YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 11, No. 35
Including Surrounding Communities
Council approves bonds for civic center project by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer
The Brentwood City Council this week approved the use of Redevelopment District bonding capacity to help build the new downtown civic center. By a 3-2 vote, Councilmen Brandon Richey and Erick Stonebarger dissenting, the council authorized the issuance of $10 million in bonds secured by tax revenue from the city’s Redevelopment District, which includes the downtown area and the Brentwood Boulevard corridor on the city’s north side. During public comments, resident Kathy Fredenburg asked how the council had made the required finding that spending the redevelopment money on the civic center would address blight, given the good condition
of the buildings currently used for city offices. Prior to the vote, Stonebarger said he, too, had trouble with the issue of blight. With regard to blight, California Code states that a project must “assist in the elimination of one or more blighting conditions inside the project area” in order to qualify for the use of redevelopment funds. On Wednesday, Councilman Chris Becnel said the vote did not reflect the condition of the current city hall buildings, but of the aging and inadequate utility infrastructure and commercial buildings in the rest of the civic center project area within the redevelopment district. The $10 million in redevelopment area bonds, which will be used for the new
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August 28, 2009
THIS WEEK
Bounteous bootfuls Fest to entice the senses
Marvels to delight the eye, palate and ear are on display this weekend at Brentwood’s Art, Wine & Jazz Festival.
Page 6A Photo by Richard Wisdom
ith the help of firefighters such as Jimmy Laughlin, above, members of Firefighters Union Local 1230 raised more than $18,000 in Brentwood alone during their two-day Pass the Boot campaign to fight muscular dystrophy. Combining similar efforts in Walnut Creek, Orinda and Pinole, the local collected $47,286, third-best in the state after Los Angeles County and city districts. The local guys will deliver the cash personally to Jerry Lewis during his upcoming Labor Day Telethon.
W
see Bonds page 18A
Better bypass the Bypass Check out the details of the Highway 4 Bypass’ impending closure.
Page 18A
As rugged as rugby
Delta boaters claim 2-Gate is too much by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
In three months, two gates may be constructed in the Delta in a five-year experiment to determine whether they will help save the endangered Delta smelt while continuing to allow the pumping of water south to Central Valley farms and southern California residents. But some local boaters are concerned that the gates will restrict their access to the Delta, and believe the 2-Gate Fish Protection Demonstration Project is part of an ongoing water grab that is harming the Delta. One of those boaters is Jan McCleery, who has been boating on the Delta for 40 years and moved with her husband to Discovery Bay three years ago from Sunnyvale to be closer to the water. On most weekends they hop onto their 43-foot Bayliner yacht and sail off to idyllic Mildred Island, where they anchor and hang out. Normally they get there by
Photo courtesy of Jan McCleery
Jan McCleery’s family and friends enjoy anchoring out at Mildred Island and are concerned that a plan to put gates in the Delta could block their access. going under the Bacon Island Slough on the north side of BaBridge, which has a lift mecha- con Island. McCleery is concerned that nism allowing them to pass under it on Middle River. When the gated channel won’t be deep that bridge lift is not in opera- enough to accommodate her tion they must travel a route that boat even when the gate is open. is planned to be blocked part of And it’s unclear the exact hours the year by a gate at Connection when the gate will be closed.
“It will make it very difficult to tell if we can get back or when and how,” she said. “My other concern is I don’t think environmentally they are protecting the smelt. It’s to allow them to pump more water – it’s the first step toward the peripheral canal.” The gates project is a collaboration of the California Department of Water Resources, the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It has not yet been approved, however – the environmental studies are due to be released soon, which will allow opportunities for public comment before a final decision is made. But the current schedule is for construction to begin in September and for the gates to begin operation on Dec. 15. One gate would be on Connection Slough and the other on Old River north of Rock Slough between Bacon Island and Holland Tract, which is about five see Gates page 18A
Water polo attracts a tough, high-achieving player with the heart of a Lady Lion.
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INSIDE Arts.....................................6A Business ...........................15A Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................16B Cop Logs ..........................14A Entertainment ................11B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones ......................... 7B Opinion ...........................13A Recreation .........................8A Sports ................................. 1B Talk About Town ..............5A WebExtras! ....................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A