Richmond Design Review Board, Planning Commission to look at Point Molate hotel-casino resort
By Katherine Tam, Contra Costa Times
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
RICHMOND - Two citizen advisory bodies will make recommendations to the Richmond City Council on the hotel-casino resort proposed for the city's waterfront.
The Design Review Board will review design review documents in December, and the Planning Commission will review the final environmental impact report by Dec. 31 at the earliest.
The Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians and developer Upstream want to build a resort at the old Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. ...
New shoreline camp boosts Bay Water Trail
By Denis Cuff, Contra Costa Times
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
It was just a two-hour kayak paddle from San Rafael to Richmond, but it was a big step forward for the San Francisco Bay Water Trail, a network of launching and camping spots for paddlers.
A trio of kayakers paddled five miles across the Bay to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond on Monday to become the first visitors to the first new campground for the Bay Water Trail since California lawmakers authorized its creation in 2005.
The East Bay Regional Park District developed the group camp - its ...
New shoreline camp boosts Bay Water Trail
By Denis Cuff, Contra Costa Times
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
It was just a two-hour kayak paddle from San Rafael to Richmond, but it was a big step forward for the San Francisco Bay Water Trail, a network of launching and camping spots for paddlers.
A trio of kayakers paddled five miles across the Bay to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond on Monday to become the first visitors to the first new campground for the Bay Water Trail since California lawmakers authorized its creation in 2005.
The East Bay Regional Park District developed the group camp - its ...
S.F. Bay’s slide in mud worries scientists
By Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, October 5, 2009
Millions of tons of sand and clay that Gold Rush miners scoured from the Sierra Nevada have finally flushed out to sea after more than a century in San Francisco Bay, according to the San Francisco Estuary Institute.
While that has led to a remarkably clearer bay in the past decade, scientists are worried about the implications for fish and wetlands, which require a certain amount of free-floating silt for survival.
"This sediment was introduced during hydraulic mining, and the ecosystem adapte...
Point Isabel in Richmond Picked as #1 Dog Park In Country
By Patrick
Monday, October 5, 2009
Today, Petside.com counted off the top 10 dog parks in the country and, most notably, they included the Bay Area's Point Isabel Regional Shoreline as it's number 1 choice. I'm not sure exactly how you judge dog parks that are across the county from one another and I'm not entirely sure why petside.com has decided to undertake such a grand account of the best dog parks in America (probably so blogs like ours will talk about it), but there is little doubt that they were anything but spot on in picking the Richmond park as their ...
West County Times 9/30/2009
Letter to the Editor
September 30, 2009
The sights, sounds and fragrances of our shoreline and wildlife need to be protected. We need to preserve it for ourselves and for our children — in perpetuity. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.
The traffic congestion at the intersection of Central Avenue and Rydin Road is already very frustrating. Further intrusion will permanently destroy our wildlife and views, and pollute our air.
I enjoy Kohl's. I especially need to shop without going on the freeway (to Hilltop Mall or elsewhere). Instead of bringing more blight to ...
West County Times 9/28/2009
Letter to the Editor
September 28, 2009
As a Richmond resident, I hope the city of Richmond will support shoreline access and keep the current designations for all shoreline parcels. Our shorelines are one of our greatest assets. I urge the city to protect all of our shoreline and especially North Richmond, South Richmond and San Pablo Peninsula.
David Moore, Richmond
Find more Letters to the Editor at: http://www.contracostatimes.com/letters
West County Times 9/17/2009
Letter to the Editor
September 17, 2009
Richmond's proposal to rezone Point Isabel for commercial development and housing circumvents the community's desires, while benefiting Kohl's.
Kohl's leased property at Point Isabel more than two years ago. Then it announced plans to open a 99,011-square-foot department store.
That land is zoned light industrial, minimizing the impact on adjacent critical wildlife habitat.
Kohl's needed Richmond to spot-zone for commercial development. That required a hearing and the public was against it. We want to preserve the shorel...
Richmond’s casino plan clears hurdle
by Blanca Torres
Friday, July 31, 2009
The City of Richmond and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs have completed the environmental impact report for a proposed $1.5 billion casino, hotel and resort development on a 415-acre site.
The controversial casino project is expected to generate close to $1 billion per year in revenue, create 12,000 permanent jobs and aims to raise Richmond's cachet as a vacation destination. The developers estimate it would also raise more than $100 million per year in tax revenue for the city.
The site is a former Naval fuel depot ...
Point Molate Casino Plan Draws Concerns, Praise
By Richard Brenneman
Thursday July 30, 2009
The massive draft environmental impact report on what could become California's first Las Vegas–style metropolitan casino reveals sharp divisions among Richmond residents.
But those opinions were gathered four years ago, during an economic boom that has since crested and collapsed.
Berkeley developer James D. Levine, partnered with a Napa developer, a former Clinton cabinet member and two Native American tribes—one impoverished and the other flush with gambling wealth—plans a billion–and–a–half–dollar ...