Residents Sue to Stop Wine Country
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Thursday, MARCH 5, 2020 VOLUME LVII, NUMBER 10 Your Local News Source Since 1963 SERVING DUBLIN, LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON, SUNOL Residents Sue to Stop Wine Country Inn By David Chircop Young, Ann Spies-Young, and and ignoring what it claims are to the Petition for Writ of Man- A group of residents is suing the Donna Cabanne, formed an as- conflicts between the project and date filed by the Friends of South City of Livermore and a developer sociation called Friends of South the city’s own General Plan, the Livermore,” Boss wrote in an of the recently-approved Liver- Livermore. The group appealed South Livermore Valley Specific email. “However, until the matter more Wine Country Inn, arguing the Planning Commission’s ap- Plan, the Municipal Code, and is heard by the Court, we are un- the project violates state planning, proval to the Livermore City state environmental laws. able to provide further comment zoning, and environmental laws. Council, which unanimously up- The lawsuit names the devel- on this issue.” The two-story 30-room bou- held the Commission’s decision at oper Michelle Boss, LWCI, Inc., a The residents’ lawsuit asks the tique hotel and 77-seat restaurant, its Jan. 13 meeting. business entity she started for the court to reverse city approval for complete with a wine bar, terrace, Neither City Attorney Jason Livermore Wine Country Inn, the the project, and to require the city See Inside Section A meeting rooms and caretaker’s Alcala nor Mayor John Marchand City of Livermore, and the Alam- to enforce various rules it claims Section A is filled with could be reached for comment by eda County Surplus Property Au- were ignored. It asks for an in- information about arts, unit with a private pool, is planned for the southwest corner of Han- press time. thority, which remains title owner junction halting any action on the people, entertainment and The lawsuit, filed by Friends of the land pending a $750,000 development pending the court’s special events. There are sen and Arroyo Roads. education stories, a variety After the Planning Commission of South Livermore in Alameda sale to LWCI. decision. of features, and the arts approved a site plan and condi- County Superior Court on Feb. 13, “LWCI, LLC are in alignment The lawsuit further asserts the and entertainment and tional use permit last fall, nearby alleges the City Council abused its with the City of Livermore and California Environmental Quality discretion by granting approval supports its position with regard bulletin board. homeowners, including Peter (See WINE COUNTRY INN, page 8) Initial Results Measure P Tallied for Seats Leading in And Measures Early Results Local elected offices at stake in By David Chircop the March 3 presidential primary Livermore voters Tuesday, in election included two Alameda early results, were overwhelming- County Board of Supervisors seats; ly in favor of a measure to uphold three seats on the Zone 7 Water an agreement between the city and Agency board; three school district a private developer to build a hotel bond measures; one state senate next to the Bankhead Theater on seat, one assembly seat, and one the east side of Livermore Avenue. race for U.S. Congress. There were As of press time, preliminary three school bond measures also on results of mail-in ballots from the some voters’ ballots. Alameda County elections website Under California’s top-two pri- indicated Yes on Measure P votes mary, the two highest vote-getters were leading No votes by about move on to the general election a two-to-one margin. It needs a on Nov. 3. For Alameda County simple majority to pass. The early Supervisor a candidate who wins numbers are based on a tally of 50% plus one vote is the winner. nearly 10,000 ballots. Otherwise, the top two move onto “The city listened to the com- the Nov. 3 ballot. munity during our Outreach Pro- cess. When the voters voted in the (See ELECTION, page 8) Daffodils in bloom beautify the valley with their striking brilliant yellow. (Photo - Doug Jorgensen) (See MEASURE P, page 8) PUSD Considers Rae Dorough Speaker Series Conference to Electronics to U.S. Military Capability Talk To Be Given Open Dialogue A nationally known defense ex- he said he believes that the U.S. need to) go from the few and the On Teen Anxiety Detect Vaping pert from the Naval Postgraduate military is too reliant on a small large to the many and the small.” School in Monterey will discuss number of very large and expen- One of his current classes at the The Z-Cares Foundation will By Ron McNicoll the U.S. military’s capabilities and sive programs and forces, leading Naval Postgraduate School covers host a two-day event, March 6-7, priorities next week in a talk at the to vulnerability in an age when ad- just this topic: “Military organiza- at CrossWinds Church in Liver- The $9 million upgrade to the Bankhead Theater in Livermore. versaries can purchase or develop tions and technological change.” more, focusing on youth anxiety. Pleasanton schools communication The expert, John Arquilla, is a highly accurate weapon systems. “The story’s pretty much not a The first day will include and computer systems, due to be- former analyst with the RAND What is needed is organiza- happy one,” he said. “Going from a screening of the documen- gin soon, will include the ability to Corporation, now a Distinguished tional change, he said. The mili- the first truly modern war, the tary “Angst: Raising Awareness pinpoint the location of vaping high Professor of Defense Analysis. tary should be restructured around American Civil War, it’s hard to Around Anxiety,” at 6:30 p.m. The school students. His talk, “National Defense for “smaller things.” find examples of militaries who film features an interview with Amy Nichols, the district’s se- a Brave New World,” is scheduled “Instead of just 11 (aircraft) have understood the implications Olympic swimmer and mental nior director of procurement and to begin at 7:30 p.m. next Thurs- carrier strike groups, we should of new technologies quickly, read- health advocate Michael Phelps, technology, informed trustees day, March 12. It is part of the probably have quite a few more, ily and effectively.” as well as teens and parents who about the change and other elec- Rae Dorough Speaker Series, and smaller naval platforms. Instead He considers the “larger ques- share personal stories about the tronic improvements at the board’s sponsored by the Quest Science of a couple dozen brigade combat tion” to be whether potential ad- impact of anxiety on their own Feb. 27 regular meeting. Center. teams, we probably want hundreds versaries like China and Russia lives. The system also detects smoke, Day 2, starting at 9 a.m., will In an interview prior to his talk, of smaller of units of action… (We (See SPEAKER SERIES, page 2) carbon monoxide, and other harm- include a keynote address by psy- ful chemicals, and sends staff a lo- chologist Mark Reinecke, clinical cation message. director for Child Mind Institute in In addition, the units monitor and UC Merced, Lawrence Livermore Develop Bond San Francisco, as well as breakout detect abnormal sounds that can be Just 90 miles from the Univer- nities for students and alumni. an innate belief in pioneering the sessions for teens, young adults a threat. Nichols cited fistfights and sity of California, Merced lies an “Our students have a real hunger next wave of diverse thought lead- and adults. In addition, mental gunshots as examples, which tie in epicenter of the future of technol- to learn, and to be part of solving ership and research. health providers will be available with the district’s goal of improv- ogy, innovation and national secu- complex scientific problems with National labs partnering with to answer questions and help fam- ing school safety and security. rity. major societal implications,” said universities is not new, but the op- ilies navigate difficult times. The $275,000 monitoring sys- Regardless of the route you take, Vice Provost and Graduate Dean portunities being created through Z-Cares Foundation was es- tem is covered by an “e-grant,” a the journey from UC Merced to Marjorie Zatz. “On top of that, stu- this UC Merced-to-LLNL pipeline tablished in memory of Zachary program administered by the Fed- Lawrence Livermore National dents tend to be comfortable work- are unique. Nimmo, a 14-year-old student at eral Communications Commission Laboratory will include twists and ing in interdisciplinary contexts, “UC Merced is a very new cam- Amador Valley High School, who (FCC). Its purpose is to make links turns, ups and downs. But the uni- and this fits well with the culture at pus, which has allowed us to jump took his own life in 2018. Anxiety to telecommunications more af- versity and lab have teamed up to the national labs.” in and establish a presence early disorders are the most common fordable for schools and libraries. lay the groundwork for a direct UC Merced and LLNL are com- on,” said Marisol Gamboa, a com- mental health challenge in the Trustee Jamie Yee said the dis- pipeline between the two, opening patible in many ways — an empha- puter scientist at LLNL and Data U.S., but there is hope because trict would be better off spending a door to research collaborations as sis on interdisciplinary research, an Science Summer Institute program the condition is highly treatable. money elsewhere. She said there’s well as job and internship opportu- eye always toward the future, and (See UC MERCED, page 12) (SeeZ-CARES, page 5) (See VAPING, page 3) African Americans Represented at Living Museum By Bruce Gach The students dressed as their sub- let their listeners know why their ject, bringing photos and other choice was an important addition The quiet large multipurpose relevant items representing their to Black America’s history and room at Fairlands Elementary subject’s lives.