St.Patrick’s Day
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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 22, No. 11
City adopts The harvest is in two-year strategic plan
March 13, 2020
Learning to Build Robots
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The City of Brentwood’s key, two-year goals and projects are now set. City leaders recently approved a strategic plan laying out future objectives, addressing various community aspects, including infrastructure, public safety, economic development and land-use planning. A handful of the targets include: increased police staffing; refined business-attraction programs; a wastewater treatment plant expansion project; added recreational amenities; and an updated housing analysis report. The plans were hashed out during a public workshop last year and are now assembled in a council-approved plan. “Throughout the workshop, the city council discussed, reviewed and provided staff with additional disee Plan page 26
Robotics teams from Krey and Adams advance to compete at the national level. Page 6
Vasco Road Fatality Photo by Aly Brown
C
ory Fernandez and Rachel Ortega from Urban Edge pose for a quick picture as they sell organic, locally grown vegetables on opening day of the 2020 Brentwood farmers market season March 7. Despite the clouds overhead, crowds came out to buy produce and other treats, get their faces painted, listen to live music and select freshly cut flowers. To view more photos of the event, visit www. thepress.net/multimedia/slideshows
County updates coronavirus response by Dawnmarie Fehr Correspondent
As the coronavirus crisis continues to evolve and the World Health Organization has labeled it a pandemic, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) released a statement this week advising the public to further protect themselves from the spread of the virus by practicing social distancing. These public health guidelines call for the cancellation of large community events and encourage people to telecommute when possible. They also stipulate that anyone at higher risk of serious illness should not attend gatherings of 50 people or more, including sporting events and religious services. “We understand that these recommendations will substantially impact our lives and may be dif-
“ Given that we now know coronavirus is
spreading in our county, this is a critical time for each of us to do our part to protect our community.
”
Anna Roth, Contra Costa Health Services director ficult to implement,” wrote Anna Roth, CCHS health services director. “We considered them carefully in consultation with the state and other counties who have taken similar actions. Given that we now know coronavirus is spreading in our county, this is a critical time for each of us to do our part to protect our community.” A pandemic is defined as the “worldwide spread of a new disease.” Whereas, an outbreak is the
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occurrence of disease cases in excess of what’s normally expected and an epidemic is more than a normal number cases of an illness, specific health-related behavior or other health-related events in a community or region, according to the World Health Organization. Heritage High School Principal Carrie Wells issued a press release this week to parents and families in accordance with the Liberty Union High School Dis-
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trict and CCHS guidelines stipulating that Friday’s spring dance and a scheduled multicultural rally would be canceled. At this time, there are no planned closures of East County schools, though most local school districts will close for their preplanned two-week spring break, Monday, March 16, through Monday, March 30. The districts are regularly updating student families with communications from the CCHS and the Contra Costa County Office of Education. Schools are asking parents to keep sick children home and ensuring that janitorial staff are disinfecting commonly touched surfaces in school buildings. Byron Superintendent Reyes see Coronavirus page 26
County Interns www.thepress.net/news/webextras
Contra Costa County Public Works is looking for student interns for the summer.
A 27-year-old Brentwood man was killed in a head-on collision on Vasco Road. Page 7
Heritage Dance Team
The Heritage dance team has been tearing through competitions this season. Page 17 Calendar................................27 Classifieds.............................21 Cop Logs................................25 Entertainment.......................8 Food..........................................9 Health & Beauty..................12 Milestones............................10 Opinion..................................16 Adopt a Pet...........................12 Sports.....................................17
Census Fair
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Two fairs are planned to encourage particpation in this year’s census.