Contra Costa Herald

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

Newsom, state leaders agree to reopen schools by end of month, offer incentives, penalties

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Governor, Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon highlight new $6.6 billion package to reopen schools and deepen student supports

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon today highlighted an agreement on a $6.6 billion budget package to accelerate the safe return to in-person instruction across California and empower schools to immediately expand academic, mental health and social-emotional supports, including over the summer.

“Since the height of the winter surge, we have successfully shifted the conversation from whether to reopen schools to when,” said Governor Newsom. “Now, our collective charge is to build on that momentum and local leadership, and – just as critically – do whatever it takes to meet the mental health and academic needs of our students, including over the summer.”

The Governor was joined by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and other legislative leaders at Franklin Elementary School in the Elk Grove Unified School District. The state’s fifth largest public school district was among the first to close for in-person instruction last year. Last week, based on deep partnership between school staff and leaders, the district announced plans to reopen grades K-6 in mid-March and grades 7-12 in early April.

Elk Grove Unified and public schools throughout the state will be allocated $6.6 billion under the proposed budget package. $2 billion would fund safety measures to support in-person instruction, such as personal protective equipment, ventilation upgrades and COVID-19 testing. $4.6 billion would fund expanded learning opportunities, such as summer school, tutoring and mental health services. Together, the funds empower schools to develop and execute comprehensive strategies to both reopen and expand programs to address the social-emotional, mental health and academic needs of students.

All public schools would be required to offer in-person instruction to grades K-2 for all students and for high-needs students in all grades by the end of the month, losing 1 percent of eligible funds every day thereafter if they do not. Schools in the state’s Red Tier or better would be required to offer in-person instruction to all students in all elementary grades and at least one middle or high school grade, or risk the same penalty. Together, these requirements help ensure schools begin to reopen as soon as possible, in order to build trust and confidence to continue phased reopenings.

As students return to in-person instruction, all public schools would also be empowered to meet the needs of the whole child. The Expanded Learning Opportunities Grants allocate $4.6 billion to local educational agencies based on the equity-based Local Control Funding Formula, with an additional $1,000 for each homeless student. These funds would be for supplemental instruction and support for social and emotional well-being. Schools would be able to use the funds for providing more instructional time, such as summer school, and accelerating progress to close learning gaps through tutoring, learning recovery programs, mental health services, access to school meal programs, programs to address pupil trauma and social-emotional learning, supports for credit-deficient students and more.

The package would also codify multiple successful state programs to support safe school reopenings:

  • Vaccine Prioritization for K-12 School Staff. The package codifies the Governor’s commitment to set aside 10 percent of vaccines for education workers. This commitment ensures that the state prioritization of school staff, in place since January, is made real in all 58 counties. Since the Governor’s announcement two weeks ago, the state has collaborated with county health departments, the Biden Administration and providers such as Kaiser Permanente to accelerate vaccine access for K-12 school staff starting March 1.
  • Data Reporting. The package codifies data reporting requirements, including requirements for schools to report reopening status and COVID-19 safety measures. These statutory requirements will help build on efforts to increase transparency, including interactive geospatial maps displayed on the Safe Schools Hub.
  • State Safe Schools Team. The package also allocates $25 million to the State Safe Schools Team, which serves to provide technical assistance, oversight and accountability to the over 10,000 public schools in the state. The capacity will enhance the Team’s reach, and the Team will conduct a safety review of any school with two or more COVID-19 outbreaks.

The budget package is the result of months of work by the Governor’s Office, Senate and Assembly. The Governor, Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon also thanked Senators Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Connie Leyva (D-Chino), along with Assemblymembers Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) for their tireless work and leadership on this effort.

The state’s efforts to accelerate safe school reopenings to date include delivery of three months of PPE and safety supplies to all schools at no cost, direct support to over 1,000 schools in 41 counties to implement COVID-19 testing and direct technical assistance to over 300 school districts.

For more information, please visit: https://schools.covid19.ca.gov/.

 

Contra Costa County issues $97.42 million in tax-exempt bonds to fund new county facilities

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For redevelopment of former administration building site, build fire stations and fund new airport terminal

Savings of $7.3 million also generated from refunding existing bonds

By Susan Shiu, Director, Office of Communications and Media, Contra Costa County

Thursday morning, Feb. 25, 2021, Contra Costa County sold $97,420,000 of lease revenue bonds with Barclay’s Capital Inc. serving as underwriter. Proceeds from the bond sale will fund infrastructure projects including redevelopment of the former County Administration Center complex in Martinez, a portion of a new Aircraft Terminal at the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord and construction of two fire stations in Pacheco and Bay Point.

In addition, the County refunded $48.4 million of outstanding bonds resulting in significant savings to the County.

The bonds funding the new construction projects have a true interest cost of 2.27% with a term of 20 years. The refunding bonds have a true interest cost of 1.80% and shortens the term of the previous bonds by two years, from 19 years to 17 years. The refunding bonds resulted in a net present value savings to the County of $7.3 million.

“The results from today’s bond sale are proof of the County’s reputation of strong financial management within the municipal market,” said Chair of the Board of Supervisors Diane Burgis. “This allows the County to secure financing for important public infrastructure projects at very attractive rates to better serve our residents.”

According to the California State Treasurer, lease revenue bonds (LRBs) are a type of revenue bond. Lease revenue bonds usually finance the construction of facilities, including government office buildings, correction facilities, courthouses, and fire facilities. However, unlike revenue bonds that use money generated by the project (a bridge toll) to repay investors, lease revenue bonds have a lessee (government agency) that pays rent to use the facility. The rent payments are used to pay back investors who purchased the bonds used to finance the construction of the facility. LRBs are secured by lease payments made by the party leasing the facility (school or office building) that was funded by the bond issue.

“Historically low interest rates and the County’s strong credit profile have allowed us to advance critical projects and refund existing debt for cost savings,” stated County Administrator Monica Nino.

Contra Costa County has been rated “AAA” by Standard and Poor’s since 2012 and, most recently, was upgraded by Moody’s Investor Service to “Aa1” from “Aa2” on February 16, 2021. Both credit rating agencies have attributed their high ratings for Contra Costa County to strong financial management, with policies and practices well-embedded in County operations. They have also pointed to a strong local economy with a large, diverse tax base.

Rep. McNerney to host “Conversation on COVID-19 and Health Disparities in the Black Community” with Dr. Bennet Omalu, Friday

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Rep. Jerry McNerney (official photo) and Dr. Bennnet Omalu (from Wikipedia).

Famous football brain injury neuropathologist featured in Will Smith movie “Concussion”

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout moves forward, it is important that we continue to reach out to our diverse communities and make sure everyone has the information and access to protect themselves and their families. Congressman Jerry McNerney (D, CA-09) will hold a conversation on Friday, February 26th from 4:00-5:00 PM to discuss COVID-19 and health disparities in the Black community and how we as a community at large can engage and support one another in the fight against this pandemic. The Congressman will be joined by special guests Dr. Bennet Omalu, Dr. Kim Rhoads, Dr. Otashe Golden, and Stockton Branch NAACP President Bobby Bivens.

Dr. Omalu is the forensic pathologist and neuropathologist who was first to discover and publish findings on brain damage caused by repeat head injuries in American football players, labeled chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He was later appointed chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County, CA, and is a professor at U.C. Davis, department of medical pathology and laboratory medicine. Omalu was the subject of the 2015 movie Concussion, in which actor Will Smith played the role of the doctor.

To join online:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88176937313?pwd=Qy95Y0dPODBVZlJzQzRtQ0lhZFZoUT09 

Passcode: 875675

To join by phone:

(669) 900-6833 

Webinar ID: 881 7693 7313

Passcode: 875675

Participants can join via phone or by using the webinar link above. If you would like to submit a question in advance of the event or share your story, please submit it here.

 

Rep. DeSaulnier to host Zoom Town Hall on “Solving America’s Gun Problem”

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Source: Rep. DeSaulnier’s Facebook page.

No representatives of pro-Second Amendment or guns rights organizations included in discussion

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) will host a virtual town hall meeting on the state of gun violence prevention in America and Contra Costa on Thursday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m. The event will be held live on Zoom and on Congressman DeSaulnier’s Facebook page (facebook.com/repmarkdesaulnier).

DeSaulnier will be joined by a panel of special guests, including Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton; Michelle Sinnott with Diablo Valley Moms Demand Action (www.momsdemandaction.org); Amanda Wilcox of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; Dr. Garen J. Wintemute with UC Davis Violence Prevention Program; and Sam Vaughn with the Office of Neighborhood Safety in Richmond.

However, when asked if any representatives from pro-Second Amendment and guns rights organizations will be included, DeSaulnier’s aid, Betsy Arnold Marr responded, “This event is focused on data-driven gun violence prevention efforts and we invited groups in Contra Costa working on this issue as well as the DA and an independent researcher from UC Davis. We hope this event will foster a good discussion and look forward to our constituents bringing their perspectives to the Q&A section.”

This will be DeSaulnier’s 125th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress. Contra Costa residents will have an opportunity to submit questions before the event and live during the town hall.

Solving America’s Gun Problem Virtual Town Hall
Thursday, February 25
3:00-4:30 p.m.

This event is open to the public and press. To RSVP, submit a question, or request special accommodations, visit https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call (925) 933-2660.

 

Reps. DeSaulnier, Lee to host a virtual Conversation on Race town hall with Special Guest Rep. Cleaver Friday

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Representatives DeSaulnier, Lee and Cleaver. Official photos.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-11) will host a virtual Conversation on Race town hall to discuss racial justice in America on Friday, February 19th at 4:00 p.m. with Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D, CA-13) and special guest Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D, MO-05). Internationally recognized expert on civil rights and author, John Powell will also participate in the event. The town hall will be held live on Zoom and will also be viewable through Congressman DeSaulnier’s Facebook page.

The event is the latest in the Conversation on Race series created by DeSaulnier and Lee in order to facilitate more understanding, healing, and progress to help us move forward as a nation. Cleaver is the former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first African American Mayor of Kansas City.

This will be DeSaulnier’s 124th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress. Contra Costa residents will have an opportunity to submit questions before the event and live during the town hall.

Conversation on Race Zoom Town Hall

Friday, February 19, 2021
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT

To RSVP, submit a question, or request special accommodations, visit https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call (925) 933-2660.

This event is open to the public and press.

 

Supervisors query Contra Costa health officials on why few vaccine locations in West County

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Members of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors and new County Administrator Monica Nino (top center) during their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Video screenshot.

Celebrate MLK day, honor Humanitarians of the Year, appoint 11 to Racial Justice Oversight Body, increase vehicle license fees

By Daniel Borsuk

During the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, under the questioning of District 1 Supervisor John Gioia, Contra Costa County Public Health Director Anna Roth was asked why West County has the fewest vaccine locations, five, while other districts in the county have more sites where citizens can get vaccinated.

Gioia brought up the issue on why there are far fewer vaccination sites in the Richmond and El Cerrito area that has the highest COVID-19 incidence rates in the county because of its high percentage of Black and Latino residents. He noted that there were 10 vaccination sites in East County, 10 sites in the South County (San Ramon Valley) and seven locations in Central County.

Roth said she would report back to the Board on why West County had fewest vaccination sites, but District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen of Danville said many of the vaccination locations in her district are drug stores or grocery stores.

Gioia brought up the disparity of vaccination locations in West County after Roth had reported that the County had given about 52,000 vaccine shots since Dec. 15.  She noted persons over 65 are now eligible to receive the vaccine and the vaccine is being distributed through Kaiser, Sutter and at Safeway stories.  The vaccine is being distributed at 960 doses a day.

“The vaccine is giving us hope” said Contra Costa Public Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano.  “Almost one third of the deaths in Contra Costa County were COVID-19 related.”

Velma Wilson, Kimyatta Newby Honored at MLK Ceremony

During the county’s 43rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration, the Board Chair Diane Burgis presented a spectacularly produced video (see 2:34:00 mark) featuring Antioch activist Velma Wilson as the Humanitarian of the Year and Howard University student Kimyatta Newby as Student Humanitarian of the Year. (See related article)

Appoint 11 to Racial Justice Oversight Body

Supervisors approved, without discussion, the appointments of 11 residents to the Racial Justice Oversight Body, a multi-agency advisory body established by the Board of Supervisors in 2018 to oversee the implementation of the recommendations made by the Racial Justice Task Force to reduce disparities in the criminal and juvenile justice systems.  The 11 new members will serve their appointment throuogh December   31, 2023.

Richmond Police Chief Bisa French will serve as the Local Law Enforcement representative.  LaShanta Smith of the West Contra Costa Unified School District will serve as the school district representative.  Also appointed are Tamisha Torres-Walker, an Antioch Council Member; Jeff Landau, a County public defender; Michael Pierson, an Antioch lawyer; Chala Bonner, a political education organizer; Stephanie Medley, an attorney; Ronell Ellis, an entertainment company owner; Cheryl Sudduth, a Goodwill Industries director; Apollo Sulse, a pastor of The Bay Church; and Noe Gudino, a coordinator at Ryse Youth Center.

Vehicle License Fee Hike OK’d

Without hearing any citizen objection, supervisors unanimously approved increasing an annual vehicle license fee of $1.00 for all motor vehicles registered in Contra Costa County and an additional $2.00 for commercial vehicles to provide additional funding for the county’s CAL-ID program.  Used by the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the county, the CAL-ID system provides funding for the Automated Fingerprint Identification System for persons who may be involved in driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, vehicular manslaughter, or any combination of those and other vehicle-related crimes.

The fee increase will help cover a projected deficit of $1.1 million starting August 1, 2021.

Bay Point Fire Station Construction Contract Approved

Serving as the Contra Costa Fire Protection District Board of Directors, supervisors unanimously approved a $9,579,000 contract with C. Overaa & Co. to construct a new Fire Station 86 in Bay Point at 10 Goble Dr. even though the second lowest bidder for the project, D.L. Falk Construction Inc., with a bid of $9,714,000 had submitted an objection that was rejected by county officials.

No public objections were lodged about the contract during the Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday.

“Overaa’s bid is responsive and that County Public Works Department staff has thoroughly reviewed the bid and determined that Overaa has documented an adequate good faith effort to comply with the requirements of the County’s Outreach Program, as provided in the Project specifications.  Staff recommends that the construction contract for the Project be awarded to Overaa Construction Inc., the lowest, responsible bidder, in the nearly $9,579,000, as listed in Overaa’s bid,” said the Public Works Department statement.

A third bid of $10,088,000 had been submitted by Alten Construction, Inc. of Richmond.

The new Fire Station 86 will replace the asbestos-plagued, 60-year-old fire station that is so outdated and “is too small to accommodate the needs of the modern fire service,” Contra Costa Fire Protection District Chief Lewis Broschard III wrote in a recommendation to the supervisors. “The layout consists of unconnected buildings used for various purposes. This station itself is believed to contain asbestos …This project has had several starts and stops over the decades.  This fire station will serve Bay Point and the adjacent City of Pittsburg.  The Pittsburg area south of Highway 4 has seen significant growth in recent years.  This growth is anticipated to continue.”

Retiring EBRPD Director Doyle Recognized

Supervisors also recognized Robert Doyle for his 25 years of service at the East Bay Regional Park District, the past 10 years where he served as General Manager of the park district.  Among his numerous achievements at EBRPD, Doyle was instrumental in managing the parks during the current COVID-19 crisis in which park use increased dramatically.

 

Rep. McNerney explains his vote to impeach President Trump

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Stockton, CA (Jan. 13, 2021) – In response to Wednesday’s vote by the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach President Trump on claims of inciting a violent and deadly insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, Congressman Jerry McNerney (D, CA-09) issued the following statement:

“Today, I voted to impeach President Trump for the second time to protect our nation and our democracy against a would-be tyrant. This is a moment that will define our nation for generations to come. One year ago, the House took up articles of impeachment against President Trump for abuse of power. The Republican-controlled Senate refused to seriously consider these charges and voted against impeaching the President. As a result, there were no repercussions for the President’s actions, which only served to further embolden him. He is a threat to our democracy, and yet Republicans in Congress have repeatedly excused and ignored his dangerous behavior and rhetoric.

“President Trump began his presidency speaking of American carnage, and as he ends his time in the White House, he has led his followers to lay siege at the seat of our government, directly inciting and provoking that carnage. In order to preserve our democracy, there must be consequences for sedition, and the rule of law must be upheld.”

McNerney represents the 9th Congressional District that includes portions of Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Sacramento Counties in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. DeSaulnier to host Town Hall Tuesday on 25th Amendment, impeaching Pres. Trump

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Official photos.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) will host a virtual town hall on Tuesday, January 12th at 2:00 p.m. PT to discuss the attack on the United States Capitol and provide an update on what Congress is doing to hold President Trump accountable, remove him from office and prevent him from running again. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other Members of Congress are proposing using the 25th Amendment process, in which the president’s cabinet members must vote unanimously to remove him. If not, the House will pursue impeachment, for which DeSaulnier has announced his support. (See related article)

However, should House members vote to impeach the president, which requires only a simple majority, the Senate must hold a trial before a vote to remove the president from office. That requires the approval of two-thirds of the Senators.

The Town Hall will be held live on Zoom and will also be viewable through DeSaulnier’s Facebook page. This will be DeSaulnier’s 121st town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress. Contra Costa residents will have an opportunity to submit questions before the event and live during the town hall.

Virtual Town Hall on Impeachment and 25th Amendment
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. PT

This event is open to the public and press.

To RSVP, submit a question, or request special accommodations, visit: https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

 

Supervisors OK election software contract extension with controversial Scytl over citizen protests

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Bailey Road/State Route 4 Interchange Pedestrian/Bicycle Project contract approved 

By Daniel Borsuk

With threats streaming from several citizens hanging over Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors that they would be “voted out of office” unless the elected officials either rejected or further studied a request from Contra Costa County Recorder and Registrar of Voters Debbie Cooper to award a third contract extension to Barcelona, Spain-based Scytl at an additional price tag of $200,000, supervisors moved ahead and unanimously approved the contract extension at Tuesday’s meeting.

Moments earlier supervisors, who had elevated District 3 Supervisor Dianne Burgis of Brentwood to chairperson and District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg to vice chairperson for 2021, were unmoved by the threats. Several unidentified speakers requested supervisors to either pull the consent item for further consideration or to disapprove Registrar of Voters Cooper’s request to extend the contract of Scytl, formerly called SOE Clarity Suite when it was acquired by Scytl in 2012.

The contract with Contra Costa County has been in effect since 2015. The supervisors’ action boosted the payment to Scytl by $200,00 to a new total contract payment of $590,000.

Scytle, whose SOE Software division was founded in 2002 in Tampa Bay, Florida, filed for bankruptcy, last May. According to an October 22, 2020 article on Scytle’s website, “Service Point Solutions, part of Paragon Group, announces the acquisition of Scytl, the Barcelona based company leader in digital voting and electoral modernization.” Paragon Group is also based in Barcelona.

The article further states, the “acquisition unveils Paragon’s group strategy to position Service Point Solutions as a pan-european platform for high-growth digital business.”

Scytle has been accused of being part of the effort to change votes in the November elections from President Trump to President-Elect Biden, in coordination with Dominion Voters Systems machines, which have also been used in Contra Costa County since 2018. (See related article)

“You are not providing proper oversight concerning this contractor,” said one disgruntled caller. “If you don’t improve, we’ll vote you out of office.”

Supervisors were not bullied by the threat or appeals from other anonymous speakers.  Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond said, “I will not let those promoting the election conspiracy line since 2015 to sway me.”

“We need to start to post these contracts,” said Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill, who is reportedly serving the last two years of her final term in office.  “The public needs to see these requests for proposals.”

Supervisor Mitchoff reacted to one unidentified speaker’s complaint that this contract lacked adequate public notice.

In response to questions about Scytle software, Supervisor Candace Andersen wrote that she had her staff research it and that “It appears to be a non-issue. We’re not purchasing equipment – it is renewing contract for website software. European company bought an American company that we have been doing business with them from 2007. Web hosting and election night reporting. Software where we upload our results and changes to pretty graphics seen on the website.  It does not have any impact on election integrity.”

Contra Costa County Clerk/Recorder and Registrar of Voters Debi Cooper also responded, “SOE (Scytl) does not provide any direct election services and is not connected to systems involved with tallying our election results. SOE provides our web hosting and election night reporting graphical support. Our election tally process is done separately on a system that is not connected to the internet. We take information from our tally system to upload information to the website. We originally contracted with SOE in 2007 after conducting an RFP process. SOE was the only respondent that met our needs for election night reporting. SOE was acquired by Scytl in 2014 while we were under contract with SOE. They continue to provide services to many state and local jurisdictions across this country.”

Some speakers charged the county is illegally doing business with a foreign-based company, allegedly operating out of Frankfurt, Germany, although according to Scytl’s website, “Scytl has no presence in Frankfurt, Germany.”

In response to the allegations against the company during the 2020 elections, Scytl posted information on their website stating the following: “The technologies implemented by Scytl in the US are both hosted and managed within the US, by a local subsidiary, SOE Software, based in Tampa, Florida.”

In addition, the Scytl website explains that the election data reporting company has “no political affiliations of any kind.”  The statement further rebukes statements that it provides any electronic voting machines in the U.S. and “does not tabulate, tally or count votes in U.S public elections.”

Burgis Becomes Chair, Glover Vice Chair

Earlier Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D.- Concord) remotely administered the oath of office to District 3 Supervisor Burgis, who was sworn into office as Chair of the Board for 2021, and District 5 Supervisor Glover, who was re-elected to his sixth four-year term and will serve as vice chair.

Burgis and Glover, who commences his sixth four-year term of office, along with three other supervisors will oversee the disbursement of the county’s $3.98 billion budget in 2021.

Upon succeeding District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen of Danville as Chair, Burgis said, “I want to bring the Northern Waterfront Plan home.

I want to see the benefits coming from it,” Burgis said as one of her key platform issues along with development of the Byron and Buchanan airports, fire department consolidation, and countywide economic recovery during the upcoming post COVID-19 era.

In a prepared statement, Burgis said:

“I appreciate Supervisor Andersen’s unwavering commitment to keeping our residents safe and keeping the county moving forward while addressing the impacts of COVID-19.  As chair, I intend to work with my colleagues to support our county health officer to get the coronavirus under control, move the county toward economic recovery for all residents and businesses, enhance mental health crisis response, reform our juvenile justice system, address racial injustice and inequality, protect the Delta, and proactively fight climate change, and, at long last, provide sustainable fire protection services to all areas of the county.  I’m excited about our year ahead and ready to get to work.”

Glover said, “Dianne, I appreciate being your wingman, even though my chief boss is Janice Glover (Glover’s wife).”  The veteran office holder said 2020 was a year where county workers, especially those in public health and first responders, had to learn on the go.  “None of this is written in a book,” said Glover.

Outgoing chair Andersen, who was given a photography book by the Mt. Diablo photographer Steven Joseph, said 2020 was “a year unlike any other” marked by citizens sickened or killed during COVID-19 pandemic, left homeless, having to shutter small businesses, and a host of economic medical and social issues fanned by COVID-19.

Bailey Road/State Route 4 Interchange Pedestrian/Bicycle Project Contract Approved 

In a consent action, Supervisors approved a $3.7 million contract with Bay Cities Paving and Grading Inc. to construct the Bailey Road/State Route 4 Interchange Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvement Project.  Bay Cities Paving and Grading submitted the lowest and most responsible bid from a field of six other construction companies competing for the federally funded project.

The Bay Cities Paving and Grading submission beat submissions from Granite Rock Co, $3,859,608; Ghilotti Construction Co., Inc., $3,930,295.50; Ghilotti Bros. Inc., $3,972,887; O.C. Jones & Sons Inc., $3,996,733; Gordon N. Ball, Inc., $4,123,732; and Granite Construction Co., $4,864,644.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Contra Costa Supervisors install Burgis as Chair, Glover as Vice Chair

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By Susan Shiu, Director, Contra Costa County Office of Communications and Media

Supervisor Diane Burgis. Herald file photo

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors held a swearing-in ceremony for Supervisor Diane Burgis as Board Chair and Supervisor Federal Glover as Vice Chair at its January 5, 2021 Board meeting.

District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis, who has served Contra Costa County since she was first elected in 2016, including serving the prior year as Vice Chair, takes the leadership role from outgoing Chair, Supervisor Candace Andersen of District 2.

Supervisor Burgis expressed her thanks to Supervisor Andersen as well as her readiness to tackle our County’s issues. “I appreciate Supervisor Andersen’s unwavering commitment to keeping our residents safe and keeping the County moving forward while addressing the impacts of COVID-19. As Chair, I intend to work with my colleagues to support our county health officer to get the coronavirus under control, move the County toward economic recovery for all residents and businesses, enhance mental health crisis response, reform our juvenile justice system, address racial justice and inequality, protect the Delta and proactively fight climate change, and at long last, provide sustainable fire protection services to all areas of the County.  I’m excited about the year ahead and ready to get to work,” said Supervisor Burgis.

District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover will serve as Vice Chair in 2021. He has served on the Board of Supervisors since 2000, representing a district that includes the County’s northern waterfront.

Supervisor Burgis is in her second term, and Supervisor Glover is serving his sixth term. They will lead the five-member elected body that sets the direction of county government and oversees its $3.98 billion budget to serve this large and diverse East Bay County.

For more information about Contra Costa County and its Board of Supervisors, visit the County’s website at www.contracosta.ca.gov or the webpage: www.contracosta.ca.gov/7283/Board-of-Supervisors.