It's a-BOAT time youtookavacation! SEAyouinJuly!

n From the Editor

Summer is finally here! After what felt like a very long and unusually wet winter, it’s nice to be back to warm weather and sunny skies, though we’ll undoubtedly also have some classic June gloom spells. Hopefully you found the list of summer camps in our May issue to be helpful and you’ve already gotten the kids enrolled in some programs that will help keep their minds growing during the summer break –and give you a much needed break as well.

June is the month to celebrate dads, grads, Pride, and Juneteenth. Take a look at our spotlight on local dad, Lionel Largaespada for some fatherly wisdom. Read about Lavender marriages in LGBTQ history. Take a trip out to Vallejo to commemorate Juneteenth with a festival and parade downtown. Try your hand at being a tourist for a day in our own city with a fun staycation idea from art director and columnist, Cooper Mickelson. And read about the monument being erected to honor hometown hero, Harold Bray.

This month, I’m looking forward to taking more adventures with my dogs and working on the mile-long project list for my new home. Build in 1920, it’s full of character and fun surprises, including original pocket doors, hidden cubbies and trap doors, cracked plaster hiding under a century’s worth of wallpaper and paint, and a mini panic attack with each doorknob turn (those screws are hanging on for their lives). Yes, my summer is going to be quite busy.

There is no letter from the publisher this month. This is because, as I write this, our intrepid publisher is journeying back from what I’ve been told has been a wonderful and much needed vacation, sans writing assignments. I’m sure she’ll tell us all about it next month.

Finally, I wanted to mention an accidental omission from our April issue’s list of local charities and community service organizations in the piece “Plant a Seed in the Community.” We neglected to include the Benicia Lion’s Club, an organization that has given much to the community. Our apologies to the Lion’s Club and thanks for being good sports about the mistake.

As ever, thank you for reading!

Benicia Refinery

The Valero Benicia Refinery Community Advisory Panel (CAP) invites Benicia residents to learn about air monitoring and incident response. Benicia residents are invited to attend the CAP meeting on Tuesday, June 13th 4:30 – 6:00 pm

The meeting will be held at Valero East 610 Industrial Way, Benicia, CA (Please park in the back of the building)

For further information, please contact: Valero Community Relations Department 3400 East 2nd Street, Benicia 707-745-7534 or Pam.Fischer@valero.com