Members of Knights of Columbus at St. Ignatius Church in Antioch will be cooking and serving

By Steve Krank, St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County, (SVdP) is excited to announce a collaborative effort with Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa, the Knights of Columbus of St. Ignatius Church, and dedicated SVdP volunteers and their families to host a heartwarming free Thanksgiving luncheon and celebration on November 23, 2023.

Guests are invited to join us at the SVdP Family Resource Center, located at 1415 Simpson Court, Pittsburg, CA (Corner of Gladstone Drive). The highlight of the day will be a delectable, free, Thanksgiving meal served from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, featuring all the traditional favorites that embody the true spirit of Thanksgiving, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad, pumpkin pie and more. SVdP volunteers will also be handing out warm coats and jackets, generously donated by The Burlington Coat Factory, and serving delicious hot chocolate, to help everyone feel warm, safe and in the Holiday Spirit!

Since 2010, SVdP volunteers have been providing a delicious Thanksgiving meal to the community and a warm gathering for neighbors in need and the homeless. This collaborative effort not only provides a delicious Thanksgiving feast but also gives an opportunity for community members to come together, connect with neighbors and guests, share stories, and create lasting memories.

SVdP encourages individuals to get involved by volunteering their time or making donations to contribute to the cost of food and decorations at svdp-cc.org, “DONATE NOW”. This year, SVdP is extremely grateful to the Knights of Columbus at St. Ignatius Church. KofC members, along with other caring volunteers, will be cooking and serving the Thanksgiving meal this year.

To confirm attendance or volunteer, please RSVP by November 20, 2023, via email to: Stephen Krank at s.krank@svdp-cc.org or call 925-439-5060 #28.

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County and our partners look forward to hosting this special Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday, November 23 for community members, all are invited to join! Together, we can make this Thanksgiving meaningful and joyous for all involved.

FRANK SAXEN:  Born November 10, 1940, and died October 30, 2023, eleven days shy of his 83rd birthday, in Georgetown, Texas after relocating there in October 2021.      

Born to Alfred T. F. Saxen and Henrietta Mae Luke Saxen Mapleton, Iowa, Frank is survived by siblings (Elsie) Kaye Burlingame, CA, Jeanette Saxen, WY and Jerry Saxen, NV and preceeded in death by Katherine Colborn, CA, and Shirley Belleci, CA.

Frank joined the U.S. Navy at age 17, served 9 years as an Electronic Engineer, and was a Vietnam Veteran.

In 1958 he married Donna Cooper (now Olson) of Estherville, IA. They had five children:

Rick Saxen (Georgia Saxen, deceased), Iowa

Robert Saxen (Carman Rivera) Surprise, Arizona

Ron Saxen (Leslie Sosnick) Brentwood, CA

Rebecca Saxen Swanson Garcia, Estherville, Iowa

Robin Saxen (Gace Lan) London, UK

Stepchildren: Kimberlee Baird Fleury, TX, Scott Baird, CA and Tish Baird, CA

Grandson: Ian Swanson, Stockton CA

Frank was an avid hunter and looked forward to his annual hunt in Wyoming every fall. He had a special understanding about all animals and their behavior including a love and knowledge of birds.  Saxen loved the game of golf and at one (younger) time was a scratch player and was proud to have a hole in one.

In 1989 he married Carol Biggam Baird of Santa Barbara and Walnut Creek, CA. They were married for 34 years.

After serving in the Navy, Frank moved to Antioch, CA (for its sunshine) and opened Frank Saxen Insurance Agency. He was a strong community leader and contributed greatly and tirelessly to its growth, economy, and celebrations. He was a great organizer and fundraiser for the Fourth of July parades and fireworks. Saxen took over the Antioch Economic Development Committee and successfully ran the organization for 12 years.  

He was active in the Boys and Girls Club of Pittsburg/Antioch. He also served as President of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce and rose to the rank of Lt. Governor in Kiwanis. Saxen also served two six-year terms on the Contra Costa Council.  

When BART decided to extend service down the (San Francisco) Peninsula before Antioch’s extension (for which Antioch had contributed for 25 years) he fought back, hard. Eventually, BART acquiesced after Saxen started a task force and began legal proceedings for East County to secede from Contra Costa County.  It was a huge win for East County to finally be recognized and soon have a BART extension.   

Frank was also known to be seen around town with his famous pigeon, Samatha, on his shoulder. You see, Dr. Nolan of the San Diego Zoo proved Samatha thought Frank was her lifelong partner. The pair were featured on the TV show “That’s Incredible”. Numerous re-runs of this segment were shown for several years thereafter. Sammy died Thanksgiving Day 1988. She was 11 years old, living six years longer than an average pigeon.

Saxen was a long-time member of the Church of God An International Community and attended services mainly in the greater San Francisco East Bay area. Frank and Carol traveled to various locations in the US and the world to attend the annual Feast of Tabernacles.  He leaves many, many dear friends.

Services will be private, as per family wishes.

The Antioch Police Department had been awarded a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety for Traffic

Enforcement Program to increase safety on the roads. The Antioch Police Department was awarded a $60,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The grant will support our ongoing enforcement and education programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads.

The grant will provide additional programs and resources, including:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.

• High-visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.

• Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk.

• Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.

• Community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and bicycle and pedestrian safety.

• Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.

• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community, and we will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding.

The grant program will run through September 2024.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Any questions please contact: Sgt. Rob Green, rgreen@ci.antioch.ca.us, 925-778-6864

Over 100 people and contractors helped and contributed to the $325,000 project

Will be used for tours by school children, can be rented for small parties

By Allen D. Payton

After being donated and relocated in April from its former restaurant location to the grounds of the Antioch Historical Museum, the Red Caboose was dedicated by as the Boccio family, friends and supporters who gathered for a special ceremony Saturday afternoon, November 18, 2023. (See related videos of the move here, here, here and here)

“This is a great day for the City of Antioch,” said former Mayor and former Historical Society President Don Freitas who served as the MC.

“You’re going to actually be able to rent space in the caboose for parties,” he shared. “It can hold 14-16 people. It will be a heck of a place to come and have a party.”

“This is a great opportunity for the Historical Society to work with the school district to bring kids out and talk about trains and the unique role of the caboose itself,” Freitas continued.

“When I get up at night…I can still hear the train whistles and it brings back great memories,” he reminisced.

“Jim and Phyllis Boccio owned this, and it was connected to the restaurant on Fulton Shipyard Road,” Freitas explained. “I would bring people to it for meetings, and we’d have lunch inside the caboose, and they didn’t want to leave. It was wonderful.”

“We’re very excited about this project. It’s taken a long, long time. There were more than 117 individuals who contributed,” he added.

Current Antioch Historical Society President Dwayne Eubanks spoke next saying, “I want to thank the Boccio family. I had no belief that a project like this could happen. This project has infused some enthusiasm into the Historical Society.”

Jim “Mac” Martin then sang the national anthem followed by the invocation offered by Rev. Gene Davis.

Dr. James Boccio, representing the family, shared about his parents, who have both passed away in the last few years.

“They came to Antioch during the Great Depression,” he said. 

His father grew up in Antioch near where the Red Caboose Restaurant was located.

“He always had a deep feeling for the railroad,” Boccio said. “In 1982 he told me ‘I’m buying a caboose…I’m going to connect it to the restaurant and bar.’ I told him, ‘that’s a swamp. It’s going to sink into the ground’.”

“He bought it in Selma,” the younger Boccio continued. “I went by there in the morning to see how far it had sunk and he already had built a pad and that a big crane placed it on.”

He said when speaking with his mom she could think of eight restaurant operators through the years, some of whom were in attendance at the ceremony.

“My mom was never a big caboose fan,” Boccio revealed. “She kind of felt it was my dad’s fifth, illegitimate child.”

He shared how his parents’ house that they lived in on E. 18th Street his father “had moved from Walnut Creek with the Trosts. So, I wasn’t surprised he could have the caboose moved.”

“In 2022, there was a fire that burned the back half (of the restaurant). But nothing happened to the caboose,” Boccio stated. “There was smoke damage and soot that was cleaned up.” (See related article)

“The family got together with my mom and my sister Norma suggested we get it over to the Historical Society. My mom said, ‘Call Tom Menasco’,” he continued.

“He’s a bulldog they let out of the cage,” Boccio said to laughter from the audience.

Menasco then led the effort to relocate the caboose.

“We actually sold the caboose and the property to Drill Tech with the deal he donate the caboose, which he did,” Boccio added.

He described the move saying, “it was like an orchestra.”

“We really want this to be an educational facility for young children who maybe have never been on a train other than BART,” Boccio concluded.

Doug Debs, Lead Docent of the Niles Canyon Railway then shared the importance for and explanation of the purpose of a train’s caboose. It’s where the engineer and “eyes and ears of the crew” could see the train. The cabin on top is called the cupola and was where the freight cars could be viewed and the windows could be slid open so the crew could lean way out and see around curves, he explained.

Freitas then recognized three individuals who were key to the project.

“There were a lot of volunteers, a lot of help,” he said and then mentioned Project Superintendent “David Brink. He was the engineer. He put in a tremendous amount of time.”

Freitas then mentioned Display Designer Laura Enea Jacques, who took on the project once the caboose arrived at the museum. Finally, he mentioned Project Coordinator and Fundraiser Tom Menasco about whom he said, “is really one of the most dedicated residents in Antioch. He raised about $325,000 to do this project.”

Freitas showed appreciation by presenting Menasco with a plaque.

“What’s most important to me is we made a wish become a reality,” Menasco stated. “Nineteen months ago, it was April 1, 2022, we jumped on a train with this caboose and took a long ride. We didn’t have to ask, people just handed me money. We collected $200,000 in donations from local developers and contractors.”

“I’d like to thank all the contractors who are standing in the back,” he added.

Those in attendance were then provided with brief tours of the Red Caboose and shown a video by Ronn Carter about its history and relocation. See a brief tour video, here.

The Caboose Project Team included Tom Menasco, Dave Brink, Laura Jacques, Project Advisor Don Freitas, Supervising Engineer Stan Davis and Project Advisor Eddie Beaudin. The Historical Society offered a “heartfelt thank you” to the Jim and Phyllis Boccio Family Trust who transferred ownership of the 1929 caboose to the museum and contributed financially for the construction of the display.

The Antioch Historical Museum is located at 1500 W. 4th Street at the end of Auto Center Drive and is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information visit www.antiochhistoricalmuseum.org.

By Antioch Police Department

Within only ten minutes, yesterday evening there were three armed robberies in residential neighborhoods of Antioch where the victims were all arriving home from work. Responding APD officers quickly linked the three robberies based on time element, along with the matching suspect and getaway vehicle descriptions. The suspects were reportedly armed with a handgun and rifle at the time of the robberies.

Later that evening, Officer Desiderio located a matching vehicle and conducted an enforcement stop. A search of the vehicle revealed stolen property from each of the three robberies. The five occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and two of the five provided false identification to officers. The true identities of these two were learned and they were found to have outstanding warrants for their arrest. All five were booked at the County Jail in Martinez.

11/24/23 UPDATE: According to Antioch Police spokesman Sgt. Price Kendall, “Of the five males arrested, three were 19 years old, one was 20, and one was 23. All five males were from Antioch and Brentwood. That is all we will be releasing.”

Officers wish to thank the victims and witnesses who came forward and gave an excellent description of the vehicle and suspects! Officers would also like to thank our hardworking APD dispatchers for the work they do in getting the information out quickly.

Want to join Officer Desiderio and his team to help keep Antioch safe? We are hiring entry-level, academy graduates, and lateral police officers, with academies starting in January and March of 2024. We offer an excellent pay and benefits package, CalPERS retirement pension, and a $30,000 signing bonus (amongst many other incentives). We are also hiring dispatchers now! Visit www.JoinAntiochPD.com for more information and be part of the change!

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

All entrance activity fees waived in East Bay Regional Parks

By Dave Mason, Public Information Supervisor, Public Affairs, East Bay Regional Park District

Thursday, November 16, 2023 (Oakland, CA) – Celebrate Green Friday, November 24, with an East Bay Regional Parks FREE Park Day. Green Friday provides healthy and fun ways to enjoy the day after Thanksgiving with family and friends.

On Green Friday, all entrance activity fees are waived in Regional Parks, including parking, dogs, horses, boat launching, and fishing, as well as entrance to Ardenwood Historic Farm. The fee waiver does not include state fees for fishing licenses and watercraft inspections or concessions, such as the Tilden Merry-Go-Round and Redwood Valley Railway steam train.

For the past nine years, the East Bay Regional Park District has celebrated Green Friday to encourage the public to spend time in nature.

Green Friday activities in Regional Parks include:

Hike It Off, 9:00 a.m. – Reinhardt Redwood, Oakland

Fall Scavenger Hunt, 9:00 a.m. – Sunol, Sunol

Green Friday Hike, 10:00 a.m. – Del Valle, Livermore

History Hike ABOVE the Mines!, 10:00 a.m. – Black Diamond Mines, Antioch

Farm Chores for Kids, 10:30 a.m. – Ardenwood, Fremont

Meet The Bunnies, 11:30 a.m. – Ardenwood, Fremont

Stilts, 1:30 p.m. – Ardenwood, Fremont

Woodland Wonderland, 3:30 p.m. – Del Valle, Livermore

For more information about Green Friday, visit www.ebparks.org/green-friday.

The East Bay Regional Park District is the largest regional park system in the nation, comprising 73 parks, 55 miles of shoreline, and over 1,300 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and environmental education. The Park District receives more than 25 million visits annually throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Claims typical residential customer will pay $32.62 more for combined monthly electric and natural gas bill beginning January 1, 2024.

By CPUC

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, resolved Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) General Rate Case (GRC), which covers its operational and infrastructure revenue requirement for 2023-2026. The decision marks a crucial step in fortifying the future of California’s electric grid while prioritizing customer affordability.

Based on the evidence presented, the CPUC today unanimously approved the Alternate Proposed Decision of Commissioner John Reynolds. This decision approves investments in the safety and reliability of PG&E’s energy services. Inflation and a significant investment in undergrounding electric lines ranked among the top drivers in PG&E’s request. Over the past year and a half, numerous parties reviewed PG&E’s GRC request and provided input on each cost category and related proposed expenditures.

“I am proud of today’s decision because it represents the CPUC’s commitment to finding a reasonable balance in the face of incredibly challenging circumstances and competing objectives,” said Commissioner John Reynolds, who is assigned to the proceeding. “This decision ultimately represents both an historic investment in PG&E’s electric and natural gas systems as well as an expectation that PG&E must continue to be safer and more efficient. I am grateful to the many parties, and the scores of CPUC staffers, for their help as we grappled with this decision.”

Today’s decision propels PG&E’s energy infrastructure and operations into the future, addressing critical objectives such as mitigating wildfire risk, enhancing safety and reliability, and anticipating evolving electric grid demands. This comprehensive approach not only ensures PG&E’s capacity to maintain a safe and reliable energy system with a dedicated workforce, but also positions California for a more resilient energy future in the face of climate change. Moreover, the decision reflects rigorous oversight over hundreds of programs, and reduces PG&E’s request to more accurately reflect forecasts for prudent use of ratepayer funds.

Among the key initiatives covered in the decision:

• Wildfire System Enhancement and Undergrounding
  • Approves 1,230 miles of electric line undergrounding, as well as 778 miles of covered conductor, totaling 2,008 hardened miles. This represents an historic opportunity for PG&E to invest in safer, reliable improvements for its customers while also achieving economies of scale to drive down costs; the revised undergrounding total also provides PG&E with a bridge to a future phase of undergrounding planning, through the Senate Bill 884 program.
• Vegetation Management
  • Approves PG&E investing approximately $1.3 billion in vegetation management to reduce wildfire ignition risk and improve reliability on PG&E’s electrical system.
• Capacity Upgrades
  • Approves PG&E investing more than $2.5 billion in upgrading the electric distribution system from 2023-2026, which will help prepare the grid to support initiatives for enhanced building electrification and new interconnections for electric vehicle charging stations and new housing and businesses.

“Today’s decision balances a myriad of competing interests—affordability, feasibility, safety, and reliability,” said CPUC President Alice Reynolds. “And in the face of increasingly turbulent climate-driven weather events, it gives PG&E the opportunity to prove it can underground electric lines at scale.  This will allow PG&E to achieve economies of scale, drive down costs, and reduce wildfire risk.”

Setting the pathway for critical investments in PG&E’s system

For PG&E customers, this approval by the CPUC translates to a continued commitment to safe, reliable, and affordable energy services. The GRC ensures that every dollar invested contributes to more resilient energy infrastructure, offering customers lasting benefits. Moreover, stringent accountability measures are embedded within the decision, assuring customers that their investment yields tangible and accountable improvements in PG&E’s operations and services.

PG&E requested $15.4 billion for 2023; Thursday’s decision cut that amount substantially, by $1.8 billion. Today’s decision sets the 2023 revenue requirement at $13.5 billion, reflecting an 11 percent increase from the authorized 2022 revenue requirement. For the typical residential customer, their combined monthly electric and natural gas bill will increase by $32.62 or 12.8 percent, compared to PG&E’s request of $38.73 or 17.9 percent increase.

PG&E’s 2022 Authorized Revenue Requirement		Proposed 2023 Revenue Requirement	Percent Increase	Dollar Increase
$12.2 billion	PG&E Request	$15.4 billion	26%	$3.2 billion
	Decision	$13.5 billion	11%	$1.3 billion

Customers can expect any changes to their bill to go into effect on January 1, 2024.

For further information on the proceeding, including today’s decision and a fact sheet, please visit the CPUC’s website.

About the California Public Utilities Commission

The CPUC regulates services and utilities, protects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. Visit www.cpuc.ca.gov for more information.

Expected to boost Bay Area housing bond prospects; Cal Chamber opposes; requires majority of voters to approve

By Allen D. Payton

MTC/ABAG-backed Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1, which would lower the vote threshold for local special taxes and bonds to fund affordable housing, transportation, resilience and other public infrastructure projects from two-thirds to 55%, will go to voters in November 2024.

The state Legislature last month approved sending the amendment, authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, to voters with the backing of the entire Bay Area legislative delegation. MTC and ABAG sent letters of support to Sacramento and MTC/ABAG legislative staff actively lobbied the bill to help get it over the finish line.

Similar bills have been proposed over the past two decades but until now none were approved by the house of origin, a hurdle that itself requires a two-thirds vote. Other supporters included Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California, Enterprise Community Partners, the California Professional Firefighters, and individual cities and counties. 

The Bay Area is preparing to place a regional housing bond on the November 2024 ballot, with 80% of funds flowing to counties and several large cities and 20% designated for regionwide programs administered by the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA).

“While Bay Area voters have a long history of generously supporting taxes to fund transportation and housing improvements, measures in some parts of the region have repeatedly fallen short of the two-thirds margin,” MTC-ABAG Executive Director Andrew Fremier noted.  “ACA 1 would reinstate the ability of voting majorities to address vital community needs.”

The election of ACA 1 co-author Robert Rivas to the Assembly speakership helped build momentum for the proposed amendment, as did the nonprofit housing community’s raising of $10 million to gather signatures for a citizen’s initiative if the legislature didn’t approve the amendment.  

California Chamber of Commerce Opposes

The constitutional amendment is opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce. In a report by policy advocate Preston Young before it passed, he claims ACA1 would increase costs for key sectors, will erode taxpayer safeguards and would harm California workers.

Preston wrote, “This would provide increased tax authority for many local government agencies in California—not just cities and counties, but thousands of potentially overlapping special districts.

In a letter sent to legislators recently, the CalChamber pointed out that while it’s important to improve infrastructure and increase housing availability, higher property, sales and parcel taxes on working Californians run counter to the goal of making the state more affordable for all.

Businesses engaged in manufacturing, research and development, teleproduction and post-production, and agriculture face a significant sales and use tax burden in California.

The sales and use tax is supposed to be a tax on the final point of sale of a product, yet many businesses—including businesses conducting research and development, manufacturing, filming activities, and agriculture—are taxed for equipment purchases.

Taxation of business inputs for these industries leads to a pyramiding effect throughout the production process, leading to higher costs for purchases made by consumers, the CalChamber explained in its letter. To counter this pyramiding effect and incentivize business growth in the state, California offers a partial state-level sales tax exemption for purchases made by these industries. However, purchases made by these businesses are still subject to local transactions and use taxes.

Equipment purchases represent a significant portion of capital investment for existing businesses and start-ups. Tax increases promoted by ACA 1 would defeat the purpose of the state-level exemption provided by the state and make it more cost-prohibitive to conduct these business activities in California, the CalChamber warned.

ACA 1 would allow local jurisdictions to approve Bradley-Burns sales tax increases with a 55% vote of the electorate, eliminating the uniformity and certainty provided by the Bradley-Burns sales tax.

This would represent a monumental change to sales and use tax policy in the state, the CalChamber said. Unlike the transactions and use tax—which is capped at 2% per county and requires statutory authority to exceed the cap—the local 1.25% sales tax (referred to as the Bradley-Burns sales tax) is uniformly applied across the state and voters are not authorized to approve increases to the rate.

“California already has the highest state-imposed sales tax in the country, and the combined sales tax rates in some jurisdictions are among the highest in the United States,” the CalChamber said. “Allowing localities to modify their Bradley-Burns sales tax rates, without a cap on rate increases, paves the way for excessive combined sales tax rates in parts of the state—increasing costs for residents and businesses.”

More than four decades ago, prompted by years of rising taxes, Californians resoundingly approved Proposition 13 to provide a check on local governments’ taxing authority, and to ensure a greater representative voice for those who would be taxed. Proposition 13 also limits taxes on property to 1% of the property’s assessed value.

Reducing the vote threshold would diminish the people’s voice on tax increases and would erode property tax safeguards. The CalChamber pointed out that a May 2022 Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 64% of registered voters believe Proposition 13 has benefitted taxpayers, and this support reaches across nearly every major demographic.

After comparing the costs of operating in California versus other states, many employers left the state in recent years. A Hoover Institution report found that from 2018 to 2022, at least 352 companies relocated their headquarters out of California—with many businesses citing the state’s tax burden as the deciding factor in their relocation.

The relocation of these companies and their employees to lower-cost states has a major impact on state and local tax revenue, causes unemployment for workers who cannot move to the new location, and is a sign that California must find ways to be more competitive, the CalChamber stressed.

“Tax increases such as those promoted in ACA 1 would be a step in the wrong direction and would encourage more companies to move workers and investments to other states,” the CalChamber said.

Indeed, Californians are sensitive to this problem. A 2020 Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll found that 78% of voters “agreed that taxes in California were already so high that they were driving many people and businesses out of the state.”

Majority Vote Needed to Pass

According to a report by the California Globe,  Article XVIII, Section 4 of the California Constitution, “requires a proposed amendment or revision to be submitted to the electors and, if approved by a majority of votes, takes effect on the fifth day after the Secretary of State files the statement of the vote for the election at which the measure is voted on, but the measure may provide that it becomes operative after its effective date.”