YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
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March 11th
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Vol. 16, No. 10
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Student Over the double rainbow organizes food drive
March 9, 2018
Getting An Inside Look
by Dawnmarie Fehr Correspondent
Elie Clayton is a fourth-grader who wants to make a difference. Inspired by her family’s community contributions, she has organized a food drive at all three schools in the Byron Union School District (BUSD) to help underprivileged families in her area. “I had the idea of a food drive, because my mom used to work at the Manteca food bank,” Elie said. “Both my brothers are in the military, and I wanted to help in some way, like them. I hope to see Food page 30
Oakley Superintendent Greg Hetrick shares his story in a Press interview. Page 9
Last Chance For “Grease” Photo by Mike Walsh
M
ike Walsh captured this beautiful rainbow over his neighborhood in Discovery Bay last weekend. The mix of weather has allowed for some amazing photos of East County in recent days.
Pressure mounts on WaterFix agencies by Tony Kukulich Staff Writer
As the clock winds down on Gov. Jerry Brown’s time in office, pressure appears to be mounting on state agencies to move the California WaterFix project forward. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) surprised many during a Bay-Delta Special Committee meeting on Feb. 27 when it was disclosed that the agency was examining the opportunity to finance the $11 billion cost of building the first of two tunnels in accordance with the Department of Water Resource’s (DWR) revised construction plan. The plan would require increased financial commitment from the agency but would also cede greater control of water resources to the agency. That has critics concerned. “There is so much to un-
“ The state is abdicating its responsibility to manage water for all people in California as a public trust resource.
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Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla executive director of Restore the Delta pack for the public from what was revealed today at MWD’s Bay-Delta Committee meeting,” Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, wrote in a press release. “On the surface, it is clear that the California Department of Water Resources is moving forward with a two-tunnels application for the change in the point of diversion to secure a State Water Project right for MWD, who will become the financier and operator of the project. California’s water management is being gamed to give the majority of power over watershed www.thepress.net/ marketplace BUSINESS DIRECTORY
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management throughout the state to Metropolitan Water District. The state is abdicating its responsibility to manage water for all people in California as a public trust resource.” WaterFix has bogged down in recent months, as the reality of the project’s nearly $17 billion price tag rattled the agencies expected to bear the burden of that cost. The financial commitments necessary for the project to advance failed to materialize, and DWR revised WaterFix in early February by adopting a staged approach to the tunnel construction. Within days
of that announcement, MWD, believing the twin-tunnel approach provided greater benefits, announced it was looking at the feasibility of increasing its financial commitment to the project to ensure that both tunnels were built simultaneously. MWD’s analysis was expected to take four to six weeks to complete. MWD has undertaken the analysis of two approaches to WaterFix involving a potential commitment of billions of dollars and given itself only a matter of weeks to complete both initiatives. Comments made by Jeffrey Kightlinger, MWD general manager, during the Feb. 27 committee meeting provide some insight into the reason for urgency. “The governor came and joined this meeting with the (water) contractors, briefly,” said Kightlinger. “The chairman see WaterFix page 30
ConFire Services www.thepress.net/news/webextras
ConFire-EMS offering a new service – advanced life support interfacility support.
Tickets still available for the encore performances of “Grease” by the LHS Playmakers. Page 11
Grabbing NCS Title Win
Heritage boys net win over Clayton Valley in school’s first NCS basketball title. Page 21 Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................25 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.....................10 Food........................................11 Health & Beauty..................13 Milestones............................15 Opinion..................................20 Pets.........................................18 Sports.....................................21
Green PG&E
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PG&E has reached California’s 2020 renewable energy goal.