Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_05.09.08 - Index

18A | THEPRESS.NET MAY 9, 2008
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EDITORIALS, LETTERS & COMMENTARY “ I believe that it was offi cially the most
OPINION
National
beautiful day of the year.
Michelle Lenahan ”
And the survey said: Oakley is OK
Oakley offi cials and residents can take much
comfort in the results of a recent survey revealing
that, for the most part, residents are happy living
here and with their city government.
Oakley remains one of the better-kept secrets in
the Bay Area: a small, quiet, safe community with
good schools, a rural feel and
EDITORIAL
the Delta in its backyard.
More than four out of fi ve of
the survey respondents said
they are satisfi ed with the job the city government
is doing, and feel that Oakley is heading in the right
direction.
Those are remarkably positive results, refl ecting
well on the city and its leadership.
Of course, the city faces challenges, such as
improving the downtown area, cleaning up rundown
properties, providing more stores and businesses and
more police.
Thanks for the memories
Editor:
This is an open thank-you to all
the guests that I have waited on during
my employment with Hiro’s Steak &
Sushi for the past two years.
I will admit, I am bad with names,
but I do know what everyone eats and
drinks, such as the cool couple with
fi ve kids that would come in and ask
for me. They would then dine on steak
and lobster and fi nish with Patron Silver.
There were also the ladies I served
on the Friday night of last year’s Corn-
Fest. They wanted to see the fi reworks,
but were having such a great girls night
out they just stayed there and enjoyed
each others’ company.
There was the wonderful couple
that would come in with their son and
grandchildren that were here from
Arizona. Again, I apologize for not remembering
names. Mom would always
have her bottle of white zinfandel,
which I would open for her and pour
two glasses and wrap the rest for her to
take home. Dad ordered the merlot.
There was also the couple that
Grazie’s sent over to Hiro’s after our
fi rst closing and we laughed when they
ordered pomegranate martinis, saying
that it was a good way to get their antioxidants.
There was also the Moto-
Cross rock star. His lovely lady drank
Grey Crane, and him, beer.
There are a few names I know, like
Ed Drury and his lovely lady, Joyce. I
have served them since the golf course
and did not realize how much they
liked sushi. The Baca family and their
great friends had the banquet room all
to themselves, and I must say they had
Offi cials have recently approved new property
standards for residential neighborhoods and are
trying to attract retailers to the city. The ability to
hire more police might depend in part on the city’s
success in attracting businesses and increasing the
accompanying sales tax revenue.
One area that both offi cials and residents could
improve is citizen involvement in government.
Although the survey was sent to 450 residents and
was placed on the city’s Web site to be fi lled out by
anyone interested, only 208 people bothered to do so.
Only about a dozen residents bother to attend
City Council meetings on a regular basis, and those
attending Planning Commission meetings can be
counted on one hand. The last City Council election
had to be canceled when no one bothered to run
against the two incumbents.
One way to help residents become more informed
about city developments and their govern-
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
such a great time!
Dustin, Scott, it was always a
pleasure to wait on you. Justin, I will
never hear a piano play “My Chemical
Romance” like you played it. Thanks
also to Ryan, Jake and Ian; you all
rock and ditto to your ladies. Thanks
also to Jim Wagerman, his lovely wife
and to Jane from Allstate; your kindness
is appreciated.
There were of course all the great
people that would come in to the bar,
such as Cynthia, Keith, Scott, Sherry,
Auntie, Bill and Bob. I will miss seeing
your faces when I come to work. And
to Keith and Donna, I will also miss
you both. To me, you were part of the
Hiro’s employee family.
Hiro’s was a very unique restaurant
and in all my years of serving the
public, I have never felt compelled to
thank so many people for making my
going to work such a great feeling! I
hope we will all see each other around
town: at Safeway, Quickstop, the gym,
etc. Once again, thank you all.
Sandi Smith
Brentwood
Downtown – the perfect
weeknight hangout
Editor:
I enjoyed the article about downtown
Brentwood merchants staying
open late on Thursdays. I personally
like the idea of something special
that isn’t tied into a weekend (like the
Farmers’ Market or the Starry Nights
concerts on Fridays). Why not close
First Street every Thursday (like the
Farmers’ Market on Saturdays) and
have a gourmet food festival each
week?
Renee Anderson
Brentwood
The facts about
Vista Diablo residents
Editor:
Obviously the writer of your editorial
about the folks at the Vista Diablo
Mobile Home Park did little research.
They do not make $70,000 to
$80,000 a year. These folks, many
are 70 to 80 years old, some ill and
less than one half of a social security
check away from eviction. They are the
proudest people you could ever meet.
They had to ban together against an
unscrupulous landlord who had threatened
and terrorized them for well over
a year, perhaps two years.
Several of them have been ill, hospitalized
and their homes taken away
from them because they could not sell
them. Would you want this to happen
to someone you know?
These men and women, many
single, have been honest, hardworking
people like most of us for their whole
lives and are not on the dole from
the city of Antioch. They have qualifi
ed for a program offered by the city
because no one else would help them
and they tried.
They fi lled the council chambers
for several meetings, working with
the council and their landlord. City
staff and the attorney spent hours and
hours dealing with the landlord who
failed to cooperate or respond to deadlines.
Month after month this went on.
We followed the entire process with in-
ment is to place video of city meetings on the city’s
Web site. More than two-thirds of the survey respondents
said they either never visit that Web site or do
so less than once a month. Providing the meetings
might help improve that situation.
And an informed citizenry might become a more
engaged electorate, perhaps prompting more people
to attend meetings in person, speak during the public
comments portion of the meetings, volunteer on city
committees, apply for seats on the Planning Commission
and run for City Council.
Council meetings in Antioch and Brentwood are
televised live and archived on their Web sites; county
supervisor meetings are available in archives on the
county Web site. It’s time for Oakley to join them,
especially now that it’s video-recording the meetings
anyway.
To comment on this editorial, visit www.thepress.
net.
terest and are proud to say the council
and city staff were fantastic.
Your editorial was a slap in the
face to these wonderful people and
to the city of Antioch. You should be
ashamed of yourself.
Martin and Nancy Fernandez
Antioch
Nunn doesn’t walk the talk
Editor:
Over the past two weeks, several
residents have come forward and
submitted letters to the editor expressing
great concern regarding District
5 Supervisor candidate Erik Nunn.
Regrettably, I share their concerns and
belief that Mr. Nunn’s less than truthful
campaign statements clearly implies
that he is willing to say or do anything
to become our next county supervisor.
In a recent campaign mailer,
Erik Nunn states that he was the fi rst
person to oppose the Antioch prison
site. Really? Apparently, Mr. Nunn
refuses to acknowledge the fact that
the Antioch School Board, the Antioch
City Council, the Antioch Chamber of
Commerce and numerous residents of
our community sent letters and e-mails
to the Board of Supervisors vehemently
opposing the placement of a prison
re-entry facility in our community.
As a matter of record, when
Antioch residents Gary Agopian, Jim
Conley, Brian Kalinowski, Devi Lanphere,
Allen Payton, Walter Rueling
and myself were speaking out against
the prison proposal during the Board
of Supervisor meeting on Tuesday,
see Letters page 19A