Before I get to this week’s column, dear readers, I’d like to apologize for my absence the last few weeks. I had several urgent life events that needed my full attention (John Lennon once famously quipped that “life is what happens while you’re making your plans”), but I am now back and ready for further […]
Letters: Are live work areas safe?
Are live work areas safe? Tragic news coming out of Oakland this weekend. My heart goes out to those that lost family members in this fire. We in Benicia have a large live work area, and I was wondering: are they held to the same city codes as any other dwelling or business? I don’t […]
Dennis Lund: Trump victory resulted from failures at many levels
In the opening week of November, the nation was stunned by the remarkable and unexpected victory of President-elect Donald Trump. On election night, my wife and I left what was to be a celebration for a Trump victory with the full expectation that Hillary Clinton was on the verge of becoming president. We should have […]
Bob Livesay: Changes big and small
By Bob Livesay Special to the Herald It is a new beginning. The local election is over. There is not much change on that level. We have the same mayor and one new councilmember. The one big issue is who will be the new Planning Commission member. It is important because of the Seeno property […]
Mark Hughes: Reflections from a grateful candidate
By Mark Hughes Special to the Herald It now appears that most of the votes have been counted for the Benicia mayoral election, and unfortunately for me, the results were not what I had hoped. Losing such a close election stings a bit, but I am so proud of the campaign that I ran. I […]
The gift of a golden voice: Paying tribute to Leonard Cohen
As 2016 winds down and the history is written, one aspect of the year people will inevitably bring up is the sad amount of musical talent that has been lost. On Thursday, the music world lost another incredible figure: Leonard Cohen, the Canadian-born folk singer died at 82. Much has already been written about Cohen’s […]
Poetry Corner: Peter Bray “After the election…”
After the election, I grieved like a puppy that had lost its tail, heard the acceptance and concession speeches and went on my way to see a customer, scheduled new work and then headed to Nation’s for breakfast. Good luck, World and America, your new boy thinks Global Warming is a hoax, his majority colleagues […]
Grant Cooke: Benicia’s future at stake in local election
In August, I wrote a column about Benicia’s future, the New Economy and why Elizabeth Patterson, Steve Young, and Tom Campbell were the best choices to led our city as mayor and councilmembers respectively. At the time, I was disheartened by the majority of council members’ lack of political will to put a halt to […]
Mark Hughes: A candidate’s reflections
With the Nov. 8 election nearly upon us, I’d like to pause and reflect on this campaign and what it has meant to me. First and foremost, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the citizens of Benicia for the privilege of serving you on the City Council these past 11 years, and […]
Will Gregory: Candidates in their own words
This is in regards to what was reported in the Sept. 15 Herald article “Office seekers/holders discuss goals, crude by rail at Candidate’s Night.” The Benicia Police Officers Association selected slate of candidates in their own words—-with my replies (as a concerned citizen-voter in an election campaign) following –marked with +++ Christina Strawbridge: “’I don’t think […]