Top 5 San Ramon Patch Stories of 2012

The spectrum of stories in San Ramon in 2012 featured everything from the deep depressing to incredibly inspiring.

As the year comes to a close, let's take a look at the top 5 stories on San Ramon Patch.

5. Breatfeeding Mom From San Ramon Makes National Headlines

In May, a former San Ramon resident was the talk of the nation, doing something almost all mothers do — breastfeed.

The difference was Jamie Lynne Grumet did it on the front cover of Time Magazine, with her 3-year-old son.

The story that supplemented the controversial cover is about attachment parenting, which embraces the idea to keep children close (breastfeeding, sleeping with them) into the child's preschool years.

It went viral, and it seemed everybody commented on the controversy, including Saturday Night Live, with Seth Myers saying, "Really—this photo doesn't say 'I'm a loving mother feeding my son.' It says, 'I'm the crazy queen from Game of Thrones.'"

4. Middle School Seriously Injured After Being Hit By Car While Riding Bike

There were a couple of pedestrians seriously injured (and even killed) by vehicles in San Ramon in 2012.

But probably the one that most captivated the city was when a 13-year-old Iron Horse Middle School student was hit by a car as it was entering Interstate 680 off Bollinger Canyon Road.

The student was airlifted to Children's Hospital in Oakland and was in critical condition. The accident happened just hours before he was to perform with his bandmates at the California High School Area Band Festival.

The story had a happy ending, with his father reporting a couple months later that his son was recovering well.

3. Walmart Neighborhood Market Comes to San Ramon

One of the most controversial business openings in San Ramon in 2012 was the Walmart Neighborhood Market opening in Country Club Village Shopping Center in September.

It was first announced that Walmart as planning to come to San Ramon in February, after the Arkansas-based company was seeking construction bids for the 50,000-square foot storefront.

After constructing at the site through the summer, Walmart opened its first Neighborhood Market in California on Sept. 18.

2. Botched Robbery at Gold N Treasures Leads to Dead Robber

A jewelry store robbery lead to a dead a 18-year-old in lot May, when the owner of the store shot the robber during a botched robbery.

The incident happened in the late afternoon when four men went into the Gold N Treasures of San Ramon Valley Boulevard with the intent to rob the store, police said.

The owner of the store then turned his gun on one of the men trying to rob him, Kibrom Bairu, who was waiving a gun and making threatening statements.

After being shot, the four suspects fled, but Bairu didn't make it into the getaway car. He was taken to San Ramon Regional Medical Center where he later died.

San Ramon Police announced the arrests of two of the other robbery suspects in the Junes, and are still looking for the fourth.

1.

No story epitomized what the San Ramon community is all about more than the support the city showed for 11-year-old Brianne "Breezy" Bochenek.

Breezy was diagnosed with a Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, in the fall of 2011. She faced a difficult fight, which included chemotherapy and having part of her left leg amputated.

But the community rallied behind Breezy. In April, a women's soccer game between Stanford and Cal was organized in San Ramon for to help raise money for Breezy and other children diagnosed with Osteosarcoma.

Then, about a year after she was diagnosed, it was announced that Breezy was caner-free.

The Special Spaces organization, a San Ramon non-profit, gave Breezy and her sibilings a room makeover. Breezy got the "Hollywood Glam" room.

What was your favorite story in San Ramon in 2012? Let us know in the comments section.

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