YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 8
Antioch, California
www.antiochpress.com
Plant brings power to the people by Dave Roberts Staff Writer PG&E’s recently opened power plant on Wilbur Avenue is big, imposing, noisy, metallic, tubular, gray and sculpturally magnificent. One thing it’s not: sexy. So when PG&E sent out a press release to Bay Area newspapers, radio and TV stations, offering a tour of the Gateway Generating Station last week before it was unveiled to local dignitaries and the public yesterday – the media yawned and stayed away in droves. But this newspaper and another local paper showed up for what became a private tour of PG&E’s first new power plant in more than 20 years in this energy-thirsty state. The powerful behemoth has been slowly rising for the past two years at 3225 Wilbur Ave., next door to the gigantic smokestack at a Mirant-owned plant. PG&E’s plant can’t compete with the stature of that smokestack, but it features an emblem of its own, which looks like a gigantic carport. Instead of gigantic cars under the roof, there are five enormous fans, three of which were revolving during the media tour while the other two took a coffee break. The dress requirements for the tour were sturdy, closed-toe shoes and long pants – the better for wading through the numerous water hazards puddling the grounds after recent rains – a hard hat, goggles and a fluorescent vest.
PG&E News Representative Tamar Sarkissian and Project Manager Tom Allen check out the industrial scenery on a media tour last week of the Gateway Generating Station.
Photo by Dave Roberts
“We take our safety very seriously here,” said Randy Livingston, PG&E vice president of power generation, who led the tour. A sign on one of the towers reinforced that message: “It’s Better To Lose A Second Of Your Time Being Safe Than To Lose Your Life In A Second Being Unsafe.” The $386 million plant, which began construction two years ago, went commercial on Jan. 5, producing up to 530 megawatts – enough elec-
tricity for PG&E’s nearly 400,000 northern and central California customers. The 7-acre plant site produces the same amount of energy as 4,800 acres of solar panels. The plant is state-of-the-art and efficient. It uses 97 percent less water than older plants, produces 96 percent less discharge and yields 35 percent less carbon dioxide per megawatt hour, see Power page 21A
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February 20, 2009
THIS WEEK
Citizenship in all sizes
A bunch of Antioch kids have shown there’s more to being a good citizen than holding down a job and paying taxes.
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Hatred takes no holidays A local mom discovers that the election of an African-American president doesn’t mean the era of racism is over.
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Local history comes alive
Budget cuts could sink Marine Patrol by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer A proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fold the California Department of Boating and Waterways (DBW) into the Department of Parks and Recreation is designed to slash $600,000 from the foundering state budget. But some members of the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol believe that the elimination of the designated return-to-source dollars is a recipe for disaster. “We are the only line between the water and public safety,” said Lt. Will Duke of the Marine Services Unit. “It’s frustrating to know that money that should come back for public safety is being (potentially) transferred to projects such as beach restoration. Yes, that is important, but not at the expense of public
“ What that would mean is an increased danger to boaters’ property and safety by having boats lying around.
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Sheriff Lt. Will Duke safety.” The Marine Patrol is funded in part by annual proceeds from the statewide boater gas tax; a designated return-to-source revenue which is held by the DBW. Duke believes that if the DBW is absorbed into the Department of Parks and Recreation, the gas tax may well evaporate, and ultimately hamper the ability of organizations such as the Marine Patrol to do their jobs. “We are already under-funded from the BTW for just running the marine patrol,” said Duke. “We’re at
minimum staffing, and as you know, the county is expecting further cuts. The big question is what the impact of a the proposal would ultimately be.” But the role of the Marine Patrol is not all about fix-it tickets and drunk-boating citations. A lesserknown component of the division includes the removal of derelict boats. According to Duke, since 1997 the Marine Patrol has removed more than 300 derelict and abandoned boats throughout the county. Unlike the roadways, where aban-
doned cars are eventually towed away and sold for scrap, boats are left to lie on the bottom of the Delta, because there is no financial value to a vessel. It costs money to pull up a boat and haul it away – dollars that come from the boater gas tax. So imagine, said Duke, what the 1,000 miles of inland Delta waterways would look like if those vessels had not been removed. “It would look like ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ – without Johnny Depp,” he said. “What that would mean is an increased danger to boaters’ property and safety by having boats lying around … As a taxpayer, if I’m paying additional taxes for that activity, I think it should come back to the source in order to protect the public.” see Patrol page 21A
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A museum that packs a punch for fans of the past is ramping up for its season opener.
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