Environment

Thousands march to Chevron days before fire anniversary

More than 2,000 people took part in the rally that started at Richmond BART station and ended with a sit-in at the main gate of the Chevron refinery at Richmond Point. When 90-year-old protestor Ellen Small was arrested at the sit-in, some people in the crowd started chanting “Let the people go, arrest the CEO.”

Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia to join the California Air Resources Board

Governor Jerry Brown selected County Supervisor John Gioia on Tuesday to represent the San Francisco Bay Area on the California Air Resources Board.  The 12-member panel, a division of the California Environmental Protection Agency, provides state leadership and enforcement on air pollution standards and climate change regulations. “I’m excited to be working at a statewide level on climate change and community health issues,” Gioia said. “The Air Resources Board has been on the cutting edge of developing policies to address…

Birds on the Bay Bridge

Of all the birds that nest on or around the Bay Bridge—gulls, terns, pelicans, pigeons, falcons, hummingbirds—Lauren Bingham is most concerned with the cormorants. It’s not that they’re worse, bird by bird, more onerous or unruly than the other birds; it’s just that there’s so many of them. Standing on the unopened new span of the Bay Bridge, halfway to Yerba Buena Island, she points at the steel latticework right below the road deck on the old bridge, then gestures…

At heated meeting, council discusses gun control, mural approval

In a contentious meeting Tuesday night, the city council took on gun control and support for a program that works to curtail violence in Richmond after a deadly week that ended with three dead in the city. Councilmember Corky Booze set the tone for the meeting early on, when he took issue with Mayor Gayle McLaughlin’s re-ordering of agenda items. “This is just to show how we let our personalities get ahead of what’s supposed to happen in our city,”…

Chevron reports cause of August 6 refinery fire

Chevron failed to properly document a thinning pipe in the Richmond refinery’s crude unit back in 2002, the company admitted Friday, when the oil giant released its findings from its own investigation into the cause of last August’s refinery fire. The company concluded sulfur corrosion, accelerated by low silicon content, caused the five-foot carbon steel pipe to spring a leak and eventually ignite. “We have identified what went wrong and are taking steps to prevent a similar incident in the future,” said…