By James Egan, MD Special to the Herald After lulling critics into complacency, the Benicia City Council has instructed staff to draw up a draft ordinance allowing the licensing of three marijuana distribution centers in the city of Benicia, including a microbusiness. It becomes clearer that the council’s unanimous vote on Dec. 5 to disallow […]
BOTTG receives further payment in restitution hearing
A former treasurer for the Benicia Old Town Theatre Group accused of embezzling money from the group’s account was ordered to pay just over $17,700 in restitution, according to a Tuesday ruling by the Solano County Superior Court. In 2013, BOTTG members had tried to secure the rights to a play but were unable to […]
Letters: Carter’s Biz Cafes and air monitoring
Support a local nonprofit The Herald recently published excellent letters by Susan Street and Lois Requist in support of Carter Rankin and his Biz Café. I heartily agree with both writers. I have an additional concern about the city’s refusal to renew Carter’s lease. Having worked with Carter since his arrival in Benicia, during that […]
Steve Young: The rationale for my cannabis vote
A recent guest column by Dennis Lowry referenced the following article that I posted on social media two days after the Dec. 19 meeting at which the City Council voted 4-1 to allow cannabis businesses– exclusive of downtown and the Southhampton Shopping Center. I want to thank Mr. Lowry for his kind words about my […]
A Different Drummer: One-paragraph story starters
I feel like writing about creative writing. Ironically, perhaps, I’ve seldom written to this topic. I didn’t teach creative writing either in 30 years at the high school, at least not directly. I taught journalism and literature. Objectivity was the creative mainstay. I’ve shared a few fictional stories here over the years, usually around the […]
Throwback Thursday: Herald headlines for the week of Dec. 17, 1942, 1967 and 1992
Compiled by Nick Sestanovich 75 years ago “E” Pennant Awarded To A Group At Benicia Arsenal (Dec. 17, 1942) A unique and unusual ceremony for awarding the “E” pennant was observed at the Benicia Arsenal last week in commemoration of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. … A similar ceremony was held […]
Benicia organizations to participate in Giving Tuesday
In the first few days after Thanksgiving, the sequence goes like this:Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, a break on Sunday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday was founded in 2012 by New York community center 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a means to support organizations through charitable means and kick off […]
Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”: Pondering Death (For Mark and Mitch)
As the years of my life have gone by, from time to time an old friend visits me. He always stops by unannounced. No phone call. No knock on the door. He just shows up. There doesn’t seem to be any particular plan to his visits and the older I get, the more often I […]
Sir Stryker concert at Empress will benefit local charities
With hurricanes battering the Atlantic and other parts of the world experiencing tragedies, the spirit of giving is on a lot of people’s minds. To help with this giving, Vallejo’s Empress Theatre will be hosting a concert with acclaimed entertainer Sir Stryker in which the proceeds will go to two local charities that serve Solano […]
School board to discuss dwindling student enrollment
Benicia Unified School District’s student enrollment for the 2017-18 school year is smaller than initially anticipated. Chief Business Official Tim Rahill will discuss the current enrollment numbers at Thursday’s school board meeting. At a meeting in February, Rahill noted that prior to the 2016-17 school year, BUSD had five to eight years of stable enrollment […]