Richmore Village/Metropolitan Square Newsletter Volume 5, Issue 3 IMPORTANT LINKS rvmsnews@sbcglobal.net (contact email) NEED YOUR INPUT Any articles, opinions, or information you d like in this newsletter must be submitted by the 15th of each month for inclusion in the next newsletter. Email all articles to: rvmsnews@sbcglobal.net RVMS Neighborhood Council Officers - 2013 Copresidents: Nancy Burke/ Deena Love Vice President/Secretary: Kate Sibley (k8sibley@gmail.com) Treasurer: Jon Stiles Representative to Neighborhood Coordinating Council: Deena Love/Lesli Zephyr Greetings, Neighbors! COPRESIDENTS MESSAGE September 2013 We are looking forward to our next meeting on September 9th; you'll find the agenda in this newsletter. Kato Jaworski will be joining us to talk about the Richmond Art Center and all the goings on there. Shelli Fried will be coming also to talk to us about the WriterCoach program and how to volunteer. You may remember seeing written material about this at our last meeting. We will have our crime watch report and potluck, starting at 6:30, as usual. National Night Out was a big success this year. We had more attendees and lots of food, and the kids had a blast between face painting and the jumper and, of course, the giant piñatas. The raffle was a hit, as was the karaoke. Everyone had a great time and the caravan even got there right on time this year. Thanks to the staff at Rubicon Programs for everything they did to make this event such a success, and to all the neighbors who brought food and volunteered. Our neighborhood has had mostly minor crime since our last meeting. Thank you to Roberta for her weekly crime watch reports and, as always, thank you to Kate for keeping us all connected to each other*. See you at the meeting! Nancy Burke and Deena Love CONTACT: dlove@dllz.com *If you want to receive regular email updates from Neighborhood Council VP/Secretary Kate Sibley, please send her an email at k8sibley@gmail.com and ask to be added to her list. National Night Out 2013 Richmore Village/Metro Square Neighborhood What an amazing group of FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
REST IN PEACE On June 16th, 2013 our neighbor and friend Maurice Simmons passed away. Maurice was the father of two wonderful children Julius and Jalina Simmons and the husband of Katrina Huaman. He was a friendly young man who enjoyed his family, talking with his neighbors, fishing, and the Oakland Raiders. In his last gesture of kindness, Maurice donated his heart, kidney and liver. Services were held on Thursday, June 27th at the Elmhurst Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In attendance were his family, friends and a whole host of people who's lives were touched by Maurice's spirit. His childhood friend Pastor Trevor Barnes Jr. officiated the ceremony. Maurice's warm spirit and laughter will be missed. Organ and tissue donations provide a second chance at life for thousands of people each year. You have the opportunity to be one of the individuals who make these miracles happen. To register as an organ, tissue, and eye donor go to organdonor.gov and sign up to save a life. RVSMC Meeting Agenda September 9, 2013 6:30 P.M. Richmond Senior Center 2525 Macdonald Ave City of Richmond Potluck Dinner 6:30 Meeting Agenda 7:00-8:30 I. Call to Order and Introductions 5 Mins. II. Approval of Minutes 2 Mins III. Treasurer s Report 3 Mins IV. Crime Watch Report RPD 15 Mins a. Questions and Answers V. Presentation from RAC 30 Mins VI. Presentation from WriterCoach 20 Mins VII. Old Business a. National Night Out 5 Mins b. Member announcements 5 Mins
RVMS Neighbor Arrested for Civil Disobedience At the Chevron/Climate Change protest, Richmond officers (primarily from the department s Traffic and special Events Unit) escorted a group of about 1,000 people who marched from the Richmond BART station to the entrance area of the Chevron Refinery between 11-12 a.m., August 3. There were no problems with the march. Once at the Refinery, the crowd swelled to approximately 2,500 people. After listening to a group of speakers, approximately onetenth of the protesters elected to participate in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience which involved trespassing on Chevron property just outside of their entrance gate. The department s Mobile Field Force (MFF), under the direction of Captain Mark Gagan, coordinated the safety and security detail around the perimeter of Chevron. Officers ultimately arrested 209 individuals for Trespassing and 1 person for committing an assault (on another attendee). The arrest process took several hours, but went very smoothly, with no resistance or lack of cooperation by the arrestees. The arrested persons were transported to the parking lot behind the Fire Station on Hensley St. where they were booked and released. The protest wrapped up around 5 p.m. The department received considerable positive feedback (from Chevron, the protesters, and the media) for the manner in which officers did their jobs and interacted with the public. Kate Thoreau Sibley FIRE IN RICHMORE VILLAGE A fire damaged portions of two homes in Richmore Village. Fire crews responded to reports of a fire found two detached garages fully involved, fire Batallion Chief Metlin Turner said. Turner and officials believe the blaze originated in the garage of one of the homes. The garage was completely destroyed and the fire spread to a neighboring home. Turner said it appears flammable products stored in the garage started the fire. Thankfully, no one was injured, but this is a good lesson for all of us to be very care when storing flammable items. Be safe. RVMS NEIGHBORHOOD ALERT There may be individuals in our neighborhood finding our dogs and not making any effort to return them to their owners. One of our neighbors had their dog go missing. This family put up signs throughout the neighborhood and beyond. Over 5 days they visited every shelter within 15 or so miles. Their dog wore a collar with identifying tags and was also micro-chipped, so the owners were hopeful that someone would contact them upon finding their dog. The dog was spotted in the neighborhood being walked by an individual that when questioned claimed ownership of the dog. Subsequently, the dog was located in this individual s yard and returned to its rightful owners. We urge our neighbors to keep an eye on your dogs and keep them secured.
Don t miss our next neighborhood potluck/meeting. Monday, September 9 at 6:30PM Bring some food to share with friends. Richmond Senior Center 2525 MacDonald Ave. The Great City of Richmond! RICHMOND NEIGHBORHOOD COORDINATING COUNCIL P.O. BOX 5508 RICHMOND, CA 94805 NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 253 RICHMOND, CA