It was held this year over six days in January, and it marked the first time in 18 years that the PBA had been to Dublin.
The event will be held at Dublin Bowl, 6750 Regional St., beginning Jan. 26 and will feature some of the world’s top bowlers. ESPN is scheduled to broadcast the finals at 11 a.m. Jan. 30.
Anthony was the first bowler on the PBA tour to surpass the $1 million winnings mark, and he holds the second-most titles in PBA history. He died in 2001 at age 63.

The Earl Anthony Memorial was started the following year in Kirkland, Wash., and had been held annually in the Pacific Northwest, close to where Anthony and his wife, Susie, retired in 1988.
This will be only the second time the tournament will be held at Dublin Bowl, but the PBA tour had previously stopped in Dublin every year from 1984 to 1992.

Anthony took over Dublin Bowl in 1980, and shortly after retiring from bowling three years later, he asked another local professional bowler, Ted Hoffman Jr., to help manage the alley. Hoffman has managed Dublin Bowl since 1985 and owned it since 2003.

“It keeps Earl’s name in the national limelight,” Hoffman said of the tournament, which he has been planning since June. “The exposure’s very good, too. It puts Dublin on the map.”  Hoffman said it cost him about $50,000 to host this year’s tournament, but it is estimated to have generated about $356,000 for the city, said Natalie Alvanez, director of marketing for the Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Written by Kimberly Chua, Insidebayarea Newsgroup.

“It is good for the environment,” said Cherry, who has one of the four businesses in town harnessing solar power. “It just made sense (to install) in the long run.”  Since the program began in 2007, 155 businesses in Alameda and Contra Costa counties have applied for state funds to help offset the cost of solar-panel systems.

The 542 solar panels on the top of Cherry’s two Dublin Boulevard buildings generate 50 kilowatts of power. He anticipates that year round it will produce enough to supply the tire store with 85 percent of its energy needs.  The system’s peak performing months are March through November because of the abundance of sunshine.  Since March, Cherry’s utility bill dropped from an average $1,500 a month to just $29 — the monthly connection fee he pays to PG&E to be connected to its power grid.  And Cherry, a San Ramon resident, could end up receiving a check from the utility company at the end of his first year in the program. The energy that Cherry doesn’t use goes to the grid, helping to power surrounding businesses. At the end of each year, the utility tallies up how much energy each solar customer produced and used — and pays them for the excess.

“Essentially, what Bruce has done is hedge himself against energy increases,” said Mike Jolley, director of project development for eIQ Energy, the general contractor that installed Cherry’s solar-panel system. “It is like prepaid energy.”
The California Solar Initiative program is part of the Go Solar California campaign aimed at installing 3,000 megawatts of solar power by 2017. PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric customers are eligible for the rebates.

A combination of rebates and federal tax credits dropped Cherry’s cost of his system from about $300,000 to $120,000. And, Cherry expects to earn back that money through energy savings in about seven years.
“We have really seen an uptake in applications since the start of 2010,” said Damon Franz, analyst for the California Public Utilities Commission, the agency overseeing the CSI program.  “The industry is reaching the point where the costs have come down enough that it does save people money,” he said. “People are putting the systems up and seeing cost savings immediately.”

The recession, which led to a drop in price for the silicon used to produce the panels, and more efficient technology in producing solar panels, were both credited for the decline in the price of solar panels. Panels now sell for about $1.90 per watt — down from about $4.20 a watt in 2006.

Public agencies have also taken advantage of the state program. The city of Pleasanton has four buildings that are solar powered, including its operation services center, where 1,568 panels produce 360 kilowatts of power and save the city $150,000 per year.  “It is like having little electrical plants all over the city,” said Daniel Smith, Pleasanton’s operations services director.

For details on the California Solar Initiative program, go to www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov.

Written by Robert Jordan, Contra Costa Times.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will begin at 11:00 am with these activities to follow:

• FREE Hotdogs & Refreshments 11:30 - 12:30
• Soccer Clinic 11:30 - 12:30
• Basketball Skills Challenge 11:30 - 2:00
• Police vs. Fire Softball Game 12:00
• Cardio & Quickstart Tennis 12:00 - 1:00
• Teeball Clinic 12:30 - 2:00
• BMX Demo & Bike Safety Checks 12:30 - 2:00

Please call (925) 556-4500 for more information.

The Fallon Sports Park will be a premier 60-acre athletic facility in the Tri-Valley. The first phase has opened to the public and included the development of 27-acres of the park. The amenities in Phase I include the following:

• Softball and Little League Field Complexes – The project includes two regulation size adult softball fields and two Little League fields. Both complexes have a building with restrooms and concession space. In addition, the softball fields have lights suitable for evening play.

• Soccer Fields – The project includes two regulation size synthetic turf soccer fields with lighting. The additional cost of installing synthetic turf was funded by a Measure WW grant from the East Bay Regional Park District.

• Basketball and Tennis Courts – Four lighted basketball courts and four lighted tennis courts are located on either side of the main vehicular entrance from Lockhart Street. A building with restrooms is adjacent to the tennis courts.

• BMX Facility Rough Grading – A portion of the site was graded for a BMX course. The course will be suitable for recreational use.

Unlike its neighbors Pleasanton, Livermore and San Ramon, where much of the available land has been built out, Dublin still has substantial areas prime for residential development.

“Single family seems to be very hot right now,” said Linda Maurer, Dublin’s economic development director. “The Tri-Valley offers great schools, great parks, great quality of life and very little single family is being built here. Other cities have less housing to offer than Dublin.”

The residential market for single family homes and condos is weak nationwide, but buyers have been snapping up new homes in Dublin.

Read more from Blanca Torres, San Francisco Business Times.

To this end, we are asking for your support for this program, and participation in a local community event to celebrate the launch of Fuel Your School.  We will be holding the “First Fill-Up” event at 9:00am,  Thursday,  August 26 at the Chevron Station located in San Ramon Valley Boulevard and Dublin Boulevard.

Fuel Your School will give teachers the opportunity to submit projects detailing the materials and supplies they need for their classroom projects at DonorsChoose.org. Chevron is working with DonorsChoose.org who will use Chevron’s donations to help fund eligible classroom projects that meet certain criteria of the Fuel Your School promotion.

In addition to the Fuel Your School promotion, teachers have the option to enter the Chevron Classroom Challenge and a chance to win a $25,000 cash grant for their school by submitting their project between August 1-September 30, 2010. For complete details and information on how to enter these promotions, visit www.FuelYourSchool.com.

WHO WE ARE………….The Police Unity Tour is a group of approximately 1,200 police officers from across our Nation that ride their bicycles 300+ miles from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. during the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Week in May 2011.  The Northern California Chapter consists of law enforcement officers from 20 different law enforcement agencies.  The funds raised through this ride will be used to raise awareness about law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.  Funds will also be donated to the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial and Museum in Washington, D.C.  The officers riding their bikes arrive in Washington, D.C. during the annual Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Week held in May and begin the ceremonies that pay tribute to the fallen, which include a candlelight vigil and formal ceremony at our Nation’s Capitol.  More than 20,000 officers attend each of these events.

Please visit the following websites for more information:

• The Police Unity Tour  
• The Northern CA Chapter of the Police Unity Tour
• National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial Foundation 

In our Nation’s history, there have been more than 18,000 police officers killed in the line of duty, and unfortunately, that number increases annually.  The names of those fallen officers are inscribed on the Memorial’s walls.  Last year, our Nation suffered the loss of 116 police officers.  This year, 103 officers have already died in the line of duty – 9 are from California.

The Irvine-based developer was selected two years ago through a request for proposals to build facilities for the Army in exchange for the land, which will likely become a residential neighborhood in the center of the East Bay city.

Joe Guerra, land acquisition manager for SunCal, said the developer plans to build six facilities on the base, which is used to train reservists.

The facilities include a medical training building, a training center for 600 people, public works facility and maintenance facilities as well as infrastructure improvements.

The construction will likely wrap up in 18 months, Guerra said, but the exchange deal for the 180 acres could close in the next two to three months. In the meantime, SunCal is ready to move forward on entitling the land with the City of Dublin.

The first step is to amend the city’s general plan, establish zoning and complete an environmental review. The city has already outlined a plan to build 1,600 units of housing, 200,000 square feet of retail, and 200,000 square feet of other commercial space such as office and hotel.

Guerra said all the approvals could be in place within two years.

Compared with some of its Tri-Valley neighbors, Dublin still has substantial space for new housing developments.

“Camp Parks bisects the city, so developing this area will bring together the east and west side of the city, where it would make sense to have a mix of housing types,” said Linda Maurer, Dublin’s economic development director.

The area slated for the private development sits near the interchange of Interstates 580 and 680 and is on relatively flat land. Another plus for SunCal, Guerra said, is the city’s support.

“The city staff, mayor and council want this developed,” he said. “At some level, that’s more important than the physical characteristics.”

Just a few weeks ago, SunCal was ousted as the master developer of Alameda Point, a former naval base in Alameda amid strong opposition from residents to the developer’s proposal.

The developer also has two stalled projects in the Bay Area at the site of the former Oak Knoll naval hospital in Oakland and a residential development in Bethel Island.

Both of those had been funded by Lehman Brothers, which declared bankruptcy in 2008. SunCal spokesman Joe Aguirre said those projects won’t move forward until Lehman’s bankruptcy proceedings conclude.

SunCal’s projects are each set up as independent business entities and do not influence each other, Guerra said.

Written by Blanca Torress, San Francisco Business Times.