A Tazer Two-fer
It's a blazing hot Saturday morning in Tazerville, and there are two items of note. Beforehand, an anonymous comment mentioned no news from out of the city council meeting. The Tazer is here to say that that assessment is untrue; the Richmond City Council is just VERY slow. As of this writing, their most recent minutes are from May 16th, and it's the Times that has to help us out...
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CITY COUNCIL WON'T LET CREMATORIUM MOVE IN
RICHMOND: Residents crowd meeting to express fears about carcinogens, say area already is too polluted
By John Geluardi
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The City Council on Tuesday soundly rejected a zoning change that could have made Richmond the cremation center of the Bay Area.
Stewart Enterprises, one of the three largest funeral corporations in the United States and owner of the Neptune Society, requested the change so it could move its Apollo Crematorium from Emeryville to an industrial district adjacent to North Richmond, an unincorporated community of mostly low-income blacks and Latinos.
Carrying banners and placards that read "Over my dead body" and "We want to breathe clean air," more than 150 residents jammed into the council chamber Tuesday night to protest. Most said North Richmond, in the shadow of the Chevron refinery, already is too polluted.
"I am here together with the rest of the North Richmond community to say 'no' to this sneak attack on our community," said Henry Clark, executive director of the West County Toxics Coalition. "We will never accept a crematorium in our community."
The Apollo Crematorium, among the busiest such facilities in the state, incinerates more than 3,000 bodies a year in gas-fired retort machines, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Another crematorium, Bay Area Cremation and Funeral Services, also planned to move to an undisclosed location in Richmond if the council approved the zoning change.
Cremation still will be allowed on cemetery grounds.
Crematoriums are associated with elevated levels of carcinogens such as arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and chlorinated dioxins and furans, according to the air district's 2004 emissions report.
The most serious concern is mercury, which is emitted from amalgam dental fillings during the cremation process. Depending on various formulas used by the cremation industry and state and federal agencies, the Apollo Crematorium emits between 3.5 and 39 pounds of mercury a year.
Mercury is particularly hazardous to children's developing nervous systems and brains, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It is known to affect cognitive ability, memory and language skills. In adults, it can cause excessive shyness, irritability, and attention deficit and respiratory problems.
Neptune's proposed location at 1151 Hensley St. is three blocks from the YMCA Child Development Center, which is licensed to care for 60 infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The Shields/Reid Community Center, on the next block, has numerous youth programs and a soccer field.
After hearing from about 30 community leaders, residents and environmental activists Tuesday, the council quickly and unanimously denied the zoning change.
Mayor Irma Anderson said cremation does not fit with the city's plans.
"We want to attract clean businesses to Richmond," she said. "We are moving toward greener businesses and a cleaner city environment."
Neptune Society Regional President Bill Farrar said cremation is a clean process.
"We have operated in the Bay Area for over 30 years," he said. "We have always complied with state regulations, and California is one of the most heavily regulated states in the country."
Farrar said Neptune, which has offices in 11 states, wanted to move from its Emeryville location because the neighborhood had changed from industrial to retail and residential. He did not say where else the crematorium might move.
Contact John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or jgeluardi@cctimes.com.
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This is good news, and good to hear that the city council is responding to the concerns of residents...not that it could've gotten away from it, especially with an election cycle upon us, wink wink...
And now another piece of news that the Tazer isn't so sure how to quantify. One suspect in the mugging of Latinos has been arrested, however...
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DEPUTIES ARREST TWO ROBBERY SUSPECTS
by Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
A man flagged down a passing sheriff's deputy moments after three men mugged him Thursday night, resulting in the arrest of two suspects.
The robbers approached the victim about 5:30 o.m. as he walked near the 400 block of Grove Avenue and robbed him, Contra Costa sheriff's Lt. Donny Gordon said. Moments later, a patrol car rounded the corner, and the victim attracted the deputy's attention as the robbers fled.
The sheriff's J-Team, working locally to combat muggings, arrested two suspects after a brief foot chase. The suspects, 38 and 18 were booked into County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of robbery. Authorities seek the third suspect, also 18.
The sheriff's office recently disclosed that nearly every mugging victim in North Richmond this year was a Latino man walking alone, a trend this robbery followed.
An ethnic stereotype that Latinos tend to carry large amounts of cash may provoke the robberies, authorities say, and the sheriff's office recently used Spanish leaflets to warn the public. More prevention efforts are in the works, Gordon said.
Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.
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The Tazer will repeat the admonition previously published:
TO REPORT A MUGGING:
If you were recently mugged in North Richmond but have not reported the crime, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office asks you to call 877-308-5248.
As resident Tazer sharpshooter Dread Captain points out, the first suspect was quickly apprehended because of fast reporting. That's what 911 is for.
A big thank you goes out to the sheriffs and their J-Team. If these are lone individuals with the same ideas, or copycats, or an organized gang, it doesn't matter to the Tazer. You're cheap thugs that need to be caught.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CITY COUNCIL WON'T LET CREMATORIUM MOVE IN
RICHMOND: Residents crowd meeting to express fears about carcinogens, say area already is too polluted
By John Geluardi
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
The City Council on Tuesday soundly rejected a zoning change that could have made Richmond the cremation center of the Bay Area.
Stewart Enterprises, one of the three largest funeral corporations in the United States and owner of the Neptune Society, requested the change so it could move its Apollo Crematorium from Emeryville to an industrial district adjacent to North Richmond, an unincorporated community of mostly low-income blacks and Latinos.
Carrying banners and placards that read "Over my dead body" and "We want to breathe clean air," more than 150 residents jammed into the council chamber Tuesday night to protest. Most said North Richmond, in the shadow of the Chevron refinery, already is too polluted.
"I am here together with the rest of the North Richmond community to say 'no' to this sneak attack on our community," said Henry Clark, executive director of the West County Toxics Coalition. "We will never accept a crematorium in our community."
The Apollo Crematorium, among the busiest such facilities in the state, incinerates more than 3,000 bodies a year in gas-fired retort machines, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Another crematorium, Bay Area Cremation and Funeral Services, also planned to move to an undisclosed location in Richmond if the council approved the zoning change.
Cremation still will be allowed on cemetery grounds.
Crematoriums are associated with elevated levels of carcinogens such as arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and chlorinated dioxins and furans, according to the air district's 2004 emissions report.
The most serious concern is mercury, which is emitted from amalgam dental fillings during the cremation process. Depending on various formulas used by the cremation industry and state and federal agencies, the Apollo Crematorium emits between 3.5 and 39 pounds of mercury a year.
Mercury is particularly hazardous to children's developing nervous systems and brains, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It is known to affect cognitive ability, memory and language skills. In adults, it can cause excessive shyness, irritability, and attention deficit and respiratory problems.
Neptune's proposed location at 1151 Hensley St. is three blocks from the YMCA Child Development Center, which is licensed to care for 60 infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The Shields/Reid Community Center, on the next block, has numerous youth programs and a soccer field.
After hearing from about 30 community leaders, residents and environmental activists Tuesday, the council quickly and unanimously denied the zoning change.
Mayor Irma Anderson said cremation does not fit with the city's plans.
"We want to attract clean businesses to Richmond," she said. "We are moving toward greener businesses and a cleaner city environment."
Neptune Society Regional President Bill Farrar said cremation is a clean process.
"We have operated in the Bay Area for over 30 years," he said. "We have always complied with state regulations, and California is one of the most heavily regulated states in the country."
Farrar said Neptune, which has offices in 11 states, wanted to move from its Emeryville location because the neighborhood had changed from industrial to retail and residential. He did not say where else the crematorium might move.
Contact John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or jgeluardi@cctimes.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is good news, and good to hear that the city council is responding to the concerns of residents...not that it could've gotten away from it, especially with an election cycle upon us, wink wink...
And now another piece of news that the Tazer isn't so sure how to quantify. One suspect in the mugging of Latinos has been arrested, however...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPUTIES ARREST TWO ROBBERY SUSPECTS
by Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
A man flagged down a passing sheriff's deputy moments after three men mugged him Thursday night, resulting in the arrest of two suspects.
The robbers approached the victim about 5:30 o.m. as he walked near the 400 block of Grove Avenue and robbed him, Contra Costa sheriff's Lt. Donny Gordon said. Moments later, a patrol car rounded the corner, and the victim attracted the deputy's attention as the robbers fled.
The sheriff's J-Team, working locally to combat muggings, arrested two suspects after a brief foot chase. The suspects, 38 and 18 were booked into County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of robbery. Authorities seek the third suspect, also 18.
The sheriff's office recently disclosed that nearly every mugging victim in North Richmond this year was a Latino man walking alone, a trend this robbery followed.
An ethnic stereotype that Latinos tend to carry large amounts of cash may provoke the robberies, authorities say, and the sheriff's office recently used Spanish leaflets to warn the public. More prevention efforts are in the works, Gordon said.
Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@cctimes.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Tazer will repeat the admonition previously published:
TO REPORT A MUGGING:
If you were recently mugged in North Richmond but have not reported the crime, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office asks you to call 877-308-5248.
As resident Tazer sharpshooter Dread Captain points out, the first suspect was quickly apprehended because of fast reporting. That's what 911 is for.
A big thank you goes out to the sheriffs and their J-Team. If these are lone individuals with the same ideas, or copycats, or an organized gang, it doesn't matter to the Tazer. You're cheap thugs that need to be caught.
posted by Plunda Claus @ 9:04 AM
1 Comments:
At July 22, 2006 11:15 AM,
Anonymous said…
Thanks for that hat tip, Tazer! And a tip of my own hat to the CCC Sheriff's Office as well.
I don't find the city council particularly brave in turning down the crematorium, though. I'm still split on if it's as dangerous as some say, but opposition in the community is so strong that showing even a flicker of letting the crematorium get built would've been political suicide. If the levels of the pollutants would've been significant, they did the right thing. However, if the Neptune Society is right and their operation would've been clean and safe, then the city is being inhospitable to business for the sake of saving its own popularity.
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