Join us tomorrow!

Let’s kick off our first cleanup of the year and set the tone for monthly cleanups happening every first Saturday moving forward!

Meet us at 1108 Sycamore Drive, Antioch
Date: March 1, 2025
Time: 10:00 am- noon

Together we can make a difference — every little bit helps! Hope to see you there!

Secure up to $120,000 in down payment subsidies applied towards purchasing a home in Antioch.

3 parts, 3 nights; deadline to register is 5:00 pm Monday, March 3rd

By Walter Zhovreboff, Administrative Director, Bay Area Affordable Housing Alliance

The Bay Area Affordable Homeownership Alliance (BAAHA) and the City of Antioch are sponsoring a free virtual HUD approved homebuyer education workshop from 5:00pm to 7:30pm Tuesday March 4 through Thursday March 6, 2025.

Reservations are required for the free workshop. Attendants for this free workshop series will receive a Certificate of Completion from a HUD approved education provider.

Workshop Times
The City of Antioch is sponsoring a free HUD approved homebuyer education workshop. The three-part workshop will be presented from:
• Part I Tuesday March 4th from 5pm – 7:30 pm
• Part II Wednesday March 5th from 5pm – 7:30 pm
• Part III Thursday March 6th from 5pm – 7:30 pm
Households must attend all three sessions to secure the HUD approved education certificate.

The workshop is scheduled over three Zoom sessions delivered from 5:00pm to 7:30pm, commencing on Tuesday, March 4 through Thursday March 6, 2025. Attendees must attend all three sessions to obtain their HUD Homebuyer Education Certificate. Deadline to register is 5:00 pm Monday, March 3, 2025.

Workshop Topics
The homebuyer education workshop will be covering the following key topics.
• Understanding the importance of credit to purchase a home
• Preparing for homeownership
• Qualifying for a first mortgage
• Shopping for a home
• Managing money
• Information regarding the AHOP resources, including how to apply for the AHOP Down Payment Assistance Subsidy

A-1 CHS provides all homebuyer education workshop participants with a required individual free one on one homebuyer counseling session.

Workshop Sponsors and Presenters

The workshop is specifically directed towards households who are interested in applying for and participating in the AHOP resources, including securing up to $120,000 in down payment subsidies applied towards purchasing a home in Antioch.

This free workshop is sponsored by the City of Antioch. Approved homebuyer education providers usually charge a fee which can range up to $100 to participate in a HUD approved homebuyer workshops.

The workshop is being taught by A-1 Community Housing Services. A-1 CHS is a non-profit community partner that is assisting AHOP participants with their homebuyer education and counseling needs. Additional presenters at the workshop will include:
• Administrative Director of BAAHA
• Managing Director CA – CRA Residential Lending with First Citizens Bank

Workshop Registration
Households must register to attend the City of Antioch’s free HUD approved homebuyer education workshop. Reservations can be made at: https://www.myhomegateway.org/ahop-homebuyer-education-workshop.html.

Make your reservation by no later than 5:00PM Monday March 3, 2025.

Additional information on Antioch Home Ownership Program (AHOP) is available at https://www.myhomegateway.org/ahop.html.

By City of Antioch Recreation Department

Embark on a once-in-a-lifetime cultural adventure! Join the Chichibu Sister City Program and experience the beauty, traditions, and warm hospitality of Chichibu, Japan. From breathtaking landscapes to rich history, this is your chance to build lifelong connections and unforgettable memories. Last year, delegates from Japan joined us here in Antioch, and this summer, it’s our turn to visit Japan! Apply today and be part of this amazing exchange!

Learn more information about the Antioch Chichibu Sister City Program when you visit their Facebook page Antioch-Chichibu Sister City Organization or email AntiochChichibuSCO@gmail.com.

By City of Antioch

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

The City of Antioch is launching the Chief of Police Recruitment Online Community Forum, and your voice matters!

Date: March 3, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Online via Zoom

We’re looking for your input on the qualities and qualifications you want to see in our next Antioch Police Chief. This is your opportunity to help shape the future of our police department!

Join the meeting by scanning the QR code on the post or clicking here: Zoom Link

Your participation makes a difference—let’s build a stronger, safer Antioch together!

Antioch police officers used de-escalation tactics to take him into custody

Held on $180,000 bail; arrested last year for vehicle theft, DUI

By Lt. Joe Njoroge #7052, Antioch Police Field Services Division

On February 23, just before 4:00 a.m., Antioch police responded to the 3000 Block of Ash Street on a call from a woman who reported that a man fired shots at her. The 30-year-old victim was unharmed and was able to flee the scene. Additional calls were received by Antioch Police Dispatch regarding gunshots heard in the same area. Upon further investigation, the victim informed officers that the man, 30-year-old Melvin Jewel Savoy, III, (born 5-5-1994), had gone back into the home, which was occupied by several individuals, including four children.

Officers arrived at the scene and located the victim nearby. A perimeter was established, and officers made announcements for Savoy to exit the residence. Initially, he refused to cooperate with officers’ requests and did not exit. Eventually Savoy exited the residence, however he did not comply with officers’ instructions. After several minutes of de-escalation efforts, Savoy was taken into custody without incident.

Officers checked on all occupants inside the home, including the children, and found they were unharmed during the incident.

Savoy was later transported to the Martinez Detention Facility, where he was booked on the following charges:
PC 245(a)(2) – Assault with a Firearm on a Person
PC 243(e )(1) – Domestic Battery
PC 148(a)(1) – Resist Arrest
PC 29800(a)(1) – Felon in Possession of a Firearm
PC 25850(a) – Possession of a Loaded Firearm in Public
PC 30305(a) – Prohibited Person in Possession of Ammunition

According to localcrimenews.com, he is Black and was also arrested last year on July 18 by Contra Costa CHP for petty theft, receiving stolen property – motor vehicle, vehicle theft and DUI, alcohol and drugs, as well as in 2014 by San Leandro PD for forgery of a credit card.

According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department, the five-feet, eleven-inch tall, 195 lb. Savoy is being held in the West County Detention Center on $180,000 bail.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

1 pet per household. No brachycephalic (flat faced) breeds.

By Antioch Friends of Animal Services

Joybound People & Pets will be setting up their rig outside of Antioch Animal Services, tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25th at 8am. This is first come, first served, spay/neuter services at an affordable cost.

Please read all details as there are limitations of animals per household and on breeds.

Our mobile spay/neuter clinic addresses the pet overpopulation crisis, while preventing health and behavior problems in your pet. Plus, animals can be administered with free pet microchips, age-appropriate vaccinations, and post-surgery pain medication and e-collar.

Credit or debit cards and cash are accepted. Payment is due at the time of services. No checks, please.
• All patients will be seen first-come, first-served.
• All animals must be in good health.
• One pet will be served per household.
• No pregnant or nursing animals.
• Pets must be between 4 months and 6 years of age.
• Pets must weigh between 2 and 50 pounds.
• Pet guardians must be residents of Contra Costa County.
• Please withhold food after midnight the night prior to surgery.
• Please bring any medical paperwork you have related to your animal’s vaccine or health history.
• Dogs must be on a leash and cats must be in carriers.
• No brachycephalic breeds (French Bulldogs, English Bulldogs, Pugs, etc.)
• Animals are not given full health or wellness exams at these clinic, only spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations.
• Joybound People & Pets reserves the right to refuse service to anyone.

For more information about these events, please contact our clinic team.

Prices
Spay (Female): Cats $150, Dogs $300

Neuter (Male) Cats $100, Dogs $200

We advise getting here early, bring a chair, wrap up warm!

Thank you to Joybound for this valuable service. For more information visit their website;
https://joybound.org/blog/mobile-spay-neuter-clinics/

Contra Costa voters polled support two of three options; want potholes fixed on local streets, improved traffic flow and safety

Members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)’s and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)’s Joint Legislation Committee heard, on Friday, Feb. 14, the results of a January 2025 poll of Bay Area voters conducted by Oakland-based EMC Research on options for a potential transportation tax measure that could avert deep service cuts by BART, San Francisco Muni, Caltrain and other transit agencies; and could spur implementation of the Bay Area Transit Transformation Action Plan to improve the customer experience for transit riders. State senators Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Jesse Arreguín of Berkeley last month introduced Senate Bill 63 to authorize placement of such a measure on the November 2026 ballot.

EMC Research, Inc. conducted the poll of 3,050 Bay Area voters to test support and overall attitudes regarding a potential transportation revenue measure, including a three-way split sample to test three different funding frameworks. They included the following:

• Scenario 1A: A 10-year 1/2-cent sales tax focused on averting major transit service cuts and providing funding for Transit Transformation, generating at least $560 million annually and
• Hybrid: A 30-year 1/2-cent sales tax plus $0.09 per building sq.ft. parcel tax including at least five counties and up to nine, providing a higher level of funding for transit operations in early years, funding for Transit Transformation, plus flexibility for local infrastructure priorities.
• Variable Rate: ½-cent to 7/8-cent (0.875) sales tax for transit for 11 years, as proposed by San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, generating at least $640 million annually focused on transit operations with the goal of more fully addressing transit agencies’ operating funding needs. Note that this framework was included to maximize efficiencies and ensure “apples to apples” comparison of polling results. SFMTA is funding this portion of the poll.

The poll found that a majority (54%) of voters in the four counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo would vote yes on a half-cent sales tax to avoid major transit cuts to BART, Caltrain, Muni and AC Transit. It also found majority support (55%) in these four counties for a variable tax option that included a half-cent sales tax in Contra Costa, Alameda and San Mateo and a higher (0.875 cent) sales tax in San Francisco.

In Contra Costa County the results of 600 total voters polled, with 200 for each option, initially showed 53% support for Scenario 1A: 10-year 1/2-cent sales tax, 51% support for the Hybrid option and 54% support for the Variable Rate. But after hearing more information and opposition, 56% of Contra Costa voters opposed the Hybrid option, 53% supported the Variable Rate and just 51% supported the 1/2-cent sales tax.

“While it’s good to see most voters would support a measure of these types, support is well below the two-thirds threshold that would be required if MTC were to place the measure on the ballot,” noted MTC Commissioner and Pleasant Hill City Councilmember Sue Noack. “This means any near-term path would need to be via a citizen’s initiative, which would require a broad coalition to gather the needed signatures as well as strong campaign leadership.”

The poll results show transportation ranks comparatively low on the list of voters’ concerns when respondents were asked an open-ended question (affordable housing, drugs/crime and homelessness top the list) but awareness of the post-pandemic challenges faced by transit agencies is high, with over two-thirds of the voters polled saying Bay Area public transit needs more funding.

“Transit has an irreplaceable role in our region, being the only source of transportation for many essential workers, people of color, and working-class families,” added Senator Arreguín. “As we continue our recovery from the pandemic, securing funding to public transit is required to ensure a stronger, more resilient economy for all of us in the Bay Area.”

A third tax framework for which EMC Research polled Bay Area voters involved a measure that would be funded by a combination of a half-cent sales tax and a 9-cents per square foot parcel tax over 30 years to funds pothole repairs and highway improvements in addition to transit improvements. Support for this framework started at 51 percent but dipped to 44 percent after respondents heard opposing arguments.

MTC in December 2024 approved several policy provisions for inclusion in state legislation that would enable voters to consider a future ballot measure. These include requiring stronger oversight of transit agencies’ financial information and requiring transit agencies to adopt policies to help improve the transit customer experience as a condition for receiving new funds.

About MTC
MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The full presentation delivered to the MTC-ABAG Joint Legislation Committee may be accessed on the MTC website.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

U.S. Marshals assist

27-year-old held on $3.14 million bail, has a history of arrests dating back to 2015.

By Acting Lt. Whitaker # 6155, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

As previously reported, on February 12th at approximately 10:24 p.m., Antioch police officers responded to the area of Hillcrest Avenue and Larkspur Drive for reports of shots fired in the area. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a victim who had been shot at least once. Antioch police officers provided aid to the victim who was transported to a local hospital. The 23-year-old victim later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. He was identified by Contra Costa Deputy Coroner Livingston and APD as Jacob Frank Hernandez.

On Thursday, February 20, the United States Marshal Service and Antioch Police Department executed a search warrant at an undisclosed address in Antioch. The suspect, 27-year-old Demundre Rashey Walton (born 04-10-1997), was arrested without incident for homicide. Evidence from the home was collected, as well as the vehicle used during the commission of the crime.

On 02-24-2025 The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office filed the case for charges:

1. PC187 (a) – Murder
2. PC29900 (a)(1) – Felon in possession of a firearm

This is still an active investigation, and no further information will be released at this time. Any further information or additional press releases will be provided by the Investigations Bureau.
Any tips or other information can be directed to Antioch Police Detective Cox at (925) 481-8147
or by email jcox@antiochca.gov.

According to Walton’s Facebook page, he is married and lives in Antioch.

According to localcrimenews.com, Walton is Black and has a history of arrests dating back to 2015 by multiple agencies including Antioch, Concord and Berkeley PDs, and the Sheriff’s Departments of Alameda, San Francisco, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, for crimes such as: a variety of gun charges, robbery (six times), burglary and possession of burglar’s tools, child endangerment, resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer and conspiracy to commit a crime (four times).

According to the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, the five-feet, eight-inch tall, 157 lb. suspect is being held in the Martinz Detention Facility on $3,140,000 bail.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.