Development
Near the corner of Cutting Boulevard and 23rd Street, between an asphalt parking lot and a concrete sidewalk, surrounded by weeds and yellowed grass, is a dead tree.
A dozen Richmond residents, most donning shirts that read ‘Clean Air for All,’ rode a bus to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District office this morning to hear from the various agencies investigating the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire. Spectators filled the chairs and lined the wall of the quiet, wood-paneled room as each organization — including representatives from BAAQMD, the Environmental Protection Agency, Contra Costa Health Services, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, and California Air Resources Board —…
Doug Kidder, the owner of a small Richmond boat company, said he wasn’t surprised when the Port of Richmond called him last summer to let him know it was going to increase the rent on his small lot in the Richmond Shipyards. It had been a few years, and Kidder said he was probably paying slightly below market value. But he said he was shocked when the new lease terms arrived — the Port was nearly tripling his rent. Port…
The results of the state’s high school exit exams, released near the end of August, show that students in the West Contra Costa County School District lag behind the state average in combined English and math scores. On the English Language Arts part of the test, 58 percent of Kennedy High seniors, 66 percent of Richmond High seniors, and 72 percent of De Anza seniors passed. On the math part, 51 percent of Kennedy seniors, 61 percent of Richmond seniors…
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Richmond Bay Campus will focus on biosciences that affect energy production, environment, and human health scientists from the lab and the University of California said Thursday. The scientists explained the highlights of research projects to come for an audience of more than 100 people at the Memorial Auditorium. Research proposals included a range of topics, from local rainwater catchment and filtration systems to biofuel development. Jay Keasling, a professor of chemical and biomolecular…
Five months after a jury cleared Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus of racial discrimination allegations, the case is now set to reappear in federal court in November. The plaintiffs — seven prominent African-American police officers — originally filed a suit in 2007 that alleged that Magnus discriminated by race when choosing officers for promotion. In April a jury cleared the chief, deputy chief and city of any wrongdoing. But immediately after the verdict, plaintiff’s attorney Stephan Jaffe said that his…
Contra Costa officials announced at an emotionally-charged meeting Thursday morning that they would postpone a decision to build more jail beds and instead look into alternative solutions to reduce prison populations, a move that was applauded by Richmond residents, nonprofits, faith leaders, and government groups. Buses drove Richmond leaders and residents to the meeting at the county probation department in Martinez early Thursday morning. At the meeting, public attendants held signs stating “Invest in people, not prisons” and “Stop honoring…
Over the next eight weeks, trucks will be dropping off load after load of dirt in Point Pinole Regional Park before returning to Berkeley for more. As part of the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline project, about 70,000 cubic yards of dirt will be relocated from a giant mound on University Avenue just off Interstate 80. Most of it will be used to build a bridge over the railroad tracks. The dirt will also be used to create more park space…
There are five separate investigations into the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire, but if Monday’s meeting was any indication, many Richmond residents doubt even that will be enough.