At 16, Reid Burford is about the age where one might expect to find him working as a coffee shop barista, but that is not the case. Instead, the Benicia High School junior roasts and distributes his own coffee as part of his business Howling Hounds Coffee Roasters. What’s more: he has been doing it […]
Candidate Spotlight: Planning Commission Chair Kari Birdseye sees council as next step
After three years on the Planning Commission, including a year and a half as its chair, Kari Birdseye is ready to continue serving the city in a bigger way, hence why she is running for the City Council. “(It’s) the natural next step in my service to Benicia,” she said. Birdseye received a bachelor’s […]
Coming-of-age play to debut national run at Empress in September
Fairfield resident Lisa Smith-Bryant’s story “Clown in the Prayer Closet” has had quite an odyssey. It began as a book in 2013 and then was adapted by the author as an independent movie in 2015. Now the story is about to begin its run as a theatrical play when the production comes to Vallejo’s Empress […]
Longtime educator wants to bring his experience to school board
Mark Maselli, a 25-year teaching veteran, wants more than to sit on the Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District. He wants to bring a new attitude to the present school board. “I never thought I’d be motivated to do this, but just watching the way things were being handled in the leadership and […]
Signups available for coding competition at St. Dominic School
Kids throughout Solano County will have the opportunity to learn what goes into making those technological devices they are so ingrained in work while having fun and getting competitive. St. Dominic School will be hosting a Hackathon Jr. event. Hackathon Jr. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit which aims to encourage Science, Technology, Engineering and […]
Real estate agent seeks school board seat
Adrean Hayashi became inspired to run for the Benicia school board in the midst of a yearlong dispute over teacher’s wages. The driving factor for the mother of six was seeing teachers rallying and holding signs outside Joe Henderson Elementary School as the Benicia Teachers Union and Benicia Unified School District were at an impasse […]
HPRC discusses proposed design standards
The Historic Preservation Review Commission (HPRC) held a study session on interim design standards for multi-family housing proposals put forth by Senate Bill 35 at its Thursday meeting. The goal of SB 35 is to require cities to approve qualifying multi-family housing projects consistent and objective and design review standards when the California Department of […]
Benicia tour guide to play 150 holes of golf for charity
Proceeds will benefit fire victims The summer of 2018 has seen scores of fires throughout California, and fire season has not even started yet. Among the bigger ones are the Carr Fire, which has burned nearly 230,000 acres throughout Shasta and Trinity counties and is 90 percent contained, and the Mendocino Complex Fire, which has […]
Candidate Spotlight: Retired carpenter William Emes hopes to unify City Council
William Emes Jr., the newest candidate to enter the Benicia City Council race, sees his experience as different from anyone on the council. The 25-year resident and retired journeyman carpenter hopes to use that to his advantage to bring new ideas to the elected body. “What we’re witnessing in the world today is an incredible […]
Local labor group announces council, school board endorsements
The Napa/Solano Central Labor Council (NSLC), a labor collective representing Napa and Solano counties, announced its endorsements in local races via a Facebook post. According to the post, the NSCLC held 53 interviews with candidates in races throughout Solano and Napa counties over several days with a panel of more than 30 affiliate leaders. The […]