Tag Archives: Benicia CA

November 3 Deadline for the Survey That Will Help You Shape Benicia’s Future

Benicia’s Capitol State Historic Park. | Uncredited image.

By Stephen Golub, posted in the Benicia Herald on October 29, 2023

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

If you go to https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/strategicplan, or simply search for “Benicia Strategic Plan,” you’ll find a short but important online survey that the City has commissioned to help set priorities for years to come. The survey is one stage in a strategic planning process, stretching into early next year, by which we can all weigh in on where Benicia goes from here in terms of building on our strengths and tackling our challenges.

An online meeting this past Tuesday, attended by about 80 Benicians, provided a chance to discuss the planning process. We’ll have several more opportunities in the months to come. Watch for emails from and other announcements by City Manager Mario Guiliani for updates and future forums. The survey is a key component of this initiative.


But be aware:

The deadline for survey responses is November 3.


(Given the amount of time it can take for word about something like this to percolate, I’d suggest that the deadline should be extended. But let’s assume it’s set at November 3.)

The exercise takes maybe five or ten minutes to complete. It’s well worth the slight but interesting effort involved.

In taking the survey, I found myself wanting to endorse all fifteen potential answers for the “What are the things that make our community a great place to live?” question. We can only select up to five, however.

Nonetheless, there’s an opportunity to go beyond that list, under the “Other” option. I discussed the City’s waterfront setting as a significant asset that sets us apart from so many other communities.

Conversely, I wanted some more specificity regarding potential answers to the survey’s “What do you think are the top opportunities for improvement that the City of Benicia should focus on?” question. But thankfully, again, there is an “Other” option by which you can add and explain your own preferred answer(s).

Two things came to mind regarding that “Other” option:

First, I realize that we rely on Valero to some degree for jobs and other benefits, I appreciate the many fine Benicians who are its employees or retirees, and I respect the perspectives of our fellow community members who fully support it. But…

A truck drives into the Valero refinery in Benicia in July. | Rich Pedroncelli / AP.

There’s a major need to better address the massive, hazardous, longstanding air pollution violations Valero has committed, and which it didn’t tell us about for many years, while our kids, older adults and many other citizens possibly suffered health effects from potentially toxic emissions hundreds of times government limits. There are too many incidents and ongoing issues to detail here. But I’ll note that two examples of such repeated violations – at least one stretching back well over a decade – only came to light in 2022 and 2023.

Moreover, there’s nothing about Valero’s positive contributions that make them mutually exclusive with it being a better, safer neighbor. It’s the only refinery in the Bay Area that operates without a city or county ordinance geared to protecting citizen health and safety. The Texas-based corporation could do much better in partnering with the City, making its refinery here a less hazardous operation and sharing information vital to our safety and health.

The second thing that the survey brought to mind – even without specifically offering this as a potential answer – is that Benicia has the opportunity to diversify and strengthen its economy by taking advantage of potential private sector, federal and state funding to encourage manufacturing, servicing or otherwise profiting regarding wind, solar and other emerging technologies. Such initiatives would be great for local jobs and businesses, as well as our overall economic growth and health.

In a related vein, and even as we’re wary of the hazards the Valero refinery imposes or grateful for the economic benefits it brings, the facility won’t be here forever – or conceivably could be sold or altered in ways that make the need for alternative economic opportunities much more urgent. The strategic planning process, including the survey, gives us a chance to start considering such alternatives.

But those are just my quick reactions. And to be clear, the survey is about far more than such specific concerns, as it touches on parks, infrastructure, community engagement, arts and culture, festivals, policing, fire protection and a host of other matters.

So what are your thoughts? If you want to weigh in, the survey provides a great chance to offer your own goals and concerns. Yet another of its questions asks us to rank priorities; it’s a pretty thought-provoking exercise to engage in.

And again, it only takes five to ten minutes, at most.

And again, the deadline is November 3. Check it out!


Benicia resident Stephen Golub offers excellent perspective on his blog, A Promised Land:  Politics. Policy. America as a Developing Country.

To access his other posts or subscribe, please go to his blog site, A Promised Land.


RECENT POSTS FROM STEPHEN GOLUB:

BENICIA OUR HOME, Sunday afternoon, June 25 – program details

LAST CALL AND REMINDER!

Here’s some details on Sunday’s “Benicia Our Home” program and information that may be of help to those not familiar with the Clock Tower. This is a once in a decade – or a lifetime – Benicia event – don’t miss it!

“Benicia Our Home”
This Sunday, June 25, 3 p.m.
at the Benicia Clock Tower 
The program starts at 3 p.m.
  • Premier showing of video “Benicia Our Home” AND “The Making of Benicia Our Home”
  • Overview of Benicia Poetry during the past three years of challenge and crisis
  • California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick—Vision for poetry in our communities
  • MC Mary Susan Gast, outgoing Benicia Poet Laureate
  • Benicia “ZipOdes” sprinkled throughout
When you arrive at the Clock Tower
  • You will be greeted at the entrance and directed to the 2nd floor auditorium. You can take the stairs or the elevator.
  • When you enter the auditorium, please stop at the nametag table.
  • Sign the copy of Yearning To Breathe Free that we will present as a gift to California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick.
  • Enjoy the art display – Benicia Artists, Scenes of Benicia
  • Books of Herrick’s poetry, along with Yearning To Breathe Free, will be available for sale.
Driving Directions to the Clock Tower, 1189 Washington St

From I 780

  • Take exit 5 toward Central Benicia/E. Second St.
  • Turn left toward downtown Benicia on E 2nd St. at the end of the exit ramp.
  • Continue on E 2nd St for about half a mile and turn left onto Military East at stoplight.
  • Follow Military East .8 miles to Adams St.  Adams St. verges to the left; make the slight left turn onto Adams. (It is really a slight left, not a 45 degree hard left.)
  • Follow Adams Street .3 miles to a stop sign. To the left is a big sign, “Johannson Square, Commandant’s Lane.” This is Washington St. Watching for oncoming traffic, turn left onto Washington St. / Commandant’s Lane.
  • Follow Washington uphill to the parking lot and the Clock Tower on the right.

From inside Benicia

  • Find your way to Military East.
  • Follow Military East .8 miles to Adams St.  Adams St. verges to the left; make the slight left turn onto Adams. (It is really a slight left, not a 45 degree hard left.)
  • Follow Adams Street .3 miles to a stop sign. To the left is a big sign, “Johannson Square, Commandant’s Lane.” This is Washington St. Watching for oncoming traffic, turn left onto Washington St. / Commandant’s Lane.
  • Follow Washington uphill to the parking lot and the Clock Tower on the right.

From BenIndy contributor Roger Straw…
Roger Straw, Benicia CA

‘Benicia Our Home’ at the Clocktower will be incredible – kind of a send-off for my sweetheart of 52 years, Benicia Poet Laureate Mary Susan Gast.  …Larnie Fox commented on Mary Susan’s poetry and leadership, “Mary Susan has been an amazing presence on the scene here, easing us through insurrections, mass shootings and COVID with compassion and insight.” As to the June 25 event, I can’t believe we ALSO have the California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick coming! And more – Constance Beutel’s song-video will bring Benicians together in an unprecedented way – such positivity as we’ve not seen in my time in Benicia… Mark your calendar now, and plan to attend!]

Click image to enlarge.

Stephen Golub: Despite Its Problems, Benicians (Mostly) Really Like Benicia

Despite Its Problems, Benicians (Mostly) Really Like Benicia

Benicia’s Capitol State Historic Park. | Uncredited image.

By Stephen Golub, posted June 2, 2023

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

If you’ve been following Benicia news and social media lately, you’d probably think that our city has a number of serious problems to contend with. And you’d be absolutely right. But there’s good news as well.

First, though, the bad news:

The Budget Challenge. It entails painful cuts and revenue-raising measures in order to balance our books. There have been City Council and other meetings on this in recent months. There doubtless will be more in the months to come.

The ‘La Migra’ Challenge. Named for a slang term applied to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, it’s a game that’s been played by Benicia high school students annually for years. But the very name has clear racist connotations. And while some students may play willingly, not all do so. Even worse, there have been reliable reports – including in the May 12 Benicia Herald and more recently on the Benicia Independent – of minority students being harassed and even subjected to attack. For a  discussion of the problem (including TV links), go to Sheri Leigh’s superb Benicia Independent post, which was also shared on Nextdoor. A couple of useful comments suggest that the “game” was somewhat limited this year due to police and school actions this year, but it remains a horrid pastime.

The Environmental Challenge. For one thing, there was the Thanksgiving release by the Martinez Refining Company of a toxic plume that drifted over parts of Benicia. The nature and danger of the residues in Martinez and here are now being tested. On a more regular basis, there are repeated violations by Valero, including but by no means limited to pouring toxic chemicals into our air for at least fifteen years without telling us. Valero has been compounding these actions, in a sense, by pouring many hundreds of thousands of dollars into our city council and mayoral elections in recent years (though unsuccessfully in 2020 and 2022), presumably to help elect Republican and Democratic candidates it finds favorable. Though we appreciate the jobs and donations Valero provides, being a good neighbor does not include polluting our skies, politics and perhaps even health.

So why the cheery title for this column, despite these challenges? Because Benicia has the community strength, resilience and pride to hopefully overcome or at least mitigate them, as suggested by a recent survey of Benicians’ attitudes and experiences, as part of the National Community Survey (NCS). Both Mayor Young and City Manager Giuliani have recently reported on the study. I’m here to supplement their efforts by summarizing some of its results.

For a link to the NCS methodology and findings, here’s Steve Young’s very useful Nextdoor post on the topic.

The survey focused on hundreds of communities across the country. It was conducted here in Benicia from January 20 to March 3 of this year.

Overall, the NCS found a good deal of satisfaction with our city’s “livability.” That all-purpose term includes survey results for numerous different categories of life here, including Economy; Mobility; Community Design; Parks and Recreation; Education, Arts and Culture; and Inclusivity and Engagement.

Benicia came out quite well, in many respects scoring at least 10 percent higher than the national “benchmarks” – basically the national average, though the study’s Methodology section does not make that clear.

For instance, “Over 9 in 10 residents favorably evaluated the overall quality of life in Benicia (95% excellent or good), Benicia as a place to live (96%), and Benicia as a place to raise children (94%); each of these ratings were higher than the national comparisons.” The same applies to the 95% who would recommend Benicia as a place to live. Eighty-eight percent plan to remain here for the next five years.

More from the report: “About 9 in 10 respondents were pleased with the city’s overall appearance, surpassing comparison communities around the country. In addition, 8 in 10 offered above-average reviews for both the preservation of the historical or cultural character of the community and Benicia’s public places where people want to spend time. Cleanliness (92%), water resources (80%), Benicia’s open space (87%), preservation of natural areas (86%), and the availability of paths and walking trails (84%) all received ratings that were higher than the national benchmarks.”

A smattering of other results:

  • In a result that obviously spans generations, Benicia scored at least 10% higher than the national benchmarks as a place to raise children (94% positive survey replies, ranking 51 out of 378 communities asked a similar question) and to retire (78% positive, ranking 59 out of 374).
  • Benicia is a happening, hopping place! (Well, at least in some ways.) We ranked at least 10 percent higher than the benchmarks regarding vibrancy of the downtown/commercial area (71% positive, ranking 65 out of 291), opportunities to participate in social events and activities (78% positive, ranking 37 out of 311), opportunities to attend special events and festivals (83% positive, ranking 18 out of 308) and community support for the arts (80% positive, ranking 22 out of 212).
  • For the many information-oriented folks among us, the library gets good ratings too (89% positive, ranking 109 out of 332). Though it’s interesting that only 24% of us share our opinions online (ranking 173 out of 211).
  • Benicia is a great place to drive! (At least according to the survey.) Traffic flow on major streets had an 83 percent positive response, ranking 6 (!) out of 341.
  • It’s fair to note that for the majority of the approximately 150 categories, Benicia was rated similarly to other cities. Still, the categories for which it was rated 10 percent higher than other communities greatly outnumbered the six categories for which it was rated 10 percent lower.
  • The leading negative category? You guessed it: street repair (26% positive, ranking 311 out of 357 -ouch!). Also, air quality (60% positive, ranking 271 out of 302 – wheeze! – which brings us back to the environmental challenge).
  • The other four negative categories? Utility billing, garbage collection and (for results that probably don’t reflect on Benicia itself) health care costs and preventive health services.

Finally, I should note that while I’m providing comparisons to national results here, Benicia scores similarly well when compared to other Western states’ cities with populations of 15,000 to 40,000.

Having said all this, I’m not saying that we’ll solve our problems simply by virtue of liking our city. And I’m certainly not saying that our financial, racial and environmental challenges become any less severe because, for many of us, Benicia is a fine place to live.

Quite the contrary: Cities inevitably change. We lose it if we don’t improve it. It’s up to us to address the problems that plague Benicia, precisely in order to make our catchphrase, “A Great Day by the Bay,” something to honor and preserve.


Benicia resident Stephen Golub offers excellent perspective on his blog, A Promised Land:  Politics. Policy. America as a Developing Country.

To access his other posts or subscribe, please go to his blog site, A Promised Land.


RECENT POSTS FROM STEPHEN GOLUB:

SONGS OF TRUTH, June 2

Songs of Truth: Honoring Holocaust Survivors through Music and Multimedia at Benicia Clock Tower this Friday, June 2

Songs of Truth honors and humanizes Holocaust victims and their enduring legacies through music and multimedia storytelling. | Image by Luke George Photography, provided by Larnie Fox.

Submitted by Larnie Fox, May 30, 2023

Join the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and its Benicia Chapter chorus at Benicia’s Clock Tower Friday, June 2, 2023, at 7:30 pm. Click HERE for tickets and more information.

Songs of Truth is a collaborative project between the orchestra, Citizen Film, Holocaust Music Lost and Found and the Benicia Performing Arts Foundation. This initiative aims to promote Holocaust awareness, celebrate the spirit of those who persisted, and inspire action against antisemitism and hatred in all its forms.

A Tribute to Resilience

The concert program features heartbreakingly beautiful music, much of it written in WWII era concentration camps, performed by the full orchestra and both the San Francisco and Benicia Choruses. Most of this music has never been performed by an orchestra before. Songs of Truth seeks to humanize the victims of the Holocaust and honor their enduring legacies.

Multimedia Storytelling

To enhance the impact of the music, multimedia documentary storytelling will be interwoven throughout the concerts. Kate Stilley Steiner, co-founder of Citizen Film, will provide historical context and tell the life stories of the composers through a suite of documentary media clips. Her husband, Urs Leonhardt Steiner is the Founder and charismatic Conductor of the Golden Gate Symphony.

Beyond the Concert Hall

The Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and its Benicia Chapter chorus will perform at Benicia’s Clock Tower Friday, June 2, 2023, at 7:30 pm. | Image by Luke George Photography, provided by Larnie Fox.

In addition to the concerts, Songs of Truth has extended its impact beyond the stage by engaging with Bay Area schools, libraries, and community centers. Small ensembles from the GGSOC have been performing program excerpts and leading facilitated discussions, free of charge. These events, performed at venues such as the Contemporary Jewish Museum, Benicia High School and many others, aim to foster dialogue, educate younger generations, and inspire action against antisemitism.

Looking Ahead

Songs of Truth is not just a one-time event but a project with a lasting impact. After its premiere, the initiative will be made available to other organizations across the nation. The music will be distributed to youth orchestras and choruses, enabling young musicians to perform these powerful compositions and learn about their historical context. A classroom curriculum is being developed in collaboration with Holocaust Music Lost and Found to further promote Holocaust awareness and inspire critical thinking.

Promoting Inclusivity and Unity

The Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and Chorus have a long-standing commitment to creating an inclusive atmosphere for diverse audiences. In line with this mission, for their San Francisco concert, offering a limited number of free tickets to underserved communities, ensuring that Songs of Truth reaches as many individuals as possible.

Resilience and Creativity

Songs of Truth stands as a testament to the resilience and creativity of Holocaust survivors and victims. Join the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for a transformative experience that celebrates the strength of the human spirit and fosters a more compassionate and tolerant world.

To learn more about Songs of Truth, or contribute to this important project, please visit the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra’s website at goldengatesymphony.org.

Clock Tower – Benicia – June 2, 7:30 pm
Herbst Theatre – San Francisco – June 4, 2:00 pm

Tickets and information: www.cityboxoffice.com/ggsoc