Brentwood Press 08.11.17

Page 1

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Vol. 19, No. 32

WWW.THEPRESS.NET | MOBILE-FRIENDLY NEWS!

Officials Hot August hot rods say smelly water safe to drink

Keeping The Lights On

Brentwood’s Del Sol Energy fine-tunes products to meet the needs of utility users. Page 10

by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer

Aquatic algae is responsible for the recent complaints of musty-smelling and earthy-tasting tap water in the City of Brentwood. However, officials say that, while the odor and taste may be unpleasant, the water is completely safe and poses no health threat to the public. “We were made aware of this over the weekend,” said Miki Tsubota, director of public works for the City of Brentwood. “This has happened in varying degrees in the past, usually around the tail end of summer and during long periods of warm weather. But the big news is that the water is safe to use and drink.” see Water page 30

Teens Sing In New Musical

Photos by Tony Kukulich

T

his 1948 Fleetline – owned by Alex and Theresa Nino of Oakley – was just one of the many classic cars on display at the Hot August Days Car Show in Brentwood on Saturday, Aug. 5. For additional photos, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia.

Unanswered fire calls increase in July by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer

The closure of one of four East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) fire stations in July is affecting the district’s ability to respond to calls, according to statistics. The number of hours that all three engines were tied up and unavailable to respond to incidents jumped from four in June to 15 in July. The number of calls that went unanswered by district fire engines also increased, from nine to 31. “I know that having no engines for 15 hours is something that none of us wants; it’s just a fact of life with a three-station

“ This in no way is a fix for anything. This

is simply the best means of operation that we currently have.

Joel Bryant, ECCFPD board president department,” said ECCFPD Board President Joel Bryant. The district’s fourth station in Knightsen closed on July 1, when supplemental multijurisdictional funds given to the district in May 2016 ran out – leaving only three stations to cover 114,000 residents and 249 square miles of property in the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, along with the unincorporated areas

of Bethel Island, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen and Marsh Creek-Morgan Territory. The district’s average response time when units were available remained steady in July, except in the Marsh CreekMorgan Territory area, which saw average response times increase by about two minutes, to 13:59. The average response time

Looking for something to do?

Look at the many local activities on Connect with The Press!

Scan QR code with your mobile device.

August 11, 2017

www.thepress.net /calendar

to calls in Brentwood and Oakley remained around seven minutes; calls to Discovery Bay, Byron and Knightsen around 9:30; and calls to Bethel Island at 14:39. However, the resource shortage means district personnel have begun fighting structure fires differently, interim Fire Chief Brian Helmick said. “Right now, (firefighters) arrive at the scene, assess every situation to ensure that adequate resources are at the scene in a reasonable timeframe and make a decision: are we going to make an aggressive fire attack or be purely defensive and fight the see Fire page 30

On Aug.11, the Brentwood Teen Theater Company presents “High School Musical.” Page 8

Grappling On National Stage

East County wrestlers do well at Marine Corps Junior Nationals in North Dakota. Page 21 Breaking News.....................14 Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................26 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.......................9 Food..........................................8 Milestones............................18 Opinion..................................20 Pets...........................................6 Sports.....................................21

MCE Clean

www.thepress.net/news/webextras

New Contra Costa communities to benefit from energy choice partnership.

CONNECTING PARKS TO PEOPLE www.ebparks.org/features/rin

LOOK INSIDE FOR THE NEW

Activity Guide


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Brentwood Press 08.11.17 by Brentwood Press & Publishing - Issuu