Above are the composite drawings of two of the suspects from the April 26^th kidnapping and robbery of the taxi driver in Antioch. Antioch Police have recovered significant evidence from the taxi which will assist in identifying the responsible parties.

Police are also looking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects depicted in the composite drawings. It is believed these suspects may have ties to Antioch and Oakland, specifically the area where the taxi was recovered in the 2200 hundred block of 83^rd Ave in Oakland.

Anyone with information regarding this case should call Det. Green at (925)779-6932.

Dear Editor:

Body and Foot Massages by Trained Staff

By Teresa A. Klein

You’re driving home on Highway 4, which is once again moving so slowly you could get out and walk home faster. You discover your hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly they begin to ache. As the minutes tick by your neck begins to knot and your shoulders raise up until you feel that dreaded tension headache develop. If you are a parent, add a couple complaining or crying kids and the commute is pretty unbearable.

So how do you handle this or similar situations when the stress of human life seems to suffocate you like a blanket on a hot Antioch day?

Of way is to de-stress yourself with a massage at Southeast Antioch’s The Relaxing Station, located in Raley’s shopping center at 3712A Lone Tree Way. Calming music, dim lights, fragrant oils, and a licensed massage therapist working the daily-life knots out of your tense muscles. After an hour, you feel like – and you are – a new person.

“It is a very good idea to come in for a massage,” says Chen Xia, spokesperson for The Relaxing Station. “Massage boosts circulation and helps to improve your mood by making you relaxed. Long term, massage will make your body more healthy.”

As the daughter of The Relaxing Station co-owner Xueliang Xia, Chen says The Relaxing Station is strictly a therapeutic massage spa, unlike some spas that offer haircuts, baths, facials, and other services. Mr. Xia opened The Relaxing Station in late spring 2011 with business partner Kelly Lu because they felt Southeast Antioch needed a quality massage spa.

Massages available include foot, acupressure, deep tissue and Swedish massages. Each one targeting your specific body’s needs by either a male or female masseuse who is licensed and certified. Deep tissue is harder massage using thumbs to hit pressure points.

Swedish offers a softer touch for all-over body relaxation. With acupressure, masseuse hits pressure points to relax certain muscles or target specific ailments, similar to acupuncture, but with no needles. And the foot massage is herbal reflexology.

Currently, The Relaxation Station is offering special pricing, so if you have never had a massage, now is the perfect time to try one. Chen recommends an hour massage, which is $40, a $5 savings, but says if you are unsure of how you will enjoy a massage, first-timers can opt for a 30-minute massage for $30. The Foot massage special is $20, also a $5 savings.

To fin out what massage is right for your tired, aching body, call The Relaxation Station at 925-778-1398 to speak with a therapist and set up your appointment. The spa is open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. every day and recommends appointments but says walk-ins are welcome.

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, Chen says The Relaxation Station offers gift certificates for that special woman in your life.

Each one of us has uncountable stressors in our life. How you deal with the stress outcome is your choice, but massage is a proven method that is relaxing for the mind and the body.

At first glance, Measure L on your June ballot in Antioch, seems like a reasonable idea: save the city budget money by making the City Clerk and City Treasurer positions appointed, instead of elected.

The first reason I’ve been opposed to this is simple finances. While it will save about $32,000 per year for the two positions and $12,000 every four years in reduced election costs, the cost to the city for holding the election for this ballot measure is $105,000, which is about three years of savings.

An argument for it is the Treasurer’s job is mostly done by city staff, already.

But the City Treasurer is the people’s independent watchdog over the city’s finances, separate from the city council and staff. If the position is just another hired city staff member, it loses its independence to be another check on how our tax dollars are being spent.

The City Clerk must definitely remain elected because the person in that position oversees our city elections, in addition to the County Clerk. The person in that position should not be beholden to the City Manager, who answers to the five elected council members.

So, I’m recommending a No vote on Measure L.

Measure M, if approved, will change how we choose the Mayor of Antioch from an elected position for four years to one that is rotated among the council members, each year.

While it may be nice to have an elected Mayor, in a General Law City, as Antioch is, the reality is the position is mostly ceremonial.

Besides running the council meetings, the only real power the elected Mayor has is to make nominations of council members to committees on which the they serve and represent the city, as well as to nominate citizens to the various boards and commissions – all with council approval.

The upside of making the change is that we won’t be stuck with someone as Mayor for four years, if he or she turns out to not be so good and we’re not happy with the direction they’re attempting to lead the city.

Plus it gives each council member the opportunity to lead the city for a year – just as it is done in 14 of the other 18 cities in the county.

If it passes, it will go into effect this November. The result will be three council seats up for election, instead of two council seats and the Mayor’s seat. So, I’m voting Yes on Measure M. Both of 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the federal trial court’s decision in the Tuggles case finding no discrimination by the City of Antioch in its community policing efforts. At the 2010 trial, a San Francisco federal jury deliberated only a short time before reaching its verdict of no discrimination by the police department.

This is another court victory for Antioch that affirms what the City’s residents and community leaders have understood for years: Antioch’s community policing programs were appropriate, unbiased attempts to address crime and neighborhood problems.

Plaintiff’s case hinged on accusations that the City’s practice of notifying landlords and the Contra Costa County Housing Authority of crimes and nuisance activity was improper. The federal jury, and now the federal appellate court, rejected that argument.

Also rejected was plaintiff’s claim that Antioch’s community policing efforts were discriminatory if crime and policing statistics did not absolutely mirror the racial or economic demographics of the community.

This appeals court decision comes after a landlord withdrew his discredited claims of harassment and dismissed his case in September, 2010 after payment of nominal court costs (Patras et al. v. Antioch et al.). Officers the landlord claimed threatened him were proven to be nowhere near his home or not even employed by the city.

The landlord was also a key witness in the lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Impact Fund alleging that neighbors and police working together to build safer neighborhoods was some elaborate and sinister conspiracy (Williams et al. v. Antioch).

As the evidence mounted that Antioch’s community policing efforts were fair, unbiased and focused on addressing criminal, drug and nuisance activities in neighborhoods, plaintiffs and their lawyers eventually agreed to dismiss their lawsuit in exchange for a settlement that was a fraction of what they originally sought.

The favorable resolution of all of these cases allows Antioch the opportunity to refocus valuable and limited resources and attention on community issues and solutions.

“We are grateful to community members of all races and backgrounds for standing alongside us as we stood up to these false allegations, and we are ready to move forward to make Antioch a better place to live, work and raise a family for all,” said Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando.

“Rose infuses her live and recorded performances with non-stop energy and… heartfelt, female-centric jazz anthropology.” – JazzTimes

“It’s more than a jazz concert. It’s a swinging honors course in Womankind!” – San Francisco Magazine

What: Pamela Rose “Wild Women of Song”

Where: El Campanil Theatre

602 W Second Street, Antioch

When: Saturday May 12, 2012 4:00 pm matinee

Cost: Adults: $ 27 Seniors: $24 Children: $ 15

Tickets: (925) 757-9500

Online: www.elcampaniltheatre.com

With this delightful multi-media performance celebrating the history of female songwriters from the Tin Pan Alley era, Wild Women of Song, veteran San Francisco jazz and blues vocalist Pamela Rose makes a compelling case for the enduring contributions of women to America’s treasure trove of popular music.

Boasting a big, bold voice and blues-infused sensibility, Rose brings a vast array of musical experience to songs by more than a dozen gifted but lesser-known tunesmiths.

“Dorothy Fields should be as familiar as Ira Gershwin or Johnny Mercer,” says Rose, a Los Angeles native who first gained notice on the Bay Area scene in the late 1970s through her work with organist Merl Saunders and later with the Motown revue ZaSu Pitts Memorial Orchestra.

Immersing herself in jazz over the past two decades, she’s the rare singer who can belt sassy golden age blues by Alberta Hunter and Ida Cox as easily as crooning a torchy Peggy Lee lament. Completing the package, Rose also possesses enviable songwriting skills, and she throws her own well-crafted originals into the mix.

There are currently two (2) vacancies on the Antioch Police Crime Prevention Commission.

The Commission consists of five members, plus a Crime Commissioner Coordinator. Commissioners are involved in Neighborhood Watch groups and programs.

• A commissioner must be a resident of Antioch and must not be a full-time police officer.

• Meetings are held the third Monday of the month at 7:00 P.M barring holidays at which time the meeting will be held the following Wednesday.

The filing deadline is 5 P.M., Thursday, May 17, 2012 For more information visit
www.ci.antioch.ca.us/CityGov/BoardsCommissions.htm or City Clerk’s Office at 779-7009.

Antioch will hold its annual Memorial Day observance at the Oak View Memorial Park, 2500 E. 18th Street, on Monday, May 28 at 11:00 a.m.

This year is also the bicentennial of the War of 1812. It was during that war that the battle of Fort McHenry inspired the song that would become our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.  For more information on the bicentennial, visit www.visit1812.com.

Details on Antioch’s Memorial Day observance to follow.