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From the Desk of
From the Desk of... Concord using CARES funding to help small businesses
TIM MCGALLIAN CONCORD MAYOR
More than five months into this global pandemic that has caused so much economic devastation in our community, I am excited to share good news about a Small Business Grant Program that the city of Concord has created to help local small businesses that have experienced financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
On Aug. 4, the City Council approved the allocation of funds we will receive through the f ederal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to four programs, including one that will provide $5,000 grants to 130 local small businesses.
We are proud to be partnering with the Concord Chamber of Commerce to administer the grant program,
TIM GRAYSON 14TH ASSEMBLY
DISTRICT
Since this pandemic began, my office has received hundreds of calls from constituents requesting assistance with the Employment Development Department (EDD).
While I am proud of the efforts my staff and I have made to help every person who has called us, roadblocks and deficiencies at the EDD have kept too many from receiving the ben efits to which they are entitled.
While Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken action to increase EDD staff and lengthen operational hours, it is not enough. More than 1 million Californians are still awaiting the benefits that they applied for months ago. This is simply unacceptable.
Recently, I joined Assemblyman David Chiu of San Francisco and 60 of my leg
JASON LAUB
CONCORD PLANNING COMMISSIONER
and all businesses that meet the eligibility requirements are welcome to apply. Details about the program are available at concordfirst.com/conco rd -forward/small-businessgrant. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21.
Local small businesses are the engine that keeps this city going, and the city is dedicated to supporting our local small businesses during this unprecedented and difficult time. Not only do small businesses provide goods and services to our community, they make Concord the vibrant and unique city that residents and visitors love.
I n addition to allocating funds to the grant program, the City Council made a commitment to support our rent relief program and efforts to improve access to technology in underserved neighborhoods at a time when all schools are requiring distance learning.
The rent relief program will receive $375,000 to be administered by our non-profit partner Shelter, Inc. The funds will further expand the city’s supp ort for low-income residents unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 impacts. This effort supplements the CARES Act/Community Development
Calling for changes at state employment department
Block Grant (CDBG) funding islative colleagues in calling for systemic change at th e EDD and immediate action to help Californians track and receive their benefits.
On July 8, the EDD stated that “probably less than 1 percent” of claims took more than three weeks to process, but I knew from conversations with friends and neighbors that this simply could not be the case. The media then reported, based on federal Labor Department data, that nearly 2 million claims had yet to be fulfilled .
Th e public deserves transparency and straight answers on the status of claims and how the department is serving Californians, which is why I’m working to require that the EDD report weekly relevant data to the public and Legislature. Having accurate, up-todate data will help us diagnose and solve problems within the department so constituents can have their claims processed in a timely manner.
I’ve also h eard from too many constituents who have spent hours waiting on the phone trying to reach an EDD representative to no avail. A root cause of this problem is that the EDD’s Unemployment Insurance claims support number is only entertainment venues and other social activities we’re accustomed to, we’ve turned our attention back to the basics. In many respects, it’s provided an opportunity to focus on health, exercise and other positive a spects of life that don’t always get the attention they deserve during our fast-paced days.
I know a lot of folks are turning to home gardening. Some are doing it because they experienced shortages in the produce department, some for the health reason of avoiding the grocery store as much as possible, some are picking up a
See Grayson, page 9
that the council authorized on June 23. It is expected to support up to an additional 45 participants, with priority given to families with children and senior citizens.
I n order to help students as they get ready to go back to school in front of a d ev ice, we allocated $50,000 to help improve broadband availability
I want to publicly welcome Fran Robustelli to the city of Clayton as our interim city manager.
Fran has more than 25 years of experience in city management and has many fresh ideas for adding to our communication with you. If you would be interested in receiving updates from City Hall about official happenings in our town, please go to ci.clayton.ca.us/e-notifications and enter your email to be included in future e-mail notifications and newsletters.
While dealing with COVID-19, the City Council continues to meet via Zoom and serve our community. We frequently have a bigger audience on Zoom than we did in person. Maybe it’s easier when you can watch in your jammies?
I n July, we unanimously adopted a resolution condemning racism. The resolution is posted on the city website at ci.city.clayton.ca.us. We also appointed a Public Safety Ad Hoc Committee, Tuija Catalano and CW Wolfe, to work with our Police Department and th e co mmunity to
KAREN MITCHOFF
COUNTY
SUPERVISOR
Mental health services are some of the most crucial programs that Contra Costa County provides.
In recent months, I have heard from a lot of constituents about the need for new mental health programs and responses in our communities. Many have written from personal experience or have had a loved one who has come in contact with our new hobby and some are polishing their green thumbs.
My family is fortunate to have a couple garden beds. This year, they have produced the most robust vegetables we’ve ever had because my son Logan, daughter Nora and I were able to take extra time to amend the soil. If I’m being honest, I did most of the work while the kids stockpiled a small colony of worms they found. They got their hands dirty, helped as they could and undoubtedly created some good memories along the way.
I recently learne d a proposed project making its way in targeted neighborhoods. Our goal is to establish a partnership among the city, Mt. Diablo Unified School District and broadband providers to improve Internet access in underserved Concord neighborhoods. In order to support our struggling families with students, bridging the digital divide helps to create educa
JULIE PIERCE
CLAYTON MAYOR
address local concerns. These meetings are open to the public via Zoom webinars. Meeting information is posted on the city website. The recordings of all our meetings are available there, too.
c reating deFensible space
It sure is hot out there. Please be safe and call to check on neighbors who might be vulnerable in the heat.
We are also in the height of fire season, so please make sure to sa feg uard your property against fire. For information on how to do that, visit the Contra Costa County Fire mental health care system. As my family too has experienced tragedy with mental health, I understand h ow personal these issues are. I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the crucial responses that the Contra Costa Behavioral Health Division (CCBH) already provides.
CCBH is within Contra Costa Health Services. It’s a partnership of consumers, families, staff and communitybased organizations that provides integrated services for mental health, substance abuse and other needs that promot e wel lness, recovery and resiliency while respecting the complexity and diversity of Contra through the Concord review process has a rooftop deck to accommodate a community garden, with vertical “grow towers” for residents to plant their own gardens. I haven’t reviewed the project merits, and I have no information or opinion on whether it confirms to our development code. However, I was thrilled to hear rooftop gardens may be coming to Concord.
I’m a big believe r i n rooftop vegetation as it helps insulate the building, which translates to lower energy consumption, improved stormwater management and other tional equity throughout ou r co mmunity and helps students thrive.
As a city, we are grateful to receive some of the federal funds that are specifically intended to assist local government agencies with their response to the pandemic. We are particularly proud to be able to use a significant porDistrict website at cccfpd.org/safety-tips for information on creating a more defensible space around your home. The video even helps you choose plants that are less flammable.
We held a very informative meeting in Clayton last summer on emergency preparedness, and that video is also on our city webs ite.
k eeping parks and trails clean and saFe
As always, please be careful when you are out in our parks and on the trails. I have been receiving a lot of complaints about litter on the trails and in our parks. With our limited staff, we cannot dedicate a crew to litter cleanup on a constant basis. Please, be respectful of your neighbors and other visitors to these areas by using the trash and recycling cans. “Thank yo u!” to the many of you who carry a trash bag and collect debris along your walks – it helps, and is much appreciated. The restrooms in our parks will remain closed due to COVID19, due to lack of ability to disinfect them frequently Costa County.
When accessing services, the initial point of contact and information is the Behavioral Health Access Line. The 24/7 phone line can connect any Contra Costa resident to mental health services and resources. They can schedule appointments and get answers to insurance questions. The phone number is 1-88 8-6 78- 7277. This is a mental health and emotional health crisis non-emergency phone line.
Another one of our resources is the Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT), which provides professional, same-day intervention for adults who are experiencing benefits. It’s even better when that roof can also provide local, organic produce.
The pandemic is stress testing many aspects of society, from health care to the food supply chain. At times, I’ve been to the grocery store and found the produce section surance as to when I would see tomatoes or broccoli again.
Because of the garden, my family has been less dependent on the food supply chain this year. But if we lived downtown in a multi-family building or another dense tion of these funds to assist residents and businesses.
Thank you Concord residents for your resiliency as we all work together to support eac h o ther, stay safe and remain healthy.
Mayor Tim McGallian can be reached at 925.671.2489 or email
New interim city manager and City Council ready to serve community
Tim.McGallian@cityofconcord.org throughout every day.
s ix candidates For city council
We are entering a very busy, and different, kind of election season. Clayton has three council positions up for election, and six candidates have filed to run. They are, in alphabetical order, Tuija Catalano, Peter Cloven, Jim Diaz, Frank Gavidia, Glenn Miller and Letitia “Holly” Tillman.
After 33 years serving the city of Clayton, I have chosen not to run for reelection. I will remain as your mayor until the election is certified, sometime in December. I will stay active in community activities and associations. I’m not gone yet – we still have a lot to accomplish in 2020.
Ju lie Pierce is mayor of Clayton and chair of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority .She is a past president of the Association of Bay Area Governments and serves on the executive committee where she represents Contra Costa cities. Reach her at 925-673-7320 or
Julie.p@ci.clayton.ca.us. mental health crises. The team visits individuals and their families to prevent a mental health crisis from becoming an emergency that requires law enforcement involvem en t or involuntary hospitalization.
MCRT includes licensed mental health clinicians, community and family support workers, and a family nurse practitioner employed by CCBH. The goal is to deescalate the crisis and safely connect the client with care and mental health resources. There are three MCRTs across the county, two children’s teams and one adult team.
Rooftop gardens would be beneficial in Concord
nearly em pty – with little reas
See Mitchoff, page 9 urban environment, where bare land is scarce, what could we do? Aside from maybe a few potted plants, we wouldn’t have many options. However, if the building we lived in p rovided rooftop garden space, we’d be set.
While we all search for slivers of sunshine during these times, I’m hoping that one of the positive outcomes spurred by the pandemic is many more rooftop farms coming to our cities.
Jason Laub is Chief Operating Officer at RAD Urban and is a City of Concord Planning Commissioner. Email questions or comments to jlaub.concordplanning@gmail.com
In late July, NASA launched the Mars 2020 satellite that will place a ground rover named Perseverance on the surface of our planetary neighbor early next year.
Data from this unique space mission will significantly add to the scientific knowledge base from previous space missions.
In the early 1960s, the United States and Soviet Union made several unsuccessful rocket launch attempts to reach the planet. I n l ate 1964, the U.S. Mariner 4 mission successfully completed a journey to Mars – coming within 10,000 miles.
The first close-up photographs of Mars showed that the surface was pockmarked with craters. Measurements from the space probe indicated the atmospheric pressure on the Martian surface was extremely low, less than one percent of Earth’s surface pressure.
By the mid 1970s, NASA’s Viking mission was s en ding orbiting satellites to the red planet. Surface landing probes launched from these Mars
KIKU JOHNSON
ALL THE COLORS
I have always loved being in the water, but I never learned to properly swim as a child.
That was partially due to the gender dysphoria of having to wear a girl’s swimsuit and the unspoken message that non-white people were not welcome at pools and beaches in the communities in which I grew up. Folx, however, often “complimented” me on how well my skin wo uld tan in the sun.
So I “played” in the water, stopping as the waterline reached my shoulders. The anxiety and fear of drowning showed up without fail.
I broke and lost countless nose clips, often watching them sink out of sight not far off the shores of Lake Michigan. But even without my coveted nose clip, I would persist in the water – clinging to an inner tube and knowing not to let go.
In the summer of 1964, Mi mi Jones, a Black woman from Georgia, also wanted to swim and loved being in the
Because law enforcement does often engage with individuals having a mental health crisis, we also have Mental Health Evaluation teams. This is a partnership with law enforcement agencies. There are three regional teams, with open for four hours a day. This call line needs to be expanded immediately, and the employees staffing the line need to be able to do more than relay basic information listed on the EDD’s website. I’ve called for both of thes e ch anges to be made, as well as asking that the EDD establish an automatic call back feature, end the practice of EDD representatives hanging-up on callers and increase training
WOODY WHITLATCH WEATHER WORDS
orbiters provided scientists with valuable data about the makeup of the planet.
The next major advance in the Mars exploration program occurred in the late 1990s, when remote-controlled fourwheel rovers were released to travel across the Martian surface. The first one, Sojourner, was about the size of a small coff ee ta ble and traveled 300 feet in eight days.
Space exploration science has come a long way in the last two decades. Perseverance is about the size of a large pickup truck and weighs more than 2,200 pounds.
I recently shared some pictures and information water. Yet, like me, she did not know how. However, she was not “complimented” for how dark her skin was – as her darker skin was not a result of the sun.
She headed to St. Augustine, Fla., where a group of white civil rights activists rented rooms at a segregated motel. Mimi, along with several Black activists, joine d th em as their guests to swim in the motel pool at a time when segregation was everywhere, including pools and beaches.
The motel manager poured muriatic acid into the water where the activists were swimming, stating he was “cleaning the pool.” Mimi shared: “All of a sudden, the water in front of my face started to bubble up like a volcanic eruption. I could barely breathe. It was entering my nose and my eyes.”
I nstead of receiving medical attention, the activists were arrested, including Mimi. The next day, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In 1989, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw used the term “intersectionality” as a way of explaining how aspects of any one individual’s identities combine, creating discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality a fourth coming online in the Sheriff ’s Department. Each team includes a police officer and a full-time mental health clinician. These teams evaluate and connect the referred indi and benefits. for call center staff so that they are more effective in addressing claims.
In addition to calling for other common-sense changes that can be made immediately, like allowing individuals to access and edit their initial application, t he E DD needs a complete overhaul of its technology. So much of the EDD’s dysfunctionality is due to its 30-year-old computer system that uses a 60-year-old about the Mars space launch with my twin granddaughters. They thought Perseverance looked like “a giant Lego toy with a lot of cameras.” We discovered that som e of those cameras were actually laser-shooting instruments geared toward learning more about the planet’s geology and astrobiology.
O ne fascinating feature of Perseverance is the small helicopter, named Ingenuity, stored inside the rover’s belly. About the same size as the entire 1990s rover, this drone is solar-powered and has a wingspan of about four feet once deployed.
Ingenuity is scheduled to attempt se vera l powered and controlled flights. The data acquired during these tests will determine if this is a feasible method for transporting small payloads. Similar drone vehicles could also be used to scout the best driving route for future rovers that will travel long distances across the planet.
Mars’ atmosphere is more than 95 percent carbon dioxide and, therefore, uninhabitidentifies advantages and disadvantages that people feel. The fact that many of our social justice problems, like racism and sexism, often overlap creates multiple levels of social injustice. And, we persist.
A t the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics, Simone Manual became the first Black person to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event. Simone knows that 64 percent of Black children have little to no swimming ability and drowning is the seco nd leading cause of death for kids under the age of 13, so she kicked off USA Swimming Foundation’s Make A Splash tour and #GogglesOn campaign in the summer of 2019. In her role as a USA Swimming Foundation ambassador, she would like to change these statistics.
She wanted to quit swimming at age 12 due to the racism she was experiencing but decided to push through. She is grateful for Mimi’s activism th at helped open the lane for her.
A few days before she died on July 26, 2020, Mimi shared: “I never saw social change happen in this country without a battle, but I think there is a renewed awakening.”
Alongside the break
While our system is far from perfect, we do have some good foundational responses. However, I recognize that gaps exist in this system and that access to these valuable mental health response teams may not be uniform across the county. We are open to creative ideas and resources to expand resources computer language. In 2016, the EDD began a modernization project that they estimated would take 11 years—an unacceptably long timeline that would result in any IT upgrades being outdated by the time the project was completed.
I have communicated to t he govern or that his EDD strike team needs to act now to review the project, shorten the project timeline and make recommendations that ensure monies are spent on true modernizations.
Photo: NASA Ingenuity will hitch a ride to Mars inside Perserverance’s belly The little helicopter will stay busy performing a number of data collecting tasks.
able by humans. An experiment a board Perseverance may determine if it is possible to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. If feasible, manned Mars missions could be equipped to manufacture oxygen for rocket fuel and breathable air.
After watching a few NASA videos about Perseverance, my granddaughters revised their description of the rover to “a giant Lego toy with superpowers.” We are looking forward to watching a through strokes of Simone, aspiring swimmers like Mimi and me are reminders to create spaces and opportunities for our communities to openly discuss intersectionalities. Ask yourself, yo ur circles, your communities: “Who is and who is not present?” “Has it always been this way?” “How may the values and perceptions of people different from yourself inform membership and the feeling of belonging in our communities?” “When have I recognized and invited marginalized folx into spaces in which I exist in freely?” “Do I understand and recognize what multiple intersectional identities others ca rry? And, “Do I know how to swim?”
To learn more about intersectionality, check out Crenshaw’s TedTalk, “The Urgency of Intersectionality,” at ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality.
Kiku Johnson is Rainbow Community Center’s executive director. As a man of color and trans experience, Kiku has invested his life engaging and elevating youth and adult voices of marginalized questions and comments to kiku@rainbowcc.org. across the county.
For more information on Contra Costa behavio ra l health services, visit cchealth.org/bhs/.
Karen Mitchoff is Contra Costa County District IV supervisor. Email questions or comments to Mitchoff at supervisormitchoff@bos.cccounty.us
With the changes I’ve listed above and others that I have proposed, it is hopeful that we can bring necessary changes to the EDD to help Californians. In the meantime, my office is here to help you with issues at the EDD or any oth er state department. Please call my Concord district office at 925-521-1511 for assistance or to learn more about my work in Sacramento. live performance fro m Ma rs next February.
I’d like to thank Sadie and Sienna Steiner for their help in putting this article together. They are entering 5th grade this year. By the time they graduate from high school, NASA plans to have manned spaceflights to Mars.
For more about the Mars 2020 mission, visit nasa.gov/mars2020.
Woody Whitlatch is a meteorologist retired from PG&E. Email your questions or comments to
Swimming at the intersection of race and gender identity
inter sec tional identities. Send
Mitchoff, from page 8
v idual to outpatient treatment
Grayson, from page 8
clayton_909@ya ho o.com
Reach Assemblyman Tim Grayson at (925) 521-1511. Visit or write the district office 2151 Salvio Street, Suite P, Concord, CA 94520
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