Richmond Confidential

JoAnn Ford advocates for health in Iron Triangle

JoAnn Ford is a Richmond native and has raised seven children in the Iron Triangle. After battling several health issues herself, she has become an advocate for improving health outcomes in Richmond. Through her work with Building Blocks for Kids, JoAnn raises awareness in the community around issues like access to healthy foods and increasing recreational activities. Here, JoAnn shares her story. Jake Nicol, U.C. Berkeley graduate student, produced and edited this film.

Scenes from the BART strike

Updated Friday, October 18 at 2:36 p.m. Thirteen thousand people use Richmond and del Norte BART stations weekly. When union workers announced that they would strike at midnight, many expected the lack of service to cause wide disruption to their morning routine. Updated Friday, October 18 at 2:36 p.m.

Three Richmond teens charged with first-degree murder in Lincoln Plair investigation

Richmond police charged three teenagers on Monday in connection with the March 4 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Lincoln Plair. Plair was killed on the 100 block of 6th Street in Richmond while washing a car. “All three are affiliated with a gang active in North Richmond known as the Swerve Gang,” Detective Stina Johanson said. The shooting took place in a rival neighborhood, though Plair is not believed to have been involved in gang activity. The Contra Costa County district…

Awards ceremony honors innovative East Bay health, tech and design companies

The East Bay Economic Development Alliance celebrated creativity and innovation at its first annual awards ceremony Thursday. The event, held in Oakland at the Fox Theater, honored East Bay organizations that do work in the fields of clean technology, advanced manufacturing, food, information and communication technology, life sciences, engineering, design and education.

Richmond, Oakland leaders supporting proposed state regulation of ammunition sales

In the wake of recent mass shootings—including one in December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which took 26 lives, and one in late July at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater, which left 12 dead—an East Bay politician is pushing for new state restrictions on the sale of ammunition in California. The move has received widespread support from city and school officials in cities like Oakland and Richmond, which struggle with high rates of violent crime.