NEWARK — City officials are considering whether to demolish a 129-year-old schoolhouse, even though it is one of Newark’s few buildings to be designated a historical resource.

The proposed demolition of Mowry’s Landing School, which was built in 1884, would save tax dollars but anger local preservationists.

Newark would like to save the one-room building, but restoring it might cost as much as $850,000, said Ray Collier, Newark’s chief building official. “Our first choice is to sell it or give it to a nonprofit, but we haven’t been able to do that,” he said. “Restoring it will cost a lot, and we have no practical use.”

While the City Council considers those options, its members voted unanimously last week to pay for part of an environmental impact report that will study the effects of getting rid of it. Newark will share the report’s costs with the East Bay Regional Park District, which has housed the 19th-century school room at Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont. The single-story, wood-frame structure — which is 26 feet by 42 feet, with a rectangular shape — was built near what is now NewPark Mall.

For more of this story, click here.

The Newark Police Department released a list of reputable organizations to which donors can give to help victims of the Oklahoma tornado.

If you’re looking for ways to help residents of Oklahoma, ravaged by a monstrous tornado on Monday, the following relief organizations are working in the area:

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has several shelters open in Oklahoma and Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles have begun delivering hot meals throughout the affected areas. The Red Cross is also working to link loved ones in Moore who are OK through a website called Safe and Well. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, donate online, or donate by phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is activating disaster response teams and mobile feeding units to help residents and rescuers in Moore, as well as in other locations in the Plains and the Midwest that were impacted by tornadoes. Donate online or text STORM to 80888 to contribute $10 to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts or make a donation by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY. If you’re sending a check make sure you put the words “Oklahoma Tornado Relief” on the check, and mail it to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK. 73157.

Operation USA

Los Angeles-based international relief agency Operation USA announced it’s providing emergency aid where needed to community-based health organizations across Oklahoma. Donate online, by phone at 1-800-678-7255, or by check made out to Operation USA, 7421 Beverly Blvd., PH, Los Angeles, CA 90036. You can also donate $10 by texting AID to 50555. Corporate donations of bulk quantities of disaster-appropriate supplies are also being requested.

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief says it has deployed at least 80 volunteers to respond to severe weather in Oklahoma. Those interested in helping can make a tax-deductible donation to the BGCO’s Disaster Relief ministry online or call (405) 942-3800. You may also send checks to: BGCO Attn: Disaster Relief 3800 N. May Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73112.

Samaritan’s Purse

Samaritan’s Purse, which also provided relief to residents of Moore after the devastating tornado in 1999, deployed two Disaster Relief Units from their North Carolina headquarters before dawn on Tuesday. One will be based in Moore, and the other in Shawnee. Samaritan’s Purse is looking for volunteers to help with the relief effort. You can donate online or by phone at 1-800-528-1980. To give by mail, please send donations to: Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607-3000.

Save the Children

Save the Children is mobilizing staff to provide support, relief and recovery services to communities and families in Oklahoma. The organization is prepared to deploy their Child Friendly Space kits in shelters, creating safe play areas for kids. They are also ready to deploy infant and toddler hygiene materials to support young children displaced from their homes. Text TWISTER to 20222 to donate $10 to Save the Children and help the response effort. You can donate online or call 1-800-728-3843.

If you’re looking for ways to help residents of Oklahoma, ravaged by a monstrous tornado on Monday, the following relief organizations are working in the area:

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has several shelters open in Oklahoma and Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles have begun delivering hot meals throughout the affected areas. The Red Cross is also working to link loved ones in Moore who are OK through a website called Safe and Well. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, donate online, or donate by phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is activating disaster response teams and mobile feeding units to help residents and rescuers in Moore, as well as in other locations in the Plains and the Midwest that were impacted by tornadoes. Donate online or text STORM to 80888 to contribute $10 to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts or make a donation by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY. If you’re sending a check make sure you put the words “Oklahoma Tornado Relief” on the check, and mail it to: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 12600, Oklahoma City, OK. 73157.

Operation USA

Los Angeles-based international relief agency Operation USA announced it’s providing emergency aid where needed to community-based health organizations across Oklahoma. Donate online, by phone at 1-800-678-7255, or by check made out to Operation USA, 7421 Beverly Blvd., PH, Los Angeles, CA 90036. You can also donate $10 by texting AID to 50555. Corporate donations of bulk quantities of disaster-appropriate supplies are also being requested.

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief

Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief says it has deployed at least 80 volunteers to respond to severe weather in Oklahoma. Those interested in helping can make a tax-deductible donation to the BGCO’s Disaster Relief ministry online or call (405) 942-3800. You may also send checks to: BGCO Attn: Disaster Relief 3800 N. May Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73112.

Samaritan’s Purse

Samaritan’s Purse, which also provided relief to residents of Moore after the devastating tornado in 1999, deployed two Disaster Relief Units from their North Carolina headquarters before dawn on Tuesday. One will be based in Moore, and the other in Shawnee. Samaritan’s Purse is looking for volunteers to help with the relief effort. You can donate online or by phone at 1-800-528-1980. To give by mail, please send donations to: Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607-3000.

Save the Children

Save the Children is mobilizing staff to provide support, relief and recovery services to communities and families in Oklahoma. The organization is prepared to deploy their Child Friendly Space kits in shelters, creating safe play areas for kids. They are also ready to deploy infant and toddler hygiene materials to support young children displaced from their homes. Text TWISTER to 20222 to donate $10 to Save the Children and help the response effort. You can donate online or call 1-800-728-3843.

Source: USA Today

Story by colleague Natalie Alund:

PLEASANTON — A missing 15-year-old girl who disappeared from her uncle’s Fremont home more than a week ago and was thought to be in the company of a man twice her age has been located in Pleasanton, police said Tuesday.

The teenager, reported missing May 5 from her uncle’s home in the Irvington area of Fremont, was found in good health, said Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques.

A preliminary investigation revealed the girl had left her uncle’s home voluntarily, Bosques said.

Police believed she was with 30-year-old Ryan Griggs, who was possibly driving a stolen white Ford F150 pickup with a white camper shell and raised suspension. The truck’s license plate is 6E82209. He is described as a white man, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 200 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes.

It was not immediately clear who located the girl, or if Griggs was with her when she was found.

From the New Haven Boosters and Schools Foundation:

UNION CITY — The New Haven Boosters Association (NHBA) and the New Haven Schools Foundation (NHSF), in conjunction with the East Bay Regional Park District, Union City Leisure Services, and the New Haven Unified School District, are proud to present its Annual Race to Save Student Activities Fun Run & Walk. The popular chip-timed event will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2013. Runners, walkers, stroller pushers and even dog walkers can look forward to a great race that starts and finishes at Cesar Chavez Middle School (2801 Hop Ranch Road, Union City).

Check-in and race day registration begins at 8:00 a.m. The start time for the 5K and 10K races is 9:00 a.m. Kid races will begin after the conclusion of the 5K and 10K races and are divided into 4 categories: 400 meters (grades K-4), 800 meters (grades 5-6), 1 mile (grades 7-12), and a 4 x 400 meters relay race. All courses run around the school track and the Alameda Creek Trail and will close at 11:00 am.

Fun Run participants will receive t-shirts, ribbons, and goody bags filled with items donated by local companies. Other event activities include medals for the top three finalists in each category, Fastest Feet Perpetual Trophy to the top Kids Relay Team, special prizes for elementary school sites, and booths hosted by event sponsors and various non-profit organizations throughout the school district.

Advance online registration is available through www.active.com – search “Race to Save Student Activities.”  Direct link is here.

Race t-shirts are guaranteed for registrations received by May 24, 2013. Registrations received after June 4, 2013 will be processed at the event on race day.

Entry fees are as follows: $10 for K-8, $15 for high school students, $25 for general pre-registered 5K & 10K adults, and $40 for the Kids Relay Team. $5 will be added to race-day registrations.

The Fun Run is one of NHBA’s fundraising effort to help the Foundation meet its $100,000 pledge to support New Haven Co-Curricular Programs. NHBA is donating an additional $250 to $350 to each New Haven elementary school, depending on the level of student participation.

For more information about the event, including registration forms, sponsorship opportunities, contact Bridget Russell at info@newhavenboosters.org or visit the NHBA online at www.newhavenboosters.org or www.facebook.com/NewHavenBoosters.

The 20th Annual Wildflower, Art, Garden Tour & Quilt Show in Niles is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday.

The Show is a unique event celebrating Spring and the Beauty of home and garden. The Garden Tour ticket admits you to several of the most beautiful gardens in Niles.

Quilts will be on Exhibit around town. From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. nurseries and crafts vendors will line the Niles Blvd sidewalks with plants, garden supplies, as well as arts & crafts. Watch demonstrations on mulching and recycling. Don’t miss this fun and exciting day, shop the unique Niles shops, restaurants, Niles Canyon Railway, and Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. Check the www.niles.org web site often, as we will be adding other exciting events for the day.

The Garden Tour is from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $12 if purchased in advance and $15 on the day of the event.
Advance Tickets can also be purchased at: My Friends & I. 37521 Niles Blvd.

On Sunday, May 19th, tickets and tour maps can be picked up in the courtyard behind Tyme for Tea.
For information call: Niles Main Street Association – Tel: (510) 742-9868.

I’ve started a series called Out & About, which will highlight any restaurants, bars, coffee houses, public spaces, hiking or anything else you might consider fun in the Tri-City and greater Hayward areas.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share. You can post here or email me at cdebenedetti@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Thanks.

Like the Tribune’s “Night Owl” column on Oakland’s burgeoning nightlife, we have started a similar feature for the Tri-City and Hayward areas. It’s called Out & About and the second feature — which profiled a Fremont microbrewery called Das Brew — ran in Sunday’s paper. The first one ran last month and profiled Mission Coffee Roasting Company. Here’s the one on Das Brew:

FREMONT — I was running late and feeling stressed one muggy evening as I stepped inside a new brewery in south Fremont. Despite its unlikely location — a modest office park in the most industrial part of town — the owners’ hospitality put me at ease, and I hadn’t even tried the beer yet.

The charms of Das Brew, a cozy microbrewery and tasting room that specializes in German beers, have that calming effect on visitors.

Its flavorful microbrews are made with loving care by Jan Schutze (pronounced “Yon Shootz-a”). His wife, Priscilla LaRocca, serves customers with a witty, welcoming manner. The couple has used that simple combination to transform the modest 240-square-foot room into a watering hole with a fast-growing, loyal following. The tasting room opened in late March, next to their environmental consulting business, in a warehouse in the city’s East Industrial neighborhood.

Schutze, who grew up in Hamburg, Germany, said he likes the unusual location. “I look at a brewery like it’s a laboratory. I need it to be clean and sanitized.” He added with a shrug and a smile: “It might be the German in me.”

For more of the story, click here.

In a newsroom, some quickly roll their eyes when a missing persons report comes in. Usually, the missing is a teen or an elderly person with a form of dementia and, usually, he or she often is found within a day, maybe two days. But every once in a while, there is a Sierra LaMar case or a Michaela Garecht, where the person is not found quickly, and may never be. It’s a living nightmare for the family. I can only speculate what Margarita Chavez’s family is going through today.

Story by colleague Natalie Alund

FREMONT — Police on Sunday continued to search for a missing 15-year-old girl who disappeared from her uncle’s home in the city one week ago.

Margarita Nunez Chavez was discovered missing from her uncle’s home in the Irvington area of Fremont on May 5. She was last seen at 10 p.m. May 4,¿ said police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques.

Police do not believe she was abducted, but said she may be with 30-year-old Ryan Griggs, who is possibly driving a stolen white Ford F150 pickup with a white camper shell and raised suspension. The truck’s license plate is 6E82209.

Police described Chavez as Hispanic, 4 feet 11 inches tall, 90 pounds with long brown hair and brown eyes.

Griggs is described as a white man, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 200 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call police at 510-790-6880, ext. 3.

The Newark City Council has voted to hold elections in even-number years, which will save Newark about $115,000 per election.

Newark has held elections in odd-number years since 1981. Council members voted Thursday to make the change after Livermore and Emeryville recently switched to even-number years, leaving Newark as the last city in the county to cast a ballot in odd years.

Next, the city will submit the change to Alameda County supervisors, who are expected to approve it.

If approved, each council member’s term will get an extra year. Terms for Mayor Alan Nagy, Vice Mayor Ana Apodaca and Councilman Bob Marshall will expire in late 2014, instead of 2013. Likewise, the terms for council members Sucy Collazo and Luis Freitas will expire in 2016, rather than 2015.

The biggest reason for the switch was the cost savings, Nagy said.

“It’s hard to justify spending that kind of money given the financial condition we’re in,” he said. “It’s important we save where we can.”

When Viola Blythe founded her small charity in 1950, she had no idea that its successful run would aid countless East Bay residents and be celebrated for decades to come.

Blythe, who lived and worked in Newark, just wanted to help those in need, and she did exactly that until her death in 2002.

Her spirit of giving lives on in the Viola Blythe Awards, held each year to reward Newark’s most dedicated volunteers. The 28th annual ceremony is scheduled Wednesday evening at the Hilton Newark-Fremont, where the winners from each category will be announced.

“The city is very thankful to all its volunteers, and we have so many pitching in,” said Laurie Gebhard, a Newark city official. “We’ve had a lot of budget cuts in the past six or seven years, so they’ve provided services that, otherwise, we might not be able to provide.”