YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 35
Including Nearby Communities
www.thepress.net
Council urged to deal with foreclosures by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
A former city treasurer candidate urged the City Council at its last meeting to deal with the rampant foreclosures in Antioch that he said are causing blight and bringing down property values. “The typical streets now have a couple of homes that are for rent, for sale and a couple more that have recently sold or are pending in bankruptcy,” Robert Kalafate told the council on Aug. 11. “Several of these homes could be categorized as blight or nuisances. And other neighbors in adjoining properties have taken the example and just stopped caring for their
properties. Brown lawns and ‘for sale’ signs on distressed and vacant properties are a welcome mat for would-be vandals and squatters, which increases the law enforcement costs in an already strained budget.” Antioch has had 2,300 houses go into foreclosure, with another 2,000 foreclosures expected, according to RealtyTrac.com, said Kalafate. “Banks have done little to maintain the properties, and we are seeing the results today,” he said. “Home values have declined. And I believe that part of the price decline is the unkempt front properties.” see Council page 18A
August 28, 2009
THIS WEEK
Pet lovers to party hearty
Animal aficionados get to release the beast within at the Antioch Animal Shelter.
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Better bypass the Bypass Save time and aggravation by checking out the details of the Highway 4 Bypass’ impending closure. Photo by Dave Roberts
City officials are concerned about the visual blight of rundown homes for sale due in large part to foreclosures, but say they can’t do anything about it.
Boaters claim 2-Gate is too much by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
In three months, two gates may be constructed in the Delta in a five-year experiment to determine whether they will help save the endangered Delta smelt while continuing to allow the pumping of water south to Central Valley farms and southern California residents. But some local boaters are concerned that the gates will restrict their access to the Delta, and believe the 2-Gate Fish Protection Demonstration Project is part of an ongoing water grab that is harming the Delta. One of those boaters is Jan McCleery, who has been boating on the Delta for 40 years and moved with her husband to Discovery Bay three years ago from Sunnyvale to be closer to the water. On most weekends they hop onto their 43-foot Bayliner yacht and sail off to idyllic Mildred Island, where they anchor and hang out. Normally they get there by
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Photo courtesy of Jan McCleery
Jan McCleery’s family and friends enjoy anchoring out at Mildred Island and are concerned that a plan to put gates in the Delta could block their access. going under the Bacon Island Slough on the north side of BaBridge, which has a lift mecha- con Island. McCleery is concerned that nism allowing them to pass under it on Middle River. When the gated channel won’t be deep that bridge lift is not in opera- enough to accommodate her tion they must travel a route that boat even when the gate is open. is planned to be blocked part of And it’s unclear the exact hours the year by a gate at Connection when the gate will be closed.
“It will make it very difficult to tell if we can get back or when and how,” she said. “My other concern is I don’t think environmentally they are protecting the smelt. It’s to allow them to pump more water – it’s the first step toward the peripheral canal.” The gates project is a collaboration of the California Department of Water Resources, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It has not yet been approved, however – the environmental studies are due to be released soon, which will allow opportunities for public comment before a final decision is made. But the current schedule is for construction to begin in September and for the gates to begin operation on Dec. 15. One gate would be on Connection Slough and the other on Old River north of Rock Slough between Bacon Island and Holland Tract, which is about five see Gates page 18A
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Getting ready to rumble
The Wolverines aim to surpass last season’s impressive achievements.
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INSIDE Arts.....................................6A Business ...........................15A Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................16B Cop Logs ..........................14A Entertainment ................11B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones ......................... 7B Opinion ...........................13A Recreation .........................8A Sports ................................. 1B Talk About Town ..............5A WebExtras! ....................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A