Antioch 8th grader Jared E. Clark honored with Rising Star for Perseverance Award

On April 4, 2023, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors honored César E. Chávez’s legacy and a group of students as part of the Youth Hall of Fame Award during the 29th Annual César E. Chávez Commemorative Celebration. This year’s theme was Hope and Healing – Esperanza y Bienestar. (See event video here)

The festival featured keynote speaker Genoveva Garcia Calloway, a community leader, former Mayor of San Pablo and behavioral health professional, who shared her perspective on César E. Chávez’s legacy. The event included a presentation of the 2023 Youth Hall of Fame Awards to students who have made outstanding community contributions, live performances by Mariachi Monumental and Ballet Folklórico Netzahualcoyotl, and celebratory remarks from members of the Board of Supervisors.

2023 Youth Hall of Fame Award Winners

Rising Stars

Perseverance – Jered E. Clark 

Jered Clark currently attends Black Diamond Middle School in Antioch where he holds a 4.0 GPA and will be graduating with his 8th grade class at the end of this school year. He is a self-motivated person who is determined, outgoing, intelligent, and a stand-up scholar. He takes initiative to work on his assignments as well as his extracurricular activities which include volunteering with local nonprofits and playing volleyball.  (See the 56:48 mark of the event video for Jered’s introduction by Supervisor Diane Burgis and his remarks)

At two years of age, Jered was a victim of child neglect and diagnosed with behavioral challenges. After tragically losing his parents to domestic violence, he entered the foster care system. Today he faces obstacles head on, remains focused and determined to overcome barriers. His perseverance at just 14 years old clearly shows he has a bright future ahead of him. 

Teamwork – Zihan Cherry Chou

Zihan Cherry Chou is an 8th grade honor student at Adams Middle School in Brentwood. She has been volunteering with NAMI Contra Costa for over 4 years and has been invaluable to their organization and the clients they serve. Cherry has a kind and gentle spirit and is always eager to assist where she can. She is a glowing example of the characteristics you hope to see in both youth and adults.

Cherry is passionate about building mental health friendly communities and works to eliminate mental health stigma and discrimination. She is non-judgmental and recognizes love and compassion should be shown to those impacted by mental health challenges. Cherry is part of NAMI’s Outreach Team which provides services and supplies for those who are unsheltered. She helps distribute food, personal hygiene products, and aids with their pets as well.

Cherry has been a presenter at NAMI Contra Costa Suicide Prevention events and advocates for youth mental health in all her activities. While Cherry is warm-hearted and a happy child, she has also experienced an emotionally trying time in her life. She immigrated from China to the United States with her parents when she was 7 years old. Adapting to an unfamiliar environment, with language barriers and cultural differences was challenging. She experienced repeated bullying in elementary school. Remaining optimistic, she got through this time in her life with bravery and strength. She doesn’t want others to experience what she did, so she makes it a point to welcome new students and takes initiative to introduce them to their new school.

Leadership & Civic Engagement – Carter Considine

Carter Considine is a 9th grade student from Lafayette and has started three organizations with helping the community in mind, Teen Art Market, Meaningful Teen, and Humon.

When Carter started Teen Art Market, it was inspired by local youth artists needing to promote their work. Teen Art Market is an online platform that allows teen artists to share their work and connect directly with art enthusiasts, buyers, and other artists.

Carter also co-founded an online nonprofit called Meaningful Teens during the pandemic. Unable to continue the weekly in-person ELL tutoring program at the senior center in Walnut Creek, it became virtual. Since then, the program includes 1,800 + youth tutors and 800+ students, many of the tutors are based in Contra Costa County.  Now, tutors are paired up with other non-profits, educational institution serving low-income communities increasing their footprint and positively impacting the lives of many other young people.

Today, Carter is starting an app, Humon, linking people with different perspectives to come into community by identifying commonalities. This app works with a wrist device that lights up when people nearby have certain commonalities, expected to be available on the Apple app store very soon.

Volunteerism – Makenzie Lee Foster

Makenzie is a homeschooled straight A 6th grade student who balances her school time with acting, writing books, and volunteering to read books to others. 

Makenzie has written three books, two of which have been published and available on Amazon. She embodies what she writes about in her books; Kickin’ it With Kenzie – What’s Meant for Me Will Be, Kickin’ it with Kenzie – Luckily My Luck is Me! And Seeing Me is Believing in Me!

Makenzie has partnered with First 5 of California and has visited over 20 classrooms as well as UCSF Children’s Hospital.  She visits with the children and reads her books to them, sharing how important it is to foster a love of reading and encouraging them to follow their dreams. With each visit, she donates copies of her book along with mini bookmarks and encourages kids to create their own stories.

Good Samaritan – Gianna Baglieri

Gianna is a 3rd grade student at Rio Vista Elementary in Bay Point. According to those who know her, Gianna demonstrates excellent problem-solving skills and leadership for such a young age. She is a kind friend and cares for others. She befriends new students, so they won’t feel alone. 

High School Awardees

Leadership & Civic Engagement – Anay Pant

Anay Pant is an 11th grade student at Athenian School in Danville, and from the start, it was abundantly clear that he had a keen interest in being engaged with his community. Anay has been involved in a host of activities in which he has eagerly volunteered for.  

It started on Election Day 2022 when Anay volunteered to be a poll watcher in Contra Costa County and his engagement only gained momentum since.   With a keen interest in getting more young people tuned into what’s happening around them, he developed an app called Qrated, to keep his peers up to date on local events. Along with his app, Anay is planning a TEDx talk to promote the app to students around the Bay Area. Additionally, he will be hosting a Youth TEDx forum at Athenian to encourage his young peers to lean into civic engagement at the local level. 

Anay is a natural leader amongst his peers and inspires others with his energy and tenacity to do good in his community.

Teamwork – Prisha Purohit

San Ramon Valley High School Junior Prisha Purohit is no stranger to working with others. She is actively engaged with several school and community organizations that are dedicated to the betterment of her peers and the community at large. Prisha serves on the executive board for the Golden Bear Foundation and as President of the Danville Chapter. GPF is a charitable organization, founded by high school students, that helps provide care to economically disadvantaged persons through charitable giving. Prisha worked alongside other members to organize clothing and school supply drives for local families in need.

Prisha supports other students at her high school by providing clarity and bringing them closer to their academic goals as a peer tutor. She provides a reassuring voice to students who start the year late, helping them catch up with their classmates. Prisha has also created a school club for lovers of tea and philosophy. Cleverly named Philosotea, members meet over lunch and are encouraged to sample new teas and discuss philosophical ideas, concepts, and media.

Outside of school, Prisha volunteers her time as part of the local library’s Teen Advisory Club. As a teen advisor, she works with library staff to develop teen programs, expand the young adult collections, and improve services the library can offer teens.

Perseverance – Anayely Arreola Caldera

Anayely has been described as a fighter. She has not had an easy path in her young life. Through her encounters growing up she decided early on to see herself through adversity and was determined to become a success story. Anayely is in her senior year at Liberty High School in Brentwood and will be the first in her family to attend college.

Anayely is also the first in her family to play a competitive sport. She runs track on Liberty High’s team and always looks forward to training. She continues to push herself to do her best when she’s out on the track, for both her and her teammates. Participating and playing a sport is truly a privilege not lost on Anayely and she recognizes that not all kids have the opportunity to do so. Anayely can often be found spending her extra time in school clubs and sports as she is working to help support herself through college with a track scholarship.  

In addition to her love for track, Ana’s favorite subject is English. Her goal is to be a lawyer and she notes that the reading comprehension and critical thinking skills learned in English will be invaluable to her future career path. Anayely understands the power of being a role model to her younger sister. She strives to show her sister that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.  

Volunteerism – Frances Kellman-Lima

Frances Kellman-Lima is a Senior at El Cerrito High School, where she consistently achieves top grades and is involved in a wide range of extracurricular activities. She acts as a Peer Counselor and Conflict Mediator, and was selected as a “Culture Keeper” mentor. Culture Keepers are youth leaders trained in dynamic mindfulness and restorative practices who work to transform the school’s culture and put an end to the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

For the last year and a half, Frances has been a standout voice on the topic of teen dating violence. She began as a member of a school-led support group, before joining Contra Costa County’s Youth Against Violence leadership group. She regularly goes out of her way to help other leaders in the group, presents great ideas, and displays strong leadership skills. Frances also takes time to volunteer at a preschool, specifically working with children who are living with intellectual and developmental delays.

Outside of school and volunteering, Frances has taken a Latino psychology class and was a teaching assistant for a cognitive neuroscience class at UC Berkeley, both of which she hopes to utilize for helping others.

Good Samaritan – Aria Capelli

Aria is co-founder of a non-profit called Meaningful Teens which connects teens with volunteer opportunities where they can make a real difference. Meaningful Teens offers a literacy and math platform Aria created which has been a wonderment in this time of COVID-19. Her compassion to help the underserved and to lead a group of young people from diverse backgrounds to reach a common goal has been remarkable.

Fueled by a passion to meet the needs of others, Aria saw opportunities in the distant learning modality even as others viewed its limitations. She recognized the hardships and life challenges that low-income families and immigrants face. Being open-minded, she brought her vision of bringing literacy and math instruction over a Zoom one-to-one platform to reality by tutoring underserved students in low-income housing, immigrants, and refugee communities. To ensure the quality of the lessons, she recruited credentialed teachers to roam the breakout rooms, while Aria aided anyone in need of help, thus providing on-the-spot solutions to problems.

Over the past three years Meaningful Teens has grown from a small project with four friends to a huge success with over 1,900 high school and college volunteer tutors from around the United States with almost 1,500 student-learners worldwide. As Meaningful Teens continues to expand and grow, Aria keeps the students, and their needs, at the forefront. 

For more information about the event see 29th César E. Chávez  Program

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

The five remaining Antioch Police Officers being sued in the racist text scandal must resign or be fired

It’s a sad, frustrating, embarrassing and difficult time in Antioch, right now. People are angry, want something done, especially our Black residents and rightfully so. The people of our city must have accountability from those paid to protect us and assurances that the racist and offensive texts sent by several Antioch Police officers will never happen again. Plus, our community needs healing. But things need to be done in a way that is fair to all concerned. (See related articles here and here)

The scandal is the real-life fulfillment of what’s written in the Bible verse, Numbers 23:32, “you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” After reading the texts sent on their personal cell phones and reading the federal lawsuit against them, it’s clear that one officer in particular, and four others should resign immediately to start that healing process and if they’re ever going to be considered men of integrity, again in their lives. Furthermore, they need to find another career path, seek counseling and guidance to become better human beings, be required to publicly ask the forgiveness of the people they texted about, as well as of the people of Antioch that they were sworn to protect, not cost us taxpayers any additional money on investigations, salaries or benefits, and not embarrass us any further. If they don’t quit, they must be fired as soon as the investigation is completed.

Clearly, the worst of them is Officer Eric Rombough, followed by Sergeant Josh Evans and Officer Morteza Amiri, as well as Officers John Ramirez and Scott Duggar, plus Timothy Manley Williams, who already quit in 2021. It’s no surprise they’re the officers listed in the lawsuit filed last week as they clearly have the most culpability. What they wrote is so disgusting, the fact they found humorous injuring suspects and violating their rights is horrendous, and offering a reward to anyone who would shoot, even with a non-lethal weapon, to injure a sitting city council member is horrific.

Others, including Sgt. James Stenger and Detective Robert Gerber, need to be demoted as a form of discipline within the department for their responses to the texts and not doing what was necessary to stop them. Sgt. Jimmy Wisecarver retired last November, so he can’t face any discipline for his part in commenting on the texts and apparently not doing anything to stop them.

To be fair to the officers, the texts in the two reports were clearly cherry-picked by the DA’s Office Investigator out of all the pages of text messages. (The Herald requested them on Thursday, April 27, 2023. They have 10 days to respond.) Since some mistakes have been found in the two reports, any and all texts between officers during the timeframe of September 2019 through April 2022 should be released. Plus, we should know if there are any texts from any of the department leaders telling the officers to stop what they were doing.

The officers who remain in the department must hold each other accountable, as well – be the first check and balance on the misbehavior and bad attitudes of other officers. They need to remember who pays their very generous salaries and benefits and who they are hired to serve – we the people!

But not all of the 44 APD officers named in the reports, including 13 to 15 remaining department leaders who received the texts, should be fired, nor should they lose their pensions. Nor does the department need the U.S. Attorney General or his Department of Justice to provide oversight. All such demands by officials and residents are a serious and unnecessary overreach. The politicians need to help calm things down and be voices of reason, instead of further stirring up emotions trying to appear sympathetic and pander to certain audiences to get votes.

For most of the others included in the text threads, there’s been an overreaction, specifically blowing out of proportion one text message sent by Antioch Police Officers Association president Rick Hoffman, who is also a sergeant in the department. He merely made fun of one of his fellow officers who claimed he was called a racist. Hoffman didn’t write any texts that were racist or offensive about any citizen.

Here’s that exchange:

On 05/04/2020, At 8:59 p.m., APD Sgt. Josh Evans text, “Kardell’s mom was yelling how we shot and killed someone today. That rumor getting around quick.”

At 9:00 p.m., APD Sgt. Jimmy Wisecarver text, “Laughed.” APD Sgt. Evans replies, “That was right after she called me a racist as cop….” APD Officer Rick Hoffman laughed at the above listed comment and stated, “Well she has a point.

——————–

While he and other leaders and officers were included in some of the group text threads, to be fair, how can they be held accountable for something they received, and didn’t respond to, as they may have not read those texts?

Ask yourself if you’ve ever been part of group text threads, group chats in Facebook Messenger or even participated in comments made below the post by someone else or yourself on Facebook or Twitter and may not have seen and read all the texts or comments. Just because somebody included you doesn’t mean you took the time to read what the others wrote. I know I’ve been included in text threads, in Facebook Messenger groups and in posts on Facebook, including my own posts, and haven’t had time to read all the texts or comments nor did I respond to all of them. Maybe I’ll respond to only one or two texts, or even a thread of comments under my own Facebook posts. But who has time to read all of them? I know I don’t. So, how can I or anyone be held accountable for something somebody else wrote that you or I didn’t even see, read or respond to? We can’t. Nor should any of the officers who merely were on the receiving end of one or more of the texts. Lumping all the officers into one group of the guilty is wrong, irresponsible and unfair.

Furthermore, had annual reviews been done for each officer – which haven’t been done for anyone in the department since 2017 – the texts sent or received using their personal cell phones would not have been included. So, the leadership would never have known about them anyway. So, that’s a non-issue as far as the text scandal is concerned. But I believe some of the leaders had to know at least the content of some of the texts and didn’t do enough to stop them.

There are what are referred to as sins of commission and sins of omission. While those leaders who received the texts may not have committed any wrongdoing because they didn’t send out any texts, they are guilty of either not doing what they should by reading the texts to know what those who serve under them were sharing or if they did, not doing something or enough to stop it. There’s only one text referenced in the reports in which one officer said to another that one of the leaders, Sergeant Matt Koch told them to knock it off.

The second report reads, On March 31, 2021 At 3:11 p.m., APD Officer Adams texted…“Haha. I forgot that Koch wanted us to stop sending dumb sh-t. Oops.” (a comment that Rombough “laughed” at)

——————–

As for Hoffman, he needs to be a good leader, fall on his sword and at least resign as APOA president for his sins of omission. Because as a sergeant, some of the officers, including Rombough, served under him.

But let’s all slow down a bit, and for all but the five officers still with the department who are listed in the lawsuit, let the investigations be completed before passing judgment. Everybody who screwed up needs to be held accountable however they can be, and that includes those in the Antioch Police Department, as well as the DAs office. That includes disciplining the staff members who merely semi-redacted the first report revealing officers’ phone numbers and the names of the officers included in the FBI investigation as well as the charges they’re facing, as well as to whom the redacted reports were sent and by whom. (See related article)

New Personal Cell Phone Use Prohibition Policy Must Be Implemented

According to Chief Ford, a new policy was implemented last year regarding use of personal cell phones and a restriction on the discussion of police business including suspects with anyone outside of the department. But he said officers can still use their personal cell phones, not just their department issued cell phones, while on duty. I believe that’s wrong, and a new policy must be implemented prohibiting the use of personal cell phones while on duty, and only on their lunch and other breaks, except in a family emergency. I don’t know what other employees are allowed to use their personal cell phones when they’re at work. Officers shouldn’t either. They should be focused on police work and only use their department issued phones while on the job.

Let’s be clear the racist and offensive texts are wrong, horrible, vile, offensive and hurtful whether they were sent on personal cell phones or not. They were egregious, shocking and the entire thing is embarrassing to those of us who live and/or have a business in Antioch and no doubt to the officers who had nothing to do with sending or receiving the texts, and I’m sure to many who merely received the texts and didn’t read them. The bottom line is the five remaining officers named in the lawsuit must be fired and frankly, if they’re going to demonstrate any kind of remorse, responsibility, maturity and respect for the residents of Antioch, resign immediately. Rombough and Co. have to go. That’s what’s necessary to improve the department and begin healing our community. Please join me in praying for that to occur.

Decisive victory against Laney College puts Los Medanos College on top 

By Juliet V. Casey, Marketing Director, Los Medanos College

Pittsburg, Calif. – In a staggering 18-7 victory over the Laney College Eagles on Thursday, April 27, the Los Medanos College Mustangs baseball team secured the top spot as 2023 Bay Valley Conference champions.

“I’m just so proud of this group,” LMC Head Baseball Coach Matt Lisle. “It isn’t just one player that has stood out. I’ve preached since Day One, that we are in in this together and for us to win a championship it’s going to take everyone all-in. All-in on the field, in the classroom and together as a family and that’s exactly what we did. Truly a championship effort by each and every player.”

The Mustangs head into post-season play with a 28-10 season record and 17-3 in conference. The team is poised to break the school record for season wins – the most wins has been 29 – with at least four games left. 

The last home game of the season will be today at 2:30 p.m., 2700 E. Leland Road. LMC hosts the first round of postseason baseball competition May 5 and May 6. 

“Congratulations to our new Baseball Head Coach Matt Lisle, his assistant coach, Sparky Bray, and our student-athletes for such a phenomenal season,” said Tanisha Maxwell, athletics director and vice president of student services. “I hope to see everyone come out and support our championship team.”

Maxwell noted the team has shown outstanding character and attributed their success to “covenants” players adopted to keep each other positive, productive and accountable to each other on an off the field. Among the promises, “Make smart decisions off the field, make healthy decisions, represent LMC well and sharpen skills.”

“Last night’s victory is a testament of the quality program and tradition in place at Los Medanos College,” Interim President Pamela Ralston said.

Several players this season are being recruited by NCAA Division I and II schools, and two players are being drafted by Major League Baseball teams for the upcoming June Amateur Draft.

Since the 2012 baseball season, 114 LMC baseball players have taken their athletic and academic careers to the four-year level and 67 have received All-Bay Valley Conference Honors. LMC has had 67 Academic All-Conference and 25 Academic All State selections.  Since its founding, the Los Medanos Baseball Program has also produced 21 professional draft picks. 

Read more details of Thursday’s game on LMC’s Experience student news website.

At the annual Antioch Chamber of Commerce Gala on Friday, March 24, 2023, Executive Director read the following about the 2022 Antioch Non-Profit of the Year: “Delta Learning Center offers tutoring in Antioch.  It assists many students in achieving academic excellence while providing assurance to families that their children are given a professional and valuable educational experience.  They also work with placement in colleges and universities and aid adults with employment or advancement testing.

It is to our city’s benefit that we continue to offer quality tutoring and educational services to students who will later be the future leaders in this area.  Their success becomes our success!

As a community, we gladly thank you tonight for all you have done over the years.”

“On behalf of the Delta Learning Center I would like to thank all of our donors. We would not be here without them,” said Executive Director Kimberly Ahumada who was joined by board and staff members as well as volunteer tutors. “A big part of our tutoring, of course, is our tutors. We would not be here without them.”

“Our board members put in a lot of work…to keep DLC afloat during the pandemic. I would really like to thank Martha (Goralka). She has given numerous hours. We owe a big thank you to her for all of her help. We are honored to have this award,”

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report which first appeared in our April/May print edition.

During the Antioch Chamber of Commerce’s annual Gala on Friday, March 24, Executive Director Daniel Sohn read the following about the 2022 Antioch Youth of the Year Mateo Castro: “He may not be an Antioch native, but Mateo Castro has certainly made this city his beloved home. The Antioch High School senior grew up in San Francisco and moved with his family as a seventh grader attending Park Middle for two years before making his way (with a big impact) to Panther Country.

A key member of AHS student government, Mateo is Antioch High’s Student Body president.  In this position, he helps direct all student-hosted activities…and there are a lot of them!  The long list includes a variety of events from freshmen orientation and homecoming spirit week to assisting with graduation.  For Mateo, it also includes nearly everything in-between.

He said sometimes having such a busy schedule is stressful, “but in the end, it always pays off.  Helping people drives me.  I love helping those in need any way I can.”

Mr. Wisely, the lead activities instructor, states that Mateo is a phenomenal kid.  He pours his heart and soul into Antioch High.  He has a unique ability to be a leader and a selfless helper.  He always goes the extra mile for our school.  I wish we could clone him because he will be hard to replace.”

Principal John Jimno also admires Mateo.  “He is a leader, who stands up for what he believes in and is considerate of his school community.  He maintains a level head while courageously championing his peers through student government.”

After graduation, Mateo plans to attend a four-year school to earn a bachelor’s degree in a science-related field.

“We’re so proud of him. This is an example of…the future of the city,” said Antioch School Board Area 5 Trustee Mary Rocha.

“I’m extremely grateful to be honored as this year’s Youth of the Year,” Castro said, “I have to say a big thank you to Mr. Wisely. Him in combination with Miss Trine Gallegos. She has been the coordinator for all of my events.”

He also thanked his teachers and “my best friend Billy Pisco who has always pushed me out of my comfort zone. I want to thank my parents…for always being my biggest supporters. Thank you, mama and papa.”

Castro received a $1,000 scholarship with $500 each from the Antioch Rotary and Delta-Antioch Rotary Clubs.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report which first appeared in the April/May print edition.

AB 764 and AB 1248 would help end gerrymandering in the state as was done in Antioch and bring local redistricting into alignment with statewide and congressional redistricting standards

SACRAMENTO – A package of statewide redistricting reform bills that would help end gerrymandering and the abuse of local redistricting processes in California passed out of the Assembly Local Government Committee on Wednesday. AB 764 (Bryan) and AB 1248 (Bryan and Allen) have recently gained a groundswell of support, pushing the bills past a massive legislative hurdle and inching them closer to becoming law. It would stop what happened in Antioch by the council majority with Districts 2, 3 and 4. (See related article)

“The abuse of our redistricting processes by incumbent politicians is a statewide issue that requires statewide solutions if California is to build a fully inclusive and representative democracy that works for everyone,” said Jonathan Mehta Stein, Executive Director of California Common Cause. “Informed by evaluations of over 100 of local jurisdictions’ redistricting processes and conversations with dozens of community-based organizations, AB 764 and AB 1248 make this vision a reality.”

Backed by civil rights, good government, and community organizations, these bills would empower communities in the redistricting process and would help end gerrymandering at the local level by strengthening current redistricting protections and establishing independent redistricting commissions for larger local jurisdictions. 

AB 764 amends 2019’s FAIR MAPS Act (FMA), a bill that requires cities and counties to use standardized, fair redistricting criteria that prioritize communities when drawing district lines. The bill strengthens the FMA’s redistricting criteria, public engagement requirements, and transparency measures, and would extend its protections to additional local governments, like school boards. It would also prohibit incumbent-protection gerrymandering and would give the public greater control over a process that fundamentally should belong to them. 

Under AB 1248, all counties, cities, school districts, and community college districts with a population over 300,000 would be required to establish an independent redistricting commission before the 2030 redistricting cycle that meets their own local needs. If they do not act on their own, they would be required to utilize a more detailed default commission structure outlined in state law.

“Comprehensive redistricting reform is a long-term solution for building truly representative elections and a democracy that includes everyone,” said Laurel Brodzinsky, California Common Cause’s Legislative Director. “The momentum of AB 764 and AB 1248 shows there’s a real chance that California can end the abuse of our redistricting processes and set the national standard for prioritizing people over politicians.”

AB 764 is sponsored by California Common Cause, League of Women Voters of California, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. AB 1248 is sponsored by California Common Cause, ACLU of Southern California, Asian Law Caucus, and League of Women Voters of California.

Registered Support for AB 764:

AAPIs for Civic Empowerment Education Fund, ACLU California Action, AFSCME, Alameda County Coalition for Fair Redistricting, Alliance San Diego, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, California Environmental Voters (formerly CLCV), Catalyst California, Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy, California Common Cause, Communities for A New California (CNC), Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), Community Health Councils, Courage California, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Indivisible CA Statestrong, Indivisible Marin, Initiate Justice, Initiate Justice Action, Inland Equity Partnership, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of The San Francisco Bay Area, League of Women Voters of California, Oakland Rising Action, OC Action, Peninsula Family Service, San Francisco Rising, Secure Justice, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, The Resistance Northridge-indivisible, The Santa Monica Democratic Club, Thrive, the Alliance of Nonprofits for San Mateo County, Voices for Progress, Young Women’s Freedom Center

Registered Support for AB 1248:

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Southern California, California Common Cause, League of Women Voters of California, AAPIs for Civic Empowerment Education Fund, ACLU California Action, AFSCME, Alameda County Coalition for Fair Redistricting, Alliance San Diego, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Southern California, California Environmental Voters (formerly CLCV), Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy, Community Health Councils, Courage California, Dolores Huerta Foundation, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Indivisible CA Statestrong, Initiate Justice, Initiate Justice Action, Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective, Inland Empire United, Inland Equity Partnership, OC Action, San Francisco Rising, Santa Monica Democratic Club, The Resistance Northridge-Indivisible

About Common Cause

Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.

Grace Closet Food Pantry & Clothing Closet will host a Community Resource & Health Fair on Saturday, May 13, 2023 from 11am to 3pm. All ages are welcome and there are resources that everyone could use.

The event will be held at of Grace Bible Fellowship Church of Antioch, 3415 Oakley Road in Antioch.

Ongoing Events:

GRACE CLOSET Food Pantry & Clothing Closet

Wednesdays, 4PM – 6PM & Saturdays, 12PM – 2PM

3415 Oakley Road, Antioch, CA 94509

Free Food, Clothing Giveaway, Resources and Computer Center.  

Contact 925-522-2017 for more information. 

OVERCOMERS Recovery Program

Every Thursday, 7PM – 8:30PM, Classroom 6

3415 Oakley Road, Antioch, CA 94509

Receive weekly support in overcoming Addiction, Habits, Hang-ups, Hurts or Strongholds. Contact 925-522-2017 for more information. 

During the annual Gala on Friday, March 24, Antioch Chamber Executive Director Daniel Sohn read the following about the 2022 Antioch Corporate Business of the Year: “TreVista Senior Living houses seniors of all needs and backgrounds. They are participants in the community at large via community events such as local car shows, blood drives, etc.

TreVista supports the Antioch Chamber of Commerce as a Chairman Circle cash sponsor and supports the Annual Gala. Teresa Glenn has not only served as Chief Ambassador, but now serves as a Chamber board member.

Other organizations TreVista serves as a beacon of support are: Elderly Wish Foundation, various donations throughout the year to support wish grant efforts, the Alzheimer’s Association, Bedford Center and Changing in Ages.They are also set up to serve as participants in the Red Cross Blood Drive.

TreVista has partnered on many different occasions with other groups, supporting the elderly and hosting workshops that inform their seniors about the importance of fraud and scams, grief and depression and so much more.  They have also held events at the Antioch Senior Center and for older adults in the community.

We thank and honor you for all that you do for our seniors and their families.  We stand here tonight and recognize all that TreVista does to make this a better community for all of our     elderly that have serious needs that are so unexpected.”

“Thank you to the Chamber. It is tremendously great we have such a   relationship with them,” said Executive Director Alberto Maldonado. “We’re just so blessed to get this honor, tonight for something we love to do.”

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report that first appeared in the April/May issue of our print edition.