Government
City Council officials will decide tonight whether to halt federal grant-funded project to convert a building into a port security center. Councilman Tom Butt has for weeks raised concerns about whether the money would be better spent doing the same thing in a nearby structure. Butt says the city’s port operations have devolved into a “boondoggle” and that the city should reconsider port officials’ original plan, for which they received nearly $4 million in federal funding. See the port’s balance…
Jeff Ritterman is out. Marilyn Langlois and Eduardo Martinez want in. The campaign kickoff event at the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) downtown offices Sunday drew more than 120 people and featured speeches from this fall’s candidates for city office about platforms and accomplishments. But the biggest news was Councilman Ritterman’s public proclamation that he will not run for re-election in November after one term on the council. “I came here in 1981. I was 32 years old, and they made…
There’s a lot happening in Richmond Friday thru Sunday. It’s a mix of environmental, social, educational and political-themed events in our community. FRIDAY Occupy Richmond Earth Day March: 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., begins at Richmond BART station. Progressive activists will march from BART station to City Hall in Richmond to protest pollution and tax rates for big corporations. Gathering at City Hall will feature speakers and food. More info here. Ceasefire/Lifelines to Healing Nightwalk: 7 p.m. at Bethlehem Missionary…
An unusually large number of people attended Tuesday’s city council meeting in Richmond. Many carried banners or wore bright colored shirts with slogans like “Don’t kill our jobs,” which others changed in “Don’t kill our kids” later in the evening.
North Richmond is no stranger to challenges – or proposed solutions. But a class of UC Berkeley grad students, backed by The California Endowment and a network of local allies, hope their efforts can make a difference. “Our hope is that we can help bring neighbors together in a way that creates new energies focused on key neighborhood issues and shared concerns,” said Heather Imboden, a first year master’s candidate in city planning. Imboden is one of a half dozen…
As the County Assessor’s Appeals Board prepares to meet to decide on Chevron’s tax assessment appeal value for 2010 and 2011, Richmond Confidential searched for other some US cities where other oil refineries are also appealing their local property tax assessments or have appealed them over the past five years.
The race for Richmond City Council 2012 just got more interesting. Longtime mayoral aide and local activist Marilyn Langlois has resigned her post in Gayle McLaughlin’s office to run for a chance to govern beside her former boss. “I will still be very close with the mayor and volunteering in the community,” Langlois said by phone Saturday morning. “But I am now planning to run for city council.” Langlois joins a field of contenders that already includes her friend and…
In an effort to build better a more amicable relationship with the community, Veolia, the company that manages the wastewater treatment plant in Richmond, has instituted an internship program geared at employing local residents. The company is already through the first stages of selecting two interns, said Jamal Muhammad, the Community Outreach Coordinator for Veolia.
Now that a jury has cleared the city and police Chief Chris Magnus of racial discrimination and harassment charges—after five years of legal wrangling and three months of trial—it’s time to tally up the costs. And they are substantial. Richmond has spent about $4.5 million since 2006 to defend the city, Magnus and former Deputy Chief Lori Ritter against discrimination charges brought by seven high-ranking black police officers, according to Assistant City Manager Leslie Knight. Of that, $1.9 million was…