City Council Focuses on Defining Benicia’s Strategic Goals; Public Input Vital March 5, 2018 Benicia City Manager Lorie Tinfow recently announced two concurrent activities during March that could impact the focus, content, or direction of the “Five Strategic Goals/Issues” that the City of Benicia adopted several years ago. This process Read more…
Our March public meeting was held at the Benicia Library, 150 East L St., in the Dona Benicia Room, on March 13th, at 7:00 p.m. Our featured speaker was Delaine Eastin, 2018 candidate for Governor in California.
Delaine Eastin, candidate for California Governor
Delaine is a former California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, following eight years in the State Assembly and six years on the Union City (Alameda County) City Council. In the June 6 Gubernatorial Primary, Delaine’s principal opposition is expected to be: Democrats Gavin Newsom, current Lt. Governor, Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles, and John Chiang, current CA State Treasurer; and, Republican candidates Travis Allen, Assemblyman and John Cox, a businessman.
Delaine is the only woman to have held the office of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction. According to her bio sheet, she was responsible for initiatives which focused on wiring schools for technology and stronger technical/vocational training for students. She also successfully sued the governor for withholding funds from K-12 schools, and joined the successful lawsuit against Proposition 187, which among other things would have used teachers as immigration agents.
For more information on Delaine, her campaign website is http://www.delaineforgovernor.com.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) will hold a workshop in Benicia at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, 1155 First St., from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on March 5. The workshop in Benicia is the fourth in a series of workshops that earlier stopped in Richmond, Martinez, and Vallejo.
According to the Air District, Regulation 12-Rule-15 was adopted in 2016 to implement additional air monitoring in communities located near refineries. The purpose of the workshop is provide the public “an opportunity to learn about current and upcoming monitoring at or near refineries, ask questions to Air District staff, (and) share information about their communities and their ideas about future monitoring efforts.”
While the Air District says its current regional ambient air monitoring system has over 30 air quality monitoring stations, PDB notes that none are located within Benicia’s environs. Other than a monitor located on one of Valero’s stacks, the only other Benicia air monitor is located at Ruszel Woodworks, installed by the Ruszels themselves.