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valleysentinel.com
November 2011
VOL 16, NO 11
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
SPOTLIGHT
Sustainable Contra Costa honors outstanding commitment to sustainable practices By Laurie Prindle
The Third Annual Sustainable Contra Costa Awards Celebration was held at the beautiful and “green” Lafayette Veterans’ Memorial Building on October 7th. Several awards were presented in recognition of individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions and commitment to a healthy environment, economy, and society. Out of 30 nominees, the winners were as follows; Individual - Cindy Egan (pictured above), San Ramon Valley High School teacher who left a lucrative engineering career in private industry to create the school’s Environmental Engineering Program.
ECRWSS
Postmaster: Dated Material
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID DANVILLE, CA PERMIT NO. 70
See SCOCO awards page 5
While the Thomas Home Ranch, Save Mount Diablo’s latest acquisition, is being preserved for its strategic location, it includes a house built in the 1880s and a variety of historic structures. To find out more, visit www.SaveMountDiablo. org (Photo by Scott Hein at www.HeinPhoto.com)
Saving Thomas Home Ranch 145 Acre Gateway to Nortonville Canyon Save Mount Diablo recently won an estate court auction to purchase the 145-acre Thomas “Home Ranch” for $1,376,500. “The other bidder was almost certainly a developer, said Ron Brown, SMD’s executive director. Also known as “Thomas North,” the Home Ranch is being acquired at the same time that East Bay Regional Park District is purchasing the 160-acre “Thomas Central” and 852-acre “Thomas South,” and a few months after their purchase of the 798-acre Barron property, another Thomas property and the final gap between Mount Diablo State Park and Black Diamond Mines. Although those properties are bigger, they are also more rugged and remote. The Home Ranch was far
more developable, threatened and expensive. It was a close call. The park district was interested in purchasing the property but a variety of problems, including developer competition, timing, and technical issues related to funding threatened to get in the way. SMD stepped in to help. “The park district is very grateful for Save Mount Diablo’s role in protecting this strategic property at the mouth of Nortonville Canyon,” said Nancy Wenninger, Assistant General Manager/Land Division for the district. “We were very interested in this acquisition but we weren’t going to be able to
complete the purchase. Save Mount Diablo’s ability to move quickly and be flexible really made the deal happen. Thomas is gateway to beautiful Nortonville Canyon and Kirker Pass. Above it a rugged open space corridor stretches from Black Diamond north toward Suisun Bay. Its protection decreases development threats to the canyon and pass area. It’s a critical recreational connection, historically important, and biologically rich. “Thomas is one of the best examples of the importance of our organization,” said Brown. “It underscores our flexibility and ability to step in and acquire an important piece of land. This See RANCH page 4
Special Sections inside... Sentinel Newspapers, Inc. 390 Diablo Road, Ste. 145 Danville, CA 94526 925-820-6047
Senior Living page 7
Holiday Giving page 10
Veterans Day Celebration November 11
Performing Art Center San Ramon Valley High School 501 Danville Blvd. 11am (doors open at 10am)
This event is free and open to the public For more information see calendar listing on page 12