75 years ago

Famed Gorilla to be Exhibited in Benicia (May 7, 1942)

“Kongo,” a 263-pound gorilla brought to America by the late John L. Ludwig, will be exhibited here at First and H streets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Friday showing will be from 7 o’clock to 9:30 in the evening, and the Saturday and Sunday showings will be from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The gorilla is one of the six alive in captivity in the United States and is believed to be the only gorilla every shown in Benicia, or any other part of Solano County.
J.K. Lewis, general manager, came to Benicia Tuesday this week to make preparations for the exhibition.
“Kongo” was born in Sierra Leone, Africa. He is as large as a full grown man and helped make the Tarzan pictures in Hollywood. He eats 30 pounds of fruits and vegetables daily.

50 years ago

Anti-Poverty Program here Has Approval (May 4, 1967)

In a lengthy meeting Monday evening that covered an agenda of 15 items, the governing board of the Benicia Unified School District authorized two anti-poverty programs either in, or in cooperation with, Benicia schools. The first was the Headstart program for pre-school children, explained in detail to the board by George W. Trauger, district director of instruction, and John Watts of Vallejo, Office of Economic Opportunity program writer.
A general discussion preceded the unanimous ballot by the board authorizing the program for this summer.
A federal grant of approximately $9,000 will finance Headstart in Benicia. Forty-five children will attend, in three classes of 15 each. Each class has a certificated teacher, paid teacher aide and volunteer teacher aide.

25 years ago

Ciarrocchi to fill planning seats (May 5, 1992)

By Sarah Rohrs

Development proposals in the Northern Area and the possibility of commercial and residential development at the foot of First Street are two of the more significant challenges facing the Planning Commission this year.
Today there are only five out of seven members to rise to that challenge. Mayor Ernie Ciarrocchi said he will try to make appointments to fill these openings tonight.
Ciarrocchi interviews all the applicants and makes the nominations which must be confirmed by a City Council vote. Council members have the ability to give their opinions about who they would like to see serve on various commissions.
“As I’ve said before I want to get the Planning Commission up to full speed,” Ciarrocchi said. “They have some heavy issues in the pipeline, which may or may not come to pass,” he added.
Seven residents have applied for two Planning Commission seats. One seat was vacated by Burt Presnell, who moved out of town, while Commissioner Jerry Hayes created the other vacancy when he won a seat on the City Council in April.

The full articles of these and other stories are available on microfilm at the Benicia Public Library.

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