Contra Costa Herald

By Walnut Creek Police Department

We want to share an urgent message regarding a prolific scam targeting our residents. The scam is generally referred to as a “courier” scam, and preys on victims through manipulation and technology. The scam employs several methods, to include:

– Receiving a pop-up window on your computer alerting you to fraud or a hack. The pop-up will typically urge you to click on a button within the window or ask you to call tech support (a phone number provided by the suspects). Once you do these two things, the suspects have access to your computer, as well as the ability to manipulate you over the phone.

– Receiving an email alerting you to a purchase you did not make (commonly PayPal), and then requesting that you call tech support, which is connecting the suspects to you.

– Receiving an alert that your computer is vulnerable to viruses and is unprotected. Once you follow the prompts to pay for current protection, you are contacted by the suspect informing you that you overpaid, an excessive refund will be issued to you, at which point you are responsible for paying them back the difference. (This is common using PayPal).

– Receiving a call from someone posing as a family member or friend, stating they’ve been arrested or had an accident, and need cash quickly.

– Receiving an alert that your money has been used for criminal activity and that you are under investigation, after which you need to deliver your money to the suspects so they can “secure” it.

Almost all of these scams include the following techniques:

– You will be required to go to the bank to withdraw a large sum of cash, after which you will be instructed to meet with a “courier” or driver to hand over the cash.

– The suspects contacting you on the phone will be highly aggressive, controlling your movements through manipulation, and may even threaten you or your family.

– The suspects will attempt to avoid apprehension by using spoofed email addresses and phone numbers, and will state they work for major financial institutions and government entities.

– The suspects will ensure you’re following instructions by insisting you stay on the phone with them, FaceTime them, and photograph cash you intend to deliver to them.

It is WCPD’s first priority that its community members do not fall victim to crimes such as these. If you are contacted through any of the above means by people employing these tactics, simply disregard pop-ups and emails, do not click on anything within them, and do not call tech support phone numbers offered within these messages. If there are people in your family who may be vulnerable to these scams, please have conversations with them regarding tech and financial safety.

Thank you for reading and stay safe.

Person of interest Arpy Yap and the Volkswagen Touareg he’s known to drive. Photos: Brentwood PD

Targets solo females in parking lots in ruse

By Brentwood Police Department

The Brentwood Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance regarding a series of vandalism incidents that have occurred throughout the City of Brentwood.

The individual in the photo has been identified as 48-year-old Arpy Yap of Daly City. Yap is suspected of targeting solo female victims in parking lots. In each incident, the victims returned to their vehicles to discover their tires had been vandalized or deflated. Yap reportedly appeared shortly after, offering assistance in exchange for money.

Yap is known to drive a blue Volkswagen Touareg with a roof rack.

We are releasing this photo in an effort to identify any additional victims or witnesses who may have information related to these incidents.

This is also being shared as a public safety advisory. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Brentwood Police Department at (925) 809-7911. Callers may remain anonymous.

By CHP – Golden Gate Division

California Highway Patrol (CHP) detectives arrested a 39-year-old Hayward man in connection with a May freeway shooting on Interstate 880.

Detectives identified Rony David Murciascastillo as the suspect after a May 26 incident in which a driver reported being shot at while merging onto northbound I-880 from Jackson Street. The victim was not injured.

On July 30, CHP Special Investigations Unit detectives and the Golden Gate Division Warrant Service Team served a search warrant at Murciascastillo’s home. Detectives located him at a San Pablo casino, where the San Pablo Police Department took him into custody.

Authorities booked Murciascastillo into Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and multiple felony gun and drug charges.

“The incredible work our detectives do is responsible for yet another freeway shooter being held to answer for their crimes,” said CHP Golden Gate Division Chief Don Goodbrand. “I also want to thank our partners at the San Pablo Police Department for their assistance in taking the suspect into custody quickly and safely.”

According to localcrimenews.com, the six-foot tall, 190-pound Murciastillo is Hispanic and is a resident of Hayward.

The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Aug. 19th rally in Sacramento

By Greg Burt, California Family Council

SACRAMENTO, CA — In a stirring and impassioned announcement before his congregation last week, Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills (a congregation of over 10,000) issued an urgent call to action for Californians: mark your calendars and make your way to Sacramento on Tuesday, August 19th for a rally and lobby day opposing Assembly Bill 495, a bill critics say obliterates parental rights and creates legal loopholes making child kidnapping easy.

“I have to tell you, if this bill passes, I am going to ask you to leave the state of California,” Pastor Hibbs declared from the pulpit. “You got to get out. You got to run with your kids. You got to go.”

The bill is the first piece of legislation authored by newly elected Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez (D–San Fernando). She sold AB 495 as a “compassionate” solution for children of detained immigrant parents. But opponents warn the measure does far more, and far worse, than what its title suggests.

The Threat of AB 495: A Legal Loophole for Kidnapping?

The “Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025” would allow unrelated adults, broadly defined as an “adult caregiver” with a “mentoring relationship with the child” to assume custody-like control over a child through a one-page Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit. No court appearance. No notarization. No parental consent or notification. No background check. No verification of identity required.

“Presto, someone walks away with your child,” warned attorney and president of Our Duty-USA Erin Friday, who called AB 495 “a child trafficker’s and kidnapper’s dream bill.”

Attorney Nicole Pearson, founder of Facts Law Truth Justice, testified before the State Senate:

“California wants to let someone that is not related to your child remove her from school, enroll her in any other school in the state, authorize any medical treatment of her, including mental health services and drugs, without the parents’ notice and knowledge or consent. This is not fear-mongering. I’m not being hyperbolic,” she said. “These unintended consequences are terrifying, and they are unavoidable.”

Even medical decisions, including psychiatric drug prescriptions and sex-trait modification procedures, could be authorized by these unvetted adults without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents.

August 19th Rally: Mobilizing for Parental Rights

Real Impact and Capitol Resource Institute have pulled together a coalition of parental rights advocates, legal experts, pastors, and concerned citizens, to hold the “NO on AB 495 Rally and Lobby Day” featuring Pastor Hibbs as keynote speaker. Other speakers include best-selling author and speaker Heidi St. John and Jonathan Keller, President of California Family Council, with more speakers to be announced soon.

“I’m going to ask all of you to drive, bus, fly, I don’t care how you get there,” Hibbs told his church. “We’re looking for a minimum of 5000 people to be there that day.”

Schedule – Tuesday, August 19, 2025

• 1:00 PM PT – Rally Begins (West Steps of Capitol, 1315 10th Street, Sacramento)
• 2:00 PM PT – Lobby Training
• 2:30 PM PT – Legislative Office Visits

This isn’t the first time Hibbs has rallied thousands to the Capitol. A previous event back in 2022 drew nearly 2000 people to the Capitol to protest a bill to legalize infanticide. Organizers hope to top that turnout this time.

A State in Crisis

Hibbs’ warning is dire, and he isn’t mincing words. “I would not subject my child to one second in this public school system with this new law, AB 495,” he thundered.

California Family Council agrees the bill is incredibly dangerous. “AB 495 is a grave threat to the God-given responsibility of parents to raise and protect their children,” said Greg Burt, CFC’s Vice President. “It undermines every safeguard we have in place for child welfare and does so in the name of compassion. But compassion without guardrails is not mercy, it is madness.”

A Biblical Call to Courage

Pastor Hibbs was clear: this is a line in the sand.

“If you have kids in the state of California and this passes, you gotta go,” he said. “Your child’s safety is number one in your life, and I don’t care if you like the weather, and I never thought that day would ever come when I would encourage you to leave.

Watch Pastor Hibb’s announcement here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMyRHyHPhXb/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=d4429a01-f040-4f0f-9efa-f657888103ec

About California Family Council

California Family Council works to advance God’s design for life, family, and liberty through California’s Church, Capitol, and Culture. By advocating for policies that reinforce the sanctity of life, the strength of traditional marriages, and the essential freedoms of religion, CFC is dedicated to preserving California’s moral and social foundation.

Angel Montano. Source: GoFundMe

ID’d as a U.S. Marine reserve officer

By Allen D. Payton

The Richmond Police Department announced that on Monday, August 4, 2025, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Richmond Police responded to a 911 call about a man armed with knives threatening to kill people inside a home in the 400 block of 1st Street.

When officers arrived, they heard a disturbance inside. When officers announced their presence, they were confronted by a subject who came to the door armed with at least one edged weapon. During the confrontation, two officers discharged their firearms, and the subject, unfortunately, suffered fatal injuries at the scene.

According to a KRON4 TV news report, the man was identified as 27-year-old Angel Montano who “served in the U.S. Marines as a reserve officer “

Per protocol, the Law Enforcement Involved Fatal Incident Protocol has been activated. The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office is leading the investigation into this incident.

Investigators are in the early stages of this investigation. The Richmond Police Department is committed to conducting a thorough and transparent investigation. Updates will be shared as new information becomes available on the Richmond Police Department’s website.

A GoFundMe page was set up by Liz Montaño to raise funds to cover funeral and burial expenses with the following message:

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the sudden and tragic passing of our beloved cousin, Angel Montano, at just 27 years old.

Angel was a proud U.S. Marine, a devoted son, brother, father and to many a loyal friend. Angel brought light and strength into every room he entered. His unexpected loss has left our family heartbroken, and we are doing everything we can to give him the memorial he deserves.

We’re raising funds to help cover funeral and burial expenses, and to support his loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. Any donation, no matter the amount, is deeply appreciated. If you’re unable to give, sharing this page and keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers means just as much.

Thank you for honoring Angel’s memory with us. Your support brings us comfort and strength.

-The Montano Family

Con el corazón en la mano, compartimos la repentina y trágica pérdida de nuestro querido primo, Angel Montano, a tan solo 27 años de edad.

Angel fue un orgulloso miembro del U.S Marine, un hijo, hermano y padre devoto, y un amigo leal para muchos. Angel iluminaba cada cuarto donde entraba con su carisma y sonrisa. Su partida inesperada ha dejado a nuestra familia con el corazón destrozado, y estamos haciendo todo lo posible para darle el homenaje que se merece.

Estamos recaudando fondos para ayudar a cubrir los gastos del funeral y entierro, así como para apoyar a sus seres queridos en este momento tan difícil. Cualquier donación, sin importar la cantidad, es profundamente agradecida. Si no puedes donar, compartir esta página y mantener a nuestra familia en tus pensamientos y oraciones es igualmente agrdecido.

Gracias por honrar la memoria de Angel con nosotros. Su apoyo nos brinda consuelo y fortaleza.

La Familia Montano”

To either keep the bike-pedestrian path open 24/7 or allow conversion to breakdown lane every Mon.-Thurs.

By 511 Contra Costa

On Thursday, August 7, 2025, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) will decide whether to keep the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge bike-pedestrian path open 24/7 or allow it to be converted to a breakdown lane every Mon.-Thurs. Submit comments in advance or attend meeting (virtually or in person). The meeting will last from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

This Commission meeting will operate as a hybrid meeting under teleconference rules established by the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. Commissioners are located at the primary physical location and may be located at the teleconference locations specified below, all of which are publicly accessible. The Zoom video conference link and teleconference information for members of the public to participate virtually are also specified below.

Primary physical location

Metro Center
375 Beale Street, Board Room, San Francisco

415-352-3600

Teleconference locations

• Earl Warren Hiram W Johnson Building: 455 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102
  • 100 Howe Ave., Ste. 100 South, Sacramento, CA 95825
  • City Hall: 701 Laurel St., Allied Arts Rm., Menlo Park, CA 94025
  • 675 Texas St., Ste. 6002, Fairfield, CA. 94533
  • 176 E. Blithedale Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941
  • 197 Palmer Ave., Falmouth, MA 02540
  • 1195 Third St., Ste. 310, Napa, CA, 94559
  • 890 Osos St., Ste. H, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
  • 500 County Center, 5th Fl., Buckeye Conf. Rm., Redwood City, CA 94063
  • 2379 Sheffield Dr., Livermore, CA 94550
  • 1021 O St., Sacramento, CA 95814

If you have issues joining the meeting using the link, please enter the Meeting ID and Password listed below into the ZOOM app to join the meeting.

Join the meeting via ZOOM

https://bcdc-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/87295886829?pwd=my206SeP5kGy5bSz3kcbUFbbbCgxYK.1

Live Webcast

See information on public participation

Teleconference numbers
1 (866) 590-5055
Conference Code 374334

Meeting ID
872 9588 6829

Passcode
891700

If you call in by telephone:

Press *6 to unmute or mute yourself
Press *9 to raise your hand or lower your hand to speak

Details: http://511cc.org/rsrbridge

For more information about the BCDC visit

Fine art photographer Jeff Heyman with student. Source: Jeff Heyman

Adventures in Photography for camera photographers and Fun Photography! for smartphone users

At Acalanes Adult Education

If you want to pick up a camera this fall, award-winning Contra Costa photographer Jeff Heyman is teaching two photography classes at Acalanes Adult Education.

Adventures in Photography is a course on how to use different camera techniques to improve your photographs and help you tell a story with each picture. Fun Photography! is designed for smartphone photographers so they can get the most out of the “best camera in the world” — the one you have with you.

You can read course descriptions and enroll in the classes at https://acalanesadulted.asapconnected.com/?org=3904#CourseGroupID=12444

Acalanes Adult Education is located at the Del Valle Education Center, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd., near Rossmoor, in Walnut Creek. Classes start soon! Call 510-280-3980, Ext. 8001, for more information.

Jeff Heyman’s work has been featured in The de Young Museum Open 2023. For more information visit his website heymanfoto.com, Instagram @heymanfoto or call 510.499.1420.

To serve homeless veterans and others; volunteers needed

Community Day Sept. 13 is for anyone and everyone

By Delta Veterans Group

The Delta Veterans Group brings Contra Costa County (CCC) “Stand Down on the Delta” a Homeless Veterans’ “Hand Up” event every other year (2015, 2017, 2019….) DVG is proud to bring Stand Down on the Delta 2025, September 12-15, to the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch.

This is a four-day event wherein U.S. military veterans receive services in Medical, Dental, Veterans Treatment Court, Housing, Job Placement, Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Counseling.

We are also looking for volunteers. Please contact us through our website at Contact Us | Delta Veterans Group.

To date the Stand Down on the Delta biennial event has helped thousands of veterans and their families, served thousands of meals, given away over 1,100 pairs of boots, over 1,500 sleeping bags, over 1,300 pairs of new jeans, $500,000 in dental care, taken over 200 veterans fishing on our Delta shores and helped many more find permanent housing.

We work with over 70 different organizations during our four day Stand Down on the Delta event. In September of 2019 over 850 Volunteers from around the State of California and even as far as South Carolina came to Antioch to help us provide these great services to our veterans.

About DVG

Delta Veterans Group is 501(c)3 Veterans service non-profit that assists our Nation’s finest men and women with housing, employment, health, and education services. Founded in Contra Costa County in 2012 by Army veteran J.R. Wilson, DVG has now grown to provide services to surrounding Northern California areas including Alameda, Monterey, Napa, San Joaquin, San Francisco and Solano counties.

340B Drug Pricing Program costing employee health plans $5B per year

“Hospitals realized they could buy heavily discounted drugs and resell them to insured, middle-class patients at huge markups.”

By Dan Crippen

An obscure, supposedly free federal program is blowing a hole in state budgets — by depriving state governments of billions in corporate tax revenue and inflating costs for their public employee health plans.

The culprit is the 340B Drug Pricing Program, which Congress established in 1992 to help safety-net hospitals. Once enrolled, qualifying hospitals and clinics and their partner pharmacies — collectively called “covered entities” — can purchase medicines directly from drug manufacturers or wholesalers at roughly 50% discounts.

Congress expected only about 90 hospitals to participate. Today, more than 2,600 hospitals are enrolled.

This explosive, unintended growth is the result of the program’s lax requirements. Covered entities are not required to expand charity care or even report how they use their 340B earnings.

Hospitals realized they could buy heavily discounted drugs and resell them to insured, middle-class patients at huge markups. In some cases, hospitals have charged cancer patients nearly ten times what they paid to acquire the drug.

The opportunity to upcharge patients has proven irresistible and fueled the program’s bloat. In 2023, covered entities purchased $124 billion worth of medicines — but only paid $66 billion, meaning they received roughly $58 billion in discounts.

Numerous audits have revealed that many hospitals use the funds to subsidize expansion in affluent neighborhoods, rather than support low-income or uninsured patients.

This perverse behavior harms state taxpayers. Because most 340B hospitals are technically non-profits, their earnings aren’t taxed. As a result, states collect about $3.5 billion less in corporate income tax and other tax revenue than they otherwise would. That’s money not available for public health, education, infrastructure, or employee benefits.

The 340B program hurts states in other ways, too.

The program incentivizes hospital systems to acquire independent clinics — which don’t qualify for 340B — and designate them as “child sites” that subsequently become eligible for 340B.

This leads to higher healthcare spending, since care at hospital-owned sites is more expensive than at clinics and independent practices.

Care at 340B hospitals tends to be more expensive than care at competing hospitals, too. The average per-patient prescription spending at 340B hospitals is 150% higher than non-340B hospitals.

All told, large employers and their workers spend over $5 billion more per year on health care as a result of 340B. Every extra dollar that businesses spend on health care is a dollar that’s deducted from their taxable income.

The program also inflates costs for state employee health plans. Utah recently found that its Public Employees Health Program is losing out on $3.9 million in rebate savings due to 340B.

Some state lawmakers are unwittingly compounding the damage by making it easier for pharmacies to contract with 340B hospitals and clinics.

Instead of boosting care for poor patients, 340B drains public resources while enriching large hospital systems. Reform is desperately needed.

Dan Crippen is the former Director of the Congressional Budget Office. This piece originally ran in RealClearHealth.

The Martinez Arts Association Proudly Presents the 54th Annual Art in the Park!

This year promises to be another great community event with lots of art, music, food and drink!  Over 60 local artists will be showing and selling fine arts and crafts.   Food trucks on site and wine and beer will be available for purchase!  Susana Park, located on Susana Street, is shady with lots of seating. Plenty of free parking in the area and a free shuttle will run from the Main Street Plaza near Starbucks.

Enjoy live music throughout the day including:

Mark & the Muses
BAM!
The UnConcord
Delta Deuce
Landbirds

Art in the Park is a free and family friendly event and is MAA’s primary fund-raising event of the year, which helps support community programs like teacher grants and student scholarships.

Thank you to our sponsors: ARTSCC, City of Martinez, Embarc, Five Suns Brewing, Martinez Refining Company, Kiwanis International, Republic Services and Viano Vineyards.

For more information about MAA, visit www.martinezarts.org.