http://richmondconfidential.org Richmond, California News, Information, Art and Events. Fri, 24 May 2013 16:01:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://richmondconfidential.org/2012/02/18/undocumented-workers-protest-their-firings-from-pacific-steel-casting/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2012/02/18/undocumented-workers-protest-their-firings-from-pacific-steel-casting/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:46:48 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=39072 Late last year, Pacific Steel Casting, the country's fourth largest steel foundry, fired 200 workers. The reason: Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a workplace audit on the company, and could not verify that they could legally work in the US]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2012/02/18/undocumented-workers-protest-their-firings-from-pacific-steel-casting/feed/ 1 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/12/08/city-approves-3-medical-marijuana-collectives/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/12/08/city-approves-3-medical-marijuana-collectives/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:21:14 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=37261 In the chambers of the City Council, there are rules. There are procedures to be followed – motions, amendments, voting, establishing a quorum. These are Rosenberg’s Rules of Order, a simplified version of parliamentary procedure that governs how the Richmond City Council conducts its meetings. In the early morning hours of the council’s final meeting of the year, Rosenberg’s Rules were questioned and debated en route to approving three medical...]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/12/08/city-approves-3-medical-marijuana-collectives/feed/ 1 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/23/ban-the-box-resolution-passes-fracas-erupts-at-city-council-meeting/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/23/ban-the-box-resolution-passes-fracas-erupts-at-city-council-meeting/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 23:55:07 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=36063 The City Council voted Tuesday to remove a question about criminal convictions from city employment applications, saying the yes/no “box” was an onerous requirement for ex-convicts. Question 14, displayed prominently on the first page of all applications for city jobs, asks: “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” Opponents of the question have long felt that it dissuades potential applicants with a criminal record from applying, making it difficult...]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/23/ban-the-box-resolution-passes-fracas-erupts-at-city-council-meeting/feed/ 9 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/22/ss-red-oak-victory-hosts-veterans-day-celebration/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/22/ss-red-oak-victory-hosts-veterans-day-celebration/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:00:46 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=35724 Aboard the only surviving cargo ship produced in Richmond’s Kaiser Shipyards during WWII, the community gathered on Veterans Day to celebrate those that served their country. The ship is newly restored, and  functions as a WWII museum. Check out the video to hear the stories of Richmond residents who lived through the wartime effort.]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/22/ss-red-oak-victory-hosts-veterans-day-celebration/feed/ 0 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/07/richmond-packaging-company-confronts-styrofoam-head-on/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/07/richmond-packaging-company-confronts-styrofoam-head-on/#comments Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:55:07 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=34291 In the food packaging business, polystyrene has become a four-letter word, but the food industry simply doesn’t have a cost-effective, eco-friendly answer to the plastic that Dow Chemical introduced to Americans in the early 1940s. In 2007, Richmond business owner Allen King thought he had the answer.]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/11/07/richmond-packaging-company-confronts-styrofoam-head-on/feed/ 0 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/27/test-suggests-discrimination-against-african-americans-in-search-of-rental-housing/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/27/test-suggests-discrimination-against-african-americans-in-search-of-rental-housing/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:10:59 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=33309 A local housing attorney painted a disheartening picture of racial discrimination in Richmond at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, making a case that potential African American renters routinely received rental terms and conditions that were less favorable than their Caucasian counterparts.]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/27/test-suggests-discrimination-against-african-americans-in-search-of-rental-housing/feed/ 2 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/19/council-and-democracy-take-time/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/19/council-and-democracy-take-time/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:00:35 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=32654 The slow crawl of representative democracy was on full display Tuesday as the City Council debated a Personnel Board election held earlier in the month, in which some votes weren’t counted. The time-sucking agenda item caused Councilmember Nat Bates to say “let’s move on and go home,” as the discussion topped the hour and a half mark. The whole affair centered on the decision by City Clerk Diane Holmes to...]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/19/council-and-democracy-take-time/feed/ 2 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/11/green-tech-start-up-enters-the-world-of-venture-capitalism/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/11/green-tech-start-up-enters-the-world-of-venture-capitalism/#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:21:38 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=31977 Ryan Wartena has designed what he calls an energy computer, although he routinely refers to it by different names — home micro utility, demand response device, a suite of tools. It’s the size of a small refrigerator. The device is essentially a battery for solar power, storing energy collected from solar panels for use later. Solar, Wartena says, is a “use it or lose it” commodity — if the generated...]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/11/green-tech-start-up-enters-the-world-of-venture-capitalism/feed/ 2 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/05/amended-ordinance-expands-permits-for-medical-marijuana/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/05/amended-ordinance-expands-permits-for-medical-marijuana/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:07:21 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=31578 The City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to allow an increase in the number of medical marijuana collectives operating in Richmond from three to four. Councilmember Jeff Ritterman summed up the majority council opinion, saying he didn’t “see that much of a downside” going from three to four collectives. Ritterman, along with Councilmembers Nat Bates, Corky Booze and Jim Rogers, rejected the notion that the increase posed additional risks. Rogers added...]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/10/05/amended-ordinance-expands-permits-for-medical-marijuana/feed/ 1 http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/09/30/north-richmond-casino-remains-a-quiet-possibility/ http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/09/30/north-richmond-casino-remains-a-quiet-possibility/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:00:37 +0000 Derek Lartaud http://richmondconfidential.org/?p=31087 Grand plans for a casino in the city of Richmond have died since both city residents and the City Council voted against building a sprawling shoreline casino at Point Molate in the last year. Yet amidst the anti-casino sentiment, a similar plan in unincorporated North Richmond remains a quiet possibility. Called the Sugar Bowl, the casino would house close to 2,000 slot machines, 55 table games, a dedicated poker room...]]> http://richmondconfidential.org/2011/09/30/north-richmond-casino-remains-a-quiet-possibility/feed/ 0