General

Jump in COVID cases alarms Contra Costa health officials

As the delta variant spreads across the state, the number of new COVID-19 cases has more than doubled in Contra Costa County since California officially reopened on June 15.  Over the last two weeks, 76% of 96 new specimens collected have been of the delta variant.  “This is just a sampling, but it’s safe to say we have seen delta steadily grow in Contra Costa County,” said Dr. Sefanit Mekuria, deputy health officer with Contra Costa Health Services.  “We believe…

Biden gives shout out to Richmond crime prevention program, citing it as model

When President Joe Biden introduced his crime-prevention strategy to reporters in late June, he highlighted the community intervention efforts that DeVone Boggan launched in Richmond in 2010 and encouraged other cities to invest in such programs. Boggan, former director of Richmond’s Neighborhood Safety Office, started the Advance Peace nonprofit five years ago to introduce his Peacemaker Fellowship program to other cities. The program is similar to Ceasefire and Cure Violence in that it addresses the root causes of gun violence….

Fearing new council would quash plan, Mayor Butt rushed to pass Zeneca decision, citizens’ group says

This is the last story in a four-part series.  In December, new claims that Mayor Tom Butt used his office to influence a development decision on another controversial Richmond property were filed in court, marking the third time in four years that the mayor’s actions sparked a legal fight.  This time, the property was the former Zeneca Inc. industrial site on Richmond’s south shoreline. The multitude of chemicals left in the soil and water at the 90-acre site as a…