YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 19, No. 47
READ NEWS YOU CAN TRUST AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET
Residents seek evacuation options by Tony Kukulich
November 22, 2019
A Show Of Support
Staff Writer
When a spate of fires sparked by high winds and flailing utility lines ignited in Bethel Island, Oakley and Knightsen during the early hours of Sunday, Oct. 27, residents and first responders faced a growing set of challenges as an evacuation of the Summer Lake neighborhood was ordered, and those challenges were exacerbated by the one-way-in and one-way-out configuration of the subdivision. During a Nov. 14 meeting of the Summer Lake Homeowners Association Safety Committee, neighborhood residents described evacuation experiences ranging from the relatively uneventful to getting stuck on East Cypress Road in bumper-to-bumper traffic. On hand to discuss the event were representasee Evacuation page 22
Two local charities step up to offer support, friendship and a special wish. Page 6A
Here Come The Holidays Photo by Tony Kukulich
Sharon Kuykendalll, photographed at the entrance to Summer Lake, experienced several difficulties and delays when she attempted to evacuate as a wind-driven fire threatened the community the morning of Oct. 27.
County supervisors ban vaping sales by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has extinguished the sale of vaping, flavored tobacco and menthol cigarette products in the wake of nationwide safety and youth addiction concerns. The prohibition, which includes both tobacco and cannabis vaping products, applies to unincorporated county areas only. It comes as vaping products have been blamed for many nationwide lung ailments and deaths, and widespread evidence suggests flavored tobacco and electronic cigarettes are driving up youth smoking rates. “While there have been many successful efforts to reduce underage tobacco use, the growing availability of electronic
“ Vaping was kind of marketed as a transition product to get out of smoking, and what we are seeing now is it’s been an entry level into tobacco.
cigarettes and flavored tobacco products has reversed positive trends in public health,” said Ryyn Schumacher, the county’s tobacco prevention manager. Most alarming is a nationwide increase in serious and sometimes fatal lung injuries tied to electronic cigarettes or vaping product use, county health officials said this week. In recent months, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have documented 1,888 such cases, in-
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cluding 37 deaths. California alone has documented 150 cases (two in Contra Costa County) and three deaths, said Dr. Chris Farnitano, a county health officer who noted the cases have been tied to multiple devices and products, including cannabis vaping, cannabidiol (CBD) oil and nicotine. “There are probably multiple factors and multiple causes of this that we are still trying to understand,” he said. “Until we know more about the causes and
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which vaping devices and products, if any, are safe, the prudent measure is to place a moratorium on all vaping sales until we can learn more about the safety.” The sale of menthol cigarettes, vaping solutions and other flavored tobacco products were already prohibited within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds and libraries in unincorporated parts of the county, but the new regulations will ban all unincorporated county sales. Virtually all tobacco vaping products sold today entered the market after 2007 and are considered “new tobacco products,” but have not yet obtained a premarket review order from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine if they pose public risk, according to a
The holidays are here, and The Press has a list of local events to make the season bright. Page 11
Lions To Take On Pirates
Liberty Lions defeat Cal High 50-18, setting the stage for rematch with Pittsburg. Page 15
see Vaping page 22
Calendar................................23 Classifieds.............................20 Cop Logs................................18 Entertainment.....................11 Food........................................10 Milestones..............................9 Opinion..................................14 Pet of the Week...................13 Sports.....................................15
Citizen of Year
Laying Wreaths
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Nominations are open for Antioch’s Citizen of the Year and other honors.
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Wreaths Across America program is coming to East County.