VOLUME 8, ISSUE 20 | AUGUST 20, 2020
THE VALLEJO WEEKLY
MAYOR’S MESSAGE Dear Fellow Vallejoans, Sadly, fires are still burning throughout Solano and the surrounding counties. Vallejo Police and Fire personnel were deployed to help out our sister cities to evacuate their residents and fight the fire. All of our surrounding agencies’ resources have been stretched thin and I was thankful to hear Governor Newsom’s announcement today that he has activated the National Guard. While we have personnel assisting outside Vallejo, I want to assure you all that our stations in Vallejo are staffed and ready to respond to anything in our City as well. For more information on the LNU Lightning Complex Fire Incident, you can visit Solano County’s Incident Page or the CalFire Incident Page for more info. Residents who are looking for an opportunity to volunteer at the Solano County Fairgrounds which is being used as the large animal evacuation center, are encouraged to call Solano County at (707) 784-1635. Due to the fires burning all around us, the air quality is very poor right now. I would encourage
MAYOR’S MESSAGE
you to stay indoors if possible and if you can't stay inside, please be sure to wear a mask or some type of face-covering. This should be second-nature for us given that we have been required to wear masks for quite some time now. If you are curious about the air quality, visit the AirNow.gov page for the latest information. Lastly, as if 2020 hasn’t dealt us enough, we are also in an unprecedented heatwave that looks as though it will be continuing for a few more days. This brings on an entirely different concern, rolling blackouts. The California ISO (CAISO) has asked residents to be mindful of their electrical usage. You can sign up for CAISO flex alerts and updates here. PG&E also has a webpage here that you can visit where you can find information and updates on outages. Be safe, Vallejo! Your Mayor, Bob Sampayan
Join Our Team!
PERSONNEL
The City of Vallejo is pleased to offer the following employment opportunities:
Communications Operator II (Lateral)
Police Cadet
Police Officer (Entry - Academy Graduate)
Police Officer (Lateral)
Police Officer (Recruit)
Visit governmentjobs.com/careers/Vallejo for more information and to apply.
THE VALLEJO WEEKLY | VOLUME 8, ISSUE 20
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LNU Lightning Complex Our hearts are with our neighbors that have been affected by the current LNU Lightning Complex. There is no threat to Vallejo at this time, and the Vallejo Fire Department stands ready to respond to any emergencies here in Vallejo.
For the latest LNU Lightning Complex updates and information:
Follow the Solano County Sheriff's Office on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Follow the Solano County OES - Office of Emergency Services on Facebook and Twitter
Follow Alert Solano on Facebook and Twitter
Subscribe to Alert Solano
Bookmark and visit the Solano County LNU Lightning Complex webpage
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THE VALLEJO WEEKLY | VOLUME 8, ISSUE 20
DEPARTMENTS IN ACTION
The Vallejo Fire and Vallejo Police Departments are currently assisting surrounding local agencies with evacuations and fire support as needed. On August 13, Vallejo Fire also deployed with a County strike team to assist firefighting efforts on the Lake Fire in Southern California.
DEPARTMENTS IN ACTION
National Water Quality Month August is National Water Quality Month and a time to celebrate our most precious resource – drinking water! This month, the Vallejo Water Department remains committed as ever to providing exceptional water quality to the City’s residents and businesses. Water Quality Manager, Danielle Bonham, tells us that the Department’s water professionals “go above and beyond in making sure that the water flowing from the tap meets or exceeds all drinking water standards day after day, year after year.” This work requires creative problem-solving and collaboration among the Water Department teams in Engineering, Facilities Maintenance, Water Treatment, and Water Distribution to produce and deliver high-quality potable water and to maintain the infrastructure needed to treat and distribute it to customers. To monitor quality, Ms. Bonham’s team collects water samples from surface-water sources, treatment plants, and reservoirs. They test and analyze to ensure the water adheres to regulations set forth by the California State Water Resources Control Board (CA SWRCB) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The City’s water not only consistently meets, but regularly exceeds, water quality standards. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Water Department staff follow strict protocols to ensure staff stay healthy and working as always to treat and deliver drinking water to all customers. Water Department employees keep working around the clock 365 days a year to ensure residents and businesses have access to high-quality water. While so many aspects of daily life are impacted by the pandemic, your water quality is one thing you don’t have to worry about.
THE VALLEJO WEEKLY | VOLUME 8, ISSUE 20
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GVRD Ten-Year Master Plan Forum Greater Vallejo Recreation District (GVRD) is developing a comprehensive ten-year master plan to see where their parks can grow, how their programs can expand, what improvements can be done for their facilities, and better ways to serve the community. GVRD will hold a Public Forum to gather community input for their 10 year master plan tonight, August 20, at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. Input from community members of all ages and neighborhoods is highly encouraged. "During this COVID time, we will be asking the citizens of Vallejo to participate in our ten-year master plan. At first, it may be difficult to answer questions about what you want to see in Parks and Recreation when you cannot currently participate in group activities, but it is a great time to reflect upon what you want to see from GVRD as we move forward. If history teaches us anything positive, it is that even the difficult times eventually pass. We look forward to seeing you and your families in our parks and programs soon," says GVRD General Manager, Gabe Lanusse, in his recent message to the community. To register for this event, click here. For more details about this forum, email publicforum@gvrd.org or call (707) 648-4604.
COMMUNITY
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THE VALLEJO WEEKLY | VOLUME 8, ISSUE 20
Town Hall Meetings: Update on Solano County’s COVID-19 Situation Solano Public Health is hosting town hall meetings to provide a Solano County COVID-19 update. During the town halls, Solano County Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas, will provide a brief data synopsis, an update on reopening, and reminders for bringing people back to work safely. The first town hall meeting will occur on August 24, from 56:00 p.m. and the second is August 27 from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
The meeting will be held via Microsoft TEAMS August 24: Click here for the link or call (323) 457-3408 with conference ID 725 292 792#
August 27: Click here for the link or call (323) 457-3408 with conference ID 461 864 509#
COMMUNITY
For more information visit the Solano County Public Health’s website or Facebook page.
Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke People who have heart or lung diseases, as well as older adults and children, are at higher risk from wildfire smoke.
Check local air quality reports through airnow.gov. Keep indoor air as clean as possible if you are advised to stay indoors. Keep windows and doors closed. Run an air conditioner, but keep the fresh air intake closed and the filter clean to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside. If you do not have an air conditioner and it is too warm to stay inside with the windows closed, go to a designated shelter away from the affected area.
THE VALLEJO WEEKLY | VOLUME 8, ISSUE 20
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Solano County Board of Supervisors Centenarians Search For the past thirteen years, the Solano County Board of Supervisors has recognized and honored centenarians by hosting a special in-person commemoration event as part of their Board of Supervisors meeting. The Board is moving the commemoration ceremony into the virtual setting this year, recognizing centenarians through a series of unique and personal video vignettes.
Wednesday’s Gift Virtual Comedy Show The Empress Theatre is hosting Wednesday’s Gift Comedy Night Goes Virtual, the 8th Annual Evening of Comedy and Wellness, August 22 at 6:00 p.m. This event is a one-time, live-stream broadcast with Comedian Michael Pritchard as the master of ceremonies. The comedy lineup includes: John Heffron, Paula Poundstone, Don Friesen, Joe Klocek, and Michael Meehan. For more information or to purchase tickets, please click here.
COMMUNITY
The Solano County Board of Supervisors needs the community’s help in identifying centenarians living in our community for recognition at an upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting. The 14th Annual Centenarian Commemoration celebration will take place during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, October 6 starting at 11:00 a.m.. Centenarians, their families, caretakers and the public are invited to watch as the Board recognizes these amazing individuals via live-stream video on the County’s website.
“We’re encouraging centenarians and their caretakers to capture and submit a 1-2-minute video of themselves sharing a bit about their amazing life story,” Hannigan says. “County staff will compile the videos into a presentation that will be shared with the Board and live-streamed during the meeting.” If you know of a centenarian, contact Jenalee Dawson, Senior Coalition Coordinator at (707) 816-0554 and SeniorCoalitionSolano@gmail.com. Please contact Mrs. Dawson by or before Friday, September 4, 2020 to ensure time to coordinate, capture, collect and compile video media. To read the full press release, click here.
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THE VALLEJO WEEKLY | VOLUME 8, ISSUE 20
VALLEJO NEWS
Club Stride Continues to Serve the Community For over 20 years, Club Stride in Solano County has provided a space where underrepresented teens develop a strong sense of belonging, feel protected, supported and empowered. In recent months, the organization was struck heavily by the impacts of COVID-19 and the accompanying funding disparity that threatens its ability to survive. Club Stride is one of few remaining Solano County nonprofits that is black owned and operated. Dr. Rhonda R. Renfro, Club Stride CEO, founded the organization in 1997 after identifying the need for co-curricular activities for youth in the city of Vallejo. Current Club Stride programs offer unique leadership development experiences where civic media and technology are used to inspire youth expression and informed social/civic action, where youth directly contribute to shaping the life of their own communities. Participants are exposed to technology-based careers and foster job skills in media and tech-driven community organizing. “Our programs provide an opportunity for underrepresented students to engage civically in a way that is making a difference and allows them to develop a combination of basic knowledge, skills, values and motivation needed to promote quality of life in community, through either political or non-political processes,” said Renfro. With the closure of high school campuses, Club
Stride immediately lost the ability to continue to serve youth in person and use of campus resources (including equipment, software, space and district online media infrastructure). As a result, Club Stride has moved to an online format which is allowing capacity for even greater connection to student participants, allowing them the ability to align their program services to the statewide move to distance learning, and a platform to continue to potentially scale its services to support even more Solano County residents. In addition, a reduction in contributions has limited the nonprofit’s ability to make full use of their studio, where students typically learn about coding, photography, content creation for civic action and advocacy. However, the nonprofit worked to provide devices and hotspots to allow youth to continue to connect to their virtual programming.
For many families, the lack of access to technology and internet connectivity were challenging – especially among the families the nonprofit serves in Vallejo. “We saw students who didn’t have online access at home,” Renfro added. “With no connectivity, students were missing the face-to-face support that is so vital for their short-term and long-term mental health.” In May, Club Stride was one of ten Vallejo nonprofits to receive COVID-19 emergency response grants from the Solano Community Foundation. The funds received were used to support technology purchases for student participants. To learn more about Club Stride, visit their website or their Facebook page.
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