Visit Your Hometown Website www.thepress.net
ward Winning News al A pa
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 12, No. 10
Neighbors object Eatery excitement to group home by Samie Hartley
“ These homes are
A group of concerned residents sought guidance from the Oakley City Council at a recent meeting after a sober living establishment was opened in their neighborhood without their knowledge. Gary and Daniela Martin opened New Beginnings Clean and Sober Home on La Casa Drive last month to provide a safe environment for recovering drug and alcohol addicts in a community setting. But the rehab home is facing criticism from neighbors. Gary Martin went door-todoor after the six New Beginnings residents moved in last month to talk with neighbors about the living situation and inform them about the curfews and rules the residents are expected to follow. Neighbors remained skeptical and their con-
everywhere, whether cities want to admit it or not. ... We’re going to treat this home like any other residence in town.
Staff Writer
cerns were realized on Feb. 14, when a New Beginnings resident was arrested. Martin had been alerted to one of the resident’s public displays of suspicious behavior and called police. It turns out the resident had an outstanding warrant for his arrest and was taken into custody.
March 9, 2012
Guide to green living
From water purity to auto care to hazmat disposal, our Think Green section helps you limit your carbon footprint. Page 1B
”
Oakley Police Chief Bani Kollo
rs
Na t
pe
ion
Photo courtesy of the City of Oakley
anuel Muñoz, third from right, celebrated the groundbreaking for his new Oakley restaurant Carpaccio’s Risotorante on Saturday. In attendance were Muñoz’s family, Mayor Kevin Romick, Oakley council members Carol Rios and Randy Pope, and representatives from Kahn Design Associates and Ascent Builders. The 6,000-square-foot Tuscan-style building will provide indoor and outdoor seating, a full bar and the capacity to accommodate special events and private parties. The restaurant is expected to open this fall.
M
Resident responders An upcoming fundraiser will benefit a local firefighter battling cancer. Page 4A
Fervent farewell
see Home page 17A
Meeting video to be posted online by Samie Hartley Staff Writer
If you haven’t been able to attend Oakley City Council meetings every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, keeping up on local politics is about to get easier. Next week the City Council is scheduled to discuss posting video recordings of council meetings online, giving residents a convenient way to connect with their local government. Putting video of the council meetings the city’s Web site has been discussed for years – most recently the matter was debated in Facebook forums last fall – and now the council is ready to explore its options. “The concerns last year were live broadcasts and costs,” Oakley Mayor Kevin Romick wrote in an
Press file photo
Oakley resident Paul Seger has been recording Oakley City Council meetings and posting them online for nearly four years. City staff will soon be posting official video coverage of council meetings online. e-mail. “Initially we envisioned upgrading our current system to a system that would have provided live
Online now! WebExtras! press releases videos
Connect with The Press!
Scan QR code with your smart phone.
www. thepress.net Your Hometown Website
streaming video at a cost of between $40,000 and $50,000 with an annual maintenance cost of about $4,000,
Spring forward Sunday, March 11
Fine tuning your timepieces this weekend will save you an hour of precious daylight.
for what we determined would be a very limited audience. I think those two issues have been eliminated.” To save money, the council will look at using a digital video recorder to load files to the video-sharing website www.vimeo.com. Romick said this method would cost about $200 annually to operate. The video would be posted on Wednesdays, a day after regularly scheduled meetings. Residents have been buzzing about the potential posting of video coverage online after the city tested some practice videos to vimeo. com last month. Once a group of residents found the videos, the city password protected the files until the recording process is improved. Oakley resident Mike Burksee Video page 17A
A local soccer star lost his fight against cancer, and his teammates lost a friend and inspiring presence. Page 19A Business .............................15A Calendar ............................ 19B Classifieds ......................... 13B Entertainment ................... 9B Food .................................... 10B Milestones ........................ 18B Opinion ..............................18A Outdoors ............................. 6A Sports .................................19A Think Green ........................ 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Ready to rumble Tidying the town go to news/press releases
Know what to do before, during and after an earthquake rocks your world.
go to multimedia/videos
Antioch’s Neighborhood Cleanup crew gave community pride a boost.