WE’RE SURE YOU’VE YEARD THAT BENICIA’S MAYOR IS “PUZZLED” by the reactions of citizens when they learn they have been switched to a different electric power provider without their knowledge, input or permission. We members of Benicians Against Marin Clean Energy see this as positive feedback, that we actually are being heard — but now […]
Matt Talbot: Know-how and how far it gets you
I’VE ALWAYS HAD AN APTITUDE FOR COMPREHENDING MECHANICAL SYSTEMS. I remember the moment, years ago, when I realized I had this ability. I was sitting in the living room of my then-girlfriend, and as we talked late into the night I grabbed a broken alarm clock that had sat gathering dust on her desk for […]
Open letter from a Catholic priest
RECENTLY, ONE OF OUR FELLOW BENICIA RESIDENTS wrote two opinion pieces for The Herald in which he talked about his faith journey. He detailed how he was brought up Catholic and then converted to a Protestant denomination later in life. The author wrote about his negative childhood, family and Church experiences. As someone who assists […]
Matt Talbot: My journey with the Catholic Church
A FEW WEEKS AGO, Robert Michaels penned a column for The Herald in which he explained why he is a Protestant rather than a Catholic. He repeated some misconceptions about the Church that are common in Protestant critiques, such as the surpassingly strange idea that Catholics are not Christians; but because I’m no theologian, I […]
Elizabeth Patterson: Answering residents’ questions on MCE
I AM PROUD OF VOTING TO JOIN MARIN CLEAN ENERGY, and I signed up for its Deep Green plan (100-percent renewables) mainly because it is the right thing to do, since I have too many trees on my property to have solar panels. I have been asked the same question about a public vote that […]
On Eagles’ Wings: When Roman Catholics become students of the Bible
I DON’T REMEMBER MUCH ABOUT CHURCH AS A YOUNG BOY. My mother, grandparents, aunts and uncles were all Roman Catholic. We even had a priest in the family whom I met in the late ’60s. Naturally, then, my first act in the church was to be baptized as an infant. My biological father abandoned us […]
Heald
LAST SUNDAY, I HAD JUST FINISHED my route and was lying in bed peering over the mountain that is my 62-year-old gut watching “Ancient Aliens” on the History channel when I got a text from Heald College: They were going out of business the next day and I was to pick up my transcript Wednesday. […]
When PG&E was like MCE
THE RECENT DECISION OF BENICIA’S CITY COUNCIL to convert from Pacific Gas & Electric to Marin Clean Energy is reminiscent of earlier times. The Herald carried an article on Jan. 6, 1938 reporting that the utility applied for a franchise to deliver gas and electricity to the city. The proposal included a limit of 25 […]
Dennis Lund: When did Taqiyah become de facto policy of the left?
Taqiyah: The practice of concealing one’s beliefs and foregoing ordinary religious duties when under threat of death or injury. — www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/011-taqiyya.htm IN THE ISLAMIC FAITH, deception, either Taqiyah or Kitman — in Islamic jurisprudence, the art of making ambiguous or deceptive statements — is permitted under certain very specific circumstances. As words evolve their original […]
Think, Dream, Play: Tell us your Benicia story
I GREW UP IN A FAMILY OF FOUR, SORT OF. With an older brother whom I adored, I happily accepted the role of “baby.”But then, as these things sometimes go, that little unit fell apart and over time, scattered. My brother and I grew up under the able tutelage of our single mother. We eked […]