Chanukah 2025 December 14 - 22 From The Press Vol. 27, No. 50
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Central Boulevard Veterinary Hospital copes after ‘bizarre’ break-in, theft By Jeff Weisinger
Thieves are caught on the security camera behind the front desk at the Central Boulevard Veterinary Hospital early Saturday morning.
Staff Writer
The Central Boulevard Veterinary Hospital is settling themselves down following last weekend’s break-in when thieves allegedly stole pet ashes after not being able to steal money. “We’re doing the best we can as far as maintaining the pet remains that we have here,” said Zarah Mehr, the multi-practice manager at the hospital. “We did change our protocol, we have all of the remains in the back now just to ensure this incident doesn’t occur twice.” Last Saturday morning, Brentwood police were dispatched to the hospital at 1280 Central Blvd. for a report of a busi-
Provided photo
ness being burglarized. When police arrived, they didn’t find any suspects inside, but saw the broken glass door. Upon their investigation, and according to the secu-
rity footage, two suspects broke in shortly after 6 a.m. and both tried, and failed, to get into the cash register. Instead, the suspects took gift bags that were up front
that contained the ashes of customers’ late pets. “They look like gift bags,” one employee of the veterinary hospital said. “They thought it was some sort of gift or something and that’s why they took it. I’m not quite sure if they understood or knew what they were taking.” “I thought it was extremely bizarre,” Mehr said. “I assume that when they failed to find any cash, because we don’t keep any here overnight, they thought those were valuable items. Obviously, to the pet owners (they are), but to (the suspects), I believe they thought it was something they could just steal for themsee Bizarre page 19
Oakley City Council swears Ramirez family in new mayor, vice mayor pursuing wrongful
death suit against city
Fuller bypassed as new vice mayor
Demands include police retraining in Brentwood
By Connor Robles Correspondent
By Jake Menez Staff Writer
Photo by Connor Robles
Hugh Henderson (left) and Aaron Meadows are sworn in as Oakley’s new mayor and vice mayor respectively. to bad conduct, absenteeism, or lack of time to carry out mayoral duties, while the non-disqualified councilmember who has
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The family of Yolanda Ramirez, the Brentwood woman who died after being in police custody earlier this year, is taking legal action against the City of Brentwood for a number of federal civil rights claims, including excessive force and wrongful death. The individual police officers are also being named in the lawsuit. The family’s attorney, Melissa Nold, has an extensive background in cases involving
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New Oakley Mayor Hugh Henderson and Vice Mayor Aaron Meadows were sworn in at the Dec. 9 meeting of the Oakley City Council, following the bypassing of Councilmember George Fuller for the position of vice mayor. Oakley uses a hybrid system to choose its mayor and vice mayor, with the positions between councilmembers. The vice mayor automatically rotates into the position of mayor so long as they are not disqualified due
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police misconduct and wrongful death, according to her website, which describes her as “focused on police reform at the state and local level and advocates for victims of police brutality in and outside of the courtroom.” To this end, the civil lawsuit being filed on behalf of the Ramirez family emphasizes a need for retraining of police officers rather than a money settlement. “Monetary damages are to be determined by a jury and I will not list a monetary demand in the lawsuit filing,” Nold said. “Additionally, the family is seeking department-wide retraining,