March 1st Virtual Job Fair highlights opportunities
By Jen Vanya, Public Information Specialist | Public Affairs, East Bay Regional Park District
The East Bay Regional Park District is a major employer of students in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, staffing approximately 300 seasonal positions annually. There are many employment options available for the 2025 summer season at East Bay Regional Parks.
Virtual Youth Job Fair: Saturday, Mar. 1 The East Bay Regional Park District has a wide variety of opportunities for youth, young adults, and students. The Virtual Youth Job Fair is designed for applicants ages 15–24, although the minimum age requirement for most jobs is 16 years old. Resume and interview tips provided. Pre-registration highly recommended. Virtual Youth Job Fair via Zoom Saturday, Mar. 1, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. More information and a Zoom registration link can be found at www.ebparks.org/jobs/youth.
Youth and Seasonal Jobs The East Bay Regional Park District is now accepting applications for summer and seasonal jobs. Spend summer in the great outdoors, build leadership skills in a team environment, and create lasting memories while gaining valuable work experience in the East Bay community. Positions include:
Public Safety Student Aide Visit the Park District jobs webpage for more information: www.ebparks.org/jobs
The East Bay Regional Park District is the largest regional park system in the nation, comprising 73 parks, 55 miles of shoreline, and over 1,330 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and environmental education. The Park District receives an estimated 30 million visits annually throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
ANTIOCH – The Board of Director of the Contra Costa Event Park, Home of the Contra Costa County Fair announce their search for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Current CEO Joe Brengle announced that he would be retiring at the end of June 2025.
Under the Board’s guidance, the CEO plans, executes and manages the annual Contra Costa County Fair. In addition to the Annual Fair, the CEO leads the planning, organization, recruitment, and management of the Contra Costa Event Parks facility rental program (Interim Events), along with negotiating and facilitating long term rental agreements.
Current CEO Joe Brengle with a character during the 2024 Contra Costa County Fair. Photo: CC Event Park
The Monthly Salary Range for the position is $8,630 – $10,567. The salary will be based on the successful candidate’s qualifications with CalHR approval. An example of additional benefits include: State of California, Public Employment Retirement System (PERS), Vacation & Sick Leave, Health Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan and State Holidays.
A full description of the position and application process is available on the Fairs website CEO-Flyer.pdf, or can be picked up at the Fair Administration Office, 1201 W. 10th Street, Antioch.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, Nov. 2, 2024, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) issued the following statement after the Department of Commerce announced that the CHIPS for America Design and Collaboration Facility (DCF), the official headquarters of the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), will be established in California. Earlier this year, Padilla led the entire California Democratic delegation in urging Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to establish the NSTC headquarters in California.
The DCF in Sunnyvale, California, will be a colocation of the NSTC headquarters and the flagship design hub from where all NSTC R&D work will be coordinated. The headquarters will serve as a site to host NSTC member and semiconductor ecosystem convenings, NSTC programmatic activities, the Workforce Center of Excellence, the future investment fund, and more. The national design facility will include the NSTC Design Enablement Gateway and an institution for design research focused on chip design, electronic design automation, hardware security, and chip system architecture.
“California is the clear choice to lead NSTC’s semiconductor innovation and R&D. Our state has built a world-class innovation economy and has been at the forefront of the semiconductor industry for decades. We are uniquely positioned to leverage our R&D, manufacturing capacity, and end-users to drive this industry forward.
“Establishing the NSTC headquarters in California will capitalize on our state’s unparalleled assets to grow a highly skilled workforce and develop next-generation advancements. I am confident that this CHIPS Act funding will propel emerging technologies and protect America’s global semiconductor leadership, all while bringing good-paying jobs to our state.”
Santa Clara County alone holds 20 percent of all semiconductor utility patents granted in the last decade, and California is home to more semiconductor R&D, design, intellectual property (IP), and electronic design automation (EDA) firms than Texas, New York, and Oregon combined – with over 175 companies operating out of Silicon Valley. The design facility is one of three planned major NSTC centers. The Department of Commerce recently announced the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Accelerator in New York, and said a Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility is still forthcoming.
In April, Padilla, Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.-18), and Representative Doris Matsui (D-Calif.-07) led the entire California Democratic delegation in urging Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to establish the NSTC headquarters in California. The letter came after Padilla and Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement rebuking the CHIPS Program Office’s (CPO) cancellation of the third CHIPS Act Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for advanced commercial research and development facilities in the United States.
In 2022, Senator Padilla and Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) sent a letter urging Senate leadership to support provisions in the final version of the United States Innovation and Competition Act that would require semiconductor companies receiving federal assistance for research, design, and manufacturing to invest in a more diverse workforce and improve procurement from minority-, veteran-, and women-owned businesses. Padilla and Warnock applauded the passage of one of these provisions through the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act later that year.
By Michael Gabrielson, Board President, Antioch Chamber of Commerce
You’re invited to the Antioch Business Expo & Job Fair! This exciting event is happening at Antioch Community Center on Thursday, September 26th 4:30pm – 7:30pm. Over 50 businesses and organizations will be showcasing their services. There will be food & wine samples, giveaways and great raffle prizes!
Please come show your support for local businesses in our community.
The Antioch Community Center is located at Prewett Family Park, 4703 Lone Tree Way.
Top: Sierra Institute’s P-CREW learning how to conduct fuels reduction in Plumas-Eureka State Park. Bottom: Crystal Cove Conservancy intern sets up a trail camera to conduct wildlife monitoring. Photos from Parks California.
SACRAMENTO — California State Parks and Parks California are excited to announce the awardees for the 2024-2026 Career Pathways Grants. Fourteen local organizations will receive a total of over $1.1 million to help train people for careers in parks and public lands. The Career Pathways Program helps California State Parks work with local organizations to prepare people and overcome barriers to access for careers in parks.
“Nurturing a diverse and skilled workforce is crucial to ensuring the sustained stewardship of California’s treasured park system,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero.“The Career Pathways Grants Program aligns with our department’s Path Forward Strategic Plan and embodies the Newsom Administration’s Jobs First initiative. The program supports our efforts to prioritize developing a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce.”
The Career Pathways Grants Program aims to not only prepare the next generation workforce with necessary skills but also expand awareness about the diversity of careers in parks and public lands, connect participants to mentors and professional networks to support them in their career journey, and help participants navigate state hiring processes.
“Parks California is committed to cultivating career training opportunities in California State Parks for everyone,” said Parks California President and CEO Kindley Walsh Lawlor. “By coordinating partnerships between communities and parks, our Career Pathways Grants Program fosters future leaders, ambassadors, and caretakers of our shared lands.”
“I’m really excited for these grants and thankful to our partner, Parks California, for supporting them,” said California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “Helping all interested Californians find careers in State Parks team builds an Outdoors for All. It will help all Californians see themselves represented among those who work on our public lands, which helps create a feeling of belonging and ignites the passion of future environmental leaders.” The grantees will work collaboratively with California State Parks to offer work experiences and training in park operations and stewardship, such as wildfire resilience projects, trail building, habitat restoration, and visitor services. Additionally, the grantees connect participants to job networks and provide career advice and additional resources, such as equipment, wages, meals, and travel reimbursement.
About the Career Pathways Program
For the 2024-2026 Career Pathways program, grant funding from State Parks’ Waterway Connections Initiative and the generous support of private donors helped Parks California engage organizations that could connect participants to water-related outdoor access and experiences. Priority was given to organizations that planned projects in parks along inland waterways, lakes, rivers, and watersheds. For example, the San Joaquin County Office of Education’s Greater Valley Conservation Corps is partnering with California State Parks to offer youth corpsmembers natural resources career training and work experience at Brannan Island State Recreation Area in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Grants were awarded in a competitive process to organizations that met eligibility criteria and submitted an application. Activities are expected to help nearly 250 people build skills. Activities will take place from July 2024 to July 2026.
Here is the complete list of the 14 awardee organizations:
Parks California was launched in 2019 as a new model of public, private, and non-profit partnership. As the official statutory non-profit partner to California State Parks, working statewide, it’s uniquely positioned to innovate and work hand-in-hand with communities and experts to bring resources together, ensuring that everyone can experience healthy and thriving parks for generations to come. This year, Parks California celebrates 5 years of partnering with over 100 non-profits and tribal groups to help more than 28,000 people experience one of California’s 280 state parks – many for the first time ever – so that they can start a lifelong love of nature.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation, popularly known as State Parks, and the programs supported by its Office of Historic Preservation and divisions of Boating and Waterways and Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation provides for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. Learn more at parks.ca.gov.
We are a unified school district serving more than 16,150 students in grades K -12. We have thirteen elementary schools, four middle schools, two comprehensive high schools, three specialized high schools, two alternative high schools and one K-8 school. We also offer a home schooling program, adult education courses and other unique programs to fit the needs of all students. Our school district employs approximately 1,100 certificated and nearly 900 classified employees.
Antioch Unified School District is centrally located in the East Bay and provides ready access to scenic mountains, waterfronts, wine country, historical sites and the Pacific Ocean. Antioch is known as the “Gateway to the Delta” and is one of California’s oldest cities, with a diverse community of approximately 100,000.
Senator Glazer’s request leads to findings of workers cheated out of $63.9 million in past wages
Calls it a failure to act on behalf of workers
Report claims inadequate staffing, poor oversight have weakened protections for workers
SACRAMENTO – California Labor Commissioners have stood idly by as a massive backlog in wage theft cases piled up worth $63.9 million in lost wages to workers as its enforcement unit failed to enforce and collect wages in 76 percent of cases in which employers were found to owe wages, according to a report released Wednesday by Grant Parks, the California State Auditor.
The scathing audit came as a result of a March 2023 request through the Joint Legislative Audit Committee by Senator Steve Glazer, D-Contra Costa, and Assemblyman David Alvarez, D-San Diego. It was based on news reports about the lack of wage theft enforcement.
Parks reported his findings to the Governor, President pro Tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the Assembly about the “Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, also known as the Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO).” Lilia García-Brower is the current state Labor Commissioner and was appointed to the position by Governor Newsom in July 2019. Neither her name or photo appears on the website for the Labor Commissioner’s Office. Ironically, according to the agency’s website, “The mission of the LCO is to ensure a just day’s pay in every workplace in the State and to promote economic justice through robust enforcement of labor laws. By combating wage theft, protecting workers from retaliation, and educating the public, we put earned wages into workers’ pockets and help level the playing field for law-abiding employers.”
The audit “reviewed the backlog of wage claims submitted by workers from fiscal years 2017–18 through 2022–23, and determined that the LCO is not providing timely adjudication of wage claims for workers primarily because of insufficient staffing to process those claims.”
Furthermore, the state Auditor reported, “In addition to its delays in processing wage claims, the LCO has not been successful in collecting judgments from employers. A possible factor contributing to its low collection rate is that the Enforcement Unit does not consistently use all of the methods available to it for collecting payments owed to workers.”
Senator Glazer released this statement on the audit’s findings:
“The California State Auditor’s report makes clear that our State Labor Commissioner is a toothless enforcer of our wage theft laws. This deeply troubling assessment exposes a system that has fundamentally failed the workers it is supposed to protect. According to the auditor, there is a backlog of 47,000 claims registered on June 30, 2023. This is a state embarrassment and a stain on the department that workers depend on for justice.
The report also highlights an alarming increase in the average number of days to resolve claims, which has skyrocketed from 420 days in 2017/18 to an astounding 890 days in 2022/23. This drastic decline in efficiency is not just a statistic; it represents thousands of workers enduring prolonged injustice and financial hardship.
This lack of enforcement emboldens companies to exploit workers, knowing they can likely escape any real consequences, thus perpetuating and increasing further abuse. These findings paint a grim picture of an agency overwhelmed and ineffective, leaving workers vulnerable and without recourse. Immediate and decisive action to restore integrity and effectiveness to the Labor Commissioner’s office is needed. The workers of California deserve nothing less than a robust system that ensures timely and fair resolution of wage theft claims.”
By Kibibi Columbus, Director of Outreach & Inreach, Grace Bible Fellowship of Antioch
Need some information on resources regarding work, education, or health? The Grace Closet Community Resource & Health Fair (CR&HF) will provide information on resources for Health Care, Mental Health, Cal Fresh, Housing, Career/Job Training, Education, Prevention, Food & Clothing.
Come enjoy receiving a FREE Family Fun Day, Lunch, Games, Activities & Prizes for all ages at the CR&HF on Saturday, May 11th from 11 AM – 3 PM. We look forward to seeing you all at 3415 Oakley Road, Antioch.
Special thanks to our sponsors: Grace Arms of Antioch, Grace Bible Fellowship of Antioch and the City of Antioch for awarding Grace Closet with an Enhancement Grant.
