BRENTWOOD — Costco is now coming to Brentwood after a prominent local development firm withdrew a lawsuit against the city of Brentwood which stalled the project for almost a year. The move will pave the way for a new Costco store and gasoline station in northwestern Brentwood, with construction beginning as early as this summer, according to city officials. “The city is extremely pleased with the court decision, and the voluntary decision of dismissal to help Costco move forward,” Brentwood City Manager Tim Ogden said. “When Costco will open up is the most-asked question I get from residents ..read more

PITTSBURG — He’s been called everything from justice warrior to tireless advocate, inspiring mentor and civil rights champion. When Willie Mims, dressed in his colorful African kufi hat and dashiki top, walked through the door with his carved traditional walking stick, heads turned and everyone knew he was going to have something to say. An ally to those whose voices often went unheard, Mims never wanted to step off the political battlefield, fighting for causes he believed in up until the end. A legend in the East Contra Costa County community and beyond, the longtime Pittbsurg resident ..read more

BRENTWOOD – Doreen Pierce Forlow remembers the distinct smell of the movies from years gone by – the freshly popped popcorn oozing with real butter, the chocolate candies and even the slightly chemical smell of the big film reels. Forlow grew up in Brentwood’s downtown art deco-style Delta Theater, which her family bought in 1955 and owned and operated for nearly two decades. She saw all the classics — “The Ten Commandments,” “Ben-Hur,” “Hercules” and many more – and she’s anxious to see the nearly 100-year-old movie palace reopen after a four-year closure. “There’s a whole big difference betw ..read more

ANTIOCH  — Community members this week had a few choice words for Amtrak, which they chanted again and again: “Don’t drop our stop! Don’t drop our stop!” With Antioch’s downtown train platform slated to close next year in favor of an Oakley stop, a group of residents and activists on Wednesday afternoon urged leaders to do whatever it takes to keep it open. “This is really important to us because our community relies on this transportation to get to and from everywhere,” Tachina Garrett, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action chair, told the dozens gathered near the pla ..read more

Mike Barbanica, an Antioch city councilman and local businessman, has won the endorsement of California State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, in his bid for Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in District 5. Glazer represents Contra Costa and Alameda counties. “Mike Barbanica is a no-nonsense leader with the skills and expertise to effectively impact the issues facing us in Contra Costa County,” Glazer said in a statement. “Mike shares my belief that politics is about service and progress, and I’m confident he’ll bring a sense of civility and respect for diverging opinions that we need more ..read more

OAKLAND — A Brentwood man was indicted Friday on charges of possessing child pornography and an unregistered short-barreled rifle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Michael Patterson was arrested after an undercover operation by the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, according to the government’s detention memorandum. In a May 2023 operation, Patterson allegedly engaged in an online conversation with an officer posing as a 13-year-old girl, and made plans to meet and engage in sexual conduct. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | 13-year-old charged in fa ..read more

We spent weeks chasing down the best chocolate chip cookies around the Bay Area for our recent round-up of 11 great, cookie-centric bakery destinations. As it turns out, there were even more — and you stepped in to help, offering up 15 fantastic restaurants, bakeries and markets to add to the cookie-centric list. Among them: Gunther’s Restaurant and Catering in San Jose, where six readers wrote in to rave about the legendary chocolate chip cookies. Also worth noting: One of the bakeries we featured, Santa Cruz’s Pacific Cookie Co., got a shout-out from reader Tom Landgraf, who notes that these ..read more

DANVILLE – An infield single here, a bunt for another hit there and a healthy number of walks sprinkled in between moved runners from one base to the next in San Ramon Valley’s 9-5 victory over visiting Freedom. In theory, the Wolves’ brand of softball is antiquated and difficult, relying on heady baserunning and multiple SRV batters doing their part against good pitching to methodically move around the diamond without a bases-clearing extra-base hit.  But during Wednesday’s first-round win in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs, the Wolves tore up the basepaths and lit up the sco ..read more

BRENTWOOD – Liberty third baseman Bella Rice hurriedly ran around the infield during the second inning of the North Coast Section Division I playoff game, not quite sure if she’d put enough oomph behind her swing to clear the fence until she was close to second base. Then she knew. The ball was gone. But Bella got her chance to really show off her home run trot in the very next inning, this time belting a pitch over the left field wall with such force that she was certain it was gone from the get-go, her two blasts helping Liberty roll past Dublin 9-0 and advance to a second-round matchup at V ..read more

Seven people were injured in a two-vehicle head-on crash that occurred in Brentwood on Friday, according to Joe Ottolini, spokesperson for the Contra Contra County Fire Protection District. The collision was reported about 7:40 p.m. on the 23000 block of Marsh Creek Road in Brentwood and left three people critically injured, two people moderately injured and two people with minor injuries. In response, five ambulances and two helicopters were ordered and one person was airlifted to a medical center, Ottolini said. Information about what caused the accident, the ages of the people involved or t ..read more