YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 17, No. 26
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Tunnels opponents lose ground Stewardship council approves amendment
HAPPY
June 30, 2017
New Leader At Liberty
by Tony Kukulich Correspondent
Opponents of the California WaterFix project may have lost a recent battle in the fight for the preservation of the Delta, but the war is far from over. During a long and sometimes volatile public meeting in Sacramento on Thursday, June 22, the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) voted 5-1 to approve the Conveyance, Storage and Operations (CSO) amendment – effectively green-lighting the WaterFix project, also known as the Delta tunnels project. “While the council improved their amendment some by requiring new conveyance and storage projects to address the state’s required human right to water policy analysis in their language, the edited amendment ignores the full breadth of laws and policies that should be evaluated for Delta environmental justice com-
New Liberty High School Principal Heather Harper ready to take the helm. Page 5A
It’s Time For Harvest Fest Photo by Tony Kukulich
Hundreds of local residents attended the Delta Stewardship Council meeting in Sacramento last week to protest the council’s proposed amendment to the California WaterFix project. munities and only considers impacts to environmental justice communities outside of the Delta,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta. For nearly two hours, dozens of individuals
from a variety of backgrounds appeared before the council to make their case within the allotted three-minute limit. Most spoke in opposition to see Tunnels page 26A
Former restaurant owners sentenced by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The former owners of two Bay Area restaurants, including Golden Dragon Buffet in Brentwood, were recently sentenced to three years and four months in jail and ordered to pay $4.5 million in unpaid minimum wage and overtime to their workers and another $1.5 million in unpaid taxes. Yu Chen, Feng Gu and Rongdi Zheng are alleged to have forced at least 40 employees, many recruited from Los Angeles, to work at Golden Dragon Buffet or Golden Wok Buffet in Roseville for 12 hours a day, six days a week, at less than minimum wage, while also being kept in crowded housing nearby the restaurants and
“ This (prosecution) was thanks to some
workers having the courage and the knowledge to complain about their situation to the labor commissioner’s office in Oakland.
”
Paola Laverde, director of communications, Department of Industrial Relations bused to and from work. The trio also filed tax returns that under-reported payroll and sales tax, according to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office. The Department of Industrial Relations conducted an investigation into the misdoings in 2013, before forwarding the case to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for
prosecution. “This (prosecution) was thanks to some workers having the courage and the knowledge to complain about their situation to the labor commissioner’s office in Oakland,” said Paola Laverde, the director of communications for the Department of Industrial Relations. The initial investigation
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looked into the operations of 10 Bay Area restaurants, including Golden Dragon, finding some instances in which employees weren’t paid at all, while others were given only $200 a month or $1.15 an hour for a 72-hour work week. Chen, Gu and Zheng pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate the minimum-wage law and payroll tax, sales tax and insurance premium fraud and were sentenced earlier this month. A fourth defendant, Shao Rong Zhang, has been sentenced to 120 days in jail and probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of enforcing a policy on behalf of her employer that employees not report minisee Restaurant page 26A
BART Expansion www.thepress.net/news/webextras
BART board sets groundwork for system improvements and expansion.
Harvest Time Festival returns to downtown Brentwood, July 8 and 9. Page 9A
Canseco At The Bat
Jose Canseco draws a crowd, signs autographs at Pittsburg Diamonds game. Page 17A Calendar.............................27A Classifieds..........................21A Cop Logs.............................25A Entertainment.................... 8A Food....................................... 9A Health & Beauty...............10A Milestones.........................20A Opinion...............................16A Pets......................................12A Sports..................................17A
DA Vacancy
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The county is looking to fill the position of interim district attorney.