Archive for August, 2012

Golf Column: Improve Your Fairway Wedge by Adding Acceleration and Hitting the Ball Crisply

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Off distance wedge shots from the fairway are one of the key areas of the game that separates better players from mid to high handicappers. It is very common for the mid and high handicappers to take too long of swing and try to decelerate just the right amount to get the ball to go the right distance.

This creates a multitude of errant shots which include fat, bladed, blocks right and pulls left, besides shots rarely going the correct distance. Oten when they do go the right distance there isn’t any check on the ball so it bounces right on through the green.

Better players will keep the acceleration in this shot which helps the ball not only go the right distance but also stay on line and and “check” with backspin. Here are some keys to help you understand this off distance shot and improve your scoring:

The lie. Understand that you need to be in the fairway or short cut grass to play this shot. The lie has to be tight. A “hard pan” lie will also apply. With this shot we are trapping the ball between the clubface and the turf in a downward fashion; “trap” is a key concept; unlike a shot coming from the rough where a player might try and slide the club under the ball.

The ball. Play a ball that spins. This is essential. There are a lot of them out there to chose from. I use a Titleist Pro V1 which has a Urethane cover and a firm outer core so as to help the ball get the check on this type of short shot. A hard ball isn’t going to cut it.

The groves. The USGA recently changed the rulings on the manufacturing of wedges, but unless you are playing USGA and tour events, you don’t have to worry about playing wedges with conforming groves and I would encourage you not to so you can get the benefit of the technology.

The set up.

– Ball position: We are going to trap the ball here, so the ball position must be back. Anywhere from 1” to 3” behind center. The further back, the lower the shot is going to take off. When playing into the wind, keep it further back so you can hit it low and driving and keep control of the ball.

– Stance: Narrow and open with weight slightly forward. This will help with the trapping motion, particularly the opened stance. You don’t want the club going inside on the back swing too fast but rather more with the alignment of the feet. This will allow for a steeper decent on the ball and the trap or pinch motion. For those who are old enough to remember, a la “Lee Trevino”.

-The Swing motion:

§ Let the wrists set or cock on the way back, but keep them firm on the way down and through. Setting them on the way back helps set up the “trap” to the shot. Firm on the way through keeps from flipping the clubhead and sliding it under the ball and makes the clubface literally trap the ball between it and the ground.

§ Use your core. This isn’t an arm only shot. In fact it is more of a shot from your core and torso leading the acceleration.

§Use your legs. The legs are very important and the better golfer realizes it. The legs shifting the weight back and forth keep the shot in rhythm and works in unison with the core.

§Finally, hit down. If you set up right you will be able to hit down hard and aggressive through the ball and you will catch the ball first. You don’t need to worry about fatting the shot even though you are going to take some turf because of the way you set up. So take a divot. That is going to help with the trap and getting some spin.

If you are interested in reviewing other articles from Coach Ron go to www.lonetreegolfcourse.com under “The Course” tab. Thanks for playing this great game and be sure to share it with someone else. Next month: The “skidder”.

Antioch School Board Candidate Offers Advice to Parents

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Dear Editor:

This is an open letter to parents of school children in Antioch.

School will begin on August 15 and August 22 or after Labor Day and the summer vacation will come to a semi-official end. Students will experience some difficulty adjusting to school and will have different responses depending on their age. Elementary school students will be happy to begin school because they are in the exploratory stage of their lives and they are excited to go to school and participate and hang out with their friends. Middle school students are at the beginning of their independence and will not be so thrilled to return to school as they will have to be reminded about the rules all over again. High school students will vary on their excitement to return to school based on the type of summer that they had working, hanging out with friends, traveling with friends and relatives, or just hanging around the house enjoying their free time. Of course, for those who will return to school as “seniors”, they will be excited to begin the year as it holds much fun and promise.

Here are some tips to follow to help your child adjust to the school schedule. Approximately 1 week to 3 days before school, parents should begin reminding their students that their schedule at home will change. Establishing a regular family routine will make it easy on the entire family as well as ease the stress on the daily routine of work and school. Here are my recommendations:

Parents should think about what they need at home for their sanity (smile) and be clear about rules and expectations before talking to their children about the back to school routine. Once this is determined, parents can have open discussions at the dinner table regarding the routine and ask their children for their input.

School night rules should be discussed approximately 1.5 weeks before school or a week after school begins, as children will have to accept the idea that they are going to lose some of the freedom that they had during the summer. This means no late night TV watching, the expected schedule for completing homework, and any other household routine that the parent is expecting from the child.

Students should begin going to bed around the time they would have to go to bed on a school night. No more late nights for elementary and middle school students.

High school students should be reminded about school, and given the chance to correct their own bedtime schedule before parents step in and do it. This will give them a chance to embrace their independence in a responsible manner.

Parents should talk to their children about expected behavior in school during the day as it relates to mom or dads availability (or not) due to working full time.

Parents should begin updating all emergency contacts and placing them in an accessible place in the home. Parents should discuss if their child will have a cell phone if the child is in elementary or middle school and should discuss the purpose of the cell phone (.i.e. emergency use only). Safety rules and expectations should also be discussed especially if the child will walk, skate, ride their bike, ride with a friend etc. to school. If the child will walk to school, parents can begin practicing the walk 2

with their child so the expected route will be familiar to the child. I recommend that children not walk to school unless an adult can be with the child. If the parents cannot walk them, perhaps, a grandparent or a retired neighbor, another stay at home parent, etc. could walk them to school.

Once school begin, if there is a routine in place, it can be changed to consider “quality time” in the evening as well as the time parents will set aside to help the student with homework or any school concerns the student might have.

Please remember that these are my recommendations and I recognize that as a family there may already be a regular routine in place. Children adjust better to returning to school when parents explain their expectations and then follow the expectations with consistency. Feel free to contact me about this article at DebraVinsonSchoolBoard2012@comcast.net.

Debra Vinson

Candidate for Antioch School Board Trustee

Chichibu, Japan Sister City Delegation Visits Antioch

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Dr. Sean Wright, President of the Antioch-Chichibu Sister City Organization and Chichibu Schools Superintendent Shinichi Maeno, center, and the rest of the Chichibu Sister City delegation are introduced at the Antioch Council meeting on July 24th.

By James Ott

Visitors from Antioch’s Sister City of Chichibu, Japan were presented at the July 24th City Council meeting. They were introduced by Antioch Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and President of the Antioch-Chichibu Sister City Organization, Dr. Sean Wright, who impressively remembered the names of each member of the delegation.

The delegates from Chichibu, led by School Superintendent Shinichi Maeno, stayed with host families in Antioch during their visit. They enjoyed a Chinese dinner at the Antioch Historical Society Museum, visited some local landmarks and enjoyed some shopping.

Chichibu has been Antioch’s Sister City since 1967 when the city council adopted Chichibu as part of the Sister Cities organization founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956.

As Mayor James Davis pointed out, Antioch and Chichibu share some geographic similarities. As Antioch borders the San Joaquin River, Chichibu borders the Arakawa River. And both cities have a mountain looming nearby: Antioch has Mount Diablo and Chichibu has Mount Buko.

The next group to visit Chichibu from Antioch will travel to Japan in August, 2013. For more information about the Antioch-Chichibu Sister City Organization, visit www.antiochchichibu.com.

Chief Cantando to Council: Antioch Violent Crime Up 45 Percent

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

By James Ott

Antioch’s crime rates are up while arrest rates are down, said Police Chief Allan Cantando during his mid-year report to the City Council at their July 24th meeting.

According to the report violent crime in Antioch is up 45 percent and property crimes have climbed by nearly 60 percent.

Cantando’s presentation compared crime rates from January through June of 2011 with crime rates from those same months in 2012 and it appears that every major crime statistic reported has increased, and in some cases substantially.

There were three homicides from January to June last year and four reported from those same months this year. Rape cases have gone up 100 percent from eight cases to 16, with robbery and aggravated assault cases rising by 34 and 50 percent, respectively.

It is a similar case for non-violent crimes with burglary up 45 percent and auto-theft up 30 percent. Other theft cases have totaled 1023 – up from just 504 from this same time a year ago.

Even arson cases are up 21 percent from 14 this time last year to 17 in 2012.

Despite those increases in criminal activity, Antioch Police have arrested fewer criminals so far this year. From January to June 2011, 2444 arrests were made. From January to June of this year, police made just 1970 arrests – or 19 percent fewer arrests of adults and juveniles.

Chief Cantando said that he believes part of the increase in crimes is the result of increased reporting of criminal activity by the public. Since June 23, 2011 Antioch citizens have been able to report crimes online and so, most likely, there are just more reports of crime being filed.

“Once the public was made aware of [online reporting], it made it much easier for them to report crime and we believe that this shows our increase,” said Cantando. “Not to say that crime wasn’t occurring prior to that but making it easier I think [is why] we’re seeing a rise in our numbers.”

Cantando also said that crime is cyclical and showed a three year comparison from 2009 to 2011 to illustrate how it fluctuates. Although total property crime was up on average 46 percent during those years, violent crimes were down over 10 percent during the same period.

Chief Cantando said that the increases in crime are a result of decreases in police staffing levels, and because of that he doesn’t think many should be surprised by the jump in crime.

“We’ve talked about our staffing levels and what we’re doing to increase those,” he said. “And there is a correlation between our staffing and the crime that’s occurring in our community.”

Another statistic to note was the decreased response time of Antioch Police Officers. The average time it took officers to respond after a call for service was received and an officer was dispatched was five minutes and 37 seconds so far this year. That’s an increase of 30 seconds over last year’s average response time and nearly a minute longer than it took in 2010.

Cantando once again pointed to decreased staffing as the main culprit here. He also said that because of employee turnover in their dispatch, some newer employees are still working out training issues.

Either way, Cantando said he was focused on improving those response times because “it affects everyone.” In fact, Cantando said that when he called the police for a neighbor he had to wait over an hour to get a response.

The Antioch Police’s clearance levels – or the percent of crimes that are solved – were well above the national average in 2011 and their 2012 levels look to be at a similar pace only six months into the year.

Antioch Teen Shot, Police Investigating

Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

By Sergeant Morefield, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Friday, August 10, 2012 at approximately 3:00 p.m., Antioch police officers responded to a report of shots fired in the area of H Street at West 10th Street. Officers arrived on scene to find evidence of multiple shots fired in the area but no victims. A short time later, an adult male victim arrived at an area hospital with a wound related to the shooting incident. His injury was not life threatening and the 19-year-old Antioch resident was treated and released.

Police are still in the process of determining the circumstances surrounding the incident. Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call the Antioch Police Department at (925)778-2441.

Any further information or additional press releases will be provided by the Investigations Bureau at (925) 779-6939. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

Council Blows Opportunity to Fund More Police

Saturday, August 11th, 2012

Even though Antioch has 30 fewer officers than approved – and will still be down 25 officers after the five are hired using the three-year, $1.5 million federal grant – based on the inability of the City’s budget to afford them, the Council still chose to not give the public the opportunity to vote for a parcel tax for police in November.

Instead, Councilman Kalinowski opposed holding a special meeting, even though it was necessary to move the matter forward. What’s worse is that Mayor Pro Tem Harper also opposed the meeting.

Here’s the most interesting and frustrating part. At the June 26th council meeting, Kalinowski asked staff to put a police tax on the agenda for a July meeting and even provided some ballot language, as well. Click here for the details.

You’d think Kalinowski and Harper – who are both sworn peace officers – would do everything they could to make sure Antioch has the additional police we need to make our city safe.

But, Harper who is now running for Mayor against Councilman Gary Agopian (who voluntarily took the lead on the tax effort), conveniently avoided taking a stand on a tax increase. Then he said he couldn’t have made the meeting, anyway? How does he plan to pay for those much needed cops?

They all sure got that last-minute, rotated Mayor measure done in time for this year’s June ballot. Yet, they’ve had two years to get this done – since Measure P, the half-cent sales tax failed in 2010 – and still couldn’t do it?

Congressional Candidate Ricky Gill Opens Campaign HQ in Antioch

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Ricky Gill speaks at Antioch headquarters opening

By Allen Payton, Publisher

Ricky Gill, Republican candidate for Congress against Democrat incumbent Jerry McNerney, chose a location in Antioch for his Contra Costa campaign headquarters. He and his staff held an opening attended by about 25 volunteers and supporters on Saturday, July 22.

“We have the opportunity to send a fresh face to Washington,” Gill said. “Let’s send a message to the national political scene. We can make history. I’ll be the youngest member of Congress and the youngest Republican elected to Congress since the first World War.”

The 25-year-old, Lodi native is running in the newly created 9th District which includes most of Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Byron and Discovery Bay, as well as Stockton and most of San Joaquin County.

The campaign headquarters is located at 5109 Lone Tree Way, between Hillcrest Avenue and Vista Grande Drive.

Antioch’s El Campanil Theatre to Host Traditional Philippine Dance and Music Performance

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets: Adults (18 and over) $15 Seniors (62 and over) $12 Children (17 and under) $10

The  U. S. Premiere in May 2012 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center is followed by this performance at El Campanil Theatre.

TAGABANUA, a dance interpretation conceptualized, designed and choreographed by Jay Loyola featuring traditional music by a Philippine indigenous tribe in Palawan with performances by dance and musical artists of the bay Area.

Taga Banua is a Palawano word that means “from the village.” Loyola created the concept in 1998 as a way to incorporate native dance forms to assimilate his art to people’s lives and the importance of the community to strengthen cultural identity. The project fulfills Loyola’s passion for dance and sharing these art forms with the world as he continues to work untiringly towards the refinement of Philippine dance into its highest disciplined form and as well as the preservation of Philippine traditional dance forms – by continually exploring interdisciplinary collaborations in his advocacy for peace and equality.

The piece will be narrated by the artists through dance and music, leading the audience on a journey through sounds and rhythms set against a backdrop of a Palawan indigenous village. This work will integrate original indigenous music and chants from the Philippines. The dance and music composition will incorporate Palawan rituals and shamanic percussive rhythm structures which will be integrated with the compositions of the performing artists.

Alab ng Puso” is a dance that explores the meaning, perception, and exploration for beauty and understanding. Inspiration came from the simple, yet profound lyrics of Lupang Hinirang the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julian Felipe, with lyrics in Spanish adapted from the poem Filipinas, written by José Palma in 1899.

The performance features the World Premiere of Jay Loyola’s new work inspired by Lucrecia Reyes- Urtula’s “Lemlunay Festival”” The piece is collaboration with award-winning Philippine composer Tony Castro and will be performed to live instrumentation by American Center of Philippine Arts. The program will also include “Mindanao Pageantry” (1994) “Philippine Panorama” (1990).

You will have the opportunity to see the talented young dancers of the ACPA SEED program.


About the American Center of Philippine Arts

Our mission is to provide a unique educational and developmental platform for multidisciplinary Philippine arts through innovative hands-on classes, collaborations, networking opportunities, and showcasing events. We strive to nurture both traditional and progressive Philippine arts to strengthen our community and ethnic identity. 

Jay Loyola, along with trained dancers, instructs youth on basic steps in Philippine Folk Dance and applies it to choreography and the stage. Philippines history and culture will also be emphasized. Each class is designed with the student in mind for natural progression and growth.

Artistic Director & Co-Founder – Jay Loyola

For almost two decades, Jay Loyola has created dance pieces performed by cultural groups in the Philippines, Asia and Europe. His dance method have garnered respect form his peers as he emerged as the Bay Area’s ingenious  dance practitioner with choreographies motivated through immersions in Philippine indigenous tribes. He has significantly contributed to Bay Area’s multicultural landscape by performances at major venues such as Palace of Fine Arts, and Cowell Theater as well as festival events like San Francisco Ethnic Festival, Pistahan Festival, and Filipino-American Arts Exposition that have been attended in by more than 150,000 audiences who yearn to experience a genuine Philippine dance experience.

Tickets May Be Purchased in Advance at the Ticket Office 604 W. Second Street – next door to the Theatre – Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. and one hour before showtime or by phone at (925) 757-9500 or online at www.elcampaniltheatre.com.