Gisela Perez de Acha

Richmond residents welcome new ferry service to San Francisco

A month into the new ferry service between Richmond to San Francisco, residents are thrilled. Already, some 635 commuters a day—more than expected—are using the 35-minute service between Richmond and the Embarcadero. “It’s clean, easy, there are no homeless people and it’s faster than BART,” said Yu Matsu, a Richmond resident who now ­­­takes the ferry daily to get to work in the Financial District. It costs her $6.75 one-way on a Clipper Card, compared to $7.50 on BART. “I’ve…

A migrant’s journey: From the cornfields of Oaxaca to running North Richmond’s Urban Tilth

María Hernández has faced death twice seeking a better life for herself and her family. The first time she crossed the border from Mexico, she was a 16-year-old crawling over the skeletons of others in a dark and humid tunnel on the journey to the United States. On her next trip as a 40-year-old mother of five, she slipped crossing a mountain in the desert, and would have fallen off a cliff if someone hadn’t grabbed her. Now María is…

OPINION: Why a Jovanka Beckles victory is crucial

Tuesday’s elections in the 15th Assembly District might change the meaning of who “We the People” really are in the Trump era. The race is a microcosm for the larger political battles in the United States, with possible echoes for decades to come, particularly around housing in the East Bay.

With no benefits and less pay than prosecutors, entry-level public defenders want a raise

They have no health insurance. They work ten or 11-hour days. They have no free weekends. No, they aren’t flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant. They are attorneys on the government’s payroll. Public defenders, the lawyers hired by the county government to aid those who cannot afford legal representation, showed up at the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 11th to demand better pay and benefits. They are not only overworked, but at entry-level jobs, they…

People of Richmond

“For me, one of the most important things is that everyone in Richmond has access to healthy, organic and pesticide-free food” – María Hernández