In my April 23 post, “Headlines in search of stories…” I raised 10 significant coronavirus issues worthy of further inquiry and reporting here in Benicia & Solano County.
Noting that the Benicia Independent is a one-person enterprise, dependent on the wider community for rigorous investigative reporting, I wrote, “…here is my list of headlines in search of stories. Please. Someone out there – get on the phone or otherwise track down the information that the public needs to know.”
Elizabeth Patterson, Benicia Mayor 2007 – present
Wouldn’t you know, our intrepid Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson forwarded my list of concerns and questions to Solano County Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas, and many of my concerns were evidently addressed in the County’s weekly phone call with City staff and mayors.
Mayor Patterson followed up with an email to me. I share it here with the Mayor’s permission, as a contribution to understanding the current status of Benicia and Solano County as we move through our collective efforts to control and deal with this historic health crisis.
From: Elizabeth Patterson Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 4:32 PM To: Roger Straw Subject: Fwd: Questions being asked by Benicia Independent
Roger,
I learned a few things today at the city officials’ call with Solano County staff:
There is one nursing home with tested and confirmed COVID-19 cases (tested because of symptoms). All of these cases to date are not threatening – which of course could change. All cases have been traced. The state keeps the data base for nursing homes, congregate care facilities (6 residents or more) and is seeking information on those with less than 6. Data gathering is expensive and people-intense, and officials must choose whether to deploy people for contact tracing or data processing. The reason the state maintains the data is because they are the ones who license these facilities.
Testing in Solano County is ramping up as it is elsewhere. The state is sending more resources so that the county can and will be expanding testing. They are considering migrating from drive through testing to existing medical facilities. Again this takes human resources with certification.
Testing in Benicia may be possible if we have the right certified people and PPE. I will be talking off line with Dr. Matyas about this. The testing has to be available for symptomatic people or at risk people and therefore must be available almost daily rather than once in a while. As I say, we will explore this.
PPE equipment is arriving: 10K N95 masks, 1000 face shields, 60K masks are on the way from state. Local manufacturing has been retooled to produce 2000 gowns – one size fits most, and Gallo is providing hand sanitizer.
Unemployment numbers are from the state. Not until after they process the unprecedented number of applications with nearly 2,000 processors from 8am to 8pm seven days a week, can they “mash” the numbers and provide details on a county basis. It will take even more work to sort it by zip code. No amount of investigation will speed that up.
Re-opening: It appears that “managed and controlled reopening is closer to May 17th” because Solano needs to follow state guidelines and because we may need another two weeks to “test” the flattening of the curve.
Local revenue losses: Benicia’s City Manager provided a report (which I included in my e-Alert) projecting Benicia’s loss of revenue for this fiscal year – about $3 million. And projected loss for next fiscal year 2020/21 is about $12 million. I got support for establishing a Benicia economic recovery task force at the April 1 meeting, and the City Manager has gathered staff and is reaching out to various people including IDEO for brain power to help with recovery ideas. It is clear the City needs to continue to invest because history has shown that government investment is what restores economic activity. Some will want to furlough employees and/or cut back on investments. One investment that should go forward is the hotel investigation project. That is a perfect project to keep going because we can measure the return of visitors and business and, at the same time, be ready for business in a couple of years. In short, lots of thinking and planning for economic recovery for the City as well as for the city retail and industrial businesses.
Gathering details and planning is underway. Look for a stakeholder subcommittee for working with the staff economic recovery task force. We need to be strategic and innovative and make investments. The real work is developing a road map and sticking to it…and probably massive debt.
The County has the Solano Economic Development Board with a program of Solano Forward, and it will need to be tuned up to adapt to the new conditions. Again, lots of data is being gathered and since this is new, never happened before, there will need to be some brave people to get out of their comfort zone to do what was demonstrably successful during the New Deal.
Those of you who are familiar with the Benicia Independent know what it is and what it isn’t.
I’m a one-person journalist. For over 13 years here on the BenIndy, I have published news and opinion from a Benicia California perspective.
I am NOT an investigative reporter. Mostly I repost interesting and important stories written by others. I am an environmental advocate and an old time liberal on issues of race and gender, peace, justice, poverty and more. I tend to focus on a single issue for weeks or months – or even years – at a time. I’ve reported at length on hazardous oil trains, gun violence and the need for gun control legislation, local and national electoral politics, and so on.
Recently I’ve taken on the COVID-19 pandemic here in Solano County. And that’s where I want to take you today.
Every day now since the second week of March, I’ve posted Solano County’s numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. Most days I spend hours combing through local, regional and national news about the virus and posting it here on the BenIndy.
Your response has been amazing. At the height of our successful effort to stop our local refinery from importing dirty and dangerous crude oil by rail, almost 1,800 of you paid a visit to my pages one day – a record for the BenIndy that lasted for about 5 years. Since I started reporting on COVID-19, more than 3,000 of you have checked my pages on 9 occasions, and on April 1 you set a new all-time record of 8,105 views. A huge and unexpected leap!
Thank you!
Now what does all that have to do with the title of this piece, “Headlines in search of stories… coronavirus in Benicia and Solano County”?
Here’s the deal: every morning I get up and flip back and forth through about 7 local and national news channels on the tv. I spend about an hour like that while I drink too much coffee and lean my sore back on an electric heating pad. And I take notes – ideas about important stories that I really SHOULD cover on the Benicia Independent.
Now if I were an editor in chief with staff, I’d assign reporters to make phone calls and conduct interviews and come back with stories, important stories that really should be written.
Alas, that’s not me, and that’s not the BenIndy…
So, with all that lengthy introduction, here is my list of headlines in search of stories. Please. Someone out there – please get on the phone or otherwise track down the information that the public needs to know, for instance…
There’s a NATIONAL crisis in nursing homes – how many are sick in Solano County’s congregant facilities? Where ARE our nursing homes and retirement facilities? (None here in Benicia – so where do Benicians go when we get old and in need of care? And how are those facilities doing???)
Testing in Solano County long term care facilities – numbers, results?
Solano has recorded 3 coronavirus deaths, 2 among those aged over 65. Did they die in a hospital? And before that, were they living at home or in a long term care facility?
Solano County is testing fewer than 50 per day – why?!!!
Today’s news: Contra Costa, Napa, Sonoma and San Francisco are expanding testing – why not expanded drive-through testing in multiple cities in Solano?
Unemployment numbers in Solano and Benicia? Local numbers on those unemployed? And local numbers of unemployed with no health insurance?
Bolinas and SF Mission District are testing EVERYONE – why not here in Benicia? (Yes I know Bolinas is tiny and wealthy, but can’t we think big? Who are a few philanthropists and billionaires with ties to Benicia who could fund such a project?)
Reopening moves are beginning to appear in Bay Area counties. Who is planning the reopening of Solano County, and what are the plans? And will they be open to public comment?
Coronavirus and guns – with schools closed, March was the first month with NO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS in the US since 2002. Rather a bittersweet statistic – do we celebrate, or weep? (This despite an uptick in gun purchases. And what’s that all about?!)
Surely there is a dire fiscal impact of the coronavirus lockdown on Benicia and Solano governmental cash flow and operations. Details needed, and possible solutions.
Etc., etc… You get the idea. But who can take it on? The huge problem with all this is the horrific times our local news media, journalists and reporters were suffering even before the pandemic. Too many cutbacks, too few local journalists, too few local newspapers, and now too many absences, too much loss of revenue during these historic pandemic times. (So yes, there’s another headline in search of a story.)
Local News Matters, Casey Cantrell, Bay City News Foundation 4/11/20
“In moments of stress and panic, I always go to food for comfort,” said Hannalee Pervan, co-owner and head baker at One House Bakery. “I wanted to make sure that people in Benicia have some comfort, some sense of normalcy.” (Photos courtesy of One House Bakery)
As a veteran of Le Cordon Bleu, as well as Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery and The French Laundry, Hannalee Pervan is used to high-pressure situations. But the co-owner and head baker of One House Bakery in Benicia wasn’t ready for a crisis of this magnitude.
On a normal day, the popular cafe on First Street would be bustling with customers stopping in for a morning coffee or during their lunch break. Now designated an essential service, the expansive restaurant stands nearly empty except for a skeleton crew of about half a dozen employees, all of whom don cloth face masks and gloves while doing their best to maintain social distance in the open kitchen.
Pervan, who opened the restaurant in 2018 and runs it with her parents, wrestles with new obstacles seemingly on a daily basis.
“I’m terrified for the safety of my parents [and] employees,” said Pervan, 34. “It’s scary having your livelihood on the line every day. … But there’s no other way to go than forward. You just go forward.”
Like other eateries in the area, One House Bakery has transitioned from a sit-down service to online and phone orders and curbside pickup, with limited delivery options for the town of Benicia. But as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered non-essential Bay Area businesses and sent residents flocking home, Pervan knew it wasn’t enough just to keep the doors to her restaurant open.
Hannalee Pervan of One House Bakery in Benicia.
“In moments of stress and panic, I always go to food for comfort,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that people in Benicia have some comfort, some sense of normalcy.”
Where many restaurants have shrunk their menus, Pervan has expanded hers. On March 19, she added ready-to-bake meals — frozen pot pies, mac and cheese, shepherd’s pies — alongside her traditional assortment of breads, pastries, sandwiches, soups and salads, and coffee drinks. To serve residents struggling to prepare food for their households, she put together the “Family Meal” — a daily prix fixe dinner special of wholesome and delicious food that serves four for $50. And she opened up her inventory of kitchen staples for purchase — milk, butter, eggs, flour and sugar.
For residents like Vicki Wilson, 45, that was a lifesaver. “Sugar, flour, and yeast … are almost impossible to find in any store,” she said. “One House has been amazing during this time. My husband and I believe in supporting local businesses as much as possible, so going to One House is a no-brainer.”
“We truly care for them,” said Pervan. “It’s my community, and I want them to be nourished and happy.”
And she continues to supplement her offerings, adding staples such as baking soda, yogurt, and bacon and regularly modifying her menu to better serve the region.
“We’re incredibly grateful. People have stuck with us,” said Pervan. “We’re not perfect, but we’re trying to improve every day. We’re grateful that we still get to feed them.”
[Editor: in an email this morning Larnie Fox updated the numbers: “We are now at 56+ mask makers, and 3,157 gorgeous hand-sewn masks distributed to nurses, EMTs, doctors, ambulance crews, nursing home staff and other healthcare workers.” – R.S.]
Benicia mask making group for health care workers reaches 50-plus members
By Galen Kusic, Editor, Benicia Herald, April 17, 2020Health care workers at Alta Bates Berkeley Medical Center show off their stylish masks made by the Benicia mask making group, which now has over 50 members.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to decimate the United States with nearly 700,000 confirmed cases and over 31,000 deaths, the Benicia mask making group founded by Bodil and Larnie Fox is still going strong to protect health care workers on the front lines.
The Fox’s ingenuity and artistic creativity has started a movement in Benicia, with 51 mask makers having now distributed 2,727 masks to 28 health care facilities.
“You (all) have done an amazing amount of work, and there is little doubt that it is saving lives,” said Larnie in an e-mail to mask makers.
Here’s how it works: Bodil and Larnie have turned their home into a command center of sorts, with pick up and drop-off boxes in their front yard. When someone drops of materials, completed masks or anything else needed for this group effort, they sterilize everything and quarantine the item for 24 hours before getting ready to send the masks, fabric or elastic out to health care workers and makers.
The effort, which started as a simple request for masks from neighbor and Kaiser Vallejo registered nurse Marcella Spurgeon on March 20, has turned into a full-time job. Organizing, constant contact with mask makers, runners and people donating fabric and elastic is a non-stop process.
Health care providers at Piner’s Nursing Home in Napa show off their masks made by the Benicia mask making group.
No items are shipped, health care workers and designated runners come and pick up the disinfected final product and distribute them to health care workers around the greater Bay Area and beyond.
“It takes a bit of organizing,” said Bodil.
During the initial conversation, Spurgeon opened up about exposing the heartbreaking reality of health care workers fighting the pandemic due to a shortage of PPE and N-95 masks, a nationwide crisis. Workers may get one a day, or none at all. They are often forced to reuse them, which is why these cloth masks are so important to add an extra layer of protection.
“They (Fox’s) asked me how bad was it? I said if you have an N-95 you’re lucky,” said Spurgeon. “They asked what they could do for me and the next day they came back with about 25 sewn masks. They haven’t stopped since. I’m so thankful our conversation happened.”
While Kaiser was at first threatening discipline for workers using these cloth masks, as of April 2, the hospital has given the okay to use homemade masks over their own N-95 without fear of repercussions.
Aaron Newcomb of Benicia Makerspace has constructed three DIY face shields. Another 20 more are coming in to meet the needs of health care workers.
“I was on a mission to make sure all the bedside nurse units at the Family Birth Center had adequate masks,” said Spurgeon. “After reaching this goal of getting each person a mask, I brought some to each of the other units.”
Not even a month later, and Spurgeon has hand delivered over 1,200 masks to hospitals including John Muir Concord Campus, Cardiac ICU Walnut Creek, Santa Clara and Queen of the Valley in Napa.
“I feel so privileged to be a source to keep our front line safe,” she said. “Thanks to the mask makers and the Benicia community to make this possible.”
This effort has many facets and stories, each unique and equally important. As the mask making group grows, Bodil and Larnie have created a database with contact information and regular updates through e-mail and social media.
“We started out thinking we would just make a few masks for people, and now here we are,” said Bodil.
And the movement continues to grow, with more Benicia residents stepping up daily. The Fox’s note that the group will continue to churn out masks as long as there is a need.
Mask maker Melody MacKee with the finished product of masks ready to be delivered (after Bodil and Larnie quarantine them).
“We still need these made,” said Spurgeon. “I wish we could say that we’re fine, but we’re not.”
Benicia resident Ruby Wallis, a retired welder and pipe fitter created a video with a mask design that most mask makers are using. The two-minute video has been an imperative piece of the puzzle to make mask making easy and efficient.
After seeing the process on the Rachel Maddow Show on March 12, Wallis pulled out her sewing materials and fabric collection and started making masks. She was then linked up with the mask making group and made the video for everyone to follow.
“I just figured it out,” joked Wallis. “Everyone is so nice and we all work together.”
Mask makers have made an average of nearly 54 masks each. Some mask makers, like Benicia resident Melody MacKee, has sewn over 200 masks to date. She notes that seeing photos of health care workers wearing her masks is inspiring.
“I’m sewing as we speak,” MacKee told the Herald. “The video of how to make the masks made all the difference. While you can’t see their (health care workers) smile in the pictures, you can see it in their eyes.”
MacKee now makes masks in large sets, 16 to 32 at a time. She has created a production line of sorts to make the process quick and efficient to get the most masks possible made in a day.
“I’m a one woman factory,” she joked.
Bodil and Larnie Fox, founders of the mask making group with some of their self-made artistic masks.
Susan Bunch has been an integral part of the process as well. She knew Bodil and Larnie through Arts Benicia and has been working hard to help the effort. She explains that by working on these masks it gives a sense of purpose during shelter-in-place and passes the time knowing that these masks are for a noble cause.
“I have a fabric stash that I’ve been stockpiling for years,” she said. “Seeing health care workers get these masks, it really lifts the spirits of people. It feels really good. I’m going to keep making masks as long as they’re useful.”
Mask making isn’t easy and there have been many challenges along the way. A shortage of elastic, a main component of the mask making process is in high demand.
“Everybody is out buying 1/4” elastic,” said Larnie. “All of America is looking for it.”
Not to mention that endless hours at the sewing machine is hard on the back and can be mentally draining. But the mask makers push on. Mask maker and retired ICU nurse Elle Hands described the physical toll sewing for hours on end takes on the body.
“My lower back has been unhappy with me. Too much sitting at the sewing machine,” she said.
The search to gather all the needed materials is a main concern moving forward. Mask makers are having to use other materials to make masks that work.
More health care workers with Benicia-made masks.
“Only a few fabric stores remain open during this crisis,” said Hands. “On one trip, I pulled my number for service to have fabric cut. I was number 72. They were helping number eight. It would be a long wait while also social distancing.”
Hands and others are shocked that there are not enough masks or PPE to go around, which is why they are working so hard to help out health care workers in a dire situation.
“I’ve taken care of patients with serious infections. I know the importance of protective equipment. It shocks me they don’t have enough to meet the demand,” she said. “By creating these masks I’m offering them another layer of protection. This has been the most satisfying and rewarding part of this group effort!”
The mask making group now has three people who are making plastic ear guards to “save the ears of those who save our lives.” They have produced 111 of those, and 64 have been distributed.
Masks for a nurse that is Grateful Dead fan.
“They are very popular,” said Larnie. “Our nextdoor neighbor Darrell Lee started this ball rolling, and we are now also working with the Benicia Makerspace folks headed by Aaron Newcomb to get more.”
The group just acquired its first three DIY face shields made by Newcomb, and a batch of 20 is coming in soon from an old chorus friend, Beni Strebel from Sonoma County.
“We think there is a need for these,” he said. “We always try to find out what the nurses want – which is not always easy, because they are used to giving, not asking.”
Health care workers at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo.
Nurses report that facilities are steady, but nothing like New York. Many are in agreement that the swift action of Calif. government and individual’s dedication to social distancing has started to flatten the curve, as current data indicates.
“They’re the boss,” said Bodil of the health care workers. “We are trying to safely meet their needs. Everyone is working together, creating beautiful pieces of art. People are coming together and there are no politics. That’s really refreshing.”
Below is a list of all the health care centers that have received masks from the group to date:
• Alta Bates Herrick Center
• Alta Bates Oakland
• Alta Bates Berkeley
• Bay Medic Ambulance, Concord
• Children’s Hospital, Madera
• County Hospital Martinez
• EndoCare Walnut Creek
• John Muir Concord
• John Muir Walnut Creek
• Kaiser Antioch
• Kaiser Richmond
• Kaiser San Rafael
• Kaiser Vacaville
• Kaiser Vallejo
• Kaiser Walnut Creek
• Martinez VA Medical Center
• McClure Post Acute, Oakland
• Medical Hill Healthcare Center, Oakland
• Oakland Children’s Hospital
• Piner’s Nursing Home, Napa
• Sutter Peninsula
• Sutter Solano Medical Center
• Valley Children’s Hospital, Fresno
• Veteran’s Home, Yountville
(This article was updated for the online version. It was originally published in the April 15 print edition of the Herald)
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