RICHMOND - Differences of opinion by city council candidates over the success - or failure - of the City of Richmond's rent control law drew plenty of applause and audience comments at Monday night's candidates' forum at East Brother Beer Company.
David Schoenthal said rent control "exacerbates" the problem
Approximately 75 people attended the forum, sponsored by the Point Richmond Business Association and the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council.
A series of questions were posed to the 10 council candidates who attended, including one early on about whether Richmond's rents control law was effective, needed to be repealed, or should be amended.
And if amended, exactly how. Candidates who said they thought the law needed to be repealed drew the loudest applause from the audience, though supporters among the candidates stood their ground in support of the voter-approved rent control measure.
Most of the candidates indicated that whether the city has a rent control law or not, the shortage of housing in Richmond is a serious problem.
The 10 candidates who participated in the forum were: Vinay Pimple Demnlus Johnson Virginia Ramirez Nat Bates Ada Recinos Eduardo Martinez David Schoenthal Jim Rogers Cesar Zepeda Eleanor Thompson
RICHMOND - This week in Richmond there will be a city council candidates' forum tonight (Monday). Wednesday the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board quality will hold a public hearing on a proposal to clean up the Terminal One site in Point Richmond. And Friday evening Bridge Storage and ArtSpace will hold an open house to show off improvements and new additions.
Richmond Candidates' forum
RICHMOND - The East Brother Beer Company at 1001 Canal Boulevard will host a candidates' forum tonight for those seeking election to Richmond City Council in the November election. The East Brother event runs from 6-8 p.m. and is open to the public. A spokesman for the company said last week that nine of the 13 candidates running for three council seats have said they will attend.
RICHMOND - The San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board will hold a public hearing Wednesday on a proposed plan to clean up a variety of chemical contaminants on the Terminal One site in Point Richmond to pave the way for a 316-unit housing development proposed by the Laconia Corporation to be constructed on the city-owned land. The meeting is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza. The contaminants include chlorinated solvents, petroleum and hydrocarbons - and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the Dornan Drive property. The land is adjacent to the Richmond Yacht Club to the east and Miller-Knox Regional Park to the west. It abuts San Francisco Bay on the south and Brickyard Cove Road to the north.
RICHMOND - Bridge Storage and ArtSpace on Maine Avenue will hold an open house and launch party Friday from 5- 9 p.m. The public is invited to the free event. The open house and party is to celebrate opening of some newly completed co-working facilities at the site.
RICHMOND - Bridge Storage and ArtSpace on Maine Avenue will hold an open house and launch party Friday from 5- 9 p.m.
The public is invited to the free event.
The open house and party is to celebrate opening of some newly completed co-working facilities at the site.
Attendees will be able to tour the new facilities, enjoy art exhibitions and meet with local arts and cultural organizations.
There will be food and drink served, some short films shown and performances by a Taiko drumming group, among other events.
For an online peek at the facility, visit the Bridge Storage site here: BRIDGE STORAGE.
RICHMOND - The East Brother Beer Company at 1001 Canal Boulevard will host a candidates' forum tonight for those seeking election to Richmond City Council in the November election.
The East Brother event runs from 6-8 p.m. and is open to the public.
A spokesman for the company said last week that nine of the 13 candidates running for three council seats have said they will attend.
The Curbside Kitchen food truck will be selling food. Beer will be available in the company's tap room where the event will take place.
The event is co-sponsored by the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council and the Point Richmond Business Association.
Those groups have solicited questions for the candidates from members of the public that will be asked during a presentation. The candidates for city council include: Nat Bates Diego Garcia Carole Johnson Demnlus Johnson Eduardo Martinez Vinay Pimple Virginia Ramirez Ada Recinos Keith Rivers Jim Rogers David Schoenthal Eleanor Thompson Cesar Zepeda The candidates for Richmond Mayor are Tom Butt and Melvin Willis.
RICHMOND - The San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board will hold a public hearing Wednesday on a proposed plan to clean up a variety of chemical contaminants on the Terminal One site in Point Richmond to pave the way for a 316-unit housing development proposed by the Laconia Corporation to be constructed on the city-owned land.
The meeting is from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza.
Historical industrial use of the proposed site for housing
The contaminants include chlorinated solvents, petroleum and hydrocarbons - and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the Dornan Drive property. The land is adjacent to the Richmond Yacht Club to the east and Miller-Knox Regional Park to the west. It abuts San Francisco Bay on the south and Brickyard Cove Road to the north. The documented chemical contamination is a legacy of the property's history as a shipping and industrial site and has been the subject of study - and previous attempts and clean up - for 20 years.
The water quality control board adopted a detailed cleanup order in 2004, But efforts to scrub the site were never completed because a previous developer abandoned the project in 2007.
One suggestion expected at Wednesday meeting is that the regional water quality control board draft an entirely new cleanup order to take into account advances in pollution control remediation science since the 2004 order was issued as well as any new data about the site. The remedial action plan proposed by the City of Richmond and Laconia include:
• Podium construction of residential structures; • Collection, on-Site treatment, and off-Site discharge of most stormwater runoff; • Raising Site grades and import of clean fill; • Capping the Site with buildings, roads, pathways, and other hardscape; • Slurry wall construction to mitigate potential petroleum discharges to San Francisco Bay; • Landscaping as either common area maintained by the homeowner’s association or public openspace/parkland maintained by the City, in areas not covered with permanent, hardscapedfacilities; and • Institutional controls prohibiting residents and visitors from excavating on the Site.
The watchdog group Brickyard Cove Alliance for Responsible Development has already voiced concerns that this latest iteration of a cleanup plan falls well short of ensuring that the site would be safe. Members of BCARD oppose the current plan as designed and are expected to address the board with details their concerns.
Among those concerns is that the proposed slurry wall is inadequate to prevent pollutants to escape into San Francisco Bay - a contention supported by environmental consultants GEI of Oakland.
Also at issue is how to successfully mitigate possible chemical vapor intrusion from the ground below into homes - and the air.
While the proposed cleanup plan calls for "Capping the Site" (see list above), BCARD is concerned that utility lines and various other underground infrastructure could provide pathways for toxins in the soil to waft to the surface. Last November, a community meeting about the proposed Terminal One project drew a crowd of at least 100 people to a Saturday morning session at the Richmond Yacht Club. (See Environmental problems, design issues and parking dominate Terminal One meeting.)
November meeting at RYC
CONTACTS:
City of Richmond, Lina Velasco, planner
EMAIL: Lina Velasco
Regional Water Quality Control Board, Jeffrey White
EMAIL: Jeffrey White
HILLTOP - Melinda McCrary, executive director of the Richmond Museum of History, kicks off a new Speaker Series Sunday, May 20 at Temple Beth Hillel, 816 Park Central.
McCrary will be discussing the latest exhibition under development at the museum, Pioneers to the Present: Jews of Richmond and Contra Costa.
The event begins at 2 p.m. and is open to the public. Donations are accepted.
The exhibit is scheduled to open in November and will cover local Jewish history from the Gold Rush to the present.
POINT RICHMOND - A team of Chevron officials confirmed again for the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council Wednesday night that the loud, screeching sound that alarmed hundreds of Point Richmond residents the night of March 29 was the result of only steam escaping from a pressure relief valve, not any refinery flaring.
The escaping steam was under 500 pounds per square inch of pressure and had to go through a small diameter space, resulting in the screeching noise that prompted hundreds of phone calls to Chevron, police and Bay Area air quality officials.
"We did not live up to our own expectations that night," Brian Hubinger, a Chevon representative told the PRNC. (For a KQED story about the incident published March 30, click here STEAM.)
(L-R) Claudia Graham, Winnie Kuo and Brian Hubinger of Chevron
The technical details of what happened were outlined for the group by Winnie Kuo, a process engineer at the Richmond facility.
Kuo said the steam is used in a turbine system that generates as much as 20 megawatts of electricity. Normal operating pressure is about 400 pounds per square inch. At 500 psi, Kuo said, the safety valve is designed to kick in, allowing the excess pressure to vent into the air. The piece of equipment blamed for the noise was installed in 2005 and is back in operation, Claudia Graham, Chevron's utilities operations manager told the audience.
"The manufacturer is investigating," she said.
Local residents complained that the shrieking sound March 29 lasted as long as two hours, though Hubinger said he believe he actual incident time frame was shorter.
Whatever the time frame, several residents clearly expressed their concerns over how the incident was handled.
"You scared the crap out of a lot of people in the community," Point Richmond resident Bill Nadal said.
The PRNC and the Chevron representatives also discussed the need for a better alert system to process more calls more quickly.
In a normal week, Chevron dispatchers might receive just one or two complaint calls, Hubinger said.
"That night we got about 100 in the first half-hour."
Michael J. Fitzgerald
The video below was taken the night of the incident by a local resident
