The “Number of cases” button previously read “Updated daily at 4pm.” Sometime after 4pm on Saturday, March 28, the text below the button was changed to “Updated Monday to Friday at 4pm.”
The County updated the number of cases on Saturday March 21, but starting yesterday, the Solano public will no longer get weekend updates.
The Johns Hopkins interactive map shows no change for Solano County from Friday’s total of 34 cases. Presumably, that map is dependent on reports from County officials – OR, there was no change on Saturday.
Solano County looks to spend $36M on facility projects in 2020-21, but Covid-19 lurks
The grandstands at the Solano County Fairgrounds are demolished, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. The site was formerly a racehorse track. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file)
By Todd R. Hansen, Daily Republic, March 27, 2020
FAIRFIELD — Solano County has substantially completed nearly $12.2 million in facility projects this fiscal year, expects another $8.98 million to be done by June 30 and will carry over $19.9 million in identified projects during fiscal year 2020-21.
Another $15.99 million in new 2020-21 projects are proposed, the Board of Supervisors were told this week. The board conducted a public hearing, without comment, and adopted the updated five-year Capital Facilities Improvement Plan.
The full five-year plan – from this current fiscal year to 2023-24 – identifies $72.42 million in projects. Of that total, $19.9 million is funded, another $15.99 million in projects are identified with proposed funding and there are $36.53 million worth of unfunded projects.
“The adoption of the CFIP does not commit the board to specific funding,” the report states.
Casting a large shadow over the plan – especially with regard to projects relying on local funding – is the impact of Covid-19 on revenues coming into the county.
Supervisor Monica Brown specifically mentioned the $6.3 million for the first half of a 32-bed mental health residential treatment facility. She was assured that funding is a state grant specifically earmarked for the project.
But that may not be the case with all projects.
Auditor-Controller Phyllis Taynton could not be reached for comment about her projections for sales tax and other revenue sources that will likely be negatively affected by the Covid-19 health emergency.
Chuck Lomeli, the treasurer-tax collector-county clerk, is also keeping a close watch on the situation.
“We are expecting a hit. . . . From my perspective, we (the county) are going to get hurt in a lot of ways,” he said.
One of his primary concerns will be to see if residents are able to pay their property taxes, the deadline for which is April 10. The county has announced it will work with residents on waiving penalties if they are late paying because of Covid-19.
Lomeli said he is equally concerned with county residents and their personal incomes. He said based on national statistics he has seen, most households survive paycheck to paycheck, and may be OK after missing one, but if they start missing two or more paychecks, then it could be difficult for them.
Lomeli said he is waiting to see the full $2 trillion stimulus package out of Washington, D.C., and then watch to see how fast the dollars get to where they are intended. Some of the package is supposed to go to cities and counties, some to businesses and there are some funds to go directly to eligible residents.
The county has 54 buildings and sports facilities with more than 2 million square feet of facilities and 133 acres of grounds that are maintained by General Services.
“This does not include regional parks, Solano County fairgrounds, the Nut Tree Airport and corporation yards, which are maintained by other departments or entities,” the report states.
The largest of the 2019-20 projects completed was the nearly $3.87 million fairgrounds demolition project plus $1.2 million for site remediation. Another $1.6 million was spent on mechanical equipment replacement at the Fairfield Civic Center Library; $1.44 million on improvements and renovations at the Vacaville Veterans Hall; and $1.37 million on the Registrar of Voters relocation project.
Projects expected to be completed by the end of this fiscal year include $3.34 million for heating and air improvements at the Animal Care facility, $2.1 million toward the boiler replacement project at the jail complex and $1.39 million toward the generator replacement and underground fuel tank removal at the downtown jail facility.
There are five proposed projects of more than $1 million for 2020-21 fiscal year, including the $6.3 million mental health facility.
Of the full $15.99 million for 21 projects, $6.39 million would come from the county’s Capital Renewal Reserve Fund; $578,000 from the Criminal Justice Temporary Construction Fund; $2.59 million from the Accumulated Capital Outlay Fund; and $6.44 million from other sources such as the state grant for the mental health facility.
In a press release, Sheriff Ferrara says no ‘known cases’ of COVID-19 in the jail so far, but a Solano County Superior Court commissioner and a spokeswoman for jail nurse contractor Wellpath confirm the positive test
By Richard Bammer, Vacaville Reporter, March 27, 2020
Solano County Sheriff Tom Ferrara
Two people have reported or confirmed that a nurse working in the Solano Jail has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, but Sheriff Tom Ferrara, in a press release issued Friday, noted “no known cases of persons contracting COVID-19 within our jails.”
Solano County Superior Court Commissioner Bryan J. Kim on Thursday mentioned during afternoon arraignments that a nurse from the Wellpath company, which contracts with Solano County Jail for nursing services, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Deputy Public Defender Nick Filloy told The Reporter he heard Kim make the statement during the afternoon session in Department 24 in the Hall of Justice in Fairfield.
Additionally, a spokeswoman for the Wellpath company, based in Nashville, Tenn., confirmed early Friday that the nurse had, indeed, tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
She asked not to be identified, citing the sensitive nature of her job, and provided no additional information other than suggesting the nurse was female.
At press time Friday, Ferrara and Undersheriff Brad DeWall had not responded to a request for comment from The Reporter.
It is unknown when or where the nurse tested positive, the nature of her county jail work schedule in recent days, how many inmates she came in contact with before she was tested, and whether she is quarantined for at least 14 days in her residence, a standard accepted practice recognized by public health officials.
In the prepared statement, Ferrara wrote that the Sheriff’s Office “remains committed to the health and well-being of all persons currently incarcerated or working within our correctional facilities. Currently, there are no known cases of persons contracting COVID-19 within our jails.”
He cited a March 20 order from Solano County Superior Court officials authorizing the release of inmates who are serving county jail commitments with 60 days or less remaining on their sentence, “so long as they qualify within the criteria set forth in the Order.”
However, no inmate whose crime includes serving time for domestic violence or an offense involving a victim of domestic violence or serving time for an offense that requires registration as a sex offender is eligible for early release, noted Ferrara.
“We are working in collaboration with the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department to review and concur with each potential release,” he added in the prepared statement. “Prior to being released, we will verify that the inmate has a place to live to ensure they go to a safe environment that allows them to comply with the Shelter-at-Home directive.”
He also noted the department is making sure the released inmates have transportation to their homes.
The March 20 order “will result in the initial release of up to 60 inmates, many of which currently have less than 30 days left to serve,” Ferrara pointed out.
The release of inmates allows the Sheriff’s Office to establish intake quarantine housing units to monitor newly booked inmates and maintain a medical isolation unit for any confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, he wrote.
Solano County Deputy District Attorney Andrew Wood described to The Reporter how jail arraignments are being handled during the COVID-19 outbreak.
In an email, he wrote that during such arraignments, deputy district attorneys “are teleconferencing into court and some inmates are being placed in the court adjacent room with a glass partition and microphone for court proceedings.”
The inmates, he added, “can see court proceedings and communicate with the court from this position, rather than bringing them into the courtroom.”
Known as a fierce defender of his clients’ constitutional rights, Filloy was shocked at Kim’s revelation and the later confirmation by the Wellpath spokeswoman.
“If the Solano County’s Sheriff’s Department wants to spread COVID-19 to all of Solano County, they are doing a bang-up job,” he wrote in a text message.
Store shelves remain mostly bare throughout Bay Area
Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bath tissue, says its mills and regional distribution centers shipped out 120 percent of normal capacity last week to meet consumer demand as toilet paper continues to fly off shelves during the coronavirus outbreak. (Courtesy of Georgia Pacific)San Jose Mercury News, by John Woolfolk, 3/26/20, updated 3/2720
Toilet paper, hand sanitizer and other hygiene essentials began flying off store shelves weeks ago amid mounting worries over the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Not to worry, retailers and suppliers said, we’re churning out product and cranking up inventory to meet demand.
So where is it? A week into an unprecedented statewide stay-home order aimed at keeping hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients, consumers throughout the Bay Area and beyond are still finding empty store shelves when they look for things such as toilet paper, paper towels, sanitary wipes and hand sanitizer.
“The ultimate question everyone wants to know is when will the store shelves be restocked,” said Eric Abercrombie, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific, one of the world’s leading producers of toilet paper and paper towels. “And unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer for you on that.”
In fact, nobody seems to — not the stores, not the suppliers, and certainly not hordes of people sharing their woes on social media #toiletpapercrisis.
“Some people aren’t shaking hands because of Coronavirus,” read one tweet. “I’m not shaking hands because everyone is out of toilet paper.”
Some people aren’t shaking hands because of Coronavirus. I’m not shaking hands because everyone is out of toilet paper. #COVID2019#toiletpapercrisis
Georgia-Pacific’s mills and regional distribution centers last week shipped out 120 percent of their normal capacity, Abercrombie said.
“We’re breaking some production records,” he said. “We’re trying to crank it out fast as we can.”
But you wouldn’t know it after visiting local supermarkets and pharmacies, where some aisles look like something you’d imagine in communist Cuba or Venezuela.
In the Bay Area — center of the Silicon Valley technology universe, where everyone’s accustomed to being able to buy anything with a few taps on their iPhone — online e-tailers are no help. Search Amazon and it shows a 36-roll pack of Angel Soft that when you try to add it to your e-cart, is unavailable. The earliest you can get 10 rolls of Treesolo 3-ply is April 16.
Major grocery chains offered little in the way of encouragement on the outlook for retail supply.
“We ship deliveries to our stores on a regular basis, and many high-demand items are purchased shortly after restocking on shelves,” said Wendy Gutshall, spokeswoman for the Northern California Division of Safeway. “We are working with our supplier partners to refill high-demand products as quickly as possible. We are asking customers to respect quantity limits on select products, like hand sanitizers, household cleaners and other staple items to help ensure more of our neighbors can find the products they need.”
A woman looks at empty shelves in the paper goods section at a Target store Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Overland Park, Kan. Stores continue to struggle to keep shelves stocked with toilet paper, face masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectants and other items as people panic shop in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Gutshall acknowledged that “we don’t have customer limitations in place” on purchases of high-demand items like toilet paper — it’s honor system — but said Safeway has “adjusted store hours to give our teams the time they need to restock shelves and get ready to serve the community.”
Raley’s spokeswoman Chelsea Minor said, “Unfortunately, I do not have an answer” as to when the TP will be plentiful in its stores again.
“We are working with our suppliers to get more product,” Minor said. “Also, we are regional — we don’t have the same buying power as the bigger chains.”
A customer leave Costco with toilet paper in Cypress, CA, on Friday, March 13, 2020. The line extended from the entrance, across the front of the building, up Winner Circle, around the cul-de-sac, back down Winner Circle, then on Katella to the Los Alamitos Race Track driveway. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Procter & Gamble, the Ohio company that also is a major toilet paper producer, said they too are working around the clock to meet the surge in demand.
“Demand continues to outpace supply, but we are working diligently to get product to our retailers as fast as humanly possible so everyone can continue to Enjoy the Go,” said Proctor & Gamble spokesman Loren Fanroy. “We are prioritizing our bestselling sizes to maximize the amount of product we can ship to retailers, and we remain focused on making sure our products are available when and where people shop during this highly dynamic situation. We continue to manufacture and ship Charmin to our retailers.”
Oakland-based Clorox, which makes a number of sanitizing products such as disinfecting wipes that have vanished from stores, along with toilet paper and paper towels, had no immediate response Thursday.
Why toilet paper disappeared from stores is a frustrating mystery for government and health officials trying to manage the pandemic crisis and prevent consumer panic. Unlike disinfecting wipes, or paper towels soaked in bleach, toilet paper doesn’t kill the coronavirus, and the COVID-19 disease is a respiratory infection, not a stomach bug that necessitates frequent trips to the bathroom.
But perhaps the hoarders who cleared the shelves clued in that as more and more workers were doing their jobs from home, their household demand would increase.
Georgia-Pacific indicates that according to consumer survey and U.S. Census data, the average U.S. household of 2.6 people uses 409 regular rolls per year. The company calculated people staying at home around the clock would increase daily usage about 140 percent. To last two weeks, G-P said, a two-person household would need nine double rolls and a four-person household would need 17.
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