Contra Costa Herald

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

Smitty Ardrey is Contra Costa’s 2021 Bike Champion of the Year

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Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days (BTWD) organizers have named the winners of the 2021 Bike Champion of the Year awards. Given to individuals for inspiring bicycling in their Bay Area communities, this award recognizes an individual (or in one case, a whole family) from each of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties for their commitment to bicycling as the primary mode of transport.

Smitty Ardrey. Photo: MTC

The 2021 winners include Smitty Ardrey, from Contra Costa County, who can be found every Thursday in the summer fixing bikes at Bike Concord’s Bike Tent at the Concord Farmers Market in Todo Santos Plaza. Nominator Claire Linder says: “He has organized bike rodeos, pop-up bike repair clinics, and since 2019, a bike education class at Olympic High School in Concord. His drive, foresight and commitment have made biking more accessible in central Contra Costa County, bringing to life [Bike Concord’s] mission of MBOB (More Butts on Bikes)!”

Daniel Wood and his triplets – Hazel, Alden, and Malia – from Santa Clara County, who can be seen riding their bikes to and from school each day. According to nominator Sharlene Gee, “I am so proud of them for using their own power to get to school on time, in good moods and ready to learn. I’ve seen their road skills and awareness rapidly and organically grow. They set a powerful example for everyone at the school.”

2021 MTC Bike Champions of the Year

Here is the complete list of 2021 Bike Champion of the Year award winners:

  • Contra Costa County: Smitty Ardrey helped organize advocates passionate about cycling in Concord into Bike Concord, which is now an integral part of the bicycle movement in the city and surrounding areas.
  • Alameda County: Lionel McNeely first taught himself how to ride when he was 7, and his work with bikes hasn’t stopped since. He laughs, “I took my first bike apart when I was 10 years old and got it back together when I was 12.” An 11-year volunteer with youth empowerment program Trips for Kids in Marin, he leads monthly art rides with Oakland collective Rock Paper Scissors and has ridden and fundraised with AIDS/LifeCycle three times, among other achievements.
  • Marin County: Hilary Noll has a vision of bicycling in the future: “People from ages 8 to 80 feeling comfortable biking for everyday needs. More women riding, especially as commuters. More women- and minority-owned bike shops. A cycling culture in which everyone – from elite riders to everyday folks getting started – are welcomed and empowered.”
  • Napa County: Kate Miller started bike commuting in the mid-1980s when she lived in Seattle and never stopped. She recalls being mistaken for a bike messenger, because in major cities like Seattle, those were the only people found riding around the city.
  • San Francisco County: Lydia Francis moved to the city in 2018 and took up cycling at the start of the pandemic. Getting a bike transformed her perspective of San Francisco, encouraging her to explore new neighborhoods and master the geography of the city. “Overall, biking has given me a deeper sense of belonging here in San Francisco,” said Lydia, “both to the literal geography of this place and the people I meet while exploring on two wheels.”
  • San Mateo County: Sonia Elkes, avid bicyclist and founder of the advocacy group San Carlos Bikes, is referred to as “the voice for bicyclists in San Carlos.” She is constantly working to improve the state of biking in San Carlos and increasing the number of people who bicycle for their health and the environment.
  • Santa Clara County: Daniel Wood and family (see above) encourages other parents to get their kids out on bikes and set an example, while making sure everyone knows and follows the rules of the road. “I think with everything it just starts with changing one mind and then that person hopefully changes one other,” says Daniel.
  • Solano County: Cande Medrano, now 71, rides everywhere: from dental appointments to grocery stores, even all the way to Berkeley for doctor appointments. In 2020, Cande logged more than 14,000 miles.
  • Sonoma County: Sherry Adams is not just a passionate cyclist, but a champion of social justice. She volunteered at local nonprofit Community Bikes – a reuse and repair training program and worked as a bike mechanic at the ReCyclery Bike Thrift Shop operated by Trips for Kids. Her biggest and most recent achievement has been the creation of Changing Gears, an educational program for inmates at the Sonoma County jail.

Each winner will receive a Tailgator Brake Light and water bottle from Mike’s Bikes, a bicycle-only membership for 24/7 roadside assistance from Better World Club, a laminated, boxed set of San Francisco Bay Trail map cards from the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), and a cycling jersey from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). Read all about the winners here.

Details about Bike to Wherever Days can be found online at Bayareabiketowork.com. Follow us on Facebook at @biketoworkday, Twitter @BikeToWorkSFBay, and Instagram @biketoworkday_bayarea.

Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days is presented by MTC (the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area), and 511 (the region’s traveler information system). BTWD 2021 also receives regional support from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), as well as from many sponsors at the local level. Prizes for the Bike Champion of the Year winners were donated by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), Better World Club and Mike’s Bikes.

Richmond man one of two alleged Bay Area gang members charged by Feds with 2018 San Francisco murder

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Alleged Sureños also charged with attempting to murder 5 additional victims

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury indicted Jonathan Escobar (aka Wicked, aka Rico) and Jose Aguilar (aka Slim), charging both defendants with firearms violations in connection with crimes including murder and attempted murder committed to enhance the defendants’ position in the Sureño criminal street gang, announced Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. (See indictment document)

“Street gangs resort to violence to assert control over peaceful neighborhoods, expecting to create safe havens for drug trafficking, robberies, and other violent crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds. “In this case, the indictment describes how firearms are deliberately used to achieve these goals through murder and attempted murder.  This office will continue to partner with local and federal law enforcement agencies to wrest control of our streets from the gangs who threaten our residents.”

“Our communities have the right to be safe and not succumb to senseless violence. I am proud of the dedicated agents who have duly executed their duties in our collective pursuit of law, order and justice,” said Special Agent in Charge King, who oversees HSI operations in Northern California. “Gang violence will not be tolerated, and law enforcement’s collaborative efforts are key to disrupting the lawless activities that threaten public safety.”

The indictment, filed April 15, 2021 and unsealed this morning, alleges that Escobar, 24, of Richmond, Calif., and Aguilar, 32, of San Francisco, were members of a racketeering enterprise referred to in the indictment as “the 19th Street/16th Street Sureños.”  The street gang was the amalgamation of two gangs, one that claimed “territory” bounded by 19th Street to the South, 16th Street to the North, Folsom Street to the East, and Dolores Street to the West and the other that generally operated around 16th Street and Mission Street, in the Mission District of San Francisco.  The enterprise also operated in Dolores Park and Franklin Square Park (also known as Bryant Park).  The indictment describes how the gang sought to maintain control of drug distribution in the areas that it sought to claim and how gang members engaged in numerous illegal acts to meet its aims including narcotics sales, robberies, and other violent crimes, including murder.

According to Count One of the two-count indictment, on August 11, 2018, in San Francisco, Escobar and Aguilar used a firearm during the commission of a murder in aid of racketeering and committed the murder for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their position in the criminal enterprise.  The indictment also alleges that the murder was premeditated, deliberate, and willful, and therefore “murder in the first degree” under California law.

In addition to the murder allegations, the indictment alleges in Count Two that Escobar and Aguilar used a firearm during the commission of attempted murder in aid of racketeering.  In this count of the indictment, the document alleges that the defendants willfully and with deliberation and premeditation attempted to murder five additional victims, again for the purpose of maintaining and increasing position in the 19th Street/16th Street Sureños.

Both defendants are charged with use or carrying of a firearm resulting in death during and in relation to a crime of violence (murder in aid of racketeering), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(j)(1) and 2 and use or carrying of a firearm during and in relation to of a crime of violence (attempted murder in aid of racketeering), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 2.  If convicted of the murder count, both defendants are eligible for the death penalty. If convicted of the attempted murder count, both defendants can be sentenced to a maximum prison term of life and a minimum term of not less than ten years.  In addition to a prison term, the court may also order a term of supervised release, restitution, and fines; however, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

The defendants were arrested on April 20, 2021 and made their initial federal court appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline S. Corley. Magistrate Judge Corley ordered the defendants to remain in custody pending trial.  The next federal court appearance for the defendants is scheduled for May 12, 2021, before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixon for appointment of counsel.

The case is being prosecuted by the Organized Crime Strike Force of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the San Francisco Police Department’s Gang Task Force and Homicide Unit.

Plans for new Oakland A’s waterfront ballpark move forward

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Renderings of A’s proposed waterfront ballpark and area development. Source: Oakland A’s.

City of Oakland releases Draft EIR for project

The City of Oakland’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), which the city released today, offers an incredibly thorough analysis showing the path forward for the Oakland A’s privately financed project at Howard Terminal that will be important to the environmental, transportation, and housing future of Oakland. The Draft EIR illustrates how current and future Port activity and a new neighborhood can not only coexist but also thrive.

“The release of the Draft EIR is another important step forward in the process of building a new privately financed ballpark at Oakland’s Howard Terminal,” said Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval.

The analysis shows, along with the plans the A’s have unveiled, how a once-in-a-generation project like this can contribute to the health and vitality of Oakland, including improved infrastructure and transportation solutions, measures to improve air quality, and supplying additional housing.

The DEIR outlines the following key areas:

Opening the Waterfront to the Community

  • Creates public waterfront access and more than 18 acres of new waterfront parks and open space areas
  • Improves Oakland’s resilience against sea-level rise
  • Transforms an underutilized industrial site into a sustainable community at no expense to taxpayers

Forward-looking Transportation Plan

  • A transit-first approach, the plan reduces car trips by 20 percent, expands public transportation options, and invests in bike safety and infrastructure, and pedestrian walkways and bridges
  • Separates ballpark and development transportation from Port of Oakland traffic to safeguard the Port and provide greater efficiency for trucks to access the Port

Caring for the Environment for Generations

  • Achieves net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and numerous other long-term health benefits for residents
  • Invests in electric vehicle chargers, solar options, public transportation

Creating Homes for Oaklanders

  • Proposes 3,000 homes, including affordable housing, in an area that the City of Oakland designated as a “Priority Development Area” by the Plan Bay Area 2040 vision for long-term growth

“The Athletics are the last professional sports team in Oakland,” said Kaval. “We employ thousands of Oakland and Alameda County residents, and local businesses, the City, and County derive significant economic benefits and revenue from our games. While the release of the draft environmental report is a great milestone, it is imperative that the City Council take a vote on the project this year. We look to the City for their support and partnership to keep the A’s in Oakland for generations to come.”

For more information on the A’s new ballpark plans and to watch the video, visit WeAreRooted.com. To see renderings of the ballpark and entire project site, click here.