Upon learning the Homeless Action Coalition’s (HAC) imminent plans to close Camp Hope, the City has begun coordinating with HAC and other service providers to ensure continued access to services and clean-up of the site. The Martinez City Council’s Ad Hoc Subcommittee on the Unhoused has been working to identify strategies to leverage our funding…

After a successful ballot measure spearheaded by community groups, the Alhambra Highlands acquisition process has almost been completed. During our last Council meeting, the City Council authorized City staff to execute the purchase and sale agreement for the property and the following day the bonds were released for sale. The biggest concern the City Council had…

Editorial: Martinez badly needs a new generation of leaders Voters should select Brianne Zorn for mayor, Jay Howard for council in District 1 and Ben Therriault in District 4 Martinez has had just two mayors in the last 38 years. Three of the five current City Council members have served at least two decades. It’s…

A sense of safety and belonging is integral to every member of a community. The City of Martinez is a community and we owe our citizens this security. Navigating how to make Martinez welcoming for all communities is a challenge, but one that we have agreed is a priority. The first step was to establish…

Martinez is situated in a unique place: we are within an hour’s drive to major metropolitan cities, and also have access to thousands of acres of open space and miles and miles of hiking and biking trails. One area of improvement for some of these trails is the lack of connectivity between them. The recent…

According to the Martinez census, 20 percent of our population is less than 18 years old (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/martinezcitycalifornia). And yet, youth issues haven’t been a priority for our Council. During a conversation with my waiter at a local restaurant (who turned out to be a recent graduate of Alhambra High School), I asked: what can we…

I have sincere appreciation to the Martinez voters who consistently support our parks and open spaces! Measure H was a $30 million bond measure approved in 2008 by the voters. It has funded upgrades to our pool, library, and each of our parks. The final three Measure H funded park projects were approved by City…

I just completed running with my team of supporters in the 20th annual Martinez Refining Company and the Martinez Education Foundation (MEF) Run for Education. Other communities must be envious that we have such a successful public-private partnership that brings the community together for a healthy event that raises community spirit, visibility, and funds for the…

A common comment by residents is “there is no parking downtown”. This concern was shared by Council as we were seeing more activity downtown and starting to receive more and more requests for parklets (outdoor seating for businesses in the parking strip), so this past year the City contracted a parking study which was included…

The staff have been busy queueing up construction projects that were approved and funded by City Council. Many people have been asking clarifying questions regarding the status of these projects, so I wanted to provide everyone an update.  Fishing Pier Temporary Repairs – The City Council approved emergency funding for repairs to the fishing pier…