july 2012

Delivered to Over 40,000 Homes and Businesses

• July 2012

Photo by Todgomes.com

Photo courtesy Main Street Martinez

• 4th of July Celebrations ............................... page 7• Wine Walks & BBQ Winners ................... page 10• Retiring Educators ......................................page 12 • Spring 2012 All-League ..............................page 18

• Rankin Park Then & Now .............................. page 20• Hike for Life! ................................................... page 23• Snake Season .................................................... page 28 • Blues & Brews ................................................... page 32

www.ourcommunityfocus.com July 2012

Pleasant Hill

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www.ourcommunityfocus.comJuly 2012


JulIE SAyS

In the April issue of Community Focus, my article featured the town of Guanajuato, Mexico, best known for its museum filled with the mummified re-mains of former townsfolk. I invited read-ers to share their own weird travel tales. Reader Adrianne Roe alerted me to one of her favorite “haunts,” the ghost town of Gold Point, Nevada, which has been lov-ingly preserved since 1981 by a gentleman named Sheriff Stone. He and a couple of friends bought and began restoring the old post office and other deserted buildings. Sheriff Stone encourages travelers to “Vacation in the Old West.” He describes accommodations in Gold Point as “rustic on the outside.” A trip to the website confirms this. One can choose from the more “deluxe” Radkie House or opt for one of the four standard cabins, includ-ing the perhaps aptly named “House of Payne.” Food is served family style at the Main House, where one can listen to Sheriff Stone spin a colorful yarn or two. Visi-tors to Gold Point are welcome to browse through Stone’s 115-pound album containing no fewer than 8,000 ghost town photos. Really. By chance, Adrianne’s note about Gold Point reached me shortly after my family had returned from our spring break trip to the Grand Canyon, which included a blast-from-the-past stop in the ghost town of Jerome, Arizona. Back in the early 1900s, Jerome was pro-claimed to be the “wickedest town in the West,” full of gam-blers, stagecoach robbers, claim jumpers and such. By the time my husband Murray and I discovered Jer-ome in the 1970s, the town had cleaned up quite a bit from its outlaw heyday. Artists and counterculture types had made the town home and opened up a few charming galleries and cafes. On our visit this year, we found a lot more activ-ity in Jerome, but somehow it seemed much spookier than I remembered -- one could imagine paranormal goings-on without much difficulty. Rickety, witchy looking houses

and buildings cling to sheer drop-offs, and there is a seriously strange vibe to the place. Also note that getting to Jerome is not for the faint of heart. The town is a mile high up in the hills and is reached by a seemingly endless road snaking its way up and up and then up some more. You will, however, be rewarded with fantastic views in addition to the feeling you have stepped onto the set of a horror movie. If you happen to be in the area on the first Saturday of any month, you can forget

about ghosts while you take in the Jerome Art Walk and visit twenty-five galleries and studios. The annual Ghost Walk is scheduled for October 12 and 13 this year for any brave souls out there. If you aren’t able to follow Adrianne’s recommenda-tion to visit Gold Point or make it out to Jerome this sum-mer, there are plenty of other noteworthy ghost towns west of the Mississippi. Check out Garnet, Montana; South Pass City, Wyoming; St. Elmo, Colorado; Terlingua, Texas or Goldfield, Arizona for a “spirited” taste of Ameri-can history. Happy summer! Contact Julie at [email protected]

Ghostly Summer AdventuresBy Julie Ross

PuBlISHERSBecky Coburn, Jennifer Neys, Elena Hutslar

[email protected],000HomesandBusinessesinPleasantHill,Martinez,

Pacheco,LafayetteandWalnutCreek

ADVERTISING [email protected]

SPORTS EDITORChuck Nan

[email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNTrish Heaney, Debra Wilson

COPy EDITORAlison Clary

View the Focus online: www.ourcommunityfocus.com

CONTACT INFORMATION:Community Calendar:

[email protected]

Content & General Inquiries: [email protected]

6680 Alhambra Ave. Box #132Martinez, CA 94553

Phone: (925) 335 - NEWS (6397)

Independent & locally Owned

The Community Focus is a free, independent,

monthly publication dedicated to highlighting

the vibrancy of the local businesses and residents

while strengthening and building connections

within our community.

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Pleasant Hill City Hall Photo by Susan Wood Photography

Photo Courtesy of Berthold Steinhilber, Gold Point Nevada


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The fiercely competitive seller’s mar-ket we entered into earlier this year rages on as we head into summer. Making things even more challenging for those unfortunate people out there looking for a place to call home is a rental market that is no more forgiving. The bottom line: if you want to get into a good house in a good neighbor-hood, you’ve got your work cut out for you. You also better plan on spending more than you expected. Interestingly enough, this daunt-ing prospect is further constraining one source of housing inventory that, over the past few years, has been quite plentiful: short sales. Many homeowners who were considering dumping their underwater homes via a short sale are choosing in-stead to work towards a loan modification or just plain do whatever it takes to keep their mortgage paid. This newfound desire to continue being a homeowner is further fueled by a newfound optimism in the future of the

housing market. After years of dropping values, many homeowners felt more like they were coming home to a boat anchor than a home. Mathematically, dumping that bad investment made perfect sense. Throw in some good old pessimism about what the future holds for home values and a short sale became a no-brainer for many. But watching the value of your home rise by about 15% in five months is some-thing even the Grinch would have diffi-culty being pessimistic about. The feeling on the street among prospective and cur-rent homeowners has shifted dramatically. It’s now no longer a question of if home values will return to their former levels, but rather when they will return. So what is a prospective homebuy-er to do? My advice: don’t despair. The faint-of-heart are already starting to fold under the pressure. From what I can glean from my daily interaction with the market, the volume of competition has somewhat dropped off over the past cou-ple of weeks.

It’s possible that it is just a seasonal fluctuation. May is typically an extremely busy month in the real estate market, and June usually brings a bit of a respite. The end of the school year is a major reason for this lull; as a parent, I can certainly at-test to the number of distractions this time of year brings. But another reason is that many buy-ers are fed up with being repeatedly out-bid by competing buyers. Facing the real-ity of having to spend significantly more than they had intended, many buyers are simply heading back to the sidelines to see how everything unfolds. So stay strong and don’t give up your quest just yet. If you play your cards right, you may just find your dream home while your competition is sulking in the corner or sipping a Mai Tai on their summer va-cation. Nathan Hitchcock is the manag-ing broker of Hitchcock Realty, he can be reached at [email protected] or (925) 825-1100.

Real Estate updateBy Nathan Hitchcock

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A Grand Old Flag Parade Join us in downtown Martinez this Fourth of July for a hometown pa-rade on Main Street. Over 40 entries, including many community groups, will march down Main St. beginning at Court St. to Alhambra Ave. This year’s theme is “It’s a Grand Old Flag” and prizes will be awarded to those who incorporate them in to their parade entry. A Flag Raising Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Building will take place at 8-8:15am, at 930 Ward St. Then head over to the pancake break-fast from 8-10am. Breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, eggs, juice or coffee. Price is $3 for kids up to age 10 and $6 for adults. The breakfast is sponsored by Roxx on Main and is located at 627 Main St. After the breakfast, join us on Main St. for a hometown parade be-ginning at 10:00am. Entries include CERT (Community Emergency Re-sponse Team), Cub Scout Pack 184, ATA Martial Arts, Soroptimists Inter-national, Martinez Rotary Club, Shell

Oil Products, and more! There’s still time to get your club, business, group, or school in the parade. It’s free to en-ter and awards are given immediately following the parade at the review stand! And, don’t miss the City of Marti-nez Fourth of July Fireworks display at Waterfront Park. Fireworks begin at dusk and will last approximately 25 minutes. This first time event would not be possible without the generous support of these businesses: Shell Oil Products US Martinez Refinery, Sign Me UP, KKDV 92.1, Claycord.com, The UPS Store on Arnold Dr., Allied Waste Ser-vices, Marty O’s Concessions and Ca-tering, Roxx on Main, Ron’s Tow Ser-vice, California Pacific Federal Credit Union, and a special thanks to the City of Martinez. For more details visit www.main-streetmartinez.org or call (925) 228-3577. For more information about the city fireworks visit www.cityofmarti-nez.org

Grand Sponsor / Crackling Finale

Allied Waste ServicesDon & Norma Flaskerud

Loja Pleasant Hill, LLCCity of Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill Coin& Jewelry Exchange

Sponsor / Starburst

AAA Insurance

Patrick & Shirley CampbellFoundation

City Arms East, LLC

Comcast

Dan Chao Insurance Agency

Pleasant Hill Lions Club

Pleasant Hill Recreation & Park District

Rotary Club of Pleasant Hill

State Farm Insurance–Matthew Rinn Agency

Supporter / Oooooooh

Jim & Margi Alkire

Jim & Sandy Bonato

David Deutscher Co.

CouncilmemberDavid Durant/

Network for Good

Cresco Equipment

Diablo Trophies & Awards

Eames Hardware & Supply

Far West Sanitation & Storage

Fast Signs

Grace Cleaners

Mayor John & May Hanecak

Richard & Gloria Henne

Hillcrest VeterinaryHospital

Ken & Eileen Housfeld

Jo's Sushi Bar

Don & Linda Mayo

Karen Mitchoff, ContraCosta County Supervisor

Mr. Lucky's of Pleasant Hill

Payless Painting

Rubios

Santiago & Associates

Seel & Wright, LLC

Simons Structural Engineering

Jack Weir, Councilmember

Patron / Kaboom

Advanced EyecareOptometry

Back 40 Texas BBQ

Concord Feed

Daily Digital Imaging

DonaghuGraphic Designs

Gas System Engineering

Golden Gate Petroleum

Irvin Deutscher YMCA

Councilmember Michael Harris& Dawn Block

John F. Kennedy University

Magoo's Grill

Pete Sabine & Lori O'Brien /Pacific Union International

Play It Again Sports

PH Chamber of Commerce

PH Community Foundation

Rappicci's Italian Ice

Slow Hand BBQ

The Kensington

TaylorMade WaterSystems

Trujillo and Vinson, LLPPH Community Focus

6:30am

8:00am

9:30am

10:30am

7:15pm

Registration for Firecracker

5K Fun Run

Start of Pleasant Hill’s 8th annual

Firecracker 5K Fun Run

Start of Pleasant Hill’s

famous hometown Parade

Lots of games

Rootbeer floats, popcorn,Live

entertainment, Kids Petting Zoo

(the band that puts

a fresh spin on old classics) and

Fireworks over College Park High

Party-in-the-Park:

Cover2Cover

Burlap sack races,Bean bag toss, Water balloon toss,Tug-O-War, Watermelon eating,Rubber chicken toss, Family relay

THANK YOU...to all the businesses and individuals who made this possible!

�

�

�

�

LUMBERYARD

Jinx Jones &the King Tones

Buttons Z Clown

Watermelon

—

music from the “great

fountain of musical

gestation era”–

mid 60s-mid 70s hits

—

old time Rockabilly

and Rock ‘n Roll fun

eating contest!

Fun entertainment ALLDAY on the stage & lawn!

Family fun ALL DAY atPleasant Hill’s 4th of July!

PLUS!Great food from

Back 40 Texas BBQ (in the park)

Slow Hand BBQ (6:30 at CPHS)

Fourth of July

in Pleasant Hill

4th of July!Good Old-Fashioned

Donor / Aaaaaaah

All Out Baseball

C & M Party Props

Chipotle

Coco Swirl

Country Waffles

Fast Signs

Five Guys Hamburgers

Debby Fleckinger

George Hardistry

Hair at the Ritz

Innovations

Jack's Restaurant and Bar

Kelly Ann's Day Spa

Melo's Pizza

Peet's Coffee

Robyn and Chris Rice

Christine Sampson,State Farm Insurance

Sinful Bliss Cupcakes

Viano Vineyards

Wild Birds Unlimited

RSC Equipment Rental

4th of July!


Architectural Review CommissionJuly 5, 19City Hall, 100 Gregory LaneLarge Community Room, 5:00pmContact: 671-5209

City CouncilJuly 2, 16City Hall, 100 Gregory LaneCouncil Chambers, 7:30pmContact: 671-5229

Civic Action CommissionJuly 4City Hall, 100 Gregory LaneSmall Community Room, 6:30pmContact: 671-5229

Education CommissionJuly 25City Hall, 100 Gregory LaneLarge Community Room, 7:00pmContact: 671-5229

Planning CommissionJuly 10, 24City Hall, 100 Gregory LaneCouncil Chambers, 7:30pmContact: 671-5209

Zoning AdministratorJuly 12, 26City Hall, 100 Gregory LanePublic Works ConferenceRoom, 5:00pmContact: 671-5209

City Calendar of Events

For Confirmation Visit: www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us

PlEASANT HIll CITy BuZZMayor’s Message

John Hanecak, Mayor of Pleasant Hill First, I’d like to report that the Pleasant Hill Youth Summit pi-lot on May 24 was a huge success and over 500 Pleasant Hill youth par-ticipated.1 Things they liked most about Pleasant Hill, in prioritized order, were: 1) In & Out Burger, 2) youth programs, and 3) the convenience of everything. Changes they would most like to see in Pleasant Hill, in prioritized order, were: 1) lower gas prices, 2) more carnivals and 3) allowing dogs in more places. The most asked question was how Pleas-ant Hill got its name. This question has stumped even professional historians for decades. There are various theories, most of which date to the late 1800s. As

a result, when school resumes in the fall, I will ask our youth to use their creativity and critical thinking skills to help answer this question. I’ll keep you posted. Summer has arrived and many activities await us. If you are enjoying a “staycation,” or have some time through-out the summer and fall, come join us at our popular Sunset by the Lake summer concerts, the Plaza Concerts, the Pleas-ant Hill Farmers’ Market, the Fourth of July festivities and the Blues and Brews Festival. Peruse this issue for display ads listing dates and times of these events or see the Pleasant Hill Outlook newslet-ter or click on the 2012 Festival Calen-dar on the city’s website: http://www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us. I want to thank the many organizations, businesses and in-dividuals that make these events possible for everyone to enjoy.

In addition to these activities, you might like to visit your favorite busi-nesses, including some of our newest: Safeway, Golfsmith and In & Out Burger. As some have heard, Pleasant Hill will proudly welcome the arrival of Nord-strom Rack (next to the new Safeway) and Zachary’s Chicago Pizza (down-town). I have been asked why these businesses decided to locate in Pleasant Hill and make significant investments during such challenging economic times. I believe these decisions are the result of a unique combination of committed commercial property owners, an ideal location, solid demographics and a sup-portive community and city. Finally, I’d like to remind everyone that our city council will be discussing and deciding our two-year budget later this month. I want to thank our city staff for their commitment to improving the

way our financial information is report-ed; it helps the city achieve its goals as we move forward to implement our general plan. You’ll find the budget documents on the city’s website, attached to our June 18 city council agenda. Please contact city staff and/or your council members if you have any questions or comments. 1 The pilot consisted of over 450 youth completing an initial four-part questionnaire and then 250 students voting on those ideas to generate a list of priorities. The pilot focused primarily on College Park and Valley View students (along with some students from PHMS and CTK). The summit was made possible through the support of our 6th-12th graders, the Mt. Diablo School District, the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District, and the City of Pleasant Hill. A special thanks to Superintendent Steven Lawrence, College Park Principal Paul Gengler, Valley View Principal Ean Ainsworth, former College Park Principal Barbara Oakes, Co-President of the College Park PTSA Kathleen Strange, Pleasant Hill City’s own PIO Martin Nelis and a great group of committee members.

Retail Marketing, Promotional Events and Banner Programs all underway PleasantHill’sEconomicDevelopmentCommitteehasbeendevelopingandimplementingnewinitiativestohelpstimulate,retainandattractbusinesses.SincethecreationoftheEconomicDevelopmentCommitteein2011,thecommitteeandcitystaffhaveexploredprogramsthatinvolvedesign,economicassistanceandbusinesspromotiontorevitalizeandstrengthenthecity’sassets.

Business Concierge Program at City Hall Someprojectscompletedtodateinclude:theimplementationofanex-panded“businessconcierge”approachforservicedeliverytocustomers;promo-tionofnewbusinessesinthecitythroughaspecial“OpenForBusiness”insertintheNovember2011editionoftheOutlook;andabusinesssurveyinFebruary2012,includedwithallbusinesslicenserenewals. Otherprojectsincludeanewcomprehensivebusinessresourcesguideforbusinesspromotionandattraction,andacommercialreal-estatebrokerout-reachprogramthatincludesroundtablediscussionsonhowthecitycanbetterassisttheminattractingnewbusiness.

Retail Marketing Incentive Program InApril2012,thecitylaunchedtheRetailMarketingIncentive“Pilot”Program,whichprovides“matchinggrants”toqualifiedPleasantHillretailbusinesses.Theprogramstartedwithaninitialallocationof$47,500and,todate,allprogramfundshavecommittedtoprovidingassistancetotwelveretailbusinessesandoneneighborhoodshoppingcenter.Theprogramwillincludeacomprehensivemar-ketingplananddirectadvertisingtopromoteadditionalsales.

Special Events and Banner Programs Inadditiontocompletedprojects,thecommitteehasbeenworkingwiththeChamberofCommerceonanewContraCostaBoulevardbannerprogramtopromote“Dine,Shop,EnjoyPleasantHill”toencouragelocalshopping.ThecityalsohasanongoingcollaborationwithdowntownpropertyownerLojaGroup,LLCandthechamberoneventsliketheFarmers’Market,DowntownPlazaCon-certSeries,WineWalksandtheArt,JazzandWineFestival,alleventsthatcontinuetodrawvisitorstodowntown. Formoreinformationonanyoftheseprograms,contactKellyCalhoun,EconomicDevelopmentManagerat(925)[email protected].

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Stimulating the Economy


MARTINEZ CITy BuZZ

City Calendar of Events

Time has been tough for all of us in this sputtering economy and that includes local and state government. For the last several years, all one hears is that cities and the state have multi-million and multi-billion dollar deficits and are cutting services, reducing sala-ries and benefits, and laying off employ-ees. In Martinez we had a structural def-icit of $700,000 that we solved by elimi-nating some management positions at the top of our organizational structure, freezing new hires, cutting overall gen-eral expenses and negotiating reductions in health care and retirement costs to the city with our employee groups. Recent review of the first year of our two-year budget shows that we will end the year with a very small surplus of about $2,000 and a total unrestrictive reserve fund of $3.5 million (or about twenty percent of

our General Fund). The forecast for the next year is that sales tax income could increase by one percent, but we are planning for it to re-main flat. Property tax income reduction has finally bottomed out and is expected to remain flat for at least the next year. Currently, city staff is working on a five-year financial forecast to keep the city fi-nancially healthy so it can weather these tough economic times. In my opinion, one of the major rea-sons that Martinez has managed to min-imize reductions of service to our citi-zens and still remain relatively healthy is due to the hard work and sacrifice of each and every one of our 126 employ-ees. Dedicated public servants include people like City Manager Phil Vince, men and women in the corporation yard, recreation, pool, water treatment plant, planning, engineering, finance, and maintenance, as well as officers who patrol our streets twenty-four hours a day. They have made personal sacrifices and taken on more responsibility than

Mayor’s Message Rob Schroder, Mayor of Martinez

ever. They do it because they love Marti-nez and the people of the community. Over the last few years, public em-ployees have taken a beating in the press and editorial pages, but very little of that criticism is deserved, especially here in

Martinez. On behalf of the city council and the entire community of Martinez, I would like to thank the employees of the City of Martinez for their dedicated service. You are appreciated!

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City Council MeetingJuly 4, 187:00pm-11:00pmContact: 925-372-3500

Design Review MeetingJuly 11, 253:00pm-5:00pmContact: 925-372-3500

Park, Recreation, Marina &Cultural CommissionJuly 177:00pm-11:00pmContact: 925-372-3500

Planning Commission MeetingJuly 10, 247:00pm-11:00pmContact: 925-372-3500

Zoning Administrator MeetingJuly 4, 183:00pm-5:00pmContact: 925-372-3500

July 4 City Offices Closed

All City Meetings at City Hall, 525 Henrietta Street, unless Otherwise IndicatedFor Confirmation Visit: www.cityofmartinez.org

Outdoor Dining Room Last year the city of Martinez invited the community to collaborate on “Down-town Matters,” a series of workshops and multiple city tours designed to refresh the vision for the historic downtown area. One noticeable outcome is the in-stallation of the new “Flex-Space” dining platforms directly in front of several res-taurants on Main Street. These 16’ or 32’ platforms (the size of one or two parking spaces) are designed with railings to pro-vide a safe and enjoyable al fresco experi-ence. In early June, the first platforms were installed outside of Compass Star and Roxx on Main. Roxanne Cole, own-er, has been pleased with the results so far. “I have yet to notice any increase in business, but the positive comments are worth every penny. It’s an invitation to dine at Roxx, whether inside or out. We are building counter bars to increase seat-ing and encourage gathering for the eve-ning. We want people to have an evening out and not rush; a place to gather and

enjoy music, food, wine and friends,” said Cole. Additional platforms have been installed at Marty O’s Pizzeria on Main Street and Ferry Street, and Copper Skil-let is planned as well. “Pacifica Pizza and Lemon Grass have applications and we will order the materials for those as soon as we know when we can get the new pavement com-pleted on the 500 block of Main,” said Dave Scola, Public Works Director for the city. The platforms are designed for use year round. On May 16, the city coun-cil allocated $75,000 of Traffic Impact Fee funds for the “Flex-Space” Program. Because the platforms can take up as many as two parking spaces, the restau-rant will pay a monthly parking space use fee of $60 per space. Each platform costs $5,000, and participating restau-rants pay a $1200 portion with their ap-plication fee. Half of the materials used to construct the platforms are purchased in Martinez.

Al fresco dining at Roxx on Main


Ambassador Meeting – Ifinterestedinat-tending,contactRebaat(925)[email protected]

7/4 – Chamber Office Closed, Happy 4th of July

7/4 – 4th of July Parade,Wednesday,10am-DowntownMartinez

7/6 – 7/8 – Carnival Butler Amusement – FridaythruSunday–Rides,Games,Food&Fun.LocatedatHwy680&Hwy4(Pa-checoExitoffHwy4),AllDayWristbands:$20AdvanceSaleTickets(attheCham-beroffice),orvisitwww.martinezcarnival.com;$25attheCarnival.CalltheMartinezChamberformoreinformation.

7/12 – Chamber Mixer –Thursday,5:30–7:30pm–Connolly&Taylor,4000AlhambraAve.,Martinez.GreatNetworking,Food,Fun,RafflePrizes(bringaraffleprizeandhaveyourbusinessannounced!)

7/19 - Educational Series – #2 Advanced Social Networking for Business, (Part2of2) PresentedbyRobinFox,SocialMediaCoach,Thursday,12pm-1pm–Doorsopenat11:30.JohnMuirBestWesternInn,445MuirStationRd.ChamberMembers$10,Non-Members$20,BagLunchInclud-ed.PleaseRSVP(required)totheCham-berat(925)[email protected].

Please verify schedule at www.martinezchamber.com • 925-228-2345MARTINEZ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Ribbon Cutting

First PH Wine Walk

King of County BBQ

Marty O’s Pizzeria Open for Business

CAlENDAR SPONSORED By

Please verify schedule at www.pleasanthillchamber.com • 925-687-0700PlEASANT HIll CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Marty O’s Pizzeria had their Ribbon Cutting and official Grand Opening celebration on June 21 with over 400 guests in attendance. The party carried on for days with live music, dinner and drink specials. The Marty O’s menu features pizza combos, pasta, sandwiches and even smooth-ies and deep fried dill pickle spears. The Focus spoke with owner, Marty Ochoa at his restaurant recently and asked if this casual, sports-themed eatery is his dream come true. He joked, “That’s what they tell me!” Marty O’s Pizzeria is located at 802 Main Street in downtown Martinez. For more information on Marty O’s Pizzeria, call 925- 228-7792 for visit facebook: MartyOsPizzeria.

7/6 - Ambassador Meeting, PleasantHillCityHall,8am-9am

7/6 – Wine Walk /Plaza Concerts, Downtown Pleasant Hill$20includeswineglass,passport&horsd’oeuvres.EnjoymusicbyDavidMartin’sHouseParty.Ticketsavailableathttp://julywine-walk.eventbrite.com/or(925)687-0700,orinfrontofPastaPomodoroattheevent.5:30pm-8pm.

7/10 – leadership lunch – Shaadzee Bakery Bistro, 60CrescentDr.,PleasantHill,11:45pm-1pm

7/14 – Ribbon Cutting – Play it Again Sports–Newlocation1150ContraCostaBlvd.,Con-cord.11am

7/18 – Multi-Chamber Mixer – Contra Costa Country Club, 801GolfClubRoad,PleasantHill,5pm-7pm

7/19 – Board of Directors Meeting, PHCityHall,7:45am

7/21 – Blues & Brews Comeoutandenjoyadayofbeertasting,deliciousfoodandfree

musicatPleasantHillPark.UnlimitedBeerTast-ingWristband$30whenpurchasedinadvance!(Seeourbackpageadformoredetails!)12-6pm.

7/30 – Green Committee, BackFortyTexasBBQ,100CogginsDr.,PleasantHill,4pm-5pm

7/30 – Government Affairs Committee, BackFortyTexasBBQ,100CogginsDr.,PleasantHill,4:30pm-6pm

Photo by RichardCash.com

Photos by susanwoodphotography.com

CAlENDAR SPONSORED By

A delicious time was had by all at the Martinez Chamber’s 6th Annual King of the County BBQ Challenge. Below are the winners.Saturday’s Winners — First Place - Chicken: Coast Smoke • Ribs: Steel House BBQ • Chef ’s Choice: Colin Mendenhall - Second Place - Chicken: Shell V-Power • Ribs: Smokin’ Bones • Chefs Choice: Danny Chavez - Third Place - Chicken: Kyle’s Killer Que • Ribs: Bear B Que • Chefs Choice: Smokin’ MosSunday’s Winners — First Place - Chicken: Big Shot BBQ • Ribs: Kahuna’s Bones • Chef ’s Choice: Big Shot BBQ - Second Place - Chicken: Dog Day Spice Rub • Ribs: Big Shot BBQ • Chef ’s Choice: Joana Fowler - Third Place - Chicken: Twin Pillars BBQ • Ribs: Team Meeder • Chef ’s Choice: Shell-V-Power


FPHE Grant Recipients

PHCF Announces Community Grant Awards

On May 18, the Foundation for Pleasant Hill Education (FPHE) award-ed $36,600 to support educational ac-tivities in Pleasant Hill public schools. The grants were funded as a result of FPHE’s 2012 Annual Campaign and various other 2012 fundraisers. Since 2009, FPHE has awarded over $120,000 and one hundred fifty grants to the eleven public schools within the College Park High School feeder pattern. This year, the Foundation re-ceived fifty-eight grant requests and

awarded fifty-three grants to the eleven schools. Every school that requested a grant received one. FPHE grants are awarded based on a combination of criteria, including the number of stu-dents impacted and the contribution to or support of language arts, math, sci-ence, or other key curriculum areas. A detailed list can be found on the FPHE website, www.fphe.org. FPHE thanks and applauds all 2012 donors for placing a high priority on lo-cal education and realizing that strong schools benefit the entire community.

The Pleasant Hill Community Foundation has awarded its annual Community Grant Awards which serve children, seniors and families. The proceeds from our annual fund appeal provided the following awards: fund-ing for College Park Grad Nite; new book collections for the Pleasant Hill Library; a television for the Alzheimer’s program at Rehabilitation Services; live musical theatre for youth at Diablo Theatre Company; weather reporting at Pleasant Hill Instructional Garden; new instruments for Maharlika Cultur-al Troupe; the exercise program at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center; the school newspaper at Pleasant Hill Middle School; hardware and software updates at Project Second Chance; and the food

bank at Monument Crisis Center. Community Grant Awards Chair Jill Anderson stated, “The Pleasant

Hill Commu-nity Foundation is very thankful to all the people who have generously donated. Their philanthropy has

enabled us to provide much needed support to our local community organ-izations, which is even more important in these tough economic times.” The Pleasant Hill Community Foundation turns twenty-five this year. Join us for a birthday celebration on August 24 at 5:30pm at the Pleasant Hill Aquatic Park. More information is available on our website. Please visit us at www.PHCommunityFoundation.org.

In 2011, Christ the King Church cel-ebrated its Diamond Jubilee of 60 years in the community and Christ the King School honored its 50th Anniversary. It is clear that 2012 is another significant year for Christ the King with the retirement of Martha “Meta” Evanson after forty-eight years of dedicated service. Meta began working as the house-keeper and cook for the CTK Rectory during a cool Easter Sunday on March 29, 1964. Her first client was Monsig-nor Wade, who enjoyed tuna sandwiches every day for lunch. Meta’s exceptional ability to prepare a fine meal, like an Irish Stew, and manage a rectory for a large parish, was clearly ev-

ident by the number of priests she served over the years including: CTK’s Pastor Fa-ther Brian Joyce; Associate Pastor Father Donie O’Connor; and retired Associate Pastor Father Brian Timoney. They and many others will miss her dearly. When asked about the number of priests she had served, Meta, at the age of 91, quipped that, “they’ve gotten better looking every year.” Mayor John Hanecak recognized Meta’s contributions to the community with a proclamation at her retirement dinner at the Contra Costa Country Club on June 4. Bishop John Cummins was also in attendance to recognize Meta for her tremendous years of service.

Gregory Gardens Elementary school teachers will use their grant money to purchase items including classroom sets of U.S. maps, a world map and/or globes for kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd grades; multiple classroom sets of science programs/materials for kindergarten and multiple classroom sets of litera-ture programs for kindergarten and 1st grades.

CTK Honors Martha “Meta” Evanson

By May Hanecak


The Martinez Unified and Mt. Diablo Unified school districts said farewell to sev-eral teachers at the end of the 2011-2012 school year, some who had careers that spanned over twenty years. The Focus is honored to highlight a few of those dedicat-ed educators and to wish them well in their retirement. Shelly McHale has been teaching in the MDUSD since 1975. Educated as an elementary school teacher, she accepted the job as a P.E. teacher at Glenbrook Middle School. “I loved the subject and the grade level, so I never went back to the classroom,” she said. Also trained in conflict manage-ment, McHale implemented a program at Glenbrook and Pleasant Hill Middle in which students are trained to mediate con-flicts among their peers. “I love this program and the fact that I was able to have relation-ships with the students on an entirely dif-ferent level than in my regular teaching.” McHale says about the many student and peer relationships she’s developed and en-joyed over the years, “Seeing students years later and having them remember things about our years together is a treasure. I have also had many second-generation students, which reminds me of how long I’ve been doing this!” “To teach middle school you need a constant sense of humor and cannot take yourself too seriously,” she says. “These kids are funny; always making us laugh! They are still so young and are always trying to prove to us how old they are! They are constantly testing us and testing themselves (to say nothing of testing their parents), but deep down they just want to be respected, accept-ed and loved. If we as teachers can remem-ber that, then we will reach them and have a good relationship with most of them!” McHale and her husband Tom have three daughters and seven grandchildren, and they look forward to more quality time with family. But she will miss “bantering with my friends, having crazy conversations in the lunchroom and being connected to something I’ve done for thirty-seven years...teaching!” Also retiring from MDUSD:Beverly Jacobs retired from Fair Oaks El-ementary. She worked in the district for thirty-one years, twenty-eight of those as a

2nd grade teacher. Cindy Flood-Pease began her teaching career in 1981 at St. Peter Martyr School in Pittsburg, where she taught third grade until her oldest son was born. Cindy returned to teach 2nd grade at Mt. Diablo Elemen-tary, then went to Meadow Homes to teach 5th and 1st. She finished her career teach-ing kindergarten for ten years at Hidden Valley. “I’ve always been most excited by student growth, particularly in reading, and I see the most growth in kindergarten and 1st grade. I look back happily and absolutely love that I have taught so many children to read and (hopefully) love literature,” she said. Cindy and her husband are moving to more open country on the other side of Sac-ramento. Pleasant Hill Elementary said goodbye to 2nd grade teacher Valerie Boysen and Principal Jennifer Voris who was principal for five years. “Thanks to Jennifer, PHE has reading and math support for struggling students, and this year, we implemented an after school computer class for second language learners to help them learn Eng-lish,” said Office Manager Lorraine Helton. “She is regularly seen around campus and in classrooms and knows almost every stu-dent by name. Jennifer has worked tirelessly to improve PHE and we will miss her and Sitka, our therapy dog.” “After a successful career in education, Peggy McGurk is turning in her playground whistle,” said Strandwod Principal Liz Kim. Peggy taught at Strandwood for fifteen years and has been in the Mt. Diablo district for seventeen, having begun as a special educa-tion teacher at Strandwood. After working as a program specialist then returning to the classroom at Rio Vista Elementary, she came back to Strandwood in 2002, where

she taught both 1st grade and kindergarten. “Peggy has influenced so many students and families. Her grace and nurturing personal-ity have soothed many scrapes and bruises, both emotionally and physically for stu-dents. Her ability to befriend the parents of her students has provided counsel to them as well. Our wish for Peggy is the joy of an ‘endless summer!’” said Kim. After eighteen years in the district and seventeen at Valhalla, Diane Criner is mov-ing with her husband to a quieter lifestyle in Idaho. Criner taught kindergarten, 2nd and 3rd grades. “What motivates me is see-ing my students get excited about learning as we discuss different subjects each day. I also enjoy seeing my former students. I can see how they have been successful and are moving forward in their lives, and I know that I’ve had a small part in that success. I will miss working with truly wonderful colleagues and being around students and parents who are happy to be at Valhalla,” said Criner. Husband Larry Criner was the

first sworn DARE officer. He is leaving the PHPD after twenty-six years. Sandra Conley is retiring after twenty-one years working in special education. “The last three years I have held a full inclu-sion position in the autism magnet pro-grams at Valley View Middle and Concord High. I have loved every minute of working on an excellent team!” said Conley. After six years as Principal of John Swett, Marj Pampe will be retiring. Office Manager JoAnn Buccellato said, “She was a great leader and was able to really pull people together; our test scores went up and we received the California Distinguished School Award for the second time. Replac-ing Pampe as principal will be Adam Wel-come from the San Ramon Valley School District. Also retiring is Sharon Ruddell, Library Media Assistant at Morello Park El-ementary, after thirteen years with MUSD. The district also said goodbye to sev-enteen-year Alhambra High teacher Susan Kimmel, and twenty-eight year Alhambra High teacher Sarah Gallagher, as well as twenty-year Martinez Junior High teacher Sue Brunton, and ten-year teacher Janice Vinco. Even more MUSD Retirees:Mary Cerri, teacher – twelve years at John Swett; Marcia Kent, teacher – twenty years at John Swett; Darlene Pepper, teacher – twenty-four years at Las Juntas Elementary; David Biles, teacher – twenty-eight years at John Swett; Patricia Gallagher, teacher - twenty-five years at John Swett.

Celebrating Retiring Educators

Peggy McGurk. Photo by Jennie DyeShelly McHale. Photo by Stephanie Neys

Saturdays, 9 am-1 pm • Rain or ShineSSSatttuuurrrdaayyysss, 999 aaammm-111 pppm • RRaainn ooorrr SSShhhiinneea d ss a - mmm • i rr iiy , pp,,yyyy pppdddaaa , aaaa - • aaa ooodda uuua sss, - • SSSssSSSa , 999 - m • eeemttt mmm- • rrr hhhhrrrrrrr - • iiinniiiiinnniiSa a a -11 • RRRa edd - p • odd --SSSa 99 - • RR iii eiiiiiJuly 7 - Enter to win 4 tickets to Pleasant Hill’s annual Family Camp-Out.July 28 - The Cookin’ the Market chefs will be on hand to demonstrate how to make simple and fresh dishes made with market ingredients.

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Pair upWith La Sommelierre Maria Terry

Mendocino Getaway One of my favorite things to do is drive along the north coast of California. The landscape is amazing, and I love the wines from the region. Higher latitude and a closer proximity to the ocean usually mean wines with a touch more acid and tart fruit flavors. In my opinion, Navarro Vineyards and Winery makes the best Gewürztra-miner in California. Navarro’s zippy wines pair perfectly with all kinds of cheese. To the right you’ll find you will find a selec-tion of wine and cheese pairing recom-mendations. Apples and grapes are good fruits to add to a cheese plate because they won’t overpower the wine. The fruit won’t really improve the taste of the wine, but it will taste good with the cheese. In fact, fruit pairs well with cheese for the same reason that wine does; the acids in fruit and wine cut through the fat in cheese. Another fantastic Mendocino winery is Goldeneye. They have one of the most

elegant properties in this rural area. Goldeneye specializes in Pinot Noir, and you will feel like one of the rich and fa-mous tasting on their patio. This summer they are pouring four Pinot Noirs, two Chardonnays and a Vin Gris (pronounced ‘VAN GREE,’ a rosé from Pinot Noir). While you are there, they will give you the option to choose from three small plates to pair with the wines: cheese, charcuterie or duck paté. Do consider buying a Pinot Noir to take away with you. Because of its silky tannins and bright acidity, Pinot Noir works beautifully with a range of dishes from seafood to red meat. This makes Pi-not Noir the quintessential wine to take to a restaurant or a party when not everyone is eating the same thing. This year, when Dan and I visit the area, we will be staying at the Sea Rock Inn in Mendocino. It is situated just a few minutes north of town and has breathtak-ing ocean views. They have a lovely lawn

area with benches that sit right out over the bluffs. I plan to buy a bottle of Navarro 2007 Riesling dessert wine to pair with the breathtaking sunset. So, go on Pair Up! Maria Terry is a Certified Sommelier and Wine Educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more great wines and information please visit Maria’s website at www.LaSommelierre.com.

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Pleasant Hill Senior Activities

Martinez Senior Activities818 Green St. (925) 370-8770

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July 8 - Pancake Breakfast 8am–11am.Pancakesortoast,sausage,eggs,orangejuiceandcoffee.Everyoneiswelcome.$3.50adults/$210yrs.andyounger.Hand-madecrafts,perfectforgifts,willbeonsaleduringthebreakfast.

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Senior Helpers Opens AFA CARES Affiliate As the need for education about Al-zheimer’s disease and related dementias climbs at an unprecedented rate, Senior Helpers of the San Francisco Bay Area opened an Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) affiliate office within its agency on June 1 to provide additional information and support services to the community. The AFA Care and Resource Educa-tion Services (CARES) affiliate office is a collaboration between AFA, a leading national nonprofit organization, and Se-nior Helpers, one of the nation’s largest in-home senior care companies. Nation-wide, eleven AFA affiliates within Senior Helpers offices will kick off beginning this summer. The one-stop resource center fea-tures trained community educators who provide resource referrals including books, DVDs and other educational ma-terials about dementia, caregiving and successful aging. The center will also pro-vide access to AFA’s licensed social work-ers, initiatives and services nationwide, and various programs and events to edu-cate and engage the community. They of-fer free, confidential memory screenings to the public on the third Saturday of ev-ery month from 10am to 1pm. “It’s exciting to bring these additional educational opportunities and resources to our local families,” said Jenny Lind, owner of Senior Helpers of the San Fran-cisco Bay area. “With the overwhelming responsibilities on families affected by dementia, we want to do our part to help them navigate the disease and make a real difference in their quality of life.”

Besides providing education and resources on an ongoing basis, Lind said she hopes the monthly memory screen-ings “will show our commitment to how important getting ‘checked out’ can be.” It is estimated that 588,208 Califor-nians aged 55 and older are currently liv-ing with Alzheimer’s disease, and accord-ing to the California Department of Pub-lic Health, this number will nearly double by 2030. The opening of the AFA CARES af-filiate offices from coast-to-coast reflect the alarming crisis of Alzheimer’s disease, as evidenced by the government’s release of the nation’s first Alzheimer’s plan in mid-May. Moreover, it marks an imme-diate response to the plan’s call for great-er awareness and education, delivery of care-related services to families, and pub-lic-private partnerships to accomplish objectives. When Lind opened her Senior Help-ers agency in July 2008, she had been looking for a business that “fostered thoughtful and compassionate values,” she said. “I felt like it was a perfect match for me because it reminded me of Sunday nights with my grandfather when he ex-pressed his wish to stay at home, near his family.” About the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America: The Alzheimer’s Founda-tion of America, based in New York, is a national, nonprofit organization that unites more than 1,600 independent member organizations nationwide with the goal of providing optimal care and services to individuals with dementia, their caregivers and families. Its services

include counseling and referrals by li-censed social workers via a toll-free hot line, e-mail, Skype or live chat; educa-tional materials; a free quarterly maga-zine for caregivers; and professional training. For more information, call toll-free 866-AFA-8484 or visit www.alzfdn.org. About Senior Helpers: Senior Help-ers connects professional caregivers with seniors who wish to live at home as op-posed to a nursing or assisted living fa-

cility. The company has 300 franchises in 39 states and one in Canada offering a wide range of personal and companion care services to assist seniors living inde-pendently, with a strong focus on qual-ity of life for the client and peace of mind for their families. Senior Helpers strives to be the leading companion and per-sonal care provider that offers depend-able, consistent and affordable home care. For more information, visit www.seniorhelpers.com.

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HOME TEAMDogs Beat Falcons

By Al BoyceBulldogs Now Two-for-Two in Series In the second annual Alhambra versus College Park Alumni Football game, the Bulldogs prevailed once again in full contact, tackle football on May 19. The game was started in 2011 as part of the two school’s fundraising efforts to help support their high school alma maters. Equipment for the games was sup-plied for a small fee by Alumni Football USA. The company also supplied the game officials and public address announcer. It addition, they will send a DVD of the game to each player. Alumni Football USA is very experienced with this type of fund-raiser, as they have run hundreds of games throughout the country. During these tough economic times, funding for sports and donations have dropped, and the boosters are always looking for new ways to cover the ever-widening gap of cost for school sports. Fundraising alumni games have been gaining momentum throughout the na-tion. The football game last year saw twenty-six players from both Alhambra and College Park suited up. The Bulldogs won that first game 14-6. This year, five players returned from the 2011 Alhambra team. In all, Alhambra was able to suit up 15 players. College Park, looking to avenge their loss from last year, suited up 31 players. The Falcons jumped out to an early lead on their first drive and scored a quick six, but their two-point conversion at-tempt was stopped short of the goal line. After a safety was called on the Falcons in the second quarter, the score at halftime was Falcons 6, Bulldogs 2.

To open the second half of play, the Dogs’ Dino Del Fiorentino took the second-half kickoff back for an 80-yard touchdown run. The two-point conver-sion was successful with alum Jake Boyce grabbing the pass. The Dogs scored once again on a fourth-and-long with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Wes Von Tonder to Boyce for a 16-6 lead going into the fourth quarter. After several great plays by both teams, the Bulldogs put in a new quarter-back, Manny Preciado. Midway through the quarter, Preciado rolled-out to his left and a threw a 40-yard pass to Boyce, who was in traffic between two Falcon defend-ers when he leaped up for the completion and took it into the end zone from the Falcons’ 10 yard line. The Dogs then faked the PAT, with Del Fiorentino taking the snap from center and rushing in for the two-point conversion, making the score 24-6 Bull-dogs. The Falcons scored once again and added a two-point conversion to make the final 24-14. The Falcon’s onside kick was recov-ered by Jeff Partain. The Bulldog’s offense ran out the remaining five minutes of play with a sustained ground attack to secure the victory. Other key alumni for Alhambra in-cluded Abel Conteras, Anthony Pimentel, Geno Rambel, Jacob Johnson, Dominc Rico, Keifer Plummer, Bob Butler and “Big” Al Boyce. Boyce, a 1976 alum, was the oldest player on the field. The 2013 game will be played in May and will shift to a night game with a 7:00 pm start.

Champions!

CTK Volleyball

The Nor Cal Shockers 16U softball team won the ASA Davis Fast Pitch Tournament June 9-10. During Satur-day’s pool play they had three come-from-behind 1-run wins to secure the number one seed going into Sunday’s elimination round. They dispatched their first two opponents Sunday 5-2 and 6-4, but pesky Napa battled all seven innings in the championship game, tying it up 2-2 with two outs in the bottom of the 7th, forcing an international tie breaker (with each team starting their at bat with a runner at 2nd base). The Shockers pushed 2 across in the eighth inning to

go up 4-2 to secure the victory perform-ing a clean 6-0 sweep over the weekend. EstablishedinMartinezin1996,theNorCalShockersarearegistered501(c)3organizationthatoffersgirlsfromageseighttoeighteenanopportunitytopursuetheirathleticandeducationaldreams.ThroughnationalcompetitionssanctionedbytheAmateurSoftballAssociation,Pre-mierGirlsFastpitch,TripleCrownSports,andothergoverningbodies,thegirlslearncommitment,dedication,teamworkandsportsmanship,whiledevelopingskillsandcharactertraitstopreparethemforhighschoolandcollegecompetition.

LtoR: Tailor Simpson, Isabel Sanchez, Madison Reidel, Raegan Ternes, Danni Humphrey, Jasmina Cross, Janae Adams, Kennedy Silay, Rayna Damacion, Chanler Powell, Jazz McIntosh, Mekenna Sanchez, Sam

Spina and Amie Perkins. Not pictured are Maddie Monahan, Carley Johnson, Shelby Clemmons, Man-ager Patrick Monahan, Head Coach Matrin Soares, Assistant Coaches Brian Humphrey and Ron Cross.

Submitted by Patrick Monahan.

Back Row: Coaches- Thom Martin, Elizabeth Murphy, David Hermelin Middle Row: Caitlin Logan, Kelly Ruff, Hailey Chimienti, Vanessa DalPiaz, Sarah Peterson, Abby Rogers, Isabel Hermelin Front Row: Julia Paulazzo,

Kayla Loftus, Kelly Plant, Madison Ohrman, Brooklynn Martin. Submitted by Heidi Coad-Hermelin

Christ the King 6th and 7th grade girls volleyball team earn third place in tournament.


www.lesschwabmartinez.comVISIT US AT:

7/31/12

HOME TEAMSeason TicketBy Chuck Nan

High Praise for AHS Star Praise for Adesida from the Alham-bra girls track and field team for winning both the discus and shot put events at the North Coast Section (NCS) Tri-Valley Championships held in Livermore in mid-May. Adesida unleashed a throw of 41 feet, 3 inches in the shot put and 140 feet, 9 inches in the discus to win both events easily. The next week, at the NCS Meet of Champions, Adesida was tops again in the

discus throw with a heave of 141 feet even. This was tenth best in the state and quali-fied her for the CIF State Meet in Clovis. The senior also took sixth in the shot put. Her distance in the discus was a personal and school best.Falcon Netters The College Park High boys’ volley-ball team outlasted visiting San Ramon Valley to pick up a 3-2 win (25-27, 27-25, 25-15, 17-25, 15-13) in the NCS Division I quarterfinal on May 18. Nelson Fisher led the Falcons with 43 assists, 6 digs and 2 kills. Bo Hunter also had 16 kills, 7 blocks and 9 digs in the victory. No. 4 seed CP then advanced to play No. 1 De La Salle in the semi-finals and fell 3-0. The Falcons were a perfect 12-0 in DVAL and 22-8 for the season.First Title Since 1994 Coach Matt Lisle and the College Park baseball team celebrated their first outright league title since 1994. The Fal-cons clinched by beating visiting North-gate 2-0 on May 15. Freshman Joe DeMers was superb as he tossed a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts in the victory. CP finished 11-1 in the DVAL. The Falcons earned the No. 5 seed in the NCS Division II playoffs. There they handled Maria Car-rillo and Newark Memorial. The Falcons then faced eventual champion (three-time) Campolindo and fell short. The Falcons finished 20-7 overall with DeMers sport-ing a 9-2 record.Dandy Don All-Academic and Drafted Junior pitcher Elliott Waterman was one of four members of the University of San Francisco baseball team to be named

to the 2012 WCC All-Academic Team. The big left-hander had a 3.39 GPA in Business Administration. Waterman is a 2009 graduate of Alhambra. Waterman tied San Francisco’s single-season record with seven saves in 2012. The 6-5, 230-lb. reliever was dominant in his third season on the hilltop, going 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 27 appearances. Water-man struck out 40 and walked just 12 in 45 2/3 innings pitched. While the Martinez native served pri-marily as the Dons’ closer throughout the year, he finished the season with consecu-tive 6-inning and 5 2/3-inning perform-ances. Waterman came out of the bullpen in the third inning against Pepperdine on May 6 and tossed 6.0 innings of two-run ball, allowing just four hits. On May 12 against Santa Clara, Waterman went 5.2 innings and allowed just two runs on four hits again. Just days later, Waterman was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft. Waterman was chosen in the 13th-round (414th overall). On June 11, he signed a contract and will now report to Auburn, New York for his first professional experience. The “Doubledays” are in the Single-A New York-Penn league.Top Frosh Sydney Babiak of Martinez was named the 2011-12 Female Freshman Athlete of the Year for Bentley School of Lafayette. Babiak, a golfer, was also named second-team all-league and helped her school to the Bay Counties League title.lady Diamond Dogs The Alhambra girls’ softball team had

grand plans for their postseason run in the NCS playoffs. After a dominant regular season, the Lady Bulldogs rolled-over Casa Grande and Arroyo. They then had a rematch with Petaluma, a school they had defeated one month prior. This time, it was the Trojans who took the hard-fought one-run victory. The Dogs finished 22-5 overall. Sophomore Kylie Perez earned league MVP for the second-straight season. She batted .568 with 15 home runs. Fellow sophomore Erin Enke was named the circuit’s top pitcher.Sergi Is Tops College park wrestler Brian Sergi was named the 2012 Male Athlete-of-the-Year by the Contra Costa Times. The senior grappler won the state championship in the 138-pound class. First, Sergi captured the DVAL title. He then went to the NCS meet where he won five consecutive matches to claim the crown. Sergi then advanced to the state meet ranked third in the state by The Califor-nia Wrestler. There he won his first three matches in convincing fashion to set up a semifinal match against Natrelle Demi-son of Bakersfield, who was ranked No. 2. Demison had eliminated Sergi in the 2011 event. The match went into overtime, where Sergi scored first in a 7-4 “sudden victory” to advance to the championship. Sergi put the final punctuation on his prep career with a hard-fought 4-3 over Shayne Tucker, ranked No. 1. Tucker had previ-ously beaten Sergi 7-2 in an earlier season tournament.

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Xtreme Stands Out PHMSA Xtreme U-10 Girl’s Select soccer team won their third consecutive tournament at Davis World Cup over Memorial Day weekend. As reported earlier, Xtreme took first at the Comstock Shootout in Car-son City, NV in April and were the victors at the Concord Cup tournament May 19-20. At Davis World Cup, exciting goals were scored by Kelly Hunyada and Bella Puljiz, and multiple goals were scored by Alyssa Walker, Julia Betti and Rylee McCormick. Xtreme outscored their opponents 36-1 over the three-day, six-game tournament. Eight of the nine players scored at least one goal. Strong defense was provided by Samantha Monroe, Chloe Taylor and Katie Foerste and the stellar goalkeeping of Arianna Safarians. Xtreme ended their season with 27 wins, 4 ties and 4 losses. They scored 150 goals & had 19 shutouts.

Back Row L-R Coach Paul Betti, Kelly Hunyada, Coach Armin Safarians, Katie Foerste, Alyssa Walker, Samantha Monroe, Coach Tom Monroe, Julia Betti. Front Row L-R Arianna Safarians, Bella Puljiz, Chloe Taylor,

Rylee McCormick. Flag bearers: James Hunyada and Chase McCormick Submitted by Stacy Monroe.

HOME TEAM

Downtown Martinez

ghost walk

Main Street Martinez, Inc.

Spirits

Space is limited, advanced ticket purchase recommended. No children under 12 years allowed. Ages 12-17 years must be accompanied by an adult. Bring a flashlight, wear comfortable shoes.

Fridays on the Main

Every Friday June-Aug • 6pm to 8pmDowntown Martinez

Cars, Trucks, Bikes and Live Music! FREE!Restaurants Are Open for Dinner!

Music schedule subject to change. No Entry FeeAll vehicle types welcome

MainStreetMartinez.org 925.228.3577

MainStreetMartinez.org • 925.228.3577

Downtown MartinezDowntown Martinez

Antiques & Collectibles | Arts & Crafts Show Sat., August 4th, 8am-4pm

Martinez Peddlers Faire

Featuring over 100 booths along Main St. & Ferry St.in downtown Martinez. John Humphries, collectibles author, radio and tv host, will evaluate your treasures

(up to 3 carry-in items) for a $5 donation to the Martinez Historical Society. At Main St. & Ferry St. - All Day!

Shell Oil Products USMartinez Refinery

Take the 1-1/2 hour guided walking tour through Historic Downtown Martinez to discover the hidden past, little known facts and tales of days-gone-by.

Tours conducted by Central ValleyParanormal www.cvparanormal.com

4th & 5th Fridays each month, 8:00pm.$25 per person. Tour starts at Main Street Martinez,649 Main St. Suite 106. For more information visit www.MainStreetMartinez.orgor call (925) 228-3577

COllEGE PARKBaseballMost Valuable Pitcher: Joe DeMers (9) First Team: Anthony Baleto (11), Domin-ic Bilotti (12), Luke Van Holten (12) and Athan Koutsoubinas (12) Second Team: Jeffrey Mitchell (9) and Jimmy Torres (12) Honorable Mention: Tommy Goonan (12) and Jake Harr (12)lacrosseMost Valuable Player: Jakob Ternes (12) First Team: Brett Bechter (12) Second Team: Jake Gonzalez (11), Jeff Smitherns (11) and Miles Wood (11) Honorable Mention: Jack Diggs (9), Nevada Huie (11) and Brian McWaters (11)SoftballFirst Team: Laurel Poff (10), Kierra Willis (11) and Kelsey Weise (10) Second Team: Natalie Persson (10) and Gina DeLuca (12)Honorable Mention: Maddie Mona-han (11), Tailor Simpson (10) and Nicole Hughes (9)Boys TennisFirst Team: Eric Lofquist (12) and Maxsim Tsukanov (9)Girls Track & FieldFirst Team: Kendall Stuscavage (11) 400m & 800m Second Team: Kendall Stuscav-age(11) 1600m, Amanda Baker (12) 400m, Katrina Guytingco (9) 300H, and Olivia Ray (10) PV Honorable Mention: Olivia Ray (10) 400m, Emma Arlen (10) 800m and Claire Cox (9) HJBoys Track & FieldFirst Team: Parker Marson(10) 1600m, Hi-roki Butterfield (12) 300H, Max Assael (10) HJ and Dmitriy Petrovykh (11) TJ Sec-ond Team: Hiroki Butterfield (12) 400m, Joshua Levy (11) TJ and Steven O’Brien (10) Discus Honorable Mention: Soroush Aboutalebi (12) 200m, Hiroki Butterfield

(12) TJ and Steven O’Brien (10) SPBoys VolleyballCo-Most Valuables Players: Bo Hunter (12) and Nelson Fisher (11) First Team: Alex Kalustian (11), Charles Liu (11) and Nick Horton (11) Second Team: Devin Humm (11) and Noah Fisher (9) Honor-able Mention: Dipen Patel (12)Boys GolfCo-Most Valuables Players: Carlos Mena (12) and Austin Collier (12) First Team: Ramon Alejo (12), Dimitri Salido (10) and Pat Thompson (12) Second Team: Andy Tripp (11) and Max Creamer (11) Honor-able Mention: Rhyan Hughes (12)

AlHAMBRABaseballFirst Team: Anthony Taliaferro (11)Honorable Mention: Jordan Hill (12)Gold Glove: Michael Hewitson (122)Boys lacrosseFirst Team: Andrew Crosno (12) Honor-able Mention: Vincent Martinez (12)SoftballMost Valuable Player: Kylee Perez (10) Most Valuable Pitcher: Erin Enke (10) First Team: Shannon Devries (12), Nicole Curry (10), Hailey Sparacino (10) and Bella Gonsalves (11)Second Team: Courtney Kelly (9) and K.K. Boyd (10) Honorable Mention: Jaz McIntosh (11) and Shelby Clemons (9)Boys Track & FieldFirst Team: Eric Richard (12) LJ, 100mGirls Track & FieldFirst Team: Praise Adesida (12) SP, Discus Honorable Mention: Melissa Grube (12) 100m HBoys VolleyballSecond Team: Marcus Lau (11)Honorable Mention: Brandon Dugan (11)

Spring 2012 All-league


Inaugural Science Class By Jaki Jones

A Plaque Prevention Pill, Memory Hat and Vital Chip were just some of the ideas created by students in teacher Janet Spencer’s Principles of Biomedical Sciences class at College Park this year. The class was part of Project Lead the Way, a hands-on program involving an in-novative science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education cur-riculum and including real-world problem solving. The class, consisting mostly of juniors and seniors, began the year with the observation of a “dead body” played by College and Career Advisor Sheila Welsh. The students first made assumptions about her death, then later analyzed her au-topsy report and concluded what diseases and health conditions led to her demise. Throughout the year, the class looked at the health issues the body indicated, such as diabetes, heart conditions and bacterial and viral diseases. “The activities and labo-ratory exercises are all based on real world applications. For example, they performed heart rate, blood pressure monitoring and EKG tests on each other,” explained Spencer. As a culminating project, students worked in groups to create their interven-tion to a modern medical disorder. The project began in April and concluded with writing virtual grants to fund their projects. Students delivered a Powerpoint presentation in front of the class and a panel of judges. Medical solutions ranged from a monthly Plaque Prevention Pill that

included the use of nanobot technology, to a Pocket MD, an at-home, portable blood analysis devise that can diagnose symp-toms in minutes and provide treatment options. “Principles of Biomedical Sciences is the first class in a four-part series, and this was the first year we offered the class. I will have a section of Human Body Systems, the second course, next year. Each course has units that involve biotechnology, chem-istry, microbiology and physiology. My vi-sion for the students is to offer new science elective courses that provide meaningful laboratory exercises that fit with health career themes,” continued Spencer. The funding for the class and materi-als comes from California SB70 fund-ing. Spencer also works under a grant supervised by April Treece, Director of the Contra Costa Economic Partner-ship, and Joanne Durkee, Director of Adult Education in the MDUSD. Spencer will be attending her second session of training this summer, going through an intensive nine months of cur-riculum in nine days. The enthusiasm for the Principles of Biomedical Science class was far reaching. “The class has caused our students to re-introduce Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) as a club next year. That organization gives them invaluable leader-ship opportunities and opens the door to programs leading to health careers,” remarked Spencer. A positive outcome indeed.

Biomedical period 2 competition winners from LtoR: Back Row, Jeff Krutilla, Brett Bechter, Dipen Patel. Front Row: Natalie Rhoades, Lauren Meneghetti, Jena Gonzalez, Vincent Nyugen. Not pictured: Zah-ra Hamidi. Period 4 competition winners, not pictured, were Tyler Newhouse, Gillian Henry, Tom Hes-

ter and Abbey Mulligan. Their intervention was called the Vital Chip.

Neil Donoghue, his wife Pam and children lived for eight years in Chad, Africa. After seeing disabled Chadians and Darfur refugees having to crawl in the dirt to get around, Neil asked about the availability of wheelchairs, but the lack of any social programs made them impossible. Neil repaired “American” style wheelchairs to start, but without any paved roads or sidewalks in Chad, the chairs just fell over. Instead, he began to fabricate hand-crank, tricycle-style wheelchairs from pipe and used bicycle parts. After fabricating the first sixty, Personal Energy Transportation (PET) contacted him and sent contain-ers of partially assembled hand-crank wheelchairs. Now 460 disabled individ-uals have mobility. PET started twenty years ago in Missouri and has sent over 27,000 chairs to the poorest countries without charge to the recipient. Their mission statement is:PETInternationalseekstoreflecttheloveofJesusChristbybringingthegiftofmobilityanddignitytothoseindevelopingcountrieswhoareunabletowalk. Designed for the remotest parts of the world, PET chairs have foam-filled tires, a sturdy frame, hand-crank system, and can be maintained by the recipients. Each PET is manufactured by volunteers in the USA and is given free of charge to the disabled in the poorest of develop-ing countries. The chairs give mobility to children and adults who cannot use their legs, but still have use of their arms and hands due to polio, birth defects, wars, landmines, accidents, leprosy, etc.

Neil and Pam saw the difference mobility made to disabled individuals after receiving PET chairs; they could be a part of the community again, go to school, start a business, or simply get around. One little boy wanted a wheel-chair because, with mobility, he could finally go to school. Neil and his family returned to Rio Vista in December 2011. Neil, Peter Mulders - a neighbor of Neil’s sister, Mary - and a host of other excited vol-unteers are joining forces to become the California PET affiliate shop. The PETs will initially be built for Africa, and when the first container of two hundred are finished, Neil and other volunteers will travel to the destination country to help with distribution. Recently, Mary contacted Neil for a more local matter. Mulders runs half-marathons and 5K runs with his non-verbal, autistic son, Will (Team Willpower). The problem is Will is outgrowing his jogging stroller. Neil’s shop will fabricate a new jogger for Peter and Will to use in their daily runs and races. Will is an inspiration to everyone who knows him, and Team Willpower’s next run will be the 5K Firecracker in Pleasant Hill on July 4. Look for “PET Rio Vista, Ca” in Pleasant Hill’s Fourth of July parade. For more information, volunteer-ing or donations on PET, look on Facebook under “Wheelchairs for the Least of These,” and check out Per-sonal Energy Transportation at www.petinternational.org.

The Gift of Mobility

LtoR: Neil Donoghue (missionary), John Bento (president of Lions Club Rio Vista), Peter Mulders (Marti-nez resident and part of team Willpower) and Kirby Goering (director of PET Kansas) pose after a two-

day PET wheelchair-building seminar in Kansas.


Rankin Park...Then and Now By Gay Gerlack

ThankyoutotheMartinezMuseumandKristinHendersonforprovidingmate-rialforthisarticle. With the recent ribbon cutting of the “newest” Rankin Park, we thought we’d share some of its history and photos of the earlier versions. Over the years, Rankin Park has undergone major renovations, giving each generation a backdrop for childhood memories and providing Mar-tinez residents with settings for family picnics, weddings, and special events. Rankin Park is named after James Rankin, who came to this country from Scotland when he was 17 years old. A multi-talented man, he was a coal miner, storekeeper, and landowner in Martinez. He planted olive trees on part of his prop-erty, and many of these can still be seen on the hillside above the park. Rankin was elected sheriff in 1884 and served on the board of directors. Later he became the president of the Bank of Martinez from 1893 until his death in 1901. In 1937, Rankin Park was created

with the purchase of the James Rankin property above Talbart Street for $12,000. Fashioned from an area that was over-grown with brush and grass, the park became one of the finest parks in the state. Everaldo P. Vanni was the director of public works and was instrumental in building “Story Book Fairyland,” featur-ing Humpty Dumpty, the Mayflower and

the Three Little Pig’s houses. The Kiwanis Club of Martinez aided with the acquisi-tion of materials for the playground, and it was assembled by the high school weld-ing classes. The softball field is named for A. Jo-seph Tavan, whose philanthropy to the city resulted in many improvements, and he was a major donor in the purchase

of the property. The other feature of the park is the completely rebuilt Rankin Park Aquatic Center. The original pool was designated as a living memorial to World War II veterans. With the completion of the Measure H renovations of the park, pool, and play-ing field, Rankin Park is, once again, one of the finest parks in the state.

MARTINEZ HISTORICAl SOCIETy


Say good-bye to your average Music Camp! Are you ready for your child to have the week of his or her life? PopWay Music Camp provides a stage of fun for kids aged 8-12 to sing, dance and team-build while they improve their voice, stage presence and confidence. Students are introduced to basic vocal techniques, harmony, dance steps and choreography that will foster success and camaraderie. Our students will premier original “mashups” they help create! This is sure to be the most fun and creative week for them and their friends! Camp is held from 9am to noon at Village Music School with two sessions available. For more information or to register call (925) 682-0896 or visit www.pleasanthill-rec.com.Summer is here… have you planned your summer BBQ? Time to start loading up on the char-coal and hotdogs…. Pleasant Hill Recre-ation & Park District’s new picnic area, located on the Cleaveland Road side of Pleasant Hill Park, is quickly taking shape and will feature a new large prep table, BBQ and picnic tables. This new location has plenty of space plus close access to the pool and softball fields! If you are interested in finding out more on how to rent the new picnic site or any of the other picnic areas, please call (925) 682-0896. For weekly bond project updates as well as pictures from inside the buildings, visit www.pleasanthillrec.com and click on construction updates under the Bond Info tab.looking For a Place to Hold your Next Event?

The Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District is now accepting 2013 rental ap-plications for the new Senior Center and Teen Center. These brand new buildings will be the perfect venue for any event you plan! The Senior Center, set back from the street and located in a park setting, has many different room size options. From a small business meeting to a large wedding reception, all your needs are covered. Fea-tures include: a large commercial kitchen, raised platform in the multi-use room, overhead projectors with screens, beauti-ful pre-function area with skylights, large windows with a view of the park, plenty of parking, bocce courts and a horseshoe pit located within earshot. The Teen Center is much smaller than the Senior Center, but will provide a great space to hold a meeting, intimate gath-

Recreation and Park updates

Read My Mind Book Reviews by Michael G. Harris, OD

Welcome to a new book review col-umn in your Community Focus. When I asked the publishers if they’d be interest-ed, they were most encouraging, so here it goes. Quiet simply, I love books. I love to read. I learned to read before my fourth birthday and have been an avid reader ever since. As a six year-old, I started reading the morning paper at breakfast and continue to do so every day. I read almost everything. I read sev-eral newspapers on a regular basis. (Of course, my favorite is the Community Fo-cus.) I subscribe to dozens of magazines, journals, and newsletters. I read junk mail and I must admit I read the Nation-al Enquirer while waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store. Sometimes, when I had nothing better to do, I would hang around Borders reading books. They had really comfortable chairs! And I didn’t have to buy the books after I read them. Do you think that’s why they went out of business? I’ve owned and read thousands of books. Before the Internet, I was at the library reserving books so often that I used to receive Christmas cards from the librarians! Now I’m at the Pleasant Hill Library on a weekly basis taking out and returning books. When I’m not reading a book, I’m listening to an audio book. While travel-ing, I read or listen to books on my iPad. I often read several books at the same time. Well, I don’t exactly “read” them at the same time, but I’ve even been known to read one book while simultaneously listening to a different audio book. This drives my wife Dawn absolutely crazy! So what kinds of books do I like to read? Just about everything. I especially love nonfiction, particularly history, biog-raphies, politics, and sports. I read psychol-

ogy books, philosophy books, and self-help books. (I need all the help I can get.) I’m an avid reader of well-written fic-tion. I don’t particularly like trash novels. I used to read every book written by James Patterson (who writes a new one every three months), Clive Cussler and Sue Grafton, but I found them to be too for-mulaic. Every one of those author’s books seems to follow the same pattern. I got bored because I figured out “who done it” after the first chapters, so there are no sur-prises. That’s no fun. I love thrillers, mysteries, historical fiction, and science fiction, but I haven’t found any great science fiction books since Isaac Asimov and A.C. Clark died. I try to read most of the books on the New York Times bestseller list. Re-cent reads include Walter Isaacson’s bi-ography SteveJobs, John Grisham’s latest novel, CalicoJoe, andJacquelineKennedy:HistoricConversationsonLifewithJohnF.Kennedy. I currently have thirty-three books on hold at the Pleasant Hill Library, in-cluding MakingaDifferenceby Sully Sul-lenberger, Madeleine Albright’s autobiog-raphy PragueWinter, and Gillian Flynn’s GoneGirl. In the upcoming months, I’ll select the very best of what I’ve read for a book review. I’ll also provide my list of “quick picks,” other books I highly recommend. And, I’ll even let you know what books I suggest you just skip. I’d appreciate your feedback. I’d love to hear what you think of the books I re-view and any recommendations you have for books I should read. Reading is the best way for us to be entertained, educated, and enlightened. I hope I can turn you and your family on to some good books that do just that when you “Read My Mind.”

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ering or your child’s birthday party. The main open room gives flexibility to your set up while the conference room provides privacy for meetings or presentations. Birthday party rentals will enjoy access to a pool table, foosball table and even the

sprayground with certain package deals. Complete rental information includ-ing pricing can be found by clicking on rentals under the locations tab at www.pleasanthillrec.com or calling the District Office at (925) 682-0896.


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Gardens are now being sought to participate in the spring 2013 “Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour,” which showcases pesticide-free, drought-tol-erant gardens that provide habitat for wildlife and contain 60% or more native plants. The gardens featured in this tour will demonstrate that, from postage stamp-sized yards to large lots, beautiful California native plant gardens are pos-sible for anyone. The goals of this free tour are to:• Provide Alameda and Contra Costa County residents with the opportunity to see first-hand a garden containing 60% or more native plants.• Illustrate that healthy, attractive gar-

dens can flourish with little water and without the use of synthetic chemicals.• Motivate residents to try gardening with native plants and use natural gar-dening techniques in their own gardens. Tour organizers are also seeking volunteers who will spend a morning or afternoon greeting participants and answering questions. More than 50 gar-dens located throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties will be show-cased on the tour, which will take place on Sunday, May 5, 2013. To volunteer, please complete the main tour registration form when reg-istration opens in December 2012. To apply to have your garden on the tour, email Kathy Kramer at Kathy@

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P.H. Relay for lifeBy May Hanecak

Hike For life!By Karen Leffler, Hike Coordinator/Participant

On the weekend of May 19 and 20, Pleasant Hill businesses and residents came together to make a difference in the 24-hour Relay For Life of Pleas-ant Hill at the PH Middle School track. With the endurance, commitment and sore muscles of 54 teams, 411 partici-pants and over 30 businesses, more than $65,900 was raised. The money raised supports the American Cancer Society (ACS) in its research, early de-tection, advocacy, education and relat-ed programs to fight cancer. There were many unforgettable moments at the event, from Saturday morning’s inspirational survivors’ and caregivers’ lap to the afternoon’s up-beat and fun conga line lap to the eve-ning’s poignant lighting of the luminar-ies, where each luminary represented a loved one who passed away from – or

is still fighting cancer. Sunday morn-ing’s bedhead lap was also very enter-taining as the Starbucks’ booth kept everyone going around the clock. In addition to the miles and miles of walking and socializing, there were booths with plenty of activities, live music and entertainment to feed the soul, and incredible meals to feed those tired bodies. The event is ideal for friends as well as families, with many pitching tents and camping overnight. Mark your calendar for the 2013 Relay for Life of Pleasant Hill, which will take place on June 1 and 2. For more information, log onto http://www.relayforlife.org/pleasanthillca. To volunteer for next year’s event, please contact Judi Richardson, 925-957-9991 or go to [email protected].

Is the Grand Canyon on your bucket list? Do you want to get in shape over the summer? How about enjoying nature and the great outdoors? Is your heart leading you to do something of service for people in need? If you answered YES to even one of these questions, Lazarex Cancer Founda-tion invites you to hear about a new Team For Life fundraising adventure called HIKE FOR LIFE-Conquer The Canyon®. It’s about life! Come Hike With Us! Open to all levels of ability from casual walkers to seasoned hikers ages 18 to 80! Participants will pre-pare to hike at the Grand Canyon by taking a ten-week online training session and go-ing on local hikes led by experienced hike leaders, all while fundraising on behalf of end stage cancer patients who have been told they have no more hope. We show you how! Besides getting fit, your reward for training and fundraising is an expense paid four-day/three-night trip to the Grand Can-yon September 21-24, including a one- day guided hike! Did you know that less than 1% of the millions of people that visit the Grand Canyon ever step foot on a trail, and only 5% of that 1% ever step foot on a trail with a professional guide? You will have an opportunity to do both and experience the Grand Canyon in an extraordinary way. Lazarex Cancer Foundation provides resources for end stage cancer patients who have been told they have no other options,

but who are not yet done with their jour-ney in life and refuse to give up. They help all patients, regardless of age, walk of life, or type of cancer. The mother of Brittani Powell, our Hike For Life VIP (Very Impor-tant Person) says, “Because of Lazarex, my daughter progressed from having a giant cell tumor almost completely take over her body and her life to becoming a walking, talking happy teenager.” Lazarex provided financial assistance to defray the costs asso-ciated with her participation in FDA clini-cal trials. Training begins now. Space is limited. Do something good for your health and celebrate life with us in the Grand Canyon in September. Help build a bridge to hope, dignity and life for cancer patients and their families. Contact Hike Coordina-tor Karen Leffler at 925-323-2996 or visit www.lazarex.org

Patient Brittani Powell leads a happier life thanks to Lazarex and Hike For Life.


In the Mix with Sin SilverBy Paul Cotruvo

A few months ago, some friends and I were out on the town and we decided to get some pizza over at Rocco’s in Walnut Creek. I especially love going there because of the music on Saturday nights. It was the best decision I have made in a long time. In walked this young girl with a keyboard; she set up in about twenty minutes, sat down and proceeded to blow the roof off the place! When Irish singer Sin Silver started playing, the usually boisterous crowd fell silent and was thoroughly entertained. She sang everything from Journey, Van Morrison, and Billy Joel to some tra-ditional Irish tunes. Needless to say, I became a fan from the first note. Being the shy person I am, I went over, intro-duced myself and asked her if she would like to be a part of a benefit I was putting on (which means FREE, NO PAY, and from someone she didn’t even know). Without hesitation, she accepted. I’m thinking to myself, no one could be this talented and nice (did I mention she did not know me?) Well, long story short, she played an original song, had a few in tears, and instantly made a roomful of new fans. Sin Silver is “The Real Deal”! She is an amazing singer songwriter and an awesome human being, so it was time to put her in the Focus! Silver says she was only four years old when she started playing piano and was taught by her concert pianist mother. (She also plays violin.) She was born

in England to Irish parents, moved to Ireland when she was two, and after she visited the United States at age nine, she vowed to come back and did so after get-ting a special P3 visa to play music. When asked about her musical heroes, Silver responded: “Bob Dylan – incomparable; Neil Young - a force of na-ture; Sinéad O’Connor - love her or hate her, she always speaks her truth; David Bowie - charismatic, chameleon like; Jack White - brilliant and, in my mind, hasn’t reached his peak; Bruce Springsteen - the Boss!! And, of course, Townes Van Zandt -- one of my all-time greatest heroes – under-appreciated genius.” Silver says she is inspired to write a song when “a melody won’t leave me alone. I go to the piano…the music comes first and then the lyrics.” She regards one of her most memorable performances to be at a Happy Hour and a Half at Armando’s in Martinez where “The music flowed like wine, the crowd was perfect and there was no script.” As always, I asked my last interview ques-tion, “If you were a song, what would you be and why?” to which Silver answered:

July 8: Hopeful Romantics, Armando’s, 707 Marina Vista, Martinez, 3pmJuly 8: Petty Theft, Summer by the Lake Series, Pleasant Hill City Hall, Gregory & Cleveland, 6pmJuly 14: Lumberyard, Dallimonti’s, 1932 Oak Park Blvd, Pleasant Hill, 9:30pmJuly 21 – 23: Annual Pleasant Hill Blues and Brews, featuring Lydia Pense and Cold Blood, The Chris Cain Band, Tip of the Top, Jinx Jones and the Kingtones, and Blue Conspiracy, Pleasant Hill Park, Gregory and Cleveland, 12pmJuly 21: Annie Sampson, Armando’s, 707 Marina Vista, Martinez, 8pmJuly 24: Sin Silver, Petar’s Pub and Restaurant, 32 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette ,7:30pm

PAul’S PICKS FOR July:

“Going to California” by Led Zeppelin. California is where I found my voice. And even though so much music has passed through my fingers, there’s still an ‘aching in my heart’....a longing if you will, for something more.” I can’t say this enough, get out there and support local music, and get out there and support Sin Silver; you will not be disappointed.Sin Silver’s solo schedule is:• Petar’s lounge in Lafayette every Tues-day night, 7:30 - 10:00pm (except on 7/9 or 7/17).• Armando’s in Martinez every 1st Friday of the month for Happy Hour and a Half, 4:30 - 6:00pm.

• Peasant and the Pear in Danville on Sunday 7/1 and 7/29, 11am - 2pm.• Bridges in Danville on Wednesday 7/25, 5:30pm - 9pm• The Peasant’s Courtyard in Alamo on Saturday, 7/28, 6 – 9pm Sin Silver will appear with her band, “Sin Silver and the Avenue,” at Arman-do’s in Martinez on Thursday, August 9, 8- 10pm. Like Sin Silver and the Avenue on Facebook. Music available at www.sinsilverandtheavenue.com and on iTunes. Quote of the month:“Themostbeautifulmusicofallisthemusicofwhathappens.”– Irish Proverb

Sin Silver

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Monday - Friday 7:30 - 5:00925.609.64205399 Pacheco Blvd. Pacheco CA 94553

Serving Builders, Architects, Designers & Homeowners with top quality custom doors, windows and millwork.


925.335.9915601 Main Street, Martinez

www.smokeyds.com

Hours:Mon-Thur 11-8PMFri & Sat 11-9PM

FUNDRAISING! TWO OPTIONS AVAILABLECALL US FOR MORE INFORMATION

Slow Cooked, Smoked Meats and MoreGREAT

Open Sundays DuringMain Street Events Only

JOIN US FOR DINNER

Thanks for your business at the KING OF THE COUNTY BBQ!

EVERY FRIDAY THRU AUGUST

during Fridays on the Main in Martinez.Cars, Trucks, Bikes & BBQ ! What could be better than that!

Join our new Birthday Club and receive a $30 Birthday Certificate to spend at Kobe Japan Restaurant during the month of your birthday. You will also receive special offers and information

about the latest happenings in our monthly newsletter.

Please go to our website www.KobeJapanRestaurant.com , and then click Sign-Up for Our Birthday Club/Special Offers

1918 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill, California 94523Phone: (925) 705-7065/7066 Fax: (925)705-7067

$30 Birthday CertificateVoted Best Japanese Restaurant by Best of the Bay TV Viewers in 2010

MOLINO’S RAVIOLI

Molino’s Hot Food & CateringFor complete menu visit, www. molinosravioli.net

Regular Store Hours Mon- Sat 9am - 5:30pm • Sunday 10 - 52150 Pleasant Hill Road., 925.934.7075

• Call Ahead to Order or Just Walk In • In Business for Over 60 Years Serving Famous Beef, Chicken, Cheese, Butternut Squash, Vegetarian and Seafood Ravioli. Also Serving Homemade Gnocchi, Lasagna, Cannelloni and Soups and a Variety of Sauces

homemade ravioli since 1925MENTION

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Get your RESTAURANT FEATURED in Community FocusCall 925-335-NEWS (6397) or email [email protected]

Dallimonti’s Restaurant

1932 Oak Park Boulevard, Pleasant Hill. 925-944-5224

www.dallimontis.com

• A Family Tradition Since 1982 • Open for Lunch & Dinner• Reservations & Take Out Available • Small Banquets Welcome

• Full Bar & Wine List • A Touch of North Beach in your Neighborhood

LIVE MUSIC EVERY SATURDAY • COMING IN JULYFRIDAY KARAOKE NIGHT • GRAB THE MIC AND ROCK OUT

Come for the food stay for the music!

7/7 The Famous Three-O • 7/14 Lumberyard7/21 The Shillz • 7/28 Cover Story w/Paul Cotruvo and Toni Bryant


SUMMER INTENSIVES:

Core Strength to take your game to the next level.

So you’re stuck on an airplane and your knees are crammed into your nose due to the “extra leg room.” Your feet are starting to swell like sausages, your back is aching and your knees

are beginning to talk to you. In other words, your joints are getting stuck in one position for multiple hours, and that isn’t very healthy. If you can’t get up to stretch because the seat belt sign

Joints love to MoveBy Tonya Marie Amos, Aspire Pilates

Fighting Cancer & FatigueBy Esther Catalya, MD

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1029 Arnold Dr. Suite 9 Martinez, CA 94553

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Cancer related fatigue can be a symptom of your cancer or a side ef-fect of your cancer treatment. Normal day-to-day activi-ties can be draining, and sleep may only provide a short reserve of energy. Fatigue resonates to every part of us, our physical, mental and emotional being. Seventy to one hundred percent of cancer patients experience fatigue during treatment or post treatment. This lack of energy causes a change in daily activities, hobbies, work and relationships. There are things that you can do to help manage your symptoms:• Talk to your health care provider about managing symptoms. • Plan rest breaks in your day, but avoid long naps late in the day so you are able to sleep well at night. • Even when you are tired, allow friends to visit. Human connection is very impor-tant in battling depression, which is closely linked to fatigue. Enjoying the uplifting spirit of a friend also gives you more en-ergy. • Meet with a dietitian to help establish nu-

trition that helps fight fatigue. Eating the right foods and getting plenty of fluids can give added energy.• Delegate your needs by asking friends and family members for help with daily chores. • Everyone has their own way of relaxing. Reading, needlework, listening to music or creating small art projects tend to be relax-ing activities. • Consult your physician on what kind of exercise you are able to do such as walk-ing, yoga, swimming or other activities. Exercising daily not only helps lower blood pressure but also helps improve appetite, sleep and mood. Each person’s fatigue is unique; it is important to talk to your doctor about what treatment may work best for you. Keep a ‘Fatigue Diary’ to record your daily routine and fatigue level on a scale of 0-10. By keeping track of your diet, exercise and daily activities, you may be able to learn what works best to improve your energy level. Dr. Esther Catalya is a Medical On-cologist and Hematologist with Diablo Valley Oncology, located at the California Cancer and Research Institute in Pleasant Hill. 925-677-5041 or www.DiabloVal-leyOncology.md

was never turned off, or you don’t want to climb over your sleeping neighbor, you can use your uncom-fortable seat as your arena to ex-ercise. Although you may be stuck in your seat, you can still get your cir-culation going to minimize joint swelling and increase your comfort. Think about the individual joints of your body, then gently mobilize them one by one. Starting with your feet, squeeze, then spread your toes several times. Circle your ankles a few times, then reverse the direction. Gently bend and straighten your legs under the seat in front of you and contract the mus-cles of the thigh. For a great lower back and hip release, gently circle your pel-vis as if you are stirring chocolate pud-ding with your hips. Do the same stir-

ring motion with your torso, making several circles in each direction. Shrug your shoulders a few times then circle them forward, up, then backwards. Moving on to the neck, very gently roll your head forward then side to side in a semi circle. Now just as you’ve done with your feet, bend and straighten your fingers, roll your wrists in circles, then bend and straighten your elbows. Doing these simple mobility ex-ercises on a plane may not have you ready to run a marathon on landing, but it will at least cut down on the swelling and pain that comes from hours of sitting. Remember to drink lots of water to minimize dehydration, which also helps to keep your joints happy. Your newly found skills to sur-vive “extra leg room” will help you hit the ground running and ready to enjoy your travel adventures. For more information, please call (925) 680-4400 or go to www.As-pirePilatesCenter.com

©

Marilee King, Executive DirectorAn experienced group facilitator with nearly 20 years of experience

working in groups with children, adults, teens and families.

Education & Healing Group ServicesAssisting People From All Walks of Life

We offer many programs including:Alcohol & Drug Treatment Recovery Programs

Children Affected by AddictionTeen Insight Groups for those using alcohol and/or drugs

(925) 231-5556 • 380 Civic Dr. Suite 200~H, Pleasant Hill, CA


THE GARDEN

Taste anticipa-tion hits hard in July. Memories from my childhood: walking on the canal trail pick-ing blackberries, and eating Satsuma plums from my mom’s tree with juice drip-ping down my arms. These images cata-pult into my mind from nowhere and jolt my taste buds into procure-and-eat mode. Going to the recreation center, manically riding bikes, playing ping pong, and having picnics on the grass at the pool with bologna sandwiches, strawberries, and ice cold Shasta root beer was basically summertime for us children growing up in Pleasant Hill. You have got to love summer in the Diablo Valley: soaring mercury during the day and the natural “air conditioner” of fog rolling in from the coast at night make for some amazing evenings. Din-ing al fresco on the patio and grilling an amazing bounty of choices for dinners

and parties is almost insistent in our summer DNA. Nice daytime heat forc-es tomato vines to get thick and sturdy, which allows for weighty, luscious fruit to develop and hold steady until ripe. Melons are starting to wake up and bask in the sunlight, getting sweeter by the second and promising a nice breakfast or two in the near future. Douse cubes of melon in plain, creamy yogurt and sprinkle with nuts and blueberries. Whether or not you are growing it, corn is showing up in farmers’ mar-kets trucked in from Brentwood and the San Joaquin Valley. And it is sweet this year. Cut off the cob and use raw in salads or sauté it with olive oil or butter and chopped fresh tarragon. July farm-ers’ markets bring peak sweetness in the form of Donut peaches, white nectar-ines and O’Henry peaches, to name a few. Filled to capacity with juice, these fruits are amazing to devour with closed eyes -- truly miracles of nature. Cut into fruit salads or make into simple fruit

July Brings Peak SweetnessBy Lesley Stiles

crisps or free form tarts and garnish with homemade ice cream or honey sweetened crème fraiche. Do a stone fruit tasting for your-self, friend, family or party, and notice nuances of each fruit as you compare flavors and sugar contents side by side. We do this in our garden classes and kids are amazed at the differences be-tween the white or yellow variety and the differences in all the pluots or apri-ums. Even the same varieties of stone fruits may taste surprisingly different from different growers, and it is an en-tertaining and interesting activity for all involved. Stone fruits are also mar-velously tasty when grilled. Cut in half, remove pit and brush all surfaces lightly with olive oil. Place on hot grill for a few minutes. Use meltingly tender slices in salads or topped with whipped cream. Terrifically fun summer activi-ties are endless in our valley. Whether you’re swimming in lakes and pools,

fishing, hiking, walking, boating, flying kites at the marina, exploring the Black Diamond mines, or camping out on Mt. Diablo or Briones, we have cheap or free local fun for the taking. Get outside and be smart about it with sunscreen, lots of water and an eye on the clock – es-sentials to having a fabulous experience in this amazing place we call home. Breathe deeply and enjoy life. PS…We have a new Farmers’ Mar-ket opening. The market will be on Wednesdays from 11am to 6 pm at the Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Center BART Station. This market looks to be starting up on July 11, just in time for everything summer! Lesley Stiles is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, sustain-able caterer and school garden educa-tor. Contact Lesley at [email protected], www.lesleystiles.blogspot.com and visit her new website: www.lesley-stilesfoods.com.

Cucumber, Corn, Feta & Tomato Salad

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl, season w/ salt and pepper and serve immediately.Serves 4 to 6.

2 medium sized cucumbers, peeled, seeded and sliced2 pounds of heirloom tomatoes cut up2 ears of fresh corn cut off the cob½ bunch fresh basil, chopped½ cup crumbled feta cheese

2 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and choppedJuice and zest of 1 orange2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil2 tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegarKosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Ingredients:

Directions:

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925-798-5561Hours: Mon-Sat 10 AM – 4 PM

shop for bargains, shop for foster children

Youth Homes Auxiliary Thrift Shop raises money in support of the

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Summer is snake season. Rep-tiles need the heat of summer to warm themselves so they can hunt and digest food. We know that snakes are not everyone’s favorite animals, but snakes do us a great service by helping control rodent

populations. The wildlife hospital receives about thirty snakes every year. The com-mon reasons they are brought to us are they have been tangled in bird netting, caught by cats, or run over by cars, bicycles or lawn mowers. The most common snakes in our area are gopher snakes. They are tan with dark chocolate blotches along the back. Gopher snakes are long -- sometimes up

Snake SeasonBy Susan Heckly, Lindsay Wildlife Museum

High Adventure Crew Martinez has a new high adventure Venture Crew sponsored by the VFW Post 1351. Crew 1351 joins Troop 1351 and Pack 1351 in providing the scouting expe-rience to the youth of Martinez. Venturing is a young adult development program of the Boy Scouts of America designed for young men and women ages 14 through 20 (including age 13 if eighth grade has been completed). Venturing provides posi-tive experiences that help young people as they mature and prepare to become responsible, caring adults. Venturing is based on a unique and dynamic relation-ship between youth, adult leaders, and organizations within communities. Local community organizations establish a Venturing crew by matching their people and program resources to the interests of young people in the commu-nity. The result is a program with exciting and meaningful activities that help youth pursue special interests, develop leadership skills, and grow to become good citizens. Crew 1351 is a youth-lead, adult-support-ed program, which means that while the program requires adult supervision, it is

the venturers themselves who make the choices of what activities the Crew will do. Young adults involved in Venturing will acquire skills in the areas of high adventure camping, wilderness first aid, search & rescue, and arts and hobbies. In addition, they will experience positive leadership from adult and youth leaders and be given opportunities to take on leadership roles. Beginning July 12, Crew 1351 will meet Thursday evenings at 7:30pm in the VFW Hall on the corner of Court St. and Ward St. in downtown Martinez. Gil Pat-ton has been recruited to serve as the Crew Adviser. Mr. Patton brings many years of experience to the program. Anyone interested should contact the Crew at [email protected] or stop by the July 12 meeting. Please pass this information along to any youth who may be interested in participating and to any adult who would like to help guide these young men and women in the adventure of life. For more information on Venturing go to: http://www.bsa-mdsc.org/about-scouting/ven-turing.

SOAR LIKE A

HAWK

Experience new interactive exhibits, behind-the-scenes programs and live wild animals!

Visit Wednesday–Friday noon–5pm and weekends 10am–5pm.

Go to www.wildlife-museum.org to learn more.

193 1 F IRST AVENUE | WALNUT CREEK | 925 -935-1978

to 5’ -- but usually shorter. Newly hatched gopher snakes are about 20” long. When threatened, a gopher snake will inflate its body, flatten its head into a triangular shape, hiss loudly and quickly shake its tail to look and sound like a rattlesnake. They eat small mammals and especially like gophers, so are very beneficial for our gardens. Rattlesnakes are also common. Their coloration and markings are somewhat similar to gopher snakes, which can cause some confusion. Rattlesnakes are heavy-bodied and can grow to over 4,’ but closer to 3’ is more common. Newborn rattlesnakes are about 10” long. They don’t have rattles on their tails (that comes as they molt and grow), so the tip of the tail is rounded instead of pointed. Generally shy and not aggressive, western rattlesnakes strike when threat-ened or deliberately provoked, but given room they will retreat. If you encounter a rattlesnake, the best thing to do is stop, back away slowly and leave the area. Most

snakebites occur when a rattlesnake is handled or accidentally touched by some-one walking or climbing. When outdoors, stay on well-used trails and wear boots and long pants. Avoid tall grass and heavy underbrush where snakes may hide during the day. If a rattlesnake bites you, stay calm and call 911 to get emergency care as fast as possible. Don’t try to treat it yourself—no sucking out the venom, cutting “x”s over the bite site, no tourniquet, no ice. Just sit quietly with the affected area im-mobilized. Remove rings or watches that would constrict swelling. How can you tell the difference between a gopher snake and a rattlesnake? The biggest difference is their tails—go-pher snake tails are pointed and rattle-snake tails have rattles. If the rattles are missing for some reason, or the snake is newborn, the tail will be blunt—compare a freshly sharpened pencil to a very dull one. For more information about Lindsay Wildlife Museum and ways you can help wildlife, visit www.wildlife-museum.org.


Martinez Farmers’ Market Now through Oct. 25 - Thursdays, 10am-2pm , Court St., between Main & Escobar St.Year Round - Sundays, 10am-2pm , Main St. between Castro & Ferry St. Buy local pro-duce and visit local shops and restaurants too!

Pleasant Hill Farmers’ Market Saturdays through November 17. 9am to 1pm. Down-town Pleasant Hill http://www.pcfma.com/

Foster A Dream Backpack Drive - Hun-dreds of foster children need your help to start their school year off just like their peers with a NEW backpack and school supplies. Making a difference is as easy as 1-2-3. 1) Donate a new backpack filled with school supplies, 2) Hold a backpack drive, or 3) Make a donation. Visit http://www.fos-teradream.org/ to download a supply list or to make a donation.

7/4 - 4th of July Hometown Parade & Cel-ebration - 8am-11:30am Downtown Mar-tinez: Flag Raising Ceremony, 8am, Veterans Memorial Building, 930 Ward St. Pancake

EVENTS

AT THE LIBRARy

Calendar

Pleasant Hill: Tuesdays - Doorstep Farmers Pick Up 5-7pm. Sign up with Doorstep Farmers, a local CSA, at www.doorstepfarmers.com. All subscribers will receive a 5% discount for choosing Pleasant Hill Library as their pick-up location.

Wednesdays - English Conversation Prac-tice for Adults 1:30-2:30pm. This ESL group meets weekly. Ages 18+.

Wednesdays - Mother Goose Storytime 11:15-11:45pm & 1:15-1:45pm. Ages 0-3.

Thursdays - Preschool Storytime 11:15-11:45am. Ages 3-5.

Fridays - Mother Goose Storytime 11:15-11:45pm. Ages 0-3.

Fridays - Contra Costa Teen Chess Club 3-5pm. Instruction, friendly matches, and tournaments. Interested in learning, improv-ing your game, and meeting local teens? All levels are welcome.

Saturdays - Story Time 11:15-11:45am. Ba-bies, Preschoolers, Kids.

7/6 - One-On-One Computer Tutor 11am &12pm. Tutors help new computer users with all the basics including email accounts, Microsoft Word and Internet searches. Call for appt. for one-hour session. For adults. 925-646-6434.

7/11 - Teen Advisory Group (The PHUN Team, Pleasant Hill United Nerds Team)

Breakfast 8am-10am, Roxx on Main, 627 Main St. Parade 10am. www.mainstreet-martinez.org. (925) 228-3577

7/4 – It’s a Grand Ole’ Flag 4th of July – Pleasant Hill. The celebration begins at 7:45am with a 100-yard dash for kids 7 & under, 8am Firecracker 5K Fun Run, 9:30am Parade, 10:30am-1:30pm Party in the Park, 6pm gates open to College Park for the 9:20pm Fireworks!

7/6 – Plaza Concert and Wine Walk. 5:30-8:30pm Downtown Pleasant Hill. Tickets available at http://julywinewalk.eventbrite.com/ or (925) 687-0700, or in front of Pasta Pomodoro at the event.

7/18 - The Society of American Magicians Assembly #112 meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month. We perform great magic and have loads of fun! Open to all! Round Table Pizza, 7pm, 2960 Treat Blvd., Concord, CA.Join us this month and learn magic! Infor-mation: Call Fred (925) 451-1292

7/15 - Rodgers Ranch Herb Day 2012 – 11am – 4pm. Attend our demonstra-tions, shop at the vendors’ booths and visit the HSA Herb Garden. Questions? Email

3:30-5:00pm. Meet other teens and the young adult librarian to share and plan what you want to see happen at the library. Room A. Ages 13-18.

7/12 - Hunger Games Party for Teens 2-3:30pm. There will be games, trivia, ar-chery, and crafts related to your favorite book. Costumes are encouraged! The library will be accepting non-perishable food dona-tions that day to give to the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano. Play some board games too! Room A.

7/17 - PH Book Club 6:30pm-7:45pm. TheWave, by Susan Casey.

7/28 - Zoomobile! 2:30pm. The Oakland Zoomobile pulls up to the Pleasant Hill li-brary for a fun and furry show and tell. Kids can get up close and pet most of the small animals on show, while the Oakland Zoo’s animal experts tell us fascinating facts about these curious. Ages 5-14.

Martinez:Tuesdays - Mother Goose Storytime 10:30am. Ages 0-3.

7/2 & 23 - Pajama Time 6:30-7:15pm. Come in your jammies and wind down with a warm story and a cool craft! Special events every month! Contact: Lea Stone, 646-9900.

7/9 - July Americana 6:30-7:30pm. There will be fun for all ages when “Spinning Wheel” plays bluegrass at the Martinez Li-brary! Crafts and old-fashioned games for the kids, great music for everyone!

7/10 - Lego Workshop: We All Fall Down! 3:30 – 4:30pm. In honor of the 75th anni-versary of the Golden Gate Bridge, we will explore Lego bridge building techniques at this free workshop. Come work with Lego sculptor Charles Esseltine!

7/10 - Book Discussion Group 6:45pm. Join us as we discuss RumorsofPeace by Ella Leffland & FarewellSummer by Ray Brad-bury. Adults only.

7/30 - Ice Cream Workshop 3-4pm. Learn the easy way to make everyone’s favorite treat! Come prepared for a little culinary exploration; bring along your appetite. Ages 5-14. Registration Required.

All Libraries Closed for Independence Day, July 4.

[email protected]. To find us: www.rodg-ersranch.org/location.

7/24 & 7/26 - Rodgers Ranch Round Up - Heritage Days 9am - 2pm, $35 per day. Ages 7 - 12, Session 3: 7/24 – Sing and Play, Session 4: 7/26 – Job Day for the Kids 315 Cortsen Rd. Pleasant Hill. Email [email protected], or call Denise Koroslev at (925) 387-0158. Space is limited.

Willows Cabaret Theatre Thru -7/21 - “Vaudeville”; 7/13-15 – “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka Jr.”; 7/23-8/19 “A Doll’s House” - Www.willowstheatre.org, (925)798-1300.

Fridays on the Main – Thru August, 6-8pm. Cars, Trucks, Bikes and Live Music! Free! Downtown Martinez.

Pleasant Hill City HallGregory Ln & Cleaveland Rd

Free!

LIVE Musicon the lawn

by the lake pm!6:00-8:00

Summer Concerts

And on Sep 2...a DOUBLEHEADER!3:30-8:00pm

Free!

Aug 19

CONCERT SPONSORS

Aug 5

Aug 19

Jul 22

Casey Strand

Chiropractor Aug 19Sheila’sDaycare Sep 2

Sep 2

SERIES SPONSORS

Organized by PH Civic Action Commission.

Visit www.pleasanthillconcerts.com for all concert information.

Aug 5...Fundamentals

Aug 19...Cover2Cover

Sep 2...The Bell Brothers

Sep 2...Lumberyard

Join us for all the concerts this summer!

Jul 8...Petty Theft Jul 22...Tamsen Donner


Tikkun Olam Winners

AAuW Awards local ScholarshipsTEEN SCENE

The Pleasant Hill - Martinez branch of American Association of University Wom-en (AAUW) presented Tech Trek camp and college scholarship awards to eight students from local schools. It is the mission of AAUW to break down barriers for women and girls by promoting education and sup-porting personal and professional growth. Each recipient was honored by members, family, and friends at a June brunch. Four very deserving seniors were recognized for excelling in their high school years, not only with excellent grades, but also in community service and leadership ability. They were each awarded a $1,000 AAUW scholarship in recognition of their achievements. This year’s recipients were

Carielle Spangenberg and Samantha Viano from Alhambra High School, and Madelyn Kring and Amelia Lowry from College Park. Carielle is off to UC Berkeley to major in engineering. Samantha will attend Cal Poly and is interested in marketing in the wine industry. Madelyn will attend UC Berkeley where she will pursue medical and international studies. Amelia is headed to Chico State University and has an interest in business. Pleasant Hill - Martinez is proud to award these young women its 2012 scholar-ships. This branch of AAUW strongly supports its local scholarship fund in many ways. Two of the events that have become

a tradition are the September Italian Festa held at Viano Winery in Martinez, and a Silent Tea Party, which the membership generously supports. Tech Trek, a program that AAUW California started in 1998, is a science and math camp that encourages girls entering eighth grade to consider careers in science, math, engineering, or technology. The camp features hands-on activities in math, sci-ence, and related fields. All sleeping, eating, instructional, and recreational facilities are located on a variety of university campuses throughout California where camps are held. Campers are exposed to programs in fields such as astronomy, engineering, chemistry, marine biology, and environ-mental studies to enhance their learning

experience and introduce them to a variety of potential career areas. This year, four girls from Martinez and Pleasant Hill will attend the Tech Trek camp June 17 through 23 at the Sonoma State campus. The following local, outstanding students were chosen because of their pas-sion for math and science: Alexis Williams (Martinez Junior High School), Kalina Ziegler (Pleasant Hill Middle School), Olivia Hunter-McElroy (Sequoia Middle School), and Angelica Alberti (Valley View Middle School). Congratulations to all of these excep-tional young women. To find out more in-formation about the Pleasant Hill - Martinez AAUW branch, please visit the website: aauw-ph.org.

Edgar Yap and Samantha St. Germain Win This Year’s Block–Harris Tikkun Olam Scholarships The 2012 Tikkun Olam Scholarships were presented to College Park graduates Edgar Yap and Samantha St. Germain by Dawn Block and Pleasant Hill Vice Mayor Michael Harris. The scholarship fund was established by Ms. Block and Dr. Harris to recognize outstanding students who epitomize the tradition of Tikkun Olam, which in Hebrew means “repairing the world,” for their work in helping others and making the world a better place. Edgar was honored for his many hours of volunteer service, including helping homeless families, rebuilding a house and church in New Orleans, and being a youth group leader at CTK. This fall, he will study Biology at UC Berkeley. He plans on becoming a doctor, assisting with developing countries’ health needs and running a free medical clinic for the

needy. As a young man who has demon-strated great leadership, commitment, and organizational skills, Edgar is a well-deserved recipient of this 2012 Tikkun Olam scholarship. Samantha was honored for her extensive work in helping underserved populations, including distributing cloth-ing and food and working in soup kitch-ens. She also has organized blood drives, worked at the Monument Crisis Center and with Habitat for Humanity. This fall, Samantha will attend UCLA’s College of Engineering where she will major in Electrical Engineering. As a mature, intel-ligent, responsible young woman who possesses great integrity, Samantha is a most worthy recipient of the 2012 Tikkun Olam scholarship. Both Edgar and Samantha truly exemplify the tradition of Tikkun Olam - “repairing the world” - and have bright futures ahead of them.

JENNIFER L. MARTIN, D.D.S.

Specialist in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics

401 GREGORY LANE, SUITE 126PLEASANT HILL, CA 94523

925.676.8485 FAX 925.676.0288www.drjennifermartin.com

The local scholarship girls L to R: Amelia Lowry (AHS), Carielle Spangenberg (CP), Samantha Viano (AHS) with co-chairs Ish Mendonsa and Elva Valli. Not pictured is Madelyn Kring (CP). Photos by Sherrie Moore

The Tech Trek camp girls L to R: Angelica Alberti (Valley View), Kalina Ziegler (P.H. Middle), Alexis Williams (Martinez J.H.), and Olivia Hunter-McElroy (Sequoia) with Tech Trek committee members Shelley Jacobson,

Sherrie Moore and Joy Barden. Not pictured is Katrinka March, Tech Trek chairperson.

Dawn Block and Michael Harris with Edgar yap & Samantha St. Germain


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Aspire Pilates CenterA Wee Change

BCI Cabinet DesignBest Western Plus John Muir Inn

Big Air Heating and Air ConditioningBryce Schumacher, J. Rockcliff

City of Pleasant HillColdstone Creamery

Computer Sales and ServiceCountry Waffles

Dallimonti’sDiablo Valley OncologyDowntown Pleasant Hill

Flaskerud- Re-MaxFriends of Faith

Hagin’s AutomotiveHillcrest Veterinary Hospital

Hire My HusbandHitchcock Realty

Home Detailers HousekeepingJennifer L. Martin D.D.S.

John The PainterKobe Japan

Les Schwab TiresLindsay Wildlife Museum

Main Street MartinezMartinez Chamber of Commerce

Matthew C. Rinn, State Farm InsuranceMinuteman PressMolino’s Ravioli

Moulding CompanyPacific Coast Farmers’ Market

Parkway Smiles DentistryPayless Painting/Quick Change

Pleasant Hill 4th of July CommissionPleasant Hill Rec & Park

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