Presented with the Community Service Award

By Kiwanis Club of the Delta

People become Kiwanians to connect with the over 600,000 volunteers worldwide dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. This mission is accomplished through activities, programs, and care from our members to the communities they serve.

On March 19, 2020, the world shut down in response to COVID-19. The decision to shut down California (and much of the world) came as the number of cases of people infected with COVID-19 increased, dramatically. Businesses shuttered, schools closed, and panic set in, as nobody knew what would happen.

One community member stood tall and put his life at risk to serve others. Antioch resident Bob Butler took it upon himself to get up early to shop for those unable. Mr. Butler put himself in harm’s way to ensure that members of his community had necessities.

When the pandemic began, stores rationed items people still needed, including food, toiletries, and other things for daily living. However, with the fear surrounding COVID, many people were nervous about leaving their homes. Many in our community had challenges getting to the store for necessities in a non-pandemic environment, and COVID-19 decreased accessibility. This is where Mr. Butler took it upon himself to step up and serve the community by volunteering to shop for those unable.  Using Nextdoor, Facebook, and other media outlets, Mr. Butler would connect with families and community members who needed assistance purchasing essential items such as baby wipes, food, toilet paper, and other basic necessities.

Mr. Butler shopped for seniors who were especially at risk for COVID, parents unable to get away for fear of exposing themselves or their children. While seemingly small, these acts of kindness meant the world to those unable to get to the store themselves.

Hearing about Mr. Butler’s work, Deborah Hicks approached Club President, Clyde Lewis and suggested that the Kiwanis Club of the Delta Antioch show appreciation for his community service. After discussion club members all agreed that honoring Mr. Butler with the Community Service Award was the least, we could do.

Joining a service club is easy, serving the community is where the work happens. Mr. Butler, a reporter for KCBS, works on stories of all sorts, but this time the story is about his dedication to the community.

 

Beginning early Monday morning; “We’re drowning. There’s just not enough staff…” – Sutter Delta ER technician; “We stand by our offer, and SEIU should too: they negotiated this contract” – Sutter Health spokesperson

ANTIOCH, Calif. – Citing massive understaffing, difficult working conditions, and a series of unfair labor practices, more than 350 healthcare workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch will strike next week. Workers will walk off the job and onto the strike picket line at 5 a.m. on Monday, October 4th.

Employees at Sutter Delta Medical Center say conditions are dire for caregivers and patients inside their facility as management ignores concerns about understaffing and working conditions. Workers are worried about patient and staff safety and say they’ve been pushed to the limit by their employer.

“We’re drowning. There’s just not enough staff,” said Jennifer Stone, an emergency room technician at Sutter Delta Medical Center. “We’re wearing too many hats – we’re talking down angry COVID patients, then we’re rushing to a code, then we’re talking to family members who just lost a loved one. We can’t give adequate care. We feel like management is ignoring our concerns and is leaving us to fend for ourselves. We can’t do it all anymore.”

Workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center say staffing shortages predate the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a result of years of poor staffing and management decisions by Sutter, the hospital already didn’t meet adequate staffing for average patient levels. Frontline caregivers say COVID exacerbated this already strained infrastructure, and their employer’s response to the pandemic has only worsened the preexisting crisis.

WHAT:          Caregivers in their uniforms will walk off the job joined by their coworkers and supporters, including SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan. Later, caregivers in their uniforms and scrubs will form picket lines, hold signs, chant, and give speeches.

WHEN:          MONDAY, October 4     5 a.m. Walkout    11 a.m. Speaking program

WHERE:       Sutter Delta Medical Center, 3901 Lone Tree Way (main entrance), Antioch

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.

Sutter Health Responds

Sutter Delta Medical Center received a strike notice from SEIU in late September. In response a Sutter spokesperson issued the following statement.

“We received notice that SEIU intends to strike for five days at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch beginning October 4. We are disappointed union leaders have chosen to distract from patient care by taking this action, especially at a time when we should be focusing our attention on caring for our community.

The union has proved its disregard for our patients and communities by engaging in a strike while refusing to make a good faith effort to reach a deal. In fact, Sutter Delta negotiators twice offered to work with a neutral federal mediator and the union refused –twice. It’s a clear statement that the union is more interested in flexing its political power than reaching a fair agreement on behalf of its members.

We stand by our offer, and SEIU should too: they negotiated this contract, were confident enough to place it on a ballot, and it was recently approved by more than 3,000 employees at seven other SEIU-represented hospitals across our system.

We value our caregivers and their continued commitment to compassionate patient care in the face of an unprecedented health crisis, which is why our proposed contract guaranteed pay and benefits that are as good or better than others in the area:

o   13% salary increase over four years: 3% yearly salary increases each year for 3 years and a 4% increase in year 4

o   100% employer paid health coverage for employees and their families.

o   Funding to support access for our employees to education, credentialing and growth opportunities and creates a pipeline for new hires.

We will continue to focus on our patients, as always, despite the union’s strike. Regardless of the union’s actions, our commitment to providing our patients with high-quality, safe patient care remains unchanged.”

Of December incident with her sons and her; no details offered on the recent evidence or any impropriety in first investigation; “I have reviewed the information in question and I’m in full support of this” – Councilman Barbanica, calls for full refund from first investigation

By Allen Payton

The City of Antioch announced that a second independent attorney will be hired to investigate the complaint by District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker against two Antioch Police officers for the incident involving her two sons riding dirt bikes illegally on city streets, due to “recent evidence” and to avoid “impropriety”. (See related articles here, here and here)

The first investigation conducted by attorney and company partner, Vida Thomas of the law firm Oppenheimer Investigations Group at a cost of almost $45,000 to the city, resulted in all of Torres-Walker’s claims in her complaint to be unfounded or not sustained. (See related articles here and here)

The councilwoman was not part of the decision for a second investigation, according to the city’s Public Information Officer, Rolando Bonilla.

In a press release issued Friday evening, he wrote, “Due to recent evidence brought to the City’s attention concerning an ongoing administrative investigation of a complaint brought by Tamisha Torres-Walker, and for the purpose of ensuring the City’s investigation into this matter is independent and free of even the appearance of impropriety, the City has decided to retain an alternative independent counsel to conduct further review of this matter.  In the interest of fairness to all involved parties, the City appreciates the patience of the parties and the public as the investigative process continues.  Due to the sensitive nature of the investigation and the privacy rights of those involved, the City cannot comment or provide additional information relating to this matter.  The City is taking these necessary steps to ensure that this matter is properly handled through a truly independent and thorough review of the circumstances.”

Asked “who will be the one to decide which outside investigator will be hired? The councilwoman?” Bonilla responded, “Councilmember Torres- Walker was not in the room when decision made, and she learned of decision the same way you did today.”

When asked what is the “recent evidence, was the investigator from Oppenheimer compromised, was there a conflict of interest between her or the company and either Chief Brooks or members of the APD, and what was the “impropriety” referred to in the press release, Bonilla did not respond.

Torres-Walker was asked, “do you have any comment you would like to add to this that you want the public to know? When were you informed of this?” and “were you part of the decision to hire a separate independent counsel to investigate your complaint?”

In addition, questions were sent to former Police Chief Tammany Brooks, whose last day was Thursday, Sept. 23, asking for comment and, “have you seen this press release and are you aware of the recent evidence and the accusation of impropriety with the outside investigation of Councilwoman Torres-Walker’s complaint?”

Acting Chief Tony Morefield was asked the same questions, Saturday morning.

The councilwoman, two police chiefs and Bonilla did not respond before publication time.

UPDATE: District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica weighed in on the matter, Saturday afternoon.

“This is a personnel matter so, there are a lot of things I can’t comment on. But what I can say is I have reviewed the information in question and I’m in full support of this. I will tell you Councilwoman Torres-Walker had absolutely nothing to do with. I’ve dealt with several outside investigations during my time as a police administrator, and I’ve sent a message to city staff asking them to demand all of our money refunded from the previous investigation.”

“I do not in any way support her video rant, the way she spoke against the police department shown in her video. I’m not excusing anything she did it. I feel it was not becoming of a council member,” he added. “But I believe in due process, and this is the course of action for anyone.”

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), on Wednesday, introduced the U.S. Air Travel Public Safety Act, a bill that would require all passengers on domestic airline flights to either be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for COVID-19 or have fully recovered from COVID-19.

The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Federal Aviation Administration, to develop national vaccination standards and procedures related to COVID-19 and domestic air travel in order to prevent future outbreaks of the disease.

The bill would also require the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to make recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine use in health care settings and among health care personnel in other settings.

The legislation builds on a current CDC requirement that all air passengers traveling to the United States from a foreign country must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19. Last week, the Biden administration announced it will work with airlines to implement additional protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on international flights.

“We know that air travel during the 2020 holiday season contributed to last winter’s devastating COVID-19 surge. We simply cannot allow that to happen again,” Feinstein said.

“Ensuring that air travelers protect themselves and their destination communities from this disease is critical to prevent the next surge, particularly if we confront new, more virulent variants of COVID-19. This bill complements similar travel requirements already in place for all air passengers – including Americans – who fly to the United States from foreign countries. This includes flights from foreign countries with lower COVID-19 rates than many U.S. states.

“It only makes sense that we also ensure the millions of airline passengers that crisscross our country aren’t contributing to further transmission, especially as young children remain ineligible to be vaccinated.”

The bill is supported by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Barbara D. Alexander, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and professor of medicine and pathology at Duke University School of Medicine said: “Vaccination is a critical strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccination requirements in multiple settings are an important mechanism to boost vaccination rates, prevent infections and hospitalizations and save lives. The Infectious Diseases Society of America supports Senator Feinstein’s legislation to require vaccination for domestic air travel as part of our nation’s broader COVID-19 vaccination strategy.”

Background

• According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 vaccines continued to offer strong protection after the Delta variant became predominant over the summer. People who were fully vaccinated were five times less likely to be infected and more than 10 times less likely to be admitted to the hospital or die compared to those who were unvaccinated.

• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the United States is seeing its highest weekly totals of pediatric COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. The CDC also found that in August, emergency department visits and hospital admissions among children were higher in states with lower vaccine rates and lower in states with higher vaccine rates.

• According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, people traveling to other counties or states last year contributed to higher COVID-19 case numbers in their destination communities. Authors of the study later observed that this was especially true during the 2020 summer and winter holidays.

• According to a Mayo Clinic Proceedings study, COVID-19 testing requirements for airline passengers could have a meaningful effect on detecting active infections either immediately before or after a flight.

• According to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, about three in 10 people surveyed who were waiting to be vaccinated said they would be more likely to get vaccinated if airlines required passengers to be vaccinated. This number increased to about four in 10 among unvaccinated individuals who said they would only get the vaccine if required.

To contact the senator’s office, visit Contact – United States Senator for California (senate.gov).

As Compy Compomizzo used to say, “Get kids hooked on fishing, not on drugs and gangs.”

For more information about and photos of the Antioch Pier, aka Uril E. “Compy” Compomizzo Fishing Pier, click here.

“Case Rates for unvaccinated people in the county…peaked on Sept. 13, one day before the new health orders were issued.”

“…we are a long way from the levels of community transmission we experienced in spring…” – Contra Costa Health Services spokesman

By Allen Payton

The statistics on the Contra Costa Health Services Coronavirus Dashboard show COVID hospitalizations and cases in the county were already declining before the new health orders by county health officer, Dr. Chris Farnitano, issued them on Sept. 14. While the data trails the report by seven days, as the dashboard states, “data from the last 7 days is still being reported”, all the COVID-related stats continued to decline before the orders went into effect last Wednesday, Sept. 22.

The press release from CCHS on Sept. 15 read, “While the peak of the surge seems to have passed.” But the statistics showed it had passed. (See related article)

Hospital Bed Utilization

The 7-Day Average COVID-19 Inpatient Bed Utilization in the county decreased from 11.5% on Sept. 8 to 9.9% by the time the orders were issued on the Sept. 15. That continued to decrease to 8.1% on Sept. 22. They have continued to decrease through Sunday to 7.3% and were on the decrease since Aug. 28 when the percentages were first included in the stats, from 13.6%.

The statistics also show the percentage of COVID inpatient beds to Contra Costa Total Hospitalizations has decreased from a high of 19.4% on Sept. 6 to 10.7% on Sunday, Sept. 26.

In addition, of all the inpatient ICU beds in the county, about one-third have been filled by COVID patients has decreased from a high of 46% to 29% between Aug. 28 and Sept. 26.

New Cases

The Seven Day Rolling Average number of new COVID cases in the county peaked on Sept. 10 at 217.3, almost two weeks before the new health orders went into effect on Wed., Sept. 22.

Case Rates

The Case Rates for unvaccinated people in the county at 40 per 100,000 population and fully vaccinated people at 8.7 peaked on Sept. 13, one day before the new health orders were issued. Both continued to decline through Sept. 19 to 29.6 and 7.4 respectively, three days before the orders went into effect.

Questions for Farnitano & CCHS Staff

In light of that information, Farnitano and health services staff were asked the following questions via email Monday evening: “Why are the latest orders still in place? Are you willing to lift them, now? If not, what else must occur for that to happen?”

Response From CCHS Staff

Karl Fischer, Contra Costa Health Services spokesman responded, “For the past few weeks Contra Costa County’s COVID-19 transmission data have been trending in the right direction after a severe, sudden spike in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths earlier this summer.  

It’s also true that county data remain elevated since that spike, far above where they were when California relaxed its health orders in mid-June. As the press release you quoted correctly points out, our average daily case rate is similar to what we were recording in February, on the downslope of another severe spike. That information is also available on the dashboard.  

It is no accident that our county is now trending in the right direction.  

COVID-related public health measures, including recent health orders requiring people to wear masks when visiting indoor public spaces and show proof of vaccination or a recent, negative test result to enter the indoor parts of some high-risk public establishments, are helping to reduce transmission of the virus in our county.  

For example, on Aug. 3, the day our indoor masking health order took effect, the 7-day average number of daily new COVID-19 cases reported in our county was 412. One month later, on Sept. 3, that number had dropped to 245.9.

We hope to see similar improvement in coming weeks from the most recent health order, which took effect just last week. But, as I mentioned, we are a long way from the levels of community transmission we experienced in spring, when the state briefly seemed to be emerging from the pandemic.  

With winter approaching, a season where the spread of respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 is common, we are doing everything we can to prevent another severe surge, most importantly working to increase vaccination rates across our community – to save lives, keep our schools and businesses open, and our hospitals functioning.”

However, as the Dashboard shows, Contra Costa County was already trending in the right direction” two weeks before the new health orders went into effect.

Additional Questions

An additional question was sent late Wednesday afternoon, asking, “since Contra Costa was already significantly trending in the right direction through not just Sept. 3 but it continued through Sept. 22, with just the indoor mask-wearing order, why the need for the additional proof of vaccination or testing mandate? Is it an effort to pressure the unvaccinated to get vaccinated by taking away more of their freedoms?”

09/30/21 UPDATE: CCHS spokesman, Karl Fischer responded, “Contra Costa has made significant progress in lowering the number of new reported cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. But, as I mentioned in my last response, our transmission data are still substantially far above the levels considered safe by the State of California when it lifted its health order on June 15.

I know you are aware of this information, as it is available on our public dashboard, but our 7-day rolling average number of daily new COVID-19 cases was 152.9 on Sept. 22, compared to 45.3 on June 15. Per capita, on June 15 we averaged 1.5 daily new hospital admissions due to COVID-19 for unvaccinated people, compared to 5.5 on Sept. 22. Contra Costa has a long way to go before it reaches the transmission levels the state considered just safe enough to reopen, just three months ago.

Contra Costa is committed to doing everything in its power to reduce COVID-19 transmission as quickly and effectively as possible – lives depend on it. That is why the county this month added a new, temporary requirement for patrons using the indoor areas of certain establishments where the virus is at high risk of spreading to show proof of vaccination at the door, or a recent, negative test result.

We believe this health order will help our community continue its progress reducing COVID-19 transmission, perhaps even accelerate it, and it may also help to head off another massive holiday surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, like the one we experienced last winter.

We encourage anyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. Our transmission data are now slowing down thanks to the 80%+ of county residents who have already chosen to get vaccinated, and the willingness of the majority to temporarily endure inconvenience so we all may eventually enjoy living in a community where there is no elevated risk of contracting a deadly but highly preventable disease.

Why No Recovery Documentation Option in Contra Costa?

On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) on Wednesday, introduced the U.S. Air Travel Public Safety Act, a bill that would require all passengers on domestic airline flights to either be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for COVID-19 or have fully recovered from COVID-19. According to her office’s press release, “the legislation builds on a current CDC requirement that all air passengers traveling to the United States from a foreign country must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19.”

In response, the additional questions were sent to CCHS staff: “Why isn’t that last option, recovery documentation, being offered to people in Contra Costa to comply with the latest health orders if it’s allowed to be used for people traveling into our country? They aren’t even required to provide proof of vaccination. But we Americans do to participate in something that takes much less time than an international flight. Their plane trips are much longer than an hour which is usually the length of time it takes to have an indoor, sitdown meal. If that’s the science the federal government is following, why isn’t the CCHS also following it?”

Fischer replied, “Contra Costa Health Services did not include a provision for proof of prior infection in the Sept. 14 health order because, in our analysis of available research, we determined that the science remains unsettled around the efficacy or duration of natural immunity following a COVID-19 infection. We do have a better understanding of immunity provided by the available COVID-19 vaccines, thanks to the extensive clinical trials performed to ensure their safety and efficacy before they were made available to the public, and their performance in protecting millions of people worldwide this year.

While it’s true that someone who has COVID-19 must wait 90 days after their infection ends before testing again, they can receive COVID-19 vaccine as soon as their isolation period ends. So, in no case are patrons left without options for using the indoor portions of establishments affected by this order.”

Those who choose not to get the vaccine for one reason, or another will have to take a test and prove negative within three days each time they want to dine indoors at a restaurant, go to the gym, a bar, to the movies or another entertainment venue, such as a bowling alley.

By Allen Payton

During their discussion of forming a commission on homelessness, the Antioch City Council was split on when to do so. Proposed by District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker, both District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica and District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock wanted to wait until after the Bridge Housing Task Force is done with its reasons.

Although Torres-Walker said she had proposed a task force, she argued in favor of forming a permanent commission to deal with both homelessness and renters, saying the issue is on-going.

“It can become concurrent with the phasing out of our Bridge Housing Task Force,” said Mayor Lamar Thorpe, offering a compromise to Barbanica and Ogorchock.

He then joined Torres-Walker and Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson in supporting the formation of the commission.

There was no formal vote to form the commission, yet but merely direction to staff that the council wants to form one. Council will still need to decide the number of members on the commission and the proposed purpose and duties of the commission.

A vote to form the commission will be brought back by staff at a future council meeting.

General Public Comments

At the end of the meeting, during general public comments for items not on the agenda, Angelo Quinto’s mother and father, Cassandra Quinto and her husband Robert Collins, called for a third-party investigation of the Antioch Police Department. She claims there was a cover-up regarding the reports by the four officers, whom she named, that interacted with her son last December, after which he ended up in the hospital, where he died three days later.

Regarding Angelo Quinto’s death, the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office stated, “Although the decedent had injuries consistent with a struggle with his family and law enforcement, none of the injuries appeared to be fatal.”

“I will never be silent. I will forever be Angelo’s voice,” his mother added.