Antioch Press_11.6.09

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa

Vol. 9, No. 45

Including Nearby Communities

www.thepress.net

Garamendi wins an easy victory by Dave Roberts Staff Writer John Garamendi, who touted himself as the “proven Democrat” after having served as state senator, state assemblyman, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, state insurance commissioner and lieutenant governor, added a new political title Tuesday: congressman representing the 10th Congressional District. Garamendi won an easy 55to-41 percent victory over Republican candidate David Harmer. A majority of independents voted for Harmer, but they were not enough to overcome the 18-point registration advantage that Democrats hold over Republicans in the district. Harmer, a conservative lawyer from San Ramon making his first bid for elective office, won most of the southeastern portion of the district, which sprawls from Dixon in the north, Walnut Grove in the east, Livermore in the south and El Cerrito in the west. A majority of Oakley and Knightsen residents voted for Harmer. Garamendi won just

about everywhere else, including Antioch and Pittsburg. Garamendi will be a reliable vote for the Democratic agenda in the House of Representatives. He supports government-run health care, the proposed cap-and-trade legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and wants to pull the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan. On a more local level, he opposes construction of a peripheral canal in the Delta. “I’m very excited about winning this election so we can finally solve these problems,” he said in his opening remarks at the Oct. 26 forum. “This is a good time for America because we finally have a president who wants to get things done in the right way.” Garamendi expanded on that in his closing remarks: “We are in an extremely important time in America’s history. We are faced with problems that are very difficult and complex. I’ve had the good fortune of working on every problem that see Congress page 22A

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November 6, 2009

THIS WEEK

Heartening Homecoming

She returned from double lung transplant surgery to find that the community had given her house a meticulous makeover.

Page 3A Photo courtesy of James Bundgaard

This restored Vietnam-era Huey assault helicopter will hover over the East County Veterans Day Parade in Antioch on Nov. 11, offering this year’s parade grand marshals a bird’s eye view of the festivities.

Eyes to the skies Veterans to get a lift Wednesday When the festivities begin this year at the East County Veterans Day Parade in downtown Antioch,

the guests of honor – and grand marshals of the event – will have a view of the parade like no other – high above the procession aboard a restored Vietnam-era Huey assault

Kayla mourned The death of a beloved young woman has made a powerful impact on the many people whose lives she touched.

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Mercy not in game plan

see Vet Parade page 15A

Gun owners, shows feel under assault by Dave Roberts Staff Writer

Photo by Dave Roberts

There were enough rifles at the Antioch Gun Show to have fought two battles of the Alamo.

Gun owners are increasingly feeling like they have a giant target on their back as Democratic legislators have been banning gun shows and Internet sales of ammunition on top of previous gun-control restrictions such as background checks and a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases. Ironically, the more that legislative shots are aimed at gun owners, the better it is for the gun business. Attendance at gun shows and sales of guns and ammunition are up since President Barack Obama and the Democratic congressional majority took office, according to Richard Smith, promoter of the Code of the West Gun Show, which was held at the Antioch fairgrounds last weekend. “The same thing happened back in the Clinton era,” said Smith.

“We had a big push on gun ownership and ammunition ownership. Because they are afraid that that side of the political pendulum is going to swing and take away their rights.” Smith, who has been putting on gun shows throughout Northern California for nearly two decades (twice a year in Antioch), had his show banned from the Santa Rosa fairgrounds 10 years ago. A lawsuit has been filed by a gun show promoter against Alameda County for banning gun shows from that county’s fairgrounds. The state legislature recently tried to ban gun shows from the Cow Palace, but the bill was vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Outside of the Antioch gun show, fliers were being passed out urging attendees to write letters to state legislators urging the overturn of recently passed legislation that see Gun page 22A

Deer Valley didn’t deliberately run up the score; it went out and played its trademark brand of take-no-prisoners football.

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INSIDE Business .............................6A Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................16B Entertainment ................10B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 9B Opinion ...........................16A Sports ................................. 1B Talk About Town ..............5A WebExtras! ....................... 1B

FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A


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