YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 19
Including Surrounding Communities
www.thepress.net
Council concerned Purple partners about eBART plan Hires law firm for advice on legal options by Dave Roberts Staff Writer This cash-strapped city is putting its money where its mouth is over concerns that the planned Hillcrest eBART Station and surrounding development will result in traffic congestion in Oakley and provide inadequate parking for eBART riders. Although Oakley has laid off its Planning Commission and closed City Hall one day per month to save money due to a budget shortfall, the City Council agreed last week to pay a law firm $325 per hour for advice on legal options after eBART concerns were not addressed to the council’s satisfaction. The outside counsel (Remy,
Thomas, Moose & Manley) is being hired because City Attorney Bill Galstan has a conflict of interest, having once also been the city attorney for Antioch, where the planned eBART station and nearby transit village would be located. On Nov. 3, Oakley City Manager Bryan Montgomery sent a letter to BART commenting on the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the eBART station. It asked for more information on the anticipated ridership and its impact on the amount of parking at the station, which Oakley feels is “very inadequate,” as well as the traffic impact on local roads. The response in the final EIR states there will be fewer daily riders in the year 2030 at the Hillcrest eBART station (8,200 riders) than currently at the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART Station (10,000), but more parking spaces at Hillcrest (2,600 spaces) than there are at Pittsburg/
Schools throughout the county reopened this week – earlier than expected – following the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announcement Tuesday that a suspected strain of the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, was less virulent than originally feared. “What I can tell you is that we are no longer closing schools and that we are following the guidelines of the CDC,” said Kate Fowlie, spokesperson for the Contra Costa County Health Services Department. “However, we are still recommending that anyone who is sick stay home.” At press time, a total of 11 cases of the H1N1 virus were confirmed in Contra Costa County. In East County, two schools – Brentwood and Lone Tree elementaries – closed their doors on Monday, May 4, following one probable case at each of the schools. Later in the week one case was confirmed at Edna Hill Elementary, but the school has, and will remain, open.
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THIS WEEK
Remedy for thread dread
Page 9A Photo courtesy of Susan Zahn
usan Zahn and Jacqie Mosqueira, co-captains for Relay For Life team “FUN Families For A Cure,” got some help from O’Hara Park Middle School’s Leadership Team decorating O’Hara Park on Paint the Town Purple Day last Friday. Above, from the left, Catrina Toy, Kelcee Wheeler, Katherine Mosqueira and Ivette Macias, pause from their crepe paper, balloon and poster project to have their picture taken. The FUN Families team will participate in the Brentwood Relay For Life on June 13 and 14. For a look at the Oakley Relay For Life event that was held last weekend, see page 3A.
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Swine flu restraints lifted, schools open Staff Writer
May 8, 2009
A middle school campus store is helping students celebrate the party season in style.
see eBART page 21A
by Ruth Roberts
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“ We were a little shocked when we got the call that the school was closing ... it was a ‘better safe than sorry’ kind of attitude ... It’s just one of those things that happens; you make adjustments.
” Parent Kristin Croteau The CDC relaxed its guidelines this week, stating that schools should remain open as long as the number of absences doesn’t affect the schools’ general operation. Superintendents from local districts, including Byron Union, Brentwood Union and Liberty Union High School, sent letters home to families reassuring them that the situation was being carefully monitored.
Dana Eaton, director of student services for the Brentwood Union School District, said he received the call from the county health department on Saturday, May 2, and within 45 minutes all 8,300 families in the district had been notified of Brentwood Elementary’s planned closure Monday morning. “We have a great autodial system that sends messages in Spanish and English and we were able to get the word out very quickly,” said Eaton. “At this point we haven’t had any more cases, and our philosophy is to rely on the expertise of the health department; we followed their directions to a T.” But for parents like Kristin Croteau, news of the school’s closure was met with mixed emotions. “We were a little shocked when we got the call that the school was closing, and at the very beginning of all this, it was a ‘better safe than sorry’ kind of attitude,” said Croteau, who has two boys at Brentwood Elementary. “But I did see Flu page 21A
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City goes on science spree Whether it’s hiking or kiting, rockets or reptiles, Oakley’s Science Week is bound to flip your switch.
Page 4A
Last-ditch hit delivers
In an extra-inning dust-up on the diamond, Freedom’s clutch hitting edged out Heritage.
Page 1B
INSIDE Calendar ..........................23B Classifieds ........................17B Contest ............................10B Cop Logs ..........................17A Entertainment ................14B Food .................................12B Health & Beauty ............... 7B Milestones .......................11B Opinion ...........................16A Outdoors ...........................6A Sports ................................. 1B WebExtras! ....................... 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A