Contra Costa Herald

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

Writer concerned East County Fire unable to respond to more than one call at a time

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Guest Commentary by Bryan Scott

An auto accident was reported at 4:05 pm on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, in Oakley.  It was a two-car accident, with one person injured who was subsequently transported to a hospital.  The accident occurred at the intersection of East Cypress Road and Bethel Island Road, in Oakley.

It took nearly 16 minutes for help to arrive (15:58 minutes).

The reason for the lengthy response time is that all resources of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD), the agency that provides emergency medical and fire services for the area, had responded to another auto accident that was reported at 3:38 pm, 27 minutes earlier.

This prior accident was in Brentwood, at the intersection of Sycamore Ave. and Brentwood Blvd.  All three stations responded to the accident, and four victims were airlifted to area hospitals.

Help for the Oakley accident came from a neighboring fire district, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (ConFire), as well as the county-contracted ambulance service provider. The two Confire stations nearest to the Oakley accident are in Antioch at 315 W. 10th Street and 196 Bluerock Drive.

According to Google Maps the stations are 10.3 and 11.2 miles away from the accident site, respectively, with normal driving time estimated at 21 and 20 minutes.  Arriving in 15:58 minutes means that flashing lights and a siren take about 20% off the normal driving time.

The nearest ECCFPD fire station to the Oakley accident is located at 540 Ohara Ave. in Oakley.  According to Google Maps it is just 4.2 miles from the accident scene, eight minutes normal driving time by car.  With a siren and flashing lights first reponders might arrive, from the closer fire station, in six minutes and 24 seconds.

The Monthly Operational Report issued by ECCFPD doesn’t list the severity of the injuries suffered in either accident.  An ECCFPD Facebook posting says that four victims of the Brentwood accident were transported to hospital by helicopters, shown in a picture the agency posted.

Consider this:  The human heart beats about 70-times per-minute, and pumps about 5-7 liters of blood per-minute.  It has been estimated that blood makes up 7% of a body’s weight, so for a 150-180 lbs. person there will be 4.7 – 5.5 liters of blood in the body.  Those of us with larger proportions will have more.

In a severe accident a cut to a major artery by glass or a piece of metal can cause blood to be pumped from the body, and rapid death.  Less-severe trauma to the body’s circulatory system would, of course, take longer to cause death.  But without immediate aid to staunch the loss of blood, a traffic accident victim has only minutes to live.  It doesn’t take long to lose four or five liters of blood.

State-mandated funding for ECCFPD is less than $94 per-person, while areas in Central County have funding for the same emergency medical and fire services at $449 and $370 per-person, according to the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission.  This funding allocation rate was set four decades ago, before East County experienced 1,500% residential growth.

Response times throughout the ECCFPD service area exceed municipal and industry goals by a wide amount, and the 115,000 residents are in danger because of this underfunding practice.

The County’s Grand Jury has issued several reports on the situation, a government task force has studied it, and the inadequate service has been noted by consultants, the media, and on a Vasco Road billboard that was erected by concerned citizens.

Oakley City Manager Bryan Montgomery has obstructed efforts to get property tax funding shifted to ECCFPD, so that ECCFPD can do a better job of protecting Oakley’s 40,000-and–growing population.

Like many top government managers, Montgomery wants to protect his agency’s budget.  This is a noble goal, but he is doing so at the expense of Oakley resident safety.

Bryan Scott is Co-Chair of East County Voters for Equal Protection, a non-partisan citizen’s action committee striving to improve funding for the ECCFPD.  He can be reached at scott.bryan@comcast.net, or 925-418-4428.  The group’s Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyVoters/.  

Antioch awarded $10 million from state for brackish water desalination plant, will help attract industry to city

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One of only four California cities or water agencies to receive the highly competitive water quality grant

The City of Antioch has announced its award as only one of four California cities or water agencies to receive $10 million in state grant funding to establish a ground-breaking, first-of-its-kind, local brackish water desalination treatment facility. It will allow the City to generate its own clean, safe, quality water. Many prominent cities and water agencies competed for the highly-sought after grants from the State Department of Water Resources to fund drinking water production and other uses. Only Antioch, Santa Barbara, Camarillo and the South Coast Water District were awarded grants for construction of water treatment plants.

“Creating millions of gallons of clean, reliable, quality water will allow our community to protect our city residents and businesses from fluctuating water costs and water shortages in the long-term,” said Mayor Sean Wright.

Brackish water is salt water and fresh water mixed together and found in estuaries. The grant will help defray the total estimated cost of $62 million for the brackish water plant for which the City will continue to pursue other grant funds that could be obtained as soon as this summer. (See related articles, here and here).

“Antioch is leading statewide innovation on these clean water quality and local water control issues,” said City Manager Ron Bernal. “With so many high-profile cities and water agencies competing for these grant awards, I couldn’t be more pleased that our city’s innovation, creativity and leadership was recognized by the awards panel – making our city successful in securing Antioch’s fair share of these state funds.”

The highly competitive state grant from Prop. 1 Water Bond funds, which the voters approved in 2014, will help establish a local, water desalination facility within the city’s current water treatment plant. It will turn salty river water into six million gallons per day of clean drinking water, using a safe, secure, reverse osmosis treatment system and positioning the City as a local and regional clean water provider and statewide innovator.

“Establishing Antioch’s own local water plan allows our city to treat and store our own water locally, expanding our ability to be self-reliant, keep water costs down, and attract industries that need a reliable local water supply,” Wright added.

The clean water that is needed by industry will help attract businesses to locate in the city. While seawater reverse osmosis has a conversion rate of 35 percent to 40 percent, the conversion rate of brackish water could be more than 90 percent, with only 10 percent returning to the river. That will help maximize the use of the City’s rights to river water of as much as 16 million gallons per day.

“This is a tremendous economic development engine which allows Antioch to competitively attract and retain all manner of businesses and industries who need a reliable local water supply,” said Bernal. “Antioch is one of the few communities in the state able to offer this benefit to our residents and business stakeholders.”

Supervisors add North Richmond, Rodeo and Antioch mall area to Federal Opportunity Zone program for special investment

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North Richmond. Courtesy of Google Maps.

Part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

By Dan Borsuk

In a potential bid to receive federal Treasury Department aid for economically stagnating pockets of the county, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors added the Somersville Towne Center mall area, Rodeo and tracts in the North Richmond area to the Federal Opportunity Zone program on Tuesday. Without hearing comments from the public, the supervisors unanimously voted to add the three census tracts to the county’s recommendation to the new Federal Opportunity Zone program.

Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. The program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing into Opportunity Zones designated by the governors of every U.S. state and territory. (Read more about how the Opportunity Zones program works, as well as its history and community of supporters.)

According to their website, the Economic Innovation Group originally developed the concept in 2015 to help address the persistent poverty and uneven recovery that have left too many American communities behind. The idea has since been championed by a wide-ranging coalition of investors, entrepreneurs, community developers, economists, and other stakeholders.

Prior to the board’s action, the Contra Costa County Conservation and Development Department said the state had identified 11 tracts in the county that qualified for the Federal Opportunity Zone Program.  Those tracts either have poverty rates of more than 20 percent or median incomes below 80 percent of state or metropolitan areas.  Those areas include the cities of Richmond, San Pablo, Pittsburg, Concord, Antioch and the unincorporated areas of Bay Point and North Richmond.

The county had a deadline of Thursday, March 15 to submit its Opportunity Zone recommendation to the state.

However, there is the possibility the Federal Opportunity Zone Program may not kick into effect in either Contra Costa County or in the Golden State, said Amalia Cunningham of the Contra Costa County Conservation and Development Department.

“Private Investment Opportunity Zones would be eligible for lower federal capital gain tax,” Cunningham informed supervisors. “This is the only identified incentive.  There is no dedicated funding for the program nor has the state announced it will participate by lowering state capital gains tax for investment in Opportunity Zones.”

District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis of Brentwood recommended that the area around the Somersville Towne Center in Antioch be added to the county Opportunity Zone Program based on a decline in economic activity in the area.

“We will be working with the city of Antioch on this proposal to include the Somersville area in the county Opportunity Zone proposal to the state,” said Cunningham.

The recommendation to add Rodeo came from District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg and District 1 Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond recommended several tracts in North Richmond.

If the federal requirements are not enough to potentially squash the program, bureaucratic oversight might kill the program.  Cunningham told supervisors the county is under a tight deadline to submit an application, along with public comments.

“States have been given an abbreviated timeline from the federal government to submit their tracts.  The state’s draft list was made public on March 2 and local agencies comments are due by March 15,” she said.

Supervisor Mitchoff Faces June 5 Opponent

Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Concord will face clinical psychologist Harmesh Kumar, 59, in a June 5 election for the District 4 board seat.

Kumar, who had unsuccessfully run for the Concord City Council in 2012 and recently withdrew plans to run for governor, said he wants to serve on the board of supervisors because “I want the people to win.”  He told the Contra Costa Herald the existing board of supervisors are “against the poor.”  He said Mitchoff and other supervisors represent the interests of the bureaucrats, not those of the people.

“I’m looking forward to a spirited debate on the issues facing District 4,” Mitchoff briefly told the Herald about her opponent and upcoming reelection.

Mitchoff has served on the board of supervisors since January 2011.

District 1 Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond, who is also up for reelection, but will not face an opponent since no one filed papers to run against the attorney on the filing deadline, Friday, March, 9.

Supervisors endorsed on a 5-0 consent action, state Senator Mike McGuire’s (D-North Bay) Senate Bill 833 that would create a red alert emergency system to issue and coordinate alerts following an evacuation order and requires the red alert system to incorporate a variety of notification resources.

Senator McGuire authored the bill in the aftermath of the massive wildfires that killed 40 persons, destroyed 6,000 houses and charred 170,000 acres in Lake, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

Anti-Smoking Ordinance Passes

Supervisors also unanimously approved without public comment an ordinance banning smoking in approximately 10,000 dwelling units in unincorporated Contra Costa County.  The ordinance will go into effect July 1, 2019 when county health officials are expected to have completed an education program informing landlords and tenants about the anti-smoking law.

Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill and the Alameda County Emergency Operations Center were selected by the supervisors in a consent action item as alternative temporary county seats for Contra Costa County “in the event of war or enemy caused disaster or the imminence of such disasters.”

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Contra Costa Taxpayers Association East announces inaugural meeting March 28

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The Contra Costa Taxpayers Association (“CoCoTax”) is pleased to announce the formation of a new East Contra Costa chapter. To celebrate, CoCoTax East will hold its inaugural public meeting on Wednesday, March 28 with a luncheon meeting at Vic Stewart’s Restaurant at 2270 Balfour Road in Brentwood.

CoCoTax promotes “good government at affordable cost” and is well known as a “tax watchdog” organization. But, according to Jack Weir, CoCoTax President, “CoCoTax is much more than a tax watchdog. Good tax receipts flow from well designed, developed and managed cities and counties. As such, CoCoTax seeks to work with residents, businesses, and local government to grow the tax base and provide for a quality lifestyle for residents through economic development, prudent zoning, and other strategic planning tools.”

The first CoCoTax East meeting will focus on Economic Development in East County and will feature three East County speakers:

Ron Reagan, is owner and President of Reagan Management Services in Brentwood and a member of the Contra Costa Airport Commission; Ron will address the issue of economic growth at and around the Byron Airport.

Gus Vina, Brentwood City Manager will discuss the economic development element of the City’s Strategic Plan.

Kevin Romick, Oakley City Councilman and member of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority board of directors, will highlight Oakley’s development progress and discuss the present and future infrastructure needs and plans in East County.

The luncheon is open to CoCoTax members and the public. People wishing to attend can register online at www.cocotax.org/event-2851592 or by contacting Denise Sheehan at denise@cocotax.org.

The cost to attend is $35; alternately, attendees can attend the luncheon for free by becoming a CoCoTax member for $37.50, a 50% discount on their first year’s membership.

For more information about CoCoTax or the luncheon, please contact Hal Bray at hal.bray@pacbell.net or 925-286-4905.

Reward offered in October murder case of Danville woman near Byron

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Emily Courchesne

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

A $10,000 reward is being offered by the family of murder victim Emily Courchesne for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) in her killing.

On Friday, October 6, 2017, at about 10:05 AM, Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a “Medical – PD” call at a residence on the 24000 block of Marsh Creek Road in unincorporated Contra Costa County near Byron.

Deputies found Courchesne, a Danville resident, deceased inside the home. Detectives later determined it was a homicide. Detectives believe Courchesne was killed that week sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday early morning. She had been housesitting at the residence which is on a farm in Byron.

Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or call the anonymous tip lines at (925) 313-1166 or (866) 846-3592. Tips can also be emailed to: tips@so.cccounty.us.

Antioch High grad Michael Semanick nominated for another Academy Award

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Poster from the 2004 Antioch event honoring Michael Semanick for his first Oscar win.

From the Antioch Panthers Class of ’81 Facebook Page

Our classmate Michael Semanick has been nominated for his 11th Academy Award. Michael was nominated this year for his work Sound Mixing the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The 90th Annual Oscars are being presented tonight in Hollywood.

Michael was previously nominated in the categories of Sound and/or Sound Re-Mixing for his contributions to these films and has been presented the Academy Award twice … so far.

Winner

King Kong (2005, Awarded in 2006)

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003, Awarded in 2004)

Nominee

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The Social Network (2010)

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008)

WALL-E (2008)

Ratatouille (2007)

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)

Congratulations, Michael!

Semanick was honored with a special event in 2004, following his first Oscar win. He has worked on 110 films since 1987.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Rep. McNerney to host net neutrality town hall meeting in Antioch Sunday, March 4

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From Congressman Jerry McNerney

As your representative in Congress, I take very seriously my responsibility to be your voice in Washington. So when you called, emailed and wrote letters by the thousands, expressing your concerns about the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plan to eliminate net neutrality protections, I took action.

Prior to the FCC’s vote to repeal net neutrality, I submitted a formal request to address the full Commission. I wanted to make the case for maintaining a free and open internet, and to share some of the stories you’ve shared with me – stories of small business owners, veterans, students and so many more who rely on the internet for nearly every aspect of daily life. Unfortunately, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai denied my request.

Thankfully, there was someone on the Commission who wanted to ensure your voice and the voices of Americans across the country were heard. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who stood strong and voted against the repeal, submitted a written statement on my behalf and read her own compelling dissent in opposition to the repeal of these crucial protections.

Commissioner Clyburn will be joining me this Sunday, March 4th from 3:00-4:30 PM at the Antioch Community Center for a town hall on net neutrality. We’ll be discussing your concerns and talking about how we move forward in the fight for a free and open internet.

For more information or to RSVP please call (925) 754-0716 or email McNerneyRSVP@mail.house.gov.

I hope to see you there.

Concord man arrested for felony DUI, manslaughter in fatal Bay Point crash early Thursday morning

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Passenger in one car died, Bay Point man and woman in other car in critical condition

By CHP-Contra Costa

On Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, at about 12:51 AM, Contra Costa CHP was advised of a two-vehicle traffic collision at Port Chicago Highway and Wharf Drive in Bay Point. Upon Officers and emergency personnel arrival, they located a 1997 Chevrolet Camaro and 2008 Dodge Ram in the side yard of a residence at 1 Wharf Drive, Bay Point, both with major collision damage. An unidentified male passenger from the Chevy Camaro was pronounced deceased on scene. In total, one male passenger died at the scene, the male driver and female passenger of the Dodge both suffered major life-threatening injuries and are in critical condition at a local John Muir Hospital. The male driver of the Chevy also sustained major injuries but non-life-threatening and he was arrested for suspicion of felony DUI driving and manslaughter for killing his passenger. He too is at a local John Muir Hospital.

In the initial investigation, it appears that the driver of the Chevy Camaro, Raul Moreno Ochoa, Jr., – born 12/12/1991 – from Concord, was driving the Camaro westbound on Port Chicago Highway approaching Wharf Drive at a high rate of speed. The male driver of the Dodge Ram, 51-year-old male from Bay Point, was traveling northbound on Wharf Drive and came to a stop at the stop sign at Port Chicago Highway. Then he made a right turn onto eastbound Port Chicago Highway. As Ochoa drove the Camaro westbound at a high rate of speed, for unknown reasons he veered across the center line, driving wrong way in the eastbound lane, and directly in the path of the Dodge. Ochoa crashed the Camaro head on with the Dodge. The impact was so great, both vehicles were catapulted back and into the side yard of the residence at 1 Wharf Drive.

The 51-year-old male driver of the Dodge and his 46-year-old female passenger, both from Bay Point, sustained major life-threatening injuries and are currently listed in critical condition at John Muir Hospital. Ochoa’s male passenger died at the scene. Ochoa sustained major injuries but non-life-threatening and is also at John Muir Hospital. He was placed under arrest for the following charges: FELONY DUI DRIVING – 23153(a)VC and MANSLAUGHTER – 192(5)PC. Alcohol and drugs are a factor in this collision.

This collision is still under investigation but if you witnessed either one of these vehicles prior to the collision, or have any information regarding this collision, please contact Contra Costa CHP at (925) 646-4980.

Guest Commentary: Senator Glazer ignoring 115,000 constituents in East County fire district

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By Bryan Scott

East of Clayton and Antioch lies a broad swath of what used to be Contra Costa County farmland.  The California State Senator representing this area, Steve Glazer, seems to be ignoring the public safety needs of the people who now live there.

While East County used to contain just 8,000 residents and the largest irrigated orchard west of the Mississippi, the 249-square mile area now contains the cities of Brentwood (2016 pop. 60,532) and Oakley (pop. 40,622), along with the unincorporated communities of Bethel Island, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, and Morgan Territory.

All combined East County has a rapidly growing population of over 115,000 Californians.

A 2016 report by the Contra Costa County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) stated that emergency medical and fire services provided by the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) were funded at a rate of $94 per-person.  The report also said that these same services were funded at the rate of $449 and $370 per-person in central parts of the county.

This low funding level has forced ECCFPD to close five of the eight fire stations operational in 2010, and drastically reduce staff.  Response times are at levels that far exceed any industry standards or goals.

In an interesting parallel, the nearby city of Lathrop in San Joaquin County has experienced significant growth and continues to grow due to its location along Interstate 5.  From 2000 through 2016, according to the US Census Bureau, it grew by 97%.   Lathrop’s 2016 population was 22,073, and the city expects to be at 35,000 by 2020.

The fire and emergency medical services that Lathrop Manteca Fire District (LMFD) provides are funded at a rate of $316 per resident (2016).  Lathrop is part of a 100 square-mile, mostly rural, area served by LMFD, with over 30,000 total area residents.  The district has four fire stations, 33 career firefighters, and 25 reserve/volunteers.

Yet, in East Contra Costa, have steadily deteriorated and the population and development grew.  In 2016 ECCFPD recognized the funding crisis, called a “public safety emergency” by another elected official, and passed a resolution pleading for help from Senator Glazer and others in the legislature.  You can view Resolution No. 2016-21 on the ECCFPD website.

The crisis was also the subject of reports by the Contra Costa County Grand Jury and a government task force, and it was noted by industry consultants as well as the media.  Concerned residents have erected a billboard along Vasco Road, a major arterial route into East County, drawing attention to the crisis.

“The District lacks sufficient funds to provide fire and emergency response to the communities it was created to serve,” said a three-page letter the ECCFPD Board sent to Senator Glazer in 2016, signed by then Board President Joel Bryant.

So far, Senator Glazer has done little or nothing to address this issue.

A review of bills authored or co-authored by Senator Glazer shows a wide range of subjects.  He’s sponsored ten “Awareness” month/week/day bills, several bills to ban smoking on public beaches and in parks, and one bill to change the names of California places because the names commemorate Civil War-era figures.

But he’s authored or co-authored no bills to improve the public safety of his ECCFPD constituents.

The Courage Campaign is a group of mostly online organizations that advocate for progressive causes in California. Representing an estimated 1.4 million members, the Courage Campaign uses digital tools with grassroots community organizers and targeted messaging.

The group focuses on the areas of Economic Justice, Human Rights and Corporate and Political Accountability.  It annually ranks California Senators and Assembly Members, and for 2017 Courage Campaign gives Senator Glazer a letter grade of “F,” along with a numeric score of 32 out of 100.

The “Courage Score” as it is called, grades California legislators on political courage, how well they stand up for their constituents.  While 16% of the all California Senators received an “A” grade, 40% received an “F” grade in 2017, including Senator Glazer.

According to the California Senate website, each Senator represents 931,349 Californians.  So the residents of the ECCFPD service area represent only about one-eighth (12.35%) of Senator Glazer’s district.

It is clear that Senator Glazer is not acting to address or improve the public safety emergency involving his constituents of the ECCFPD service area.

Bryan Scott is Co-Chair of East County Voters for Equal Protection, a non-partisan citizen’s action committee striving to improve funding for the ECCFPD.  He can be reached at scott.bryan@comcast.net, or 925-418-4428.  The group’s Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/EastCountyVoters/.