Final Phase of Two-Step Increase

The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) reminds drivers of big-rig trucks, cars and trucks hauling trailers, and other vehicles or combinations with more than two axles that the second step in the two-phase toll increase approved in 2010 for multi-axle vehicles on Bay Area toll bridges takes effect Sunday, July 1. The first step in the toll increase took effect in July 2011.

Beginning July 1, 2012, tolls for vehicles or combinations with three or more axles on the seven state-owned toll bridges will be fully indexed at $5 times the number of axles, or $15 for three-axle vehicles; $20 for four axles; $25 for five axles; $30 for six axles; and $35 for rigs with seven or more axles. The fully indexed toll rate on the Golden Gate Bridge will be $6 times the number of axles, with a $5-per-axle rate for FasTrak® customers.

BATA approved the two-step increase in tolls for multi-axle vehicles on the state-owned bridges in January 2010 as part of a comprehensive toll increase package to finance seismic retrofits of the Antioch and Dumbarton bridges, to help offset the increased cost of debt financing resulting from financial market turmoil that began in 2007, and to counter revenue losses caused by a decline in tollpaying traffic on the bridges since fiscal year 2003-04. While the toll hike for most vehicles went into effect in July 2010, the Authority voted to delay the increase for multi-axle vehicles for one year and then implement the new toll schedule in two steps. This phased approach was designed to allow commercial trucking firms to incorporate the higher tolls into new contracts with shippers. These contracts typically carry 18- to 24-month terms.

California state law (Streets & Highways Code Sec. 30150.2) requires that tolls on state-owned toll bridges be based on the number of axles on a vehicle or the total number of axles on a vehicle plus the total number of axles on a drawn trailer or vehicle.

BATA encourages all motorists — including drivers of big-rig trucks and recreational vehicles – to take advantage of the FasTrak electronic toll collection program to make toll payment easier and more convenient. FasTrak can be used in all lanes at all Bay Area toll plazas. FasTrak toll tags are available at Costco, Safeway and Walgreens stores throughout the Bay Area. Customers also can enroll in the FasTrak program online (at 511.org or bayareafastrak.org), by telephone (dial 511 and ask for “FasTrak” at the first prompt), or in person at the FasTrak customer service center at 475 The Embarcadero in San Francisco. Currently, there are more than 1 million FasTrak account holders in the Bay Area.

BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers toll revenues from the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. Toll revenues from the Golden Gate Bridge are administered by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which joined with BATA to operate a single regional FasTrak customer service center in San Francisco. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

See toll schedule for state-owned toll bridges here: http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/tolls/schedule.htm.

By Greg Enholm

Have you wanted to go a museum but could not go on a free day or afford the entrance fees? Thanks to our Contra Costa County Library, any Library cardholder can receive a FREE or REDUCED PRICE pass for 30+ museums and other cultural institutions in the Bay Area. All you need to do is know about when you want to go, go to the County Library website (www.ccclib.org), look at the left-hand side column, and click on “Discover & Go” under MUSEUM PASSES. You will then be able to choose among all available options and print out your pass at home without going to the Library. But if you want, you can also go to any of our 26 community Libraries and a Librarian can help you find the museum or cultural institution pass you want.

As of July 1, the following museums and other cultural institutions offer FREE or REDUCED PRICE passes to County Library cardholders (It is very easy to become a cardholder – it’s free and available at any of our 26 community Libraries): Aquarium of the Bay, Asian Art Museum, Bay Area Discovery Museum, Bedford Gallery, Blackhawk Museum, California Academy of Sciences, California Historical Society, California Shakespeare Theater, Cartoon Art Museum, Charles M. Schulz Museum, Children’s Creativity Museum, The Contemporary Jewish Museum, Exploratorium, GLBT History Museum, Golden State Model Railroad Museum, Habitot Children’s Museum, The Lawrence Hall of Science, Lindsay Wildlife Museum, The Marine Mammal Center, Museum of Children’s Art, Museum of Craft and Folk Art, Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), Napa Valley Museum, Oakland Aviation Museum, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland Zoo, Pacific Pinball Museum, Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, Ripley’s Believe it or Not! ODDitorium , Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art, San Jose Museum of Art, The Tech Museum, UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley, USS Hornet Museum, Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Detailed information about what kind of passes are available for each institution including time restrictions is available on the website.

Antioch’s main library is located across the street from Antioch Middle School at501 W. 18th Street. Hours are Monday & Tuesday Noon – 8 pm; Wednesday & Thursday 10 am – 5 pm; Saturday Noon – 5 pm; CLOSED: Friday and Sunday.

Antioch’s Full-screen Prewett – GenOn Gateway Center for Learning is across from Deer Valley High School at 4703 Lone Tree Way. Its hours are Tuesday 10 am – 7 pm; Wednesday and Thursday Noon – 8 pm; Friday and Saturday Noon – 5 pm; CLOSED: Monday and Sunday.

Enholm is County Library Commissioner (5^th District – Antioch, Bay Point, Crockett, Hercules, Martinez, Pittsburg, and Rodeo). He can be reached at gbenholm@hotmail.com.

Dear Editor,

Former Councilman Allen Payton left a few easy assumptions out of his article. Primarily the relationship of the City Clerk to the public, which was never discussed by the Council while they only looked at eliminating one more position. That roll is of a neutral, trusted fiduciary. The Clerk not only registers people to vote, regardless of party, accepts and files all candidate papers, submits ballot issues to the county elections board, send all public notices, prepare agendas and vital to our system of freedom, provide the public with records and document when requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

Even when public requests for information appears to be nothing more than political harassment, the Clerk is still sworn to preform her duties without the influence of Councilmembers, a strong Mayor or a City Manager. The elected Clerk cannot be fired by a City Manager that has already eliminated every other department head in the City.

What this Council has done in an attempt to eliminate the position has been to reduce the salary of an elected position to a paltry amount and instruct that the Clerk herself is to work only one day a week. What better way to reduce or even eliminate the Clerks relationship with the public.

As to the Councils refusal to rename “L” Street, that has been proposed for many years, and even though I might disagree on the renaming of ‘A’ and 2^nd Streets, you missed the one that would have cost “nothing”. Those of us that have been heavily involved in the History of this community and the republishing of the Diary of Rev. Williams Wiggin Smith, ask that Roger’s Point be restored back to the original name of “Smith’s Point” as it had been the long standing homestead of Smith until his death.

As there is currently no signage, other than “Keep Out”, and the property and area are not currently being developed, no signage would have been required at this time and no real cost associated with changing the name. From our records the property was not identified as Roger’s Point until the Rogers family (local insurance agent) took over in mid century.

Although we felt this was a non issue and we had council support, much to our surprise the Mayor felt he needed to ascertain the feeling of the Roger’s family. All the members of the Roger’s family that ever lived there, including their daughter Virginia Rogers Calessesi, have passed away.

This simple issue has exposed this Councils inability to advocate for issues brought from the public. On another issue one councilmember expressed to me that the council believed they needed to wait for the election to allow new council members to have input on an important issue. This was stated to me last March.

I don’t know about the rest of the public but I don’t vote and elect Councilmembers so they can wait 2 years to give the next group input. I elect people to make decisions now, while they are in office. Those that fail to advocate for issues, weather I agree with them or not, and those that fail to make the decisions they were elected to make, will not have my vote in the future.

Elizabeth Rimbault,

Former Mayor Pro Tem and Councilmember

Antioch

Exhibit runs June 30th – July 21st, 2012
Antioch Historical Society Museum
Artist Reception, 2-4 PM, June 30th
Free Summer Concert, 6-8 PM, June 30th
1500 West 4th Street, Antioch

The Arts & Cultural Foundation, once again in partnership with the Antioch Historical Society, will host the 8th Annual Celebration of Art 2012 Exhibit at the Antioch Historical Society Museum.This is a non-juried exhibit with no required theme, with over 50 local artists participating in the event.

The event begins on Saturday, June 30th, with an artist reception from 2-4 PM. The exhibit continues through July 25th. The event, artist reception and entry to the museum are free. SPECIAL EVENT FOLLOWS THE ARTIST RECEPTION ON JUNE 30TH! Free Summer Concert, featuring Vocal Ease & the Boogie Men, 6-8 PM (in the gazebo).

For more information on the Celebration of Art, click here.

The Antioch Historical Society Museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays, from 1-4 PM, and admission is free.

For more information please email Diane@Art4Antioch.org or call (925) 325-9897.

The voters of Antioch spoke on June 5 and by nearly 71% to 29% rejected Measure L to change the City Clerk and City Treasurer from elected to appointed positions, and by 84% to 16% said no way to rotating the Mayor’s position among the five council members, instead of directly electing the position.

The City Council put the first one on the ballot at a cost of nearly $100,000 in the hopes of saving about $35,000 a year in future years.

The Mayor’s measure added additional costs to the city election for a total of $105,000.

The problem is nobody campaigned for them, other than a ballot statement. There were no signs, no mailers, no door-to-door flyers and no phone banks calling voters to urge them to pass either measure.

The next time council members want to put something on the ballot at taxpayer expense, they need to back that up with the commitment to campaign for its passage.

I was chastised last month for supporting the longtime effort to rename L Street to Marina Way (or Parkway, as city staff proposed and the Planning Commission approved – but the Council rejected) because it would cost, according to staff’s estimate, $40,000.

But by doing so now there would be little to no cost for the city from the state to change the freeway exit signs. Instead if the council changes the street name in the future, it will cost the city about $100,000 for CalTrans to redo the freeway signs.

(On a side note I find it an interesting coincidence that had the council not placed those two measures on the ballot, they would have had enough to pay for the $40,000 street name change and the $65,000 for the July 4^th fireworks and celebration – which was raised through private donations – for a total of exactly $105,000. Hmmm.)

The 16-year-old street name change idea, from the City’s 1996 Economic Development Plan, also included changing the name of A Street to Rivertown Drive. That idea has been expanded to now include 2nd Street, since the two streets are connected. It just makes sense, as that road leads you to and through and is the main street of Rivertown.

It would have been a onetime expense for permanent marketing of Antioch’s historic downtown Rivertown and waterfront – which was the intent of that part of the economic plan.

It’s also part of the intent of bringing back the July 4th fireworks, this year. Come out and enjoy the free show and take a look around Antioch’s historic Rivertown. It was in 1851 at the July 4th picnic that the residents renamed the town Antioch from Smith’s Landing.

By the way, the street names in downtown used to be named after people. They weren’t always letters and numbers. In fact I just saw a copy of the map of downtown with the original street names that Oak View Memorial Park has available. So renaming things is part of our city’s history.

Once again, Waldie Plaza, located in Downtown Antioch, will be hopping with good music, families and fun this summer. Due to the generosity of the Lesher Foundation our summer concert series has been expanded to every Saturday in July and August, from 6-8 PM for the 2nd year! Thank you Lesher Foundation and all of our sponsors: Arts & Cultural Foundation of Antioch, City of Antioch, East County Times, GenOn, Give Always To Others & Company, Clay, Millias & Co, LLP and the Antioch Chamber of Commerce.

The Waldie Plaza lineup: July 7th, Spindrift California (Easy listening to foot stomping tunes); July 14th: Pittsburg’s PHDs (Latin/Jazz/Old School); July 21st: Sumac (Blues & R&B); July 28th: Juke Joint (Classic Soul & R&B); August 4th: Jessica Caylyn (Hometown Country Rocker & Nashville.

Recording Artist); August 11^th: Soul Request (R&B, Pop, Urban Jazz); August 18th: Bell Brothers (County Rock); August 25th: Tuck & Roll (50’s & 60’s Rock & Roll).

A special kick off concert will be held June 30^th, featuring local favorite, Vocal Ease & the Boogie Men, at the Antioch Historical Society (outside grounds) from 6-8 PM.

Seating is not provided; please bring blankets, folding chairs. For more information, visit www.Art4Antioch.org or call (925) 325-9897.

Antioch’s own water park at Prewett Park is open for the Summer.

Rates are as follows: Saturday, Sunday and Holidays $14, Monday through Friday $12, Daily After 4 p.m. $5, Seniors & Active Military (ID required) $5, Lap Pool Swim $4 and children 2 and under Free.

Open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., now through September 2, and the Lap Pool is open from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Group Rates, Parties, Rentals and Buy Outs are available.

Located at 4701 Lone Tree Way, across from Deer Valley High School, the park also offers a snack bar to satisfy the thirst and hunger of their patrons.

For more information or details call (925) 776-3070 or visit www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CitySvcs/Prewett/#

By Lieutenant Diane Aguinaga, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Saturday morning, June 30, 2012 at 4:18 a.m. Antioch police responded to the report of a gunshot victim lying in the street in the 800 block of L Street. When officers arrived they found a 20 year old male suffering from a gunshot wound to his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. This information is preliminary as the investigation is still ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Bittner at 925-779-6939 or text an anonymous tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH in the body of the text.