City’s virtual holiday celebration Page 15 VOL. XXI, NUMBER 33 • NOVEMBER 20, 2020 WWW.PLEASANTONWEEKLY.COM HHolidayoliday FFundund ccampaignampaign nnowow uunderwaynderway SSixix corecore nnonprofitsonprofits ttoo bbenefitenefit ffromrom tthishis yyear’sear’s ccontributionsontributions PPageage 1122 5 NEWS County regresses into COVID-19 purple tier 5 NEWS Judge rules in city’s favor in Costco lawsuit 16 TRI-VALLEY LIFE Passing on the memories Page 2 • November 20, 2020 • Pleasanton Weekly TIM TALK NEW LISTINGS BY TIM HUNT City reacts to pandemic by offering previously unimaginable services Listed for $1,469,000 Gorgeous Backyard ocal government leaders have cost. That program is scheduled 720 LAKE MEAD PLACE, SAN RAMON been working in uncharted to wind up Dec. 21. The Pleasan- 4 Bedroom / 3 Bathroom, 2,824 Square Feet, 11,664 Square Foot Lot L territory since the governor ton program ran for 3-1/2 months locked down the state in March. and wound down when the shut- Gorgeous home with resort-like backyard in Canyon Crest. Great location Pleasanton City Manager Nelson down order was modified. Residents within walking distance to elementary school. Fialho, speaking to the Pleasanton worked with CityServe and other Men’s Club last week, remarked that providers on transitional housing. the city senior staff routinely does It was this program that Fialho COMING SOON! emergency drills once or twice a said he could never have imagined year, but those focus on natural Pleasanton operating, but that’s how 678 PETERS AVENUE, PLEASANTON disasters such as floods, fires and the pandemic changed what was 2 Bedroom / 2 Bathroom, 868 Square Feet earthquakes. A worldwide pandemic normal. In response to a question, is new and what’s even more chal- he said he participated in the one- Enjoy the downtown lifestyle from this adorable downtown Pleasanton condo lenging is there’s no timeline for night homeless count two years ago. located 1 block from Main Street. Great top floor unit with large patio perfect return to whatever is normal. That showed that most of the home- for entertaining In his talk, Fialho went back 14 less people in Pleasanton were living months to put some perspective on in their cars and then going to work the situation. Pleasanton celebrated and returning in the evening to park 7TIME WINNER AS PLEASANTON’S BEST REALTOR & HALL OF FAME MEMBER its 125th anniversary in June 2019 behind a building or in a parking lot. and wrapped up the fiscal year June It counted about 80 people. 30 with a nice surplus and a healthy Fielding a question from the au- Gina Piper budget. Unemployment was less dience about Oakland’s thought than 2% and reflected a healthy of housing homeless people from 925.200.0202 • DRE #01201349 economy that was humming along. there at the fairgrounds, he said the [email protected] That continued until the pan- city has flatly told the county of- ElationRE.com demic hit and the lockdown took ficials no. The city’s agreement with effect. That reaction/shutdown phase the county specifies that any non- resulted in most city staff working fair use on the fairgrounds must from home from mid-March until have city approval. September when city leaders started The city staff members who had working to help in the recovery. been working from home now have Fialho was particularly proud of returned to the office in a hybrid the partnership the city developed schedule that divides departments with Stanford-ValleyCare to operate so half of the team is in the office a drive-thru test site at the Alam- at any one time. And last week, the eda County Fairgrounds. He said he library reopened with limited hours Group and Private Dog Training believed without the city’s initiative and a grab-and-go approach. there would not have been a site in As you would expect some revenue the valley. About 1,000 people are streams — hotel tax — have shriveled All Ages and Skill tested each week, and it ran without up, while others such as property tax Sets Welcome any county financial support until (the largest single revenue source) September. The cities of Livermore remains strong. He noted that people Online and In-Person and Dublin also came on board. continued to buy cars that helped the Sessions Available at It was one of the pandemic-re- sales tax, which took a hit because the Expert Instruction sponse items that he said he could mall and other retailers were either 8323 Baldwin Street, Oakland never have imagined. The same goes shutdown or limited in hours. for developing a short-term program Fialho said he expected the week- Positive Reinforcement to house homeless people. That end closure of Main Street to become Methods resulted in the city renting hotel an annual event from spring into rooms. Residents were served one fall. He said the restaurants love it, meal daily by Open Heart Kitchen while the retailers don’t like it all. It and CityServe provided toiletries wrapped up so the retailers could and case management. have a break during the critical holi- Save $20 He estimated the cost at $3,150 day season. It will be up to the new When you use code per resident per month, very efficient City Council next year to decide DOGCLASS at checkout* compared to San Francisco’s program whether to move forward with it. Q that is costing $8,000 per month. Editor’s note: Journalist Tim Hunt I volunteer with Miracle Friends, a has written columns on the Tri-Valley program of Miracle Messages, that community for more than 40 years. pairs a volunteer with a homeless He grew up in the valley and lives in person sheltering in a San Francisco Pleasanton. His “Tim Talk” blog appears hotel so I knew the San Francisco twice a week at PleasantonWeekly.com. About the Cover Sign up today at Today marks the launch of the 2020-21 Pleasanton Weekly Holiday Fund, which will benefit six local nonprofits during their time of need this winter amid eastbayspca.org/training the COVID-19 pandemic. Cover design by Kristin Brown. *Valid through 12/31/2020 on select classes and private training Vol. XXI, Number 33 Pleasanton Weekly • November 20, 2020 • Page 3 Streetwise ASKED AROUND TOWN How are you planning to spend Thanksgiving this year? Kelly Gaich Bartender I have one friend who is in my social bubble. We get together every weekend in order to watch football. We are planning to get together, eat Thanksgiving food and catch a game. 6(//(56:$17(' Demetra Jaffin Laboratory specialist We are spending Thanksgiving with just 9OäyOds t|OopÝt__|3bMOozoWssObdo BpVÝWbBbKWB__| BlBJ_Oœ.OBM|sddÝ my immediate family this year, which oO;dt.OBM|2d dyOá is much smaller than our typical large extended family get-togethers. It will pBVdaOdzbOoÛ|dtVByOBaBppWyOdlldostbWs|oWUVsbdzà9VOsVOo|dtzBbssdMdzbpWOBbM be different, but it’s the safe way to pByO adoO OBKV adbsV do UOs B adoO ptWsBJ_O VdaO JBpOM db |dto MWpsWbKs bOOMpÛ WsĆp B UoOBs celebrate and that is very important right sWaOà;dtKBbzWbJWUJ|aB^WbUBadyOWTsVOsWaOWpoWUVsTdo|dtà now. /WbKO sVO KtooObs #8 ø KoWpWp VBp B_sOoOM dto MBW_| _WTOps|_OpÛ aBb| Jt|Oop BbM pO__Oop BoO sVWb^WbUBJdtsadyWbUsdBVdaOzWsVadoOdo_OppplBKOBbMsdMWTTOoObsWbøpsBsOdodtsdTpsBsO _dKBsWdbpà Orson Waters College student T |dtäyO JOOb B VdaOdzbOo Tdo adoO sVBb |OBopÛ |dtäyO _W^O_| MdtJ_OM |dto OntWs|à 9VOsVOo |dtäoO_dd^WbUsd_dzOo|dtoKdpsdT_WyWbUÛUOsadoOVdaOTdo|dtoadbO|œ_WyOBJOssOo_WTOÛbdzWp I don’t get what all the fuss is about. sVOsWaOà t|OopBoOBKsWyO_|_dd^WbUTdoVdaOpsdJt|ÛBbMsVOoOäpbdsObdtUVptll_|à I’m planning to have Thanksgiving with my family, and after that to go out ;dtKBbzWbJWUJ|aB^WbU|dtoadyOoWUVsbdzà9VOoOzW__|dtUdáOsäpaOOsîyWostB_doWbø with all of my good friends from high lOopdbïsdaB^OBl_Bbà school, since it is so rare for us to see one another now that we are all away B__tpsdMB|Bsøø at college. We plan to have a great “Friendsgiving” together. n2TMmM MqqMmrqrmMbm;br]nMxTMmMá KKdoMWbU sd B oOKObs ptoyO|Û Ň dT B_WTdobWBbp pB| sVO| zBbs sd _OByO sVO psBsOà +Oo ObptpÛ Rebecca McLaughlin B_WTdobWBpBzdyOoVB_TBaW__WdbdTWspoOpWMObsp_OByO_Bps|OBoB_dbOÛadyWbUsdBoOBpptKVBp Teacher 2O{BpÛoWdbBÛ9BpVWbUsdbœ d_doBMdà9VW_OsVOKdpsdT_WyWbUœotbbWbUBJtpWbOppKdbsWbtOpsd oWpOÛaBb|BoOadyWbUsdMWTTOoObsdtsdTpsBsO_dKBsWdbpàoO|dtUdWbUsdJObO{sá We will be driving to an Airbnb, dogs and all. It’s in San Clemente Beach. 8WpWs B|oOBdaOWbMOoàKdaæ{dMtpTdoBToOOoOldosdb B_WTdobWBäp{dMtpà We want to keep our Thanksgiving celebration small and relaxing this year. tooObs t|Ooäp!OOMp v oà/BbMOOlÚ!OzOoVdaOWb+_OBpBbsdbÛtlsdĝà v oà+ByBbÚ+_OBpBbsdbÛJOMİ/.Ûtlsdĝà v oà/BsVWpV+Ú+dbMOodpBÛJOMİÛtlsdĝà v oàtUObOÚWyOoadoOÛJOMİÛtlsdĝà v oàoaBb ÚWyOoadoOÛJOMİ/.Ûtlsdĝ v oà BMVt/Ú BbyW__OÛJOMİÛİÛtlsdĝà John Weinberger v pàbUO_ Ú tJ_WbœWyOoadoOJOMİ2Ûtlsdĝ v opàoWpÚ+_OBpBbsdbÛJOMpİÛtlsdĝ Paralegal Well, it has always been my annual tradition to travel to New Jersey in order /MMbx9MämMM]jU`Sb_Mbx`Mmn @\M2TMUm bwMÝ to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. This year though, I think it is a really bad idea to travel and to spend time 3/2/# /# /# indoors with lots of people. So instead I’m planning to stay put, and just make and eat a whole lot of stuffing. It’s really the only Thanksgiving food I truly enjoy. —Compiled by Nancy and Jeff Lewis /Bbsd dtosÛ tJ_Wb >BbMd_ dtosÛ tJ_Wb !OzaBb+_BKOÛ+_OBpBbsdb t_sWl_O#TTOop+oWdo2d OWbUWpsOM t_sWl_O#TTOop+oWdo2d OWbU#b O_lOMbbyOpsdo2B^O BpV#TT Have a Streetwise question? Email [email protected] #b Bo^OsÝO_lOMdaOdzbOo Bo^OsÝO_lOMdaOdzbOo 2VO2BJ_OÝ BpV#tsœ dyO2d2O{BpÝ BpV#tsœ dyO2d2ObbOppOOÝ The Pleasanton Weekly is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 5506 Sunol Blvd., Suite 203, 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. dVpObW.OB_psBsOodtl Print subscriptions for businesses or residents of other communities are $60 per year or $100 àà for two years.