MISSING DELIVERY OF THE NEWSPAPER TO YOUR HOME? Vol. 24, No. 9
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BRENTWOOD Liberty Union High School District leaders have decided no disciplinary action will be taken against unmasked students, effective immediately. The vote came hours after the state announced masks will no longer be required in schools, only strongly encouraged, starting March 12, according to new state guidance. The board cast its 3 to 2 vote – with trustees Yolanda Pena-Mendrek and Pauline Allred voting against – in front of a packed house after listening to two hours of letters and public comments both for and against masking policies. Parents, students and staff spoke passionately, though most comments were in favor of making masks optional. As of March 12, the California Department of Public Health says masks will not be required for
Photo by Melissa van Ruiten
T
he KlaasKids Foundation joined search efforts for missing Oakley woman Alexis Gabe last weekend. Search training for volunteers was held at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds. As of press time, Oakley City Manager Josh McMurray said there was no new information in the case to report. The KlaasKids Foundation, run by Marc Klaas and based in Sausalito, assists with missing person cases nationwide through a network of volunteers who organize and conduct searches while also providing training to other search-and-rescue volunteers. The organization was formed by Marc Klaas in the aftermath of the high-profile kidnapping death of his daughter, Polly Klaas, in 1993. To view a video and a slideshow of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia
see Masks page 14A
Residents are upset over housing plans by Melissa van Ruiten Staff Writer
BRENTWOOD Brentwood residents are concerned that a proposed mixedincome community in Brentwood will lead to increased crime and decreased home values. The potential housing project could be built at the intersection of Lone Tree Way and O’Hara Avenue. Developer Eden Housing, in cooperation with the Episcopal Diocese of California, held its first community meeting on the project in mid-February. Project leaders are still in the beginning phases with the City of Brentwood. In August 2021, Eden Housing filed a conceptual pre-appli-
cation with the city, and after receiving community feedback, plans to submit a formal application to the city’s planning department in spring 2022. Once the formal application is submitted, it will allow the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) study to take place. “CEQA is intended to inform government decision-makers and the public about the potential environmental effects of proposed activities and to prevent significant, avoidable environmental damage,” says the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research website. One concern that the CEQA study will address is the impact higher-density housing will have on traffic in the area. see Plans page 14A
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The proposed site of Blue Bird Village, a mixed-use, mixed-income housing development, is at the intersection of O’Hara Avenue and Lone Tree Way in Brentwood.
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BRENTWOOD A Brentwood woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Brentwood police officer Ryan Rezentes in connection with an incident on Feb. 10, 2020 in which Rezentes sicced his police dog on her during an alleged shoplifting incident, causing the woman’s scalp to be partially torn from her head. The department had initially written in a Facebook post about the arrest of then-24-year-old Talmika Bates, along with three other suspects, in connection with a shoplifting incident at Ulta Beauty Supply in the Streets of Brentwood shopping center earlier that day. The post alleged that the group had exited the store with roughly $10,000 in merchandise before fleeing the scene in a Nissan Murano and subsequently being apprehended in a neighborhood near Slatten Ranch Road. The post makes no mention of the injuries suffered by Bates. Bates is seeking unspecified damages, including loss of wages and both medical and legal expenses in the civil lawsuit. The city of Brentwood declined comment “with litigation underway,” according to City Manager Tim Ogden. “Police located [Bates] hiding in a field behind a set of bushes,” the lawsuit alleges in its retelling of the incident. “In violation of his training and the law, Officer Ryan Rezentes inexplicably sicc’d ‘Marco’ on the unsuspecting and unarmed young lady without providsee Sued page 14A
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