The East Bay is in a red flag warning for wildfires until 5 p.m. Saturday because of dry conditions and winds of 25 to 30 mph that could spread wildfires. There have been no reports of wildfires in Contra Costa County. But in neighboring Alameda County, firefighters were battling a blaze in the Oakland Hills that started around 2:30 p.m. and covered 13 acres before the Oakland Fire Department said it had stopped progressing, around 4 p.m. The Keller Fire,…
On Tuesday, the two candidates running for Richmond City Council in District 5 will meet for an election forum co-hosted by Richmond Confidential, Richmondside, The Contra Costa Pulse and El Tímpano. Residents are invited to hear candidates talk about their positions on a range of issues facing the city, and will have an opportunity to pose questions. Two candidates are running for the District 5 seat: Ahmad Anderson, a nonprofit director, and Sue Wilson, a community nonprofit adviser. Incumbent Gayle McLaughlin, a longtime council…
Three years after taking the helm at the West Contra Costa Unified School District, Superintendent Kenneth “Chris” Hurst announced Monday that he will retire at the end of December, forcing the board of the beleaguered district to appoint an interim superintendent for the second part of the school year. The news comes months after the board took the unprecedented move of voting not to adopt the Local Control Accountability Plan, which meant it could not approve a budget by the…
On Monday, the two candidates running for Richmond City Council in District 6 will meet for an election forum co-hosted by Richmond Confidential, Richmondside, The Contra Costa Pulse and El Tímpano. Residents are invited to hear candidates talk about their positions on a range of issues facing the city, and will have an opportunity to pose questions. Two candidates are running for the District 6 seat: incumbent Claudia Jiménez and Shawn Dunning, a conflict resolution consultant. The forum is the second of three…
On Wednesday, the three candidates running for Richmond City Council in District 1 will meet for an election forum co-hosted by Richmond Confidential, Richmondside, The Contra Costa Pulse and El Tímpano. Residents are invited to hear candidates talk about their positions on a range of issues facing the city, and will have an opportunity to pose questions. Three candidates are running for the District 1 seat: incumbent Melvin Lee Willis Jr., social worker Jamelia Brown and retired mechanic Mark Wassberg….
Chevron Corp. has agreed to pay Richmond $550 million over the next decade in exchange for the city dropping a proposed refinery tax from the November ballot. The mayor’s office announced the deal in an Aug. 8 news release, saying the agreement enables the city to avoid being sued by Chevron, while achieving the same goal as the measure. Under the agreement, Chevron will pay Richmond $50 million annually in the first five years and $60 million annually in the…
Five days before the start of the new school year, parents of Stege Elementary School students left a meeting with district officials Wednesday with many of their questions unanswered. Last month, citing environmental hazards, the West Contra Costa Unified School District announced Stege’s immediate closure for renovations that could take up to three years. Since then, district officials met several times with the community, including a meeting Wednesday in which parents voiced concerns about transportation to the host school, crowding,…
The West Contra Costa Unified School District board veered into uncharted territory Wednesday when it rejected the Local Control and Accountability Plan, a parent-led proposal that sets the course for the next year’s spending. Without an LCAP, the board could not pass the 2024-25 operating budget, which is supposed to go into effect on July 1. If the board misses that deadline, the Contra Costa County Education Office will step in to help craft a budget. “This is really serious…
For the fifth straight year, the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and The CC Pulse are giving aspiring journalists an opportunity to hone their skills in the classroom and on the beat. Applications are now being accepted for the Reporter in Residence program, which is open to Contra Costa County residents with a strong interest in journalism and a willingness to share their knowledge of the community with Berkeley Journalism students. No job experience or journalism training is required….
More than two weeks after Contra Costa Health Services shut down a Richmond spa’s hot tub following the deaths of two patrons, lab results on water samples confirmed high levels of legionella bacteria in the jacuzzi, county officials said Monday. Health Services is working with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office to determine if charges will be filed in the case. In addition to the deaths, two people who used the Zen Day Spa hot tub came down with Legionnaires’…
Applications are now being accepted for the Reporter in Residence program at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. The program, offered in partnership with Richmond Pulse, will run from Aug. 23 to Dec. 8 and is open to Contra Costa County residents interested in a journalism career. Up to two resident reporters will be selected. Each will receive a $2,000 stipend and one-on-one mentoring, and will participate in an Introduction to Reporting class. Applications are due on July 14. More information…
The wet weather is about to turn wild in the Bay Area, as Wednesday morning rain makes way for an afternoon of gusty wind and downpours and an evening where thunderstorms and even hail are possible. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch and high-wind warnings in effect until Thursday afternoon, with the potential for 1 to 4 inches of rain over the course of two days. And more is on the way, with another atmospheric river threatening…
The Contra Costa County district attorney’s office announced Friday that it and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have reached a settlement with the Chevron Richmond Refinery over a 2021 pipe rupture that dumped nearly 800 gallons of diesel into San Francisco Bay. Under the agreement, approved Monday in Contra Costa County Superior Court, Chevron will cover cleanup costs of $130,543.26 and will pay $70,000 in civil penalties to the state and county. “Corporations must be held strictly liable for…