Last Week in Pleasanton: Feb. 7 to Feb. 13

Are you up-to-date on your Pleasanton news? Pleasanton Patch  published a number of articles and columns last week. If you missed your daily reading, here are some highlights.

In our latest police and fire log, Pleasanton police dealt with several burglaries, including one on Feb. 3 at a home on Valley Trails Drive in which more than $7,500 in jewelry was stolen.  The next day, police responded to a commercial burglary to Viva Yogurt Café in which equipment was stolen. Read more here.

During Mayor Jennifer Hosterman's State of the City address, she told an audience of business leaders, school and city officials that Pleasanton is holding steady during sobering financial times. Hosterman focused on the city's financial stability, upcoming development projects and efforts to remain fiscally responsible in the coming years.

The trial against Ernest Scherer III, accused of murdering his parents at their Castlewood home, continued last week. Prosecutors focused on Scherer III's during the time of the murder. A testified that the red vehicle caught on the surveillance tape the night of the murder is the same as Scherer III's fourth-generation 2001 Chevy Camaro convertible.

Check out Patch's new column Moms Talk, where a panel poses a question and gives answers or advice on parenting topics. Last week, we asked how parents balance at their kids' schools and clubs, with family and work life.

Deonna Zuffa, who was charged with setting her East Angela Street house on fire in 2008, to all charges Feb. 10. Zuffa succeeded also in requesting for a bail reduction from $350,000 to $50,000.

Safeway held a ground breaking ceremony Thursday morning to celebrate the start of construction at the site of Pleasanton's new store. The planned on a 39-acre site by Valley and Bernal Avenues, will be larger than the one currently on Santa Rita Road.

New details are emerging in the Tri-Valley Universityscandal. A letter from Homeland Security offers insight into fraud allegations against the school's founder. Some local organizations, meanwhile, are being .

While most Americans watch the Grammy Awards on television tonight, a Pleasanton student will be experiencing the event in person in Los Angeles. Amador Valley High School Junior Chris Palowitch was chosen to be part of the prestigious Grammy Jazz Ensemble, composed of 30 students from across the country. The group performed at a number of events celebrating Grammy Awards week, and will be featured at the awards after-party.