Government
Plans have been in the works for several years for a construction project that would close an Interstate 580 onramp near the Point San Pablo Peninsula in Richmond. Caltrans originally planned to close the eastbound I-580 onramp for two years while it repaired three bridge decks that hang over Scofield Avenue, which drivers must take to get to the onramp.
A Note From the Editor: The letter contained below was submitted to RichmondConfidential.org by Richmond City Councilman Nat Bates. In the interest of fulfilling our role as a source for information and perspectives for the benefit of Richmond community members, we agreed to publish it. RichmondConfidential.org is always open to written submissions from the community, and its elected leaders, regarding matters of public importance. _______________ I wish to apologize to the citizen of Richmond for my combative behavior with…
George Mitchell stood in front of the mic, glanced at his notes, and let fly. It’s not always easy for Richmond’s young people like Mitchell to express their feelings and their fears, especially to their peers. But Mitchell was bold, thanks in part to the supportive audience, and his poem took a frank approach to the territorial violence that has suffused his life in Richmond. “I have a dream that one day I can ride the bus to north Richmond…
In court on Thursday, Jonathan Matthews, attorney for plaintiff Lieutenant Cleveland Brown in the racial discrimination lawsuit against the city of Richmond and Chief of Police Chris Magnus, continued with questioning Magnus about his actions during a staff retreat in Napa in late 2006. The seven plaintiffs are all black commanders within the police department and have alleged that Magnus and then-Deputy Chief Lori Ritter prevented the advancement of black officers and cracked racist jokes. In addition to Brown, the…
North Richmond is unique, and it’s a place with heart. That was the undeniable theme Wednesday night, as about 200 people packed City Council chambers for the premiere of “An Exploration of Our History, North Richmond Part 4,” a documentary produced by filmmaker Doug Harris and more than a dozen young people from the neighborhood. “This film represents the final piece,” Harris told the audience, which brimmed with civic leaders and dozens of community members seen in the film. “I…
During six weeks of testimony in the racial discrimination lawsuit against the city of Richmond, one name has come up again and again: that of Lori Ritter, the former Deputy Chief of police. Ritter is named in the lawsuit as a defendant, along with the city and police Chief Chris Magnus. The seven plaintiffs—all black commanders within the police department—have alleged that Magnus and Ritter thwarted the advancement of black officers and cracked racist jokes. The city’s lawyers contend that…
It may take a lot of baby steps before public transit technology can take a huge leap forward. CyberTran International, the Richmond-based “ultra-light rail” start-up that secured a public-private partnership with the city back in September, landed its second public-private partnership this week. I-Gate, a state sponsponed business incubator, invited the “ultra-light rail” company to join their network of green transportation and clean-energy technologies. Together larger facilities like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Berkeley can provide “young entrepreneurial green…
When he took the helm in early 2006, Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus looked to impose his geographically centered policing strategy in a department accustomed to mobile crime suppression teams and cleaved with persistent racial division. “Unfortunately our department is greatly segregated,” then-Captain Ed Medina wrote in a memo reviewed by Magnus in 2006. “We are still separated by race (minority officers associations, etc.) which continually drives wedges between groups.” Magnus’s third day of testimony in Contra Costa County Superior…
Editor’s Note: The following is a guest column on Richmond social history by George Livingston Jr., a decorated celebrity photographer and the son of longtime political leader George Livingston, who was the first African American elected Richmond mayor. For more of Livingston’s work, visit Livingston Entertainment. _____________ Last summer I talked to Mrs. Deanna Brown Thomas, daughter of music legend James Brown. We spoke of a Grammy Museum exhibit that would be on display in Los Angeles. We talked about…