Tag Archives: City of Benicia

City of Benicia, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Vaccine

Benicia COVID vaccine clinic – This Tuesday is full, but you can sign up for a future clinic

Benicia City Manager Erik Upson, City of Benicia This Week, Feb. 1, 2021
UPDATE from the City website on 2/1: “Anyone interested in volunteering for future vaccine events should go to tinyurl.com/VolunteerBenicia and enter your name, contact information, how you would like to volunteer and any special training or skills you have. We will reach out to you, if we can use your services and skills at future events.”

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic for Seniors

The City of Benicia announced Friday that it is hosting Solano Public Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Tuesday, February 2. The clinic is being held for seniors, aged 75 and above, who reside in Solano County. Due to overwhelming response, all 1,400 slots filled by Saturday evening.

Solano Public Health is working to schedule additional vaccine events as vaccine stock becomes available. Those, aged 75 and above, interested in future Benicia clinics may visit www.tinyurl.com/beniciavaccine and leave their name and contact information. City of Benicia staff will reach out if another local clinic is scheduled. Information on COVID-19 vaccinations in Solano County and announcements of additional clinics are available at https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/.

The Moderna vaccine will be administered to registered seniors at Benicia Senior Center on Tuesday. The second dose of the vaccine will be administered in the same location on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Seniors are to return for the second dose at the same appointment time.

“The City of Benicia is excited to offer this vaccination clinic on very short notice to seniors over age 75,” said Mayor Steve Young. “Many thanks are due to our great city staff who worked over the weekend, in coordination with Solano Public Health and Carquinez Village, to set this up. This is a very ambitious effort, and we ask the public for a certain level of patience as we attempt to vaccinate nearly 1,400 people in a single day.”

On Tuesday, check-in will be at Benicia City Gym, 180 East L Street. Because of limited, socially distant waiting space available, seniors are asked to arrive no more than 15 minutes before their appointment. Appointments will be honored even if lines cause delay. One caretaker is allowed with the person being vaccinated. Caretakers will not receive the vaccination.

Due to heavy traffic expected in the area, limited parking will be available.

Suggested options:

• Those who are more mobile are asked to use street parking farther away and walk in.
• There will be a dedicated drop-off zone in front of the City Gym for less ambulatory seniors. Please do not wait for seniors and linger in the pick-up or drop-off zones to prevent further congestion. Keep in touch with your seniors before picking them up.
• Carpooling with those in the same social bubble is encouraged.

• Soltrans is assisting by providing free shuttles to and from dedicated parking lots:

• Benicia Community Center, 370 East L Street
• Benicia Unified School District Office, 350 East K Street

The City of Benicia thanks neighbors and businesses in the area for their patience and understanding on this important vaccination day.

Carquinez Village, the Benicia senior support organization, worked to help facilitate seniors getting their vaccines. Carquinez Village president Susan Neuhaus said, “Carquinez Village is delighted the city of Benicia has stepped up to serve the older adults in our community.”

Upon arrival, seniors will receive a temperature check and be required to wear a mask and social distance throughout the entire process. During check-in, seniors will be required to show proof of age and proof of Solano County residency.

After check-in, seniors will be directed to the Benicia Senior Center where they will be vaccinated, then be observed for 15-30 minutes. The entire process may take up to one hour. After which, seniors may be picked up from the dedicated pick-up zone in the round-about in front of Benicia Public Library, 150 East L Street, or return to their shuttle stop.

City of Benicia staff and volunteers will be manning a dedicated phone line 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Tuesday at 707.746.4710 to assist with questions or issues that may arise.

“The opportunity to host the clinic came about quickly and involves nearly every City of Benicia staff member,” said City Manager Erik Upson. “We will assess the event on Tuesday and use that to improve the experience when we host the follow-up clinic to administer the second dose on March 2.”

Upson also thanks Solano Public Health, Kaiser Permanente, SolTrans, Medic Ambulance, Carquinez Village, Valero Benicia Refinery, Rotary Club of Benicia and numerous community volunteers for their generous assistance in making the clinic possible.

City of Benicia, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Raley's Benicia, Solano County Health Department

City of Benicia comment on reports of COVID violations and outbreak at Raley’s

Nextdoor / City of Benicia, by Communications, Office of Economic Development, Teri Davena, City of Benicia, December 30, 2020

Social Media Posts on COVID Cases in Employees of Local Grocery Store.

It has been brought to the attention of the City of Benicia that word is spreading on social media of a large number of employees at Raley’s testing positive for COVID-19.

Additionally, we understand through social media that their staff may have participated in an event that is in conflict with current state guidance.

City staff have contacted management and they have indicated that they currently are not aware of any positive cases, although a potluck was held over the holidays.

City staff is working with Solano County Public Health officials on this concern and will advise if this becomes a public health issue.

As a reminder, we continue to see cases surging throughout the state and urge members of our community to follow current orders and guidance. This includes frequent hand washing, wearing face coverings, maintaining social distancing, limiting outings to essential activities and not gathering.

Additional information on current guidance in Solano County is available at solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus.asp

Questions or comments on this post may be addressed to Fire Chief Josh Chadwick at jchadwick@ci.benicia.ca.us.

Benicia, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Raley's Benicia, Solano County Health Department, Violations of law

Raley’s Benicia under investigation for COVID-19 violations

By Roger Straw, December 30, 2020
Raley’s in Benicia, California

Raley’s facebook page (below) confirms a report that is circulating on social media and among Benicia residents that a serious violation of State and local COVID-19 orders occurred at Raley’s recently.

The images on Raley’s facebook page document a December 24 holiday party of more than two dozen employees, gathered at first in close proximity masked, and then sitting without masks at tables to eat.  [Images preserved here on Google Drive]

City of Benicia officials confirm that they learned of the alleged violation from a private posting on social media, and notified Solano County Health Department.  The Health Department had not been aware, and has initiated an investigation.

The City of Benicia plans to issue a public statement once the allegations are substantiated.  Meanwhile, no hard facts or data has been gathered as to Raley’s employees testing positive, and if so, what exposure and potential spread would require quarantining.  City staff has reached out to Raley’s management for a response.

Stay tuned for more information.  Meanwhile, you might want to think about taking extra precautions if and when you choose to shop at Raley’s.[sta_anchor id=”below” /]

 

Raley’s Benicia held a large group indoors gathering on Dec. 24, no social distancing, food that required no masks while…

Posted by Benicia Independent on Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Broken rail, City of Benicia, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Explosion, Rail infrastructure, Rail inspection, Train weight, Union Pacific Railroad, Valero Crude By Rail

AUBURN CALIFORNIA: No to proposal that would bring oil through Auburn

Repost from the Auburn Journal

Another View: No to proposal that would bring oil through Auburn

By: Rosalie Wohlfromm / Guest Columnist

Rosalie WohlfrommDo you remember back in 2013, when there was a train derailment carrying crude oil in Lac-Megantic, Quebec? That incident resulted in a fiery explosion and caused the death of 47 people.

It has been reported that crude oil from North Dakota and Canada into California would be expected to rise from just 1 percent of total oil imports in 2013 to 25 percent by 2016, according to state energy officials.

This oil would travel by rail through densely populated areas to refineries on the coast. One of these routes is right through our town of Auburn.  We could see trains pulling 100 oil tanker cars going past our homes, schools and parks.

Since 2013, we have heard of numerous derailments causing evacuations of citizens from their homes. One of the latest was last February in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is now known that the cause of the derailment was  a broken rail, which was missed in two previous inspections.

Oil giant Valero wants to build a massive terminal for oil trains at its Benicia refinery. Union Pacific runs from Reno via Donner Pass, a dangerous route that, according to the Environmental Impact Report for Valero Crude by Rail Project, has only 3.5 percent of Class 4 or 5 track, the quality deemed by the U.S. Dept of Transportation necessary to support daily travel of extremely heavy unit trains made up of over 100 tank cars loaded with crude oil.

The City of Benicia is currently in the process of approving or rejecting the Valero Refinery’s proposed CBR project, which would permit Union Pacific to haul crude oil through Auburn.  If this project is approved, Auburn could see oil trains loaded with highly flammable oil from North Dakota running right through our town on their way to Benicia. I ask you to remember what happened in Lynchburg. That could happen here.

Concerned citizens of Benicia are asking for those of us along the rail lines to call or write the City of Benicia City Manager, Brad Kilger, 250 E.L. Street, Benicia CA 94510 or e-mail Planner Amy Million at amillion@ci.benicia.ca.us.   Please submit your comments by 5pm on Oct. 30.