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.”

Newark police has announced its employees of the year.

DISPATCHER OF THE YEAR: Amy Hewitt

Congratulations to dispatcher Amy Hewitt for being recognized by the Newark Police Association members as the 2012 Dispatcher of the Year. Amy was nominated for her work ethic, ability to stay calm during critical incidents, and her willingness to help out in any situation. Amy is a very respected and seasoned dispatcher. Her dedication to her job is obvious by her willingness to always take open shifts and train and mentor new dispatchers. She has been involved in multiple critical incidents over the past year, some even leading to a SWAT intervention but she has always remained calm and very detailed during these times. She has a way of working on weird research or information requests and has an uncanny ability to find the information the officer is requesting.

Amy was recognized at the annual Alameda County Public Safety Dispatcher Banquet held on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at the East Side Club at the Oakland Coliseum.

OFFICER OF THE YEAR

Congratulations to Officer Karl Geser for being recognized by the Newark Police Association members as the 2012 Officer of the Year. Karl is a 20 year veteran of the department is and is respected and well-liked by the citizens and his coworkers. Karl has a long history of doing the “right thing” and being a reliable and dependable officer. Many of our officers have stories involving Karl and most involve his cool and calm demeanor and good old fashion police work. This past year Karl has been instrumental in training and mentoring the new officer to be solo beat officers. He has served in the Acting Sergeant position and is always well received by his officers that work for him in his acting sergeant role. Karl is always willing to fill shift vacancies, even on short notice.

Karl will be recognized at the Tri-City annual Officer of the Year Breakfast held by the Newark Optimist Club on May 8, 2013

The city of Fremont posted this message on its website Friday morning:

Garbage and recycling service has resumed. Impacted customers from Thursday’s work stoppage should leave their carts at the curb for Allied Waste to pick up.

In addition, Tony Acosta — Union City’s deputy city manager — said the same is true in Union City. Garbage service has resumed in Union City, and city officials plan to meet with Allied Waste officials soon so they can make sure this doesn’t happen again, Acosta said.

From the city of Fremont:

The City was notified this morning by Allied Waste that garbage and recycling service has been temporarily delayed due to an unanticipated work stoppage. Unfortunately, because of this unanticipated work stoppage, Allied Waste will not be able to service Fremont accounts today.

They are advising to leave your containers out and available for collection, and they will service them as soon as possible, but no later than your next service day. They apologize for any inconvenience.

Please visit their website for the most up-to-date service information: http://alliedwasteac.com/

From the city of Union City:

Garbage collection in Union City is being disrupted once again due to picketing at Republic/Allied Waste facilities in the Bay Area. The labor dispute does not involve the City but residents and businesses are being impacted.

Residential customers: All single family residential customers with Thursday and Friday pickups won’t be served and should not set out their blue trash carts. Next week, Thursday and Friday customers can place extra bags of trash out equivalent to their normal weekly amount of trash with their blue carts and it will be picked up. Recycling and green waste will be picked up as usual over the next couple of days. So brown and green carts can be set out. Please do not place any trash in your recycling or organics carts.

Commercial customers: Certain commercial customers will be served, and the list of such customers will be made public as soon as we receive it from Republic/Allied Waste. Commercial customers not on the list will not receive trash or recycling pickups, but will receive green/food waste pickups Commercial customers with Saturday pickups may also experience service

I’ve been out this week because of illness, but my first day back has been plenty busy. Here’s a story going in tomorrow’s paper tied to the Boston bombings:

FREMONT — An executive at Tenergy Corporation said his heart sank Wednesday morning when he saw an online photo of a battery made by his company attached to an explosive device used in the Boston bombings.

Benjamin Mull said the carnage from the bombings had placed a pall over the company and its 80 employees.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and the families, as well as Boston community,” he said. “We were appalled that our product was used in such a horrible and senseless way.”

Mull said the nickel metal hydride battery, the type utilized in the bombings, is most often used by hobbyists in toys such as radio-controlled cars and trucks. The batteries usually are sold in hobby stores and specialty-battery shops, and can be purchased online.

Tens of thousands of that type of battery were sold last year but it is not the company’s bestseller, Mull said.

“It’s a terrible twist that something that’s supposed to provide joy for people was used in such a terrible way,” he said.

For more of the story, please click here.

Warren Avenue, between Kato Road and Warm Springs Boulevard, will be closed in Fremont starting tonight, according to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

The road will close from 10 p.m. Friday (tonight) through Sunday 10 p.m. Motorists are asked to take alternate routes along Grimmer Boulevard, Auto Mall Parkway or Kato Road.

I’m late in posting this. A story ran Tuesday looking at the life of Felipe “Phil” Galvan, who died March 25. He was 87.

It almost feels like an understatement to say he was a fixture in the Mission San Jose district, and in Fremont, in general. In talking to his family, friends and neighbors, it was clear that Galvan was much admired and respected.

If you have any memories of Mr. Galvan, please feel free to share them.

For more of the story that ran earlier this week, click here.

Aaron Lewis and his wife, Binbin Wang, needed a nanny to take care of their twin toddlers. What they got was someone more interested in their finances than their offspring.

The couple said the woman who came into their San Francisco home on Jan. 2 logged onto Wang’s computer and tried to steal thousands of dollars from an online account, attempted to take more funds from a bank account, created a phony email address and then tried to delete the computer’s Web history. The computer was damaged beyond repair, they said.

Making matters worse, the couple say, the child care company they hired — and the Fremont subcontractor that provided the nanny –  since have done little to repair the damage done to their lives.

“As a parent, this is the most sacred thing, trusting someone with your kids,” Lewis said. “But they allowed a criminal to come into our home and turn our lives upside down.”

For more of the story, click here.

The city of Newark could save as much as $115,000 by holding its elections in even years, according to a city staff report.

Newark’s next mayoral and council election is scheduled for November, making it the only Alameda County city holding elections in odd years. But the rising costs of elections might prompt Newark to change that. If the city goes it alone on Election Day, it would pay from $192,000 to $230,000, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. But if Newark held the election a year later, in November 2014, its tab would drop to between $76,788 and $115,182.

The costs would be lower because Newark would split the bill with nine other cities and school districts in Alameda County, as well as other counties, the state and the federal government.

Councilman Luis Freitas requested last fall that staff employees start analyzing the benefits of switching. City Manager John Becker is scheduled to deliver a presentation on the issue to council members Thursday, but they are not expected to vote on it.

“When you look at the additional costs, I think it would be very difficult to continue with holding odd-year elections,” Becker said. “But we’ll see what the City Council says. Our recommendation is for them to discuss the item and provide any necessary direction to staff.”