General News
Martinez News-Gazette Feb. 14, 2020
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Refinery transaction complete, ‘Martinez Refinery Company’ born
PBF Energy Inc. announced today that it completed the acquisition of the Martinez refinery, and related logistics assets, from Shell Oil Products US. The purchase price for the assets was $960.0 million plus the value of hydrocarbon inventory. The company will operate as ‘Martinez Refining Company’. “We welcome Martinez’s professional workforce to the PBF family,” said PBF’s […]
County Health Department is closely monitoring new coronavirus
Contra Costa Health Services is working closely with its partners and other health systems to track the situation locally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and public health agencies across the U.S. are monitoring this new disease. There are no confirmed cases of the novel (new) coronavirus […]
Community Focus
Martinez Scouts lose camping equipment to thieves
Martinez BSA Troop 429 lost camping gear and supplies when their storage locker was burglarized last month. The Troop storage unit at Public Storage on Pacheco Ave. was vandalized and thieves took a Camp Chef stove, propane tank, several tents, tarps, and other camping gear. “The Scouts use this equipment on a monthly basis and […]
Intermodal pedestrian overcrossing update
The new elevator which provides access to the Pedestrian Bridge on the north side of the railroad tracks is now installed. While the elevator is complete, the plans call for the exterior of the elevator tower to be wrapped with glass. In December of 2019, the general contractor for the project, Gordon N. Ball, learned […]
Chamber now accepting Citizen of the Year nominations
The Martinez Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that we are now accepting letters of nomination for the 2019 Citizen of the Year Awards. The awards are given in the following categories: Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, Young Man of the Year, Young Woman of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Service […]
Main Street Sweets ending 24-year run
Main Street Sweets, an anchor of downtown Martinez for over 20 years, will close its doors on February 1. According to owner Marty Bender the landlord at 815 Main Street “basically has given us the boot.” A 150 percent increase in rent the last decade puts the business operating at a loss. When Marty and […]
New website and catalog for Contra Costa County Library
The Contra Costa County Library has a brand new website and catalog. The platform offers an updated look and feel and is mobile responsive allowing for an improved user experience whether on a computer, tablet or phone. Some of the new features include: · modern design · simple navigation · new events layout · improved […]
History
Down ‘Memory Sidewalk’ on Court, Estudillo, and Alhambra
Courtesy Martinez Historical Society Contra Costa Gazette paper boys are shown in 1933. They covered Martinez, Pittsburg, Concord, Pleasant Hill among other communities receiving $10 a month salary and 10 percent of what they collected from subscribers who paid 50 cents a month for the subscription. Bill Sharkey III, who had a route from Alhambra […]
Martinez Historical Society cookbook includes family favorites
Mary Goodmann said, “We started this endeavor in the spring of 2018 when we realized that foods we grew up eating and memory’s associated with them were being lost. We tried to capture everything from an all day affair of making ravioli to a quick meal put together by a single working mother with two […]
Underground Echoes: Meet the cemeterians
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette Our column this week is different, however fear not, new biographies are in the works. The huge interest in genealogy has inspired nationwide cemetery restoration to become a large growing movement. Today as we have chosen to focus on conversations with three remarkable individuals. They are […]
Underground Echoes: Where is Velda Dunn?
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette Velda Lillian Dunn-Acker, 20, gave birth to her only son Donald Jay Acker, February 27, 1934 in Los Angeles but died during the delivery. Her siblings retrieved her body for burial in Martinez and broke off all contact with her husband and son. This past July, […]
Underground Echoes: Bricks and sticks
By JOSEPH & JUDIE PALMER Special to the Gazette MARTINEZ, Calif. – City of Martinez’s Annual Spring Cemetery Cleanup. Due to the numerous winter storms, there was quite the renaissance of those pesky annoying plants we all call “weeds” and the accumulation of numerous fallen branches. Although much was accomplished, more still needs to be […]
Sports
Warriors Drop One To The Heat 113-101
Photos by Guri Dhaliwal (Martinez News-Gazette) SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors went all out for their pregame celebration of former pillar Andre Iguodala ahead of Monday’s matchup against the Miami Heat. By the end of the night, it marked the only thing Golden State would celebrate as the Dubs lost 113-101 at Chase Center, marking their […]
Rickey Henderson To Be Inducted Into Bay Area Sports HOF
Photo by Tod Fierner (Martinez News-Gazette) Courtesy of Oakland Athletics OAKLAND, Calif. – Baseball Hall of Famer, Oakland A’s legend, and hometown hero Rickey Henderson will be enshrined in Bay Area sports history forever as a 2020 inductee to the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF), it was announced earlier today at a […]
Sturgeon come ashore at Waterfront Park
(Zach Seal, Martinez coordinator of community development, left, and Andrew Dunn, Pecos League Commissioner, unveil the Martinez Sturgeon banner Saturday at Waterfront Park’s Field 3. Photo by Ken Mitchroney) Pecos League commissioner Andrew Dunn visited Waterfront Park Tuesday morning. At the city’s annual State of the City breakfast Dunn revealed the Martinez teams new nickname […]
Lakers Beat Warriors 125-120
Photos by Guri Dhaliwal (Martinez News-Gazette) The Lakers came out flat, barely tried to run competent offense for most of the night and played so little defense in the first quarter that their coach said on national television that they were “not honoring the game.” Nevertheless, despite the Lakers’ best efforts to give […]
Opinion
Column One
DISGUSTING, absolutely disgusting! What, you ask? The irresponsible GOP members of the U. S. Senate who have fallen prey to Donald John Trump’s intimidation. Voting down anything and everything so far in the impeachment process. This lifelong moderate Republican is embarrassed to acknowledge his party affiliation when connected ‘in name only’ to the shameful, spineless […]
Letter to the Editor: Fight just starting
Let’s be honest, the city council voted just sold out the main value of our community – allowing us to raise our kids in a great community. On January 15th, the City Council of Martinez, voted 3-0 to allow a cannabis dispensary to be located less than 1000 feet from Alhambra High School. The vote […]
Column One: Well, who now?
By Bill Sharkey III WELL, WHO NOW?? Last Democratic presidential candidate debate before the Iowa caucuses, and those standing before the prospective voters in upcoming elections and caucus groups have given it their last shot nationwide. How do you feel, Mr. and Ms. American voter? Made up your mind? Still too early? Still too […]
The Insidious Nature of Good Enough
In my professional life I am finding myself spending more and more time in West County and as a result I had the pleasure of being present for the official ribbon cutting ceremonies for an exciting new project in the city of Richmond, CoBiz. The space was designed as a co-working, business incubator space and […]
Martinez needs a new voice on the Board of Supervisors
I’m running to be your Contra Costa County Supervisor, show up every day, and tackle our challenges head-on. I was born and raised in Martinez. My mother is a nurse and my father delivered chips for Frito Lay in Richmond and Martinez. From them, I learned the importance of showing up every day and standing […]
Arts & Entertainment
Glass Menagerie shines at Campbell Theater
by Charlie Jarrett The Martinez Campbell Theater (636 Ward St, Martinez, CA) is truly becoming an even more “Go-to Theatrical Venue” for the entire East Bay Area, as the quality and variety of shows continue to get better and more engaging. This past week, one of my favorite all-time dramatic masterpieces, The Glass Menagerie, written […]
2020 BottleRock Announces Lineup
Courtesy of Stephen Langsam (Martinez News-Gazette) Jan 6 at 10:27 AM January 6, 2020 Napa, CA — BottleRock Napa Valley 2020, presented by JaM Cellars, announces its eighth annual festival lineup today, featuring over 75 musical acts including headline artists Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus, Khalid and Anderson […]
Two unique takes on Christmas Carol
By CHARLIE JARRETT Martinez News-Gazette Columnist This time of the year often delivers fond memories for us of stories that we have read and plays that we have seen that bring us messages of love, compassion, redemption and goodwill. This year we have two unique and considerably different takes on Charles Dickens’ 1843 story, A […]
Top-notch Bay Area holiday productions
By CHARLIE JARRETT Martinez News-Gazette Columnist Once again, I’m excited to share with you my reviews of two totally different but completely satisfying theater productions for your entertainment over the holidays. First, the Town Hall Theater in Lafayette has delivered an engaging spoof of a classic Brothers Grimm fairytale, entitled Cinderella: A Fairytale. The second […]
Harry Potter is a must-see production
By CHARLIE JARETT Martinez News-Gazette Columnist Today, I am indeed fortunate to be able to share with you the incredible West Coast official world premiere opening of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, her eighth story, written and envisioned as a theatrical production by Jack Thorne, and subsequently directed by John Tiffany, as […]
