Richmond Confidential

Readers note: Fall 2020

We’re back! This semester, you’ll see stories about Richmond’s residents, communities and surrounding areas. Despite the restrictions of COVID-19, our UC Berkeley graduate student reporters will bring you stories on the latest happenings in education, the environment, health, politics, safety, music, art and many more important issues. Most importantly, we are seeking help from you, our readers. Do you have a story you’d like to share? Please let us know. While we may not be able to get to the…

The East Bay in myths and memorials

On an ordinary Monday, we sent the reporters of Oakland North and Richmond Confidential out into our cities with a goal: Capture the spaces that are famous for their legends, their myths, their memorials to the people who made the Bay Area great and to the moments in history that still haunt us. Each reporter took a camera, notebook and pen–and one or two took their audio equipment as well. Their goal was to sit quietly in the space for…

Wicks declares victory in assembly race, Beckles refuses to concede

By Christi Warren, Mara Kardas-Nelson and Brandon Yadegari  In the race to represent Richmond, Berkeley and north Oakland in the California State Assembly, Democratic establishment-backed candidate Buffy Wicks declared victory Wednesday morning over her opponent, democratic socialist-supported Jovanka Beckles. But Beckles expressed concern with calling the outcome of the race for assembly district 15, saying there were still thousands of currently uncounted provisional ballots. She had not conceded as of noon Wednesday. “I think it’s premature for any news outlet…

Election results: RPA loses grip, Mayor Butt re-elected

By Betty Marquez Rosales, Edward Booth and Barbara Harvey The Richmond Progressive Alliance appears to have lost its majority on the Richmond City Council, with early results indicating the election Tuesday of two candidates not affiliated with the left-leaning political group that has transformed city politics in recent years. As of Wednesday afternoon, incumbent Eduardo Martinez, a member of the RPA, had enough votes to be re-elected for another term on the city council. But in the race for three…

GALLERY: Richmond Votes

Richmond voters flocked to the polls in what could be record-breaking numbers. Richmond Confidential reporters went to the polls and watch parties, here are their images from the day.

With big issues at stake, Richmond heads to the polls

Spurred by competitive local races and important ballot initiatives, Richmond voters flocked to the polls in what could be record-breaking numbers. We’ll be updating this story throughout the evening with more photos, voter testimonies and news stories. Richmond Votes On Tuesday morning at North Richmond’s Shield-Reeds Community Center, poll workers were excited about the turnout. By 9:30 a.m., they had seen eight people show up at the polls. During the June primary, it took all day for them to get…

Rodents, Roaches and Broken Elevators: Why it took nearly a decade for Richmond to fix public housing

By Betty Marquez Rosales and Ravleen Kaur The elevators inside a Richmond public housing building had been broken for about a week before city officials moved to have them fixed — an unusually rapid response for a building plagued by maintenance issues for years, where residents regularly endure long waits to have them repaired. This time, the fix was triggered not just by the usual residential complaints. This time, it took the outrage of residents who believe a death might…

We’re off for the summer — see you in September!

Richmond Confidential is a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and now that it’s summer, our students are on break to work internships at other publications. We’ll be back to train a new class of student reporters in early September. Please feel free to explore the site and our past coverage. Our student journalists have been covering Richmond since fall, 2009, and have created more than 4,000 articles, videos, audio pieces and multimedia projects about life in the city. You can…

We’re off for the summer — see you in September!

Richmond Confidential is a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and now that it’s summer, our students are on break to work internships at other publications. We’ll be back to train a new class of student reporters in early September. Please feel free to explore the site and our past coverage. Our student journalists have been covering Richmond since fall, 2009, and have created more than 4,000 articles, videos, audio pieces and multimedia projects about life in the city. You can…

Tales of Two Cities: History

This week’s episode is about history. Tune in to hear about the journey of a thrifted musical instrument, Oakland Unified School District’s Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Festival, the last remaining Rosie the Riveters in Richmond and the Richmond Museum’s celebration of WWI history.