MERRY CHRISTMAS
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 21, No. 51
Ice rink recovers from vandalism by Tony Kukulich Staff Writer
Bloodshot eyes and a voice that sounded like he’d been chewing gravel hinted at the stress Brentwood on Ice owner Tom Gregory has been under since damage done by vandals shut down his business, but after three days of around-the-clock activity, skaters were once again gliding across the ice. The popular downtown skating rink reopened Tuesday, Dec. 17, and the skating season that at one minute seemed very much in question, was back on track. “We opened up at noon today,” Gregory said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m ecstatic about the fact that we actually got opened back up today. I really was optimistic for Wednesday. We opened on Tuesday with the support and help of some of the local businesses, friends and family. I’m very, very happy that we opened
Photo by Tony Kukulich
Tom Gregory, owner of Brentwood on Ice, has reopened the seasonal business to ice skaters following vandalism that closed the popular rink over the weekend. up earlier than I expected.” The start of the holiday season held a lot of promise for Gregory. With the move of The Big Chill skating rink from the Streets of Brentwood to Pittsburg, Gregory had good reason
to expect a banner year. However, trouble began sometime late Friday night or early Saturday morning, when valves to the ice chiller were opened and several hundred gallons of glycol coolant drained from the system.
According to Gregory, his rink looked more like a lake Saturday morning — a day that was expected to be the busiest of his very short season. “It was really heartbreaking for me, what I saw happen on Saturday,” said skating instructor Laura Carreon. “This place is very special to me. It hit really hard, feeling that it could be gone. It was very sad.” Gregory and his crew spent much of Saturday attempting to assess the situation. They determined a chiller unit needed to be replaced if any of the season was going to be salvaged. “The old chiller that was damaged last night was removed around 10:30 p.m.,” said Gregory on Sunday afternoon. “A new one was brought in at 3 a.m., and installed and hooked up by 6 a.m.” Getting the new unit in see Rink page 18
County picks prospective pot businesses by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has formally invited four storefront cannabis retailers and seven commercial cannabis cultivators — including some in East County — to submit land-use permit applications in anticipation of possibly being allowed to operate in unincorporated county areas. The move comes on the heels of state voters approving the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act in November 2016, which gives local agencies the option of allowing and controlling commercial marijuana cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, retailers
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“ There is no guarantee that anyone who applied is successful at the end of the process … There will be notices to the public and public hearings.
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John Gioia, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and testing laboratories. “There is no guarantee that anyone who applied is successful at the end of the process, because there is going to be a full public process, as we have with all land-use issues approving any type of development,” said John Gioia, chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. “There will be notices to the public and public hearings.” The three invited East
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County businesses at four locations — all classified as prospective commercial cannabis cultivators — are Lifted Spirit Collective at 5930 Balfour Road in unincorporated Brentwood; Element 7, hoping to operate separate locations at 3645 Willow Way in Byron and 0 Chestnut St. in unincorporated Brentwood; and Diablo Valley Farms, looking to operate at 4425 Sellers Ave. in unincorpo-
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rated Brentwood. Those invited businesses, along with three Richmond commercial cannabis cultivators and four storefront cannabis retailers in Bay Point, El Sobrante and North and South Pacheco, now have until March 9 to formally submit land-use permit applications, launching lengthy public planning processes, encompassing California Environmental Quality Act review, formal public notification and public hearings, all before official permits are granted. Companies would also need to collect a series of other licenses and permits prior to operating. Once established, chosen entities will pay voter-approved see Pot page 18
December 20, 2019
Remembering Coach Ferrill
Community mourns loss of longtime Liberty coach and icon Jack Ferrill. Page 4
Making A Run For Congress
Brentwood resident William Martinek announces his candidacy for Congress. Page 5
Heating Up The Hardwood
Liberty boys’ basketball team participated in annual Stonebarger Tournament. Page 11 Calendar................................19 Classifieds.............................15 Entertainment.......................2 Legals.....................................16 Opinion....................................8 Adopt A Pet..........................19 Sports.....................................11
Pet Scams
Brentwood
Food Maxx Shopping Center 925.308.5756 SiteforSoreEyes.com
www.thepress.net/news/press_releases
Consumers are warned to be careful when shopping for a pet this holiday.