In brief: League of Women Voters Diablo Valley to host AI webinar
LAFAYETTE
Join the Lafayette-based League of Women Voters Diablo Valley for a March 19 Community Conversations webinar about artificial intelligence entitled “AI: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
From 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. this practical, no-nonsense webinar will cover how artificial intelligence is already shaping education, government, work and civic life. Participants will receive a grounded discussion of AI, including clear explanations and real examples of:
• the good — real gains in efficiency, access and problem-solving;
• the bad — bias, job disruption, data misuse and uneven benefits;
• and the ugly — deepfakes, misinformation, surveillance and the erosion of public trust.
Speakers will include Dr. David Evan Harris, a chancellor’s public scholar at UC Berkeley and a continuing lecturer at the Haas School of Business. Professor Nolan Higdon will interview Harris.
Also speaking will be Dr. Nolan Higdon, an author, founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, a Project Censored national judge and a lecturer at UC Santa Cruz and Diablo Valley College.
Register for the Zoom webinar online at bit.ly/3N8qroM. Details on how to access the Zoom webinar will be sent to your email address 24 hours before the program.
The webinar will have simultaneous Spanish translation, and the Contra Costa County Library system will provide closed captioning. This program will be recorded and uploaded after the event to the YouTube channels of the library system and the LWVDV. For special accommodations, please contact the library system with 72 hours’ notice.
Sponsors include the LWVDV, the League of Women Voters of West Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa County Library system and Contra Costa TV. Email programs@lwvdv.org for more details.
— LWVDV
WALNUT CREEK
March 21 Gift of Schooling Gala to benefit children in need
Yours Humanly, a Walnut Creek-based global nonprofit group that elevates the lives of children in need around the world through the power of education, is holding its 2026 Gift of Schooling Gala, presented by the Law Offices of James A. Bach, on March 21 at Danville’s Blackhawk Museum.
Attendees will be Bay Area leaders and advocates in the private, public and nonprofit sectors who support educational initiatives for children. Proceeds from the gala will support Yours Humanly’s educational projects that benefit underserved children in Cambodia, India, Nepal, the Philippines and the United States.
This year’s theme is a “Black Tie Masquerade Affair.” Attendees are encouraged to have fun and add a touch of magic, mystery and masks to their formal wear! Festivities will include a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, dinner, silent and live auctions, music, live entertainment and dancing.
KTVU-TV Channel 2 anchor Alex Savidge will emcee; Miss California Rachel Axt will be a guest speaker; and ballroom dancers from The Dance House Napa will perform to classic romance musical scores. Tickets can be bougth online at giftofschoolinggala.com. The Blackhawk Museum is at 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle.
— Yours Humanly
Garden club to hear about ‘Owls & Friends’ at next meeting
The Walnut Creek Garden Club (WCGC) will hold its free monthly meeting March 9 at Walnut Creek’s Elks Lodge. Registration will start at 9:15 a.m., followed by a brief meeting, a break at 10:15 a.m. with complimentary tea, coffee and snacks and then a special program, “Owls & Friends,” featuring Jenny Papka from Native Bird Connections sharing about the educational endeavors with wild birds as our partners.
The WCGC welcome the public to visit their meeting and join th club, for which one need not a gardener. The Elks Lodge is at 1475 Creekside Drive. For more information visit walnutcreekgardenclub.org online.
— WCGC
DANVILLE
Museum’s Anza expedition exhibit to run through June 1
As the Declaration of Independence was signed on the East Coast, a massive expedition arrived on the West Coast that would equally reshape the nation. In conjunction with the National Park Service, Danville’s Museum of the San Ramon Valley (MuseumSRV) is presenting a new exhibit celebrating the Anza expedition through June 1.
This journey led to the opening of Alta California, the San Francisco Presidio, Mission Dolores and the first formal exploration of the East Bay. Juan Bautista de Anza led the first Spanish colonists overland — a “moving village” of 240 people and 1,000 livestock — across a 1,200-mile trek. Commissioned by King Carlos III, the mission sought to secure the Spanish Empire against Russian and English explorers.
The exhibit also examines the expedition’s profound impact on the region’s 340,000 indigenous people believed to have lived here at the time. While the group relied on Native American trails and assistance from 75 tribes, subsequent colonization led to the demise of traditional indigenous cultures.
At 205 Railroad Ave. in Danville, MuseumSRV officials and staff invite the public to explore this pivotal journey. The museum is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and 12 to 3 p.m. Sundays.
— MuseumSRV
ANTIOCH
Sorority alumnae chapter sponsors community forum
About 100 students, parents and community volunteers learned about the importance of Reproductive Justice and practical life skills on bodily autonomy during a recent day-long community forum in Antioch.
“How Does Reproductive Justice Impact Teenagers: Bodily Autonomy,” was sponsored by the Contra Costa Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. for middle and high school students, parents and community members at Antioch’s Dallas Ranch Middle School.
The free event was part of the international sorority’s Regional Day of Service, during which participants heard speakers such as Dr. Nicole Barnett, the president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Northern California, and Contra Costa County Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston.
“Today’s gathering represents more than an event. It is a statement of our shared commitment to advancing reproductive justice for our youth and our community,” said Dorothy Ellis, alumnae chapter’s president.
The alumnae chapter has served the community for over 35 years. For more information about the chapter, visit ccacdst.org.
— Tuseda Graggs-Borden