[Note from BenIndy: Take the $1.2 million penalty Valero must pay for major flaring incidents at the Benicia Refinery in 2017 and 2019, for example. These incidents directly impacted the health and safety of Benicia residents, and yet it’s possible that Benicia may never see a dime of that penalty. Why? What can be done to ensure that communities directly, immediately, and tangibly impacted by negative health and safety situations created by refineries are directly, immediately, and tangibly compensated? Frequent BenIndy Contributor Kathy Kerridge got in touch with the following.]
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty.
ATTENTION to everyone who would like to see refinery penalties go to the community
We’ve all been waiting for the time when we can have input about how penalty fines from refineries can get back to the local community.
On Thursday, January 18, at 6:00 pm, the Community Advisory Council of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) will hear from the Air District staff about possibilities.
This is your chance to weigh in on what should happen to the fines the refineries pay when they pollute our air, and how much of the fines will be returned to the local community.
Here is the link to information about the meeting:
The meeting will be both in person in SF and on Zoom. I hope that people who are concerned about this can go into the meeting in person. If not, please plan to attend by Zoom.
This is particularly important for all refinery communities. These fines have been substantial, and we want to make sure that the communities that have been harmed at least benefit from some these penalties.
Please spread the word. Contact kathykerridge@gmail.com if you have questions or if you would like to try to carpool or go together on BART.
Kathy Kerridge
BCAMP Board Member
Good Neighbor Steering Committee
Progressive Democrats of Benicia Chair
A while ago, I spoke to a close friend who recently moved to the East Coast from the Benicia area. As we were catching up, I mentioned my efforts to educate our community about the La Migra Games. At first, she didn’t know what I was referring to, and as we discussed it further, she got it. Not only was she aware of the game, three of her children, who are now adults, had participated as “undocumenteds” while in high school. Despite our closeness, my friend and I sometimes have completely different perspectives. This was one of those times…
My good friend, whom I will refer to as Alice, was a long time Benicia/Vallejo resident but has since moved away. Alice has several children, and like their mother, her children are smart and adventurous. They enjoy outdoor activities and extreme sports when the opportunity arises. The younger ones attended Benicia public schools, including the high school, spanning from about 2010-2019.
As underclassmen at BHS, they were each challenged to participate in the “La Migra Games” by the seniors who were hosting, and three of them took it on. They loved the idea of a long distance (three-mile) chase game at night where they needed to use their skills and wits to get to the other end of town without being caught by students posing as ICE officers. However, since the chase was what appealed to them rather than the pursuit, they only participated as underclassmen running from their older peers.
Benicia High School staff, administrators, and students have taken steps to prevent students from participating in the game. | Uncredited image.
The eldest of the three, and the one who was at Benicia High School first, was probably the biggest thrill seeker of the family. He apparently had an amazing experience playing the game and encouraged the younger ones to take advantage of this opportunity when it was their turn. One younger brother and even younger sister followed suit a few years later. All of them individually made it to the “safe” zone without being captured, and felt the same exhilaration as did their older brother by their accomplishment. They each shared their experience with Alice, who appreciated that her children voluntarily participated in something that required ingenuity, bravery and physical endurance.
When I brought up my concerns about “La Migra,” it was clear that Alice did not connect the name of the game with the actual event. She really didn’t know what it was called until my clarification, although I’m sure the kids did. This family is of white European heritage and their ancestors have been in the United States for several generations now. The kids don’t have the perspective of a modern immigrant family, so the name, “La Migra” didn’t trigger them the way it does some others. Once we discussed the impact of the name, Alice could definitely see how the title and the assertion could be offensive. She suggested that changing the name and the premise to something less racially charged and continuing the tradition would be the appropriate thing to do.
I need to mention here that this family has deep roots in the military. Two of Alice’s three children who played the game continued on to serve our country, while the youngest is still contemplating service. Being in the military includes participation in potentially dangerous games, in preparation for real life military missions. Neither the kids nor Alice were concerned with the individual and public safety. She dismissed my points that there is no roster, that no one is formally accounted for, that the parents don’t necessarily know where their children are during the game, and that the game is played on public streets and encroaches on private property. She ascertained that if there were formal rules, it would require adult supervision – something that would definitely minimize or even eliminate the independent and thrilling nature of the game.
Some Benicia High School students have taken action against the game, posting warnings to discourage peers from participating. | This image is a still from a 2023 NBC Bay Area report.
As we discussed it more, Alice suggested that the City could let the community know that this game is happening and that we should all exercise more caution that evening rather than try to shut down the game. She sees the game as a unique and important opportunity for teens to participate in an activity which requires them to use their emerging survival skills – something that could be valuable later in life.
One of the few things that did capture Alice’s attention from my extensive list of concerns was that some young people who aren’t voluntarily playing the game are being targeted, with severe trauma often being the result. We agreed that some identifying and visible article of clothing or accessory could be worn so that everyone can unequivocally know who is playing and who is not. She felt that, as in life, there should be a code of ethics among the students. Only those who self-identify as a participant should be chased.
And finally, much to my personal relief, Alice was absolutely concerned about the alleged increasing violence, including the use of gel pellet guns, as part of the game. For this, she put responsibility directly on the shoulders of the parents or guardians of the young people who opt to use verbal or physical assault as part of their chase tactics. She feels that parents need to establish a strict moral code and that children should never be allowed to use weapons, whether real or “toys,” irresponsibly.
Use of gel pellet guns by teens is on the rise, with sometimes violent or even deadly consequences. Youth caught firing pellets at people or animals may be charged with assault and battery or animal cruelty. | NBC Boston.
I care very much about my friend and her family, and I want to hear her perspective and consider this into the equation. From their point of view, there are good reasons for young people to have the opportunity to participate in a game that promotes excitement, fear, exhilaration, and wits, as long as it’s done voluntarily and with honor. The question remains – how do we provide something like this for our young people without inciting racism, bullying, violence and, as I will continue to emphasize, unsafe conditions for those involved and for the public?
If you would like Sheri to hear and share your perspective on the ‘La Migra Game,’ please contact her through theBenicia Independent. Remember that it is your story that is critical for others to hear, not your name, unless you would like to be identified.
[Note from BenIndy Contributor Elizabeth Patterson: I appreciate and support the need for tax increases as Benicia council wrings its hands over the budget. The long, long staff letter and follow-up postcard is all about cutting and traditional development of the 20th century. Without a vision of hope, why would anyone have confidence that the future is bright for our historic city with treasures and character unlike any other city? And, the Industrial Park was a brilliant idea until it wasn’t (meaning the dependence on fossil fuel refining). Over the years some people in Benicia have offered a vision of being a green gateway into Solano County. What has been done to realize that? Reading this interview of a Mayor in Sheffield, England illustrates how a city with inspired leadership for the 21st century can attract new manufacturing and industrial activity that meet the needs of this century. Investing in getting battery manufacturing established in Benicia as one of the few large industrial and manufacturing places in the Bay Area should be embraced with a little risk taking. Where is the vision for prosperity? Why are development decisions that increase the city’s operating and maintenance needs the only option presented by staff? Where is the citizen’s academy or blue-ribbon task force of 50 or so people who are demographically representative of the whole region, who together will help gather information to understand what trade-offs could or should look like and how we can all benefit from embracing the future. As the Sheffield Mayor said, ” I’m determined to make sure that we’re doing this with our community, not to our community.”]
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire. | Ian Forsyth / Getty Images Europe.
To replace decaying 19th century industries, the region around Sheffield lures high-tech manufacturing from McLaren supercars to Boeing airplane parts.
The steel that fed England’s industrial revolution and powered its rise to a global empire came from a region in its northern hills, where iron and abundant coal deposits combined with sweeping rivers to create an ideal environment for steelmaking. That region, anchored by the city of Sheffield, is now looking to create a new industrial revolution.
Sheffield is known as “Steel City” thanks to those historical roots. It’s the largest city in a region known as South Yorkshire, but the days of industrial dominance are long gone. Today, the region is grappling with the impacts of deindustrialization that have plagued parts of developed economies around the world. Now, its 42-year-old mayor wants to revive the region’s past by attracting business and making South Yorkshire the epicenter of advanced manufacturing.
Oliver Coppard took office in 2022, becoming the second mayor of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (its first was elected in 2018), which includes the cities of Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley, sitting some 170 miles north of London. The authority was created with a goal of developing and growing the regional economy, while giving the cities a coordinated platform from which to lobby higher levels of government.
His goal is to leverage the region’s industrial roots and connect it with next-generation manufacturing companies, while ensuring it is not left behind again as the world shifts away from fossil fuels.
It’s already attracting investments. In March, Ultimate Battery Co., which makes batteries out of sustainable materials, announced plans to place its headquarters and 500 new jobs in the region. Then, in July, South Yorkshire was named the UK’s first investment zone for advanced manufacturing. An initial £80 million ($101 million) has been promised for skills training, infrastructure and tax relief in an attempt to attract £1.2 billion in private investment and 8,000 jobs. That announcement coincided with a commitment from Boeing Co. to conduct sustainable, lightweight aircraft research in the region. McLaren Automotive also moved some manufacturing for its carbon fiber supercars from Austria to Sheffield.
Coppard grew up in South Yorkshire during the 1980s, giving him a first-hand view of the region’s industrial decline. Just a decade earlier, in the early 1970s, nearly half of the region’s employment was in manufacturing. But by 2011, employment in manufacturing jobs had shrunk to 11%. Replacing those jobs with well-paying alternatives has been a struggle. The unemployment rate in the region is higher than the national average, while wages are £80 a week less.
Boeing’s first European factory opened in Sheffield in 2018, representing the next-era industries the region seeks to attract.Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg
The challenge for Coppard will be ensuring the promised investments actually materialize and provide benefits for local residents. Bloomberg CityLab spoke to Coppard about his vision for the future of South Yorkshire. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
South Yorkshire is going through a period of transition. Can you talk about the challenges facing the region?
South Yorkshire was the home of the industrial revolution. We had a huge steel industry, coal mining industry, right through until the 1980s. And then there was a huge amount of industrial decline. Since then we’ve been recovering.
It’s’s fair to say we are now on the cusp of something pretty special. We’re dealing with issues around transport, health, economy and particularly the economic growth of South Yorkshire. My job is essentially growth.
What’s that growth strategy looked like?
We’re trying to create a regional industrial strategy for South Yorkshire. That essentially means figuring out what we’re good at, and then trying to do more of it. Things like advanced manufacturing, which we are world leading at. We were the first place to mass produce steel, we were the first place to be an advanced manufacturing innovation district and now we’re the UK’s first investment zone.
The investment zone status allows us to focus on that expertise and those recent strengths. We’re trying to lead the world when it comes to advanced manufacturing to the extent that now, if you’re in the advanced manufacturing space globally, and you’re not in South Yorkshire, it’s more of a problem for you than it is for me.
How are you thinking about the future, how do you make sure South Yorkshire isn’t left behind a second time?
The transition to net zero is an opportunity to do that. We know what it’s like to go through an energy transition and when we went through the last one, we didn’t do so well.
So we’re running a citizens’ assembly in South Yorkshire, which is essentially 100 people who are demographically representative of the whole region, who will now work with us to understand what trade-offs could or should look like and how we can all benefit from that transition. I’m determined to make sure that we’re doing this with our community, not to our community.
Has there been opposition to these changes?
The UK is in the middle of quite a difficult political climate. The UK government has been saying for a while that they’re going to level up our country, which meant they were going to put investment into the north of the country just as much as the south (where London is). I don’t think we’ve necessarily come to fruition. That’s a real problem.
We are determined to make sure that we get just as much in investment and support, but some of that we’re going to have to do ourselves. We’re going to make sure that we push forward with our economic growth, with our plans, with our projects in South Yorkshire, with or without the support of the UK government.
Any lessons you’ve taken from other cities or regions?
The work we’re doing with St. Louis — they’re building their advanced manufacturing innovation center on the model that South Yorkshire developed. We’ll work with anybody globally to make sure they’re learning the lessons we have to share, particularly our friends in the United States.
We’ll also listen to the people who are doing things in a different way from us to see if there are lessons there too. This has to be a collaboration, it has to be a sector where we’re learning from people as much as we’re sharing our learning with others too. I’m determined we’ll be global leaders, but global leaders also have to listen.
This story is part of a Bloomberg CityLab series of conversations with mayors about how they’re making their cities more livable.
Read the previous stories here about ending traffic deaths in Hoboken, New Jersey, and butterfly conservation in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
Visit BelieveInBenicia.org to learn more about Benicia’s Resiliency Plan, sign up for updates from Benicia City Manager Mario Giuliani, and join the effort to help shape Benicia’s future. Add your voice.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Community Survey
January 15-26 – link coming soon
In Person Workshops
January 18 • 6pm-8pm
City of Benicia Public Library
January 25 • 6pm-8pm
City of Benicia Community Center
Virtual Workshopsvia Zoom (links coming soon)
January 17 • 6pm
January 24 • 6pm
[BenIndy will post links to these meetings when they become available. Meanwhile, save the dates!]
The candidates debated in a lively forum in Benicia moderated by the Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee. | Ryan Gellar / Vallejo Sun.
The candidates debated in a lively forum in Benicia moderated by the Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee.
BENICIA – Candidates for the District 2 seat on the Solano County Board of Supervisors exchanged barbs and trumpeted platform points as they answered questions in a forum moderated by the Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee at the Benicia Veterans Hall Monday night.
Incumbent Monica Brown and challengers Rochelle Sherlock and Nora Dizon responded to individual questions posed for each candidate by the forum moderators, PAC chair Charles Lee and local business owner Tara Beasley-Stansbury. Candidates were allowed short responses to their opponents’ answers.
Sherlock, a business management consultant who previously ran against Brown in 2020, took her first opportunity to challenge Brown’s record by saying that Brown had voted to dissolve several advisory committees, including the Agricultural Advisory Board, the Alcohol and Drug Advisory Committee and the Solano County Historical Records Commission.
The issue came up a second time when moderators read questions collected from an audience of about 40 people. One attendee asked if candidates would work to reinstate the commissions.
Brown said that the board had valid reasons to dissolve the committees. She said that the Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board was folded into the Behavioral Health Department to fit the statewide model and the board felt that Farm Bureau was a better fit to represent agricultural interests.
In regards to the Historical Records Commission, Brown said that the county received very few requests for records from the archive and they wanted to devote staff time to more widely used services.
But Sherlock fired back, saying that the dissolution of the committees was an assault on democracy. “I’m going to do everything I can to restore those advisory committees,” she said. “If the county Board of Supervisors are making major decisions and they are not getting input from the people that those decisions are impacting then we have got a problem.”
Sherlock said that the committees had served an important role in monitoring the effectiveness of county programs and tracking the use of county funds. She said that she would work to build greater collaboration and citizen participation at both the city and county levels of government.
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