On Thursday, January 18th, 220 Common Ground leaders from Solano and Napa Counties kicked off 2018 with a Neighborhood Safety Assembly at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Vallejo. They were joined by 60 allies from across the region.

At the heart of the agenda was a plan, crafted by local parish and school leaders, to prioritize five areas across Vallejo for critical crosswalk improvements, and to examine laws to decrease vacant lot blight which plagues residential neighborhoods across Vallejo.

Mayor Bob Sampayan and the new Superintendent of Vallejo public schools, Dr. Adam Clark, committed to working with Common Ground leaders on these issues.

Fr. Andrés Emmanuelli, vicar at St Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Vallejo, and Ms. Maggi Ingalls with Napa Valley Unitarian Universalist, discussed the specifics of the 'Common Ground Neighborhood Safety Plan' and called upon those gathered to reclaim their communities. Towards that end, leaders have scheduled a study session with the Mayor at First Christian Church in Vallejo on February 12th.

"An enthusiastic crowd of about 1,500 people filled a Vallejo high school gym Sunday afternoon to welcome a new multi-county organization to the community.

Common Ground was introduced at the convention, which was attended by members of its 15 member institutions, and Napa and Solano counties and state elected officials. The broad-based organization is made of religious and non-profit organizations from Vallejo, Benicia, Fairfield, American Canyon and Napa, who 'have the capacity to act on the issues in our community,' said co-chairman Todd Bertani, of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Fairfield."

Common Ground Kicks Off to Serve Communities, Times Herald (Printable Version)

Common Ground Kicks Off with Energetic Conviction, Daily Republic (Printable Version)

Diverse Solano, Napa Agencies to Seek 'Common Ground', Times Herald

New Organization Unites Faith Communities, Other Agencies, Daily Republic