The July 29th City Council meeting, for the first time in several months, found no one being thrown out of the chambers (partly because Mark Wassberg did not speak) although the Mayor threatened to clear the Council Chambers if the group continued to boo speakers. I guarantee that would not have flown because with some 600 to 700 people in the audience, there was no way the majority of the Council would have supported the Mayor in vacating the auditorium. Continue reading

RICHMOND -- Chevron's five year-plus quest to initiate a $1 billion upgrade to its century old refinery, the largest in Northern California, was approved by a divided City Council late Tuesday after the company and city staff hammered out a last minute deal upping community investments and installing safety and piping upgrades as part of the project. Continue reading

Everywhere we turn these days we’re hearing or reading about the need for transparency in government.  No longer will we accept backroom deals or elected officials settling issues without bringing them before the public for review.  This is why we have the Brown Act to help ensure that a government OF the people is actually a government BY the people. Continue reading

SAN PABLO -- As Contra Costa County officials scramble for options to save Doctors Medical Center in some form, skilled workers are leaving in droves amid the continuing uncertainty. Continue reading

As the sun shone overhead and warm breeze passed through, over 250 people gathered at Nicholl Park this past Saturday to celebrate the 10th annual TK Day. The day of music, sports, and togetherness, organized by the Terrence Kelly Youth Foundation (TKYF), served as an homage to the memory of Terrence Kelly, a young man who was killed in 2004 just two days before he was to attend University of Oregon on a scholarship. Continue reading

Last week, Beyoncé posted a photo of herself on Instagram as the iconic Richmond - and American - symbol of the women that worked in factories during World War II. The internet jumped on it, and the photo garnered 300,000 likes in just half an hour. "E!" called Beyoncé's post "the ultimate feminist photo." For many,  the image of Beyoncé -- arguably the world's biggest popstar at the moment -- as Rosie the Riveter, an American feminist icon, was the perfect hybrid of contemporary, female-empowered pop and classic American strength. Continue reading

For a coffee shop named after a breed of dog, Catahoula Coffee Company isn't messing around. Well, only a little bit. The baristas may be known for crafting funky planetary designs in the foam of their lattes, but the delicious beans -- a good portion of which are organic --  are no joke. A four-time winner of the coveted the San Francisco Chronicle BayList's "Best of the Bay" for its coffee -- in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 -- this San Pablo Avenue establishment blows the pricey Bay Area coffee shops out of the water. Continue reading

Every week Radio Free Richmond provides an offering of events in the city. Here's what's happening from July 25th through August 2nd.   Continue reading

On July 22nd the Richmond City Council heard more than 100 public speakers in the first round of public comment with regards to the Conditional Use Permit for Chevron’s Modernization Project at their Richmond Refinery (with the second hundred slated to be ‘heard’ next Tuesday (July 29th).  Although most of the comments were in the nature of those heard for the past five years (we need the jobs OR Chevron’s trying to kill us), I offered a different perspective related to the conditions put forth by the Richmond Planning Commission.  These are those comments plus a few extra words that the time constraints did not permit me to say (the Mayor chose to reduce the normally allotted time for public speakers at Public Hearings from three minutes down to two): Continue reading

Crime in Richmond is down -- way down. In the first half of 2014, violent crime is has been reduced by 26%, and property crime is down 27%.  These figures come from a report released earlier this month by Chief of Police Chris Magnus. Chief Magnus, who has dedicated his lifework to community-based policing, credits the drastic reduction in crime to a focus on the community and new technologies, but warns that this trend could reverse in an instant. Continue reading