MUSD Completes Busy Summer of Projects to Upgrade District Schools, Facilities

Also, Saturday night flare at Martinez refinery; application period opens for new Diversity and Cultural Commission; and a new feature on making the national local

Note to readers: This week, I’m trying out a new feature, “Making the National Local,” where I take a national news item about a controversial issue and localize it to Martinez, asking for your thoughts. Check it out at the bottom of this post and let me know what you think.

Martinez Unified School District facilities were abuzz with activity during the summer break as the district completed a number of key facilities projects and infrastructure improvements.

“Buckle in. I have 39 slides here,” Jared Ruddell, MUSD’s coordinator of facilities and operations, told the School Board Monday as he began his PowerPoint presentation detailing scores of projects. “It was a very fast-moving and dynamic summer. “

Among the highlights:

• Sanding and refinishing of the Alhambra High School (AHS) gym

• Repair of the columns in the AHS Commons

• New padding at the Alhambra sports stadium

• New siding for the AHS team room and bathrooms

• Paint work and furniture upgrades at Martinez Junior High School (MJHS)

• New security fencing and cameras at MJHS

• Lawn revitalization at Martinez Junior High School

• Work on the new all-weather softball field at Alhambra High, which should be ready for the 2025 season

• Network cabling upgrades

• A leased trash compactor at AHS that is expected to save the district $625 month compared with what it had been paying Republic Services for the work

• Work on expanding WiFi internet access at the AHS stadium

The Power Point of Monday’s presentation on the projects can be found at the following link: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=36030321&AID=909276&MID=32999

Or check out the YouTube presentation here:

Loud refinery flaring event

There was a loud flaring event at PBF Energy’s Martinez refinery Saturday night (Sept. 21) that lasted from roughly 11 to 11:30 p.m. (the rumbling noise was significant in my neighborhood near Mountain View Park and caused me to go outside to see what was happening).

Here is what the refinery reported about the incident on its Facebook page:

Our employees stabilized the issue, and flaring ended at approximately 11:30 p.m. In following our procedures, appropriate agencies were notified, and we issued a Community Warning System Level 1 notification, which requires no action by the public. We apologize for the noise and any concern this may have caused.

Unplanned flares occur when refineries need to relieve the pressure from the buildup of excess gases. Depending on the nature of the flare, some can be more clean-burning than others, but they typically don’t require the public to take any protective action, despite the fact that they can look and sound frightening. Nevertheless, frequent flares can cause public health concerns resulting from the pollutants they release.

The flare came a few days after an upbeat report by refinery officials on safety improvements at the facility, in which refinery Manager Daniel Ingram noted that Martinez Refining Co. had no flaring events during the shutdown of units during its “turnaround” work in May and June and only one “very minor, brief, couple-minute” flare upon restart.

Ingram also said there had been no recordable injuries or process safety events during the turnaround work and highlighted the refinery’s efforts to return to “best in class operators” this year after experiencing a series of mishaps large and small in 2022 and 2023.

“I’m proud to say that this year there’s definitely been a change,” he told the council. “We’ve had a great year so far. I’m a little superstitious, so I’m going to knock on wood…”

The refinery is counting on better news this Saturday as it sponsors the annual Run For Education in conjunction with the Martinez Education Foundation to benefit Martinez Unified School District schools. More information about the event and how to sign up can be found at the following link: https://runsignup.com/mrcmefrunforeducation?fbclid=IwY2xjawFiQPRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZxH61DHw87Y7uvjFDHgM2WvUYSu3bKQ2b-oSUB-4J5HSMD9lKf8EXEkBQ_aem_80PVaEGf5WwUmGClamMmxw

Applications sought for new Diversity and Cultural Commission

The city is now accepting applications from community members to join its newly established Diversity and Cultural Commission. The commission’s aim will be “to strengthen community building and engagement by highlighting diverse perspectives and cultural experiences. It will play a key role in advising the City Council on matters related to the City’s DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) Roadmap, as well as in planning inclusive events, conducting community listening sessions, and providing feedback on City outreach and communications.”

The commission will consist of seven members, six of whom will be residents or business owners within city limits and another from an unincorporated area. The application deadline is Dec. 13. There will be two alternates.

Interested residents and business owners can learn more and apply at the following link: https://martinez.granicus.com/boards/w/f900a82b9534faa3

An orientation session will be held to answer questions about the commission on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at noon via Zoom at the following link: https://cityofmartinez-org.zoom.us/j/98755363184?pwd=KsvkUvEbiQfeQrvikp6G5gzb1p8qx3.1 

Making the National Local

Professional football legend Brett Favre, who turns 55 next month, disclosed at a congressional hearing on welfare funds misuse this week that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, creating speculation that it may be linked to the concussions he suffered during his 20-year NFL playing career.

Favre has been an outspoken critic in recent years of young children playing tackle football because of the risks of head injuries (the late coaching and broadcasting legend John Madden felt the same way), advocating for flag football instead. In 2018, he said this:

I cringe when I see video, or I’m driving and I see little kids out playing, and they’re all decked out in their football gear and the helmet looks like it’s three times bigger than they are. It’s kind of funny, but it’s not as funny now as it was years ago, because of what we know now. I just cringe seeing a fragile little boy get tackled and the people ooh and ahh, and they just don’t know. Or they don’t care. It’s just so scary.

Such scenes of young children playing tackle football will play out on Saturdays at Alhambra High School this fall when the Martinez Youth Football and Cheer program teams takes the field. The organization’s teams start at Junior Pee Wee (as young as age 6, or age 5 with “city permission.”)

Favre is far from the only high-profile athlete who has spoken out against youth tackle football, despite the fact it seems to receive little discussion at the local or state levels these days (efforts to pass a bill in the state Legislature to ban the sport for young children have fizzled, with Gov. Gavin Newsom coming out against such legislation).

Here is what the basketball legend and longtime social justice advocate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said recently in his Substack newsletter on the topic, following the deaths of six teenagers nationally while playing football.

If basketball had such conclusive dangers, I’d encourage parents to keep their kids from playing that too. I realize no sport is without some risks. Flukes happen. But we have enough hard evidence that football—as we play it now—is simply too dangerous.

There are two things we could do. First, we can change the rules of the sport to be less physical (more flag football). That may not be as visceral and exciting as seeing children ram into each other, but the point of sports is the thrill of competing, not the thrill of injury. Second, coaches need much more training in how to conduct practice. With the weather getting hotter every year, kids are in grave danger during these lengthy outdoor sessions. This old-fashioned macho ideal of pushing our kids to toughen them is nonsense. Coaches who don’t understand that should be fired. At the very least, they and their schools should be held criminally and civilly liable for avoidable deaths.

Sports teach our children all about fair play, teamwork, sportsmanship, and discipline but mostly, they’re supposed to have fun. Why do oblivious adults have to ruin that?

What is your opinion about youth tackle football being played in Martinez? Should it be allowed? Should there be a minimum age requirement older than 6 (or 5)? Should the Martinez school district and city government make its facilities available for the playing of youth tackle football given the known risks, as outlined in this report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? Share your thoughts in the comment section below or shoot me an email.

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