Free crossings for eligible veterans begin Jan. 1, penalty-waiver program coming
Dec. 27, 2022 – The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and the Golden Gate Bridge District today announced two new bridge toll assistance programs that will benefit customers from lower-income households as well as eligible military veterans, beginning in 2023.
By July 1, 2023, BATA and the Golden Gate Bridge District will institute a policy for toll bridge customers whose household income is no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately $55,000 for a family of four) to receive a waiver of any penalties assessed for late or missed payments of toll invoices and toll evasion notices incurred for toll bridge crossings between March 20, 2020 and Jan. 1, 2023. The waiver applies to the Golden Gate Bridge and to the state-owned Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. The waiver will not apply to Express Lanes.
The Low-Income COVID Waiver program — created by Assembly Bill 2594, which was authored by San Francisco Assembly member Phil Ting and enacted earlier this year — will allow qualifying motorists to request from FasTrak® a waiver of outstanding bridge toll violation penalties. Waiver recipients will be required to pay tolls and any fees charged by the Department of Motor Vehicles for vehicle registration holds due to the non-payment of penalties.
Another new state law — AB 2949, authored by Assembly member Alex Lee of San Jose — goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023, granting eligible veterans of the U.S. armed forces free tolls on California toll bridges. These include the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the state-owned Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. The free-passage benefit does not apply to Express Lanes.
To be eligible for free travel across California toll bridges, vehicles registered to military veterans must have a license plate with one of the following designations: Congressional Medal of Honor, Disabled Veteran, Legion of Valor, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Ex-Prisoner of War, or Purple Heart.
Eligible veterans do not currently need to have a FasTrak electronic toll payment account to qualify for free passage, although a FasTrak-enrollment requirement will be instituted in the future. To avoid being charged a toll, veterans who already are FasTrak customers must place their FasTrak tag in a Mylar bag when traveling through bridge toll plazas. Customers may request a bag by logging into their FasTrak account, clicking ‘Vehicles and Tags’, and selecting ‘Request Toll Tag Supplies.’ Veterans also may request a Mylar bag by calling the FasTrak customer service center at 877-BAY-TOLL (877-229-8655). These bags are free of charge.
BATA administers all toll revenues from the San Francisco Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District owns and operates the Golden Gate Bridge.
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Cops in California no longer have to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; jaywalking no longer a crime
As we head into the new year, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is educating the public on traffic safety laws that were passed during this year’s legislative season and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The laws take effect January 1, 2023, unless otherwise noted.
Public Employment: Peace Officers: Citizenship (Senate Bill (SB) 960, Skinner)
The law maintains that peace officers, including peace officer trainees, be legally authorized to work in the United States consistent with federal law and regulations, however, removes the requirement that they be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
Catalytic Converters (SB 1087, Gonzalez) (Assembly Bill (AB) 1740, Muratsuchi)
These laws specifically list who can sell catalytic converters to recyclers and require those recyclers to keep documentation such as the year, make, model, and copy of the vehicle title from which the catalytic converter was removed. The purpose of these laws is to help reduce catalytic converter theft.
Vehicular Manslaughter: Speeding and Reckless Driving (SB 1472, Stern)
This law expands the criteria for “gross negligence” as it relates to the crime of vehicular manslaughter. Drivers involved in sideshow activity, exhibition of speed, or speeding over 100 miles per hour which results in a fatality could now be charged with Vehicular Manslaughter with Gross Negligence.
Motor Vehicle Speed Contests and Exhibitions of Speed (AB 2000, Gabriel)
Parking lots and off-street parking facilities are now included as locations where it is a crime to engage in a speed contest, exhibition of speed, or sideshow activity.
Endangered Missing Advisory: Feather Alert (AB 1314, Ramos)
The new “Feather Alert” allows law enforcement agencies to request the CHP to initiate an alert when an indigenous person has been kidnapped, abducted, or reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, and specific criteria has been met to permit alert activation. Additionally, consistent with the Department’s existing AMBER, Blue, and Silver Alert programs, this new “Feather Alert” program encourages the use of radio, television, and social media to spread the information about the missing indigenous person.
Hit-and-Run Incidents: Yellow Alert (AB 1732, Patterson)
This law authorizes law enforcement agencies to request the CHP to activate a “Yellow Alert” when a fatal hit-and-run crash has occurred, and specific criteria has been met to permit alert activation. The law also encourages local media outlets to disseminate the information contained in a Yellow Alert. The new law serves to use the public’s assistance to improve the investigatory ability for law enforcement agencies throughout the state when working to solve fatal hit-and-run crashes.
Online Marketplaces: Reporting (AB 1700, Maienschein)
This law requires the Attorney General’s Office to create an online reporting system for users of third-party online marketplaces to report listings of suspected stolen items. The reported information would be available to local law enforcement and the CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force to assist with investigations.
Bicycles Omnibus Bill (AB 1909, Friedman)
Much like the move over or slow down law, this law provides for increased protections to bicyclists by requiring vehicles passing or overtaking a bicycle in the same direction, to move over to an adjacent lane of traffic, if one is available, or slow down and only pass the bicyclist when safe to do so. The law also permits Class 3 e-bike riders to use approved bicycle paths and trails, bikeways, and bicycle lanes. The law prohibits local governments from requiring bicycle registration and allows local authorities to prohibit any electric bicycle on an equestrian, hiking, or other recreational trail.
Electric Bicycles: Safety and Training Program (AB 1946, Boerner Horvath)
This requires the CHP to work with other traffic safety stakeholders such as the California Office of Traffic Safety, to develop statewide safety and training programs for electric bicycles. This training program, which will consist of electric bicycle riding safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the road and laws pertaining to electric bicycles, will launch on the CHP’s website in September 2023.
This law prohibits peace officers from stopping pedestrians for certain pedestrian-specific violations, such as crossing the road outside of a crosswalk, unless there is an immediate danger of a crash. The CHP reminds all road users of the responsibility to travel safely and look out for one another on the road.
The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service and Security.
Read More7-day celebration began Monday
By Allen D. Payton
Kwanzaa, the annual, seven-day African American and pan-African celebration of family, community, history, heritage and culture, was created in the 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair of the department of Africana Studies at Cal State University, Long Beach. Each year it begins the day after Christmas on December 26th and continues through January 1st.
According to edarabia.com, “The term ‘Kwanzaa’ originates from the Swahili expression ‘matunda ya kwanza’, which means ‘first fruits of the harvest’.
During the holiday, families and communities gather to honor and remember The Seven Principles of Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith. Participants celebrate with the lighting of seven candles, feasts, music, dance, poetry and narratives. It ends with a day of reflection and recommitment to The Seven Principles.
According to hearinnh.org, “Kwanzaa is celebrated by people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, but it is particularly popular among African-Americans. The holiday is observed in all 50 states, as well as in Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. It’s difficult to say precisely how many people celebrate Kwanzaa, as there is no official census data on the subject. However, estimates suggest that around 1.5 to 2 million Americans observe Kwanzaa each year.”
This year’s theme is “Kwanzaa, Culture and the Practice of Freedom: A Message and Model for Our Times”.
According to the Official Kwanzaa Website, “The Holiday Kwanzaa is a product of creative cultural synthesis. That is to say, it is the product of critical selection and judicious mixture on several levels. First, Kwanzaa is a synthesis of both Continental African and Diasporan African cultural elements. This means that it is rooted in both the cultural values and practice of Africans on the Continent and in the U.S. with strict attention to cultural authenticity and values for a meaningful, principled and productive life.
Secondly, the Continental African components of Kwanzaa are a synthesis of various cultural values and practices from different Continental African peoples. In a word, the values and practices of Kwanzaa are selected from peoples from all parts of Africa, south and north, west and east, in a true spirit of Pan-Africanism.
And finally, Kwanzaa is a synthesis in the sense that it is based, in both conception and self-conscious commitment, on tradition and reason. Kawaida, the philosophy out of which Kwanzaa is created, teaches that all we think and do should be based on tradition and reason which are in turn rooted in practice. Tradition is our grounding, our cultural anchor and therefore, our starting point. It is also cultural authority for any claims to cultural authenticity for anything we do and think as an African people. And reason is necessary critical thought about our tradition which enables us to select, preserve and build on the best of what we have achieved and produced, in the light of our knowledge and our needs born of experience. Through reason rooted in experience or practice, then, we keep our tradition as an African people from becoming stagnant, sterile convention or empty historical reference. Instead, our tradition becomes and remains a lived, living and constantly expanded and enriched experience.” From: “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture – by Maulana Karenga / pp 15-16 / Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press (2008)
Read MoreJesus’ Birth Foretold
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings,favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
The Birth of Jesus
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
From the Bible in the Book of Luke, Chapter 1, verses 26-38 NASB; and Chapter 2, verses 1-14, NIV.
Read MoreButt’s campaign files precursor to possible lawsuit in Richmond council race but chose to drop it
By Chris Campos, Editor, ThePress.net
Republished with permission.
MARTINEZ—Tamisha Torres-Walker, running for re-election for the Antioch City Council District 1 seat, came ahead by 3 votes on Nov. 8 beating challenger Joy Motts. After a lengthy and expensive recount Torres-Walker’s lead increased by one vote, according to the county elections office.
Allen Payton, publisher of the Antioch Herald but “acting as a resident and voter in the city,” requested the recount on Motts’ behalf. It’s been a costly exercise. Asked what the final price was Motts responded, “about $30,000.”
She was glad she went through the process. “With just a three vote difference I think it makes sense to go forward and the community agreed. I had support to pay for this.”
The results of the recount were announced Friday by County Clerk Deborah Cooper. The total for Motts dropped by one vote while Tamisha Torres-Walker’s vote total didn’t change.
Asked for her thoughts Torres-Walker said, “I’m just excited for this to finally be over and celebrate this win. I’ve just been waiting for this process. I’m going to go home and celebrate the holidays with my family and look forward to serving Antioch on the city council for the next four years.”
Payton, publisher of the Antioch Herald, offered to help fundraising and help cover the costs of the recount. Motts stated earlier on her Facebook account, “We have found out today that unfortunately, the County is charging upwards of $38,500 for this recount, an exorbitant amount of money. Nevertheless, we are moving forward to try and raise the necessary funds. If you would like to support my efforts for a full recount, you can donate on my website at joymotts.org”
Payton said Friday, “about $20,000 total was raised by Mott’s campaign, most through her website, and spent as of today, including another $2,080 she paid today to the Contra Costa County Elections and $6,000 for elections attorney Chris Schweickert of Seto, Wood & Schweickert in Pleasant Hill for yesterday and today.”
On the first day of the recount 8 challenged vote-by-mail ballots and 4 challenged provisional ballots in the District 1 race were reviewed by Motts and Payton, who requested the recount on her behalf the previous week. It occurred at the Contra Costa County Clerk’s Office Elections Division office, with Deputy Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong, two elections office staff members as well as Torres-Walker and campaign consultant Melody Howe Weintraub monitoring the ballot count.
Of the ballots reviewed that day, two ballots were challenged by Motts and Payton for further review by Gong who allowed one to be counted and one was rejected.
A simultaneous recount is under way for the Andrew Butt campaign in Richmond’s District 2 race which ended in a tie and was broken last week by the drawing of an envelope out of a shopping bag.
As the challenge to those few ballots was transpiring, county elections staff were in the warehouse about a block away, retrieving 1,700 boxes of ballots in which the staff members have determined there are ballots for both the Antioch and Richmond elections. Those ballots were already put through the counting machines and included in the total vote count.
During a tour of the warehouse on Wednesday, Elections Services Manager Travis Ebbert was asked if ballots could be stuck together and scanned through the machine. He responded it could happen, but there are checks and balances.
“There are ways that ballots get scanned and double scanned. The scanners are high speed. They go really fast,” Ebbert explained. “By the time the first ballot is processed the seventh ballot is being imaged. There are checks for that. There’s human intervention and a second person there.”
“There’s potential for human error out of the 1.5 million ballot pages (submitted in the county during the November election),” he continued. “In the 1% manual count there were no double scans. This was the smoothest scan with the least human intervention.”
Helen Nolan, the assistant registrar of Contra Costa County, said later, “Thank you to everyone who came to observe and be a part of the recount process today. I appreciate your patience; we know it’s not always exciting but it’s an important part of our democracy and protecting the vote!”
During an interview with a reporter for NBC Bay Area Motts said, “This was not the methodology my campaign asked for. We wanted them to look at all the ballots in all the boxes. But to do that would be an exorbitant amount of money. When they decided to do this targeted search, we didn’t expect there would be much of a change.”
“The costs were split with the Butt campaign, so the total was $60,000 for both recounts,” she continued. “I think with elections this close they should automatically do a recount. As we saw today some ballots were adjudicated. I think it’s important that the county elections (office) does that and we as citizens support that.”
On Thursday Butt’s campaign filed the required paperwork on Thursday for a potential lawsuit challenging the election results but they have dropped it.
“What I filed on Thursday was an election contest under election code,” Daniel said, “It’s been muted by this recount result. It challenges specifically the two votes in the marina precinct. You also have to show it will change the outcome of the election. Now that Cesar has won by three votes, we’re dropping it. I’m keeping the door open to sue the city because the district map fails all criteria. But it won’t overturn the results of this election.”
“Both these candidates did the right thing in spite of opposition. They fought the good fight. But it’s worth looking into reducing the costs for recounts and requiring automatic recounts in close races,” he added.
Contra Costa County Elections Division staff provided the following information Friday evening:
Recount Results:
Antioch City Council District 1 Recount ANTIOCH Final Results by Precinct O&U
Tamisha Torres-Walker 1,467
Joy Motts 1,463
Diane Gibson-Gray 1,338
Richmond City Council District 2 Recount RICHMOND Final Results by Precinct
Andrew Butt 1,918
Cesar Zepeda 1,921
“These close races should remind voters how important every single vote is. I have been working for the Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department for 33 years and recounts have been extremely rare.” said Cooper. “Our elections team once again performed above and beyond, by recounting not one, but two city council races over the course of the past week and a half. These recounts confirmed the integrity of the elections through a transparent audit process.”
The final official report for this election is posted on the Contra Costa County Elections website and can be found at www.contracostavote.gov.
Allen D. Payton contributed to the Richmond recount portion of this report.
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Especially during flu season; ConFire says respiratory virus calls are straining CCC EMS resources
By Contra Costa Health Services
To ensure continued timely response to true medical emergencies, Contra Costa Health (CCH) encourages residents to call 911 only if the need for care is truly an emergency.
Contra Costa County’s emergency medical system traditionally serves higher-than-usual numbers of patients this time of year, and this month healthcare providers and the agencies providing emergency ambulance service are especially impacted because of COVID, flu and other respiratory viruses.
According to Con Fire, “Respiratory virus calls are straining CCC EMS resources.”
Several hospitals in the community are reporting critically high level of patients occupying beds, with more than 1,200 inpatients reported throughout the county as of Friday. Hospital emergency departments are similarly impacted.
Calling 911 for your health emergency is recommended if it involves:
- Chest pain, difficulty breathing or a fast (120+ beats per minute) resting heartbeat
- Numbness or weakness in any part of the body, seizures, or difficulty speaking
- Fainting, unconsciousness, dizziness, sudden severe pain or headache, or confusion
- Sudden blindness or vision changes
- Heavy bleeding that will not stop with pressure, or broken bones
- Choking, drowning or near drowning
- Severe burns
- Poisoning or drug overdose
- Allergic reactions, especially if there is difficulty breathing
- Someone making a credible threat to harm themselves or someone else
There are other good reasons to call 911 as well. But to reduce strain on the county’s healthcare system, CCH asks anyone considering whether to seek emergency care if a 911 call is the best way to get the services they need, or if contacting an advice nurse or urgent care might be more appropriate.
When many people seek care through 911 at the same time, it reduces the number of emergency ambulances in circulation, ready to respond when someone in the county needs lifesaving care.
Based on a paramedic’s assessment of a patient’s condition and if the number of available emergency ambulances is very low, the paramedic may suggest a patient visit an urgent care on their own or call an advice nurse.
During the winter virus season, patients visiting emergency departments at hospitals in the county may also need to wait longer depending on circumstances at the time they arrive and the severity of their illness or injury.
Read MoreCelebrated with lighting of Grand Menorah in Brentwood
By Allen D. Payton
Known as the Festival of Lights, the annual Jewish celebration of Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean Jews regained control of Jerusalem after overthrowing King Antiochus IV Epiphenes of the Seleucid empire.
From History.com: “According to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, Judah Maccabee and the other Jews who took part in the rededication of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights, leaving them time to find a fresh supply.”
Also spelled Hannukah, the celebration begins at sunset on 25 Kislev and ends at sundown on 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet on the Hebrew or Jewish Calendar. It is being celebrated, this year from Sunday, Dec. 18 through Monday, Dec. 26.
Chabad of the Delta has erected several menorahs in East County, including in Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley and Discovery Bay. The center and first of eight lights of the Grand Menorah in Brentwood were lit by Rabbi Peretz Goldshmid during a Community Chanukah Festival Sunday evening, Dec. 18.
Sunday’s grand menorah lighting by Chabad of the Delta was an amazing show of religious pride.
Hundreds of people turned out to the event which was held at City park. The atmosphere was festive, and the mood was joyous. Rabbi Goldshmid led a brief ceremony and lit the menorah as the crowd sang traditional songs.
The hot cocoa and apple cider were a great way to keep everyone warm, and Arron Smith’s original Chanukah wrap was a great way to get everyone in the spirit of the holiday. Most importantly, the menorah lighting was an amazing sight to behold and an incredible reminder of the joy and importance of coming together as a community.
In attendance at the event were Mayor Joel Bryant, City Manager Tim Ogden, Vice Mayor Susannah Meyer, and City Council Tony Oerlemans and Jovita Mendoza. It was wonderful to see the community come out in the cold to celebrate the holiday together.
The crowd was also treated to the talent of artist Andrew Swartz, who led a collaborative painting project that allowed young and old alike to participate. The masterpiece that was created will be showcased in the Delta Art Gallery at Streets of Brentwood.
the grand finale of fire and sword dancers, led by Aaron Zamarron. Wielding a flaming sword, Zamarron captivated the audience as he performed a spectacular routine set to traditional Chanuka music.
The story of Chanukah is a timeless one, filled with hope and courage in the face of persecution. To this day, the Festival of Lights is still celebrated by so many around the world and brings with it the same spirit of unity and joy. As we light the menorah, let us remember the power of faith and the strength of community. May we continue to find joy in the celebration of Chanukah, and may we always be blessed with good health and prosperity. Happy Chanukah!
To learn more about the history behind and meaning of Hanukkah/Chanukah click, here.
Mashie Goldschmid contributed to this report.
Read MoreRichmond suspect driving with suspended license for prior DUI
By CHP Contra Costa
Tuesday morning Dec. 13, 2022, at about 11:05am, CHP Contra Costa was advised of a wrong way driver traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Hwy 4 near Railroad Avenue. The wrong way vehicle (Dodge Durango) continued westbound in the eastbound lanes and collided head on into a Honda Accord traveling in the eastbound lanes of Hwy 4. Following the initial crash, the Honda was struck by a Toyota Highlander and was struck a third time by a three-axel tanker truck that were also traveling eastbound. All involved vehicles sustained major damage and came to rest within the eastbound lanes.
Following the crash, the driver of the Dodge fled the scene on foot but was apprehended by Pittsburg Police Department that came upon the scene shortly after.
The Honda was occupied by one adult driver and one adult passenger. The driver sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene and the passenger was transported to the hospital for major injuries. The Toyota was occupied by one adult driver and one infant passenger. Both occupants were transported to the hospital for complaint of pain injuries. The tanker truck was occupied by an adult driver who was uninjured.
According to a Mercury News report, the Contra Costa Coroner’s Office identified the victim as James Kuang age 50. Attempts to reach the Coroner’s Office to determine the victim’s city of residency were unsuccessful Friday.
CHP Contra Costa PIO Adam Lane said Friday that the wrong way driver is Michael Armstrong age 53 of Richmond was booked on charges of murder, DUI resulting in injury, driving the wrong way resulting in injury or death and driving with a suspended license for a prior DUI.
According to Contra Costa DA’s Office PIO Ted Asregadoo, “the suspect was released from custody from the Martinez Detention Facility on Thursday by the U.S. Marshals because of a federal matter. So, CHP will not be bringing the case to the DA’s office for filing charges, today.”
At this time, it is believed drugs and/or alcohol impairment may have been a factor in this crash. This incident is still under investigation. If anyone witnessed this crash, the wrong way vehicle prior to the crash, or the events leading up to the crash, please contact CHP Contra Costa in Martinez at (925) 646-4980. Thank you.
Please check back later for any updates to this report.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
Read More“The Tunnel Project will not save the Delta, and it probably will not save the State Water Project’s and Central Valley Project’s reliance on Delta exports either.” – letter from Restore the Delta on DEIR
The proposed Delta Conveyance Project (Delta Tunnel) would construct new water intake facilities on the Sacramento River in the north Delta to fill a single tunnel with diverted freshwater flows. That water would be shipped to large farming operations and water wholesalers south of the Delta. The Delta Conveyance project would divert up to 6,000 cubic feet of water per second. The project is estimated to cost between $16-40 billion and won’t be completed until at least 2040.
After the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Delta Conveyance Project was released in July, the comment period was extended to today, Friday, December 16, 2022. The Draft EIR was prepared by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) as the lead agency to comply with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act by evaluating a range of alternatives to the proposed project and disclosing potential environmental effects of the proposed project and alternatives, and associated mitigation measures for potentially significant impacts.
No decisions will be made on whether to approve the project until the conclusion of the environmental review process, after consideration of public comments submitted on the Draft EIR and issuances of a Final EIR. At that time, DWR will determine whether to approve the proposed project an alternative or no project.
On Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, Restore the Delta submitted detailed comments on the DEIR to the DWR.
“The California Department of Water Resources should be embarrassed by the lack of climate change planning in the DEIR for the proposed Delta Tunnel. The DEIR was out of date for climate change science when it was released in July 2022,” said Tim Stroshane, Policy Analyst, Restore the Delta. “If completed in 2040 it will be obsolete, then. Meanwhile, California will have spent big money on a project the state will be unable to use as Delta water levels rise. Instead, we should invest in the resilience of Delta environmental justice communities and the rest of the state for flood and water supplies, reducing the big projects’ reliance on the Delta for future water needs, using water use efficiency and water recycling, and increasing local and regional water supply self-sufficiency to ward off drought and megafloods.”
“DWR has learned nothing since California WaterFix. Their sales pitch, that the tunnel is a climate project, is built on incomplete data and faulty analysis,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “They have continued their pattern of erasing how the project will impact Delta urban environmental justice communities. And they are minimizing how construction will ruin small Delta farming towns, and the natural resources essential to the cultural and spiritual practices of historic Delta tribes. The tunnel is a failed idea that nobody supports, except for the Department of Water Resources.”
Read the comment letter and attachments by Restore the Delta.
Highlights from the Comments
Environmental impact of Tunnel:
“Reviewing the Executive Summary, we count 17 significant and unavoidable impacts of the proposed Tunnel project on the environment. Among these impacts will be loss of prime agricultural farmland, loss of local non-tribal cultural resources, transportation and air quality impacts, and painful loss of tribal cultural resources. There are other impacts omitted, belittled, or greenwashed by the Tunnel DEIR.”
Flow and salinity impacts when Tunnel in operation:
“The Tunnel Project has region-scale impacts on the Delta, should it be built. The Tunnel DEIRacknowledges that a major operational impact will be, reducing Sacramento River flows (and hence flows to its distributaries in north and central Delta channels) and reducing the estuary’s ability to repel tidal salt waters which are ever-present (see Attachment 9 to this letter). Such operational impacts will have economic and ecological impact on the Delta region, and a Community Benefits Program must be developed to mitigate the economic and ecological effects of Tunnel operations on Delta communities, especially environmental justice communities.”
Failure to consider alternatives:
“DWR in particular is hide-bound in its loyalty to a Delta conveyance approach eclipsed by the emerging and growing effects of extreme heat and extreme storms.
“A huge failure of imagination by DWR is on display in this DEIR. Each of these alternatives is vulnerable to the slings and arrows of expected climate change effects, which we will go into further below when commenting on project modeling methods and results. But what we see displayed in the Tunnel DEIR is a complete failure of state water officials to imagine alternative approaches these last few years since the demise of California WaterFix in early 2019.”
Faulty consideration of Delta Environmental Justice impacts:
“We are deeply disappointed that DWR resorted to ignoring its ‘Your Delta, Your Voice’ Survey as a basis for informing how and what kind of environmental, environmental justice, and community impacts the Delta Tunnel Project would impose on the Delta EJ community both of the direct Legal Delta and of the Delta Region as a whole. It is plainly obvious that 1) the Legal Delta as well as the Delta Region are bona fide environmental justice communities, with relatively small proportions of white and wealthy populations; 2) Delta residents AND Delta region community members rely substantially on the Delta directly, and the north Delta in particular, for subsistence fishing, and it is thus an environmental impact to have both fishing spots taken away from anglers and fish removed from the vicinity for North Delta Intakes construction activities; and 3) in the operational phase, lost flows in the Delta will increase salinity in the Delta as it reduces flows in north and central Delta channels, and thereby contributing to the spread of harmful algal blooms which will disproportionately injure Delta people who rely on fishing and broad outdoor activities to enjoy the Delta. In sum, the Delta Tunnel Project will harm such beneficial users of water as fish, outdoor water-contact recreation, and environmental justice communities.”
About Restore the Delta
Restore the Delta (RTD) is a grassroots campaign of residents and organizations committed to restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta so that fisheries, communities, and family farming can thrive there together again; so that water quality is protected for all communities, particularly environmental justice communities; and so that Delta environmental justice communities are protected from flood and drought impacts resulting from climate change while gaining improved public access to clean waterways. Ultimately our goal is to connect communities to our area rivers and to empower communities to become the guardians of the estuary through participation in government planning and waterway monitoring. RTD advocates for local Delta stakeholders to ensure that they have a direct impact on water management decisions affecting the well-being of their communities, and water sustainability policies for all Californians.
ICYMI 12/10/22: Delta Tunnel Meeting, Greenhouse Gaslighting, HABs in 2022
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.