An important election For many, this November’s election is insignificant due to it not being a presidential election. However, for the citizens of Benicia, it holds great significance. Residents and business owners have been burdened with a City Council of “tax and spend” philosophy these last few years. Increases in water rates, building fees, security […]
Steve Morgan: Anatomy of a male litterer
By Steve Morgan Special to the Herald This is a sequel to the article my wife, Sindy Harris, wrote about our experiences picking up garbage along Interstate 780 and its adjoining on/off ramps through Caltrans’ Adopt-A-Highway program. Sindy posted her observations about the type of trash that women litter. She hypothesized that because women are […]
Devon Minnema: Political labels are not always helpful
I’ve always believed that words have meaning. That may seem obvious, but I think it is important to have solid definitions to terminology that way language can be less manipulated by politicians and ideologues. In the last few years, people have begun co-opting old terms and branding themselves with new ones in an attempt to […]
Bob Livesay: The state of the Democratic Party in Benicia
By Bob Livesay Special to the Herald I have been following politics for many years. The first election I voted in was 1954. My first presidential election was 1956. I voted for Eisenhower, and he won. You had to be 21 then, and I was not 21 for the 1952 presidential election. So as you […]
Pat Toth-Smith: Birdseye puts safety first
It’s been two years since the 2016 crude-by-rail permit for Valero was denied, but a strong memory of it remains for me and probably for a lot of Benicians. It’s because of that experience that I’m urging Benicians to vote for Kari Birdseye for the Benicia City Council. Birdseye was a new Planning Commissioner […]
Christina Strawbridge: The citizens are our customers
On Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, I appeared before the Benicia City Council for the third time concerning the new increases in water and sewer rates. Previously, I had asked that the rates be deferred from July to November with the reasoning that usage would be down in the winter months. This was not accepted. The […]
Allison Martin: Reducing and cleaning up litter starts with all of us
By Allison Martin Special to the Herald Ten cigarette butts. Nine plastic bottles. Eight food wrappers. Seven plastic bottle caps. Six drink straws. Five dirty diapers. Four soda cans. Three old shirts. Two Styrofoam containers. One rubber tire. And I collected it all in just five minutes during the 2017 Coastal Cleanup Day in Solano […]
Sindy Harris: The anatomy of a litterer
By Sindy Harris Special to the Herald Benicia may have noticed a cleaner Interstate 780 and its ramps lately. My husband, Steve, and I hope so, since we adopted a three mile stretch of I780 and its adjoining on and off ramps through CalTrans’ Adopt-A-Highway program several months ago. We have become a bit obsessed […]
Letter: Film Festival was a pleasure
Film Festival was a pleasure I was delighted to attend the 5th annual Benicia Film Festival this past Labor Day weekend. I had the privilege to attend the Gala at 6 p.m. and the seven listed films at 8 p.m. (The audience watched a bonus film, making eight short films). My favorite film of the […]
Letters: Cannabis and gratitude
Regulating cannabis is working The results of a recent state-commissioned California Healthy Kids Survey concluded that fewer teens are consuming cannabis post-legalization. Students told surveyors cannabis is harder to get now than it was a few years ago. This is exactly in line with what proponents of regulated cannabis believed would happen if the dark […]