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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.”...

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...

For some nine months, the future of the Craneway has been the subject of intense interest and passionate opinions by the Richmond public, and rightly so because it is owned by the City of Richmond and the subject of a public trust easement that limits its uses. The...

President of the United States Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Democratic County Central Committee Gabriel Quinto (the only one I support – the rest are ultraradical progressives). Cesar Zepeda has shown some intelligence on the City Council – he voted against the Gaza...

Pickleball debate continues as work commences at the Craneway Pavilion Linda Hemmila Feb 26, 2024 — 5 min read Equipment and materials visible in Richmond's Craneway Pavilion have community members debating pickleball once again. Photos/ Linda Hemmila. The sight of...

The Craneway is unique, in that we, the residents of Richmond actually own it. Our elected officials and City management staff have the responsibility to see that it is being used in a way that benefits the community. When Eddie Orton purchased the Ford Building from...

RICHMOND ELECTION REFORM ACT Efforts are under way to gather signatures to place on the November ballot an initiative which would amend the way we elect our Mayor and City Councilmembers. As it stands now, we can elect the Mayor or a member of the Council with...

This is an exciting opportunity for someone interested in government services, special districts and land use policy in Contra Costa County. Typically, the alternate moves up to the primary position when the primary retires. The deadline is 2/29/24. To date LAFCO has...