It was an exciting day two at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Washington, DC. We started with a panel discussion facilitated by Elizabeth Shogren, National Public Radio Reporter, featuring Steve Winkelman, Transportation Program Director, Center for...

I am in Washington, DC, at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference and I thought you would be interested in this after action report from Park Guthrie on the Richmond Greenway Day of National Service: From: Park Guthrie [mailto:park@urbantilth.org] Sent: Wed...

As chair of the Local Government Commission, I opened the 7th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference tonight in Washington, DC, welcoming over 1,450 attendees from all over the U.S. and several foreign countries, among whom was a strong local contingent...

The following is from yesterday"s Berkeley Daily Planet. I have a correction to the E-FORUM Of Design Review, Code Enforcement and the City Attorney's Priorities, February 2, 2008. There were not three city attorneys at the Design Review Board hearing, only two. There...

If you recall the E-FORUM Far Worse Than Homicides? October 20, 2007, you know what a serious problem childhood obesity is in Richmond, and now the WCCUSD has a substantial grant to fund a program aimed at getting students in shape. The following is from the West...

OUR NEIGHBORS: CHRIS TREADWAY Tour conjures up the native scenery Contra Costa Times Article Launched: 02/05/2008 03:09:22 AM PST THE FOURTH ANNUAL Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour isn't until May 4, but now is the best time to register because the tours fill up...

The only Richmond item on the ballot, Measure B (See Vote Yes on Richmond Measure B, February 2, 2008) passed with 13,865 Yes (73.93%) and 4,888 No (26.07%)

Shall an ordinance be adopted to reduce the rate of the City of Richmond's Telecommunications Users' Tax from 10% to 9.5%, and to revise the method for calculating and collecting the Telecommunications and Video Users' Tax to reflect technological advances and changes...

Despite pleas from the public in a packed City Council Chamber for the Design Review Board to insist on retaining experts to provide further analysis, the four-person Richmond Design Review Board approved the $1 billion project at the first public hearing on January...

Despite letters to the editor and postcards mailed to Richmond residents promising that the Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Renewal Project will result in increased tax revenue to fund public services in Richmond, Chevron resumed its appeal of property taxes on the...

Chevron posts record $18.7 billion profit David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, February 2, 2008 Soaring oil prices lifted Chevron Corp.'s annual profit to $18.7 billion in 2007, the fourth consecutive year that the San Ramon company made record amounts of...

I stopped by the Design Review Board meeting last Thursday for a few minutes between other events just to get a sense of how the meeting was going. Probably the scene that most impressed me was of three -- count "em -- three city attorneys in the staff box. I have...

The Chevron Energy & Hydrogen Renewal Project includes over 100 separate items of demolition, alteration, additions and new structures and equipment spread out over a mile in the existing 2,900 acre refinery property. This is a major project by any stretch of the...

Today's San Francisco Chronicle features Richmond's Shoreline Parks, the Bay Trail, and our national park in the "Urban Outings" section of the 96 Hours pull-out magazine section. The hard copy includes photos that don't show up in the online version. It is accessible...

Even Steve Duran, who is quoted liberally in the story below, is getting the connection between historic preservation and economic development in Richmond. In 1984, my firm prepared the successful National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Ford Plant as a...

Bay Area Air Quality Management District Community Meeting on the Chevron Energy & Hydrogen Renewal Project Permit Application, 6:00 PM, Wednesday, February 13, 2008, at the RRC Social Hall, 3230 Macdonald Avenue, Richmond, CA. For more information, see Chevron's...

A reception Thursday will offer the community a chance to meet Naomi Torres, the new National Parks Service chief of interpretation for the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park. The gathering will be Thursday, January 31, from 6 to 8 p.m....

The word "tree" is not mentioned even once in the 1,355 pages (excluding appendices) of the Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Renewal Project DEIR and FER in the context of a potential mitigation for greenhouse gases or any other impact, including visual impacts. The...

The FEIR for the Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Renewal Project did not evaluate the potential use of solar generated electricity to displace what is presumed to be a 60 megawatt demand. Here is what the FEIR said: Although the Chevron Refinery site is approximately...

With a scant five days before the Design Review Board hearing on the Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Renewal Project on January 31, the City of Richmond has released for the first time voluminous new documentation on the project. FINAL EIR The main document the public...