Bay Citizen

City officials approve permits for Richmond refinery repairs

Days after a public meeting was held to discuss the repairing of piping, city staff gave the go-ahead for the approval of permits that allow for repairs on the No. 4 Crude Unit at Chevron’s Richmond refinery. Last Wednesday, City Manager Bill Lindsay held a public hearing to discuss the city’s approval of piping at the Chevron refinery in Richmond to replace the pipes that failed during the Aug. 6 fire. Approximately 150 people attended. Public speakers voiced their skepticism…

Domestic Violence in Richmond

More than 12 million men and women were victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and Richmond hasn’t escaped the problem. Richmond Police Lt. Bisa French estimated that the RPD sees 20-30 domestic violence cases a month. STAND! For Families Free of Violence, which works with victims in Contra Costa County, receives more than 15,000 clients a year, said Gloria Sandoval, the group’s…

Mayor honors memory of homicide victims

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin invited the community to the Richmond Public Library Friday night to honor the memory of this year’s homicide victims. More than 30 people attended the event. Chairs formed a circle providing a public forum for the mayor and the attendees who had stories to share about the year’s 18 homicides. “It’s people owning the neighborhood together,” McLaughlin said on ways to decrease crime and violence in the community. She focused on communities taking personal responsibility, being more…

Identity theft on the rise in Richmond

The white-collar crime of identity theft, which has increased dramatically nationwide in the last decade, has not spared Richmond.   Richmond Police Detective Jeffrey Whitson calls Richmond one of the identity theft epicenters of the West Coast. With the technological advances that come with smart phones, online banking, and other exploitative tools, Whitson said he’s getting far more cases across his desk. “It’s an epidemic,” Whitson said. Whitson said that from last November to the present he has seen more…

Wading with the oyster catchers

Point Pinole is perfectly silent except for the squawks of birds flying overhead and the occasional cringe-inducing crunch under foot. The low tide exposes a muddy stretch of shoreline, the rocks red and Martian-like under the setting sun. Despite its fleeting resemblance to the Red Planet, the question here isn’t whether there’s life, but whether there could be more. There’s plenty of living things at Point Pinole – just look closely at the rocks at low tide or turn over…

Maps show support for City Council winners

More than 31,300 voters in Richmond cast a ballot this year, a 10 percent decrease from the last presidential election, according to numbers updated on the Contra Costa County’s election division site on Nov. 17. In 2008, more than 35,000 voters in the city cast a ballot, which was 84 percent of registered voters. This year the voter turnout in the city was just under 72 percent. Below are maps that show where the three City Council winners– Nat Bates,…

Oilers basketball season shows promise

Can you hear it? The sharp squeaks of sneakers across the shellacked hardwood and the echoing buzz signaling the end of a period? That’s right, it’s basketball time, and the Richmond Oilers are ramping up to for a season of success that could turn the tables on their recent history.

A Marine veteran in the Iron Triangle goes solar

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…