis we’ve seen in 50 years,” said TimothyQuinn, executive director of the Association ofCalifornia Water Agencies (ACWA). “The BayArea is affected just as much as every other partof the state."

The campaign ads and billboards will run atleast through the summer and early fall 2008.To learn more about the “Water Saving Hero”campaign, view the ads or link directly to yourlocal water agency’s conservation tips and cashrebates, visit www.WaterSavingHero.com. Zone7’s website can be visited directly atwww.zone7water.com.

CorrectionThe Independent Magazine story about art-

ist Zina Alqassab Fattah and Project Art Bridgehad an incorrect headline. It should have read“Iraqi Culture” not “Iranian Culture.”

Friends of Pleasanton Seniors(FPS) is undertaking an ambi-tious goal of raising $10,000 tobuy laptop computers for thePleasanton Senior Center thissummer.

Board member Keith McKaysaid that the goal is to get 10 com-puters, fully equipped with pro-grams.

The FPS donated one note-book computer, on a list of thingsit has provided to the center. Thesole computer has proven sopopular, there obviously is a de-mand for more of them, saidMcKay.

The Museum On Main Street,603 Main Street, Pleasanton isoffering children’s and familysummer programs.

The “Once Upon A Time” se-ries for pre-schoolers and firstgraders presents “Red, White andBlue: Our Heritage and Flag” tobe held from 4-6 p.m. on Satur-day, July 19 at the museum. Thisreading and activity program willfocus on American heritage andthe history of the flag. The pro-gram includes patriotic-themedcrafts and games along with asnack. Fee is $10 per child. Reg-istration for this event is at themuseum and must be completedby Thursday, July 17 at 4 p.m.

“Lark in the Park visits MollerPark” - At this family event, learnabout the history of Moller Parkand the Heritage Family it isnamed for from 9 a.m. to 12 noon,on Sunday, July 27 at MollerPark, 5500 Pleasant Hill Road,Pleasanton. There is no fee to at-tend. No reservations needed.Learn about the park’s connec-tion to the gold rush era. For asmall fee, participants can pan forgold or fossils.

“Lark in the Park visitsDelucchi Park” - At this familyevent, learn about the history ofDelucchi Park from 9 a.m. to 12noon, Sunday, June 29 at 4501First Street, Pleasanton and the

The computers won’t be leav-ing the senior center. However,people can take them to variousrooms for different activities.“They can send e-mail, pursue acraft or hobby, look for vacationsavings, or learn about some-thing new,” said McKay.

Once the computers are pur-chased, it will be possible to starta class in how to use them andthe variety of software on thecomputers.

The group plans to ask for in-dividual and corporate dona-tions of cash, or computers. Also

welcome, would be contacts whomight be able to get a discounton computer purchases.

Donations are now being so-licited and are tax-deductiblethrough an affiliation with theTri-Valley Community Founda-tion. To donate cash or equip-ment, please contact the Friendsof Pleasanton Seniors at (925)398-8155, or send a check to TheFriends of Pleasanton Seniors,5353 Sunol Boulevard, Pleasan-ton, CA 94566. Credit card do-nations can also be accepted bycalling (925) 398-8155.

Heritage Family it is named for.Find out about the park’s con-nection to the Jackson-PerkinsRose growers that were in Pleas-anton. There is no fee to attend.No reservations needed. Makepaper roses for a small fee.

Pleasanton Friends of SeniorsHope to Purchase Ten Computers

Contact (925) 462-2766 oroffice@museumonmain.orgVisit www.museumonmain.org.The museum is open Wednesdaythrough Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

Museum to Host Children's Programs

PAGE 4 - The Independent, JULY 10, 2008

EDITORIAL

(INLAND VALLEY PUBLISHING CO.)

Publisher: Joan Kinney SeppalaAssociate Publisher: David T. Lowell

Editor: Janet ArmantroutSales Manager: Jessica Scherer

The Independent is published every Thursday at 2250 First St., Livermore, CA 94550(Mailing address: PO Box 1198, Livermore, CA 94551)

The Independent is delivered by the United States Post Office.Advertising rates and subscription rates may be obtained by calling

(925) 447-8700 during regular business hours. • Fax: (925) 447-0212 E-MAIL: editmail@compuserve.com

Town Hall Call-InIn a recent editorial, we praised Congressman Jerry

McNerney (D-Pleasanton) for his constituent reach-outefforts.

At that time he had inaugurated a program calledCongress at Your Corner, involving visits by him to the“hot spots” — big stores, malls, etc. — where largenumbers of citizens can be found on any given day.

Since then, McNerney has taken his constituent reach-out to an even greater level. On June 27 he went high-tech with that noble American institution, the town hallmeeting, holding an hour-long session in which con-stituents vented their concerns to him from their homesvia a special phone call-in setup.

Participation has never been higher. Traditional con-stituency meetings draw 40 or 50 voters. Some 2300participated in the call-in.

The congressman reportedly enjoyed the dialogueand plans to hold more of these town hall call-ins. Weencourage him to do so. It delights us to see that inJerry McNerney’s 11th Congressional District, partici-patory democracy seems to grow stronger every day.

and, if so, the chair in the follow-ing year. From that position, shesaid that she could “focus addi-tional attention on our transpor-tation and infrastructure needs inthe Valley.

Councilmember CindyMcGovern has served one termon the council. She said that shehas not decided whether to fileagain for her seat. She said that ifshe did run, it would not likelybe for the office of mayor.

McGovern mentioned thelong campaigns for the majorparty presidential nominations.She said didn’t want to prolongthe council race by making a de-cision long before the close offiling for November 4.

Pleasanton Councilman MattSullivan’s term also expires. Hesaid he will run for re-election.

“The biggest reason I’ll runfor re-election is that we’ve seena dramatic shift in the city coun-cil majority, toward business anddevelopment interests, awayfrom representing common citi-zens, and (away from consider-ation of) impacts of developmenton neighborhoods, and even(away from) public participa-tion,” said Sullivan.

“The city council has a longhistory of opening the process tothe public by making sure thereare committees or even directdemocracy. This council took asharp turn away from that. I wantto make sure we have indepen-dent representation on the coun-cil, that it’s focused on grassrootsissues, and implements somekind of basic democracy,” saidSullivan.

There has been speculationthat Councilman Jerry Thornemight run for the mayor’s seat.However, he told the Indepen-dent, “It’s way too early to closeany doors, but it’s not likely.” Headded, “I don’t know what mightcome up, so I won’t slam doors.However, I’m not interestednow.”

In Pleasanton, a filing fee of$25 is required when filing nomi-nation documents. In addition,candidates may submit an op-tional statement of qualificationsfor a charge of $255 that will beprinted in the sample ballot andmailed to all registered voters.For more information, prospec-tive candidates are encouragedto schedule an appointment withthe City Clerk's office by calling(925) 931-5027.

LIVERMORE SCHOOLSMAY SEE COMPETITION

In Livermore, school board in-cumbent Tom McLaughlin saidhe plans to run for re-election.“Some things are being put inplace that I feel will be benefi-cial for all students. I’d like tosee them carried through,” saidMcLaughlin.

He mentioned the new trimes-ter system for the high schools,which he said is so flexible it willoffer many more academic oppor-tunities for students.

The other Livermore schooltrustee whose term expires is BillMorrison. He said, “I haven’tthought about it yet.” He saidthat he “might not run again. Iwill keep an eye on it. If some-one comes along who is good forthe board, I’d encourage them.”

Morrison served one full term,after being appointed in Decem-ber 2003, to replace a formerboard member.

One Livermore resident whodoes intend to run for the schoolboard is retired Livermore-Pleas-anton fire chief Stewart Gary. Hehas attended board orientationmeetings for potential candi-dates. One was sponsored by thedistrict, the other by the district’steachers union, which was infor-mational for union representa-tives, but not an endorsementsession.

Gary said he sees running forthe board as a way to continuehis public service to the commu-

nity after retiring from the firedepartment. He has a child inhigh school, and another who hasgraduated, and is in college. Hesaid that the same skills aboutbudgets and negotiating withemployees would work as wellin the service of the district asthey did in working for the firedepartment.

Chuck Rogge, who attendedone of the orientation sessionsabout the school board, said thathe is thinking about running. “Ithink the board can do better. Ihave a daughter in kindergarten,so I am becoming active inschools.” He said that while hedoesn’t have the big picture, heis knows about the day-to-daythings, the details that make upthe big picture.

Rogge coaches track at Liv-ermore High School, and grew upin Livermore. He stays home toraise his daughter, and his wife isthe “income person in the fam-ily.”

Livermore school board can-didates can file in either Alamedaor Contra Costa county.

BOTH L.A.R.P.D.INCUMBENTS TO RUNBeth Wilson and Steve

Goodman are the two incumbentswhose terms expire on the Liver-more Area Recreation and ParkDistrict (LARPD) board. Theyboth plan to run for reelection

Wilson was appointed in Au-gust 2007 after Dale Turnermoved away from the district.

She said she has enjoyed theoffice, and “cares passionatelyabout the programs, especiallygetting kids outdoors.” The statetakes 48 percent of the LARPDbudget, but the district has beencreative in being a leader of cre-ating innovative recreation pro-grams, said Wilson.

Before moving to a job atLLNL, Goodman worked as astaff person for the LARPD fornearly 20 years. Now that he is inthe role of board member, he stillenjoys continuing to work withstaff. He also praised the boardfor its good interaction.

Appointments to pick up andsubmit official nomination docu-ments may be made at the LARPD

office in Livermore by calling925-373-5725. Nominationdocuments may also be pickedup and submitted, by appoint-ment only, to the Registrar ofVoters office in Oakland, be-tween July 14 and Aug. 8. Reachthe Registrar of Voters at 510-272-6933.MERTES, VECCHIARELLI

WILL RUN AGAINIn the Chabot-Las Positas

Community College District,Barbara Mertes, who representsLivermore and a part of Pleasan-ton, said that she will run for athird term. Board president CarloVecchiarelli, who represents mostof Pleasanton and all of Dublin,will seek his second term.

Mertes lives in Livermore, andis the founding dean of LasPositas College. She said, “Wehave so many excellent projectsthat we have begun, I’d like tosee some of them to come to frui-tion. We worked hard on thebond issue to improve our build-ings. We have accelerated thebuilding process, so some willcome very soon into fruition. It’swonderful to see expansion atour sites.”

Vecchiarelli, a former profes-sor and administrator at Chabotcollege, lives in Pleasanton. Heis currently president of the col-lege board. He said that he isproud that the district has a bal-anced budget, unlike some dis-tricts in California, and a 5 per-cent reserve fund. Vecchiarellisaid he wants to see Las Positasgrow to a full service campus bybuilding all of its Measure Bprojects.

An umpire in Valley softballand baseball games, he is espe-cially interested in expandingsoftball and baseball at LasPositas. “There is an academi-cally excellent program at LasPositas. I want to see that areagrow. I also want to make sure wehave a home for veterans, whenthey use their benefits (from thenew GI Bill passed by Con-gress),” said Vecchiarelli.

When he was on the Chabotstaff, Vecchiarelli was advisor toa club for 800 veterans, most ofwhom were returning from theVietnam War.

OPEN SPACE(continued from page one)

sheds, state parks, and regionalconservation easements.

Save Mount Diablo at any onetime may be holding 1000 acres.Sometimes there is almost instantturnover to a district. At the otherextreme, the group has held aproperty for 15 years.

One growing area of preser-vation involves landownersgranting conservation ease-ments. The easements acquiredby Save Mount Diablo usuallywind up in the hands of othernon-profits. However, the grouphas begun to hold conservationeasements in the Marsh Creekarea, which is at the foot ofMount Diablo. “We may end upwith some in the long term,” saidAdams.

At the group’s beginning, thefocus was on Mount Diablo.Later it branched out to other ar-eas, all east of Interstate 680. TheAltamont is the most recent areaof interest. Adams said he couldnot talk about any potential ac-quisition there, because of thesensitivity of negotiations.

Preserving the land is paying

ELECTION(continued from page one)

host to over 180 events in the2008-09 season featuring thetheater’s resident and visitingcompanies. The full line-up ofevents will be available in earlyAugust.

The Bankhead Theater is lo-cated at 2400 First Street inDowntown Livermore. The ticketoffice is open Tuesday throughSaturday from 12:00 noon to6:00 p.m. To purchase tickets call925-373-6800, or visit theLVPAC websitewww.livermoreperformingarts.org.

LVPAC(continued from page one)

year. Total rides rose from 527 inthe first quarter of the year to 846in the second quarter.

Deaton said, “I am excitedabout extending service to getpeople farther out into the com-munity. It connects people toother services they might need,such as ValleyCare and Kaiser.”

Seniors currently can reachtheir destinations using regularparatransit service. However,they must book at least one ortwo days ahead. Many peoplehave needs that come up. Theywant to have more flexibility, saidDeaton.

The expansion also includesthe addition of Friday service for

ROUTE(continued from page one)

Plays, concerts and other artsevents are central to the civichealth of a community, Liver-more Rotary Club members weretold at their July 2 luncheonmeeting at Doubletree Hotel.

Lisa Tromovitch, producingartistic director of LivermoreShakespeare Festival, made astrong case for the positive im-pact of the arts on individuallives. Those involved in arts ac-tivities “have a more robust life,”she said, quoting the NationalEndowment for the Arts. An NEAreport offers evidence that theyvolunteer more and are more ac-tive in all facets of communitylife.

The arts provide a communityexperience, she stated, whereideas can be expressed and ex-changed, a good thing in a demo-cratic society. When fascist gov-ernments come to power, shecontinued, “The first thing theydo is shut down the people whotalk a lot.”

Perhaps more telling for thebusiness oriented Rotary mem-ber were her arguments that astrong arts presence helps a com-munity grow and thrive eco-nomically.

Tromovitch noted that 86 per-cent of audiences at the OregonShakespeare festival in Ashland,Oregon, travel from California,

many if not most from the BayArea.

“Those same people can becultural tourists to Livermore,”she said with missionary zeal.“Those who come to see theshows can also stay in the hotels,go to the restaurants and do alittle shopping.”

She based her remarks on2004 California Arts Council sta-tistics that report nonprofit artsgroups poured $5.4 billion an-nually into the state’s economyand generated nearly $300 mil-lion in state and local taxes.

Livermore’s share of the piecan only increase, she declared.“The downtown revitalizationhas started and the Bankhead(Theater) has helped. But we cando more.”

Her own company is doingmore this summer. Now in its sixthyear, the festival (part ofShakespeare’s Associates) hasexpanded to two summer com-edies, “Twelfth Night” and thefirst American production of“The Compleat Works of WllmShkspr (abridged) (revised),”opening in July. A new outdoorvenue at Concannon Vineyarddoubles the audience space. Thenew location offers reserved seat-ing, adequate parking and an oldVictorian home as a backdrop.

Rotary Learns EconomicBenefits of the Arts

off in protection of species habi-tat. Save Mount Diablo periodi-cally conducts a “BioBlitz.”Adams described it as a 24-hoursnapshot in which “we record ev-ery species we can. In a recentBioBlitz on a Concord site,which the group acquired in early2007, an adult California red-legged frog and seven rare plantswere seen.

the new Downtown Route,which is made possible througha Measure B grant from theAlameda County TransportationImprovement Authority(ACTIA). The $240,038 in grantmonies will be used to purchaseanother 23-passenger bus, stafftime, and funds to cover the ex-pansion service.

Operating throughout down-town Pleasanton, the initial ser-vice connected senior housingcomplexes to the Main Streetarea, anchored by the Safewayand Raley’s shopping centers.The expanded service will nowadd several of the major retail andmedical centers in Pleasanton

that are also key destinations forseniors.

The service also includes astop at the First and Neal Streetstransfer point for WHEELS,where passengers ages 65-pluscan travel free between the hoursof 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. eachMonday through Friday.

Four of the Friday stops willput people at Wheels bus stopson the Number 10 line, which isthe workhorse line. It connectswith BART, and Dublin and Liv-ermore. Seniors ride free onWheels from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. onweekdays.

On all five days, theparatransit runs will stop in frontof the Museum on Main, whichis “a great win for everyone.There are benches there, and adrinking fountain. The museumis there (to visit),” said Deaton.

The Pleasanton post office hasbeen added as a stop for all fivedays. It’s important not only forpostal business, but also has alarge medical complex only ablock away. It’s also one blockfrom the swimming facilities inAmador Park.

“I love the downtown route,”says Sue Schnite, a resident atRidgeview Commons. “For just$1.25 I have the freedom andconvenience of travel right at mydoorstep. Vickie, our DowntownRoute driver, is very considerateand a big part of what makes thisa fabulous program,” she adds.

The service is available to anyeligible Pleasanton ParatransitService rider and is best suitedfor those with minimal mobilitylimitations. The hours of serviceare Monday through Friday from9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with stopsat the following senior housingcomplexes: Ridge View Com-mons, Gardens at Ironwood,Pleasanton Gardens, Kottinger

Place, Stanley Junction, andVineyard and Hacienda mobilehome parks.

The regular PPS is a Mondayto Saturday, door-to-door sharedride transportation program forPleasanton and Sunol residents60 years of age, or older, andAmericans with Disabilities Act(ADA) eligible residents. PPSprovides rides to any locationwithin Pleasanton city limits andadjacent unincorporated areas,with some medical destinationsin surrounding cities. Advancereservations are required for thisprogram and fees are charged foreach one-way ride. For more in-formation, please call the Pleas-anton Paratransit Service Officeat (925) 931-5376, or visitwww.ci.pleasanton.ca.us.

The Downtown Route mini-bus is available to all eligiblePleasanton Paratransit Serviceriders at one half the cost of atypical PPS ride, or $1.25 for ser-vice all day throughout down-town Pleasanton.

To sign up for the paratransitservice, people must be at least60 years old, or qualified throughthe Americans With DisabilitiesAct. No one under 18 is eligible.

Tickets for the service are$1.25, compared to the $2.50 forthe regular, reserve-aheadparatransit service. They may bepurchased only at the Pleasan-ton Senior Center, $10 for a bookof eight rides. They may also bepurchased by writing to the se-nior center, 5353 Sunol Boule-vard.

Scholarships are available forup to $200 per year for qualifiedseniors. They may be used for thebus tickets, as well as some otherPleasanton recreation departmentactivities. For more information,call the paratransit office at 931-5376.

Lawrence Livermore Na-tional Laboratory researchersgarnered three awards for beingamong the top 100 industrial in-novations worldwide in 2007,developing advanced technolo-gies with commercial potential.

Three teams of Lab scientistsand engineers have won plaquesfrom the trade journal R&DMagazine for their efforts. Theyworked with two industrial col-laborators and one national in-frastructure institute.

Often known as the “Oscarsof invention,” this year’s R&D100 awards will be presentedOct. 16 during a black-tie din-ner in the Grand Ballroom ofChicago’s Navy Pier.

With this year’s awards, theLaboratory has captured a totalof 121 such awards since 1978.Department of Energy (DOE)labs received a total of 27 R&D100 awards in this year’s judg-ing.

This year’s R&D 100 awards

won by LLNL could prove help-ful in homeland security, fusionenergy and in studying ultrafastmaterial processes on the bil-lionth of a meter scale.

Making cargo more secureLLNL scientists and engineers,in collaboration with SecureBox Corp. of Santa Clara and theNational Infrastructure InstituteCenter for Infrastructure Exper-tise of Portsmouth , N.H., havedeveloped a low-cost, reliable,reusable advanced cargo con-tainer security system to improvethe security of cargo containersduring shipping.

The device, known asSecureBox, reliably detects in-trusions through any of thecontainer’s six walls. If a breachoccurs at any point during tran-sit, SecureBox generates alarmreports to authorized individu-als anywhere along the supplychain.

SecureBox’s end-to-endmonitoring permits early detec-

tion of an intrusion, leading totimely interdiction of potentialnational security threats. Thedevice also serves as a threat de-terrent.

SecureBox has a high prob-ability of detection and a lowfalse alarm rate, along with pro-viding effective intrusion detec-tion with minimal disruption tothe flow of commerce.

In the effort to developnuclear fusion, Livermore re-searchers and engineers have de-veloped a “hands-off” systemthat directs and aligns multiplehigh-energy laser beams to en-able controlled man-made fusionreactions. The system, known asthe autonomous alignment pro-cess for laser fusion systems, orAAPLF, was developed forLLNL’s National Ignition Facil-ity (NIF).

A team of Livermore scientistsand engineers has developed thedynamic transmission electronmicroscope (DTEM), which pro-vides the highest resolution ever

for digital imaging of ultrafastmaterial processes on the bil-lionth of a meter scale. This workhas been done in collaborationwith JEOL USA Inc., a Peabody,Mass.-based company.

Unlike conventional trans-mission electron microscopes,DTEM captures never-before-seen details of material processesin rapid 15-billionth-of-a-sec-ond, single-shot exposures.

With the use of the DTEMtechnology, scientists will beable to accurately predict howmaterials will behave understrenuous conditions, such asapplied stresses, extreme tem-perature changes and corrosiveenvironments, as well as providenew insight for the engineeringof advanced materials.

In the development of theDTEM technology, the Labora-tory received support from theOffice of Science, Office of Ba-sic Energy Sciences, Division ofMaterials Sciences and Engi-neering, of DOE.

Lab Researchers Named R&D Award Winners

All major donors to the Ro-tary Foundation of Livermore’sMobile Medical Health Unitproject were invited to attend anappreciation reception held re-cently at Concannon Vineyard.The health unit, operated andmaintained by ValleyCare HealthSystem, was on display at the re-ception allowing the major do-nors to tour the facility and heartestimonials on the services itprovides.

Both large and small do-nataions from businesses andindividuals in the tri-valley areaallowed the local Rotary Foun-dation to purchase the 39-foot,

custom-made unit which it do-nated to the ValleyCare HealthSystem with the proviso that itbe used to provide medical carefor people who could not affordit. ValleyCare uses the unit toprovide care at schools, seniorcenters and other places. It alsoprovides a health-care option incase of a major disaster.

The foundation recognizedthe support from the followingmajor donors: Anonomyous, Bar-bara Hickman, Barbara Mertes,Bayview General Engineering,Inc., Brian Mayall, Carol Howell,Charles & Margaret Fracisco,Charles and Khabira Hartwig,

Christine Mohammed, DaveBedford, Livermore Car Wash,Inc., David Greiner, DavidMertes, David Norlin, Vine Land-scaping, Electrical ContractorsTrust of Alameda County, Gre-gory Arechiga, ProfessionalHome Care, Hagop Manuelian;

Inner Wheel Club of Liver-more, Jack O. Mills, Jacquie Wil-liams-Courtright, James Sum-mers, John Linn, John Shirley,Kate Runyon, Ken Coburn, Ken-neth and Simona McCartney,Kevin Drake,l Livermore RotaryClub, Lorraine Dietrich, MartinPlone, Michael Morgan, Milton

Finger, Mort Mendelsohn, NancySteele, Paul Thompson, PeterPoulsen, Richard Warga, Robert& Gretchen Rutherford, RobertBatinovich, Rotarian Founda-tion of Livermore;

Rotary Club of Livermore,Shames Construction Co., Inc.,Stewart Gary, STRZ4US, INC.,Sue Gallinger, T.J. Gilmartin,Terry McCune, TheodoreMichels, Thomas Bramell, Timo-thy Weaver, Tom Marcel, TopconPositioning Systems, Inc., W.James Hannon, Wal-Mart Stores,Inc., Weldon Moreland, and Rev.William Nebo.

Rotary Foundation Recognizes Donors to Mobile Medical Health Unit

The Independent, JULY 10, 2008 - PAGE 5

(Opinions voiced in letterspublished in Mailbox are thoseof the author and do not neces-sarily reflect the opinion of TheIndependent. Letter Policy: TheIndependent will not publishanonymous letters, nor will itpublish letters without names.Frequent letter writers may havepublication of their letters de-layed.)

School YearBill WhalenLivermore

The 2007-08 school year hasjust ended. During the year I hadthe pleasure of being the GATEParent Representative at ArroyoSeco Elementary School in Liv-ermore. In this role, I worked withthe school’s GATE Teacher Rep-resentative, Kim Whichard, toplan and execute monthly so-cials for the 98 3-5 GATE stu-dents. With limited resources, thesuccess of the events relied onthe willingness of members ofour local community to leadevents. This letter is to publiclyacknowledge and thank thesetalented individuals: Lisa Day-ton, Mark Brown (We TeachChess), Chris Dolan (LivermoreHigh School Math Teacher),Claudia Willis (Local Artist),Connie Post (Livermore’s PoetLaureate), Jerry Ball (Interna-tionally renowned Haiku Poet),Jaquie Williams-Courtright andher talented staff at Alden Lane,Steve Putz (Robotics Learning),Tim Hunt (Hunt Enterprises &Tri-Valley Herald Columnist),Jim Burt (Comcast), and FaithAlpher (KKIQ). Thank you foryour creativity, your passion, andmost importantly your gift oftime. You have enriched thelearning experience of our chil-dren and left an impression thatwill last well beyond this schoolyear.

I would also like to thankBrenda Miller, Pauline Hubenand the talented staff at the Liv-ermore Valley Joint UnifiedSchool District; the parents ofArroyo Seco GATE children whopitched in at every social; andPrincipal Bering and the tal-ented Arroyo Seco faculty andstaff. Finally, a special thanks toMs. Whichard, who is a tirelessadvocate for GATE childrenthroughout the district.

Just Go ShoppingKeith JacksonDublin

The war is Iraq is succeeding.Fewer of our soldiers are nowgetting killed. That is the onlything that matters in decidingwhether the war is successful ornot. It does not matter how manyIraqis are killed or have their livesdestroyed. After all, we are bring-ing them Democracy. It does notmatter how many of our soldiershave their bodies or mindsmaimed. They are not dead andbesides, they volunteered. (TheVA will take care of them, right?)It does not matter that we arespending 10 billion dollars amonth that we borrow from othernations to continue the war. It’snot like we need that money foranything else like providinghealth care for Americans. Onlyabout 18,000 people a year inthe United States die from lackof health care. And they aremostly poor anyway. This warmeets all the criteria necessaryfor war heroes like our Presidentand his supporters. They are,(listed in order of importance).

1. The war is not happeningin our country. (Wars are alwaysso much more romantic whenthey happen in other countries.Not so much when they happenin yours.) 2. They do not have to

fight in the war. (A true Bush pa-triot never risks his own life, onlyothers.) 3. They do not have topay for the war. (Later genera-tions can do that.) So let’s keepthis war going folks. It makes ourPresident and the other war sup-porters feel so brave. (Also, ourPresident gets to dress up and pre-tend that he has been in combat.)Keeping the war going is easy.Just do nothing.. Don’t tell yourCongressman that you do not ap-prove of war. Don’t vote or getinformed on the issues. Don’t getinvolved. Just ignore it and thewar profiteers will keep the wargoing. And if all this talk aboutwar upsets you, just go shopping.

Letter ResponseValerie RaymondPleasanton

In a recent letter Don Millerblasts critics of the proposed re-gional theater for “inflating”costs by using the figure of $250million, which includes interestas well as the cost of land, con-struction and a needed garage.

Let me draw Mr. Miller’s at-tention to page 11 of the May 22city staff report where it states:“The combined land and con-struction cost of the regional the-ater including financing wouldbe $230,900,000.” The garageadds another $19 million. It ispuzzling to be attacked merelyfor quoting numbers developedby city staff.

Trying to shoot the messen-ger may be a fun sport. It doesn’tchange the reality that the pro-posed regional theater is a veryexpensive, over-hyped, high-riskproject that, by using almost allfuture projected RedevelopmentAgency revenues, would preventthe city from making a largenumber of important and neededimprovements to the downtown.Furthermore, it would lock thecity into building 1900 condo/townhome housing units in thedowntown, displacing threeshopping centers (includingTrader Joe’s and Safeway/OSHcenters) in order to produce themonies needed to pay off the the-ater bonds.

With only 15-20% of thepopulation expected to use sucha facility, is it right to put all thecity’s eggs into this cultural bas-ket? Shouldn’t the public beasked to vote on whether this is aroad they want to go down?

Manager’s BonusDon MerucciPleasanton

The June 26 article reportingthe action of Zone 7 Manager JillDuerig’s refusal of a $4100.00merit pay bonus should havebeen put on the front page, notway back on page 7. It isn’t toolate to remedy that in next week’spaper. It is very refreshing toknow of such a civic minded pub-lic employee. I am not so naiveto think that her action wouldaffect the decision of some ofthose CEOs making gazzilionsof dollars than her to emulate heraction. But Ms. Duerig deservesa pat on the back. Maybe a pic-ture, too.

Pleasanton MayorHoward NeelyPleasanton

In a few days, applications torun for city office will be avail-able. Who will be committed totake the challenge, volunteer agreat amount of time, and whowill have that “positive energy,”which is required for the job?

Too many folks in our townthink our city council (CC) meet-ings are a place to vent their dis-likes for Pleasanton; so theymake threats and verbal attacks

towards both the city counciland other commissions. Person-ally, I appreciate all our volun-teer citizens, even when in dis-agreement.

I try to attend all CC meet-ings, as well as other commis-sions, and have concluded thatthe following people have fullqualifications to be our Mayor:

Jerry Thorne, CC member, canrun from safe seat; Cheryl Cook-Kallio, CC member, can run fromsafe seat;. Kurt Kummer, Park andRecreation Commissioner, chair-man; and David Stark, HousingCommissioner; rotating chair-man.

Downtown RedevelopmentTom ReitterFormer LivermoreCouncilmember

The proposed regional theaterhas generated some heated let-ters, but not much light.

A common example is a list ofother suggested uses for the “taxincrement” money (the extraproperty taxes generated by theredevelopment process). Nearlyall of these suggested uses are notlegally possible. Tax incrementmoney may only be spent in theredevelopment project area,which in our case is essentiallythe downtown. It cannot be spenton the Springtown golf course,paving streets that are outside ofthe downtown, BART, etc.

Tax increment money can le-gally be spent for the City’s shareof a regional performing arts the-ater in the downtown. And this isalso an appropriate use, becausea regional theater will stimulatethe downtown/redevelopmentarea—precisely the purpose of aredevelopment project.

Another complaint is that thedowntown will have to be rede-veloped to generate the tax in-crement for the theater. But that’swhat redevelopment is—redevel-opment taking place in a rede-velopment area. This is all laidout in the City’s Downtown Spe-cific Plan, which was adopted in2004. There’s nothing new here.It’s all part of a 30-year plan toget more residents and busi-nesses into the downtown area.The details of how this happensare important and are a frequentpart of the agendas for the de-sign review committee, the plan-ning commission, and the citycouncil.

The alternative to revitalizingthe downtown is to abandon thedowntown and go back to thegreenfield development on theedge of town that has made somuch of California into an ugly,automobile-dependent urbansprawl. It’s no coincidence thatsome of the leading opponentsof the regional theater favor thattype of development. (Remem-ber, for example, the PardeeHomes proposal for developmentin North Livermore?) It’s also truethat some of the leading oppo-nents opposed the local perform-ing arts theater (the Bankhead)before it became the success it istoday.

Hometown HeroPatti ColeLivermore

It was such a thrill to followLivermore High School graduateAndy Grant at the Olympic swimtrials last week. What an athlete!Thanks, Andy, for all your hardwork and determination. Youhave made Livermore proud.

Iraqi Not IranianEdward MikhailPleasanton

I am a longtime resident ofPleasanton and an American ofIraqi origin. I receive The Inde-

pendent regularly and enjoy read-ing it. I was thrilled to see anarticle on page 18 of the July2008 issue that dealt with the IraqiCulture and wrote about thebeautiful artwork of ZinaAlqassab Fattah. While I do notknow the artist Fattah, I am veryproud to see the work of an Iraqiartist recognized and Iraqi Cul-ture shared.

However, I was disappointedto note that the Title of the ar-ticle stated “Iranian Culture” in-stead of “Iraqi Culture." I dohope this was an oversight and Iwould kindly request that a cor-rection is printed in the next is-sue. I would be very pleased ifthis e-mail is shared with Eliza-beth Campos Rajs and ZinaAlqassab Fatah.

Get InvolvedSteve BrozoskyPleasanton Unified SchoolBoard Member

When I was appointed to thePleasanton School Board I madea commitment that I would notrun for that seat when it was upas I feel strongly that an incum-bent has an advantage. I wantedto ensure that any member of thepublic could run for the seat with-out having to challenge the in-cumbent. I also committed tohelping any member of the pub-lic understand the issues facingthe School Board as well as help-ing to understand the process ofrunning for office.

I have enjoyed my term onthe School Board and feel I havemade a difference especiallywhen tackling the current bud-get crisis and working to get an-other all-weather field at Foot-hill High. As a Board we havebeen able to keep our great pro-grams, including arts and sports.We even increased counselorswhile maintaining a balancedbudget. I stand by my commit-ment and will not be running forre-election.

We have great schools inPleasanton primarily because ourcommunity cares deeply aboutthem, and because so many of usvolunteer. What can be more im-portant and rewarding than look-ing over our schools? Pleasan-ton has many qualified peoplelike you who would be a greatasset to our schools as a SchoolBoard Member. Please considergiving back by running forSchool Board. Filing period isbetween July 14 and August 13.If you want to learn more aboutthe election process or the issuesthe School Board faces, contactme at steve@brozosky.com. GetInvolved.

NASCAR RaceJohn YersakLivermore

On July 3, 2008 your paperhad an article about a majorNASCAR Race heading to theAltamont Motorsports Park. Ipersonally believe that theneighbors should just deal withthis problem, since it was obvi-ously okay to have this parkbuilt. One might ponder that ifthe neighbors did not want itthey should have tried to stop itfrom being built or for any new-

comers, the park was there first.For example, a while back a Su-per Wal-Mart was supposed to bebuilt on Isabel Blvd., but peoplebanded together and stopped theproduction. So, obviouslypeople did want the park at onetime.

These complaints also remindme about an event that took placea few years back concerningLombard Street in San Franciscoor what some call the crookedstreet. This came to mind be-cause new residents complainedabout the traffic that was causedby tourists, yet they knew thehistoric value of the street andstill bought a house there. Thisbrings me to my point of if youdon’t like it then don’t movethere, after all no body has tomove to a set location. I feel that

this is something neighborsshould just have to deal with ev-ery once in a while, especiallysince the park has met some oftheir lousy demands that mightput them out of business.

Macey stated, “We want torun the park in a manner thatwould allow us to make a profit.”So, my point is that nobodywants to go to work everyday andmake no money; after all we livein an economy where buyingpossessions is what keeps oureconomy afloat. If one was tolook at this from a logical pointof view it looks like this bigNASCAR Race could get abunch of people out and in a wayhelp the economy, especiallysince The United Stateseconomy is going down the tube.

PAGE 6 - The Independent, JULY 10, 2008

Twelve senior scholar-athletes from Livermore and Granada High Schoolswere selected as this year’s winners of the Livermore-Granada BoostersOlympian Scholarship awards. Pictured above are (front, left to right) BrandonFischer, Kayleigh Torres, Andrea Lagorio, Rebecca Sabatini, Jessica Burton,Erin Osborne; (back, left to right) Andrew Engdahl, Kelly Wilgus, Justin Witt,Scott Bueno, Brett Christopher, and Jacob Sylvester

The competitive selection process began in April with more than 50nominees. These 12 were selected as finalists and made oral presentationsbefore the Boosters’ selection committee on May 5th. Video of each student’spresentation is also available at www.livermoregranadaboosters.org.

Scott Bueno (GHS), Rebecca Sabatini (GHS), Andrea Lagorio (LHS), andJacob Sylvester (LHS) were selected as the “best of the best” and received$2,000 college scholarships. The other finalists received $500 scholarships.Award plaques and scholarships were presented at the May 19th awardsbanquet. Photos from the awards banquet are available atwww.livermoregranadaboosters.org.

“We are so proud of these twelve finalists. Their accomplishments, on andoff the athletic field, are superior. Their futures are very bright and they are thekind of kids who are going to make outstanding citizens in their communities,”said 2008 Boosters President and Master of Ceremonies Al Bernal

The Livermore-Granada Boosters was organized in 1949 by a group offormer Livermore High School athletes, former students, and civic-mindedbusinessmen to foster and stimulate scholarship and athletics in our community.A list of all Olympian Scholarship winners since 1949 appear on the web siteas well.

Jr. Olympics in LivermoreYoung track and field athletes who reside

in northern and central California and north-west Nevada will compete at the USA Track& Field (USATF) Region 14 Junior OlympicTrack & Field Championships, Fridaythrough Sunday, July 11-13. Junior Olympic(JO) competition is conducted in age groupsstarting at ages 10 and under through ages 17-18. In particular, Pacific Association/USATF(PA/ USATF) athletes who have qualified forthe meet are expected to bring home champi-onship medals.

This year’s Junior Olympic Region 14Championship meet will take place at twovenues: Laney College (Oakland.) on July 11and Granada High School in Livermore, July12 and 13. The top three finishers in eachevent at the regional meet will advance to theUSATF National Junior Olympic Track &Field Championships on July 22-27, inOmaha, Neb., where over 6,000 qualifiedathletes from throughout the U.S. will par-ticipate.

Athletes qualified for the Region 14Championship event by finishing in the topeight of their events at either the PacificAssociation/USATF (PA/USATF) or Cen-tral California Association/USATF JuniorOlympic Championship meets held lastmonth.

For young athletes who compete in trackand field combined events (triathlon, pen-tathlon, heptathlon, decathlon), the USATFRegion 14 Junior Olympic Multi-EventsChampionship meet was held on June 14 and15 at Granada High School. The top twofinishers in each age group automaticallyqualified for the Junior Olympic nationalmeet.

USATF is the National Governing Bodyfor track and field, long distance running, andrace walking in the United States. The PacificAssociation is the largest member associa-tion of USATF, and serves northern Califor-nia and northwestern Nevada. Youth athletescomprise about 3,000 (50 percent) of theassociation’s approximately 6,000 mem-bers, which is the largest youth member baseamong USATF’s 57 geographic associationsthroughout the U.S. For more informationabout the Pacific Association, the 2008USATF Region 14 Junior Olympic Track &Field Championships, and results after themeet, visit our Web site at www.pausatf.org.

Volleyball Medals NorCal Volleyball Club, based out of

Pleasanton, earned two medals at this year’s2008 Junior Olympics held in Dallas, TX.

Junior Olympics is the highest level ofjunior volleyball in the nation.

NorCal 18 black earned a bronze medalin the 18 American division with BetsySedlak (Pleasanton) named to the all tourna-ment team. NorCal 16 black earned a goldmedal in the 16 National division with NikkiBaker (Pleasanton) selected as MVP andRachel Eberhard (Moraga) and Devin Shaver(Livermore) earning all tournament teamhonors.

Tumbling/TrampolineSpringtime Tumbling and Trampoline

in Livermore sent athletes to the JuniorOlympic National Championships in KansasCity, Missouri, July 1 - 6. To qualify, theseathletes won State and Regional Champion-ships.

The athletes are: Josh Browne, age 10,Christensen Middle School, LivermoreSimon Browne, age 15, Livermore HighSchool, Livermore Maya Hauk, age 15,Granada High School, Livermore HaileySchnorr, age 15, Granada High School,Livermore Bryce Wilson, age 15, VeritasHigh School, Manteca

LALL All StarsThe 9 year old Livermore American Little

League All Star team made an impressivedebut in tournament play by placing 2nd inthe Danville Tournament. In the preliminaryrounds, LALL posted a 3-0-1 record beatingGranada 12-2, Lafayette 7-5 San RamonValley 10-6 and tying Canyon Creek 4-4.LALL tied Canyon Creek for second seed buthad the third tiebreaker, run differential, to

earn a berth in the championship game.In the championship game against the 4-

0 Danville Heat, LALL fell behind 8-4.LALL rallied to score 3 runs in the bottomof the 6th with two outs but came up a bitshort, losing 8-7.

Pleasanton PhantomThe Pleasanton Phantom 10B Softball

Team won another Championship at the June21-22 South Lake Tahoe Tournament. Theteam won their first game 15-0, the secondgame 16-2, and their third game 9-2.

Finishing first in Saturday’s pool play,the team was seeded 1st place in their bracketgoing into Sunday’s games. Phantom beattheir first opponent on Sunday 16-0 and in thesemi-finals, the team scored 19 runs, shuttingout their opponent. The team was undefeatedin the tournament going into the Champion-ship game. Their opponent, Campbell Crush,had also won all five of their games. ThePhantom team’s strong pitching and excel-lent hitting triumphed over the Crush, beat-ing them 12-0 and earning the team their 3rdFirst Place Championship of the Summerseason.

The team was led by excellent pitchingfrom Maddy Duval, Katey Moore and JanelleTanis—the three pitchers allowed only 4 runsduring the entire 6 game tournament. Theteam was supported by strong defensiveplayers: Casey Eddy, catcher, Jennifer Ng at2nd base, Kenzi Schlag at 3rd base, andMaddy Duval and Janelle Tanis at first base. Strong offensive players included: ChristinaEchavia, hitting a Grand Slam, Janelle Taniswith a 3 run homer, Jilli Pluschkell, CourtneyHennings, Casey Eddy, Alana Mendez, Jen-nifer Ng, Kenzi Schlag, Maddy Duval, KateyMoore and Chelsey Eddy, who had multiplehits, stole multiple bases and batted in theirteammates to another Championship. ThePhantom 10B team is coached by TomRoush, Dave Duval and Pete Schlag.

Revolver ChampJohn Bagakis of Livermore, won five of

the 12 stages and led the field the entire wayto capture the 2008 Revolver Division Cham-pionship at the United States Practical Shoot-ing Association’s (USPSA) Area 1 matchheld June 26-29 in Sherwood, Oregon.

“John Bagakis is one of the top revolvershooters in the Western U.S. and winning theArea 1 match by more than 100 match pointsshows why,” said Bruce Gary, USPSA’sArea 1 Director.

A contingent of Washington state shoot-ers rounded out the top five with the 2007Champion James Austin of Fox Island fin-ishing second, Roger Edington of Rentonplacing third for the second year in a row, BillSalhberg of Spokane taking fourth and JohnSchroeder of Bellevue finishing fifth.

The USPSA Area 1 Championships wereheld at the Tri-County Gun Club in Sherwood,Oregon. A total of 300 top shooters com-peted.

Rhonewood vs. Tennis ClubThe Rhonewood Sharks met the Liver-

more Valley Tennis Club on Saturday, July5, in a Valley Swim League dual meet. Thefinal score was1004 Rhonewood and 754LVTC.

Natalie Hawkins again took first place inall 6 & U events she swam: free, breast, fly,free relay and medley relay. Elizabeth Dimitsalso took first in all 9 10 girls events sheswam: breast, fly, IM, and the free relay.Natalie Dimits, 13 14 girls, swam to firstplace finishes in free, breast, 100 IM, freerelay and medley relay. Briant Jacobs tookfirst in all his events: 50 free, 50 back, 50 fly,and medley relay. Trent Trump swam to a firstplace finishes in the 50 free, 50 breast, 100IM and medley relay for the 11 12 boys.

Here are the first place swimmers forRhonewood:

6 & under girls and boys NatalieHawkins 25 free 21.53; 25 breast 32.24; 25fly 28.50; Wesley Edwards 25 free 22.19, 25back 28.18, 25 fly 25.84; Gage Rohrbacker25 breast 37.46.

7-8 boys and girls: Jenna Sunnergren 25back 24.15, 25 breast 25.03; Reese Kerstetter25 free 18.03, 25 fly 22.50.

9-10 boys and girls: Courtney Offill 50

free 39.22, 25 back 19.69; Ryan Eckles 25back 19.96; Thomas Neufeld 25 breast21.71, 100 IM 1:34.56; Elizabeth Dimits 25breast 22.44, 25 fly 20.40, 100 IM 1:40.94;Isaac Dugger 25 fly 19.09.

11-12 boys and girls: Elizabeth McCall50 free 32.06, 50 back 37.81, 50 fly 34.13;Trent Trump 50 free 31.13, 50 fly 32.13, 100IM 1:16.59; Teagan Fish 50 breast 43.38;Jonathon Wapman 50 fly 32.13.

13-14 boys and girls: Natalie Dimits 50free 29.93, 50 breast 38.04, 100 IM 1:15.94;Michael Hawkins 50 breast 34.12, 100 IM1:05.87; Kevin Johnston 50 fly 30.78;McKenna Stevulak 50 back 35.16; CourtneyChristensen 50 fly 34.53.

15-18 boys and girls: Kayleigh Torres 50free 27.93, 50 back 32.16, 100 IM 1:09.53;Briant Jacobs 50 free 23.90, 50 back 27.09,50 fly 27.16; Tyler Cartwright 50 breast38.81; Hayden Christensen 50 breast 29.56,100 IM 58.84.

Meadows vs. Ruby HillFor the second straight meet the Pleasan-

ton Meadows Sharks lost a close meet, thistime falling to the Ruby Hill Killer Whalesby 13 points, 488-475. Pleasanton Meadowsmade a late run in the free relay, but couldn’tquite get enough points to get over the top.The Sharks lost last Saturday by 30 points toBriar Hill.

Despite the loss, the Sharks had somegreat individual and team efforts. For ex-ample, both the 11-12 and 15-18 boys went1-2-3 in the 50 free. The 15-18’s was aparticularly close race with Joey Silva win-ning in 25.14, Michael Corbin right behindat 25.26, and Curtis Wong posting a 25.38.Mason Mooney of Ruby Hill finished fourthwith a 25.43 time. That’s four swimmersseparated by only .29 seconds. The 11-12boys weren’t quite so close. However, PerryCheney, Chris Azuma and Grant Miller tookthe top three spots just the same.

In the 9-10 boys 100 , the Sharks did onebetter, taking all the points with Nick Tucker,Jack Geasa, Noor Gill, and Daniel Newmandoing the honors. The 13-14 girls also stoodout in the 100 with Kaala Cheney, ElsaSchwaninger and Katey Cloonan taking thetop three spots.

Nick Tucker managed to take three 9-10individual events, winning the Free, Fly andIM. Several Sharks took two individualevents including Jessica Rhoads (U6 Free,Fly), Aaron Zheng (U6 Breast, Free), BlakeTucker (7-8 Breast, Back), and Chris Bush(11-12 , Breast).

Other winning events for the Sharks wereKyra Thordsen (U6 Breast), Alyson Isaacs (9-10 free), Denise Long (9-10 back), Jack Geasa(9-10 back), Jerry Zong (9-10 breast), KateyCloonan (13-14 Free), Elsa Schwaninger (13-14 Fly), Tara Shreve (13-14 Breast) andCurtis Wong (15-18 Breast).

Girls 6 & Under 25 yard free Rhoads,Jessica, Pleasanton Meadows-US 26.33; 6 &Under 25 yard free Zheng, Aaron, PleasantonMeadows-US 30.41; Girls 7-8 25 yard free:Vasquez, Alicia. Ruby Hill 19.36; Boys 7-8 25 yard free Vasquez, Joey, Ruby Hill18.76; Girls 9-10 50 yard free Isaacs, Alyson,Pleasanton Meadows-US 35.08; Boys 9-1050 yard free Tucker, Nick, Pleasanton Mead-ows-US 33.29; Girls 11-12 50 yard freeMooney, McKalee. Ruby Hill 32.02; Boys11-12 50 yard free Cheney, Perry, PleasantonMeadows-US 31.92; Girls 13-14 50 yard freeCloonan, Katey, Pleasanton Meadows-US31.33; Boys 13-14 50 yard free Chang,Camren, Ruby Hill 30.15; Women 15-18 50yard free McGillivary, Erin, Ruby Hill,30.03; Men 15-18 50 yard free Silva, Joey,Pleasanton Meadows-US 25.14.

Butterfly: 25 Girls 6 & Under 25 YardRhoads, Jessica, Pleasanton Meadows-US33.97; Boys 6 & Under 25 Yard Yang,Christopher, Ruby Hill 36.09; Girls 7-8 25Yard Sowers, Taylor, Ruby Hill 23.51; Boys7-8 25 Yard Vasquez, Joey, Ruby Hill 23.75;Girls 9-10 25 Yard Ewanich, Lexi, Ruby Hill18.94; Boys 9-10 25 Yard Tucker, Nick,Pleasanton Meadows-US 17.06; Girls 11-1250 Yard Nicholas, Brianna, Ruby Hill 35.81;Boys 11-12 50 Yard Lee, Evan, Ruby Hill41.22; Girls 13-14 50 Yard Schwaninger,Elsa, Pleasanton Meadows-US 33.50; Boys13-14 50 Yard Johnston, Nick, Ruby Hill29.63; Women 15-18 50 Yard Schirle,Michelle, Ruby Hill 31.39; Men 15-18 50Yard Cunningham, Jason, Ruby Hill 27.13.

Breaststroke: Girls 6 & Under 25 YardThordsen, Kyra, Pleasanton Meadows-US50.51; Boys 6 & Under 25 Yard Zheng,Aaron, Pleasanton Meadows-US 33.89;Girls 7-8 25 Yard Vasquez, Alicia, Ruby Hill27.04; Boys 7-8 25 Yard Tucker, Blake,Pleasanton Meadows-US 26.28; Girls 9-1025 Yard Ewanich, Lexi, Ruby Hill 21.80;Boys 9-10 25 Yard Zong, Jerry, PleasantonMeadows-US. 27.03; Girls 11-12 50 YardMooney, McKalee, Ruby Hill 41.27; Boys11-12 50 Yard Bush, Chris, PleasantonMeadows-US. 43.86; Girls 13-14 50 YardShreve, Tara, Pleasanton Meadows-US 41.95;Boys 13-14 50 Yard Johnston, Nick. RubyHill 37.17; Women 15-18 50 Yard Brown-ing, Alyssa, Ruby Hill 39.15; Men 15-18 50Yard Wong, Curtis, Pleasanton Meadows-US. 33.14.

IM: Girls 9-10 100 Yard McGillivary,Hannah, Ruby Hill 1:30.66; Boys 9-10Tucker, Nick, Pleasanton Meadows-US1:27.18; Girls 11-12 100 Yard Nicholas,Brianna, Ruby Hill 1:24.60; Boys 11-12 100Yard Bush, Chris 12 Pleasanton Meadows-US 1:25.56; Girls 13-14 100 Yard Cheney,Kaala, Pleasanton Meadows-US 1:20.69;Boys 13-14 100 Yard Johnston, Nick, RubyHill 1:09.04; Women 15-18 100 YardBaxter, Lindsey, Ruby Hill 1:12.45; Men15-18 100 Yard Johnston, Chris, Ruby Hill1:07.64.

Backstroke: Girls 6 & Under 25 YardThordsen, Kyra, Pleasanton Meadows-US31.65; Boys 6 & Under 25 Yard Yang,Christopher, Ruby Hill 39.68; Girls 7-8 25Yard Vasquez, Alicia, Ruby Hill 24.24;Boys 7-8 25 Yard Tucker, Blake, PleasantonMeadows-US 22.71; Girls 9-10 25 YardLong, Denise, Pleasanton Meadows-US.21.53; Boys 9-10 25 Yard Geasa, Jack,Pleasanton Meadows-US. 20.20 Girls 11-1250 Yard Nicholas, Lexi, Ruby Hill 43.97;Boys 11-12 50 Yard Lee, Evan, Ruby Hill42.44; Girls 13-14 50 Yard Choi, Jessica,Ruby Hill 37.16; Boys 13-14 50 YardAcosta, Alex, Ruby Hill 39.14; Women 15-18 50 Yard Baxter, Lindsey, Ruby Hill33.57; Men 15-18 50 Yard Cunningham,Jason, Ruby Hill 30.71.

Del Prado vs. BriarhillWednesday evening provided some early

fireworks at the Del Prado Pool when theBriarhill Barracudas challenged the Del PradoStingrays. The Barracudas swam hard, butthe Stingrays eventually came out on top, 565to 414.

There were outstanding races from bothteams. The Barracudas top female performerswere Kristin Horillo (12), Meghan Van Lar(6), Callan Jackman (8), Haley Lukas (12),Fiona Somerville (10), and the top maleswimmers were Joey Grywczynski (7), Bran-don Lind (16), Andrew Voit (8), MatthewGrywczynski (9), and Brent Reed (16). The

top female Stingray swimmers were led byteam Doi, Megan (10), Stephanie (13), andNiki (16), followed by Taylor Peterson (18),and Alyssa Bardakos. The top males wereCameron Kurotori (12), Jake Newman (10),Michael McMasters (6), Tommy Sabatini(10), and Eric Gates ( 15).

Other great races were recorded by BellaMairs (8), Bailey Craig (9), Meghan Butler(10), Lauren Leahy (15), Crystal Fisher (14),Kevin Standart (14), Brian Standart (13),David Groves (5), Sherman Voung (12), andJacob Allman (5), for Briarhill. For DelPrado, Meghan Hogue (8), Stella Kruschke(5), Lauren Graham (5), Sara Cohen (13),Nicole White (9), Eric Crispell (13), AndrewGoard (12), Conner Kayshap (13), KevinCrispell (12), and Trevor Landas (17), re-corded some top times.

1st place finishers:Girls 6 & Under: 25 yard free: Kruschke,

Stella, DP-CC, 29.37. 25 yard back: Gra-ham, Lauren, DP-CC, 34.75. 25 yard Breast-stroke: Van Lare, Meghan, BH, 35.74. 25yard fly: Van Lare, Meghan, BH, 36.66.

Girls 7-8 25 yard free: Jackman, Callan,BH, 17.49. 25 yard back: Jackman, Callan,BH, 22.62. 25 yard Breaststroke: Hogue,Meghan, DP-CC, 25.27. 25 yard fly:Bardakos, Alyssa, DP-CC, 20.43.

Girls 9-10 50 yard free: Doi, Megan, DP-CC, 33.28. 25 yard back: Doi, Megan, DP-CC, 20.74. 25 yard Breaststroke: Somerville,Fiona, BH, 22.52. 25 yard fly: Doi, Megan,DP-CC, 18.55. 100 yard IM: White, Nicole,DP-CC, 1:34.40.

Girls 11-12 50 yard free: Lukas, Haley,BH, 30.68. 50 yard back: Horrillo, Kristin,BH, 38.72. 50 yard Breaststroke: Lukas,Haley, BH, 37.84. 50 yard fly: Horrillo,Kristin, BH, 36.83. 100 yard IM: Horrillo,Kristin, BH, 1:20.29.

Girls 13-14 50 yard free: DeWilde,Lindsey, DP-CC, 28.51. 50 yard back: Doi,Stephanie, DP-CC, 36.01. 50 yard Breast-stroke: Gates, Elaina, DP-CC, 38.45. 50yard fly: DeWilde, Lindsey, DP-CC, 32.31.100 yard IM: DeWilde, Lindsey, DP-CC,1:14.47.

Women 15-18 50 yard free: Peterson,Taylor, DP-CC, 26.25. 50 yard back: Klein,Emily, DP-CC, 32.74. 50 yard Breaststroke:Doi, Niki, DP-CC, 36.24. 50 yard fly:Peterson, Taylor, DP-CC, 29.52. 100 yardIM: Doi, Niki, DP-CC, 1:10.21.

1st Place Boys ResultsBoys 6 & Under 25 yard free: McMasters,

Michael, DP-CC, 26.96. 5 yard back:Groves, David, BH, 38.99. 25 yard Breast-stroke: Allman, Jacob, BH, 39.67. 25 yardfly: McMasters, Michael, DP-CC, 34.44.

Boys 7-8 25 yard free: Voit, Andrew,BH, 16.39. 25 yard back: Grywczynski,Joey, BH, 24.79. 25 yard Breaststroke: Voit,Andrew, BH, 25.35. 25 yard fly:Grywczynski, Joey, BH, 21.83.

Boys 9-10 50 yard free: Newman, Jake,DP-CC, 32.77. 25 yard back: Newman, Jake,DP-CC, 18.60. 25 yard Breaststroke:Sabatini, Tommy, DP-CC, 19.25. 25 yardfly: Grywczynski, Matthew, BH, 18.74. 100yard IM: Sabatini, Tommy, DP-CC, 1:34.88.

Boys 11-12 50 yard free: Kurotori,Cameron, DP-CC, 29.44. 50 yard back:Kurotori, Cameron, DP-CC, 38.11. 50 yardBreaststroke: Vuong, Sherman, BH, 42.01.50 yard fly: Goard, Andrew, DP-CC, 39.38.100 yard IM: Kurotori, Cameron, DP-CC,1:22.68.

Boys 13-14 50 yard free: Standart, Brian,BH, 27.42. 50 yard back: Kashyap, Conner,DP-CC, 36.58. 50 yard Breaststroke:Standart, Kevin, BH, 34.50. 50 yard fly:Standart, Kevin, BH, 31.44. 100 yard IM:Standart, Brian, BH, 1:09.25.

Men 15-18 50 yard free: Reed, Brent,BH, 23.67. 50 yard back: Gates, Eric, DP-CC, 27.43. 50 yard Breaststroke: Landas,Trevor, DP-CC, 31.55. 50 yard fly: Lind,Brandon, BH, 25.32. 100 yard IM: Lind,Brandon, BH, 59.36.

Dublin vs. FASTThe Dublin Green Gators swam past the

Foothill Area Swim Team (FAST) Dolphins580 to 347 on Saturday.

Dublin was led by top performances fromMakenna Toney (5), Sofia Gluck (7), KristenWarren (10), Matty Banks (14), Crystal Hung(17), Reece Toney (8), Sean Coakley (9),Steffen Dillon (10), Jason Van Dorn (14) andBenjamin Young (15).

Top swimmers for FAST include AddieSciammas (6), Laura Belichak (8), PaigeHeacox (9), Emily Barrett (11), AudreyWagner (14), Scott Drummond (6), DannyCaraballo (7), Sammy Gee (10), AnthonyOttati (10), and William Clark (14).

1st place finishers:Girls 6 & Under: 25 Yard Free, Claire

Suen (Dub), 18.87. 25 Yard Fly, MakennaToney (Dub), 37.80. 25 Yard Breaststroke,Makenna Toney (Dub), 37.56. 25 Yard Back,Claire Suen (Dub), 22.99.

Girls 7-8: 25 Yard Free, Sofia Gluck(Dub), 17.69. 25 Yard Fly, Olivia Cano(Dub), 22.12. 25 Yard Breaststroke, OliviaCano (Dub), 23.03. 25 Yard Back, SofiaGluck (Dub), 22.73.

Girls 9-10: 50 Yard Free, Paige Heacox(FAST), 34.01. 25 Yard Fly, Paige Heacox(FAST), 18.60. 25 Yard Breaststroke, KristenWarren (Dub), 21.76. 100 Yard IM, KristenWarren (Dub), 1:33:09. 25 Yard Backstroke,Caroline McMorrow (FAST), 21.20.

Girls 11-12: 50 Yard Free, Emily Barrett(FAST), 30.79. 50 Yard Fly, AnnalisaWatson (Dub), 43.21. 50 Yard Breaststroke,Stephanie Chiu (Dub), 40.94. 100 Yard IM,Mary Brillante (Dub), 1:26:30. 50 YardBack, Stephanie Chiu (Dub), 38.69.

Girls 13-14: 50 Yard Free, AbigailMaguire (Dub), 31.26. 50 Yard Fly, MattyBanks (Dub), 32.45. 50 Yard Breaststroke,Amy Ross (Dub), 41.65. 100 Yard IM,Abigail Maguire (Dub), 1:20:84. 50 YardBack, Matty Banks (Dub), 34.83.

Women 15-18: 50 Yard Free, GabriellaWelch (Dub), 29.78. 50 Yard Fly, CrystalHung (Dub), 30.14. 50 Yard Breaststroke,Sami Deering (Dub), 39.36. 100 Yard IM,Janelle Oto (Dub), 1:18:06. 50 Yard Back,Crystal Hung (Dub), 32.20.

Boy’s resultsBoys 6 & Under: 25 Yard Free, Scott

Drummond (FAST), 21.77. 25 Yard Fly,Scott Drummond (FAST), 27.30. 25 YardBreaststroke, Brenden Warren (Dub), 43.33.25 Yard Back, Andrew Wang (Dub), 31.01.

Boys 7-8: 25 Yard Free, Reece Toney(Dub), 16.11. 25 Yard Fly, Reece Toney(Dub), 21.39. 25 Yard Breaststroke, NicolasCosta (Dub), 25.37. 25 Yard Back, RenBennett (Dub), 24.20.

Boys 9-10: 50 Yard Free, Sean Coakley(Dub), 39.50. 25 Yard Fly, Sean Coakley(Dub), 21.65. 25 yard Breaststroke, StefenDillon (Dub), 21.59. 100 Yard IM, StefenDillon (Dub), 1:42:09. 25 Yard Back,Sammy Gee (FAST), 23.98.

Boys 11-12: 50 Yard Free, Jeff Liebman(FAST), 29.72. 50 Yard Fly, Jimmy Bowen(Dub), 42.11. 50 Yard Breaststroke, ArjunTeh (FAST), 48.89. 100 Yard IM, JorellToney (Dub), 1:16:65. 50 Yard Back, JorellToney (Dub), 39.20.

Boys 13-14: 50 Yard Free, MatthewZamudio (Dub), 27.09. 50 Yard Fly, JasonVan Dorn (Dub), 36.52. 50 Yard Breast-stroke, Winston Gregory (Dub), 39.69. 100

Yard IM, Jason Van Dorn (Dub), 1:19:16. 50Yard Back, Arun Bird (Dub), 37.80.

Men 15-18: 50 Yard Free, BenjaminYoung (Dub), 25.14. 50 Yard Fly, Jeff VanDorn (Dub), 28.20. 50 Yard Breaststroke,Kagen Wilkinson, (Dub), 31.89. 100 YardIM, Jeff Van Dorn (Dub), 1:04:38. 50 YardBack, Benjamin Young (Dub), 30.21.

Sunset vs. DolphinsChris Harker (13-14) won three indi-

vidual events for Sunset in a 963-790 loss toPleasanton Valley Dolphins. Harker won the50yd fly, 100yd IM, and 50yd back. Harkeralso came in first with Jackson Katz, DavidBierwith and Alec Grabarek in the 200yd freeRelay and the 200yd Medley Relay with JeffKaten, Bierwith, and Grabarek. Garbarek (13-14) also won the 50yd free and Katen (13-14)came in first in the 50yd Breaststroke.

Sarah Bettencourt (9-10) was anotherdouble winner with a first in the 25ydBreaststroke and the 200yd free Relay withShelby Diehl, Annika Landreth, and Chris-tine Danforth. CJ Lemler (11-12) had twowins in the 50yd Breaststroke and the 200ydfree Relay with Josh Synder, Nicholas Win-ter, and Curtis Wigginton. Jelena Cyr (15-18)also had two wins with a first in the 50yd freeand a first in the 200yd free Relay withVeronika Mach, Michelle Phelps, and Shan-non Smith.

Other first place finishes were CharlotteSchroder (6U) 25yd Breaststroke, Tori Diehl(7-8) 25yd Breaststroke, Alex Harker (15-18)50yd back, Arthur Federle (15-18) 50yd back,and Chris Dotson (15-18) 50yd free.

Other relay winners were Calvin Jue,Joey Katen, Dylan Baxter, and Ryan Lortie(6U) 100yd Medley Relay; Simon Jue,Andrew Walker, Christopher Sanchez, andIsaiah Smith (7-8) 100yd Medley Relay;Katherine Orrell, Nicolle Glover, RyleyLandreth, and Elise Falgout (11-12) 200ydfree Relay.

Swimmers who posted improvementwith more than 10 seconds knocked off theirtimes were Anna Leary (6U), Alyssa Shultis(6U), Luke Moylan (6U), Vjay Memula (6U),Caelan Roberts (6U) and Ryan Stuart (11-12). Good job!

Breaking the team records at this meetwere Charlotte Schroder (6U) Breastroke37:47, Emily Chong (7-8) fly 20:46, SarahBettencourt (9-10) fly 17:22, CassiMcDiarmid (13-14) 34:60, Joey Katen (6U)Breastroke 35:04, and Kyle Chong (9-10)Breaststroke 22:24.

Lady HustlePleasanton’s Lady Hustle 14 and under

girls participated in a 16 and under tourna-ment along with 13 other teams in Stocktonat Arnaiz Fields July 5th and 6th, cominghome with the third place trophy. Hustleplayed a total of 5 games over the weekendand gave away only 5 runs the entire tourna-ment.

Hustle started off the tournament playinga tough Sacramento Breeze team on Saturdaymorning. Niki Stark and Nicole Borchardearned the two RBI’s and ended the game ina tie with a 2-2 score. Lady Hustle then wenton to score 9 runs in the first inning againstthe Fremont Flyers. Jess McKeehan had a 2RBI double. Niki Stark went 3 for 3 with adouble and Nicole Borchard went 2 for 2.Montana Berg was winning pitcher as theHustle won by a score of 11-1. Next, LadyHustle shutout the Santa Cruz Extreme 2-0behind strong pitching from Katie Mannion.Montana Berg went 2 for 3 and had bothRBI’s with two clutch singles to scoring bothof Hustle’s runs.

Lady Hustle earned a #2 seed for Sundayand were matched up against the ValleyStompers of San Ramon. Katie Keller wasstarting pitcher and limited the Stompers tojust one run and 5 hits. Trailing 1-0 goinginto the bottom of the last inning, LadyHustle pulled out a dramatic 2-1 victory withJess McKeehan getting a bases loaded walkand RBI for the win as Lady Hustle scored thefinal 2 runs with two outs. In the semi-finalgame, Lady Hustle fell 1-0 to the ConcordBears in a very well played defensive game.Katie Keller and Katie Mannion pitched forHustle and held the Bears to only 2 hits. TheBears would go on to win the Championshipagainst the Santa Cruz Extreme.

Lady Hustle will travel next to Park City,Utah on July 13th to participate in the TripleCrown World Series along with 62 teamsfrom all over the country. Hustle’s first gamewill be on Tuesday against the ArkansasLivewires.

Jail Break RunOn Sunday, July 20, there’s going to be

a jail break—and the Alameda County DeputySheriff’s Association invites everyone joinin. The 6th annual Jail Break Run, benefitingSpecial Olympics Northern California, offersan “escape” plan for everyone: a 5K run (orwalk), a 10K run, a Kids’ ½-mile run, and aKids’1-mile run.

This event will be hosted by the AlamedaCounty Sheriff’s Office, at their TrainingCenter (which is located right next to theSanta Rita Jail), 6289 Broder Blvd., Dublin.This event is part of the Sheriff’s year-roundLaw Enforcement Torch Run fund-raisingcampaign.

Entry fees for either the 10K Run or 5KWalk/Run are $25.00 pre-registered, $30.00race-day registration. The Kids’ ½-Mile andMile event fees are both $5.00. Check-in andrace-day registration will open at 6:30 a.m.,with both 10K and 5K events starting at 8:00a.m. The Kid’s ½-Mile and Mile, whichtakes place on the Sheriff’s training centertrack, will begin around 10:00 a.m.

For more Jail Break Run informationand/or an application, contact On Your MarkEvents at 209-795-7832 or visitwww.onyourmarkevents.com.

Bowling NewsSunday Family Affair Youth Bowler

Adelfa Freeman rolled 137 pins over averagewith games of 201-193-169 for a 563 series.Adult bowler David Bunch, in the sameleague, ended the week with a high game of289 just missing a 700 series by 3 pins.

In the Championship Trios League, spon-sored by Gene’s Pro Shop, bowler RoyMcCord started the night with a 256. In thesame league, James Murphy had a nice fourgame set of 249-247-208-236 for a 940 series.Right behind him, Ken DiBattista rolled a923 series that included games of 254-244-234-191. In the Original Guys & DollsLeague, Janelle Carey bowled a 224 game. Inthe Thursdy Swingers League, Craig Truscottrolled 131 over average with games of 243-179-213 to end with a 635 series

Youth bowler Alex Stuber rolled a 253-241-201 for a 695 series. Austin Stuberturned in a 226 game.

Golf TournamentThe Pleasanton Lions Club is sponsor-

ing the 1st annual Michelle Lucia-VarletaGolf Tournament. It will be held Fri., July25 at the Las Positas Golf Course in Liver-more.

All proceeds will go to the MichelleLucia-Varleta fund to aid in her fight withbreast cancer and the alternative treatmentsavailable that are not covered by medicalinsurance.

Check-in for the tournament is 11 a.m.This is a 4 person scramble that includes a19th hole challenge. Cost is $150 per person,which includes golf, snacks, dinner and a golfgift. Hole sponsors, raffle donations andsilent auction donations are needed.

For information, contact Steve Marvel at260-2314, smarvel@pacbell.net or DeannaVarleta at 577-6769, dvarleta@comcast.net.

Youth Football/CheerLivermore Youth Football & Cheer

(LYF&C) is a full contact football league thathas been established for 35 years. The league’smotto is “children first game second.” Theleague focuses on teaching the fundamentalsof both football and cheer that are needed tomake the transition into high school bothrewarding and as smooth as possible. Theleague works with the local high schools toensure participants are learning the funda-mental.

Squads compete in the highly competi-tive Diablo Valley Youth Football Confer-ence (DVYFC). It consists of 18 “city” teamsthat attract the best football players andcheerleaders in the Alameda and Contra Costacounties.

There are 5 levels to tryout for with ages7 to 14 (football), 5 to 14 (cheerleading).Registration will be held July 14 and 21 from6-8 pm at Round Table Pizza 1024 EastStanley Blvd. Information at web-sitewww.eteamz.com/lyfc or emaillyfc@onebox.com/lyfc

The league is currently accepting appli-cations for both football and cheer coaches forthe upcoming season.

Scholar-Athletes Selected

The Independent, JULY 10, 2008 - PAGE 7

Clara Craig GenevaClara Craig Geneva died July 1,

2008 at the Pleasanton Nursing Home.She was 96.

She was born Oct. 8, 1911, in SanAnselmo, CA. She is survived by twosons, Clark Maddox of Battle Creek,Michigan and Earl Maddox of Pleas-anton, CA, eight grandchildren, sixgreat-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She lived in Pleas-anton for 35 years.

She was a bookkeeper. Her last jobwas at Pleasanton Shell Service whereshe worked until she was 85 years old.

Graveside Services were heldWednesday, July 9 at Alta Mesa Me-morial Cemetery in Palo Alto.

Arrangements by Graham-HitchMortuary.

Marnette Copeland CaterMarnette Copeland Cater died June

30, 2008. She was 78.She had lived in Pleasanton for 50

years. She married the late Rev. BillCater on June 23, 1948. They weremarried for 58 years. Marnette gradu-ated from Pine Bluff High School in1948. She was one of the founders ofthe First Baptist Church of Pleasan-ton. She was a Christian and lifelongstudent of the Bible.

Marnette was a parent and home-maker. She worked at Daughtry’sDepartment Store on Main Street inthe 1960s and later for McDonald’s inDublin and Livermore in the 1980sand 1990s. She also partnered with herhusband in owning and operating Pleas-anton Painting and Decorating. Shejoined her husband in visiting peoplein nursing homes in the Tri-Valley.She delighted in her children andgrandchildren and was active in theirschool events and activities.

She is survived by a son TerryCater and wife Pam Hudson of Pleas-anton, daughter Sherry Cater Castroand husband Michael of San Jose,daughter Nancy Giordanengo andhusband Guy of Windsor, sevengrandchildren and one great-grand-son.

Funeral services will be held at 11a.m. on Sat., July 12 at the First BaptistChurch, 4100 First St., Pleasanton.

Donations may be made inMarnette’s memory to Hope Hospice,6500 Dublin Blvd., Suite 100, Dublin,CA 94568.

Arrangements by Graham-HitchMortuary.

Anne Carlisle MeadowsAnne Carlisle Meadows died sud-

denly on July 1, 2008. She was bornin San Francisco on January 30, 1962.

Anne loved all animals as well asthe outdoors. She took pride in hergardens and ranch.

She is survived by her husbandJerry D. Meadows Jr., son PaulLaClaire and daughter Rachel LaClaire,brothers and sisters-in-law David andAlicia Adams and Eric and DaisyO’Brien; her mother-in-law CarlaMeadows, aunts and uncles Jim andMarguerite Doyle and Martha O’Brienand many loving cousins and friends.She was preceded in death by herparents Bill and Margie Carlisle.

A funeral liturgy was held July 7 atSt. Raymond’s Church in Dublin.

Donations may be made in memoryof Anne to the Hope of the Valleytherapeutic horseback riding charity,www.hopeinthevalley.org.

Arrangements by Graham-HitchMortuary.

Madeline S. HoigPleasanton resident Madeline S.

Hoig died July 2008. She was born in1926.

She volunteered in the communityfor many years and was recognized for

her work. She was a kind, giving andgracious lady who will be dearlymissed. She was a dedicated friend toVerla Becker of twenty years.

She is survived by daughters Toniand Teresa Ann and grandsons Daniel,Tyler, Christopher and Kent. She waspreceded in death by her husband of 38years, Williard Hoig.

Services were held July 9 at St.Augustine Catholic Church in Pleas-anton.

Arrangements by Graham-HitchMortuary.

Vela Mae SteeleVela Mae Steele was called home

to be with the Lord on July , 2008. Shewas born May 17, 1924.

She is preceded in death by herparents, son Roger, sister Vivian Wert,and brother-in-laws Elwood Pace,Jerry Butler, and Glenn Helvie. She issurvived her husband of 61 yearsNathan H. Steele, daughter; Deanna(Jerry) Haynie, grandchildren; Roger(Samia) Haynie, Rodney Haynie, Jes-sica (Daniel) Rippee, friendly cab driverTom Donayre, siblings Mildred Mon-day of Indiana, Grace Pace of Utah,Kathleen Butler-Helvie of Indiana,and brother-in-law Claude Wert ofIndiana. She also leaves many nieces,nephews and friends.

Funeral services were held July 9in Livermore. In lieu of flowers, me-morial donations to Joyce Meyer Min-istries Inc. P.O. Box 655, Fenton,MO, 63026.

Arrangements by Callaghan Mor-tuary.

Bertha “Bubbles” PitzenBertha Pitzen, 88, native of Dillon,

Montana, passed away silently andpeacefully with her daughter by herside on July 3, 2008. She resided withher family in Dublin for the past 15years.

She was born May 25, 1920.Bubbles was a longtime member

of St. Raymond’s Catholic Church inDublin. She was a former resident ofTacoma for many years, retiring fromPacific Northwest Bell. Bubbles hada zest for life and touched many people.She leaves behind many heart feltmemories.

She is survived by her son, LarryPitzen of Dublin, and daughter, LindaBack (Ken Jr.) of Dublin. Bertha waspreceded in death by her husband,Henry who died in Pleasanton on May18, 2003, brother, Donald Julson andsisters, Marge Phillips and LorettaJulson.

Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. Thurs.,July 10 at Graham-Hitch Mortuary,4167 First St., Pleasanton. Mass willbe celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday, July11, at St. Raymond’s Catholic Church,11555 Shannon Ave., Dublin. Burialto follow at Queen of Heaven inLafayette.

Arrangements by Graham-HitchMortuary.

Linda Mae GarciaLinda Mae Garcia died July 5,

2008 at the age of 49. She was aPleasanton resident.

Linda was born August 10, 1959.She was always considered the familycounselor and always had a shoulderfor anyone to cry on.

She is survived by her motherVirginia Ferrill of Pleasanton, sib-lings Daniel Ferrill of Pleasanton,Debra (Gary) Cruse of Idaho, JanetPenny of Texas, and Jerry (Lorraine)Ferrill of Idaho. She is also survivedby seven nieces, five nephews, fourgreat nieces, and five great nephews.

Visitation is 2 to 4 p.m. Thurs.,July 10 with a funeral service to followat 4 p.m. at Callaghan’s Chapel, 3833East Ave., Pleasanton.

Gerald “Jerry” MacLeodJerry MacLeod lost his battle

against complications from diabeteson July 4, 2008. He was 72.

Born in Oakland, CA on April 28,1936, he was the son of Stanton andBirdie MacLeod. He lived in Liver-more most of his life. He followed inhis father’s footsteps, working as adiesel mechanic for Haslett Truckinguntil he retired in 1990. Jerry could notresist working on cars, helping friendsand family whenever they asked.During the past 20 years, Jerry lovedbowling three times a week. He espe-cially enjoyed the Wednesday “SeniorPot Bowling.”

Jerry is survived by his wife of 30years, Dolores, sons Gary and Don,stepsons Steve and Mike Riddle, sis-ter Barbara Jennings and grandchil-dren Cody, Miki, Colleen, Lindsayand Eric. He was preceded in death byhis brother Jack and a son, Dan.

At his request, no services will beheld. Arrangements by CallaghanMortuary.

Talmage KeetonTalmage Keeton was called home

to be with the Lord on July 6, 2008. Helived in Livermore for the past 5 yearsand previously in Sacramento, CA for34 years. He was born Feb. 4, 1927.

Talmage joined the Merchant Ma-rines in 1944 where he served on theJames B. Eads Liberty Ship. He wasalso in the US Army from 1945-1948in Heidelberg, Germany. He was awelder by profession and retired fromContech Construction as a Plant Man-ager. Talmage loved spending timewith his family. He also enjoyed beingwith his many friends from the PolishAmerican Social Club of Greater Sac-ramento, and playing bingo at theLARPD Senior Center.

Talmage will be missed by his wifeAnna; daughters Joan and Rose; son-in-law Terry; grandchildren Chris,Philip, Jacob, Damon and Janel; great-grandchildren Isabella, Isaac, Ryan,Tyler and Holly. He is preceded indeath by his parents, 4 brothers and 1sister.

A service celebrating his life willbe held on Monday, July 14 at 11:00am at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, 8720Florin Rd. in Sacramento. Grave-sideservices will follow at St. Mary’sCatholic Cemetery, 6700 21st Street inSacramento.

In lieu of flowers, memorial dona-tions may be made to the Alzheimer’sAssociation, 225 North MichiganAve., Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601.

Arrangements by Graham-HitchMortuary.

Organizations wishing to run notices inBulletin Board, send information to PO Box1198, Livermore, CA 94551, in care ofBulletin Board. Include name of organiza-tion, meeting date, time, place and theme orsubject. Phone number and contact personshould also be included.

Livermore Solar Electricity Group,Thursday, July 10 REC Solar and SunRunseminar about the community plan to go solarthis summer. 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at theLivermore Public Library - 1188 So. Liver-more Ave. Saturday, July 12 Akeena Solarand SunRun seminar about the communityplan to go solar this summer. 11 a.m. at theLivermore Community Center. Sponsoredby Livermore Solar Electricity Group (moredetails at our web pageLivermoreSolarElectricityGroup.com).

Valley Spokesmen Bicycle TouringClub, Fri., July 11, 11 miles/20 miles, meet6 p.m. at 24 Hour Fitness in San Ramon,Gary Lusso, 324-4842. Sat., July 12, 35miles San Francisco, Twin Peaks loop, meet10 a.m. at the Embarcadero, Randy Huey,518-8439. Sun., July 13, 30 miles loop ridefrom Shannon Center in Dublin through SanRamon, Danville and Blackhawk, meet 9a.m., Dan Carhart, 828-8964. Wed., July 16,30 miles Heath Farms to Martinez, meet 10a.m. Randy Huey, 518-8439. Anyone plan-ning to go on a ride is asked to call the leaderfor details on where to meet and what to bring.

Free voice lessons, Pride of the Pacific,a women's a cappella chorus, is offering aprogram for six Wednesdays starting July 16at 6:30 p.m. at 4444 Black Ave., Pleasanton.Included are voice lessons, vocal education,and opportunities to sing with the chorus.Information www.prideofthepacific.org or426-0266.

Wine in the Garden series, Thurs., July24, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Rosewood Gardens,Livermore, food and wine pairing featuringwines from Tenuta Vineyards. Space islimited, RSVP by July 21 to 443-7200.

Save Pittsburg’s Hills Black DiamondMines Regional Preserve Lougher RidgeHike (Save Mount Diablo), July 19. 10:00am- Noon. Leader: Troy Bristol,tbristol@savemountdiablo.org; 925-947-3535. Join Troy Bristol, Save Mount Diablo’sLand Conservation Associate, on a hike thatincludes views of the Los Medanos Hills,stories about Black Diamond Mines’ richhistory, and discussion of SMD’s importantEast County Campaigns, including the JamesDonlon Road extension (Buchanan Bypass)and the Pittsburg Hillside Ordinance. Thehike leads to the top of Lougher Ridge andexposes views of landscapes threatened bydevelopment. Trails: Lougher Loop Trail toLougher Ridge Trail. Approx. 2.6 mile in andout with elevation gain/loss: 516 ft. Hike willtake from 2 to 2.5 hours. Meet at parkheadquarters, Sydney Flat Staging Area onSomersville Road, just past the first RangerBooth in Black Diamond Mines RegionalPreserve. State Park charges a $5/car entry fee.Call 925-947-3535 orsmdinfo@savemountdiablo.org.

Widowed Men and Women of North-ern CA, Sat., July 12, 10 a.m. BARTexcursion to SF Union Square, RSVP byJuly 10 to Pat at 606-0407. Sun., July 13birthday dinner in San Ramon, 5 p.m. $25,RSVP by July 10 to Anne at 846-3736.Tues., July 15, social card competition inDublin, 1:30 p.m., $2 for prizes, RSVP byJuly 11 to Jeanne at 361-6110. Wed., July 16,Pee Wee golf in Castro Valley, 10 a.m., $5fee, RSVP by July 14 to Marie and Wes at

510-582-6038. Fri., July 18, happy hour inPleasanton, 5 p.m. RSVP by July 17 toLorraine at 846-5695. Tues., July 22, 1 p.m.Chinese lunch in Castro Valley, RSVP byJuly 17 to Paula at 510-537-6438.

Full moon walk on Mt. Wanda, Fri.,July 18, John Muir National Historic Site.Time of walk given when reservations made.Meet at CalTrans Park and Ride, corner ofAlhambra Ave. and Franklin Canyon Rd.,Martinez. Bring water, binoculars, lightjacket and flashlight. Wear good walkingshoes. Reservations at 228-8860.

Tutors Sought, If you can read this, youcan help someone else who can’t. The Liver-more READ Project is currently seekingvolunteer tutors to help motivated adultsimprove basic reading and writing skills.Free tutor training workshops will be held atthe Livermore Library on Monday, July 21st,from 7-9PM and on Saturday, July 26th,from 9AM-4PM. Please plan to attend bothsessions. To register for the training, or formore information, call 373-5507. The READProject is a service of the Livermore PublicLibrary.

Ravenswood Historic Site, operated bythe Livermore Area Recreation and ParkDistrict. Ravenswood, is a restored Victoriancountry estate. The public is invited to joinfree tours noon to 4 p.m. the second and fourthSundays of each month except December,with the last tour starting about 3:15 p.m.Also available on tour days are a gift shopfeaturing unique Victorian gift items and theRavenswood Progress League’s TankhouseTea Room. Special events each year includethe Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social on thesecond Sunday in August and VictorianYuletide the second Sunday in December.Ravenswood is located at 2647 Arroyo Rd.,,Livermore. Upcoming tour dates includeJuly 13, July 27, Aug. 10 and Aug. 24. Formore information, call 925-443-0238 or visitthe LARPD Web site at www.larpd.dst.ca.us.

Tri-Valley Holistic Moms Networkmeets Monday, July 21,a t 7 p.m. Dr. WardEccles will present a discussion on holisticdentistry. Meet at Tahara @ In My Naturelocated at 4725 First Street #270, (CivicCenter Station at the intersection of Bernaland First St.) in Pleasanton. Park in the lotfacing Bernal. Monthly meetings are held onthe third Monday of each month. There is nocharge for first time visitors or for Chaptermembers. For further information, pleasevisit www.holisticmoms.org or e-mail Tri-ValleyHMN@hotmail.com.

San Ramon Newcomers Luncheon,July 17, 11:30 p.m. at the Stix & SteaksRestaurant at the Marriott Hotel, Danville.Guest speakers will be the Blue Star Moms.

Open to new and established residents of SanRamon, Dublin, Pleasanton, Danville andLivermore. Contact 735-6483 for furtherinformation or go to www.srvnc.com.

Amador Valley Quilt Guild meetsSaturday, July 12, at 1:30 p.m. at thePleasanton Middle School, 5001 Case Av-enue, Pleasanton. Quilt teacher MarionColeman will talk about African quilts.Beginning at 12:30 there will be a lemonadesocial. Bring lunch, lemonade and cookiesprovided. The guild is a nonprofit educa-tional association for quilters of all skilllevels. Anyone interested in quilting mayattend. For further information about theguild or upcoming speakers, please visit ourwebsite, http://amadorvalleyquilters.org

Investing your IRA or Rollover: Secu-rities vs. real estate. Tues., July 15, 4:30 to5:30 p.m. Livermore Chamber of Com-merce, 2157 First St. Kirsten Higgins, finan-cial advisor, Protected Investors of America;and Weldon Moreland, CPA, Moreland &Bologna. RSVP (925) 455-5533.

RELIGIONTri-Valley Unity Church, This

Sunday’s sermon topic by guest speaker Rev.Margaret Stortz is “Living the God Life.”Service at 10 a.m. at the Radisson, 6680Regional St., Dublin. All are welcome.(925) 829-2733.

Livermore resident Bob Coomber has been hiking for many years- in his wheelchair. He’s tackled small trails and large parks and mostrecently reached the 14,246-foot summit of White Mountain, thethird-highest peak in California.

The Livermore Area Recreation and Park District will host a spe-cial presentation by Coomber from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, July 13, atthe Robert Livermore Community Center. Coomber’s presentation isentitled, “White Mountain in a Wheelchair - An Inspirational Hike.”Coomber, also known as “4WheelBob” on his blog, will discuss reach-ing this goal of being the first wheelchair hiker atop White Moun-tain.

In addition to his feat of climbing White Mountain, Coomber wasrecently named one of 27 nationwide recipients of the 2008 Commu-nity Leadership Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fit-ness and Sports. The award is given annually to individuals whoimprove the lives of others within their communities by providing orenhancing opportunities to engage in sports, physical activities orfitness-related programs.

LARPD is requesting a $2 donation for the event, which is a spe-cial presentation part of the monthly programs offered by the District’sranger staff. For information, call Ranger Patti Cole at 960-2400.

Wheelchair Hiker to Present Program

PAGE 8 - The Independent, JULY 10, 2008

Earning a spot in what is described as “the comic book equiva-lent of American Idol,” Pleasanton resident Omar Morales has beennamed one of 50 international finalists in Platinum Studios’ ComicBook Challenge 2008.

Morales, who lives in Pleasanton with his wife and two youngchildren, said his entry is about “a monk-like secret agent that car-ries out clandestine missions for the Vatican. He’s a reluctant herothat agonizes over the violence he must commit in order to combatevil and sin. In his heart, he is but a humble worshiper that wantednothing more than the simple life of a priest … but the Pope and hisminions had other plans for him – pre-destined, arcane plans.”

The contest “invites aspiring creators to submit original comicbook concepts in a head-to-head challenge for a multimedia devel-opment and publishing deal that includes multi-platform distribu-tion, as well as the creation of a licensing and merchandising pro-gram.

Platinum Studios will explore further development of the win-ning entry for possible movie and or television adaptation.

Oakland born and Hayward raised, Morales will compete with the49 other finalists via video pitches on the Web.

The field of 50 will be trimmed down to 10 by a panel of Holly-wood types, then the list will be boiled down to three by public voteon www.ComicBookChallenge.com.

Once the final three contestants are revealed, voters from the glo-bal fandom of comics will be given one more chance to vote for theirfavorite idea and creator. The winner will be announced in Septem-ber and will have their comic book or graphic novel published andpremiered at a future trade convention.

The top 50 finalists for Comic Book Challenge include entriesfrom Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Canada, as well as the U.S. Prizesponsors include Wacom, Corel Corp, Genius Products, MashONand Fandango.

Morales said of enterting the contest, “I had already written andproduced a full 22-page color issue of The CruZader by the time thecontest rolled around. I’d started pitching it to medium-sized pub-lishers at San Francisco’s WonderCon back in February and ran intothe Platinum guys. They said they couldn’t hear my pitch then, butencouraged me to enter their contest. All it took was for me to whipup a one-page synopsis and submit three completed pages that wereinked, colored and lettered.”

He says it took about a day to complete his entry, because thebook was already completed. He added, “I could write a thesis aboutthe previous year and the struggles I had finding the right artist plusthe various revisions until I arrived at the final iteration.”

Morales is the sole proprietor of The Force Productions, which heruns out of an office in his home. He is the creator, writer and editorof the book. The penciler/inker is Joel Cotejar, who lives in thePhilippines. “My color guy is in India and my letter guy is in Vir-ginia. For the video, I used my good friends Tim Erskine and EricQuintana to shoot and edit, respectively. Like me, they run their ownone-man-band production companies and we collaborate on all kindsof stuff.”

His goal is to get published, published more and then publishedsome more! “The full CruZader story is a six-issue mini-series, but itcould be an on-going book if it sells. If I don’t win, I hope to gaincrazy exposure and get picked up by another comic book company,”said Morales.

He said he became interested in comics after watching old 1960sreruns of Ultraman and Spider-Man cartoons on really obscure chan-nels at really odd times of the day. “To supplement my scifi andfantasy TV show habit, I read comics and collected toys – before Iknew it, I was totally absorbed. Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, BillBixbie’s Hulk – I was all about it, and I’m still all about it,” Moralesdeclared.

He added, “I’d love to have fans vote for me as the winner so I canbring home the proverbial trophy to East Bay. Even if I don’t win, Iwant to represent the East Bay and the Raider Nation as well as I can.

Readers can find more information on Morales and his projects atwww.theforceproductions.com.

Comic Book Caper Puts PleasantonResident in Running for Challenge Win

from the ground up, the bestthing Bothwell could do wouldbe to focus on ArtWalk in a newlight, and work to actually raisefunds through the event.”

She adds that when TVAG ranArtWalk, it focused on raisingenough money to conduct theevent. There was rarely time toconduct any real fundraising,even if they wished to. “This is agreat marriage,” adds Ryan. “Ithelps the Bothwell and keepsArtWalk alive, too.”

TVAG is also happy about thechange. “It’s a big undertaking,”

ARTWALK(continued from page one)

says Marjorie McMahan, a stal-wart ArtWalk organizer. "It’s timeto pass it on to a group that canhelp it grow.” McMahan is theevent designer.

The 7th Annual ArtWalk2008 is scheduled for October 11,2008.

This year, the plan is to main-tain the friendly cultural arts at-mosphere, and expand on the“Walk” element of ArtWalk, in-viting select exhibitors who canprovide booths giving emphasisto reducing your ‘carbon foot-print’, walking and hiking. These

will be in addition to a fullcomplement of over 100 artistsdisplaying their works in shops,restaurants and tasting roomsthroughout Downtown Liver-more.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasmbehind the revived ArtWalk,”says Ryan. “So many people havebeen really disappointed whenwe said we weren’t doing it again.It’s a special event – people fillthe streets and smile – and manyof them stop at our info boothsjust to say ‘thank you for puttingthis event on.’ That doesn’t hap-

pen every day.” Request applications for art-

ists and exhibiting businesses, aswell as sponsorship information,at info@artwalklivermore.org orsend a SASE to the Bothwell ArtsCenter, 2466 8th Street, Liver-more, CA 94550. Signups are dueAugust 15, 2008.

Shakespeare, Tickets are now on salefor Livermore Shakespeare Festival’ssummer productions running in rep-ertory July 10 – August 2 at Concan-non Vineyard, 4590 Tesla Road,Livermore. “The Compleat Works ofWllm Shkspr (abridged) runs July 1011, 12, 24, 26 and Aug. 1. “TwelfthNight” runs July 17-20, 25, 27, 31and Aug. 2. All performances beginat 7:30 pm. Picnic grounds open at 6pm. Tickets can be purchased at(800) 838-3006 for $30/25, withJuly 10 and 17 previews at $20, andthe July 11 gala opening at $50/$45.For more information or to buyonline, go towww.livermoreshakes.org.

The Doors Legacy Band concert, Sat-urday, July 12, 8 p.m. Amador The-ater, 1155 Santa Rita Road. City ofPleasanton Civic Arts Presents willhost The Doors Legacy Band cel-ebrates the music of one of America’smost influential rock bands. Theycombine elements of music, theaterand poetry. All tickets to the concertare $18. They may be purchasedonline at www.civicartstickets.org upto three hours prior to the perfor-mance, by phone at (925) 931-3444,or in person at the Amador TheaterBox Office Monday through Fridayfrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and for twohours prior to the performance. Groupdiscounts are available.

Jazz in July, a series of free events,Livermore Library. Sunday, July 13at 2pm there will be an afternoon ofhistoric classic jazz performances onfilm presented by master archivistMark Cantor at Mark Cantor’s Giantsof Jazz on Film. Civic Center Library,1188 S. Livermore Avenue. TheFriends of the Livermore Library hasunderwritten this program as part ofthe Friends Authors and Arts Series.www.livermore.lib.ca.us. JoyceNevins at (925) 373-5500 extension5577.

Summer Dinner and Movie at WenteVineyards, Mon., July 14,“Charlotte’s Web;” Mon., July 28,“Elf (Christmas In July);” Mon., Aug.18, “Back To The Future;” Mon.,Aug. 25, “No Reservations;” Mon.,Sept. 8, “Happy Gilmore,” Cafe

The Dorian Michael/KennyBlackwell duo brings its well-seasoned instruments for anevening of heartfelt music inwide-ranging styles. The benefitconcert is set for 7 pm Thursday,July 10, at Our Savior LutheranChurch, 1385 S. Livermore Ave,Livermore, and will benefit theLivermore Rotary Club’s MusicScholarship Fund.

Two acts will open: local fa-vorites Richard Streeter, guitar,and Albert Robles, percussion;and 17-year-old guitarist/singerFrankie Miller.

Tickets at $15 general, $11students are available at FineFretted Friends, 2181 First St.,Livermore, or at the door.

Peter Beagle, famed author ofthe classic fantasy tale, “The LastUnicorn,” will present a readingand talk about his career at thePleasanton Library on Sun., July13.

Peter Soyer Beagle wrote hisfirst novel, A Fine and PrivatePlace, when he was only 19 yearsold. Today he is best known asthe author of The Last Unicorn,which routinely polls as one ofthe top ten fantasy novels of alltime, and at least two of his otherbooks (A Fine and Private Placeand I See By My Outfit) are con-sidered modern classics.

He wrote the teleplay for epi-

Duo PerformsIn Concert

sode 71 of the television seriesStar Trek: The Next Generationtitled “ Sarek.” He wrote thescreenplay for the 1978 RalphBakshi animated version of TheLord of the Rings, the film whichfirst inspired a teenaged PeterJackson to read J.R.R. Tolkien,and he wrote an introductionpage for the American edition ofThe Lord of the Rings in theearly 1970s.

In 2005 he published a codato The Last Unicorn, a noveletteentitled “ Two Hearts,” and be-gan work on a full-novel sequel.In 2006, “Two Hearts” won theprestigious Hugo Award for Best

Novelette and in 2007 it wonthe in the same category. Thestory was also nominated as ashort fiction finalist for the WorldFantasy Award In 2006, Beaglewon the Inkpot Award for Out-standing Achievement in Sci-ence Fiction and Fantasy.

Peter S. Beagle now lives inOakland.

The program will begin at 2p.m. in the Pleasanton Public Li-brary Meeting Room, 400 OldBernal Ave., Pleasanton.

The program is free and opento all. No registration is required.For more information, call PennyJohnson, 931-3405.

'Last Unicorn' Author at Pleasanton Library

6:30pm, Movie -Twilight The Lawnat Wente Vineyards.www.wentevineyards.com.

Tuesday Tunes, each Tuesday fromJune 3rd -Oct. 14th 6pm-9pm June-Sept., 5pm-8pm Sept. & Oct. Freelive music at the Flag Pole Plaza &Livermore Plaza, Livermore Down-town, Inc.www.livermoredowntown.com.

San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’sFree Shakespeare in the Park pro-duction of Pericles at 7:30 p.m. Per-formances will take place Saturdayand Sunday evenings through July13, at Amador Valley CommunityPark, 4301 Black Avenue, corner ofBlack Avenue and Santa Rita Road.Pericles is the story of a young man,Prince Pericles, who embarks on anepic journey that ultimately triumphsgood over evil. Admission is free.City of Pleasanton Civic Arts event.For more information, call the De-partment of Parks & CommunityServices at (925) 931-5340.

Garre Winery: July Bocce Ball andItalian Dinner night each Wednes-days, July 16, 23 and 30. IncludesItalian buffet dinner served with threeglasses of complimentary vineyardselection wine. Cellar Master WayneRe is Bocce Captain and coordinatesinstruction and group play. $38.95person all inclusive. Seatings from5:30pm. Garré Winery, 7986 TeslaRoad, Livermore. Reservations re-quired. 371-8200.www.garrewinery.com.

Garre Winery July Vineyard Nights:July 11, Wicker Vault; Wine, beer,appetizers or dinner outdoors amongthe vines. Restaurant open 6pm, music7-10pm. $15pp minimum. Indoorseating available. For more informa-tion contact Garré Winery, 7986 TeslaRoad, Livermore. 371-8200.www.garrewinery.com

8th Annual Downtown Summer WineStroll, 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, July17, Pleasanton Downtown Associa-tion event. Over 25 members of theLivermore Valley Winegrowers As-sociation will showcase their winesthroughout the downtown at variouslocations. Each guest will receive acommemorative wine glass and eventmap. Only 1000 tickets are availablefor $25 per person. They will be soldin advance through Wednesday, July16. Remaining tickets, if available at$30 per person sold beginning at5:45 p.m. on the day of the event infront of the Museum on Main, 603Main Street. For more information,contact Nickie Hoppe at (925) 484-2199.

The Cherry Orchard by AntonChekhov. July 26-Aug. 10, Saturdayand Sunday evenings. Las PositasCollege Theater, 3000 Campus HillDr., Livermore. $10 general admis-sion, $7 students and seniors. Per-forming Arts Events Line 424-1100.

Jazz, Isaac Schwartz, Jonathan Stein,Ari Chersky, Sat., July 26, Pleasan-ton Library 7 p.m. Free. 400 OldBernal Ave.

Houston Jones, Calif. based high oc-tane American quintet. They per-form original music including blue-grass, folk, blues and gospel. Sun.,July 27, Pleasanton Library 7 p.m.Free. 400 Old Bernal Ave.

Evening of food, wine, art and musichosted by ultra-spective and UBSFinancial Services on Thursday, July24th. The gallery studio will hostcatered hors d’oeuvres sponsored byUBS Financial Services, fine wine byWente Vineyards, ultra-spective’snewest award winning photographicart and designs, and live DJ entertain-ment featuring the best in interna-tional downtempo. An RSVP is notnecessary. 2074 Second Street, Liv-ermore. 449-9879.

Wente Vineyards hosting a wine cavetasting experience weekends from 1to 4 p.m. There is a limit of 18 peopleper session. Tasting is by appoint-ment only. The one hour experienceincludes a brief tour followed by a sitdown tasting of five limited produc-tion, small lot wines that are onlyavailable from the winery. A selec-tion of artisan cheeses tailored toaccompany the wines are includedfor your enjoyment. Special pur-chase privileges and occasional spe-cials are extended to all participants.The fee is $20.00 per person and$15.00 for Wine Club members. Call925-456-2405 for reservations.Wente Vineyards Event Center &Vineyard Tasting Room, 5050 Ar-royo Road, Livermore.

Performing Arts Summer Academy still accepting registrations. Core skillscamp runs July 21 – Aug. 1; MusicMan, Jr. runs July 31 – Aug 16. Signup for either session or combine themfor best value. Academies run M-F

Pictured are (from left) Ted T'Agostino,Nikolai Lokteff and Jim Hiserappearing in Shakespeare'sAssociates "Compleat Works of WllmShkspr (abridged)."

The Independent, JULY 10, 2008 - PAGE 9

Automotive SalesPeople Wanted

We need 10 people who want to make100k in the next 12 months.

Experienced preferred but will trainthe right people. $6,000 guarantee for th

1st 90 days for training.

Call or apply online. 925-294-7700,www.livermoreautogroup.com

LEGAL NOTICES/CLASSIFIEDS www.independentnews.com

LEGAL NOTICESFOR INFORMATION

PLACING LEGAL NOTICES CONTACT BARBARA @

925 243-8000

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411151

The following person (s) do-ing business as: Integrity Con-struction, 1620 Arroyo Rd., Liv-ermore CA 94550 is herebyregistered by the followingowner (s):Pat Ansuini Jr., 1620 ArroyoRd., Livermore Ca 94550This business is conducted by:an IndividualRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under the

fictitious business name ornames listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Pat Ansuini Jr.This statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon May 22, 2008. Expires May22, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2337. Publish June 19, 26, July3, 10, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411708

The following person (s) do-ing business as:Castle Com-forts, 1891 2nd Street, Liver-more Ca 94550 is hereby reg-istered by the following owner(s):Duthie Ventures, Inc., 1891

2nd Street, Livermore Ca94550This business is conducted by:a CorporationThe registrant began to trans-act business under the ficti-tious business name(s) listedabove on March 25, 1994.Signature of Registrant:/s/:James W. DuthieThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 5, 2008. Expires June5, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2338. Publish June 19, 26, July3, 10, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENT

FILE NO. 412032-412033The following person (s) do-ing business as:1)CheckersCatering, 2)Checkers Cater-ing and Special Events, 83Wright Brothers Avenue, Liv-ermore Ca 94551 is herebyregistered by the followingowner (s):Checkers Grill, 82 Wright Broth-ers Avenue, Livermore CA94551

This business is conductedby:a CorporationThe registrant began to trans-act business under the ficti-tious business name(s) listedabove on July 11, 2003.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Denise SlavittThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 11, 2008. ExpiresJune 11, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2339. Publish June 19, 26, July3, 10, 2008

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411811

The following person (s) do-ing business as:Bollinger NailSalon, 310 Main Street #D,Pleasanton CA 94566 ishereby registered by the fol-lowing owner (s):Bollinger Nail Spa, Inc., 18080San Ramon Valley Blvd., SanRamon Ca 94583This business is conductedby:a CorporationRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under the

fictitious business name ornames listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Minh NguyenThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 6, 2008. Expires June6, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2340. Publish June 19. 26, July3, 10, 2008

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411341

The following person (s) do-ing business as:PleasantonSpa Parties, 4326 Diavila Ave.,Pleasanton CA 94588 ishereby registered by the fol-lowing owner (s):Debra Ann Cardella, 4326Diavila Ave., Pleasanton Ca94588Laura Jewel Roy, 5780Highbluff Terrace, PleasantonCa 94588This business is conductedby:a General partnershipRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under thefictitious business name or

names listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Debra Ann Cardella andLaura J. RoyThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon May 28, 2008. Expires May28, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2341. Publish June 26, July 3,10, 17, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 412009

The following person (s) do-ing business as:BayPay, Inc.,1479 Chaparral Way, Liver-more Ca 94551 is hereby reg-istered by the following owner(s):Bay Valley Payroll Profession-als, Inc., 1479 Chaparral Way,Livermore Ca 94551This business is conductedby:a CorporationRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under thefictitious business name ornames listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Jesse W. MontoyaThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 11, 2008. ExpiresJune 11, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2342. Publish June 26, July 3,10, 17, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411781

The following person (s) do-ing business as:LizzyScrapbooking, 1920 MeadowGlen Drive, Livermore Ca94551 is hereby registered bythe following owner (s):Elizabeth Anne Folsom, 1920Meadow Glen Drive, Liver-more Ca 94551Edwin Nelson Folsom, Jr.,1920 Meadow Glen Drive,Livermore Ca 94551This business is conductedby:Husband and wifeRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under thefictitious business name ornames listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Elizabeth Anne FolsomThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 6, 2008. Expires June6, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2343. Publish June 26, July 3,10, 17, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411759

The following person (s) do-ing business as:Lamee Stu-dios, 1413 Lillian Street, Liv-ermore Ca 94550 is herebyregistered by the followingowner (s):Tracey N. Lamee, 1413 LillianStreet, Livermore Ca 94550This business is conductedby:an IndividualRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under thefictitious business name ornames listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Tracey N. LameeThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 6, 2008. Expires June6, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2344. Publish June 26, July 3,10, 17, 2008.

STATEMENTABANDONMENT

OF USE OFFICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAMEFILE NO. 395874

The following person (s) has(have) Abandoned the use ofthe Fictitious Business

Name:Aloha Transportation,4655 Gerrilyn Way, LivermoreCA 94550The Fictitious business NameStatement for the Partnershipwas filed on May 15, 2007 inthe County of Alameda underthe file number 395874.Scott P. Torres, 4655 GerrilynWay, Livermore CA 94550This business was conductedby:an IndividualSignature of Registrant/s/:Scott P. TorresThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of AlamedaCounty on June 25, 2008The Independent Legal No.2345. Publish July 3, 10, 17,24, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 412544

The following person (s) do-ing business as:JerryEldorado DBA Aloha Trans-portation, 4749 Bennett Dr. SteM, Livermore Ca 94551 ishereby registered by the fol-lowing owner (s):Jerry Eldorado, 4080 South Pt.,Discovery Bay, Ca 94505This business is conductedby:an IndividualRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under thefictitious business name ornames listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Jerry EldoradoThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 25, 2008. ExpiresJune 25, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2346. Publish July 3, 10, 17,24, 2008.

STATEMENT OFABANDONMENT

OF USE OFFICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAMEFILE NO. 349886

The following person (s) has(have) Abandoned the use ofthe Fictitious BusinessName:Blossoms by Hannah’sMom, 3566 Germaine Way,Livermore CA 94550The fictitious business NameStatement for the Partnershipwas filed in the County ofAlameda under the file num-ber 349886.Mari Symon-Chew, 3566Germaine Way, Livermore Ca94550This business was conductedby:an IndividualSignature of Registrant/s/:Mari Symon-ChewThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of AlamedaCounty on June 4, 2008The Independent Legal No.2347. Publish July 3, 10, 17,24, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411672

The following person (s) do-ing business as:Party Angel,3566 Germaine Way, Liver-more Ca 94550 is hereby reg-istered by the following owner(s):Mari Symon-Chew, 3566Germaine Way, Livermore Ca94550This business is conductedby:an IndividualThe registrant began to trans-act business under the ficti-tious business name(s) listedabove on June 1, 2008.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Mari Symon-ChewThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 4, 2008. Expires June4, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2348. Publish July 3, 10, 17,24, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 411841

The following person (s) do-ing business as:Old VineCandle Company, 399Covellite Lane, Livermore CA94550 is hereby registered bythe following owner (s):Jennifer Lee Jannusch, 399Covellite Lane, Livermore CA94550This business is conductedby:an IndividualRegistrant has not yet begunto transact business under thefictitious business name ornames listed.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Jennifer JannuschThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 9, 2008. Expires June9, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2349. Publish on July 3, 10, 17,24, 2008.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 412002

The following person (s) do-ing business as:Mystical Fu-sion - Glass Designs, 313Ontario Drive, Livermore Ca94550 is hereby registered bythe following owner (s):Donna D. Davis, 313 OntarioDrive, Livermore Ca 94550This business is conductedby:an IndividualThe registrant began to trans-act business under the ficti-tious business name(s) listedabove on May 1, 2008.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Donna D. DavisThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 11, 2008. ExpiresJune 11, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2350. Publish July 3, 10, 17,24, 2008

FICTITIOUS BUSINESSNAME STATEMENTFILE NO. 412504

The following person (s) do-ing business as:Anaya Pho-tography, 648 Division Street,Pleasanton Ca 94566 ishereby registered by the fol-lowing owner (s):Yvette S. Helmers, 648 DivisionStreet, Pleasanton Ca 94566Jason W. Anaya, 648 DivisionStreet, Pleasanton Ca 94566This business is conductedby:a General partnershipThe registrant began to trans-act business under the ficti-tious business name(s) listedabove on November 22, 2002.Signature of Registrant:/s/:Yvette s. Helmers and JasonAnayaThis statement was filed withthe County Clerk of Alamedaon June 25, 2008. ExpiresJune 25, 2013.The Independent Legal No.2351. Publish July 10, 17, 24,31, 2008.

NOTICE OF APPLICATIONTO SELL ALCOHOLIC

BEVERAGESDate of Filing Application:

JUNE 24, 2008To Whom It May Concern:The Name(s) of theApplicant(s) are:

ASEM HAMID MATTEOApplicants listed above areapplying to the Department ofAlcoholic Beverage Control tosell alcoholic beverages at:

853 E STANLEY BLVDLIVERMORE, CA 94550

For the following type of Li-cense: 41 - ON-SALE BEERAND WINE -EATING PLACEDepartment of AlcoholicBeverage Control1515 Clay St. Ste. 2208Oakland, Ca 94612510 622-4970The Independent Legal No.2352. Publish July 10, 17, 24,2008.

ANIMALS/PETS1) CATS/DOGS

ADOPT A DOG OR CAT, foradoption information contactValley Humane Society at 925 426-8656.

LOST A FAMILY PET? FreeSection. Call Barbara 925243-8000 to let 49,118 house-holds know!

AAdopt a new best friend:TVAR, the Tri-Valley AnimalRescue, offers animals foradoption every Saturday andSunday, excluding most holi-days. On Saturdays from 9:30am to 1:00 pm, both dogs andcats are available at the Pleas-anton Farmers Market at W. An-gela and First Streets. Two lo-cations will showcase catsonly: Petsmart in Dublin from12:00 to 4:00 and the Pet FoodExpress in Livermore from1:00 to 4:00. On Sundays, catsare available at Petsmart inDublin from 1:00 to 4:00, andPetCo in San Ramon from11:00 to 3:00. For more infor-mation, call TVAR at (925)803-7043 or visit our websiteat www.tvar.org.

FOUND AN ANIMAL? Free Section. Call Barbara

925 243-8000 to let 49,118households know!

5)LOST

LOST CATLong Haired 1yr.,

Fluffy Orange TabbyVery Sweet, Hurt Toe,

Micro ChippedLast seen

Panama Bay Coffeedowntown Livermore

REWARD925 858-0175

LOST DOGShepherd Female, last seen2 mile mark on Mines Rd.,

in front of her home July 1st 2pm.

Please Call 925 443-4040

AUTOS/BOATS/RV’S/TRUCKS7)AUTOS WANTED

DONATE VEHICLE: RECEIVE$1000 Grocery Coupon. YourChoice. Noahs Arc - SupportNo Kill Shelters, Advance Vet-erinary Treatments. Free Tow-ing, IRS Tax Deductible, Non-Runners. 1-866-912-GIVE.(CAL*SCAN)

DONATE YOUR CAR:Children’s Cancer Fund! HelpSave A Child’s Life ThroughResearch & Support! Free Va-cation Package. Fast, Easy &Tax Deductible. Call 1-800-252-0615. (CAL*SCAN)

EMPLOYMENT56) ADULT CARE

CAREGIVERSNEEDED for elder care.

Light housekeepingerrands transportation

meal prep personal care.Please fax resume

925 371-8118

60) BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

FAMILY SALON FOR SALEGreat Livermore location

w/superior anchors. Clean and bright. 8 Stations

plus Shampoo.$85,000

Call David toll-free fordetails. 866-732-3291

ABSOLUTELY RECESSIONPROOF! Do You Earn $800 ina Day? Your Own Local Vend-ing Route Includes 30 Ma-chines and Candy for $9,995.MultiVend LLC, 1-888-625-2405. (CAL*SCAN)

SPORTS MINDED SuccessfulEntrepreneur seeks Self-starter, must be $$$ Motivated,Team Player, ready to pro-duce Health & Wealth NOW!1 - 8 0 0 - 2 2 1 - 8 4 2 9(CAL*SCAN)

BE WARY of out of area com-panies. Check with the localBetter Business Bureau beforeyou send any money or fees.Read and understand anycontracts before you sign.Shop around for rates.

65)ENGINEERING

Fluor Mining and Mineralsis one of the world’s top en-gineering, procurementand construction compa-nies, designing and build-ing major industrial facili-ties throughout the world.

Due to recent expansion,the following positions areavailable in our new officein Dublin, CA:

PROJECT MANAGERSPROJECT CONTROLS

SPECIALISTSESTIMATORS

PROCUREMENT /MATERIAL

MANAGEMENTMETALLURGISTS/

PROCESS ENGINEERSMECHANICAL

ENGINEERS ANDDESIGNERS

CIVIL ENGINEERS ANDDESIGNERS

STRUCTURALENGINEERS AND

DESIGNERSELECTRICAL ENGINEERS

AND DESIGNERSCONTROL SYSTEMS

ENGINEERS

Please forward resumesto

carey.hunker@fluor.com

PAGE 10 - The Independent, JULY 10, 2008

How do buyers know whenthey are ready to buy?

By Cher WollardThe combination of great selection, low prices and excellent in-

terest rates has many folks thinking it’s the perfect time to enter thereal estate market.

However, if you are thinking of purchasing a new home or invest-ment property, how do you know you are ready?

“The three biggest things you have to look at are: income, assetsand credit scores,” according to Andrew Aguilar, mortgage consult-ant with Vintage Mortgage Group. “With FHA, you can even getaround the assets problem. So it’s really, how much can you afford.”

Those thinking about purchasing property, whether now ormonths from now, might start by consulting with a professional.

“I send them to a mortgage specialist in the very beginning, whenwe first start talking,” said Penny Piston, a Realtor with WindermereWelcome Home.

The ideal new homebuyer will have a solid job history, goodcredit and money for a downpayment and closing costs, Aguilarsaid. If he or she is looking to purchase within the next six months,“don’t buy anything big. Don’t open any credit lines. And savesome money – there are always hidden costs.”

Hidden costs might include inspection fees, mortgage insurance,impound accounts and, once they own the property, ongoing main-tenance.

While it is possible to obtain a mortgage with 3 percent, 5 per-cent or even no money down, the best rates are generally availableto those with larger downpayments. In addition, closing costs canadd thousands of dollars to the amount of cash required to close.And, some lenders require borrowers to have a reserve equal to sev-eral months expenses.

“Ninety-nine percent of people don’t have reserves, becausethey’re fairly young,” noted Karen Long, home mortgage consult-ant for Wells Fargo Bank. Those reserves serve as safety nets forhomeowners during tough economic times, or when the house needsa new roof, for example.

For those who don’t currently meet requirements, a good mort-gage specialist can help.

Newlyweds Natalie and Ethan knew a year ago that they wantedto purchase a house in Livermore. However, they had a few things totake care of first in order to ensure they could qualify for a homethey would love. They worked closely with their mortgage consult-ant, John Allen of Bank of America, to get their financial affairs inorder.

Natalie had no credit, since she purchased everything with cash.So she obtained a credit card and started building a record of respon-sible credit. Ethan had high balances on his credit cards, the resultsof their “fairytale wedding” last August. He worked hard to bringthose balances – and his debt-to-income ratios – to where they neededto be.

In May, they closed on their first home, which they proudlyshowed off to friends and family at a Fourth of July celebration.

“We love our new home!” Natalie saidKnow what your credit report looks like.Would-be buyers are advised to start by having their credit scores

run, either by a mortgage specialist or through an online service, “sothere are no surprises,” Aguilar advised.

“If there is a problem, we can work with you on cleaning up yourcredit.”

Know what you can afford.Buyers need to be realistic about finding a property they actually

can afford, rather than looking at houses beyond their reach, saidCindy Greci, a Realtor with ReMax/Executive. “They not only haveto be able to pay the bills, but to maintain it.”

Long said many people underestimate how much their new homewill cost them each month.

Know your mortgage options.There are a range of good mortgage programs available, includ-

ing assistance for moderate-income and first-time homebuyers.“A lot of people don’t know about FHA,” said Piston. “They

don’t know that if they’ve been in the military, they can obtain agreat rate on a VA loan right now. They don’t know about (100percent financing) programs.”

Decide where you want to buy.Piston said she helps her clients work through various scenarios

to discover what community will fit their budgets and their lifestyles.“We look at where they work, where they want to live,” she said.

“I encourage people to look in communities with good prices –Brentwood, for example.”

Get pre-approved for a mortgage.Interest rates are among the lowest they have been in 30 years.

However, most experts predict that situation won’t last. By startingthe mortgage process sooner rather than later, homebuyers will beable to lock in rates earlier.

Also, most sellers will not even look at offers that do not includea pre-approval letter from a reputable mortgage specialist.

Determine the right time to buy.In addition to all the financial aspects of purchasing a home,

there is a psychology to becoming a homeowner.“Homebuyers have to be emotionally ready to take on the re-

sponsibility involved,” said Greci.“You want your house to be not only an investment but a place

you enjoy coming home to, and spending time with your family andfriends.”

To ensure that it meets those expectations, her clients are urgedto follow steps to get ready to buy, and to make sure the home theypurchase fits their budget as well as their needs.

Piston agreed. If buyers believe they are months away from beingable to buy a home, “I work with them to get them ready,” she said.

“I’ll also council them, ‘If it is at all possible for you to buy now,now is the time.’ I do not believe we will see the Tri-Valley – Liver-more, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Dublin – continue to suffer the bigcut in prices.”

Those looking for an experienced, reputable mortgage specialistto help them get on track can ask for a referral from a trusted realestate agent.

“It’s never too early to start thinking about buying,” Aguilar said.Cher Wollard is a local Realtor.

More News and NoticesColdwell Banker Residential Brokerage is once again opening

its doors on Saturday, July 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to provide freeadvice and counsel to Spanish-speaking residents as part of its newPuertas Abiertas program.

Dozens of bilingual Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerageagents from Sacramento to Santa Cruz will be taking part in theprogram, holding one-on-one sessions to help with a variety of realestate and mortgage issues. They will also offer referrals to Latinoconsumers seeking advice on tax and legal issues.

The local Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agent takingpart in the Puertas Abiertas program is Joannette Sabella in Pleasan-ton, 5980 Stoneridge Dr., Suite 122, in Pleasanton, 925.847.2200.

For more information on the program or to find an agent in yourarea who is offering the service, please contactkacie.ricker@camoves.com.

Windermere Real Estate has moved its Livermore location,Windermere Welcome Home. The new location is at 1790 FirstStreet, Livermore.

“In a market where other companies are starting to disappear, theWindermere Way’s technology and philosophy are helping to pushbusiness and agent growth,” said Gretchen Pearson, owner ofWindermere Welcome Home. “We have more than doubled our agentcount in the last year and are doubling our building size with thismove. We’re very fortunate to have such professional and commu-nity-based people join our Windermere family.”

Windermere Welcome Home’s Livermore office is part of the 23Windermere Real Estate offices throughout Northern California.

For more information on Windermere Welcome Home, please call925-244-1933 or e-mail welcomehome@windermere.com

LEGAL NOTICES/CLASSIFIEDS www.independentnews.com

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155) NOTICES

“NOTICE TO READERS: Cali-fornia law requires that con-tractors taking jobs that total$500 or more (labor and/ormaterials) be licensed by theContractors State LicenseBoard. State law also requiresthat contractors include theirlicense numbers on all adver-tising. Check your contractor’sstatus at www.cslb.ca.gov or800-321-CSLB (2752). Unli-censed persons taking jobsless than $500 must state intheir advertisements that theyare not licensed by the Con-tractors State License Board.”

REAL ESTATEThe Federal Fair Housing Act,Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of1964, and state law prohibitadvertisements for housingand employment that containany preference, limitation ordiscrimination based on pro-tected classes, including race,color, religion, sex, handicap,familial status or national ori-gin. IVPC does not knowinglyaccept any advertisementsthat are in violation of the law.

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GOT A HOUSE FOR RENT? Letthe 49,119+ households thatread the Independent find outabout it. . To place an ad go towww.independentnews.comor call Barbara at 925 243-8000

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SERVICES178)BUSINESS SERVICES

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The Independent, JULY 10, 2008 - PAGE 11

Pleasanton Playhouse con-cludes the season with perfor-mances of “Beauty and theBeast” at the Bankhead Theater.

Performances will run fourweekends July 18 through Au-gust 10.

Based on the Academy Awardwinning animated feature, thestage version of Disney’s“Beauty and the Beast:” in-cludes all of the songs from thefilm, written by Alan Menkenand the late Howard Ashman,plus new songs written espe-cially for the Broadway versionby Menken and Tim Rice(ALADDIN, AIDA).

The setting is a French pro-vincial town where the beauti-ful Belle (Lindsay Pearce) liveswith her father – a dotty inven-tor (Jay Markwart). When her fa-ther doesn’t return from a trip tothe local fair, Belle rushes off tofind him. To her dismay, she dis-covers he is being held captivein an old castle by a horriblebeast (Kevin Maldarelli). Shetrades her freedom for his andthe “tale as old as time” begins.

The cast of characters in-cludes Brandon Robinson asGaston,Christopher Olson asLumiere, Nickolas Quintell asCogsworth, JenniferBell-Olsonas Mrs.Potts, Hunter Milano andNatalie Chapin as Chip,CharlesOrlando as Lefou, SavannahStratton as Babette,JenniferSchwarz as MadameDLGB, John Veitch as M.D’Arque, Ron Houk asTheBookseller, and MorganBreedveld, Jenny Leon, andJoanna Xu as thetrio of “SillyGirls.”

Photo - Eric Wood

Pictured are (left to right) Nickolas Quintell (Cogswroth), Christopher Olson (Lumiere), andJennifer Bell-Olson (Mrs. Potts).)

In an unprecedented move,Disney has allowed MTI to li-cense stage performances of theshow to Pleasanton Playhousewhile the show continues to playin New York.

The show is produced and di-rected by Kathleen Breedveld,with musical direction by JoAnne Fosselman, vocal directionby Min Kahng, and choreogra-phy by Shawnel Herbst andVictoria George.

Performances are 8 p.m. Fri-days and Saturdays and 2 p.m.Sundays plus special 2 p.m. mati-nees on Sat., Aug. 2 and Sat., Aug.

9. There will be a special perfor-mance with sign language inter-preters on Sunday, July 27.

The Bankhead Theater is at2400 First Street, Livermore.

Tickets are $30 for adults, $28for seniors age 60 and older and$20 for juniors 18 and younger.There is a substantial discountfor groups purchasing 20 or moretickets. Note that the BankheadTheater will add a $1 facility feeto the price of each ticket. Tick-ets may be purchased at the the-ater box office, by calling 373-6800, or online atwww.livermoreperformingarts.org.

Musical 'Beauty and the Beast' Opens

ings, prints, pottery, jewelry, bas-kets, fiber arts and photography.

The Pleasanton CommunityConcert Band will be perform-ing a variety of musical styles in-cluding selections from popularsongs, oldies, pops and marches.Music from famed composerLeroy Anderson will provide abackdrop to the musical themesprovided in the program.

Other activities include fruittasting and face painting for chil-dren. There will be wines fromlocal vineyards, food by Sweet& Savory, and door prizes.

A huge storm on January 4blew down the 400 year old treeat the entrance to Alden Lane. TheAlden Lane owner and Linda Jef-frey Sailors of the Livermore ArtAssociation got together and of-fered pieces of the oak to localartists. The challenge was to cre-ate something from the oak andthen bring it back for the publicto see.

The oak display will remainat the nursery through August 10.

The show is open from 11:00am - 4:00 both days. Admissionis free. Alden Lane Nursery is lo-cated at the corner of Holmes andAlden Lane in Livermore. Over-flow parking will be available atSunset Plaza, at the corner ofConcannon & Holmes. There isa free shuttle to the nursery. Formore information go toaldenlane.com or call 925-449-9927.

ART(continued from page one)

The East Bay Regional ParksDistrict is teaming up with theBankhead Theater in Livermoreto begin a traveling exhibitionof art works based on any of theEast Bay Regional Parks.

The park district is putting outan open call to all artists livingwithin 50 miles of the San Fran-cisco Bay Area to participate.Called, “A Different View: A NewTake on our Regional Parks,” theexhibition will act as the start-ing point for a host of 75th Anni-versary activities for EBRPD.Select works from the exhibit willtravel to other East Bay exhibi-tion sites as the celebration con-tinues throughout 2009, sites to

The Dublin Summer ConcertSeries will begin July 11 and runthrough August 8 on Fridays at7 p.m.

Performances will be held inthe fountain courtyard on theeast side of the Dublin CivicCenter. Audience-style and pic-nic-style seating is available onthe terraces around the fountainfor over 400 guests.

Each Friday will offer a dif-ferent musical style. They are asfollows:

July 11, Joni Morris. She isan entertainer, songwriter andrecording artist who performsclassic music from yesterday andtoday.

On July 18, it will be TheHitmen, This group plays a vari-ety of hits from the 70s to mod-ern day favorites. The musicalbackground of the 9-piece band,consisting of some of the bestmusicians in the Bay Area, al-lows for a mixture of their abili-ties to provide a musical dancereview.

The Wild Catahoulas performon July 25. This is a Cajun/Zydeco band merges traditionalCajun French music from South-west Louisiana with contempo-rary Zydeco and New Orleanssound.

Led Kaapana is on stage Au-gust 1. Chet Atkins and BobDylan both stated that 2005

Photo - Doug Jorgensen

Pathway to Picasso is a weeklong program offered throughHorizon Counseling that provides young artists ages 13 to 17the opportunity to work with a professional artist to createseveral pieces of art. The finished work is then displayed in apublic building. The program includes a field trip to view avariety of private and public art collections along with hearingpresentations from artists working in creative jobs and howthey are able to earn a living doing so. Participants then workto create works of art at the Bothwell Arts Center. Pictured isJessica Garrigan working on her painting.

be announced. Twelve workswill be selected for the district’s2009 calendar, a piece with wide-spread distribution throughoutthe East Bay.

“A Different View” will run atthe Bankhead Theater, 2400 FirstStreet, Livermore, from Septem-ber 17, 2008 through October 30,2008, as well as exposing theworks to art lovers that crowd thestreets during ArtWalk 2008. Areception (reservations requiredat 925-373-6800) is planned forSeptember 24, 2008.

Artist submissions are dueAugust 15, 2008. A prospectus isavailable by e-mailingbothwell@livermoreperforming

arts.org with “A Different View”in the subject line. The fee of$15 for 3 works will cover thecost of the exhibition and awards.Any proceeds from the exhibi-tion will help support theBothwell Arts Center, a multi-artsfacility that provides affordablespace to over 30 artists and artsgroups.

The East Bay Regional ParkDistrict operates 65 parks withinthe greater East Bay, coveringover 98,000 acres and more than1,150 miles of trails, helping toensure preservation of the natu-ral beauty of the Bay Area, wild-life habitat, and rare and endan-gered species.

Grammy Award winner LedKaapana is “simply the best mu-sician alive in Hawaii.” He hasrecorded with Ricky Skaggs,Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal andGeorge Winston.

Swing Fever concludes theseason on August 8 with jazz ofthe 1930s and 40s. The band hastoured and recorded with well

known musicians includingCount Basie trumpeter ClarkTerry and clarinetist BuddyDeFranco, among others.

Each concert lasts approxi-mately two hours. Bring a picnicdinner to munch on and a blan-ket to sit on. There is no admis-sion charge.

EBRPD, Theater Team up for 'A Different View'

Dublin Concert Series Kicks Off Friday

PAGE 12 - The Independent, JULY 10, 2008

The East Bay Regional ParkDistrict Board of Directors hasadopted a staff recommendationto begin a pilot boat inspectionprogram at two of its five reser-voirs that allow boating. On July3, inspections began at Lake DelValle in Livermore and ContraLoma in Antioch during regularboat launch hours. During thisinitial week, these were courtesyinspections (no fee charged) atthose two lakes and boats willonly be failed if inspectors con-firm the presence of quagga orzebra mussels. A contractor hasbeen inspecting boats at LakeChabot since the spring andthose will continue. Future in-spections are likely to occur atQuarry Lakes in Fremont andShadow Cliffs in Pleasanton inthe near future.

The purpose of the boat in-spections is it to look for inva-sive quagga and zebra musselsthat are mainly spread via boatsand trailers from infected lakes.Veligers or microscopic larvaecan be spread from standing wa-ter or wet surfaces. The musselsreproduce rapidly and destroywater system components alongwith changing the natural envi-ronment of lakes and rivers. Theirpresence is often devastating tothe plant and fish life in the res-ervoirs. Zebra mussels have beenidentified at Lake Justo Reser-

voir near Hollister which is lessthan 90 miles from East Bay Re-gional Park District lakes. Nomussels have been identified inany East Bay bodies of water atthis time.

East Bay Regional Park Dis-trict trained staff at Del Vallealong with support from contractemployees at Contra Loma willinspect all watercraft includingkayaks, canoes, and float tubes.Effective July 10, 2008, fees forinspections include $6 pertrailered boat and $3 per car forcar top boats. Boats must beclean and dry. Boats with anystanding water will not be per-mitted to launch and must waitfive days before returning.

A banding program is avail-able to all trailered boats whichhave passed the inspection.Banded boats with unbrokenbands will be able to launch withno inspection or fees at all EastBay Regional Park District lakes.Kayaks, canoes, and rowboatscan obtain a 7-day pass upon in-spection. Float tube inspectionsare free.

The California Department ofFish and Game is the lead agencyon these invasive mussels andtheir status within the State. Visitwww.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel/ for more informa-tion or call their hotline at 1-866-440-9430.

EBRPD Requiring Boat Inspections

business hours, when the biscuitsand water have been brought in-doors, dogs still stop at the spot,because the aroma of the food isstill there. The bank is at 1887First St., across from Dom’s Out-fitters. Safdari said he plans tohave a promotion at some futuredate for pet owners. They willreceive a “little goodie for a dogor cat wrapped up.”

Frazier has two dogs, Pebs(short for Pebbles) and Bubba,whom she is fostering, and whomshe wants to place in a home per-

manently. (Parties interested inproviding a home for Bubba maycontact Frazier atcookiefrazier@netzero.com.)Frazier’s dogs look forward totaking the same walking route.They know they will be goingpast places with something forthem. “It’s their downtown, too,”said Frazier.

DAILY ROUTEBRINGS TREATS

The Riata, a restaurant on JStreet between First and Secondstreets, is one of the doggie

places mentioned by Frazier.There are cookies and water outfor dogs. Well-behaved dogs areallowed with their owners on therestaurant’s patio.

Riata owner Lisa Scardinasaid some dog owners bring dogcookies to her to put out. “Wegot the idea from Carmel, wherethey have dog dishes out in frontof most of the stores. It bringspeople in. We allow them (attables) outdoors.”

Like most dog-friendly mer-chants, Scardina has dogs of herown, a pug and a hound-dog mix.

Frazier has also patronized theFirst Street Alehouse’s sidewalktables, which she rated as “verydog friendly.” She said that acouple of waitresses had treats forher dogs. She was able to tie upher dogs in a corner, where itdidn’t create a problem.

Frazier also rated the PanamaBay coffee house on First Streetas dog-friendly, allowing cus-tomers to enjoy coffee at an out-door table with their dogs. An-other dog-permitting places forFrazier has been the biscuit-pro-viding Artspace Gallery on Liv-ermore Avenue near the flagpole.Also welcoming her in with her

dogs have been a taqueria nearthe alehouse and a wine shopnear Strizzi’s, she said.PLEASANTON A PIECE OF

CAKE FOR DOGSMelanie Sadek, owner of

Murphy’s Paw, 410 Main Street,Pleasanton, is obviously dog-friendly. Her store sells pet sup-plies for dogs and cats. The storeis named after her golden re-triever, Murphy. She has a dogcandy machine in front of herstore, which she takes back in atnight.

At Murphy’s Paw, dogs canhave their own party, with doggiefriends in attendance. Each guestreceives a piece of cake, and

wears a party hat. “I think peoplefeel that their dogs are equiva-lent to someone’s child. They rec-ognize that a dog is an importantpart of a family. This is a newtrend. They care about what thedogs are eating. The birthdaycakes have all natural ingredi-ents. They are even wheat-free,because some dogs are allergicto wheat,” said Sadek.

Sadek said that some restau-rants on Main Street allow dogson their patios. Some, such asRising Loafer and Mahalo Grill,hand out dog treats. Dog cook-ies even include a special recipeoreo.

DOGS(continued from page one)