YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 21, No. 30
READ NEWS YOU CAN TRUST AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET
Election process changing
Soul men play City Park
by Kyle Szymanski
see Election page 30
Preserving, Remembering Photo by Tony Kukulich
M
arten Benatar as Elwood Blues and Michael St. John as Jake Blues fronted the Briefcase Blues Band as they brought their Blues Brothers tribute to City Park in Brentwood, Friday, July 19. To view a video and a slideshow of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia
Regional waterfront project gearing up by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
Contra Costa County and seven nearby cities, including Brentwood and Oakley, are expected to join forces on a long-range plan to enhance the economic vitality of the area’s northern waterfront. The regional economic development strategy will position the county’s northern waterfront — the 55-mile stretch along the shoreline of the Carquinez Straits and Suisun Bay, to the confluence of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers, parallel to State Route 4 — to be a 21st-century economic asset, attracting unique companies and advanced manufacturing jobs. Research shows the area’s proximity to the water, large
“ We have all come together to support jobs and recognize that our residents would be much happier to go to work in Martinez than San Francisco, or Brentwood instead of Berkeley.
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Amalia Cunningham, county economic development manager resident workforce and location at the center of the Northern California megaregion, could be ideal for emerging industries and occupations in fields such as clean technology, advanced vehicle technologies, aerospace and biomedical and life sciences, said Amalia Cunningham, a Contra Costa County economic development manager. “We have all come together
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to support jobs and recognize that our residents would be much happier to go to work in Martinez than San Francisco, or Brentwood instead of Berkeley,” she said. “That is the goal we are all working toward.” The plan, slated to include the cities of Brentwood, Oakley, Hercules, Martinez, Concord, Pittsburg and Antioch, along with the unincorporated com-
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Health Hut Changes Hands
Longtime owner Barbara Guise sells her iconic downtown business. Page 6
Staff Writer
The way Brentwood city councilmembers are elected has officially changed. In the face of mounting legal pressure, the Brentwood City Council officially adopted plans to replace the current at-large election procedure with a system in which councilmembers will be elected by representative districts. The mayor will still be elected at-large. A divided four-area election map will be used, starting with the 2020 election, with candidates chosen by, and representing, districts in which they live.
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munities of Rodeo, Crockett, Port Costa, Clyde, Pacheco and Bay Point, would establish a regional brand identity to attract new business investment; facilitate new business formation and entrepreneurship; create a globally competitive workforce to support advanced manufacturing sector expansion; improve local infrastructure, including truck routes, rail access, broadband internet capacity and sewer and water infrastructure; and develop a sustainable regional economy. A few of the target industry clusters are: biomedical, biotechnology and life sciences (comprising companies that manufacture biological, medicinal and pharmaceutical see Waterfront page 30
Park Cleanup www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Park district to ban controversial pesticide from park areas by 2020’s end.
Memorial service honors Port Chicago’s history and highlights property’s future. Page 14
A Swimming Success
Aquaknights win A and B divisions of East County Invitational. Page 21 Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................26 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.......................9 Food..........................................8 Health & Beauty..................19 Milestones............................11 Opinion..................................20 Adopt A Pet..........................15 Sports.....................................21
Hosts Needed
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Pro-American Educational and Cultural Exchange program looking for host families.