7-year-old boy discovered in suspects’ vehicle was child of driver; both suspects have history of arrests
By Lafayette Police Department
Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 28, 2024, at about 2 PM, Lafayette police officers responded to a report of a robbery at a fast-food restaurant on the 3500 block of Mt. Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette.
Officers identified the suspect vehicle and determined it was involved in armed robberies in Solano and Marin Counties earlier in the day.
At about 2:12 PM, a Lafayette officer located the suspect vehicle traveling westbound on Highway 24. The vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed leading the officer on a pursuit that went west on Camino Pablo toward El Sobrante.
While on Camino Pablo (which turns into San Pablo Dam Road), the suspect vehicle apparently lost traction and collided with another car traveling in the opposing lane.
Two occupants in the suspect vehicle were taken into custody. They are identified as 24-year-old Jajuan Ojeda of Oakland and 39-year-old Aevra Traylor of Sacramento. Officers discovered a 7-year-old boy in the suspect vehicle who turned out to be the child of the driver. Ojeda and Traylor were booked into the Martinez Detention Facility and are facing charges that include robbery, felony evasion, and child endangerment. Both also had multiple warrants for their arrest.
The driver of the vehicle who was struck on San Pablo Dam Road was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to localcrimenews.com, the 5-foot, 6-inch, 160-lb. Ojeda has a history of arrests dating back to 2017 inclulding once in December 2023, by the Sheriff’s Departments of Marin and Alameda counties and Oakland PD for crimes including carjacking, assault with a firearm, and multiple charges of evasion and resisting arrest.
According to localcrimenews.com, 5-foot, 5-inch, 165-lb. Traylor also has a history of arrests dating to 2017, including three times in December 2023, by the Sheriff’s Departments of Marin, Sacramento and Solano counties, Solano CHP and Castro Valley CHP for crimes including multiple vehicle thefts, driving with a suspended license, receiving stolen property, DUI, multiple gun charges, evasion of a police officer – driving on the wrong side of the road and wanton disregard for safety, and drug possession.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
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By Allen D. Payton
Some of the same unions backing Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson in the Assembly District 15 race on the March primary ballot have spent almost $253,000 attacking one of her three opponents, former Contra Costa County Supervisor Karen Mitchoff.
At least four mailers have been sent to Democrat voters in the district criticizing Mitchoff’s pay raise she voted for while on the board, and her votes against pay raises for county employees.
Two of the mailers obtained by the Herald show they were paid for by “Opportunity PAC – A coalition of teachers, health care givers, faculty members, school employees, and public and private employee organizations.” The political action committee’s Top Funders for the mailers are listed as SEIU (Service Employees International Union) California State Council, California Faculty Association (of the UC and CSU systems) and California School Employee Association.
When asked about the mailers Mitchoff said they’re all pretty much about the same issue. The same group with the same message. My decision was made over 10 years ago and I wanted to make sure the county supervisors were paid to make it a full-time position.” She also pointed out that she did vote for pay raises for county employees, “in 2022, giving them 5% a year for four years, for a total increase of 20%.”
The interesting part is that some of the state teachers’ unions including college and university faculty and staff are helping pay for the mailers, even though as a member of the Board of Supervisors, Mitchoff had no say about education funding.
According to Cal-Access, the California Secretary of State’s campaign finance reporting website, so far, the PAC has made three expenditures of $46,446.03 each for three mailers opposing Mitchoff, two on Feb. 1 and one on Feb. 13, 2024. The cost for a fourth mailer that appear under the PAC’s Accrued Expenses show an additional $46,446.03. That totals $185,784.12. In addition, the PAC spent $37,000.00 on polling and consulting and $30,126.43 on research in their effort against Mitchoff.
Contributions to PAC Total Over $2.5 Million
The PAC is supporting and opposing a variety of candidates throughout the state. Their most recent Form 460 financial disclosure report dated Feb. 17, 2024, shows they have raised $1.715 million this year and their report ending Dec. 31, 2023, shows $803,500 was raised last year for a total of $2,518,500. They had cash on hand of over $1.1 million as of Feb. 17th.
Contributions include the following amounts and sources:
$750,000 from the California Teachers Association Independent Expenditure Committee;
$534,500 from SEIU California State Council for Working People;
$225,000 from PACE (Political Action for Classified Employees) of California School Employees Association;
$190,000 from Smart Justice California Action Fund;
$150,000 from United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council Independent Expenditure PAC;
$150,000 from California Federation of Teachers COPE (Committee on Political Education);
$150,000 from Service Employees International Union Local 1000, Keeping California Healthy, Safe and Strong;
$100,000 from Service Employees International Union Local 721 CTW, CLC Workers’ Strength Committee;
$75,000 from SEIU United Healthcare Workers West PAC;
$59,500 from Faculty for Our University’s Future, a committee sponsored by California Faculty Association;
$59,500 from Standing Committee on Political Education of the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO;
$50,000 from the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay Bisexual & Transgender) Caucus Leadership Fund; and
$25,000 from SEIU California State Council (nonprofit 501 (c)(5))
Wilson’s Backers Funding Mitchoff Opposition Effort
Wilson’s campaign has been the beneficiary of support from many of those same unions. On her campaign website, Wilson shows endorsements by the California Faculty Association, SEIU California, National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and United Food & Commercial Workers Local 5, as well as unions that are members of the AFL-CIO.
Wilson and Mitchoff also face two others in the race, including County School Board Trustee Anamarie Avila Farias and Realtor Sonia Ledo in the March 5th primary election next Tuesday. The top two will face off in the November election.
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By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
On Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at 10:33 AM, the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force was conducting an enforcement operation.
The ICAC task force in Contra Costa County includes investigators from the Walnut Creek, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, Concord Police Departments, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and Inspectors from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators went to a residence in Danville to arrest a suspect who solicited a detective posing as a 13-year-old boy for sex. The suspect, a 50-year-old Hispanic male out of Fairfield, CA, was arrested for arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes (PC 288.4(b)), contacting a minor to commit a felony (PC 288.3(a)), at-tempted lewd acts on a child (PC 664/288(a)), attempted sending harmful material to seduce a minor (PC 664/288.2(a)(1), and resisting arrest (PC 148).
While being transported to the Martinez Detention Facility, the suspect
attempted suicide by hanging himself. Medical aid was rendered, and the suspect was transported to a local hospital. The investigation is ongoing.
Read MoreAfter he raised a pistol at officers
By Jimmy Lee, PIO, Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office
Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston announces that a coroner’s jury today reached a finding in the June 28, 2023, shooting death of 66-year-old Kevin James McDonald of Richmond by police. The finding of the jury is that the manner of death is suicide.
The coroner’s jury reached the verdict in the inquest after hearing the testimony of witnesses called by hearing officer Matthew Guichard.
As previously reported, On June 28, 2023, officers from the Richmond Police Department were involved in an officer-involved shooting in the 1200 block of Sanderling Island of Richmond.
Officers approached a closed bedroom door, which they opened while they announced themselves as being “Richmond Police”. As officers opened the door, they located McDonald seated on a bed, armed with an AR-15-style pistol. McDonald raised his weapon toward officers, at which time an officer-involved shooting occurred.
Officers provided medical aid to McDonald, who was pronounced deceased, by responding medical personnel. He had prior felony convictions that prohibited him from possessing firearms.
A subsequent search of the residence resulted in detectives locating a total of 53 firearms, including 23 pistols, 8 revolvers, 20 rifles, and two shotguns. A live hand grenade along with a large quantity of ammunition was seized. Materials to manufacture illegal firearms were also seized.
A coroner’s inquest, which Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston convenes in fatal incidents involving law enforcement personnel, is a public hearing during which a jury rules on the manner of a person’s death. Jury members can choose from the following four options when making their finding: Accident, Suicide, Natural Causes or At the hands of another person, other than by accident.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreGroup behind effort to defeat her has spent over $233,000
By Allen D. Payton
At least two campaign mailers against candidate for State Assembly District 15 Anamarie Avila Farias were sent to voters this month by a group named “Contra Costa Neighbors opposed to Farias for Assembly 2024”, and the most recent mailer clearly stretches the truth in one of its claims. They’re part of an effort that has spent over $233,000 to defeat her, so far.
The mailer readers “Typical Politician Anamarie Avila Farias’ Double-Dipping Record Hurt Progress on Homelessness” and among other accusations claims she, “Collected salaries and benefits from multiple governmental agencies at the same time.”
The mailer offers a link to “Check The Facts” on the Transparent California website, which lists public employees’ compensation records provided to them by government agencies. – http://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=anamarie+farias&y=.
First, while I prefer employees for one government agency to not serve as elected officials for another, it’s not uncommon for local elected officials to also work for other government agencies. That was the case for Avila Farias 10 and 11 years ago. Since then, she has worked for a non-governmental agency and non-profit organization, while serving as both an elected and appointed official.
Some of that information is listed on Avila-Farias’ campaign website.
Government Employment
When reviewing the information about the Assembly candidate on the Transparent California website, it shows she previously worked in government positions as a Senior Management Analyst for the City of Oakland in 2013, then a Program Analyst for the City of Concord in 2013 and 2014, for which she was paid a salary and benefits. Those positions aren’t mentioned on her campaign website but are the only government positions she has held.
Non-Government, Elected & Appointed Positions
Avila Farias currently works as the executive director for the Juvenile Hall Auxiliary of Contra Costa County, a non-profit organization, for which she first served on the board of directors. Avila Farias said she stepped down from the board after being hired to run the organization in 2019.
As a member of the Martinez City Council from 2012-16, Avila Farias received pay and benefits totaling $16,552.01 to $18,791.48 per year. She is now serving in her first term as an elected trustee on the Contra Costa County Board of Education, having been elected in 2020, for which she receives about $550 in stipend and $2,500 in benefits per month.
Avila Farias has also served on the Board of Directors of the California Housing Finance Agency since she was appointed in 2015, for which she said she receives a small stipend of $100 per meeting. That was confirmed by agency staff and is also reflected on the Transparent California website. Avila Farias also serves on the Board of Directors of the Carquinez Regional Environmental Education Center, but that is not a paid position.
According to her profile on the Finance Authority’s website, “She held multiple positions at the Housing Authority of Contra Costa County from 1989 to 2018, including Housing Policy and Program Analyst and Central Waiting List Housing Manager.” However, according to the Housing Authority website, it is not a government agency even though its seven-member board includes all five county supervisors.
Following is the list of Avila Farias’ government position-related compensation from the Transparent California website to which the mailer provides the link, in order of years:
Year Position Pay Benefits Total______
2012 Martinez Council Member $195.97 $294.78 $490.75
2013 Martinez Council Member $7,020.00 $9,532.01 $16,552.01
2013 Senior Management Analyst, City of Oakland $20,381.66 $8,850.29 $29,231.95
2013 Program Manager, City of Concord $60,587.94 $21,271.40 $81,859.34
2014 Program Manager, City of Concord $31,087.64 $7,038.95 $38,126.59
2014 Member, Martinez Council $7,020.00 $11,348.02 $18,368.02
2015 Member, Martinez Council $7,020.00 $11,771.48 $18,791.48
2016 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $200.00 $ -0- $200.00
2016 Member, Martinez Council $6,834.00 $11,523.00 $18,357.00
2016 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $700.00 $ -0- $700.00
2017 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $700.00 $ -0- $700.00
2018 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $700.00 $ -0- $700.00
2019 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $500.00 $ -0- $500.00
2020 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $700.00 $ -0- $700.00
2020 Member, Contra Costa Board of Education $541.97 $ -0- $541.97
2021 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $800.00 $ -0- $800.00
2021 Member, Contra Costa Board of Education $6,720.44 $30,590.42 $37,310.86
2022 Member, CA Housing Finance Agency Board $700.00 $ -0- $700.00
2022 Member, Contra Costa Board of Education $6,857.99 $29,685.26 $36,542.55
Mostly False
So, there were only two years, 2013 and 2014 that Avila Farias received pay and benefits both as a government employee and as an elected official, supporting the mailer’s claim of her “double dipping”. But even that is a stretch as she wasn’t paid a salary for both positions, merely a stipend for her elected position and benefits for both and it was for only two agencies at a time. Thus, the mailer’s claim that Avila Farias “Collected salaries and benefits from multiple governmental agencies at the same time” is mostly false.
Group Behind the Mailers
According to the disclosure requirement on the mailers, the group behind them “a coalition of charter public school advocates, insurance agents, technology, energy, and health care providers” and the “Ad Committee’s Top Funder” is listed as a political action committee (PAC) named “Keeping Californians Working.” A search of the California Secretary of State’s Cal-Access campaign finance website shows the committee’s FPPC ID number is 1365806 and as of the Feb. 17, 2024 report has raised $521,500 and spent $658,516.89 this year, with ending cash of $759,206.46. The PAC raised $1.125 million in 2023.
According to the PAC’s reports the coalition has spent over $233,000 to defeat Avila Farias. The PAC’s Form 497 Late Contribution Report number 321801-05 dated Feb. 26, 2024, shows they contributed $30,000 to the Contra Costa Neighbors opposed to Avila Farias coalition. According to the PAC’s Form 497 Late Contribution Report number 321801-04 dated Feb. 22, 2024, the committee also contributed $52,785 to defeat her, and report number 21801-03 dated Feb. 20, 2024, shows they contributed $150,000 to the effort against Avila Farias. Another Form 497 report number 321801-06 was filed today, Wednesday, Feb. 28 for an additional $1,000 contribution to the coalition’s efforts.
The PAC’s major contributors include $125,000 from the Personal Insurance Federation of CA Agents & Employees PAC; $250,000 from the Pharmaceutical Research And Manufacturers Of America IEC (Independent Expenditure Committee); $250,000 from Uber Innovation Political Action Committee; $250,000 from Powering California’s Future, Sponsored by Edison International, the Los Angeles-area energy company; $250,000 from DaVita, Inc., a kidney dialysis company; and most recently, $10,000 from Leadership for California: East Bay Committee, whose ID number was pending as of the date of the Form 49 report on Feb. 5, 2024. The PAC is also spending money to support other candidates in other parts of the state.
The election is next Tuesday, March 5. Avila Farias faces fellow Democrats former Contra Costa County Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson and Republican Realtor Sonia Ledo in the race to replace Assemblyman Tim Grayson who is running for State Senate. The top two candidates will face off in the November general election.
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Supervisors suspend all-electric requirements following U.S. Court of Appeals ruling
(Martinez, CA) – The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Tuesday suspended enforcement of its requirement that most new buildings be constructed as all-electric buildings. The County’s all-electric building requirement, as part of the County’s building code, had prohibited the installation of natural gas infrastructure in most new buildings and required developers to use electricity as the sole source of energy in the building. With Tuesday’s action, the County’s all-electric building requirement will not be enforced.
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit invalidated a City of Berkeley ordinance that prohibited natural gas infrastructure in new buildings. The court held that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act precludes cities and counties from adopting building codes that prohibit the installation of gas plumbing in buildings.
Contra Costa County’s all-electric building requirement, like the invalidated City of Berkeley ordinance, prohibits the installation of gas plumbing in new buildings. The County is therefore suspending this requirement in response to the Ninth Circuit’s decision.
At the same time, the Board of Supervisors remains committed to the goals that prompted it to adopt the all-electric requirement: improving public health and fighting what they believe contributes to climate change. The Board referred the topic of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings to its Sustainability Committee and directed staff to report on alternatives for advancing this objective at the Committee’s next meeting.
“Contra Costa County remains committed to reducing the use of fossil fuels in buildings and continues to support the construction of new buildings using all-electric technologies. We are eager to identify new and innovative ways to continue to pursue our goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.” said Board Chair Federal D. Glover, District 5 Supervisor.
The County encourages residents and businesses to continue to install all-electric building systems and appliances. There are many benefits of all-electric construction, some of which include:
- Cleaner air and better health outcomes from eliminating the emissions associated with burning fossil fuels, particularly indoors.
- Not having to pay to install gas pipes in new buildings.
- Taking advantage of financial incentives and rebates for all-electric appliances.
- Resilience against power outages, particularly when electric technologies are paired with battery storage.
- Hedging against high electricity costs by being able to schedule electric appliances to operate at times of day when electricity costs are lowest.
- Preparing for the potential discontinuation of gas appliances in the future that could occur from possible regulatory actions by regional, state, or federal agencies.
There are many good resources on the benefits of all-electric buildings, including:
The County’s sustainability web site has information on state and federal incentives, rebates, and other ways to fund all-electric upgrades.
The Bay Area Regional Energy Network has information on training opportunities, rebates and incentives, and contractors.
MCE, the community choice energy provider for most of Contra Costa County, offers rebates and incentives.
The Switch Is On, sponsored by the Building Decarbonization Coalition, is a collaborative campaign to support all-electric home conversion by providing tools, support, and resources to Californians.
Rewiring America provides information about the benefits of all-electric technologies, and helps generate a personalized plan for individuals, including costs and savings.
PG&E also has resources on all-electric buildings, including rebates, incentives, rate plans, and design guides.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
Read More“Time for a change” – Joe Rubay
By Allen D. Payton
In announcing his campaign, Republican State Assembly candidate Joseph Rubay says he is honored to once again to be the sole challenger to unseat the incumbent Democrat Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan in the March 2024 primary election.
State Assembly District 16 includes Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Diablo, Lafayette, Livermore, Moraga, Orinda, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, half of Dublin (east of Dougherty Valley Road) and about 85% of Pleasanton, (east of the 680 freeway).
Rubay is a businessman and a longtime community leader. He served under two California Governors, Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, on the Contra Costa Fair Board. Rubay also served for two years as the National Director for the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. Locally, he served nine years on the board of directors of the Alamo Improvement Association, to aid the town and Board of Supervisors in planning matters. Rubay currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Alamo Police Service Advisory Committee, appointed by Contra Costa County District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen.
“The reason I am running is simple. I’m concerned about where our state is headed for our children and grandchildren,” Rubay shared. “We have a culturally diverse district that deserves a representative who will bring to this office the same things all parents, families, individuals and businesses want from their representative — common sense leadership. That’s exactly what I’ll bring to our district and state if elected.”
He has been endorsed by the Walnut Creek Police Officers Association (WCPOA) and Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriffs Association
“We need leadership in Sacramento that realizes that most people want to increase funding to law enforcement not take away funding,” the candidate stated. “I have two beautiful daughters. We must protect our families and fight to ensure that they have the best education as possible.”
Rubay currently serves on the executive board of his middle schooler’s PTA.
“I found our local schools are not the problem, they are doing the best they can with what they have,” he shared. “The problem is what is coming down from the State level. As your State Assembly member, I want to fight for our most precious assets our children.”
The candidate commented on the state’s $73 billion dollar deficit:
“Our current state legislators have turned a $100 billion surplus into a $73 billion deficit in just two years,” Rubay stated. “It is time for a change. As a longtime businessman and a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) I plan to restore fiscal responsibility and common sense to Sacramento.”
“Democrats and Republicans alike agree, no one likes wasteful spending and poor financial management,” he continued. “California’s overall state economy is underperforming. From the Wall Street Journal’s opinion page, ‘California’s unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in December [2023]’ from 4.1% a year earlier. The U.S. jobless rate is 3.7%, and Florida’s is 3%.’
“It is time for a change. Our current legislators are not getting the job done,”Rubay added.
Read more about Rubay and his platform at www.rubay4assembly.com which contains a number of common sense solutions to issues facing Assembly District 16 and California families.
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State could retain unpopular written literacy test
By Dana Lambert, EdSource.org – Republished with permission
Newly proposed legislation sponsored by the California Teachers Association would eliminate all performance assessments teachers are required to pass, including one for literacy that it supported three years ago. The result could leave in place an unpopular written test that the literacy performance assessment was designed to replace.
Senate Bill 1263, authored by state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, would do away with the California Teaching Performance Assessment, known as the CalTPA, through which teachers demonstrate their competence via video clips of instruction and written reflections on their practice.
Eliminating the assessment will increase the number of effective teachers in classrooms, as the state continues to contend with a teacher shortage, said Newman, chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
“One key to improving the educator pipeline is removing barriers that may be dissuading otherwise talented and qualified prospective people from pursuing a career as an educator,” Newman said in a statement to EdSource.
The bill also would do away with a literacy performance assessment of teachers and oversight of literacy instruction in teacher preparation programs mandated by Senate Bill 488, authored by Sen. Susan Rubio, D-West Covina, in 2021.
The literacy performance assessment is scheduled to be piloted in the next few months. It is meant to replace the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) set to be scrapped in 2025.
New law could leave RICA in place
The proposed legislation appears to leave in place a requirement that candidates for a preliminary multiple-subject or education specialist credential pass a reading instruction competence assessment, said David DeGuire, a director at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
“At this time, it is unclear what that assessment would look like, but it could be that the state continues to use the current version of the RICA,” he said.
Newman will present the legislation to the Senate Education Committee in the next few months. Discussions about whether the RICA remains in use are likely to take place during the legislative process.
Rubio recently became aware of the new legislation and had not yet discussed it with Newman.
“For three years, I worked arduously and collaboratively with a broad range of education leaders, including parent groups, teacher associations and other stakeholders to modernize a key component of our educational system that in my 17 years as a classroom teacher and school administrator I saw as counterproductive to our students’ learning,” Rubio said of Senate Bill 488.
Teachers union changes course
The California Teachers Association, which originally supported Senate Bill 488, now wants all performance assessments, including the literacy performance assessment, eliminated.
“We are all scratching our heads,” said Yolie Flores, of Families in Schools, a Los Angeles-based education advocacy organization. “We were really blindsided by this (legislation), given the momentum around strengthening our teacher prep programs.”
The results of a survey of almost 1,300 CTA members last year convinced the state teachers union to push for the elimination of the CalTPA, said Leslie Littman, vice president of the union. Teachers who took the survey said the test caused stress, took away time that could have been used to collaborate with mentors and for teaching, and did not prepare them to meet the needs of students, she said.
“I think what we were probably not cognizant of at that time, and it really has become very clear of late, is just how much of a burden these assessments have placed on these teacher candidates,” Littman said.
Teacher candidates would be better served if they were observed over longer periods of time, during student teaching, apprenticeships, residencies and mentorship programs, to determine if they were ready to teach, Littman said. This would also allow a mentor to counsel and support the candidate to ensure they have the required skills.
California joins science of reading movement
California has joined a national effort to change how reading is being taught in schools. States nationwide are rethinking balanced literacy, which has its roots in whole language instruction or teaching children to recognize words by sight, and replacing it with a method that teaches them to decode words by sounding them out, a process known as phonics.
Smarter Balanced test scores, released last fall, show that only 46.6% of the state’s students who were tested met academic standards in English.
Last week Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, introduced Assembly Bill 2222, which would mandate that schools use evidence-based reading instruction. California, a “local control” state, currently only encourages school districts to incorporate fundamental reading skills, including phonics, into instruction.
“It (Newman’s SB 1263) goes against not only the movement, but everything we know from best practices, evidence, research, science, of how we need to equip new teachers and existing teachers, frankly, to teach literacy,” Flores said. “And that we would wipe it away at this very moment where we’re finally getting some traction is just very concerning.”
Lori DePole, co-director of DeCoding Dyslexia California, said the proposed legislation would cut any progress the state has made “off at the knees.”
Among her concerns is the elimination of the requirement, also authorized by Senate Bill 488, that the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing certify that teacher preparation programs are teaching literacy aligned to state standards and a provision that requires the commission to report to the state Legislature annually on how stakeholders are meeting the requirements of the law.
“It would be going away,” DePole said. “Everyone agreed with SB 488, all the supporters agreed, this was the direction California needed to go to strengthen teacher prep with respect to literacy. And before it can even be fully implemented, we’re going to do a 180 with this legislation. It makes no sense.”
Flores said teachers want to be equipped to teach reading using evidence-based techniques, but many don’t know how.
“We know that reading is the gateway, and if kids can’t read, it’s practically game over, right?” said Flores. “And we are saying with this bill that it doesn’t matter, that we don’t really need to teach and show that teachers know how to teach reading.”
Teacher tests replaced by coursework, degrees
California has been moving away from standardized testing for teacher candidates for several years as the teacher shortage worsened. In July 2021, legislation gave teacher candidates the option to take approved coursework instead of the California Basic Education Skills Test, or CBEST, or the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, or CSET. In January’s tentative budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed eliminating the CBEST and allowing the completion of a bachelor’s degree to satisfy the state’s basic skills requirement.
Littman disagrees with the idea that there will be no accountability for teachers if the legislation passes. “There’s always been, and will continue to be, an evaluation component for all of our teachers in this state,” she said. “It just depends on what your district does and how they implement that. There’s always been a system of accountability for folks.”
Read MoreBy Sgt. Matthew Koch #3018, Antioch Police Department Investigations Bureau
On Saturday, February 24, 2024, at approximately 5:12 am, Antioch Police patrol officers were dispatched to the 1700 block of Observation Way for a male who had been shot seated inside of a vehicle. Officers arrived on scene and located a 16-year-old male from Pittsburg with at least one gunshot wound. Officers on scene provided life-saving measures until relieved by ConFire and paramedics. The male victim was transported to an area hospital where he ultimately succumbed his injuries and was pronounced deceased.
Officers discovered the shooting took place in the 2000 block of Tupleo Way. Officers canvassed the area and located the scene. The Antioch Police Department’s Investigations Bureau, consisting of Crime Scene Investigators and detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit took over the investigation. This is an active investigation, and no further information will be provided.
No other information is being released at this time including the names of the victim or suspect.
Additional inquiries or information can be directed to Antioch Police Detective Duffy at (925) 779-6884 or by emailing aduffy@antiochca.gov. Anonymous tips or information about this – or any other incident – can be sent via text to 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword ANTIOCH.
Read MoreGang member faces life sentences without parole for triple homicide
By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office
Martinez, CA – Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, the conviction of Enrique Anacleto Ramirez-Calmo on three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, along with gang and other special circumstances enhancements.
On June 20, 2021, 29-year-old Ramirez-Calmo of Oakland (born 7/13/94) and a fellow gang member opened fire on a group of partygoers in Richmond. The attack, fueled by mistaken identity and gang rivalry, resulted in the death of three people and bullet wounds to four others.
The jury delivered their verdict on February 21st, concluding a four-month trial that stemmed from the horrific shooting at a residential party on Father’s Day. “This was a senseless massacre that shattered the lives of innocent families,” said District Attorney Diana Becton.
In early 2022, an investigative breakthrough led to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office filing the previously unsolved murder against Ramirez-Calmo. The prosecution presented a compelling case, including a video filmed by one of the victims that captured the moment of the shooting. Through meticulous investigation and collaboration with Richmond Police Department and other agencies, the trial included evidence from 2019 that Ramirez-Calmo was responsible for in another county.
“This was a complex case with numerous challenges,” said Deputy District Attorney Chad Mahalich, who prosecuted the case. “I am incredibly grateful for the dedication and expertise of everyone involved, including law enforcement, victim advocates, and the entire DA’s Office team. Together, we ensured that the defendant was held accountable for his actions.”
According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department, the five-foot, six-inch, 175-lb. Hispanic man is being held on no bail in the West County Detention Facility
Ramirez-Calmo will be sentenced on March 11th at 10:00 a.m. in Superior Court in Martinez and faces life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Case No. 02-336043-5 | The People of the State of California v. Ramirez-Calmo, Enrique
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
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