Wild Blue Yonder
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Pleasanton Foothill golfer making a name on Weekly collegiate circuit » 20 6/,8))) .5-"%2s-!9 WWW.PLEASANTONWEEKLY.COM WILD BLUE 12 Young reporter takes flight into history in time for Memorial Day YONDER INSIDE THIS WEEK BUSINESS NEWS 10 ■ NEWS: Parents push district to restore programs 5 ■ NEWS: Sniffing dogs lead to one student arrest 5 TRI-VALLEY LIFE 16 ■ LIVING: Enjoy ‘Fresh Works’ at Harrington Gallery 16 SECTIONS Arts & Entertainment NEW Page 2ÊUÊMay 25, 2012ÊUÊPleasanton Weekly AROUND PLEASANTON BY JEB BING 38 years as a Pleasanton barber — that’s a lot of haircuts hen Cosmo Panetta first opened his barber shop Won Main Street in May 1972, you could ride a horse down- JEB BING town to his shop’s hitching post out Cosmo Panetta celebrates 38 years as front, get a shoe shine for 50 cents a barber shop owner in Pleasanton, and a hot towel shave and haircut including the last 36 years at his Pleas- for a couple of dollars more. In anton Plaza shopping center location those days, most men kept their hair on First Street. cut short, many parted it on the left or right, and tipped a quarter or half are covered with signed photos. a dollar at the most. Although he discreetly steers clear Today, as Cosmo celebrates his of political chatter, he and his as- 38 years in Pleasanton and also sociate barbers have handled the 36 years at his First Street location haircuts and hair styles for thou- in Pleasanton Plaza, the city’s first sands of customers over the years, strip shopping center, much has including many of our local politi- changed. Horses are no longer al- cians. Just how many? Cosmo cites lowed downtown, you probably a friend’s suggestion that he post have to drive to an airport to get a a sign outside “1 billion haircuts,” shoe shine, and haircuts are now just as McDonald’s has done with $10 at Cosmo’s Barber Shop, still its hamburgers. one of the better bargains in men’s Although a majority of custom- grooming in the Tri-Valley. ers are still men, women aren’t far Cosmo, who’s 67, immigrated behind and are gaining in numbers with his family to the U.S. from as Cosmo hires “multi-tasked” Calabria, Italy, in 1957, traveling women professionals capable of by train from the family’s Staten making any round, oval square or Island docking to Richmond and heart-long faced female look even then on to San Leandro where rela- better with new styles, coloring, tives already lived. At 19, he gradu- extensions and more. His barbers ated from Pacific High, which was and stylists are regular, too, which absorbed into San Leandro High helps for women who like to make School later. A friend interested him appointments with the same pro- in barbering so he went to Moliere’s fessional. Some have been with Barber College where he obtained Cosmo for years, including Maria his state license and began a career, Doccaro, now 40, who joined the working in other shops before buy- Cosmo team when she was 18. ing out and renaming the Krause Cosmo also has special appeal barber shop that was next to Pas- for youngsters, no doubt because of time Pool on Main Street. his price and 12-hour, seven days a Cosmo and his wife Marisa week shop openings. But just as his live in a large Italian-style home associates keep up with the latest with plastic pink Flamingos and a hairstyles for women, they also are backyard shed filled with home- on top of men’s hair preferences. made wines. It’s a necessary stop Currently, it’s the George Clooney for a group from Pleasanton and and Justin Bieber styles that are in nearby cities in the late afternoon vogue. Long gone are the once- of every first Thursday as the local popular Mohawks, Elvis Presley Italian contingent makes its way sideburns and long hair. Although to the Colombo Club in Oakland, cutting hair is usually uneventful, itself a fixture of the Italian com- Cosmo ran into trouble recently munity that first settled there as when he cut the overly-long hair immigrants. I joined this select of a 10-year-old at the insistence group May 3 where I had a chance of his mother, who was standing đŏý1ŏ/5),0+)/ đŏ*%)(ŏ%0!/ to visit with Tony Macchiano, Rich alongside. Seeing in the mirror that đŏ/%*1/ŏ%*"!0%+*/ Puppione, Bob Molinaro, Dan his long locks were gone, the boy đŏ./$!/ Faustina and scores of other Italian- ran up to Cosmo and kicked him đŏ)%*+.ŏ10/ĥ1.*/ đŏ)%*+.ŏ/,.%*/ Americans from Pleasanton, who in the shin as hard as he could. all asked the same question: How Last week, I made it easy for did a British descendant like me Cosmo, my own barber since I get inside the hallowed halls of the moved here in 1987. Asking how I Colombo Club? preferred my hair, he then chuckled, In addition to his Italian connec- saying there wasn’t all that much %*'( +!', , #-&# tions, which extend far beyond the left anymore to worry about. Five Bay Area, Cosmo is also a sports minutes later I was through, paid my enthusiast whose barber shop walls bill, and was out the door. N %*'( %$-'" -&# )*$ #-&# About the Cover The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress at the airport in San Luis Obispo before its flight to the Bay Area on the Wings of Freedom tour, which will be at the Livermore air- port from Sunday to Tuesday. The swastikas represent the number of destroyed Nazi aircraft while each bomb represents a mission. Photo by Amelia Arvesen. Design by Lili Cao. Vol. XIII, Number 19 Pleasanton WeeklyÊUÊMay 25, 2012ÊU Page 3 Streetwise ASKED AROUND TOWN How do you celebrate Memorial Day? TAKING THE CONCEPT OF SERVICE TO A NEW LEVEL. Julie Marchand Executive assistant % #$ $ This year we are going to put up our back- yard waterslide and have friends over for a % $ # relaxing barbecue. All the men in my family have fought in wars, so it is very important % " to us that we honor those who have died for our country. We took our son to the cemetery last year so that he could under- stand what the holiday is about. $!"" Fiorella Cuba Student seeking employment 925.939.3333 My mom goes to church and prays for 2791 North Main St., Walnut Creek those that died for the country, and I am going to follow in her footsteps this year. www.lawrencevolvo.com I was born in Peru, and we have a similar holiday there. It’s nice to celebrate both. Brian Glasco Student We are going to goof around and have fun. We also look at old pictures of my grandpa who fought in a war. He died before I was born so I never got to meet him. We also pray for my uncle because he served in Vietnam. Sarala Rajagopalan App industry/mom We are planning to take a trip to the THE PLACE to Shop for Vintage, Retro & Antique Exploratorium this weekend, and we’ll have our first visit to the pool. We also put "" the flag up every year to honor those who served. !" ""! Nelly Jaurejui ,&0 College student I moved here from Mexico two years ago, so ,+,)!'. + +') we haven’t really celebrated Memorial Day. This year, I am planning to spend time with my family. %1(%2 2 )(()"*$0,#0(()"*)$) —Compiled by Kerry Nally ."+!0)*/()"& %1 (% Have a Streetwise question? E-mail [email protected] ++!"& '''+!'&+!')&)' "& "-"*"'& "%"++!)"+%*()()*'& The Pleasanton Weekly is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 5506 Sunol Blvd., Suite 100, Pleasanton, CA 94566; (925) 600-0840. Mailed at Periodicals Postage Rate, USPS 020407. The Weekly is mailed upon request to homes and apartments in Pleasanton. Print subscriptions for businesses or residents of other communities are $60 per year or For more info: (650) 242-1294 [email protected] $100 for two years. Go to www.PleasantonWeekly.com to sign up and for more informa- tion. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Pleasanton Weekly, 5506 Sunol Blvd., Suite www.pleasantonantiquefair.com 100, Pleasanton, CA 94566. © 2012 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Page 4ÊUÊMay 25, 2012ÊUÊPleasanton Weekly Newsfront DIGEST Employees, parents push school district to restore programs July 4th fireworks Concessions from teachers union lets district halt some cuts Independence Day Fireworks BY GLENN WOHLTMANN board. stood with about a dozen other to borrow money from the Syca- are returning to Livermore this The Pleasanton School Board is The equivalent of five physi- counselors, all wearing red, said more Fund — proceeds from the year, to take place at Las Posi- looking at restoring nearly $1.3 cal education specialists would be research shows that students that sale of district property — to fund tas College. The Livermore Fire- million in programs and jobs cut returned at a cost of $400,000 as have counselors available perform the facilities master plan. Arkin works Community Committee, made earlier this year, to the relief part of the restoration plan. Ah- better in school. asked that administrators consider working with the city of Liver- of parents and district employees madi said that would serve several “This is what counselors do: We using money from the general fund more and the Livermore Area who packed the board room to purposes: It would give students dry the tears and get them back to that originally was earmarked to Recreation and Park district, has overflowing Tuesday night. instructional time by P.E.