The Benicia City Council unanimously voted to direct staff to begin establishing a pension trust fund for CalPERS benefits and allocate a one-time amount of $1.7 million received from a 2017 property tax appeal settlement from Valero at its Tuesday meeting. The city provides retirement benefits for employees through its participation in CalPERS, which allows […]
EDB will review June’s Southampton Business Walk at tonight’s meeting
A review of the Economic Development Board’s (EDB) most recent Business Walk is on the agenda for a busy meeting tonight. The EDB hosted its first Business Walk in September to gauge the concerns of local business owners, with walks taking place in certain retail districts throughout town roughly every two months. The first walk […]
CPUC: 2017 Valero outage result of PG&E mistakes regarding electric component
A report by the California Public Utilities Commission said the power outage at the Valero Benicia Refinery which led to a flareup and shutdown of the Industrial Park in 2017 was the result of a failed voltage transformer at Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) Bahia Substation and not providing adequate training or documents related to […]
Giant Osprey wins Obtainium Cup award
By Donna Beth Weilenman Martinez News-Gazette Special to the Herald Despite assaults by flying monkeys, robots, zombies, pirates and sharks, a giant Osprey handled by Tree Bartlett, Nick Busch, Dan Baron and Valerie and Michael Nelson won the Obtainium Cup trophy Sunday afternoon on Mare Island in Vallejo. In its seventh year, the Obtainium Cup […]
Former BHS teacher chosen to direct Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park production
Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park is going deep— in more ways than one— for this year’s play, which is directed by a well-known forner Benicia educator. Christine Mani, who taught theater at Benicia High School for 17 years, is directing “Measure for Measure,” which kicks off a four-week run in multiple cities Friday. […]
Devon Minnema: Dixon vice mayor’s controversial comments not reflective of today’s generation
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the unfortunate role of needing to defend my hometown and constituents. First defending them from our own Vice Mayor Ted Hickman for a column he wrote in the Dixon Independent Voice calling for a “Straight Pride American Month,” and then from the dozens of emails echoing him that […]
Benicia Letters Once More: That Teacher
The following “letter” is part of the continuing series from the unpublished novel by James Garrett, “Benicia Letters Once More”. He does not plan to publish the book but instead is choosing to share the letters with the readers of the Benicia Herald. The letters continue the storyline of Garrett’s first novel “Benicia and Letters […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What turns us into screaming banshees?
The other day I was at Robin and Co. beauty salon. I was looking forward to a relaxing time catching up with Robin, getting my hair cut, my roots covered and a lovely shampoo. I arrived to find her compatriot had a client. Even in close proximity, we were able to have our separate space. […]
Les Overlock: Rob Jenkins’ ‘Faces of Cuba’ brings music to portraits
Art Review by Les Overlock Special to the Herald “The Buena Vista Social Club” movie, which was spawned by Ry Cooder in 1999, set the tone for the revival of music emanating in pre-Castro era of Cuba. The movie is as exciting as the photo display produced by Rob Jenkins, which is on display at […]
Benicia trumpeter conquers the world
For most musicians, playing at Carnegie Hall would be the highlight of their careers. For trumpeter Shane O’Brien— who has played Carnegie twice—, it is just another stop on the tour for the Benicia native. However, it was still a great experience for him. “Every musician dreams of playing Carnegie Hall,” he said. “It was […]