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will discover when events in Alamo made national news. Numerous historic Alamo photos, including some never published before, are a feature of the book, and there is a special section on the origins of Alamo street names. This book is a must read for present or Ranches, orchards past Alamo residents or anyone with a and championship horses curiosity about this great community. O ne of the oldest communities in the East Bay, Alamo is

The official book launch will be held brimming with tales of hope, loss and triumph. Discover the story of at the following locations: the Romero brothers, who lost their rancho to a shrewd and litigious attorney, and the early pioneers • Saturday, June 12th at The Museum who banded together to buy it back at an extraordinary sum. Learn of the San Ramon Valley/Danville about the deep agricultural roots that supported newcomers drawn to the temperate climate and Farmer’s Market, located at 205 Railroad beautiful valley. Revisit this rural community’s transformation from grazing land for Mission San Jose to a beloved Avenue, Danville, from 11AM-1PM . home for generations of ranchers, writers and activists. Join historian Beverly Lane and researcher Sharon Burke as they share fascinating tales of Alamo’s past. • Saturday, June 12th, Alamo ACE Hardware, located at 3211 Danville Boulevard, Alamo, from 2PM-4PM . • Sunday, June 13th, Alamo Farmers’ Market in the Alamo Plaza shopping center, from 10AM-1PM . $21.99

The authors have assigned all royalties from the book to the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. Shop locally and help support the Museum! Come by, meet the authors, and get a signed copy of Historic Tales of Alamo.

If you are not able to attend a book signing event, you can purchase a copy of the book at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, 205 Railroad Ave., Danville, or Alamo ACE Hardware, located at 3211 Danville Blvd., in Alamo.

HISTORIC TALES of ALAMO, CALIFORNIA

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SHRUMEN LUMEN, A LUMINESCENT WONDER

The Town of Danville is pleased to present its newest temporary Public Art Installation, “Shrumen Lumen” which will be on display in downtown Danville through Labor Day.

Two, larger-than-life, kinetic mushroom sculptures will be installed in the downtown area at the Town Green by the Danville Community Center and Library, and in front of the Village Theatre & Art Gallery. By day, the 12 x 14 ft mushrooms are an ethereal white, at night they come alive, as the mushroom caps open and close and a rainbow of LED lights cycle through from top to bottom back to the top again in a stunning display of art and engineering, creating a surprising and delightful experience. The sculptures were conceived and created by a Bay Area group of engineers and artists: The FoldHaus Artist Collective. The mushrooms were first created for the world-famous Burning Man event in Blackrock, CA, and have since traveled to be enjoyed by audiences in cities all over the world. Now, residents and visitors to Danville will have an opportunity to experience these marvelous pieces as well. The Shrumen Lumen Public Art is an extension of the exhibition Altered & Reimagined taking place in the Art Gallery at the Village Theatre beginning June 19th. An opening reception for both exhibits will take place on Saturday, June 19th from 7-9PM on the patio of the Village Theatre & Art Gallery located at 233 Front Street. COVID safety guidelines will be in effect and masks must be worn. As always, the reception is free and open to the public.

Please visit www.danville.ca.gov for future events associated with the Mushrooms including Art After Dark at the Art Gallery on select Thursday evenings during the summer, and a Fairy Hunt that will take place in the Danville Arts District, and will be geared toward children.

For more information, contact Visual Arts Coordinator Marija Nelson Bleier at (925) 314-3460 or mnelsonbleier@danville.ca.gov. By Fran Miller

Tiny house builders and Danville Athenian School students, Lexi Gates and Abbie Bly who were featured in the January 2021 issue of Alamo Today & Danville Today News, recently delivered their completed tiny Historic Tales of home to Oakland’s Opera tion Dignity. ALAMO Operation Dignity will turn the space into a comCALIFORNIA munity center for residents. Said Lexi, “The project was an incredible experience that Abbie and I will surely remember B EVERLY L ANE with Sharon Burke forever. We both worked hundreds of hours to complete the project, and we are grateful to have had amazing support from our parents, friends, volunteers, and donors.”

To help contribute to their efforts, visit www. gofundme.com/f/building-tiny-homes-for-thehomeless.

FOOD DONATIONS NEEDED

Food insecurity for many is becoming more dire as the coronavirus pandemic continues. Stepping up and helping out are members of St. Timothy’s Church, located at 1550 Diablo Rd., Danville. The members have been holding bi-monthly food drives to support the Monument Crisis Center (MCC).

MCC is a community-based non-profit family resource center which offers food, resources, and referrals to low-income individuals and families in order to help them become stable and secure in the community.

St. Timothy’s Church food drives will be held the second and fourth Sunday of each month from 2-4pm for the foreseeable future.

Of particular need are tuna, peanut butter, canned fruits and vegetable, pasta, canned meats, rice, beans, oatmeal, soups, ethnic foods, and baby food. In addition, pet food and diapers are appreciated. Items in glass containers cannot be accepted.

Monetary donations can also be made directly to MCC via www.monumentcrisiscenter.org/donate. Your contributions are deeply appreciated.

Learn more about the drives at www.sainttimothysdanville.org.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Many of our neighbors cannot afford to feed and clothe themselves or their families. Volunteer opportunities for individuals, families, and groups to serve the community are available at White Pony Express.

White Pony Express, founded by Dr. Carol Weyland Conner in 2013 and headquartered in Pleasant Hill, is a nonprofit that rescues fresh surplus food from supermarkets, restaurants, and farmers markets. This nutritious food is then delivered free to organizations that feed the hungry. In addition, high-quality clothing, children’s toys, and books are distributed free of charge.

Hundreds of volunteers make White Pony Express possible. They volunteer because they believe in the mission and know they are helping others who have urgent needs at this critical time in their lives. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit whiteponyexpress.org/volunteer or call Mandy Nakaya, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at 925-818-6361 or email Mandy@whiteponyexpress.org.

CLIP NOTES By Jody Morgan Reading this description in the 1997 edition of the American Horticultural Society’s A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, you might be tempted to make the grave error of planting the species described. “A. donax is grown for its attractive bamboo-like foliage. Where not hardy, the variegated cultivars are ideal for a cool conservatory or greenhouse, or for large containers. In warmer areas, use as a specimen plant or at the back of a large border.” Resist the urge to include this invasive member of the grass family in any planting and eradicate it if you find it taking root on your property. Commonly called giant reed or simply Arundo, it might better be labeled “Curse of the Creeks.”

Probably native to the Eastern Mediterranean as well as parts of Asia and Africa, Arundo was well-known throughout the ancient world, eventually finding its way to Europe. The reed was used in a Greek wind instrument called the aulos that was single or double-reeded and played vertically as depicted in ancient art. Still used today for reeds in clarinets, saxophones, bassoons, oboes, and bagpipes, Arundo has been made into fishing poles and walking sticks, employed as a windbreak, and utilized in durable construction materials. “Commonly called giant reed or simply Arundo.”

The giant nuisance was brought to Southern California in the early nineteenth century to serve a specific purpose as a roofing material and then planted along riverbanks to control erosion. Unfortunately, none of the factors limiting Arundo’s aggressive behavior in the Old World, including insects, came along with the plants. Finding an ideal home in riparian habitats with plenty of moisture and warm weather, giant reed easily out-competes native plants. Able to grow as fast as four inches a day, Arundo takes out plants that provide shelter for birds and shade to cool water for fish and amphibians. Mature canes may be as tall as 30 feet, but they provide no benefits to indigenous wildlife.

Mark Hoodle, Director of the Center for Invasive Species Research at UC Riverside, describes the enormity of the ongoing effects of Arundo’s invasion in text posted on the Center’s website. “In the Santa Ana River Basin in Southern California, the fire fuel load in riparian areas has almost tripled because of Arundo infestations. During floods, large rafts of dislodged Arundo can cause bridges to collapse as tons of Arundo pile up around bridge supports.” Using much more water than native plant species, Arundo has an adverse effect on that critical resource. “Arundo transpires 56,000 acre-feet of water per-year in the Santa Ana River, compared to an estimated 18,700 acre-feet that would be consumed by native vegetation.” That amount of water would be enough to serve about 190,000 people.

Arundo is grown as a cost-effective source of biofuel in parts of Europe and Africa. In Northern Italy and Southern Greece, it benefits farmers with marginal land where nothing else will grow. Solar Impulse Foundation, with projects in Western Africa, notes Arundo has a high caloric value close to that of coal without the fossil fuel’s negative environmental impact.

But initiatives to introduce Arundo cultivation in the US have met with significant resistance. Allen G. Breed writes in “Is the giant Arundo reed a renewable fuel miracle, or nightmare?” (Associated Press, November 17, 2012): It’s fast-growing and drought-tolerant, producing tons of biomass per acre. It thrives even in poor soil and is a self-propagating perennial, so it requires little investment once established.” After saying: “North Carolina boosters are salivating over the prospect of an ethanol biorefinery that would bring millions of dollars in investment and dozens WALNUT CREEK GARDEN CLUB of high-paying jobs to hog country,” Breed adds: “More than 200 scientists recently sent a letter to the heads of federal agencies including the

You are invited to visit meetings and to become a part of The Walnut Creek Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Agriculture Garden club! You’ll find friendly members, with varying interests including: and Energy, urging them not to encourage the commercial planting of • Creating and improving our gardens with new plants and techniques invasives such as Arundo.” • Supporting garden education in local schools An Agriculture Research Service study in Texas indicates that three • Supporting local environmental charities with community grants insect species host-specific to Arundo donax (meaning that’s all they • Learning about the fun of arranging flowers eat) shows promising results for Arundo control. ARS entomologist John • Volunteering to help local gardens, fundraisers, and plant sales Goolsby reports that following release of the insects in 2007, measure-

The group meets the second Monday of each month at 10AM, September through ments taken in 10 field sites in 2014 reveal an average 22% decrease in June, at The Gardens at Heather Farm, 1540 Marchbanks Dr., Walnut Creek. Arundo biomass across the areas where the insects were introduced.

If interested in joining the Club or for more information, please visit www. There’s an Arundo wasp, an Arundo scale, and an Arundo fly. “Tiny walnutcreekgardenclub.org. Insects Take a Big Bite Out of Giant Reed” (AgResearch Magazine, HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION October 2016) suggests reed reduction by these biocontrol agents “will save more than $4 million worth of agricultural water per year.”

Have you done some spring or COVIDtime cleaning? Do you find yourself with paints and paint thinners, cleaning supplies, pesticides and garden-care items, batteries, motor oil and other automotive products, solvents, fluorescent tubes, personal care products, or unknown rusty containers that are needing safe disposal?

Our local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection facility operated by the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District is open with modified operations and offers this free service to residents.

HHW drop-off is available Monday-Saturday from 7AM until 2PM with no appointment needed. Drop-off appointments for small businesses are being scheduled as well.

Learn about how to transport your items, as well as other instructions for bringing your items to be safely disposed of at www.centralsan.org/ overview/household-hazardous-waste-collection-facility.

ACTION POOL REPAIR

Serving Alamo & Danville Since 1979!

925.820.3640

www.actionpoolrepair.com yourpoolman@hotmail.com