I came here on a Monday morning, and the place was empty. There's a directory just as you enter, so…read moreit was easy to find where to go. They have veteran services on the first floor, and vital records on the second floor. It was a little eerie walking through empty hallways with shut doors. But I made my way to the second floor and see the door for vital records. The door was closed, but the sign says to come in. The waiting room is very small with about 5 chairs. The person at the window was very helpful, took my request, accepted my payment, and came out a few minutes later with the documents. Everything took about 10 minutes in and out. They are located in Martinez, across the street from some condos. There's a parking lot, and the place reminds me of the DMV but less cars and people. Overall, a quick and easy experience.

Can you have an inspector come to the bathrooms here at 99 Ranch Market located at 1795 Willow Pass…read moreRd Concord, CA 94520? The bathroom is always filthy, wet, slippery, urine like odor. This is a health hazard, because if the bathroom is this filthy I can't imagined if the employees even wash their hands before they return to work. The employees are not cleaning routinely .

Things I learned during this years election: - my son has…read morebecome very interested in politics, and is majorly bummed that he can't vote yet (next year). - 17 year olds can be very insightful and inquisitive when they care about something - my children's political views are similar to mine - my wife's views are not as different than mine as she thinks they are - my parents and I voted differently on the major items this year - this is not usually the case - for the first time in years I was told to calm down during a political discussion. I usually am the calm one. But this year has got everyone rankled about something. --------- Regarding the CC Elections Division --------- Very well run this year folks. Much improved over last time. When the woman in front of me had a problem with submitting her ballot, they quickly tried to resolve it. She had marked two circles on one of the propositions (prop 8 of all the ones she could have messed up on). The machine you insert your ballot into gave her a choice of ignoring that item or redoing the ballot. She clearly wanted to redo it so her vote would count. No problem, they worked to resolve it quickly. Last time I heard lots of complaints. Not a single one this year. And I got a free Starbucks coffee afterward. Not my favorite coffee, but it was free. So go vote people.

I take voting very seriously and so does the Contra Costa Elections Division. Their staff are…read moreknowledgeable, organized, professional, and extremely nice. This year was my first time applying to be a election clerk and it was a wonderful, albeit exhausting, experience. I was nervous about the process and doing everything correctly but they provide a very thorough training and an even more thorough handbook. They train and coordinate hundreds of clerks throughout the county and make it look easy. They also have a program where young people can work at the polls which I think is awesome and a great way for people who aren't able to vote yet to contribute their time and energy.

[Jury Duty Perspective] Upon receiving a jury summons TWO…read moredays into the new year, I was sure that I would check-in the night before and be dismissed. That had been the case every other year since the year 2000. But not in 2026, this year this was my year to serve my Civic duty and head on down to the halls of justice to perform the duty. After getting through security and heading to the juror selection room, I realized I was the first person to get there for the day. I got my badge checked in, and I proceeded to the round tables in the back of the jury room so I could put my stuff down and hopefully be dismissed within a couple hours. That was not the case this time. I made it all the way through to the jury pool, but I wasn't one of the initial 18 people selected to sit in the jury pool in the courtroom. However, at the end of the day I was chosen to be an alternate and ended up serving four days on what I thought was gonna be a simple two hour turnaround. If you are chosen to be a juror and need to head to court, I suggest the following: 1) bring something to eat, such as a packaged snack (ie protein bar, gum, candy), a bottle of water and something to keep you engaged perhaps a book or your mobile phone because there's going be a lot of downtime. 2) bring single dollar bills for the vending machines that they have on site as they do not return exact change; this is also in case the Apple Pay or the card reader doesn't work. 3) dress in layers as the temperature can fluctuate wildly throughout the day around the building. The staff is cool, security was easy and the day proceeded as efficiently as possible for a government run operation.

It has been forever since I actually had to step into this building, but apparently, this was my…read moreyear to show up for jury duty in person. The security guards at the front were kind and helpful. Getting signed in was easy. The waiting game was the hardest part. One of the ladies handling us was very kind, but a bit confused. The other was very business-like but actually helpful with actual information. The wait can be long so bringing a snack, hydration and something to entertain yourself with. There are vending machines that take cash and card.

If you make an appointment online and you arrive on time with the correct documents, you should…read morehave no issues! I made an early morning appointment (around 8:30am). I didn't even have to sit in the waiting area because they took me right in. Although I heard you could do your TWIC and TSA Precheck enrollments at the same time, I made two separate appointments 30 mins apart just to cover all of my bases. They were able to complete both appointments in one sitting. I received my TWIC and TSA Precheck in the mail about 2 weeks later! I had a fantastic experience, and felt like I needed to share after seeing the bad reviews on this Yelp page.

Absolutely horrible, avoid…read more I signed up for TSA Pre Check here way back in October and it is now January and it still has not been processed. This place does not seem very well-run or organized either.

Extremely inconsistent if you call in to their non-emergency line regarding civil standby and more…read more (2025)

I had different encounters with Martinez involving my safety…read more First encounter I was driving on Alhambra and I had this random sever migraine that hit me so harsh. I could barely see. I pulled over at the jack in the box parking lot. I was panicking and this was about 9pm. I called MPD because I felt like they have a lot of down time driving around in such a small town. Big mistake. The officers didn't care how much pain I was in fact they just treated me like they needed safety instead. They searched me patted me down looked through my purse. I told them please take me to the ER which was across the street. After they looked through my purse . They refuse to assist me in the car remember I couldn't see much. I had to sit in the back and my purse had to be in the front with them. It was very traumatic because I'm a 5'2 female that needed a medical emergency. They treated me horribly. When I got to the hospital he gave me my purse through the window. Didn't care if I made it in safe. I will post his badge number once I find it. Second incident Which was about two days ago. I had been very concerned about buzzing going on in the wall. It's been going on for quite some time. I brought these concerns to my property manager they took off my smoke detector. They were got new managers they said they also have been hearing complaints from other residents that they hear buzzing in the walls. Well I didn't want anybody to think I was crazy so I downloaded two apps and I would see 5 cameras appear. I am a single mom that lives with my son. I freaked out because I just knew it. Well I also bout a camera detector. Well it would go off on the wall kitchen area. I felt ok I got evidence maybe ppl will believe me. Calling the Martinez department was the biggest mistake of my life. I just wanted to know if police can detect cameras. They could have gave me a simple "No". Instead they arrived 40 minutes after calling them with a crisis team and three cops. A big group came into my apartment making me feel like I was nuts. They didn't make me feel comfortable or heard at all. They just couldn't wait to demonstrate what they learned in training. They asked me if I been hearing voices. When they asked me that I should have just kicked them straight out and they knew it so they tried to act like they cared. They did not do a courtesy check or reassure me. They didn't care looking at the area where the detectors was going off. I knew my camera detector was spot on because as the officers were walking in my thing would go off on everyone of them because they had body cameras on. Anyways they didn't care to hear me out. They gaslit me to thinking in all in my head. I was so humiliated they tried to intervene with my child there. They told me why don't I just move to another place , yeah like it's that easy. It's the cheapest place I could afford. They gave me hot line numbers and a shelter number. When they left I felt more anxious. I learned my lesson . I will never call MPD if I am concerned for my safety ever again. They are no good. The two ladies who tried to intervene looked like Rosie O Donell. I thought to myself they should be the last ppl suggesting mental help . They definitely were out of breath bout time they got my apartment. My point is they caused more distress. I will be contacting the chef. It's just very unsettling for me. Although one officer gave me the answer I needed at the very end. They don't have equipment for seeking devices. That's all I wanted to know. No police report was done. The crisis team left like they didn't something when I never demonstrated I was on edge. I actually needed a crisis team after they left. They suck.

Martinez is such an odd town. Not necessarily in a bad way. It's an interesting mix of people; and…read moreI've never been anywhere like it before. The downtown has all sorts of great (though, pricey) antique and boutique shops. There is a nice park, a train station, a waterfront. There are a few cute bars (some divey, some nicer) and some cool little family owned restaurants. We lived in Martinez a few miles from the downtown a couple years ago for about 6 months. The small apartment overlooking the high school (Alhambra HS - which has the most fake bomb threats in CA so far this year) was super cheap - $800/month. You can't find anything that price for a 1/bdrm in Walnut Creek area. It was a quiet area for the most part. The building backed up onto the open space so it was great for hiking and we saw our share of wild animals. John Muir's historic home is in Martinez - it's a cool afternoon activity if you haven't been there before. There is also a nice farmer's market on the weekends. And the county court and recorder's offices are also in Martinez. Beautiful buildings. Martinez really has a lot of history. The people that live there are what make it interesting. From young to old, there are all sorts of people - very interesting to talk to the Martinez residents. The homes seem to match the people. Some older, some newer - some rundown a little, some cute, quaint, storybook looking... it's a great City. Good for an afternoon/evening somewhere new if you haven't hung out here before.

I grew up here. The downtown area has experienced a huge overhaul in the last ten years. You can…read morestill find countless antique shops, mom and pops and bums fresh out of county hospital. It is always fun to grab some lunch and watch the trains or stroll through the marina. A delightful, quaint town. Home, sweet home.

Went to their open house and breakfast great place meet 6 hooligans there, got a lot of picturesread more

Well deputy fire chief Aaron Mc Alistar must have seen my 1-star Yelp review because the other day,…read moreout of the blue I received a FULL reimbursement for ambulance services. This after they had sent it to a collection agency and I had been forced to pay it. (See other Yelper who, like me, had received a collections notice WITHOUT a prior bill.) I received a bill two years ago, called Fire department billing office explaining ambulance had refused to take me to John Muir, (in our county and the only hospital on my insurance) and was assured it would be taken care of. Then suddenly a collections agency contacted me. But thankfully, we have Yelp where us patients can finally be heard. Thank you, Yelp! PS I will modify or remove my reviews WHEN the CCC Fire Department changes their unfair and illegal billing practices.

Terrible customer service by city building official. Came in to pull simple over the counter…read morebuilding permit, but the permit technician was out for the day. The building official was at the counter helping a guy and asked where I drove from, after telling him I drove from Concord and would prefer not to have to come again because it's always a risk anytime you drive. He said he couldn't help me and I could not pull the permit, that I would need to drive back again tomorrow. Does the building official not know how to issue a permit?! Looks like time for some training at City of Pinole Building Dept.

Love it or leave it. Pinole. Suburban city in the middle of the East Bay. Fairly safe area…read more Mostly white middle class people and people who enjoy living around white middle class people. For some reason quite a few Phillipino folks in the area, but mostly in Hercules. Not as open-minded as San Francisco. If you dress like a San Franciscan and you come to Pinole they can tell you spend your time in SF. Pinole is pretty much full of people doing their own thing who don't care what anyone else is doing. There are some gay people living here and there, but not too many of them are out of the closet. In the evening people go jogging, bicycle riding, walk their dogs and can be found washing their cars in their driveways. You can get a good deal on a house here. Good schools, although not as good as they used to be. Good place for kids to grow up. A lot of cool people. A few rednecks. Watch out for speeding tickets. Pinole is near Berkeley, and 25 miles from SF. Pinole is normally 5 degrees warmer than SF year-round. Maybe more than that in the summer. It's not nearly as hot as Martinez or Antioch. It never snows in Pinole. Hail once or twice a year, nothing major. In a nutshell it's ok if you like to live in the suburbs. However some Black people I know are afraid to go to Pinole because they are afraid of the cops. I don't know how realistic they are being, but I thought it should be mentioned. If you are a city girl like me then you don't want to live in SF. It has more of small town feeling to it.