Join free

All stories

Concord · Development · Business · Housing · Fri Sep 25

Navy approves the financial agreement for the Concord Naval Weapons Station project

> THE MARTINEZ WIRE ▌SOURCE CHECK · SEP 29, 2026C57 / 100

Grade C · score 57/100

The best-sourced telling, by Patch, links no document and names three people or agencies on the record; three other outlets told it too.

Checked Tue Sep 29, 12:52 AM · 4 of 4 pages read

What the reporting says

City officials announced Thursday that the Navy approved the term sheet, which lets Concord and Brookfield Properties plan for 12,272 homes on about 2,422 acres over a build-out expected to span 30 years.

coverage4 outlets

4 newsrooms

Patch

News report · Bay City News · Fri Sep 25, 3:11 PM

Source grade C57/100

“Navy Approval Advances Concord Naval Station Redevelopment”

The agreement clears the way for planning 12,272 homes, with public review expected to begin in 2027.

The opening, as Patch wrote it

0 documents linked2 quotes3 of 13 paragraphs say where facts came from

Read the full story at Patch

How this was graded13.8 + 12 + 10 + 10 = 45.8 of 80 → 57/100 · Grade C
13.8
Sourcing · of 45
12
Corroboration · of 15
10
Headline · of 10
10
Transparency · of 10

Left out: Record match (nothing of that kind to count).

Contra Costa Herald

News report · Publisher · Fri Sep 25, 8:54 PM

Source grade D50/100

“U.S. Navy approves financial agreement for Base Reuse Project at former Concord Naval Weapons Station”

Will cost Master Developer $44.6 million plus interest Additional community engagement expected to start early 2027

The opening, as Contra Costa Herald wrote it

0 documents linked1 quote3 of 12 paragraphs say where facts came from

Read the full story at Contra Costa Herald

How this was graded12.2 + 12 + 10 + 6 = 40.2 of 80 → 50/100 · Grade D
12.2
Sourcing · of 45
12
Corroboration · of 15
10
Headline · of 10
6
Transparency · of 10

Left out: Record match (nothing of that kind to count).

ContraCosta.news

News report · CC News · Fri Sep 25, 4:43 AM

Source grade D44/100

“U.S. Navy Approves Financial Agreement for the Base Reuse Project at the Former Concord Naval Weapons Station”

Concord, CA – The City of Concord is happy to announce that the U.S. Navy has approved the Term Sheet for the Concord Community Reuse Project at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station.

The opening, as ContraCosta.news wrote it

0 documents linked1 quote2 of 13 paragraphs say where facts came from

Read the full story at ContraCosta.news

How this was graded7.8 + 12 + 10 + 6 = 35.8 of 80 → 44/100 · Grade D
7.8
Sourcing · of 45
12
Corroboration · of 15
10
Headline · of 10
6
Transparency · of 10

Left out: Record match (nothing of that kind to count).

Claycord

News report · CLAYCORD.com · Thu Sep 24, 4:48 PM

Source grade F35/100

“U.S. Navy Approves Key Financial Agreement For Concord Naval Weapons Station Redevelopment”

0 documents linked0 quotes0 of 2 paragraphs say where facts came from

No sources cited

Read the full story at Claycord

How this was graded0 + 12 + 10 + 6 = 28 of 80 → 35/100 · Grade F
0
Sourcing · of 45
12
Corroboration · of 15
10
Headline · of 10
6
Transparency · of 10

Left out: Record match (nothing of that kind to count).

At most D: No sources cited.

readers0 comments

0 up0 down

Worth knowing? Your vote moves it up the list under Top today.

Comments go up at once and are checked automatically: no links but public records, no phone numbers, emails or street addresses, nothing hateful or threatening. Three reports from readers take a comment down. Leave the name empty to post as Reader and a short code.

    No comments yet.

    How the grading works

    The short version

    The Wire grades each article from what the page itself shows: whether its facts say where they came from, the public documents it links, the other outlets and sources that confirm the same story, whether its facts match the Wire's own public records, a calm headline, and a clear byline and date. The story takes its best-sourced telling's grade. The grade describes the page, never the people in it.

    The formulaGrade = 100 × points ÷ possibleA 85 · B 70 · C 55 · D 40

    Grade = 100 × points ÷ possibleeach article · 0 to 100

    Story = its best tellingA 85 · B 70 · C 55 · D 40 · F below 40

    45
    Sourcing · 25 for the share of facts that say where they came from, 0, 7 or 12 for none, one or two or more public documents linked, 0 to 8 for the people and agencies named on the record
    15
    Corroboration · 8 or 12 for one or two or more other outlets or sources confirming it, 3 more when one is official; 8 for a telling alone that links two or more documents
    20
    Record match · 20 × the key facts confirmed or matching the Wire's records ÷ the facts checked; left out when none could be checked
    10
    Headline · less for a question, capitals, an exclamation mark, a teaser or heated words
    10
    Transparency · a byline, a date, an update or correction note, the outlet's identity, the kind labelled
    This story's arithmeticfour articles graded
    OutletSCRHTScore
    Patch13.812–101057
    Contra Costa Herald12.212–10650
    ContraCosta.news7.812–10644
    Claycord012–10635

    13.8 + 12 + 10 + 10 = 45.8 of 80 → 57/100 · Grade C

    S sourcing · C corroboration · R record match · H headline · T transparency. A dash is a part left out.

    How it is checked6 rules
    • Every input is read by rules from the page itself; the arithmetic is shown for every article.
    • An article that names no source, links no document and names no one on the record says "No sources cited", and its grade is at most D.
    • Where the Wire's own records hold the fact (a vote, a meeting, an amount, a call, a listing), the story and the record are set side by side; a vote the record tells differently holds the grade at most at D.
    • An agency's own release is the record itself and is not graded; an outlet that prints it as its story counts once.
    • Each story's key facts are checked for independent confirmation: first by rules against the Wire's records and the agencies' own releases, then each morning by research. A confirmation counts only when the Wire read the source's page itself and found the sentence on it; a government page, a public record or another newsroom's own reporting, never a copy of the story or a social post. A source that tells a fact differently is shown beside the story.
    • A page the Wire cannot read is never guessed at: it shows only its own headline, quoted, and is not graded.
    Sources4 records
    1. News reportFri Sep 25PatchRead
    2. News reportFri Sep 25Contra Costa HeraldRead
    3. News reportFri Sep 25ContraCosta.newsRead
    4. News reportThu Sep 24ClaycordRead