Brentwood Press_6.5.09

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa

Vol. 11, No. 23

Including Surrounding Communities

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June 5, 2009

Mapping crime in Brentwood At the head THIS WEEK

of the class

New software lets residents keep up with what goes down

New crimemapping software lets residents keep tab on what’s going on in the entire city or just their own neighborhood. The interactive maps can be accessed on the police page of the city’s Web site.

by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer If you’re wondering what those squad cars were doing down at the end of your street last week, what part of town has been hit by burglars, or where the drug dealers have been getting busted, the answers are now just a few clicks away. Thanks to the Brentwood Police Department’s new online Crime Mapping feature, residents can log on and get that sort of information and a lot more, all sorted by category of crime, neighborhood and date, and all for free. “The more informed community members are, the more they can help us fix problems in their neighborhoods,” said police Chief Mark Evenson. “The old days of plotting maps with pins is not very effective.” By logging on to the department’s page on the city’s Web site, www.ci.brentwood.ca.us/department/pd/index.cfm, and clicking the Crime Mapping link, residents can get an overview of all the crime in the city as a whole, or narrow

their search to about a half-mile radius. They can view any or all of two dozen types of crime (only incidents for which a formal report was generated are included) that occurred from a week ago to the entire previous year. The maps not only help keep residents informed; they provide a valuable law enforcement tool. “It helps identify trends to help allocate investigation, surveillance or patrol resources,”

said Community Services Officer Michele Keady, who maintains the map. “It allows us to make better decisions with the resources we have.” Incidents on the map are color-coded by type of incident. Click on a circle using the Identify function offered at the top of the map, see Crime page 12A

Kids have a blast at County Fair by Dave Roberts Staff Writer

Photo by Dave Roberts

A goatish Mona Lisa smile appears on the goateed face of this County Fair participant.

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One of the attractions packing them in at this year’s County Fair, which ended Sunday in Antioch, was the shark show, featuring a diver who played one shark like a banjo, waved its fin at the audience and danced with it while another shark swam through a hoop. The first show on Thursday, the fair’s opening day, began with a demonstration of the unbreakability of the shark tank to reassure the audience. David Farrell of Concord, a week short of 5 years old, was chosen from the audience to tap on the glass. The tank, of course, sprung a fake leak, surprising and soak-

ing Farrell as he tried to plug it with his hands, and spraying some in the audience before the water was turned off. “He was certainly surprised. He thought he was doing something wrong for a second,” said his father Robert. “I really just thought it was adorable; they handled it well. He will never forget it for his entire life.” The Farrells were among hundreds who took advantage of the fair’s free admission before 3 p.m. on opening day. They spent a lot of time in the Kids Zone building, which offered youngsters hands-on things to do – similar to San Francisco’s Exploratorium. see Fair page 21A

High school valedictorians tell how they got where they are – and where they go from here.

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Relay defies downturn While workers get their hours cut, the war on cancer works 24/7 to find a cure. Learn how the economy makes cancer research an uphill battle.

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Taking the full ride

Come autumn, this Heritage scholar and hardcourt warrior will be hitting books and crashing boards on a higher level.

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INSIDE Calendar ..........................27B Classifieds ........................18B Cop Logs ..........................17A Entertainment ................13B Health & Beauty .............10B Milestones ......................... 8B Opinion ...........................16A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B

Find it inside today’s paper. Print more on thepress.net. Didn’t get a coupon book? Call 634-1441

FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A


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