From September 2002 to May 2003, when Richmond City Jailer Shelley Miyuki Tolliver was allegedly sexually harassed by former Police Department executive Armand Mulder and complained to her superiors, she was apparently shocked that her harasser was allowed to continue...

We went to lunch today at the Baltic Restaurant in Point Richmond. The place didn"t look overcrowded, but we were told the only seating was at the bar. Soon, we knew why. A tour bus operated by Golden West Travel discharged nearly 50 seniors from the Peninsula for...

Not only is the Richmond City Council too large by two to four members and largely dysfunctional, it makes a mockery of parliamentary procedure and common courtesy. Mayor Anderson is the worst. Every meeting, she piously says "I do," after the Clerk reads the...

Regarding CITY TRIES TO SPEND AND SPIN ITSELF OUT OF FINANCIAL CRISIS, February 15, 2004, Councilmember Jim Rogers joined me on February 10, in voting against hiring Davis & Associates, Public Relations, LLC, in open session, and in closed session voted against...

Getting the message out the way they want it and circling the wagons to defend themselves from any adverse consequences of recent statements about the City" financial position led to City officials advising the City Council of an urgent need to retain a quartet of...

I regret to report that City management has severely crippled the recently vaunted Code Enforcement and Abatement program by releasing ten Code Enforcement Aides that actually do the cleanup of vacant lots and unkempt properties when the owners balk. The downsizing...

It was like old Richmond home week with friends and neighbors at The Playhouse on Friday, February 6, at the west coast premier of "The Glory of Living," a play by Rebecca Gilman, starring Richmond native Lauren English. The Playhouse is a newly opened San Francisco...

On February 4, 2004, the Richmond City Attorney"s office won a Contra Costa Superior Court judgment in favor of the City for $601,000 plus $25,000 in attorney"s fees against a Florida Avenue property owner for illegal storing of "vehicles, cars, motorcycles, trucks,...

For those who may not regularly read the San Francisco Chronicle, I bring you today"s column from Chip Johnson. Chip apparently shares my view that the City Council has abdicated its responsibility to a staff that can"t handle it. Richmond's budget says: 2+2+2=9!??...

The Richmond City Council and a number of department heads spent over 10 hours together January 30 and 31 focusing on the budget situation. The facilitated "retreat" at the Marina Bay Harbormaster Building was a noticed City Council meeting open to the public, but...

Before the E-FORUM "Firefighters Back to Work" piece on January 28, most of my mail, faxes and email were running almost totally in support of the firefighters. I have received dozens of form letters, for example, over the last few weeks signed by Richmond residents...

For any who are not subscribers or regular readers of the West County Times, I include a copy of today's article on control of the City Council Agenda. This dispute over control of the agenda is, in my opinion, an issue that strikes at the heart of our democracy. I,...

Absent a move by the "Agenda Junta" to block it from the Agenda (See TOM BUTT E-FORUM January 6, 2004, "Administrative Junta Seizes reigns of Power in Richmond"), I intend to bring a motion before the City Council on February 3 to bring the 18 laid-off firefighters...

A motion I made last night to allow the voters to decide if they would rather have a smaller city council died for lack of a second. My objective was to make the City Council more efficient, to reduce staff time and save money " all important goals it would seem in...

Reports are pouring in of the ChevronTexaco polling of residents throughout Richmond and West Contra Costa County. One reason that ChevronTexaco is sampling the electorate at this particular time is that they are planning a major expansion of the Richmond Refinery...

The 2004 election season revs up on Saturday, January 29, as the Richmond Progressive Alliance, "a coalition of progressive Democrats, Greens and Independents," convenes a "Public Forum" at the Madeline F. Whittlesey room of the Richmond Public Library on Saturday,...

We returned from the 3rd Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference last night just in time to take in the first performance of this season"s Oakland East Bay Symphony performance in Richmond. First, the symphony. This remarkable series conducted by Michael...

ChevronTexaco has recently invested in a major effort to strategize how best to further exploit the Richmond community. Pollsters of "Western Research" have been hired by ChevronTexaco to conduct exhaustive phone interviews with Richmond residents to ascertain their...

The newest exhibit at the Richmond Art Center pays tribute to local Rosies -- heroines who held down the homestead during World War II. Photos featuring six outstanding East Bay residents who worked the shipyards during the war will be on display, including Ruth...

Lynne Cheney, author, scholar and wife of the Vice-President, made a special trip to Richmond today to visit the fledgling Rosie the Riveter World War II/Home Front National Historical Park and present a check for $10,000 to the Rosie the Riveter Trust to help with...