SF Chronicle on Richmond’s Red Oak Victory
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...
2007 National Summit on Building Healthy Places and New Partners for Smart Growth Conference
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...
Help Plan and Run the Point Richmond Summer Music Festival
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...
Richmond to Host World’s Largest Middle Eastern Folk Festival and Fantasy Bazaar
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...
Bay Crossings Touts East Brother
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...
The Russians Are Coming – Home Hosts Needed!
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...
Richmond City Council Sponsored Black History Month Reception
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 of Macdonald on KQED
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...
Recruiting a General Plan Advisory Committee Member
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...
Rail Tankers Pose Threat of Massive Destruction (CC Times Headline)
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...
CNN on Richmond Police Department Harassment Investigation
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...
Childrens Art a Legacy of Richmond’s Shipyard History
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...
Code Enforcement – Where to Find it
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...
Jim Rogers Response to Chevron Fire
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...
Toll Brothers Lavishes Money on Dublin, Stiffs Richmond
Toll Brothers, which is still selling units at Seacliff and plans to build two more large condominium projects on the Richmond waterfront, refused to contribute a dime to building a grade separation in Marina Bay to help solve the long train problem. Their obligation...
City Manager’s Weekly Report for the Week Ending January 26, 2007
Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending January 26th, 2007. 1. Meeting Notes The special meeting of the City Council to discuss the "sludge pond" issue is scheduled for Tuesday, January 30th, at 6:30 PM. The next regular City Council...
Connecting the Spots
One of the reasons that so many people in Richmond are concerned about "accidents" at Chevron is that the baseline air pollution in parts of Richmond is already off the charts. In a report that came out just yesterday, it was determined that children living within...
Lawsuit Promised Over Bicyclist’s Death
Caltrans recently completed posting signage and installing rumble strips to better define the bike lanes that share the I-580 freeway on the east end of the Richmond-San Rafael bridge. In my opinion, using that bike lane is tantamount to Russian Roulette, and Caltrans...
Richmond Photographer Hank Wessel Rockets to Fame
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...
After Six Years, National Park Signs Go Up
More than six years after the Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park was established in Richmond by an act of Congress signed off by former President Bill Clinton, the City of Richmond (better late than never) has erected signs at the I-580 Marina...