“I invite all my friends and everyone in Contra Costa to visit us at Skylark Shores Resort, this year. We are committed to providing a clean, safe and fun resort where our guests create happy memories that will last a lifetime.”- Jeff Warrenburg, General Manager
Paradise Skate Roller Rink in Antioch reopens Wednesday night
WOW, it has been 400 days since we had to close Paradise Skate Roller Rink in Antioch. We get to open TONIGHT. Catch is you have to make a reservation, sign a release. Bring that release, your energy, your mask and most important your smiles. We start at 7:30 pm.
Click here to make that reservation. Paradise Skate Antioch – A PartyWirks Partner
We’re located at 1201 W. 10th Street in Antioch.
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East County youths win Knights of Columbus State Free Throw Championship
After winning at the Oakland Diocese Chapter level, five youths from East County advanced to the State Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship where they had great success. Here are the results:
Eric Mendoza of Antioch STATE CHAMPION in the 14-Year-Old Boys competition;
Brigida Coria of Brentwood is STATE CHAMPION in the 14-Year-Old Girls category
Ryan Wisely of Oakley is STATE CHAMPION for 9-Year-Old Boys;
Kylie Wisely also of Oakley is STATE CHAMPION in the 13-Year-Old Girls competition; and
Lilyana Ponce of Antioch took 2nd Place at State in the 12-Year-Old Girls category;
The Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship is sponsored annually, with winners progressing through local, district, and jurisdictional competitions. International champions are announced by the Knights of Columbus international headquarters based on scores from the jurisdiction-level competitions. All boys and girls ages 8 to 14 are eligible to participate and will compete in their respective age divisions. Participants are required to furnish proof of age and written parental consent.
Council #3265 in Antioch, CA is one of 17,000 Knights of Columbus councils that make up the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in 1882 to assist working-class and immigrant Catholics
in the United States, today the approximately two million members of the Knights put their faith into action through a broad range of charitable causes locally, nationally and internationally with financial contributions and hands-on service.
Sabrina Landreth named new East Bay Regional Park District General Manager
Fifth generation East Bay native, former Oakland City Administrator, Emeryville City Manager
By Dave Mason, Public Information Supervisor, East Bay Regional Park District
The East Bay Regional Park District’s Board of Directors today approved the appointment of Sabrina Landreth as General Manager. She is the first female and the tenth General Manager appointed in the Park District’s 87-year history.
“Our Board is thrilled to have Sabrina join our organization,” said Dee Rosario, President of Park District Board of Directors. “She has all the right elements of urban public sector leadership experience and especially understands the diversity of the East Bay communities we serve.”
Ms. Landreth has deep roots in the East Bay as a fifth generation native who has held the top executive leadership positions managing the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. She is a U.C. Berkeley graduate with a master’s degree in Public Policy, in addition to receiving a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“I am honored to be appointed by the Board as the District’s next General Manager,” Landreth said. “I look forward to continuing to build upon the great work the District does to improve the quality of life for our East Bay community, while adhering to its social and environmental responsibilities.”
Most recently Ms. Landreth served as City Administrator in Oakland from 2015- 2020, where she is credited with strong fiscal management and developing a capital improvement program that included community equity goals and has become a model program for local governments around the country. She also worked for Oakland as Deputy City Administrator, Budget Director, and Legislative Analyst to the City’s Finance Committee.
Previously Ms. Landreth served as City Manager of Emeryville and as staff in the California State Assembly advancing state and local legislative initiatives.
Ms. Landreth succeeds Robert Doyle, who retired as General Manager after a 47-year career with the Park District. She will begin her new position at the Park District on Monday, March 15 just four days after her 45th birthday.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
San Ramon business one of 10 finalists for outdoor industry mentoring program needs your vote
Time is running out to vote for San Ramon’s own Pathloom to be selected for Walmart-owned Moosejaw’s Outdoor Acceleration program, aimed at supporting small businesses in the outdoor industry. Public voting will run through February 26th, and takes place at Moosejaw.com/accelerator.
The winning business will win an 8-week mentoring program guided by ICELab, product launch on Moosejaw.com and in Moosejaw stores, membership to Camber Outdoors, free legal consultation from Holland & Hart LLP, and a feature article on GearJunkie.
San Ramon’s own Pathloom has been chosen as one of 10 finalists for Moosejaw’s Outdoor Acceleration program, aimed at supporting small businesses in the outdoor industry. This year, the program has placed additional emphasis on supporting underrepresented groups in the outdoor industry.
Founded by Ankit Jain, who has made several trips to the Himalayas, he and his team have developed an all-in-one app to make planning for camping, hiking and other outdoor recreation trips as easy as booking a traditional vacation. According to the company’s website, their “mission is to get more people outdoors, more often. We believe everyone should have access to the benefits nature has to offer and that complicated trip planning should not prevent anybody from doing so, which is why Pathloom was created.”
Now it’s up to people who live in the San Ramon area to help Pathloom cross the finish line! Public voting will run through February 26th and will take place at Moosejaw.com/accelerator. Neighbors, friends and customers are encouraged to vote for their favorite company finalist!
Four winners will be selected to have their product launched in Moosejaw stores and on Moosejaw.com. These winners will also take part in an eight-week mentoring program with Moosejaw, will be featured in an article on GearJunkie and receive other legal and business support. You can find out about all the finalists here.
Pathloom aims to make a profound impact in getting more people outdoors who would otherwise not be able or encouraged to do so. They’ve developed an all-in-one app to make planning for camping, hiking and other outdoor recreation trips as easy as booking a traditional vacation. It was founded by Ankit Jain who represents an underrepresented group in the outdoor industry – people of color. You can find out more about the company here.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Sheriff’s Office STARR 3 helicopter rescues hiker in Walnut Creek Saturday
By Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department
On Saturday, January 23, 2021, at about 3:15 PM, STARR 3 was requested for an outside assist by Contra Costa Fire Protection District for a hiker in distress in the Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area in Walnut Creek.
STARR 3 located the hiker on a single-track trail running up a steep ridge. He was about half a mile from the nearest road which prevented any rescue by vehicle.
STARR 3 conducted a long-line short haul rescue. Pilot J. Meyers lowered Tactical Flight Officer Deputy Sheriff M. Ireland to the location. The hiker was short hauled to an awaiting ambulance for treatment.
Dredging up the past at Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge
Sand from the Port of Stockton is restoring a unique refuge
By Brandon Honig, External Affairs Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Over thousands of years, the shifting sands of time built dunes that reached 120 feet high and stretched for two miles along the San Joaquin River, about 35 miles east of San Francisco. Isolated from similar habitats, the Antioch Dunes slowly developed species found nowhere else in the world.
The gradual shifting of sand, however, was replaced by a rapid effort to turn it into bricks in 1906, after a devastating earthquake and fires demolished buildings in San Francisco. As industry depleted the sand over the next 70 years, the dunes’ unique species struggled to survive on dunes that eventually topped out at 50 feet.
Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and Port of Stockton are trying to turn back the clock, one load of sand at a time. Since 2013, the Port has pumped nearly 92,000 cubic yards of sand — enough to fill more than 6,500 dump trucks — onto the dunes to support three endangered species: the Lange’s metalmark butterfly, Antioch Dunes evening primrose and Contra Costa wallflower.
“The population of Lange’s has been trending downward for a couple of decades now,” said Mark Hayes, a biologist with the Service’s San Francisco Bay-Delta Office. “We counted about 10 butterflies in 2020, and the total population is very likely less than 50 currently. This is precariously low.”
The orange, black and white butterfly with a wingspan of 1 to 1.5 inches, whose population likely numbered 25,000 less than a century ago, was listed as endangered in 1976. The white-petaled primrose and yellow-petaled wallflower followed with listings in 1978.
The Service established Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge for the three species in 1980, making it the first national refuge for insects and plants. At the time, the 55-acre urban refuge with two non-adjacent units was also the nation’s smallest.
“This is a very industrial neighborhood we’re tucked into,” Louis Terrazas, a wildlife resource specialist for the refuge, said of Antioch Dunes. “There’s a shipyard on one side, a gypsum-processing plant, an old water-treatment facility over there and two strips of land owned by Pacific Gas and Electric.”
As sand disappeared in the 20th century, non-native grasses and plants took hold, crowding out the primrose, the wallflower and the Antioch Dunes buckwheat, which is the only plant where the Lange’s butterfly will lay its eggs. In the early 2000s, a series of wildfires further cut the butterfly population, leaving only about 100 alive in 2010 — all on the refuge’s 14-acre eastern unit.
With no butterflies to protect on the western unit, the Service decided to overhaul that site and try to restore the conditions that had once enabled the dunes’ endangered species to thrive. Refuge staff began looking for sources of sand in 2012 and were soon contacted by the Port of Stockton.
The Army Corps of Engineers dredges sand from the San Joaquin River each year to clear passage for cargo ships, and the Port is responsible for finding sites to place the sand. The Port typically sent sand to nearby Sherman Island, but saw an opportunity to make a real impact at Antioch Dunes.
“Our board has been pushing us to reach out and find projects like this — ways we can go above and beyond the normal regulations to try to have a beneficial impact on the [Sacramento-San Joaquin River] Delta,” said Jeff Wingfield, the Port of Stockton’s director of environmental and public affairs. “It costs us a little extra in time and prepping the site and some other little work, but for us it’s important to beneficially reuse the material.”
Since the Port’s first delivery in 2013, the evening primrose has experienced a huge jump in numbers, Terrazas said, and the wallflower and buckwheat are also reappearing. Eventually the refuge hopes to re-establish the Lange’s butterfly on the western unit as well.
To fully restore the refuge’s dune system, the Service could continue taking sand deposits for a couple of decades, Terrazas said, which might not be possible without the Port partnership.
“We bought some sand from another site in 2009, but it was really expensive, and the sand material had some non-native species in it,” he said. “We decided it was not the best method of restoring the site.”
Under the current method, the Port provides and delivers clean sand, and it doesn’t cost the Service a dollar. USFW staff devotes a great deal of time to this project, but the sand itself and the labor to place it at the Antioch Dunes are donated.
“Restoring the dunes is vitally important to the refuge’s ecosystem and could be the key to long-term preservation of its endangered species,” Hayes said. “We value our partnership with the Port and hope this continues as we implement our restoration plan.”
2021 Contra Costa County Fair canceled
ANTIOCH – As a major event facility, The Contra Costa Event Park has been weighing all of its options, as we monitor the evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. There is no higher priority than the safety of our Fairgrounds family, patrons, vendors, promoters and sponsors at the Contra Costa Event Park. It is with heavy heart and great regret due to this ongoing situation the Contra Costa Event Park Board of Directors met last night and unanimously voted to cancel the 2021 Contra Costa County Fair scheduled for May 13 – 16.
We understand that this decision has both financial and emotional impact on all of our Fair partners. After thoughtful consideration, we do not feel it would be a responsible decision to continue with the planning of the 2021 Contra Costa County Fair, when it could potential be canceled at the last minute.
The Contra Costa County Fair has been an annual event for over 80 years, and has operated uninterrupted, with the exception of a few years during World War II. The Fair is a large part of our communities’ history and tradition, and the decision to cancel the 2021 Fair did not come lightly.
We thank the community and all of our partners for your continued support during these challenging times.
We look forward to seeing you all safe and healthy for the 2022 Contra Costa County Fair May 12 – 15.
East Bay Regional Park District facilities closing Dec. 6 due to rise in COVID-19 cases
By Dave Mason, Public Information Supervisor, East Bay Regional Park District
Effective 6:00 p.m. Sunday, December 6, 2020, all campgrounds, outdoor museums (visitor centers), and children’s playgrounds at East Bay Regional Park District locations will be closed until further notice as mandated by the six Bay Area county regional health officers’ order announced yesterday.
Facility Closures Include:
- Ardenwood Historic Farm
- Regional Parks Botanic Garden
- Regional Park visitor centers remain closed, including Black Diamond, Big Break, Coyote Hills, Crab Cove, Sunol and Tilden
Campgrounds Closures Include:
- Del Valle Regional Park (Livermore)
- Anthony Chabot Regional Park (Oakland)
- Robert Sibley Regional Preserve Backpack Campground (Oakland)
Future camp reservations through made through January 4 will be cancelled, including for the Sibley backpack camp, and customers will receive full refunds.
Outdoor activity is encouraged by health officials during the new Regional Stay Home Order. The Park District reminds visitors that spending time in nature is important for mental and physical health and wellbeing. To keep yourselves and Park District staff safe when visiting regional parks and trails, please wear masks when within six feet of others and recreate responsibly. Please keep parks safe for everyone by following all COVID-19 safety requirements.
The California sector closures and restrictions on activity under the State’s Regional Stay Home Order are described here.
Brentwood Golf Club Honors veterans on Veteran’s Day with free golf
Give away Callaway Epic Driver to veteran golfer with lowest score
On November 11, the Bentwood Golf Club gave more than 30 veterans a round of free golf to thank them for their service. Rex Choe, Chief Operating Officer and an Air Force veteran and sergeant, said “I wanted to do something special for the men and women who sacrifice so much for our country.”
The thirty veteran golfers also competed for a Callaway Epic Driver valued at $499. The winner, Al Bella of Brentwood, also an Air Force veteran and sergeant, won the the driver with a score of 65.5 (including his 11.5 handicap). Bella thanked the golf course for the recognition and was “happy to win the fabulous prize.”
Choe, who has been has at the golf course for a year, said “The community has supported us, and we want to give back whenever we can. I can think of no better way than to support our veterans.”
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