Government
City Council will vote tomorrow on an urgency ordinance to implement a 45-day ban on certain evictions and rent increases over 3 percent for residential tenants, to take effect immediately.
Politicians aren’t the only ones vying for votes in the upcoming election. From its new headquarters in downtown Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Campaign is reminding voters to look beyond the list of candidates on the ballot and consider supporting three transportation measures.
The former presidential candidate’s new national non-profit, Our Revolution, endorsed RPA-backed Richmond City Council candidates Ben Choi and Melvin Willis. They were two of 63 candidates nationwide to be recognized in the first wave of Our Revolution endorsements.
Last Tuesday, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors took a step towards examining racial disparities in the county’s criminal justice system. At the Board of Supervisors meeting on April 12, the board unanimously approved the formation of a Disproportionate Minority Contact Task Force, comprised of county leaders.
Allwyn Brown was sworn in as Richmond’s new police chief at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, in a ceremony that preceded Tuesday’s city council meeting. Brown accepted the position last month after serving as interim chief of the city’s police force since January.
The City of Richmond and the West Contra Costa Unified School District are working to bring free Wi-Fi to residents of the Iron Triangle, by building a fiber optic network. Richmond is joining other cities like New York City, San Francisco and San Jose to supply residents with free public Wi-Fi.
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…
Frustration was the headliner at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, at which the council heard from a mourning family and unanimously elected a new vice mayor.
The California Transportation Commission approved a $6 million grant for a plan to improve Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood. Known as the Iron Triangle Yellow Brick Road Walkable Neighborhoods Plan, the project aims to improve streets notorious for high crime and blighted conditions. Pedestrians and bicyclists would get safer, cleaner pathways to schools, parks and churches. The paths would be marked by stencils of yellow bricks, fulfilling a vision teenagers came up with during a 2008 summer youth program. City planners made a point to emphasize…