Air pollution, Air quality violations, Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Benzene emissions, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Local Regulation, Progressive Democrats of Benicia, Valero Benicia Refinery

Save these dates for important meetings on Air District charges against Valero for continued air pollution violations

Email from Progressive Democrats of Benicia, February 21, 2022


The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) will have two important informational meetings to discuss the serious emissions violations incurred by the Valero Refinery.  BAAQMD sets and enforces air pollution regulations in the Bay Area. Valero’s violations included dangerous benzene emissions.

The first meeting is THIS THURSDAY, FEB 24, FROM 6 TO 8 PM. 

In the words of Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District:

Valero’s disregard for air quality regulations and public safety in the surrounding community warrants decisive action and significant penalties to deter violations in the future. Valero did not report or control the emissions from this source as required by Air District regulations, state and federal law.

Please plan to attend the following Zoom meetings to get answers to your questions, find out more details about what has been released into our air, and learn how it could have affected the air quality in Benicia. What will be the consequences to the refinery for their negligent action? Show Valero and the Air District that we care and are prepared to take action to protect our community!!

At our last general membership meeting we announced a webinar for Benicia Community Air Monitoring System on the 24th. That has now been moved to March 3rd so you can attend these BAAQMD meetings, which we feel are vital for every member and supporter to join if they can, so we can make our voices heard on the matter of these violations, and demand Valero take important steps to regain the trust of our community. Please plan to attend!

 This Thursday, February 24, 6 to 8 pm
Air District staff are holding this meeting and will be present to discuss these violations in detail. Click on the link for more information: https://www.baaqmd.gov/news-and-events/workshops
 Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83974557503?pwd=Z2hDdTNxNitYV0h4cHgxOHR1eGtPUT09
Meeting ID: 839 7455 7503
Passcode: 808102
One tap mobile
+16699006833

Tuesday, March 1, 6 pm
Benicia City Council will address the Valero emission violations at their regular meeting. City council members have requested a briefing on the Valero case from Air District enforcement staff. This meeting is also open to the public. Please go to this page on the City of Benicia’s website for information on how to join.

Tuesday, March 15, 9:30 am
The second BAAQMD meeting is a legal hearing, where the Air District’s Hearing Board will consider approving the proposed abatement order. The public can view the agenda and provide written comment to the Hearing Board at the following link:
Hearing Board Agendas, Reports, and Orders (baaqmd.gov)
The public can also provide verbal comments to the Hearing Board during the hearing in the following ways:
 Join Zoom webinar:
https://bayareametro.zoom.us/j/88980571855
Webinar ID: 889 8057 1855
. . . or dial in remotely via phone at (669) 900-6833 or (408) 638-0968

 Please plan to attend one or all of these meetings, and thank you for supporting the health and safety of our community by taking action with us. Together, we will show Valero that no amount of cash they pump into our local elections will protect them from facing consequences for these very serious violations.

Kathy Kerridge, Int. Chair, Progressive Democrats of Benicia

See you there!

Kathy Kerridge
Interim Chair

 

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Face coverings, Omicron variant, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine, Vaccine mandate

COVID in Solano slowing but still active: County reports 315 new cases, 1 death, 1 hospitalization

NOTE: The information below is not the latest.  TAP HERE for today’s latest information.

By Roger Straw, Friday, February 18, 2022

Solano County reported 315 new COVID infections, 1 hospitalization and 1 death.  Solano County and Benicia case rates falling, but COVID is still dangerous and deadly!

Solano Public Health COVID dashboard, Friday, February 18, 2022:

DEATHS:  Solano reported 1 new death in today’s report, a White resident 65+ years of age.  Trending: Thirteen new deaths reported so far in February, all over 65 years of age.  The County has seen increasing COVID-related deaths each month since last November, rising to 30 in January.  (Compare with last winter: 24 deaths in January 2021, 42 in February and 33 in March.)  A total of 394 Solano residents have now died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES BY AGE GROUP: The color-coded chart (below) shows a record over time.  It shows an alarming steady increase among youth and children in Solano County.  The chart displays quarterly and recent snapshots in time by age group, each as a percentage of total cases since the outbreak began.  Increases are in red and decreases are in green as reported by Solano County.  Note the continuing increase among children & youth of Solano County.  The population of those age 0-17 in Solano County is roughly 22%.COMPARE – U.S. cases among children and youth aged 0-17 as percentage of total cases is 17.6% as of today.  (From the CDC covid-data-tracker.)

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATES for Solano County can’t be calculated today due to no County report on last Friday the 11th (no way to measure our previous 7 days).  The 7-day rate in Solano has been falling lately, but so far has remained in a HIGH transmission rate, and is likely still far above our rates of around 500 at Christmastime.  CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County’s population, 450 or more cases in 7 days places Solano in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.  We would need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to rate as having only MODERATE community transmission.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 1,153 ACTIVE cases today is down from 1,220 at last report, our lowest since December 27, but still way up from the County’s 329 active cases on last December 1.

CASES BY CITY – Friday, February 18, 2022:

  • Dixon added 12 new cases today, total of 4,099 cases.
  • Fairfield added 105 new cases today, total of 20,804 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 2 new cases today, total of 1,054 cases.
  • Suisun City added 19 new cases today, total of 5,481 cases.
  • Vacaville added 59 new cases today, a total of 19,096 cases.
  • Vallejo added 111 new cases today, a total of 24,515 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 188 cases.

TEST RATE:  Solano County’s 7-Day Percent Positive Test Rate shot up after Christmas and has continued through today’s very high 13%, but down from last report’s 15% and falling steadily from a high of 36% on Jan. 19.  SOLANO DOES NOT COMPARE FAVORABLY: The CALIFORNIA 7-day % positive rate remained steady today at 4.2%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]  AND the U.S. 7-day % positive rate fell today from 9.34% to 7.8%. [Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker.] 

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations fell today from 62 to 50 persons.  Currently hospitalized persons in Solano peaked higher than ever before on Jan 22, at 207 persons in hospital. (The County’s previous high was 176 on Jan 7, 2021.)

TOTAL hospitalizations – Solano Public Health added 1 hospitalized person in its Age Group and Race/Ethnicity charts today, a White resident age 65+.  (Hospitalization by race data is often not reported.) Our total since the beginning of the outbreak is now 3,693 Solano residents hospitalized.

ICU Bed Availability in Solano County rose today from 16% to 22% available, but still in the Yellow danger zone.

Ventilator Availability  rose today from 57% to 63% available. 

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 in my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

See also my BENINDY ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).  I have also archived the hundreds of full CORONAVIRUS REPORTS posted here almost daily on the Benicia Independent since April 2020.

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#wearamask, Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Face coverings, Omicron variant, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine, Vaccine mandate

As Benicia lifts COVID protections, County numbers improve but continue at high rates: 153 new cases, 3 hospitalizations and 1 death

NOTE: The information below is not the latest.  TAP HERE for today’s latest information.

By Roger Straw, Thursday, February 17, 2022

Wednesday, February 16, 2022: Solano County reported 153 new COVID infections, 3 hospitalizations and 1 death.  Solano County and Benicia case rates falling, but remain in a high transmission rate!

Solano Public Health COVID dashboard, Wednesday, February 16, 2022:

DEATHS:  Solano reported 1 new death in today’s report, an Asian American 65+ years of age.  Trending: Twelve new deaths reported so far in February, all over 65 years of age.  The County has seen increasing COVID-related deaths each month since last November, rising to 30 in January.  (Compare with last winter: 24 deaths in January 2021, 42 in February and 33 in March.)  A total of 393 Solano residents have now died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES BY AGE GROUP: The color-coded chart (below) shows a record over time.  It shows an alarming steady increase among youth and children in Solano County.  The chart displays quarterly and recent snapshots in time by age group, each as a percentage of total cases since the outbreak began.  Increases are in red and decreases are in green as reported by Solano County.  Note the continuing increase among children & youth of Solano County.  The population of those age 0-17 in Solano County is roughly 22%.COMPARE – U.S. cases among children and youth aged 0-17 as percentage of total cases is 17.6% as of today.  (From the CDC covid-data-tracker.)

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Solano is experiencing a lower, but still HIGH transmission rate, with a total of 1,248 new cases over the last 7 days, down from 3,889 at last report, but still way up from around 500 at Christmastime.  CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County’s population, 450 or more cases in 7 days places Solano in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.  We would need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to rate as having only MODERATE community transmission.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 1,220 ACTIVE cases today is down from 1,523 at last report, our lowest since December 27, but still way up from the County’s 329 active cases on last December 1.

CASES BY CITY – Wednesday, February 16, 2022:

  • Dixon added 17 new cases today, total of 4,087 cases.
  • Fairfield added 36 new cases today, total of 20,699 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 1,052 cases.
  • Suisun City added 6 new cases today, total of 5,462 cases.
  • Vacaville added 28 new cases today, a total of 19,037 cases.
  • Vallejo added 60 new cases today, a total of 24,404 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 188 cases.

TEST RATE:  Solano County’s 7-Day Percent Positive Test Rate shot up after Christmas and has continued through today’s very high 15%, although today’s report remains at last report’s 15% and has fallen steadily from a high of 36% on Jan. 19.  SOLANO DOES NOT COMPARE FAVORABLY: The CALIFORNIA 7-day % positive rate fell from 6.0% to only 4.2% today.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]  AND the U.S. 7-day % positive rate also fell today from 10.59% to 9.34%. [Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker.] 

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations fell today from 72 to 62 persons.  Currently hospitalized persons in Solano peaked higher than ever before on Jan 22, at 207 persons in hospital. (The County’s previous high was 176 on Jan 7, 2021.)

TOTAL hospitalizations – Solano Public Health added 3 hospitalized persons in its Age Group chart today.  All were age 65+.  Of the 3, today’s report identified 1 Hispanic and 1 White resident.   (Hospitalization by race data is often not reported.) Our total since the beginning of the outbreak is now 3,692 Solano residents hospitalized.

ICU Bed Availability in Solano County dropped today from 20% to only 16% available, in the Yellow danger zone.

Ventilator Availability  rose today from 52% to 57% available. 

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 in my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

See also my BENINDY ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).  I have also archived the hundreds of full CORONAVIRUS REPORTS posted here almost daily on the Benicia Independent since April 2020.

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#wearamask, Benicia CA, Benicia City Council, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Face coverings, Omicron variant, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine, Vaccine mandate

Solano County – No COVID update again…

NOTE: The information below is not the latest.  TAP HERE for today’s latest information.

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Solano County usually updates its COVID-19 Dashboard between 4pm and 6pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but there was no Solano Covid-19 Dashboard update as of 7:30pm today, Wednesday, Feb. 16.  Check back here tomorrow.  See below for the County’s most recent report.  – R.S.

By Roger Straw, Monday, February 14, 2022

Solano County reporting 1,095 new COVID infections, 177 hospitalizations and 4 deaths.  Solano County and Benicia continue to experience an extremely high transmission rate!

Solano Public Health COVID dashboard, Monday, February 14, 2022:

DEATHS:  Solano reported 4 new deaths in today’s report, all over 65 years of age.  Trending: Eleven new deaths reported so far in February, all over 65 years of age.  The County has seen increasing COVID-related deaths each month since last November, rising to 30 in January.  (Compare with last winter: 24 deaths in January 2021, 42 in February and 33 in March.)  A total of 392 Solano residents have now died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES BY AGE GROUP: My color-coded chart (below) shows a record over time.  It shows an alarming steady increase among youth and children in Solano County.  The chart displays quarterly and recent snapshots in time by age group, each as a percentage of total cases since the outbreak began.  Increases are in red and decreases are in green as reported by Solano County.  Note the continuing increase among children & youth of Solano County.  The population of those age 0-17 in Solano County is roughly 22%.COMPARE – U.S. cases among children and youth aged 0-17 as percentage of total cases is 17.5% as of today.  (From the CDC covid-data-tracker.)

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Solano is experiencing an EXTREMELY HIGH transmission rate, with a total of 3,889 new cases over the last 7 days, down from 4,010 at last report, but still way up from around 500 at Christmastime.  CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County’s population, 450 or more cases in 7 days places Solano in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.  We would need to drop below 225 cases in 7 days to rate as having only MODERATE community transmission.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 1,523 ACTIVE cases today is down from 2,517 at last report, our lowest since January 10, but still way up from the County’s 329 active cases on last December 1.

CASES BY CITY – Monday, February 14, 2022 (5 days since Solano’s last report):

  • BENICIA added 49 new cases today, a total of 2,971 cases since the outbreak began.  TRANSMISSION RATE: Benicia has seen 107 new infections in the last 7 days, far above the CDC’s HIGH rate of community transmission. For a city with Benicia’s population, anything over 27 cases in 7 days is considered HIGH TRANSMISSION. (See chart below.)  MASKS: >> At tomorrow’s Benicia City Council meeting, (Tues., Feb. 15), Council will consider whether and how to continue the citywide face mask mandate, in light of the State of California’s announcement that it will lift the statewide mandate on Feb. 16. >>Note that the Benicia City Council is considering adding multiple metrics rather than the single metric of the CDC’s 7-day case count to determine when it is safe to lift certain COVID restrictions (see Benicia Chooses to Continue Mask Mandate, 1/19/22).  Note above that Solano County is currently also experiencing EXTREMELY HIGH transmission.

  • Dixon added 50 new cases today, total of 4,070 cases.
  • Fairfield added 314 new cases today, total of 20,663 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 9 new cases today, total of 1,049 cases.
  • Suisun City added 77 new cases today, total of 5,456 cases.
  • Vacaville added 303 new cases today, a total of 19,009 cases.
  • Vallejo added 293 new cases today, a total of 24,344 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 188 cases.

TEST RATE:  Solano County’s 7-Day Percent Positive Test Rate shot up after Christmas and has continued through today’s very high 15%, (although today’s report shows a drop from 19% at last report and has fallen steadily from a high of 36% on Jan. 19.)  Even so, SOLANO DOES NOT COMPARE FAVORABLY: The California 7-day % positive rate fell from 6.7% to 6.0% today.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]  AND the U.S. 7-day % positive rate also fell today from 13.63% to 10.59%. [Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker.] 

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations fell today from 80 to 72 persons.  Currently hospitalized persons in Solano peaked higher than ever before on Jan 22, at 207 persons in hospital. (The County’s previous high was 176 on Jan 7, 2021.)

TOTAL hospitalizations – Solano Public Health played catch-up today, dramatically updating its age and race hospitalizations charts today, adding 177 persons.  Of the 177, 4 were under age 18, 50 were age 18-49, 34 were age 50-64, and 89 were age 65+.  (Hospitalization by race data is often not reported.) Our total since the beginning of the outbreak is now 3,689 Solano residents hospitalized.

ICU Bed Availability in Solano County dropped slightly today from 21% to 20% available, in the Yellow danger zone.

Ventilator Availability  rose slightly today from 51% to 52% available. 

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE?  See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 in my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).

>The data on this page is from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard.  The Dashboard is full of much more information and updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday around 4 or 5pm.  On the County’s dashboard, you can hover a mouse or click on an item for more information.  Note the tabs at top for “Summary, Demographics” and “Vaccines.”  Click here to go to today’s Solano County Dashboard.

See also my BENINDY ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet).  I have also archived the hundreds of full CORONAVIRUS REPORTS posted here almost daily on the Benicia Independent since April 2020.

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