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August 21, 2020
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Church leaders, congregations coming together in new ways to keep the faith
TAMARA STEINER
DAVID SCHOLZ Correspondent
PUBLISHER
Are you an ‘even’ or an ‘odd’?
If you found this issue of the Pioneer in your driveway this month, you are an “even” one, indeed. Starting with the June issue, we began rotating free delivery in our Concord distribution area. Half of Concord , roughly 94518 and 94521 in the southwest corner of the city, will receive delivery in EVEN months. The rest of our Concord routes in the northeast parts of town will receive free delivery in ODD numbered months. Our full distribution map is on our website. Check there to see if you are ODD or EVEN. If you don’t want to miss a single issue of the Pioneer, please SUBSCRIBE. There is a form on our website. Payment is by credit card or PayPal. Your paper will come in the mail, every month. We are now five months into COVID 19. It has been a time of confusion and fear for many. We have stayed home, gone out, masked up and stayed home again. Our businesses have suffered, some fatally. But we are a nimble people. We are finding new ways to go to school, work and play. None of it is anyone’s first choice. Never has the role of community journalism been more important than now. Demand for news has tripled, even quadrupled. Our advertisers are staggering under the economic realities of months of closure with no revenue and now the added costs of retooling for the new normal. Despite the hardship, they continue to support us and the community. This month, we welcome new advertiser Whit’s Painting to the Pioneer. Many will recognize the work of this family owned company on homes and condos throughout Clayton and Concord. Please see their ad on page 14. Support all the advertisers in the Pioneer. Because of them, we can bring you local news that you can’t get anywhere else.
What’s Inside
Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer
Although services remain virtual for now, parishioners can stream the Mass before driving to the church to receive outdoor Holy Communion at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Concord.
Despite the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, local faith leaders continue to fulfill their callings to serve their communities. “While the crisis has created social distance, it has not – thankfully – created emotional or spiritual distance,” says Rabbi Daniel Stern of Congregation B’nai Shalom in Walnut Creek. When in-person services came to a halt last spring, it was particularly prickly as the directives from local and national health officials came prior to Holy Week, Easter, Passover and Ramadan services that routinely boost attendance. Ripple effects of the health orders quickly took an economic toll on employees whose labors enable faith communities to carry out their missions through various programs. And as emotional and financial concerns mounted, faith leaders began shouldering more than the spiritual needs
See Church, page 2
Labor Day brings added appreciation for essential workers DIANE ZERMEÑO Correspondent
This year’s Labor Day comes in the era of essential workers, who have faced unprecedented conditions since March to perform the community’s most crucial services. As a senior environmental compliance inspector for the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, Colleen Henry can’t work from home. She visits local businesses to inspect and sample wastewater to ensure that the discharge in the sewer pipes protects the system from the pollutants they create. “My first couple of weeks were rough,” she said of working during the pandemic. “My daughter got sent home from school, so it was balanc-
ing being a mom and suddenly a teacher, plus working from home and figuring that thing out at the beginning.” Henry and some of her colleagues had to quickly adjust to only coming into the office on alternating weeks. Although inspectors normally show up unannounced to test businesses’ wastewater, they now schedule inspections for the safety of both parties. Henry’s husband travels two nights a week, which makes taking care of their daughter a challenge – especially with school beginning again. “The weeks that I’m not home, my mom and dad will be helping us out and doing school with my daughter,” she said. “Grandma and Grandpa now have to understand the system.”
Worries about exposure While many use Labor Day as a way to mark the official end of summer vacation, the holiday also pays tribute to American laborers. The first Labor Day parade was in New York City on Sept. 5, 1885, to honor the contribution of workers amidst the growing labor movements that called for better protection and higher wages for workers at the height of the Industrial Revolution. President Grover Cleveland officially declared the first Monday of September a federal holiday on June 28, 1894. These days, working during the coronavirus pandemic brings its own set of concerns. Spencer Sinclair “I try not to think about it Shauna Potts, who has three school-age children, spends (COVID-19) when I’m here,” her days as the director of the Dianne Adair Day Care Cen-
See Essential, page 4
ter in Concord.
Concord business group looks at ways to close streets for outdoor dining in Todos Santos Plaza DAVID SCHOLZ Correspondent
Directory of Advertisers . . . .7 From the Desk of . . . . . . . . .8 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Next issue, September 18, Deadline, 09/07 Postal Customer ECRWSS Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer
The Old Spaghetti Factory is among Todos Santos Plaza eateries that have already taken over parts of nearby streets to offer outside dining.
Dining under the stars is gaining steam in communities around the Bay Area, and now the Todos Santos Business Association is surveying its membership to gauge support for pursuing street closures around Todos Santos Plaza. With indoor dining banned due to the pandemic, some Concord restaurant owners have already expanded their reach to the sidewalks and even stepped off the curb to place tables and chairs in parking spots. According to Mayor Tim McGallian, this has all come with the city’s blessing. He
explained that since June the city has been trying to streamline the permitting process, which can start with a phone call. “It takes a couple of pieces of paper and a drawing,” McGallian said of the simple procedure for establishments thinking of outdoor dining options. If there were a groundswell of support for full or partial street closures, he said the city would certainly be open to it. But so far, city officials have not heard much from proprietors seeking such action to accommodate more outdoor dining. Vanessa Wolf, a representative for the TSBA, said businesses are weighing the costs
involved with this kind of expansion. It could include building a platform for tables and chairs and buying outdoor heaters. She noted that if street closures occur, it will have to take place soon – because the available months for outside dining are waning. Responses from TSBA members have trickled in, and she is expecting to know soon whether there is enough support to pursue the street closure idea with city officials. She expressed confidence that financial resources can be found to help support restaurants wishing to do this.“Where there is a will, there is a way,” Wolf said.
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