Vallejo Together

06/24/2019

Vallejo church helps neighborhood
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

[email protected] on Twitter

Vallejo’s Emmanuel Temple Apostolic Church was a busy place Saturday, hosting its annual yard sale and car wash fundraiser, a community cleanup and an expansion of its community garden, coordinators of those efforts said.

At the sale, where booths and blankets spread out around the church parking lot, were displayed all manner of items for sale including clothes, shoes, hats, jewelry, art, plants, and even hotdogs, at bargain basement prices.

Johnnie Hubbard, associate pastor and COO of the church’s Emmanuel Arms Community Inc. said this is the fundraiser’s 11th year.

Vendors paid $10 for a space and keep what they take in, she said. The money helps fund the agency’s community outreach work, Hubbard said.

“We give away food on Mondays and Fridays, and fruits and vegetables on the second and fourth Tuesday from 2 to 3 p.m.

There’s a clothes giveaway every Monday, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.” she said. The nonprofit also puts on an annual coat drive, a National Night Out Crime Prevention night and resource fairs.

With the car wash, done by the youth of the church, the yard sale event raised some $1,500 last time, Hubbard said.

“It’s very important,” Hubbard said. “We feed people all the time and we pay for all the food, except what we get from the Food Bank. And we donate the clothes. A lot of people tell me they wouldn’t be able to make it, without this. This is where they shop; the old people especially.”

Volunteer and church member Sandra P. on Saturday, was manning a several tables-long booth piled high with clothing of all descriptions and ranging in size from baby to extra large and even maternity. She said she donated much of it herself. She said she hears the occasional “thank you,” from customers who might not have access to such things were it not for this sale and the giveaways the church does.

“They say it’s cheaper than the Goodwill or the Salvation Army, and they’re happy to come here so they don’t have to spend money they don’t have when they have four, five, six kids,” she said. “I had children myself and I worked and I wasn’t always able to afford things. So this was a place I could get dishes, or play clothes, and I’m happy to put a smile on another parent’s face.”

There were also a couple of informational booths, like for fee phone service and one for something called GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit that helps low income home owners get free solar systems and provides job training in solar installation, said Juan Bernal and Richard Fisher, who were manning that booth Saturday. They said it was the agency’s first time at the event.

“We hope to build partnerships with other community members and get the word out there, that it can save people money, helps with job training and fights climate change,” Bernal said.

Vallejo native and regular church volunteer Linda Field said she was shopping for bargains as she had her car washed in a corner of the church parking lot Saturday.

“This is nice. It’s good,” she said.

For information on GRID Alternatives, call (866) 9214696, or gridsolar.org.

Vallejo’s Emmanuel Temple Apostolic Church and its charity arm are always looking for volunteers. To do so, call 642-2391. For information, visit, emmanualarmsinc. org.

Contact reporter Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at 707-5536824.

Volunteer Sandra P, shows off some of the wares for sale at her set of tables.

RACHEL RASKINZRIHEN — TIMES-CHURCH>> HERALD

06/24/2019

06/21/2019

Thank you Club Stride 😃

Relating. Engaging. Unifying. Launch for the new season of Girl's Eye, a broadcast for girls to highlight the unspoken truth of the teenage girl experience. ...

06/15/2019

Co****le becomes a rising sport at Vallejo brewery

People play the game Co****le at Napa Smith Brewery in Vallejo last week. (Thomas Gase – Times-Herald)
By THOMAS GASE | [email protected] | Vallejo Times Herald
PUBLISHED: June 13, 2019 at 5:57 pm | UPDATED: June 14, 2019 at 5:48 pm

Tonmar Johnson wants to bring the city of Vallejo together and all it took was a hard-to-find watering hole to make it happen.

Well, also a few boards with holes in them.

Johnson, along with other co-founder and CFO executives Ray Thomas and Rick Knaus, have partnered with Napa Smith Brewery to form one of the fastest-growing venues in Northern California for Co****le. Co****le is a game in which players take turns throwing bags of plastic resin at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. A bag in the hole scores three points, while one on the board scores one point.

Johnson said he began playing the sport with his fraternity brother and after winning nine games in a row, became “hooked” on the sport.

“We were looking for places around Vallejo to host Co****le events and Napa Smith seemed eager to be involved,” Johnson said last week. “It was the perfect match, the perfect timing.”

Johnson said that on Thursday’s at the brewery there is a blind draw from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and that a player is guaranteed four games to play for admission. During the four games you will be partnered up with a different player until the playoffs of top 16 players. Johnson said that at the venue’s first tournament in March, approximately 100 players competed. This past weekend, in conjunction with ACL (American Co****le League) the venue had another tournament that according to Johnson “was a major success, with people coming from all four corners of California.”

Johnson’s business partner, Thomas, agreed that things are going very well at Napa Smith Brewery with Co****le.

“For us that love competitive sports that are having our bodies start to break down, this is a fun sport where you don’t feel anything the next day,” Thomas said. “You get players competing anywhere from the ages of 8 to 70 here. Anybody can play. It’s a big social thing.”

Johnson admitted that he loves “newbies” and that of the 25 or so current players that are regulars, 20 of those were newbies that had never played the game when they showed up at the brewery to originally just drink. There is a long window between the brewery and big warehouse area where drinkers are able to watch people play the game. This is how a lot of potential Co****le players get interested.

“It’s a good environment and very positive,” Johnson said. “People come to the brewery, see all the people having fun and they decide to test the waters themselves. We guarantee that if you come here and don’t have fun we’ll give your money back. I mean, just look at this crowd here today. We don’t care what you look like, what sexual orientation you are, what gender you are, what race you are. Nothing matters except that we all get along here and have a fun time.”

Shane Carver, who is from Utah but now lives in Vallejo and works in Benicia, has been coming to play Co****le for a few months and loves it.

“It’s a great place to hang out,” Carver said. “Everyone is relaxed, there is no animosity and hey, it’s only seven bucks (minus the prices for beer).”

Ron Stokes, who is from Walnut Creek and runs West Coast Co****le, said the Napa Smith Brewery venue is growing faster than just about anywhere he’s seen.

“It’s a brewery with a lot of open space and the people are awesome,” Stokes said. “That’s what draws a lot of people. You have some of the best players in the state coming here. The sport is growing because it’s now on ESPN3 a lot. It’s also very big in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia.

Renee Kawamoto, who lives in Vallejo, gave a lot of credit to Johnson for making people feel welcome at the venue.

“He’s very positive and he comes around and says hello to everyone playing,” Kawamoto said. “He makes it feel like a big family here.”

Carver agreed with Kawamoto.

“The thing with Johnson is that he is putting in a lot of time and he’s all about the community here,” Carver said. “He’s here for us. He’s made a safe place for adults, kids, everyone. He’s not really doing this for him. He just really cares a lot about Vallejo.”

Napa Smith Brewery is located at 101 Yolano Drive in Vallejo.

Johnson, Thomas, Knaus partner with Napa Smith Brewery

Shane Carver of Vallejo competes in the game Co****le at Napa Smith Brewery in Vallejo last week. (Thomas Gase – Times-Herald)

06/14/2019

Thank you:
Youth Group of Community Presbyterian Church for preparing and delivering 50 meals to our family and friends in need.
Thank you for walking railroad tracks to find them and for spending time with them. They enjoyed your company!

Together, We Can 🙏🏽❤️

06/14/2019

Thank you:
Fresh Start Church for delivering 50 meals to our families and friends in need! They loved the pizza, water and dessert!!
Together, We Can 🙏🏽❤️

06/14/2019

Cancer Survivors Day marked with event
Times-Herald staff report

Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center marks National Cancer Survivors Day on Saturday, June 29 with its 6th Annual “Celebrate Life in Full Bloom” event — a day of learning, wellness and living after cancer.

It’s free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Drop-ins are welcome, Kaiser officials said.

Kaiser Permanente specialists will discuss the latest advancements in cancer treatments and research, as well as the mind/ body connection to surviving and thriving after cancer.

The Kaiser event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center, 975 Sereno Drive. Activities include:

• Tatjana Kolevska, will discuss the latest developments in cancer treatment and how Kaiser Permanente is a leader in cancer care

• Uvinie Lubecki, founder and CEO of “Leading Through Connection” will talk about the power of compassion to transform relationships

• Chris Nauman, an oncologist and musician will provide a stretch and musical interlude, showing how music can heal the mind, body and soul

• Educational food demonstration with Chef Robert and Dr. Levy

• Lunchtime discussion with information on Kaiser Permanente’s expert clinical care for breast cancer, melanoma and clinical trials

• Networking with other survivors Lunch will be provided to all attendees. Visit kp.org/napasolano for more information and to register.

Welcome to Kaiser Permanente Napa-Solano. As your partner in health, we are committed to helping you meet your personal health goals.

05/28/2019

EVENT ADVISORY

Contact: Myrna Hayes, volunteer Preserve Manager
Mare Island Heritage Trust
PH: 707-249-9633 cell
EMail: [email protected]
http://www.mareislandpreserve.org

Vallejo City Council May Decide Fate of Treasured Regional Park on Mare Island on Tuesday
Surprise staff recommendation to Vallejo City Council to search for a replacement managing organization stuns volunteer founders and threatens Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve

[VALLEJO], CA – Myrna Hayes, volunteer Preserve Manager and co-founder of the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve, said today, that she was stunned when she learned this past Friday before a 3-day weekend and the busiest at the Mare Island Preserve, that a recommendation by Vallejo City Manager Greg Nyhoff, asks the members of the Vallejo City Council to authorize him to prepare a Request for Qualifications for the management of the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve. The proposal is the last item on the Tuesday, May 28, 2019 City Council meeting agenda.

The timing of the request follows the spraying of the Preserve with what volunteers believed was and appeared to have been Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup. Following a plea for any information regarding who had conducted the spraying which came as a complete surprise to the volunteer team who manage the Preserve, the City of Vallejo admitted it had done the spraying as part of planned fire control. Ms. Hayes, who first reported the application of the herbicide in the nature preserve on social media, expressed great concern that there had been no notice, or any communication about the plan. The resulting public outcry regarding the unnoticed application of the herbicide, led to the City announcing a moratorium on any spraying on City property anywhere in the town until staff could review the Citywide herbicide application program. Following the spraying incident, Councilmember Robert H. McConnell requested that an existing ad hoc committee made up of the City Manager and himself, be authorized by the City Council to work on a draft agreement with the Mare Island Heritage Trust to manage the park property. Instead, in a confusing and deeply troubling move, the City staff is recommending an action that would potentially cause the Mare Island Heritage Trust to be replaced by an unknown organization with no knowledge of or investment in the Preserve.

Treasured by countless thousands of users, the Mare Island Preserve, has spectacular 7-county views of the Bay Area and possesses a unique character due to the past use of the land as a munitions manufacturing and storage facility for the U.S. Navy. Several hundred acres of hillside habitat and wildlands is currently open to the public every Friday, Saturday and Sunday and major holidays. Some Shoreline areas and the Naval Worker’s Housing Area, both planned as additions to the Preserve, are slated to be transferred by the U.S. Navy to the City of Vallejo later this Summer.

“This is a confusing and deeply disturbing proposed action by the City of Vallejo staff”, said Myrna Hayes, President of the Mare Island Heritage Trust and the volunteer Preserve Manager. "We are disheartened that after offering the public free access to the Preserve every weekend for 10 years and opening it to the public for the first time in 150 years in 2007, the City of Vallejo is contemplating removal of our organization as daily land stewards.”, she said. Since opening the wildlands park to the public on a regular basis beginning in 2008, volunteers have hosted hundreds of events, including the popular annual Golf Ball Hunt and Easter Egg Exchange, Mother’s Day Tea in a cultural landscape in the ruins of a former Navy worker’s home and garden, and the popular NightMARE Island Haunt. The San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival, which just completed its 24th season and the San Francisc io Bay Osprey Days educate the public about nature and the cultural history of the Ammunition Depot founded in 1857 as the first Ammunition Depot in the Pacific, followed by the founding of the U.S. Navy’s oldest cemetery in the Pacific, in 1858.

A plan supported by the City of Vallejo with Bechtel and Shell for a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) tanker terminal and 1500 watt power plant, was defeated by the community in 2003. Following that decision, Ms. Hayes was appointed to a 35-member Regional Park Taskforce by the Mayor of Vallejo to help guide the development of a plan to as the Mayor said, “Make the development of and management of the park, pencil out.” The group was guided in the final preparation of its recommendations by a City selected consultant, the Dangermond Group, headed by Pete Dangermond, the former State Parks Director for Governor Jerry Brown, the first time he served as the Governor of California. The Taskforce Report was submitted to the City Council in December 2007. Three weeks after the volunteer group opened the Preserve regularly in April of 2008, the City of Vallejo declared bankruptcy. The volunteer group which soon incorporated as a Non-Profit Organization, has operated the Preserve continuously since with no funding by the City of Vallejo.

Supporters of the Mare Island Heritage Trust believe there is a real sense of urgency to communicate to the public and ask for their participation in the process, They have expressed a desire for complete transparency and request that the City make an effort to communicate with the volunteer operators. They have created a website to help individuals quickly learn how to participate in the process. Visit www.savemareislandpreserve.org

The Preserve is a several hundred acre nature and cultural history park, all of which is listed as a City of Vallejo designated Historic District and includes a National Register Listed Historic District made up of the Navy’s oldest cemetery in the Pacific, the Naval Ordnance Worker’s Housing Area and the oldest of the historic ammunition storage magazines.

The more than 200-acre property is owned by the City of Vallejo. The Preserve is open Friday through Sunday and holidays, 10:00am to approximately an hour after sunset and is staffed by volunteers with the Mare Island Heritage Trust. Volunteers have hosted free regularly scheduled public access at the Preserve since April 2008 in concert with the City of Vallejo. For more information about the Preserve visit: Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve on Facebook.

The Preserve is located at the southern end of Azuar Dr. at 120 Azuar Dr. on Mare Island in Vallejo, CA.

Please note: Tours of The Preserve are available to any reporter or photographer. Call/text Myrna Hayes, 707-249-9633 (cell) to schedule.

05/25/2019

Go Mesai ❤️❤️❤️

An 11-year-old shareholder wants to be sure the company's growth strategy will work for another 10 years. Founder Chuck Schwab said it will work for a long, long time.

05/25/2019

“It's just a relief of stress. I’m just so peaceful. I’m at peace right now.”