Contra Costa Herald

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

County’s Public Health Nursing Car Seat Project awarded grant for child safety program

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Contra Costa Health Services’ Public Health Nursing Car Seat Project will help parents and caregivers keep their children as safe as possible in the car thanks to a $83,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).

The one-year grant from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021 funds a car seat education program that encourages the proper installation and use of child safety seats.

The grant funds the following activities:

  • One-on-one/virtual appointments to inspect and install car seats.
  • Child safety seat education classes for parents and caregivers.
  • Child safety seats at no-cost to nursing case management clients and low-income families following education classes.
  • Promote safety seat recycling and importance of discarding used and expired car seats
  • Work with community partners to promote child passenger safety education.

“The Public Health Nursing Program in Contra Costa County serves vulnerable, low-income families who are impacted daily by health inequities,” said Program Manager Michelle Rivero, Program. “Our families struggle with meeting the basic needs of the children. Rent, food, clothing all become priorities over car seats, and many of our families use old, expired car seats. This program is a much-needed resource to help keep children safe.”

From CA Office of Traffic Safety.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 46% of car seats are misused.

“Car seats save lives,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “Keeping children safe in a vehicle is as important as ever, and funding for car seat programs play a vital role in ensuring the proper use of child safety seats.”

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. To find the right car seat for your child, click here.

For more information contact Rivero at (925) 608-5119 or Child Passenger Safety Technician, Jessica Recinos, at (925) 532-2152.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., to pay $1.49 million settlement for environmental violations

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By Scott Alonso, Public Information Officer, Office of the District Attorney, Contra Costa County 

Martinez, Calif. – On Tuesday, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announces a $1,498,750 settlement against New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (“Bed Bath & Beyond”) as part of a settlement of a civil environmental prosecution.

The judgment is the culmination of a civil enforcement lawsuit filed last month in Ventura County Superior Court claiming that more than 200 Bed Bath & Beyond stores throughout the state (including Cost Plus, buybuy BABY, Harmon, Harmon Face Values, World Market, and Cost Plus World Market stores) unlawfully handled, transported and disposed of batteries, electronic devices, ignitable liquids, aerosol products, cleaning agents, and other flammable, reactive, toxic, and corrosive materials, at local landfills that were not permitted to receive those wastes.

“The protection of our environment and public health is always a top priority. This settlement acts as a deterrent to other companies as non-compliant companies will be held accountable for violating our environmental laws,” stated DA Becton.

The investigation was initiated by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office after a fire broke out on December 24, 2015 at the City of Oxnard’s Del Norte Transfer Facility in a load of store waste from the trash compactor of the Oxnard Bed Bath and Beyond store. The bagged store waste burst into flames when a city employee used a front-end loader to spread the freshly dumped trash pile. Investigation recovered numerous items of regulated waste, including several electronic items and hazardous waste, including lithium batteries and a small can of lighter fluid.

Following these Ventura County events, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office worked in conjunction with 30 other California District Attorneys, and the Los Angeles City Attorney, and local environmental regulatory officials to conduct a series of undercover inspections of Bed Bath & Beyond store waste around the state. These inspections, and other investigation, revealed that Bed Bath & Beyond sending regulated hazardous wastes from stores to local landfills throughout California.

When notified of the investigation, Bed Bath and Beyond took steps to cooperate and to dedicate additional resources towards environmental compliance and improving its existing regulated-waste management program, including by performing regular self-audits of its compactors and waste bins in California.

Under the final judgment, Bed Bath & Beyond must pay $1,327,500 in civil penalties and as reimbursement of investigation and prosecution costs, of which $124,000 will be paid to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, $16,400,to the Contra Costa County, Health Services Dept., Hazardous Materials Program. The company will pay an additional $171,250 to fund supplemental environmental projects furthering environmental enforcement in California. The retailer will also be bound under the terms of a permanent injunction prohibiting similar future violations of law.

Brentwood City Council candidate Indrani Golden offers five alternative solutions for golf course properties

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Indrani Golden

In response to Tuesday night’s Brentwood City Council discussion on forming a new Lighting and Landscaping Assessment District (LLAD) to maintain entrances to the Deer Ridge neighborhood and former golf course property, candidate for Brentwood City Council District 3, Indrani Golden issued the following solutions for both that land and the Shadow Lakes golf course property. She wants to ensure the land is maintained and does not negatively affect the property values of homeowners in the adjacent neighborhoods. Deer Ridge Landscaping 2020-10-27 BCC mtg

“There are a variety of options,” Golden said. “At a minimum and for now, the city needs to require the former golf course owners to maintain their land, which is currently not happening. The city is issuing fines, which can be converted into liens.”

The city is currently working with the landowners to purchase the frontage entrance to Deer Ridge and 13 park strips. But the residents must first vote to form the new LLAD and assess themselves over $500,000 to be paid back over 10 years. In addition, Shadow Lakes owners said they will maintain nine golf holes, and they have remodeled the golf club, and will remove the barriers. Following are Golden’s five alternative solutions to the unsightly, weed-filled dry grass, barriers and closed cart paths.

Deer Ridge Entry Site Map. From City of Brentwood.

Option 1 – The second option is to have the City also maintain the cart paths as walking trails and obtain easements from the landowners, while they keep ownership of the land.

Option 2 -The homeowners of Deer Ridge and Shadow Lakes can form assessment districts to purchase all the golf course land, in their respective neighborhoods, from the property owners and pay the City to maintain it, and allow the cart paths to be used for walking trails. That requires the owners to sell their land which they currently aren’t interested in because of the loans owed on the property.

Option 3 – The landowners can deed their property over to the City to create parks and maintain them out of the City’s General Fund. But the council will have to determine how to cover those costs. Again, that’s unlikely due to the loans on the property.

Deer Ridge Landscape Site Legend. From City of Brentwood.

Option 4 – The landowners can reopen one 18-hole golf course on the entire property.

Option 5 – “But, if that can’t happen my favorite option is to have the land be used as mitigation by other developers who must be required, for every acre they develop in Brentwood, to purchase two acres of the land from the current landowners of the former Shadow Lakes and Deer Ridge golf course, and deed the land to the City for permanent open space,” Golden stated.

For more information about Indrani Golden, email her at indrani@goldenbrentwood.com, call her at (925) 204-9511 or visit her website at www.goldenbrentwood.com.

 

Contra Costa advances in COVID-19 Reopening Plan – churches, indoor dining now at 50% capacity

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Indoor swimming pools can reopen; bars can reopen outdoors; live entertainment for up to 50 people (requires pre-approval), more

By Contra Costa Health Services

More businesses and community activities can reopen beginning today in Contra Costa after the county’s data indicators for COVID-19 transmission showed improvement in October.

California today reassigned Contra Costa to the less-restrictive orange tier of its Blueprint for a Safer Economy, allowing for larger local gatherings for indoor worship services and dining, and the reopening of indoor pools, bars and bowling alleys.

But health officials caution that it is now more important than ever to follow the state health guidance for physical distancing and use of face coverings, to keep everyone safe and healthy during the holiday season and to avoid a return to the red tier.

Contra Costa’s adjusted per-capita case rate – the average daily number of new COVID-19 cases identified in the county per 100,000 population – stood at 3.7 on Tuesday, just qualifying the county to move into the orange tier.

The average daily percentage of COVID-19 tests that return positive in the county is 1.9%, with 4.9% or lower qualifying for the orange tier. That number for census tracts identified by the state’s health equity metric was 3.9% today, with 5.2% required for the orange tier.

Counties in the orange tier can allow:

  • Worship services and other cultural activities indoors at 50% occupancy or 200 people, whichever is fewer;
  • Indoor dining at 50% occupancy or 200 people, whichever is fewer;
  • Indoor swimming pools;
  • Bars and other businesses that sell alcohol without meals to open for outdoor operation;
  • Family entertainment centers to open indoors for “naturally distanced” activities, such as bowling alleys, escape rooms and climbing-wall gyms, at 25% occupancy;
  • Cardrooms to open indoors at 25% occupancy;
  • Small amusement parks to open at 25% of occupancy or 500 people, whichever is fewer;
  • Professional sports venues to open at 20% occupancy;
  • Live entertainment to open with no more than 50 people, if approved by the Health Officer.

The county will remain in the orange tier for at least two weeks. The state could move Contra Costa into the less-restrictive yellow tier, or the more restrictive red tier, if its metrics qualify for one of those tiers for two consecutive weeks. The state updates the official numbers every Tuesday.

To reduce the spread of the virus in Contra Costa County, and to continue its progress toward reopening, county leaders urge the public to get tested for COVID-19 regularly, including people who have no symptoms of illness.

Contra Costa would not have qualified for the orange tier this week had it not tested more residents than the state average. California adjusts the case rates of high-testing counties downward to reflect their work controlling the virus. Without that adjustment, Contra Costa’s per-capita case rate this week would have been 4.1, which would not qualify for the orange tier.

Following the heath guidance for physical distancing and face coverings, practicing good hand hygiene and staying home when you feel sick are also key to continuing Contra Costa’s progress against the pandemic.

About 3,500 people get tested every day for COVID-19 in Contra Costa. By ramping up to test at least 4,500 daily, the county can more quickly notify those infected – particularly people with the virus who do not have symptoms – to prevent outbreaks and better protect community members at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 because of their age or health.

Contra Costa recommends that workers in jobs that bring them in frequent contact with the public, including all essential workers, consider a COVID-19 test every 30 days. Anyone who has symptoms such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing should also consider a test.

Call 1-844-421-0804 to schedule a fast, free COVID-19 test in Contra Costa, or visit cchealth.org/coronavirus to schedule online.

 

Contra Costa County appears to be overpaying for Pittsburg motel for homeless by more than $5 million, releases appraisal

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Assessor’s Parcel information for Motel 6 in Pittsburg. From ParcelQuest Lite website.

“In the interests of transparency” – Chief Assistant County Administrator Eric Angstadt

“The difference is primarily due to the below market purchase price” – from the appraisal

“This is a classic example of a gift of public funds” – County Assessor Gus Kramer

By Allen Payton

After learning that the county’s outside appraisal for the Motel 6 in Pittsburg was $16.7 million, and the purchase price offered by the Board of Supervisors of $17.4 million, was only 4.2% higher, it was learned today that the same motel sold for just $12 million in February 2019. In addition, it was assessed on January 1st, this year slightly higher at $12,226,480. After requesting a copy of the appraisal since last week, the County Counsel’s office released it, today “in the interests of transparency.” The appraisal shows last year’s “purchase price was modified to $13,200,000.” (See related article)

Asked for copies of what was believed to be both internal and outside contract appraisals from the Public Works Department Real Estate Division, Chief Assistant County Administrator Eric Angstadt responded, “I’m only aware of one appraisal. It was contracted out. I can give you what the topline is, but the appraisal is not available until after escrow closes.”

“The appraised value is $16.7 million at $96,000 per room,” he stated. “It’s 4.2% above the appraised value.”

Asked if the appraisal was done internally or contracted out, Angstadt said, “We always contract out appraisals. We have staff with real estate licenses. But I don’t believe we have any licensed appraisers on staff.”

“The state was very public about how much they were willing to pay, at $100,000 per room,” he continued. “So, it didn’t leave us with much room to negotiate.”

“We have not signed the purchase and sale agreement, yet. That will happen once we finish the due diligence. We are working our way through all of it. It’s scheduled to close escrow on November 10th,” Angstadt added.

However, Angstadt released the appraisal to the Herald, today after obtaining permission from the County Counsel’s office. It was done by West Hollywood-based HVS Consulting & Valuation, a Division of TS Worldwide, LLC which, according to their website, provides highly credible hotel valuations and appraisals.” (See page 13) HVS Appraisal – FINAL – Motel 6 – Pittsburg CA – 09

The sale price for the 41-year-old motel was $68,000 per room, last year.

In a search of the Assessor’s Parcel number for the property, which is 088-152-039 on the ParcelQuest Lite website, a link to which can be found on the Contra Costa County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s webpage and which any member of the public, county staff, Board of Supervisors and any appraiser can do, it provides the details of last year’s sale and this year’s valuation.

The closest comparable sale was the Ramada Inn, now Comfort Inn, in Antioch which sold in March 2017 for $50,000 per room. That’s a much higher end hotel than the Motel 6. Another comparable property, the Marina Bay Inn & Suites on Cutting Blvd. in Richmond near Pt. Richmond sold in August 2017 for $80,000 per room, and that’s in an area considered nicer than where the Motel 6 is located in Pittsburg.

“The real comparable sale is the property itself,” said County Assessor Gus Kramer, who has been an outspoken critic of the county’s purchase of the motel. (See related article)

“Did the appraiser back into the state’s and county’s number?” he asked. “How can the appraiser say the value of the motel increased in the last year by 45%? No property in the county has increased in value that much during that time.”

Asked when the property was assessed this year, Kramer said his staff did that on January 1st.

“This is a classic example of a gift of public funds,” he stated. “Just because the state is giving us this amount of money doesn’t mean we need to spend that much.”

“This is why local government is in trouble,” Kramer continued. “It’s not that they don’t have enough money it’s that they don’t manage what they have, well.”

An email was sent to all members of the Board of Supervisors, County Administrator David Twa and Angstadt asking them why there is such a difference in the value arrived at by the county’s contract appraiser as well as the offer price, and last year’s sale price and this year’s assessed valuation. They were also asked to confirm that the property in the online search was in fact the Motel 6, since it has the same address and the photo of it appears to be the motel. In addition, they were asked why the appraiser didn’t take into account the sale and assessed value for the motel and if they will now seek a second appraisal.

Text messages were also sent to Supervisors Federal Glover, in whose district the motel is located, Diane Burgis and Board Chair Candace Andersen informing them of the difference in appraised value and assessed valuation and to please check their emails.

The Board was holding a special closed session meeting, today beginning at 9 a.m. to discuss both Kramer’s lawsuit against the Board over allegations of violations of the state’s Brown Act open meeting law, as well as potential candidates to replace Twa who is retiring, this year.

The email and texts were sent between 11:08 and 11:10 AM Wednesday morning and the recipients were given a deadline of 1:00 p.m. to respond.

Angstadt responded with, “The appraisal does include a discussion and analysis of the past sale of the property and the reasoning, changes and circumstances that led to the appraiser assigning the valuation they did.  As I said in our earlier discussion Government Code Section 6254(H) exempts release of the contents of an appraisal before the acquisition of the property is complete.  Therefore I can’t directly answer your question about how they justified the higher value, but I can assure you they did discuss the issues you raised and their methods of determining the higher value they assigned to the property.

However, California Government Code § 6254 (2017) reads “Except as provided in Sections 6254.7 and 6254.13, this chapter does not require the disclosure of any of the following records:

(h) The contents of real estate appraisals or engineering or feasibility estimates and evaluations made for or by the state or local agency relative to the acquisition of property, or to prospective public supply and construction contracts, until all of the property has been acquired or all of the contract agreement obtained.”

A further question was asked if the county is prohibited from releasing the appraisal or just not required to and if they can release it to please provide it, as has been requested since last week.

In response Angstadt wrote, “I spoke with County Counsel and they said they we could disclose the appraisal at this time in the interests of transparency.  A number of the issues you raised are discussed starting on page 13.”

Appraisal Explanation for Higher Value Than 2019 Sale Price

On that page, the appraisal provides the reason for part of the higher price. It reads, “The ‘as is’ market value opinion in this appraisal is approximately 27% higher than the February 2019 purchase price. The difference is primarily due to the below market purchase price, as described throughout this report.”

Please check back later for any responses from the Supervisors and any other updates.

Below is the information from the ParcelQuest Lite property search of the Motel 6 property located at 2101 Loveridge Road in Pittsburg.

Russell V. Watts , County Treasurer-Tax Collector

Property Address: 2101 LOVERIDGE RD PITTSBURG CA 94565-5019

Google Map of Motel 6 site. From ParcelQuest Lite.

Full Detail $14.95  The Full Property Detail includes everything displayed here plus completed information for those fields where “See Full Detail” is shown. If a field is empty on this page, no data is available, and the field will also be empty on the Full Property Detail.

Property Address: 2101 LOVERIDGE RD PITTSBURG CA 94565-5019

General Information

Parcel # (APN): 088-152-039-9 
Owner: See Full Detail
Mailing Address: 25920 VIA MARGARITA CARMEL CA 93923-8313
Legal Description: PCL MAP 78 PG 36 POR PCL A
Use Type: COMMERCIAL
Tax Rate Area: 007-004

Assessment

Total Value: $12,226,480 Year Assd: 2020
Land: $2,550,000 Zoning:
Structures: $9,424,800 Use Code: See Full Detail
Other: $251,680 Census Tract: See Full Detail
% Improved: See Full Detail Price/SqFt: See Full Detail
Exempt Amt:
HO Exempt: N

Sale History

Sale 1 Sale 2 Sale 3 Transfer
Document Date: 02/12/2019 See Full Detail See Full Detail
Document Number: 19052 See Full Detail See Full Detail
Document Type:
Transfer Amount: $12,000,000 See Full Detail
Seller (Grantor):

Property Characteristics

Bedrooms: Fireplace: Units: See Full Detail
Baths (Full): A/C: Stories:
Baths (Half): Heating: Quality:
Total Rooms: Pool: Building Class:
Bldg/Liv Area: 43,352 Park Type: Condition:
Lot Acres: 2.905 Spaces: Site Influence:
Lot SqFt: 126,542 Garage SqFt: Timber Preserve:
Year Built: 1979 Ag Preserve:
Effective Year: See Full Detail
**The information provided here is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed.

 

 

 

Local non-profit My Angel’s Inc., to co-host free food distribution for 1,000 families in Pittsburg Friday

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My Angel’s Inc. partners with The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, White Pony Express and The Pentecostals of the Bay Area to fight food insecurity in Eastern Contra Costa County

My Angel’s Inc., of far East Contra Costa County is joining The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County and White Pony Express to distribute food for 1,000 families at The Pentecostals of the Bay Area, located at 310 Central Ave in Pittsburg, CA from 9 am- until food resources are gone, on October 30, 2020.

This FREE food distribution will include up to two boxes of food items. Everyone is welcome to attend the drive-through style event. This major food distribution event will follow CDC guidelines for social distancing. All attendees should wear a mask. Food will be distributed either directly into the trunk of a car or truck beds. Walk-Up distribution is also available. You do not need to be a resident of Pittsburg to participate in the Major Food Give-Away.

My Angel’s Inc. is an Antioch based not-for-profit organization committed to nourishing those in need. Founder, George Guevara, saw a radical increase in food insecurity throughout Contra Costa County after the pandemic shut businesses down and left many individuals without a consistent source of income. He began to deliver food to many of Contra Costa’s unhoused population and then extended his mission to include partnerships with local food distribution agencies to co-host major food distribution events. My Angel’s Inc. is an increasingly vital asset to providing food to people in need.

My Angel’s Inc. is committed to continually addressing issues pertinent to food insecurity and will continue to collaborate with community-based organizations to help alleviate food insecurity and the struggles that accompany homelessness, and inadequate access to necessary resources, including housing, medical care, mental health wellness, and addiction.

ConFire offers advice for Contra Costa residents during severe fire weather

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Contra Costa County Very High Fire Threat Zones. Graphic: ConFire

THIS IS NOT AN EVACUATION ORDER. There are NO active evacuations in Contra Costa County at this time for the upcoming wind-driven fire weather event occurring beginning today and extending into Monday and Tuesday.

However, you may want to consider relocating ahead of this event. If you are uncomfortable in your home given this fire weather event, and you have somewhere to go that is not in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone or area susceptible to wildland fire (see map below and at http://bit.ly/CCCVeryHighFireZoneMap for details), you should consider relocating this afternoon. Relocation could be to a hotel or the residence of a friend or family member in an area outside of the local area being affected by the forecast fire weather.

All of Contra Costa County is under an NWS Red Flag Warning from Sunday evening through Monday morning. Additional fire weather and gusty winds are expected to affect our entire area Monday through Tuesday morning.

The fire weather we are forecast to experience will be significant. Any fire that starts will likely spread quickly.

Residents living in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, areas of the wildland-urban interface, or areas with narrow streets and limited evacuation routes should ensure the following:

  • Your cell phones are fully charged and notifications are enabled
  • Your cell and home phones are all registered with the Community Warning System at www.cwsalerts.com – there is still time to do this
  • Your car is parked facing out of your driveway
  • You have determined alternate evacuation routes from your home to a safe area outside of the hills
  • You have a plan — you are prepared and ready to go as soon as receiving an official evacuation order

During the fire season, and particularly in this time of heightened fire weather, you need to have a plan to evacuate in the event of a fire. Do not hesitate if you are instructed to evacuate by law enforcement, the fire department, or receive a CWS notification or order to evacuate.

For information on protecting your family, home and neighbors from wildfire – including how to plan for evacuation – read and download our Residents Guide to Wildfire Preparation and Evacuation at www.cccfpd.org.

Communities and hillside portions of El Sobrante and San Pablo, Kensington, East Richmond Heights, the El Cerrito Hills and the west hills of the City of Richmond:

Winds are expected to peak between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Monday morning with gusts of approximately 47 mph and sustained winds of 31 mph. These significant gusty winds and elevated sustained winds are forecast from 5 p.m. Sunday through Monday morning. Relative humidity is expected to fall to very low levels further increasing risk in these areas.

Martinez (west of Berrellesa Street) and Lafayette (north of Highway 24)

Conditions similar to those for West County above are expected to impact other Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.

THIS IS NOT AN EVACUATION ORDER. IF AN EVACUATION IS ORDERED NOTIFICATIONS WILL BE SENT THROUGH THE COMMUNITY WARNING SYSTEM (CWS).

We want you to be as prepared as possible given the severity of the forecast fire weather; we want all residents to have ample time to prepare.

 

PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff expected for 18,000 customers in Contra Costa County Sunday through Monday

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Due to highest winds and driest conditions of season expected Sunday morning through Monday morning, with windy conditions lingering in some regions through early Tuesday

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will de-energize certain electrical lines for safety which started Sunday morning, Oct. 25 as part of a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). PG&E is calling a PSPS due to a significant, offshore wind event starting Sunday that is forecast to have the driest humidity levels and the strongest winds of the wildfire season thus far, that together create high risk of catastrophic wildfires.

The PSPS event will affect approximately 361,000 customers in targeted portions of 36 counties, including: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba. Some customers in 17 tribal communities will also be affected.

Some customers previously notified about the potential PSPS will not have their power turned off during this event. This is due to a combination of favorable changes in the weather forecast. Approximately 105,000 customers will not be turned off for this reason. Additionally, another 84,000 will remain energized through the event due to islanding, temporary generation, and other methods.

Affected Customers in Contra Costa County: 17,966 customers, 883 Medical Baseline customers could potentially be affected by this PSPS event.

Timeline for Safety Shutoffs

The de-energization will begin around 10 a.m. Sunday morning, beginning with customers in the Northern Sierra region. Shutoffs will continue through Monday into late evening.

Weather is expected to subside Monday morning for the majority of customers, and by Tuesday morning for the remainder. Once it does and it is safe to do so, PG&E will patrol the de-energized lines to determine if they were damaged during the wind event and repair any damage found. PG&E will then safely restore power in stages and as quickly as possible, with the goal of restoring power to nearly all customers within 12 daylight hours after severe weather has passed.

Resource for customers

Customer notifications

Customer notifications—via text, email and automated phone call—began Friday, Oct. 23, approximately two days prior to the potential shutoff. Additional notifications one day prior to the event took place Saturday, Oct. 24. Customers enrolled in the company’s Medical Baseline program who do not verify that they have received these important safety communications will be individually visited by a PG&E employee with a knock on their door when possible with a focus on customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.

Community Resource Centers

To support our customers during this PSPS, PG&E will open 106 Community Resource Centers (CRCs). For customers with power turning off Sunday morning, CRCs will be open from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. today. All CRCs will operate from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the event. These temporary CRCs will be open to customers when power is out at their homes and will provide ADA-accessible restrooms, hand-washing stations, medical-equipment charging, WiFi; bottled water, grab-and-go bags and non-perishable snacks.

 

PG&E updates its CRC locations regularly. To find CRC locations, visit pge.com/crc.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all CRCs will follow important health and safety protocols including:

  • Facial coverings and maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from those who are not part of the same household will be required at all CRCs.
  • Temperature checks will be administered before entering CRCs that are located indoors.
  • CRC staff will be trained in COVID-19 precautions and will regularly sanitize surfaces and use Plexiglass barriers at check-in.
  • All CRCs will follow county and state requirements regarding COVID-19, including limits on the number of customers permitted indoors at any time.

Besides these health protocols, customers visiting a CRC in 2020 will experience further changes, including a different look and feel. In addition to using existing indoor facilities, PG&E is planning to open CRCs at outdoor, open-air sites in some locations and use large commercial vans as CRCs in other locations. CRC locations will depend on a number of factors, including input from local and tribal leaders.

Online Resources for Customers

  • Customers can look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
  • PG&E’s emergency website pge.com/pspsupdates is now available in 13 languages. Currently, the website is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Farsi, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer, Punjabi and Japanese. Customers will have the opportunity to choose their language of preference for viewing the information when visiting the website. In addition, PG&E’s contact center has translation services available in over 200 languages. Customers who need in-language support over the phone can contact us by calling 1-833-208-4167.
  • For additional language support services including how to set language preference, select options for obtaining translated notifications, and receive other translated resources on PSPS, customers can visit pge.com/pspslanguagehelp. This website is also available in 13 languages as listed above.
  • Customers are encouraged to update their contact information and indicate their preferred language for notifications by visiting pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-800-743-5000. PG&E’s contact center has translation services available in over 200 languages.
  • Tenants and non-account holders can sign up to receive PSPS ZIP Code Alerts for any area where you do not have a PG&E account by visiting pge.com/pspszipcodealerts.
  • PG&E has launched a new tool at its online Safety Action Center at safetyactioncenter.pge.com to help customers prepare. By using the “Make Your Own Emergency Plan” tool and answering a few short questions, visitors to the website can compile and organize the important information needed for a personalized family emergency plan.

 

Contra Costa County Businesses* can now apply for Micro-Enterprise Relief Fund grants

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By Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center

We are excited to let you know that Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center in partnership with the Contra Costa CDBG has started a Contra Costa County Micro-Enterprise Relief Fund. The Contra Costa County Micro-Enterprise Relief Fund offers grants to Contra Costa County micro-businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This program aims to provide relief to micro-enterprises in order to help them survive this crisis and to maintain the provision of goods and services for Contra Costa County residents.

For the purposes of this fund, we define a micro-enterprise as a for profit entity with:

  • A maximum of 5 employees
  • Less than $100,000 in annual revenue
  • *Registered, in good standing with, and operating in Contra Costa County cities except for Walnut Creek, Concord, Pittsburg, and Antioch

If you fit these qualifications, you can now apply for the Contra Costa County Micro-Enterprise Relief Fund!

Please find the application here: https://tinyurl.com/ccc-micro-enterprise-fund

This Relief Fund will provide working capital grants of $1,000 – $10,000. Grants can be used to cover costs such as COVID-19 precaution supplies (PPE), safety remodeling (plexiglass, spacing tape, construction labor), facade improvements and signage, online platform fees and social media marketing to further online sales, commercial rents, employee salaries and other operating costs.

For more eligibility criteria please visit this page: https://www.rencenter.org/contra-costa-county-micro-enterprise-relief-fund/

The application period will end on Wednesday, November 11 at Midnight PST.

Oakley, transportation officials announce new Amtrak Train Station platform

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Map of Oakley Center Transit. By City of Oakley.

“You’ll be able to get from downtown Oakley to downtown Oakland in 55 minutes ‐ you can’t do that on BART or a car and the ride is much more pleasant.” – Oakley Mayor Kevin Romick

By Amy Sylvestri, City of Oakley

Mayor Kevin Romick speaks at the site of the future Amtrak train station platform, as Paul Herman from the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, Vice Mayor Sue Higgins, and City of Oakley Associate Engineer, Jason Kabalin listen on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. Photo by City of Oakley.

Friday was another exciting day in Oakley, as Mayor Kevin Romick, Vice‐Mayor Sue Higgins and Paul Herman,  Associate Planner of the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority helped announce the next step in the process of bringing an Amtrak platform to Oakley!

The new 700‐foot‐long Amtrak train station platform that will be located behind Main Street between Second Street and Norcross Lane. Once complete, Oakley commuters will be able to get from downtown Oakley to downtown Oakland in under an hour.

Amtrak is currently under design for the proposed 700‐foot long platform which will be located within the railroad right‐of‐way.

The City will design and construct the adjacent improvements that will include a bus and car drop off area between 2nd Street and O’Hara and a large parking lot will be constructed to the west of the main entrance at O’Hara Avenue to accommodate future passengers.

“The ultimate goal is to keep the small-town look as we attract new restaurants and businesses,” said Mayor Kevin Romick. “We understand that downtown is just a couple of blocks long, but we are trying to create a vibrant area. It’s so important to give the City of Oakley more transit options. You’ll be able to get from downtown Oakley to downtown Oakland in 55 minutes ‐ you can’t do that on BART or a car and the ride is much more pleasant.”

Additionally, to maintain circulation during drop off and pick times, a new roadway will be constructed along the railroad’s right‐of‐way from the main entrance at O’Hara Avenue to Norcross Lane.

The train station platform will be a tremendous benefit to the community. Oakley has many residents that commute to the Bay Area for work every day and the new train platform will provide an alternate mode of transportation and drastically reduce their commute times.

The project, made possible with $8.6 million in state funds, is expected to begin construction soon and complete in 2022, according to Paul Herman of the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority

“This is an exciting time for the City of Oakley, said Romick. “We’re looking forward to bringing a train stop back to the East County.”