The Lamorinda Safety Fair will be held Saturday, June 22, 2024, from 9:00am-4:00pm at the Lafayette Reservoir off Mt. Diablo Blvd. presented by Lafayette Police, East Bay Municipal Utilities District, Amateur Radio Communications and Lafayette CERT Foundation.
Meet your local first responders and see their equipment. Get up close to a police helicopter. Learn how to perform CPR. Learn how to use a fire extinguisher. Learn how to prepare for the next emergency / disaster. Meet your local HAM radio club (LARIG) and talk to HAM operators from around the globe using radio!
Shuttle service and additional parking will be available at the Lafayette Veteran’s Memorial Building at 3780 Mt. Diablo Blvd. For more information call (925) 299-3282.
Read MoreMARTINEZ, CA—State Assembly candidate Anamarie Avila Farias announced, Thursday, June 13, 2024, the endorsement of Contra Costa Assemblyman Tim Grayson for her campaign to represent Northern Contra Costa County in the State Legislature.
“Anamarie’s experience in our local communities, especially her service on the Martinez City Council and Contra Costa County Board of Education, has prepared her to be an effective voice for us in the Legislature,” said Assemblymember Grayson. “I’m looking forward to partnering with her as we fight for Contra Costa’s share of state resources and policies that help working families get ahead.”
“Tim Grayson’s a voice of reason and purpose in the Legislature,” said Anamarie. “I’ll bring a similar attitude to making state policies: Results over rhetoric, progress over politics.
“I really appreciate Assemblymember Grayson’s support and look forward to working with him.”
Avila Farias was the second-place finisher in the March Primary election but the top vote-getter in the field of three Democrats and faces off against the Republican candidate in November’s election. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans 52%-19% in District 15’s registration numbers. If elected, she would be the first Latina to serve Contra Costa in the State Legislature.
She has an extensive record serving her community and setting state policy. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Contra Costa County Board of Education and has consistently pushed for improved public education in Contra Costa schools. She also served on the Martinez City Council from 2012-2016.
Avila Farias is running to represent California State Assembly District 15. The district encompasses Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Clayton, Pittsburg, Bay Point, Antioch, Crockett portions of Brentwood and unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County.
To learn more about her campaign, visit anamarie4assembly.com.
Read MoreEight felony counts
By Pittsburg Police Department
Over the past few months, a series of vandalisms targeted multiple businesses on Garcia Avenue in Pittsburg. The vandals used a pellet gun to shoot at the glass windows of these establishments, resulting in significant financial losses amounting to thousands of dollars.
In response to these incidents, the property owner took proactive measures by installing surveillance cameras. These cameras successfully captured footage of the culprit in action, providing a vital lead for the investigative efforts of Detective Lefterov. Through diligent work spanning several weeks, Detective Lefterov gathered substantial evidence and successfully identified the individual responsible for the vandalism.
Subsequently, several search warrants were issued and executed, leading to the confiscation of a BB gun, an air rifle, numerous copper BBs, and suspected illicit substances. The suspect was apprehended and charged with eight counts of felony vandalism.
Read MoreReleased to parents pending criminal charges; school scheduled to open in fall
By Brentwood Police Department
On Sunday, June 9th, 2024, around 8:30PM, our Dispatch received a call from a security company regarding four juvenile males who had just vandalized the Isaac R. Montañez Elementary School site located on the 2300 block of Smith Road. The juveniles were still on site and when officers arrived, they attempted to flee on their bikes, however they were safely taken into custody.
The project manager for the site arrived on scene to assess the damage and discovered the four juveniles had discharged all of the fire extinguishers on the property causing an extensive amount of damage. The new school is scheduled to open in the fall for the 2024-25 school year.
Based on the nature of the crime and their ages (12 and 13 years old), the juveniles did not meet the criteria to be booked into Juvenile Hall and were released to their parents pending criminal charges and further investigation.
Read MoreCommunity Update
By Concord Police Department
We have been receiving calls from community members regarding loudspeaker announcements heard from the area of the Concord Naval Weapons Station.
What’s going on?
Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) will be conducting a U.S. Army led exercise from June 10-18. This exercise is being conducted with several units that will require travel throughout the local area. You will see an increase in uniformed service members during this time. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
No need to contact our Dispatch Center about the exercise as we are already aware. If you have an emergency to report, please dial 911. For non-emergencies, call 925-671-3333.
About MOTCO
MOTCO is Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command’s West Coast strategic ammunition port. MOTCO is the DOD’s primary ammunition seaport supporting the Pacific area of operation.
The Army’s presence at MOTCO dates back to 1997 when the Army’s 1302nd Major Port Command was relocated from Oakland Army Base, California, to MOTCO and became the 834th Transportation Battalion. MOTCO properties were transferred from the Navy to the Army in 2008 per the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations.
The 834th Transportation Battalion is the port manager at MOTCO and operates the three piers and an Army-owned rail system that connects with major public railway lines.
MOTCO receives ammunition by rail and highway; stages containers, railcars and trailers; and loads vessels with containers and break-bulk (loose items) ammunition. Rail lines, piers, holding pads, transfer facilities, staging areas, railcar class yards, barricaded railcar holding areas and Main Supply Routes are all operated in support of cargo receipt and movement.
MOTCO encompasses approximately 115 acres inland, 6,500 acres of tidal area which includes terminal piers, staging and transfer facilities, and 2,000 acres of offshore islands. While ammunition is the focus of most cargo movement into or out of MOTCO, the installation is capable of handling general cargo providing it is in conjunction with, or does not interfere with, ammunition.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
Read More
For 3 ½ months on the portion of the creek that runs through northern section of Concord
By Kelly Kalfsbeek, Community & Media Relations Coordinator, PIO, Contra Costa County Public Works
Contra Costa County Public Works will begin construction of the Walnut Creek Desilt Project on Monday, June 17, 2024, through Thursday, October 31, 2024, barring unforeseen circumstances. Work will take place between 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), weather permitting.
Drivers should expect delays of 5-15 minutes at Meridian Park Boulevard and Willow Way, Via de Mercados to Concord Avenue, and Waterworld Parkway to Willow Pass Road and should consider alternate routes during construction. Message boards will alert drivers about the work. Traffic control will be used. Restrictions will be in place to minimize impacts during commute hours.
The work consists of removing approximately 115,000 cubic yards of silt in the Walnut Creek Channel to restore creek flow capacity. Funding for this project is provided by Flood Control Zone 3B Funds. For more information visit: https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/8658/Walnut-Creek-Desilt
About Contra Costa County Public Works Department:
Contra Costa County Public Works Department (CCCPWD) maintains over 660 miles of roads, 150 miles of streams, channels, and other drainage and over 150 County buildings throughout Contra Costa County. CCCPWD provides services such as Parks and Recreation, Sandbag Distribution and Flood Control throughout unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County. CCCPWD operates two airports, Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, and Byron Airport in Byron. For more information about CCCPWD, please visit us at: www.cccpublicworks.org
Read MoreAll four Contra Costa Assemblymembers vote to include illegal aliens in California home loan program
Grayson, Wilson, Bauer-Kahan, Wicks support offering up to 20% for down payment or closing costs, not to exceed $150,000
By Allen D. Payton
A bill to make illegal immigrants eligible for the California Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loan Program, which provides up to 20 percent of downpayment assistance to prospective homebuyers, passed the State Assembly last month on a vote of 56-15. All four members representing Contra Costa County, Tim Grayson (D-15), Lori Wilson (D-11), Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-16) and Buffy Wicks (D-14) voted in favor of Assembly Bill 1840.
Wicks also voted for the bill, authored by Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-31), as a member of the Assembly Appropriates Committee.
According to CalFHA, “The Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan is a down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers to be used in conjunction with the Dream For All Conventional first mortgage for down payment and/or closing costs. Upon sale or transfer of the home, the homebuyer repays the original down payment loan, plus a share of the appreciation in the value of the home.”
The program offers up to 20% for down payment or closing costs, not to exceed $150,000 and is not on a first come, first served basis. The homebuyer must register for a voucher and a randomized drawing will select registrants who will receive the voucher. The program requires at least one borrower be a first-generation homebuyer and all borrowers must be first-time homebuyers.
According to the Legislative Counsel’s Digest, “Existing law establishes the California Housing Finance Agency in the Department of Housing and Community Development, and authorizes the agency to, among other things, make loans to finance affordable housing, including residential structures, housing developments, multifamily rental housing, special needs housing, and other forms of housing, as specified. Existing law establishes the California Dream for All Program to provide shared appreciation loans to qualified first-time homebuyers, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California Dream for All Fund, which is continuously appropriated for expenditure pursuant to the program and defraying the administrative costs for the agency. Existing law authorizes moneys deposited into the fund to include, among other moneys, appropriations from the Legislature from the General Fund or other state fund.
This bill would specify that an applicant under the program who meets all other requirements for a loan under the program, including, but not limited to, any requirements imposed by the Federal National Mortgage Association or other loan servicer, shall not be disqualified solely based on the applicant’s immigration status.
By expanding the persons eligible to receive moneys from a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. The bill would recast the fund so that appropriations from the Legislature from the General Fund or other state fund are deposited into the California Dream for All Subaccount, which the bill would create and make available upon appropriation by the Legislature for specified purposes.”
AB 1840 is now up for votes by the State Senate Housing and Judiciary Committees before a possible vote on the floor.
Read More
ACA 8 “would prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or any local entity operating a jail facility from punishing any incarcerated person for refusing a work assignment.”
Senate Public Safety Committee approves, moves to Senate Elections Committee
Would go to voters in November
By Edgar Guerra, Communications Director, Office of Assemblywoman Lori Wilson
SACRAMENTO, CA – The End Slavery in California Act (ACA 8), authored by Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson (D-11) has made significant progress by passing out of the Senate Public Safety Committee. This crucial step brings California closer to abolishing the practice of forced labor for incarcerated workers and removing the last vestiges of slavery from the state constitution.
The Constitutional Amendment was introduced in February 2023 and passed by the Assembly last September. According to the Legislative Counsel’s Digest, “The California Constitution prohibits slavery and prohibits involuntary servitude, except as punishment to a crime.
This measure would instead prohibit slavery in any form, including forced labor compelled by the use or threat of physical or legal coercion. form. This measure would prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or any local entity operating a jail facility from punishing any incarcerated person for refusing a work assignment. The measure would also clarify that its provisions do not prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or any local entity operating a jail facility from awarding an incarcerated person credit towards their sentence for voluntarily accepting a work assignment.”
Wilson, who represents portions of Eastern Contra Costa County, emphasized the urgency of advancing this historic measure, stating, “The passage of ACA 8 out of the Senate Public Safety Committee marks a critical moment in our pursuit of justice and human dignity. We must urgently move this bill through the Senate Elections and Appropriations Committees, and onto the Senate and Assembly floors, so we can get it to the voters. Californians deserve the opportunity to abolish slavery once and for all.”
According to a November 2023 L.A. Times article about “The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) proposal…for eliminating all unpaid work assignments and reducing hours for most prison workers from full-time jobs to half-time.”
“Approximately 40% of California’s 96,000 prisoners have jobs while they serve out their sentences, according to the department spokesperson, doing laundry and janitorial work, as well as clerking and construction. Their wages generally range from 8 cents an hour to 37 cents an hour, depending on the skill level required for the job. The proposal calls for doubling the wage range, from 16 cents an hour to 74 cents an hour,” according to the Times’ report. “Prison officials argue that higher wages will have several benefits, including making it easier for inmates to pay back the money they owe for damage from their crimes” and “Fifty-five percent of inmates’ wages go toward restitution costs, according to the Department of Corrections.”
According to the CDCR’s Restitution Responsibilities, Information for Adult Offenders, “Restitution means ‘paying back’…State law requires judges to order restitution in every criminal case,” and “may cover medical bills, funeral expenses, and the cost of repairing damaged property.”
There are two types of restitution. “Restitution fines usually range from $200 to $10,000” and are determined by the judge. “Direct orders are specifically for victim losses because of the crime(s) committed against them” and the judge also determines the amount to be paid.
The ACA 8 Coalition, echoed the same sentiment as Wilson: “We are fighting to give people long-overdue humanity. Californians should be able to say how they feel about the forced labor of incarcerated people and our state’s continued use of slavery/involuntary servitude as a means to exploit human beings in 2024. The ACA 8 Coalition is determined to give voters the opportunity to add their voice to this movement. We must end slavery. No excuses, no exceptions.”
In May, the ACLU California Action announced, ACA 8 Coalition, made up of more than 30 organizations across the state, had secured the endorsement of the California Democratic Party. The organization wrote in a press release, “On Sunday, May 19, the California Democratic Party endorsed the End Slavery in California Act by Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (ACA 8). This historic legislation will give incarcerated workers the dignity and autonomy to prioritize education, vocation or rehabilitative programming over forced exploitation. ACA 8 places a constitutional amendment before the voters in November to remove the last vestiges of slavery from our state constitution.”
The press release further reads, “After the legislature passes ACA 8, voters can remove the “exception clause” that allows prison officials to force incarcerated people to labor and punish workers for calling off sick, taking a day to grieve, or declining a work assignment that does not serve their rehabilitation needs.”
According to a June 2022 report by the ACLU entitled, Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers, “From the moment they enter the prison gates, incarcerated people lose the right to refuse to work. This is because the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against slavery and involuntary servitude, explicitly excludes from its reach those held in confinement due to a criminal conviction. The roots of modern prison labor can be found in the ratification of this exception clause at the end of the Civil War, which disproportionately encouraged the criminalization and effective re-enslavement of Black people during the Jim Crow era, with impacts that persist to this day.
Today, more than 76 percent of incarcerated workers surveyed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics say that they are required to work or face additional punishment such as solitary confinement, denial of opportunities to reduce their sentence, and loss of family visitation. They have no right to choose what type of work they do and are subject to arbitrary, discriminatory, and punitive decisions by the prison administrators who select their work assignments.”
Following its passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee, ACA 8 now moves to the Senate Elections Committee. Upon approval there, it will proceed to the Senate Appropriations Committee, and subsequently, to the Senate and Assembly floors for a final vote.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreClassic on the outside, modern on the inside
Another Sean McCauley success story in East County
By Allen D. Payton
The long-awaited, refurbished Delta Theater is finally open in downtown Brentwood thanks to the efforts of owners Sean McCauley, Ron Harrison and Josh Cadle and their team, with the first showings on Thursday, June 13, 2024. They held two VIP Soft Openings on Wednesday night allowing family, friends and community leaders to enjoy a short film about Brentwood.
The guests entered below the historic, colorfully lit marquee, and were treated to complementary popcorn, snacks and soft drinks. After they each found one of the modern, reclining seats with attached trays, but before showing the film, McCauley welcomed the audience saying, “We’re working through the bugs and we’re trying to get this right. So, we appreciate you guys being our Guinea pigs.”
“We have a really cool video we produced through Weblative about Brentwood,” he continued. “We’re really proud of our city and I think this video will really move everybody. We’re so happy to have you guys here. You guys are the first ones to view it besides the 3:30 VIP Soft Opening folks. Anyway, it’s fantastic. So, I hope you enjoy it.”
A Bit of History
At the evening event, Doreen Pierce Forlow and her sister Lill Pierce were in attendance. Their parents, Clifford and Rose Pierce were the second owners of the theater from 1955 to 1969. Also, in attendance was Antioch dentist, Dr. Rigo Martin, a former employee at the theater during the 1970’s. He worked in the concession stand-candy counter “and did the cleaning,” Martin added.
The three shared some history of the theater and reminisced about their own experiences while growing up and working there.
Opened in 1938 with two screens, the original owner was a magician, Lill shared. He sold it to the Pierces in 1955. One of the theaters had (and still has) a stage which featured live “Mexican stage shows including top billed acts and traveling troops from Mexico,” Martin mentioned.
“They showed Mexican movies two days a week,” Doreen stated.
“Tuesday nights were Ladies Night and they got in for free because the movies changed on Wednesdays to Mexican films,” Lill explained. “There was a double feature every night with cartoons in between and they showed news reels, too.”
Doreen said she was eight years old when her parents bought the theaters.
“I watched every movie shown in the theater,” she added.
The sisters’ cousin, Johnny Giannini, bought it from their parents, Doreen said. “Then sold it around 1979,” Rigo stated. “Then it was purchased by Roberto Arteaga and family.”
“On Sundays, it was a packed house all day watching the Mexican movies,” he added.
“Some people would bring their folding chairs and sit in the aisles,” said Doreen with a chuckle.
New Owners
McCauley and Harrison said they bought the building on First Street, which includes the theater, in 2019. Then COVID hit. They started refurbishing all three units which took them over four-and-a-half years.
“We’re glad it’s over,” McCauley said with a laugh. “Seriously, we look forward to serving the community.”
“And giving back,” Harrison added.
The third partner, Cadle is the General Manager.
“He’s a movie geek,” McCauley interjected.
“We’re so happy we’re finally to this point,” a clearly relieved Cadle stated.
“We have contracts with all the big companies: Warner Brothers, Disney, Universal, Paramount,” McCauley shared. “But we’ll also show local films, short films, hold corporate events and we have a stage for live performances.”
“The two theaters seat 200 total,” he added.
Delta Theater, located at 641 First Street in Brentwood, opens to the public on Thursday and will be “showing Inside Out 2 in both theaters. It’s a perfect movie to open with. It’s family friendly,” Cadle said. As of Wednesday night, they were almost sold out with only 11 tickets remaining for opening day.
For movie tickets visit DeltaTheater.com. For on-screen advertising or rentals for the theater with the stage and screen only, call (925) 634-1253.
The project is one of McCauley’s many success stories in and improvements to East County’s historic downtowns including in Antioch and Pittsburg, as well. To learn more about his other successful ventures visit the Sean McCauley Investments website.
Read More