YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 7, No. 22
Including Surrounding Communities
Town Web site to be enhanced by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer The Discovery Bay CSD has formed a subcommittee to boldly go where no town board has gone before: to research and ultimately recommend a design company to update, modernize and create a more user-friendly town Web site. The subcommittee, chaired by CSD Director Shannon Murphy-Teixeira, will include resident Brian Dawson and an as-yet unnamed staff member. The committee will identify a wish list of items for the new site, develop a budget for immediate and ongoing maintenance, and in the words of CSD President Ray Tetreault, choose a company that will make the currently outdated site “pop.” The decision to form a subcommittee came following presentations by three design companies at the May 20 regular CSD meeting. The companies were Mission Peak De-
signs, NIA Creative Inc. and Digital Gear Inc. “At the board’s request, staff has gone out and solicited bids (from other companies) as to what other Webmasters are doing,” said General Manager Virgil Koehne. “The intent was to see what the board was interested in.” Suggestions for improving the Web site ranged from redesigning the current front page, creating quick links to other sites and updating the content. “This is just a prototype, my vision for the site,” said Tom Newman of the Discovery Bay based Mission Peak Designs. “But in my opinion, navigation on this site is hard and updating is difficult … a search site could be set up to make it easier to find information.” Jennifer and Chris Finetti, of NIA Creative, offered their initial suggestions for a bolder site, including “a more intuitive navigation system,” said Jennifer, “And a place on the site where people can go for
www.thepress.net
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May 29, 2009
THIS WEEK
Making troop support fun
Local vets in need are getting a boost from folks who know how to party hearty.
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Photo by Stacey Chance/DiscoveryBayStudios.com
rentwood resident Andrea Laguna picks cherries at Chavez U-Pick on Marsh Creek Road during the traditional Memorial Day Weekend opening of the UPick season. Brentwood’s biggest tourism draw is only one of a host of affordable, enjoyable summer activities you can learn more about beginning on Page 10A in today’s Press.
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updated information. We need to build (a sense of) community for community.” John Chua of Digital Gear Inc., the firm that designed the City of Oakley’s current Web site, suggested that a more modern site would serve to not only inform the public of up-
coming events and meetings, but drive more traffic to the site, and ultimately the town. Vice President Mark Simon, however, said the board and ultimately the subcommittee needed to keep in mind
Family deals with disaster The community is rallying to the aid of residents who’ve been dealt some devastating blows.
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Pros roll into town
see Web page 13A
Far East County memorializes the fallen by Stacey Chance Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10789 Ladies Auxiliary place a wreath on the grave of Sgt. Charles R. McCurtain, who died in Vietnam, during Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday. For more pictures, see Page 21A.
Correspondent The morning sun shone brightly at Union Cemetery as Brentwood’s Memorial Day ceremony, led by Veterans of Foreign Wars & Ladies Auxiliary of Sgt. Charles R. McCurtain VFW Post 10789, paid tribute to the men and women who have died serving in our nation’s armed forces. Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day was established to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, and expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action. Speakers at the Brentwood event included Post Commander Nick Papadakos, Master of Ceremonies David Cooper, Reverend Leslie Harrold, Sgt. Vincent Sylva, Voice of Democracy essay scholarship
Photo by Stacey Chance/ DiscoveryBayStudios.com
winner La Tia Winfrey from Freedom High School, and Brentwood mayor Bob Taylor. Also on hand were Boy Scout Troop 90/93, the Liberty High School Band, Select Men’s JAG, Women’s DIVA, and Pink Ladies. The ceremony included the pledge of allegiance, presentation of roses to those
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who have lost a veteran family member, placing of the wreath, rifle salute, and closing benediction. The observance ended with the song “Wind Beneath My Wings” augmented by the flyover of a U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-5 Galaxy out of Travis Air Force Base. For more on the day’s activities, turn to page 21A.
Amateurs got to share lanes with the big boys when the senior professional tour made its annual visit.
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INSIDE Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................12B Entertainment .................. 8B Food .................................10B Health & Beauty ............... 6B Opinion ...........................14A Recreation .......................10A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B
New Coupons online today at thepress.net. Look for your coupon book in next week’s paper!
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A