Martinez Fishing Pier's Reopening is a Welcome Sight for Anglers and Curious Alike

Also, latest developments on food stamp benefits for local residents; garbage rate increase takes effect in January; and community grant program recipients

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By David Scholz

Morning fog hugging the shoreline embraced the long-awaited official reopening of the Martinez Fishing Pier on Saturday as city leaders and staff gathered to cut the ribbon that signified a notable step in the marina’s revitalization.

More than 90 years after the original pier was built, the current work during the past year to shore up the structure and make amenity upgrades follows a limited rebuild to portions of it that occurred in 1976.

“Fishing runs in the soul of the people in Martinez, and fishing remains a popular recreational activity at our waterfront,” Martinez Mayor Brianne Zorn said at the ribbon-cutting event. “Many people remember their families fishing, both commercially and recreationally.”

Anglers wasted no time taking advantage of the new pier Saturday.

“It seems everyone has a connection or story to fishing in Martinez,” she continued, noting that the Martinez Fishing Pier is one of the few public ones in ocean or Bay waters in California where recreational fishing does not require a fishing license.

Councilmember Jay Howard, whose Italian heritage and those of Portuguese descent were part of the rich fishing history that flourished in the area in bygone days dating to the late 1800s, lauded the efforts of Congressmen Mike Thompson and John Garamendi in securing the $2.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund the project, as well as all those who played essential roles along the way to make the day possible.

“Let’s go fishing!” he extolled to those who gathered for the special occasion.

Christian Cota, born and raised in Martinez and one who has dropped a line or two over the railings of the Martinez Pier regularly through the years, was among the dozens with rods and their tackle boxes in tow who turned out to resume the pastime of trying to land that big one.

“I hope to catch something that is swimming,” he said, cracking a smile. “This is nice.”

Cota’s fond memories of the old fishing pier also included it serving as the setting of a low-budget movie that he and his friends filmed. With more than fishing in mind, the memories certainly were plentiful, even if the fish were not biting on this particular morning.

Another local angler who couldn’t wait to try his luck, Luke Dobson, also praised the reopening of the pier.

Martinez resident Luke Dobson was among dozen of anglers baiting the hooks of their rods at Saturday’s pier opening.

Fernando Saenz, of Concord, was glad to see the pier reopen after trekking to Crockett during the past year to fish.

“This is much closer,” he said. “It’s beautiful, and there’s more space.”

The renovated pier was funded through a $2.5 million federal grant.

The newly renovated pier follows the same footprint of the 1970s pier, according to Jim Kearney, project manager/senior marine engineer with COWI North America, Inc. of Oakland, featuring about 9,950 square feet of replaced decking and nearly 1,300 feet of replaced railing, including lower sections installed with disabled anglers and other handicapped visitors in mind to more fully enjoy their visits.

Upgrades to lighting and amenities like benches and picnic tables accompanied the top side renovation. Substructural reinforcements and work on the sheet pile breakwater also were addressed, and are expected to extend the lifespan of the pier by another 50 years.

Councilmember Greg Young touted the pier “as the soul of our community.”

“The best is yet to come,” chimed in Councilmember Satinder S. Malhi, who noted how vital completing this pier project is to the city as it looks ahead.

Before cutting the ribbon, Zorn also was excited to announce the return of the annual kids fishing derby in 2026, and the opportunity to “introduce another generation of children to fishing.”

From left, council members Debbie McKillop, Satinder S. Malhi, Greg Young, Mayor Brianne Zorn and Jay Howard cut the ribbon to open the new pier.

The following items were produced by Craig Lazzeretti

Update on local food stamp benefits

David Fraser, chief of staff for county Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston, gave the City Council an update Wednesday on the county’s efforts to backfill any delays in food stamp benefits (also known as SNAP or CalFresh in California) to local residents as a result of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Fraser called the county Board of Supervisors’ vote last week to approve spending $21 million to purchase debit cards for those who rely on federal food assistance a “stop-gap measure” to address any interruption in CalFresh benefits. He said 107,000 individuals across the country rely on the benefits, including over 58,000 children.

The county was planning to distribute the debit cards from Nov. 10 to 16 to CalFresh recipients at Contra Costa Employment and Human Development Services Department (EHSD) offices; the closest one to Martinez is at 400 Ellinwood Lane in Pleasant Hill. Fraser said the county was also preparing to deliver 10,000 boxes of food to “families in the greatest need.”

In a Friday update, however, the county announced that California had released CalFresh benefits for November, and that “community members are already seeing the benefits on their EBT cards.”

An Instagram post by Scales-Preston the same day said that the county’s plan to distribute its own debit cards was paused as a result of the CalFresh funds being released.

The status of the benefits was back in limbo this weekend, however, after the U.S. Supreme Court late Friday issued an emergency order halting a lower court’s order requiring full funding of November SNAP benefits. In a statement responding to the Supreme Court’s order on Saturday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “This fight is far from over — the U.S. Supreme Court’s order is temporary and procedural — and my fellow attorneys general and I, along with others, will continue to fight for full November SNAP benefits.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told states on Sunday to “immediately undo” any steps that have been taken to send out full benefits.

In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, Contra Costa EHSD said it was “unclear if everyone’s benefits are loaded to their EBT cards.”

“Be sure to check your EBT card balance before requesting a county-issued debit card,” the post read. “Visit BenefitsCal.com or try to use your EBT card. If your benefits are loaded, then you may use your CalFresh EBT card as usual.”

EHSD went on to say that if recipients have not received their November CalFresh benefits by Monday, Nov. 10 at noon, they should call 1-866-663-3225 or visit one of its offices during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (County offices are closed on Tuesday, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day).

“We will evaluate case-by-case how to best serve you through the distribution of an emergency debit card while also preventing confusion or duplication of benefits,” EHSD wrote.

Fraser noted to the council on Wednesday that a number of CalFresh recipients lack permanent housing, and rely on their debit cards to purchase meals at local fast-food restaurants. He asked for the city’s help in getting out the word to those individuals about the potential availability of the county-issued debit cards if they are already CalFresh recipients.

He also said that an interruption in benefits would hammer the local economy, noting that small businesses in supervisorial District 5, which includes Martinez, realized roughly $10 million in purchases through the CalFresh last month.

“This is not simply a matter of addressing a hunger issue, though that’s the dominant social, ethical and moral issue here, but it’s also an economic issue that will impact the community and those mom-and-pop grocery stores,” he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate late Sunday advanced a funding bill that held the potential to end what has become the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.

Republic Services garbage rate increase

The City Council on Wednesday held a public hearing to approve a 2.24% increase, amounting to 90% of the local Consumer Price Index, in solid waste collection rates for multi-family residences effective Jan. 1. The council had no authority to amend or reject the increase because it’s stipulated in the franchise agreement between the city and Republic Services.

Although the increase was a formality, the issue generated some spirited discussion among council members, given the more than 20% increase in garbage-collection rates that were implemented last year as part of a new amendment to the franchise agreement with Republic Services. Councilmember Satinder S. Malhi took issue with the fact that the monthly 32-container rate for Pleasant Hill residents is about $10 less than the rate paid by Martinez residents.

Under the 2026 rate increase, the maximum monthly rate for a 32-gallon container in Martinez will rise from $47.75 to $48.82.

“I have a lot of neighborhoods (in my district) that border Pleasant Hill, so I will probably get asked by residents, ‘How come my neighbor across the street in Pleasant Hill is paying $10 less than me?’ ” Malhi said, acknowledging that he, like other council members, has received positive feedback about recent service improvements and community benefits from Republic. “Ten dollars is significant. You space that out over the span of a year, that’s a decent chunk of change.”

Although last year’s agreement with Republic included a hefty rate increase, it also came with a number of community benefits, including credits for missed pickups.

“There’s not a really a finite percentage that gets applied to every city,” Republic Services General Manager Vic Cabrera told the council, explaining that a number of factors go into setting rates. “Every city’s got its own individual rate structure. It doesn’t really equate to apples to apples, per se.”

He added that in “one way or another,” Pleasant Hill receives fewer community benefits than does Martinez as part of the franchise agreement. The benefits that Martinez receives include two on-call residential cleanups; a citywide cleanup; organic and recycling cleanups; curbside pickup of motor oil, household batteries and CFL lightbulbs; two bulky item pickups annually; community litter pickups; compost giveaways; and styrofoam- and cardboard-collection events.

City Manager Michael Chandler added that the 2024 franchise amendment with Republic also included additional contributions by the company to the city’s sustainability program and downtown trash infrastructure, and that Martinez is one of the few cities in the service area that receives service credits for missed pickups; “Pleasant Hill does not have that,” he said.

“Pleasant Hill may be lower now, but they may have a base year review or something of that nature that comes up later and kicks their rates up,” he said. “These are all moving targets.”

Although a resident complained during public comment about continued service problems with Republic, Chandler said that data from September showed the fewest number of missed garbage pickups that he had ever seen.

City Attorney Terri Highsmith, responding to a question raised by Mayor Brianne Zorn, explained that the council had no discretion over the rate increase but that the public hearing was required for transparency, “so that the community knows about it, they can come, they can comment, they can ask questions…”

Commenting that “raising rates always gives the council heartburn,” Zorn said, “In my experience up on the dais, nothing annoys me more than being asked to vote on something that I cannot vote no on. This is an exercise of fulfilling the requirements of the contract that we already agreed to even though this is something that I think makes all of us uncomfortable.”

With that, the council voted unanimously to approve the rate increase.

Community grant recipients announced

The city recently announced 12 grant recipients for this year’s Community Groups Funding Program. The program, a pilot partnership between the city and Martinez Community Foundation, awarded over $35,000 total to local nonprofits. The list of recipients are as follows:

• Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa

• John Muir Association

• St. Vincent de Paul, St. Catherine of Siena Conf.

• Worth A Dam

• Grace Episcopal Church

• Meals on Wheels Contra Costa

• Bay Area Bike Project

• Diablo Regional Concert Band

• Martinez Education Foundation

• RES Success

• Joe DiMaggio Hometown Hero Project

• Safe and Sober Grad Night, Alhambra Bulldogs

“It’s inspiring to see these community groups putting their passion into action and making a real difference for Martinez,” Mayor Brianne Zorn said in a city of Martinez Instragram post.

Social media post of the week

Veterans’ Day is Tuesday. Here’s what’s planned in Martinez.