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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 13, No. 49
Rooftop standoff ends quietly by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer
A man perched on the roof of Brentwood’s new community center building was safely taken into custody after a three-hour standoff with police and firefighters Tuesday night. Police did not release the name of the 20-year-old, who stood mostly silent after climbing onto the pitched roof at about 5 p.m. “He climbed up there and started shooting off a fire extinguisher,” said Brentwood Police Sgt. Mark Misquez. “He didn’t make any demands, and wouldn’t speak to us.” Police Chief Mark Evenson said officers had also encountered the man, whose last known address was in San
The Best of Brentwood Our readers have once again weighed in, and this week The Press is proud to present the 2011 Best of Brentwood reader survey r e s u l t s. Wh e t h e r yo u ’re l o o k ing for a great place to eat, buy a car or just hang out, you’ll find your friends and neighbors’ recommendations in 192 categories. Look for your copy inside this newspaper. If you didn’t get one, call 925-6341441 and request a new one. It’s free, and we’ll get it right out to you.
Photo by Richard Wisdom
Capt. Dominic Ciotola of Contra Costa Fire coaxes a man who had been perched on the Brentwood community center building for three hours to cross the last few feet to the ladder down. Francisco, while responding to another call unrelated to him a few minutes before he climbed
by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer
If ever there were a time to get excited about trash and recycling, that time is now. Beginning in January, county residents in Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Knightsen and Bethel Island will begin receiving not one but three brand-new wheeled garbage containers for all their trash, recycling and green waste needs – courtesy of Discovery Bay Disposal Service. “This is going to be a great program for everyone,” said Dave Adler, regional manager of Discovery Bay Disposal. “We think it will eventually help everyone recycle more and lower their garbage bills. We’re excited about the move.” For most residents, the
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onto the roof. “He was contacted and seemed to be acting a little
odd, but nothing to alarm the officer,” Evenson said. “He told the officers he was about to get on a bus back to San Francisco. They took his name and left.” Misquez said a call was received a few minutes later from a construction worker who had challenged the man’s presence on the community center construction site across the street. The man ran away and out onto the roof and police were notified. Clad in only a T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and a baseball cap, the man stood with his feet together in the center of the pitched metal roof without moving for more than an hour, other than occasionally waving his arms. At one point, the
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wheeled containers are nothing new, but out in the unincorporated areas of the county, where homeowners have been dealing with one large trash can, two small recycling crates and the responsibility of providing their own green waste cans for years, the new curbside program – recently approved by the board of supervisors – is exciting. “I think it’s going to be a win-win for the community and should help keep everyone’s overall costs down,” said Discovery Bay General Manager Rick Howard. Here’s how it works. Beginning with the rollout in January, all residents will receive a 96-gallon blue container for recycling and a 96-gallon green container for green waste. In addition, residents can
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go to news/WebExtras! Antioch’s Kaiser Permanente has been named one of the nation’s top hospitals.
choose a brown container for garbage. The brown containers are available in 20-, 32-, 64or 96-gallon varieties. Those who already have the 96-gallon green containers, which are supplied from Discovery Bay Disposal, will keep them and use them for green waste. Those who don’t have them will receive them with their other containers. Although the initial program will cost customers about $10 more per billing cycle (due to the rising cost of labor, said Adler), if they stick with their current 96gallon cans, many will find they’re no longer filling up the larger cans once they begin recycling. The result: they might be able to use a smaller trash see Trash page 26A
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December 9, 2011
Gifting tips from A to Z
Our Holiday Gift Guide dials you in to ideas for perfect presents – and local shops that sell them. Page 1B
Sorting it out A pile of toys awaits volunteers for Brentwood’s Christmas Basket program. Page 5A
Stranglehold on success
Our wrestling preview explores the upcoming battle for mastery on the mats. Page 19A Calendar ............................ 19B Classifieds ......................... 13B Cop Logs ............................ 18B Entertainment .................11A Food .................................... 10B Holiday Gift Guide............ 1B Milestones ........................ 17B Opinion ..............................18A Outdoors ............................. 8A Sports .................................19A
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
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A conference held in Atlanta attracted the nation’s premier financial advisors.
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Oakley’s festive Christmas tree blazed with light at the annual celebration.