Talk of the Point

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Point Richmond has no entry in Wikipedia. The city of Richmond has one, as do Point Pinole, the Bay Trail, Rosie the Riveter, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, and pit bulls.

Wikipedia is the ever-more-popular “open source” online encyclopedia. It’s read around the world, and many articles come in […]

N.I.C.E. returns to the City Council tonight as chief N.I.C.E. opponent Richard Lompa and sidekick Jay Betts speak in the Forum. There they have two minutes each to argue that the city should vote “no” on the Point Richmond business-improvement district.

Under the system of weighted voting, the city’s vote amounts to 8.37 percent of […]

I took a break to think about nice cannoli.

Secret Source says he thinks N.I.C.E. may be dead this time around. No details yet, nor confirmation. Don’t do anything rash.

Mark Howe, owner of the Bank of Richmond building at West Richmond and Washington, will vote yes on N.I.C.E. He announced it today in a two-page letter emailed to N.I.C.E. supporters this morning by Tom Butt. Here’s the part that addresses objections I’ve heard.

I hear how expensive this will be but this argument does not […]

As we await a moment to investigate the N.I.C.E. boundaries down at City Hall, Kristin Gates offers this explanation: The N.I.C.E. founders–who put N.I.C.E. on the table–wanted to make sure the district benefited everyone it covered. They were especially sensitive, she says, to a worry that landowners on the edge might not get much out […]

Tom Butt posted a comment insisting that Walter Connolly’s property at 1 West Richmond still sits within NICE. Then Walter called to point out that Tom’s comment cited the wrong parcel numbers.

Two other NICE insiders–meaning they attended all the public meetings–seem to agree with the premise of the question “Why was the property taken out?” […]

Would N.I.C.E. backers resort to dirty dealing just to win?

Walter Connolly says his four-story building at 1 West Richmond Ave, just next to the wigwags, seems to be out of the N.I.C.E. district–after he saw it listed at a meeting in March.

He’s a vocal opponent, and this 12,000-square foot building with 40 feet of street […]

My neighbor Jeff Anderson’s friend Heather runs a blog from London. You know what she’s writing about this week. Read an American’s perspective.

Walter Connolly says a hypnotist will move into an office in his building on Washington Avenue, next to Kao Sarn. Dr. O’Keefe–Walter doesn’t remember her first name–will offer hypnotherapy and lessons in self-hypnosis. She arrives August 1.