Suisun Valley plan details sweeping tourism-based vision

An emerging Suisun Valley vision comes with some built-in tension: How can the rural area be transformed into an agricultural tourist draw without creating a tourist trap? 'We do want tourists and growth out there, but we want to keep it quaint and assessable and like it is,' said Tracy Ellison, agricultural ambassador for Suisun Valley Harvest Trails. Solano County's draft Suisun Valley Strategic Plan grapples with this issue…. Many area farmers want to see a revitalized valley with more wineries, no fallow farmland and various commercial enterprises such as restaurants to help attract tourists. Suisun Valley could become a Napa Valley of sorts, but on a smaller, mom-and-pop scale. 'Napa is tremendously commercial,' Suisun Valley farmer Derrick Lum said. 'We have an opportunity to grow it in the right way.'

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Dredging at Mare Island might get nod this year

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Some 14 years worth of accumulated silt in front of two Mare Island dry docks has about a 50-50 chance of qualifying for removal this year, a regional dredging official estimates. "It can happen quickly, if everything's in place," said Rob Lawrence, staff member with the Dredged Material Management Office in San Francisco. "But bottlenecks can happen if anyone falls behind." The Dredged Material Management Office for which Lawrence works is made up of a variety of state, regional and federal organizations, each with a stake in supplying Bay Area dredging permits. Company officials for California Dry Dock Solutions, also known as Allied Defense Recycling, are in the midst of a lengthy permit application process to dredge the Mare Island Strait. Once the waterway is clear, the company will be able to tow aged and decomposing World War II-era ships to Mare Island for dismantling and recycling, if awarded federal contracts to do so. The Vallejo Planning Commission gave the project operational approval in November. The company still needs to acquire a lease for the dry docks and some nearby land from property owners Lennar Mare Island. Silt dredging locally is generally allowed between June and the end of November -- though that window can be shortened by regulators, depending on the dredge sight's proximity to affected species…. Limiting the time for dredging protects the spawning periods for local marine life, particularly the endangered animals, Lawrence said. The marine company may need to acquire permits from federal and state fish and game offices, depending on what level the fish's endangerment is listed at, Lawrence said. Several fish species, including the Delta smelt, the long thin smelt, the green sturgeon and more, also could be affected by daily operation of the dry docks. The dry docks are massive formal naval inset docks with huge caisson doors protecting a dry area that can be drained for ship work -- and in which fish may be stranded. Anast said he hopes he would be given the provision Fish and Game permit, hinging on still-developing guidelines concerning dry docks and their effect on local fish species. He added that records show very few fish have been caught in the dry docks' history

Housing report finds many new buyers entering the market, even in Solano

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Affordable home prices, tax credits for home buyers, historically low interest rates, and a large number of distressed properties prompted many first-time home buyers to enter the market in 2009, according to the California Association of Realtors' 2009-2010 "State of the California Housing Market" report released last week. The percent of first-time buyers increased dramatically in 2009, from 35.9 percent in 2008 to 47 percent in 2009, according to the report. The share of first-time buyers exceeded the long-run average of 38.6 percent and was the highest since 1995, when more than half of all buyers were first timers. "It is clear that the federal tax credit for home buyers worked well in 2009 and is continuing to drive home sales," said C.A.R. President Steve Goddard…. nearly 40 percent said they would not have purchased a home if the federal tax credit was not offered. On the same note, nearly 70 percent of those buyers said the tax credit was either "very important" or "most important" in their decision to buy a home. The large number of distressed properties led to more than half of all first-time buyers purchasing an REO/foreclosure or short sale property. Statewide, real estate owned/foreclosures and short sales accounted for almost half of all annual sales in 2009, an increase from 35.6 percent in 2008. The median price of distressed properties declined nearly one quarter to $250,000 in 2009 compared with $330,000 in 2008. Meanwhile, the statewide median price of non-distressed properties decreased only 10.4 percent to $485,000 compared with $541,000 in 2008. The story is much the same in Solano County…. "The dominant part of our business right now in Vacaville, Fairfield and Suisun has been those first-time buyers," Porter said…. the biggest challenge is a shortage of inventory on the market…. Many sellers sold their homes with a loss in 2009, and those who experienced a net cash loss increased for the fifth consecutive year. With one-third of sellers experiencing a net cash loss in 2009, it was the highest level on record since C.A.R. started tracking net cash losses in 1989, and was more than triple the long-run average of 9.3 percent. Following two consecutive years of significant declines in prices, the median net cash from home sales declined 50 percent last year to $50,000 from $100,000 in 2008….

Biology professor is top at UC Davis

By Laurel Rosenhall
lrosenhall@sacbee.com The Sacramento Bee

Published: Friday, Mar. 12, 2010 - 10:32 am

In a surprise ceremony this morning, UC Davis biology professor Rick Grosberg was awarded a $40,000 prize in recognition of being the school's best professor of the year.
Chancellor Linda Katehi interrupted Grosberg's class to announce that he received the 2010 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.

Professor Grosberg understands the value to our undergraduates of the hands-on research experience and, as a mentor, he is deeply committed to ensuring our students' success," Katehi said in a statement. "That mindset is one that we place a very high value on at UC Davis."

Grosberg's studies focus on evolution and family conflict among snails, sea squirts and sea anemones.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/12/2602909/biology-professor-is-top-at-uc.html#ixzz0iGfx2a4Y

UC Davis officials believe the prize is the nation's largest cash prize for an undergraduate instructor. The prize is funded by private donations and the winner is selected based on recommendations from other professors, research peers and students.

County leaders committed to working toward jobs, economic recovery

The walk away message from the nation's conference of county leaders was federal and county governments must expand their partnership to create jobs and address the broad impacts of an economy in recovery.

"Our voices joined the chorus of other counties that told the administration and Congress that the success of any federal economic strategy relies on local governments at the front end working with local businesses to grow the private sector economy as well as deliver services to those in need," said Supervisor Mike Reagan, who serves on the NACo Community and Economic Development Committee.

Supervisor Reagan, County Administrator Michael D. Johnson and Health and Social Services Director Patrick Duterte were among more than 2,000 elected and appointed county officials at the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) 2010 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., from March 6 to March 10 in Washington, D.C.

The Legislative Conference brought county officials face-to-face with federal government officials to discuss key county government priorities and specific legislation, regulations and funding levels affecting essential services and programs.

“We were able to give the county perspective directly to the people making decisions on how federal dollars are going to be spent,” Reagan said.

In addition, Solano County officials attended informational workshops on a broad range of current issues and future trends. In one workshop, Johnson learned about the potential role of counties in a carbon credit system – from the cap-and-trade market to local projects that can earn carbon credits.

“We are already a leading county in alternative energy. This workshop, along with the exchange of ideas with county folks from around the country, will help us retain that advantage,” Johnson said.

The availability of loans, grants and unspent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds was a recurring subject at the workshops Reagan attended. Speakers from the Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture encouraged counties to create projects to access these federal dollars.

“These federal dollars can help us put our General Plan vision into action and direct more investment into Solano County that will create jobs,” Reagan said.

Jobs, economic recovery and Restoring the Partnership emerged as the main themes of the conference that featured such guest speakers as House Speaker Pelosi, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and TIME magazine columnist Joe Klein.

“NACo’s 2010 Legislative Conference was a tremendous success,” said NACo President Valerie Brown, supervisor from Sonoma County. “Our members are fiercely committed to Restore the Partnership between the federal government and America’s counties and this conference went a long way toward that goal.

“Especially in these tough times, it’s more important than ever that county officials pull together and speak with one voice to our federal representatives on the many critical issues affecting counties and communities,” Brown said. “I know from speaking with Speaker Pelosi, Secretary Sebelius, Secretary Vilsak, members of Congress and several White House officials that we are making great strides.”

A priority of NACo leaders and fellow county officials at the conference was soliciting Congressional support for H.R. 3332, the Restore the Partnership Act of 2009. The bill, introduced by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), would establish the National Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to facilitate cooperation among all levels of government and to find solutions to the critical issues facing the country. It is a NACo key legislative priority this year.

In addition, several important policy resolutions were adopted by the NACo Board of Directors upon the recommendation of NACo’s 11 steering committees such as one opposing online travel agencies attempts to preempt local taxing authority.

NACo’s steering committees consider issues such as justice and public safety, agriculture and rural affairs, taxes, environment and energy, telecommunications, economic and community development, healthcare, human services, education, labor and employment, public lands, and transportation. Resolutions adopted at the conference are available at www.naco.org in the Issues section under Issues and Interest Areas.
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The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public's understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money. For more information about NACo, visit www.naco.org. For more information about the conference, contact Jim Philipps at 202.942.4220 jphilipps@naco.org.

Summary of Remarks from Prominent Speakers
at NACo 2010 Legislative Conference Speakers
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Speaker Pelosi said Rep. George Miller (D.-Calif.) will introduce a bill that “allows for county governments and municipalities to retain workers.” She offered no details.

Speaking at the March 9 General Session, Pelosi focused on her and the Obama administration’s priorities, particularly jobs and “health insurance reform.”

Highlighting jobs-specific legislation, Pelosi said the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, passed last week, will provide $15 billion for infrastructure investments in local communities. She said the health reform bill is also a jobs bill that would create “4 million jobs in its life” and “about 400,000 jobs very soon.”

She said the health reform bill Congress sends to the president “will ensure affordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance companies, and access for millions more Americans, tens of millions.”

In closing, she called on county leaders to lend their support. “The challenges that we all face are too great to face them alone. We need to form the partnerships, strengthen partnerships at every level of government.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) addressed his former colleagues in county government during the Opening General Session on March 8.

The former 14-year Fairfax County supervisor, now in his first congressional term, extolled the virtues of local government, along with the frustrations of working with legislators who are unfamiliar with how local government works.

“We have a mission to communicate clearly between different levels of government because not everyone has experience in a level of government where things have to get done,” Connolly said. He stressed that county commissioners and supervisors were often on the front line of the ire and complaints about other governments’ jurisdictions.

Specifically, he opposed a U.S. Senate proposal to tax municipal bonds, a change that would add costs to most debt-financed government improvement projects.

Connolly has introduced H.R. 3332, the Restore the Partnership Act of 2009, a bill to establish the National Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to facilitate cooperation among all levels of government and to find solutions to the critical issues facing the country.

Connolly praised the recovery act’s part in staving off teacher layoffs and opposed a change to a competitive grant system for funding schools, rather than the current formula-driven allocation process. He said the national economy was poised for recovery, but doubted it would be swift, and decried the crumbling transportation infrastructure and eroding transportation funding mechanisms.
Time Magazine Columnist Joe Klein
Time magazine columnist Joe Klein offered his diagnosis of what ails Washington in the current era of Congressional gridlock and “hyper-partisanship.” Handicapping the odds of Republicans picking up seats in midterm elections, he said of Washington, “No matter what happens in this election, the city will still be broken.”

Conventional wisdom has the party in power, the Democrats, losing seats. Klein said historically the president’s party has lost control of Congress if his approval rating is 50 percent or less. In recent polling, President Obama’s favorable ratings have hovered around 50 percent, plus or minus.

Klein looked at government dysfunction through the prism of the health care reform debate, in which each side has dug in its heels. Why try to reform health care when 80 percent of Americans are happy with what they have? He cited two arguments in favor — one economic, one moral: to remain competitive with countries that guarantee or subsidize health care, and the “short-term moral problem” that at least 30 million Americans have no health care, and a large percentage fear losing what they have.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
The Secretary Sebelius, speaking at the March 9 General Session, praised counties for stemming the spread of the H1N1 virus. The vaccination campaign depended on county governments’ work, which was complicated by budget cuts necessitated by the recession.

As governor of Kansas, Sebelius herself cut the state health and human services budget, admitting it is often the first department to see cuts, and her successor has continued on that path. She said the Recovery Act has helped fund safety net services, but they may not last until people get back on their feet.

Sebelius stressed the importance of counties’ close relationships with residents in guiding health care policy creation.

“Rather than figuring out strategies in Washington, we want your input,” she said. “You’re the laboratories and we can help take the solutions to scale.”
Director Melody Barnes, Domestic Policy Council
Barnes, speaking at the General Session on March 9, started off her speech by thanking Linn County, Iowa Supervisor Linda Langston; Santa Clara County, Calif. Supervisor Liz Kniss and Tarrant County, Texas Commissioner Roy Brooks for their leadership in health care reform. She then focused on the Obama Administration’s commitment to governing differently. “The thinking needs to be different. It has to be people and place-based,” she said. “The days of the federal government thinking and talking and working in silos is over.”

She acknowledged that “we cannot approach problems at a city-state level -- counties deliver many services and must be involved.”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
Vilsack, speaking at the March 9 luncheon, stressed the importance and resilience of rural counties during his luncheon address at the Legislative Conference.

“People talk about the recession, but the rural communities have been dealing with conditions like this for years,” he said.

Despite rural America’s experience dealing with difficult economic circumstances, Vilsack said the current loose confederation of small towns would likely not survive. “Many small communities won’t be able to tackle this alone,” he said. “They must combine forces to create a vibrant economy.”

He advocated any program that encourages a regional approach to rural planning.

The Agriculture Department will address rural issues through a variety of programs, including expanding broadband access, optimizing bio-fuel energy production and food supply capacities, and expanding ecosystem markets and natural habitats.

The challenges rural Americans face tempers them into a resource for the county as a whole. “The value system of the country is at stake, more than jobs, poverty rates and income levels,” he said. “We undervalue farmers and ranchers, when if we paid them for the work they did, they’d get contracts like professional athletes.”

Posted: March 11, 2010

Fish restoration could be a catch for Rio Vista

Fish restoration could be a catch for Rio Vista
By Matt Weiser / The Sacramento Bee
Posted: 03/12/2010 01:02:06 AM PST


One of many empty buildings at the old abandoned Army base located in Rio Vista is seen in 2003. (Joel Rosenbaum / The Reporter)

Rio Vista, long a hub for levee building and dredging in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, could find its next fortune in fish restoration.
Solano County's smallest city is being courted by a who's who of state and federal agencies that see a former U.S. Army property on the waterfront as an ideal home for Delta research.
The latest proposal is for a federal fish-breeding project to raise "refuge" populations of several species in case they go extinct in the wild.
"It would be perfect for these uses," said Rio Vista Mayor Jan Vick. "Nobody has any money for it yet, but we're pushing because it's becoming more urgent so research in the Delta can proceed efficiently."
The property has been eyed for a joint state-federal science center. The city also wants public recreation and interpretive facilities on the site.
The 28-acre property was first developed in 1911 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for levee building and dredging operations. It later became a training site for riverine military operations, then an Army Reserve center.
Centrally located in the Delta, it offers a long waterfront wharf, a large marine railway, and many building sites well above the water. It lies between a marina and a U.S. Coast Guard station.
The city bought the site for $30,000 in 2003 as part of the military base-closure process.
Since 2003, state and federal agencies have wanted a science center on the property to consolidate environmental research and monitoring.
Ted Sommer, program manager at the state Department of Water Resources, said state water contractors have agreed to pay the state's share of costs for the science center, which could accommodate a staff of 160 on about 10 acres.
The project already has a nifty government acronym: RIVERS, or Rio Vista Estuarine Research Station.
"We're still keen on building this facility, though certainly it hasn't gone as quickly as we had hoped," Sommer said. "Being able to share resources is a big part of it. We think having people together would help us make better science."
More recently, the Obama administration identified the Rio Vista site for a large fish-breeding operation. Dubbed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an "Aquatic Technology Center," it would breed imperiled species in case they go extinct in the wild.
The service already maintains a "refuge" population of Delta smelt at a hatchery near Redding. But it wants to move the operation closer to the Delta, and to breed other species if necessary, including longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, Sacramento perch and green sturgeon, said Bob Clarke, the agency's acting assistant regional director.
"We're starting to think ahead of time so that we're prepared," he said. "Other fish are hard-pressed, and we don't want to get in a position of building a facility that can only handle Delta smelt."
The service has no money for the facility. But on Monday it hosts a daylong science conference at the University of California, Davis to discuss how such a facility could serve a variety of species.
Rio Vista, meanwhile, is pressing federal representatives for funding, said Vick.
"We're very excited about it," she said. "We really need to be able to get some economic benefit out of this property."
For more information about Monday's science conference, visit http://caba.ucdavis.edu/activities.

Fewer deaths reported on highways through Solano County in '09

By The Reporter, Vacaville and Associated Press reports
Posted: 03/12/2010 01:01:50 AM PST

A CHP officer enters eastbound Interstate 80 at North Texas Street in Fairfield on Thursday. Road improvements, increased seatbelt use and stepped up speed enforcement have helped lower Solano County's traffic-related fatalities. (Rick Roach/The Reporter, Vacaville)
U.S. highway deaths have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1950s, as more motorists bought into buckling up and embraced safety innovations. A sour economy that dampened traveling instincts also was a contributor.

The U.S. Transportation Department said Thursday that its projections show total traffic deaths declined nearly 9 percent in 2009 -- to 33,963. That's the lowest toll since 1954. In 2008, an estimated 37,261 people died on the highway.

Highway safety officials also reported a record low fatality rate, the number of deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. It fell to 1.15 in 2009, compared with a record low -- at the time -- of 1.25 in 2008.

Highway deaths have dropped steadily since 2005, when an estimated 43,510 people were killed.

In Solano County, highway safety statistics have also been on the decline.

The California Highway Patrol said there were

33 traffic fatalities in Solano County in 2008 (the most recent year for which statistics are available). That figure was down from 47 deaths in 2007.

"And that means 14 more people made it to Christmas, 14 more people could spend Thanksgiving with their families," said Sgt. Trent Cross with the CHP's Golden Gate Division, which serves Solano County. "Every day our goal out there is to save lives on the road."

The number of injury accidents in Solano County also declined to

1,735 in 2008 from 1,810 in 2007.

Cross attributes the decline in fatalities and injuries to

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a number of things.
"It's a combination of education and public safety campaigns, which are just as important as enforcement," he said. "And also just good old-fashioned enforcement.

"And we focus on speed, seat-belt use and those who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol because statistics show that is where we are losing lives."

Statewide, the CHP reported there were 3,113 fatal crashes in 2008, resulting in the deaths of 3,401 people.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he was encouraged by the national data but said there were still "far too many people dying in traffic accidents.

"Drivers need to keep their hands on the steering wheel and their focus on the road in order to stay safe," LaHood said.

Safety experts attribute the reductions to increased seat-belt use, progress in targeting drunken driving and more enforcement of traffic laws. Others point to the sluggish economy, which typically leads fewer people to drive.

Preliminary data by the Federal Highway Administration showed that vehicle miles traveled in 2009 grew by about 6.6 billion miles, or about a

0.2 percent increase. That followed fewer miles logged by American drivers in 2008 and 2007.

The decline in roadway deaths follow similar patterns formed during the early 1980s and early 1990s, when difficult economic conditions led many drivers to cut back on discretionary travel.

But the reductions also come in the wake of years of safety improvements. Seat-belt use climbed to 84 percent in 2009, helped by efforts in states to let police stop a vehicle for a seat-belt violation, even if this is the only violation an officer observes.

Side air bags that protect the head and midsection are also becoming standard equipment on many new vehicles and electronic stability control, which helps motorists avoid rollover crashes, is more common on new cars and trucks.

Additionally, states have pushed tough laws to reduce drunken driving and the federal government has urged states to adopt more stringent laws against distracted driving and drivers who type out text messages from behind the wheel.