So This Happened…Week of Jan. 13-19, 2025
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Jan. 19, 2025) — In a 4-1 vote, the Clayton City Council changed the way items are placed on future agendas. Vice Mayor Jeff Wan said the move was to “clean up the language,” but critics say it centralizes power and reduces public participation.
“This isn’t about efficiency; it’s about removing checks and balances,” said Councilmember Holly Tillman. “Important matters, like investigating our management crisis, are now easier to ignore.”
Mayor Kim Trupiano told Tillman: “You’ll just have to believe the city manager and I will make the right decision.”
In her first column in the Pioneer, Trupiano said she was looking forward to working with her fellow councilmembers, the city staff and residents. “I am hopeful that our efforts will be respectable and collaborative in manner. We need to do this for the good of the community, for our city staff and for the people who elected us.”
Chef says “Buen Provecho” for last time: The popular Peruvian restaurant Lima closed at the end of 2024, citing financial woes after settling a gender discrimination lawsuit along with the effects of COVID-19. “It was not practical to keep the business going any longer,” chef-owner John Marquez said of the downtown Concord location.
More stories
Here are some other stories the Pioneer covered recently:
Helping LA fire victims: White Pony Express promotes gift card campaign.
In Concord: Ongoing sewer projects continue to press patience of drivers, and city launches accessory dwelling unit rebate program.
Local sports: 19 local athletes earn fall league MVP honors.
In the schools: Three local high schools set to face off in 44th year of Contra Costa County Mock Trial program.
In entertainment: “The Gin Game” brings poignant comedy to Martinez theater audiences; takin’ it easy with local ambient offerings; and focus on realism in “Nosferatu” diminishes its greatness.
In the garden: It’s time to prune, baby, prune.
From Concord PD: The latest arrest report.
Personal finance: The ins and outs of estate planning.
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Bev Britton
Bev Britton graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota and moved to the Bay Area with her soon-to-be husband Jim in 1986. She was features editor at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek before becoming managing editor of the Contra Costa Sun in Lafayette in 1995. She retired from newsrooms in 2001, but an ad for the Clayton Pioneer drew her back in. The family moved to Lake Wildwood in the Gold Country a few years ago - but working at the Pioneer keeps her in touch with her old neighborhoods in Concord and Clayton.