Staff members holding down the fort at the City of Brentwood booth at last weekend’s CornFest apparently spent a lot of time trash-talking with residents. Seems a lot of people are concerned that their trash and recyclables are getting picked up and dumped into the back of the same truck, and folks want to know why. It’s simple: the trucks have a sliding door that moves from side to side, allowing all the carts to be dumped in the same chute at the top of the truck, but dropping it into separate bins inside, as seen in this photo. The driver just flips a switch – though you can’t notice it from the street. Fact is, a recent report to the City Council said Brentwood’s waste stream has been less and less contaminated lately, and now, instead of paying someone to haul recyclables off, we’re actually getting paid for them. We figure it’s a good thing that people are saying something, though: it shows that recycling is important to them.

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The CornFest banners have already come down in Brentwood to make way for the Art Wine & Jazz Festival advertisements. Normally, Brentwoodites are forced to look at the smiling cob of corn weeks after the festival has ended, but now the sultry jazz singer has replaced Corny to make way for the highbrow festival, which has been moved up to August this year. While the festival normally takes place in October, the jazz singer will probably still be swaying in the wind when autumn rolls around.

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Hoping that the best offense is a good defense, the Discovery Bay CSD Board has agreed to consider hiring an environmental law firm in the event that a certain former wastewater vendor decides to flush its responsibilities for state-issued fines, and instead sewers the town over those fines. But at a cost of nearly $300 per hour, at least one ratepayer was left wondering if the move wouldn’t qualify as shutting the barn door after the horse is out. Or in this case, plugging the sewer leaks after the responsible party has gone Southwest.

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You gotta admire some criminals: they know how to consolidate infractions and enhance the efficiency of police work. One such miscreant got pulled over for vehicle code violations on Second Street at Brentwood Boulevard recently, and was found to be driving with a suspended license … and under the influence of a central nervous system stimulant … and on active parole. You’ve heard of the “twofer”; this guy pulled a fourfer!

– Compiled by Press Staff