community
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.
Follow Richmond Confidential’s reporters on Twitter for election coverage and updates as they report live from the streets of Richmond all day.
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.
Trick or treat? Halloween is here! Richmond Art Center is treating children to seasonal chills and thrills with its annual family art making event: Skeletonfest. This event was free and open to the public. Three girls drew scary skulls on paper plates with colorful sugar paint. One girl couldn’t help taste her art work. No surprise. “It tastes like sugar,” she said. Skeletonfest has been growing. Some 400 kids and adults came to the studio this year to take part…
The phone rang shortly after 6:30 p.m. It was a Monday night in August and Sam Singer was still at his office in downtown San Francisco, writing and brainstorming strategies for clients. He picked up. The call was from the Chevron refinery in Richmond. They were, they said, “having an issue.”