Compiled by Nick Sestanovich

75 years ago

New Road Is Graded Half Way To Vallejo, Work Being Pushed (Aug. 20, 1942)

Grading of the new Benicia-Vallejo highway has been completed for a little more than half the 6.1 miles of the project. A Herald-New Era car was driven over the road this week a distance of three and one-half miles starting from the Arsenal gate.
Caterpillar scrapers, bulldozers and tampers are now cutting the roadway through a hill.
When the grading is complete it will be covered with selected material, and on top of that, gravel, then the paving. Distance between the Arsenal and Highway 40 at Vallejo will be shortened approximately one mile as compared to the present road.
Contract under which the highway is being constructed calls for its completion by January 1, 1943, but at the rate of progress now being maintained, it seems likely to be ready for traffic ahead of time.
The new road is connected near the Arsenal gate with another link of highway now being pushed toward Cordelia, a distance of four miles measured from the corner of Second and M Streets. This highway which is already graded, will bypass the Arsenal on the west side. It will cross a bridge at Sulphur Springs creek which is not yet completed.

50 years ago

Registration For BHS Scheduled Aug. 24-25 (Aug. 17, 1967)

Student Body Card, Senior Pictures To Be Taken At Signup

Benicia High School students will register on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 24-25, it was announced this week by Phil Goettel, principal. Juniors and seniors are scheduled for Thursday and the sophomores and incoming freshmen are slated for Friday sign-ups. Complete information on the registration was mailed to all students this week, Goettel said.
Students new in the Benicia Unified School District– those who have never attended any of the Benicia schools– will be registered on Monday, Aug. 28
Counselors and several faculty members will be on hand at registration times to assist the students.
On the registration dates the enrollees also will be able to purchase their student body cards for the 1967-68 year, their Yearbook and Pep Club membership.
Student Council President Vogelpohl said this week:
“We hope every student will buy a student body card during registration week. The price is only $3.50 at this time, but will increase to $4.50 later on.”
Yearbook Editor Peggy Wentworth announced that senior pictures for the 1968 Panthers will be taken during the two-day registration period. The time schedules for the pictures have been mailed to the Seniors. Boys pictures will be taken on Thursday, Aug. 24 and the girls on Friday, Aug. 25.

25 years ago

Council juggles banner policy (Aug. 16, 1992)

City has 4 options for displays in City Park, but prohibiting political or controversial messages isn’t one of them

The city may find its hands tied by a controversial pro-life banner displayed last month at the gateway to First Street.
According to research by City Attorney Shawn Mason, Benicia cannot prohibit controversial or political items on any banner hanging above City Park without also excluding messages for popular event such as the Peddlers Fair.
During its meeting Tuesday night, which will begin at 7:30 p.m., the City Council will look at four alternative policies governing banners.
It was a banner hung July 13 by Solano Citizens for Life that ignited the controversy. The banner depicting an 8-week-old fetus, pointing out that it possessed brainwaves, a heartbeat and fingerprints.
On the first day it was displayed, the banner elicited nearly 100 calls to City Hall. By the next day, it had apparently been vandalized and was taken down by its sponsor.
At its meeting July 21, the council instituted a temporary moratorium on the display of banners in City Park and asked Mason to research constitutional issues regarding content and free speech protections.
Mason responded with four suggested policies. He said the council could open the banner policy to all uses regardless of the content of the message, or at the other extreme it could do away with the traditional placard at the corner of City Park.

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

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