AP
Despite all the eyes on the Richmond Chevron refinery before last August’s fire, the plant’s corroded crude pipe still went unnoticed, federal and state officials said Friday. Federal and state investigators have determined Chevron disregarded its own safety policies and knowingly failed to replace the corroded pipe that ultimately burst, leading to the leaking gas igniting. The blaze sent a column of toxic smoke into the air, endangering plant workers and causing thousands of local residents to seek medical attention…
Whole Foods Market said it expects to complete a 117,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse in Richmond and to begin hiring up to 40 workers for the new distribution center within the month. The new Richmond distribution center will serve over forty Whole Foods Market in Northern California by the end of the year. In a city with unemployment at just over 13 percent, the new jobs will be highly coveted. Most of the employees at the center are expected to transfer to…
A man was shot dead at the Richmond BART station just after 6 pm on Thursday evening. The shooting marks Richmond’s third homicide this year. It follows the shooting deaths of Lincoln Plair, 20, on March 4, and William Wheeler, 26, on February 4, both within half a mile of Thursday night’s shooting. Police described the victim as an African American man. He was pronounced dead at the scene. On Friday, BART’s Deputy Chief of Police, Benson Fairow, said that…
After weeks of intense back and forth between political players in Richmond and Concord the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday that neither city would play host to a state call center—and its 200 plus jobs—because the county could not settle a contract with a local union. The call center would have been one of three statewide centers set up by the California Health Benefits Exchange to help Californians with health insurance questions under the new federal Affordable…
Mr. Wilks strides onstage, a 12-ounce bottle of Coca Cola in hand. The bottle fizzes as he cracks open the seal. He takes a gulp. “Man, that’s good.” Between swigs of soda, he tells an audience his family has been in Richmond since the beginning. His grandparents were shipbuilders during WWII. His grandfather went to work at Chevron. His parents were teachers and “community folks,” and now he’s a teacher at Richmond High. Actually, Wilks isn’t a teacher; he’s an…
As part of an ongoing tussle over the fate of a state-run call center expected to create some 200 jobs, city council members in Concord and Richmond will discuss the same item at their respective meetings on Tuesday night: How to guarantee the center is placed in their town. The call center is part of California’s move to comply with Affordable Care Act regulations and provide information for Californians on health insurance changes and plans. The goal is to have…
The Bay Area Toll Authority— the government agency that handles revenue from toll booths—approved a $5.6 million contract with a Richmond-based event planner to organize a two-day celebration of the opening of the East Span of the Bay Bridge over Labor Day weekend.
The Contra Costa District Attorney filed charges earlier this week against a 30-year-old man for attempting to shoot and kill several Richmond Police officers who were responding to a 911 call. The defendant, Elston Young, has been charged with three felonies for pointing his gun toward police officers earlier this month. Before the officers arrived, Young allegedly fired his gun near B Street and Nevin Avenue in Richmond. The shots were picked up by Richmond’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system. Young…
When Jose Irizarry took his Richmond High School class to visit San Francisco General Hospital recently, it was not your typical field trip. The students donned scrubs and spent time with hospital surgeons learning how to tie sutures and practice with arthroscopic surgical machines. They even got to study a human cadaver. For Irizarry, the trip was a chance to teach real world skills required for a career in a health profession. The visit, and the goals, are part of…