So This Happened...Week of April 3 through 9, 2023

So This Happened…Week of April 3 through 9, 2023

So This Happened...Week of April 3 through 9, 2023
Clockwise from left: Vinnie’s Bar and Grill and community celebrating the life of gunshot victim Oscar Laredo Arellano. Clayton kids compete in Odyssey of the Mind challenge. The ‘ring around the rosey’ statue at Clayton’s Grove park gets a makeover.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (April 9, 2023) — In a burst of spring fever, the Circle of Friends in Clayton’s Grove park are now gathered on new “grass” courtesy of Diablo Landscape. The park will once again be the site of the popular concert series, launching May 13 with Crossman Connection. The band will also head over to Pleasant Hill’s Sunset by the Lake concerts for the May 28 opener.

Brain power: Team Smarties’ move from Mt. Diablo Elementary to Diablo View Middle School has been a successful one, with the team qualifying for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals next month. A team from Mt. Diablo Elementary will join them at the Michigan State competition.

Testing trail use: Briones Regional Park in Martinez will launch a pilot project April 21 to study trail management strategies. The plan includes scheduled days for use by equestrians and bicyclists.

Remembering local bartender: The Vinnie’s Bar & Grill community is celebrating the life of gunshot victim Oscar Laredo Arellano, a Concord resident who worked at the bar. As they held fundraisers for his family, an investigation continues into the incident on Contra Costa Boulevard.

More stories

Here are some other stories the Pioneer covered recently:

Concord Police arrest two retail theft suspects with help of license plate reader, plus Concord police report.

Memory Café begins April 15 at Clayton Library.

Contra Costa County survey for arts and culture planning.

Free virtual worm composting workshop.

Read past installments of “So This Happened…”: Click here.

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Bev Britton
Bev Britton
Copy Editor at The Concord Clayton Pioneer | bevbritton@sbcglobal.net

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.

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