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Brentwood Press - AntiochPress_10.10.08 - Index

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
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Vol. 8, No. 41 Antioch, California www.antiochpress.com October 10, 2008
Mayor seeks parking garage
Photo by Dave Roberts
This city-owned parking lot on I street between Third
and Fourth streets may become a $5-9 million, threeor
four-story parking garage.
Sims outlines
school Blueprint
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
Too many students in the Antioch
Unifi ed School District are
opting out, dropping out and zoning
out, and there’s a strong need for
change, Superintendent Deborah
Sims told the school board recently.
She provided highlights at
the Sept. 24 board meeting of the
Blueprint for Excellence that she
and other school offi cials have been
working on for more than a year.
“It’s our multi-year strategic plan of
action to transform the educational
system of the Antioch Unifi ed
School District,” said Sims.
She began her presentation by
outlining what she called “the brutal
facts” of the district’s efforts to
educate students:
• Nearly one-third of students drop
out.
• Less than a quarter of those who
do graduate are ready for college.
• Fewer than half of all students
and less than one-third of African-
American students are profi cient in
English and math.
• Only 9 percent of Deer Valley High
students and 3 percent of Antioch
High students pass the advanced
placement exams by the time they
graduate.
Sims also noted that the makeup
of the student body has changed
signifi cantly in the past 15 years.
In 1993, nearly 70 percent of the
students were white. Today, whites
comprise fewer than 30 percent of
students, and are outnumbered by
Hispanics, who make up about onethird
of the total. African-Americans,
who made up less than 10 percent
of students 15 years ago, now
comprise more than 20 percent.
“We haven’t shifted in our
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
Mayor Don Freitas joked four or
fi ve years ago, in a discussion about
the downtown parking problem that
might occur during events at the newly
reopened El Campanil Theatre, that it
would be a problem he would welcome.
But now he’s taking it more seriously
and wants to look into building a $5-to-
9 million parking garage.
A recently completed parking
study concluded that the downtown
parking situation is not that bad now,
but it could worsen if a ferry terminal
is located at the end of L Street near
the Antioch Marina. The ferry might
require an additional 300 spaces downtown
for cars that would remain there
all day, consultant Jim West told the
council on Sept. 23. A 200-seat sports
bar and restaurant opening soon at
Fourth and G streets will rely on existing
downtown parking spaces.
The study recommends providing
more spaces on two city-owned lots
near the ferry terminal, with the possibility
of eventually placing a parking
garage there. A better location for a
garage, however, would be on a cityowned
parking lot on I Street between
Third and Fourth streets. The garage
could be three or four stories high, pro-
thinking and instructional practices,
even though we’ve had a major
shift in our demographics,” said
Sims. “AUSD follows the national
trend that African-American and
Latino students are overrepresented
in special education. We don’t take
comfort in knowing that’s the case
in every district. We have to look at
what we are doing.
viding anywhere from 214 to 350 spaces
and costing $5.6 million to $9.1 million.
West outlined other steps the city
could take if parking becomes a problem:
imposing two-hour limits on parking,
strengthening police enforcement,
installing parking meters and encouraging
merchants to park farther away
from the downtown core in order to free
up spaces for shoppers.
There are about 1,900 parking
spaces downtown, more than four out
of fi ve of which have no time limits.
About 1,500 of the spaces are available
to the public.
The peak demand for spaces on
weekdays occurs between 11 a.m. and
noon, when 41 percent of the available
spaces are taken, according to the
study. Most of the parking is located in
and around the downtown core, as you
would expect.
The ferry terminal would result in
the spaces on the streets near Second
and L streets fi lling up early in the morning,
resulting in a total of 58 percent of
spaces being fi lled downtown between
11 a.m. and noon.
Freitas pointed out that a decision
has yet to be made on the location of
the ferry terminal, which could end up
at Fulton Shipyard. He also implied
see Parking page 25A
Staff file photo
Deborah Sims, superintendent of the Antioch Unifi ed
School District, seen here at the City Council’s Quality of Life
Forum in March, recently unveiled the district’s Blueprint for
Excellence.
“We got input from the entire
educational community through
meetings over the last year. What
we heard and what we know is that
every parent sends their student to
school wanting and expecting the
best we have. We have pockets of
excellence throughout the system.
see Blueprint page 25A
THIS WEEK
Fest to entice
the senses
Marvels to delight the eye,
palate and ear are on display
this weekend at Brentwood’s Art
Wine & Jazz Festival.
Page 12B
Indulging in
birdie binge
A slew of amateurs converged
on Antioch’s Lone Tree Golf
Course, and the quality of their
play was far from sub-par.
Page 3B
Kids strike
comic chords
Two young entrepreneurs have
taken their talents to super-
heroic heights.
Page 3A
INSIDE
Calendar ..........................23B
Classifieds ........................17B
Community .......................3A
Education ........................10A
Entertainment ................22B
Food ................................ 12B
Health & Beauty............... 9B
Milestones .........................7B
Opinion ...........................18A
Public Notices ..................20B
Sports .................................1B