The City of Antioch Recreation Department Bridal Faire will be on March 10 from 10 am to 2 pm in the Antioch Community Center, 4703 Lone Tree Way.

You are cordially invited to our annual Bridal Faire. Discover everything you need to make your wedding the most special day of your life. See the finest wedding professional all in one place. Check out the latest fashions, get great new ideas, register for prizes, try samples and much, much more.

Kelly Brown, Facilities Coordinator, City of Antioch Recreation Department, 925 776-3052.

District Attorney Mark Peterson will be the guest speaker at Supervisor Federal Glover’s breakfast on Feb. 10. One of the topics he will speak about is his program to fight habitual truancy among school-age children.

Peterson has made fighting truancy one of his cornerstones of his office since he was elected district attorney. Last month, the DA’s Office filed charges against a pair of Rodeo parents because their children missed too many classes. It is the first time in county history that parents are facing charges for their children’s truancy.

“Our goal is to get these kids back in school and get parents to take responsibility for making that happen,” said Peterson.

Since he took office, Peterson has been laying down the groundwork for this program by working with local school districts and law enforcement agencies. He formally unveiled the truancy program in early 2011 to a meeting of the East County Gang Task Force formed by Glover.

The breakfast will be held at the Martinez Event Center, 536 Main St., Martinez and will
start at 7:30 a.m.

“The Breakfast Club was formed as another way of communicating with constituents,” said Glover. “It also serves as a fundraiser for office holder (non-campaign) expenses so that my staff and I can continue our outreach efforts, cover costs for attending informational seminars and workshops, and pay for other office-related expenses not routinely covered by the general fund.”

The breakfasts feature speakers who are usually local, state or federal officials as well as experts in particular fields. The popular events are held quarterly. Individuals who wish to be members and received advance details about upcoming events can pay for the entire year. Nonmembers can also attend and pay $50 per breakfast or $25 if you are a senior citizen or a student.

For more information about the Breakfast Club, call 925-202-5001. Checks can be made payable to Federal D. Glover Officeholder Account ID# 12-44440.

The American Cancer Society invites individuals who want to celebrate the lives of those who have faced cancer, remember loved ones lost and fight back against the disease to join its Relay For Life, scheduled for June 23-June 24th from 10 AM-10 AM at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg.

In 1985, Relay For Life began with one man who walked around a track for 24 hours raising $27,000. This year, Relay For Life is coming to you in more than $4,800 communities.

The Relay For Life kickoff rally is where anyone families, caregivers, cancer survivors, schools, companies, etc., get together to kick off annual Relay For Life activities.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is an overnights community celebration where individuals and teams camp out, barbecue, dance, and take turns walking around a track relay style to raise funds to fight cancer. At nightfall, participants will light hundreds of luminaria around the track in a moving ceremony to honor cancer survivors as well as friends and family members lost to the disease.

he American Cancer Society Relay For Life represents hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated.

WHEN – Tuesday, February 7, 2012 – 6:30 PM
WHERE – The Pittsburg Elks Lodge #1474, 200 Marina Boulevard, Pittsburg, CA 94565
HOW – To join Relay For Life in our community, contact Event Chair Judy Dawson: judy_dawson@att.net, 925-787-9021 or Event Co-Chair Michele Littlefield: mmm5864@comcast.net, 925-813-5274 or visit www.RelayFor Life.org/antiochca

Residential electric and gas customers who have concerns about wireless technology can now choose either a new SmartMeter™ or a traditional analog meter, following the final decision today by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) supports the CPUC’s decision and will respond quickly to customers who opt-out of the utility’s SmartMeter™ program.

“We know personal choice is important to our customers when it comes to the meters on their homes,” said Helen Burt, PG&E’s Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. “This final decision in support of analog meters is a positive step forward for those who have concerns over wireless technology. We understand some customers have been waiting for this decision, and we are actively reaching out to those who have expressed their desire for a SmartMeter™ alternative.”

PG&E is installing digital, wireless SmartMeters™ throughout its service area in Northern and Central California as part of a statewide effort to help customers save on their bills by offering them more control over their energy usage, improve reliability and customer service, and conserve natural resources to help the environment. As part of a global effort to modernize the energy grid and transform it into a digital network that will deliver more reliable power to homes and businesses, similar metering programs are now underway at utilities throughout the country and around the world. To date, PG&E has installed nearly nine million gas and electric SmartMeters™, on its way to about 10 million meters in 2012.

Independent studies repeatedly have affirmed the safety and accuracy of SmartMeters™. However, in response to comments from some customers, PG&E in March 2011 proposed offering them a choice to turn off the radios in their SmartMeters™, and then provided customers with the option to delay the installation of new SmartMeters™ pending the CPUC’s final decision. In December 2011, PG&E asked the CPUC to approve analog meters as another alternative to receiving a SmartMeter™, which was the central element of the CPUC’s decision today.

Burt added, “The vast majority of our customers are already seeing the many benefits of SmartMeters™. By choosing to stay with our program, our customers will continue having control by seeing where they can save energy throughout the course of the day and making simple but effective changes around the home to save money.”

PG&E customers who want to opt-out of the SmartMeter™ program can submit their request online at www.pge.com/smartmeteroptout or call 1-866-743-0263. PG&E plans to remove the gas and electric SmartMeters™ from the homes of those opt-out customers who already have SmartMeters™; those customers who still have analog meters will be able to keep them.

The CPUC’s final decision requires customers who opt-out of the program to pay a $75 initial setup charge and a $10 monthly charge. This will cover the costs of manual meter-reading and associated operational and billing issues. Income-qualified customers will pay a $10 initial setup charge and $5 a month.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.

Your input is needed as the Delta Conservancy completes its first Strategic Plan by summer 2012. The meeting will be Tuesday, February 7 from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm at the Antioch Community Center 4703 Lone Tree Way.

“It is critically important to us that Delta residents let us know what they want and need as the Conservancy forms how it will pursue its mandates over the next five to ten years,” said Campbell Ingram, executive officer of the Conservancy.

People can provide their ideas and input over the next few months through strategic plan public meetings and strategic plan subcommittee meetings. For people unable to participate in meetings, a comment period on a public draft document is scheduled for spring 2012. The final strategic plan will be completed by June 30, 2012.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) are asking members of the public for assistance in developing Plan Bay Area, a 25-year transportation investment and land-use strategy for the nine-county region from 2015 through 2040.

The agencies have created an online virtual workshop for anyone who wants to weigh in on options and trade-offs from the convenience of their computer. People can visit the online workshop at www.onebayarea.org/workshops/virtual.htm.

The virtual workshop closely mirrors the format of a series of nine public forums held in January in every Bay Area county, and includes numerous opportunities to comment. Web visitors can watch several informational videos and take a few short surveys on their priorities for the Bay Area’s future housing and land use development, transportation investments and policies and more. The virtual workshop will be up and running through February 15, 2012.

“We want to hear from you, so make your opinion count,” said MTC Chair and San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier. “The goal of Plan Bay Area is to make our region more livable for current and future generations, and we need public input to ensure we’re hearing from as many residents as possible.”

By creating the virtual workshop, MTC has stepped up its outreach effort for the Plan Bay Area process, which is scheduled to conclude in the spring of 2013. Plan Bay Area will be the region’s first transportation and land-use plan to incorporate the Sustainable Communities Strategy mandated by state Senate Bill 375, which was signed into law in 2008.

More than 1,000 people attended Plan Bay Area workshops in all nine counties in January 2012. An additional 150 people attended 10 focus groups held with community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout the region.

Survey results and comments from the virtual workshop will be tabulated and considered by MTC and ABAG decision makers — along with feedback gathered from workshops, CBO meetings, focus groups and a statistically valid telephone survey — at a meeting slated for March 9.

MTC is the transportation planning and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. ABAG is the official regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns and nine counties of the Bay Area.

Dow has recently decided to eliminate the use of bicycles at our manufacturing site in Pittsburg, which means we have about 100-130 adult-sized bikes that we would like to donate to some charity. These are not pristine bikes (some are VERY old – almost “classic” looking) but they are all functional. Our employees have been riding them across our site – safely – for decades.

Does anyone have ideas of where we can donate these? A charity can certainly come here to pick and choose what they want. I’m hopeful we can find one or two organizations to take the majority (instead of 15 charities coming to take 5-6 bikes each or dozens of individuals – too labor intensive).

Or if you know an educational program that teaches kids/adults to work on or repair bikes, that would certainly qualify too. Please email if you know of any such organizations.

Patty Deutsche
Senior Manager, Public Affairs
Dow California Operations
The Dow Chemical Company
901 Loveridge Road, Pittsburg, CA 94565
phone: 925.432.5576 | email: pdeutsche@dow.com

Black History Month
The Black History Month Exhibit continues through February 11th at the Lynn House Gallery. Artworks, artifacts and displays highlight and feature past and present individuals who have contributed significantly to African American history and American culture.

The exhibit is hosted by The African American Village Collaborative: Ruah Community Outreach Ministries, Inc. and Parent Partners Providing for the Education of Young Children Family Solutions, Inc.

The Lynn House Gallery is located at 809 W. 1st Street in Antioch (across from the Amtrak Train Station) and is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1-4 PM. Admission to the gallery is free. Group and school tours available on request. Contact Diane Gibson-Gray at (925) 325.9897 or email Diane@Art4Antioch.org.

Art4Schools
The 2012 Art4Schools program and exhibits begin with the Special Day Classes showcasing their work at the Lynn House Gallery from February 15-25th. The artist reception will be held February 15th, from 4-6 PM. The reception and admission to the gallery is free.

Additional school exhibits will take place through April 23rd. The Arts4Schools Program is sponsored by the Arts & Cultural Foundation of Antioch, Union Pacific Foundation, the City of Antioch and Calpine & CCC Supervisor Federal Glover. For more information call (925) 325-9897 or email Diane@Art4Antioch.org.