Saturday, August 30, 2008

Level 12 Security



H and First Streets in Benicia has had a Nourot Glass Gallery sign like this on the corner since 1973 or 1974, if memory serves. At any rate it has been there through sun, rain, wind and storms. Usually if it blows down, a local merchant picks it up out of the street, and calls us to retrieve it.
Last May, however, the Nourot street sign at the corner of First and "H" got stolen three times! After a trip to the Police station, the Fire Department, the Preservation Guy, the City Manager and phone calls to the new mayor Elizabeth Patterson's office it was sort of revealed that there was a known "unknown crank" who was responsible.
The two signs Nourot Studio lost(the first one was returned to the city works yard once and re-set out for thieves) were the only ones we had. It took all summer to decide what to do. Should we chain it down like the officials suggested? "That is way too Ghetto for Benica," protested Ann Corcoran in a Benicia Herald interview about the thefts titled "Benicia Merchants Forced to Eat Humble Pie".
Should we wait for City Hall to involve us in "the process" of a new tourist program? Well, on Saturday last we set out our new sign WITH a cable chain. Gone in less than 12 hours it was! Sleuths that we are here in little Baghdad by the Bay, it was recovered by 6pm the next day. Thank you Benicia PD! What to do now, we thought? Could there be a cut-proof chain for Nourot Glass' only representation in our fair city?
After futile trips to our two local Home Depot Stores, it was determined that, yes, we'd have to go full Ghetto and drive to Berkeley for a "Level 12 Fugetaboudit New York City" chain and lock!
We will keep you posted as to how it holds up against the local crank. Doesn't anybody care about the local glass artists anymore? Once we were the talk of the town. Does anybody notice we STILL draw considerable numbers of tourists to historic Benicia every day of the year?
Like Mr. Nourot is fond of saying, "There's a reason they moved the State Capitol to Benicia, all the crooks were here even then!"

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