Compiled by Nick Sestanovich

75 years ago

City Acts to Have City Streets Improved (August, 19, 1943)

At an adjourned meeting of the City Council held Thursday, August 12 at the City Hall, a resolution of intention was passed authorizing the formation of Street Assessment District No. 1, whereby certain streets in Benicia will be paved and curbs and gutters installed. Notice of intention will be found on page seven in this issue of the Herald-New Era and map is on file at the office of the City Engineer, showing the streets that are included in the proposed district.

The total cost of the work in the proposed district, which will be bonded under the Street and Highways Improvement Acts of 1911 and 1915, will be $261,054, and bond payments by property owners will spread over 15 years, the first installment to be paid in 1945. Any property owner desiring to pay for street improvement work in cash may do.

Unless 51 per cent of property owners protest the proposed work the necessary legal proceedings will follow the hearing by the City Council on September 2 at 8 p.m. at the City Hall.

50 years ago

Benicia H.S. students to register (August 15, 1968)

Benicia High School students will register for the 1968-69 school year on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 22 and 23, it was announced this week by Philip O. Goettel, principal.

The complete registration schedule is as follows:

Seniors, Thursday, Aug. 22, 8-12 a.m. Juniors, Thursday, Aug. 22, 1-4 p.m., Sophomores, Friday, Aug. 23, 1-4 p.m. Freshmen, Friday, Aug. 23, 1-4 p.m. New students, Monday, Aug. 26, 1-4 p.m. (For all students, grades 9-10-11-12, who have never attended Benicia schools.)

All registration will take place in the cafetorium.

Principal Goettel stressed the importance of early registration.

“Many of our classes will be limited in size and it is important that we know as soon as possible how many students will be on hand for the opening of school on Sept. 3. Any students who know that they will be unable to appear at the scheduled time should contact the school at an earlier date.”

25 years ago

Council wades into water, sewer hikes (Aug. 15, 1993)

By Sarah Rohrs

Lawsuits, fines, a bad bond rating, breakdowns in equipment, pollution and even cancer.

Pretty scary stuff, but City Hall staff insists these could be the consequences if the City Council does not raise monthly water and sewer rates to pay for debt service, pollution testing and state-mandated plant improvements.

Tuesday night, councilmen will receive staff’s recommendations to raise sewer rates by $4, or from $14.50 to $18.50, and water rates by 15 percent, which would result in a $7.17 increase for residential customers.

But when the $4.25 drought surcharge on monthly water bills expires Sept. 1, water charges will actually decrease by $1.08. The overall increase from both the 15 percent increase in the water bills and the sewer rate hike would be $2.92, if councilmen approve the recommendations.

The water rate includes a 15 percent across-the-board increase, plus an inverted rate structure for residential, seniors, mobile home parks and commercial-industrial users.

The full articles of these and other stories are available on microfilm at the Benicia Public Library.