Posts Tagged ‘Councilmember Nat Bates’
Tense Council session covers Molate judgment updates, district election hearing
Tuesday’s City Council meeting – called “long and raucous” in an email missive by Mayor Tom Butt — mimicked a battleground with locals and lawmakers firing off dissenting opinions over issues from the proposed Point Molate development to the prospect of district council elections.
Read MoreRichmond councilmember attends Obama’s White House Christmas celebration
After receiving a personal invitation, Richmond city councilmember Nat Bates attended a White House Christmas celebration Dec. 17.
Read MoreGreenhouse gas mitigation discussion stalled
The city council was hoping to hear public input on possible greenhouse gas mitigation measures relating to Chevron’s “Revised Renewal Project,” but Tuesday’s meeting ended before the council reached the comment period.
Read More6th Annual Black History Celebration wows crowd with food, dance and history
More than 300 people attended the 6th Annual Black History Celebration held Friday at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium. The three-hour gala led off with a plate of soul food and a documentary about North Richmond, and ended with raffle drawings for money, a TV, and a one-night stay in Tahoe. The evening itself felt like…
Read MoreEarnings report caps off week of mixed news for Chevron
The announcement this week of the approximately $11 million in losses Chevron sustained in fines and claims related to the August 6 Richmond refinery fire was dwarfed by its fourth-quarter earnings. Although Chevron’s total earnings for the entire year fell by three percent in 2012, the corporation brought in $7.2 billion in the final three…
Read MoreWorld Series trophies, black and orange, displayed at Richmond Memorial Auditorium
Erik Lopez is not your ordinary San Francisco Giants fan. By day he’s your regular good guy from Hercules. By first pitch he saves the day as Giants-Wolverine; a five-foot-something wolf-like creature wearing a black and orange Giants cape, mask and foam knuckle blades. The baseball fan-superhero hybrid said his idea to become a “badass…
Read MoreCouncil looks forward after election
The City Council returned to business – with the meeting going into the next morning and the occasional spat between councilmembers — at its first post-election meeting Tuesday night. Before the meeting started, audience members were told to wait outside while fire and police officials responded to a carbon monoxide leak in the council chambers…
Read MoreIn Richmond politics, the Obama family brand resonates with the community
Nat Bates was elected for a record seventh time in 2008 and one of his campaign signs featured his face next to the face of another man looking to make history in the same election. This year, Bates’ reelection signs once again link him to the same man. A blue sign in the window of…
Read MoreCity Council swings into election season
At its first public meeting since the Aug. 6 Chevron refinery fire and a Measure N—referred to as the “soda tax”—lawsuit filed against the city, Tuesday night’s hotly anticipated City Council meeting painted for the Richmond community a clear portrait of its pending election season. “Trends are already beginning to form,” said Councilmember Tom Butt…
Read MoreCouncil passes two ordinances that tighten campaign finance rules
The city council Tuesday night approved two contentious campaign finance ordinances that, taken together, limit the influence of people and businesses that contribute to a candidate or sitting councilmember. These ordinances will likely reshape the way candidates approach fundraising in this year’s election.
Read MoreMayor circulates letter blaming council “dysfunction” on one member’s “chaos, disruptions, and vitriolic speech”
In an unusual move, last week after a particularly heated city council meeting Mayor Gayle McLaughlin sent an email to her online supporters entitled “The situation at City Council meetings,” in which she castigated “one councilmember’s” behavior during meetings, urged the public and other councilmembers to recognize to her authority as mayor and assured everyone that she will be tightening the reigns.
Read MoreAt heated council meeting, debate over Teach for America, public speakers’ rights
During a heated meeting on Tuesday night, Richmond council members tackled two items that drew out many members of the public: the teachers’ union’s concerns about Teach for America members employed in Richmond and the formation of the city’s first business improvement district. But the most heated exchange of the night came when council members Corky Booze and Jovanka Beckles got into a dust-up over Booze’s request for a legal opinion regarding his concerns about the possible civil rights violations of public speakers during past meetings.
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