Quintero Calls it Quits
Embattled and tormented for months by her boss and an unsympathetic City Council, Assistant City Attorney Adrianna Quintero closed one chapter of her employment saga with the City of Richmond by resigning earlier this week. Until then, she was being paid on a...
Music and History Together
The first public event of Richmond"s Centennial takes place tomorrow. The Oakland East Bay Symphony will make only a single visit to Richmond this year, Saturday, April 23, 2005, at 3:00 PM in the Richmond Convention Center. Admission is free, having been underwritten...
Rare Grass at Point Molate
No, this is not an outing for pot-heads. This is the real thing. Point Molate happens to be a rare coastal prairie remnant with some of the best examples anywhere of native California grasses in the Bay Area. On Sunday, April 24, 11:00 AM, the Marin County Chapter of...
Richmond Centennial Website Debuts
A new website, designed by Sincere Design, chock full of information about Richmond"s history and the various events scheduled to mark the City"s 100th year is now available at http://www.richmondcelebration.com. Enjoy!
Masquers Draws Rave Reviews at 50
The Masquers Theater turned 50 recently, and it is drawing rave reviews from Bay Area media as a fitting birthday present. The San Francisco Chronicle today devoted nearly two whole pages to The Masquers...
Richmond Planning Director Barry Cromatie Leaves for American Canyon
City Manager Bill Lindsay announced today that Planning Director Barry Cromartie has resigned his position with the City of Richmond effective April 22, 2005. Mr. Cromartie has accepted the job to be the Planning and Building Director for the City of American Canyon....
Local Government Commission Presentations Available on the Internet
For the first time ever, the Local Government Commission is making PowerPoint presentations from the Fourteenth Annual Building Livable Sustainable Communities Conference in Yosemite National Park available on the Internet. This year"s conference was attended by...
Red Oak Victory and Shipyard Activities in April
The Red Oak Victory is in an exciting new location at historic shipyard 3, which has never before been open to the public. There are two events this month of note: Sunday, April 10, 9 AM to 1 PM - Pancake breakfast on the SS Red Oak Victory Ship. A hearty breakfast is...
Centennial Celebration Includes Free Symphony Performance
The Oakland East bay Symphony will make only a single visit to Richmond this year, Saturday, April 23, 2005, at 3:00 PM in the Richmond Convention Center. Admission is free, having been underwritten by the Lesher Foundation, the City of Richmond Centennial Committee,...
City Budget Now Available on Internet
I want to thank City Manager Bill Lindsay for making the City"s current budget available on the Internet. I frequently get questions about where our revenue is coming from and where it is going. This provides a resource where the curious can delve into the budget at...
East Brother Makes 7 Wonders of the East Bay List
The April 2 edition of the Contra Costa Times listed the "7 Wonders of the East Bay," with East Brother Light Station being the only Richmond wonder to make the list. The Times, however, is soliciting additional nominations, so if you know of potential Richmond...
Three Richmond Locations Chosen for Best of the East Bay
The East Bay Express publishes annually a list of the "Best of the East Bay," an eclectic assortment of people and places selected in a process that is not entirely clear. This year, Richmond rang in three winners, shown below. Last year, I was selected as "Best Local...
Healthy Cities and Smart Growth: Planning for Healthier Communities
This year"s "Healthy Cities and Smart Growth: Planning for Healthier Communities," conference put on by California Healthy Cities and Communities will be held April 21-22 in Berkeley. It looks like a really good program that should be useful for Richmond staff,...
Railroad Grade Crossing Super-Conference
Coming up on may 1-4, 2005, in Costa Mesa, CA, is "The Crossing Zone " A Decade of Progress, the Western Regional Safety Grade Crossing Training Conference," a sort of super-conference featuring every aspect of railroad grade crossings, of which we are much too...
Planning Crisis at Marina Bay
The current plan to swallow up the Ford Peninsula in a sea of imported Toyotas is the latest planning crisis to hit the Marina Bay and Ford Peninsula area. As if frequently blocked railroad grade crossings and betrayal of the dream of a Marina Bay a village center...
ChevronTexaco to Acquire Unocal
ChevronTexaco Corporation (NYSE: CVX) and Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL) announced today that ChevronTexaco would acquire Unocal in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $18 billion, including net debt. The acquisition, which is subject to approvals by...
20 Questions to ask about City Planning and Development
For those of you who frequently correspond with me regarding planning and development projects in Richmond, here are some questions for City staff suggested by the Local Government Commission (LGC) www.lgc.org. The LGC states: "The most effective elected officials...
Richmond Bay Trail First Quarter 2005 Report
With twenty miles of Bay Trail now in place, Richmond stands out as having more Bay Trail than any other City on this planned 500-mile hiking and biking route encircling San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. TRAC, the Trails for Richmond Action Committee, is engaged with...
Attorney General Opines on Alleged Conflict of Interest
In addition to serving on the Richmond City Council, I serve as a member of the Rosie the Riveter Trust board of directors. The Rosie the Riveter Trust is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that serves as the non-profit partner to the Rosie the Riveter World War II/Home...
West County Cities, County, to Merge
In an unprecedented early morning secret meeting today, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors, the San Pablo City Council and the Richmond City Council hammered out an agreement to combine the Cities of San Pablo, Richmond and the unincorporated area of North Richmond...