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...

Chevron appeals to state court to continue its retrofit project By Katherine Tam West County Times Posted: 07/20/2009 11:04:08 AM PDT Updated: 07/20/2009 11:13:07 AM PDT Related Jul 19: Editorial: Chevron refinery project should proceed with better EIR Jul 15:...

The editorial that appeared in today"s Contra Costa Times could not have said it better. I urge both plaintiffs and defendants in the Chevron EIR challenge to continue meeting non-stop until this gets resolved. You can communicate your encouragement to the principals...

Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending July 17th, 2009. 1. Meeting Notes The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21st, beginning with a Closed Session at 5:00 PM, in advance of the regular City Council meeting at...

Chevron owes more to Richmond Antonia Juhasz Friday, July 17, 2009 This week, Fortune magazine released its list of the 500 largest corporations in the world. With a nearly 25 percent increase in its revenues from 2007, Chevron Corp. moved from the sixth to the fifth...

Yesterday, Environment California presented Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and the City of Richmond with a "2009 Solar Champion" award for ranking among the top 15 cities in the state for installed solar capacity. According to Environment California, Richmond has over144...