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Witnessing civic action
Today while riding my bike, I saw another biker with a trailer and he was picking up all of the garbage along the Arroyo trail that is parallel to Stoneridge Drive. He is a resident of Pleasanton and has been doing this for over two years. His first name is Rob. I’m not offering his last name because he didn’t really want publicity.
Two years ago, he saw some kids throwing garbage into the creek and he asked them to pick it up. He came back later and cleaned up the area himself and later expanded his efforts to include the trail that goes to the Livermore Airport. The whole trail looks significantly better than it did three years ago.
Needless to say, I was quite impressed.
– Ken Morgan
Balancing housing growth and infrastructure needs
As a resident of Pleasanton, I have been closely following our recent City Council meetings regarding upcoming housing developments and the proposed changes to our local infrastructure.
While it is exciting to see our community grow with major housing plans like the Arroyo Lago residential project, we must also face the reality of what this growth means for our city’s resources. The council’s recent 2026 Sewer Rate Study highlights a critical issue: our underground infrastructure is aging and requires immediate funding to keep up with both current demands and future expansion.
While nobody enjoys seeing their utility bills increase, maintaining a safe and reliable wastewater system is absolutely essential for our public health and environment. If we are going to approve hundreds of new single-family homes and backyard units, we must also be willing to invest in the invisible infrastructure that supports them.
I encourage my fellow neighbors to review the upcoming Proposition 218 notices this September and participate in the public hearing on Nov. 17. Growth is inevitable, but we must ensure we are building on a strong, well-maintained foundation.
– Sai Avyukth Chinni, Boy Scout and Pleasanton resident
Activate America
At a time when civic participation feels more important than ever, we each have a role to play in strengthening our democracy. Voting is one of the most direct and powerful ways individuals can make their voices heard, yet many eligible voters remain disengaged or unsure how to participate.
If you are wondering how to make a tangible difference in getting Democrats elected to office, I encourage you to look into Activate America.
Activate America (www.activateamerica.vote) is an organization that empowers volunteers to reach out directly to voters in crucial swing states and districts, encouraging them to vote for Democratic candidates.
Activate America empowers volunteers to reach out to voters through postcards, texts and phone calls. These personal reminders can make a real difference in getting Democrats elected.
You do not need to be a seasoned political operative to participate. They provide the necessary training, scripts, and mailing lists right on their website.
By volunteering with Activate America, you can help elect leaders who will fight for healthcare, climate action, reproductive freedom and a fair economy.
Democracy works best when participation is broad and inclusive. Let’s do our part to make that happen.
– Ron Sadler
Memory Matters
My name is Arya Devanath. I’m 16, I go to California High School in San Ramon, and I run a nonprofit between homework and class.
Memory Matters started a year ago because I kept noticing that dementia – a disease affecting one in three families – was either talked about in clinical terms no one understood, or not talked about at all. So I built something different: a community where people could actually learn, connect and do something.
I didn’t expect it to grow the way it did. We now reach 155,000-plus students and volunteers across 35-plus countries, have donated over $10,000 in resources to underserved communities, and have sent 1,500-plus handwritten letters to dementia patients who otherwise wouldn’t receive mail.
We partner with the Stanford Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. We’re pursuing official proclamations recognizing November as Dementia Awareness Month from cities across the Tri-Valley, and Contra Costa County is already in process.
I’m writing because I want East Bay residents to know this disease is closer than most people think. It’s in our senior centers, our care facilities, our neighbors’ homes. And a 16-year-old in San Ramon built a global community to fight it.
If you know someone affected by dementia (a parent, a grandparent, anyone), Memory Matters is free, it’s here, and it’s built for you.
– Arya Devanath, founder
