My fellow Americans. In these trying times we must be ever vigilant of our surroundings but most importantly our common sense and gut reaction. My father, being of few words always press into our psyche.

“Think to do. Don’t do to think!”

With that I publicly declare, especially with this apparent plandemic.

“I do not assume! I do not consent!   However, I do under duress follow these recommendations under the purported information we are being fed.  Therefore, let it be known I will not give up my God-given rights indefinitely! And I hope neither will you. This plandemic shall pass. And I will fight with all my might to regain my rights.

Please feel free to mirror these sentiments and tell ten people that tell ten people.  You are not alone with these observations. We are being conditioned and trained for the new “normal” over a flu.

Not on my watch!

“One can lose one’s rights for a stick of gum.  But it takes a bloody nose to get it back!”

Fernando Navarro

Antioch

Dear Editor:

Our epic and titanic struggle against Corona Virus is likened to waging war, but unlike other conflicts the current enemy is invisible.  Not only are the lines between civilians and combatants non-existent but the physical enemy, the deadly virus, is unseen. There’s mental enemies, fear and depression, that are likewise ghostly.

The doctors daily address the need for social distancing, sheltering at home and using masks. On top of their advice, common sense dictates we keep our immune systems as strong as possible partaking in a daily routine, sound nutrition, hydration, exercise, and sunshine. What, though, of the insidious psychological foes?

It is said that idleness is the devil’s workshop.  We’ve got our work cut out then because threatening boredom, coupled with a constant barrage of grim cable and internet news, can grind down the spirits of the best of us.

Physics offers some hope in telling us that two things can’t occupy the same place at the same time.  As darkness recedes to rays of light, as cold subsides to warmth, fear recedes from hope, negativity shrinks from positivity. When my two children were teenagers I found that the best way to limit their piss and vinegar was to keep them so engaged with activity that they didn’t have time for acting-out nonsense, though that’s not to say that even that sensible teenage prescription was foolproof!

No arguing, activity can do catalytic wonders and I offer here a short list of tips that have helped me in the never-ending battle for a positive disposition during these times of trial and tribulation.

1. Establish some needed normalcy thru a daily routine.
2. Set the day’s compass upon rising with prayer and meditation.
3. Indulge often in laughter, the best medicine.   Crazy as it sounds, Job 5:22 says ‘you should laugh at destruction and famine.’
4. Rediscover family board games. It could be a refreshing break from each of us satiating on electronic gadgets.
5. Explore a new or old hobby. As example, my wife has of late spent considerable hours revisiting family tree research and matching family photo albums with internet sleuthing.
6. Read a good book.
7. Bring a smile by surprising an old friend or family member with a phone call or gift basket at their door.
8. Bookend the day not with distressing cable news but be inspired reflecting on reasons for gratitude or by Scriptural reading.

In war, the enemy takes no quarter. Our foe is relentless and the scourge virulent, so our charge is one of physical, mental and spiritual vigilance as we each soldier on.

Americans have an indomitable spirit. We’ve triumphed over two world wars, 9-11, a great Depression and a Great Recession, this too shall pass with us coming out victorious and the stronger and the wiser for the ordeal.

In the midst of tough times we must reject the dead weights of worry, resentment, fear and sadness and own the wings of hope, appreciation, peace and humor. Our Mother Country, the Brits, call it a stiff upper lip.

Our ultimate triumph lies in embracing the truth that occasional ‘trouble is inevitable, misery is optional.’

Walter Ruehlig

Antioch

As most Californians and Americans shelter in place, the children are being homeschooled with online learning, high school and sports tournaments and championships have been cancelled, professional sporting events postponed, movie theaters closed and churches holding online services, the question that comes to mind is how did we allow unelected officials to make these decisions that are not only negatively affecting millions of Americans, but limiting our God-given, constitutionally-guaranteed, First and Second Amendment rights of freedom of religion and assembly, and the right to bear arms. Plus, their decisions are creating potentially long-term devastating effects to our economy.

There have been some positive results and responses to our current situation, from the outpouring of generosity and hospitality from Americans both old and young, rich and poor, as well as the quick response by many in the American business sector to retool their manufacturing capabilities to meet the demands of the healthcare industry.

Yet, it’s the county health officers, not the elected members of the county Board of Supervisors who issued the shelter in place orders. It was the state health officer who, a few days later, issued the statewide stay at home order, which our elected governor announced and issued an executive order to support. It wasn’t our elected school board members who closed the schools, but our superintendents who – I was surprised to learn – have that authority and exercised it.

So far, 10 million Americans who have been thrown out of work as a result, have filed for unemployment, because millions of businesses are closed. That means they can’t pay their employees, their rent to their landlords, nor pay their suppliers, who in turn can’t pay their employees or bills.

Now, we have a conflict over which businesses and workers are considered essential, among the county, state and federal governments. Can residential construction continue or not? Are Realtors essential or not? That depends on which county you live in based on the determination of that county’s health officer. Should that be the way it’s decided and who should be deciding it, and affecting two of the major industries in our nation?

The statistics show most people won’t contract the virus, because most of us are generally healthy. Most of those who do won’t need to be hospitalized and the ultimate fact is very few of those who are hospitalized will die from it. Plus, many who have died had other, underlying health challenges.

Add to that the fact there are conflicting projections of how many people will actually be affected by or die from the Wuhan/coronavirus/COVID-19. Also, it’s not affecting each county, state or even each nation, the same.

The bottom line is, too much power has been placed in the hands of those with no accountability to “we the people” and all of them who have made such decisions have a guaranteed, government salary and benefits. So, their decisions of closing businesses and ordering most of us to shelter in place aren’t affecting their ability to earn a living and pay their bills.

This is a democratic republic, a government of law with elected representatives who pass and implement those laws. Once this is over, and it needs to happen sooner rather than later, we the people need our elected representatives to take back control of our county, state and nation, and change who gets to make these decisions in the future. We need our elected officials to make the common sense, balanced decisions, and protect our collective interests, instead of abdicating their rightful leadership roles to non-elected officials.

In our country and with our form of government, non-elected officials are supposed to make recommendations to our elected officials who answer to “we the people”. Then it’s the elected official’s responsibility to make the final decisions.

Yes, good health is number one. But being able to provide for ourselves and our families, now and for the long-term, is a close and possibly equal second. There must be a balance between protecting the public health with the ability for individuals to meet their own needs and those of their families.

Here’s what we need our elected leaders to do as soon as possible, to get us back to our lives: require those who are vulnerable, over age 70 or with health challenges, to self-isolate and shelter in place, while the rest of us get back to work, while being careful to wash our hands, sneeze and cough into our elbow bends, social distance as much as possible, wear masks, and wipe down surfaces, etc.

Elected officials, it’s time to step up and take back control of the government we elected you to lead.

Dear Editor,

I had submitted a written statement to the Mayor in objection to any action by the City of Antioch concerning overreaching and rental contracts to which the City is not a party.  The action by the City in this matter is unnecessary and largely disingenuous.

The City of Antioch has failed year after year, decade after decade to protect the homeowners who live in Antioch. Initially an inspection process for rentals was instituted to hold tenants and landlords accountable for poorly maintained property.  In the crash of ’08 that went belly up and the City has done almost nothing for the last 12 years.

Then as a citizen’s initiative Measure O was passed creating a business license fee for rental properties. No services have been directly provided to anyone for the fees collected. The inspections were not restarted. Another fail. And, oh yes, because no service is directly provided for this tax there may be a Prop 218 violation.

Now, the council steps forward to interfere in rental payments.  It might help if just one of the council members owned an investment property here in Antioch.  As far as I know, none do.  So, we have five people with little or no experience in the business taking destructive action.

In a previous article you printed concerning the County Courts, and I can confirm; no, Mr. Thorpe you cannot file an eviction at this time.  The courts are not accepting them.  And based on the closure, they won’t be filed for at least 30 days.  Additionally, even if a tenant has been served a 3-day notice to pay rent in Contra Costa County the courts have extend that notice period out an addition 10 days before they will even accept the filing.  It is questionable if the County courts have this right because it hasn’t been litigated yet.  Best guess, it will be found in violation of the State Constitution.

In my business we are allowing tenants who have found themselves without work, ill with CN-19 or taking care of a family member sick with CN-19 to defer part of the rent.  We are not waiving or cancelling rent. We require a written statement from the tenant attesting to the statement above.

The City Council is totally out of line, overreaching and in my opinion using this measure as a springboard for reelection.  If you want to help, help the property owners who live in town and care about value, quality of life and services.  Get the homeless issue under control, begin inspection of rental properties again and hold rental owners and tenant accountable.  And, provide some direct services to those of us who pay the taxes here in town.

Mark Jordan, Principal Broker RE/MAX Preferred Properties

By Don Amador

With hospitals and emergency responders running out of masks and other PPE in California and elsewhere, it should come as no surprise that local, state, and federal land managers are expanding the scope of their COVID-19 temporary access restrictions to popular destination recreation sites that – are or have the potential to -attract large crowds of visitors.

For example, California State Parks issued a news release late last night that stated, it is taking additional safety measures to reduce crowds and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Many state parks and beaches received record visitation over the weekend which made it impossible for the public to implement appropriate social distancing practices.

LINK TO STATE PARKS ANNOUNCEMENT

https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/945

The Nevada BLM issued a temporary closure order for the Sand Mountain Recreation Area near Fallon, Nevada.   As many of you know, the Sand Mountain OHV Area is a popular destination site for families and clubs that enjoy riding dirt-bikes, ATVs, SxSs, and 4WD vehicles.

LINK TO NV BLM CLOSURE OF SAND MOUNTAIN

https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/Emergency%20Closure%20Order.pdf

Based on photos and stories posted on social media, it appears that many motorized and non-motorized recreationists have misinterpreted various “shelter-at-home” orders from state or county government as authorization for them to take a short or long-term vacation – often with large groups – on public lands.

Until we collectively “Flatten the Curve,”   recreationists should honor the stay at home directives and if they do go out for trail activities it should be close to home and/or in dispersed areas sans large crowds where social distancing is practiced. Respecting the seriousness of this issue will hasten its resolution and help expedite the withdrawal of closure orders and the reopening of public lands for both casual use and permitted events.

The professional healthcare workers, law enforcement officials, and park maintenance staff that I know, will be greatly appreciative of us doing our part to address the coronavirus.

Amador has 30 years in the recreation management and advocacy profession. Don is president of Quiet Warrior Racing, a recreation consulting company located in Oakley, CA. Don is also CEO of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance, a non-profit group that works with volunteers and land agencies to recover, restore, and reopen recreation facilities damaged by wildfires. Don may be reached via email at: damador@quietwarriorracing.com

By Mark Meuser

Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20. The Office of the Governor of California’s official Twitter account said that “Governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay at home order to protect the health and well-being of all Californians and to establish consistency across the state in order to slow the spread of COVID19.”

However, a more careful look at the Governor’s Executive Order shows that he actually made no such order. (https://covid19.ca.gov/img/N-33-20.pdf). The Executive Order reads “To preserve the public health and safety, and to ensure the healthcare delivery system is capable of serving all, and prioritizing those at the highest risk and vulnerability, all residents are directed to immediately heed the current State public health directives, which I ordered the Department of Public Health to develop for the current statewide status of COVID-19.”

The word “heed” is the important word in this order. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the word “heed” means “to give consideration or attention to”. As such, Governor Newsom has not actually ordered the people of California to obey the Public Health Officials but instead ordered “all residents are directed to immediately [give consideration to] the current State public health directives.”

While the Governor of California has broad powers to suspend laws and regulations while the state of California is under a State of Emergency, he does not have the power to abolish citizens constitutional rights. (Gov. Code § 8571).

California Constitution Article 1, Section 1 states “All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.

California Constitution Article 1, Section 7 reads “A person may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or denied equal protection of the laws …”.

The problem for Governor Newsom is that the Public Health Officials do not have the authority to quarantine someone who has not been infected. This violates Californians’ Constitutional Rights. The California Courts have held that people have a right of liberty from being quarantined unless the public health official has probably cause that they are infected. In Ex parte Arata, the California Court of Appeals ruled that “A mere suspicion, unsupported by facts giving rise to reasonable or probable cause, will not justify depriving a person of his liberty under an order of quarantine.”

Furthermore, in the case of In re Shepard the California Court of Appeals ruled that “Mere suspicion that an individual is afflicted with an isolable disease was not sufficient to give a health officer ‘reason to believe’ that such person was so afflicted, … making it the duty of health officers to protect the public against spread of such disease from persons whom such officers have ‘reason to believe’ were afflicted with such diseases.”

Public Health Officials do have the authority to quarantine someone who they have reason to believe has been infected by the virus. California law actually permits the Public Health Officials to quarantine such individuals without a court order. In Ex parte Johnson the California Court of Appeals ruled that “One infected with a contagious disease … might be subjected to quarantine regulations by the health commissioner of a city, without its first being judicially established by some proceeding in court that he or she was so infected.”

The reality of the situation in California is that Gavin Newsom has ordered the Department of Public Health to develop a policy for how to deal with the Corona Virus. However, the recommendations by the Department of Public Health are unconstitutional. Rather than ask the Department of Public Health to go back and rewrite the policies, Gavin Newsom tells everyone that he is ordering them to obey the directives of the Department of Public Health. However, regardless of what Gavin Newsom says with his mouth in press conferences or says on his social media accounts, the actual text of his Executive Orders are the laws. (Gov. Code § 8567).

The text of Gavin Newsom’s most recent Executive Order is merely a suggestion that the people of California obey the unconstitutional directive being published by the Department of Public Health. Whether or not it is advisable for people to stay home is not the question, the Department of Public Health does not have the authority to pass such a law, and Gavin Newsom does not have the authority to suspend Californians’ Constitutional Rights just because California is in a State of Emergency.

Meuser is a Constitution and elections law California attorney with the Dhillon Law Group. He is a former resident of Contra Costa County and 2018 candidate for California Secretary of State. You can follow him on Facebook.

Dear Editor:

I writing to express my genuine respect, admiration, and appreciation for Supervisor Diane Burgis and whole-heartedly support her re-election.

We are blessed to have a leader with the level of integrity, brilliance, and imagination that Diane has demonstrated in serving the people of Contra Costa. She is a woman who is relentless in her efforts to bring innovation to our region and has made significant strides towards job and business creation to support our local workforce.

I have witnessed first-hand Diane’s wisdom and her dedication to regional improvement through her work on business-based drone development in far east Contra Costa, the creation of a multimillion-dollar light industrial park at the site of the former DuPont plant in Oakley, and the launch of the Family Justice Center in Antioch that includes job training and support for people who have been victims of human trafficking as well as those who seek skills training in technology employment through the work of the “Love Never Fails” project that has made significant impact throughout the Bay Area.

Diane is accessible and genuinely loves our communities and those of us who live here. Please cast your vote for Supervisor Diane Burgis, so she can continue with the amazing work she is doing for the benefit of our families. My husband Keith is fully in support of this statement.

Iris Archuleta

Antioch

Dear Editor:

Our Antioch Police Officer’s Association is proud to recommend Supervisor Federal Glover on Election Day, March 3rd.

Please join us.

Under Supervisor Federal Glover’s leadership, Contra Costa County has opened a new Family Justice Center in Antioch to help victims of domestic violence, elder abuse and human trafficking. Supervisor Glover also fought for cameras to deter freeway shooters on Hwy 4. The Antioch Police Officer’s Association joins Antioch Firefighters and 911 personnel in supporting Supervisor Glover’s re-election.

Steve Aiello

President, Antioch Police Officers’ Association