YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 10, No. 2
Including Nearby Communities
www.thepress.net
Railroad paints out swastikas by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Two train cars across from the Hillcrest Park-and-Ride lot containing hate-filled graffiti have been painted over after an Antioch resident and officials complained to Union Pacific Railroad. For months, thousands of East County residents who catch the bus at the lot have been forced to look at nearly two dozen Nazi swastikas along with words such as “HAIL HITLER,” WHITE POWER” and “NIG” that were spray-painted on the railroad cars across the street. The graffiti might still be there if not for Jaime Cader, an Antioch resident who served on the Contra Costa Human Relations Commission before it was dissolved in 2008. Cader occasionally takes the bus at the Hillcrest stop, saw the graffiti and intended to bring it to the attention of officials at a City Council meeting. He didn’t get around to it, however, until he
January 8, 2010
THIS WEEK
Harnessing the marsh
An ingenious experiment has confirmed that solutions to wastewater purification needn’t be man-made.
Page 6A
Photo by Dave Roberts
Swastikas and hateful graffiti on train cars across from the Hillcrest Park-and-Ride lot were painted over Tuesday following complaints by an Antioch resident and city officials. saw a newspaper article last week about swastikas scrawled on a Sacramento synagogue. That prompted him to send an e-mail to several city officials on Saturday containing a photo he took a month ago of the swas-
tika-laden train cars in Antioch. “These same train cars have been in the same location in Antioch for months, and I doubt that anyone has complained about them to the Antioch City Council,” said Cader in his e-mail.
In a phone interview Monday, Cader said, “I feel that something like that should not be visible. In my opinion, things like that promote hatred and hateful see Swastikas page 18A
Tan salons feel burned by health bill tax by Dave Roberts Staff Writer Several local tanning salons are seeing red over the 10-percent tax on tanning services included in the U.S. Senate version of the Congressional health care legislation. “I don’t think our services should be taxed,” said Susan Chand, manager of Beauty Source in Antioch. “I feel like we are getting picked upon.” An earlier version of the Senate bill proposed taxing cosmetic surgery, which would have raised nearly $6 billion over 10 years to help pay the increased costs for expanded health care. But successful lobbying by the cosmetic industry against the so-called “botax” led to the assessment instead being placed on the tanning industry. Although it is projected to raise less than $3 billion over 10 years,
rs
Na t
pe
ion
A 10-percent new tax on tanning is part of the health care bill proposed by the Senate. proponents hope the tax would lead to less use of tanning beds and a decrease in skin cancer. Chand, who regularly uses a tanning bed in addition to getting botox injections, acknowledged “that too much tanning is not good.” But she believes that news reports about the potential danger
might be overhyped. “It did scare everybody, but it might have been blown out of proportion a little bit,” she said. Tanning at her salon, which costs $7-13 per session, also provides benefits, she pointed out. “You look better and feel better,” she said. “We get a lot of people
Start saving!
who tan because they are very fair and don’t want to burn. So they build their tan a little bit before they go on vacation.” Tanning industry advocates also point out that ultraviolet light stimulates the body’s production of Vitamin D, which nutritionists say is deficient in most people. Donna DeBonaventura closed her Denè Nicole’s Salon in downtown Brentwood in August due to the poor business climate – “downtown is a ghost town,” she said – which provided tanning services. She predicts that the tanning tax will put some struggling businesses under. “It’s definitely going to knock out some businesses, for sure,” she said. “I think it will, because the economy is not good now. Now they will have to pay 10 percent more for it. So how’s see Tax page 18A
Boot up the friendliness Columnist Vicki McKenna’s foray into the world of winter foot fashion attracted some chatter.
Page 7A
Seniority asserted
In their league opener, Deer Valley’s upperclassmen gave Liberty’s underclassmen a tutorial in the value of experience.
Page 1B
INSIDE Business .............................4A Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................13B Cop Logs ..........................15A Entertainment .................. 8B Food ................................... 9B Health & Beauty ............... 6B Milestones ......................... 5B Opinion ...........................14A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B
Print coupons online.
Click on the Coupons To Go! link on the homepage at www.thepress.net. See page 4B.
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A