YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 19, No. 6
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Consultant analyzes city’s retail potential
Changing Young Lives
Sweet shot
Local resident brings life experience and support to youth at the Byron Boys Ranch. Page 18
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
Oakley’s prospects of attracting large grocery or drug stores will increase as the city’s population grows, according to an outside consultant’s retail development analysis. The report, completed by retail strategies consultant Michael Berne, suggests that once the city’s population reaches 57,000 – an increase of about 15,000 from today’s – Oakley will be in a good position to attract at least one additional grocery and drug store. The study was conducted to explore current market dynamics, the city’s struggles to attract retail establishments and the viability of various commercially zoned sites. see Retail page 30
For The Love Of Kayla Photo by Tony Kukulich
J
ordyn Moore (4) scored 2 on this layup as the Freedom varsity girls’ basketball squad defeated Liberty 47-40 in Oakley, Feb. 5. Both teams wrap up the regular season Friday, Feb. 8. To view more photos of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia/slideshows
Fighting for a pathway to residency by Aly Brown Staff Writer
It’s been a year since Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would end for Salvadorans who arrived in the U.S. as refugees nearly 20 years ago, but the fight for change remains heavy on the minds of families racing the clock. This month, TPS holders along with their U.S. citizen children and allies – as part of NorCal TPS Delegation – will convene to the Capitol in mass numbers to convince lawmakers to support legislation that would offer pathways to permanent residency or citizenship before their protected status ends. For Salvadorans, that deadline is this September.
“ When Trump announced the termination of the program, for me I felt panic and agony and desperation just to think we have to leave our child here and be forced to return.
”
Santiago Flores, Antioch resident and TPS holder Requesting to be called Santiago Flores, as many TPS holders have received threats after publicly sharing their stories, one Antioch resident recalled his escape from a violence-torn country and why he will venture to Washington D.C. in hopes of legislative reform. “The bad situation that we were leaving in our country was the reason to make me come to the U.S.,” said Flores, who lived through a civil war in El Salvador
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in the 1980s and witnessed the gang violence that festered and multiplied since that time until he fled in 2000 with his wife and 3-year-old son. “Thanks to the TPS benefit, we started to work, and I was able to give a better life to my family.” The Flores family was also able to save for a home and purchase it outright, they had another son, now a fourth-grader, and their oldest son, now 21, is attending college. Of the life they’ve built here,
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their concerns now surround their children – their youngest child, who is a U.S. citizen, and their older child, who spent the majority of his life in America and would be forced to return to a country he doesn’t know. “As we talk between TPS beneficiaries, everyone is feeling down with lack of interest in sports and other hobbies,” said Flores. “When Trump announced the termination of the program, for me I felt panic and agony and desperation just to think we have to leave our child here and be forced to return.” While his youngest son could technically return with the family, Flores said remaining with an aunt in the U.S. who is a citizen will grant him the opportunities the Flores family originally sought
Garin Elementary creates Kayla’s Korner in remembrance of student who loved books. Page 5
League Title Winners
Liberty boys’ basketball team wins league title for first time since 1985. Page 21
see Residency page 30
Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................26 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.....................11 Food........................................10 Health & Beauty....................7 Milestones..............................8 Opinion..................................20 Pets.........................................25 Sports.....................................21
Pet Blood Bank
Autism Walk
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The California Pet Blood Bank Modernization Act has been introduced into legislation.
www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
Children and adults with autism will join the Bay Area Autism Speaks Walk.