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Vol. XLIV No. 3
Fremont, California
#ocmonitor
September 27, 2012
Fremont plans future with long-awaited vision Make way for city’s upcoming development: Downtown District
COURTESY OF / CITY OF FREMONT
Left: The city of Fremont released digitally simulated maps of how the Downtown District is planned to be organized on Capitol Ave.
COURTESY OF / CITY OF FREMONT
The city of Fremont released digitally simulated graphics of how the Downtown District will look like. More information can be found at: http://www.fremont.gov/ By ASHLEY LAM Editor-in-chief
The city of Fremont anticipates welcoming its “Downtown District” in the next two to five years. It’s a project that has been talked about for some time now. “The idea goes back 20 to 25 years,” said Fred Diaz,
Fremont city manager. “I felt that if the downtown were to be built, it would be this time around with the economy improving.” Although the idea of a downtown district goes way back, only in the past three years has the plan really intensified, said Diaz. “The downtown is meant to be the heart of the city, as Fremont is composed of five
towns that came together to form Fremont. Since the city’s formation in 1956, there has always been a desire to have a city center, a central place that people can get together. “It will be a place for people to get together, to socialize and to shop,” said Fremont’s Community Development Director Jeff Schwob.
“Generally good downtowns are what they call organic, as downtowns grow and develop over time. One of the quotes that I remember from when I first started working with the city in 1999 was: ‘Look at all the progress Fremont has made in creating its downtown that exists today. Forty years
ago it was cauliflowers, so if you look at the cauliflower fields in comparison to what we have today, you can see tremendous progress has been made.’ However, more progress has to be made in order to make a great city,” said Schwob.
Continued on Page 6
Trustees go on attack at candidate forum By MANIKA CASTERLINE Senior editor
Two incumbents waited until the last question to come out swinging at a particular challenger during the Ohlone College board of trustees candidate forum Wednesday. The last question posed to the four candidates – incumbents Teresa Cox and Greg Bonaccorsi, along with challengers Kevin Bristow and Bob Brunton – looked at the accreditation problems that Ohlone faced in 2008. Trustees Cox and Bonaccorsi attributed the problems to Brunton, a former trustee who is running for a seat this November. “We must not forget that it has been written in the papers. It was a disgrace to be able to be in that type of position,” Cox said. Bonaccorsi repeated his colleagues’ sentiments that the board was handed a tough project when he joined the board in 2008. He said that he was motivated to run because he was feeling some of the angst that was occurring back then.
COURTESY OF / OHLONE.EDU
Left to right: Kevin Bristow, Bob Brunton, Theresa Cox and Greg Bonaccorsi, participated when the Faculty Senate hosted a candidate forum on Sept. 26. They discussed the upcoming election for three spots on of the Ohlone College board of trustees.
“We can not change the past, but I do know we can define the future in how we want it to be,” said Kevin Bristow, who does not currently serve on the board. Brunton did not respond directly to these controversial old charges being rehashed in a public forum. Earlier, he said that while he is not necessarily liked, he would be the best suited to be a board member. The questions for the candidates came from Faculty Senate President Jeff O’Connell and were divided into three
sections: the duties and responsibilities, budget and accreditation. Brunton utilized his opening remarks to pose the question: “Are Ohlone College’s best days ahead?” He asserted that he would provide friends and connections to the board if he were elected that the board. He also acknowledged that when he was in his early 20s and when he retired from working at Sears Corp., Ohlone College was a big part of his life. Brunton went on to say that
his daughter has benifitted from Ohlone’s Deaf studies program because she uses the skills she learned here at her retail job. “Deaf studies is an Ohlone brand,” Brunton said. Each of the incumbents said that the board needs to maintain the gains that they have made since attaining their offices. “I am a strong voice for our board and I want to continue to provide leadership,” said Bonaccorsi. Cox said, “We need to make sure that we stay true
to our mission statement in that we are a college united in cultures.” Bristow espoused the general sentiment that, “Through clear communication, we can build bridges.” The board election is atlarge, which means that the three candidates who receive the most votes will attain a single seat on the board of trustees. The quartet of board candidates will face off Sept. 27 in room 7101 at 7 p.m. in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.