BACK IN MARCH AND APRIL, the intrepid crew of Nancy Lund, Doug Snyder, Cande Medrano and myself took to our bicycles to do an infrastructure survey of nearly 10 routes that Nancy had mapped out for riding in Benicia. If you are used to driving around Benicia, or if you’re new to town or you […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Tip-top condition
I’M PROBABLY THE LAST PERSON who should be writing about bicycle maintenance but, as an educator, I do know that studying a subject and then writing about it is a really good start to moving from good intentions to action. Now, my dad and mother instilled in me the understanding that “if you want something […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Pumped up
WE WEREN’T REALLY SURE HOW MANY WOULD SHOW UP, but between Nancy Lund (and members of the Benicia Bicycle Club), Fred Ayala (Benicia police), Greg Andrada (Wheels in Motion), Doug Snyder (California e-Bikes) and Sharon Maher, Bruce Barrow and myself (Community Sustainability Commission) — and oh yes, additional representation from the Benicia High School competitive […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Design science
I HAVE STARTED TO REREAD THE BOOKS BY MY HERO RICHARD BUCKMINSTER FULLER. I have a pretty comprehensive collection of his writings and designs, as it was his geodesic dome constructed of wood that both shattered and expanded my paradigm of what structures could be. I saw that dome in the courtyard of the University […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Tune up
MARK YOUR CALENDAR and dust off your bicycles for the free bicycle clinic taking place from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 2 at the Benicia Community Center, 370 E L St. This clinic is for all bicycles and their riders of any age and ability! This informative, fun and challenging clinic is the result of […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: What’s not said
AFTER LIVING IN MARIN FOR MANY YEARS and after 20 years on the payrolls of Northwestern Bell, the U.S. Air Force and Pacific Telephone, I finally saved enough downpayment money to consider buying a home. It was the late 1980s and while I loved Marin, I couldn’t afford the price of an average Marin home. […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Charged up and ready to go
CERTAINLY BENICIA HAS BEEN KNOWN IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA as a place to come and recharge one’s batteries, what with our Great Day by the Bay filled with art, music, restaurants, eclectic watering holes, First Street shopping, our pier and beautiful waterfront, fantastic community parks and history! But now not only those emotional and spiritual batteries […]
Crewmember Report: Valero, California, Gas Station Earth: My dream … or was it a nightmare?
DEAR CAROLYN OF SEND ME YOUR DREAMS (featured every Wednesday in The Herald): I know you help people interpret dreams and I’m hoping you can help me sort out this dream that I had. Here goes: In my dream I was in a gathering place that looked very much like our City Council Chambers, and […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Home power
I WAS CRUISING AROUND MY PBS APP ON MY IPAD MINI and came across an interesting video series titled, “The Lexicon of Sustainability.” There are currently 21 short videos that run about 2 to 3 minutes each on a range of topics: fair trade versus direct trade, urban farming, drip irrigation, and so on. The […]
Crewmember Report: Benicia, California, Spaceship Earth: Benicia is brimming with bicycles
I DON’T KNOW WHETHER IT’S MY PREDISPOSITION FOR ALL THINGS BICYCLE, or that there are actually more people bicycling around Benicia — but it surely seems like I’m seeing more people on bicycles these days. And why not? The weather is absolutely perfect for it. We have an amazing array of places to bike to, […]