
The new Highway 4/Highway 160 ramps, which recently opened in East County, are the latest completed projects of the CCTA. photo courtesy of CCTA
By Allen Payton
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) will discuss and vote on the Draft Measure J 2016 Strategic Plan at its meeting on Wednesday, March 16 at 6:00 p.m. in the authority board room, located at 2999 Oak Road, Suite 100 in Walnut Creek.
Measure J is the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation, which was passed by voters in 2004. The Plan was last updated in 2013 and this update will last through 2021. Almost half of all money generated by the half-cent sales tax will be spent on projects in East County.
Following are the highlights of the update to the Plan, according to the staff report:
- The Plan makes firm commitments of Measure J funding for specific projects through June 30, 2021. It also reflects actual revenues and expenditures through June 30, 2015.
- Sales tax revenues are now estimated to total $2.72 billion over the life of Measure J. This is approximately $10 million more than the estimated amount in the last Strategic Plan.
- Approximately $725 million is now estimated to be available for Capital Projects through June 30, 2021, or about 85 percent of total Measure J funds programmed for projects in the Plan.
- Due to the slight increase in revenues and lower than anticipated financing costs, the Plan loosens the overall “Expenditure Cap” on Project Categories from 76.2 percent to 76.6 percent.
- The Plan reprograms $9 million from the East County Corridor Reserve (Project 5011) to State Route (SR4)/Balfour Road Interchange (Project 5005), $1.224 million from Marsh Creek Road Upgrade (Project 24001) to Clayton Streets Improvement (New Project 24032), $3.8 million from Alhambra Creek Bridge (Project 24029) to Pacheco Blvd Widening (Projects 23003 & 24003), $437,000 from Camino Pablo Pavement Rehabilitation (Project 24017) to Ivy Drive Pavement Rehabilitation (New Project 24018), and $4.9 million from I-680 Corridor Reserve (Project 8006) to I-680 Carpool Lane Completion (Project 8001). In addition, funding is advanced for several projects throughout the county including Richmond Parkway Maintenance (Project 9002), I-80/Central (Project 7003), BART Station, Access, and Parking Improvements (Project 10002-03), SR4 Operational Improvements (Project 6006), and I-680/SR4 Interchange, Phase 3 (Project 6001).
- In programming additional capacity through the end of Measure J (FY 2034), the Plan adheres to each sub-region’s proportional share of Capital Project Categories in Measure J Expenditure Plan, as follows: Central County (TRANSPAC): 29.8 percent; East County (TRANSPLAN): 48.8 percent; West County (WCCTAC): 8.5 percent and Southwest County (SWAT): 12.8 percent.
- Consistent with the Authority’s strategy to use debt financing to expedite high priority projects, the Plan assumes one additional bond issuance: $95 million in 2018. The Authority will revisit the size and timing of the 2018 bond in future Strategic Plans based on an updated analysis of the Authority’s financial capacity.
- At the request of TRANSPLAN, any Measure J savings realized after the completion of SR4 East widening and eBART will be first redirected to reduce ECCRFFA [Eastern Contra Costa Regional Fee & Financing Authority] commitment on SR4/Balfour Road interchange, which has experienced cost increases and required additional ECCRFFA funding.”
In addition, following the Authority’s Administration & Projects Committee (APC) “meeting on March 3, 2016, BART requested the reprogramming of $250,000 from Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Supporting Improvements at Central County BART Stations (Project 10001-02) to the Shared Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Program (New Project 10001-06).”
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority Board meeting agenda packet for March 16, 2016 is now available by clicking here.
The Draft Measure J 2016 Strategic Plan can be located under Attachment A on the agenda page under APC Item # 2.A.4. (NOTE: This is a large file and may take several minutes to download).
Measure J is the continuation of the half-percent countywide sales tax for transportation, first adopted as Measure C in 1989. The new measure was passed by Contra Costa voters in November 2004. The Measure started on April 1, 2009 and will be in effect through March 31, 2034. The Measure J Strategic Plan guides the timing of Measure J expenditures based on assumptions about future sales tax revenues, debt service costs on proposed bonds, and project schedules. The underlying assumptions in the financial plan and the resultant cash flow estimates are critical to ensuring that the Authority will have the financial resources to deliver its project and program commitments.
Members of the public are welcome to speak on any agenda item during the meeting. Those who can’t attend the meeting, it is scheduled to be audio cast live on the CCTA website on March 16, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. To listen to the audio cast or download the meeting materials, visit the Public Meetings page of their website.
For more information visit www.ccta.org.
Read MoreBy Rev. Austin Miles
The California legislature recently passed the right-to-die law, and Governor Brown signed it into law. It becomes effective on June 9th. This bill allows physicians to supply the pills that will end a life that has become intolerable.
This bill was spurred on by 29 year old Brittany Maynard who suffered painful brain cancer, pleaded to have her life ended to put her out of her misery.
Since California had no such law, she and her husband took up residence in Oregon where euthanasia is legal. Her husband returned to push the Right to die legislation in Sacramento.
While it is understandable that when a life is destined to end, and consists of excruciating pain that cannot be soothed, the individual should be able to make the choice for death with dignity. However, there must be strict guidelines throughout this process.
For example in several countries that have adopted this law, involuntary euthanasia rose, where one is arbitrarily put to death, as laws became more permissive. This has created a mechanism where someone who has become too expensive to government health care assistance, or is simply in the way, a Pandora’s box is flung open. I remember a video showing a man about to be euthanized screaming, “No I don’t want to die.” Didn’t matter, he was in the way. This is deplorable.
In the Netherlands, 1,040 people have died without their consent. Before legalization, doctors would euthanize patients and then falsely sign the death certificates as “natural causes.”This gives meaning to the Death Panels that Sarah Palin worried about. Actually we already have active death panels with involuntary euthanasia. It is called abortion.
The only way this law should go forward, is to add a stipulation that physician assisted suicide can only take place with the consent to that procedure from the individual targeted, not by a death panel, not a relative nor anybody else. This addition to the legislation is mandatory.
Miles is a resident of Oakley, CA
Read MoreMonths of Action Result in Wage Increase That Will Eventually Reach $12.25/hour
Martinez, CA – Home care workers in Contra Costa County, represented by SEIU Local 2015, have ratified a new contract that raises their wage to $12.00 per hour as soon as the State can make the change, and to $12.25 per hour on January 1, 2017. The contract is on the agenda for a vote of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday, March 15th meeting.
Home care workers currently make just $11.50 an hour and have not had a raise in more than seven years. The contract maintains their health care benefit, which the County had pushed to limit.
SEIU Local 2015 Provisional Officer Arnulfo De La Cruz was glad to reach a contract, but believes it should not have taken so long to achieve. “Home care providers, their clients and allies rallied for months at Board of Supervisors meetings,” he said. “This contract impacts those who care for our county’s most vulnerable population and should have been resolved sooner, but we are certainly glad that it is finally done.”
Union members voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying the agreement.
“We won our contract because we got organized and got members involved,” said home care worker John Roe, who was part of bargaining team. “Now we’re going to organize for $15.”
Home care worker Melody Lacy, also a member of the bargaining team, said “We got this victory because we have a union that is 100% focused on us as long-term care providers winning better wages and benefits.”
IHSS workers care for our low-income seniors and disabled neighbors, a tough but critical job that allows their clients to live at home with independence and dignity while being more cost effective than institutionalization. This work should be recognized and paid a livable wage.
Follow the conversation: @SEIU2015
Read MoreWHAT: Dozens of community leaders will show their support for Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services (MOWSOS) by helping deliver meals to senior clients in Contra Costa County during the national March for Meals event.
WHO:
District V Supervisor, Federal Glover – March 24th, Bateman Canteen
District IV Supervisor, Karen Mitchoff – March 21st, Concord Sr. Center
Clayton Mayor, Howard Geller – March, 22nd, Concord Sr. Center
Martinez Mayor, Rob Schroder – March 23rd, Martinez Sr. Center
Pleasant Hill Mayor, Sue Noack – March 21st, Pleasant Hill Sr. Center
Oakley Mayor, Kevin Romick – March 24th, Oakley Sr. Center
Orinda Mayor, Victoria Smith – March 25th, MOWSOS Office
Walnut Creek Mayor Pro-tem, Rich Carlston – March 24th, MOWSOS Office
Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff, Lt. Paul O’Mary – March 22nd, Bateman Canteen
Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, Executive Director, Will McGarvey – March 24th, Bateman Canteen
Bay Point Municipal Advisory Council Member, Debra Mason – March 24th, Bateman Canteen
WHY: Senior hunger is a serious issue in our community – 25,000 seniors are hungry in Contra Costa County and nearly 800 rely on our meal delivery to survive. Community leaders will join MOWSOS volunteers to deliver meals and see first-hand the impact Meals on Wheels has on individual lives.
WHEN: March 21st through March 25th, 2016 (see dates above for each community leader).
ADDRESS:
Bateman Canteen — 1409 Auto Center Drive, Antioch
Concord Senior Center — 2727 Parkside Circle, Concord
Pleasant Hill Senior Center — 233 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill
Oakley Senior Center — 991A Rosemary Lane, Oakley
MOWSOS— Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services 1300 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek.
Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services is a full-service nonprofit organization dedicated since 1968 to helping seniors live independently and with dignity. Based in Walnut Creek, the agency serves seniors all across Contra Costa County. More information can be found at www.mowsos.org.
Read MoreThe Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office is currently accepting applications for the College and High School Student Summer Internship Program.
Those interested are requested to send a cover letter and resume to Deputy District Attorney Dominique Yancey at dyancey@contracostada.org by March 31, 2016.
Read MoreAt a closed session board meeting Wednesday morning, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California authorized the purchase of four islands in the San Francisco Bay-Delta for an undisclosed sum.
The deal is highly controversial in Northern California as it would put Southern California’s most powerful water agency in control of a group of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta islands that can serve as water storage areas or entry points for the proposed $15 billion Delta Tunnels projects.
For months MWD has been considering the purchase of islands now used for farming. The islands mirror the path of the plan for the Delta Tunnels proposal.
The four island deal includes Bouldin Island, Webb Tract, Holland Tract, and Bacon Island. They cover approximately 20,000 acres of the Delta. Here (and above) is a map of the islands in the path of the Delta Tunnels.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta spoke on the matter.
“It is troubling for the Delta region that Metropolitan Water District is going to acquire such a significant portion of Delta land and Delta water rights,” she said. “They have the resources to change law and policies statewide to maximize their access to Delta water in their favor. They will own two islands that are directly in the path of the proposed Delta Tunnels project, eliminating eminent domain concerns for that portion of tunnels construction. We believe that having MWD as a neighbor is an existential threat to the future of the Delta and Delta communities.”
Delta Tunnels opponents note that after nine years and a quarter of a billion dollars spent on the proposal, Delta Tunnel backers have still has not produced a legally acceptable plan that can pass environmental standards. On October 30, 2015 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Draft Environmental Impact Report a failing grade of “Inadequate” due to lack of science about the impacts on the Delta ecosystem and endangered species.
For more information on the Restore the Delta visit www.restorethedelta.org.
Read MoreContra Costa lawmaker also joins Budget panel
Sacramento – In an expansion of his role in the California State Senate, Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, (9th District), was named on Wednesday as Chairman of the Banking & Financial Institutions Committee and to serve on the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.
Glazer, who was elected in May 2015, will serve on the Budget Subcommittee on State Administration and General Government. He also serves on the Public Safety, Insurance and Governmental Organization committees.
Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon made the nominations, which were approved by the Senate Rules Committee.
“I’m pleased to have someone with Steve’s knowledge shepherd the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and join the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee,” de Leon said. “His experience will be critical to the committees as it takes on issues of great importance to all Californians that create economic opportunity and financial security.”
Glazer said he is “appreciative of the confidence that the President pro Tem is showing in me by tapping me as chairman of the important Banking and Finance Committee.
“One of the most important tasks of a legislator is to be a good steward of the state’s finances, so I’m pleased to have a seat at the budget table.”
Glazer represents most of Contra Costa County in California’s 9th State Senate District.
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A unique program that sends doctors from Contra Costa County to train physicians around the world is holding an event, on Monday, March 14 in Pleasant Hill, to raise money to continue its work in countries with limited medical resources.
The Contra Costa Global Health Fellowship is one of only six family medicine global health fellowships in the country, according to Dr. Neil Jayasekera, the fellowship’s founder and co-director. The fellowship, an initiative of the Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency Program that works in collaboration with UC San Francisco, was started in 2011.
Fellows train family physicians in other countries to build capacity for them to provide care in their communities. Global health fellows have trained local doctors in Kenya, South Sudan, India and Mexico. Most recently, fellows have been the African nation of Malawi to train medical students there. Malawi has one of the lowest physician-to-patient ratios in the world, as well as some of the poorest health outcomes.
“We are helping train the next generation of physicians in Africa. We’re providing the mentorship and the skills that will allow them to diagnose and treat disease, alleviate suffering, and save their patients’ lives,” said Dr. Jayasekera, who works in the emergency department at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center. “Our philosophy is teach one, help many.”
Dr. Mena Ramos, a current global health fellow, recently returned from a training expedition to Malawi. The experience was extremely rewarding, she said.
“After 3 years of residency training, the global health fellowship allowed me to share the skills I learned while at Contra Costa with providers in East Africa, and in turn, learn from their experiences providing care in a resource constrained setting,” Dr. Ramos said. “There is nothing more empowering than walking away knowing that you have shared a skill that will be useful to patients and communities beyond your own.”
Dr. Jayasekera added that the program also produces local benefits. Global health fellows are the most committed to working with the underserved and are very likely to stay here in our community and work with most underserved and vulnerable patients, Dr. Jayasekera said. For example, he noted, two recent fellows are currently the lead physicians at two prominent homeless clinics in the Bay Area.
The March 14 event is being hosted by the Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation (CCRHF), a nonprofit agency that supports Contra Costa Health Services. Global health fellows will share their stories about the places they’ve been and the people they’ve helped.
Proceeds from the event will help pay for the fellows’ travel expenses and the purchase of critical medical equipment, such as portable ultrasound devices. The Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency program is a recognized leader in point-of-care ultrasound training for family physicians.
While most people think of ultrasound in connection with prenatal care, its use has become standard in many areas of medicine. Ultrasound is especially well-suited for physicians who work in under-resourced settings locally and abroad. Global Health fellows devote a lot of time teaching doctors and medical students in other countries how to use ultrasound devices in their healthcare practices.
“Ultrasound is like radiology in your pocket,” said Dr. Erin Stratta, a current global health fellow who has worked in Peru. “It can be used every single day with just about every patient that you see. It’s the future of clinical practice and I think it is going to change the face of medicine.”
Those who are unable to attend can still donate to the cause by on the Regional Health Foundation’s website at ccrhf.org.
For more information about the Contra Costa Global Health Fellowship, visit cchealth.org/residency/ghf.
Event Details
WHAT: Fundraiser for Contra Costa Global Health Fellowship. Admission is $35. There will be complimentary wine (donated by Sky Terrace Vineyards) and appetizers (provided by caterer Lovable Feast).
WHEN: 6 p.m. to 8.pm. on Monday, March 14
WHERE: Pleasant Hill Community Center, 320 Civic Drive, Pleasant Hill
WHO: Hosted by the Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation, a nonprofit that supports Contra Costa Health Services
HOW: Register for the event or donate to the cause at ccrhf.org
Read MoreThe nomination period for those interested in running for office ends this Friday, March 11th at 5:00 p.m. to file or March 16th for those offices in which the incumbent is not seeking reelection.
Candidates must complete nomination papers if they plan to run for certain elected offices.
OFFICES NOMINATED UNDER THE “TOP TWO” PRIMARY SYSTEM – In these races, the top two vote getters advance to the November election.
UNITED STATES SENATOR
UNITED STATES CONGRESS
5th District
9th District
11th District
15th District
STATE SENATE
3rd District
7th District
9th District
STATE ASSEMBLY
11th District
14th District
15th District
16th District
COUNTY OFFICES (4 Year Term) – Candidates win in June if they receive 50% plus one of the vote. If no candidate receives 50%+1, the top two will have a run off in November.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
2nd Supervisorial District
3rd Supervisorial District
5th Supervisorial District
The nomination period closes 5:00 pm, Friday, March 11, 2016.
In addition deadline for filing for the following offices is also this Friday at 5:00 p.m. without any extension to March 16th.
COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEES
Democrat
Republican
The County Elections Office will provide updates throughout the nomination period via Twitter and Facebook about who has pulled papers to run for office and when candidates signatures have been verified.
The Contra Costa Elections Division staff recommends that interested candidates read through the 2016 Candidate Guide for more information about the process, including the necessary number of signatures for nomination, candidate statements, ordering campaign resources, maps and filing fees.
A Contra Costa Board of Supervisor candidate, for example, must pay a $1,044 filing fee and collect 20 signatures to be on the ballot.
The Candidate Guide can be found online at: http://www.cocovote.us/wp-content/uploads/2016_CandidateGuide_Combined_Updated-12-30-15.pdf.
For those interested in seeking local political offices in November, the nomination period for the November 8th General Election starts in mid-July.
For more information, call 925-335-7874 or visit their new website at www.contracostacore.us
Read MoreBy Joe Canciamilla
Our new web address – www.contracostacore.us – reflects what we believe is our CORE mission (Clerk, Outreach, Recorder, Elections) which is customer service. The goal of our entire team is to ensure that your experience with our office is unlike any you might have had or expected when dealing with a government agency: fast, friendly, efficient and helpful whether you are in need of a vital record, recording a document or registering to vote.
Please let us know what you think about our new site and our services. You can follow us on Facebook at Engage Contra Costa. Keep up to date with elections on Facebook at Contra Costa Elections and on Twitter @cocoelections. Follow what’s happening in the Clerk-Recorder Division on Facebook at Contra Costa Clerk Recorder and on Twitter @CCClerkRecorder. We even have YELP reviews for you to check out.
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