Week in Review: City Growth Proposals Released; A Pledge for a Quadriplegic Newark College Student

The City of Newark is inviting Newark residents to its fourth and final community meeting about the Newark General Plan Enhancement Project, which will be held 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 21 at the . At the meeting, a document known as the Preferred Growth Scenario will be presented. The document presents recommendations for growth that was created by a team of graduate students and one professor from the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. Among those recommendations are transforming the NewPark Mall area into a mixed-used area, expanding its Civic Center toward the corner of Thornton Avenue and Newark and renovating Newark’s Old Town district – an area located on Thornton Avenue that spans from Interstate 880 to the Union Pacific Rail.

Newark residents got to learn more about Lauren Byrne, a 22-year-old college student and ruby player who just so happens to live her life in a wheelchair as a result of a 2005 swimming pool accident that left her quadriplegic. In a blog written by her best friend, it was shared that Byrne’s brother is making a pledge to raise money for her by bicycling across county to raise money to purchase a specialized vehicle that she could operate.

The lead detective in the investigation of the stabbing death of 18-year-old Osana Futi said the Fremont man charged with the Newark student’s murder texted his girlfriend the morning after and said Futi “got what was coming to him.” Det. Anthony Holguin of the Fremont Police Department was the third witness to testify during the third day of preliminary examinations held at the Fremont Hall of Justice on Tuesday. During Tuesday's preliminary examination, Holguin told the court that at least one witness identified Fremont resident Abraham Ibrahim Hade, 18, as the , that a juvenile male who was also arrested in connection to the killing said he saw Hade stab Futi; and that forensic analysis of Hade’s cell phone show that he sent text messages to his girlfriend regarding the night of the stabbing. In a preliminary examination held the previous Friday, a witness said he and that he called police after he saw his grandson, a friend of Hade’s, have it in his possession the morning after the April 28 stabbing. The preliminary examinations continued through Thursday and Newark Patch plans to provide an update in the near future.

Dozens of students are volunteering time out of their summer vacations to help the Marine and Science Technology (MaST) Institute Center at the high school. The students are helping by visiting the lab at least three times a week to care for dozens of fish and marine life. It’s a commitment the students and a number of parents have made as a result the MaST program’s previous teacher deciding to resign as the program's instructor. District officials said they are currently looking for a new instructor. In the meantime, two parents are also assisting the students in caring for the animals.

was burglarized Monday evening, police said. Authorities responded to the area after a person reported seeing three male suspects, who were only described as black men in their 20s, running away from the school with a computer just before 6:15 p.m., according to a statement. Police made contact but no arrests were made because the witness could not positively identify the suspects. Burglaries were also reported out of two homes on Monday evening, with the first being reported around 6:45 p.m. Police said someone reported that a home on the 35200 block of Lido Boulevard was burglarized and another burglary was reported on the 36400 block of Ruschin Drive around 9:30 p.m.

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