August 8, 2005
M.I. may get shuttle buses to ferry dock
By MATTHIAS GAFNI, Times-Herald staff writer
With a burgeoning Mare Island population, the city hopes to bring back a Baylink Ferry shuttle bus to serve the former shipyard.
The city's transportation department plans to apply for regional grants that would kick-start the program, pending a Vallejo City Council vote Tuesday.
The $130,000 one-time only grant for operations and equipment would come from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The city would collect another almost $70,000 in matching funds through private businesses and passenger fares.
"Lennar is really pushing us to do this, and we're really pushing them back for help," said John Harris, Vallejo's transportation manager.
Lennar Mare Island, a developer of the former shipyard, wants the shuttle service to begin serving the new businesses on the island and its new residents. More than 120 homes have been sold, with people moving in since June.
"Baylink Ferry is a very important component of the Mare Island reuse plan. We're very supportive of the city's efforts to obtain grants that would contribute to the fostering of a transit-oriented community on Mare Island," Lennar spokesman Jason Keadjian said.
"Mare Island is intended to be a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use community for both businesses and homeowners. This will allow people to work and live on the island, walk to a shuttle stop and be in downtown San Francisco in about an hour," he said.
The specifics of shuttle stops and frequency haven't been worked out yet, Harris said. "If we get the money, we'll work out the details," he said.
The grant only funds one year of service, Harris said.
"If it's effective, we'll keep applying for money. If they cut us off, we'll go to the private side for help," he said.
The city had been funding a Baylink Ferry shuttle a few years back, Harris said, before budget constraints caused it to be dropped. That shuttle service, which cost the city about $65,000 a year, had low ridership with only a dozen core riders, he said.
But Mare Island has changed since then, the transportation head said, citing the growth of businesses and new residents.
The council will also vote Tuesday on giving the green light to other transportation grant opportunities.
An $85,000 grant could allow the city to relocate and refurbish eight Vallejo Transit bus stops in some of the city's busiest thoroughfares. "We're in great need of replacing the bus shelters," Harris said.
Transportation officials also hope to apply for $212,000 in federal transit funds for Route 85 service. The three years of funding would assist operations costs for the regional route, which takes riders from Vallejo to such destinations as the Fairfield shopping mall and Solano Community College.
"There's money there for the taking, and we qualify," Harris said. "We're scrambling every way we can to find money."
- E-mail Matthias Gafni at mgafni@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6825.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Large Pet Chains Finding Solano a Good Place to Curl Up
Article Last Updated: Saturday, Aug 06, 2005 - 09:37:10 pm PDT
Large pet chains finding Solano a good place to curl up
By Jeff Mitchell
FAIRFIELD - The dog-eat-dog world of the mega pet stores has officially come to Solano County.
As increasing numbers of people leave the Bay Area's urban core for the suburban, semi-rural climes of Solano and Yolo counties, they're naturally bringing their beloved pampered pets with them.
And following right behind are the leading pet product retailers such as Petco and Pet Club who see only full bowls of chow (read dollars), a belly scratch and plenty of love coming from what they say is an underserved, emerging market.
In the last 12 months alone, two major pet product retailers have built large stores in the Fairfield area - a Petco at the corner of Travis Boulevard and Holiday Lane and a Pet Club in the Costco shopping center north of Cordelia.
And Phoenix-based PetsMart Inc., the pet megastore industry leader, plans to build a new 20,000-square-foot store in Vacaville within the next year, company official Jennifer Pflugfelder said. It will be the company's first store in Solano County.
Together with Petco, PetsMart with its 750 stores, controls 15 percent of what Kiplinger.com calls a $37 billion retail pet product market.
"We're looking forward to building in Solano County," Pflugfelder said. "The array of products and services we offer pet owners closely fits the market demographics found there."
But while PetsMart locks in a site for its first store in Solano County, the smaller San Diego-based Petco Inc. has already opened three stores in Solano County. (The chain's Fairfield store opened June 9.)
Solano County has been on Petco's list of locations to build for some time, spokesman Don Cowan said. Such vital infill locations - upscale spots located between major metropolitan centers - are part of the company's growth strategy, he said.
"When we locate a store somewhere, we like to find properties that are convenient for consumers - places where they can easily stop in on the way to or from the supermarket or some other daily, local activity," Cowan said.
And, increasingly, these mega pet product retailers aren't just about selling you a nice pet, some food or maybe a flea collar. Increasingly, these retailers are making high-margin profits on pet services - grooming and veterinary care, day care and boarding, to name a few.
Kiplinger.com recently reported PetsMart has even opened a pet hotel operation at some stores where pets can be boarded into custom private suites replete with TVs tuned to the Discovery Channel's "Animal Planet" show.
Smaller pet store operators are concerned but not bowed by the increasing presence of the bigger competitors, they said.
The key is keeping prices reasonably comparable to the bigger outlets and then out-do with them with superior levels of customer service and product knowledge, many said. But the larger companies could force them to become more specialized in a given line of pets and associated products over time.
"There is a level of fear about them," said Holly Gideon, an employee at World of Pets, a 25-year-old pet shop on North Texas Street in Fairfield. "But what we have noticed is that while some of our customers will go and try the larger stores, they end up coming back for the personalized service."
Paula Rosales, who with her husband, Joe Rosales, own Paula's Pets at the Marina Shopping Center in Suisun City, agreed.
"First, there's not a lot we can do about it," she said. "If anything, the presence of these larger stores just gives us even more incentive to take care of the loyal customers we have."
Reach Jeff Mitchell at 427-6977 or jmitchell@dailyrepublic.net.
March of the mega pet stores
Who's here in Solano County:
-- Pet Club Food and Supplies Inc.
5125 Business Center Drive, Fairfield, 864-9688.
-- Petco Inc.
1370 Holiday Lane, Fairfield, 427-8162.
210 Nut Tree Parkway, Vacaville, 448-2020.
161 Plaza Drive, Vallejo, 649-8081.
Who may come:
-- PetsMart Inc.
20,000 square foot store to be built in undisclosed Vacaville location, second fiscal quarter, 2006.
Source: Various company officials.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
Large pet chains finding Solano a good place to curl up
By Jeff Mitchell
FAIRFIELD - The dog-eat-dog world of the mega pet stores has officially come to Solano County.
As increasing numbers of people leave the Bay Area's urban core for the suburban, semi-rural climes of Solano and Yolo counties, they're naturally bringing their beloved pampered pets with them.
And following right behind are the leading pet product retailers such as Petco and Pet Club who see only full bowls of chow (read dollars), a belly scratch and plenty of love coming from what they say is an underserved, emerging market.
In the last 12 months alone, two major pet product retailers have built large stores in the Fairfield area - a Petco at the corner of Travis Boulevard and Holiday Lane and a Pet Club in the Costco shopping center north of Cordelia.
And Phoenix-based PetsMart Inc., the pet megastore industry leader, plans to build a new 20,000-square-foot store in Vacaville within the next year, company official Jennifer Pflugfelder said. It will be the company's first store in Solano County.
Together with Petco, PetsMart with its 750 stores, controls 15 percent of what Kiplinger.com calls a $37 billion retail pet product market.
"We're looking forward to building in Solano County," Pflugfelder said. "The array of products and services we offer pet owners closely fits the market demographics found there."
But while PetsMart locks in a site for its first store in Solano County, the smaller San Diego-based Petco Inc. has already opened three stores in Solano County. (The chain's Fairfield store opened June 9.)
Solano County has been on Petco's list of locations to build for some time, spokesman Don Cowan said. Such vital infill locations - upscale spots located between major metropolitan centers - are part of the company's growth strategy, he said.
"When we locate a store somewhere, we like to find properties that are convenient for consumers - places where they can easily stop in on the way to or from the supermarket or some other daily, local activity," Cowan said.
And, increasingly, these mega pet product retailers aren't just about selling you a nice pet, some food or maybe a flea collar. Increasingly, these retailers are making high-margin profits on pet services - grooming and veterinary care, day care and boarding, to name a few.
Kiplinger.com recently reported PetsMart has even opened a pet hotel operation at some stores where pets can be boarded into custom private suites replete with TVs tuned to the Discovery Channel's "Animal Planet" show.
Smaller pet store operators are concerned but not bowed by the increasing presence of the bigger competitors, they said.
The key is keeping prices reasonably comparable to the bigger outlets and then out-do with them with superior levels of customer service and product knowledge, many said. But the larger companies could force them to become more specialized in a given line of pets and associated products over time.
"There is a level of fear about them," said Holly Gideon, an employee at World of Pets, a 25-year-old pet shop on North Texas Street in Fairfield. "But what we have noticed is that while some of our customers will go and try the larger stores, they end up coming back for the personalized service."
Paula Rosales, who with her husband, Joe Rosales, own Paula's Pets at the Marina Shopping Center in Suisun City, agreed.
"First, there's not a lot we can do about it," she said. "If anything, the presence of these larger stores just gives us even more incentive to take care of the loyal customers we have."
Reach Jeff Mitchell at 427-6977 or jmitchell@dailyrepublic.net.
March of the mega pet stores
Who's here in Solano County:
-- Pet Club Food and Supplies Inc.
5125 Business Center Drive, Fairfield, 864-9688.
-- Petco Inc.
1370 Holiday Lane, Fairfield, 427-8162.
210 Nut Tree Parkway, Vacaville, 448-2020.
161 Plaza Drive, Vallejo, 649-8081.
Who may come:
-- PetsMart Inc.
20,000 square foot store to be built in undisclosed Vacaville location, second fiscal quarter, 2006.
Source: Various company officials.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
Family Oriented Island
Family oriented island
Former naval base reaches turning point as new residents flock to new neighborhoods
By CHRIS G. DENINA/Times-Herald staff writer
Tim Baskerville and Susan Nichols of San Francisco compare notes on the kitchen of a Gardner's Glen model home in the new Lennar development on Mare Island in Vallejo. The couple, who have specific requirements, including counter space in the kitchen and separate offices for their careers, are finding the models well-constructed and laid out. (Mike Jory/Times-Herald)
There's plenty to see from the windows of Mare Island's new homes.
To the west, a national wildlife refuge filled with geese, hawks and salt harvest mice.
To the east, historic old mansions once occupied by military officers and their families.
And next door, children playing ball at an elementary school that's set to reopen full-time this fall.
All around is change - workers building new homes, restoring old buildings and transforming the 150-year-old former shipyard into a new community within Vallejo.
"You kind of witness history," Jennifer Turnicio of Vallejo said on a recent afternoon touring the model homes. The 22-year-old is among many home shoppers lured by the prospect of being among the first to repopulate the old base.
So far, Lennar Homes has had little trouble finding families to buy into that vision - or in some cases paying more than $700,000 - to be a part of the new Mare Island. Some 1,400 homes are planned over the next decade.
In June, people began moving into the first batch of new homes. And in July, Lennar opened model homes for its third subdivision.
But it may take years to realize the community they envisioned when they bought into the dream of a new Mare Island.
Cleanup efforts to remove environmental contamination left by the Navy are ongoing. The future of Mare Island's north end is up in the air, with the city trying for the third time to get a company to redevelop boarded-up stores and warehouses.
And work on upgrading the old base's infrastructure, including the sewer system and roads, may take years to complete.
But Tangi Banks, who's looking out the model home window with her partner, looks at all that in a different way.
"You get to watch everything be built up around here," the 25-year-old said, as construction workers bustled outside, building new homes.
The pitch
They're lured by billboards and radio advertisements, enticed by brochures and a promotional DVD. They drive onto Mare Island, over bridges leading to sometimes bumpy roads.
They follow signs pointing past warehouses and buildings surrounded by newly planted trees and lawns.
What they find is a new neighborhood, built on the site of old military housing razed more than a year ago. The new homes, some as large as about 2,900 square feet, sit along curved streets and are of such architectural styles as Victorian, Spanish and bungalow.
For home buyer Bobby OJha, who moved to Mare Island in June from the Glen Cove area, it's a friendly neighborhood that's unique to Vallejo and surrounded by naval history.
"I feel that it's not going to be another typical suburb where you go to work, commute and come back to bed," OJha, 33, said. "Here, there's still a sense of back from the '50s and '60s, where neighbors actually talk to you."
He and his wife Sejal bought their house last year, before any models were built and the area was bare. They were sold on Lennar's pitch that this wouldn't be like any other suburb in the Bay Area.
The pair said they liked the idea that Mare Island would become a little community of its own, separate from the rest of Vallejo. It would feature a promenade of shops and restaurants in an historic district where ships were once built. A regional park at the south end would offer hiking and recreation.
A map by Lennar also shows a proposal that ferries bound to San Francisco may one day make stops at Mare Island.
The OJhas also accepted that there's a lot of work ahead in revamping the former naval shipyard for civilian use.
"Again, it comes with the territory," OJha said. "Those were the tradeoffs I had originally in order to be part of this momentous occasion."
So far
The based used to be a city unto itself before it closed in 1996. Military families living there could get everything they needed on-base and rarely need to leave for the mainland.
They could buy groceries at the base commissary or buy clothes at the exchange store. They could see movies or bowl at the recreation center. They could fill up their cars at the gas station.
When the shipyard shut down, families moved away, most of the personnel left and many warehouses, stores and offices sat empty.
A year later, the city chose Lennar Mare Island LLC to serve as the master developer to convert the base to civilian use. After years of planning, in 2002 Lennar took control of the east side of the shipyard and began renovating buildings and cleaning up much of the contamination, such as underground fuel tanks, left by the Navy.
Since then, the base has started to rebound.
More than 75 businesses have opened shop on the base, leasing from Lennar, and a handful even have bought property to house their operations, Lennar officials said. Regulatory agencies have signed off and cleared a third of nine areas being investigated for cleanup, said Lennar Project Manager Todd Berryhill.
"It's always been a goal of the city to bring Mare Island back to life as quickly as possible," Berryhill said, adding that Lennar shares that objective.
Lennar figures it may take years to reach its goals. Someday, the company envisions more than 8,000 people working on Mare island in buildings totaling about 7 million square feet.
"Our expectations are not short-term here," Berryhill said.
It may take years to reach that point.
So far, things look nice, said Councilmember Joanne Schivley, who began her first term after the base closed.
"It's coming along," Schivley said.
Near the causeway entrance many buildings have been repainted and grass and trees planted.
"Considering when it closed that we were told it would be fast-tracked and that closure has been - what, nine years ago? - it's wonderful to see the changes that are occurring," Schivley said.
"It's going to be beautiful," she added.
More work
There's another view to be seen from the model home windows.
To the northwest, an old landfill that may be landscaped as a park.
To the west, empty dredge ponds slated to reopen to store material from the bottom of area waterways.
And to the far north, blocks of old warehouses in an area that the city has struggled to get a company to develop.
It may take a while before the vision of Mare Island as a community is realized, said Myrna Hayes, a member of the Mare Island Restoration Advisory Board. The citizens group makes suggestions regarding the reuse of the base.
As community co-chair, Hayes has been following the conversion of Mare Island for more than a decade.
"I don't see adopt-a-street signs yet," Hayes said. "I don't see people picnicking in the grounds of the various parks yet. I don't see a community."
For now, Mare Island is just that, an island unto itself, she said. Until the old base is better integrated into Vallejo, and more mainlanders venture there, it will remain a separate place, she said.
Mare Island needs basic services like retail centers, where people can buy a latte or grab a meal. Even then, the old base will resemble other suburbs in California, she said.
The main difference is Mare Island still is an active industrial center. Tenants include a lumber yard, wood shop and crane business. Reuse plans call for turning the former shipyard into an active employment center, bringing more jobs to the city.
Residents are bound to share the roads with trucks hauling materials and have to put up with ongoing construction, Hayes said.
Still, it's a slight improvement over some other neighborhoods in industrial zones, she said.
"It's a lot better than living next to a refinery," Hayes said.
The future
On a recent afternoon, dozens of visitors toured the model homes.
Ray Dempsey and his wife Anneke drove in from Palo Alto after hearing radio commercials for the homes.
"It is beautiful," Dempsey said of the neighborhood, standing outside one of the models. Up the street, stood the wood frames of new houses.
"You can see through it and what it can become," Anneke said, noting all the construction.
Even after all the homes are built and the neighborhoods are finished, you still must remember it's an old military base that operated for nearly 150 years, Dempsey said.
"That's something you have to think about really," he said.
- E-mail Chris G. Denina at cdenina@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6835.
* * * *
Mare Island
history 1854 - Mare Island founded as a military base. Scores of war ships, nuclear submarines and support vessels were built on the 650-acre island over the next 142 years. 1996 - Naval Shipyard closes several years after the end of the Cold War. 2002 - Lennar Mare Island LLC takes ownership of about 650 acres to redevelop for such uses as housing and office space. 2002 - The last tenant of Mare Island's Farragut Village moves out after Touro University in July tells about 70 students, employees and their families to leave the old homes that are slated for razing to make way for a new housing project. 2003 - Mare Island Elementary is named in a list of suggestions for possible school closures to cut about $325,000 a year from the school district budget. 2004 - Lennar begins construction on new housing. 2004 - The city closes the guard shack at the causeway entrance, no longer requiring visitors to check in. Mare Island is treated as any other part of Vallejo that's open to the public.
June 2005 - New homeowners move in after a year of construction
The future - Lennar and city staff are working on deal for Lennar to acquire Mare Island's north end and develop it.
Sources: City of Vallejo, Lennar Mare Island LLC and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control
Agencies Combine to Lure Biotechs
Article Launched: 08/07/2005 07:41:27 AM
Agencies combine to lure biotechs
By Megan Lloyd-Jones/Reporter Intern
The Solano Economic Development Corp. officially is joining forces with the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization, sharing marketing clout to entice the booming biotechnology industry to the region.
The two agencies recently combined their strengths in the life sciences, publishing a new marketing brochure, "Experience Biological Sciences in California's Biotech Capital."
Bob Burris, deputy director of SACTO, said the partnership sprang from the two nonprofit organizations pulling resources together to represent Northern California in the BIO 2005 conference, held in Philadelphia in early June.
"With similar economies, both a gateway to the Bay Area and both having growing biotech industries, it was naturally fitting to work with them officially," Burris said.
Solano EDC President Mike Ammann said that while Solano County's biotech companies are officially part of the Bay Area, the proximity of UC Davis to Solano makes it difficult to define where to draw the line.
Instead of working against adjacent counties, Ammann said keeping close relationships with them helps to entice more biotech corporations to the area. When the biotech industry sees companies succeeding in Northern California, it will encourage others to locate to the general area, Ammann said.
"We need to have good, working relationships with bordering regions and partners,"Ammann said.
Both Ammann and Burris agreed that it is still important to remain competitive, but that there are enough differences between the regions to set them apart.
Solano has more biotech companies specializing in manufacturing of therapeutics, said Ammann, with Johnson and Johnson and Genentech in Vacaville, Bio-Rad in Vallejo and Cardinal Health Inc. in Dixon. Ammann said the Sacramento area is more geared toward producing medical devices such as companies like Hewlett Packard Co. and Intel.
Agencies combine to lure biotechs
By Megan Lloyd-Jones/Reporter Intern
The Solano Economic Development Corp. officially is joining forces with the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization, sharing marketing clout to entice the booming biotechnology industry to the region.
The two agencies recently combined their strengths in the life sciences, publishing a new marketing brochure, "Experience Biological Sciences in California's Biotech Capital."
Bob Burris, deputy director of SACTO, said the partnership sprang from the two nonprofit organizations pulling resources together to represent Northern California in the BIO 2005 conference, held in Philadelphia in early June.
"With similar economies, both a gateway to the Bay Area and both having growing biotech industries, it was naturally fitting to work with them officially," Burris said.
Solano EDC President Mike Ammann said that while Solano County's biotech companies are officially part of the Bay Area, the proximity of UC Davis to Solano makes it difficult to define where to draw the line.
Instead of working against adjacent counties, Ammann said keeping close relationships with them helps to entice more biotech corporations to the area. When the biotech industry sees companies succeeding in Northern California, it will encourage others to locate to the general area, Ammann said.
"We need to have good, working relationships with bordering regions and partners,"Ammann said.
Both Ammann and Burris agreed that it is still important to remain competitive, but that there are enough differences between the regions to set them apart.
Solano has more biotech companies specializing in manufacturing of therapeutics, said Ammann, with Johnson and Johnson and Genentech in Vacaville, Bio-Rad in Vallejo and Cardinal Health Inc. in Dixon. Ammann said the Sacramento area is more geared toward producing medical devices such as companies like Hewlett Packard Co. and Intel.
New Windmills Near Rio Vista Get Approval
New Windmills Near Rio Vista Get Approval
By Jason Massad/Staff Writer
Some of the older steel-frame windmills in the Montezuma Hills near Rio Vista will be replaced with six new, towering sleek windmills.
The Solano County Planning Commission gave the go-ahead to a project broached by Escondido-based enXco, Inc., for the six 1.5 megawatt windmills in the Montezuma
Hills. They can power up to 2,700 homes.
The approval came after the commission had delayed acceptance of the project last year while more information was gathered about the aesthetics of allowing the 60- to 80-meter-tall towers near Highway 12. More data was also needed about the windmills impact on bird deaths.
The improved data showed that fewer raptors, including the red-tailed hawk and American kestrel, would be killed by the six new windmills than the 90 older-generation windmills.
The impact that wind turbines can have on sensitive raptors and other birds of prey has come under more scrutiny lately because there have been problems in the Altamont Pass with bird deaths.
As the Montezuma Hills becomes a growing wind resource area in the state - more than 800 windmills are built or planned there now - planning commissioners wanted to see detailed information about the amount of bird deaths that are projected in the local area.
Jim Estep, an environmental consultant on the project, said that the new windmills would pose fewer problems for birds than the ones they would replace.
Some 3.4 raptors per year would be killed by the slow-turning rotors of the new windmills, he said. The old windmills was estimated to kill 4.3 birds per year.
"These are biologically insignificant (numbers)," he said.
Solano County is one of four wind resource areas in the state that have proved profitable for companies looking to build California's portfolio of clean, renewable sources of energy.
The Altamont Pass, Tehachapi and the Palm Springs area are the other locations in the state where the winds are consistent enough for the windmills to be feasible, said enXco company officials.
Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.
By Jason Massad/Staff Writer
Some of the older steel-frame windmills in the Montezuma Hills near Rio Vista will be replaced with six new, towering sleek windmills.
The Solano County Planning Commission gave the go-ahead to a project broached by Escondido-based enXco, Inc., for the six 1.5 megawatt windmills in the Montezuma
Hills. They can power up to 2,700 homes.
The approval came after the commission had delayed acceptance of the project last year while more information was gathered about the aesthetics of allowing the 60- to 80-meter-tall towers near Highway 12. More data was also needed about the windmills impact on bird deaths.
The improved data showed that fewer raptors, including the red-tailed hawk and American kestrel, would be killed by the six new windmills than the 90 older-generation windmills.
The impact that wind turbines can have on sensitive raptors and other birds of prey has come under more scrutiny lately because there have been problems in the Altamont Pass with bird deaths.
As the Montezuma Hills becomes a growing wind resource area in the state - more than 800 windmills are built or planned there now - planning commissioners wanted to see detailed information about the amount of bird deaths that are projected in the local area.
Jim Estep, an environmental consultant on the project, said that the new windmills would pose fewer problems for birds than the ones they would replace.
Some 3.4 raptors per year would be killed by the slow-turning rotors of the new windmills, he said. The old windmills was estimated to kill 4.3 birds per year.
"These are biologically insignificant (numbers)," he said.
Solano County is one of four wind resource areas in the state that have proved profitable for companies looking to build California's portfolio of clean, renewable sources of energy.
The Altamont Pass, Tehachapi and the Palm Springs area are the other locations in the state where the winds are consistent enough for the windmills to be feasible, said enXco company officials.
Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.
Benicia Peninsula is Nearly Complete
Benicia Peninsula is Nearly Complete
By GREG MOBERLY, Times-Herald staff writer
PUBLIC TOILETS, above, stand at the tip of the refurbished First Street Peninsula in Benicia. Photo: David Pacheco/Times-Herald
BENICIA - Fishermen, sightseers and joggers may once again enjoy views from the First Street Peninsula as soon as Friday.
That's when Rick Knight, Benicia building and maintenance supervisor, anticipates the bulk of peninsula renovations will be finished.
There are a few items still to be completed, most involving working with Pacific Gas & Electric to get energy to the site, he said Wednesday.
The $900,000 project includes paved parking, handicapped-accessible restrooms, lights (anticipated in another six weeks) and completion of a walking trail. The fish-cleaning area was repaired.
It's fishermen who will soon flock to the pier who will use the peninsula most of the time. Fishing typically doesn't pick up until the end of August, when salmon make their way to the area, said Pam Royal, owner of Benicia Bait and Tackle, 509 Claverie Way.
"Everyone's been waiting with great anticipation to get this peninsula open," Royal said of her customers.
It'll be interesting to get some feedback on the changes, Royal said.
Benicia Main Street Executive Director Libbey Mc-Kendry already is looking forward to fewer people asking to use her organization's restroom. Its quarters sit in the historic Southern Pacific Depot at the foot of First Street near the peninsula.
McKendry said she also likes that there won't be any more dust raised by passing vehicles.
The city expected the work to be completed by the beginning of August, but cleanup of contaminated soils added costs and time.
Knight said contractor Hess Construction found arsenic, selenium, lead paint and old diesel fuels from the old Southern Pacific Railroad. It took $49,000 to test the site and bring in new soil to replace the contaminated dirt, he said.
The project was funded with a mix of federal, state and city money.
federal Land and Water Conservation Act, $150,000 from Coastal Conservancy and $252,000 from the state Department of Fish and Game's Wildlife Conservation Board.
Credibility for a New Downtown - (10/04/05)
Credibility for a new downtown - (10/04/05)
By Times-Herald Editorial staff
Even the most cynical among us must admit that Vallejoans' long-held hopes for a thriving downtown finally are poised to come true.
With a unanimous vote last Tuesday, the City Council gave its enthusiastic preliminary okay for Triad Corp.'s sweeping plans to revamp, restore and renew more than a dozen square blocks downtown into shops, entertainment venues and homes.
A unanimous vote by the council brings solid credibility to the plan, which has been scrutinized by politicians, a variety of official agencies and Vallejo citizens since the notion first glimmered several years ago.
It's an exciting plan consisting of high-rises with commercial on the ground floor and upscale housing above.
Imagine, high-rises in downtown Vallejo to rival Marina Towers.
These business-residential plans are the best answer to growing population management. They put people in homes close to the services they need and want and they eliminate the need for more sprawl in our already scarce open spaces.
The plans, too, include the renovation of the Empress Theater to make that historic building come alive, restored as a central entertainment venue to what is hoped will be an arts and entertainment district attracting hundreds.
This all promises the end of decay, abandoned buildings, struggling businesses, and the constant roaming of ne're do wells through our downtown streets.
Vallejo has never completely given up on its downtown, but its appearance today reflects failed plans and a shirking of responsibility by building owners in our city's historic core.
All of that, by way of a unanimous "yes" amid applause and cheers in the City Council chambers, is about to change in the area encompassing Maine, Santa Clara and Capitol streets and Sonoma Boulevard.
The surrounding areas are not forgotten. Once this initial project is completed and proves its worth, those areas go on the drawing board.
Construction should begin next year.
We're ready, and business owners are ready, for the inconvenience of massive construction in a small area. Business owners know and accept there will be disruptions and parking issues over the many months of building.
The city knows it will need to manage well its scarce resources to invest its share of $10.7 million for upgrading streets, building a park and making sure there is a strong marketing plan in place to lure businesses here.
Vallejo has also forgiven Triad some $6.6 million in developer fees.
The inconvenience and sacrifice, however, is minor compared to the benefit - a downtown we will want to use, that we can visit after dark with no fears, and that hundreds will call home.
As Councilmember Gary Cloutier said: "I say let's get on with it."
By Times-Herald Editorial staff
Even the most cynical among us must admit that Vallejoans' long-held hopes for a thriving downtown finally are poised to come true.
With a unanimous vote last Tuesday, the City Council gave its enthusiastic preliminary okay for Triad Corp.'s sweeping plans to revamp, restore and renew more than a dozen square blocks downtown into shops, entertainment venues and homes.
A unanimous vote by the council brings solid credibility to the plan, which has been scrutinized by politicians, a variety of official agencies and Vallejo citizens since the notion first glimmered several years ago.
It's an exciting plan consisting of high-rises with commercial on the ground floor and upscale housing above.
Imagine, high-rises in downtown Vallejo to rival Marina Towers.
These business-residential plans are the best answer to growing population management. They put people in homes close to the services they need and want and they eliminate the need for more sprawl in our already scarce open spaces.
The plans, too, include the renovation of the Empress Theater to make that historic building come alive, restored as a central entertainment venue to what is hoped will be an arts and entertainment district attracting hundreds.
This all promises the end of decay, abandoned buildings, struggling businesses, and the constant roaming of ne're do wells through our downtown streets.
Vallejo has never completely given up on its downtown, but its appearance today reflects failed plans and a shirking of responsibility by building owners in our city's historic core.
All of that, by way of a unanimous "yes" amid applause and cheers in the City Council chambers, is about to change in the area encompassing Maine, Santa Clara and Capitol streets and Sonoma Boulevard.
The surrounding areas are not forgotten. Once this initial project is completed and proves its worth, those areas go on the drawing board.
Construction should begin next year.
We're ready, and business owners are ready, for the inconvenience of massive construction in a small area. Business owners know and accept there will be disruptions and parking issues over the many months of building.
The city knows it will need to manage well its scarce resources to invest its share of $10.7 million for upgrading streets, building a park and making sure there is a strong marketing plan in place to lure businesses here.
Vallejo has also forgiven Triad some $6.6 million in developer fees.
The inconvenience and sacrifice, however, is minor compared to the benefit - a downtown we will want to use, that we can visit after dark with no fears, and that hundreds will call home.
As Councilmember Gary Cloutier said: "I say let's get on with it."
Building a Vibrant Future
Building a Vibrant Future
'Mixed-use village' will help keep Vacaville strong
For a city to remain vibrant and alive in the long run, its very vitality must radiate from its core.
From its center comes a heartbeat by which a city survives or succumbs.
With the CreekWalk, Town Square, the farmers market, a growing number of community events, and businesses hanging in strong in Vacaville's downtown, the city's vitality is plain and its heartbeat is strong.
And the city is working to maintain that strength.
Take, for instance, the effort to eventually develop multiuse buildings near Vacaville's downtown, something that can only add to the downtown's appeal and vigor. The idea behind Opportunity Hill would be to have a "mixed-use village" of commercial and residential development within walking distance of CreekWalk, Town Square, Vacaville's newest library and downtown businesses.
Vacaville residents would have the luxury of living, working, eating, shopping and playing all within a few city blocks, and thus eliminate the need for commuting to jobs far away from home and family.
The city's redevelopment agency is collecting properties just east of downtown that eventually will be home to businesses and people alike. Vacaville's Housing and Redevelopment Commission last week approved the purchase of 10,000 square feet of property on Catherine Street, adding to the growing cluster of publicly owned land in the area.
Opportunity Hill comprises the land south of East Main Street and north of Mason Street between Depot and Davis streets. The hope is to connect the recently redeveloped Davis Street area - which includes Brenden Theatres and the Vacaville Skating Center - to downtown.
The mixed-use idea isn't new. An example of the intermingling of commercial uses and residential units in the area is the Dionicia Building on East Main, where Vasquez Deli takes up the bottom floor while three apartments sit above. Suisun City also has a waterfront development that includes businesses on the ground floors and living spaces above.
City officials believe the demand for living units in such close proximity to downtown's pubs, dining spots, entertainment offerings and shopping would be huge. We agree that the concept, if executed correctly, will continue the downtown area's revitalization, with good economic, social and civic health for years to come.
The challenge, of course, will be attracting a developer to craft a project that will keep the revitalization efforts going strong.
'Mixed-use village' will help keep Vacaville strong
For a city to remain vibrant and alive in the long run, its very vitality must radiate from its core.
From its center comes a heartbeat by which a city survives or succumbs.
With the CreekWalk, Town Square, the farmers market, a growing number of community events, and businesses hanging in strong in Vacaville's downtown, the city's vitality is plain and its heartbeat is strong.
And the city is working to maintain that strength.
Take, for instance, the effort to eventually develop multiuse buildings near Vacaville's downtown, something that can only add to the downtown's appeal and vigor. The idea behind Opportunity Hill would be to have a "mixed-use village" of commercial and residential development within walking distance of CreekWalk, Town Square, Vacaville's newest library and downtown businesses.
Vacaville residents would have the luxury of living, working, eating, shopping and playing all within a few city blocks, and thus eliminate the need for commuting to jobs far away from home and family.
The city's redevelopment agency is collecting properties just east of downtown that eventually will be home to businesses and people alike. Vacaville's Housing and Redevelopment Commission last week approved the purchase of 10,000 square feet of property on Catherine Street, adding to the growing cluster of publicly owned land in the area.
Opportunity Hill comprises the land south of East Main Street and north of Mason Street between Depot and Davis streets. The hope is to connect the recently redeveloped Davis Street area - which includes Brenden Theatres and the Vacaville Skating Center - to downtown.
The mixed-use idea isn't new. An example of the intermingling of commercial uses and residential units in the area is the Dionicia Building on East Main, where Vasquez Deli takes up the bottom floor while three apartments sit above. Suisun City also has a waterfront development that includes businesses on the ground floors and living spaces above.
City officials believe the demand for living units in such close proximity to downtown's pubs, dining spots, entertainment offerings and shopping would be huge. We agree that the concept, if executed correctly, will continue the downtown area's revitalization, with good economic, social and civic health for years to come.
The challenge, of course, will be attracting a developer to craft a project that will keep the revitalization efforts going strong.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Weak outlook for state seen by the UCLA Anderson Forecast
Weak outlook for state seen
Many are working under the table, UCLA group says
Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
California's economic outlook is "mediocre at best" in the short term, according to an influential forecasting group, which says the state's job recovery has been too dependent on a housing boom that could go bust.
The report set for release today by the UCLA Anderson Forecast also highlights the growing importance of the informal economy -- consisting of nearly 2 million Californians who are working, but not at payroll jobs, in many cases getting paid off the books without having taxes withheld.
The UCLA Anderson report arrives at a time of growing consumer pessimism. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, based on a survey of household spending plans, fell to 86.6 in September from 105.5 in August, its biggest drop in 15 years, the research group said Tuesday.
This indicator is closely watched in an economy where two-thirds of output is driven by consumer spending. Economists disagree whether the swoon was a temporary reaction to the back-to-back hurricanes or the start of a purse-tightening trend.
In related news, the Commerce Department said Tuesday that the volume of new home sales fell 9.9 percent in August, a bigger-than-expected drop that could signal a slowdown in the hitherto hot housing market. Even with the drop in volume, however, the median sale price rose 2.5 percent to $220,300.
The Commerce Department news underscored the message of the UCLA Anderson report. The UCLA forecasters have long said that California's home prices have outstripped their underlying fundamental value. In Wednesday's report, prepared in advance of the Commerce release, the forecasters said one sign of a cool-down would be a slowdown in volume.
In recent months, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has cautioned about the overheated housing market. Just this week, the Fed chief took note of the increasing number of risky mortgages -- such as those with interest-only payments -- to warn that if housing prices cool, some borrowers and lenders "could be exposed to significant losses."
The UCLA Anderson report noted that a disproportionate share of the net job gains in California has come from the housing sector. Scott Anderson, Northern California economic specialist for financial services giant Wells Fargo, has run similar analyses that have arrived at the same conclusion.
"The job recovery in the nation as a whole, but in California especially, has been tremendously dependent on housing and remodeling,'' said Anderson (who has no relation to the forecasting unit). When he compared payroll job totals from August 2004 to August 2005, he found that 12.3 percent of all net payroll growth nationwide came directly from construction.
In California, it was 27.3 percent. In the Vallejo-Fairfield economic zone, the ratio was even higher, with 42 percent of all net jobs coming from people who swing hammers or perform other construction-related tasks. "This is a major risk,'' he said. If housing cools and construction slows or reverses, it could drag down the job market.
For its part, the UCLA Anderson Forecast warned that a recession could occur in the event of a severe collapse of housing prices. But their official forecast projects that a slowdown in job growth to 1.2 percent in 2006, compared with an estimated 1.6 percent in 2005, is more likely.
Howard Roth, chief economist for the California Department of Finance, agreed that construction has buoyed the job market but said other sectors have started to grow as well. That could make a housing cool-down and construction job retreat less of a problem than would otherwise be the case.
Roth noted that between the first half of 2004 and the first half of 2005, professional and business services, as well as trade, transportation and utilities, two well-paying employment sectors, have each added more jobs than construction, which saw a payroll gain of 53,300 during the period.
Leisure and hospitality, though not as remunerative as the other three sectors, have also added more than 46,000 jobs -- evidence, Roth said, that payroll employment gains are broadening.
On the growth of the informal economy, UCLA Anderson economist Christopher Thornberg noted that roughly 1.9 million Californians, or 12.4 percent of the overall workforce, seem to be working at something other than a standard job. Some are contract workers and on the books, but others are under the table.
"This should be an ongoing concern for policymakers, as little is known about what these folks do, the type of benefits they may or may not have, and of course whether or not they pay taxes,'' Thornberg wrote.
Sandi Mason, an employment specialist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, said federal job counters don't know much about this phenomenon other than that it exists and is an appreciable part of the workforce in many states.
Idaho, for instance, has a slightly larger percentage of informal workers than California, she said. Washington, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Texas are also right above or below the 10 percent mark.
Wells' Anderson said employers may want to pay employees off the books to beat the rising costs of health care benefits.
A 53-year-old San Francisco man contacted through The Chronicle's Two Cents reader response network said he has to work underground because he has no other way to make ends meet. He asked that his name be withheld because he works odd jobs to supplement some government assistance income.
But most of the Two Cents query respondents were as upbeat as San Francisco lawyer Gilion Dumas, who says she has willingly worked roughly half of her 14 years in law on a contract basis. "I pay all my own expenses, and while I get none of the benefits of being an employee, I also avoid all the irritations and office politics of regular employment,'' she said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail Tom Abate at tabate@sfchronicle.com.
California jobs
Job creation in California during the current expansion has been more
heavily concentrated in a few fields, notably construction, than during the
1993 to 1995 rebound.
Numbers are from August to August
1993 to
1995 2003 to 2005
Finance -22,600 10,400
Construction 26,700 57,700
Leisure 34,500 41,300
Retail trade 21,600 27,900
Real estate 100 4,200
Education and health 22,400 24,000
Professional services 16,700 16,300
Wholesale trade 10,300 6,000
Transportation 11,300 3,400
Information 16,400 6,300
Durable goods 17,600 5,600
Non-durable goods 14,500 -2,800
Administrative 54,300 32,000
.
Source: UCLA Anderson Forecast, Sept. 2005
The Chronicle
Many are working under the table, UCLA group says
Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
California's economic outlook is "mediocre at best" in the short term, according to an influential forecasting group, which says the state's job recovery has been too dependent on a housing boom that could go bust.
The report set for release today by the UCLA Anderson Forecast also highlights the growing importance of the informal economy -- consisting of nearly 2 million Californians who are working, but not at payroll jobs, in many cases getting paid off the books without having taxes withheld.
The UCLA Anderson report arrives at a time of growing consumer pessimism. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, based on a survey of household spending plans, fell to 86.6 in September from 105.5 in August, its biggest drop in 15 years, the research group said Tuesday.
This indicator is closely watched in an economy where two-thirds of output is driven by consumer spending. Economists disagree whether the swoon was a temporary reaction to the back-to-back hurricanes or the start of a purse-tightening trend.
In related news, the Commerce Department said Tuesday that the volume of new home sales fell 9.9 percent in August, a bigger-than-expected drop that could signal a slowdown in the hitherto hot housing market. Even with the drop in volume, however, the median sale price rose 2.5 percent to $220,300.
The Commerce Department news underscored the message of the UCLA Anderson report. The UCLA forecasters have long said that California's home prices have outstripped their underlying fundamental value. In Wednesday's report, prepared in advance of the Commerce release, the forecasters said one sign of a cool-down would be a slowdown in volume.
In recent months, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has cautioned about the overheated housing market. Just this week, the Fed chief took note of the increasing number of risky mortgages -- such as those with interest-only payments -- to warn that if housing prices cool, some borrowers and lenders "could be exposed to significant losses."
The UCLA Anderson report noted that a disproportionate share of the net job gains in California has come from the housing sector. Scott Anderson, Northern California economic specialist for financial services giant Wells Fargo, has run similar analyses that have arrived at the same conclusion.
"The job recovery in the nation as a whole, but in California especially, has been tremendously dependent on housing and remodeling,'' said Anderson (who has no relation to the forecasting unit). When he compared payroll job totals from August 2004 to August 2005, he found that 12.3 percent of all net payroll growth nationwide came directly from construction.
In California, it was 27.3 percent. In the Vallejo-Fairfield economic zone, the ratio was even higher, with 42 percent of all net jobs coming from people who swing hammers or perform other construction-related tasks. "This is a major risk,'' he said. If housing cools and construction slows or reverses, it could drag down the job market.
For its part, the UCLA Anderson Forecast warned that a recession could occur in the event of a severe collapse of housing prices. But their official forecast projects that a slowdown in job growth to 1.2 percent in 2006, compared with an estimated 1.6 percent in 2005, is more likely.
Howard Roth, chief economist for the California Department of Finance, agreed that construction has buoyed the job market but said other sectors have started to grow as well. That could make a housing cool-down and construction job retreat less of a problem than would otherwise be the case.
Roth noted that between the first half of 2004 and the first half of 2005, professional and business services, as well as trade, transportation and utilities, two well-paying employment sectors, have each added more jobs than construction, which saw a payroll gain of 53,300 during the period.
Leisure and hospitality, though not as remunerative as the other three sectors, have also added more than 46,000 jobs -- evidence, Roth said, that payroll employment gains are broadening.
On the growth of the informal economy, UCLA Anderson economist Christopher Thornberg noted that roughly 1.9 million Californians, or 12.4 percent of the overall workforce, seem to be working at something other than a standard job. Some are contract workers and on the books, but others are under the table.
"This should be an ongoing concern for policymakers, as little is known about what these folks do, the type of benefits they may or may not have, and of course whether or not they pay taxes,'' Thornberg wrote.
Sandi Mason, an employment specialist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, said federal job counters don't know much about this phenomenon other than that it exists and is an appreciable part of the workforce in many states.
Idaho, for instance, has a slightly larger percentage of informal workers than California, she said. Washington, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Texas are also right above or below the 10 percent mark.
Wells' Anderson said employers may want to pay employees off the books to beat the rising costs of health care benefits.
A 53-year-old San Francisco man contacted through The Chronicle's Two Cents reader response network said he has to work underground because he has no other way to make ends meet. He asked that his name be withheld because he works odd jobs to supplement some government assistance income.
But most of the Two Cents query respondents were as upbeat as San Francisco lawyer Gilion Dumas, who says she has willingly worked roughly half of her 14 years in law on a contract basis. "I pay all my own expenses, and while I get none of the benefits of being an employee, I also avoid all the irritations and office politics of regular employment,'' she said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail Tom Abate at tabate@sfchronicle.com.
California jobs
Job creation in California during the current expansion has been more
heavily concentrated in a few fields, notably construction, than during the
1993 to 1995 rebound.
Numbers are from August to August
1993 to
1995 2003 to 2005
Finance -22,600 10,400
Construction 26,700 57,700
Leisure 34,500 41,300
Retail trade 21,600 27,900
Real estate 100 4,200
Education and health 22,400 24,000
Professional services 16,700 16,300
Wholesale trade 10,300 6,000
Transportation 11,300 3,400
Information 16,400 6,300
Durable goods 17,600 5,600
Non-durable goods 14,500 -2,800
Administrative 54,300 32,000
.
Source: UCLA Anderson Forecast, Sept. 2005
The Chronicle
Vacaville's Visitors bureau reaching new milestones
Article Launched: 10/02/2005 08:01:38 AM
Visitors bureau reaching new milestones
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Office? Check. Staff? Check. Visitors guide and Web site? Check.
The Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau, born in April 2004, has reached a few new milestones, said Executive Director Antonette Eckert.
Wednesday saw the release of the VCVB's first visitors guide, a 38-page ode to all attractions Vacaville. The glossy guide includes basic Vacaville information, maps of the city and listings of local events, attractions and shopping spots.
Eckert said both content and presentation were important in developing the guide.
The bureau moved into its Parker Street office in late April. A short time later, Eckert hired several part-time employees so that the bureau could stay open during regular business hours.
With the Web site (www.vacavillenow.com) up and 10,000 copies of the visitors guide floating around city hotels, Eckert said steam is picking up for the group.
The plan is for another visitors guide in the spring, as well as a possible shopping and dining guide. Several surveys are being completed, as well. Two online surveys and one completed at the California State Fair over the summer gathered outsider opinions of Vacaville and why they would come here. A hotel survey for those staying in Vacaville is being wrapped up.
Those research ventures will help the VCVB start to market the city to vacationers, day-trippers and event planners, Eckert said.
"We don't want to be everything to everybody," she said. "We need to find our niche markets."
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Visitors bureau reaching new milestones
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Office? Check. Staff? Check. Visitors guide and Web site? Check.
The Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau, born in April 2004, has reached a few new milestones, said Executive Director Antonette Eckert.
Wednesday saw the release of the VCVB's first visitors guide, a 38-page ode to all attractions Vacaville. The glossy guide includes basic Vacaville information, maps of the city and listings of local events, attractions and shopping spots.
Eckert said both content and presentation were important in developing the guide.
The bureau moved into its Parker Street office in late April. A short time later, Eckert hired several part-time employees so that the bureau could stay open during regular business hours.
With the Web site (www.vacavillenow.com) up and 10,000 copies of the visitors guide floating around city hotels, Eckert said steam is picking up for the group.
The plan is for another visitors guide in the spring, as well as a possible shopping and dining guide. Several surveys are being completed, as well. Two online surveys and one completed at the California State Fair over the summer gathered outsider opinions of Vacaville and why they would come here. A hotel survey for those staying in Vacaville is being wrapped up.
Those research ventures will help the VCVB start to market the city to vacationers, day-trippers and event planners, Eckert said.
"We don't want to be everything to everybody," she said. "We need to find our niche markets."
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Major destination retail project along I-80
Article Launched: 10/02/2005 08:01:36 AM
Other projects challenge plan
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Lost in the excitement of the Nut Tree's redevelopment and the nail-biting of Dixon Downs is the one thing that connects the project: Interstate 80.
Nut Tree is expected to bring in millions of visitors a year, while Dixon Downs could pack in tens of thousands on race days. Both projects include major retail components - the Nut Tree is being built along with the family park and market pavilion, while Dixon Down's commercial village will wait until Phase 2 comes around.
The core projects themselves are rather divergent: A miniature railroad chugging around a track vs. a pack of thoroughbred horses galloping for gold. But can the projects, with their girth and their draw, with their upscale shopping and their entertainment pull, co-exist on the corridor?
Marshall Drack, the city of Dixon's retiring economic development director, isn't sure yet.
"There's competition, and there's the idea of making it a destination," Drack said.
Drack said because of the lack of entertainment options in northern Solano County, especially in Dixon, there isn't an oversaturation of the market.
He also said that projects could get their crowds from different places.
"Dixon draws a lot from Davis and Sacramento," Drack said. "Vacaville might draw more from Fairfield and Suisun City. I-80 is the road that connects all those people, but folks still don't stray too far from home."
Mike Palombo, Vacaville's economic development director, said cities rarely meddle in neighbors' affairs.
"All of us are aware of the others' projects," Palombo said. "But our goal is to bring the projects we like into our community. If we're not an option, then we'll send the developer to a neighbor."
Palombo said coordination between cities is more likely when bringing in industry. Palombo said, by rule of thumb, Vacaville residents will get 40 percent of the work generated by a job center in Fairfield and 60 percent of the work generated by a job center in Vacaville.
So it helps to work together on industry. But in commercial endeavors, the city has little pull.
"The people who decide where to build are the developers," Palombo said. "Sure, we all make our best pitch. But the developer makes their decision."
Palombo isn't sure how Dixon Downs and the Nut Tree, as well as future projects in the pipeline, will co-exist.
"They seem to be aimed at different groups," Palombo said. "But at this point, it'd be premature to guess."
He said developers tend to do their own homework about local markets and upcoming projects in the area surrounding prospective sites, anyway.
"If a retail developer wants to build in Vacaville, they will," he said.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Other projects challenge plan
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Lost in the excitement of the Nut Tree's redevelopment and the nail-biting of Dixon Downs is the one thing that connects the project: Interstate 80.
Nut Tree is expected to bring in millions of visitors a year, while Dixon Downs could pack in tens of thousands on race days. Both projects include major retail components - the Nut Tree is being built along with the family park and market pavilion, while Dixon Down's commercial village will wait until Phase 2 comes around.
The core projects themselves are rather divergent: A miniature railroad chugging around a track vs. a pack of thoroughbred horses galloping for gold. But can the projects, with their girth and their draw, with their upscale shopping and their entertainment pull, co-exist on the corridor?
Marshall Drack, the city of Dixon's retiring economic development director, isn't sure yet.
"There's competition, and there's the idea of making it a destination," Drack said.
Drack said because of the lack of entertainment options in northern Solano County, especially in Dixon, there isn't an oversaturation of the market.
He also said that projects could get their crowds from different places.
"Dixon draws a lot from Davis and Sacramento," Drack said. "Vacaville might draw more from Fairfield and Suisun City. I-80 is the road that connects all those people, but folks still don't stray too far from home."
Mike Palombo, Vacaville's economic development director, said cities rarely meddle in neighbors' affairs.
"All of us are aware of the others' projects," Palombo said. "But our goal is to bring the projects we like into our community. If we're not an option, then we'll send the developer to a neighbor."
Palombo said coordination between cities is more likely when bringing in industry. Palombo said, by rule of thumb, Vacaville residents will get 40 percent of the work generated by a job center in Fairfield and 60 percent of the work generated by a job center in Vacaville.
So it helps to work together on industry. But in commercial endeavors, the city has little pull.
"The people who decide where to build are the developers," Palombo said. "Sure, we all make our best pitch. But the developer makes their decision."
Palombo isn't sure how Dixon Downs and the Nut Tree, as well as future projects in the pipeline, will co-exist.
"They seem to be aimed at different groups," Palombo said. "But at this point, it'd be premature to guess."
He said developers tend to do their own homework about local markets and upcoming projects in the area surrounding prospective sites, anyway.
"If a retail developer wants to build in Vacaville, they will," he said.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Traffic would be a trade-off for new Dixon Downs
Article Launched: 10/02/2005 08:01:38 AM
Traffic would be a trade-off
By Jason Massad/Staff Writer
Looking south from the intersection of Interstate 80 and Pedrick Road (lower left) would be the site of Dixon Downs (center). (Rick Roach/Reporter File Photo)
One of the lures of the proposed Dixon Downs racetrack is that its numerous horse-racing events would pull thousands of people into Solano County's smallest city.
Horse and gambling enthusiasts would be spending money, service jobs would be created within the county, and Dixon, known for its small-town charm, would have a buzzing regional attraction on its northern edge for the horse races, and even concerts.
The biggest trade-off in the whole deal, however, could be the amount of traffic generated at the event center.
A review of the project predicts the Interstate 80 corridor from Dixon to Sacramento could worsen, offramps will be clogged at two key interchanges in Dixon, and residents traveling to I-80 from First Street and Pedrick Road on race day could be waiting a while.
Warren Salmons, Dixon's city manager, likens the development to Raley's Field, straddling the West Sacramento-Sacramento border.
Area residents surely don't like the periodic game-day traffic "yet that community made a decision based on a lot of factors," Salmons said. "That community was willing to accept less convenience on certain occasions."
The Dixon Downs horse-racing complex is envisioned to be a two-phase project, which has a lot of bearing on the amount of traffic projected there.
The first phase would include the horse track and all of its trappings near the intersection of Pedrick and Vaughn roads, but none of the hotels and retail shops that are envisioned in the second phase that would make traffic more constant.
The proponents of the track, Magna Entertainment, envision 100 horse-racing events per year during the first phase - which averages about two a week - with some being held on weekdays and some on weekends.
In addition, concerts that could be staged seasonally might attract up to 15,000 people per show in the initial years.
For concerts, the environmental review predicts traffic jams at the Interstate 80 onramp at Pedrick Road that could cause waits of more than 15 minutes as patrons try to head east back to the Sacramento area.
For the more regular weekday and weekend horse-racing events, those waits at the Pedrick Road interchange become a more modest four to seven minutes, according to projections.
Meanwhile, traffic in the I-80 corridor, already congested, would increase to what engineers call unacceptable levels in the first phase of the racetrack.
The interstate westbound between Pedrick and Curry roads would approach gridlock on race days, along with Pedrick and Kidwell roads and westbound between Curry and Pitt School roads.
Proponents of the project stress that the traffic will be periodic and not when motorists are commuting on I-80.
"With or without Dixon Downs, I-80 will continue to compact," said Lorne Kumer, a Magna representative. "We're not going to be the straw that broke the camel's back, not even close to that. We create traffic, but it's off-peak and on-weekend. In a way, our traffic is good traffic."
Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.
Sutter Solano Medical Center moves ahead with high-tech diagnostic equipment
October 2, 2005
Sutter Solano moves ahead with high-tech diagnostic equipment
By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer
Sutter Solano Medical Center has gone digital, edging out Kaiser Permanente, Vallejo, in rolling out the latest diagnostic technology, officials of both hospitals said Friday.
The new X-ray technology allows technicians to see the images in real time, rather than waiting to have them developed. It's like the difference between a regular camera and digital, hospital spokesmen said.
David Alba, manager of Sutter Solano Medical Center's Imaging Services, said the upgrade is a big improvement for doctors and patients.
"It's state of the art," Alba said. "It's long overdue here in Vallejo."
Alba said Sutter facilities in San Francisco, Sacramento and Fairfield already use the technology, which eliminates the need for X-ray film. Images can also be copied onto discs for easier storage and transport, he said.
Kaiser Vallejo had the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) technology installed last April, but won't come on line with it for a few months, said John Ellis, Kaiser's director of radiology for the Napa and Solano area.
"We're rolling it out in phases regionally," Ellis said. "The first was in Sacramento more than a year ago. Napa is the only facility still to be digitalized."
The new technology saves money, time and space by allowing images to be stored on discs and viewed simultaneously in different locations, the experts said.
Sutter's Fairfield Digital Imaging Center, 2700 Low Court Road, is the only medical facility in Solano County with digital mammography, though Sutter Solano and Kaiser Vallejo are expecting to have the capability within a few years.
A new study shows the digital mammogram is more accurate than traditional
X-rays for women under 50, perimenopausal women and women with dense breast tissue, said Shelly Gordon, a Sutter Regional Medical Foundation spokesperson.
"It also cuts down on having to repeat the procedure because of film problems," Gordon said. "Everything's going digital, it's only a matter of time."
Though the digital mammography technology has been around for a decade, few facilities have it yet, because of the equipment's expense, Gordon said. The upgrade is part of a $9 million imaging services renovation project. Sutter Solano doctors now have the option to refer patients to Fairfield for the procedure, Gordon said.
Ellis said digital mammography won't likely make it to Kaiser Vallejo until 2008.
- E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6824.
Sutter Solano moves ahead with high-tech diagnostic equipment
By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer
Sutter Solano Medical Center has gone digital, edging out Kaiser Permanente, Vallejo, in rolling out the latest diagnostic technology, officials of both hospitals said Friday.
The new X-ray technology allows technicians to see the images in real time, rather than waiting to have them developed. It's like the difference between a regular camera and digital, hospital spokesmen said.
David Alba, manager of Sutter Solano Medical Center's Imaging Services, said the upgrade is a big improvement for doctors and patients.
"It's state of the art," Alba said. "It's long overdue here in Vallejo."
Alba said Sutter facilities in San Francisco, Sacramento and Fairfield already use the technology, which eliminates the need for X-ray film. Images can also be copied onto discs for easier storage and transport, he said.
Kaiser Vallejo had the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) technology installed last April, but won't come on line with it for a few months, said John Ellis, Kaiser's director of radiology for the Napa and Solano area.
"We're rolling it out in phases regionally," Ellis said. "The first was in Sacramento more than a year ago. Napa is the only facility still to be digitalized."
The new technology saves money, time and space by allowing images to be stored on discs and viewed simultaneously in different locations, the experts said.
Sutter's Fairfield Digital Imaging Center, 2700 Low Court Road, is the only medical facility in Solano County with digital mammography, though Sutter Solano and Kaiser Vallejo are expecting to have the capability within a few years.
A new study shows the digital mammogram is more accurate than traditional
X-rays for women under 50, perimenopausal women and women with dense breast tissue, said Shelly Gordon, a Sutter Regional Medical Foundation spokesperson.
"It also cuts down on having to repeat the procedure because of film problems," Gordon said. "Everything's going digital, it's only a matter of time."
Though the digital mammography technology has been around for a decade, few facilities have it yet, because of the equipment's expense, Gordon said. The upgrade is part of a $9 million imaging services renovation project. Sutter Solano doctors now have the option to refer patients to Fairfield for the procedure, Gordon said.
Ellis said digital mammography won't likely make it to Kaiser Vallejo until 2008.
- E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6824.
Spring completion of $7 million construction of 68-room Fairfield Inn & Suites
Article Last Updated: Saturday, Oct 01, 2005 - 09:41:10 pm PDT
Hampton Inn & Suites general manager Barbara Glover stands in front of her hotel, one of 17 currently in Fairfield. (Mike McCoy/Daily Republic)
Room for competition?
By Christine Cubé
FAIRFIELD - Fairfield Inn & Suites owner Sam Patel has a plan.
As the $7 million construction of the hotel on Pittman Road nears its spring completion, Patel knows his 68-room Fairfield Inn & Suites is among several hotels under construction or scheduled to open in upcoming years.
Many hotels will be concentrated around the Suisun Valley/Green Valley roads exits in Cordelia.
Patel's plan: More and better hotel amenities. He's talking a pool, 32-inch televisions and wireless Internet access throughout the hotel. Every room also will come equipped with a wet bar and two hard-wired dataports.
Patel expects to directly compete with the hotels already there, namely the Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn & Suites, Days Inn and Best Western. He also expects formidable competition when the planned 85-room Homewood Suites and 82-room Staybridge Suites are finished. Developers are expected to break ground for those properties sometime this year.
But Patel admits he's not crazy about the growing supply.
"We've got a lot of hotel rooms and not enough demand," said Patel, part-owner of the hotel. "We have to just bite the bullet and move forward and hopefully we can overcome the other competitors by putting in extra amenities."
Room at the inn
Fairfield has 17 hotels and more are coming.
Two properties are under construction and four are on the drawing boards, according to New Hampshire-based Lodging Econometrics. The four in planning are Homewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, a La Quinta Inn & Suites and Super 8.
What compounds the problem is the huge chunk of hotel business that's about to go away: Around December, Travis Air Force Base plans to open its own 350-room inn on base. And even if the base continued to send out business to hotels, the cost for military and government contractor guests just got cheaper due to a $24 drop in the federal per diem, a special hotel rate set by the U.S. General Services Administration. Down from $104 to $80, the rate changed Oct. 1 and will be in effect for a year.
All of this makes the Fairfield hotel community nervous.
"It's exploding," said Barbara Glover, general manager of the 57-room Hampton Inn in Cordelia. "Everybody is hoping the hotel association can have a positive impact but that alone isn't going to save us all. Pricing is going to be a huge concern. We have to be better than the Joneses not just keep up with the Joneses."
Base changes
The new West Wind Inn will open around December or early January at Travis Air Force Base.
They're not calling it a hotel.
In fact, officials there said their intent to have "living quarters" isn't to put Fairfield hotels out of business. The new 350 rooms at the base - which will be combined with other accommodations already there - will allow military and government officials to readily conduct business because their rooms will be close to work.
But they admit there also will be a cost savings. That's because money that would normally go into local hotels in the form of the federal per diem rate won't be as high.
In the end, it justifies the total cost for the new living quarters on base, which come at a price of $40 million.
For that kind of money in many large metropolitan cities, you'd be staring at a four-star, luxury hotel, replete with plenty of marble.
But there will be no marble at Travis.
That figure includes the cost for the demolition of older living quarters and the price to put a bathroom in every room, a departure from the base's shared bathrooms. It also includes new furniture, Internet access in every room and a coffee shop in the inn.
Despite these upgrades, Travis officials said they're still going to need hotels to house people when its total 570 base rooms are full.
"We're very appreciative of the local support from our hotel community," said Capt. Lindsay Logsdon, chief of public affairs for the base. "When we don't have the room, we go to them. Travis is the gateway to the Pacific. There are still going to be times when Travis doesn't have enough rooms."
The silver lining
The Fairfield Hotel Association Inc., led by Executive Director Candy Pierce, has been working to put Fairfield into the itineraries of travel companies, tour bus groups and bus associations. The group also is working to secure California Welcome Center designation for a new center to be located near the Auto Mall.
It's a plan that's been in process for a few years now, when local hotels and tourism officials realized something had to be done to attract more visitors to town.
Kevin Johnson, general manager of the 150-room Hilton Garden Inn Fairfield, has been on the forefront of the tourism effort here.
"The Cordelia market is getting super concentrated with limited-service properties," he said. "(Hotels are going to be) fighting for a rate to continue to improve or maintain a facility."
Limited-service hotels range from economy or budget to mid-scale hotels that typically do not receive food and beverage revenue.
Hotel expert Bruce Ford, senior vice president of sales for Lodging Econometrics, said Fairfield hotels have a legitimate concern with the growing supply and not-so-growing demand.
"It's natural," Ford said. "Every hotel owner would be worried about competition that would eat into their demand. The key is to stay renovated and stay on top of group business."
No one is blaming the base.
But as new properties come on board, hoteliers are most concerned about a dilution in business.
"The hotel association truly is an organization of all the hotels," said Anand Patel, general manager and partner with the Holiday Inn Express Fairfield/Napa Valley. "We try and obviously look at every hotel and see how different efforts will impact every hotel for the better."
Reach Christine Cubé at 427-6934 or ccube@dailyrepublic.net.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
No Suisun lighthouse yet, but beacon set to shine
Article Last Updated: Friday, Sep 30, 2005 - 11:47:46 pm PDT
No Suisun lighthouse yet, but beacon set to shine
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - Suisun City Hall doesn't have its lighthouse yet, but it does have the lighthouse's light.
Mayor Jim Spering and the City Council will flick the switch on the lighthouse beacon at 7:30 p.m. as part of the city's Waterfront Festival today.
City Hall's announcement plugs the event as "the flickering promise of a rejuvenated downtown waterfront" and a public test of the 150-watt lamp that will have a maximum visibility distance of 23 nautical miles once the lighthouse is built.
The city plans to erect a 52-foot-high lighthouse on the east side of Suisun City's harbor, which would be an instant landmark and focal point for the Main Street West development project, supporters said.
Suisun City is in negotiations with Main Street West Partners on a plan to jump-start the redevelopment of the Old Town area.
"This lighthouse will be the landmark that guides people to Suisun City," Spering said. "Lighthouses have a long history of guiding sailors to safe harbors. This lighthouse will guide visitors to the vibrant destination downtown will become."
The lighthouse idea was conceived last year during community forums, where members said the waterfront needed a unique and distinctive symbol to promote it that would be visible from Highway 12.
ROMA Design Group designed the lighthouse. The council hasn't decided specifically how to pay for it, but councilmembers have said developers building in the Old Town may foot the bill.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
No Suisun lighthouse yet, but beacon set to shine
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - Suisun City Hall doesn't have its lighthouse yet, but it does have the lighthouse's light.
Mayor Jim Spering and the City Council will flick the switch on the lighthouse beacon at 7:30 p.m. as part of the city's Waterfront Festival today.
City Hall's announcement plugs the event as "the flickering promise of a rejuvenated downtown waterfront" and a public test of the 150-watt lamp that will have a maximum visibility distance of 23 nautical miles once the lighthouse is built.
The city plans to erect a 52-foot-high lighthouse on the east side of Suisun City's harbor, which would be an instant landmark and focal point for the Main Street West development project, supporters said.
Suisun City is in negotiations with Main Street West Partners on a plan to jump-start the redevelopment of the Old Town area.
"This lighthouse will be the landmark that guides people to Suisun City," Spering said. "Lighthouses have a long history of guiding sailors to safe harbors. This lighthouse will guide visitors to the vibrant destination downtown will become."
The lighthouse idea was conceived last year during community forums, where members said the waterfront needed a unique and distinctive symbol to promote it that would be visible from Highway 12.
ROMA Design Group designed the lighthouse. The council hasn't decided specifically how to pay for it, but councilmembers have said developers building in the Old Town may foot the bill.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Making Suisun City a destination city - Suzanne Bragdon, Suisun City's new city manager
Article Last Updated: Sunday, Oct 02, 2005 - 10:49:20 pm PDT
Suzanne Bragdon, the new city manager of Suisun City, is looking forward to the challenges she faces in her new job. (Judith Sagami/Daily Republic)
Making Suisun City a destination city
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - Suzanne Bragdon, Suisun City's new city manager, says her long-term goal is to use the city's redevelopment assets to make it the waterfront destination its been on the verge of for years.
Her short-term efforts will be a daunting campaign to put the city's general fund finances back into the black and rebuild city employee confidence.
"If people see the light at the end of the tunnel, they will hang in there," Bragdon said of turning the city away from being "the training ground for other agencies."
A month into her new job, Bragdon already made her opening moves to deal with Suisun City's problems by creating a management team from people she has known from her previous jobs in Southern California.
Bragdon plans to ask the council to adopt a status quo budget with few cuts or increases at its early October meeting.
"It is at the mid-year when we will have a hard assessment," Bragdon said.
Nothing will be overlooked, according to Bragdon. Options - ranging from making changes in the city's organizational structure to tracking down new revenue sources - will be considered.
That will include comparing the city's taxes, user fees and other sources of revenues with other cities and seeing if they can be raised.
The City Council has already considered a proposal to create a community facilities district to assess all new housing in town and raise money for all the city's departments, with favorable reviews.
Such a district charges new homeowners fees for services that could range from parks to police services.
City employees went without salary increases to help keep the city afloat and Bragdon said she and the council "don't want to balance the budget on the backs of the employees."
Bragdon, 46, started work at Suisun City Hall Sept. 1, arriving from her job as an economic development consultant for the city of Grover Beach on the Central California coast.
She received good initial reviews from the council. Mayor Jim Spering said at a council meeting her knowledge of city operations and attention to detail would create the revenue the city badly needs.
Vice Mayor Pete Sanchez, who was on the search committee with Spering, was impressed with her background, experience and desire "to make Suisun City the destination city we have been talking about all these years," he said.
Earlier in her career, Bragdon served as city manager for Pismo Beach and assistant city manager in Napa. She replaced interim city manager David Martinez who held the job since December 2004 when Steve Baker stepped down to become city manager for the Central Valley town of Oakdale.
A Seattle native, Bragdon moved to California with her artist husband Kirk Bragdon "because he could not stand gray" and initially worked for a consulting firm in Sacramento.
In 1996, she joined the city of Napa as an assistant city manager doing special projects that included the resort-style, executive home Stanley Ranch project.
Stanley Ranch met its demise after the community split over whether Napa needed it, but Bragdon still thinks it would have been a good addition.
She stepped into the city manager role at Pismo Beach, where the primary effort was to upgrade the downtown area to attract more tourist dollars.
"It was getting old and dirty," Bragdon said.
A $1.5 million project put in more sidewalks, lighting and a plaza which was opposed by a group of residents who liked the beachfront town the way it was and didn't want more tourists.
What Bragdon called "politics" involving the council promoted her to jump to adjacent Grover Beach, where she took a job as economic development consultant working to bring in outside development.
Grover Beach's redevelopment agency didn't have funds or land to attract potential investors, but Bragdon managed to get the gears turning to put a conference center in the town, a project that is now in the planning stages.
Even before unpacking in Suisun City, Bragdon moved on accomplishing the first goal the city council set for her - filling the city's top positions that were held by interim administrators.
She tagged Ron Anderson, most recently Grover Beach's city manager, as Suisun City's assistant city manager. Bragdon also brought in Jack Raper, also from Grover Beach, as Suisun City's community development director.
Raper, who planned to retire before Bragdon asked him to come to Suisun City, worked in the town of Riverbank, which had issues similar to Suisun City - such as dealing with residential verses commercial development.
This still leaves interim director Al da Silva heading up the Redevelopment Agency and Diane Briltz heading the finance department.
Bragdon readily admits Suisun City Hall has a lot of problems, "but I like the challenges."
The toughest problem has been the city's shrinking budget which led to draconian cutbacks in city jobs and in services that included partially contracting out for police services.
"The one I was most hesitant about was the budget," Bragdon said. "We really needed solutions and I concluded that we do have opportunities here."
She is getting to know the city's employees and administrators better, going over what she calls "the big picture" of getting City Hall back on track.
Bragdon is concerned about low morale saying "we want to turn the tide on that."
She is most excited about the annexation and development of the Gentry-Pierce property west of Old Town and the plans the Main Street West Partners are working on to further economically revive the Main Street area.
"That is just huge," Bragdon said of the projects.
Bragdon plans to aggressively market all the possible development sites not covered by the Main Street project, starting with hitting an International Conference of Shopping Centers convention to try to get the eye of potential retailers and developers.
She hopes this will soon translate to projects that will increase the town's sales and hotel tax revenues, which means reviving the effort to attract a destination hotel to the town.
"Water is what attracts. Everyone wants a waterfront," Bragdon said, adding the turn-of-the-century feel of the Old Town only adds to that attraction.
Is there a light at the end of Suisun City's tunnel?
"Absolutely," Bragdon said. "I would not be here if there wasn't."
Ian Thompson can be reached at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Name: Suzanne Bragdon
Job: Suisun City Manager
Age: 46
Experience: Napa assistant city manager, Pismo Beach city manager, economic development consultant for Grover Beach
Salary: $140,000
Duties: Overseeing all of Suisun City's departments and services
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
Solano County Supervisors to view revamped Mills Corp fairgrounds project
Supervisors to view revamped fairgrounds project
By Jeff Mitchell
FAIRFIELD - County supervisors on Tuesday will examine a revamped presentation of a controversial proposal to redevelop the Solano County Fairgrounds.
Local environmental activists, mostly working under the umbrella of the Sierra Club, complained in the past that The Mills Corp.'s proposal devotes too much space to retail stores and parking and too little space to the rehabilitation of area wetlands and public space.
The county and the fair board are working with the developer to create an upscale shopping facility called "The Fair at Solano, CA" on the 150-acre, county-owned property fronting Interstate 80 in Vallejo.
Mills has proposed building on about 1 million square feet of the fairgrounds property. Included would be a 300-room hotel and conference center, a family entertainment center and a variety of retail stores. These facilities would replace the existing golf course, horse track and other fairground buildings. The annual fair still would be held on the property.
Sierra Club officials are concerned about a drainage area on the south side of the fairgrounds site. They say a weedy channel there is home to a great deal of wildlife.
Club representative Jim DeKloe recently showed a group of mobile home owners who live near the fairgrounds historic aerial shots of the site which once had more wetlands. He sees restored wetlands linked with the health of a bigger environmental system.
The Sierra Club plan also calls for a large field near the wetlands on the southern side of the fairground property. The fair could be held there, DeKloe said. Baseball and soccer games could be played there at other times of the year, he said.
Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting at the Board of Supervisors chamber, 675 Texas St. in Fairfield. The meeting will start at 1 p.m.
Staff Writer Barry Eberling contributed to this report.
Reach Jeff Mitchell at 427-6977 or jmitchell@dailyrepublic.net.
At a glance
Who: Solano County Board of Supervisors
What: Revised plan for Solano County Fairgrounds
Where: Board of Supervisors chambers, 675 Texas St., Fairfield
When: 1 p.m. Tuesday
Info: 784-6100
By Jeff Mitchell
FAIRFIELD - County supervisors on Tuesday will examine a revamped presentation of a controversial proposal to redevelop the Solano County Fairgrounds.
Local environmental activists, mostly working under the umbrella of the Sierra Club, complained in the past that The Mills Corp.'s proposal devotes too much space to retail stores and parking and too little space to the rehabilitation of area wetlands and public space.
The county and the fair board are working with the developer to create an upscale shopping facility called "The Fair at Solano, CA" on the 150-acre, county-owned property fronting Interstate 80 in Vallejo.
Mills has proposed building on about 1 million square feet of the fairgrounds property. Included would be a 300-room hotel and conference center, a family entertainment center and a variety of retail stores. These facilities would replace the existing golf course, horse track and other fairground buildings. The annual fair still would be held on the property.
Sierra Club officials are concerned about a drainage area on the south side of the fairgrounds site. They say a weedy channel there is home to a great deal of wildlife.
Club representative Jim DeKloe recently showed a group of mobile home owners who live near the fairgrounds historic aerial shots of the site which once had more wetlands. He sees restored wetlands linked with the health of a bigger environmental system.
The Sierra Club plan also calls for a large field near the wetlands on the southern side of the fairground property. The fair could be held there, DeKloe said. Baseball and soccer games could be played there at other times of the year, he said.
Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting at the Board of Supervisors chamber, 675 Texas St. in Fairfield. The meeting will start at 1 p.m.
Staff Writer Barry Eberling contributed to this report.
Reach Jeff Mitchell at 427-6977 or jmitchell@dailyrepublic.net.
At a glance
Who: Solano County Board of Supervisors
What: Revised plan for Solano County Fairgrounds
Where: Board of Supervisors chambers, 675 Texas St., Fairfield
When: 1 p.m. Tuesday
Info: 784-6100
Dixon Council fills community development and city engineer positions
Article Launched: 09/30/2005 06:57:29 AM
Council fills two positions
By David Henson/Staff Writer
After months of searching for replacements in two crucial management positions, the Dixon City Council plugged holes in a leaking City Hall staff this week.
The council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to hire a new community development director and city engineer and increase the salary ranges for both.
Councilman Steve Alexander voted against the measures.
Royce Cunningham, a senior engineer in Vallejo, will take up duties in Dixon as city engineer Oct. 24. The salary range for the position was increased by 18 percent Tuesday night, and Cunningham will start with an annual salary of $124,368.
David Dowswell, currently the planning and building manager in Albany, will start as Dixon's community development director on Oct. 31. Compensation for that position was boosted by 25 percent, and Dowswell will receive $102,612 annually.
After an unsuccessful attempt to recruit a new city engineer this spring, the city decided that increases in salaries likely would be needed in order to recruit qualified candidates to handle the complex projects facing the city such as Dixon Downs.
The increased salary ranges for those positions could have implications on what City Manager Warren Salmons is paid. While not a contractual requirement, Salmons is supposed to be paid 15 percent more than other managers. Salmons' current base pay is $128,422.
David Henson can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
Council fills two positions
By David Henson/Staff Writer
After months of searching for replacements in two crucial management positions, the Dixon City Council plugged holes in a leaking City Hall staff this week.
The council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to hire a new community development director and city engineer and increase the salary ranges for both.
Councilman Steve Alexander voted against the measures.
Royce Cunningham, a senior engineer in Vallejo, will take up duties in Dixon as city engineer Oct. 24. The salary range for the position was increased by 18 percent Tuesday night, and Cunningham will start with an annual salary of $124,368.
David Dowswell, currently the planning and building manager in Albany, will start as Dixon's community development director on Oct. 31. Compensation for that position was boosted by 25 percent, and Dowswell will receive $102,612 annually.
After an unsuccessful attempt to recruit a new city engineer this spring, the city decided that increases in salaries likely would be needed in order to recruit qualified candidates to handle the complex projects facing the city such as Dixon Downs.
The increased salary ranges for those positions could have implications on what City Manager Warren Salmons is paid. While not a contractual requirement, Salmons is supposed to be paid 15 percent more than other managers. Salmons' current base pay is $128,422.
David Henson can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Vaca assistant city manager Ron Rowland calls it quits
Article Launched: 09/30/2005 06:57:31 AM
Vaca assistant city manager calls it quits
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Ron Rowland, whose last day as assistant city manager for Vacaville was Thursday, started working for the city in 1992. (Rick Roach/The Reporter)
The cliche goes something like this: A longtime employee is so hardworking that upon his retirement, it'll take two people to fill his shoes.
Back-slapping aside, that's exactly what will happen in the case of retiring Vacaville Assistant City Manager Ron Rowland.
Rowland, whose last day at City Hall was Thursday, has served for the past three years as both an assistant city manager and community development director.
As one of two assistant city managers in the city, he helped direct the overall policy for Vacaville and led an interdepartmental team focusing on addressing the city's development issues.
As the community development director, Rowland was responsible for leading a growing staff of city planners in the development, reviewing and implementation of every new building - home or business - in the city.
The city has decided to hire two separate people to fill Rowland's roles - new Assistant City Manager Laura Kuhn starts Monday while a new community development director is still being sought.
Rowland said that taking dual responsibilities led to a heavier workload, but broadened his Vacaville experience.
"It was challenging, but a lot of fun," Rowland said. "I was able to stay involved with planning. But working in the city manager's office gave me a wider look at city government."
Rowland came to Vacaville as its assistant director of community development in 1992, after time as the city of Brentwood's planning director. Rowland moved up to the community development director spot in 1999.
In 2002, when David Van Kirk took over the city manager position, he made Rowland a deputy city manager. That title was changed to "assistant city manager" last year. Van Kirk said Tuesday promoting Rowland was one of the best decisions he'd ever made.
Van Kirk also said Rowland is one of the most ethical people in the business.
"Whether it's Genentech or a small business just trying to start up, Ron has treated everything with the same fairness," Van Kirk said.
A portion of Tuesday's meeting of the City Council was a laudatory session in which everyone with a microphone laid the compliments on heavily.
"I do not know of anyone I have more confidence and trust in," Mayor Len Augustine said.
Councilman Steve Wilkins said Rowland's ability to bring warring factions together was amazing.
"That's a skill and ability few people possess," Wilkins said.
Rowland said he looks forward to spending more time with his wife and family - his first grandchild is due in October. He also said he'll continue being very involved with his church and may take up consulting in the future.
He said he'll miss the daily grind and his co-workers, though.
"Working for the public is just one of the greatest jobs you can have."
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Fairfield toasts giant bottle warehouse - 2005-09-29 - San Francisco Business Times
Fairfield toasts giant bottle warehouse - 2005-09-29 - San Francisco Business Times: "LATEST NEWS
September 29, 2005
Fairfield toasts giant bottle warehouse
Saint-Gobain Containers Inc. broke ground this week on a new 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in Fairfield.
The Muncie, Ind., company sells glass bottles for food and drink. The Fairfield distribution center will supply the state of California, the company said Thursday. John Haack, a spokesman for Saint-Gobain, said the warehouse in Fairfield will help the company compete for customers in the wine industry.
Fairfield's vice mayor, Harry Price, said he was pleased that 'such an important employment center' was coming to his city.
Saint-Gobain, the second-largest glass bottle maker in the United States, is owned by France's Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, an international industrial group.
Indianapolis-based Lauth Property Group is the general contractor for the project. "
September 29, 2005
Fairfield toasts giant bottle warehouse
Saint-Gobain Containers Inc. broke ground this week on a new 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse in Fairfield.
The Muncie, Ind., company sells glass bottles for food and drink. The Fairfield distribution center will supply the state of California, the company said Thursday. John Haack, a spokesman for Saint-Gobain, said the warehouse in Fairfield will help the company compete for customers in the wine industry.
Fairfield's vice mayor, Harry Price, said he was pleased that 'such an important employment center' was coming to his city.
Saint-Gobain, the second-largest glass bottle maker in the United States, is owned by France's Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, an international industrial group.
Indianapolis-based Lauth Property Group is the general contractor for the project. "
Wharf makeover could generate $127 million a year
SAN FRANCISCO
Economic report is a boost to pier project
Wharf makeover could generate $127 million a year
Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Pier 27 is shown at left, and Pier 31 is at right. Mall builder Mills Corp. is proposing a $218 million sports and retail complex on the site. Chronicle file photo, 2001, by Darryl Bush
A controversial sports and retail complex planned for the Embarcadero could provide $127 million of economic activity annually to the city of San Francisco, according to a report released Wednesday by port officials.
The report, required by a city fiscal feasibility law for any project over $25 million in value, makes a strong case for the $218 million development at Piers 27-31 proposed by mall builder Mills Corp.
Port officials say that the base rent to be paid by Mills for the 23-acre site will be higher than what tenants currently pay. Benefits to the city during the construction phase of the project are estimated at $339 million with the creation of more than 3,000 jobs, according to the report.
Mills has agreed to create more than 10 acres of open space as part of the development and will be responsible for maintaining it during the course of its 66-year lease with the Port of San Francisco.
"We feel strongly, as we did when we submitted the project to our commission back in November of last year, that we've negotiated a good project for the Port of San Francisco and the city of San Francisco," said Byron Rhett, the port's director of planning and development. "We've significantly increased the amount of recreation. Will the Board of Supervisors in its deliberations decide it meets their criteria for fiscal feasibility? That, I don't know."
The company's plans call for about 338,000 square feet of recreation space, including a new YMCA, a "sports valley" and a marine sports basin. More than 300,000 square feet will be dedicated to retail, office space and restaurants and cafes.
"You cannot build an affordable recreation project on the San Francisco waterfront without some of these other components," said Mills spokesman David D'Onofrio. "We have minimized them as much as we can. We have done the maximum amount of open space and recreation."
But the company's proposal has raised fears about traffic along the Embarcadero, concerns over whether the complex -- and particularly the YMCA -- will prove to be financially solvent and questions about whether the development is really just a shopping mall in design.
"Fundamentally, the concern is, this appears to be a classic bait and switch by a shopping mall developer dangling the recreation that we want and need as a way to slip in a 45-chain-store mall," said Jon Golinger, director of Citizens to Save the Waterfront, a group that has opposed the project. Golinger contended Wednesday that Mills actually would be paying less in rent during the first few years of the project after receiving rent credits and other subsidies.
Mills faces a political test in the coming months when the Board of Supervisors votes on whether the project's financial numbers add up. If supervisors decide the project is not fiscally feasible, that vote could effectively kill the project by preventing the San Francisco Port Commission from extending Mills' exclusive right to negotiate with the city, set to expire next spring.
Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said Wednesday he was troubled by the fact that the port's fiscal study included no mention of the YMCA, the major recreation portion of the project. The Chronicle reported Wednesday that the YMCA had not raised any of the $30 million needed to fund its facility at Piers 27-31.
"This project was bid out as a recreation project for the people of San Francisco," Peskin said. "What we got was some recreation and a lot of shopping mall and office space. Is the recreation component feasible? There are a lot of questions to answer."
Asked about the political chances for the project, D'Onofrio said: "We've been focused on creating an affordable recreation project down there. We have been meeting with the community. We continue to move forward and make this a great project. If, at the end of the day, the Board of Supervisors wants to deny affordable recreation for residents through this project, that's up to them."
E-mail Charlie Goodyear at cgoodyear@sfchronicle.com.
Season of transition for Solano County ag commissioner Jerry Howard
Article Launched: 09/29/2005 06:41:11 AM
Season of transition for ag commissioner
By Jason Massad/Staff Writer
Jerry Howard is the new Agricultureal Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures for Solano County. Howard, who recently moved to Vacaville from Calaveras County, has been getting familiar with the employees he manages and expects to soon get out and meet some of the area's farmers and growers. (Joel Rosenbaum/The Reporter)
The county's new agricultural commissioner, Jerry Howard, recently made one major move and is now preparing for another.
The good news is that the big move is behind him.
Howard, who came to the county in late July to replace outgoing agricultural commissioner Susan Cohen, left his commissioner post in Calaveras County, his longtime home, to resettle in Vacaville. He and his wife are now looking for a permanent home in Solano County.
While that dust settles, Howard is watching the boxes pile up in his office for a move upstairs to the agricultural department's new home on the second floor of the 501 Texas St. building in Fairfield.
Howard, however, seems well-prepared for the multitasking. He's the state's senior agricultural commissioner with 27 years experience, for one, and as a commissioner in Calaveras he managed agriculture, animal control, air pollution and had other duties.
In fact, a more simplified position was something that attracted Howard to the Solano County opening. Howard will make somewhere around $155,000 in total annual compensation, according to The Reporter's 2004 salary survey.
"In Calaveras, it seemed I was spending far less time on agriculture than a lot of other things," he said. "Solano County offered me the opportunity to concentrate on my priorities, what I have spent 35 years preparing to do."
So far, he's been getting familiar with employees he manages and expects soon to get out and meet some of the farmers and growers in the county, he said.
Howard's position is an interesting hybrid: his main roles are to promote and protect the county's $205 million dollar agricultural economy, perform the weights and measure duties and regulate the pesticides used by the same growers and farmers he's promoting.
A news article posted on the wall in the agriculture office may be an indication that Howard will is interested in pesticide enforcement.
A recent investigation by The Record in Stockton revealed that Solano County ranks as one of the lowest in the state in terms of fines issued to farmers and growers for pesticide violations.
While more than 1,000 violations were found in Solano County during a six-year period ending when Cohen was commissioner, only two fines were issued, according to information gathered by The Record from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
Howard said the article was posted in the ag commissioner's office by staff as a reminder for how the public might view the agency.
"My staff posted it on the wall, and I've tended to leave it there," he said. "Staff needs to know that the public perception is what they read and what they see. Perception can become reality."
For his part, Howard said that there is much more to pesticide enforcement than issuing fines.
Farmers need to know the rules, know what's expected of them and regulations need to be consistently enforced. Calaveras had a much higher rate of fines issued than Solano County, as reported in The Record's investigation.
"Our job as regulators is to keep a level playing field," he said. "It's important that everyone be on a level playing field. If the rules aren't consistently enforced, it can be an unfair business advantage."
If the pesticide enforcement is a source of concern, Howard said that one of the county's hot-button issues, fighting the infestation of the glassy-winged sharpshooter in Vacaville, is a well-organized effort.
County inspectors haven't found the wine grape pest since May, a very good sign indeed.
"We have a very aggressive posture on the sharpshooter," Howard said. "We need to continue with the program that's been established."
Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.
Season of transition for ag commissioner
By Jason Massad/Staff Writer
Jerry Howard is the new Agricultureal Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures for Solano County. Howard, who recently moved to Vacaville from Calaveras County, has been getting familiar with the employees he manages and expects to soon get out and meet some of the area's farmers and growers. (Joel Rosenbaum/The Reporter)
The county's new agricultural commissioner, Jerry Howard, recently made one major move and is now preparing for another.
The good news is that the big move is behind him.
Howard, who came to the county in late July to replace outgoing agricultural commissioner Susan Cohen, left his commissioner post in Calaveras County, his longtime home, to resettle in Vacaville. He and his wife are now looking for a permanent home in Solano County.
While that dust settles, Howard is watching the boxes pile up in his office for a move upstairs to the agricultural department's new home on the second floor of the 501 Texas St. building in Fairfield.
Howard, however, seems well-prepared for the multitasking. He's the state's senior agricultural commissioner with 27 years experience, for one, and as a commissioner in Calaveras he managed agriculture, animal control, air pollution and had other duties.
In fact, a more simplified position was something that attracted Howard to the Solano County opening. Howard will make somewhere around $155,000 in total annual compensation, according to The Reporter's 2004 salary survey.
"In Calaveras, it seemed I was spending far less time on agriculture than a lot of other things," he said. "Solano County offered me the opportunity to concentrate on my priorities, what I have spent 35 years preparing to do."
So far, he's been getting familiar with employees he manages and expects soon to get out and meet some of the farmers and growers in the county, he said.
Howard's position is an interesting hybrid: his main roles are to promote and protect the county's $205 million dollar agricultural economy, perform the weights and measure duties and regulate the pesticides used by the same growers and farmers he's promoting.
A news article posted on the wall in the agriculture office may be an indication that Howard will is interested in pesticide enforcement.
A recent investigation by The Record in Stockton revealed that Solano County ranks as one of the lowest in the state in terms of fines issued to farmers and growers for pesticide violations.
While more than 1,000 violations were found in Solano County during a six-year period ending when Cohen was commissioner, only two fines were issued, according to information gathered by The Record from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
Howard said the article was posted in the ag commissioner's office by staff as a reminder for how the public might view the agency.
"My staff posted it on the wall, and I've tended to leave it there," he said. "Staff needs to know that the public perception is what they read and what they see. Perception can become reality."
For his part, Howard said that there is much more to pesticide enforcement than issuing fines.
Farmers need to know the rules, know what's expected of them and regulations need to be consistently enforced. Calaveras had a much higher rate of fines issued than Solano County, as reported in The Record's investigation.
"Our job as regulators is to keep a level playing field," he said. "It's important that everyone be on a level playing field. If the rules aren't consistently enforced, it can be an unfair business advantage."
If the pesticide enforcement is a source of concern, Howard said that one of the county's hot-button issues, fighting the infestation of the glassy-winged sharpshooter in Vacaville, is a well-organized effort.
County inspectors haven't found the wine grape pest since May, a very good sign indeed.
"We have a very aggressive posture on the sharpshooter," Howard said. "We need to continue with the program that's been established."
Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.
Park Investors, LLC likes chance of Benicia's housing project's approval
September 29, 2005
Housing developer likes chance of project's approval
By GREG MOBERLY, Times-Herald staff writer
BENICIA - A developer proposing five single-family homes in the historic Benicia Arsenal says despite residents' concerns he anticipates his project stands a better chance of approval than a larger development in 2001.
Benicia development group, Park Investors, LLC, is proposing to raze a one-time Arsenal building to put up five town home style residences at 1451 Park Road. The building, which sits mostly vacant, was used as a day care center as recently as last year.
Tom Adams, president of Park Investors LLC, said his project isn't like the unsuccessful plan to build 15 single family homes on Jefferson Street. That project was more problematic because of its size and it was proposed for a vacant lot, he said.
The proposed Jefferson Park Villas would be adjacent to a block of residential homes.
Adams' proposal is numerous steps away from final consideration. Several residents, including those who fought against the Jefferson Street plan four years ago, already have voiced concerns at the city's Historic Preservation Review Commission or Planning Commission.
"Like it or not, the Arsenal Conservation Plan recommends (the 1451 Park Road) building be replaced or rebuilt," Adams said in response to the concerns he's heard.
A 2003 mayoral candidate, Donnell Rubay, said she neither is for, nor against the project. Still, Rubay says she has questions.
Rubay said she wants an Arsenal master plan completed, perhaps before the project moves ahead.
Councilman Tom Campbell is proposing an Arsenal Master Plan Committee so residents of divergent interests can hash out how they want the area developed.
"I want mediation to defuse the hostilities," Campbell said of past and anticipated Arsenal plans.
But Adams said since he's submitted his plan before the City Council considers a possible Arsenal Master Plan Committee he shouldn't be subject to that decision.
The city's Historic Preservation Review Commission has yet to complete a list of design standards it will allow in Arsenal developments, Rubay said.
Rubay also said she's concerned what the development may mean for the ratio of historic buildings to new development.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Patterson wants the council to consider a moratorium but adds she she doesn't favor instituting one. She also said she wants zoning standards focusing on mixed uses considered for the Arsenal.
- E-mail Greg Moberly at GMoberly@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6833.
Housing developer likes chance of project's approval
By GREG MOBERLY, Times-Herald staff writer
BENICIA - A developer proposing five single-family homes in the historic Benicia Arsenal says despite residents' concerns he anticipates his project stands a better chance of approval than a larger development in 2001.
Benicia development group, Park Investors, LLC, is proposing to raze a one-time Arsenal building to put up five town home style residences at 1451 Park Road. The building, which sits mostly vacant, was used as a day care center as recently as last year.
Tom Adams, president of Park Investors LLC, said his project isn't like the unsuccessful plan to build 15 single family homes on Jefferson Street. That project was more problematic because of its size and it was proposed for a vacant lot, he said.
The proposed Jefferson Park Villas would be adjacent to a block of residential homes.
Adams' proposal is numerous steps away from final consideration. Several residents, including those who fought against the Jefferson Street plan four years ago, already have voiced concerns at the city's Historic Preservation Review Commission or Planning Commission.
"Like it or not, the Arsenal Conservation Plan recommends (the 1451 Park Road) building be replaced or rebuilt," Adams said in response to the concerns he's heard.
A 2003 mayoral candidate, Donnell Rubay, said she neither is for, nor against the project. Still, Rubay says she has questions.
Rubay said she wants an Arsenal master plan completed, perhaps before the project moves ahead.
Councilman Tom Campbell is proposing an Arsenal Master Plan Committee so residents of divergent interests can hash out how they want the area developed.
"I want mediation to defuse the hostilities," Campbell said of past and anticipated Arsenal plans.
But Adams said since he's submitted his plan before the City Council considers a possible Arsenal Master Plan Committee he shouldn't be subject to that decision.
The city's Historic Preservation Review Commission has yet to complete a list of design standards it will allow in Arsenal developments, Rubay said.
Rubay also said she's concerned what the development may mean for the ratio of historic buildings to new development.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Patterson wants the council to consider a moratorium but adds she she doesn't favor instituting one. She also said she wants zoning standards focusing on mixed uses considered for the Arsenal.
- E-mail Greg Moberly at GMoberly@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6833.
Benicia Business Park expansion progressing
Article Last Updated: Wednesday, Sep 28, 2005 - 11:26:42 pm PDT
Benicia Business Park expansion progressing
By Christine Cubé
BENICIA - The largest undeveloped piece of land in Benicia is under review to become a massive extension to an existing business park.
The city's Economic Development Board received a progress report Wednesday regarding 500 acres at the Benicia Business Park. The undeveloped land is owned by a local family and is proposed to eventually house commercial and limited industrial business.
Benicia City Manager Jim Erickson said there have been no snags with the project. He expects an environmental impact report to be ready for public review early next year.
The proposal for the added space to the business park involves roughly 40 acres bordering Interstate 680 planned for commercial use such as retail. The rest of the land is planned for limited industrial use.
In a previous planning session for the business park, Erickson said there were many interesting comments about the proposed commercial portion of the project.
"Precisely what it will be will be determined as we go through the process," he said. "(This is) a key piece of the city's economy."
The existing Benicia Business Park covers more than 3,000 acres, boasting 6 million square feet of built space. It's the largest port-oriented industrial park in Northern California, employing more than 7,000 workers at 600 business firms there, according to the city's Web site.
Several years ago, the Seeno family began processing the same application to transform its 500 acres in Benicia for industrial use, Erickson said. But the project came to a halt in early 2000.
The city has been working for about a year with the Seeno family and developer Discovery Builders on a new application. It was submitted to the city in May.
A representative of Discovery Builders didn't return calls seeking comment.
Sandy Person, vice president of the Solano EDC, said Benicia's business park extension is a big deal for the community.
"It is Benicia's future as far as new development potential and growth opportunities," she said.
Reach Christine Cubé at 427-6934 or ccube@dailyrepublic.net.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
Benicia Business Park expansion progressing
By Christine Cubé
BENICIA - The largest undeveloped piece of land in Benicia is under review to become a massive extension to an existing business park.
The city's Economic Development Board received a progress report Wednesday regarding 500 acres at the Benicia Business Park. The undeveloped land is owned by a local family and is proposed to eventually house commercial and limited industrial business.
Benicia City Manager Jim Erickson said there have been no snags with the project. He expects an environmental impact report to be ready for public review early next year.
The proposal for the added space to the business park involves roughly 40 acres bordering Interstate 680 planned for commercial use such as retail. The rest of the land is planned for limited industrial use.
In a previous planning session for the business park, Erickson said there were many interesting comments about the proposed commercial portion of the project.
"Precisely what it will be will be determined as we go through the process," he said. "(This is) a key piece of the city's economy."
The existing Benicia Business Park covers more than 3,000 acres, boasting 6 million square feet of built space. It's the largest port-oriented industrial park in Northern California, employing more than 7,000 workers at 600 business firms there, according to the city's Web site.
Several years ago, the Seeno family began processing the same application to transform its 500 acres in Benicia for industrial use, Erickson said. But the project came to a halt in early 2000.
The city has been working for about a year with the Seeno family and developer Discovery Builders on a new application. It was submitted to the city in May.
A representative of Discovery Builders didn't return calls seeking comment.
Sandy Person, vice president of the Solano EDC, said Benicia's business park extension is a big deal for the community.
"It is Benicia's future as far as new development potential and growth opportunities," she said.
Reach Christine Cubé at 427-6934 or ccube@dailyrepublic.net.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
Many students trading uinversity degree for vocational training at Solano Community College
Article Last Updated: Wednesday, Sep 28, 2005 - 11:32:00 pm PDT
Sarah Wagner has almost completed the SCC cosmetology course. (Photo by Christine Baker)
Many students trading uinversity degree for vocational training
By Stephanie Jucar
FAIRFIELD - An aspiring teacher turned hair-dyeing specialist, Heather Smolen won't be using her English degree from a four-year university.
After years of college, she now wants to work in a salon - an occupation that requires less than two years of school - and become a cosmetologist.
"I looked for teaching jobs and wanted to teach high school after I got my degree," she said, trimming a mannequin head of black curly hair in her cosmetology class.
"But after it all, in the back of my mind, I always knew I wanted to be a cosmetologist."
The 27-year-old from Fairfield is a cosmetology student at Solano Community College, hoping to land a job in a salon that pays at least $50,000 a year.
Like Smolen, students find their passion in careers that don't necessarily need a university degree. Many students opt for post-secondary educational programs or vocational schools instead.
In California, 40 percent of high school seniors enter college immediately after graduation, according to the National Governor's Association.
A separate report from the California Department of Education finds nearly 30 percent of Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District students head off to college after high school.
So where do the other 70 percent of students go?
Another option
Some of them choose to go to vocational schools rather than attending a four-year college.
Mindy Bingham, co-author of "Career Choices" - a curriculum book used in thousands of high schools in the nation - said vocational education and training during and after high school is needed for teens to compete in the global marketplace.
"There's the No Child Left Behind movement and we've got these students to read and write who are strong in academics but we need a bigger push on career academics," she said.
Though college is a route many recent high school graduates take, Bingham said it doesn't have to be the only choice for students.
"College is too limiting to look at," she said. "A lot of parents think the magic word, 'four-year college' is the path . . . parents need to work with children to navigate different options."
Several vocational programs are available in local schools, such as Solano Community College and the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School.
At Solano Community College, the fire technical program, criminal justice program and cosmetology school are the three most popular vocational courses, said Bob Johnson, the college's dean of vocational programs.
"There's a high demand for these jobs," he said. "Many of these jobs make a livable wage and they're careers that give flexibility."
At Fairfield-Suisun Adult School, teens and early 20-somethings are taking medical, nursing or pharmacy assistant and technical classes, said Julia May, the school's assistant principal.
When students are finished with these 12- to 25-week classes, many find positions at hospitals, earning $10 to $18 per hour, she said.
The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District has several post-secondary educational programs in all three high schools, leading students to career-related and skilled jobs after graduating, said Barbara Mallon, the school district's board president.
Though vocational classes are available for students after high school, the school district starts the process earlier.
Frank Kardos, the school district's coordinator of post-secondary preparation, said he looked at different sectors of the economy where career-related jobs are needed.
Going vocational
At Fairfield, Armijo and Rodriguez high schools, a mix of these programs are available for students. Some offer a certificate to students by the time they graduate and some offer credit that can be transferred to another vocational school.
Kardos said many students seek more education related to these fields, either at a two-year college, such as Solano Community College, or at four-year universities. Other students find jobs right out of high school with the help of their experiences in these classes.
New to Fairfield High School last year, the culinary arts program already had five graduates admitted to the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Kardos said. Because of the Culinary Academy's success, the high school will open a small cafe held by the students next year, Kardos said.
At Armijo High School, the two-year Automotive Service Excellence program has students working with automotive dealerships, such as Fairfield Toyota and Vacaville Pontiac. And currently, 25 high school graduates from this program work at local dealerships, Kardos said.
The video production program at Rodriguez High School has students producing work on local cable channel 26 and other smaller production companies, he said.
"They've worked with all types of people in the business," he said. "Many of these kids are still going to college."
If students decide they don't want to go that route - they are encouraged to take on a career choice that doesn't involve committing four or more years at a university.
Smolen knows. She's been through both.
"It seems like it's always college, college, college," she said. "People who go to vocational schools are often thought of as having less worth in society, but we're still making a difference out there."
Reach Stephanie Jucar at 427-6955 or sjucar@dailyrepublic.net.
Saint-Gobain Containers breaks ground on new center in City of Fairfield
Article Last Updated: Thursday, Sep 29, 2005 - 11:06:01 pm PDT
Saint-Gobain Containers breaks ground on new center
By Christine Cubé
FAIRFIELD - Wine bottle producer Saint-Gobain Containers broke ground Thursday on its new distribution digs in Fairfield.
The groundbreaking event for the 1-million-plus-square-foot facility bought out many members of the city's business community. Among them were Vice Mayor Harry Price, project developer Lauth Property Group and Saint-Gobain executives.
The new center, located in the Tolenas Industrial Park near Travis Air Force Base, will serve strictly as a distribution center. Glass-making on the West Coast will continue to take place at three plants, one in Seattle and two California locations, El Monte and Madera.
Saint-Gobain Containers has 16 glass plants across the country.
The groundbreaking event marks the beginning of the company's planned move from two warehouses in Cordelia. There, the company occupied 330,000 square feet and 607,000 square feet of space off of Interstate 680.
Fairfield's center will serve the needs of the California wine industry.
Saint-Gobain is a big producer of glass packaging for the food and beverage industry.
Vacaville tourism bureau launches Web site
Visiting Vacaville just got a little easier.
The Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau just launched its new Web site, www.vacavillenow.com. The group also compiled its first visitors guide, showcasing Vacaville's tourist attractions and destinations.
The Web site highlights information about the city with maps of historic downtown and the region.
In conjunction with the new site, the bureau released the 2005 Fall/Winter edition of the Vacaville Visitors Guide. The semi-annual publication also includes information about local hotels and restaurants, transportation, shopping and parks and recreation.
Antonette Eckert, executive director of the Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau, called the new Web site and guide a "definite first for the city of Vacaville."
"We're already looking forward to the next issue and adding more interactive elements to our Web site so stay tuned," she said, in a release.
Biz bits . . .
n The county's largest career fair drew more than 1,500 job seekers, organizers said. The Workforce Investment Board of Solano County held its career fair at the University of Phoenix Fairfield campus on Sept. 22. Roughly 82 employers and companies were represented at the event.
n Chris Wallace of Premier Commercial, Inc. represented Pacific Service Credit Union, which bought one acre of commercial land at Mason Street in Vacaville. Premier Commercial is a Fairfield-based full-service real estate firm, specializing in Solano County commercial real estate.
"Business Matters" is a column that runs Tuesdays and Fridays, focusing on Solano County business affairs. If you know of a newsworthy item or event, please e-mail ccube@dailyrepublic.net. Please be sure to include a contact name and daytime phone number.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
Saint-Gobain Containers breaks ground on new center
By Christine Cubé
FAIRFIELD - Wine bottle producer Saint-Gobain Containers broke ground Thursday on its new distribution digs in Fairfield.
The groundbreaking event for the 1-million-plus-square-foot facility bought out many members of the city's business community. Among them were Vice Mayor Harry Price, project developer Lauth Property Group and Saint-Gobain executives.
The new center, located in the Tolenas Industrial Park near Travis Air Force Base, will serve strictly as a distribution center. Glass-making on the West Coast will continue to take place at three plants, one in Seattle and two California locations, El Monte and Madera.
Saint-Gobain Containers has 16 glass plants across the country.
The groundbreaking event marks the beginning of the company's planned move from two warehouses in Cordelia. There, the company occupied 330,000 square feet and 607,000 square feet of space off of Interstate 680.
Fairfield's center will serve the needs of the California wine industry.
Saint-Gobain is a big producer of glass packaging for the food and beverage industry.
Vacaville tourism bureau launches Web site
Visiting Vacaville just got a little easier.
The Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau just launched its new Web site, www.vacavillenow.com. The group also compiled its first visitors guide, showcasing Vacaville's tourist attractions and destinations.
The Web site highlights information about the city with maps of historic downtown and the region.
In conjunction with the new site, the bureau released the 2005 Fall/Winter edition of the Vacaville Visitors Guide. The semi-annual publication also includes information about local hotels and restaurants, transportation, shopping and parks and recreation.
Antonette Eckert, executive director of the Vacaville Conference and Visitors Bureau, called the new Web site and guide a "definite first for the city of Vacaville."
"We're already looking forward to the next issue and adding more interactive elements to our Web site so stay tuned," she said, in a release.
Biz bits . . .
n The county's largest career fair drew more than 1,500 job seekers, organizers said. The Workforce Investment Board of Solano County held its career fair at the University of Phoenix Fairfield campus on Sept. 22. Roughly 82 employers and companies were represented at the event.
n Chris Wallace of Premier Commercial, Inc. represented Pacific Service Credit Union, which bought one acre of commercial land at Mason Street in Vacaville. Premier Commercial is a Fairfield-based full-service real estate firm, specializing in Solano County commercial real estate.
"Business Matters" is a column that runs Tuesdays and Fridays, focusing on Solano County business affairs. If you know of a newsworthy item or event, please e-mail ccube@dailyrepublic.net. Please be sure to include a contact name and daytime phone number.
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights reserved.
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