Improper response Mayor Patterson needs civility training. Why would I say that? Very simple, because of her very loud and abusive voice comment to two speakers at last week’s Council meeting. Her comment was condescending, rude and disrespectful to two residents speaking on an item on Measure C, declaring the speakers to be “out of […]
Letters: Incident handled well
Incident handled well The Valero flareup was handled very well by both Valero and the city of Benicia. We all should be giving them a standing ovation for their very fine job. That does not seem to be how the mayor looks at it. I understand her concerns, but to get answers as fast as […]
Grant Cooke: Gas stations are going away
Recently, Tesla passed General Motors as the most valuable U.S. automaker. Last week, my writing partner came back from Beijing, talking about how the Chinese were developing new electric cars. The Chinese are predicted to the lead the “NEV” or New Energy Vehicle cycle in a decade. Hayward now has a hydrogen refueling station, and […]
Matt Talbot: Some thoughts on a brutalist monument
Toward the back of the UC Berkeley campus is a building that is storied for its utter, hideous ugliness. It is called Wurster Hall, and was designed in the aptly-named “brutalist” style. It is, astonishingly, the place that the University trains architects. During a recent visit to the campus with a couple friends, I remarked […]
Letters: Too soon to vote on merger
Too soon to vote on merger I am writing to express my support for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU 1021) and its representation of the Association of Bay Area Government (ABAG) employees. As a member of the ABAG Regional Planning Committee, I am informed about a proposal to merge the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) […]
Dennis Lund: A modest proposal for the Supreme Court
Once again the nation has suffered through the process of a Supreme Court nomination. Having done so, we can now either sit back and wait in dread for the next one, or we can consider modification of probably the most divisive process in politics, save for presidential elections. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has played […]
Matt Talbot: Race, Democrats and the South
I concluded last week’s column with the following: “…I believe that the Democratic Party needs to do far more for working-class voters – and not just in terms of discrete policies they can point to, but getting reacquainted with the 70 percent of America that does not have a college degree, and whose incomes have […]
Pam Donohue: Beware of credit card usury
By Pam Donohue Special to the Herald Call me paranoid, but after all the phony calls and emails I have been receiving lately, I am beginning to feel that everyone is out there trying to steal what they can from me! At least once a month, I receive what the bank calls “phish” emails telling […]
Letters: Where does the city go from here?
Where do we go from here? It does appear this fine little town is approaching a critical time. There are financial and service issues at the top of the list, but guess what? We are still not taking any immediate action to resolve those very critical issue. Yes, the Amports fees and the giveaway of […]
Matt Talbot: The rhymes of history
Between 1845 and 1852, over a million Irish men, women and children starved to death in an event referred to in Irish Gaelic as An Gorta Mór – “The Great Hunger.” Many Irish starved in their farmhouses and in the fields; others on the road to cities, where the authorities had promised relief. Many who […]