Government

Panel discusses complex Chevron-Richmond relationship

Chevron plays a major role in the politics and the economy of the city of Richmond. But that relationship is anything but harmonious, as an audience at the UC Berkeley School of Law heard on Wednesday. Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia and oil and energy policy analyst Antonia Juhasz described the long history of conflict and cooperation between the third-largest revenue-earning corporation in the country and the Richmond community. “There’s always been a love-hate relationship between the city and Chevron,”…

Motion to kill Richmond’s eminent domain plan fails

Vicky Conway says she is stuck in a loan she can’t afford. She and her husband Rodney Conway bought a home in northeast Richmond in 2004 and, like many of the city’s residents, the couple’s home is “underwater,” meaning the amount they owe exceeds the market value of the house. “I know that we’re not going to be able to retire and continue with the same mortgage payments,” said Vicky Conway, 51. Now the Conways are banking on the city’s…

California Realtors Associations campaign against eminent domain plan

Richmond’s plan to seize underwater mortgages through eminent domain has come under sharp criticism. Opponents claim that the plan could depress property values, and end up costing the city millions of dollars in lost revenues and legal fees. The West Contra Costa Association of Realtors (WCCAR), which is receiving financial backing from the California Realtors Association, is the latest to join the fray. In mid-August, WCCAR began the campaign, “Stop Investor Greed,” which is trying to create opposition to the…

City Council rejects move of marijuana dispensary

Richmond residents cheered and clapped Tuesday night when the City Council rejected a proposal to move a medical marijuana dispensary from Richmond’s Hilltop area to 425 South Second Street, near the Santa Fe neighborhood. Residents expressed strong opposition about the move claiming that the dispensary would be too close to a residential area and that it would increase crime in the neighborhood.

Residents: Chevron needs to compensate Richmond

A small group of residents interrupted a Richmond City Council meeting Tuesday demanding that Chevron compensate the city and its residents for damage caused by the August 2012 refinery fire. The group also announced two events that will be held next month to commemorate the anniversary of the fire. Six refinery employees sustained minor injuries in the fire at Richmond’s Chevron refinery, and 15,000 Richmond residents sought medical treatment after breathing polluted air. The reputation of the City of Richmond has suffered because…

Richmond High gang rape victim testifies

The woman who is allegedly the victim of a gang rape that happened four years ago outside Richmond High’s homecoming dance testified Monday to a full courtroom at Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez. It was the first time the woman had appeared publicly since reports of the brutal rape sent shock waves across the country in 2009, and she took the stand to give evidence against two of the men accused of sexually assaulting her. Jane Doe (the…