Posts Tagged ‘Company Town’
Community-oriented process to monitor air quality kicks off tomorrow
Richmond is about to begin a unique process to identify a group of community leaders to work with the state and local air resources boards to determine key drivers of the city’s pollution and put together a plan to reduce it. This Wednesday, Nov. 7, leaders of community environmental organizations and other members of the…
Read MoreAround the Way: Is California ready for Gayle McLaughlin?
Instead of attending extravagant fundraisers, setting up political action committees or courting corporate donors, Gayle McLaughlin spends her days driving around California and speaking to small groups of people who want to bring back progressive politics. McLaughlin will be running as a third-party independent candidate in the race for California’s lieutenant governor next year. From…
Read MoreCampaign finance reports provide litmus test for voters as election approaches
The last Friday of September was the first pre-election filing deadline for city council candidates to submit campaign finance reports. It was the first chance for the public to see the inner financial workings of their campaigns, such as who gives them money and how much they spend.
Read MoreNew regulations in the pipeline for California refineries
Four years after a fire swept through Richmond’s Chevron Refinery, the result of a corroded pipe long neglected, state officials are putting the final touches on a set of regulations they say will make California’s oil industry far safer—but critics say the rules still have far to go.
Read MoreCity council moves forward on Richmond Promise program
The Richmond City Council approved an outline for a $35 million college scholarship program on Tuesday, but questions about how eligibility will be decided and how much money students might expect to receive will be answered in October.
Read MoreChevron legal skirmish shows no sign of ending
In the 22-year-old battle between members of the Ecuadorian Secoya tribe and Chevron Corp., both sides are claiming important victories within the past few weeks. But independent analysts say there is still no real end in sight. On Aug. 28, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled the Ecuadorian indigenous group has the legal right to sue…
Read MoreRichmond Confidential looks back on 2014, year for the ages
Long after the billboards come down, the campaign mailers rest in landfills and the New Year’s toasts come and go, 2014 may be remembered as Richmond’s big election year. We are honored to have been in Richmond’s streets and chambers, its homes and schools and everywhere else, helping write the first drafts of history in an important time and place. Chevron…
Read MoreIndependence of independent expenditure groups called into question
Richmond’s 2014 election was defined by Chevron Corp.’s failed effort to get their favored candidates elected despite spending more than $3 million through an array of independent expenditure committees. Some have raised concerns about coordination between political candidates and these committees.
Read MoreCrude politics: Chevron lost expensive election, but still has plenty of power
Harriet Rowan and Jimmy Tobias, Richmond Confidential reporters and students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, published an article for The Nation website that explores Chevron’s continuing influence in Richmond after losing big in the election.
Read MoreTimeline: History of a company town
Richmond’s relationship with Chevron Corporation hasn’t always been so contentious. For much of the 20th century, after Chevron’s earliest predecessor, the Pacific Coast Oil Company, first bought a tract of land on Richmond’s shores in 1901, the company and the town grew together – if not hand in hand, then at least peacefully and cognizant…
Read MoreLosing candidates say corporate money may have hurt their campaigns
Chevron-funded spending committees backed several losing candidates – to the tune of $3.1 million – on Election Day. Those who were defeated are now left to wonder what happened and whether Chevron’s money may have hurt rather than helped.
Read MoreEduardo Martinez: Shy person turned into powerful city councilman
Three minutes past midnight, Eduardo Martinez walks out of the Richmond Progressive Alliance office. He turns around and stares back in. Still no final result. He waves goodnight to his supporters. It’s Martinez’s third time running for the Richmond City Council.
Read MoreScenes from an upset: At RPA headquarters, exhaustion and doubt turn to exhilaration
A long and tense day brought an end to an election that looks set to bring a David v Goliath story.
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