Economy

Chevron offers a glimpse inside

Chevron’s Richmond Refinery will open its gates to the public Saturday morning, during its second annual Community Tour Day. Over 500 people from Richmond and surrounding cities have signed up to tour the refinery, an event that Chevron officials hope will help demystify its operations. “People have a lot of misinformation about the refinery, and are not sure about what happens behind the gates,” said Chevron spokesperson Melissa Ritchie. “We want them to know what’s happening here.” Local residents had…

Mayor, police chief pledge tougher stance on blight and banks

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Police Chief Chris Magnus pledged Tuesday to crack down on any banks that are neglecting foreclosed properties in the city. And they said they’ll push harder to enforce a city ordinance that fines banks $1,000 a day for vacant properties with code violations. At a meeting at the Nevin Community Center, Magnus said empty, foreclosed houses have become havens for crime and that the banks and mortgage companies that own them are deliberately obscuring their…

Green economy means greenbacks for RichmondBUILD graduates

Sixty-six graduates of the RichmondBUILD Green Careers Academy were awarded certificates of completion Friday morning at their training facility on 23rd Street. The green academy trains residents in energy-efficient home construction, hybrid automotive technologies, solar installation and environmental literacy

West County voters to decide on parcel tax to save Doctors Medical Center

Residents of West Contra Costa County will vote this fall on a special parcel tax to support the ailing Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo. The five-member West Contra Costa County Healthcare District board, the elected body that oversees the public hospital’s operations, voted unanimously last week to approve a ballot measure that would raise over $5 million per year to pay for the hospital’s continued operations.

Part 8: North Richmond, where the city’s boundaries end

Civic leaders who seriously grapple with the question of how North Richmond can break its ruinous cycle of crime, poverty and decline often come to the conclusion that its current political arrangement is untenable – and that the city would fare better if it was annexed to Richmond.

Community members, leaders meet, cross lines

Roughly 100 residents of Richmond and unincorporated North Richmond gathered at the Civic Center Monday to hear an assortment of city, county and industry leaders weight in on how to ease the unemployment and crime that plagues their communities.