YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 3
Including Surrounding Communities
www.oakleypress.com
YMCA campaign enters final phase by Ruth Roberts Staff Writer
The Delta Family YMCA Board of Directors is reaching out to the community for help in securing the final funds for its $6 million permanent multi-use facility in Oakley. Now in the last phase of its Together We Build campaign, the YMCA is looking to make its longtime dream a reality. “We are excited to have reached this final but crucial phase of the campaign,” said Patrick Shannon, vice president of East County YMCA operations. “And the advisory board will now be asking for support from key business and community leaders.” Working in conjunction with the Special Kids Foundation – an organization dedicated to special-needs children and their families – the
25,000-square-foot-facility on O’Hara Avenue will house services, therapies and programs for the special needs and general population of East County. The combined facility will also include an All Abilities Playground for children with limited physical abilities. The emphasis at the combined site will be inclusion, family and healthy lifestyle. “What I think is so important is the collaboration taking place between the Special Kids Foundation and the YMCA so that they can provide services to all members of the family,” said YMCA Advisory Board Member Vickey Rinehart. “It’s a big undertaking that has taken a long time, and with economics the way they are right now, it’s been difficult. But see YMCA page 21A
Authorship achieved
A local writer put pen to paper and found that the goal of getting published was no idle fantasy.
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Brains before beauty Photo courtesy of the Delta Family YMCA
Plans for a permanent multi-use facility at the YMCA in Oakley are in the final fundraising stages. When complete, the $6 million site will house adult programs such as kickboxing, above, as well as programs for special-needs children and an All Abilities Playground for children of all aptitudes.
by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
Photo by Dave Roberts
Chris Lauritzen, owner/operator of Lauritzen’s Yacht Harbor, convinced the City Council to get his and other marina operators’ input before approving changes to the city’s boat ordinance. pairs, but major repairs would require the storage yard owner to get a Conditional Use Permit from the city. “Major boat repair, such as engine repair or body work or boat building, has the po-
January 16, 2009
THIS WEEK
Boat storage ordinance makes waves City officials Tuesday night were engaged in what appeared to be a routine, noncontroversial updating of definitions and details in a city ordinance regulating boat storage, but one longtime harbormaster let them know he wasn’t pleased. The discussion began with Senior Planner Ken Strelo telling the council, “We have an existing (ordinance) section that we have found doesn’t make sense to us. We are trying to clean it up, to apply our knowledge as planners.” The ordinance listed “boat storage” and “boat yards” as two different things but didn’t define the difference between them. So the revised ordinance combines them into “boat storage/yards.” The revised ordinance specifies that these sites would be allowed to haul boats out of the water and make minor re-
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tential to result in undesirable impacts from either noise or aesthetics,” Strelo’s staff report states. “Requiring approval of a Conditional Use Permit will allow the Planning Commission or City Council and staff
to better evaluate the proposed use or mitigate potential impacts on a case-by-case basis.” Normally those would be the kind of minor changes that the council would simply approve unanimously with little discussion before moving on to the next item on the agenda. But Chris Lauritzen, owner/operator of Lauritzen Yacht Harbor, which has been in business for 50 years at the end of Bridgehead Road, let the council know he wasn’t happy about not being notified of the proposed changes to the ordinance. He noted that city officials would have needed to notify only three businesses: his, Driftwood Marina and Big Break Marina. “You need to help get the message out on something this important,” Lauritzen told the council. “None of us marina operators were ever told there was something that would imsee Waves page 21A
This photogenic female wouldn’t have made the grade without lots of grade-A gray matter.
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Xplosive materials
When their competitive fuse gets lit, this team goes out and has a blast.
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INSIDE Arts...................................14A Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................15B Coplog .............................17A Education ..........................7A Entertainment ................18B Health & Beauty ............... 8B Milestones ......................... 7B Opinion ...........................16A Sports ................................. 1B
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A