Specialty plates would bring some joy back to drivers

In each two-year legislative session, Assemblymembers and state Senators can each author 50 unique pieces of legislation. With 120 members in the Legislature, this allows us to cover a wide range of issues –from some of California’s most challenging matters to technical updates to longstanding, and sometimes outdated, code section.

This year, I’m authoring a package of legislation that touches on big issues such as championing safety in our neighborhoods and working to address our critical housing and homelessness crises. I’m also authoring one measure, AB 378, that I hope will bring some fond memories and joy to Californians.

AB 378 will allow for some of California’s most iconic license plates to return to production for car enthusiasts and everyday drivers alike. This bill will create a path for the 1950s and 1970s Legacy License Plates to return to California cars.

In 2013, the Legislature unanimously passed a bill by then-Assemblymember Mike Gatto that allowed for the 1960s Legacy License Plate to return to the roads. This 2013 legislation authorized the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to offer motorists the opportunity to apply for each of the three Legacy License Plates: the yellow license plates with black lettering from the 1950s, the black license plates with yellow lettering from the 1960s or the blue license plates with yellow lettering from the 1970s. For any plate to return to circulation, it had to get 7,500 applications within a year of the legislation going into effect.

After the original application window closed, the only design to receive the requisite number of applications was the black license plate from the ’60s. You may have noticed the return of the black plate with yellow lettering, which quickly became popular in the last few years. Since its reintroduction, the 1960s Legacy License Plate has become the best-selling specialty license plate offered by the DMV. It brings in 10 times more revenue than the second best-selling plate, the kids specialty license plate. Similar to the 1960s plates, revenue collected for the 1950s and 1970s Legacy License Plates would be deposited into the Environmental License Plate fund to benefit environmental projects across our state. The ’60s Legacy License Plate raised $40 million for this environmental fund in just one year alone.

With the black plates back on the roads, car enthusiasts and others have started to realize that they missed a unique opportunity to bring back the ’50s and ’70s plates. AB 378 will offer Californians a second chance to put the remaining two iconic designs back on the road.

With the COVID-19 lockdowns in our rearview window, I think now is the perfect time to celebrate joyous parts of California’s history. If you’re a car enthusiast who would like to learn more about the bill, or if you’d like to learn more about other legislation I’m authoring this year, contact my Concord office at 925-521-1511.

Reach Assemblyman Tim Grayson at 925-521-1511. Visit or write the district office 2151 Salvio Street, Suite P, Concord, CA 94520

Contra Costa County is developing the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ), a new county department.

The ORESJ’s primary function will be to better coordinate, strengthen and expand the county’s existing work on equity and inclusion, create new opportunities to deepen the work, and partner with the community in prioritization and implementation.

The mission of the office is to make a transformational shift within county government to eliminate inequity, harm, dis- crimination and bias (implicit and explicit) based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, immigration status, socio-economic status and for people with disabilities by focusing county efforts on understanding what it takes to achieve equity with a priority focus on racial equity. The Board of Supervisors approved the initial concept and authorized the launch of a Community Planning Process.

We developed a Host Table composed of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) residents, the Board of Supervisors and communitybased organizations that came together to lead Community Listening Sessions to develop the priorities and office structure. We held Listening Sessions across Contra Costa, and many residents, departments and local nonprofits participated.

The Host Table reported its findings and recommendations to the Board of Supervisors at the Oct. 25, 2022. The board approved the recommendation of hiring two codirectors to lead the office. One co-director will focus on coordinating and expanding the equity work of county departments, and the other co-director will work directly with community partners.

The ORESJ will be a separate county department that reports to the county administrator with regular oversight by the Board of Supervisors’ Equity Committee. The Equity Committee is currently comprised of Supervisors John Gioia and Federal Glover. Their first meeting was held on Feb. 9, when they discussed the outreach and hiring process for the

Contra Costa County is a large and diverse county. The ORESJ is an exciting step in shaping our county government to be more responsive and inclusive as we provide services and care. It will enable services to reach those who need them the most and address existing barriers. This office will ensure that Contra Costa County officials continue to better reflect every community we serve.

To see the development of the ORESJ, you can follow the Board of Supervisors’ Equity Committee by subscribing to their agendas at https://tinyurl.com/CCCORESJ.

Ken Carlson is Contra Costa County District IV supervisor. Email questions or comments to Carlson at SupervisorCarlson@bos.cccounty.us or call his office at 925-655-2350.

Lean In, from page 4

personal views. A rule of thumb to remember is professional over personal.

If you cannot meet with each other to have a conversation with the hope of finding common ground, a meeting with a third party may be necessary. Work disagreements that become open to other employees are draining and toxic. Without intervention, they may boil over into one of you feeling ostracized, quitting or being fired.

Reach out to your boss, HR or peer support to request a meeting. With a neutral party in the room, it may be easier to express your grievances and resolve how you can coexist best. This meeting will also be documented and act as a guide if either of you breaches the agreement or things escalate. Accusations were made, feelings were hurt, and you may never be on good terms again.

What you are trying to establish now are clear rules of engagement.

The deeper topic of your question is one that requires many more conversations and work – 500 words wouldn’t even scratch the surface. Be well; you are worthy.

Email questions and comments to Dominique King at leaninwiththekings@gmail.com.

Yvonne Cook Dress

May 1, 1935 — Jan. 20, 2023

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Yvonne Dress peacefully passed away at age 87 on Jan. 20, 2023.

Yvonne was born on May 1, 1935, at Concord Hospital to Ivan Cook of Kansas and Frances Cook (neé Butelo) of

Spain. She attended Concord Elementary, Mt. Diablo High School and Diablo Valley College and graduated from UC Berkeley.

Yvonne took great pride in her knowledge of Concord landmarks, businesses and family residences as she had known them in her 77 years as a Concord resident. Car rides with family were filled with quizzes on “who lived where.” Yvonne was the self-appointed family genealogist – and for good reason. She loved researching and making notes on her family’s history, which spans from Spain to the Mayflower.

Yvonne proudly raised her four children in the same community which she grew up in – one full of baseball, block parties, a court full of friends and much more baseball. Her life revolved around her family: She took road trips to Kansas and Iowa with babies and toddlers in tow, and she looked forward to family reunions with the Spanish cousins each year. Her legacy was great, and she will be missed by countless friends and family members.

Alfred Emanuel Hoffmeister

Feb. 13, 1924 — Dec. 9, 2022

After 98 years and 10 months, Al Hoffmeister passed peacefully at home on Dec. 9, 2022. He was a great husband, father and grandfather.

He was born and raised in New York City, the seventh of 11 children to parents Hannah and Charles Hoffmeister dur-

Ida Schwarz Pace died peacefully in her apartment on Jan. 5, 2023, in Concord, Calif. where she resided the last eleven years of her life. She was 101 years young. She is survived by her five children, Antoinette Rockwell, Douglas Pace, Steven Pace, Joseph Pace and Bernadette Norris, her seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Ida also had many nieces, nephews and cousins who survive her.

Ida Schwarz Pace was born on Mar. 16, 1921, in Park, Kansas. She and her twelve siblings grew up in Park where her parents tended a wheat farm. Ida’s mother moved each of her children to Northern California when they finished high school. Ida moved to Marin County, Calif. in 1941. In 1944 she moved to Berkley where she worked for Standard Oil. She met Anthony Pace and they married in 1948. In 1949 they began their family. In 1954 the family moved to Belmont, Calif., where Ida was a mother and homemaker. In 1966 she began to get part-time work outside her home and continued to do secretarial jobs until her retirement at age 70.

In 1978 Ida moved to various bay area locations to be closer to her sisters, who were very important to her. She actively worked with two of ing the Great Depression. He was named after then-New York Gov. Alfred Emanuel Smith. A Yankees fan, he attended many games and loved big band music – Glenn Miller his favorite. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps (Air Force-sergeant) in World War II, working with

B-17 in the India/China/Burma Theater. He received a bachelor’s degree in business from St. John’s University.

In 1959, he began at Kaiser Aluminum in Oakland, where his future wife Georgia Belle Davis was working. They married on Nov. 12, 1960. In 1962, they moved to Concord, raised their four children and remained since.

He retired from Kaiser in 1989, and after consulting, completely retired in 1993. He served as a baseball coach and on the Concord American Little League Board, an adult leader in YMCA Indian Guides, Concord High School Marching Band Boosters, Boy and Girl Scouts of America, and an original member of St. Bonaventure Catholic church, serving many years as usher, and on parish advisory councils and committees.

He was kind to all and quiet, but when he spoke, it was with wisdom and experience. He was humble, hardworking and honest. He was steadfast in his faith and to his family. He had battled and survived many accidents and her siblings to produce the book “Kansas to California” describing their early life and how they came to the Bay Area. After her sister Florence died, Ida settled in Concord. Ida often visited her siblings who had relocated to the Bay Area, celebrating holidays and birthdays with them. She enjoyed the annual large family Octoberfest gathering. In her later years Ida traveled with her children and grandchildren in California and throughout the west. She especially enjoyed a trip to Germany with her brothers and sisters. She also visited Kansas, reconnecting with cousins and friends with whom she grew up. She will be remembered by friends and family as a devout Catholic and a loving, kind and patient person.

¡VAYA CON DÍOS!

Yvonne is survived by her three children, Suzanne Ward, Andrea Anderson and Anthony Dress, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by her husband Jack Dress, daughter Monica Winters and grandson Jacob Ward. Her memorial service will take place on March 15 at Queen of Heaven in Lafayette. The service begins at 10:30 a.m., with a reception onsite to follow.

illnesses, but the Lord did not call him home until he was past 98 and headed to 99 years. He was loved by so many and holds a deep place in all our hearts. He’s at peace now and with his family in heaven.

Al was preceded in death by his mother Hannah, father Charles, and siblings Edwin, Bud, Frank, Bob, Catherine, Marie, Eileen, Margie and Betty. He is survived by his wife of 61 years Georgia, daughter Laura, sons Stephen, Thomas and Philip, nine grandchildren: Tessa, Hannah, Trent, Hope, Grace, Jacqueline, Johnathan, Matthew and Erik, sister Dorothy of Buffalo, N.Y., and many loving and special nieces and nephews. Services were held.