Win $1,000 to launch or grow your business!

Introducing the first ever Contra Costa Shark Tank Youth Competition! Win $1,000 to launch or grow your business. No idea is too small!

The Contra Costa Shark Tank Youth Competition is a fun way to promote youth entrepreneurship which teaches important life skills including perseverance, self-confidence, and financial literacy. When young people succeed as entrepreneurs, they improve their own lives while also contributing to the economic development of their local communities. The competition is designed to encourage young people to consider themselves entrepreneurs and submit new business ideas or share existing business ventures that would benefit from additional funding. No idea is too small. Take a chance and share your entrepreneurial vision with us and what it would mean for you to win the first Contra Costa Shark Tank Youth Competition!

Eligibility:
All students (Kindergarten – 12th grade) in Contra Costa County may apply.

Limit one application per business. If a team is applying, one team leader must be designated.

Competition Timeline and Details:

September 2023 – Application opens

November 15, 2023 – Application deadline

Nov. & Dec. 2023 – Finalist Selection Committee reviews applications

January 2024 – Finalists announced

February 6, 2024 – Finalist Pitch Event at the Lafayette Library.

Winners receive $1,000 (first place), $500 (second place), $250 (third place). Prizes distributed in the form of Visa cash cards.

Criteria:
Applications will be evaluated based on the applicant’s enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, how the business is presented, the viability of the business, and how the prize money will be used to launch a new business or grow an existing business.

Visit www.contracostasharktank.org to learn more and apply.

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges on February 6, 2024 at the Lafayette Library.

Deadline to apply is November 15th!

Celebrate Antioch Foundation is proud to announce our 7th annual Rivertown Peddlers Faire! The Rivertown Peddlers Faire will be Saturday Sept 9th 9am – 3pm featuring over 75 vendors! Our street vendors will be selling an array of unique and eclectic items from furniture, home decor, vintage and collectable items, handmade and repurposed items, art and handmade crafts, plants and succulents, clothing and jewelry, bath and body products, hair products and make up, candles, gifts and so much more!

We are excited that we have 22 new vendors joining us this year! Live music performed by Horatio Monroe, food court featuring a handful of our Rivertown restaurants, and great, local wine and beer. All this in a fun, relaxed family friendly and pet friendly setting.

While you’re in historic, downtown Rivertown, stop in and support our local shops as they will be open with extra inventory for this day. The Rivertown Peddlers Faire offers a little something for everyone. 

For more information about Celebrate Antioch Foundation and this year’s events visit www.celebrateantioch.org.

Has history of arrests by multiple agencies; group committed more than 100 thefts in 7 counties

By Ted Asregadoo, PIO, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and officials with the California State Lottery announced Friday, August 18, 2023, that Ryan Anderson plead guilty to nine felony charges as the ringleader of a sophisticated organized retail theft ring.

The 32-year-old Antioch resident (born 1/18/91) was the mastermind behind a group responsible for committing more than 100 organized retail crime thefts from stores authorized to sell California Lottery Scratchers and redeem winning Scratcher tickets for prize money. Anderson, and other associated with him, targeted convenience and grocery stores throughout the counties of Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Stanislaus.

“Organized retail crime is serious a crime that will not be tolerated in our communities,” said District Attorney Diana Becton. “We will continue to work with our retailers and all of our state and local justice partners to hold these offenders accountable with arrest, prosecution, conviction, incarceration, and full restitution.”

By early 2022, the California State Lottery investigators — working with multiple law enforcement agencies and Contra Costa DA’s Major Financial Crimes division — identified Anderson as the ringleader of a group responsible for 71 separate thefts of lottery tickets valued at a total of $95,565.00 and an additional $59,105.00 in prize money stolen from 65 retail locations across 7 Northern California counties between March 27th, 2022, and October 25, 2022. The retail crime spree stopped when Contra Costa prosecutors were able to keep Anderson in custody.

Under state laws, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office was able to prosecute Anderson for all his crimes, even though they occurred in multiple counties. This is because state laws allow a single county to prosecute offenses if a crime — or the effects of a crime — crosses county lines.

During a court hearing in Martinez today, the California State Lottery made a victim impact statement noting that “tens of thousands of dollars” Anderson and others stole victimized not only the California State Lottery, but also its retail partners, many of which are “small, independently owned businesses that rely on the sale of Lottery games to thrive.” Moreover, lottery players were victims who lost out on the opportunity to win, and “public school students who have been robbed of additional funds to support important programs and enriching learning environments.”

The terms of the plea mean that Anderson will spend three years in state prison, admit probation violations, and pay full restitution to the California State Lottery. In court, Anderson presented a letter of apology to the victims of the crimes he committed saying, in part, that he wants to make an “honest living” so he will be able to “pay back any money [that] is owed.”

The lengthy investigation into these incidents was favorable due to the partnerships between the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, the Contra Costa Probation Department, the Security/Law Enforcement Division of the California State Lottery, and the collaborative efforts of dozens of local law enforcement agencies.

According to localcrimenews.com, Anderson, a 5’11”, 170 lb. Black male, has a history of arrests dating back to 2015 by multiple agencies including Antioch PD, Concord PD, Walnut Creek PD, Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office and Sacramento Sheriff’s Office for a variety of crimes such as assault with a deadly weapon or assault with force likely to produce great bodily harm, vandalism, vehicle theft, attempted robbery, petty theft, DUI and while license suspended, and burglary.

Case No. 04-22-01154 | The People of the State of California v. Anderson, Ryan

Case No. 04-203281-1| The People of the State of California v. Anderson, Ryan

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

“We’re just not going to put up with it anymore,” Sean McCauley downtown Antioch business and property owner.

Barbanica requests process to hire private security guards begun last year to continue

By Allen D. Payton

During a meeting at Antioch City Hall, Tuesday, August 15, 2023, which included city staff, Rivertown business and property owners and District 3 Councilman Mike Barbanica, it was decided a solution to the problem of sideshows, cars doing donuts and gunfire in downtown, city-owned parking lots will be cameras and automated license plate readers.

In the meeting were Acting City Manager Kwame Reed, Police Lt. John Fortner, the owners of Monica’s Riverview and Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill, Sean McCauley, who owns several buildings in Rivertown, and Barbanica.

“It was a very productive meeting,” the District 3 councilman shared. “My position is still zero-tolerance and anyone participating in sideshows.”

“I made a request for license plates readers and cameras in the city-owned parking lots north of W. Second Street,” he stated. “I’m probably going to add the one next to the Senior Center, as well.”

“We’re just not going to put up with it anymore,” McCauley said. “We have meetings once a month. It’s a public private partnership.”

Barbanica said, “Sean has offered to pay for the equipment. But this is a city problem, and the city should pay for it.”

Asked if he’d requested it for next Tuesday’s council meeting agenda, Barbanica responded, “Requested it ASAP.”

Asked if it requires council action or if APD can pay for it from their budget, Fortner responded, “Both can technically happen. Historically, the PD has run with the city’s Community Camera Project, and we would budget for that. If a larger project cane up over $50K that has to go to council to be approved.”

Later, Barbanica spoke about the RFQ (Request for Quote) process for hiring private security guards approved by the city council last year.

As previously reported, during their meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, the Antioch City Council voted to adopt a resolution to develop a comprehensive Downtown/Rivertown Public Parking Lots Security Plan and authorize the City Manager to issue a Request for Qualifications for a private patrol security service either on and/or near Downtown/Rivertown Area City-Owned public parking lots or other designated downtown areas. District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock included other city owned parking lots in “southeast” in her motion which passed on a 5-0 vote.

“Four proposals were received in February for patrolling the downtown parking lots,” Barbanica shared. “I asked Kwame to follow up on that and continue the process.”

Later, Lynn Tei, who with her husband, Randy, owns Smith’s Landing said, “Something has to be done even if this isn’t the best solution to stop the craziness. But at least it’s something. We’ve added security on the weekends since we are getting so many calls asking if it is safe to come to the restaurant. Plus, we are concerned for our employees’ safety.”

He was also a parolee-at-large

By Brentwood Police Department

Early Wednesday morning, August 9, 2023, Brentwood officers were called to a business located at the 2400 block of Empire Avenue, for an alarm call. Shortly after, our Dispatch received a call from a remote video surveillance monitoring company, who advised they were watching a male attempting to break into the business.

The company provided a description of the suspect and saw that he got into a red SUV, which was being driven by someone else.

The on-duty Sergeant, who was close by, arrived to the area and immediately saw a red SUV driving into the Slatten Ranch parking lot. As soon as he attempted to do a car stop, the male attempted to flee on foot.

Our Sergeant was able to safely take him into custody, and 37-year-old Antione Jovan Rice of Antioch was placed under arrest for attempted burglary. Rice, who is on parole for burglary, was also a parolee-at-large.

The driver of the SUV, identified as 33-year-old Christina Marie Rivera, Jr. of Pittsburg, was located in a nearby Starbuck’s drive through. She was placed under arrest for assisting in the attempted burglary and she had a warrant for fraud.

Both Rice and Rivera were transported to the Martinez Detention Facility for booking.

According to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department, both Rice and Rivera are still in custody and she is being held on $30,000 bail. No information was provided on Rice’s bail amount.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

By Wolfgang Croskey, Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce

Sierra Pacific Properties extends a cordial invitation to you for the groundbreaking of Sprouts Farmers Market, Pittsburg’s latest grocery store.

This is Sprouts’ second location in East County with the first one at The Streets of Brentwood. Started in 2002 to make natural, fresh, organic food choices accessible to everyone, the Arizona-based Sprouts has since expanded to 380 stores. The new store will be part of a 3.69-acre development called the San Marco Commercial Center, at San Marco Boulevard and West Leland Road. 

We are excited to have you join us in celebrating the growth of the Pittsburg business community. The event will be held at 2311 W. Leland Road and parking will be at Ray Giacomelli Park. We hope to see you there.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

By Josef Britschgi, Marketing & Communication Administrator, BAC Community Bank

BAC Community Bank is proud to announce the promotion of Jerry Marquez to the role of Relationship Manager, leveraging years of expertise in serving the bank’s valued customers.

As an integral part of the BAC family for over eight years, Marquez has excelled in various roles, including branch management and central banking operations. This promotion reflects his outstanding contributions and unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional service to the bank’s clients.

Marquez has a passion for building meaningful relationships within the community, a quality influenced by his growing up in a small farming town. He carries this spirit into his new role, embracing the small-town essence that has made BAC Community Bank a cornerstone of Antioch, Brentwood and surrounding Contra Costa communities.

As a Relationship Manager, Marquez will draw upon his wealth of experience to cater to the diverse financial needs of both existing and new bank customers. The bank is confident that he will excel in this capacity, ensuring that consumer and commercial clients continue to receive the best products, technology, and service that have defined BAC Community Bank’s commitment to excellence.

“We are confident that the passion, expertise, and dedication Jerry Marquez demonstrates will continue to contribute to the success of our clients and reinforce the position of BAC Community Bank as a trusted community financial institution,” said Eddie Lira, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer.

Marquez is excited to assume this new responsibility and looks forward to further strengthening the connections between BAC Community Bank and the communities it serves. “I am truly honored by this opportunity to serve as a Relationship Manager,” he shared. “My aim is to build enduring customer partnerships, providing each client with personalized financial solutions to help them achieve their goals.”

About BAC Community Bank

BAC Community Bank is California’s 10th oldest state-chartered bank. Established in 1965, BAC operates branch offices in Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties and is identified as “one of the strongest financial institutions in the nation” by BauerFinancial, Inc. 

The bank is centrally headquartered in Stockton, California, and is continuously recognized for banking excellence through local awards and banking industry accolades. The Antioch branch is located at 3448 Deer Valley Road.

BAC Community Bank is an Equal Housing Lender and Equal Opportunity Employer. Member FDIC. More information is available online at www.bankbac.com.