Bring the whole family and get a photo in front of the city Christmas tree in Waldie Plaza!

 

Will give away hundreds of prizes to participants

The Antioch Recreation Department is partnering with the Golden State Warriors to offer a Holiday Basketball Clinic for local youth on Saturday, December 10th. We thought that your news outlet may be interested in attending and wanted to formally invite you to the event. The clinic is sold out with 80 children registered.

Golden State Warriors Academy coaches will put players through a series of drill stations followed by games and competitions. The clinic will conclude with a performance from the Golden State Warriors Dunk Team. The Warriors are donating hundreds of prizes for all players that participate in the event.

The clinic takes place from 10am-12pm at the Antioch Community Center in Prewett Family Park, 4703 Lone Tree Way.

Includes interview with Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs Dr. Vito Imbasciani

By Ray Alvarado, Contra Costa County Office of Communications & Media 

On Monday, December 12th, at 7 pm (PST), the Veterans’ Voices show will premiere its “Best of 2022” show, highlighting some of the best moments from the past year. It will showcase some of the most interesting interviews from a wide range of topics important to the Veterans community. The show will feature Veterans from all branches of service sharing their experiences. It will also include an interview with the Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Vito Imbasciani.

The Veterans’ Voices program is broadcasted on Contra Costa Television (CCTV) on the second Monday of every month at 7 pm. It can be seen live online at facebook.com/veteransvoices1. You can find an archive of past shows and show resources at https://contracosta.ca.gov/5163/Veterans-Voices

or on our YouTube channel Veterans’ Voices of Contra Costa. The show is re-run multiple times on CCTV on Comcast Channel 27, Astound Channels 32 and 1027, and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99.

Join us as we present our year of topics discussed from the Veterans’ point of view. We are proud to share these open and honest discussions and honor those who serve.

 

Initial cost estimate of $38,500 per may be reduced by work on both

Could take 6 to 7 days

Herald publisher makes request on behalf of Motts in Antioch race

By Dawn Kruger, Civic Outreach and Engagement Specialist

The County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department has received two recount requests for races in the November 8, 2022, General Election. One request is for the Antioch District 1 City Council race in which Tamisha Torres-Walker won over Joy Motts by three votes and the second is for the Richmond District 2 City Council race, which ended in a tie between Andrew Butt and Cesar Zepeda. Today, Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline for requesting a recount.

In California, any voter may request a recount. For single-county races, a request for recount must be made within five days of the county canvass/certification. No reason is required.

“Our office conducted expanded manual tally audits for these two close races, which were attended by the affected candidates and media representatives. These audits were done above and beyond the state requirements and at the County Elections Division’s cost. Our staff has done an excellent job and I am confident in their work. These requests are within the rules for recounts,” said Debi Cooper, Clerk-Recorder-Registrar. “As per state law, the requestor of the recount must pay the cost for the recount. The cost is determined based on the steps involved in the recount, including the sorting out of the physical paper ballots. Our office is preparing estimated costs for the requestors based on the type of recount that have been requested.”

On Monday night, Allen Payton, Antioch resident and publisher of the Antioch Herald and Contra Costa Herald, submitted a request for a hand recount of the ballots on behalf of candidate Joy Motts who lost to incumbent Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker. The letter was received by the elections staff Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, according to outgoing Richmond Mayor Tom Butt, the father of Andrew Butt who lost yesterday’s tiebreaker, the Butt campaign requested a hand recount of the ballots in that race.

The hand count by elections staff, last Thursday, was done using copies of images of the ballots that had been scanned through the machines. (See related articles here and here)

Once the costs are provided to the requestor, the recount will begin after payment for the first day’s processing is received. The recount must begin within 7 days of the official request. California law states that costs paid by the requestor are to be refunded if the recount changes the outcome of the election in favor of the requestor. The requestor is responsible for all costs of the recount. If the outcome does not change, the requestor may receive a refund if the amount paid was greater than the actual cost of the recount.

If the recount is conducted with the original paper ballots, the recount is expected to take 6-7 days. Conducting parallel recounts for two districts may save some shared costs but will take longer than the process for a single jurisdiction.

According to Tommy Gong, Deputy Clerk-Recorder, the initial estimate is $38,500 for each recount, as staff has to go to the warehouse, use a forklift and retrieve the boxes of ballots. That’s because, according to Helen Nolan, Assistant Registrar of Voters, the ballots are no longer stored by precinct but as they arrive in the Elections office. They will have to pull the 4,500 ballots from the estimated 1.3 million ballot pages submitted in the county during the November election. Each ballot included four pages, she added.

Wong estimated the sorting would take five days and recounting one day. However, he explained that they know how many ballots for each race and the results of the votes on those ballots that are in each box. Gong said the price for each recount could be reduced by sharing in the cost of retrieving and sorting the ballots. He also said he would also be checking with the Secretary of State’s office, today to determine if the recount could be done box by box in the warehouse which could further reduce the costs. Gong said he will know if that’s allowable Wednesday afternoon.

More information on recounts is available on the Secretary of State’s website here. You can also reach out to the Elections Division at 925-335-7800.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Biggest Menorah in Eastern Contra Costa!

You are invited to join us for a grand Chanukah Celebration

Come celebrate the Festival of Lights with Chabad of the Delta and our surrounding communities as we light the Grand Menorah on Sunday, December 18 at 4:30 pm in Brentwood City Park.

Our local community leaders will participate in kindling the giant “Menorah of Freedom”. There will be fun activities for everyone including:

• Chanukah crafts, glitter art and a photo op!
• Delicious traditional latkes and donuts!
• A Grand Raffle!
• Fire and LED performer Aaron Zamarron

For many of us, Chanukah prompts warm, loving memories from our childhood. We light the Menorah every night of the 8-night holiday. These lights offer warmth, joy, strength, inspiration and renews our sense of identity.

Rabbi Peretz Goldshmid, director of the Chabad of the Delta Jewish Center, describes Chanukah as “a holiday that enriches our lives with the light of tradition. In ancient times our ancestors rededicated the Temple in Jersusalem with the Menorah. Today, we rededicate ourselves to making this world a better and brighter place.”

As we celebrate in East Contra Costa, we join millions the world over, promoting the universal message that good will prevail over evil, freedom over oppression and light over darkness!

Make sure not to miss this opportunity to celebrate with your family and friends! Outdoor event, please dress accordingly.

This is a FREE event. All donations are appreciated! Register by clicking here.

For more information, contact Chabad of the Delta at (925) 420-4999 or online at JewishDelta.com/Chanukah.

U.S. Marshals assist; suspect arrested last year and earlier this year for battery and threats

By Public Information Officer Ashley Crandell, Support Services Division, Antioch Police Department

On November 12, 2022, at approximately 5:25 pm, the Antioch Police Department Dispatch Center began receiving calls of an assault that occurred at The Habit Burger Grill located at 2430 Mahogany Way in Antioch. Officers learned an employee was punched in the face multiple times after protecting an individual with an intellectual disability from being bullied. The victim lost her right eye because of the incident.

Our Investigations Bureau worked tirelessly to identify and locate the suspect over the last several weeks. Through that ongoing investigation, Isaac White-Carter, a 20-year-old resident of Hayward, was identified as the assailant. Antioch Police Department Special Operations Unit detectives worked in collaboration with the United States Marshalls Service (USMS) to locate Mr. White-Carter. USMS Agents with the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested White-Carter in Hayward, California, this morning and turned him over to Antioch Police detectives. He has been arrested for the felony charges of mayhem and aggravated assault causing great bodily injury.  Detectives will be presenting their case to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

We want to thank the Contra County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshalls Service, and members of the community who came forward to assist with this investigation.

During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Dec. 5, Detective John Cox shared that the victim will be helped by the Victims of Violent Crimes through the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. He also shared that White-Carter is known to Antioch Police and that he was arrested last year.

According to localcrimenews.com, White-Carter was arrested by Concord Police on August 31, 2021, for 243(A) – battery on a person and 422(A) – threats of violence. He was again arrested on March 14, this year for 243(E)(1) – battery on a spouse, cohabitant or former spouse and
422 – threats of violence.

The members of the Antioch Police Department express their support and gratitude to the victim for helping a community member in need.

If anyone has further information pertaining to the case, please contact Detective John Cox at jcox@antiochca.gov. You can also text an anonymous tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword ANTIOCH.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

On Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

By Laura Kindsvater, Communications Manager, Save Mount Diablo  

On December 7th, Mount Diablo’s Beacon will be relit by a survivor of Pearl Harbor supported by a Save Mount Diablo team.

The Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 5 are pleased to co-sponsor this 59th Annual National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Beacon Lighting Ceremony with Save Mount Diablo, California State Parks, and California State University, East Bay.

We invite you to attend the ceremony to pay tribute to the lives that were lost and honor our surviving veterans of Pearl Harbor. The ceremony will be held at the California State University, East Bay Concord Campus, at 4700 Ygnacio Valley Road in Concord.

Viewing of the new USS Arizona exhibit at the CSUEB Concord Campus will be available from 3:00 PM to 3:45 PM as well as 45 minutes post ceremony. The ceremony will commence at 3:45 PM.

The program begins with the posting of colors, pledge of allegiance, and national anthem.

Ted Clement, Executive Director of Save Mount Diablo; Clint Elsholz, Acting Diablo Range District Superintendent for California State Parks; and Robert Phelps, PhD, Executive Director of California State University, East Bay Concord Campus will then speak.

Pearl Harbor survivors in attendance will be introduced by Wayne Korsinen, honorary member of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors.

A performance of “God Bless the USA” by Erin Hegerty and guitar solo by Darren Brouestle will follow. Then Catharine Baker, former State Assemblymember, will speak. Afterwards, Frank Dorritie of Bugles Across America will perform “Taps.” At 5 PM, the Beacon will be lit.

“The Beacon lighting is a tribute to those individuals that lost their lives at Pearl Harbor,” remarked Earl “Chuck” Kohler, the last known remaining serviceman survivor in Contra Costa County.

The ceremony is also an opportunity to honor the survivors.

The ceremony will also be broadcast on Contra Costa Television during the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, December 14 at 7 PM
• Thursday, December 15 at 2 AM
• Saturday, December 17 at 5:30 PM
• Monday, December 19 at 8 PM
• Tuesday, December 20 at 10 AM
• Wednesday, December 21 at 5 PM
• Thursday, December 22 at 6 PM

The Beacon on Mount Diablo was originally installed and illuminated in 1928 to aid in transcontinental aviation. It is one of the four guiding beacons installed along the west coast by Standard Oil of California and is the only one known to still be operational.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Beacon’s light was extinguished during the west coast blackout, for fear it could enable an attack on California. It stayed dark until Pearl Harbor Day in 1964, when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces during World War II, relit the Beacon in a commemorative ceremony and suggested it be illuminated every December 7th to honor those who served and sacrificed.

Since that day, Pearl Harbor veterans and their families have gathered every December 7th to see the Beacon light shine once again.

The Beacon now shines brighter than ever since it underwent an extensive restoration process in 2013 (thanks to a campaign led by Save Mount Diablo) to ensure it continues to shine for many more years. The Pearl Harbor Survivors now know that the Beacon will shine long after they are gone.

The Beacon is lit at sunset and shines all night on this evening each year. Beginning this year, it was also lit on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. On Sunday, April 11, 2021, Save Mount Diablo concluded a year of lighting the Beacon weekly to bring light and hope to our region during the worst of the pandemic.

About Save Mount Diablo

Save Mount Diablo is a nationally accredited, nonprofit land trust founded in 1971 with a mission to preserve Mount Diablo’s peaks, surrounding foothills, watersheds, and connection to the Diablo Range through land acquisition and preservation strategies designed to protect the mountain’s natural beauty, biological diversity, and historic and agricultural heritage; enhance our area’s quality of life; and provide educational and recreational opportunities consistent with protection of natural resources. To learn more, please visit www.savemountdiablo.org.

What:  Save Mount Diablo; the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Chapter 5; and California State Parks will light the “Eye of Diablo,” the Beacon atop Mount Diablo to memorialize National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. As the number of survivors has decreased over the years, the number of people attending the ceremony in honor of these heroes has increased, including many sons and daughters vital to organizing the service.

When: Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

USS Arizona viewing begins at 3:00 PM, ceremony at 3:45 PM, Beacon lighting at 5:00 PM

Where: The ceremony will be held at the California State University, East Bay Concord Campus, 4700 Ygnacio Valley Road, in Concord.

Directions: http://goo.gl/maps/jXhcW

Access: Parking is available on campus, and parking fees will be waived for this event. See campus map.

For more information on the Beacon visit: https://savemountdiablo.org/experience/events-outings/beacon-lighting/