See doctors’ letter to Dr. Chris Farnitano and Contra Costa County Supervisors; effort now challenges compensation of John Muir executives
By Allen Payton
Last Friday, Dec. 18, Dr. Michael deBoisblanc was fired as the Medical Director of Trauma and Regional Services for John Muir Health. One of the partners in his private practice, the Bay Area Surgical Specialists (BASS) Medical Group, Dr. Pete Mazolewski, who also works at John Muir, confirmed the firing and said it was done, “without explanation.”
However, according to an NBC Bay Area news report, deBoisblanc “was reassigned after questioning COVID-19 restrictions” and “in a phone call…the doctor said, ‘clearly the interpretation of my letter to the county … they felt the need to separate themselves and remove me from my position.’”
A phone call to John Muir Health’s Director of Corporate Communications, Ben Drew, on Friday, Dec. 18 was never responded to.
That Dec. 10th letter (see below), by deBoisblanc, Mazolewski and Dr. Brian Hopkins, also a member of the BASS Medical Group who works at their John Muir, was sent to Contra Costa Health Officer, Dr. Chris Farnitano and county supervisors. It questioned the impacts of the health orders on the mental health, and the need for it when ICU beds are impacted every winter, as well as the impacts on businesses.
In response, a letter writing campaign was begun through social media to question both Cal Knight, John Muir’s President and CEO, and Jane Willemsen, the Executive Vice President and President of Hospital Operations for both John Muir’s Walnut Creek and Concord Campuses, as well as John Muir Behavioral Health.
Resident’s Letter to John Muir CEO & EVP
As part of the campaign, the following letter was sent to Knight and Willemsen, and provided to the Herald anonymously:
“Dear Mr. Knight and Ms. Willemsen,
I am writing you as a very concerned Contra Costa County resident in order to address the recent news of what appears to be a retaliatory termination and/or reprimands directed towards three doctors at John Muir relating to a letter addressed to Contra County Health official – Dr. Chris Farnitano. As has been reported on NBC Bay Area, KTVU, The California Globe and several other news agencies, it is incredibly concerning that it appears as if John
Muir took retaliatory measures against those doctors for what seems to be a very thoughtful and respectful letter addressed to Dr. Farnitano (California Globe posted the letter in its article). Additionally, it does not appear as if any of the doctors listed any association with John Muir, or inferred that they were speaking on its behalf in the letter. As a lifetime California and a 21+ year Contra Costa County resident I am very concerned that John Muir’s actions seem more focused on intimidation and retaliation rather than what is in the best interest of the hospital and our community. Please see three of my specific concerns below:
- This is a global pandemic and there are countless well respected views that differ on best practices and treatment. These differing views are widely articulated by county health officials, mayors, governors, state politicians, research institutions, doctors, nurses, etc. Based on the doctors letter, I (and many others) feel it was a very thoughtful, well written and respectful letter in both tone and content. The tone was in no way disrespectful nor was there any mention of John Muir. Additionally, it did not seem in any way out of line with medical questions/comments made daily by many, many well respected health leaders across the country on how to best respond to the virus taking into consideration both short term and long term impacts.
- Recently there have been many doctors in print and on TV from Stanford, UCSF, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and many other well respected institutions who have very publicly voiced conflicting points of views/opinions and openly included the names of their institutions (not just that they were doctors). Stanford even recently posted that they supported some of their doctors conflicting views given the amount unknowns regarding the virus. I have not heard of any retaliatory actions taken on any of those individuals.
- Most concerning of all is that John Muir’s actions appears to be retaliatory/intimidating in nature and could seriously compromise staff at the hospital from speaking up in the future. If there is a culture of “don’t say anything or you risk termination”, then no one will ever speak up even when there are serious concerns regarding patient care, best practices or worse outright illegal/harmful activity. As a result, John Muir’s institutional credibility will significantly suffer even more over time and ultimately patient care will be compromised. This is not the type of environment that gives the community confidence in its hospital or its leadership.
I fully understand that there are many differing points of view regarding best practices, treatment and long term impacts on all actions taken to address the pandemic. That being said, based on all of the reporting and posted letter that I have seen it does not appear as if the doctors did anything wrong or disrespectful relating to their relationship with John Muir, the community and more importantly their Hippocratic oaths. To be honest, it really feels like the type of thoughtfulness and concern that you would encourage from everyone at the John Muir, including its administrators and executives.”
Letter From Three Doctors
Following is the text of the letter sent by the three John Muir doctors:
“December 10, 2020
Dr Farnitano and Contra Costa County supervisors,
We are writing to you with deep concern regarding more lockdown measures for our county. We feel the science is clear that more lockdowns lead to much more non covid morbidity and mortality as supported by the CDC.
We are confused as to why this is happening as we are often overcapacity in our hospitals and ICUs every winter and we have never done this previously. We also run our ICUs normally at a high rate of occupancy as this is most cost effective.
Here are the issues in a nutshell:
1. Excessive PCR testing is leading to numerous false positive results. The specificity of PCR testing is really unknown but I have seen many authorities claim it is no higher than the low 90% range because of the attempt to be 100% sensitive using cycle threshold standards of 40. (sensitivity is inversely related to specificity)
2. For the sake of illustration, I will assume a 97-98% specificity which is likely far too high. Back in March when the county could only perform 300-400 tests per day, a 98% specificity would only lead to 6-8 false positive tests. Now we have reached up to 8000 tests per day. With a 98% specificity, that would lead to 160 false positive cases a day in our county. With a population of 1.1 million that would put us at 14.5 positive cases per 100,000 population and we would find ourselves in the worst possible tier based solely on false positive tests!!! This is absolutely a fact of epidemiology/science.
3. Again we have normal ICU and hospital winter surges that happen every winter and we never had any county lockdowns. Our county figures on your website show essentially a stable ICU occupancy from July 1st to today. In addition on your website, we only have a minimal surge in hospitalized patients as compared to last year.
4. When you test like this for everyone that comes into your hospital, ‘hospital covid patient” numbers will rise simply because you are capturing more asymptomatic disease in patients who otherwise are visiting the hospital for other reasons.
5. Public policy is being based on these erroneous numbers and assumptions.
6. Public policy with shutdowns (various closures) leads to excessive non covid related deaths. Please see attached CDC article which shows clearly that these excessive deaths are most pronounced in the 25-44 year old age range with numerous weeks during this year that 40-50% excessive deaths are seen in this age group. When you measure in terms of life-years lost as compared to life-years lost with actual covid deaths, it is not even close. We are harming more people in our community who do not have nor are at risk of having significant covid disease with senseless closures of businesses and schools. This is data supported.
7. The CDC and pediatric societies across America have voiced their support of opening all schools. School age children are not significant vectors of the disease.
With this information above, can you answer the following questions:
1. How do you account for these high numbers of false positives with the county tiering system? Do you throw these numbers out so that only true positives are counted?
2. Why did you not intervene with any type of community closure in the past winters when our hospitals were at overcapacity? What is different now?
3. What data do you have that supports closures of businesses like gyms and outdoor dining while keeping other businesses open like walmart? What data do you have that supports that we stay indoors as opposed to outdoors? (all the science that we have reviewed supports a predominantly 99% indoor vehicle of transmission).
4. Why have you gone against the medical experts in not recommending the opening of our schools?
5. What about our county’s ICU figures caused you to trigger a closure? As you can see on Contra Costa County website, ICU occupancy has been stable between 75 and 80% since July 1st despite changing covid admissions. Please be specific here. When we run normally at 75% occupancy, why is 85% so terrible? We handle these surges every winter. It is expected.
We look forward to your reply.
Sincerely
Pete Mazolewski, MD, FACS, USAR
Brian Hopkins, MD,
Mike deBoisblanc, MD, FACS, USAR”
John Muir Responds to Letter
In what appears to be a response to the doctors’ letter, on Dec. 11, John Muir Health issued the following statement regarding Stay-at-Home Order and COVID-19 response
“John Muir Health continues to work closely with the Contra Costa County Public Health Officer and Contra Costa County Health Services in support of their efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. We fully support the health orders, including the most recent Stay-at-Home order, implemented by County Health Services to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We have great trust in the County Health Department and appreciate all they have done to support the safety of our community under very difficult circumstances.
We realize there are a number of opinions on the Stay-At-Home order, including within our medical staff, but these views do not represent the views of John Muir Health. This is not a normal winter season. We have significantly expanded our ICU capacity to care for more COVID and non-COVID patients. Every day, we see the devastating effects of COVID-19 on patients and urge our community to wear a mask, not to gather with people outside their home and to limit any non-essential activities.
We will get through this pandemic, and it will take all of us working together. If you need health care, please do not delay seeking care. We are here to safely care for our patients and the community. Our courageous medical teams, who have displayed tremendous resiliency and compassion in the face of unrelenting challenges, appreciate the community’s support.”
Executive Compensation
In addition, the effort is also, now challenging the compensation of the non-profit healthcare organizations executives. According to John Muir Health’s 2018 tax return, Knight was paid nearly $4 million and Willemsen earns almost $1.9 million. (See page 85).
No Response Yet from County Health Officer or Supervisors
As of Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020 the doctors have yet to receive a response to their letter. Efforts to reach Farnitano, county health communications staff and the five members of the Board of Supervisors, Thursday afternoon, were unsuccessful.
12/24/20 6:17 PM UPDATE: However, according to Kim McCarl, Communications Officer for Contra Costa Health Services, following “is the statement that the department released on Dec. 11.”
“Contra Costa County and all of California are in the grip of a deadly pandemic. The number of COVID-19 patients in our county’s hospitals has more than tripled in the past 30 days. The number of intensive care unit beds occupied by COVID-19 patients during the same period has more than doubled – and we do not believe the full effect of local transmission during the Thanksgiving holiday has reached our hospitals at this point. Also, flu season, which sends many people to the hospital, hasn’t peaked yet.
This wave is neither seasonal nor is it normal. It’s illogical to look at what happened at hospitals in prior years to predict what we can expect now. In years past, we weren’t dealing with a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic.
We cannot afford to wait until our hospitals are actually full to make policy changes to reduce the spread of this deadly virus.
It would be irresponsible to suggest that universally accepted, proven-effective public health prevention measures to promote physical distancing are not in order at this time.
It would be dangerous at this moment to promote unfounded, unsupported theories about the efficacy of the standard test used to detect COVID-19, or to deny the reality that hospitals across California are rapidly filling with people who are very ill because of this virus.
We are now nearly a year into this pandemic. We have learned a few things along the way. We know from experience that stay-at-home orders, as challenging as they are for everyone, flatten the curve and save lives.”
Yet, when asked if the county staff had sent that letter to the three doctors, one of the three, Dr. Hopkins, replied, “No. They did not respond.”
“I saw this but it wasn’t sent to us directly,” he continued. “Lots of problems with this. It all ‘sounds’ good and appeals to those not trained in science or medicine or statistics . They still haven’t been able to show that the ICU and/ or hospital numbers are different from prior years. Also “case” numbers are up compared to Spring, but the numbers don’t translate to the same numbers of deaths proportionally as the Spring wave for a ton of reasons.”
“Additionally, the data shows lockdowns have not been effective anywhere in the world at stopping the spread in areas where the virus is established,” Hopkins explained. “Finally, they missed the boat entirely on our message: that the lockdowns are more destructive than the virus itself. This is an epidemiologic disaster from the standpoint of suicides, missed medical appointments and cancer screenings, depression, drug overdoses, etc.”
“So, they actually didn’t address anything in our letter. This response looks like it was written by a junior high school student. Pathetic,” he concluded. “We are right about this just like we were in April and May when we said kids need to be back in school. Now, that is undisputed. The data backed that up back then, as well.”
“Ian Miller has some very nice graphics on lockdowns, mask mandates, and their lack of relationship to case numbers and deaths. See: https://rationalground.com/mask-charts/ or his Twitter feed is even better: Twitter@ianmSC,” Hopkins added.
Read More
Former Councilmember Karen Rarey knew that if she ran for mayor and lost, instead of running for re-election in District 3, she’d no longer be on the city council. She took that risk, ran and lost. Councilmember Susannah Meyer was elected in District 3 to replace her. Now, Meyer, the other new Councilmember Jovita Mendoza and their special interest group are trying to get Rarey appointed to Mayor Joel Bryant’s empty council seat to have three votes to the council. That’s not right.
Do we want a small, local, special interest group to control the majority of our council? Of course not. They need to accept the fact that Rarey lost. And she needs to be respectful of the people’s vote, gracious in defeat and step away, instead of trying to get back on the council and be the leader of a new majority coalition for a seat she can’t even run for in two years!
It’s time to give the new leadership that the people voted for a chance. Joel Bryant is that leader. The council needs to hold an application, interview and appointment process, not waste $200,000 of our tax dollars on a special election, and not appoint Rarey to his open seat.
They say politics is the art of compromise. Jovita and Susannah need to remember that and learn to compromise and find common ground with Mayor Bryant and Councilmember Johnny Rodriguez and appoint someone, preferably from District 4 to fill the seat for the next two years.
Please take the City Council survey on the city’s website by next Monday, Dec. 28 at www.brentwoodca.gov/gov/council/council_survey.asp. Join me in telling the council we want them to hold an application and appointment process, not a special election and not appoint Rarey. Thank you.
Pauline Giles
Brentwood
Read MoreBy Jaime Coffee, Information Officer, California Highway Patrol
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As 2020 comes to a close, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) wants to highlight some new roadway safety laws that take effect in 2021.
License points for distracted driving (AB 47, Daly; 2019): Using a cell phone in a handheld manner while driving is currently punishable by a fine. Beginning July 1, 2021, violating the hands-free law for a second time within 36 months of a prior conviction for the same offense will result in a point being added to a driver’s record. This applies to the violations of talking or texting while driving (except for hands-free use) and to any use of these devices while driving by a person under 18 years of age.
Unattended children in motor vehicles (AB 2717, Chau): Exempts a person from civil or criminal liability for trespassing or damaging a vehicle when rescuing a child who is 6 years old or younger and who is in immediate danger from heat, cold, lack of ventilation, or other dangerous circumstances. The law takes effect January 1, 2021.
“Move Over, Slow Down” amendments (AB 2285, Transportation Committee): Extends the provisions of the “Move Over, Slow Down” law currently in place on freeways to also apply to local streets and roads so drivers approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying emergency lights, including tow trucks and Caltrans vehicles, must now move to another lane when possible, or slow to a reasonable speed on all highways, not just freeways. The law is effective January 1, 2021.
Emergency vehicles (SB 909, Dodd): Allows authorized emergency vehicles to use a “Hi-Lo” warning sound. This distinctive sound, different than a siren, would be used to notify the public of an immediate need to evacuate an area in an emergency. The CHP is currently developing regulations to standardize the Hi-Lo warning sound statewide. Until the regulations are adopted, law enforcement agencies can use the Hi-Lo warning sound by obtaining a permit from the CHP. The law went into effect September 29, 2020.
The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.
Read MoreScores 5 TD’s in SEC Championship game, named MVP; showered with national honors; Heisman presentation Thursday on ESPN; will play in Rose Bowl Jan. 1
By Jesus Cano
University of Alabama running back Najee Harris has taken the college football world by storm this season, but anyone who saw him play at Antioch High School knew this would happen
On Saturday night, Harris and the No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide took down No. 7 Florida in the SEC championship, where he was named the MVP. He recorded five touchdowns, three receiving and two rushing, and 245 all-purpose yards. His performances all season have put him in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy – given to the best college football player, for which he’s been training. Harris is one of the final five candidates, voting ended on Monday, Dec. 21, and the 2020 Heisman Trophy Finalists Reveal Show will be held Thursday, Dec. 24 at 4:30 pm Pacific Time on ESPN, and the winner presented on Jan. 5.
“A lot of stuff has happened this year,” Harris said. “We’re happy to be here.” (See his postgame press conference)
Overall, during his senior season, the 6-foot-2-inch, 230-pound Harris rushed for 24 touchdowns and 1,262 yards, for a total of 1,578 yards including 312 receiving, after choosing to stay in school to play one more year and forego entering the NFL draft. For Harris’ four-year college career, he has 4,311 total yards, including 3,649 rushing.
Harris is Alabama’s all-time leader in career touchdowns, surpassing current NFL running backs Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram, and Seattle Seahawks legend, Shaun Alexander. Harris is also just 101 yards shy of breaking the all-time rushing yards record at Alabama.
As of last week, he was chosen one of three finalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, which is presented annually to the Division I college football player who has demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field. The award honors exemplary character and commitment to community, family and teammates.
In the description of Harris for that award, it reads, “One of the nation’s top running backs, Harris has…overcome a challenging childhood in which he faced homelessness to become a vocal leader during the Alabama team’s social justice movement and one of the main voices for his university’s push towards a more unified campus. He has also been an active member in the Tuscaloosa community, recording nearly 50 hours of community service, highlighted by his volunteer efforts with the Alberta Head Start Unity Project.”
Harris is also one of 14 student-athletes named to the 2020 SEC Football Community Service Team for his work and it was just announced on Monday, Dec. 21st during the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) honors presentation, he is one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award. The honor was created in 1989 to recognize the nation’s premier running back for his accomplishments on the field, achievement in the classroom and citizenship in the community. The winner will be announced during The 30th Annual Home Depot College Football Awards show on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 4 p.m. PT, on ESPN.
Harris was also a semi-finalist for The Maxwell Award which is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and NCAA head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all-around in the United States.
Now, he and the Tide shift their focus to the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) College Football Playoffs, where Alabama will play No. 4 Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl game on Jan. 1 at 1:00 p.m. Due to the State of California COVID-19 health orders, the game won’t be played in Pasadena, but at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas, instead.
Harris committed to Alabama his sophomore year of high school, very early to decide even for an athlete as rated as he was. And while there were talks of last-minute flips to Michigan or Cal, Harris remained true to the Crimson Tide.
“Words can’t express how happy and proud I am for Najee,” Antioch defensive coordinator Brett Dudley said. “It’s amazing getting to see him every Saturday on TV and it was great to see he graduated a couple weeks ago. It’s great for the city of Antioch because he will forever be the inspiration for every kid growing up in Antioch. The best example there is that if you’re a great person and you do all the right things on and off the field, you can achieve all of your dreams.”
Harris ended his high school career with 99 touchdowns for the Panthers, with 7,948 rushing yards. Antioch went undefeated in 2015, winning its first league title since 1984. The following year, Antioch made it to the NCS DI championship, but came up short, losing to Monte Vista.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreHello Lafayette:
On Tuesday, December 22, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for a virtual one-on-one fireside chat to briefly discuss the state of the current virus situation and how well we, Lafayette as a community, have been doing.
I congratulated him as just a few hours before our chat, Dr. Fauci himself received his first vaccination shot!
He praised Lafayette and encouraged us to continue our measures, and to become vaccinated as soon as it becomes available to us. He provided valuable advice on how we can prevent transmission and was genuinely proud of our community for taking COVID-19 so seriously.
Dr. Fauci turns 80 on December 24. As a surprise, I sprang on him the idea that we, as a city, would proclaim December 24, 2020, as Dr. Anthony Fauci Day in Lafayette. He excitedly accepted!
Just another example of Love Lafayette!
You can watch Dr. Fauci’s message to Lafayette on the City’s YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/40xxtGLreA0
Happy holidays, happy New Year, and please be safe.
Cam Burks, Lafayette City Council
Read MoreThe City of Brentwood is now undergoing a process to decide how the vacant council seat should be filled.
Three options are now under consideration. The first, to hold a general election for the empty seat, which will be for a two-year period when the District 4 seat will again become available. This is a terrible choice. The city, now suffering a serious deficit due to the COVID-19 crisis, would incur more debt that could easily cost $200,000. By the time that all the election rules are put in place, the eventual winner may not get seated until mid-year 2021 and serve only one-and-a-half years in place. The election would potentially be open to all Brentwood residents as the seat would be an at-large position. When 2022 comes along, the person in place may not live in District 4 and not be eligible to run or be seated.
The second is to select one of the candidates that did not win during the past election, with the primary choice being the person that got the second most votes in the mayor’s race. However, each of those who lost in the council races may ultimately be a better choice but, got fewer votes simply because they only appeared on the district ballot in which they lived and ran. There is an ultimate unfairness in this approach.
The third, which appears to be the most fair, is to open the candidacy with an application to the city council for the temporary position in writing, allow the seated council members select the top five (or three or seven) and have them interview with the council for the best fit.
While it seems to be a lot of work on the part of the council, this should be more equitable to fill the council and most beneficial to the people of the City of Brentwood.
John Case
Olga Vidriales
Brentwood
Read MoreBy Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Office of the District Attorney, Contra Costa County
On December 18, 2020, Gilberto Villegas of Pittsburg (42-years-old) pleaded no contest Attempted Murder and Carjacking related to his violent attacks on multiple victims over a two-day period in Antioch and Pittsburg during late July of 2020. Villegas also admitted to causing great bodily injury and to having a prior violent felony/ strike offense. In total, Villegas will serve 18 years in state prison for his crimes.
On the evening of July 25, 2020, Villegas approached Jane Doe 1 in a parking lot at her place of work. He pulled up his car next to the victim’s, waited until she exited the vehicle and demanded her car keys. She had attempted to leave her car and escape, Villegas brought her back to her car using physical force. The Victim then threw her car keys away in an effort to end the attempted carjacking. Villegas responded by using his own car keys to stab the victim in the neck multiple times. Fortunately, a witness came upon the attack and yelled at the defendant. He then broke off his attack and fled in his own vehicle.
The next day, Villegas approached another female victim, Jane Doe 2, in a parking lot where the victim worked. The Victim was in her car during her lunch break. He proceeded to open her car door while she was inside her vehicle and strangled her to the point where she lost consciousness. After he pushed her out the vehicle, Villegas then started the victim’s car and tried to run her over. Co-workers intervened and Villegas fled the parking lot in Jane Doe 2’s car.
As part of the criminal complaint filing against Villegas, he had a prior violent felony for a 2015 conviction for a robbery with the use of a weapon.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Chris Sansoe of the Victims of Violent Crimes Unit. The cases involving Villegas were investigated by the Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments.
Case information: People v. Gilberto Villegas Docket Number 04-200031-3 and 04-200067-7.
Read MoreDeadline to participate Monday, Dec. 28
By Gregory Lawson, Public Information Officer, City of Brentwood
The Brentwood City Council unanimously voted to provide a survey for Brentwood residents to voice their opinions on the direction the Council should take on filling the vacancy on the City Council created by the election of former Vice Mayor Joel Bryant to the Office of Mayor. The survey will consist of three alternatives that residents can choose from:
- Conduct a special election to allow voters to choose a new council member (Approx. cost $200,000)
- Selection by City Council appointment, consistent with state election law, of the candidate who received the second highest number of votes in the 2020 mayoral race. (No Fiscal Impact)
- Selection by City Council appointment, consistent with state election law, using an application process that allows any person who is an elector of the City and registered voter to apply. (No Fiscal Impact)
In addition, if an appointment by application process is to be used, survey respondents will have an opportunity to share what criteria they believe should be considered by the Council in selecting the new member. Residents are encouraged to participate in the survey by visiting the City’s website www.brentwoodca.gov and clicking on “Council Vacancy Survey” or by calling (925) 516-5187. The survey will end on Monday, December 28 at Noon. A Special City Council meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 29 at 6 pm.
Read MoreBy Linsey Willis, Director of External Affairs, CCTA
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) today announced that Timothy Haile has been appointed to serve as its new Executive Director effective December 27, 2020. Haile served as CCTA’s Deputy Executive Director, Projects since 2017 and has more than 23 years of experience in public works and transportation projects.
“I am pleased to announce the unanimous decision to promote Tim Haile to Executive Director,” CCTA Board Chair Teresa Gerringer said. “Tim’s dynamic thinking, leadership, proactive management style, technical acuity and ability to work in partnership with numerous stakeholders on large, multidisciplinary projects ensures CCTA’s continued success. Tim and I are both poised to begin our chapter at the helm of CCTA and we are excited to continue CCTA’s legacy as an innovative and collaborative agency.”
As CCTA’s Deputy Executive Director for Projects, Haile was responsible for the delivery of the capital improvement program, implementation of projects identified in CCTA’s voter-approved sales tax Measure J, development of a new Transportation Expenditure Plan, as well as other projects funded from grant or other outside sources. He managed CCTA’s innovation portfolio, including partnerships at GoMentum Station, multiple grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Innovate 680 program, and all aspects of program and project management.
Haile has been an active leader in the transportation industry and community, serving as the Communications Chair of the Transportation Research Board Managed Lanes Committee and Board Member of the California Transportation Foundation. A testament to his technical expertise in highway design, communication, and presentation skills, Haile served as an adjunct professor for the Highway Design Course at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona for over eight years. In 2014 he was named one of the “Top 20 under 40 Engineering Professionals in California” by Engineering News Record Magazine.
Prior to CCTA, he worked at Michael Baker International as the Inland Empire Transportation Manager, managing the overall transportation program for the region providing exceptional service to local agencies, stakeholders, and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). An expert in Caltrans design policies, procedures, and standards for transportation projects, he advised local agencies and stakeholders to navigate the complex project delivery process from project initiation through environmental, final design and construction.
Haile is recognized for his dynamic thinking, leadership, innovation, proactive management style, technical acuity and ability to work in partnership with numerous stakeholders on large, multi-discipline projects building consensus, developing solutions to complex challenges and recommending policies.
Haile is a registered Professional Engineer and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 2003.
About CCTA
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts. With a staff of twenty people managing a multi-billion-dollar suite of projects and programs, CCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering transportation infrastructure projects and programs throughout the County. CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in place to manage traffic levels. More information about CCTA is available at ccta.net.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreReads unedited profanity laced email during Tuesday meeting
Unlikely radioactive material dumped at Keller Canyon Landfill in Pittsburg
Prioritize teachers for COVID-19 vaccine
Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, choking back tears after receiving an emailed death threat and listening to an avalanche of protests to her proposal to boost county public health fines on small businesses violating COVID-19 orders, requested the idea be dropped at Tuesday’s Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Supervisors earlier heard from a number of anonymous callers, presumably restaurant owners largely hit by county health inspections and penalty fines. Most of the speakers protested that the current fines of $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for each additional violation within one year of the initial violation were too extreme. If a violation continues for more than one day, each day is treated as a separate violation.
At the Board’s December 8 meeting, Mitchoff had proposed the county dramatically increase fines in order to send a message to businessowners thinking of violating county ordinances. At that meeting the supervisor had said, “I would like to see, $10,000, $15,000, and $20,000 fines. We have to do something different. If they want to stay open and spread COVID they have to pay the price.”
Prior to receiving the threatening email or listening to anonymous businessowners torpedo her proposal Tuesday, Mitchoff said “If we do not do something, we’ll lose credibility. I see many businesses in Concord and Pleasant Hill obey county orders and are closed, but restaurants in Danville are open.”
A group of Danville and San Ramon restaurant owners have stirred up most of the protests.
“We receive 13 complaints a day including customers not wearing masks or not social distancing,” Contra Costa County District Attorney Dianna Becton told the supervisors. The DA has assigned two inspectors for health code violations.
“Small businesses are really suffering,” said Supervisor Diane Burgis of Brentwood, who said one small busines owner pleaded with her for help because he had difficulty paying his property taxes. “I am not going to support higher fines. I am not in support of higher taxes. It won’t work.”
Later, Mitchoff caved into the public protests and especially upon receiving a sort of “interesting”, profanity-laced message during the meeting that she received from Ricky Gunz and read verbatimm:
“F— you Bi—. Sleep lightly. There are some bad people out there. Karma is a motherf—r. Keep trying to fine business and see what happens.”
“We hear the pain and the frustration,” said Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond. “It is all about saving lives and slowing the spread of COVID-19 to the 15 percent intensive care unit (ICU) capacity level. We’re trying to save ICU capacity.”
Earlier supervisors learned from Contra Costa County Public Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano that Contra Costa had 181 COVID-19 patients in local hospitals, but more crucially, 133 patients were occupying ICU beds. There are a total of 183 ICU beds in the county.
“That’s a significant increase,” said Farnitano. “Our case rate is 36 cases per day. December will be our deadliest month. Of 500 patients, five will die of COVID19,” he warned.
Keller Canyon Landfill Probe: “Unlikely that radiological materials were disposed of at Keller Canyon”
Supervisors also voted 5-0 to accept a two-page report on an investigation whether any radioactive materials from the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard were transported to the Keller Canyon Landfill in Pittsburg. The report, prepared by TRC Solutions, Inc. was initiated after news reports initially published on April 21, 2018 in the San Francisco Chronicle and later picked up by other news outlets including the Contra Costa Herald about allegations of improper dumping of radioactive materials had occurred in the landfill.
“TRC’s forensic audit started in October 2018 and concluded in May 2019. Documents reviewed by TRC included special waste authorizations, soil analytical data reports, Hunters Point work plans and reports, Standard Operating Procedures, portal monitor calibration records, and landfill data to ascertain if radiologically contaminated materials were received by KCL from Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. In addition, site visits were performed at both KCL and HPNS in April 2019,” the report stated.
“Based on this review, of data, reports, logs, interviews, and site visits, it is concluded that it is very unlikely that radiological materials of concern (i.e., radionuclides specific to Hunters Point contaminations and in exceedance of background) were disposed of at Keller Canyon. To obtain certainty that no radiologically contaminated material from Hunters Point was received at Keller Canyon, limited environmental field sampling could be performed at Keller Canyon.” Republic Services of Contra Costa operates the landfill.
Pittsburg City Manager Garret Evans said the city will continue to monitor the landfill based on the history of landfill’s previous issues about allegedly poor inaccurate data about air monitors and lead.
“Keller Canyon has been very cooperative. This has been an important and thorough study that has gone through several community meetings, “said Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg, whose District 5 includes the landfill.
Resolution Prioritizes Private and Public Teacher Receive COVID-19 Vaccines
Supervisors passed a resolution urging Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Department of Public Health and all other state health officials to ensure that all public, parochial and private classroom teachers and staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost in order to assist school officials to reopen schools when it becomes safe to do so.
Two Cannabis Community Benefit Agreements Approved
Supervisors approved the community benefit agreements with two cannabis retail outlets – The Artist Tree V storefront commercial cannabis dispensary in El Sobrante and the Authentic 925 in Pacheco. The two items acted on consent items.
The actions mean applicants for the two businesses are nearing approval of use permits whereby the owners will be required to pay the county community benefit taxes based on prospective retail sales. In the case of SGI Pacheco, doing business as Authentic 925, the county will receive on an annual basis, $150,000 or 1.5 percent of the business’s gross profits, whichever is greater.
In the case of The Artist Tree V, the community benefit is based on percentages of annual gross sales of 2 percent or 3 percent depending on whatever will be gross sales during the operating year.
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