Government
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.
Changing public transportation in California cities could cause clashes when new transit systems cannot develop as quickly as policymakers expect.
Two years after spending more than $3 million only to see each candidate it backed lose, Chevron and its political action committee, Moving Forward, have been notably absent from the 2016 election cycle.
The last Friday of September was the first pre-election filing deadline for city council candidates to submit campaign finance reports. It was the first chance for the public to see the inner financial workings of their campaigns, such as who gives them money and how much they spend.
Last week, Mayor Tom Butt released his first-ever housing strategy, which details plans to increase the availability of affordable and market rate housing in Richmond.
El Sobrante Valley residents and activists hope to keep residential development out of the historically landslide-prone area with the soon-to-be-submitted Richmond Hills Initiative, which they’re currently working to put on the 2018 ballot.
Some groups in Richmond are coming together and others are clashing in the wake of a recent spate of shootings that has rocked the community.
In November, Richmond residents will vote on Measure M, an ordinance to raise the “documentary transfer tax” that property owners are required to pay on real estate sales.
Residents at the Creekview Condominiums on the border of Richmond and El Sobrante are packing their belongings after receiving notices over the last two months that they must vacate the property.
Beverly Hills-based real estate developer PMI Properties cited moisture and mold in terminating leases for the 114 units. Residents, however, contend that the terminations are just in time for Richmond’s upcoming vote on rent control. If Measure L passes in November, landlords will have to pay a relocation fee to each resident evicted. At present, tenants just have to move on.