Crime · San Pablo, CA
San Pablo Police announced the arrest of an 18-year-old suspect in the shooting death of Luis "Luigi" Ramirez, 33, who was found unresponsive inside a red Toyota on the 1600 block of 16th Street just before 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Preliminary investigation indicated Ramirez and the suspect were known acquaintances and that Ramirez was shot in the early morning hours after an altercation. The suspect was taken into custody Tuesday evening at a residence on North Victoria Court and booked at the Martinez Detention Facility facing murder charges. Police encourage anyone with additional information to contact the San Pablo Police Department Investigations Division at (510) 215-3150.
Local Politics · Concord, CA
Pa'tanisha Davis Pierson, a former district director for Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías' Concord office, filed a lawsuit on Oct. 21 in Contra Costa Superior Court alleging racial discrimination and whistleblower retaliation. Davis Pierson claims she was stripped of duties after reporting to Assembly HR that a staff member performed campaign work on state time, and alleges the lawmaker yelled at Black staff and gave them less desirable assignments. The Assembly's Workplace Conduct Unit opened an investigation into the allegations on Nov. 3. Ávila Farías denied the claims in a statement, saying she will defend against them through legal process.
Local Politics · Contra Costa County
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors approved more than $1 million in additional spending on Oct. 20 to expand contracts with Pleasanton-based Workday, adding procurement and contract management services to the county's cloud-based software system. The amendment adds $965,726 for modules covering inventory, contracts and supplier management, bringing the Workday contract limit to approximately $11 million under a master agreement established in 2021. A separate $98,000 was approved for Guidehouse Inc. to configure and deploy the new procurement module within the existing Workday environment.
