■ ‘Da Group’ member’s paintings featured at downtown gallery By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor Some of Craig Britton’s oil paintings now on display at Benicia Plein Air Gallery are so new, the paint is still drying. Britton, a Crockett artist, is featured at the gallery this month. He selected the works for display from a […]
School district rejoices at passage of Prop. 30
Officials thank voters By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor California Proposition 30 emerged victorious after a tense day at the polls Tuesday, garnering 53.9 percent approval from state voters. The measure, promoted by Gov. Jerry Brown as a vital boon to the state’s public school system, raises tax rates on those earning more than $250,000 and […]
Decision tabled on 5th-grade sex ed class materials
By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor Benicia Unified School District trustees voted unanimously Thursday to postpone approval of materials for the fifth-grade Family Life Instruction course to give parents more time to view and comment on the set of three DVDs.
Remembering Bill
Community memorializes artist, teacher By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor Benicia artist and teacher Bill Harsh died Oct. 27 at age 59. The painter and former Arts Benicia board member touched the lives of many artists and other members of the community, some of whom shared their thoughts on his passing. “Bill was an … instructor, […]
Trustees to eye ‘Family Life’ course materials
3 new DVDs recommended; some staff had expressed concern over curriculum for fifth-grade class By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor Dr. Karen Dubrule, director of curriculum and instruction, will ask the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees Thursday to adopt the new curriculum for the fifth-grade course, Family Life Instruction, a sex education class. Dubrule […]
Should Benicia High School’s campus be closed?
Principal, staff tackle thorny, longstanding dilemma By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor Benicia High School Principal Damon Wright last week offered details on ongoing discussions over whether to close the school campus during lunch. Wright told the Benicia Unified School District Board that “we want to make sure that the policy is in the best interest […]
Trustees support Measure Q, Prop. 30 on Nov. 6; say ‘no’ to Prop. 32
By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor In addition to approving a Strategic Plan last week, the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees gave a nod to the district’s official stance on Measure Q and Propositions 30 and 32.
Wave of the future: At downtown tavern, menus go high-tech
Bar introduces iPads for patron orders By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor Anyone who frequents the Rellik Tavern has seen the leatherbound drink menus sporting the bar’s logo embossed on a metal plate. Lately, though, those menus have been conspicuously absent — replaced by new technology. Rather than one of the bulky traditional menus, Rellik cocktail […]
Commentaries in clay
By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor Sculptor Suzanne Long works in figures. But her work is not figurative. So to speak. “In a way I don’t consider my work figurative, I consider it narrative,” said Long, the featured artist for October at downtown’s Gallery 621. “It’s more about the story than the figure for me.” A […]
All about color
Pastellist Diane Ringwood brings her bright pastoral scenes to Benicia By Keri Luiz Assistant Editor “I LIKE TO USE lots and lots of color. That’s what really excites me about painting.” Diane Ringwood, featured this month at the Benicia Plein Air Gallery, is currently the only pastel artist in the collective. For the past 12 […]