In the News
West Contra Costa schools: Familiar, fresh faces compete in November race
By Joyce Tsai | East Bay Times Seven candidates will be competing for two open seats on the West Contra Costa school board on the Nov. 8 ballot. ... Antonio Medrano, a former school board trustee who served from 2008 to 2012 before losing his re-election bid. He is a...
El Cerrito’s newest Wall of Fame member has passion for city and its history
By Rick Radin | East Bay Times EL CERRITO -- To say that Tom Panas was an obvious candidate for El Cerrito's Wall of Fame that honors residents for "above and beyond" contributions to the community is to risk understatement. Panas, who was...
Panas Honored for Work on Japanese-American Nurseries
By Charles Burress | The Patch Tom Panas of El Cerrito was honored with an "Outstanding Leadership" certificate from the Contra Costa chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League for helping preserve and tell the history of local Japanese-American flower growers....
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Preserving Japanese Nursery History
Tom saved El Cerrito's last remnant of the once-thriving Japanese Nursery industry here in West County and then persuaded the City and the developer to memorialize that history at the site when they redeveloped it. Here is a short video about it in which he is a...
Feeling Its Oats at 37: Historical Society Drawing Crowds
By Betty Buginas | The Patch One of those is Tom Panas, who Bartke said is a tremendous researcher with a phenomenal memory. “He’s interviewed a ton of people,” said Bartke. “He took it on himself. He just wanted to see that the history was preserved. “ ...