High school graduations

Pleasanton's public high schools are holding their graduation ceremonies this Friday (June 2).

The festivities will kick off with Village High School graduates walking across the stage at the Firehouse Arts Center in downtown Pleasanton between 1:30-3 p.m.

Foothill High School's commencement will be next, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the school's stadium field.

Amador Valley High School will round out Pleasanton Unified School District's graduation season from 7-8:30 p.m. at its stadium field.

First Weekend on Main

The June edition of the Pleasanton Downtown Association's First Weekends on Main event series arrives today through Sunday evening (June 2-4), with several special events and the now-familiar weekend-long closure of Main Street.

"Come downtown and enjoy street closures for roaming our historical downtown, events and outdoor dining," PDA officials said on the organization's website.

This month's program will include bands playing at various locations on Main Street today and Saturday at 7 p.m. as part of the Music on Main event.

Downtown will also welcome a BMX freestyle team performing on stunt ramps in front of Superfly Wheels (537 Main St.) on Saturday for two separate shows, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The PDA's Concerts in the Park will start next week (June 9) and occur each Friday during the summer, except for First Weekends on Main weeks.

Tesla Road reopens

The Alameda County Public Works Agency reopened a section of Tesla Road in Livermore to traffic over the Memorial Day weekend after being closed for nearly two months while crews conducted emergency repairs due to roadside erosion caused by winter storms from Reuss Road to the county line.

Meanwhile, two other projects are underway on unincorporated roads that are also major commuter routes in the Tri-Valley.

Alameda County has closed Crow Canyon Road to through traffic between Bollinger Canyon and Norris Canyon roads until early August, as workers take to the area for construction of a second roadway phase and embankment repairs necessitated by storm damage earlier this year.

And the Contra Costa County Public Works Department is conducting road grinding and paving work on Highland Road between Camino Tassajara and Manning Road through June 15, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays with detours in place.

BART arrests go up after patrol influx

BART officials said early Tuesday that more police presence has led to two of its highest monthly arrest totals since the pandemic began.

BART recorded 258 arrests in March and 266 in April systemwide, according to an announcement from the transit agency early Tuesday.

On March 20, BART doubled the number of sworn officers riding on trains in the core of the system, agency officials said.

"These numbers are proof of the hard work being done by the people of the BART Police Department," officials said in the statement. "Our redeployment strategy is a direct response to the safety concerns of our riders."

-- Bay City News Service

Sharing your stories more effectively

Author and librarian Kate Farrell is set to be the guest speaker at this month's meeting of the Tri-Valley Writers Chapter of the California Writers Club.

Farrell's talk, "Storytelling: An Interactive Workshop for Authors", will focus on helping writers improve their verbal presentation skills.

"Take your storytelling from the page to the spoken word and enliven your talks, enhance your events, and create a shared experience with your listeners. The power of story immediately engages audiences through simple, traditional techniques," club officials said.

The presentation is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. June 17 in Room 2470 at Las Positas College, 3000 Campus Hill Drive in Livermore.

Reservations are required by June 15. Sign up and learn more information via www.trivalleywriters.org.