By Allen Payton

At the April 10, 2018 Antioch City Council meeting, Police Chief Tammany Brooks introduced George W. Harding, IV, the new manager for Antioch Animal Services.

Harding has been in the animal care and control field for 24 years. Most recently he was the Executive Director of the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACCA), and prior to that, spent 19 years as the Manager of Animal Control for the City of Lee’s Summit Police Department. George holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Conservation Enforcement, and a Master of Business Administration degree. George is also a Certified Animal Welfare Administrator (CAWA) by the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA).

“I’m glad we were able to steal him away from NACCA,” Brooks said. “He’s had a busy week, getting married, honeymoon and packing up to relocate from San Diego.”

Throughout his career, George has been very active in representing animal care and control professionals on the national, regional and state levels. He served 12 years on the Missouri Animal Control Association Board of Directors, with two terms as President, one as Vice-President, and one as the Conference Coordinator. George is also a past NACA Board Member, a past Board Member for the Missouri Department of Agriculture Animal Care Facilities Act Advisory Committee, and was appointed by Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon, as a member of the Missouri Spay/Neuter Fund Board.

George currently serves as an Advisor to the Shelter Animals Count Board, as the leader of the animal care and control On-Point Committee for SAWA, and as a Board Member of the National Coalition on Violence Against Animals (NCOVAA).

“I’m excited to be here,” Harding said. “I’m looking forward to putting my 24 years’ experience in the industry to the test here in Antioch.”

Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis will convene an East County non-profit roundtable on Monday, April 30, 2018 from 10:00AM – 12:30 PM at Kaiser Permanente Sand Creek Conference Center in Antioch, CA.

Supervisor Burgis recognizes the many needs that nonprofits fill in every community, as well as the challenges of running a nonprofit.

It is recognized regionally that nonprofits from other parts of the county receive more funding than in East County and Supervisor Burgis wants to help change that.

“I want to help our nonprofits access the funding that is out there by giving them access to training and learning opportunities locally,” she said.

The first meeting will bring local nonprofits together to identify priorities in how we can best help them meet their goals. We will work to identify common purposes, promote cooperation among groups, and offer opportunities for collaboration. The subject of interest to most nonprofits is fundraising, followed by volunteer, leader and board development.

“We need to support our local nonprofits and strengthen our support base here in East County,” said Supervisor Burgis. “Grant requirements and funding cycles are often changing and building a solid financial foundation can be a challenge for new nonprofits.” 

All local nonprofits (any cause) are encouraged to participate and explore fundraising and volunteer options. The roundtable is intended for groups based in or serving East Contra Costa County and will continue to meet on a quarterly basis.

We have posted an online survey that will help us better understand our local nonprofits and their needs- we would appreciate all nonprofits fill out the survey even if they cannot attend this meeting.

Click for survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MYCS3TZ

There is an opportunity to RSVP at the end of the survey as well.

An Eventbrite event has been set up. Please share this event with other nonprofits. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/east-county-nonprofit-roundtable-meeting-tickets-45247371105

If you are interested in more information about the East County Nonprofit Roundtable meeting, please contact District 3 Representative Dawn Morrow dawn.morrow@bos.cccounty.us.

Steak ‘n Shake Antioch is hiring.

By Allen Payton

Somersville Towne Center Marketing Manager, Shannon Skinner announced on Tuesday, April 17, “Tomorrow morning(Wednesday) at 6:30 a.m., we will be commencing the construction for the new Steak ‘n Shake restaurant.”

According to the company website, Steak ‘n Shake was founded in February 1934 in Normal, Illinois. Gus Belt, Steak ‘n Shake’s founder, pioneered the concept of premium milkshakes and a “better burger”, by hand-crafting cuts of steak to create its flagship Steakburgers™.

Since then, the brand has become one of the most recognized and loyal brands in the restaurant franchising business, synonymous with freshness and quality.

Steak ‘n Shake Antioch will be located on the southeast corner of the Somersville Towne Center, located at 2550 Somersville Road, near the corner of Fairview Drive in Antioch and is expected to open later this summer.

Owners Raj and Sonia Sohal are excited about their new restaurant, which will offer a different type of fast-food experience.

“It will include full-service dining, with flatware and servers,” Raj shared. “We wanted to bring something different to Antioch.”

Opportunities for employment are available, as well. Please contact Sonia at (925) 234-5076 or visit Steak ‘n Shake’s recruitment website. Be sure to choose California, Antioch.

Assemblymember Jim Frazier and the California Contractors State License Board are hosting a free seminar in Antioch to teach seniors how to avoid being scammed.

The Senior Scam Stopper seminar will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at the Antioch Senior Center, 415 W. 2nd Street in downtown, Rivertown. It is open to seniors, those who care for them and anyone else seeking fraud-prevention tips.

“As many as one in five seniors report that they’ve been the victim of fraud, and new scams pop up every day,” Frazier said. “This seminar is one way to help keep you or a loved one from becoming a victim, too.”

In 1999, the California Contractors State Licensing Board began partnering with legislators, law enforcement agencies and community organizations to teach vulnerable residents how to avoid being preyed upon by unlicensed or unscrupulous contractors. The program has since expanded to include lessons on protecting residents from identity theft and scams involving auto repair, Medicare, foreign lotteries and mail fraud.

Attendees will have their questions answered and can obtain assistance if they have been scammed.

Drop-ins are welcome, but reservations are encouraged. To RSVP, or for more information, contact Assemblymember Frazier’s office at (925) 513-0411.

By Allen Payton

The leaders behind the initiative to stop the new home developments on the west side of Deer Valley Road in the Sand Creek Focus Area, and their supporters are not being honest with Antioch residents in their efforts to obtain signatures to get it on the ballot. They’re claiming the city wants to build 4,000-8,000 homes in the area and that they will be able to stop them with the initiative.

It’s Not 8,000 Homes

The fact is the City’s General Plan only allows a total of 4,000 homes in the Sand Creek area, and so far, 1,178 have already been approved and another 300 are planned on the east side of Deer Valley Road. The initiative only covers the west side of Deer Valley Road. So, the most they can do is to stop 2,522 homes, if it passes. Currently there are only about 1,700 homes planned by two of the land owners, both of whom are developers.

What the public may not be aware of is the area has been planned for new home subdivisions for over 20 years, as a result the land is privately owned by developers, and there have already been two votes by the public to allow for homes in that area. First, the public voted in 1990 for and passed Measure C, the countywide Urban Limit Line, which protects approximately 65% of the land in the county from subdivision development. Then in 2005, the people of Antioch voted to approve Measure K, creating our city’s own Urban Limit Line, moving the line back out to include the now defunct Roddy Ranch development and golf course. The land in the Sand Creek area is both inside the county’s and Antioch’s ULL’s inside the 35% of land allowed for subdivision development.

In fact, there were originally 8,950 homes planned for the Sand Creek area, plus the 640 for a total of 9,490 homes south of the current homes. So, the total number of new homes allowed in the area has already been reduced significantly.

Infrastructure Supports the Growth

Another claim is that the city’s infrastructure and Highway 4 won’t support the new homes. That’s just false. I pointed out in my previous article about the initiative from those who planned and approved the infrastructure and Highway 4 widening, that they included in their plans 12,000 homes in the Sand Creek area.

The fact is Dallas Ranch Road was built four lanes wide because of the plans to eventually connect to and become Sand Creek Road, which will cross Deer Valley Road giving another access from the homes in south Antioch to the Kaiser medical center. The road will also continue to connect to Highway 4 in Brentwood. The new homes in The Ranch project, which the initiative seeks to stop, will pay for the road up to Deer Valley Road. Actually, the developers will pay for the costs of construction of the road and get reimbursed from the sale of their new homes. Another fact, the Kaiser medical center was built out there with the expectation of the new growth, and only half of the ultimate size.

The New Homes Won’t Kill People

But, the initiative advocates use of doubling the amount of homes that are allowed isn’t the only dishonest argument being made to support the initiative, yet. Now, one of their signature gatherers is actually saying that the new homes will kill people. That’s what he told me directly. His argument is because people will have to drive farther from the Sand Creek area to their jobs and other places. He only wants infill and high-density development of new homes. So, he is still for more homes in Antioch which will still allow people to drive to their out-of-town jobs and will still blow smoke out of their tailpipes. But, their commute will be a few miles shorter, which I guess won’t kill people. Hmmm.

One older gentlemen, who was signing the petition the other day, said the new homes should be built in Stockton. Really? So, let the people move further out and drive farther to their jobs, blowing more smoke out of their tailpipes, longer? How is that protecting the environment and keeping the new homes from killing people? As if they did. That just doesn’t make any sense. I wonder if he would have said the same thing when the home he’s living in was being built.

All Part of a Master Plan

It’s all been part of the master plan for Antioch. There’s been a method to what the out of town environmental groups and no-growthers in Antioch see as madness.

Growth in Antioch is Planned, Balanced & Limited

Growth must be planned, balanced, and limited and Antioch has all of that with the General Plan, the Urban Limit Line and a 200-acre employment area set aside 20 years ago. Plus, it will take as much as 20 years for all the homes in the Sand Creek area to be built. Some of the homes approved in Antioch before 1989 are just now about to be built, today. It takes that long for the infrastructure to be built and paid for. Plus, the housing market goes in cycles. So, just because the homes may get approved now, doesn’t mean they’re all going to be built right away.

Most of the property owners/developers in the Sand Creek area have been waiting for the past 20 years for Highway 4 to be widened and BART to be extended to Antioch, before moving forward with their plans. Some have owned their property for almost 30 years, waiting for the right time.

Local Job Creation

What the one young man who said the new homes will kill people doesn’t accept is the argument that those homes will attract business owners and executives who will bring their businesses to Antioch and Brentwood. They can locate them in the long-planned 200-acre employment area, formerly known as Future Urban Area 2 (FUA-2) along Highway 4, north of Slatten Ranch Road, as well as in Brentwood between Lone Tree Way and Sand Creek Road. That area in Brentwood is just now getting the zoning finalized and it will be mostly for commercial, which includes retail and employment. The young man’s views are in spite of the fact history has shown it to occur, over and over. For example, the upscale homes in Blackhawk and the San Ramon Valley attracted business owners and executives to locate their companies in Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. The same thing happened in the Tri Valley area, with the new homes in Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin attracting employers to the Hacienda Business Park in Pleasanton. The same happened in Walnut Creek and Concord and it can and will happen, here, especially now that the BART station will soon open in Antioch. But, only if we allow it. Signing the initiative and passing it will prevent our chances of becoming a complete, self-supportive city and kill the efforts to bring jobs closer to where our people live.

Lot Sizes As Large As 2 Acres

I also heard another argument from a friend who opposes The Ranch project, because she expected the lots to be half-acre in size, not the sizes proposed of 5,000-9,000 square feet on average. Yet, the homes in Blackhawk aren’t all on half-acre lots. Many are on 5,000 square foot lots. I frankly was surprised to learn that, recently myself. Plus, the Zeka Ranch project, on the old Higgins Ranch property, on the west side of The Ranch project, includes home lots from 8,000 square feet up to 2 acres in size. So, there will be that option for those who want and can afford that size of lot.

Parks & Police Fees

Two more positives from the development are the park fee all the new homes will pay, which will help to complete the 115-acre Prewett Park, finishing the unimproved area between Deer Valley Road and the parking lot. The homes will also be assessed an annual police fee – the first one in the city’s history – to help provide additional police services.

It Is To Stop The New Homes

Some initiative supporters say it’s not no-growth or to stop the homes from being built, but that it’s just allowing the people to have a vote. But, they know the reality is, the voters will oppose any new subdivision brought up for a vote. Besides, why do we elect city council members who are empowered to represent us and make those decisions on our behalf if we’re just going to put each individual development project on the ballot?

At a time the state and Bay Area are facing a housing shortage, efforts to stop long-planned homes in voter approved areas for new home subdivisions is irresponsible, contributing to the high-cost of housing, as well as homelessness.

There’s a saying that the new home for the pinks and reds, the socialists and communists, is the greens. It’s acceptable to be an environmentalist, but not a communist. Although, these days, without truly understanding the implications of the philosophy, many think it’s acceptable to be a socialist.

The environmental leaders behind the initiative and some of their supporters are basically wanting us to be like a communist country with all future generations living in high-density apartment and condominium complexes. What’s the difference between their thinking and that of the central planning of the soviets and the results they, North Korea and Cuba have produced for their people?

Not everyone wants to live in that type of housing.

Why Do I Care So Much?

People wonder why I care about approving the new growth area so much. It’s for two reasons, the first one is for the benefit of Antioch and the second one is a bit self-serving.

First, I want to see Antioch succeed as a city with the needed, local, well-paying jobs, city services and a safe community.

I grew up part of my life and graduated from high school in Walnut Creek. I’ve seen the positive side of the upscale housing and local job centers that came to both Walnut Creek and Concord, as well as the San Ramon Valley, as a result. In fact, I worked for a small developer that built the first $300,000 home subdivision in Concord. Antioch needs to have what those and other cities, like our neighbor Brentwood, as well as those in the San Ramon Valley have – namely upscale homes, and in gated and senior communities, on larger lots and view lots, which will attract jobs and money to our city. No, the jobs haven’t yet come to Brentwood. But, they will with the extension of BART to Antioch, and the zoning of the land along Highway 4.

Business owners and executives want to live close to their businesses, in nice, larger homes and usually on larger lots. The long-planned Sand Creek area accommodates those desires, especially the proposed homes west of Deer Valley Road.

Plus, seniors don’t impact commute or school traffic, and they stay in town during the day, shopping at our stores and eating at our restaurants, helping them be successful, and generating more sales tax revenue, which pays for more city services, with police being number one for our public safety.

Second – and this is the self-serving reason –  I and others I’ve spoken with, would like to continue to live in Antioch as we get older, and preferably in a nice, senior community, and not have to move to Brentwood, Rio Vista or elsewhere to accomplish that. The Ranch project includes an “active adult” community in their plans and will help provide that type of housing for our own, aging population, and maybe even me, by the time it’s built.

Let’s Have All Types of Housing

I do support other types of housing, including Transit Oriented Development (TOD) which makes sense and is one of the businesses I’m in. But, again we as Americans want choices and options, and that goes for housing, as well. Many of us also want space between ourselves and the next resident if we can afford it. So, let’s approve all types of housing. The council just approved the first TOD project, near the Antioch BART Station which is great. But, what we don’t have in our housing mix right now is the upscale, gated and senior housing. That’s what the Sand Creek area provides.

Honesty and Information

Here’s the bottom line. If the people want to put an initiative on the ballot to vote to stop more homes from being built, that’s their right. But, the leaders and supporters need to be honest in what they’re telling people to get them to sign their petitions. Plus, the voters of Antioch need to be fully informed before merely signing or worse, voting for, something that sounds alarming, but in fact really isn’t. My encouragement is that you don’t sign the petition, recognize that now is the time to move forward with these long-held plans, and support the efforts to help Antioch become the complete, successful city it can be.

Stage Right Conservatory Theatre, Inc. presents “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” produced by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company and dramatized by Richard R. George.  Who wouldn’t want to join Charlie Bucket on his adventurous tour of Willy Wonka’s world famous chocolate factory?  Now is your chance!  The classic fantasy based on the book by Roald Dahl is directed by Rio Teixeira and is fun for all ages.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will run for two weekends beginning Friday, April 20 at the Nick Rodriguez Community Center, 213 F Street in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown.  Performance dates are April 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 7:00 pm and Saturdays, April 22 and 29 at 2:00 pm.  Adults $10, Students and Seniors $8, Children $5.  Seniors pay only $5 on both Sunday matinees.  For more information call (925) 216-4613 or visit www.srctgrp.org.

From the Antioch Police Facebook page

We are excited to introduce you to our newest K9’s and their handlers. Please say hello to Officer Kyle Smith with K9-Kona and Officer Kevin Tjahjadi with K9-Kaia. Kona and Kaia are both Belgian Malinois. We are very thankful for our community supporters who donated to our K9 program which allowed for the purchase and training of Kaia and Kona.

The effort, started in February by Antioch Economic Development Commissioner Tim McCall, raised over $19,500 through a GoFundMe campaign. (See related article, here.)

“I want to thank everyone who contributed and made the effort a success,” said McCall. “See, together we can make a difference.”

“I get to meet the dog, next week and watch them in training,” he added.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (April 12, 2018) — Team USA notched its second medal in as many days as the World Taekwondo Junior Championships continued in Tunisia. CJ Nickolas (Brentwood, Calif.) took the silver medal in the male -68kg division on Thursday, April 12, one day after Anastasija Zolotic (Largo, Fla.) won gold in the female -52kg class. Nickolas is a student at Givans Taekwondo in Antioch, California.

Nickolas breezed through his first two matches of the day with a 29-1 win over Somalia’s Abdullah Fuad Dahir and a 23-5 victory against Italy’s Andrea Riondino to reach the round of 16. He then scored a 12-3 win over Afghanistan’s Rashid Sarwari and edged Chinese Taipei’s Cheng-Chi Wei in overtime to advance to the medal round.

In his semifinal match with Serbia’s Dusan Bozanic, Nickolas broke an 8-8 tie with a scoring kick in the final 10 seconds to prevail and move on to the final. The gold-medal match against Iran’s Mohammad Mahdi Emadi saw Nickolas fall behind 5-1 after two rounds and then 13-2 early in the third. The American would rally to pull within 13-8 in the final minute but Emadi held off the charge to win by a score of 18-10 and claim the gold medal.

“I am proud of him,” said Givans Taekwondo owner Ed Givans, who is also Nickolas’ father.

CJ has a 4.0 GPA…he also plays basketball, runs track and is on a dance team at his church called Generation of Praise. His favorite book is Infantry – Born to Fight by his dad, Edward Givans. favorite TV show is American Ninja Warrior…favorite movies are Planet of the Apes, The Incredibles and Kingsmen/Secret Service…favorite singer is Stevie Wonder…favorite foods are Korean barbeque, burrito bowls from Chipotle and Sprite…favorite athlete is Derrick Rose…favorite taekwondo athlete is Alexey Denisenko…his mother is his biggest inspiration…his proudest moment in Taekwondo to date is making the Cadet National Team for a second straight year in 2015 and competing at the World Championships…favorite quote: “Practice as if you are the worst, perform as if you are the best.” – Mahatma Gandhi. CJ was awarded the 2015 Stanford TKD Athlete of the Year. View his page on the Team USA website.