Sutter Solano to close maternity ward in May

by John Glidden | Feb. 14, 2021 VALLEJO – Citing a low number of births at its facility, Sutter Solano Medical Center will close its maternity ward in May, according to a Feb. 9 letter sent by hospital CEO Abhishek Dosi to the California Department of Public Health. Dosi said the hospital averages about eight toContinue reading “Sutter Solano to close maternity ward in May”

Federal judge tosses Vallejo’s change of venue motion in Monterrosa lawsuit

by John Glidden | Feb. 12, 2021 VALLEJO – On Thursday, a federal judge denied a request from the city of Vallejo for a change in venue in a civil lawsuit filed by the family of Sean Monterrosa, the 22-year-old San Francisco man shot and killed by Vallejo police outside a local Walgreens last June. DistrictContinue reading “Federal judge tosses Vallejo’s change of venue motion in Monterrosa lawsuit”

Vallejo police lieutenant, who accused couple of faking 2015 kidnapping, leaves department

by John Glidden | Feb. 11, 2021 VALLEJO – A Vallejo police lieutenant who once accused a couple of lying about a kidnapping, when in reality the woman was sexually assaulted and held for ransom, has left the Vallejo Police Department. Vallejo Lt. Kenny Park officially separated from the department on Dec. 30, 2020, according toContinue reading “Vallejo police lieutenant, who accused couple of faking 2015 kidnapping, leaves department”

Vallejo losing its human resources director

by John Glidden | Feb. 9, 2021 VALLEJO – Once again, Vallejo City Manager Greg Nyhoff will need to fill a vacancy in his senior leadership team after city officials confirmed to JohnGlidden.com Tuesday night that Human Resource Director Heather Ruiz is leaving Vallejo. Vallejo spokeswoman Christina Lee said Ruiz will become the human resources directorContinue reading “Vallejo losing its human resources director”

Sources: Vallejo looking to terminate longtime police employee Lt. Herman Robinson

by John Glidden | Feb. 9, 2021 VALLEJO – Multiple sources have confirmed to JohnGlidden.com that Vallejo police Chief Shawny Williams is looking to terminate police Lt. Herman Robinson, who has been with the city’s police department for nearly 50 years. The Vallejo Times-Herald first reported on Tuesday that Robinson had been put on paid administrativeContinue reading “Sources: Vallejo looking to terminate longtime police employee Lt. Herman Robinson”

Stratton drops commission application; city staff condemns her post

by John Glidden | Feb. 9, 2021 VALLEJO – A candidate for the McCune Collection Commission has withdrawn her application after she was confronted during a recent Vallejo City Council meeting about racial comments she made in a May 2020 social media post. The Vallejo City Clerk’s Office confirmed that Julie Stratton pulled her application onContinue reading “Stratton drops commission application; city staff condemns her post”

Mike Greene named Benicia Police Chief

by John Glidden | Feb. 9, 2021 BENICIA – A 30-year veteran of the Benicia Police Department has been tapped to serve as its permanent police chief, Benicia City Manager Erik Upson announced Monday. Police Capt. Mike Greene was made the permanent chief of police – nearly five months after he was picked to serve asContinue reading “Mike Greene named Benicia Police Chief”

Relatives of Willie McCoy, other impacted families to rally for police reform in Sacramento on Tuesday

by John Glidden | Feb. 8, 2021 VALLEJO – The families of relatives killed by law enforcement will rally at the California State Capitol on Tuesday to demand police reform, according to a press release from local civil rights attorney Melissa Nold on behalf of the impacted families. The rally will also mark the second anniversaryContinue reading “Relatives of Willie McCoy, other impacted families to rally for police reform in Sacramento on Tuesday”

Officials: Website issue shouldn’t affect Vallejo meetings

by John Glidden | Feb. 6, 2021 VALLEJO – A hardware issue with Vallejo’s website vendor, Intrado/West, won’t affect Tuesday night’s Vallejo City Council meetings, city spokeswoman Christina Lee told JohnGlidden.com Saturday night. Lee confirmed that upcoming meetings will be hosted on a temporary webpage the city has created in response to the outage. The outage,Continue reading “Officials: Website issue shouldn’t affect Vallejo meetings”

Vallejo City Council to mull purchase of 10 license plate readers for Mare Island

by John Glidden | Feb. 5, 2021 VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council will be asked Tuesday to approve the purchase 10 automated license plate readers (ALPR) for use on Mare Island. In a written report to the council, Vallejo police Chief Shawny Williams said the readers will “enhance the security of Mare Island and addContinue reading “Vallejo City Council to mull purchase of 10 license plate readers for Mare Island”

City of Vallejo websites offline since Thursday afternoon; officials say outage not ransomware attack

by John Glidden | Feb. 4, 2021 VALLEJO – An unspecified hardware failure is being blamed for knocking the city of Vallejo websites offline for nearly two days. As of 10 a.m. Saturday, both http://www.cityofvallejo.net and vallejopd.net were still offline, more than 44 hours after they first became unavailable for use. Vallejo spokeswoman Christina Lee confirmedContinue reading “City of Vallejo websites offline since Thursday afternoon; officials say outage not ransomware attack”

City of Vallejo hires third risk manager since 2018

by John Glidden | Feb. 3, 2021 VALLEJO – One of the city’s top administrative positions was recently filled for the third time since August 2018. City officials announced at the Jan. 26 Vallejo City Council meeting that Armond Sarkis has been hired as risk manager to oversee and manage the city’s liabilities. Sarkis replaces ErikaContinue reading “City of Vallejo hires third risk manager since 2018”

Vallejo councilwoman speaks out against use of waterfront property as new VPD headquarters

by John Glidden | Feb. 2, 2021 VALLEJO – Councilwoman Tina Arriola took to social media on Tuesday to express her displeasure over a 2019 Vallejo City Council decision to purchase property along the city’s waterfront and transform it into the new police headquarters. In an interview with JohnGlidden.com, Arriola confirmed that her request to agendizeContinue reading “Vallejo councilwoman speaks out against use of waterfront property as new VPD headquarters”

Councilman Brown confronts commission applicant who posted racial slur about him

by John Glidden | Feb. 1, 2021 VALLEJO – Tensions boiled over during a special Vallejo City Council meeting Monday night after Councilman Hakeem Brown confronted a commission applicant who posted a racial slur about him on social media last year. Brown pressed Julie Stratton, who is white, to explain herself after she wrote in aContinue reading “Councilman Brown confronts commission applicant who posted racial slur about him”

Vallejo pays $52,500 to settle excessive lawsuit brought by man filming traffic stop

by John Glidden | Feb. 1, 2021 VALLEJO – The city has settled an excessive force lawsuit brought by a local man who was thrown to the ground and choked as he recorded his interaction with Vallejo police Officer Jarrett Tonn in April 2017, according to a settlement agreement obtained by JohnGlidden.com. Last September, Vallejo officialsContinue reading “Vallejo pays $52,500 to settle excessive lawsuit brought by man filming traffic stop”

Benicia council to approve new contract with Upson

by John Glidden | Jan. 27, 2021 BENICIA – Two weeks after naming Erik Upson as the permanent city manager, the Benicia City Council will meet on Tuesday to approve Upson’s employment contract. Upson will earn a monthly salary of $19,952, good for a base salary of $239,424 per year, according to his employment contract. TheContinue reading “Benicia council to approve new contract with Upson”

Vallejo City Council OKs new flag policy

by John Glidden | Jan. 27, 2021 VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council signed off on a new flag policy at its meeting Tuesday night codifying the process on how flags can be displayed on city-owned flagpoles. The new policy requires the council first adopt a resolution authorizing the display of any commemorative flags at eitherContinue reading “Vallejo City Council OKs new flag policy”

GVRD board to honor Karen Sims on Thursday

by John Glidden | Jan. 26, 2021 VALLEJO – On Thursday, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District Board of Directors will hold a moment of silence to honor former Director Karen Sims who died suddenly on Dec. 11. She was 67. A community activist, Sims was appointed to the board of directors in December 2019 Sims alsoContinue reading “GVRD board to honor Karen Sims on Thursday”

Vallejo officers cleared of any wrongdoing in McCoy shooting

by John Glidden | Jan. 14, 2021 VALLEJO – A special prosecutor has determined that six Vallejo police officers were “legally justified,” when they shot and killed 20-year-old Willie McCoy outside a local Taco Bell in February 2019. Michael Ramos declined to bring charges against officers Anthony Cano, Ryan McMahon, Collin Eaton, Bryan Glick, Jordon Patzer,Continue reading “Vallejo officers cleared of any wrongdoing in McCoy shooting”

Rep. Thompson to hold webinar on Coronavirus Relief for Small Businesses

JohnGlidden.com staff report | Jan. 13, 2021 Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, will host a webinar on Coronavirus relief for small businesses this Friday, Thompson’s office announced. All constituents in California’s Fifth Congressional District are invited to join the webinar which will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST. Thompson’s office said thisContinue reading “Rep. Thompson to hold webinar on Coronavirus Relief for Small Businesses”