Tracy Press

Publisher Emeritus Sam Matthews writes: "It was in the spring of 1994 that Glenn Willbanks, then chairman of the Fourth of July celebration for the Tracy Chamber of Commerce, was wondering how to kick off the activities in Lincoln Park. He asked me, then a member of the Chamber board, if I thought we could get some hot-air balloons to lift off early that morning, and did I know anyone who might be the right person to contact. Two words immediately came to mind: Brent Stockwell."

The owners of the building at 714 Central Ave., which had been the home of The Great Plate Bar and Grill prior to its closure five years ago because of a long list of building code violations, have a new deadline to bring the building up to code.

Tracy police seized five guns and 150 pounds of illegal fireworks after a Tracy man allegedly pointed a handgun at a driver and threatened to kill him on Wednesday.

A fire in a power pole on Tracy Boulevard between Ninth and 10th streets has closed some of the traffic lanes. The fire is out but crews from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will be on scene repairing the damage so please drive carefully through the area.

UPDATE: Cal ISO has called for a second Flex Alert for Friday between 5 and 10 p.m. The California Independent System Operator has declared a Flex Alert tomorrow calling for residents across California to conserve electricity between 5 and 10 p.m. as temperatures are expected to rise into the triple digits. The call for energy conservation is to reduce stress on the power grid and avoid local rolling power outages due to the excessive heat.... The U.S. National Weather Service issued a heat advisory starting at 11 a.m. Thursday through 9 p.m. Saturday. Temperatures are forecast to reach highs near 110 degrees across the Central Valley with the hottest afternoons forecast for Thursday and Friday. Accuweather forecasts Tracy temperatures to reach a high of 109 degrees on Thursday and Friday and 106 degrees on Saturday. Cal ISO offered these energy conservation tips: Pre-cool building before 5 p.m. by setting air conditioners lower than usual, Before 5 p.m. charge electrical devices and run washers , dryers, dishwashers, and other major appliances After 5 p.m. set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, cool with fans and draw drapes. Turn off unnecessary lights and wait to use appliances until after 10 p.m. See more

Sikhs of Tracy is hosting a vaccine event for everyone ages 12+ next Wednesday at West High. Appointments can be made at myturn.ca.gov.

On Saturday Dave Lieberman welcomed the youth groups from the Tracy Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in his yard and let them pick as much fruit as they could. It didn’t take long for them to clear the two trees. The church then took several crates of oranges and lemons to Tracy Interfaith Ministries, the local food bank that helps feed families in need.

A man was seriously injured when he was hit by a car in the alley behind Sunset Liquors Monday afternoon. Police are searching for a vehicle that fled the scene, but have not released a description of the vehicle yet. Parker Avenue is closed between Grant Line Road and 23rd Street while the Tracy Police Department’s traffic unit investigates. Further details are not available pending the police investigation.

Three softball players and one volleyball player at Kimball High are among the local seniors who signed their letters of intent last week, confirming their commitments to continue playing their sports at the college level.

Since 2016 EBCE has provided electricity from solar and wind power to cities in Alameda County as well as Alameda County’s unincorporated areas. In September 2019 the Tracy City Council authorized use of a community choice aggregation program. That allowed the city to enter into a contract with EBCE, which will take over the electrical portion of the city’s energy needs from PG&E.

JSD’s Board of Education held a special meeting Wednesday evening to discuss potential unspecified litigation and to set a new reopening date for its schools. The board voted unanimously to return TK through 6th grade students to campus on March 3 or as soon as legally permissible, per the motion made by Trustee Brian Jackman and seconded by Trustee Pete Carlson.

A protest against the certification of the U.S. presidential election results quickly turned violent Wednesday morning as a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol during a joint session between Congress and the Senate in Washington D.C. The Capitol went into official lockdown once rioters reached the legislative chambers where certification was taking place. House Representatives and Senators were escorted to a secure location until they could reconvene in chambers later that evening.

This week nearly half of Lammersville Unified School District’s 2,650 transitional kindergarten through fifth-grade students were set to return to their home campuses. Next week most of the district’s 2,100 sixth- through eighth-grade students return as well.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has reported that within the past two weeks 70 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among the staff of 892 people at the local prison, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases reported among staff to 195. That total number includes 85 active cases, and 110 people who have returned to work.

Rep. Josh Harder has confirmed his safety after election protests turned violent in front of the U.S. Capitol building this morning. Certification for electoral votes have been put on a temporary hold until order is maintained in the area.

The shutdowns come as In-Shape files for Chapter 11 protection. In a statement released last week, the Stockton-based company said that COVID-19 shutdowns have affected the company’s revenues. In-Shape has permanently closed 20 of its clubs across California, but plans to maintain 45 to 50 clubs after its Chapter 11 restructuring is complete.

The fire happened just before 11:30 a.m. as a driver in a tractor-trailer with a load of Pepsi was approaching town in the west bound lanes of 11th Street a couple of hundred yards east of the Banta Road intersection.

Mirroring similar rallies held across the country, the "Stop the Steal" rally on Saturday organized by longtime Tracyite Steve Wampler was staged to support the re-election of Trump and bring awareness to what Trump supporters believe was a massive Democrat-led election fraud scheme.

On Tuesday, the first day that the city accepted applications for the grants, the city received enough interest to account for the entire $500,000. Assistant City Manager Andrew Malik said that 105 applications came into his office by 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The grants will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis, pending review of each application.

Local veterans service group Fix'd opened the center on Wednesday night, following Tracy City Council action last week authorizing city staff to draft an agreement with a service provider to turn the center at 950 East St. into a warming center. The center will be open every night, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., between now and March 31.

Lathrop Police, a division of the San Joaquin Sheriff Office, arrested Deandre Phillips, 27, on Monday charging him with four counts of armed robbery. Detectives believe Phillips went on a crime spree robbing nine different businesses in Stockton, Manteca, Lathrop, French Camp, Tracy and Turlock.

Brighter Christmas organizers faced a multitude of hurdles and roadblocks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, hard work by volunteers and members of the community over the past few months led to another successful season as boxes of food and toys were handed out to more than 600 families in need Monday and Tuesday at Williams Middle School.

Overton, the long-snapper for the Tennessee Titans, has adopted his alma mater and McHenry House Tracy Family Shelter for the NFL’s #MyCauseMyCleats campaign. Players around the league have had personalized cleats designed and created to highlight charities, foundations, community organizations or social movements, and then they raffle off those cleats to fans to raise money for their respective causes.

Officials from the state and California’s three top hospitals urged California residents to stay home during the Christmas holiday in order to curtail the spread of COVID-19 between households.

UPDATE: Early this morning (Dec. 24), House Republicans rejected the Unanimous Consent request to increase economic impact payments to $2,000. The House will reconvene on Monday to hold a recorded vote. ------------------------------------------------------------ Late Tuesday night, President Donald Trump put out a video statement, alluding to the possibility of vetoing the bill if economic impact payments were not raised to $2,000 per individual and $4,000 for couples.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-12) responded to the president's demands with a press release Wednesday morning. "Yesterday, I said that Democrats would go to the Floor and ask for Unanimous Consent to bring up a standalone bill to increase the payments. To do so requires the agreement of the Republican Leader. This agreement is necessary in the House and in the Senate," she said in the written statement. At the time this story was written, Pelosi said Congress planned to go in for a pro-forma session Thursday, Christmas Eve, at 9 a.m. Action on this standalone bill is pending House Republic Leader Kevin McCarthy's (CA-23) decision on whether or not to agree or reject the Unanimous Consent request.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff's office has begun a homicide investigation after a woman was found floating in the California Aqueduct on Sunday. UPDATE: On Thursday morning the Sheriff's office said the San Joaquin County medical examiner identified the woman as Chenin Carlson, 36, of Manteca.

The Chest of Hope partnered with the Intel Corporation to hand out free lunches to community members in need Friday afternoon as part of their giving back program.

Before discussing its items for the day, Tracy Unified School District swore in its newest trustees for the Board of Education and elected a new president during its meeting Tuesday night. New to the board are Trustees Ana Blanco, Zachary Hoffert and Nathalia Erskine. The three replace former members Brian Pekari, who last served as the board's president, along with Jill Costa and Jeremy Silcox, who lost their 2020 re-election campaigns.

San Joaquin County Public Health Officer Dr. Maggie Park said on Tuesday that the county’s first allotment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine had arrived that morning and was being distributed to all seven San Joaquin County hospitals providing acute care to COVID patients.

On the council’s first formal action, appointing a mayor pro tempore for 2021 and 2022, the council could not reach consensus. The council appointed Veronica Vargas, the longest-serving councilmember after Young, to the 2-year position on a 3-0-2 vote, with the newest members, Mateo Bedolla and Eleassia Davis, abstaining on the vote.

Be careful in the area of 11th Street and Lammers Road. Emergency crews are at a vehicle rollover blocking the west bound lane of 11th street. East bound traffic is being diverted onto Lammers. Watch for emergency crews in the roadway.

Andrew Hansis and Barbara Lawson’s Bentley Lane Holiday Magic Christmas at Disneyland, a computer controlled light show set to music at 2130 Bentley Lane, took first place in the Animated Light Show category.

In the state's petition, which can be viewed at the Office of the Attorney General's website, Becerra documents multiple correspondences sent from his office to Amazon, asking for specifics on the corporation's workplace health and safety measures. This includes the nature and extent of Amazon's prevention efforts, its sick leave policies, cleaning procedures and data on the number of COVID-19 infections and related deaths at its California facilities.

On Saturday, the teachers and staff of Banta School and Banta Charter School hosted Santa’s Police Express Drive-Thru. Banta School Principal Ann Jayne said that the school’s tradition is to have Breakfast with Santa, but with COVID-19 keeping students off campus she and her staff wanted to find a way to celebrate Christmas with their students.

Mountain House is moving toward incorporation, and on Wednesday the board of directors for the community services district sorted out some of the remaining issues to be resolved before the district applies to become a city next year.

Meijers and his wife, Faigy, have spent the past week connecting with Jewish families around town, delivering Chaunkah boxes complete with Menorahs, candles and other mementos of the holiday. In the age of COVID-19 and social distancing, the time was right to honor the message of Chanukah as a step toward creating Chabad of Tracy, first as a virtual congregation, with a physical location to follow, most likely in the spring.

Per the latest California COVID-19 data, adults aged 18 to 49 make up for 60% of positive COVID-19 cases but only account for 7% of COVID-related deaths. Those who are 65 and older are the ones statistically the most at-risk for developing serious complications and also make up the bulk of COVID-related deaths. It is because of these factors that Kayla believes her case was first overlooked.

Tracy Press is moving on up(stairs)! But, unfortunately, all of our stuff can’t come with us. If you’re looking office equipment, stop by 95 E 11th Street TODAY

Earlier today, the state reported the San Joaquin Valley Region had fallen further with only 1.9% ICU capacity. In San Joaquin County COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen 39% in the past seven days.

The Downtown Tracy City Center Association held a virtual lighting for the city tree at the Front Street Plaza Saturday evening. It was broadcast on Facebook Live. https://www.ttownmedia.com//article_cf71ebe6-39a7-11eb-a4b

The monthly gathering often benefits a local charity, and this month donations were collected for the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots toy drive.

At issue is a piece of a 60.58-acre parcel on Valpico Road, owned by Ronnoco Properties of Tracy II, L.P., and the city needs about 16 acres for the storm drain project. City appraisers put the value of the 16 acres at $765,000, but Greg O’Connor, one of the partners with Ronnoco Properties, told the council that city representatives have made no effort to reach a compromise since the council last discussed the matter back in July.

When Junior Cueva headed to the Tracy Boys and Girls Club on Tuesday he didn’t know what was in store for him. All his colleagues at the club would tell him was something about a check-passing and a photo-op. It turned out that he was the top choice among 4,700 Boys and Girls Club professionals and volunteers nationwide who had been nominated for the Wayback Burgers Wayback Gives Back Award.

An important milestone was reached Nov. 22 in the history of irrigation in the Tracy area. That was the 100th anniversary of the establishment in 1920 of the Naglee-Burk Irrigation District, which is still operating today northwest of Tracy. https://www.ttownmedia.com//article_15be2ec6-35c4-11eb-aab

Nelson Hu, chairman of the Rotary contest committee, said that renewed interest that surfaced after the service club decided not to have a contest last year has prompted the Rotary Club, in cooperation with the Tracy Press, to sponsor the contest again this year.

In an effort to keep our community safe and healthy by complying with the current public health orders, the Tracy City Center Association Tree Lighting will be ...held VIRTUALLY this year. We hope you can celebrate with us from wherever you are TONIGHT, (Sat, Dec 5) at 6PM via our @downtowntracy Facebook Livestream! The tree will be on display in Downtown Tracy through the end of the month. To ensure a safe experience for everyone, masks and physical distancing will be required at all times when visiting the tree. Thank you and happy holidays! #downtowntracy See more

Officer Joe Whitlock, a spokesman for the Tracy CHP office, said the annual toy drive and distribution will go forward this year but with modifications in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tom BetGeorge, owner of Magical Light Shows, launched his computer-controlled light show at 15 Philips Ct. last night and will be accepting donations for both the McHenry House Tracy Family Shelter and Brighter Christmas during the show. https://www.ttownmedia.com//article_1d232252-3583-11eb-be9

According to state officials, the San Joaquin Valley Region which includes San Joaquin County dropped to 14.1% intensive care unit bed capacity available as of Friday evening. The new regional stay-home-order will go in effect Sunday and be in place for a minimum of three weeks. The order will be lifted once the region’s ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15% and will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial three week period. The Southern California Region will also be in the stay at home order as of Sunday as it’s ICU capacity fell to 13.1 %. Counites in the Bay Area Region with the exception of San Mateo County agreed to enact the stay at home order on their own starting Sunday.

The high school sports season has been pushed back for at least another month, according to the latest statement from the California Interscholastic Federation.

Initially the board's Dec. 1 meeting was meant to finalize plans for the school to re-open no earlier than Jan. 4. While this motion is still set in place, with plans from Superintendent James Bridges already proposed, a finalized date for reopening campuses for all students has currently been left pending in light of the newest COVID-19 data showing a spike in cases throughout the state and the purple "widespread" tier status of San Joaquin County.

Tracy Mayor Robert Rickman has won the race for the vacant Fifth District seat on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, defeating Tracy Councilwoman Rhodesia Ransom by a slim margin after the final ballots were counted this week.

The goal for the city in this new endeavor is to provide proactive outreach and resources to help businesses succeed while facing pandemic challenges, with the hope of voluntary compliance from parties involved. Permit waivers, loan and grant application assistance, supply of resources and allocation of funds if allowed are some of the items up for consideration.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a new regional stay-at-home order on Thursday to take effect within 48 hours if the intensive care unit capacity of a region’s hospitals falls to less than 15% availability as COVID-19 cases reached record levels across the state.

The collision was reported to Tracy Police at 6:09 p.m., and happened on eastbound 11th Street, just east of the railroad tracks that cross the roadway midway between Alden Glen Drive and Lincoln Boulevard. The man was hit by a Ford Explorer near the point in the roadway where the bike lane on the eastbound lanes tapers off and ends.

At a Monday news conference Newsom said 51 of California’s 58 counties were now in the purple widespread tier of COVID-19 restrictions as the number of new cases over a seven-day-period reached 14,657, toppling the previous peak of 9,881 new cases set in late July. Currently San Joaquin County has the 11th highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state per CA.gov.

Children learning English will soon be able to explore books and videos on science, technology, math and the arts at the Tracy Branch Library, with materials purchased through a grant from the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC Community Gift Program.

Bit by bit, city officials and the San Joaquin Building Trades Council are hammering out an agreement that will define which contractors will get city jobs, with the emphasis on companies that are either Tracy-based, or that hire Tracy workers. This is a developing story. City council meets tomorrow night to discuss this item further.

Even with the measure headed toward rejection, the concept of a transit-oriented village continues to exist within the city and with the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority. Before the Tracy City Council had put Measure Y on the ballot back in July the city and rail authority had already engaged in public workshops on what a transit-oriented development would look like.

Retail store visibility and compliant, aesthetically-pleasing outdoor dining options are the two challenges Tracy City Center Association is trying to help remedy as downtown businesses continue to face hurdles due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Although this year’s take-out dinner was different than those of previous years, it continued a tradition that stretched back 65 years, from its beginning in 1955.

For a donation of $15, pet parents will receive a starter sweater from ART to decorate for their fur-babies to model for some friendly competition with prizes up to $1,000 in value. Registration for the event is open until Dec. 4, with entry submissions being accepted until Dec. 14. Members of the public will vote on their favorite ugly-sweater-wearing pet on Animal Rescue of Tracy Facebook page.

After nearly two hours of public comment, an hour and a half of discussion and four motions, the Tracy City Council voted 3-2 in a special meeting, with Mayor Robert Rickman and Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Young dissenting, to minimize the use of criminal enforcement for non-compliance of COVID-19 restrictions, instead letting the burden of criminal enforcement fall onto the public agencies directly affected while Tracy Police Department would still document incidents and educate the public. Secondly, council voted 4-1, with Rickman dissenting, to form a COVID-19 strategies committee between city staff and business stakeholders.

A 30-year-old Tracy man is facing charges of rape, kidnapping and domestic violence after he was arrested during a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon.

Nearly 200 club members and volunteers gathered on Saturday and Sunday to cook and box more than 400 turkey dinners for seniors across Tracy. The annual dinner is the club’s largest community service project of the year.

The boy's biological father, Felipe Lopez, said that he met with Pizarro-Vergara again on Friday in San Jose. As they discussed funeral arrangements she also told him that she believed she and Munoz would be arrested and they were in the process of hiring a lawyer. On Saturday a relative called Lopez to confirm that the couple had been arrested and charged with murder.

Last Wednesday, Nov. 11, was the first day for high school seniors to sign their letters of intent, making their official commitments to the colleges of their choice. Four local seniors confirmed that they will continue to play their sports at the collegiate level starting in the fall 2021.

Although Tracy area’s walnut growers, like those throughout California, continue to be faced with depressed prices, an increased local dimension is taking place in expanding walnut processing and sales. It’s all happening at a new 30,000-square foot building recently completed in a rural area southeast of Tracy on Lehman Road near the intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 33.

PRESS RELEASE Homicide Arrest Tracy, CA.- On Monday, November 16, 2020, police were called to an apartment in the 3800 block of West Grantline Road, for a child... not breathing. Police and medical personnel responded, and a 4-year-old child was transported to a local hospital, via ambulance. The child later died after life-saving efforts failed to revive him. On the evening of Saturday, November 21, 2020, the child’s mother and step-father, 24-year-old Camila Pizarro-Vergara of Tracy and 25-year-old Oscar Munoz of Tracy, were arrested in the 1900 Block of Birchwood Lane. Both were booked into the San Joaquin County Jail for the charges of 187 PC-Homicide and 273ab(a) PCGreat Bodily Injury to a Child Under 8 years old. If you have any information related to this investigation, please contact Detective Jarrod Jesser at (209) 831-6640.

PRESS RELEASE On November 18, 2020, just before 8p.m., the Tracy Police Department Communications Center received a call of a person not breathing at a motel r...oom in the 3800 block of North Tracy Boulevard. When police arrived they found 92 year old JC Williams Jr. unresponsive. He was later pronounced deceased, and his death was deemed suspicious. Upon further investigation, Mr. Williams appeared to have multiple blunt force trauma injuries, which were believed to have resulted in his death. On November 20, 2020, Mr. Williams’ caretaker, Clark Stone, a 64 year old resident of Lathrop, was arrested in association with this homicide. He was booked into San Joaquin County Jail for the following charges: PC 12022.7(c)Inflict Great Bodily Injury Upon Another During the Commission of a Felony; PC 368(B)(3)Elder Abuse (Unjustifiable Pain/Suffering); PC 368(B)(1)Elder Abuse (Great Bodily Harm). Mr. Clark Stone has been Mr. Williams’ caretaker for approximately 20 years, and they have resided in both Alameda and San Joaquin County. If you have any information you believe would be helpful to this investigation, please contact Detective Gus Cisneros at (209) 831-6615.

Rideouts have become regular events all over the country over the past few years, and folks who had gone to Bay Area cities to participate in these massive rides have established the Thursday night event in Tracy.

The latest orders from the state and county health officials has caused some high school athletics programs to cease their pre-season workouts, which others continue to prepare for the upcoming season with outdoor conditioning.

Statistical information from the San Joaquin County and California public health departments affirm that new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. The state and county had recovered from summertime peaks of coronavirus infections, but after reaching new lows in mid-October, those numbers began to rise again.

Organizers were forced to dim the lights and pull the plug on downtown Tracy's Hometown Holiday Light Parade and tree lighting ceremony this year usually scheduled for early December as the county grapples with a surge in COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.

Amid the damp air and bouts of light sprinkles, residents were called upon in the night to respond to the new state restrictions on businesses that were told to shut down once again after San Joaquin County, along with most other counties in California, moved back to the "widespread" purple tier based on Gov. Gavin Newsom's Blueprint for a Safer Economy. https://www.ttownmedia.com//article_b8352f24-2ac5-11eb-945

Counties in the purple "Widespread" tier, including San Joaquin County, will have a curfew for one month starting Saturday evening.

The Mustang Mach-E, Ford's newest electric model, made an appearance at Tracy Ford on Saturday, as part of the vehicle's statewide tour through Ford dealerships across California. In lieu of participating in traditional car expos that have been cancelled this year due to COVID-19, the American motor company decided to bring its new product directly to consumers before the vehicle officially releases later this year.

Volunteers with Brighter Christmas collected food and new toy donations at the first of four drive-thru collections on Saturday as the charity prepares to help families in need this holiday season.

As of the latest count on Monday night Rickman had 32,223 votes (50.4%), 516 more than Ransom, who totaled 31,707 votes (49.6%).