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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 11, No. 37
Frazier to run for Assembly seat by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer
Oakley Mayor Jim Frazier is the first to announce he will run for a seat in the newly formed District 11 of the State Assembly. Created by the census-driven realignment of government districts, the 11th Assembly District encompasses Oakley, Antioch, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Bethel Island and Knightsen in Contra Costa County, and Vacaville, Fairfield and Rio Vista in Solano County. Because the district is new, there is no incumbent against which to run, although the seat is expected to draw several more candidates. “This is an opportunity to work with some great people who are legislators already,” said Frazier, 52. Many expected him to challenge Mary Piepho for District III of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors, but Frazier thinks he can make a bigger
Photo by Rick Lemyre
Oakley Mayor Jim Frazier, right, is congratulated by longtime Oakley businessman and community leader Enrico Cinquini after Frazier announced last Thursday that he would seek election for the new 11th District of the state Assembly. impact in Sacramento. “I think I can have a better footprint at the state level and get more done,” he said. Frazier, a general contrac-
tor, said he would take a “business approach” to the Assembly’s most challenging task: creating a balanced budget in the face of the ongoing economic crisis. In
addition to supporting education, Frazier said job creation tops his list of priorities. “We can’t wait for the federal government to give us another stimulus,” he said. “We’ve got to produce our own stimulus.” As a member of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) Citizen Advisory Board, Frazier said he helped secure $50 million from the state to widen the Highway 4 Bypass, and an additional $160 million in federal funding for the Highway 4/160 connector. He believes the experience helped him build regional and statelevel relationships that, along with those he has developed in 22 years of running businesses, have prepared him well for the types of decisions required of the Assembly, especially budgetary planning. A small crowd of well-wishers gathered at Oakley City Hall
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September 16, 2011
United in remembrance
Communities gathered to honor the victims of 9/11 and renew their commitment to freedom. Page 1B
You, Me, We = Oakley The City Council is pursuing ways to enhance communication with all of its residents. Page 3A
Showing off at the Shores
see Frazier page 30A
Proposed fire tax heads for the ballot by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District will ask residents to approve a $197per-year parcel tax next June to improve service and avoid potentially devastating cuts next year. The tax, which will generate about $8.6 million, was approved Monday on an 8-0 vote (Director Robert Kenny was absent). It will require a two-thirds majority to pass. The ECCFPD encompasses 250 square miles of East County, including Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Byron, Knightsen, Bethel Island and the area near Morgan Territory Road. Because tax-sharing rates were set in 1978 when the area was primarily served by volunteer and part-time firefighters, the ECCFPD receives only 6 cents of each property tax dollar – half of what most full-time districts receive. Plummeting property values
“ Get the information in concrete as soon as possible. There are 100,000 people in our district, and I would like to talk to each and every one of them.
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Tom Loccoco, Oakley have further eroded what the district gets. The additional tax will erase the $2.6 million operating deficit now made up with dwindling reserves, which will run out next year. It will also enable the district to expand the lessthan-bare-bones service it can now provide. It will place three firefighters on each engine, one of whom will be a paramedic (two of the
six district stations are now staffed with two firefighters). The district now provides only basic lifesaving medical service. The increase will also enable the district to staff a seventh fire station. Last year, the district closed a station in Byron and one in Discovery Bay to cut costs, but it’s unclear at this point where the seventh station might open. “That will be determined by call volume and the needs of the district,” Fire Chief Hugh Henderson said Tuesday. If the tax passes, the district will begin receiving the additional funds in December of 2012. All six current stations would be staffed with three firefighters immediately, in January of 2013. The implementation of the paramedic program – which accounts for about $10 (5 percent) of the increase – would also start right away, beginning with training and
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Hospice of the East Bay has expanded its Bereavement Services Program.
see Fire page 30A
Park protection go to news/press releases
The California State Assembly has passed a bill to help keep state parks open.
The shores of Diablo Shores got soaked with the spray of world-class skiers at a pro-am extravaganza. Page 24A Calendar ............................ 15B Classifieds ......................... 10B Cop Logs ............................13A East County Life ................ 1B Entertainment ................... 5B Food ...................................... 6B Health & Beauty ................ 4B Milestones ........................ 14B Opinion ..............................12A Sports .................................21A FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
A decade later go to multimedia/videos Sorrow and solidarity marked East County’s 9/11 observances.