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An inaugural Mexican-style rodeo drew hundreds of spectators to Richmond Sunday to watch a dusty spectacle of raging bulls and courageous riders. “Jaripeo Expatacular” was held in a packed lot off of Giant Road, bringing together horseback riding, Mexicali cuisine and bull riding.
In the dark morning hours of Nov. 4, Election Day, Enrique Suarez del Solar quietly seals the envelope of his wife’s birthday card and places her present on the table. Then del Solar heads out to volunteer at the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church as a poll worker.
Tom Butt looked tired. At 8:00 p.m. on Election Day he finally sat down, stein of beer in hand, to wait for the results. He had been on his feet all day. Twelve hours earlier, the mayoral candidate had arrived to the first polling place on an itinerary of five, to do last-minute outreach.
The Richmond Bay Trail will be revamped to the tune of $335,000 after the city council approved the renovation project, which includes wider sidewalks, six-foot bike lanes, and new signs and landscape improvements. The project starts in November and will take about a month to complete, according to the construction company tasked with the upgrade.
Measure U, the ballot item to increase the retail sales taxes to 9.5%, passed yesterday with 53.7% of the vote. Another key ballot item, Proposition 47, also passed. The statewide proposition to reduce six types of felony crimes to misdemeanors was approved with 65% of voters in favor.
As voters head to the polls, the nation’s eyes will be on Richmond as the city decides the future of its leadership. Not only are Richmonders electing a new mayor and new city council members, but they’re also passing judgement on the effects of unlimited political spending.
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If recent history is any indication, the fate of Tuesday’s Richmond municipal elections is likely to rest the hands of about a tenth of its roughly 107,000 residents.
A lease agreement in May between Doctors Medical Center and the Lytton San Pablo Casino netted the troubled hospital $4.6 million. The deal keeps the hospital doors open for now, but was also the beginning of what may become a land grab by local investors.