Election 2014
The Richmond City Council clashed over funding for body cameras and tasers at Tuesday’s meeting. Other initiatives related to cannabis, carbon tax and school budget were approved with little conflict.
Two weeks after WCCUSD stops sale of Adams School to Caliber Schools, it submits a petition to open a high school for the 2017 to 2018 academic year.
After more than six years spent trying to open up shop, Richmond Compassionate Care Collective, a medical marijuana dispensary, has filed a lawsuit alleging that Richmond’s three existing dispensaries conspired with community organizers and a city council candidate to monopolize the local medical marijuana trade.
On Tuesday, City Council verified the signatures for putting the Richmond Kids First Initiative on the 2018 ballot. The embattled initiative, which supporters had worked to put on the 2016 ballot, would allocate up to 3 percent of the city’s general fund over the next 10 years for a special fund for children’s and youth services.
Today in Los Angeles, Governor Jerry Brown signed off on a new minimum wage bill that will make California the state with the highest in the country at $15 an hour by 2022. The bill cleared the state legislature last Thursday.
Talk about policing dominated the Richmond City Council meeting on Tuesday, as councilmembers and citizens discussed amending the Richmond Police Commission enabling ordinance, initiating a police commission investigation into the death of Richard “Pedie” Perez following a settlement between the city and Perez’ family earlier that day, and investigating all cases in which individuals are seriously injured by Richmond police. At the meeting’s beginning, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt proposed moving these three agenda items to a future meeting, based on…
Richmond youth have rallied together in an effort to lower the city’s voting age to 16. If successful, they would earn the right to vote in municipal and school board elections long before they can even buy tobacco.
Last week, Richmond’s City Council faced a painful choice between paying a $30 million bond termination fee or taking on an extra $10 million in debt over the life of the bond. Neither of these options help the city handle its deficit, but council members opted for continuing payment through the life of the bond.
On April 23, new Richmond Mayor Tom Butt concluded his first 100 days in office. Butt, a longtime councilmember and Point Richmond architect, won the November election to replace termed-out former mayor Gayle McLaughlin, and took office in January. In politics, the first 100 days is considered an important period in which a new legislator shows their priorities and begins to make good on campaign promises. It’s also a time for voters and colleagues to evaluate the elected official’s performance….