BrentwoodPress_07.17.09

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa

Vol. 11, No. 29

Including Surrounding Communities

www.thepress.net

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July 17, 2009

CornFest: another booming success City earns

THIS WEEK

by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer

Photo by Michael Di Guido

Adrianna Morris and her father, James, enjoy this year’s CornFest fireworks show from the stage in City Park. For many, the show was the highlight of the three-day festival.

Official numbers have yet to be tallied, but by all accounts, last weekend’s Brentwood CornFest was one of the most successful in the celebration’s 17-year history. “Attendance was definitely up this year, no question,” said Brentwood Chamber of Commerce CEO Harry York. “We don’t have all the ticket numbers in yet, but I do know that on Friday we had 4,000 people come through in the first 45 minutes. We had a nice even surge all weekend; I don’t think we could have asked for a better event.” It certainly helped that the weather cooperated, and there’s no denying the contributions of “staycationers,” who added to the gate receipts, as did the live music, petting zoo and record number of carnival rides and food and retail vendors. And of course, the fireworks. At a time when cities throughout the country are tightening their fiscal belts and scrapping those flashy – and expensive – fireworks displays (normally $20,000 for a 20-minute show), the Brentwood City Council

voted this year to stick with the traditional celebration, and the community was glad it did. “I worked at the gate (the night of the fireworks) and as people were leaving I thanked them for coming, and without exception, people turned around and thanked us (the city) for having the event,” said York. “Most city councils didn’t fund them this year, so I really thank them for putting it on.” Monte and Deena Carter drove over from San Mateo for their first fireworks. “Those were the most fantastic fireworks I’ve ever seen,” said Monte. “We kept getting ready to applaud because they were over, then boom, boom, boom, they’d start up again!” Vendors reported that sales were soft, although most covered their booth rental and a little more. Some felt it was due to the $10 general admission fee, others figured it was the economy in general, and still others felt there were too many vendors offering the same type of merchandise, such as hats or sun-

Staff Writer

The Brentwood Police Department and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office have joined forces to solve the 2004 murder of a Brentwood man, and are hoping an increased reward will help bring to a close the nearly fiveyear-old case. Shadow Lakes resident Sanjay Samy, 36, was killed by a single gunshot to the head in front of his home in the early morning hours of Oct. 26, 2004. Samy was the manager of Rynck Tires and Auto Center in Castro Valley and had recently witnessed a theft at

the auto center. He was set to testify at a preliminary hearing on the incident just one day after his murder. “Samy was due in court the day before he was shot,” said Sgt. Scott Dudek of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Investigation Unit. “Is there a tie? More than likely.” The Alameda Sheriff ’s Office was asked by that county’s District Attorney’s Office to look into the case because of the potential links between the two agencies, including a Bay Area resident who is considered see Murder page 22A

The Brentwood Press and Publishing Corporation has earned four awards in the National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper and Better Newspaper Advertising contests. The Press picked up a Third Place award for Best Editorial for a piece written by Editor Rick Lemyre about letters to the editor and the First Amendment. Columnist Ger Erickson’s piece about the effects on air quality and breathing of the California wildfire season of 2008 earned an honorable mention for Best Serious

All work and no play makes Brentwood a dull city, and a national award suggests that our city is far from dull.

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Dance on demand Thanks to a survey, East county high schoolers will soon be dancing to their own tune.

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Sunset shines on athletes

see CornFest page 22A

Reward sweetened Press picks up in unsolved murder national awards by Ruth Roberts

Playful prize

Column. On the advertising side, the paper’s Best of Antioch publication earned a First Place award for Best Sales Promotion Section. Our Fall/Winter Wedding Planner picked up a Third Place award in the same category. “I’m ecstatic that we’re once again being recognized nationally for all the hard work our fantastic team has done,” said Publisher Greg Robinson. The Press, which publishes weekly newspapers in see Awards page 22A

Fast finds! Search the business directory. Shopping, dining ... anything you need. Find it in the business directory at www.thepress.net. See page 11A.

Brentwood’s Sunset Park is no local sandlot; the sprawling complex draws players from all across the East Bay.

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INSIDE Business ...........................11A Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................12B Cop Logs ..........................16A Entertainment ................19B Food .................................10B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones .......................20A Opinion ...........................15A Outdoors ...........................6A Sports ................................. 1B Talk About Town ..............5A WebExtras! ....................... 1B

FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A


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