No signs of Thanksgiving bump in Covid numbers A3
Vanden heads to Windsor for NorCal title game B1
friday | December 3, 2021 | $1.00
dailyrepublic.com | Well said. Well read.
Traditional gun shows at fairgrounds will continue Todd R. Hansen
thansen@dailyrepublic.net
Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic
A Sheepsfoot roller compacts the soil over a bridge under construction on the Interstate 80/Interstate 680/Highway
12 Interchange Project in Fairfield, Thursday, prior to a weekend shutdown to remove a bridge.
Caltrans prepares for 10-hour
I-80 closure for bridge removal Todd R. Hansen
thansen@dailyrepublic.net
FAIRFIELD — Crews on Thursday were making some of the final preparations for this weekend’s removal of the connector bridge from Highway 12 to eastbound Interstate 80. The work will cause a full I-80 closure from 11 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday, the state Department of Transportation reported. Kiewit, of Fairfield, is the contractor on the $61 million project – the second package in the seven-phase $740 million Interstate 80/Interstate 680/Highway 12 Interchange Project. The current project is funded through a combination of the Transportation State Improvement Program, voter-approved Senate Bill 1 funding and area bridge tolls, Caltrans stated. The breakdown of those sources was
Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic
A semi-truck drives along the Highway 12 overpass onto eastbound Interstate 80, near the site of the Interstate 80/Interstate 680/Highway 12 Interchange Project in Fairfield, Thursday. not provided. “We are about halfway through Package 2A,” said Pedro Quintana, spokesman for Caltrans District 4 in the Bay Area. He said about $40 million has been spent so far during this phase. The next step is designed to ease congestion as travelers will be able to use separate lanes
to Green Valley Road or to Interstate 80 on the new connector. Right now there is a single lane. “We will be working on the permanent eastbound Highway 12 connector to I-80,” Quintana said. The full phase is expected to be completed in the winter of 2022. The connector bridge that is coming down is
406 feet long and was built in 1967, Quintana said. It was not immediately known how many vehicles use the bridge on a regular basis. Caltrans invited the media out Thursday to review where the work stands. When the demolition starts, motorists traveling west on I-80 will be directed onto the Interstate 680 connector ramp and travel south to connect to Interstate 780 (Curtola Parkway) then back onto I-80. Motorists traveling east on I-80 will be directed to the Red Top Road exit, onto Lopes Road to follow the detour back onto the I-80 onramp. Flaggers and message signs will alert motorists of the detours and potential delays, which are expected to be 30 to 45 minutes. Work on the full interSee Caltrans, Page A6
Suisun celebrates Hanukkah in hub of city government Todd R. Hansen thansen@dailyrepublic.net
SUISUN CITY — The Jewish observance of Hanukkah was celebrated Thursday at Suisun City City Hall. It was the first city-sponsored Hanukkah event, and reportedly was three years in the making. The city paid for the 12-foot menorah. “My heart is full to see each of you here on this momentous occasion,” Suisun City Mayor Lori Wilson said. “We have such a diverse community and I believe that diversity gives us such strength . . . . Tonight is one of those nights we celebrate.” SUNDAY
Parade coming this weekend. Look for the insert in the DR.
It was the fifth night of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration recognizing the retaking of Jerusalem, and the cleansing of the Second Temple, as part of the Maccabees Rebellion in 164 BC. Rabbi Chaim Zaklos, from Chabad of Solano County, acknowledged the city’s efforts to bring the event to Suisun City. “This event is 100% initiated and run by the city,” Zaklos said. The event was held on the backside of City Hall, along the waterfront of the harbor. About 25 people attended. Fairfield, as a government, also sponsored its first Hanukkah event Tuesday.
VALLEJO — The first gun show Carlene Ellis attended was shortly after her husband had died. She was looking for a way to protect herself and the elderly man who she cared for at her home. Over the years, she said, she has not only become an advocate – especially for other women looking for the same personal security as she did – but she has become a competitive pistol shooter and has attained levels of success for her marksmanship. “Talking about confidence,” Ellis said, speaking at Wednesday’s Solano County Fair Association board meeting at McCormack Hall on the fairgrounds in Vallejo. She was one of more than 50 people who attended the meeting, the vast majority urging the board to continue hosting gun shows at the fairgrounds. Seventeen of 20 written comments received by the fair association prior to the meeting favored holding gun shows, as did 16 of the 17 speakers who appeared in person. A handful of others who called to join the meeting also supported hosting the events. The board voted 4-2 to continue the gun shows, in essence reversing a 4-1 decision in August to stop holding the events
Rabbi Chaim Zaklos, top, lights the Menorah during the 1st Menorah Lighting on the Suisun Waterfront Hanukkah celebration at Suisun City Hall, Thursday. Mendel Zaklos, bottom, 11, dresses as a dreidle.
INDEX Arts B6 | Classifieds B7 | Comics A7, B5 | Crossword A8, B6 Obituaries A4 | Opinion B4 | Sports B1 | TV Daily A7, B5 WEATHER 65 | 45 Patchy fog, then giving way to sunny. Five-day forecast on B10.
See Guns, Page A6
House passes stopgap bill to fund government Tribune Content Agency
Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic photos
beginning in 2022. The two newest members of the Fair Board certainly had an impact at their first meeting as directors. Jeff Moorhead, representing the 5th District, made the motion to continue hosting gun shows, and Rhonda Smith, representing the 1st District, joined the majority. Valerie Williams, 5th District, and Manuel Angel, 1st District, dissented. “I have done my research with regard to this matter, and I have listened intently to the speakers,” Smith said in the closing comments by the board members, which followed the parade of comments favoring gun shows at the fairgrounds. Many of those speakers believed stopping the shows was a violation of their First and Second Amendment rights. Their comments had several other common themes, including their position that stopping gun shows will in no way reduce gunrelated crime. Speakers argued that gun shows provide muchneeded gun education, which in the long run results in greater gun safety. They noted the community atmosphere at the events and how they offer more vendor opportunities than just firearms.
WASHINGTON — The House passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government operating past Friday, sending it to the Senate where a group of Republicans is threatening to delay action over objections to federal vaccine and testing mandates. The 221-212 vote Thursday was largely along party lines as House GOP leaders urged their members
to oppose the measure, which would fund U.S. government agencies at current levels through Feb. 18. That would give Democrats and Republicans time to finish negotiating full-year appropriations bills. The temporary funding bill now faces a potential slowdown in the Senate that could trigger a brief weekend shutdown. A group of GOP lawSee Bill, Page A6
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