DiscoveryBayPress_06.19.09

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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa

Vol. 7, No. 25

Including Surrounding Communities

www.thepress.net

PWC death A-maize-ing sunset renews call for new law

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June 19, 2009

THIS WEEK

Rescue the Gate keepers

by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer The June 7 death of a Stockton man riding a personal watercraft (PWC) in Middle River near Discovery Bay has sparked the annual call by local officials for mandatory boating and safety regulations. “I said it last year, I’ve said it this year, and I’ll probably be saying it again next year: we need mandatory education,” said Lt. Doug Powell of the Delta Marine Patrol. “When are we going to learn?” John Ashton, 55, died from a head trauma sustained when the PWC he was riding collided in mid-air with an oncoming PWC as both vehicles were jumping wakes from a nearby boat. Although the accident occurred in San Joaquin County, Powell picked up the distress call from the Coast Guard over the marine radio, and realized that his unit was the closest to the scene. “We heard the call over the radio and got there as fast as we could,” said Powell. “I got there with a medical bag and saw that one of the victims was unresponsive and began CPR. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be saved.

A sanctuary for women and children is being threatened by tough economic times. .

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Photo by Stacey Chance

ith a hazy Mt. Diablo in the background and rain clouds hovering overhead, this local cornfield revealed its dramatic dimension when photographer Stacey Chance happened by. Far East County’s early corn is already being harvested, and those Brentwood Diamonds should be in plentiful supply soon. Remember: Buy Fresh, Buy Local!

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“These were two white male adults over 30 and they were following a sport yacht and jumping in the wake of the vessel. It was an unsafe and illegal act and unfortunately someone lost their life because of it.” The accident has rekindled talk of edu-

cation bill AB2110, which has been battling its way on and off the California State Assembly floor for the past four or five years. The bill would require operators of vessels

Defending the spending The Measure C Citizen’s Oversight Committee is overseeing the filling of an open seat.

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Dominating the diamond

see Fatality page 18A

Supervisors pass boat storage ordinance by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved the passage of a countywide boat-storage combining district; an ordinance that allows boat storage areas to be developed within agricultural zoning districts beyond one mile of public boat-launching facilities. It also allows for storage of recreational vehicles in the same locations. For Discovery Bay boat owners as well as those in surrounding areas, the adoption of the combining district on May 19 provides alternatives to the nearby marinas, such as the Discovery Bay Marina

“ I think this ordinance tries to recognize that there is a unique and special need in Discovery Bay.

County planner Patrick Roche and Orwood Resort, which were reportedly filled nearly to capacity. “I think that this ordinance tries to recognize that there is a unique and special need in Discovery Bay, because of their close proximity to the water,” said Patrick Roche, principal planner with the county conservation and development department. The approved parcels sit on

800 acres of agriculture-zoned lands along the south side of State Highway 4, roughly a mile from the edges of the road from Regatta Drive to Discovery Bay Boulevard. While the combining district allows for 25 percent of the storage spaces to be allocated for recreational vehicles, on the lands zoned for general and heavy agriculture

Hook up!

(zones A-2 and A-3) and within one mile of public boating storage, the number of vehicles allowed drops to 15 percent. Last year, when the environmental impact report was filed with the county, Supervisor Mary Piepho said she believed the passage of the ordinance would give residents constrained by county regulations (forbidding the parking of boats or RVs in owners’ driveways) appropriate alternatives. Piepho was unavailable for comment for this Press story. But regardless of the ordinance’s potential benefits to boat and RV owners, worries over oil see Storage page 18A

Their league might be known as “Little,” but there’s nothing small about these Goliaths’ accomplishments.

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