Week in Review: Delay for Village Marketplace Sparks Community Concern; Chicken and Bee Debate

Here’s a brief look at the three most-read stories on San Leandro Patch this week:

CVS has decided not to become the anchor tenant of the proposed Village Marketplace, developer David Irmer told Patch Monday. Irmer has been trying for years to put a new retail center on the site of the old Lucky grocery store. It is now a parking lot opposite Pelton Center. Irmer still has four tenants for the new development: Peet's, Chipotle, a repositioned AT&T phone store and Habitat Burger, a chain out of Southern California. But Irmer said he can't proceed without a tenant for the largest building, and the longer things gets delayed the more likely other tenants could pull out.

The news of the stalled project sparked a lot of discussion on San Leandro Patch, compelling reader to write a separate op-ed calling on the developer to seek community input and rethink the Village Marketplace plan.

When a resident on the 14800 block of Lark Street saw two strangers loading a television into a car parked in front of her neighbor's house, she dialed 911. That happened around 10 a.m. Tuesday. Officers flooded the area armed with detailed descriptions of the men and their vehicle. One officer spotted the car and pulled it over. When the suspects fled on foot, police set up a search perimeter and brought in K-9 units to sniff out the suspects. Authorities say they found two men — Malcolm Walker, 20, of San Leandro and DeAndre Valentine, 19, of Pittsburgh — in hiding who matched the suspects' descriptions. Police say the timely and thorough tip led to the arrest.

Sound Off On Chicken And Bee Ordinance

San Leandro has long been debating whether and, if so, under what circumstances, to legalize the raising of backyard chickens and bees. This is one of the few East Bay jurisdictions not to allow the practice although many residents do so anyway. On Thursday night, a public meeting brought out supporters of a move to make San Leandro more friendly to urban farming, and gave voice to concerns about bee colonies and possible stings from backyard hives. Click here to learn more about the ordinance and an argument in favor of the ordinance from resident Kristine Konrad.

What was your favorite story this week? Do you have future story ideas? Tell us in the comments.