Starting a newspaper in this day and age and in this economy is not easy. But we feel that Antioch, a thriving city of more than 100,000 people, deserves its own newspaper that is of, for and about Antioch.

Because it is a financial challenge to launch a newspaper, we are starting off online initially. But our plan is to mail a newspaper to every residence and business in Antioch, first as a monthly and then twice a month. Whether we are able to achieve that goal will depend on support from advertisers and readers who support those advertisers.

In any case, we are here now online and plan to be around to chronicle the ups, downs, highs, lows and everything in between that goes on in this exciting, always interesting city. With a limited staff, we will depend on your help to do that. Please send us letters to the editor, news tips, articles, article ideas, photos, press releases, etc. If something interesting is going on in your neighborhood, school, church, workplace, club and elsewhere, let us and your fellow residents know. We’re here for you.

Send your items to editor@antiochherald.com.

Dave Roberts
Editor

Shooting near Antioch High

On Oct. 28 at just after 1 p.m., Antioch police officers responded to the area of West 18^th and G streets on a report of an in-progress shooting. Upon arrival officers were advised that a person had been seen shooting at a group of individuals located at the dead end of West 19th Street.

Due to the close proximity of the incident to Antioch High School and the unknown direction of flight of the shooter, restricted access procedures were initiated at Antioch High School. It was quickly determined that the suspect in the shooting fled from the shooting scene.

Within moments the Antioch Police Department apprehended a 17-year-old Hispanic male and recovered the firearm. The Antioch Unified School District was notified, and the restricted access procedure was rescinded. There were no reported victims or injuries in this case. There is no indication that any Antioch High School students were involved in this incident.

The following is the ballot pamphlet argument supporting the proposed half-cent sales tax increase in Antioch.

Antioch is struggling to maintain the services that protect our quality of life and keep our city safe. State takeaways of local money, combined with declining home values and decreased consumer spending have seriously impacted the city’s main sources of revenue – property and sales taxes.

The city continues to look at other ways to increase revenue, including working with public employees to obtain further voluntary pay and benefit concessions. However, this financial crisis is severe. In the last two years the city has cut $13 million and still faces a $4 million deficit. Twenty-five percent of the workforce has been eliminated, remaining staff has voluntarily cut their pay and benefits by $2.8 million and city hall is closed on Fridays.

Positions at the police department are left unfilled and there are 20 fewer police officers on duty than there were two years ago.

If we are to preserve our safe neighborhoods, additional funding is needed to prevent further police layoffs and to maintain police patrols and 911 response times.

Other city services that contribute to our quality of life also need additional funding, including fixing potholes and maintaining local streets and sidewalks and enforcing city codes to clean up abandoned properties.

This measure will provide a stable source of funding for these vital services and not one dollar can be taken by the state.

This measure also has strong accountability provisions, including an annual audit and a citizen oversight committee, to ensure the money is being spent as promised. And the measure will expire in eight years.

This measure will bring stable revenue that cannot be taken away by the state, has strong citizen oversight of spending and an annual audit. In order to maintain our police services and emergency response times and keep our community safe, please vote Yes.

The following is the ballot pamphlet argument against the proposed half-cent sales tax increase in Antioch.

Vote NO to increasing Antioch sales tax beyond the current record levels.

The tax dollars would NOT be dedicated to police services and public safety, the number one priority among citizens, but go to the general fund. The tax would not add police but “hopefully” allow a break even next year. It will NOT solve the crisis.

The proposed oversight is not binding and cannot legally be modified at a later time.

While all Californians have seen many increases in service fees and taxes, Antioch leaders have:

• Raised water rates a total of 60 percent
• Raised sewer rates a total of 30 percent
• Allowed garbage rates to climb 26 percent this year.

Logic and history tells us a local sales tax would negatively impact Antioch businesses and still not produce the income projected. It’s wrong to ask for more tax dollars at a time when so many families and businesses are struggling financially.

Economic development, business retention, reducing the city business permit process, constant budget reviews, pension reforms and contracting out more city services will help solve our fiscal crisis.

Vote NO to this tax increase. It is the wrong solution at the wrong time.

The following is a transcription of the answers to the first question in the Antioch school board candidates debate on Aug. 25. Eight candidates are running for two seats on the school board. They are Joy Motts, Gary Hack, Angel Luevano, Debra Vinson, Teri Lynn Shaw, David Pfeiffer, John “Jack” Yeager and Vincent Manuel. All of the candidates except Manuel participated in the debate.

Question: The district faces another $6.4 million in cuts to avoid insolvency. It’s already cut 107 teaching positions. What steps would you take to keep the district financially afloat?

Joy Motts: It’s a huge challenge. With the budget not settled at the state level there’s still more information to come. So I believe it’s going to take all stakeholders. We’re going to need to get our teachers and our parents, our administrators, our community involved in determining how we are going to go forward in funding public education. Truly we need some new outside of the box, innovative thinking in order to try to take on these troubling times and these challenges we have fiscally. I’m prepared to take on that challenge. I’ve worked with the school for many years. I’ve been out in the community and have relationships with many in the community, business partners and all. I think that strength I can bring that to the table in making determinations in how we can go forward in funding public education.

I think it’s only fair that we involve everybody in the community. It’s a huge challenge – at the state level and federal level too. We have got to take into consideration how this affects what we are going to do at the administrative level, at the classified level with teachers, get parents involved to determine priorities there. It’s only fair that we get everybody involved in making those choices in how we go forward. What programs we are going to be able to continue with and how we are going to be able to take on being fiscally responsible and still meeting the needs of all our children. (more…)

City Council candidates, from left, Arne Simonsen, Wade Harper and Gary Agopian at a candidates forum in September that Council members Reggie Moore and Martha Parsons did not attend.

Wade Harper: I agree with a half-cent sales tax. I agree with raising taxes only as a last resort. People are paying Mello-Roos tax, water and garbage rates have increased. We always have to look at it as a last resort and not always go into the pockets of the taxpayers. I do realize that there was a survey done to ask if they would agree with a half-cent sales tax and there is evidence that the community would agree with that. The City Council is going before the  community and saying, “Give us some direction. We are at a fork in the road. Do we maintain our current level of service, or do you want us to start decreasing service?”

I believe that public safety is one of the most important things. We need to properly fund public safety, properly staff our police department, our fire department. If you ask people in the community they will say our number one concern is public safety. If you ask any one of these candidates, at the top of their list is going to be public safety. So we have to properly staff our police department, our fire department. We also need to make sure we can improve the roads. It means that I’m going to vote yes because I want our police department properly staffed, and I want to maintain this level of service to the community. (more…)

The Antioch Police Community Action Team has been awarded by the California Peace Officers Association, but sued by Bay Area advocacy groups for African-American Section 8 tenants.

By Dave Roberts

For the first decade that Walter Ruehlig lived in Antioch his neighborhood was “just as quiet as could be,” he said. “I would always tell people how blessed I felt. I couldn’t even recall one instance of complaining to a neighbor about loud music. Then all of a sudden all hell broke loose.”

That hell began around five years ago. He had a car stolen out of his driveway. Someone attempted to break in through the back door. Two bicycles were stolen. A neighbor threatened to kill his wife and dog. A house down the street was the scene of drug activity with people coming and going at all hours, loud parties late into the night, people smoking marijuana on the roof, garbage strewn in the front yard. Neighbors placed about 20 calls to the police. Another house contained a juvenile who attempted to rob a kid of his iPod, then shot him in the back when he ran. (more…)