WEST COUNTY TIMES

Thursday, October 2, 1997
Section: Opinion
Page: A17
Column: Readers' Forum

It was curious that the Times chose to highlight Pinole's efforts toward improving its website ("Pinole goes high-tech, revamps its city website," (Sept. 9), when Richmond has already implemented most of what Pinole merely aspires to, and much more.

Why is it news when Pinole has hired an intern? Richmond has several employees (including several interns) in two whole departments (Management Information Systems and Telecommunications) constantly upgrading an integrated local area network and Internet website.

Email links for the mayor and City Council are already up and running. In fact, you can initiate an email to me (tom.butt@intres.com) or open my own council website (http://www.intres.com/tombutt/) just by clicking on my name in the Richmond website (http://www.mikuni.com/CityRichmond/).< There is a vast amount of easily accessible information about Richmond on the website, including the Richmond City Services Gateway, city government and elected officials, upcoming City Council study sessions, city department services, Office of Emergency Services, community services, city business, history, KCRT television schedules, and recreation programs for youth, teens, adults, seniors, and disabled persons. Registrations and reservations can be taken over the Internet, and the library can be accessed.

Links are provided to a host of local news, government, telecommunications, business, educational, arts, cultural, and recreational organizations. For example http://www.pointrichmond.com/ will take you to Point Richmond, and http://www.pointrichmond.com/pro/skool.htm will take you to Washington School, where you can cruise the classrooms and communicate with students. To find out how Richmond is celebrating the women of the shipyards, you can follow the link http://www.pointrichmond.com/rosie/ to Rosie the Riveter.< It is not my purpose to put down Pinole, but with Richmond getting so much constant negative publicity in the Times, I just wonder why you picked Pinole to cover when Richmond is way ahead in cyberspace and offers much more.

Thomas K. Butt

Richmond

Butt is a member of the Richmond City Council