The West of Hills Northern Pipelines Project involves construction of a total of about 8.5 miles of new water transmission pipelines (48-inches and 36-inches) some of which is in or near your street. The project includes four major pipeline segments which are needed to ensure continued reliable water service to customers in North Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Pablo, Pinole, Hercules and unincorporated communities of West Contra Costa to Crockett. The purpose of the project is to correct existing deficiencies in water transmission and storage operations, meet future water demands, improve system reliability and water quality challenges, and facilitate repair and replacement of other aging infrastructure.

The West of Hills Northern Pipelines Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was published on May 15, 2013, with written comments due by July 2, 2013, at 4:30 p.m. Written comments should be submitted to Timothy McGowan, Associate Civil Engineer, M/S #701, 375 Eleventh Street, Oakland, California 94607-4240, or e-mailed to WOHNP@ebmud.com. Responses to written comments will be included in the Final EIR with your communication and address information redacted if requested.

The EIR is now available for public review at EBMUD offices, 375 Eleventh Street, Oakland; Berkeley Public Library, 2940 Benvenue Avenue; El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Avenue; San Pablo Library, 2300 El Portal Drive, Suite D; and Richmond Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza. The EIR is available by download from the EBMUD website www.ebmud.com: first click on “Construction Projects” under “Project Updates”, then click on “West of Hills Northern Pipelines.” A copy of the EIR may also be obtained by email at WOHNP@ebmud.com or contacting Michelle Blackwell at (510) 287-2053.

Three public meetings are scheduled to review the Draft EIR and will start at 6:00 p.m.

• June 12, 2013, First Presbyterian Church, 2407 Dana Street, Berkeley
• June 19, Maple Hall, 13831 San Pablo Avenue #4, San Pablo
• June 26, El Cerrito High School, 540 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito

Discuss topics such as:

• The City’s Procurement Process
• BidsOnline – The Vendor Registration and Bid Management
• System
• Business Opportunity Ordinance/Contract Compliance
• Insurance Requirements for contracts
• Richmond Business License Requirements
• Accounts Payable – Policy and Procedures – Project Management and Invoice Documentation
• Tools for Starting, Growing and Financing Your Business

Download and print the event flyer here.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY! Space is limited. Please RSVP to purchasing@ci.richmond.ca.us or call 510-620-6732 by Friday, May 17, 2013.

This exclusive tour includes round-trip airfare from Miami to Havana, U.S. Air Departure taxes/fees, hotel and airport transfers, 7 nights in a first-class hotel, a professional bilingual Cuban guide, tour manager, Cuban travel visa, Cuban health insurance, 16 meals, interactions and admissions per itinerary, baggage handling, transportation by deluxe air-conditioned Motorcoach, daily bottled water, and gratuities for hotel porters, wait staff at included meals, step on guides and all people-to-people visits and interactions.

There is still time to go! Reserve your space today! All interested travelers should submit the initial $500/person deposit along with your reservation form to hold your space. The final payment balance will be due on or before August 11, 2013. As a member of the chamber, all of your travel documents will be mailed directly to the Richmond Chamber 2-3 weeks prior to departure.

> Tour Itinerary and Reservation Form
> Tour Accommodations, FAQ’s and Travel Tips

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at 510-234-3512 or judy@rcoc.com.

[Premier World Discovery/Chamber Explorations has been issued a specific license by The Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which authorizes registered guests of our programs to visit Cuba legally. There are no applications to complete, and your travel with us is fully authorized. Prior to departure, you will receive a copy of our Specific License and a Letter of Authorization which legalizes your travel to Cuba. This itinerary provides a full time schedule of activities that result in meaningful exchanges through people-to-people contact. U.S. law requires all travelers joining this program adhere to the full time schedule and imposes on Premier World Discovery/Chamber Explorations the responsibility to ensure such observance.]

RICHMOND — A top California economic official said Thursday that linking the workforce and its skills with emerging industry is key to Richmond’s future.

Kish Rajan, Director of California’s Office of Business and Economic Development, was the keynote speaker at the Richmond Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual Richmond Economic Summit at the Civic Center.

“Events like this — opportunities to connect the business community with local government and workforce training providers — are one of the proactive ways that Richmond is working to keep its economic future positive,” Rajan said, according to a chamber news release.

The event is organized annually to unite business, economic development and workforce training experts to discuss business and job growth at the local level.

As communities prepare their workforce at the local level, Gov. Jerry Brown is focused on helping them create jobs by streamlining statewide business regulations, Rajan said.

The visit comes less than a month after the nation’s top labor visited the city’s RichmondBUILD facility and told local leaders that partnerships between business and community colleges and other institutions of higher learning are key to America’s economic future.

The event included breakout study sessions and concluded with a job fair.

Contact Robert Rogers at 510-262-2726 or rrogers@bayareanewsgroup.com and follow Twitter.com/roberthrogers.

Hosted by the For Richmond coalition, in partnership with the Council of Industries and the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, the SYEP breakfast will celebrate the ninth year of the City’s acclaimed summer jobs program, which provides Richmond youth, ages 15 to 21, with up to 100 hours of career-path work experience over the summer months.

At the May 23rd breakfast, you’ll find out more about what this program means to Richmond by hearing from program graduates, employers and local elected leaders who’ve witnessed the benefits firsthand. You’ll also learn how you can get involved.

Please join us by registering for this event at http://forrichmond.nationbuilder.com/syep_breakfast. For more information about the SYEP breakfast, contact For Richmond by phone at 510-260-0290 or by email at paul@4richmond.org. We look forward to seeing you, and working together to invest in the future of our community’s youth.

(This is a program For Richmond supports)

They are a salon that specializes in making ALL hair healthy and beautiful. Services include cuts, color, highlights, relaxers, straightening, conditioning, extensions, protein treatments, and more. They are dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and make sure all of our clients leave feeling refreshed, special, and totally satisfied with their experience. Serving both men and women of all ages and hair types, making them look their best by using the highest quality salon products and providing exceptional services. Learn more by visiting their website at www.beautybynaturehairstudio.com. Schedule an appointment today by calling 510-778-1638.

Distributed by Chevron Richmond – May 3, 2013

Below is a link to the May issue of Richmond Today, the official newsletter of Chevron Richmond. In this latest issue, we demonstrate our commitment to protecting safety and the environment by introducing some of the investments we have made at the refinery to improve performance and reduce our environmental footprint. We also provide an illustration to help the public better understand the steam clouds they may see coming from the refinery.

You can access the newsletter in both English and Spanish on our website or by CLICKING HERE. Please feel free to forward this to your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues.

Our newsletter is one of many ongoing communications tools being utilized to dialogue with the surrounding community, both online and in print. Richmond Today is distributed monthly to keep you informed about who we are and what we do. We are mailing it to each household in Richmond, and we are also distributing it online through our website and on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

For questions or more information please visit our website at www.chevronrichmond.com or feel free to call our community line at 510-242-2000.

On the stage of the Iron Triangle Theater, 8-year-old Sayirah Woods leans over her copy of the book Richmond Tales: Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle, absorbed in the adventures of Maisha and Mario. The book tells the story of two friends who take a journey to learn the history behind the Iron Triangle.
Their journey takes them back to Richmond in Ohlone times; to Richmond in 1915 when it was a small, but bustling, industrial city; and to Richmond in 1942 when World War II and the Home Front dramatically changed the city. Maisha and Mario also travel forward in time, when they have grown up and helped make Richmond a beautiful and peaceful place to live.

Woods’ interest in Richmond Tales is professional as well as personal: she will star as Maisha in an upcoming play at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts that was adapted from the book.

Actress Vanessa Lopez as the “Ohlone girl” in Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle. The play will premiere at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts on May 17. (Courtesy of the East Bay Performing Art Center)

“I got really excited when I heard I would play Maisha,” Woods said. She sat on the stage, hair braided in ponytails, and swung her legs as she spoke. “The best thing is that I’ll get to learn more about Richmond – and I live just three blocks away from the Iron Triangle!”

Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle will premiere at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts on May 17 and will play again throughout the month.  Written by author Summer Brenner, produced by Jordan Simmons and directed by Britney Frasier, the play is an effort to revive the history behind the city of Richmond.

“Kids in the Richmond school district are actually reading the book now, so a lot of teachers are going to bring their students here,” said Frasier, who hopes to capture the book’s popularity and success on stage. “But also, I think we are going to draw an older audience that might not be from Richmond and they will have the opportunity to learn something about this land.”

The play runs through events of Richmond’s past, from the days of the Indians into the 20th century waves of immigration that shaped Richmond’s modern neighborhoods. People who have read the book will realize that the staged version of Maisha and Mario’s narrative has been “slightly” adapted, said Frasier, who was responsible for dramatizing Brenner’s script.

“The biggest change from the book to the play is that the play is based on Maisha’s dream, and in the book everything happens in real life,” she said.

The play begins with the main character Maisha reading the Richmond Tales book.  When her mother puts her to bed for the evening, the girl begins dreaming about “a fantastic world” where Misty Horn, a time traveler in the Iron Triangle, comes out of the moon to join her on a trip. Together, they time travel and explore Richmond’s history.

“Why the Iron Triangle is the way it is now? Why was it called that in the first place?” Maisha asks the character Misty Horn.

“Her curiosity is “about these things she cannot comprehend that were created by adults,” Frasier said. “There is a lot of violence in Richmond, a lot of domestic violence issues, but there is also happiness here.”

Although in the play the constant questioning about Richmond originates from the children’s curiosity, the purpose is to teach everyone more about the city’s history, Frasier said, including senior citizens who have never had the opportunity to learn about their own land.

“What I most like about this play is to be able to tell people who are much older than I am important facts about this city,” said 26-year-old actor Maurice Choncey Nunn, who plays the role of Misty Horn. Nunn is a Richmond resident and although he considers himself “very involved in the community,” he also said he didn’t know much about his city until he joined the crew.

“That’s the main reason why I’m so engaged in this play now,” he said. “At school, we’ve never talked about Richmond’s history. We can always talk about Christopher Columbus coming to America, but we can’t talk about the land that we walk on.”

Lost Secrets of the Iron Triangle will be presented at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts on May 17, 18, 24 and 25 at 7 p.m. Sunday matinee on May 19 and 26 at 3 p.m. For more information, visit: events www.richmondcarotary.org/lost-secrets-of-the-iron-triangle.

In an effort to help close the funding gap, Contra Costa ARC is hosting the “Go for the Gold” raffle throughout the month of May, with a goal of raising $20,000 to help off-set lost funding to the programs impacted. The Grand Prize is a $1,000 American Express card donated by City National Bank, drawing to be held May 31, 2013. Additionally, many local companies have generously donated cash and prizes to help support this event; these prizes include three $250 cash prizes, Wine Tasting for 8 at Concannon Winery, a Limited Edition San Francisco 49ers “Throwback Football”, tickets to San Francisco Giants games, as well as complimentary tickets to many San Francisco museums, local restaurants and attractions.

Raffle tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. Prize winners will be drawn every Friday throughout the month of May with the $1,000 Grand Prize being drawn on May 31st. If you’re a winner on May 3, 10, 17 or 24, your ticket will be placed back in the drum for the Grand Prize drawing on the 31st.

Proceeds from the raffle will help Contra Costa ARC continue to enhance and enrich the lives of children at risk of developmental delays and provide direct services and advocacy to the adults with developmental disabilities they serve in achieving their highest level of personal independence and self-sufficiency. For more information about the raffle and prizes, visit and “Like” their facebook page at, “Go for the Gold Raffle, May 2013.”

Full details about the programs and services offered by Contra Costa ARC can be found by visiting: http://www.ContraCostaARC.org. You can also contact Michele Ternes at 925-370-1818.

Download the full Press Release here.