A new study entitled "Still Toxic After All These Years, Air Quality and Environmental Justice in the San Francisco Bay Area," by the Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community, University of California, Santa Cruz, confirms what we always knew " that poor and...

Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending February 16th, 2007. 1. Meeting Notes The next regular City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, February 20th beginning with a Closed Session at 8:30 AM, and continuing with a Study Session on the...

Although I get little respect around Richmond City Hall for my ideas on the Richmond Civic Center project, it"s always better to be the out of town expert. My architecture firm, Interactive Resources, was chosen by the Novato City Council as the architect for Novato"s...

The work you do matters to the North Richmond Shoreline. We invite you to attend: North Richmond Shoreline Coalition Workshop February 22nd, 2007, 3-6pm North Richmond Senior Center 1708 5th St, Richmond, CA The North Richmond Shoreline encompasses the waters,...

I continue to have uneasy feelings about the design and management of Richmond"s $105 million Civic Center rehabilitation project (see City Council Launches Civic Center Project on a Wing and a Prayer, December 23, 2006). It has taken me a while to collect the...

RICHMOND Bringing a rust bucket back to seaworthiness WWII cargo ship is being lovingly restored, right down to its steam engine Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, February 12, 2007 Charles Stephens points a noisy power tool called a needle gun at a...

AB 1234 now requires local public officials to make a written or oral report of conferences attended at public expense. Although I only have to make this report at a City Council meeting, this recent event was so good that I wanted to share it with everyone. From...

POINT RICHMOND MUSIC RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS Point Richmond Music (PRM) is recruiting new members to help produce its 2007 concert series. PRM is in its 6th year, providing a free summer concert series in downtown Point Richmond. We have grown from a handful of...

Rakkasah West is the largest Middle Eastern Folk Festival and Fantasy Bazaar in the world. The Festival takes place once a year at the Richmond Auditorium in Richmond, California. The festivities are kicked off with a week-long workshop featuring internationally known...

Richmond"s East Brother " an Island Like No Other For photos, click on Richmond"s East Brother " an Island Like No Other 1-Feb-2007 East Brother Island, an island only three-quarters of an acre in size, sits just off the eastern shore of Richmond in the San Pablo...

Local Rotary Clubs have collaborated to host a group of Russian architects under the Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI), a nonprofit organization with more than a twenty-year history of linking American and former Soviet citizens for cooperation on issues of mutual...

A Look at the Past... a Look to the Future: The African-American Experience in Richmond. In recognition of Black History Month The Richmond City Council is sponsoring a reception on Tuesday Feb 6th 2007 from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM in The City Council Chambers located at...

MEMORIES ON THE AIR: Memories of Macdonald, the six-month project dedicated to gathering, preserving and celebrating the community's memories, hopes and concerns about Richmond's historic downtown, will be the focus of a report that will air at 4:30 p.m. today on...

Unfortunately, the recent Chevron fire so spooked one of my General Plan Advisory Committee appointees that he fled Richmond forever. He lived within feet of the Chevron fence line and decided life was too short to embrace death and danger on a daily basis, there...

In October of 2006, Gayle McLaughlin and I met with public safety and railroad representatives to discus hazards associated with rail cars parked throughout Richmond containing hazardous substances. The meeting was summarized in the city manager"s weekly report, as...

There was a segment on CNN"s "Paula Zahn Now" show yesterday that continued some previous discussions of racism in America. Part of it dealt with the Richmond Police Department harassment claim. A very short portion of an interview with me was included. The full...

The Childrens art collection maintained by the Richmond Museum of History that I first saw earlier this year at a Maritime Center open house (see Wartime Children's Art Captivates Visitors at Maritime Center Open House, October 15, 2006), is now being called the...

I get a lot of email and some phone calls about various public nuisances, such as graffiti, abandoned cars or a homeowner doing construction without a permit. While I am happy to pass these on to the appropriate City agency, I urge people to cut out the middle man and...

I received the following from Councilmember Jim Rogers, who asked that I distribute it to E-FORUM readers. Re: Rogers Wants New Safety Program at Chevron Tom Butt's 1/24/07 E-Forum detailed his plan to fine Chevron $6000/minute for each minute that the siren warning...

Our kids grew up together on Scenic Avenue in modest 100-year old-cottages originally built for Standard Oil workers. We knew Hank Wessel was an artist with photography as his medium. He taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, and he was good " but never...