Government
Ten months after Richmond police began wearing body cameras on patrol, the department is moving to expand its use of video, including cameras in patrol cars that sync with the cameras worn by officers.
Parents, students and teachers from Richmond-area charter schools rallied in front of Mayor Tom Butt’s office on Wednesday demanding the mayor and other councilmembers extend eligibility for a $35 million college scholarship program to charter school students as well as public school students.
Governor Brown signed a bill into state law Tuesday in Richmond, signaling what sponsors portrayed as a milestone in the decades-long battle for equal pay for women.
Richmond resident Deon Jenkins, also known as underground hip-hop artist Alpha Leo, recently filed his paperwork to seek a shot at the White House in 2016. The candidate said he intends to tap into his audience to build his political constituency.
During a City Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Butt’s office and a number of development experts gave a presentation on public policy initiatives to improve the availability, quality and development of affordable housing. The presentation centered on how The University of California, Berkeley’s Richmond Global Campus will increase development in the city.
After threatening an expensive audit, the California State Controller’s Office let Richmond off the hook Thursday. Two routine reviews into the city’s Gas Tax Fund and state and federal programs administered by the city will continue. Neither bears any financial cost for Richmond.
The Richmond City Council approved an outline for a $35 million college scholarship program on Tuesday, but questions about how eligibility will be decided and how much money students might expect to receive will be answered in October.
On Friday morning, State Senator Loni Hancock (District 9) and State Assemblymen Rob Bonta (District 18) and Tony Thurmond (District 15) reported back from Sacramento on the broad range of issues they worked on in 2015. The key topics of conversation were education, healthcare and the state budget.
The Richmond City Council recently approved a plan to help improve transportation throughout south Richmond.