A RECENT HERALD ARTICLE about the Benicia Community Sustainability Commission (“CSC puts brakes on suspension of grants,” Nov. 19) suggested that some of the CSC’s members still do not “get it” that the City Council, not they, makes city policy. It was reported that some commission members “remained upset that the panel’s recommendations were not followed […]
Matt Talbot: A word about the midterm results, and a look forward
GIVEN MY LIBERAL ADVOCACY IN THIS SPACE AND ELSEWHERE, I should probably say a few words about the defeat of the Democrats in this year’s midterm elections. Before I give some free advice to the Democrats — which may be worth no more than what I’m charging them for it — I’m a good enough […]
Jerome Page: To a future, unburdened by thought
FIRST, A BRIEF SUMMARY FROM THE IMPLIED (along with the baldly stated!) positions of the victors in this past election. To wit: What is being made absolutely clear is that Obama’s obsession with environmental issues is not something this nation can any longer afford to indulge. Surely, by now, it has become obvious that the […]
Roger Straw: A straw man
THE HERALD’S RECENT TWO PART SERIES (click HERE and HERE) on the Union Pacific Railroad emergency training at Valero for a crude-by-rail accident suggested that someone, somewhere has claimed that “crude oil fires can’t be extinguished” and that “foam doesn’t put out fires.” Valero Fire Chief Joe Bateman called it a “fabrication,” and he’s right. […]
Dennis Lund: If you can’t beat them, indict them
“The road to power is paved with hypocrisy, and casualties.” — Francis ‘Frank’ Underwood THE CHARACTER OF FRANK UNDERWOOD, played magnificently by Kevin Spacey in “House of Cards,” represents the kind of politician you love to hate. He is a strange combination of ruthlessness and charm — amorality mixed with a façade of likeability. Churchill […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: 74 degrees Fahrenheit in Reno
I DROVE UP TO RENO ON FRIDAY AND RETURNED SUNDAY, a quick visit to see my friend Barbara. She lives in West Reno, up on the hill above the city, with a spectacular view of the city. My Scotties love Reno with all the accompanying wild smells, scurrying and flutter of small creatures and curious […]
Matt Talbot: Great jazz
I’VE MENTIONED BEFORE IN THIS SPACE that I’m a jazz fan. In part, I love jazz for the endless possibilities for expressiveness to which it lends itself, and for the communitarian and collaborative ethic that has always characterized the music. Wynton Marsalis has said regarding jazz: “As long as there is democracy, there will be […]
Think, Dream, Play: Land of the free, home of the sorta happy
I’M ABOUT TO REALIZE A LIFE-LONG DREAM — moving to the Happiest Place on Earth! I’ve had it with all this marginal joy! It’s just not good enough. Why settle for 16th best? That’s right. The United States ranks 16th among the top 25 happiest countries in the world, according to a study conducted by […]
Matt Talbot: Final reflections on what Europe has to offer the United States
I AM NOW BACK ON AMERICAN SOIL, dear readers, so I thought this week I would offer some closing thoughts on what I saw and learned while in Europe. I mentioned in a previous column that everywhere we went, from Rome to Paris, public transportation was far superior to the American product. Trains, buses and […]
On the Stage: Solano Rep’s ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ has workshop feel
SOLANO REPERTORY THEATRE COMPANY is currently staging Dale Wasserman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” an adaptation of the 1963 Ken Kesey novel, in the black box performance space of the Missouri Street Theatre in Fairfield. Nestor Campos Jr. stands out in the production as Chief Bromden, a patient at the mental institution where new-admit […]