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January 21, 2022
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It’s official – Save Mount Diablo preserves 154 acres near Clayton QUEENIE LI AND TED CLEMENT Special to the Pioneer
Save Mount Diablo (SMD) successfully purchased a conservation easement on Jan. 11 that will forever protect almost 154 acres of open space near Clayton. “The land that we just conserved is contiguous with Mount Diablo State Park and other lands protected by Save Mount Diablo,” noted Ted Clement, SMD’s executive director. “I want to thank our terrific Save Mount Diablo supporters and our wonderful partners at Concord Mt. Diablo Trail Ride Association (CMDTRA) for making this possible.” More than 15 houses and other buildings had been constructed in the area on Mount Diablo’s North Peak, and the site has been vulnerable to further development. A conservation easement is a perpetual legal agreement
See Diablo, page 8
Cities not ready to rollout new state food waste law PAMELA MICHAEL Correspondent
Contra Costa communities, like those all over the state, are scrambling to rewrite local ordinances and waste hauler contracts to meet a new state law’s compost benchmarks. Senate Bill 1383, effective Jan. 1, requires California residents and businesses to separate food waste from the rest of our trash. The statewide mandate will require cities to implement new infrastructures as well as monitoring and reporting practices. “There will be great benefit, but there will also be costs involved,” Councilmember Carlyn Obringer said. “There Steven Joseph will be a fee increase to cover A sweeping view of the open space now under the watchful eye of Save Mount Diablo, taken from a meditation bench on the costs of providing this the Concord Mt. Diablo Trail Ride Association property off Marsh Creek Road in rural Clayton. new service.” Laura Hoffmeister, who serves on the Concord council and as assistant to the Clayton city manager, said the process has to be done one step at a time. “And the pandemic has really slowed things down.”
Five supervisor hopefuls name housing, homelessness and crime as top priorities
DEBORA ALLEN
EDI BIRSAN
KEN CARLSON
ROXANNE GARZA
CARLYN OBRINGER
TAMARA STEINER The Pioneer
District 4’s newly drawn map covers Concord except for a slice at the northern edge of the city, Pleasant Hill, most of Walnut Creek and all of Clayton now including the Marsh Creek/Morgan Territory area that was part of East County District 3 prior to redistricting. It was this change that spurred BART director
Debora Allen who lives on Morgan Territory, to run in District 4. As the race takes shape, it’s clear that quality of life issues will drive the campaigns. Crime, homelessness, mental health services, jobs and the need for more housing are all listed as top priorities of all five candidates.
DEBORA ALLEN Allen is a small business owner and accountant with a focus on data driven decision making. A strong supporter of public safety, she wants to see a unified effort between law enforcement, the criminal justice system, the fire department and mental health servic-
es. She believes mental health teams are a valuable adjunct to police services but should not be a replacement to trained officers as first responders. She says Contra Costa County should be the job center for the entire region. “Attracting, retaining and supporting
A PHASED-IN PLAN Passed in 2016 when Jerry Brown was governor, the law supports a more sustainable green economy, lower global emissions, reduction of hunger and improved public health. The program, which will be phased in over the next two years, is the most ambitious piece of waste reduction legislation in decades. Susan Hurl, division municipal services manager for Republic Resources that serves Clayton and Pleasant Hill, is optimistic about the process. “Every city and county will have to figure out how to deal with the law’s requirements; some are further along than others,” she said. “The key to success is public education, helping folks understand the new rules and the reasoning behind them.”
See Candidates, page 8
See Compost, page 8
Four elected officials and one social justice advocate plan to run this June for the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors District 4 seat currently held by Karen Mitchoff who plans to retire at the end of this her third term.
Steph Curry has nothing on Clayton free throw champion JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
Among the many shooting accomplishments of Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry is his historically excellent free throw shooting. How-
Next issue, Feb. 18, Deadline, Feb. 7
ever, the three-time NBA World Champion has nothing on Clayton 11-year-old Jackson Ramirez who made 50 out of 50 attempts to win the most recent Elks Hoop Shoot National Championship. And young Jackson is back at it this Saturday in Modesto when he takes the second step as he attempts to win another national title in the district competition. The Elks Club has been sponsoring the National Hoop Shoot for nearly 50 years for boys and girls ages 8-13. Ramirez, a sixth grader at Diablo View Middle School, passed his first test in the 202122 Hoop Shoot competition last month when we won the first round sponsored by the Walnut Creek Elks by making a
paltry—by his standards—22 of 25 shots. Curry is currently ranked as the greatest free throw shooter in National Basketball Association history with a percentage of nearly 91 per cent. Number four on the all-time list is another former local Warrior great Rick Barry, whose four oldest sons—Brent, Jon, Scooter and Drew—all played high school basketball for De La Salle. Ramirez last entered the 2019-20 Hoop Shoot that was interrupted in March 2020 at the National finals level by the COVID-19 outbreak. It was Photo courtesy Ramirez family not until last year that a virtual Clayton 11-year-old Jackson Ramirez picked up plenty of hardware when he won the Elks national final was held. Jackson Hoop Shoot National Championship with his free throw shooting prowess. He entered the Ramirez did his shooting at 2019-20 competition for 8-9 year-olds that was delayed in the championship round due to the pandemic. Last April, he was finally able to claim the title by making a perfect 50 of
See Free Throw, page 8 50 free throws competing remotely from Concord against 11 other finalists.
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