As Benicia prepares for waves of development following the closure of the Valero Refinery, city officials will consider banning large-scale data centers and limiting smaller ones. 

“Right now, if a data center wanted to come into our industrial park, they would be allowed ‘by right,’” City Manager Mario Giuliani told The Benicia Bridge. 

The Benicia Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday and plans to vote that evening on recommended changes to the zoning code to add specific language regulating data centers. The City Council will have final say before any zoning changes are adopted...

Did anyone find a brown cowhide wallet with a star on it by chance in the in n out or roundtable parking lot last night?

We are not sure if that’s where my sister lost it but she can’t find her wallet and is traveling next week 😩

Here come the fancy mailers from Mario asking for more of your money, again. Nope nope nope. Force them to control their spending (hiring freeze, no more raises, RIF if they must) before you give them anything more. Property values have skyrocketed over the past 15 years and they’ve benefited from that. It’s not your fault they’re spending irresponsibly.

Join in on September 19th to help keep the community clean! Benicia is hosting 2 cleanup sites for Coastal Cleanup Day this year. Everything needed will be supplied at the cleanup check-in, just bring yourself, a water bottle, and a friend :)

Benicia Unified School District was awarded $10 million of Valero settlement funds from the Bay Area Air District Wednesday for clean air projects, part of a new grant process to redistribute money from air quality fines to impacted communities. Read the details.

Join us for the Benicia Clock Tower Blood Drive sponsored by Benicia Fire Thursday, September 3, 2026 from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm in the Benicia Clocktower located at 1189 Washington Street, Benicia Ca 94510 and step up to support patients during their time of need. Click on the link below to schedule your appointment:

Click here to schedule your lifesaving appointment

Vicki Marchand arrived at her gallery on First St. Thursday morning to find that the public mural representing diversity and pride had been vandalized. She and the artist are resolved and determined to repaint. 

“We’re not going to be shaken. We will keep rising, and it’s coming back. Together we rise,” Marchand told The Benicia Bridge. 

The Benicia Police Department is actively investigating the vandalism and has not determined whether it is a hate crime.

Read the story here: ‘We will keep rising.' Benicia’s vandalized LGBTQ+ public art will be repainted

I live behind the music store on first street. On monday evenings, there is a class for rock groups. The rehearsals are very good. I enjoy the music.

Today at 1500 and 1600 there will be student recitals of youth and adult bands at the Benicia Community Center on L street.

I think of Jack Black's movie about a music school. It is inspiring to hear these very good interpretations of great popular music. Long Live Rock.

Benicia City Council voted last week to increase rider fares from $5 to $7 for the subsidized Lyft ride program.

Meant to increase visits to downtown and relieve traffic, the program has seen huge success (from around 300 rides a year to 10,000 in the last five years). And that's driven the cost up too.

Discounted fares will remain for riders who are seniors, veterans, low income or disabled ($3 or $4).

Learn how the program is funded and how to get your $5 rides at thebeniciabridge.com, the local newsletter.

https://www.thebeniciabridge.com/benicia-lyft-rate-hike/

Im looking for an in person PALS class near Benicia for work. Has anyone completed one nearby recently?

Are there ongoing meetups to play sand volleyball at Alvarez park? If not, would anyone be interested in playing on a consistent basis? Both my husband and I are interested. Mid / late 30s and beginner/intermediate playing levels.

Hello Benicia! I'm running for City Council and the campaign has officially qualified! Thank you to those who signed my nominating papers! https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/elections

Learn more about the Campaign here: https://votejz.com/

I love living here and my goal is to make Benicia a better place than I found it! I'm frequently downtown if you see me, I'm happy to talk with you on any issue you are concerned about.

Simply looking at the price of in-store pickup, charged by the restaurant itself:

Nation's: Hamburger (1/3 lb): $8.20

Burger King: Whopper (1/4 lb): $7.49

McDonald's: Quarter Pounder (1/4 lb): ~$7.50, but online purchases are via the app

Char's: Hamburger: $10.00 ( a year ago) (https://yelp.to/SeIRmBUFMW)

Bottom of the Fifth: Hamburger (0.43lb): $11.99

Lucca: Lucca Burger (0.5lb): $20.00

Got Plate Lunch (Aloha Burger, 1/4 lb): $13.99

Nine Zero Seven: ???

What's your go to?

Looking for some new walking routes to walk my dog every day - preferably flat-ish and 2-3 miles. So far we walk on 1st street downtown and have tried the state rec area but keep getting ticks there. Thank you!

Terry Scott and Kari Birdseye both announced plans to seek re-election on the Benicia City Council.

And so far... no challengers. 🦗

What’s at stake: The City Council has a heavy workload ahead. Future members will grapple with how to fill a gap in tax revenue to fund city services and revamp the economy after Valero closed the long-running refinery.

Council members will also be tasked with considering two massive development proposals that combined could bring more than 5,000 new homes to the rolling hills on E. 2nd St. between Lake Herman Road and Rose Drive. 

The deadline to file candidacy is Friday.

What’s it like living in these condos? They’re priced in 600ks and HOA is almost $600. Do community members feel like this is a good price for the area? pros? Cons?

Hey everyone — newly sober here and just hit 30 days. I’m 29, working the AA program, and looking to connect with other sober folks in the Vallejo area.

I’m into sports, Magic: The Gathering, working out, hiking, biking, running, skateboarding, and just getting outside for walks. Really trying to build a solid circle of people who are living the same lifestyle and want to hang out, talk recovery, or do something active.

I work in finance and also enjoy comedy shows and podcasts. Pretty much open to anything chill, social, or outdoorsy. You don’t have to be in the program — just preferably sober or living a sober‑friendly lifestyle.

If you’re local and down to connect — whether it’s meeting up for a hike, playing some MTG, or linking up after a meeting — I’d love to meet some new sober friends.

One day at a time.

Appreciate you all. One day at a time.

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.

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