Don’t delay – enter now!

Want to enter something in this year’s Contra Costa County Fair? The deadline has been extended, so there’s still time! The deadline for submitting paper entry forms is Friday, May 4, and the Fair Office will accept entries until 5 pm on that day. The on-line entry system will be available until midnight on Sunday, May 6.

There are no post entry fees, so simply visit the Fair Office in Antioch or log-on to the Fair’s website at www.ContraCostaFair.com to complete the entry process.

Join the thousands of Contra Costa County residents who enter exhibits in the Fair each year. There are hundreds of categories and specialty contests for adults and children. It’s fun and it’s easy to enter, so don’t delay – enter now!

Complete descriptions of all categories are available in the Fair’s Competition Handbook, which is available on the Fair’s website at www.ContraCostaFair.com.

The Fairgrounds is also accepting coloring contest forms and cook-out paper entries from now until May 18 at 5 pm.

This year’s Contra Costa County Fair is May 31 – June 3. For information, visit www.ContraCostaFair.com or call the Fair Office at (925) 757-4400.

By Sergeant Morefield, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Thursday, May 2, 2012 at approximately 1:43 p.m., Antioch police officers responded to a report of an armed robbery in the parking lot of Wells Fargo Bank at the corner of 18th Street and A Street.

The victim reported to officers that he was arriving at the bank to make a deposit when he was accosted by two suspects in a white sedan, one of whom was armed with a handgun. The suspects took the victim’s cash before fleeing the scene. The victim was uninjured during the robbery, and the suspects were not located. There is no indication that the bank or any of the bank employees were targeted in this incident. The case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the Antioch Police Department at (925)778-2441.

On Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 3:30 p.m., the Antioch police received a call of an auto vs. pedestrian collision on Lone Tree Way north of Davison Drive. Upon arrival, officers discovered an 83-year-old female Antioch resident had been struck by a vehicle in the #1 lane of northbound Lone Tree Way about 400 feet north of Davison Drive.

At this location Lone Tree Way is a 35 MPH, four-lane road with a planted center divide. There is no crosswalk at this location and it is unknown why the pedestrian was in the roadway. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in this collision.

The pedestrian was flown to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek with critical injuries. Anyone with additional information is urged to call Officer Joseph Zanarini at (925) 779-6900 x 8-2996.

On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at 2:47 p.m. Antioch police received a call of a hit and run accident that occurred near the intersection of West Ninth and I Streets. When officers arrived they found a 30 year old Antioch resident had been riding his bicycle when he was struck by a passing vehicle. The vehicle fled the scene after the collision and the bicyclist had serious injuries and was transported to a local trauma center. The bicyclist is still currently hospitalized but is recovering from his injuries.

The victim and witnesses describe the vehicle as a gold Acura 4-door, with tinted windows and stock rims. The vehicle has front end damage and a broken front windshield as a result of the collision. The driver of the vehicle was described as a young Hispanic male and there was another young Hispanic male in the passenger seat.

If anyone witnessed the collision, or has information about the suspect vehicle please contact Officer BJ Hewitt at 925-779-6900, ext 83452.

The Antioch City Council just had the first of many meetings in regard to building the fiscal 2012-13 budget and reviewing projections for the fiscal 2014 budget. Although Antioch, severely understaffed and not meeting community demands for services e.g. the Police Dept. only open to the public 16 hours a week, isn’t in the best fiscal shape, unlike our neighbor Brentwood, there is hope on the horizon. (Jim Frazier for Assembly campaign signs posted all over town on public rights-of-way, fences and other places not allowed in Antioch, aren’t helping our image either.)

Projections previously provided to Council reflected deficit spending in the General Fund of $50,881 in FY12 and $1,781,473 in FY13. Now, however, current projections indicate elimination of the FY12 deficit, largely due to an 8.8% increase in sales tax projections between March 2011 and 2012 and $800,000 in payments from GenOn to be received in July and December 2012. (Council directed that $100,000 of GenOn funds be used to supplement the code enforcement program.)

While the City’s General Fund could run out of fund balance in FY2014, primarily due to higher worker’s compensation insurance premiums and newly negotiated salary increases and other payroll factors, including PERs rates, consultants anticipate the City will return to 2008 sales tax levels by FY16.

In case you’re interested in the City’s investment portfolio, 28.39% is invested in Federal Home Loan Banks, 24.03% is invested with the U.S. Treasury, 28.39% with Fannie Mae, 18.40% with General Electric Company plus other numerous investments including Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (0.73%).

Young Artist Competition winners - (Top row from left to right) Luigi Galvan, Cole Preciado, Griffin Holt and Ryan Chiang (bottom row) Emily Yen and Natassya Irpan

On Saturday, April 21st, six pianists who participated in the Young Artist Competition performed in recital at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg. Four of them are from Antioch and won either first or second place, or honorable mention.

Out of sixteen competitors, these young musicians were chosen as winners in the following categories:

1) Students through grade eight: Cole Preciado, 1st place; Emily Yen from Dallas Ranch Middle School, 2nd place; and Griffin Holt, Honorable Mention.

2) High school students: Luigi Galvan from Antioch High, 1st place; Ryan Chiang from Deer Valley High, 2nd place, and Natassya Irpan also from Deer Valley High, Honorable Mention.

These pianists represent the piano studios of teachers Grace Edwards, Barbara Schnieder, Sara Harris, Maureen Honegger, and Kathleen Flemming. The competition was sponsored by the Delta branch of the Music Teachers’ Association of California.

Congratulations to these fine musicians!

Seeks Public Input

Over the past year, BART has crafted a brand new bicycle plan that defines the strategies BART will pursue over the next 10 years to double the number of passengers who access stations by bike.  This is an update to BART’s first Bicycle Plan, published 10 years ago.

Approximately 4%, or about 14,000 passengers, currently reach BART stations each weekday by bicycle.  Building on the success of past BART bicycle access improvements, the growth in popularity of bicycle travel throughout the BART service area, and the significant improvements to bike travel recommended in this plan, this BART Bicycle Plan’s goal is to double this rate, to 8% by 2022, by transforming BART from a system that allows bikes to one that depends on them.

The plan focuses on five high-level issues each with multiple strategies:

•  Cyclist Circulation: Improve station circulation for passengers with bicycles
•  Plentiful Parking: Create world-class bicycle parking facilities
•  Beyond BART Boundaries: Help assure great bicycle access beyond BART’s boundaries
•  Bikes on BART: Optimize bicycle accommodations aboard trains
•  Persuasive Programs: Complement bicycle-supportive policies and facilities with support programs

“It’s been exciting to watch the popularity of bicycling to BART skyrocket” said Steve Beroldo, BART’s Bike Program Manager.  “We installed 65 bike rack spaces inside-the-station at 19th St/Oakland Station and within months they were full.  We added 30 more spaces there plus 30 new inside-the-station spaces at 12th St/Oakland City Center just to keep up with demand.”

The draft plan is available for review and comment at www.bart.gov/bikes through May 12, 2012.  Comments and suggestions related to the draft Bike Plan can be sent to bikes@bart.gov.