Senate Leader Burton Vows San Pablo Casino Plan Will Not Fly
See articles in today"s San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee: San Pablo casino plan cut back, Burton says -- State Senate leader John Burton said Friday that Democrats had blocked plans by a Bay Area Indian tribe for a mammoth, 5,000-slot casino in the heart of...
Just Cause Coming to Richmond?
Emails Against Just Cause.doc Just Cause.doc just cause rebuttals.doc Advocacy for a "Just Cause" ordinance in Richmond that would expand the rights of residential tenants beyond state law has been moving forward for several months. The leader in this move is Richmond...
The Morning After
THE MORNING AFTER Schwarzenegger signed the compact making Casino San Pablo possibly the world"s largest casino, politicos are speculating on what will happen next and whether other Bay Area casino dreams, including Richmond"s will turn to dust. Meanwhile, the draft...
More on Casino San Pablo
MORE ON CASINO SAN PABLO from the Berkeley Daily Planet Governor"s San Pablo Casino Deal Fulfills Hopes of GOP Operatives By RICHARD BRENNEMAN (08-20-04) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger"s award of exclusive Bay Area casino gaming rights to Casino San Pablo gives a...
Point Molate Draft Agreement Posted
The draft Land Development and Disposition Agreement, including a site plan in full color, between the City of Richmond and Upstream Point Molate LLC is posted on the City website at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/press.htm. Review and comments are encouraged. Please...
Point Molate Casino Project May be Edged Out
As a surprise to everyone close to the project, the governor may have dealt a death blow to an ambitious plan build to a destination resort at Point Molate that could mean some $400 million in sorely needed revenue for the City of Richmond. Schwarzenegger announced...
Legislature has Final Say Over Compacts
Despite speculation that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has cut a deal that would cut Richmond out of lucrative casino action, the California legislature has final authority to sustain or reject a compact. See...
Riding the Rails with Richmond Pacific
Riding_Rails_with_Richmond_Pacific.pdf Over the past year or so, I have continued to look for solutions to the honking of train horns in Richmond in a manner that many citizens believe are unnecessary or excessive. I have also explored ways of mitigating the excessive...
ChevronTexaco Shows Some of its Cards in Point Molate Bid
chevron_versus_upstream.pdf Flanked by environmentalists and parks advocates, ChevronTexaco spokesman Dean O"Hair announced at an August 13 press conference that ChevronTexaco had offered to purchase Point Molate from the City of Richmond for $34 million and "enter...
Breaking News on Point Molate
Flanked by representatives of the East Bay Regional Park District and several environmental and parks advocate organizations, ChevronTexaco spokesman Dean O"Hair announced at a 10:00 AM press conference this morning that Chevron has offered the City of Richmond $34...
The Focus is on Point Molate
The future of Point Molate has hit center stage with some of the largest corporate interests in American jockeying for critical advantages with the help of unlikely allies. Let"s back up to 1997 when the City Council adopted a Reuse Plan endorsed by a broadly based...
Point Richmond Music Festival this Weekend
POINT RICHMOND MUSIC FESTIVAL 2004 Can"t get enough music? The Point Richmond Music Festival 2004 all-day blowout and street fair will not disappoint you. " Saturday, August 14, noon to 7:30 p.m. (all day arts and music); For more information, call (510) 236-1401 or...
Contra Costa Open Space Initiative Fails
The Contra Costa Open Space Assessment District failed by a weighted vote of 46.20% "yes" votes and 53.80% "no" votes. The unweighted vote was 50.12% "yes" and 49.88% "no." The results of the tabulation of assessment ballots for the Authority's proposed Assessment...
Vote on Point Molate Sale Postponed
Although not official, I have it on credible authority that the Richmond City Council vote on sale of Point Molate to Upstream Investments scheduled for August 17 has been postponed at least until sometime in the following week because the complex negotiations and...
In for a Penny, In for a Pound
This afternoon, I filed my papers for re-election to the Richmond City Council. If you don"t read any further, please go to WWW.TOMBUTT.COM and contribute today in some way to our campaign. Other than for monetary contributions, you are welcome to simply respond via...
Fish in Richmond Hazardous to Your Health
From the Contra Costa County Health Services Department: Contact: Michael Kent 925-313-6587 People who fish in a small area in West Contra Costa County have new signs to warn them that some of the fish they catch are especially dangerous to eat. Contra Costa Health...
Abatement, Code Enforcement and Dumping
I spent the afternoon yesterday with Sgt. Dick Tak of the Richmond Police Department and Code Enforcement Officer Theresa Tingle in an effort to find out what is working and what is not working. I have to say that I was impressed by their enthusiasm and level of...
Pocket Bikes
Several people have asked me recently about pocket bikes used on City streets in their neighborhoods. The short answer is that they are illegal to operate on City streets. The following information is from the California Highway Patrol: In response to concerns...
West Nile Virus Confirmed in Walnut Creek
Yesterday a dead bird found in Walnut Creek was confirmed to have West Nile Virus. Attached is a press release from the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District (Courtesy of Jeanette Mahoney, west County representative on Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector...
Update on Train Horns and Long Trains
Like phases of the moon, the intensity of train horns in Richmond seems to wax and wane in response to some mysterious force of nature. Over the last several days, horns of the BNSF operation, particularly in the pre-dawn hours, are definitely on the upswing. We have...