CONCORD
At a continued special meeting Saturday morning, the Concord City Council, sitting as the Local Reuse Authority, rejected the Concord First Partners LLC term sheet to develop the former Concord Naval Weapons Station and directed staff to let the exclusive negotiating agreement with Concord First Partners expire on Tuesday.
After council questions of Concord First Partners and staff, the action was taken on a 3-2 vote (Laura Hoffmeister, Laura Nakamura and Carlyn Obringer voted for rejection while Dominic Aliano and Edi Birsan were against it).
Mayor Hoffmeister asked staff to determine the next steps for the U.S. Navy base reuse project, and staff will return to council with recommendations in the coming weeks. A recording of Saturday’s meeting can be viewed online at bit.ly/concordjan28meeting.
— city of Concord
WALNUT CREEK
Yours Humanly group awarded at Dubai education forum
Yours Humanly, a global nonprofit that transforms the lives of children in need around the world by providing access to quality education and equitable resources, was recently recognized for its contribution to global education equity and awarded the 2022 Outstanding Organization Award at the Education 2.0 Conference, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sunny Singh, Yours Humanly’s founder and chief executive officer, accepted the award in person on behalf of the organization.
Attended by hundreds of leaders in education from more than 40 countries, the highly regarded Education 2.0 Conference is a three-day, knowledge-intensive conference that gathers educators, policy makers, researchers and change makers to share global insights and perspectives and to look for innovative solutions to the most pressing problems impacting learning and teaching on a global level.
Conference organizers stated that, given the far-reaching impact of their contributions, “the Education 2.0 Conference is immensely honored to spotlight a few incredible individuals and organizations who have worked tirelessly to reform and improve global education. With this program, we hope to honor these visionary minds and inspire more such emerging voices.”
— Yours Humanly
City hires new human resources director from Emeryville
Walnut Creek City Manager Dan Buckshi has announced the hiring of Trish Raver as the city’s new human resources director as of Jan. 23.
Raver is overseeing the office that manages the city’s recruitment, hiring, training, benefits, labor relations and other employee issues. She comes to Walnut Creek from Emeryville, where Raver served as that city’s human resources director for the past three years. Raver previously held human resources leadership positions in Livermore and Orinda.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in communications, with a minor in statistics, and earned a master’s degree in organizational development from the University of San Francisco. Raver holds a certification in strategic human resources leadership from Cornell University and is certified by the Society of Human Resources Management as a professional in human resources.
“I’m excited to be leading the professional staff in the Human Resources Department and working collaboratively with others in the city as well as being a partner to enhance Walnut Creek’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts,” said Raver.
— city of Walnut Creek
Beekeeper group to address garden club’s next meeting
The Walnut Creek Garden Club will hold its monthly meeting Feb. 13 in the Elks Lodge at 1475 Creekside Drive in Walnut Creek. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by a brief business meeting, social time and an educational program.
The club’s program, “Bees, Bees and More Bees,” will be presented by the Mount Diablo Beekeeper’s Association (diablobees.org), which has a dedicated group of novice and expert volunteers who are determined to promote beekeeping, support best practices and create habitats for honeybees and pollinators.
Learn how you can “bee” a part of the process through your own garden. The club welcomes the public to visit their meetings and join it. For more information, visit walnutcreekgardenclub.org online.
— WCGC
BRENTWOOD
Request intradistrict high school transfers in February
To balance enrollment among the Liberty Union High School District’s (LUHSD) comprehensive school sites, attendance areas for Liberty, Freedom and Heritage high schools have been established.
Students who live within the LUHSD boundary but would rather attend a school not designated for their residential area must apply for an intradistrict transfer. The month of February is the “open enrollment” period for students and parents to complete intradistrict transfer requests for the 2023-24 school year. Decisions regarding these requests will be made by May 15.
Intradistrict transfer request forms will be available online at www.luhsd.net or can be picked up from the district office at 20 Oak St. in Brentwood starting Feb. 1. If you have any questions, contact Valerie Noble at 925-634-2166, ext. 2021.
— LUHSD
LAFAYETTE
Garden club’s next monthly meeting Feb. 9 at veterans hall
The Lafayette Garden Club’s (LGC) next monthly meeting starts with social time at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 9, followed by the regular meeting at 10 in the veterans hall at 3780 Mount Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette.
Guest speaker Anna Marie Beauchemin, the founder of East Bay Herbals, a custom herbal apothecary in Martinez, will discuss growing and using herbs and the art and science of herbal medicine. Anyone interested in attending the free meeting or thinking about joining the club is asked to email LGCMembership@gmail.com.
— LGC
CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA
Make appointment for free AARP tax preparation service
AARP Tax-Aide as of February is again offering free tax preparation service provided by volunteer IRS-certified tax counselors. AARP Tax-Aide helps low- to moderate-income taxpayers of any age, regardless of income, with special attention given to those 50 or older. As of mid-January, appointments and information are available at the following phone numbers:
- Rossmoor Hillside Clubhouse, 925-726-3199;
- Hillcrest Congregational Church (Pleasant Hill), 925-289-9790;
- Concord Senior Center, 925-671-3320;
- Concord Library, 925-471-5686;
- Pacheco Community Center, 925-709-4525;
- and the Martinez Senior Center, 925-370-8770.
For general AARP Tax-Aide information and other locations, call 925-726-3199 or visit aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide online.
— AARP Tax-Aide
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