Housing Commissioner Joey Carrizales said that he did “cuss out” Sheriff's Deputy Dale Matsuoka and called him a Three Percenter ..read more

VALLEJO — Several fun outdoor events are happening in Vallejo parks this weekend, with the Obtainium Cup Contraptor’s Rally, Latin Rock on the Dock on Mare Island, free Shakespeare at Hanns Park, Papa Joe and the New Deal at Blue Rock Springs Park, and blues and R&B at Richardson Park. The free annual Obtainium Cup Contraptor’s Rally is a mad-cap gathering of artistically modified cars, bikes and scooters that will compete for prizes. They’ll be joined by Mad Hatters, flying monkeys, zombies, robots, and a new show by the Music Pandemonium at Mare Island Art Studios on Sunday afternoon. V ..read more

FAIRFIELD – California Forever withdrew a voter initiative to rezone 17,500 acres of agricultural land for an urban development on Monday after preliminary review of the proposal highlighted environmental concerns and projected it would cause nearly $200 million in annual county and agency deficits.  Solano County Board of Supervisors Chair Mitch Mashburn said in a statement that he had reached an agreement with California Forever CEO Jan Sramek to withdraw the initiative, which would have appeared on the November ballot, and instead the county would conduct a full environmental impact r ..read more

VALLEJO – Willie McCoy’s oldest sister was killed when she was thrown from an overturned SUV while fleeing gunfire in central Vallejo on Tuesday, according to police radio traffic, social media posts and the family’s attorney. The crash that killed 48-year-old Sharmell Mitchell happened at about 12:35 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Vervais Avenue and Tennessee Street, according to police radio traffic. Initial reports indicated that Mitchell had been ejected from the SUV after it crashed into two other vehicles while fleeing a fourth car whose occupants were shooting at them. Mitchell ..read more

VALLEJO – The city of Vallejo is preparing to resubmit a state-required plan to build new housing over the next seven years after the California Department of Housing and Community Development rejected it in January, citing a number of deficiencies including a shortage of sites identified for low-income housing and a concentration of low-income sites in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods.  State law requires that the cities and counties across the state submit a new housing element – a component of the city’s general plan that lays out policies and zoning adjustments to accommodate ..read more

VALLEJO — Two events commemorating an explosion at Port Chicago and push for safer working conditions at the Mare Island shipyards will be held in Vallejo this weekend. You can also attend a hip-hop show presented by the Free Music Collective and Thou Wow Studio, a showcase of Filipino pop music and R&B at the Empress Theatre, or a free magic show at the McCune Collection. Port Chicago Weekend is a four-day festival of music, art, cuisine, theater, exhibits, and entertainment that commemorates the 80th anniversary of a massive explosion at Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Concord that kille ..read more

VALLEJO – Recent maintenance work by the Vallejo Flood and Wastewater District has caused an unpleasant smell wafting up from the waterfront sewage treatment plant into south and central Vallejo in recent months and led to a flurry of complaints to government officials. The district now expects that residents and visitors in Vallejo will have to endure the odors for months longer. District Operations Superintendent Orlando Cortez said the district underestimated both the range of odors that would be released during the maintenance work, and the duration of the problem. On March 14 the distric ..read more

VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council approved a three-year contract with the city’s largest union that includes an immediate 8% raise for a broad range of city workers at a meeting on Tuesday. The city’s prior contract with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 ended on June 30. Days before that, union workers filled the city council chambers to urge the city to move forward in negotiations, which they said were at a standstill. That night workers and union negotiators passionately addressed the council arguing that a pay increase was long overdue and that a better wage ..read more

VALLEJO – Vallejo city officials warned in a draft letter to the county Board of Supervisors that a billionaire-backed proposal to build a new city in eastern Solano County could interfere with the city’s ability to recruit city staff, slow down economic development, and have an adverse impact on residents’ property values. At the Vallejo City Council meeting on Tuesday, Assistant City Manager Gillian Haen, who is serving in City Manager Andrew Murray’s position while he is on vacation, said that she had worked with city department heads to develop an overview of potential impacts to the city ..read more

VALLEJO — Vallejo’s second Friday Art Walk is expanding this month with a new management team coordinating live music acts throughout downtown. Musicians will play on every corner and inside shops and breezeways around Georgia, Marin and Virginia Streets. There will be belly dancing at Bambino’s restaurant, and a late night afterparty at IntegriTea with live music by David El 3-Oh! Artists and craftspeople will display their wares on the sidewalks, and restaurants and businesses like The Joint and Alibi Bookshop on Marin Street, and Autonomous Gallery and the Neighborhood Plant Dealer in the ..read more