Second of three voter-approved increases, this one to $7; funds held in escrow pending State Supreme Court decision

By Bay Area Toll Authority

With the new year, the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) reminds drivers that tolls at the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges increased by $1 on Jan. 1, 2022. This is the second of the three $1 toll increases approved by the Legislature in 2017 through state Senate Bill 595 and by voters through Regional Measure 3 in June 2018. The first of these toll hikes went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019. The last of the Regional Measure 3 toll increases will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Regular tolls for two-axle cars and trucks (as well as for motorcycles) at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay, Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges rose to $7 from the current $6 on Jan. 1, 2022.

Tolls for vehicles with three or more axles also rose by $1 on Jan. 1, 2022, at all seven of the state-owned toll bridges: to $17 for three axles, $22 for four-axles, $27 for five axles, $32 for six axles, and $37 for combinations with seven or more axles.

Senate Bill 595 and Regional Measure 3 continue the peak-period toll discount for motorcycles, carpools and qualifying clean-air vehicles crossing any of the state-owned toll bridges on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The discounted toll increased to $3.50 on Jan. 1, 2022, from the previous $3. To qualify for this discount, carpoolers, motorcyclists and drivers of qualifying clean-air vehicles must use FasTrak^® to pay their tolls electronically and must use a designated carpool lane at each toll plaza.

Senate Bill 595 and Regional Measure 3 also established a 50-cent toll discount for two-axle vehicles crossing more than one of the state-owned toll bridges during weekday commute hours of 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. To be eligible for the toll discount, which is to be applied to the second toll crossing of the day, motorists must pay their tolls electronically with FasTrak^®. Carpools, motorcycles and qualifying clean-air vehicles making a second peak-period toll crossing in a single day will qualify for an additional 25-cent discount off the already-discounted carpool toll.

Funding for Transportation Projects

The funds collected from the additional toll will fund a $4.45 billion list of transportation improvement projects throughout the nine-county Bay Area, which includes $470 million in Contra Costa County.

New FasTrak^® customers can obtain toll tags at hundreds of Walgreens and Costco stores around the Bay Area. A complete list of participating locations — as well as an online enrollment and registration feature — is available on the FasTrak^® Web site at bayareafastrak.org. Customers also may enroll in the FasTrak^® program by phone at 1-877-229-8655; by calling 511 and asking for “FasTrak” at the first prompt; or in person at the FasTrak^® customer service center at 375 Beale Street in San Francisco. Phone service is available Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The walk-in customer service center is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. FasTrak^® can be used in all lanes at all Bay Area toll plazas.

Because a legal challenge to Senate Bill 595 and Regional Measure 3 remains pending before the California Supreme Court, the January 1, 2022 toll increase, as collected, is placed into an escrow account managed by an independent trustee. Revenue from the 2019 toll increase also is being held in escrow. If BATA prevails in the litigation, the funds will be applied to BATA-approved programs.

Major projects in the Regional Measure 3 expenditure plan include improvements to State Route 37 in the North Bay, freeway interchange improvements in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties, the purchase of more new BART cars, extension of the BART system from Berryessa to downtown San Jose and Santa Clara, extension of the Caltrain corridor to the Salesforce Transit Center in downtown San Francisco, expansion of Muni’s transit vehicle fleet, expansion of San Francisco Bay Ferry service and more frequent transbay bus service, a direct freeway connector from northbound U.S. 101 in Marin County to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, upgrades to the Dumbarton Bridge corridor, and extension of the SMART rail system to Windsor and Healdsburg in Sonoma County.

BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers toll revenues from the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. Toll revenues from the Golden Gate Bridge are administered by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which joined with BATA to operate a single regional FasTrak^® customer service center in San Francisco. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

One new law strengthens penalties for sideshow convictions

By Jaime Coffee, Information Officer II, CHP

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As we head into the new year, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is educating the public on traffic safety laws that were passed during this year’s legislative season and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.  The laws take effect January 1, 2022, unless otherwise noted.

Sideshow Definition and Penalties (Assembly Bill (AB) 3, Fong):  This new law strengthens penalties for those convicted of exhibition of speed if the violation occurred as part of a sideshow.

Beginning July 1, 2025, a court will be permitted to suspend a person’s driver’s license between 90 days and six months if the person is convicted of exhibition of speed and if the violation occurred as part of a “sideshow.”  Section 23109(c) of the California Vehicle Code (CVC) (exhibition of speed) will define sideshow as an event in which two or more persons block or impede traffic on a highway for the purpose of performing motor vehicle stunts, motor vehicle speed contests, motor vehicle exhibitions of speed, or reckless driving for spectators.

The courts will be required to consider a defendant’s medical, personal, or family hardship that requires a person to have a driver’s license before determining whether to suspend a person’s driver’s license.

Equestrian Safety Gear (AB 974, L. Rivas):  Requires a person under the age of 18 to wear a properly fitted and fastened helmet when riding an equestrian animal, such as a horse, mule, or donkey on a paved highway.  This bill also requires all riders or their equines to wear reflective gear or a lamp when riding after sundown.

A person riding an equestrian animal in a parade or festival, or crossing a paved highway from an unpaved highway, is exempt from all helmet, lighting, or reflective gear requirements.

Tribal Emergency Vehicles (AB 798, Ramos):  This bill provides that any vehicle owned or operated by a federally recognized Indian tribe is considered an authorized emergency vehicle as defined by Section 165 CVC when responding to an emergency, fire, ambulance, or lifesaving calls.

Class C Drivers Allowed to Tow Trailer (Senate Bill (SB) 287, Grove):  Effective January 1, 2027, drivers with a class C driver’s license may operate a vehicle towing a trailer between 10,001 pounds and 15,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, or gross vehicle weight with a fifth-wheel and kingpin or bed mounted gooseneck connection, provided that the trailer is used exclusively for recreational purposes for the transportation of property, living space, or both.

The driver will be required to pass a specialized written examination demonstrating the knowledge of the CVC and other safety aspects relating to the towing of recreational vehicles on the highway and possess an endorsement on their class C driver’s license.

Currently, this exemption is in place for drivers towing a fifth-wheel travel trailer provided the driver passes a specialized written exam and obtains a recreational trailer endorsement.

As a reminder, the following law took effect on July 1, 2021:

License Points for Distracted Driving (AB 47, Daly; 2019):  Using a handheld cell phone while driving is currently punishable by a fine.  As of July 1, 2021, violating the hands-free law for a second time within 36 months of a prior conviction for the same offense will result in a point being added to a driver’s record.  This applies to the violations of talking or texting while driving (except for hands-free use) and to any use of these devices while driving by a person under 18 years of age.

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

For New Year’s Eve BART will run standard Friday service but with an extended closing time to help people celebrate the arrival of 2022 as well as to support workers who are relying on BART to get to and from their late-night shifts.

The regular last trains of the evening (Yellow, Blue, and Orange lines) will be dispatched from the end of their lines at midnight and then at 1:00am, we will run another set of last trains of the evening to serve 48 out of our 50 stations. The 1am dispatched trains will not serve the airport stations (OAK and SFO) but will stop at all other stations. These last trains will be timed to easily transfer to other lines to get home.

For those celebrating in downtown San Francisco, the last East Bay-bound train running through downtown San Francisco will be at around 1:30am and the last southbound train heading toward Millbrae will run through downtown San Francisco at 2:10am.

BART will offer overtime shifts to train operators to run extra event trains that can be dispatched between the one-hour gap in between the midnight and 1:00am dispatch.

Unlike previous years, BART will not run skip-stop service on New Year’s Eve. All trains will make their regular stops, except for the 1:00am dispatch which will not stop at SFO or OAK airports.

1:00 AM Extended Service Details

• Only the Yellow line (Millbrae to Antioch) will run transbay. Riders heading from San Francisco towards Richmond, Berryessa, and Dublin will need to transfer. The train will not serve SFO.
• Southbound Yellow line (Antioch to Millbrae) trains will run to Millbrae, stopping at all stations except SFO.
• The Blue line will operate from Bay Fair to Dublin only. If travelling from San Francisco, Dublin-bound riders need to transfer at 12th Street to a Berryessa (Orange line) bound train and then transfer to a Dublin (Blue line) train at Bay Fair to complete their trip. These transfers will be timed meets to reduce travel time.
• The Orange line (Richmond to Berryessa) will also run hourly to coincide with the other trains. Riders coming from San Francisco who need to transfer to a Richmond-bound train will do so at MacArthur; riders who need to transfer to a Berryessa-bound train (or Dublin) will do so at 12th Street. These transfers will be timed meets to reduce travel time. BART to OAK service will not be operating after regular BART hours.

Parking
Parking is free after 3:00pm on Friday. You can also leave your car overnight if necessary. Parking is free on weekends.

Stay Safe

Save these numbers in your phone:

• 510-200-0992 to text BART Police dispatch to discreetly report criminal activity
• 510-464-7000 to call BART Police in an emergency (It’s faster than calling 911)

We also offer the free the BART Watch app–a free mobile app available on the App Store and Google Play that allows you to quickly and discreetly report criminal or suspicious activity directly to BART Police.

You can reach the train operator using call buttons in each car. On old cars the button is at the end of the car, on new cars, the call button is by the side doors.

Note your train car number when contacting police or the train operator. The train number is located above the doors on the inside of each end of the train car.

BART will have extra safety staff working on New Year’s Eve to have more staff on trains, on platforms and inside stations.

Tips for Riding

Masks are required at BART, even if fully vaccinated. Spread out among all the cars. The first and last cars are often less crowded than those in the middle.

To save time and hassle, it is recommended you get a Clipper card in advance with round trip fare loaded. You can add Clipper to your mobile wallet and pay for BART fares with Google Pay and Apple Pay. All riders can immediately load funds through their wallet to their Clipper card.

Saturday Service on New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day, January 1, 2022, will be a regular Saturday schedule with service running 6am until midnight.

Or weekly negative test in spite of mild omicron variant symptoms and CDC discontinuing PCR tests as of Friday; includes police, firefighters, paramedics, ambulance drivers, and workers in hospitals, jails, nursing or congregate care facilities, and homeless shelters.

By Allen Payton

On Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, Contra Costa County Health Officer, Dr. Chris Farnitano issued another order mandating county first responders and workers in homeless shelters to verify they have received a booster dose of vaccine or a weekly negative COVID test.

Contra Costa Health Services claims it’s being done, “to better protect the county’s health system from becoming overwhelmed by the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19.”

This requirement applies within the county to law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who work in or may respond to emergency calls at high-risk facilities such as hospitals, jails, nursing or congregate care facilities, as well as all workers in homeless shelters. It also applies to non-emergency ambulance workers who provide medical transport for such facilities.

The order, which takes effect on January 10, requires unboosted workers to test weekly with either a PCR or antigen test for COVID-19.

Yet, the CDC issued a Lab Alert on their website on July 21, 2021, that “After December 31, 2021, CDC will withdraw the request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel, the assay first introduced in February 2020 for detection of SARS-CoV-2 only.”

In addition, the FDA posted on their website the CDC’s Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel, dated that same day, which reported the tests do not necessarily work. It reads, “Positive results are indicative of active infection with SARS-CoV-2 but do not rule out bacterial infection or co-infection with other viruses. The agent detected may not be the definite cause of disease. Laboratories within the United States and its territories are required to report all results to the appropriate public health authorities. Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for treatment or other patient management decisions. Negative results must be combined with clinical observations, patient history, and epidemiological information.”

CDC 2019 Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel – Instructions for Use (fda.gov)

“The omicron variant is much more infectious than previous strains of COVID-19,” said Farnitano. “Boosting is necessary for the best protection from omicron infection and transmission. Our hospitals are at risk of being overwhelmed if a large number of our must vulnerable residents get sick. Our goal is to ramp up the protection around places where there is an elevated risk of exposure, and people who are at high risk of serious illness if they become infected.”

However, as previously reported, according to reports from throughout the U.S. and internationally, symptoms have been described as mild, and “extremely mild” by Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who first discovered and announced the new strain.

The order requires applicable workers to test weekly for COVID-19 and provide the results to their employers, or if fully vaccinated, provide proof that they have received a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine within one month of becoming eligible. Employers are required to keep vaccination records for these employees.

Anyone 16 or older is eligible for a booster dose six months after they become fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two months after they receive a dose of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine.

On Dec. 22, California added a similar statewide requirement for healthcare workers, home care workers, and employees of congregate care and detention facilities.

Omicron is already the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.S. The average daily number of newly detected COVID-19 cases in the county has risen about 156% in the past week with an average of 313 new cases per day, a trend expected to continue and potentially accelerate throughout California this winter.

Contra Costa identified the county’s first patients infected by this variant last week – two of the three initial cases were fully vaccinated, but none of them had received booster doses.

According to the Health Services announcement, about 36% of Contra Costa residents aged 16 and older have received a booster dose, which they claim reduces risk of infection from the omicron variant and dramatically reduces risk of serious illness, hospitalization or death from all variants of COVID-19.

Farnitano was asked specifics about his new health order including, “how many of the newly detected cases of COVID-19 in our county are from the omicron variant?” and “how many people who have been diagnosed with the omicron variant in our county been hospitalized?”

In addition, he was asked, “why mandate a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for county first responders and workers in homeless shelters when both the vaccines and boosters are proving not to work, since people who have had both of them are still contracting COVID?”

Farnitano was also asked, isn’t this an unnecessary overreaction to the omicron variant, since the symptoms are being reported as mild.? He was then asked, with more than 1.3 million reported adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines, why continue to mandate them and the boosters, putting first responders at risk, especially since the symptoms of the omicron variant are so mild?”

The unelected county health officer, whose orders can’t be overruled by the elected county supervisors, was asked, why he was including the PCR test as one of the mandate options when they have proven to give false reports and have been discontinued as of Dec. 31.

Finally, Farnitano was asked “are you not aware the FDA posted on their website the CDC’s Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel dated that same day, which reported the tests do not necessarily work which is the reason the CDC discontinued their use?”

Dr. Farnitano didn’t respond. Instead, Will Harper, a spokesman for the county Health Services did, but he didn’t answer all the questions.

“Over the past two weeks, a growing number of lab samples in CoCo being sequenced are omicron,” Harper wrote in an email Wednesday afternoon. “We expect omicron to become the predominant variant in the county very soon. Check back in after the holidays.”

“Clearly, Omicron is extremely contagious as we see cases in Europe and parts of the U.S. spiking. While there are indications omicron is more mild than earlier strains, we don’t know that for sure. Even if it is milder, the sheer volume of cases from omicron could still have major impacts on our healthcare system,” he continued. “In Contra Costa, hospitalizations are up 39% from two weeks ago — a troubling sign, although still manageable right now.”

“The vaccines work — but we’re learning that their effectiveness wanes over time, which is why it’s so important for everyone ages 16 and older to get their booster shot, especially people in high-risk settings like first responders,” Harper added. “You can see on our vaccine dashboard that people who’ve gotten boosters have lower case rates.”

Additional questions were sent Wednesday night after work hours, asking, “but if the COVID vaccines wane in just months, while vaccines we received as kids, such as for smallpox, chickenpox and polio, etc. last a lifetime, how can anyone claim the COVID vaccines work? Or were they designed and developed with obsolescence so people would be required to get booster shots? What happens when the booster shots wane? Will people be required to get another, and another? When will it end?”

The text of the order is available at cchealth.org/coronavirus.

Please check back for any updates to this report.

Pittsburg Police help nab smash and grab suspects in getaway car

By Antioch Police Department

During the early hours of dusk, on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, a pair of burglars entered a CVS store at 4028 Lone Tree Way, and used hammers to smash the glass to an alcohol display case, in what could be only described as an attempt to stock up for New Year’s Eve . As the suspects ransacked the cabinet, one of the wrongdoers was described as having a firearm in their waste band. The brazen pair of offenders amassed approximately $2,500 worth of alcohol and fled the area.

Luckily, an alert citizen captured pertinent details of the getaway vehicle and relayed that info to our circulating officers. Fortified with the relevant information provided by our stalwart Samaritan, officers located the vehicle as it headed into Pittsburg. With the assistance of our friends at Pittsburg PD , the suspects were safely detained and arrested.

After searching the escape vehicle, the stolen alcohol was located as was the described firearm and tools of their dastardly deed.

Thank you to the Pittsburg Police Department for always lending a helpful hand and a special thanks to our citizens that continue to be one of the largest contributors in the apprehension of those who commit crime.

Please be responsible this holiday season as we venture into the New Year.

 

Starting 6:01 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 2

By Jaime Coffee, Information Officer II, California Highway Patrol

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The ushering in of a new year brings with it the anticipation of a fresh start, positive changes, and healthy resolutions.  What it should not bring are headlines of tragedies caused by drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

To encourage safe travel for those who are out on the road, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will conduct a Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) starting at 6:01 p.m. on Friday, December 31, 2021, through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, January 2, 2022.

“Ringing in the new year should be an exciting time filled with celebration and hope,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said.  “To help keep the roadways safe through the holiday and beyond, our officers will be out in force to deter, detect, and remove impaired drivers.” 

During the previous New Year’s Day MEP, 56 people were killed in crashes in California.  Sadly, half of the vehicle occupants killed in the crashes were not wearing a seat belt.  During that same 78-hour MEP, CHP officers made 709 arrests for driving under the influence throughout the state.

To help bolster this year’s holiday traffic safety effort across state lines, the CHP will again partner with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota state patrols in a Western States Traffic Safety Coalition for the “Drive High, Get a DUI,” campaign.  With the focus of the New Year’s operation to identify and remove impaired drivers from the road, the CHP will have all available personnel on patrol, including Drug Recognition Evaluators to conduct evaluations of suspected impaired drivers.

With 362 arrests for DUI during the 54-hour Christmas Day Maximum Enforcement Period, California Highway Patrol officers averaged a DUI arrest nearly every nine minutes.

For daily MEP updates and other valuable traffic safety-related information, follow @CHP_HQ on Twitter.

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

 

2021 was the first full year we spent living in the midst of the pandemic. Despite the challenges, we accomplished many things to help serve the Bay Area.

Improvements to the Rider Experience:

• We returned to near pre-pandemic levels of service and hours Monday through Saturday in August, with a commitment to improve Sunday service in February 2022.
• We installed MERV-14 air filters on all trains to filter out virus particles like coronavirus.
• Train interior and station interior cleanliness metrics improved year over year based on rider surveys.
• We rolled out pay by phone options with Clipper now available in Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• We made it easier to reserve monthly, single day and airport/long term-reserved parking.
• We produced new BART & Caltrain transfer timetables to increase transparency about connection times at Millbrae.

Improvements to Personal Safety:

• We launched our groundbreaking Progressive Policing Bureau that includes deploying Ambassadors and Crisis Intervention Specialists.
• Our efforts to increase safety staff visibility is paying off with a 37% drop in violent crime in 2021 and 21% drop in crime overall- this comes as ridership has been increasing.
• We launched the Not One More Girl campaign and changed our code of conduct policy to send a clear message that sexual harassment and gender-based violence has no place on BART.

Investments in Infrastructure:

• We replaced 7.5 miles of track, 2 major interlockings, and 66 miles of power cables.

Improvements at Stations:

• At Antioch station we added full-time station agents during all service hours, and expanded parking while improving bike and pedestrian access.
• We finished our modernization of El Cerrito del Norte Station.
• We unveiled three new escalators in downtown San Francisco.
• 12 parking garages got brighter LED lights to improve safety and sustainability.
• We brought art and culture into our stations with free short story kiosks and an outdoor music series.

Leadership in the Region:

• We offered our stations and parking lots for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing sites, and we made it easy for residents to take transit to get vaccinated.
• We launched our Link21 Program to transform Northern California’s rail network with an eye on equity and how best to serve the mega-region.
• Our Transit-Oriented Development program advanced with new homes at Pleasant Hill and MacArthur leasing up. Construction at Millbrae and Walnut Creek stayed on track for 2022 completion.  Projects at Lake Merritt and West Dublin were entitled.
• Our electric power supply was certified as 100% greenhouse gas free.
• We contracted $73.2 million dollars to a diverse group of small, minority, and women owned businesses.
• We implemented a COVID vaccine mandate for all employees to help keep our workforce and riders healthy.

For more information visit BART.gov.

By Strategic Communications Officer Darryl Saffold, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, at approximately 9:13 PM, Antioch Police Department Dispatch began receiving numerous 911 calls of multiple gunshots being fired in the area of Vista Grande Drive and Catanzaro Way. When patrol officers arrived, they found multiple casings in the street and located blood on the sidewalk and on a vehicle that was parked in the area.

Moments later, a victim that had multiple gunshot wounds was dropped off at Kaiser Emergency Room and was immediately rushed into surgery. At the time of this release, the victim, a 27-year-old Black male was still in critical condition. No update on his condition was available as of Wednesday, Dec. 29.

Due to the ongoing and active nature of the investigation, no further information will be released at this time. This information is made available by the Support Services Division.

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Whitaker at (925) 779-6890 or at wwhitaker@Antiochca.gov.