Monthly Archives: August 2020

#BlackLivesMatter, Benicia Black Lives Matter, Benicia City Council, Benicia city staff, Unconscious bias

City Council considers major program to recognize Benicia Black Lives Matter and address unconscious bias

Important Benicia City Council meeting Tues. August 25, 6pm – Please write or call in to show support!

By Roger Straw, August 24, 2020
Protesters hold up signs during a “Black Lives Matter” protest in front of Borough Hall on June 8, 2020 in New York City. Vanity Fair, by ANGELA WEISS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and peaceful protests here in Benicia, a new local organization was formed, Benicia Black Lives Matter (BBLM).

When BBLM members contacted Benicia elected officials and city staff, including Police Chief Erik Upson, they were met with attentive openness, warmth and a willingness to take action.

BBLM offered a good list of recommendations, and shortly, a Staff Report and a City Resolution were drafted for consideration by the City Council this Tuesday.  The report, “Recognition of Benicia Black Lives Matter and Consideration of Resolution to Take Actions to Address Unconscious Bias“ and the accompanying Resolution outline measures already taken, and call for significant changes, including these 3 major components and more.

  • Creation of a part-time Equity and Diversity Manager position (30 hours/week) at an estimated cost of $133,000 per year;
  • Conduct an “Equity Indicators in Benicia” report with consultant costs estimated at $75,000;
  • Mandate anti-bias training for all City employees and elected and appointed officials at an estimated cost of $8,000.

City Council members will consider whether to approve the resolution at its meeting today – Tuesday, August 25, 6pm on ZOOM.  The discussion and vote is the ONLY item on Tuesday’s Agenda, so it will come up quickly.  The ZOOM access information follows below.

To show support by email, see BENICIA – WHERE TO WRITE

To attend the ZOOM meeting – here’s from the 8/25/20 Council Agenda:

How to Submit Public Comments for this videoconferencing meeting:

Members of the public may provide public comments to the City Clerk by email at lwolfe@ci.benicia.ca.us. Any comment submitted to the City Clerk should indicate to which item of the agenda the comment relates. Specific information follows:

– Comments received by 3:00 pm on the day of the meeting will be electronically forwarded to the City Council and posted on the City’s website.
– Comments received after 3:00 pm, but before the start time of the meeting will be electronically forwarded to the City Council, but will not be posted on the City’s website, and will not be read into the record.
– Comments received after the start time of the meeting, but prior to the close of the public comment period for an item will be read into the record, with a maximum allowance of 5 minutes per individual comment, subject to the Mayor’s discretion.

Additionally, the public may view and provide public comment via Zoom (via computer or phone) link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87202237323?pwd=Q2F2ZkUzbU1HMm5HYmNNU0kxNGZ2Zz09
• If prompted for a password, enter 454382.
• Use participant option to “raise hand” during the public comment period for the item you wish to speak on. Please note, your electronic device must have microphone capability. Once unmuted, you will have up to 5 minutes to speak.

#VOTE, 2020 elections, 2020 Presidential campaigns, Benicia elections, November election, Solano County Registrar of Voters, Vote by Mail

Here’s a fix for the one thing that could screw up your early mail-in ballot

Don’t let your outdated signature doom your vote!

It has become increasingly clear that everyone needs to VOTE EARLY as soon as mail-in ballots arrive in late September.

The one thing that has been worrying me is that the Solano County Registrar of Voters office plans to VERIFY MY SIGNATURE before counting my ballot.

What?  My signature has devolved into an indecipherable scrawl!  And it ain’t what it used to be!

Today I discovered that the Registrar has posted a form that allows us to UPDATE OUR SIGNATURE.  This could be important – and timely!

So check this out today.  Here’s the Registrar’s invitation and a link to the form you can fill out.  The form contains good instructions.

All vote by mail ballots are to be signed by the voter.  This signature must match your signature used when you registered to vote.  If you would like to update your signature, please fill out this form and return it to our office.  We will update your signature based on the information provided.
Drop the form off at Solano county Registrar of Voters Office, 675 Texas St., Suite 2600 (Map).  OR… the form contains instructions for scanning and returning it by email attachment.  Or I suppose if you are really EARLY, you could mail it!
VOTE in EARLY OCTOBER!
Let’s elect Joe and Kamala BY A LANDSLIDE! 
Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano COVID report – it’s more than numbers: putting a face on one among us who died…

[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Friday, August 21: 42 new cases today, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 5,048 cases, 44 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday August 20:Summary

  • Solano County reported 42 new cases today, total of 5,048 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 1,019 new cases, an average of 73 per day.
  • Manuel Mendoza of Vallejo died this week from COVID-19. He is pictured with his son, Manny 6, and daughter Isabella, 6 months. (Courtesy photo)

    Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 44 Solano deaths.  The COVID victim reported on Wednesday is featured in this Vallejo Times-Herald story: After overcoming life’s struggles, father of two dies from virus – Mendoza, 49, spent 30 days in ICU.

  • Active cases – Solano reported 34 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total of 361.  Note that only 40 of these 361 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons increased by 1 today, total of 40.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started remained steady, total of 277.  (Note that the County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but we can add the new hospitalization numbers in the Age Group report – see below.)  For a fourth week now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
  • Testing – The County reports today that 775 more residents were tested, new total of 68,223.  Solano has a long way to go: only 15.2% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Percent Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today’s 7-day percent positive test rate dropped today, from 6.9% to 6.2%, still up from 4.1% last week.  The County’s 7-day test rate peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  Health officials and news reports focus on percent positive test rates as one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The California 7-day rate was reported today at 6.4%, down from 6.6% yesterday.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 5 new cases today, total of 528 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began, but notably, 3 in this past week.  Thankfully, no deaths.  It is clear that our young people are catching the disease, with a recent increase in hospitalizations.  It seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth are 10.5% of the 5,048 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 29 new cases today, total of 3,083 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents over 61% of the 5,048 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 87 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  Also no new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 deaths.  This age group is very active.  Some are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect his group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 6 new cases today, total of 962 cases.  This age group represents just over 19% of the 5,048 total cases.  No new hospitalizations and no new deaths.  Total of 77 hospitalized since the outbreak began and total of 4 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – only 1 new case today, total of 473 cases.  This age group represents 9.4% of the 5,048 total cases. No new hospitalizations today, total of 108 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, just under 23% of cases required hospitalization at one time, up from 17% a week ago Friday.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  No new deaths were reported in this age group today, total of 36 deaths.  This group accounts for 36 of the 44 deaths, or 82%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 2 new cases today, total of 122 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 346 cases.
  • Fairfield added 13 new cases today, total of 1,601.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 36 cases.
  • Suisun City added 2 new cases today, total of 363 cases.
  • Vacaville added 7 new cases today, total of 864 cases.
  • Vallejo added 15 new cases today, total of 1,699 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 17 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  There are also tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  As of today:

  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 21% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 23% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases, but 19% of hospitalizations, and 25% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 27% of cases, 33% of hospitalizations, and 28% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 11% of hospitalizations, but 18% of deaths.

Much more…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano County surpasses 5,000 COVID-19 cases, nearing a high of 400 actively infected

[For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Thursday, August 20: 63 new cases today, no new deaths.  Since the outbreak started: 5,006 cases, 44 deaths.Compare previous report, Friday August 19:Summary

  • Solano County reported 63 new cases today, total of 5,006 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 1,047 new cases, an average of 75 per day.  Solano report its 5,000th COVID infection today.
  • Deaths – no new deaths today, total of 44 Solano deaths.  (The deceased person reported yesterday was listed in the age range 18-49, but today there is 1 fewer death in that age range, and 1 more in the 65+ age range – evidently an error correction.)
  • Active cases – Solano reported 48 (!) additional ACTIVE cases today, total of 395.  Nearing 400 active cases, it is noteworthy that Solano had over 400 cases on only 3 previous occasions, July 9, 10 and 16.  Note that only 39 of these 395 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  Who knows?
  • Hospitalizations – the number of currently hospitalized persons remained steady today at 39.  The total number hospitalized since the outbreak started also remained steady, total of 277, although a likely error correction resulted in 1 fewer hospitalization among the 18-49 age group and 1 more among the 65+ age group.  (Note that the County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but we can add the new hospitalization numbers in the Age Group report – see below.)  For a fourth week now, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
  • Testing – The County reports today that 277 more residents were tested, new total of 67,448.  Only twice in July-August were fewer tested in one day.  The drop is no doubt due to nearby wildfires and resulting hazardous air quality.  Solano has a long way to go: only 15% of Solano County’s 447,643 residents (2019) have been tested.

Percent Positive Test Rate

Solano County reported today’s 7-day percent positive test rate rose again today, from 6.4% to 6.9%, up from 4.1% last week.  The County’s 7-day test rate peaked at 9.3% on July 22.  Health officials and news reports focus on percent positive test rates as one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.  The California 7-day rate was reported today at 6.6%, up from 6.3% yesterday.  (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity curve chart which also shows daily results.  However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  The 7-day curve also lags behind current unknown results.) 

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 8 new cases today, total of 523 cases.  No new hospitalizations among this age group, a total of 5 hospitalizations since the outbreak began, but notably, 3 in this past week.  Thankfully, no deaths.  It is clear that our young people are catching the disease, with a recent increase in hospitalizations.  It seems too many youth are ignoring public health orders.  Cases among Solano youth are 10.4% of the 5,006 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 40 new cases today, total of 3,054 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents over 61% of the 5,006 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 87 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  The County reported no new deaths among this age group today, total of 4 deaths.  This age group is very active.  Some are surely ignoring public health orders, and many are providing essential services among us.  I expect his group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 9 new cases today, total of 956 cases.  This age group represents just over 19% of the 5,006 total cases.  Strangely, the County reported 1 fewer hospitalization and 1 fewer death among this age group today.  This is no doubt an error correction, given that 1 new death is reported among the 65+ age group while total of all deaths remained at 44.  Total of 77 hospitalized since the outbreak began and total of 4 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 6 new cases today, total of 472 cases.  This age group represents 9.4% of the 5,006 total cases.
    1 new hospitalization today, total of 108 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  In this older age group, 23% of cases required hospitalization at one time, up from 17% last Friday.  This is a much higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  As noted above, 1 new death was reported in this age group today, probably an error correction, total of 36 deaths.  This group accounts for 36 of the 43 deaths, or 84%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 2 new cases today, total of 120 cases since the outbreak began.
  • Dixon added 3 new cases today, total of 343 cases.
  • Fairfield added 27 new cases today, total of 1,588.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today,, total of 36 cases.
  • Suisun City added 3 new cases today, total of 361 cases.
  • Vacaville added 12 new cases today, total of 857 cases.
  • Vallejo added 16 new cases today, total of 1,684 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 17 cases.

Race / Ethnicity

The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  There are also tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  As of today:

  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 22% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations and 23% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases, but 19% of hospitalizations, and 25% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 26% of cases, 32% of hospitalizations, and 28% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 11% of hospitalizations, but 18% of deaths.

Much more…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.