Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

DVC and LMC recognized for Black and Latino Associate Degree for Transfer Rates

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Recipients of 2021 Equity Champion of Higher Education Award

By Timothy Leong, Public Information Officer, 4CD

Diablo Valley College (DVC) and Los Medanos College (LMC) each received the 2021 Equity Champion of Higher Education Award, an honor given by the Campaign for College Opportunity (Campaign) to recognize California Community Colleges and California State University (CSU) campuses for their success in conferring the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to Black and Latino students at higher rates than other colleges.

ADTs were established in 2010 with the passage of SB 1440, to create a clearer pathway for students who wish to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree. Since the program’s inception, California Community Colleges have awarded more than 300,000 ADTs, establishing this pathway as a popular transfer option for students. By successfully completing 60 units of transferrable community college coursework, students will be awarded an associate degree and receive guaranteed admission with junior standing at a CSU campus.

“We are honored to receive the recognition that DVC led all California Community Colleges in increasing the number of Black and Latinx students earning an ADT,” says DVC President Susan Lamb. “We appreciate the ongoing recognition from the campaign, and want to thank every member of our college community for their contribution to this tremendous achievement and equity work.”

According to Campaign rankings, during the 2019-20 academic year, DVC awarded 1,161 ADTs, more than half of all Associate Degrees awarded by the college during this time. Black and Latino students out earned ADTs over other student populations at the college by 6% and 3.4% respectively.

LMC was recognized for their equity work in increasing the number of Latinx students obtaining an ADT. During the 2019-20 academic year, LMC awarded 548 ADTs, or one of every three Associates Degree awarded by the college during this time. LMC’s Latino students out earned ADTs over their other student populations by 2.9%.

“I am honored to work with such dedicated classified professionals, faculty and managers, who are focused on learning, completion, and equitable outcome for all of our students,” says LMC President Bob Kratochvil. “With a Latinx student population of over 40 percent, this recognition gives us another indicator we are on the right path and making progress in helping our students achieve their educational goals with us.”

The Campaign for College Opportunity’s mission has been to ensure that all eligible and motivated students in California have an opportunity to go to college and succeed. The Campaign remains committed to keeping the State of California from breaking its promise of college opportunity to its next generation of young people in order to ensure a strong state for all of us. For more information, visit https://collegecampaign.org/ .

 

Kaiser claims bargaining in good faith with striking engineers’ union, best compensated in profession

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A large inflatable rat on display at the Antioch Kaiser strike on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 18, 2021. Photos by Allen Payton

On strike for nearly three months

By Antonia Ehlers, PR and Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Kaiser Permanente has been bargaining in good faith with Local 39 IUOE (International Union of Operating Engineers Local 39 Stationary Engineers), the union that represents about 600 Kaiser Permanente operating engineers, for several months. The union decided to call a strike and have kept employees out for nearly three months. Our proposals to Local 39 will keep our engineers among the best compensated in their profession, at an average of more than $180,000 in total wages and benefits. We are not proposing any take-aways. (See related article)

In bargaining with IOUE Local 39, we delivered a comprehensive proposal that offers across-the-board pay increases and cash payments that are similar to our other employees’ and continues to include all our industry-leading benefits. Further, engineers’ retirement benefit would continue to be substantial, with several improvements.

Right now, Local 39’s position is the same as before it went on strike. The union continues to insist it receive much more – in some cases nearly 2 times more – than other union agreements covering Kaiser Permanente employees. It simply is not in line with other employees, nor is it in line with our obligation to continue addressing the affordability of health care for our more than 4.5 million members.

We will continue to bargain in good faith, and we hope that Local 39 leaders will continue to do the same. That means more discussion, fresh ideas, and compromise. At this time, we do not have any further dates scheduled to meet.  We are optimistic that we can resolve the remaining issues with Local 39 at the bargaining table and reach an agreement that continues to reward our employees and supports health care affordability, just as we have with several unions recently.

Contra Costa DA charges woman who struck and killed Lafayette crossing guard in September

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The Contra Costa County Office of the District Attorney has filed charges against Phyllis Meehan pursuant to Vehicle Code Section 192(c)(1) in the death of Stanley Middle School crossing guard, Ashley Steven Dias, age 45.

“This tragic incident has impacted an entire community,” said District Attorney Diana Becton. “The loss of Ashley Dias is a solemn reminder that drivers must exercise caution and care when children and pedestrians are present.”

September 8, 2021, Phyllis Meehan, 78 years old, was picking up her grandson from the Lafayette Middle School when she collided with a vehicle and proceeded to accelerate into a crosswalk. Witnesses observed Mr. Dias pushed a student out of the path of the GMC Yukon before the crossing guard was fatally struck by the driver. The student suffered significant scrapes and bruises. Mr. Dias succumbed to his injuries later that afternoon.

According to the Lafayette Police Department, “At 3:00pm today (9/8/21) on School Street at Paradise Court a vehicle struck one adult and one child, the child had minor injuries and the adult was transported to the hospital.”

ABC7 News reported the child will survive, and that the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with police.

An arraignment date has yet to be scheduled. The copy of the complaint and charges can be viewed, here:

Case information: Docket Number 01-197752-9

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis announces passing of husband Richard Clayton

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Supervisor Diane Burgis and her late husband Richard Clayton in photo posted on her Facebook page on June 19, 2021.

OAKLEY, CALIF., December 11, 2021 – Supervisor Diane Burgis lost her husband Richard Clayton this morning to suicide. He is survived by his wife, his parents, John and Carol Clayton of England, his brother Barry, (Deb) and sister, Nina (Rob), daughter Kianna and son-in-law Andrew Lee, his stepsons, Jacob, Sam, and Dusty Burgis, grandsons, Arlo, Brody and Huxley, and many beloved nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends.

“Like many of us, Richard’s mental health was severely impacted by the pandemic. I would ask anyone who is suffering from a mental health crisis to reach out for help, and I’m respectfully requesting that you respect my privacy and the privacy of Richard’s family at this difficult time,” said Supervisor Burgis.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Ninth Circuit agrees to rehear lawsuit ruling Newsom unconstitutionally closed private schools during pandemic

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Vacates court’s three judge panel ruling, will hear en banc

San Francisco — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, at the request of Governor Gavin Newsom, agreed, on Wednesday, to vacate the court’s three judge panel ruling, earlier this year, in favor of the parents represented by the Center for American Liberty’s lawsuit Brach v. Newsom (#OpenCASchools), that Newsom’s COVID order barring private schools from in-person teaching, violated parents’ Due Process rights, and have the entire case reheard by the full Ninth Circuit Panel.

Click here to view and download the court’s order.

Click here to view and download the Ninth’s Circuit’s prior ruling

In the prior ruling for parents, the three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit reasoned: “…the Supreme Court has long held that ‘the right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children is a fundamental liberty interested protected by the Due Process Clause,’ and that right includes ‘the right of parents to be free from state interference with their choice of the educational forum itself.’”

“It’s sad to see Governor Newsom so vigorously continue his assault on children’s education,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, CEO of the Center for American Liberty. “The prior opinion from the Ninth Circuit was a clear victory for parents and students when the court correctly ruled that under the Constitution, parents – and not Gavin Newsom or faceless bureaucrats — have the right to decide how best to educate their children. I’m confident that the en banc panel will reaffirm that Governor Newsom’s anti-parent power grab was unconstitutional.”

“Although we believe that the original panel correctly held that Governor Newsom violated the Constitution when he closed private schools across the state, we look forward to making our case again to the en banc panel,” said Partner at Eimer Stahl LLP, Robert Dunn. “The school closure orders the Governor kept in place for nearly a year had a devastating impact on students throughout the state and plainly interfered with parents’ ability to control the education of their children. We are confident that the en banc panel will vindicate our clients’ fundamental rights and prevent the Governor from reinstituting such an order.”

 

Oakland man sentenced to five years in prison for targeting minors online in sexual extortion scheme

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Had help from Concord man, his co-defendant; victims included eight minors between 11 and 14 years old

OAKLAND – Delaney Tang was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for solicitation of child pornography and conspiracy to commit cyberstalking in connection with a sexual extortion scheme, announced Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam, U.S. District Judge.

Tang, 22, of Oakland, pleaded guilty to the charges on April 28, 2021. The plea agreement describes how Tang used Instagram to harass, threaten, and successfully extort a 12-year-old victim into sending him nude photos and videos of herself. The agreement further describes how Tang provided instructions to the victim specifying what she must wear, say, and do in her photos and videos as well as how Tang also attempted to coerce the victim into filming a video of herself performing additional sex acts with an underage male. Tang received assistance executing the scheme from co-defendant Vincenz Sison, 21, of Concord. Sison attempted to convince the victim to comply with Tang’s extortion requests. Ultimately, Tang publicly posted to Instagram and other sites sexually explicit images and videos of the 12-year-old victim after she stopped responding to Tang’s requests for additional photos and videos.

The government’s memorandum regarding Tang’s sentencing further explains how Tang used Instagram to extort additional victims, including seven identified underage victims who were between 11 and 14 years old.

On February 10, 2021, the United States filed a criminal information charging Tang and Sison with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 & 2261A(2)(B), and charging Tang with an additional count of solicitation of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(3)(B).  Tang pleaded guilty to both counts charged against him.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Gilliam ordered Tang to serve an eight-year period of supervision following his release from prison.  Tang will surrender to begin serving his sentence on January 19, 2022. Tang’s next scheduled appearance is on January 12, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., for a hearing to determine restitution for his victims.

For his part in the scheme, Sison pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking on April 28, 2021. Judge Gilliam scheduled Sison’s sentencing for February 2, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Vieira is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuk. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the San Francisco Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

 

Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office solves 25-year-old Crockett cold case homicide

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Suspect Danny Lamont Hamilton in 1999 and 2018, and victim Priscilla Lewis. Photos: CCCSheriff

Suspect formally charged for 1996 murder of Vallejo woman

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff has solved the 1996 murder of Priscilla Lewis in Crockett.

On September 24, 1996, Priscilla Lewis, a 21-year-old resident of Vallejo, was working as a waitress at the Four Corners restaurant located at 628 2nd Avenue in Crockett. The cook at the restaurant called 9-1-1 shortly before 10:30 PM after finding her body in the basement bathroom. The cause of death was asphyxia due to drowning.

Since that time, detectives from the Sheriff’s Office have continued the investigation interviewing dozens of people while the crime lab analyzed numerous pieces of evidence. Several search warrants were also served. Despite persistent investigation for over two decades, the case remained unsolved.

In 2020, detectives submitted additional evidence to the crime lab to be tested using current technology. A DNA match came back to that of Danny Lamont Hamilton, also of Vallejo. Hamilton was incarcerated at the Martinez Detention Facility from 1999-2002 for unrelated sexual assault charges. He was later convicted of those charges and sentenced to prison for 295 years. Hamilton, who is 51 years old, is currently serving his term at a state prison near San Diego.

On Wednesday, December 8, 2021, homicide detectives from the Sheriff’s Office presented the case to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. Hamilton was charged with one count of murder along with numerous enhancements in the Priscilla Lewis case:

PC187(a) (PC1203.075) – Murder with four (4) special enhancements

  1. PC190.2(a)(15) – Murder by lying in wait
  2. PC190.2(a)(17) – Felony murder kidnapping
  3. PC190.2(a)(17) – Felony murder burglary
  4. PC190.2(a)(17) – Felony murder—enumerated sex offence (committed during an attempted rape)

“I would like to recognize the many Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives and crime lab staff for their dedication and relentless work in the murder of Priscilla Lewis in 1996,” said Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston. “We continue to investigate unsolved homicides in an effort to provide families, like that of Priscilla Lewis, with answers and some closure and to hold suspects accountable.”

Homicide detectives are continuing to investigate this case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or through Sheriff’s Office dispatch at (925) 646-2441. For any tips, email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

Contra Costa Supervisors put Health Services Chief on hot seat over 13 COVID rule violating restaurants

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“The time has come to shut down those establishments that don’t obey the code.” – District 4 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff

“There are no Omicron variant cases yet in our county.” – CC Health Services Director Anna Roth

Approve $95.5 million for new West County Reentry Treatment & Housing Facility; East County Groundwater Plan approved

By Daniel Borsuk

A defensive Contra Costa Health Services Director Anna Roth faced criticism from county Supervisors, especially emanating from District 4 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff on why 13 restaurants remain open in defiance of county COVID-19 health orders. As of Sept. 22, by order of the county’s Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and other entertainment venues must require patrons to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test in order to enter. (See related article)

“There is no change in enforcement,” Roth said at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting. As of November, 99 percent of restaurants in the county are compliant. We have 13 outstanding cases.”

But Roth’s statement did not satisfy Mitchoff, the supervisor who initially unveiled the code enforcement issue with the county health services.

“The time has come to shut down those establishments that don’t obey the code,” Mitchoff said. “We have done the education. We’ve done the warning.”

None of the owners of the 13 restaurants spoke at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting. Lumpy’s Diner in Antioch, and MJ’s Downtown Café are among eating establishments that the county has tagged as out of compliance of COVID-19 health code.

One of the 13 restaurants on the county’s red tag list, the In-n-Out in Pleasant Hill has been closed for indoor dining health code violations.

District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg came to the defense of Roth and her department’s code enforcement division commenting, “I think you’re doing an outstanding job out there. The volume of people out there who are out of compliance is small. I enjoy eating inside a restaurant. I understand the stress,”

In the meantime, Roth reported that while 75.6 percent of Contra Costa County residents are fully vaccinated, twenty-seven persons are hospitalized in county hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms One patient dies daily on average from COVID-19 symptoms, she noted.

“There are no Omicron variant cases yet in our county,” said Roth.

In an interview for a KRON4 news report, County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano said, “We don’t just jump right in there with a fine at the get go. We give the businesses the opportunity. Because our goal is to get to compliance for people to follow the order. Our goal isn’t to issue a bunch of fines.” The report also shared that Farnitano said only four restaurants in the county have been fined.

Rendering of the entrance of the West County Re-entry Treatment and Housing Facility. Source: Contra Costa County

$95.5 Million West County Detention Facility Expansion Plan Approved

Supervisors unanimously approved a $95.5 million design-build contract with Montana-based contractor Sletten Construction Company to design and build five secure housing units, a medical treatment center, reentry program space and building, and visitation facilities at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond. It will be known as the West County Reentry Treatment & Housing Facility.  WRTH presentation CCCBOS120721

One of the objectives of the project is to reduce overcrowding by 128 inmate beds to 288 high-security inmate beds in five housing units. Ninety-six beds will still be mental health treatment beds.

Possible Relocation of Marsh Creek Shooting Range

In a related matter, supervisors approved as a consent item a report on the future use and potential relocation of the shooting range at the Marsh Creek Detention Facility possibly to the Concord Naval Weapon Station. At the low-security detention facility inmates learn wood making skills and other basic education skills.

Used also as a training facility for the Office of the Sheriff and law enforcement agencies from Contra Costa County and surrounding counties, the Marsh Creek Range Facility generates revenue for the county. The range will bring about $113,000 for fiscal year 2021-2022, wrote County Administrator Monica Nino in her report to the supervisors.

East County Groundwater Sustainability Plan Approved

Supervisors also approved the East Contra Costa Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan on a 5-0 vote. The $1.4 million groundwater study applies to the cities of Antioch and Brentwood, Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, Diablo Water District, Discovery Bay Community Services and East Contra Costa Irrigation District.

Even under drought like conditions, the plan found, “Groundwater conditions in the ECC Subbasin are favorable and reflect stability over the past 30 years or more. Using various analogies, the Subbasin can be described as generally full through various water-year types, including drought and is in good “health.” The favorable conditions are in part due to surface water availability that represents the largest sources of supply for municipal and agricultural uses in the Subbasin.”

Ryan Hernandez of the Department of Conservation and Planning said if the board of supervisors did not adopt the ECC-GSP, the county would be in violation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which would result in the State Water Resources Board intervening in local groundwater management.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office supports Walnut Creek PD in effort to stop organized retail thefts

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Sheriff’s vehicle patrols downtown Walnut Creek. Photo by CCCSheriff

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff Quinton Valentine patrolling downtown Walnut Creek. Photo by CCCSheriff.

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff will be providing patrol assistance to the Walnut Creek Police Department this holiday season. This comes in response to a recent spate of organized retail thefts in the Bay Area, including one in the Broadway Plaza shopping mall in Walnut Creek.

A special detail of Contra Costa deputy sheriffs will be conducting high-visibility patrols in downtown Walnut Creek alongside police officers to help prevent similar incidents from occurring and to provide additional security for the area.

“I made a personal commitment to the City of Walnut Creek to staff down-town Walnut Creek with deputy sheriffs during the holidays,” said Contra Costa Sheriff David Livingston. “Working with our partners at the Walnut Creek Police Department, this deployment from the Sheriff’s Office will help keep businesses, shoppers and residents safe.”

The Sheriff’s Office wishes every-one a safe and happy holiday season. Please always be alert wherever you are and that if you see suspicious activity to notify your local law enforcement agency.

About the Sheriff’s Office

The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office offers a full range of law enforcement services to over 1,000,000 residents in the 715 square mile county. Besides patrolling the unincorporated areas, Deputy Sheriffs provide comprehensive police services to a number of contract cities and special districts. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office operates county detention facilities, provides security for the courts and runs the Office of Emergency Services. Log on www.cocosheriff.org for more information.

Homekey Program brings innovative interim housing for homeless to Contra Costa

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Jason Elliott, Senior Counselor to Gov. Gavin Newsom was joined by (L-R) Contra Costa Health Services Deputy Director Lavonna Martin, Pittsburg Mayor Merle Craft and Supervisor Federal Glover for the grand opening ceremony of Delta Landing. Photo by Karl Fischer.

State, local officials celebrate during grand opening of Pittsburg site for year-long program; will open later this month after extensive renovation is completed.

The Contra Costa Health Services hosted a grand opening ceremony for Delta Landing, a 172-unit interim housing site in Pittsburg, on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021. It will be among the first in California to open thanks to the state’s Homekey program to provide shelter and on-site services to help county residents experiencing homelessness to regain housing.

“We are going to ensure we will continue to serve as many as possible with this resource…as we open this site as a permanent fixture,” said Deputy Health Services Director Lavonna Martin. She is the former Director of Health, Housing, & Homeless Services for Contra Costa County Health Services.

Rendering of the Delta Landing transitional housing site. Source: CCHS

Delta Landing, recipient of a $21.5 million Homekey grant in 2020, will open later this month after extensive site renovation. In addition to new paint, roof, furnishings, laundry and fire sprinkler system, clients can make use of a new wellness center for physical and behavioral health needs and co-located services to help them regain permanent housing. (See related article)

“We are grateful to California and Gov. Gavin Newsom for the opportunity to add critically needed services in East County for residents without housing,” said Diane Burgis, chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. “Historically there has been a severe lack of beds in this part of the county, and Delta Landing is a great first step toward addressing that need.”

The site at 2101 Loveridge Road was previously a Motel 6, used since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as a non-congregate emergency shelter for county residents with funding from the state’s Project Roomkey program.

The Homekey award allowed Contra Costa to negotiate the purchase of the motel and provide the necessary renovations to make a state-of-the-art interim housing facility with services such as basic healthcare, housing navigation and case management provided on site.

One of the rooms at Delta Landing viewed during a tour of the facility following the grand opening ceremony on Monday, Dec. 6. Photo by Karl Fischer

“This is a bit of a full circle moment. 524 days ago, the governor stood right there at the end of this walkway, right there and announced the new thing in the state called Homekey. It didn’t exist. Now, we’re here today,” said Jason Elliott, Senior Counselor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and one of the governor’s point-people on housing and homelessness. “What we did was we created a program and we provided funding. What the local governments did was make this happen…172 units of critically needed housing.” (See related article)

Clients staying at the site were temporarily placed at other Project Roomkey locations in the county during renovations and will relocate back to Delta Landing this month.

“We know that the first service that people experiencing homelessness need is a stabilized living situation,” said Contra Costa Supervisor Federal Glover, whose district includes Pittsburg. “Delta Landing provides that stable place, so clients can make full use of the services and supports to transition into permanent housing.”

He previously shared that it is a year-long program that currently has a waitlist.

The county’s most recent homeless point-in-time count, in January 2020, showed that one-third of residents living outdoors in Contra Costa were in eastern Contra Costa – more than 500 people. But, before Delta Landing, there were only 20 available shelter beds in the county east of Concord.

Contra Costa’s Public Works Department led nearly $6 million renovation project. Homekey will also $4.196 million toward operation of this permanent facility, which is managed by Bay Area Community Services (BACS), a contractor of Contra Costa Health Services’ Division of Health, Housing and Homeless Services (H3).

Visit cchealth.org/h3 for information about services for people experiencing homelessness in Contra Costa County.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.