I just  shook Shawon Dunston’s hand. For the uninitiated, Dunston played major league ball for long time, had a great throwing arm and is now a Fremont Recreation Commissioner. I need to go to more of those commission meetings.

After clasping my sweaty palm, Dunston got into his Cadillac SUV, and, I’m proud to say, followed the new cell phone law to a tee.  He’s Mr. Bluetooth these days.

Minuteman Charles Bartlett just called to say his group has decided to march in Fremont’s Fourth of July Parade.

He also said that at least two members of the Golden Gate Minutemen will run for City Council this year. Should be interesting.

The minutemen and their allies apparently have inched closer to gaining a majority of the Alameda County Republican Central Committee. The group’s write-in candidate in Livermore, Judy Fenta,  has been elected, Bartlett said. None of the three write-in candidates backed by what Bartlett called “the country club Republicans” got enough votes, he said.

Fremont’s SeaWolf Trading Company had some pretty neat merchandise and a great web site name: www.pirateswag.com. That was enough to merit not one, but two big stories in The Argus. But even the free publicity wasn’t enough to keep one of Fremont’s quirkiest stores afloat.

We’ll have a story tomorrow that the pirate store is closing at the end of August after nearly three years at 36511 Fremont Blvd. Let’s hope the replacement shop isn’t Applebees #3.

*  *  *

UPDATE: Unbeknownst to Matt, what the pirate store’s owner, Don Hatcher, also told me is that his stepdaughter, an Ohlone College student who helped out at the shop’s counter, recently decided “to make some money” this summer by taking a job at … the Pacific Commons Applebees. Talk about irony, argh!

– Todd

7/1/08 UPDATE: Ann Crosbie has responded to my e-mail. I asked her to comment on a perception held by some in the community that the Fremont Education Foundation is a breeding ground for trustees. (Current Trustees Nina Moore and Lara York serve on the foundation board, as does school board candidate Desrie Campbell.)

Crosbie no longer sits on the FEF board but remains involved with the foundation’s afterschool band and teacher grant programs. She’s also a member of the League of Women Voters and had served on the school district’s community facilities committee. She stated in her e-mail:

“I do not think it is problematic to be involved with FEF. Lara and Nina have also been actively involved with the League of Women Voters, as have many city officials. Nina, Peggy and Lara were all members of the CFC, as was Bryan [Gebhardt], I believe, and myself.”

Crosbie also stated that she’s “not currently running on a slate.”

(ORIGINAL POST:)

Parent Ann Crosbie has announced her candidacy for the Fremont school board. With three seats up for grabs, she’s the fourth person to toss her name in the ring. (The others are Bryan Gebhardt, Desrie Campbell and Lily Mei.)

I called Ann this morning, hoping to interview her, but apparently she’s in Ireland at the moment. Hopefully she’ll respond to my e-mail today. (I still have hope that I can churn out a story for the paper.) In the meantime, you can learn more about her at www.crosbie4kids.com.

I just found out that the Golden Gate Minutemen will be invited after all to march in Fremont’s Fourth of July Parade. Parade Chairwoman Patty Hitchcock told me that she and other organizers decided it was better to just let the minutemen march even though they have concerns that groups opposed to the minutemen could start trouble.

“They’re in the parade,” Hitchcock said. “It’s not worth the fighting.”

As a goodwill gesture, she said, the Minutemen will be offered the opportunity to carry three large red, white and blue balloons.

The Firefighter Combat Challenge, which I gleefully covered in 2006 and 2007, won’t be part of this year’s Fremont Festival of the Arts as it has in years past. This year, the tournament that Fremont’s Bravest won in 2007 will be held on July 27  outside the Saddle Rack on Boscell Road. An annual chili cook-off will also be part of the festivities.

I asked one of the organizers why they were ditching the festival and this was his response: “We truly believe that it will add to the spirit of the the Fremont Chili Cook-Off. ”

The Minutemen/Fourth of July Parade issue is getting more confusing.

Police spokesman Det. Bill Veteran said Fremont police didn’t charge parade organizers extra last year for beefed up policing when the minutemen marched and won’t charge them extra this year if the minutemen are once again allowed.

“We don’t charge for police services when we are protecting a person exercising first amendment rights from someone who may object,” Det. Bill Veteran said.

But Parade Chairwoman Patty Hitchcock said, “That isn’t how they broke it down to us when we were sitting in gigantic meetings with all of the (city) departments.”

I have no inside info on this. My best guess is that no one wanted the minutemen in the parade and now no one wants to be the first amendment bad guy for keeping them out.

The minutemen have said they will sue. I’m not a lawyer, but growing up in New York I remember that judges repeatedly ruled that the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which puts on New York’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade had the right to reject a gay Irish group that wanted to march. This seems like a similar case.

This is a pretty low moment for me. Our cops reporter handed me the Tri-City Voice, and there it was on the bottom of Page 1, “Lorenz announces candidacy for Fremont City Council.” Of course, next to the little story is a big picture of Planning Commissioner Dirk Lorenz inside his van with the name and phone number of his business prominently displayed. How convenient.

The TCV also scooped me on a children’s pie-eating contest and a tug-of-war competition.

My bad. I should have been first on Dirk. I know his city of residence has been an issue on this blog. I will get around to following up on that.

(Update: Link to story) 

Cops this morning have identified the three men arrested following the beating at The Saddle Rack on Tuesday night during “Hooter Palooza,” an event held to celebrate the 19th anniversary of a Bay Area radio station’s morning show. They also say that the assault that left one man unconscious appears to be gang related. Cops are not discussing the actual motive, saying only that the victim and suspects knew each other.

(Update: Link to story) 

A 19-year-old man was hurt last night in a drive-by shooting on Everglades Park Drive. Man was shot once in the side and is expected to survive. No motive for the shooting. Short story should be on our side in a few …