Antioch Councilmember Monica Wilson, candidate for District 3, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, announced that she earned the endorsement of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021.

“We support Monica for her strong support for high-quality County services, her commitment to economic development that works for working families, and her proven ability to unite and lead state/regional policy makers in protecting our Delta water from tunnel schemes,” said Dan Jameyson, SEIU 1021 Contra Costa Chapter President.

SEIU 1021 represents over 54,000 employees in Northern California in industries ranging from healthcare, non-profits, local governments and schools.

“SEIU 1021 is one of the County’s largest unions,” Monica said. “I’m honored by this endorsement because it shows that Contra Costa’s working families are behind my campaign and we have momentum.”

Wilson is a Workforce Service Specialist for the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County. District 3 includes Oakley, Brentwood, Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Byron, Knightsen, Blackhawk, Diablo and most of Antioch. The election is June 7th.

For more information on SEIU 1021 in Contra Costa County, click here. For more information about Wilson’s campaign visit www.monicawilsonforsupervisor.com.

By Acting Lieutenant Tom Fuhrmann, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Friday, March 11, 2016 at approximately 9:15 p.m., two males armed with handguns entered the Subway sandwich shop at the Streets of Brentwood and pointed guns at the employees and robbed the store of money from the cash register.

Shortly after the robbery in Brentwood, Antioch Police were dispatched to a robbery that had just occurred at the Little Caesars Pizza at 4819 Lone Tree Way. Just as the robbery in Brentwood, two males armed with handguns entered the business and pointed guns at the employees and robbed the business of money from the cash register. The two agencies shared information and determined that it was most likely the same people who committed both robberies.

On Saturday, March 12, Brentwood PD was able to obtain video of the two responsible of these

robberies, getting out of a vehicle at the Streets of Brentwood just prior to committing the first robbery. They were able to capture a license plate. That vehicle was determined to be registered to an address in Antioch. From there, Detectives from Antioch and Brentwood police departments began the laborious task of working to identify those responsible for these crimes.

On Saturday, March 19 at 2103 hours a lone gunman entered the Subway sandwich shop at 3020

Delta Fair Blvd. in Antioch and pointed a gun at the employees and robbed the store of money from the register. He fled prior to police being called and was not apprehended at the time. The gunman matched the description of one of the responsibles from the previous robberies.

Detectives had developed information on a 15-year-old male from Antioch as a possible suspect and subsequently arrested him on Auto Center Drive near Mahogany Way on the afternoon of Monday, March 21. The juvenile was booked into Juvenile Hall for Robbery and Conspiracy for the Brentwood and Antioch robberies on March 11. The juvenile was found to be in possession of a replica firearm at the time of his arrest.

On Wednesday, March 23 at 10:05 p.m. Antioch Police responded to yet another robbery. This one occurred at the Pizza Hut on Contra Loma Blvd. Just as in the Subway robbery on Delta Fair Blvd., the lone gunman entered the Pizza Hut and pointed the gun at an employee and robbed the business of money from the register. He fled prior to police being called and was not apprehended at the time. Again, the gunman matched the description of one of the responsibles from the previous robberies.

By Thursday, March 24 Antioch and Brentwood Detectives working together had identified 20-year-old Jonathan Sokoya of Stockton as the outstanding suspect that had robbed the Subway at the Streets of Brentwood and the Little Caesars in Antioch on March 11, as well as committing the additional two robberies in Antioch on March 19 and 23.

On March 24, armed with an arrest warrant, Antioch Police Detectives were able to apprehend Sokoya in Stockton without incident as he was being picked up in a car near his residence. Sokoya was in possession of a replica firearm at the time of his arrest, as well. Also in the car was 21-year-old Nicholas McBride of Antioch. McBride was determined to be the driver during some of these robberies and was taken into custody, as well.

Following the arrests, Antioch Detectives served a search warrant on Sokoya’s residence on Ian Ct. in Stockton where additional evidence of the robberies was recovered. Both were booked on conspiracy, accessory and robbery charges.

These cases have been presented to the Office of the District Attorney. The Office of the District Attorney is in the process of filing a myriad of charges including Robbery, Conspiracy and Accessory accordingly. Detectives are still reviewing the actions of this crew to determine if there are any other crimes that they are associated with. No further information will be released at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call Detective Colley with the Antioch Police Department at (925) 779-6922. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

The office of Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, is offering a free tax assistance workshop for East Contra Costa County residents.

What: Free Tax Assistance Workshop

Where: 420 West Third Street, Antioch, CA

Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Time: From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Contact: George Escutia, Office of Sen. Glazer, 925-942-6082

The event, through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, is free for taxpayers with annual incomes of $54,000 or less. Contra Costa County’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It!  program will provide assistance.

Volunteers are certified by the IRS and all information is confidential. This is a free service for low-to-moderate income taxpayers filing basic federal and California state tax returns.

Contra Costa’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (EKS) Campaign is part of a regional effort that provides free tax assistance to low-income workers and helps them to receive their full tax refunds and credits.

EKS is a project of the Family Economic Security Partnership (FESP). FESP is a public, private, and non-profit collaborative dedicated to increasing the income and building the assets of low-income individuals and families living in Contra Costa County.

The Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) announced, Tuesday that they have signed a settlement agreement with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) that will protect its customers, facilities, and operations if the Bay Delta Conservation Plan / California WaterFix (CWF), aka the “twin tunnels,” is built. The agreement is an insurance policy to protect the unique water quality and supply issues raised by CCWD.

Since studies began in 2006 to evaluate alternative conveyance strategies for Delta water serving those dependent on the export pumps in the south Delta, CCWD has publicly raised concerns about several issues including potential impacts to the operation of its facilities in the Delta that provide high quality water service to its customers. The state approached CCWD to discuss the water quality and supply concerns unique to CCWD and an agreement was reached that will provide protections for CCWD’s customers if the project is built.

“We take our role to protect our customers seriously and cannot gamble with the future of our water supply or quality,” said General Manager Jerry Brown. “Should this project move forward without these assurances in place, CCWD’s facilities and operations would be negatively impacted. We are confident this is an iron-clad insurance policy for our customers, we wouldn’t have reached an agreement otherwise.”

Key to this settlement is the fact that it will not result in rate increases for CCWD customers nor redirect any potential impacts to other areas. It is a legally binding agreement to protect CCWD’s ability to use the facilities its customers have invested over $1 billion in the past 20 years.

“We are confident knowing we have taken actions to protect our customer’s future if the tunnels are ever constructed,” commented Brown. “The state is committing to a significant investment to ensure CCWD customers will be made whole, and this agreement protects our ability to deliver high quality water to those we serve.”

“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with CCWD that is good for their customers and good for the 25 million Californians who depend upon the State Water Project,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “We appreciate CCWD’s reasonable, efficient, and effective approach to resolving concerns about California WaterFix.”

CCWD is not a proponent of the CWF. This settlement does not change that position, but instead is a way to safeguard CCWD and those it serves if a larger statewide plan is ever implemented. CCWD will remain an active participant in finding statewide solutions and continue to protect the drinking water interests of our customers.

The Board of Directors will review the details of the agreement at the April 6 Board Meeting held at 1331 Concord Ave. in Concord at 6:30 p.m.

For further details related to this settlement, please visit http://www.ccwater.com/317/Bay-Delta-Conservation-Plan-Comments.

PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA – The Central Coast Wine Competition has announced that it  is now accepting entries for the 2016 competition, which will take place June 14-16, 2016. The competition staff strongly encourages wineries to take advantage of the opportunity to enter the competition online at http://cmsfw.fairmanager.com/. The entry book, which details the entry classes and guidelines, can be found at the California Mid-State Fair webpage or the CCWC blog at http://centralcoastwinecomp.com.

The Central Coast Wine Competition is the largest evaluation event for wines produced exclusively on California’s Central Coast and is hosted by seven fairs: The California Mid-State Fair, Contra Costa County Fair, Grand National Livestock Exposition, Horse Show and Rodeo, Monterey County Fair, San Benito County Fair, Santa Barbara County Fair and the Ventura County Fair. The 2016 competition features our new chief Judge Tim McDonald and an internationally renowned panel of judges including wine writers, winemakers, sommeliers and wine buyers.

The 2016 competition will run June 14 -16, 2016. For further information, refer to our wine blog at centralcoastwinecompetition.wordpress.com.  Be  sure  to  follow  us  on  Facebook,  Instagram  and    Twitter @CCWineComp.