The site is back!

I have good news to report: the site is up and running again. Thanks to Bob Mutch for his help.

Granted, the site at this point is not searchable through Google, but it can be easily accessed by clicking on or highlighting and pasting the link below:

http://beniciaheraldonline.com

It was nice to post content here again, but I'll have to wait until we run into another technical mishap. For now, continue browsing the main site as usual.

GUEST POST: Jeff Burkhart's Rhyme and Reason: "My Home Movie"

By Jeff Burkhart

A film is always playing, in this theater in my head

The popcorn, coke and tickets, never cost me any bread

I’m starring in this feature, of my future and my past

I’m also the director, of the players in the cast

The genre seems to flip around, it’s all the same to me

From tragedy to action, to romantic comedy

Sometimes I escape my fate, and end up as a winner

Other times I stay out late, and do misdeeds with sinners

Censors never filter out, the violence or the sex

The twisting and the turning, of the plot is quite complex

Where is this all heading? I don’t know; it all depends

I’m not worried how… but when, my docu-drama ends

Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”

© Copyright, January, 2017

All Rights Reserved

GUEST POST: A Different Drummer: Elks and moose and eagles, oh my

By Steve Gibbs

 Fraternal Orders are doomed to extinction. That’s what the pundits say. They’re stuffy, dull, secretive, laced with arcane ceremonies and mandatory meetings. Meanwhile, television has privatized our leisure time. We’d rather sit home alone watching the boob tube than go down to the club and fraternize. 

   Critics and observers see much deterioration in our social fabric with the loss of fraternal organizations like the Elks, Moose, Eagles, Odd Fellows, American Legion, and the VFW; but they are dying out, and there seems to be no easy way to bring them back. We have become more singular as a society, and currently clubs’ efforts to recruit young non-veterans has been wispy thin to non-existent.

   The male-dominant culture of the old clubs assisted in their demise. Visit any traditional Elks Lodge, and you won’t see modern art, oil portraits, or dramatic landscapes adorning their walls. You’ll see old black-and-white war photos and pictures of white men in uniform standing at attention. It’s not a stimulating nightclub environment. A long history of no woman, no minorities, has been hard to shake. In poor communities, however, social clubs helped the sick, the elderly, and the children, and their loss will be felt.

   Well, I’m a Johnny-come-lately proud member of most of these organizations, and they have served me well. If they try to shutter the doors of my favorite clubs, they’ll have to pry my discounted beer and cheap lunches from my cold dead fingers. I’ll be last man standing.

   With guests visiting, Gino and his girlfriend Patricia, we took the touristy Bart stroll around San Francisco last weekend. I’m guessing many have done this similar loop: Pleasant Hill BART to Powell Station, up Powell to Union Square through Chinatown to North Beach and back down Columbus through the Embarcadero Plaza to BART once again.

   We’ve all most likely stopped into the same businesses in our familiar loop -- Sephora, Macy's, Lefty’s, the Golden Dragon, the Stinking Rose, Buena Vista, Allioto’s and Harringtons. Maybe we’ve shared the same cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf.

   However, there is one pleasant stop we made that most folks don’t make anymore. At the intersection of Powell and Post across from Union Square, we made a left, walked a half block, and turned into the Kensington Hotel lobby. We walked past the concierge to the massive elevators, punched the brass button, entered the cabin and sat on the leather couch while it lifted us to the third floor, home of Lodge No. 3 of the BPOE, the oldest continuously open Elks Lodge in the USA. 

   It looked like most Elks Lodges -- massive, opulent, high-ceilings, chandeliers, sweeping bar, top-shelf whiskeys and bourbons, and about eight customers. The bar room was big enough to host a Smith family reunion. 

   “Sit wherever you like,” the bartender said after I showed him my Membership ID and signed my friends in. One door lead to an outside balcony overlooking Post Street and Union Square. We sat at a huge round table in the middle of the room. A waitress brought us a menu. They place was magnificent. Craft beer was $4. Wines were $6. We ordered lunch, chicken tacos, for $9. They came mounded high and hot.

   The five of us had a wonderful afternoon. We relaxed, laughed, imbibed in the center city San Francisco Elks Lodge for a fistful of dollars. Then we went on our merry way.

   A few hours later, we stopped at a pub in North Beach. Nice place. Craft beer was $10, cocktails were $11, and the veggie platter was $23. And it was hard to find a seat, everyone was so eager to stay and pay.

   In South Lake Tahoe there is a Moose Lodge within walking distance from our cabin. It’s not the palatial digs of the Elks, but it’s holding on. Except for Friday night dinners, when members take turns preparing the meal – women cook one week, men the next -- we never know when the Moose will be open, or for how long it will stay open, but when the lights are on, we stop in. I take all my friends there. It’s such a relief to have a friendly place with true, honest-to-goodness discounts. I’m constantly amazed why it’s not more popular. The dues are low.

   The Moose is one organization that is making a comeback in some areas. They are a family-oriented club, so there’s no stigma of men-only membership, and they cater to children. Many Moose Lodges have enclosed backyards that are kid safe, and kids are always welcome. In some communities, the Moose has wifi-lounges and coffee shops, trying to lure the youthful in.

   I don’t think Fraternal Orders are going to make a comeback. I fear their time has come and gone. However, in rural America they still thrive, and members and determined to keep the light on until the last member expires.

   Gino suggested we take a drive across America in 2017 visiting fraternal organizations all along the way. We’re already planning our route.

Steve Gibbs is a retired Benicia High School teacher who has written a column for The Herald since 1985.

GUEST POST: Looking back: Benicia's long journey toward open government

By Elizabeth Warnimont

After the city council’s recent open government training session on Jan. 3, the Herald interviewed a few key players who are credited with bringing the city’s current Open Government Ordinance into being. Mayor Elizabeth Patterson, City Attorney Heather McLaughlin and former Benicia Herald Editor John Moses agreed to be interviewed regarding the history and significance of the ordinance.

   While the concept of open government is now largely embraced by Benicia city staff, that spirit of cooperation did not come easily – the Brown Act did not cast its influence over the city of Benicia until a few key figures elected to make open government a priority here back in 2003.

   The Brown Act was passed by the California State Legislature in 1953. In its original form, it addressed public concern regarding government entities such as city councils conducting their business in secret. The introduction to the Brown Act reads:

   “In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the governing bodies they have created.”

   According to accounts from Patterson, McLaughlin and former Moses, a galvanizing event spurred a few residents to start pushing for easier access to government records late in 2003. A developer was proposing a housing development in the area of the Jefferson Mansion called Jefferson Park, and a number of residents were concerned. 

   Moses, who served as editor from 1997 to 2006, recalls that his efforts to view the blueprints for the project at the planning department were rebuffed, even after he pointed out that he had a legal right to see them. However, he happened to encounter then-councilmembers Tom Campbell and Bill Whitney at the Benicia Fire Department just a few days later. 

   “We weren’t on the same page with a lot of things,” Moses recalled, “but they both said ‘well, maybe we should take a serious look at this.’”

   Mayor Patterson, who was a councilmember at the time, confirms that Campbell then came to her with the complaint, and the two of them sat down at her home computer to begin drafting an ordinance.

   “After the city attorney (McLaughlin) reworked our draft to make it conform to Benicia Municipal Code, the committee reviewed it and it was submitted to the Council for consideration,” Patterson recalled.

   A citizen group called the Sunshine Committee soon became an advisory group to the city council. The group was later renamed the Open Government Commission, and the Sunshine Ordinance draft became the Open Government Ordinance that was eventually enacted in 2005. 

   Patterson credits a handful of people for working tirelessly to make the ordinance a reality.

   “In addition to City Attorney Heather McLaughlin and the indomitable John Moses, there was League of Women Voters’ Kitty Griffin; Bob Craft, an eloquent advocate for open government; Donnell Rubay, Will Gregory, Belinda Smith, Luana Luther, Ed Salzman and Jon Van Landschoot.”

   Patterson received an award in recognition of Benicia’s open government ordinance in 2006 from the Society of Professional Journalism. 

   “In recognition of our work on the Open Government Ordinance, I received the James Madison Freedom of Information Award in March 2006,” she wrote in a column for the Herald in 2014. “However, this recognition really belongs to John (Moses) and all Benicians.”

   McLaughlin agreed that it wasn’t until around 2003 that the idea of an open government ordinance started gaining ground in Benicia.

   “I think it was probably a critical mass of people wanting to get information and not being able to get it,” she opines. “There were some projects getting people excited and they wanted to know more about them. When I look at the notes from the first meeting, it was people wanting information on the Jefferson Park project.”

   All three interviewees recalled that there was some substantial push-back from the government and business communities. Then-mayor Steve Messina and the Chamber of Commerce, for example, were reluctant to adopt an ordinance that they feared would flood city employees with new responsibilities. It helped, though, McLaughlin  recalled, that a lot of the information started getting posted online, so people were able to access whatever they were after without requiring much additional staff time.

   “In the end, the ordinance didn’t result in a lot of extra work. Initially yes. You’re trying to get the agendas out (in the prescribed, shorter time frame) and it wasn’t part of the routine. I think the committee and council were good in thinking ahead (to start putting things online). Once information was posted on the website, people were able to access it any time of day or night.”

   Today, McLaughlin said, the city of Benicia website is vastly improved. 

   “Right now, we have great IT manager, Mr. Naveed Ashras, who has the skill to bring us forward. We’re getting much more high-tech. We have an agenda management software and we’re just now transitioning to a newer and better one.”

   McLaughlin hopes public access to city government will continue to improve here.

   “We’re always trying to find room for improvement," she said. "We keep a log of public records requests to see if there are things we should be putting on the website that aren’t there. Because of the way we keep records, sometimes it can be a chore to find everything. People categorize things differently. You may have a great system, then somebody else comes along and thinks a different way.” Making government records more accessible to the public has been an ongoing process, she says.

   The state legislature makes periodic revisions to the Brown Act throughout the year, and the city of Benicia will continue to make compliance a priority.

   Benicia’s Open Government Ordinance may be viewed online at codepublishing.com/ca/benicia/. A copy of any particular section of Benicia’s municipal code can also be obtained from the city clerk by calling 746-4200. For clarification of a particular code, contact the city attorney’s office at 746-4216.

Stephen Hales named as new county fair manager

   The Solano County Fair Association has a new general manager, and it is somebody who has worked within the organization for 13 years.

   Steve Hales will be taking the reins from Stephen Pierce, the general manager since 2014 who announced his resignation in November. Hales’ background is primarily in equine. He was the Chief Operating Officer for The Horse Park in Woodside, where he was also the manager of its nonprofit corporation. He was also the manager of the Wild Horse Valley Ranch in Napa and also oversaw the eventing competition in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He came to Solano County Fairgrounds in 2003 as the operations manager and was elevated to the position of assistant general manager of operations and maintenance in 2008.

   “The board is excited about having Steve expand his role with the Fairgrounds,” Lee Williams, the president of Solano County Fairgrounds’ board of directors, said in a statement.  “His intimate knowledge of and experience with the various aspects of our operations over the past several years is invaluable in making the transition between general managers go smoothly.  We’re fortunate to be able to promote from within and keep our existing team intact to continue the momentum of success we’ve had over the last two years.”

   “I have big shoes to fill,” Hales said in a statement.  “During my tenure at the Fairgrounds, I’ve witnessed the highs and lows that all businesses can face but in the last two years we’ve laid the ground work to expand our operations.  I’m looking forward to the opportunity to add more depth to our existing events like Youth Ag Day and the annual Solano County Fair, while also bringing more and new events, people, community groups and businesses to connect with the Fairgrounds.  This focus on our business development will be the cornerstone for our success going forward.”

   Hales’ new position will become effective Jan. 14. Solano County Fairgrounds will host several events this year, including Youth Ag Day on March 17 and the annual Solano County Fair, which is scheduled for Aug. 2 to Aug. 6. 

   

   

GUEST POST: Matt Talbot: A great album and a great era

 I’ve mentioned before that I drive for one of the car sharing services. Depending on when I drive, I sometimes have considerable time between passengers, and I often pass the time by listening to music.

   I have lately been listening to the Miles Davis album “Kind of Blue,” recorded in March and April of 1959 and released in August of that year to near universal acclaim. It went on to be the best-selling album in the history of jazz and is generally considered to be one of the greatest albums ever made as well as Davis’ masterpiece. It was hugely influential at the time and has been since.

   The musicians that Davis assembled for this recording amounted to a “supergroup” of jazzmen.  Bill Evans played piano (with Wynton Kelly sitting in on one track), John Coltrane played tenor saxophone, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley played alto sax, with Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums.

   Miles Davis had begun exploring “Modal Jazz” on his previous album “Milestones” – particularly on that album’s title track – but "Kind of Blue" is where he fully committed to this new approach. Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes (e.g., dorian, Lydian, etc.) rather than chord progressions as its harmonic structure. 

   He set out to make a revolutionary album, and the result lived up to his aspirations. John Coltrane spent the rest of his life expanding and elaborating on the modal concepts pioneered on this album, and other jazz musicians seized and spread the new approach. The barest sampling: Pianists Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock (who would late join Miles in his legendary mid-'60s quintet) ; Sax player Wayne Shorter (you can hear "Kind of Blue’s" influence on some of Shorter’s subsequent compositions for Art Blakey’s band in the early '60s); tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and many others.

   One of the album’s pleasures for me is listening to the two saxophonists, Coltrane and Adderly, have what amounts to a musical conversation throughout the albums’ six songs. 

   Coltrane could be a very cerebral player, but there was always a quality of spiritual seeking in his playing. Coltrane once said, “I think the majority of musicians are interested in truth, you know — they’ve got to be because a musical thing is a truth. If you play and make a statement, a musical statement, and it’s a valid statement, that’s a truth right there in itself, you know. If you play something phony you know that’s phony. All musicians are striving to get as near perfection as they can get. That’s truth there, you know. So in order to play those kind of things, to play truth, you’ve got to live with as much truth as you possibly can.”

   His solos on the album, particularly on the first track, “So What,” and on “Freddie Freeloader,” are restless truth-seeking and reaching for transcendence  by ‘Trane, to the point that this listener feels almost as if he’s eavesdropping on a private prayer. 

   Cannonball, on the other hand, is far more earthy and grounded. Where Coltrane is reaching for transcendence, Cannonball is all gritty, bluesy swing, sometimes sounding almost as if he’s trying to bring 'Trane back to earth.  

   On the CD edition I own, the sixth track is an alternate take of "Flamenco Sketches," and it is one of the most beautiful and poignant performances in the history of jazz – quiet and lyrical, without being cloying. 

   If you are not familiar with jazz, or don’t consider yourself a fan, I urge you to listen to this record. If you feel little or nothing, then jazz probably isn’t your thing. 

On the other hand, if you find yourself suddenly grinning uncontrollably and feeling something like wonder, go look up Davis’ subsequent work with his quintet, and also John Coltrane’s albums he made with his quartet up through his own masterpiece, the great "A Love Supreme" from 1964.

   Jazz has always evolved and changed at breakneck speed – the very foundation of the music is improvisation and innovation, after all. A friend once remarked that jazz went, in about 70 years (from, say, Louis Armstrong to Ornette Coleman), through about three centuries of evolution. I have listened to and appreciated my of the sub-genres of the music, but the period from about 1955 to 1965 will always be my favorite era in jazz. This was the era not only of the previously-mentioned albums, but of Art Blakey’s "Jazz Messengers," Ornette Coleman’s "Free Jazz," and the West Coast cool jazz of people like Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan and many others. It was in some sense a culmination of the art.

   On a completely unrelated note, it looks like we are in for a major storm – the likes of which we haven’t seen in years – this weekend, and maybe beyond. Let’s be safe out there.

Matt Talbot is a writer and poet, as well as an old Benicia hand.

GUEST POST: Poetry Corner: Johanna Ely "Prayer"

To whom it may concern:

I have sent you a message 

on this cold, forsaken night,

an invocation written

on the tails of shooting stars

to wrap your flame 

around this dark hull of earth

and ignite the dormant seed within.

Let the heat of love

burn away all winter’s horrors-

turn dead leaves into flowers,

and darkness into light.

Johanna Ely is Benicia's current poet laureate

GUEST POST: Poetry Corner: James Garrett "Giants"

Once I was with Giants,

Three men strong.

They haunt me now,

Like ghosts in the night.

They are the soul of America,

But they wouldn't think they were.

I've lost them now,

Not in mind, but in sight.

They are as I last saw,

Young, trim, and eager.

Always ready and willing,

They took it like men.

It was long ago,

The places dim.

The memory strays,

Of what had been.

One with tooth scars,

In numbers on each hand.

Quiet, happy, and strong.

No family, but a need to belong.

Another, a street tough,

With charm and a gold heart.

A ready laugh and a joke,

But don't do him wrong.

Still another. On leave,

The Motorcycle King.

Nose breaking the wind,

The asphalt flew.

They were mine,

For a short while,

Where the waves rolled,

And the wind blew.

Shared were miseries,

And loss of sleep.

Bodies trimmed,

In tropic heat.

Few remember now,

Another life it seems.

In my youth they were Giants,

I was honored to meet.

GUEST POST: Joe Henderson Legacy Big Band coming to Empress

By Elizabeth Warnimont

Vallejo Drummer Bob Belanski of Bob Belanski’s SpecDrum will welcome trumpeter Warren Gale, Jr., trombonist Steve Turre and others to the Empress Theatre in Vallejo Saturday, Jan. 28 for a 19-piece Big Band concert in honor of the late tenor sax legend Joe Henderson. The Joe Henderson Legacy Big Band will perform jazz standards including those written by Henderson, along with original works by Belanski, Turre and others.

   Henderson was a successful tenor saxophonist and composer who recorded with Blue Note Records for more than 30 albums, including five released in his own name. Most recently, his 1992 comback album “Lush Life” was a commercial and critical success, followed by a tribute album to Miles Davis and a popular rendition of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” opera. Henderson died in 2001 after a long battle with emphysema.

   Warren Gale, Jr. played in Henderson’s band combos after meeting him in 1966. He joined the Buddy Rich Band in 1968 and played with numerous big name artists throughout the 1970s. Gale has been living and performing in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1971.

   Steve Turre is currently part of "Saturday Night Live's" house band, and was featured on the cover of Down Beat magazine last October. Turre has claimed the Number One spot on Down Beat’s Reader and Critic Polls a total of 24 times, according to concert organizer Belanski, both for Best Trombone and Best Miscellaneous Instrumentalist – Turre is by the way also a premiere seashellist.

   After a stint with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the early ‘70s, Turre was playing a variety of gigs when he was introduced to jazz instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Kirk showed Turre how to hum into the seashell as an instrument. Soon after that, Turre discovered that his ancestors had played the shells. Since then, Turre has incorporated a special, large painted shell into his core musical style.

   Belanski says he was fortunate to fine that Turre would be available to do the show in Vallejo. It happens that Turre will be visiting family in Moraga that week, and leading jazz clinics at Stanley Jr. High School in Lafayette and Campolindo High School in Moraga. Belanski is currently a drum instructor at Mozart, Einstein & Me in Benicia.

   The Joe Henderson Legacy Big Band will be at the Empress Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $25, seniors $22,  $30 at the door. Tickets are available at the Empress website at empresstheatre.org or by calling the box office at 552-2400. The Empress is located at 330 Virginia St. The box office will open one hour before showtime, at 7 p.m.

   The concert is sponsored by Mozart, Einstein & Me of Benicia.

Humane Society of the North Bay seeking volunteers today to prevent flooding

Rain is on its way. The forecast is calling for heavy rains this weekend as well as next week. This is unwelcoming news for the Humane Society of the North Bay (HSNB), whose sump pump recently gave out, increasing the chance of flooding on the shelter's grounds. HSNB is working to help protect its dog kennels, and they will need extra help from the community.

   HSNB is seeking volunteers to come to the shelter today between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to fill and place sandbags at the shelter. Volunteers to drive trucks to transport the sandbags from the Vallejo Sanitation and Flood Control, located at 450 Ryder St., are also being sought.

   HSNB is located at 1121 Sonoma Blvd. For more information, call the shelter at 645-7905. 

Benicia Fire Department to prepare citizens for natural disasters through free course

   The world continues to experience natural disasters every day. In just the past five years, parts of America have experienced extensive damage as a result of such disasters as Hurricane Sandy, the 2014 South Napa Earthquake and the 2015 Valley Fire. Thankfully, Benicia has managed to avoid disasters of this magnitude during that time, but it is not immune from them. The area faces the possibility of experiencing earthquakes, wildfires, floods and landslides. Should one of them strike Benicia, first responders would be on hand for rescue and relief efforts, and residents will need to figure out the best way to prepare for them.

   The good news is the Benicia Fire Department will be offering a free course that can help.

   On Saturday, Jan. 21, the department will be hosting “Get Ready Benicia,” a course aimed at preparing community households to be in a suitable position when calamity strikes. The aim of the program is to prepare residents with the skills to survive and cope with a disaster for up toffee through seven days. According to the Fire Department, citizens who are prepared are less prone to injuries and illnesses as a result of a natural disaster. The course also aims to reduce work for over-burdened emergency first responders and free up space in hospitals and urgent care centers as well as reduce the financial burden the city would face in the aftermath of a disaster. 

   This course will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Jan. 21 at Fire Station 11, located at 150 Military West. Advanced registration is required, and scheduled classes will be canceled if minimum enrollment is not met. To register, email FireDept@ci.benicia.ca.us or call 746-4275. 

GUEST POST: City Council holds open government training

By Elizabeth Warnimont

There were two items on the agenda for the special meeting of the City Council on Tuesday. One was Mayor Elizabeth Patterson’s request for a two-step process to agendize discussion of a resolution affirming the city’s commitment to being an inclusive city, tolerant and inclusive of all residents; the second part served as a training session in compliance with the Brown Act and Benicia’s open government ordinance.

   Councilmembers appeared generally amenable to Mayor Patterson’s request, though some expressed reservations about any wording that might lean toward Benicia becoming a sanctuary city. Council discussion of the issue would allow for public updates on federal and state actions regarding documented and undocumented immigrants, and would prepare the council in case of any expressed desire for corresponding policies.

   The mayor’s request was approved unanimously and will be on the agenda, for initial discussion only, at the next regularly scheduled council meeting on Jan. 17.

   City Attorney Heather McLaughlin facilitated the open government training. She reviewed the Brown Act and the city’s corresponding ordinance, which was enacted in 2005, compared Benicia’s open government process with the ordinance and the act, and explained all of the updates to the 2017 edition of the Brown Act. McLaughlin commended the council for its adherence to the ordinance and for the city’s efforts above and beyond the established requirements, which she said displayed a strong sense of ethics and mutual respect among council members and the public.

   The meeting adjourned to a closed session to perform a public employee performance evaluation. Mayor Patterson indicated that any council action or direction regarding the evaluation would be presented at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Further information

   To read or view a complete text or video transcript of this or any city council meeting, visit the city’s web site at ci.benicia.ca.us or call the city at 746-4200.

   The city of Benicia encourages all members of the public to participate in city government and attend city council and other city meetings. 

   City Council meetings take place at Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 East L St., on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, with fourth Tuesdays scheduled in case of special need, beginning at 7 p.m. Meetings also stream live online at the city of Benicia web site at ci.benicia.ca.us and on Comcast Channel 27 or AT&T U-Verse Channel 99.

   Copies of meeting agendas and supporting documents, as well as minutes (written transcripts) from previous sessions, are available at the city clerk's office at city hall, the Benicia Public Library, or online at the city of Benicia web site under the heading Agendas and Minutes. Video transcripts of city council meetings are also available on the city's web site. 

   Meetings are occasionally canceled, so it is advisable to check the web site or call to confirm.

Benicia Moms Group's Early Education Fair returns

 Preschool is an important milestone in every person’s life. It is when children take their first steps into the world of education. However, it can be a lot of work just to get started. Thankfully, as they have in the past, the Benicia Moms Group will be hosting an Early Education Fair to let parents know what to expect.

   According to Brittainy Sapien, a vice president of administration for Benicia Moms Group, the group first hosted a Preschool Fair in 2013 under the guidance of member Ann Brooner. It was also held in 2014 and 2015 but was canceled in 2016 due to a lack of resources and intesrest.

   “When we did not host the fair in 2016, we had heard a lot of feedback that people had missed the fair, so we knew that it was an important thing to bring back to the community,” Sapien said. 

   With the help of Benicia Unified School District and First 5 Solano, the Early Education Fair is back to provide information on preschool and kindergarten. Parents can have questions about preschool answered, meet with community resources and learn about activities and childcare for kids ages 5 and under. Benicia Unified representatives will also be on hand to talk about kindergarten preparedness. 

   Sapien said the event will also be a good opportunity for parents to learn what types of curriculum and recreational activities are available and various types of support services. 

   “We’ve received feedback from a lot of the agencies like Child Haven and others that Benicia has low enrollment in some of these services that many of these people are, in fact, qualified to receive,” she said. “We’re hoping that families are able to meet and greet with these agencies and actually realize that there’s a lot of services available to them. If they’re not aware, now they can become aware.”

   “We’re just hoping to facilitate this kind of meet-and-greet, one-stop shop for a lot of these families and hopefully get everything that they need set in line,” she added. 

   The Early Education Fair will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Benicia High School gym, located at 1101 Military West. Refreshments and hands-on craft will be provided by Lakeshore Learning. This event is free and open to the community. For more information, email bmgearlyedfair@gmail.com or call 297-3921. 

GUEST POST: Everyday Feng Shui: Let the fire of love glow into the new year

By Maria McCullough

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”   Albert Schweitzer 

   We’re finally done with the tumultuous year 2016 and looking forward to new beginnings! With the help of Feng Shui, the New Year can bring you the changes you yearn for. 

   Is one of your resolutions for 2017 to be in a loving committed relationship? Many of my clients ask me the same question. “How can I find love?  How can I strengthen and reenergize the romance in my life?”  I answer them by explaining the direct correlation between home and the quality of their relationships. The energy in your home can help you achieve your loving relationship goals. 

Love and Marriage – Bagua Review

   In the Feng Shui  Bagua (Ba-gua) Map, represented  as a grid of nine sectors, the Love and Marriage  area is located in the back right corner of your home or office. The element for this area is Fire, and the colors are red, pink or white. When in balance in your home fire enhances romance, excitement, and enthusiasm.  Representations of this element can be used inside and outside. Enhancements in this area are particularly helpful if: You want to attract a love relationship, you want to improve a relationship you are currently in, or you want to develop or improve a nurturing, healthy, happy relationship with yourself. In Feng Shui, Love and Marriage operates under the premise that loving relationships thrive on a dance of responsive yielding; each partner supporting and allowing the other to fully develop and express themselves. The same nurturing, supportive stance is taken when you fully love yourself. It is important to listen to what you need and then gladly give to yourself.  When you love yourself you become open to other loving relationships. 

So with the beginning of the New Year, ask yourself – “Are your romantic relationships everything you want them to be?

If so great!  You have what we can natural Feng Shui. If not, follow along to learn simple yet effective enhancements you can do yourself to improve and kindle the fire in your romantic relationships.

                                                              In whichever room this area resides, basic Feng Shui principles can help you nurture and strengthen yourself and your relationships, and even send out the energy to help you find your perfect soul mate. 

Enhancements for the Love and Marriage area inside your home or business:

* Art or photos depicting you and your significant other and/or romantic theme

* Any shade of red or pink

* Bring in the fire element through candles, red tones, and representation of people or animals

* Pairs of items (lovers, doves, hearts, candles, vases, figurines etc)

* Quotes, affirmations and sayings pertaining to love and marriage

* Items that have a personal association to love and marriage (romantic vacations/honeymoon mementos)

Enhancements for the Love and Marriage  area outside your home or business:

* Garden art representing pairs

* Items, flowers, plants in the color of the red spectrum

* Bistro table with two chairs or a loveseat for two

A Missing Love and Marriage Area:

   If this area is missing from your floor plan, you can anchor it by doing one or a combination of the following: Planting a pair of large red flowering plants at the spot of the missing corner, planting a tree and hanging a wind chime representing a pair (hearts or lovebirds), placing a table and 2 chair set, or a large sculpture representing a loving pair. My husband and I have hugging stone frogs which we purchased on a romantic trip to Hawaii. If the area outside is not accessible, you can symbolically anchor from the inside by hanging a 30 mm round faceted crystal, placing a mirror, and/or a picture of a romantic representation on the wall by the missing corner. If the missing area happens to be a parking lot, you can draw a small symbol of a heart in the exact location closing off the corner.

 

Bedrooms:                                                                                                                                                                                                     The ideal location for a master bedroom is the far back right corner; unfortunately not all homes are built this way. No matter in what bagua area your master bedroom is located, it is still considered the most important room for Love and Marriage. So as you decorate, declutter, and enhance based on its bagua area, it is also important to incorporate some of the red spectrum to bring in fire, pairs of items and romantic representations. Avoid filling it with stuffed animals, or pictures of your children and family. This area is dedicated to you and your significant other only. 

If you are single and looking for a relationship, you should design the room as if two people are already living there. For example, make sure to use two nightstands, two lamps, and leave room in the closet. This signifies the intent that you want to share your life with your soul mate.  I even suggested to one of my clients to hang two lush burgundy robes in the adjacent bathroom. 

   Walls should be any of the colors of natural skin tones; from light cream, pinks, peaches, to warm reds and dark browns. Because the feeling should evoke warmth, coziness and fire; blues, greens, whites, grey and black are too cool for bedroom walls. 

Bathrooms:

   Bathrooms in this area should be treated with the same romantic enhancements stated earlier, but remember that all plumbing needs to be working (no leaks) and drains and toilets should  always remain closed when not in use. You do not want a draining of your romantic energy.

Affirmations:

   Remember that In Feng Shui, intent plays a significant role in enhancing any area of your home or business; all enhancements need to be made with intentionality; written or stated affirmations are very important. It is also important for them to be expressed as if they are already happening. Examples or affirmations for the “Love and Marriage” area:  “This year I attracted joy, love and intimacy into my life”, “I love, respect and honor myself”, “I have found my perfect love partner.” 

Feng Shui on a Shoestring:

   Feng Shui enhancements do not have to cost a great deal. Just the act of writing affirmations and placing them in the back right corner of each room will begin to energize the romance in your life.

Feng Shui at Work:

   Two of my clients had this area missing, and both decided to bring in representations of the Fire Element. One anchored the missing corner with a cute red bistro table and two red chairs, placing a flowering pink azalea plant on the table. She discovered a new business opportunity along with a new relationship soon after.  The other immediately took two red camp chairs and placed them under a tree. She told me that just after that small enhancement, with her intent, she began noticing that men were acknowledging her and speaking to her more. The doors have opened for her. 

   One of my clients was in an unhappy relationship that was stuck and going nowhere.  In our consultation we focused on her bedroom, which was painted a cool green and featured many pictures of landscapes and water.  Nothing signified romance, passion or warmth; all of which could be kindled by bringing in more of the fire element.  She changed the pictures to romantic art, added candles by the bedside tables, and spruced up the room with red tone accents. Shortly after, she and her boyfriend broke up.  This may sound like a bad thing but Feng Shui works at giving you what you need in life, not necessarily what you think you want. After getting out of the relationship, she was free to meet the right man. In her new house she followed the lessons she learned in our consultation. She now has a wonderful man in her life and they are expecting their first baby.  She couldn’t be happier!

   With the beginning of this New Year create a space in your home and life for a relationship with your perfect mate. Enlist the energy in your environment and the element of fire to help you achieve your goals.  Happy New Year and welcome to love!!!

   For questions or home consultations email me at mtmccull@aol.com and put “Feng Shui” on the subject line, or visit my website at www.fengshuibymaria.com, (where you can read past columns),  or Facebook “Feng Shui by Maria”, where I post pictures as examples to enhancements.

   * Check out my BLOG – Just go to the website and click on “Blog”: You can view many pictures and, I will respond to your questions quickly.

   Until then…Blessings!

Maria McCullough, a Benicia resident, is the owner / founder of Feng Shui by Maria (www.fengshuibymaria.com) and is a speaker and educator with over 20 years of experience. She specializes in residential, landscape                                                                                                            and business consultations. She is a graduate of the Western School of Feng Shui and has personally trained with

Terah Kathryn Collins, founder of the Western School of Feng Shui, specializing in Essential Feng Shui®                                                                                                                                                                        and author of numerous books including “The Western Guide to Feng Shui."

Obama shortens sentence for Benicia man

 Back in October, President Barack Obama announced shortened sentences for 98 convicted criminals. One of them was a man from Benicia named Rico Mayo. 

   On Feb. 9, 1998, Mayo was convicted by the Eastern District of California for the possession of five or more grams of cocaine base, the use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and the possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison with five years’ supervised release. Under Obama’s orders, Mayo’s sentenced was commuted to expire on Friday, Feb. 24. The specifics of Mayo’s crimes could not be verified. 

   In November, the number of commutations granted under Obama had surpassed 1,000: more than those granted by the last 11 presidents that preceded him. The commutations are granted by the president to individuals who he feels were given harsh sentences and possess the potential to rebuild their lives outside of prison. 

   “We must remember that there are personal stories behind these numbers,” Neil Eggleston, a counsel to the president, wrote in a blog post after the October announcement. “These are individuals -- many of whom made mistakes at a young age -- who have diligently worked to rehabilitate themselves while incarcerated”

   For additional information on Obama’s commutations, visit justice.gov/pardon/obama-commutations. 

2017 BottleRock Napa Valley music festival lineup announced

Although the year just started, music lovers will have plenty to look forward to this summer when it comes to music festivals. However, if you live in the Bay Area, you will have to spend a lot of travel time just to go to them. There is Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, but they require plane tickets to Nashville and Chicago-- or wheelbarrows of gas money for the super brave. Coachella is in California, but it is a nine-hour drive. How about something a little closer?

   Thankfully, for those who live in Solano County, there is a big-name music festival that is only about 30 minutes away. It is called the BottleRock Napa Valley festival.

   Now in its fifth year, BottleRock continues to present a 3-day weekend of gourmet food, wine and craft brew in the heart of the Napa Valley. Oh yeah, and there's music too. These aren't just small acts either. Some of the biggest names in music right now and of all time will be gracing the multiple stages.

   To give off some perspective, last year's festival was headlined by Florence + the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Wonder. This year's show will continue to blend established acts with up-and-comers. The headliners this year happen to be three groups who have been packing stadiums and arenas for more than 40, 20 and 10 years respectively: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters and Maroon 5. They will all be rounded out by some other big names in indie rock, hip-hop, electronica, soul and even '90s alternative rock. This explosive lineup also includes Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Modest Mouse, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, The Roots, Silversun Pickups, Band of Horses, Fitz & the Tantrums, The Dirty Heads, Live, The Naked and Famous, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Gavin DeGraw, House of Pain, Catfish & the Bottlemen, Saint Motel, The Strumbellas, AlunaGeorge, Mavis Staples, Ani DiFranco, Bishop Briggs, Warren G, Gnash, Judah & the Lion, The Barr Brothers and MANY more. (Did you know there is an act called Hibbity Dibbity? You do now.) For lovers of local orchestral music, the award-winning Napa Youth Symphony will also be on stage.

   Dates and set times have not been announced for any of the bands.

   However, BottleRock is not just about the music, man. Returning this year will be the Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage which will feature entertaining cooking demonstrations by not only renowned chefs but also musicians, actors, athletes and more. Details for this stage are still being worked out.

   “We are very proud of this lineup. In addition to our amazing headliners, the lineup has something for everyone,” Dave Graham, CEO of BottleRock Napa Valley and Latitude 38 Entertainment, said in a statement. “It's exciting to see BottleRock develop, from the performers, to our wine and culinary programming, our layout…we make great strides each year to elevate the overall event. BottleRockers expect an amazing experience and we believe they will be very happy with all the upgrades we are planning for this year’s festival.”

   The 2017 BottleRock Napa Valley festival will be held Friday, May 26 to Sunday, May 28 at the Napa Valley Expo, located at 575 3rd St. in Napa. Tickets start at $309 for three-day general admission, and three-day VIP passes start at $659. For more information, visit bottlerocknapavalley.com. 

GUEST POST: Mrs. B's Blather: What might you want to know about hip replacement surgery?

By Ellen Blaufarb

I remember when I was 40, 50 and even 60 years old and visited my mother and father in West Palm Beach, Florida, we would invariably spend part of our day sitting around a swimming pool. The circle we formed was full of conversation about families, activities, and especially about ailments. I was appalled at 40, 50 and 60. But I am not anymore. Conversations at my circles are similar and the ones about operations, health and healing are incredibly important. I apologize to all of those I judged.

   But the youngers do not get it. Even as my adult children provide care for me after my surgery, they think after two days, I should be walking around the block. They don’t have any interest in a recovery regime. They just want to get on with their lives as did I. It is our peers that help with their personal information.  So I will share some of my experience.

1. You will be inundated with information that is redundant. The information is loaded with requirements before during and after surgery. Very little is as necessary as it may appear.

2. You will probably only be in the hospital for the day of surgery or the next day if you can walk and urinate.  You and your caretaker(s) will have to do all that the hospital staff used to provide including blood thinner injections in the belly. It might be helpful to visualize what that care would entail.

3. The routine you establish needs to include use of spirometer, walker, time for meds/injections, schedule for exercises provided by your physical therapist and easy-to-prepare meals. I suggest frozen dinners from Trader Joe's.

4.   Equipment you will need immediately are a walker and a commode (which can be used to elevate you on the toilet and in the shower as a seat).

Before surgery:

   The pamphlet titled "Total Joint Replacement/Getting Ready for Your Surgery and Recovery" is extremely useful.

   You might purchase a wedge for sitting up comfortably in bed, stock your freezer and buy a hip kit which includes helpful apparatus especially for when you are on your own again.

The day of surgery:

   Have a bag in your car in case you stay overnight with toothbrush, short robe and comfortable clothing to wear home.(I wore a long dress and Depends)

   Put yourself in the hands of the professionals and go forward. No going back now

After surgery: 

   Stay ahead of the pain by taking the prescribed pain medication at the intervals designated.  Slowly cut back

   Follow your physical therapist she is the “master.”  Individual design is presented and sculptured just for you.

   Don’t go too fast. The first two days of pain may not be an issue as they put anti-inflammatories directly into the wound. You may try too much so take it easy. Some discomfort is on its way but nothing unbearable.  

   Note the progression of functions returning to normal- fascinating.

   The pamphlet, After Total Hip Replacement," put out by Krames is helpful. It has some essential exercises.

Five days after my surgery, I find the cloud starting to lift. I have started to organize my stuff and am making my lists of things I want to accomplish during the four weeks at my home when I can’t drive.  This week lying around in bed was a treat and sleeping as much as Marshmallow, my dog, made us content, however, enough of that. By next week, I can foresee cabin fever setting in, as in "Let me out of here" will be my lament. The way things look, I will be sitting at one of my circles and proclaiming as so many have, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”  See you on First Street walking without a waddle.

Ellen Blaufarb is a Marriage Family Therapist.

GUEST POST: Council to hold Open Government training session tonight

By Elizabeth Warnimont

The Benicia City Council will conduct an open government training session tonight beginning at 5:30 p.m. Members of the council, other public officials and some city employees are required to attend open government training once each year. The training sessions are open to the public.

   Covered in tonight’s session will be a review of the current edition of the Brown Act, conflict of interest issues, ethics, due process and open government tips for effective meetings. Three new provisions in the 2017 Brown Act will be reviewed.

Open Government Commission seat to open

   One term on the city’s Open Government Commission will open after Jan. 31. The commission advises the city council and provides information to other city departments and bodies on appropriate ways in which to implement the process of open government. Interested parties may apply by contacting the city at 746-4210.

   Applicants should demonstrate an interest in open and ethical government through such activities as attendance at government meetings, requests for documents from government agencies, disseminating information about government to others, or familiarity with the Brown Act and the Public Records Act. All members shall be without known conflicts of interest and shall be residents of the city to the extent possible.

   The Open Government Commission meets four times a year on Mondays beginning at 5 p.m. in the Commission Room at City Hall, 250 East L St., unless noted otherwise in the annual meeting calendar.

   Open Government Training sessions do not include AB 1234-required training on ethics, which must be completed every two years or within six months of taking office.

   For more information about open government training, visit the city attorney’s government training page at the city of Benicia web site at ci.benicia.ca.us under the heading "City Departments- City Attorney- Training or call the city attorney’s office at 746-4216.

Vallejo Pasta Pomodoro closes

(Originally published in the 1/3/16 edition)

   Pasta Pomodoro, the San Francisco-based Italian restaurant chain Pasta Pomodoro, suddenly closed all of its locations Dec. 26, including the one in Vallejo. Restaurant employees were notified via text messages that the franchise had closed, and they would receive their final pay Friday. 

   The restaurant began in San Francisco’s Marina District in 1994 and expanded to more than 25 locations throughout the Bay Area as well as Southern California and Arizona by the end of the decade. The Vallejo location— the only one in Solano County— was in the Gateway Plaza. In 2002, the chain had become popular enough that Wendy’s International had a 25 percent stake in the company. It was then sold to Matthew Janopaul and Girish Satya in 2010. In turn, it was sold to a private equity firm in 2012. 

   By the time of the closure, the chain had exited the Southern California and Arizona markets, and only 15 Bay Area locations remained. No announcement has been made regarding the motive for the decision. 

2016 year in review: Crude by rail battle comes to an end

*Sigh* The Benicia Herald website has become inaccessible due to security issues. I'm working to try and fix it, but in the meantime, I need a place to host my articles as well as others'. Once the site is working again, I'll migrate everything back over there.

Without further ado, here's the third of the year-end articles I did.

(Originally published in the 1/1/17 edition)

(The Herald closes its year-end coverage with the biggest news story of all.)

   Valero Benicia Refinery’s three-year battle to have its crude oil delivered by train rather than by boat came to an end in 2016. The year saw perhaps the biggest wave of developments for this much-debated proposal. 

   The project, which aimed to extend three Union Pacific Railroad road tracks onto Valero’s property in Benicia to deliver North American crude oil by train, was publicly announced in Feb. 2013 and was expected to be completed by the end of that year. However, strong opposition by residents and environmental groups triggered a debate that persisted over the ensuing three years. Opponents of the project contended that the project would have increased air pollution, fueled climate change, increased greenhouse gas emissions and would been very dangerous in the event of a train explosion- particularly in the wake of an oil train explosion in Quebec shortly after the project was announced as well as numerous others since.  Meanwhile, supporters of the project argued that it would have created temporary jobs in the construction of rails and permanent jobs in the operation of the project, provided $30,000 in tax revenues, operated under current air permits with Bay Area Air Quality Management District and reduced dependence on oil from the Middle East. 

  The year began with the release of the Final Environmental Impact Report, which was meant to act as the absolute draft of the document that addressed the project’s potential effects on the environment. It also included the thousands of letters that resulted from the release of the previous Draft Environmental Impact Report and Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report. This document can be viewed at http://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/index.asp?SEC=B7EDC93A-FFF0-4A14-9B1A-1C8563BC256A&DE=26D88AB1-BB3F-4FF2-9924-D38F31BA0EA4&Type=B_BASIC. 

   Then came the Planning Commission hearings in February. The hearings were scheduled over the course of four straight days to accommodate all of those who wished to speak. Following the conclusion of public comments on Feb. 11, the Commission voted unanimously to deny a permit for the project. On Feb. 29, Valero appealed the decision, stating that the commission’s decision was based on grounds preempted by federal law. 

   A series of City Council meetings were held throughout March and April to determine whether the permit should be denied or if the council should wait until Valero could obtain a declaratory order regarding federal preemption from the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Many residents, as well as environmental experts and Union Pacific representatives, spoke at the meetings, and Attorney General Kamala Harris submitted a letter to the city noting that the Planning Commission and City Council have a right to deny the project. Ultimately, the council voted 3-2 to grant Valero’s request for a delay. Councilmembers Mark Hughes, Alan Schwartzman and Christina Strawbridge voted in favor of the delay, while Mayor Elizabeth Patterson and Councilmember Tom Campbell voted against it. Valero was given until September to submit its response from the STB.

   Then in June, a Union Pacific oil train derailed over the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier, Ore. Of the 96 cars, 15 had derailed and several caught fire and burned for more than 14 hours, and 42,000 gallons of oil were spilled, some of which went into the Columbia River. There were no injuries, and Union Pacific agreed to new safety measures in December.

   Due to the cars being the same models proposed by Valero for its project, protesters gathered for a demonstration ahead of the June 7 City Council meeting. The incident turned out to be “a game changer” for at least one councilmember. Strawbridge remarked at a candidates’ forum in September that it would be “very difficult” for her to approve the project.

   Then came the Sept. 20 council meeting. Hours before the meeting, the STB had sent a letter denying Valero’s request because the refinery was not a railroad company and thus could not claim federal preemption. When the time came for the council to make a decision, Patterson and Campbell upheld their votes from April, Strawbridge made good on her earlier stated decision to not approve the project and Hughes and Schwartzman also voted to deny, making the decision unanimous. At its Oct. 4 meeting, the council adopted a resolution officially denying the project.

   One question still remained among residents after the decision: would Valero sue the city as a result? That question was answered in December when City Attorney Heather McLaughlin announced that the refinery would not sue, citing the need to maintain good relations with the city. Patterson expressed her pleasure with the decision in a statement provided to the Herald.

   “I look forward to the promise of those good community relations now that we can put this saga behind us,” she said. “There are many opportunities for us to work together, such as the locations and operations of the local air monitoring that the BAAQMD will be implementing.  We share Valero’s concerns of new residential development on the so-called Seeno site to avoid conflicts. And lastly I look forward to Valero’s proactive participation on our Community Sustainability Commission.”