YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 19, No. 20
READ FAMILY-FRIENDLY NEWS AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET
City to charge for false alarms
May 17, 2019
Bring On The Cherries
Breaking Away
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The City of Oakley has sounded the alarm on the number of false burglar alarms draining police resources. City officials recently OK’d a plan to reduce the number of allowable, yearly, false burglar alarms, and to increase the repeat-offender fine. “It is a significant problem for us,” said Oakley Police Chief Eric Christensen. “It’s an issue that we do need to address. We love alarms, but there is a small percentage of people who are actually abusing the system and are causing us to eat up a lot of our time.” As early as mid-June, residents and business owners will be fined $100 for the fourth and fifth false responses in any 12-month period, and $250 for each additional instance after that. The city already has a policy stipulating that an $88 fine will be levied for each alarm above three in a 90-day period, or eight during any 12-month period, although it hasn’t been enforced, according to Nancy Marquezsee Alarms page 30
East County’s popular cherry season is officially underway. See where to pick and buy. Page 4
Heading To The Fair Photo by Tony Kukulich
W
ith a lead of nearly nine minutes over the peloton, Alex Hoehn (USA) and Remi Cavagna (FRA) bank into a fast corner in Stage 3 of the 2019 Amgen Tour of California that started in Stockton, Calif., Tuesday, May 14. The 23-year-old Cavagna went on to win the stage, and Hoehn earned the polka dot jersey as king of the mountain. While Stage 3 finished in Morgan Hill and covered nearly 130 miles, the seven-stage race will cover more than 750 miles before finishing in Pasadena Saturday, May 18. The men’s race features 19 teams and more than 130 riders and includes many of the world’s top cyclists. To view more photos of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia/slideshows
District’s first fire marshal sworn in by Tony Kukulich
The Aubert family – Alyssa, Jana, Steve and Morganne – pose after Steve Aubert was sworn in as the fire marshal/public information officer of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District during a ceremony at city hall in Brentwood, Wednesday, May 8.
Staff Writer
When Steve Aubert was sworn in as the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) fire marshal during a recent fire board meeting, he became the first person in the district’s 17-year history to hold that spot. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” said Aubert. “I love our area out here. I consider it a fantastic opportunity, really, to come home. Like I said the other night, it’s very easy to do my job when I’m doing it to protect family, friends and neighbors that I’ve been living with for the last 17 years.” While Aubert is new to his ECCFPD role, he is no stranger
Photo by Tony Kukulich
to the area. A longtime resident of Brentwood, he spent 10 of his last 11 years as the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (ConFire) fire inspector, assigned to cover East County.
SAVE NOW
“His institutional knowledge is second to none when it comes down to fire prevention, investigations and also inspections within our jurisdiction — our community,” said ECCFPD Fire Chief Brian
10% OFF Any Service
FAIRVIEW HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING, INC. Connect with The Press!
Scan QR code with your mobile device.
Service • Repair • Installation
Contractor’s Lic. #533790 C-20
925-625-4963 • www.fairviewair.com
Helmick. “I can say as a fire chief that our organization became a whole lot smarter last Wednesday.” ConFire has performed insee Fire Marshal page 30
Vasco Delays
www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Look for roadwork on Vasco Road from May 28 - 30 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The Contra Costa County Fair in Antioch is here and runs through Sunday. Page 11
Sports Stars Making Tracks
BVAL track and field stars advance to Meet of Champions. Page 19 Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................25 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.....................11 Food........................................10 Health & Beauty....................6 Milestones............................12 Opinion..................................18 Pets.........................................14 Sports.....................................19
Kirker Pass Work www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
Public Works will soon begin construction on the Kirker Pass Road.