Economy
Residents near Chevron’s Richmond Refinery can expect to see flames at the plant’s flare stacks over the next month and a half, as the refinery enters one of its occasional maintenance periods. On Monday, the refinery began work that will bring an additional 1,650 contractors into Richmond over the next four to six weeks. That work will include some visible flaring as excess gas is burned off during maintenance, according to an alert emailed to community members. Flaring at the…
The City Council acknowledged Mike Coyle, the former general manager of Chevron’s Richmond refinery who recently was promoted to the company’s San Ramon headquarters, with a proclamation Tuesday night. While many speakers from the community and council members spoke highly of Coyle’s character, some were extremely critical of Chevron as a company and its role in Richmond. “He is a human being that puts a face to the corporation that is Chevron,” Councilmember Jovanka Beckles said after congratulating Coyle on…
The City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to allow an increase in the number of medical marijuana collectives operating in Richmond from three to four. Councilmember Jeff Ritterman summed up the majority council opinion, saying he didn’t “see that much of a downside” going from three to four collectives. Ritterman, along with Councilmembers Nat Bates, Corky Booze and Jim Rogers, rejected the notion that the increase posed additional risks. Rogers added that allowing four collectives to operate did not mean that…
On Sunday, Oct. 2, the Spokeshop Bike Lounge — billed as Richmond’s first full service professional bike shop — officially opened its doors after three years of planning. The Spokeshop plans to offer new and used bikes, and will offer apprenticeships for Richmond youth. Richmond Confidential was there at the opening to bring you scenes from the festivities.
Since July, the city has been trying to use more than $400,000 in federal stimulus funds to provide discounted and free solar panels for Richmond homeowners. The initial goal of the R3 program was to install the panels on a hundred homes, but so far only eight people have signed up. The city is beefing up its outreach program, though, and officials say they believe at least 40 low-income homeowners will choose to have free panels installed by November 2012….
A Mexican folk dance, an African-American gospel song, a restored World War II era school building, and a happy principal. “There are two things you can give to children, in general: roots and wings,” said Peppina Chang, the principal of the Richmond College Prep Schools. And today her preschoolers are getting their wings in a building whose roots dig deep into the heart of modern American history — although those roots had almost crumbled. After years of fundraising and planning,…
Grand plans for a casino in the city of Richmond have died since both city residents and the City Council voted against building a sprawling shoreline casino at Point Molate in the last year. Yet amidst the anti-casino sentiment, a similar plan in unincorporated North Richmond remains a quiet possibility. Called the Sugar Bowl, the casino would house close to 2,000 slot machines, 55 table games, a dedicated poker room with 16 tables, and an exclusive “high rollers” room. At…
The City Council voted Tuesday to prohibit the sale of live chickens at the Richmond’s Certified Farmer’s Market, igniting an eruption of cheers from animal rights supporters who filled City Hall. The crowd, which consisted mostly of visitors to Richmond, was there on a larger animal-rights agenda, fueled by a recent victory in banning live chicken sales at the Heart of the City Farmer’s Market in San Francisco. Despite the determination of supporters, the ban will affect only one vendor…
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab representatives offered a limited update on their hunt for a second campus site to members of the lab’s Community Advisory Group Thursday. But while lab officials maintained their poker face, members of the CAG and public audience – few of them Richmond residents – were eager to recommend Richmond’s site. Richmond City Councilmember Jeff Ritterman appeared to be the only council member present from the cities vying for the lab, and the only speaker in the…