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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 4
Town celebrates its finest by Rick Lemyre
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January 27, 2012
Primed for the big day
Staff Writer Discovery Bay residents honored their own last weekend at the annual State of the Town gala. Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and held at the Discovery Bay Country Club, the event featured presentations from state representatives and local officials. The evening celebrated the town’s Citizen, Business and Teacher of the Year. This year’s winners were Kevin Graves (Citizen of the Year), Sasville Realtors (Business of the Year) and Discovery Bay Elementary teacher Kristin Ortega (Teacher of the Year). The semi-formal party included a reception, dinner and presentations, followed by a silent auction. The event raises money for local causes and provides an overview of town government and changes taking place within the community. For Citizen of the Year Graves – a current CSD board member, community supporter of veterans affairs and founder of the Some Gave All foundation – the evening was see Finest page 30A
Let our Wedding Planner help you sweat the details right now so you can relax on your wedding day. Page 1B
Island’s Time has come Tropical breezes are wafting into town thanks to a unique apparel and accessories boutique. Page 6A
Photo by Fosster Gandrup
Indy rock star ready for ring
Discovery Bay Citizen of the Year Kevin Graves chats with his wife Leann at the State of the Town Dinner, where he was honored last weekend.
State hands off Highway 4 by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer Caltrans officials on Wednesday transferred control of Highway 4 to Brentwood and Oakley, making the Highway 4 Bypass the official East County thoroughfare. The transfer removes the highway distinction from Main Street in Oakley and Brentwood Boulevard in Brentwood, giving those cities control over street maintenance and development. What is now known as the Highway 4 Bypass becomes simply Highway 4. Caltrans will be responsible for its upkeep. “It’s a great feeling to finally accomplish this,” said Oakley City Councilman Jim Frazier.
Photo by Richard Wisdom
Vehicles make their way down Highway 4 between Brentwood and Oakley. Caltrans turned over control of Highway 4 to Brentwood and Oakley and give the Bypass the official highway designation. “Staff has worked hard, and I’ve been pushing and pushing and pushing, and we finally accomplished the goal.” The celebration might be
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subdued, however, due to the state’s budget crisis. Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court allowed the state government’s attempt to balance its
Fire tax talk
go to news/WebExtras! Residents can learn about the tax measure being considered for the June ballot.
budget by ending Redevelopment Agencies (RDAs) and reaping the property tax money that cities collected from residents. Brentwood and Oakley planned to use RDA money to make improvements to their heavily used thoroughfares. “There are so many questions, and every city right now is trying to figure out what each city is going to do,” said Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor. “One rule does not fit all.” Oakley City Manager Brian Montgomery said earlier this month that his city plans to revitalize Main Street, much as Brentwood did with its downtown sector. Frazier is confident see Highway 4 page 30A
Get STEAMed
go to news/press releases Science, tech, engineering, arts and math education take center stage.
An East County athlete has his rendezvous with immortality on Super Bowl Sunday in Indianapolis. Page 23A Business ............................. 22B Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 17B Cop Logs ............................13A Entertainment ................. 13B Food .................................... 12B Health & Beauty ..............21A Milestones ........................20A Opinion ..............................12A Sports .................................23A Wedding Planner .............. 1B FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Blooper Sunday go to multimedia/videos
Niners fans filled local sports bars only to see their heroes go down in defeat.