See story page B10 June 21, 2019 New Cal State study adds to Concord’s dream of campus at base
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Concord jazz aficionado fitting grand marshal for the Fourth of July parade JAY BEDECARRÉ The Pioneer
Sports complex also central to city plan BEV BRITTON The Pioneer
Just days after the city’s Blue Ribbon Committee presented ideas for a “multi-versity” in Concord, the city became one of five sites being studied for a possible new state campus. In an agreement reached June 9, the state will fund a feasibility study of a Cal State campus in Concord, San Mateo, Stockton, Chula Vista or Palm Desert. “The inclusion of Concord in the study is a huge step toward bringing world-class higher education to the doorstep of Contra Costa residents,” said Assemblyman Tim Grayson, DConcord. Concord already has a branch of Cal State East Bay, but Grayson noted that Contra Costa is the largest county in the state without its own four-year public university. “Our residents who cannot afford to move elsewhere for college would welcome an option closer to home,” he said. At the June 4 meeting, the Concord City Council explored concepts for an education campus and a tournament sports complex at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. After nine months of research, the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Campus District Visioning Project unveiled its final report. The 120-acre district, located near the North Concord BART station, could include a higher education campus, a research and development facility and cultural venues such as a library and performing arts center. “Most campus models point the way toward a multi-versity, potential hybrid campus that involves research and development and other job-creating land uses,” assistant city manager Kathleen Trepa told the council. A time to ‘Aim high’ John Cumbers, founder of SynBioBeta in Pleasant Hill,
See Cal State, page 5
Jay Bedecarré
Ellen Findlay Herdegen helped with the original Concord Jazz Festival in 1969, held in what is now Dave Brubeck Park. She will be grand marshal of this year’s July 4th parade in her hometown, with the theme “All That Jazz.”
LISA FULMER Special to the Pioneer
The warm breeze was right on point for the LGBTQ Pride flag raising ceremony at Concord City Hall on May 31, as a sizeable crowd gathered to honor the occasion. The City Council voted last year to fly the rainbow flag for the month of June, known around the country as Pride Month. Mayor Carlyn Obringer
welcomed everyone before asking members of the Rainbow Community Center (RCC) to say a few words. “This is a beautiful moment for me personally,” said Jack Rednour-Bruckman, executive director of RCC. “I grew up in Concord and went to high school right down the street. I used to think something was wrong with me, but now I’m being invited by the mayor to speak about our LGBTQ com-
munity during Pride.” Surrounded by RCC colleagues, Rednour-Bruckman described some of the center’s programs and invited the crowd to come to the Pride Festival the next day. “We want to celebrate all the ways we’re different and all the things we have in common,” he said. “It’s about diversity, inclusiveness, tolerance and coming together, especially dur-
See Pride, page 3
The 4th of July offers good old-fashioned fun BEV BRITTON The Pioneer
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Next issue, July 19, Deadline, July 8
See Marshal, page 5
Flag, festival bring Pride to Concord
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Concord is going all out this summer to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Concord Jazz Festival and the legacy the music genre and festival established in the city over the ensuing 50 years. “All That Jazz” is the theme of the 4th of July parade, and Ellen Findlay Herdegen, a woman who has played several roles in establishing that legacy, will be the grand marshal. Herdegen graduated from Clayton Valley High School in 1969 with the school’s highest honor for a senior, Grand Altair. Because of her various achievements at the Concord school, she also received a Diablo Scholarship. Lincoln Mercury auto dealer Carl Jefferson and Realtor Conrad Wilke started the scholarship program. Soon after graduating, she dropped by Jefferson Motors on Willow Pass Road to thank Jefferson. Little did she know that trip to express her gratitude
Kids and dogs usher in Clayton’s old fashioned 4th. Kiddie parade begins at 10 on Main Street.
The 4th of July celebrations in Clayton and Concord are time-honored traditions filled with memory-making family moments. Residents gather early in both towns for pancake breakfasts and 10 a.m. parades – with Clayton’s Kiddie Parade always packed with boisterous youngsters. Concord then caps the day with fireworks at Mt. Diablo High School. The Concord Police Asso-
ciation kicks off the party with the 10th annual Stars & Stripes 5K Run & Walk in Todos Santos Plaza. The event begins at 6:30 a.m. with registration, music and sponsor booths. The Concord-Diablo Rotary Club will host a $5 pancake breakfast 7:30-11 a.m. A free Kids Run starts at 8 a.m. in the plaza, with the 5K at 8:15 a.m. Stomper the Elephant from the Oakland A’s will greet kids at the finish line, Photo courtesy of Rainbow Center and Uncle Sam from the Rainbow Center Executive Director Jack Rednour-Bruckman, Board President Dodi Zotigh and Concord Mayor Carlyn
See July 4th, page 3 Obringer raise the Rainbow Flag at City Hall on May 31.
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