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By Stan Golovich The dwindling population of anti-cannabis crusaders in our town suffered another defeat at Tuesday's meeting of our City Council to hear an appeal of the Planning Commission's 5-0 decision to permit our first cannabis dispensary at 160 East N Street. As expected, the council locked up at 2-2, and the appeal failed. Tom Campbell had to recuse since he lives less than 400 feet away.    Only sixty-one citizens objected, offering the same assurances of crime, etc. since day 1 of cannabis hearings. It is important to reaffirm the role of our Chief of Police in these matters. He has consistently testified that sound legislative policy, advanced security design, and diligent oversight are consistent with trouble-free dispensary operations he has observed in his career. Our city requires a Public Safety License sign-off from the Chief before any cannabis-related business can operate. That should be sufficient for those that harbor fears about regulated cannabis s...

    By Steve Young In 2017, I attended a League of California Cities conference for newly elected officials. One of the livelier sessions was about social media. Every panelist provided the same advice: stay far away from sites like Nextdoor and the Facebook group,  Benicia Happenings . Only bad things happen to elected officials who dared to engage online with their constituents, they said. In fact, most politicians avoid social media like the plague. I see it differently. To me, these  sites are where people are engaging in civic issues. I believe there is no greater thing to strive for as an elected official than transparency. Opening the operations of the City through these posts allows people to better understand the issues surrounding them. And Benicians are smart enough that, given enough information, they will hopefully better understand the difficult decisions the Council must make. So I post not only information that can be useful to residents affected by...

  By Steve Young Many people have rightfully felt upset that their streets are not included on the list for street repairs for 2020 and 2021. There is no question that our roads, including the ones left off that have been listed by many of you on social media, are very bad. However, some of the frustration has been directed at Public Works staff. We have an excellent Public Works department, capably headed by William Tarbox. Ill feelings should not be directed at City staff for just doing their job.   The City of Benicia Public Works department has supplied additional  information about how these funding recommendations are made.   Money for road repairs comes from a variety of sources (e.g. federal & state funding, gas tax, measure C, etc.) Federal and some State funds are distributed through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). To access those funds, cities must utilize a ' Pavement Management Program' and assign each street in the city a Paveme...

Join me and the  Benicia Litter Pickers  on Saturday, March 21st at 10am at 9th St Park to keep Benicia clean and green at their third local clean-up event!

Repost from the  Vallejo Times-Herald , by John Glidden, February 15, 2020    BENICIA —  Councilman Steve Young officially announced his candidacy for Benicia mayor Saturday, promising to “address the tough issues head on with intelligence and an effort to build consensus within our community.”   In a news release, Young said his time on the Benicia City Council, and as a former planning commissioner in town, have prepared him to serve as the city’s next mayor. “While on the council, I have worked to make practical decisions, which first look toward fiscally responsible solutions to city problems.” Young said in a statement from his campaign. “I have proven that I’m up for the job and look forward to running a clean, thought-provoking campaign.”   Young, who was first elected to the council in 2016, also explained his goals:   “High on his priority list of issues deserving smart leadership are economic development, providing a consistent plan to repai...