See Inside
January 15, 2021
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McGallian, Aliano lead Concord effort to provide food storage for local organizations Christopher Howley
Tamara STeIner
Correspondent
PUBLISHER
(Fill in the blank) New Year
Welcome to 2021, a New Year. Agreed. It’s off to a rough start but let’s just think of the last two weeks as the comet’s tail of annus horribilis. Here at the Pioneer, things are looking pretty good. First, we continue to keep the lights on and pay the bills, thanks to our advertisers who thank you for buying their stuff. Note: Whits Painting offers a 10 percent discount to Pioneer readers. See their ad page 13. This month, we introduce our newest correspondent, Christopher Howley. Chris is a Photo Crdit December 2020 graduate of Concord mayor Tim mcGallian, left, and Vice mayor Dominic aliano stand in the food warehouse the city organized in the Arizona State University, the former 90,000 sf. Kmart building on Clayton road.The warehouse will provide much needed storage for the Contra Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and wrote our front Costa Solano Food Bank, White Pony express, First 5 of Contra Costa and St. Vincent dePaul. page lead story. We look forward to more excellent reporting from Chris. The Pioneer is the only local community newspaper with a professional editorial staff. To see what we’ve added for the kids, see our new Kidfound plywood and discarded TAMARA STEINER Scoop activity page on page cardboard. Others including The Pioneer 14. This month, kids will learn whole families, live in their about the Inauguration thanks It was moving day for cars or RVs, moving from to sponsors Assemblyman Tim Shawn B. His current living place to place hoping to find a Grayson, Vice Mayor Dominic arrangement had come to an place to charge their phones Aliano and State Farm Agent end. It was raining and he was so the kids can do school(and Mayor) Tim McGallian. packing up. But Shawn had a work. And some like Shawn B Also new this year is a bigger problem than rain. He find a place for a tent, a makeseries by Lisa Fulmer on the had nowhere to go. shift shower, a butane hotparks of Concord and Clayton Shawn is one of an estimatplate, and a few tools. He --the big ones, the small ones, ed 200 living on Concord keeps an orderly campsite and the famous ones and those streets; under overpasses, tries to stay as far away from snuggled out of site in the along the flood channel, in other campers as he can hopneighborhoods. For a look at Costco—anymedians, behind ing he will be overlooked Hillcrest Park, see page 3. where there is space enough when the sweep comes. January is an ODD month for a tent or sleeping bag. Tamara Steiner/The Pioneer “We have hundreds living in our delivery rotation. If you These are Concord’s Shawn B. heads “home” with his lunch and prepares to out there and we aren’t got the paper this month, your unhoused. Some live in minipack up before CalTrans clean up crews sweep the homenext delivery will be March, less camp where he has been living the past month. mal shelters crafted from See Homeless, page 5 then May etc. To be sure you never miss an issue, subscribe at PioneerPublishers.com and receive the paper by first class mail every month. Despite the rough start, we wish peace, joy and good health to all of you. Wear your mask, stay executive board of the TAMARA STEINER home, social distance, and we National Association of WILL pull out of this. The Pioneer Regional Councils, all powerTake a look around the house regional organizations. small town of Clayton. Like Although she represented What’s Inside what you see? The library? the smallest city in Contra Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 The gym? Oakhurst? Clayton Costa County, Pierce served Station? The Grove? Car- as CCTA chair for 28 years Directory of Advertisers . . . .7 dinet Trail? Open space? and ABAG president for four From the Desk of . . . . . . . . .6 No matter where your years. Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 gaze lands in the four-square “I don’t think people give Obituary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 mile town, it’s likely Julie her enough credit,” said Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Pierce’s fingerprints are all recently retired CCTA execuover it. tive director Randell Iwasaki. A titanic force in local and “The board makes funding regional government for decisions for millions of Tamara Steiner more than 33 years, Pierce transportation dollars. She Julie Pierce now has time to prune the roses. “It’s good decided last June not to run isn’t that tall (barely 5 feet) work,” she says pictured here with husband Steve. Pierce for a seventh term on the but stands tall in the eyes of retired from the city council and her regional committees Clayton City Council – where her fellow elected officials.” after a long and storied career in local and regional she served as mayor six times. government. When she retired in HONORING THE LOCAL that good land use policy future generations,” she said. COMMUNITY November, she stepped away, brings communities together. Nowhere in Clayton are Described by most who not just from the council, but “Good planning honors these values more visible from positions on the Asso- know her as tireless, tenalocal priorities, offering than the Oakhurst developciation of Bay Area Govern- cious, congenial and a team opportunities and making ment. In 1984 When A.D. ments (ABAG), the Contra player, Pierce is, above all, a room for all, while preserving Costa Transportation visionary. And resolute. She See Pierce, page 5 Authority (CCTA) and the is unwavering in her belief the natural environment for
Where do you go when there’s no place to go? City struggles to find answers.
Fearless managed growth advocate retires after 33 years in local and regional service
Next issue, Feb. 19, 2021 Deadline, Feb. 10
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to demand more from food banks, Concord Mayor Tim McGallian and Vice Mayor Dominic Aliano have found a way to create more storage for local groups. For the past several months, local organizations and food banks have been storing millions of pounds of food in the old Kmart store on Clayton Road. The non-profits began to lack space in their storage facilities as food donations sharply increased last March due to COVID-19. After seeing the rise in food insecurity across the country, McGallian and Aliano knew local organizations could see demand skyrocket. “We had county health officers telling us that we were going into a shelter in place situation back in March, and our first thought was that people were going to need food,” Aliano said.
See Warehouse, page 5
2020
Beyond the pandemic local life carried on “What a long strange trip it’s been.” – Grateful Dead BEV BRITTON The Pioneer
Yes, we went on quite the journey in 2020 – a year that seemed surreal and all too real at the same time. In his January 2020 column in the Pioneer, Concord Mayor Tim McGallian wrote: “The start of every new year brings with it the excitement of possibility and new beginnings.” And as 2021 comes into focus with the promise of fullscale COVID-19 vaccinations, we may just begin to see those possibilities again – for in-person learning, those long-awaited family reunions and so many other things that fell by the wayside as we each waged our personal battle with the impacts of the pandemic. But even as we look forward to 2021’s new beginnings, let’s also take a moment to look back at some of the stories the Pioneer covered in 2020. JANUARY Development impasse: At the Jan. 8, 2020, meeting, the Concord City Council told Lennar/Five Point to continue negotiations with the Building Trades Council (BTC) over labor contracts at the development planned for the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. Kofi Bonner of Five-
See 2020, page 9
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