Comcast and Solano County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn held a groundbreaking ceremony and lunch at Chepo's Tamales in Elmira Thursday morning, celebrating Comcast's decision to bring fiber-based broadband Internet to the community.
Mashburn thanked his District Representative Amy Sharp for her hard work on this issue since the pandemic, describing her as a "champion" of the rural broadband issue.
"She came into the office and said 'Boss, they need this, they need it bad,'" Mashburn said.
Mashburn also recognized Ben Dally, an Elmira resident who reached out to his office about the need for broadband in Elmira. Daly's grandfather brought electric power to the community, and his father brought water service, Mashburn said, so Dally bringing yet another utility to the community was in keeping with tradition.
"They don't have the same services that people in a city have," Mashburn said, "they don't have all the gas and water and broadband and all those things."
As the county continues to attract investment to Elmira and the entire unincorporated area, Mashburn said, businesses there will be more and more able to compete with their urban counterparts.
"Businesses like Chepos are going to be able to grow and thrive and realize all the benefits that businesses in a city have."
Brian Bottari of Comcast thanked Mashburn for his persistence on the issue, ensuring that the deal got done.
"Thank you for your determination," he said. "It's been a lot of peaks and valleys but you put your shoulder to the wheel and cut through a lot of red tape."
Lois Cross, representing State Senator Chris Cabaldon's office, said that the project will ensure that Elmira remains "connected, competitive and prepared."
"More Elmira residents will have the tools to thrive in the digital world," she said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cross said, tasks as simple as banking or doing homework could be a hassle or even impossible for rural residents.
"It really brought to the forefront how inequitable it is out here," she said.
Dally said he decided to raise the issue to county officials when he found himself and his wife struggling to attend meetings and stream videos while working from home during the pandemic. With just a microwave antenna, he said, dropouts were common and high-quality streaming was impossible.
Because of his father and grandfather's work, he said, he was inspired to do something about the issue.
"I knew that it's possible," Dally said, "I knew that through work and through talking to people you can make change in your community."
Less than two miles from Vacaville, Dally said that Elmira has repeatedly seen hardship but has repeatedly been neglected from an infrastructure perspective.
"Just knowing that is so close, it can be really frustrating," Dally said.
Still, Dally sees potential for Elmira and other places in the unincorporated area. Growth is important, he said, especially with California Forever's possible plans in the county. Ultimately, he said he thinks Elmira might need to incorporate or face encroachment from other communities.
"We have a lot of areas that could be developed," he said.
©2025 Times-Herald, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
