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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 8, No. 10
Community turns out for 2-Gates briefing
Trees gone, stumps next
Staff Writer
see 2-Gates page 18A
Photo by Richard Wisdom
hanks to help from Mother Nature, the removal of 43 Aleppo pine trees along portions of Discovery Bay Boulevard and Sandpoint Road took a little longer than expected, but the last of the aging, potentially dangerous trees finally came down on Feb. 25, and the stump grinding is expected to be finished within the next few days. Grindings from the stumps will be used as mulch for the interior shrub beds at Cornell Park. Discovery Bay Landscape Manager Fairin Perez said the renovation and tree replacement to the area will begin in late summer and should be completed by the fall. Above, workers from ValleyCrest Landscaping Company work along Discovery Bay Boulevard.
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‘More students’ budget idea flunks by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer Of the budget cuts still on the table to help the Liberty Union High School District (LUHSD) meet its projected $3.8 million shortfall next year, an idea to allow students from other districts to transfer in has been ruled out. “Where this all started was that back in January we did some brainstorming about different ways to reduce the budget,” said LUHSD Superintendent Jerry Glenn. “So we were tossing around the idea that we could take more kids – and therefore
Online Now!
March 5, 2010
This Week Supes keep icon intact
The war isn’t over, but the most recent battle over Mt. Diablo’s name was decided on the county level. Page 4A
by Ruth Roberts The Discovery Bay group working to stop the construction of the controversial 2-Gates Project has stated that while substantial progress has been made in the fight over what many feel is the precursor to a peripheral canal, the real work is still ahead. “They said we couldn’t go up against Goliath. Well, guess what: (we did) and we made a difference,” said Karen Mann, vice chair of the Save the California Delta Alliance (STCDA). “We hope you’ll stick with us, because we are not done yet.” That was message from the grassroots organization – formerly the San Francisco Bay and Delta Foundation – and other guest speakers who participated in the informational town meeting held
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additional revenue – into the district, unless of course they had a bad record or had been expelled. But there quickly became a public outcry of concern from
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parents in the district, and because we are about serving our residents in our community, we took that idea off the table; it’s no longer a consideration or on the list of proposals.” What is on the list, however, and will be presented at the March 10 regular school board meeting, is the first of three recommended cuts designed to allow for some financial wiggle room should the governor’s budget revision in May be less devastating than expected. “What our board decided to do rather than take action now was phase in the cuts,” said Glenn. “By March we will have
Flagpole fix
go to news/WebExtras! Sometimes an ordinary repair job can read like a fable from ancient lore.
the first reductions of $1.2 million, and then another chunk by May of up to $2.5 million and we’ll leave the last bit until the governor’s revise and see where we are.” Included in the first round of cuts, are non-staff reductions such as the elimination of summer school for ninth-graders, the reduction of site allocation funding by 10 percent (discretionary dollars given to campuses each year), and the raising/lowering of classroom and office thermostats by 2 degrees for a savings of $25,000. Increasing class sizes see Students page 18A
Net gain
go to news/press releases Diamond Hills is offering a youth tennis league to non-members at a price to love.
Solemn celebration Relay for Life troops are ramping up for an all-out assault in the war on cancer. Page 5A
Lions bumped from playoffs
Liberty’s sterling 19-9 season came to an end at the hands of crosstown rival Heritage. Page 1B
Plus: Business ............................... 8A Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 14B Cop Logs ............................14A Food .................................... 12B Health & Beauty .............. 10B Milestones ........................ 21B Outdoors ............................. 6A Opinion ..............................13A Sports ................................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Safe shelter
go to multimedia/videos Shepherd’s Gate offers abused women and children asylum and compassion.