To help people arrive safely at their destination, the CHP will implement a statewide Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) throughout the weekend and continues through 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4. Throughout the extended holiday weekend, all available uniformed members of the Department will be on patrol to enhance public safety, deter unsafe driving behavior, and, when necessary, take appropriate enforcement action.
Two-vehicle fatal crash on Hwy 4 near Bay Point Friday night
By CHP – Contra Costa
Last night (6/30/23) around 8:16pm, CHP Contra Costa was advised of a two-vehicle crash on eastbound SR-4, west of Bailey Road. A GMC pickup, with two occupants, and a Volkswagen Sedan, with one occupant, were traveling eastbound on Hwy 4. Our preliminary investigation indicates the GMC collided into the Volkswagen which caused the GMC to leave the roadway and overturn. During the crash sequence, both occupants of the GMC were ejected from the vehicle.
Emergency personnel arrived on scene to render aid. Both occupants of the GMC were transported to the hospital and were later pronounced deceased. The driver of the Volkswagen was not injured.
This crash is still under investigation. If anyone witnessed it or the events leading up to it, please contact CHP Contra Costa in Martinez, (925) 646-4980 or email 320Investigations@chp.ca.gov.
Antioch councilwoman running for State Assembly
Second attempt at higher office, seeks to succeed Tim Grayson as part of effort to elect an equal number of women to the state legislature
By Allen D. Payton
On June 1st, Antioch District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson announced her campaign for State Assembly in District 15 which includes portions of Central and Eastern Contra Costa County. Current incumbent, Tim Grayson (D-Concord), is expected to run for the State Senate seat currently held by Steve Glazer who is termed out at the end of 2024. Although California state legislators can now serve a total of 12 years with a combination of time in each house, Glazer won a special election in 2011 to replace Mark DeSaulnier who was elected to Congress in 2015, midway through his term. If Glazer were re-elected for a third term, he would end up serving over 13 years.
First elected to the city council in 2012 then re-elected in 2016 for four-year terms, following the formation of council districts Wilson was re-elected again in 2020 for a two-year term garnering over 55% of the vote against two other candidates. This past year she was re-elected for another four-year term, but the support in her district had dropped to less than 37% in a field of four candidates, including fellow Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock. (See related article)
This is Democrat Wilson’s second run for higher office which included a failed attempt for District 3 County Supervisor in 2016 in which she placed fifth out of six candidates in the primary. (See related article)
The following press release was issued by her campaign:
Four-term Councilmember Monica Wilson announces her candidacy for State Assembly (AD15). Current Assemblymember Tim Grayson is widely expected to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Steve Glazer.
For the past two decades, Monica has served the people of Contra Costa County as a community organizer, high-profile advocate to end human trafficking, and leader in the fight for safe neighborhoods and healthy families.
“I am ready to take my results-oriented leadership to Sacramento – where I can do even more to maintain and improve the quality of life for our Contra Costa County communities and all Californians,” said Wilson. “Too many families are getting priced out due to skyrocketing cost of living and expensive housing. And creating effective solutions to homelessness is not only a regional, but statewide crisis. I have a proven track record of tackling today’s tough problems to provide the leadership every Californian needs.”
“These are all issues I have experienced myself,” she continued. “As your Assemblymember, I’ll fight to address pocketbook issues for the well-being of every Contra Costa County family and residents throughout the Golden State.”
Wilson announced her Assembly candidacy with endorsements from State Board of Equalization Member Sally Lieber, women and human rights advocate Christine Pelosi (Former Speaker of the House and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s daughter) and local leaders including Concord Vice Mayor Edi Birsan and Brentwood Councilmember Jovita Mendoza.
“Monica has led efforts to protect our clean air and water for future generations,” said Board of Equalization Member Lieber. “Monica will lead the fight in Sacramento to make real progress toward the governor’s goal of dramatically cutting carbon pollution to reduce the risk of drought and wildfire.”
“It is more important than ever to elect women with proven track records of results to be our state policymakers. I am thrilled Councilmember Monica Wilson has answered the calls to run,” said Susannah Delano, Executive Director of Close the Gap California, (which is working for “gender parity in the state legislature by 2028”).
Assembly District 15 includes the cities of Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, a portion of Walnut Creek and the unincorporated communities of Bay Point and Pacheco.
ABOUT MONICA: Antioch Councilmember Monica Wilson champions police reform and safe neighborhoods; solutions to homelessness; expansion of mental health response teams; and bans on new liquor stores. Monica is a regional and statewide leader in the fight against human trafficking, serving as a program manager for a Bay Area nonprofit battling exploitation – and also worked closely with the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office to create the County’s Human Trafficking Task Force.
REGIONAL LEADERSHIP & EXPERIENCE:
- Serving 4th term on Antioch City Council; first African American woman elected
- Vice Chair, Northern California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus; former Vice Chair, Democratic Party of Contra Costa County
- Board Member, Tri Delta Transit
- Staff Advisor, FemDems; Outreach Coordinator, Grateful Garment Project
- Program Manager, Human Trafficking nonprofit Love Never Fails
- Staff Member, Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County
- San José – Evergreen Community College District and Mills College professional positions in Workforce Institute and Student Life divisions
———————-
Wilson is also one of five board members for the Celebrate Antioch Foundation which serves as the fiscal agent for her East Contra Costa Women’s Leadership Initiative.
Issues
According to the Priorities page on her campaign website, Wilson’s platform includes the issues of Cost of Living, Affordable Housing and Homelessness, Safe Neighborhoods and Schools and Climate Change.
Accomplishments
Wilson’s main accomplishment as a member of the Antioch City Council was last year’s approval of the pilot program for a mental health response team to assist the police department, which is expected to begin operating this year. In addition, she championed a moratorium on gas and oil drilling in the city, and rejection of the franchise agreement renewal for the natural gas pipeline that runs through the city. That has resulted in an ongoing lawsuit by the operator of the pipeline. The councilwoman is now pushing for a moratorium on new gas stations in the city.
For the past two-and-a-half years Wilson has been the least controversial member of the council majority that has approved rental housing protections, a homeless motel for transitional housing, reversal of a $750,000 grant for six police officers to serve as School Resource Officers on Antioch middle and high school campuses, multiple cannabis dispensaries and businesses, a ban on the sale of certain tobacco products and the sale or transfer of tobacco retail businesses including to other family members, a gerrymandered council district map, hiring their own part-time secretaries, as well as the hiring of the current city manager, who she later voted to place on paid administrative leave pending at least two investigations.
According to her LinkedIn page, Wilson has held a total of six jobs since 2009. She is unmarried and has no children.
For more information about Wilson’s campaign visit www.MonicaforAssembly.com.
Permanent injunction imposed against online education company for alleged violations of children’s privacy law
Edmodo, LLC allegedly collected names, email addresses, phone numbers, device information, and IP addresses of approximately 36 million children under 13 for advertising purposes until approximately September 2022 and “retaining this personal information indefinitely”
The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced that Edmodo, LLC (Edmodo) has agreed to a permanent injunction and a $6 million civil penalty in connection with its online educational platform, as part of a settlement to resolve alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule), and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The civil penalty is suspended due to Edmodo’s inability to pay.
The Edmodo educational platform, sold to schools throughout the United States, enabled teachers to interface with students, including children under 13 years old, to host virtual class spaces, conduct discussions, share materials, make assignments, and provide quizzes and grades, among other things. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the government alleges that, until approximately September 2022, Edmodo collected the personal information of children under 13, including their names, email addresses, phone numbers, device information, and IP addresses. Edmodo allegedly collected such information without providing notice to the children’s parents or obtaining parental authorization to collect such personal information, as required by the COPPA Rule, and used this personal information to enable third parties to display targeted advertising to student users between 2018 and September 2022.
According to a May 2023 article by Human Rights Watch, “Edmodo was a website and app widely used by children in kindergarten, elementary, and middle schools across the US until September 2022, when the company pivoted to only selling its product to governments. The company benefited from explosive demand in 2020, reporting a 1,500 percent increase in users in the first five months of the pandemic as governments and schools rushed to connect children to online learning.
An investigation by Human Rights Watch in May 2022 found that Edmodo was designed with the capacity to surveil children and harvest their personal data for advertising. Our technical analysis found that Edmodo could not only invisibly tag children and identify their devices for the sole purpose of advertising to them, but also enabled other advertisers to do the same by embedding ad-specific third-party code on its platform. After multiple requests for comment, Edmodo told Human Rights Watch in July 2022 that it did ‘not share [its students’] personal data with any Edmodo business partners or third parties.’”
The complaint further asserts that Edmodo was retaining this personal information indefinitely. As of March 2020, Edmodo retained the personal information associated with approximately 36 million student accounts, of which only one million were actively using the platform. This indefinite retention violated COPPA’s requirement that an operator not retain personal information of children for longer than “reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which [the information] was collected.”
The stipulated order, entered by the federal district court yesterday, enjoins Edmodo from collecting personal information from children in a manner that violates the COPPA Rule and prohibits Edmodo from retaining children’s personal information for longer than reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected. The order also enjoins Edmodo from collecting more personal information than reasonably necessary for a child to participate in any activity offered on its service. It also requires Edmodo to destroy personal information improperly collected from children under age 13 and to comply with reporting, monitoring, and recordkeeping requirements. Edmodo is also subject to a civil penalty judgment of $6 million dollars, which is suspended due to Edmodo’s inability to pay.
“Children do not lose their privacy protections when they use the internet,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California. “Congress and the FTC have established rules to govern websites and apps collecting and storing the personal information of children. The settlement being announced today demonstrates the Department of Justice’s resolve to enforce those rules. We will continue to work with our partners at the FTC to safeguard children’s online privacy.”
“The Justice Department takes seriously its mission to protect the online privacy rights of children and their parents. This order spells out clearly to all online providers that it is unacceptable to collect children’s personal information without their parents’ consent,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to protecting against unauthorized online collection and retention of information, especially from children.”
“This order makes clear that ed tech providers cannot outsource compliance responsibilities to schools, or force students to choose between their privacy and education,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Other ed tech providers should carefully examine their practices to ensure they’re not compromising students’ privacy.”
This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vivian Wang for the Northern District of California, Senior Trial Attorney James T. Nelson and Assistant Director Lisa Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, and Gorana Neskovic and Peder Magee of the FTC.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at www.FTC.gov.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
Richmond woman arrested for Oakley gym locker room robbery
Stole wallets, cell phones, debit cards and cash; tried to buy $5,000 worth of merchandise
By Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard
On June 26, 2023 at 4:58PM Oakley Police Officers were dispatched to the Diamond Hills Gym, located at 1510 Neroly Road, on the report of multiple thefts that had just occurred. Upon arrival our officers learned a woman used a fake name to gain entry into the gym and then proceeded to physically break into multiple lockers in the women’s locker room. Approximately 5-6 patrons reported being victims of the thefts and items such as: wallets, cell phones, debit cards, and cash were reported as being stolen. Our officers interviewed victims, witnesses, and obtained video surveillance of the suspect. Some of the victims were alerted by their bank institutions, their credit cards were already being used at the Nordstrom store, in Concord at the Sun Valley Mall.
Officer Hurtado responded to the Nordstrom store to continue his investigation and obtain additional video surveillance. Officer Hurtado learned the suspect had left the store by the time he arrived. Officer Hurtado continued his investigation by talking to security and store employees when he saw a woman walk back into the store.
Officer Hurtado recognized the woman from the Diamond Hills Gym surveillance, and also from the Nordstrom store surveillance. Officer Hurtado approached the woman and promptly arrested her for the crimes, the woman continued her nefarious ways by providing a false name to Officer Hurtado.
Officer Hurtado was ultimately able to identify the woman as Andrania Yancy (37, Richmond). It was further determined, Yancy attempted to purchase over $5,000 worth of merchandise using six different stolen credit cards, all of which were denied. Yancy was arrested for grand theft, false impersonation of another, identification theft, and an outstanding warrant.
“I would like to thank everybody who brought this criminal matter to our attention. Because of quick reporting by witnesses and victims our officers were able to get an early jump on their investigation and they were able to develop information even as another related crime was taking place in another jurisdiction. At the time of this crime we had additional resources available to us in the form of a fully staffed swing shift team. This fully staffed team is the direct result of a commitment by the Oakley City Council and City Management to listen to Oakley residents and business owners to fund appropriate law-enforcement services. This commitment is not only leading to safer streets, but it has also resulted in the recruitment of some of the best law-enforcement candidates in the industry, such as Officer Hurtado, and I am grateful for all of them. Stay safe Oakley.”
According to information from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Yancy bonded out and is no longer in custody as of Wednesday afternoon, June 28.
According to localcrimenews.com Yancy has a history of arrests for various criminal activity dating back to 2014 including for grand theft, burglary, forgery in multiple cities and counties.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
Female suspect wanted for Brentwood, Antioch bank, credit union robberies
By Brentwood Police Department
On June 26, 2023 at around 1:58 p.m., Brentwood PD officers responded to the 5600 block of Lone Tree Way to investigate a silent hold up alarm at the Patelco Credit Union. Upon officer’s arrival, it was determined what appears to be a Hispanic female adult passed a note to the bank teller demanding money. The suspect then fled the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.
At around 3:53 p.m., Antioch PD officers responded to the 2700 block of Lone Tree Way to investigate another silent hold up alarm at the Travis Credit Union. Upon their arrival, it was determined what appears to be the same female suspect passed a note to the bank teller again demanding money. The suspect fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money. Antioch PD Officers believe the suspect may have fled in a gray four-door Honda or Nissan with tinted windows. Thankfully, nobody was physically injured in either robbery.
Our agencies have since confirmed the same female suspect committed the pair of robberies; however, wore different clothing during each incident. The suspect was described to officers as a Hispanic female, early to mid-twenties, between approximately 5 feet 3 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall, with brown hair. Do not approach the suspect if she is seen.
If you have any information about the suspect or the suspect vehicle, please contact Brentwood PD Detective Agostinho at 925-809-7870 or the Antioch Police Department Investigations Division at 925-779-6926. Callers can remain anonymous.
PetSmart to pay $1.46 million for unlawfully overcharging customers, false advertising, unfair competition
Contra Costa part of multi-county lawsuit
By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office
The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office announces that PetSmart LLC entered into a Stipulated Judgement on June 23rd and will pay $1.46 million for overcharging customers, false advertising, and unfair competition.
District Attorney Diana Becton said that “The law in California is clear: businesses must be accurate in charging for goods and services. For customers, it’s important to monitor items scanned at a register and scrutinize your receipts to make sure you are not being overcharged.”
The outcome of the multi-county lawsuit against PetSmart includes court orders that prohibit the company from engaging in false or misleading advertising and charging an amount greater than the lowest price posted for an item. Moreover, PetSmart must implement additional audit and price accuracy procedures in its California stores for a three-year period to ensure compliance with pricing accuracy requirements, including notifying customers of their right to be charged the lowest currently advertised price for any item offered for sale.
PetSmart will pay $1,250,000 in civil penalties, $100,000 in restitution to support consumer protection enforcement efforts, and $110,000 for investigative costs incurred by various counties. Because of this legal action, PetSmart has implemented new policies and procedures to improve pricing accuracy with routine audits, detailed record keeping, and in-store signage to notify customers about the lowest advertised price for items.
The lawsuit was filed in Santa Cruz County. In addition to Contra Costa County, Plaintiffs include Sonoma County, Alameda County, Marin County, San Diego County, Ventura County, and Los Angeles County. Deputy District Attorney Bryan Tierney prosecuted the case for the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office – with assistance by the Contra Costa Department of Agriculture/Weights & Measures.
If members of the public believe they have been overcharged by businesses, contact our office at: DA-ReportFraud@contracostada.org.
Community Outreach Musical Summer Gathering in the Park at county fairgrounds Aug. 6
Come out and join us for a day of school supply giveaways, community unity with music and dance. Resource operations will also share information.
Sunday, August 6, 2023 3 – 6 p.m.
Contra Costa Event Park (fairgrounds) at 1201 W. 10th Street in Antioch
To reserve your free school supplies, please contact B.C.C. Ministries at (925) 350-0188 or bcc1781 @gmail.com.
Raids of 20 East County homes net over $15.3 million in illegal weed
By Moorea Warren, Information Officer, California Department of Cannabis Control
Thanks to the continued dedication and collaboration of the Governor’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce (UCETF) 20 East Bay illegal indoor cannabis cultivators were shut down on June 20, and a total estimated value of over $15.3 million of illegal cannabis was seized.
An investigation spanning several weeks culminated in the operation led by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC). There were 20 search warrants served by four units of officers and local and state partners, including the Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California National Guard, and local law enforcement – five in Antioch, three in Brentwood, two in Discovery Bay and ten in Pittsburg, resulting in the seizures of:
- 742 pounds of cannabis flower estimated valued of $1,244,762
- 17,121 cannabis plants estimated valued of $14,124,825
- 7 firearms (including 1 assault rifle)
- $24,197 in cash
Several of the locations were red-tagged for safety and code violations.
One dead, 3 injured in 3-vehicle head-on crash on Vasco Road in Byron Wednesday
By Allen D. Payton
According to CHP-Contra Costa, “This afternoon (6/21/23) at approximately 1:57pm, CHP Contra Costa responded to a three-vehicle crash on Vasco Road south of Camino Diablo.
Our preliminary investigation indicates a Dodge Ram, with two occupants, was traveling southbound on Vasco Road while a Toyota Tacoma, with one occupant, and a Chevrolet Express, with one occupant, was traveling northbound on Vasco Road. The Dodge and the Toyota collided head on, due to the Dodge crossing into the northbound lane. The Dodge began to overturn in the southbound lanes and the Chevrolet collided with the Dodge.
The driver of the Toyota was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver of the Dodge sustained major injuries, the passenger of the Dodge sustained minor injuries and the driver of the Chevrolet sustained minor injuries.”
According to Con Fire PIO Steve Hill, “we responded to reports of a head-on collision between a pickup and a van on Vasco Road just south of Byron this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. On scene, we found a head-on between two pickups and a third vehicle, a small service van, that had gotten involved in the mix-up between the first two vehicles.”
One victim was dead at the scene and there were three injured. Two victims needed extrication, which we accomplished. Two were seriously injured and transported by air ambulance to John Muir Walnut Creek, a third injured party was transported by ground to Kaiser Antioch.
Vasco Road was closed for a couple of hours by CHP as we used it not only to respond to the accident scene but also to land the two air ambulances for transport to hospital. We cleared around 4:00 p.m. after remaining on scene to help with the cleanup. I do not know when Vasco Road was reopened by CHP. I do not have any further information on the three injured parties.”
According to an ABC7 Bay Area News report, “Two people had to be extricated from the vehicles; one at 2:30 p.m. and the other at 2:47 p.m. The victims were transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, including a 31-year-old man and a 40-year-old.”
This crash is still under investigation, if anyone witnessed it or the events leading up to it, please contact CHP Contra Costa in Martinez, (925) 646-4980 or email 320Investigations@chp.ca.gov.
As of publication time it was not known if Vasco Road had been reopened.
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