Downtown
Waterfront reigns at King of the County
SLIDE SHOW
Attracting approximately 3,000 more attendees than last year, this weekend’s 4th Annual King of the County BBQ Challenge and Music Festival went off without the slightest hitch, said Chamber of Commerce executive director Cynthia Murdough on Monday.
Estimating the crowd on Sunday at 15,000, Murdough said between the great weather, terrific bands and good eats; the fourth time was the charm.more...
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Mal Sharpe swings that Dixieland music
Armando’s attracts a full house of dedicated fans.
Dixieland is alive and well in Martinez. A standing-room only crowd at Armando’s on Thursday was entertained by Mal Sharpe and his band (Big Money in Jazz – also known as Big Money in Gumbo). 74-year-old Sharpe, a trombone player, comedian and TV personality, performs at the local music venue on the fourth Thursday of every month. Since the band started its standing gig at Armando’s, the number of loyal attendees has grown steadily, attracting many out-of-towners with toe-tapping renditions of classics such as St.more...
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Historical Inventory remains under wraps
During recent civic discussions about a renewed City Council effort to create a Martinez Redevelopment Agency, several residents urged City staff to release an inventory of the Downtown’s historical buildings. Commissioned on behalf of the City, at a cost of $50,000, several years ago during the establishment of the Downtown Specific Plan, City staff are declining to make the document public, maintaining that the inventory is not a final product and therefore not subject to the California Public Records Act.more...
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Ground to break for Marina Vista Streetscape
Official Groundbreaking Ceremony for Marina Vista Streetscape Project
On Monday morning at 8:00 am on April 12th, the City of Martinez City Council will hold an official groundbreaking ceremony for the long awaited commencement of the Marina Vista Streetscape Project. The ceremony will take place at the corner of Marina Vista and Estudillo in Downtown Martinez. more...
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Cheers to downtown Martinez
Wine stroll was a success.
The I [heart] Downtown Martinez Wine Stroll enticed 180 visitors to the wine-sipping and shopping event that took place at 16 local businesses last Saturday, said Main Street Martinez’ Leanne Peterson. “We could really feel the love at this Downtown Wine Stroll. The participants came out in droves and there were a lot of familiar faces from past strolls,” said Renee Malone, owner of Leah’s Closet on Main Street. “Martinez was blessed with beautiful weather this time around and we are already anticipating to have the next one in May.”
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Court date set for Berrellesa Palms
An April court date has been set in the legal battle between a group of Downtown residents and the developers of a housing development known as Berrellesa Palms.
The City and the Dunivan Trust, in addition to developer Resources for Community Development (RCD), were also named in the suit filed by the Martinez Fair and Responsible Growth Coalition in an effort to block the project’s planned Spring 2010 construction start.more...
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Who will repair miles of residential sidewalks in Martinez?
Many areas have not been repaved since the New Deal in the 40s, leaving homeowners to bear the cost of repair.
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...
First Night canceled due to budget woes
To fill the gap left by this year’s cancellation of First Night Martinez, a few Downtown businesses are planning shindigs to ring in the new year close to home.
The Willows Theatre Company is hosting a show at the Campbell cabaret venue entitled Hollywood and Ward, the popular local band Garage Land Rodeo will rock Ferry Street Station and the newly-opened Martinez Events Center will be the scene of dinner and dancing.more...
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Homecoming Parade 2009
SLIDE SHOW
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 .
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Residents alarmed by daring escape from County Jail
Man accused of statutory rape was caught several hours later, following a foot chase.
2000 Martinez residents received an alarming phone call on Tuesday evening after a 22-year-old man escaped from police custody, prompting a 12-hour manhunt by several local police agencies.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office used the TENS (telephone emergency notification system) to call residents surrounding the Martinez Detention Facility, where Brentwood police had brought Brentwood resident Patrick Libbey following his arrest on sexual assault charges. more...
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Group files petition against construction of Berrellesa Palms
Lawsuit claims that proposed low-income housing project doesn’t comply with state and local ordinances.
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...
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Housing Task Force, Take III
Sept. 24 — Of the 17 members of the City’s Housing Element Task Force only five showed up to the group’s second meeting on July 2, and 12 came to the first one on June 4.
Scheduled to meet for a third time tonight, the Council-appointed group plays a key role in the current updating process of the City’s state-mandated Housing Element. They are responsible for setting policy on future development of housing in Martinez, and at tonight’s meeting, will review the working draft of what will become the City’s Policy Directions Report. more...
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Council to review MSM contract
Meeting Preview
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...
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Senior Housing project gets green light from City
Councilmember Lara DeLaney was sole dissenting voice in decision to green-light Berrellesa Palms project.
Sept. 10 — The Martinez City Council denied appeals on Wednesday night regarding a Planning Commission approval of a low-income senior housing development known as Berrellesa Palms, prompting one of the appelants to seek recourse in the judicial system.more...
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Curtains for Willows?
Theater company in financial straits, seeking donations.
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...
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Martinez Museum gets ready for Fall re-opening
Although the end of the year is still four months away, it’s out with the old and in with the new at the Martinez Museum.
On Monday the museum closed for nearly three weeks to provide director Andrea Blachman and volunteer staff an opportunity to change exhibits and comb through hundreds of items in storage in a daunting organizational effort.
The museum has outgrown its storage area and is currently seeking new space to house non-display inventory.more...
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Another downtown tree falls on car
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...
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Art in the Park turns 40
Sunday’s 40th Art in the Park, an annual event held each August since 1969 and hosted by the Martinez Arts Association, drew hundreds of art lovers and families looking for a fun-filled local celebration. Two hits of the days were the Dumpster Diversion project, for which M.A.A. membership chair R.C. Ferris led participating kids in creating Art Heads, Styrofoam heads that “the kids stuck all kinds of weird things into, all recycled and found goods.” M.A.A. artists also turned donated reusable grocery bags into one-of-a-kind pieces that sold out at $5 a piece.more...
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Merchants get runaround from MSM regarding kiosk ads
The kiosk at the Downtown Plaza is currently featuring an ad for MSM boardmember Dunnivan’s 49-unit project, but merchant group is told MSM has no process or rates in place for such ads.
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...
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Planning Commission to discuss RCD's proposed 49-unit senior housing project
MEETING PREVIEW: Tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall Chambers.
The City’s seven-member Planning Commission takes up the gauntlet tonight on a highly contentious housing development project. more...
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