Benicia, CA

Earth Day April 22,2009 will be celebrated in Benicia with venues that will provide tools to residents and homeowners who want to learn about being energy and water efficient. This is a wonderful opportunity to take the family to learn what each one of us can do to live in our environment and save it for future generations. And of course in today's economy, finding how to lower your PGE and water bills would be worth the drive or walk to this event.

The location will be at the Veteran's Memorial Hall 1150 First Street Benicia. The event is from 5:00-8:00 PM. Mark your calendars today!!

Event Participants will include: Allied Waster- Recycling Techniques, PGE-Climate Smart Program, Master Gardeners-Household composting, Pedrotti ACE Hardware-Green Product Line, Farm Fresh to You-Locally Grown Produce, to name a few!!

The city of Benicia will present Climate Action Plan, Green building and energy efficiency retrofit information, tree program and many more.

Bring your old batteries and cell phones, bring old, unused TVs, computers, monitors as there will be on-site recycling

This event is sponsored by the Community Development Department. For more information call 707-746-4370.

Benicia is a great place to live, come check us out!

For anyone who’s ever eaten at The Shoreline Restaurant, Mike and Gayle’s Burgers-By-The-Bay or the erstwhile Washington House, today marks the end of an era.

That’s because when The Shoreline and Mike & Gayle’s close up later today, they’ll lock their doors for the last time in downtown Benicia, ending a 30-year legacy for the long-time Benicia restauranteurs.

Though, before you get too melancholy, city councilman Mike Ioakimedes and his wife Gayle aren’t leaving Benicia nor the restaurant business at all.

They’re closing their doors on First Street, yes, but plan to open a new restaurant in the Southampton Shopping Center several months from now, at the site of the former Country Waffles, near the entrance to the shopping center.

The new venture will be called Mike & Gayles Hometown Grill and they’ve set up a new web site for the restaurant, where visitors can stay abreast of their progress. They’re also soliciting menu suggestions, so if you have any favorites, now’s the time to let them know.

One of the trademarks of both the Washington House and the Shoreline location has always been the 100-year old marble soda fountain, a classic throwback to yesteryear that has been in the Ioakimedes family all these years.

From what I’ve heard, the soda fountain thankfully will remain a cornerstone of the new restaurant.

So if you’re hankering for a juicy burger, a Gyro, a plate of Spanikopita or one of Mike & Gayle’s famous breakfasts, if you didn’t get there today, you’ll have to put your tastebuds on hold for a few months.

For today marks the end of an era.

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This post originally appeared here:

A Benicia Tradition Shuts Its Doors Today…But Before You Shed A Tear…

A Great Way To Sample Benicia’s Many Flavors

Who says you never get a second chance?

If you missed A Taste Of First last fall, you’re in luck, because the popular culinary event is back for a third time later this month — Feb. 26th to be exact.

For $35, you get a plate, a glass of wine and the opportunity to stroll up and down First Street, where the various participating restaurants will each fill your plate with an assortment of culinary delights.

Participating restaurants in February’s Taste of First will include:

• Aroma
• Camellia Tea Room
• Captain Blyther’s
• Double Rainbow
• First Street Cafe
• Java Point
• Pacifica Pizza
• Randy's Mexican Grill
• Sahara Mediterranean Cuisine
• Union Hotel Restaurant
• Venticello’s

Additionally, 18 other non-restaurant First Street merchants will also be participating this time. The flyer bills it as An Evening of Food, Wine, Live Music & Fabulous Prizes.

The first Taste of First, last February, sold out. I missed that one, but made sure I bought my tickets early for the encore last September. I’m planning to be there for #3 as well.

Along with the chance to sample some of Benicia’s finest treats, the event also offers a great opportunity to casually meander down First Street, visit with friends and other Taste of First diners, and enjoy some live outdoor music along the way.

The event is put on by Benicia’s always-energetic Main Street Program. For more information, Click Here for the Taste Of First flyer or call the Main Street office at 707-745-9791 for ticket information. The Main Street office is located at 90 First St. — inside the old train depot.

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This post originally appeared here:

A Taste Of First Returns To Benicia Feb. 26

I Just finished a report that shows every Benicia home that closed escrow in January. Click on the graphic to download the report, which includes address, bedrooms, baths, square footage, sales price, and even the net change from the original list price to the eventual selling price.

There were 13 home sales in Benicia last month — the lowest $114,900 and the highest $675,000.

Next month’s report will be posted in early March. To see Vallejo’s January home sales report, click here.

Remember, too, that I’m always happy to provide more custom and/or more detailed analyses of our market for clients and prospective clients. Just send me an email or give me a call and I’ll get to work!

Related Articles:

• Solano County January Home Sales
  
• Vallejo January Home Sales
• Solano Weekly Housing Activity Report

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Search The MLS — Click Here to search the MLS for either Solano or Contra Costa Counties.

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January ‘09 Benicia Home Sales Report ‘Hot Off The Presses’

The Benicia Finance Director and City Manager have informed us that all is well after considering a $490,000 cut, no more cuts are planned. The city does have plans in place if such cuts are necessary but overall things look good. One reason that Benicia does fairly well is that the city does not reply on big shopping mails for its revenue. Benicia has 2 shopping centers. Downtown shopping, the key tenant is Safeway with 2 banks, West America and Bank of America and a Chevrom gas station. the second shopping area has key tenants of Raleys, Burger King and Pedrotti ACE Hardware. The area has Wells Fargo, located in Raleys, US Bank and WaMu. It also contains several restaurants. Just enough for a small community. One of Benicia revenue sources is also Benicia Industrial Park, located east of the city on Highway 680.

Benicia has a great Fire Department and Police Department, lovely library with children story reading. Benicia has many family activities and civic events. Great place to live and raise your family.