Bay Area

The Perils of Probate: Court Profits from Family Dissension

Published

5 years ago

April 29, 2020

In the probate court system, it shouldn’t take two years to decide which relative should be awarded conservatorship over an elder. But considering an elder, once assigned a court-appointed guardian, seldom if ever returns to their family or home, time is a non-issue.

Out of the sixteen probate stories in this series, only one senior returned to her home, and that was because the family “rescued” their mother and wife from the care facility, risking court sanctions and possible imprisonment (Post News Story 3/3/18 “Victory for Probate Reform Movement and the Carter Family.) Most end up like the Ussery family, released from the court eleven years later after their five million dollar estate was eaten up in court fees leaving the family 35k to split between them (Post News Story 3/25/16 “Even When Done Right the Probate Court Still Wins.”)

Nationwide, the probate court system has become an unregulated criminal enterprise, where legal stealing of a person and their property is allowed. Cathy Rodriguez’s, 88-year old aunt Mildred Rodriguez, is Alameda court’s most recent victim. Mildred is being held against her will, the court system uses her dementia to justify ignoring her wishes to live with Cathy.

“My aunt and I bought a home together, and for a number of years, my dad lived with us also. I eventually bought another home and moved down the street,” says Cathy who filed for conservatorship after another cousin “kidnapped my aunt, took my aunt to her home, filed a power of attorney, then mentally and physically abused Mildred for eleven months, holding her captive.”

According to Cathy, the cousin has a history of being predatory, so much so that for years family members were warned to avoid her. The cousin has a history of taking advantage of elders and people with disabilities, and proof of her past predatory behavior was submitted to the court. In contrast, Cathy served four years with the Alameda County Probation Department as a peace officer, in the juvenile justice system, twenty years with the Santa Clara Probation Department as a peace officer with juveniles and young adults and is a 38 year Christian who serves the Lord at Victory Outreach. Cathy has been an advocate for thirty years for special education, youth, adults, and the elderly. She has a good income, no criminal record, owns three homes, and has an excellent credit score.

Cathy asks, “What does it take to qualify for conservatorship? It doesn’t matter! The court said they could not make a decision between me and my cousin who has thirty-two cases of fraud, domestic violence, harassment, and slander. The choice was clear, yet unethically, Alameda County Public Guardians submitted an investigative report favoring themselves in order to take control of my aunt and her assets, then slandered me in court to justify and isolate her from me and the family. She should be home with us! I have video of her crying and begging to come home. This is a crime, and no one will help me or my aunt, we have nowhere to turn, because this is the law.”

Probate Reform advocate Venus Gist says, “The lack of integrity, accountability, justice and oversight in Alameda County Courtrooms and across the nation demands that we expose this criminality to Congress. WeThePeople will take action.”

Tanya Dennis

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Related Topics:Alameda County Probate Court probate court San Francisco

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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2 days ago

May 30, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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1 week ago

May 25, 2025

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Bay Area

Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.