Jael Myrick takes his seat, becomes a part of City Council antics

City Council Dias

The addition of new city councilmember Jael Myrick didn’t stop the council from falling back on its old argumentative habits during Tuesday night’s city council meeting. The council passed most items unanimously or with just one vote against—but the majority of the time was spent debating procedures about when a councilmember can make a motion…

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Applicants for open Richmond City Council seat will speak Monday

City Council Dias

Twelve people have submitted their names for consideration by the Richmond City Council to fill the vacant seat left open when councilmember-elect Gary Bell—who is in a coma after suffering a bacterial sinus infections—was unable to be sworn in earlier this month. Among the twelve are former councilmembers, unsuccessful candidates from November’s race and a…

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Limit on campaign contributions may be increasing the spending of outside groups

The City Council’s attempt earlier this year to limit campaign contributions to council candidates seems to be working, last Thursday’s campaign finance deadline shows. But the limits might also be increasing the spending of outside groups on the election. Under the ordinance passed this summer, candidates must not accept more than $40,000 in campaign contributions…

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City Council Election 2012: Mark Wassberg

Mark Wassberg finishes the knot with his teeth and steps back from the chain-link fence. He stands quietly for a moment and inspects his work as a wave of cars passes by. It’s a warm cloudless afternoon a month before Election Day and two posters emblazoned with the message MARK WASSBERG 4 CITY COUNCIL gleam…

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City Council candidates meet for candidate forum

Richmond Senior Center

For the first time this election season, all of the City Council candidates gathered for a public debate on Wednesday night. The debate, which was attended by roughly 80 people, gave many residents the opportunity to see the candidates up close and personal for the first time.

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City Council swings into election season

Richmond City Council members

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…

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A first look at the November City Council candidates

Eleven people successfully filed and qualified to be on the Nov. 6 ballot for the City Council. Nine out of the eleven candidates also submitted statements of qualifications by the Aug. 15 deadline. These statements are limited to 200 words, and they are an opportunity for candidates to provide personal information and also write why…

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LGBT teens, RYSE Center, mobilize Richmond against hate speech

On Tuesday night at Richmond’s City Council meeting, upset residents and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, mostly dressed in purple t-shirts and yellow armbands, signed a unity pledge against hate speech and asked council members to do the same. The standing-room-only crowd also heard 65 people voice their concerns about homophobic comments they heard during the last public meeting.

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The bloodhound

Mark Wassberg has lurked around local crime scenes for years, collecting reams of raw footage of the city as few see it. Driven by a near-obsession to document the city’s struggle with deadly violence, this aspiring documentary filmmaker hopes to author his own rags-to-riches tale.

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