From the Concord Police Facebook Page
Concord Police Officers have made several arrests in the below described homicide that occurred yesterday near Olympic High School in our downtown. The individuals arrested have been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Police are not seeking any additional suspects at this time. They are exploring all avenues to explain the motive in this case. There were multiple individuals in the suspect vehicle.
Further information was available at a press conference that was held today, Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 5:30 PM in front of the Concord Police Department at 1350 Galindo St in Concord. It can be viewed on the CPD Facebook page, here.
Original Post: We are currently investigating a shooting that occurred at 1:32 PM, near Olympic High School, at the corner of Salvio Street and Beach Street. Our investigation reveals that after school let out for the day, a passenger in an unknown black sedan, exited the suspect vehicle and approached a group of individuals off campus. The suspect shot at one of the individuals, as the others ran for safety. The victim ran onto the campus of Olympic High School where he was medically treated by staff, paramedics and police. There are no other injured people. The victim was transported to a local hospital and his condition is unknown at this time.
If you were a witness to the shooting and have not been contacted by a CPD officer, please contact the Concord Police Department at 925-671-3333.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreBy Bryan Scott
The Brentwood City Council has an opportunity coming up, an opportunity to take actions that will improve the safety of the over 60,000 current, and future, city residents.
East County is suffering from a dire public safety emergency due to the underfunding of the regional fire district, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD). The district once had as many as eight stations, but now there are only three, with nine firefighters on duty at any time.
This meager force serves a region of over 249 square-miles, with over 115,000 residents.
Brentwood is conducting a Strategic Planning Workshop/Special City Council Meeting on November 16 and 17 at the Community Center, 35 Oak Street. Contact Diane Williams, Executive Assistant, City Manager’s Office, at dwilliams@brentwoodca.gov for the agenda and further details.
At this workshop the Council will be working on the city’s Strategic Plan. The current Strategic Plan includes six Focus Areas, with 19 Goals under these focus areas. Focus Areas include Infrastructure, Economic Development, Land Use Planning, Community and Neighborhood Services, Fiscal Stability and Operational Management, and Public Safety.
It is during the Public Safety discussions that the City Council can take action to improve the safety of all city residents by deciding to move forward with the investigation and acquisition of additional ambulance hours, through an addendum to the existing County ambulance contract.
The City’s General Plan, which sets the vision for Brentwood, specifies that all emergency calls receive a three-to-five-minute response. Due to budget cuts and fire station closures the 90% response times provided by ECCPFD for Brentwood are about ten minutes, according to ECCFPD’s September Operations Report.
The global standards agency for the fire services industry is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). After considerable scientific research their NFPA 1710 Standard suggests response times of four or five minutes.
The City Council recognizes the problem. Earlier this year a Council Fire and Medical Services Ad Hoc Committee recommended that the City spend over $1 million per year for three years to keep a fourth fire station open. During March and April this Committee worked to move this proposal forward, getting ECCFPD Board approval for the action.
But bowing to a request from the firefighters’ union, and other political pressures, on April 25 the City Council reversed itself. The issue died without a motion.
The previous Strategic Planning Workshop was held in September, 2015. That session, too, was held over several days at the Community Center, and the first topic discussed was funding for the fire district. The Council agreed to set aside $1 million to investigate the situation and do something.
While there has been extensive investigation in the intervening years, nothing has been done to alter the structural funding problem that puts ECCFPD at the lowest allocation rate of all fire districts in the County, even though East County is experiencing the greatest residential and commercial growth.
Residents of Brentwood and East County will have an opportunity to speak at the beginning of the Workshop. Prior to the Workshop residents should contact their City Council, by phone, by email, or by letter, and tell them that Public Safety ought to be the number one priority of local government.
Yes, engaging with regional transportation partners is important, but is it more important than saving lives?
Yes, maintaining and operating parks, trails and recreation facilities is important, but is it as important as getting an ambulance to a heart attack victim, in time to save a life?
Brentwood residents should make their opinions heard.
The City Council needs to fund an increase in ambulance hours.
It’s what they were elected to do.
Scott is a Brentwood resident and Co-Chair of East County Voters for Equal Protection, a non-partisan citizens action committee striving to improve funding for the ECCFPD. He can be reached at scott.bryan@comcast.net, or 925-418-4428. The group’s Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyVoters/.
Read MoreThe Contra Costa Community College District has announced the selection of four finalists for the position of President of Diablo Valley College (DVC). The finalists are: Susan Lamb, Kimberlee Messina, Ed.D., Christopher M. Reber, Ph.D. and Joanne Russell, Ph.D.
Four separate public forums have been scheduled for November 13-16, 2017. The forums will begin at 2:00 p.m. and last 45 minutes. At each forum, the finalist will make statements and answer questions. The forums are open to the broad community, students, faculty and staff and will be held in DVC’s Diablo Room, 321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.
Please visit http://www.4cd.edu/ for further details regarding the upcoming forums.
Susan Lamb has worked in higher education for 30 years and in the California Community College system for more than 25 years. Most recently, Ms. Lamb served as the Interim Chancellor of City College of San Francisco where she provided the leadership to move the college within a two-year period from Restoration Status to reaffirmation of accreditation for the full seven-year cycle. In order to achieve this goal, she worked with the college leadership to implement services at all college locations and to clarify and codify decision-making and governance systems within the college to increase transparency and effectiveness. She also collaborated with state legislators, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, members of the Board of Supervisors, and the leadership of the faculty and classified unions to develop and implement a Promise Program called Free City for the fall 2017 semester, to extend and increase the college’s parcel tax, and to encourage the passage of five years of state restorative growth funding for the college. Before City College of San Francisco, Ms. Lamb, worked within the Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD) at both Diablo Valley College and Contra Costa College. She served as the Vice President of Instruction at Diablo Valley College for six years.
Kimberlee Messina, Ed.D. is a passionate supporter of student success and equity and a committed educator who has served the California Community Colleges for more than 26 years. Kimberlee’s career path includes service as a “freeway flyer” adjunct faculty, a tenured Spanish instructor, a two-term academic senate president, and an instructional dean of STEM at Santa Rosa Junior College. She served as the Vice President of Instruction and Institutional Research and Interim President at Foothill College from 2011-2016 before joining San Mateo County Community College District where she is currently the Interim Vice Chancellor of Educational Services and Planning. Kimberlee holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, a master’s degree in Spanish from California State University, Sacramento and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from University of California, Davis. An accomplished public speaker, she has presented to the Statewide Academic Senate and the Association of California Community College Administrators. She has served on a number of accreditation site teams and currently serves as a member of the technical assistance committee for the statewide Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative, a member of the Board of the Association for California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) and Co-Chair of the Management Development Committee.
Dr. Christopher M. Reber has devoted his entire 36-year career to postsecondary education. He is currently President of Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) near Pittsburgh, PA, where he is leading new initiatives in support of a student-centered learning environment; strategic enrollment management; regional partnerships; and a culture of planning, assessment and improvement. Dr. Reber has championed the development of nationally distinctive CCBC High School Academies; more than 600 articulation agreements with four-year colleges and universities nationwide; and new program development that addresses high priority workforce and economic development needs throughout western Pennsylvania. Under his leadership CCBC has been chosen as an Aspen 150 Institution and has become known as the tristate workforce development leader in a rapidly emerging economic and industrial transformation. Prior to joining CCBC, Dr. Reber served for 12 years as Executive Dean of Venango College of Clarion University. He led the college to achieve enrollment growth and helped faculty develop new programs supported by a diverse network of partnerships. The college offered stackable credentials including certificates, associate degrees, applied baccalaureates and graduate degrees. Dr. Reber led the development and approval of Clarion University’s first doctoral degree in Nursing Practice. Dr. Reber’s career also includes 18 years at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, where he served on the senior management team as the Chief Development, University Relations and Alumni Relations Officer during a successful $50 million capital campaign; and Chief Student Affairs Officer during a period of significant college growth. Earlier in his career he led continuing and cooperative education programs at Lakeland Community College near Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Reber strives to be a servant leader in his work and community engagement. He is passionate about the educational imperative to promote social justice and access to underserved communities. Throughout his career he has provided leadership and support for diversity, including the creation of a Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at CCBC; participation on Clarion University’s Diversity Strategic Planning Committee; and creation and leadership of Penn State Erie’s Diversity and Educational Equity Committee. He is currently a member of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity. Dr. Reber holds a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa; a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University, where he was named “Graduate Student of the Year;” and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds a post-graduate certificate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Dr. Reber lives in Ellwood City, PA with his partner, Kerry Stetler. He is the father of two children: Jonathan, age 21, and Katherine, age 19.
Dr. Joanne Russell is presently Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Kingsborough Community College, an Achieving the Dream Leader College that is part of the City University of New York in Brooklyn, New York. Previously, she was Provost Fellow for Community College Access Programs and Workforce Development at the State University of New York System Administration, responsible for working with SUNY’s community colleges to scale initiatives that increase access, success, completion and workforce development. She has spent over 25 years working in higher education in various faculty and administrative roles, including Vice President for Academic Affairs at Westchester Community College in New York and Dean of Academic Affairs at Manchester Community College in Connecticut. She has provided leadership for equity initiatives, college strategic planning, resource development, regional and programmatic accreditation, general education reform, developmental education redesign, high school partnership work, workforce development, program development and expansion, and extensive hiring of faculty and staff. Dr. Russell has been the Principal Investigator and Project Director of many grant-funded initiatives to strengthen student access and success. She received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1979 and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1984 from the University of Connecticut.
About Diablo Valley College
Diablo Valley College (DVC) is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. For nearly 70 years, Diablo Valley College has provided quality education to the community it serves. The larger of DVC’s two campuses is located in Pleasant Hill while the newer San Ramon Campus serves the south county in Dougherty Valley. Between its two campuses, DVC serves more than 22,000 students each semester with a wide variety of program options. DVC is not only recognized as one of California’s best community colleges, but it also leads the state in transfer to four-year institutions. For more about DVC, visit www.dvc.edu.
About the College District
The Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD) is one of the largest multi-college community college districts in California. The CCCCD serves a population of 1,019,640 people, and its boundaries encompass all but 48 of the 734-square-mile land area of Contra Costa County. The District is home to Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, as well as educational centers in Brentwood and San Ramon. The District headquarters is located in downtown Martinez.
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A few students from the Krey Special Education Elementary School in Brentwood. Photos by Jonathan Lance, CCCOE
By Jonathan Lance, Communications Specialist, Contra Costa County Office of Education
On Thursday, October 26, 459 student athletes hit the football field at Liberty High School for the annual Special Olympics Schools Partnership Program Soccer Events. The student athletes’ ages ranged from kindergarten to transition students (ages 18-22), with 271 males and 188 females.
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CCCOE Liberty Special Education Transition School teacher Marissa Arata, and two of her students, Bronte and Nathan.
Throughout the busy morning and early afternoon, the student athletes took part in soccer skills drills or tournament play, or both. The day was filled with plenty of determination, encouragement, and celebration in achievement – plus a lot of smiles.
Sherri Roberti, Contra Costa County Office of Education’s (CCCOE) Special Olympics Schools Partnership Program coordinator and special education teacher, said, “We would like to thank Liberty High School’s teacher, Summer Rodriguez, who always does a fabulous job of helping to organize her Leadership Students, who serve as event volunteers.” Roberti continues, “Summer and her students worked tirelessly throughout the entire day. She and Liberty High School graciously hosts two events per year, [soccer and track] and do a wonderful job with both!”
The event’s East County participating special education classes came from the following schools: Krey, Los Medanos, and Turner elementary schools; Hillview, Martin Luther King, Edna Hill, O’Hara Park, Park, and Rancho Medanos middle schools; Antioch, Deer Valley, Freedom, Heritage, Liberty, and Pittsburg high schools; and Deer Valley, Gateway Program, Heritage, and Liberty transition schools.
The Special Olympics Northern California Schools Partnership Program is a unique education program in K-12 schools. It unifies students with and without disabilities through sports and whole-school involvement activities that provide them with the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to create and sustain school communities that promote inclusion, acceptance, and respect for all students.
Read More![](http://contracostaherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Blackhawk-burglary-suspects-1024x709.jpg)
Two of the three burglary suspects are seen in this screenshot of a surveillance video at a Blackhawk home on Friday night, Nov. 3, 2017. Photo courtesy of CCCSheriff
B
y Jimmy Lee, Public Information Office, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
The Blackhawk Homeowners Association is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the suspects involved in a string of burglaries in Blackhawk.
On Friday, November 3, 2017, at about 7:30 PM, Blackhawk Police Services received a report of a burglary on the 5400 block of Blackhawk Drive. Three suspects apparently entered a residence and took personal property and valuables. See images be-low. The suspects match the descriptions of those who committed previous burglaries.
Anyone with any information on this incident or the identity of the suspects is asked to contact Blackhawk Police Services at (925) 736-1018 or the Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
Read MoreBy Jimmy Lee, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
Please note that there have been a number of these cases throughout the Bay Area. Always keep your valuables with you at all times, be aware of your surroundings, and report suspicious people to law enforcement.
On Saturday at about 2:42 PM, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff received reports of a strong arm robbery at a coffeehouse on the 3200 block of Danville Boulevard in Alamo.
The victim was sitting at a table using her laptop when three people entered the coffeehouse, took the laptop and ran. They got into a waiting vehicle in the parking lot.
Deputies broadcast the description of the suspect vehicle, which fled northbound on Danville Boulevard. An Orinda police officer located the vehicle traveling westbound on Highway 24. Four suspects were detained after the vehicle was stopped. They were positively identified as the suspects. The laptop was returned to the victim.
Two of the suspects are juveniles and were taken to Juvenile Hall. Two adults were taken to Martinez Detention Facility. 19-year-old Nequwan Taylor of Oakland and 18-year-old Isaiah Taylor (residence unknown) were booked on the following charges: robbery, burglary, and conspiracy. Each one is being held in lieu of $220,000 bail.
Read MoreIncludes sexual assault of a child under the age of 10 and arranging to meet a minor for sex
On Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, investigators from the Martinez Police Department, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, and District Attorney’s Office arrested 33-year-old Martinez resident Michael Bartel for sexual assault of a child and arranging to meet a minor for sex. Bartel was booked Friday evening at the Martinez Detention Facility. His bail was set at $16 million. Bartel is a science teacher at Walnut Creek Intermediate in Walnut Creek. There is currently no indication Bartel victimized a student at the school.
Bartel’s arrest was a result of an investigation initiated by the Martinez Police Department. Martinez police detectives learned Bartel was talking online with others and had made statements about molesting children. Martinez police detectives, along with investigators from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force launched an investigation to determine if the statements were true. After a weeklong investigation, Bartel was arrested during a traffic stop at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon at the intersection of Danville Blvd. and Camille Lane in Alamo.
Friday afternoon, investigators from the Walnut Creek Police Department executed a search warrant at Bartel’s classroom at Walnut Creek Intermediate and notified the school administration of the arrest. Later that afternoon, investigators from the Martinez Police Department with substantial assistance from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Contra Costa County Crime Lab and District Attorney’s Office searched Bartle’s home in Martinez.
On Monday, November 6, 2017, the District Attorney’s Office filed a 16-count criminal complaint against Bartel. The charges include multiple sex offenses against a child under the age of 10 including oral copulation, arranging to meet a minor for sex and possession and distribution of child pornography.
Bartel will make his first appearance in court on Tuesday November 7, 2017 at 8:45 a.m. in front of the Honorable John Laettner for arraignment. Bartel remains in custody of the Contra Costa County Sheriff.
Anyone with investigative information should contact Senior Inspector Darryl Holcombe, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office at (925) 957-2263.
Read MoreThe Contra Costa County Office of the Public Defender is pleased to announce the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from nonprofit organizations to implement community-based services for “Stand Together CoCo,” a new public/private initiative managed by the Public Defender’s Office.
Unanimously approved by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in September 2017, Stand Together CoCo will provide no-cost rapid-response support, civil deportation defense legal services and clinics, immigrant rights education and training, and direct-service support for individuals and families affected by the federal deportation system.
Stewarded by a multi-sector Steering Committee of local stakeholders, Stand Together CoCo is designed as a 2.5-year pilot project. For the Project’s initial six-month term (January 2-June 30, 2018), the total funding available is $491,843. Depending on performance during the initial phase, funding is expected to increase to $979,285 in fiscal year 2018/2019. A third year of funding at similar levels is possible for fiscal year 2019/2020.
The mission of Stand Together CoCo is to ensure that all people in Contra Costa County, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, are afforded the due-process rights established by the United States Constitution.
Private, not-for-profit organizations with demonstrated experience in developing and implementing immigrant-focused legal, educational, or support services are eligible to apply. Joint proposals are strongly encouraged.
A Bidders’ Conference will be held on Friday, November 3, 2017, from 1:30-3:30 PM, in the Zoning Administrator’s Room, 30 Muir Road, Martinez, CA, 94553. This conference is recommended but not mandatory.
All potential applicants must submit a non-binding Notice of Intent to Apply no later than 12 Noon on Wednesday, November 8, 2017.
Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 28, 2017.
Additional information and all necessary documents and forms can be found on the Stand Together CoCo website.
Read MoreEditor:
You can thank Assemblyman Jim Frazier for that pain at the pump you’re feeling now that gas is an extra 12 cents per gallon.
Frazier and his fellow Democrats in Sacramento raised taxes $52 billion annually, including a 12 cents/gallon gas tax hike, 20 cents/gallon diesel gas tax hike and a $25-$175 vehicle fee increase. The average household will be paying an extra $600 a year.
Frazier not only voted for the tax-hike legislation, but sponsored his own version of the tax-hike bill, Assembly Bill 1. So it’s no surprise that Frazier once again received an “F” on his legislative report card from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. He voted in favor of taxpayer interests only 16 percent of the time on 22 tax bills in 2017.
This makes the fifth year in a row that Frazier, whose campaign slogan is “People before politics,” has received an “F” from HJTA for putting politics before people when it comes to their taxes.
Unfortunately, Frazier is not alone – a record 79 legislators flunked the tax scorecard. “By approving major new burdens on middle class taxpayers, the current crop of Sacramento lawmakers is exhibiting an outright hostility to the taxpayers who pay the state’s bills,” said HJTA President Jon Coupal.
How bad is the hostility? State lawmakers this year proposed $373.4 billion in higher annual taxes and fees, according to the California Tax Foundation. That’s nearly $200 billion more than the total taxes and fees annually collected by state government.
When will it end? Only when taxpayers decide they’ve had enough and stop sending taxaholics like Frazier to represent them in Sacramento.
Dave Roberts
Oakley
Read MoreSettlement will also include costs and restitution for misleading customers by falsely promising guaranteed annual renewal rates to obtain up-front fees
MARTINEZ, California — Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton, in conjunction with Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, announced that on November 1, 2017, the District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Divisions reached a consumer protection settlement of $1.2 million in civil penalties against 24 Hour Fitness, Inc. The company must also pay $100,000 in costs to the County of Orange and Contra Costa, as well as pay restitution to the members who were misled by the promises of a low lifetime annual renewal rate in exchange for large up-front membership fees.
24 Hour Fitness is headquartered in San Ramon, Contra Costa County, California and has 400+ membership fitness gyms in 18 states, of which 140 are located in California. The allegations against 24 Hour Fitness state that between 2006 and 2009, 24 Hour sold pre-paid memberships in a false and misleading manner when 24 Hour sales representatives took large up-front fees for an initial 2 or 3-year membership period, with the promise that members would be guaranteed a low life-time annual renewal rate for life, as long as the member remained in good standing by paying their annual renewal fee on time. The up-front fees ranged from $600 to over $1400 with a promise of a fixed annual renewal rate between $29-$199 a year.
In 2006, 24 Hour made changes to the language of their pre-paid membership contracts that allowed for annual rate increases, but the District Attorneys alleged that 24 Hour sales representatives continued to sell these post-April 2006 memberships with verbal promises that their annual renewal rates would be guaranteed fixed for life. Consumers also believed they were misled by the verbal representations and in 2015, when 24 Hour began increasing annual renewal rates, they complained to the Company and the Better Business Bureau. They also started an on-line petition protesting the company’s broken promises.
The complaint alleges that 24 Hour refused to honor the verbal guarantees, so members who refused to pay the increased annual rate had their memberships terminated after having paid the large up-front fees or forced members to pay the increased rates.
The Settlement requires that 24 Hour Fitness allow pre-paid members to renew their memberships at the promised low annual lifetime renewal rate, if the member submits a claim form and declaration that they were told by a 24 Hour sales representative that their annual rate was guaranteed to remain the same for life. All past and present 24 Hour Fitness members, who purchased post 2006 pre-paid membership contracts, or were updated to these contracts, and either paid the increase or were terminated for failure to pay the increase, will be sent a notice with instructions on how, where and when to submit their forms and declarations.
The District Attorney’s Offices want to make it clear that, if you receive a notice, it means you have one of the new contracts that allows for the increase, even if your rate has not yet been increased. It is important, that if you were promised a lifetime guaranteed annual renewal rate you must fill out the claim form and declaration to preserve or reinstate your guaranteed annual renewal rate. The restitution provisions of this settlement extend to qualifying pre-paid members nationwide.
24 Hour Fitness admitted no wrong-doing in the Settlement Agreement.
Deputy District Attorney Michelle Cipolletti from the Orange County District Attorney’s Consumer Protection Unit and Deputy District Attorney Dodie Katague from the Contra Costa Consumer Protection Unit prosecuted this case.
For further information, please contact DDA Dodie Katague at 925-957-8604.
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