Solano County has completed it’s count and certified election results. The Registrar of Voters office posted the final count at 4pm on Tuesday, November 24.
The County provides excellent reports on its website. Most interesting in my opinion is the report titled Certified Election Results Site (Downloadable format). This is actually an html web page, but if you click on Reports at top right, you will be able to download Excel or PDF files for:
Vallejo Times Herald, By Richard Freedman, October 29, 2020
Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams (Courtesy photo)
The City of Vallejo, in collaboration with the Vallejo police and fire departments, will open their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as a precautionary measure starting Monday.
This action is being taken in preparation for potential civil unrest directly associated with the Nov. 3 election, according to a news release issued Wednesday.
“While there is no immediate threat of unrest, nor do we have reason to believe there will be a threat in the City of Vallejo or surrounding areas, the City must be prepared to respond to any emergency appropriately. The type of emergency will determine the appropriate response to any crisis,” said communications and public information Christina Lee in the statement.
The Vallejo Fire Department will increase its staff by an extra battalion chief and an additional fire engine to assist with increased call volume if necessary during the EOC activation. The police department will continue to have its mobile field force (MFF) on standby, prepared to mobilize in the event of social or civil unrest to help calm and disperse crowds, Lee said.
Though “the City recognizes and respects our citizens’ First Amendment Rights to free speech … we ask that anyone who intends to exercise these rights remain mindful that COVID-19 remains a threat, especially as we are entering the cold and flu season, which could place those with a compromised immune system at an increased risk for infection,” Lee said, urging citizens to “continue to wear a mask, especially when gathering where social distancing can be difficult.”
Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams issued a statement Thursday afternoon, stating that “while we hope for peace and civility after the elections; hope is not a strategy, and failure to prepare is preparing to fail. We are planning to have a more visible uniformed presence throughout the elections and the following days. With our Emergency Operations Center activated, we will work collaboratively with all of our city departments, council members, and county partners to protect and serve our Vallejo community.”
Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan said it would be irresponsible to not be ready.
“We want to be prepared just in case there’s going to be civil unrest,” he said late Wednesday. “The extreme right and the extreme left have been saying on social media that they are going to protest the election. We, as a city, need to be prepared for that. We have been the victims of looting and civil unrest in the past and we need to be ready just in case something like that should occur.”
Sampayan said he “absolutely” expects Vallejo agencies to be ready if they are called as mutual aid to surrounding communities.
“I’m confident our police and fire are well prepared for whatever occurs after the election,” Sampayan said.
In Benicia, “Like everyone else, we are watching this election and the days following it closely,” said Irma Widjojo, public information officer for the Benicia Police Dept.
“While we don’t anticipate any issues in our community, we are prepared to have extra staffing available if needed. We are also working cooperatively with other area agencies for any mutual call needs,” Widjojo said.
There is “no special preparations at this time” by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, spokesman Henry Wofford said. “Everything is normal.”
Family of man killed by Vallejo police to receive $5.7 million
San Francisco Chronicle, by Nora Mishanec, September 5, 2020
Ronell Foster (right), shown with his two chldren, was shot to death by a Vallejo police officer in February 2018. Photo: SFChronicle, courtesy Foster family
Vallejo officials have agreed to pay $5.7 million to the family of Ronell Foster, who was shot and killed by a Vallejo police officer in February 2018.
The officer, Ryan McMahon, was cleared of wrongdoing in January by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office, which declared McMahon’s deadly use of force justified after an investigation that included body camera footage.
But Foster’s family brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against McMahon and the city.
Vallejo officials announced the settlement Friday. The city itself will pay the Foster family only $500,000. The rest will be paid by the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities, a municipal insurance provider.
The Foster family is “happy the truth has finally come out,” Adanté Pointer, a lawyer for the family, said Friday.
“Ronell did not deserve to die,” Pointer said. “True justice would be to see Officer McMahon walking into court as a criminal defendant.
“What the family found most disturbing are the lies the city put out to justify his death when they knew the whole time Ronell’s death was not justified and the officer’s conduct flat-out wrong.”
Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams indicated his intent to fire McMahon in March, based in part on his conduct during another fatal shooting, that of 21-year old Willie McCoy. The termination is pending, a spokeswoman for the city said.
In a March letter to McMahon that was made public, Williams said McMahon endangered the lives of other police officers, neglected basic firearm safety and demonstrated “unsatisfactory work performance including, but not limited to, failure, incompetence,” in connection with the McCoy incident.
McMahon was temporarily placed on paid administrative leave following the fatal shooting of Foster, but was later cleared to return to duty. One year later, he was one of six officers who shot and killed McCoy, who was asleep in a car in a Taco Bell drive-through lane.
Vallejo police spokeswoman Brittany Jackson declined to provide details about McMahon’s leave, calling it a “pending personnel matter.” McMahon was paid $219,433 in salary and benefits in 2018, the year he shot Foster, according to public records.
Foster, 33, was riding a bike in downtown Vallejo without a headlamp the evening of Feb. 13, 2018, when he was spotted and pursued by McMahon, who later told investigators that he stopped Foster in order to “educate the public on the dangers that this person was creating for himself and the traffic on Sonoma Boulevard.”
After a brief pursuit, McMahon said, Foster grabbed his metal flashlight and tried to strike him during a physical altercation, prompting McMahon to open fire. Foster died at the scene after being shot in the back of the head.
Police later said McMahon had no choice but to use deadly force after Foster threatened him with the metal flashlight. Dark, grainy body camera footage released by the Vallejo Police Department at the time did not clearly show whether Foster presented the flashlight in the “threatening manner” that police described in statements following the shooting.
Foster’s family disputed the Police Department’s account of the encounter.
Agents with the state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control conducted compliance sweeps throughout Northern California earlier this month and found several eateries, including in Solano County, in violation of coronavirus guidelines.
John Carr, an ABC spokesman, said agents issued misdemeanor citations for violating state emergency health orders. A district attorney, he said, will determine whether to prosecute.
Meanwhile, ABC has not taken any action against licenses where the violations occurred, Carr said, as the violations remain under review. Should disciplinary action be pursued, business owners may request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Penalties can range from a fine to a suspension to a revocation.
Businesses cited between July 3-5 include:
Muay Thai Cuisine, Vacaville, for indoor consumption and employees not wearing masks.
Kazan Japanese Cuisine, Vacaville, for indoor consumption and employees not wearing masks.
El Patron Mexican Food, Vacaville, for employees not wearing masks.
Back Door Bistro, Vacaville, for employees not wearing masks.
Koreana BBQ, Fairfield, for indoor consumption.
Cullens Tannery Pub, Benicia , for indoor consumption and employees not wearing masks.
Businesses cited between July 6-16 include:
Gentlemen Jims, Vallejo, for indoor consumption and employees not wearing masks.
The Loft, Benicia , for employees not social distancing.
Solano County has completed it’s count and certified election results. The Registrar of Voters office posted the final count at 4pm on Tuesday, November 24.
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