Archive for April, 2017

Get your tickets now for the Antioch Historical Society BBQ & Beerfest, Sunday, May 7

Friday, April 21st, 2017

Download the ticket form, here: BBQ-Beerfest2017

Pet Adoption Weekend and Pet Wash Fundraiser at Pet Food Express in Antioch, April 22 & 23

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

Sheriff’s Detectives seek additional child molestation victims of Richmond man

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

JB Yancy

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff is seeking additional possible victims in a child molestation case. Earlier this year, Detectives arrested 26-year-old JB Yancy following a three-month long investigation.

Alleged acts of molestation against a minor victim in North Richmond were brought to the attention of the Office of the Sheriff in late 2016. Detectives launched an investigation and confirmed the allegations. An arrest warrant was issued for Yancy.

Yancy was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on multiple counts of child molestation. He is currently being held in lieu of $1,000,000 bail.

Detectives believe there may be additional victims and would like to talk to anyone with any information. Yancy has resided in Vallejo, Richmond, and Fairfield. He approached his victim in a public place.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Sexual Assault Unit of the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2625. For any tips, please email: tips@so.cccounty.us or call 866-846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.

Writer shares comments to Antioch council on city’s $150 million in unfunded liabilities

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

Dear Editor:

Following are the comments I made to the Antioch City Council during the budget session on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.

As to the Budget Staff Report to the City Council from Director Merchant dated 11 April 2017: City Unfunded Employee Retirement at PERS

  1. Agenda Item 1 page 1 / The actual unfunded CalPERS amount is somewhere between $150,000,000.00 and $160,000,000.00.  One hundred and forty million is a low-end number.
  2. Page 2 / Measure C will sunset and will not be renewed by the voters.  The mismanagement and lack of performance will cause it to fail.  I would not vote for a renewal and would work to defeat a renewal.
  3. Page 3 / Transfers from Water and Sewer, if as stated the City is doing a new study please know that if the City of Antioch attempts to transfer funds for Police Services I will immediately file suit to stop the transfer.  The City of Antioch must stop the shell game with transfers.
  4. Page 3 / Memorandum concerning salary increases.  This never should have been approved and needs to immediately be addressed by opening renegotiation with Police and other employees.
  5. Page 4 / Contract Code Enforcement / Fines should be equal to have this break even.  There should not be a $175,000.00 deficit.
  6. Page 4 / Golf Course / The entire golf course and facility is most likely not worth more than 5 million dollars in the open market.  In fact, the value may be as low as 3 million.  But the total amount owed to the City is not in any way sufficient to affect the budget shortfalls that we are looking at in 2018 to 2021.
  7. Page 6 / Measure C /See information in item 2 above.
  8. Page 7 / Measure O/  The City still fails to collect all the money due.  We just took in three new management accounts and none of the properties were registered with the City.  From the consumer side view this is a near failure on the part of the City.
  9. Page 8 / June 30 2019 Proposed Budget.  Director Merchant states correctly that nearly 3.5Million Dollars of expenditure increase is due to Salary and CalPERS.  Looking at anything else will not correct, fix or effect the road to Municipal Bankruptcy.
  10. Page 9 / Employees need to pay 50% or more of any fees paid to CalPERS.  Additionally, the City must terminate “Defined Retirement Benefit” and move to “Defined Retirement Contribution”.

The City of Antioch has 24 months until massive negative spending begins.  Bankruptcy is no more than 24 months from that time.  You can no longer kick the can down the road.

Mark Jordan

Antioch

Embezzlement, DUI, trespassing among Antioch Police calls for March 30 – April 5, 2017

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

Following are the Antioch Police Department calls for service highlights as published in City Manager Ron Bernal’s Weekly Report dated April, 2017 and provided by Interim Chief of Police Tammany Brooks.

Calls for Service Summary

Time Period:  03/30/17 00:00:00 – 04/05/17 23:59:59

Number of Calls for Service: 1,735

Number of Case Reports: 260

Number of Arrests: 77

Felony: 26

Misdemeanor: 51

Arrests with DUI charge: 3

The data is based upon unaudited CAD/RMS data at time of report generation.

  • 4/5/17 at 4:56 pm, Wal-Mart loss prevention called APD dispatch and advised they had an employee, 19-year-old Kamya Gray in custody for embezzling $1200 from the store. An officer was dispatched to the store and learned that Gray was a cashier at the Wal-Mart and had stole $1200 from her register over a 4-day period. Gray also admitted to the officer that she stole the money. Gray was arrested for embezzlement and later booked into the County Jail.
  • 04/05/2017 at 7:27am, citizens in the area of Park Middle School called 911 regarding a possible student in the neighborhood with a mask over his face and holding an air soft gun in his hand. Officers responded to the area and located a 14-year-old student with a BB gun in his hand. He also had a bandana around his neck. The juvenile was detained without incident and eventually charged with an Antioch Municipal Code violation. He was released to school staff after our investigation was complete.
  • 4/2/17 at 10:30 pm, officers responded to the 7-Eleven at 3701 Sunset Lane for a report of an intoxicated subject passed out in the back seat of a vehicle. Officers contacted 19-year-old Osna Sharifi. Sharifi displayed objective symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol and was intoxicated to the point she could not care for herself.  In plain view on the front driver seat was a loaded handgun.  Sharifi was arrested for public intoxication and possession of a loaded firearm in public. Sharifi was booked into County Jail.
  • 4/1/17 at 11:03 am, officers were dispatched to Cortez Ct. and Buchanan Rd. for a vehicle collision. Upon arrival officers contacted 39-year-old Lionel White standing next to his vehicle. It was discovered White had collided into a parked car.  White displayed signs of alcohol intoxication.  After a series of field sobriety tests, White was arrested for DUI.  White was booked at the Antioch Jail and submitted to a breath test and then transported to County Jail.
  • 3/31/17 at 7:54 pm, officers were dispatched to a report of a non-injury traffic collision on A St. Upon arrival they contacted 30-year-old Luis Martinez who had collided into three parked cars. Martinez’s steering wheel separated from the vehicle and he hit a fourth car.  Martinez displayed signs of alcohol intoxication and admitted he had been drinking.  After administering field sobriety tests Martinez was arrested for DUI and sent to County Jail.
  • 03/31/2017 at 12:17 pm, a Chase Bank employee from the Delta Fair Blvd. branch called dispatch reporting a subject in the bank attempting to pass a fraudulent check. Officers arrived within a few minutes and contacted 46-year-old Regina Stokes who was waiting at the teller window. Officers spoke with the owner of Uncle Wang’s Chinese Restaurant in Pittsburg who advised the business was burglarized last night and company checks were stolen. Stokes was arrested for passing a fraudulent check and booked in the County Jail.
  • 3/30/17 at 5:40 pm, officers were dispatched to Tailgaters Sports Bar for the report of a male being verbally abusive towards the staff. Upon arrival, they located, 28-year-old Jon Bella inside the establishment at the pool tables. Bella was initially calm and willingly complied with officer’s request to go outside. Once outside Bella became upset that he was being asked to leave the bar, stating that this is where he hangs out and that nobody can tell him he has to leave. Officers advised Bella that he was no longer welcome at the bar tonight. Bella attempted to re-gain access to the bar on three different occasions. Bella was advised he would be placed under arrest if he attempted to re-enter the bar which he did. The manager of Tailgaters signed a Citizen’s Arrest form, and Bella was placed under arrest for trespassing. Bella booked into County Jail for likely to continue.

 

Writer concerned about Antioch budget deficits, says no more taxes

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

Dear Editor:

I saw a report in the Antioch Herald about future deficits in the city budget. The source of the problem is obvious. In general, public employee pay, medical benefits, and retirement have all escalated much faster than for comparable jobs in the private sector. This is a Statewide problem and must be addressed at every level of government. More tax is not the way to solve this problem.

I think it is time to take drastic steps. Do a better job of informing the citizens of Antioch that we have a problem. Only a few people will see a newspaper story. Put an insert in with the water bills. Contact every club, church and groups of every kind. Ask the Chamber of Commerce to request every business to post a prominent notice in their place of business. Refuse union demands for more and more. Stop thinking of more tax. Live within the current income.

If it takes bankruptcy to wake people up, then the City should start planning for a bankruptcy in a few years. Make every effort to balance the budget and if that fails then declare bankruptcy.

Joseph Ramus

Antioch

Public input requested for new Countywide Bike and Pedestrian Plan

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s (CCTA) Countywide Bike and Pedestrian Plan outlines strategies that support pedestrian-friendly developments and encourages a connected, coordinated network of bicycle facilities. To help implement these strategies, CCTA adopted a Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan in 2003.  We updated the Plan in 2009, and are reaching out to the public to provide comments and ideas for the latest Plan update, which is currently underway.
Now the Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan is being updated for 2017 to help make walking and biking safer, more convenient, and more attractive in Contra Costa. The Plan will help harmonize local plans for bicycle and pedestrian networks in Contra Costa and help us better understand where and how often people walk and bicycle in the county.

We encourage you to visit the project website, KeepContraCostaMoving.net, today to take a short survey and use the interactive map to provide your comments and suggestions about the Countywide Bike and Pedestrian Plan. You can also learn more about upcoming events, the planning timeline, and opportunities to provide your ideas to the planning team. We will be hosting pop-up stations at community events and other popular locations throughout the County to gather input from residents and visitors.

The planning process will take place in phases over the course of the next year, with a final plan and environmental report scheduled for completion in the summer of 2018. We hope that you’ll stay tuned and check back on the website often to keep up to date on the planning process, explore draft documents, and provide your feedback and comments.

Let’s work together to make our community a safer and friendlier place to walk and bike. Visit KeepContraCostaMoving.net now.

New downtown Antioch vintage, modern dress store to hold Grand Opening, Saturday, April 22

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

204 G Street, Rivertown, Antioch – www.facebook.com/rosetimeofday