St.Patrick’s Day
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Vol. 20, No. 11
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Making room for business
Planting in Dutch Slough
Staff Writer
Vasco Road Fatality Photo by Tony Kukulich
J
see Business page 26
ohn Sierra, Noah Zuniga, Paul Lindeman and Mary Helen Nicolini were among the approximately 100 volunteers who joined the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District, Friends of the Marsh Creek Watershed, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Reclamation District 2137 to plant native vegetation as part of the recent Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh Restoration Project in Oakley. DWR broke ground on the restoration effort in 2018, and work is expected to continue for several more years. To view more photos of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia/slideshows
County updates coronavirus response by Dawnmarie Fehr Correspondent
As the coronavirus crisis continues to evolve and the World Health Organization has labeled it a pandemic, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) released a statement this week advising the public to further protect themselves from the spread of the virus by practicing social distancing. These public health guidelines call for the cancellation of large community events and encourage people to telecommute when possible. They also stipulate that anyone at higher risk of serious illness should not attend gatherings of 50 people or more, including sporting events and religious services. “We understand that these recommendations will substantial-
“ Given that we now know coronavirus is spreading in our county, this is a critical time for each of us to do our part to protect our community.
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Anna Roth, Contra Costa Health Services director ly impact our lives and may be difficult to implement,” wrote Anna Roth, CCHS health services director. “We considered them carefully in consultation with the state and other counties who have taken similar actions. Given that we now know coronavirus is spreading in our county, this is a critical time for each of us to do our part to protect our community.” A pandemic is defined as the “worldwide spread of a new dis-
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ease.” Whereas, an outbreak is the occurrence of disease cases in excess of what’s normally expected and an epidemic is more than a normal number cases of an illness, specific health-related behavior or other health-related events in a community or region, according to the World Health Organization. Heritage High School Principal Carrie Wells issued a press release this week to parents and families in accordance with the Liberty
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Learning to Build Robots
Robotics teams from Krey and Adams advance to compete at the national level. Page 6
by Kyle Szymanski Oakley home-based businesses are routinely givers. But if one city-initiated plan materializes, the businesses may soon also be receivers. City leaders are looking into creating a dedicated space for home-based businesses to sell their goods near downtown. “We have had initial outreach to the businesses on our business license list already, and it was overwhelmingly positive that they would love to have something like this,” said Economic Development Manager Dwayne Dalman. Nearly half of all Oakley businesses
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Union High School District and CCHS guidelines stipulating that Friday’s spring dance and a scheduled multicultural rally would be canceled. At this time, there are no planned closures of East County schools, though most local school districts will close for their preplanned two-week spring break, Monday, March 16, through Monday, March 30. The districts are regularly updating student families with communications from the CCHS and the Contra Costa County Office of Education. Schools are asking parents to keep sick children home and ensuring that janitorial staff are disinfecting commonly touched surfaces in school buildings. Byron see Coronavirus page 26
County Interns www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Contra Costa County Public Works is looking for student interns for the summer.
A 27-year-old Brentwood man was killed in a head-on collision on Vasco Road. Page 7
Heritage Dance Team
The Heritage dance team has been tearing through competitions this season. Page 17 Calendar................................27 Classifieds.............................21 Cop Logs................................25 Entertainment.......................8 Food..........................................9 Health & Beauty..................12 Milestones............................10 Opinion..................................16 Adopt a Pet...........................12 Sports.....................................17
Census Fair
www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
Two fairs are planned to encourage particpation in this year’s census.