By Kathy Chouteau
A proposed plan by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to divert flights off existing paths in the Oakland hills to fly over Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany and Berkeley has been abandoned, much to the pleasure of locals who advocated against it. The news was announced by an FAA official Wed., April 21 at the Oakland Airport Community Noise Forum, according to reports by Richmond Mayor Tom Butt and Berkleyside.
The FAA plan would have seen a westward shift of airplane flight patterns over the East Bay’s diverse and more densely populated flatlands, a move intended to keep aircraft on the arrival route safely separated from Oakland departures. During the forum’s Zoom meeting last night, FAA Regional Administrator Raquel Girvin said that “ultimately, we were able to find a safety solution that does not involve changing the current routes,” per Berkleyside.
Emails Raise Questions About Chevron’s Bay Area Oil Spill Response
Aaron Cantu, Capital & Main
Capital & Main
This article was produced by the award-winning journalism nonprofit Capital & Main. It is co-published here with permission.
The morning after a quarter-inch hole in a pipeline owned by Chevron leaked petroleum fluids into the San Francisco Bay on February 9, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt struck an optimistic tone about the incident at the oil giant’s refinery.
“I think in the big picture it’s going to be OK,” Butt told one local press outlet.
On his blog several days later, Butt wrote the city had “dodged a bullet on what turned out to be a relatively small spill with no lingering effects.” In a city council meeting a week after the spill, he offered no thoughts when a counselor brought up the incident.
By Kathy Chouteau
Richmond’s pirates have stolen the hearts of the masses, judging by their rave reviews and the long line of patrons waiting outside their door. Black Star Pirate BBQ, the city’s newest foodie sensation located at Point San Pablo Harbor, celebrated its grand opening in early October 2020 and has already garnered media accolades and a 4.5 star rating on Yelp during its short existence.
As the
Standard’s Mike Kinney first reported, Black Star is the brainchild of Tony Carracci, onetime owner of San Francisco restaurant Cha Cha Cha during the 1980s, as well as city nightclubs including the Cat Club, Pounds-SF and Fat City in the 1990s and 2000s. One look at Black Star’s tempting menu selections serving up brisket, tri-tip, ribs, cowboy beans and the like and it’s easy to see how this Barbary Coast “Captain Cook” eventually uncovered buried treasure in Rich City.