By Carrie Rehak Special to the Herald I have been following the discussions about whether it would be of value for the city of Benicia to have a local Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO). To my mind, two main arguments for and against having a local ordinance—freedom and spending — mirror one another, though from different […]
Letter: Move forward with ISO
Move forward with ISO Benicia suffered a major toxic incident when Valero emitted thousands of pounds of dangerous chemicals last May. On a continuing basis, Benicia’s Valero refinery is fined by Bay Area and State agencies for emissions exceeding toxic limits. Currently, access to the refinery emissions data as well as the actions taken to […]
Letters: Small Business Saturday, water rates and ISO
Small Business Saturday is big for Benicia Benicia is home to dozens of unique small businesses where natives and neighbors can find antiques & collectibles, furniture & home goods, art, music & books, high-fashion & vintage clothing, hand-crafted glass & ceramics, toys for kids and pets, family-owned bakeries & restaurants, and many providers of the […]
Letter: Misplaced blame
Misplaced blame The Herald published a snide ad from Valero on Tuesday, unbecoming to a corporation, stooping to accusations of our city officials who work so hard to represent the electorate and assure us that the city is governed by good stewardship. There is no need to take on our Mayor, as though she alone […]
Panelists answer questions on Industrial Safety Ordinance
Six months after the Benicia City Council last discussed a local Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO), a panel was held Tuesday at the Benicia Public Library to go over Contra Costa County’s ISO and make a push for something similar in Benicia. In May, the Valero Benicia Refinery underwent an emergency shutdown as Pacific Gas & […]
Kathy Kerridge: Working toward a local safety ordinance to keep Benicians safe, informed
Benicia is the only city in Solano County that is home to a refinery – and the only Bay Area refinery city left unprotected by a local Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO). Fortunately, the City of Benicia can learn from State and Contra Costa County expertise in order to develop and implement its own. The […]
Letters: Harold Bray and ISO
ISO town hall discussion panel tonight The city of Benicia is the only refinery town in the Bay Area not protected by an Industrial Safety Ordinance. In Contra Costa County, the Hazardous Materials Division of the Health Department is responsible for enforcing an ISO that governs the three refineries in the county’s unincorporated areas – […]
Letters: ISO and water woes
We need an ISO As a Benicia resident I found out about the May 5 Valero refinery near-catastrophic emergency shutdown and major flaring incident in real time, when I drove through the large black cloud of smoke looming over Interstate 680 which was headed directly toward the Suisun Marsh and the city of Fairfield. The […]
Letters: Submariners and ISO
Benicia needs an ISO As a long-time advocate for local measures and policies that aim to protect public health and safety, I urge everyone who shares this concern to attend the panel discussion, to be held this coming Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the Benicia Public Library, about what adoption of an Industrial Safety Ordinance [“ISO”] […]
Letters: LWV forum and ISO
Learn about open government at LWV forum Current local news and discussion is rife with concern about elected officials being “paid off” by corporate interests or wealthy donors. While our election system has some definite flaws, it does have required procedures and penalties for reporting campaign financing. Just last week, the Fair Political Practices Commission […]