Contra Costa Herald

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

See new fares from Pittsburg Center and Antioch Stations

By Leave a Comment

Screenshot of the Pittsburg Center BART Station animation. From BART.gov

New fare information available now

 

By Allen Payton

According to the BART website’s East County Extension page, parking permits for the new Antioch Station which is planned to open in May along with the Pittsburg Center Station, will be available for purchase beginning January 16. According to BART Director Joel Keller there will be 1,000 parking spaces and about 124 reserved spaces available. However, he said the reserved permits don’t get you a specific spot, just one of the reserved parking spots in the lot.

New Fares

The BART Board adopted the parking fees and fares at the December 7, 2017 board meeting.

BART is applying its existing distance-based fare structure to calculate fares for the new service.  For the 9.1-mile trip between Pittsburg Bay/Bay Point and Antioch Station, the Clipper fare will be $2.00 (starting Jan 1, 2018 there will be a $.50 surcharge on all paper ticket trips).  All BART discount programs will be applied to these fares.

The table below shows 2018 BART to Antioch sample fares using the adult Clipper card, a fare paid for with a paper ticket will be an additional 50 cents.

1/5/18 UPDATE: On Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 11 AM, BART will open up the waitlist for passengers that would like to sign up to reserve a monthly permit, which guarantees a parking space until 10am each weekday. There will be a limited number of these permits available and they will be available on a first-come/first-served basis. The cost for the monthly permit will be $105 per month. You will only be charged for the permit if you are offered one and not until the extension officially opens. You may sign up to join when the waitlist at www.Select-a-Spot.com any time after January 16, 2018 at 11am. This website is also available through a link on the www.BART.gov/Parking webpage.

Monthly reserved permits will only be available at the Antioch Station. The Pittsburg Center Station will not offer any reserved parking permits, due to a limited number of parking spaces at the station.

There will be other parking options available as well:

Daily Fee Parking

Both stations will offer daily unreserved parking for a fee of $3. This parking is first-come/first-served in any marked “Fee” lot. Look at signs to the entrance to each section of the lot to determine if it is a “Fee” or “Permit” area. After 10am, any unused Permit spaces are open to all parkers for the Daily Fee.

Permit Parking

The Antioch Station will offer “Permit” parking. Customers with permits will be allowed to park in the designated areas of the parking lot. Permit spaces are available until 10am each weekday morning. After 10am all unused Permit spaces are available to anyone for the Daily Fee. All permits will be available on the www.Select-a-Spot.com website. There also will be a link to that website on www.BART.gov/Parking

Types of Permits:

  • Single Day reserved permits will cost $6 a day.
  • Airport/Long-Term Permits will cost $7 a day.
  • Monthly reserved parking permits will cost $105

 

To view the animation of the Pittsburg Center BART Station, click here. To view the animation of the Antioch BART Station, click here.

Peery, Ryland, Corsaro win Winter Classic at Antioch Speedway

By Leave a Comment

North Dakota visitor Travis Peery made a surprise visit to Antioch Speedway and brought home the winner’s paycheck in the A Modified Main Event. Photo by Paul Gould

By Don Martin II

ANTIOCH, CA…January 1…New Year’s Day meant the Winter Classic was happening Antioch Speedway Monday afternoon. Oval Motorsports began their 21st season of promoting the 3/8-mile clay oval with a special four division program featuring A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Dwarf Cars and Hobby Stocks.

Fred Ryland returned to defend his Winter Classic title with another impressive B Modified feature victory. Photo by Paul Gould

The A Modified Main Event was won by Williston, North Dakota’s Travis Peery. Peery competed at tracks in Medford, Oregon and Yreka, California before moving to North Dakota. He took the lead from Raymond Lindeman and then had a battle with five-time champion Scott Busby during the final 10 laps.

On a restart with 8 laps to go, Busby used the inside line to take the lead from Peery. However, when Chester Kniss rolled in Turn 4, the ensuing red flag negated Busby’s pass. Peery chose the inside on this restart and withstood an outside groove challenge by Busby over the next two laps to hold the lead. As Peery brought it home to victory, 2017 race winner Nick DeCarlo made a late pass on Busby for second. Busby settled for third ahead of reigning track champion Bobby Motts Jr. and Jeff Faulkner.

Fred Ryland took the lead from his wife Patti Ryland early on and won the B Modified Main Event. F. Ryland is the reigning Merced Speedway champion, and he held off reigning Chico and Marysville champion Philip Shelby down the stretch for a well-earned victory. Les Friend finished third ahead of Craig Nieman and Mark Garner.

Mike Corsaro held off some tough competition to win the Dwarf Car Main Event. Photo by Paul Gould

Reigning champion Mike Corsaro scored an impressive victory in the Dwarf Car Main Event. Two-time champion Danny Wagner led the first half of the race before overheating issues sidelined him. During the second half of the race, Corsaro led with Jack Haverty and Michael Grenert in close pursuit. Grenert made a pass on Haverty for second with six laps to go. Two laps later, Grenert made a slide job move around Corsaro in Turn 2, only to drift too high as Corsaro raced back into the lead down the backstretch. Corsaro scored a hard-fought victory ahead of Grenert, Haverty, Chuck Conover and David Michael Rosa.

The Hobby Stock Main Event featured an entertaining side-by-side battle between Chris Long and Orland Raceway star, Brad Ray. After technical inspections following the race, Ray was disqualified and Long was elevated to first. Orland Raceway champion Jeremy Langenderfer was riding along in third when he spun on the last lap, handing the position to Chris Bennett. Bennett’s third place became second with the disqualification of Ray.

The Antioch Speedway 2018 schedule should be made available shortly. For further information on what’s happening at the track, check out the official website at www.antiochspeedway.com.

Martinez selected as top-10 finalist for $500,000 prize from Small Business Revolution – Main Street TV series

By Leave a Comment

Help them win the award

Main Street Martinez and the City of Martinez are proud to announce that Martinez has been selected as a top-10 finalist for Season 3 of the Small Business Revolution – Main Street television series.

After considering thousands of downtowns across the country, Deluxe Corporation chose Martinez as one of the 10 communities that will compete for a chance to win $500,000 for downtown revitalization. Follow the contest and find more information at MyMartinez.org.

You can help Martinez win this award by sharing photos, stories, and anecdotes about what you love about Downtown Martinez on Facebook (@smallbizrev), Twitter (@smbizrevolution), and Instagram (@smallbusinessrevolution). Use the hashtag #MyMartinez.

Martinez residents, businesses owners, and other stakeholders are encouraged to welcome Deluxe representatives at a special Get to Know Martinez event on Friday, January 5, 2018 from 6pm-8pm at the Veterans Hall, 930 Ward Street in Martinez.

“Main Street Martinez supports the City’s efforts to make economic development a top priority,” said Main Street Martinez Executive Director Leanne Peterson. “We are delighted to spearhead this effort and partner with the City to make the case that downtown’s history and architecture combined with its new energy and momentum make it the perfect choice for Season 3 of the Small Business Revolution – Main Street.”

The competition is part of the highly acclaimed series: Small Business Revolution – Main Street. Get a sneak peek at what could be in store for Martinez by watching the first two seasons at SmallBusinessRevolution.org, Hulu, or YouTube. The hosts are Amanda Brinkman (with Deluxe and on Forbes’ Communication Council) and Robert Herjavec (entrepreneur and former host of Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank). They bring with them a crew of experts to help individual business owners and Main Street districts find their paths to success.

Deluxe representatives will visit nine other downtowns in early 2018 before narrowing the list to five finalists who will compete in a nationwide vote. The winner will be announced in late February.

Please come to the Get to Know Martinez event on Friday, January 5, 2018 from 6pm-8pm at the Veterans Hall, 930 Ward St, Martinez and let these folks get to know the authentic Martinez.

County Office of Education to manage county’s EdTV Channel

By Leave a Comment

CCCOE to partner with county to expand community access television programming focused on local education

The Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) announced Wednesday that the agency will begin to coordinate local education programming for the Contra Costa County Education Channel, EdTV. CCCOE, with support from Contra Costa Television (CCTV), will be providing more access of quality, local pre-K through College educational programming to residents, students, educators and stakeholders in Contra Costa County.

“We are extremely excited to begin promoting education in Contra Costa County through the power of community access television,” said Karen Sakata, Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools. “This partnership with the County will enable us to provide a voice and a forum to students, schools, school districts and higher education in our County so they can effectively tell their stories through video.”

EdTV, an Educational Access channel, is a basic cable TV service on Comcast Channel 32 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99, and is available throughout most of Contra Costa County. Currently, EdTV is unavailable to cable subscribers in San Ramon as well as WAVE subscribers. EdTV is one of a handful of PEG (Public, Education and Government) Access Channels that operate in Contra Costa County. All of these channels are carried in Standard Definition. Contra Costa Television (CCTV) currently manages five PEG channels. Online streaming of EdTV and availability of online video on demand will also be explored.

“Contra Costa County is home to nearly 400 K-12 public and private schools, 18 school districts, as well as several institutions of higher education, said Terry Koehne, Chief Communications Officer for the Contra Costa County Office of Education. “Each of these local education agencies would have the ability to publish unique, locally produced content and bulletin board material to EdTV, thus providing direct access to a majority of Contra Costa County residents and businesses; that is our goal.”

The role of the County Office of Education will be to work in collaboration with CCTV to direct the overall content and programming schedule for the channel, approve video and bulletin board content through the development of content submission guidelines, and promote EdTV using all communication tools available.

“It is a natural fit for the County Office of Education to take on this role,” said Chris Verdugo, Interim Director of Communications and Media for Contra Costa County. “We look forward to more quality content that promotes and impacts our local education communities.”

CHP DUI Checkpoint planned for unincorporated part of Contra Costa County Thursday night

By Leave a Comment

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

The Contra Costa Area office of the California Highway Patrol will be conducting a “Sobriety Checkpoint” starting on Thursday, December 28 in an unincorporated area of Contra Costa County.  This safety event will be conducted from 9PM to 3AM.  Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked, and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs can expect to be arrested.  In addition, officers will conduct driver’s license checks on motorists stopped at the checkpoint.

The event is part of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.  Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition to this press release, we will use our CHP-Contra Costa Facebook and CHP-Contra Costa Twitter pages to provide messaging to encourage the use of occupant restraints, adherence to the speed limit, and sober driving.

Mt. Diablo Adult Ed teacher arrested for rape of developmentally disabled student

By 2 Comments

Daniel Gonzalez

By Sgt. Christine Magley, Concord Police Investigations Division / Special Victims Unit

On December 7, 2017, Concord Police received a report of a teacher at Loma Vista Adult Center who was allegedly having sex with a developmentally disabled adult student. The student was enrolled in the Bridge Program which aids students in the development of their independent living skills, academics and more. The suspect, identified as 55-year-old Daniel Gonzalez, was a teacher in the program offered through the Mt. Diablo Unified School District’s Adult Education Department.

The Concord Police Special Victims Unit led the investigation and determined the adult student had an intellectual development level of a young teenager and therefore, is considered a dependent adult. According to California Penal Code 261, it is illegal to have sex with a person who is incapable of consent due to a mental or developmental disability. Based on the facts discovered during the course of the investigation, the school district was notified and the teacher was immediately placed on an administrative leave of absence.

SVU detectives arrested Gonzalez and he was later transferred to the Martinez Detention Facility with a $2 million bail amount. The case is pending review by Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

Detectives are taking steps to identify other potential victims. Anyone with additional information regarding Gonzalez, please contact the Concord Police Department Special Victims Unit at 925-671-3020.

Walnut Creek man arrested in Danville residential burglary Wednesday morning

By Leave a Comment

Saleem Jaser from his Facebook profile.

Fast action by homeowner leads to arrest; suspect also questioned in Lafayette burglary

By Public Information Coordinator Geoff Gillette, Danville Police Department

A 27-year-old Walnut Creek man is in custody, following an early morning residential burglary in Danville. At approximately 6:00 a.m. on December 27, 2017, Danville Police were called to a home on Savona Court on a report of a subject entering a home.

Danville Police Chief Allan Shields said the homeowner called 911 immediately, then gathered her family and fled the premises. When police arrived on scene, they spotted a suspect identified as Saleem Jaser, 27, of Walnut Creek exiting the home with stolen items in hand. Jaser was taken into custody and booked in the Martinez Detention Facility on charges of burglary, robbery, trespassing, child endangerment, grand theft, possession of stolen property, and prowling. He’s being held on $485,000 bail.

Chief Shields said Jaser is also being questioned in connection with another residential burglary in Lafayette.

Shields praised the quick thinking and fast actions of the homeowner, which led to the arrest.

“This was a great result,” Shields said, “The homeowner kept their cool, acted swiftly, and as a result a criminal is now off the streets.”

For more information, contact Lt. Doug Muse at (925) 314-3700 or dmuse@danville.ca.gov

Sheriff releases response to DOJ inquiry on immigration law compliance following Herald request

By 4 Comments

Sheriff David O. Livingston. From CCCSheriff website.

By Daniel Borsuk

Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston has provided at the request of the Contra Costa Herald a copy of his Dec. 1 letter to answer questions whether the department is out of compliance with federal immigration laws that entitled the Coroner-Sheriff Office to nearly $25 million in federal grants in 2016. CCSheriff ltr to DOJ re 8 USC 1373 Compliance 12-1-17

The sheriff’s letter was due Dec, 8, and he essentially informed U. S. Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson that the Office of the Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner is in compliance with federal immigration policy. That is in spite of the fact that beginning Jan. 1, 2018 California law enforcement agencies must begin to enforce Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act or what is better known as the sanctuary state law.

Livingston included with the letter his department’s draft policy on how it will and won’t cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which was issued Dec. 3, 2013 and updated on Nov. 16, 2017.

In his letter to Hanson, Livingston wrote:

“The California Values Act, with we must comply. That Act provides specifically that it does not authorize information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful of an individual, or from requesting from federal immigration authority’s immigration status information lawful or unlawful of an individual, or maintaining or exchanging that information with any other federal, state, or local government entity.”

Sheriff Livingston missed attending the Dec. 7 meeting of the Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety Committee meeting, disappointing a number of committee members who wanted to hear him comment and answer questions about the draft policy on ICE-undocumented jail inmates, but obviously were unable to do so.

“I am surprised and disappointed that the sheriff is not here,” said District 1 Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond at the committee meeting. “I don’t know if this has ever happened before where the sheriff has not appeared at a Public Protection Committee meeting.”

Please see related article.

Contra Costa Sheriff announces findings in ICE detention complaints investigation

By 2 Comments

Sheriff David Livingston, center, speaks with Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (to his left) and staff during a tour of the West County Detention Facility in Richmond on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. Herald file photo.

Refutes claims made by illegal alien female inmates against West County Detention Facility

The West County Detention Facility in Richmond. Herald file photo

The Office of the Sheriff has completed its investigation into complaints raised by several Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) female detainees at the West County Detention Facility (WCDF) in Richmond, California. The complaints were first reported in a local newspaper. The Sheriff’s Office immediately launched an investigation. Investigators interviewed 110 witnesses, with audio recordings and translators where necessary, and viewed hundreds of hours of video surveillance recordings. They also examined log books, computer entries and other evidence. (See related article)

The investigation found that nearly all of the complaints were unfounded and unsubstantiated. Claims of being “locked down” for 23 hours a day were false. The most time any ICE detainee was confined to their dormitory room was one hour and 24 minutes. These “lock downs” are commonly done for facility counts or for administrative reasons. At WCDF the detainees have keys to their rooms and free use of common bathroom facilities.

In one example, the person who complained in the article of being confined to her room for 23 hours was in fact confined for several days in a room with a full toilet and sink. She was confined in such a manner for disciplinary purposes after she assaulted another detainee.

Sheriff David O. Livingston. From CCCSheriff website.

Regarding the use of “red” biohazard bags for toilet needs, there was no evidence that any detainee was forced to use the bags in that manner. In very few cases detainees did use the bags for that purpose in violation of policy. Biohazard bag distribution is now limited to those detainees who are ill or have other medical needs. All inmates are free to use the bathrooms at any time, and even during “lock down” periods of approximately one hour, by notifying a Deputy Sheriff by using the call button in their rooms.

There were two complaints alleging limited access to healthcare that also appear to be unfounded based on detainee interviews. However, Contra Costa Health Services will be reviewing those specific complaints.

“Consistent with independent ICE inspections, we found that the alleged policy violations were largely unfounded,” said Sheriff David Livingston. “In fact, many detainees told us they are well treated at the West County Detention Facility.”

Sheriff Livingston added, “Some issues were identified, such as the use of profanity by a staff member or the quicker replacement of detainees’ room keys when they are lost or damaged. We will use this opportunity to improve wherever we can.”

The investigation will now be provided to the California Attorney General as Sheriff Livingston promised he would do.

East County Realtors provide Christmas gifts for foster children, checks to local charities

By Leave a Comment

Christmas gifts for foster children in Antioch schools from the Delta Realtors Community Service Foundation surround the tree at the Delta Association of Realtors Christmas lunch on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2017.

Joann Mass of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oakley thanks DRCS Foundation Chairman Dan Barnes for the donation, as other foundation board members look on.

By Allen Payton

During the annual Delta Association of Realtors Christmas party, the organization’s Delta Realtors Community Service Foundation presented checks to East County charities and gifts for local, foster children in Antioch schools.

A check for $1,000 was donated to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oakley for their food pantry

“It all goes to some really nice, nice families,” said Joann Mass of St. Anthony’s. “All we can do is say thank you.”

Donations were also provided to the Antioch Senior Center, An Elderly Wish Foundation, Don Brown Shelter, Brentwood Community Chest, and the Golden Hills Community Church Community Outreach Center in Antioch.

The Christmas gifts were provided to Antioch Unified School District’s Student Support Services for “27 foster children who are Antioch school students living in five group homes, four in Antioch and one in Pittsburg,” said Mayra Preciado, Counselor and Foster Liaison. “They’re now receiving a Christmas.”

She was joined by Director Bob Sanchez, Homeless Liaison Trina Tuel and Intervention Services Coordinator Dineen Burdick.

“We keep the money local. That’s what we’ve been focusing on” said Realtors foundation chairman Dan Barnes, of the Berkshire Hathaway real estate office in Brentwood.

The other foundation board members are Leonard Briones, Laura Agdanowski, Anthony Silva, Cathleen Griebling, Patti Shaner and Margaret Hurtado.

For more information about the Delta Association of Realtors visit their website at www.deltaaor.com.