YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 51
Including Nearby Communities
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Antioch fights Section 8 lawsuit by Dave Roberts Staff Writer The City of Antioch’s legal team has come out swinging in response to a lawsuit filed by several African-American women alleging racial discrimination by Antioch police in attempting to get them removed from the Section 8 subsidized housing program and pressuring their landlords to evict them. The city’s lawyers in a 43-page memorandum filed Dec. 3 in U.S. District Court argue against the attempt to broaden the women’s complaint to a class action suit that includes all African-Americans who have ever lived in or will in the future live in Antioch and “who have held, currently hold, may hold or are erroneously regarded by the City and officers and of the Antioch Police Department as holding Section 8 housing vouchers.” The city’s response argues that the lawsuit filed by the five women has no merit because police were only responding to numerous problems that those women were causing in their neighborhoods. It also pokes holes in the statistical reasoning of experts hired by the women’s legal counsel to support their case. And it argues that there is no reason to expand see Lawsuit page 22A
Staff Writer
The eastern location for the Hillcrest eBART station that Antioch officials prefer might not be worth the additional cost – possibly as much as $51 million extra, according to a recent study. “Despite modestly higher ridership, we find that implementing the Median-East Station alternative may not be cost-effective for ridership development,” concludes the study by Nelson/ Nygaard Consulting Associates. City officials have been pushing for that station location, which is 700 feet east of the Median Station option, because it would allow for more transit-oriented development near the station, including 54 percent more
December 18, 2009
THIS WEEK
Ally alliance cheers Aaron
An organ transplant candidate is relishing the support of someone who understands what he’s going through.
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Grappling for gold At a recent tournament, two Deer Valley wrestlers received their medals while standing on the topmost tier. Press file photo
Antioch residents rallied around the police Community Action Team at a July 2008 City Council meeting. The city and police have been sued, alleging racial discrimination.
Study: East Hillcrest eBART option iffy by Dave Roberts
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“ Despite modestly higher ridership, we find that implementing the Median-East Station alternative may not be cost-effective for ridership development.
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Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates residential units, 130 percent more retail space and 32 percent more office space. However, the big advantage of the Median Station location, which is about 1,200 feet east of the Hillcrest Avenue interchange with Highway 4, is that it’s fully paid for. Funds have been secured for the $462 million cost of constructing a 10-mile eBART line from the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART Station in the median of Highway 4, including stations in
the median at Railroad Avenue and Hillcrest. Both Hillcrest station options would accommodate nearby development, but the difference might not be enough to justify the cost difference. “There is not likely to be a significant difference in the general economic development potential of these two station site alternatives,” the consultant’s report states. Although nearly 400 additional daily eBART trips
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would be generated at the Median-East station site, they “may not be worth the additional costs, which amount to approximately $130,000 for each additional daily trip.” That station is more expensive because it would include more track and relocation of eBART parking and maintenance facilities and extension of Slatten Ranch Road to a below-grade intersection with the planned Viera Avenue extension. But cost-saving alternatives could reduce the additional cost for the Median-East Station to $22 million, equating to about $57,000 for each additional daily eBART trip. The report recommends see eBART page 22A
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Press editor top citizen
Antioch Press Managing Editor Rick Lemyre was named Citizen of the Year by the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce.
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