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Vol. 8, No. 8 YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER February 19, 2010

This Week

No doubt about it

A convincing payback victory made the Lions league crown fit more comfortably. Page 1B

Plus: Calendar ............................ 23BClassifieds ......................... 16BCop Logs ............................14AEntertainment ................. 12BHealth & Beauty .............. 10BOpinion ..............................13ASports ................................... 1B

The Discovery Bay-based group San Francisco Bay and Del-ta Foundation (SFBDF) is hosting a town forum next month to up-date the public and local business community on the controversial 2-Gates project and provide an over-view of Californias ongoing water issues.

The California Delta Water Meeting will be held March 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Discovery Bay El-ementary School gymnasium. The event features special guest speaker

Supervisor Mary Piepho; Susanna Schlendorf, district director for As-sembly member Joan Buchanan; and Environmental Water Caucus representative David Nesmith.

The meeting will provide in-formation on a variety of water-related topics, including a short

history of the Bay and Delta, a summary of major Delta water projects, water conveyance and storage, and will address concerns over a possible peripheral canal.

According to SFBDF Public-ity Chair Mike Guzzardo, The purpose of the meeting is to let the

community know what a great job they have done so far with (fi ght-ing) the 2-Gates project, and give them a good overall picture of what is going on now and what is most likely going to happen in the future. We need to continue the outreach to the community, to let the public know that its not over.

The 2-Gates project, a fi ve-year experimental program designed to save the Delta smelt by rerouting them away from the water pumps on Old and Middle rivers, was de-layed in December by the Obama

Effort to scuttle 2-Gates continuesby Ruth Roberts

Staff Writer

see 2-Gates page 18A

We need to continue the outreach to the community, to let the public know that its not over.

SFBDF Publicity Chairman Mike Guzzardo

Tree removal project underway

If you traveled the west side of Discovery Bay Boulevard or along Sandpoint Road last week, you likely noticed some changes in the scenery. A num-ber of Aleppo pine trees, 43 to be exact, were being dug up and ground down in the name of public safety.

The removal of the pine trees many more than 30 years old was not at the top of new Discovery Bay Landscape Man-ager Fairin Perezs priority list. But when one of the enormous pines some weighing as much as 30,000 pounds fell and nar-rowly missed hitting a home last November, and then again two weeks ago when a branch from another dropped onto Discov-ery Bay Boulevard, the project became Job 1.

Many of these trees (be-cause of the winds in Discov-ery Bay) are horizontal to the ground, and over half of them are diseased, which weve iden-tifi ed as a potential hazard, said Perez. A majority of them lean into each other and if you

remove just the diseased ones, then the others are left with no support and would eventually become their own hazard. So we decided to remove them all and

start with a clean slate.ValleyCrest Landscaping

Company submitted the lowest bid for the job approximately $6,000 and is removing the

pines along the west side of Discovery Bay Boulevard at Seal Drive, continuing to and

These 30-year-old trees, shown here along Discovery Bay Boulevard looking south from Sand Point Road, are just a few of the dozens of potentially hazardous trees being removed.

Photo by Richard Wisdom

by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer

see Trees page 18A

High price to pay

In an era of deep budget cuts, school officials pay could raise some eyebrows. Page 6A

Prescription for placidity

A longtime East County doctor has set his last bone and delivered his last baby. Page 3A

Online Now!

www.thepress.netYour Hometown Web Site

Some shops are prohibiting the open carrying of sidearms on premises.

Ban on packingo to multimedia/videos

Students and parents sampled a buffet of career and college choices.

Open housego to news/WebExtras!

New statistics give an inside look at the state of housing in East County.

Weekly briefinggo to news/press releases

FEBRUARY 19, 2010 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 3A

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Beloved doctor takes down his shingleDr. Hugh Maiocco sits in a comfort-

able leather chair chatting with a visitor in his Brentwood living room, his broad, ever-present smile accessorized by his sparkling eyes. Outside the picture win-dow to his right, green grass and fl ower-beds are bordered by a phalanx of tall trees ringing the property and serving as a visual barrier between his homes rural setting and rapidly encroaching subur-bia.

But the shift from neighboring farm fi elds to next-door dwellings isnt the only change taking place in the Maiocco household. After more than a half-centu-ry of practicing medicine in East County, helping health care make the transition from house calls to hospitals, Maiocco has fi nally hung up his stethoscope.

I didnt want to retire, but the com-puter shot my legs out from under me, said the 83-year-old Maiocco. His unique method of keeping hand-written records had served him well, but he admits it was simply no longer appropriate for the times.

But while bits and bytes might have been his downfall, they stand as per-haps the only thing he failed to master. Described as a Renaissance man by one of his dearest friends, the late Bill Bristow, Maiocco the athlete won Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in track at the

1952 Pan American Olympics. As an art-ist, his paintings earned him an exhibit at the San Francisco Art Festival. As a psy-chologist, he was schooled at New Yorks Bellevue School of Medicine, and as a philosopher he spent a week at a Bud-dhist monastery in Shasta. During World

War II, he took a month off of work to teach himself electronics and passed the Navys Radar program entrance exam with fl ying colors. He even owns a pat-ent for a simplifi ed system of music that eliminates the half-step progression rep-resented by the black keys on a piano.

Maiocco says his lifelong yearning to learn stems from wandering away from his New York home and getting thoroughly lost at the age of 6. Rather than panic, he carefully reviewed his surroundings and how he had gotten there, and eventually made his way back.

It turned out that fi nding my way home that day was a seminal life-chang-ing experience because it taught me a fundamental lesson about the nature of knowledge acquisition, Maiocco wrote in a recent magazine article. Studying many disciplines would also prove handy when he began practicing medicine in Brentwood in 1957.

Ensconced in a small offi ce with doctors Abe Kaplan and Charles Duffy, Maiocco and his colleagues were forced by circumstances to treat virtually every kind of malady, as there was no other medical care for miles around. They needed to be versed in neurology, pediat-rics, trauma and internal medicine. They delivered babies, set fractures, had to understand that a neck injury might ac-tually be a stress-related condition, and even once treated a case of leprosy. Calls could come at any time Maiocco and his little black bag once made 27 house calls on Thanksgiving or even arrive on his doorstep.

One time the doorbell rang and

Hugh Maiocco stands by one of the paintings once shown in a San Francisco Art Festival show. The pioneer East County physician retired last month after more than a half-century of practice.

Photo by Rick Lemyre

by Rick LemyreStaff Writer

see Maiocco page 15A

4A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY FEBRUARY 19, 2010

The Open Carry movement is gaining steam in Antioch as members meet regularly at local coffee shops to discuss what they can do to protect what they view as their Second Amendment rights to carry a rearm in public. Peets Coffee has banned people from carrying rearms on premises, but Starbucks still welcomes the group. Visit www.thepress.net to view a video report by Melinda Meza about how one group of citizens is taking a stand.

Coming Friday to thepress.netLooking for a fun night out that will

help support local charities? Buy your tickets now for the 12th annual Brentwood Police Offi cers Ball on Saturday, April 3 from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Brentwood Golf Club, 100 Summerset Drive.

The black-tie affair features a cock-tail hour, dinner and live dance music by the Timebandits.

Tickets are $80 per person and $150 per couple. All proceeds benefi t the Brent-wood Police Activities League, Brentwood Explorer Post 415, Brentwood Youth Commission and A Place of Learning.

Seating is limited, so make your res-ervations now. For more information or to purchase tickets, call event chairman Offi cer Roger Wilson at 925-809-7768.

Cops to have a Ball

The Network of Care is hosting its fourth annual crab feed fundraiser on Saturday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m. in Veterans Hall, 757 First St. in Brent-wood. The event kicks off with ap-petizers, a traditional crab feed and a comedy show and features raffle prizes and a silent auction. All proceeds ben-efit The Network of Care, which pro-vides meals to families in crisis when a child is suddenly hospitalized. Tickets are $50. No tickets will be sold at the door.

Founded in 2004, The Network of Care delivers meal and snack bags to 43 hospitals in California, including Sut-ter Delta Medical Center in Antioch. As of last year, the organizations volunteers have delivered more than 50,000 care packages to help families cope with the stress of an injured or ill child by providing the family a snack

or meal bag, which allows them to stay by their childs bedside.

For more information about the crab feed and to purchase tickets, con-tact Janet Frazier at 925-584-4086 or Jim Frazier at 925-250-6831. To learn more about The Network of Care, vis-it www.thenetworkofcare.org.

Helping sick kids families

An article in last weeks Press stated that unlike most other fi re districts, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District does not employ paramedic fi refi ghters. The district does, however, contract fi rst-responder paramedic services with American Medical Response.

Clarification


Relay For LifeTeam Trivia Night

The East Contra Costa County Chap-ter of Project Linus is hosting its annual Make a Blanket Day on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Project Linus, a national nonprofi t or-ganization, makes and donates handmade blankets to children in need. The ECC Chapter meets monthly to gather quilts for donations and swap blanket ideas, but Make a Blanket Day is an opportunity to spread the word to the community about this worthy cause.

This year, Project Linus plans to send blankets to comfort the children in Haiti as they recover from the aftermath of the dev-astating January earthquake. Blankets are also donated to local hospitals and shelters, such as Shepherds Gate in Brentwood.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own sewing machines and supplies, cutting mats, rotary cutters, scissors, crochet hooks and something to work on. Quilt kits including thread, batting, backing fabric, fl eece fabric and fl annel will be available.

Refreshments will be provided. Chil-dren 12 and older are welcome to attend the event with an adult. No pets, please.

This years Make a Blanket Day takes place at Delta Community Presbyterian Church, 1900 Willow Lake Road in Discov-ery Bay. Project Linus regular meetings are held at the church on the fi rst Saturday of the month.

For more information, call Chapter Coordinator Jeanne Akin at 510-459-7457 or e-mail [email protected].

Linus blankets kids with comfort

If youre in command of a wealth of useless facts and want to put your knowledge to the test, Team Trivia Night is made for you.

Presented by the Relay for Life team Planning on a Cure, the event will be held Saturday, March 20 at Veterans Hall, 757 First St. in Brent-wood. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the game begins promptly at 7 p.m. A no-host bar serving wine, beer, soda and bottled water will be avail-able, as well as light snacks, coffee and dessert. Proceeds from the event benefi t the American Cancer Society

and the 2010 Brentwood Relay for Life.

Trivia teams must fi eld a team of eight to 10 people. Those without a team will be assigned one when they purchase a ticket the night of the event. Prizes will be awarded to the top teams. Trivia Night is open to anyone 18 or older, even those who havent committed to a Relay for Life team.

Tickets are $15 and must be pur-chased at the Brentwood Press offi ce, 248 Oak St., by March 15. For more information, call 925-550-1182.

Go Irishfor DCSS

Celebrate St. Patricks Day early this year at a special dinner-dance fundraiser on Saturday, March 13, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Brentwoods Eskaton Lodge, 450 John Muir Parkway in Brentwood. The event benefi ts the nonprofi t organization Delta Community Social Services. Dinner will be served from 6 to 7 p.m. Live music will be performed by Frank Lombardo.

Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door and may be purchased at Eskaton Lodge, Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Health Hut, Weathervane Western Wear, SpeeDee Oil Change & Tune up, and Delta Community Services.

The event is open to guests 6 and up. For more information, call Delta Community Services at 925-634-8275 or e-mail [email protected].

6A | THEPRESS.NET EDUCATION FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Red flag raised over school officials payAs the Brentwood Union School Dis-

trict (BUSD) continues to grapple with $1.9 million in cuts for the coming school year, teachers and parents are outraged over the school boards recent decision to slash classroom programs and lay off dozens of educators while simultaneously approving pay increases for three of the districts highest paid employees.

The BUSD School Board unani-mously agreed at its Feb. 10 meeting to a 3-percent salary increase for Chief Busi-ness Offi cial Scott Anderson and Assis-tant Superintendent of Human Resources Margaret Kruse, along with a 2-percent raise for BUSD Superintendent Merrill Grant.

Along with the salary increases, the board also voted to increase class sizes for grades K-3 (to the low 20s), eliminate the computer program for fourth- and fi fth-grade students, and serve pink slips on 22 full-time teachers.

The pay increases coming at a time when neighboring school district super-intendents and administrative staff are taking voluntary reductions as a show of solidarity are, said one Brentwood par-ent, Unconscionable.

What we are expecting our children to accept, what we are asking our teachers to accept, is unconscionable, said Laura

Phillips. I wonder if there is a way to have these folks revisit this (budget and raises) decision. Im a parent, and Im very, very concerned what I heard about the meeting was shocking.

One teacher who attended the board meeting, but requested anonymity be-cause of fear of retribution, said the board members acted with little regard for public or employee input.

I am absolutely livid as a tax-pay-ing citizen of Brentwood the school board unanimously approved the layoffs of teachers, increases in class sizes and reductions in programs. Viable alterna-tive ideas were presented, but were not even considered by the board Merrill (Grant) was openly hostile and incredibly agitated with the few comments ques-tioning why this (raises) was happening. Again, the board made these decisions without any debate or discussion.

You can call it a raise, because tech-nically it is, said Grant. But these (step) increases for the three contracted employ-ees are exactly the same as every other em-ployee in the district has, and were made to refl ect the two-workday reduction. The technicality here is that last week at the board meeting the board had to go in and act on the contract for the next fi scal year. The increase in step and the decrease in work days were made accordingly.

Grant argued that the boards ap-proval of pay step increases automatic

yearly raises for him, Anderson and Kruse is simply standard procedure. Be-cause the three administrators are techni-cally employees of the school board, their contracts and salaries are negotiated and approved by the board, versus the regular salary schedule that is used for teachers and other district staff.

And in fact, 70 percent of BUSD em-ployees do receive regular step increases and are in line to receive them again for 2010-11 provided the budget remains un-changed; something that many, including Grant, agree is not likely to happen.

Were not done with all of this (bud-get changes), said Grant. The board re-evaluates me each June and in the next fi ve months there will be more transpir-ing; more furlough days and salary roll-backs whether its for me or our salaried employees. Its going to get worse for me and everyone else before it gets better.

Grants critics argue that if the con-troversial increases might actually disap-pear in the coming year, it should have been mentioned at the recent meeting to relieve tension and boost morale.

I wasnt going to sit there and grand-stand and say Im going to take a pay cut right now, Grant explained in a phone in-terview. General salary rollbacks will be a later conversation for me and all 700 em-ployees. If people want to single me out, well, that comes with the territory. But I couldnt solve all the problems in that one

meeting and I wasnt going to try.My response to the morale piece

is that we did this (discussion of salary increase) in an effort to be totally trans-parent and show we are taking the same amount of workday reductions as every-one else. I just really want to point out that at this point in time our contracts needed to be dealt with to refl ect the two workday reduction. There will be more discussion in June for both administra-tion and the district. This is the fi rst step in a very lengthy process and there will be more to come.

Phillips hopes that a heightened awareness of the districts situation will encourage more active participation on both sides of the chalkboard. We have a wonderful school district with very high standards, and I am well aware that its very tough out there, she said. Ever since Prop. 13 its just gotten worse, but I think there is a lot that we can all do to reduce our waste and save money. We defi nitely have to do something and we can start by going to the (school board) meetings and raising the questions that need to be raised. Were all in this for the same reasons, and we have got to come together.

The BUSD board meets the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. For meeting times and locations, call 925-513-6300 or visit www.brentwood.k12.ca.us.

To comment, visit www.thepress.net.


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DATE YOUR 4506-TLiar loans. You may have heard of them.

Thats where you could just tell your lender how much you made, and they didnt verify what you told them. Sounds crazy now, but at the time it was all the rage. They even had a NINJA loan, which stood for no income-no job-no assets. Gee, is it any wonder our real estate market tanked?

Well, the lenders are now going overboard to verify and check everything, which is mostly a good thing so we hopefully dont have a repeat of this real estate meltdown. One of their tools is Form 4506-T. This is the form theyll ask you to sign where you authorize your lender to obtain a copy of your tax returns from the IRS. So even though you gave them a copy of your returns, they wanted the right to go get a copy of the real document. In the past, this was more of a threat to keep people honest and not doctor up their tax returns. But now this is more of a standard practice to check.

There are two key areas on this form you should pay attention to. The first is where there are 4 boxes to fill in for what year of returns they are asking for. The other is the date next to the signature line. Ive heard of some lenders who ask

you to sign this form, but tell you to not fill in the four boxes for what year return they can obtain, and also to not date the bottom of the form. The IRS will only honor the form if its signed within 60 days of the IRS receiving the form. But if you dont date the form, and the four boxes arent filled out, the lender (or the secondary investor who buys your loan later) could conceivably retain this form, and then surreptitiously check your income anytime they want during the life of your loan. So my advice is to date that form (and all forms) when you sign them, and try to limit the number of tax returns they can get copies of to just the ones that are required to apply for your loan. Note that I am NOT telling you to hide info from your lender. Im saying you should only give them what they are requesting, not a blank document which gives them the ability to get confidential information about you for years to come.

If you have questions on this or any other real estate topic, call me at (925) 240-MOVE (6683). To search the MLS for free and view virtual tours of homes for sale, go to: www.SharpHomesOnline.com. Sharp Realty

Dana Eaton, Kevin King, Rick Lemyre and Lill Pierce of the Brent-wood Regional Community Chest recently took delivery of a $2,500 check from the Streets of Brentwood. Similar checks went to the Heritage High School Band Boosters and the Ron Nunn Elemen-tary School Parents Club. The Streets Community Partnership program devotes a portion of sales from all stores in the lifestyle center to local charities. The latest partner is the Liberty High School Band Boosters, which, like Heritage, is helping to send students to the Paci c Rim Festi-val in Hawaii in March. Libertys band will be performing at the Streets this weekend. Because of the expected rain, youll nd them at the An-chor Blue location and in the space closest to The Rave Theater.

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In Limboby Joan Grimes, Esq.

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Every day, at least one person comes into my offi ce complaining that they have made all of their payments under a trial loan modifi cation, but there has been no permanent modifi cation. According to the latest numbers, only 4% of all trial modifi cations under HAMP have become permanent. Th e Treasury indicated in December, 2009 that it would start fi ning lenders for failing to complete loan modifi cations, but we have seen little improvement yet.

Borrowers are told a host of explanations as to why there has been no permanent loan modifi cation on their loan including missing paperwork, the loan is with a negotiator or simply that the loan modifi cation takes time. While all of these explanations may be true, the result is that borrowers throughout the country are left in limbo not knowing whether they should try to stay or make preparations for leaving the home. To make matters worse, most borrowers know that the loan modifi cation documentation signed by them warns that foreclosure may be immediately resumed from the point at which it was suspended if this trial modifi cation plan terminates and no new notice of default, notice of intent to accelerate, or similar notice is required. What should they do?

In order to reduce some of their anxiety, I ask them to work through a simple 3 step process to see if any loan modifi cation really makes any sense for them.

Step 1- What are the terms of the loan modifi cation being off ered? Th ere are many types of loan modifi cation/forbearances being off ered by lenders. However, the one most helpful to borrowers is HAMP which stands for Home Aff ordable Modifi cation Program. Lenders are not required to participate in this plan. However, the biggest lenders including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Citibank and American Home Mortgage Servicing are participating. Th e program lowers the interest rate to 2% for years 1-5 and increases the interest rate over the next 3 years until it is fi xed in year 8 at approximately 4.5% -5.0% for the remaining term of the loan or in some instances extending the loan term to a 40 year loan. If the trial period is not for a HAMP loan modifi cation, you should immediately contact the lender and apply for HAMP loan modifi cation.

Step 2- Can you pay off the principal balance? A good rule of thumb is that a borrower can payoff 2-2.5 times their gross household income in a home loan over the course of their working life and go on vacation and have a child or two. Th erefore, if a familys average gross household income is $100,000, they should not have a home loan which exceeds $250,000. Th is is assuming a 30 year fi xed loan. If a borrower has less than 30 years remaining work time, the amount should be reduced accordingly. If you determine that you are never going to own this property, is this the best use of your money? If you didnt have this huge mortgage payment plus property taxes, insurance and maintenance, could you be putting away more money into retirement or maybe saving for a home you could actually own.

Step 3- Is the loan modifi cation payment less than I would pay in rent? Assuming, the above calculation shows that you will not be able to pay off the balance of the loan over the course of your remaining work career, is the loan modifi cation payment still less than I would pay in rent? Depending on where you live, the loan modifi cation payment may still be less than rent you would pay in your immediate area.

Loan Modifi cations are diffi cult. Most of these loans were made with little or no documentation and now the lenders seem to be requiring full loan documentation at the beginning, middle and whenever they feel like it until they decide a loan modifi cation is granted or denied. If you are in a forever trial modifi cation, I urge to continue a dialogue with the lender seeing if any new programs have become available which may help you. In 2010, we expect lenders with the assistance of the federal government to roll out additional loan modifi cation programs. I recommend calling the lender at least once a week. Continue to ask if there is anything new available. A 4% permanent loan modifi cation rate is not good, but if it improves, you do not want to miss the modifi cation which may allow to retain your home.*Th is information is not provided as legal advice and should not be relied up in making any decision regarding a voluntary default, short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy. Th is information is not a substitute for obtaining tax & legal advice regarding an individual situation. 2010 Joan Grimes

Th e Forever Trial Modifi cation

With just a week to go before the cur-tain goes up at Heritage High School, Chris Fallows is pretty pumped about his drama departments latest venture, and under-standably so.

Im sitting in my offi ce right now sur-rounded by 10-foot glass stained windows and they are quite stunning, said Fallows, describing the work of his tech crew, who built the Plexiglas casements. Theyre modeled after the Tiffany-style windows and theyre spectacular.

Spectacular is an adjective the theater director also uses to describe his students acting and vocal chops for the upcoming production of Stephen Sondheims musical Into the Woods.

We have some very talented students this year, said Fallows. Sometimes I just look at them and wish I had been as good as they are when I was in high school. Some of them are really quite inspiring.

Based on Bruno Bettelheims The Uses of Enchantment, Into the Woods blends some familiar characters from Grimms fairy tales Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk and brings them into the lives of a baker and his wife, who are desperate to reverse a family curse that has left them childless.

Its a fun play, said Fallows. The fi rst act ends with happily ever after. The princesses get their princes and the baker gets his kid. But the second act is about what happens after happily ever after: its tough having a baby, princes dont always act how you want them to, and its really funny to watch as reality is injected into the fairy tale.

While most school musicals boast ap-proximately 40 to 60 cast members, Into the Woods employs only 19. The down-sized cast allows for more in-depth charac-ter development, said Fallows, and a chance


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The tech crew of Into the Woods, from left Bethanny Madge, Kassidy Penso and Haley Marquardt puts the nishing touches on some of the upcoming Heritage High productions spectacular stained glass set.



see Woods page 15A

FEBRUARY 19, 2010 THEPRESS.NET | 11A

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NECK PAIN AND PINCHED NERVES

I woke up yesterday morning with severe neck pain that radi-ates down my right arm to my hand and I can barely move my neck without producing the shooting arm pain. Or, for the last few months, Ive had this nagging pain in my neck and when I look up, my arm goes numb. Or, Every time I bend my head to the left , my left arm goes numb. Ive noticed when I lift weights, I can only curl 15 lbs with my left arm compared to 35 lbs with the right. Th ese are common histories describing a classic pinched nerve in the neck. So, what is a pinched nerve? To answer this, lets fi rst look at what a nerve is.

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Th ere are two types of conditions that commonly pinch nerves, which generally occur at diff erent times of life those with a herni-ated disk (younger > older patients) and those with arthritis (older > younger patients). A combination of the two conditions producing the pinching eff ect on the nerve can also occur making the diagnosis process a little trickier. Th e following diagram helps explain these conditions:

In the diagram to the left, the nerves come off the spinal cord. Those in the neck region go down the arm and those in the low back go down the legs. The spinal cord is the highway that brings information from the nerves in the arms, legs, trunk, etc., to the brain where information is processed. The bony spine houses and protects the spinal cord and skull protects the brain but there is no bony protection for the nerves. Nerves bring information to the brain allowing us to feel, taste, smell, see, and move our legs and arms to perform complex movements like dancing, running, gymnastics, and so on. Information is constantly going to and from the brain to allow us to function normally. The nerve can get pinched anywhere along its course, including the wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome), elbow (cubital tunnel syndrome), shoulder (thoracic outlet syndrome), and/or neck (herniated disk and/or arthritis). This results in a slowing down of information transmission to/from the brain and numbness, pain, throbbing, as well as weakness in strength can occur.

The nerves exit the spine through holes that can be narrowed if the jelly central part of the disk herniates outward and into the nerve pushing it against the bone that makes up the hole through which it exits the spine. A bone spur (as shown in the diagram to the left, coming off the left facet joint) pushing into the nerve or the thickening of the ligaments that run inside the spinal canal (eg., ligamentum fl avum) can also crowd these sensitive nerve structures and cause similar symptoms.

Congratulations to the following Students of the Month at Orchard Park Elementary for exemplifying Caring, the Pillar of Character for the month of January. In the front row, from left, are Zaki Her-awi Khoja, Daniel Villapando-Ayala, Katie Gross, Trinity Cardoza, Wesley Clark, Alison Lazzerini, Devondre James, Eduardo Marin and Gianna Spi-nelli; back row: Amy Johnson, Carlos Gutirrez, Jorge Luna, Ruby Gonza-lez, Kaliyah Huddleston, Auroa Gularte, Mary Borlongan, Emily Mendoza and Alisha Barrick. Not pictured is Andreus Santoleri.

Caring at Orchard Park

In an effort to bring the comforts of home to our troops, the Antioch Mili-tary Family & Friends is partnering with the Contra Costa County Law Enforce-ment Training Center Class 165 to host a Care Package Drive for soldiers serving abroad.

Food items such as coffee packets, Cup O Noodles, and fruit rollups help sol-diers remember the fl avors of home. Hy-giene products such as disposable razors,

deodorant and toothpaste are also needed. Clothing items are also welcome, as well as small, hand-held games such as crossword puzzles, yo-yos, and Nerf footballs.

The Drive takes place on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Golden Hills Community Church, 2401 Shady Willow Lane in Brentwood.

For more information and a com-plete list of donation options, visit www.academylegacy.com.

Send troops a bit of home


Cackle raising hacklesEditor:

Over the last few weeks we have been reading about the most ridiculous city issue that I ever expected would take place in the City of Brentwood. The fact that Brent-wood, which promotes its agricultural heri-tage and surroundings, has nothing to do with reality and that is, Brentwood is a city and our City Council has done everything in its power to do away with its rural-type lifestyle and image that Brentwood was once known for.

When you publish the fact that only 3 percent of Brentwood properties are 20,000 square feet or larger makes it even easier to understand and it sends a very clear message that this is a city and you dont raise farm animals, like chickens, within a city.

For anyone to imply that the e-mail messages circulated by opponents (con-cerned citizens) were fi lled with scare tactics and lies is nothing but bull and to imply that the citys Land Use Subcom-mittee and Planning Commission are experts in the fi eld of keeping chickens in a residential neighborhood is a misleading lie. As they arent experts in this area.

Documentation was received and presented to the City Council and to the residents of Brentwood that clearly stated the facts of raising chickens in a residen-tial community and the problems and costs that it creates for a city. The message was very clear that keeping chickens in a residential neighborhood was not a recom-mended practice under any circumstances.

Pro-hen advocates need to spend their time looking for a location in the country to move to and to stop wasting the time of the City Council and the residents of Brentwood. The amount of time that has already been spent and wasted on this ridiculous issue in a time of city money crunching and the rising crime rate prob-lems clearly speak for themselves and the urgency they require.

The majority of the Brentwood City

Council members did an outstanding job of looking at this matter very objectively as to what was best for the city long term and for the majority of the residents of Brentwood and we thank them for that. As expected, two council members contin-ued on their path of political destruction and hopefully in the very near future the residents of Brentwood will send a clear message and let them retire to a Chicken farm in the country, where they belong.

Johnny MerrillBrentwood

More perilous than poultryEditor:

I was sorry that the three council members chickened out on voting not to permit chickens on lots under 20,000 square feet. I would like to ask the person who started this controversy if she would prefer a couple of mature, male pit bulls next door instead! Preferably with their doghouse close to the property line.

Beth PforrBrentwood

First things firstEditor:

On Sunday, Feb. 14 I was watching TV when my doorbell rang. At the door was a young man asking me if I would sign a peti-tion to widen Balfour Road between Heri-tage High School and Deer Valley Road.

I thought it was a good idea till I read the fi ne print. The reason for the petition is to move the Urban Limit Line to allow development past Heritage to Deer Valley. This would allow up to 1,300 residential units and other developments. I take excep-tion to the tactics these developers are using to get their petition signed. (I am sure these developers are paying for each signature.) They told another neighbor that the peti-tion would get the City of Brentwood tax revenue that the City of Antioch wanted.

The facts are: we do not need any more uncontrolled growth in Brentwood. We have plenty of empty homes, sub-standard fi re protection, limited police resources, limited water sources, teachers that are losing their jobs. I doubt that the citizens of Brentwood believe we need more homes or development without fi xing the problems we are already have.

Robert SchriverBrentwood

Brentwood shelter compassionate and smart

Editor:I am writing in response to Todd

Sperrys letter regarding building an animal shelter in Brentwood. I agree that Brent-wood should look into the possibility of building its own animal shelter, as Antioch has done.

The Antioch shelter is funded by the City of Antioch and so, although residents

of other cities can adopt pets from the shel-ter, only residents of Antioch can surrender pets there. Residents of Brentwood who need to surrender an animal must go to the county shelter located in Martinez. It seems to me that if a shelter were located here in Brentwood, those who are forced to give up a pet would be more likely to do so in a re-sponsible manner by taking it to the shelter rather than dumping or abandoning it.

Due to the economy, Brentwood, like other cities, has had a large increase in the number of homeless animals, and building a shelter here, especially with a low-cost spay/neuter program, would certainly be a big step toward alleviating the problem.

Heidi VaughnBrentwood

Bureaucrats guarding the henhouseEditor:

The age old conundrum: Which came fi rst, the chicken or the egg? New conun-drum: Do we elect dumb people to offi ce or do they get dumb after we elect them?

Case in point: The Brentwood City Council ignores the recommendations of its own Land Use Subcommittee and Plan-ning Commission to allow smaller lot size owners to have three hens. Instead it sides with the uninformed opinion of one local resident that hens are bad news. Goodbye hens, goodbye agrarian roots of our small town, and hello dumb City Council. Oh well, they are politicians.

And elected offi cials are not the only ones. The parents chosen to chaperone the dance at Excelsior Middle School stopped the eighth-graders from grinding at a school dance. Instead of thanking them for their diligence, the school principal chastised the parents for being too tough on the students.

This principal is obviously in training to become a school superintendent. The most overpaid job in the entire educational system. Obviously we citizens need to be more diligent about who we elect to offi ce.

And maybe it is time to look at combining the numerous school districts out here into one administrative unit. The poor teacher pay is a disgrace that we all need to remedy and the high-priced district superintendents need to be ashamed of themselves for their greed.

Bill SumnerDiscovery Bay

Paramedics on duty in East CountyEditor:

In a recent article in the Oakley Press about the new East Contra Costa Fire Board, it was stated There are no paramedics in the district. Although the fi re district does not employ paramedics, AMR has been providing fi rst responder paramedics in the district since 1992.

These are state-licensed paramedics with 25-30 years experience responding in quick response vehicles (QRVs) sta-

tioned out of three East CC fi re stations: Station 95 in Bethel Island, Station 52 in Brentwood and Station 57 in Byron. These advanced life-support QRVs, along with many paramedic ambulances, make up a fl exible system that provides paramedic services to all residents within the ECCFP District. And further, no taxpayer money is needed to fund these units.

As a local taxpayer and 23-year resident of Oakley, that is important to me. So rest assured, East County residents, when you call 911, you do have paramedics responding. Visit any of these stations and see for yourself.

Richard HodgeOakley

City Council goes above and beyondEditor:

I want to take time to thank the members of the Oakley City Council: Pat Anderson, Jim Frazier, Carol Rios, Bruce Connelly and Kevin Romick. Our City Council works very hard and puts in many long hours. I have personally seen them in service and we are fortunate to have dedicated people that care so much for the community on this council.

Just two weeks ago I went to an evening meeting with Vice Mayor Frazier in Oakland, where we spoke to help bring a much-needed health clinic to Oakley. Recently, Vice Mayor Frazier and Coun-cilwoman Rios came to foreclosure-pre-vention workshops, fi ghting to help keep families in their homes. Council members volunteered at Christmas to raise money and food and fed hundreds of people and provided Christmas gifts to these families.

I know the council members even donate their little council pay to commu-nity charities. These are just some of many examples of the council members giving extra time to serve the community.

Thank you and God bless them in their work!

Fr. Olman SolisPastor, St. Anthonys Church

Thanks for backing snack shackEditor:

The Liberty High School mens soccer program had a very successful fundraiser again this year. In times of budget cuts its so wonderful to live in a community that supports student athletes.

We would like to thank the follow-ing businesses who donated so generously to the snack shack this year: Quik Stop Market (Bob Bach), Apex Securities & Asset Management LLC (Treva Black), Starbucks and Safeway.

Thank you to the following individuals who also donated items for the snack shack: Connie and Don Dutra, Cathy Fancey, Da-vid Marcovsky, and Bob and Kim Schriver.

Many thanks to the parent volunteers

The Press Newspapers are adjudicated in the the cities of Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, and the Delta Judicial District

of Contra Costa County.

No part of this publication may be reproduced for commerce or trade without written permission from the publisher.

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14A | THEPRESS.NET FEBRUARY 19, 2010

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ReturnClients

A sampling of recent law enforcement activity reported by East County police de-partments.

BRENTWOODFeb. 5, 3:07 a.m. On Dainty Avenue, a subject involved in a domestic dispute was found to have a non-citable misde-meanor warrant and was in possession of a controlled substance. He was ar-rested and taken to the Martinez Deten-tion Facility.Feb. 5, 10 a.m. An unidentifi ed person peeked through the back window of a residence on Chamomile Lane.Feb. 5, 3:09 p.m. A vehicle rear-ended another vehicle on Balfour Road at Cortona Way.Feb. 5, 10:59 p.m. A subject contacted while sitting in his vehicle on Mead-owgate Way admitted to driving while under the infl uence of alcohol. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez De-tention Facility.Feb. 6, 1:35 a.m. On Brentwood Bou-levard, a subject walking in traffi c was found to be intoxicated and unable to care for himself. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facil-ity.Feb. 6, 1:17 p.m. A subject caught steal-ing items from a business on Lone Tree Way was placed under citizens arrest by loss prevention offi cers.Feb. 6, 4:05 p.m. On Brentwood Bou-levard, a subject was found to be under the infl uence of a central nervous system stimulant. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility.Feb. 6, 9:07 p.m. An unidentifi ed per-son stole a bicycle from a residence on Cornsilk Court.Feb. 7, 1:16 a.m. On Shady Willow Lane at Amber Lane, a traffi c stop led to the discovery of two loaded fi rearms in the vehicle. One of the fi rearms had been stolen in an Antioch residential bur-glary. Three subjects were arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facil-ity. A fourth was released to his parent on a Juvenile Affi davit.Feb. 7, 2:32 a.m. On Balfour Road at Minnesota Avenue, a subject stopped

for a vehicle code violation was found to be driving a vehicle displaying false registration tabs.Feb. 7, 9:15 a.m. At a shopping center on Lone Tree Way, an unidentifi ed per-son broke open a maintenance key lock-box, entered the maintenance room and stole the keys to all shopping centers vacant storefronts.Feb. 7, 2:03 p.m. An unidentifi ed person cut the electrical wire to seven street-lights at a park on Regal Drive.Feb. 7, 5:16 p.m. On Brentwood Boule-vard, a subject stopped for vehicle code violations was found to be driving with-out a license.Feb. 7, 9:13 p.m. On Brentwood Boule-vard at Applewood Common, a subject stopped for vehicle code violations was found to driving under the infl uence of alcohol. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility.Feb. 7, 9:15 p.m. On Brentwood Bou-levard at Balfour Road, a subject con-tacted during a traffi c stop was found to be in possession of suspected mari-juana, had an outstanding warrant for his arrest and provided false identifi ca-tion. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility.Feb. 8, 12:02 a.m. An unidentifi ed per-son threw a rock through the window of a residence on Winesap Drive.Feb. 8, 12:27 a.m. On Brentwood Bou-levard at Central Boulevard, a subject stopped for a vehicle code violation was found to be driving on a suspended li-cense.Feb. 8, 5:24 a.m. An unidentifi ed per-

son broke the passenger-side window of a vehicle parked on Legend Lane and stole a cell phone.Feb. 8, 8:19 a.m. An unidentifi ed per-son stole a locked vehicle parked on Ash Street.Feb. 8, 9:22 a.m. On Balfour Road at Hudson Drive, a subject was found to be in possession of a handgun and am-munition.Feb. 8, 10:12 a.m. An unidentifi ed per-son broke into a residence on Simba Place and stole a laptop and paper-work.Feb. 8, 11:12 a.m. A vehicle fi re blocked the roadway on Balfour Road at Brent-wood Boulevar. Firefi ghters put out the fi re, and the vehicle was towed from the scene.Feb. 8, 2:30 p.m. An unidentifi ed person made numerous annoying phone calls to a resident of Paradise Lane.Feb. 8, 4:31 p.m. A subject attempted to cash a fi ctitious check at a business on Brentwood Boulevard. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility.Feb. 8, 4:43 p.m. A resident of Country Glen reported an unfamiliar person in the backyard of a residence across the street.Feb. 8, 4:54 p.m. A resident of Hillsbor-ough Way reported that his wallet has been stolen at an unknown location.Feb. 8, 5 p.m. A purse was stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked on Crocket Drive.Feb. 9, 2:05 p.m. On Marjoram Drive at Chili Court, a chain-link fence was cut apparently in order to gain access to railroad tracks and cars.Feb. 9, 2:58 p.m. A vehicle pulling a vehicle containing hazardous materials struck the curb on Brentwood Boulevard at Spruce Street, continued northbound and struck a second curb on Spruce Street, struck a stop sign, continued northbound through two parking lots and struck a third vehicle, which was pushed into a business sign. The hazmat load was removed and all vehicles were towed from the scene.Feb. 9, 3:50 p.m. A realtor securing a

residence on Winged Foot Road was confronted by the former tenant and was pushed to the ground.Feb. 9, 4:17 p.m. An unidentifi ed per-son punched the door lock of a vehicle parked on Heritage Way and stole a wallet taken from the glovebox.Feb. 10, 11:37 a.m. An unidentifi ed per-son made entry through the unlocked rear window of a residence on Country Glen Lane, stole jewelry and fl ed on foot when the security alarm sounded.Feb. 10, 1:30 p.m. On Eagle Rock Ave-nue at John Muir Parkway, an unknown driver struck a fi re hydrant and fl ed the scene.Feb. 10, 2:50 p.m. An unidentifi ed per-son cut a chain link fence, entered the ball fi elds on Sunset Road and stole ap-proximately 1,000 feet of copper wire.Feb. 10, 4:09 p.m. At a business on Bal-four Road, a subject who stole a bottle of alcohol valued at $15.98 was arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility.Feb. 10, 9:13 p.m. On the railroad tracks North of Elizabeth Way, two unidenti-fi ed subjects assaulted and robbed an-other subject at gunpoint.

To view the Brentwood Police Depart-ments public logs on the citys Web site, visit www.ci.brentwood.ca.us/department/pd/reports/index.cfm.

ANTIOCHFeb. 4, 9:00 a.m. A subject entered the Rite-Aid pharmacy on East 18th Street and handed a note to an employee stat-ing that he had a gun and demanding that the employee provide him with narcotics. No weapon was seen. An identical robbery was committed at the store a month earlier. Surveillance vid-eo identifi ed the suspect as 46-year-old Antioch resident George Lee Smith. A search warrant and arrest warrant were served at his residence on Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. Smith was taken into custody with-out incident and evidence of the crimes was located. Smith was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on two counts of robbery, burglary and narcot-ics violations.

COP LOGSFROM EMERGENCY SERVICES DISPATCH LOGSA vehicle pulling a vehicle containing hazardous materi-als struck two curbs, a stop sign, continued through two parking lots and struck a third vehicle.

Feb. 9, 2:58 p.m., Brentwood

FEBRUARY 19, 2010 EDUCATION THEPRESS.NET | 15A

to fi ne tune the production.The good thing about a small cast

like this is that you get to work closely with the kids and spend some real time on their roles, said Fallows. It also gives them more time on stage and more time to shine.

The Broadway play isnt the only popular production the drama department has tackled in the four years since Fallows has been directing. Past performances in-clude Oliver and Macbeth, as well as an upcoming childrens version of Alice in Wonderland. Fallows talented teams have earned the department a reputation for quality productions and have helped bolster more than the actors confi dence.

Since we are entirely self-sustaining, our goal is always to end a show in the

black, said Fallows. We set our budget based on what we hope our ticket sales will be. The fi rst few years we sold a lot of candy bars to make ends meet, but now were at a place where we can support ourselves. Weve also been fortunate to have the sup-port of the community as well, and that has helped to keep us afl oat were getting a good reputation and fi lling the house. Its very exciting.

Into the Woods will be performed in the Heritage High School theater on Feb. 25, 26 and 27, and March 5, 6 and 7. All productions begin at 7 p.m. with the excep-tion of the March 7 performance, which begins at 2 p.m. Tickets $12 for general admission; $10 for students are available 30 minutes before show time.


Woods from page 10A


Makeup artist Sarah Tofoya transforms Rachael Londono into an Evil Stepsister.

Appointments for kindergarten registra-tion in the Brentwood school district for the 2010-11 school year may be made by calling the designated area school: Brentwood Ele-mentary, 925-513-6360; Garin, 925-513-6370; Ron Nunn, 925-513-6380; Loma Vista, 925-513-6390; Krey, 925-513-6400; Pioneer, 925-513-6410; and Marsh Creek, 925-513-6420.

Registration will be conducted Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, March 2, 3 and 4. Children entering kindergarten must be 5 years old on or before Dec. 2, 2010. Parents must bring to registration:

Documentation of birth (birth certifi cate, passport or baptismal certifi cate). Complete and up-to-date immunization re-cord. Proof of residency (picture ID and two original documents such as vehicle registra-tion, property tax bill or rental/lease agree-ment).

A physical exam is requested for kinder-garten and required before the start of fi rst grade. An oral exam is requested for kinder-garten and required by May 31 of the kinder-garten year.

Kindergarten registration

Freedom High School will host its inau-gural Falcon Festival on Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. In keeping with the schools mission statement to be the center for knowl-edge and pride in the community, students and staff are working together to focus on Falcon pride and community outreach.

Falcon Festival will showcase student ac-complishments and extra-curricular activities factors that build a sense of community on campus and allow students to fl ourish in these challenging times.

Community members are encouraged to roam the campus and participate in games and activities racing with Freedoms fastest sprinters on the track, learning how to play water polo in the pool, competing in skill games with the wrestling team, pitching balls at recycled cans to increase environmental

awareness or learning about other cultures.Falcon Festival kicks off with a prepaid

catered dinner provided by Kinders; enter-tainment is provided by the Freedom band and choir. The event also features a raffl e, sponsored by the Athletic Boosters, for a Nin-tendo Wii.

Meal tickets, which cost $10, are on sale in the Administration Offi ce (A Offi ce) and at home basketball games. Tickets are also available through e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 925-625-5900, ext. 3002. Participants are encouraged to buy meal tickets in advance. Activity tickets will be sold at the event, but prices have not been set at this time.

Freedom High School is located at 1050 Neroly Road in Oakley. For more informa-tion, call the school at 925-625-5900.

Falcon fest takes wing

there was a man whose throat had been cut in a fi ght, he recalled. We had to in-tegrate our families into what we did.

Maiocco speaks proudly of his fam-ily, especially Carol his wife, whom he met in New York and for whom he took the long way home from school just for her company and a cup of hot chocolate. I could not have done any of this without Carol, he said. She is the family glue.

Hes also proud of his daughter Ruth, a championship swimmer in school and fearless sandlot football player who now lives in Escalon; and his son Rob-ert, a national champion sprinter in col-lege and a Stanford grad, now living in Florida.

He also maintains strong relation-ships with his friends, including Kaplan, with whom he has enjoyed breakfast ev-ery Tuesday for more than 40 years and plays tennis every week.

Professionally, however, Maiocco is proudest of having helped so many people for so long, and helped to usher in an era of modern health care in East County.

We were pioneers; we were isolated, he said. There were no specialists around here then. The isolation, however, also helped them become better doctors.

We saw everything, he said. We had tremendous freedom because there was no one else.

Maioccos contributions to area medicine go beyond his role as a coun-try doctor. He was a founding father of

Delta Memorial Hospital, ran immuniza-tion clinics, served on the County Men-tal Health Board and as chief of staff at Pittsburg Hospital. He worked as the fi rst family practitioner in Brentwood for John Muir, helping bring the John Muir Medi-cal Center to the city. A few years ago he joined Muirs staff, and it was from Muir that he retired last month.

When I was with Muir, I was in heaven, he said. They let me keep work-ing on paper, gave me a wonderful nurse. I was able to continue concentrating on being a doctor.

Kaplan said the community will miss Maiocco a great deal: I think its a pity hes retiring. The kind of doctoring he did is important. You talk to people, not a computer. People would wait two hours to see him and they didnt mind, as long as they got to see him. Its a real loss and it didnt have to be.

For his part, Maiocco said his only regret is that he hasnt written a book about it all. Hed like to document his adventure through life, and hed like to spread the word about the cure for the one thing that causes him the most pain.

People have not found the fi re of love to weld together the opposites of humankind, and therefore they continue to kill each other physically, emotionally, spiritually, even culturally, he said. The answer is always love. Find the friendly answer, and do what love tells you to do.


Maiocco from page 3A


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Exp. 3/31/10The next phase of State Route 4 (SR

4) widening through Pittsburg and Antioch is one step closer to realization as bids for the construction project were opened on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Construction is expect-ed to begin in May. The apparent low bid-der is O.C. Jones and Sons, Inc. whose bid of $64,937,452.60 is signifi cantly lower than the estimated cost of $91,000,000.

The project, a joint venture between the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and Caltrans, will widen SR 4 to eight lanes three

mixed-fl ow lanes and one high-occupancy-ve-hicle lane in each direction from just west of the Loveridge Road interchange to west of the Somersville Road interchange. The project in-cludes reconstruction of the Loveridge Road interchange as well as a median wide enough to accommodate future mass transit.

This is one of fi ve construction projects that will widen SR 4, its interchanges and affected local roadways from approximately 0.8 mile west of Loveridge Road to approxi-mately 0.7 mile east of Hillcrest Avenue.

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47,000 Bay Area families fi led their taxes with Earn It! Keep It! Save It! saving hun-dreds of dollars in tax preparation fees and rapid refund loan fees.

There are 19 free tax sites in Con-tra Costa County. The service is spon-sored by the Family Economic Security Partnership and run by the Community Housing Development Corporation. For more information, dial 211 or visit www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org.

who helped run the snack shack during home games: Heather Rainsford, Connie Dutra, Cathy Fancey, Lynn Watts, Regina McCarthy, Ana Avalos, Valerie Raude-baugh, Mr. Corona, Martha and Hector Estrada, and Mr. Bulilian.

We also had many students who helped this year too: the entire JV soccer team, Cara and Callie Rainsford, and Noah Bisp-ing. Special thanks to the Liberty Booster Club for allowing us to use the snack shack.

A very special thank-you to our wonderful coaches who have dedicated their time and energy into making Liberty mens soccer an outstanding program: Alfredo Zamora, Mike Rainsford, Chris Strabley and Hector Torres. This is a very exciting year in Liberty mens soccer, as the varsity boys made it to NCS for the fi rst time. Good luck, Lions, and thank you for a great year!

Teri StevensonParent Coordinator

Letters from page 13A


Trevors Weekly Mortgage MattersBy Trevor Frey

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what happens? When can I purchase a home again? How long will it aff ect my credit? Is it worse than a foreclosure? Can the bank come aft er me for the diff erence between the sales price and my current loan? Th ese ques-tions according to Professor Wachter, a real estate and fi nance professor at the Wharton School of Business, are the kind of conversation thats going on at cocktail parties, at swimming pools. Okay, maybe not swimming pools in the middle of our record setting winter season, but come on, you know where Im going with this. Yahoo short selling my home and over 315,000,000 results appear, 1.7x the 186,000,000 results you receive when searching 2010 Winter Olympics. Its a fact short sales are on the minds of the people, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has taken notice.

On December 16, 2009 FHA re-wrote and actually created based on current market circumstances their borrower eligibility guidelines for short-sellers looking to once again own a home. Th ese changes went into eff ect immediately, and for any past hom-eowner that has gone through a short-sale, these changes are huge!

If you stayed current on every bill you had including your mortgage for

the last twelve months while going through the short-sale process you can purchase another home the day aft er your short sale closes. According to FHAs Mortgagee Letter 09-52, as long as you did not pursue a short-sale agree-ment simply to take advantage of de-clining market conditions, and purchase at a reduced price a similar or superior property within a reasonable commut-ing distance then you are eligible for an FHA insured loan. However, if you were late on your mortgage, late on any revolving debt, or in the process of foreclosure while going through your short sale then all bets are off . Poten-tial buyers in cases such as this have to wait a mandated thirty-six months (three years) before purchasing a home through FHA.

So while many of the original ques-tions in this column remain a mystery solved only on a lender-to-lender case-by-case basis, we now have a nationally recognized policy for how shortly aft er a short-sale you can purchase a home.

If you have any real estate lending related questions or concerns, or feel you might be eligible based the purchase based on the above information, dont hesitate to write me at [email protected] or call me directly on my cell phone, (925) 726-1444.

Shortly Aft er a Short Sale


NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGNotice is hereby given that the Planning Commission of the City of Brentwood will, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the normal course of business permits on March 2, 2010, hold a public hearing to consider the following:A rezone (RZ 10-003) to amend Chapter 17.485 of the Brentwood Municipal Code by adding text to reestablish the Agricultural Overlay Zone within a portion of the Planned Develop-ment 35 (PD-35) zone, located gener-ally south of Lone Tree Way, west of Fairview Avenue, north of the EBMUD aqueduct and east of Henry Hart Drive.Applicant: City of Brentwood Said hearing will be held at the City Council Chambers, 101B Sand Creek Road, Brentwood, California.Further information may be obtained from Associate Planner Debbie Hill [(925) 516-5135 or [email protected]] in the Community Development Department of the City of Brentwood, 118 Oak Street, Brentwood, California 94513.Before any court challenge of Planning Commission decisions, you are required

to appeal the decision to the City Coun-cil no later than the time period pro-vided under the Citys Municipal Code. In addition you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspon-dence delivered to the Brentwood Planning Commission at, or prior to, the public hearing. Brentwood Press No. 02-1273 Publish Date: February 19, 2010

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGNotice is hereby given that the Planning Commission of the City of Brentwood will, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the normal course of business permits on March 2, 2010, hold a public hearing to consider the following:An application for a conditional use permit (CUP 09-025) to allow the estab-lishment of an approximately 78-foot high simulated tree pole, wireless telecommunication equipment and as-sociated ground-based equipment, and a variance (V09-005) to allow the pole to exceed the maximum height limit of 35 feet, to be located on the TownCen-tre Self Storage property at 345 Town-

Centre Terrace (APN 013-010-086). Applicant: Cortel, LLC Said hearing will be held at the City Council Chambers, 101B Sand Creek Road, Brentwood, California.Further information may be ob-tained from Assistant Planner Tim Nielsen [(925) 516-5151 or [email protected]] in the Community Development Department of the City of Brentwood, 118 Oak Street, Brentwood, California 94513.Before any court challenge of Planning Commission decisions, you are required to appeal the decision to the City Coun-cil no later than the time period pro-vided under the Citys Municipal Code. In addition you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspon-dence delivered to the Brentwood Planning Commission at, or prior to, the public hearing. Brentwood Press No. 02-1273 Publish Date: February 19, 2010

NOTICE OF TRUSTEES SALETrustee Sale No. 74-31891-2 Title Order No.E840591 APN 071-031-009-5 The

mortgage loan servicer has obtained a nal order of exemption pursuant to CA CIV. CODE 2923.53 that is cur-rent and valid as of the date that the Notice of Trustees Sale was led or given. YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 11/02/2005. UN-LESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On 03/11/2010 at 10:00AM, HOUSE-KEY FINANCIAL CORPORATION as the duly appointed Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 11/04/2005, as Instrument 2005-0429777-00 of of cial records in the Of ce of the Recorder of CONTRA COSTA County, California, executed by: BRIAN E. MC-CARTHY AND JENNA R. MCCARTHY, HUSBAND AND WIFE AS COMMUNITY PROPERTY WITH THE RIGHT OF SURVI-VORSHIP, as Trustor, HOUSEHOLD FI-NANCE CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA as Bene ciary (Original Lender) and HOUSEHOLD FINANCE CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA, as current Servicer/

Lender, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUC-TION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States, by cash, a cashiers check drawn by a state or na-tional bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank speci ed in section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state). At: THE COURT STREET ENTRANCE TO THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 725 COURT STREET (CORNER OF MAIN AND COURT STREET), MARTINEZ, CA, all right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property situated in said County, California describing the land therein: AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED DEED OF TRUST. The property heretofore described is being sold as is. The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 2740 CAPISTRANO ST, ANTIOCH, CA 94509. The under-signed Trustee disclaims any liability

for any incorrectness of the street ad-dress and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or war-ranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said note(s), advances, if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, esti-mated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust, to-wit: $326,987.01 (Estimated). Accrued interest and ad-ditional advances, if any, will increase this gure prior to sale. CONDITION OF SALE: The successful bidder will be required to pay county documentary transfer tax, any city tax, and any other applicable taxes or fees (including, but not limited to, the fee for record-ing Preliminary Change of Ownership report) to the auctioneer at the time of sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidders sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder

shall have no further recourse. The bene ciary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the county where the real property is located and more than three months have elapsed since such recordation. DATE: 02/16/10 HOUSEKEY FINANCIAL CORPORATION P.O. BOX 60145 CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA 91716 For Sale Information: (714)730-2727, www. delityasap.com or www.prioritypost-ing.com TO NOTIFY TRUSTEE OF BANK-RUPTCY FILINGS, PLEASE FAX FACE PAGE OF BANKRUPTCY PETITION TO (909) 397-3914 Betty Schwab, Trustee Sales Of cer HOUSEKEY FINANCIAL CORPORATION MAY BE ACTING AS A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED MAY BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. ASAP# 3453654 02/19/2010, 02/26/2010, 03/05/2010 Antioch Press No. 06-1617 Publish Dates: February 19, 26, March 5, 2010

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICESLEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICESLEGAL NOTICESLEGAL NOTICES

administrations Federal Interim Act report which called for among other items the re-evaluation of the 2-Gates program.

The fi sh protection project is a joint venture by the State Department of Water Resources, the Federal Bureau of Reclama-tion and the Southern California Metro-politan Water District, which if successful would implement the installation of gates at Old River between Holland Tract and Ba-con Island, and Connection Slough between Mandeville and Bacon Island. The auto-matic gates would be closed at various times of the year for as much as 20 hours per day, according to some reports.

The SFBDF has in recent months suc-cessfully managed to slow the 2-Gates project by extending its public comment period. The group hopes to eventually force the Bureau of Reclamation to provide an Environmen-tal Impact Report for the Discovery Bay and Delta regions.

The next step, said Guzzardo, is the public meeting, an event he hopes will garner support and educate the community at large: We just want people to understand what is going on and that there is still a lot of work to be done. The 2-Gates project is a short-term strategy to a much bigger picture. This is not just a Discovery Bay issue.

Discovery Bay Elementary School is lo-cated at 1700 Willow Lake Road. For more information, call 925-354-3800 or visit www.nodeltagates.com.


2-Gates from page 1Aaround the west side of Sandpoint Road. The job, scheduled to start Thursday, is expected to take three to four days to complete.

ValleyCrest Operations Manager David Murphy said the need to remove such a large number of the trees comes as no surprise: With all the weather weve had so far this year, the ground is just saturated and weve been taking out a lot of trees in the area. These particular trees are a real liability issue with the way they have grown together, and their size. You just cant risk them falling down on a resident or a car or someones home.

And time is of the essence, because come summer, the trees known for their drought-resistant hardiness would pose another safety threat as they continued to absorb water from surrounding sources.

As soon as summer hits, they pull up all the water from whatever supplies are available and they hold that water in their root zones and become very heavy, said Perez. These are big, beautiful trees and its heartbreaking to see them go, but this is something that really needs to be done.

What type of foliage will replace the trees is still being determined, but the CSD Board has given Perez the OK to initiate the search for a landscape archi-tect. Once a fi rm has been chosen, work on a design plan will begin.

One thing Perez does know, however,

is that the new design will complement the nearby landscaping on both Willow Lake Road and the Highway 4 entrance to town. We are defi nitely going to try and give it a cohesive look, said Perez.

Whatever we put in will be something that we can move on down the street to retrofi t with the rest of the landscap-ing.


Trees from page 1A

The Town of Discovery Bay is removing 43 of these Aleppo pine trees, shown here along Sand Point Road, due to concern about public safety.


After 10 years of planning, the Oakley City Council will fi nally be presented with the Downtown Specifi c Plan during a public hearing at its meeting next Tuesday.

Oakley has been working on the Down-town Specifi c Plan since January of 2000. The city plans to revitalize an 80-acre area downtown bordered by the canal crossing on Main Street, Gardenia Avenue, Home Street and the railroad tracks. The overall plan is to create a more pedestrian-friendly downtown featuring specialty shops, res-taurants, cafs and civic facilities similar to those found in Walnut Creek, Benicia and Santa Cruz. The plan has evolved into a full-fl edged plan including land use and re-vitalization strategies, capital improvements

and development standards plus design guidelines for new construction and redevel-opment.

At the Oct. 13 council meeting last year, the council received the draft environmental impact report and, as only one member of the public spoke at the meeting, the council asked city staff to plan a presentation solic-iting more public input.

Last Tuesday, Oakley Senior Plan-ner Ken Strelo led a discussion about the Downtown Specifi c Plan to inform the au-dience of 17 residents and business owners of what Oakley plans to do to rejuvenate the downtown area, including ideas gleaned from other Bay Area cities downtown dis-tricts.

Strelo said the Specifi c Plan is a guid-ance document that lays the groundwork for the improvements needed to make down-

town fl ourish. Since the specifi c plan serves as a blueprint, there would be opportunities to amend the 102-page document when nec-essary. Everyone wants to see downtown improved, and wed like to get this plan approved as soon as possible, said Strelo. We dont want to get hung up in the details. Those details can be amended later.

Community Development Director Re-becca Willis said the fi rst step to improving downtown is council approval of the Specif-ic Plan. Once the plan is approved, city staff may begin seeking outside funding for the project. While city redevelopment funds are dedicated to the project, federal funding and grants would help get the project moving.

Oakley Chamber of Commerce Presi-dent Steve Nosanchuck expressed concern that some existing businesses would not be around by the time the project is complete

and that the city would need to lure a new generation of business owners. What scares me, said Nosanchuck, is that were going to throw a big party and no ones going to show up.

He said some business owners who have approached him about starting a busi-ness downtown are discouraged by the un-certainty of the projects completion date. Some business owners have gone elsewhere to a more predictable location, which doesnt help the downtowns existing image.

We want our slogan to be Shop local. Shop Oakley, but thats hard to do when theres no place to shop, Nosanchuck said. Right now our slogan is more like Come to Oakley on your way to someplace else.

To view the complete Downtown Spe-cifi c Plan, visit www.oakleyinfo.com.


Oakley seeks input on Downtown Planby Samie Hartley

Staff Writer

20A | THEPRESS.NET FEBRUARY 19, 2010

2B | THEPRESS.NET SPORTS FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Liberty girls rally to sweep Freedom

Its been a tough year for the Freedom girls basketball team. As of last week the Falcons had won only one league game (a 10-point win over Antioch on Jan. 12) and just three games overall. Liberty beat them by 14 points the fi rst time they faced off and by 22 the second time.

So it seemed nothing short of miraculous last week when Freedom overcame a nine-point defi cit in the middle of the second quarter to pull within a bucket of Liberty at the half. An upset of Liberty would have compensated for a lot of tough losses this year. Alas, it was not to be for Falcons fans, although their team did make it a bit closer than previous games, losing by 12 points, 34-46.

The game was played in Libertys gym, and the fans, sens-ing that their team needed a boost (particularly in the absence of cheerleaders at the game), became the sixth girl on the court. As the Lions took the court to warm up in the second half, their fans shouted, We here for you! Lets go! They in the Lions den. And when the Falcons had the ball, the Lib-erty crowd chanted Dee-fense! while stomping their feet. Sure enough, the Lions outscored the Falcons 18-6 in the third quarter, pretty much putting the game on ice, as they played evenly in the fi nal frame.

Asked what she said to her players at halftime, Lions Coach Debbi Weil said, We talked about how they were not playing like a team. That they were playing like fi ve individu-als out there. And we talked about how important it is that we play as a team offensively and defensively. And thats what they did. A little bit in the fourth quarter they started to go apart again, but we brought them back together.

Liberty relied on its big guns in the fi rst half: 6-foot-5-inch Corinne Costa and 6-foot-2-inch Bernadette Fong each scored nine points, accounting for all but three of the teams fi rst-half

points. Other players took up some of the slack in the second half, notably Kaadzie Quaye, who fi nished with nine points. Costa ended with 14 points while Fong scored 15.

I wish we had played just a little bit better, said Weil. Getting ready for NCS (North Coast Section playoffs) and stuff, we really and truly need to come together just a little bit more and play without too many turnovers and stuff. But other than that I think they are ready. Weve just to got to get to that point. But overall they played OK. And thats about it. It wasnt a pretty win.

Freedoms standout player was Keyara Goodlow-Young, who scored 11 points and was able to

discovery bay press_02.19.10

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