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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 53
ward Winning News al A pa
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December 31, 2010
City, police negotiations continue by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer
Animosity between City of Antioch officials and the Antioch Police Department seems to have died down, both sides said, as they continue to negotiate concessions for 2011 to balance the city’s budget. After six officers were laid off earlier this month, fliers showing the phone numbers and e-mails of City Council members and City Manager Jim Jakel were distributed around town and shown on the Antioch Police Officers Association website. The website also ran a YouTube video earlier this week slamming newly-elected council member Gary Agopian. The video, “Gary Agopian Fooled Us All,” pointed out that Agopian ran his campaign on public safety; then turned around and voted for the layoffs. The video was removed from the site on Tuesday and deleted from YouTube. APOA presi-
Goodbye, 2010
Photo by Justin Lafferty
City officials and the Antioch Police Officers Association have been at the bargaining table, discussing concessions that would help Antioch stay solvent and keep the police force from shrinking. dent Tom Fuhrmann declined to comment on the video. After another round of negotiations Tuesday morning, the city and the police department said progress had been made and ill will reduced. Though Fuhrmann didn’t get into specifics, he’s positive about the direction of the negotiations. “There’s
some positive movement being made on both sides, which has been lacking in the recent past,” Fuhrmann said. “We understand that people have made concessions, and we know that’s important. We know that it’s important that we step up and make some concessions.” Fuhrmann said he would
meet with Jakel and Mayor Jim Davis again on Jan. 6. Jakel described the talks as “very productive,” and while he also didn’t cite details, he said both sides have a clear understanding of their position. After Jakel was authorized see Cops page 18A
Timeless hours editing preverbal dominoes by Ger Erickson Copy Editor
Not so fast, A.D. 2010. Before you take your final bow and stride off stage, your presence is required at the podium. One more item remains on the awards ceremony agenda – something to do with Dubious Distinction. I’ve seen sparkling copy grace my desk this year, from fabulous phraseology to hardhitting headlines. But as a word junkie I crave the bloopers. Those grammatical gaffes, syntactic slapstick and logical lapses that stumble across my computer screen provide welcome decompression from the stress of editorial deadlines. Hey, I’ve even caught one or two before they made their way into print. So brace yourself for the 2010 Blooper Reel Awards for the weirdest wordcraft never to have reared its ugly head in the pages of the Press:
Online Now!
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While doing some of my spring cleaning, my doorbell rang.
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Winner of MOST SOPHISTICATED HOUSEHOLD TECHNOLOGY EVER Award MOST PICTURESQUE TYPO Award Second Runner-up: This year’s event concludes with the crowing of the new queens. First Runner-up: The four-golfer scramble format includes Closets to the Hole. And the award goes to: Since opening its doors in 2009, the restaurant has been wowing thongs of customers. UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT Award First Runner-up: Thank you for your timeless hours of help. And the award goes to: Assisting him were scores of residents recruited as volunteers. GOD BLOWS A GASKET Award The Delta was further threatened by the damning of the rivers.
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WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS Award First Runner-up: Citizens and non-citizens residing in cities other than Antioch … And the award goes to: The driver lost control of his vehicle and collided with the roadway. WE DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS Award The nursery donated a tree and soil for 10 families, which were planted on Saturday, March 27. GIVE US A MINUTE TO WORK THIS OUT Award
Counting on us go to news/WebExtras!
The first step in helping the homeless is getting a grip on their numbers.
Like most of you, we at The Press enjoy easing our way out of the old year before rushing pell-mell into the new. So we invite you to join us in taking a brief glance back at what the year 2010 has wrought. The stories we’ve chosen for this retrospective aren’t necessarily the most important, just the most interesting or unusual – stories we’re proud of. We’re privileged to be a part of your life, and hope to continue that relationship for many more years. We also hope 2011 will bring you the peace, happiness and prosperity that might have eluded you or your loved ones during the travails of 2010. Whatever the new year brings, we’ll go through it together. Thanks for sharing with it us, and enjoy our final issue’s meander down memory lane.
Plus: Calendar ............................ 15B Classifieds ......................... 10B Entertainment ................... 8B Milestones .......................... 6B Outdoors ...........................15A Sports ................................... 1B
see Timeless page 18A
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Towing the Tipsy go to news/press releases
The AAA is offering drinking drivers free New Year’s Eve tows and rides home.
Shadow puppets go to multimedia/videos
There’s always room on our website for our readers’ favorite viral videos.