Chevron reported on Facebook Wednesday that less than a barrel of hydrocarbon liquid had spilled into San Francisco Bay at the Richmond Refinery Long Wharf during a maintenance activity. The company said it responded immediately to contain the spill, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and that it was investigating the cause. “The release was quickly stopped, kept away from environmentally sensitive areas, and clean up has concluded. There were no reported community…
Calling all aspiring journalists: UC Berkeley School of Journalism, in partnership with The Contra Costa Pulse, will offer up to two Contra Costa County residents a chance to gain journalism skills this fall. The “Reporter in Residence” program is accepting applications from residents considering a journalism career. Those selected will learn reporting skills in the classroom and on the beat, while sharing their knowledge of the community with Berkeley Journalism students. No journalism experience is required. Each reporter will receive a $2,000…
Update: The results below were confirmed after vote tabulations were certified on June 25. Richmond City Councilmember Claudia Jiménez held a comfortable lead in the Richmond mayoral primary election with all precincts reporting early Wednesday morning. Ahmad Anderson was in second place, as votes continued to be tabulated. Voters used the primary to send a message to Mayor Eduardo Martinez, who sat in the middle of the pack of five candidates on election night, months after facing a possible council…
Richmond Confidential is teaming up with Richmondside and The Advocate student newspaper at Contra Costa College to host the last of three candidate forums tonight. The City Council District 4 forum, at the De Anza High School library, will run from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The candidates are: incumbent Councilmember Soheila Bana and challengers Keycha Gallon and Jamin Pursell. UC Berkeley students are live-streaming the forum on YouTube, where it will remain available in the Richmond Confidential channel‘s archive.
When Richmond City Council District 4 voters go to the polls next month in the city’s first primary election, they will be choosing between incumbent Councilmember Soheila Bana and challengers Keycha Gallon, a pharmacy technician who runs an anti-violence organization, and Jamin Pursell, a small-business owner. To help voters make informed decisions, Richmond Confidential is teaming up with Richmondside and The Advocate student newspaper at Contra Costa College to host the last of three candidate forums on Wednesday. The candidates will take reporters’ and…
Richmond Confidential is teaming up with Richmondside and The Advocate student newspaper at Contra Costa College to host the second of three candidate forums tonight. The City Council District 3 forum, at Easter Hill Methodist Church, will run from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The candidates are: incumbent Councilmember Doria Robinson and challenger Brandon Evans, both of whom run nonprofits. UC Berkeley students are live-streaming the forum on YouTube, where it will remain available in the Richmond Confidential channel‘s archive.
When Richmond City Council District 3 voters go to the polls next month in the city’s first primary election, they will be choosing between incumbent Councilmember Doria Robinson and challenger Brandon Evans — both CEOs of local nonprofits. Both will advance to the November election, unless one gets more than 50% of the votes. To help voters make informed decisions, Richmond Confidential is teaming up with Richmondside and The Advocate student newspaper at Contra Costa College to host the second of three candidate…
For the first time, Richmond voters will get to whittle down the ballot in a primary election, which will be held on Tuesday, June 2. Voters will choose a mayor, and City Council members in districts 2, 3 and 4. To help voters make up their minds, Richmond Confidential is teaming up with Richmondside and The Advocate student newspaper at Contra Costa College to host three candidate forums, offering opportunities for the public to question those running for office. El…
After a 12-hour bargaining session Tuesday, United Teachers of Richmond reached a tentative agreement early Wednesday with the West Contra Costa Unified School District, ending a weeklong strike. Teachers will return to the classroom on Thursday. Union President Francisco Ortiz said in a news release that the agreement “lays a foundation for the safe and stable schools our students deserve.” The next step is for the union to take the contract to its members for a vote, ratifying it. According…
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…