By John Crowder

On Saturday, April 28, the East County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held its annual Image and Scholarship Awards Banquet at the Lone Tree Golf and Event Center in Antioch.

Victoria Adams, President, East County NAACP welcomed everyone in attendance before speaking to the importance of the organization’s mission to future generations.  “We have a duty to teach those who are coming behind us,” she said.  “We must grab the next generation by the hand, and insist that they learn,” she continued.  “We must never ever lose sight of our past, our present, and our future.”

Antioch City Council Member Monica Wilson, Mistress of Ceremonies for the event, followed Adams.  Wilson, the first African American woman to sit on the Antioch City Council, spoke about legacy, referring to her own grandmother’s legacy and the importance of this generation passing on a legacy to the next generation.

The first award of the evening, the Image Award for Education, was presented to Stephon Cartwright, Vice Principal of Antioch High School.  In accepting the award, Cartwright said, “I don’t think I’m doing anything special, I think I’m doing what is expected of me.”  After expressing his appreciation for the parents of his students, he said, “I treat the children as if each one of them was my own, and I have aspirations for each of them.”

The Image Award for Humanitarian Services went to Willie Moffett, Jr.

“I am so humbled to receive this humanitarian award,” Moffett, Jr., said. “There are many out there in the trenches, helping others,” as he pointed out several such individuals in the room.

Pastor Henry L. Perkins, M. Div., First Baptist Church, received the Image Award for Religious Affairs.  The program related that Perkins, “has pastored the First Baptist Church of Pittsburg for the past 26 years, where he labors to serve the needs of the community in a holistic way emphasizing the mandate to make lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.”

The Image Award for Veteran’s Affairs was given to Chief Hospital Corpsman Odessa Lefrancois, E7, USN (ret.).  Lefrancois said that, while she appreciates people thanking veterans for their service, she wants to see veterans given jobs.  She then called on Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, the first woman and the first African American to hold that office, to say a few words.

The President’s/Labor Award was presented to the evening’s Keynote Speaker and Civil Rights Activist William “Bill” Lucy.  Lucy emphasized the importance of meaningful work.  “We need to make it possible for some of our young folk who are standing on the corner to participate in apprenticeship programs, to participate in job training programs,” he said.  “We have a moral obligation to help those who want to, to find jobs.”

The final group of awards, presented by Willie Mims, Education Chair of the East County NAACP, were given to local students.  Receiving the awards were  Zachary Moseley, Omoteleola Onipede, Jamil Edwards, Chinyere Oha, Marielena Benavides, Keyvon Carmouche, and Isaiah Youngblood.

Following the presentation, Youngblood, who received the Darnell Turner Memorial Scholar Award, said, “This award proves to me that my efforts are not in vain, that I am moving in the right direction to success.  I’d like to thank my mother and father, along with my teachers for contributing to my success.”

Youngblood, a Senior at Heritage High School in Brentwood, is planning to attend either Howard University or Chapman University.

Aerial photo of the area west of Deer Valley Road in the Sand Creek Focus Area of Antioch planned for new home subdivisions. From Antioch Community to Save Sand Creek Facebook page.

On Wednesday, May 3, organizers for the Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative issued the following statement in response to the new, competing initiative backed by Richland Communities, the developer of the project known as “The Ranch” project in the Sand Creek Focus Area on the south side of Antioch: (See related article, here.)

As you know we’re collecting signatures for our “Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative,” to give Antioch residents a voice in what takes place on the southern edge of the city between Kaiser and Black Diamond Mines.  We hope to complete our signature gathering in the next 3-4 weeks but will continue collecting until we’re sure we have enough signatures. (See related article, here.)

Yesterday, Southern California developer Richland Communities, “The Ranch” project developers, announced that they’ve submitted a “West Sand Creek” Initiative to the City of Antioch for title and summary.  Their efforts do not change our coalition’s efforts to gather signatures and qualify our “Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative.”

• Richland’s initiative is a complicated measure which will take some time to review. We’ll tell you more about it before long.
• Typically competing initiatives are meant to confuse voters.
• It changes and scales back Richland’s 1300-house project somewhat but, if approved, would also approve their project with a development agreement and before environmental review is completed.
• It would invalidate our “Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative” which is more protective.

Media reports suggest that Richland expects to begin signature gathering immediately. In fact, it may be several weeks before they can begin.  The initiative was stamped “received” by the City Clerk April 27, 2018, three days ago.  The City Attorney has 15 days to provide title and summary which the City Clerk conveys to the proponent. For our initiative, they took the full 15 days. Then a legal notice must be printed in a newspaper of record, and initiative petitions printed.

It’s now even more important that we continue and speed up our efforts to gather signatures for our “Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative.” Signature gathering will get more complicated when the Richland initiative is on the street.

The car driven by one woman that struck and injured the other woman on Sunday, April 29, 2018. Photos by Allen Payton

By Allen Payton

What appeared to be a quarrel between two women over a man, resulted in an injury collision of one and the arrest of the other in downtown Antioch, Sunday afternoon, April 29. One woman, age 19, drove her car into the other, striking her and pinning her against a parked pickup truck. However, no charges were filed by the Contra Costa District Attorney due to a lack of evidence the driver intended to hit the other woman.

An Antioch Police officer interviews the female driver of the car that struck the other woman, as the owners of the truck that was hit, look on.

The female driver of the car drove into the other female, who was on foot, and pinned her against a Ford F-150 truck that was parked in the lot on W. 2nd Street across from City Hall. The injured female, age 21 according to her sister, was transported to a local hospital. According to people on the scene it was a case of the injured female being with her ex-boyfriend, who is the current boyfriend of the other female.

A video of what happened prior to the collision was provided to Antioch Police. But, it only showed what occurred among the two women and the man, prior to the collision. It does not show the collision.

According to Antioch Police Lt. Desmond Bittner on Wednesday afternoon, “The responsible, the female driving the car, who hit the victim was arrested that day, but will be released if she hasn’t been already.”

Antioch detectives presented the case to the District Attorney’s office on Wednesday.

“But, no charges were filed by the D.A., for lack of sufficient evidence that the use of the vehicle was an intentional act,” Bittner said. “For felony charges to be filed, there has to be convincing evidence.”

The damaged truck and shoes of the injured woman.

“The lady who was hit wanted to fight the other lady in the car,” he explained. “The lady who was driving the car didn’t want to fight. So, she tried to leave the parking lot at a high rate of speed. We don’t know what type of fight it was, if it was going to be physical or just an argument.”

“There were at least three witnesses and according to at least two, plus the driver, it appears that it was an accident or that the lady who was hit jumped in front of the vehicle that struck her,” Bittner stated. “The only one who is claiming that it was intentional was the lady who was hit.”

Asked if detectives were still investigating he responded, “If something else comes about, if new information is discovered, we will reopen the case. For now, it is closed.”

Map of area covered by the Richland Communities’ alternative initiative.

Proposed ballot measure scales back “The Ranch” project by 10%, bans hillside and ridgeline development, permanently protects additional open space areas on adjacent and surrounding properties, and offers funds for high-school athletic and performing arts facilities

A proposed initiative that would protect two-thirds of Antioch’s Sand Creek Focus Area west of Deer Valley Road from future new home development has been submitted to the City by three Antioch residents, as the first step in its qualification for the November 2018 ballot. It was proposed and is backed by Richland Communities, the developer of the project known as The Ranch. Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition rcvd 4-27-18

The measure would preserve approximately 1,244 acres of hillsides and natural open space and approve a 10% smaller master-planned project known as The Ranch compared to what has been under consideration by the City of Antioch. Instead of 1,307 homes, the project would include 1,177 homes instead. (Read the entire 143-page document, here:  Initiative Text Part 1 of 4  Initiative Text part 2 of 4  Initiative Text Part 3 of 4 Initiative Text Part 4 of 4 )

“We are listening to the citizens of Antioch and substantially revising our project so that it includes fewer homes and protects the hills, ridgelines, and valuable open space and environmentally sensitive areas around Sand Creek,” said Matt Bray, CEO of Richland Communities, the company that is proposing The Ranch project. “We see ourselves as a community partner and want to do the right thing.”

The local proponents of the initiative are Antioch residents Terry L. Ramus, a former Mello-Roos Board Member and Antioch Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee Chairman, former Antioch Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman Manny Soliz, Jr. and Matthew Malyemezian. They were each approached by Richland’s consultant, former Antioch Mayor Don Freitas and political campaign consultant, Mary Jo Rossi, to sign on to the effort.

The initiative will affect the adjacent property owners, including the land formerly known as the Higgins Ranch, owned by the long-time Antioch family that founded Higgins Funeral Home on A Street. Now known as Zeka Ranch, that project is also a planned, upscale and executive home community, scaled back from 1,100 homes in the 1990’s to about 400, on 200 of the 640 acres of land west of Empire Mine Road. It was purchased from the Higgins family by The Zeka Group in the 1990’s following the county-wide vote which adopted the original Urban Limit Line, which allows for new home development in the entire Sand Creek area. It also affects the land owned by three other property owners south of The Ranch property, as well as all the single-family home owners along Deer Valley Road. The initiative will only allow The Ranch project and the flat land on the properties south of Richland’s property to be developed.

With the scaled-down project now proposed in the initiative, voters will have the opportunity to support:

• Protection of approximately 1,244 acres at the western and southern boundaries of the Sand Creek Focus Area west of Deer Valley Road on adjacent property owners land, from future home development by designating the land for open space, agriculture and rural uses.
• Protection of approximately 250 acres within The Ranch from future development, including a development ban on hills.
• Investment of at least $1 million in high school sports and performing arts facilities from an additional $1,000 contribution from each new home in The Ranch, including a proposed initial project at Deer Valley High School to fund installation of a synthetic turf field in the football stadium.
• Establishment of an open space corridor for Sand Creek averaging 430 feet in width instead of the 300 feet, currently in the plan before the City.
• Preservation of at least 98 percent of trees in The Ranch, including oaks and eucalyptuses.
• Establishment of a 300-foot open-space buffer within The Ranch along its western boundary at Empire Mine Road.
• Restriction of development to only flatter terrain within Antioch’s voter-approved Urban Limit Line in the Sand Creek Focus Area west of Deer Valley Road and east of Empire Mine Road.
• Voter control of any amendments to the Urban Limit Line.
• Developer funding of additional public safety services, as was required on the two previously approved projects in the Sand Creek Focus Area.
• Developer construction of Sand Creek Road from Dallas Ranch Road to Deer Valley Road.
• In addition to reducing The Ranch’s development footprint, the initiative would remove about 130 previously proposed homes from the project.

“This is a total win for Antioch,” said Ramus. “With the scaled-back version of The Ranch project, we get more hillside and open space protections, and the initiative substantially limits future development around Sand Creek.  The funding of at least $1 million for long-needed capital improvements at Deer Valley High School is an additional bonus.”

The Ranch is a proposed master planned residential community that is proposed to include a mix of housing types – including Antioch’s first large-scale age-restricted community for residents 55 years of age or older – along with new commercial and retail services, a trailhead and staging area for East Bay Regional Parks District, a fire-station site, six miles of new public trails and 22 acres of park facilities.

The initiative needs 5,104 valid signatures to qualify for the November 2018 ballot, and signature gathering on the measure is expected to begin immediately.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

By Allen Payton

A new restaurant will open at the former Humphrey’s location at the Antioch Marina, this summer. Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill will offer seafood, steaks and other menu items, at the premier location in the entire California Delta.

Owners Randy and Lynn Tei, who also own and operate Zephyr Gill in Brentwood and Livermore, have been working with building owner Sean McCauley since February to bring life and dining back to the location that’s been closed since Christmas Eve, 2012.

“We are very excited about opening our Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill at the Antioch Marina,” said Randy. “We feel Antioch has been underserved by upscale dining, for far too long. Our Executive Chef, Jesus Martinez, has been working diligently on recipes that feature wild seafood, and choice or prime cuts of beef. We believe the community will embrace what we will be able to bring to Antioch and we so look forward to being part of this community.”

“Sean McCauley, our landlord, has expanded and covered the outdoor deck and it will be a perfect spot to enjoy one of our classic cocktails or interesting wine offerings,” Lynn shared. “The interior of the restaurant is currently being refurbished and will have a very warm, new look.  We have also added a beautiful wine room at the entrance to the building.”

“Lastly, we owe a debt of gratitude to Allen Payton from the Antioch Herald for suggesting the historical name, Smith’s Landing,” the Teis stated. “This was the original name given Antioch by its founders, William and Joseph Smith in 1849. We think the name is ideal given the Smith brothers landed very near the location of our building.  We are proud to bring that name alive again and look forward to serving the entire community.”

They are hoping to open in July. The restaurant is located in the Marina Plaza, at the foot of L Street, just passed the Antioch Boat Launch, with views overlooking the San Joaquin River and the Antioch Marina in historic, downtown Rivertown. Follow Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill soon on Facebook.