We are back in Saigon with a 3:30 AM wakeup for a 6:00 AM flight. A little more about last night's "backpacker hotel." It was about $20 for the night with a room the size of a large walk-in closet. When we went to turn in, we discovered there was only one sheet on the...

In Chiang Mai last night, the manager of the Night Bazaar, who works for Sunthorn, had met us at the airport and made a date to show us around Chiang Mai. Apparently he turned up sick - I hope its not the dreaded swine flue - and instead sent three friends to...

Like Dalat, Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is another place I didn't get to before that everybody said was not to be missed. It turned out that Sunthorn's company owns the hotel we are staying in, so at dinner the night before last, he phoned ahead and told them to...

Last time I did this, I was caught in the coup when Sihanouk was overthrown in favor of Lon Nol in March 1970. The airport at Phnom Penh was closed, and I had no choice but to travel overland to Thailand. Back then, it was not much more than a pig trail, but I...

Today is August 10, and we got up at 4:30 AM to go out and watch the sunrise (with about a thousand other people) at Angkor Wat. Because it was overcast, we didn"t get the full glory, but I"m glad we did it. Yesterday, we explored Angkor Wat and Angkhor Thom in detail...

Into the Heart of Darkness Actually, the boat trip up the Mekong was uneventful. I kept looking for remnants of that bridge from Apocalypse Now, but there wasn"t much to see from the middle of a mile-wide river, red with the mud of the half dozen countries it passes...

Goodbye Vietnam Day 8 I guess I am lucky to have Internet access at every hotel, but dealing with emails is not easy. That"s why I started attaching these MSWORD files. We are in the Mekong Delta border town of Chau Doc, and we leave early tomorrow morning by boat,...

Now in Can Tho Today is Wednesday, August 5, and we are in Can Tho in a hotel next to the Mekong River. This computer doesn"t have a USB port, so I still can"t send any photos. Backing up to August 2, we flew out of Tan Son Nhat in Saigon to Dalat, a quick 50-minute...

It is now August 4, and this is the first time that I have had time to write anything down. The last few days have been a whirlwind, trying to cram everything into a trip that is clearly too short. We are now in Dalat but return to Saigon via air late this afternoon....

Shirley and I are taking advantage of the City Council August hiatus to make a trip I have wanted to do for many years, revisiting southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand) for the first time in 40 years. I intend to try and provide a running account of this...

We were very pleased to learn that we received funding for 8 police officer positions through the Byrne COPS grant as part of the Federal Stimulus Package. This award was announced this morning (a portion of the letter is included below). We asked for 20 positions,...

Ukiah tribe pushes $1.5 billion Richmond casino resort By CLARK MASON THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Published: Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 5:18 p.m. Plans are inching forward for a massive hotel and casino resort on the shores of San Pablo Bay, one of two proposed in Richmond by...

Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending July 24th, 2009. 1. Meeting Notes The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28th, beginning with a Closed Session at 5:00 PM, in advance of the regular City Council meeting....

Macdonald Avenue and Music on the Main On Wednesday, July 22, I attended the ribbon cutting for the Macdonald Avenue improvement project, which preceded the season opening for Music on the Main featuring the Junius Courtney Big Band and the East Bay Center for the...

Out in central county where Chevron executives live in laid back luxury (no Chevron executive would think of living in Richmond), "A prince and princess parade, stories from Mother Goose, stage demonstrations and creating puppet shows are all planned for various parts...

I was advised yesterday afternoon by a prominent labor leader that, "There is a good possibility that Lt. Governor John Garamendi, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Senator Mark DeSaulnier, and Assemblymember Nancy Skinner will attend the Council Meeting tonight and...

Despite the fact that the dispute involving the Chevron Hydrogen and Energy Renewal Project is neither under consideration by a legislative body nor up for a popular vote, advocates for the project continue to posture as if there were a political solution. There is...

Come join RPAL, Richmond Little League Baseball & Contra Costa College in our First Annual Sunday, July 26th to Thursday, July 29th 5 day & 4 night event Hosted by Contra Costa College & Courtyard Marriott Limited to 60 kids!! Signups will close by July...

My colleague, City Councilman Jeff Ritterman asked me to circulate the following: Open letter from Councilmember Jeff Ritterman concerning the Chevron Refinery Expansion "them belly full but we hungry a hungry mob is an angry mob" Bob Marley from "Dem belly full" "A...

According to today"s Contra Costa Times, California Lt. Governor John Garamendi is one of 14 persons running for the congressional seat formerly held by Ellen Tauscher. Richmond residents should remember that Garamendi is one of three members of the California State...