City Manager’s Weekly Report for the Week Ending October 1, 2021
Hon. Mayor and Members of the City Council: This is the report for the week ending October 1st, 2021. Meeting Notes The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 5th, 2021.Closed Session begins at 5:30 PM, followed by the Regular Meeting of the...
Mosquito Infestation in Richmond
This summer, parts of Richmond have been plagued by mosquitoes. They are so bad where I live that we have to sleep under a mosquito net at night like in some third world country. One of my neighbors writes, “I am once again being tortured by mosquitos. The worst...
Richmond San Rafael Bridge Update
I participated in an update of all things Richmond San Rafael Bridge on October 1, 2021. Social media discussion of the westbound Richmond San Rafael Bridge configuration remains voluminous and vigorous. Those who commute across the bridge in the morning are incensed...
Looking for a Job? City of Richmond has 100 Full-time and Part-time Positions Available
If you are wondering why the level of service for the City of Richmond is declining, why no one answers the phone anymore or returns phone calls, and why no one responds to complaints, it might be because there are over 100 job vacancies, and this is on top of the...
Confusion at City Hall
One of the most time consuming things the Mayor’s Office Staff does is “constituent casework,” which consists of taking calls and/or emails from mostly disgruntled residents (and sometimes businesses). My staff spends consistently a collective total about 30 hours a...
Climate Mayors Summit Series: The Green and Just Transition
As a member of the US Conference of Mayors, I get to participate is a lot of discussions about programs and projects for cities. September 29, 2021, was the second in a series of rescheduled (due to COVID-19) sessions of the 2021 Climate Mayors Summit. This second...
Bottled Water is a Scam
MCE Board MCE Continues to Lead in California Renewal Electricity Innovation
MCE Continues to Lead in California Renewable Electricity Innovation MCE’s 2020 power supply mix vastly exceeds state renewable energy average. SAN RAFAEL and CONCORD, Calif. — MCE is excited to announce the release of its 2020 Power Content Label, which showcases...
Transitions in the Mayors Office
Former Richmond Mayor’s Office Chief of Staff Christopher Whitmore has taken the position of executive director of Richmond Promise, replacing founding Executive Director Jessie Stewart, who is moving on to a new potion with UC Berkeley athletic program. He did a...
Weekly Report for the Week Ending September 24, 2021
Hon. Mayor and Members of the City Council: This is the report for the week ending September 24TH, 2021. Meeting Notes The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 28th, 2021. The Regular Meeting of the Richmond City Council starts at 6:30 P.M.,...
Purple Tree Collard Event #1: Sunday Sept 26, 2-3 pm at Unity Park
Rosie the Riveter Trust Count Down to Gala this Sunday + Betty featured in the NYT today!
BETTY - Here is the link to a the New York Times Article on Betty Reid Soskin today. Very well done and beautiful photos. TICKETS AVAILABLE - A number of our sponsors have opted to watch virtually so we have in person seats available if you know anyone that would like...
Study Names Richmond the Most Diverse City in the US
A group called “Finder” conducted an analysis that found Richmond CA to be the most diverse city in the U.S....
Electrical Outages in Richmond
Last week, I talked to the PG&E governmental affairs representative for Richmond, Nkiruka Ohaegbu, who gave me a briefing on the outages. The main problem is caused by particulate matter on the lines and transformers that causes shorts when it rains. We have had...
UPDATE PG&E Outages in the East Bay Area
Nkiruka told me that the City granted a citywide pole washing permit earlier this week and that they washed poles on Thursday and Friday. From: Ohaegbu, Nkiruka <NCO4@pge.com> Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2021 12:22 PM To: Laura Snideman...
Weekly Report for the Week Ending September 17, 2021
Hon. Mayor and Members of the City Council: This is the report for the week ending September 16TH, 2021. Meeting Notes The following City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 21st, 2021. Closed Session begins at 5:00 P.M., followed by the Special...
Traffic Code Enforcement
Richmond is now down to one parking enforcement person for the entire city of 110,000, Amanda Le Gaux (alegaux@richmondpd.net), who offers the following contact phone numbers for residents requesting service. She laments, “it is difficult to be proactive with...
Not Quite Gone Yet
Despite the air of finality in the Richmond Confidential story below, it’s not exactly time to say “good-by” and ride into the sunset yet. I have about one year and four months left in my final term as mayor. That’s about 60 City Council meetings, over 100...
Covid the Corvid “Graduated” One Year Ago
It has been one year since Covid the Corvid told us “goodbye” and flew off to become a wild crow. For the story, see Covid the Corvid – Free as a Bird. For the video, see https://youtu.be/fsOb6Mhpxlo. If you see him/her, say hi.
How to “Homestead” Land in Richmond
Back in the Wild West, there was the Homestead Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, which gave people up to 160 acres of public land, provided they live on it, improve it, and pay a small registration fee. The Government granted more than 270...