Government
A yellow cat runs up the steps of the house on 127 Chanslor Avenue, hopping over the weeds sprouting from the charred wood. It stops in the entryway and turns, shutting its eyes against the sun streaming down through the hole where the roof used to be. The house, on the corner of 2nd Street and Chanslor, in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, is abandoned. It’s caught fire—twice. The entire roof is gone. The siding above the windows and doors is…
A man was shot dead at the Richmond BART station just after 6 pm on Thursday evening. The shooting marks Richmond’s third homicide this year. It follows the shooting deaths of Lincoln Plair, 20, on March 4, and William Wheeler, 26, on February 4, both within half a mile of Thursday night’s shooting. Police described the victim as an African American man. He was pronounced dead at the scene. On Friday, BART’s Deputy Chief of Police, Benson Fairow, said that…
The results of an investigation into allegations against Richmond’s Assistant City Manager Leslie Knight showed that she had violated several city staff policies, according to a statement released on Friday by the office of the city manager. The summarized findings from the investigation conducted by the Van Dermyden Allison Law Corporation concluded that Knight had used a city vehicle while taking in a monthly car allowance that was supposed to pay for her to use her own car while…
After weeks of intense back and forth between political players in Richmond and Concord the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday that neither city would play host to a state call center—and its 200 plus jobs—because the county could not settle a contract with a local union. The call center would have been one of three statewide centers set up by the California Health Benefits Exchange to help Californians with health insurance questions under the new federal Affordable…
Kennedy High freshman English teacher Aaron Colacion does it his way. And because of that the school and the district may reap a financial reward. The third-year teacher is one of five finalists competing for the Bay Area’s 2013 Comcast SportsNet All-Star Teacher Award. Grand prize: $20,000. Colacion said if he won the twenty-grand he’d like to buy Kennedy High School small Acer computers called Nettops. He said because students are so strapped for computer lab time, that would help…
Two dozen residents, representatives from community organizations and city employees met Tuesday night to discuss revitalization plans for future development of a section of Cutting Boulevard, which many consider a “gateway” to the city. Although similar plans for the area have been discussed in the past, the meeting was a chance for the city to get an update on what changes and improvements residents would like to see, such as improved street lighting, more opportunities for businesses and increased access…
After 10 years behind lock and key, the Point Molate Beach Park could re-open as early as this summer, a city official told the Richmond City Council Tuesday night. The council unanimously approved a two-part plan to rehabilitate the park, which would cost up to $115,000. In a relatively short three-hour meeting, the council also agreed to loan the developer of the proposed site for the Affordable Health Care Act call center $1 million in a tactical effort to secure…
On Tuesday, UC Berkeley’s Seismological Laboratory director Richard Allen, who is British, sat quietly next to his Polish wife, Kasia Allen, Cal’s assistant dean for external relations. Together, along with 75 immigrants from 33 other countries, they raised their right hands at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Homefront National Historical Park in Richmond and took the 140-word oath of allegiance that made them naturalized U.S. citizens. The earthquake scholar said that the couple’s son had been born in the…
As part of an ongoing tussle over the fate of a state-run call center expected to create some 200 jobs, city council members in Concord and Richmond will discuss the same item at their respective meetings on Tuesday night: How to guarantee the center is placed in their town. The call center is part of California’s move to comply with Affordable Care Act regulations and provide information for Californians on health insurance changes and plans. The goal is to have…