Just as the 2020 holiday season was beginning in earnest, Solano Superior Court Judge Bradley Nelson upheld the gift of surveillance accountability that the California State legislature had provided state residents when they passed 2015 s Senate Bill 741 (Cal. Govt. Code § 53166). Judge Bradley s order brought positive closure to a battle that began last March when Electronic Frontier Alliance member Oakland Privacy notified the Vallejo City Council, and Mayor, that their police department’s proposal to acquire a Cell Site Simulator (CSS) violated California state law.
Introduced by then state-senator Jerry Hill, SB 741 requires an open and transparent process before a local government agency in California may acquire CSS technology. EFF explained this in our own letter to the Vallejo Mayor and City Council days after the illegal purchase had been approved. Specifically, the law requires an agency to write, and publish online for public review, a policy that ensures the collect
Cost-benefit analysis on Mare Island cemetery gets green light
The action was triggered with the veto override of the National Defense Authorization Act.
Provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021, which were authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Mike Thompson, authorize Veterans Affairs to begin the study.
The department has six months to complete the analysis.
“I would like to again thank Rep. Mike Thompson and Sen. Dianne Feinstein for all their legislation since 2018, as well as the Vallejo City Council, the Solano (County) Board of Supervisors, state Sen. Bill Dodd and Assemblyman Tim Grayson, for fighting for the nearly 1,000 veterans and their family members buried at (Mare Island Naval Cemetery) so that they are properly honored in a national shrine just like all our veterans buried in U.S.-owned cemeteries in America and around the world,” wrote Nestor Aliga, a retired Army colonel who has been heading the effort to have the VA tak
Vallejo City Council unanimously approves new term sheet in North Mare Island Nimitz deal [Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.]
Dec. 17 The Vallejo City Council unanimously approved an updated term sheet regarding the Nimitz deal with North Mare Island on Tuesday.
The term sheet is non-binding and merely a jumping off point for negotiations, according to Gillian Hayes, deputy city manager. Still, the changes have alarmed some residents who are wary of “murky” land deals that have caused the city problems in the past.
According to the city manager’s office, the changes to the term sheet had to be made for a few reasons. First, the 2019 term sheet was created before Southern Land Company was brought in to lead the redevelopment. Second, the soil assessment of the area has proven to be more complicated (read, expensive, to the tune of between $19 and $48 million) than anticipated, and the land must be improved before anything can be built on it.
Supervisors ink Lakes Water System agreement with Vallejo
FAIRFIELD Solano County supervisors formalized an agreement Tuesday with Vallejo to identify and implement long-term solutions to the Lakes Water System.
The board approved a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement defining the “terms, roles and responsibilities of each agency in carrying out the terms of the agreement.”
The Green Valley Landowners Association, which represents about 95% of existing customers, endorsed the JEPA.
The system provides water that is safe to drink to 2,800 customers in Solano and Napa counties. New customers will be allowed, but the city has final say on whether the current system can handle the extra load.