Archive for February, 2015

Antioch’s top fighter, Katrina Nahe, shoots for 2016 Olympics

Monday, February 2nd, 2015
Katrina Nahe

Seventeen-year-old Katrina Nahe posing with her wide collection of championship belts she started earning in 2007.

By Luke Johnson

Katrina Nahe is no ordinary senior walking the halls of Deer Valley High School. The 17-year-old has a kickboxing resume containing five world titles along with three international titles.

She began training in martial arts at the age of five in Grandmaster Dennis Guila’s garage in Antioch, who is a ninth degree black belt in Kajukenbo. She then started competing in tournaments at seven years old, and won her first championship via TKO when she was nine at the International Kickboxing Federation World Classic in Florida.

I felt very motivated after winning my first title,” Nahe said. “I wanted to keep fighting and win more titles.”

On top of being an accomplished fighter, Nahe is also the captain of the Deer Valley girls’ tennis team, and participateed in the Bay Valley Athletic League Tournament, a two-day event, last Oct. 30th and 31st.

For the past couple years she has been training with University of San Francisco boxing coach Angelo Merino, and wants to transition into that form of combat so she can contend in the Olympics. She won a bronze medal in the 2013 Junior Olympics, and has also been offered a full-ride scholarship to Michigan State University for boxing.

I plan to take [my boxing career] to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil and win gold, and be on a cereal box, and make my own clothing designs,” Nahe said.

New Dos Rios Bar & Grill opens in Antioch’s downtown Rivertown

Monday, February 2nd, 2015

The Place to Drink and Eat Where the Two Rivers Meet!

Dos Rios insideBy Allen Payton

Dos Rios, which means two rivers in Spanish, and refers to the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, which meet in Antioch is the name of the newest bar and grill in Antioch. Located in the historic, downtown Rivertown, it’s the place for you and your friends to meet, after you enter through their two doors at 420 and 422 Second Street.

Entertainment includes live bands, DJ's and karoake nights.

Entertainment includes live bands, DJ’s and karoake nights.

Opened by the father-daughter team of Celestino and Yesenia Torres, they offer good food, specialty drinks like the self-named Dos Rios, local bands, and soon, salsa and karaoke nights.

Yesenia’s background in the restaurant business puts her in charge. The friendly bar manager, Georgette Portue, is a key part of the team, too. They’re the two ladies who run the place.

Stop by Monday for Burgers & Brew for $10 or Taco Tuesdays when their street tacos are just $1.50 each. Be sure to look for their $2 domestic beer specials.

Their Grand Re-Opening will be this Saturday, February 7 and will feature a live band and dancing and then s

Open seven days a week, they offer a separate room for parties. Be sure to like them on Facebook. See their ad, page 6 in the February issue of the Antioch Herald or on the right side of this website.

Aiming High is having a positive impact on Antioch residents

Monday, February 2nd, 2015

Walk down almost any street in Antioch, and it’s very likely that sooner or later you will walk by someone who is an Aiming High graduate. That’s an indication of just how many Antioch residents have benefited from the transformational work of a unique and highly effective Bay Area company called Aiming High Inc.

Aiming High offers an array of workshops, courses, seminars and one-to-one coaching packages for individuals, corporations and civic organizations that Antioch residents have been eager to take advantage of. Antioch’s LaSjeonia Hutchings, for example, said that by participating in Aiming High’s Game Changer workshop she was able to accomplish things that previously had seemed out of reach.

Our curriculum encourages people to re-imagine their lives,” Sylvia High, the company’s founder and principal trainer said. “And as part of that, people can then choose a more fulfilling lifestyle suited to a world they themselves have designed.”

Mrs. High, who recently was a featured panelist on Oprah’s The Life You Want Tour, has more than 20 years experience in the training industry, and Aiming High has been recognized as a leader in high-impact adult and youth learning models.

The Game Changer takes place over the course of two evenings and two days. It is a lively mix of exercises, lectures and demonstrations designed to produce what Mrs. High calls “empowered thinking.” Local real estate broker, Tique Lee Caul, said that the Aiming High trainings helped her diversify her career path. She now does leadership development.

We see ourselves as every client’s possibility partner,” Mrs. High said. “In other words, Aiming High’s expertise is in illuminating the greatest possibility in each client, and then coaching them toward excellence. This is the foundation of every lifestyle change or enhancement.”

She continued: “We ask big questions at Aiming High. And big questions deserve big answers. So our clients, using our breakthrough curriculum, respond by growing their ability to produce outstanding results… in their finances, careers, relationship… you name it.”

Mrs. High is the author of “The Little Book of Big Questions,” and she encourages her clients to use questions as a form of self-introspection. Bill Zupo, an Aiming High client and Antioch resident, said that the technique has proved effective for him in getting to the heart of what matters in goal setting.

In some ways, the Aiming High trainings may even seem a bit mysterious. But, in fact, it is all really simple and straightforward. The way that Mrs. High explains it, the Aiming High trainings allow people to see their “blind spots,” the areas of their lives where there are hidden impediments. Oprah refers to these as “ah-hah” moments. Mrs. High says that it is the “nature of discovery.”

The Game Changer workshop, according to Mr. Zupo, is an ‘exhilarating eye-opener.” He described the Aiming high trainings as energetic, upbeat settings filled with the unexpected, which often makes learning fun. “I loved the music,” he said. “It seems they always played the right song for just the right moment.”

Lynn Ferguson, another graduate and Antioch resident, put it this way: “Sylvia High is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. What sets her apart from others like her is that she presents possibilities in an actionable way. She doesn’t just offer a bunch of nice ideas. It’s always about taking the actions that will produce the desired results. She’s awesome.”

Aiming High Leadership Program graduates are responsible for initiating a number of community projects in the Bay Area, including a community garden and a teen education and empowerment program. For many Aiming High grads, the goal is to touch, move and inspire their family, friends, and neighbors toward leading the best lives possible as well.

Some heroes are born, and some are made,” Mrs. High said. “But in one way or another we’re all heroes looking for an opportunity to be heroic. Aiming High invites people to be heroic about creating the life they want.”

What a great fit for Antioch.

For more information on Aiming High and The Game Changer workshop, contact Sylvia High at (510) 303-4032, via email at sylvia@aiminghighinc.com or visit their website at www.aiminghighinc.com.

Antioch Historical Society’s free vintage Antioch photo exhibit in February

Monday, February 2nd, 2015

AHS Museum

Wednesdays & Saturdays, 1 – 4 PM

1500 West 4th Street, Antioch

The special exhibit for February features vintage photos of Antioch. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Antioch’s early days and envision how today’s Antioch relates to “old” Antioch.

For more information, call (925) 757-1326 or email antiochhistoricalsociety@comcast.net. The museum is open 1 – 4 PM on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Concord man arrested for marijuana cultivation in Antioch

Monday, February 2nd, 2015
Hui Lo

Hui Lo

By Acting Sergeant Mortimer, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 1:00 p.m., the Antioch Police Department Special Operations Unit served a search warrant at a residence located in the 5000 block of Union Mine Drive related to the cultivation of marijuana. When detectives arrived Hui Luo, a 30-year-old Concord resident, was arrested while attempting to flee from the residence.

During the service of the search warrant detectives found the home had been completely converted into an illicit marijuana cultivation operation. Investigators seized approximately 1,414 marijuana plants from the home and located a large amount of equipment used to facilitate the cultivation. Along with the cultivation, Detectives also observed the electricity used to facilitate the cultivation was being stolen. The marijuana cultivation at this home was in various stages of producing an estimated 3.1 million dollars worth of marijuana. The case is still being investigated by the Antioch Police Department’s Special Operations Unit.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to call Detective Koch with the Antioch Police Department at (925)779-6895. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

Antioch Black History Month Art and Artifacts exhibit in downtown

Monday, February 2nd, 2015

The Black History Month Exhibit at the Nick Rodriguez Community Center will feature a time line of historical events featuring traditional art, artifacts, literature, and creative arts that reflect the African American experience in America. The exhibit also features a time line of African American history from Africa to the present and provides an opportunity to taste traditional beverages and desserts. The goals are to promote dignity and pride in the African American community and provide cross cultural education for the larger community.

The exhibit opens on February 7th from 2-4 PM with a reception and then continues through February 21st from 10 AM to 4 PM on February 9th, 11th, 14th, 16th and 21st.  The Nick Rodriguez Community Center is located at 213 F Street in Antioch.  The exhibit will provide a great educational experience for families and elementary and high school student groups.  For more information visit the exhibit website, http://art4antioch.org/Black-History-Exhibit.asp, or email Diane@Art4Antioch.org or call Diane Gibson-Gray at (925) 325-9897 or Carrie Frazier (925) 787-4827.

The Black History Month Exhibit is sponsored by a collaboration of community partners:  Ruah Community Outreach, Inc., Parent Partners Providing for the Education of Young Children, the JTS Art Gallery, the City of Antioch, and the Arts & Cultural Foundation of Antioch.

Testing of Contra Costa voting equipment for special State Senate election, this month

Monday, February 2nd, 2015

County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters, Joseph Canciamilla, notifies all interested parties that testing of the voting equipment to be used in the March 17, 2015, 7th Senatorial District Special Primary Election will begin next week and continue until all equipment has been tested for accuracy.

The testing schedule of the voting equipment is as follows:

  • Automark testing will begin at 9:00 am February 9th, at the Elections Warehouse, located at 610 Marina Vista, Martinez. Automark equipment is used at the polls for those who prefer the automated ballot and to help those with visual and other impairments.
  • M100 testing will begin at 9:00 am February 23rd, at the Elections Warehouse. M100’s are the tabulation equipment used at the polls.
  • M650 testing will begin at 10:00 am March 13th, at the Elections Office, 555 Escobar St, Martinez. M650’s are the central count tabulation equipment that are used to count vote-by-mail ballots.

Persons interested in observing any of these processes are welcome. Observers should check in at the Elections Office.

For further information regarding the testing of voting equipment, call (925) 335-7800 or (877) 335-7802.