Following presentations at the December 15, 2015, City Council meeting by City Manager Bill Lindsay and by Russ Branson of Public Financial Management, Inc. (part of the  National Resource Network), two follow-up stories by local journalists headlined:

I received (indirectly) the “open letter” at the end of this email from the RPA.

Today (Tuesday) we are ground zero of the Climate negotiations. Our team, which consists of Dawn Weisz, executive director of MCE (Marin Clean Energy), Jamie Tuckey of MCE, Tom and Jane Kelly of KyotoUSA andSequoia Foundation, and Shawn Marshall of LEAN Energy, is now set up in the Climate Generations Areas, also known as the “Green Zone.” We have a booth, and we are talking to people about CCA (Consumer Choice Aggregation) in California and MCE.

RICHMOND -- A prominent Richmond developer who has failed to get city support for his latest housing project wants residents to decide the matter through a ballot measure next year.

He developed strong community relationships in the East Bay, where he also gained broad attention for his innovative approaches to crime fighting and even met his partner. But on Wednesday, Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus spoke for the first time publicly about his choice to leave the area for Tucson, calling it the “most difficult decision” in his career.

While the big news is the acceptance by Police Chief Chris Magnus of a new job in Tucson, what we need to focus on TODAY is that the contract of City Manager Bill Lindsay, who had the foresight to hire Magnus nine years ago, terminates in less than 90 days and is up for renewal TONIGHT.

On November 9, 2015, the second Contra Costa Times column (See Daniel Borenstein: Richmond city manager blocked release of report forecasting city's financial fall, November 7, 2015) by Dan Borenstein in two days hit the presses, predicting that the fiscal sky over Richmond is falling.

Watching Richmond officials deal with city finances is like viewing a slow-motion train wreck. Let's hope someone applies the brakes quickly.