A recent guest column by Dennis Lowry referenced the following article that I posted on social media two days after the Dec. 19 meeting at which the City Council voted 4-1 to allow cannabis businesses– exclusive of downtown and the Southhampton Shopping Center. I want to thank Mr. Lowry for his kind words about my […]
Everyday Feng Shui: Creating a stress free home for the new year
“I just can’t keep up. I go from one fire to another. I feel so overwhelmed. I don’t know where to begin. I feel blocked. I have no energy.” Do you hear yourself or others around you saying such things? Look around, do you then see piles of unfiled papers, items stacked everywhere, blocked doors, […]
Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”: The Dwindling Wick
I watched a candle as it burned Its melting wax will not return It gave me warmth and gave me light And stayed with me throughout the night A thing that was and now is not Was put to use and then forgot Did it burn; did it exist Its image fades into the mist […]
A Different Drummer: One-paragraph story starters
I feel like writing about creative writing. Ironically, perhaps, I’ve seldom written to this topic. I didn’t teach creative writing either in 30 years at the high school, at least not directly. I taught journalism and literature. Objectivity was the creative mainstay. I’ve shared a few fictional stories here over the years, usually around the […]
Bob Livesay: No change in council thinking in 2018
By Bob Livesay Special to the Herald A very happy new year to all. Yes, 2018 will be a challenge for the city of Benicia. The biggest thing to look forward to is the City Council election in November. The biggest issue is water/sewer rates. Economic development will be a major issue too. At that […]
Voice of the Village: The inevitable death and taxes
By Lois Requist Grim subjects with which to start off the new year? Not necessarily. Viewpoint is everything. I’ve already lived a long and good life. Of course, I hope and actively work to do what I can to live longer and enjoy each day. Taxes remind us of what we pay to […]
The A Cappella Handyman: Websites and Graphics…
(Pedro’s Hot Re-run: This column first appeared in the Benicia Herald on July 29, 2011) Way back in 1995, I was NOT interested in having e-mail…my former assistant from Bechtel/SF, Viki Kristensen came to our home for dinner one weekend and brought with her, her AOL software on a CD…She asked about my then new […]
Dennis Lowry: Council gives Benicia a lump of coal for Christmas
(Editor’s note: This column was published in two parts in the print edition for spatial reasons. It is being posted here in its entirety.) I was disappointed that all but one member of our City Council voted to allow marijuana to be legally grown, cultivated, processed and commercially sold in our little town beginning sometime […]
Cannabis: Evolving in Benicia
“You bet I did, and I enjoyed it!” said businessman Michael Bloomberg when answering a reporter’s question about cannabis consumption previous to his first run for mayor of New York City, where he went on to serve three terms. I had the same response back in 1965, and went on to enjoy “recreational” cannabis consumption […]
Benicia Letters Once More: The Couple
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 […]