History
On June 26, 1914, J.B. Dickson started publishing the Brentwood News. [1] In 1920, he sold the Brentwood News to Sam Hill, who remained the newspaper for 11 years. In 1931, Edgar Allen purchased the newspaper from Hill and kept hold of it until 1955. [1] In 1950, The Brentwood News building at 654 3rd Street was built under Allen's ownership. Other owners of the newspaper included Loyal Bisby from 1955 to 1957, Gentry Durham from 1957 to 1965, John Henderson from 1965 to 1966, Ernie Cox from 1966 to 1969 and William Brewer from 1969 to 1971. [1]
In 1971, Thomas F. and Samuel H. Mathews, owners of the Tracy Press purchased the Brentwood News. [1] The next year in 1972, Bethel Island’s Bob Gromm become the Brentwood News managing editor. In 1986, the owners of Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek and Daily Ledger in Antioch, Dean Lesher purchased the Brentwood News from Tom and Sam Mathews. [1] After the acquisition, Bob Gromm remained as a columnist of the newspaper until 1989, when he was retired. On May 13, 1993, Dean S. Lesher, the owner of the newspaper died at the age of 89. On August 29, 1995, two years after Lesher's death, Margaret Lesher sold the privately held company to the Knight Ridder newspaper chain for $360 million, including the Brentwood News. [2]
On August 10, 1998, the Brentwood News was temporarily moved from 654 3rd Street to 1650 Cavallo Road in Antioch, which was the Ledger Dispatch's Headquarters. [3] This was due to issues with the building such as the cramped parking lot, which was too cramped and unsafe. On October 1, 1998, the newspaper moved from twice-weekly publication on Tuesdays and Fridays to once-weekly on Thursdays, and will be delivered with the Ledger Dispatch and the Contra Costa Times. [4]
In September 1999, Ed Diokno replaced Katharine Ball as a city editor for the Brentwood News. [5] One of the first tasks at hand is to find a new office in Brentwood. In December 1999, the Brentwood News has been moved back to Brentwood at 1185 2nd Street, Suite H1, in the Brentwood TownCentre. [6] On January 14, 2000, the newspaper moved again from Thursday publication back to Friday. [7] In mid-January 2001, the Contra Costa Newspapers sold Brentwood News' old offices at 654 3rd Street to Thomas B. Miller. [8]
In late 2004, the newspaper was no longer published in Brentwood, and was moved from 1185 2nd Street to 1700 Cavallo Road (formerly 1650). On October 24, 2005, the Ledger Dispatch, Brentwood News' sister newspaper become the East County Times. In the early 2010s, the Contra Costa Newspapers began publishing the local editions of the Brentwood News including the Antioch News in Antioch, the Oakley News in Oakley, and the Pittsburg News in Pittsburg and Bay Point. Between October 2017 and April 2018, the office, which was used for the newspaper from 1998 to 1999 as a temporary office, and again from 2004 to 2017 was demolished. On June 4, 2021, the Brentwood News was merged with other East County local newspapers such as the Antioch News, the Oakley News, and the Pittsburg News to create East County News.
