The saga of the East Brother Light Station unplugged continues. We have a GoFundMe campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-save-east-brother-light-station.
If we have to go to off grid solar, the estimated cost is about $200,000. Replacing the submarine power cable is estimated at two to three times that much. We are also soliciting recommendations for:
Council of Business & Industries Members and Community Leaders –
I was pleased to see over 50 of you join us for yesterday’s General Plan Update webinar that the COI co-hosted with the Industrial Association of Contra Costa County (IACCC) and WSPA. Attached is the PowerPoint presentation that Will Nelson walked us through during the meeting.
We will continue to participate in the General Plan Update process, and work with the IACCC, WSPA and East Bay Leadership Council to ensure ensure that the business/industrial sector’s voice is heard. We will keep you updated as the Plan moves towards completion and approval by the Board of Supervisors, which is expected to be at the end of 2022.
Katrinka Ruk
Executive Director
Council of Business & Industries
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Letter from Katrinka Ruk, Executive Director:
2020 proved to be an overall challenging year filled with loss of many of our friends and peers. Our Office Manager and my good friend Anne Graff passed away in May. Just before his retirement began, we lost the City of Richmond Port Director, Jim Matzorkis who’s support of our port businesses was great and instrumental in bringing in new port businesses. Before the year end, we were notified of the loss of PGE Government Relations guru Tom Guarino. It goes without saying that these individuals’ contributions and friendships will be missed. May their families find solace in knowing the impact that they had on so many individuals.
The COVID19 impact goes without saying – we saw the economic impact on our local and regional businesses and with our own organization. The COI had to cancel all in person meetings including our annual Shoreline and Bay Yacht Tour. We hope that 2021 we can again look forward to this event. With the additional PPP loans coming out we hope that this will allow local businesses to remain open.
This year also brought a change to the City of Richmond’s election process as we moved to district elections, the outcome of which was the election of incumbent councilmember Melvin Willis, former councilmember and Mayor Gayle Mclaughlin and new comer Claudia Jimenez. We are looking forward to building a relationship with the old and new members of the council.
A great deal of time last year was focused on bringing city staff and businesses together to discuss a change to the business license tax which moved from one based on number of employees to gross receipts. The input from the businesses enlightened the council to the financial burden this tax will have on the medium sized businesses already impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. We will continue to meet with city staff and work on a more equitable tax for the business community which will provide needed funding for city services. More to come on this.
AB617 Air Monitoring Committee under the auspices of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District completed establishing the air monitoring sites in Richmond and San Pablo. COI member businesses and community leaders participated on the committee for over one year. The next step is to establish a committee to focus on air emissions reductions. We will keep you all posted on that.
Finally, of note was the revamp of the Council of Business and Industries’ website – PLEASE NOTE, OUR WEBSITE HAS CHANGED TO:
We added a “members information” access where we will be posting information, letters, and updates for your easy access.
Stay well. Wear your masks. Follow the protocols.
Envision Contra Costa 2040 is a plan for a safe, healthy, equitable, and sustainable future for all communities in the county. Communities of color, indigenous people, low-income families, and immigrants should not face disproportionate environmental and health impacts. We’ve listened to community members at dozens of meetings to draft policies and actions to drive change.
Please join us for an in-depth conversation about key environmental justice issues in Contra Costa County through a three-part Environmental Justice Community Meeting series in February:
These meetings will be interactive and conducted using Zoom, an online video/audio conferencing platform. Meeting participants can join by computer, tablet, or phone. Please click here to register for the events and to receive information about how to join us.
The Envision Contra Costa 2040 Team
Jim Matzorkis, photo courtesy of his family
By Kathy Chouteau
Port of Richmond Director Jim Matzorkis has passed away from complications due to COVID-19, Mayor Tom Butt announced in his eForum Sunday.
Matzorkis, who was 68, died Dec. 20, 2020, at his home in Oakland. He worked as the Port of Richmond director for 18 years and succumbed to his illness just 11 days before his retirement. Mayor Butt credited Matzorkis with “completing the Honda Port of Entry project that has resulted in over a decade of profitability for the Port.”
According to his obituary, Matzorkis was a native of Chicago who relocated to California as a child and eventually went on to marry his high school sweetheart Beverly Christenson. Upon the death of his father, Gus, Matzorkis assumed the role of family patriarch and served as the epicenter of family gatherings, organizing reunions and maintaining their connections.
During his lifetime, Matzorkis took many trips to his ancestral homeland of Crete, Greece to visit his relatives there. He also enjoyed traveling to Mexico, where he could indulge his zeal for tequila. Early in his career, Matzorkis worked for concert promoter, Bill Graham Productions, where he fed his love of music and began many lifelong friendships.
Matzorkis is survived by Beverly, his wife of 39 years; daughters Melanie and Ileana; sisters JoAnn (Allen) and Stacie (David); brother Nick (Susie); and brother-in-law Bob; in addition to numerous nieces and nephews.
He will be buried in Cleveland, OH near his parents and other relatives. A private graveside service will be held at St. Theodosius Cemetery in Cleveland and a memorial service will be held at a later date. Donations may be sent to the Cretan Club of Cleveland, 3853 W. 168th St., Cleveland, OH 44111 and condolences can be sent to Beverly Christenson at 2085 Drake Dr., Oakland, CA 94611.
Richmond City Hall (Photo by Mike Kinney)
Nonprofit organizations that provide services focused on supporting the Richmond community, youth and youth sports are encouraged to apply for this Chevron-funded, city-administered grant program.
The 10-year Chevron Modernization Project Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) program, which launched in FY 2016-17, provides grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 on an annual basis to nonprofits serving Richmond residents. Last year, Richmond RotaCare Free Clinic, Youth Code Now and the Richmond Museum of History & Culture were among 21 organizations receiving grants, per our earlier report on grant awardees.
The deadline to submit an application for this year’s grant program is Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. All applications must be submitted online at this city link.
The city has scheduled two virtual ECIA Info Sessions to provide more information on the grant opportunity. The first event takes place Tuesday, Jan. 5, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., while the second will occur Thursday, Jan. 14 from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
For updates on the program, subscribe to ECIA Competitive Grant E-News Sign-up!
This article was originally published in The Richmond Standard on January 4, 2021
10:03:37 From Katrinka Ruk : people are having problems getting in call
10:10:47 From Larry Ficken : Larry Ficken with AAK 1145 Harbour Way South
10:11:13 From Sandra Escalante : Sandra Escalante with Laner Electric Supply
10:11:21 From Stacy Engel-Boyum : Stacy Engel-Boyum with North Richmond Properties Inc.
10:11:49 From Jill Rodby : Jill Rodby
10:12:34 From Joshua Genser : Why were no business groups invited to participate? They, after all, would pay the proposed tax.
10:13:17 From Joshua Genser : You could have invited the business groups in April.
10:13:59 From Jill Rodby : I agree with Josh. Why did the City not poll the businesses? It may be the nail in coffin for many of them!
10:14:11 From Katrinka Ruk : good morning – Katrinka Ruk, Richmond resident, Ex Dir Council of Business & Industries – thank you to City Staff for conducting this meeting this morning.
10:15:55 From Sean Hallinan : why were we not polled? that is not honoring and respecting the business community since this is the first we heard of this ordinance! Sunshine Commercial Construction.
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To find out how much you will be paying, download this calculator.
All you have to do is enter your business classification and gross receipts.
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Compare your current tax rate with the proposed tax rates using the document below. Please note that Class G also includes warehouses.
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