A NEWLY FORMED SOLANO COUNTY REAL ESTATE FRAUD ADVISORY TEAM has been formed to work on strategies and tactics to prevent, detect and report real estate fraud, District Attorney Donald A. du Bain has announced.

The panel is called Solano REFAT, and is made up of real estate professionals, attorneys and representatives of such community interests as the elderly and those of Hispanic and Filipino heritage, who are particularly vulnerable to real estate fraud, du Bain said.

Members are district attorney investigators Sonny Ash and Jerry Sanchez; attorney Terry Duree; Eli Flushman and Ryan Griffith of the Neighborhood Law Center; Mike Fortney of Placer Land Title; Kyle Jones of the California Bureau of Real Estate; Toni Mallory of the Solano Realtors Association; Amanda Mills of Northern Solano Realtors; Karla Prieto of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Rochelle Sherock of the Senior Coalition of Solano County; Dave Soldati of First Priority Financial; Hermie Sunga of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce; Marc Tonnesen, Solano County Assessor-Recorder; Solano County Deputy District Attorney Laura Undlin; and Karen Walker of First Northern Bank.

At its first meeting, du Bain, as its chairperson, spoke about the reasons for establishing the team and the goals it is expected to accomplish.

Among those goals are preventing real estate fraud through educating the public, especially those who are most vulnerable to questionable practices; explaining to the public the schemes that appear to be mortgage refinancing, but instead are methods by which a homeowner’s life savings can be stolen; and using the expertise of the real estate industry to help prosecute real estate fraud.

The next meeting of Solano REFAT will be July 15 in Fairfield.

Sonoma Raceway announces hot dog eating contest

Sonoma Raceway has added a hot dog eating contest to its NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350, scheduled for June 22.

The contest will be one of a series of qualifiers for the Nathan’s Famous Inc. annual Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Nathan’s Famous, on Brooklyn’s Coney Island.

For the first time, this 13-stop preliminary series will include three NASCAR events, including the race at Sonoma Raceway.

The hot dog eating qualifier will take place during ceremonies in front of the main grandstand prior to the race. The tour also will make stops at the annual Speed Street celebration in Charlotte, N.C., and Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa.

The top male and female finishers from each qualifier will earn a spot to compete in the ESPN-televised finals at the original Nathan’s Famous. Its July 4 contest has been a tradition since 1916.

The current champion, Joey Chestnut, is a San Jose native. Last year he set the world record by eating 69 Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. It was his seventh straight title.

Bread company website lets shoppers order locally

California Lavash, a family-owned artisan flatbread bakery, has launched a new website that lets shoppers find local stores carrying its products.
Besides flatbread, the company also makes and distributes wrap sandwiches, personal pizzas and other food to more than 700 stores in the state. It has been in business for more than 20 years.

Among those carrying the California Lavash line are Safeway and Raley’s, both of which are in Benicia. Its website is http://www.californialavash.com.

The Benicia Herald’s weekly Benicia Business Beat column is an opportunity for local businesses and companies to tell our readers about such news as moves, grand openings, awards, promotion of employees, staff changes and changes in goods and services.

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