California Forever Inc., Flannery Associates, Gil Duran, Solano County CA, Solano Together

‘Solano Gap’: California Forever scrambles to create a need

[Note from BenIndy: This excellent analysis of Flannery Associates’ ongoing efforts to shift the voting public’s attention away from California Forever’s/East Solano Plan’s very shaky “voter guarantees” (not to mention the public gaffes of its embattled CEO) comes from the fascinating Parallel Mirror by Gil Duran. Given the high quality of this editorial and the author’s intent to cover “what’s happening as tech billionaires and propagandists attempt a takeover of local politics,” this is a blog you should consider subscribing to. See how to subscribe below.]

“Mind the ‘Solano Gap.’ | Dall-E Image from Parallel Mirror.

Facing a dire gap in voter enthusiasm for its billionaire-funded tech city, California Forever tries to reframe the issue.

Parallel Mirror, by Gil Duran, May 15, 2024

The Point: Facing a dire gap in voter enthusiasm for its billionaire-funded tech city, California Forever tries to reframe the issue. But will Solano County voters be so easily fooled?

The Backstory: With a poll showing 70% of Solano County voters opposed to California Forever, the tech mega city a group of Silicon Valley billionaires wants to build between Fairfield, Vacaville and Rio Vista, the project appears dead on arrival. But don’t expect the tech billionaires, who have unlimited money to spend, to give up without a fight.

And so now comes a major effort to rebrand the project as something other than a creepy tech dystopia pushed by secretive out-of-town billionaire bullies. To this end, California Forever has created an all-new propaganda concept: the “Solano Gap.”

The new talking point, the creation of a study commissioned by California Forever, asserts that Solano County lags behind the rest of the Bay Area in terms of economic strength, wages, unemployment, etc. According to this logic, Solano County has been left behind, and is therefore in need of – wait for it, wait for it! – California Forever.

At the same time, California Forever is pivoting away from the brand name California Forever and toward “East Solano Plan,” reflecting the name of the ballot initiative, “The East Solano Homes, Jobs and Clean Energy Initiative.”

But can anything help this cursed project at this point?

The Analysis: As someone with extensive experience in political communication, allow me to pierce through the smoke and mirrors here to say what’s really going on here.

The real ‘Solano Gap’

The Solano Gap is real, but it’s not the manufactured PR concept California Forever is pushing. The Solano Gap that California Forever is really worried about is that massive, yawning gap in the polls which shows Solano voters poised to kick the project to the curb.

Unless voters have a sudden change of heart, California Forever will go down as one of the biggest billionaire boondoggles in California history. A lot of very important and wealthy people will have egg dripping from their faces. So you can expect them to try every trick imaginable to rebrand/reframe/reimagine the project as something more popular.

Here’s the problem: Solano County voters already know what the project is, and they have developed a deep distrust of it. They expect California Forever to be deceptive and sneaky because that’s how California Forever has acted since the project’s inception.

So, the project’s attempt to simply shape-shift into something else seems unlikely to fool many people. The large majority of voters who oppose California Forever are not going to change their minds because it has a new name, though the trick might peel off some less-informed voters.

CF’s ‘Solano Gap’ frame

Digging deeper: California Forever’s creation of the “Solano Gap” frame is an effort to provide a moral and economic mandate for the project. The project’s developers want voters and elected leaders to see the new city as something that must be built for the good of Solano County.

In this narrative, the billionaires aren’t trying to impose a massive new city on Solano in order to make lots of money or build a creepy Network State city. Heavens no! You see, they are doing this out of the goodness of their own hearts to help the people of desperate, impoverished Solano thrive in the 21st century. This is not invasive colonialist profit-making – it’s philanthropy.

Good luck selling that in Dixon, Fairfield, Vacaville and Rio Vista.

But California might have better luck with that narrative in Sacramento. The effort to depict Solano as an impoverished zone in dire need of a billionaire-funded city seems designed to justify a possible end-run around voters at some point. Has anyone asked California Forever CEO Jan Sramek whether he will consider the will of the voters to be the final word on his dream city?

CF’s ‘East Solano’ frame

The framing of the project as “East Solano” seems like an effort to do two things.

First, it defines the project as affecting only a portion of the county, eastern Solano. The implied message is that the new megacity is a hyperlocal project that won’t really affect everyone. Of course, anyone who has ever driven Interstate 80 between Fairfield and Vacaville knows better. And then there are the water issues, the environmental issues, etc. The impacts of the project will not be limited to one part of the county.

Second, the “East Solano” frame could be an effort to tap into the idea that the east sides of cities, towns or counties have historically lacked investment and opportunity. Think East Palo Alto, East Los Angeles, East St. Louis, or the East End of London. (Here’s any interesting article from the Guardian that examines theories about why the “Eastside” tends to be associated with poverty.)

Perhaps the “East” framing is just a coincidence. But I doubt that the significance of the frame, which evokes traditionally red-lined or sidelined communities, is totally lost on California Forever’s campaign team.

Mic Drop for The Day: California Forever is trying to shed its skin and be born again in the minds of Solano County voters. This means the polls are bad – very, very bad. But don’t underestimate them.

There are many months to go before November, and California Forever has an unlimited budget for information warfare and a clear willingness to do whatever it takes to force their massive tech city on the people of Solano County – whether they like it or not.

Coming Soon: I’m working on a full review of California Forever CEO Jan Sramek’s disastrous media appearances.

California Forever Inc., Flannery Associates, Solano County CA, Solano Together

Opinion: Flannery Associates has rebranded California Forever to get rid of old baggage. Don’t be fooled

BenIndy Editorial, May 13, 2024

Flannery Associates have rebranded California Forever to the East Solano Plan, apparently hoping Solano residents will line up for a taste of the same old wine, just in a new bottle.

Corporate rebranding has long been a tool for abstraction and obfuscation, giving companies suffering PR problems a new chance at life with a new corporate identity. BP stood for British Petroleum until the early 2000s, when the company adopted “Beyond Petroleum” as its tagline as proof of its commitment to safer systems and renewable energy (yet the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in 2010). Philip Morris Companies Inc. rechristened itself the Altria Group around the same time, eager to shed its association with the negative health impacts of smoking (yet it continued to spend millions to lobby and litigate for the tobacco industry).

Following this dubious tradition, Flannery Associates aka California Forever are now the East Solano Plan (“ESP”).

Critically, the ESP is (at least at present) nothing more than a marketing facelift. Over the last 6 months the company has had many opportunities to receive and consider feedback from the frustrated Solano communities that it says it wants to serve. While it has accepted some feedback, most notably by making provisions for the Travis Air Force Base, many Solano residents remain dissatisfied with the scheme to build a new city in Eastern Solano.

California Forever’s rebrand to ESP does nothing to address the underlying issues that have plagued it since its sudden thrust into the spotlight after years of secrecy and misdirection. At its core, the project is the same as it was before the change.

Whatever the name of the scheme was, is, or will be in the future is secondary to the glaring omissions and half-baked “voter guarantees” that may in fact be non-binding and/or unbindable, according to some analysts.

We at the Benicia Independent want to be clear about the following: We support the development of affordable housing. However, it is unclear how the ESP will benefit those in need of it given the projected million-dollar price tag for its homes. It is also unclear how the ESP can benefit anyone, from any income level, anytime soon – it is projected to take the new city 30 years or so to come to fruition.

So stay frosty, Solano residents. Don’t be fooled by rebrands and taglines. Don’t be suckered by “guarantees.”

Instead, call this what it is: old wine sold in a new bottle, for the same high price.

While the overuse of memes in this post is intended to draw some laughs, it is also there to expose a naked ploy, and a pretty cynical one at that, as quickly as possible and in a manner that welcomes casual reposting. Please feel free to reuse any of the images. 

LGBTQ+

Power Up for Pride: Donate All May for Give Out Day, Help Solano Pride Center Reach New Heights

BenIndy Editorial, May 13, 2024

Solano Pride Center is a part of the LGBTQ+ Community’s Give Out Day! They need your help in raising funds this whole month, and to compete with other LGBTQ+ Centers around the country to receive even more.

Through now until May 30th, contributions in support of Solano’s LGBTQ+ community can be directed through its Give Out Day fundraising page. Your donations will significantly benefit its life-affirming work in our county, which empowers and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community in Solano. Since its inception in 2013, Horizon Foundation’s Give Out Day has rallied donations for hundreds of LGBTQ+-serving nonprofits and it’s time to show our support.

Solano Pride Center has a goal of raising $12,000 before May 30. Your donations through May would not only provide direct financial support, but also help these organizations compete for additional Leaderboard prizes, multiplying the impact of every dollar contributed​ (Give Out Day)​.

Solano Pride Center’s mission to create safe and nurturing environments for LGBTQ+ individuals through a variety of programs, including advocacy, education, and support services, impacts not just queer individuals and communities, but the broader Solano community.  Every donation made to Solano Pride Center through Give Out Day helps sustain and expand its vital initiatives, enabling it to reach even more individuals.

Don’t miss the opportunity to contribute during this essential giving event; your generosity can change lives​.

Pride Month is almost here! What can you give this month to help Solano Pride Center reach its goal?  Who can you invite to join us all in giving to help it receive more in the “co-opetition” with other centers around the country?

Clicking the “Donate” button above will redirect you to Solano Pride Center’s Give Out Day page, where you can make a donation. Spread the word!

The Solano Pride Center’s website is under construction but you can visit the page and scroll down to view e-blasts and other helpful information about upcoming events, including Suisun City’s PRIDE EVENT on June 2, from 12 to 5pm, in Harbor Plaza (downtown Suisun).

Disclaimer: The Benicia Independent is not affiliated with Solano Pride Center nor was it asked to promote this giving event. We simply think they are doing really cool stuff and deserve local support. 

Benicia, Benicia CA, Benicia High School, Benicia Police, Benicia Police Department, Benicia School Board, Benicia Unified School District, La Migra, Sheri Leigh

(Correction) Sheri Leigh: Assassins in Benicia – La Migra No More!

[Note from BenIndy: There was an error in the headline of this post in its first posting – apologies! The headline has been corrected.]

Sheri Leigh
Sheri Leigh, Benicia resident and educator.

By Sheri Leigh, May 10, 2024

I was watching and waiting to see what our high school students would do this spring with all of the efforts being put into educating our community about the dangers of La Migra Game.  I first heard about this game variation while I was at the Diversity Festival on April 20th.  I was speaking with one of our District administrators who had overheard a conversation between students about the new Assassin game – a replacement for La Migra. As I did my research, I found myself admiring the consideration and intelligence of the young people who put it together.  Are there still concerns?  Of course!  But the big ones have been addressed, and overall, I am reassured by the humanity that our young designers clearly exhibit.

With the temperatures warming up and summer moving in, I am relieved and grateful to report that the La Migra game did not materialize this year.  This dangerous, edgy, and racially charged chase game that the young people in this town have been playing for decades did not haunt our town this spring.  Instead, it was replaced with a much more sophisticated and overall safer “seek and deliver” game they call Senior Assassin.  A game with a sinister title, but one without any racist implications!  

I want to open by saying how proud I am of our young people.  They heard our concerns about La Migra; acknowledged the negative impacts; grasped the potential danger; and addressed all of these issues while still creating a game that is both exhilarating and scary.  

The rules of Assassin, as I understand them, are as follows:

  1. Only seniors are eligible to play.  This removes the hazing component of older students harassing the younger ones.  
  2. You must sign up to be a part of this.  Only those who want to be part of this are In.  Not everyone wants to play, and no one is forced into participating.  Plus the organizers know exactly who is playing and who isn’t, so there is accountability.
  3. Each player is both an assassin and a target.  Everyone gets to experience both sides of the chase.  
  4. As an assassin, you are assigned only one target at a time; and as a victim, you only have one person pursuing you at a time.  This eliminates random targeting of anyone who might be considered vulnerable and the possibility of being “ganged up on.”
  5. The weapon used is a squirt gun.  Nothing more dangerous than that. If the assassin misses their target and hits someone else by accident, no harm is done.  
  6. No cars may be used to chase a victim.  Vehicle and public safety are considered and respected.
  7. If you assassinate your target, in other words, manage to squirt them with water, you must prove it with a photo.  Again, there’s accountability!
  8. If you have been “assassinated” (squirted with water), you forfeit your place in the game.  Your successful assassinator then gets reassigned to your target.  This keeps happening until the final two players left are chasing each other.  

I realize there are a lot of missing parts here.  Not being a high school senior anymore, I have limited access to the rules.  My questions are:  Where do the students play?  Are there rules of conduct?  Could their squirt guns be mistaken for real guns, which may endanger the participants in other ways?  Is there a time limit on the game, or is it only until the final assassin stands alone?  Are there any safe zones, such as school or home?  Are there teams, or is it everyone for themselves?

But whatever the answers to these questions are, I am so utterly impressed and in complete support of the effort of our students. Class of 2024, you have turned things around!  Benicia is a much better place because of your determination to shift the paradigm of the La Migra Game while still maintaining a tradition that is important to you.  Going forward, I hope you pass this legacy on to future senior classes.

Although we have good news, Benicia, our work is not done.  We, as a community, need to offer more teen activities that engage our young people in a way that is meaningful to them.  If we can provide the opportunity for our teens to connect and practice using the skills they have and those they are developing, they won’t be tempted to bring back dangerous and racism-laden games such as La Migra.  

Let’s use the example the students have given us and get on with it!