Bay Citizen
Now that a jury has cleared the city and police Chief Chris Magnus of racial discrimination and harassment charges—after five years of legal wrangling and three months of trial—it’s time to tally up the costs. And they are substantial. Richmond has spent about $4.5 million since 2006 to defend the city, Magnus and former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter against discrimination charges brought by seven high-ranking black police officers, according to Assistant City Manager Leslie Knight. Of that, $1.9 million was…
If you live in the Bay Area, there’s one question you’ve probably asked at some point: why on earth doesn’t BART run past midnight? Over Presidents Day Weekend, it did. When construction shut down parts of the Bay Bridge, BART ran around the clock between San Francisco and the East Bay. We head underground to find out what happens when the trains don’t stop — and why it can’t be like this all the time. Produced by Rachel Waldholz. Camera by…
Representative George Miller is an unabashedly left-leaning Democrat and Richmond’s congressional representative, who is currently focused on the national healthcare and budget debates.
The attorney for six of the seven plaintiffs in the discrimination lawsuit against the city, Police Chief Chris Magnus and former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter said his clients should be awarded about $1.5 million each for the emotional toll of enduring six-plus years of alleged discrimination and a hostile work environment. But the total should be larger, around $3 million each, argued plaintiffs’ attorney Stephen Jaffe, when economic damages from stalled promotions and punitive costs are factored in. Jaffe on…
The Office of Neighborhood Safety is in the spotlight at City Hall again, and growing unrest between the agency and its critics threatens to engulf much of the city’s government and hamper larger goals of reducing violence and increasing transparency. The action has focused in recent weeks on a proposal by City Councilman Corky Booze to have a “forensic audit” of ONS, a city agency focused on street-violence intervention. Booze added the audit to the council agenda on consecutive weeks…
A man was killed Monday morning when he was struck by Amtrak Capitol Corridor Train 527 which was en route from Sacramento to San Jose. The incident occurred as the train, southbound and crowded with commuters, approached the Richmond BART station at about 8:20 a.m. Service was disrupted for more than an hour on the heavily-trafficked line. Richmond Police Lt. Bisa French said the man, whose identity is not yet known, was hit near the intersection of Chesley Avenue and…
There is great news for fishermen and salmon lovers. This year’s projected salmon count in watersheds around the bay is higher than it has been in years. Last year only about 115,000 salmon were counted swimming from the bay up the Sacramento River. This year the projected count is over 800,000.
Three days after a colleague testifying in the suit against Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus accused plaintiff Lt. Shawn Pickett of trying to intimidate him with name-calling and threats, Pickett re-took the stand, this time in his own defense. His testimony flatly rejected that of Captain Mark Gagan, who on Monday testified that an irate Pickett confronted him several times in 2006-7 in attempts to bully Gagan into distancing himself from the chief of police. If was just the latest…
Last month, the Richmond City Council joined Berkeley and San Francisco in asking local businesses to stop selling certain rat and mouse pesticides that are in pellet form, that are not packaged with bait stations, and that contain the chemicals bodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone, and difenacoum.