Those dedicated to restoring Richmond"s historical creeks " Wildcat, San Pablo, Rheem, Baxter and others " won top awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday. Lisa Viani, recently recognized by the Contra Costa Women"s Commission annual Women"s...

Tomorrow, on June 4, 2002, the Richmond City Council will consider an appeal of the Planning Commission approval on May 2, 2002, of a Conditional Use Permit CU 01-30 and Design Review approval DR 01-90 for two new 30,000 barrel liquefied petroleum gas spheres at the...

On July 31, 2001, the City Council passed Resolution 117-01, which specified minimum requirements for the management and reporting of Capital Improvement Projects (CIP). For a full copy of the resolution, see the attached MSWORD file. The Public Services Director,...

In the case People v. Beard et al (Contra Costa County Case No. MSC01-04450), the City of Richmond prevailed in a Superior Court action brought against the owners and occupants of a Richmond residence which had, for years, been the subject of a Richmond Police...

Direct apparel merchandiser Lands End is featuring Rosie the Riveter in its June catalog and committing all its profits from selling reprints of the Norman Rockwell painting "Rosie the Riveter" to the Rosie the Riveter Trust. See...

There is something very strange going on regarding an audit of General Chemical. Following releases and sirens in late 2001, (TOM BUTT E-FORUM, 11/29/2001, CITY FLUBS INDUSTRIAL RELEASE NOTIFICATION ONCE AGAIN, http://www.tombutt.com/forum/011129A.htm), the City...

Chevron has joined such luminaries as Enron as a significant contributor to national energy policy. Among the roughly 1,500 additional documents from the Energy Department related to Vice President Cheney's energy task force, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)...

A newly released EPA report shows that the Chevron refinery in Richmond joins two other Contra Costa County refineries as the largest sources of hazardous air emissions in the Bay Area. The top dischargers to the San Francisco Bay, were listed as Valero, Chevron and...

The Prefabrication Plant Assembly Building is the only significant structure remaining from Shipyards One and Two. The building is a magnificent timber truss structure, 200 feet wide by 400 feet long located at 912 Harbour Way South. It is currently owned by Plant...

Ordinarily the E-FORUM stays away from non-local issues, but I can"t resist weighing in on 9/11 and airline security. For a time it was healthy for our national psyche to pull together on this. Now it is time to get real. This disaster took place on the George W. Bush...

One of the enlightening lessons one learns soon after becoming a city councilman is who actually runs the city. Many people believe it is the City Council. Wrong! It is the city manager and the city staff. The city council is there just to make the operation look like...

For you peddlers, here"s the new MTC Regional Bicycle Plan. It is available on the MTC Web site at: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/projects/rtp/bicycle.htm If you would prefer to have a hard copy, please contact Trent Lethco at tlethco@mtc.ca.gov or phone him at (510) 464-7737.

The E-FORUM gets a lot of comments and corrections. Here are some that came in the last few days: Regarding "SIX YEAR EFFORT TO FIX SEWAGE DISTRICT CULMINATES IN AWARD OF CONTRACT TO U.S. FILTER:" " The vote was 7 yes (Butt, Bates, Penn, Griffin, Rogers, Bell &...

One of the bitterest political battles in recent Richmond memory culminated on May 14, 2002, when the City Council voted to execute a 20-year contract with U.S. Filter to operate the Sewage District No. 1 wastewater treatment plant that serves approximately 60 percent...

AC Transit"s Board of Directors is seeking applicants interested in filling a vacant at-large seat on the seven-member body. The Board establishes policy for the public bus system serving some 236,000 daily riders throughout the East Bay. This vacant at-large seat...

Faced with multi-million dollar deficits in the coming fiscal year, some members of the Richmond City Council expressed renewed interest in reexamining a special provision of the Utility User"s Tax created for Chevron in the 1980"s. All Richmond taxpayers, except one,...

Richmond neighborhoods are establishing themselves as sources of news and information to replace the traditional and truly local newspapers that no longer exist. Most neighborhood councils publish excellent newsletters. As a City Council member, I am fortunate to...

As quickly as it appeared some four years ago, the "alien landing pad" east of Richmond"s Brickyard Cove area was taken away last week. Also dubbed "Bottoms Butte" after its owner, the Bottoms Family Trust, the 15 foot high flat topped mound of toxic soil capped by...

Tonight, the Richmond City Council will consider the recommendation by the Public safety Committee to file an objection to the wigwag removal with the PUC. If you favor retention of the wigwags, you should show up at the Richmond City Council meeting to show your...

At the May 7, 2002, City Council meeting, the Richmond City Council missed yet another opportunity to negotiate with Chevron-Texaco to obtain benefits for the citizens of Richmond and to eliminate adverse impacts of the refinery. The action was supported by all...