Contra Costa Herald

At BART, we are firm believers that by thinking strategically, working hard, and engaging community, we can and will achieve remarkable things. With that, we chose to end 2020 with optimism.

Here is a list of 50 BART accomplishments in 2020.

Let’s start with improvements to the rider experience:

• We now have 17 Fleet of the Future trains in service
• We opened Berryessa and Milpitas Stations
• We began offering 20% fare discount for eligible low-income riders with Clipper Start

We launched some new features:

• Contactless parking payment via the official BART app
• Customized in-app notifications to make it easy to get the information you need
• Option to text BART police (510) 200-0992
• An online merchandise store so you can celebrate your love for BART

We took big steps forward on exciting multi-year projects:

• Awarded the contract to design and build a modern Communications Based Train Control System that will dramatically improve future BART service
• Awarded the contract for BART’s Digital Railway project to bring next-generation wireless connectivity to riders across the system
• Awarded contracts and began construction to build 22 canopies over entrances at BART stations along Market St. in downtown San Francisco
• Began construction to replace 41 escalators at downtown San Francisco stations
• Initiated Fare Coordination & Integration Study with MTC and regional transit agencies

We made changes within policing:

• Hired Ed Alvarez, a 23-year veteran of the BART Police Department, bringing a new vision for safety
• Created a train team of 12 police officers dedicated to riding trains and walking platforms on nights and weekends
• Launched the successful and award-winning unarmed Ambassador Pilot and formalized the program
• Hired 35 officers, bringing vacancies to a new low of 20
• Established the new Progressive Policing and Community Engagement Bureau within BPD

We advanced police reforms:

• Began Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) training to give officers the skills to safely defuse critical incidents with people experiencing a mental health crisis
• Banned the use of the Carotid Control Hold
• Expanded the officer-worn body camera activation buffer with new audio requirement
• Held 16 stakeholder outreach meetings to solicit feed-back on new public safety approaches with 1000 survey responses

We focused on infrastructure:

• Completed two major track rebuilding projects at Orinda and Hayward
• Accelerated 34.5kV power cable replacement, rail profiling, rail and third rail replacement, tunnel waterproofing, lighting projects and more

We continued efforts to modernize our stations:

• Began construction for 19th Street Oakland Station Modernization; advanced modernization construction at Powell Street and El Cerrito del Norte stations
• Designed and installed new swing style fare gates with a dramatic costs savings due to innovation while also uncoupling BART from a single vendor
• Started construction of energy-efficient lighting upgrades across 14 parking structures, saving the District approximately $22M in energy and maintenance costs over 20 years
• Awarded $3.5 million in Cycle 1 of Measure RR Safe Routes to BART Grant Program to four cities to improve last mile bike/ped access to BART stations

We supported local, small businesses:

• Hosted 44 outreach and matchmaking events between small businesses and Primes to increase opportunities available to small businesse, helping to continue essential construction projects
• Awarded a Progressive Design-Build contract for the new BART Headquarters in Oakland with 32% small business participation

We continued our Transit Oriented Development (TOD) efforts:

• Adopted AB 2923 development principles and released BART’s TOD Work Plan
• Amended policy to support the production of affordable housing by allowing for a discount of up to 60% from fair market value for land for projects with affordable housing
• Approved plans for development at West Oakland Station that includes 762 housing units, 30% affordable
• Selected development team to advance development at El Cerrito Plaza Station
• Our development partners completed over 600 new homes during the pandemic, and broke ground on 400 new homes, 150,000sf of office, & 164 room hotel

We focused on financial stability:

• Secured AAA bond rating
• Advocated for and secured emergency relief funds
• Secured dedicated funding for our long-term efforts to reduce crowding and increase service:
  • Full Funding Grant Agreement for FTA Capital Investment Grant ($1.169B)
  • California Transit and Intercity Rail Program ($107M)
  • California Solutions for Congested Corridors ($60M)

We invested in our employees:

• Developed an emergency budget plan to avoid lay-offs
• Approved new labor contracts more than 6 months early
• 16 employees from 10 departments completed the Government Alliance on Race and Equity training series and established a Race and Equity Action Plan
• Increased inventory and distribution of PPE and disinfecting products, deployed free COVID testing and contact tracing

We prioritized COVID-19 response:

• Was one of the first transit agencies in the U.S. to release a comprehensive pandemic response plan with the launch of the 15-Step Welcome Back Plan
• Made available free masks at all stations
• Offered free hand sanitizer stations systemwide
• Sharing crowding data 
• Testing disinfecting technologies and upgraded air filters
• Reprioritized cleaning schedules to ensure all train cars are sprayed with disinfecting mist every 24 hours
• Coordinated with the region’s transit systems to develop the Healthy Transit Plan, establishing a baseline set of COVID-19 response measures across all systems
• Accelerated efforts for a contactless experience with 100% Clipper only conversion systemwide
• Partnered with community organizations, county officials and medical groups to provide free COVID-19 testing in our parking lots and plazas

Terence “Terene” Brown. Photo: SRPD

By San Ramon Police Department

San Ramon PD needs your assistance.

On New Year’s Eve San Ramon PD officers responded to the 100 block of Amberstone Lane for a shooting.

The victim was life flighted to a local hospital and is in stable condition.

The suspect was identified as 19-year-old San Ramon resident Terence “Terene” Brown who fled the location. Brown is wanted for assault with a deadly weapon. The firearm has not been accounted for.

If you have any information about Brown’s whereabouts please contact SRPD at 925.973.2779 or 9-1-1.

I680/SR4-Interchange. Photo: CCTA

Region receives 20 percent of statewide awards, $18 million for Contra Costa project

Bay Area highway, transit and goods-movement projects this week earned more than $400 million in new funding as the California Transportation Commission (CTC) finalized a new round of awards through a trio of competitive statewide programs established by the Senate Bill 1 transportation investment package signed into law in 2017.

MTC will work with Caltrans, BART and county transportation agencies to deliver 11 crucial projects around the Bay Area, which together earned about 20 percent of the total $2.046 billion awarded by the CTC through the Solutions for Congested Corridors, Trade Corridor Enhancement and Local Partnership programs.

“SB 1 money is essential to keeping the California economy moving, not just through the current crisis, but into the post-pandemic future,” said MTC Chairman and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty. “The Bay Area’s success in the stiff competition for these dollars reflects the clear need to modernize our freeways, transit systems and freight corridors to maintain the Bay Area’s position as an engine for economic growth throughout the state.”

Among the allocations approved through the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program are:

• $18 million for the final design of further improvements to the Interstate 680/State Route 4 Interchange in Contra Costa County.
• $123 million to complete a $275 million funding package for construction to begin in 2021 on 18 miles of Express Lanes along Interstate 80 through the heart of Solano County, providing travelers a reliable trip through this vital artery connecting the Bay Area to Sacramento. The express lanes will also support express buses in the corridor and encourage carpooling as an alternative to single-occupant vehicles.
• $55 million to complete a $101 million funding package for transforming the outdated two-lane connector between U.S. 101 and State Route 25 in southern Santa Clara Countyto a new four-lane connector with shoulders and bike lanes. The project, set to begin construction in 2022, will improve traffic flow and decrease backups on U.S. 101.
• $24 million to complete final design for a new Cordelia Truck Scales facility along westbound I-80 in Solano County.

SB 1 funds awarded through the Local Partnership Program include:

• $25 million to complete the Interstate 680 Southbound Express Lanes project in Alameda County.
• $25 million for improvements to the U.S. 101/De La Cruz/Trimble interchange just north of the Mineta San Jose International Airport in Santa Clara County.
• $9 million for San Francisco’s Mission/Geneva Safety Improvements project.
• $3 million to Sonoma Countyfor the Windsor River Road/Windsor Road Intersection Improvements and Pathway project.

The largest of the CTC’s new allocations to Bay Area projects through the Solutions for Congested Corridors program is $60 million to enable BART to begin construction next year on its $1 billion Train Control Modernization Project, part of the agency’s Transbay Core Capacity Program to increase the number of trains able to travel through the Transbay Tube between San Francisco and Oakland.

The CTC allocated $40 million through the Solutions for Congested Corridors program to close the final gap (known as segment B7) in the long-running US-101 Marin-Sonoma Narrows project by constructing a carpool lane between Novato and Petaluma. The SB1 dollars will supplement over $90 million from other sources and allow for construction on this final segment to begin as early as 2021.

The CTC’s third Bay Area allocation through the Solutions for Congested Corridors program is $25 million to complete a $64 million funding package and begin construction next year of a double roundabout at the Soscol Junction of State Routes 29 and 221 south of Napa. The improvements will relieve a traffic bottleneck that has long bedeviled residents, workers and tourists to Napa’s famous wine region, and will also deliver important safety and active transportation benefits to the area.

Related: California Transportation Commission (CTC), Gasoline — Taxation, Senate Bill 1 (SB 1)

By Susan Shiu, Director, Contra Costa County Office of Communications and Media

Supervisor Diane Burgis. Herald file photo

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors held a swearing-in ceremony for Supervisor Diane Burgis as Board Chair and Supervisor Federal Glover as Vice Chair at its January 5, 2021 Board meeting.

District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis, who has served Contra Costa County since she was first elected in 2016, including serving the prior year as Vice Chair, takes the leadership role from outgoing Chair, Supervisor Candace Andersen of District 2.

Supervisor Burgis expressed her thanks to Supervisor Andersen as well as her readiness to tackle our County’s issues. “I appreciate Supervisor Andersen’s unwavering commitment to keeping our residents safe and keeping the County moving forward while addressing the impacts of COVID-19. As Chair, I intend to work with my colleagues to support our county health officer to get the coronavirus under control, move the County toward economic recovery for all residents and businesses, enhance mental health crisis response, reform our juvenile justice system, address racial justice and inequality, protect the Delta and proactively fight climate change, and at long last, provide sustainable fire protection services to all areas of the County.  I’m excited about the year ahead and ready to get to work,” said Supervisor Burgis.

District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover will serve as Vice Chair in 2021. He has served on the Board of Supervisors since 2000, representing a district that includes the County’s northern waterfront.

Supervisor Burgis is in her second term, and Supervisor Glover is serving his sixth term. They will lead the five-member elected body that sets the direction of county government and oversees its $3.98 billion budget to serve this large and diverse East Bay County.

For more information about Contra Costa County and its Board of Supervisors, visit the County’s website at www.contracosta.ca.gov or the webpage: www.contracosta.ca.gov/7283/Board-of-Supervisors.

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

On Sunday, January 3, 2021, at about 7:02 PM, Bay Station Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to a home on the 1700 block of Lettia Road in the Montalvin Manor neighborhood for a medical-police call.

A resident reported that her injured son was unresponsive. Deputies arrived and started CPR on the victim. Other deputies conducted a protective sweep of the residence.

An ambulance arrived on scene and later pronounced the victim deceased. He is identified as 42-year-old Edward Mosqueda of Concord.

During the investigation, the brother of the victim was identified as the suspect. He was located by deputies several blocks away. He was arrested without incident. He is identified as 39-year-old Jason Mosqueda of Richmond. He was interviewed by homicide detectives and later booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.

Mosqueda is being held on the following charges: murder and violation of a protective order. In addition, he had arrest warrants for domestic violence, elder abuse, stalking, and violation of a protective order. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or through Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

Graphic: BART

As we expand parking at Antioch Station, we will be making some modifications to the existing parking lot to increase permit parking. Effective January 11, 2021, Lot B, which is the parking area directly in front of Antioch Station, will be converted to all permit parking. The only exceptions are that the ADA stalls will remain fee parking and the motorcycle stalls will remain free. These modifications require adjustments in signage and pavement markings.

All parking stalls that are to be closed temporarily for construction will be signed at least 72 hours in advance. Please look out for barricades and signage to guide you around the work areas during this time.

Please see the attached map of work areas and the final parking lot configuration. Be advised that the final configuration will require customers parking in the solar panel covered lot (Lot B) to display a BART parking permit, available from Select-a-Spot.com. Fee parkers may park in the adjacent parking lots. Additional fee parking (roughly 850 parking stalls) will also be available Spring 2021.

We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience during this construction.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, some BART projects, including Antioch Station Parking Expansion Project, have been designated as essential. For this reason, construction activities on the Antioch Station Parking Expansion Project will continue for the time being. BART and Contractors will ensure that workers comply with all CDC guidelines including the social distancing requirement. BART and Contractors will make adjustments as updates to the current situation are provided.

Photo: MTC

Monthly invoices to supplement FasTrak^®, replace individual notices

SAN FRANCISCO – The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) announced Monday that the start of 2021 will also herald the launch of a new all-electronic toll collection system at the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. While bridge customers who pay their tolls with a FasTrak^® toll tag or a License Plate Account will see no difference in their statements, patrons who are not enrolled in one of these programs will receive a monthly invoice for all toll bridge crossings made after midnight on New Year’s Eve. Following the suspension of cash toll collection in March of this year, these customers have received individual toll notices for each crossing.

The all-electronic toll collection system being introduced at the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges is similar to the system used at the Golden Gate Bridge, which adopted all-electronic tolling in 2013. Automated, high-speed cameras will capture images of customers’ license plates, and the FasTrak customer service center will process the images and then mail an invoice each month to the address at which the vehicle is registered with the DMV.

FasTrak customers account for nearly three-quarters of all crossings at the Bay Area’s state-owned toll bridges. BATA encourages customers who do not already have FasTrak to open accounts online at www.bayareafastrak.org or by phone at 1-877-229-8655 (BAY-TOLL). Customers also may obtain FasTrak tags at select Costco and Walgreens stores. A map of retail locations at which FasTrak toll tags are available may be found at https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/howitworks/retailmap.html. FasTrak tags purchased at Costco or Walgreens must be registered online. A $20 deposit per tag will apply if the account is not funded with a credit card. Drivers who would rather replenish their FasTrak accounts with cash can do so at more than 100 Cash Payment Network locations. A map of these locations may be found at https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/tolls/cashLocationsMap.html.

Drivers also may open a License Plate Account, which links a license plate to a credit card and charges that card whenever the vehicle crosses a toll bridge; or make a one-time payment, which allows the customer to pay a toll online up to 30 days in advance of a bridge crossing or within 48 hours afterwards. There are no fees for either of these services. More information about License Plate Accounts and one-time payments is available at www.bayareafastrak.org.

The debut of all-electronic tolling and monthly invoicing at the seven state-owned toll bridges also will mark the return of toll payment rules that were temporarily suspended when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted BATA and Caltrans to eliminate cash toll collection on March 21.

Customers who do not have FasTrak or a License Plate Account – and who do not use the online one-time payment option – will be required to return invoices with payment within 30 days. Customers who neglect to return payment within 30 days will receive a “Notice of Toll Evasion” with a $25 penalty for each toll crossing. Customers who do not return invoices with payment after 60 days will receive a “Second Notice of Delinquent Toll Evasion” with a violation penalty of $70 per crossing. Customers who do not return payment after a second notice may have a hold put on their vehicle registration by the DMV and/or have the amount owed referred to a collection agency.

BATA administers all toll revenues from the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges.

In addition to charges filed by Contra Costa DA

Shawn Jamison Prichard. Photo: CCDA

OAKLAND –Shawn Jamison Prichard was charged in a criminal complaint with possession of child pornography announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King.

That’s in addition to the charges filed against him by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office on December 10th. (See related article) (See related article)

According to the complaint filed December 22, 2020, and unsealed this morning, Prichard, 41, of Antioch, allegedly possessed at least one image of child pornography involving the use of a prepubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Prichard is a licensed nurse in California.  The criminal investigation in this case began with a tip from a social media company based on defendant’s use of a messaging service to send images of child pornography. Prichard is charged with possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252.

Prichard made his initial federal court appearance in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen.  His next appearance is a detention hearing scheduled for December 29, 2020, at 10:30 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.

A criminal complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years (20 years if the images depict pre-pubescent children), and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, if appropriate.  However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan U. Lee is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Rodriguez Gonzalez and Kathleen Turner.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and HSI.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Following domestic dispute and high speed chase

By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Office of the District Attorney, Contra Costa County

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office concludes that use of deadly force in the 2018 officer involved shooting (OIS) of Salvador Morales, by Officer Kyle Baker, Sgt. Gabriel Palma, Sgt. William Hatcher, Sgt. Charles Blazer and Corporal Alex McCray was a lawful response, and was legally justified. The DA’s Office released a public report about the shooting today, Monday, Dec. 28.

That follows an April 2019 Coroner’s Inquest Jury determination that Morales died at the hands of another person, other than by accident. (See related article)

On October 22, 2018, Morales took his wife and baby son hostage. A family member attempted to intervene in the situation, but Morales drew a handgun and shot him. Morales then fled the scene and kidnapped his wife and baby son at gunpoint. Pittsburg Police officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on his car, however, Morales refused to stop and led the officers on a 27-minute high speed chase.

Morales eventually arrived at his residence and Pittsburg Police officers negotiated with Morales for over two hours in an effort to get him to surrender. Twice he walked out of the home pointing a handgun at his head. When he refused to comply with the officer’s orders to surrender, (name the officer) fired a non-lethal, beanbag round at him in the hope of getting Morales to surrender without using deadly force. Unfortunately, the beanbag round did not stop Morales. After he was hit with the beanbag round, Morales raised his firearm and fired one bullet towards the responding officers. In turn, officers returned fire and ultimately Morales succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

The release of this report is the first under a new policy for any officer-involved shooting that results in a fatality if the DA’s Office does not file criminal charges against an officer. The DA’s Office has never consistently released reports about fatal law enforcement incidents and has never released a comprehensive report of this kind.

A criminal prosecution of the involved officers would require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers were not justified in using deadly force. The DA’s Office’s conclusion that under the circumstances presented to these officers in this case, a reasonable juror would not make such a finding.

The DA’s Office and every law enforcement agency in Contra Costa County has adopted the Law Enforcement Involved Fatal Incidents Protocol (“the Protocol”) to investigate incidents when officers or civilians are shot or die during an encounter with law enforcement.

Under the Protocol, the DA’s Office investigates all officer-involved shootings in Contra Costa County for the purpose of making an independent determination of criminal liability. The sole purpose of the District Attorney investigation is to determine if there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a law enforcement official committed a crime in connection with the shooting.

The OIS public report is available on our website.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.