Richmond San Rafael Bridge Bay Trail
Item 0.2 on the October 25 City Council Consent Calendar is Environmental Justice Issues Pertaining to Richmond San Rafael Bridge Traffic Congestion. This is a continuation of ongoing efforts by shadow organizations to eliminate the Bay Trail on the upper deck of the...
Richmond Ranks 10th in State for Financial Risk
The California State Auditor continued to list Richmond in the top 10 at-risk cities in the state in 2022, primarily because of its high pension obligations, which are rated as the highest in the state. See https://www.auditor.ca.gov/local_high_risk/dashboard-csa. A...
Mayor’s Housing First Initiative Winding Down
Because funding has been exhausted, the Mayor’s Housing First Initiative in partnership with the Richmond Rotary Club is winding down. See Housing First Successes – Need More Funding. The original source of funds was the Mayor’s Community Fund which raised funds from...
The Balance of Power in Richmond – Breaking it Down
The November election continues to puzzle many Richmond voters who do not have any City Council members on their ballot. That’s because we adopted a district system. If there is not a seat up for election in your district, there will be no candidates on your ballot...
Vote No on Richmond Measure P
When Rent Control and Just Cause was placed on the ballot by the RPA in 2016, it was titled Richmond Fair Rent, Just Cause For Eviction and Homeowner Protection Ordinance. The “Homeowner Protection” part was a sop to small landlords renting out single family homes to...
15 Best Things to Do in Richmond, CA
From https://www.travellens.co/best-things-to-do-in-richmond-ca/: 15 Best Things to Do in Richmond, CA Travel Lens Oct 3, 2022 • 10 min read BondRocketImages / shutterstock.com Richmond is a port city located in California's Bay Area region. Like its neighbor, San...
HelloFresh Closes Richmond Facility – 611 Workers Laid Off
On October 14, 2022, one of Richmond’s largest employers, HelloFresh, announced it was closing its Richmond facility and laying off over 600 employees. There have been a number of issues with the Richmond location, which is adjacent to and immediately across the...
Final Dispatch from Japan – Part 5 Kyoto
We spent all day Friday in Kyoto, taking a few local trains but mostly walking some 7 miles. We started with the Arashiyama Sagano Bamboo Path, which is a park with a bamboo forest where the bamboo is as much as 4-6 inches in diameter, tightly spaced. The path...
Dispatch from Japan – Part 4, Nara and Kyoto
On Thursday morning, we were driven from Hakone to Odawara Station where we caught the bullet train to Kyoto. I first rode this same train in 1970 (Letters Home, pages 126-131). It’s amazing that the Japanese have had this for some 60 years, and we are still arguing...
Dispatch from Japan – Part 3, Tokyo and Fuji
In a word, Tokyo is – overwhelming. Trina, Demnlus, Shirley and I spent the day with our guide on subways and over 5 miles of walking. Tokyo is spotless. The trains are clean and always have a place to sit. I did not see a single homeless person. Everyone is either...
Dispatch from Japan, Part 2, Back to Tokyo
Sunday was the big festival day, and Shimada seemed like Mardi Gras. There was not a parade in the traditional sense but instead a variety of performances along the main parade route and side streets. There were two types that we saw. One consisted of “floats” used as...
East Bay Times Richmond Endorsements
I’m not sure anyone reads the East Bay Times anymore because there is rarely any Richmond news in it, if any news at all. Dan Borenstein does the endorsements, and he did a pretty good job except for District 2. He recommended Cesar Zepeda over Andrew Butt for the...
Richmond Races -Voting Starts in One Week
I will leaving tomorrow to lead a delegation from Richmond to our sister city, Shimada, Japan, to participate in the Shimada Obi Festival, so this will probably be my last political post until the middle of October. I have already provided my voting recommendations...
Santa Fe and Point Richmond Neighborhood Councils Forum
The following was provided courtesy of Don Gosney: On Monday the 3rd of October the Santa Fe and Point Richmond Neighborhood Councils hosted two candidate forums. One was for the District 2 seat on the City Council and the second was for the Mayoral race. Here are the...
City Manager’s Weekly Report for the Week Ending 09/30/2022
You can view the current City Manager's Weekly Report here: City Manager's Weekly Report 09/30/2022
PRNC Candidates’ Forum and Debate
A last minute reminder that this evening between 6 and 9 there will be a face to face gathering of candidates at the Washington School Auditorium (entrance on East Richmond Avenue). The evening will be divided between the two District Two candidates for City Council...
Takeaways from MCE Retreat
Yesterday was the annual MCE Clean Energy Board Retreat where staff and board members reviewed progress, achievements and challenges. Richmond was the first MCE expansion city outside Marin County, and I have represented Richmond on the MCE board for a decade. I...
Richmond’s Next Mayor
In less than six weeks, Richmond voters will choose Richmond’s next, and seventh, elected mayor. They have four choices: (1) Councilmember and current Vice-mayor Eduardo Martinez, (2) Councilmember Nat Bates, (3) Shawn Dunning and (4) Mark Wassberg. Wassberg will not...
LWV/KCRT Candidate Forums
Courtesy of Don Gosney, here is the link to the forums for Richmond Mayoral and City Council candidates hosted by the League of Women Voters and KCRT: MAYORAL FORUM https://youtu.be/9P-f6nAVe_A The video for the Council forum will be forthcoming. As of 8:11 AM,...
Dispatch from Japan -Part 1, Shimada
The purpose of a Sister City relationship is to exchange information, arts, culture, resources and assistance between the two cities. The City of Richmond has established three Sister City relationships: Shimada, Japan in 1961; Zhoushan, China in 1993; and Regla, Cuba...