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covid-19 pandemic
TRANSPORTATION
Caltrans to study use of GPS to develop precise user-based fee Todd R. Hansen
thansen@dailyrepublic.net
FAIRFIELD — More people are driving electric cars or hybrids, and gas-powered vehicles are more efficient than ever. That means fewer gallons of gas are being purchased, and that means less gas tax is being generated to maintain, repair or construct roads and bridges across the country. So for the past five years, the federal government – and many states – have been trying to figure out how to develop a user-based funding source. To that end, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway
Administration awarded $18.7 million to eight “Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives” projects “to test new user-based funding methods for highways and bridges. The program helps states explore innovative new ways to provide long-term support for the Highway Trust Fund.” The pilot projects under the Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives program allow states to learn more about potential new user fees structures that can complement traditional funding sources that states rely on to build and improve the nation’s highway and bridge infraSee Caltrans, Page A9
Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic
Construction continues on new homes in The Villages neighborhood in Fairfield, Friday.
Report shows Fairfield has chance to
fast-track recovery
Glen Faison gfaison@dailyrepublic.net
Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic
Traffic travels along Interstate-80 in Vacaville, Thursday.
anti-asian hate crimes
Asian Americans fearful as 3,800 incidents reported during pandemic Tribune Content Agency Anastasia Antonius used to take her time getting from her car to the Seattle church where she works as an office manager. The Indonesian mother would often stand leisurely outside the vehicle while grabbing her belongings and unbuckling her child from the car seat before dropping him off at he church-run day care. But a series of disturbing anti-Asian incidents outside the church, which has been targeted by
racist graffiti four times this year, has forced her to change her routine. “To tell you the truth, I just run from the parking lot to the building now,” she told the Daily News. The minor change in Antonius’ daily life is just one example of how Asian Americans are shifting their behavior in light of a disturbing rise of anti-Asian harassment and violence across the country, with many of them staying away from public areas to avoid See Hate, Page A9
Evaluating the SF Giants’ outfield depth chart A10
FAIRFIELD — A full recovery of thousands of lost jobs in Fairfield, at least in terms of raw numbers if not in the specific jobs lost, could happen a full two years or more before the state projects employment numbers statewide will return to pre-pandemic levels. That’s the assessment of economist Robert Eyler, who presented an overview of his thesis this week to the City Council. Eyler is working with a group of economic development firms to chart a path forward for Fairfield. He is a professor of economics at Sonoma State University and president of Economic Forensics and
Analytics in Petaluma. He shared a baseline analysis with the City Council of the economic situation in Fairfield and the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic and state-ordered restrictions on businesses and other activities. Fairfield represented about a quarter of Solano County’s $22 billion economy in 2019, Eyler said. He said it is possible for the city to recover eyler from the Covid-19 pandemic faster than both the county and the state. The city was home to approximately 43,000 jobs prior to the pandemic, Eyler reports. That
Todd R. Hansen thansen@dailyrepublic.net
Aaron Rosenblatt/DR file (2020)
Patrons eat lunch under an outdoor tent at Denny’s in Fairfield, Sept. 15, 2020.
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FAIRFIELD — Solano County is in line to receive an estimated $86.8 million from the $1.86 trillion federal Covid-19 relief package. “All told, county governments across the country will receive a total of $65.1 billion in general Covid-19 assistance payments, with funds allocated to each county based on population,” states a memo sent to the Board of Supervisors from Paragon, the federal lobbying group
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contracted with the county. “In addition, (it) provides fiscal aid to states ($193.5 billion), cities ($65.1 billion), tribal governments ($20 billion) and U.S. territories ($4.5 billion). The state of California is expected to receive approximately $26 billion,” the memo states. “Notably, counties (and municipalities) will receive payments in two tranches, with 50% allocated not less than 60 days after bill enactment; the remaining 50% will be
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number plummeted to fewer than 39,000 jobs during the pandemic. Jobs totals reported to the City Council by Eyler are based on information from the state Department of Finance, the state Employment Development Department and from Eyler’s firm. Unemployment in the city tracks closely with countywide unemployment. Both experienced steep increases in the number of jobless residents after the state’s first shutdown order in March 2020. Fairfield’s unemployment rate was 3.7% in February 2020, jumped
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