MISSING DELIVERY OF THE NEWSPAPER TO YOUR HOME? Vol. 25, No. 47
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November 24, 2023
DBC plans for future in its new home By Melissa van Ruiten
The Downtown Brentwood Coalition will be the new occupant of the historic Women’s Club building on Second Street, after being approved by the city for a conditional-use permit and five year lease.
Staff Writer
The small, beige building at 648 Second St., known as the Women’s Club Building, in downtown Brentwood is easy to miss, but Downtown Brentwood Coalition Executive Director Amy Tilley plans to change that. The Brentwood Planning Commission approved a conditional-use permit for the building at its Nov. 7 meeting. The following week, the City Council approved a five-year lease agreement for $5 for Tilley’s bid to use the building as the new DBC office, and eventually an information hub, for residents and visitors alike. “I’ve had some temporary habitats over the last few years, but
Photo by Jeff Weisinger
we knew that we needed a space that was more accessible to the community,” Tilley said. “We want to build some type of visitors’ hub. Something to increase ag tourism, general tourism, shopping, and awareness of various community activities and non-profits.”
Tilley scoured staff reports dating back several years and found that similar endeavors had been previously discussed, but without an individual spearheading the process, no movement was ever made. Over the course of two years, she created proposals on several topics
– including how the DBC would benefit from using the space, how they could invest in the property to bring it back to life, and what the overall community benefits would be – before pitching her ideas to the DBC board, and eventually, the city. “I realized that this building, which has incredible historic significance and community significance, is really a perfect place to do all this and bring everybody together,” Tilley said. “We’re excited to work with the Historical Society to make sure that we’re good stewards of the property.” The single-story, 800-square-foot building was constructed in 1913, and has served a variety of public purposes, including as the city’s first public library and home to the Women’s Club, ever since. The property was owned by Contra Costa County from 1931 to 2001 when the city purchased it for $5,000. The building see Downtown page 18
‘Big Pack’ hopes for big crowd Reducing recidivism Annual event to focus of webinar The ‘Big Pack’ event is where the volunteers pack and send out care packages to U.S. troops stationed overseas.
fill care packages for U.S. troops abroad is Dec. 12 By Sean Tongson Correspondent
Photo by Ed McClelland
Operation Creekside Director and Chaplain Ed McClelland emphasized the significance of the community supporting the troops not just around the holidays, but also for birthdays, weddings, and childbirths – days that the troops often miss out on due to deployment. “Our all-volunteer force has been deployed a lot,” McClelland said. “The care packs represent that we care about their service, their sacrifices, and that they are providing the freedoms that we en-
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joy daily.” Volunteers are sought out to fill, wrap, and send packages for the troops to receive in time for the holidays. Recommended are goods that ship and travel well, which include nuts, energy bars, granola bars, beef jerky, coffee, sunflower seeds, powdered drink mixes, fruit snacks, dried fruit, and gum. Additionally, hand-written “thank-you” notes, socks, T-shirts, gloves, along with monetary donations are also see Big Pack page 18
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By Hemananthani Sivanandam Correspondent
When Daniel Halpern was incarcerated in 2012, he did everything he could to be a model inmate to ensure his release went smoothly and was ready to hit the ground running. He quickly found that he had naively planned for circumstances that were different from what the real world had to offer. “It is worth noting that all things considered I was released as an outlier. I had significantly more
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The ‘Big Pack’ is on Tuesday, Dec. 12 this year, and volunteers are sought for the annual event. Nonprofit organization Operation Creekside in partnership with Brentwood Napa Auto Parts, VFW Post 10789 and The Press are teaming up for the gathering where the volunteers pack and send out a large number of care packages to U.S. troops stationed overseas. The event will be at the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building at 757 1st St. at 6 p.m.
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education, life experience, family support, you name it than virtually all else who are released,” said Halpern at a webinar titled “After Incarceration: Reimaging Re-Entry into the Community” on Nov. 16. Other speakers at the webinar included Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, Jail and Reentry Services manager at the San Francisco Library Rachel Kinnon, and Youth Justice Director at the RYSE Youth Center Stephanie Thibodeaux Medley. The webinar was moderated by Ashley Raveche, the Deputy Area Director of Social Policy for the League of Women Voters of California. Halpern, now a senior paralegal at Root and Rebound, an Oakland-based reentry advocacy see Webinar page 18
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