Asked to be a better neighbor, Chevron has agreed to be more transparent in reporting off-site pollution, to file quarterly reports about it, and to engage the Richmond community on how it can better present pollution data. The Bay Area Air District said Tuesday Chevron is the first of the area’s five refineries to agree to be more transparent in measuring pollutants near its property lines. The refineries don’t have a good track record with the monitoring program. The Air…
The West Contra Costa Unified School District board welcomed Cheryl Cotton, a former WCCUSD student, teacher, principal and administrator, back to the district Wednesday, naming her superintendent. In a unanimous vote, with Cinthia Hernandez absent, the board approved a three-year contract for Cotton at $325,000 a year, with a provision for $3,000 increases in the second and third years, contingent on her performance. She will start the job on June 20. Six community members — including a parent, a school counselor,…
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Wednesday that his office is investigating the fatal shooting Tuesday by Richmond police at a railroad right-of-way off of Carlson Boulevard. It is not clear how many officers were involved in the shooting, which left one person, who was not armed, dead. Police have not released that person’s identity. The Richmond Police Department said in a news release Tuesday that it had referred the case to the Attorney General’s Office as required when an…
Update: On Jan. 21, after a second reading of the ordinances, the City Council unanimously approved the pay raises. Richmond City Council is poised to get a big salary bump this year, under an ordinance introduced Tuesday that would increase the salaries of council members and the mayor by 80%. Only a couple residents questioned the salary boost, which the council spent half an hour defending, with each presenting an argument to justify the motion. “These jobs actually are 24/7…
The Christmas tree takes center stage for holiday gatherings, but after the new year arrives and Three Kings Day has come and gone, that evergreen in the living room presents a chore. When should you take it down and what should you do with it? Traditionally, the 12th day of Christmas, which is Three Kings Day or the feast of the Epiphany, marks the official end of the holiday season on Jan. 6. Live Christmas trees that were erected after…
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…