According to a recent article in the Contra Costa Times entitled “City’s police chief aims to add diversify his force,” Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando is seeking to recruit more minority candidates. Commendable? Yes, however I find the Chief’s decision to hold meetings in Spanish at Holy Rosary Catholic church and other churches objectionable. Let religious institutions do what they do best rather than utilizing them as public forums.

The proper way to recruit minority applicants, according to Police Chief Magazine, is to engage stakeholders. Stakeholders are groups and individuals that have an interest or stake in enhancing minority recruiting and selection. Core stakeholders might include police executives, police human resource specialists, labor and union officials, city/county executives, neighborhood associations, minority and special interest groups.

Hiring should, of course, seek to reflect the ethnic and racial composition of the area. The 2010 Census Interactive Population Search for Contra Costa County shows population by ethnicity as 255,560 Hispanic or Latino, 793,465 Non-Hispanic or Latino. The county’s population by race is as follows:

White 614,512

Black 97,161

Asian 151,469

American Indian/Alaska Native 6,122

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 4,845

Other 112,691

Identified by two or more 62,225

For the record, qualified candidates have always been welcomed on the Antioch Police force regardless of race, gender or socio-economic status. In fact, during the period July 2006-07 Antioch hired 24 police officers: 23 of the officers were male, one a female, 12 of the officers were white, 6 Hispanic, 3 black, and 3 Asian. (2 officers, 1 Hispanic and 1 white failed the department’s 16 week field training program.) My complaint at the time was the department wasn’t hiring enough women officers.

Allegations that the Antioch Police Department targeted and used excessive force against unruly black teenagers in the 2007 Gas City incident have no merit and ultimately led to the expulsion of seven Deer Valley High School students. Nor do discrimination charges by a few Section 8 tenants during the reign of Chief Jim Hyde, whose proactive approach to policing led to formation of the department’s Community Action Team (CAT) which made me feel a lot safer than I do today. In fact, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the federal trial court’s decision in the Tuggles case finding no discrimination by the City of Antioch in its community policing efforts.

 

International Film Showcase & El Campanil Theatre present
Montevideo – Taste of a Dream
Friday September 21  7:30
Sunday September 23  2:00

Video & More … Buy Tickets

 

 

 

 

 

Two Time SF Comedy Competition Winner Comedian Don Friesen
Direct from his Showtime Comedy Special

Saturday September 22   8:00 pm

Video & More … Buy Tickets

 

 

 

 

Fabulous Follies

September 28-30

October 5-7

More … Buy Tickets

 

 

On September 9, 2012, members from the Pittsburg Sikh Temple and the Bhagat Gurdittaji International Charity honored the Interfaith Peace Project (IPP) with a plaque of recognition and a ‘sarropa’ (honorary scarf) accepted by IPP Advisory Board Member Walter Ruehlig.  The recognition was for the organization’s continuing solidarity with the Sikh community and dedicated quest for universal tolerance in response to repeated nation-wide hate crimes.

Eight individuals and organizations to be recognized at November 8 event

The Contra Costa Council’s Social Responsibility Task Force announces the eight individuals and organizations that will be honored at the Second Annual Contra Costa Philanthropy Awards breakfast on Thursday, November 8. The awards program recognizes individuals, businesses and service organizations that have made significant contributions of time, leadership and financial support to benefit Contra Costa residents.

Honorees will be recognized at the second annual breakfast celebration on November 8, from 7:30 to 10 a.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 45 John Glenn Drive, Concord. Nearly 60 nominations were received and considered by the awards panel.

Award recipients are:

·Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist (501 employees and above) — Wells Fargo

·Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist (100 to 500 employees) — Nieman Marcus of Walnut Creek

·Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist (1 to 99 employees) — InVision Communications

·Outstanding Philanthropist — Mary Garaventa

·Outstanding Foundation or Community Grant Maker — East Bay Community Foundation

·Outstanding Collaborative Project — SparkPoint of Contra Costa County (partners include Bay Area Legal Aid, Brighter Beginnings, Center for Human Development, Contra Costa Employment & Human Services, Contra Costa Health Services, Community Housing Development Corporation, First 5, Opportunity Junction, STAND!, Stride Center and United Way of the Bay Area)

·Volunteer of the Year — Kay Aaker

·Lifetime Achievement — Judy Lazarus, founder of the Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center of Orinda

The event will feature a keynote address by Elaine Taylor of The Taylor Family Foundation (www.ttff.org). Last year’s inspiring event drew more than 450 people.

“Come and help us honor our 2012 award recipients, who are helping make our community a better place in which to live,” said Contra Costa Council President and CEO Linda Best.

“One of the key purposes of the Council’s Social Responsibility Task Force is to strengthen the links between the private, social and public sectors of the county,” said Mark Hughes, founder and co-chair of the task force and chair of the Philanthropy Awards event committee. “The Contra Costa Philanthropy Awards help build awareness and inspire many more organizations to learn how to get more involved in this work, which can transform companies and make a true difference in our communities.”

A prestigious panel representing all sectors of the community and government was formed to make the award selections. Judges included Federal Glover, Contra Costa County supervisor; Jim Becker, vice president of community investments, Richmond Community Foundation; Linus Eukel, executive director, John Muir Heritage Land Trust; Angie Coffee, senior managing director, private business banking, First Republic Bank; and Mark Hughes, manager of public affairs, Phillips 66 Rodeo Refinery.

Program sponsors are Wells Fargo (presenting sponsor); Chevron (premier sponsor); AAA of Northern California, Nevada and Utah, Contra Costa Times, InVision Communications, Kaiser Permanente, Phillips 66, San Francisco Business Times, Shell Martinez Refinery (benefactor sponsors); Mt. Diablo Recycling and PG&E (advocate sponsors). (Other sponsorships are available.)

Registration for the breakfast will open soon at www.contracostacouncil.com. For more information, contact the Council office at 925-246-1880, info@contracostacouncil.com, fax (925) 674-1654.

About Elaine Taylor: Elaine Taylor is president of The Taylor Family Foundation (www.ttff.org), which she founded in 1991 with her husband Barry. The foundation’s mission is to preserve the wellness and enhance the quality of life for children in Northern California living with life-threatening and chronic illnesses and developmental disabilities, and youth at risk, through unique therapeutic experiences and support. (Photo available on request.)

About the Contra Costa Council: The Council is a private sector, public policy organization with a membership that includes business, government, education and labor. The mission of the Council is to provide advocacy on public policy issues affecting the economic vitality and quality of life in Contra Costa County and the region. For more information, see www.contracostacouncil.com. Follow the Council on Facebook at www.facebook.com/contracostacouncil.

 

Dear Editor:

It’s time to remember all those “Out of Box” and “Silver Bullets” ideas that didn’t work out last election and really just concentrate on the values and traditions already in the box. We need to consider how effective our district is by:

1. Asking are the programs currently ongoing effective for the students?

2. Are our schools being maintained in a clean and healthy environment for our students?

3. Are the teachers and staff motivated and in turn motivating our students to reach higher goals or are some just riding out the last years before retirement?

4. Is the administration prepared with back-up staff members who at a moment’s notice take the place of an ill or incapacitated key figure to keep the district going?

Answers to these questions will not make everyone happy or comfortable but, our students deserve the best fighting chance in our current economy.

Jack Yeager

Candidate for Antioch’s Board of Education

 

On September 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Antioch Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to Antioch Police Department at 300 L Street Antioch, Ca. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last April, Americans turned in 552,161 pounds—276 tons—of prescription drugs at over 5,600 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,300 state and local law enforcement partners. In its four previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in over 1.5 million pounds—nearly 775 tons—of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like Antioch Police and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

By Sean Ackley

As part of a nationwide protest this Saturday, September 22, a rally will be held at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank to end the Federal Reserve, the United States’ third Central Bank.

Many hold the privately-owned organization partly responsible for the recent economic downturn, and blame it for inflation due to the overprinting of U.S. currency, through creating what’s known as fiat money, which is not backed by any gold, silver or other precious metals of intrinsic value.

Most of those opposed to the existence of the Federal Reserve, which is owned by the major banks in the U.S. and was formed in 1913, desire a return to the Gold Standard for the U.S. Dollar and a return to Constitutionally mandated coining of money by Congress instead of printing, since paper has no intrinsic value.

What – Official End The Fed Rally of San Francisco

Where/When – Saturday, September 22, 12:00 Noon at The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 101 Market Street.

Event Info – We will make it up to the Federal Reserve and do a little comedy about the private banking cartel, some education about the fed, some truth about what is wrong with the fed, and make a presence. There will be music, comedy and fun hijinx.

Be prepared for non-violence, bring your cameras, and your First Amendment knowledge. The San Francisco FED police have been very understanding over the years so we hope that does not change.

After party location to be determined, if you have suggestions let me know. We need a place we can have some appetizers and chat about our future.

For more information click here or contact me at 510-409-9908 or Sean@ackind.net or Michael Heise at BigMikeTheTerror@gmail.com.

Missing chihuahua fawn collored blond 2 yr. old dog. lost on Gary Ave, Antioch off Cavallo Rd. REWARD $350.00 PLEASE IF YOU HAVE OR SEEN DOG PLEASE CALL 1-941-526-3530 ANT TIME DAY OR NIGHT. SHE WEIGHS AROUND 3 1/2 POUNDS and HER NAME IS “BABY”. SHE HAS NO TAGS.