ReportWire

Tag: Contra Costa County

  • Contra Costa County voters react to VP Harris accepting Democratic Party’s nomination

    Contra Costa County voters react to VP Harris accepting Democratic Party’s nomination

    [ad_1]

    Voters in Contra Costa County gathered to watch Vice President Kamala Harris accept the Democratic Party’s nomination. 

    Barbara and Rick Palmieri said they watched almost every second of night one of the Democratic National Convention and were more than impressed.

    “Last night was all the reasons why we’re not only proud to be Americans but proud to be behind people that want the things that America stands for,” said Barbara Palmieri. 

    Barbara and Rick Pamelieri said, for most of their lives, they were registered Republicans.

    But in recent years, they’ve felt like the party they once believed in has lost its way.

    “You know I just see the Trump campaign and just who he is and stands for, and it’s like, it’s almost like trying to be a dictator and it’s just been really hard to even hear his voice for one thing,” said Rick Palmieri. 

    Rick and Barbara Palmieri said they’re now supporting Kamala Harris and the Democrats.

    And they’re not alone. KPIX also spoke with Ninan Fox, who said she too used to be a Republican but then changed to an independent.

    Fox said she’s also been impressed with the DNC so far.

    “Really happy to see that Steve Kerr was selected to speak. He’s just an awesome human being, and he’s had a lot of accomplishments and I think he’s very well respected. So I was posted excited to see him speak and I also thought that Hilary Clinton was a rock star,” said Ninan Fox. 

    But not everyone KPIX spoke with was excited about the election.

    Desiree Walton said she’s not a fan of either candidate.

    “I am so moderate that I have to choose, the last four times I have been able to vote, I’ve had to choose between the lesser of two evils, and it sucks,” said Desiree Walton. 

    Desiree said the only candidate she’s ever been excited about was Bernie Sanders. But still, she’s engaged and curious about how the Trump-Harris debate will go.

    Back with Barbara and Rick Palmieri, they said they’re curious to see how the election plays out.

    It’s one they think will be consequential in how our country functions moving forward.

    “There’s things that I agree with with the Democratic Party, there’s things I do not. But right now, simplifying what it means to be an American and what it means to stand for the platform that America was built on, which is the fact that I as an American have rights and I also have the privilege of voting and having a say in this democracy. And that is at risk,” said Barbara Palmieri. 

    [ad_2]

    Kelsi Thorud

    Source link

  • U.S. Postal worker targeted by armed robber in Blackhawk

    U.S. Postal worker targeted by armed robber in Blackhawk

    [ad_1]

    Raw: Authorities investigate armed robbery of U.S. Postal worker in Blackhawk


    Raw: Authorities investigate armed robbery of U.S. Postal worker in Blackhawk

    00:32

    A postal worker was the victim of an armed robbery in the community of Blackhawk near Danville late Wednesday morning, according to authorities.

    Police and postal inspectors are investigating the armed robbery. Authorities received a call at about 1130 a.m. from a postal worker who said they were robbed while out on their rounds on the 2000 block of Portola.   

    Chopper footage showed East Bay police are canvassing the neighborhood in search of the suspect. The U.S. Postal Service inspector confirms that they were on scene and investigating.

    Authorities have not provided any suspect information as far as a description or the type of vehicle they could be in.

    [ad_2]

    Dave Pehling

    Source link

  • Gilroy fire extinguished, East Bay blazes continue to burn

    Gilroy fire extinguished, East Bay blazes continue to burn

    [ad_1]

    Firefighters across the Bay Area are trying to get the upper hand as multiple fires cover the region.

    In Gilroy, close to 7 acres burned and threatened the homes of many on Saturday.

    As the fire moved quickly through the tinder brush neighbors said they were concerned. At one point, evacuations were ordered, according to officials.

    “I’ve never seen fire that close. It was red and flames and a lot of smoke,” said Yolanda Betancourt of Gilroy.

    For Anthony Maldonado, the situation made him jump in and help water down roofs.

    “A tree went up in flames and we asked, ‘Wow. What do we do now?’ It was pretty hectic,” he said.

    Meanwhile, firefighters are still working to put out two East Bay fires that broke out Friday.

    The fires, one in Alameda County and the other in Contra Costa County, have collectively burned over 1,200 acres as of Saturday afternoon.

    The Point Fire, near Highway 4 between Concord and Bay Point, off of Evora Road, has left many on cleaning up pink retardant that was dropped in neighborhoods as the fire closed in on their homes.

    “I’m not overwhelmed anymore, but yesterday I was like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’.” said Cheryl Bradley of Bay Point.

    Cal Fire reported the fire was 70% contained and crews were able to stop forward progress.

    “It was a frantic moment, but you just have to stay calm watch how things play out and listen to the fireman law enforcement,” said Omar, who did not provide his last name/

    The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire said crews will remain in the area, evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings and all homes were repopulated.

    The Creek Fire, in rural Sunol, has engulfed about 734 acres as of 3 p.m.

    According to Cal Fire, the fire, near Welch Creek Road and Calaveras Road, is 10% contained and structures remain threatened.

    The department called in aircraft to help manage the blaze that started at 3:52 p.m. on Friday.

    “There is no structure loss on the incident,” said Battalion Chief Cole Periera of Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit.

    “We do have evacuation orders in place for residents on Welch Road and we do have an advisory pushed out about a mile from the incident.”

    As the weather begins to cool, Chelsea Burkett, a public information officer for Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit, said it’s a hopeful sign.

    “The weather conditions have definitely cooled off a little bit and that is very helpful for our firefighters,” Burkett said.

    [ad_2]

    Marianne Favro and Christie Smith

    Source link

  • Unoccupied San Pablo office space converted into 54-unit housing complex

    Unoccupied San Pablo office space converted into 54-unit housing complex

    [ad_1]

    Over the weekend, Contra Costa County officials unveiled a new residential complex for homeless residents.  

    It’s something that’s happening across the Bay Area, but in this case, it involved converting empty offices into places for people to live.

    For years, homeless advocates have talked about turning unused office space in San Francisco into housing.  In San Pablo, they’ve done it.  

    “I am so proud to be here as we celebrate the opening of what is a model project to really help solve homelessness in our community,” said Contra Costa Supervisor John Gioia.

    On Saturday, officials celebrated the completion of El Portal Place, a 54-unit complex of permanent supportive housing for the homeless.  It will be operated by the county’s Health Department and will feature on-site case managers, mental health services, and even includes a small dog park so clients can keep their pets with them.  

    The county initially planned to demolish an old building they own next door for the project.

    “And we originally thought, OK, we will look at funding to build micro-housing on our vacant site,” said Gioia.  “And then we started talking to Jerry Overaa and his team, because they owned a vacant office building on this site.”

    Jerry Overaa founded Overaa Construction in the 1960s and he built a four-story call center for PacBell in 1971. When the need for long distance operators ended, the building became obsolete, as well.

    But rather than knock it down, Overaa is offering it a new life.

    “Well, this is a conversion from office to housing, right. And that’s pretty hard to do,” he said.  “Usually, they don’t have the right configuration, not in the right location. But this one happened to be in a good place.”

    So, he handed the project over to his grandson, project manager Jared Gragg.

    “There are both challenges and opportunities,” said Gragg. “A few of the challenges are meeting modern code, structural code, seismic code. We are pretty close to the Hayward Fault. Getting all new MEP — mechanical, plumbing, electrical — dividing the building into units.”

    And they handed that whole thing down to construction supervisor Tony Britton.

    “When I walked into this place, I was like, ‘Oh my God, what are we going to do here,’” said Britton. “It was just a massive building.”

    Britton had to deal with problems that popped up on an everyday basis. The first had to do with opening up the center of a concrete building to allow light into the apartments.

    “When I came up here, I was like, ‘Oh, wow. How we going to do this,’” Britton said.  “Because now we’ve got to take this floor out, along with that concrete. And as we demo’d the concrete out, I ran into another situation of, how are we going to get these beams down and get ’em out that door?”

    It was one headache after another, and Britton said he had to act as a counselor for his crew to keep the vibe positive. It wasn’t easy, but now that it’s finished, he said the project means a lot to him.  

    He had created a new purpose for an old building and new hope for people living on the streets. He had advice for others who may want to do the same thing.

    “You’re going to find things that you didn’t know was here,” said Britton said. “And you’re going to have to continue to move forward and be very creative. And think out of the box.”

    That may also be what’s needed to solve homelessness. El Portal Place took only 2 ½ years to complete, an unheard-of timeline to create 54 new homes. Converting existing buildings is not the way construction is usually done and isn’t even the most efficient.  

    But it may be the quickest and that should matter to anyone who considers the housing shortage to be an emergency situation.

    [ad_2]

    John Ramos

    Source link

  • Fire crews knock down brush fire in Antioch after street evacuated

    Fire crews knock down brush fire in Antioch after street evacuated

    [ad_1]

    Widespread illegal fireworks shows spark blazes around the bay


    Widespread illegal fireworks shows spark blazes around the bay

    06:16

    Contra Costa Fire officials were able to knock down a grass fire that started late Thursday evening after the fire forced evacuations for residents on Lotus St., authorities said.

    The Contra Costa Fire PIO X social media account first posted about the fire at 10:13 p.m. on the 2700 block of Hillcrest Ave. in Antioch.

    Additional crews were called in to help with structure protection before fire officials began evacuations on Lotus Street at around 10:30 p.m., according to a post on X.

    Luckily, crews were able to stop forward progress of the fire and knock it down by shortly after 11 p.m.

    Crews will be staying on the premises to make sure the fire doesn’t reignite overnight. There was no word from officials when the evacuation order might be lifted.

    The incident was one of five different brush fires that crews responded to in Contra Costa. Several were in Antioch, along with an additional incidents in Bay Point and Martinez. All of the fires were contained without any reports of injury. Authorities did not confirm the cause of any of the fires.

    Dave Pehling

    Dave Pehling is website managing editor for CBS Bay Area. He started his journalism career doing freelance writing about music in the late 1990s, eventually working as a web writer, editor and producer for KTVU.com in 2003. He began his role with CBS Bay Area in 2015.

    [ad_2]

    Dave Pehling

    Source link

  • Suspect remains at large in Pleasant Hill shooting that left 1 dead, 1 injured

    Suspect remains at large in Pleasant Hill shooting that left 1 dead, 1 injured

    [ad_1]

    Search continues for suspect in Pleasant Hill shooting that left 1 dead


    Search continues for suspect in Pleasant Hill shooting that left 1 dead

    01:22

    A 67-year-old man was killed and a second male victim critically wounded in a shooting outside a condominium complex in Pleasant Hill Tuesday, according to authorities.

    Pleasant Hill police said the shooting happened in the area of Twinbridge Circle near Longbrook Way, just west of Interstate Highway 680 near the Walnut Creek city limit. The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) said units were at 313 Twinbridge Circle in response to a call reporting a shooting with injuries.  

    Witnesses told police they reported hearing multiple gunshots and when police and medical personnel responded they found two men with multiple gunshot wounds. Both were taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek where one victim, a 67-year-old man, was pronounced dead. The second man was being treated for life-threatening injuries. 

    Pleasant Hill shooting victim transported
    Pleasant Hill shooting victim transported

    KPIX


    Aerial video from the scene showed multiple police units at the complex and police tape cordoning off at least one of the residences at the complex. 

    An adult male suspect was outstanding but police provided no additional information on the suspect or motive. The victims were not immediately identified.

    Police urged anyone with information about the shooting to contact investigators at (925) 288-4630.  

    [ad_2]

    Dave Pehling

    Source link

  • Former Alamo doctor gets federal prison for illegally distributing opioids

    Former Alamo doctor gets federal prison for illegally distributing opioids

    [ad_1]

    A former doctor in Alamo has been given a year and a day in federal prison for illegally distributing opioids, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey announced Monday. 

    Parto Karimi, 59, was convicted of distributing powerful opioids outside the scope of her medical practice after she pleaded guilty last year to distributing Norco, a brand name for medication containing acetaminophen and hydrocodone. Prosecutors alleged that she would trade the prescriptions for street drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as cash. 

    Karimi had a medical practice on the grounds of her home which she called “Mindful Medicine,” prosecutors said. The US Drug Enforcement Agency began investigating her after the family of one her former patients reached out to them after their loved one died. Multiple undercover agents began visiting her practice, prosecutors said, and one agent was given a prescription to Norco without a physical exam, follow-up questions, looking at medical records, exploring other options or trying a lower dose than the high-dose 10 mg she prescribed. The agent had told Karimi that they had leg pain from working in a restaurant. 

    In her plea deal, she admitted to acting in an unauthorized manner and knowingly prescribing addictive medication. 

    After her prison sentence, Karimi will be on probation for three years. She must also forfeit her medical license and pay a fine of $4,000.

    [ad_2]

    Bay City News

    Source link

  • Abandoned tanker in Martinez with unknown substance triggers hazmat response

    Abandoned tanker in Martinez with unknown substance triggers hazmat response

    [ad_1]

    PIX Now – Morning Edition 3/12/24


    PIX Now – Morning Edition 3/12/24

    09:32

    Contra Costa Fire hazardous materials crews in Martinez are evaluating an abandoned tanker trailer containing an unknown substance that has shut down Pacheco Blvd. Tuesday morning, according to fire officials.

    Contra Costa Fire Chris Toler told CBS News Bay Area that three abandoned trailers were identified on the 3000 block of Pacheco Blvd. last week. While two of the tankers were removed by tow truck company on Friday, the third remaining tanker was set for removal Tuesday. 

    Tuesday morning, the tow truck company that was going to move the tanker called the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office and informed authorities they had identified some sort of unknown substance present in the tanker and could not remove it.

    At 9:30 a.m., the sheriff called Contra Costa Fire, who responded with fire and hazmat crews to the scene scene. 

    Contra Costa Fire hazmat crews are working on a plan to identify the substance contained in the abandoned tanker to determine if it can be moved safely or if the substance needs to be removed first.

    Authorities are asking people to avoid the 3000 block of Pacheco Blvd. which is currently closed to all traffic between Howe Rd. and Morello Ave. Contra Costa Health units are also on scene.

    So far, there has been no estimated time to clear the scene or reopen the roadway.

    [ad_2]

    Dave Pehling

    Source link