Convention Center – Profit Center or Indulgence?
Despite tremendous progress in curing Richmond"s fiscal and management woes, there are isolated challenges that defy resolution. One of these is the Richmond Municipal Auditorium, also known as the Richmond Memorial Convention Center. About a year ago, one of our...
Hollywood Fame Brushes East Scenic Avenue
The Elwell family of Richmond shared in an Emmy last fall with father Mike honored for ABC News embedded coverage of the Iraq invasion (See E-FORUM September 24, 2004, Richmond Cameraman in Emmy-Winning Feature. Now, daughter-in-law Catalina Sandino Moreno, wife of...
Passing the Torch at Rosie
As sad as we were to see Superintendent Judy Hart retire not quite five years after breathing life into Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park, we couldn"t ask for a better interim superintendent than Howard Levitt. He comes across the Bay as...
Free Energy Savings Devices
Energy utilities regulated by the CPUC have low-income energy efficiency programs in which consumers, who qualify under the low-income discount program referred to as the CARE program, and seniors and disabled consumers, who earn slightly more than the CARE income...
Johnson Upbeat on Richmond
When Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson, who specializes in skewering local government, turns upbeat instead of beating up on Richmond City government, this is news. Enjoy today"s column from Chip: Richmond finally rights its own ship - Chip Johnson Monday, February 14,...
Supplemental Garbage/Trash Pick Ups
Many people have requested detailed information on supplemental pickups, which is attached as PDF files in English and Spanish. Many people also want a different arrangement such as some cities have where you can put anything on the street and it will be picked up....
Beyond Oil and Violence
I often marvel at what marvelous diversification of business and talent exists in Richmond. The external perception of Richmond still consists of an oil refinery surrounded by a high-crime residential area. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Surfing...
The Next Mayor?
With only 20 months left until the 2006 election, it appears jockeying for the Richmond mayor"s race has begun. Contra Costa Times Political Editor Lisa Vorderbrueggen has been calling around trying to get a handle on the political landscape and has come up with at...
Community Advocates Establish Project Review Website
In perhaps a first for Richmond, community advocates have established a website to air their critique of a proposed development project. Go to http://www.cccpointrichmond.com to see the Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Point Richmond website that has a critical...
State of City for High Rollers
The City of Richmond Charter states "The Mayor shall make an annual report to the City Council as to the conditions and affairs of the City." This year"s State of the City speech by Mayor Irma Anderson will take place, according to a flyer I received, at the Hotel...
Another Kind of Danger
It has become common knowledge that Richmond was designated the most dangerous city in California in 2003 due to crime, but it may be less well known that Richmond is the most dangerous city of its size for pedestrians in California. Now someone is doing something...
Design Review Board Confuses Top Richmond Officials
There has been an ongoing discussion, most recently at last night"s City Council meeting, about the scope of authority of the Design Review Board (DRB). There are individuals at the highest levels of City government who have argued that the Design Review Board...
ChevronTexaco’s Long Arm Censors Jesse Ventura
When the Contra Costa Council invited Jesse Ventura to entertain 450 Contra Costa high rollers last week, they specifically asked him to avoid mentioning Indian gaming in order to avoid offending the king of high rollers, ChevronTexaco, which is a little sensitive...
Richmond Featured in Bay Crossings
The February issue of Bay Crossings features a lengthy article on Richmond"s waterfront, including the future prospects for ferries, casinos, bay front residential projects and the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. To see the article,...
Expert Says Planning Retreat Violated Brown Act
An article in today"s West County Times quoted First Amendment expert Jim Ewert as asserting the January 29 Planning Retreat violated the Brown Act. The West County Times article follows, as well as comments from a number of E-FORUM readers about their impressions of...
Who Makes What at the City of Richmond?
Attached as a PDF file is a list of the executive managers of the City of Richmond and their annual compensation. You can add about 40% to these amounts to cover cost of benefits. My understanding is that executive managers are generally those persons who serve at the...
Quiet Zones and Long Trains
Quiet Zones Update.pdf QUIET ZONES On April 13, 2004, the Richmond City Council unanimously passed Resolution 62-04 directing the city manager and city attorney to initiate an application for a Quiet Zone throughout the City of Richmond. On January 25, 2005, Assistant...
Code Enforcement and Dumping Update
The new contact for abatement of nuisances (code enforcement) is Acting Police Captain Eugene McBride who can be reached at 510/620-6782 or emailed Eugene_mcbride@ci.richmond.ca.us. The more information you can provide, the better, such as location, description,...
Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council President Cites Problems at Planning Retreat
The attached PDF file is a letter from Neighborhood Coordinating Council President Eleanor Loynd to the Mayor and City Council members listing problems with the way the January 29 Planning Retreat was conducted. Loynd noted lack of appropriate public notice and...
East Richmond Launches Website
East Richmond Neighborhood Council joins several other Richmond Neighborhood Councils with a web site and on-line newsletter, which can be found at http://www.eastrichmond.org. The web site includes: * An events & announcements calendar * Contact information for...