#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano falls today into CDC’s “Substantial” COVID transmission range, Benicia remains in “High” range

October 8, 2021 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

By Roger Straw, Friday, October 8, 2021

Friday, October 8: Solano County reports 124 new infections, drops from HIGH to SUBSTANTIAL transmission rate. Benicia remains just barely in HIGH transmission rate.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:

[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: Solano reported no new COVID-related deaths today. But the County reported 39 COVID deaths over the last 39 days (from August 30). A total of 305 Solano residents have died of COVID or COVID-related causes over the course of the pandemic.

CASES: The County reported 124 new COVID cases over the last two days, 62 per day. AGES: 18 of these 124 cases (15%) were youth and children under 18. 52% were age 18-49, 16% were age 50-64, and 18% were 65+.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 375 new cases, down from 451 on Wednesday and 639 on Monday. This good news drops Solano into the CDC’s population-based definition of a SUBSTANTIAL transmission rate for only the 2nd time since July 21.

(CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days. Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission. Reference: CDC’s “Level of SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 486 ACTIVE cases is up from Wednesday’s 467, and still far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE: Solano’s 7-day average percent positivity rate was only 5.8% today, down from Wednesday’s 6.2%. COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.1% and today’s U.S. rate is 6.3%. [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were up today from 50 to 52 persons, and still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is down sharply today, from 29% to an alarming 12%, barely above the red warning zone. We saw rates this low once in September and twice in August – and before that, not since January. Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability is up slightly today from 49% to 51%, but still in the range of last winter’s surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity. The County updated its Hospitalizations charts today. See below. The differing race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated. Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31. In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14. Today’s Bay Area news put Solano in a sad light: all other counties’ health officers issued a statement offering details on when they would be able to lift mask mandates (not likely soon). TV news anchors had to point out that Solano would not be considering such a move since our health officer had not been able to “justify” a mask mandate in the first place. The Solano Board of Supervisors has joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Friday, October 8:

- Benicia added 7 new cases today, a total of 1,467 cases since the outbreak began. Benicia has seen 28 new cases over the last 7 days, continuing (just barely) in the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 or more cases, based on Benicia population – SEE CHART BELOW). [Note that Solano County is at a level of HIGH transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]

- Dixon added 6 new cases today, total of 2,499 cases.
- Fairfield added 29 new cases today, total of 12,023 cases.
- Rio Vista added 6 new cases today, total of 582 cases.
- Suisun City added 6 new cases today, total of 3,176 cases.
- Vacaville added 36 new cases today, a total of 11,785 cases.
- Vallejo added 34 new cases today, a total of 13,157 cases.
- Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 139 cases (population figures not available).

HOW DOES TODAY’S REPORT COMPARE? See recent reports and others going back to April 20, 2020 on 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.

Sources

Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (on the County website).
See also my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet). I have posted full CORONAVIRUS REPORTS almost daily here on the Benicia Independent.

AMPORTS, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Marilyn Bardet, Petroleum Coke (Petcoke), Port of Benicia, Valero Benicia Refinery

Marilyn Bardet: Petcoke pollution in Benicia, photos going back to 1995

October 7, 2021 Roger Straw

Petcoke pollution, Port of Benicia. Photo by San Francisco Baykeeper

Email from Benicia activist Marilyn Bardet, October 7, 2021

On the Baykeeper article with drone video and photos of petcoke pollution at Port of Benicia

I first heard a report about the petroleum coke plume spreading on the Strait from Benicia’s port on KQED radio yesterday, and now the Vallejo Sun (online news source—see link above)) has run an article that includes a drone video of what appears to be a plume from a coke ship at the Valero dock. Clearly, this can’t be a “first” incident. Thanks to Roger Straw,’s catch, the Benicia Independent ran the story yesterday.

The revelation is no surprise to me, although I’ve never had a drone to capture from the air what I’ve witnessed with my own eyes and photographed from near the port. In 1995, I snapped a picture of a “dust cloud” wafting up into the air from petcoke being dumped into the open hull of a coke ship. That “cloud” had been visible to the naked eye on a misty grey day. I’d reported this to the Air District then, (with photos taken from old camera) and similarly, over the years, to no avail. Petcoke is unregulated by Fed-EPA. (see “why” below).

I also took photos in 2013-2014 of coke trains traveling from the refinery along Bayshore Rd, and I’ve collected petcoke off railroad ties that had sifted out from the hopper cars’ undercarriage (from which hinged flanges open up for dumping coke onto underground conveyor belt at the port, which is then trasferred to the petcoke silos. (see photos below). The coke can still be seen along the tracks–proof of how coke gets airborne from its transport from trains to silos to ships’ hulls.

Bayshore Road, oily black coke residue embedded in railroad ties (mjb oct 2013)

Coke train derailed (mjb nov 4 2013)

petcoke collected from train tracks along Bayshore Road in Benicia (mjb oct 9 2013)

Petcoke is a dangerous particulate (PM 10 and PM 2.5) that settles on the water and all around the lower Arsenal area in the vicinity of the arts community and Arsenal Historic District. Tiniest invisible particles blow around, becoming part of the carbon grit that settles on cars, window sills, etc. etc.

close-up of petcoke collected off train tracks in Benicia (mjb oct 9 2013)

Petcoke on a paper towel (mjb oct 9 2013)

petcoke on a paper towel dispersed when blown on (mjb oct 9 2013)

Petcoke oily stain left on paper towel (mjb oct 9 2013)

As most of you know, I’ve railed for years, since 1995, about how petroleum coke is a serious airborne pollutant in our local environment. In 1995, Koch Carbon Industries (subsidiary of Koch Industries) came to Benicia proposing to build a mega-industrial 24/7 petcoke storage and shipping terminal operation that was to serve all five Bay Area refineries including Exxon Benicia (now Valero). That project would have been disastrous for Benicia, creating a massive “toxic coke dump” at our port, with all the cumulative consequences to public health and the environment. We, the public, fought the project fiercely and forced Koch Industries to abandon their proposed “Coke Domes” project. But they went up river and built a smaller coke terminal in Pittsburg instead— speaking of environmental injustice).

Giant tanker (mjb july 19)

close up of tanker and pipelines (mjb july 19)

Valero’s petcoke storage silos (mjb july 19 2021)

If you read no further, the announcement yesterday underscores my point, made over many years and currently, that residential development in the lower Arsenal should not be allowed, because doing so would deliberately create an environmental injustice: the area is inherently industrial and dangerous and polluted by the various specific operations of Valero and Amports. Check it out! Active crude oil pipelines run from the refinery behind our historic Officers’ Row and Clocktower to the Valero tanker dock, (located just east of the Clocktower); petroleum coke is is transferred from the refinery two or three times per week by train along Bayshore Rd to Valero’s petcoke shipping dock (immediately adjacent to Amports’ car import dock); diesel exhaust contributes toxic gases to the air from ships’ engines running while in port and on the Strait. To my knowledge, the cumulative amount of pollution produced everyday in the vicinity of the port has not been calculated.

sign along railroad tracks along Bayshore Rd (MJB)

Valero’s easement along Park Rd (mjb)

Giant tanker (mjb july 19)

close up of the tanker (mjb july 19)

close up of tanker and pipelines (mjb july 19)

Petcoke ship at Valero’s dock (mjb)

ABOUT PETCOKE

Petcoke collected from train tracks along Bayshore Road in Benicia (Marilyn Bardet, Oct 9, 2013)

For those of you not sure about how petcoke is produced and why it’s dangerous to human health: Petroleum coke is the name given to the residue left in the hydrocracker processing unit during the refining of crude oil’s distillates. This residue is an oily, black crumbly carbon substance that must be scraped out of the hydrocracker everyday, and transfered to a “coker” for more processing. to create what’s called “petcoke”. The heavier (dirtier) crude oil refined, the more coke residue is created. The coker unit at Valero transforms the coal-like rocks into a fluffed up powdery-fine granular particulate which is marketed as a product, sold mainly to Asia as a cheap fuel for use in place of more expensive coal in steel furnaces and for other domestic uses. With few exceptions, petcoke cannot be used as a fuel in the US.

Burning petcoke as a fuel contributes to global warming, every bit as much as burning coal or any other fossil fuel. It is also hugely dangerous to human health when inhaled. The coke particulates contain heavy metals, depending on the source of crude oil being refined on any given day. Nickel is a carcinogen when inhaled. PM2.5 particulates of petcoke lodge in the lungs and send other toxic gas molecules—which have piggy-backed onto airborne petcoke particulates—into the bloodstream, thus cumulatively affecting circulatory, heart and lung functions from chronic, daily, low-level exposures breathing airborne petcoke. Of course, petcoke ending up in the water on a regular basis can be ingested by fish and waterfowl and other organisms, contaminating the Strait. Much more investigation of this issue is urgently needed!

Petcoke plume in Carquinez Strait, Benicia. Photo by San Francisco Baykeeper

The sad, unethical fact is that long ago the oil industry lobbied Fed-EPA to exempt petcoke from regulation as a toxic waste, arguing that petcoke becomes a marketable “finished product” when further processed, and therefore belongs in the same category that includes gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and all other liquid distillates produced by refineries. As more and more heavy crude is being refined in California, our refineries will be producing much more petcoke for export as fuel for burning….

To date, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) responds to residents’ complaints about petcoke only if it is visible as an opaque dust cloud when backlit in the air! (This was told to me by BAAQMD staff member).

I hope this helps everyone understand why petcoke is a human health and environmental danger, and why we should NOT be allowing residential development in the lower Arsenal Historic District, for all the enviro reasons cited above. Period!

Please share with your friends!

On the side of public health and safety, social and environmental justice,

Yours truly,
???? Marilyn

Indigenous Peoples Day (October 11), Native American lands

On the cusp of Indigenous Peoples Day (October 11th)

October 7, 2021 Roger Straw

Hey Colonizers

Women’s Foundation California, by Torre Freeman, October 6, 2021

If that greeting stings a little bit, this message is for you.

We’re on the cusp of Indigenous Peoples Day (October 11th) and Thanksgiving is right around the corner too. So let’s chat about how we can decolonize our feminism (and everything else too).

Maybe you’re upset that I called you a colonizer, maybe you feel defensive, maybe you’re rolling your eyes because you already know. Whatever your response, if I’ve engendered some big feelings, I’m hopeful that those feelings will inspire you to keep reading. How about we collectively agree to stop it with gentleness that reinforces white fragility.

I want to acknowledge that I’m a white ciswoman and it is not my place to speak for Indigenous People; there’s an endless list of folks who’s stories and perspectives should be heard before mine. But the burden shouldn’t fall solely on the Indigenous community to lead us along this journey of decolonization.

As an intersectional feminist and a person that works for a feminist organization, these are the exact conversations I want to have with our community- How do we show up for Indigenous people? How do we educate ourselves about the reality of American history? How do we lift up Indigenous stories? How do we defetishize our relationship to Indigenous culture? How do we Thanksgiving or do we Thanksgiving at all? How do we rematriate the land? How do we authentically continue these decolonization efforts throughout the year and not just when it’s trending on social media?

For us to heal from the horrors of our colonial past (and present), most of us, as descendants of colonizers, have to acknowledge the ugliest corners of our history and dismantle the mythologies around the pilgrim and “Indian” story. As we approach Indigenous People’s Day we’re committing to radical honesty and fostering a deep understanding of colonialism and how we are (still) perpetuating colonizer violence. From this place of understanding, let us take action to celebrate Indigenous stories, educate our children and our loved ones, give reparations, and support Indigenous artists, changemakers, farmers, and businesses in a deliberate effort to return what we have stolen.

Here’s a few things you can do right now to further this effort:

Native Land Digital – Benicia, CA. (Click image to enlarge. Go here for interactive display.)

Acknowledge whose land you’re on. Which traditional territories are you residing on? Learn about and honor their enduring relationship to the land. WFC is based on stolen Lisjan Ohlone land. This land (like all land) carries Indigenous stories, knowledge and belongs to the true stewards of our earth.“Land acknowledgements can be a powerful entry point for deeper engagement in the work of rematriation but are also often token or rhetorical acts of performative allyship. Here are a few resources to learn more about how to make land acknowledgements in a way that support real Indigenous sovereignty.”
Attend a local or virtual event in celebration of Indigenous People’s Day (consult Google or your local tribal headquarters for events near you).
Donate to Indigenous-led organizations that are working to uphold Indigenous rights and land practices. Our grant partner Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led land trust in the California Bay Area working to return Indigenous land to Indigenous hands. Check out their Shuumi Land Tax calculator.
Make a ruckus change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Columbus Day should be abolished and Indigenous Peoples Day should have Federal Holiday status.
Learn more about the #LandBack movement & get involved.
Consider thoughtful ways to honor and celebrate Indigenous people this Thanksgiving. Start the conversation with family about how and what you’re celebrating, learn together about the real history of Thanksgiving.
Deepen your knowledge around the epidemic of gender-based violence experienced by Indigenous women and two spirit people through the critical and radical work of organizations like the Sovereign Bodies Institute.
Decolonize your social media feed – follow Indigenous creators – share their stories. Here’s a few accounts we recommend:

Depending on what kind of overachiever you are – you may accomplish all the things on the above list, or just one, or two things. Whatever way you show up to this conversation and these learnings, please remember, this is not some kind of woke Olympics – justice is not an event where we’re competing for a gold medal. But we can strive to grow in our knowledge, support, and celebrations of Indigenous/Native communities, their contributions, their stewardship, and their stories.

Hopefully you leave this blog, take action, and share in this feeling: there is momentum building as we continue this process of learning, unlearning, and relearning. I can’t help but feel a little sanguine (& that’s a big deal for this full-time cynic here), that we are moving toward a new beginning, that the Indigenous People of this world could someday be reunited with what belongs to them. Until that day comes- keep learning, keep listening, keep changing and keep Maya Angelou’s refrain on repeat: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano County reports only 82 new COVID infections (but transmission remains HIGH)

October 6, 2021 Roger Straw

UPDATE: See today’s latest information

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Wednesday, October 6: Solano County reports 82 new infections, 13 in Benicia

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:

[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: Solano reported no new COVID-related deaths today. Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now total 305. The County reported 32 COVID deaths over the last 32 days.

CASES: The County reported 82 new COVID cases over the last two days, 41 per day. AGES: 13 of these 82 cases (16%) were youth and children under 18. 59% were age 18-49, 21% were age 50-64, and only 6% were 65+.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 451 new cases, down from 639 on Monday but still just barely in the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 467 ACTIVE cases is down from Monday’s 514, but still far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE: Solano’s 7-day average percent positivity rate was only 6.2% today, down from Monday’s 6.7%. COMPARE: today’s California rate is 1.9% and today’s U.S. rate is 6.3%. [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 53 to 50 persons, and still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is up today, from 23% to 29%, but still in the yellow danger zone. Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability is down today from 53% to 49%, still in the range of last February’s winter surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations: Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity. The County did not update its Hospitalizations charts today. See below. The differing race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

OLD NEWS BUT SIGNIFICANT – SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14. The Board’s agenda called for discussion of an indoors mask mandate for all and a vaccination mandate for county workers. The Board voted 4-1 to require county-run facilities in Vallejo and Benicia to abide by local mandates. But the Board voted down the vaccination mandate 3-2, and failed to even consider the agendized question of a county-wide mask mandate. The Solano Board of Supervisors joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Wednesday, October 6:

Benicia added 13 new cases today, a total of 1,460 cases since the outbreak began. Benicia has seen 38 new cases over the last 7 days, continuing in the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (defined as 28 or more cases, based on Benicia population). [Note that Solano County is at a level of HIGH transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
Dixon added 6 new cases today, total of 2,493 cases.
Fairfield added 14 new cases today, total of 11,994 cases.
Rio Vista added 5 new case today, total of 576 cases.
Suisun City added 4 new cases today, total of 3,170 cases.
Vacaville added 13 new cases today, a total of 11,749 cases.
Vallejo added 27 new cases today, a total of 13,123 cases.
Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 139 cases (population figures not available).

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

Sources

Solano County Coronavirus Dashboard (on the County website).
See also my ARCHIVE of daily Solano COVID updates (an excel spreadsheet). I have posted full CORONAVIRUS REPORTS almost daily here on the Benicia Independent.