AP
Richmond City Councilmember-elect Gary Bell was still in the hospital Wednesday with what may be a case of viral meningitis.
Convicted murderer Nathan Burris admitted to jurors Wednesday during his penalty trial that he was also responsible for a string of armed robberies at Walgreens stores in San Francisco in 1994 and 1995. Last week Burris was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the slaying of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Ann Ross and her friend, Ersie Everette Jr. on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in 2009. The jury also found him guilty of the special circumstance of lying in wait,…
They met in church, at Acts Full Gospel in Oakland. She was 51 years old, a cat-lover and toll-taker on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge who was trying to get out of bad relationship. He was 58 years old, an ex-Marine who drove a bus for Golden Gate Transit. He was a guy who kept everything in its place, his car and briefcase neat. He was a deacon, or “servant” at Acts. Both of them grew up in Oakland, living just…
The City Council returned to business – with the meeting going into the next morning and the occasional spat between councilmembers — at its first post-election meeting Tuesday night. Before the meeting started, audience members were told to wait outside while fire and police officials responded to a carbon monoxide leak in the council chambers building. Richmond Fire Marshal Terry Harris said that the Fire Department responded to a call by a person who complained of the smell of gas…
Richmond City Councilmember Tom Butt makes no bones about the fact that he keeps a menagerie on the 5 acres that surround his property in Point Richmond. For a decade, Butt has shared anecdotes, sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, about his various goats, sheep, dogs and bees on “Tom Butt’s e-forum,” an electronic forum where he also posts articles about more pressing matters of concern to his constituents, such as preserving historic railroad crossings and investigating the Chevron fire. Perusing these…
Aside from the four years he served in the Marine Corps, Henry Avila has spent his life in Richmond’s Iron Triangle. Avila, 59, says that it hasn’t always been easy for him—growing up there was a lot of crime in the neighborhood and a work-site accident in his late 20s left him permanently disabled. The years and experiences are etched in the lines on his face. His salt and pepper hair is bunched in a haphazard ponytail that grazes his…
Nathan Burris, convicted of murder, spent more time defending himself in court today—during the sentencing portion of his trial—than he did during the guilt portion. Wednesday, Burris was found guilty of two counts of murder in the first degree with the special circumstance of lying in wait, making him eligible for the death penalty and sending him into this sentencing trial immediately. Throughout the guilt portion of the trial, Burris made it clear to jurors that he did it—telling them…
Chevron will replace all piping in the damaged sections of the Richmond refinery with chrome alloy, the company said in a letter Wednesday to the city of Richmond and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The move comes six weeks after Chevron announced that it believed the Aug. 6 fire may have occurred because of thinning and corrosion in a piping component that may have had low silicon content. “Before the restart of the crude unit, Chevron will complete…
On the day after the election, as folks were picking themselves up after a night spent celebrating or grieving, Nutiva CEO John Roulac, a major financial supporter of the failed genetically-modified-food-labeling Prop. 37, was putting his best GMO-free foot forward. “Obviously, I would have loved to have won, but 47 percent is respectable and demonstrates that 47 percent of Californians want the right to know what’s in their food,” Roulac said, referring to the 4.3 million Californians who voted yes…