Dublin Update

Welcome back!  My first blog entry featured my quarterly newsletter, Swalwell's Shamrock.  In between now and the next newsletter, I will blog with updates on what I've been up to and what to look forward to for the city and region.

Council Update:

At our May 17 meeting the council moved forward to add a second city festival in the Fall.  Every year the city celebrates St. Patrick's Day with a weeklong festival in March.  I am very supportive of a second festival, during the fall, at Emerald Glen Park.  At the council meeting I advocated for an International Food & Wine festival.  Dublin continues to become more and more diverse and such a festival would feature the various fabrics that make Dublin so unique.  Also, I am committed to connecting Dublin to the Livermore Wine Region (see http://dublin.patch.com/articles/dublin-aims-to-join-local-wine-industry).  In that spirit, adding wine to the festival gives us another opportunity to show our commitment to this goal and will attract the growing number of people who support local wineries.  Stay tuned for more information on the second festival -- if it happens, it will commence Fall 2012.

The Round-Up:

Sustainable Communities Strategies Leadership Summit   County Supervisors Scott Haggerty and Nadia Lockyer graciously hosted a summit for elected officials from Districts One & Two.  Over 40 elected officials attended to learn more about what the Bay Area's transportation, jobs, and housing make-up will be in 2035, which will be here before we know it.  As the Bay Area's population grows we will see an impact on transportation, housing and jobs.  Future growth must be smart and not make the mistakes of the past.  Gone are the days where we have vast tracks of land to build suburban communities.  Today, many housing and office development are infill -- building over land that has already been previously developed.  Thinking forward, I advocated strongly for more transit-oriented development (TOD) -- having jobs and housing near transit centers.  Thank you to both supervisors for bringing the Bay Area's leaders to the table to plan our future.

Dublin Pride Week   This annual week-long program is getting better and better.  I kicked off the week with Volunteer Day.  I was partnered up with other residents to plant trees in Emerald Glen Park.  I have never been accused of being an arborist, so this was definitely a learning experience for me.  By the end of the morning, I played a hand in putting up seven new trees for the Dublin wind to blow. It was a great start to a fantastic week.

Farmers Market   The grand opening celebration of the city's farmers market took place at Emerald Glen Park.  It will be there every Thursday, from 4pm to 8pm through October.  We had over 3,000 people attend and the line for kettle corn was longer than Space Mountain!  Look out for "First Thursdays" this summer at the FM, as it will feature concerts and wine.   

What's Next?   Save the Date!  Heritage Park & Museums -- Grand Opening Celebration, July 2 at 12 p.m. at 6600 Donlon Way   Come celebrate Dublin's history at the beautiful new heritage park.  This park is a longtime in the making, featuring the old Murray School House, the old St. Raymond Church and the Kolb House.  The grand opening celebration will feature wagon rides, arts and crafts, and music by local Irish and Bluegrass bands.  As former chairperson of the Heritage & Cultural Arts Commission, I'm especially excited to see the hard work of so many -- particularly city staff and the Dublin Historical Preservation Association -- finally come to fruition.   

The Alameda County Fair is right around the corner!  June 22nd-July 10th