El Cerrito Wire

Reminder that today (Aug. 21, 2026)  is the last day to comment on the draft of the El Cerrito Local Road Safety Plan, which seeks to reduce the number of crashes, particularly fatal ones.  Possible strategies include: - Use quick-build, economical approaches and exemption to the city’s parking removal appeal process; - Enforce a 25-mile per hour maximum speed citywide; -Add speed humps and the wider, flatter speed tables; -Expand bike lanes by removing parking; -Add mid-block crosswalks, and flashing beacons at crosswalks; -Encouage class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes and other legal mobility devices on all bikeways, while addressing reckless riding; and, -Bus-only lanes on San Pablo Avenue If you are having trouble posting your comments directly to the document, look for the two speech bubble icons on the right of the screen. You can also email your comments to pworks@elcerrito.gov  https://elcerritowire.blogspot.com/2026/08/comment-online-on-draft-plan-for.html

Candidate interviews with the El Cerrito Democratic Club and Democratic Party of Contra Costa County are now linked from the El Cerrito Wire Elections page . There is also a statement from Forrest Lanning explaining why he did not participate. See also Livable El Cerrito coverage Image screenshot from YouTube

Despite assurances from Flock that it would remove its cameras from El Cerrito by Aug. 18, Police Chief Paul Keith told the City Council that night that 30 of the 40 cameras remain in place. Nine of the cameras have been vandalized, he said. His department has responded by launching a criminal investigation, while City Manager Karen Pinkos said the city would treat the cameras remaining in place as a code violation. “We’ve been assured the cameras are no longer recording. Our officers no longer have access to the cameras and officers in our neighboring jurisdictions do not either,” Keith said. “For all intents and purposes, they’re just a piece of inactive technology that still belongs to a company. So please don’t vandalize the cameras.” Pinkos followed Keith’s comments by saying, “Believe me we are just as frustrated as everyone else . . . but we want to do this the right way.” Pinkos said she has instructed the code enforcement staff to prepare violation letters.  “Perhaps if us...

Only one candidate filed for each of the open seats on the West Contra Costa Unified School District, which means the school board races will not be on the ballot, with the potential loss of the rich discussion of education issues that comes with campaigning. El Cerrito Wire prepared a questionnaire for board candidates before the races were locked in, asking the candidates for their thoughts on the hot issues in the school district - declining enrollment, the budget, use of technology, safety, curriculum, communication with families, and gathering input.  Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy, who retains his seat representing Area 4, and Caitlin Garibaldi, who will assume the seat representing Area 5, graciously agreed to complete the questionnaires anyway. Read their thoughtful answers here: Q and A with Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy , who will continue to represent El Sobrante, parts of Richmond and San Pablo, and a sliver of Pinole. Q and A with Caitlin Garibaldi , who will represent Area 5, which re...

Message posted on Facebook by Caitlin Garibaldi, who will become the WCCUSD school board member for Area 5, which includes El Cerrito, Kensington, and part of Richmond. Garibaldi was the only person who filed to run for the seat. I am so excited to be joining the WCCUSD Board of Education as Trustee for Area 5! I want to take a moment to thank my opponent, Kristin Sangren, for ultimately deciding to pull out of the race and entrust me with this position. We spoke at length before she withdrew, and I know she did not make that decision lightly. The issues we discussed we were very much aligned on, and I’m happy to have found an ally that’s committed to helping promote change both here in the district, and on a larger scale. One of the issues we both feel strongly about is really pushing to significantly reduce our reliance on tech in schools, and I can’t wait to talk to her more about how we may be able to work together toward that.  Since I won’t be on the ballot I won’t be running...

Employment agreements for the police chief and fire chief are on the agenda for the Aug. 18, 2026 El Cerrito City Council meeting. The meeting begins at 6 pm, preceded by a 5 pm special meeting to interview applicants for the Design Review Board and Citizen Streets Oversight Committee. Agenda Instructions for joining the meeting by Zoom and for public comments are at the top of the agenda. Photo of the Public Safety building as seen through the window of City Hall.

School opens in the West Contra Costa Unified School District Tuesday, Aug. 18, a minimum day. Use the El Cerrito Wire SCHOOLS link toward the top of the page to find school news and information quickly. At the top of the page, a link takes you to the lastest school news published by El Cerrito Wire. There are also links to: - The district calendar - ParentSquare - PowerSchool - Clever - The website, lunch menu, and library for Fairmont, Harding, Kensington, Madera, Mira Vista, Korematsu, and El Cerrito High, as well as band, PTSA, and sports on MaxPrep for the high school. - The school district website homepage, school board agendas, videos of past meetings, school board contacts (El Cerrito and Kensington are in Area 5), volunteering, enrolling and transferring - Childcare and after-school enrichment classes - California state standards that outline what your student should learn at each grade level

The California Secretary of State’s office conducted a drawing Aug. 13 of all the letters in the alphabet. The order in which the letters were drawn is used to determine the order that names will appear on ballots for races big and small throughout the state. If the first letter of a candidate‘s last name was drawn earlier than the first letter of another candidate’s last name, they will appear on the ballot ahead of them.  If the first letter is the same, as in White and Wysinger, then the order between those two names is determined by the second letter, also using the randomized alphabet. See the image for the order in which the letters were drawn to create what the state calls a “randomized alphabet.” Based on the drawing, El Cerrito City Council candidates will appear on the ballot in the following order: Kimberly White, Carolyn Wysinger, Mary Ann Jawili, Forrest Lanning, Wally Nowinski, Gabe Quinto. Wherever possible, El Cerrito Wire will use the reverse of that order to count...

UPDATE FROM RICHMONDSIDE: Kennedy High deemed safe to reopen After hearing a report Aug. 12 on the reduction in staffing for lunchtime supervision at elementary schools,  West Contra Costa Unified School District board members acknowledged that the situation will be challenging. But the item was on the agenda for discussion only and with the district’s tight finances, there was little talk of devoting additional funds to yard supervision. The district-funded yard supervision planned for this coming school year is half of what it was last school year. Prior to COVID, the district provided 1 hour of yard supervision per 100 students. After COVID, that was increased to 1½ hours. Last year it was 2 hours, and the plan for 2026-27 is for it to go back to the pre-COVID allocation of 1 hour of yard supervision per 100 students. Trustee Leslie Reckler said that just because that level of staffing was used for many years before COVID “doesn’t make it the right ratio.” Yard supervisors...

Caitlin Garibaldi will be the new West Contra Costa Unified School District board member representing Area 5. Kristin Sangren, who took out papers on Aug. 10 and turned them in Aug. 11, withdrew Aug. 12, the final day candidates could enter the race for the four-year seat.  That leaves Garibaldi as the only candidate. The area includes El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond. The Area 5 race was extended to Aug. 12 because incumbent Leslie Reckler did not seek reelection. Garibaldi, who has lived in El Cerrito for seven years, is a Fairmont Elementary School parent, and works in pet care. She joins incumbent Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy of Area 4, the only other WCCUSD board position up for grabs this election, in securing a seat without competition. Area 4 includes El Sobrante, parts of Richmond and San Pablo, and a sliver of Pinole. Per the state Education Code, the two seats will not appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, a policy meant to save school districts the cost of an unnecessa...

Ever wonder how the order of candidates for a particular race on your ballot is selected and why it matters? For the Nov. 3, 2026 election, the order will be determined 11 am Aug. 13. The day after the extended filing date passes, the California Secretary of State’s office holds a random drawing of letters, creating what is called a randomized alphabet. It’s used in races big and small throughout the state to determine what order to place candidates’ names in each race. For example, if someone named Rodriguez is running against someone named Chen, and R gets drawn before C, then Rodriguez appears on the ballot before Chen. (If their names start with the same letter or letters, the first letter in their names that is different is used to determine the order.) In lower visibility races, this could be enough to give Rodriguez a win. It’s not exactly the sorting hat at Hogwarts, but it’s often watched closely by politicians. It’s of such interest that the Secretary of State live streams th...

UPDATE: Garibaldi secures seat! At least two candidates will compete for the WCCUSD Area 5 board seat, with one day left for additional candidates to join the race. Kristin Sangren (pictured) returned her nomination papers Aug. 11 to run for the West Contra Costa Unified School District Area 5 seat. Also competing for the seat is Caitlin Garibaldi. Just one day, Aug. 12, remains for other candidates to join the race. Because the incumbent, Leslie Reckler, is not seeking reelection, the filing period was automatically extended from the initial filing day of Aug. 7. Area 5 includes El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond. The term is four years. Kristin M. Sangren is listed on the UC Berkeley Law website as a lecturer in legal studies. (The county elections department listed the candidate as Kristin Makai Sangren on Aug. 10, when she took out papers). Garibaldi has lived in El Cerrito for seven years, is a Fairmont Elementary School parent, and works in pet care. Two other race...