Annual Greek Festival returns Saturday A4
Jake Levengood is center of attention at OSU B1
WEDNESDAY | July 5, 2023 | $1.00
DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.
Grand jury calls for consolidated dispatch center Daily Republic Staff
DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
Daily Republic file
Former Suisun City Fire Department Chief Mike O’Brien poses with the department’s first real piece
of fire equipment, a 1857 S.R. Spinney hand pumper, purchased by the department in 1861.
Historic hand pumper will have new home in Sacramento Daily Republic Staff
DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
SUISUN CITY — A piece of the city’s firefighting history is headed to a new home. The city council voted unanimously to send its 1857 S.R. Spinner Hand Pumper to the Sacramento Regional Fire Museum where it will be on display. The S.R. Spinney is the only known and working hand-pumper in existence. In 1861, when the Suisun City Fire Department was first established, they purchased the equipment, which served the community through the 1880s by what was then the Union
Engine Company. Firefighter Tom Kamin gave a brief history of the hand-pumper. It would require a crew of about 300 to put out a house fire, he said. After two to three minutes, they are physically drained. he spoke. It also needed about 30 guys on water buckets. It sat behind a white picket fence until the 1960s when the United States Forest Service refurbished it and used it. The city got it back about 25 years ago served in competition for a few years. It has been on display in the city hall rotunda. “The museum is looking for this artifact,” Kamin said. “They will clean it up, take care of it and pump
it on regular basis. It’s a prime opportunity and good bargain for the city.” It is currently stored at the City Corporation Yard, which does not provide for a temperature-controlled environment. The storage location at the Sacramento Regional Fire Museum provides for a temperature controlled, monitored fire alarm and fire sprinkler system on site. The council voted not to spend more than $1,200 annually to store the equipment at the Sacramento Regional Fire Museum. For information on the fire museum, visit https://www. sacfiremuseum.org.
FAIRFIELD — The 2022-23 Solano County civil grand jury is calling for the creation of a countywide consolidated dispatch center to be housed in a single facility. “There is a lapse and sometimes inappropriate delays between receipt of incoming calls and fulfillment. This greatly affects a rapid response to emergency issues. Dispatch delays increase the danger for property and lives,” the June 23 report states as part of its summary. That summary adds, “The jury determined that there is a major disparity within the departments relating to dispatch and emergency response times. A consolidation of all dispatch centers to one facility would adequately serve the residents. The report was particularly critical of the Vallejo system, stating the city’s dispatch center has longer “call processing times” than all other agency dispatch centers.
The report states that the average processing time for a 9-1-1 emergency fire call is 7.06 minutes, and the average time for a police call was reported at 84.26 minutes. It was not immediately clear if those times should have been reported in seconds instead of minutes. Fairfield’s average 9-1-1 dispatch processing time for fire and police was 61 seconds; Vacaville’s was 24.15 seconds; and for the unincorporated area of the county, the average processing time was 62 seconds, the grand jury report states. Suisun City’s average call processing time for fire and police, as reported by the grand jury, was 92 seconds, and Benicia’s processing average time for police and fire was listed at 86 seconds. Dixon and Rio Vista dispatch did not have times listed The report issued three findings and corresponding recommendations: See Dispatch, Page A8
Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file (2018)
Newsom hits the road to campaign for Biden in Idaho, building his own base in red states Los Angeles Times At a private fundraiser in the middle of Donald Trump’s America, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was on a mission to help President Joe Biden. Newsom, who hit the road during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, told a group of roughly 50 Democrats gathered in the backyard of a mansion overlooking the Boise foothills Saturday to make the “powerful case for why we should be passionate, enthusiastic about Biden’s reelection.” At a time when states like Idaho, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 4 to 1, are enacting laws to restrict abortion, gay rights and advance other culturally divisive pillars of the GOP agenda, Newsom said only one man could be trusted to turn the tide: Biden. The 80-year-old president has used his years in office to aggressively fight for Democratic priorities, Newsom told them, including LGBTQ+ rights, gun control and clean energy, while rebuilding the American economy
Hannah Wiley/Los Angeles Times/TNS
In the last three months, Gov. Gavin Newsom has given more than $3 million to President Biden and other Democrats in Republican-run states such as Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida. post-Covidd and keeping democracy afloat. “I’m really proud of this president, and I hope you are as well,” Newsom said to a crowd happy to have one of the party’s rising stars. Saturday’s swing through Idaho didn’t just energize Biden’s muchneglected base in such a conservative corner of the West. It helped build a future one for Newsom. Many of the Democrats who flocked to hear Newsom speak in Idaho and at a separate fundraising event earlier that day in Bend, Ore., said they thought the 55-yearold liberal governor offered a glimpse into the
future of their party, a bolder, more charismatic and younger potential heir of Biden’s legacy in the post-Trump years. “He looks like an incredible presidential candidate,” said Russ Buschert, an Idaho Democratic Party trustee. Michele Anderson, a real estate broker in Bend and former Bay Area resident, praised Newsom for using his “pretty impactful” voice and his willingness to take a stand on the most critical issues facing the nation while pushing back against Republicans eroding the progress made during the country’s recent history.
“I appreciate a lot that Joe Biden has done, but I think it’s time for that next generation of leaders, too,” Anderson said. “And I see Gavin Newsom being a part of that.” Newsom says he has no interest in the White House and that his crosscountry travels are to promote his party and president before the 2024 election. But his stumping for Biden tees Newsom up nicely for other job prospects, said Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant in California. His public feuding with Republicans fills a “void” in his party and sends a message that he’s a Democrat willing and unafraid to take on the MAGA wing of the GOP – a crusade that helps elevate Newsom’s national profile and build a database of supporters along the way. “He’s putting in time and effort that no one else outside the White House appears to be,” Stutzman said. “He’s acting like the candidate in waiting. “Someday it may pay off for him.” The visit to Idaho, which kicked off Newsom’s second tour through
Dispatchers work in the Solano County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center, August 9, 2018.
Suisun Farmers Market set to debut July 15 Amy Maginnis-Honey
AMAGINNIS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET
SUISUN CITY — The Fairfield Suisun Chamber of Commerce seeks food vendors, artisans, nonprofits and commercial vendors to become part of the Suisun Waterfront Certified Farmers Market. The season will run from July 15 through the end of October. It will operate 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 28. “Farmers Markets have long been a way for communities to gather together to provide not only goods and services, but cultural exchange,” shared Vice Mayor Princess Washington, who spearheaded the effort
to bring the market to Suisun City. Unfortunately, the waterfront is a food desert so this will also serve as a way to provide fresh produce in that area.” Washington credits Yolie Ramirez, of the chamber, for ensuring individuals on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can use their CalFresh cards to purchase fresh produce at the market. She specifically reached out to the chamber for their dedication in not only representing our local businesses, but in serving the overall community, See Market, Page A8
SALE
Come See Our ur Savings From
10-30% OFF
June 30th July 17th
Living • Dining D i •H Di Home Offi Of Office • Bedroom
See Newsom, Page A8
12 Months FREE Financing*
INDEX Arts B4 | Classifieds B7 | Comics A7, B6 Crossword B3, B4 | Opinion B5 Sports B1 | TV Daily A7, B6
WEATHER 78 | 55 Sunny. Five-day forecast on B10.
• Simply Amish • Flexsteel • Stanton
395-A E. Monte Vista Ave. Vacaville • 707.449.6385 LaineysFurnitureForLiving.com