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122-610: Point Pinole is located in the city of Richmond, California . It is on the site of a number of former explosives factories; the largest of these was operated by the Giant Powder Company , which was relocated to this relatively remote spot following accidental explosions at its former sites in San Francisco and at Albany Hill . Giant had built the first dynamite manufacturing plant in the United States at

244-736: A $ 2 per dog fee. In 2008 the park acquired the adjoining Breuner Marsh site and added it to the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline park. EBRPD renamed it the Dotson Family Marsh . The park is a mixture of grassland and woodland, with beaches and low cliffs, and it has a particularly rich bird life, including many ducks and shorebirds , and the endangered black rail . It is located on the Pacific Flyway , so many migrant species are also seen. The marsh provides habitat for several creatures, including

366-486: A beneficial environmental impact, the Sierra Club expressed opposition to such reforms, arguing "Whatever the proposed project is — whether it's a pipeline or a highway or a solar farm — it should be subject to the same commonsense review process. If we want these projects to move forward faster, we shouldn't be weakening environmental laws, but investing more resources into the agencies and staff." The Sierra Club has

488-491: A cost of $ 193 million. However, Caltrans issued a letter in 1998 saying it would not take over responsibility for the road unless it was brought up to expressway standards; as it was cost-prohibitive to convert it, the road remains the responsibility of the city and county. In 2006, the city celebrated its centennial. This coincided with the repaving and streetscaping project of Macdonald Avenue . The city's old rundown commercial district along Macdonald has been designated

610-631: A dam and aqueduct on the Tuolumne River, one of the largest southern Sierra rivers, as a way to increase and stabilize the city's water supply. Gifford Pinchot , a progressive supporter of public utilities and head of the US Forest Service , which then had jurisdiction over the national parks, supported the creation of the Hetch Hetchy dam. Muir appealed to his friend U.S. President Roosevelt, who would not commit himself against

732-700: A decades-long population decline ensued. The census listed 99,545 residents in 1950. By 1960 much of the temporary housing built for the shipyard workers was torn down, and the population dropped to about 71,800. Just before his April 1968 assassination , Martin Luther King Jr. had been working on plans for the Poor People's Campaign , including a multi-city tour of the U.S. with a stop in Richmond. His son, Martin Luther King III , completed

854-448: A female householder with no husband present, 2,585 (7.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,538 (7.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 427 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 9,546 households (26.4%) were made up of individuals, and 2,707 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83. There were 24,018 families (66.5% of all households);

976-487: A history of filing lawsuits against new housing developments and trying to block legislative proposals to ease housing construction. Critics have characterized the Sierra Club's actions on housing as NIMBYism . In 2012, the Sierra Club sued to block the construction of a mixed-use development composed of 16,655 housing units (for an estimated 37,000 residents) and commercial space in Riverside, California. In 2018,

1098-553: A large Yosemite National Park surrounding the much smaller state park which had been created in 1864. This campaign succeeded in 1890. As early as 1889, Johnson had encouraged Muir to form an "association" to help protect the Sierra Nevada , and preliminary meetings were held to plan the group. Others involved in the early planning included artist William Keith , Willis Linn Jepson , Warren Olney , Willard Drake Johnson , Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan . In May 1892,

1220-555: A major part of Sierra Club culture, and in some chapters, constitute the majority of member activity. Other chapters, however, may sponsor very few outdoor or recreational activities, being focused solely on political advocacy. Generally, chapters in California are much more active with regard to outdoor activities. The Sierra Club presents a number of annual awards, such as the Sierra Club John Muir Award ,

1342-533: A major rail yard next to Point Richmond. It constructed a tunnel through the Potrero San Pablo ridge to run track from the yard to a ferry landing from which freight cars could be transshipped to San Francisco. Where this track crosses the main street in Point Richmond, there remain two of the last operational wigwag grade crossing signals in the United States, and the only surviving examples of

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1464-471: A majority in 1968, but in the April 1969 election the anti-Brower candidates won all five open positions. Ansel Adams and president Richard Leonard, two of his closest friends on the board, led the opposition to Brower, charging him with financial recklessness and insubordination and calling for his ouster as executive director. The board voted ten to five to accept Brower's resignation. Eventually reconciled with

1586-532: A month in cash, plus opportunities to travel beyond Richmond." In 2004, Richmond was ranked the 12th most dangerous city in America. Those rankings have changed, and Richmond is no longer ranked as a "most dangerous" city, in either California or the United States. This is in large part due to the efforts of Police Chief Chris Magnus, who established "community policing", which involves police officers engaging with affected high crime communities. Richmond lies in

1708-483: A new main entrance and parking area. The new entrance provides a bridge over active railroad tracks, which had been a hazard for pedestrians approaching the park from the parking lot. The project cost $ 11.7 million, which was largely funded by local bond Measure CC, the City of Richmond and grants from the following grantors: The new bridge is part of a multi-phase project that will eventually lead to additional picnic areas,

1830-472: A new playground and the route to a new interpretive center for the park. At the same ceremony in April 2017, EBRPD also renamed and dedicated Breuner Marsh as the Dotson Family Marsh, honoring a family led by Reverend Richard Dotson, who had worked for many years to keep Breuner Marsh wild and open to the public, opposing several attempts to develop the tract for commercial ventures. Rev. Dotson

1952-487: A program to prevent gun violence, the Office of Neighborhood Safety. The program collects information and analyzes public records to determine "the 50 people in Richmond most likely to shoot someone and to be shot themselves." It then offers selected individuals "a spot in a program that includes a stipend to turn their lives around". "Over an 18-month period, if the men demonstrate better behavior, ONS offers them up to $ 1,000

2074-480: A short distance San Francisco on Red Rock Island in the San Francisco Bay . Richmond is one of two cities, the other being San Rafael , that sits on the shores of both San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay . Its population was 116,448 as of the 2020 census making it the second largest city in the United States named Richmond after Richmond, Virginia . The name "Richmond" predates incorporation of

2196-406: A single issue with some kind of geography involved. While much activity is coordinated at a local level, the club is a unified organization; decisions made at the national level take precedence, including the removal and creation of chapters, as well as recruiting and removing members. The club is known for engaging in two main activities: promoting and guiding outdoor recreational activities, which

2318-484: A site known as Glen Canyon Park, which started up on March 19, 1868. On November 26, 1869, there was an explosion that destroyed every building on the site (including the fence around the plant). The plant was forced to move farther away from heavily populated areas. Another explosion occurred at the Albany Hill plant in 1892, before Giant built its last plant in the lightly populated area of Pinole Point. Giant created

2440-626: A small unincorporated community, which it named Giant, California . Later, the Giant community became the established Croatian community of Sobrante . Although the Point Pinole factory operated until 1960, when Bethlehem Steel Company acquired the property from Atlas Powder Company, little trace of it now remains. After several years, the East Bay Regional Park District acquired the property and opened Point Pinole to

2562-590: Is a city in western Contra Costa County, California , United States. The city was incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a city council . Located in the San Francisco Bay Area 's East Bay region, Richmond borders San Pablo , Albany , El Cerrito and Pinole in addition to the unincorporated communities of North Richmond , Hasford Heights, Kensington , El Sobrante , Bayview-Montalvin Manor , Tara Hills , and East Richmond Heights , and for

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2684-417: Is also home to one of the last pristine moist grassland habitats in the entire Bay Area at the former Campus Bay UC Berkeley Field Station near Meeker Slough . Richmond residents, however, have limited access to other environmental benefits. Because of the refineries located in Richmond, air quality is particularly low, and residents are especially at risk of air-pollution-related health issues. In 2006,

2806-417: Is done throughout the United States but primarily in California (especially Southern California), and political activism to promote environmental causes. Described as one of the United States' "leading environmental organizations", the Sierra Club makes endorsements of individual candidates for elected office. Journalist Robert Underwood Johnson had worked with John Muir on the successful campaign to create

2928-526: Is governed by a 15-member board of directors. Each year, five directors are elected to three-year terms, and all club members are eligible to vote. A president is elected annually by the Board from among its members. The executive director runs the day-to-day operations of the group. Michael Brune , formerly of Rainforest Action Network , served as the organization's executive director from 2010. Brune succeeded Carl Pope . Pope stepped down amid discontent that

3050-645: Is home to many species of animals. Canada geese visit the city on their annual migrations. Harbor seals live on the Castro Rocks, and pigeons and gulls populate the sidewalks and parking lots. Tadpoles and frogs can be found in the local creeks and vernal pools. Field mice and lizards are also found. Herons and egrets nest in protected areas on Brooks Island. Deer , falcons , raccoons , ducks, foxes, owls, and mountain lions live in Wildcat Canyon and Point Pinole Regional Shoreline . A license

3172-576: Is land and 22.4 square miles (58 km ) (comprising 42.71%) is water. The city sits on 32 miles (51 km) of waterfront, more than any other city in the Bay Area. The city borders San Francisco Bay to the southwest and San Pablo Bay to the northwest, and includes Brooks Island and the Brother Islands entirely, and half of Red Rock Island . There are several cities and unincorporated communities surrounding or bordering Richmond. To

3294-473: Is lessened. The average wind speed is 6–9 miles per hour (10–14 km/h) with stronger winds from March through August; the strongest winds are in June. The city also enjoys more than 80% sunshine seven months out of the year and ten months with 60% or more. December and January are the darkest months with about 45% average brightness. The city experiences virtually no snowfall, and brief hail annually. Richmond

3416-473: Is needed for fishing on the waterfront or city waters but not on the piers, where in addition to crabs, sturgeon are plentiful and bat rays may also be found. Striped bass , bat rays , leopard sharks , surf perch , jacksmelt , sturgeon , white croaker , and flounders are also found. Richmond is one of the few places where you can find the rare Olympia oyster on the West Coast, in the waters along

3538-786: The Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography , the Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award , the Edgar Wayburn Award for public officials, the Rachel Carson Award for journalists and writers, the William O. Douglas Award for legal work, and the EarthCare Award for international environmental protection and conservation. Land management, access, conservation are traditionally considered

3660-493: The George Floyd protests and subsequent public reconciliation of systematic racism in public history , the Sierra Club described their own early history as intermingled with racism. In particular, the early Sierra Club favored the needs of white members to the exclusion of people of color, and Muir and some of his associates, such as Joseph LeConte , David Starr Jordan , and Henry Fairfield Osborn were closely related to

3782-903: The Grand Canyon . The book Time and the River Flowing: Grand Canyon authored by Francois Leydet was published in the Exhibit Format book series. Opposing the Bridge Canyon and Marble Canyon dam projects, full-page ads the club placed in The New York Times and The Washington Post in 1966 exclaimed, "This time it's the Grand Canyon they want to flood," and asked, "Should we also flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get nearer

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3904-633: The Richmond Assembly Plant , which later moved to Milpitas in 1956. The old Ford plant in Richmond has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. In 2004 it was purchased by developer Eddie Orton, who converted it into an events center named Ford Point Building–The Craneway. At the onset of World War II , the four Richmond Shipyards were built along Richmond's waterfront, employing thousands of workers, many migrating to Richmond from other parts of

4026-763: The Ridgway's rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse . Whittell Marsh is the site of one of the few remaining Native American shellmounds in the San Francisco Bay Area. The park is located on the Hayward Fault , whose exact position is marked by monuments erected by the United States Geological Survey . The USGS has a seismometer posted along the Union Pacific Railroad , which divides the park from

4148-522: The progressive movement , it was one of the first large-scale environmental preservation organizations in the world. Since the 1950s, it has lobbied politicians to promote environmentalist policies, even if they are controversial. Recent goals include promoting sustainable energy and mitigating global warming , as well as opposing the use of coal , hydropower , and nuclear power . Its political endorsements generally favor liberal and progressive candidates in elections. In addition to political advocacy,

4270-560: The "upside-down" type. The wigwag is a type of railroad crossing signal that was phased out in the 1970s and '80s across the country. There was controversy in 2005 when the State Transportation Authority ordered the BNSF railroad company to upgrade the railroad crossing signals. A compromise was achieved that included installing new modern crossing gates, red lights and bells while not removing, but simply shutting off,

4392-474: The 1920s and 1930s, the Sierra Club functioned as a social and recreational society, conducting outings, maintaining trails and building huts and lodges in the Sierra. Preservation campaigns included a several-year effort to enlarge Sequoia National Park (achieved in 1926) and over three decades of work to protect and then preserve Kings Canyon National Park (established in 1940). Historian Stephen Fox notes, "In

4514-518: The 1930s most of the three thousand members were middle-aged Republicans." The New Deal brought many conservationists to the Democratic Party, and many Democrats entered the ranks of conservationists. Leading the generation of Young Turks who revitalized the Sierra Club after World War II were attorneys Richard Leonard and Bestor Robinson , nature photographer Ansel Adams , and David Brower . Adams sponsored Brower for membership in

4636-600: The Bay and Red Rock Island. The city is within the 94801, 94803, 94804, 94805, and 94806 ZIP Codes . Richmond, like much of the coastal East Bay , enjoys a very mild Mediterranean climate year round. The climate is slightly warmer than the coastal areas of San Francisco, the Peninsula , and Marin County; it is however more temperate than areas further inland. The average highs range from 57 to 73 °F (14 to 23 °C) and

4758-469: The California legislature to give Yosemite Valley to the U.S. federal government, and preserving coastal redwood forests of California. Muir escorted President Theodore Roosevelt through Yosemite in 1903, and two years later the California legislature ceded Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to the federal government. The Sierra Club won its first lobbying victory with the creation of the country's second national park, after Yellowstone in 1872. In

4880-585: The Echo Park dam from the Colorado River project as approved in 1955. Recognition of the Sierra Club's role in the Echo Park dam victory boosted membership from 10,000 in 1956 to 15,000 in 1960. The Sierra Club was now truly a national conservation organization, and preservationists took the offensive with wilderness proposals. The club's Biennial Wilderness Conferences, launched in 1949 in concert with The Wilderness Society, became an important force in

5002-563: The Hispanic population, 27.3% were of Mexican origin, 4.7% Salvadoran , 1.7% Guatemalan , and 1.2% Nicaraguan heritage. The census reported that 102,118 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 670 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 913 (0.9%) were institutionalized. There were 36,093 households, out of which 13,487 (37.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,502 (40.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,931 (19.2%) had

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5124-695: The Poverty in America Tour in 2007, stopping in Richmond. Unrest in late June 1968, sparked by the police shooting of a 15-year-old boy, damaged businesses in downtown along Macdonald Avenue. Most notably, the Travalini Furniture Store was destroyed by fire, which was assumed to be the result of the violent protests, but according to Fraser Felter, who was a reporter for the Richmond Independent , police sources told him

5246-703: The Santa Fe and Southern Pacific and serviced their passenger coach equipment. The Pullman Company was a large employer of African American men, who worked mainly as porters on the Pullman cars. Many of them settled in the East Bay, from Richmond to Oakland, before World War II. From 1917 and throughout the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was active in the city. In 1930 the Ford Motor Company opened

5368-564: The Sierra Club has expressed opposition to power lines and said that hydropower projects disrupt animal habitats. The Sierra Club opposes dams it considers inappropriate, including some government-built dams in national parks. In the early 20th century, the organization fought against the damming and flooding of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park . Despite this lobbying, Congress authorized

5490-524: The Sierra Club opposed SB 827 , which would have permitted dense housing near major public transit stations in California. Most other environmental groups supported the legislation, as dense housing construction near public transit was estimated to substantially reduce car pollution and help California reach its emissions target. Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Change and Business Program at UC-Berkeley and UCLA Schools of Law, called it “one of

5612-518: The Sierra Club organizes outdoor recreation activities, and has historically been a notable organization for mountaineering and rock climbing in the United States. Members of the Sierra Club pioneered the Yosemite Decimal System of climbing, and were responsible for a substantial amount of the early development of climbing. Much of this activity occurred in the group's namesake, the Sierra Nevada . The Sierra Club operates only in

5734-407: The Sierra Club set a goal to close half of all coal plants in the U.S. by 2017. American business magnate and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $ 50 million to the Sierra Club's anti-coal work in 2011, and announced another $ 30 million gift to Sierra's Beyond Coal campaign in 2015. The Beyond Coal campaign says 187 coal plants have been closed since 2010. Other funders of

5856-531: The Sierra Club sued the Puerto Rican government for 18 renewable energy projects on more than 2,000 hectares of land. The Sierra Club argued that the land was ecologically sensitive and of high agricultural value. The Sierra Club said that building renewable energy projects on agricultural land was a "serious attack on the food security of Puerto Rico." A goal of the Sierra Club is to replace coal with other energy sources. Through its " Beyond Coal " campaign,

5978-525: The Sierra Club would officially participate in the first civil disobedience action in its 120-year history as part of the ongoing protest calling on the Obama administration to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, stating, "We are watching a global crisis unfold before our eyes, and to stand aside and let it happen—even though we know how to stop it—would be unconscionable." On February 13, 2013, Brune

6100-586: The Sierra Club's anti-coal campaign include the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation . The CEO of Chesapeake Energy , a natural gas company, donated $ 26 million to the Beyond Coal campaign between 2007 and 2010. The Sierra Club sued the Puerto Rico government in 2023 for its plans to build dozens of renewable energy projects. The Sierra Club said

6222-518: The Sierra Nevada were made on Sierra Club outings. Sierra Club members were also early enthusiasts of rock climbing. In 1911, the first chapter was formed, Angeles, and it began conducting local excursions in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles and throughout the West. Steve Roper 's Fifty Classic Climbs of North America , sponsored and published by the Sierra Club, is still considered one of

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6344-511: The United States and holds the legal status of 501(c)(4) nonprofit social welfare organization. Sierra Club Canada is a separate entity. The Sierra Club's stated mission is "To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives." The Sierra Club

6466-455: The World , with color photographs by Eliot Porter . These coffee-table books, published by their Sierra Club Books division, introduced the Sierra Club to a wider audience. Fifty thousand copies were sold in the first four years, and by 1960 sales exceeded $ 10 million. Soon Brower was publishing two new titles a year in the Exhibit Format series, but not all did as well as In Wildness. Although

6588-748: The administration of President Jimmy Carter . Efforts of the Sierra Club and others—including Black community organizers who fought against destructive "urban renewal" projects—led to passage of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Water Pollution Control Act . The Sierra Club formed a political committee and made its first presidential endorsement in 1984 in support of Walter Mondale 's unsuccessful campaign to unseat Ronald Reagan . McCloskey resigned as executive director in 1985 after 16 + 1 ⁄ 2 years (the same length of time Brower had led

6710-693: The average family size was 3.43. The age distribution of the population shows 25,800 people (24.9%) under the age of 18, 10,364 people (10.0%) aged 18 to 24, 30,846 people (29.7%) aged 25 to 44, 26,109 people (25.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,582 people (10.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. There were 39,328 housing units at an average density of 749.4 units per square mile (289.3 units/km ), of which 36,093 were occupied, of which 18,659 (51.7%) were owner-occupied, and 17,434 (48.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate

6832-695: The battle against the Echo Park Dam in Dinosaur National Monument in Utah , which had been announced by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1950. Brower led the fight, marshaling support from other conservation groups. Brower's background in publishing proved decisive; with the help of publisher Alfred Knopf, This Is Dinosaur was rushed into press. Invoking the specter of Hetch Hetchy, conservationists effectively lobbied Congress, which deleted

6954-422: The board of directors voted to support PG&E's plan for the power plant. A membership referendum in 1967 upheld the board's decision. But Brower concluded that nuclear power at any location was a mistake, and he voiced his opposition to the plant, contrary to the club's official policy. As pro- and anti-Brower factions polarized, the annual election of new directors reflected the conflict. Brower's supporters won

7076-475: The books were successful in introducing the public to wilderness preservation and the Sierra Club, they lost money for the organization, some $ 60,000 a year after 1964. Financial management became a matter of contention between Brower and his board of directors. The Sierra Club's most publicized crusade of the 1960s was the effort to stop the Bureau of Reclamation from building two dams that would flood portions of

7198-523: The building, reusing the land for a mixed-use development including residential, retail, and logistics facilities. In the late 1990s the Richmond Parkway was built along Richmond's western industrial and northwestern parkland, connecting Interstates 80 and 580. Construction of the Parkway, which follows the alignment of SR 93 as proposed in 1958, started in 1990 and completed in 1996 at

7320-415: The campaign that secured passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964, marking the first time that public lands (9.1 million acres) were permanently protected from development. Grand Teton National Park and Olympic National Park were also enlarged at the Sierra Club's urging. In 1960, Brower launched the Exhibit Format book series with This Is the American Earth , and in 1962, In Wildness Is the Preservation of

7442-431: The campaigns to save the Grand Canyon and establish Redwoods National Park and North Cascades National Park . During the 1970s, McCloskey led the club's legislative activity—preserving Alaskan lands and eastern wilderness areas, and supporting the new environmental agenda: the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, the Clean Air Act amendments, and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, passed during

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7564-423: The ceiling?" The ads generated a storm of protest to the Congress, prompting the Internal Revenue Service to announce it was suspending the Sierra Club's 501(c)(3) status pending an investigation. The board had taken the precaution of setting up the Sierra Club Foundation as a (c)(3) organization in 1960 for endowments and contributions for educational and other non-lobbying activities. Even so, contributions to

7686-471: The city by more than fifty years. Edmund Randolph , originally from Richmond, Virginia , represented the city of San Francisco when California's first legislature met in San Jose in December 1849, and he became state assemblyman from San Francisco. Out of fondness for his hometown, Randolph persuaded a federal surveying party, surveying and mapping the San Francisco Bay, to place the names "Point Richmond" and "Richmond" on their 1854 geodetic coastal map. The map

7808-409: The city council requested a declaration of a state of emergency and asked for the intervention of the Contra Costa County Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol . Murder, vehicle theft, and larceny rates remain high, although they tend to be concentrated in the Iron Triangle and adjacent unincorporated North Richmond , which is outside the jurisdiction of the Richmond Police Department . By 1991,

7930-435: The city had the largest winery in the world; the small abandoned village of Winehaven remains fenced off along Western Drive in the Point Molate Area . Richmond was a small town at that time, with some industrial development centered on the waterfront based around the railroad and oil refineries. The Pullman Company also established a major facility in Richmond in the early 20th century. The facility connected with both

8052-444: The city is the Santa Cruz tarweed which survives alongside Interstate 80. Wildcat Canyon also hosts falcons and vultures. Threatened black rails also live in the city's marshes. After a baby gray whale was beached on the Point Richmond shore in May 2007, its rotting corpse became bothersome to neighbors. Removal was delayed as various agencies argued over which would have to pay for it, at an eventual cost of $ 18,000. Richmond

8174-406: The city was sued by an environmental group for dumping raw sewage into the Bay. Councilmember Tom Butt was very vocal on the subject, accusing the city council of turning a blind eye to the problem. A 60-acre, 10.5-megawatt solar farm was opened within the city in 2018. The farm sits on a former landfill owned by Chevron . The city has in the past suffered from a high crime rate; at one point,

8296-427: The city's "Main Street District" by the state of California. This has led to funding of improvements in the form of state grants. Richmond is located at 37°56′09″N 122°20′52″W  /  37.93583°N 122.34778°W  / 37.93583; -122.34778 . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 52.5 square miles (136 km ), of which 30.1 square miles (78 km )

8418-462: The city's all-time high of 62 homicides, among a population of 98,000, was seven times the national average. The portion of these homicides that were drug- or gang-related increased from 5 percent to 55 percent between 1989 and 1991. Despite the city making extreme headway in crime reduction and prevention, Richmond received widespread attention in 2009 when a girl was gang raped at a homecoming dance at Richmond High School. In 2007, Richmond opened

8540-417: The city; they are tested on the first Wednesday of every month, at 11 am PST (12 pm PDT), and are usually used to warn of toxic chemical releases from the Chevron Richmond Refinery . In a July 26, 1993, industrial accident, a General Chemical company rail tanker car containing oleum overheated and exploded in the General Chemical railyard. This resulted in a 17-mile (27 km) area contaminated with

8662-401: The club dropped off, aggravating its annual operating deficits. Membership, however, climbed sharply in response to the investigation into the legitimacy of the society's tax status by the IRS from 30,000 in 1965 to 57,000 in 1967 and 75,000 in 1969. The victory over the dam projects and challenges from the IRS did not come without costs. To make up for the power that would have been produced by

8784-413: The club had played the leading role blocking PG&E's nuclear power plant proposed for Bodega Bay, California , in the early 1960s, that case had been built around the local environmental impact and earthquake danger from the nearby San Andreas Fault , not from opposition to nuclear power itself. In exchange for moving the new proposed site from the environmentally sensitive Nipomo Dunes to Diablo Canyon,

8906-480: The club's legislative director, was named executive director in 1992. In the 1990s, club members Jim Bensman, Roger Clarke, David Dilworth, Chad Hanson and David Orr along with about 2,000 members formed the John Muir Sierrans (JMS), an internal caucus, to promote changes to club positions. They favored a zero-cut forest policy on public lands and, a few years later, decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam . JMS

9028-417: The club, Brower was elected to the board of directors for a term from 1983 to 1988, and again from 1995 to 2000. Brower resigned from the board in 2000. Michael McCloskey, hired by Brower in 1961 as the club's first northwest field representative, became the club's second executive director in 1969. An administrator attentive to detail, McCloskey had set up the club's conservation department in 1965 and guided

9150-609: The club, and he was appointed to the editorial board of the Sierra Club Bulletin. After World War II Brower returned to his job with the University of California Press, and began editing the Sierra Club Bulletin in 1946. In 1950, the Sierra Club had some 7,000 members, mostly on the West Coast. That year the Atlantic chapter became the first formed outside California. An active volunteer board of directors ran

9272-468: The construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam on the Tuolumne River . The Sierra Club continues to support removal of the dam. The Sierra Club advocates the decommissioning of Glen Canyon Dam and the draining of Lake Powell . The club also supports removal, breaching or decommissioning of many other dams, including four dams on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington . The Sierra Club opposes

9394-473: The contract. In November 2011, Sierra Club chairman Carl Pope stepped down amid discontent about the Clorox deal and other issues. Between 2007 and 2010, the Sierra Club accepted over $ 25 million in donations from the gas industry, mostly from Aubrey McClendon , CEO of Chesapeake Energy , a large gas drilling company involved in fracking . In January 2013, executive director Michael Brune announced that

9516-420: The core advocacy areas of the Sierra Club. Uniquely for a progressive organization, the Sierra Club has strong grassroots organization in rural areas, with much activity focused on ensuring equitable and environmentally-friendly use of public lands. This is particularly accentuated by the fact that the club attracts many people who primarily join the club for recreation and use of public land for hiking. In 2023,

9638-506: The country after being recruited. These new workers generally lived in housing constructed specifically for the wartime boom, scattered throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Richmond, Berkeley and Albany. Many of these new migrants were Black Americans from the South and to a lesser extent the Midwest who took jobs in heavy industry and transport as those industries expanded to meet

9760-406: The country, Sierra Club also organizes hiking tours. Sierra Club's website has a "hiking near me" function. Section " Sierra Club Near You " shows all the upcoming trips in nearby area. The historic High Trips, sometimes large expeditions with more than a hundred participants and crew, have given way to smaller and more numerous excursions held across the United States and abroad. These outings form

9882-560: The dam had a friend in the White House. The bill to dam Hetch Hetchy passed Congress in 1913, and so the Sierra Club lost its first major battle. In retaliation, the club supported creation of the National Park Service in 1916, to remove the parks from Forest Service oversight. Stephen Mather , a Club member from Chicago and an opponent of the Hetch Hetchy dam, became the first National Park Service director. During

10004-403: The dam, given its popularity with the people of San Francisco (a referendum in 1908 confirmed a seven-to-one majority in favor of the dam and municipal water). Muir and attorney William Edward Colby began a national campaign against the dam, attracting the support of many eastern conservationists. With the 1912 election of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , who carried San Francisco, supporters of

10126-502: The dams, the Sierra Club actually advocated for coal power plants. The result of the campaign and its trade-off was, in the words of historian Andrew Needham, that "the Grand Canyon became protected, sacred space," while "the Navajo Reservation"—which housed some of the main power plants picking up the slack—"became increasingly industrial." Despite the club's success in blocking plans for the Grand Canyon dams and weathering

10248-584: The definitive rock climbing guidebooks in the United States. The Wilderness Travel Course is a basic mountaineering class that is administered by the Sierra Club. In World War II , a number of Sierra Club leaders joined the 10th Mountain Division . Among them was David R. Brower , who managed the High Trip program from 1947 to 1954, while serving as a major in the Army Reserve. In many areas of

10370-399: The early eugenics movement in the United States . Michael Brune, writing as the executive director of the Sierra Club, disavowed founder John Muir in the summer of 2020, but some board members said Brune's characterization of Muir was not representative of the organization. In January 2023, former NAACP president Ben Jealous became the organization's new executive director, making him

10492-632: The fire was set to avoid a debt instead by destroying store records. In the 1970s, the Hilltop area was developed in Richmond's northern suburbs, further depressing the downtown area as it drew retail clients and tenants away to the large indoor Hilltop Mall, which opened in 1976. The shopping mall, last named Hilltop Horizon , was opened under Taubman Centers , and has been sold since then to GM Pension Trust (1998), Simon Property Group (2007), Jones Lang LaSalle (2012), LBG Real Estate (2017), and Prologis (2021), who announced plans to close and demolish

10614-573: The first African American to fulfill the role. In 2024, Sierra Club listed nuclear power as one of the sources included in Clean Energy Standard (CES). In 1901, William Colby organized the first Sierra Club excursion to Yosemite Valley . The annual High Trips were led by mountaineers such as Francis P. Farquhar , Joseph Nisbet LeConte , Norman Clyde , Walter A. Starr, Jr. , Jules Eichorn , Glen Dawson , Ansel Adams , and David R. Brower . A number of first ascents in

10736-475: The first decade of the 1900s, the Sierra Club became embroiled in the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir battle that divided preservationists from "resource management" conservationists. In the late 19th century, the city of San Francisco was rapidly outgrowing its limited water supply, which depended on intermittent local springs and streams. In 1890, San Francisco mayor James D. Phelan proposed to build

10858-589: The first inhabitants of the Richmond area, settling an estimated 5,000 years ago. They spoke the Chochenyo language , and subsisted as hunter-gatherers and harvesters . The site that would eventually become the city of Richmond was part of the Rancho San Pablo land granted to Don Francisco María Castro , from which the nearby town of San Pablo inherited its name; the Point Richmond area

10980-717: The group had strayed from its core principles. In January 2023, former NAACP president Ben Jealous became the organization's new executive director, making him the first African American to fulfill the role. The Sierra Club is organized on both a national and state level with chapters named for the 50 states and two U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.) California is the lone state to have numerous chapters named for California counties. The club chapters allow for regional groups and committees, some of which have many thousands of members. These chapters further allow for special interest sections (e.g. camera, outings), committees (conservation and political), and task forces on

11102-504: The historic ones and preserving their functionality for special events. Standard Oil set up operations on land sold by Emily Tewksbury in 1901, including what is now the Chevron Richmond Refinery and tank farm , which Chevron still operates. There is a pier into San Francisco Bay south of Point Molate for oil tankers. The city of Richmond was incorporated in 1905. Until the enactment of prohibition in 1919,

11224-552: The importation of energy from Quebec's hydropower plants to New York, arguing that importing excess energy by the Quebec plants will cause environmental damage and lead to fewer in-state New York renewable energy projects. Some chapters of the Sierra Club have lobbied against solar power projects, whereas other chapters have defended solar power projects. The Sierra Club opposed the Battle Born Solar Project,

11346-512: The intersection of El Portal Drive and Via Verdi. Although no one was hurt, a car fell into the sinkhole. On August 6, 2012, at around 6:15 PM, a large fire erupted at the Chevron refinery, sending significant plumes of toxic smoke into the surrounding area and resulting in over 15,000 people to seek medical treatment at local hospitals. Just minutes after the fire was reported, Contra Costa Health Services notified residents “ shelter in place ”;

11468-523: The largest solar project in the U.S., citing its potential impact on desert tortoise habitats. The Sierra Club sued the federal government to stop the 663.5-megawatt Calico solar station in the Mojave Desert in California, saying it would imperil protected wildlife. In response to proposed reforms to streamline the permitting process for environmental projects amid concerns that environmental permitting reviews were delaying and blocking projects with

11590-487: The local siren system was activated and several messages were issued through the Emergency Alert System warning people of the fire and hazardous materials incident. The fire was reported contained at around 10:40 PM. The 2010 United States census reported that Richmond had a population of 103,701. The population density was 1,976.0 inhabitants per square mile (762.9/km ). The racial makeup of Richmond

11712-619: The lows range from 43 to 56 °F (6 to 13 °C) year round. Richmond usually enjoys an " Indian summer ", and September is, on average, the warmest month. January is on average the coldest month. The highest recorded temperature in Richmond was 107 °F (42 °C) in September 1971 while the coldest was 24 °F (−4 °C) in December 1990. The rainy season begins in late October and ends in April, with some showers in May. Most of

11834-469: The mainland; the park is reached via a bridge across the railroad. The San Francisco Bay Trail runs through the park. The park can be reached by the AC Transit bus service, by car, or by bicycle. Pedestrian and cyclist admission is free, but there is a parking fee. The playground at Point Pinole park was temporarily closed for construction from mid-August through October, 2017. During this time,

11956-605: The marsh to Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. The Dotson Marsh restoration project is intended to adapt the PPS to a self-sustaining wetland complex that will include filtering polluted run-off water. It also provides adaptations for anticipated sea level rise caused by climate change. The cost of restoration is estimated at $ 14 million, with at least 10 different entities providing funds. 38°00′22″N 122°21′45″W  /  38.0060°N 122.3625°W  / 38.0060; -122.3625 Richmond, California Richmond

12078-480: The needs of the war economy, while increased numbers of women also joined the industrial workforce for the first time as large numbers of working-age men were drafted for the war effort. During the war, Richmond's population increased dramatically, rising from 23,000 in 1940 to 114,899 in 1942 and peaking at around 120,000 by 1945. A specially built rail line, the Shipyard Railway , transported workers to

12200-413: The northwest, inland across San Pablo Bay to the north and east, and Mt. Diablo inland to the southeast. Fresh and ocean waters mix at this point, so the marine life is rich; a leisure pier has been built at the end of promontory, replacing a former jetty used by the factories, and is a popular location for angling . The parks trails are almost level allowing for easy walks. There is a $ 3 parking fee and

12322-544: The organization), and assumed the title of chairman, becoming the club's senior strategist, devoting his time to conservation policy rather than budget planning and administration. After a two-year interlude with Douglas Wheeler, whose Republican credentials were disconcerting to liberal members, the club hired Michael Fischer, the former head of the California Coastal Commission , who served as executive director from 1987 to 1992. Carl Pope , formerly

12444-475: The organization, assisted by a small clerical staff. Brower was appointed the first executive director in 1952, and the club began to catch up with major conservation organizations such as the National Audubon Society , National Wildlife Federation , The Wilderness Society , and Izaak Walton League , which had long had professional staff. The Sierra Club secured its national reputation in

12566-579: The playground was resurfaced with wood fiber, equipment replaced with a net climber and a stand-up spinner, and a wheelchair-accessible path and picnic tables were added. All park paths remained open to the public during this work. On April 22, 2017, EBRPD dedicated the Atlas Road Bridge, a combination vehicle and wheelchair-compliant pedestrian bridge that connects to the San Francisco Bay Trail. This activity included building

12688-438: The poisonous gas, and led to 25,000 people landing in the hospital. The incident led to lawsuits, and has been referred to as a mini- Bhopal . The city's shoreline and wildlife were seriously affected by the 2007 San Francisco Bay oil spill . Beaches and shoreline were closed, but later reopened. Keller Beach was closed to public access for swimmers. On April 15, 2010, a sinkhole roughly 30 feet (9.1 m) deep appeared at

12810-450: The projects were planned to be built on lands that were ecologically sensitive and of high agricultural value. At the time, Puerto Rico was overwhelmingly dependent on fossil fuels for its energy use, while only 2% of its energy came from renewable sources. The Sierra Club is "unequivocally opposed" to nuclear power. The Sierra Club has lobbied against hydropower projects and large-scale dams. In lobbying against hydropower projects,

12932-484: The promontory of Point Pinole, located where the East Bay shoreline turns from running south towards Berkeley and Oakland to running eastwards, inland. Geologically, it is a result of movement on the Hayward Fault which runs along its western edge, creating a low scarp. It offers superb views across the bay in all directions, towards San Francisco to the southwest, Mount Tamalpais and the Marin Headlands to

13054-453: The public as a park in 1973. A plaque denotes the site as a California Historical Landmark . The facility's former tramway grades provide a network of nearly 20 kilometers (12 mi) of gently sloping paths for hiking , cycling and horse-riding . The other relic of the park's industrial past is the large number of eucalyptus glades groves which were planted around the factory site to buffer against potential explosions. The park features

13176-444: The rain occurs during stronger storms which occur between November and March and drop 3.3–4.91 inches (84–125 mm) of rain per month. January and February are the rainiest months. Like most of the Bay Area, Richmond is made up of several microclimates . Southern parts of the city and the ridges receive more fog than northern areas. Summer temperatures are higher in inland areas, where the moderating influence of San Francisco Bay

13298-414: The refinery's shoreline. Rainbow trout have recently returned to San Pablo and Wildcat creeks. Red-tailed hawks patrol the skies. Monarch butterflies migrate through the city on their journey between Mexico and Canada. Wildcat Marsh has two ponds where Canada geese often rest, and is also the home of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and California clapper rail . Another endangered species in

13420-561: The shipyards. Kaiser's Richmond shipyards built 747 Victory and Liberty ships for the war effort, more than any other site in the U.S. The shipyards broke many records, including the completion of a Liberty ship in just five days. On average the yards built a new ship in 30 days. The medical system established for the shipyard workers at the Richmond Field Hospital eventually became today's Kaiser Permanente HMO . The hospital remained in operation until 1993, when it

13542-606: The south is the city of Albany which is in Alameda County and the city of El Cerrito . The unincorporated communities of East Richmond Heights , Rollingwood , Hasford Heights, and El Sobrante lie to the east. North Richmond to the west and San Pablo to the east are almost entirely surrounded by Richmond's city limits. To the north, Richmond borders the city of Pinole and the unincorporated areas of Bayview , Montalvin Manor , Hilltop Green, Tara Hills . Richmond borders Alameda , San Francisco, and Marin counties in

13664-414: The transition from 501(c)(3) to 501(c)(4) status, tension grew over finances between Brower and the board of directors. The club's annual deficits rose from $ 100,000 in 1967 and 1968 to some $ 200,000 in 1969. Another conflict occurred over the club's policy toward the nuclear power plant to be constructed by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) at Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo, California . Although

13786-448: The volatile California region that has a potential for devastating earthquakes. Many buildings were damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake . The city has also had at least one minor tornado. The Chevron Richmond Refinery had highly noted chemical leaks in the 1990s. The company has been fined thousands, and sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dollars. Richmond has a siren system consisting of 17 emergency warning sirens located across

13908-542: The young botany professor, Willis Linn Jepson from the University of California, Berkeley helped Muir and attorney Warren Olney launched the new organization modeled after the eastern Appalachian Mountain Club . The charter members of the Sierra Club elected Muir president, an office he held until his death in 1914. The first goals of the club included establishing Glacier and Mount Rainier national parks, convincing

14030-490: Was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%. 52,683 people (50.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 49,435 people (47.7%) lived in rented housing. Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states , Washington D.C. , and Puerto Rico . The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir . A product of

14152-440: Was 32,590 (31.4%) White , 27,542 (26.6%) African American , 662 (0.6%) Native American , 13,984 (13.5%) Asian (4.0% Chinese , 3.5% Filipino , 1.6% Laotian , 1.2% Indian , 0.7% Vietnamese , 0.6% Japanese , 0.4% Korean , 0.2% Pakistani , 0.1% Thai ), 537 (0.5%) Pacific Islander , 22,573 (21.8%) from other races , and 5,813 (5.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40,921 persons (39.5%). Among

14274-528: Was able to organize residents of his own neighborhood in Richmond, Parchester, reminding them that the builder of their houses had promised they would always have access to the bay. He also recruited the Sierra Club as an influential ally in the three-decade legal fight against the developers. Dotson's group prevailed, and EBRPD acquires the marsh through eminent domain in March 2008. The district then attached

14396-474: Was arrested along with forty-eight people, including civil rights leader Julian Bond and NASA climate scientist James Hansen . In May 2015, the Sierra Club appointed its first black president of the board of directors, Aaron Mair . The Sierra Club endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election , citing its opposition to Donald Trump 's environmental deregulation. In 2020, in wake of

14518-583: Was known originally as The Potrero and then renamed as Point Stevens in early charts of San Francisco Bay . Point Richmond was an island, but industrial development and deliberate fill connected it to the mainland by the early 1900s. On July 4, 1900, the Santa Fe Railroad 's western terminus was established at Point Richmond with ferry connections from Ferry Point in the Brickyard Cove area to San Francisco. The Santa Fe railroad also built

14640-507: Was replaced by the Richmond Medical Center hospital, which has since expanded to a multi-building campus. Point Richmond was Richmond's original commercial hub, but a new downtown arose in the center of the city along Macdonald Avenue during the war. It was populated by department stores such as Kress , J.C. Penney , Sears , Macy's , and Woolworth's . When the war ended the shipyard workers were no longer needed, and

14762-492: Was successful in changing club positions on both counts. In 2008, several Sierra Club officers quit in protest after the Sierra Club agreed to promote products by Clorox , which had been named one of a "dangerous dozen" chemical companies by the Public Interest Research Group in 2004. According to Carl Pope, the Sierra Club chairman, the deal brought the club $ 1.3 million over the four-year term of

14884-520: Was used at the terminal selected by the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad . By 1899 maps made by the railroad carried the name "Point Richmond Avenue", a county road that later became Barrett Avenue, a central street in Richmond. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad purchased the railroad making their terminus at Richmond. The first post office opened in 1900, and the city of Richmond incorporated in 1905. The Ohlone were

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