YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 19, No. 28
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Grand jury releases report on fire district
Getting Back To School
A corn-rific event
The Mothers of Brentwood and others help students start the school year off right. Page 14
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
A recently released Contra Costa County Grand Jury report concluded that the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District needs to open additional stations to provide adequate protection and recommends changes to tackle the district’s funding crisis. The district recently dropped again to three stations with the closure of Knightsen Station 94 on July 1. “Three fire stations are insufficient to provide adequate urban and suburban fire protection coverage in a fire district with a population of 110,000 and an area of 249 square miles,” stated the report. The grand jury announced its findings after interviewing local officials and exploring district financial statements, agendas, meeting minutes and various other see Report page 34
Giving Hope, Support Photo by Tony Kukulich
C
rowds turned out in the summer heat last weekend to celebrate the annual Harvest Time Festival in downtown Brentwood. Downtown Brentwood Coalition members Emily Cross and Pete Jacoway in the back row and Becky Bloomfield and Donna Ross in the front are seen here, getting into the spirit of the festival, which celebrates the area’s agricultural history. To view additional photos, see page 10. To see more photos and videos, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia.
Banners to raise funds for library, local art One of 68 banners created by local artists is hung on a light pole in downtown Brentwood. The banners will be auctioned off, with half the funds going toward the Brentwood Library Foundation to install public art at the city’s new library. Press file photo
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The 68 banners that recently went up in downtown Brentwood have helped beautify the area and showcase the work of local artists. And when they come down, they will continue to the community by being auctioned off to help raise funds for public art in the city’s future library as part of the “Banner Up!” program run by Art Guild of the Delta. “(The program) turns into a great fundraiser for the arts,” said Brentwood City Manager Gus Vina. Art Guild of the Delta members and East County residents created the artworks, which will be affixed to light poles on Chestnut, 1st, Oak and 2nd streets and at City Park until early
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July 14, 2017
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September. The banners will be auctioned at a Sept. 29 gala at Brentwood Community Center. Half of the funds raised will be returned to the artists whose banners sell, while the other half will be given to the Brentwood Library Foundation to install public art at the city’s new library, said Mary Lamb, Art Guild of the Delta co-founder. “We are pretty excited about (funds going to the library),” Lamb said. “The banner project is public art. Here is a nice bridge to the art that will be in the public library.” The program, which was launched by the City of Brentwood and handed off to Art Guild of the Delta, was inspired by a similar prosee Banners page 34
County Opening www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Aviation Advisory Committee extends application deadline for an open position.
Local group offers comfort to community members living with low vision or blindness Page 4
International Opportunity
Eric Donaldson was selected for Great Britain’s team at the European Championships. Page 23 Calendar............................... 35 Classifieds............................ 30 Cop Logs............................... 33 Entertainment.................... 11 Food....................................... 10 Health & Beauty................... 9 Meet The Beat....................... 7 Milestones........................... 20 Pets........................................ 12 Sports.................................... 23
A New Name
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Garaventa family disposal companies renamed to Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery.