Natalie F. Jones

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Natalie is from Washington, D.C., where she grew up following the news closely. She attended Scripps College in Southern California, where she majored in environmental studies. Natalie originally intended to find a career in environmental education before she felt the urge to pursue journalism. Natalie is relatively new to reporting, but has served as an intern at Bay Area radio station KQED and the Point Reyes Light newspaper in Marin County. She has lived in the Bay Area since 2004. Natalie is interested in reporting on politics and science/environmental issues.

Stories

City council continues ban on new pot dispensaries

The Richmond City Council renewed its commitment Tuesday night to preventing new medical marijuana dispensaries from moving into the city.

Richmond man reconnects slave colony descendants

Nat Fitz doesn’t consider himself a history buff. The Richmond resident, who is 86, never talked to his parents about the family’s history and ancestors. It wasn’t until he was in his 70s that he started taking an interest in the past, after he discovered that members of his family were part of a colony for former slaves in Kansas.

Making Richmond healthy on a dime

As obesity sweeps the nation and a book about health or food seems to come out every other week, a few people in Richmond are doing their best to reverse the weight gain trend and improve the city’s health statistics.

A Richmond activist fights gangs and governors

It’s not hard to imagine how Barbara Becnel charmed her way into spending more than 12 hours a day with Los Angeles gangsters for a year and a half. Or befriended a former gangster on death row for murder. Or ran for governor of California.

District hopes bus passes will increase attendance

To help improve attendance and keep kids out of trouble, a program of the West Contra Costa Unified School District is funding bus passes for up to 2,000 high school students. So far only about 1,500 students have signed up.

Council says no more pot clubs

The Richmond City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to prohibit new medical marijuana dispensaries until the city can develop regulations for them.

Main Library

The Main Library has an urban feel and a lot more traffic than either of the branches. High ceilings and bare linoleum floors remind you that you’re in a government building, not a living room, and the only places to sit are at wooden tables and chairs. Patrons of Main are there to get things [...]

Richmond Library System

The City of Richmond operates its own library system independent from the county, and has since 1907. The system consists of a main library, two branches and a traveling bookmobile for children.
The staff move around regularly between the branches, the Main library and the Bookmobile, so they have a good sense of how the entire [...]

Bookmobile

The Richmond Library’s Bookmobile is the system’s library on wheels, serving children. The program was founded in 1947, and was the first of its kind west of the Mississippi. The converted bus travels four days a week and visits 21 schools around the city.
Students can climb aboard the moving library when it stops at their [...]

Bayview Branch

Bayview is tucked in a corner next to a fire station in southern Richmond right off Interstate 580. The neighborhood is quiet and feels safe, and the atmosphere inside is similar. Striped wall-to-wall carpeting covers the floor of the library’s single room and bright blue and multi-colored cartoonish couches and chairs provide comfortable seating. Everything [...]