Archive for the ‘Holiday’ Category

CHP makes over 1,600 arrests during Independence Day weekend

Monday, July 8th, 2024
Graphic: CHP

Over 1,300 DUI-related during Maximum Enforcement Period

By Synthia Ramirez, CHP Media Relations

During the Independence Day weekend, the California Highway Patrol conducted a Maximum Enforcement Period to ensure the safety of all Californians. The statewide statistics from this effort are as follows:

  • Over 1,600 arrests, with over 1,300 being DUI-related
  • Nearly 30,000 citations issued, including over 17,000 for excessive speed
  • Over 600 citations for drivers exceeding 100 miles per hour
  • Nearly 1,000 seatbelt violations cited
  • Over 1,900 distracted driving citations issued

Great job to all CHP areas that worked tirelessly to keep California safe this Independence Day weekend. Even when it’s not a Maximum Enforcement Period, let’s continue to work together to make responsible choices: drive sober, avoid distractions, follow speed limits, and always buckle up. The primary mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.

The Declaration of Independence – adopted 248 years ago which we celebrate today

Thursday, July 4th, 2024

Following is the text of the Declaration of Independence in celebration of Independence Day, July 4th, 2024:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


The Declaration was adopted on July 4th, but most historians agree it was not signed until August 2nd, with five members of Congress signing the document over the next few weeks.

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1

Georgia:

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton

Column 2

North Carolina:

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

South Carolina:

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

Column 3

Massachusetts:

John Hancock

Maryland:

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

Column 4

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean

Column 5

New York:

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

New Jersey:

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

Column 6

New Hampshire:

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

Massachusetts:

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

New Hampshire:

Matthew Thornton

From the website: www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

Happy Independence Day from the Antioch Herald!

Antioch July 4th parade cancelled following excessive heat warning

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024
Source: City of Antioch

Live entertainment, dunk tank and fireworks will happen

Activities begin at 6:00 p.m.

Watch the Dunk Tank Fundraiser Livestream on Instagram @antiochrec_ca

By City of Antioch

After announcing earlier Tuesday, July 2, 2024, that the annual July 4th “parade and festivities are moving forward as planned” as of 6:05 p.m., the City of Antioch changed course and issued cancelled the parade and issued the following announcement:

The City of Antioch is cancelling the Independence Day Parade because of forecasted hot weather. The US National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey California issued an excessive heat warning and heat advisory that will remain in effect until July 9th at 11:00 p.m.

The remainder of the event will start at 6:00 p.m. in historic Rivertown. Families can enjoy rides and games along with our dunk tank fundraiser in the Kids Zone, music by Universal Soul and Foreverland, and Food Truck Thursdays by the Foodie Crew, followed by our spectacular fireworks show over the Delta at 9:15 p.m.

Thank you to our community for your patience. Please stay cool and be safe this 4th of July!”

Source: National Weather Service

The National Weather Service for the San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey California issued the following Tuesday afternoon:

“An Excessive Heat Warning and a Heat Advisory is in effect now until 11 PM NEXT Tuesday. San Francisco will be under a Heat Advisory now until 7 PM Thursday. High temperatures in the upper 90s to near 110 are expected in the Excessive Heat Warning, while highs from the lower 80s to mid-90s are expected within the Heat Advisory. In addition, limited overnight cooling is expected for areas away from the immediate coast and in higher terrain. Never leave people or pets in vehicles! Limit outdoor activities during the afternoon and evening. Stay hydrated and take cooling breaks.”

As previously reported, two cooling centers plus, hydrating and misting stations in Rivertown will be provided during the celebration.

·Cooling Centers: City Hall and the Nick Rodriguez Community Center will be open as cooling centers during the event.

·Misting Stations: Stay refreshed with misting stations located throughout festivity locations.

·Hydration Stations: Free water stations will be available to keep you hydrated throughout the day.

104 on the 4th? City of Antioch says the show must go on

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024
Source: Temperature from Apple Weather app and notice from City of Antioch.

4 PM “parade and festivities are moving forward as planned”

City will offer options to beat the heat

By Allen Payton

In a post on its Facebook page today, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the City of Antioch wrote, “We’re excited to celebrate Independence Day with you this year. Despite the expected high temperatures, our July 4th parade and festivities are moving forward as planned.

That’s in spite of the temperature forecast of 104 degrees that day.

The post continued, “Your safety is our priority. City of Antioch Recreation Department will offer additional resources to help you beat the heat:

·Cooling Centers: City Hall and the Nick Rodriguez Community Center will be open as cooling centers during the event. (See related article)

·Misting Stations: Stay refreshed with misting stations located throughout festivity locations.

·Hydration Stations: Free water stations will be available to keep you hydrated throughout the day.”

For more information about the parade, live entertainment, dunk tank, fireworks and more visit Celebrate
America’s 248th Independence Day on July 4th in Antioch
.

Red, White and Blue Lights: Drive safe during CHP Independence Day weekend Maximum Enforcement

Monday, July 1st, 2024

Wed., July 3 through Sun., July 7

By Synthia Ramirez, CHP Media Relations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. –In preparation for the Independence Day holiday, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is launching a statewide enforcement effort aimed at keeping the public safe on our roads. With unsafe speed being the main contributor to crashes in California, the CHP will focus on speed control and promoting safe driving practices throughout the holiday weekend.

“Speeding isn’t just breaking the law – it’s putting lives at risk. Every additional mile per hour reduces a driver’s reaction time and increases the severity of a crash,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “We’re asking the public to choose safety over speed to ensure everyone gets home safely.”

To help keep the roadways safe, the CHP will initiate a statewide Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) beginning at 6:01 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3, continuing through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 7. During this extended holiday weekend, all available CHP officers will be on patrol to encourage safe driving and assist motorists when needed.

Last year during the Independence Day MEP, 68 people were killed in crashes throughout the state. Tragically, nearly half of the vehicle occupants killed in a crash within CHP jurisdiction were not wearing a seat belt. Additionally, CHP officers made 1,224 arrests for driving under the influence during the 102-hour holiday enforcement period. This equates to an average of one DUI arrest every five minutes.

Keep yourself and others safe by designating a sober driver or using public transit or a ride-share service. If you see a driver who seems impaired, call 9-1-1 right away. Be prepared to give the dispatcher details about the vehicle, including license plate number, location, and direction of travel. Your call could save a life.

“The safety of the public is our top priority. Slow down, drive responsibly, and ensure you and your loved ones reach your destination safely,” added Commissioner Duryee.

The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.

Antioch Council approves Juneteenth Proclamation, includes “commitment to eradicate systemic racism”

Wednesday, June 12th, 2024
The Antioch City Council were joined by Police Oversight Commissioner Leslie May for a photo with their 2024 Juneteenth Proclamation by Acting Assistant City Manager and Parks & Recreation Director Brad Helfenberger as Acting City Manager and Economic Development Director Kwame Reed looks on during the council meeting on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Video screenshot.

By Allen D. Payton

During their meeting last night, Tuesday, June 11, 2024, the Antioch City Council unanimously approved the following proclamation including promotion of this Sunday’s third annual City-sponsored event:

PROCLAMATION COMMEMORATING JUNETEENTH 2024

WHEREAS, Juneteenth is recognized as Freedom Day or our country’s second Independence Day;

WHEREAS, Juneteenth was the day that slavery ended in the United States resulting in the emancipation of all slaves and beginning the restoration of culture, name, language, faith, and identity;

WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, freeing the enslaved people in the South, but those orders were ignored by Confederate Southern slave owners;

WHEREAS, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and enforced the President’s order, freeing the enslaved people two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued;

WHEREAS, other systems of oppression and systematic inequalities, such as sharecropping, Jim Crow, redlining, and mass incarceration, the reverberation of Black bodies and Black impoverishment, continued well past slavery and some persist to this day, affecting the physical and mental health, safety, and even the continuing education of young African American children;

WHEREAS, liberation from these systems of oppression, demands nothing less than Black economic liberation manifested through financial literacy, a positive sense of self, an upright ethical and moral compass, high-earning jobs, mentors willing to share the means of self-improvement, and the ability to own the land in one’s own neighborhood;

WHEREAS, many African Americans have advanced academically, politically, and financially and continue to strive to build wealth within the Black community in and beyond; and

WHEREAS, on June 16, 2024, the City of Antioch will hold its Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Williamson Ranch Park, with speakers sharing our rich, proud history, music, ethnic foods, and activities. We invite all our brothers, sisters, and friends of every culture and ethnicity to join us for this historical event and celebration.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, LAMAR A. HERNANDEZ-THORPE, Mayor of the City of Antioch, do hereby acknowledge June 19th, 2024, as Juneteenth in the City of Antioch, the annual recognition of Black emancipation, the celebration of the past, present, and future of Black economic liberation, and our commitment to eradicate systemic racism that undermines our collective prosperity.

JUNE 11, 2024

—————-

Following its reading and signature by Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, the proclamation was presented to Antioch Police Oversight Commissioner Leslie May with whom the council members took a commemorative photo.

City of Antioch to hold third annual taxpayer funded Juneteenth event

Wednesday, June 12th, 2024

In spite of two others being held in Antioch by non-profit organizations

Will include live music, rides, carnival games, food booths and activities

By Allen D. Payton

Confused by having three events in Antioch celebrating Juneteenth, again this year? According to the information from the City of Antioch’s Recreation Department, “This year marks the third annual city sponsored Juneteenth Celebration, where we come together as a city to honor freedom, culture, and community. Join us for a day of reflection that showcases the richness of African American heritage as we embrace the vibrancy and resiliency of Black culture. This event features live performances, music, food, activities for kids and adults, and so much more!”

The City’s event will be held on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16 from 12:00-5:00 PM at Williamson Ranch Park at the Corner of Lone Tree Way and Hillcrest Avenue.

Two Other Juneteenth Celebrations in Antioch, Again This Year

The multi-genre Ariel Marin Band will perform at this year’s City of Antioch Juneteenth celebration from 12:30-1:30 pm.

Yet, there are two other events being held in Antioch again, this year celebrating the final end of slavery in America, both by non-profit organizations and one is completely free to the public. The first celebration will be held this Saturday, June 15th at Grace Bible Fellowship Church of Antioch, organized by their affiliated non-profit organization, Grace Arms of Antioch, for a third year in a row.

The other non-profit organized event in Antioch, and this year’s third, will be held on the actual date of the national holiday, Wednesday, June 19th (thus the name) at Paradise Skate on the grounds of the Contra Costa Event Park (fairgrounds). It is organized by Claryssa Wilson, for a fifth year in a row (although the event in 2022 was held in Brentwood) and her 4 Ever Me Foundation.

The reason the event was held in Brentwood that year was due to a control issue by the mayor, Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker, then-Interim City Manager Con Johnson and Wilson and her mother, Velma, who was supporting the mayor’s recall at the time and her husband, Claryssa’s father, was the titular chairman of the recall committee. The three city officials took the event away from the Wilsons just two months before it was to be held, by withdrawing the permit to hold it at the City’s Waldie Plaza in downtown Rivertown. (See related article)

The Celebrate Antioch Foundation stepped up to help Claryssa by providing the needed liability insurance for the event.

That same year, Grace Arms worked with the City and they held joint events on Friday night and Saturday. But last year they held separate events on separate days.

The first two hours of the City’s event is also being held the same day as, and will overlap the last two hours of, the annual Rivertown Father’s Day Car Show in Antioch’s historic downtown organized by the Celebrate Antioch Foundation, as did last year’s City sponsored Juneteenth celebration.

“What is Juneteenth?

Country loving, R&B, Soul-Rock singer Nzuri Soul will perform from 2:00-3:00 p.m.

The City’s promotional information also includes a brief history of the holiday and event, as does Grace Arms’.

“Short for June Nineteenth, Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the 1865 emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States– marking the day when federal troops arrived in Galvenston, Texas to take control of the state and ensure the freedom of all remaining enslaved people. Texas became the first U.S. state to celebrate Juneteenth in 1979. Officially becoming a U.S. federal holiday in June of 2021, the City of Antioch is proud to present our third annual Juneteenth Celebration taking place on Sunday, June 16, 2024.”

Questions for Council and Staff

All five council members, Acting City Manager Kwame Reed and Acting Assistant City Manager and Parks & Recreation Director Brad Helfenberger were asked if the City is using taxpayer funds to pay for this year’s Juneteenth celebration. If so, why the City is hosting and paying for one when there are two organizations each holding a Juneteenth event in Antioch. They were also asked how much is being spent on this year’s event if an organization was hired to organize the event or if is being handled by city staff.

Finally, they were asked, why the City didn’t just promote either the event organized by Grace Arms on June 15th and/or the event on June 19th organized by Claryssa Wilson and her 4Ever Me Foundation which would save taxpayer money.

District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock was the only councilmember to respond writing, “we set some funds aside for events, as we do for 4th of July.”

The Curtis Family C-Notes will perform their broad genre of music including 60s-70s inspired San Francisc/Oakland/Bay Area funk. from 3:30-5:00 pm

Helfenberger offered more details. He responded, “I can confirm that, as in 2022 and 2023, this year’s event is being funded from the general fund and will cost approximately $42,000.

The event is being organized by our dedicated City staff, without the use of an outside firm.

When the event budget was established in 2022, we placed a strong emphasis on creating community-wide special events that hold cultural significance. Our goal is to foster a sense of belonging within our community and ensure that our events reflect the diversity of our residents. While we deeply appreciate the efforts of various community groups in organizing events, we believe it is important for the City to host its own events with these objectives in mind.”

Juneteenth: A Free Celebration Details

The City of Antioch’s Juneteenth: A Freedom Celebration will include live musical performances by Ariel Marin Band from 12:30-1:30 pm, Nzuri Soul from 2:00-3:00 pm and The Curtis Family C-Notes from 3:30-5:00 pm.

In addition, a variety of activities are planned, including Ballistic Swing Ride, Carnival Games, a Dominoes Tournament, Father’s Day Card Creation Station, Juneteenth Crafts, Photobooth, Rock Climbing Wall and a Super Fun 90’ Slide plus, food vendor booths. To learn more about the event visit www.antiochca.gov/juneteenth/.

Source: City of Antioch

Annual Rivertown Father’s Day Car Show Sunday, June 16

Monday, June 10th, 2024

Bring your dad to Antioch’s historic downtown and enjoy seeing the cars, plus, vendor booths, music and food from Rivertown restaurants during Celebrate Antioch Foundation’s annual Rivertown Father’s Day Car Show on Sunday, June 16, 2024.

To participate, click on the following:

Car Show Application available at https://form.jotform.com/240678550555160

Craft Vendor Application available at https://form.jotform.com/240679443376163

To learn more about Rivertown and its merchants follow www.Facebook.com/AntiochRivertown. For more information about the Celebrate Antioch Foundation visit www.CelebrateAntioch.org.