THE LEDE
Blackhawk Plaza Finally Has a New Boss. Nobody Knows What Comes Next.
For weeks, the question residents kept asking was whether Blackhawk Plaza would become housing.
The answer, as of this week, is no. At least not soon. Maybe not ever. And that is about the most clarity anyone can currently offer.
An Orange County judge granted a motion last month to appoint Douglas Wilson as a receiver for the beleaguered shopping center, putting its fate in the hands of a court-appointed manager rather than its owner, the Ramanujan Group. The receiver's job is to manage the property, collect rents, and work toward recovering the outstanding debt owed to creditor Nano Banc, which could include selling all or part of the site.
That "could include a sale" detail is what sent the rumor mill spinning. The county's general plan does allow for residential development at the site. And in a region that has watched retail center after retail center struggle, the mental math was obvious: empty storefronts plus a receiver plus housing demand equals apartments.
Contra Costa County District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen moved this week to pump the brakes. She launched a dedicated page on her website to address what she called "numerous inquiries" from residents about the plaza's future, and her message was clear: the path from "receiver appointed" to "housing development underway" is neither straight nor short. Any residential redevelopment would require county planning approvals, environmental review, and community input. She also noted that a 5.73-acre parcel dedicated to the Blackhawk Homeowners Association, serving as a buffer between the plaza and adjacent open space, would likely require HOA consent before any redevelopment, making it, in Andersen's words, "extremely unlikely" to be touched.
So what is actually happening at Blackhawk right now? The receiver is in charge. The owner is still fighting. Ramanujan Group's principal, Deba Shyam, has filed a countersuit against Nano Banc, alleging bad faith, misrepresentations, and what the filing calls "targeted sabotage." Preferred Bank has filed two separate default notices totaling $31 million. The combined debt against the property now exceeds $36 million, more than the $28.3 million Ramanujan Group paid for it in 2020.
The remaining tenants, including Blue Sakana, Fat Maddie's, the Blackhawk Automotive and Cultural Museum, and a handful of others, are watching all of this unfold with the same general feeling: uncertainty has become the permanent condition. The museum has said it remains open and committed to the community. Everyone else is waiting to see what the receiver does next.
Draeger's is already gone. The theater deal evaporated in February. The fountain still has algae in it. What comes next at Blackhawk Plaza is genuinely unknown, and anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing.
THE RUNDOWN
The Hemp Shop Is Not Coming Back
The Town Council settled the matter on March 1: America's Finest Hemp Company will not be reopening in Danville. A majority of council members directed staff at the February 17 study session to take no further action toward allowing commercial cannabis or hemp retail in town, and that direction held.
Vice Mayor Robert Storer offered the council's position plainly. He invoked the scenario of an ice cream store getting robbed and the neighborhood erupting, and asked the audience to imagine what a cannabis store would bring. The council's position is that any relaxation of the town's prohibition would risk the kind of "attractive nuisance" that conflicts with Danville's small-town character and its status as the state's safest city.
Supporters of the shop raised a point that came up repeatedly in the 160-comment thread attached to the story: Danville has 100 active liquor licenses and zero cannabis permits. That math does not settle the argument, but it sharpens it. Owner Jeff Sutherland, who spent three years building his business before a 2024 state law effectively shut it down, did not get a path forward.
SRVUSD Cuts Into World Languages
The San Ramon Valley school board approved another round of teacher layoffs at its February 24 meeting, and this time the world language program took the biggest hit. French, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean teachers are among those on the chopping block, with estimates putting 19 to 22 class sections at risk. A letter from a French teacher at Gale Ranch Middle School, read aloud at the meeting, put the implication plainly: middle school students could soon be limited to Spanish as their only foreign language option at most sites. More on this in Family and Kids below.
Primos Has New Owners
The downtown institution that's been on Hartz Avenue since 1979 has new owners. Jimmy and Jennifer Jhanda have taken over the neighborhood staple. The transition appears to be a smooth handoff rather than a reinvention. If Primos has been part of your regular rotation, it should stay there.
Today Is the Last Day to Register for State of the Town
The deadline to register for Mayor Arnerich's Annual State of the Town Luncheon on March 25 is today. Tickets at danvilleareachamber.com. If you miss it, call the chamber directly to check for late availability.
FAMILY & KIDS
What SRVUSD's World Language Cuts Actually Mean for Your Kid
If your child is currently studying French, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, this is the week to pay attention.
The board's February 24 vote approved a new round of teacher layoffs in which world language positions take a disproportionate share of the reduction. According to a letter read at the meeting by a Spanish teacher on behalf of a French colleague at Gale Ranch Middle School, more than 70 percent of the teaching sections being eliminated are in languages other than Spanish. The practical consequence: at the middle school level, incoming students may soon have their foreign language choices narrowed almost entirely to Spanish at most sites.
This is on top of the $26 million in cuts approved last year and the 190-plus positions already eliminated. The district remains on "qualified" financial status with the county. The board also discussed polling results for a potential new general obligation bond at the same meeting. That bond, if it goes to voters, would address facility projects rather than operating costs, but could free up dollars currently absorbed by deferred maintenance.
For parents of kids studying a language other than Spanish, the question worth asking now is whether your child's teacher will still be in place next fall and whether the course will still be offered. Contact your school or the district directly at srvusd.net.
One item worth flagging for families: the Town of Danville is running a cover art contest for the 2026 Summer Activity Guide. Artists ages 11 to 17 are invited to submit hand-drawn colored pencil illustrations of a summer scene in Danville. The theme is "Coloring Outside the Lines." The selected artwork goes on the cover of a guide mailed to every household in town. Deadline is March 11. Email a photo of your illustration to Megan Eddings at [email protected].
MEANWHILE, ON NEXTDOOR…
A weekly roundup of the conversations, concerns, and characters keeping the neighborhood group chats alive. All posts anonymized and summarized.
THE GROUND KEPT MOVING AND SO DID THE DISCOURSE. A 3.27 magnitude earthquake near San Ramon just before midnight on Sunday drew more than 300 neighbors to the alert thread within hours. The swarm has been rolling through the area for months, and the community's responses have sorted into reliable categories: the exhausted (can't sleep, cats bolted off the recliner), the philosophical (small ones don't prevent the big one, actually), the practical (the town held an earthquake preparedness meeting at Friday's town hall, if you missed it), and the serene. One neighbor offered the definitive three-tier framework: under a 7, go back to bed. Over a 7, go outside. Really big, we are all in it together. He was not stressed. The cats were.
RACCOON. THE ANSWER WAS RACCOON. A CA Chateau resident posted a photo this week of what she described as a "really big and bold tabby cat" that had come nose-to-nose with her at the glass slider. The photo collected 57 reactions and more than 80 comments. The reactions were warm. The comments were increasingly clarifying. Neighbors noted the ringed tail, the masked face, the small nimble hands. The author held firm for approximately two days before announcing that she had used Google Image search to verify that it was, in fact, a raccoon. "I will recognize one in the future," she wrote. "Which will probably be tonight." Her late Maine Coon, Marvin, was apparently a formative influence on her wildlife identification.
THE 5 A.M. GARBAGE TRUCK SUMMIT. A Twin Creeks South resident posted this week to ask why garbage trucks come at 5 a.m. and whether they might come after 8 instead. He acknowledged the noise from three bins on both sides of the street, totaling six passes per household. Neighbors responded with efficient practicality: fewer cars on the road, better productivity, ear plugs exist. One commenter noted that in France they start at 4. The original poster did not abandon the thread. He eventually compared his situation to midnight parties and backyard roosters, which is not a comparison most people would make, but he made it with commitment. The garbage truck has not changed its schedule.
THE BEES MADE A PIT STOP AND A NEIGHBOR FOUND HER CALLING. A South San Ramon resident came home to find a swarm of bees clustered on her driveway. Rather than panic, she consulted AI, learned that spring swarms are normal and that swarming bees are notably calm, and called a local beekeeper who arrived the same day. The bees were relocated to a proper hive. The apiary owner was reportedly delighted. The neighbor is now considering beekeeping as a retirement hobby, which is either a perfectly logical conclusion or a very fast pivot, depending on your perspective. The post collected 25 reactions and two columns of genuine appreciation, plus a contact number for a local bee extractor named Claire, who apparently has handled situations involving 10,000 bees and eight large hives and considers it a good afternoon.
ONLY IN DANVILLE
The Author of One of the Most-Read Books of the Last 20 Years Is Coming to Hartz Avenue
On March 12, Rakestraw Books will host Markus Zusak for the 20th anniversary tour of The Book Thief. If you need the context: the novel has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide and spent over 500 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He is making a stop at a 3,000-square-foot independent bookstore in downtown Danville. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Check rakestrawbooks.com or call ahead for ticket details. Some things about this town are hard to explain and easy to appreciate.
ON THE CALENDAR
Markus Zusak at Rakestraw Books | Thursday, March 12, 6:30 p.m., 2276 First Street
Twenty years of The Book Thief, one night at Danville's independent bookstore. Call ahead or check rakestrawbooks.com for ticket details.
The 39 Steps | Weekends through March 29, Village Theatre
Four actors, more than 100 characters, a Hitchcock adaptation built on physical comedy and rapid costume changes. Still running every weekend in March. Friday nights are the best seat in the house.
State of the Town Luncheon | March 25, 11:30 a.m., Crow Canyon Country Club
Mayor Arnerich delivers his annual address alongside the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce. Registration deadline was today, but call the chamber directly at danvilleareachamber.com to check for availability.
Tri-Valley Camp and School Fair | March 29, 11 a.m., Charlotte Wood Middle School
Free event for families exploring summer camps, enrichment programs, and school options. One of the more useful ways to spend a Sunday morning in late March if you have kids and decisions to make about the summer.
THE NUMBER
$36 Million
The total debt against Blackhawk Plaza, across loans from Preferred Bank and Nano Banc. The Ramanujan Group paid $28.3 million for the property in 2020. The combined debt has exceeded the original purchase price by 27 percent. A court-appointed receiver is now managing the site. Nobody knows what happens next.
FINAL THOUGHT
The council killed the hemp shop. The school district is cutting French teachers. A court-appointed stranger is now running Blackhawk Plaza. And somewhere on Hartz Avenue, the author of The Book Thief is about to walk into Rakestraw Books. Some weeks are harder to summarize than others.
THE SIDELINE
The Wolves Refused to Stay Down
High school sports coverage for Monte Vista and San Ramon Valley.
The ending everyone in Danville expected did not happen on Saturday, February 28.
San Ramon Valley's girls basketball team, the top seed in the NCS Open Division and winners of nine straight against Carondelet, entered the championship game at Dublin High as heavy favorites. They lost 50-49 in a thriller. Carondelet's Niylah Christopher, Maleika Brown, and Layla Dixon combined for 38 points. The Wolves' bid for back-to-back NCS titles was gone by a single basket.
It broke nothing.
Four days later, on Wednesday night, the same two teams met again in the CIF Northern California Open Division quarterfinals, this time on Carondelet's home floor in Concord. San Ramon Valley won 51-44. Coach John Cristiano had said after Saturday's loss that they would see each other again. He was right. Ella Gunderson and Alyssa Rudd led the charge, and a late basket by Presley Uchikura put it away. The season series now sits at 3-1 in SRV's favor.
Saturday night, the Wolves travel to face top-seeded Archbishop Mitty, a San Jose program ranked third nationally that won its NorCal opener by 59 points. The record stands at 26-4. This team has already shown it knows how to come back from a loss. One more chance to prove it.
The Danville Dispatch is an independent community newsletter. Every fact is verified before publication. Tips, corrections, and story ideas are always welcome.