Development
2011 was quite a year, to borrow a favorite phrase from longtime resident Sims Thompson, in “our fair city.” I know that’s vague, but it’s tough to turn a pithy phrase that sums up a year in a vibrant, bustling and changing city. We had tragedy and triumph, tumult and harmony. Alliances and rivalries. Echoes of the past and glimmers from the future.
After nine years of service, Veolia will began the process of terminating its 10-year contract with Richmond, which will start the search for a viable alternative for its wastewater management plan. Residents in Richmond have voiced concerns about odor issues in relation to the plant, and Veolia cited a need for capital investment to improve the condition of the plant as a reason not to continue its contract. “It looks like we are negotiating a divorce,” Councilmember Jeff Ritterman said….
The California Department of Transportation is planning a project that would close an I-580 on-ramp near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge for at least two years, forcing residents to enter westbound and cross the bridge into Marin County.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab will not choose a site for its second campus until early 2012, the lab announced today. The final decision had been expected later this month, and has been anxiously awaited in Richmond, where city officials hope the lab could be an engine of economic growth. But in a press release sent out this morning, the lab explained that it needed more time to evaluate the six potential sites. “We have been working diligently over the…
Richmond public employees earn a yearly average salary almost twice the median household income of the city’s residents, leading to a drain of wealth and resources as many of those employees choose to live outside of the city.
Although Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory representatives didn’t reveal the lab’s preference for a new location at Thursday night’s Community Advisory Group meeting, community members once again strongly supported Richmond as the site for the second LBNL campus. The meeting was the final update for the community on the site’s selection before the decision, which is expected by the end of November. Sam Chapman, the manager of state and community relations at LBNL, said in a brief presentation that the lab…
As I drove down 23rd Street on my way to Erica’s Beauty Salon on Saturday morning, I wondered how many people had already canceled their hair appointments. The clouds were still slumbering at 9 a.m., but the morning news report had assured everyone that heavy showers were inevitable. Rain equals bad hair.
Chevron announced $1 million in grants for six local initiatives in job training and science education on Monday. Recipients include the West Contra Costa Unified School District and Contra Costa College. “[We’re] happy to contribute a total of $1 million – that’s easy to say, $1 million,” said refinery General Manager Nigel Hearne at a reception for the winners. The grant announcement was Hearne’s first public act since taking over from former general manager Mike Coyle in September. About a…
After more than three hours of contentious debate Tuesday, the City Council adopted an environmental review of a Bicycle Master Plan and a Pedestrian Plan that keeps the city on course to add bike lanes and pedestrian improvements to city streets. The plan would put select Richmond roads on what Richard Mitchell, Richmond’s director of Planning and Building Services, calls a “road diet.” By redesigning streets from four lanes to three, the city could slow speeding traffic and create space…