YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 20, No. 30
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Council denies Goodwill building
Breakfast under the stars
by Kyle Szymanski
see Goodwill page 30
A Seussical Performance Photo by Tony Kukulich
M
el–E–Mel of The Breakfast Klub performs at the Starry Nights Concert in City Park Friday, July 20, in downtown Brentwood. The popular concerts run each Friday evening throughout the summer. To view more photos of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia/slideshows
Public may be ready to help with fire tax by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
East County residents disapprove of current fire service levels and may be willing to open their wallets to fund a solution, according to the results of a district strategic planning survey. Only 18 percent of 643 respondents approved of existing fire service levels, and 69 percent said they’d support a voter-approved tax to fund three additional stations. Fifty-five percent are in favor of a tax initiative to fund six additional stations. The district’s current three stations cover 249 square miles and 114,000 residents. “At least this segment of the population that voluntarily went on the survey to respond to
Candidate Season Is Here
November elections are around the corner, and the race for local seats has begun. Page 7
Staff Writer
The Brentwood City Council has denied plans for a 25,000-square-foot building that was expected to become a Goodwill facility, south of Balfour Road, because the proposed use of part of the building wouldn’t conform to the municipality’s general plan. In a 3-2 vote this week, Mayor Bob Taylor and Councilmembers Karen Rarey and Bailey Grewal shot down the plans, saying the center’s proposed production and donation processing area is an industrial use of the facility and thus not in line with the area’s general plan and zoning regulations.
July 27, 2018
“ ...It showed that they may be willing to
look at tax increases to increase responsetime standards, at least for this population.
”
Greg Larson, Management Partners it showed they may be willing to look at tax increases to increase response-time standards, at least for this current population, if not for the future as well,” said Greg Larson, a partner of the management consulting firm Management Partners, which is helping the district create a strategic plan. The survey results released last week during a district strategic planning meeting in Knightsen also revealed that about 35 percent of respondents support reallocating property taxes from schools
THIS SUNDAY! July 29 Lodi Grape Festival Grounds WWW.FESTA-ITALIANA.COM
and education or city and county services to the fire district. Additionally, 79 percent approve stopping all new or increased development until the district can meet fire service standards. “The biggest challenge the district has is financial equity,” said Hal Bray, co-chair of the grassroots East County Voters for Equal Protection, which supports property tax reallocation. “The district gets 7.5 percent of the property taxes distributed in this
NOW HIRING
area. The average for the county is 14 to 15 percent. You can’t do it any better unless you get some funding.” The district’s property tax allocation was cemented after State Proposition 13 was approved in 1978 during a time when volunteer departments were sufficient to cover far East County. That move eventually wreaked havoc on the agency, forcing it in part to diminish from eight stations in 2008 to three today. In turn, about 90 percent of the time, it takes district firefighters about 10 minutes to respond to urban areas of the district (Brentwood and Oakley), which is about 2 minutes, 30 seconds slower than is recommended. see Fire page 30
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Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble Performing Arts Youth Academy debuts this weekend. Page 10
Martial Arts Master
A fourth-grader at Orchard Park School wins state tae kwon do championship. Page 21 Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................26 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.....................11 Food........................................10 Health & Beauty..................13 Milestones............................15 Opinion..................................20 Pets.........................................24 Sports.....................................21
Insurance Scam
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Several county restaurants cited for failing to provide employee compensation.