City of Benicia This Week
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In this edition: How Many Miles of Roads?, Tips to Beat the Heat, Summer Reading Program Begins, The White Card Performance at the Library, Learn About Drought Tolerant Plants, Input on Vegetation Management Plan, Sign Up to Give Blood Today!, Celebrate California State Parks Week, City Employee Spotlight
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Message from the City Manager |
Month Day, 2022
Hello Everyone,
There hasn’t been much positive of late in the news, but every time it gets me down, I just need to look closer to home for inspiration. Today, in our Employee Spotlight below, you’ll find two amazing young women, Emma and Zoe, recent Benicia High graduates, who are leaders in our community, currently working at the library and coordinating our Teen Advisory Board. Over the last two years, I’ve been so impressed with the youth of this community and the leadership they so often demonstrate. From school leadership, to service groups, church groups, scouting and more. We have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great kids!
On that note, I’d like to invite you all to come down to City Hall or watch on television or on Zoom as on Tuesday, June 21 at 6 p.m. at the beginning of the City Council meeting, the Mayor and Council will be recognizing some more amazing young leaders…our very own Benicia High School softball team. This amazing team won the North Coast Section, then went on to win their way to the NorCal championship game where their season finally ended against a very tough team from Lincoln. It’s fair to say this team is one of the best in Benicia High School history! And they have a very bright future in the coming seasons under head coach Kristin Grubbs. I heard stories of standing room only crowds at their games and just how exciting those games were. I would like to encourage you to check out the Benicia High School athletics, find home games for any sports you are interested in so you can attend and help support our amazing kids. Check out this link for more information: https://bhs.beniciaunified.org/athletics/athletics-general-information/
Thank you for your interest in the City of Benicia This Week!
Erik Upson
City Manager
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The City of Benicia manages 195 miles of roads within the city. To keep the community cruising smoothly, the City’s Public Works Department must routinely:
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Examine road conditions and assign grades to each road;
- ️identify the type of repairs that each road needs; and
- determine the best order in which to repair roads based on conditions and available funding.
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As we begin to feel the summer heat, the City of Benicia encourages that, if you begin feeling unwell as a result of the heat, do not hesitate to reach out to the Police/Fire Dispatch Center at 707.745.3411. If you have elderly or at-risk neighbors, please check on them as well.
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Summer Reading Program Begins |
It's almost summer and school's out! Even if your last homework assignment is decades behind you, we've been culturally conditioned to think of the summer months as a time of rest, relaxation, and recreation. For such pursuits the Benicia Public Library has you covered.
Summer Reading Program registration for all ages starts on Wednesday, June 15. Teens, get a packet that includes activities and prizes. Children may choose from six themes: Art, Codes and Puzzles, Comics, Movement, Science and Nature, and Toddler. Not only is it a fun way to while away lazy, hot days, it’s also important!
Research shows that children who participate in public library summer reading programs do better academically. Reading for fun is essential to helping students become better readers, writers, and spellers. Reading for fun over the summer reduces “summer slide”, the tendency for students to lose reading and math fluency during the break—some studies have shown that the cumulative effect of this phenomenon can result in students being as much as two years behind their classmates by the time they enter middle school, whereas students who read recreationally outperform those who don’t.
It's known that students read more when they can choose materials based on their own interests. So, the focus is on making reading fun. Sign up early! Find a book, a magazine, an audiobook, or a graphic novel, have fun, and return to school strong and ready to learn more.
The program runs through August 31. Get more information and sign up at the library’s customer service desk, 150 East L Street.
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The White Card Performance at the Library |
The multi-week program series titled From Just Us to Justice: A Community Equity Challenge hosted by Benicia Public Library is drawing to a close, but not without one more big event! Funded by a Book to Action grant, the series has included presentations on the history of racism in America, privilege, unconscious bias, and allyship. The name for the series is derived from the book Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine. In addition to being a poet and university professor, Rankine, who visited the library via Zoom earlier in the month, is also an acclaimed playwright.
Wednesday, June 15 at 7 p.m., the Benicia Theatre Group (BTG) will perform a reading of Rankine’s one-act play The White Card directed by actor, set builder, and board member Clinton Vidal. This is BTG’s first live performance in over two years!
“Community theater enriches the lives of all who participate, regardless of which side of the footlights we are on,” said Jennifer Baker, Director of Library and Cultural Services for the Benicia Public Library. “We are thrilled to welcome the Benicia Theatre Group to the library for this special performance both to wrap up the From Just Us to Justice series and to celebrate the return of live theater in our community!”
Participants may attend the free performance live from the library or from home. RSVP options, zoom links, program information, and access to related resources can be found on the library’s website at benicialibrary.org/book-to-action. Copies of Just Us and The White Card are available to check out from the library.
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Learn About Drought Tolerant Plants |
The City's Public Works Department wants you to know that you can learn about drought tolerant plants from University of California Master Gardeners. Since 1981, the University of California Master Gardener Program has been extending UC research-based information about home horticulture and pest management to the public. The UC Master Gardener Program is a public service and outreach program under the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, administered locally by participating UC Cooperative Extension County offices.
The UC Master Gardener Program is an example of an effective partnership between the University of California and passionate volunteers. In exchange for training from the University, UC Master Gardeners offer volunteer services and outreach to the public in more than 50 California counties. Last year, in the state of California, 6,055 active UC Master Gardener volunteers donated 398,150 hours. More than 4.6 million hours have been donated since the program's inception.
Got Gardening Questions? The Master Gardener Hotline for Solano County has the answers. Call 707.784.1322 or email mgsolano@ucdavis.edu. The Master Gardener Hotline is available 24/7. The message center will take your questions and information. Please remember to leave your name, phone number, a description of your problem, and your address. A Master Gardener will research your problem and return your call or email.
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Input on Vegetation Management Plan |
Do you have input about the weed-eating goats, disking, weed whacking, or spraying in Benicia? Benicia Fire Department would like you to let them know so that they can incorporate your input into the City of Benicia Vegetative Fuels Management Plan. Take the survey at https://bit.ly/3K957Ig and visit the Plan's website at https://mitigatehazards.com/benicia-defensible-space/. |
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Sign Up to Give Blood Today! |
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Celebrate California State Parks Week |
The City of Benicia/Visit Benicia tourism effort, along with Visit California, invite you to celebrate some of California’s most treasured places during the First Annual California State Parks Week, June 14–18. The five-day tribute features more than 100 activities that encourage everyone to enjoy California’s 280 state parks and their extraordinary natural and cultural resources.
Click here for info on an app that packs all 280 state parks in your pocket.
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Meet Emma Chastain and Zoë Fetter! Emma and Zoë are part-time employees at the Benicia Public Library, both serving in two distinct roles.
Emma and Zoë are both Departmental Aides, working to support library activities and services, including preparing spaces and materials for programs and a variety of tasks that help to keep services running smoothly.
Their other role is serving as Teen Advisory Board (TAB) Coordinators. TAB Coordinators serve as the library’s primary outreach and communication conduit to the teen community in Benicia. By helping to advertise what the library provides to their peers and communicating needs and ideas from the community back to the library, Emma and Zoë help to ensure that library services to teens in Benicia are relevant and engaging. As a part of this effort, they lead the monthly TAB forum, to which ALL teens are invited. The last Monday of each month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., teens are invited to hang out at the library to share their ideas for new services, events, and programs.
When asked why they like working at the library, Emma said, “I really like planning events through the library. I love that I’m able to make them happen rather than just be a participant.” Zoë added, “I like working on something I feel is worthwhile and helps my community; the library is my favorite public service.”
Both just graduated from Benicia High School. Although neither of the two has much free time between school and work, when they do, Zoë likes to watch movies and Emma loves to read, draw, and is learning to sew.
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Save the Date
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Jun 13 - Human Services Board meeting, 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber, City Hall. See the Full Agenda for more information.
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Jun 13 - Board of Library meeting, 6:30 p.m. in the Dona Benicia Room at Benicia Public Library. See the Full Agenda for more information.
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Jun 14 - City Council meeting, 12 p.m. in the Council Chamber, City Hall. Watch live at https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/agendas. See the Full Agenda for more information.
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Jun 14 - Board of Library meeting, canceled.
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Jun 14 - Historic Preservation Review Commission, 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber. See the Full Agenda for more information.
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City of Benicia This Week is published each Monday morning. Previous editions are available here. We also communicate on Nextdoor.com and AlertSolano.com. Sign up now!
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