John is the publisher of the Around Dublin Blog. He works at Robert Half International and lives in Dublin. As president of Dublin Rotary Club, John dedicates his free time to community service and helping others help themselves. John is also one of the founders of Tassajara Prep and a board member of Shakespeare's Associates.
Dublin, CA residents are eagerly awaiting the grand opening of the Livermore Valley Paragon Outlets Mall in November 2012. Phase I of the mall will feature 120 stores spread over 543,000 square feet along El Charro Road across from Staples Ranch in Pleasanton. Paragon and Livermore City Hall predict that the Paragon Outlets Mall will generate over 2,000 new jobs for the area.
Charter Properties and Dublin City Hall have recently launched a campaign of misinformation to recast their attempt to renege on the promise of high-end retail at the Promenade in Dublin, CA. The goal of this campaign is to win public support for additional residential units on top of the 1,396 already built in the heart of Dublin Ranch Villages. To ensure that all residents see the true intentions of Charter Properties and the City of Dublin clearly, the Around Dublin Team would like to share the Top 10 Little Lies Overheard at Dublin City Hall About the Promenade.
The Rotary Club of Castro Valley, with the help of other service organizations and local East Bay merchants, will once again be staging the Valley Blues Festival. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, September 17th, from noon to 7PM at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo Grounds, halfway between Castro Valley and Dublin, CA. Gates will open at 11AM. The festival highlights local blues musicians in a casual atmosphere and combines it with other outdoor activities to make it a great afternoon outing for blues fans of all ages.
Adults can sip on beer or wine as they listen to slow-handed licks from a trio of veteran bands. The Daniel Castro Band jams through a catalog of original tunes and classic covers, and sounds from local act The SolMates encourage a variety of dance styles including swing, funk, samba, and solo conga lines. Georgi and the Rough Week‘s lead singer belts brassy notes reminiscent of classic female crooners to fuel songs with emotion.
Making this truly a community event, the Rotary Club of Castro Valley has invited Save Our Schools Castro Valley and the Castro Valley Sports Foundation to provide the food services for this year’s Valley Blues Festival. Save Our Schools Castro Valley will be partnering up with Don Jose’s Mexican Restaurant once again.
Dublin San Ramon Services District received a $1.13 million grant for the Central Dublin Recycled Water project from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Proposition 84 Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Implementation Grant Program. The $4.6 million project will bring recycled water to irrigate Dublin’s oldest neighborhoods, providing a rationing-resistant water supply for schools, parks, and other valuable public landscaping. New distribution pipelines in Central Dublin will connect to existing recycled water infrastructure that already serves other parts of the city.
The project will reduce potable water demand, as well as the volume of treated wastewater discharged to the San Francisco Bay, by more than 70 million gallons per year (approximately 215 acre feet). Expected to be shovel-ready in the summer of 2012, construction could support 91 to 138 jobs.
The $1.13 million state grant funds almost 25 percent of the total cost of the project. The District is currently applying for a federal grant to cover another 25 percent, and the remaining cost of the project will be paid by the District’s Water Replacement Fund (from both ratepayers and developers). The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation funded the project’s feasibility study through a $253,400 WaterSmart Grant, received August 1st. This grant is one of 18 that DWR awarded to 13 members of the San Francisco Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA), for a total of $30,093,592. BACWA’s members are public utilities that collect and treat wastewater in the nine counties that surround the San Francisco Bay.
Cities and counties around the United States are rife with unfunded pension obligations and structural budget deficits. Alameda County, which includes the Cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, and Dublin, has had to use a series of one-time plugs, land sales, and layoffs to plug a combined preliminary budget deficit of $1.1B over the past decade with projected annual deficits for as far as the eyes can see. A recent article estimated that cities in the United States have underfunded their public employee pensions by $574B.
A handful of cities have taken the nuclear option to unshackle themselves from inflexible employment contracts, out of control police and fire service expense increases, and pension promises made during the boom years. Costa Mesa, CA recently laid off nearly half of its city employees to help slash its budget deficit and has vowed to outsource services. The City of Vallejo, CA filed for bankruptcy after years of insolvency where roughly 80% of its operating budget was allocated to police and fire services.
According to the New York Times, Central Falls, RI recently drew national attention when it filed for bankruptcy after getting in trouble for “promising its police and firefighters generous retirement benefits without setting aside enough money to pay for them. The benefits were often determined by outside arbitrators, who were intent on resolving disputes rather than assessing whether towns could afford their promises.” When the courts refused to provide bankruptcy protection, Pritchard, AL simply decided to stop sending out checks to its pensioners.
Resident driving in and around Dublin, CA have undoubtedly noticed the surge in new home and retail projects under construction across the city. Dublin’s vibrancy and desirability have attracted developers and well-known companies to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the city. New home projects currently under construction include Jordan Ranch, Bella Monte, Fallon Crossing, Sorrento East, and the Positano communities. Retail projects nearing completion include Target at Fallon Crossing, REI, and Sports Authority.
One of All-America City of Dublin, CA’s crowning achievements in the past decade is its commitment to affordable housing. Over the past few decades, U.S. government entities at the local, state, and federal levels have taken steps to ensure that residents have a minimum standard of living space to call home. This policy is motivated by the belief that every region must allow for affordable housing in order to have robust economies for growth and viable communities for raising families.
Public housing projects, developer-mandated below market rate (BMR) units, and section 8 vouchers are the primary tools used to guarantee affordable housing. Before its demolition, the Arroyo Vista community on Dougherty Road in Dublin gave shelter to people who otherwise would not be able to afford to live in the Bay Area. Once it is rebuilt by a public-private partnership between KB Homes and Eden Housing, the community will be reborn as the Emerald Vista mixed-income development where nearly half of the homes will be BMR rental units like the ones at The Groves. Dublin also has many BMR for-sale units throughout the city, including many condo units at the Terraces and townhome units at Silvera Ranch.
Drivers traveling along Fallon Road on Saturday morning in Dublin, CA may have noticed something different from their previous trips. A functioning stoplight at the Fallon Gateway shopping center signaled to locals that the long-awaited Target store will finally be opening soon. Target’s parking lot was nearly half full with cars at around noon on Saturday. The visitors were most likely future Target store employees gearing up for the October 9th grand opening.
The Fallon Gateway center will look similar to the Shops at Bishop Ranch, which is anchored by a Greatland Target and a Whole Foods Market. The key difference between the two shopping plazas is that the large retail stores at Fallon Gateway will be located adjacent to the new East Dublin Target, and the smaller retail and restaurant establishments will be located across from the bigger stores. Fallon Gateway will be accessible from both Dublin Boulevard and Fallon Road.
The new Target store at Fallon Gateway will have a highly popular neighbor soon after its grand opening on October 9th. Expected to open in February 2012, the new BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse will provide customers with valet parking and be ready to pounce on the customer base cultivated at the Grafton Station by Buffalo Wild Wings for over two years. BJ’s serves a wide variety of appetizers, entrées, lunch specials, and handcrafted beers. Its roughly 9,000 square feet of space will include a full bar. In addition to a delectable collection of food and drinks, BJ’s offers guests a lively and family friendly atmosphere with plenty of big-screen television sets.
The 2011 Harvest Wine Festival in Livermore, CA will feature the fine wines of the Livermore Valley set to a backdrop of great music, food, activities, and crafts vendors during Labor Day Weekend, September 4th to the 5th from noon to 5:00PM. Known for its winery-to-winery shuttle bus service, the 2011 Harvest Wine Celebration is a Livermore Valley Labor Day weekend tradition and will mark the event’s 30th year. Among the many incredible local wineries, Steven Kent and La Rochelle at 5443 Tesla Road stand out for their superb Cabs and Pinot Noirs, unique tasting room experience, and commitment to the Tri-Valley community.
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