Week in Review: Local 10-Year-Old Puts Face on Youth Arthritis; Chemical Spill in Newark

FREMONT

Attempted Sexual Assault at Azeveda Park

A male suspect grabbed a female victim, ripped her shirt, and tried to pull her pants down in an attempted sexual assault at Azeveda Park on Thursday. The victim told police that she was walking home through the park after leaving a local gym when a male suspect grabbed her from behind and attacked her. She was able to break free, run home and call police. Police responded to the area but were unable to locate a suspect.

Police Say Woman Attacked in Home Was Victim of Attempted Sexual Assault

A woman who was attacked while cleaning a home last week was not the victim of a botched burglary but that of an attempted sexual assault, police announced Wednesday. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. on April 4 when an unknown suspect grabbed a woman from behind as she was cleaning an upstairs room in a home on the 34000 block of Spezia Terrace. “It is believed the suspect entered the residence specifically with the intent to commit a sexual assault,” police said. The masked suspect may have followed the victim into the home or may have been waiting for her inside the home.

Brookvale Elementary Student Puts A 'Face' On Youth Arthritis

Arthritis is a disease of aging, right? Not always. Ten-year-old Zack Soares of Brookvale Elementary has been honored by the Fremont City Council for putting a face on childhood arthritis. Among other things, Zack is playing a prominent role in the 2013 Tri-Valley Arthritis Walk that will be held May 4 in Livermore. There are currently 300,000 children in the U.S. living with arthritis. Zack has lived with the condition since 2007. To control his arthritis, he takes powerful medications by infusion and travels with his family to Chicago several times a year to see a specialist.

Read more about Zack and his fight against youth arthritis here.

UNION CITY

An online survey launched by the Alvarado Middle School School Site Council on Monday to get the community’s thoughts on the controversial name change was taken down less than two days later. According to Lance Nishihira, a member of the School Site Council who helped create the survey, the survey was removed after the school's principal sent an automated voice message to residents Tuesday afternoon asking them to disregard the survey. While the survey has been taken down, online petitions both in favor and in opposition of the name change are still active.

New Haven Superintendent Discusses $29 Million Federal Grant on KALW

New Haven Unified School District Superintendent Kari McVeigh sat down with Bay Area public radio station KALW earlier this week to talk about how the $29. 4 million federal Race to the Top grant will impact the struggling district. McVeigh explained to radio host Hana Baba that the money can only be used on new projects and won’t restore the recent cuts the district has made. “It is really so that we can use it to open the doors for student learning,” McVeigh told Baba. “The work we’ve been doing for the last four years, really, was the work that we built on and expanded in the grant.” The funds will allow the district to develop and use technology “in a way that we were probably three to five years away from,” McVeigh said.

Police Log: Man Defecates on Floor During Bar Fight; 15-Year-Old Robs Victim at ATM with BB Gun

This week's crime log also includes reports of shots fired in the area of Colgate and Sherman drives and an elderly woman being slapped and robbed of her purse.

NEWARK

Hulbert Lumber Co. Back to Business After Chemical Spill

About a dozen employees have returned to work at the Newark lumber yard where Alameda County firefighters spent more than three hours on Friday investigating and containing a suspected hazardous chemical spill. The spill happened at about 9:30 am when a forklift either knocked over or punctured a pair of five-gallon drums of an unknown chemical, according to Alameda County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bob Hopken. Hopken commanded the 13 firefighters and hazardous response team members who converged on Hulbert Lumber Co. on the 37500 block of Cedar Boulevard near Central Avenue.

Workers evacuated as a precaution earlier in the day returned to the site about 1 pm. No other businesses or homes were evacuated or are affected by the incident.

Crime Log: Home Break-Ins Galore; Amtrak Passenger Had More Than Ticket To Ride

The log, which includes incidents from March 30 to April 6, also includes reports of a man attempted to pass forged checks at grocery stores, an auto burglary at Hometown Buffet and a child assault, among others.

Newark Resident Annie Nunes Celebrates Her 100th Birthday

Newark resident Annie Nunes will celebrate her 100th birthday on April 23. She moved to Newark in 1945 with her husband Frank because of the large Portuguese community and because Frank got a job at the Wedgewood Stove factory that was on Cherry Street. Though the city has transformed a lot, Nunes still keeps a positive outlook. Read Annie's story here, written by local teacher Elizabeth Garrett.

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