Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - BrentwoodPress_10.03.08 - Index

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
National Award Winning Newspapers
Vol. 10, No. 40 Including Surrounding Communities www.brentwoodpress.com October 3, 2008
Tax grab won’t hurt
Civic Center – yet
Caution the hallmark of council
subcommittee’s financial planning
by Rick Lemyre
Staff Writer
The good news is that when Gov.
Schwarzenegger signed a state budget
that cost the City of Brentwood
$550,000 in redevelopment funds, the
city was ready for it.
“We had already anticipated
that,” said Finance Director Pam
Ehler, adding that the city’s estimate
of what the state would take had come
in at $543,000. That means the city’s
budget, particularly Redevelopment
Agency projects, will not need to be
adjusted to compensate for the takeaway
this year.
The bad news is that, despite a
promise from the state that the redevelopment
take-away would occur
only this year, nobody thinks it’s safe
to believe it.
“They’ve said it was a one-time
thing, but historically, when they’ve
taken redevelopment dollars, it’s been
two or three years in a row,” Ehler said.
“We have to be very careful, and con-
Finally finished
Photo by Richard Wisdom
Led by the California Highway Patrol, motorists
make their way southbound on Segment 3 of
the Highway 4 Bypass for the fi rst time Tuesday
afternoon. The long-awaited completion of the
link between Vasco Road and Highway 4 is expected
to reduce travel time between the two points from
around 40 minutes to 15.
Music man named Teacher of the Year
by Ruth Roberts
Staff Writer
Mark Morello might not
be a superstitious man, but it’s
hard to deny that Sept. 25 was
his lucky day. On that cosmically
aligned date last week, the
Bristow Middle School music
director not only celebrated
his 35th birthday; he was also
named Contra Costa County
Teacher of the Year.
“Talk about karma,”
laughed Morello, who received
the offi cial nod during a gala
awards ceremony in Pleasant
Hill. “It was a magical evening
and an incredible honor.”
Known for his passionate
approach to education, the
news that Morello had grabbed
top teaching honors came as no
surprise to those who work with
the dedicated music man.
“Mark has a committement
to his students that is very rare,”
said Bristow Principal Russ
Cornell. “He listens to his kids
sider the possibility they could do it
again.”
The money taken by Sacramento
to balance the state budget is part of $6
million in annual revenue that is supposed
to return to the city’s redevelopment
district to help improve conditions
in the downtown and along north
Brentwood Boulevard. It’s that revenue
that would be used to repay bonds that
could be sold to fi nance such projects
as the downtown Civic Center, now
in the planning stages. Less revenue
means less bonding capacity, which
means there could be less money available
for what the city wants to do.
What might happen to future redevelopment
district dollars is only one
area of uncertainty the City Council’s
new Finance Subcommittee – comprised
of councilmen Erick Stonebarger
and Chris Becnel – is beginning to
grapple with. Bonding capacities, developer
fees and property tax revenue
reductions are all part of a complex
see Tax grab page 25A
and he learns from them every
day. That’s what makes him
such a great teacher. We’re all
very jazzed for him.”
Morello’s also jazzed – and
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Lance
Bristow Middle School teacher Mark Morello, left, poses with
his mom, Jane Dreeszen, and County School Superintendent
Joe Ovick at the recent Contra Costa County Teacher of the
Year awards event. Morello took home top honors as County
Teacher of the Year.
classicaled, contemporaried,
popped and gospeled. For him,
directing an eclectic music room
is an important component of
his teaching syllabus.
“We do it all,” said Morello
of his musical play list. “Kids
love all kinds of music and when
we mix it up a little bit, it makes
things more interesting. They
(students) work very hard.”
And so does their teacher.
Growing up in the North
Bay with his parents and older
brother and sister, music has
always been a part of Morello’s
life despite his less-than-calculated
musical start.
“My older brother took
up the trumpet in elementary
school but didn’t stick with it
very long,” said Morello. “So
when he put it down, I took it
up, and since then it has always
been music for me. My parents
weren’t musical, but the rest
of us (siblings) were. I guess it
skips a generation.”
Morello and his wife Holly
are currently raising the next
musical generation in their 1year-old
son Giovanni. Life for
see Teacher page 25A
THIS WEEK
Holding the
arts high
A local festival is honoring two
champions of the arts – one
posthumously – for years of
stalwart service.
Page 4A
The great
gate debate
The public gets to weigh in on
a plan to install water-control
gates in the Delta.
Page 7A
In it for the
long haul
Some talented cross country
competitors are expect to go far
this season.
Page 1B
INSIDE
Calendar ..........................23B
Classifieds ........................17B
Community .......................3A
Education ..........................9A
Entertainment ................22B
Food .................................12B
Health & Beauty................9B
Opinion ...........................18A
Outdoors .........................14A
Public Notices ..................20B
Siren Sounds ...................19A
Sports .................................1B