Tag Archives: The Benicia Bridge

Benicia City Council, City of Benicia, Valero Benicia Refinery

NBC: Two Dozen Valero Benicia refinery workers went to the emergency room with burns

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: THE BENICIA BRIDGE
The following excellent reporting comes from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. Their online publication is The Benicia Bridge. Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here.  – Roger Straw
A plume of smoke and soot was released from a flare stack at the Valero Benicia Refinery on March 26, as seen here in a photo taken in the Hillcrest neighborhood by Benicia resident and small business owner, Jamie Jang.

March 26 refinery injuries being investigated…

By Monica Vaughan, Excerpt from the Benicia Bridge Newsletter, April  10, 2026

NBC reported that two dozen workers went to the emergency room with burns when black liquid rained down on them for about five minutes from the flare stack incident on March 26. Cal-OSHA is investigating. A quick review of OSHA records show this is the second investigation into worker safety opened at the facility this year. Last year, Valero racked up at least 11 violations amounting to $80,000 in penalties for worker safety violations at the Benicia refinery. Valero is contesting the findings.

Read more about the April 7 City Council meeting, here: 

  • Should Benicia invest to modernize the privately-owned port? Read here.
  • Fixing the city’s broken solar panels is pricey. Losing the power costs more. Read here.

Upcoming dates to know about: 

April 14, 4:30 p.m.: Valero Community Advisory Panel (CAP) Meeting, 610 Industrial Way

April 15, 4 p.m.: Industrial Safety Citizen Oversight Commission. City Hall. Agenda here.

April 20: Registration for Benicia’s Summer recreation programs begins at 8 a.m. for residents. I hear there may be a rush on swim classes.

This newsletter was written by Monica Vaughan and edited by Laura López González. Feedback? Story idea? News tip? Reach us at news@thebeniciabridge.com.

Do you like The Benicia Bridge so far? Please consider forwarding this story to your friends, neighbors and community groups to grow our readership.

Story by Monica Vaughan of The Benicia Bridge.
Subscribe to the Bridge newsletter here.
Reach out to the Benicia Bridge via their About page.

Back to top.

AMPORTS, Benicia City Council, City of Benicia, Port of Benicia

Benicia has a rare deep water port. Here’s what it would take to fix it

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: THE BENICIA BRIDGE
The following excellent reporting comes from Benicia’s newest award-winning journalism duo, Monica Vaughan and Laura López González. Their online publication is The Benicia Bridge. Learn more and subscribe to the newsletter here. Note that the story below is a highly important delvelopment for Benicia – first hand reporting on current City Council business, missing since the departure of the Benicia Herald’s Donna Beth Weilenman in 2015! – Roger Straw
Port of Benicia (Adobe Stock image)

City Council receives 43-page report, ‘Port of Benicia – Facilities and Infrastructure Modernization Plan’

By Monica Vaughan, The Benicia Bridge, April  10, 2026

Benicia City Council learned about improvements needed to maintain the Port of Benicia, as well as potential work that could attract more seafaring customers – to the cost of $700 million.

Background: The City of Benicia received a $750,000 grant to develop a Port of Benicia Facilities and Infrastructure Modernization Plan. The consultant doing the work, GHD, presented parts of the plan to councilmembers at a city council meeting Tuesday. The grant came from regional government agencies, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments.

The main takeaways: The port and surrounding area need work to maintain operations into the near future, like structural improvements to the pier, stormwater infrastructure, and nearby roads and intersections used by truck traffic related to port activities.

Long-term work is needed to build up the seawall to protect against sea-level rise. And, there are opportunities to expand the pier to allow for additional moorings.

The total cost of all projects reviewed is around $700 million. The council may consider going after grants to help tackle some or all or none of the projects suggested.

Council members seemed dubious about investments, given that the port is privately owned and operated by AMPORTS. As Councilmember Trevor Macenski put it, “Would you spend $700 million on capital projects supporting an industry that doesn’t significantly benefit the city?”

Councilmember Kari Birdseye noted that AMPORTS is a big company in our community, but urged that work moving forward, especially grant opportunities, “has to benefit the larger community and not just one company in our city.”

The consultant suggested the city consider the benefits of a public/private partnership, and noted that other cities work hard to attract a company like AMPORTS to invest in infrastructure that could bring additional industry and revenue to the area.

“At least you have a partner with a revenue stream,” Vanderbeek said.

The reports provided, however, do not include market research or outreach to other potential customers who could bring business to the port.

Want to read more about it?

Vallejo Sun wrote a story: Benicia mulls $700M project to address sea level rise, expand and modernize port

Story by Monica Vaughan of The Benicia Bridge.
Subscribe to the Bridge newsletter here.
Reach out to the Benicia Bridge via their About page.

Back to top.