Government
This fall, Richmond residents will vote whether or not to place a penny-per-ounce tax on soft drinks. This past winter, the city council voted to put the measure on the November ballot, along with a proposal to use the funds the tax would raise to help pay for health programs. But the proposed soda tax has stirred debates in the city about health, poverty and race.
Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus took the stand Wednesday, the first time the jury has heard from him since testimony began in the racial discrimination lawsuit filed against him. Magnus was sworn in just fifteen minutes before court adjourned. But fifteen minutes were enough to offer a preview of the arguments ahead. Stephen R. Jaffe, the attorney for the seven plaintiffs who are suing Magnus and the city for workplace discrimination, described what he called a racially charged prank in…
Ohio-based filmmaker Andres Torres showed highlights Saturday at the Rialto in El Cerrito from a documentary series that she’s finishing that focuses in part on County Supervisor John Gioia. The series, “The New Metropolis,” covers the history of city planning, social justice, and environmental sustainability.
Richmond is making a habit of being the first. In June, Richmond became first city in Contra Costa County to issue its own municipal identification cards. In December, the city came one step closer to becoming the first city in the state to impose a tax on soda. Tuesday night, the City Council made Richmond the first city in the state to endorse a “millionaire’s tax.” The council voted 6-0-1 to pass the symbolic measure supporting a statewide initiative for…
The mayor and many of the 50 or so residents who filled the Whittlesey Community Room Friday night said it countless different ways, but it all boiled down to the same thing: 2011 was a great year in Richmond. “I can’t think of a place I’d rather live right now,” said longtime resident Mike Peritz. The year behind and the year ahead were the topics during the open gathering held by Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and touted as a state-of-the-city report…
Cliques, rumors, exclusion: those words came up again and again on Wednesday during testimony in the racial discrimination suit against the city and police Chief Chris Magnus.
The North Richmond neighborhood hasn’t flooded since the Army Corps of Engineers erected levees decades ago around the two creeks. But although their record so far is good, the levees now don’t meet Federal Emergency Management Agency standards.
Tuesday’s testimony – a marathon volley between Hartinger and Pickett – traced the rapid devolution of relations in the department after Magnus’ January 2006 hiring, which brought him to Richmond from Fargo, N.D.
Although Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus is expected to be in court through March defending himself in a racial discrimination lawsuit, RPD leaders say it’s business as usual for the department.