The Benicia City Council unanimously voted to direct staff to begin establishing a pension trust fund for CalPERS benefits and allocate a one-time amount of $1.7 million received from a 2017 property tax appeal settlement from Valero at its Tuesday meeting. The city provides retirement benefits for employees through its participation in CalPERS, which allows […]
Buchanan sentenced to 150 years in prison for 2015 triple murder, could receive parole in 25
Staff Report Nolen Buchanan, a Benicia resident who last month was found guilty of murdering family members, received a sentence of 150 years in prison by the El Dorado County Superior Court on Thursday. However, since he was a minor when he committed the crimes, he could be eligible for parole in 25 years, per […]
Voice of the Village: What kind of a traveler are you?
By Lois Requist Picture this: Germany. October, 1989. My husband and I are on the Autobahn. We have a system. He drives. I navigate and decide where we are staying that night. By four in the afternoon, I’m checking the guidebooks for hotels in our vicinity. (No GPS, cellphones, or Booking.com back then). Traffic snarls […]
ISO Working Group: Benicia Deserves a Local Industrial Safety Ordinance (Part 3)
Benicia ISO Working Group In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we examined the health effects and costs of particulates and other air pollutants and pointed out the inadequacies of Valero’ proposed air monitoring plan, now under review at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). Today we will look at other statewide […]
HPRC to discuss design guidelines for awnings, balconies and more at Thursday’s meeting
If the recent slate of Historic Preservation Review Commission (HPRC) meetings are any indication, 2018 is shaping up to be the year of downtown design guideline updates in Benicia. That will not change with Thursday’s meeting where discussion topics from last month’s meeting will be carried over. Benicia is in the process of updating design […]
Vallejo police submit DNA evidence in Zodiac case
Now that DNA has been used to arrest a suspect in the case of the Golden State Killer— who was accused of committing more than 100 rapes, 50 burglaries and at least 12 murders throughout California between 1974 and 1986— many have wondered if a similar process would be used locate a suspect in another […]
BUSD community urges equal pay for teachers at board meeting
Students, faculty and parents took to the lectern during the public comment portion of Thursday’s school board meeting to stress the importance of equitable pay for teachers. On Jan. 24, Benicia Unified School District and the Benicia Teachers Association (BTA) held a negotiations meeting following a budget workshop. BUSD proposed a one-time bonus of 1 […]
Benicians to run for education this weekend
Benicians and other participants will have a chance to show if they were born to run as the city is hosting the 11th annual Run for education on Sunday. The Run for Education is a charity event put on by the Benicia Education Foundation to raise money for programs and services in the Benicia Unified […]
BOTTG spring play captures crumbling marriage
The title of the play is “Coming Apart,” but Benicia Old Town Theatre Group’s spring play is coming together nicely and will open on Friday. Fred Carmichael’s 1994 play centers around married couple Frances and Colin Kittridge, whose marriage is crumbling. Colin works as a humor columnist and Frances as a romance novelist, giving them […]