YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 43
Including Surrounding Communities
www.thepress.net
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October 23, 2009
THIS WEEK
Council approves faux tree tower Good time to get it in gear
by Samie Hartley Staff Writer AT&T is known nationally as a communications provider, but the company recently went before the Oakley City Council to plant a tree. The council last week approved the installation of a 77-foot monopole wireless telecommunication facility, which will be disguised as a pine tree. The faux tree cell tower will go up behind the Golden Chopstick restaurant on Main Street within Oakley Town Center. “The tree will be installed within an existing landscape island where two trees currently exist and will remain at the construction site,” reported Oakley Senior Planner Joshua McMurray. “The tree will have three levels at which antennas may be placed. AT&T antennas will occupy the 70-foot level, with two additional carries to be located at the 50- and 60-foot levels.” The pole will be textured and painted to look like bark, and synthetic branches will be installed to make it look as lifelike as possible. The antennas will be hidden within the branches and painted to match the tree needles to create a uniform design. Councilwoman Pat Anderson questioned why the tower was designed to look like a pine tree since the city is named for its heritage of oak tree groves, but the
From customizing classics to winterizing your vehicle, our Fall Auto Care Guide puts you in the fast lane.
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Graphics courtesy of the City of Oakley
AT&T will install a 77-foot cell tower at Oakley Town Center on Main Street, but residents on Gamay Drive will have a clear view of the pine tree-disguised telecommunication facility as seen in this before and after artist’s rendering. AT&T representative told the council that an artificial pine tree provides better camouflage and height for antennae and looks more realistic than an artificial oak. Councilman Bruce Connelley joked that the tower would look like a large Christmas tree and asked the representative if the city could decorate it for the holidays. The representative said it was
possible but discouraged the idea. Since the cell tower will resemble a tree, warning signs will be posted around it to discourage climbing. A 7-foot block wall will also be built around the tree to prevent tampering. After the 4-0 vote (Councilman Kevin
Getting down to business Chamber of Commerce officials are looking for a few good directors.
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Falcon grad a stellar Aggie
see Tower page 26A
State prisoner release worries cops by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Tens of thousands of criminals will be released early onto the streets of California in the coming years to help relieve prison overcrowding, and local police are concerned it will result in increasing crime. “I know from the Contra Costa Police Chiefs Association, we do have a concern that if the state of California is going to be releasing between 20,000 and 40,000 inmates to the California streets, what’s the plan for re-entry (into society)?” said Antioch Police Chief Jim Hyde. “We haven’t heard a serious plan other than the folks will be assigned to parole officers and all that. “If you release them from state prison and they don’t have any place to go to, then they are homeless. If they are homeless, they are in a desperate state and
Press File Photo
Oakley Police Chief Chris Thorsen, left, seen here at a public safety town meeting two years ago, is one of several local police officials concerned about the state’s prisoner release plan. they tend to re-offend and turn back to a life of crime as a way to live.” The prisoner-release program was announced last month in response to a three-judge U.S.
District Court ruling in August that state prisons, which are at nearly double their capacity, have two years to reduce overcrowding to no more than 137.5 percent of the prison space. That
would require a reduction of about 40,000 prisoners. State officials responded with a plan that takes three years to nearly meet that goal through a variety of measures. Those include sending fewer parole violators back to prison, reducing the time that prisoners serve, deporting illegal immigrant prisoners, reducing to a misdemeanor thefts less than $950 and allowing low-risk offenders to serve the last year of their sentence under house arrest. Antioch Mayor Jim Davis, whose city has been struggling to keep a lid on escalating crime in recent years, said he would talk to Chief Hyde to find out how many of the released prisoners might arrive in Antioch. “I don’t know what the impact’s going to be,” said Davis. “It’s very disap-
Utah State fans are glad that one of Freedom’s gridiron greats decided to take his talents to their turf.
see Prisoner page 26A
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
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INSIDE Business .............................6A Calendar ..........................27B Classifieds ........................17B Cop Logs ..........................19A Entertainment ................13B Fall Auto Care Guide........ 1B Food .................................14B Health & Beauty ............... 9B Milestones .......................12B Opinion ...........................18A Outdoors ...........................4A Sports ...............................21A Talk About Town ..............5A