Government
Results from a Bay Area Air Quality Management District analysis of particulate matter in the air over Richmond following the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire show slightly elevated levels of elemental carbon, which is common after a fire. Those levels are still well below state and federal air quality standards, the BAAQMD announced Thursday. Although the official analysis showed low levels, the smoke plume went several thousand feet into the air and the wind blew it east, said Wendel Brunner,…
At least 6,300 residents have filed claims for compensation since Monday, according to figures released by Chevron spokesperson Katie Winter.
On Tuesday morning, over 20 West County Wastewater District (WCWD) employees picketed outside the district’s headquarters on Hilltop Drive to denounce contract negotiations that have come to a screeching halt. At the heart of the matter is a wastewater district that’s trying to save money during a global economic crisis, while at the same time repair pipes that are 70 to 90 years old.
A new, smaller, fire flared up Wednesday afternoon near the location of the leak that sparked an inferno at Chevron’s 2,900-acre refinery Monday evening, as hundreds of locals sought medical treatment for eye and respiratory complaints related to the fire.
On Tuesday evening, Richmond residents gathered at Target to celebrate the kick off of the city’s annual National Night Out event, a series of neighborhood block parties designed to improve neighborhood safety by getting residents to know one another and making them familiar with the officers in their local police department.
Throngs of Richmond residents, upset and ready to be heard, gathered at a town hall meeting held by Chevron on Tuesday night, following the refinery fire that cloaked Richmond in a dark cloud of particulates the night before.
Richmond residents this morning woke up to the lingering smell of burnt oil from Chevron’s Richmond Refinery, which caught fire last night following a leak. Firefighters and engineers at the plant put the main fire out early this morning, and Chevron reported that its engineers were monitoring a controlled burn as a safety measure to contain pressure.
On Tuesday, the city council approved funding that it will re-open Point Molate beach—the city’s only public beach. The beach closed in 2004 due to budget cuts and then was slammed in 2007 by the Cosco Busan fuel spill. The public space has been under lock and key ever since. In anticipation of the beach’s re-opening, we thought it would be fun to see what the area looks like today.
On Tuesday night, at the last city council meeting before a month-long recess, the council wrapped up by approving nearly a dozen expenditure items, most notably the resurrection of Richmond’s only beach—Point Molate.