HomeSection.com » Local Stuff

Benicia Going Green…But Not For Much Longer

Rod Herman — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:43:02 +0000

Benicia is very green these days, but that’s all about to change…and probably well before the end of May.

No, I’m not talking about the city’s environmental efforts. I’m talking about Benicia’s gorgeous green hills.

Every year the hills in and around Benicia turn green in January and we get to enjoy their emerald beauty for about four or five months. But once the warmer spring weather arrives, it usually takes only a few warm days before the hills turn a golden brown. So by the end of May, the green is always gone.

I snapped these photos a few days ago, when the hills were at their greenest. Enjoy the scenery, because according to the calendar, it’s only a matter of days before the green turns to brown.

RECENT BENICIA COMMUNITY POSTS

RECENT REAL ESTATE POSTS

SOLANO & LOCAL MARKET UPDATES

Spring FINALLY Arrived In Benicia Today

Rod Herman — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:44:20 +0000

In my book, Spring doesn’t really officially begin in Benicia until the Farmer’s Market opens. So that means today was the first day of Spring, at least here in Benicia that is.

And it wouldn’t be opening day of the Benicia’s Farmer’s Market without a few April showers.

So right on cue, about 10 minutes before the market was scheduled to open for the season, the skies suddenly darkened and rain started to fall.

Fortunately, though, it was just a brief shower and by the time I got down there around 4:30, there were just scattered clouds.

For me, opening day at the Farmer’s Market is always a special day.

It’s great to see all those familiar faces again — farmers and food purveyors who have become household fixtures on First Street after all these years.

And what a delight to feast your eyes and tastebuds on all those, colorful, mouthwatering fruits and vegetables.

There’s really nothing like that great Thursday afternoon downtown Benicia vibe when the market is here. It’s a vibe that’s been sorely missed since the market closed down last October.

It was great to see the rotisserie chicken truck back this year, too. It was here three years ago, but skipped the Benicia market in ‘08 and ‘09.

The purveyors said they’re going to see how it goes for the next few weeks. Hopefully, they’ll get plenty of business and remain a Thursday afternoon mainstay all season long.

I already had plans for this evening, but next Thursday I already know what’s for dinner: a freshly roasted juicy Roli Roti chicken.

I also heard that another former long-time market regular — the folks at All-Star Tamales — may be returning again this year, too.

Hopefully that’s more than just a rumor, as they always made the best tamales around in my book.

They weren’t at the market this week, but I’m hoping they make a return appearance real soon. I’m having chicken next week, but I sure wouldn’t mind tamales the following week!

Today, I picked up some beautiful red onions, freshly hulled organic English peas, a 3-pack of luscious strawberries, a big bag of juicy oranges, ripe red tomatoes from my favorite farmers. And a bag of freshly-popped kettle corn for my grandson.

I try to make it to the Farmer’s Market every week. It’s become a Thursday afternoon tradition.

Not to mention the official beginning of springtime in Benicia.

The Benicia Farmer’s Market is organized by the Benicia Main Street Program and takes place every Thursday from 4-8 pm through the end of October.

RECENT BENICIA COMMUNITY POSTS

RECENT REAL ESTATE POSTS

SOLANO & LOCAL MARKET UPDATES

Beautiful Day, Beautiful Cars In Benicia

Rod Herman — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:36:51 +0000

Benicia’s annual Classic Car Show was held today on the First Street Green and at the foot of First St. It was a picture-perfect spring day.

The sunny skies, 70 degree weather and scenic Carquinez strait provided the perfect backdrop for the hundreds of classic automobiles that descended on our town today.

There were plenty of classic Fords, Chevys, Pontiacs, and even a few Studebakers. Roadsters, muscle cars and old jalopies — they were all there, glistening in bright Benicia sunshine.

If you missed today’s show, which benefited the Benicia High Band, enjoy the photos below.

Click On The Photo To Enlarge

RECENT BENICIA COMMUNITY POSTS

RECENT REAL ESTATE POSTS

SOLANO & LOCAL MARKET UPDATES

Get Your Bags Ready — Benicia Farmer’s Market Season Opener This Thursday!

Rod Herman — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:47:38 +0000

One of the true rites of spring in Benicia is opening day of the Farmer’s Market. It’s a vivid reminder that summer is just around the corner.

And opening day is just a few days away. The season begins this Thursday (Apr. 29).

Over the years, the Benicia Farmer’s Market has become a wonderfully popular Thursday night gathering place.

It wasn’t too many years ago, that you could usually find a parking place within a block of the market.

In recent years, however, that’s all changed. Now you have to get there early or be prepared to walk a few extra blocks. But nobody’s complaining!

The market really seems to have taken hold as a civic institution, as people come downtown, buy their fruits and veggies and then stay downtown for dinner.

They say absence makes the heart grow fond. Well after six month’s of waiting, that’s definitely the case for the Benicia Farmer’s Market.

The market is organized by Benicia’s always-energetic Main Street Program and runs Thursday evenings from late April through the end of October. The market opens at 4 pm and closes at 8 pm.

I’ll be there ready to fill my canvas bags with some of the season’s first crop.

Can’t wait!

RECENT BENICIA COMMUNITY POSTS

RECENT REAL ESTATE POSTS

SOLANO & LOCAL MARKET UPDATES

Trailer Park Coming To Benicia This Friday

Rod Herman — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:22:27 +0000

Before you charge down to City Hall to find out just what in the heck Benicia’s planning department or city council was thinking, relax.

Benicia’s not really getting a new trailer park of the Airstream / Winnebago variety.

No, the trailer park I was referring to in today’s headline is the Benicia Old Town Theater Group’s spring production: The Great American Trailer Park Musical, which debuts Friday for a one-month run in downtown Benicia.

According to the BOTTG web site, ‘Trailer Park’ is “a comic fable about women in a Florida trailer park and their no-account men. Adultery, strippers, murderous ex-beaus, Costco, and the Ice Capades are comical subjects in this musical comedy.”

‘Trailer Park’ opens this Friday (Apr. 16) and will run Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays thru May 15. Tickets are available online, at the Benicia Chamber of Commerce (601 First St.) or at the door.

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 pm and Sunday matinees are at 4 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors (62+) and students with ID. Opening night is $25 and includes a “champagne gala.”

For more info, visit the BOTTG website or call 707-746-1269. If you take in the show, be sure to come back and post a comment about how you liked it.

RECENT COMMUNITY POSTS

Opening Day On The Strait Coming Saturday

RECENT REAL ESTATE POSTS

Opening Day On The Strait This Saturday

Rod Herman — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:12:37 +0000

Hopefully the weatherman will cooperate and all of this early April rain will be a thing of the past come Saturday.

For that’s when the Benicia Yacht Club’s annual “Opening Day On The Strait’ is slated to take place.

Always a popular community event, there will be arts & crafts booths, boardwalk-style games, a rubber ducky race, music, food, drink and of course, the official blessing of the fleet, right on the shores of the tranquil Carquinez Strait.

This year’s Opening Day theme is a has a French twist to it. The Yacht Club’s Opening Day slogan is “Sea-Vu-Play.”

The festivities will take place on the lawn between the Yacht Club and the marina harbormaster’s office. The arts and crafts booths open at 10 am. and the game booths at 11 a.m. The blessing of the fleet is at 2 pm, followed by the decorated boat parade.

The Yacht Club is located at 400 East 2nd St., adjacent to the Benicia Marina. For more details, see the schedule below, download Opening Day flyer, or call the Benicia Yacht Club directly at 707-746-6600.

RECENT LOCAL REAL ESTATE POSTS

A Benicia Landmark Slated For The Scrap Heap

Rod Herman — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:05:04 +0000

One of Solano County’s most recognizable landmarks will be gone for good before the end of this decade.

I’m talking about the mothball fleet — a collection of old warships sitting in Suisun Bay just east of the Benicia Bridge. Put out to pasture decades ago, these once-proud military vessels, now deteriorated and decayed, are now about to head to their final resting place — a metal scrapyard.

That fate was sealed a number of years ago, but not much has happened up until now amid concerns that moving these massive vessels would allow contaminants to pollute the waters all along its journey. Or that marine organisms native to this area would tag along for the ride on a ship’s final journey and make their way to foreign waters, potentially damaging those faraway ecosystems, too.

So ever since the government decided to disband the mothball fleet, most of the ships have remained just where they’ve been anchored for the past four or five decades, while waiting for the government and environmentalists to come up with a plan that would allow the fleet to be permanently disbanded and dismantled.

On Wednesday, local Congressman George Miller held a news conference at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet offices, in the marshlands just south of I-680 and the Lake Herman Rd. exit.

He announced that a 3-year-old lawsuit brought on by several environmental groups had finally been settled and that by the fall of 2012, the 20 most seriously decaying ships would be on their way out of Suisun Bay. And, by 2017, the entire 52-ship fleet would be no more.

The ships have definitely seen better days. Over the years, they’ve leached toxins and contaminants into our waters. Still, despite the obvious environmental gains, it will be kind of bittersweet to see these glorious old ships march out of our waters for the last time.

For they’re one of the last vivid reminders of a time in our country’s history that most of us only know about from watching war movies or reading history books.

The mothball fleet has been a Benicia and Solano County landmark for as long as I can remember. But one day in the not-too-distant future, you’ll drive across the bridge and that landmark will be no more.

More Reading

Nature’s Weedeaters Return To Benicia

Rod Herman — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:32:04 +0000

Every spring, the herd from Goats R Us returns to the hills of Benicia, as part of the city’s weed abatement program. Not only are they good for the environment, but they’re always a sight to see, especially when they’re right alongside one of the town’s major roadways.

That was the case as I drove up Hastings Dr. in Southampton late one recent afternoon. Dozens and dozens of nature’s weedeaters were happily dining on all that new growth in the open space. So I had to pull over and snap a few photos.

Living Near Vallejo Or Fairfield REALLY Pays Big Dividends This Time Of Year

Rod Herman — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:56:01 +0000

Every December, one of the things we always look forward to is Meyer Cookware’s 10-day Factory Sale.

In case you’ve never heard of Meyer, they manufacture Circulon, Analon, Kitchen Aid, Farberware and several other popular lines of cookware.

And every December, they open their doors to the public with incredible deals.

About 7-8 years ago, we purchased a set of Circulon pots that were about 40% of what they were selling for at Macy’s. And we’ve been coming back every year since.

Even though our kitchen is jam-packed with all sorts of pots, pans and cooking utensils, we still always seem to find something at the Meyers’ sale that we absolutely “must have.”

In addition to their terrific factory sale prices, they also offer an additional 30% off if you have a coupon. If you don’t have one or forget yours, they’re very liberal and will usually give you that same extra 30% off just for mentioning the coupon.

Our youngest daughter, who just graduated from college, was with me when I stopped by to check out this year’s version of the sale earlier today.

She spotted a few pallets full of boxes of 10-piece Rachael Ray cookware sets that had an “as-is” sign on them (pictured above). They were on sale for $48. The boxes had a few tears, dings or dents, but the customer service manager for Meyer assured us that the product inside was just fine.

They had the same packages without any dented cardboard on sale for $95 with the 30% off coupon, which was still $65 less than Bed, Bath and Beyond’s price of $160.

But being a recent college grad who’s looking for a teaching job, my daughter naturally opted for the biggest savings. So she snapped up one of the $48 packages and saved a cool 70%.

So if you live anywhere in the Bay Area and are looking for some incredible deals on cookware, get over to the Meyer Cookware sale in either Vallejo (on Curtola Pkwy) or in Fairfield (2001 Meyer Way) soon.

The factory sale only goes through next Monday (Dec. 14).

After that, it’s back to retail.

RECENT COMMUNITY POSTS

RECENT REAL ESTATE POSTS

MARKET UPDATES

Festive Night Kicks Off Benicia’s Holiday Season

Rod Herman — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:21:37 +0000

The annual walk on First Street — better known as Benicia’s Holiday Open House — was another rousing success Friday Night. The weather was nippy (but not too cold) and the street was packed with just about everyone in town.

Out in front of our office at 900 First St., there was a steady line pretty much all night line as people queued up for free bags of popcorn, cotton candy and pictures with Santa.

And all up and down First Street it was a sea of people, as Benicians young and old exchanged holiday greetings and paused to enjoy a wide variety of holiday musical entertainment.

The antique city fire truck was back again, adorned in festive holiday lights. And most First St. merchants kept their doors open until 9 pm, serving all sorts of holiday treats to anyone who stopped by.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Above and below are three videos I took last night. If you missed this year’s festivities, be sure to put it on your calendar for next December; it’s always the first Friday in December.

Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video.