Christi Warren

Richmond man who survived Camp Fire gifted RV by San Pablo teacher

Moving from Richmond to Paradise saved Bill Crossley. It gave him a life away from the drinking and the partying that defined his teens and 20s in the Bay Area. Crossley, now 51, never imagined that a chance meeting with a man from neighboring San Pablo nearly 30 years later would save him again — this time with the gift of an RV, after the deadliest fire in California history took everything else from him.   In Paradise, amid the…

Richmond comes together for first Shabbat after Pittsburgh shooting

Inside Richmond’s Temple Beth Hillel on Nov. 2, just after the sun dipped below the western horizon, a group of about 40 people gathered for a potluck. The Friday sunset marked the beginning of Shabbat — and just like every first Friday of the month, the congregants of Temple Beth Hillel recognized it by coming together for a community dinner. There were the usual fixings: picnic salads and fruit and some pizza for the kids and kids at heart. And…

Contra Costa County could see record voter turnout

Contra Costa County voters headed to the polls early Tuesday in what officials say could be record-breaking numbers for a midterm election — a response to the divisive national politics and contentious local races, including a costly and closely watched race for Assembly District 15. “We are excited with the initial turnout,” said Joe Canciamilla, Contra Costa County’s election chief. “If things continue at this pace, we will set a new record countywide.” Early estimates seemed to indicate the county’s…

Tiffany Grimsley, School Board Candidate

Tiffany Grimsley has been thinking about running for a West Contra Costa school board seat for about two years. She lives in Hercules now, but grew up in El Cerrito, graduating high school there. Two of her three children have attended West Contra Costa Unified School District schools—her middle child is a recent graduate of Hercules High School and her youngest is a sixth-grader at Hercules Middle School. For Grimsley, 49, education is important. She works for the Bay Area-based…

Patricio Dujan, School Board Candidate

When Patricio Dujan’s daughter arrived to her first day of fifth grade at Washington Elementary School in Richmond last August, the father of two was stunned to realize his eldest child would be starting the school year with a substitute teacher. “Not even a long-term substitute, just a substitute,” Dujan said. Dujan, 45, has worked in the education arena for more than 13 years, developing tools and materials to improve classroom success — first with the Scholastic Corporation and now…