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YOUR HOMETOWN NEWS | SERVING EAST COUNTY
Vol. 23, No. 31
Deputies cleared in 2018 death
July 30, 2021
Back to school ... finally!
by Tony Kukulich Correspondent
OAKLEY The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office released the results of its investigation into the 2018 in-custody death of Michael Hernandez, then a 34-year-old resident of Oakley. The investigation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution of Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Erik Vawter and Deputy Brian McDevitt. No charges will be filed against any officer involved in the incident that took place in the early-morning hours of Oct. 30. According to a social media post from the sheriff’s office, deputies from Delta Station responded to a report of a female screaming for help on the 3500 block of Wells Road in unincorporated Oakley shortly before 3:30 a.m. The DA’s report stated that Hernandez ran out of his residence naked and carrying his 3-month-old daughter. see Deputies page 18
Photo by Melissa van Ruiten
G
arin Elementary School friends Jizell Martinez and Naomi Lani were thrilled to find themselves in matching unicorn shirts for the first day of school, Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Brentwood Union School District students returned this week, as did students in other districts across East County. For some students, the start of the year meant returning to a physical classroom for the first time in a while, following the COVID-19-induced distance learning. To view more photos of the event, visit www.thepress.net/multimedia/slideshows
Health officials implement measure to contain recent surge in COVID-19 cases REGIONAL It was a little more than six weeks ago when the pandemic-related restrictions spelled out in California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy were lifted, and residents looked forward to the promise of a return to some semblance of normalcy. But surging COVID-19 infection rates driven by the Delta variant have dashed those hopes at least for the time being. Health officials are now scrambling to implement new guidelines intended to reverse the trend of rising case numbers – particularly among the unvaccinated population –
that started earlier this summer. “This moment, and most importantly the associated illness, suffering and death, could have been avoided with higher vaccination coverage in this country,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during a press briefing Tuesday during which new mask guidance was issued. The CDC’s latest guidelines urges everyone regardless of vaccination status to use a mask while indoors in public places in areas that are experiencing substantial or high disease transmission rates. Counties with 50 or more reported new COVID-19 cases over a seven-day period are classified
as having either a substantial or high transmission rate. Every Bay Area county currently exceeds that threshold. The CDC went on to advise that all school students, teachers and staff members use masks as in-person classes return this fall. This guideline also applies regardless of vaccination status. In response to the CDC’s recommendation, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced Wednesday that it was aligning its mask guidance with the CDC. “The Delta variant has caused a sharp increase in hospitalizations and case rates across the state,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH
director and state public health officer. “We are recommending masking in indoor public places to slow the spread while we continue efforts to get more Californians vaccinated.” The Delta variant is one of four variants of concern as identified by the CDC. While this variant is not believed to be more deadly or cause more serious illness than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus – the virus that causes COVID-19 – it is significantly more transmissible. “In a completely unmitigated environment – where no one is vaccinated or wearing masks – it’s estimated that the av-
Calendar................................................ 9 Classifieds........................................... 15
Cop Logs.............................................. 19 Food........................................................ 7
Milestones.......................................... 10 Opinion.................................................. 8
Pets......................................................... 9 Sports................................................... 11
by Tony Kukulich Correspondent
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