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Laura
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City Council District 1
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Gemütlichkeit at first Oktoberfest
www.concordpioneer.com
From the desk of...
October 26, 2018
925.672.0500
JAY BEDECARRÉ Concord Pioneer
EDI BIRSAN
MAYOR
Looking at how two state propositions affect Concord
One of the interesting aspects of California democracy is how a plethora of statewide propositions have come to replace what should arguably be the responsibility of the state Legislature. What was originally intended as a way for people to override their elected officials on serious matters has resulted in, to some extent, an abuse of the system for even the most minute of issues – whether reflecting some extreme localized power play or some hilarious public sentiment. It reminds me that politics is the most expensive form of entertainment that our tax dollars are forced to buy. An example of the latter was a proposition in San Francisco that mandated that the chief of police require officers to carry a hand puppet wearing a badge and uniform to assist in community outreach. Of course, it passed. While I will not delve into the fascinating discussion of how big a chicken cage should be (though the question’s appearance on a statewide ballot must certainly warrant such a collective time expenditure by the electorate), I do wish to touch on two issues that I consider important as they affect our city: Prop. 6 and Prop. 10. GAS TAXES AND ROADS Prop. 6 would repeal the Road Repair and Accountability Act, also known as Senate Bill 1 (SB1). Decades ago, the Legislature adopted a measure that placed a tax on gasoline to help pay for road construction and maintenance throughout the state. The amount of the tax was fixed
See Mayor, page 7
Tamara Steiner/Concord Pioneer
Traditional German dance group Nature Friends Schuhplattler dazzled the crowds at the inaugural Concord Oktoberfest at Todos Santos Plaza this month. Large crowds gathered to watch them perform traditional dance, including log cutting and axing to German folk music.
What goes better with beer? How about music, dance, food and activities for the whole family. That was the formula for a successful inaugural Concord Oktoberfest this month in Todos Santos Plaza and the surrounding streets in downtown Concord. The Brewing Network’s Justin Crossley has been hosting the Spring Brews Festival for the past nine years in Todos Santos. With that event drawing a sold-out adult audience every year Crossley looked to host a family-friendly Oktoberfest this fall. From the initial reports the event organizers clicked off all the boxes. Visit Concord and the Greater
See Oktoberfest, page 4
Concord golfer Yealimi Noh helps USA win JAY BEDECARRÉ Concord Pioneer
Yealimi Noh has had a year on the golf course she’ll never forget after winning three consecutive national tournaments, helping the USA to a Junior Ryder Cup championship in France and taking part in her first professional tournaments while mulling making the jump to the LPGA tour. Less than two years ago sophomore Noh was medalist as her Carondelet High School team was second at North Coast Section and third in the Northern California golf championships. Since then the Concord youth has been home schooled while spending an increasing amount of time honing her golf skills that has paid off in the past year with successes around the globe. Her coach of nine years, Erik Stone, says, “I’ve seen many kids who were homeschooled and didn’t work as hard. Yealimi practices harder than any young golfer I know.” When she isn’t working with Stone in Alameda she spends a lot of time at Oakhurst Country Club. This hard work has pro-
Find the ‘Magi’
Somewhere in this issue (hidden in a very unexpected place) is the word “Magi.” Find it for a chance to win two tickets to Solo Opera’s very special Christmas story at the Lesher Center, Dec. 2. When you find the “Magi,” email the page number, location and your contact info to tamara@pioneerpublishers.com. Please see ad on page 16.
pelled Noh as she racked up a number of prestigious tournament titles, starting last December with the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship. This June she tamed the Monterey Peninsula CC course to win the 70th California Junior Girls State Championship, an event she also won in 2014 and was medalist in 2015. But it was in her birthday month of July that her hard worked bore incredible results with championships on three consecutive weekends. Stone says, “She’s not afraid to compete with anyone. She loves competition.” The streak began at the 43rd USGA Junior PGA Championship in Lexington, Ky. where she posted a record 24 under par. The 70th U.S. Girls Junior Championship was closer to home at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach where Noh played 49 holes of high-stress match play on the final day. After a 3 and 2 win in the semi-final she took the championship 36-hole match 4 and 3 win over Alexa Pano, her Junior Ryder Cup teammate from Florida.
It’s believed to be the most holes ever played on the final day of any USGA championship, dating back to 1895. She said, “Match play hasn’t been one of my strong suits, but I kept advancing. Match play is much more mental than stroke play. I just tried to think of it as stroke play—if you score well, you can win.” At the 105th Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in Vancouver she overcame a one-stroke deficit in the final round to celebrate her 17th birthday a day late with another title. Noh decommitted from UCLA, which had offered her a scholarship a couple years ago. She told her coach that she’s beating college players and thought the time was right to turn pro. Stone told her a few months ago that a free ride to UCLA sounded pretty good. “I wasn’t totally for her turning pro. That may have ticked her off and she’s really gone off this summer.” At the professional CP Women’s Open in Regina, Saskatchewan, she tied for 48th as the low amateur.
Last month, she joined 11 other top American golfers on the US Junior Ryder Cup team in Paris. Noh won her singles match over British Open Girls Amateur champion Emma Spitz of Austria as the US beat Europe by one point. After a very brief stay at home from Paris, she was off to South Korea for an LPGA tournament this month where she tied for 59th. Her parents, Brian
BEV BRITTON Concord Pioneer
Jennifer Ortega, Concord’s community relations manager, said city officials are working on an analysis of Assembly Bill 2923 to understand its impact. The Concord City Council had sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown opposing the bill, which Brown signed on Sept. 30. “Land use regulation is a constitutionally granted local government function of cities and counties,” Mayor Edi Birsan said in the letter. “Every community has unique needs and characteristics that are best met by poli-
cies set by its local elected town Concord BART station governing body; in Concord, and almost 4,400 within one that body is the City Council mile,” Birsan wrote. – not the BART Board of Directors in Oakland.” See BART, page 13 The Concord City Council said the bill is trying to “solve a problem that does not Inside exist,” noting the Concord officials have worked “dili- Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . .17 gently” to develop higher- Community . . . . . . . . . . .4 density housing near the city’s From the desk of . . . . . .7 two BART stations. Hearts and Hands . . . . .2 “In the last 10 years, Con- Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 cord has processed, approved Senior Living . . . . . . . .21 and/or is considering over 2,500 housing units within a Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 half-mile radius of the down- The Arts . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images courtesy PGA of America
Yealimi Noh’s magical year on the golf course included the 17-year old Concord golfer’s part in the United States Junior Ryder Cup team’s 12-1/2 - 11-1/2 win over Europe last month at Disneyland Paris.
and Kim, are South Korean immigrants. They own Happy Roll, a Japanese fusion restaurant across the street from Todos Santos Plaza. With the 2018 tournament schedule tapering off, Yealimi Noh has the weighty decision of when she will turn professional. Until she declares, the high school senior will continue to work on her game and her studies.
City looking into new law about BART development
A new law allowing BART to build homes near its stations will likely affect several projects in Concord – including redevelopment of the Naval Weapons Station and around the downtown station. The law puts the city at odds with the perceived needs of the greater Bay Area and those of Assemblyman Tim Grayson of Concord, who co-sponsored the bill with Assemblyman David Chiu of Sacramento.