Security camera screenshots of Antioch arson suspect. Photos: ConFire

By Steve Hill, Public Information Officer, ConFire

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District’s Fire Investigation Unit is seeking the public’s help in identifying a suspect in a recent Antioch arson fire.

Anyone with information about the pictured suspect is asked to call the Con Fire Arson. Tip Line at 1-866-50-ARSON (7766).

By Matt J. Malone, Public Information Officer, Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa

The Court has requested authorization from the Chief Justice to continue its closure through April 30, 2020 and will issue a further release with details as to what Court operations will resume during any extended closure period.

While Court offices and facilities remain closed, the Court will begin accepting certain urgent filings as follows:

• Emergency Criminal and Juvenile Matters. The Court will accept filings for emergency criminal and juvenile matters only beginning March 30, 2020.

o Criminal filings will be accepted via a drop box placed at the Main Street entrance of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez.

o Juvenile filings will be accepted via a drop box at the Walnut Creek Courthouse.

o “Emergency matters” will be specifically defined in Emergency Local Rules which will be posted on the Court’s website as soon as possible.

• All other matters EXCEPT Traffic and Unlawful Detainer matters. The Court will begin accepting certain filings for these matters on April 6, 2020. Emergency Local Rules governing these filings will be posted to the Court’s website by April 1, 2020.

o Civil and Family filings will be accepted at a drop box placed at the Main Street entrance of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez.

o Family filings only will also be accepted via a drop box at the front of the Family Law building in Martinez.

• Unlawful Detainer matters may not be filed at this time.

• Traffic matters will not be handled at this time. If you seek to pay or challenge a traffic ticket, the Court remains closed. Please contact the Court upon reopening. No Court penalties or fines accrue during the closure.

• Additional drop boxes available at branch courts. Beginning April 6, drop boxes will also be made available at both the Pittsburg and Richmond branch courts only for filings in case types heard at those locations.

• Acceptance of filings by mail/delivery. The Court will accept approved filings, as defined by the case-type Emergency Local Rules, by mail or other delivery such as FedEx. Couriers will not have access to Court facilities, only to the drop boxes.

The Court will not schedule hearings or reset hearings that were scheduled during the closure period until the Court reopens, with the exception of urgent matters described above and those to be set forth in Emergency Local Rules. The Court will inform you of the rescheduled hearing date. Please do not call the Court asking for a date.

The Court will be closed completely on March 31, 2020, in observance of the Cesar Chavez holiday.

As with its initial closure, the Court’s request for a continued emergency order and limited closure is not in response to a specific notice of exposure at any Court facility or to any Court staff.

Coronavirus. CDC image.

As of Friday, March 27, 2020 at 5:08 p.m. Contra Costa Health Services is reporting a total of 151 cases of COVID-19 and two deaths from the virus in the county. The totals are updated daily and are based on preliminary reporting. Numbers may change based on additional findings.

BISSELL Pet Foundation assists animal shelters with reduced adoption fees by appointment only

By Bri Olson, Communications Coordinator, BISSELL Pet Foundation

In response to COVID-19, BISSELL Pet Foundation will sponsor reduced adoption fees across the country starting Thursday, March 26 in efforts to assist animal shelters that are struggling with fewer volunteers and staff to care for their animals. With a rather atypical Empty the Shelters adoption special in place for the next week, the foundation hopes this will encourage families to add a furry quarantine buddy into their home in a time when it’s needed the most.

“Many shelters have already been forced to eliminate all foot traffic in their facilities, so overcrowding is becoming a real issue, said Cathy Bissell, Founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. “Organizations are scrambling to find fosters to take pets in during this desperate time and they need our help. That’s why BPF will also reduce fees for foster-to-adopt cases.”

Thanks to BPF funding, you can adopt a pet from Antioch Animal Services for $25 by viewing adoptable animals online at www.bissellpetfoundation.org/ets. Once an online application is submitted, shelter staff will work with potential adopters to schedule an in-person appointment with social distancing in mind. The Antioch shelter is located at 300 L Street in Antioch.

“COVID-19 is responsible for canceling many scheduled fundraisers and events that shelters rely on to operate, “says Bissell. “We will continue to ease the burden on our partners and work to find solutions for them in any way we can. This week, you too can be a part of the solution for homeless pets by choosing to adopt.”

BPF encourages interested adopters to be reminded that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there is no evidence to support any cases of transmitting the virus to/from pets.

“If you are able to bring a pet into your home, now is a perfect time,” says Bissell.

Reduced-fee adoptions are scheduled to extend until Wednesday, April 1.

If you’re unable to adopt, please consider donating to BISSELL Pet Foundation at www.bissellpetfoundation.org/donate. With a partner network of over 5,000, BPF has impacted over 250,000 homeless animals across the country since 2011.

About BISSELL Pet Foundation:

BISSELL Pet Foundation is a charitable 501©(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to help reduce the number of animals in shelters through pet adoption, spay/neuter programs, microchipping and emergency support. Founded in 2011 by Cathy Bissell, BPF is an extension of her long-standing love for animals and commitment to their welfare. BPF has since partnered with over 5,000 shelters and rescues across the U.S. and Canada to help pets find loving homes. The foundation is supported by generous donors and BISSELL Homecare, Inc where every purchase saves pets. To learn more, visit www.bissellpetfoundation.org.

Benefits Auto-Issued for the Month of March

On Thursday evening, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide shelter-in-place order for all Californians, except certain essential employees and residents acquiring necessities, such as food, prescriptions, and health care.

WIC provides healthy foods and support services to families.  If your income has been affected by recent events, and you are pregnant, recently had a baby, or have an infant or child under the age of five, you may be qualified to receive WIC services.  Applying is easy and quick.  You will receive your food benefits within a few days. You can apply online at cchealth.org/wic or call 1 (800) 414-4WIC.

WIC food benefits are considered an essential service. We will strive to continue to serve our community during this time under the governor’s and local Health Officer’s order.  Currently, we are providing all WIC services over the phone, including new enrollments.  To protect you and our WIC staff, all in-person appointments are suspended at this time.  Please stay at home.  The new WIC Card and WIC app make it easy for you to access your benefits electronically.

Community members should call their local WIC offices to enroll or certify, obtain future food benefits, reschedule, get breastfeeding help, or to get questions answered.

• Concord & Crossroad WIC: (925) 646-5370
• Brentwood WIC: (925) 513-6880
• Pittsburg WIC: (925) 431-2460
• San Pablo WIC: (510) 942-4000

Please note that California WIC started monthly auto issuance of benefits and extended some certifications for those who were eligible.  This means if you have a WIC card, you may already have your benefits pre-loaded.  You can check your California WIC app for benefits.

If you have any additional questions, please contact your local WIC program at 1 (800) 414-4WIC.  For further Covid-19-related information, please visit the county website at:  cchealth.org or CDPH website.

WIC and Contra Costa Health Services are committed to providing the individuals and communities we serve with high quality, comprehensive, community-directed care that is accessible to all and culturally and linguistically appropriate.

Please note that WIC is safe to use and does not affect immigration status for anyone who is currently in the U.S.  WIC is not considered a part of public charge.  We are here to help!

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM SUPERINTENDENT STEPHANIE ANELLO RELATED TO COVID-19 AND SCHOOL CLOSURES

The following autodialer went out on Wednesday,  March 25:

“Good morning, this is Stephanie Anello, Superintendent of the Antioch Unified School District with an important announcement related to COVID-19 and school closures. At this time, AUSD schools will be closed until May 1st. We will continue to provide meals and our current online learning platforms and packets until April 6th. On April 7th, we hope to have additional opportunities for online learning as well as opportunities for obtaining technology resources. Thank you all for the tremendous outpouring of support, understanding, and patience you have shown during this difficult time. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.”

By Steven Spraitzar, Public Relations, White Pony Express

White Pony Express (WPE), the Pleasant Hill food rescue group, announces that its programs are continuing to operate under Contra Costa County’s stringent requirements to contain the spread of COVID-19.   Specifically, WPE wishes to let the public know that:

• White Pony Express remains OPEN for business. It continues to rescue nutritious fresh food from supermarkets and restaurants and deliver it free to those in need in our communities.
• WPE’s School Food Pantry Program is continuing to deliver food to free-lunch schools in the county. However, because the schools have closed, this food is now being taken to alternative distribution sites where the food is being made available to the school families.
• Volunteers are urgently needed as some volunteers wish to self-isolate.
• Those who wish to volunteer can sign up at https://www.whiteponyexpress.org/covid-19-response-volunteer
• Financial donations are also needed so WPE can continue providing nutritious food to hungry people. If you’d like to contribute, you can do so by visiting WPE’s website at https://www.whiteponyexpress.org/donate-funds.
• WPE will make limited deliveries of needed clothing for the foreseeable future.
• No donations of clothing will be accepted while the shelter-in-place order is in effect.
• WPE has implemented stringent health guidelines in place to protect its volunteers. These protocols (hand washing, use of hand sanitizers, gloves, social distancing, etc.) are now a part of all WPE’s food and clothing operations.

ABOUT WPE:  WPE is a volunteer-powered 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Pleasant Hill, CA, which helps people move from the margins to the mainstream by providing free food and clothing in a loving and respectful manner.

Dr. Carol Weyland Conner founded WPE in September 2013 when she was troubled that in an area with such an abundance of food, many thousands were going hungry, while at the same time food retailers were throwing out huge quantities of healthy, fresh food. From this insight, the Food Rescue program was born. In a little over 6 years, WPE has rescued and delivered more than 10.5 million pounds of fresh, nutritious food, free of charge, that would otherwise go to waste. This is equivalent to 8,750,000 meals.

In 2014 the White Pony General Store was added to provide high quality clothing, toys, and books to the underserved in our communities—all free of charge. Since that time, the General Store has given away over 512,000 items to those in need.

For more on WPE, visit www.whiteponyexpress.org.

High Quality Data Essential for Combatting the Spread of COVID-19

Joint Press Release

Martinez, CA – Seven Bay Area jurisdictions are taking a unified, regional step to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). On March 24, the Public Health Officers of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, with the City of Berkeley, announced an order with new reporting requirements for laboratories that test for the novel coronavirus. Laboratories must report results of tests for all residents of each jurisdiction to the ordering health care provider and the appropriate state and local health officials.

Currently, labs report only positive results, making it difficult for public health officials to know how many people are being tested overall. The new order requires laboratories to report all positive, negative, and inconclusive results, and information that allows health officials to better locate the person tested. The more comprehensive information will improve health officials’ understanding of the rates of infection and the location of possible infection clusters

Growing availability of testing through commercial and academic laboratories expands the overall testing capacity beyond small, specialized public health laboratories. The public health laboratory network offers only limited testing for emerging infections such as COVID-19 as other commercial and academic laboratory sectors come on-line. Because of the limited capacity of public health laboratories and the absence of further reporting requirements of private laboratories, the current percentage of cases that are detected through testing is important, but reflects only a small portion of the total number of people infected in our jurisdictions.

“This order will ensure public health officials regionally and across the state have access to the information we need to understand, predict, and combat the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County Health Officer. “Commercial and academic laboratories are important partners in providing testing to our community. Receiving this critical information from those labs will help local health departments respond to COVID-19 during this unprecedented time.”

The laboratory reporting order follows new data of increasing local transmission of COVID-19, including 930 confirmed cases with 19 deaths shared by the seven jurisdictions. The Bay Area’s total count of 930 confirmed COVID-19 cases is more than half of California’s case count. This does not account for the rapidly increasing number of assumed cases of community transmission.

“Expanding reporting beyond positive results to include timely reporting of negative and inconclusive results allows local health officials to better understand whether there are areas of the community that are experiencing more intense transmission and project future trends in in the spread of the virus,” said Dr. Tomás Aragón, Health Officer, City & County of San Francisco. “By sharing high quality test result data at scale, state and local health authorities can better track COVID-19, predict its spread, and better focus public resources to end this global pandemic.”

For more information about COVID-19 activities in these areas, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, or Berkeley COVID-19 websites.