The purpose of a class and compensation study is to determine if an organization’s compensation schedules are consistent with the market in general. The City Council approved and allocated funding for such a study over a year ago. It is unclear when the study was...

Today, there was a status hearing on Point Molate before Federal Judge Gonzalez Rogers. Based on reports I received, she issued an order for the parties to appear in one week – Tuesday, June 28, at 1:00 p.m., in Courtroom 1 – on an order to show cause why the City...

Join the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, Council of Industries, Riggers Loft Wine Company, Richmond Main Street Initiative, City of Richmond, and myself for a Mayor's Roundtable featuring Joe Fisher (Fisher Realtors), Julie Clowes (Small Business Administration), Ahmad...

As chair of MCE, I am providing more exciting MCE developments as MCE Unveils Plans for Virtual Power Plant to Benefit Disadvantaged Richmond Residents and Businesses. MCE Unveils Plans for Virtual Power Plant to Benefit Disadvantaged Richmond Residents and Businesses...

Juneteenth At the 89th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, policy was adopted supporting the establishment of Juneteenth as a Federal Holiday. On July 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth Independence Day Act which passed the...

Figure 1 - 90th Annual Meeting, US Conference of Mayors and Climate Mayors Figure 2 - The Peppermill in Reno Last week, I attended my last annual summer meeting of the US Conference of Mayors in Reno June 2-6. This was following a two-year hiatus due to COVID, the...

One of the most enduring mantras of the RPA, the RPA City Council members, the Point Molate Alliance and SPRAWLDEF et al has been that the City violated the Brown Act in the approval of the Point Molate settlement. The federal trial (District) Court rejected that...

Another one of former City Manager Laura Snideman's hires is now joining her on the Wine Trail. Shortly after being fired in Richmond, Snideman surfaced as city manager in Calistoga. Now, Interim Deputy City Manager Anil Camelo has been picked to manage the City of...

I am reaching out to you on behalf of Bay Ferry 2050, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s 2050 Service Vision and Business Planning effort. Are there public transit advocates/representatives who would want to participate on the Bay...

The second shoe to drop in the litigation by Winehaven Legacy LLC against the City of Richmond for its illegal and unethical actions and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing consisted of an ex parte request for a restraining order to prevent transfer...

Got a whale of a tale to tell ya, lads A whale of a tale or two 'Bout the flappin' fish and the girls I've loved On nights like this with the moon above A whale of a tale and it's all true I swear by my tattoo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Whale_of_a_Tale)...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 9, 2022 U.S. Mayors Affirm Support for Cities’ Right to Sue Fossil Fuel Corporations for Climate Damages U.S. Conference of Mayors Calls Efforts by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Curb Court Access “A Direct Threat to Municipal and Taxpayer...

As with most recent City Council meetings, we adjourned last night without dealing with multiple agenda items, some of which have been continuously held over for weeks. And it was not for lack of time. The City Council met for 7 hours, beginning at 4:30 PM in closed...

After spending $400,000 investigating and suing me, the RPA City Council members dismissed the lawsuit. Just before that, they sold Point Molate for $400. You get what you vote for!

I was recently in Arkansas, about 500 miles from the closest refinery. Gas prices are about half what they are in California, where I live across the street from a refinery. I have been shopping for an electric vehicle (I have a hybrid now), but the ones I want are...

Figure 1 - Shawn Dunning Figure 2 – Dr. Jeff Ritterman Former city council and RPA member Jeff Ritterman endorsed Shawn Dunning for mayor of Richmond, penning the following: Hello, my name is Jeff Ritterman. Some of you might know me from my work as a cardiologist at...

The Chevron Richmond Refinery and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 5 announced on May 28, 2022, that USW membership has ratified a new agreement. USW employees will return to work over the upcoming weeks. See https://richmond.chevron.com/uswstrike for details.

I joined 218 mayors in signing the following letter: Mayors Letter to Senate on Gun Safety Action (May 2022) Signed-On: 218 In response to the recent tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo and the continuing increase in gun violence that is plaguing our cities and our people...

Click here for a copy of the SunCal Point Molate Complaint.

As expected, SunCal has filed a lawsuit against the City of Richmond, which will cost the City millions to litigate and perhaps tens of millions to settle or pay a judgment. Stopping Point Molate development is perhaps the highest public policy priority for the...