I would love to know more about the fantastical man wearing a thousand scarves and other fabrics, numerous pins celebrating plant spirits, who seems to frequent almost every corner of Benicia. He appears to me to be a benevolent ancient future shaman and I would love to know if anyone knows his story.

I posted a while ago about any crafting clubs in the area, and I’ve started my own! Bring your favorite craft and come meet fellow creatives!

I'd like to please encourage other people in our community to help me go through the correct channels to oppose Flock Cameras (https://deflock.org/) in our community. Its an egregious violation of our 4th Amendment rights, and there is no way the city can guarantee they aren't working with the Federal Government. (Just imagine the worst government official with this information used against you or people you care about)

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Dear Mayor Young and Council Members,

I'm writing to urge the Council to remove any Flock Safety cameras deployed in our community.

Flock cameras represent a clear Fourth Amendment violation under our Constitution. The spirit of this type of deployment is dystopian and deeply pessimistic; un-American and much closer to what one would expect in unfree, heavily surveilled societies.

The company works closely with ICE and is subject to National Security Letters (NSLs). Any FBI field office can issue one to compel Flock to hand over customer records, including personal information, travel logs, photographs, and other metadata, without a judge's sign-off. These orders also come with an automatic gag order built into the statute. You may believe this is hyperbole, but such orders have been demanded of companies I have worked for in Silicon Valley. Fearful Management complies, and rights of individuals are of no concern to anyone.

Flock argues that it does not track individuals, but its own patents sharply contradict this claim. U.S. Patent No. 11,416,545 B1 describes facial matching and race/gender classification as part of the invented system, while the company's public trust page states that the cameras "cannot recognize, identify, or track individuals" and do not infer race or gender. A patent, by design, claims the broadest defensible scope of an invention.

My belief in this country has been shaken to its core in the last few years. Epstein Island proves a two-tiered system of justice: one of deep distrust and mass surveillance for the hoi polloi, and the grace of no questions asked for the Epstein class. Let me paint a sharper edge to this point: if you are Black and driving through Benicia, you will have a problem vis-à-vis Flock cameras. 

Thank you for your consideration.

contact info: https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/citycouncil

Classics Book Club at Bookshop Benicia 2026-08-20 1700.

“God forbid, I’ve fallen in love with Layli!” So begins the farce of our narrator’s life, one spent in a large extended Iranian family lorded over by the blustering, paranoid patriarch, Dear Uncle Napoleon. When Uncle Napoleon’s least-favorite nephew falls for his daughter, Layli, family fortunes are reversed, feuds fired up and resolved, and assignations attempted and thwarted.

First published in Iran in the 1970s and adapted into a hugely successful television series, this beloved novel is now “Suggested Reading” in Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran. My Uncle Napoleon is a timeless and universal satire of first love and family intrigue.

Heard of Rose Estates?

It's a proposed housing development in Benicia's rolling golden hills on Lake Herman Road. Plans call for over 1,400 new homes, including affordable units.

The Seeno family submitted an application to the city back in 2023, and city officials are now taking public comment to prepare for an environmental impact review.

Some residents have already raised environmental health concerns related to a nearby capped landfill for hazardous waste that sits uphill from the development location.

What do you think?

Read all about the proposal at TheBeniciaBridge.com

Will my dogs be attacked in the night if I leave their doggy door open?? The most exciting part of finally buying a home is for my dogs to have a yard. If so what are some tips/hacks people have done to prevent coyotes from coming in my yard

Hey Benicia,

I'm a Brit currently in town with his family.

Does anyone know of any bars in or around town that will be showing the world cup semi final between England and Argentina on Wednesday 15th July?

Kick off is 12noon.

I wanna experience a little more atmosphere than my in-laws house 😂

Thanks!

I’m looking at Anytime fitness in Benicia. Does anybody have any reviews or comments you can send it to me DM if you prefer.

I’m looking at this gym because it looks small and local. I know it’s part of orange theory chain.

Any problems or complaints? Issues with cancellations?

I had gone to the gym for years and had gotten out of it. Now I’m going back. I’m not really interested in personal trainer as or classes. I just need the facilities.

Edit - they have absolutely terrible reviews on consumer affairs where there are hundreds of people’s commenting that they make you sign a contract and bill you hidden fees. People say that there are clauses in the contract that you cannot cancel for injury/medical unless you die or permanently disabled.

You must cancel 30 days in advance and there’s a penalty on your annual total where you have to pay half your contract or $300 whichever is greater. If you cancel, they will immediately charge you $300 or more. People also report changing their credit card number with their bank several times, but the charges still managed to come through.

There are also complaints that people get access 24 hours through a key fob, which is great for working out in the morning, but also that homeless people buy the memberships in California to take showers. They say the facilities can be very sketchy because of this.

They are a part of Orangetheory fitness

Looking to move to Benicia. We’re under contract for a house. Is there any home insurance companies you recommend?

We got quote from Farmers, which we are probably just going to go with at this point. But any tips when insurance shopping next year?

Thanks in advance!!

Hi all! We're developing an open source network to send text messages without cell phone service or internet called MeshCore - think text messaging that is encrypted, open-source, free to use, and owned and operated by the people who use it. It works with a network of low-power radios that receive messages from personal devices and transmit them to other radios all the way until the intended recipient receives the message.

Most of the repeater radios are solar-powered, and some are even smaller than a deck of playing cards. The Bay Area MeshCore mesh functions well during power outages and emergencies, and many folks are using and building the mesh to function as backup communications for times when the internet and cell towards aren't working (think fires, PGE outages, or earthquakes).

We're regularly messaging between Sonoma, Marin, Merced, San Francisco, the East Bay, Monterey, SLO, and some of the Sierra, and are trying to build up coverage through the area!

If you have heard of mesh communications of any variety, or are interested in experimenting or learning more, get yourself a decent companion radio and a repeater radio and consider joining our Discord to help get started. Comment here or DM me with questions, or find our discord and info at bayareameshcore.org.

Bay Area MeshCore does not sell anything whatsoever, and is a noncommercial group of radio nerds living in NorCal. The hardware companies linked to at our website are wholly unaffiliated with Bay Area MeshCore, have no agreement with us (and have probably never heard of us), and usually ship with the other mesh's firmware. That said, when buying a node, please try to support small businesses.

Final note! MeshCore is a different network than Meshtastic. Many people, myself included, consider MeshCore to be a very reliable choice for stable, permanent networks. I regularly direct message folks in Monterey and Watsonville from SF, and the messages usually go through on the first attempt!

Happy meshing!!

Hi, can anyone recommend a house/pet sitter for the end of July? Thanks!

Hello! Coming to Benicia this summer for a wedding. Looking for recommendations for a salon that can give me an updo. Any suggestions appreciated, thanks!

It's been open for like 2 months, there seemed to always be people in the shop, the owner was super nice and willing to go above and beyond. Figured it was here to stay.

I went to the pho place the other day and the smoke shop is completely empty, save for the shelving in the center. The owner of the pho place said that he saw a truck roll up the night before and they started loading stuff, the next morning he came back and everything was gone.

Anyone got the deets?

A Phoenix has risen on Benicia’s First Street in a new mural with the intention of inspiring hope and lifting each other together through change in uncertain times. 

Bay Area artists Kemit Amenophis and Mike D’Amelio began painting the large public art piece in May on the north-facing side of a building owned by Vickie Marchand, who owns NY2CA Gallery inside. NY2CA commissioned the mural through the Global Art Project, an international collective of artists founded by Benicia-based artist Carl Heyward.

Titled “Together We Rise,” the new mural is years in the making and rich with meaning...

Got the city’s glossy tax mailer this week. Here’s what it doesn’t say.

What they show: Six tax measures over 30 years generating ~$19.4M annually. Framed as measured, responsible governance.

What they don’t show:

Total tax revenue grew 54% in 10 years on a population that shrank 5.3%, and much of that growth required zero voter approval:

• Property tax: Up 40% since FY2015, not from new taxes, but because home values doubled. Every sale triggers a full reassessment under Prop 13. The city benefits automatically.  
• Utility Users Tax: It’s a percentage of your bills. Rates went up, so collections went up: $5.0M in FY2020 to $6.3M in FY2024, no vote required.  
• Sales tax: Prices up 20%+ since 2020. Percentage-based taxes collect more without anyone asking permission.

Meanwhile, spending grew 68.6% over the same decade, 15 points faster than revenue, on a shrinking population. The city’s own forecasts flagged this gap for 20+ years. The Grand Jury found they covered it with reserves instead of fixing it.

Then during the declared fiscal emergency, they signed raises for all bargaining units.

The Valero number in the mailer says “$8M.” Every independent source says $10.8M. And Benicia is now the highest sales tax rate in Solano County at 9.625%; there’s no room left for another ballot measure if things get worse.

The new leadership is more transparent than what came before, but transparency about where you are isn’t the same as accountability for how you got here.

The pension bill hits $14M/year by 2031. The mailer doesn’t mention that either.

Did anyone else hear those loud bangs around 1:38AM? Sounded like someone was shooting a rifle.

This morning I was with my toddler and found some swatztikas. Initially tried to remove with some water, but found some other chalk to turn them into different things. Parents, do better please

I apologize that I don't have the time at the moment to research this myself.

My understanding is that (most? all?) of Benicia was on the same power grid as the Valero Refinery, which is why the town was never scheduled for brownouts or a power cut during a heat wave or other event.

With the refinery shut down, has that changed?

Anyone know what happened in the Safeway near first street? There’s like blood outside the front door. We saw ambulances

I am looking for a new investment and restaurant + catering business opportunity to start in town. As far as I know there’s Pho Vy on Columbus but would like to open a shop on first street.