Antioch Press_6.26.09

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa

Vol. 9, No. 26

Including Nearby Communities

www.thepress.net

Antioch man inspires hoop dreams by Dave Roberts Staff Writer

The temperature is in the 90s as the basektball players run up and down the hard, hot concrete court outside Dallas Ranch Middle School, shooting into one hoop with a net that refuses to let go of the ball until someone jumps up and punches it loose after every shot, and then shooting into the other hoop with a net so tattered it’s nearly nonexistent. All the while, Alan Lloyd encourages and pushes the players with a running commentary: “Let’s go, let’s go, push it up, push it up, why’d he get that rebound, nice shot, all the way, you have got to communicate, take the shot, OK, take a break, get some water, don’t sit down, all right, let’s go again.” Lloyd is the coach of the Bay Area Gladiators, which is composed of mostly AfricanAmerican players ranging in age from 15 to 22, some of whom are in or headed for college, some of whom have been in the justice system and are on probation and many of whom have few job skills, job-seeking skills or male role models or mentors in life – except for Lloyd. While many people complain that more programs need to be provided for at-risk youth to keep them out of trouble, wringing their hands that there’s not enough government or private funding available, Lloyd decided to go

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June 26, 2009

THIS WEEK

Divine dream, devilish details

Let our Wedding Planner sweat the small stuff so you can relax on your big day.

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Rumor has it Photo by Dave Roberts

The Bay Area Gladiators practice three times a week at Dallas Ranch Middle School, part of a sports and mentoring program provided for at-risk youth by Antioch resident Alan Lloyd. ahead and start his own basketball, job counseling and referral program without waiting for or worrying about funding. When asked whether he gets paid for all

the time and work he puts in, he said, “I get paid, because they are my future. If one of my see Dreams page 34A

Talk About Town lets you eavesdrop on our insider’s take on the people who make East County tick.

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Courtship successful

Biodiesel plant proposed for DuPont site by Dave Roberts Staff Writer

City officials in Oakley have agreed to help a biodiesel company get government funding to build a processing and storage plant on the DuPont property on Bridgehead Road near the planned River Oaks Crossing shopping center. “It’s been several years dreaming and hoping and planning for something to take place on the DuPont property,” City Manager Bryan Montgomery told the City Council on May 26. “DuPont has been working feverishly to get the land cleared and ready for development. Part of that area is cleared; other areas are imminent.” Bay Area Bio Resources hopes to build a plant that would provide biodiesel feedstock made from materials such as algae, palm oil and jatropha plants, he said. That feedstock would be supplied to other plants that would convert it into fuel for diesel engines. “As you may expect, this is an alternative energy source that

“As you may expect, this is an alternative energy source that has garnered a lot of attention in our green economy.

Oakley City Manager Brian Montgomery has garnered a lot of attention in our green economy,” said Montgomery. “Discussions have been had (with company officials) of whether or not the city could be a co-applicant or partner in the process, certainly encouraging the economic development that we desire on the property and also helping the environment and these applications. There are millions of dollars available to be spent and invested in Oakley in this very interesting and unique project.” A total of $480 million is available in the Renewable Energy Research and Development Grant Program for this type of project, with a maximum of $50 million going to an applicant. Other grant funding might be available as well. City officials agreed to pay a con-

sulting company, Platinum Advisors, $5,000 per month for the next six months to assist with the application. Bay Area Bio Resources is depositing those funds into a city account to reimburse the city for the consultant and staff time involved with the application process. The only council member to comment on the proposal was Bruce Connelley, who said, “I understand that this does not obligate the city to necessarily pursue the biodiesel plant, but assists it in getting a mutually beneficial position for the grant process. It’s really just to help the grant process happen.” Montgomery confirmed Connelley’s assessment and said a council meeting would be held where the public could provide input and the council could consider

the pros and cons of the proposal before approving or rejecting it – assuming that Bay Area Bio Resources gets the grant funding that it’s seeking. “This is just to try to find the money to get to that step,” he added. Connelley responded, “Something has to be done and time is of the essence. My concern is this is the first public exposure on the subject, and I really don’t know how the community would feel about it. (It) may be a good thing, may be a bad thing or not so good. I don’t think it’s bad at all. I have studied up quite a bit on biodiesel. I think we ought to make it clear that at this point it’s not obligating the city. But it’s a mutually agreeable thing that we are doing to get that grant money set up, whether the company puts it in Oakley or somewhere else, that’s yet to be determined.” The council voted unanimously to enter into the agreement with Platinum Advisors. Company officials were present see Biodiesel page 34A

An East County entrepreneur turned the dream of hosting a pro event into reality.

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INSIDE Business .............................8A Calendar ..........................33A Classifieds ........................25A Cop Logs ..........................15A Entertainment ..................6A Food ................................... 8B Health & Beauty ............... 6B Milestones .......................18A Opinion ...........................14A Sports ...............................21A Talk About Town ..............5A Wedding Planner ............. 1B

FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A


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