discovery bay press 07.04.14
DESCRIPTION
Your Hometown Weekly NewspaperTRANSCRIPT
Vol. 12, No. 27 YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER July 4, 2014
National Award Winning Newspapers
Press Building 1913-2013
Family Friendly! www.thepress.netHAPPYHAPPY
The bays and channels in Discovery Bay will be getting new signs and lighted buoys before the end of the year as part of a two-phase project be-ing led by local business owner, Frank Morgan.
Morgan owns and runs Captain Morgan’s Delta Ad-ventures, which provides houseboat adventures, includ-ing private parties, corporate events and dinner cruises on the Delta. During the 2013 Christmas Lighted Boat Pa-rade, he noticed the buoys in the channels were too few and barely visible in low-light con-ditions.
“There were about 20 boats in that parade, and it was dark,” said Morgan. “Boats don’t have headlights, so in those conditions, you can’t see the buoys until you are right on top of them.”
To help solve this problem, Morgan started a sponsor-ship program to purchase new buoys, complete with solar-powered lights. The program invites individuals and busi-nesses to purchase a buoy for $450 and dedicate it with their name, their business name, or in someone’s memory or honor.
“I am calling this part of the project the buoy legacy,” said Morgan. “Of the 42 buoys we are putting up on both the east and west sides of the bay, 24 of them have already been sponsored. Once they have all been spoken for, we will let people select which buoy to sponsor from the map in order of who signed up fi rst.”
Having the buoys fi tted with lights will not only keep the bay safer at night, they will also remind boaters to be more discreet during the day, accord-ing to Morgan.
DB community floats buoy project
see Buoy page 18A
Measure E dollars fund LMC makeover
Facilities at Los Medanos College (LMC) will be getting a makeover thanks to Measure E, a $450 million bond measure Contra Costa County voters passed in the primary election earlier this month.
The bond raises Contra Costa Community College Dis-trict’s (CCCCD) annual fee on property owners from $13 per $100,000 assessed value to $26.
CCCCD is one of the larg-est multi-college community college districts in California. Alongside LMC and its satellite campus in Brentwood, the dis-
trict also includes Diablo Val-ley College (DVC) in Pleasant Hill and its satellite campus in San Ramon, and Contra Costa Community College (CCCC) in San Pablo.
Currently, 55,000 stu-dents attend colleges within the CCCCD in core academic class-rooms that are deteriorating and are stocked with outdated equipment and laboratory tech-nology. Nursing, fi re science and technical programs are also being held in facilities that lack the modern equipment needed to properly train students.
“In the past, LMC has had Facilities at Los Medanos College (LMC) will be getting a make-over thanks to Measure E, a $450 million bond measure Contra Costa County voters passed in the primary election earlier this month.
Press file photo
by Heather BrewerCorrespondent
see Measure E page 18A
by Kellie McCownCorrespondent
Connect with The Press!Scan QR code with your mobile device.
Got news?Got a tip, interesting photo or breaking news story for The
Press? E-mail your information, name and contact number to
[email protected], or call 925-634-1441.
Get Social!Have you LIKED thepress.net
Facebook Page or Followed us on Twitter? Join the conversation
on your Hometown social sites. facebook.com/thepress.nettwitter.com/thepress_net
Before your next road trip, make sure your car is ready for the journey.
Road rulesgo to news/WebExtras!
CAL FIRE urges residents to use caution when celebrating with fireworks.
Firework safetygo to news/press releases
Olympic potential
A young gymnast hopes to represent the U.S. in an international competition. Page 15A
Delightfully delectable
Get the scoop on East County’s latest culinary masterpieces in The Dish. Page 1B
Artist Block .........................7ACalendar ............................ 11BClassifieds ........................... 7B Cop Logs ............................ 10BFood ...................................... 4BMilestones ........................13AOpinion ..............................14AOutdoors .............................8ASports .................................15AThe Dish ............................... 1B
Brown is the new green
A local golf course is taking on a unique strategy to save water during the drought. Page 5A
Local campers greet the National Wildlife Federation’s mascot Ranger Rick during the Discovery Bay Com-munity Campout at Cornell Park last Saturday. The
campout was held as part of the federation’s Great Ameri-can Backyard Campout, where thousands of people across the nation gather in their backyards, neighborhoods and parks to take part in an annual event that encourages peo-ple to get outside and connect with nature. Nearly 2,000 residents participated in this year’s event.
Happy c ampers
Photo by Heather Brewer
JULY 4, 2014 THEPRESS.NET I 3A
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS & EVENTS
OMMUNITY Got an interesting photo or breaking news story? E-mail your information to [email protected].
Delta weeds public forum Tuesday
Assemblymember Jim Frazier is inviting Discovery Bay residents to attend a community meeting Tuesday, July 8, to discuss invasive aquatic plant management.
"Invasive aquatic weeds impact the well-being of our wonderful natural resources and threaten our Delta way of life," Frazier said. "I want to ensure that my constituents in the Discovery Bay community have a seat at the table and an opportunity to be informed about invasive aquatic weed abatement efforts."
Press file photo
The meeting, which will be held from 6:30 to 8:30p.m. at Discovery Bay Elementary School, will be attended by Frazier, various elected officials, and representatives from the California Division of Boating and Waterways, which has announced that it would not concentrate its efforts to combat the invasive Delta weed Egeria densa in Discovery Bay this summer.
To learn more, contact Frazier's office at 925-778-5790 or visit www.asmdc.org/ members/a 11.
PROFESSIONAL. QUALITY. SERVICES.
We know owning rental property has its risks and rewards. That's why we've developed a full-service property management system and professional team of experts designed to make owning property easy and more profitable!
Visit AMeadowsPropertyManagement.com to get started today and learn more about how our full range of services can increase your property rewards!
lj). A. M EADOWS PRO PER TY M AN AG EM ENT
ADVERTISING
TENANT SCREENING
LEASE NEGOTIATIONS
RENT COLLECTION
MONTHLY DISBURSEMENTS
ACCOUNTING
MAINTENANCE
REPAIRS
F R E E 1 coNSULTATIO N Call Now! I ~:A~U~~~N~ (925) 625-7975
www.ameadowspropertymanagement.com DRE #13111 26
Seen in Brooklyn
Agroup of 31 Excelsio r 8t h grade students visited Washington DC and New York City on an activity-packed tour last month. In Washington DC, the group saw many sights important to
our country, t he Constit ution and Declarat ion of Independence at t he National Archives and t he orig inal Star Spangled Banner at t he Smithsonian. In New York City, t he students saw t he new Freedom Tow er and visited the public 9/11 Memorial. The student s even travelled t o Brooklyn and w alked back across the Brooklyn Bridge after posing for this picture w ith their favorite Hometow n Weekly Newspaper.
HomeLife Senior Care
"Our family helping your family" WHEN A NURSING HOME
ISN'T THE ANSWER ...
Wouldn't it be great to have assisted living in the privacy
and comfort of your own home? That's why so many seniors and their families choose certified in-home care from Homelife Senior Care, the exclusive local provider of Certified Companion Aides (CCAs)®. Affordable rates available from 1 hour to 24-hour care.
• "You have been a Godsend" -Anita & Joseph Faletti
• "Thank you for the superb care my mother has received" - Maria and Paul O'Toole
• "Thank you for your care for John -your girls were wonderful with him!" -Cathie
925-240-5770 Call today for a FREE no-obligation
assessment and list of services.
JULY 4, 2014 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 11A
Soroptimist International of the Delta re-cently held its offi cer installation dinner at Abby’s Gourmet Studio at Trilogy. The Founder Region Governor Dona Gaddis-Wolf presided over the event, installing Jan Schults as president, Kathi Regan as vice president, Leanne Sarmento as secretary and Mary Morris as treasurer for the 2014-15 year.
Soroptimist International is a global wom-en’s nonprofi t organization whose 80,000 mem-bers volunteer to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and eco-nomic empowerment.
Soroptimist International of the Delta was chartered in 1984. The club is celebrating 30 years in the community thanks to the Soroptimist In-ternational of East Contra Costa County, which sponsored the charter.
Soroptimist International of the Delta meets on the fi rst Tuesday of the month (except
in June, July, August and November) at Dad’s Café in Brentwood at 6 p.m.
The East Contra Costa County club meets at Dad’s Café on the fi rst Thursday of the month for dinner meetings as well as the third Thursday of the month for lunch meetings.
Soroptimist International is hosting a clothes collection drive for Dress For Success, a nonprofi t that provides business attire to disad-vantaged women so that they can be successful in job interviews. Clean and ready-to-wear business attire in all sizes as well as handbags and new, un-opened make-up are accepted. Donations may be dropped off at The Brentwood Press offi ce, 248 Oak St. in Brentwood, through July 21.
Women interested in fi nding out more may e-mail Soroptimist International of the Delta at [email protected] or Soroptimist International of East Contra Costa County at [email protected].
Soroptimist turns 30
Many Californians will be cel-ebrating our nation’s independence with fi reworks, but CAL FIRE urges extreme caution during California’s drought emergency.
It can take hundreds of thou-sands of gallons of water to control a large wildfi re. Effective July 1, CAL FIRE Chief Ken Pimlott ordered a ban on open burning throughout the 31 million acres of responsibility protected by CAL FIRE due to the elevated threat of wildfi re caused by the drought emergency.
“We are urging the public to cel-ebrate our nation’s independence by attending a professional fi reworks display,” said Chief Pimlott, direc-tor of CAL FIRE. “For those who choose to use fi reworks to celebrate, make sure fi reworks are allowed in the area of use and follow all safety precautions. You don’t want to ruin your celebration by becoming fi nan-cially responsible for a fi re caused by your activities.”
California has a zero tolerance policy for the sale and use of illegal fi reworks. Illegal fi reworks include sky rockets, bottle rockets, roman candles, aerial shells, fi recrackers and other types that explode, fl y into the air or move on the ground in an un-controllable manner.
It is illegal to sell, transport or use fi reworks that do not carry the “Safe and Sane” seal, as well as pos-
sess or use any fi reworks in a commu-nity where they are prohibited.
If convicted, a violator could be fi ned up to $50,000 as well as sent to jail for up to one year.
There are nearly 300 communi-ties within California that allow Safe and Sane fi reworks.
CAL FIRE is asking the public to take the following precautions: • Check that fi reworks are allowed in the area of use. • Make sure the fi rework has the State Fire Marshal “Safe and Sane” seal.• Purchase fi reworks only from le-gitimate organizations authorized to sell. • Have a bucket of water or sand, or a garden hose available at fi ring site. • Read all instructions before use. • Never alter, modify or enhance fi re-works – use only in the manner in-tended. • Make sure fi reworks have proper clearance from fl ammable materials including dry grass and brush.
CAL FIRE has already respond-ed to more than 2,500 wildland fi res this year – a large increase in the av-erage number of fi res for the same time period. Residents are urged to visit www.ReadyforWildfi re.org for tips on how to prepare their homes and family for wildfi re. The website also links to important water saving tips, a resource critical to the control of wildfi res.
Have a safe Fourth
18A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY JULY 4, 2014
“The buoys will all say ‘idle speed’ on them, and having more in the area will bring it to the attention of boaters more often,” he added. “Hopefully this will keep the wake down throughout Discovery Bay as much as possible.”
While Morgan has been the driving force behind the effort, he has had help from, among others, fellow community leader Jim Mattison, who gives a lot of credit to the local community for the quick progression of the project.
“These are the types of things we are always looking to improve around here,” said Mattison, a past president
and current board member of the Dis-covery Bay Lion’s Club. “I’ve been get-ting several calls every day from people wanting to sponsor the buoys. We’re a small, close-knit community, and when the call goes out, people recognize that and reach out to help.”
In addition to the buoys, the project will also oversee the replacement of 67 signs throughout the bay.
“What I call phase two of this proj-ect will be replacing the bay’s signs and installing more of them,” Morgan said. “The current signs are hard to see and in rough shape. After completion, each bay will have two signs bearing its name.”
Reclamation District 800 has also
gotten on board with the joint venture and will be overseeing the placement, installation and maintenance of the new buoys and signs.
“We will be installing and maintain-ing the new buoys and signs in the bays,” said Jeff Conway, the manager for Rec-lamation District 800. “The solar lights that will be attached on these buoys last a really long time. As long as there are no damages from vandalism or collisions, they should last at least 10 years.”
In a display of the continued coop-eration that comes from the residents of Discovery Bay, community backing for this project has been commendable, ac-cording to Morgan.
“We’ve had such a great outpouring of support that people want to sponsor more than one buoy,” he said. “While we are only allowing one buoy per spon-sor at this time so more people can get involved and make this a larger com-munity effort, we sincerely appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm.”
For more information on how to sponsor this project, call Morgan at 925-383-5346, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.CaptainMor-gansDeltaAdventures.com.
Specs and information on the buoys can be found at www.krmfg.com/krm.nsf/Products/Regulatory.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
a signifi cant portion of the prior bonds,” said LMC Workforce and Programs Di-rector David Wahl. “That’s how we have a brand new library, math, and science building.”
Despite getting priority in past bond funds, facilities at LMC Pittsburg and the Brentwood Campus are still out of date. Measure E will provide approxi-mately $85 million in additional funds.
“We will be able to retrofi t and up-date the College Core Complex as well as begin construction on buildings for
student life and performing arts as well as modernize our gym and aquatic facili-ties,” said Wahl. “But something we are very happy about is that we will be able to begin construction on the Brentwood Center. That is something we’ve been waiting for.”
Currently, the LMC Brentwood campus is housed inside of a former grocery store on Sand Creek Road. The location caters to students in far East County, but the facility is no longer large enough to meet the student popu-lation. Measure E funds will cover the
planning, design and construction costs for the new $34 million Brentwood Cen-ter, which will be located on district-owned land off of Marsh Creek Road.
LMC Vice President Kevin Horan says beginning construction on the new campus that will span 17.5 acres is some-thing the district is hoping to start as soon as possible.
“The Brentwood Center is our No. 1 priority project,” said Horan. “We have allocated approximately $42 mil-lion from Measure E to go towards the center.”
Other district upgrades include seismic retrofitting at CCCC as well as a new science and health building for the San Pablo campus and new engi-neering and performing arts buildings at DVC.
The passing of Measure E comes on the tails of two wins for similar bond measures in 2000 and 2006 that provided funding for the updating of facilities at all district campuses. Residents can pre-pare to see the property fee increases in 2015.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Buoy from page 1A
Measure E from page 1A
Craig Leighty and Brenda Wal-lace were married during a cozy backyard wedding at their
Oakley home in the Summer Lakes division. For their honeymoon, the couple enjoyed a two-week trip to Italy and they let the Oakley Press tag along. The couple posed with their Hometown Weekly Newspaper in Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome. Thank you for sharing your magical vacation with us, and we at The Press wish you a long and happy marriage. Congratulations!
Seen in Italy
