Contra Costa Herald

Photo source: EBRPD

The East Bay Regional Park District is looking to hire over 50 new lifeguards for the 2023 swim season at its 12 East Bay swim facilities, which include lakes, lagoons, and swimming pools. All new lifeguard positions are seasonal, full-time positions from May through September. Anyone ages 16 and over before April 22, 2023, are encouraged to apply. Starting pay is $20.78 per hour. Applications will be accepted through March 27, 2023.

There are six lifeguard testing dates scheduled in March. Participants will be asked to swim 550 yards in under 10 minutes, carry a rescue board 50 feet, retrieve three dive rings under four to seven feet of water, tread water for two minutes using only their legs, and retrieve a 10-pound brick from underwater. There will also be a short informal interview after successful completion of the swim test on the same day.

Testing Schedule:

•    Saturday, March 11, at Buchanan Pool, Pittsburg

•    Sunday, March 12, at Granada High School Pool, Livermore

•    Saturday, March 18, at San Leandro High School Pool, San Leandro

•    Sunday, March 19, at Granada High School Pool, Livermore

•    Saturday, March 25, at Buchanan Pool, Pittsburg

•    Sunday, March 26, at Castro Valley High School Pool, Castro Valley

Participants who pass the tests will be invited to the Park District’s Lifeguard Academy beginning Saturday April 22, 2023, where they will receive paid training and certification in open water lifeguarding. The Lifeguard Academy takes place over five consecutive weekends in April and May, with the swim season beginning in late May for most facilities.

“Working as a lifeguard is one of the few ways a young adult can give back to their community and learn about public service,” said East Bay Regional Park District Aquatics Manager Pete DeQuincy. “Promoting water safety and educating park visitors on how to safely recreate in, on, and around water is paramount in what a lifeguard does.”

Lifeguards can work at any of the Park District’s swim facilities in various cities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, such as Antioch, Concord, Livermore, Hayward, Castro Valley, Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley.

For information and how to apply, visit www.ebparks.org/public-safety/lifeguard/jobs.

The East Bay Regional Park District is the largest regional park system in the nation, comprising 73 parks, 55 miles of shoreline, and over 1,300 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and environmental education. The Park District receives more than 25 million visits annually throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Advises residents how to stay safe, offers list of free sandbag locations

By Kelly Kalfsbeek, Community & Media Relations Coordinator, CCC Public Works

Contra Costa County Public Works maintenance crews have been clearing storm drains, catch basins, roadside ditches, monitoring and maintaining flood control channels and stocking sandbag stations in preparation of the coming storms. We encourage our customers to take steps to protect themselves and their property as well.

Please clear drains/gutters, watch for fallen/falling trees/limbs and other debris and look for trouble spots. If you are concerned about flooding visit: www.contracosta.ca.gov/sandbags to find your nearest sandbag station. Sand and sandbags are free, please bring a shovel.

During stormy weather, we encourage the driving public to avoid traveling on the roadways unless necessary due to localized flooding, downed trees, and hazardous situations. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads and if the power is out, treat all traffic signals like stop signs. We also advise residents to stay out of the creeks and flood control channels.

For road closure updates & other important information follow us on Twitter @cccpublicworks: https://twitter.com/cccpublicworks

For winter storm preparedness tips & resources-including flood forecasting tools visit: www.contracosta.ca.gov/stormprep

To report a service issue such as a clogged catch basin or drainage inlet, in unincorporated Contra Costa County, please call the Public Works Maintenance Division at 925-313-7000 during work hours and after hours call Sheriff’s Dispatch at 925-646-2441. To learn how you can report service issues to us from your mobile device using our free Mobile Citizen App visit: 

www.contracosta.ca.gov/MobileCitizen

About Contra Costa County Public Works Department:

Contra Costa County Public Works Department (CCCPWD) maintains over 660 miles of roads, 150 miles of streams, channels, and other drainage and over 150 County buildings throughout Contra Costa County. CCCPWD provides services such as Parks and Recreation, Sandbag Distribution and Flood Control throughout unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County.  CCCPWD operates two airports, Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, and Byron Airport in Byron. For more information about CCCPWD, please visit us at: www.cccpublicworks.org

To evaluate reforms, in coordination with state Department of Justice

The BART Police Department and the California Department of Justice (Cal DOJ) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) to work with BART PD to independently evaluate the reforms put in place by BART PD and the BART Board of Directors, with the goal of improving BART PD policies where applicable and providing documented reports of BART PD’s progress to the community.

BART riders and community stakeholders are invited to register for and participate in a Zoom session this Thursday, March 9 at 6:30 pm where members of the evaluation team will hear the perspectives of community members on their relationships with BART PD. The listening session will include a virtual community meeting with breakout sessions.

Visit here to register for the event.

Sesión de escucha de la comunidad: convocada por el Departamento de Justicia de California y el Departamento de Policía de Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) operates the Amtrak San Joaquins passenger rail line and through bus service which serves Antioch, Martinez and Richmond in Contra Costa County. Each year, SJJPA must develop and approve an updated Business Plan as required by SJJPA’s Interagency Transfer Agreement (ITA) with the State. The annual Business Plan is required to be submitted to the Secretary of CalSTA in draft form by April 1 of each year, and in final form by June 15 of each year to allow Amtrak time to finalize operating cost estimates.

As specified in AB 1779, the Business Plan shall include a report on the historical performance of the San Joaquins Service, an operating plan including proposed service enhancements to increase ridership, short-term and long-term capital improvement programs, funding requirements for the upcoming fiscal year, and an action plan with specific performance goals and objectives. The Business Plan shall document service improvements (rail and thruway/connecting bus) to provide the planned level of service, inclusion of operating plans to serve peak period work trips, and consideration of other service expansions and enhancements.

2023 SJJPA Business Plan

The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority has released its 2023 Draft SJJPA Business Plan Update. Public comments must be submitted to Dan Leavitt at dan@sjjpa.com no later than Wednesday, March 15, 2023. DRAFT-2023-SJJPA-Business-Plan-Update_Public-Review-Draft.pdf

DRAFT-2023-SJJPA-Business-Plan-Update_Track-Change-Version_Public-Review-Draft.pdf

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Due to impact of winter storms; includes quarterly tax payments

The Internal Revenue Service announced on Feb. 24, 2023, that California storm victims, including Contra Costa County residents and businesses, now have until October 16, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. The deadline was previously extended to May 15 on January 10 and didn’t include Contra Costa. But that changed the following day. Then on Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced state tax returns will also not be due until Oct. 16, as well.

The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This means that individuals and households that reside or have a business in Alameda, Colusa, Contra Costa County qualify for tax relief. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page on IRS.gov.

The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on January 8, 2023. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until Oct. 16, 2023, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period.

This includes 2022 individual income tax returns due on April 18, as well as various 2022 business returns normally due on March 15 and April 18. Among other things, this means that eligible taxpayers will have until Oct. 16 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and health savings accounts.

The Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses page has details on other returns, payments and tax-related actions qualifying for the additional time.

The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area. Therefore, taxpayers do not need to contact the agency to get this relief. However, if an affected taxpayer receives a late filing or late payment penalty notice from the IRS that has an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date falling within the postponement period, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

In addition, the IRS will work with any taxpayer who lives outside the disaster area but whose records necessary to meet a deadline occurring during the postponement period are located in the affected area. Taxpayers qualifying for relief who live outside the disaster area need to contact the IRS at 866-562-5227. This also includes workers assisting the relief activities who are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.

Individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2023 return normally filed next year), or the return for the prior year (2022, normally filed this tax season). Be sure to write the FEMA declaration number – 3591-EM − on any return claiming a loss. See Publication 547 for details.

The tax relief is part of a coordinated federal response to the damage caused by these storms and is based on local damage assessments by FEMA. For information on disaster recovery, visit disasterassistance.gov.

California Extension Matches IRS

In addition, California is extending the tax filing deadline for Californians impacted by December and January winter storms to October 16, 2023 – aligning with the IRS

In addition to tax relief measures that Governor Gavin Newsom announced in January, California is also extending the state tax filing and payment due dates to October 16, 2023 for Californians impacted by the winter storms in December and January. This aligns California with the Biden Administration, which announced that the IRS extended various due dates until October 16, as well.

“As communities across the state continue recovering from the damage caused by the winter storms, California is working swiftly to help recovering Californians get back on their feet,” said Governor Newsom. “The state is aligning with the Biden Administration and extending the tax filing deadline in addition to the tax relief announced earlier this year.”

Last month, Governor Newsom announced tax relief for those impacted by winter storms, giving people the ability to claim a deduction for disaster loss and extending certain filing deadlines.

The following counties are eligible for this extended tax relief, per the IRS announcements here and here:

Residents and businesses in Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba counties who have been affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides are eligible for tax relief.

TAX EXTENSION

To help alleviate some of the hardship many have endured during this trying period, the FTB has extended the filing and payment deadlines for individuals and businesses in California until October 16, 2023.

This relief applies to deadlines falling on or after January 8, 2023, and before October 16, 2023, including the 2022 individual income tax returns due on April 18 and the quarterly estimated tax payments, typically due on January 17, 2023 and April 18, 2023. Those payments were previously extended to May 15, 2023 for those impacted by winter storms.

The IRS announced tax relief for Californians affected by these winter storms. Taxpayers affected by these storms qualify for an extension to October 16, 2023 to file individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments. This includes:

• Individuals whose tax returns and payments are due on April 18, 2023.
• Quarterly estimated tax payments due January 17, 2023, April 18, 2023, June 15, 2023, and September 15, 2023.
• Business entities whose tax returns are normally due on March 15 and April 18.
• PTE Elective Tax payments due on June 15, 2023.

CLAIMING DISASTER LOSSES

Taxpayers affected by a presidentially declared disaster may claim a deduction for a disaster loss. Taxpayers may claim a disaster loss when filing either an original or amended tax year 2022 tax return.

When filing their return, taxpayers should write the name of the disaster in blue or black ink at the top of their tax return to alert FTB. If filing electronically, taxpayers should follow the software instructions to enter disaster information. If a taxpayer receives a late filing or payment penalty notice related to the postponement period, they should call the number on the notice to have the penalty abated.

Additional information and instructions are available in FTB Publication 1034, 2022 Disaster Loss: How to Claim a State Tax Deduction.

Disaster victims can receive free copies of their state returns to replace those lost or damaged. To do so, they should use form FTB 3516 and write the name of the disaster in blue or black ink at the top of the request.

For a complete list of all disasters declared in California, see the chart on FTB’s disaster loss webpage.

During School Day STEAM Fest 2023!

Velma Wilson of Antioch will sing the National Anthem before the Santa Cruz Warriors game at Chase Center Saturday night, March 4. Wilson was the Contra Costa County 2021 Humanitarian of the Year.

Gather your family and friends and join us for School Day STEAM Fest 2023 as your Santa Cruz Warriors (NBA G-League Affiliate) take on the Cleveland Charge! Join us on West Concourse Terrace for our STEAM Fest where a variety of vendors will be showcasing educational and interactive activations for your and more!

Father and son sentenced to 12 years in state prison

By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office

This week, two defendants charged with the murder of 48-year-old Justin David Silva of Brentwood have entered into a plea agreement with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

45-year-old Dennis Lindsay will serve 12 years and four months in state prison for killing Justin Silva and residential burglary. His son, 21- year-old Nathan Rampone-Lindsay, will serve the same term for manslaughter and preventing a witness from filing a police report. Judge Mary Ann O’Malley will sentence both defendants on April 14th at 8:30 am in Martinez. The plea agreement reflects enhancements which add to their prison terms.

Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Tompkins said after the agreement was reached, “Justin Silva’s surviving family and loved ones can now begin the process of healing and recovery from his senseless murder. The relationships between the parties, as well as complex issues of self-defense and defense of others, created a significant legal challenge in a jury trial that Justin’s family recognized. While nothing can bring Justin Silva back to his family and friends, justice has been served on his behalf.”

On August 24th, 2021, around 4:15 in the afternoon Brentwood Police responded to reports of shots fired on Brentwood Boulevard near Sellers Avenue. When authorities arrived, they found Silva dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Dennis Lindsay and 50-year-old Daniel Marmino were also shot with non-life-threatening injuries to their leg and arms. (See related article)

During the police investigation, it was revealed Silva was living in an outbuilding on the property owned by a Lindsay family member — where he was employed doing carpentry work.

The living and employment relationship between Silva and the Lindsay family members became acrimonious. Silva was sent an eviction letter to leave the property by September 1st. However, on August 24th, Lindsay, Rampone-Lindsay, and Marmino went to Silva’s home armed with an automatic pistol with an extended magazine, a flare gun, bear spray, and a knife. Dennis and Marmino then tore down a wooden side wall of Silva’s home and entered the residence with their weapons drawn — with Nathan entering behind them. Upon their entry, Silva opened fire on the men with his firearms — shooting Dennis and Marmino. Nathan returned fire with 30 rounds from the automatic pistol, striking Silva 20 times. Silva died at the scene.

Marmino, and a fourth defendant – 74-year-old Roger Lindsay – were also charged but entered pleas in 2022 for their roles in the incident. Roger Lindsay pled to being an accessory to the crime, and Daniel Marmino entered a plea of assault with force likely to cause great bodily harm.

Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on March 27th at 8:30 am in Martinez.

04002026128 | The People of the State of California vs. Lindsay, Dennis Victor, Rampone-

Lindsay, Nathan, Lindsay, Roger Curtis, and Marmino, Daniel Vincent

By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office

On February 2, 2023, a United States Postal Service (USPS) worker was robbed in Martinez and their mail truck was stolen by 35-year-old Joshua Scott Anderson. Charges were filed on February 28th against Mr. Anderson by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.

The robbery of the carrier’s postal vehicle key and theft of the USPS mail truck occurred around 10:30 am at the Lotus Apartments on the 3900 block of Alhambra Avenue. According to reports, Anderson approached the carrier and used force to rob the Postal worker of their key and the mail truck – which contained letters and parcels.

The stolen mail truck was recovered about 30 minutes later, but several trays of mail and parcels were missing.

Following an investigation, Anderson was arrested and charged with second degree robbery [PC211], carjacking [PC215(a)], driving or taking a vehicle without consent [VC10851(a)], and mail theft [PC530.5(e)].

The complaint also lists an enhancement for prior convictions of vehicle theft, special allegations for committing a felony while on probation, and prior convictions of first-and second-degree burglary, vehicle theft, and identity theft.

Anderson is currently in the Martinez Detention Facility. He was arraigned on the charges on Wednesday, March 1 in Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa in Martinez.

In a statement, San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge, Rafael Nunez, said, “The Postal Inspection Service takes threats to our employees and the theft of mail very seriously, and we will vigorously pursue those who commit such crimes. Postal Inspectors worked closely with the District Attorney’s Office and our partners at the Martinez Police Department and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office on this case.”

Incidents of mail theft and Postal carriers being robbed – sometimes at gunpoint – have increased nationwide. The safety of USPS employees is paramount, and employees have received training on what to do if they are robbed. However, Postal Inspectors urge the public to report any suspicious activity involving mail trucks or postal carriers.

Case #01-23-00557 | The People of the State of California vs. Anderson, Joshua Scott

Become an exhibitor and enter to win

ANTIOCH – Online entries for the 2023 Contra Costa County Fair closes April 14th. Imagine the thrill of winning a blue ribbon at the Fair for a special talent. Think you own the best pig, bake the most delicious apple pie, made a beautiful quilt, or have an uncanny knack for making crafts? Want to see who’s the best in all of Contra Costa County? Then be sure to enter the Contra Costa County Fair’s competitive exhibits! Entry information available on the fair’s website www.contracostafair.com/become-an-exhibitor.

Once Upon A Fair ~ May 18th–21st is sure to be a fun event for children of all ages, with new exhibits and entertainment, the carnival, livestock and the always popular fair food.

For additional information visit our website at www.contracostafair.com, or like us on Facebook.

By Lt. Holley Connors, Walnut Creek Police Department

An Antioch woman who is suspected of making threats to a private school in Walnut Creek is in custody. Walnut Creek Police Detectives and the Central County SWAT Team served a search and arrest warrant at 33-year-old Danielle Nye’s residence in Antioch last night. Detectives ultimately arrested Ms. Nye for PC 422 – Criminal Threats.

On February 28th, Contra Costa Christian Schools (CCCS) reported to Walnut Creek Police Department (WCPD) that they received numerous emails and voicemails from an unknown person who spoke of vague threats of violence toward the school. Officers worked to identify and locate the sender and to determine if there were any credible threats.

On March 1st, CCCS notified WCPD that they received more emails, and the threatening language had escalated. One email contained a photo of an apparent rifle.

Based on the continuing threats, behavior of the caller, and the photo of the weapon, CCCS sent students in after-school classes home early on March 1st. Walnut Creek Police searched the campus and found no evidence of weapons or threats to staff or students. Out of an abundance of caution, CCCS cancelled all classes for March 2nd.

At this time, there is no known threat to CCCS’ staff or students. It appears this was an isolated incident, and WCPD will continue follow up investigation to confirm no one else was involved. It is unknown what, if any, connection Ms. Nye has to CCCS.

She was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility and remains in custody on $25,000 bail. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Walnut Creek Police Department at 925-943-5844 or call the Anonymous Tip Line at 925-943-5865.

Case #: 23-7237