Downtown

Thanks to federal ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) stimulus funds, the City of Martinez has miles of newly repaved roads. But when it comes to the City’s sidewalks, the last time municipal administrators launched a comprehensive repair effort was during the Great Depression. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, laborers with the Work Projects Administration laid many blocks of new concrete and fixed up what was already there. more...

A splendid time was truly had by all. Good luck getting a Frappucino at Starbucks, which was next to ground zero. Click the leftmost photo below to start a slideshow. If you want to watch a specific photo, double-click it to enlarge it. If you wish to add your own photos to the slide show, please e-mail them (please supply captions that identify people in the photo, if you can) to .

The Martinez Fair and Responsible Growth Coalition, a group of local residents, filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the City, Resources for Community Development (RCD) and the Earl D. and Joanne Dunivan Trust over the proposed “Berrellesa Palms” housing development.more...

Starting at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday evening’s meeting at City Hall will begin with a joint session of the Council and the Planning Commission.

When the Council reconvenes at 7 p.m., a new police officer, Miles Williamson, will be sworn in and Sergeant Jon Sylvia presented with an award before the Council turns its attention to a bi-annual update from Main Street Martinez and sign a $47,5000 contract for another year of “Professional Services” provided by Main Street Martinez.more...

Despite years of loans, grants and almost-free rent from the City of Martinez, the stewards of the Willows Theater Company announced this week that the company might soon be going belly up.

Rich Elliott, the Willows’ Artistic Director, told the Gazette that unless the company can raise $350,000 by Nov. 1, it would be forced to shutter the Campbell Theater in Martinez, as well as its main stage in Concord.more...

Another resident’s car was the victim of a falling Main Street tree branch last Thursday. Parked in front of La Tapatia in the 500 block, Cory Nichols returned to his well-maintained 1999 Mercedes SL 500 convertible to find scratches and dents marring the slick paint job. MPD officer Chase made a police report documenting the incident, and an eyewitness corroborated.more...

Resident and retired teacher Linda Aguirre was out jogging through Downtown when she noticed a new poster in the three-sided directory kiosk in the Main Street Plaza.

The kiosk, operated by Main Street Martinez, features a map highlighting MSM-friendly businesses on one side, an announcement of the upcoming Peddler’s Faire facing the street, and now on the side facing Starbucks, a poster extolling the virtues of the proposed housing development known as Berrellesa Palms. more...

Community activist Phillip Ciaramitaro received an enthusiastic reception from the Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission on Tuesday evening when he introduced his “Ferry Point Improvement Project.”  Guiding the Commissioners through a PowerPoint presentation and presenting architectural renderings, Ciaramitaro explained his vision for a community-based effort to build a visitor’s center (shown above) to house Joe DiMaggio’s boat, The Joltin’ Joe, a concession stand and patio at the base of the ferry pier.more...

To fence or not to fence: that was the question the Commissioner of the Martinez Bocce Federation (MBF) put to members of the Martinez Shoreline Joint Planning Agency last week.

Gene Rittburg, who heads the 170-team, 1,600 member Federation, presented a request to erect a four-foot high “vinyl-clad” chain link fence around the perimeter of the 15 bocce courts at Waterfront Park.more...