Freedom High students in the etiquette class learn how to properly set a table.
By John Crowder
Monday, May 8, marked the beginning of National Etiquette Week. More than just a list of manners, proper etiquette allows people to know how to handle themselves in life’s important interactions. How should you conduct yourself at a job interview? How about at a formal dinner? Do you know how to make a good first impression? Are you able to make a public presentation?
These are just a few of the questions that are answered in classes taught by Mrs. Tina Hayes, author of Getting Ahead with Etiquette and the owner and founder of the School of Etiquette and Decorum.
Etiquette class students learn to properly greet each other.
For the last few weeks, Hayes has been teaching a class on ‘Etiquette for Success’ to the students of Freedom High School in Oakley. Once a week, Freedom students meet after school and are taught the soft skills that are so valuable to success in school and in work, but that many no longer learn while growing up. As Hayes explains, “There was a time when these skills were taught in the home, when families still came together regularly for the evening meal. These days, that’s often not the case. Yet, we all know how valuable these skills are for students who want to successfully navigate their high school and college years, and especially when they enter the world of work.”
Hayes has been offering etiquette classes throughout the Bay Area and beyond over the last decade. Over the years, her classes have helped hundreds of people, both young and old, learn to be more confident and courteous, and to exhibit social graces. The training sessions conducted by Hayes and her staff cover more than 80 topics, and can be presented as workshops, seminars, or even in personal coaching sessions.
According to Hayes, “Our training gives individuals that ‘edge’ that will help them succeed throughout life and make for a better, and brighter, future.”
Her students, and their parents, agree. My son, Eddy Crowder, an 8th grader at Paideia Academy, has attended four etiquette classes during his Junior High years.
“These classes have really helped me be more confident at formal dinners, and when I speak with adults,” he said. “Mrs. Hayes is a great teacher.”
Wanda Ransom, the mother of a college-bound son who participated in the College Preparedness Training Workshop said, “Thank you so much for polishing his skills.”
This summer, from June 26 through 30, the School of Etiquette and Decorum will be offering a Summer Etiquette Day Camp from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center. Two sessions will run concurrently, one for children (ages 6 – 12) and the other for teens (ages 13 – 17). To learn more about these classes, or other offerings, contact Mrs. Tina Hayes at 925-519-0354 or visit the website at etiquetteschool.us.
Read MoreSince Nov. 1, 2015, there have been 87 shootings on Bay Area freeways in which eight people died – all of them in Contra Costa County – and 39 others were injured, according to the CHP. So far, this year there have been 21 shootings.
The Department of Transportation has pledged between $1.5- to $2-million for the installation of high-tech surveillance equipment on Highway 4 between west and east Contra Costa County.
Supervisor Federal Glover, chair of the Board of Supervisors, made this statement Monday:
“I’m happy to see that the State of California’s Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies agree with me and City of Pittsburg on how to stem the shootings on Highway 4 in Contra Costa County,” he said. “Last year, I dedicated money from the Keller Canyon Landfill Mitigation Fund to install cameras on Highway 4 from Bay Point to Antioch. Pittsburg found money in its budget to increase the funding needed to install high tech surveillance equipment along the same stretch of road.
“With the additional funding from the state, we can make the rest of Highway 4 safer all the way to west county by using cameras and shot locators,” he continued. “Criminal elements will no longer be able to hide when they commit their deadly activities on our public roadway.”
It was a coordinated effort among elected leaders in the county. According to a Mercury News article, last year, after the Pittsburg paid to install cameras pointing at Highway 4 in that city, “Hercules Mayor Dan Romero has led a campaign by the mayors of several Contra Costa County cities, along with Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson, to seek state funding to install law enforcement-friendly surveillance cameras freeway onramps and offramps throughout the county, and to upgrade existing Caltrans cameras so police can use them.”
Read More
Increases maximum fine from $1,000 to $10,000
Jeff Belle, source Contra Costa County Board of Education
Sacramento, CA – On Wednesday, May 10th, legislation by Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D – Discovery Bay) that will raise penalties for candidates for office who make willful misrepresentations on their candidate statements passed the Assembly Elections committee on an unanimous 7-to-0 vote.
“We can’t allow candidates to dupe the voters…to lie their way into office when tax dollars or the education of our children are at stake,” Frazier stated. “When the public’s trust is in question, the public deserves to know the truth when reading an official candidate statement. This bill holds candidates accountable by increasing the fine for any willful misrepresentation.”
AB 894 would increase the current fine for a willful misrepresentation in a candidate statement to $10,000. The current fine is set at a maximum of $1,000, which has not been an effective deterrent and has not kept up with inflation.
In August 2015, the Contra Costa District Attorney filed a suit in court, The People of the State of California vs. Jeffrey Belle, against a candidate for the Contra Costa Board of Education for knowingly making a false statement of fact in a candidate statement with the intent to mislead voters. In this particular case the candidate falsified his education credentials, his residence, and his criminal record. Instead of a punishment including a fine, he received only entry into a diversion program for offenders, despite the injustice perpetrated upon the voters. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this remains a problem in other jurisdictions.
AB 894 now heads to the Assembly Floor.
Read More
Sgt. Scott Lunger (Hayward Police Dept. photo)
Sacramento, CA – On Thursday, Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D – Discovery Bay) presented ACR 49 on the Assembly Floor that designates an eastern Contra Costa County portion of State Route 4 in memorial to Sgt. Scott Lunger for his service to public safety and personal contributions to his community.
“Sgt. Lunger’s sacrifice, made in the line of duty, deserves every bit of respect and recognition that can be give,” said Frazier. “Not only a dedicated officer of the law, Scott was also an active member of the East County community as a beloved volunteer coach for the Freedom High School girls’ softball team. We will miss Scott greatly and owe a debt of gratitude to him and his loved ones for their sacrifices.”
Lunger, 48, was a sergeant in the Hayward Police Department for 15 years, serving as a member of various specialty units, including the Special Duty Unit, Gang Task Force, and Special Weapons and Tactics team. As an avid sports fan, he loved the Oakland A’s, was a lifelong football fan and served as assistant coach for a high school softball program. Prior to his career in law enforcement, Lunger followed his father’s footsteps becoming a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 595, working up to the position of general foreman. On July 22, 2015, Lunger was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop.
According to SFGate.com, Lunger, 48, was “a Brentwood resident and father of two grown daughters, was fatally shot after pulling over the erratic driver of a white pickup truck on a quiet street corner southwest of downtown Hayward. Lunger loved pitching a tent in the Sierra with his family. He loved riding horses, and he enjoyed sports. In his spare time, he was an assistant softball coach at Freedom High in Oakley, and he played on the Tri-Valley A’s baseball team in an over-45 league.”
Read MoreBy Daniel Borsuk
Even with warning smoke signals rising over Washington and Sacramento that funding allotments might shrink, Contra Costa County Supervisors forged ahead and passed a $1.56 billion 2017-2018 budget loaded with spending priorities.
Except on two expense items, supervisors unanimously approved the new spending plan Tuesday, a 6.1% increase from the current fiscal year’s budget of $1.47 billion.
“We’ve been pretty conservative in developing this budget based on what’s been going on in Washington,” observed Supervisor Karen Andersen of Danville.
“We’re at a time of making tough budget decisions,” echoed board chair Federal Glover of Pittsburg, “We have to be careful. We don’t have the resources like we used to have.”
Even then supervisors forged ahead and approved a budget that will tap into rising revenues coming in from a robust local economy where the county unemployment rate is hovering around 4% and a strong real estate market has helped boost county assessed property value revenues swell 26.5% since 2012. The county assessor projects 2017-2018 fiscal year assessed value revenues will rise 5% to $201,288,700. That is an increase from $191,703,525 in 2016-2017.
Supervisor Karen Mitchoff voted against the board’s proposal to spend $250,000 for the Contra Costa Cares program. Other supervisors approved the allocation confident the nonprofit health organization will round up its matching $250,000 to provide medical services to undocumented immigrants especially in west Contra Costa.
Mitchoff did not think Contra Costa Cares will come through with its share of money. “It’s my concern the matching share will not materialize and for that reason I do not think the county should put its money into the Contra Costa Cares program,” Mitchoff told The Contra Costa Herald.
The Pleasant Hill supervisor also the voted against a proposal to spend $220,000 to help the financially struggling East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District reopen the shuttered Knightsen fire station with equal contributions from the first district and the cities of Brentwood and Oakley.
“I just don’t think it’s going to happen,” Mitchoff said about the Knightsen fire station debacle
On a 4 to 0 vote supervisors agreed to hire three deputy public defenders to help reduce the rising number of felony cases attorneys now handle. Currently each department felony public defender attorney handles 25 to 40 clients at a time.
Supervisor Anderson abstained from voting on the public defender item due to a potential conflict of interest with her husband’s work with the Bar Association.
Supervisors learned since April 18 two new capital cases were filed in the Public Defender’s Office that will increase work load.
Elsewhere, the new budget permits the Sherriff-Coroner Department to make 13 hires. The Public Works Department will hire 20 full-time workers.
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District plans to hire a Departmental Community and Media Relations Coordinator, a storekeeper, three fire dispatchers, and one assistant fire chief.
Searching for More Rental Revenue
In other action, the board referred to the Finance Committee a request from Supervisor John Gioia of El Cerrito a proposal to generate increased revenue from the rental of hotels located unincorporated areas by advertising those rentals on electronic hosting platforms like Airbnb.
The county generates $2 million to $2.5 million a year from a 10 percent transient occupancy tax that is assessed at four hotels located in unincorporated areas.
Those four hotels are the Burlington Hotel in Port Costa, The Renaissance Club Sport Hotel in unincorporated Walnut Creek, the Crowne Plaza in unincorporated Concord, and the Embassy Suites in unincorporated Walnut Creek.
Supervisors also voted 5-0 to authorize the county Conservation and Development Department to sign a disposition and development agreement with the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond for the sale of six parcels of property in North Richmond. The property is the planned site of a $26.4 million 42-unit low and moderate income housing project site. The development will include about 900 square feet of commercial/retail space.
Read More
Rajesh Kumar Singla
Detectives from the Special Victims Unit of the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division on Monday arrested 36-year-old Rajesh Kumar Singla of Milpitas for multiple counts of sexual assault charges.
Singla is a family medicine doctor, who is a member of the John Muir Health physician network. His office is located at 1450 Treat Boulevard in unincorporated Contra Costa County.
Complaints from a female patient against Singla were reported to the Office of the Sheriff earlier this month. Follow-ing an investigation, detectives arrested Singla without incident at his office after receiving an arrest warrant.
Singla was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on two counts of sexual battery, two counts of indecent exposure, and one count of attempted oral copulation. He was being held in lieu of $130,000 bail. Singla bailed out early this morning.
Detectives believe there may be additional victims. Anyone with any information or who believes they are a victim is asked to call detectives at (925) 313-2621. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
Read MoreDear Editor:
My name is JR Killigrew and I’m a community development manager at MCE, the CCE which the County, Danville and Oakley recently joined. I have worked with the City of Antioch on their climate action plan in my previous role. I did want to follow up and thank you for following the CCE movement in Contra Costa County. MCE is always happy to serve as a resource to media to help provide accurate information. We recently saw May 4th article about community choice and the County’s decision to join MCE. We wanted to clarify a few items in the article.
1) Feeling the heat from environmentalists, residents, and politicians, Contra Costa County supervisors took the big step Tuesday of picking a solar power plant developer that could potentially help consumers on average cut monthly bills up to 55 percent.
MCE strives to keep its rates competitive with PG&E and MCE has lowered its rates twice in the last 12 months. Since MCE launch, MCE has been less expensive 70% of the time compared to PG&E. MCE’s actual generation rate is much lower than PG&E’s but with additional CCE fees that are collected by PG&E, MCE normally is around the same cost as PG&E.
2) Other supervisors were more impressed with MCE’s seven-year track record, financial stability and $25 million in reserves and capability of generating good paying union jobs.
MCE has $50 million in reserves.
3) Some 285,000 residents residing in unincorporated Contra Costa County could see electricity rates decline in comparison to PG&E rates. For a large solar power project generating 5 megawatts per hour, the average monthly bills could potentially decline from $105 per Megawatt Hour (MWH) to $85 per MWH.
We believe the point that was trying to be addressed was the difference between PG&E’s Feed-In-Tariff rates and MCE Feed-in Tariff rates. MCE currently offers solar developers $115/MWh which we purchase the electricity from the developer. This program is an opportunity to catalyze the local solar market place to create local jobs and ensure energy resilience. There is no correlation with our Feed-In Tariff program and our customers’ rates.
I hope this is helpful and please let us know if you have any questions.
J.R. Killigrew
Community Development Manager, MCE
San Rafael
Read MoreEast Contra Costa Fire Protection District Interim Fire Chief Brian Helmick sent the following message about the closure:
At the May 1, 2017, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District’s Board of Directors Meeting (ECCFPD), the ECCFPD Board reaffirmed the closure of Station 94 in Knightsen on June 30, 2017. Since May of 2015, the Knightsen station has been operating on a temporary basis with joint funding provided through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Fire District, the County, and the cities of Brentwood and Oakley.
The current MOU provided temporary funding from May 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017. Both the cities of Brentwood and Oakley attempted to obtain permanent funding for additional fire stations through tax measures on the Novembers 2016 ballot. These measures failed.
A recent effort by the City of Brentwood, in conjunction with the County, the City of Oakley and the Fire District was unsuccessful in obtaining sufficient additional funding to retain staff and continue operation of the District’s 4th station. The Fire District sincerely extends its thanks on behalf of itself and the public to the agencies and their representatives who participated in this effort.
The closure of the station is driven primarily by the loss of staff in anticipation of the end of temporary funding. Currently the District has available only 32 of the 36 fire suppression personnel required to operate four stations. The available staff is expected to drop to 29 or 30 over the next few months. By June 30, 2017, the required staffing for four stations will be unsustainable and unsafe for firefighter personnel and ultimately the public.
The District looks forward to working with all stakeholders once the District has transitioned to a three-station operation and has reassessed its current situation. Over the next 3-4 months District staff and the Board of Directors will begin an assessment of the District’s current funding and service levels with a focus on the District’s critical retention challenges.
Since 2012, the District has lost 31 firefighters and only 5 have been from retirement. The primary loss of firefighters is due to: the lack of secured long term funding; the lack of job security for firefighters, and District pay and benefits substantially lower than other Fire Departments throughout the Area.
On July 1, 2017, the District will transition to operating with 3 stations and will assign all remaining additional firefighters, as available, to the 3 remaining District stations located in Brentwood, Oakley and Discovery Bay. The District plans to retain the CALFIRE Amador contract to Staff the Sunshine Station outside of fire season. There are no layoffs planned and the District hopes to retain all remaining staff on a permanent basis.
Following the Board’s approval of the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget in September, the District plans to lead a new collaborative effort with the community, the County, the Cities of Brentwood and Oakley, and Local 1230. The goal will be to fully explain the District’s situation and to receive input on the development of a District strategic plan to achieve the level of service and funding identified in the June 2016 CityGate “Deployment Performance and Headquarters Staffing Adequacy Study”.
On behalf of the ECCFPD, we thank the community, the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, and County officials for continuing to support the Fire District and its Members as we transition through these challenging times.
See video footage of the fire station from KRON4 News, here.
Read More
‘Tipsy Tow’ Program Helps Keep Impaired Drivers Off The Road
Once, again AAA wants Cinco de Mayo fiesta-goers to celebrate and enjoy the day safely. To assist, AAA Northern California will offer its Tipsy Tow service free of charge to anybody who feels they’re too impaired to drive. You do not need to be a AAA Member to take advantage of this free service to the community.
“AAA wants everybody to have fun on Cinco de Mayo, but driving impaired is no fun for anyone. If you need a ride call AAA and we’ll make sure you get home safely,” said John Moreno, spokesperson for AAA Northern California. “AAA’s Tipsy Tow is free to anyone in need. You can’t beat the price.”
AAA’s Tipsy Tow service will start at 6 p.m. Friday, May 5, and will run through 6 a.m. Saturday, March 6. Drivers, passengers, party hosts, bartenders and/or restaurant managers should:
- Call 1-800-AAA-HELP (1-800-222-4357) between 6 p.m. May 5 and 6 a.m. May 6.
- State that they need a “Tipsy Tow.”
- Provide the driver’s name, home address, phone number and vehicle/driver location.
The service will provide a one-way ride for drivers and their vehicle to the driver’s home. If there are additional passengers who need a ride, they will be taken to the driver’s home as long as they can be transported safely in the tow truck. Tipsy Tow does not take reservations.
AAA estimates that a first-time misdemeanor DUI conviction in California can cost approximately $15,649 or more in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees and increased insurance costs. DUI-related costs have risen sharply in recent years largely due to steep increases in fines and insurance for DUI drivers. Of course there is no price tag on a crash that causes an injury or death.
Read More
Freedom High students in the etiquette class learn how to properly set a table.
By John Crowder
Monday, May 8, marked the beginning of National Etiquette Week. More than just a list of manners, proper etiquette allows people to know how to handle themselves in life’s important interactions. How should you conduct yourself at a job interview? How about at a formal dinner? Do you know how to make a good first impression? Are you able to make a public presentation?
These are just a few of the questions that are answered in classes taught by Mrs. Tina Hayes, author of Getting Ahead with Etiquette and the owner and founder of the School of Etiquette and Decorum.
Etiquette class students learn to properly greet each other.
For the last few weeks, Hayes has been teaching a class on ‘Etiquette for Success’ to the students of Freedom High School in Oakley. Once a week, Freedom students meet after school and are taught the soft skills that are so valuable to success in school and in work, but that many no longer learn while growing up. As Hayes explains, “There was a time when these skills were taught in the home, when families still came together regularly for the evening meal. These days, that’s often not the case. Yet, we all know how valuable these skills are for students who want to successfully navigate their high school and college years, and especially when they enter the world of work.”
Hayes has been offering etiquette classes throughout the Bay Area and beyond over the last decade. Over the years, her classes have helped hundreds of people, both young and old, learn to be more confident and courteous, and to exhibit social graces. The training sessions conducted by Hayes and her staff cover more than 80 topics, and can be presented as workshops, seminars, or even in personal coaching sessions.
According to Hayes, “Our training gives individuals that ‘edge’ that will help them succeed throughout life and make for a better, and brighter, future.”
Her students, and their parents, agree. My son, Eddy Crowder, an 8th grader at Paideia Academy, has attended four etiquette classes during his Junior High years.
“These classes have really helped me be more confident at formal dinners, and when I speak with adults,” he said. “Mrs. Hayes is a great teacher.”
Wanda Ransom, the mother of a college-bound son who participated in the College Preparedness Training Workshop said, “Thank you so much for polishing his skills.”
This summer, from June 26 through 30, the School of Etiquette and Decorum will be offering a Summer Etiquette Day Camp from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center. Two sessions will run concurrently, one for children (ages 6 – 12) and the other for teens (ages 13 – 17). To learn more about these classes, or other offerings, contact Mrs. Tina Hayes at 925-519-0354 or visit the website at etiquetteschool.us.
Read MoreSince Nov. 1, 2015, there have been 87 shootings on Bay Area freeways in which eight people died – all of them in Contra Costa County – and 39 others were injured, according to the CHP. So far, this year there have been 21 shootings.
The Department of Transportation has pledged between $1.5- to $2-million for the installation of high-tech surveillance equipment on Highway 4 between west and east Contra Costa County.
Supervisor Federal Glover, chair of the Board of Supervisors, made this statement Monday:
“I’m happy to see that the State of California’s Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies agree with me and City of Pittsburg on how to stem the shootings on Highway 4 in Contra Costa County,” he said. “Last year, I dedicated money from the Keller Canyon Landfill Mitigation Fund to install cameras on Highway 4 from Bay Point to Antioch. Pittsburg found money in its budget to increase the funding needed to install high tech surveillance equipment along the same stretch of road.
“With the additional funding from the state, we can make the rest of Highway 4 safer all the way to west county by using cameras and shot locators,” he continued. “Criminal elements will no longer be able to hide when they commit their deadly activities on our public roadway.”
It was a coordinated effort among elected leaders in the county. According to a Mercury News article, last year, after the Pittsburg paid to install cameras pointing at Highway 4 in that city, “Hercules Mayor Dan Romero has led a campaign by the mayors of several Contra Costa County cities, along with Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson, to seek state funding to install law enforcement-friendly surveillance cameras freeway onramps and offramps throughout the county, and to upgrade existing Caltrans cameras so police can use them.”
Read MoreIncreases maximum fine from $1,000 to $10,000
Jeff Belle, source Contra Costa County Board of Education
Sacramento, CA – On Wednesday, May 10th, legislation by Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D – Discovery Bay) that will raise penalties for candidates for office who make willful misrepresentations on their candidate statements passed the Assembly Elections committee on an unanimous 7-to-0 vote.
“We can’t allow candidates to dupe the voters…to lie their way into office when tax dollars or the education of our children are at stake,” Frazier stated. “When the public’s trust is in question, the public deserves to know the truth when reading an official candidate statement. This bill holds candidates accountable by increasing the fine for any willful misrepresentation.”
AB 894 would increase the current fine for a willful misrepresentation in a candidate statement to $10,000. The current fine is set at a maximum of $1,000, which has not been an effective deterrent and has not kept up with inflation.
In August 2015, the Contra Costa District Attorney filed a suit in court, The People of the State of California vs. Jeffrey Belle, against a candidate for the Contra Costa Board of Education for knowingly making a false statement of fact in a candidate statement with the intent to mislead voters. In this particular case the candidate falsified his education credentials, his residence, and his criminal record. Instead of a punishment including a fine, he received only entry into a diversion program for offenders, despite the injustice perpetrated upon the voters. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this remains a problem in other jurisdictions.
AB 894 now heads to the Assembly Floor.
Read MoreSgt. Scott Lunger (Hayward Police Dept. photo)
Sacramento, CA – On Thursday, Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D – Discovery Bay) presented ACR 49 on the Assembly Floor that designates an eastern Contra Costa County portion of State Route 4 in memorial to Sgt. Scott Lunger for his service to public safety and personal contributions to his community.
“Sgt. Lunger’s sacrifice, made in the line of duty, deserves every bit of respect and recognition that can be give,” said Frazier. “Not only a dedicated officer of the law, Scott was also an active member of the East County community as a beloved volunteer coach for the Freedom High School girls’ softball team. We will miss Scott greatly and owe a debt of gratitude to him and his loved ones for their sacrifices.”
Lunger, 48, was a sergeant in the Hayward Police Department for 15 years, serving as a member of various specialty units, including the Special Duty Unit, Gang Task Force, and Special Weapons and Tactics team. As an avid sports fan, he loved the Oakland A’s, was a lifelong football fan and served as assistant coach for a high school softball program. Prior to his career in law enforcement, Lunger followed his father’s footsteps becoming a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 595, working up to the position of general foreman. On July 22, 2015, Lunger was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop.
According to SFGate.com, Lunger, 48, was “a Brentwood resident and father of two grown daughters, was fatally shot after pulling over the erratic driver of a white pickup truck on a quiet street corner southwest of downtown Hayward. Lunger loved pitching a tent in the Sierra with his family. He loved riding horses, and he enjoyed sports. In his spare time, he was an assistant softball coach at Freedom High in Oakley, and he played on the Tri-Valley A’s baseball team in an over-45 league.”
Read MoreBy Daniel Borsuk
Even with warning smoke signals rising over Washington and Sacramento that funding allotments might shrink, Contra Costa County Supervisors forged ahead and passed a $1.56 billion 2017-2018 budget loaded with spending priorities.
Except on two expense items, supervisors unanimously approved the new spending plan Tuesday, a 6.1% increase from the current fiscal year’s budget of $1.47 billion.
“We’ve been pretty conservative in developing this budget based on what’s been going on in Washington,” observed Supervisor Karen Andersen of Danville.
“We’re at a time of making tough budget decisions,” echoed board chair Federal Glover of Pittsburg, “We have to be careful. We don’t have the resources like we used to have.”
Even then supervisors forged ahead and approved a budget that will tap into rising revenues coming in from a robust local economy where the county unemployment rate is hovering around 4% and a strong real estate market has helped boost county assessed property value revenues swell 26.5% since 2012. The county assessor projects 2017-2018 fiscal year assessed value revenues will rise 5% to $201,288,700. That is an increase from $191,703,525 in 2016-2017.
Supervisor Karen Mitchoff voted against the board’s proposal to spend $250,000 for the Contra Costa Cares program. Other supervisors approved the allocation confident the nonprofit health organization will round up its matching $250,000 to provide medical services to undocumented immigrants especially in west Contra Costa.
Mitchoff did not think Contra Costa Cares will come through with its share of money. “It’s my concern the matching share will not materialize and for that reason I do not think the county should put its money into the Contra Costa Cares program,” Mitchoff told The Contra Costa Herald.
The Pleasant Hill supervisor also the voted against a proposal to spend $220,000 to help the financially struggling East Contra Costa County Fire Protection District reopen the shuttered Knightsen fire station with equal contributions from the first district and the cities of Brentwood and Oakley.
“I just don’t think it’s going to happen,” Mitchoff said about the Knightsen fire station debacle
On a 4 to 0 vote supervisors agreed to hire three deputy public defenders to help reduce the rising number of felony cases attorneys now handle. Currently each department felony public defender attorney handles 25 to 40 clients at a time.
Supervisor Anderson abstained from voting on the public defender item due to a potential conflict of interest with her husband’s work with the Bar Association.
Supervisors learned since April 18 two new capital cases were filed in the Public Defender’s Office that will increase work load.
Elsewhere, the new budget permits the Sherriff-Coroner Department to make 13 hires. The Public Works Department will hire 20 full-time workers.
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District plans to hire a Departmental Community and Media Relations Coordinator, a storekeeper, three fire dispatchers, and one assistant fire chief.
Searching for More Rental Revenue
In other action, the board referred to the Finance Committee a request from Supervisor John Gioia of El Cerrito a proposal to generate increased revenue from the rental of hotels located unincorporated areas by advertising those rentals on electronic hosting platforms like Airbnb.
The county generates $2 million to $2.5 million a year from a 10 percent transient occupancy tax that is assessed at four hotels located in unincorporated areas.
Those four hotels are the Burlington Hotel in Port Costa, The Renaissance Club Sport Hotel in unincorporated Walnut Creek, the Crowne Plaza in unincorporated Concord, and the Embassy Suites in unincorporated Walnut Creek.
Supervisors also voted 5-0 to authorize the county Conservation and Development Department to sign a disposition and development agreement with the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond for the sale of six parcels of property in North Richmond. The property is the planned site of a $26.4 million 42-unit low and moderate income housing project site. The development will include about 900 square feet of commercial/retail space.
Read MoreRajesh Kumar Singla
Detectives from the Special Victims Unit of the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division on Monday arrested 36-year-old Rajesh Kumar Singla of Milpitas for multiple counts of sexual assault charges.
Singla is a family medicine doctor, who is a member of the John Muir Health physician network. His office is located at 1450 Treat Boulevard in unincorporated Contra Costa County.
Complaints from a female patient against Singla were reported to the Office of the Sheriff earlier this month. Follow-ing an investigation, detectives arrested Singla without incident at his office after receiving an arrest warrant.
Singla was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on two counts of sexual battery, two counts of indecent exposure, and one count of attempted oral copulation. He was being held in lieu of $130,000 bail. Singla bailed out early this morning.
Detectives believe there may be additional victims. Anyone with any information or who believes they are a victim is asked to call detectives at (925) 313-2621. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
Read MoreDear Editor:
My name is JR Killigrew and I’m a community development manager at MCE, the CCE which the County, Danville and Oakley recently joined. I have worked with the City of Antioch on their climate action plan in my previous role. I did want to follow up and thank you for following the CCE movement in Contra Costa County. MCE is always happy to serve as a resource to media to help provide accurate information. We recently saw May 4th article about community choice and the County’s decision to join MCE. We wanted to clarify a few items in the article.
1) Feeling the heat from environmentalists, residents, and politicians, Contra Costa County supervisors took the big step Tuesday of picking a solar power plant developer that could potentially help consumers on average cut monthly bills up to 55 percent.
MCE strives to keep its rates competitive with PG&E and MCE has lowered its rates twice in the last 12 months. Since MCE launch, MCE has been less expensive 70% of the time compared to PG&E. MCE’s actual generation rate is much lower than PG&E’s but with additional CCE fees that are collected by PG&E, MCE normally is around the same cost as PG&E.
2) Other supervisors were more impressed with MCE’s seven-year track record, financial stability and $25 million in reserves and capability of generating good paying union jobs.
MCE has $50 million in reserves.
3) Some 285,000 residents residing in unincorporated Contra Costa County could see electricity rates decline in comparison to PG&E rates. For a large solar power project generating 5 megawatts per hour, the average monthly bills could potentially decline from $105 per Megawatt Hour (MWH) to $85 per MWH.
We believe the point that was trying to be addressed was the difference between PG&E’s Feed-In-Tariff rates and MCE Feed-in Tariff rates. MCE currently offers solar developers $115/MWh which we purchase the electricity from the developer. This program is an opportunity to catalyze the local solar market place to create local jobs and ensure energy resilience. There is no correlation with our Feed-In Tariff program and our customers’ rates.
I hope this is helpful and please let us know if you have any questions.
J.R. Killigrew
Community Development Manager, MCE
San Rafael
Read MoreEast Contra Costa Fire Protection District Interim Fire Chief Brian Helmick sent the following message about the closure:
At the May 1, 2017, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District’s Board of Directors Meeting (ECCFPD), the ECCFPD Board reaffirmed the closure of Station 94 in Knightsen on June 30, 2017. Since May of 2015, the Knightsen station has been operating on a temporary basis with joint funding provided through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Fire District, the County, and the cities of Brentwood and Oakley.
The current MOU provided temporary funding from May 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017. Both the cities of Brentwood and Oakley attempted to obtain permanent funding for additional fire stations through tax measures on the Novembers 2016 ballot. These measures failed.
A recent effort by the City of Brentwood, in conjunction with the County, the City of Oakley and the Fire District was unsuccessful in obtaining sufficient additional funding to retain staff and continue operation of the District’s 4th station. The Fire District sincerely extends its thanks on behalf of itself and the public to the agencies and their representatives who participated in this effort.
The closure of the station is driven primarily by the loss of staff in anticipation of the end of temporary funding. Currently the District has available only 32 of the 36 fire suppression personnel required to operate four stations. The available staff is expected to drop to 29 or 30 over the next few months. By June 30, 2017, the required staffing for four stations will be unsustainable and unsafe for firefighter personnel and ultimately the public.
The District looks forward to working with all stakeholders once the District has transitioned to a three-station operation and has reassessed its current situation. Over the next 3-4 months District staff and the Board of Directors will begin an assessment of the District’s current funding and service levels with a focus on the District’s critical retention challenges.
Since 2012, the District has lost 31 firefighters and only 5 have been from retirement. The primary loss of firefighters is due to: the lack of secured long term funding; the lack of job security for firefighters, and District pay and benefits substantially lower than other Fire Departments throughout the Area.
On July 1, 2017, the District will transition to operating with 3 stations and will assign all remaining additional firefighters, as available, to the 3 remaining District stations located in Brentwood, Oakley and Discovery Bay. The District plans to retain the CALFIRE Amador contract to Staff the Sunshine Station outside of fire season. There are no layoffs planned and the District hopes to retain all remaining staff on a permanent basis.
Following the Board’s approval of the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget in September, the District plans to lead a new collaborative effort with the community, the County, the Cities of Brentwood and Oakley, and Local 1230. The goal will be to fully explain the District’s situation and to receive input on the development of a District strategic plan to achieve the level of service and funding identified in the June 2016 CityGate “Deployment Performance and Headquarters Staffing Adequacy Study”.
On behalf of the ECCFPD, we thank the community, the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, and County officials for continuing to support the Fire District and its Members as we transition through these challenging times.
See video footage of the fire station from KRON4 News, here.
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‘Tipsy Tow’ Program Helps Keep Impaired Drivers Off The Road
Once, again AAA wants Cinco de Mayo fiesta-goers to celebrate and enjoy the day safely. To assist, AAA Northern California will offer its Tipsy Tow service free of charge to anybody who feels they’re too impaired to drive. You do not need to be a AAA Member to take advantage of this free service to the community.
“AAA wants everybody to have fun on Cinco de Mayo, but driving impaired is no fun for anyone. If you need a ride call AAA and we’ll make sure you get home safely,” said John Moreno, spokesperson for AAA Northern California. “AAA’s Tipsy Tow is free to anyone in need. You can’t beat the price.”
AAA’s Tipsy Tow service will start at 6 p.m. Friday, May 5, and will run through 6 a.m. Saturday, March 6. Drivers, passengers, party hosts, bartenders and/or restaurant managers should:
- Call 1-800-AAA-HELP (1-800-222-4357) between 6 p.m. May 5 and 6 a.m. May 6.
- State that they need a “Tipsy Tow.”
- Provide the driver’s name, home address, phone number and vehicle/driver location.
The service will provide a one-way ride for drivers and their vehicle to the driver’s home. If there are additional passengers who need a ride, they will be taken to the driver’s home as long as they can be transported safely in the tow truck. Tipsy Tow does not take reservations.
AAA estimates that a first-time misdemeanor DUI conviction in California can cost approximately $15,649 or more in fines, penalties, restitution, legal fees and increased insurance costs. DUI-related costs have risen sharply in recent years largely due to steep increases in fines and insurance for DUI drivers. Of course there is no price tag on a crash that causes an injury or death.
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