National Vietnam War Veterans Day
March 29 was chosen as National Vietnam War Veterans Day because on March 29, 1973, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was disbanded and the last U.S. combat troops departed the Republic of Vietnam. On March 29, 2012, President Barack Obama proclaimed March...
RPA Spins Point Molate to Gullible East Bay Times Reporter
I want to share this email I wrote East Bay Times Reporter Katie Lauer in response to her article headlined, “Another Controversial Point Molate Development in Richmond Sinks.”...
City Manager’s Weekly Report for the Week Ending March 25, 2022
This message is being sent on behalf of Interim City Manager Shasa Curl Hon. Mayor and Members of the City Council: This is the report for the week ending March 25th, 2022. Meeting Notes The next Regular City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday , April 5, 2022....
Looking for a Few Good Landlords
As the Mayor’s Housing First project, in partnership with the Richmond Rotary Club, continues to place previously homeless persons into apartments, finding willing landlords is a major challenge, especially in Richmond where Rent Control and Just Cause have made...
Richmond police disperse sideshow with over 100 vehicles
Richmond police disperse sideshow with over 100 vehicleshttps://richmondstandard.com/richmond/2022/03/21/richmond-police-disperse-sideshow-with-over-100-vehicles/ March 21, 2022 Getty images Richmond police reportedly dispersed a sideshow featuring over 100 vehicles...
Comrade McLaughlin Refuses to Support Resolution in Support of the People of Ukraine
When the vote came on the Resolution of the Richmond City Council in Support of the People of Ukraine last night, it passed 6-0, with Comrade Gayle Mc Laughlin speaking against it and then turning her camera off and declining to vote. She did not even have the courage...
RPA Four Selects District Map to Their Advantage
In another classic battle of the RPA Four against the rest of Richmond, they powered through on a 4-3 vote selection of Map 201, deemed by the RPA to provide the best chance of preserving their power structure. Most everyone else in Richmond, including the...
RPA Takes Victory Lap on Point Molate
The Point Molate Alliance, essentially the RPA, bragged about the ill-advised vote of the RPA Four to reject a resolution of intent to establish a Community Facilities District or Point Molate, a contractual requirement between the City and Winehaven Legacy LLC. See...
RPA Four Go for the Nuclear Option on Point Molate
On March 18, 2022, the last day that the City Council could adopt a resolution of intent to form a Community Facilities District (CFD) to fund infrastructure at Point Molate, the RPA Four voted in a special City Council meeting not to move forward. The City’s...
Contra Costa County Office of Education to Take Over RPA-Backed WCCUSD School Board
https://edsource.org/updates/contra-costa-county-to-intervene-in-west-contra-costa-unifieds-finances Contra Costa County to intervene in West Contra Costa Unified’s finances THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022 The Contra Costa County Office of Education will take authority over...
Winehaven Legacy LCC Warns the City of Consequences for Breach of DA and DDA
Not surprisingly, Cox Castle Nicholson, attorneys for Winehaven Legacy LLC, sent the attached letter to the city attorney today putting the City on notice of a breach of the City’s obligations under the DA and DDA for Point Molate and demanding the City take immediate...
Back to Yosemite
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID, CivicWell (formerly the Local Government Commission) held its traditional Yosemite Policymakers conference this past weekend. I have been a member of this organization of city council members and county supervisors ever since I...
MCE Board MCE 100% Renewable Costs Less than PG&E
As chair of the board of MCE, I am providing the following press release that may be of interest to you. Go DEEP GREEN (100% renewable) now; save money and save the planet! _______________________________________________________________ MCE 100% Renewable Costs Less...
Ferry to Bridge Bikeway Rolling Out Now
Less than a year after the City Council approved the award-winning Ferry to Bridge to Bikeway Complete Streets Plan, construction has started on 2.25 mlles of protected two-way bikeway on Harbour Way South, Hoffman & Cutting Boulevards. This will make it more...
WCCUSD Notified It Is “No Longer a Going Concern”
The Contra Costa County Office of Education, which has state-mandated fiscal oversight over local school districts, has notified WCCUSD that it is “no longer a going concern,” meaning that the District, “..is no longer fiscally healthy and is unable to meet its...
Nearly $15 Million in Grants for Richmond in Less Than a Week
On February 24, 2022, Governor Newsom announced $50 million in grants for programs and projects to alleviate homelessness, with $4.8 million going to Richmond. See City of Richmond Awarded Homeless Grant, February 25, 2022. Less than a week later, on March 1, 2022,...
Public Bank East Bay Viability Study
Several years ago the Richmond City Council voted to join Oakland and other cities in paying for a feasibility study to charter a public bank. From the October 3, 2017 Minutes: The matter to discuss and consider donating funds to the City of Oakland to conduct a study...
Bart Removes Only Black Board Member After Dispute Over Location Of Residence
https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Bart-Removes-Only-Black-Board-Member-After-16993564.php Until yesterday, Lateefah Simon represented Richmond on the BART Board. I always found her to be responsive and easy to work with. This was quite a shock.Bart Removes...
Discredited Former Richmond City Attorney Emerges in — San Pablo!
With little fanfare, former Richmond City Attorney Teresa Stricker emerged as the new city attorney for the City of San Pablo, not only a little too close for comfort to Richmond, but entirely surrounded by Richmond. Stricker almost single-handedly did her best to...
From Russia With Love
With Russia on top of the news these days, I thought I would share my first and last trip to Russia 52 years ago this month way back when it was the USSR. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxc-iKzLQBE. The voyage from Yokahama to Nakhodka was a couple of days....