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Visit Your Hometown Website www.thepress.net
Vol. 14, No. 14 YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER April 6, 2012
FOR MOVIE TIMES
SEE PAGE 5A
Conflagration information Your local fire district has extended
its contract with the firefighters union. Page 5A
Business ............................. 17BCalendar
............................ 19BClassifieds
......................... 12BCop Logs ............................
18BEast County Life ................ 1BEntertainment
................... 6BFood ......................................
4BHealth & Beauty ................ 8BOpinion
..............................14ASports
.................................15A
Rites of petition
Scribble an informed signature when that clipboard-toting
petitioner collars you at your local storefront. Page 1B
Lion leads the pack
Rain, wind and cold didnt sidetrack Libertys Cody Mayer in his
pursuit of two firsts at a recent meet. Page 15A
Michael Stricker of Oakley stopped by the Brent-wood Farmers
Market for some asparagus, and Louie Placios of Chechini and
Chechini Farms in Brentwood was happy to be of service. The threat
of rain kept traffic at the market light, but if you missed out on
opening day, youll getanother chance to enjoy the produce promenade
every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon on First Street.
Farmers Market opens
Photo by Rick Lemyre
Special rainy-day funds es-tablished several years ago to help
see Brentwood through the eco-nomic downturn are doing their job,
but could run dry in 2018 if measures are not put in place now to
reduce future expenses.
Director of Finance and In-formation Systems Pam Ehler reported
the news to the City Council last week during her pre-sentation of
the General Fund Fiscal Model forecast for the next 10 years.
Instituted in 2008, the 10-year forecast is designed to give city
officials a long-range look at where the city is headed
finan-cially, and give them a chance to
adjust for challenges before they become crises.
The rainy-day funds include the $10.3 million Budget
Stabi-lization Fund, which represents savings accumulated by
operating below budget in recent years. A second savings account,
called the Insurance Internal Service Fund, was established in 2005
to help counter rising benefits costs. It now holds $4.8 million in
worker compensation and other insur-ance expense savings.
The funds are the outgrowth of city officials realization a
de-cade ago that Brentwood would eventually need to shift from a
budget funded mostly by develop-
Changes neededto ensure cityslong-term health
see Changes page 22A
Sand Creek/Highway 4 work bid OKd
While contractors expand Highway 4 in Pittsburg and An-tioch,
local transportation offi-cials received good news about clearing
up a traffic problem along the thoroughfare in Brent-wood.
Most of the visible progress on Highway 4 is taking place in
Pittsburg and Antioch, where drivers are taking advantage of the
new lanes. Eventually, all of Highway 4 from Pittsburg through
Brentwood will be wid-ened to four lanes in each direc-tion.
Three of the five planned projects administered by Cal-trans and
the Contra Costa Transportation Authority are underway: the freeway
segments
from Loveridge Road in Pitts-burg to Somersville Road in
Antioch, from Somersville to L Street/Contra Loma Boulevard and
from Contra Loma to Lone Tree Way.
Highway 4 spokeswoman Anna Reiss said the projects are running
smoothly and reporting no major delays so far. I think were pretty
well on schedule, Reiss said. Nothing out of the ordinary for a
construction proj-ect.
According to widensr4.org, the main information hub for the
project, the Loveridge segment will wrap up by the end of 2013.
Contractors are now working on the overpass along the Loveridge
Road exit, hoping to soon switch traffic over to the new
bridge.
Press file photo
by Justin LaffertyStaff Writer
by Rick LemyreStaff Writer
see Highway 4 page 22A
A low bid has been announced for a contractor to start work-ing
on the Sand Creek Road/State Route 4 intersection, turn-ing it into
a freeway exit much like those at Lone Tree Way and Laurel
Road.
Connect with The Press!Scan QR code with your smart phone.
An optimal Earth Day agenda: enjoy Mt. Diablo while contributing
to its preservation.
Happy trailsgo to news/WebExtras!
The Brentwood Farmers Market got the growing season off to a
jolly, juicy start.
Produce partygo to multimedia/videos
A new app harnesses the social media to help you trim your
energy bill.
Energetic appgo to news/press releases
www.thepress.net/pages/contests_gamesEnter The Press
Contest!
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2A | THEPRESS.NET APRIL 6, 2012
This Summit will teach you how to execute on the best practices
being used with online and social media marketing strategies.
optimize socializeDigital Impact Summit
SPRING 2012
Wow, I learned a lot and came away excited!!! Excellent
speakers, great food, well organized. Angie Rhoades Harper, Tumble
Time Bus
Great event! Lisa Sherrill, Contra Costa Food Bank
Great information for a small business owner. Very motivating
presentations. Denise Warner, Wigs R Fun
Speakers:Jason SmithDigital Marketing Consultant
Radiate Media, Utah
Michele ChatburnSocial Media Manager
Brentwood Press & Publishing
Scan this QR code to register.
The Brentwood Press & Publishings training division,
thepressology presents ...
$59 Includes dinner (4/25), continental breakfast and lunch
(4/26), plus training materials.
Two Dates: Wednesday, April 25th 5:30-8:30pm Check-in begins at
5:00pmThursday, April 26th 9:30-12:30pm Check-in begins at
9:00am
Location: Caps Oak Street Bar & Grill, Brentwood Seating is
limited. Register early!
Register online: www.thepress.net/registration or at The Press,
248 Oak St., Brentwood
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APRIL 6, 2012 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 3A
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Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff detectives and deputy
sher-iffs, plus agents from the California Department of Justice,
seized numer-ous weapons including an assault weapon weapon parts,
ammuni-tion and drugs during the serving of a search warrant in
Brentwood on March 28.
Following an ongoing investiga-tion by the two agencies, the
Office of the Sheriff and Department of Justice served the search
warrant at a resi-dence on the 100 block of Trent Place and
arrested 33-year-old Brentwood resident Marquis Smith, who was
booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on multiple felony
weapons and drug charges. He is being held in lieu of $870,000
bail.
The arrest and seizure was a result of an investigation by CASE
(Crimi-nal Anti-violence Support Effort), a joint effort by the
Office of the Sheriff and California Department of Justice. CASE
was created in November of 2011 as a collaborative effort to reduce
violent crimes in Contra Costa, espe-cially those related to
illegal firearms.
Weapons seized in Brentwood
Memorial tiles destined for Veterans Park
Those who wish to be remembered as an American veteran or
preserve the name of a loved one who honorably served the United
States of America are invited to be a part of the effort to install
memorials at Veterans Park in Brentwood.
The first memorial features six granite monuments with plaques
and flags representing the military branches. The second includes
the Memorial Rose Garden, in which donation tiles and memorial
tiles are placed among the gardens flowers.
The City of Brentwood, in conjunction with local veter-ans
groups, is still trying to raise $140,000 to build the final of the
three elements to pay tribute to our veterans while elevat-ing
awareness of the United States preservation of freedom throughout
the world. The third element will be a quiet and contemplative area
in the northwest corner of the park that will incorporate white
granite blocks, benches and shade trees in or-chard rows,
reflecting the history of Brentwood.
As part of the fundraising efforts, two types of tiles are still
available for purchase from the Parks and Recreation Depart-ment to
be included in the Memorial Rose Garden. Beige tiles with black
lettering are intended to recognize those that are serv-ing or have
served, or can be for any individual, family or orga-nization that
wishes to donate. This line can include the name of an individual,
a family or organization.
The black tiles with gold lettering memorialize those who have
died while serving their nation. Tiles are 8x8 and can be engraved
with a maximum of five lines of text of 18 letters each. The
donation amount is $100 per line.
For more information, call 925-516-5444.
The City of Brentwood, in conjunction with local veter-ans
groups, is working to raise $140,000 to build the fi-nal memorial
elements at Veterans Park.
Press file photo
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When 7-year old Trinity Keefer lost her beloved Tigre, Collin
Marfia under-stood. After all, hed recently been in a similar
situation.
When Collin was born we bought him a stuffed tiger, and at the
same time got two extras in case he lost one, said Jodi Marfia,
Collins mom. And since he was little, he has taken that tiger
every-where with him. But about a month ago he lost it at a
sleepover and he was devas-tated. We had the other ones, but he had
really glommed onto Ti-Ti and wanted only that one. Fortunately, it
eventually turned up.
So when the Krey Elementary fourth-grader read in the newspaper
about Trin-itys lost friend, he offered up a solution immediately.
The picture (in the news-paper) of the tiger was super identical to
the ones I had, said Collin, 9. So I told my mom I wanted to give
her one of my extras to make her feel better.
Jodi then contacted the Keefers who live in Walnut Creek and set
the plan in motion.
We ended up having to be out on the day the Keefers were going
to come and pick up the new tiger, said Jodi. So we put it in a
pink bag with a note written from Collin saying he knew how she
felt and hoped this new tiger would help.
And help it did. Trinitys dad Tim who had posted lost posters
around town in the hopes that Tigre would turn up said his daughter
was overjoyed by the gift.
She was super, super psyched, said Keefer. She was really
excited. It was a big, big deal when we lost Tigre. We had looked
everywhere for it, but it was just gone.
And while Trinity is now the owner of a gently worn, but
much-loved pet ti-ger, the bigger gift, according to Tim, was the
gesture itself. Honestly, the whole thing couldnt have worked out
better, he said. And what was maybe even better was the gesture the
exchange of good-will. Wouldnt it be great if all problems could be
solved that way?
Collins generous gesture is typical of her son, said Jodi: Hes
just really sweet like that. Collin does things all the time like
that without a second thought.
And how does it feel to be a hero?It makes me feel like Im a
nice per-
son, said Collin. I was glad to do a nice thing and Id do it
again.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
4A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY APRIL 6, 2012
Let the games begin with these great Spring rates!
GOLF IN BRENTWOOD!
www.ShadowLakesGolf.com 401 West Country Club Dr.
516-2837
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Course and ClubhouseWeekdays $37 Weekends $57
Not valid on Holidays, tournaments or with any other discount o
er. Other restrictions may apply. Valid through May 31, 2012. Must
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includes cart.
MASTERS TOURNAMENT PARTY Sunday, April 8 8am Shotgun $55.00 per
person, includes
Golf & Lunch Buff et Watch the masters on high-def
TV in our new sports bar!
A tigers tale of kindness
Collin Marfia, above left, donated one of his stuffed tigers to
a Walnut Creek girl who had lost her own favorite tiger toy. Above
right, Trinity Keefer with her new pet.
Photos courtesy of Jodi Marfia
by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer
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APRIL 6, 2012 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 5A
Each year communities come together to create a world with less
cancer
and more birthdays. At Relay For Life they celebrate the lives
of those who
have had cancer, remember those lost, and fight back against
this disease.
Join your local Relay event. Visit RelayForLife.org or call
1-800-227-2345.
Together well stay well, get well, find cures and fight
back.
2
012
Am
eric
an C
ance
r So
ciet
y, In
c.
OAKLEYAPRIL 2829
at Freedom High School
BRENTWOODJUNE 1617
at Liberty High School
ANTIOCH/PITTSBURGJUNE 2324
at Los Medanos College
Fire district, union extend contract
The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District has reached an
agreement to extend for one year its contract with firefighter
union Local 1230 while awaiting the outcome of Measure S, the
$197-per-year fire tax that will appear on the June ballot.
If Measure S passes, the district will hire additional
firefighters and add paramedic firefighters to district engines. If
the tax fails, the district must lay off half of its 48
firefight-ers, close three of its six stations, and restrict
district medical services to the basic lifesaving level currently
provided. Advanced lifesaving services in the district are now
provided by American Medical Response paramedics un-der a separate
agreement with Contra Costa County.
Local 1230 president Vince Wells said at Mondays ECCFPD board
meeting that it didnt make sense to craft a new agreement now, not
knowing how many firefighters the district will employ or what
their training levels would be. Contract negotiations will re-sume
in July once the fate of the tax is known, with particular emphasis
on post-employ-ment benefits.
We understand that theres a major con-cern about hiring new
firefighters with all the same current levels of benefits, he said,
add-ing that the same concern exists countywide. We are in
discussions about pension changes in all jurisdictions we serve,
including East County. Local 1230 also represents firefight-
ers in six other Contra Costa County depart-ments.
Also at Mondays meeting, Fire Chief Hugh Henderson said work
continues on a balanced budget service model that would be
implemented should the tax fail and lay-offs be required. The model
will show how resources would be deployed should the num-ber of
stations in the 250-square-mile district be cut to three, as well
as coverage maps and
estimates on the response times the scaled-back department would
likely be able to pro-vide.
The balanced-budget service model will also include the impact
that fewer EC-CFPD stations would make on mutual- and automatic-aid
agreements with surrounding agencies. The district already draws
assistance from nearby agencies about twice as often as it provides
assistance in return, Henderson said.
by Rick LemyreStaff Writer
Firefighters Union Local 1230 Vice President Gil Guerrero Monday
shows the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District board a sign
urging approval of Measure S, a $197-per-parcel property tax the
board has placed on the June ballot in far East County.
Photo by Rick Lemyre
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6A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY APRIL 6, 2012
Ronald J. ShinglerA L
Free Initial Consultation
VISIT US ON FACEBOOK!
ASBESTOSHave you or a loved one been diagnosed with
Asbestosis Mesothelioma Lung Cancer
3220 Lone Tree Way, Suite 100, Antioch, CA 94509925.757.7020
email: [email protected]
Assemblymember Joan Buchanan, far left, joined her colleagues in
honoring Contra Costa County community leader Diane Bur-gis,
center, as Woman of the Year for the 15th Assembly District during
a recent ceremony at the state capitol. Diane exemplifies
com-munity involvement and activism, Buchanan said. She has made
her community proud and continues to be a respected leader. Since
2007, Burgis has served as executive director of Friends of Marsh
Creek Water-shed and was instrumental in coordinating the fish
ladder for salmon spawning in the creek. Diane is also a board
member of the Delta Science Center and the California Delta
Education Foundation.
Exec extraordinaire
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APRIL 6, 2012 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 7A
Advertisement
TAX CREDIT REPAYMENTIf you bought a home between 2008
and 2010 and claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, or you
know someone that did, you need to read this. You may be required
to start repaying that credit, and the IRS is no longer mailing out
reminder notices.
The credit of 2008 was really more like a no-interest loan than
a true tax credit. There were other tax credits that came the
following years that WERE true tax credits, but the 2008 vintage
needs to be paid back in 15 equal install-ments, starting with your
2010 return. This will be on line 59b of your 1040 form.
If you sold the home you claimed a tax credit for, or even if
you stopped using it as a principal residence, you have may to
repay the credit, and this may apply whether you bought the home in
2008, 2009 or 2010. If that describes you, you should be attaching
form 5405
to your return to repay the credit.This is a very complicated
issue
as there were many different types of homebuyer tax credits, and
the rules changed every year, and even dur-ing some years. For more
info, got to www.irs.gov and search for First-Time Homebuyer
Credit. They even have a webpage where you can look up your account
to see if you are supposed to be paying your credit back, and what
your balance is: https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/irfof-fthb/
I AM NOT A TAX EXPERT. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX EXPERT FOR
SPECIFICS TO YOUR SITUATION.
If you have questions on 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
BANKRUPTCY
www.sr4law.comExperienced Trusted CompassionateLaura
240-5146
or Jim 679-5221
Still no plans for Easter weekend? Mark your calendar for Easter
events near you:NOW THROUGH APRIL 7Easter Bunny Visits
The Easter Bunny holds court at Som-ersville Towne Center, 2556
Somersville Road in Antioch, greeting children and their families
to wish them a hoppy Easter. For more information and visitation
times, call 925-754-5230.FRIDAY, APRIL 6Good Friday Services
Good Friday services are held at St. Ignatius Church of Antioch,
3351 Contra Loma Blvd., at noon and at St. Johns Lutheran Church,
1360 E. Tregallas Road in Antioch, at 7 p.m.SATURDAY, APRIL 7Easter
Egg Hunt
The Discovery Bay Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Discovery
Bay Lions Club, takes place in Cornell Park, 505 Discovery Bay
Blvd., at 9:30 a.m. The event includes a visit from the Easter
Bunny, activities and games, and an Easter bonnet contest. For more
information, call 925-516-7234.Easter Egg Hunt and Celebration
The Antioch Salvation Army hosts an Easter celebration from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Salvation Army Antioch Corps office, 620 E.
Tregal- l a s Road. Festivities include games, candy and an egg
hunt. Participants are asked bring a donation of five cans of food
as admission. For more information, call 925-778-0808,
ext. 14.Easter Egg Decorating
Little Miss Everything, 220 Oak St. in Brentwood, hosts an
Easter Egg Decorating Party from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Each child
gets six eggs to dye and decorate. Admission is $25 per child; $20
for Little Miss Everything VIP members. This is a pre-pay event,
and registration is re-quired. For more information or to reserve a
spot, call 925-513-4700.Easter Bunny Express
The Easter Bunny visits the Streets of Brentwood, 2565 Sand
Creek Road, from noon to 3 p.m. The event features a train ride
through the lifestyle center, a petting zoo and other fun
activities. Bring your camera to capture all the fun. For more
information, call 925-516-8500.SUNDAY, APRIL 8Easter Services
Hillside Church, 108 Hillside Road in Antioch, holds Easter
ser-vices at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Nursery and toddler care are
available for both. A spe-cial childrens program is held during the
10:30 service. An Easter egg hunt is sched-uled for 10 a.m. For
more information, visit www.hillsidecares.org.
St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1360 E. Tregallas Road in Antioch,
holds Easter services at 8 a.m. Easter breakfast is served at 9:15,
and an egg hunt starts at 11. For more information, call 925-757-
3070 or visit www.stjohnsantioch.org.
Easter celebrations
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8A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY APRIL 6, 2012
22 000002 02010
S
IL
VER MEDAL
AWARD
Prom is a staple of the high school experience a time to get
dressed up and dance the night away. But for kids who are home
schooled, proms are hard to come by.
Charmaine Abasolo decided when she began homeschooling her
eldest daughter 10 years ago that she would put together a prom for
home-schooled students if no such event existed in East County. To
her dismay, when her daughter came of age there was still no event
that provided homeschooled students that high school rite of
passage. So Abasolo took her cause to the planning board.
Kids who are homeschooled still deserve the opportunity to take
part in a milestone such as prom even if they dont attend a public
school, Abasolo said. I want to provide that opportunity to
stu-dents who want to go to prom. I went to prom when I was in
school and I had a great time. Every kid should have the
op-portunity to get all dressed up and spend the evening
celebrating the approaching end of the school year.
Last November, Abasolo rallied mem-bers of the East Contra Costa
Explorers, a support group for homeschool families, which she runs,
to start brainstorming and
gathering ideas.And the support group didnt fail her.
One homeschool dad will be serving as DJ for the evening, while
another homeschool family member will be taking care of the
catering. Other families have pitched in money for venue rentals
and decorations.
The Homeschool Prom will take place at the Brentwood Community
Center, 35 Oak St., on May 18 from 7 to 11 p.m. The $50 admission
covers a dinner of salad, pasta and dessert and dancing. The dance
is open to homeschooled students between the ages of 14 and 18.
Families from East County and beyond are welcome to attend.
Since homeschool families are par-ticular about the events their
children take part in, Abasolo said, she has established some
restrictions to assure parents that the prom will live up to its
theme: an Evening of Elegance. There will be no rap or hard rock
music played and no suggestive danc-ing allowed. To make sure
everyone is com-fortable, parents are welcome to hang out and
observe the prom as chaperones.
Students interested in participating in the prom must reserve
their tickets by Sun-day, April 15. Donations for the event are
welcome.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call Abasolo at
925-516-0555 or e-mail [email protected].
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Homeschool students to get proper prom
by Samie HartleyStaff Writer
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APRIL 6, 2012 EDUCATION THEPRESS.NET | 9A
Trevors Weekly Mortgage MattersBy Trevor Frey
Annual Percentage Rate
Advertisement
e annual percentage rate, or APR, for either a rst time home
buyer, or an individual looking for their next home, is truly one
of the most useful tools setup in their favor its purpose was to
allow consumers to shop for credit by comparing the ne print,
according to an article in United States Banker. e annual
percentage rate is important as it allows consumers to compare
apples to apples, or even apples to oranges if, of course, we
consider apples to equal xed rate loans, and oranges to represent
adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMS. It is essential when comparing
loans/interest rates and should not be overlooked.
As part of e Federal Truth in Lending Act of 1968, the annual
percentage rate is calculated much di erently than the actual note
rate and can always be found on your Truth in Lending disclosure.
While the note rate simply represents the yearly rate at which your
lender will collect interest for permitting you to borrow money for
a speci c length of time, your APR represents the total cost of
credit on a yearly basis a er all charges points, appraisal, credit
report, processing, and document fees etc. are taken into
consideration. It is typically higher than your actual interest
rate because it includes these additional items and assumes you
will keep the loan for the full term.
Lets look at how APRs are calculated. For our illustration we
will assume a note rate of 5.50% on a xed rate loan. On a 30
year term, and a loan amount of $150,000, the monthly payments
would be $851.68. In order to calculate the APR for this loan we
would rst subtract out the fees: $1500 (one point), $425 for the
appraisal, $500 for processing and $16.50 for a credit report.
$150,000 minus $2441.50 equals $147,558.50. is new gure of
$147,558.50 would re ect on our Truth in Lending disclosure as the
amount being nanced, when in fact we are borrowing $150,000here is
where APR comes into e ect.
We take the new gure of $147,558.50 and use it as our present
value/loan amount to determine the true cost of the loan. By
working the equation backwards until we receive the same $851.68
monthly payment as if the loan amount were still $150,000, we come
up with our annual percentage rate. In this case, our APR is 5.65%,
the true cost of borrowing the amount of the loan being applied to
the actual purchase, a er paying all the fees.
Remember, although the note rate is what you calculate your
monthly payment o of, and is the gure youll compare with your
neighbors at the dinner table, the APR is the gure you should be
most interested in. It is the only way to truly compare the cost of
one loan versus another, and was put in place to protect you. As
always, I welcome all questions and or concerns pertaining to real
estate lending on my cell phone, 925-726-1444, or via email,
[email protected].
22 000002010
GOL
D MEDALAWARD
22 11112011
GOL
D MEDALAWARD
For the third time in three years, a Brentwood Elementary School
Odyssey of the Mind team has earned a spot at the Odyssey of the
Mind World Finals. The team placed second at the recent Califor-nia
State Odyssey of the Mind competition at Heritage High School,
ad-vancing to the World Finals May 23-26 at Iowa State University
in Ames. Coached by Patty Schneider and Stephanie Goldman, team
members are fourth-graders Josh Goldman, Patrick Schneider, Avery
Morton, Erika Henderson, Jalena Wouters and Emily Redman.
Brentwood makes Odyssey threepeat
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10A | THEPRESS.NET EDUCATION APRIL 6, 2012
Music program plays to more than talent
When Tim Combs grows up, he hopes to become a college music
professor. Tims piano teacher Barbara Schneider already a grownup
says her student is well on his way to reaching that goal and
believes theres little the talented 17-year-old cant
accomplish.
Tim is one of those wonderful people an outstanding young man,
said Schnei-der, president of the Delta branch of the Music
Teachers Association of California (MTAC). Ive had him as my
student for nearly 10 years and Ive heard him play it all, from
sonnets to complicated pieces. Hes always had an interest in
music.
Combs excels at Beethoven and Men-delssohn, but when he plugs in
the iPod, its strictly rock n roll.
I perform the classics and listen to the classics, laughed Tim,
who plays pi-ano. Theyre just different kinds of clas-sics.
And such differentiation is integral to the MTAC. Established in
1983, the Delta branch of the independent organization provides
assistance and opportunities for teachers and students of music in
Antioch, Brentwood, Concord, Discovery Bay, Oakley, Pittsburg and
surrounding areas. Created for music lovers of all ages, talents
and aspirations, the MTAC provides one more option and
extracurricular activity
for students looking to enhance their mu-sical experiences.
The purpose of the Delta group is the promotion of musical
culture and the pursuit of excellence in the field of music, said
Theresa Cannizzaro, a Discovery Bay resident and board member of
the Delta MTAC.
Founded in 1897, todays MTAC boasts more than 60 branches
statewide offering a variety of programs. The popu-lar Certificate
of Merit program, for exam-ple, tests students of piano, woodwind
and
string instruments in a number of areas, including music theory,
ear training, music history, technique, sight-reading and
per-formance.
This year, 15 Delta branch students participated in the
extensive competition including Tim who received his senior
medallion for high scores.
They all did really well this year, said Cannizzaro, who has
been teaching piano for more than 15 years. I feel very privileged
to do this. To watch the students grow and progress is wonderful
thing. We
have an amazing group of teachers who have dedicated themselves
to providing opportunities for students to explore their musical
potential, to expand their knowl-edge and appreciation of music and
devel-op their technical skills and abilities.
And play in more than a musical sense.
Its definitely a social thing, said Tim, a student at Los
Medanos College. Its been really cool because I have met so many
teachers and students who all have shared interests and stuff.
And while some will go on to careers in the music world, others
will not. Giv-ing students the option to enjoy music for musics
sake while garnering knowledge along the way is the driving mission
of the MTAC.
Not every student will go on to major in music, although some
certainly will, said Cannizzaro. But the program teaches them so
many other things aside from being able to play the piano and
download music on the Internet and play it. It also teaches them
about time man-agement, commitment, setting goals and working
toward them. Its not always fun, but the results are something they
can always be proud of. Its a wonderful pro-gram.
For more information on the MTAC, visit www.mtac.org or call
Barbara Schnei-der at 925-783-4436.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
MTAC Delta Branch Senior Medallion honorees, from left, are Tim
Combs, Jessica Untalan, Nicholla Viloria, Christina Zeek and John
Peterson.
Photos courtesy of Theresa Cannizzaro
by Ruth RobertsStaff Writer
Text Like thepress.net to 32665
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APRIL 6, 2012 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 11A
22 11112 12011
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IL
VER MEDAL
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U.S. Sen. Mark DeSaulnier and As-semblymember Joan Buchanan have
com-mended the California Department of Parks and Recreations
recent announcement that it will contribute funds toward road
repairs on upper Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard in time for the Amgen
Tour of California bicycle race through Mt. Diablo State Park.
We are pleased to see State Parks come to the table and
acknowledge their responsi-bility in helping to ensure a safe and
smooth approach to the driveway of Mt. Diablo State Park for
residents, bicyclists and park enthu-siasts alike, said DeSaulnier.
Secretary John Laird and State Parks Director Ruth Cole-man are to
be commended for their willing-ness to address this issue head-on.
Indeed, we look forward to taking the next steps together with all
parties to help forge a long-term shared maintenance agreement.
This section of Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard has been left in
disrepair for far too long. The contribution from State Parks is
critical to breaking the impasse so we can get to work fixing the
road, said Buchan-an. I look forward to working with all the
stakeholders to ensure that this entrance point to Mt. Diablo State
Park is safe, ac-cessible, and best able to serve all members of
the community.
Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard is a private road jointly owned by
individual landowners in the community of Diablo, located at the
base of the Mt. Diablo State Park. The state has a longstanding
road easement with the property owners for access to the park,
which attracts significant visitor and bicycle use of the road.
The last one-mile stretch of Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard, which
leads directly into the park, is in serious disrepair due to the
in-ability of the state and local residents to come to an agreement
over who is responsible for maintaining the roadway.
Given the protracted stalemate and the upcoming Amgen Tour,
DeSaulnier and Bu-chanan convened a community meeting to address
the short- and long-term needs of the road. In attendance at the
meeting were sev-eral stakeholders, including the Diablo Com-munity
Services District, state park officials, Save Mount Diablo, Contra
Costa County, Athenian School, local area homeowners as-sociations
and individual property owners.
State Parks announced at the meeting that it would commit funds
from a special fund set aside specifically for state park road
repairs. Discussions are now underway be-tween all the parties
toward crafting a long-term shared maintenance agreement.
Impasse resolved over Diablo repairs
The Special Kids Foundation hosts its sixth annual Wine &
Chocolate Festival on Saturday, May 12 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Hannah
Nicole Vineyards, 6700 Balfour Road in Brentwood.
Among the featured vintners are Hannah
Nicole Vineyards, Cline Cellars and Quady Winery. A variety of
chocolate delicacies will be available along with hors doeuvres,
raffle prizes and dancing under the stars.
Admission is $50. For more informa-tion, call 925-360-4672.
Spotlight on wine and chocolate
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12A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY APRIL 6, 2012
Lily Partida, 12, and sister Ava, 8, took their Hometown Weekly
Newspaper on a spring-break trip to our nations capital, where the
girls and their parents toured the National Zoo and the Na-tional
Gallery, home to the only Da Vinci in the Americas. Lily and Ava
even managed to catch a show at the Kennedy Center and a view of
Washingtons famous cherry blossoms in all their glory. Thanks,
girls, for giving the Brentwood Press a front-row seat in the Seat
of Power.
Seen in D.C.
Discovery Bay residents Bob and Wendy Phillips made sure their
Hometown Weekly Newspaper was in their baggage when they made the
trip to Jamaica last February. Above, a local musician was happy to
provide extra pizzazz to the picture, taken in Negril Bay. Thanks,
Wendy and Bob, for giving the Discovery Bay Press an entertain-ing
taste of the Caribbean.
Seen in Jamaica
-
APRIL 6, 2012 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 13A
Cant attend? Join the conversation via Twitter
@SutterDelta#kidshealth
Your kids enjoy supervised play while you participate in an
informative conversation led by pediatricians
Susan Adham, M.D. or Irmeen Ashraf, M.D.
My Child Has Itchy, Dry Skin. . . Could it be Eczema?Learn how
to recognize and treat eczema, a common skin condition. Symptoms
include dry, red, itchy patches on the skin which break out in
rashes when scratched. Dr. Adham, Tuesday, April 17 Dr. Ashraf,
Thursday, April 26 12:00 - 1:00 pm 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Easy Lifestyle Changes to Fight Childhood ObesityChildhood
obesity is at epidemic levels and putting our childrens health at
risk. Learn lifestyle changes you can make to prevent obesity now
and as your child grows up. Dr. Ashraf, Tuesday, May 8 Dr. Adham,
Thursday, May 17 12:00 - 1:00 pm 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Quench Your Childs Thirst to Prevent DehydrationHow much water
should your child drink? What are the early warning signs of
dehydration and heat stress? Symptoms can indicate under-lying
serious health issues and lead to long-term problems. Learn to
recognize the signs. Dr. Adham, Tuesday, June 5 Dr. Ashraf,
Thursday, June 28 12:00 - 1:00 pm 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Learn N Play with Sutter Delta and the Little Gym
To reserve your FREE space, please call (925) 634-0034.
One of the largest all-volunteer ser-vice projects in California
this year is set for Saturday, April 28, when tens of thousands of
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mormons), some dressed in those dis-tinctive yellow vests and
T-shirts, will work side by side with other caring com-munity
friends and neighbors, providing service and a helping hand at
hundreds of projects throughout the state.
This years annual Mormon Help-ing Hands Day of Service
encompasses at least five projects in East County:
West Antioch residents can con-tribute to landscaping, platform
assem-bly, public bench repairs and painting from 9 a.m. to noon at
the Contra Cos-ta County Fairgrounds, 1201 W. 10th St. For more
information, call Linda Thayne at 925-586-1344, Brian Smith at
925-754-5899 or Carlos Saro at 925-261-9479.
East Antioch residents can help with painting, weeding and
general cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon at Learner-Centered School, an
Antioch charter school. For more information, call John Dimsdale at
925-756-2457 or Vince Feh-ring at 732-801-3668.
Discovery Bay, Byron and Brent-
wood residents will be scraping and painting railings, repairing
planters, weeding and cleaning up trash from 9 a.m. to noon at the
east end of Valley Green Road in Brentwood. For more information,
call Roy Manning at 925-858-5145 or Paul Krey at 925-634-3276.
Oakley, Knightsen, Bethel Island and north Brentwood residents
can join forces with Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed to clean the
creek bed, banks and trails along Marsh Creek from 9 a.m. to noon.
The group meets at the parking lot on East Cypress Road and Main
Street in Oakley. For more infor-mation, call Phil Somerhalder at
925-625-0509, Jeff Peterson at 925516-8348 or Bill Taylor at
925-625-5167.
Simply put on some old work clothes, bring your enthusiasm and
come out to one of the sites, where equipment will be provided. To
find a project in a specific town other than the those listed
above, visit www.mhhcali-fornia.org, click on the golden
Califor-nia icon and then click a blue balloon to locate a project
near you.
To learn more about worldwide Mormon Helping Hands humanitarian
service projects, visit
www.mormon-newsroom.org/article/helping-hands.
Volunteers needed for Day of Service
-
14A | THEPRESS.NET APRIL 6, 2012
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.
Brentwood Press & PuBlishing CorPoration
National Award Winning Newspapers
Founder & President Jimmy ChamouresPublisher & General
Manager Greg Robinson
Executive Editor Rick LemyreProduction Manager & Webmaster
Lonnie de Lambert
Business Manager Heather Reid
Main Office / Brentwood248 Oak St. Brentwood, CA 94513
Phone 925-634-1441 Fax 925-634-1975Web site:
www.thepress.net
Advertising 925-634-1441, ext. 115Classifieds 925-634-1441, ext.
142
Editorial 925-634-1441, ext. 111Circulation 925-250-1405
Editorial e-mail [email protected]
oPinionEDITORIALS, LETTERS & COMMENTARY National
Award Winning NewspapersHave you got something to say? Visit
www.thepress.net and let your thoughts be known.
Letters to the editorBank settlement falls short
Editor:The ink is barely dried on the Con-
sent Judgment, and already it appears Bank of America has
engaged in unfair, deceptive and fraudulent actions against its
customers.
After 49 state attorneys general and the federal government sued
the five largest loan servicers (Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi,
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo), a Joint State-Federal Mort-gage
Servicing Settlement was reached inthe largest consumer financial
protec-tion settlement in U.S. history, providing $25 billion in
monetary sanctions and relief to homeowners.
Bank of America has the largest financial obligation under the
settle-ment at $11 billion. During negotiations, however, Bank of
America insured that it minimized its responsibility under the
agreement by apparently moving (without consent or knowledge) the
loan mortgage of qualifying clients to Green Tree Finance, a
carefully concealed subsidiary.
As a result, Bank of America re-duced the number of customers
eligible for mortgage relief and will not provide refinancing
services to former clients under a key provision of the settlement:
Refinancing of Underwater Homes.
To assist homeowners who are not delinquent on their payments
but can-not refinance to lower rates because of negative equity,
the banks must offer refinance programs totaling at least $3
billion. The banks will be required to notify eligible homeowners
of the avail-ability of these programs. To be eligible, a borrower
must be current on mortgage payments, have a loan-to-value ratio in
excess of 100 percent, and must have a current interest rate in
excess of 5.25 percent. The refinanced rate must reduce monthly
payments by at least $100.
Walter Investment Management
owns Green Tree Finance, while Walter Investment Management is
owned by Bank of America. Through a complicat-ed web of ownership,
Bank of America owns Green Tree Finance and, therefore, should
provide eligible ex-customers with mortgage relief required by the
settle-ment.
The settlement does not provide im-munity or release for
criminal conduct, and complaints for wrongdoing by the banks may be
filed with California Attor-ney General Kamala Harris.
Cynthia RuehligAntioch
More than barely adequate fire coverage needed
Editor:East Contra Costa Fire is asking
us to approve a 10-year, $197 parcel tax with up to 3 percent
annual CPI escala-tion. By year 10, that tax could be as much as
$257.04, and then they run out of money again. Should we approve
it?
I have attended the ECCFPD town hall meetings as well, asking
probing questions of the fire chief and a fire district board
member. I have examined the internalfinancial projectionsof the
district and have concluded that it will indeed be faced with
multiple station closures without additional funds this coming
year. The question remains: should we approve the tax and what will
be the consequences of failure?
First, some hard facts: Our fire district has a much lower pay
scale than Contra Costa Fire, which serves a large part of the
county. East Contra Costa Fire serves 250 square miles and
has seen tax revenues decline from $12 million in 2008 to less
than $8 million today. The district receives from 5 to 9 cents of
property tax revenues com-pared to 12 to 14 cents in communities
served by Contra Costa Fire. This is a structural problem related
to Prop. 13, and the district board is unable to make necessary
changes.
Most will agree that our current fire safety coverage is barely
adequate, with the Discovery Bay Boulevard station already closed.
What will happen to fire insurance premiums if our clos-est station
becomes Brentwood? The choices are clear. Take a gamble and hope
the Board of Supervisors solves the problem or approves the parcel
tax as proposed.
Bruce HallDiscovery Bay
City of Brentwood City Manager and City Council City Hall 150
City Park Way Brentwood, CA 94513 Phone: 925-516-5440
www.ci.brentwood.ca.us
City of Antioch City Manager and City Council City Hall Third
and H streets Antioch, CA 94509 Phone: 925-779-7000
www.ci.antioch.ca.us
City of Oakley City Manager and City Council City Hall 3231 Main
St. Oakley, CA 94561 Phone: 925-625-7000 www.ci.oakley.ca.us
Town of Discovery Bay Town Manager and Community Services
District 1800 Willow Lake Road Discovery Bay, CA 94505 Phone:
925-634-1131 www.todb.ca.gov
County Supervisor, Dist. III Mary N. Piepho 3361 Walnut Blvd.,
Suite 140. Brentwood, CA 94513 Phone: 925-240-7260
[email protected]
County Supervisor, Dist. V Federal Glover 315 E. Leland Ave.
Pittsburg, CA 94565 Phone: 925-427-8138 [email protected]
State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier Seventh State Senate District State
Capitol Room 2054 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-651-4007 1350
Treat Blvd., Suite 240 Walnut Creek, CA 94597 Phone: 925-942-6082
www.dist07.casen.govoffice.com
Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan 15th District P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249 3231 Main St., Oakley, CA 94561 Phone:
925-679-2715 www.democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a15
Gov. Jerry Brown Constituent Affairs State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-445-2864
www.gov.ca.gov/interact#email
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi 10th Congressional District 420 W.
Third Street Antioch, CA 94509 Phone: 925-757-7187 Washington
office: 228 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-1880
www. garamendi.house.gov/contact
U.S. Rep. Gerald McNerney 11th Congressional District 2222 Grand
Canal Blvd., Suite 7 Stockton, CA 95207 Phone: 209-476-8552 Fax:
209-476-8587 Washington office: 312 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C.
20515
Phone: 202-225-1947 Fax: 202-225-4060 www.mcnerney.house.gov
U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240 San
Francisco, CA 94111 Phone: 415-403-0100 Fax: 415-956-6701
www.boxer.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein 1 Post St., Room 2450 San Francisco,
CA 94104 Phone: 415-393-0707 Washington office: 331 Hart Senate
Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3841
www.feinstein.senate.gov
President Barack Obama 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C.
20500 Phone: 202-456-1111
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
-
Visit Your Hometown Website www.thepress.net THEPRESS.NET | 15A
APRIL 6, 2012
Follow sports on Twitter! Scan QR code with your smart
phone.
Locals revel in rain
Wind, rain and cold forced the cancellation of four events
Saturday at the Deer Valley Invitational, but the in-clement
weather made little impact on the Wolverines.
Deer Valley finished first in 10 events and garnered 138.5
points to lead all teams. Junior ZeJohn Parker (200-meter dash),
senior Jusufu Haines (300-meter hurdles) and senior Shawn Simms
(long jump) joined junior LaShall Hamlin (100 and 200 meters) and
senior Audrena Harlan (long jump) all finished first in individual
events.
The Wolverines boys distance med-ley and 4x400-meter relay team
of Isa-iah Reed, Simms, LaVelle Hamlin and Tajae Smith took first
along with the 4x200-meter boys team and the girls 4x400-meter
relay team of Hamlin and sophomores Lauren Tolliver-King, Kourtney
Burney and Sasha Newman.
Senior DMetrius Cooper (200), junior Dylan Winn (1600) Harlan
(100)
and the girls 4x100-meter, 4x200-meter and distance medley relay
teams fin-ished second.
Reed (400), freshman Albert How-ard (200) and the boys second
4x400-meter relay team of junior Deonta Johnson, Adonis Johnson,
Davon Bird-en and senior Narav Wright finished third for Deer
Valley.
It rained, we persevered, and we were able to get a meet in,
which is about the best we can do, said Wol-verines head coach
Bernard Stephens. This is the third meet of our year. We have been
rained out of virtually every-where else. It makes it real
difficult. The kids want to run, but it makes it really hard to do
anything when the weather doesnt cooperate.
Liberty finished with a team score of 36, good enough for sixth
place. Sophomore Cody Mayer was a bright spot, finishing first in
the boys 1600 and 3200-meter races with times of 4 minutes, 39.25
seconds and 10:25.71 to secure the Lions only two first-place
see Rain page 19A
Heritage Highs swimming and div-ing team has put a stranglehold
on the Bay Valley Athletic League title for quite some time.
The boys are going for their fourth straight BVAL victory while
the girls are taking aim on a three-peat. The Patriots field
several talented athletes who are ex-pected to excel not only
against league foes, but in the North Coast Section meet as
well.
Heritage faced some of the top com-petition from around the
state at a recent meet in Mission Viejo, near Irvine. The girls
placed fifth overall and the boys ninth.
Haley Rose Love earned first place in both the 50- and 100-yard
freestyle rac-es, setting school records in both events. Erica
Knudsen, another talented swim-mer, placed seventh in the 50-yard
free-style. Madison Applegate, who will attend UCLA next year,
finished second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard
butterfly.
The girls 400-yard freestyle relay team of Love, Applegate,
Knudsen and Emilee Troy claimed first at the Mission Viejo
meet.
Sophomore Walker Thaning set a school record in the 100-yard
backstroke, completing it in 54.65 seconds. Head coach Craig Carson
said Brandon James, as well as Carter Haines, Jake Mattheiessen and
Spencer Wichmann, are expected to excel this season.
Were looking stronger than last year by quite a bit, Carson
said. Hope-fully were going to do well at North Coast. Were headed
in that direction.
Deer ValleyThe Wolverines also look strong so far
this season. Head coach Kiel Olff said he was impressed with his
teams performance at last months Mt. SAC Invitational in Southern
California, where both the girls and boys placed 11th among 17
teams from around the state.
Some of the more notable perfor-mances included the girls
200-yard freestyle relay team, which placed fifth, junior Corey
Maiers fourth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke, freshman
Stanley Wus eighth-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke and
the boys 200-yard medley relay team, which finished eighth. The
Talens twins Vicky and Tricia also turned in several strong
finishes.
Patriots to rule pool
Freedom wrestler Ricky Coster has two more years of high school
ahead of him, but has already made an impact on the national
level.
The sophomore earned an invite to the National High School
Coaches As-sociation High School National Wres-
tling Championships this past weekend and delivered a good
performance.
Coster defeated Andrew Leier from North Dakota in the first
round of the 126-pound bracket. Next, he bested Pennsylvanias
Nicholas Buckle in the second round. Coster fell from the main
bracket in the third round, when he was
BVAL well-represented at wrestling nationals
Press file photo
Freedoms Ricky Coster, a sophomore wrestler, turned in an
impressive sev-enth-place performance at the National Wrestling
Championship meet.
see Nationals page 19A
see Pool page 20A
Photo by Angelo Garcia Jr.
Libertys Cody Mayer outruns a Vanden Viking during the Deer
Valley Invitational. Mayer won the 1600- and 3200-meter races.
by Kyle SzymanskiCorrespondent
by Justin LaffertyStaff Writer
by Justin LaffertyStaff Writer
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16A | THEPRESS.NET SPORTS APRIL 6, 2012
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Oakley is partnering with Biddy Sports to offer basketball for
children 4 through 6. Children learn the funda-mentals of
basketball, develop social skills in a fun, safe and
family-oriented environment and are introduced to team sports.
Sessions are held Saturdays, April 14 through May 19 from 10 to 11
a.m. at the Oakley Recreation Build-ing, 1250 OHara Ave. The fee is
$60 for Oakley residents $70 for non-residents and includes a
T-shirt and award. The registration deadline is April 9, and
vol-
unteer coach training is held April 10.The class provides
non-competitive
basketball in which children participate at their own level and
ability. No scores are kept. Participants take part in an hour of
fun group warmup, practice with their team and play a game.
Par-ents can get involved by volunteering to coach their childs
team. All training is provided; no experience is required. To
register, call 925-625-7041 or visit the Oakley Recreation
Department offices at 3231 Main St.
Biddy b-ball in Oakley
For the latest news and scores, follow us at Twitter.com/
thepress_sports.
-
APRIL 6, 2012 SPORTS THEPRESS.NET | 17A
Multi-talented Panther a volleyball natural
Jared Mlekush has been a jack-of-all-trades throughout his four
years at Antioch. He has played basketball and golf, and his senior
season has featured forays on the volleyball court.
But athletics are only part of Mlekushs story. Away from the
school, hes active in First Family Church, which occupies a great
deal of his time.
Im pretty heavily involved with my church group, Mlekush said.
We go on what I guess you would call field trips. We do stuff where
we go hiking and stuff like that. Ive been going to church since I
was a baby.
Mlekush picked up volleyball this year through the influence of
friends on the team. His previous experience in the sport was
limit-ed: his sister Akasha, also an Antioch graduate, played
volleyball as a Panther and Jared would occasionally hit the ball
around with her.
Mlekushs participation in organized, competitive volleyball,
however, is limited to this season. While hes relatively new to the
game, his coach, David Driskell, said his leap-ing ability and
strong hitting skills have made him a natural talent.
If he would have started as a freshman or even younger than
that, hed be going some-where on a volleyball scholarship, Driskell
said. Hes picked it up that well.
That observation is echoed by his team-mates, who feel hes a
natural at the sport. Out-
side hitter Robert Smith has been a teammate of Mlekush in
basketball since they were fresh-men, but has played volleyball for
four years, and is impressed by his teammates mental and physical
tools.
He listens, he knows how to talk, and how to act and work hard
when he plays, Smith said. Hes picked it up very well. Hes strong
and tall and mentally smart about the game.
Senior opposite hitter Muhammed Ikharo said when Mlekush started
playing volleyball, his skills were noticeably unrefined. But after
a few weeks of practice and work with Driskell, he became one of
the teams better players.
He has a determination to win in any sport, Ikharo said. No
matter whats happen-ing, hes still trying and pushing other
players. He never gives up.
In addition to his natural athletic ability and drive, Mlekush
has impressed his coaches with a strong attitude and academic
standard. Driskell said he couldnt remember ever attend-ing an
academic awards ceremony in which Mlekush didnt receive some kind
of honor.
Following graduation, Mlekush plans to go straight to a
four-year school. Ideally, hes looking to the state of Washington,
as that would give him a chance to be closer to his grandparents,
who live a short drive from the University of Washingtons
campus.
I applied for an ROTC scholarship with the Navy, Mlekush said.
If I get that, then Ill be going to a four-year like Washington or
Washington State.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
by Michael DixonCorrespondent
Antioch senior Jared Mlekush elevates to dink a shot over a pair
of Pittsburg defenders during a league game earlier this week.
Photo by Kyndl Buzas
-
18A | THEPRESS.NET SPORTS APRIL 6, 2012
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Facing competition theyll likely meet in the North Coast Section
playoffs, the Deer Valley boys volleyball team ex-celled in their
Logan Bailey Invitational.
The home-court Wolverines finished third to De La Salle and St.
Patrick/St. Vincent in the Saturday tournament. Deer Valley is off
to another hot start, as the team held a 14-2 record after the
invitational. Both losses were inflicted by St. Patrick/St. Vincent
from Vallejo.
To date, the Deer Valley varsity team has done exceptionally
well, head coach Lou Panzella wrote in an e-mail. We are getting
better with every match and every practice. The more touches of the
volleyball we have, the better we be-come.
At the Logan Bailey Invitational, the Wolverines toppled Granada
and North-gate in pool play, then defeated Placer and Mission San
Jose in the gold division playoffs. Deer Valley then faced the St.
Patrick/St. Vincent Bruins, ranked No. 14 in the state by MaxPreps.
The Bruins won the first match 25-22 and finished off the
Wolverines with a 25-23 victory.
De La Salle defeated St. Patrick/St. Vincent in the finals.
While Panzella has been pleased with what Deer Valley has
accomplished so far this season, he still feels the team is a work
in progress. The Wolverines field only one senior starter opposite
hitter Noah Labonte but compensate for their lack of experience
with size. Labonte, juniors Marcus Lee, Brandon Guardamagni and
Jeff Brown, sopho-more Thio Grigley and freshmen Jared Stark and
Jordan Ewert are all taller than 6 feet.
Our success for the remainder of this season and into the
playoffs, Pan-zella wrote, will depend upon our im-proving our
on-court communication skills, ball control and team blocking, and
more consistent yet aggressive serv-ing. We need to become a more
consis-tent and better digging and scrambling team.
Every other Bay Valley Athletic League team save Liberty
competed in the Logan Bailey Invitational. Pittsburg placed 18th,
Freedom 19th, Heritage 21st and Antioch 22nd.
In the bronze division playoffs, Pitts-burg defeated Concord and
Freedom but lost to Clayton Valley. Heritage lost to Granada and
rallied to beat Antioch and Concord. Antioch lost to Clayton Valley
and Heritage.
Wolverines stay hot at home tourney
Local reels in big prizeBrian Carpenter of Bethel Island
weighed a five-bass limit totaling 18 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday
to edge the competition at the EverStart Series West-ern Division
event at Russos Marina in Oakley. Carpenters three-day total of 15
bass weighed 67 pounds, 6 ounces, earn-ing him the $30,420
first-place prize.
Ive followed the tide all week, said Carpenter. I had a pretty
good pattern I would follow, putting on close to 60 miles a day. I
would follow the tide in and hit a bunch of spots, and then follow
it back out and hit some more spots. Then I go flipping in the
afternoon. Its worked out solid for me, and Im able to hit over 30
different spots a day doing it.
The cold, rainy weather really had
an effect on the fishing today, though, Carpenter added. I
caught at least 25 fish the first two days, but I only caught 15
today. The wind was blowing around 25 miles per hour, and it was
brutal. I couldnt get to some of my spots today.
Other East County natives who fin-ished in the top 10:
Second place: Phillip Dutra, Antioch 15 bass, 67 pounds, 5
ounces $10,430.
Fourth place: Charley Almassey, Oak-ley 15 bass, 63 pounds, 10
ounces $7,822.
Sixth place: Salvador Herrera, Dis-covery Bay 15 bass, 57
pounds, 10 ounc-es $6,084.
Complete results can be found at www.flwoutdoors.com.
Contributed by Joe Opager
David Carpenter of Bethel Island
holds up two of his prize bass
at the FLW EverStart
Series Western Division
tournament in Oakley.
Photo courtesy of David A. Brown/
FLWOutdoors.com
by Justin LaffertyStaff Writer
-
APRIL 6, 2012 SPORTS THEPRESS.NET | 19A
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over 30 markets.We can beat any lizard.
finishes.Under the weather conditions and
everything, the performance that really stands out is the one by
Cody Mayer, said Liberty head coach John Ambrose. He ran a tough
race there in the 1600. Between the wind, the rain and the cold, it
just isnt ideal.
Junior Nicholas West (long jump) and senior Alisa Hansen (3200)
finished in second place for the Lions. Junior Erin Morgan tied for
second in the long jump with a final effort of 14 feet, 8
inches.
Freedom tallied 33 points for a sev-enth-place finish. The
Falcons failed to win any events, but senior Adrian Perez finished
second in the boys 400 with a time of 50.60. Freshman Madison
LaPi-erre (200), junior Mariah Walker (400), junior Lisa Tilcock
(1600) and senior Camille Braun (discus) all finished in second.
Walker also finished third in the girls 200. Senior Michael Valdez
(3200) and sophomore Joe Mixon (100) fin-ished third for the
Falcons.
Heritage junior Megan Neuhoff tied Morgan for second place in
the long jump. Both girls final jumps measured 14-08. Junior Ian
Johnson took sec-ond in the boys 300-meter hurtles with a time of
46.41. Junior Jason Brown (1600) finished third. Sophomore
Sa-mantha Cross finished third in the girls discus competition with
a final throw of 48 feet, 1 inch.
The Patriots nine points earned them eighth place.
Antioch junior Lindsay McGrath won the girls 400 with a time of
61.39 for the Panthers only win of the day. Senior Jeremy Bittle
secured third place in the long jump with a final jump of 18-05.
Junior Raquel Bragg finished third in the girls 400.
Panthers head coach Meia Tezeno was impressed with her teams
early-season performance, considering An-tioch is still developing
as a track and field team. The Panthers finished with zero team
points. For our team, we had a lot of newbies that have never done
track before, said Tezeno. For some of them, it was their very
first meet. It was kind of crazy in the beginning with the weather,
but 99 percent of our team was able to make it. They competed well
for the first time.
Pittsburg struggled Saturday, fin-ishing 12th with one point,
but junior Rebecca Garner won the girls discus competition with a
final throw of 65 feet, 2 inches. The Pirates also won third place
in the girls 4x100-meter relay. Ari-ana Larson, Crystal Rodriguez,
Stepha-nie Maddox and Alexa Mahdi finished behind Deer Valley and
Vallejo.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Rain from page 15Adefeated by Tyler Marinelli of Georgia in a
10-2 decision. Marinelli eventually went on to claim second place
in the 126-pound bracket.
But Coster continued to find success in the consolation bracket.
He earned a 7-5 victory over Brandon Hill from New York, pinned
Minnesotas Dylan Her-man and then beat Franklin Wepner from North
Carolina in a 2-0 decision.
Coster lost to Marylands Matthew Pente, but redeemed himself
with a vic-tory over Travis Roper from Pennsylva-nia to claim
seventh place.
Three of Costers five pins came against previous state
champions, and he also earned a medal for most pins in
the fastest time.Freedom also sent Richard Jones
to the national tournament. Competing in the 126-pound juniors
bracket, Jones went 1-1 before withdrawing due to a shoulder
injury.
Antioch senior Kyle Clark, a 220-pound wrestler, was able to
make the trip to Virginia Beach, Va. thanks to a communitywide
fundraising effort. But Clark was not able to taste victo-ry at
nationals. He lost his first-round match 9-6 to North Carolinas
Chase Warren.
After receiving a bye in the opening round of the consolation
bracket, Clark fell to Minnesotas Justin Wheaton in a 7-4
decision.
Nationals from page 15A
Please recycle this paper
-
20A | THEPRESS.NET SPORTS APRIL 6, 2012
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So far, Deer Valley has defeated Clay-ton Valley, College Park,
Antioch and Pitts-burg.
Olff will count on some of the afore-mentioned athletes for NCS
success, as well as Andrew Wayne, Solomon Abuda and Matthew
Satyadi, who will attend UCLA next year. Diver Isabella Navarro has
a great chance to make her fourth straight trip to the section meet
this season.
LibertyThe Lions appear to be in good shape
to send several swimmers to NCS this season. Senior JT Sarmento,
who has ac-cepted a water polo scholarship to Pacific, will be a
force in many events, namely the 200-yard or 500-yard individual
medley. Logan Trudell, who competes in the free-style events and
the 100-yard backstroke, has also been a solid contributor. Twins
Jer-emy and Jacob Fio have been forces in the shorter freestyler
races.
Head coach Cindi Coats said the team seems more united this year
than in seasons past.
The Lions also field some talented girls with a shot at NCS,
such as Rosie Doria, who competes in the 50 and 100-yard free-style
events. Morgan Stremsel has shown promise in the butterfly. Diver
Traleena Martinez, a senior, should do well this year. The Liberty
girls swim team is young: the roster features only two seniors,
three ju-niors and 27 freshmen.
FreedomFirst-year head coach John Edwards
is hoping to build a program that can com-pete with Heritage and
Deer Valley. So far, the Falcons are off to a good start. Free-dom
defeated Antioch in its first league meet, and boasts several
promising athletes who could go on to NCS.
Im very impressed, Edwards said. We have a very versatile team.
Theres a lot of hard workers and weve had some im-pressive
swims.
Sophomore Emily Too has been strong in several events and junior
Emily Harris has done well in the 200-yard free-style. Both are
part of a talented relay team that includes senior Emily Pels and
junior Sierra McIntyre.
Edwards noted that seniors Zach Ir-win and Stephen Rodriguez
would be key performers for the boys team. The Falcons appear set
for the future as well, due to tal-ented sophomores Chris Warren,
Christian Henry, Cameron Ott-Bales and Dustin Strain.
According to coach Krista Plumlee, two of Freedoms promising
divers Gen-evieve Pascale and Sabrina Castor have improved by leaps
and bounds.Antioch
The Panthers swimming roster has more than doubled in size over
last years, from 17 to 38. Head coach Tiffany Ramirez, also a
teacher at the school, has been en-
couraging swimmers to come out for the team and tell friends.
The word-of-mouth approach could lead to more success.
Antiochs boys team is led by junior freestyle swimmer Nate
Huizar. Other tal-ented male athletes include sophomore Juan Medina
(butterfly, freestyle), junior Dillan Roby (freestyle,
breaststroke), soph-omore Eric Nooteboome (freestyle) and se-nior
Tanner Fuhrman (breaststroke, back-stroke).
Amanda Loomis, a senior, has been named the girls team captain.
Ramirez identified several girls who show potential for success,
including senior Christine Que-can (backstroke, freestyle), junior
Shannon McMillan (breaststroke, backstroke) and junior Rachel
Harrison (butterfly, freestyle).Pittsburg
Head coach Suzy Farmer believes that what the Pirates lack in
experience they make up for in enthusiasm.
Pittsburgs roster includes several first-year swimmers, and
Farmer appreciates their eagerness to learn and improve. The coach
has been impressed by sophomore Sam Whipple, junior Marissa Mota
(free-style, breaststroke), junior siblings Cam-eron and Caitlyn
Mosely (freestyle, breast-stroke) and senior Don Lopez, who started
swimming this season but has improved noticeably.
Sophomore Rashon Rogers as well as seniors Lucia Arias and
Nicollette Velasco have also made progress. Theres been a lot of
good swims, Farmer said. and lots of learning of techniques. They
have a good attitude, though.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Pool from page 15A
Photo courtesy of Lori Love
Heritages Haley Rose Love, center, takes the plunge at a meet in
Mission Viejo.
-
APRIL 6, 2012 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 21A
22 11112011
GOL
D MEDALAWARD
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Expiration of Capital Gains Cut Extension Could Affect Home
Sellers
US homes sale prices continued to slide down-ward in November.
Both the Case-Shiller index of 10 major metropolitan areas and the
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a good time to sell? Maybe not for many people, but for some
well-heeled homeowners the tax benefits of selling this year rather
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Now that the reduced capital gains rates are set to expire along
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22 11112011
GOL
D MEDALAWARD
Young grapplers earn titlesMembers of the Golden State Wres-
tling Club have been earning medals and heralding a bright
future for the sport in East County.
At a recent meet at Dallas Ranch Middle School in Antioch,
Ayemere Oiy-emhonlanplaced first in the Cadet Division freestyle
competition. Anthony Richardson claimed first in the freestyle
competition in the Rookie Division. Oseyiomon Oiy-emhonlan, Daniel
Doan and Gavin Lewis earned second place in the Novice Division.
Three other Golden State grapplers took third: Isaac Cota (Junior
Division), Robert Goodman (School Boy) and Jesus Alvarez
(Cadet).
At the Cadet, Junior and Folkstyle state championship at Selland
Arena in Fresno, a host of Golden State wrestlers earned awards.
Lilian Bolanos placed fifth overall in the girls Junior Division.
Upsetting No. 2 seed Marie-Noel Candido of theModestoWres-tlingClub
by a pin in the first round. In the finals, Candido pinned Desiree
Rosales of the California Wolverines Club.
Cadet Tristen Tate, in the 130-pound division, went 4-2 with
four pins. Junior Tan-ner Sterud, a 170-pound wrestler, finished
2-2 with two pins.
Contributed by Rich Madrigal BOLANOS
Stories at thepress.netVisit www.thepress.net to read
these stories: Brentwoods Zach King, a PGA ap-prentice, recently
claimed a title in a PGA Pro Series event in Daly City. Freedom
announced its winter ath-letes who excelled in the classroom,
earning GPAs over 3.50. The Diablo Valley Volleyball Clubs 12U
girls team brought home the hard-ware at a tournament in
Brentwood.
-
22A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY APRIL 6, 2012
ment to one based on property and sales tax. Although the funds
have figured in financial planning since they were estab-lished,
this year will be the first in which some of the money will be
used.
Ehler told the council that up to $2.8 million of the rainy-day
supply might be tapped to keep operations fully funded and not
touch the citys budget reserves, which remain at 30 percent.
We have not touched our reserves, nor have we ever touched the
reserves, Ehler said. We dont think we will actually use (all $2.8
million in stabilization fund mon-ey) but we will use some of it.
But thats exactly what it is there for and what weve been planning
for.
Growth in sales taxes and property tax revenue resulting from
increased property values are expected to eventually supplant the
development revenue. The special funds were established to prevent
service reduc-tions until tax revenues grow enough to meet the
citys needs.
Although sales tax revenues have contin-ued to post gains, the
10-year forecast shows that the severity and duration of the real
es-tate slide means overall revenues will grow at only a
2.9-percent annual rate over the next 10 years, while expenses are
expected to grow 3.6 percent. Unless something is done to reduce
the rate at which future expenses increase, the stabilization funds
could run dry in about six years, Ehler told the council.
The increasing expenses are primar-ily employee-related,
including medical and retirement costs for current and former
employees. The 10-year forecast does not anticipate adding new
employees positions before the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Since the savings accounts are expected to prevent the city from
dipping into re-serves for the next six years, Ehler believes there
is time to make adjustments. Mod-est changes now can make a huge
impact in coming years, she said, in order to avoid drastic actions
down the road.
Strategies for dealing with the cash flow imbalance have been in
the works since last
November and will be brought to the council for review in June.
A key part of those strate-gies are current and upcoming
negotiations with the citys labor bargaining groups.
The results of these negotiations are likely to substantially
alter the projections contained throughout this Fiscal Model and to
significantly reduce the shortfalls currently projected, the report
states.
Ehler said this week that if labor nego-tiations fall short of
bridging the gap, other options could be considered. For example,
the city has always fully funded its equip-ment and vehicle
replacement funds, and could take advantage of the healthy fund
balances to make temporary reductions in future contributions to
help prevent the need to dip into General Fund reserves.
Pressure on the stabilization funds will also be eased if
development recovers faster than forecast. The 10-year model
projects income from 100 housing units per year, growing annually
to reach 330 units in 2020/21. The city has already processed 122
permits this year.
Although the revenue shortfalls have been anticipated and the
stabilization funds put in place to help offset them, Council-man
Erick Stonebarger doesnt like the red ink in the budget forecast,
and wants to make the needed adjustments as soon as possible. The
longer we wait, the tougher its going to be, he said.
Vice Mayor Steve Barr agreed. I think its going to be a tough 10
years, he said. Were going to be paying acute attention to how we
progress in the next two months leading up to the annual June
budget review.
Ehler praised city employees for re-maining dedicated to serving
the city de-spite the sacrifices theyve already made and will be
asked to make in the future.
The employees here understand where we are; they are concerned
and want the best for the city, she said. Our new reality is that
were not going to have the revenue we had in the past for a long,
long time. Its a new day of fiscal reality.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Changes from page 1A
In a Wednesday press release, Reiss noted that the contractor
working on that part of the highway will close a por-tion of North
Park Boulevard at Lov-eridge Road on Monday, April 9. Access to and
from Loveridge Road via North Park Boulevard will be closed for
about six month. Signs will be installed to di-rect drivers to
North Park Plaza.
The stretch along Somersville is due to be finished in the
middle of next year. Some of the most noticeable recent changes are
the new on and off ramps in the westbound direction at Somersville.
As with the vicinity of Loveridge Road, workers are hoping to
bridge westbound drivers over to the new lanes so they can continue
work on the older lanes.
Contractors should finish in the L Street/Contra Loma area by
mid-2015. Earlier this year, workers closed off the G Street exit
for good. Reiss said in or-der to accommodate new on-and-off ramps
at the L Street/Contra Loma exit, the project called for the
elimination of the G Street exit.
For the stretch of freeway near Lone Tree Way and A Street in
Antioch, Reiss
said the job has been advertised and bids are scheduled for
opening on April 18.
Meanwhile in Brentwood, Mayor Bob Taylor excitedly announced
that a low bidder has emerged to turn the Sand Creek Road/State
Route 4 intersection into a normal highway exit. Bay Cities/Myers
has agreed to take on the job for $23.5 million, roughly $3 million
under engineers projections.
Taylor estimated that a ground-breaking would be held in June.
Work will take roughly two years to complete. Instead of dealing
with a standard in-tersection and traffic lights, drivers on
southbound State Route 4 will be able to drive past Sand Creek Road
all the way to Balfour Road without stopping.
In the current configuration, You can get in a long wait there,
Taylor said. The only thing it can do now is improve. Its going to
get better, better and better.
The low bid ensures that no addi-tional money will be needed
from feder-al, state or county sources. In December, local
transportation officials declared the project to be fully
funded.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Highway 4 from page 1A
Photo by Justin Lafferty
Drivers exit the new
westbound offramp at Somersville
Road in Antioch, one
of the newest changes
brought about by the Highway
4 widening project.
How often do you see drivers texting or talking on hand-held
cellphones and wish theyd be stopped and cited? April is
Cali-fornias second annual Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and
once again drivers will find law enforcement agencies in Con-tra
Costa County joining in a statewide zero-tolerance enforcement
effort to curb illegal cell phone use and texting violations. A
ticket for violating either the hands-free or no-texting law costs
a minimum or $159, and subsequent citations cost $279.
Distracted driving puts everyone on the road at risk. It joins
speeding and alco-hol as leading factors in fatal and
serious-injury crashes. As a result, law enforcement across the
state, including the Brentwood Police Department, is increasingly
cracking down on cell phone use and texting. This month, the
Brentwood PD joins hundreds of police and sheriff departments, plus
the California Highway Patrol, in operations targeting distracted
driving.
Our officers take distracted driv-ing very seriously, said
Brentwood Po-lice Chief Mark Evenson. If you havent heeded all the
safety messaging to put down your phone and just drive, be
forewarned. Is that text message or cell phone call worth the
costly citation?
Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to
get into crashes involving serious injury. Drivers under 20
comprise the highest proportion of distrac-tion-related fatal
crashes. Studies show that texting while driving can delay a
drivers re-
action time as severely as the blood-alcohol content of a
legally drunk driver.
Changing the dangerous, illegal habit of using hand-held cell
phones or texting while driving isnt easy, said Christopher J.
Murphy, director of the Office of Traf-fic Safety. But recent
studies show that Californias call and texting laws have made a big
difference cutting deaths by nearly half. But half is not
enough.
Studies show that there is no difference in the risk quotient
between hands-free and hand-held cell phone conversations. Both can
result in inattention blindness, which occurs when the brain isnt
seeing what is clearly visible due to the drivers focus on the
phone conversation and not on the road.
The following are simple measures you can take to minimize
distraction in the ve-hicle: Turn your cell phone off or put it out
of reach before starting the car. Create a voicemail message
alerting callers that youre unable to take calls when driv-ing. Do
not call or text anyone who might be driving, such as during the
commute to and from work or school. If you need to make an
important call or respond to a text message, pull over to a safe
place to do so. If going cold turkey is too much of a stretch and
you just cant turn your phone off, consider using one of the
available mo-bile phone apps that hold calls and incom-ing
texts.
The City of Brentwood Parks and Recreation Departments inaugural
Big Wheel Races event will be held Saturday, April 21 from 3-5 p.m.
in the Civic Center parking structure. Participants must be 5 or
older. Adults are encouraged to par-ticipate. All racers are
required to provide
their own Big Wheel made of plastic.The registration deadline is
Friday,
April 13. Pre-registered participants will receive a race
T-shirt. Participants who reg-ister the day of race are not
guaranteed a shirt and/or the size preferred. To register or for
more information, call 925-516-5444.
Cops crack down on distracted drivers
City holds Big Wheel Races
-
APRIL 6, 2012 THEPRESS.NET | 23A
-
24A | THEPRESS.NET APRIL 6, 2012
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T H E P R E S S
Petitions aplenty for November ballotA guide tothe fine
print
Whats the common denominator between the state legislature and
the entrance to your local grocery store? Petition drives, thats
what.
As the countdown to the high-stakes Nov. 6 election proceeds,
proponents of ballot initiatives galore are standing sentinel at
stores across East County, soliciting shoppers signa-tures on
measures theyd like to see on the bal-lot. Issues range from the
hot-button topics of immigration, abortion and marijuana to the
more technical matters involving taxes, educa-tion and health
insurance.
Its unlikely youll learn enough from the people thrusting
petitions at you to make an informed decision about whether to sign
them. So The Press has provided the following boiled-down version
of what many of the peti-tions in circulation are all about.
Provided by the attorney generals office, the write-ups below
presented in alphabeti-cal order by topic give you a chance to
digest what the measures propose in the comfort of your own home.
Then, the next time youre approached by a man with a clipboard and
a ballpoint pen, you can quickly sign or decline and get back to
thinking about what to get for dinner.ABORTION
The Attorney Generals official title and
summary for the measure is as follows: PRO-HIBITS ABORTIONS FOR
FEMALES UNDER 18 WITHOUT PARENTAL NOTIFICATION AND WAITING PE-RIOD.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
The measure would change the Califor-nia Constitution to
prohibit abortion for an unemancipated minor until 48 hours after
her physician notifies her parent/legal guardian in writing. It
would provide exceptions for medi-cal emergency, parental waiver or
parental abuse documented by a notarized statement from law
enforcement, protective services or certain adult relatives. It
would permit a judge to waive the notice if the minor appears
per-sonally in court and proves her maturity, or
if the waiver is in her best interest. It would require
physicians to report specific abortion information to the
Department of Public Health. And it would allow physicians to be
sued for violating these provisions up to 12 years after an
abortion.
According to the legislative analyst and director of finance,
the fiscal impact on state and local government would be potential
un-known net state costs of several million doll