Easter Hill United Methodist Church in Richmond

The sidewalk in front of Easter Hill United Methodist Church in Richmond was all but empty on Monday at 11 am. A cyclist slowly meandered by on Cutting Boulevard, the clinking of his bike chain breaking up the white noise created by a constant stream of passing cars. The doors of the church were locked,…

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Family remembers Xavier McClanahan

The first thing Xavier McClanahan’s family says is that everyone loved him. As they gathered in a meeting room at the Praise Fellowship Bible Church in Richmond after Sunday services, his mother Ligé spoke of his magnetic personality—people just wanted to be around him. His cousin Daniel, wearing an “R.I.P Xavier” t-shirt, said that he…

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Friends, family mourn Richmond woman killed in Oakland

Things were looking up for Rusamie Ashly Phongphoumy, who had long dreamed of a better life. On the night of Nov. 29, her boyfriend proposed to her. She accepted. The couple made plans for the future. But all that ended the next day, when she was killed in a West Oakland market, allegedly by a…

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