So This Happened…Week of August 11-19, 2025
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Aug. 19, 2025) — When Tamara Steiner took over The Clayton Pioneer in 2003, she sought out experts to help steer her in the right direction. That included Jay Bedecarré’s push to cover local sports – a section of the Pioneer that remains popular to this day.
But now, due to health issues with both Tamara and her husband Bob, the final edition of the paper rolled off the presses last week. With that has come praise for The Pioneer from the communities of Clayton, Concord and Pleasant Hill.
“Tamara Steiner has been a stalwart provider of news to this area for 22 years,” Pleasant Hill Mayor Sue Noack said, with Concord Mayor Carlyn Obringer noting: “She is a fixture in the Concord collective memory.”
Park & Shop, and then some: The first phase of Concord’s Park & Shop Center opened 70 years ago and is still a strong retail force – including 36 restaurants with diverse cuisines along with a mix of other businesses. Of course, the original department stores and novelties such as King Norman’s Wonderland only live on in our memories.
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Give them a hand: The InvenTeam at Ygnacio Valley High School’s exoskeleton hand picked up the Golden Beaver Award for the most technological advanced invention during a competition at MIT. “I hope it inspires other young inventors like us to keep designing with empathy and to make the world a little more accessible, one invention at a time,” said junior Althea Danae Vivar.
More local news
Here are some other stories the Pioneer covered recently:
In sports: Dana Hills, Forest Park rule 58th City Meet; Terrapins end summer season at Far Western Swim Championships; plus the final Pioneer Athlete Spotlight.
Guest Editorial: A façade of perfection in Clayton?
Murder, scandal and cocktails at local theaters.
Girl Scouts craft new bookshelves for Winter Nights.
Special bowling fundraiser to benefit Pacheco Adobe.
New law boosts CAL FIRE’s ability to fight wildfires.
Back-to-school time often leads to house hunting.
We reuse more because our future deserves it.
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.