Getting some time today to focus on the blog. Here’s the first of a few ‘in-case-you-missed-it’ blogs from earlier this week:

A newly installed 85-foot-high sign on the Newark side of Interstate 880 has raised the ire of Fremont officials, as well as residents living on the east side of the freeway.

But it appears that there is little they can do about it, because the towering sign, which promotes several car lots at the nearby Newark Auto Mall, complies with city and state regulations.

Bob Reading is a longtime resident of Fremont’s 28 Palms neighborhood, which sits directly across the freeway, in the shadow of the sign.

Reading said the sign, which was installed last month next to NewPark Mall and I-880, near the intersection of Mowry School Road and John Muir Drive, is an “eyesore” that looms high above dozens of homes and backyards, damaging the area’s quality of life.

“People who are visiting see the sign and say, ‘Oh, God, what’s that?’” said Reading, 73. “I believe our property values are diminished because of this.”

Barbara Keenan, a neighborhood resident since 1967, said the “upscale look” that she and her close-knit neighbors spent decades maintaining in their cul-de-sac off Farwell Drive was immediately downgraded after the sign was installed. The Fremont residents are especially angry that Newark officials did not contact them before it was installed.

Keenan, 72, said she now refuses to shop at NewPark Mall or other Newark stores because she believes the city’s officials have shown residents a lack of respect. “Why should I give them my tax money when they’re going to treat us like this?” she said. “They’re acting like, ‘You’re not our taxpayers, so we’re going to do whatever we want.’ I think that’s very wrong.”

For more, click here.

Supervisor Richard Valle will host a town hall meeting at Union City’s City Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

The session, titled “Let’s Talk About How the Alameda County Budget Affects You,” will feature a Q&A with Valle and Tri-City area residents.

“Collaboration between the city, county and our community are important in developing solutions,” Valle said Tuesday in a written statement. “I invite you to attend … to get an update on federal, state and county budgets and their human impact.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Valle’s office at 510-272-6692 or district2@acgov.org.

Valle represents District 2, which includes Hayward, Union City, Newark and parts of Fremont and Sunol.

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) wants feedback from residents in Fremont, Union City and Newark. The agencies will hold an Open House at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Mirage Ballroom, at 4100 Peralta Blvd. in Fremont.

Tri-City-area residents can learn more about the Draft Plan Bay Area, looks forward to the year 2040 and charts a course for the Bay Area’s first ever Sustainable Communities Strategies. Residents also can provide written or oral comments about the proposed plan.

For more information, go to www.OneBayArea.org.

David Mock, an 88-year-old Fremont man reported missing for more than a day, has been found.

Fremont police announced around 9:20 Friday morning that he was located. No other details were provided. Before that he was last seen Thursday AM.

Police described described him as an elderly Asian male, last seen wearing a white T-shirt, black lounge pants, brown slippers, and white handkerchief around his neck. He has gray hair, stand 5-feet-2 inches tall and weighs 135 lbs.

He was last seen in the area of Margery Drive and Fremont Boulevard at 7:30 a.m.  Thursday (April 25). He has dementia and is hearing impaired. If contacted, he may say he is from San Mateo. If located, please notify Fremont Police Department immediately at 790-6800, ext. 3.

From Fremont police:

The Fremont Police Department is taking back unwanted prescriptions drugs Saturday at Centerville Farmer’s Market

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Fremont Police Department, Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to the Fremont Centerville Farmers’ Market located at Bonde Ave/Fremont Blvd. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last September, Americans turned in 244 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,200 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners. In its five previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in over 2 million pounds—over a thousand tons—of pills. In Fremont, we collected more than 600 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs, making it our largest event to date.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information, click here.

Zack Sutherland is a Fremont 20-something who has directed a feature-length independent film. The comedy, titled  “Cheap Fun,” is screening at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday, April 25) at the Camera 3 Cinemas in downtown San Jose. The theater is at 288 South 2nd Street.

Here’s a quick synopsis of the film:  It tells the story of a group of friends on one wild night – a night that might determine the course of the rest of their lives as they attempt to battle their lack of momentum with drugs, alcohol and a series of increasingly terrible decisions.

Sutherland, a San Jose State University grad, works in Fremont’s Mission San Jose neighborhood. The film screened at the historic Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum last year and was an official selection at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2012. Select cast and crew members will be joining Sutherland at the event for a Q&A after the screening.

Tickets are available at the box office or at cameracinemas.com.

And about that last name, Zack, any relation to Kiefer or Donald? “I wish, ” he said with a laugh.

For a link to a trailer for the film, click here.

The city of Union City announced this AM:

The northbound outside lane of Union City Blvd. will continue to be closed until Saturday, April 27 as part of a PG&E gas safety inspection.

Traffic controls will be in place on Union City Blvd. between Dyer St. and Alvarado Blvd., according to the city of Union City.

For more information, please contact PG&E at 1-888-743-7431.

The Fremont PD released a Nixle announcement this morning:

Fremont Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint on the evening of May 4, 2013, at an undisclosed location within the Fremont city limits between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. May 5.

Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. Officers will also check drivers for proper licensing and will strive to delay motorists only momentarily. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

For more of the Nixle announcement, click here.

As is usually the case, authorities are not disclosing the location of the checkpoint.

On Tuesday afternoon, construction crews will divert traffic to a new on-ramp to Interstate 680. Work will take place between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

The work is part of a SFPUC project to replace and retrofit aging pipelines in the area.

Drivers using the westbound Mission to northbound I-680 on-ramp will be directed onto a newly-laid temporary ramp at the shoulder of the current ramp. The diversion of traffic from the current on-ramp onto the new on-ramp will not require any traffic closures.

The temporary ramp will allow workers to access lengths of water pipeline that lay beneath the busy highway interchange. Preparations for the new ramp have already begun and paving the new ramp was expected to begin Monday.

A Fremont 5th-grade student won the 2013 California State Elementary Spelling Bee on Saturday in Stockton.

Sahir Qureshi, 10, went through 13 rounds before correctly spelling “prosciutto” to take home the top prize. Sahir, a Niles Elementary student and fellow Fremont student Anish Punaroor, a 6th grader from Parkmont Elementary, represented Alameda County at the contest.

Sahir did not misspell a single word, correctly spelling other words such as “tiramisu” and “truculent.”

He bested 60 spellers from 30 counties statewide.  He is a Boy Scout, swims competitively, plays the piano, has a band called “Game Over,” and is forming a robotics team.

Paige Johnson, a Niles Elementary teacher who taught Sahir when he was in the 3rd grade, accompanied Sahir’s family to the competition.

“He is everything you would ever want in a child,” Johnson said. “He’s bright and curious but also sweet and extremely modest. He even thanked his little brother for helping him.”