Environment
Richmond residents joined millions of people from around the world celebrating Earth Day on Saturday with activities built around protecting the environment and preserving the planet. In Richmond’s Unity Park, Urban Tilth, Rich City Rides, Moving Forward, Groundwork, Cal Cameron Institute, Building Blocks for Kids, the city of Richmond and other organizations promoted ways to get closer to nature and away from reliance on fossil fuels. Kids had a chance to interact with snakes, rabbits and turtles. Dozens of people…
As the price of gas increased in recent years, the 70-mile round trip from Richmond that Oscar Alcocer makes every Saturday to pick up his child in Walnut Creek became unaffordable in his 1995 Jeep Wrangler. Alcocer cut his costs last year by switching to an electric vehicle when Charge Up Contra Costa, an electric car-share program, launched in Civic Center Plaza. The weekly visits were going smoothly, until recently, said Alcocer, a 41-year-old engineer at an aerospace company. “One…
It’s Bridge Week in Richmond and through Saturday, people can attend events that showcase the proposed Richmond Greenway Bridge over 23rd Street, a project that would close the Greenway trail’s remaining gap, providing an uninterrupted 17-mile biking and walking path from Berkeley to Marin County. The proposal grew out of the Richmond Greenway Gap Study, which was funded by a $280,000 grant from the California Department of Transportation. “It’s going to blow everyone’s minds. It’s going to be really cool!,”…
For years, even on hot mornings and afternoons, Verde Elementary School students have spent their recess and physical education periods on a cracked and sun-drenched blacktop — a wide open space with colored lines drawing volleyball courts and soccer fields, a running track along the edge. But the school will soon live up to its colorful name, with green scenery to cover the blacktop and shade the kids. Last month, volunteers from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and 100K…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: What do you like most about living in Richmond? “I love being right on the water, I love that wherever I go I’m close to the water. I do the Bay Trail a lot, I live on the Bay Trail. I love watching the wildlife change through the seasons and I love…
More than 100 cyclists pedaled across the Richmond-San Rafael bridge on Sunday to celebrate the third anniversary of the structure’s dedicated bike lane. But their joy was mixed with concern, which the event’s slogan explained: “Use it or lose it!” “This year, we’re fighting to keep the to keep this bike trail that we’ve advocated for,” said Najari Smith, founder and executive director of Rich City Rides, a Richmond nonprofit that promotes cycling. The Richmond-San Rafael bridge is 5.5 miles…
Richmond residents may soon be able to rent electric bikes with ease, after the city received a $3 million grant from the California Strategic Growth Council last month to implement its E-bike Lending Library Program. Heralded by local bicycle cooperative and nonprofit Rich City Rides, a co-applicant for the grant, the project intends to make cycling more accessible for many would-be riders inhibited by physical ability or other barriers that make riding traditional bikes difficult. “We wanted to add a…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: What is your greatest environmental concern in Richmond? “My greatest concern is Chevron and air pollution. The air is not good here and causes diseases, and Chevron is the greatest cause. They have to find a solution for that because our lives matter.” (Hector Maguna, mechanic) “The other day we had a game…
The Contra Costa County district attorney’s office announced Friday that it and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have reached a settlement with the Chevron Richmond Refinery over a 2021 pipe rupture that dumped nearly 800 gallons of diesel into San Francisco Bay. Under the agreement, approved Monday in Contra Costa County Superior Court, Chevron will cover cleanup costs of $130,543.26 and will pay $70,000 in civil penalties to the state and county. “Corporations must be held strictly liable for…