March 12, 2006
Time's right for apartment owners to consider condominium conversions
By Brian Miller and Karl Dumas
While some media reports indicate a cooling in the overall Bay Area's rip-roaring housing market, this may be less true in Solano County, which continues to see strong housing price appreciation.
Of course, the increased prices have impacted some households' ability to purchase housing.
These higher real estate prices are now, however, combining with a looser rental housing market to encourage apartment owners to consider converting some of their rental units into condominiums.
"Condominium conversions" basically change the legal status of apartments from rental units to condominiums. When an apartment is converted, the property owner creates a legal parcel map on the property, which creates a unit which can be sold to individual buyers.
Condominium conversions have both positive and negative implications for the city's housing market.
Condominiums can provide an entry to homeownership for families priced out of the single-family market.
New homeowners can help strengthen a neighborhood by adding people with a direct financial stake in where they live.
At the same time, rental housing is the primary housing supply for lower income and even some moderate-income households in Fairfield. If the rental housing stock declines over time, the affordability of the overall Fairfield housing market will also decline.
The city has had a condominium conversion ordinance for years, but it has been rarely used - until this past year.
Last year, one large apartment complex, Rolling Oaks Apartments on Lyon Road, initiated the condominium conversion process. As a result, city staff are suddenly getting multiple telephone calls from property owners also interested in pursuing conversions.
One factor in this new interest is that Fairfield has seen little development of new condominium complexes during the past twenty years.
As reported in the past, liability and insurance issues have contributed to an inability to develop multifamily ownership housing. It is only now, after the 10-year time period for construction defect lawsuits has expired that prices have risen, and the market has improved for multifamily ownership units that property owners of condominiums with existing legal maps choose to sell their units.
This turn in the market can be seen in the case of several older apartment complexes, which were originally legally mapped as condominiums but kept on the rental market (for 20 years in some cases).
Casa Del Prado, located on Pennsylvania Avenue just north of Westfield Solano mall, sold all of its rental units as condominiums last year.
Redwood Villas, a small 32-unit complex on Tabor Avenue, is currently selling its units. It is our understanding the owners of an apartment complex on North Texas Street near the former Mission Village Center may be selling their units as well.
Converting a rental apartment complex to condominiums is a somewhat complicated process. Governed by Chapter 25, Article IV of the Fairfield City Code, condominium conversions must meet a variety of requirements, including legal requirements, building conditions, site amenities, parking, establishment of a homeowners' association, tenant assistance programs, and adequacy of utilities. These requirements include payment of the city's standard impact fees for parks and recreation (Quimby fees). One recent condominium conversion application would have been assessed more than $4,500 per unit upon conversion.
Given the increased interest in condominium conversions, the city of Fairfield is currently reviewing its condominium conversion ordinance.
The ordinance will potentially address several topics, including the reservation of affordable units for sale to low and moderate-income households. Other issues include ensuring that condominium conversions occur only after the condition of the buildings are fully assessed, that a plan is in place for funding adequate repairs and maintenance, and that professional management be in place.
With these changes, condominium conversions can be an appropriate way of providing ownership housing opportunities while ensuring that affordable housing units remain available for our low and moderate-income households.
Economic Notes is an update from Fairfield City Hall written by Brian Miller and Karl Dumas of the Fairfield Planning and Development Department. They can be contacted at 428-7461 or e-mail at kdumas@ci.fairfield.ca.us or bkmiller@ci.fairfield.ca.us.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Doctor is 'in' for Rio Vista residents
March 13, 2006
Doctor is 'in' for Rio Vista residents
By Sarah Arnquist
RIO VISTA - This small river town's population has more than doubled in the last five years, and its elderly population is growing six times faster than any other Solano County city, yet Rio Vista has only one doctor.
Dr. Daniel Ferrick, a family practice doctor with 19 years experience practicing in Fairfield, started seeing patients full time in Rio Vista last fall. Before November 2005, the town went a year-and-a-half without a permanent physician.
Residents are pleased to have a full-time physician in town and he is extremely busy, Ferrick said.
"The town itself is big enough to need more physicians, and it's growing like crazy," he said. "People don't want to go far for their health care."
Rio Vista's population is expected to double again by 2030 to nearly 20,000 people and its elderly population will increase by 600 percent, according to data from the Association of Bay Area Governments.
Rio Vista Mayor Eddie Woodruff said one doctor is not enough.
"We have an aging population here, and many of them are having to travel to other cities for medical care," he said.
Rio Vista residents who don't see Dr. Ferrick must travel at least 20 miles to places such as Lodi or Fairfield for their health care.
The Sutter Regional Medical Foundation operates Rio Vista's medical office and has plans to bring more doctors to town, said John Ray, foundation chief executive officer. The foundation's long-term plan is to build a new medical office building for at least four primary care doctors. The short-term plan is to expand physician hours, he said.
"It is a community we are going to invest in, and it's worth investing in," Ray said.
Rio Vista's isolated location, expanding elderly population and limited transportation in and out of town heighten the need for local doctors, said Terri Restelli-Deits, a planner at the Area Agency on Aging serving Napa and Solano counties.
"Because of the projection of growth in frail seniors is so high, having something local without taking a long bus trip and transferring once or twice will be very much in demand," Restelli-Deits said.
Solano County as a whole has fewer doctors than the statewide average. The county has about 1.8 doctors for every 1,000 residents compared with the statewide average of 2.6 doctors per 1,000 residents.
Recruiting physicians to Northern California is a challenge because of lower than average reimbursement rates and the high cost of living, Ray said. Sutter Regional Medical Foundation has a focused and well-funded physician recruitment effort. The challenge of bringing doctors to Rio Vista is finding those who prefer small-town life, he said.
Reach Sarah Arnquist at 427-6953 or sarnquist@dailyrepublic.net.
Doctor is 'in' for Rio Vista residents
By Sarah Arnquist
RIO VISTA - This small river town's population has more than doubled in the last five years, and its elderly population is growing six times faster than any other Solano County city, yet Rio Vista has only one doctor.
Dr. Daniel Ferrick, a family practice doctor with 19 years experience practicing in Fairfield, started seeing patients full time in Rio Vista last fall. Before November 2005, the town went a year-and-a-half without a permanent physician.
Residents are pleased to have a full-time physician in town and he is extremely busy, Ferrick said.
"The town itself is big enough to need more physicians, and it's growing like crazy," he said. "People don't want to go far for their health care."
Rio Vista's population is expected to double again by 2030 to nearly 20,000 people and its elderly population will increase by 600 percent, according to data from the Association of Bay Area Governments.
Rio Vista Mayor Eddie Woodruff said one doctor is not enough.
"We have an aging population here, and many of them are having to travel to other cities for medical care," he said.
Rio Vista residents who don't see Dr. Ferrick must travel at least 20 miles to places such as Lodi or Fairfield for their health care.
The Sutter Regional Medical Foundation operates Rio Vista's medical office and has plans to bring more doctors to town, said John Ray, foundation chief executive officer. The foundation's long-term plan is to build a new medical office building for at least four primary care doctors. The short-term plan is to expand physician hours, he said.
"It is a community we are going to invest in, and it's worth investing in," Ray said.
Rio Vista's isolated location, expanding elderly population and limited transportation in and out of town heighten the need for local doctors, said Terri Restelli-Deits, a planner at the Area Agency on Aging serving Napa and Solano counties.
"Because of the projection of growth in frail seniors is so high, having something local without taking a long bus trip and transferring once or twice will be very much in demand," Restelli-Deits said.
Solano County as a whole has fewer doctors than the statewide average. The county has about 1.8 doctors for every 1,000 residents compared with the statewide average of 2.6 doctors per 1,000 residents.
Recruiting physicians to Northern California is a challenge because of lower than average reimbursement rates and the high cost of living, Ray said. Sutter Regional Medical Foundation has a focused and well-funded physician recruitment effort. The challenge of bringing doctors to Rio Vista is finding those who prefer small-town life, he said.
Reach Sarah Arnquist at 427-6953 or sarnquist@dailyrepublic.net.
More C-17s are Possible, Could Help Preserve Travis
More C-17s are Possible, Could Help Preserve Travis
By Ian Thompson
FAIRFIELD - The Air Force may need more than the 180 C-17s already approved and funded, Solano County supervisors reported after a lobbying trip to Washington D.C.
Travis Air Force Base is already slated to get a squadron of C-17 Globemaster III jet transports. Travis supporters hope if the military asks for more, Travis Air Force Base will get a second squadron, they said. More units on base help insulate Travis from closure.
Boeing is lobbying hard to expand the C-17 fleet because the aircraft manufacturer doesn't want to shut down its Southern California production line. If it did, about 6,500 people would lose their jobs. If the company doesn't get more orders, the line will shut down in a few years anyway.
The Air Force wants more C-17s because the current transport planes are aging faster than expected because of the multitude of missions supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Supervisor, Mike Reagan, a retired Air Force officer.
"The administration has understood the impact of the loss and has put an additional seven C-17s on the unfunded priority list," said Reagan, who just returned from Washington.
That means Congress now has the option to insert funding for these C-17s into the budget as it makes its way through Congress later this year.
Reagan attended a National Association of Counties legislative conference in Washington with Supervisor John Vasquez and County Administrator Michael Johnson.
The group spent part of its time meeting with aircraft officials as well as talking to members of Congress about issues affecting Travis Air Force Base and the county.
At present, Travis Air Force Base is slated to lose a C-5 squadron about the same time the C-17 squadron locates there.
Travis has room for more squadrons, whether C-17s or whatever next-generation air tanker squadron the military gets, supports said.
"The next generation of tankers may fit very nicely at Travis," Reagan said.
The group also discussed Air Force plans to allow private developers to build housing at Travis and then lease it back to the Air Force.
Those plans are on hold until it's determined who will run housing at McChord AFB, Wash., which may be managed by the Army at adjacent Fort Lewis.
The Air Force originally planned to bundle the contract to privatize some of Travis' housing with similar plans for McChord AFB and Fairchild AFB, Wash. Putting the Army in charge of McChord's housing has delayed the contracting.
"The contract may just be Travis and Fairchild," Reagan said.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
By Ian Thompson
FAIRFIELD - The Air Force may need more than the 180 C-17s already approved and funded, Solano County supervisors reported after a lobbying trip to Washington D.C.
Travis Air Force Base is already slated to get a squadron of C-17 Globemaster III jet transports. Travis supporters hope if the military asks for more, Travis Air Force Base will get a second squadron, they said. More units on base help insulate Travis from closure.
Boeing is lobbying hard to expand the C-17 fleet because the aircraft manufacturer doesn't want to shut down its Southern California production line. If it did, about 6,500 people would lose their jobs. If the company doesn't get more orders, the line will shut down in a few years anyway.
The Air Force wants more C-17s because the current transport planes are aging faster than expected because of the multitude of missions supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Supervisor, Mike Reagan, a retired Air Force officer.
"The administration has understood the impact of the loss and has put an additional seven C-17s on the unfunded priority list," said Reagan, who just returned from Washington.
That means Congress now has the option to insert funding for these C-17s into the budget as it makes its way through Congress later this year.
Reagan attended a National Association of Counties legislative conference in Washington with Supervisor John Vasquez and County Administrator Michael Johnson.
The group spent part of its time meeting with aircraft officials as well as talking to members of Congress about issues affecting Travis Air Force Base and the county.
At present, Travis Air Force Base is slated to lose a C-5 squadron about the same time the C-17 squadron locates there.
Travis has room for more squadrons, whether C-17s or whatever next-generation air tanker squadron the military gets, supports said.
"The next generation of tankers may fit very nicely at Travis," Reagan said.
The group also discussed Air Force plans to allow private developers to build housing at Travis and then lease it back to the Air Force.
Those plans are on hold until it's determined who will run housing at McChord AFB, Wash., which may be managed by the Army at adjacent Fort Lewis.
The Air Force originally planned to bundle the contract to privatize some of Travis' housing with similar plans for McChord AFB and Fairchild AFB, Wash. Putting the Army in charge of McChord's housing has delayed the contracting.
"The contract may just be Travis and Fairchild," Reagan said.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
A Tank for the Times
A Tank for the Times
Project Looks to Future Water Needs
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Tetra Tech inspectors Stan Goodman (left) and Adam Nelkie visit the McMurtry Reservoir site Wednesday in north Vacaville. (Rick Roach/The Reporter)
Anyone standing atop the hills just west of Browns Valley in north Vacaville might imagine some sort of gigantic space vessel is being built below them.
Fear not, however: The massive structure hugging the side of a mountain is no intergalactic starship. It's a 5.6 million-gallon water tank to serve present and future Vacaville residents.
James Loomis, the city's engineer on the $8 million McMurtry Reservoir, said the August completion date for the behemoth concrete contraption is still accurate, depending on how much rain arrives in the next months.
Construction crews plugged away Wednesday at preparing the tank's roof for completion. Half the roof concrete is in place, with the rest to be poured in two sections during the next two weeks, said Stan Goodman of Tetra Tech, an independent inspection services firm.
Seventeen of the tank's 18 wall sections are in place as well, Loomis said. Crews began the project in June 2005, when workers from Gateway Pacific Contractors began digging a massive hole in the eastern side of a rolling slope above Browns Valley.
When finished, the tank will have a diameter of 224 feet and a depth of 28 feet, Loomis said. Water will fill the tank up to 2 feet from the top, with a gravity-based overflow pump in place.
Loomis said the tank will be the largest by far in Vacaville, and will help meet the city's water need for years to come. And it won't just serve people moving into the homes planned for the valley below.
"The reservoirs serve everybody through the city's system," Loomis said.
The tank was actually in planning stages before area residential developments including Cheyenne at Browns Valley and Rogers Ranch gained city approval. Also, a smaller, half-million-gallon tank will be built within those subdivisions to serve directly the new homes.
Browns Valley residents raised concerns when the McMurtry Reservoir was first proposed, rallying against a possible eyesore in the northern hills. Criticisms were based on complaints regarding the Browns Valley Reservoir, a smaller white tank built into the hillside just south of McMurtry a decade ago and called a landscaping eyesore by area residents.
But the McMurtry tank was built with disguise in mind, as only several feet will peek out over the earthen hillside once dirt is backfilled around it, Loomis said. And excess dirt from the tank's construction was trucked to the Browns Valley Reservoir to help build up a screening berm.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Project Looks to Future Water Needs
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Tetra Tech inspectors Stan Goodman (left) and Adam Nelkie visit the McMurtry Reservoir site Wednesday in north Vacaville. (Rick Roach/The Reporter)
Anyone standing atop the hills just west of Browns Valley in north Vacaville might imagine some sort of gigantic space vessel is being built below them.
Fear not, however: The massive structure hugging the side of a mountain is no intergalactic starship. It's a 5.6 million-gallon water tank to serve present and future Vacaville residents.
James Loomis, the city's engineer on the $8 million McMurtry Reservoir, said the August completion date for the behemoth concrete contraption is still accurate, depending on how much rain arrives in the next months.
Construction crews plugged away Wednesday at preparing the tank's roof for completion. Half the roof concrete is in place, with the rest to be poured in two sections during the next two weeks, said Stan Goodman of Tetra Tech, an independent inspection services firm.
Seventeen of the tank's 18 wall sections are in place as well, Loomis said. Crews began the project in June 2005, when workers from Gateway Pacific Contractors began digging a massive hole in the eastern side of a rolling slope above Browns Valley.
When finished, the tank will have a diameter of 224 feet and a depth of 28 feet, Loomis said. Water will fill the tank up to 2 feet from the top, with a gravity-based overflow pump in place.
Loomis said the tank will be the largest by far in Vacaville, and will help meet the city's water need for years to come. And it won't just serve people moving into the homes planned for the valley below.
"The reservoirs serve everybody through the city's system," Loomis said.
The tank was actually in planning stages before area residential developments including Cheyenne at Browns Valley and Rogers Ranch gained city approval. Also, a smaller, half-million-gallon tank will be built within those subdivisions to serve directly the new homes.
Browns Valley residents raised concerns when the McMurtry Reservoir was first proposed, rallying against a possible eyesore in the northern hills. Criticisms were based on complaints regarding the Browns Valley Reservoir, a smaller white tank built into the hillside just south of McMurtry a decade ago and called a landscaping eyesore by area residents.
But the McMurtry tank was built with disguise in mind, as only several feet will peek out over the earthen hillside once dirt is backfilled around it, Loomis said. And excess dirt from the tank's construction was trucked to the Browns Valley Reservoir to help build up a screening berm.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Redevlopment Cooking
Redevlopment Cooking
Project is a Dream for Restaurateur
By Tom Hall, Amanda Janis and Jason Massad/Staff Writers
This artist's rendering shows the restaurant local restaurateur Joe Murdaca is hoping to build. It would be called Don Carmello's Bistro. (Courtesy rendering)
Three intertwined redevelopment projects scattered around Vacaville's downtown finally may be closer to blossoming after years of fruitless negotiation.
A three-part landmark endeavor called the "Scattered Site Commercial Project" links proposals for an upscale Italian bistro, a county welfare building, and a municipal parking lot on Dobbins Street with an adjacent office building.
All would be developed by local restaurateur Joe Murdaca, who plans to invest at least $8 million.
Don Carmello's Bistro, a long-held dream of Murdaca's, would be at the southeast corner of Dobbins Street and East Monte Vista Avenue, joining a burgeoning downtown redevelopment effort.
But that dream has been on hold for more than two years as Murdaca, the city and the county try to come to terms on a lease rate
Joe Murdaca, owner and chef of Pietro's restaurant, prepares soup at a cooking class in November at Nugget Markets in Vacaville. He's planning to invest in a land project. (Joel Rosenbaum/Reporter file)
for a 30,000-square-foot county welfare building on Brown Street - a linchpin of the project Murdaca has called "the deal maker."
The lease rate quibble could amount to a difference of $1.6 million through the course of a 10-year lease. For now the deal teeters, while county and city officials argue over the minutiae of price-per-square foot on the building.
"We feel the only way we can assess if this is going to happen is if we get an appraisal everyone can agree on," said Vacaville City Manager David Van Kirk.
The project has a long history. In August 2002, city and county officials came to an unprecedented deal wherein the city agreed to absorb several hundred low-income housing units the county otherwise would have been required to build. In exchange, the county promised to bring a building to a redevelopment site in Vacaville that would house its local CalWorks and mental health services under one roof.
In 2003, the city chose Murdaca as the developer for the redevelopment project. In January 2004, the deal stalled partly because of the complex nature of the arrangement, each party viewing the project in a different light.
The city believes that each piece of the puzzle is vital in the effort to redevelop downtown and make county-provided social services available to all Vacaville residents.
The county feels it has been asked to pay too much to lease the Brown Street building and by doing so may be subsidizing the other portions of the deal.
From the business end, Murdaca wants to offset the risk of the ambitious downtown bistro through the office buildings. Stephen Power, a local developer representing Murdaca, said the restaurateur remains hopeful despite the numerous hold-ups.
"We're spending a lot of time on it weekly. It's getting regular attention from all the parties involved," he said.
Despite their continued efforts, there's no evidence that the parties are any closer to coming to an agreement on a lease rate.
The first appraisal, performed by a firm approved by all three parties, concluded the county should pay Murdaca $2.60 per square foot per month, according to a county document.
But that appraisal didn't please county officials, who instead hired their own appraiser, Van Kirk said.
On March 2, a letter addressed to Murdaca and Van Kirk and signed by County Administrator Michael Johnson instead offered $2.15 per square foot.
The difference may not sound like much but it equates to $1.6 million during a 10-year lease for the 30,000-square-foot building.
County spokesman Andy Kotch admitted the county has been in no rush to sign a deal.
"This isn't outside of the window that we had set for the completion of the project," Kotch said.
Van Kirk agreed the complex nature of the negotiations provided for a slower process, but said he had been confident the pieces would be in place by now.
"It is a complicated deal but I don't think it should have taken this long," the city manager said.
Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine said he's also concerned the county building won't provide all the services it should to help meet the needs of local residents. Vallejo and Fairfield have many more county services offered than the north county, he said.
"I don't want it done in a way that fills the square but doesn't meet the needs of the community," Augustine said.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Amanda Janis can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.
Project is a Dream for Restaurateur
By Tom Hall, Amanda Janis and Jason Massad/Staff Writers
This artist's rendering shows the restaurant local restaurateur Joe Murdaca is hoping to build. It would be called Don Carmello's Bistro. (Courtesy rendering)
Three intertwined redevelopment projects scattered around Vacaville's downtown finally may be closer to blossoming after years of fruitless negotiation.
A three-part landmark endeavor called the "Scattered Site Commercial Project" links proposals for an upscale Italian bistro, a county welfare building, and a municipal parking lot on Dobbins Street with an adjacent office building.
All would be developed by local restaurateur Joe Murdaca, who plans to invest at least $8 million.
Don Carmello's Bistro, a long-held dream of Murdaca's, would be at the southeast corner of Dobbins Street and East Monte Vista Avenue, joining a burgeoning downtown redevelopment effort.
But that dream has been on hold for more than two years as Murdaca, the city and the county try to come to terms on a lease rate
Joe Murdaca, owner and chef of Pietro's restaurant, prepares soup at a cooking class in November at Nugget Markets in Vacaville. He's planning to invest in a land project. (Joel Rosenbaum/Reporter file)
for a 30,000-square-foot county welfare building on Brown Street - a linchpin of the project Murdaca has called "the deal maker."
The lease rate quibble could amount to a difference of $1.6 million through the course of a 10-year lease. For now the deal teeters, while county and city officials argue over the minutiae of price-per-square foot on the building.
"We feel the only way we can assess if this is going to happen is if we get an appraisal everyone can agree on," said Vacaville City Manager David Van Kirk.
The project has a long history. In August 2002, city and county officials came to an unprecedented deal wherein the city agreed to absorb several hundred low-income housing units the county otherwise would have been required to build. In exchange, the county promised to bring a building to a redevelopment site in Vacaville that would house its local CalWorks and mental health services under one roof.
In 2003, the city chose Murdaca as the developer for the redevelopment project. In January 2004, the deal stalled partly because of the complex nature of the arrangement, each party viewing the project in a different light.
The city believes that each piece of the puzzle is vital in the effort to redevelop downtown and make county-provided social services available to all Vacaville residents.
The county feels it has been asked to pay too much to lease the Brown Street building and by doing so may be subsidizing the other portions of the deal.
From the business end, Murdaca wants to offset the risk of the ambitious downtown bistro through the office buildings. Stephen Power, a local developer representing Murdaca, said the restaurateur remains hopeful despite the numerous hold-ups.
"We're spending a lot of time on it weekly. It's getting regular attention from all the parties involved," he said.
Despite their continued efforts, there's no evidence that the parties are any closer to coming to an agreement on a lease rate.
The first appraisal, performed by a firm approved by all three parties, concluded the county should pay Murdaca $2.60 per square foot per month, according to a county document.
But that appraisal didn't please county officials, who instead hired their own appraiser, Van Kirk said.
On March 2, a letter addressed to Murdaca and Van Kirk and signed by County Administrator Michael Johnson instead offered $2.15 per square foot.
The difference may not sound like much but it equates to $1.6 million during a 10-year lease for the 30,000-square-foot building.
County spokesman Andy Kotch admitted the county has been in no rush to sign a deal.
"This isn't outside of the window that we had set for the completion of the project," Kotch said.
Van Kirk agreed the complex nature of the negotiations provided for a slower process, but said he had been confident the pieces would be in place by now.
"It is a complicated deal but I don't think it should have taken this long," the city manager said.
Vacaville Mayor Len Augustine said he's also concerned the county building won't provide all the services it should to help meet the needs of local residents. Vallejo and Fairfield have many more county services offered than the north county, he said.
"I don't want it done in a way that fills the square but doesn't meet the needs of the community," Augustine said.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Amanda Janis can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
Jason Massad can be reached at county@thereporter.com.
Training New Leaders
Training New Leaders
Chamber Program Focuses on Important Community Issues
By Amanda Janis/Business Writer
Program director Jan Maguire discusses the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce's leadership program, which will begin offering workshops to business leaders this fall. (Joel Rosenbaum/The Reporter)
A program to help develop Vacaville's future leaders is being launched for the first time this year by the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce.
The program, according to chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Tatum, is a first for Solano County.
Called "Leadership Vacaville: Developing Tomorrow's Leaders," the program aims to inform attendees about pertinent community issues and simultaneously strengthen their leadership and professional networking skills, through a series of 10 one-day workshops throughout the course of a year.
"We want to create a pool of talented, informed, knowledgeable people who will then be in our community in the businesses, in the non-profits, in the appointed and elected offices, who can make thoughtful decisions," explained Jan Maguire, program director.
Each daylong workshop will revolve around a specific theme and its related issues, she explained. Workshop topics will include:
• Youth and Family
• Health and Aging
• Heritage
• Government and Politics
• Communications
• Public Safety
• Agriculture and Land Use
• Planning and Development
• Business and the Economy
Each workshop, Maguire said, will feature a panel of experts who will present basic facts, demographics, and information on various subjects and local or regional issues tangent to the general theme.
For example, she said, on Health and Aging day, guest speakers might include health insurance experts, representatives from local health care organizations, specialists on conditions associated with aging such as Alzheimer's, or senior citizens who would share firsthand what they consider to be important issues.
"It's really increasing awareness," noted Tatum. "How often do people get busy with their everyday responsibilities and not know what's going on in their community?"
The expert panelists would make presentations to and engage in dialogue with participants. They would not only broaden a participant's knowledge, Maguire remarked, but their network of contacts within the community.
A typical workshop day would also incorporate a theme-related field trip or activity of some sort, leadership development work that would include creation of personal mission and values statements, and time to create and execute plans for a group service project.
The 20-25 attendees will work together on a project of their choosing, Maguire explained, which may be fund raising or some sort of direct service.
That will be their instant footprint, she said, though their continued contribution to and leadership within the community will be the lasting effect.
Desired applicants, Maguire noted, are people who participate actively in the community, "either on their own or through their work or church," and are likely already regarded as budding leaders or ladder-climbers.
Tuition for the program - which also includes a two-day retreat in August - is $1,400; applicants may apply for $1,000 scholarships from the chamber, and are encouraged to request contributions from their employer.
The application period for "Leadership Vacaville: Developing Tomorrow's Leaders" ends May 5th. Visit www.vacavillechamber.com for more information.
"We're looking for people who are enthusiastic about our town, people who want to make a difference now and in the future," Maguire remarked.
Amanda Janis can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
Chamber Program Focuses on Important Community Issues
By Amanda Janis/Business Writer
Program director Jan Maguire discusses the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce's leadership program, which will begin offering workshops to business leaders this fall. (Joel Rosenbaum/The Reporter)
A program to help develop Vacaville's future leaders is being launched for the first time this year by the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce.
The program, according to chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Tatum, is a first for Solano County.
Called "Leadership Vacaville: Developing Tomorrow's Leaders," the program aims to inform attendees about pertinent community issues and simultaneously strengthen their leadership and professional networking skills, through a series of 10 one-day workshops throughout the course of a year.
"We want to create a pool of talented, informed, knowledgeable people who will then be in our community in the businesses, in the non-profits, in the appointed and elected offices, who can make thoughtful decisions," explained Jan Maguire, program director.
Each daylong workshop will revolve around a specific theme and its related issues, she explained. Workshop topics will include:
• Youth and Family
• Health and Aging
• Heritage
• Government and Politics
• Communications
• Public Safety
• Agriculture and Land Use
• Planning and Development
• Business and the Economy
Each workshop, Maguire said, will feature a panel of experts who will present basic facts, demographics, and information on various subjects and local or regional issues tangent to the general theme.
For example, she said, on Health and Aging day, guest speakers might include health insurance experts, representatives from local health care organizations, specialists on conditions associated with aging such as Alzheimer's, or senior citizens who would share firsthand what they consider to be important issues.
"It's really increasing awareness," noted Tatum. "How often do people get busy with their everyday responsibilities and not know what's going on in their community?"
The expert panelists would make presentations to and engage in dialogue with participants. They would not only broaden a participant's knowledge, Maguire remarked, but their network of contacts within the community.
A typical workshop day would also incorporate a theme-related field trip or activity of some sort, leadership development work that would include creation of personal mission and values statements, and time to create and execute plans for a group service project.
The 20-25 attendees will work together on a project of their choosing, Maguire explained, which may be fund raising or some sort of direct service.
That will be their instant footprint, she said, though their continued contribution to and leadership within the community will be the lasting effect.
Desired applicants, Maguire noted, are people who participate actively in the community, "either on their own or through their work or church," and are likely already regarded as budding leaders or ladder-climbers.
Tuition for the program - which also includes a two-day retreat in August - is $1,400; applicants may apply for $1,000 scholarships from the chamber, and are encouraged to request contributions from their employer.
The application period for "Leadership Vacaville: Developing Tomorrow's Leaders" ends May 5th. Visit www.vacavillechamber.com for more information.
"We're looking for people who are enthusiastic about our town, people who want to make a difference now and in the future," Maguire remarked.
Amanda Janis can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
East Bay tops area job growth
Posted on Sun, Mar. 12, 2006
East Bay tops area job growth
By George Avalos
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The freight car of the Bay Area economy has turned into its strongest engine.
The East Bay has long been the home of blue-collar industries such as shipyards, steel mills, oil refineries and chemical plants. Its products have ranged from World War II Liberty ships to digital-age computer chips. It is an office center and a bedroom community. It contains inner cities and edge cities.
And it is increasingly the best job market in the Bay Area, creating employment that in turn bolsters the overall East Bay economy and underpins wages, retail sales and business investment.
Welcome to the Bay Area's only million-job economy. While the tech and Internet debacle erased enough jobs in the South Bay and the area containing San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin counties to drive each of those economies well below 1 million jobs, the Alameda-Contra Costa region has stayed above that benchmark through thick and thin.
"The East Bay is a locomotive of growth," said Sean Snaith, director of the Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific in Stockton. "And the East Bay is poised to outperform the rest of the state."
Mercedes Paz of Hercules is one of those jumping on board the train. She works in one of the East Bay's big industries, health care, which has chalked up steady growth in recent years.
Until recently a licensed vocational nurse, Paz has just found work as a registered nurse after going through a training program offered by the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County. The board, and its counterpart in Alameda County, is a business-led agency set up to improve the East Bay work force.
"I'm pretty optimistic about my prospects," Paz said. "I also have offers from other hospitals."
Robert Lanter, executive director of the Workforce Development Board, points to several strong industry sectors in the East Bay.
"Construction is employing people at a rapid clip," Lanter said. "We have financing and banking that continues to add people. Health care is strong. We expect a lot of growth in biotech. There is also great demand for teachers."
Other East Bay business leaders agree the East Bay's economic engines are firing on all cylinders.
"We're seeing strong hiring in all skill sets," said Ralph Henderson, San Ramon-based senior vice president with Spherion Corp. "Our San Ramon and Oakland offices are showing double-digit increases in business."
Some people who recently found work even see new strength in the battered tech sector. Danville resident Bob Purcell, a marketing executive who was out of work for some months in 2005 until he found a management position at Walnut Creek-based Reply.com, likes what he sees in high technology.
"If you have e-commerce skills and online marketing skills, there is a lot of opportunity," Purcell said.
Dorothy Chen, director of the Alameda County Workforce Investment Board, said a database of layoffs that in prior years showed job cuts of 10,000 a year now shows a drop to 5,000 a year.
"Businesses are hiring again," Chen said.
Not only is the economy in the East Bay strong, it's growing stronger. Jobs are being added much more quickly in the East Bay than in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco area, which consists of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties.
What's more, over the past year, the East Bay job market expanded more rapidly than that of California and the United States.
'Second sister' status
It wasn't always this way.
For decades, the East Bay was something of an economic afterthought, the other side of the Bay from San Francisco. Later, it became that place near Silicon Valley.
"The East Bay for some time has been the second sister," said economist Christopher Thornberg with the UCLA Anderson Forecast. "Silicon Valley had that high-tech industry and San Francisco was home to finance and professional services. And the East Bay was where people lived."
In February 2001, the South Bay and the San Francisco area both had more jobs than the East Bay. All three topped 1 million.
Then came the dot-com bust and the tech meltdown. By September 2001, the South Bay slipped below the million-job mark. In January 2002, the San Francisco area followed. Neither is close to getting back.
And the East Bay? The economy whose largest city was famously lampooned as not having a "there there" has done more than simply escape the devastation that erased 205,000 jobs in the South Bay and 153,000 in the San Francisco area from 2000 through 2005. The East Bay has prospered, especially over the past two years.
Sure, it lost 16,600 jobs over the five years. But compare that with the South Bay, which lost 11 times as many, or the San Francisco area, which lost nine times that number.
Diversity is key
Why did the East Bay survive and thrive? It can thank a diversified job base.
"It's a more evenly spread out economy in the East Bay," Thornberg said. "If a region specializes in an industry cluster, it's great if that cluster does well. But it's horrible for your economy if the cluster does poorly."
It's true that the region's economy has been bolstered by housing the past several years. But analysts believe the East Bay also enjoys propulsion from a number of industries that have no close ties to real estate.
This economic diversity is why the East Bay is not perched on an economic precipice and does not face a dot-housing scenario, in the view of Tapan Munroe, a Moraga-based economist.
"We're talking about an East Bay housing boom without a bust," Munroe said. "At worst, this is a boom with a slow leak."
The East Bay economy closely resembles that of all of California, and even the entire nation. Alameda and Contra Costa counties never had their eggs wholly in the high-tech and dot-com basket. Instead, the region enjoys a broad mix of industries that are about the same size.
Housing leads the way
Nevertheless, the East Bay, like Silicon Valley and San Francisco several years ago, has turned an unusual situation into a hot economic hand. The East Bay is one of the few places left in the Bay Area with lots of spots for homes, and it can offer these wide-open spaces at a time when housing is in demand.
"California has a real estate-led economy, and the East Bay is where it's at," Thornberg said.
All of this has meant a lot of new rooftops, both residential and commercial, in the East Bay, which means numerous jobs: Construction employment accounted for 37 percent of the 18,000-plus new jobs added in the East Bay during 2005, an analysis of state labor data shows.
Thornberg has warned that the East Bay relies too much on the housing economy.
Yet even with the startling growth in construction and other real estate-related jobs, those industries do not dominate the East Bay landscape like manufacturing and tech-related services did in the South Bay economy. Manufacturing, for example, still represents about 20 percent of South Bay jobs.
In contrast, the largest East Bay industry is the very diversified professional and business services sector, with 14.6 percent of the area's total jobs. Next up is retail, with 11.4 percent of the job mix. Manufacturing is third with 9 percent. Then come health care and the leisure and hospitality industries, each with about 8 percent. Construction is sixth with 7.4 percent of the East Bay's jobs.
That means even a pronounced slump in housing is less likely to produce a real malaise. It certainly would not approach the scope of the tech implosion.
"My guess is growth will continue in the East Bay even after the housing boom is over," Keitaro Matsuda, an economist with San Francisco-based Union Bank, said.
Lagging wages
Yet by another important measure -- wages -- the region's economy has not kept up with other Bay Area urban centers. The East Bay has lower wages than the South Bay and San Francisco area, and wage growth is also much slower in the East Bay.
On the other hand, the lower pay in the East Bay could entice employers who seek to control costs.
Over the 12 months that ended in September, average annual wages in the East Bay rose 2.3 percent. Wages rose 3.8 percent in the San Francisco area and 5.8 percent in the South Bay.
Even with these blemishes, the East Bay seems strong enough to help haul the entire Bay Area economy out of its recent doldrums, Snaith said.
"The East Bay will continue to pull the other areas along with it," Snaith said. "We're all on this prosperity train."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Avalos covers the economy, financial markets, insurance and banks. Reach him at 925-977-8477 or gavalos@cctimes.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 ContraCostaTimes.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.contracostatimes.com
East Bay tops area job growth
By George Avalos
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The freight car of the Bay Area economy has turned into its strongest engine.
The East Bay has long been the home of blue-collar industries such as shipyards, steel mills, oil refineries and chemical plants. Its products have ranged from World War II Liberty ships to digital-age computer chips. It is an office center and a bedroom community. It contains inner cities and edge cities.
And it is increasingly the best job market in the Bay Area, creating employment that in turn bolsters the overall East Bay economy and underpins wages, retail sales and business investment.
Welcome to the Bay Area's only million-job economy. While the tech and Internet debacle erased enough jobs in the South Bay and the area containing San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin counties to drive each of those economies well below 1 million jobs, the Alameda-Contra Costa region has stayed above that benchmark through thick and thin.
"The East Bay is a locomotive of growth," said Sean Snaith, director of the Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific in Stockton. "And the East Bay is poised to outperform the rest of the state."
Mercedes Paz of Hercules is one of those jumping on board the train. She works in one of the East Bay's big industries, health care, which has chalked up steady growth in recent years.
Until recently a licensed vocational nurse, Paz has just found work as a registered nurse after going through a training program offered by the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County. The board, and its counterpart in Alameda County, is a business-led agency set up to improve the East Bay work force.
"I'm pretty optimistic about my prospects," Paz said. "I also have offers from other hospitals."
Robert Lanter, executive director of the Workforce Development Board, points to several strong industry sectors in the East Bay.
"Construction is employing people at a rapid clip," Lanter said. "We have financing and banking that continues to add people. Health care is strong. We expect a lot of growth in biotech. There is also great demand for teachers."
Other East Bay business leaders agree the East Bay's economic engines are firing on all cylinders.
"We're seeing strong hiring in all skill sets," said Ralph Henderson, San Ramon-based senior vice president with Spherion Corp. "Our San Ramon and Oakland offices are showing double-digit increases in business."
Some people who recently found work even see new strength in the battered tech sector. Danville resident Bob Purcell, a marketing executive who was out of work for some months in 2005 until he found a management position at Walnut Creek-based Reply.com, likes what he sees in high technology.
"If you have e-commerce skills and online marketing skills, there is a lot of opportunity," Purcell said.
Dorothy Chen, director of the Alameda County Workforce Investment Board, said a database of layoffs that in prior years showed job cuts of 10,000 a year now shows a drop to 5,000 a year.
"Businesses are hiring again," Chen said.
Not only is the economy in the East Bay strong, it's growing stronger. Jobs are being added much more quickly in the East Bay than in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco area, which consists of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties.
What's more, over the past year, the East Bay job market expanded more rapidly than that of California and the United States.
'Second sister' status
It wasn't always this way.
For decades, the East Bay was something of an economic afterthought, the other side of the Bay from San Francisco. Later, it became that place near Silicon Valley.
"The East Bay for some time has been the second sister," said economist Christopher Thornberg with the UCLA Anderson Forecast. "Silicon Valley had that high-tech industry and San Francisco was home to finance and professional services. And the East Bay was where people lived."
In February 2001, the South Bay and the San Francisco area both had more jobs than the East Bay. All three topped 1 million.
Then came the dot-com bust and the tech meltdown. By September 2001, the South Bay slipped below the million-job mark. In January 2002, the San Francisco area followed. Neither is close to getting back.
And the East Bay? The economy whose largest city was famously lampooned as not having a "there there" has done more than simply escape the devastation that erased 205,000 jobs in the South Bay and 153,000 in the San Francisco area from 2000 through 2005. The East Bay has prospered, especially over the past two years.
Sure, it lost 16,600 jobs over the five years. But compare that with the South Bay, which lost 11 times as many, or the San Francisco area, which lost nine times that number.
Diversity is key
Why did the East Bay survive and thrive? It can thank a diversified job base.
"It's a more evenly spread out economy in the East Bay," Thornberg said. "If a region specializes in an industry cluster, it's great if that cluster does well. But it's horrible for your economy if the cluster does poorly."
It's true that the region's economy has been bolstered by housing the past several years. But analysts believe the East Bay also enjoys propulsion from a number of industries that have no close ties to real estate.
This economic diversity is why the East Bay is not perched on an economic precipice and does not face a dot-housing scenario, in the view of Tapan Munroe, a Moraga-based economist.
"We're talking about an East Bay housing boom without a bust," Munroe said. "At worst, this is a boom with a slow leak."
The East Bay economy closely resembles that of all of California, and even the entire nation. Alameda and Contra Costa counties never had their eggs wholly in the high-tech and dot-com basket. Instead, the region enjoys a broad mix of industries that are about the same size.
Housing leads the way
Nevertheless, the East Bay, like Silicon Valley and San Francisco several years ago, has turned an unusual situation into a hot economic hand. The East Bay is one of the few places left in the Bay Area with lots of spots for homes, and it can offer these wide-open spaces at a time when housing is in demand.
"California has a real estate-led economy, and the East Bay is where it's at," Thornberg said.
All of this has meant a lot of new rooftops, both residential and commercial, in the East Bay, which means numerous jobs: Construction employment accounted for 37 percent of the 18,000-plus new jobs added in the East Bay during 2005, an analysis of state labor data shows.
Thornberg has warned that the East Bay relies too much on the housing economy.
Yet even with the startling growth in construction and other real estate-related jobs, those industries do not dominate the East Bay landscape like manufacturing and tech-related services did in the South Bay economy. Manufacturing, for example, still represents about 20 percent of South Bay jobs.
In contrast, the largest East Bay industry is the very diversified professional and business services sector, with 14.6 percent of the area's total jobs. Next up is retail, with 11.4 percent of the job mix. Manufacturing is third with 9 percent. Then come health care and the leisure and hospitality industries, each with about 8 percent. Construction is sixth with 7.4 percent of the East Bay's jobs.
That means even a pronounced slump in housing is less likely to produce a real malaise. It certainly would not approach the scope of the tech implosion.
"My guess is growth will continue in the East Bay even after the housing boom is over," Keitaro Matsuda, an economist with San Francisco-based Union Bank, said.
Lagging wages
Yet by another important measure -- wages -- the region's economy has not kept up with other Bay Area urban centers. The East Bay has lower wages than the South Bay and San Francisco area, and wage growth is also much slower in the East Bay.
On the other hand, the lower pay in the East Bay could entice employers who seek to control costs.
Over the 12 months that ended in September, average annual wages in the East Bay rose 2.3 percent. Wages rose 3.8 percent in the San Francisco area and 5.8 percent in the South Bay.
Even with these blemishes, the East Bay seems strong enough to help haul the entire Bay Area economy out of its recent doldrums, Snaith said.
"The East Bay will continue to pull the other areas along with it," Snaith said. "We're all on this prosperity train."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Avalos covers the economy, financial markets, insurance and banks. Reach him at 925-977-8477 or gavalos@cctimes.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 ContraCostaTimes.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.contracostatimes.com
Westfield Solano mall officially announces renovations
February 23, 2006
Mall officially announces renovations
By Nathan Halverson
FAIRFIELD - The Westfield Solano mall rolled out the red carpet to officially announce its multi-million dollar renovation project on Wednesday morning.
With the Vacaville Christian School Radio Jazz Band serenading guests such as Mayor Harry Price and City Manager Kevin O'Rourke, mall officials unveiled their vision for the future.
Officials with Westfield Corp., which owns the 25-year-old mall, plan to fully renovate the 1-million-square-foot shopping center. The changes will incorporate four local themes into the renovation: Flight, fairgrounds, vineyards and markets. Each quadrant of the mall will have one of the themes and a correlating color scheme.
The center court will have a fifth theme, celebrating the history and people of Solano County.
Renovations are targeted to be complete by fall, according to mall officials. All stores will remain open during construction as shoppers will be detoured around renovation areas.
The project, which intends to create a more classy feel, demonstrates that mall executives believe Fairfield can sustain a higher-end mall, Price said.
City councilman Jack Batson noted the city of Fairfield was losing some tax revenue from its commuter residents who can shop where they work. The renovated mall might be able to lure some of those shoppers back to their hometown before opening their wallets.
"(Westfield officials) know there is an untapped market that is shopping somewhere else," Batson said.
In addition, 24-Hour Fitness has proposed building a new club on the site of the former Solano Mall Cinema 6, which is now vacant. The club would be about 21,000 square feet and would include a swimming pool, according to plans filed with the city.
Under this proposal, the former cinema would be torn down. The Fairfield Planning Commission will hear the proposal on March 8.
When the Westfield Solano renovations were first reported in December, Patrice Duker, a spokeswoman with New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers, had said mall redevelopments were a growing trend in the industry.
"If there is one trend we've seen in 2005, it's seeing reinvestments by owners and developers in their existing malls," she said, adding new mall construction was down.
Increased competition is the driving factor behind the renovations, she said.
Westfield will move forward with expanding the mall when the renovations are complete.
"That's down the road. We don't have any timeline for that yet," said Monty Stephens, the mall's general manager.
But he did say plans for a car wash were in the works, adding that on-site car washes were a popular concept in Southern California.
Reach Nathan Halverson at 425-4646 ext. 267 or nhalverson@dailyrepublic.net.
Mall officially announces renovations
By Nathan Halverson
FAIRFIELD - The Westfield Solano mall rolled out the red carpet to officially announce its multi-million dollar renovation project on Wednesday morning.
With the Vacaville Christian School Radio Jazz Band serenading guests such as Mayor Harry Price and City Manager Kevin O'Rourke, mall officials unveiled their vision for the future.
Officials with Westfield Corp., which owns the 25-year-old mall, plan to fully renovate the 1-million-square-foot shopping center. The changes will incorporate four local themes into the renovation: Flight, fairgrounds, vineyards and markets. Each quadrant of the mall will have one of the themes and a correlating color scheme.
The center court will have a fifth theme, celebrating the history and people of Solano County.
Renovations are targeted to be complete by fall, according to mall officials. All stores will remain open during construction as shoppers will be detoured around renovation areas.
The project, which intends to create a more classy feel, demonstrates that mall executives believe Fairfield can sustain a higher-end mall, Price said.
City councilman Jack Batson noted the city of Fairfield was losing some tax revenue from its commuter residents who can shop where they work. The renovated mall might be able to lure some of those shoppers back to their hometown before opening their wallets.
"(Westfield officials) know there is an untapped market that is shopping somewhere else," Batson said.
In addition, 24-Hour Fitness has proposed building a new club on the site of the former Solano Mall Cinema 6, which is now vacant. The club would be about 21,000 square feet and would include a swimming pool, according to plans filed with the city.
Under this proposal, the former cinema would be torn down. The Fairfield Planning Commission will hear the proposal on March 8.
When the Westfield Solano renovations were first reported in December, Patrice Duker, a spokeswoman with New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers, had said mall redevelopments were a growing trend in the industry.
"If there is one trend we've seen in 2005, it's seeing reinvestments by owners and developers in their existing malls," she said, adding new mall construction was down.
Increased competition is the driving factor behind the renovations, she said.
Westfield will move forward with expanding the mall when the renovations are complete.
"That's down the road. We don't have any timeline for that yet," said Monty Stephens, the mall's general manager.
But he did say plans for a car wash were in the works, adding that on-site car washes were a popular concept in Southern California.
Reach Nathan Halverson at 425-4646 ext. 267 or nhalverson@dailyrepublic.net.
Sandy Person appointed as representive for Solano County General Plan Update citizens advisory committee
February 28, 2006
Supes choose reps for General Plan
By Barry Eberling
FAIRFIELD - Their backgrounds are diverse - open space advocates, farmers, developers and more.
They could be working together for three years to help come up with a vision for the future rural Solano County.
County supervisors each nominated four people for the county General Plan citizens advisory committee. The committee will look at everything from county land use to emergency preparations.
The county Board of Supervisors is scheduled to appoint the citizens committee members today. It meets at 8:30 a.m. at the county Government Center, 675 Texas St. The board will begin in closed session on labor issues.
Supervisor John Vasquez has seen the names nominated by the other supervisors.
"I think we just have a really good sprinkling of folks who bring a lot of skill sets," Vasquez said.
One of his nominees is Curt Johansen of Triad Communities. The company is looking at development projects in Vacaville's Lagoon Valley, Fairfield's Allan Witt Park and downtown Vallejo.
Vasquez also nominated Rio Vista-area rancher Jeanne McCormack, Brian West of the proposed Dove Creek rural residential development near Vacaville and Solano Economic Development Corp. Vice President Sandy Person.
Supervisor Duane Kromm nominated former Fairfield Mayor Karin MacMillan. He mentioned her work with orderly growth issues and her knowledge about how cities and farms interact at city borders.
MacMillan is running for the Board of Supervisors, hoping to take the seat that Kromm will be vacating. If elected, she would still have until January 2006 to be on the committee, Kromm said.
Kromm also nominated former University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor Larry Clement, Ron Lanza of Wooden Valley Winery and Green Valley resident Eva Laevastu.
Supervisor Mike Reagan nominated former Rio Vista Planning Commissioner Jeff Shewmaker, Mike Fortney of Placer Title Co., Vacaville Planning Commissioner Brett Johnson and Jack Batchelor, who was active in the Dixon General Plan update.
Supervisor Barbara Kondylis nominated Nicole Arnold of the Greenbelt Alliance, Benicia City Councilwoman Elizabeth Patterson, Sierra Club Solano Chapter delegate Patricia Gatz and Marti Brown.
Supervisor John Silva nominated former Fairfield Planning Commissioner Thomas Mattis, Erickson Farm owner Victoria Erickson, Anthony Russo and Sarah Lindemann.
Silva and Kondylis couldn't be reached to give backgrounds on their nominees.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
Supes choose reps for General Plan
By Barry Eberling
FAIRFIELD - Their backgrounds are diverse - open space advocates, farmers, developers and more.
They could be working together for three years to help come up with a vision for the future rural Solano County.
County supervisors each nominated four people for the county General Plan citizens advisory committee. The committee will look at everything from county land use to emergency preparations.
The county Board of Supervisors is scheduled to appoint the citizens committee members today. It meets at 8:30 a.m. at the county Government Center, 675 Texas St. The board will begin in closed session on labor issues.
Supervisor John Vasquez has seen the names nominated by the other supervisors.
"I think we just have a really good sprinkling of folks who bring a lot of skill sets," Vasquez said.
One of his nominees is Curt Johansen of Triad Communities. The company is looking at development projects in Vacaville's Lagoon Valley, Fairfield's Allan Witt Park and downtown Vallejo.
Vasquez also nominated Rio Vista-area rancher Jeanne McCormack, Brian West of the proposed Dove Creek rural residential development near Vacaville and Solano Economic Development Corp. Vice President Sandy Person.
Supervisor Duane Kromm nominated former Fairfield Mayor Karin MacMillan. He mentioned her work with orderly growth issues and her knowledge about how cities and farms interact at city borders.
MacMillan is running for the Board of Supervisors, hoping to take the seat that Kromm will be vacating. If elected, she would still have until January 2006 to be on the committee, Kromm said.
Kromm also nominated former University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor Larry Clement, Ron Lanza of Wooden Valley Winery and Green Valley resident Eva Laevastu.
Supervisor Mike Reagan nominated former Rio Vista Planning Commissioner Jeff Shewmaker, Mike Fortney of Placer Title Co., Vacaville Planning Commissioner Brett Johnson and Jack Batchelor, who was active in the Dixon General Plan update.
Supervisor Barbara Kondylis nominated Nicole Arnold of the Greenbelt Alliance, Benicia City Councilwoman Elizabeth Patterson, Sierra Club Solano Chapter delegate Patricia Gatz and Marti Brown.
Supervisor John Silva nominated former Fairfield Planning Commissioner Thomas Mattis, Erickson Farm owner Victoria Erickson, Anthony Russo and Sarah Lindemann.
Silva and Kondylis couldn't be reached to give backgrounds on their nominees.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Suisun City May Get Sister City in the Philippines
Suisun City May Get Sister City in the Philippines
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - Suisun City could soon get a sister city in the Philippines after the city council warmed to the idea brought up by councilman and Filipino-American Pete Sanchez.
"It can be mutually beneficial," said Sanchez, who recently met with a delegation from the potential sister city while he was vacationing in the Philippines.
Sanchez was carrying forward the idea presented to him by local resident Aurelia Joven, whose hometown is Naguilian which is roughly a five-hour drive north of Manila on the Philippines' main island of Luzon.
Joven talked with friends who still live in Naguilian and other former residents of the town who now live in the United States before approaching Sanchez with the idea.
Sanchez and others are considering a relationship similar to one that Fairfield has with Nirasaki, Japan. The two cities exchange students and delegations visit each other.
Sanchez said Suisun City and Naguilian could have an educational exchange and exchange ideas on dealing with mutual city issues such as promoting retail projects and maintaining infrastructure.
He also said the project will be another opportunity for the Filipino-American community to get more involved, including paying the financial costs for an official sister city program.
"This all can be done with no expense to the city," said Sanchez alluding to Suisun City's efforts to keep city costs down due to tight budget times. "It won't cost the city a thing."
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - Suisun City could soon get a sister city in the Philippines after the city council warmed to the idea brought up by councilman and Filipino-American Pete Sanchez.
"It can be mutually beneficial," said Sanchez, who recently met with a delegation from the potential sister city while he was vacationing in the Philippines.
Sanchez was carrying forward the idea presented to him by local resident Aurelia Joven, whose hometown is Naguilian which is roughly a five-hour drive north of Manila on the Philippines' main island of Luzon.
Joven talked with friends who still live in Naguilian and other former residents of the town who now live in the United States before approaching Sanchez with the idea.
Sanchez and others are considering a relationship similar to one that Fairfield has with Nirasaki, Japan. The two cities exchange students and delegations visit each other.
Sanchez said Suisun City and Naguilian could have an educational exchange and exchange ideas on dealing with mutual city issues such as promoting retail projects and maintaining infrastructure.
He also said the project will be another opportunity for the Filipino-American community to get more involved, including paying the financial costs for an official sister city program.
"This all can be done with no expense to the city," said Sanchez alluding to Suisun City's efforts to keep city costs down due to tight budget times. "It won't cost the city a thing."
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Vallejo Approves Downtown Financing
Vallejo Approves Downtown Financing
By CHRIS G. DENINA, Times-Herald staff writer
Triad Downtown Vallejo LP plans to begin construction of a new high-rise on the city owned parking lot at Virginia and Marin streets. Photo: J.L. Sousa/Times-Herald
You need to spend money to make money, and Vallejo's downtown is no exception.
City officials Tuesday gave preliminary approval to spending $6.1 million on such public improvements downtown as diagonal parking and sidewalk benches, and on marketing efforts to lure businesses into the area.
"The whole point of making this investment is that so other people will buy these units in the downtown and invest their own private capital," City Councilmember Gary Cloutier said. "That's why we want to spend this money, so that other people will spend their own money in the downtown and the downtown then will be revitalized."
City officials last year OK'd Triad Downtown Vallejo LLC's plans to revamp a dozen square city blocks. But only now have city officials formally committed money to its end of the deal to make the area more pedestrian-friendly by widening sidewalks and narrowing streets.
The Vallejo City Council, also acting as the Vallejo Redevelopment Agency board, approved financial pacts between the city, agency and Triad, outlining everyone's share of the expenses.
The vote was unanimous, of the four council members allowed to vote. Three disqualified themselves because they either lived, worked or owned property in the downtown.
The city expects to spend about $4.7 million, and the agency about $1.4 million, on redesigning and rebuilding streets, marketing the area to businesses and creating a new special tax district for property owners.
Triad will be reimbursed by as much as about $652,000 for its expenses related to buying a city-owned Virginia Street parking lot to develop a high-rise project.
"I'm not unaware that this is a large amount and that it is a big investment by the city in its downtown, that the stakes are high and there is risk," Mayor Tony Intintoli Jr. said. "But it's a risk worth taking."
Ed Buck of Vallejo said the city already has handed Triad millions to restore the Virginia Street's Empress Theatre as a performing arts center.
"When are they going to start giving something?" Buck asked the council.
Triad expects construction to begin in May on the Virginia Street project, the first of a series of downtown high-rises of condominiums over stores and restaurants, officials said.
Last month, the company resumed construction on the Empress Theatre after work was postponed because of financial issues. Officials expect to wrap work by year's end and open the old movie house as a performing arts center early next year, said Len Johnson, Triad's downtown project director.
"A lot's happening," Johnson said in an interview. "I think in two years from now, it'll be quite a different area down there."
City and development officials envision the Empress Theatre will draw people from around the Bay Area to such events as plays and films.
After viewing a performance, visitors can cross the street and eat at restaurants on the ground floor of the new six-story Virginia Street building. Residents of the new high-rise, meanwhile, can simply see a show, grab dinner then walk upstairs to go home.
"It's going to be quite exciting," Johnson said before the council meeting.
The Triad project is good for business, since it should bring more people downtown, said Bill Richerson, who works at Georgia Street's Vallejo Antiques.
"We need to do something," Richerson said in an interview. "There's nothing here to really draw people."
The council was supposed to vote on the downtown financial agreements last week, but only three council members were qualified to vote.
Councilmember Tony Pearsall was absent. Council members Tom Bartee, Gerald Davis and Stephanie Gomes recused themselves because of conflicts of interest: Bartee owns a downtown business, while Davis owns property there and Gomes lives in the project area.
Pearsall voted Tuesday, though Hal Boex, who lost his bid for City Council last year, raised concerns during the meeting over
Pearsall's past dealings with Triad and asked if he would recuse himself from the vote. Pearsall did not respond to the comments during the meeting.
In 2003, before Pearsall won office, a Triad official said his company bought Pearsall and his wife's previous home to get them to drop a council appeal against a Triad housing project. Pearsall denied any quid pro quo.
Interim Vallejo City Manager John P. Thompson also left the room during the discussion Tuesday because he is a former Triad consultant.
- E-mail Chris G. Denina at cdenina@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6835.
By CHRIS G. DENINA, Times-Herald staff writer
Triad Downtown Vallejo LP plans to begin construction of a new high-rise on the city owned parking lot at Virginia and Marin streets. Photo: J.L. Sousa/Times-Herald
You need to spend money to make money, and Vallejo's downtown is no exception.
City officials Tuesday gave preliminary approval to spending $6.1 million on such public improvements downtown as diagonal parking and sidewalk benches, and on marketing efforts to lure businesses into the area.
"The whole point of making this investment is that so other people will buy these units in the downtown and invest their own private capital," City Councilmember Gary Cloutier said. "That's why we want to spend this money, so that other people will spend their own money in the downtown and the downtown then will be revitalized."
City officials last year OK'd Triad Downtown Vallejo LLC's plans to revamp a dozen square city blocks. But only now have city officials formally committed money to its end of the deal to make the area more pedestrian-friendly by widening sidewalks and narrowing streets.
The Vallejo City Council, also acting as the Vallejo Redevelopment Agency board, approved financial pacts between the city, agency and Triad, outlining everyone's share of the expenses.
The vote was unanimous, of the four council members allowed to vote. Three disqualified themselves because they either lived, worked or owned property in the downtown.
The city expects to spend about $4.7 million, and the agency about $1.4 million, on redesigning and rebuilding streets, marketing the area to businesses and creating a new special tax district for property owners.
Triad will be reimbursed by as much as about $652,000 for its expenses related to buying a city-owned Virginia Street parking lot to develop a high-rise project.
"I'm not unaware that this is a large amount and that it is a big investment by the city in its downtown, that the stakes are high and there is risk," Mayor Tony Intintoli Jr. said. "But it's a risk worth taking."
Ed Buck of Vallejo said the city already has handed Triad millions to restore the Virginia Street's Empress Theatre as a performing arts center.
"When are they going to start giving something?" Buck asked the council.
Triad expects construction to begin in May on the Virginia Street project, the first of a series of downtown high-rises of condominiums over stores and restaurants, officials said.
Last month, the company resumed construction on the Empress Theatre after work was postponed because of financial issues. Officials expect to wrap work by year's end and open the old movie house as a performing arts center early next year, said Len Johnson, Triad's downtown project director.
"A lot's happening," Johnson said in an interview. "I think in two years from now, it'll be quite a different area down there."
City and development officials envision the Empress Theatre will draw people from around the Bay Area to such events as plays and films.
After viewing a performance, visitors can cross the street and eat at restaurants on the ground floor of the new six-story Virginia Street building. Residents of the new high-rise, meanwhile, can simply see a show, grab dinner then walk upstairs to go home.
"It's going to be quite exciting," Johnson said before the council meeting.
The Triad project is good for business, since it should bring more people downtown, said Bill Richerson, who works at Georgia Street's Vallejo Antiques.
"We need to do something," Richerson said in an interview. "There's nothing here to really draw people."
The council was supposed to vote on the downtown financial agreements last week, but only three council members were qualified to vote.
Councilmember Tony Pearsall was absent. Council members Tom Bartee, Gerald Davis and Stephanie Gomes recused themselves because of conflicts of interest: Bartee owns a downtown business, while Davis owns property there and Gomes lives in the project area.
Pearsall voted Tuesday, though Hal Boex, who lost his bid for City Council last year, raised concerns during the meeting over
Pearsall's past dealings with Triad and asked if he would recuse himself from the vote. Pearsall did not respond to the comments during the meeting.
In 2003, before Pearsall won office, a Triad official said his company bought Pearsall and his wife's previous home to get them to drop a council appeal against a Triad housing project. Pearsall denied any quid pro quo.
Interim Vallejo City Manager John P. Thompson also left the room during the discussion Tuesday because he is a former Triad consultant.
- E-mail Chris G. Denina at cdenina@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6835.
Texas Street Downtown Attracts Professionals
Texas Street Downtown Attracts Professionals
By Nathan Halverson
FAIRFIELD - In his youth, Charles Wood III swept the downtown sidewalks in front of the McInnis Corner building - the current location of Tony's Gourmet Hot Dogs and Starbucks Coffee.
He now looks out over those same sidewalks as an attorney for a law firm with offices in downtown Fairfield on Texas Street.
Wood's return to Texas Street could be a parable for the overall return of business downtown. The area once attracted employers who offered mostly low- and middle-income jobs, but now it's attracting high-paid professionals such as Wood.
On Thursday, the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon-cutting for Wood's law firm, Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti & Heppell, and an accounting firm, Cavanaugh, Connor & Company. The firms will share office space at 724 Texas St.
The firms will employee a certified public accountant, two attorneys, a legal assistant and support staff in the Fairfield office. Both firms had previous locations in Fairfield.
"It's great. I like being on Texas Street," Wood said. "You can walk to court. You can walk to the county building. You can walk to good dining places for lunch."
Cavanaugh, Connor & Company had offices in Fairfield since 1980 until the firm closed its office in April 2005 to find a better location.
"We were looking for the right opportunity, and we were able to get into this space," said Denton Connor, partner in the accounting firm. "I really like what is happening downtown."
Both firms have been operating in the new space for several weeks. The ribbon-cutting is to symbolize the firms are now running at full capacity, Connor said.
Professional firms have long clustered around the county building and courthouse, but now many are being drawn to revitalized Texas Street, said Emily Low, program coordinator for the Fairfield Downtown Association.
The revitalization is a direct effort by the redevelopment agency for Fairfield and developers such as John Costanzo, who owns McInnis Corner and Stonefield Corner across the street.
Costanzo is developing Stonefield Corner to incorporate commercial condominiums for professionals such as doctors, lawyers and others. With condominiums, the professionals can own their office space and realize property appreciation rather than paying rent.
"I think if Mr. Costanzo is successful in getting his condos it will really draw legal professionals," Low said.
Solano County officials, city officials and Costanzo are working through negotiations for the property. The county owns the corner building on the site, while Costanzo owns the adjacent former bank building.
Reach Nathan Halverson at 425-4646 ext. 267 or nhalverson@dailyrepublic.net.
Info Box
Downtown ribbon cutting
Who: Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti, & Heppell law firm and Cavanaugh, Connor & Company accounting firm
When: 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: 724 Texas St.
Cost: Free and open to the public
By Nathan Halverson
FAIRFIELD - In his youth, Charles Wood III swept the downtown sidewalks in front of the McInnis Corner building - the current location of Tony's Gourmet Hot Dogs and Starbucks Coffee.
He now looks out over those same sidewalks as an attorney for a law firm with offices in downtown Fairfield on Texas Street.
Wood's return to Texas Street could be a parable for the overall return of business downtown. The area once attracted employers who offered mostly low- and middle-income jobs, but now it's attracting high-paid professionals such as Wood.
On Thursday, the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon-cutting for Wood's law firm, Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti & Heppell, and an accounting firm, Cavanaugh, Connor & Company. The firms will share office space at 724 Texas St.
The firms will employee a certified public accountant, two attorneys, a legal assistant and support staff in the Fairfield office. Both firms had previous locations in Fairfield.
"It's great. I like being on Texas Street," Wood said. "You can walk to court. You can walk to the county building. You can walk to good dining places for lunch."
Cavanaugh, Connor & Company had offices in Fairfield since 1980 until the firm closed its office in April 2005 to find a better location.
"We were looking for the right opportunity, and we were able to get into this space," said Denton Connor, partner in the accounting firm. "I really like what is happening downtown."
Both firms have been operating in the new space for several weeks. The ribbon-cutting is to symbolize the firms are now running at full capacity, Connor said.
Professional firms have long clustered around the county building and courthouse, but now many are being drawn to revitalized Texas Street, said Emily Low, program coordinator for the Fairfield Downtown Association.
The revitalization is a direct effort by the redevelopment agency for Fairfield and developers such as John Costanzo, who owns McInnis Corner and Stonefield Corner across the street.
Costanzo is developing Stonefield Corner to incorporate commercial condominiums for professionals such as doctors, lawyers and others. With condominiums, the professionals can own their office space and realize property appreciation rather than paying rent.
"I think if Mr. Costanzo is successful in getting his condos it will really draw legal professionals," Low said.
Solano County officials, city officials and Costanzo are working through negotiations for the property. The county owns the corner building on the site, while Costanzo owns the adjacent former bank building.
Reach Nathan Halverson at 425-4646 ext. 267 or nhalverson@dailyrepublic.net.
Info Box
Downtown ribbon cutting
Who: Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti, & Heppell law firm and Cavanaugh, Connor & Company accounting firm
When: 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: 724 Texas St.
Cost: Free and open to the public
Sewage District OKs Study for Pxpansion
Sewage District OKs Study for Pxpansion
By Daily Republic staff
FAIRFIELD - The Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District Board has approved an environmental study for a proposed $45 million sewer district plant expansion.
The plant needs to expand to handle the growth plans of Fairfield and Suisun City, the environmental report said. Without it, the district would face such options as piecemeal expansion or imposing growth restrictions, it said.
"We want to award a contract for construction by May," said Larry Bahr of the district.
Whether that happens depends on getting a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, Bahr said. The difficulty has been getting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to the corps, something that must occur before the permit can be issued, he said.
The Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District plant is located on Chadbourne Road south of Fairfield, along Suisun Marsh.
A local group called Citizens Against the Dump Expansion voiced concerns about the environmental study. It objects to the district's practice of hauling treated sewage sludge to Potrero Hills Landfill.
By Daily Republic staff
FAIRFIELD - The Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District Board has approved an environmental study for a proposed $45 million sewer district plant expansion.
The plant needs to expand to handle the growth plans of Fairfield and Suisun City, the environmental report said. Without it, the district would face such options as piecemeal expansion or imposing growth restrictions, it said.
"We want to award a contract for construction by May," said Larry Bahr of the district.
Whether that happens depends on getting a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, Bahr said. The difficulty has been getting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to the corps, something that must occur before the permit can be issued, he said.
The Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District plant is located on Chadbourne Road south of Fairfield, along Suisun Marsh.
A local group called Citizens Against the Dump Expansion voiced concerns about the environmental study. It objects to the district's practice of hauling treated sewage sludge to Potrero Hills Landfill.
Suisun City Anticipates Budget Surplus
Suisun City Anticipates Budget Surplus
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - Suisun City Manager Suzanne Bragdon called a nearly $300,000 expected budget surplus a conservative figure that she expects will be even higher when the city closes the books on the 2005-06 fiscal year in June.
Councilmembers had nothing but praise Tuesday night for news that this will be the first time in three years that Suisun City will actually have a budget surplus, not the $200,000 deficit it expected to have when the budget was approved in October.
"This is a reflection that our staff is in touch," Mayor Jim Spering said of the marching orders Bragdon was given to bring the budget in line when she was hired in December.
Bragdon told the council that she expects City Hall to close the fiscal year in June with an estimated $276,030 surplus.
Bragdon also told the council that the city's reserves are also expected to climb from $3.1 million to about $3.7 million, mainly due to the recent sale of the city's property on Twin Sisters.
To ensure the city stays in the black, Bragdon recommended the council consider more ways to ensure the city stays out of deficit spending by:
- Changing city fees such as development impact fees and fees charged to residents for using city services and programs to make these better pay for themselves.
One of these includes updating the impact fees which have not been changed since 1994 .
- Cracking down on business license enforcement. Fewer than half the businesses in Suisun City have licenses, according to Bragdon's report. Such a crackdown could generate up to $200,000.
"We really aren't collecting from a large number of businesses," Bragdon said.
- Streamlining the city's permit process to encourage more development, especially sales tax-generating commercial development, to come to Suisun City.
"We need to get more commercial development in place," Bragdon said.
Earlier in the evening, the council took another step in this direction, approving a $25,000 contract with the Buxton Company of Fort Worth, Texas, to find out just what specific retail businesses would want to come to Suisun City.
The study is expected to look at just what products and services Suisun City residents are interested in buying and what specific companies can meet those needs.
One businessmember voiced concerns that the study would be geared toward larger chain businesses and discourage the smaller independent businesses.
The study goes out two weeks before the city council is supposed to get back a study that is examining all the city's vacant commercial land and what the best use for these sites should be.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - Suisun City Manager Suzanne Bragdon called a nearly $300,000 expected budget surplus a conservative figure that she expects will be even higher when the city closes the books on the 2005-06 fiscal year in June.
Councilmembers had nothing but praise Tuesday night for news that this will be the first time in three years that Suisun City will actually have a budget surplus, not the $200,000 deficit it expected to have when the budget was approved in October.
"This is a reflection that our staff is in touch," Mayor Jim Spering said of the marching orders Bragdon was given to bring the budget in line when she was hired in December.
Bragdon told the council that she expects City Hall to close the fiscal year in June with an estimated $276,030 surplus.
Bragdon also told the council that the city's reserves are also expected to climb from $3.1 million to about $3.7 million, mainly due to the recent sale of the city's property on Twin Sisters.
To ensure the city stays in the black, Bragdon recommended the council consider more ways to ensure the city stays out of deficit spending by:
- Changing city fees such as development impact fees and fees charged to residents for using city services and programs to make these better pay for themselves.
One of these includes updating the impact fees which have not been changed since 1994 .
- Cracking down on business license enforcement. Fewer than half the businesses in Suisun City have licenses, according to Bragdon's report. Such a crackdown could generate up to $200,000.
"We really aren't collecting from a large number of businesses," Bragdon said.
- Streamlining the city's permit process to encourage more development, especially sales tax-generating commercial development, to come to Suisun City.
"We need to get more commercial development in place," Bragdon said.
Earlier in the evening, the council took another step in this direction, approving a $25,000 contract with the Buxton Company of Fort Worth, Texas, to find out just what specific retail businesses would want to come to Suisun City.
The study is expected to look at just what products and services Suisun City residents are interested in buying and what specific companies can meet those needs.
One businessmember voiced concerns that the study would be geared toward larger chain businesses and discourage the smaller independent businesses.
The study goes out two weeks before the city council is supposed to get back a study that is examining all the city's vacant commercial land and what the best use for these sites should be.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Caltrans to Fund Only Part of I-80 Repairs for Now
Caltrans to Fund Only Part of I-80 Repairs for Now
By Barry Eberling
DAILY REPUBLIC
FAIRFIELD - The worst of the crumbling concrete slab pavement on local Interstate 80 should get emergency repairs in coming months - but only the worst.
A long-awaited extensive renovation of the deteriorating freeway through Fairfield and Vacaville might have to wait another few years.
The state Department of Transportation District 4 wanted $14 million to immediately replace 1,400 concrete slabs, a Solano Transportation Authority memorandum said. Each slab is a few feet wide.
Caltrans headquarters agreed to $2 million, pending approval by the California Transportation Commission on March 15-16, Caltrans spokesman Steve Cobb said.
"It would be able to take care of some of the worst stuff, at least," Cobb said.
Renovating the stretch of freeway from Highway 12 in Fairfield to Leisure Town Road in Vacaville would cost an estimated $42 million. That could happen in 2008 or later.
Doing only the worst slabs for now doesn't satisfy Gary Tatum, president of the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce. He doesn't want the remaining subpar slabs to continue jolting drivers on the freeway.
"We can't wait until 2008 or 2009," Tatum said. "It's ridiculous."
He plans to call some of the California Transportation Commission members, Tatum said. He'll take a contingent of citizens to Sacramento to speak with transportation officials, if necessary, he said.
Caltrans District 4 Area Director Bijan Sartipi met with the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce Business Issues Committee on Feb. 9. The session became heated as participants told him the bad pavement on the local freeway is a safety hazard.
That followed requests by the Solano Transportation Authority and Assemblywoman Lois Wolk that Caltrans District 4 look at improving the freeway.
District 4 subsequently sought the money from Caltrans headquarters to the do the job. At one point, Tatum and others were hoping for a far more extensive repair job than Caltrans is now proposing.
For now, drivers will apparently have to settle for a road that's a little bit smoother, but far from perfect.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
By Barry Eberling
DAILY REPUBLIC
FAIRFIELD - The worst of the crumbling concrete slab pavement on local Interstate 80 should get emergency repairs in coming months - but only the worst.
A long-awaited extensive renovation of the deteriorating freeway through Fairfield and Vacaville might have to wait another few years.
The state Department of Transportation District 4 wanted $14 million to immediately replace 1,400 concrete slabs, a Solano Transportation Authority memorandum said. Each slab is a few feet wide.
Caltrans headquarters agreed to $2 million, pending approval by the California Transportation Commission on March 15-16, Caltrans spokesman Steve Cobb said.
"It would be able to take care of some of the worst stuff, at least," Cobb said.
Renovating the stretch of freeway from Highway 12 in Fairfield to Leisure Town Road in Vacaville would cost an estimated $42 million. That could happen in 2008 or later.
Doing only the worst slabs for now doesn't satisfy Gary Tatum, president of the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce. He doesn't want the remaining subpar slabs to continue jolting drivers on the freeway.
"We can't wait until 2008 or 2009," Tatum said. "It's ridiculous."
He plans to call some of the California Transportation Commission members, Tatum said. He'll take a contingent of citizens to Sacramento to speak with transportation officials, if necessary, he said.
Caltrans District 4 Area Director Bijan Sartipi met with the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce Business Issues Committee on Feb. 9. The session became heated as participants told him the bad pavement on the local freeway is a safety hazard.
That followed requests by the Solano Transportation Authority and Assemblywoman Lois Wolk that Caltrans District 4 look at improving the freeway.
District 4 subsequently sought the money from Caltrans headquarters to the do the job. At one point, Tatum and others were hoping for a far more extensive repair job than Caltrans is now proposing.
For now, drivers will apparently have to settle for a road that's a little bit smoother, but far from perfect.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Local Project is Looking at Mixed Use
Local Project is Looking at Mixed Use
By Amanda Janis / Business Writer
Solano County's first major developer of upscale office suites may venture into mixed-use development with a project in downtown Vallejo.
Doyle Wiseman, principal of The Wiseman Company, indicated that while no serious decisions would be made for well over a year, his firm is "open" to the idea of a mixed-use project at the corner of Georgia and Santa Clara streets. The company purchased an 11,000-square foot building there about a year ago, which it currently leases to Solano County.
Such a project, Wiseman said, might combine ground floor retail with multiple floors of office space, and residential units on top.
Regarding the company's prior Solano County projects - which include The Vacaville Medical Center and Suisun City's One Harbor Center - he said, "We've not mixed residential with the office. I think it's challenging and fairly complicated."
But the site in Vallejo may very well be the perfect opportunity to fuse functions, he noted, with its proximity to the commuter ferry and the 20 blocks of downtown being redeveloped in a public-private partnership with the city and Triad Communities.
"It's a real positive story," Wiseman said of the measures taken by the city and Triad to transform Vallejo's downtown into a high-density, dynamic area, filled with restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and residential units.
Wiseman explained that prior to making any decisions about embarking on a mixed-use endeavor, The Wiseman Co. wants to see how well Triad's project develops. The first phase of Triad's project, which partners with home builder D.R. Horton Co., breaks ground in approximately 60 days and will combine 11,500 square feet of ground floor retail with some 150 condominiums on Virginia Street.
"As that comes up and they start selling, that'll be the proof in the pudding," Wiseman remarked.
Amanda Janis can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
By Amanda Janis / Business Writer
Solano County's first major developer of upscale office suites may venture into mixed-use development with a project in downtown Vallejo.
Doyle Wiseman, principal of The Wiseman Company, indicated that while no serious decisions would be made for well over a year, his firm is "open" to the idea of a mixed-use project at the corner of Georgia and Santa Clara streets. The company purchased an 11,000-square foot building there about a year ago, which it currently leases to Solano County.
Such a project, Wiseman said, might combine ground floor retail with multiple floors of office space, and residential units on top.
Regarding the company's prior Solano County projects - which include The Vacaville Medical Center and Suisun City's One Harbor Center - he said, "We've not mixed residential with the office. I think it's challenging and fairly complicated."
But the site in Vallejo may very well be the perfect opportunity to fuse functions, he noted, with its proximity to the commuter ferry and the 20 blocks of downtown being redeveloped in a public-private partnership with the city and Triad Communities.
"It's a real positive story," Wiseman said of the measures taken by the city and Triad to transform Vallejo's downtown into a high-density, dynamic area, filled with restaurants, shops, entertainment venues and residential units.
Wiseman explained that prior to making any decisions about embarking on a mixed-use endeavor, The Wiseman Co. wants to see how well Triad's project develops. The first phase of Triad's project, which partners with home builder D.R. Horton Co., breaks ground in approximately 60 days and will combine 11,500 square feet of ground floor retail with some 150 condominiums on Virginia Street.
"As that comes up and they start selling, that'll be the proof in the pudding," Wiseman remarked.
Amanda Janis can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
Sewer Board To Discuss Plant Expansion Plans
Sewer Board To Discuss Plant Expansion Plans
By Barry Eberling
FAIRFIELD - A $45 million Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District plant and sewer system expansion is proposed to handle the expected growth for the two cities.
On Monday, the Sewer District Board of Directors will decide if the bigger plant would hurt the environment. The Fairfield and Suisun City Councils comprise the board.
A study by Environmental Science Associates sees no problems that can't be addressed. The one "significant and unavoidable" effect is growth of the cities, since a bigger plant would allow the cities to keep growing.
"The plant expansion is responding directly to the approved general plans of the two cities," said Larry Bahr of the district.
But some residents are skeptical. They are concerned a bigger sewer district plant would send larger amounts of treated sewage sludge to Potrero Hills Landfill near Suisun Marsh. They are afraid the treated sludge is bad for the ecosystem and public health.
The board meets at 7 p.m. in its chamber at 1010 Chadbourne Road.
The sewer district plant handles about 14.5 million gallons of sewage daily. Its capacity is about 17.5 million gallons and the proposed expansion would make the capacity 23.7 million gallons.
Without expansion, the district plant will have increasing problems properly handing wastewater flows, the environmental report said. Options include expanding in piecemeal fashion or imposing development restrictions, it said.
But the expansion environmental report hasn't satisfied a local group called Citizens Against the Dump Expansion.
The group's focus is blocking an attempt by Potrero Hills Landfill to expand. The private owners say the dump will fill up in a decade unless it gets bigger. Potrero Hills Landfill is located in hills amid Suisun Marsh, a few miles south of Suisun City.
The group sees a link between the proposed dump and sewer district plant expansions. That's because the sewer district plant sends its treated sewage sludge to Potrero Hill Landfill to be disposed of by covering garbage.
Bahr has said the treated sludge poses no public health or environmental threats when handled correctly. Others are concerned the biosolids could contain pathogens, as well as pharmaceuticals and other materials that end up in the sewers.
Citizens Against the Dump Expansion questions whether treated sewage sludge - also called biosolids - can legally be dumped in the protected Suisun Marsh area.
"We believe Potrero Hills Landfill is an inappropriate destination for biosolids currently and into the future," Dwight Acey wrote on behalf of the group.
Acey asked what the sewer district would do with its treated sewage sludge if the dump does indeed close. He wants that issue addressed in the sewer district expansion environmental study.
"The major concern we have is they don't have an alternative site," Acey said.
The district will be looking at other options for biosolids disposal in coming months, Bahr said.
The sewer district plant expansion is to take place over three years. But work can't get started until the district board approves the environmental report.
On Monday, the board will decide if the environmental report is sufficient.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
At a glance
Who: Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District Board
What: Environmental study to expand sewer district plant
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District plant, 1010 Chadbourne Road
Info: 429-8930
By Barry Eberling
FAIRFIELD - A $45 million Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District plant and sewer system expansion is proposed to handle the expected growth for the two cities.
On Monday, the Sewer District Board of Directors will decide if the bigger plant would hurt the environment. The Fairfield and Suisun City Councils comprise the board.
A study by Environmental Science Associates sees no problems that can't be addressed. The one "significant and unavoidable" effect is growth of the cities, since a bigger plant would allow the cities to keep growing.
"The plant expansion is responding directly to the approved general plans of the two cities," said Larry Bahr of the district.
But some residents are skeptical. They are concerned a bigger sewer district plant would send larger amounts of treated sewage sludge to Potrero Hills Landfill near Suisun Marsh. They are afraid the treated sludge is bad for the ecosystem and public health.
The board meets at 7 p.m. in its chamber at 1010 Chadbourne Road.
The sewer district plant handles about 14.5 million gallons of sewage daily. Its capacity is about 17.5 million gallons and the proposed expansion would make the capacity 23.7 million gallons.
Without expansion, the district plant will have increasing problems properly handing wastewater flows, the environmental report said. Options include expanding in piecemeal fashion or imposing development restrictions, it said.
But the expansion environmental report hasn't satisfied a local group called Citizens Against the Dump Expansion.
The group's focus is blocking an attempt by Potrero Hills Landfill to expand. The private owners say the dump will fill up in a decade unless it gets bigger. Potrero Hills Landfill is located in hills amid Suisun Marsh, a few miles south of Suisun City.
The group sees a link between the proposed dump and sewer district plant expansions. That's because the sewer district plant sends its treated sewage sludge to Potrero Hill Landfill to be disposed of by covering garbage.
Bahr has said the treated sludge poses no public health or environmental threats when handled correctly. Others are concerned the biosolids could contain pathogens, as well as pharmaceuticals and other materials that end up in the sewers.
Citizens Against the Dump Expansion questions whether treated sewage sludge - also called biosolids - can legally be dumped in the protected Suisun Marsh area.
"We believe Potrero Hills Landfill is an inappropriate destination for biosolids currently and into the future," Dwight Acey wrote on behalf of the group.
Acey asked what the sewer district would do with its treated sewage sludge if the dump does indeed close. He wants that issue addressed in the sewer district expansion environmental study.
"The major concern we have is they don't have an alternative site," Acey said.
The district will be looking at other options for biosolids disposal in coming months, Bahr said.
The sewer district plant expansion is to take place over three years. But work can't get started until the district board approves the environmental report.
On Monday, the board will decide if the environmental report is sufficient.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
At a glance
Who: Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District Board
What: Environmental study to expand sewer district plant
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District plant, 1010 Chadbourne Road
Info: 429-8930
City to Study What Businesses to Bring to Suisun
City to Study What Businesses to Bring to Suisun
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - The Suisun City Council is expected to OK a study Tuesday to figure out what kinds of retail businesses will want to locate in Suisun City.
This is the latest step in City Hall's campaign to re-energize the city's business recruitment program. The program was jump-started last year after the city council vowed to raise sales tax revenue.
City Manager Suzanne Bragdon and interim Redevelopment Agency Director Al da Silva want to hire the Braxton Company to put together a study laying out which retailers would most likely be interested in locating their businesses in Suisun City.
"We are trying to recruit more retail to Suisun City," da Silva said. "One, to increase the shopping opportunities in Suisun and, two, to increase our sales tax. It is no secret that Suisun needs a strong increase in its sales tax."
At present, Suisun City sales tax revenue is one-third that of similar-sized cities.
That lack of revenue has forced the city to cut back spending with measures that include closing City Hall one day of the week and not granting employee salary increases.
Da Silva stated the study will allow Suisun City to figure out which types of retail businesses the city has the best chance to attract and how best to court them.
"This will allow us to knock on more doors," da Silva said.
The Redevelopment Agency and Bragdon has taken their sales pitch for bringing business to Suisun City to several trade shows last year "and we are going to do that again this year," da Silva said.
City Hall hopes to create a list of businesses that are likely to move here.
"We don't have the leads yet to generate a list, but these things take time," da Silva said.
The Suisun City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Suisun City Council chamber at 701 Civic Center Blvd.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Who: Suisun City Council
What: Study on bringing new businesses to Suisun City
Where: Suisun City Council chamber, 701 Civic Center Blvd.
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Info: 421-7300
By Ian Thompson
SUISUN CITY - The Suisun City Council is expected to OK a study Tuesday to figure out what kinds of retail businesses will want to locate in Suisun City.
This is the latest step in City Hall's campaign to re-energize the city's business recruitment program. The program was jump-started last year after the city council vowed to raise sales tax revenue.
City Manager Suzanne Bragdon and interim Redevelopment Agency Director Al da Silva want to hire the Braxton Company to put together a study laying out which retailers would most likely be interested in locating their businesses in Suisun City.
"We are trying to recruit more retail to Suisun City," da Silva said. "One, to increase the shopping opportunities in Suisun and, two, to increase our sales tax. It is no secret that Suisun needs a strong increase in its sales tax."
At present, Suisun City sales tax revenue is one-third that of similar-sized cities.
That lack of revenue has forced the city to cut back spending with measures that include closing City Hall one day of the week and not granting employee salary increases.
Da Silva stated the study will allow Suisun City to figure out which types of retail businesses the city has the best chance to attract and how best to court them.
"This will allow us to knock on more doors," da Silva said.
The Redevelopment Agency and Bragdon has taken their sales pitch for bringing business to Suisun City to several trade shows last year "and we are going to do that again this year," da Silva said.
City Hall hopes to create a list of businesses that are likely to move here.
"We don't have the leads yet to generate a list, but these things take time," da Silva said.
The Suisun City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Suisun City Council chamber at 701 Civic Center Blvd.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
Who: Suisun City Council
What: Study on bringing new businesses to Suisun City
Where: Suisun City Council chamber, 701 Civic Center Blvd.
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Info: 421-7300
A Lot of Good News Lately in Dixon
A Lot of Good News Lately in Dixon
By Doug Ford
There have been all kinds of good things to note in February this year. First, we had two weeks of beautiful spring-like weather that produced blossoms four to six weeks early. Then the State of the City presentation led by Dixon Mayor Mary Ann Courville, which was filled with good news.
Fire Chief Rick Dorris reported on a well-functioning fire prevention program and the Dixon Police Department reported an overall 20 percent decrease in crime in 2005 over 2004. Both departments are now operating cadet programs in cooperation with Dixon High School and the Solano County Office of Education.
City Engineer Royce Cunningham reported that Dixon's new train station and transportation center is nearly completed. That will greatly improve Dixon's chance of getting a commuter train stop approved ahead of neighboring towns. Also, good work in developing drainage projects has saved the town from the serious flooding problems that hit Vacaville and Fairfield in the new year's storms.
Dixon Community Development Director Dave Downswell said the city is planning a revision of the city plan in 2008-2010 and that the city may be getting a Home Depot store. Both Cunningham and Downswell have been in town only four months, but seem to have hit the ground running. City Manager Warren Salmons emphasized that Dixon is thriving on all fronts from good planning and good fortune. Mayor Courville wrapped it all up with the comment that the one thing lacking is working space at the City Hall which will need expansion soon.
More good news at the Solano Economic Development Corp. session in Fairfield on biotechnology. Matt Gardner, president of Bay-Bio, the industry organization for Northern California's life science community, reported that 240 Northern California biotechnology products have been approved for production. Genentech, which gained approval for sale of the first biotech product about 27 years ago, now has passed the $100 billion market cap milestone and is nearing completion of the huge Vacaville addition that will nearly double the capacity of the world's largest biotech manufacturing facility.
The good news for Solano County is that manufacturing capacity cannot be expanded on the San Francisco peninsula where most of the new products are developed. The Interstate 80 corridor is well situated to gain more new manufacturing plants. Gardner said that 8,000 new biotech jobs are forecast for the next 12 months in Northern California.
The key to attracting more biotech business to Solano County is the support of the education system in providing well-educated and trained employees. We also need state legislation to give the industry the same kinds of advantages that are now being offered by other states. We have spent 30 years building the industry here and cannot afford to let it go elsewhere.
University of California, Davis, Associate Vice Chancellor Alan Bennett, provided an overview of biotechnology programs at the university, which is the top university in the country in awarding degrees in the life sciences at the bachelor's and doctoral levels. He introduced Carey Kopay, recently appointed director of BioTech System, a Bio Tech consortium of Solano, Yolo, and Sacramento counties for Training, Education and Mentoring. The consortium is particularly interested in working with local school districts to improve their offerings in the life sciences.
Solano Community College Superintendent-President Dr. Paulett Profumo told about how dedicated SCC faculty and staff are trying hard to meet Solano County's needs by working with UC Davis and through its own Vision 2020 plan. She said that "Solano needs to be the biggest and best cluster in biotech," and that SCC is dedicated to that goal.
The author lives in Dixon and serves on the Solano County Board of Education.
By Doug Ford
There have been all kinds of good things to note in February this year. First, we had two weeks of beautiful spring-like weather that produced blossoms four to six weeks early. Then the State of the City presentation led by Dixon Mayor Mary Ann Courville, which was filled with good news.
Fire Chief Rick Dorris reported on a well-functioning fire prevention program and the Dixon Police Department reported an overall 20 percent decrease in crime in 2005 over 2004. Both departments are now operating cadet programs in cooperation with Dixon High School and the Solano County Office of Education.
City Engineer Royce Cunningham reported that Dixon's new train station and transportation center is nearly completed. That will greatly improve Dixon's chance of getting a commuter train stop approved ahead of neighboring towns. Also, good work in developing drainage projects has saved the town from the serious flooding problems that hit Vacaville and Fairfield in the new year's storms.
Dixon Community Development Director Dave Downswell said the city is planning a revision of the city plan in 2008-2010 and that the city may be getting a Home Depot store. Both Cunningham and Downswell have been in town only four months, but seem to have hit the ground running. City Manager Warren Salmons emphasized that Dixon is thriving on all fronts from good planning and good fortune. Mayor Courville wrapped it all up with the comment that the one thing lacking is working space at the City Hall which will need expansion soon.
More good news at the Solano Economic Development Corp. session in Fairfield on biotechnology. Matt Gardner, president of Bay-Bio, the industry organization for Northern California's life science community, reported that 240 Northern California biotechnology products have been approved for production. Genentech, which gained approval for sale of the first biotech product about 27 years ago, now has passed the $100 billion market cap milestone and is nearing completion of the huge Vacaville addition that will nearly double the capacity of the world's largest biotech manufacturing facility.
The good news for Solano County is that manufacturing capacity cannot be expanded on the San Francisco peninsula where most of the new products are developed. The Interstate 80 corridor is well situated to gain more new manufacturing plants. Gardner said that 8,000 new biotech jobs are forecast for the next 12 months in Northern California.
The key to attracting more biotech business to Solano County is the support of the education system in providing well-educated and trained employees. We also need state legislation to give the industry the same kinds of advantages that are now being offered by other states. We have spent 30 years building the industry here and cannot afford to let it go elsewhere.
University of California, Davis, Associate Vice Chancellor Alan Bennett, provided an overview of biotechnology programs at the university, which is the top university in the country in awarding degrees in the life sciences at the bachelor's and doctoral levels. He introduced Carey Kopay, recently appointed director of BioTech System, a Bio Tech consortium of Solano, Yolo, and Sacramento counties for Training, Education and Mentoring. The consortium is particularly interested in working with local school districts to improve their offerings in the life sciences.
Solano Community College Superintendent-President Dr. Paulett Profumo told about how dedicated SCC faculty and staff are trying hard to meet Solano County's needs by working with UC Davis and through its own Vision 2020 plan. She said that "Solano needs to be the biggest and best cluster in biotech," and that SCC is dedicated to that goal.
The author lives in Dixon and serves on the Solano County Board of Education.
Marine World Kicks Off 45th Anniversary
Marine World Kicks Off 45th Anniversary
By RICHARD FREEDMAN/Times-Herald staff writer
The wafting aroma of funnel cake, a bactrian camel, and strolling Batman and Robin can only mean someone's having a rather odd dream or Six Flags Marine World Vallejo kicked off its 2006 season on Saturday.
It was, indeed, the season opener for the theme park, celebrating its 20th year in Vallejo and 45th anniversary since the animal and thrill ride venue began in Redwood City.
Count on a lot of "45" turning up in the park through the park through its extended season that won't end until New Year's Eve.
"Everything we'll do is 45," said Paul Garcia, public relations director for Marine World. "It's our happy anniversary."
About 700 employees welcomed a steady stream of visitors, with various discount tickets and season pass prices hoping to take the sting out of the $15 parking tab.
Lorraine Schialabba of Benicia enjoyed the park's curtain-raiser, welcoming free tickets from her church.
"I thought it was going to rain but it's turned out to be sunny," Schialabba said. "It's absolutely wonderful."
Schialabba had already jumped on Medusa, the park's hood ornament roller coaster, twice by early afternoon and hoped to get on a third time.
"I love rollercoasters," said the 50-year-old who apparently was living up to Marine World's quest to convert adults into kids for a day.
"We want moms and dads to leave their 'adult attitudes' behind and come in with a 'child mind,'" Garcia said. "We still want them to supervise the kids, of course, but we always want them to have fun."
Marine World is leaning on some familiar Super Heroes to unveil everyone's inner child, with Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and, as mentioned, the Dynamic Duo cavorting around the park.
Batman signed about 15 autographs by late afternoon and posed for photos. The job, he said, "is pretty cool, seeing the kids laugh and having a good time."
Robin said hanging with the kids was a great job, though he hoped Batman would have more confidence in his crime-fighting ability.
"He doesn't have faith in me," Robin said. "He thinks I'm young, that I can't handle myself. But I think I can."
Could have been a little jealousy going on. Apparently, the muscular man behind the bat is popular with older fans as well as younger ones.
"He works out," Robin said.
All the Super Heroes and a bunch of animals that included a monkey, camel, snake, macaws and a porcupine worked the first of a daily anniversary 10-minute parade that wound its way near the Shark exhibit.
In the day's attendance were 50 students with emotional problems from Truckee High School, who braved early Sierra snow for the four hour trip to Vallejo.
"A lot of them don't get to go many places," said teacher Diana Whitton. "This is a good opportunity to get out of Truckee."
Whitton's 16-year-old daughter, teacher's aide Briana Whitton, chowed down on funnel cake and strawberries.
"Very good," the teen said.
For park hours, visit sixflags.com.
By RICHARD FREEDMAN/Times-Herald staff writer
The wafting aroma of funnel cake, a bactrian camel, and strolling Batman and Robin can only mean someone's having a rather odd dream or Six Flags Marine World Vallejo kicked off its 2006 season on Saturday.
It was, indeed, the season opener for the theme park, celebrating its 20th year in Vallejo and 45th anniversary since the animal and thrill ride venue began in Redwood City.
Count on a lot of "45" turning up in the park through the park through its extended season that won't end until New Year's Eve.
"Everything we'll do is 45," said Paul Garcia, public relations director for Marine World. "It's our happy anniversary."
About 700 employees welcomed a steady stream of visitors, with various discount tickets and season pass prices hoping to take the sting out of the $15 parking tab.
Lorraine Schialabba of Benicia enjoyed the park's curtain-raiser, welcoming free tickets from her church.
"I thought it was going to rain but it's turned out to be sunny," Schialabba said. "It's absolutely wonderful."
Schialabba had already jumped on Medusa, the park's hood ornament roller coaster, twice by early afternoon and hoped to get on a third time.
"I love rollercoasters," said the 50-year-old who apparently was living up to Marine World's quest to convert adults into kids for a day.
"We want moms and dads to leave their 'adult attitudes' behind and come in with a 'child mind,'" Garcia said. "We still want them to supervise the kids, of course, but we always want them to have fun."
Marine World is leaning on some familiar Super Heroes to unveil everyone's inner child, with Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and, as mentioned, the Dynamic Duo cavorting around the park.
Batman signed about 15 autographs by late afternoon and posed for photos. The job, he said, "is pretty cool, seeing the kids laugh and having a good time."
Robin said hanging with the kids was a great job, though he hoped Batman would have more confidence in his crime-fighting ability.
"He doesn't have faith in me," Robin said. "He thinks I'm young, that I can't handle myself. But I think I can."
Could have been a little jealousy going on. Apparently, the muscular man behind the bat is popular with older fans as well as younger ones.
"He works out," Robin said.
All the Super Heroes and a bunch of animals that included a monkey, camel, snake, macaws and a porcupine worked the first of a daily anniversary 10-minute parade that wound its way near the Shark exhibit.
In the day's attendance were 50 students with emotional problems from Truckee High School, who braved early Sierra snow for the four hour trip to Vallejo.
"A lot of them don't get to go many places," said teacher Diana Whitton. "This is a good opportunity to get out of Truckee."
Whitton's 16-year-old daughter, teacher's aide Briana Whitton, chowed down on funnel cake and strawberries.
"Very good," the teen said.
For park hours, visit sixflags.com.
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