On a serious note however, this is a major infrastructure component for our City. It was an $18 million capital project, with $13 million coming from the Lin family and the City of Dublin as transportation mitigation, with the remaining funds coming from the cities of Livermore and Pleasanton. The Alameda County CMA also contributed funding towards the auxiliary lane between Fallon Road and Tassajara.

From an aesthetic standpoint, it is one of the more attractive overpasses along the I-580 corridor. In addition, it will ease travel and safety for residents of both Dublin Ranch and the Positano Development. In terms of economic development, the expanded and enhanced interchange will be the access point to future customers of Fallon Gateway, Staples Ranch, and the outlets in Livermore.

The first one that I believe will have the greatest impact on Dublin residents is the consolidation of fire services for the cities of Newark and Union City within the Alameda County Fire Department. Both cities were struggling financially to support their smaller departments, so the move allows them to improve services at an affordable cost. I was happy to have participated in a promotional video to support the consolidation. I also met with officials from both jurisdictions and wrote a letter in support of the consolidation. The consolidation is estimated to save the City of Dublin hundreds of thousands of dollars in general fund expenditures because of the increased economy of scale from the larger department. Our Fire Department will also receive additional resources from the consolidation.

Another major development that took place in the area of transportation was a vote on February 25th to combine the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency (CMA) and the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACTIA) into one new Joint Power Authority (JPA) known as the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). Historically, ACTIA has been the entity to manage projects as part of the voter-approved half-cent sales tax for transportation within the County, while CMA is the state-recognized legislative body for managing all other transportation projects and programs. The new JPA is estimated to save nearly $1 million in its first year of operation, and has the potential for millions of dollars in savings in future years. In addition to the financial savings, I was a strong advocate for the merger as a way to improve efficiency and coordination related to transportation planning moving forward.

The minimum qualifications for the Poet Laureate include:

1. Be a Dublin resident or work in Dublin
2. Be Age 18 or older
3. Be the author of published poetry or be willing to publish poetry during their term
4. Be willing to create and read poetry for civic events and dedications
5. Be willing to serve as a resource to the Heritage & Cultural Arts Division
6. Be willing to share their love of poetry with people of all ages
7. Be ready to serve a two-year term with no compensation

The minimum qualifications for the City Historian include:

1. Be a resident of Dublin or the descendant of Dublin family
2.  Be Age 18 or older
3. Be a published author or willing to publish
4. Be willing to serve as a resource to the Heritage & Cultural Arts Division
5. Possess the ability to write and communicate effectively
6. Possess knowledge of the City and its history, demonstrated through writing and research

The position applications are currently on the City’s website and flyers have been distributed to the Library, Civic Center, Shannon Center and Senior Center.  Additionally, press releases have been mailed to the media and flyers will also be mailed to local Colleges, Literary affiliates, local Poet Laureates in surrounding cities and any interested parties.  Finally, staff will contact potential candidates known within the community.

The deadline for the recruitment process is April 16, 2010 and all applications will be referred to Mayor Sbranti for final recommendation to the City Council in May.

He was spot on. The Gaels won eight games in his first two years, and shot up to 13 wins last year before winning the DFAL title this year.

“At the start of the year, our goal was to win 15 games and qualify for (the North Coast Section playoffs),” Fulwiler said.

Just qualify?

“You have to remember we haven’t been on that (playoff) stage before,” Fulwiler said. “There have been a couple (Dublin) teams to make a showing, but with an early exit.”

With a 17-3-2 record during the regular season, the Gaels already exceeded their own expectations, but what they did in the postseason will be remembered for a long time. After picking up a pair of relatively easy wins in the first two rounds of the tournament, the Gaels went to penalty kicks with previously undefeated Albany and earned a berth in the championship, winning 2-1 (4-2 on penalty kicks).

Playing at home as the designated visitor against undefeated Bishop O’Dowd — a team ranked No. 21 in the nation by ESPN Rise — the Gaels were in the underdog role they’d become accustomed to.

With the full support of the Dublin community, the Gaels again forced penalty kicks and again came out on top 2-1 (4-3 on penalty kicks).

“I don’t know if a team has ever gone through two undefeated teams to win a championship before,” Fulwiler said. “The beauty of this team is that they were freshmen when (our coaching staff) took over.”

Fulwiler’s philosophy was fairly simple: Focus on defense and let players in the program develop together.

“We had 12 seniors on the team this year and we’ll probably have 12 seniors next year,” he said. “We want the kids to have a chance to learn how to play together before they get to varsity.”

Having three talented senior captains didn’t hurt either. Forward and DFAL MVP Cody Hoster, along with center midfielders Jamie Somerville and Nico Portugal, provided leadership for a team Fulwiler essentially described as a coach’s dream.

“They were just 18 kids who all got along and wanted to play soccer,” he said. “There were no egos, no problems at all.”

Throw in the play of unheralded goalie Roberty Silky, who stepped up big in both shootouts, and its hard to believe this was a team that flew under the radar for so long.

SRV streak comes to an end: When Castro Valley topped San Ramon Valley in Saturday’s NCS Division I girls’ soccer championship, the Wolves’ record run of four straight titles came to an end. It also marked the end of the East Bay Athletic League’s dominance.

Castro Valley is now the only team that does not currently play in the EBAL to have won a soccer title at the highest level in history.

Most people, myself included, were under the impression that Carondelet’s titles in 1994 and 1999 were the only ones won by non-EBAL schools. But thanks to a tip from former Monte Vista coach Greg Fish, I’ve learned that is not actually the case. When the Mustangs won NCS titles in 1993 and 1994, they were members of the Bay Valley Athletic League. They returned to the EBAL in time to win NCS again in 1996.

Written by Kyle Bonagura, Columnist.

A sampling of Spring classes…

Tri-Valley Young Performers Academy presents Family Album
Picture yourself in your own family album with this incredibly funny, sometimes touching, yet always entertaining play. In Family Album, some scenes are just plain fun, like ‘TV Wars’ and ‘Name That Stress.’ Other scenes capture the heart, such as ‘The Funeral’ and ‘Senior Split.’ Invite family and friends to our two performances which will be held on Friday June 4 and Sunday June 6 at the Dublin Senior Center.

Dance Like the Stars - Latin Basics I; Latin Basics II
Learn the Cha Cha and Rumba with a former Arthur Murray dance instructor. Learn proper Cuban motion and the easy routines with turns that will prepare you for any dance, party or wedding. These simple instructions build confidence quickly and will help to improve your leading and following skills.

Junior Golf School
Golf continues to be one of the hottest youth sports trends and often becomes a lifetime sport! This friendly introductory class is open to all skill levels. Basic full swing fundamentals and short game skills (chipping and putting) will be taught, as well as golf rules and etiquette.

Dinner by the Kids!
At the first class, we will plan our four course dinner which will include an appetizer, salad, entree, side dish, homemade bread and dessert. Staying within our budget, we’ll do our shopping online and then begin preparing the meal. On Friday, we’ll finish preparing the menu items, set the table and sit down to enjoy our feast…and then we’ll also clean-up! Each student can invite one guest to join the class on Friday to share the scrumptious meal with us.

Zumba for Fun & Fitness
Ditch the workout and join the party! Zumba is the latest cardio/dance fitness craze. You will have a ton of fun enjoying the Latin music and Cha Cha, Salsa, Merengue and Reggaeton songs while kicking up your cardio rate and getting into the party mode. You do not need any dance experience or a partner, just simply follow the instructor’s dance steps. Before you know it, the hour is over and you have had a great time cardio dancing to Latin music. Both women and men are welcome to join in the fun.

Don’t miss these fun family events!

3-on-3 Teen Basketball Tournament   March 12
St Patrick’s Day Celebration   March 13 & 14 (Visit www.DublinStPats.com)
Shamrock 5K Fun Run & Walk   March 14
Tri-Valley Teen Job Fair   March 20
Spring Eggstravaganza   April 3
Victorian Nature Crafts Workshop   April 3
Family Sports Fest   April 11
Teen Improv Night   April 16
Dublin Pride Week   April 24 - May 1
May Day Workshop   May 1
DubTown Jam   May 14

For more information about any of these events please visit our webs, or call us at 556-4500.

“Years ago, some people would point and laugh at disabled people,” she said in an interview after the contest. “We don’t do that anymore, and we shouldn’t be labeling people with mental illness as insane or keeping schizophrenia hushed up.”

Arcuri noted that 1 percent of the population will be diagnosed with schizophrenia at some point in their lives.

“This means that four students in my graduating class this year at Dublin High School will have this illness,” she said. “Think about that.”

Her speech took first place, but other students also gave exceptional speeches on topics including the need to aid homeless veterans, to find cures for cancer and AIDS, to provide scholarships that change lives, or to simply take time to perform acts of kindness.

“If every Rotarian in the world did one random act of kindness every day,” Amador Valley High School junior Jenna Martin said, “we could reach millions of people and change society, one life at a time.”

Second-place finisher, Shri Gandhi, also a junior at Amador, shared his story of helping build schools in a remote region of India when he was 8.

“I remember asking myself why we would come to this remote area where the temperature was 110 degrees,” he said. “I found my answer in the smiles of the children we were helping.”

Competing with Arcuri, Martin and Gandhi were Neema Monfared of Foothill High School, Luke Lalor of Livermore High and Melody Molander of Granada High.

All six had previously taken first place in a speech contest at the six individual Rotary clubs in the Tri-Valley.With Arcuri’s first-place regional win, she advances to the district competition April 7 in San Jose. That winner will receive $1,000.

While each contestant gave effective speeches, judges found Arcuri’s message and delivery the most compelling. Afterward, she spoke of her brother, who was 24 when he ended his life.

“My brother didn’t commit suicide in the usual sense,” Arcuri said. “He hadn’t been depressed or thinking about taking his life.”

She explained that Louis often heard voices in his mind, and that he was an impulsive person who obsessed about religion. At one point, for six months he received successful treatment and returned to college, but he soon fell victim again to the illness.

Arcuri recalled that one night, in an effort to fend off evil, he stayed overnight in a church. Both she and her mother, Katy, who was with her at the contest, say these voices instructed Louis to take impulsive action that caused his death in October 2008.

Arcuri’s message is simple: Mental illness is treatable, and it’s a condition from which no one should ever again have to die.

Written by Jim Ott, Contra Costa Times.

The bulk of the city’s revenue, 71 percent, comes from property and sales tax, which are expected to decrease by $2.1 million and $360,000, respectively.

In April, city staff will present options to the council that could include cuts to services, borrowing again from the city’s rainy fund and delaying some capital projects.

“We are focused on trying to protect and maintain the services that the community relies on, such as the number of firefighters and paramedics needed to keep emergency response times short, saving lives,” City Manager Joni Pattillo said in a news release. “While we want to protect and maintain our emergency responses times, the city can’t ignore the fact that more than half of the Dublin’s operating budget is comprised of costs relating to public safety and these budget areas must be examined.”

The city spends about $24 million of its $45 million budget on police and fire services.

In the budget report, the city is expecting a majority of its cost increases from park maintenance ($525,000) and storm water mandates from the state ($100,000 to $250,000) that involve storm water discharge and drainage. A majority of the increase in park maintenance is due to the expansion of Heritage Park and the addition of Fallon Sports Park, which is expected to open later this year.

To balance its current year budget, the city was able to minimize effects on residents through a series of consolidations to certain departments and not filling open positions. It also borrowed just over $1.1 million dollars from its rainy day fund. The city’s shortfall also does not include the $2 million the state has taken or any other possible state takeaways.

Written by Robert Jordan, Contra Costa Times.

Ronnie Holland, the City’s current Poet Laureate, was the featured speaker at the Tri-Valley Branch of the California Writers Club. The presentation and luncheon took place on Saturday, February 20th, at the Oasis Grille in Pleasanton. Ms. Holland shared her experience in breaking back into the poetic tribe as Dublin’s first Poet Laureate, and spoke about how she taps into the poetic, universal time of her Muse and organizes functional time to complete chapbooks, contest entries and host or attend events. She briefly described her writing background and experience to date as Poet Laureate; gave specific suggestions for increasing available creative time, weaving in some of her poems as examples of specific points; then answered audience questions. She encouraged attendees to share their wisdom and get their story out there, and to attend the upcoming “Open Mic” program during the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, and the annual Pleasanton April Poetry and Prose Festival. Holland also read two of her poems; Ghost, If We Were Children, Epiphany, and Shannon Revisited. Here is Ghost, her first published poem, written while studying with Mark Strand (later U.S. Poet Laureate 1990-1991)

GHOST
What fun to be a ghost!
Neither here nor there
Imagined, suspect, denied.
Squeezing through clicking keyholes
Not for the scaring
But for the moving unseen
It makes me feel dangerous.
I pound the floor without a sound
Just for the exercise.

To learn more about Dublin’s Poet Laureate Ronnie Holland, visit the Poet Laureate
website (under the Cultural Arts heading) at www.ci.dublin.ca.us. For more information
about the Tri-Valley Writers, visit http://trivalleywriters.org/.