By CHP – Contra Costa
On Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at about 7:37pm, Contra Costa CHP was advised of a vehicle vs. pedestrian traffic collision at Delta Road and Curlew Connex in Knightsen. Upon CHP and emergency personnel arrival, it was determined that a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo hit a pedestrian that was in the roadway. The 56-year-old male pedestrian of Oakley was pronounced deceased at the scene and the driver of the Isuzu remained on scene.
In the initial investigation, it appears that the solo male driver of the Isuzu was traveling westbound on Delta Road just west of Curlew Connex at 40 mph. The area has low visibility and is dark without any streetlights. The pedestrian was in the roadway as the Isuzu approached and by the time the driver of the Isuzu saw the pedestrian, it was too late and collided into him. The male pedestrian sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. The 28yr old male driver from Georgia remained on scene and was cooperative in the investigation.
Alcohol or drugs are not a factor in this collision is still under investigation. If anyone witnessed it or the events leading up to it, please contact Contra Costa CHP in Martinez, (925) 646-4980. Thank you.
Read More“Your generosity overwhelms us”
Dear Editor:
On behalf of the parents and their children who are the recipients of the kindness and generosity of our supporters, the International Orphan Relief Foundation would like to say thank you for sharing your love with them through our 10th Annual Christmas Giving program.
During the Christmas and holiday season IORF volunteers aided families who are struggling to make ends meet in East County. This year we were able to distribute more than 400 pairs of new pajamas, books, toys and food gift cards to families in need. The Christmas Giving program is one of our favorites, and seeing the smiles on the faces of the children who received the gifts is priceless.
Over the last 10 years, our program has provided more than 4,000 families with food baskets and new pajamas for children during the Holiday Season. Financial gifts are collected year-round for this program.
We are so grateful to every individual and every business who has supported our missions throughout the years. This year we would like to thank the volunteers and donors who gave their time and money to our holiday gift giving program, the Delta Advocacy Foundation, Contra Costa Marine Toys for Tots, former Mayor Elihu Harris, Allen Payton, Linda La Roche, Jilda Fairhurst, Carol Reynold, Fran McMahon, Daub 4 Kids & Staff , Robin Evenson, Teri Eslinger, Kim Cawley, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Debra Willis, Fremont Bank, Key Realty, Jeff Shultz, Nina Lamadora, the Staton Productions team, Jo Ann Klement, Karen Munez, Donna and Mrs. Crupi.
Your generosity overwhelms us. Our warmest wishes to all of you in this New Year of 2018. For more information please visit our website at http://www.iorf.org/.
Claudette & Johnny Staton
International Orphan Relief Foundation
Brentwood
Read MoreBy Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
The suspect who drove a stolen vehicle that collided into another vehicle on Somersville Road in Antioch was arrested. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility after being interviewed by detectives. (See news footage of the scene on ABC7, here.)
He is identified as 23-year-old Noe Saucedo of Pittsburg. He was booked on one count of murder and two counts of felony evading. He is being held in lieu of $1,050,000 bail.
This afternoon a 4-year-old girl who was injured in the collision was pronounced deceased at the hospital. She is not being identified.
The investigation into this collision is ongoing. Earlier, the countywide officer-involved protocol was invoked. The investigation is being handled by the D.A.’s Office, Office of the Sheriff, California Highway Patrol, and Antioch PD.
At about 12:47 this afternoon, the Office of the Sheriff received information of a stolen vehicle in Pittsburg. A Deputy Sheriff spotted the stolen vehicle, a Ford F-250 pickup truck on Bailey Road. The Deputy followed the vehicle as it headed eastbound on Highway 4. The Deputy did not activate the emergency lights on his vehicle.
As the suspect took the Somersville Road exit, he immediately accelerated at a high rate of speed. The Deputy then activated the emergency lights on his vehicle. Moments later, the suspect vehicle went through a red light at Somersville Road and collided into a Ford F-150 that was heading southbound.
Three people, including two children, were injured in the F-150. A 2-year-old and her mother remain in the hospital.
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
Read MoreAt about 12:47 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, the Office of the Sheriff received information of a stolen vehicle in Pittsburg. A Deputy Sheriff spotted the stolen vehicle, a Ford F-250 pickup truck on Bailey Road. The Deputy followed the vehicle as it headed eastbound on Highway 4. The Deputy did not activate the emergency lights on his vehicle.
As the suspect took the Somersville Road exit, he immediately accelerated at a high speed. The Deputy then activated the emergency lights on his vehicle. Moments later, the suspect vehicle went through a red light at Somersville Road and collided into a Ford F-150 that was heading southbound.
Three people, including two children, were injured in the F-150. They were taken to local hospitals. The suspect, a 23-year-old Pittsburg resident, was also taken to a hospital. He is not being identified at this time.
According to Antioch Police Lt. Tarra Mendes, Antioch Police Officers responded to assist the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. The incident caused the closure of North and Southbound Somersville Road as well as the Eastbound Highway 4 off ramp to Somersville Road.
The countywide officer-involved protocol was invoked. The investigation is being handled by the D.A.’s Office, Office of the Sheriff, California Highway Patrol, and Antioch PD.
Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact the Office of the Sheriff at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
Read MoreHonor Humanitarians of the Year during Martin Luther King Day Celebration
By Daniel Borsuk
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors appointed Susanna Thompson and Mark Whitlock to serve on the financially beleaguered East Contra Costa Fire Protection District Board of Directors, a position that the two incoming board directors may only serve on until the end 2018.
Supervisors voted 4-0 to approve the consent item at Tuesday’s board meeting. Board Chair Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill was absent due to illness.
The reason Thompson, a co-owner of an electric contractor business of Clayton, and Whitlock, owner of a Bethel Island carpet cleaning business, may only serve a year on the board is because unless both directors decide to run election campaigns later this year, their jobs on the financially challenged fire district board will come to an end.
Thompson and Whitlock beat five other candidates for the fire board posts. They replace county appointees Robert Kenny and Cheryl Morgan. Both Kenny’s and Morgan’s term expire next month, February.
Other candidates for the two county appointments to the fire district’s board were Anthony Barigiacchi of Brentwood who is an engineer with the Novato Fire Protection District; Lito Calimlim of Clayton, who is a real estate broker; Karin Schneider of Brentwood, a city of Tracy finance director; Stephen Smith of Brentwood, who is a former ECCFPD director; and Sandra Strobel, a Knightsen real estate agent
In November 2016 voters in the fire district overwhelmingly passed Measure M 62.4 percent to 37.6 percent to change the board from an appointed nine-member panel an elected board of nine directors. Currently the nine-member board consists of directors are appointed by residency.
In addition to the two directors now appointed by the board of supervisors, the ECCFPD has four directors selected by the city of Brentwood and three directors chosen by the city of Oakley.
As if the upcoming November election isn’t enough, voters in the fire district will take part in a vote by mail election in March on whether to scale down the number of board directors from nine directors to five directors. Depending on the outcome of the special election in March, voters will cast ballots in November on who gets to serve on either the nine-member or five-member board of directors.
The two 2018 elections occur in a fire district that is rapidly growing and transitioning from its agricultural roots to a bustling and sprawling suburban area where real estate values have zoomed up more than 14 percent in 2017.
Whether changing the composition or number of ECCFD Board of Directors from nine to five Directors-at-Large to retaining the number of directors at nine, will enable the district to gain more citizen support to place and pass bond measures to adequately fund the district, is a question no one can properly predict right now.
Supervisor Diane Burgis of Brentwood, whose District 3 encompasses the troubled ECCFD, believes the change from an appointed board to an elected board will solve the district’s financial woes. “I am really pleased that the fire board is going to be elected,” she said after the supervisors approved the consent item. “Hopefully, by having an elected board, fire district constituents will feel more confident about the district and the directors will act more responsibly.”
ECCFPD Fire Chief Brian Helmick believes the elected Board of Directors will also help the financially strapped fire district turn the page on its financial woes. The question of moving from an appointed board of directors to an elected board of directors has been something the community has been asking for some time,” the fire chief said.
The key is whether an elected board of directors can do the job of convincing constituents of passing bond measures to keep the ECCFPD fiscally sound. “We need a source of sustainable funding,” said Fire Chief Helmick. “Having an appointed board has not been successful in finding long-term sustainable funding. Perhaps voters will listen to elected directors,” he said.
Even though an audit last August found the Fire District’s budget had $6.2 million in additional funds, Fire Chief Helmick, who was permanently named fire chief last October, said he is constantly competing against fire districts that tend to recruit his veteran fire fighters because those fire districts offer better pay and benefit packages than the ECCFPD. Most recently, four fire fighters left the ECCFPD to join districts offering better pay and benefit packages.
Chief Helmick, who has been with the ECCFD since the district’s formation in 2002, oversees a $15 million 2018 budget for 28 fire fighters and four battalion chiefs to staff fire stations located in Brentwood, Discovery Bay and Oakley.
Humanitarian of the Year Awards
In other business, the Supervisors celebrated the county’s 40th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration and Humanitarian of the Year Awards. Community activist and retired software industry executive Phil Arnold of Concord was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Air Force veteran was recognized for his community service, especially in the areas of race and humanitarian relations. Sienna Camille Terry, a Las Lomas High School student was honored as Student Humanitarian of the Year.
Supervisors Approve Sheriff-Coroner MOU to Use Naval Weapons Station
In addition, Supervisors also unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner and the United States Army to use a portion of the former Naval Weapons Station near Concord to operate a marine patrol and training facility. The agreement will last nine years at no cost to the county.
Read MoreIn celebration of Black History Month, the Southern Café is blending a night of historical Negro spirituals inspired by singer Paul Robeson by America’s Got Talent Finalist Lawrence Beamen. Lyrical hip hop duo The Lion’s Den will also perform their latest hits.
This memorable night will take place on Friday, February 2, 2018. General admission tickets are $25, and doors open at 5:30pm. For $40 you will receive priority VIP seating followed by a Meet & Greet with the artist at 7:00pm; Entertainment begins at 8:00pm. A portion of the proceeds will benefit His Presence Christian Worship Center’s Youth Department.
For general information contact the Southern Cafe at (925) 754-1172. To purchase tickets visit: www.lawrence-beamen.eventbrite.com.
The Southern Café is located at 400 G Street in Antioch, California’s historic, downtown Rivertown.
Presented by:
Read More
According to the CHP – Contra Costa Facebook page, “This evening at about 6:15 pm, one of our CHP Officers was involved in a traffic collision at SR-4 eastbound and Port Chicago Highway (in Concord). He suffered major injuries, non-life threatening, and was transported to a local hospital. The scene is still active for the investigation. We have no further details at this time, but we will advise when we do. Thank you.”
Further reports on NBC Bay Area TV Channel 3 News and ABC7 News he was a motorcycle officer, and an SUV flipped an landed on the officer including a broken leg. It set off a chain reaction including at least eight cars and three separate crashes. It backed up traffic on Highway 4 for miles.
Read MoreHello Friends and Supporters of Choice in Aging!
Join us for our biggest event of the year as we tie our bibs and crack some fresh crab at our 43rd Annual Crab Feed. This fundraising event helps to support our Alzheimer’s and Adult Day Health Care programs at our Mt. Diablo Center in Pleasant Hill.
WHEN: Saturday, February 10th 5:30 PM Doors Open/Cocktails & Live Music 7:00 PM Dinner
WHERE: Pleasant Hill Senior Center 233 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill
TICKETS: $65/Ticket Starting at $1,000 for a VIP (Sponsored) Table for 8 You can find the mail-in ticket form here and the sponsorship form here.
Besides the freshly caught and cracked crab and delicious sides, you can expect to enjoy our:
• Live Auction – Packed with luxurious vacations, dinner at the fire house, and more items that will make you want to lift your paddle!
• Silent Auction – Tons of awesome items to bid on! The chances of winning look good for you!
• Cake Auction – The chocolate behemoth Motherlode Cake will surely be making an appearance, along with other delicious cakes and cupcakes.
• Raffle – This year, our entire raffle will be “teacup” style and is a great way to play the odds in your favor.
• Professionally Staffed Bar – Beer on tap, glasses of wine, and mixed drinks all to wet your whistle.
TIP: Pre-purchase your raffle and drink tickets when you purchase your event ticket to make check-in at the event faster!
Feel free to buy tickets, a table, distribute this information, donate, or volunteer – it’s up to you how you want to support Choice in Aging’s mission to promote dignity and independence of people with disabilities and special needs.
We’d love to see you there. Won’t you join us?!
For sponsorship information, please contact Peggy Dillon at pdillon@choiceinaging.org or (925)682-6330 x141
Read MoreCouples can get married at the historic John Muir House by Clerk-Recorder officiants
Get hitched in style this year! The Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder office is offering a special venue for couples who wish to exchange wedding vows at a special location on Valentine’s Day.
The Clerk-Recorder Division, in partnership with the National Park Service, will host weddings at the historic John Muir House from 10:20 am to 3:20 pm on February 14th. There are 16 appointments available for this “Destination Wedding” opportunity.
“We are excited to partner with the National Park Service and the staff of the John Muir National Historic Site to offer couples the option of being married at this historic location on Valentine’s Day,” Clerk-Recorder Joe Canciamilla said. “It is with a great deal of local pride that we can highlight the history of our region and of Martinez while offering this memorable option for couples’ special day.”
“We think it’s great that the local community can use the grounds for a really special day,” said Jim MacDonald, Supervisory Park Ranger at the John Muir National Historic Site.
MacDonald shares a quote from Louisa Strentzel Muir, John Muir’s wife, that he says is applicable to what weddings represent.
“Now I know that neither time nor space can ever separate us, and that wherever you be, here or there, I am with you truly.”
Weddings will be held inside one of the well-decorated rooms of the Italianate Victorian-style home, which was built in 1882. The room features an elegant chandelier and grand piano, detailed architecture and a stunning backdrop for the ceremony with an archway in front of a window overlooking the property.
Couples interested in a ceremony at the John Muir House should call 925-335-7908.
Couples can also make appointments to have their Valentine’s Day wedding ceremony at the Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder Office, located at 555 Escobar Street in Martinez. The office features two beautifully appointed ceremony rooms adorned with handcrafted stained glass windows. Appointment times are from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Walk-in couples are welcome and will be accommodated based on availability of ceremony rooms. Appointments are recommended, as Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest days of the year for civil ceremonies.
Those looking to book a ceremony at Clerk-Recorder’s office can do so online at www.contracostacore.us.
A civil marriage ceremony is $60. Couples can obtain a public marriage license for $86 or a confidential license for $90.
To save time, marriage license applications are available for completion online at www.contracostacore.us prior to visiting the office and may also be purchased before the ceremony date.
For more information, contact Joseph Barton, Clerk-Recorder Services Supervisor at (925) 335-7928.
Read More