Grand Opening of Senior Center Expansion and Community Garden!   

The City of San Ramon has completed its Senior Center’s beautiful new 4700 sq. foot expansion as well as added a new community garden complete with raised beds, shed and greenhouse. In order to celebrate this accomplishment a grand opening has been scheduled on Saturday, May 31, 2008 from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm. All activities will be held at the Senior Center located at 9300 Alcosta Blvd. San Ramon, Ca 94583. The schedule of activities are as follows.

·       8:30-9:30am              Family 1 mile Walk and Stroll

·       9:00-11:00am            S.R.V. Fire District’s Breakfast

·       11:30am-12:30pm    Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting & Garden Dedication

·       12:30-3:30pm            Live Well Resource Fair

·       7:00-10:00pm            Spring Evening Line Dance

Celebrate and support your San Ramon Senior Center by participating in our Grand Opening Festivities. Start your day with a one mile walk at 8:30am starting at the San Ramon Senior Center. At 9am The San Ramon Valley Fire District will hold their annual pancake breakfast.  

The official Grand Opening with ribbon cutting will be held at 11:30 am followed by a dedication to the new expansion and community garden will be held at in front of the new facility.

The Live Well Resource Fair will take place in the afternoon starting at 12:30pm. The Fair includes health and wellness professionals distributing information and providing screenings for individuals 55+. The day will also include:  live performances, guided tours, food & refreshments, a kid’s zone and garden demonstrations.

The day will conclude with a Spring Line Dance. Come see our new family oriented facility!

Board Names New Superintendent
(SRVUSD Press Release dated 5/6/08)

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education announced Tuesday evening that Steven Enoch has been selected as the district’s new Superintendent of Schools. Enoch, currently Superintendent of Schools for the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento County, will replace Rob Kessler, who is retiring after 13 years as Superintendent for SRVUSD. Enoch joins the district effective July 1.

“We interviewed a number of exceptional candidates, and were unanimous in our choice,” said Board President Greg Marvel. “Steve has a proven track record as an effective leader and strong communicator. As a board, we all believe he will be a great fit for our district and our community.”

Enoch has been the Superintendent of the San Juan Unified School District for three years, a district that serves 45,000 students in the northeastern portion of Sacramento County. He has been a public school educator for over 30 years.

“While it was certainly a difficult decision to leave the San Juan community, I am thrilled to have been chosen to lead such a high quality district in a very strong and supportive community,” said Enoch. “I consider it an honor to follow someone like Rob Kessler. I hope to bring to the school district and the community my own experience and style that builds upon the work that Rob, the Board, staff and community can rightfully take great pride in having achieved.”

Prior to serving as Superintendent for San Juan Unified, Enoch was Superintendent of the Mead School District (Spokane, Washington), San Juan Island School District (located north of Seattle), and Bonsall School District (San Diego County).

Enoch began his career as an elementary school teacher, and has served as an elementary, middle and high school principal. He has also taught graduate level classes at the university level.

Enoch has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Sociology from the University of La Verne and a Masters' Degree in School Administration from California State University, Fullerton. He has done additional graduate work at the University of Southern California and the Claremont Graduate School.

Enoch also worked in the private sector as executive director of a large educational seminar and conference organization. He has presented at many conferences throughout the United States and has been published in several national educational journals.

Enoch and his wife Kristin, have grown children living in California, Indiana, Washington D.C. and Idaho. They are looking to relocate within the San Ramon Valley.

Enoch succeeds Rob Kessler who will retire after more than 33 years in public education, and rose to become the educational leader of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in 1995, becoming one of the most respected K-12 school leaders in California.

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District encompasses the communities of San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Blackhawk and Diablo. The district has 34 schools, over 26,000 students, 2,500 employees, and an annual budget of approximately $200 million.

SRVUSD has been consistently recognized for high student achievement and community involvement. Some of the district's recent accomplishments include:

·       8th highest unified school district in the State of California according to the California Academic Performance Index (highest among unified districts with more than 20,000 students);

·       95% of graduating seniors attending college or university;

·       Most "California Distinguished Schools" or "National Blue Ribbon" distinctions over the past 10 years of any school district in Northern California;

·       11 Contra Costa County Teacher of the Year finalists in the last 12 years;

·       Most schools in California recognized by the "California Business for Education Excellence Foundation" for high student academic achievement;

·       Recognition by Standard and Poor's for "significantly narrowing the achievement gap.”

Reginald Robinson Charged with Murder of Kashmir Billon

(5/1/08)

The San Ramon Police Department held a Press Conference at 4 pm on May 1, 2008 to announce that the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office filed the following charges against Reginald J. Robinson connected to the death of Kashmir Billon.

1. Murder- Penal Code 187
2. Solicitation for the Commission of Murder- Penal Code 653f (b)/187
3. Felon in Possession of a Firearm- Penal Code 12021(a)(1)

Evidence uncovered during the investigation implicates Robinson in the actual commission of the murder.  However when pressed by reporters about the extent of Robinson's involvement, Lt. Dan Pratt simply said that Robinson is the only one in custody and that the investigation is still ongoing. Pratt directed reporters to contact the Contra Costa County District Attorney's office for additional information.

Another reporter asked about an alleged phone call Mr. Robinson made to solicit the hit.  Pratt confirmed that an individual was contacted by Robinson to kill Mr. Billon, but that he refused. This individual has since come forward with that information for the police. However it is still unknown if Mr. Robinson found a more willing assassin or did the deed himself.  

The police say the motive for the murder was financial, but have still not explained how Mr. Robinson expected to benefit from the crime.  Mr. Billon's family members who knew Mr. Robinson and attended the Press Conference, called the killing, "Completely senseless!" 

El Balazo Restaurants Raided

(5/2/08)

El Balazo Restaurants were raided on May 2, 2008 by Imigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for employeeing  undocumented workers.  The chain operates ten restaurantes in the San Francisco Bay area including three in San Ramon: El Balazo, 250 Market Place, El Balazo, 2005 Crow Canyon Place, and Nicole's Diner, 2400 Market Place.  According to news reports over 60 employees of the El Balazo chain were detained and will be scheduled for immigration hearings.  In March of 2007 El Balazo restaurants in San Ramon were investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, but no known action was taken at that time. 

Pre-School Round-up!

SRVUSD needs information from pre-school parents in the Dougherty Valley community of east San Ramon. 

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District is conducting a "Pre-School Round-up" for all children ages 0-4 residing in the Dougherty Valley. During the months of April and May, the Facilities staff will be collecting information from parents to assist in projecting the number of students entering Kindergarten at Coyote Creek, Hidden Hills, Live Oak and Quail Run Elementary Schools in the Fall of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.  Click on the link below to access the online survey: 

http://survey.srvusd.k12.ca.us/survey/TakeSurvey.asp?jscript=true&surveyid=552

Survey continues until the end of May.