Response to Budget Crisis Runs the Gamut
Email on the budget crisis, particularly the Fire Department cutbacks, is running high, perhaps approaching that on street sweeping and fences. There is, however, no clear trend. Some want the laid off firefighters restored immediately at any cost and they threaten to...
City Staff Hunkers While Council Twists in the Wind
A typical letter pops up in my email this morning; "I understand that these are lean times. And while I cannot claim to understand your budget constraints, I do not understand how we balance the budget by drastically reducing our firefighter staff. Please reconsider...
Oakland East Bay Symphony Richmond Concerts for 2004
The 2004 Richmond concert series of the popular Oakland East Bay Symphony, Michael Morgan conducting, has been released. All performances are at the Richmond Memorial Convention Center and are free. For additional information, call 510/620-6793. Saturday, January 24,...
Bay Trail New Year Report
Richmond continues to lead the entire Bay Area in miles of Bay Trail completed. The upbeat, colorful Richmond Bay Trail New Year Report now is available at: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/trac/ The New Year Report describes the 1-1/2 miles of new trails that were built...
Administrative Junta Seizes Reins of Power in Richmond
The movement toward an executive form of government and away from the council-manager form of government continues to gain ground in Richmond. The Charter intended the City Council to be the policy-making body in Richmond municipal government, and the way city...
Richmond Gambles on Murky Port Lease
Perhaps the City"s recent flirtations with Indian casinos have whetted the municipal appetite for high stakes gambling. On December 16, 2003, the last City Council meeting of the year, the City Council approved, on a 7-2 vote (Butt and Bell dissenting), a lease for...
Participate in Designing the New El Sobrante-San Pablo Avenue Business Corridor
prequel.pdf Help the consultant team craft a Revitalization Plan for the San Pablo Dam Road and Appian Way Corridor between El Portal Drive and Valley View Road. The Plan will direct future growth, improve traffic, and revitalize local businesses. Your input is...
Time to Take the Pulse
Recent events have made it more important than ever for Richmond to implement an annual "citizen satisfaction survey," Many cities conduct such surveys to determine what city services require improvement and what citizens" priorities are for the allocation of...
Richmond Featured on Bay Area Backroads
Coming up on "Bay Area Backroads," KRON Channel 4, Saturday, January 3rd at 5:30 p.m. " We uncover the jewels of Richmond, its role during World War II, its amazing art community, and its open space. " We"ll find art flourishing everywhere in Richmond. We"ll discover...
Out With The Old ” In With The New
A down economy, gargantuan state budget cuts, massive City staff layoffs, and a city with possibly the highest per capita homicide rate in California are not the kind of things that make Richmond City Council service fun and rewarding. Bragging rights for anything are...
Smart Growth Leadership to Assist in Richmond Revitalization
Richmond was selected from among 100 applicants as one of nine communities stretching from Florida to Alaska selected to participate in the 2004 Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program " a cooperative program provided by Smart Growth America"s Smart Growth...
Richmond Finally Declared Safe
Communities downwind from the refinery, such as the Iron Triangle, North Richmond, Parchester and San Pablo can finally breathe freely. It must have been great relief for those folks to read an interview published in the December 21, 2003, San Francisco Chronicle, in...
Poor Chevron
The following letter was published in the West County Times on December 19, 2003: Incorrect allegations In a Dec. 4 Times story, Richmond Councilman Tom Butt cited ChevronTexaco as a factor in the city's inability to bridge its budget gap. Butt reportedly said:...
Port of Richmond a Cash Cow?
At its December 16, 2003, meeting, the Richmond City Council will be asked to vote on three major public policy documents that could seal the fate of publicly-owned Port of Richmond properties for the next decade. With the 16th being the last meeting of 2003, the...
Point Molate Developer Chosen by City Staff
After months of seeming inaction on the future development of Point Molate, Richmond Redevelopment Agency staff surprised City Council members with a request for a joint meeting of the Local Reuse Authority/Richmond City Council ON DECEMBER 16, 2003, to approve a six...
Richmond Library Fumbles Annual Grant
Because of a late application, Richmond will lose approximately $44,000 next year in automatic Public Library Funds routinely available form the California State Library. The filing deadline was December 1, 2003. All California public libraries are eligible to apply,...
Favorite Cities of Richmond’s Top Management
If a poll were to be taken of the city of choice for Richmond"s top management, it would be anywhere but Richmond " that is if they vote with their feet. Of Richmond"s 41 top management staff members, including all department heads and other management deemed to be...
More on Lost Library Grant
According to a reliable source, the paperwork to qualify for the lost $44,000 Library Grant was prepared on time by the Library but held up in the City of Richmond Finance Department, even after the Office of the State Librarian called the City of Richmond on December...
“A Tale of Two Cities”
As the specter of City of Richmond employee layoffs and resulting service cuts continues to fester, I want to thank the members of IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) Local 188 for bringing to my attention the "TALE OF TWO CITIES." According to Local...
Fresh Lawyer
On December 5, 2003, our younger son, Daniel Ryland Butt, was sworn in as a brand new lawyer in a ceremony at the University of California, Davis, School of Law. Amidst remarks both solemn and humorous, the State of California oath was administered in the King Hall...