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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 11
Big rate hike for big trash users by Dave Roberts Staff Writer Some Antioch households will be paying an extra 26 or 27 percent to get their trash picked up, under a contract extension with Allied Waste Services (AWS) approved on a 4-1 vote of the City Council Feb. 23. Residents using the 96-gallon trash containers will be paying an extra $10 per month, which equates to an additional payment of $1,800 over the 15-year life of the new city contract with its trash hauler. Those using the 64-gallon containers will be paying an extra $8.31 per month, totaling nearly $1,500 in additional payments during the contract. On the plus side, residents who switch to the smaller con-
tainers will be able to save money. The 32-gallon rate will decrease 46 cents per month, equating to a savings of $83 over 15 years. Residents can save more – $3 per month – by switching to the 20-gallon container, equating to $540 in savings over the life of the contract. However, because the new contract allows for additional rate hikes for inflation, the extra costs for the large containers will be actually greater and the savings for the smaller containers less. The old contract permitted rates to increase annually to only 60 percent of the inflation rate, with a maximum 5percent hike. The new contract allows for annual rate hikes of 2 percent, regardless of whether there is inflation or not, up to a 90-percent see Trash page 18A
Staff Writer Obligated by election law to place an initiative seeking to annex 740 acres to the city’s southwest border on the June ballot, there was little the Brentwood City Council could do Tuesday except order the issue sent to the voters for a decision. That didn’t prevent supporters and opponents from turning out at Tuesday’s meeting to let their views be known at the outset of what could be a contentious campaign. “This latest attempt to add 740 acres to Brentwood’s southwestern border is simply an attempt by developer advocates and land-grab specialists to be able to build 1,300 homes and commercially develop the area,” said Kathy Griffin, who is organizing opposition to the proposed Balfour Road Initiative. Besides being an “inappropriate” area for development, she said, the initiative’s promised amenities are described in vague, deceptive terms such as “trying” to sell the homes to owner-occupiers; “encouraging” contractors to use local labor;
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Spring Forward March 14
Taking it to a special level Photo by Ger Erickson
ur Moon is more than an object of awe and wonder; she’s an indispensable partner in Earth’s dance through the cosmos. For musings on our lunar consort – facts and fantasies – see page 6A.
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The initiative, which the council sent to the ballot with a 5-0 vote, drew more supporters than opponents to the podium Tuesday. and “recommending” that the County Flood Control District allow a sports complex to be built in a drainage basin. “None of this is tangible,” she said. “It’s bright, shiny promises like these that voters need to know can’t and will never materialize.” The initiative, which the council sent to the ballot with a 5-0 vote, drew more supporters than opponents to the podium Tuesday. Among those in favor was former mayor Brian Swisher, who said opponents of the plan “lacked vision.” He saved his strongest criticism for the environmental group Save Mt. Diablo (SMD), whose director of land development, Seth Adams, had called the signature-gathering
www.thepress.net Your Hometown Web Site
March 12, 2010
This Week Daylight Saving Time Begins
Two to tango
Balfour project heads for June ballot by Rick Lemyre
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process that qualified the measure for the ballot “cynical and deceptive.” Adams said the project would result in Brentwood and Antioch butting up against each other without a promised buffer zone between. “Expanding to the edge of Antioch in order to not become Antioch” doesn’t make sense, he said. Swisher, however, said that 2005’s Measure L covered the same area plus hundreds of acres more, included more homes, and yet had been supported by Save Mt. Diablo. “Why? Because they were going to get some money” as one of Measure L’s provisions, Swisher said. The reason SMD opposed the current initiative, he said, was “Because they’re not in the deal.” On Wednesday, Adams responded to the accusation in an e-mail to the Press. After Measure L had qualified for the ballot, Adams wrote, “the city, the landowners, SMD and East Bay Regional Park District signed a side agreement in which we agreed not to oppose. In exchange the developers added a fee per unit for ag land
Gobbler gaggle go to news/WebExtras! Heads turned as a train of turkeys made tracks across a local park.
see Project page 18A
War heroes
go to news/press releases An upcoming event honors those who served in the jungles of Vietnam.
East County athletes with special needs recently scaled Olympian heights. Page 15A
DV: Disposing of Victims
The Wolverines kept their playoff run in high gear as they bumped Castro Valley from NCS festivities. Page 1B
Plus: Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 14B Cop Logs ............................14A Entertainment ................. 10B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Opinion ..............................13A Outdoors ............................. 6A Sports ................................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Special gate
go to multimedia/videos An innovative program helps students with special needs find good jobs.