Urban Tilth Gets Yet Another Extension to Comply With Audit Requirement.
For a nonprofit with a multimillion operating budget, It is incomprehensible that Urban Tilth simply cannot produce an audit of its finances. And it is equally incomprehensible that the attorney general continues to cut Urban Tilth slack, setting yet another deadline...
Design Review Board Resignations Triggered by City Council Action Are Stalling Economic Development and Jobs in Richmond.
Design Review Board meeting canceled following resignations Soren Hemmila Nov 14, 20233 min Grandview Independent The Richmond Design Review Board meeting was canceled for lack of a quorum last week following the resignation of its two members in protest of the...
Marina Point Developer Claims City Missed Key Deadline – Project Deemed Approved as Submitted
According to the former chair of the Design Review Board, the attorney for Guardian Commercial Real Estate, L.P., the developer of the proposed Marina Point, the City missed the Housing Accountability Act 30-day deadline to inform the applicant of all the...
Veterans Day Humor in Uniform
There used to be an old Reader’s Digest section headed “Humor in Uniform, which reminds us the sometimes, there is levity in a war zone, where the “Green Machine” matches up soldiers skills with the needs of Uncle Sam. Here are some real stories involving friends of...
Port of Oakland Coal Litigation May Result in Tenfold Increase of Coal Trains Through Richmond
The tentative ruling in the Port of Oakland Coal case went against the City of Oakland, and the judge will make final ruling in ten days. It would be really important for the City of Richmond to file an amica brief in support of Oakland, because if Oakland loses, it...
Upcoming Extravaganza, Choosing Natives, Join the Resource Teams + 3 events this week-end!
Dear Friend of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, The days are shorter, we’ve had some rain, and temperatures are cooler—this is a great time to plant native plants! Shop for them on Saturday, November 18, at the upcoming Native Plant Extravaganza, and a...
Design Review Board Palestine Protest Resignations Create Quorum Crisis.
Two Design Review Board members, David Plotkin and Leah Marthinsen, have resigned in protest of the ill-conceived Palestine Resolution, leaving the DRB with only four of seven authorized members, making a quorum impossible if only one of the remaining four does not...
Launching of Richmondside
https://richmondside.org/ will launch in a few months. Their website says they are planning some coffee house meetings in the next few weeks.
Veterans Day 2023 is a Week Away
It appears that the RPA (Richmond Progressive Alliance) City Council will not recognize Veterans Day 2023, but we did maybe for the last time, in 2022 when I was mayor, with the following resolution: RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND CALIFORNIA...
City of Richmond, Urban Tilth, Rich City Rides and the Strategic Growth Council Perpetuate Illegal and Unethical Contract Relationship
On October 3, 2023, the Richmond City Council awarded contracts totaling over $10 million to two organizations, Rich City Rides and Urban Tilth. Both contracts were actually awarded to Urban Tilth because Urban Tilth is the fiscal sponsor of Rich City Rides. Urban...
Cecilia King’s Extraordinary Senior Trip
Eighty-three years ago, my mother, Cecilia King (later Butt), lived in a small town in eastern Arkansas (Beebe, 1940 population 1,189) and graduated from nearby Batesville High School in 1940 when she was 18. After graduation, she had an opportunity for an extended...
This Saturday: Point Richmond Fall Fest 10/28
Live music, arts fair, local food and drinks, kid’s activities – including a video game truck and pumpkin patch Point Richmond Business Association October, 2023 Fall Fest is This Saturday 10/28 Point Richmond Fall Fest is coming up this Saturday and it will be a...
Richmond City Council Just Can’t Stay Out of the Middle East
As if we didn’t have enough home-grown problems, the Richmond City Council seems periodically drawn to taking sides in recurring struggles involving Israel and Palestinians, especially Gazans, governed by Hamas. Gayle McLaughlin appears to have particularly strong...
Cops and Goblins
Calling all the brave little goblins and ghouls of Richmond, CA! Are you searching for a Halloween adventure that's both thrilling and safe? Look no further, because your friendly neighborhood Police Department has got you covered! Mark your calendars for Saturday,...
Marina Point Proposal is Richmond Riviera All Over Again – Except Worse
The vacant lot between the Ford Building and Marina Way South is designated “High Intensity Mixed Use (Major Activity Center” in the Richmond General Plan 2030, because of its proximity to the Richmond Ferry Terminal, the Bay Trail, the Rosie the Riveter Visitor...
Riggers Loft Wine Company Sues to Protect Its Lease
The Riggers Loft Wine Company has filed a lawsuit against its landlord, the Surplus Property Authority of the City of Richmond, for unlawfully and illegally, and in bad faith, forcing it to pay excess rent and penalties, trying to coerce an illegal eviction and trying...
A reluctant city council votes to preserve historic Winehaven buildings
Even though the City Council is under a Federal Court judgment to “maintain and secure” Point Molate (including Winehaven), it has done neither. The move to provide some minimal protection during the coming rainy season would not have happened without the lawsuit...
City Council Member Gets over $10 million in Grants from City of Richmond.
Urban Tilth, a Richmond nonprofit that has been officially delinquent in filing with the State of California Department of Justice since May 2022, is on next week’s City Council agenda to receive over $10 million in sole source contract funding from the City of...
Former Richmond City Council Member Tony Thurmond Running for Governor
California schools superintendent Tony Thurmond joins the race for governor in 2026 Tony Thurmond has led California’s Department of Education since 2018. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is seen March 30, 2023. His California Department of...
Rosie the Riveter Trust
On Saturday, September 20, 2023, Rosie the Riveter Trust celebrated its 24th anniversary with the Trust’s Annual Fundraising Gala at the Craneway – the best one yet!. Rosie the Riveter Trust is the nonprofit partner of Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National...