THE LEDE
Fourth Graders vs. a $10 Million Problem
A fourth grader in Danville decided a ten-million-dollar conservation deadline was her problem to solve. She is nine years old.
Sara Stinson has been teaching life cycles at John Baldwin Elementary for years, and for most of that time her classroom has had a window into something extraordinary: a live webcam pointed at the nest of Jackie and Shadow, a pair of bald eagles in Big Bear Valley near Fawnskin, California. Students watch the eggs get laid. They watch them hatch. They track the chicks as they grow. "We get to see the eagles set up their nest, then we get to see them lay eggs, and then we get to see the eggs hatch and the chicks grow," Stinson told ABC7, which covered the story this week.
This spring, the class learned the nest might not be there much longer. Friends of Big Bear Valley, a conservation group that has been fighting to protect the land around the eagles' habitat for 25 years, received what the developer described as a final chance: buy the land for ten million dollars by July 31, or it goes to luxury home development. The group launched a campaign. When the students at John Baldwin heard that, they got to work.
They set up bake sales and lemonade stands in the neighborhood. They wrote letters to family members, celebrities, and social media influencers, making the case in the plainest terms available to a fourth grader. They walked through downtown Danville carrying hand-painted posters. One student, a fourth grader named Evie Cook, told ABC7: "When we first heard about this news, it was very sad for us because we are worried that the thing we have been watching for years can go away."
Jenny Voisard of Friends of Big Bear Valley was moved. "It touched my heart," she said. "Tears me up." Her organization has been fighting this particular battle since 2001. More than two million dollars had been raised toward the ten-million-dollar goal as of late April. The kids are nine and ten years old, and they have helped get this story onto ABC7. They show no signs of stopping.
A science teacher built a lesson around something beautiful, her students fell in love with it, and when it was threatened, they did not shrug and move on. They organized. The deadline is July 31. To follow the effort or donate directly toward the land purchase, visit savemooncamp.org.
THE RUNDOWN
Monte Vista on Lockdown
On the afternoon of May 8, Monte Vista High School invoked active shooter protocol after what authorities later described as one of several threats made to schools across the state. Parents in the surrounding neighborhood reported a substantial police presence, with officers clearing and searching classrooms while students sheltered in place. No arrests were made, and officials confirmed that no imminent threat materialized. The situation was resolved without incident.
The incident drew significant parent attention online before official information was widely available, a pattern that has become familiar in situations like this. SRVUSD Superintendent CJ Cammack did not respond publicly in the immediate hours after the event, according to neighbor reports. Whether or not an official alert went out promptly is worth following up on as the district reviews its communication protocols.
Blackhawk Plaza: 33 Days and Counting
June 16 is now 33 days away. That is the deadline for Ramanujan Group, the Orange County firm that owns Blackhawk Plaza, to file a restructuring plan with the bankruptcy court or begin making interest payments to secured creditors. Based on available reporting through this week, no restructuring plan has been publicly announced. Legal observers who commented when the Chapter 11 was announced noted the deadline is often extended, but that staying in bankruptcy is expensive, and that "some direction of what will happen to the property will become clear in the coming weeks and months." This is a story readers of the Dispatch have been tracking since Issue 1. We will be watching June 16 closely.
The Campsite at Pescadero Court
In March, the Town began receiving complaints that a property owner was using a parcel along Green Valley Creek, designated for drainage and flood control only, as a personal campsite. Code enforcement confirmed tents and evidence of occupancy. An abatement notice was issued in April. By April 22, the owner had vacated. What remained: a collapsed tent, plastic bins, lumber, a cart, and other debris. The Town Council voted on the matter last week, with staff recommending the council formally declare the property a public nuisance and authorize cleanup at the owner's expense if the items are not removed within ten days of the vote. The creek will be clear eventually.
Measure A: A Vote on Growth
Contra Costa County has governed development along its rural edge for more than 35 years through the Urban Limit Line, a boundary that restricts residential and commercial growth in unincorporated areas beyond it. That framework comes up for renewal on the June 2 primary ballot as Measure A. For Danville-area residents, the line shapes what can be built on the hillsides and open land surrounding the valley. Supporters argue it has protected the character and open space of the region. Opponents contend it has constrained housing supply at a moment when the Bay Area can least afford it. The vote is June 2.
Full background on the Urban Limit Line and Measure A is available from Contra Costa County at contracosta.ca.gov.
SRVUSD: The Deadline Has Arrived
May 15 is the state-mandated deadline for California school districts to finalize layoff decisions for the coming school year. For San Ramon Valley Unified, that means a decision on the world language teachers whose positions have been on the chopping block since the board's February vote, including French, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin instructors at several schools. Since the tentative agreement reached between the district and the teachers' union in late April restored elementary counselors and protected class sizes, world language remained the unresolved piece. The Dispatch will have confirmed outcomes in Issue 14.
Board updates and budget documents are posted at srvusd.net.
FAMILY AND KIDS
A Senior With a Big Idea
Before he graduates from Monte Vista this spring, Ethan Klets founded an organization. Goals of Hope works to provide confidence and friendship to newly arrived Ukrainian children in the area, connecting kids who arrived after fleeing the war in Ukraine with local peers. Klets is among the local students receiving recognition for community leadership this spring, and his project is exactly the kind of thing that tends to disappear into the end-of-year noise unless someone pays attention to it. Learn more at https://www.goalsforhope.com/
The Piano Deadline Is May 22
The Town of Danville's Community Pianos summer art series is accepting design submissions from middle and high school students through May 22, including graduating seniors from the Class of 2026. Accepted designs get painted onto public pianos placed around downtown Danville for the summer. No professional art experience required. Details and the application are at danville.ca.gov.
National Merit Scholars
Two Danville students received National Merit Scholarships of twenty-five hundred dollars each this spring, awarded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The recognition reflects finishing in the top fraction of one of the most competitive academic competitions in the country.
MEANWHILE, ON NEXTDOOR...
Five neighborhoods worth of opinions, grievances, and the occasional act of unexpected community spirit.
THE FOUR-HOUR SURVEY A neighbor announced he had spent four hours driving around Danville conducting what he described as a research experiment, observing whether people with anti-Elon Musk bumper stickers on their Teslas were more likely to be driving alone while wearing masks. He concluded they were. The thread, which attracted more than 40 replies, was less interested in his findings than in his methods. One neighbor cut to the heart of it: how much did four hours of driving around Danville cost in gas?
THE BRASS DOOR VOID With The Brass Door now closed, a neighbor went looking for a restaurant in the area that still serves prime rib. Seventy-seven comments later, the community had catalogued most of the East Bay's steak options. The thread eventually produced an absolutist who declared that there is no comparison and no excuse not to drive to San Francisco and experience, quote, the BEST prime rib in America. Whether this resolved the original question is unclear.
THE TIP CALCULATOR A neighbor asked for guidance on tipping etiquette when the service was genuinely bad. Forty-five responses followed. The personal codes ranged from ten percent for poor service to always twenty percent regardless. One commenter provided a detailed decimal-point walkthrough: if the bill is twenty-three ten, move the decimal to make it two thirty-one, double it to four sixty-two, and your total is twenty-seven seventy-two. Whether the original poster found this helpful was not recorded.
E-BIKES VS. THE TRAIL The Iron Horse Trail e-bike debate is back. A neighbor reported a tense encounter with two teens on a Class 3 e-bike in the hills near O'Neill Regional Park. "E-bikes should not be allowed on the Iron Horse Trail at any time," one commenter declared. Another pushed back: not all e-bikes are fast or heavy, and lighter pedal-assist models serve people who need gentle help on hills. Both sides made reasonable points. Nobody changed their mind.
ONLY IN DANVILLE
A Full Public Nuisance Process for a Collapsed Tent and Some Bins
In most places, when someone leaves behind a collapsed tent, some plastic bins, a wooden cart, and miscellaneous lumber on a parcel they were not supposed to be using in the first place, the situation gets resolved informally. In Danville, it goes through the full machinery of local government.
The parcel sits at Pescadero Court along Green Valley Creek, designated for drainage and flood control. The owner, apparently, had other plans and used it as a personal campsite. When complaints arrived in March, code enforcement responded. An inspection confirmed occupancy. An abatement notice was issued. A follow-up inspection on April 22 confirmed the owner had left. The debris had not.
So last week the Town Council voted on whether to formally declare the remaining items a public nuisance, following which the owner would have ten days to clear the property before the town steps in to do it at the owner's expense. There is a staff report. There are recommended findings. There is a formal agenda item. It's a tent and some bins. But around here, it gets the full treatment.
ON THE CALENDAR
American Legion Swearing-In Ceremony | Sunday, May 17, 1 p.m. | Town Green, Downtown Danville Each spring, the American Legion and the Veterans Memorial Building Board honor local high school graduates who are enlisting in the military or heading to a service academy. It is open to the public and the kind of event most people are glad they attended.
Memorial Day Remembrance and All Wars Memorial Ribbon Cutting | Monday, May 25, 10:30 a.m. | Oak Hill Park, 3005 Stone Valley Road The Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley hold their 34th Annual Memorial Day Remembrance at Oak Hill Park, and this year it includes a ribbon cutting for completed improvements to the All Wars Memorial, funded entirely through private donations: five new granite benches, a forty-foot flagpole, and markers featuring presidential quotations. The ceremony begins at ten-thirty, with the ribbon cutting at twelve-fifteen. An Abraham Lincoln re-enactor closes the ceremony.
Full event details at danville.ca.gov.
Mount Diablo Beacon Lighting | Monday, May 25, evening | Veterans Memorial Building, Downtown Danville The fifth annual Beacon Lighting Ceremony marks the close of Memorial Day observance at the Veterans Memorial Building. A good way to end a long weekend.
THE NUMBER
$10,000,000
The price tag on the land surrounding Jackie and Shadow's Big Bear Valley nest. A developer gave conservation advocates what may be a final chance to buy it. A class of fourth graders at John Baldwin Elementary decided that was their problem to help solve.
FINAL THOUGHT
The school year has a few weeks left. Most of the big news this time of year is about budgets, deadlines, and decisions made in rooms far from here. But over at John Baldwin Elementary, a class of fourth graders looked at a big, inconvenient problem and decided it was worth a lemonade stand. That is pretty good company to keep as summer gets close.
THE SIDELINE
Mustangs Reach NCS Semis; Baseball Is Unbeaten in League
Monte Vista boys lacrosse had a strong postseason run before running into a wall. The Mustangs opened the NCS Division 1 playoffs on May 5 by handling San Ramon Valley fifteen to four, then held off Tamalpais eight to four in the quarterfinals. The semifinal on May 12 was a different story: top-seeded Marin Catholic was rolling all spring, and Monte Vista fell sixteen to two. Marin Catholic advanced to face De La Salle in the NCS final.
The run is worth recognizing. Reaching the Division 1 final four in a bracket that includes Marin Catholic and De La Salle is not a footnote. The program is consistently competitive at the top level of NCS lacrosse.
On the diamond, Monte Vista baseball has quietly put together one of the better seasons in the EBAL. The Mustangs enter the NCS playoffs at seventeen and six overall with a perfect seven and zero league record, sitting in first place and ranked sixty-fifth in California. First-round games start May 19.
San Ramon Valley baseball dropped to thirteen and eight and two after a tight one-to-nothing loss to De La Salle on May 13, ending a four-game home winning streak. Pitcher Will Rau was solid, allowing no earned runs over four innings, but the Wolves could not manufacture a run. They also head into the NCS first round on May 19.
SRV softball is rolling at sixteen and six after a five-to-one win over Dublin on Friday. The full NCS baseball bracket will be posted at cifncs.org once the field is set.
CORRECTION
Issue 12 reported that the San Ramon Valley Unified School District held a special board meeting on Friday, May 8 to address the budget situation. That claim was wrong. It was sourced from a 2025 article that the Dispatch did not properly verify before publication. No such 2026 meeting has been confirmed. We regret the error and are adding a verification step to the research process to prevent this from happening again.
The Danville Dispatch is an independent local newsletter. Published weekly. To subscribe, visit thedanvilledispatch.com.
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