Contra Costa Refinery Transition Partnership program receives $400K

The Resilient Workforce Program invests in opportunities that advance job quality, environmental resilience

By Anna Champe, Communications Manager, California Workforce Development Board

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Workforce Development Board (CWDB), in partnership with the Labor & Workforce Development Agency, recently awarded $33,155,915 to nine projects across the state to advance High Road Training Partnerships (HRTPs) that move underserved populations into better jobs.

Monday’s funding announcement is part of a larger, multi-level investment to advance state workforce development efforts to prioritize equity, quality jobs, and climate resilience

while meeting regional labor market needs. With the addition of these nine new projects, California is investing more than $260 million in nearly 100 active state-funded HRTPs.

The Contra Costa Refinery Transition Partnership received $400,000 in RWF funding in Spring/Summer 2022.

“Funding for existing HRTPs, which invest in industry-led worker-informed efforts, deliver on Governor Newsom’s promise of a California for All,” said California Workforce Development Board Chief Deputy Director Curtis Notsinneh. “California continues to lead the nation in investments that recognize and lift up a middle-class, while meeting the skills needs of our employers to stay competitive and innovative.”

Projects receiving funding include:

• $7.5 million for High Road to Tribal Forest Restoration and Stewardship – expands job pathways with living wages for underserved tribal and rural populations, including tree and native plant nursery work, forest health, and forest and meadow restoration.
• $5.1 million for Early Care & Education Pathways to Success – this existing apprenticeship program will expand to new under-sourced regions and serve 655 new apprentices to earn certifications in education serving Pre-K to Third-grade students.
• $5 million for Vocational English as a Second Language Home Care Immersion Training Program – Homebridge will partner with SEIU Local 2015 to provide language skills and advanced home care training to immigrant, refugee, and formerly incarcerated populations. Participants will immediately earn $25 an hour after graduating and have opportunities for advancement.
• $5 million for Dental Assistant Training Program – will scale successful earn-as-you-learn bootcamps to more regions and fill the gap between unlicensed dental assistants and licensed Registered Dental Assistants. Target populations include low-wage workers, communities of color, youth, immigrants, and workers without a college degree.

Contra Costa Harnessing Change: Refinery Transition Partnership (CCRTP)

Contra Costa County (CCC) communities, particularly low-income communities of color, bear major health burdens inflicted by the refineries and their toxic emissions. Additionally, the Bay Area refineries emit significant amounts of climate warming greenhouse gasses, posing one of the state’s most significant challenges to climate resilience. As California works to establish a carbon neutral economy, the oil refining sector will unavoidably undergo a massive transition. This transition is already taking place in CCC, where two of the four refineries are transitioning to biofuels, resulting in a significant workforce reduction–most notably at the Marathon Martinez Refinery, which laid off approximately 700 workers in 2020.

The Contra Costa Refinery Transition Partnership (CCRTP) is the first effort to bring together frontline workers and community organizations to plan for refinery transition. CCCRTP brings together CCC oil refinery workers, the refinery community, allies, and high-road industry stakeholders to develop shared strategies to prepare for this significant economic shift, including leading research and developing policy recommendations to support refinery communities and workers, as well as the development of a regional high-road economic development vision to advance CCC’s economic resilience as the state transitions to a low-carbon economy.

This project addresses the critical need to plan for economic transition in one of California’s most oil-industry dependent counties, through deep engagement and shared visioning led by impacted workers and community members themselves, in partnership with the broader community of stakeholders.

Project Highlights

• Strengthen the CCRTP for the long-term, as a coalition of frontline workers, community organizations and allies.

• Complete and publish a detailed report and recommendations on planning for refinery transition in the Bay Area.

• Complete and publish a Contra Costa High Road Economic Development Vision.

Key Partners

• Contra Costa Central Labor Council
• BlueGreen Alliance Foundation
• United Steelworkers District 12
• United Steelworkers Local 5
• UA Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 342
• Asian Pacific Environmental Network
• California Labor Federation, Workforce & Economic Development (WED)
• UC Berkeley Labor Center

A complete list of awardees can be found on CWDB’s website.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Supes Gioia, Burgis lead Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Ad Hoc Committee

Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom

By Ryan Hernandez, Principal Planner, Contra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development

With warmer temperatures and more extreme weather, sea level rise modeling indicates Contra Costa County’s shoreline, which includes a variety of residential, business, industrial, infrastructure and natural sites, can expect to be subject to more severe and frequent flooding.

To address sea level rise, the Board established the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Ad Hoc Committee at the May 16, 2023, Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisor John Gioia, whose district borders the San Francisco Bay, was appointed as Chair, and Supervisor Diane Burgis, whose district borders the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Funded through Measure X, the Committee will develop recommendations to the Board on work the County can do to plan for sea level rise and improve shoreline resiliency, which could potentially include a sea level rise resilience and adaptation plan. This would build on the County’s past work on collaborative regional efforts to characterize sea level rise risks with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and the Delta Stewardship Council.

The Plan could include recommendations for built and natural infrastructure improvements and potential land use planning changes, implementation strategies, and participatory engagement opportunities for stakeholders. With the creation of this Committee, the County will be better prepared to adapt to rising sea levels with strategies specific to the current and future needs of Contra Costa communities.

The Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Ad Hoc Committee’s first meeting will occur on Thursday, October 12, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom with in-person meeting locations listed in the published agenda packet. To sign up for email updates, visit the Contra Costa Legistar website.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

For kids ages 4-15 at the Uril E. “Compy” Compomizzo Fishing Pier at the end of H Street near Waldie Plaza in historic, downtown Rivertown.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— With the unofficial end of summer approaching this Labor Day holiday weekend, California State Parks’ Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) is reminding boaters and water enthusiasts to take extra precautions to stay safe and prevent tragedies on the water. Taking a boating safety course, wearing a life jacket while recreating in the water and actively supervising children when in or near a body of water are simple actions all can take to help improve safety on California’s waterways.

Here are some key safety tips:

• Always wear a life jacket. Life jackets are the easiest way to reduce the chances of drowning and increase your chances of survival if you are involved in an accident.
  • By California law, all children under 13 are required to wear life jackets on a moving vessel, and DBW urges everyone on a vessel, regardless of age, to always wear a life jacket as a preventative measure.
  • Life jackets are also required on personal watercrafts, also known as Jet Skis, regardless of age. Paddle sports, including stand-up paddleboards and kayaks, are considered vessels and the same life jacket rules apply to people aboard the paddle craft.
  • Ensure each life jacket is U.S. Coast Guard-approved, the right fit for the user and approved for the intended activity by checking the label. The label can be found on the inside of each life jacket along with the U.S. Coast Guard approval number.
  • If you don’t have a life jacket, borrow one through DBW’s Life Jacket Loaner Program.
• Take a boating safety course and get your California Boater Card. Even the most experienced boaters can learn from boating safety courses. As of Jan. 1, 2023, all operators of motorized vessels on California waterways who are 50 years of age and younger are required to carry a lifetime boater card. By 2025, all operators of motorized vessels will be required to carry one, regardless of age.
• File a float plan before you head out. Share a float plan with a family member or friend with the details of your trip in the event of an emergency.
• Check the weather. Know the latest weather forecast prior to going out and check regularly for changing conditions.
• Leave the alcohol at home. Alcohol and boating never mix. It is against the law to operate a boat with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or more. You can be arrested even when the BAC is less than 0.08% if conditions are deemed to be unsafe. The sun, wind and wave action intensify the effects of alcohol.
• Protect your loved ones:
  • Always supervise children by appointing a designated “water watcher,” taking turns with other adults. Do not assume that someone is watching your children.
  • Know your limits. Swimming in a lake, ocean or river is different than swimming in a pool.
  • If someone is in distress, seek help from a lifeguard or call 911 if one is not available.
• Stow it, don’t throw it. Keep your trash on board. Never throw cigarette butts, fishing lines or any other garbage into waterways. Take advantage of shoreside facilities to recycle plastic, glass, metal and paper. Avoid excess packaging. Used fishing line can be deposited at a fishing line recycling station.

Download helpful boating apps to your phone. The BoatCA App is a free mobile app with information on boating facilities, life jacket loan stations, laws, boat registration and more.

Subscribe to California State Parks News online at parks.ca.gov/newsroom.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation, popularly known as State Parks, and the programs supported by its Office of Historic Preservation and divisions of Boating and Waterways and Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. Learn more at parks.ca.gov.

Creating the Blueprint is a key step in developing Plan Bay Area 2050+.

Public engagement is a fundamental element of the plan update process.

September 6th workshop in Contra Costa; Deadline for comment: September 7, 2023

The Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint will integrate strategies across the four elements of the plan — the economy, the environment, housing and transportation — to create a more equitable and resilient future for all.

Beginning in summer 2023 and wrapping up in late 2024, staff will develop the Blueprint over two phases: the Draft Blueprint and the Final Blueprint. Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will focus on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies. (See Plan Bay Area 2050 Executive Summary)

Assumptions for the select Blueprint strategies will be refined to reflect ongoing implementation efforts from Plan Bay Area 2050, while also leveraging findings from previous planning efforts that may be relevant to the post-COVID environment.

Equity and performance analyses will also be conducted during the Draft Blueprint phase to evaluate how the plan’s strategies are supporting progress towards making the Bay Area more affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant for all.

Furthermore, Transit 2050+ — the comprehensive re-thinking of the six transit-related strategies in Plan Bay Area 2050’s transportation element — will develop an integrated regional transit network that will be incorporated into the Final Blueprint.

While still remaining fiscally constrained per federal planning requirements, the focused plan update approach will consider whether to pursue targeted updates to — or to reaffirm — the Regional Growth Forecast (while maintaining its forecast methodology), as well as to the External Forces, the Growth Geographies and the Needs and Revenue Forecasts.

Culminating in late 2024, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) will consider adoption of the Final Blueprint, which will then move forward in the plan update process as the preferred alternative for environmental review.

Getting Involved

Creating the Blueprint is a key first step toward updating the plan itself, and thus the Blueprint planning phase will require iteration and deep engagement of the public, partners and elected officials.

A first step in developing the Blueprint is to better understand what has changed as the region emerges from the pandemic. This summer, MTC and ABAG staff will be traveling across the region to speak to the community to understand how life has changed for individuals as the Bay Area enters the “new normal.”

MTC and ABAG are taking input from community members and partners to help inform the development of the Draft Blueprint.

You can make your voice heard in a variety of ways! Attend a pop-up workshop near you; participate in our survey; or submit comments via email, telephone or mail.

Find an event near you and join the conversation to help staff better understand how the last three years have impacted life across the Bay Area.

Participate in Our Survey

A first step in updating the plan is to better understand what has changed for you as the region emerges from the pandemic. MTC and ABAG want to learn how the “new normal” may be impacting your life.

• Participate in the survey in English(link is external)
• 快來參與中文版的問卷調查(link is external)
• Participa en la encuesta en español(link is external)
• Tham gia khảo sát bằng tiếng Việt(link is external)

The survey will close on September 7, 2023.

The survey also will help inform the development of Transit 2050+, a parallel long-range planning effort that will produce a first-of-its-kind plan to re-envision the future of the public transit network in the nine-county Bay Area, and the expenditure plan for a potential transportation revenue measure. The revenue measure is key in advancing implementation of Plan Bay Area.

Join a Pop-up Workshop

This summer, MTC and ABAG staff will be traveling across the region to speak to the community to understand how life has changed for individuals as the Bay Area emerges from the pandemic. Attend a pop-up workshop near you and tell us what the “new normal” means to you.

Contra Costa County

Diablo Valley College — Pleasant Hill Campus

Wednesday, September 6, 12 to 3 p.m.

321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill, CA

About Plan Bay Area

Plan Bay Area is a long-range regional plan jointly developed and adopted by MTC and ABAG every four years.

Funding to benefit regional water supply improvements and protection of critical bird populations

Expansion will increase capacity by 115,000 acre-feet, cost about $1.25 billion

The Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project Joint Powers Authority today (July 27, 2023) was notified that it will receive $10 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. The funding will be used to further the project’s goals of improving Bay Area and Central Valley water supply and supporting wildlife refuges along the Pacific Flyway, a vital migratory route for critical bird populations.

According to the National Audubon Society, each year at least one billion birds migrate along the flyway, which is only a fraction of those that used it a century ago. Wildlife refuges along the Pacific Flyway provide protection against habitat loss, water shortages, diminishing food sources and climate change.

Additionally, the expansion will increase the Los Vaqueros Reservoir capacity from 160,000 acre-feet to 275,000 acre-feet and add new and modified conveyance facilities to provide environmental, water supply reliability, operational flexibility, water quality and recreational benefits.

The dam will be increased by 55 feet from its current height of 226 feet to 281 feet from toe to crest.

“We are grateful to Reclamation for acknowledging the importance of the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project and the role it will play in providing water supply reliability for 11 million customers and protection of critical bird populations from the Bay Area to the Central Valley,” said Board Chair Angela Ramirez Holmes. “Our partnership with Reclamation is invaluable and will help ensure quality of life now and for future generations.”

The $10 million allocation today is authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, approved by Congress in November 2021, and is in addition to a previously awarded $164 million from all federal sources for the reservoir expansion project. The project was previously authorized for federal funding under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016.

According to the project Fact Sheet, the total development and construction cost of the expansion is budgeted at approximately $980 million in 2022 dollars and $1.25 billion in escalated costs through the end of construction. Construction is expected to last from 2023 through 2030.

“We appreciate the ongoing federal support of this project that is vital to millions of Californians and key wildlife refuges,” said Los Vaqueros Reservoir Joint Powers Authority Executive Director Taryn Ravazzini. “The allocation of these funds marks another milestone and allows the LVR JPA and its members to continue our progress toward regional resilience.”

About the LVRJPA

The Los Vaqueros Reservoir Joint Powers Authority (JPA) was formed in 2021 and provides governance and administration for the Phase 2 Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project (Project).  The Los Vaqueros Reservoir is an off-stream reservoir owned and operated by the Contra Costa Water District.

The Project will increase Bay Area and Central Valley water supply reliability, develop water supplies for wildlife refuges, and improve water quality while protecting Delta fisheries and providing additional Delta ecosystem benefits. When completed, it will increase the Los Vaqueros Reservoir capacity from 160,000 acre-feet to 275,000 acre-feet and add new and modified conveyance facilities to provide environmental, water supply reliability, operational flexibility, water quality, and recreational benefits.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Recovered Monday morning; conflicting information from agencies of what occurred; no investigation by APD

By Allen D. Payton

According to Antioch Police Public Information Liaison Sgt. Price Kendall, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, the body of the man missing in the river last Friday during a boating mishap was found.

Con Fire spokeswoman, Assistant Fire Chief Tracie Dutter said, “Someone reported a possible deceased male on the rocks near Fulton Shipyard Road on Monday at 7:48 AM. We were requested by PD to assist in recovering the body. We were on scene assisting at about 8:20 a.m. and by 8:40 a.m. the recovery was completed.”

According to Deputy Gonzalez of the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office, the man was identified as 58-year-old Douglas Cross from San Leandro, based on his driver’s license information.

As previously reported, according to Jimmy Lee, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office Director of Public Affairs, “On Friday, July 21, 2023, at about 1:51 PM, deputy sheriffs from the Marine Patrol Unit were dispatched to assist the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and the United States Coast Guard with searching for a missing boater who was apparently trying to push his 20-foot vessel to shore near the Fulton Shipyard on the San Joaquin River. The U.S. Coast Guard and Sheriff’s Office drone team were also involved in the search. The missing boater, who is not being identified at this time, was not located. (See video)

The Marine Patrol Unit continued the search on Saturday, he added.

However, according to Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Schnabel, “We suspended the search after searching until around 7:30 pm. One man had fallen overboard from a recreational boat and the other man jumped in after him attempting to get him out of the water leaving the vessel unmanned. Neither had life jackets. One man was recovered by a Good Samaritan and taken to a local boat ramp.”

Asked if an investigation was being conducted to determine what occurred and if the other man had been interviewed to get his side of the story, Sgt. Kendall responded, “No investigation is being conducted by the Antioch Police Department.”

Lee was asked the same question but did not respond prior to publication time. Please check back later for any updates to this report.

By Allen D. Payton

07/22/23 UPDATE #2: According to Jimmy Lee, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office Director of Public Affairs, “On Friday, July 21, 2023, at about 1:51 PM, deputy sheriffs from the Marine Patrol Unit were dispatched to assist the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and the United States Coast Guard with searching for a missing boater who was apparently trying to push his 20-foot vessel to shore near the Fulton Shipyard on the San Joaquin River. The U.S. Coast Guard and Sheriff’s Office drone team were also involved in the search. The missing boater, who is not being identified at this time, was not located. The Marine Patrol Unit will continue the search today.”

07/22/23 UPDATE #1: According to Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Schnabel, “We suspended the search after searching until around 7:30 pm. One man had fallen overboard from a recreational boat and the other man jumped in after him attempting to get him out of the water leaving the vessel unmanned. Neither had life jackets. One man was recovered by a Good Samaritan and taken to a local boat ramp.”

———

A helicopter could be seen flying over the river and Waldie Plaza along the Antioch waterfront Friday afternoon. According to Con Fire PIO Steve Hill, “We responded in the noon hour to reports of a 55-year-old man in the water. In spite of searches by us, Sheriff’s Office Marine program and the Coast Guard we were unable to locate him. We are clearing at this hour, the Coast Guard remains on scene.”

As of 4:25 PM Coast Guard 11th District Public Affairs Specialist Hunter Schnabel said, “the search is ongoing for a male. We received a report from another male who was swimming with him after he got back to shore and called in a panic.”

“We have Station Rio Vista and Air San Francisco’s MH65 Dolphins (helicopters) in the search,” he added.

Please check back later for any updates to this report.