The first time 19-year-old Alan Zavala went fishing in Marina Bay, he caught a leopard shark. He was hooked. The next day, he went to buy a fishing license. “It’s fun when obviously you’re getting bites and catches,” said Zavala, who’s been fishing for six months. “You also feel adrenaline doing that.” Zavala wanted to try fishing because of videos he saw on TikTok. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, social media influencers have attracted large audiences with content about fishing. Kaitlyn…
This story is part of “The Stakes,” a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders and actions affecting Californians and their communities. It was co-published with Richmondside. A recent Cooking Matters class at the nonprofit Rubicon Richmond began with a bit of show-and-tell. The 10 or so people in the room each shared the favorite foods they ate over the past weekend. Eli Cruz, who was leading the class, tried a Purple Haze latte. Carolyn, one of the students, had…
Community organizers are expecting hundreds of Richmond residents to gather, play soccer and celebrate at Lucas Park on Saturday, as part of a community-led “Picnic & Play” event. Since April, multiple community organizations have held weekly free wellness and sports events in an effort to revitalize the park in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood. In October, Lucas Park hosted over 30 events. Bordered by train tracks and a highway overpass, the park has struggled to attract visitors. Saturday’s event will be…
With Halloween fast approaching, it’s not strange to see people toting chain mail armor and a coat of arms. But the knights and wizards running into battle at Marina Bay Park aren’t there to trick or treat. The Duchy of Wyvern’s Spur, a live action role playing group, brings people together from all realms of life to duel and cast spells in Richmond’s Marina Bay Park every Sunday at noon, providing a supportive space for members to be silly and…
Hundreds of people enjoyed food trucks, a rock wall, and live performances at Nicholl Park on Saturday for YES Fest, sponsored by the Richmond nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods. Kids ran around playing soccer, trying archery with velcro arrows and making mango smoothies with a bicycle-powered blender. Participants waved their arms toward the sky in a group Nia dance, meant to ground them. And everyone jammed to live music by the youth group Voices of Reason. The festival opened under…
“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 recent memory of Richmond? Brock Genter (industrial paint expert) “There has been a board game group that’s formed here at this brewery that meets every Thursday to play board games, and it’s probably one of my favorite things in the Richmond area. … I’ve made most of my…