Oakley Press 04.26.19

Page 1

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Vol. 19, No. 17

READ NEWS YOU CAN TRUST AT WWW.THEPRESS.NET

Better health care access for vets by Tony Kukulich

April 26, 2019

Ready For Summer Fun

Staff Writer

Improved access to health services for East County veterans is now possible thanks to a new partnership between La Clinica and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 10789 and funding provided through a grant from the John Muir/Mt. Diablo Community Health Fund. “The mission of La Clinica is to provide quality health care to the diverse communities we serve,” said La Clinica Chief Executive Officer Jane Garcia in a press release. “This partnership will allow us to fulfill our mission and expand our services to a new population; a population we care deeply about.” The newly formed Veteran Health Navigation Partnership (VHNP) — created by the partnership between La Clinica and VFW Post 10789 — seeks to increase access to quality health care for underserved veterans in East County through community outreach and improved connection to community resources. For many of the estimated 14,000 veterans in East County, travel to the Contra Costa County Veterans Service Office in Martinez is a challenge. see Vets page 22A

This week’s edition features loads of activities for families and kids to enjoy this summer. Page 1B

One Day At A Time Gala

Photo by Tony Kukulich

La Clinica staff members Daisy Rios, senior veterans specialist, and Dr. Edward Kim, associate medical director, pose in front of the La Clinica office. La Clinica recently partnered with Brentwood VFW Post 10789 to provide service to veterans.

Youth organization preparing to celebrate successes and future goals at upcoming event. Page 5A

Supervisors’ pay linked with judges’ salaries Stunt Cheer by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors have approved plans to link their pay to a percentage granted to superior court judges, eliminating the awkward practice of approving their own salaries. In line with recommendations by an ad-hoc citizens committee, the supervisors’ pay (currently $116,841) will jump 6.5 percent to 60 percent of the salary of Superior Court judges ($124,454) in July; an additional 5 percent to 63 percent of judges’ pay ($130,677.12) in January, and another 3 percent rise to 65 percent of judges’ pay (currently $134,825.60) in 2021, and each year going forward.

“ I would feel a little more comfortable with

this if it was a slower increase.

District III Supervisor Diane Burgis This salary formula moves the decision away from the supervisors themselves, and closely matches the method used by seven of the nine peer Bay Area counties examined by the fivemember ad-hoc citizens committee tasked with reviewing the supervisors’ compensation, suggesting possible revisions and recommending a method to determine future pay increases. The 65 percent of judges’ pay figure is the average amount paid to supervisors in the nine

• Truck-Mounted Hot Water Extraction • Experts for Stains, Pet Odor, High Traffic Areas • Upholstery Cleaning • Bonded & Insured

www.PrestoCarpetCleaning.com

Bay Area counties. Supervisors’ current $116,841 turned out to be $17,531 less than that average, when looking at salary alone. “We decided that we should try to simplify the process of how the supervisors’ raises would be decided and to put a policy in place as a permanent solution, so it wouldn’t have to be revisited in the future,” said Tom Hansen, a local labor leader and chair of the ad-hoc citizens committee. “We found seven of the nine surrounding peer counties actually

SAVE NOW

use judges’ salaries. That was the most common way to set the supervisors’ salaries.” The new salary structure was approved in a 3-2 vote, with local District III Supervisor Diane Burgis and District II Supervisor Candace Andersen dissenting, preferring to phase in the increase over five years instead of three, to model county employee increases. “I would feel a little more comfortable with this if it was a slower increase,” Burgis said. The eventual 65 percent of judges’ salary figure puts Contra Costa County in the middle of the seven other Bay Area counties that link supervisor pay to a percentage of superior court see Supervisors’ page 22A

10% OFF Any Service

FAIRVIEW HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING, INC. (925) 204-2702

Service • Repair • Installation

Contractor’s Lic. #533790 C-20

925-625-4963 • www.fairviewair.com

Goes For Two

Freedom stunt cheer is looking to win their second consecutive North Coast Title. Page 14A Calendar.............................23A Classifieds..........................17A Entertainment..................11A Food.....................................10A Health & Beauty...............21A Milestones.........................12A Pets........................................ 8A Sports..................................14A

Making Strides

www.thepress.net/news/press_releases

Several bills by Jim Frazier have advanced after winning committee approvals.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.