District Attorney Diana Becton announced recently that she has created the first ever standalone Conviction Integrity Unit for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. The unit will investigate wrongful conviction claims of actual innocence based on new evidence and information, and cases where there is evidence involving significant integrity issues. Interested parties can submit a claim using the forms on the district attorney’s website to the Conviction Integrity Unit through the District Attorney’s Office.
“Our Office is ethically bound to consider any legal wrongs committed during a prosecution of an individual. With this new unit, the public can be assured we have resources now at our disposal to investigate prior convictions and seek justice for the wrongly convicted. We have a duty as prosecutors to uphold the law and administer fair justice for all. Our Office now joins over 30 jurisdictions across the country in a growing movement to establish Conviction Integrity Units,” said Becton.
The Conviction Integrity Unit will also assist in reviewing and developing practices and policies related to training, case assessment, investigations, and disclosure obligations with the goal of preventing wrongful convictions in the first place. The unit is supervised by Deputy District Attorney Brian Feinberg and overseen by Assistant District Attorney Venus D. Johnson.
Multiple national and local criminal justice organizations such as the Innocence Project, Fair and Just Prosecution, and Immigration Legal Resource Center support DA Becton’s move to create the Conviction Integrity Unit.
In a support letter, Fair and Just Prosecution’s Miriam Aroni Krinsky wrote: “Having a process for review of convictions through a CIU is a recognized best practice around the nation. Establishing these protocols in Contra Costa County will protect the integrity of the criminal justice process and promote public safety by bolstering trust and confidence in local law enforcement and the justice system as a whole.”
Rose Cahn, a Criminal and Immigrant Justice Attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s said: “We applaud the CCCDA’s leadership and its commitment to ensuring that innocent people do not face continued punishment, from inside or outside the criminal justice system.”
Northern California Innocence Project’s Executive Director, Linda Starr, also supports the creation of a standalone Conviction Integrity Unit as our Office’s new unit “includes all of the best practices — neutral, expansive, and collaborative review — which will lead to just results.”
Read MoreContra Costa County Public Works will begin construction on the Camino Tassajara Bike Lane Gap Closure Project. The project will widen the pavement to provide bike lanes in four separate segments along Camino Tassajara between Windermere Parkway and just north of Penny Lane. Segments are as follows:
Segment 1: From 240 feet north of Penny Lane to 150 feet south of Johnston Road
Segment 2: From 1,300 feet north of Highland Road to Highland Road
Segment 3: From 700 feet south of the bridge over Tassajara Creek to 2,050 feet south of the bridge
Segment 4: From 1,600 feet north of Windemere Parkway to 350 feet north of Windemere Parkway
The project also includes drainage improvements, signing and striping improvements, and placing a slurry seal from Windemere Parkway to Lusitano Street.
Construction will begin on Monday, June 3, 2019, with completion in late November 2019, barring unforeseen circumstances. Work hours will generally be 8:30 am and 4:00 pm to minimize impacts to commute traffic. Drivers should expect delays of up to 15 minutes during construction.
Funding for this project is provided by Measure J, Tri-Valley Transportation Council, South County Area of Benefit and Southern Contra Costa (SCC) Subregional Fee Program. More information on this project can be found at: http://www.cccounty.us/pwdmap.
Read MoreBy Corporal S. Galer, Concord Police Department
On Thursday, May 30, 2019 just before 2pm, Officers responded to the 1400 block of Bel Air Dr. for a report of a stabbing. Investigators learned that three male teenagers, two of which are brothers, were playing video games inside an apartment. For reasons that are unknown at this time, one of the brothers produced a knife and stabbed the visiting friend several times. The juvenile suspect then fled the apartment; however, soon after called CPD dispatch to turn himself in.
The juvenile suspect was taken into custody a few blocks away from the apartment without incident. The victim was flown to a trauma center based on the injuries he sustained. There is no additional threat to the community.
This is an active investigation and no further details are being released at this time.
Read MoreThe Contra Costa County Public Works Department will repair guardrails on Vasco Road from Camino Diablo Road to the Alameda County line. The work will occur from June 3rd – June 6th between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
The work may be rescheduled based on weather conditions. Electronic message boards will alert drivers of the scheduled work. There will be traffic control through the work area and drivers can expect delays.
Read MoreEach year, the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE), in partnership with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), participates in the California State Classified School Employee of the Year (CSEY) program, coordinated by the California Department of Education. This program highlights the contributions of exemplary classified school employees that support and play a key role in promoting student achievement, safety, and health in California public schools, from preschool through 12th grade. On May 3, the CCCOE and ACSA introduced this year’s 13 county esteemed county award nominees, as well as three California State Award honorees at a well-attended reception, held at the CCCOE, in Pleasant Hill.
The following three are the 2019-2019 Contra Costa County Classified Employees of the Year Honorees:
- Para-Educator and Instructional Assistant category – Jennifer Broder Haglund, Classroom Para Educator, San Ramon Valley Unified School District
- Maintenance, Operations, and Facilities category – David Argueta, Head Custodian, Lafayette School District
- Office and Technical category – Michelle Brobak, School Secretary, Orinda Union School District
And, one of those three honorees was recently named by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond as a California State Classified School Employee of the Year! Congratulations to Michelle Brobak, school secretary, at Del Rey Elementary, in the Orinda Union School District. Brobak is one of six 2018-2019 Classified School Employees of the Year, representing the “Office and Technical” category. Brobak and her fellow 2018-2019 State Classified School Employees of the Year, will be honored by Thurmond at a luncheon in Sacramento on Thursday, May 23.
The following 13 are the 2018-2019 Contra Costa County Classified Employees of the Year Nominees:
Maintenance, Operations, & Facilities category:
- Donald Golinveaux, Night Custodian, Brentwood Union School District
- Michael Lent, Maintenance Craftsmen, Orinda Union School District
- Michael Fobbs, Grounds Equipment Operator, Pittsburg Unified School District
- Rolly Valdez, Head Custodian, Walnut Creek School District
Office and Technical category:
- Andrea Zeigler, Secretary, Brentwood Union School District
- Gina Schenk, Purchasing Technician, Contra Costa County Office of Education
- Christie Quinn, School Administrative Assistant, Contra Costa County Office of Education
- Anita Dumay, Child Nutrition Senior Technician, Pittsburg Unified School District
Para-Educator and Instructional Assistant category:
- Sharon Caldwell, Paraprofessional, Liberty Union High School District
- Janice Taconni, Para-Educator, Martinez Unified School District
- Celia Cornejo, Instructional Assistant, Orinda Union School District
- Bonnie Flannery, Para Educator, Pittsburg Unified School District
- Ljubica Chase, Para-Professional, Walnut Creek School District
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Contra Costa County Public Works will begin construction on the Byron Highway Traffic Safety Improvements Project. The project consists of an asphalt overlay on Byron Highway between Byron Hot Springs Road and the Alameda County line, restriping the centerline to feature double yellow no-passing lines and a centerline rumble strip, and replacing striping and pavement markings. Additionally, all signs along Byron Highway will be replaced to meet new reflectivity standards. The total project length is approximately 3.8 miles.
Construction will begin on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, with completion in late July 2019, barring unforeseen circumstances. Work hours will generally be in the evening from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am to minimize impacts to commute traffic. Drivers can expect delays of up to 15 minutes during construction.
Funding for this project is provided by the Highway Safety Improvement Program, and gas tax revenues provided by the SB1 Road Repair and Accountability Act. More information for this project can be found at http://www.cccounty.us/pwdmap.
Read MoreBy Sgt. Janayla Pierson, Pleasant Hill Police Department
On June 2nd at 01:00 AM, officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired at the Residence Inn located at 700 Ellinwood Way. A large number of people were leaving the area when officers arrived. Nearly fifty casings were located in the parking lot where numerous vehicles were struck and a round was fired into an occupied room. There were no injuries reported. The investigation is ongoing.
According to a KRON4 news report a party was going on in the room. But authorities do not know yet if there was a connection between the party and the shooting.
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the Pleasant Hill Police Department at (925) 288-4600.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreJeremy Orr was sentenced to 30 months in prison for wire fraud after filing more than 200 fraudulent income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, David L. Anderson and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter. The sentence was handed down today by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, U.S. District Judge.
Orr, 36, of Richmond, Calif., pleaded guilty to the charge on March 12, 2019. According to his plea agreement, Orr admitted he devised a scheme to defraud the IRS of hundreds of thousands of dollars by filing false federal income tax returns. Orr obtained the personal identification information of individuals in and around the Bay Area and prepared false 2011 federal income tax returns in the names of those individuals. The tax returns reported false wages, false education expenses, or both, that generated a fraudulent income tax refund. In sum, Orr electronically filed more than 200 false tax returns with the IRS resulting in claimed fraudulent tax refunds totaling $335,142.
A federal grand jury indicted Orr on January 15, 2015, charging him with four counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and four counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A. Orr pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and the remaining charges were dismissed.
In addition to the prison term, Judge White ordered the defendant to serve a three-year period of supervised release. The defendant was remanded into custody on June 12, 2018, and will begin serving his prison term immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Olivera is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Rodriguez Gonzalez and Katie Turner. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS-CI.
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Rendering of the Alexan Downtown Danville project in downtown Danville. Courtesy of Trammell Crow Residential.
Trammell Crow Residential (TCR), the multifamily real estate developer, along with Town of Danville Mayor Robert Storer, City Councilmembers and other local leaders, recently celebrated a construction milestone on the first new residential rental community in Danville, the Alexan Downtown Danville, which will offer 144 luxury apartment homes located within walking distance of Danville’s Historic Downtown District. The new $90 million apartment community located at 375 Diablo Road in Contra Costa County commenced framing and is scheduled for completion in summer 2020.
“This is the first apartment development of scale that has been approved by the Town of Danville in decades,” said TCR’s Senior Managing Director Bruce Dorfman. “Danville is one of the East Bay’s most prestigious and supply-constrained communities. The existing apartment stock is very limited and does not contain any Class A product and, with an average vacancy of 1 percent, renters have very few options. Pair that with the lack of affordability of for-sale housing, and Alexan Downtown Danville will provide a favorable option for first-class living in a highly sought-after, walkable downtown location.”
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Danville Town Councilmembers Newell Americh, Renee Morgan and Lisa Blackwell, Bruce Dorfman, Senior Managing Director, Trammell Crow Residential, Davnville Mayor Robert Storer, Vice Mayor Karen Stepper, Vice Mayor, and Town Manager Joe Calabrigo at the ceremony for the Alexan Riverwalk project, May 15, 2019. Photo courtesy of Trammel Crow Residential
Situated at the intersection of Diablo Road and I-680 on 3.75 acres, Alexan Downtown Danville will offer convenient access to I-680 freeway and the East Bay’s major job centers as well as the Walnut Creek BART Station, just eight miles north from the site. Danville’s community of nearly 48,000 people provides a small-town atmosphere, with highly regarded schools and an outstanding quality of life. Furthermore, Danville was once again named the safest city in the state of California, according to SafeWise, an online safety resource, which analyzed the state’s communities to find the 50 safest cities.
“This is truly a remarkable day in Danville history,” said Mayor Robert Storer, Town of Danville. “This project will allow Danville to achieve its workforce housing numbers, but more importantly, it will allow 144 families to appreciate the comfort and safety this town offers its residents. It’s a wonderful community to live, work and raise your family.”
According to Dorfman, TCR is working with the Town to build a pedestrian bridge over San Ramon Creek to provide a direct link from the new apartment community to Danville’s Historic Downtown District, the public library, Danville Community Center, quality schools, and other public amenities. Residents will also have convenient access to shopping, restaurants, services, entertainment, museums and parks, making this site an ideal location for individuals as well as families.
In addition to the amenities of the Town of Danville, residents of Alexan Downtown Danville can enjoy residential units that are well-appointed and offer finishes more frequently found in custom single-family homes. The apartment community’s amenities include a clubhouse with a lounge, conference room and business center, state-of-the-art fitness center, and a package concierge. Outdoor amenities include a resort-style pool and spa, fire pit, an outdoor kitchen, grill stations and dining area, a children’s play area, pet park, and vista overlooking the adjacent San Ramon Creek. Alexan Downtown Danville will also have gated, private subterranean parking with electric vehicle charging stations.
The unit mix consists of a wide variety of floor plans including studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes, ranging in size from approximately 500-square feet to 1,600-square feet. According to Dorfman, over half of the units will offer two- and three-bedroom configurations, which is not typical of apartment communities. “We think the townhomes and larger units will be very appealing to young families and single-parent households with children,” noted Dorfman.
“I appreciate the long-term relationship between Trammell Crow [Residential] and the Town of Danville and acknowledge your good work towards making apartment living in Danville a reality,” said Mayor Storer. “Together we will enjoy a place that will bring new families to Danville who will enjoy all of its splendor and allow the next generation of families to call Danville home.”
TCR’s equity partner for the Alexan Downtown Danville is Barings Real Estate Advisers and the construction lender is Wells Fargo. LCA Architects is the project architect; Gates + Associates is the landscape designer; and Carlson, Barbee & Gibson is the civil engineer.
About Trammell Crow Residential
Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) is a national multifamily real estate developer with a local presence in 13 key U.S. markets. Over 40 years, TCR has built over 250,000 premier multifamily residences, delivering amenity-rich communities in economically thriving locations nationwide. TCR and Crow Holdings Industrial (CHI) are part of the development platform of Crow Holdings, a privately-owned real estate investment and development firm with a 70-year history and a proven track record of performance, partnership, and innovation. For more information, please visit TCR.com.
Read MoreFrazier, Grayson, Wicks vote against resolution, as well
Sacramento, Calif. — While presiding over last Friday’s session of the California State Assembly, Assemblywoman and Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (AD-16), who represents parts of the San Ramon Valley, voted in opposition to House Resolution 22 which would have condemned the comments of a University of California, Davis professor who advocated for the murdering of police officers.
Bauer-Kahan along with 53 of her Democratic colleagues defeated HR22, effectually condoning specific statements such as “it’s easier to shoot cops when their backs are turned,” and “people think cops need to be reformed. They need to be killed.”
Assemblymen Jim Frazier D-Discovery Bay (AD-11), Tim Grayson D-Concord (AD-14) and Buffy Wicks D-Oakland (AD-15) who each represent other parts of Contra Costa County, also voted against the resolution condemning the professor’s statement.
“On the eve of Memorial Day weekend, it is especially disgusting that Assemblywoman Bauer-Kahan would lead the Assembly to effectively condone rhetoric advocating for the murder of police officers,” said Contra Costa Republican Party Chairman, Matt Shupe. “The men and women who serve us as police officers routinely put themselves in harm’s way for our safety and don’t deserve this type of brazen disrespect from our legislative leaders.”
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