On a bright October morning in Lucas Park, dozens of community members — some with silver hair and some younger — move around in dirt, sweat and chatter. Loosely divided into small groups, the volunteers hold onto pots and branches to lift up small trees — each around 8 feet tall — and carry them to designated locations. And then they circle around with shovels, and dig. This was an Arbor Day activity for Groundwork Richmond, an environmental and youth…
City shares millions in climate grant money with local nonprofits, including one marked ‘delinquent’
Richmond has received a $35 million state grant for climate-related projects that will be put to use by the city and local organizations, including one whose nonprofit status is in jeopardy. This month, the City Council unanimously approved contracts with the five groups that will share the Transformative Climate Communities grant. Councilmember Doria Robinson was absent for the vote. She is executive director of Urban Tilth, which will control 30% of the grant money and, as of Monday, was listed…
“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: Have you seriously considered leaving Contra Costa County? “All the time. A lot of different reasons, the cost of living is a lot more expensive than other places in the U.S., like what you get for the money. I am concerned when I have a family and kids that I won’t be…
“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 is your favorite Richmond or Contra Costa County park, and why? “I spend most time at Wild Cat Canyon. Catch turtles, catch animals. ride my bike through the trail. I like it compared to many other parks in Richmond because at least that park has bears and wild lives. It actually…
Dozens of people interested in learning more about electric vehicles, ride share programs, and other ways to reduce their carbon footprints gathered at Richmond Civic Center Plaza Thursday for the ninth “Drive Electric” event. Part of National Drive Electric Week, the event raises awareness about electric vehicles as an option. Volunteers set up booths to interact with passersby during lunch time. Some learned about electric car and bike rebate programs from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Metropolitan…
The public can now easily look up notices of pollution violations through the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s new web tool. However, environmental groups say the tool falls short of their expectations. This tool allows users to look up notices of violations in the past five years, filtered by date, county, city and keywords. Each violation entry lists location, facility name, enforcement status, and penalty amount. The information is updated daily. When a penalty is over $100,000, the agency…
“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: Should Richmond City Council return to holding meetings only in person? “It’s a tough question, just because people can’t be exposed to COVID. It’s a good thing to have social settings, but maybe if there’s different ways to hold these meetings, that would be best.” (Angelica Zambrano, social media manager, pictured at…