Thursday, JANUARY 30, 2020 VOLUME LVII, NUMBER 5 Your Local News Source Since 1963 SERVING DUBLIN, LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON, SUNOL Pleasanton Measure Would Finance New School and Upgrade Others By Ron McNicoll dicted for higher density projects in would include classroom and labs by the county assessor's’ office. It is transit-oriented neighborhoods not that support science, technology, not the same as a market price that The Pleasanton Unified School far from BART. engineering, math and the arts. a developer or a homeowner might District (PUSD) will be asking for The district’s 10th elementary Some $17 million would finance get for the property. People should authorization to sell up to $323 mil- school would be created on the site a new classroom building at Ama- check their tax bills to determine lion worth of bonds for a long list of currently housing Donlon School, dor Valley High School. $12.4 mil- their property’s assessed valuation. improvements to its facilities when See Inside Section A on Dorman Road. Donlon would lion would cover new classrooms The $43 per $100,000 assessed voters cast ballots in the March 3 be converted to 4th and 5th grades. at Foothill High School. valuation would work out to $430 Section A is filled with presidential primary election. information about arts, The new K-3 school would be built New fencing at school sites and a per year for an assessed valuation people, entertainment and PUSD wants to accomplish proj- next to it. The two campuses would new phone system would safeguard of $1 million. special events. There are ects in a wide variety of categories, be separated by the space for park- security better. Heating and cooling The bond taxes would conclude education stories, a variety selling bonds over 31 years to make ing and vehicular drop-offs and systems would be upgraded. in 2051/52. The debt service to pay of features, and the arts sure they are financed as they come pick-ups. Estimated cos amounts PUSD estimates that the bond off the bonds, including principal and entertainment and on line. to is $48.3 million, with an opening would cost property owners $43 and interest, would $661 million. bulletin board. The biggest single project would contemplated for fall 2022. per $100,000 of assessed valua- The bond money may not be address the north side growth pre- Other big, highly visible projects tion. The assessed valuation is set (See PUSD, page 8) Sunol Glen Debate Held Sends Bond By Alameda Onto Ballot Supervisor By Ron McNicoll Sunol Glen Unified School Dis- Candidates trict’s Measure O, a ballot measure By Bruce Gach to raise $9.5 million for needed improvements to the single-school A lively debate took place be- district, will be on the March 3 tween the challengers for Alam- ballot. eda county supervisors at Granada The new bond would cost a High School on Jan 23, with over property owner $59 per $100,000 80 citizens attending. assessed valuation, which is based Vying for District 1, which in- on the official assessment placed cludes Livermore, Dublin, Su- by the county on a property. It nol and Fremont, were Dublin should not be confused with the Vice Mayor Melissa Hernandez, market value, which often is much Fremont City Councilman Vin- higher than assessed valuation. nie Bacon, and State Senator Bob Property owners need to examine Wieckowski also from Fremont. their tax bill to learn the assessed Dublin Mayor David Haubert did value. not attend due to attendance at the There is no organized oppos- Margaret Zhao leads people in tai chi at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton in celebration of the lunar mayor’s conference in Washington, 7tion or ballot argument against it. new year. (Photo - Doug Jorgensen) D.C. Each candidate present discussed (See SUNOL GLEN, page 7) their merits in opening and closing statements, and answered questions submitted by audience members. Driver Accused Council Makes Its Case for Staying Haubert’s representatives read his opening and closing statements, Of Attempting explaining why he was the most The Course On Downtown Project qualified person for the position. To Murder Two Hernandez noted that she want- By David Chircop struction. The issues were raised as part ed to help all residents of Alam- Police Officers The Livermore City Council on They also raised the specter of of a discussion of factual infor- eda County and would be a leader Monday campaigned strongly for new state housing laws they say mation related to an upcoming working on transportation prob- By Larry Altman their vision of downtown rede- could halt construction and jeop- referendum and initiative that lems and homelessness. velopment, arguing that anything ardize either of the competing would allow voters to change the Bacon presented his credentials, A Livermore man who allegedly Master degrees in transportation else will unravel a carefully-laid visions for downtown from ever course of Livermore’s downtown drove off a road and tried to run engineering and city planning, stat- plan which includes signed de- being realized. redevelopment. down two of the city's police of- “This isn’t going to be resolved Supporters of the residents’ ing that he pushed for City Council ficers has been charged with mul- velopment deals, development members not to accept developers’ process steps, and ensuring there easily,” Councilman Bob Woern- Central Park Plan said the city’s tiple counts of attempted murder er said. offers of funds to the city in return that could send him to prison for is adequate parking during con- (See DEVELOPMENT, page 12) for authorizing projects in Fremont. the rest of his life. Wieckowski stated that he has Matthew David Kelly, 38, who been the spokesman for energy was shot during the alleged attack Downtown Plans’ Opponents Square Off conservation during his 16 years in on Jan. 22, is scheduled to appear and drag on for years, eventually over different hotel and park pro- the state senate. “My whole life has Jan. 31 at the East County Hall of Editor’s note: This story first forcing towering low-income apart- posals for the downtown core. been helping people at their time of Justice for arraignment, jail re- ments to be built next to the Bank- The city has signed an agreement need,” he said. cords show. appeared online on Jan. 24. head Theater where a hotel is now with a developer to put a hotel on Haubert’s statement described According to police, Kelly al- planned. the east side of Livermore Avenue; the work he had performed in the legedly drove a 2011 Kia Soul By David Chircop “It’s a lot of ‘ifs’ but the trend the residents group wants the hotel Dublin Unified School District and toward the officers as they con- is moving in the wrong direction built on the west side. They differ the work as mayor to enhance the ducted a field sobriety test with A City Councilman is warning for us,” Woerner said, referring to in what kind of hotel each wants, quality of life for the residents of a suspected drunken driver about against what he says is a potential a host of recently enacted hous- where parking and housing should Dublin,. ,, that he has the endorse- 3:25 a.m. avalanche of litigation that threatens ing laws from Sacramento that aim go, and how much park each plan ment and support of all the other An Alameda County District At- to bury long-planned efforts to revi- to remedy California’s affordable includes. Tri-Valley mayors. torney’s Office complaint identi- talize 8 acres of city-owned land in housing crisis. Livermore voters on March 3 will Audience questions posed to the fied the officers as Kurt Cofer and the heart of downtown Livermore. It’s all those “ifs” that support- decide whether to uphold or reject candidates were varied and specific Eric Santin. Both fired their guns Councilman Bob Woerner said he ers of the west side downtown plan the city’s hotel development agree- to current topics. All the candidates at the car, and then jumped out of fears that a defeat of Measure P by say are being used as a scare tactic ment with Presidio Companies. recognized traffic problems as a Livermore voters on March 3, and the way, as did the motorist. Cofer, to frighten away voters who support Then, on Nov. 3, voters will choose major concern, voicing support for approval of a local ballot initiative their vision for the area. They say which downtown plan they want. Santin and the motorist were un- to reconfigure the city’s downtown Valley Link and developing other hurt, police said. Woerner’s concerns omit important The residents’ group argues transportation solutions for the Tri- redevelopment plan in November, context about the new laws. that Livermore will be bound to The officers had pulled the mo- Valley and also the entire Bay Area. could trigger lawsuits from the state The city and residents’ group are the city’s plan if the development (See DRIVER, page 2) and affordable housing advocates locked in a long, contentious battle (See DOWNTOWN, page 7) (See CANDIDATES, page 2) Quilt of Valor Received by Las Positas Student By Bruce Gach “Ron is kind, generous and car- the maximum level of success to ing in everything he does. It was continue to serve my country,” he A look of surprise and disbelief truly an honor and tremendous said. “I am currently majoring in spread across Ronald Payne’s face privilege to recommend him for politics and criminal justice at LPC when his name was announced as the quilt,” Bowers said.