Principal marched with them, Pittsburg Superintendent downplays, Antioch Police Chief wants answers
By Lieutenant Tony Morefield #3320, Antioch Police Watch Commander Patrol Division and Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando
On Thursday, November 10, 2016, at approximately 10:04 AM, the Antioch Police Department received word from the Pittsburg Police Department of a large (Anti-Trump) protest of approximately 200 to 400 Pittsburg High School Students along with their Principal headed into the City of Antioch. These protestors headed through Century Plaza in Pittsburg and into Antioch on Auto Center Way and Sycamore Drive, causing significant hazard and traffic delays in the area.
They then made their way to the Antioch High School campus in an apparent effort to involve students there. Antioch High was placed on lockdown, but this did not stop the protestors from damaging school property (knocking down fences and kicking over trash cans) before leaving that campus and heading toward Antioch Middle School. Antioch Middle was also placed on lockdown as was Live Oak High School and nearby Fremont Elementary School due to the protest, though the protestors never made it that far.
These Pittsburg High protestors continued to cause havoc on Antioch campuses and in the surrounding neighborhoods for over two hours and 15 Antioch Police Officers were tied up dealing with this protest causing a significant strain on resources. Evening shifts to be called in early. This resulted in numerous priority calls for service in the city having to wait for officers to respond.
Three male juveniles, ages 13, 15 and 17, all Pittsburg residents, were arrested during the protest: one for throwing a dangerous object at a police car, trespassing on school grounds and being a disruptive presence at school, one for inciting a fight with an area resident, trespassing on school grounds and resisting a police officer, and one for assaulting a police officer.
There is no estimate on any damage caused to Antioch High or Antioch Middle School at this time. It appears that very few Antioch students were involved in this incident. Most of the Pittsburg High Students eventually walked back to Century Plaza in Pittsburg and a few were rounded up onto school buses and taken back to their campus.
Chief Cantando Responds, Shares Pittsburg Superintendent’s Message
“In a post on the Antioch Police Department’s Facebook page at about 3:30 p.m., Chief Allan Cantando wrote the following:
“Many of you have inundated our department with inquiry regarding the incident on Century Blvd., Sycamore Dr., and in front of Antioch High School regarding student protestors in our city. Your observations were correct. Today, at approximately 10:00 AM students from Pittsburg High School and Black Diamond High School (in Pittsburg) marched to the City of Antioch and blocked traffic, knocked over garbage cans, assaulted one of our police officers, and trespassed at Antioch High School trying to incite Antioch High School students who were in class. As a result, three Pittsburg students were arrested.
The actions of these students caused the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) to respond by locking down Antioch High School, Antioch Middle School, Live Oak High School, and Fremont Elementary School. During this incident, these students were accompanied by Pittsburg High School Principal, Todd Whitmire. We are still confirming, but there is some indication that this incident began as a rally at Pittsburg High School.
This incident tied up 15 Antioch Police Officers for approximately 2 hours.
During this incident I was in direct contact with AUSD Superintendent, Stephanie Anello, who immediately took a leadership role in assisting our department. During my conversation with Anello, I requested she contact Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Schulze to send an automated message to the Pittsburg students’ parents indicating that their children were off campus, out of the city of Pittsburg, and involved in a protest in Antioch. Approximately two hours later, the following statement was issued by Pittsburg Unified School District Superintendent, Janet Schulze:
‘This Presidential election has been especially emotional. In dealing with differences and moving forward, we have to respect feelings and work in community. Today some of our high school students, like many across the Bay Area and country, organized, via social media, a peaceful protest and walk-out to protest the Presidential election.
The District always prefers to have all students in class, however, we do understand some students are passionate about the recent election.
Our staff and Pittsburg Police Department followed procedures to insure their safety, which is always a top priority. Some of the students returned to the high school and a group of approximately 200 students headed towards Antioch High School. The District informed Antioch High School and sent busses to pick up students outside Antioch High School.
Unfortunately, a small number of the students were unresponsive to directives to return to school and get on the bus. Another group of students decided to walk back to the high school. Those situations will be managed on an individual basis and students will receive appropriate consequences for their behaviors.
At this time, students have returned to school. We appreciate the professionalism and cooperation of the Antioch High School staff and the Antioch Police Department in working with us and the Pittsburg Police Department to insure all students remain safe.’
Although I appreciate the comments made by PUSD Superintendent Schulze, the statement is extremely brief and does not adequately portray the incident. This incident raises serious concerns as it impacted the police services to our Antioch citizens as well as to the Pittsburg Citizens. Because of the impact to the City of Antioch, I will be attending the next PUSD board meeting to ask several questions including:
- Was there a school or district sanctioned Anti-Trump rally?
- Did school or district staff encourage the protest?
- Was school staff aware the students planned on leaving the campus?
- Were parents aware that their students would be participating in the rally?
- When students left the campus, were they supervised? If so, by whom?
- What is the district policy regarding student to staff supervision ratios during off-campus activities?
- When the students left the campus, when and how were parents informed?
- If the students were supervised, will the district take disciplinary action against the students who committed criminal acts?
- What was the schools plan or policy to deal with a child who may be injured during an off campus protest should it occur?
Lastly, I am extremely proud of our officers, AUSD staff, AUSD students, Pittsburg Police Department, and the citizens who patiently waited for us to respond to their calls for service.”
Antioch School District Message to Parents
Anello shared the message sent out to parents, Thursday afternoon, through the auto-dialer from Associate Superintendent for Educational Services, Dr. Adam Clark regarding the incident yesterday.
Good afternoon,
This morning a large number of students from Pittsburg High School walked out of school to protest. These students traveled on foot to Antioch High School and attempted to convince other students to join their protest. Police from Antioch and Pittsburg were there to ensure that all students remained safe. As a precautionary measure, Antioch High, Antioch Middle, Fremont, and Live Oak all locked down for approximately one half hour. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have further questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Adam
Antioch High Principal’s Message
In an email message to school district staff, Antioch High School Principal Louie Rocha thanked his school’s staff and students for how they responded to the situation and reported that some Pittsburg High students made it onto the Antioch campus.
I want to commend our school staff for their collective effort in securing our campus during the School Lockdown. Thanks to the team work of our site safety security, front office staff, teachers, school administrators and students we were able to prevent our students from being in harm’s way of a large number of Pittsburg High School students who walked out of school this morning and attempted to enter our campus.
There was a small group of Pittsburg students who were able to gain access via the Don Richardson Gym entrance. The non-students ran through the PE area and exited out of campus on to 18th Street. The Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments arrived on site to prevent the non-students from disrupting our school day. We had a small number of AHS students who exited the main entrance gate to join the unruly crowd. However once I informed them that I was going to lock down the school preventing them from re-entering they decided to return to campus without incident. The Pittsburg High School students continued down 18th and G Streets.
The lockdown continued because the non-students returned back to 18th Street in front of our main entrance and were escorted by the Antioch and Police Departments back to L Street in the direction of the city of Pittsburg. At that point, classes were released to their regular school schedule to their 5th period classes or first lunch.
I am proud of the team work demonstrated today and our students conduct when faced with unruly students from another high school. I am looking forward to the Veteran’s Day Holiday, and wish all of you an enjoyable weekend with your family and friends.
Louie Rocha
Principal of Antioch High School
Simultaneous Protest in Concord
At approximately 9:00 a.m. a witness reported a seeing a group of protesters walking on the Olivera Road overpass, above Route 242 in Concord, blocking traffic. They appeared to be of high school age, and possible students from Mt. Diablo High School, nearby. A short time later, a police officer said the overpass was cleared, as the protesters had reached the other side, near Glenbrook Middle School.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreBy Allen Payton
According to County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters Joe Canciamilla, there are still about 180,000 ballots left to be counted in the county. As of the update Wednesday morning at 1:03 AM on the County Elections website, there were 305,123 ballots that were counted. That means about one-third of the ballots cast in Tuesday’s elections have yet to be counted.
“We have approximately 150,000 ballots in house and are expecting more as we pick up the boxes from the City Clerks, and from the mail-in ballots that can be received until Monday,” Canciamilla responded. “I would estimate that we will ultimately have around 180,000 in total.”
“We are having extra crews in today and tomorrow to process as much of the vote-by-mail that we can and hope to have two updates of the results, tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon,” he continued. “The balance of the ballots will not be completed until next week as we will have to process all of the regular ballots and update our records before we can finish with the provisionals.”
A provisional ballot is one that is turned in at the polls by a voter not voting in their assigned precinct. Those ballots get counted last.
For the latest elections information in the county, visit www.cocovote.us. For state and federal races visit the California Secretary of State’s website at http://vote.sos.ca.gov/.
Read More
Assemblyman-elect Tim Grayson
By Allen Payton
Former Concord Mayor and current City Councilman Tim Grayson beat Ambrose Recreation & Park District Director Mae Torlakson in a hard fought race for California’s 14th Assembly District, Tuesday night, by a margin of 62.1% to 37.9%.
Torlakson is the wife State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who served in the State Assembly in the past.
Grayson issued a statement about his victory, early Wednesday morning.
“I want to sincerely thank everyone who helped to make this a strong campaign. From the hundreds of volunteers who joined our strong door-to-door effort to the supporters in our community who have stood by me since day one, I am sincerely thankful for your efforts,” said Assemblymember-elect Grayson. “I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work in the Assembly. We have a lot of work to do to grow our economy, ensure taxpayer dollars are spent more efficiently and tackle growing education inequality in our communities.”
The Assembly’s 14th District covers parts of Contra Costa and Solano counties, including Benicia, Concord, Clayton, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Vallejo, Bay Point and parts of Pittsburg and Walnut Creek.
Read MoreBy Allen Payton
Long-time Antioch residents Malcolm and Rosanna Hunter vote in every election. Malcolm usually votes by mail. But, this year he decided to drop off his mail-in ballot at the polls. When they went to their usual polling place at Carmen Dragon Elementary School, their names weren’t on the list of registered voters.
Performing a search on the County Elections office website, using their home address, it shows their polling place is at Carmen Dragon Elementary, where Rosanna votes each election.
They had heard of problems like this occurring elsewhere throughout the country, or people’s votes being changed by the machine they’re using, or only seeing Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s and her running mate, Tim Kaine’s names on the ballot.
So, the Hunters called the County Elections office and Malcolm said the staff member, there, confirmed they were on the list of registered voters and for voting at that polling location.
However, Rosanna was given a provisional ballot to cast her votes. They thought that means her ballot won’t be counted unless an election is close.
When reached for comment, Melissa Hickok of the County Elections Division office said, “They (the Hunters) are on the master voter list. The voter rosters are for people who are supposed to vote at that polling place. Those are the precinct voters for that precinct. Permanent vote-by-mail voters are not on the precinct rosters.”
“I’m showing her polling place at Carmen Dragon Elementary,” she added. “That polling place might have had more than one precinct. She might have been at the wrong table.
After doing a brief bit of research, Hickok said, “Carmen Dragon does have two precincts.”
Asked if the poll workers are trained to know that and instruct voters about it, she responded, “A seasoned poll worker would. I’m not sure how seasoned our staff was, out there.”
“Her provisional ballot will still be counted,” Hickok said. “Provisionals are not counted on Election Day. What we do is we count Election Day votes and vote-by-mail votes which are tied to the voter ID.”
“Then we look at the provisional ballots, last and we compare the name to their information in our system,” she explained. “Then if there hasn’t another ballot voted for by that person already, we run their ballot and it gets counted.”
“If she wants to go back and check the master voting list her name will be there,” Hickok stated.
“If she chooses to go back, have her ask for the inspector. Don’t talk to any of the front lines, about seeing the master voting list,” Hickok instructed. “If she (Mrs. Hunter) votes in the correct precinct, then her provisional wouldn’t get counted, because she had already voted.”
The polls close at 8:00 p.m., tonight. Election results will be posted to the Elections website, www.cocovote.us, throughout the night and will be updated by 5:00 pm on Thursday November 10th and then every Friday until the election is certified.
The county has until December 6th to certify the Presidential Election and until December 8th to certify all other items on the ballot.
Local election results will also be available throughout Election Night on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) beginning at 9:00 pm on Comcast channel 27, Astound channel 32 and AT&T U-Verse channel 99.
Read MoreGlover says he thought it was a recommendation letter for a job
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: We have made it a practice, in the past, of not publishing articles regarding campaigns on Election Day. However, due to the seriousness of this issue and the timing of when this information came to light, which we learned of, last night, on this matter I am making an exception.
By Allen Payton
In a last minute attack in the campaign for Supervisor in District 5, the Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association (DSA), on Monday morning, sent out a press release expressing concern about Supervisor Federal Glover writing a letter asking for leniency for a family friend facing criminal trial. The DSA is backing Martinez Councilwoman Anamarie Avila Farias in her campaign to unseat Glover.
In his letter sent to the court on August 1st, 2016, Glover “used his status and office to lobby for leniency from the District Attorney and Judge for a family friend arrested after a violent crime spree,” the Deputy Sheriffs claim.
In the letter, written on Glover’s official Supervisor letterhead, (see below) he wrote “It is with a great deal of pleasure that I write this letter of support for (the defendant’s name was redacted).”
However, when reached for comment, Glover said he thought it was a recommendation letter for a job.
“This is not uncommon. This is done all the time,” he said.
“It was written over an individual that I’d known and his family,” Glover explained. “I thought it was for a job. It was a very generic letter that we do all the time. I was unaware that it had anything to do with a court case or an incident at a bar, that he was involved in. This was a letter that his father requested it.
“The letter has nothing to do with a court room,” he repeated.
Asked when the Deputy Sheriffs knew about the letter and why it came out the day before the election, DSA President Shawn Welch said, “A citizen came to us who had done a public records request, last month and he sent it to us. I received it last Thursday.”
“We were kind of going back and forth and we drafted a letter and we decided to send it out and we sent a press release, yesterday around 10:00 a.m,” he continued.
“It’s been on our Facebook page, which has gotten over 11,000 reach,” Welch shared. “The guy was arrested in the middle of July and Glover wrote the letter August 1st.”
“We had done all our opp (opposition) research (on Glover) for the IE (independent expenditure campaign) we’re running prior to that,” he added.
Welch provided a copy of Glover’s letter and documents about the charges against Glover’s friend, which can be viewed, here: glover-letter-court-documents
After receiving Glover’s explanation, Welch responded, “The letter was sent to the DA. If I send a letter of recommendation I send it to the person who requested it not the person it is about.”
“Sounds like an excuse,” he added.
The press release had more to say about Glover’s letter.
“In stark contrast to his jovial tone are the suspect’s violent criminal charges. The Supervisor is calling in favors for a suspect arrested after assaulting a man with a firearm, attempting to rob two women at gunpoint, and threatening to kill his victims,” the press release read.
“For Supervisor Glover to lobby for leniency for a dangerous repeat criminal jeopardizes the public and the efforts of hundreds of law enforcement officers throughout the County” said Welch. “The men and women of the Deputy Sheriffs Association have done an excellent job of protecting the people of the County, even during difficult times. Asking a political favor from the District Attorney to be lenient on dangerous criminals makes our job unnecessarily more difficult and dangerous”.
Welch added, “It would be a travesty of justice if Supervisor Glover’s request of leniency resulted in reduced charges for this dangerous criminal. Peace officers did their job in this case, putting a bad guy on trial. A political favor could snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory in the war on crime. Frankly, the mere attempt to use one’s position of political power to gain leniency for a violent criminal is inappropriate and epitomizes the disconnect between Glover and the safety of the public in this county”.
“Every politician who lobbies for special leniency for violent criminals in this county can fully expect to be held accountable by the Deputy Sheriffs Association and its constituents. The truth about political lobbying for leniency is that it puts the public at risk. It does not put the public’s safety first and creates a dangerous situation for Deputies”, said Welch.
The press release also stated the “DSA is asking for District Attorney Mark Peterson, the Deputy District Attorneys Association, and the Sheriff to address Glover’s letter, and to reassure the public that political interference from a County Supervisor has no place in criminal justice, and that Glover’s letter will not result in more favorable plea terms for the suspect in custody.
This is only one example why the Deputy Sheriffs Association has endorsed Anamarie Avila Farias for Supervisor to replace Glover. Anamarie Farias’ steadfast support of public safety is the primary reason she won the overwhelming endorsement of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Anamarie has also earned the endorsement of police in Pinole, Hercules, Martinez, Antioch, plus the County Firefighters Local 1230.”
Glover is seeking his fifth term on the Board of Supervisors, representing District 5.
Read MoreBy Allen Payton
An anonymous email on Tuesday morning, November 8th, with the signature line reading “Voiceless Employees of the Contra Costa Community College District,” took the Board of Governors to task for a “Lack of Transparency in Chancellor Selection Process,” as was written in the subject line of the email message. Board President Vicki Gordon disputes that and says the process was participatory and fair.
The email message read as follows:
“To Whom it May Concern,
We write to you today sharing the voices of many within the Contra Costa Community College District whom believe the existing Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees has, with malicious intent, manipulated the recent search process that led to the selection of Dr. Fred Wood for Chancellor of the district.
The Board selected its own Board President, Vicki Gordon, to serve as chair of the search committee. Board policy (BP 2057) outlines that the Board is to appoint a chair of the committee, not to appoint itself as the chair of the committee. This unprecedented move to have a Board member, no less the sitting Board President, serve as the chair of the initial screening interview process and then as Chair of the final interview process eliminated the opportunity for district employees, through their representation on the search committee, to have a true voice in the process.
Board President Vicki Gordon then violated the intent and practice of the Brown Act, calling a special meeting of the Board to announce its decision, without providing the normal 72 hour public notification. While it is understood that Special Meetings are allowed with only one day’s notice, the rush to announce a selection was unnecessary, as a regular Board meeting is scheduled to take place on November 9th. Both Vicki Gorgon and Greg Enholm are up for re-election on November 8th.
The Board interviewed the final candidates and did not consult with the screening interview committee regarding the committee’s feedback on the finalists. These committee members all serve as representative voices of the various governance and labor groups within the district. Instead, the Board relied entirely on Board President Vicki Gordon’s account, whom again placed herself at both levels of the interview process, as Chair of the committees.
IF the Board had held a transparent evaluation of the final candidates, it would have become clear that there remained significant concerns about the qualifications of Dr. Wood:
– Dr. Wood has never worked within the California Community College system, except for a brief graduate teaching assignment over 30 years ago. Dr. Wood has never served in any post-graduate administration or faculty role within any community college.
– Dr. Wood has never served as a President of any community college.
– Dr. Wood currently serves as Chancellor, which is a President level position in California, at a rural four year institution in Minnesota that serves 1,800 students, 900 of which are online students. In comparison the Contra Costa Community College District serves over 50,000 students and has more employees than the institution Dr. Wood currently serves.
– Dr. Wood was forced out of his position as Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at UC Davis after the infamous pepper spray incident in 2011/12 and proceeding fall out, yet no reference or any background checks on this situation were conducted.
The Contra Costa Community College District, despite the incompetence of its current Board of Trustees, continues to be one of the most successful and well respected community college districts within California. It is appalling that the Board would manipulate the Chancellor selection process to hire an individual that should have never even been in consideration as a finalist. Dr. Wood may be a qualified leader in the world of four year higher education, but his experience is not a match for the needs and complexity of the Contra Costa Community College District.
Sincerely,
Voiceless Employees of the Contra Costa Community College District”
A reply message to the email address of origin from @guerrilamail.com, asking for the identity of the senders, did not receive a response. That’s because Guerrilla Mail is a “Disposal Temporary Email Address” as it describes itself on the website. It offers the promotional message of, “Don’t want to give them your real email? Use a temporary email. No registration, lasts 60 mins. Protection from Spam.”
When reached for comment, Board President Vicki Gordon said, the college district has “participatory governance, which means everyone has the opportunity to participate, our students, our faculty and staff, the community and the process was really, really open.”
“The passage of AB1725 gives all constituent groups a role in the governance of higher education,” she explained. “I have been reaching out to all of the groups who are concerned and talking with them about the process. But reaching out has been taking longer than I thought.”
Asked if faculty and staff participated in the process, Gordon replied “They did.”
“We held public forums which were announced in local media,” she stated. “We had a search committee, following our policy, comprised of faculty and staff, and two college presidents, and community members. That got us to the three final candidates.”
“Each candidate participated in four forums. So we had 12 forums scheduled,” Gordon continued. “We also videotaped the forums at Contra Costa College and played those live and recorded them so people could go to the website and view them. And people did and made comments and we collected that input, as well.”
She said the Board did follow the state’s open meeting law, known as the Brown Act.
“As the Board President and Chair of the committee, I worked very hard to ensure inclusion, to ensure the process was true, ensure all voices were heard and that it was fair,” she stated. “I’m ecstatic with the results and happy with the Board. We had a difficult time making this decision. We talked about it extensively at the Board level. I’m very proud of our Board members for putting in the time and energy.”
“Dr. Fred Wood brings not only a new, fresh outside look, but a hometown view as well,” Gordon said of the new chancellor, who not only attended Diablo Valley College as a student, he graduated from College Park High School in Pleasant Hill. “He walked the path that many of our college students are following and working to accomplish. We look forward to having him on board, soon.”
Dr. Wood is expected to start his new position in January.
Read More
Martinez Police Officers, County Sheriff Deputies and ConFire personnel attend to three victims of a hit and run, at the intersection of Court and Main Streets in Martinez, Monday morning, November 7, 2016. Photo by Angrett Davies
Angrett Davies from Facebook.
By Allen Payton
In a post on Facebook, Monday evening, Antioch resident Angrett Davies shared how she narrowly escaped being hit by a woman who drove her car into her husband and two others, outside a family court house in Martinez, Monday morning. A short time later the woman jumped to her death from the Benicia Bridge.
“I praised the Lord for my life tonight,” Davies wrote. “This morning as I went to Martinez family court building, I started praying parts of Psalm 91 for no reason other than I felt the urge to pray. I kept speaking and praying these words as I drove.”
“When my appointment was over, 30 seconds after I crossed the street where the white van is located, the women (sic) waiting at that intersection to hurt her husband saw her husband in the intersection crossing and she hit the gas peddle to run him over,” Davies shared. “I was spared by 30 seconds. I was in the crosswalk she went through to hit him.”
“I cried and sang praises all the way home and cried more when I told my family,” she added. “I am so grateful to God and Jesus. Thank God those people were not killed.”
Davies, who was recently certified as a new chaplain in the county, then quoted verses 3-15 from the passage in the Bible in her Facebook post.
Emergency personnel treat the injuries of one of the hit and run victims. Photo by Angrett Davies
The woman apparently waited outside of the Family Court Center and drove her car into her estranged husband and two others, before later committing suicide by jumping off the Benicia Bridge.
According to a press release by Commander Eric Ghisletta of the Martinez Police Department, “at 10:33 a.m., Martinez Police Dispatch received a call of an injury accident at the intersection of Court St. and Main St. The reporting party advised the suspect had fled in a light blue vehicle.
Upon MPD arrival, several Contra Costa County Sheriff Deputies were already on scene rendering first aid to three injured subjects. In speaking with witnesses, it appears the suspect intentionally struck three pedestrians in the crosswalk and then fled the area. All three subjects were transported to local hospitals with moderate injuries.
It appears one of the victims left a family court hearing at the Family Law Center (751 Pine St.) just prior to the incident. He was accompanied by two friends and as they were crossing the street, the victim’s estranged wife accelerated her vehicle toward the three subjects in the crosswalk. The drive struck all three pedestrians then stopped the vehicle and reversed directions. She struck one of the victims a second time with her vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Approximately twenty minutes later, Benicia Police Department received a report of a female that appeared to have jumped from the Benicia Bridge. Martinez PD, Benicia PD, CHP and the United States Coast Guard responded to the area where they located a deceased female under the bridge. A vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle in the hit and run was located on the bridge in the area where the female had jumped.
Based on all indications, it appears the female who jumped from the bridge was also the driver of the vehicle who struck the pedestrians. Her name is being withheld until positive identification from the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office.
Investigation is ongoing.”
A call into Detective Miles Williamson who is investigating the case, received a response from Detective Craig Schnabel who said he had no updates, at this time. He has a call into the hospitals but has not heard back. He also stated that the woman’s name has not yet been released.
Please check back later for updates to this story.
Read MoreFirst numbers will be available shortly after 8:00 pm
You won’t have to wait long to get updated election results from Contra Costa County Elections Division on Tuesday night.
Results of vote-by-mail ballots for the Presidential General Election that have been returned through last Friday will be available shortly after the polls close at 8:00 pm on Election Night.
Meanwhile, with results being collected from precincts throughout the County, the first update can be expected at about 9:30 pm, with results updated about every 30 minutes until all precincts report.
The availability of updated reports will be communicated via Twitter and Facebook, using the hashtag #CoCoVote2016. Changes to the reporting schedule, if any, will also be communicated on these social media sites.
The Contra Costa Elections Division social media pages are:
https://www.Twitter.com/CoCoElections
https://www.facebook.com/EngageContraCosta/
https://www.facebook.com/ContraCostaElections/
Election results will be posted to the Elections website, www.cocovote.us, throughout the night and will be updated by 5:00 pm on Thursday November 10th and then every Friday until the election is certified.
The county has until December 6th to certify the Presidential Election and until December 8th to certify all other items on the ballot.
Local election results will also be available throughout Election Night on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) beginning at 9:00 pm on Comcast channel 27, Astound channel 32 and AT&T U-Verse channel 99.
Read MoreContra Costa voters will have one more quick and easy way to return their vote-by-mail ballots on Election Day.
The Contra Costa Elections Division is hosting a drive-thru ballot drop off site outside of its office, located at 555 Escobar Street in Martinez. The drive-thru will be located along northbound Alhambra Avenue, just north of Escobar.
The drive-thru will be open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Monday, and 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on Tuesday.
The goal of the drive-thru is that drivers won’t have to get out of their car or find a parking spot.
Early Voting will continue to available in the Contra Costa Elections Office on Monday and Tuesday; 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Monday and 7:00 am to 8:00 pm Tuesday.
Additionally, vote-by-mail voters can continue to drop off their ballots at “CoCo Vote-N-Go” drop-off boxes at all 19 city hall buildings, select branches of the Contra Costa Library and the County Administration building on 651 Pine Street, Martinez.
For more information, visit www.cocovote.us.
Read MoreDear Editor:
With Election Day almost here, I’d like to take a moment to say thank you. This campaign has reaffirmed for me how proud I am to live in this community, and it’s the people that make our community so great.
I am very proud of the campaign we ran. My campaign stayed positive throughout the campaign, even when I was being attacked and my record was being distorted. This was a commitment I made to the community when I started the campaign, and I’m proud to have seen it through.
Over the last few months, as well as last spring during the primary election, I have walked door to door across most of the district. I walked so much I actually wore through two pairs of shoes. And by knocking on so many doors and meeting so many in the community I hope you saw firsthand the energy I bring to the job and how involved I would be in the actual community.
It was a pleasure meeting and talking with so many of you, and I learned a lot about the different communities within our community, as well as the daily struggles, the frustrations with policy, and the desire for actual change. Most of all I saw that the learning process is never over, and that there is always a need to be out in the community working directly with the people we serve. This job can’t be done, stuck behind a desk.
And now that the campaign is coming to a close, I’d like to make one last ask for your vote. Representing you at the County would be a privilege, and a partnership that can get results for our community. Thank you.
Steve Barr, Candidate for County Supervisor
Brentwood
Read More
Principal marched with them, Pittsburg Superintendent downplays, Antioch Police Chief wants answers
By Lieutenant Tony Morefield #3320, Antioch Police Watch Commander Patrol Division and Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando
On Thursday, November 10, 2016, at approximately 10:04 AM, the Antioch Police Department received word from the Pittsburg Police Department of a large (Anti-Trump) protest of approximately 200 to 400 Pittsburg High School Students along with their Principal headed into the City of Antioch. These protestors headed through Century Plaza in Pittsburg and into Antioch on Auto Center Way and Sycamore Drive, causing significant hazard and traffic delays in the area.
They then made their way to the Antioch High School campus in an apparent effort to involve students there. Antioch High was placed on lockdown, but this did not stop the protestors from damaging school property (knocking down fences and kicking over trash cans) before leaving that campus and heading toward Antioch Middle School. Antioch Middle was also placed on lockdown as was Live Oak High School and nearby Fremont Elementary School due to the protest, though the protestors never made it that far.
These Pittsburg High protestors continued to cause havoc on Antioch campuses and in the surrounding neighborhoods for over two hours and 15 Antioch Police Officers were tied up dealing with this protest causing a significant strain on resources. Evening shifts to be called in early. This resulted in numerous priority calls for service in the city having to wait for officers to respond.
Three male juveniles, ages 13, 15 and 17, all Pittsburg residents, were arrested during the protest: one for throwing a dangerous object at a police car, trespassing on school grounds and being a disruptive presence at school, one for inciting a fight with an area resident, trespassing on school grounds and resisting a police officer, and one for assaulting a police officer.
There is no estimate on any damage caused to Antioch High or Antioch Middle School at this time. It appears that very few Antioch students were involved in this incident. Most of the Pittsburg High Students eventually walked back to Century Plaza in Pittsburg and a few were rounded up onto school buses and taken back to their campus.
Chief Cantando Responds, Shares Pittsburg Superintendent’s Message
“In a post on the Antioch Police Department’s Facebook page at about 3:30 p.m., Chief Allan Cantando wrote the following:
“Many of you have inundated our department with inquiry regarding the incident on Century Blvd., Sycamore Dr., and in front of Antioch High School regarding student protestors in our city. Your observations were correct. Today, at approximately 10:00 AM students from Pittsburg High School and Black Diamond High School (in Pittsburg) marched to the City of Antioch and blocked traffic, knocked over garbage cans, assaulted one of our police officers, and trespassed at Antioch High School trying to incite Antioch High School students who were in class. As a result, three Pittsburg students were arrested.
The actions of these students caused the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) to respond by locking down Antioch High School, Antioch Middle School, Live Oak High School, and Fremont Elementary School. During this incident, these students were accompanied by Pittsburg High School Principal, Todd Whitmire. We are still confirming, but there is some indication that this incident began as a rally at Pittsburg High School.
This incident tied up 15 Antioch Police Officers for approximately 2 hours.
During this incident I was in direct contact with AUSD Superintendent, Stephanie Anello, who immediately took a leadership role in assisting our department. During my conversation with Anello, I requested she contact Pittsburg Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Schulze to send an automated message to the Pittsburg students’ parents indicating that their children were off campus, out of the city of Pittsburg, and involved in a protest in Antioch. Approximately two hours later, the following statement was issued by Pittsburg Unified School District Superintendent, Janet Schulze:
‘This Presidential election has been especially emotional. In dealing with differences and moving forward, we have to respect feelings and work in community. Today some of our high school students, like many across the Bay Area and country, organized, via social media, a peaceful protest and walk-out to protest the Presidential election.
The District always prefers to have all students in class, however, we do understand some students are passionate about the recent election.
Our staff and Pittsburg Police Department followed procedures to insure their safety, which is always a top priority. Some of the students returned to the high school and a group of approximately 200 students headed towards Antioch High School. The District informed Antioch High School and sent busses to pick up students outside Antioch High School.
Unfortunately, a small number of the students were unresponsive to directives to return to school and get on the bus. Another group of students decided to walk back to the high school. Those situations will be managed on an individual basis and students will receive appropriate consequences for their behaviors.
At this time, students have returned to school. We appreciate the professionalism and cooperation of the Antioch High School staff and the Antioch Police Department in working with us and the Pittsburg Police Department to insure all students remain safe.’
Although I appreciate the comments made by PUSD Superintendent Schulze, the statement is extremely brief and does not adequately portray the incident. This incident raises serious concerns as it impacted the police services to our Antioch citizens as well as to the Pittsburg Citizens. Because of the impact to the City of Antioch, I will be attending the next PUSD board meeting to ask several questions including:
- Was there a school or district sanctioned Anti-Trump rally?
- Did school or district staff encourage the protest?
- Was school staff aware the students planned on leaving the campus?
- Were parents aware that their students would be participating in the rally?
- When students left the campus, were they supervised? If so, by whom?
- What is the district policy regarding student to staff supervision ratios during off-campus activities?
- When the students left the campus, when and how were parents informed?
- If the students were supervised, will the district take disciplinary action against the students who committed criminal acts?
- What was the schools plan or policy to deal with a child who may be injured during an off campus protest should it occur?
Lastly, I am extremely proud of our officers, AUSD staff, AUSD students, Pittsburg Police Department, and the citizens who patiently waited for us to respond to their calls for service.”
Antioch School District Message to Parents
Anello shared the message sent out to parents, Thursday afternoon, through the auto-dialer from Associate Superintendent for Educational Services, Dr. Adam Clark regarding the incident yesterday.
Good afternoon,
This morning a large number of students from Pittsburg High School walked out of school to protest. These students traveled on foot to Antioch High School and attempted to convince other students to join their protest. Police from Antioch and Pittsburg were there to ensure that all students remained safe. As a precautionary measure, Antioch High, Antioch Middle, Fremont, and Live Oak all locked down for approximately one half hour. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have further questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Adam
Antioch High Principal’s Message
In an email message to school district staff, Antioch High School Principal Louie Rocha thanked his school’s staff and students for how they responded to the situation and reported that some Pittsburg High students made it onto the Antioch campus.
I want to commend our school staff for their collective effort in securing our campus during the School Lockdown. Thanks to the team work of our site safety security, front office staff, teachers, school administrators and students we were able to prevent our students from being in harm’s way of a large number of Pittsburg High School students who walked out of school this morning and attempted to enter our campus.
There was a small group of Pittsburg students who were able to gain access via the Don Richardson Gym entrance. The non-students ran through the PE area and exited out of campus on to 18th Street. The Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments arrived on site to prevent the non-students from disrupting our school day. We had a small number of AHS students who exited the main entrance gate to join the unruly crowd. However once I informed them that I was going to lock down the school preventing them from re-entering they decided to return to campus without incident. The Pittsburg High School students continued down 18th and G Streets.
The lockdown continued because the non-students returned back to 18th Street in front of our main entrance and were escorted by the Antioch and Police Departments back to L Street in the direction of the city of Pittsburg. At that point, classes were released to their regular school schedule to their 5th period classes or first lunch.
I am proud of the team work demonstrated today and our students conduct when faced with unruly students from another high school. I am looking forward to the Veteran’s Day Holiday, and wish all of you an enjoyable weekend with your family and friends.
Louie Rocha
Principal of Antioch High School
Simultaneous Protest in Concord
At approximately 9:00 a.m. a witness reported a seeing a group of protesters walking on the Olivera Road overpass, above Route 242 in Concord, blocking traffic. They appeared to be of high school age, and possible students from Mt. Diablo High School, nearby. A short time later, a police officer said the overpass was cleared, as the protesters had reached the other side, near Glenbrook Middle School.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreBy Allen Payton
According to County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters Joe Canciamilla, there are still about 180,000 ballots left to be counted in the county. As of the update Wednesday morning at 1:03 AM on the County Elections website, there were 305,123 ballots that were counted. That means about one-third of the ballots cast in Tuesday’s elections have yet to be counted.
“We have approximately 150,000 ballots in house and are expecting more as we pick up the boxes from the City Clerks, and from the mail-in ballots that can be received until Monday,” Canciamilla responded. “I would estimate that we will ultimately have around 180,000 in total.”
“We are having extra crews in today and tomorrow to process as much of the vote-by-mail that we can and hope to have two updates of the results, tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon,” he continued. “The balance of the ballots will not be completed until next week as we will have to process all of the regular ballots and update our records before we can finish with the provisionals.”
A provisional ballot is one that is turned in at the polls by a voter not voting in their assigned precinct. Those ballots get counted last.
For the latest elections information in the county, visit www.cocovote.us. For state and federal races visit the California Secretary of State’s website at http://vote.sos.ca.gov/.
Read MoreAssemblyman-elect Tim Grayson
By Allen Payton
Former Concord Mayor and current City Councilman Tim Grayson beat Ambrose Recreation & Park District Director Mae Torlakson in a hard fought race for California’s 14th Assembly District, Tuesday night, by a margin of 62.1% to 37.9%.
Torlakson is the wife State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who served in the State Assembly in the past.
Grayson issued a statement about his victory, early Wednesday morning.
“I want to sincerely thank everyone who helped to make this a strong campaign. From the hundreds of volunteers who joined our strong door-to-door effort to the supporters in our community who have stood by me since day one, I am sincerely thankful for your efforts,” said Assemblymember-elect Grayson. “I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work in the Assembly. We have a lot of work to do to grow our economy, ensure taxpayer dollars are spent more efficiently and tackle growing education inequality in our communities.”
The Assembly’s 14th District covers parts of Contra Costa and Solano counties, including Benicia, Concord, Clayton, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Vallejo, Bay Point and parts of Pittsburg and Walnut Creek.
Read MoreBy Allen Payton
Long-time Antioch residents Malcolm and Rosanna Hunter vote in every election. Malcolm usually votes by mail. But, this year he decided to drop off his mail-in ballot at the polls. When they went to their usual polling place at Carmen Dragon Elementary School, their names weren’t on the list of registered voters.
Performing a search on the County Elections office website, using their home address, it shows their polling place is at Carmen Dragon Elementary, where Rosanna votes each election.
They had heard of problems like this occurring elsewhere throughout the country, or people’s votes being changed by the machine they’re using, or only seeing Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s and her running mate, Tim Kaine’s names on the ballot.
So, the Hunters called the County Elections office and Malcolm said the staff member, there, confirmed they were on the list of registered voters and for voting at that polling location.
However, Rosanna was given a provisional ballot to cast her votes. They thought that means her ballot won’t be counted unless an election is close.
When reached for comment, Melissa Hickok of the County Elections Division office said, “They (the Hunters) are on the master voter list. The voter rosters are for people who are supposed to vote at that polling place. Those are the precinct voters for that precinct. Permanent vote-by-mail voters are not on the precinct rosters.”
“I’m showing her polling place at Carmen Dragon Elementary,” she added. “That polling place might have had more than one precinct. She might have been at the wrong table.
After doing a brief bit of research, Hickok said, “Carmen Dragon does have two precincts.”
Asked if the poll workers are trained to know that and instruct voters about it, she responded, “A seasoned poll worker would. I’m not sure how seasoned our staff was, out there.”
“Her provisional ballot will still be counted,” Hickok said. “Provisionals are not counted on Election Day. What we do is we count Election Day votes and vote-by-mail votes which are tied to the voter ID.”
“Then we look at the provisional ballots, last and we compare the name to their information in our system,” she explained. “Then if there hasn’t another ballot voted for by that person already, we run their ballot and it gets counted.”
“If she wants to go back and check the master voting list her name will be there,” Hickok stated.
“If she chooses to go back, have her ask for the inspector. Don’t talk to any of the front lines, about seeing the master voting list,” Hickok instructed. “If she (Mrs. Hunter) votes in the correct precinct, then her provisional wouldn’t get counted, because she had already voted.”
The polls close at 8:00 p.m., tonight. Election results will be posted to the Elections website, www.cocovote.us, throughout the night and will be updated by 5:00 pm on Thursday November 10th and then every Friday until the election is certified.
The county has until December 6th to certify the Presidential Election and until December 8th to certify all other items on the ballot.
Local election results will also be available throughout Election Night on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) beginning at 9:00 pm on Comcast channel 27, Astound channel 32 and AT&T U-Verse channel 99.
Read MoreGlover says he thought it was a recommendation letter for a job
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: We have made it a practice, in the past, of not publishing articles regarding campaigns on Election Day. However, due to the seriousness of this issue and the timing of when this information came to light, which we learned of, last night, on this matter I am making an exception.
By Allen Payton
In a last minute attack in the campaign for Supervisor in District 5, the Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association (DSA), on Monday morning, sent out a press release expressing concern about Supervisor Federal Glover writing a letter asking for leniency for a family friend facing criminal trial. The DSA is backing Martinez Councilwoman Anamarie Avila Farias in her campaign to unseat Glover.
In his letter sent to the court on August 1st, 2016, Glover “used his status and office to lobby for leniency from the District Attorney and Judge for a family friend arrested after a violent crime spree,” the Deputy Sheriffs claim.
In the letter, written on Glover’s official Supervisor letterhead, (see below) he wrote “It is with a great deal of pleasure that I write this letter of support for (the defendant’s name was redacted).”
However, when reached for comment, Glover said he thought it was a recommendation letter for a job.
“This is not uncommon. This is done all the time,” he said.
“It was written over an individual that I’d known and his family,” Glover explained. “I thought it was for a job. It was a very generic letter that we do all the time. I was unaware that it had anything to do with a court case or an incident at a bar, that he was involved in. This was a letter that his father requested it.
“The letter has nothing to do with a court room,” he repeated.
Asked when the Deputy Sheriffs knew about the letter and why it came out the day before the election, DSA President Shawn Welch said, “A citizen came to us who had done a public records request, last month and he sent it to us. I received it last Thursday.”
“We were kind of going back and forth and we drafted a letter and we decided to send it out and we sent a press release, yesterday around 10:00 a.m,” he continued.
“It’s been on our Facebook page, which has gotten over 11,000 reach,” Welch shared. “The guy was arrested in the middle of July and Glover wrote the letter August 1st.”
“We had done all our opp (opposition) research (on Glover) for the IE (independent expenditure campaign) we’re running prior to that,” he added.
Welch provided a copy of Glover’s letter and documents about the charges against Glover’s friend, which can be viewed, here: glover-letter-court-documents
After receiving Glover’s explanation, Welch responded, “The letter was sent to the DA. If I send a letter of recommendation I send it to the person who requested it not the person it is about.”
“Sounds like an excuse,” he added.
The press release had more to say about Glover’s letter.
“In stark contrast to his jovial tone are the suspect’s violent criminal charges. The Supervisor is calling in favors for a suspect arrested after assaulting a man with a firearm, attempting to rob two women at gunpoint, and threatening to kill his victims,” the press release read.
“For Supervisor Glover to lobby for leniency for a dangerous repeat criminal jeopardizes the public and the efforts of hundreds of law enforcement officers throughout the County” said Welch. “The men and women of the Deputy Sheriffs Association have done an excellent job of protecting the people of the County, even during difficult times. Asking a political favor from the District Attorney to be lenient on dangerous criminals makes our job unnecessarily more difficult and dangerous”.
Welch added, “It would be a travesty of justice if Supervisor Glover’s request of leniency resulted in reduced charges for this dangerous criminal. Peace officers did their job in this case, putting a bad guy on trial. A political favor could snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory in the war on crime. Frankly, the mere attempt to use one’s position of political power to gain leniency for a violent criminal is inappropriate and epitomizes the disconnect between Glover and the safety of the public in this county”.
“Every politician who lobbies for special leniency for violent criminals in this county can fully expect to be held accountable by the Deputy Sheriffs Association and its constituents. The truth about political lobbying for leniency is that it puts the public at risk. It does not put the public’s safety first and creates a dangerous situation for Deputies”, said Welch.
The press release also stated the “DSA is asking for District Attorney Mark Peterson, the Deputy District Attorneys Association, and the Sheriff to address Glover’s letter, and to reassure the public that political interference from a County Supervisor has no place in criminal justice, and that Glover’s letter will not result in more favorable plea terms for the suspect in custody.
This is only one example why the Deputy Sheriffs Association has endorsed Anamarie Avila Farias for Supervisor to replace Glover. Anamarie Farias’ steadfast support of public safety is the primary reason she won the overwhelming endorsement of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Anamarie has also earned the endorsement of police in Pinole, Hercules, Martinez, Antioch, plus the County Firefighters Local 1230.”
Glover is seeking his fifth term on the Board of Supervisors, representing District 5.
Read MoreBy Allen Payton
An anonymous email on Tuesday morning, November 8th, with the signature line reading “Voiceless Employees of the Contra Costa Community College District,” took the Board of Governors to task for a “Lack of Transparency in Chancellor Selection Process,” as was written in the subject line of the email message. Board President Vicki Gordon disputes that and says the process was participatory and fair.
The email message read as follows:
“To Whom it May Concern,
We write to you today sharing the voices of many within the Contra Costa Community College District whom believe the existing Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees has, with malicious intent, manipulated the recent search process that led to the selection of Dr. Fred Wood for Chancellor of the district.
The Board selected its own Board President, Vicki Gordon, to serve as chair of the search committee. Board policy (BP 2057) outlines that the Board is to appoint a chair of the committee, not to appoint itself as the chair of the committee. This unprecedented move to have a Board member, no less the sitting Board President, serve as the chair of the initial screening interview process and then as Chair of the final interview process eliminated the opportunity for district employees, through their representation on the search committee, to have a true voice in the process.
Board President Vicki Gordon then violated the intent and practice of the Brown Act, calling a special meeting of the Board to announce its decision, without providing the normal 72 hour public notification. While it is understood that Special Meetings are allowed with only one day’s notice, the rush to announce a selection was unnecessary, as a regular Board meeting is scheduled to take place on November 9th. Both Vicki Gorgon and Greg Enholm are up for re-election on November 8th.
The Board interviewed the final candidates and did not consult with the screening interview committee regarding the committee’s feedback on the finalists. These committee members all serve as representative voices of the various governance and labor groups within the district. Instead, the Board relied entirely on Board President Vicki Gordon’s account, whom again placed herself at both levels of the interview process, as Chair of the committees.
IF the Board had held a transparent evaluation of the final candidates, it would have become clear that there remained significant concerns about the qualifications of Dr. Wood:
– Dr. Wood has never worked within the California Community College system, except for a brief graduate teaching assignment over 30 years ago. Dr. Wood has never served in any post-graduate administration or faculty role within any community college.
– Dr. Wood has never served as a President of any community college.
– Dr. Wood currently serves as Chancellor, which is a President level position in California, at a rural four year institution in Minnesota that serves 1,800 students, 900 of which are online students. In comparison the Contra Costa Community College District serves over 50,000 students and has more employees than the institution Dr. Wood currently serves.
– Dr. Wood was forced out of his position as Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at UC Davis after the infamous pepper spray incident in 2011/12 and proceeding fall out, yet no reference or any background checks on this situation were conducted.
The Contra Costa Community College District, despite the incompetence of its current Board of Trustees, continues to be one of the most successful and well respected community college districts within California. It is appalling that the Board would manipulate the Chancellor selection process to hire an individual that should have never even been in consideration as a finalist. Dr. Wood may be a qualified leader in the world of four year higher education, but his experience is not a match for the needs and complexity of the Contra Costa Community College District.
Sincerely,
Voiceless Employees of the Contra Costa Community College District”
A reply message to the email address of origin from @guerrilamail.com, asking for the identity of the senders, did not receive a response. That’s because Guerrilla Mail is a “Disposal Temporary Email Address” as it describes itself on the website. It offers the promotional message of, “Don’t want to give them your real email? Use a temporary email. No registration, lasts 60 mins. Protection from Spam.”
When reached for comment, Board President Vicki Gordon said, the college district has “participatory governance, which means everyone has the opportunity to participate, our students, our faculty and staff, the community and the process was really, really open.”
“The passage of AB1725 gives all constituent groups a role in the governance of higher education,” she explained. “I have been reaching out to all of the groups who are concerned and talking with them about the process. But reaching out has been taking longer than I thought.”
Asked if faculty and staff participated in the process, Gordon replied “They did.”
“We held public forums which were announced in local media,” she stated. “We had a search committee, following our policy, comprised of faculty and staff, and two college presidents, and community members. That got us to the three final candidates.”
“Each candidate participated in four forums. So we had 12 forums scheduled,” Gordon continued. “We also videotaped the forums at Contra Costa College and played those live and recorded them so people could go to the website and view them. And people did and made comments and we collected that input, as well.”
She said the Board did follow the state’s open meeting law, known as the Brown Act.
“As the Board President and Chair of the committee, I worked very hard to ensure inclusion, to ensure the process was true, ensure all voices were heard and that it was fair,” she stated. “I’m ecstatic with the results and happy with the Board. We had a difficult time making this decision. We talked about it extensively at the Board level. I’m very proud of our Board members for putting in the time and energy.”
“Dr. Fred Wood brings not only a new, fresh outside look, but a hometown view as well,” Gordon said of the new chancellor, who not only attended Diablo Valley College as a student, he graduated from College Park High School in Pleasant Hill. “He walked the path that many of our college students are following and working to accomplish. We look forward to having him on board, soon.”
Dr. Wood is expected to start his new position in January.
Read MoreMartinez Police Officers, County Sheriff Deputies and ConFire personnel attend to three victims of a hit and run, at the intersection of Court and Main Streets in Martinez, Monday morning, November 7, 2016. Photo by Angrett Davies
Angrett Davies from Facebook.
By Allen Payton
In a post on Facebook, Monday evening, Antioch resident Angrett Davies shared how she narrowly escaped being hit by a woman who drove her car into her husband and two others, outside a family court house in Martinez, Monday morning. A short time later the woman jumped to her death from the Benicia Bridge.
“I praised the Lord for my life tonight,” Davies wrote. “This morning as I went to Martinez family court building, I started praying parts of Psalm 91 for no reason other than I felt the urge to pray. I kept speaking and praying these words as I drove.”
“When my appointment was over, 30 seconds after I crossed the street where the white van is located, the women (sic) waiting at that intersection to hurt her husband saw her husband in the intersection crossing and she hit the gas peddle to run him over,” Davies shared. “I was spared by 30 seconds. I was in the crosswalk she went through to hit him.”
“I cried and sang praises all the way home and cried more when I told my family,” she added. “I am so grateful to God and Jesus. Thank God those people were not killed.”
Davies, who was recently certified as a new chaplain in the county, then quoted verses 3-15 from the passage in the Bible in her Facebook post.
Emergency personnel treat the injuries of one of the hit and run victims. Photo by Angrett Davies
The woman apparently waited outside of the Family Court Center and drove her car into her estranged husband and two others, before later committing suicide by jumping off the Benicia Bridge.
According to a press release by Commander Eric Ghisletta of the Martinez Police Department, “at 10:33 a.m., Martinez Police Dispatch received a call of an injury accident at the intersection of Court St. and Main St. The reporting party advised the suspect had fled in a light blue vehicle.
Upon MPD arrival, several Contra Costa County Sheriff Deputies were already on scene rendering first aid to three injured subjects. In speaking with witnesses, it appears the suspect intentionally struck three pedestrians in the crosswalk and then fled the area. All three subjects were transported to local hospitals with moderate injuries.
It appears one of the victims left a family court hearing at the Family Law Center (751 Pine St.) just prior to the incident. He was accompanied by two friends and as they were crossing the street, the victim’s estranged wife accelerated her vehicle toward the three subjects in the crosswalk. The drive struck all three pedestrians then stopped the vehicle and reversed directions. She struck one of the victims a second time with her vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Approximately twenty minutes later, Benicia Police Department received a report of a female that appeared to have jumped from the Benicia Bridge. Martinez PD, Benicia PD, CHP and the United States Coast Guard responded to the area where they located a deceased female under the bridge. A vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle in the hit and run was located on the bridge in the area where the female had jumped.
Based on all indications, it appears the female who jumped from the bridge was also the driver of the vehicle who struck the pedestrians. Her name is being withheld until positive identification from the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office.
Investigation is ongoing.”
A call into Detective Miles Williamson who is investigating the case, received a response from Detective Craig Schnabel who said he had no updates, at this time. He has a call into the hospitals but has not heard back. He also stated that the woman’s name has not yet been released.
Please check back later for updates to this story.
Read MoreFirst numbers will be available shortly after 8:00 pm
You won’t have to wait long to get updated election results from Contra Costa County Elections Division on Tuesday night.
Results of vote-by-mail ballots for the Presidential General Election that have been returned through last Friday will be available shortly after the polls close at 8:00 pm on Election Night.
Meanwhile, with results being collected from precincts throughout the County, the first update can be expected at about 9:30 pm, with results updated about every 30 minutes until all precincts report.
The availability of updated reports will be communicated via Twitter and Facebook, using the hashtag #CoCoVote2016. Changes to the reporting schedule, if any, will also be communicated on these social media sites.
The Contra Costa Elections Division social media pages are:
https://www.Twitter.com/CoCoElections
https://www.facebook.com/EngageContraCosta/
https://www.facebook.com/ContraCostaElections/
Election results will be posted to the Elections website, www.cocovote.us, throughout the night and will be updated by 5:00 pm on Thursday November 10th and then every Friday until the election is certified.
The county has until December 6th to certify the Presidential Election and until December 8th to certify all other items on the ballot.
Local election results will also be available throughout Election Night on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) beginning at 9:00 pm on Comcast channel 27, Astound channel 32 and AT&T U-Verse channel 99.
Read MoreContra Costa voters will have one more quick and easy way to return their vote-by-mail ballots on Election Day.
The Contra Costa Elections Division is hosting a drive-thru ballot drop off site outside of its office, located at 555 Escobar Street in Martinez. The drive-thru will be located along northbound Alhambra Avenue, just north of Escobar.
The drive-thru will be open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Monday, and 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on Tuesday.
The goal of the drive-thru is that drivers won’t have to get out of their car or find a parking spot.
Early Voting will continue to available in the Contra Costa Elections Office on Monday and Tuesday; 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on Monday and 7:00 am to 8:00 pm Tuesday.
Additionally, vote-by-mail voters can continue to drop off their ballots at “CoCo Vote-N-Go” drop-off boxes at all 19 city hall buildings, select branches of the Contra Costa Library and the County Administration building on 651 Pine Street, Martinez.
For more information, visit www.cocovote.us.
Read MoreDear Editor:
With Election Day almost here, I’d like to take a moment to say thank you. This campaign has reaffirmed for me how proud I am to live in this community, and it’s the people that make our community so great.
I am very proud of the campaign we ran. My campaign stayed positive throughout the campaign, even when I was being attacked and my record was being distorted. This was a commitment I made to the community when I started the campaign, and I’m proud to have seen it through.
Over the last few months, as well as last spring during the primary election, I have walked door to door across most of the district. I walked so much I actually wore through two pairs of shoes. And by knocking on so many doors and meeting so many in the community I hope you saw firsthand the energy I bring to the job and how involved I would be in the actual community.
It was a pleasure meeting and talking with so many of you, and I learned a lot about the different communities within our community, as well as the daily struggles, the frustrations with policy, and the desire for actual change. Most of all I saw that the learning process is never over, and that there is always a need to be out in the community working directly with the people we serve. This job can’t be done, stuck behind a desk.
And now that the campaign is coming to a close, I’d like to make one last ask for your vote. Representing you at the County would be a privilege, and a partnership that can get results for our community. Thank you.
Steve Barr, Candidate for County Supervisor
Brentwood
Read More