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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 19, No. 5
New dispatch Tricks of the trade station opening by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
Joyous excitement doesn’t usually emanate from a police dispatch center, but that is what will happen in mid-March, when Brentwood’s own facility goes live. “It’s a pretty exciting time,” said Lt. Ben Tolero. “A lot went into this, and we are excited to move forward with it.” The city’s decision to open its own police dispatch center, instead of continuing its contract with the City of Antioch, is slated to improve service to residents, including decreased response time. The new, $2.6 million facility will be staffed with at least two dispatchers at all times and will feature an array of sophisticated equipment to hone in on resident needs and officer safety. Community-facility fees, paid
by developers since 1990, covered the $2.6 million construction cost, and a replacement account covered the remaining $1 million needed for a computer-aided dispatch and record-management system. The center will cost about $2.7 million a year to operate, but breaking away from Antioch will save the city $1 million a year. The city had contracted dispatch services from Antioch for 17 years before Brentwood officials started making plans to break away in late 2014. At the time, police officials and the city council had expressed concerns about the shared center’s mounting call volume as both cities’ populations grew and demand for police services increased. “Public safety is a top priority
Staff Writer
The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors was energized by the prospect of bringing clean, green energy to Contra Costa County through a community choice aggregation (CCA) program in 2016. Now in the new year, the board is narrowing down its choices for which outlet to use. Under CCA programs, local governments join together to provide energy to their residents. The energy is generated primarily from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and bioenergy. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will continue to deliver power and bill customers as nor-
A Lifetime Of Pearly Whites Photo by Tony Kukulich
W
ayne Huey of the Red Panda Acrobats makes it all look easy during a recent performance at the Brentwood Community Center. The group celebrated Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rooster, with a performance that included juggling, balancing, acrobatics and more.
see Dispatch page 30A
“ Part of the goal here, in addition to getting a greater degree of renewable energy in the portfolio, is to do so locally; to produce here in Contra Costa and the East Bay, so there is job generation and benefits here, which can be achieved by either joining MCE or joining the Alameda County effort.
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District l Supervisor John Gioia mal, with only the energy source varying. Under state law, customers are automatically enrolled in CCAs, but can opt out and stay with their original energy provider. The board appears to be leaning toward joining one of
two existing local CCA programs – either Marin Clean Energy (MCE) or East Bay Community Energy, which is based in Alameda County. The county could create its own CCA with other interest cities in the county, but the cost and time needed to
launch such a project are just two of many deterrents, board members said. Brentwood, one of 14 cities interested in the idea and one of nine to contribute money to the exploration process, has yet to formally weigh in on which option is best. Last year, Oakley officials said they plan to discuss whether they want to join the effort sometime this year. “Joining one of the existing or one of the soon-to-be-existing CCAs seems to me to make the most sense,” said District l Supervisor John Gioia. “Part of the goal here, in addition to getting a greater degree of renewable energy in the portfolio, is to do it locally; to produce here see Energy page 30A
Citizenship
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Plan A Perfect Wedding Day
This week’s special edition has everything you need to get hitched without a hitch. Page 1B
County mulls green energy options by Kyle Szymanski
February 3, 2017
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Citizenship ceremony hosted by the Brentwood Library with Mayor Bob Taylor.
After serving Brentwood for nearly 50 years, popular local dentist retires. Page 8A
Falcons Drop Liberty Lions
Freedom basketball team back on track with 69-54 win over Liberty. Page 22A Business..............................13A Calendar.............................31A Classifieds..........................26A Cop Logs.............................20A Entertainment..................11A Food.....................................10A Health & Beauty...............18A Opinion...............................21A Pets........................................ 9A Sports..................................22A
Interfaith Council www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County responds to the recent ban on Muslims.