State budget will aid Family Justice Centers, firefighters

These bills represent months of thoughtful debate, difficult decisions and an agreement between both houses of the Legislature, as well as the administration. I’m thrilled that four priorities that I led advocacy efforts for are included in the budget.

Family Justice Centers are life-saving non-profit organizations that work on the front lines to provide support and healing to victims of domestic violence, child and elder abuse, and human trafficking. More than a decade ago, I co-founded the Contra Costa Family Justice Center in Concord, and since my election to the Assembly, I’ve continued to work hard to support their mission of serving victims. I am pleased that the budget agreement includes $10 million in grant funding for Family Justice Centers statewide. This new money will go directly to helping victims of crimes access legal services at no cost to them and achieve safety and justice.

I also fought for $7 million to be included for a firefighter cancer research program and $2.5 million to the Contra Costa Fire Protection District for mental health pilot programs. Climate change and an increased occurrence of recordbreaking, devastating wildfires have only added to the stress and dangers California firefighters face on the job. In 2017, when California experienced some of its deadliest wildfires on record, more firefighters died by suicide than on duty. It is on us to make sure we are supporting the brave women and men who work to keep our communities safe. This funding will help us to examine and ultimately reduce the incidence of cancer among California firefighters, as well as fund the operation of peer support and crisis referral pilot pro- grams to ensure our firefighters have access to effective mental health services.

Lastly, I was proud to secure $1 million to the city of Concord for the Yellow Roof Foundation. The local non-profit charitable organization works to build new affordable housing opportunities for families and individuals at risk for homelessness in the Bay Area. The foundation works with local jurisdictions, such as the city of Concord, to acquire and develop successor agencies and surplus parcels to provide rental housing at below-market rates.

In order to address Califor- nia’s rising affordability crisis, it is imperative that the state supports organizations like Yellow Roof Foundation that are creating affordable units for vulnerable families. I’m glad this new funding will help create new below-market rate housing in our community.

These are just a few of the priorities I fought to secure in our state’s budget. If you would like to learn more about the budget or to connect with me on other matters that are important to you, contact my Concord office at 925-5211511.

Ken Carlson County Supervisor

After the Fourth of July, Contra Costa Animal Services (CCAS) sees an influx of animals every year. To help our furry friends, I’d like to invite you to consider becoming a foster home with CCAS.

You can foster for as little as five days. The best perk is that if you decide you want to adopt your foster, you get the first opportunity.

The animal shelter can be an overstimulating environment for our four-legged constituents. Welcoming one into your home allows them time to decompress and bring out their personalities. CCAS will provide training, information, supplies, food, medicine (if needed) and resources in the event your animal gets sick.

To be eligible for the Dog Foster Program or the

Cat/Kitten Foster Program, individuals must be Contra Costa County residents and 18 years old or older. Since the goal of our foster program is to find forever homes for these animals, a potential adopter may want to meet your animal, so volunteers must have a form of transportation to bring the animal to the shelter within 24 hours.

CCAS does its best to match the appropriate animal with each foster home. The application process covers things like your experience, breeds you may prefer, type of housing, current pets, etc. If you have a specific animal in mind, be sure to mention that when you register.

All dogs going to foster homes will be vaccinated and microchipped. Dogs of all sizes and ages are considered for the foster program.

Kitten foster responsibilities vary depending on the age

Wan, from page 6 was created for special events. This would be applicable for a large event that would require streets to be closed, such as Oktoberfest or a parade. For those types of events with 100 participants or greater, a daily Special Event Fee was proposed that would be based on the number of participants, with the smallest tier at $700 for up to 499 participants, and $10,000 for events with 5,000 participants or greater. Any discount from stated rates is a policy decision that the council can make. Discounts represent taxpayer subsidies and should be made judiciously. We offer discounts in a variety of ways throughout the fee schedule – typically for those who reside in Clayton vs. those who do not. Endeavor Hall offers a steep discount as the intent of Endeavor is to be a meeting place of residents and to support the arts. Such uses do not typically generate net income.

Here’s some examples of the magnitude of figures that could be relevant for Special Event Fees. For Art & Wine 2022, BBQ 2022, Oktoberfest 2022 and Art & Wine 2023, the portion of direct staff charges paid to the city were $9,888, $6,676, $10,369 and $9,075, respectively. The fees waived under the Master Use Agreement for each event represented approximately $5,000 to $7,000.

In comparison, the rev-

Flaherty, from page 6 the city and surrounding communities will serve us well as we transition to district elections.

The Pleasant Hill City Council works hard to promote public participation at all ages. We run mock city council meetings for various grade school classes, teaching them the civility of public debate. Some years ago, we initiated a Mayor for the Day program to provide an elementary school student the opportunity to run a city council meeting. Our most recent Mayor for group. Unweaned kittens need to be bottle-fed every two hours, while older kittens who eat solid foods may need cuddles and socialization as they grow big enough to be made available for adoption. While fostering an animal, you’ll have the opportunity to experience the joys of having a furry companion. This will allow you the chance to share insights with CCAS on what that animal’s needs might be. enue for the first three events was $284,000, $95,000 and $281,000. After associated expenses inclusive of the staff time noted above, net incomes were $137,000, $24,000 and $115,000.

Foster programs are a great way to help our community and to explore future pet ownership. If you are interested in fostering, visit www.ccasd.org for more information or to apply.

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.

Ultimately, the council gave direction to staff to prepare a two-tiered discount methodology, offering a greater discount to Clayton based non-profits at 30% and a smaller discount to nonClayton based non-profits at 15%.

The public hearing to receive comment and vote on the proposed update to the Master Fee Schedule is on Aug. 15 during our regular council meeting.

Send comments and questions for the mayor to jeff.wan@clayton.ci.gov the Day was Noah HoytCollins, a 7-year-old and soon to be second-grader at Strandwood Elementary, who delighted the council and city staff with his shy approach to leadership and his excellent reading skills. Noah appreciated the experience and even sent me a hand-written thank you note. A big thank you to his parents Nick and Heather for raising a fine young lad.

When I was a child, my Nana’s kitchen was filled with wonderful smells, warmth and love.

She taught me so much in that kitchen that made me who I am today: a grandmother giving – to a child, a teenage daughter, a neighbor – inspiration, collaboration, wise tales, structure and, most of all, a lot of love.

The kitchen has always been the place that I come to with all my joys, woes and hopes. The years that I was at Mt. Diablo High School, I had the honor of working with teenagers not just in the classroom and garden but in the kitchen. It gave me the opportunity to share all that was taught to me by the wonderful wise women from my childhood.

So much gets passed on through the creation of food in the kitchen, feeding yourself and others. Slowing down, chopping, cleaning, swapping stories and sharing solutions to life’s troubles while preparing food – somehow we’ve lost that in our fast-food society.

The kitchen is a place where everyone gathers and you’re safe and not alone. The kitchen has always been the heart and soul of my life. The kitchen satisfies not only your physical hunger but the hunger that you have for connection with others.

My hope is that we all slow down. There is so much to learn and teach. Be a lifelong learner.

Welcome to my kitchen.

I encourage everyone to come to a council or commission meeting. Too often the gallery in the council cham- bers is empty. We do livestream our meetings so perhaps there is a large at-home audience. Please come to a meeting or join us by Zoom. Weigh in on whatever issue we are reviewing, bring a concern of yours to us or just let the council know how you think we are doing. You need not be an adult to participate. All ages are welcome. We meet at 7 p.m. the first and third Mondays of each month.

Email questions and comments for Mayor Flaherty to tflaherty@pleasanthillca.org