SUISUN, Ca. The Solano County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) sent an urgent letter to Mayor Pete Sanchez and the Suisun City Council this week specifically asking them not to approve a proposal to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter. They pointed out the safety concerns of building the 237,000 square foot project in a Travis Air Force Base crash zone.

The airport land use commission voted 5-2 in early November to opposed the Wal-mart plan because its proximity to the base would pose a safety threat to shoppers. The city of Suisun be required to take the liability if an aircraft accident should occur there.

The commission urged the city to withdraw the project. The Mayor and the city council have stated they will defiantly overrule the commission �which is composed of longtime military and commercial pilots.

Suisun Mayor Pete Sanchez, who stressed opposition to Wal-Mart during his campaign for mayor, revealed himself to be a staunch supporter of Wal-Mart. Once he took his seat in the council chamber he did a flip flop on his pre-election positon against the project. In response to the ALUC decision to protect public safety Mayor Sanchez referred to it as "a kangaroo court!"

"Residents are struggling to understand why the mayor and the city council do not comprehend the seriousness of this matter."said Dwight Acey, Spokesperson for the Suisun Citizens League, "Their support of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune over public safety is simply malfeasance in office." He went on to say, "We are thankful that the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission has made another attempt to get through to them."

Opposition to the Suisun City Wal-Mart Supercenter project continues to grow. Phil Tucker, project director of the California Healthy Communities Network, pointed to a recent study that indicates for every job Wal-Mart creates, approximately 1.4 jobs are lost in the community where they build.

Opponents note Wal-Mart is overbuilding in Highway 80 area, with a Supercenter set in Fairfield less than three miles away, another in American Canyon and one proposed in Vallejo. "They're hitting this whole area, Benicia, Dixon, Vallejo, Fairfield, Vacaville,and Davis. They want a Wal-Mart every four miles," said Mary Magill, a Gray Panther activist who opposes the Wal-Mart.

Organizers for the Suisun Citizens League noted that the Wal-Mart Supercenter will result in massive traffic, increased crime, environmental damage and will hurt local businesses.

George Guynn, Jr, long time Suisun community activist responded by quoting the Vacaville Reporter (12/14/07), "The commission, which is only an advisory body, voted Nov. 8 that the supercenter should not be built. Suisun City officials have told the commission that its decision will be overruled by the City Council within 45 days."

  Guynn concluded, " If the City's comment is accurate, it sounds like a Brown Act Violation to me! Council members are not supposed to get together and decide how to vote ahead of time. Futhermore, if this is true, it is time to recall the council members supporting the Wal-Mart Super Center." Lawler Ranch resident and Suisun Citizens League member Peggy Hanson, who attended the ALUC hearings, said, "I think the Airport Land Use Commission did an excellent job. I was very proud of the research they did. They went beyond the call of duty to ask the city a second time to reconsider. They did a marvelous job!"

The final evnvironmental impact report and the city Council's vote on Wal-Mart is expected in the first week of January.

Suisun resident Wayne Monger asks the mayor to apologize to the Airport Land Use Commission for his mean and unfair comments. The mayor angrily says, "NO, there will be NO apology!". (You Tube below).

The Vacaville Reporter published an article (12/11/07) revealing that County Supervisor Mike Reagan, representing parts of Vacaville and Rio Vista, was arrested for being under suspicion of drunk driving. His blood alcohol content was reported to be over the legal limit of .08. It did not note how much over.

According to The Reporter Reagan was driving home from a fundrasing party and was pulled over by Vacaville Police and cited for being under the suspicion of being legally drunk while driving. Reagan, who is up for re-election this year, sent a letter to the editor of the paper acknowledging the arrest and asking for forgiveness from his constituents.

The probable cause for the arrest was an outdated registration sticker on his car. When he exited the vehicle the officer detected alcohol on the Supervisor's breath and took him to the police station for testing. The matter is expected to be heard in DUI court on January 25.

During a Board of Supervisor's meeting this summer Reagan was hostile when residents, from throughout the county requested help saving Travis Air Force Base from the encroachment of the proposed Walters Road Wal-Mart Supercenter in Suisun. He insisted that advocates for the base NOT be allowed to speak. Supervisor Barbara Kondylis, of Vallejo, overrulled Reagan's objection and allowed residents to be heard, despite the repeated protests by Reagan.

Reagan was also alleged to have run into a sheriffs car in a letter to the editor in The Reporter on 12/21/07.

Last year he also voted against residents and in favor of investors of the Potrero Hills Garbage Dump granting them a 300 acre expansion. The dump is walking distance from Quail Glenn, Lawler Ranch, and Peterson Ranch for The dump is known statewide for cheap fees and for taking out of county garbage and sewer sludge to dump in the Suisun Marsh - not far from the housing developments. Public records show Reagan recieved campaign contributions from the Super Garbage Dump corporation. The Board of Supervisor's decision to grant the expansion was ultimately reversed by the state superior court after residents fought the Boards 3-2 approval in court. For more information see: www.aceconservator.com
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Last year Suisun suffered substantial flooding. Homes in the McCoy and Laurel Creeks areas had their lower floors innundated with flooding water. This year city staff has taken some extra precautions to try to prevent this from happening again. Suisun has the highest risk of flooding in Solano County because it has the lowest elevation point relative to the high tide line.

Last April the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notified Suisun City that it was no longer eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency help in the event of a severe flood. Since then the city has gotten the necessary permission needed from the various government agencies to clear away vegetation that clogged storm runoff. They are in the process of clearing drains of leaves and debris. Special permission is required due to state laws for the protection of our wetlands.

The city claims to have stock piled some sand bags behind the Suisun Police Headquaters in the parking lot (next Suisun City Hall) for residents use. The bags are available to citizens 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information, see the Suisun City website at: http://www.suisun.com/whatsnew or call 421-7333.

Our staff reporter was shocked to discovered the miniscule amount of sand avialable for the 28,000 residents of Suisun. This surprising given the massive flood impacts, in the Lawler Ranch development, that are outlined in the city's Walter's Road Project EIR for the Wal-Mart Supercenter (see the Suisun City website for details).
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The United Food and Commerical Workers Union has been waging a campaign to notify American consumers of Wal-Mart's use of child labor to manufacture goods for sale in the U.S. market - and worldwide. The Wall Street Journal reported on 2/12/05 that Wal-Mart agreed to pay $135,540 to settle child labor violation charges in January 2005 for allegedly breaking child labor laws in 24 incidents!

In 2006 the National Labor Committee reported: "Children, some only 11 years old, making clothes...The children report being routinely slapped and beaten, forced to work up to 14 hours a day for wages as low as 61/2 cents per hour." (National Labor Committee, "Child Labor is Back" study. 10/06)