Business
If you’re a California homeowner, it may be time to take a look at your insurance policy. After seven major insurance companies have restricted their business dealings in the state, policy holders are footing an exceedingly expensive bill. At Richmond’s Atchison Village, residents found that out the hard way. “Six weeks ago, we just thought we were going to redo our insurance,” said Ronald Kane, president of the Atchison Village Mutual Homes Corp. board. But when the time came to…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: What would you like to see at the Hilltop Mall site? “Having been part of when that mall first opened, and knowing that a lot of people don’t go to malls anymore because it is too hard to compete with online shopping, having more community outreach programs like services for the surrounding…
Richmond wants to add cannabis retail permits, doubling the number of permitted dispensaries from three to six. On Tuesday, the City Council will hold a public hearing on making the change possible, by amending the Richmond Municipal Code. The city staff says existing retailers are making significant revenue, even in the face of increased competition. But those in the business say sales have been declining post-pandemic. And some advocacy groups feel there is a health risk in increasing the number…
A new local news outlet plans to start covering Richmond this spring. The nonprofit journalism organization Cityside, known for the Berkeleyside and Oaklandside news sites, said it hopes to launch a third publication, Richmondside, by the end of March. Chief Content Officer Tracey Taylor said they are opening the new site after receiving an “overwhelmingly positive response” to community outreach. “We’ll hopefully be able to do very consistent, regular reporting, which helps people understand what’s going on in their cities,”…
Richmond is set to relaunch its electric bike share program after a two-year hiatus. The project will be through a partnership between Richmond and Today, a company that focuses on urban mobility through cycling. Residents can expect to see 130 e-bikes on the streets by Dec. 1, said David Touwsma, co-founder of Today. That number, he added, will increase to 300 by the spring. “The uniqueness of this project lies in the fact that we provide something other than traditional…
Twenty years ago, the Hilltop Mall was the place to be in Richmond. It was a bustling shopping area full of life, and around this time of the year, it would have been extra busy with holiday shoppers. Today, the mall is vacant and isolated, stores are empty and dark, with only Walmart open. But Hilltop’s owner says the site has a promising future providing three things Richmond needs: employment opportunities, retail space and mixed-use housing. Prologis, an industrial real…
Over 200 people had signed in at the career fair within 30 minutes of its opening at the Richmond Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon. The large auditorium buzzed with the chatter of job-seekers mingling with recruiters from 50 companies and organizations. “We’re very excited and appreciative that so many people showed up, for this to be our first one since the pandemic,” said Tamara Walker, deputy community services director for the city’s Employment & Training Department, which hosted the fair. …
Richmond is hosting its largest career fair in the post-pandemic era Wednesday afternoon, with over 50 employers meeting job seekers at the Richmond Convention Center. Companies that will be recruiting at the event include PG&E, BART, U.S. Postal Service, Tesla, Amazon and Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences. The care industry will be well-represented, with employers trying to fill positions in child and senior care as well as in medical professions. Together, they offer a wide array of opportunities,…
“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity. Q: What type of business would you like to see more of in Richmond? “Get us a small town pharmacist here. … A bakery, little floral shop would be nice. Give businesses an incentive to open here.” (Sam Charles, barbershop owner, pictured above) “I would like to see more entertainment-type businesses. That’d be…