Dow’s 12th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration takes place on Thursday, January 12 and it promises to be a time of reflection and inspiration.

Former San Francisco 49er offensive lineman, Guy McIntyre, will deliver the keynote speechWith an NFL career that spans more than a decade and includes three trips to the Super Bowl and five trips to the Pro-Bowl, McIntyre has a story that goes beyond the gridiron.

Renowned jazz saxophonist, Kevin Moore, will also be entertaining the audience with several musical selections.

For the fourth year, Dow hosted an essay contest for local high school students. This year, in keeping with the County Office of Education’s new focus on civility, students were asked to describe how 21st century technologies (cell phones, social media, the Internet), not present in Dr. King’s time, have impacted civility.

The winning essay will be read by its author, Bianka Machado, a sophomore at Pittsburg High. In addition, this year a poster contest was held and the winning poster, drawn by Karla Rosales, a senior at Deer Valley High School, will also be revealed.

Dow employees and invited community guests will be on hand to participate in this event.

The recipient of the Community Award is Professor Silvester Henderson, Chair of the Music Department at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg. Henderson has used gospel music to unite communities for more than 25 years.

The recipient of the Dow Employee Award is Jamie Polan, a Production Engineer, who has demonstrated a true commitment to diversity in the workplace as she helps with hispanic recruitment, leads the Women’s Innovation Network, mentors young engineers and more.

The Dow Chemical Company purchased the Pittsburg facility in 1939 from the Great Western Electrochemical Company. It is one of more than 150 manufacturing sites located in 37 countries around the world and supports two of Dow’s eight global businesses – Dow AgroSciences and Performance Chemicals. The Pittsburg facility produces a variety of products used in personal care products as well as a variety of crop protection products and intermediates. www.dowpittsburg.com

The City of Antioch and Antioch Unified School District, along with community partners and sponsors, will present the 4th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at Antioch High School Beede Auditorium, 700 West 18th Street, on January 16th, from 1-3 PM,

The event, which grew from Antioch City Council Member Reggie Moore’s desire to celebrate Dr. King’s historical contributions, along with creating a scholarship program for high school and middle school students, began in 2009.

Mayor Pro Tem, Wade Harper, will continue the celebration with the support of business and community leaders. The celebration will include local community member Keith Archuletta’s tribute to Dr. King, performances by the Delta School for the Performing Arts, DVHS Divine Voices, DVHS Show Choir. Dr. Donald Gill, AUSD Superintendent, will announce the 2012 Scholarship program.

The event is sponsored by the City of Antioch, Antioch Unified School District, CCC Supervisor Federal Glover, Arts & Cultural Foundation of the City of Antioch, Parents Connected.

For more information, visit http://art4antioch.org/MLK-Program.asp or contact Lisa Harper at 925.437-4240 or e-mail Diane@Art4Antioch.org.

Global NxLevel Strategies & The Antioch Community Foundation is pre-registering for its 2012, “Increase your sales by one-million dollars business planning class.” For existing business owners or new startups, this may be your last chance for business development training for Antioch & Pittsburg residents. Due to 2012 funding cuts, this program may know longer be offered.

Why start or expand a business in this economy, because there are opportunities everywhere. The problem with finding the opportunities is a lack of business planning. 1 out of 5 businesses in the “Land of Opportunity” survives. A business owner, who fails to plan, plans to fail!

GNS wants to help you write a winning business plan. By writing your plan, you will work through your strategies; avoid potentially costly errors like undercapitalizing your business, negative cash flow, hiring the wrong people, selecting the wrong location, underestimating your competition, and pursuing the wrong markets.

To remain relevant in an economy that has experienced downsizing and manufacture’s moving to other countries, GNS is inviting you to register for this 11-week business planning program for just $95.

Not an Antioch or Pittsburg resident? The course is Just $395

Class starts Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at the Antioch Chamber of Commerce. For more information contact Quincy Hardin at 925-209-1584 or visit www.GlobalNxLevelStrategies.com.

By Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Executive Director, Restore the Delta

Assemblymember Alyson Huber is sponsoring AB550 — a bill that would require the legislature to vote on the merits of a peripheral canal after a full cost analysis.

We believe that Assemblymember Huber’s bill is one of the most important pieces of proposed legislation for Californians. Can California tax payers and water rate payers afford to pay more out of pocket for a project that will benefit a few powerful water district leaders and corporate agribusiness growers?

Below, you will find Restore the Delta’s letter in support of the bill. Feel free to use it as a template to send your own letter to Assemblymember Jared Huffman, Chair of the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee. The Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee will be taking up the bill on January 10, 2012.

We encourage you to take the time to support this important piece of legislation. The letter can be faxed to 916-319-2196 and/or dropped in the mail.
—————–
January 4, 2012

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, Chair
Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee
1020 N. Street, Suite 160
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Assemblyman Huffman:

Restore the Delta supports Assemblywoman Huber’s bill AB 550. AB 550 would prohibit the construction of a peripheral canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the Legislature.

Restore the Delta maintains that the people of California deserve to know that due process will take place before tax payers and rate payers are asked to spend billions of dollars on a peripheral
canal. It is imperative that our state’s Legislature continues to oversee large-scale projects and does not delegate its authority to unelected bureaucrats who are not held accountable by voters.

While you were busy celebrating the holidays and the Antioch City Council was taking a break from their usual biweekly meetings, a lot was happening elsewhere.

At year’s end Governor Jerry Brown announced he signed 745 new bills passed by the Legislature this year, many of which he deemed “useless” but commenting that for many lawmakers it’s the only thing they have to show for their time at the Capitol!

Regional planners also announced they would soon be holding public workshops to present alternatives to a new plan they call One Bay Area” – a state-mandated plan to promote “smart growth” policies, purported to be the solution to urban sprawl, highway congestion, air pollution, blight and social inequity by encouraging high-density, mixed-use housing adjacent to transit corridors.

The plan being developed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments, which would further deteriorate local control, is similar to a $750,000 plan entitled Shaping Our Future (SOF) adopted the County Board of Supervisors back in 2006 and similar to a regional plan “Focusing Our Vision, adopted by ABAG, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District shortly after the county adopted SOF.

The One Bay Plan, which would apply to all transportation and development planning in the nine Bay Area Counties through 2035, however, is more draconian as it could deny cities and counties that fail to follow the mandates millions of dollars in grants and incentives from the regional agencies.

Ironically, the first “transit village” built in Contra Costa County at the Pleasant Hill BART area didn’t increase ridership on public transit. A survey showed that 69% of the people who worked in the Pleasant Hill BART transit development area drove to work in single occupancy vehicles, 12% carpooled, 14% took public transit and 2% walked.

Securing a second grant of nearly half a million dollars from the California Department of Boating and Waterways (DBW), the City of Antioch now has the funding in place to complete the Antioch Marina Boat Launch Facility based on its original plans rather than a
scaled-back version that was being constructed due to a lack of funding, according to Phil Harrington, director of Capital Improvements.

“While the original plans included four launch lanes, restrooms, a bait shop, fish-cleaning facilities and a lighted walkway, due to a shortfall of grant funding the new launch would have been limited to just three lanes with no public restrooms for those using the launch,” said Harrington. “So the additional grant funding will allow the City to provide the type of quality amenities that users of the launch deserve and expect.”

The DBW, a state-run agency whose stated mission is to provide safe and convenient public access to California’s waterways, originally committed $3.8 million to the project, which allowed the City to begin construction on the facility as it continued to seek additional funding to complete the project based on the original plans.

“Until the second and final phase is completed, which is expected to be in mid-spring, there will be no launch fee for day use so that people can see for themselves what a far superior facility the new launch is,” said Harrington.  “Recreation is a big part of what attracts people to Antioch, and this highly-anticipated boat launch will not disappoint.”

Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) & Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) have launched Round 2 of public outreach for Plan Bay Area, a blueprint-in-the-making for expanding transportation and housing in a sustainable way over the next 25 years.

Planners have prepared several scenarios for what the Bay Area could look like in 2040, and are seeking the public’s help in selecting desired features among the alternative choices, and in prioritizing transportation investments.

At the meetings, participants will rotate among a series of stations where they will have a chance to view informational videos, vote on potential transportation investments, select preferred strategies for reducing driving and greenhouse gas emissions, and use an Urban Vision tool that shows visually how various future development scenarios might appear in their respective counties.

For more information: www.onebayarea.org/spotlight_12-11.htm

When & Where:
• San Francisco County: Thursday, January 5, 2012, 5:45 p.m. at UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, William J. Rutter Center, 1675 Owens Street, San Francisco
• Sonoma County: Monday, January 9, 2012, 5:45 p.m. at Finley Community Center,
2060 West College Avenue, Santa Rosa
• San Mateo County: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 5:15 p.m. at The Hiller Aviation Museum,
601 Skyway Road, San Carlos
• Alameda County: Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 5:45 p.m. at City of Dublin Civic Center,
100 Civic Plaza, Dublin
• Marin County: Tuesday, January 17, 2012, 5:45 p.m. at Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael
• Santa Clara County: Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 5:15 p.m. at Santa Clara County Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose
• Napa County: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 5:45 p.m. at Napa Elks Lodge,
2840 Soscol Avenue, Napa
• Contra Costa County: Monday, January 23, 2012, at 5:45 p.m. at Richmond Convention Center, 403 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond
• Solano County: Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 5:45 p.m. at Solano County Events Center,
601 Texas Street, Fairfield

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 30th installment of the Neighborhood Cleanup Program on Saturday, January 14th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Volunteers should report to Gino Marchetti Park located at 2500 Kendree Street.

Volunteers will receive instructions and the equipment necessary to accomplish the goal. The targeted area is within walking distance. Excluding inclement weather, future Neighborhood Cleanup events are scheduled for the first Saturday of every month and the locations will be announced in advance.

Collectively, everyone who works and lives in the City Antioch can make a difference and improve the quality of life. It’s our community and it’s our chance to make a difference.

The City of Antioch Neighborhood Cleanup program is not just for residential neighborhoods. It is a program that will change venues on a monthly basis and it will include business and commercial areas as well. Neighborhoods that are free of trash and refuse are inviting, and a clean community instills a sense of community pride.

Remember, cleaning up your neighborhood can make life better for your family, your neighbors and your community!

This is a collaborative community effort which involves active participation from United Citizens for Better Neighborhoods (UCBN), community volunteers, and the Antioch Police Department Crime Prevention Commission; Neighborhood Watch Program, Target Volunteers, Volunteers in Police Service, community volunteers and the Public Works Department.