So This Happened...Week of July 22 through 28, 2024 -

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (July 28, 2024) — The Concord City Council gave the go-ahead for construction of the Ashbury, an affordable housing project on the site of the Church of the Nazarene in the downtown area. “We need housing that is more than just affordable under the current governmental standard,” said Mayor Edi Birsan. “We need great housing at the lowest cost possible, not just the highest that the market can bear.”

Realizing an Olympic dream: Pioneer sports editor Jay Bedecarré’s trip to the Paris Olympics will be his third, after attending games in Los Angeles and Beijing. Calling it “a pilgrimage to our family’s ancestral home,” Bedecarré will be joined by his son Jared and his wife Monica, along with his brother Bill. He posted his first report from Paris on Clayton’s Kara Kohler who is competing in single sculls.

Concord Swim meet: Closer to home, more than a thousand swimmers competed at Concord Community Pool during this weekend’s 57^th annual City Meet.

Encampment policies under review: Local officials didn’t expect any immediate changes after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says cities can stop people from sleeping and camping in public places. “Currently, we are reviewing the ruling and evaluating our overall approach to ensure we meet the needs of all members of our community,” said Lt. Renee Williams of Concord PD. However, it’s unknown what will be the effect of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July 25 statement ordering state agencies to address encampments “with urgency and dignity.”

All things political: New columnist Mary Jo Rossi misses California’s politics of the 1980s. “People didn’t hate each other. They talked to each other,” she said in a wide-ranging interview with editor Tamara Steiner.

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