Since Macdonald Avenue"s heyday during World War II, when workers from Richmond"s Kaiser shipyards filled the streets and sidewalks, the street has reflected the common patterns of American downtowns. Many businesses have struggled to maintain economic viability in a...

Superior Court Judge Richard S. Flier is looking for a few good men and women to serve on the Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury. Applicants from West County are particularly invited. Now is your chance to look inside government in an official capacity. The Civil...

CHRISTMAS IN APRIL: Join Tom Butt and other Richmond Rotary Club members doing "paint up - fix up" work on a home at 760 39th Street. Work starts at 8:00 AM on Saturday, April 26 and continues through the morning. Bring work clothes and gloves. Tools and materials...

I report with great sadness and anger today a murder in our fair city. For a City more familiar with homicides (Latin for "murder" -- of a person), today marks a aedificiumicide, probably really bad Latin for murder of a building. The Boiler Assembly Shop of the...

Phil Maynard of TRAC's (Trails for Richmond Action Committee) Steering Committee will be conducting a special bike tour of Richmond's Bay Trail to the West County Earth Day Festival on April 26. As described below, you may join Phil and the entourage either at Central...

Two events of note next weekend: First, OAKLAND EAST BAY SYMPHONY FINAL 2003 WEST COUNTY CONCERT. The City of Richmond will present the Oakland East Bay Symphony in its final concert of the 2003 West County Series on Saturday, April 26, 2003, 7:00p.m., Richmond...

In an April 8, 2003, story in the West County Times, reporter Rebecca Rosen Lum referred to me as "renegade Councilman Tom Butt." I've been called a lot of things, but I have to say I kind of like the title "renegade" best. It has a nice ring to it. For a year, I was...

The March-April issue of "National Parks" (http://www.npca.org/magazine/) features a story, "Remembering Rosies" on Richmond's own Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. the piece is attached as a PDF file. In related news, the...

WHO: West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education WHAT: Change of location for school board meetings WHERE: Lovonya DeJean Middle School Multipurpose Room, 3400 Macdonald Avenue, Richmond, CA 94805 (directions follow) WHEN: Beginning with the special...

You don't have to look further than the Sunday paper for information on what Richmond's economic development options are. I commend to you two stories in today's West County Times. If you don't subscribe and don't wait too long, you can view both on the Internet. The...

Marine life of Richmond's Inner Harbor are featured in a colorful photo on the cover of the new April-June issue of Bay Nature magazine. It looks like a pristine Caribbean underwater scene! To view the cover page photo on line, see:...

Following my third E-FORUM on street sweeping (http://www.tombutt.com/forum/030331b.htm) the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Region 2, staff person in charge of this type of NPDES permits, responded as follows: "You have done a good job in summarizing...

Largely due to the work of numerous volunteers over the last two decades, Richmond has built an enviable historic preservation program that has brought regional, and even national, recognition to the City, as well as millions of dollars in grants for treasures such as...

The California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) announced that the City of Richmond has been awarded $245,500 to be used for rehabilitation of the Richmond Municipal Natatorium (The Plunge). The project qualified for the grant funds because it is a contributing...

During the continuing Richmond street sweeping wars, a number of individuals (City staff and citizens, alike) have made reference to the "legal" requirement for street sweeping and interpreted it inconsistently. To satisfy my own curiosity, I have finally obtained an...

In an about face that caught many by surprise, the Richmond City Attorney's Office has issued a series of legal opinions that essentially gut the decades-old prohibition on development of substandard lots where multiple lots small lots are under a single ownership....

An article in today's New York Times (see below) featured Richmond's Pacific East Mall as representative of the new American Asian Mall where " ... different streams of Asians become Asian-American." The Pacific East Mall in Richmond was developed by entrepreneur...

On March 19, 2003, City Manager Isiah Turner announced layoffs affecting 59 full-time employees and plans not to fill another 32 vacant positions in order to close a $3.7 million deficit in FY 2002-2003 and a looming $7 million deficit in FY 2003-2004. This is nearly...

I have forwarded all comments received in response to the March 9, 2003, E-FORUM "Street Sweeping Ballot Hits the Streets." to the Richmond Public Services Department. Meanwhile, I have attempted to craft a general response to those who have offered their opinions and...

SHAPING OUR FUTURE COMMUNITY MEETING The public is invited to attend a presentation of an illustrative plan developed from the results of comments and ideas gathered from Richmond residents who have attended previous community workshops about the Contra Costa County...