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Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com
May 13, 2016
JetSuiteX begins commercial flights from Buchanan Scheduled charters promise ease for travelers
to Keith Freitas, director of airports at Buchanan Field and the Byron Airport. They will serve up to 30 passengers at a time. PEGGY SPEAR The inaugural price will be $109 one-way and go up to Clayton Pioneer $300 as demand increases and depending on the day of the Contra Costa County is takweek, said Gareth Edmonding off, quite literally, as a new son-Jones, a spokesperson for charter jet service is roaring to JetSuiteX. life at Concord’s Buchanan At Buchanan, passengers Field. won’t have to endure long TSA JetSuiteX, a new venture screening lines. “But that doesfrom private jet company Jetn’t mean the travel is unsafe,” Suite, launched their first Edmondson-Jones said. flights from Concord to BurPassengers will be screened bank earlier this week. They to make sure they are not on will offer round-trips up to oW PriCes , shorter Lines the “no-fly” list and be L three times daily, as well as a The planes are refurbished checked for any explosive weekend jaunt to Las Vegas. devices. He said there will be other security measures in place, but he was not at liberty to go into detail. “But rest assured, there will be visible and invisible security all around,” Edmondson-Jones said. Freitas and EdmondsonEverything from home repair & Jones downplayed the noise maintenance to construction level that the jets will create. Specializin “We already have charter jets g in deferred m aintenance • EXTERIOR: painting, windows, taking off from Buchanan, so , prepping home for sa le, repairs doors, decks, it will only be about four more from home insp outdoor structures. ections flights per day,” Freitas said. Edmondson-Jones said the Jet• INTERIOR: plumbing, drywall, Gary Romano SuiteX planes were “some of electrical, trim, tile. 787-2500 the quietest” out there. Reliable & Professional Service JetSuiteX has plans to Owner operated refurbish the old PSA terminal Over 35 years of experience Lic. 979406 at the airport, which was, in American Eagle jets, according essence, a double-wide modular building, Freitas said. g “This is a long overdue service to the community,” said Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, who helped broker the deal when JetSuiteX approached the county in February. “They said they wanted to launch in April, and I was skeptical that it could happen,” she said. “But it did.” Mitchoff says the “scheduled charters” are a great option for business travelers in the county who usually rely on flights from Oakland, San Francisco or even San Jose airports, fighting rush-hour traffic.
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The decision to begin service from Buchanan was a “no-brainer,” Edmondson-Jones said. “There’s a sizeable amount of people who fly for business between Southern California and the Bay Area each day, and many come from Contra Costa County.” He says that the idea came from a Jet Blue model, which looked at underused airports in urban areas – specifically Long Beach and JFK in New York – and saw how there were “millions of people who lived near these airports and didn’t take advantage of them because there weren’t services they needed.” After Jet Blue started offering flights, there was a huge revitalization in Long Beach. “Jet Blue made a go of Long Beach, and JetSuiteX wants to do the same thing here, ” EdmondsonJones said. The weekend trips to Las Vegas, which leave Friday and return Sunday, are sure to be popular – attracting those who want to get away for a little fun, Edmondson-Jones noted. Although JetSuiteX did not take students into account, the Pioneer found that college-age people may want to make the jaunt home from Southern California schools. “My daughter Rose will love
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A NEW COMPANY, JETSUITEX, LAUNCHED ITS INAUGURAL FLIGHTS FROM CONCORD’S BUCHANAN FIELD THIS WEEK, with flights between the east Bay and Burbank, Ca. There will also be a weekend flight to and from Las Vegas. The company hopes to tap into the dense business traveler population in central Contra Costa County.
this,” said Walnut Creek’s Ruth Seabrook, whose daughter attends school in the Los Angeles area. heLPinG the LoCaL eConoMy
The plan makes sense to Kish Rajan, the former director for the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO Biz). He sees economic advantages for both Contra Costa and Burbank. Rajan, who lives in Walnut Creek but works with the Southern California Leadership Council, says he will travel on the flights several times a week. “Flying into Burbank is so much easier,” he said. “LAX is a monster. Plus, Buchanan is right near my home, so I don’t have to fight traffic coming from Oakland or San Francisco.” He said that these types of scheduled charters are the wave
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“Have I told you about this?” That is Thomas Murphy speaking. They are the first words out of his mouth and, as a reader, you’ve just been pulled into one of the most wonderful books I’ve read in a long time. It is hard to explain just why I love and recommend “Thomas Murphy” by Roger Rosenblatt; it almost doesn’t have a plot. Well, there’s Murphy, a widower who has recently lost his beloved wife of more than 50 years; an aged, elegant and huge Manhattan apartment that’s been home for almost all those years and with rent control, will probably be home for many more,
of the future. “It’s almost like the Uber-ization of air travel,” he said. “We’re repositioning our assets in a new way.” But perhaps the biggest impact will be on the economy of Concord and surrounding cities, Mitchoff said. “We are much closer to the wine country and other attractions here at Buchanan,” she said. “It makes sense for the tourists who want to come and not pay top-dollar San Francisco prices and can enjoy what Contra Costa and the surrounding areas offer.” John Montagh, Concord’s manager of Economic Development, agrees. “This will be a boon for Concord’s own tourist efforts, as we have the hotels, restaurants and other amenities that people can enjoy.” It is also a boost for Buchanan Field, Freitas said. “We do a lot to educate the com-
munity about what we offer here,” he said. “This will allow us more visibility and show what a gem we have.” The county operates Buchanan Field as well as the airport in Byron. The Airports Division is self-funded and generates revenue for the county, schools and other communityrelated agencies. The Airports Division works with tenants at both airports to provide the community with a wide range of services, from flight schools to skydiving to private hangar rental, Freitas said. It remains to be seen how consumers will greet the new service, but Edmondson-Jones is positive about the response so far. “We’re in it for the long haul,” he said. For more information, contact Contra Costa Airports, call 844Fly-ToUs or visit online at www.ContraCostaAirports.org.
unless the evil building manager (in cahoots with the building owner) kicks him out first. There is the beloved but interfering only daughter, who believes he must see a neurologist just to be on the safe side because he let a boiling pot of eggs cook to near house fire dimensions; and his 4-year old grandson, William, who is his best friend and delight, especially when Thomas is allowed to care for him without interference. Most important, Thomas is a poet, an often less-than-moderate drinker and an Irish immigrant from the isle of Inishmaan, which may very well say it all. There is a story of sorts: a beginning when we first hear Murph (the handle he goes by) speak, a middle when a fellow drinker asks him to intercede on his behalf in a marital problem, and several other events that take Murph off track.
These derailments include the building manager, a neurologist who is pushing for more tests to rule out dementia, his daughter’s decision to leave the U.S. for teaching abroad, which means an unspecified period without sweet, funny William, and lastly, the possibility of a second great love. What is Murph’s track? He is preoccupied by aging. Recalling what has already occurred in one’s life, at a certain age, trumps any great plans for a future of limited length. In an almost conversational narrative, we learn of Murph’s first love, his heartache for an island that becomes more mythic than metaphor, his wife, whose presence is still felt, and those people and events that have touched him deeply. We feel his frustration as he deals with the maddening minutia of medical red tape. We learn, too, of the homeless men and women whose poetry he encourages. For all Murph’s flaws, he has heart and is not afraid to take risks, even at this time in his life. Rosenblatt’s “Thomas Murphy” makes being Irish something holy, almost sacred. Rosenblatt’s writing can bring you to tears as easily as out-loud laughter as you get to know this wonderfully worthwhile character. If you are a mature reader, you will already know Thomas Murphy; if you are younger, you may learn something about your parents, regardless of ethnicity or profession. Have I told you about Thomas Murphy, the best book I’ve read this year?
‘Murphy,’ a character well worth knowing
Sunny Solomon is a freelance writer and head of the Clayton Book Club. Visit her website at bookinwithsunny.com for her latest recommendations or just to ‘talk books.’