A bill co-authored by Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and introduced in response to the notorious Stanford rape case verdict, was signed into law Friday, Dodd's office announced.
Assembly Bill 2888 by Dodd and Assembly member Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday, requires anyone convicted of sexually assaulting unconscious or severely intoxicated victims be sentenced to prison.
New law based on Stanford rape sentencing, signed by Gov. BrownSolano County's first responders save lives every day.
Kaiser Permanente in the Napa Solano area celebrated them last week, in a special event at the Vacaville Medical Center.
It was the second annual tribute, at which elected officials, business leaders, hospital staff and patients turned out to show their appreciation to the men and women on the front lines.
Solano County's first responders honoredAmerican Canyon is the most diverse city in Napa County -- a fact of which city officials are rightfully proud.
In keeping with the city's unofficial slogan -- "We (heart) everyone in AmCan" -- the city's second ever Latino Heritage Month Celebration is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at this city's weekly Farmers Market, organizers said.
Latino Heritage celebration in American Canyon SundayChere Rush of Brentwood said she waited too long to check on a lump she found in her breast nine years ago, and considers herself lucky to be alive today.
Convinced that early detection save lives, Rush and four other California survivors dreamed up Pink Plates as a way to raise awareness, and two of them will be at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center on Friday, Oct.
Cancer survivors bringing new Pink Plates to Kaiser Vallejo eventVallejo native Michelle Madison said she worked for a decade at the Department of Motor Vehicles and knows what a trial doing business there can be.
That's why she started STARS -- Speedy Transfers And Registration Services -- basically a privately owned, mini-DMV, at 1422 Springs Road, Suite B, in Vallejo.
Mini-DMV now open in VallejoWiener dog races, chicken dancing and beer are just three reasons to attend the 8th Annual American Canyon Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest, from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, organizers said.
Being held this year at Napa's SpringHill Suites Marriott Napa Valley, 101 Gateway Road, the annual Oktoberfest event is the American Canyon chamber's main fundraiser, chamber president and CEO James Cooper said.
American Canyon Oktoberfest is almost hereWeather permitting, Caltrans will be closing portions of Highway 29 in Napa County over night for four nights next week so it can do paving work in advance of winter weather, officials announced.
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will perform four nights of pavement repair work on northbound and southbound Highway 29 between the State Route 12 and the State Route 221 interchanges near the Napa County Airport, just north of American Canyon, starting Monday, Oct.
Highway 29 in Napa County closing for repairs four consecutive nightsNearly 100 businesses are expected to be represented at the Workforce Development Board (WDB) of Solano County's annual Fall Career Fair on Thursday, Oct. 6.
The event, planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fairfield's University of Phoenix, 5253 Business Center Drive, is among the county's largest career fairs and attracts "a substantial number of skilled job seekers from throughout the region," organizers said.
Solano County Fall Career Fair plannedA bill by Assemblymembers Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Jim Frazier (D-Oakley) designed to encourage economic growth in Solano County and statewide was signed into law this week by Gov. Jerry Brown, Dodd's office announced.
Sponsored by the city of Fairfield and the League of California Cities and passing the Legislature with bipartisan support last month, the law enables cities and counties to offer loans to owners or tenants for rehabilitation of commercial buildings and to create economic opportunities through the purchase, sale or lease of properties, he said.
Dodd/Frazier economic development law signed by governorMissouri-based Tyson Foods Inc. is recalling some 132,520 pounds of fully cooked chicken nugget products that may be contaminated with hard plastic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Tuesday.
The fully cooked Panko Chicken Nuggets items were produced on July 18, 2016, according to the announcement.
Tyson chicken nuggets recalled for plastic contaminationNAPA >> In a California first, and just in time for National Library Card Sign-up Month in September, a new partnership between Napa County Library and Napa Valley Unified School District means Napa's middle and high school students are already signed up, officials announced.
The One Card program allows middle and high school students to use their school-generated student ID as their public library card, with a ready-made account there to greet the student at the library building or online, officials said.
New program turns Napa student IDs into library cardsA free cancer awareness event called "Saving Lives" is planned for next month at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center, and you don't need to be a Kaiser member to go, organizers announced.
Saving Lives will take place from 11 a.m .to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at Kaiser Vallejo, 975 Sereno Drive.
Free cancer awareness, screening event at Kaiser VallejoA man and a woman both wound up in the emergency room after a domestic violence situation "turned ugly" Sunday night, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.
It started at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday, when a 38-year-old man broke up with his 35-year-old girlfriend and tried moving out of their shared place in the 100 block of Sunrise Way, Lt.
Domestic violence case sends Vallejo couple to ERAMERICAN CANYON >> City Council candidate Mariam Aboudamous hosts a birthday/campaign fund-raising event from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Doubletree Hotel and Spa in this city, she announced.
The event, which features guest speakers Assemblymember and State Senate candidate Bill Dodd on Napa County Supervisor Keith Caldwell, will also include wine and hors d'oeuvres, she said.
American Canyon candidate holds event WednesdayA new law designed to help better manage state water supplies was signed by Governor Jerry Brown this week, the bill's author, Assemblymember Bill Dodd (D-Napa) announced.
Known as the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, the law "creates a transparent and universal platform for sharing water data across the state," Dodd's office said.
Dodd water data act signed into lawAMERICAN CANYON>> A 13-year-old boy was taken to a local hospital Monday morning after being hit by a city truck, while in a crosswalk on his way to school, a Police Department spokeswoman said.
Just before 8 a.m. Monday, officers responded to a reported vehicle vs. pedestrian crash on American Canyon Road and Hummingbird Way, Police Chief Tracey Stuart said.
American Canyon child in crosswalk headed for school hit by city truckA man was arrested on the grounds of an elementary school and another on was the loose, after robbing a Vallejo convenience store at knife-point early Monday, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.
At about 2:11 a.m. Monday, two men entered the 7-Eleven in the 2800 block of Georgia Street, one of which threatened the 24-year-old female clerk with a knife and demanded money, Lt.
Armed robber arrested on Vallejo elementary school groundsMindy Cooper Grenke said Vallejo has never been on her radar before, but suddenly the city looms large in her consciousness.
Grenke's father, David Cooper, 81, of Colorado, was hit by a car here last week and died Tuesday without ever regaining consciousness, she said.
World travelers and adventure lovers, Cooper and his wife were part of a group of longtime friends who pick somewhere in the world each year, rent a big house and stay there together for a vacation, Grenke said.
Putting a face on a fatal Vallejo crashAn American Canyon mother and child were hospitalized with minor injuries after being hit by a car Thursday evening, an American Canyon Police Department spokesperson said.
At about 7:41 p.m. Thursday, officers were dispatched to a vehicle vs. pedestrian crash on Kimberly Drive at Danrose Drive, Police Chief Tracey Stuart said.
Mother and child hit, injured by car in American CanyonBrenda Knight of American Canyon has been to Washington, D.C. many times, but the trip planned for next month is special, she said.
The former Napa College Trustee, professional event planner and founder of the Ladies In Red women's empowerment group, is leading 107 group members on a trip early next month to the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution.
American Canyon woman leads trip to new African American Smithsonian museumThe Department of Health and Social Services, In-Home Support Services (IHSS) Public Authority is looking for a few good men and women to become paid caregivers for seniors and the disabled in Solano County, officials announced.
The Public Authority uses a customized database to match the needs of Solano County IHSS clients with pre-qualified Registry Home Care Providers, but, demand for services is growing and there's a need for more caregivers, officials said.
Final Solano County care giver recruitment session of 2016Highway 12 at Red Top Road will be closed three consecutive nights starting Thursday, so the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and its project partner the Solano Transportation Authority (STA) can complete drainage work related to the Interstate 80/Interstate 680/State Route 12 (I-80/I-680/SR-12) Interchange Project.
Overnight closures on Highway 12 at Red Top RoadBENICIA >> City officials launched a new emergency alert system Thursday, noting that the apparent crude oil leak that released fumes sending hundreds of Vallejo residents to local emergency rooms Wednesday is just the kind of event this new system is geared for.
Benicia's new system is with Everbridge, which city officials describe as "the worldwide leader in unified critical communications," and is designed keep residents, businesses, staff and emergency personnel safe and informed with quick and reliable emergency notifications and public service announcements, according to a press release.
Benicia launches new emergency alert system, urges people to sign upKaiser Permanente's Medicare and commercial health plans in Northern California received the highest possible ratings from a national health plan rating group, Kaiser officials announced Wednesday.
Kaiser Northern California, which serves 3.9 million members, received the highest ratings from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, which rates health plans for consumer experience, prevention and treatment, they said.
Kaiser Permanente health plans get highest rankings nationallyLuis Arnold of Vallejo admits he's a little bit obsessed with skateboarding, so, he's overjoyed that fellow skater Derrick Kerr opened his skate shop on Georgia Street earlier this year.
Official Goods Company opened at 541 Georgia St. in January, Kerr said.
"Vallejo needs a skate shop because the community is beginning to grow here and the store really helps fuel that," said Arnold, a 27-year-old video editor and Victory Stores clerk.
Official Goods Company, a one-stop skate shop in VallejoAMERICAN CANYON >> Police officials now have the authority to enforce traffic laws on private streets here after City Council members unanimously approved a measure aimed at addressing issues on two specific roads.
"Enforcement on Private Streets" will be added to the "Vehicles and Traffic" section of the American Canyon Municipal Code, especially for Corvina Way and Corvina Court, where illegal parking, speeding and going the wrong way on the one-way street prompted nearly everyone who lives there to ask the city for help.
Bad drivers on notice in American CanyonNAPA >> Napa Fire Chief Mike Randolph has announced he's retiring Dec. 30, after more than 27 years on the job.
Randolph began his fire fighting career with the Napa Fire Department in 1989, was promoted to firefighter/paramedic in 1994, fire captain in 1998, battalion chief in 2000 and division chief in 2005, city officials said.
Napa Fire Chief Mike Randolph retiringSutter Solano Medical Center staff on Monday formally dedicated the first chapel the facility's had in more than a dozen years, as hospital officials and others gathered in the serene first-floor area specifically designed to help meet users' spiritual needs, CEO John Boyd said.
The new chapel, a former storage space, is decorated in muted blues, grays and tans, with splashes of color in the form of a large floral bouquet and a glass-enclosed sand sculpture.
Sutter Solano's new chapel designed to recharge the spiritA new law by Assemblyman Bill Dodd and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown last week, will speed up the process for identity theft victims to clear their names, Dodd's office announced.
Dodd, a candidate for State Senate, wrote the Identity Theft Resolution Act after becoming a victim of identity theft himself last year, his office said.
Dodd's ID theft bill signed into lawTwo ordinances aimed at fixing some vexing traffic-related issues are up for discussion at Tuesday's City Council meeting, the public portion of which is set for 6:30 p.m.
An extension of a temporary moratorium on cellphone towers is also on the agenda.
The plan is to waive a first reading of an ordinance adding "Enforcement on Private Streets" to the "Vehicles and Traffic" section of the American Canyon Municipal Code, especially for Corvina Way and Corvina Court.
Traffic enforcement on American Canyon side streets at issue for Tuesday's meetingBill Darwin says that living in a south Vallejo hotel has made it difficult to find convenient access to healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables, and that he's pleased that the nearby 7-Eleven has added some of those things.
It's especially helpful now that his 81-year-old mother, Lois Gilmore, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is now homeless, is staying there with him, the 61-year-old unemployed man said.
South Vallejo convenience store now carries healthier optionsRenovations at the Napa County Library begin Monday and are expected to be completed by June, officials announced.
The $4.4 million design and construction project will focus on children's area updates, the circulation area, including adding a modernized automated handling system and garage conversion to improve materials delivery and returns as well as new bathrooms, increased meeting space and improved heating and air conditioning.
Napa library facelift under wayKaiser Permanente's hospitals and medical offices in Napa and Solano Counties are offering free flu vaccinations to members again this year, starting this month, officials announced.
The flu can be serious, even fatal, with symptoms often including fever and chills, muscle or body aches, headaches, coughing, sore throat, exhaustion and diarrhea, they said.
Kaiser Permanente offering free flu vaccinationsThe unemployment rates in Solano and Napa counties inched downward in August, leaving the former with rates slightly higher than the state and national averages, and the latter with lower, according to the latest state figures.
Solano County's August jobless rate was 5.7 percent, down from 6 percent in July, and below the year-ago estimate of 6 percent, the latest state figures show.
Unemployment down in Solano, Napa counties in AugustThe first 100 customers at the community celebration of the newly healthified 7-Eleven in Vallejo on Friday will get free fruit, organizers announced.
The store at 1095 Magazine St. was given a healthy makeover as part of a Solano County program, and the community is invited to check it out from 2 to 5 p.
Newly made-over Vallejo 7-Eleven holds community celebration FridayA Richmond man in his 40s was shot and injured fleeing from a would-be armed robber in Vallejo early Thursday, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.
The episode unfolded at about 5:23 a.m. Thursday morning, in the 700 block of Lincoln Road West, when the Richmond man said he was approached by "a male suspect of indeterminate race, brandishing a hand gun," Lt.
Richmond man shot while fleeing an armed robber in VallejoVeteran Police Officer and American Canyon City Council candidate Tony Heuschel is offering a free public safety workshop, to help prepare community members for emergencies, his campaign announced.
Heuschel says anyone 15 or older who is concerned about personal safety is encouraged to attend the workshop.
Free public safety workshop to be held in American CanyonIn honor of September as World Alzheimer's Awareness Month, Home Instead Senior Care -- serving Napa and Solano counties -- announced the launch of a new community education program to help bring awareness to this cause.
Prevent Wandering, a free program developed with the Alzheimer's Association, offers tips and resources to help families better prepare "for the challenging and unfortunate situation that occurs when a loved one living with Alzheimer's wanders off.
Local senior care firm launches two free Alzheimer's-related programsNapa County Public Health officials are offering free seasonal flu vaccine shots to anyone over three years old, they announced.
This year the flu spray vaccine is not available because it is not effective in stopping the flu viruses expected to be circulating this season, they said.
"Although the spray version of the vaccine is not available this year, the flu shot is still the safest and most effective way to avoid getting the flu," Napa County Public Health Officer Karen Relucio said.
Napa County offers free flu shotsIf you're one of likely millions of California voters who got a partially filled-out voter registration card in the mail, don't worry. It doesn't appear to be an attempt at voter fraud or ID theft, or anything else nefarious, local elections officials said Tuesday.
Solano County Deputy Registrar of Voters John Gardner said the sender is a nonprofit with the best of intentions, if not the greatest researchers.
Officials say unsettling mailed voter card not sinisterAn elderly Colorado man was on life support in a local trauma center after being hit and badly injured by a car as he tried to cross Sonoma Boulevard in Vallejo on Monday night, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.
Just before 8 p.m., Vallejo police officers responded to an injury collision at the intersection of Sonoma and Redwood Street involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, Lt.
Colorado man hit, injured, in Vallejo crosswalkAssemblymember and State Senate candidate Bill Dodd will host a free Financial Education Workshop in American Canyon on Thursday, Sept. 22, his office announced.
All residents of Napa and Solano County are encouraged to attend this event, which will include topics like budgeting for retirement, avoiding financial scams, saving for college, and long-term care considerations.
Dodd to hold free financial literacy workshop in American CanyonSome veterans with mental health issues will now be entitled to a service dog -- at least for now -- as U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, announced a pilot program.
The Co-Chair of the Military Veterans Caucus announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a pilot program to offer service dog benefits to veterans with mental health diagnoses, like post-traumatic stress (PTS).
Thompson announces a program pairing some PTS vets with service dogsTwo armed robbery suspects were arrested in Vallejo after leading law enforcement officials on a high-speed chase from Fairfield early Monday, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.
"At about 7:50 a.m., we were advised of an armed robbery in Fairfield with good suspect and vehicle descriptions and a BOL (be on the lookout)," Lt.
High speed pursuit from Fairfield to Vallejo nets two armed robbery suspectsKaiser Permanente in Napa Solano is calling on the community to submit nominations for the 2016 Kaiser Permanente EMS Awards, in celebration of First Responders, Kaiser officials announced.
A resolution by the U.S. Senate marked Sept. 25 as National First Responder Appreciation Day, and Kaiser Permanente hopes to recognize local EMS personnel "who are on the front lines of keeping our community safe," they said.
Kaiser Permanente to honor first responders, seeks nominationsLegislation by Assemblymembers Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Jim Frazier (D-Oakley) to boost the economic development powers of local governments in Solano County and across the state, passed the legislature with unanimous bipartisan support, Dodd's office announced.
The bill enables cities and counties to create economic opportunities through the acquisition, sale or lease of properties, and to encourage rehabilitation of commercial buildings by offering loans to owners or tenants, according to the announcement.
Dodd/Frazier bill to encourage Solano County job creation heads to GovernorAMERICAN CANYON >> The city of American Canyon earned a statewide award for its work addressing climate change, city officials announced.
The Institute of Local Government and the League of California Cities awarded American Canyon the Silver Beacon Award -- part of a program offered by the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative, to provide support for and recognize California municipalities' efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and adopt policies to promote sustainability.
American Canyon honored with statewide conservation awardAMERICAN CANYON >> City buildings are going "light green," though "deep green" is possible in the future, as the City Council voted Tuesday to join most residents and businesses in opting for Marin Clean Energy as its power supplier.
City officials recommend those with solar energy, including its own public safety building, to opt out temporarily, however.
American Canyon City Council opts for Marin Clean Energy as supplierShe took a break for seven years, but Irma Gentile Matthews of Vallejo said she's restarting Gentile's Catered with Care, mostly because cooking for and serving people is what she's always done and she feels at loose ends without it.
And it's a real family affair, having traveled across the ocean with hers from the old country.
Popular former Vallejo caterer is back in businessOne unlicensed contractor each from Vallejo and Fairfield, as well as several from Napa, were among those caught in a two-day sting in Napa County, state officials announced.
The action was taken in response to reports about unlicensed contracting in the Napa area, they said. Investigators with the Contractors State License Board staged the operation Aug.
Solano, Napa suspected unlicensed contractors caught in stingEveryone who joins the Arbor Day Foundation in September will get 10 free trees as part of the Foundation's Trees for America program, organizers announced.
Through Trees for America, everyone is encouraged to plant trees, which benefits the environment and improves quality of life, they said.
Join the Arbor Day Foundation this month, get 10 free treesPastor Donna Allen said she believes God led her to Vallejo a few months ago, and so far, it seems He knew what He was doing.
"I'd been praying about the next direction for our ministry (which has been flourishing in Oakland for a dozen years) and He led me to Vallejo," the 50-something, Vanderbilt Divinity School PhD said.
Pastor creates radically inclusive church in VallejoCalling it "good news," a Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) Board of Directors spokesman announced Friday that it awarded a more than $62 million contract to a Washington-based firm to build three new ferry boats.
The five-member WETA Board approved, in a 4-0 vote with one member absent, awarding a contract to Dakota Creek Industries, Inc.
WETA board awards $62 million contract for three new ferriesOne of the veterans who joined U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson on Mare Island for a news conference Friday described the 2016 Democrat and Republican candidates for president as the best and worst qualified in the history of the country.
This is basically why Thompson arranged to meet with a couple dozen veterans from the Fifth Congressional District -- from Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Contra Costa counties -- in Vallejo on Friday: To share why they're supporting Hillary Clinton for president.
Thompson, local vets hail Hillary, trash Trump at Mare Island press conferenceAMERICAN CANYON >> Several infrastructure improvement projects are set to move forward if approved at Tuesday's City Council Meeting, the public portion of which is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
A contract is ready to be awarded to a company to treat some city streets with material that will help them last longer, some large underground sewer pipes need replacing, and an affordable senior housing project is expected to move forward on Tuesday.
American Canyon officials to decide about future of senior housing, other projectsHere's what will be open and closed Monday, Sept. 5, in observance of Labor Day
Closed or not operating:
• The cities of Vallejo, Benicia and American Canyon
• The counties of Solano and Napa
• Libraries, all branches of the Napa City-County Library and Solano County Library
• Vallejo City Unified School District, Benicia Unified School District and Napa Valley Unified School District
• United States Postal Service
• Soltrans bus service
• Napa Valley Transportation Authority including VINE Transit, VINE Go, American Canyon Transit, Calistoga and St.
Open/Closed Labor Day weekendStudents at American Canyon Middle School were briefly evacuated Thursday after smoke was reported in the gym.
American Canyon police said the disruption was not caused by a fire, but rather was due to malfunctioning sound system equipment.
Students were instructed to leave the building and stand outside on the school's sports field while emergency crews responded to the incident.
Smoke forces school evacuation in American CanyonA Vallejo man who'd hoped to produce a large, three-day multicultural event over the Labor Day weekend was forced to cancel it, he announced.
Paul Zarkas said he still hopes to put on the International Cultural Food and Music Festival next year at this time.
"What happened was that just before the city's deadline, my food guy had to back out, at the last minute," Zarkas said.
Inaugural Vallejo Labor Day international festival cancelledOne business each in Vallejo, Benicia, Vacaville and Napa are on a list, released by the state Thursday, of the 500 largest delinquent sales and use tax accounts over $100,000.
However, all three appear to be long gone.
The Vallejo entry is listed twice at the same address -- 101 Lincoln Road West -- once as VJR Ventures, Inc.
Local businesses on list of top 500 tax scofflaws state wide