Visit Your Hometown Website www.thepress.net
ward Winning News al A pa
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 11, No. 27
rs
Na t
pe
ion
July 8, 2011
Volta goes to head of the class by Samie Hartley
Stalking the CornFest story
Staff Writer Although 25 applicants competed to fill the position of superintendent of the Liberty Union High School District, the governing board didn’t need to look far to find a replacement for outgoing Jerry Glenn. In a special meeting last week, the LUHSD Board unanimously appointed Eric Volta as superintendent. Volta has been with the district for 11 years, beginning his LUHSD career as an assistant principal at Freedom High School before spending seven years as principal. He moved to a district position as assistant superintendent of human resources in 2009. “When the opportunity for an increase in responsibility becomes available, I always jump at the chance,” Volta said. “I’m looking forward to serving the district in a greater capacity and taking on new challenges.” According to Director Daron Spears, the process for selecting a new superintendent was competitive, but Volta was the clear leader of the group. “Eric is very bright and has a clear understanding of the district,” Spears wrote in an e-mail to the Press. “His previous expe-
The annual celebration named after Brentwood’s top crop has a long and intriguing history. Page 1B
Answering the alarm A vacant fire station will become Oakley’s new haven for homeless animals. Page 3A Press file photo
Eric Volta, former principal at Freedom High School in Oakley, has been named the new superintendent for the Liberty Union High School District. riences in and out of the district were con- current performance in the district has been sidered by his supervisors and peers as out- excellent.” standing work. He had risen to the challenge see Volta page 26A every time. He is ethical, honest and fair. His
In it for the long haul
Redistricting process moves ahead by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (BoS) will head back to the bargaining table next week to review – and possibly approve – a new supervisorial redistricting map for the county. Every 10 years as dictated by the federal census, electoral districts are required to redraw their boundaries to accommodate changes and/or growth in population. Following a series of community workshops and public comment periods, the BoS pared down its choices on June 28 (each supervisor originally submitted a version of the re-
Online Now!
“ The number-one thing we’ve been hearing is that people want to keep the cities whole.
”
District III Supervisor Mary Piepho districting map) to include three possibilities. County staff was instructed to bring those three maps back to the board on July 12 with the requested revisions, amendments and modifications. “This is my first time doing this,” said Patrick Roche, Contra Costa County project planner. “And it’s definitely challenging because there are, as you can imagine, many ways to draw a map. But we’re working on it and we fully appreciate how important this is for the board. It’s
www.thepress.net Your Hometown Website
coming along.” Of the 13 original concepts and proposals, the supervisors agreed to further consider options six, nine and 12. Concept six is a hybrid of District I Supervisor John Goia’s original map proposal, and meets the BoS guidelines, including maintaining each district’s population within 5 percent of the others and avoiding splitting communities and cities where possible. Concept six would give Goia the incorporat-
Cheap chow
go to news/WebExtras! Local kids can apply for free or reduced-price school breakfast and lunch.
ed cities of El Cerrito, Pinole, Richmond and San Pablo and its surrounding unincorporated areas as well. Map nine was first proposed by District II Supervisor Gayle Uilkema and modified by District III Supervisor Mary Piepho. “The number-one thing we’ve been hearing is that people want to keep the cities whole,” said Piepho. “And I think that is very important. This proposal (with some amendments) does that. It would essentially shrink my district and put all of Walnut Creek in District II and leave Alamo and San Ramon intact. It also puts Bay Point in District
A local couple’s odyssey in mere weight loss has culminated in a lifestyle of fitness. Page 21A Business ............................. 11B Calendar ............................ 19B Classifieds ......................... 13B Cop Logs ............................19A East County Life ................ 1B Entertainment ................... 2B Food ...................................... 8B Health & Beauty ................ 7B Opinion ..............................18A Outdoors ............................. 6A Sports .................................21A ravemotionpictures Brentwood 14 +
see Redistricting page 26A
We R Grateful
go to news/press releases An arts and crafts studio is joining a campaign to boost the morale of our troops.
®
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Flashy bash
go to multimedia/videos Oakley marked its 12th birthday with a barrage of colorful kabooms.