The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) are widening State Route 4 (SR-4) through Pittsburg and Antioch. As part of this construction work, the contractor will be closing a portion of Century Boulevard in Pittsburg and Antioch where it crosses under SR-4 for approximately two months.

This closure will allow for widening of the bridge to accommodate the highway widening as well as eBART in the median.

The closure is expected to begin the week of May 23, 2011. During this phase of construction the undercrossing will be closed to all vehicular, bike, and pedestrian traffic. Detours will be in place with signs to direct traffic around the work site. Please see attached map for detours. The work is estimated to be completed by the end of July, 2011.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) are reaching out to minority and low-income communities for assistance in the development of Plan Bay Area, a 25-year transportation investment and land-use strategy for the nine-county region from 2015 through 2040.

The agencies are working with 14 community-based organizations to help ensure that people living in communities of concern have opportunities to make their voices heard about how the region should grow. The community-based outreach is happening concurrently with Plan Bay Area public workshops being held this spring in each of the nine Bay Area counties.

MTC and ABAG used a competitive process to select the community-based organizations to make the outreach possible. Partnerships with community-based organizations also helped spur development of the Bay Area’s two most recent regional transportation plans.. By contracting with more community-based organizations, and scheduling more events, MTC has stepped up its outreach effort for the Plan Bay Area process, which is scheduled to conclude in the spring of 2013. Plan Bay Area will be the region’s first transportation and land-use plan to incorporate the Sustainable Communities Strategy mandated by state Senate Bill 375, which was signed into law in 2008.

“We’re looking to get direct input from people about what they think will work best in their communities,” said MTC Chair and San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne Tissier. “A critical part of this effort is hearing from people who live in underserved communities. That’s the only way to build a long-term transportation and land-use plan that meets the needs of the entire region.”

“The community-based meetings are designed to accommodate the needs of people who may not have the income, transportation options or time off from work to attend one of the county workshops,” explained MTC Public Information Officer Pam Grove. “In some communities there may also be language barriers that make participation in the county workshops more difficult. We make it easier by going to where low-income residents live and by providing translation services.”

Grove cited MTC staff’s participation in last week’s Roseland Cinco de Mayo Festival in Sonoma County as an example. “We had a great time. Not only did the volunteers from KBBF Radio Bilingual collect about 400 surveys printed in Spanish asking festival-goers about their regional growth priorities, but the food was fantastic, and they even baked a cake for us!”

Earlier this week, Grove and MTC Planner Brenda Dix drove to San Jose for a lunchtime presentation at a community meeting of the Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation, or VIVO. More than 150 people turned out to learn more about Plan Bay Area’s goal of sustaining the region’s economic vitality, environmental quality and social equity while accommodating some 2 million additional residents by 2040. A Vietnamese translator, on hand to make sure everyone could understand the presentation, facilitated dialogue by translating back and forth when audience members had questions for the staff members.

Other community-based organizations with which MTC and ABAG are working include Causa Justa/Just Cause, South Hayward Parish and Youth Radio in Alameda County; Monument Community Partnership and Opportunity West in Contra Costa County; the Grassroots Leadership Network of Marin; Asian Inc. and People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) in San Francisco; Housing Leadership Council and Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center in San Mateo County; the San Jose Downtown Association in Santa Clara County; and Dixon Family Services in Solano County.

MTC is the transportation planning and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1961, ABAG is the official regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns and nine counties of the Bay Area. ABAG is recognized as the first council of governments in California.

A variety of workshops will be held throughout the county seeking community input on how to redraw the county district boundaries to reflect the county’s eastward population shift.

At approximately 11:45 a.m. on May 11 Antioch Police served a probation search at the residence of Randall Wilson, 21, in the 2300 block of Mandarin Way.

The search was conducted by members of the Antioch Police Department SWAT team and Contra Costa Sheriffs Department personnel.

Mandarin Way is in the Sycamore Drive corridor, which has recently been plagued with shootings and other violent crimes.

Information was developed that the residence was related to several of these incidents.

During the service of the probation search, Wilson, Adam Carpenter, 21, and Leroy Graham, 28, all of Antioch, were found in or near the open garage.

Carpenter brandished a handgun at SWAT officers but was quickly subdued without any officer being injured, according to police.

He was also found to be in possession of rock cocaine for sale.

Marijuana and indicia supporting sales of marijuana were also located. The subjects were booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on the following crimes:

Carpenter: Possession of cocaine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale, possession of controlled substance while armed with firearm, Prohibited possession of concealable firearm, probation violation.

Graham: Possession of cocaine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale.

Wilson: Possession of cocaine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale, probation violation.

By Dave Roberts

Antioch and far East County’s philosophical break with Pittsburg over transportation projects may soon become a geopolitical break as well if Antioch’s council members get their wish to no longer share a county supervisorial district with Pittsburg.

On Tuesday night the Antioch council unanimously agreed to leave the county’s 5th supervisorial district, which has included Bethel Island, Oakley, Pittsburg and Bay Point, when new county district lines are drawn to reflect the county’s population shift eastward in the last decade.

Instead Antioch’s council prefers to join a proposed District 3 alignment that would include Oakley, Bethel Island, Knightsen, Brentwood, Discovery Bay and Byron.

That would place Antioch in a district with a far East County group that has pretty much seen eye-to-eye on funding for transportation projects such as the Highway 4 Bypass, Vasco Road safety improvements, the widening of Highway 4 through Antioch and the extension of an eBART line in the highway median.

That group has also agreed to sue Pittsburg, which has withheld funding for those projects. Pittsburg officials argue that the money should instead go for a western extension of James Donlon Boulevard.

If Antioch’s redistricting wish is granted, it will also portend a significant political change for Antioch residents and their politically ambitious leaders.

District 5 has been governed since 2000 by Supervisor Federal Glover. Now in his third term, Glover, of Pittsburg, has beaten off challenges by Antioch Councilwoman Mary Rocha in 2000, former Oakley Planning Commissioner Erik Nunn in 2004 and Antioch Councilman Gary Agopian in 2008.

District 3 is governed by Mary Nejedly Piepho, of Discovery Bay, who won office in 2004 over the incumbent, Millie Greenberg, and beat off a challenge in 2008 by former Assemblyman Guy Houston. It remains to be seen whether Piepho will run for a third term next year, and if so, whether she’ll be challenged by Agopian or perhaps Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor or Oakley Mayor Jim Frazier, assuming the 3rd District is redrawn the way Antioch prefers.

Antioch Councilman Brian Kalinowski, who also may have supervisorial ambitions, having run last year unsuccessfully for county sheriff, and who represents Antioch on Transplan, cited the transportation funding agreements with far East County cities as a reason to join them in District 3.

“The transportation improvements and projects that we see over the next 10 years fall largely within that geography,” he said. “We also know that Pittsburg in the transportation world doesn’t want to be a regional partner. You want to be partners on regional issues. That makes sense to me.”

Kalinowski and other council members agreed that it also makes geographical sense for Pittsburg to be in a northern county district that extends west to Martinez, Port Costa and Crockett, sharing the waterfront.

The council was also presented with maps developed by the Contra Costa Citizens Redistricting Task Force, chaired by the publisher of the Herald, Allen Payton.  He pointed out that their plan, labeled A2, is the only one that keeps 18 of the 19 cities and 52 of the 53 Census Designated Places, such as Alamo, Bethel Island and Bay Point, whole. Only Concord, the county’s largest city, is split.  He also told the council that the Board of Supervisors, earlier that day, had voted to include the group’s plan in the presentations at the public workshops to be held throughout the county, starting next week.

Antioch’s meeting will be held on Monday, May 23 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Antioch Community Center at Prewett Park in Community Hall C, 4703 Lone Tree Way, across from Deer Valley High.

Agopian said he appreciated the citizen involvement and that any of the proposed maps, whether it be Concept 4 or the citizens’ plan, that places Antioch in an East County district would be acceptable.

On a unanimous vote the council directed staff to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors expressing their desires to keep Antioch whole and in a district with other East County communities of Oakley, Brentwood and Discovery Bay, as Concept 4 and the citizens task force map show. (To view the task force’s map and all four of the county staff’s concept maps,  they’re can be downloaded at the county’s redistricting website, www.ccredistricting.org. Click on either Maps or Public Input).

In other action, the council:

• Agreed to limit funding for arts and cultural activities to the $18,000 (perhaps less) that comes in from the hotel tax, eliminate funding for watering the lawn at the Antioch Historical Society Museum and to meet with the Lone Tree Golf Course nonprofit board to discuss the $391,000 debt that the board owes and for which the city is obligated.

• Approved federal Community Development Block Grant funding for a variety of local nonprofit social service organizations.

• Gave the thumbs up to an 85-unit senior affordable housing project at James Donlon Boulevard and Tabora Drive.

Update: Jjuan Sanders was taken into custody without incident on May 11 at a home on Sycamore Drive in Antioch with the assistance of the Antioch Police Department SWAT Team and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.
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On March 26 a 51-year-old Antioch resident was parking his car in front of his residence when a vehicle containing Keenan Lawson, 25, of Modesto, and Jjuan Sanders, 30, of Antioch drove by and shot multiple rounds into his car with two different firearms, according to police. The victim was in his car at the time and was uninjured.

Earlier in the evening all three men had been at a local nightclub when they ran into each other unexpectedly. The victim had recently been involved in a bad break-up with a female relative of both Lawson and Sanders, who are cousins, said police. An argument started between the three men, and the victim left.

A short time later as the victim was parking his car when the shooting happened. He recognized the occupants of the car as Lawson and Sanders, according to police. Warrants were issued for their arrest and a search was done at Lawson’s Modesto home on May 9. Lawson was taken into custody during that search and a firearm was found in his vehicle.

Sanders is still wanted. He is believed to be in the Antioch/Pittsburg area. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Santiago Castillo at (925) 779-6933.

On May 3, 2011 the Board of Supervisors accepted a report from the Department of Conservation and Development. The Board approved release of four draft concept maps to be presented in public workshops scheduled from May 16-26. In addition, the Board agreed to include a map prepared by Contra Costa Times for the public workshops.

The County also announced the launch of DistrictBuilder – a web application that allows members of the public to create and share redistricting proposals. We are very excited to offer this new technology for the redistricting process.

We have scheduled a webinar for next Monday, May 9, 2011 at 12:30 pm (PST) until 2 pm. The webinar will provide information about basic redistricing guidelines for Contra Costa County, how to set up an account, how to create and edit your own district plan, and how to share and export your plans. We plan on recording the webinar and posting it to our website to allow those who are unable to attend to view online.

Contra Costa County Redistricting: District Builder Redistricting Website Training

Join us for a Webinar on May 9

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/242916862

Welcome to the District Builder training. Topics we will cover in the training:
– Basic redistricting guidelines for Contra Costa County
– How to set up an account
– How to create and edit your own district plans.
– How to share and export your plans.
Title: Contra Costa County Redistricting: District Builder Redistricting Website Training
Date: Monday, May 9, 2011
Time: 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM PDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Also of interest, the following information has been uploaded to the website dedicated to the 2011 redistricting effort at www.ccredistricting.org:
A copy of the May 3rd Board presentation is available online under the category “Timeline and Events”
A copy of the proposal submitted at the May 3rd Board meeting by Contra Costa Citizens Redistricting Task Force under the category “Public Input”

Public Workshops to be Held Later This Month

By Allen Payton, Publisher

The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors will finalize the process for obtaining public input in this year’s decennial redistricting process, at its regular meeting, Tuesday, May 10, 2011.

Every 10 years, based on the new census data, the Supervisors get to redraw their own district lines. This year, unlike 10 years ago, they are seeking greater public input in the process. A variety of public workshops will be held the last two weeks of May throughout the county, at least two in each supervisorial district.

To date, eight plans have been submitted for review, including four concept maps by county staff, one by Dan Borenstein of the Contra Costa Times, and three by the Contra Costa Citizens Redistricting Task Force. However, only the staff’s four plans and the Borenstein/Times plan have been included for display and discussion at the public workshops.

The task force is seeking inclusion of their Plan A2, which can be viewed along with the staff’s plans and supporting data, at the county’s redistricting website at www.ccredistricting.org. It is the only plan submitted so far, that keeps 18 of the 19 cities and 52 of the 53 Census Designated Places whole. Only Concord, the county’s largest city, is split. See the map above.

In addition, county staff led by Director of the Department of Conservation & Development, Catherine Kutsuris and Principal Planner Patrick Roche, have created a mapping tool for anyone to use, who would like to create their own maps, for submission and consideration during the process. That also is available on the county’s redistricting website.

The agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting is D1 and will be heard at 1:00 p.m. The agenda can be viewed by clicking here.