City Salaries, General Plan and Human Remains at San Ramon Valley High

Here's a list of our top stories from the past week:

Easter Sunday, April 24

• Read about how San Ramon couple Monika and Roland Herkstroeter created a family through adoption, despite the odds. .
• April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. As of April 22, San Ramon police cited .

Monday, April 25

• BART plans to roll out a new fleet of trains by 2018 and it's looking for the public's input about what types of seats should go in them. .
• The Contra Costa Crisis Center, which answered 600,000 calls through its regional suicide hotline last year, announced that it plans a May 14 walkathon fundraiser. For more information, .
• San Ramon Patch launches a new blogging platform on May 4, and we're looking for local voices to contribute. Read more about it .

Tuesday, April 26

• Our history columnist, Camille Thompson, wrote about a local shoemaking family that has been part of San Ramon Valley history for more than 50 years. .

Wednesday, April 27

• After two years of discussion, a failed election and a fair share of controversy, the City Council OK'd General Plan 2030 – the city's blueprint for future development. Read our recap .
• On Wednesday, we published the previous week's dispatch logs. There's not much detail, but we uploaded the pdfs for everyone to read. Check it out .
• At the previous night's Board of Education meeting for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, a speaker sparked a discussion about human remains. He said that some Native American remains dug up a couple years ago during construction at San Ramon Valley High School remain in storage. They should have been transported by now to their proper burial place, he told trustees. Read more about it .

Thursday, April 28

• The Graver-Dowds may be the coolest, most environmentally conscious families in town. Read why .
• San Ramon Valley Unified School District Superintendent Steven Enoch declined a $12,000 pay raise that trustees approved earlier in the week. He said it's not the right time to accept it, given that the district is trying to cut back in every other area because of the state budget crisis. .

Friday, April 29

• The city said it tried to give a local newspaper all the information it asked for in a public records request. The Bay Area News Group published its annual salary database and asked for compensation information about city employees. San Ramon handed over some of it, but refused to disclose medical contributions. Read more .

Saturday, April 30

• Julie Knight, our newly single parenting columnist, shared how sometimes it helps to fight pain with pain. Read her column .
  

If we missed anything, or if you want to let us know about upcoming events or share a news tip, zap an e-mail to jenniferw@patch.com.