Fan Fei

Decisive vote over Point Richmond Bottoms property expected

Shea Homes, based in Walnut, Calif., is proposing to build a 60-unit residential development on the site. But three years in, the Shea Homes plan is meeting resistance. Richmond residents are questioning the company’s request for a General Plan Amendment (GPA), which would allow four of the proposed buildings to exceed 35 feet in height, the maximum the city’s General Plan allows.

Alex Knox, the name behind Tom Butt’s winning campaign for mayor

Alex Knox, 26, is wearing a blue shirt, grey suit and smiling into his ice water. His mouth becomes a cartoon shape when he smiles, a bright crescent. It is a week after the election, and Knox looks relaxed – very different from when we first met on the eve of the election.

Richmond Art Center: building community through art

You don’t need to be an artist to work with clay or fibers. All you need is the desire. And a little support from your friends doesn’t hurt. The Richmond Art Center provides artistically inclined residents with potter’s wheels, electric kilns and looms to transform their creativity into a variety of art forms. Located near the town Civic Center, the Richmond Art Center has one of the last remaining public art programs in the Bay Area. It first opened its…

Halloween treats for Richmond families

Trick or treat? Halloween is here! Richmond Art Center is treating children to seasonal chills and thrills with its annual family art making event: Skeletonfest. This event was free and open to the public. Three girls drew scary skulls on paper plates with colorful sugar paint. One girl couldn’t help taste her art work. No surprise. “It tastes like sugar,” she said. Skeletonfest has been growing. Some 400 kids and adults came to the studio this year to take part…

Little Leaders: Kennedy High teacher inspires cheer team to build trust, sisterhood

At this month’s annual Kennedy – Richmond football game, the cheerleaders had as many supporters in the stands as the football players, and they love the spotlight. “Oh my god, she’s taking pictures of us!” shouted one of the cheerleaders that Friday night. Another one added, “don’t just take pictures of her, make sure you get all of us!” Kennedy’s cheer team consists of fifteen girls, eleven on varsity and four on junior varsity. One of the team’s biggest goals…

Residents drop off e-waste at Hilltop Mall

Thanks to an electronic waste recycling service, electronic gadgets that have reached the end of their lives will no longer end up in a landfill. Richmond residents came to drop off their end-of-life or unwanted electronics for free recycling last Saturday at Hilltop Mall. The unwanted electronics will be sent to a de-manufacturing line, according to Martin Sarkis, a staff member at BlueStar Electronics, which co-hosted the event. Computers and other electronic devices will be dismantled and separated into valuable…

New city-issued ID cards expected to benefit Richmonders – but at a price

Richmond residents will be able to apply for the city’s first city-issued identification card as of Oct. 15. Like a similar card issued by the city of Oakland, Richmond’s ID card can also be used as a debit card. “In Richmond, we welcome everyone,” said Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. “This card is an essential step toward greater equity and equality. It is needed to make sure all residents have access to equal services regardless of immigration status. It will help people…