Much has been made of the Flannery Associates’ five-year-long, $1 billion purchase of a combined 50,000 acres in Solano County. The audacity of the investors’ stunt seems to have captured the imagination of many paying attention to the intersection of California’s housing problem, the tech barons who dominate California politics, and the convoluted state of America’s local democracy.
To the credit ofthe small group of “visionaries” who make up the Flannery Associates, they have correctly identified a lack of housing supply as one of the Bay Area’s primary problems. California’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan found that the region needs187,990 additional affordable units to meet demand,of which only 15.7% are planned. Flannery Associates believe they have the solution, a city planned by elites and constructed from scratch, deep in Solano County’s golden hills.
There is a belief, propagated by Silicon Valley elites, that ingenuity and purposeful design are all that stand between us and a brighter future. The Flannery Associates represent this class of tech utopians whose infamous desire to “move fast and break things” continues to impact the lives of Bay Area residents while denying locals the opportunity to contribute to decision-making. In a state whereconservatism has struggled to become a relevant political force in recent decades, this strain of tech-libertarianism has emerged as one of the strongest challenges to local democracy and California’s liberal consensus.
These tech elite seem to believe that Californians cannot choose for themselves how to develop their communities; instead, they will design and build the future for us. Their utopian ambition is increasingly common amongst the tech-baron class and seems to have only intensified as growing wealth inequality transforms the state. Tech and its most prominent advocates promise to bypass political processes, enacting significant change at the expense of voters’ input. This approach of asking forgiveness rather than permission is a tech favorite (used most memorably by ride-sharing companies and AirBnb).
A common complaint registered at this point is that our government, with its overly complicated processes and regulations, is simply too inefficient and cumbersome to enact the wishes of any group of citizens. Bold action is needed to fix the housing crisis, and Flannery Associates is certainly a group with the power to do so.
California faces a number of existential problems, including wealth inequality, the effects of climate change (especially wildfires), and a housing crisis that leavesat least 20% of our Bay Area neighbors in poverty and30,000 unhoused. The answer, however, is not to be found in the designs of any one group or individual. It is the process of democracy itself which allows the community to make its own decisions, and to build the future we decide together.
While old institutions undoubtedly suffer from bloat and stagnation, new ones, especially those championed by tech elites, are at risk of capture by moneyed interests. The hubris of a few rich men cannot be allowed to outweigh the needs of the Bay Area’s communities. Flannery Associates is just another in a long line of companies that have avoided the input of everyday people, a failure that indicates that they don’t believe they can convince a majority. If the tech barons truly believe they have the best ideas, they should face the judgment of the democratic process.
Tech continues to look for the easy way out, and they should face ridicule for doing so. These CEOs, venture capitalists, and Wall Street investors are not brave disruptors of broken institutions, but dreamers who don’t have the backbone to converse with the people they claim to champion. The democratic process is not an obstacle to progress but how we decide the best path forward, and those who aim to circumnavigate it are only concerned that their vision of the future won’t be realized exactly as they see fit.
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.
[Note from BenIndy Contributor Kathy Kerridge: The Suisun Marsh is the largest brackish marsh on the West Coast. It deserves our protection. It will play an important role in mitigating climate chaos that is only getting worse. The county is working to approve this proposed drilling site with a mitigated negative declaration that does not cover some of the biggest problems with the drilling. The decision to approve this project and the mitigated negative declaration will soon be in front of the county planning commission. If you want to be kept informed of action on this proposed drilling project please email me at kathykerridge@gmail.com It would be great to have people write the planning commission and appear at the meeting.]
` A great egret takes flight over Grizzly Island in Suisun Marsh south of Fairfield. A natural gas well has been proposed for the area. | Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle.SF Chronicle, by Kurtis Alexander, October 29, 2023
Two years after public opposition halted a bid to drill natural gas in Suisun Marsh, next to San Francisco Bay, a Florida energy company is taking another run at it.
Lantos Energy LLC submitted an application with Solano County last month to construct a well and a possible pipeline alongside wetlands about 10 miles east of Benicia, where the bustling East Bay eases into the quiet of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The area historically has been a bastion for natural gas, with many companies, including Pacific Gas and Electric Co., still getting a bulk of their fuel from the region. Hundreds of wells, for nearly a century, were drilled into the area’s rich fossil-fuel deposits to heat homes and generate power — without much fanfare.
Map: Todd Trumbull/The Chronicle • Source: Lantos Energy LLC.
But that was then, and this is now. Anxieties about fossil fuels overheating the planet and a better understanding of their ecological impact and potential for pollution are bringing increased scrutiny to even the most mundane projects. Some who fought the 2021 proposal for a well in Suisun Marsh, which included the state attorney general, have begun mobilizing to resist the new drilling effort.
“Do we really need more gas wells?” said Kathy Kerridge, a Benicia resident who was active in the opposition campaign two years ago. “Can’t we just be building solar panels and wind farms?”
Ducks swim in Suisun Marsh south of Fairfield. A Florida energy company has submitted an application to build a new natural gas well in the area, but it’s meeting resistance. | Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle.
Solano County’s Department of Resource Management has determined, despite the emerging criticism, that the proposed drilling operation will have no “potentially significant adverse environmental impacts,” clearing the way for the county’s Planning Commission to decide whether the proposal should move forward, likely early next year. Approvals from several state agencies will also be required.
While county documents cite possible problems for plants and wildlife in and around the marsh, including the San Joaquin kit fox and Western burrowing owl, they prescribe measures for reducing disturbances. The proposed well would be in grassy uplands adjacent to wetlands, which like the marsh are subject to some level of protection under the state’s Suisun Marsh Preservation Act.
As far as climate change goes, the county’s evaluation of the project says building a well won’t produce significant greenhouse gases, but it doesn’t address heat-trapping emissions that would result from the production and consumption of newly drilled fossil fuel.
Officials with Lantos Energy did not return calls to discuss the project with the Chronicle.
According to county documents, the company’s plan is to first drill to see if there are sufficient reserves of natural gas at the site, and if so, proceed with the construction of a pipeline to an existing pipeline nearby. Where the natural gas will end up is not clear.
The state has enacted an ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector — by 48% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels — and to be carbon neutral by 2045, in an effort to combat climate change. However, with renewable energy facilities still ramping up to meet demand, natural gas and oil wells continue to be developed.
Part of their endurance, says Rob Jordan, an earth scientist at Stanford University with expertise in global warming and energy extraction, is the limited window that fossil-fuel facilities have to operate as California winds down fossil-fuel production.
“California may be getting out of the oil and gas business, so there is some urgency for companies to get wells permits while they can,” he said.
Two years ago, Brentwood’s Sunset Exploration rolled out plans to drill at an abandoned well just west of the site of the current drilling proposal. The project drew a litany of concerns, including the potential for methane leaks that natural gas wells inherently pose and its proximity to low-income communities.
The company withdrew its application shortly after going public with the plan.
“We have to stop extraction,” said Shoshana Wechsler, a founding member of the Sunflower Alliance, an East Bay group that fought the Sunset Exploration project and is now sounding alarm about Lantos Energy. “We’re so far behind where we should be. We’re so heavily periled. We have to stop.”
[Note from BenIndy: We know that words can sometimes fail us, but numbers don’t always fare so well, either. Lewiston, Maine’s mass shooting, in which 18 people lost their lives horrifically, was the 36th mass shooting of 2023. This year alone, we have lost at least 190 people to mass shootings, defined by the FBI as incidents in which four or more people (not including the killer) have died within a 24-hour period. We live in a country where statistics have shown us time and time again how truly deadly our lax gun laws are, and how gun violence disproportionately impacts people of color, children and teens. Gun violence is an epidemic with roots so deep and tangled in American culture that even the slaughter of children doesn’t stir us to think boldly.]
A teen bowler, a shipbuilder and a sign language interpreter are among the Maine shooting victims
This week’s mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, was the nation’s deadliest of the year.
Eighteen people were killed in the attacks on a local bowling alley and bar, and 13 others were injured.
Law enforcement announced on Friday that suspect Robert Card had been found dead.
The 40-year-old was the only person suspected in the deadly assault at the Just-in-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar & Grille on Wednesday.
This announcement, made late Friday night, marked the conclusion of a pursuit that left residents seeking shelter and led to the temporary closure of businesses and government offices. State and federal law enforcement agencies conducted an extensive search across multiple towns for Card.
The Maine Department of Public Safety released the names, ages and photos of the victims at a press conference Friday.
Before then, some families had publicly shared the news they had been given, taking to social media to update their friends and neighbors on an unimaginable reality now settling in.
Here is what we know about the victims:
Tricia Asselin. | Family photo.
TRICIA ASSELIN, 53
Tricia Asselin was one of the victims of the mass shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday night, ABC News said. She was an accomplished athlete, a volunteer, and on the day of her death, a hero, her mother, Alicia Lachance, told NPR.
Lachance, 75, said her two daughters, Tricia and Bobbi-Lynn Nichols, 57, went bowling at Just-In-Time Recreation, where Asselin worked.
Asselin and Nichols were talking near a center lane in the bowling alley when the shots first rang out, though due to the noise in the venue, the sisters didn’t realize they were shots until they rang out a second time. As Nichols began running toward the exit, she thought Asselin was behind her, but Asselin stopped to call for help and was shot.
Lachance, who lives in Florida, said she was watching Celebrity Wheel of Fortune when she saw the news break on the screen. She said she recognized the bowling alley immediately, as it is the only one in Lewiston and was started by a family friend.
“I know Tricia is there, and Bobbi, as they were going bowling. I call both their phones – nothing and no answer,” she said.
Nichols tried to go back into the bowling alley, but was denied.
In high school, Asselin played baseball and softball, and was offered a softball college scholarship, but turned it down because she was getting married.
She also was skilled in golf and fishing, which she did often with her son Brandon, 25.
In her free time, she went on cruises with her son and volunteered with several charitable organizations, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She had raised $900 for the upcoming Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk in her area, Lachance said.
“She was just a great person,” Lachance said. “Anybody that knows Tricia is devastated today.”
In addition to her son and mother, Asselin is survived by two brothers, Mark Johnson, 54, and Jason Johnson, 51.
The family has not yet been able to see Asselin’s body.
“We just don’t know what to do,” Lachance said. “There’s nothing we can do. As soon as I find out when they’re going to release the body, I want to fly home and I want to hold my daughter in my arms and my heart. I’ll hold her in my heart forever, but I want her in my arms one more time.”
Tricia was fatally shot at Just-in-Time Recreation as she ran to call 911.
Bill Brackett. | Hearst-owned image.
BILL BRACKETT, 48
William “Billy” Bracket was an avid sports fan with a natural athletic ability, according to close friends and family.
He was killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille, playing in the cornhole tournament alongside Joshua Seal, Steve Vozzella, and Bryan MacFarlane.
Karen Hopkins, executive director of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, where Brackett attended classes, said that the deaf community is devastated by the tragic losses.
“Our staff is struggling because they are our friends,” she said, according to The Associated Press.
Owen Horr, a close childhood friend, posted a tribute to Brackett on Facebook. In it he described him as a kind and shy friend who was an avid Longhorns fan and obsessed with nearly all sports from a very young age.
“He had natural-born athletic skills,” Horr recalled, adding that Brackett was usually picked first. “He was the best soccer goalie, playing baseball and basketball. He made more than 1,000 points during his senior high school years. Also, he was the outstanding baseball player in the league in Auburn/Lewiston, ME.”
The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that Brackett met his wife Kristina through mutual friends in the Deaf community. They celebrated their third wedding anniversary in August, and share a 2 1/2-year-old daughter named Sandra.
Bill was part of a gathering of deaf people playing cornhole at Schemengees Bar & Grill when he was fatally shot.
Peyton Brewer-Ross. | Hearst-owned image.
PEYTON BREWER-ROSS
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40, worked as a pipefitter at Bath Iron Works, a local machinists’ union shared in a statement. He loved cornhole, wrestling, comic book heroes and helping others, his colleagues said.
Peyton Brewer Ross, a new father, died in the shooting, according to the Maine AFL-CIO. They add he was loved by the community.
It is unclear what location Peyton was Wednesday when he was fatally shot.
Tommy Conrad. | Hearst-owned image.
TOMMY CONRAD, 34
When the gunman entered Just-In-Time Recreation, several men attempted to take him down. Thomas Ryan Conrad, a manager at the bowling alley, was one of them.
Conrad, who’d served in the Army, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, made the ultimate sacrifice, friend Adam Stoddard told the Lewiston Sun Journal.
“He was great with all of the bowling community kids,” Stoddard told the newspaper. “They all loved him. He loved them so much he put his life in harm’s way to charge the gunman and save the children who were there. He died a hero.”
The 34-year-old had returned to Maine to live near his daughter, Caroline.
“My nephew loved his daughter more than words can say.. We love and will miss You Tommy.. We will all help take care of Caroline,” Conrad’s aunt, Holly Mireault, wrote on Facebook. He is survived by his 9-year-old daughter.
Tommy was in Just-In-Time Recreation when he was shot trying to rush the gunman.
Joshua Seal. | Hearst-owned image.
JOSHUA SEAL, 36
Joshua Seal was a husband, a father of four and a tireless advocate for the Deaf community.
A skilled sign-language interpreter, Seal was widely known as the ASL interpreter for Dr. Nirav Shah’s pandemic briefings. He was among several members of the deaf and hard of hearing community in Lewiston who regularly went to Schemengees Bar & Grille to play cornhole. On Wednesday, the father of four was participating in a cornhole tournament for the deaf, along with Steve Vozzella, Bryan MacFarlane, and Billy Brackett, who were also killed.
In many ways, Seal was the conduit for the deaf community, especially during times of crisis.
“For so many in the deaf community in Maine, Josh was the voice of COVID and the face of COVID,” said former Maine Center for Disease Control director Dr. Nirav Shah, who is now the deputy director at the U.S. CDC.
Shah worked alongside Seal for almost two full years during the pandemic. Seal, an American Sign Language interpreter, had been brought in to communicate the latest updates on the virus and vaccines to people who needed to know about them, but often can’t.
His translations of mRNA, monoclonal antibodies and other pandemic vernacular were high energy and helped make him a star among the deaf and hard of hearing.
The killing of Seal, Vozzella, MacFarlane, and Brackett appears to be the deadliest mass shooting of deaf people in U.S. history.
Seal was also the director of interpreting services and coordinated summer camps for deaf and hard of hearing kids to keep them engaged and not feel isolated.
At approximately 7:08 p.m., Seal and his three friends were hit by the bullets of the gunman who had entered the billiards hall after first attacking the bowling alley. All four of them were killed. Three of them — MacFarlane, Brackett and Seal — had been students at the Maine Education Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, according to director Karen Hopkins.
Joshua was killed at Schemengees.
Arthur Strout. | Family photo.
ARTHUR STROUT, 42
On Wednesday night, Arthur Strout was playing pool at Schemengees Bar and Grill with his father. The pair were planning on leaving together because the 42-year-old hadn’t driven that night, his father, Arthur Barnard told CBS News. But instead, Strout decided to stay behind.
“I said, ‘OK,’ and he said ‘I love you,’ because all my kids tell me that every time we see each other,” Barnard told the news outlet. “Ten minutes later, I get a phone call.”
Strout’s wife, Kristy, described the 42-year-old as a Christmas person, who sometimes started preparing for the holiday as early as Halloween. Taken by the spirit of the holiday, she told the Lewiston Sun Journal, he’d gather their large blended family of five children, to decorate the tree just so.
“If it wasn’t perfect, he’d go back to make sure it was perfect and looked like one of those pictures out of a magazine,” Kristy said.
The pair had been married for nearly seven years, but they began dating 16 years ago. Together, they share a 13-year-old daughter, Brianna, whose birthday is on Halloween. Both Arthur and Kristy also had two children from a previous relationships.
Maria Wilson, a close friend, told the newspaper that Strout had an infectious, silly laugh. She also described him as a generous person, who was willing to share all he had with others.
“He looked out for anyone and everyone. It was a ‘here you don’t have a shirt, take mine,’ kind of mentality,” Wilson said.
Arthur was fatally shot at Schemengees.
Bob and Lucielle Violette. | Family photo.
BOB & LUCIELLE VIOLETTE, 76 & 73
Friends say Bob Violette should be remembered as a wonderful person who died trying to protect children. Bob Violette was a dedicated volunteer coach for a youth bowling league. He was killed at Just-in-Time while trying to save those around him, his daughter-in-law told Maine Public on Thursday. Violette’s wife, Lucy was also shot at the bowling alley.
“I have no doubt that he was protecting those kids til the end. He is just such a good man, that he deserves people to know about him and what he meant to everyone,” Brandon Dubuc said.
Lewiston schools superintendent Jake Langlais described Lucielle as “one of the kindest people I have ever met.”
“She supported youth, their development, loved bowling, a good laugh, and was a valued member of the business office at Lewiston Public Schools. Lucy served the public for over 52 years. Lucy was a mentor providing various levels of guidance and care to many from youth bowling, life mentoring, and so much more.”
The couple was fatally shot at the Just-In-Time recreation center.
Steven Vozzella. | Family photo.
STEVEN VOZZELLA, 45
Steven Vozzella was part of a gathering of deaf people playing cornhole at Schemengees Bar & Grill, ABC News reported.
On Wednesday night, Steve Vozzella was playing in Schemengees Bar & Grille’s cornhole tournament for the deaf, Maine Public reported.
The sport was a big part of Vozzella’s life — he was an active member of the New England Deaf Cornhole — and he was quite good at it, with several victories to prove it.
“With sadly and heavy hearts, NEDC has lost a member of our community,” the group wrote in a Facebook post, adding that the 45-year-old had won several games and was eager to play more. “He will be missed on and off the courts.”
Away from the cornhole boards, Vozzella was a father of two who was preparing to celebrate his one year anniversary with his wife Megan next month. He also worked as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
NALC President Brian Renfroe said in a statement that he was heartbroken to learn that Vozzella had been killed in the mass shooting.
“He had much more life to live before it was stolen from him in an all-too-common senseless act of gun violence,” Renfroe said. “We mourn the loss of Stephen and all the innocent victims of this tragedy. Our hearts are with Stephen’s loved ones, all of those affected and the entire town of Lewiston.”
Vozzella, as well as Billy Brackett and Bryan MacFarlane, who were also killed on Wednesday night, were stalwart members of Maine’s community of deaf people who died in the shootings, according to the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Joseph Walker’s family was frantically trying to track him down after news of the mass shooting spread.
His father, Leroy Walker, a city councilor in Auburn, Maine, told WGME news that he was unaware of his son’s condition for almost 14 hours. He eventually learned that his son, who was a manager at Schemengees Bar and Grille, had died at the scene of the horrific shooting.
“My son was a great son,” the elder Walker told the news outlet. “Never got in any trouble, and he did a lot of good things for a lot of good people.”
Maine State Police said Walker had grabbed a kitchen knife and was apparently running toward the shooter to stop him, when he was shot twice in the stomach.
When asked if he was surprised to hear his son attempted to run to the shooter, his father – Leroy Walker Sr. — said: “No, not at all. I know he would have done that to protect his people.”
According to police, the final moments of Joseph Walker’s life were some of his most heroic.
“Picked up a butcher knife and went after the gunman to try and stop him from killing other people,” Leroy Walker recounted. “And that’s when he shot my son to death. He tried to save some more lives, and he ended up losing his life.”
He added: “I know if my son were here with me, he would say that he’s sorry for all the others that were lost.”
Joseph was fatally shot at Schemengee’s.
Aaron Young. | Hearst-owned image.
AARON YOUNG, 14
Aaron Young was only 14 years old. He and his father, Bill, were both killed at Just-In-Time in Lewiston Recreation on Wednesday night.
“I knew it would hit me when I got here, and he wasn’t here to greet me with a huge smile and a hug when we got in,” Aaron’s sister, Kayla Putnam, said. “My mom just keeps saying, ‘He gives the best hugs.'”
Aaron was a son, brother and beloved classmate. Both he and his father were killed in the deadly rampage.
“He was an honor student there. He was really proud of his grades, and his friends really miss him,” Putnam said.
Bill Young, 44, and his 14-year-old son, Aaron, were at Just-in-Time for the youth league night, a family member confirmed to The Associated Press. Bill was a “man dedicated to his family” who was “always trying to be a funny guy.” Aaron was an avid bowler, the AP reported.
Aaron was fatally shot at Just-in-Time Recreation.
Bill Young. | Hearst-owned image.
BILL YOUNG, 44
Bill Young was a father and an auto mechanic.
He and his son, Aaron, were both killed at Just-In-Time in Lewiston Recreation on Wednesday night.
Kayla Putnam, Bill Young’s step daughter, said he was the rock of the family.
“He’s going to be very missed,” Putnam said. “It’s going to be very hard for the family right now to deal without him because he was kind of the center of the family and everything. We are going to have a lot to deal with and plan and make sure everyone is taken care of.”
Bill was fatally shot at Just-in-Time Recreation.
Bryan MacFarlane. | Family photo.
BRYAN MACFARLANE, 40
Bryan MacFarlane was playing in the cornhole tournament for the deaf at Schemengees Bar & Grille when he was killed, his sister Keri Brooks told CNN.
Brooks later told The Daily Moth, an online news outlet featuring news for the Deaf community, that there were nine deaf people at the bar that night.
MacFarlane, who was 40 and would have turned 41 in December, was on the same team as Billy Brackett, Steve Vozzella, and Joshua Seale, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported. Brooks said the men all knew each other through the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf.
She told the paper that MacFarlane grew up in Portland, Maine, but had only recently moved back to the state to be near his mother. She described him as an outdoorsy man, who lived camping, fishing and riding his motorcycle.
Brooks added that MacFarlane also loved spending time with deaf friends and his dog, M&M, who was named after his favorite candy and regularly joined him on the road as a commercial trucker.
She told CNN that MacFarlane was one of the first deaf people in the state of Vermont to get his commercial trucking driver’s license.
“Many states don’t let deaf drive trucks so I’m very proud of him for achieving that. He worked as a truck driver for several years,” she said.
MacFarlane was fatally shot at Schemengees.
Jason Walker. | Family photo.
JASON ADAMS WALKER, 51
Jason Walker, a close friend of Deslauriers Jr., was also killed at the bowling alley, according to the same Facebook post. “They made sure their wives and several young children were under cover then they charged the shooter,” Michael Deslauriers Sr. wrote in the post about Walker and his son.
Walker was fatally shot at Just-In-Time Recreation.
Keith Macneir. | Family photo.
KEITH MACNEIR, 64
Unlike the other victims killed by the gunman, Keith Macneir was not a local. He had traveled from his home in Florida to Maine last week, to celebrate his 64th birthday with his son, The Boston Globe reported.
In a Facebook post, Macneir’s niece, Grace Chilton, said he had been visiting his son Breslin Macneir.
“Keith was at Schemengees (making new friends, I’m sure) at the time of the shooting,” Chilton wrote. “Keith was the friendliest & kindest guy in any room – his loss will leave a huge hole in the lives of many, many people.”
Keith was fatally shot at Just-In-Time.
Maxx Hathaway. | Hearst-owned image.
MAXX HATHAWAY, 35
Maxx Hathaway spent Wednesday night playing pool at Schemengees Bar & Grille with his pregnant wife Brenda. But by the time the shooter burst into the restaurant Hathaway was there alone, friends told the Lewiston Sun Journal.
In a GoFundMe post, Hathaway’s sister, Kelsay Hathaway, said that the couple was expecting their third child in a little over a month. She described the father as a full-time stay-at-home dad and “a goofy, down to earth person” who “loved to joke around and always had an uplifting attitude no matter what was going on.”
She added: “Growing up he would always play dolls with my younger sister Courtney and always loved to get into trouble.”
In a Facebook post, Hathaway’s other sister, Courtney Hathaway, wrote about her own devastation. “I’m feeling a lot of things right now but I’m mostly heartbroken that he’s gone,” she wrote. “Nothing really prepares you for the sudden and shocking loss of a loved one, especially when it happens in such a tragedy.”
Hathaway was fatally shot at Schemengees Bar & Grille.
Ronald Morin. | Family photo.
RONALD MORIN, 55
Ron Morin was a dedicated husband and father of two, and a gregarious man who was well-known for having jokes at the ready, several family members have said in remembrances on social media.
Case in point, just one day before the mass shooting in Lewison, the 55-year-old posted a funny quip on Facebook — apparently a near daily habit, according to his friends.
“Why do men go to bars to meet women. Go to Target. The female to male ratio is 10 to 1. And they’re already looking for things they don’t need,” Morin wrote.
Morin was among the eight men killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille. His death has left his family “torn and shattered.”
In a GoFundMe post, Morin’s younger sister Tanya Morissette described him as having “an infectious personality.”
She added: “He was an incredible husband, father, brother, uncle, son, and friend. To know Ron, was to instantly love him. He was a man who always put others before himself and looked for the humor and positivity in even the most tragic circumstances.”
In a post on Facebook added after the shooting, Morin’s son Eric called him his “best friend.”
In an interview with the Bangor Daily News, another family member, Cecile Francoeur Martin, described Morin as an upbeat and happy person.
Martin told the outlet Morin was “just one of those people that if you are having a bad day, he was going to make your day better just by his presence.”
Ron was fatally shot at Schemengees Bar & Grille.
Michael Deslauriers II. | Hearst-owned image.
MICHAEL DESLAURIERS II, 51
Michael Deslauriers Jr. was killed at the bowling alley while trying to rush the gunman, according to a Facebook post shared by his father, who goes by the same name. “I have the hardest news for a father to ever have to share,” he wrote in the post.
Michael was fatally shot at Just-In-Time Recreation.
You must be logged in to post a comment.