Sheriff David Livingston, center, speaks with Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (to his left) and staff during a tour of the West County Detention Facility in Richmond on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. Herald file photo.

Refutes claims made by illegal alien female inmates against West County Detention Facility

The West County Detention Facility. Herald filed photo

The Office of the Sheriff has completed its investigation into complaints raised by several Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) female detainees at the West County Detention Facility (WCDF) in Richmond, California. The complaints were first reported in a local newspaper. The Sheriff’s Office immediately launched an investigation. Investigators interviewed 110 witnesses, with audio recordings and translators where necessary, and viewed hundreds of hours of video surveillance recordings. They also examined log books, computer entries and other evidence. (See related article)

The investigation found that nearly all of the complaints were unfounded and unsubstantiated. Claims of being “locked down” for 23 hours a day were false. The most time any ICE detainee was confined to their dormitory room was one hour and 24 minutes. These “lock downs” are commonly done for facility counts or for administrative reasons. At WCDF the detainees have keys to their rooms and free use of common bathroom facilities.

Sheriff David O. Livingston. From CCCSheriff website.

In one example, the person who complained in the article of being confined to her room for 23 hours was in fact confined for several days in a room with a full toilet and sink. She was confined in such a manner for disciplinary purposes after she assaulted another detainee.

Regarding the use of “red” biohazard bags for toilet needs, there was no evidence that any detainee was forced to use the bags in that manner. In very few cases detainees did use the bags for that purpose in violation of policy. Biohazard bag distribution is now limited to those detainees who are ill or have other medical needs. All inmates are free to use the bathrooms at any time, and even during “lock down” periods of approximately one hour, by notifying a Deputy Sheriff by using the call button in their rooms.

There were two complaints alleging limited access to healthcare that also appear to be unfounded based on detainee interviews. However, Contra Costa Health Services will be reviewing those specific complaints.

“Consistent with independent ICE inspections, we found that the alleged policy violations were largely unfounded,” said Sheriff David Livingston. “In fact, many detainees told us they are well treated at the West County Detention Facility.”

Sheriff Livingston added, “Some issues were identified, such as the use of profanity by a staff member or the quicker replacement of detainees’ room keys when they are lost or damaged. We will use this opportunity to improve wherever we can.”

The investigation will now be provided to the California Attorney General as Sheriff Livingston promised he would do.

A fire possibly started by an arson that burned the building at 1205 A Street was one of six fires in Antioch north of Highway 4, Thursday night, Dec. 21. Photo by ConFire.

By Allen Payton

A series of six fires on the north side of Antioch Thursday night are believed to be the acts of an arsonist, according to Antioch Police.

The public was alerted to the fires late Thursday night by the Public Information Officer for the Contra Costa Fire Protection District George Laing

Posted at 10:53 p.m. on the ConFire PIO Twitter account was the message, “Series of fire in #Antioch , 5 building on Madill st and 1 on A street. All fires now under control. All structures abandoned.”

Then at 11:00 p.m. Laing posted “#Antioch fires- A street (with photo)” and “All #Antioch fires under control.”

The photo provided shows the building at 1205 A Street on fire.

Asked if an arson investigation had begun, Antioch Police Corporal Shawn Morin said, “the arson investigators responded and took over the investigations. It will be arson investigations with the Contra Costa Fire Department that will be handling everything. We don’t have anything to do with it at this point. We don’t have any leads, we don’t have any type of information of who or what or how these things were started at all.”

A call to ConFire PIO Laing was not returned prior to publication.

Please check back later for details.

This holiday season, Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) encourages consumers across the country to incorporate environmentally responsible practices into celebrations and family gatherings with five simple tips.

“The holiday season can be a hectic time of year for just about everyone,” said Pete Keller, vice president of recycling and sustainability at Republic Services. “Many of us want to be more sustainable during the holidays, but we aren’t sure how or we just don’t have the time. These five easy tips can help each of us to do our part to make environmentally responsible choices throughout the holiday season and help make a positive impact in our communities for generations to come.”

Republic’s Five Holiday Sustainability Tips:

1. When giving holiday gifts, commit to reusing laminated bags and recycling those made of paper.
2. Shipping gifts? Make shredded paper out of old newspapers and be sure to reuse last year’s bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts.
3. After opening gifts, remember to recycle the wrapping paper – even the shiny stuff – but save and reuse the ribbons and bows.
4. Getting a new device this holiday season? Make sure your old phone or tablet does not get tossed in with the recycling. Check with your local service provider on any special instructions or electronics recycling options.
5. Enjoy that holiday latte, just remember the paper cup, plastic lid and paper sleeve should be Empty, Clean & Dry before tossing them into the recycling container.

Click here to view Republic’s 2017 holiday recycling video.

With parties, decorations, gift giving and travel, Americans waste generation per household increases 25 percent, or almost 1,000 pounds of trash, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Remarkably, roughly 80 percent of what is thrown away during the holidays could be recycled or repurposed, according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The most common non-recyclables contaminating the recycling waste stream during the holiday season include: bubble wrap, cellophane, string/rope, ribbons and bows, batteries, food, clothing, cell phones and Styrofoam and other forms of polystyrene foam.

Remember that when it comes to toy packaging, both the cardboard and the plastic are recyclable, but they must be separated from one another. That includes the plastic window on the box of a doll or action figure. Sticky gift tags are not recyclable by themselves, but they are acceptable if fixed to an envelope or wrapping paper.

Check with your local recycling and waste collection service provider or solid waste authority to confirm what items can be recycled curbside or through the community drop-off this season. Republic also recommends checking in advance on any changes to your holiday collection date or time and special instructions for disposing of Christmas trees.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc. is an industry leader in U.S. recycling and non-hazardous solid waste disposal. Through its subsidiaries, Republic’s collection companies, recycling centers, transfer stations and landfills focus on providing effective solutions to make proper waste disposal effortless for its 14 million customers. We’ll handle it from here.^®, the brand’s promise, lets customers know they can count on Republic to provide a superior experience while fostering a sustainable Blue Planet for future generations to enjoy a cleaner, safer and healthier world.

For more information, visit the Republic Services website at RepublicServices.com. “Like” Republic on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RepublicServices and follow on Twitter @RepublicService.

Love-A-Child Missions is sponsoring its 32nd Annual Christmas Carnival for the less fortunate families of our community of Contra Costa County. During this event of compassion, the true meaning of Christmas is shared with an invitation to become a Christmas Miracle, this is a special time to share your love and support for the community.

Can your organization be part of this ethnically diversified outreach? Can you be those loving hands of support so desperately needed this Holiday Season? We can certainly use your help and support. This year we are soliciting organizations to be a part of this Christmas compassion event that will make Christmas brighter for the less fortunate families of our county. Below are the service opportunities for the day of the event. Please consider whether you’d like to provide a financial contribution for this event or host a toy or coat drive prior to the event.

Listed below are the different types of services that are needed:

EVENT OPPORTUNITIES:

Qualified Leadership & Supervision Prize & Raffle Distribution

Carnival Booths Activities Food/Lunch Preparation and Distribution

Music/DJ Photographer/Videographer

Security and Registration Services Food Bag Distribution

Face Painting Balloon Distribution

Toy Distribution Coat Distribution

Miscellaneous Labor

For further information, questions and/or concerns, please contact Courtney, Heather or Barbara at Love-A-Child Missions @ 925.458.9337 or 925.458.4496

Very truly yours

Jerome Knott – Founding Director

Love-A-Child Missions

Eight alleged East County gang members who are suspects in a variety of crimes were arrested on Oct. 27. Photos by FBI Northern CA District

Arrested on Oct. 27th

By Allen Payton

FBI Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett of the Northern California District office and Interim Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced on Wednesday the Oct. 27th arrests of eight East County gang members on murder, conspiracy to commit murder, pimping and firearms charges.

Bennett and Becton were joined by Pittsburg Police Chief Brian Addington and representatives from the Richmond Police Department, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department, San Francisco SWAT, El Cerrito Police Department, Contra Costa County Probation Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, San Pablo Police Department, Concord Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol.

Known as Operation Klap It Out, the joint effort resulted in the arrests of the suspects and the seizure of a variety of firearms during the search warrants, according to FBI Public Information Officer Cameron Polan.

Seven suspects and alleged members of the Klap Sh**/Broad Day gang from Antioch and Pittsburg were identified as Darnell Keyon Lash age 24, D’Vance Jaquez Sumblin age 20, Javelle Cooksey age 19, Lester Gene Curry age 21 (as of Tuesday), Ezell Tommy Jenkins age 19, Dasheid Keyonta Lash age 21, and Larry Darnell Goines, Jr. age 32. An eighth suspect gang member, Giovante Boyd was also arrested on an outstanding warrant for murder, but was not included in the complaint filed by the DA’s office against the other seven.

According to the complaint they were charged with the following eight counts: conspiracy to commit a crime – murder, carrying a loaded firearm/street gang, possession of firearm by a felon – prior(s), dissuading a witness by force or threat, conspiracy to commit a crime – second degree burglary, carrying a loaded firearm/street gang, conspiracy to commit a crime – pimping, and street terrorism.

“All eight are currently in a preliminary hearing which has been ongoing since Monday,” Polan added.

12/21/17 UPDATE: Asked about the delay in announcing the arrests she replied, “The delayed announcement was due to new leads that were presented as a result of the search warrants executed. The investigators did not want to jeopardize the new information with a public announcement.”

See the charges filed against the seven suspects, here: Charges filed vs Operation Klap It Out gang suspects

The firearms seized during Operation Klap It Out.

National Award Places the Retirement Community Among Top 1 Percent of Providers on Premier Senior Living Consumer Ratings and Reviews Site, SeniorAdvisor.com

Quail Lodge Retirement Community, an all-inclusive independent living senior retirement community in Antioch, California, and managed by Sunshine Retirement Living, has received the prestigious 2018 Best of Senior Living Award from SeniorAdvisor.com, the largest ratings and reviews site for senior care and services in the United States and Canada. The award recognizes the best of the best of in-home care, assisted living and other senior living providers based on the online reviews written by seniors and their families.

Now in its fifth year, the awards program tabulates over 150,000 reviews to identify the highest quality care providers. To qualify for the award, care providers must have maintained an average overall rating of at least 4.5 stars while receiving four or more new reviews in 2017. Of the nearly 45,000 communities currently listed on SeniorAdvisor.com, just over 1,600 received the award.

“The Best of Senior Living award is especially meaningful as it represents real world, honest feedback from our valued residents and their families,” said Luis Serrano, CEO of Sunshine Retirement Living. “Our amazing team in Antioch truly exemplifies our company’s core values of People, Passion and Excellence, and have made Quail Lodge a wonderful home for our residents, providing comfort and compassion in a welcoming, safe and nurturing environment. We are so very proud of this honor and to be recognized in the top 1 percent of senior living providers.”

“As SeniorAdvisor.com’s ‘Best of Senior Living’ awards enters its fifth year of honoring the top family-rated communities and care providers, we are proud to say that the bar has been raised,” said Eric Seifert, president and COO of SeniorAdvisor.com. “In order to ensure only the best communities and care providers win, we decided to make the criteria harder than ever and we saw over 1,600 winners rise to the occasion. Each year we are more and more impressed with the quality of winners and look forward to spreading the word about these award-winning organizations.”

About Sunshine Retirement Living

Based in Bend, Ore., Sunshine Retirement Living manages 21 retirement communities in nine states, offering senior apartments, independent living, assisted living and memory care. A family-owned business with more than 20 years in the senior housing industry, Sunshine Retirement Living’s mission is to be the preferred senior living provider offering value, choice and independence while promoting health and social interaction that exceeds residents’ expectations and enriches the lives of both residents and staff. By providing meals, housekeeping, activities, transportation, utilities and in-house management staff, Sunshine Retirement Living continues to build an unparalleled community feeling in each property. For more information, visit www.SunshineRet.com or connect socially.

About SeniorAdvisor.com LLC

SeniorAdvisor.com is the largest consumer ratings and reviews site for senior living communities and home care providers across the United States and Canada with over 150,000 trusted, published reviews. The innovative website provides easy access to the information families need when making senior care decisions, and features reviews and advice from community residents and their loved ones. For more information, please visit www.senioradvisor.com or call (866) 592-8119.

Christmas gifts for foster children in Antioch schools from the Delta Realtors Community Service Foundation surround the tree at the Delta Association of Realtors Christmas lunch on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2017.

Joann Mass of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oakley thanks DRCS Foundation Chairman Dan Barnes for the donation, as other foundation board members look on.

By Allen Payton

During the annual Delta Association of Realtors Christmas party, the organization’s Delta Realtors Community Service Foundation presented checks to East County charities and gifts for local, foster children in Antioch schools.

A check for $1,000 was donated to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Oakley for their food pantry

“It all goes to some really nice, nice families,” said Joann Mass of St. Anthony’s. “All we can do is say thank you.”

Donations were also provided to the Antioch Senior Center, An Elderly Wish Foundation, Don Brown Shelter, Brentwood Community Chest, and the Golden Hills Community Church Community Outreach Center in Antioch.

The Christmas gifts were provided to Antioch Unified School District’s Student Support Services for “27 foster children who are Antioch school students living in five group homes, four in Antioch and one in Pittsburg,” said Mayra Preciado, Counselor and Foster Liaison. “They’re now receiving a Christmas.”

She was joined by Director Bob Sanchez, Homeless Liaison Trina Tuel and Intervention Services Coordinator Dineen Burdick.

“We keep the money local. That’s what we’ve been focusing on” said Realtors foundation chairman Dan Barnes, of the Berkshire Hathaway real estate office in Brentwood.

The other foundation board members are Leonard Briones, Laura Agdanowski, Anthony Silva, Cathleen Griebling, Patti Shaner and Margaret Hurtado.

For more information about the Delta Association of Realtors visit their website at www.deltaaor.com.