Dave Rocha will perform jazz in Antioch Oct. 30. Courtesy of DaveRochaJazz.com

The Antioch Library is proud to present a Music Series sponsored by Keller Canyon Mitigation Funds. The series kicks off with Dave Rocha Jazz on Monday, October 30th at 6:30pm. Dave Rocha has been performing with his jazz group for more than 20 years. His band plays an eclectic mix of jazz standards (by Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, etc.) “pop” tunes (Cole Porter, Gershwin and Jobim) and original compositions. This covers a wide variety of styles from up-tempo bebop, “modal” tunes, swing and blues, to Latin jazz, ballads and jazz waltz.

In addition to his trumpet expertise, Rocha is also an accomplished flugelhorn player. This instrument is similar to the trumpet, but has a larger bell, which gives it a darker, mellower sound.

The series is funded with Keller Canyon Mitigation Funds administered through Contra Costa County Supervisorial District 5 Office of Federal Glover.

The Antioch Library is located at 501 West 18th Street. The Library is open:  Monday and Tuesday, 12-8, Wednesday and Thursday 11-6, and Saturday 12-5. For further information, phone the Library at 925-727-9224.

Bill Chapman and Susan Dragon Presser congratulate 1st Prize winner Susannah Meyer (center). Photo courtesy of An Elderly Wish Foundation.

By Mary Chapman, Executive Director

The 3rd Annual Fund-A-Wish Drawing on September 21st, to benefit An Elderly Wish Foundation, was a big success. All 100 tickets at $100 each were sold. The reception at Umpqua Bank was attended by 100 guests who enjoyed delicious appetizers with wine courtesy of Oak Ridge Winery.

The lucky winners were 3rd Prize – $250 was won by Mary Olds; 2nd Prize – $750 was won by Rick Kaiser and the 1st Prize of $1,000 was won by Susannah Meyer. Also, Oak Ridge Winery donated a 3-litre bottle of wine which was won by Olga Martinez.

The Board of Directors thanks everyone for helping us make senior wishes come true. For more information about the organization and the wishes it has granted to seniors, visit www.elderlywish.org.

Air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area showing Antioch in the orange zone as of 7:00 AM, Friday, Oct. 13, 2017. From AIRNow.gov.

The following message was posted on the Antioch Unified School District’s website on Thursday:

“This is Stephanie Anello, Superintendent of the Antioch Unified School District with an important safety announcement. We have been monitoring the air quality throughout the day. Once again, given the extreme poor air quality due to the recent, ongoing wildfires, schools will be closed tomorrow Friday, October 13th. Although the air appeared to be less toxic than predicted today, it is forecasted to be, once again, unhealthy tomorrow. Due to living in the Bay Area, our micro-climates are dynamic and air quality is always changing. Additionally, although some fires may have improved containment levels, this does not necessarily equate to different levels of toxic pollutants in the air that can reach our children. Please know that your child’s safety was the primary factor leading to this decision. Many of our students walk or ride their bike to and from school and will be exposed to the poor air quality even if we were to remain open and shelter in place. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you but, again, your child’s safety is our number one concern.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our schools and our District as we work to ensure your child’s health is not compromised in any way.  Our thoughts remain with the victims of this tragedy as well as with the firefighters and other first responders.”

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website the air quality in the Antioch area is designated with an orange color which is “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.” It further defines that category as “Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.”

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

SB 751 would eliminate the limit on reserves for most small school districts and raise it to 10 percent for others

SACRAMENTO – School districts will have a greater ability to manage their own fiscal affairs under a bill that Gov. Jerry Brown signed on Wednesday.

The bill, SB 751, jointly authored by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo and Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, eliminates the reserve cap for most small school districts and substantially reduces reserve fund obligations for large school districts.

“This measure significantly reverses an ill-advised law limiting local school reserve funds. School districts will now be able to more fully prepare for a rainy day, which may be right around the corner,” Glazer stated. “I would hope that eventually we can eliminate any type of cap on school reserves and keep the state out of micromanaging local school districts’ budgets. I want to thank Senator Hill and the California School Board Association for their leadership on this critical local control issue.”

Glazer represents most of Contra Costa County including all of Antioch in the California State Senate.