All posts by Roger Straw

Editor, owner, publisher of The Benicia Independent

Solano County Election begins in September! Here’s your checklist for Election MONTH…

I know there must be a few of you out there like me. I never voted by mail before!

Roger Straw, The Benicia Independent

This year, most everyone will be voting by mail.  With all the talk about Trump trying to hobble the Post Office, I got to thinking we should be ready to vote by mail, AND… ready do it early!

So here’s our election calendar.

Your ballot will arrive by mail in late September.

Below is all you need to know, directly from the Solano County Registrar of Voters page, including an excellent 3-minute video and lots of detailed information to follow.

Voting Options and Information for November 3, 2020

In an effort to reduce the impact of the Coronavirus spread, the Solano County Registrar of Voters is preparing several voting options that voters should be aware of.  Please check this site often as information will be updated closer to the election.  Last updated August 1, 2020.

VIDEO: Check out the options you have for voting safely this Election Day

No Contact Voting:
As an option to in-person voting, all voters can vote without contact with our staff or office.

All voters will be mailed a vote-by-mail ballot for the November 3, 2020 election.  Ballots will be automatically mailed at the end of September, and voters have the following options to return ballots:

  Ballot Drop-Off:
Starting October 5 (29 days) – 14 Drop-Off locations are available – click for location and hours (drop box is inside an office building).
 Curbside Drop Off Curbside Drop-Off:
Starting October 29 (5 days) – 8 Curbside drop-off locations are available [NOTE: in nearby cities, but NONE IN BENICIA]click for locations and hours. (stay in your car, hand ballot to pollworkers)
 Vote at Polls Election Day Drop-Off:
Election Day November 3 (1 day) – 100 poll place drop-off locations are available – click for locations – all locations are 7am to 8pm.

Your ballot packet will provide all the options for returning your vote by mail ballot.  All postage is paid by the Registrar of Voters Office for voters mailing ballots back to our office.  Voters do not have to vote this ballot, and can still choose to vote in-person using one of the options listed below.  Other alternatives include:

Alternatively voters can Download a Ballot (Available Late-September)- print your ballot at home, and mail it, fax it, or drop it off at a drop-off location. This service is available to any voter without a special request and can be used up to and including on election day provided the ballot is returned to us post-marked by election day.
If you change your mind, you can still vote at your assigned polling place on Election Day.

Limited Contact Voting:

 Curbside Voting  At your assigned poll place, all voters can request to vote “Curb-Side” from the comfort of your vehicle. Look for the blue cone outside of your polling place, and call the number listed on the cone. Pollworkers will come out to your car with your ballot and will securely deposit it for you.
This same curb-side option is available if you want to drop off your vote by mail ballot. It may be preferable for you to remain in your vehicle and we support that option.

In-Person Voting:

 Vote at the polls Traditional poll place voting will be available in November.  Your assigned location will be provided in the mail towards the end of September.  Depending on health issues, the number of locations may need to be reduced in November, which may cause for additional time to vote.

COVID-19 INFO:
Pollworkers and Staff:
All poll workers will be required to wear masks and shields, additionally the Registrar of Voters will provide gloves, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes.  Pollworkers will be trained on the proper use of this equipment and how to follow the procedures outlined for each workspace.

Voters:
Voters will be required to wear face coverings per the state law requiring such in public places.  Face coverings will be provided to any voter needing one.  Hand Sanitizer and disposable pens will be provided to all voters as well.   Voters without face coverings will be encouraged to vote from the safety of their vehicles, or when the pollworkers can clear the area for the safety of other voters.
We encourage all citizens to follow the mandated health requirements to help protect our staff and community partners. Without our staff and volunteers we cannot successfully execute an election!   Please help us minimize the risk to those helping to administer your voting rights!

Update Your Signature

  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.

All Election and voter services are available by phone or online:

707-784-6675; or elections@solanocounty.com
To visit us in-person, please: Request an appointment

Solano County COVID cases now over 4,000 with 40 deaths


[Note that Solano County publishes a DAILY update, and displays past weeks and months in epidemic curve charts.  However, the curve charts do not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  This methodology is accurate in a way, but it misleads the public by consistently displaying a recent downward curve which is often corrected upward on a later date. For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Friday, August 7: 70 new cases in 1 day,
1 new death. 
Since the outbreak started: 4,029 cases, 40 deaths.

Compare previous report, Thursday August 6:Summary

  • Solano County reported 70 new cases overnight, total of 4,029 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 900 new cases, an average of 64 per day.
  • Deaths – 1 new death today, another of our elders, total of 40 deaths.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 6 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 198.  Note that only 37 of these 198 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  One wonders… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
  • Hospitalizations2 fewer currently hospitalized persons today, total of 37.  However, the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 3, totaling 174.  Evidently more folks were discharged than the number of new admissions.  (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I can add the new hospitalization numbers in the Age Group report – see below.)  Again now for two straight weeks, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
  • Testing 433 residents were tested  today, total of 54,843.  We still have a long way to go: only 12.2% 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 increased each day this week, from 5.3% on Monday to 6.5% today.  (The chart may be misleading – see NOTE at top of this page.)  The County posted a high of 9.3% two weeks ago on July 22.  CONTEXT: California’s 7-day positivity rate has been falling, and is reported at 5.7% today, significantly lower than Solano County’s 6.6% Health officials and news reports focus on percent positive test rates as one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 7 new cases again today, total of 399 cases. No new hospitalizations, only 2 hospitalizations since the outbreak began, and no deathsI continue to raise an alarm for Solano’s youth.  It is clear that youth are catching the disease, and it seems too many youth are ignoring social distancing orders!  Cases among Solano youth have increased to 10% of the 4,029 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 42 new cases today, total of 2,470 cases.  This age group is 41% of the County population, but represents over 61% of the 4,029 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 48 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.  This young to middle age group is very active, many provide essential services among us, and are likely spreading the virus!
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 13 new cases today, total of 763 cases.  This age group represents just under 19% of the 4,029 total cases.  The County reported 1 new hospitalization in this age group today, total of 55 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 8 new cases today, total of 396 cases.  This age group represents nearly 10% of the 4,029 total cases2 new hospitalizations today, total of 69 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  1 new death in this age group today, total of 33.  In this older age group, over 17% of cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  This group accounts for 33 of the 40 deaths, or 82.5%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 93 cases.
  • Dixon added 9 new cases today, total of 220 cases.
  • Fairfield added 23 new cases today, total of 1,306.
  • Rio Vista remained steady today, total of 29 cases.
  • Suisun City added 7 new cases today, total of 310 cases.
  • Vacaville added 15 new cases today, total of 690 cases.
  • Vallejo added 15 new cases today, total of 1,369 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 12 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, 23% of hospitalizations and 25% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 22% of hospitalizations, and 28% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 27% of cases, 31% of hospitalizations, and 22% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 13% of hospitalizations, but 17% 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.

Solano and other Bay Area Counties – detailed tracking of status on State COVID watchlist

[NOTE: Details on Solano County below.]

Coronavirus:  How close are Bay Area counties to coming off state monitoring list?

Santa Clara and San Mateo are nearing the threshold

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Evan Webeck and Harriet Rowan, 8/6/20

It’s been close to a month since Gov. Gavin Newsom announced additional restrictions for counties on the state’s COVID-19 monitoring list. In that time, the list has grown to encompass every county in the Bay Area and over 90% of the state’s population.

Is there anywhere in the Bay Area close to escaping the list? We’re tracking the metrics county-by-county below, using data compiled by this news organization. Currently, hospitalizations are trending in the right direction in most of the region, but there isn’t one county that meets the per-capita case threshold necessary to come off the list, according to our calculations.

San Mateo County, with a rate of 12.5 cases per 10,000 residents over the past two weeks, is closest to falling below the state threshold of 10, followed by Santa Clara County, with a per-capita rate of 13.9 per 10,000.

The California Department of Public Health uses six criterion to determine if there is elevated disease transmission, increasing hospitalizations or limited hospital capacity in a county.

  1. Testing rate: Below 1.5 per 1,000 population per day over past 7 days
  2. Case rate: Above 10 per 10,000 population over the past 14 days
  3. Positivity rate: 8% or higher over past 7 days if 14-day case rate is less than 10 but higher than 2.5 per 10,000
  4. Hospitalizations: Increase of 10% or more in 3-day average vs. previous 3 days
  5. ICU capacity: 20% or less beds available
  6. Ventilator capacity: 25% or less ventilators available

Falling out of line with any one of the six metrics for three days lands a county on the list. To come off, a county has to meet all six markers for three straight days.

Under the most recent health order, counties on the monitoring list for three days are also forced to close gyms, personal-care services, nonessential offices, places of worship and malls in addition to the statewide closures of bars, indoor dining and other indoor entertainment. To be eligible to open schools for in-person learning, a county must be off the list for 14 days.

Note: CDPH uses a 7-day lag when tracking its data, while this news organization compiles the most up-to-date data from county health departments. Recently discovered underreporting of tests and cases could skew the data. Because of the faulty data, CDPH has temporarily paused adding or subtracting counties from the monitoring list. There is no standardized number of ICUs and ventilators per county publicly available, so that data is not included below.

Alameda

population: 1.67 million

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 15.7 (+6.6% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 3.7%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 194.3 (-2.5% since previous 3-day period)

Contra Costa

population: 1.15 million

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 15.3 (-14.5% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 12.32%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 98.3 (-5.7% since previous 3-day period)

Marin

population: 263,000

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 31.0 (-43.7% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 15.86%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 23.3 (-10.4% since previous 3-day period)

Napa

population: 140,000

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 21.5 (+22.9% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 11.24%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 8.3 (-28.8% since previous 3-day period)

San Francisco

population: 884,000

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 19.7 (+22.9% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 2.96%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 93 (-9.4% since previous 3-day period)

San Mateo

population: 775,000

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 12.5 (-11% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 7.16%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 55.7 (-0.1% since previous 3-day period)

Santa Clara

population: 1.95 million

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 13.9 (-4.9% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 7.48%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 175.7 (-5.7% since previous 3-day period)

Solano

population: 441,000

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 19.3 (-21.5% since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 15.33%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 45.3 (+7.1% since previous 3-day period)

Sonoma

population: 501,000

Cases per 10,000 (past 14 days): 19.8 (+27.3 since previous 14-day period)

Positivity rate (past 7 days): 12.42%

Hospitalizations (past 3 days, average): 41.7 (-5.2% since previous 3-day period)

COVID-19 in Solano County – another death, 75 new cases, positive test rate remains higher than State


[Note that Solano County publishes a DAILY update, and displays past weeks and months in epidemic curve charts.  However, the curve charts do not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results.  This methodology is accurate in a way, but it misleads the public by consistently displaying a recent downward curve which is often corrected upward on a later date. For a complete archive of day by day data, see my Excel ARCHIVE – R.S.]

Thursday, August 6: 75 new cases in 1 day,
1 new death. 
Since the outbreak started: 3,959 cases, 39 deaths.

Compare previous report, Wednesday August 5:Summary

  • Solano County reported 75 new cases overnight, total of 3,959 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 2 weeks, Solano reported 889 new cases, an average of 64 per day.
  • Deaths – 1 new death today, another of our elders, total of 39 deaths.
  • Active cases – Solano reported 21 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 192.  Note that only 39 of these 192 people are hospitalized, so there are a lot of infected folks out among us, hopefully quarantined.  One wonders… is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons?  (See SF Chronicle report on contact tracing in Bay Area – “Solano County did not respond”.)
  • Hospitalizations3 fewer currently hospitalized persons today, total of 39.  However, the total number hospitalized since the outbreak started increased by 7, totaling 171.  Evidently more were discharged than the number of new admissions.  (The County no longer reports Total Hospitalized, but I have added the new hospitalization numbers in the Age Group report – see below.)  Again this week, the County offers no information about availability of ICU beds and ventilators.
  • Testing 595 residents were tested  today, total of 54,410.  We still have a long way to go: only 12% 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 is up from 5.3% on Monday to 6.2% yesterday and today.  (The chart may be misleading – see NOTE at top of this page.)  The County posted a high of 9.3% two weeks ago on July 22.  CONTEXT: California’s 7-day positivity rate has been falling, and is reported at 5.1% today, significantly lower than Solano County’s 6.2% Health officials and news reports are focusing on percent positive test rates.  Test positivity is one of the best metrics for measuring the spread of the virus.

By Age Group

  • Youth 17 and under – 7 new cases again today, total of 392 cases. No new hospitalizations, only 2 hospitalizations since the outbreak beganI continue to raise an alarm for Solano’s youth.  It is clear that youth can catch the disease, and it seems too many youth are ignoring social distancing orders!  Cases among Solano youth have increased to 10% of the 3,959 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 45 new cases today, total of 2,428 cases.  This age group is 41% of the County population, but represents over 61% of the 3,959 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported 3 new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 48 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  Good news, no new deaths among this age group, total of 3 deaths.  This young to middle age group is no doubt active, many are providing essential services among us, and potentially spreading the virus!
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 14 new cases today, total of 750 cases.  This age group represents just under 19% of the 3,959 total cases.  The County reported 3 new hospitalizations in this age group today, total of 54 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  No new deaths among this age group, total of 4 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 9 new cases today, total of 388 cases.  This age group represents nearly 10% of the 3,959 total cases1 new hospitalization today, total of 67 hospitalized since the outbreak began.  1 new death in this age group today, total of 32.  In this older age group, over 17% of cases required hospitalization at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  This group accounts for 32 of the 39 deaths, or 82%.

City Data

  • Benicia added 2 new cases today, total of 92 cases.
  • Dixon added 6 new cases today, total of 211 cases.
  • Fairfield added 17 new cases today, total of 1,283.
  • Rio Vista added 1 new case today, total of 29 cases.
  • Suisun City added 6 new cases today, total of 303 cases.
  • Vacaville added 14 new cases today, total of 675 cases.
  • Vallejo added 29 new cases today, total of 1,354 cases.
  • Unincorporated areas – Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 12 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, 23% of hospitalizations and 26% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 22% of hospitalizations, and 29% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 27% of cases, 32% of hospitalizations, and 23% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 9% of cases and 12% of hospitalizations, but 14% 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.