YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 19, No. 4
READ NEWS YOU CAN TRUST AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET
Rules in place for sidewalk vendors
The king of tides
January 25, 2019
Get Financially Savvy in 2019
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
On the heels of recent state legislation, officials will allow sidewalk vending along the streets of Oakley but with stipulations that preserve residential privacy, city rights of way and other everyday conveniences. Senate Bill 946, which took effect earlier this month, decriminalizes sidewalk vending but allows cities to impose health and safety regulations. Planning Manager Josh McMurray said the city might see some sidewalk vendors pop up, but he expects that number to be larger in urban areas. “Street vendors need high volumes of foot traffic on city sidewalks, and Oakley does not provide that mass,” said Oakley City Councilman Kevin Romick. “So I don’t expect to see street vendors lining up in front of city hall asking for permits. It was a large city problem that Sac-
The Press’ special edition offers a look at finances, taxes, mortgages and more. Page 1B
A Ceremonial Boat Launch Photo by Tony Kukulich
S
ophia and Elizabeth Schirato pose with a sign while a shy 7-year-old Emily Costa hides behind it during the king tide event at Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley on Saturday, Jan. 19. King tides occur when the sun, earth and moon come into alignment resulting in higher than normal tides. To view more photos of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia/ slideshows
see Vendors page 22A
Arrests made in Delta boat thefts by Tony Kukulich Staff Writer
After issuing an advisory warning East County boaters about a spike in boat thefts, Lt. David Cook of the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Marine Services Unit told The Press this week that five arrests have been made in the case. “Our investigation is ongoing,” said Cook. “We are working closely with our investigators and other agencies and five total arrests have been made so far. We’re not identifying any of the suspects involved right now because of the fact that the investigation is ongoing and we still have some outstanding arrest warrants. We don’t want to interfere with our investigators being able to do their job.”
“ We’re not identifying any of the suspects
involved right now because of the fact that the investigation is ongoing and we still have some outstanding arrest warrants. We don’t want to interfere with our investigators being able to do their job.
”
Lt. David Cook, Sheriff Marine Services Unit Since October there have been 11 reported boat thefts in Contra Costa County and another dozen thefts have been reported in neighboring counties. Cook called the increase over the normal number of boat thefts significant and said that no particular marina has been targeted. The thefts have occurred over a wide area.
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The Sheriff’s Office advisory stated that suspects are targeting outboard engines and tower speakers for boats. The boats are often stolen and stripped of items that are easily removed and transported. The boats are then abandoned, grounded or dumped. In some cases, they are set on fire. What happens to the parts after they are stolen is not
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yet clear. “I don’t have any evidence that they’re being transported out of the area, but that’s not a bad guess, either,” said Cook. Cook hopes to see boat owners take a more proactive role protecting their property and offered a number of security precautions. “If you’re a boat owner it helps if you can secure your boat to a fixed object, use trailer-hitch locks, use motion-detecting cameras and motion-detecting lights,” Cook said. “People buy a boat, and we have the hull number of the boat and the registration number of the boat, and that’s great. But people don’t record the engine number. If you can record your engine number see Thefts page 22A
DA Classes
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Diana Becton announces the launch of a second Community Academy class this March.
The Deputy Gary Campbell was christened in a recent Marine Services Unit dedication. Page 4A
Beating The Buzzer
Liberty boys’ basketball team defeats Freedom with a lastsecond shot. Page 14A Calendar.............................23A Classifieds..........................17A Cop Logs.............................21A Entertainment.................... 8A Food....................................... 9A Health & Beauty................. 7A Milestones.........................10A Opinion...............................11A Pets......................................12A Sports..................................14A
A No WIIN
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Assemblyman Frazier applauds Sen. Feinstein’s withdrawal of WIIN support.