Home East County 2013 Recap: Top News Stories That Occurred in East County

2013 Recap: Top News Stories That Occurred in East County

by ECT

2013 was a rather mild year for news in East Contra Costa County compared to prior years, but nevertheless, we have complied a list of top 13 stories from the past year which we feel will help shape the community going into 2014.

13. ECLL “Challenger Division” Plays in World Series

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One of the most feel good stories of the year occurred in August where a group of special needs baseball players from the East County Little League participated in a 1-inning Exhibition game in Livermore.  Photos

12: Discovery Bay Community Center

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After two decades, the residents of Discovery Bay finally have a dedicated community center which was purchased for $810,000. While the CSD had big plans to operate the facility, it ended up closing its doors to the athletic facility after a 90-day trial. The pool was supposed to open in May was delayed until August while a 5-year-budget projection shows they will be operating at a loss.  Currently closed, the community center is set to re-open in 2014 after the CSD approved $80,000 in renovation costs in October to help make the facility functional to users.

11. East Bay Regional Park District Purchases Roddy Ranch’s 1,885 Acres

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In June, the EBRPD purchased 1,885 acres from Roddy Ranch for $14.24 million. This purchase is significant for the City of Antioch, as well as Brentwood, because it prevents growth while preserving land.  The significance of this purchase is that 700 homes were scheduled to be built on this land due to Measure K. Also, in 2003, the Sand Creek focus area has a specific plan developed for development of a variety of uses including 115 acres of commercial development and nearly 5,000 new housing units.

10. Jim Frazier Elected to State Assembly

Frazier Profile
Whether you supported him or not and removing the politics, the City of Oakley had its first resident elected to a State Office which is a great story for the young city. In November, Frazier won the seat in a landslide election of 62% to 38% for his opponent and he took office in January of this year.  He has spent the year mimicking a ping-bong ball going from event to event between Contra Costa County and Solano County.  He even managed to pass a few bills in the process.

9. Downtown Oakley

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While the City Council and City Staff had multiple fumbles in the process of updating the downtown from DG Market, to questionable loans to a overpriced water fountain (just a few examples), the Council finally made the decisions that allowed staff to move forward. Unfortunately, construction was delayed for months which left a bumpy commute for drivers. Now that the downtown is complete and the headache in the rear view mirror,  Oakley won big on this project. There can be no greater example of the success than proven with the “Heart of Oakley” Festival which was held in September which brought thousands of folks to downtown Oakley.

8. Highway 4 Construction

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From Pittsburg to Brentwood, CCTA Executive Director Randy Iwasaki has Highway 4 on track towards completion by the Fall of 2015.  Recently, commuters have noticed lane shifts on the westbound direction while a few months ago commuters found a smoother commute between Oakley and Brentwood at Sand Creek. While lack of rain is a concern for most, its helped move the project along quicker than expected.  In 2014, Highway 4 construction will occur at most of the main thoroughfares in Antioch. Work on new bridges and intersections will take place at the Contra Loma Boulevard/L Street, Lone Tree Way and Hillcrest Avenue interchanges.

7. Patients Treated for Heat Exhaustion at Graduations

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With 100-degree weather during the graduations of Freedom and Heritage High Schools, a total of 25-patients were treated for heat exhaustion. Heritage was treated as if it were a multi-casualty incident while both schools tied up all of our AMR ambulances. 11 patients in total were transported to local hospitals. Original Story

6. Downtown Brentwood Fire Station Reopens

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As we touched on yesterday, it was a busy 2013 for ECCFPD and thankfully due to a FEMA Grant, the Downtown Brentwood firehouse was able to reopen on May 1. With the station opened, it allowed the District to save multiple structures including two local restaurants at La Fuente on June 17 and Tailgaters Sports Bar on July 25. This station was vital on hundreds of medical incidents and dozens of vehicle accidents. Without an increase in revenue, the station may close again in Nov. 2014. Original Story

5. BART Failures

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No explanation needed here. The BART strike and negotiations were a disaster from the start and received little sympathy from the public and those who use BART for their daily commute. It doesn’t help that fares go up 19 cents beginning tomorrow.

4.  Special Needs Abuse Within the Brentwood Union School District

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In January, the BUSD Board voted to make a $950k settlement agreement after allegations were made against that Dina Holder from an incident that occurred in Mary 2010 where she reportedly removed a special needs child from a chair by the arm and kicked him twice on the floor. The District did itself no favors by failing to fire staff and Superintendent Merrill Grant in a timely manner and when they did, they agreed to pay his salary and benefits through June 2014 at a cost of $300,000. Others involved in the incident remain with the District in one form or another. The District ultimately hired Dr. Dana Eaton who has done a fantastic job in calming the storm.

3. Matthew Ouimet

Matthew Ouimet
Two-year-old Matthew captured the hearts of thousands and inspired many after receiving a life-sustaining kidney and liver transplant on June 4. Matthew was born on February 11, 2011 and was diagnosed with Primary Hyperoxyluria Type 1. Matthew surgery lasted 13-hours and he was released from the hospital 73 days later. Matthew is an inspiration to all.

2. Morgan Fire/ Mt. Diablo Fire

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The 3,100 acre fire began on Sept. 8 and lasted nearly a week burning the mountain which required 1,413 fire personnel, 143 engines, 4 air tankers, 5 helicopters, 19 dozers, and 10 water tenders.  Most firefighters we have spoken with about this fire have said the same thing that they consider it their “career fire” which means it’s the biggest one they will ever experience locally.  You couldn’t turn off the news for a week without seeing images of this fire on the screen. Photos

1. Antioch Crime / Measure C

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All across the county, the topic of Antioch’s crime kept coming up as people were seeking solution to a problem that had gotten out of hand. This website highlighted incident after incident of police officers working to keep Antioch safe from shootings, to assaults, DUI’s, theft to many other incidents.  Measure C was chosen by the City Council as  a solution to enable the city to hire more police officers and bring back code enforcement. The Measure  passed with a 68.09% voter approval. Hiring of officers is expected to begin in the late spring 2014.

Editor’s Choice: Community Giving
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One of the main reasons why we love East Contra Costa County so much is we have a generous community who when they are called to assist those in need we step up unlike anywhere else in the world.  This year, there was an overabundance of giving opportunities from tragedy to fundraisers, to toy giveaways.  This year saw an increase of giving and those in need. We should all hold our heads up high for helping make a difference in people’s lives. To all the event organizers, volunteers, and donors…. we thank you for your efforts!

Editor’s Note: our list excluded any single police incident.

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4 comments

Tammy Dec 31, 2013 - 9:53 am

I think you missed a few here is what should have been included
Luke and Jager were shot and killed
Hunter Kilbourn dog mauling
The 83 year old who was assaulted at a story and later died

Justice Dec 31, 2013 - 9:59 am

What about the police shooting in Antioch off Buchanan?

Former Chamber Member Dec 31, 2013 - 10:32 am

The Brentwood Cornfest was the biggest failure of 2013. So was the Brentwood City Council who did very little for the Brentwood residents. Think ahead to November Brentwood, we need change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For why Dec 31, 2013 - 11:49 am

Nice list and mostly good news stories. Thanks

Comments are closed.