Patrick Vanier

By Allen Payton

On Thursday, May 4th, Patrick Vanier, Supervising Deputy District Attorney for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office Narcotics Prosecution Team, announced his campaign for Contra Costa County District Attorney. He was was joined by supporters at the Amador Rancho Community Center in San Ramon and will take on embattled incumbent D.A. Mark Peterson.

Vanier has been a prosecutor for almost 20 years and has prosecuted hundreds of criminals; both in the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and now in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

“Today, prosecutors are not just trial attorneys,” said Vanier.  “They are investigators, problem solvers, innovators, and community partners in combating crime.  I have proven to be a prosecutor with fresh ideas and a willingness to institute best practices to bring the criminal justice system into the 21st Century.” 

Earlier this year, Vanier was awarded the 2017 San Jose Police Department’s Excellence in Prosecution Award and in 2015 he was named California Narcotics Officers’ Association State Prosecutor of the Year.  Vanier is an experienced prosecutor whose area of expertise is wiretap investigations, especially in major narcotic and gang crime investigations. 

Peterson has been under fire, including pressure to resign from both Contra Costa Deputy District Attorneys and more recently the Contra Costa Grand Jury, following his $45,000 fine, last year for the illegal, personal use of campaign funds totaling over $66,000 between 2011 and 2015.

“I am running for District Attorney because I believe we should expect more and deserve better from our elected District Attorney,” said Vanier.  “My priorities are to enforce and prosecute laws fairly to ensure offenders who threaten public safety are locked up, utilize the latest technologies, data analytics, and community prosecution models to address rising crime rates through crime prevention and enforcement, and hold myself and the attorney’s in the office to the highest ethical standards.”

According to Vanier’s bio on his campaign website at http://patrickvanier.ngpvanhost.com, “Patrick has spent more than half of his career working with law enforcement agencies investigating and prosecuting major narcotics cases with a particular emphasis on Mexican National drug cartels operating within California.  Patrick’s area of expertise is in the area of wiretap investigations.  He has utilized his expertise by collaborating with federal, state and local law enforcement on more than 100 wiretap applications targeting major drug traffickers, street gangs and murders.

Patrick has trained law enforcement and attorneys for the California District Attorneys’ Association, California Narcotics Officers’ Association, Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and various law enforcement agencies within Santa Clara County. Patrick has taught on the subjects of wiretap investigations, legal updates in search and seizure law, California Electronic Communications Privacy Act and most recently Proposition 64 (Adult Use of Marijuana Act).

Working a variety of jobs during the day, Patrick completed law school at night and was awarded his Juris Doctorate in 1998 by John F. Kennedy University School of Law.  He received a B.S. in Business and Accounting from San Francisco State University in 1995 and a B.A. in Political Science from University of California, Irvine in 1991.

Patrick and his wife, Anaite, live in San Ramon with their three daughters where he has coached soccer for more than a decade.”

The election is in June, 2018.

By Acting Sgt. Shawn Morin #5227, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Saturday, May 20, 2017 at approximately 1:46 p.m., Antioch Police Officers and Emergency Medical Personnel were dispatched to the area of Wilbur and Viera Avenues for the report of a motorcycle that had collided with a pole. Upon police arrival, medical and fire personnel were already on scene and tending to both of the riders.

The 68-year-old male rider was transported to an area hospital where he did not survive his injuries. The 66-year-old female passenger was transported to an area hospital where she was admitted in critical condition. Antioch Police Traffic Collision Investigators responded to the scene to conduct the investigation. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor in this collision.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision is encouraged to contact the Antioch Police Department at (925) 778-2441.

“To chip or not to chip? That shouldn’t even be a question!”

One in five missing pets are reunited with their owners via traditional methods – tags, fliers, shelter reports or knocking on doors. Just over 50% of dogs that are missing and are microchipped go home, because their owners got them chipped and kept their information current.

We think it’s hip to chip and are offering the first 100 dogs to our May Madness Chippalooza a free microchip – thanks to your donations. It will be $10 for a chip thereafter. Only requirements are that they don’t have an existing microchip and are healthy. 

So, be hip, come get a chip for your furry friend at Bridgehead Cafe, 2415 East 18th on , Antioch.  May 21st at 2pm, ends 4pm.

Please be prepared for the hot weather.

For more information visit www.furryfriendsfoodre.wixsite.com/fffr

Dear Editor:

As the President of the Antioch School Board and as Antioch’s former (thirteen years) Representative to the County Library Commission and two-time chairman of that organization, I am no stranger to the needs of libraries.

Speaking, though, strictly or myself in the role of a private citizen, I am convinced that libraries are not a luxury but are an economic necessity. Great cities have great libraries. Libraries are simply a gateway to community engagement and cultural enrichment.

They are today’s veritable Meccas and crossroads, serving as a hub of traditional quiet reading, study and research while intersecting with modern technology. Call them the 21st century town square as they bring together people of all ages, interests and economic and social strata.

As people look to buy into communities with good schools they also take an interest in the available educational and cultural support system.

Libraries do, then, matter in the big picture and they matter on many levels.

Consider the tale of two cities. Deer Valley High has a great library and is fortunate to be across the street from Prewett Park and the modern library there. Our downtown library, though, suffers from wear and tear.

It is also cramped and in need of more hours of service because of the fact that, invariably, less families in the downtown have computer access than in more affluent S.E. Antioch. As  is, the downtown library is open 28 hours and Prewett Park 35. That’s, plain and simple, an inequity, particularly to our youth and seniors.

The City is now in the process of apportioning excess funds. I urge our Council at their next meeting to vote in favor of using some of the newfound money for extended library hours for the 18th Street location.

Walter Ruehlig

Antioch

Students in the etiquette class learn how to properly set a table.

Antioch class begins June 26

By John Crowder

Monday, May 8, marked the beginning of National Etiquette Week.  More than just a list of manners, proper etiquette allows people to know how to handle themselves in life’s important interactions.  How should you conduct yourself at a job interview?  How about at a formal dinner?  Do you know how to make a good first impression?  Are you able to make a public presentation?

These are just a few of the questions that are answered in classes taught by Mrs. Tina Hayes, author of Getting Ahead with Etiquette and the owner and founder of the School of Etiquette and Decorum.

Etiquette class students learn to properly greet each other.

For the last few weeks, Hayes has been teaching a class on ‘Etiquette for Success’ to the students of Freedom High School in Oakley.  Once a week, Freedom students meet after school and are taught the soft skills that are so valuable to success in school and in work, but that many no longer learn while growing up.  As Hayes explains, “There was a time when these skills were taught in the home, when families still came together regularly for the evening meal.  These days, that’s often not the case.  Yet, we all know how valuable these skills are for students who want to successfully navigate their high school and college years, and especially when they enter the world of work.”

Hayes has been offering etiquette classes throughout the Bay Area and beyond over the last decade.  Over the years, her classes have helped hundreds of people, both young and old, learn to be more confident and courteous, and to exhibit social graces.  The training sessions conducted by Hayes and her staff cover more than 80 topics, and can be presented as workshops, seminars, or even in personal coaching sessions.

According to Hayes, “Our training gives individuals that ‘edge’ that will help them succeed throughout life and make for a better, and brighter, future.”

Her students, and their parents, agree.  My son, Eddy Crowder, an 8th grader at Paideia Academy, has attended four etiquette classes during his Junior High years.

“These classes have really helped me be more confident at formal dinners, and when I speak with adults,” he said.  “Mrs. Hayes is a great teacher.”

Wanda Ransom, the mother of a college-bound son who participated in the College Preparedness Training Workshop said, “Thank you so much for polishing his skills.”

This summer, from June 26 through 30, the School of Etiquette and Decorum will be offering a Summer Etiquette Day Camp from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center. Two sessions will run concurrently, one for children (ages 6 – 12) and the other for teens (ages 13 – 17).  To learn more about these classes, or other offerings, contact Mrs. Tina Hayes at 925-519-0354 or visit the website at etiquetteschool.us.

Since Nov. 1, 2015, there have been 87 shootings on Bay Area freeways in which eight people died – all of them in Contra Costa County – and 39 others were injured, according to the CHP. So far, this year there have been 21 shootings.

The Department of Transportation has pledged between $1.5- to $2-million for the installation of high-tech surveillance equipment on Highway 4 between west and east Contra Costa County.

Supervisor Federal Glover, chair of the Board of Supervisors, made this statement Monday:

“I’m happy to see that the State of California’s Department of Transportation and law enforcement agencies agree with me and City of Pittsburg on how to stem the shootings on Highway 4 in Contra Costa County,” he said. “Last year, I dedicated money from the Keller Canyon Landfill Mitigation Fund to install cameras on Highway 4 from Bay Point to Antioch. Pittsburg found money in its budget to increase the funding needed to install high tech surveillance equipment along the same stretch of road.

“With the additional funding from the state, we can make the rest of Highway 4 safer all the way to west county by using cameras and shot locators,” he continued. “Criminal elements will no longer be able to hide when they commit their deadly activities on our public roadway.”

It was a coordinated effort among elected leaders in the county. According to a Mercury News article, last year, after the Pittsburg paid to install cameras pointing at Highway 4 in that city, “Hercules Mayor Dan Romero has led a campaign by the mayors of several Contra Costa County cities, along with Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson, to seek state funding to install law enforcement-friendly surveillance cameras freeway onramps and offramps throughout the county, and to upgrade existing Caltrans cameras so police can use them.”