On this episode, a chat with Kathie Campbell, Board President of the El Campanil Theatre in Antioch. According to Campbell, she announced that without funding, they will begin shutting down operations by December 2025. We get into the impacts of prior business decisions by prior staff and the board, impacts by the City of Antioch, crime, the homeless. However, there is now an uptick in economic development which could improve funding efforts and save the Theatre.

For more information on the El Campanil Theatre, visit them at www.elcampaniltheatre.com

On this episode, a chat with Hope Petrow, the author of Dating After Divorce: from Heartbreak to Soulmate. The book debuted this past week and was number 1 on amazon in two categories. Divorce sucks for anyone and everyone involved, but Petrow shares her experience of betrayal to rebuilding her self-worth starting over. She took journaling and her coaching experience to turn it into a book to help women navigate dating after divorce with a roadmap of tips and processes. We get into a variety of topics around starting over, dating, red and green flags, online dos and don’ts, rebuilding confidence. She also discusses manifestation, magnetic confidence, and much more.

On this episode a chat with Cynthia Loredo and Tammy Zickuhr of Vasco Forever Helping Families who have a mission to advocate for a safer Vasco Road. We get into their mission and what they would like to see occur. While advocating for safety improvements on Vasco, one of the most dangerous roads in the San Francisco Bay Area, they share what they want to see happen. We also get into the newly released data, which is a good first start, but does not pass the smell test, listing just 6 fatal crashes since 2019. Also, since 2019, 211 total crashes listed while 38% of all crashes on Vasco Road are from drivers under 30 years old. Near the county line, speed survey shows 96.7% of drivers are over the posted speed limit while near Camino Diablo and Walnut Blvd., 84% of drivers are over the speed limit.  

For more information: https://vascofhf.org/

For Contra Costa County information on Vasco Road, click here.

On this episode, Paul Stonebarger drops in to talk about the East County Valkyrie and their upcoming U-Pick 6 Girls flag football tournament on May 18 at Heritage HS in Brentwood. Stonebarger shares U-Pick is tribute to Brentwood’s U-Pick Season for cherry’s, while also Pick-6 for football. He shares how the league started, its impact and growth – which we also get into the explosion in girls flag football across the nation. He also shares some tidbits of the future of the club.

For more infomation on the team: https://eastcountyvalkyrie.com/

On this episode, Antioch City Manager Bessie M. Scott drops in to talk about her first six months on the job. We get into her background, her expertise and her “why” she took the City of Antioch job given all the controversies, budget issues, staffing and the lift needed to improve the city. We get into the hiring controversy due to lack of transparency and within six months, improvements are already being observed, but first the council has to get through the budget to see what they are working with.

Scott highlights her expertise  and how that will only help Antioch – she is a systems and process person.  She has public sector experience in areas such as public safety, housing programs and municipal policy administration. While in Seattle, she was the Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety with the City of Seattle. In her role, she ensured consistent policy interpretation across all functions of public safety, including audits, Investigations, Policy and Standards and Compliance. Scott also says if Antioch is going to invest money into things, there must be a return on investment—no more handing out free monies with no checks and balances. Meanwhile, I argue the council needs to get her out into the public more so people can begin building better relationships given her recent presentation with the Downtown Antioch Association. Scott also talks about the importance of building a solid team around her and creating stability within the City of Antioch. Ultimately, it comes down to the budget and once that is decided, the city can begin making moves, which may be unpopular, but must be done.

On this episode, a chat with Lindsay Zimmer who talks Etiquette as she is hosting an upcoming 2-day summer boot camp for youths ages 12-18. We get into her background and how she decided to bring a “etiquette boot camp” for youth to Contra Costa County.  We get into whether or not the world has lost its etiquette. While most topics could be considered common sense, many are not practicing good manners while many youths are simply not exposed to fine dining or certain social situations. And really, do we need four forks to eat dinner?  We close the episode with a rundown of many areas of etiquette from dating, who pays the bill, cell phones, grocery store, running late to horn honking and more.

More on the Brentwood School of Etiquette: click here

As a quick bonus on the episode, her husband Nick Zimmer of Advantage Driving School, also jumps in talking “etiquette” and the roadways. I’ll bring Nick back for a full episode in a few weeks.

On this episode, a chat with Wendy Gomez of Knots and Found (Knots + Found) located in the City of Martinez. This is a one stop shop for indoor plants (house plants, tropical, succulents and cactus, along with many other goodies, classes, crafts, events and more.

Wendy shares her passion for plants, her journey from passion to business along with tips and tricks for maintaining indoor plants. We also touch on the mental health aspect of what plants do for people, along with the many health benefits. We chat about the industry as a whole and what type of personal service you get from Knots + Found.

Knots + Found is located at 701, Escobar Street, Martinez CA and can be visited online at www.knotsandfound.com

On this episode, Tirrell Muhammad joins me to talk about his efforts with the Kings Accountability Group and the work being done in the City of Richmond and other parts of the Bay Area. He shares how it started as just four men talking weekly to hold each other accountable, which morphed into a non-profit. Muhammad shares his journey of how a Big Brother program in San Francisco changed his trajectory. He shared the importance of how the Antioch Rotary Club and giving back led him to his new endeavors of being community focused, but also the importance of people having a mission statement in their own life, along with creating Life Operating Principles (LOP). We get into programs such as the Kings Accountability Group and Prince to Kings program working with youth.  Finally, the importance of finding mentors both in life and in business.

For more on the Kings Accountability Program, visit: https://kingsaccountabilitygroup.org/

On this episode, I chat with Foodie Crew creator Adam Gross about everything food trucks and what is coming in Contra Costa County this year. Launched in 2017 in the City of Antioch, we get into how Adam got into food, then owning a food truck to launching Foodie Crew where they are weekly in Antioch, Brentwood and soon in Pittsburg—while Oakley is monthly. We talk about the industry, some data, myths what the future may hold for the industry.  

For more on Foodie Crew & the schedule, visit them at www.foodiecrew.com

On this episode, a chat with Tara D. Sanders of Dále Vino-- the first wine bar in Pittsburg. Her love of wine first began while in South Africa. But her journey started while in High School when she became Miss Black Ca USA, Miss Teenage Ca, and Miss Teen of the Nation, Tara used her title funds to complete her BA and master’s degrees--along with the influence of her parents.

She is a big believer in education, providing tools to help others be successful and building community. We get into the idea behind Dále Vino, the process towards opening, early struggles and some upgrades coming soon this summer to the facility. 

For more on Dále Vino, visit them at www.dalevino.com.