City Hall
by John M. Zukoski on January 26, 2012 | 
5 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Opinions
The City of Dublin, CA raked in a surplus of over $6.4M for the last fiscal year. This amount was $5.3M more than what had been expected. The unexpected budget surplus is the result of both a $2.7M revenue surprise and extra savings of $2.6M for the year. Over $1M of extra sales tax and property tax revenues flowed into the City coffers with another $1.4M bounty coming from boosted charges for services. Dublin’s strong financial showing for the most recent year gives many residents a good reason to wonder why the City would be contemplating a proposed joint utility tax measure with the Dublin Unified School District for the November 2012 ballot.
Continue Reading
by Around Dublin Team on January 17, 2012 | 4 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Opinions
Suspected burglar Jose Luis Gonzales Franco escaped from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA last Monday and was arrested at Video Only in Dublin’s historic shopping district seven hours later, still in most of his prison garb on a stolen bicycle. Franco’s big escape reportedly started in the same area off Tassajara Road where MythBusters misfired a cannonball and damaged several homes during an experiment conducted on the Alameda County Bomb Disposal Range. The City of Dublin has had a proud tradition of outsourcing its police services to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, but it seems to have taken this outsourcing to a whole new level.
The City of Dublin stayed silent throughout the seven-hour manhunt. The CodeRED Emergency Notification System used to publicize the MythBusters cannonball community meeting could have been deployed to warn residents about the escaped inmate. City officials instead chose to keep its residents in the dark, while Dublin Unified School District and the City of San Ramon did the right thing by notifying their stakeholders as soon as they learned about the serious breach in security and public safety in Dublin.
Continue Reading
by John M. Zukoski on January 12, 2012 | 14 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Local Issues · Opinions
Suspected burglar Jose Luis Gonzales Franco escaped from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA on Monday. Before being arrested at Video Only in Dublin’s historic shopping district seven hours later, Franco was joyriding around town in most of his prison garb on a stolen bicycle. Franco’s big adventure reportedly started in the same area off Tassajara Road where MythBusters misfired a cannonball and damaged several homes during an experiment conducted on the Alameda County Bomb Disposal Range. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office oversees the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and runs Dublin Police Services for the City of Dublin by contract.
The City of Dublin stayed silent throughout the seven-hour manhunt. The CodeRED Emergency Notification System could have been deployed to warn residents about the escaped inmate. The last time the City of Dublin used the CodeRED Emergency Notification System was to let residents know about the public meeting at the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office regarding the MythBusters cannonball incident. The City of Dublin also had the option to warn the general public through the neighborhood watch program. Instead, City officials chose to keep its network of neighborhood watch block captains in the dark.
Continue Reading
by Around Dublin Team on December 31, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Announcements · City Hall
The All-America City of Dublin, CA is looking to fill two unscheduled vacancies on the Senior Center Advisory Committee. One seat’s term will expire in December 2012, and the other seat’s term will end in December 2014. The application deadline is Monday, January 16th, 2012, with the appointments anticipated to both be made at the City Council Meeting on February 7th, 2012.
Continue Reading
by Around Dublin Team on December 25, 2011 | No Comments | Topics: Announcements · City Hall
The All-America City of Dublin, CA is accepting nominations for the 2011 Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year and Organization of the Year. The purpose of these awards is to recognize outstanding individuals and groups who have contributed to the quality of life in Dublin this past year. Nomination criteria for both the Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year Awards are based on the Dublin Pride – Integrity in Action Program’s 10 Characteristics: Responsibility, Respectfulness, Caring, Giving, Positive Attitude, Trustworthiness, Cooperation, Doing One’s Best, Honesty, and Self-Discipline. The Young Citizen of the Year recognizes the volunteer service of Dublin’s youth in 1st – 12th grade.
All nominees will be recognized at the Volunteer recognition event to be held at the Shannon Community Center on Friday, February 24, 2012, where the winners will be announced. The Organization of the Year will receive a $500 cash prize, and a $300 donation will be given to each the Citizen and Youth Citizen of the Year’s favorite non-profit organization.
Continue Reading
by Around Dublin Team on December 15, 2011 | 10 Comments | Topics: Announcements · City Hall · Local Issues
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a community meeting on Saturday, December 17th at the Office of Emergency Services in Dublin, CA. The meeting will start at 11:00AM. The Office of Emergency Services is located at 4985 Broder Boulevard. The purpose of the community meeting is to provide an opportunity for area residents to share their concerns about the recent MythBusters cannonball incident with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the Training Center in Dublin. Sheriff’s Office representatives will be joined by representatives from Dublin Police Services, as well as the City of Dublin.
The cannonball incident took place during the filming of a MythBusters episode at the Alameda County Bomb Disposal Range. MythBusters is a hit television show on the Discovery Channel. Sgt. Nelson, who also serves as a safety explosives expert for MythBusters, has claimed that proper safety protocol was followed. MythBusters does not pay a fixed fee to use the Alameda County Bomb Disposal Range; instead, the show has donated to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Representatives of the MythBusters program and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office are cooperating with the investigation by Dublin Police Services. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office currently runs Dublin Police Services for the City of Dublin by contract.
Continue Reading
by John M. Zukoski on December 9, 2011 | 6 Comments | Topics: City Hall
Dublin City Council recently approved a $48,660 study to look into plans for adding a coffee and snack area inside the Dublin Library. Alameda County will pick up half of the tab for the study. The addition of a cafe will mark a critical step in Dublin Library’s evolution to a community gathering space where folks come together to collaborate on projects. Whether the cafe operation will be handled by the City of Dublin or outsourced to a for-profit partner remains unknown at this time.
Continue Reading
by Around Dublin Team on December 8, 2011 | 29 Comments | Topics: Announcements · City Hall · Opinions
Nearly 24 hours after the notorious cannonball incident that made world news, the All-America City of Dublin, CA has finally come through with an official statement regarding the near tragedy. According to the City’s official statement, Dublin Police Services is now investigating the case involving an errant cannonball that struck two homes and damaged a vehicle in the City of Dublin earlier this week. Because the City of Dublin does not have jurisdictional oversight of activities that occur at the County’s Training Center, the City is asking residents to direct their questions and concerns to Sgt. J.D. Nelson, Public Information Officer for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. Nelson may be reached at JNelson@acgov.org by e-mail or at (510) 225-5876 by cell. Dublin City Council and staff have more pressing business to tend to during this holiday season in the meantime.
Continue Reading
