Vietnam Veterans Day commemorates the sacrifices of Vietnam veterans and their families and is part of a national effort to recognize the men and women who were denied a proper welcome upon returning home more than 50 years ago. On this day in 1973, the last combat...

Tom, don’t let MTC take away our pathway Join the Monthly Giving Circle to become a part of the ongoing movement for better biking! Dear Tom, Two weeks ago we were extremely disappointed and surprised to hear that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is...

I don’t know who Sally Claire is, but she has been widely quoted about the failure of journalism. On journalism: "If someone says it's raining, and another person says it's dry, it's not your job to quote them both. Your job is to look out the fucking window and find...

With the City Council set to discuss the future of the Craneway tonight, It may be helpful to explain one issue at the heart of the matter – the Public Trust Doctrine. In California, the arcane public trust doctrine arrived with statehood and lofty language in the...

I wrote this on March 26, 2017, when my father, Thomas Franklin (Tom) Butt, who died at the age of 83 in 2000, would have been 100 years old. His father (my grandfather) lived to be 97. I think my father inherited the family genes, but it was lung cancer that ended...

Thank you to those who wished me happy birthday – and even those who didn’t -- it was a good one. We started the day before with some cake and Champagne at Interactive Resources, and then that evening, the whole family plus a Japanese exchange student staying with Kim...

A lack of institutional memory and a motivation to avoid confrontation has resulted in an incomplete and misleading staff report for the March 26 City Council meeting Item Q-1, Update on the Craneway Pavilion Request. As a public service and as the only City-related...

On my birthday yesterday, I visited the Craneway to check out the opening of the pickleball operation. I have to say, it was impressive. On a rainy and windy day, the Craneway and Assemble Restaurant were both packed with at least a couple hundred people. With 12...

City "still has concerns" as pickleball opening looms Linda Hemmila Mar 20, 2024 — 5 min read A couple of pickleballers test out the newly installed courts March 9 at the Craneway Pavilion. Photo/ Linda Hemmila City Attorney David Aleshire speaking at the city council...

As we get closer to the advertised grand opening of pickleball at the Craneway, the issue and conflicts are expanding exponentially. With the grand opening just three days away, concerned citizens are planning to picket the venue to protest, not a good start. Darlene...

The only vestige of elected office I have hung on to is CivicWell, formerly the Local Government Commission. The City of Richmond has been a member since before I was first elected in 1995. Former Mayor Rosemery Corbin urged me to get involved, and it was some of the...

54 years ago this week, in 1970, I had completed my year as a combat engineer and arranged an Army discharge while still in Vietnam so that I could visit the famous temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, still a “neutral” country in March of 1970, whose eastern border...

Once again, politics has prevailed over vision as MTC caved in to the politically powerful Bay Area Council and its Get the Richmond Bridge Moving campaign. The Get the Richmond Bridge Moving Campaign has been a fraud from the beginning, making Trump-like claims such...

Apparently oblivious to the fact that they do not have the required approval from the City of Richmond, Craneway Pickleball is forging ahead with a grand opening this weekend. There is still no official response from the City of Richmond, but there is a protect being...

Lina Velasco has generously provided me with the latest application for the City to approve the sublease for the pickleball venue in the Craneway. Thanks you, Lina. The application materials are copied below: Use description for Craneway BACKGROUND: Orton...

On what would have been her 102nd birthday today, March 6, I offer glimpses of my mother’s early life. First is a piece she wrote in 1980 about her grandmother and life in the Batesville Martin home in the late 1920s and 1930s. Click here for “My Grandmother’s House.”...

Attached are the first batch of election results as of 3:01 AM on Wednesday March 6th. Since West County has so few elections directly affecting them, the only two races included here are the races for the 7th Senate District and for the CCC Central Democratic Party...

Dear Friend of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour and Green Home Features Showcase, I’m writing to let you know that a Native Plant Extravaganza—with free Talks in the Nurseries—is coming up, as is the two-day annual online Bringing Back the Natives Garden...