After what happened in the aftermath of the 2014 South Napa Earthquake, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) introduced a bill to help people make their homes earthquake resistant, his office announced Thursday.
Thompson and Rep. Paul Cook (R-San Bernardino) introduced the Earthquake Mitigation Tax Incentive Act (H.
Thompson proposes earthquake retrofit grants be tax freeEditor's note: For more on this unique American Canyon Relay for Life fundraiser, see Photo Gallery, Page A7.
By Mike Jory
mjory@timesheraldonline.com
"Darth Vader's Theme" music blared from speakers as Imperial Stormtroopers prepared to march out over the arena, resembling Tatooine with its heat and dust.
Star Wars costume group helps raise money for American Canyon Relay for LifeThe San Francisco Bay Ferry will provide the following service over the 4th of July holiday weekend:
• Friday: Regular weekday schedules in effect on all routes.
• Saturday and Sunday:
Vallejo/San Francisco: Regular weekend schedule
Alameda/Oakland/San Francisco: Regular weekend schedule
• Monday:
Vallejo/San Francisco: Modified weekend schedule (to accommodate San Francisco fireworks display)
Alameda/Oakland/San Francisco: Modified weekend schedule (to accommodate San Francisco fireworks display)
There is no Harbor Bay or South San Francisco service Saturday through Monday.
July 4 weekend ferry scheduleBusiness owners making electronic payments to the California Board of Equalization will notice a change in the process, and mistakes made could cost you penalties, state officials announced.
As of July 1, the bank that processes electronic fund transfer (EFT) payments will change from Citibank to Union Bank, officials said.
Changes to BOE payment system for businessesNAPA COUNTY >> Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump officially won their respective parties' primary elections in Napa County, as the election division officially certified the results of the June 7 primary there, Registrar of Voters John Tuteur announced Thursday.
The final certified results are posted on the Napa County website, http://www.
Napa County certifies its election resultsHere's what will be open and closed Monday in observance of Independence Day:
Closed or not operating:
• All federal, state and local government offices.
• Solano and Napa County courts.
• Schools and administrative offices.
• Mail delivery.
Open/Closed for the holidayBesides barbecues and fireworks, the July 4 weekend typically means an average of 15 children dying in drowning accidents, U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission officials said in a statement.
The commission's Pool Safely campaign urges parents and children to follow a few simple steps to stay safer when spending time around the water.
Commission seeks to prevent child drownings over July 4 holidayAn American Canyon man was in custody Thursday after police found weapons hidden in his car, American Canyon Police Chief Tracey Stuart said.
"At about 2 a.m. Thursday, an officer checked a suspicious car on Danrose and Marla drives," she said. "The driver was on probation. A search of the car turned up a loaded, concealed .
American Canyon man arrested with loaded gun, knifeAMERICAN CANYON >> The City Council/Fire Protection Board meetings that would have ordinarily been held at 6:30 July 5 and July 19, have been canceled, city officials announced.
The next meeting's regular session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, at City Hall, 4381 Broadway, Suite 201.
No American Canyon City Council meetings in JulyAfter 30 years behind the counter at the Vallejo post office, Aleris Morales' last day on the job was Wednesday.
She worked with another woman, Sukhi Nijjar, who has since retired, for decades at the now-defunct Amador Street Post Office before the pair moved into the new, temporary site at Marin and Virginia Streets in October, 2014.
Longtime Vallejo postal worker retires WednesdayIt's been 14 years since California has seen so many people planning to travel over the Independence Day holiday, as are planning to do so this year, AAA of Northern California announced.
More than 4.9 million Californians are expected to head 50 miles or more out of town for the holiday -- up 1.
July 4 holiday travel up, gas taxes down this yearWith Solano County weathering a heat wave this week, experts say there are some things you can do to prevent negative impacts.
The National Weather Service reports temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s in Vallejo over the next couple of days, and in the mid-to-upper-90s and into triple digits in the more northern parts of Solano County.
There are ways to survive the heat waveWhether or not a proposed resort development in the Napa County Airport Industrial Area would put too much of a strain on the city's water supplies is set for discussion at a special American Canyon City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
While Napa County is the project's land use agency, its site is within the city's water service area and the city would provide its water.
Special council meeting in American Canyon on TuesdayThe Solano Access to Capital and Procurement Fair launches from noon to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, it was announced Friday.
The Solano Community College Small Business Development Center is producing the free event in partnership with Solano County, the cities of Fairfield and Vallejo and Kitchell, at the SCC Vallejo Center, 545 Columbus Parkway.
Free Solano Access to Capital and Procurement Fair announcedAMERICAN CANYON >> Shanda Neumeyer is a cancer survivor. Beth Marcus isn't. But both American Canyon women plan to continue a decade-long tradition and walk for hours to raise money for cancer research and awareness during American Canyon's Relay for Life event this weekend.
The 11th annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society starts at 9 a.
American Canyon's Relay for Life event this weekendU.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and other House Democrats held a sit-in on the floor of the House of Representatives Wednesday, demanding that Republican leadership allow a vote on what they're calling bipartisan, common sense legislation to prevent gun violence.
Thompson led the effort along with Rep.
Thompson leads Dems in sit-in over gun controlFor Mark Barber, not commuting from Vallejo to Petaluma -- as he has done every working day for 37 years -- is going to take some getting used to.
But after selling his family's 50-year-old Vallejo sign company, getting used to that big change is exactly what Barber plans on doing.
Barber sold what is believed to be the longest established sign business in the region to Walter and Karen Perlic, owners of the American Canyon FastSigns franchise.
Weekly Biz Buzz: After 50 years, Vallejo's Barber Sign Co. becomes FastSigns, as Barber retiresAMERICAN CANYON >> An affordable senior housing project is moving forward after years of wrestling with the economy and changing funding regulations, now that the American Canyon City Council voted unanimously to kick in up to $1 million if needed.
Council members also heard some reassuring news on the water availability front from the 2015 Urban Water Management Plan, which it adopted Tuesday.
American Canyon to get an affordable senior housing complex, fewer water worriesState Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa) was one of three lawmakers to introduce a bill Wednesday aimed at closing a sentencing loophole discovered following the controversial Stanford rape case, Dodd's office announced.
Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley), and Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo and Santa Clara), joined Dodd in introducing AB 2888, "in response to the shockingly lenient sentence given to Brock Turner by Judge Aaron Persky in the recent Stanford rape case," the announcement said.
Local lawmaker floats bill to close rape sentencing loopholeBay Area home prices are reaching new heights, and nowhere is that more evident than in the Vallejo area, which experienced the sharpest climbs in May both year-over-year and month-over-month, a new CoreLogic study revealed.
At 13.9 percent, Solano County home prices rose more sharply compared to a year ago than anywhere else in the Bay Area.
Solano home prices rising faster than Bay Area, but still lowestVallejo approaches its Independence Day fireworks display a little differently than some other cities do, and that's just how the guys behind the effort say they like it.
While many cities pay for their display, for the past half-dozen years, Vallejo's has been funded in a more Bernie Sanders-like, in a many-small-donations sort of way.
Community pitches in for Vallejo's fireworks displayThe makers of the original Netflix show - Thirteen Reasons Why - parts of which are being filmed in Vallejo, have put a call out for extras for scenes set in a middle or high school gymnasium, they said.
"Extras are needed for pep rally, basketball and gymnasium scenes," they said.
The shooting will be taking place Monday July 11, somewhere in Vallejo, though the specific address will be sent once an extra's been "booked," they said.
Netflix show filming in Vallejo needs extras againA bill by Rep. Mike Thompson (D- St. Helena) that would allow small businesses to continue offering their employees Health Reimbursement Arrangements, heads to the Senate after passing the House of Representatives Tuesday, Thompson's office announced.
The Small Business Healthcare Relief Act (H.
Thompson's small business health care bill passes HouseA Vallejo man was unable to escape police after injuring himself Sunday in a crash with a stolen car, Vallejo Police Dept. Lt. Sid DeJesus said Monday.
"Officers responded to an injury accident at Admiral Callaghan Lane at Plaza Drive," at about 1:30 p.m., DeJesus said. "One of the vehicles involved, a white Toyota, that was reported stolen, had rear-ended an SUV.
Vallejo man injured in crash with stolen car, tries but fails to flee sceneFerry rides will cost more starting July, 1, as the San Francisco Bay Ferry implemented approved fare hikes, officials announced.
The ferry service will implement a scheduled fare change on July 1 -- the second of a five-year fare program approved by the WETA Board of Directors in September 2014, designed to offset projected operating cost increases, they said.
Ferry fares to rise July 1The unemployment rate in Solano County fell below 5 percent in May while Napa County's jobless rate was well below 4 percent during the same period, according to the state figures, released Friday.
This puts Solano's rate on a par with the national and statewide averages, while Napa's rate is well below both.
Unemployment down in Solano, Napa counties in MayA long-awaited affordable senior housing development is set to move forward at Tuesday's City Council meeting, as are a possible expansion of Napa County offices inside City Hall, and the adoption of an urban water management plan.
The meeting is being held at City Hall, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Affordable senior housing complex on American Canyon Council agendaCompanies with locations in Vallejo, Suisun, Vacaville and American Canyon are among 67 statewide getting part of nearly $50 million in tax credits for adding more than 4,200 jobs, it was announced Friday.
California's Governor's office of Business and Economic Development -- GO-Biz -- announced that the California Competes Tax Credit committee approved $46.
Local businesses awarded tax credits for adding jobsNAPA >> The Napa County Board of Supervisors this week unanimously appointed Leanne Link as County Executive Officer (CEO), county officials announced.
Link has served as assistant CEO since December 2013. She replaces Nancy Watt, who announced last week that she will be leaving the position this summer.
Napa County appoints new CEORep. Mike Thompson on Thursday introduced legislation to require the Federal Bureau of Investigation be notified when anyone formerly under a terrorism investigation buys firearms or explosives, his office announced.
The measure is called H.R. 5504.
"We need to make sure that those responsible for our country's security have all the information they need to help keep Americans safe," Thompson said in the announcement.
Thompson bill would warn FBI if terror suspect buys weaponNapa County will get its much-needed jail after all, thanks to the state of California, which has set aside $20 million for that purpose, county officials announced Thursday.
This comes just days after Napa County Supervisors reacted to the defeat of Measure Y in the recent election -- a one-quarter percent sales tax for jail corrections and infrastructure.
State comes through with funds for new Napa County jailKaiser Permanente's Vallejo Medical Center will mark National Cancer Survivors Day on Saturday, June 25 with the 3rd Annual Celebrate Life event - a day of learning, wellness and living after cancer, organizers said.
Everyone is welcome; no need to be a Kaiser Permanente member or a cancer survivor, they said.
Kaiser holds free Celebrate Life event June 25Police say the streets of Vallejo are about to get safer thanks to a nearly half a million dollar grant.
In a recent round of grant approvals awarded by the California Board of State and Community Corrections, the Vallejo Police Department finished second in the process out of every police department in the state and received $447,589 to help strengthen law enforcement operations and community relations, according to a police news release.
Vallejo Police Department receives substantial state grantThe American Canyon branch of Umpqua Bank is closing for good on June 28, reportedly due, mostly, to the growing popularity of online banking. A farewell event is planned for Friday.
"Sadly our beloved Umpqua Bank in American Canyon will be closing its doors Tuesday, June 28 due to a corporate decision," city officials said in an announcement.
American Canyon's Umpqua Bank branch to closeAMERICAN CANYON >> A Vallejo woman was arrested in American Canyon on suspicion of a variety of charges on Monday, Police Chief Tracey Stuart said.
"On 6/13 at about 9 a.m., we received a call of a car parked in the middle of Huntington Way," she said. "Tammy Duncan, 35, of Vallejo, was sitting in the driver's seat.
Vallejo woman arrested in American Canyon on ID theft, other chargesNAPA >> The Napa County Library catalog is scheduled to be offline June 20-22 while it is integrated with the Napa Valley College and Solano Community College libraries, officials announced.
This action gives patrons access to more than 100,000 added items -- many of which are academic and out-of-print titles that would be hard to find even through other libraries, they said.
Napa library catalog to be offline next weekSolano County's LGBTQ community is holding an event in Fairfield today (Tuesday) in honor of those massacred in Orlando on Monday.
"The country is reeling from shock at the mass murder at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, yesterday," event organizers said. "While both a terrorist attack and a hate crime, for the LGBTQ community in Solano County, the attack is devastatingly personal.
Solano LGBTQ community holds Orlando victims support event tonightAMERICAN CANYON >> Before American Canyon High School Principal Damon Wright advised the graduating class of 2016 to "seize the day, and before assistant principal Brad Shurmantine explained how the formal academic robing of special dignitaries hales back to the Middle Ages, class members were already thinking ahead to life after high school.
American Canyon Class of 2016 graduated SaturdayAMERICAN CANYON >> American Canyon High School does the whole valedictorian thing a little differently than most highs schools, which explains why there are 16 of them in the class of 2016.
Each of the "candidates" on the list has maintained a 4.0 grade point average through seven semesters "while taking a rigorous case load, including two full years of advanced placement classes for seven semesters," assistant principal Mike Finnefrock said.
American Canyon High School boasts more than a dozen Valedictorians in 2016Three Open Houses -- one of them in Solano County -- are planned next week to update the public about the region's long-range transportation and housing roadmap known as Plan Bay Area 2040, organizers announced.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) invite the public to open houses in Fairfield and Santa Rosa on Monday, June 13, and in San Francisco on Tuesday, June 14.
Last Bay Area planning Open Houses set for Solano, Sonoma, San FranciscoThe 5th Annual Fallen Rider Run starts at 9 a.m. Saturday in Vacaville, organizers announced.
The yearly event honors the fallen, and this year is being held in memory of Larry Kinney, they said.
This year's ride starts at Iron Steed Harley-Davidson, 100 Auto Center Drive, Vacaville, and ends at the Relay Club, 1035 Maine St.
5th Annual Fallen Rider Run Saturday from Vacaville to VallejoAMERICAN CANYON >> The viability of this city's eagerly anticipated Watson Ranch project may hinge on the success of a high-end hotel that not everyone is confident can flourish here.
That's the basic conclusion following a presentation by the firm hoping to develop the Napa Ruins & Gardens project formerly known as the Town Center.
High-end hotel could nix American Canyon Watson Ranch developmentNAPA >> An open house to learn about the region's long-range transportation and housing plan -- Plan Bay Area 2040 -- is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) announced.
The public is invited to the event at the Napa Elks Lodge, 2840 Soscol Avenue, organizers said.
Plan Bay Area 2040 Open House in Napa CountyThe BBC has come to American Canyon.
While it may be missing the Downton Abbey accent, this BBC can help build your business better than that other one.
The Business Builders Club (TheBBC.BUZZ) is a regional, free networking group that's partnered, in this case, with the American Canyon Chamber of Commerce, chamber president and CEO James Cooper said.
New, free business networking group, partners with American Canyon chamberNAPA >> Napa County CEO Nancy Watt will be leaving her position this summer, she announced Tuesday.
Watt, who began her career with Napa County in 1997 as a management analyst, was appointed its chief executive 12 years ago.
Prior to the county, she worked for the City of Napa for many years and has served in various local government capacities on both coasts for nearly three decades, county officials said.
Napa County CEO resignsA review of what the Towne Center, now called the Watson Ranch and Napa Valley Ruins & Gardens Project, is likely to wind up costing or generating for the city is scheduled for discussion at Tuesday's City Council meeting, as is the urgent need for new garage doors for the Fire District.
The Watson Ranch Specific Plan -- on the east side of Newell Drive -- proposes 1,253 residential units, a 200‐room hotel, some 150,000 square feet of commercial and special event space, plus parks, a school, trails, community plaza and space for food trucks, a Farmers Market and similar casual development.
Long-awaited "Towne Center" project bottom line on American Canyon Tuesday agendaAn American Canyon bicycling enthusiast and Democratic Party organizer was hit and killed riding home from work in Napa on Friday by a Vallejo driver, officials announced. Paul Schapiro, 58, was riding his gray Focus bike southbound on the shoulder of Highway 29, north of Airport Boulevard about 5:30 p.
American Canyon man hit, killed bicycling from work FridayFederal and Napa County officials announced this week that they signed an agreement to improve voting access for the county's Spanish-speaking citizens.
United States Department of Justice Voting Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division and Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur signed a Memorandum of Agreement to improve access to the electoral process for Spanish-speaking citizens who need language assistance to cast an effective ballot.
Napa County promises to do better helping Spanish-speaking votersThe Napa County Election Division invites anyone -- including the media, Grand Jury members, political party organizations and others interested in the election process -- to observe all aspects of the June 7 Primary Election, the county registrar of voters announced.
All processing and counting will take place at the Napa County Election Division 900 Coombs St.
Napa County officials invite observers to election processThe Force is unlikely to be stopping in Vallejo, despite a widely circulated social media rumor to the contrary.
Social media outlets like Facebook are abuzz with an announcement that scenes for the new Star Wars sequel will be filmed "just outside Vallejo."
At first blush, this piece of news seems to come on the heals of confirmed reports that Paramount will soon be filming parts of a Netflix original show here.
Star Wars unlikely to film in Vallejo, despite Facebook reportsWork to remove the old Green Valley Road overcrossing above eastbound and westbound Interstate-80 (I-80) in Fairfield, starts next week, and may complicate some people's commute, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and its project partner the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) announced.
Road closures, detours on Solano freeways starting next weekThieves are targeting mailboxes -- mostly the cluster type -- across California, and United States Postal Service customers in Vallejo and American Canyon have had their share.
City officials in American Canyon are trying to help Rep. Mike Thompson deal with the epidemic by creating a survey for postal customers there who have been victimized.
American Canyon officials devise survey to arm Thompson with mailbox theft dataOne student each from Vallejo, Benicia and American Canyon were among five appointed by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson to the nation's service academies from the 5th Congressional District, Thompson announced.
Every year, Congress members nominate candidates to attend the country's four service academies: the Air Force Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy, United States Military Academy at West Point, and the United States Naval Academy.
Mike Thompson announces military academy appointments from area