Richmond voters will be asked in November to decide whether the city should impose a refinery tax on Chevron as a way to address pollution. City Council unanimously approved the ballot measure Tuesday, citing concerns about the city’s budget deficit, poor air quality and worsening health conditions. Council member Doria Robinson was absent. “What we need is that they pay their fair share so we have the means and resources,” council member Claudia Jiménez said before the vote. The proposed…
Nearly a year after Richmond police shot and killed Kevin James McDonald while serving a search warrant on a home in Point Richmond, Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton has ruled the use of force “lawful and justified.” No charges will be filed against Sgt. Alex Caine and Detective Robert Branch, who fired several shots at McDonald, 66, as he pointed an assault rifle at them in a bedroom, according to the district attorney’s report released Friday. Becton concluded…
A high-density housing development of more than 700 homes, nearly half of them deemed affordable, is in the works in El Cerrito on land owned by BART. The city received a $20 million state grant in October to propel the progress it has made on the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan, which was adopted in 2014 to meet community housing needs. The plan, updated in 2019, would put houses on land by the El Cerrito Plaza BART station that is…
In 1897, Isaburu Adachi left Gifu, Japan, for California at the age of 25. Eight years later, Isaburo managed to buy five acres of land in El Cerrito. That land turned into 12 greenhouses before the first world war broke out. The Adachi Florist and Nursery survived into the 21st century, closing its last nursery five years ago. Isaburo’s granddaughter Wendy Adachi wanted to honor her family’s legacy — and that of the other Japanese Americans who opened nurseries in…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: Would you cross a picket line of striking workers to receive routine health care? “No I stand with the workers of Kaiser. My mom is a nurse so I understand their struggles.” (Kayla Chin, customer service manager, pictured above) “If I need to see a doctor, I’m going to go see a…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: Do you think Richmond’s plan to create an alternative response team to handle mental health calls will be successful? “It could be successful – I mean, it depends on how well it’s funded; how well it’s staffed. But, as a concept, I think it’s an interesting and a good one.” (Karin Rosman,…
Residents are no longer allowed to comment on Zoom during El Cerrito City Council meetings, after an ugly incident last month in which a group spewing hate speech took over the public comment session. El Cerrito Mayor Pro Tem Tessa Rudnick, who is Jewish, described the hateful rhetoric that erupted during the session in an opinion piece in The Jewish News of Northern California, noting that it included a depiction of pedophilia and remarks denying the Holocaust. She said a…
On Sunday mornings, preschool children gather in a small classroom in Richmond and listen to a teacher sing songs akin to nursery rhymes with Tibetan characters. A toy yak, paper mache nomads and pictures of snow-capped mountains in the room help the students imagine the Tibetan homeland. The Tibetan Association of Northern California runs the school on Dalai Lama Avenue, inviting students to come away for a couple of hours to learn writing and speaking in their native language. It…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: Do West Contra Costa kids have enough sports and recreation opportunities? “I feel like there’s a lot of sports opportunities. It’s just about looking for it. She’s into ballet. She’s a different kind of sport. So it’s harder to find that type. I haven’t found a dance team or anything for her.”…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: Should California increase the fines Chevron and other refineries have to pay for excessive flaring? “I mean, their profits are exponential and considering the community that they serve that are so underserved, and the impact it’s having on the community on the waterways, on the sewage, on just breathing in air quality,…