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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 12
Sneak peek at community center by Dave Roberts Staff Writer About 100 people braved the Arctic wind whipping through the skeleton of the Antioch Community Center Saturday morning to consume refreshments, listen to speeches and preview the long-awaited facility in Prewett Park. The sneak peek was the first opportunity for the public to view up close the structural foundation of the $26 million center that includes a gymnasium, community hall and kitchen accommodating 300-plus people, preschool rooms, meeting rooms, a technology lab, outdoor patio, amphitheater and a library annex known as the Gateway Center for Learning (GCL). The community center has been a gleam in the eye of city officials for more than 20 years. “I think I was just out of diapers when we had the first groundbreaking (for Prewett Park),” joked gray-bearded Deputy Recreation Director Dave Sanderson at the center’s groundbreaking a year ago. The facility’s cost has been borne by thousands of southeast Antioch residents who have been paying additional Mello-Roos taxes on their property for much of the past
Photo by Dave Roberts
Gary Agopian addresses the hardy souls who turned out on a cold Saturday morning to preview the Antioch Community Center, which is due to open in November. two decades. City officials, led by former Mayor Don Freitas, tried several years ago to get the tax extended in order to pay for both a community center and a full library. But the Mello-Roos Board rejected that idea, preferring to pay off the tax earlier and provide only a community center.
Gary Agopian, chairman of the GCL committee that sponsored Saturday’s preview, made sure to thank Mello-Roos residents for making the center possible. “We have been paying for this facility for some time, and now
by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Online Now!
March 19, 2010
This Week Dollars and Census
Many residents don’t realize that if they ignore the 2010 Census, federal funds will ignore them. Page 3A
see Center page 9A
Center offers free income tax assistance Nothing is certain except death and taxes, as the grim saying goes. The deadline for the former is unknown for most of us; but as for the latter, we know all too well that the taxman cometh on April 15. Which means most of us will be spending many hours in the next few weeks struggling with things like entering on line 5 the total of any amounts from Form 2555 lines 45 and 50; Form 2555EZ line 18; and Form 4563 line 15 while making sure to exclude income from Puerto Rico. Fortunately, if you’ve been unfortunate enough to earn less than $52,000 in 2009, you can avail yourself of free help in filling out your tax forms. There are seven
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Photo by Dave Roberts
Claire Partida of Antioch, left, receives tax help from Rene Tucker, site coordinator for the Eastbay Works Career Center in Brentwood. locations in East County where a volunteer will personally help you fill out the forms or where you can join a group led by a person guiding you through those forms. The
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service is part of the United Way’s “Earn It! Keep It! Save It!” program that last year helped 47,166 Bay Area households claim $47 million in refunds.
Housing update go to news/WebExtras!
New statistics offer an inside look at the state of home sales in East County.
Rene Tucker, site coordinator for the Eastbay Works Career Center in Brentwood and Antioch, has been involved in the tax help program for more than seven years. As the economy has worsened, the interest in getting free tax help has increased, she said. Last year the Brentwood site helped prepare 170 tax returns. As of last week they had already assisted 160 people in Brentwood and nearly as many in Antioch with still a month to go before the filing deadline. One of the big advantages of the program is that it helps ensure you get as much of a refund or tax credit as you are owed, assuming you qualify. Last year the Brentwood center helped clients receive see Income tax page 8A
Magnificent metropolis A grass-roots movement plans a citywide cleanup to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Page 6A
Puttin’ on the squeeze
In a hard-fought NCS playoff clash, Deer Valley’s ferocious defense made North Salinas cry “Stop the presses!” Page 1B
Plus: Calendar ............................ 19B Classifieds ......................... 13B Entertainment ................... 9B Food .................................... 10B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Opinion ..............................10A Sports ................................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Water widening Consigned to cash go to news/press releases
Environmental reports for the Los Vaqueros expansion are in the books.
go to multimedia/videos
Folks get needed money for uneeded stuff at Yesterday’s Treasure.