YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 21, No. 23
READ THE DAILY NEWS AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET
Heritage’s top students off to Stanford by Aly Brown
June 7, 2019
Generation Of Volunteers
Correspondent
East County watched the school year come to a close this week, and Sahil Chandra and Lucas Bosman — named valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, of Brentwood’s Heritage High School — made their families, teachers and community proud. Sahil graduated with a cumulative GPA of 4.47, ranking him No. 1 for the Class of 2019. He played varsity tennis all four years of high school, serving as his team’s co-captain. He graduated as vice president of the National Honor Society and was selected as a delegate for the California American Legion Boys State for his school. He is a member of a tobacco-use prevention committee, CourAGE Youth Health Coalition, through the Contra Costa County Board of Education and has tutoried with Educated Angels. He named as two of his favorite teachers Mrs. Irwin, who taught AP U.S. History, and Mr. Valdivia, a Spanish educator. “To be named the valedictorian of Heritage High is a great honor,” Sahil said. “I didn’t care much about the title at first, but looking
First Generation Farmers welcomes public to first volunteer event. Page 6A
CHANDRA
BOSMAN
back at these past four years, it feels very rewarding. I hope me getting this title proves that anyone can accomplish whatever they set their mind to. I credit my family, friends, teachers and amazing SLC for aiding my successes. Without them, my high school experience would’ve meant nothing!” Sahil was accepted to several prestigious schools, including Stanford University, Duke,
NYU, Vanderbilt, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCs Irvine and Santa Barbara, among others, but he determined the best fit is Stanford. “We both are extremely proud of him, including his baby sister Lavanya,” Sahil’s parents, Rita and Aranesh Chandra, wrote in a letter to The Press. “Sahil has worked tirelessly in pursuit see Students page 22A
Three-story project gets green light by Chris Campos Correspondent
Brentwood’s downtown skyline will grow higher next year after the planning commission Tuesday night, June 4, approved a threestory project aiming to host restaurants, retail and offices, across the street from City Hall. Oakwood Investments LLC, led by partners Mario Mapoy and Patricia Li, won the commission’s endorsement with a 5-0 vote to approve their designs for a building to be built on a quarter-acre lot at 200 Oak St., formerly the site of a gas station. The design review application and master sign program aims for the development of a new, three-story, 29,126-square-foot, commercial infill building within the city’s Downtown Specific Plan district. Planning manager Erik Nolthenius said the project “holds a lot of promise” for the city’s down-
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Turning The Tassles
Students at La Paloma High School celebrate the annual rite of passage. Page 20A
Angling For The Prize
Logan Huntze, 19, takes all at prestigious fishing tournament as youngest participant. Page 1B Rendering courtesy of City of Brentwood
The Brentwood Planning Commission has approved a three-story project at 200 Oak St., across from City Hall. The location is the site of a shuttered gas station. town economy. “We hope to bring an exciting addition to the community,” Mapoy said in a recent interview. His firm is developing similar projects in Fairfield and Benicia. Mapoy, a
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resident of Danville, has offices in San Lorenzo. Mapoy said he did not yet have a construction cost estimate for the building. Local architect Lance Crannell of SDG Architects
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made a presentation of the project’s design for the commission at Tuesday’s meeting. Crannell noted his firm’s past involvement in the see Project page 22A
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