The Grand Opening of Samurai Japanese Restaurant was held yesterday, Tuesday, Dec. 18 and continues through Thursday, with 50% of the proceeds from food sales being donated to Antioch PAL, Deer Valley Boosters, and Delta Veterans Group.

Plus, enjoy their daily specials:

– Everyday – Happy Hour 4:30-7:00PM, 1/2 off appetizers

– Tuesdays – Kids eat FREE

– Wednesdays – Senior Discount, 1/2 off fish bowl (bar drink)

– Thursdays – $5 Martinis

– 99 different Martinis available

Samurai is open open Monday-Thursday 4:30-9:30 p.m., Friday 4:30-10:30 p.m., Saturday 12-10:30 p.m. and Sunday 12-9:30 p.m.

The restaurant is located at 5007 Lone Tree Way at the corner of Hillcrest Avenue and features the same menu as their sister restaurant Shirasoni in Brentwood. For reservations call (925) 206-4644. Follow them on Facebook.

Screenshot of video of Lions Head Coach Ryan Partridge holding the state championship trophy following his team’s victory Saturday night, Dec. 15, 2018. By Jesus Cano

Beat elite private school team from So Cal

By Jesus Cano, Herald Sports Reporter

NORWALK, Calif. — As soon as then-first year head coach Ryan Partridge and his Liberty High School football team won the 2017 NCS Division I Championship, they set their eyes on the next prize. And Saturday night, Dec. 15 at Cerritos College in Southern California, the Lions’ historic two-season run came to an end with a 19-17 victory over the Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) Trailblazers, allowing them to hoist the CIF Division 1-A State Championship.

“Every one of these kids deserve it. Every player is extremely important to this program. It’s just unbelievable, I can’t even put my thoughts into words right now.” said Partridge.

Sierra Canyon is a private pre-K through 12th grade day and boarding school where a variety of famous individuals have attended or send their children, including members of the Kardashian family, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s daughter Willow and Ireland Baldwin the daughter of actors Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger, to name a few.

Tyerell Sturges-Cofer made his last high school football game memorable, rushing for all three of Liberty’s touchdowns on his 188-yard night. With quarterback Jay Butterfield struggling, the Lions’ traditionally pass-heavy offense was forced to turn to the ground attack, with Sturges-Cofer leading the comeback from down 17-7.

“Our O-line was doing an amazing job. We just kept fighting and going for the first down.” said Sturges-Cofer. “In the beginning of the season, coach said we were going for state. We won D-one last year, so we had to take another step and we did it.”

Sierra Canyon got on the board first with an 87-yard drive, capping off with a Chayden Peery one-yard sneak. Sturges-Cofer responded one play later, escaping for a 72-yard touchdown to tie the game.

The Trailblazers went on to light up the scoreboard in the rest of the first half. Josh Bryan added a 24-yard field goal to make it 10-7 in the second quarter. Brendon Gamble tackled on a 22-yard rushing touchdown, giving Sierra Canyon the 17-7 lead heading into halftime.

Sturges-Cofer was set up with the defense’s second touchdown of game, as they forced Sierra Canyon to fumble for a second time. It only took two plays for Sturges-Cofer to score with a 31-yard touchdown run that saw him knock down a pack of Traiblazer linemen to make it 17-13.

Liberty quarterback Jay Butterfield was rattled, unable to complete passes to his receivers, but stepped up when it was necessary by hitting Adrik Lamar to set up Sturges-Cofer for his game winning touchdown drive.

“Our defense picked me up especially throughout the whole game,” said Butterfield. “You never give up anytime, you always trust your receivers. No matter if it’s your top guy or your bottom guy.”

It’s been a whirlwind for Liberty over the past two seasons. The Lions won the NCS Division I championship in 2017, and in 2018 were able to finish the regular season 10-0, and win the BVAL for the first time in school history, while beating powerhouse Pittsburg for the first time since 2005.

As the Lions arrived from Southern California, they were greeted with roaring Liberty fans in the downtown Brentwood campus.

“We have the best fans supporting us at every game.” Butterfield said.

“We have such great community support. It just means everything. We set the culture of service and love.” Partridge added.

WHAT: Contra Costa Health Services’ Division of Health, Housing and Homeless Services (H3) seeks volunteers for the county’s annual point-in-time count of residents who are experiencing homelessness.

Volunteers will work in groups at designated locations across the county to interview people and collect data.

WHO: Volunteers must be 18 or older. Spanish speakers are especially encouraged to volunteer.

WHEN: Each volunteer must attend a two-hour training during the week of January 21 and work a two- to three-hour shift during the week of January 28. Trainings and shifts are available across the county at a variety of times.

Volunteers are encouraged to wear warm clothing and comfortable footwear to their shifts and be prepared to stand for long periods.

WHY: Data collected during the count help H3 and its partners to improve services for Contra Costa’s homeless population and is used by federal, state and local government to determine funding for homeless services.

Visit cchealth.org/h3 for more information and to volunteer. For questions about volunteering, contact Georgia Lucey at georgia.lucey@cchealth.org or 925-608-6700.

MERCED, Calif. — Over 140 students took part in UC Merced’s Fall Commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 15, at The Art Kamangar Center in the historic Merced Theatre in downtown Merced. Students receiving their bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees were honored together at commencement, with accomplished alum, and member of UC Merced’s first graduating class, David Do (’09) serving as the commencement speaker.

Graduates included Marlon Wilson of Antioch with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

This was the second year that UC Merced held a fall commencement ceremony.

UC Merced opened in 2005 as the newest member of the University of California system, and is the youngest university to earn a Carnegie research classification. The fastest-growing public university in the nation, UC Merced enjoys a special connection with nearby Yosemite National Park, is on the cutting edge of sustainability in campus construction and design, and supports high-achieving and dedicated students from the underserved San Joaquin Valley and throughout California. The Merced 2020 Project, a $1.3 billion public-private partnership that is unprecedented in higher education, will nearly double the physical capacity of the campus and support enrollment growth to 10,000 students. 

Eddie Hart and co-author Dave Newhouse will be at Barnes & Noble located at 5709 Lone Tree Way in Antioch on Monday evening, Dec. 17 to autograph Hart’s book “Disqualified”. Having previously equaled the World Record, Eddie Hart was a strong favorite to win the 100-Meter Dash at the 1972 Olympics in Munich Germany. The inexplicable happened, he was disqualified after arriving seconds after his quarterfinal heat. Ten years of training to become the “World’s Fastest Human”. The title attached to the Olympic 100-Meter champion was lost in a heartbeat. How could this have possibly happened on athletics biggest stage, the Olympic Games?

Eddie Hart is an American track and field sprinter, winning the Gold Medal while anchoring the U.S. 4 X 100-meter relay team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. 

Eddie Hart

Born in Martinez, California Eddie won the 100 and 200 at the 1969 California Community College State Track Meet, and the NCAA Championships in the 100 yard dash as a University of California, Berkeley student. Running the anchor leg on the 4 X 100-Meter relay, the team also broke the existing United States World Record, running 38.19.

Hart continued to run and in 1989, he captured the 100 and 200 titles at the World’s Masters Championships. Later that year he set a new World Record in the 100 meters that lasted for more than 14 years.

Newhouse is the former sports writer and columnist for the Oakland Tribune who retired in 2011. He continues to author books.

The book signing is part of a fundraiser for the Delta Contra Costa Branch of the American Association of University Women. Please see the voucher above or click her and print out and bring with you. Hart AAUW Book Signing bnvoucherflyer2018