{"product_id":"9780807094273","title":"Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe People vs. Big Oil—how a working-class company town harnessed the power of local politics to reclaim their community\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHome to one of the largest oil refineries in the state, Richmond, California, was once a typical company town, dominated by Chevron. This largely nonwhite, working-class city of one hundred thousand suffered from poverty, pollution, and poorly funded public services. It had one of the highest homicide rates per capita in the country and a jobless rate twice the national average.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut in 2012, when veteran labor reporter Steve Early moved from New England to Richmond, he discovered a city struggling to remake itself. In \u003ci\u003eRefinery Town\u003c\/i\u003e, Early chronicles the fifteen years of successful community organizing that raised the local minimum wage, defeated a casino development project, challenged home foreclosures and evictions, and sought fair taxation of Big Oil. Here we meet a dynamic cast of characters—from ninety-four-year-old Betty Reid Soskin, the country’s oldest full-time national park ranger and witness to Richmond’s complex history; to Gayle McLaughlin, the Green mayor who challenged Chevron and won; to police chief Chris Magnus, who brought community policing to Richmond and is now one of America’s leading public safety reformers. Part urban history, part call to action, \u003ci\u003eRefinery Town\u003c\/i\u003e shows how concerned citizens can harness the power of local politics to reclaim their community and make municipal government a source of much-needed policy innovation.","brand":"Beacon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070574510320,"sku":"9780807094273","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780807094273_p0.jpg?v=1763725619","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780807094273","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}