community

Bernie Sanders to visit Richmond, rally progressives

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will headline a Richmond campaign event Oct. 16 to rally the city’s progressive base ahead of the Nov. 4 election. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, 403 Civic Center Plaza, and is free to the public. Sanders, 73, is seen as a potential candidate for the 2016 presidential election, and is a longtime champion of progressive causes in Congress. “I am very excited to be welcoming Senator Sanders to Richmond,”…

Communities gather to strategize on how to make Rumrill Boulevard safe for everyone

Richmond and San Pablo officials held a workshop at the Lao Family Center in San Pablo Thursday to share plans and gather community input for a plan to improve pedestrian and bicycle paths in both cities. Traffic improvements were also discussed. Paul Zykofsky from the local government commission said, “by having lane reductions, we’ll be able to have more space for walkways and bicyclist.” The focus was on the Rumrill Boulevard/13th Street corridor between Harbour Way in the City of…

Richmond City Council puts Chevron-DMC motion on hold while patients and hospital hold on

The fate of Doctors Medical Center remained in doubt after five hours of heated arguments at the Richmond City Council meeting Tuesday, which adjourned at 11:30 p.m. The council postponed until Oct. 21 any resolution regarding whether to provide funds to help save the failing hospital, but several members expressed a willingness to reverse their previous positions and allocate some funds to the hospital. The session featured displays of temper and insults hurled among council members as 41 public witnesses…

People’s Tribunal finds Chevron guilty of violating rights of nature

A panel of judges unanimously found Chevron guilty Sunday of operating its Richmond refinery “in violation of the principles of environmental justice and the rights of nature.” But the judges didn’t represent a state or federal court – rather, they were judges on a “People’s Tribunal” organized by environmental advocates. The Bay Area Rights of Nature Ethics Tribunal, convened by the Bay Area Rights of Nature Alliance (BARoNA), focused on the impact of the massive 2,900-acre refinery on surrounding communities,…

Richmond police one step closer to body cameras

On Tuesday, Oct. 7, the Richmond City Council whether to spend $85,000 on body cameras for the Richmond Police Deparment. If approved, the cameras will be mandatory to wear during an officer’s shift. If approved, the body cameras are set to be rolled out in early 2015.