Archive for February, 2010
by John M. Zukoski on February 28, 2010 | 
No Comments | Topics: City Hall · Sustainability
The City of Dublin, CA, recently joined the CaliforniaFIRST program to assist in financing energy projects for private property owners. Coordinated by California Communities and launching in Summer 2010, the CaliforniaFIRST program will provide residential and commercial property owners with a lower-cost option to finance renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water efficiency improvements on their properties. Dublin property owners can borrow $5K to $75K for projects over a 5 to 20 year period. Property owners will be able to repay the loan through a parcel-specific assessment on their property tax bills. California Communities will issue bonds to provide the financing for these projects.
Qualified residents can benefit from the CaliforniaFIRST program in many ways. CaliforniaFIRST will likely offer property owners a lower financing rate than they otherwise would get through private financing companies. Additionally, payment for the CaliforniaFIRST loans will be collected along with the property tax, so property owners will enjoy the convenience of making semi-annual payments for their energy efficiency projects. The CaliforniaFIRST financing program is also unique in that assessment obligation transfers with the sale of the property, so the loan does not have to be paid in full as part of the property sale process. In fact, CaliforniaFIRST will assess a 5% prepayment penalty to discourage property owners from paying back their loans early.
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by John M. Zukoski on February 27, 2010 | No Comments | Topics: Announcements · Things To Do
As Bay Area schools cope with ongoing budget cuts — forcing, in part, larger class-sizes and the elimination of key curriculum — Galileo Learning’s creative summer enrichment programs have emerged as an integral part of the educational equation. By spurring creativity, innovation and collaboration through hands-on art, science and outdoor activities, Galileo Learning picks up where cash-strapped schools leave off, delivering a quality educational experience that extends learning beyond the school year. The Oakland-based operator of Camp Galileo (Pre-K through 5th graders) and Galileo Summer Quest (5th through 8th graders) at 26 Bay Area sites is bridging the educational gap by offering high-quality curriculum delivered by extraordinary staff, while also providing early-bird discounts to families who enroll by March 1, 2010.
“Amidst the severe budget constraints at schools today, Galileo Learning is more dedicated than ever to providing a quality summer enrichment program that inspires children to discover their passions,” remarked Glen Tripp, Galileo Learning founder and CEO. “Our highly qualified staff of educators delivers an engaging art, science and outdoor curriculum that not only bridges the gap, but also nurtures a love of learning.”
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by John M. Zukoski on February 25, 2010 | 32 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Opinions
The City of Dublin, CA, recently conducted a survey amongst 400 likely voters to gauge their support for a new city tax. The survey questions were prefaced by the fact that Sacramento borrowed $2M from the City this year to bridge the State budget deficit; however, what the survey did not mention is that the City of Dublin was able to get all $2M back from the California Communities Prop 1A financing program. In exchange, California Communities gets the interest that the State would have paid to Dublin for the $2M loan.
The survey found that residents are most concerned about losing police and fire services as a result of budget cuts. The respondents noted that if a new temporary City tax were approved, fire stations, police services, and emergency response operations should be first in line to receive the extra money. Most residents noted that they are largely unaware of the many steps taken by the City of Dublin to balance the budget, the impact the state seizure of local funds had on City operations, and the choices the City will face without a new City tax. Residents don’t see us taking cuts internally,” Councilmember Kasie Hildenbrand said to Robert Jordan of Contra Costa Times. In the same article, Councilmember Hildenbrand warns that “the cutbacks may become much more apparent.”
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by Eric Haggin on February 24, 2010 | No Comments | Topics: Opinions
Short sales in real estate are becoming more common here in Dublin, CA, and the entire East Bay. Of the 255 Dublin homes listed as active or pending as of February 8, 2010, 133 are short sales. Basically, if you bought a home between the years 2003 and 2008, you very likely owe more on your loans than the home is currently worth. Being “upside down” on the loan alone will not have a substantive impact on you credit rating, if you continue to live in the home and keep paying your mortgage.
The situation can get a little sticky, if you want to sell. When the current market value of your home is less than the total of your loan balance and the expenses incurred during a sale, you can avoid damage to your credit rating by paying off the difference yourself. In reality most sellers do not have a large pile of cash just sitting around for such an occasion. If you have to sell, you may need to do a short sale.
Before we continue, let’s go back to when you first tried to buy the home you are now attempting to sell. Your lender loaned you the money to buy the home, and you promised the lender to pay the loan back. If you stop paying your mortgage for any reason, your lender has the right to take your home by initiating the foreclosure process. Four to five a months later, the foreclosed home will be put up for sale at a courthouse auction. If no one buys the home at the auction, the title of the home goes to the lender and the property becomes an REO, or Real Estate Owned by the bank. The REO home will be listed on the MLS by a Realtor working for the bank and sold to a new buyer. A foreclosure is devastating to your credit rating and does not always relieve you of the obligation to pay the lender back.
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by John M. Zukoski on February 22, 2010 | 22 Comments | Topics: Parks · Things To Do
The Dublin City Council voted unanimously to “conceptually support” a Dublin Farmers’ Market that will launch in Spring 2011. The new Farmers’ Market will be held on Friday evenings from 4PM to 8PM at Emerald Glen Park on the Gleason Drive side. The Dublin Farmers’ Market will be distinct from other farmers’ markets in that it will feature live music and other forms of entertainment to augment the parade of organic fruits, farm-fresh vegetables, kettle corn, baked goodies, and other farmers’ market staples. The goal is to merge some of the current city programs in Dublin like the Summer Concert Series and movie nights with the new Friday night Farmers’ Market. Local businesses and restaurants at The Shops at Waterford may also benefit from the increased foot traffic, once the new Farmers’ Market becomes a destination spot in Dublin. “I’m very excited as I can just walk over to purchase fresh fruits from local farmers and use it for our toppings,” said Jonathan Rim, the owner of Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt.
Council’s support was bolstered by the more than 97% of survey respondents who voted in favor of a farmers’ market in Dublin. More than 900 residents participated in the survey, and most of them voted for the potential market location closest to their home. Most of the people living west of Silvergate, for example, voted to have the market at the future Dublin Historic Park. Residents living in central Dublin, on the other hand, voted to have the market at Dublin Place (the Target shopping center), while most of the folks in east Dublin voted to have the Farmers’ Market at Emerald Glen Park. Based on the survey results, the Historic Park was top choice for Dublin’s new Farmers’ Market, and Emerald Glen Park was the second most popular choice. As for the preferred time slot, Saturday and Sunday came in first and second, respectively. Friday was a distant third place.
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by Around Dublin Team on February 20, 2010 | 4 Comments | Topics: Schools
Springfield Montessori School will be opening its new campus in Dublin, CA, May 2010. The Dublin campus is located at 5100 Brannigan Street, in Dublin Ranch, with easy access to and from I-580 and I-680. In close proximity to both Fallon Middle School and John Green Elementary School, this new campus has been designed to replicate Springfield Montessori’s award-winning architectural design in Walnut Creek, CA. The programs, curriculum, and operating model will be patterned after the highly successful and well respected Walnut Creek campus.
Springfield Montessori School subscribes to the Montessori Teaching Philosophy. Developed by Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), this philosophy emphasizes and promotes excellence in Early Childhood Education by creating a culture that is conducive to learning, helping students develop physical and mental order as well as “Inner Discipline,” providing an environment and materials that will meet the multifaceted developmental needs of the students, and teaching students to help themselves through the processes of independence, responsibility, socialization, and grace, and courtesy.
Springfield Montessori owes much of its reputation to the dedication of its highly motivated teaching staff. Springfield Montessori teachers are well trained in the Montessori Philosophy and possess thorough knowledge of the various stages in a young child’s social, cognitive, physical, and physiological development.
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by Around Dublin Team on February 19, 2010 | No Comments | Topics: Local Businesses
Marakana is a privately-held company based in San Francisco, CA. Since 2001, Marakana has been helping IT professionals get better at what they do by providing an extensive range of training services on open source software solutions and agile practices. The Around Dublin Blog is teaming up with our friends at Marakana to offer our readers a 10% discount on any course from their extensive training catalog. To qualify for this discount, simply type “Around-Dublin-Blog” when prompted for the coupon code during the course registration process.
The idea for Marakana started with a Craigslist ad. A local non-profit in San Francisco was looking for a technical instructor to help teach some Java classes. This non-profit’s mission was to bridge the Digital Divide by helping underprivileged youth, minorities and women get into high-tech jobs. The classes would be fully booked within hours of their announcements. Encouraged by the overwhelming demand and the success of the participants, the founders of Marakana started offering open source training to corporations and governments. Today, Marakana provides open source training all over the world with a focus on enterprise open source.
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by John M. Zukoski on February 17, 2010 | No Comments | Topics: Things To Do
The 2010 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, CA, will be held on March 13th starting at 9:30AM. Here is a quick summary of the route for the 2010 parade. The 2010 Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade will start on the corner of Dublin Boulevard and Amador Plaza Road and then travel east on Dublin Boulevard. The parade will then march north on Village Parkway and then west on Amador Valley Boulevard. The 2010 Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade will end at Donohue Drive by the Dublin Senior Center.
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by John M. Zukoski on February 15, 2010 | 2 Comments | Topics: Local Issues
The City of Dublin, CA, saw a dramatic decrease in crime for the month of January 2010 in comparison to the month December 2009. January’s preliminary tally of 171 incidents was far less than December’s revised total of 211 incidents. Theft comprised a little more than half of all cases. Traffic and Quality of Life cases accounted for about a third of all crime, while acts of violence made up the remainder. Quality of Life cases include disorderly conduct and incidents involving drugs or alcohol. The most significant improvements were in the Quality of Life and Sexual Offense categories. Sadly, most of the 19 Assault cases involved domestic violence between spouses and/or cohabitants.
Similar to past months, a total of 12 Burglaries were reported in Dublin for the month of January. Given the distribution of the dates and locations of the cases, none of the Burglaries appear to be related. The most shocking incident reported was the Battery of a Wells Middle School employee on January 14, 2010. CrimeReports.com did not specify whether the Battery was committed by a student, parent, another employee of Wells Middle School, or someone not affiliated with the School.
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