Over the past three fiscal years, the Contra Costa Superior Court has permanently reduced its budget by nearly $7.5 million due to statewide cuts to the judicial branch budget and unfunded cost increases.

The new state budget presents even more difficult challenges. There are two major problems. First, as a result of cuts to the judicial branch budget and further unfunded cost increases, the court must make an additional $7 million in permanent budget cuts. Second, the state is sweeping (taking) over $8 million in reserves (savings) that the Court painstakingly accumulated over several years to allow it to keep operating at an appropriate level during periods of budget cuts. Since the State has cut the Court’s budget and taken $8 million of its reserves, the Court can no longer maintain its current public service levels.

These reductions amount to approximately 25 percent of the Court’s budget. Despite that, the Court has been, and remains, committed to preserving services it provides to the public and to litigants, while also living within its means. During the week of August 13, 2012, Court leadership met with court staff, justice system partners, other government officials, the legal community and the public in a series of meetings. On August 21, 2012, it published a proposed plan for public comment. As a result of that public input, on August 28, 2012 the Court adopted a modified, final budget reduction plan for implementation during fiscal year 2012-13.

The key components of the plan will have a significant impact on public service levels for years to come. Some of the most important components are these:

• Six courtrooms will be closed and one other reduced to four days a week because the Court does not have sufficient staff to allow them to operate properly. The loss of these courtrooms will seriously hamper the Court’s ability to provide full access to justice and to hear cases without undue delay. The courtrooms to be closed are the following:

• Effective October 22, 2012, the existing Family Law courtroom at the Arnason Justice Center in Pittsburg will be shut down and the cases will be reassigned from a Commissioner to the existing Family Law departments in Martinez. East County residents will have to travel to Martinez to have their Family Law matters considered. Among other things, it will take longer to get a divorce or a decision on child custody.

• The Child Support courtroom in Martinez will be closed one day per week, reducing it to the level of service provided by the basic federal grant which funds this program. This will result in delays in obtaining child support orders.

• Effective December 31, 2012, the Juvenile Law courtroom in Pittsburg will be shut down and the cases will be reassigned to an existing Judge in Martinez, In addition, the Juvenile Law courtroom in Richmond will be shut down and the judge will be reassigned to Martinez. East County and West County residents will have to travel to Martinez to have their Juvenile Law matters heard. The Court is still considering whether a limited number of Juvenile Law calendars will be heard in Pittsburg and Richmond.

• Effective December 31, 2012 one Civil Trial department will be closed and the Civil Discovery/Ex Parte courtroom in Martinez will be shut down. Cases now heard in the to-be-closed Civil Trial department and matters now heard by the Civil Discovery Commissioner will be heard by the remaining Martinez Civil Trial Departments. This will result in increased calendar congestion and will cause delays in hearings, trials, court decisions and orders. .

• The Concord Courthouse will close its doors to the public. Traffic cases will be transferred to the Walnut Creek Court. The remaining case types (Small Claims, Unlawful Detainer, Domestic Violence and Civil Harassment) will be transferred to Martinez, Pittsburg or Richmond. Residents who use the Concord Courthouse will have to travel to another courthouse location. Details regarding these transfers will follow.

• The use of the Walnut Creek Courthouse will change significantly. Only traffic cases will be heard in Walnut Creek. Criminal, Small Claims, Unlawful Detainer, Domestic Violence and Civil Harassment cases will be transferred to Martinez, Pittsburg or Richmond. Residents who use the Walnut Creek Courthouse (except for traffic hearings) will have to travel to another courthouse location,. Details regarding these transfers will follow.

• Two Commissioners will hear Traffic cases on a rotating basis, in Pittsburg, Richmond and Walnut Creek.

• Effective December 31, 2012, court reporting services will be significantly reduced in general civil, family and probate courtrooms. Details regarding these changes will follow.

• Effective December 31, 2012, specialty courts such as Juvenile Night Court, Juvenile and Adult Drug Court, Domestic Violence Court, Homeless Court, Mental Health, Elder Court and Truancy Court will either be consolidated or eliminated to allow the judges to focus on mandated calendars.

• Interpreters in Domestic Violence matters in Family Court will only be provided to the extent grant funding allows. Currently, the grant funds interpreters through the fall of 2012. The Court is seeking additional grant funds from the state to fund these vital services. Details regarding the status of this request for additional funding will follow.

• Effective October 1, 2012, the Clerk’s Office will only be open to the public from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm (reduced from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm). Exceptions will be made for temporary restraining orders and other urgent matters that address the safety of individuals. The reduced hours will provide staff with critically needed time to process the increasing backlog of unprocessed court papers.

• Self-help services and workshops for unrepresented litigants will be reduced.

• Other internal measures that will assist the Court in balancing the budget this fiscal year will be instituted.

The Presiding Judge of the Court, the Honorable Diana Becton said, “The Court deeply regrets having to make these changes. However since the State has cut the court’s budget and taken our reserves we no longer have sufficient funds to provide access to justice throughout the county or in a timely manner. We look forward to restoring these services as soon as the State allots sufficient money to the judicial branch that we may do so. The full and fair administration of justice requires no less.”

As a personal trainer for the better part of 25 years, I’ve seen marketed almost every “get fit quick” scheme there is. From my experience in the fitness industry I can say that most all of them do not work and have little impact but on the pocket book.

In recent years marketers of these fitness products and routines “in a box”, have refined their techniques of selling, by preying on the late night food bingers (you know who you are) with television commercials designed to help you feel less guilty about that after hours snack or bowl of ice cream. They offer a “miracle” weight loss product or program that of course you can have in three easy payments.

Seeing the dramatic results of “everyday people” losing 30, 60, 120 lbs. and women dropping dress sizes down from an 8 to a 2 or even a 0 and strutting around with renewed confidence plays on the emotions of what has you sitting there chomping away to begin with, a lack of confidence. It is the ultimate temptation: to make you feel like the product can do something to change the way you feel about yourself, and how other people view you.

The real secret to the financial success of these “get fit quick” programs, and your ultimate failure in changing your life and getting in the shape you “want”, is not “false” advertising or even the products they offer. While it is not easy to hear this; it is your weakness. A lack of self-confidence that leads to your lack of will, and self-control.

Your miracle product is in the mail. Opening it up, excited about what it offers, at some point you come to the realization that you are going to have to put work in to making the product effective and lose the extra pounds that the product “promised” you would. To be fair, you are set up to fail from the very start because of unrealistic expectations. These products don’t come with will power.

Looking for the next great fitness product? Don’t. The next one you already have. There is no initial payment to make, just a rock solid commitment to changing your life. In fact it isn’t a product at all, it’s you. And it is guaranteed to work if you stick with it.

Not only will you lose the weight you want, but your health and your life will be fuller and richer than any bowl of ice cream or dessert you have ever had.

Find a boot camp; hire a trainer; grab your wife, husband or the kids and go for a walk; watch what you eat, and follow a nutritional program. You had to make a decision to open the refrigerator, just make the decision not to open it. And the next time you find yourself up at 3 a.m. wanting a snack… GO TO BED!

Terrell Lambacker is a Certified Personal Trainer and owner of Progressive Fitness in Antioch. For more information visit his website at www.MyProgressiveFitness.com or see the ad below.

The Delta Harvest Run will take place on Sunday, September 16, 2012. Please join us for this community event as we work to raise money for local East Contra Costa food banks and pantries. This benefit is organized by the Delta Association of Realtors Community Service Foundation

The Delta Harvest Run includes a Half-marathon, 10K, 5K and Family Fun Run! You can register via www.DeltaHarvestRun.com or www.Active.com using the keywords Delta Harvest Run.

Brentwood’s Liberty Union High School located at 20 Oak Street, Brentwood CA, will serve as the start and finish location for all of The Delta Harvest Run events.

Visit the web site to register, make a donation or volunteer for one of the many much needed support positions!

By Lieutenant Diane Aguinaga, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau & Allen Payton, Publisher

On Monday, August 27, 2012 at 11:14 p.m., Antioch Police officers were called to the report of a domestic dispute at 2301 Sycamore Drive in Antioch, where a gun was involved. Officers arrived and located the suspect with the gun getting into a vehicle and leaving the scene.

When officers tried to stop the suspect, he fled in the vehicle, leading the officers on a pursuit through Antioch. During the pursuit, the suspect rammed/struck at least two police patrol cars before crashing and fleeing on foot through backyards in a residential neighborhood. The suspect eventually ended up on the roof of a house on Wainfleet Court where he was confronted by officers. The suspect, still in possession of the firearm, pointed it at officers on scene, who in turn fired at the suspect, striking him at least one time. The suspect died at the scene.

A woman living in the neighborhood posted the following on Facebook, after the incident – “There was a horrible incident in my neighborhood. In fact it occurred in my court. There was a car chase with police and the suspect was climbing over fences in my neighborhood. The police called me to let me know they were searching for a suspect possibly in my backyard. They said I should lay low. there were helicopters overhead. The[y] finally spotted the guy on a rooftop in my court and gun fire ensued. The suspect was shot and killed on the roof. My neighbor thought she was safe in her house but 6 bullet holes went through her walls and her children were grazed by bullets. Luckily, they didn’t require any medical attention.”

This information is very preliminary, as a joint investigation with the Contra Costa DA’s Office has been initiated. This is standard with officer involved shootings in Contra Costa County.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective James Stenger at (925) 779-6894.

Congressional candidate Ricky Gill, running against incumbent Jerry McNerney (D) in California’s 9^th District, which includes most of Antioch, was one of a handful of Congressional candidates from across the country who were given the opportunity to speak at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida on Tuesday.

Gill delivered the following remarks, yesterday:

“My name is Ricky Gill, and I am humbled to stand before you today as a Republican nominee for Congress – and a proud son of California’s San Joaquin Valley.

My parents immigrated to the Valley from India and Africa with only their love for each other, a strong work ethic, and the enduring desire to pursue their American Dream.

We all work hard in the Valley, and we’re proud to live there. But today we face crippling unemployment and foreclosures-even the bankruptcy of Stockton, our largest city. Young people leave — or drop out of school to help their families make ends meet. Our friends and neighbors are suffering.

But the Valley is a cautionary tale of failed policies, not false ambitions. No one in this country dreams of dependency; no one hopes for mediocrity. We are ready again to seize the measure of our ambitions – not because the government says we can, but because we believe we can.

We need a new generation of leadership to chart the path – to fight for policies that create jobs, rather than red tape — and to help small businesses succeed, rather than helping green energy companies fail.

Like you, we Valley folks are tough, independent, and faithful – and we are ready to rebuild our American Dream.

Thank you, and God Bless America.”

To see a video of Gill’s speech on C-SPAN’s website, click here.

Gill is a 25-year-old, recent law school graduate from Lodi. If he wins, he’ll be the youngest member of Congress.

For more information about C-SPAN’s election coverage, please visit their Convention Hub at http://www.c-span.org/RNC/.

By Sergeant Steve Bias, Antioch Police Narcotic / Property Crimes

Cedric West

On Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 7:00 A.M., Antioch Police utilizing their SWAT team served a search warrant in the4900 block of Parkgreen Circle in Antioch. The search warrant was the culmination of an investigation involving the sales of narcotics from the same residence.

During the service of the warrant, a subject tossed a loaded handgun out of a bedroom window in an apparent attempt to keep it hidden from police. A hidden shotgun inside the house was also located. The ownership of the firearms is still under investigation to determine if they are stolen.

Frederic West

All three were transported and booked at the Martinez Detention Facility.

Anonymous tips may be texted to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword ANTIOCH in the body of the narrative.

Patrick West

The California Coastal Commission is proud to announce that the 28^th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, the state’s largest volunteer event, will take place on Saturday, September 15^th, 2012. The event will take place at more than 850 locations around the state, comprising the largest single effort to remove the debris that has accumulated on California’s beaches and inland shorelines over the past year.

The community of Antioch may participate at one of three sites: downtown Marina, Prewett Park and Fulton Shipyard. This is a great event for volunteers of all ages and physical abilities. Volunteers will be working at all three locations from 9-noon, followed by a volunteer lunch at the Antioch Historical Society from Noon to 1:30 PM. To sign up or for more information, visit http://art4antioch.org/Coastal-Cleanup.asp or call 925.779-6137