Delta Report Backs 416,709 Farm Acres as Brentwood Raley's Closes

Agricultural land preservation across the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, retail space turnover on Sand Creek Road, and next-generation aviation demonstrations shaped economic discussions in East Contra Costa County this week. A draft report from the Delta Protection Commission called for reducing state conversions of Delta farmland into habitat and flood projects, while crews removed the exterior lettering from the Brentwood Raley's supermarket following its November 3 closure after more than 20 years and an all-electric air taxi simulator arrived in Brentwood to showcase potential 90% commute reductions.

Draft Report Urges Stronger Protections for 416,709 Acres of Delta Farmland

Released in September following a 17-year-old state mandate balancing water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration, the Delta Protection Commission's draft report recommends scaling back the conversion of productive farmland across the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. According to the report, 56% of the Delta—416,709 of 737,662 total acres—remains in agricultural production, down from 538,000 acres in 1991. While a previously enacted Delta Plan converted 17,000 acres of farmland to habitat and flood control, another 32,000 acres of tidal wetland restoration and 30,000 acres of subsidence-reversal and carbon-sequestration projects have been proposed.

"The point of the report is really to just help re-center agriculture in the conversation," Delta Protection Commission Executive Director Amanda Bohl said Friday, noting that the draft also explores ways to offset assessment and property tax losses across the Delta's 110 reclamation districts and 5 counties. State Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton), Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy)—who highlighted that the Delta's more than 400,000 acres of farmland help support California's $61 billion agricultural economy—and Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) all voiced support for safeguarding farmland and the region's 500,000 residents.

Brentwood Raley's Closes on Sand Creek Road as Air Taxi Simulator Debuts

In Brentwood, workers removed the storefront lettering on November 4 from the Raley's grocery store on Sand Creek Road after the location closed permanently on November 3, 2026. First announced in August after more than 20 years in the shopping center, the closure followed a lease review. "With the lease up for renewal and after careful review of the store's performance and economic factors, we have chosen not to extend the lease," Raley's Chief Marketing Officer Carol Barsotti stated in August. According to the Brentwood City Council, city economic development staff are working with the property owner to recruit replacement tenants.

Elsewhere in Brentwood this week, residents tested an all-electric air taxi simulator demonstrating how future electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft could cut East Bay commute times by 90%, as featured on KCBS Radio's Bay Area All Local anchored by Rebecca Goodeyon.